My Weekly W's

What's top of my mind:  Our house.  It's that time of year when I go through every cabinet, closet, drawer and room to get rid of anything we no longer use.  I'm noticing that a few items that I wasn't ready to part with last time are easier to get rid of now that almost a year has passed, and it still hasn't been used.  Any 'stuff' that isn't used or that one of us just truly loves, has no place here.  I'm a firm believer in the theory that just because you have room doesn't mean you need it.

Where I've been:  I was off Friday and went to Kroger, Farmers Market, Aldi and Kohls.  The joy of living in a small town is that all of this took less than two hours.  I remember one trip to Publix taking over an hour in SW Florida because of traffic and crowds.  I don't miss that at all!  I did pick up my September treat to welcome Fall.  As soon as Labor Day is over the pumpkin candy dish will be filled.

Where I'm going:  No plans which always makes me happy.

What I'm watching:  The days are getting shorter, and the bright green of the trees and grass have changed to a deeper dark green. Fall is coming.

What I'm reading:  A Fine Romance by Susan Branch.  I've had this book for a while and decided it would make a nice summer read.  I'm half-way through and it's been fun hearing about their trip and the places they visited.  

What I'm eating:

I made two jars of my favorite green sauce, and we've enjoyed it on so many different things this week. 

Culinary Adventures with Lori: Search results for green sauce

LO beef chili with green sauce and cheese roll up

LO meat sauce on elbow pasta (with green sauce) and salad

Chicken sausage with garlic roasted potatoes and salad

Lamb meatballs, rice and salad (the green sauce is amazing on lamb)

BBQ chicken, zucchini 'fries' and sliced tomatoes

BIG salad

For breakfast I made waffles and fruit today.  TBG now has six in the freezer to reheat for breakfast over the next couple of weeks.

Who needs a good slap:  I spent about 10 minutes trying to think of someone and came up with nothing.  Not that I couldn't have turned on the news and come up with hundreds in less than two minutes, but I try to keep it local and personal.  😊

What is making me smile:  Binx gets the smile again this week.  He's almost 2 1/2 years old now and has started to slow down a little.  He still plays and runs but he also takes a two or three hour nap every day which is new.  I was wondering if he may be bored and need a friend but then realized cats sleep 13-16 hours a day and he is still nowhere near that.  I think he is so close to the two of us and actually rarely is home alone, he is good.

I hope this last weekend of August is a good one for everyone!!  Happy Sunday.

My Weekly W's

What's top of my mind: 

This is SO true!  I have been bombarded with zucchini and various peppers from so many different friends.  We have been eating zucchini in various ways at least twice a week and I made a loaf of zucchini bread.  The peppers have all been frozen or dehydrated.  There will be a lot of spicy stews and chili's this winter.  This isn't half of what we've been gifted.

Where I've been:  I worked Monday-Wednesday and other than the farmers market on Friday, I have been at home.  Home really is my happy place.

Where I'm going:  No appointments or commitments and I'm perfectly happy about that.  Next Saturday we are taking a day trip about an hour north of here.  I hope the weather is perfect like it's been the last four days but it is summer, so we'll deal with it if it isn't.  The 'bers' are coming though.

What I'm watching:  I found a new series that started on Netflix called Blue Ribbon Baking Championship and we watched the first three episodes this weekend.  We both are really enjoying it.  The contestants are blue ribbon bakers from fair's all across the country and the challenges are fun to watch.

What I'm reading:  This has not been a typical year for me when it comes to reading.  Normally I would have read twenty or more books by now and I think I've read four.  

What I'm listening to:  Cicadas.  The normal summer variety that do not swarm you or land down your shirt or in your hair.  They sit in the trees minding their own business and play the sound of summer.

What I'm eating:

Beef cheeseburgers and 'fries' with sliced tomato

Spaghetti with meat sauce and salad

Chicken sausage, mac and cheese and cucumber and tomato salad

LO meat sauce pasta bake, salad and garlic sticks

TBG had shrimp and rice, I had a delicious steak and baked potato and we both had salad

BIG salad

Who needs a good slap:  Amazon.  I ordered a new Shark carpet cleaner and received a box that was mangled, had a large hole in it, and wrapped in an entire roll of packing tape.  The only thing in the box was the base of the machine and two attachments.  Everything else was missing.  I did get it shipped back and received my refund however the review that I wrote with the pictures that I took on my experience was denied because it wasn't 'relevant.'  I responded that now that I know their reviews on products are censored, I will not bother reading them anymore or purchase from them anymore. My prime expires in January and then I will cancel and be done with them.  

What's making me smile:  My pineapple corer. We eat a lot of fresh pineapple, but I always hated cutting them up with a knife.  It's messy, you lose a lot of the juice and it's hard to get uniform slices or chunks.  This baby cuts out the core, the outer edge of the pineapple and cuts perfect slices.  Plus, we can now use the core in a glass of water for a bit of pineapple sweetness.

I hope everyone is enjoying this last bit of summer. 

My Weekly W's

What's top of my mind:  It's time for me to crawl out from the rock I've been under.  I was feeling pretty emotionally drained most of July and just needed to turn everything around me off and focus on each day. Now I'm back to feeling pretty close to my normal self and I'm shocked that it is August.  Not that I'm complaining because the 'bers' start next month and my favorite time of year begins. 

Where I've been:  Binx had his two-year checkup and got his nails trimmed and he was such a good boy. He now weighs 10.8 pounds and got a clean bill of health.  He's now three times the size he was when we brought him home.  I've made many trips to the farmers market and continued to dehydrate and can all month. I didn't go this past week because we're in the part of growing season that friends are begging us to take tomatoes and peppers and of course zucchini.  We also decided to walk around the flea market they have at the mall every month and finally found a set of glasses that I loved.  $5 for a set of 8 very heavy glasses was an awesome deal.  

Where I'm going:  No plans or appointments as of right now for the next week.  I do have a four-day weekend so I'm looking forward to that.

What I'm watching and what I'm reading:  I haven't really done either lately.

What I'm eating:  We're limiting how much bacon we eat but we did finally have our first BLT of the season this week and it was AMAZING. 

BIG salad x 2

Chicken sausage with green peppers and onions and sliced tomatoes

Lamb meatballs with zucchini 'fries' and sliced tomatoes

Fried chicken sandwich with zucchini 'fries'

Tonight, I'm grilling chicken and veggie kabobs

Who needs a good slap:  There are too many to list right now but I will give a special shoutout to the waitress that brought a practically raw egg instead of an over easy egg to TBG last week. It could not have hit the heat for more than 30 seconds.  When he showed it to her, she said she didn't eat eggs so she doesn't know how they are supposed to look and walked off.  Yes, walked off without even a simple I'm sorry.  5 slaps for never checking on us, making that stupid comment and not even saying I'm sorry.

What is making me smile:  Thank you to those of you that emailed me to check on me.  I appreciate that so much.  We may never have met but I do consider you all friends.

Stay cool and have a wonderful week!!