My Weekly W's

 

What's top of my mind:  My first full week after vacation was cut shorter because Winter hit our area of Southern Illinois all week.  We started out with sleet Sunday night that turned into snow.  The totals of ice were .75 inch, and snow was 3 inches, so I stayed home Monday.  FREEZING temps followed all week keeping everything frozen solid.  Then Friday it snowed all day totaling 7 more inches, and I came home around 9am.  It truly looks like a winter wonderland outside.  The downside of these cold temperatures hit me on Thursday.  I left work and heard loud thumping under the Jeep.  I pulled over to check my tires and make sure no ice or snow was blocking the wheels, but it all looked good. I decided to keep going since I live less than a mile from work.  I heard two more thumps then nothing more.  TBG checked under the hood and said everything looked fine and we drove it around the neighborhood to see if it was still making noise.  It wasn't and we pulled into the garage, and I again looked under the Jeep.  This time I was horrified to see a cat's tail hanging down.  To make a long story short, while I was at work a cat had climbed up under the Jeep and that thumping noise was him.  It was removed yesterday with no damage to the vehicle.  But I've been sad about that poor cat for three days now.  I park in the garage at home and hadn't been anywhere but work all week so never thought to look before I left. 

Where I've been:  No where but work and home.

Where I'm going:  Hopefully I will make it to work all week and I'm sure I'll make a small grocery run but no other plans so far.

What I'm watching:  I watched the latest episode of Southern Charm and a few DDD episodes while making dinner but really didn't watch much else.

What I'm reading:  I need to finish Wintering because I have two books from Christmas that I can't wait to read.

What I'm listening to:  I love when everything is covered with snow because it is so quiet out.  I went out Friday and Saturday to just enjoy the stillness and silence for a bit.  It was wonderful.

What I'm eating:

Soul soothing chicken and white bean soup with garlic cheddar biscuits.

I had a couple of Belgian waffles in the freezer left over from breakfast last weekend, so we had chicken and waffles. I made a siracha and maple syrup sauce for them and it was delicious.

LO beef and bean chili with cornbread

Chicken sausage with green peppers and onions, baked potato and salad

BIG salad

Chicken, mac and cheese and salad with Texas Toast.  This was a new recipe for a baked mac and cheese that I will share this week.

Tonight, I am roasting a bone in turkey breast, sides undecided yet other than I want to use the cranberries in the freezer to make a cranberry, orange relish.

What I'm planning:  I've been looking over my planner for 2025 and scheduled a few trips, day dates and celebrations.  I want to stay ahead of the planning for holidays and events.

What is making me smile: This meme really hit home for me.  Making the most out of every day is my number one intention.

My heart goes out to everyone in the California area experiencing this historic loss.  It seems like the list of people having their lives totally devastated by these events continues to grow.  Prayers out to them all.