October Week 3 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 4 Options

Raisin Bun from the Japanese Bakery

These were the options for the third week of October:

Brunches:  Blueberry pancakes with sausages and syrup; Scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes, Egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches, Tortillas with eggs and lunu miris;  leftovers

Dinners:  Smoked sausage and kale stir fry with rice; Chicken curry with rice and cucumber salad; Tortillas and chicken curry; Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes or toast); Fried rice; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; Raisin buns that daughter bought from the Japanese bakery for me; Melon pan that daughter bought from the Japanese bakery for herself; Yogurt; Ice cream; Chips, crackers, popcorn, etc.

And this is how that worked out:

Monday:

Brunch: Raisin buns and banana (me), melon pan (daughter)

Dinner: Assorted leftovers from the fridge

Snacks/Dessert: One of the tuna salad kits I had bought (me); Fuyu persimmons (daughter)

Smoked Sausage Stir Fry with Carrots and Kale

Tuesday:

Brunch: Raisin bun, banana, and peanut butter (me); banana and peanut butter (daughter)

Dinner: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice

Snacks/Dessert:  Hot cheetos, pomegranate, ice cream

Fried Rice

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Raisin bun (me)
Lunch: Fried rice

Dinner: Egg salad sandwiches

Snacks/Dessert: Pomegranates

Thursday Dinner: Rice & Smoked Sausage Stir-fry

Thursday:

Brunch:  Raisin buns (me)

Dinner:  Rice and smoked sausage stir fry

Snacks/Dessert:  Bananas, crackers with peanut butter

Daughter's Friday Night Dinner: Rice, Fried Eggs,
Stir-fried Kale, Chili Crisps

Friday:

Brunch: Hot pockets 

Dinner:  Scrambled eggs and toast (me); rice, fried eggs, stir-fried kale (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, cookies, ice cream

Saturday:

Brunch: Scrambled eggs, fried diced potatoes, calamondin-ade to drink

Dinner:  Chicken curry and tortillas

Snacks/Dessert: Cookies and ice cream

Sunday:

Brunch:  Chinese take out

Dinner:  Leftover Chinese take out (daughter); microwave "baked" potato (me)

Snacks/Dessert: Dates, graham crackers

Well, I didn't follow the meal plan options that closely, but, I didn't veer too much from them, either.  I'm fine with all the little adjustments I made.  

Moving forward, here's are the meal plan options for the last week in October:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes; Waffles, Hot pockets; Boiled mung beans, milkrice (on Sunday, November 1st); Fried rice; leftovers

Dinners:  Chicken curry with vegetable rice (rice cooked with mixed vegetables and chicken bouillon); Tortillas and chicken curry; Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes or toast); Chicken and vegetable soup; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; Yogurt; Ice cream; Chips, crackers, popcorn, cookies, etc.

At least, that's the plan.  Unless I go off plan and make something different.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- Having enough to eat
- Being able to have a variety of meals

Are you making a meal plan this week?  

The Weekend

 

After the Rain

After Wednesday and Thursday's rain, Friday turned out to be a mostly sunny day, with big puffy white clouds scudding across the sky.

On Friday morning, I received my grocery delivery.  Afterwards, I went to put gas to the car.  I still had just over half a tank of gas, and, at first, I was going to wait until November to put gas to the car, but, I read about gas shortages in some areas due to supply issues and decided to just go ahead and fill up the tank while I could.  I went to the cheapest gas station in my neighborhood and it was $5.89/gallon.  One of the other stations in my area was charging $6.49/gallon.  

After that, I went to the library to return the one book (Running in the Family) and check out the book that was waiting for me (The English Patient).  

After I got home from the library, I baked two of the hot pockets in the air fryer for our brunch.  I called friend R to let her know that I was home for the day if she wanted to come and pick up her packages (she had indicated to me, earlier, that she would like to come by on Friday), but, she declined, saying she'll come over the weekend.

In the evening, M was here to tend to the garden and he transplanted the strawberry plants in one of the raised beds for me.

Love Watching the Clouds Drifting By

On Saturday, daughter had arranged to attend a Pilates class with one of her friends in the late morning.  It was in the adjoining city and I went with her and while she was at her class, I drove myself to the library there.  I had not been to that library in a long time and my library card to that library had expired.  But, that was not a problem; they issued me a new library card right away and I spent a pleasant 45 minutes or so browsing the library shelves.  In the end, I checked out three books to read: one about quilts, one about Dorothea Lange's photography, and one by Philippa Gregory titled, "Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History".

I had just finished checking out my books when daughter texted that she had finished her class.  I picked her up and drove home.  After brunch (fried diced potatoes and scrambled eggs), I called friend R to let her know that I was home if she wanted to come by, but, she said she'll come on Sunday, instead.

Daughter took a nap in the afternoon and I watched some videos online and relaxed.  Later in the evening, we let the chickens out and daughter and I put chicken wire around the raised bed where we planted the strawberries.  On Friday night, we were visited by two young raccoons (I watched them from the sliding glass doors) and it looked like they dug up the planter with the strawberries!  But, at least they left the chicken coop undamaged and didn't harm the chickens, so I'm thankful for that!  

Mochi on Guard Against Raccoons

Tora on Guard, Too
(He found a grub worm under the log and we fed it 
to the chickens!)

Mimi Isn't Sure About Raccoons

The Chickens Aren't Bothered

Today, Sunday, I tidied the linen closet (three old bedsheets were decluttered), dusted the living room and dining area, put out the Halloween decorations, did some paperwork (being inundated with election material), and did a load of laundry.

Daughter treated me to Chinese take out for lunch as my October treat.  When she first moved back, she said she will do her share of the cooking, but, her work load has been such that she's not had a lot of time to cook.  So, I've been doing the majority of the cooking, which I don't mind, but, she felt bad about it.  I told her that what I'd like is for her to treat me to a meal out (well, a take out meal, really, since we are still not eating out) once a month and that's what we've been doing.  I chose our nearby Chinese restaurant as we both like their food.  There are plenty of leftovers for dinner and probably lunch on Monday, too.

Friend R was supposed to visit today, but, she texted to say she'll stop by on Monday, after work, instead.  I do have plans to go for my Covid or flu vaccine (whichever one is available, as I need to get both; but, I won't get both at once), on Monday, but, I can do that in the morning or early afternoon.  

This weekend, I am grateful for:

- The availability of gas for the car
- Libraries 
- The raccoons didn't get to the chickens
- Sunny days after the recent rains
- Working appliances and electricity/gas to run them

The weekend's joyful activities have included visiting libraries, getting new books to read, being treated to lunch, and spending time in the garden with the chickens and the garden cats.

Plans for Monday include:

- Getting vaccinated
- Meal planning
- Taking the trash cans to the curb
- More laundry

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for next week?

Tora

Mochi 

October Groceries - Part 5

October 23 Groceries

I put in an order for groceries on Thursday night and the items were delivered on Friday morning, about half an hour after the delivery window, but, that's okay; the shopper might have had multiple deliveries.  This grocery order was mostly to take advantage of a few sales on some favorite drinks, convenience foods, and treats.  The only items I bought that were regular priced were the cookies.

There was a bit of a mix-up with the strawberries.  The strawberries I ordered were priced at $2.49 (with a digital coupon) for a 1 lb. container and I specified "no substitutions".  However, the shopper substituted a container of organic strawberries for $6.99!  When I contacted the store, they refunded the money and told me to keep the strawberries.  I do appreciate their generous refund policy!  

Here's the receipt (which includes the strawberries):

Order Summary

Original Item Total$77.72

Item Coupons/Sales-$29.04

Order Coupons-$1.00

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.60

Sales Tax+$1.60

Order Total$49.88

---

Item Details

45 Items

Bakery Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookies, 12 count

$3.00

1 x $3.00 each

Barilla Ziti Pasta, Quality Non-GMO and Kosher Certified Pasta, 16 oz

$1.98

2 x $0.99 $1.99 each

Broccoli Crown, 1 ct

$3.93

1.81 lbs x $2.17 $2.39 each (approx.)

CA Redem Val

$0.80

16 x $0.05 each

Farmer John Chicken and Pork Wieners, 12 oz

$2.00

2 x $1.00 $3.49 each

Fresh Organic Strawberries - 1 LB clamshell, 1 lb

$6.99

1 x $6.99 each

Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza Crispy Crust Frozen Sandwiches Frozen Snacks 4PK, 18 oz

$7.98

2 x $3.99 $6.49 each

Simple Truth Organic® Unsweetened Coconut Flakes, 8 oz

$6.00

4 x $1.50 $2.99 each

Sparkling Ice Zero Sugar Strawberry Lemonade Sparkling Water, 17 fl oz

$6.00

6 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Sparkling Ice® Coconut Pineapple Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz

$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Sparkling Ice® Peach Nectarine Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz

$3.00

3 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Sparkling Ice® Pink Grapefruit Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz

$3.00

3 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Sparkling Ice® Strawberry Watermelon Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz

$2.00

2 x $1.00 $1.67 each

Order Coupons

-$1.00

Store Coupon-$1.00

---

Other Fees

$0.60

Bag Fee$0.60

6 x $0.10 each

My total came to:  $49.88 - $6.99 for the strawberries = $42.89

My October grocery budget = $250.

Spent to date:  $43.94 + $68.71+ $19.31 + $29.78 + $42.89 = $204.63

Balance left: $45.37

I am pleased with this week's grocery shopping, the amount I spent, and the amount left over for next week's groceries.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- Being able to order the groceries online
- Being able to have them delivered
- The availability of groceries
- Coupons and sales
- The store's generous refund policies   

Daughter and I had two of the hot pockets for our brunch, today.  Baked in the air fryer, they were quite tasty and we enjoyed them.

Mid-Week Rainy Days

Puddles and Reflections

This week started out sunny with temperatures in the 80s, which was very pleasant.  But, we've had rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

 On Monday, I received my grocery delivery, cleaned out the fridge, took the trash cans out to the curb, and took a long nap in the late afternoon because I was feeling tired.

On Tuesday, I woke up feeling tired and, after feeding the hens in the morning, I went back to bed and slept till past noon!  After I got up, I brought in the emptied trash cans, posted my meal plan options for the week, checked the week's grocery ads, etc.

Rain was in the forecast for Wednesday and it was quite cloudy in the morning.  I had a dental appointment in the afternoon and it started to rain as I was driving to the appointment.  This appointment was for a regular teeth cleaning, although the dentist checked me to make sure everything was okay after the hygienist had finished.  I was told to continue to use the toothpaste for sensitive teeth that was recommended in my last visit and it was suggested that I used an electric toothbrush! 

Wednesdays are when M comes to tend to the garden in the early afternoon (he comes later in the evening on Fridays).  I had left him a message in the morning, to let him know that I would be away and daughter will be home, but, she'll be working and in meetings all day.  I wasn't sure when the rain would start and if he'd be able to tend to the garden, but, he had come in the rain and dug up a container of soil to spread in the chicken coop enclosure as requested, and moved a few potted plants that were in the patio area to the open where they could get rained on.  I texted him and thanked him after I got home.

It was still raining when I drove home and it continued to rain, fairly lightly for the most part, but, with heavier showers from time to time, for the rest of the day and well into the night.  It was still raining when I went to bed at 3:00 a.m.  Apparently, we received a total of 0.42 inches of rain, on Wednesday, which might not sound like a lot to some, but, is a decent amount of rain for us!

Friend R had planned to stop by in the evening to pick up some packages that are waiting for her, but, postponed her visit due to the rain, which was the sensible thing to do.

Wednesday's high was 69F, which was not too bad.

Today, Thursday, it was not raining when I woke up at 8:30 a.m. to feed the chickens.  But, the ground was quite wet; although I couldn't tell if it was from last night's rain or if it had rained earlier in the morning.  However, a few minutes after I came inside after feeding the chickens, it started to rain, again.  And the weather forecast said that my area was under a flood advisory until later today and a thunderstorm statement!  The rain has stopped for now (writing this around 2:00 p.m.), but, there is more rain in the forecast for later this afternoon.  We do need all the rain we can get and the garden is getting watered by Mother Nature.  

Today's high is forecast to be 63F (earlier, it was supposed to be 65F).  It feels warmer due to the humidity and I'm not complaining.  But, it is definitely sweater weather, for me!  I chose to wear one of my favorite sweaters:

Purple Cabled Sweater: Front

It's one of what I call my "London souvenir sweaters".  On a trip to London in November 1986, I bought some wool as souvenirs of my trip and when I came home, I knitted myself two sweaters.  This is one of them, with a variety of cables in the front and:

Purple Cabled Sweater - Back

a trio of cables down the back plus one on each sleeve.  Knitted back in the day when I could be bothered to knit multiple patterns and keep track of which row of which pattern I was knitting!  LOL.  I think I finished knitting this sweater that December.  It's almost 40 years old and I am still wearing it!  

My half-sister called, today, and we had a little chat.  Later, I let the chickens out to have a bit of a run in the garden while it was still dry and they just made a bee line to the cats' kibble!  But, they followed me back to the coop enclosure when I waved a moringa leaf at them.  Daughter will let them out, again, in the evening, when she goes to clean the coop, if it isn't raining heavily.

I am grateful for:

- Rain for the garden
- M's help with the garden
- Dental care
- Warm woolen sweaters
- Phone calls from my sister

Joyful activities have included spending a little time in the garden earlier this afternoon, and chatting with my sister.

How is your day coming along?  How is the weather in your part of the world?  

October Meal Plan Options - Week 3

 

Brunch: Blueberry Pancakes, Sausages, and Syrup

It's been a while since I last posted about weekly meal plan options!  Not since the end of September!  In fact, I found the post for the very last week of September and the beginning of October still in my draft posts folder!  I hadn't posted it because I hadn't finished writing down what we had over the weekend.  Oh, well.

A lack of a meal plan didn't mean that we went hungry!  Meals were cooked and eaten and we had a couple of pizzas delivered one night (even when there were leftovers in the fridge, simply because I felt like having something different and wanted to celebrate daughter receiving a service merit award at work).  

But, it's time to start making a list of meal plan options, again.  On Monday, I cleaned out the fridge (unfortunately, a few bits and pieces of leftovers had to be tossed because I didn't want to risk getting any upset stomachs!) and had an order of groceries delivered.   This week's meal options will be based on what is still left in the fridge and at least one of the items that were delivered with this new grocery order.

So, here are the options for this week:

Brunches:  Blueberry pancakes with sausages and syrup; Scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes, Egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches, Tortillas with eggs and lunu miris;  leftovers

Dinners:  Smoked sausage and kale stir fry with rice; Chicken curry with rice and cucumber salad; Tortillas and chicken curry; Breakfast for Dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes or toast); Fried rice; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit; Raisin buns (me); Melon pan (daughter); Yogurt; Ice cream; Chips, crackers, popcorn, etc.

Let's see how well I keep to this list of meal plan options!  

As always, I am grateful for being able to plan meals and have a choice of what to eat.

Are you making a meal plan this week?

October Groceries - Part 4

October 19 Groceries

I ordered groceries on Sunday evening and they were delivered on Monday morning.  I mostly needed fresh half and half for my daughter and more bananas.  But, I also bought some stock up items including non-grocery household items (facial tissues) to take advantage of sales.  The facial tissues are regularly priced $7.49 for a 4-pack, but, they were on a special "pick up and delivery only" sale for $5 per 4-pack.  I could have purchased up to five of the 4-packs, but, I thought that two would be plenty.  

The individual packages of tuna salad and crackers are more than a convenient snack; they are part of my emergency preparedness.  They are shelf stable, easy to pack and carry, don't require a can opener, ready to eat, and each package comes with its own spoon.  Plus, they were on sale, this week, so it was a good time to stock up on them. 

This time, I received everything I ordered; nothing was out of stock and there was no need for substitutions. 

Here's my receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$59.25

Item Coupons/Sales-$20.07

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.60

Sales Tax+$1.03

Order Total$40.81

---

Item Details

16 Items

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch

$1.80

2.61 lbs x $0.68 each (approx.)

Hillshire Farm® Polska Kielbasa Smoked Sausage, 14 oz

$5.98

2 x $2.99 $6.99 each

Kroger® Easy Care Everyday Tissues, 4 ct

$10.00

2 x $5.00 $7.49 each

Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal

$5.49

1 x $5.49 each

Kroger® Saltine Crackers Unsalted Tops, 16 oz

$2.00

1 x $2.00 $2.19 each

StarKist® Snack-To-Go™ Ready-to-Eat Tuna Salad Kit, 3.6 oz

$11.92

8 x $1.49 $2.19 each

Western Hearth® 12 Grain Bread, 24 oz

$1.99

1 x $1.99 $3.29 each

---

Other Fees

$0.60

Bag Fee$0.60

6 x $0.10 each

I spent a total of  $40.81, of which, $11.03 were for non-grocery items (facial tissues plus sales tax), and not part of my grocery budget.

Boxes of Facial Tissues

Total spent on groceries (food items only) = $40.81 - $11.03 = $29.78

My October grocery budget is $250.

Spent to date:  $43.94 + $68.71+ $19.31 + $29.78 = $161.74

Balance left: $88.26

Even though there are still two weeks left in the month, I am feeling good about the amount left in the budget.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- The availability of groceries
- Being able to order online and have groceries delivered
- Sales, weekly specials, and coupons
- Shelf-stable, ready to eat meals and snacks
- Being able to stock up

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping?  Are you staying on budget?

My Mother's Rickshaw

 

Mother, aged 85, in 2005
(one of the last photos of her)

Today is the anniversary of my mother's birthday.  She was born in 1920, the sixth child in a family of nine children; five boys and four girls.

I have shared bits and pieces about her in various previous posts as I remembered her on her birthdays, on Mothers' Day, and her death anniversary.  But, reading "Running in the Family", a book about family anecdotes, I was reminded of a story that my mother's older sister and my mother had told me about how she came to become the proud owner of a rickshaw when she had been about 7 or 8 years old!

My mother, along with all three of her sisters, attended a Catholic school as a child.  While a number of nuns taught at the school, there were lay teachers, too.  When my mother was in Second Grade, her class teacher had decided to raffle off a rickshaw she had acquired (I'm not sure how the teacher came to own a rickshaw or why she was raffling it off; I don't remember that part of the story being told to me; maybe my mother and her sister didn't know it, either).  The teacher had told all the students in her class to bring 25 cents for a raffle ticket which would be put into a box and she would select the winning ticket the following week.

Personally, I don't know how common (or ethical) it was for a teacher to tell her class students to bring money to buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win her rickshaw or any other personal belonging, for that matter!  Not very, I should think!  Or if the raffle had been approved by the school administrators, or even if they knew of it!

But, the long and short of it was that my mother knew she had to take 25 cents to school, the next day and she didn't have 25 cents of her own to take.  She would have to ask her parents for it.   Back then, 25 cents was a big amount. And, apparently, she believed that her father wouldn't give the money for a raffle ticket for a rickshaw!  Or, maybe he would have, but, she didn't think so and didn't want to risk it.  Instead, she concocted a story as to why she needed to take 25 cents to school the next day.

Mother's story was, there had been a lot of petty theft in the classroom, recently, with supplies going missing.  The teacher wanted to buy a statue of Our Lady to place in the classroom, with a note about the sins of stealing, as a deterrent.  And the teacher wanted every student to contribute 25 cents towards the price of the statue and she, herself, will put in the rest of the money required to purchase it.  That sounded like a very plausible story for a second grader to come up with, didn't it?

I don't know if her parents believed her story or not, but, apparently, it worked!  She was given the money she needed!  The next day, she took the money to school, bought a raffle ticket, and forgot all about it.  She was probably very relieved that she was able to get the money she needed and was happy that it was all over!

Until, several days later, when it was announced that she had the winning raffle ticket and was now the new owner of a rickshaw, which will be delivered to her house, later!  How was she going to explain that to her parents?  It meant that she had to tell her parents that she had made up a story about the reason for wanting the 25 cents in the first place!

Neither my mother, nor her sister, said anything about what their parents had to say about her fabricated story or if she was punished for making up a story, in anyway.  Maybe they were secretly amused by their daughter's creative story telling! Or, maybe they were just bemused by the whole situation.  Just what were they going to do with a rickshaw?  

According to my mother, the rickshaw was sold off and the money from the sale was placed in a post office savings account that her father opened for her!  I've no idea what she did with the money, later.  Maybe she used it to pay for expenses as she put herself through teacher training school.

But, that was was how my mother came to own a rickshaw, at the age of 7 or 8, when she was still in second grade. 

Two of my cousins called me, this morning, to let me know that they were thinking of me and remembering my mother on her birthday.

Happy birthday, Amma.  Thank you for blessing me with the stories and the memories.