For Today...
Today is Monday, June 29, 2015. Another week gone and almost at the end of another month. This year is flying by. Soon will be one year without Richard. One year of sunrises and sunsets. One year of our living on! One year!
Outside my window...
Outside my window is a typical June day. The skies are clear and perfectly blue. Earlier today it was pretty cloudy but that has all cleared away. The temp is currently 84* and we are on our way to a high of 94* but with lower humidity it doesn't seem as hot! So a nice day here in Kansas!!
Outside my window is a typical June day. The skies are clear and perfectly blue. Earlier today it was pretty cloudy but that has all cleared away. The temp is currently 84* and we are on our way to a high of 94* but with lower humidity it doesn't seem as hot! So a nice day here in Kansas!!
I am thinking...
I am thinking about my sore throat and ear ache and hoping I am not coming down with something. Hopefully, will disappear soon.
I am thinking about my sore throat and ear ache and hoping I am not coming down with something. Hopefully, will disappear soon.
I am thankful...
As I always am, I am thankful for my family. Thankful for Paige and Justin. Thankful for Darian and Harley. Thankful for all my brothers and sister!
As I always am, I am thankful for my family. Thankful for Paige and Justin. Thankful for Darian and Harley. Thankful for all my brothers and sister!
I am hearing...
I am listening to ITunes on the computer. Right now it is playing Girl Crush by Little Big Town. Cute song. I have to admit that it is because of Harley that I purchased this song. I like it too now!
I am reading The Book Thief, by Australian author Markus Zusak. The book was published in 2005 and remained on the New York Times best seller list for over 230 weeks. I can remember when it was "THE" book. I wasn't reading much then. I am enjoying it, so far.
I am still memorizing James 1 with the Do Not Depart group. This week we are taking a break so I am working on reviewing James 1:1-20 verses. If you have not yet tried memorizing with Scripture Typer you must go and try it out. It is fun and an excellent way to memorize Bible verses. I {heart} it!
I am creating...
Besides the creation of this post and my weekly menu plan, I am going to create some more closet and drawer space for everyone this week. Isn't that something we all need more of. I am sure there are quite a few things that Harley can no longer wear. She is growing by leaps and bounds. The girl is now 5'7" and still going skyward!
Besides the creation of this post and my weekly menu plan, I am going to create some more closet and drawer space for everyone this week. Isn't that something we all need more of. I am sure there are quite a few things that Harley can no longer wear. She is growing by leaps and bounds. The girl is now 5'7" and still going skyward!
I am going...
I am going to finally make myself take down Richard's shirts from the utility room hanging rod. I may run them through the washer one last time. Then bag them up for Paige to work on the quilt she wants to make from them. Sigh!
I am going to finally make myself take down Richard's shirts from the utility room hanging rod. I may run them through the washer one last time. Then bag them up for Paige to work on the quilt she wants to make from them. Sigh!
I am pondering...
I am pondering upon the planner I want to purchase. I keep all of our appointments on a Cozi calendar both on the computer and on my phone. But I want a planner that will cover our full lives. A place I can keep track of budget, household chores, snippets of our lives that I might want to reflect upon, and ideas for my blog. So I am looking to have something on paper too!
I am pondering upon the planner I want to purchase. I keep all of our appointments on a Cozi calendar both on the computer and on my phone. But I want a planner that will cover our full lives. A place I can keep track of budget, household chores, snippets of our lives that I might want to reflect upon, and ideas for my blog. So I am looking to have something on paper too!
I am reading...
I am reading The Book Thief, by Australian author Markus Zusak. The book was published in 2005 and remained on the New York Times best seller list for over 230 weeks. I can remember when it was "THE" book. I wasn't reading much then. I am enjoying it, so far.
I am hoping...
I am hoping to work on a huge pile of laundry today. I didn't do any laundry over the weekend and it sure piles up quickly. Harley is in the reading room wrapped in a blanket enjoying a teen romance novel. I'll rope her into helping me. She is starting to like to help around the house! And that is something I am happy to teach her. This morning's lesson was on loading the dishwasher. I let her do it first and then I showed her how she could make more room for everything and what the proper placement was for plastics and etc. Might as well learn the right way if you are going to learn. She has been bugging me about doing laundry so I guess I will soon "grant" her that privilege. Maybe you can tell I am a bit of a control freak on household chores........
I am hoping to work on a huge pile of laundry today. I didn't do any laundry over the weekend and it sure piles up quickly. Harley is in the reading room wrapped in a blanket enjoying a teen romance novel. I'll rope her into helping me. She is starting to like to help around the house! And that is something I am happy to teach her. This morning's lesson was on loading the dishwasher. I let her do it first and then I showed her how she could make more room for everything and what the proper placement was for plastics and etc. Might as well learn the right way if you are going to learn. She has been bugging me about doing laundry so I guess I will soon "grant" her that privilege. Maybe you can tell I am a bit of a control freak on household chores........
I am memorizing....
I am still memorizing James 1 with the Do Not Depart group. This week we are taking a break so I am working on reviewing James 1:1-20 verses. If you have not yet tried memorizing with Scripture Typer you must go and try it out. It is fun and an excellent way to memorize Bible verses. I {heart} it!
In my backyard...
In my backyard there is grass growing. Tomorrow may be mowing day. There are weeds in the flower beds. Will get right on that too. The geraniums need dead-headed again. And a little water probably won't hurt. It is time to rotate the ficus tree. I can't believe how big it is getting since I took it outside.
In my backyard there is grass growing. Tomorrow may be mowing day. There are weeds in the flower beds. Will get right on that too. The geraniums need dead-headed again. And a little water probably won't hurt. It is time to rotate the ficus tree. I can't believe how big it is getting since I took it outside.
In my kitchen...
Monday...Sloppy Joes and French Fries
Tuesday...Chicken Fettuccine in Alfredo Sauce
Wednesday...Lasagna
Thursday...Grilled tomato with Mozzarella Panini and chips
Friday...Cheesy Taco Crunch Casserole
Saturday...Hamburgers and Hot dogs with Pasta salad and watermelon
Sunday...Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli
A favorite quote for today...
One of my favorite things...
One of my favorite things recently has been chopped salads with homemade salad dressing. This recipe has been my go to recipe this summer. It is Emeril Lagasse's recipe:
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup olive oil.
I make it in a small mason jar and if I am going to use it again tomorrow I leave it on the counter. If it will be awhile before I eat salad again I put it in the fridge and then bring it to room-temp before I serve it!Very tasty!
Post Script...
I have a very, very dear friend who lives in Phoenix, Arizona whose name is Myra. I have never met Myra in person but I feel as if I have known her forever. She writes at Respice, Prospice. She is a beautiful person. And funny! And somewhat cynical(her words) at times. I cannot remember when I first met Myra. She visits my blog regularly and I make return visits to hers. She has been there for me through thick and through thin. Holding me up. Encouraging me. Laughing with me. Crying with me. She's a keeper that's for sure. Go pay Myra a visit and tell her I sent you. She might even offer you a glass of wine and some encouragement. Love you Myra!!
It's now time to join Peggy at The Simple Woman's Blog and see what all the ladies are doing today!
It's now time to join Peggy at The Simple Woman's Blog and see what all the ladies are doing today!
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Oh, sounds pretty toasty there to me! We're at about 60 degrees today. 70s would be nice. And some sun. But not much more than 80 for me. Too hot then! What a lovely idea to make a quilt of his shirts. Something for you to seek comfort in, to be "covered by love". I love my cell phone calendar and memo apps. I never thought I would like a non-paper planner but what came with my phone (Google) is super easy to use and always with me!
ReplyDeleteIs it always that cool in the summer in Maine? Yes I think having a quilt made from his shirts will be very nice. My granddaughter wants to make it for me so it will be even nicer knowing that she lovingly made it with her own hands.
DeleteAw, a quilt is such a sweet thing to do with Richard's shirts. Thabks for sharing the salad dressing recipe! I don't keep much dressing in the house, but I have the ingredients to make homemade. Sounds good and my lettuce is stilll growing great! Not much help with a paper planner unless you like rather plain. I got my monthly planner Office Max and I really like it. It's thin and slips in my purse for work. It is a month at a glance, but has a monthly To Do list, notes, a durable plastic page with a pocket on both sides for things I need to tuck in there.
ReplyDeleteI really like this particular dressing. We also always have homemade Hidden Valley Ranch dressing available. The kids like that one better.
DeleteI enjoyed The Book Thief, I liked all the characters in the book. Perhaps your ears and throat are just allergies. I had it at the beginning of the month.
ReplyDeleteI hope that is all it is. We are having another burst of cotton flying here and my body has never liked the cotton much!
DeleteMen's shirts, especially dress shirts, make wonderful quilting fabric.
ReplyDeleteMost of these are knit type shirts. Like Polo shirts. I hope she is successful with them!
DeleteI hope you're not coming down with something--take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kwiz. I am a bit better tonight. Hope it's gone by tomorrow
DeleteWe haven't had sloppy joes in ages and my mouth is watering now! I'm glad to hear you feel you can let go of Richard's shirts now. To make a quilt of them is a beautiful thing! I've always been very good at remembering the gist of a scripture and about where in the Bible it is, but I've never been big into memorizing since I was very young. It is a win-win for you! Memory exercise and putting the Word of God where you can always have it.
ReplyDeletehttp://lifefaithincaneyhead.blogspot.com/
They were really good. I just ate the last spoonful as a bedtime snack. Memory exercise are good for the brain and the Bible is good for the soul. So I combine them and do two jobs at one time !!
DeleteOh my, Paula. When I first "met" you it was shortly after Richard had passed. I didn't realize it had been close to a year already. I enjoyed reading here so much today. Thank you for sharing the dressing recipe...I was going to ask for it, if you hadn't. :)
ReplyDeleteI know! The year has flown by. I hardly feel he has been gone. I hope you enjoy the dressing!
DeleteI LOVED the Book Thief...I read it sometime in 2014 and just LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I did a book review of it on my blog :) Enjoyed reading your daybook...i think it's neat that you have your menu plan for the entire week!
ReplyDeleteThank you Faith. I always do my menu planning along with my daybook. Two birds with one stone....
DeleteGood for teaching Harley how to do laundry. I didn't learn until I was nearly an adult, and it was one of those things I wished I had learned earlier. (I still remember going to an apartment laundry room and watching a guy stuff a dryer so full of stuff and then wonder why it wasn't getting dry.)
ReplyDeleteI remember when my youngest son was in college and he went to the Laundromat to do his laundry. He called home one night complaining of how expensive it was. I asked him how many possible loads he could be doing. He told me he did 5. So I asked him what were in the loads and he said, "well its the loads like the one that only has one shirt that is running up the bill." What??? He said that I had told him to sort the clothes likes with likes. And he only had one RED shirt! I nearly peed myself laughing so hard.
DeleteNeedless to say I had to go into more detail and tell him it would be okay if the red shirt was washed with his blue jeans!!
That's hilarious!!!!
DeleteWe thought so too!
DeleteOh, you're so crazy sweet! When I peeked at Smidgens from my desk earlier today (BTW, our company's server shows me as being a visitor from Florida), I nearly clapped my hands like a little kid. :) Thank you for the shout-out!
ReplyDeletePlease, tell me more about Paige and her quilt project? For more than a year now I've toyed with the idea of commissioning a 'special' quilt but haven't a clue where to begin. I asked other bloggers for recommendations and followed up, but no-one seemed interested. Silly perhaps, but I'd like to have something made by someone just starting out, and/or someone I care for.
Dang, but I hope your throat and earache are just allergies and not a precursor of the rotten summer flu. Dose up, OK? Please?
You are more than welcome. And I meant every word of it. Were you living in Florida when you first started writing your blog? I have two brothers that live right here in Hutchinson and when they are on my blog it shows them in Wichita and when my sister is on (she lives in Kingman) it shows her in Liberal. I think it might have to do with where your servers are. Or something! Heck I don't have a clue really. Paige took sewing in school this year for the first time. One of her sewing projects was to make a comforter for her own bed. She did a pretty good job on it. Then she made one for her mom. After her other grandma died she took a few of her grandma's shirts and made them into the most beautiful comforter for her grandpa. She asked to use some of Papa's shirts to make one for me. I said why the heck not!! My throat and ear are better tonight. Thanks!!
DeleteI think that's great that Harley wants to perhaps do laundry! That's good too that you are teaching her some other chores too! Always good for her to learn and to help out around the house. Hope you aren't getting sick; nothing worse than a summer cold, but I think sometimes we are susceptible to them because we go in and out of air conditioning and that might be hard on our bodies. Glad to hear the weather is still holding up for you and letting you guys have pleasant days. I'll have to look into that book you are reading; though I have far too many to read, LOL :) I am sure it is hard to "let go" and take Richard's shirts down, even if they are going to be made into a quilt. I know hubby mentioned the other day to a friend he still has his dad's cell phone number listed in his cell phone though he knows its probably been given to another person now and his dad passed away in 2011. Something I guess "final" when we start removing possessions, etc., even though we do realize death is so final this side of eternity.
ReplyDeletebetty
Oh Betty, I totally understand that about the cell phone number. I can't let go of a friend of mine's either. Just doesn't seem right to hit delete and take it off my phone. Death is very final. Letting go of the possessions is admitting that it is final. Maybe that is what makes it harder!
DeleteHi my friend! How are you feeling today? I hope you don't get sick, those summer colds are just awful. Any cold is awful, but they feel even more icky when the weather is hot and humid. I love the idea of making Richard's shirts into a blanket! It will be hard to go through them, and I am sure you will shed some tears. But when they are made into a blanket, it will be like having a hug from him when you need it. I love that idea so much! I'm glad Harley is so excited to start learning these things! That is half the battle won right there, she is excited!! Thanks for stopping by my blog and praying for me, that means a lot! I am hoping to get back into Friday Letters soon, my Friday's have been busy lately! Love you!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are right about the tears Ellie!. They are inevitable. Stay busy. It's good for your anxiety!
DeleteThat salad dressing recipe sounds delish! I've gotten lazy about using store bought dressing, but homemade is so much yummier! You're funny about the laundry. I'm the exact opposite... the second my kids were tall enough to reach the clothes at the bottom of the washing machine, they are on their own with their laundry! My older too started doing their own laundry at about 9... waiting now for my 7 year old to get tall enough! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI have always been a control freak over the laundry. Now is the time to let go of that....
DeleteThat quilt is going to be a very treasured item!! Hugs to you! I have recently bought a paper planner to keep track of things as well. The one I bought is cute, but I should have went with a bigger version. Sigh.. I will try and take a picture of it, and maybe do a little blog post about. Do you know that they have a huge "planner world" out there in cyber land!? So crazy!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
I am finding out there is a planner world out there as I search for my favorite planner. It is insane for sure!
DeleteI'm going to try out that dressing of yours. Sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt is quite tasty!
DeleteLoved reading through your post for The Simple Woman's Daybook...I think I'm going to come to your house, Paula, for dinner this week...your meal planning sounds awesome! I don't really meal plan since it's just the two of us, and some days I cook and other days I don't!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your post - and your heart! It must really be hard going on after losing a significant other. Praying your days continue in the strength and comfort you seem to have had so far. Family is always great to have around in times of need...
It is very hard but something I can live through! Thank you for visiting today Barbara!
ReplyDelete