WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

 Hello, friends!  I didn't realize that it has been a week since I posted.  Every day is full of stuff to do around the house and I have been sleeping a lot.  I really didn't mean to ignore you.  I hope you all have been doing just great.

This next week is going to be so busy with doctor appointments and of course we are slated to have a huge snow storm beginning tomorrow night and lasting until Tuesday morning.  We are supposed to get 9 to 12 inches (approx. 30 cm).  I am NOT looking forward to that.  And our high temperatures have been in the 20sF. (approx. -5*C).  This has brought on several asthma attacks so it has not been fun for me.  But we carry on as best we can.

This week I made a cake from scratch for the very first time.  It was my great-grandmother's recipe.  And when I tasted it, all the memories came rushing back of her making it.  It was so good.  Joe loved it too.  We have about a quarter of it left.

I am working this coming month on getting my kitchen under control.  Let's face it, this house is a mess and I need to get every room under control.  But I think the kitchen is the easiest and so I am starting there.  I will just work my way around the house and hopefully by this time next year the entire house will be done.

But let me show you what I have had for dinner the last few weeks.

On Sunday, January 10 we had a honey ham steak and zucchini with mushrooms.  I had a small container of applesauce on the side.  That ham was really good.

Tuesday, January 12th we had pork chops done in the air fryer, asparagus and french fries.  Joe made the pork chops for me.

Wednesday, January 13, we had macaroni and cheese and some Italian meatballs.  I buy the meatballs frozen.  They are really good.  I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe for my mac and cheese.  It's the best recipe I have found.

On Monday the 18th we had spaghetti and meatballs.  Yes, more of those yummy meatballs.  It was a night that things kept popping up and it got later and later and this was a quick and easy dinner.

And on Tuesday the 19th I made a meatloaf and served it with mashed potatoes and carrots, green beans and wax beans.

See anything here that inspires you?  I sure hope so.

In the meantime, how did it get to be the end of January?  New Year's Day seems so long ago, and yet it seems as though there should be at least one more week of January.

I hope you have a great Sunday and I will do my best to not let another week pass before I stop in to see you all again.  I really do appreciate each and every one of you.  I feel as if I know so many of you and count you all as my friends.

Until later...

Kathy

GROCERY HAUL

 Hello, friends!  I hope you had a great day today.  It was sunny, but rather cold.  Well, it is January so I suppose being cold is part of the picture.  I started a grocery list thinking we needed just a few things but it grew to a huge proportion.  So yesterday I put my order in to Shoprite online and Joe and I went and picked it up this afternoon.  Let me show you what I got.

We are both trying to lose weight.  Joe is doing much better at it than I am.  So we decided to get a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables this week.  We got seedless grapes, halo mandarine oranges and red delicious apples.  I am very happy with the choices they picked out for us.  Everything is just what I would have chosen.

I got some chicken tenders to make lemon chicken.  We haven't had that in a long time.  I got some lactose free milk, frozen french fries, low salt bacon, salmon filets, ground beef, honey sausage, and stewing beef.  I have lots of ideas for dinners.

More fruit.  This time it's bananas.  I went to get a can of tomato soup the other day and found we had none.  So I got three cans of that.  I have to have another test soon so three cans of chicken broth.  This way I know I have it in the house.  I also got some apple pie filling.  I have used it before and it's really good.

I got pretzel sticks for our snack.  It's low fat.  I also got a bottle of olive oil, a bottle of vegetable oil, a box of instant potatoes, a bag of treats for Jack, paper plates, and a refill for our air freshener that we have in the bathroom.

Carrying on with the healthy theme, I got an apple and cheddar salad kit and two Asian salad kits.  These are salads that we both like a lot.  I also got some iceberg lettuce and carrots and a bag of baby spinach.  I have some grape tomatoes in the refrigerator so putting these together I get another two salads.  I also got some eggs.  I get eggs every time I go to the store.  We go through them so quickly.

J

Jack came by to see what I was doing.  He's such a nosy boy.  But a good one.

From the deli I got lactose-free American cheese, Virginia ham, Swiss cheese and bologna.  I also got a broccoli crown and some asparagus.

After we left Shoprite, we headed to Target.  Joe had to pick up some medication there.  While he was there, he got a few things.  A loaf of bread, a gallon of Turkey Hill sweet tea (my favorite), two boxes of penne pasta, three jars of marinara sauce and three bags of mozzarella cheese.  He is going to make a penne pasta dish and wanted to have everything in the house.

That's the haul for this week.  Hope you enjoyed seeing it.  Now it's time for me to go make dinner.  Hope you all have a good evening.

Until later...

Kathy

SUNRISE

 Hello, friends!  Happy Thursday.  Hope you are all having a wonderful day.  It's still very early here.  I woke up around 3:00 a.m. and felt full of energy.  So I took advantage of that.  So far I've put a load of laundry in the washer, put a load of dishes in the dishwasher, and put my order in online to Shoprite for pickup tomorrow.  I was going to go to the store myself, but the list got longer and longer and I realized there was no way I could get everything by myself.  My knees are bad lately so I knew I couldn't walk around the store by myself.  I will have them put it together for me and pick it up tomorrow afternoon.  And the sun hasn't even come up!

Speaking of sunrises, I want to show you the first 10 days of January.  I didn't get every day of the month.  Some days I slept in.  But here are the beauties I did get.

Friday, January 1 -- New Year's Day

Saturday, January 2 -- nice and clear

I took a picture on Sunday, January 3 but somehow it got deleted.  I looked in the trash online and through several files but it is gone.  Gone for good.  But it was overcast and we had a little rain.  It looked very much like this one from Monday, January 4.

Another gray day on Tuesday, January 5.

Wednesday, January 6 was clear and pretty.

So was Thursday, January 7.

Finally on Friday, January 8 we had a beautiful and colorful sunrise.  I loved the clouds and they were much more vivid than these pictures show.  Gold and violet is a good way to start the day.

In fact, I took two pictures that day.

Saturday, January 9 was a pretty day, but very cold.  I took the picture through the window.  That's why you see the screen.

And finally Sunday, January 10th.  Another pretty day with some rose highlights in the sky.

It is very cold today.  The temperatures are in the 20sF (around -5*C).  I am going to try to stay inside and stay warm.  I actually have no where I need to go today.

I went to the doctor's yesterday and it was so busy that she couldn't see me until 2 hours after my appointment time.  It was worth the wait, though.  I am doing very well (besides the stomach issue).  She gave me a sample of a brand new medication for my migraine headaches.  It seems to be a miracle drug for a lot of people.  If it works for me, she will give me a prescription for it.  I don't have any headaches right now and I am not looking for one to come back, but I have it if I need it.  So it was a worthwhile visit.

And now I will take my morning medicine and get something to eat.  I think I will turn on the space heater again too.  I was warm and turned it off, but it is getting cold in here.  Be safe and I will see you later.

Kathy

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

 Hello, friends!  Welcome back on this Sunday morning.  It is very early but I couldn't sleep so I got up and made a blueberry coffee cake for breakfast.  Before you think I am so ambitious, it was from a mix.  I was going to make muffins, but coffee cake is so much easier.

Thank you to everyone who sent their prayers and good wishes on my tests.  They were much easier than I expected (although the doctor said I kept moving around so he didn't think it was easy!).  I definitely felt your prayers all around me.  The results, however, were not what we had hoped for.  A lot of polyps were taken for analysis and I have to see the doctor in six weeks and schedule another surgery after that.  I have a feeling 2021 is going to be as bad as 2020 was.

But with all of that said, let me show you some of the dinners we have had this year.  We have been calling out for dinner at least once a week.  This week was more because I just wasn't up to cooking.  I didn't take pictures of those meals, just the ones I made.

New Year's Day (that seems so long ago) I had a pork roast, mashed potatoes and peas and carrots.  Everything was delicious.

On Saturday the second we had poached salmon, rice and mixed vegetables.  Rice was a nice change.  I haven't made it in awhile.

On Sunday the third I used up some leftovers in the refrigerator.  Joe had rigatoni with marinara sauce and cheese.

I had a piece of left over salmon with some left over rice.

Continuing on with our left overs, on Tuesday the fifth we had left over pork, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and butter and applesauce.  I added some pork gravy and it was very good.

I had some stewing beef cubes in the freezer so for Wednesday the sixth I made Mississippi pot roast in the crock pot and served it over mashed potatoes with asparagus on the side.  We were having work done on the back of our house and I really didn't want to be in the kitchen all that much with the workmen walking over my head.  Little bits of dust were falling from the ceiling.  The perfect day for a crock pot meal.

And finally on Thursday the seventh I had barbecued chicken thighs made in the air fryer, a baked potato and broccoli crowns.

What's for dinner tonight?  You'll just have to wait and see.  Hope I have given you some ideas for your meals.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- MADDY'S TAIL BY BRENDA NEWME (2021/1)

 Hello friends!  Happy Friday.  I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  I am writing this post on Thursday to have it post today for you.  As you read this I am probably in the hospital having my two tests done.  I need to be there around 10:45 for my first test at 11:15.  I was told the tests would be about 2 1/2 hours.  So I figure I will be home around 2:30.  Joe has promised to make me scambled eggs for lunch when I get home.  He makes the BEST scrambled eggs I have ever eaten.  I might even get him to make me some bacon too.  Ha, ha!  Then since I doubt I will be up for cooking, he has said he will call out for dinner.

For today I wanted to share the first book I have read this year.  One of my vlog friends, Brenda, wrote this book.  For privacy, she never gives her last name.  Her vlog is "My New Me" and so she wrote under the name Brenda New Me.

It is a Kindle book and for Christmas she offered it for free to any of her readers.  Of course I took her up on this generous offer.  The book is entitled, "Maddy's Tail."

It is the true story of her cat, Maddy, told from Maddy's point of view.  Maddy had lived with a person she calls the Sweet one.  This sweet little old lady had gotten sick and died and the woman's family threw Maddy out of the house.  Maddy lived on the streets for a couple of years, barely surviving because she was a house cat.  (Why do people do these things?  I know it really happens.  Take your cat to a shelter for goodness sake.)

Maddy happens upon a family that she is attracted to.  They seem nice and friendly and leave food and water out for her.  She takes her time and weaves herself into their lives.  Ultimately she is taken in and becomes a much loved part of their family.

Such a sweet book.  It wasn't very long and was an easy read.  I loved that it was told from Maddy's viewpoint.  This is a thumbs up from me.  👍

Here are a couple of pictures of the real life Maddy and the dedication page.

If you get a chance to read this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Back to real life tomorrow (Saturday).  I will see you then.

Kathy

CAT SOCKS DAYS 4-6 (PART 2)

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a good day.  Today is going to be quite a day for me.  I am having a procedure tomorrow morning and I have to fast today.  Not fun for a person who likes to cook and eat.  No solid food and only clear liquids.  The doctor's office gave me a list of things I could eat but most of them I am allergic to.  *sigh*  So I will be living on water, tea and a lovely chicken broth for dinner.  Oh well, it is only one day and I am sure I will get through it.  I have been putting off this test for a year now.  Every time it was scheduled I would get sick -- a hospital stay, stomach virus, sinus infection, then COVID, ending up with another bout fighting my high blood pressure.  I am going to do it now and just get it over with.  I need some answers to what is wrong with me.  Somehow I don't think I am going to like the answers but it is better to know.

I meant to put up this post yesterday, but got busy with things and it never happened.  So today I want to show you the next three pair of socks from my cat sock calendar.  It is so much fun seeing all these different socks each day.

On day number four the door of the calendar said... "Everything is going according to plan" and the kitten is playing with a Christmas tree ornament.  Isn't that just how cats think?

The socks are a lovely light turquoise with calico cats playing with balls of yarn.  So cute!

Day 5's door has a kitten wearing a Santa hat sound asleep and says, "I think I had too much catnip."  Oh my!

These socks are a pair of no show and are dark gray with sleeping white cats.

And Day 6 has a black and white cat that looks as if he is wearing a moustache!  It says, "I really want you to pet me, but also kinda really want to bite you."  Is he related to Jack?  Jack is constantly biting me.

These pretty blue socks have black and white cats on them.  They almost look like penguins!  So fat and sassy.

Six pair of socks down and nine more to go.  It's such fun and I'm so enjoying sharing these with you.

Hope you have a good day today!

Until later...

Kathy