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
Hello, friends! How are you doing today? It’s 86 degrees here…in February! That makes me happy. We have a few cooler days later this week and I’m sure we’ll have at least one more cold snap before Easter. But Spring is on it’s way and my soul rejoices.
MENU:
Monday…
- spaghetti & meatballs
- mixed vegetables
- salad
- garlic bread sticks
Tuesday…
- out to dinner with friends
Wednesday…
- chicken & rice
- broccoli
- salad
- peaches
Thursday…
- Mediterranean Turkey Skillet (with added veggies)
- pita bread
Friday…
- BBQ chicken
- mashed potatoes
- stuffing
- corn on the cob
- biscuits
Saturday…
- leftovers
Sunday…
- breakfast casserole
- fruit
- orange rolls
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
Monday…
I picked up my grocery order and a few things at Braum’s. My mom and I were both out of the lemon scented foaming hand soap we like in our kitchens so I went to Bath and Body Works to get us each a bottle. I realized after it was rung up that I should have bought five bottles and taken advantage of that special pricing. Ah, well. Next time!
I then stopped by Lisa’s house to pick up the delicious chocolate chip muffins she made for Mom, as well as a few for us. So good!
I wrote the “This Week With Dee” blog post.
For dinner we had bbq chicken sandwiches, fries and coleslaw. I had put the chicken in the slow cooker before I went to town. I really need to make a point of using the slow cooker more often. It’s so nice to have dinner ready with so little fuss. After dinner, I sent David and Chris on their way to watch a James Bond movie at Chris’ house and I cleaned the kitchen myself. David said he would return the favor on Thursday when I had plans to watch a movie with Chris. Fair enough!
Tuesday…
I cooked my mom’s favorite Golden Touch Beans. I tried to make candied carrots for her but got distracted doing something else and let them burn. Oops. I also made her a really tasty chicken pot pie-inspired casserole. I made a thick white sauce, well-seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt and chicken bouillon powder. I added leftover shredded BBQ chicken from Monday night and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. I put this mixture in a greased casserole dish and topped it with canned biscuits which I had cut into 4 pieces each. When almost done, I sprinkled the top with shredded cheese and popped it back in the oven until melted. I portioned this out into several freezer containers which I labeled for her. I tasted it first and it was really good. I’d definitely make this again and Mom loved it.
I took the green beans, casserole and the groceries I had bought for her Monday to my mom’s. When I got home I made tacos for our dinner.
I also washed our sheets and remade the bed, ironed a few dresses, did a couple more loads of laundry, ordered prescription refills and worked on some email catchup.
Wednesday…
I had a Zoom call, picked up my prescriptions, and did more laundry. I had brought all the linens from my grandmother’s mobile home to my house in order to make sure everything was freshly washed before donating them. I think I did a dozen loads all together, in addition to our usual 1-2 loads a day. Whew! I’m just grateful for a large capacity washer.
For dinner I made stir fried veggies with a can of chicken and a drained can of pineapple chunks. I served this with Rice-a-Roni stir fry rice and frozen wontons that I baked in the oven. It was so good!
Thursday…
I had a bloggers Zoom call this afternoon and did the usual household chores. This was movie night with Chris and David had said he would do the kitchen cleanup. I was just starting to put rice in the rice cooker when he kind of jokingly asked how many pots and pans this dinner was going to require. He then offered to pick up Chinese food – ha! I put the rice away and was happy to postpone that meal.
Chris and I watched “Holiday” starring Cary Grant and Kathryn Hepburn. I had never seen this one before but I loved it! Definitely worth a watch.
Holiday
Friday…
I was pretty tired so mostly just did the basic housework and necessary administrative work for my blog. I did, however, cook a nice dinner. You know, that one I had planned to cook on Thursday? Ha!
A friend had mentioned making Japanese curry recently and I had never heard of that. I’ve made a few kinds of Indian curry though. I found the curry cubes on Amazon and sent for some:
Golden Curry
I floured and seasoned the stew meat then browned it in hot oil in my Dutch oven. I added broth and let it cook in the oven until tender. I added onion, peeled and cut up potatoes and carrots and more broth. When the vegetables were tender I removed from the oven and stirred in the curry cube. I served it over hot rice along with toasted pita bread and chilled apricots. It was extremely good and something I’ll definitely make again. The box shown above has enough cubes for 5 batches of curry. I put the remaining cubes in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.
Saturday…
David left early this day to be on hand when Grandma’s mobile home was being moved. Other than the movers showing up half an hour early, it went smoothly and took far less time than I had anticipated. After he got home and had lunch, he went out to work on his tractor. He’s got it running and is now repainting it.
I did more laundry and then hauled all the bags of washed linens to my car so I could take them to the donation center Monday. I also did a room-by-room list of home improvements we would like to do. I’m going to have David look at it to see if there is anything I missed and then we are going to estimate time and cost for each item. We will then make a prioritized list and begin getting some things done.
I got the idea of making a list of all the grocery items my mom usually wants as well as household items and toiletries. I used large print so it would be easy for her to read and left space for other items she might think of. Now she can just look at the list and decide what she needs each week. It has become difficult for her to remember everything on her own or to plan ahead. Hopefully this will help her.
Late afternoon, Mom called to ask if any of us were going to town. She was craving a chicken quesadilla from Taco Mayo. Ever since she had Covid in December of 2021 her sense of smell and taste has been off. It has very gradually returned to a certain degree but for a long time nothing tasted good to her and she had gotten very thin. Several months ago I suggested the chicken quesadilla and she really likes these. I wasn’t planning to go to town but knew that if I did, she would have enough for a second portion on Sunday. It was early for our dinner but I decided that since I was there anyway to go ahead and get dinner for us, as well. I also got Mom a chocolate shake from Braum’s, something else I know she likes. After I delivered her food I came home and we had an early dinner.
Later that evening David and I had our “Cocktails and The O.C.” ritual. We have missed it the past few Fridays but since we had nothing else going on we watched a couple of episodes.
Sunday…
I washed the sheets and remade the bed. I wrote out our menu for the week and called my mom to get her grocery order. Yay – the printed grocery list worked great for her! I ordered the groceries to pick up Monday. David and I took a walk together along with several of the cats.
I cleared off the drafting table in my office and got it set up as a coloring station (there is a picture further down in this post). I also tidied my desk and emptied the trash. It’s really important to me to have a tidy office to work in. Does David feel the same way about his home office? Nope. 😉
Earlier Sunday morning David went over to Matt and Joy’s house to do the last bit on the porch railings he was building for them. Charlotte “helped” him. Here she is wearing Grampa’s work gloves and holding a level. She loved the level so much that David gave it to her to keep.
I had hoped we would get to bed early enough to watch an episode of “The Gilded Age” but by the time I had everything done that I needed to do, it was 11 p.m. We just watched an episode of “Dennis the Menace” and called it a night.
THIS WEEK
Here is a picture I took of our daffodils this morning. They have spread so much since we removed a tree that had died. I guess the added sunshine has been great for them.
Earlier today I picked up my grocery order. I’ve gotten acquainted with the woman who brings the groceries to my car each week and today she told me that her two year old grandson is in Children’s Hospital with a serious case of e-coli. Please keep little Sebastian in your thoughts, please.
After I picked up the groceries I dropped off the bags of linens at the Re-Use Center. I told the man who brought the cart to my car what was in the bags and that everything was freshly laundered. He was so grateful. He said lots of people bring stuff unwashed. I can’t imagine…
I’ll be making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner this evening and will take some to my mom, along with her groceries.
I think David and Chris will be watching a movie together again. At least, that’s the routine we are trying to re-implement. I might watch a movie myself while they are at Chris’ house.
I had a 90 minute Zoom call this afternoon.
David and I are meeting friends for dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant tomorrow evening. We like to take advantage of nice weather so we can enjoy a meal out on their patio. David has scheduled an oil change and maintenance for his truck tomorrow morning. I’ll follow him in so he can just drop off the truck. We’ll pick it up later.
I have a Zoom call on Wednesday and Chris and I have our movie night on Thursday.
One thing I’d like to accomplish this week is a Spring cleaning plan.
WORK
The new month begins on Friday so I’ve got two blog posts to write this week – the book club post and the art appreciation post. I also need to choose a March goal and keep working on my email inbox.
READING
Currently reading:
I finished the audiobook, Mulberry Lane Babies. I am now on the fourth book in the series, New Arrivals at Mulberry Lane.
Other books ongoing…
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady ~ Edith Holden
An Incomplete Education ~ Judy Jones and William Wilson
I’m reading this month’s LWD Book Club selection, Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen. I got a couple more chapters read this past week but really need to set aside more reading time.
David and I finished Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. It was about 22 hours long so that feels like an accomplishment!
I think our next Audible book will be Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure.
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
My self care goal for this past week was to set up a coloring station in my office. And here it is!:
Here are a few things I bought for it:
My goal this week is to use this coloring station every day. I’d also like to take my afternoon tea on the front porch on warm afternoons. Wednesday and Thursday will only be in the low 50s but the rest of the week will be warm.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I want to keep taking outdoor walks with David each day. I’m also going to begin implementing a bit of weight training. We have a weight machine but none of us has used it in a long time. Time to put it to use!
FUN ACTIVITIES
Dinner with friends on Tuesday, movie night with Chris on Thursday, The O.C. and Cocktails on Friday, and watch The Gilded Age on Sunday night. I’d like to come up with a way to “romanticize” our Sunday night viewing of The Gilded Age. Maybe a pot of tea and a homemade dessert to enjoy with it?
HABIT OF THE MONTH (FEBRUARY)
The LWD challenge for February has been to “Romanticize Your Life”. Each day, look for at least one way to make the ordinary special. We just have a few days left of the month and it’s not too late to join in.
If you aren’t already in the 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:
~~~~~
What’s on your plan for the week ahead? Home tasks? Menu? Fun? What are you reading?
You may also enjoy…
Celebrate Spring! ~ 15 Ways to Enjoy the Season
We’re having spaghetti and meatballs tonight, too! Instant Pot!
Do you do the pasta and sauce together in the Instant Pot?
Unfortunately I have had a 5 week urinary tract infection and this is a round of antibiotics. So, maybe I can do some coloring and embroidery! Spring is around the bend so the sunshine will be here.
Wow, 5 weeks is a long time. Hope this round of antibiotics works.
We’re getting 9 inches of snow tomorrow, so making chili in the crockpot!
Then our usual Lentan Friday night fish fry at a local restaurant.
That’s a lot of snow! It’s in the 80s here today but is going to drop to low 50s tomorrow. But I can’t complain – it IS still winter. Enjoy your chili!
It’s the Paula Deen “Courage Chili” recipe (can be found online) – highly recommend!
Thanks!