Sunday, October 11, 2020

The Weekend

The weekends tend to go by quickly, it seems!

On Saturday, I slept in a little later than I had intended to! Oops!  Once I was up and had my tea, etc., I vacuumed the rest of the house, practiced the piano, made Indian style semolina for brunch, did the dishes, and watched several cooking shows on TV.  As I mentioned to one of my friends, cooking shows on TV always make me feel hungry!  LOL.  Later in the evening, I made a smoked sausage and potato soup for dinner:

Smoked Sausage and Potato Soup

I had three rather shriveled potatoes left from the bag I bought back in early July (July 3rd to be exact).  I had babied those potatoes through 100+F temperatures (didn't want to put them in the fridge as I think that changes their taste) and had only 2 of them spoil.  The last remaining potatoes were well on their way to being dehydrated!  In fact, I soaked them in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes before I scrubbed them and cut them up for the soup!  I used a container of my homemade chicken stock that I had in the freezer, a quarter of a 14 oz. smoked sausage, a carrot, some onions and some celery and let it cook for a bit, then, added a little milk at the end.    It made about four servings of soup, for me.  Leftovers are in the fridge to be enjoyed another time or two.

I also texted the monthly rosary prayer group, on Saturday.  I usually host the October prayer gathering, in honor of my mother's birthday, but, I said I am unable to do so, this time, because I am not sure how to arrange for an online meeting and, if anyone else would like to host it, it would be fine with me.  Actually, there haven't been any monthly prayer gatherings over the summer, but, I didn't mention that.  The lady who used to lead the prayers replied saying it was fine, not to worry about it during this time.  Someone else said she would ask her daughter if she can help to organize an online gathering.  

Daughter sent me pictures of her drawings.  On Saturday (Day 10), the prompt was "Hope".  She chose to draw Takeru (from Digimon) with Patamon on his head; the digidestined of hope.  First, she sent me the ink drawing:


Day 10: Hope

Then, she noticed a small mistake in perspective and decided to color it in to correct it.  


In Color

If you want to play "spot the difference", the clue is the width of the left sleeve!  

Here is today's drawing:


Day 11: Disgusting


Today (Sunday), I had a long phone chat with one of my cousins, made pancakes for breakfast, checked on neighbor T, practiced the piano, had a bowl of my soup for lunch, and watched some TV, including a basketball game.  I also watched the online service from the Temple, spoke with neighbor S (piano lesson, tomorrow!) and chatted with friend R.  

I was going to make a stirfry with the rest of the smoked sausage for dinner, but, changed my mind and baked two frozen fish fillets and cooked a pot of rice to go with it.  I added some frozen green peas on top of the almost cooked rice and let it steam while the rice finished cooking.  "Lazy cooking", I call it!

This weekend, I am grateful for:
- Being able to video chat with my daughter
- Phone calls and emails with family and friends
- Better air quality
- Electricity
- Online Temple services

This weekend's joyful activities included updating the September Joys list, writing out the October Joys list, and relaxing.

Today's temperature was a high of 78F; tomorrow's forecast calls for a high of 95F!  Plans for tomorrow include having my piano lesson, a little housework, and cooking.  

Monday's To Do List:
- Dust living room & dining area
- Clean the fridge
- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up
- Piano lesson
- Cook the sausage stirfry

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for Monday?

12 comments:

  1. I had a quiet weekend at home and plan to meet friend L today. It's raining so we're meeting up for lunch.

    Are your piano lessons still virtual or are they back to in person? You must have made significant progress since you started them.

    Your days sound lovely and relaxed, and even though you can't be with your daughter or family and friends, you sound contented.

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    1. I'm sorry it is raining and you won't be able to go to the animal park, but, glad you and L are getting together for lunch.

      My piano lessons are still virtual. I like to think that I have made some progress. My fingers still tend to reach for all the wrong notes, but, I am getting better, through practice!

      These last few days have been very relaxed, now that I am no longer stressing about the medical insurance stuff! The house is in fairly good order (can't say the same about the garage, though!) and there is nothing that I HAVE to do. It makes me feel relaxed. I am contented, too, even if I can't be with my daughter and others. I "see" my daughter online every night and I speak on the phone with family and friends. I am happy that I am able to do that much. :)

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  2. I would have never noticed the sleeve change in perspective if you had not pointed it out.
    I don't call your cooking lazy cooking. I call it smart cooking!

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    1. I wouldn't have, either, Anne (noticed the difference in the sleeve), but, she did! No, we are not perfectionists, at all! :D

      Thank you. Some days, I can really get into a recipe; other days, it's throw something together and call it dinner! :D

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  3. Your soup looks delicious and your daughter is really a fantastic artist! No plans for me today other than catching up with all my blog buddies :)

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    1. Thank you and thank you, Martha. :) Sounds like things have eased up a bit for you. Hope you have a lovely day.

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  4. How interesting that you made a potato and sausage soup! I did the same! I used potatoes, chicken cordon bleu sausage, fresh kale, chicken bouillon, garlic powder and heavy cream and milk. It was quite tasty. And yours looks wonderful too!

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    1. Great minds thinking alike and all that, Carolyn! :) Lovely to hear from you. Your soup sounds wonderful, especially with the heavy cream. :)

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  5. I'm loving your daughter's drawings and didn't even notice a 'mistake'. I almost expected to see Oscar the Grouch in the bin. :)

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    1. Thank you, Jules; I guess Oscar is hiding in the bin and keeping his social distance! :D

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  6. That soup looks really good.
    Did you end up eating it all or freeze some?

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    1. Thank you, Debra. I'm afraid I ate it all! I had the last serving for my lunch, today. I wasn't sure how well it would freeze (in my experience, potatoes seem to change texture after it has been frozen).

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