Monday, July 24, 2023

Monday menus #30

 Its cicada season!  The hotter it gets, the louder they seem.

Monday - kitchen closed - I will likely eat cereal
Tuesday - Taco Salads (Beef Taco Rio meat, romaine, avocado, bell pepper, tomato, cheese)
Wednesday - Buffalo Chicken Penne Pasta, zucchini {on call overnight}
Thursday - Tilapia, skillet squash, spinach, 
Friday - Crockpot BBQ Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, peas {move some of Bubbie's college stuff home}
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed - cereal it is


Gina

Friday, July 21, 2023

5 thing Friday - guitar store, closing, car titles, happy hour, supplements

Update from last week: I did sell that guitar and mandolin.
It took over an hour and I spent that entire time standing at this counter, listening to very loud music of all kinds while the (new?) music store employee exhaustively looked up info on line, examining the instruments several times and finally calling over the manager to help him.  Meanwhile, people kept lining up behind me, so there was more than one annoyed person standing there.
Glad that's over.
Scout came with me to Highlands for the last time.  We gathered a few things up then said goodbye to it.  Closing was a couple of days later and went smoothly, which was a blessing as the days leading up to it were filled with me rushing to get this document or that, faxing things, jumping through hoops, crying.  What an absolute ordeal.
One of frogs I swallowed this week was getting all four vehicle titles put in my name.  But there was a slight snag with each one and I had to produce court documents yet again.  I was also told I had to get new plates for the truck as they were radio operator vanity plates with Mark's call sign.  It took an hour standing at a very nice lady's window, filling out forms, signing things, paying $200 for three of the four and I still am not done because Bubbie did not yet have the emissions test done on the Baja so I could not pay the overdue registration tags and get it put into my name. Deep breaths. It will get done. Eventually.
On the bright side: there was little wait for me when I got there, but a considerably full waiting area when I left.  I went promptly home and layed on my couch for an hour.  Its so hot here, you don't feel like doing much else.
Yesterday's happy hour was courtesy of an $11 bottle of Becker Viognier, some assorted crackers I already had, and this nub of Sartori Bellavitano Merlot cheese for $1.53 at the HEB deli counter.  A nice cool and calm glass of wine with cheese and crackers mid afternoon is a beautiful snack.
Seems like the older I get, the more pills I have to swallow.  This little IKEA bowl holds my supplements and vitamins, which I am trying to get better about taking daily.  I'm not 100% sold on the hair vitamins and the Ashwaganda chews, so when those run out, I'm scaling back to calcium chews and fish oil and calling it good.  Have a good weekend!


Gina

Monday, July 17, 2023

Monday menus #29

Mark at Mt. Bonnell on our 35th anniversary

Monday - Chicken Salad with apples and celery on crackers {lots of errands to do today!}
Tuesday - Garlic Green Bean and Shrimp Bowl {going to Highlands for the last time}
Wednesday - Skillet Tilapia, (freezer) Fettucine Alfredo, Honey Carrots {on-call overnight}
Thursday - Chicken and Chickpea Salads (romaine, chicken, chickpeas, mint, yellow bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, and lemon vinaigrette) {closing on sale of Highlands}
Friday - BLT Bolillos with garlicy mayo and avocado, melon slices
Saturday and Sunday* - kitchen closed


Gina


*incidentally, next Sunday makes 2 years since Mark has been gone, almost 7 years since we bought Highlands.  

Friday, July 14, 2023

5 thing Friday - door spiff, summer dinner, reading, guitars. pie

In addition to painting the back door, I also replaced the door sweep on the screen door.  There's still a small gap, but compared to the way it was before, I'm OK with it because it looks and functions better, even with the gap.
The entire screen door was wiped down as well.  A cleaning project I never really think about.
I am loving summer dinner salads of all kinds.  This one had romaine, olives, cucumber, avocado, cut up chicken strips, croutons, and a drizzle of bleu cheese dressing.  Super easy, cool, maybe nutritious.
My latest Goodwill run netted me two books to read.  It was suggested to me that I go back and re-read all the books I had on grieving.  Well, oops, I have already donated those.  Lucky for me there are resources on-line.  This site is one of my favorites.
Long story short: Bubbie will soon be home from college for a bit.  Since his room and closet had become something of a storage area, I cleaned it up, moving the black and white chair into The Lounge (aka my office) and I now have a cozy place to sit and read or stitch.  Or drink my morning coffee.  Or talk to the counselor on the phone. Or listen to podcasts.
Two of the items I removed from Bubbie's closet were Mark's mandolin and a folk guitar.  I have an appointment this morning at a music store to see about selling them. Mark picked up new hobbies on the regular and sometimes only for a hot minute.   They are in mint condition and belong in the hands of someone who will use them.
I relaxed my "no oven" rule because I was craving pie!

Coconut Pie
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 can evaporated milk
1/2 stick very soft butter
1/2 t. vanilla
dash salt
4 oz. grated coconut
Mix it all and pour into an unbaked pie shell, 350 for about an hour, but check around the 50 minute mark.  Cool, store in the fridge.
Happy weekend,


Gina

Monday, July 10, 2023

Monday menus #28

 The buyer for Highlands is also interested in the trailer and the canoe.
This is a load off my mind as trying to learn to hook up a trailer, drive it down the gravel drive and make the sharp turn to the right, then get it to a place I could park it to sell it?  That was going to present a challenge. 

Monday - (kitchen closed)
Tuesday - Shake and Bake (homemade) Chicken, seasoned baby potatoes, broccoli {visit Bubbie in San Marcos}
Wednesday - Beef Tacos, street corn {checking on Highlands}
Thursday - Veggie Stir Fry/Lo Mein {going to check on my mother, pick up groceries, go get my car inspected}
Friday - Pan Fried Pork Chops, yellow squash, butter beans {yardwork, might go get a pedicure!, meal prep}
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Heavier than it looks.


Gina

Friday, July 7, 2023

Little project: painting the back door

On my list of projects was giving the back door a fresh coat of paint.  Years ago, Mark painted it from builder basic white to a color called Otter Creek.  The closest I could get to that was this pretty emerald green called Dark Everglade.  I love pretty much all shades of green, and this one is fairly 90's, but do colors ever go out of style?  I don't think so.
I used my scrub daddy sponge to clean it, rinsed it well, then took some of the existing gloss down using fine steel wool.  I used painters tape to get clean lines around the window frame, and I removed the hardware.  I also gave the window pane frame a coat of cream paint to freshen it up.  Painting was the shortest part of the project, time-wise.  {I do still need to get new weatherstripping for the metal slat at the bottom of the screen door.}
Cleaning the hardware with Brasso wasn't that time-consuming, either but getting it all back on properly?  Very challenging.  It took me over an hour and involved WD40, but the lock and door knob work better than ever.  And I am proud of myself for getting one more small project crossed off the list!
And I like it so much against the red brick - which makes me think it would be a great color for the front door, too!



Gina

Monday, July 3, 2023

Monday menus #27

Lately work is kicking my rear.   I worked 12 hour shifts Saturday through Tuesday, then took call Wednesday morning, worked 8:30-11 pm, then took overnight call until 7 am.  Back on call Friday from 4:30 pm to 7 am Saturday, worked 12 hours shifts Saturday, Sunday, and today plus scheduled to work an 8 hour shift on Tuesday, back on overnight call Wednesday.
All my scrubs are clean so there's that!
"The plan" was to go part-time, but it isn't really working out that way.

Monday - kitchen closed
Tuesday - I work until 9 p.m. today, so kitchen still closed!
Wednesday - Crockpot Chicken Tacos, pico de gallo and shredded cheese, borracho beans {painting the back door today, on call overnight}
Thursday - Dr. Martin's Mix, corn
Friday - Roast Beef Subs with sliced tomato, purple onion, provolone, creamy horseradish sauce {might go see my mother, change air filters}
Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed (and I'm going to buy two HEB Meal Simple meals for dinners)


Gina