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
With Halloween fast approaching I thought this would be a fun playlist to listen to while reading “This Week With Dee”.
Hallow’s Eve – A Vintage Music Playlist
I’m going to simplify this weekly post a bit, at least for awhile. Fewer subheadings, more general chit chat. And next week there won’t be one at all as we will be out of town for a few days.
MENU:
Monday…
We didn’t end up doing this meal last week and since David is out of town tonight on business, I figure this is a good choice for Chris and myself (David doesn’t care for salmon).
- salmon
- baked potatoes
- corn
- salad
Tuesday…
We have a meeting at 5 p.m. so an easy, slow cooker meal makes sense. I’ll have the lettuce and tomato washed and cut up, and the cheese grated before I go to the meeting. When we get home all we will need to do is heat up the tortillas.
- Chicken Fajitas (slow cooker)
- flour tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream
- chips & salsa
Wednesday…
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- candied carrots
- biscuits
- salad
Thursday…
Another night when David will be out of town. He will eat fish and chips without complaint but it’s not a favorite. I have just a partial bag of frozen, battered fish which will be just right for Chris and me.
- fish & chips
- Crunchy Broccoli Slaw Salad
Friday…
I’d love to say that I’m planning to make delicious, homemade jambalaya and homemade potato salad but I’m planning to cheat this night. I bought a boxed jambalaya mix to try and have andouille sausage in the freezer. I also bought a container of potato salad today. If I’m feeling up to it I may go ahead and make homemade potato salad but if I just want a super easy, fast meal I’ll use the pre-made.
- jambalaya
- potato salad
- French bread
Saturday…
- leftovers
Sunday…
- out of town
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
I still don’t have all the fall decor up yet but I did change out the decorative pillows in the family room, change the floral swag over the arch in the entry hall and a few other little decor changes. I fully intend to finish this week!
After buying patio furniture and enjoying it one night, we had to pile it all together in the center of the patio in order to move the cars under the cover during a hail storm. David and I got it all set up again on Saturday and hopefully we will enjoy some nice evenings out there in the coming weeks.
David purchased a couple of pieces of art at the auction we recently held and I hung them in the entry hall. I also cleared some clutter that had accumulated in the kitchen.
On Sunday we met up at the park with our “bonus daughter”, her husband and Baby Charlotte (our honorary granddaughter). It was a gorgeous day and we walked all around the park with David pushing the stroller. What a delight!
Afterwards we met up with friends at a local outdoor venue for a late brunch. It was in the mid to high 70s and just perfect to spend time outdoors. We are trying to enjoy as much outdoor time as we can before it gets cold.
THIS WEEK
David left for Kansas City late yesterday afternoon to deal with an employee issue and will be home tomorrow. This afternoon I ran a total of six errands in town, including picking up a few groceries in Braum’s, something I haven’t done since the pandemic began. I really didn’t need a full grocery order so masked up and ran in quickly. It felt rather odd to pick out my own groceries after so long and I was a bit disappointed with the limited quantities of some items. They were completely out of a few things, as well, but I managed to get enough to fill in what I absolutely need this week.
Tomorrow we have a meeting for the board of our nonprofit at the same outdoor venue where we had brunch Sunday. They are only open Thursday through Sunday but the owner is on our board and is opening it for us. It’s supposed to be another nice day and we will be giving the money we raised to Casey, our first crisis fund beneficiary. I’m really excited to be able to do that.
On Wednesday I’m picking up my daughter, Lisa, and we are going to get our flu shots at a drive-through vaccination center. It won’t be nearly as much fun as when we used to do monthly shopping trips together in the city but I’m always happy to see her.
On Friday morning I’m going to do something else that has been rare during the pandemic – I’m getting my hair colored and trimmed. The only other time I’ve done that was back in June before we went to New Orleans for our anniversary. It definitely needs a professional touch!
Next week – Monday through Wednesday – we are going with three other couples on a short excursion to see the fall foliage on Talimena National Scenic Byway. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for years! We have individual cottages rented, as well as having reserved the fire pit, complete with s’mores ingredients, for both nights. It should be lots of fun!
I plan to unplug as much as possible those few days so there won’t be a “This Week” post next Monday. Monday is the first of the month and I do have a new book chosen for the LWD Book Club. I’ll have that post pre-written and scheduled to post on Monday.
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Ultimate Homemaking Bundle Flash Sale
Did you miss the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle earlier this year? It’s back for a flash sale today through Wednesday! If you could use some help and encouragement with your homemaking, this bundle is a great resource and an incredible price.
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READING
I (finally!) finished these three books last week:
La Bella Figura: How to Live, Love and Eat the Italian Way by Kristi Belle
The Housewife is a Writer by Kate Singh
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
Of those three the one I highly recommend is West With Giraffes. I’ve had a special love for giraffes since I was a child and I absolutely loved this book based on a true story.
I’m now reading:
The Midnight Library. It’s the October LWD Book Club selection.
The Honor Girl by Grace Livingston Hill
This one has been on my Kindle for several years and I just felt in the mood to read an old-fashioned story.
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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…
How to Make Your Home Cozy For Fall
Homemaking Basics ~ A Collection of Resources
Sounds like you had a great week last week, and this week looks to be another great one. Nice you got to spend some time with baby Charlotte, and will get to spend some time with Lisa (even if it is for flu shots). Enjoy your weekend… It sounds like wonderful plans.
Last week was one of those weeks where nothing went to plan, and the things that did happen took ten times longer than they should. I’m hoping things go more smoothly this week, since I have several things I need to fit in before the end of the month. So, all being well my week will involve Dad coming over for gaming and dinner Tuesday, a grocery delivery and roleplaying Wednesday, making sure my Fall decorations are up and a vet trip for Lilie to be reevaluated for her pills to get renewed Thursday, pumpkin carving and my Zoom book club Friday, a baking day Saturday, and a Halloween movie day Sunday (I have popcorn at the ready, as well as the pumpkin pie I’ll be making Saturday, and some seasonal tea I got in my tea subscription box, so I’m all set).
I just finished reading “Magefall” (the third book in David Estes’ “Kingfall” series) which I’ve been working on reading for over a week. Then I read two short books: “The Arban and the Saman” by Laurel A. Rockefeller, and “Shrouded” (the sixth book in the “Thor’s Dragon Rider” series by Katrina Cope). After that I picked up another book, which I got so in to I managed to read it in just a couple of days. That book was “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I knew I was likely to enjoy “Magefall” and “Shrouded” since I’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series. “The Arban and the Saman” was pretty good – if you like that kind of thing – but wasn’t amazing. While “Klara And The Sun” was better than I expected it to be, and turned out to be a beautiful and touching story, which I struggled to put down. I haven’t started my next book yet, but I’m hoping I can go through a few more books as well as I went through books this week – and hopefully also with the same level of enjoyment – since I’m incredibly behind on my Goodreads reading challenge, and running out of time to get caught up.
As for my menu:
Monday: maple-mustard tofu, potatoes, carrots, and green beans.
Tuesday: leftovers from Monday.
Wednesday: tofu omelette with chips and peas (I’d normally space tofu meals out a little more, but want something quick and easy, since I won’t have much time between the groceries arriving and the roleplaying session starting).
Thursday: vegetable ragu with rice (since I can throw the ragu in the slowcooker while I’m busy that day).
Friday: leftovers from Thursday.
Saturday: cheese and bean toasties and pumpkin pie.
Sunday: pasta with pumpkin sage sauce.
Sorry about last week – some are just like that, right? Enjoy your Sunday movie night. That sounds fun!
Yes, some weeks are just like that. And, thanks.
I love The Honor Girl! I hope you enjoy it as well. It’s very home-centered. 🙂 Your menu sounds amazing. I usually plan a menu but lately I’ve just been buying a bunch of vegetables at the store and winging it, not even using recipes! I don’t know why, but I need a break from plans occasionally to exercise my improvisational muscles. I’m sure I’ll be back to menus soon.
I’m almost halfway done with The Honor Girl and I truly am enjoying it. As you say, it’s very home-centered and I love that sort of thing.
I look forward to the day I feel comfortable doing all my own grocery shopping again and can pick out whatever veggies look the best! I’ll be winging it next week because we will be out of town through Wednesday. I’ll just figure out the rest of the week on the fly.