Empty Nest Menu #55

I took today off since Hubby would be off and no one else had spoken for it.  Anymore its hard to work those 5 day weeks.  Maybe its the weather.  Maybe its the pandemic.  Maybe its because our nest is empty.  But this will be a nice break.

Monday - Grilled chicken, chard {Labor Day, I'm on call M-Th, order my produce box}
Tuesday - Pork Chops, sauteed squash
Wednesday - Beef Tacos with avocado and tomato
Thursday - Link Sausage with onions and peppers, corn on the cob
Friday - (freezer) Spaghetti, brussels sprouts
Saturday - OUT {The Girl is 29 today!, pick-up at 7 Creeks and Fiesta}
Sunday - Italian Roast Chicken Thighs, roasted potatoes and carrots {pick up at Esperanza}

Gina

5 thing Friday - feets, coffee, rain, Sticky Chicky, the weekend

Most days my feet hurt so bad by bedtime.  I thought I had solved that issue by buying new insoles for my favorite work shoes.  But no shoe out there will save your 60 year old feet from walking most of the day, and standing for hours wearing a lead apron.  

ooof.  So swollen.

When I worked retail, they hurt much, much worse.  Eight hours of being on my feet on wooden floors, usually wearing low heels or flats.  At the end of the day I could not even walk across carpet, they hurt so bad.  So I should be happy that by morning now, they feel pretty much back to normal and ready for another day.

I've gone back to drinking creamer in my coffee every day, not just weekends.  I can do black coffee, its just not my favorite.  I know I shouldn't have all those additives, fake flavors and sugar but they sure do make my cuppa taste great.  Chemicals for the win!

I spy a small wet bird taking shelter from the rain on a palmetto at the hospital, but getting wet anyway.  Come on rain!  We sure could use all we can get of it in Central Texas.  Its supposed to rain through Saturday and it feels a bit more Fall-like outside.

Sometimes getting off early means I get to enjoy dinner while it is still hot out of the crockpot!  This was Sticky Chicky, rice, and broccoli with carrots.  On a rainy evening it sure hit the spot. 

This Sunday we will be dog-sitting Teddy this weekend and I am also off on Monday!  So maybe Hubby and I will go, see, and do.  Hooray for September - the month I always think kicks off Fall and birthday season for the Cannary family.  Starting with The Girl on the 12th!

Gina

Weekend re-cap: Highlands, Save The World, Suds Monkey, Bell Springs

The Girl was coming in for a week-long visit on Saturday afternoon, so Hubby and I decided to head to Highlands on Friday night after I got home from work.  The plan was to get up early and get finished with the trim inside of the barn.   

 We spent about 7 hours on it and it is still not finished.  It was so hot out - 103 - so we ran the A/C the whole time and it struggled to keep up with us going back and forth to the outside.  We will call it "done for now" after we finish the trim, caulk the seams, and paint.  It will be a cute and comfy little  efficiency apartment when we're done.

 

 We got cleaned up, picked up some tacos, and headed to Save The World.

There were several couples there, but no families with kids, and it was nowhere near as busy as it usually is this time of year. On Sunday I got some errands done and Hubby and I had lunch at home, playing cards, listening to music, and snacking on crawfish sushi rolls which were pretty tasty.  The Girl was busy with other plans, so he and I headed to Dripping Springs for some pizza at Suds Monkey mid-afternoon.

 The garlic knots and salad with fresh shaved parmesan were wonderful!

This place is a hole in the wall, for sure, but its our new favorite pizza place and they have good beer and both times we went, they were doing a brisk business.  

We decided it was too early to go home, so we swung by Bell Springs to see if they were open.  We used to be wine club members here and have always enjoyed their wines.  It was hot out, but we (and quite a few others) were safely distancing under the cedars, enjoying the afternoon.  

Then we headed home and watched a bit of TV before finally calling it a day.   

Gina

Slightly Empty Nest Menu #54

By the time I find a space to park at the parking garage most mornings, this is the view I get.

Monday - Chicken Taco Salads with homemade pico de gallo and avocado {The Girl will be at our house this week, order my produce box}
Tuesday - Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers, squash
Wednesday - Beefy Eggplant Parm, green beans
Thursday - Sticky Chicky, rice, broccoli
Friday - Turkey Stir Fry with carrot and snap peas over rice noodles
Saturday - Burger Patty, mashed potatoes, pork and beans (Hubby's all-time-requests-it-every-chance-he-gets-because-it-reminds-him-of-college meal {babysitting Teddy for The Girl!}
Sunday - take-out!

Hello, September!

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #53

One year of Empty Nest menus in the books.  Well, sometimes they were less than empty, but Hubby and I had a huge year of change with the baby going off to college!

Monday - Pork Chops with onion gravy, chard, garlic toast {order my produce box}
Tuesday - Greek Chicken Salads with spinach,bell pepper, green onion, tomato, avocado
Wednesday - One Pot Taco Spaghetti, squash {off - visiting my mother}
Thursday - Salmon, green beans, (freezer) corn casserole
Friday - Orange Dijon Chicken Bites, carrots, seasoned rice {payday, The Girl is back in town}
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - eat out
Dessert this week is Wacky Cake

Gina

5 thing Friday - Teddy, Cheeseburger Salad, table, summer, Christmas gifts

The Girl had been super worried about a couple of "bumps" she found on Teddy's paw.  Of course she started googling it like crazy and it made her upset to think it might be doggie cancer and he would lose a leg and yada yada yada imagination overload.  I feel like her initial concerns are valid, and she should definitely ask her vet, but you can't let your imagination run wild and make you mental.  Solid advice from a parent of four humans.

Turns out it was nothing to obsess over. 

 Cheeseburger salad made with chopped up leftover cheeseburger patties, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and onion.  Very tasty.  I like mine with bleu cheese dressing!

I never blogged about the little table project because like so many projects such as this, I was over it before I was actually done with it.  We had to shorten the legs, jig them some pegs to reassemble, fill worm holes, sand, paint, put felt pads on the bottoms of the legs.  I opted with some paint I already had.  At least there is a space here to set your coffee down (instead of the chair arms) which is the reason I bought it.

 Creative tying on of a 10 ft piece of trim for that never-ending project in the barn.  I am happy to report it made it through 100+ degree temp day in a one hour trip to Highlands.

Firstborn's girlfriend has this very cute 4 year old!  I "stole" some of her pics off Facebook to make a freebie memory photo game for Christmas because I am sneaky like that.  I have already started planning the holidays, and buying gifts here and there because focusing on some happy times ahead is taking the sting out of this summer.

Gina

A perfect storm

The pandemic has been hard on college students as well as the rest of us.  Maybe more so for them than us old-timers who can roll a little bit more with the punches - we've been punched before.  Twenty-one year olds are just learning how to be independent and navigate the world, then it goes all wonky.

Bubbie has been in San Marcos since a couple of weeks after Spring Break.  And he's been mostly isolated as his roomies moved back to their homes or to new apartments for the summer.  Sure, we've texted back and forth and chatted by phone a couple of times, but he's on his own on the daily.

I worried about his state of mind when I learned that he was having a rough time passing a class he was taking, the windows in the Baja refusing to roll down, dozens of spam calls on his phone in a short period of time, and issues with the router he was using for his computer, making it unuseable.

Coming home for a recent weekend was just the ticket, but we didn't know details of all of the troubles until the NEXT weekend, when Hubby told him to just get a good night's sleep, gather his things together, and come home so we could help with these issues before the start of the semester.  I mean, trying to handle things on your own is great and all, but sometimes you need your family to give you a bit of a hand!

And a hug might help!

Bubbie has a loving family who genuinely cares about him and that will help to keep him grounded.  We remind him often that we are "just down the road" and he should never hesitate to call us for help.  Pandemic or no pandemic, a perfect storm of troubles can knock you off balance.  Even for us old-timers.

Gina