Not Quite What I Meant

What's Missing From This Picture?

If you said, "A dining table", you'd be correct!

When I wrote, "Clear the small dining table" on my to do list, last night, this is not quite what I meant to do:

The Now Discarded Dining Table

This morning, I cleared off all the items that were on the small dining table in the family room.  I had been doing some paperwork there and I had a box of files to be put away in the new filing cabinet that I had got from neighbor T and a box of miscellaneous bits and pieces to be put way.  I put the files away, put the basket of current papers to be read (insurance and local elections related brochures and the current bills) away on the small shelf unit, and put away the bits and pieces that were in the box.  Then, I wiped down the top of the table.

One of the table legs was very loose and I thought I might be able to tighten it.  So, I turned the table over, up side down and, the table leg broke off!  The side strips holding the table legs in place were not solid wood; they were pressed board or whatever they are called.  The table had lasted me for over 25 years, so, I guess it was time for it to go!   The second leg broke while I was trying to move it outside.  

The Poor Table

I will ask M to help me break it up, although I'm wondering if I can use those legs or the table top for something!  Maybe I can build a new frame with some proper wood and attach the legs to it to support the table top! 

I guess I will be looking for another small dining table. I don't have to have one - there's the big dining table in the more formal dining area, but, there is a ceiling light fixture hanging down where the table used to be in the family room and it seems weird to not have a table there!

In the meantime, I moved the old tea trolley/cart that I kept in the corner of the family room (had been using it as a side table for one of the sofas and storing my canning jars on the shelf underneath, which is actually a removable tray) and put it under the light fixture to act as a temporary table!  With the two drop leaves raised, there's room for three chairs:

New Temporary Table

This tea trolley/cart is something I bought back in the early 1980s from a little second hand furniture store.  I paid $42 for it, which my mother thought was too much.  It was already a bit damaged with a corner chewed off by a mouse or something, but, I loved the inlaid design.  

So, when neighbor S called to let me know that one of her friends had visited and brought her some pastries and S was bringing some over for me, I quicky put a table cover on my new "table", placed the 4th chair on the side with the handle, and placed the plates of goodies that S brought me on the table:

Table Set with Treats

I told neighbor S that many of my blog readers wish they could have a neighbor like her and she laughed.

Treats Both Healthy and Not So Healthy!

S brought me a plate of healthy watermelon and a plate of pastries and desserts.  Yum!  The dessert that looks a bit like a crustless cheesecake is actually sour cream set with gelatin and topped with cherry pie filling, the sour cream part of it is not very sweet.

I had planned to bake something, today, but, I think I will wait another couple of days before I bake anything!  LOL.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Sunshine in the afternoon
- One less horizontal surface to keep clear!

- Neighbor S bringing me more goodies!

- My old tea trolley/cart
- Managing to get the old table out by myself

Today's joyful activity was eating pastries!  LOL!  

Cloudy on Friday

Rose

It was cloudy and cool, all day, on Friday, with a high of about 70F. 

I slept in, then watched some online videos, visited blogs, and played sudoku games.  I had thought of doing some laundry, but, the day was so cloudy and cool that I decided not to.  It's supposed to be sunny and warm again, next week, and I'll do the laundry then.  My biggest accomplishment today was vacuuming the family room (I had done the dusting on Thursday).  I've a little bit more to do and then, the family room would be done until probably around December, when I'll rearrange the furniture to make room for the Christmas tree.

Gardener friend M was here in the evening and he watered the garden for me. He brought me three plants that had been thinned out from another garden he tends to - apparently, it self seeds and M has been instructed to pull out all the volunteer plants to dispose of them. He said they have blue flowers, but, he's not sure of the name of the plant.  If they grow and flower, then, I might be able to identify them.  He and I are taking bets on when the squash vine will reach the first step - I said by next Friday and he said by Wednesday!  LOL.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- M's help with the garden
- M bringing me new plants for the garden
- Working appliances
- Videos to watch
- Emails from friends

Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden.

Plans for tomorrow include baking something and finishing up the family room.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for Saturday?

Slow Thursday

Rice and Curries

A photo of my dinner, last night: rice, chicken curry, curried sauteed green beans, moringa curry, the last of the eggplant curry, and spicy sauteed potatoes.  The green beans, moringa, and potatoes are from my garden; the eggplant is from gardener M's garden.  I cooked the potatoes and the green beans last night; the chicken curry had been cooked earlier and frozen and only needed to be thawed and reheated.  The moringa, too, had been cooked and frozen; they were the pods from last year's harvest.  This year, the moringa tree didn't come out of hibernation until quite late in the summer and hasn't produced any pods yet.  There were leftovers of all the curries other than the eggplant, for tonight's dinner; I just needed to cook some fresh rice.

It was another sunny and warm day, today, but, according to the forecast, we will cool down 10 to 20 degrees over the weekend and there's a chance of rain!  

I've had a fairly relaxed day.  I did some paperwork, checked on the garden, put away a load of laundry, watched some videos and the news, and did some housework.  The room of the week is the family room and that's what I am focusing on.  

Brunch this morning was toast with peanut butter.  I snacked on popcorn in the afternoon.  Dinner was freshly cooked rice with leftover curries.  There's enough leftover for another meal.  I had some yogurt for dessert.  

Today, I am grateful for:  
- A sunny and warm day
- The garden in which to walk and spend time
- Garden produce
- Leftovers
- Working appliances

Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden.

Plans for tomorrow include making a birthday card to send to my half-brother.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?

 

Mid Week on Wednesday

A New Flower Arrangement!

Gardener M brought me two different types of gardenias from his garden!  The yellow one was drooping and I stuck them in my blue and white teapot without doing anything much, but, I think it doesn't need any further arranging, do you?  They do smell lovely!

While M watered the garden and did some pruning, I picked green beans and a single ripe cherry tomato:

Today's Harvest

I think I'll tweak the meal plan to include curried sauteed green beans (bonchi thel dala) for tonight's dinner!

I wasn't kidding earlier, when I said that the squash vine is trying to reach the house!  

"Eenie" the Butternut Squash Vine

It has reached the pavers in front of the back steps!

Eenie gets a tendril hold on the pavers!

This was the butternut squash flower five days ago, on Friday, September 22:

A Female Butternut Squash Flower - 9/22/23

Here it is today, Wednesday, September 27:

A Baby Butternut Squash - 9/27/23

The flower has fallen off and we have a baby butternut squash about the size and shape of a small light bulb! Woo hoo!  This is the first time I'm growing butternut squash and I am all excited about it!  The weather is nice and warm, right now, but, it is supposed to cool down again by the weekend.  I hope it doesn't get too cold for the squash.  Mama Cat has taken to sitting right next to the squash and I am hoping she will not sit on it and squash my baby squash!  LOL!  So far, it is the only butternut squash, but, I've two baby zucchinis, each about 4 inches long.  I'm hoping they'll grow to about 6 inches to harvest them!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Another sunny and warm day (82F right now at 3:00 p.m.; a high of 85F according to the forecast; I just love this weather!)
- Flowers from M's garden
- M's help with the garden
- Today's harvest of green beans from the garden
- Baby squashes!

Today's joyful activities include doing another flower arrangement, picking beans from the garden, and watching my squashes grow!  

How is your Wednesday coming along?

September Grocery Shopping - Part 2

I debated whether to order any groceries this week (there was very little that I really needed), but, there were some good deals to be had, especially on treats and splurge items, and today was the last day to get those deals, as the weekly sales in my area are in effect from Wednesday to Tuesday.  I did take a look at the new week's deals, as well, as the grocery ads were available for preview online, but, the current deals were better for me.  So, since I had most of my September grocery budget intact, I decided to stock up and splurge a little, too.  

The items with an asterisk * on the list below were on a "buy 5 or more mix & match for $0,99 each" sale.

Here's what I bought:

2 Bartlett pears (1.22 lbs. @ $1.50/lb, with coupon; reg. price $1.99'lb.) = $1.83
3 Bananas (1.04 lbs. @$0.65/lb,) = $0.68

4 packets store brand angel hair pasta, 16 oz.@ (reg. price $1.39@, on sale for $0.99@) = $3.96*

1 loaf white bread, store brand (reg. price $2.49; on sale for $0.99) = $0.99*

1 box cornflakes (13.5 oz; reg price $4.99; free with "best customer" coupon!) = $0.00 

2 boxes (8 oz. @) cream cheese, store brand (reg. price $2.49; on sale for $0.99@) = $1.98*

1 container, 32 oz., plain yogurt = $4.79

5 cans tuna in water, 5 oz.@, store brand, $1.19@ = $5.95 (for me!  Not Dancer!  LOL!)

1 package (30 oz.) popcorn kernels, store brand = $2.79

Splurges/Treats:
2 boxes chocolate fudge cake mix, on sale for $1.50@ (reg. price $2,69@) = $3.00

1 container vanilla ice cream, 48 fl. oz., (reg. price $6.99; on sale with digital coupon) = $2.79

3 chocolate pudding mixes, 5 oz.@ (reg. price $2.50@; on sale for $0.99@) = $2.97*

1 package refrigerated puff pastry dough, 13.2 oz. = $4.49

3 bars chocolate, 4.4 oz. @ (reg. price $4.49@; on sale for $2.00@) = $6.00
(Splurge items subtotal = $19.25)

My groceries (and splurges!) total came to $42.22.  

(Without the splurges, the grocery total would have been $22.97.)

In addition, I bought 2 packages of night light bulbs, 4 bulbs per package, reg. price $3.99@, on sale for $2.99@, if you buy two.  Plus $0.94 sales tax on them.  However, I don't include these items in my household budget and pay for them from a separate household budget (and things like shampoo, soap, and toothpaste are paid out of a toiletries budget).  But, I know that some people include all items, including household supplies and toiletries.  Others, I know, exclude snacks and treats and pay for them from their own personal allowances.  I include all snacks and treats in my grocery budget.  Altogether, I spent $49.14 for groceries, splurge items, and the lightbulbs, according to the receipt.

My September grocery budget (for food for me, only) is $100 + $36.12 carried over from August = $136.12.

Spent so far in September = $17.38 + $42.22 = $59.60

Balance left in the September grocery budget = $136.12 - $59.60 = $76.52

Now, the question is, will I carry that $76 forward to October?  It seems ridiculous to carry that amount forward when my monthly budget is supposed to be $100!  Maybe I'll keep it and splurge on salmon when my daughter comes home for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to order groceries online
- For same day curbside pick up
- Being able to afford some splurge items and treats
- A safe drive to the grocery store and back
- The availability of the items I ordered

Today's joyful activity was picking up groceries!  

Meal Planning September Week 3 Review and Week 4 Plan

This was my meal plan for September Week 3:

Brunches: Leftover blueberry pancakes (Monday)✔; French toast✔; scrambled eggs (with or without bacon and fried potatoes or toast)✔; uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat)✔; soup (?; it's supposed to rain on Thursday) (it didn't rain); leftovers

Dinners: Leftover beef curry with rice and eggplant curry;✔ leftover cheese burek with salad✔; leftover hamburger patty with salad or fried potatoes and cooked vegetables (snowpea pods)✔; chicken curry with rice and moringa curry (from the freezer)✔; leftover chicken curry, moringa curry, and rice; gyoza (from the freezer)✔; leftovers or a breakfast for dinner; Harissa chicken and salad dinner compliments of neighbor S!

The theme for this week's dinners seems to be leftovers!  LOL.

Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt✔, cereal, apples✔, banana chocolate chip cookie compliments of gardener M, ice cream, homemade chocolate pudding, chicken curry sandwich, cherry Danish compliments of S! crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, maybe a peach dump cake with frozen peaches?

And here's how it worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Leftover blueberry pancakes (2 pancakes) with syrup
Dinner: Rice, beef curry, eggplant curry
Snacks/Desserts: Caramelized apple slices and ice cream

Tuesday:
Brunch: Leftover rice, beef curry, eggplant curry, tomato chutney
Dinner: Leftover cheese burek with salad
Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt

Wednesday:
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast
Dinner: Gyoza
Snacks/Desserts: Banana white chocolate chip cookie from M, yogurt

Thursday:
Brunch: Uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat)
Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry
Snacks/Desserts: Chocolate, canned peaches, chicken curry sandwich

Friday:
Brunch - Leftover uppuma
Dinner - Hamburger patty, fried potatoes, and snowpea pods
Snacks/Desserts - Chocolate pudding

Saturday:
Brunch - French toast, bacon
Dinner - Salad, harissa chicken with yarma (cracked wheat)
Snacks/Desserts - Cherry Danish

Sunday:
Breakfast - Leftover French toast and bacon
Lunch - Harissa chicken with yarma
Dinner - Gyoza
Snacks/Desserts - Cheese burek, ice cream, toast with butter and peach jam

Well, I guess I kept to the plan for the most part!  With some changes to keep it interesting!  LOL.

On to Week 4!  Once again, I have a few bits and pieces of leftovers in the fridge (a little bit of chicken curry, a little bit of moringa curry, a piece of bacon, one of the cheese bureks from neighbor S, etc., they will be incorporated in the week's meals.  I am also planning to order and pick up some groceries, tomorrow (Tuesday), so there will be some fresh fruits, other than apples, for snacking, etc.

Brunches: Toast with butter and peach jam (Monday), toast with peanut butter, cheese burek, scrambled egg and toast, tuna salad sandwiches, soup?

Dinners: Chicken curry sandwich (Monday), stir fried "noodles" (spaghetti) with sausage and vegetables, sauteed chicken with rice or potatoes and vegetables, fried rice, leftovers!

Snacks/Desserts: Gyoza (Monday), apple slices (Monday), bananas, yogurt, muffins or biscuits (if I bake some), cheese and crackers.

I am not feeling very inspired to meal plan, today, so, this meal plan will probably be subject to change!    

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan this week?  

The First Weekend of Autumn

Sunday's Flower Arrangement

The first weekend of autumn was sunny and warm!  I approve!

On Saturday, I did a small flower arrangement with a rose and some greenery from the garden as one of my autumn joyful activities.  My plan was to do at least one flower arrangement each month.  However, later in the afternoon, neighbor S called to let me know that she was making some cheese filled puff pastries (burek) and also, she was making harissa chicken with yarma (cracked wheat) and would I like to have some?  I haven't tried harissa chicken or yarma, so, I said I'd like to try some and of course, I love her puff pastries!  She asked if I could come over to her house to pick up the food and I said yes.  Then, I wondered what I could take for her as a little thank you gift.  As you know, she's always giving me some of the delicious food she and her family make.  So, when the time came to pick up the food, I took her the little flower arrangement I had made.  She was very pleased with the little bouquet.

And this is the feast she sent home with me:

Saturday Dinner - Compliments of Neighbor S

Harissa chicken and yarma in the square container (enough for several meals!), two bowls of salad to go with it, two cheese burek/puff pastries, and a cherry Danish for dessert!  Oh, my!  I had one of the bowls of salad and some of the harissa chicken and cracked wheat for dinner on Saturday (it was very delicious - spicy without being too hot) and the cherry Danish for dessert!

Today (Sunday), I thought the blue vase should have another flower arrangement, so, picked more flowers (roses, gazania, and plumbago) and some greenery and made a new flower arrangement!  

Later in the afternoon, I settled down to mend the quilt I had been mending earlier - I had put it aside for several weeks during the summer, when it became too hot to be sitting with a lapful of quilt!  As usual, a certain kitty decided I needed his help:

Mending Quilts with Dancer

Thank you for your help, Dancer!

This weekend, I was grateful for:

- Sunny warm days
- Neighbor S sharing some delicious food with me
- Flowers from the garden
- Phone calls and emails from family and friends
- Dancer's help with the quilt mending!

The weekend's joyful activities included doing a couple of flower arrangements, enjoying a delicious dinner compliments of neighbor S, being out in the garden, and sewing with Dancer!

On the To Do List for Monday:

- Meal planning

- Laundry

- Paperwork

- Taking the trash cans to the curb

- Ordering and picking up groceries

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

Autumn/Fall Joyful Activities

 

Autumn Rose

Today, Saturday, September 23, 2023, is the first day of Autumn (or Fall as it is usually called here), according to what I've read online.  It has been a lovely, sunny, and warm day (77F/25C) which, as most of you know, makes me happy!  I like sunny warm days!  The change in the seasons when we go from summer to autumn seems to affect me more than any other and cool, overcast days tend to get me down.

I've decided that it is time to make a list of joyful activities to look forward to, this autumn.  I first did a list of joyful activities back in 2016 and I did a few more seasonal or monthly joyful activities after that.  Then, I stopped doing that, for a couple of years; I think the last one I did was in January, 2021.  There had been some discussions with my daughter where she had said that joyful activities should be a daily thing and I've been listing those in my daily blog postings.  But, often, the daily joyful activities are things like being out in the garden or, chatting with family and friends.  I think I am feeling the need for some, more intentional, joyful activities.

Here's my list and it starts from today and goes on till Thanksgiving:

Autumn Joyful Activities:

- Do a monthly flower arrangement with garden flowers and/or greenery

- Spend some time outside, daily (aches and pains and weather permitting)

- Spend some time reading

- Do a fun craft project: make a new fall wreath

- Play with fabric or yarn

- Make a card or two

- Do some scrapbooking

- Plant a fall/cool weather garden

- Play more music

- Decorate for Fall/Thanksgiving 

- Bake a treat (pie, cake, muffins, cookies, etc.)

- Light a scented candle some evenings

I think that is a nice, manageable list of joyful activities, don't you?  

What would be some of your joyful autumn activities?

Where's Mama Cat?

Where's Mama Cat?

Several of you tried to find Mama Cat hiding under the squash plants, in yesterday's post, and I was sorry that I didn't think to take a picture of her.  So, I thought I'll do a find Mama Cat post!  

Did you see her in the picture above?  No?

How about if I moved in closer?

Do you see her now?

Maybe?  Move in a bit closer, still?

How about now?

Shall we go around to the other side and hold back a leaf or two?

Now you see her!

Now you don't!

She didn't like being photographed:

"Lady, if you keep taking pictures of me, I'm out of here!"

But then, she ate some kibble I gave her and went back to her spot:

"I'm guarding the squash plants!"
(Personally, I think she's hiding from Chicken Little!)

Guess what else I found when I was photographing Mama Cat in the squash patch?

A female butternut squash flower!

Luckily for me, there was a male flower further down on the vine and I did a little bit of hand pollinating!  Hopefully, that worked and I'll have a butternut squash to harvest, if it doesn't get too cold too soon!

This was the temperature inside the house, at 11:00 a.m., this morning, 

65F/18C

I know that's comfortable to some, but, that's a bit chilly for me!  Outside was a bit warmer at 72F! 

The Garden in September

The Front Garden on September 21, 2023

Time for another garden post, as I try to capture the changes in the garden from month to month, on or around the 20th of each month.  

The Succulents Border

Some of the succulents are getting a bit "leggy" and while it adds some height interest, it's probably time to clean up this area a bit.

Succulents Circle

The succulents in the circle are doing well and the jacaranda seedling planted in the middle is growing well, too.  I am hoping that it will flower, next spring.

Succulents Along the Side Wall

The succulents we planted earlier in the summer along the side wall are coming along nicely.  They haven't grown much, but, they haven't died, either!  

Osteospermum 

We still have some osteospermum flowers, here and there.  But, the star of the front garden right now is the lantana:

Spot the White Butterfly!

And a look at the garden from the other side:

The Front Garden from the Other Corner

Ready to take a look at the back garden?

The Back Garden

Eenie, the butternut squash plant, is trying to reach the house!  

Eenie, the Butternut Squash Plant

Meenie and Minie, the Zucchini Sisters
(And Mama Cat hiding under them!)

Mama Cat is not the only thing hiding under those big leaves!

Potential Baby Zucchini!

I tried to give Mother Nature a helping hand, earlier in the week, and tried to pollinate the female zucchini flower; I'm hoping it worked!  There is also another female zucchini flower bud to the viewer's right in the picture!

There are a few other flowers besides the squash flowers in the back garden:

Plumbago Bushes Along the Side Wall

Gazanias

Sedum

And, of course, roses!

The Last Roses of Summer

Thank you for visiting my garden in September.  I hope you enjoyed the tour! 

Problems Commenting on the Blog?

At least one regular reader has said that she had problems commenting on my blog and I know that some others have mentioned that they are unable to comment on some other blogs.  

I'm not sure what is going on or what I can do about it, but, I'm sorry if anyone is unable to comment on my blog. I do really look forward to your comments and try my best to reply to them all.

My email address is at the top of the blog, so, if anyone else is having trouble commenting, please send me an email so I know.  Thank you.

"No blog comments?"

Tuesday

 

Cherry Tomatoes

The volunteer cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen.  I picked four of them, today.  I haven't tried them yet, though.

Tuesday was a sunny day with temperatures in the mid 70s.  Cooler than normal for this time of the year and I am finding myself reaching for the long sleeved blouses, a scarf, and a pair of socks!   

I brought in the emptied trash bins in the morning, renewed one library book online, and put away the laundry I had washed and hung up to dry on Monday.  Then, I walked around the garden for a bit and walked up and down the driveway and the front of the house for a few minutes.  The water and electricity meter reader came by while I was outside and he read the meters; I suppose I will be getting my bill, soon!  Some other person came around in a truck, selling some fruit, but, I didn't buy any, although, one of the construction workers, next door, bought something from him.

The construction workers were busy all day with a jack-hammer at the back of the house and I am curious to see what they are doing!  So far, they've installed some nice lights in the front of the house and put in a new door on the side of the house, opening out to the driveway.  

Later, I cut up the passionfruit I had been gathering as they ripened and fell.  There were twelve fruits and I scooped out the pulp to freeze.  I will make a drink with the frozen pulp to share with my daughter when she comes home at Thanksgiving.  

I had leftover rice, beef curry, eggplant curry, and tomato chutney for a late lunch; dinner was leftover cheese burek.  

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- A sunny day
- Cherry tomatoes and passionfruit from the garden
- Weekly trash collection services
- Electricity and water on tap
- Being able to renew my library book online

Tuesday's joyful activity was chatting online with my daughter.

Plans for Wednesday include M tending to the garden and maybe some baking.

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

Meal Planning - September Week 2 Review and Week 3 Plan

This was the meal plan for September Week 2:

Brunches: Pancakes and mackerel curry (Monday), leftover pancakes and mackerel curry, French toast, scrambled egg, peanut butter and toast,  salads

Dinners: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice (Monday), chicken beef curry with rice, spicy potatoes, eggplant, cucumber, and tomato chutney, hamburgers, potatoes, green beans, and corn salad, leftovers 

Snacks: Yogurt, cereal, apples, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, maybe muffins if I bake some

And here's how it worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner: Smoked sausage stir fry and rice
Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt, apple slices, leftover pancakes with syrup (very late night snack)

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg by itself (eaten after we got home from the vet clinic, around 4:00 p.m.); chocolate
Dinner: Leftover smoked sausage stir fry and rice
Snacks: Yogurt, apple slices, crackers, cheese and toast (another very late night snack)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Peanut butter on a slice of toast
Lunch - Fried breaded shrimp
Dinner - Chicken sandwich roll
Snacks: Banana, ice cream

Thursday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg
Dinner: Rice, beef curry, tomato chutney, cucumber salad
Snacks - Banana, yogurt, canned peaches

Friday:
Brunch - Bread and beef curry
Dinner - Fried breaded shrimp with tomato chutney
Snacks -Peanuts, canned peaches 

Saturday:
Brunch - Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner - Hamburger patty, green beans, corn, potatoes, tomato chutney
Snacks - Blueberry pancake; canned peaches

Sunday:
Brunch - Pancakes and mackerel curry
Dinner - Cheese burek compliments of neighbor S
Snacks - Rice pudding, gata, apple

I think it worked out well, even with several changes.  I couldn't find the chicken curry in the freezer, so  I thawed a packet of beef curry, instead, and that worked out just as well.  I've since located the chicken curry, and have taken out a packet of 2 pieces to thaw for this week.  I have one more packet of beef curry and two packets of chicken curry, in the freezer.  That's at least 3 more weeks of chicken and beef curry before I need to make more (there's plenty of sauted or baked chicken in the freezer as well).

On to this week's meal plan:

Brunches: Leftover blueberry pancakes (Monday); French toast; scrambled eggs (with or without bacon and fried potatoes or toast); uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat); soup (?; it's supposed to rain on Thursday); leftovers

Dinners: Leftover beef curry with rice and eggplant curry; leftover cheese burek with salad; leftover hamburger patty with salad or cooked vegetables; chicken curry with rice and moringa curry (from the freezer); leftover chicken curry, moringa curry, and rice; gyoza (from the freezer); leftovers or a breakfast for dinner 

The theme for this week's dinners seems to be leftovers!  LOL.

Snacks/Desserts: Yogurt, cereal, apples, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, canned fruit, maybe a peach dump cake with frozen peaches?

That is the plan, anyway.  While my meal plans are subject to change, I've some leftovers in the fridge that I need to finish up!  

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan this week?  If so, would you care to share in the comments?

The Last Sunday of Summer

 

"You woke me up from my nap to tell me that?"

It feel like fall, already!  Today's high was only 72F (our normal temperature for this time is 86F).  It was cloudy and overcast most of the day with just a little sunshine during the afternoon.  

I took a walk around the garden in the early afternoon and the roses are enjoying the milder temperatures:

The last rose of summer?

Maybe not:

The Pink Roses

I walked up and down the drive way a few times.  I am starting back from square one, again, with my walking after my recent hip pains.  It isn't painful to walk now, unlike earlier, but, there is still some soreness in my hip, so I am taking it very easy, gradually increasing the number of times I walk up and down.

Construction workers were busy with the renovations, next door - they seem to be working seven days a week!  I tried to speak with two of the construction workers who were standing outside and talking, but, while they smiled and nodded, they didn't speak English.  So we waved at each other and I continued to walk for a bit more while they continued with their conversation.  Later in the evening, former neighbor T called for our weekly Sunday chat and I mentioned that the new neighbors haven't move in yet, but, they were doing some renovations.  She said she wouldn't be surprised if they broke down some walls to make the rooms a bit bigger.  

Brunch was two more pancakes with the last of the mackerel curry.  I was going to cook some rice for dinner, but, neighbor S called and brought me some cheese burek from a bakery (a bread version, as opposed to puff pastry), a cup of rice pudding her sister-in-law had made, and a gata (cookie) from a birthday celebration at her Church.

Sunday Dinner Compliments of S

Not the best picture; sorry.  Here's another picture of the burek:

Cheese Burek

S told me to warm it up before eating, as she had kept it in the fridge.  I did and it was very tasty.  There were two pieces of burek and I kept the other one in the fridge for next week. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- Late summer roses
- Afternoon sunshine
- Dinner compliments of neighbor S
- Being able to walk again without experiencing pain at every step
- Phone calls and emails from friends

Today's joyful activities included being in the garden and enjoying the dinner that S brought me.

Plans for tomorrow (Monday), include doing a load of laundry, some housework, some paperwork, and some reading.

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

Saturday

Serrano Chilies

Saturday was another cool and overcast day, although there was sunshine in the afternoon.  I walked around the garden and picked chilies from my Serrano chili plant.  I only have one chili plant, but, it has given me quite a few chilies.  I prefer to pick them while they are still green, but, I might let a few turn red.  I freeze them and use them in my cooking.

I had a rather relaxed day, although I accomplished a few household tasks and walked up and down the driveway a few times.  

I made pancakes for brunch and added the blueberries I've been picking to the last of the batter and made three blueberry pancakes, as well.

For dinner, I warmed up a hamburger patty I had previously cooked and frozen.  I cooked the few green beans I had picked from the garden and some of the potatoes I had grown, along with some frozen corn to have with the hamburger patty, and added a spoonful of my tomato chutney, too:

Dinner

I had some canned peaches for dessert.  

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to have a relaxed day
- Homegrown vegetables
- Sunny afternoons
- Video chats with my daughter
- Dancer seems to be fully recovered

Today's joyful activity was spending time video chatting with my daughter - she had done some shopping at her favorite Japanese store and wanted to show me what she had bought.