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
We don’t have cherry trees here in southeastern Oklahoma but one of these days I’d love to visit a place that does. In the meantime…
MENU:
Monday…
- baked beans with leftover ham from Easter
- corn on the cob
- salad
Tuesday…
I’m trying to do better about adhering to a kidney-friendly diet (I have chronic kidney disease) which means little or no red meat. I’ll cook ground beef for the guys’ tacos and lentils for mine.
- tacos
- chips & salsa
Wednesday…
We all three like the veggie burgers from Aldi, especially on toasted brioche buns. I caramelize onions to go on them, along with all the other usual burger toppings and they are very good.
- veggie burgers on brioche buns
- fries
- homemade coleslaw
Thursday…
Cauliflower is highly recommended for kidney health. Fortunately it’s pretty versatile.
- Cheesy Cauliflower Broccoli Bake
- asparagus
- glazed carrots
Friday…
- turkey tenderloin
- mashed potatoes
- broccoli
- salad
- cranberry sauce
Saturday…
- leftovers
Sunday…
- soup and sandwiches
IN MY HOME:
REVIEW OF LAST WEEK
Monday…
I made the bed, did a couple of loads of laundry, watered houseplants and did dishes.
I should have done it earlier but I mailed Easter cards (hopefully they made it in time!), did daily admin work, wrote a blog post, scheduled some social media and shared something for the LWD March challenge in my Facebook group.
I read, journaled and did a couple of Duolingo lessons but I didn’t get around to watching an episode of The French Chef as I had planned.
For dinner we had spaghetti and meatballs, green beans, salad and garlic toast.
Tuesday…
I had a Zoom call on my calendar for this day but was off by an hour (wrong time zone!). Fortunately it was recorded so I can watch it another time.
I made the bed and did dishes, did the usual daily admin work for my blog, scheduled a bit of social media, read, journaled, did some Duolingo and watched an episode of The French Chef.
We had tacos for dinner which is always a good thing. I was short one corn tortilla so I fried a flour tortilla for one of mine. Still yummy! If I remember correctly, David watched a movie with Chris this night.
Wednesday…
I hadn’t done an order from Aldi in a long time as my mom prefers specific items I can’t get there. But I wanted a spiral ham for Easter which were much less expensive at Aldi. I went ahead and bought a number of other things that I can only get at Aldi or are much cheaper, such as a turkey tenderloin, round steak and the veggie burgers we like. I have my order delivered to Lisa’s house as we are not within the delivery range so we got a chance to chat awhile when I picked up my groceries.
I did the usual home tasks, daily blog admin work, read, journaled and did Duolingo.
For dinner we had pork chops. I recalled my mom used to make them with Shake and Bake which we all liked. But when I saw how expensive a package of Shake and Bake is these days I looked up how to make a homemade version. It’s super easy and I had the ingredients already. I served the pork chops with Stove Top Stuffing, steamed peas, salad, biscuits and sliced apples cooked in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. I cooked extra so I could make two plates for my mom.
Thursday…
Aside from all the usual daily tasks, I went to town with David. The water pump was going out on his truck and he needed to buy one. Since he was going to be out anyway, I rode with him and then we went over to my mom’s. I order quite a few things for her each month on Amazon’s Subscribe and Save which arrived Wednesday. I was so glad David was available to go with me and help carry everything in. It would have taken me at least four trips from the car if I’d had to do it myself.
I also brought her the two plates of food from our dinner the night before.
We had baked potatoes topped with chili, sour cream and grated cheddar for dinner. I served these with broccoli and some of the leftover cooked apples from the night before.
After dinner, Chris and I watched a movie together at his house. I had never heard of this one before – Cluny Brown – but it was delightful!
Friday…
David and Chris were off for Good Friday. I had planned to go to town that morning to buy Easter egg dye and a dozen eggs (the ones I had were brown and I needed white) but my sweet husband did it for me. He was awake early and decided to run to town. He also picked up breakfast sandwiches and donuts for the three of us. I think I’d better keep him!
He and Chris started working on replacing the water pump, something that should have taken about an hour. Unfortunately, a bolt broke off in the process and it turned into a day and a half job. Poor guys.
I did the usual daily household and blog tasks, boiled the dozen eggs, and finished a VERY time-intensive blog post.
I made Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner. I served it over rice with naan bread and chilled apricots.
David and I were both wiped out so we skipped our usual Friday night routine of “Cocktails and The. O.C.”.
Saturday…
David and Chris finished fixing David’s truck. I colored my hair and wrote a blog post.
David and I went to town about 3 p.m., dropped off Easter candy and a card at Lisa and Justin’s house and then picked up Charlotte. We brought her to our house to dye Easter eggs. We did it on the patio and I found Lisa’s artist smock from when she was little for Charlotte to wear to keep dye off her clothes.
I think she was pretty pleased with herself, don’t you think?:
We then let her help us put a Hershey Kiss in each of a couple dozen plastic eggs and David took them outside to hide. When he was done I brought Charlotte out and oh, what a time she had! They were hidden a few times and it was just as much fun for her each time.
She then asked if Grampa would take her to throw rocks in the pond. She’s just about cleared out all the small rocks down there so David had her gather rocks from our gravel driveway, put them in a bag and then walk down to the pond to throw them. The three of us made the journey back and forth three times. It really takes so little to entertain a child. 🙂
What a fun afternoon we all had and how very tired we all were – ha!
Chris had picked up sandwiches from Jimmy John’s for our lunch so we each had the second half for dinner. I was exhausted and still had the Easter meal prep to do so I was grateful not to have to cook dinner, as well.
I baked a cherry chip cake, made mashed potatoes (added sour cream so they would reheat well), green bean casserole (with homemade white sauce, not canned soup), and candied yams.
Sunday…
We haven’t been attending church due to Covid other than for Easter in 2021 after the vaccinations came out and everyone was still required to mask. But I’ve been watching the numbers locally and decided they were low enough to go. David and I sat in the choir loft (the choir doesn’t use it anymore) in our pink masks that I bought to match my Easter dress. David was wearing his pink dress shirt and I had jokingly asked if he wanted a pink mask, too. He said, sure!
We ducked out just before the final hymn was over so we could avoid a crowded narthex. We watched the kids hunt Easter eggs and chatted with people for about half an hour after the service. It was really nice to be able to be there in person rather than watching services online.
I had put the ham in the crockpot before we left for church and I sat out the mashed potatoes, yams and green bean casserole. I asked Chris to put these in the oven about 45 minutes before we got home. I made the Stove Top Stuffing, gravy and deviled the eggs we had dyed yesterday. I opted not to get out the china, crystal and silver this year. Honestly, David and Chris don’t care one way or the other and none of us needed the extra work. We did eat at the table in the family room rather than the kitchen and it was a nice meal.
After we ate I made up two plates of food for my mom and put away the leftovers. David did the dishes and I took the food to Mom. We had invited her to join us at our house but she just wasn’t feeling up to it. I spent about an hour with her at her house.
Later that afternoon David decided to take his fly fishing rod to the pond and practice with it (this is a relatively new hobby for him). He immediately caught a couple of fish so he got his kayak out of the garage, hauled it down to the pond and spent the next couple of hours fishing. He caught at least 20 fish (catch and release) and mostly just enjoyed a very peaceful afternoon.
Chris and I went down to watch and we were all reminded of how fortunate we are to live on this 40 acres of quiet and seclusion. Chris said he’d like to start getting up a little earlier and drinking a cup of coffee by the pond before work. I think we need to buy some Adirondack chairs to have by the pond. And I really want David to build a little boat dock. We used to have a paddle boat but we gave it to friends not long ago. It wasn’t in great shape but I think we might need a new one. Charlotte would probably love it.
We had leftovers for dinner and watched an episode of The Gilded Age after we went to bed. It was such a nice weekend.
THIS WEEK
In addition to this blog post, I also need to write the April Art Appreciation post and the monthly LWD newsletter. Theoretically these should all be done today but that’s not going to happen. Oh, well. I suppose no one is going to fire me if they are late, right?
Once I get the blog related tasks out of the way I’d like to focus on my home this week. I’m hopeful that David and I can find time to go to the nursery and pick out shrubs for the planter across the front porch. He built it last fall but we didn’t get it planted before winter. We should be past any chance of a freeze now, although we are currently under a tornado watch with a good chance of thunderstorms and hail this evening. Sigh…
READING
I finished The Women of Mulberry Lane. I’m ready to start number six in the series:
Other books ongoing…
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady ~ Edith Holden
An Incomplete Education ~ Judy Jones and William Wilson
I’m still reading last month’s LWD Book Club selection, Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen. I’m about 65% done.
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 did finally manage to color my hair this past Saturday. It definitely needed it! As long as I wore it in a ponytail it was okay because most of my gray hair is in the middle of the top of my head and doesn’t show too much when it’s pulled back. But it was nice to wear it down and curled for Easter. I also did a manicure and pedicure this weekend.
This week I intend to make time to sit outdoors and enjoy the nice weather (other than the storm coming today!). I need some quiet time to allow my brain to be still. Or at least a little less busy.
HEALTH & FITNESS
I did a few walks last week and will continue to try to make that a daily habit.
FUN ACTIVITIES
Chris and I will have our weekly movie night on Thursday. David and I did a couple of puzzles during the holidays and I have another sitting out that we haven’t started yet. I’d like to do that.
And maybe see if we could meet friends for after-work drinks sometime this week. There’s a nice wine bar with a really nice rooftop area. We’ve only been once since it opened last fall but now that the weather is nice, I’d like to do this once in awhile.
HABIT OF THE MONTH (April)
The LWD April Challenge is to tackle some digital clutter every day. Email, photos, computer files, desktop, passwords, phone apps…all of these are fair game for decluttering this month. I’ll be sharing some ideas in the Facebook group throughout the month and if you want to share your progress or ask for suggestions, please feel free to do so in the group or email me.
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:
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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…
I live near Macon, GA where they have an annual Cherry Blossom festival. My own small town used to have streets lined with these trees but they died out (Short-life span) and only one business replaced them. They are truly lovely.
My son tells me that the Aldi brand of Shake and Bake mix is really good. Your homemade may be cheaper than that even but if you’re doing an Aldi shop you might give it a look.
Cluny Brown movie was based on a book by the same name written by D. E. Stevenson. I expect you’d like all her books or at least most of them. I have several and am especially fond of the books based on houses, but the Miss Buncle Series is also rather fun to read.
I’ll have to look for the Aldi brand – thanks!
I didn’t realize Cluny Brown was a D.E. Stevenson book! I’ve read one or two of hers and have several others saved to read. I’ll add that one. Thanks for the heads up. 🙂
Edited to add: I just checked and Cluny Brown was written by Margery Sharp. It’s available on Scribd (I subscribe) as well as a 4-book collection of her other titles. Looks like I’ve found another author to check out.