Monday menus #42

 Last week's creamy pumpkin soup was fantastic.  I added a touch of curry powder to it and served it with bacon and cheese quesadillas.

The boys ate only one bowl of it, so I am counting on it being freezer storage friendly!

Monday - Crockpot Beef Stew {work until 8:30 p.m.}

Tuesday - Tilapia, fresh green beans with apple dressing {pick up groceries, make phone calls from my desk in the a.m.}

Wednesday - Grilled Chicken, brussels sprouts, twice baked potato {seal bathroom #1's grout}

Thursday - Sausage Beanie Wienie, corn, garlic toast {replace the patio lights, buy a Christmas tree for my bedroom}

Friday - Bruschetta Meatloaf, leftover veggies, buttery rice {possibly check on Mom's house}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed {work until 8:30 p.m.}

Gina

5 thing Friday - desk work, veggies, books, anniversary lunch, tile floor

 My office and craft room, aka The Lounge, has been quite the opposite of a creative and calm space lately.  I asked, and was granted, permission to continue tying up some loose ends for mom.

Hooray for this big table to spread out on, a shredder, and the free time to do it in on my days off.

I have whittled it all down to file folders in that basket of things on top.   But each file has something I need to address. I might as well tackle it so we can get closer to probate. 

Two hours of office work on Tuesday netted me several legal size envelopes to mail.  It was dreary outside, adding to the blah of the day.

Do you ever purchase almost past date veggies to cook that very day?  Recently I pan sauteed some shrimp, along with some new potatoes and asparagus that were marked down.  It was delicious.  I remember thinking that we were living pretty large whenever my mother fixed us shrimp or crab when I was growing up. 

A quiet day led me to thrifting where I found several books to read.  I killed at least an hour of time wandering around a tiny Goodwill that I had never noticed before in a strip center near HEB.  The Mitch Albom one is a repeat for me, and I have read many Maeve Binchey novels.

Booth for one, anniversary day.

Mark and I used to love to eat at Jack Allen's kitchen - in fact, one of our last anniversary dinners was there, maybe the same booth I sat in for lunch on Thursday of last week.  I enjoyed a grilled chicken salad with fig, pear, bleu cheese, and champagne dressing.  I toasted to what would have been our 38th anniversary with my favorite, a Mexican Martini.  And I didn't cry, just enjoyed my lunch.

The tiling of the bathrooms has left me feeling so frustrated.  Its been back and forth with trying to get it scheduled since JUNE.  As of this writing it is mid-project, and I need this bathroom done so we can move on to the next one.  I try really hard to go with the flow, but sometimes I wonder if I'm not swimming against the current.

Gina

Monday menus #41

 I read a recent blog post that had to do with basically our homes not having to look magazine worthy all of the time.  While I agree with that as a practicality for homes that have kids and pets and people working jobs and family coming and going and the general craziness life brings.

Most days, this is what my home looks like.  Mostly because my kids are grown. But, a clean and tidy home has always been a source of calm for me in an un-calm world.

Monday - Sweet BBQ Chicken Salads (romaine, avocado, tomatoes, grated cheddar, purple onion, seasoned chicken breast strips)

Tuesday - Sloppy Joes, chips, pickles {getting the first bathroom tiled}

Wednesday - Mexican Pork Chops, black beans with pico, yellow squash

Thursday - Chicken and Stuffing Bake, green beans

Friday - Lasagna, salad, garlic bread {lunch with The Girl}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

5 thing Friday - trees, work shoes, latte, magazines, flowers

So much random here.

Friday before last the trees around my roof were trimmed.

All because the new homeowners insurance company, that was suggested to me by my insurance agent, decided the trees were shading the house a bit much.  And expensive tree pruning wasn't exactly in my budget.

If I sound annoyed by that, just know that I was.  However, I wasn't sad that less than 24 hours later, none of my tree limbs fell on the roof during a crazy thunderstorm that featured lots of wind.  And I got zero hail.  So silver linings and all.

I looked down at my work shoes and thought, hmmm...something is wrong here.

Using some credits and a sale, I ordered another pair. 

My work shoes are from Alegria and they have saved my feet from plantar fasciitis, which I always struggled with when I wore tennis shoes to work.  I can wear these for 12 hours, out of the box.

I should have showed a pic of the end result of me brewing pumpkin spice coffee over the rest of a can of whipped cream and a little sugar.  You'll just have to imagine that it worked out great and I had a delightful cuppa pumpkin spice latte.

I'm not exaggerating to say that I have brought home mountains of papers and mail from my mom's house.  I can barely think when I am there, so I bring it home to sort, file, shred, recycle.  The woman must've had 20 magazine subscriptions on every topic you can imagine: gardening, cooking, TV guides, archeology, farming, commentary, politics, short stories, travel, quilting, and more.  Not to mention she got so. much. junk. mail.  And I have had to sort through all of this giant haystack looking for bills, important papers, bank statements.  It makes me feel a little cray.

I put together a random bouquet for my mother's service.  Just something from me to her.  It featured 8 roses (one for each of her kids) and had a strange color combo - one that didn't work with the green ribbon I had on hand.  The Girl to the rescue with some wired burlap that was country chic.

I already miss my mother so much.

Gina 

Monday menus #40

 What a blur these past few days have been.  This is the view as I drove bright and early to Brenham on Friday to retrieve the dress my mother wanted to be buried in, clean out her kitchen, and get the locks on her doors re-keyed.

I had already made out my menu and started this post, and I will carry on cooking at home.  But I don't really feel like it.  Last week was so terrible.  This week is starting off sad.  Next week will be better.

Monday - kitchen closed {Mom's funeral}

Tuesday - Chipotle Taco Bowls with creamy avocado rice

Wednesday - Chicken in a Hurry, mashed potatoes, bbq beans

Thursday - Creamy Pumpkin Soup, garlic toast

Friday - Turkey Scampi over Pasta, honey carrots

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed {back to work}

Gina

Monday menus #38

When I worked at the larger hospital, I used to like to pause and take a photo at the end of the day.  I was almost always at the top of a 6 floor parking garage and could look out over downtown Austin.  Those days seem so far away to me now.  A lot has happened over the last couple of years, so it all has blurred together.

Nowadays, the view is street level, looking out towards the west around 8:30 p.m.  Sometimes I am rewarded with sunset, sometimes a storm, always a short walk to my car, and much shorter drive home.

I kinda love it.

Monday - Buffalo Chicken Salads with Frank's Red Hot Dressing {Brenham today}

Tuesday - Crockpot Ribs, ranch beans, watermelon {working today}

Wednesday - Broccoli Cheese Soup, garlic toast {on call}

Thursday - I bought some Trader Joe's Autumnal Pasta Sauce so I'm going to experiment with that  {flu shot day}

Friday - Skillet Shrimp, roasted corn and black beans {yardwork}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

5 thing Friday - Fall (or the lack thereof), yards, Frosty, tires, Mom

 The weather here has only eased up the teensiest bit.  Seems like everyone else is like "yay! cooler days!  I'm so happy its Fall!"  Its definitely not Fall here, but the 100 degree temp days are more like 92, so...yay?

In protest of the heat I have placed some apple cinnamon pinecones in an otherwise empty basket in the den.  {goodbye, National Geographic magazine collection}

And to the hanging basket on the front door, I added some Fall-ish sprays. The glass eye pendant is not doing it's job of warding off evil spirits, but I like it, so it stays.

Yesterday I spent two hours mowing, edging, raking, blowing, and etc.  I had not tended to the yards in weeks.  That's what a drought does - makes mowing so much easier.  Today a tree company is coming to do some pruning that the homeowners insurance company is requiring.  This has been a pricey week.

My honest assessment of the pumpkin spice Frosty is that it has a fake nutty pumpkin flavor, a little heavy on the spice, and verrrry sweet.  Did I finish it, though?  Yes I did.  It was my reward for getting the oil changed on my car - a job that's been on my to do list for weeks.

In the "it doesn't take whiskers" category - I fished the air compressor out of the storage bin in the back of my car (thank you to my mother), aired up a completely flat tire, then drove over to Discount Tires for new tires.  Did I mention its been an expensive week?

I am doing my level best to help my sister with my mom and I know I am failing.  I keep repeating to myself: you cannot move mom to your house, you did not create this situation, and you are doing what you can to help.  I am already managing her money and setting things in motion to get some income generated to help her and I have spent hours on the phone with the long term care insurance company, the banks, the financial advisor, and her neighbors.  I have driven to Brenham twice to check on her house and arrange her mail being re-routed, taking out her rotten food and full trashcans, as well as scrubbing her potty and setting off a bug bomb since the roaches seem to be taking over. 

Life hasn't been real fun lately.

I will be so glad when this year is over.

Gina