This Week With Dee ~ Menu, Home Tasks & More (10/2/23)

This Week With Dee – where I share our menu, my planned home tasks for the week, what I’m reading, self care plans and more. I hope it will give you some ideas for planning your own week or at least a glimpse of one homemaker’s life.

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THIS WEEK WITH DEE

Let’s kick of a new week with a steaming cup of tea or coffee and some jazz, shall we?

 

 

MENU:

Monday…

I have a few leftovers that I’ll be using to make a tasty soup. I’ll also make some cheesy dumplings to add during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking. I have a bag of mandarins in the fridge that I want to encourage us all to eat. As we head into fall/winter I think it’s a good idea to include a lot of foods high in vitamin C. 

• homemade soup with cheesy dumplings
• chilled mandarins

Tuesday…

I’ll use Mexican seasonings in the Lentil Rice Casserole and we’ll spoon it into fried corn tortillas. We will top these with lettuce, tomato, green onions, cheese and sour cream.

• Lentil Rice Casserole in tacos
• salad

Wednesday…

I got a good deal on a big bag of frozen shrimp recently. These happen to be cooked so it will just take a few minutes to cook them in a honey garlic sauce. 

• honey garlic shrimp
• rice
• broccoli in cheese sauce

Thursday…

I bought a case of canned chickpeas not long ago so I’m looking for new recipes to use them. I found a couple of ideas that I’ll combine. If it turns out well I’ll share it here on the blog. 

• baked chickpeas and veggies
• couscous or rice
• wilted spinach

Friday…

Back when my daughter and son-in-law were dating I used to make Cajun Chicken Alfredo whenever he was over for dinner because he loved it so much. I haven’t made it in a long time, though. It’s time to do so!

• Cajun Chicken Alfredo
• mixed veggies
• salad
• garlic bread sticks

Saturday…

I suspect we’ll have some leftovers to use up or we’ll get take-out. The cook needs a night off once in awhile, right?

• leftovers

Sunday…

I didn’t end up making this meal last week so here it is again. 

• Eggs Florentine
• English muffins
• roasted potatoes
• fruit salad

 

IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK

We had a Zoom meeting for our nonprofit last Tuesday. The meeting portion was short but we all enjoyed a nice chat, too.

Wednesday morning we took the three female kittens to be spayed. I felt so sorry for them and for the two males left behind. I kept wishing I could explain to them what was going on and that we’d be back to get them. 

On Thursday I picked up my prescriptions and met my mom to give her something I had ordered for her. Then at about 9:30 p.m. we did a “donut run”. Our local donut shop opens at 9:30 p.m. which seems weird to me but that’s the way it’s always been. Our little granddaughter, Charlotte LOVES donuts and fortunately is a night owl, too. We picked up donuts for the whole family, first dropping some off at our daughter and son-in-law’s house, then to Charlotte’s. She ate a donut hole and then talked her grandpa into a ride in his pickup. It didn’t take much persuading. 😉 It was around 11 p.m. when we got home so our son opted to save his for the next day. However, I wasn’t about to let a freshly baked donut wait that long. Who needs sleep?

Friday nights are our “Cocktails and The O.C.” night and it has quickly become a much-anticipated weekly routine. 

This weekend David did some minor plumbing work at Matt and Joy’s house. Charlotte stood there watching and repeating “Grampa, you fixing sinks?” over and over. She also got to go to Home Depot with “Grampa”:

I cleaned the storm door, dusted and vacuumed the entry hall, dusted and vacuumed the family room and put up some fall/Halloween decorations. I haven’t decided if I’ll do more yet. We’ll see…

 

THIS WEEK

We are in Zone 1 this week which includes the entrance, front porch and dining room, according to The FlyLady. We don’t have a separate dining room so I may give the library some extra attention. I do, however, really want to focus on the front porch. I plan to pick up some mums, pansies and pumpkins. We have an iron table with four chairs on the porch and I need to wash the cushions on the chairs. The cats love to nap on them so they get dirty and hairy. I’d like to put something decorative on the table. Before we had the kittens I usually put a plant there but I feel pretty certain they would knock it off. Maybe a large pumpkin? 

I have one Zoom call this week and my Azure Standard order will arrive Thursday afternoon in town. I ordered some flour, brown sugar, oil, molasses, and raisins for baking this fall. I also ordered carrots, celery and juice grade apples. I had bought myself a juicer for my birthday last year and want to use it regularly, especially during cold/flu/Covid season. I figure it’s a good way to get some extra vitamins and minerals into our diet. 

I don’t know if I’ll get to it this week or not but I want to make a sourdough starter. I bought glass jars for this purpose:

 

WORK

I just did the three beginning-of-the-month posts:

LWD Book Club ~ The Echo of Old Books
LWD Art Appreciation ~ October
Vintage Menu Plans ~ October

So I’m not sure if I’ll write any more blog posts this week. I do, however, still need to write the October newsletter. That will be sent tomorrow. 

I do have a new blog series I plan to begin this month. I will do a monthly post in which I share a dozen dinners we’ve had recently. Hopefully there will be photos of each. I’ll share links to recipes where applicable. I know we all can easily get into a rut with meals and I find it helpful to hear what others are having for dinner in order to get some inspiration. Because I already have three monthly posts that I do at the beginning, I’ve decided this series will be posted on or around the 15th of each month. 

 

 

READING

I finished The Well-Lived Life, last month’s LWD Book Club selection. It was quite good. Hearing the perspective of a woman over 100 years old was inspiring. 

I am significantly behind on my Goodreads 2023 reading goals. My goal is 50 books for the year and I’ve only read 29 so far. I really need to take it up a notch! Here is a video I watched last night that has some good suggestions about how to read more:

I think my favorite suggestion is to make a ritual out of reading. I’ll be working on that!
 

If you don’t already have Audible, you can get a free trial here. We’ve definitely been enjoying it on long drives. 

 

 

 

SELF CARE

I didn’t get around to coloring my hair this weekend so that is still on my list. I also need to polish my fingernails. They are thin and fragile so I need to get some clear, strengthening polish on them. 

 

HEALTH & FITNESS

Fortunately my hip is feeling better (not great, but better) so I’m getting back into my daily walks. I did 20 minutes this morning and actually enjoyed it. The temperature was quite nice and I had 5 kittens who joined me as I set off around our large circle drive. They soon went off on their own pursuits but it was so cute that they at least started on my walk. 

 

FUN ACTIVITIES

One of my readers (Karla, I’m talking about you!) mentioned in the comments of another blog we both read that she is a member of our state’s historical society which entitles her to free admission to historical museums and other sites in the state. I checked into it and am now a member, myself. It’s only $50 for an annual family membership and there are 24 sites included. I figure that David and I can take some day trips and check out a bunch of these. We are looking for fun things to do that won’t be crowded and this sounds perfect. Our schedules are fairly flexible so I figure if we go during the week we’ll likely have most of these sites to ourselves. 

 

 

HABIT OF THE MONTH (OCTOBER)

 

The LWD October Challenge is daily meditation or prayer. I believe we all need to spend some time being still and quiet each day. 

 

If you aren’t already in the LWD Facebook group, here is the link:

LIFE WITH DEE

I’d love to see pictures of your challenge so feel free to share them in the group or on Instagram and tag me:

LWD Instagram

 

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What’s on your plan for the week ahead? Home tasks? Menu? Fun? What are you reading?

 

You may also enjoy…

Creating a Fall Bucket List

Saving Money Like Grandma ~ 10 Frugal Tips