Monday's Musings and Menus

Well here we go, our first step into another week. I am starting out this morning with baked oatmeal. You can find the recipe here. I added crushed pineapple and shredded coconut to this batch. It is so good. I wish you were here I would share a bowl with you.

It was a beautiful weekend. The temps hit 71 on Sunday and I took some time on the deck. The sun was so bright I had to wear a hat. Reading was out of the question because of the sunshine but I just closed my eyes and relaxed for about an hour.

Menus for the week are a bit more raw and as low carb as possible. Hubs is a diabetic and has been having some issues keeping his blood sugar down. So we are trying a new approach.

Monday.....grilled chicken, roasted brussel sprouts, carrots and yellow squash

Tuesday.......grilled flounder, riced cauliflower w/shell peas, red onions and roasted garlic

Wednesday........chopped salad with chopped grilled chicken leftover from monday

Thursday........marinara sauce over zucchini noodles and shredded carrots

Friday........buffalo cauliflowerettes, marinated pork loin chop and tomato/cucumber salad 

Saturday........chopped salad with a scoop of tuna salad and sunflower seeds.

Sunday.......I have no idea! 

So what are you having this week?

Relaxation.......Inspiration

I guess we all have stress in our lives. And I also believe, that what is stress to me might not be for you. And what is relaxing to me might make you nervous as heck. Well lots of things are relaxing to me. Basically anything I am doing with my hands is a form of relaxation. I use to say my art was my Prozac! But it really is not a joke. Creativity is a great form of relaxation. It allows my blood pressure to go down and and gives me a peaceful feel. Now I "like" to be creative 12 months out of the year. But I do find that for some reason I "need" to be creative in the long days of winter. Maybe it is the lack of sunshine or even just not as much daylight. But creating I must be doing and this week has been no different. I have been looming up a storm this week. 

So tell me what you been doing to relax during these long sunless winter days.

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I have also been doodling! I am enjoying just taking a blank piece of paper and starting to fill it up. Sometimes the idea comes before the pen hits the paper and other times the pen takes off and it just becomes what it is. That is what happened this week. I was thinking about God's Favor and how many instances in the bible where it sustained those who accepted it. And I guess as I was thinking, my fingers were listening! I thought about Joseph as he was in prison and found favor with the guards. And look at Noah, he found favor in the eyes of the Lord and he landed high and dry.

Fondness Friday

This has indeed been a busy week. Cold weather with lots of wind has filled most of the days. It has rained at 36 degrees and snowed at 30 degrees. But no matter what the wind was blowing. I thought a few times I was going to have to tie a brick around Lil'bit when I sent him out to do his business!! That wind was fierce! But I am so thankful we did not sustain any damage from it as so many others did. We only had to chase trashcans a few times is all.

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I have not been taking very many pictures lately.(for the above reasons). But I hope to solve that in the week and days to come. Sunshine will make it a bit easier to get some photos taken.

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I was reading the other day about ways to keep a marriage strong. And there was the usual things you read about, things like, laugh together, pray together, complement each other, compromise when you need to.

These things got me to thinking, after all we been married for 36 years. So laugh together, that is something we do everyday, usually cause we are laughing at each other!

Pray together, this one is done every morning to start our day and at night before the lights go out.

Complement each other. This is something that has to be sincere and come from the heart. If not it will backfire in a big way!

And compromise is probably the hardest one to do consistently and without keeping score! Are you a score keeper? We did it your way last time! I let you do what you wanted last week. Sometimes this is the way we feel but I have found that thinking about the union as a whole and not yourself makes it easier to figure out what is best in the long run. And after all that the bottom line. 

So I was thinking of our "Marriage Basket" and how full it is. When we got married 36 years ago it was an empty basket and we had to work everyday to fill it up. We worked to fill it with compassion. We added as much patience as we could. Admiration was something we could never have too much of. We experienced good times and laughter and slipped those memories in the basket as well. Love that we had for each other and shared with our children were bundled and saved. Cause you see this basket is always there for us to draw from. But we can never let it get empty. We cannot take more out than we put in. So many marriages today do not make it through the tough times because the basket is empty and there is nothing for them to pull out when they need it. 

So give it some thought, make sure your basket is well stocked for the most important task you have. Take care to not take more out than you put in.

Thankful Thursday and other Stuff

This weather has been crazy for sure. Yesterday was 64 degrees with sunshine and today it is in the 30's and snowing. Lots of wind as well. 

The buds on almost all the trees are filling up and I hope that the fruit trees don't get bitten too bad. Last year was a bad year for apples and pears and peaches. I hope the fruit is good this year for winter storage.

I got to thinking last evening about the how things are going and the weather and all and it made me so thankful:

For our warm home to live in.

Warm clothing and boots to keep our feet dry.

A well stocked pantry to provide food to warm us from the inside out.

Books on the shelf to read.

And good health for us all.

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A big pot of chili is going on the stove today. It will feed us well and also warm up the kitchen all day long. And the aroma as it cooks is just another bonus.

So what are you cooking for dinner tonight?

Finishline Friday

It's Friday, how on earth did this happen? I mean where did the week go? 

It started off like this.

And stayed this way for a couple days. 

Then we got the heaviest rain and thunder(in February) but it would refreeze everything at night time like this.

So all the water was froze like this and now here we are to friday and it is suppose to hit 60 degrees. Now I am not complaining about the rising temps at all. I am excited to see a touch of spring and have something to look forward to in the coming weeks. 

I am starting to see Robin's in my neck of the woods. They leave for the winter and we don't see them till spring. So the few I am seeing must be the "scouts" that go looking for spring ahead of the flocks. Are you seeing the spring birds yet around your house?

I have spent some time at the loom this week and I have to say those are the most relaxing parts of my days. I am enjoying this weaving adventure so much. I love the whole idea of taking nothing(rags) and turning them into a beautiful piece of usable art. My mind just races as I start to rip the fabric into strips and try to imagine how it will look once it is woven into a rug. And by the way my mind never gets it right! It is always a surprise when I start weaving it together. But oh it is so much fun!

Monday's Musings and Menus

It is still cold and frozen outside but they say the weather is changing some today. They say it is going to warm up enough that the snow will become ice! And then warm up even more so mother nature can give us rain! And then a we all know it will freeze again overnight into ICE!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! We look at this day a bit different than most folks do. I believe it is a day to celebrate and be thankful for love. (not just a day for lovers!) 

Weekly Ponderings

As cold as it is out there today it is hard to ponder anything except how to stay warm. And the only thing I can think I would like to do today is snuggle up by a fire. But the only place I have to build one is in the firepit outside! So that will be a pass! But that doesn't keep a girl from dreaming, so I did a little surfing and here is what I came up with.

I could see myself with a hot cup of coffee and a good book sitting in front of either of these fireplaces for the afternoon. But since I don't have a fireplace! Imagining is all a girl can do.

I will be showing you this week's doodle art tomorrow. You will understand why when you see it.

Stay warm and safe.

Finish up Friday

Another cold week around here. I am actually getting tired of saying that! I am getting tired of the cold as well. So I guess I have to say that the cold is a bummer to me. But I have had so many things to keep me busy that other than just being cold, I am not having issues this winter at all. 

Oh guess what I did this afternoon. The sun was shining brightly through the living room window and I layed down on the couch and took a nap. All my dogs joined me and it felt so good, for me and them!

I have been weaving this week and will have rugs in my etsy shop soon. I have also been doing some knitting and it has been fun and relaxing as well as a creative outlet. I will show you some of that in a few days.

I baked carrot bread this morning, so my house smells so good now!

What I don't understand is how the rest of the house is sleeping with the aroma of the breads and coffee smelling as good as it does!

More cold coming this weekend and into Presidents' Day we should see more snow. The nasty kind with rain, sleet, snow and ice!

So whats on the agenda for your weekend?

Thankfulness

It is Thursday.

It is cold.

It is windy.

I am thankful for the following things(in no certain order).

Having my grandson staying with us for awhile.

The health of my family.

The love of my family.

Automobiles that are in good running order.

A stocked cupboard. 

My new weaving loom, it is a great source of entertainment for me this winter.

My husband has a hobby, this keeps him busy as well.

Books to read.

Today was short and sweet but no less important than any picture heavy post from the past.

God bless you all and stay safe out there.

Monday's Musings and Menus

I spent the weekend rolling rag balls to prepare for some more rugs. And now they say that there is snow on the way so all I gotta say is bring it on! I am ready for a few days of being inside and having nowhere to go or for that matter any way to do it if I wanted to.

Menus for the week:

Sunday(yesterday) we had football food 

Monday.....chili

Tuesday.....Jambalaya w/chicken and andouille and then I will add shrimps to mine as I serve it over rice. I have non shrimp lovers in my home. 

Wednesday.......chopped salad w/anything in the fridge leftover

Thursday........bacon, eggs, pancakes

Friday......turkey kielbasa with sauteed onions and peppers and cannellini beans and wilted kale.

Saturday.......Maybe going out to eat

So what is on your agenda and menu this week? 

  

Weekly Ponderings

I have spent some time at the loom this week. And this is a peek at what was produced.

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Also spent some time getting prepared for the next rug. I love the actual looming time but the prep work, not so much! But it is a necessary step so I am trying to get myself in the habit of prepping for several rugs at a time. That might take me more time up front but it will allow me to sit at the loom for much longer once I get started. 

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And this week I was thinking on a bigger scale (meaning the whole year 2016) so I ended up doing 2 pages in my journal. It was fun and I wanted to share it with you. I will also have to say that I could have done several more pages if the week had just been longer!

Hope you all had a great week!

Sunshine Friday

It is cold outside but at least the sun is shining. I love sunshine! It gives me my "get up and go". I've got sunsh-i-n-e............. on a cloudy

day. Okay that song will be stuck in my head all day now.

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I have been getting outside this week for a walk (at least a mile) even though our cold weather is back. When it's cold outs-i-d-e......I've got the month of May. Don't say I didn't warn you! But I guess the cold weather is good since it makes your system work harder to stay warm, thus burning more calories.

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This weekend is the big game. And although I am not a huge fan I can get into this one and enjoy it along with the "football crew" . I guess you'd say..... Now the football crew is a group of cronies that all get together to watch the games throughout the whole season. Now they don't care who is playing or even who is winning for that matter. As long as there is lots of good food. And that is where I come in! What can make me feel this way?  So for the Superbowl the menu will be as follows:

Baked ham and cheese sliders

Hamburger sliders with all the toppings

Hot wings

grilled baked potato wedges

grilled carrots

relish tray

broccoli,cauliflower,bell peppers,green onions,carrots,celery,radishes,olives, sweet pickles,baby dills 

chip, pretzels, dip and salsa

Texas Sheet Cake 

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Well let me leave you with this 

Where is January?

So where on earth did January go? It flew right by and I feel like I missed it. And here it is February 2nd and I am already behind for the month.

First of all let me say that darn groundhog better not see his shadow today! I do not want 6 more weeks of winter for sure.

Yesterday was rather busy around here since we were replacing the hot water tank most of the day. But I am now the proud owner of a New 50 gallon Whirlpool Hot water tank. And let me tell you she is a beauty!