Little to Say

 

My TBR pile(s) ~ all the books lying down!

I've sat down a couple of times to post, and realised that I really didn't have anything to say.  I have been enjoying myself at home immensely.  Catching up on cleaning that was left over the last school holidays has been very satisfying.  I've also been on a reviewing frenzy.  Poor Rel might never catch up with posting them all!  As you can see from the picture above, I've more than enough reading to keep me going for a very long time.  The black bag on the middle shelf there has the books to be reviewed, so she keeps me well stocked.  No complaints here!

Well..I'd better get myself off here and go and sweep (again!) the front entry way before we have some friends arrive.  Pumpkin and Sweet Potato soup with homemade bread rolls are the order of the day.  Perhaps some pikelets would go down well for morning tea.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 27 September

We enjoyed our first barbecue of the season last night, with some friends whose chicken poxy daughter was happily released from her home-prison for the evening.  We have all had it or been immunised so we're as safe as people can be.  Yes...I know you can get it again, but none of us have thus far despite numerous encounters.  Besides, such a sunshiny day demanded barbecue and lemon meringue pie.  And I don't do desserts unless I have a good reason, so visitors were required for the occasion.

Our menu for the evening was very simple but all the more delicious with the company that shared it ~

Barbecued sausages and marinated chicken wings

Barbecued corn on the cob

Quick-roasted potatoes

Tossed salad

Lemon Meringue Pie

As for the week ahead?  More of last week's adventures I suspect.  A lot of reading and reviewing.  A lot more cleaning.  More visitors popping in as well as a birthday to celebrate for Miss Mischief.

Of course, there are many more meals ahead of me too!

Monday:  Oven Fried chicken, vegies

Tuesday:  Homemade Pizza

Wednesday:  Honey Mustard Pork Scallopine, vegies

Thursday:  Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Friday:  Finger food, after a big lunch

Saturday:  Lasagna (double batch for freezing)

Sunday:  Whatever Miss Mischief wants

If you're thinking this seems awfully repetitive, you're right.  My meals have been planned and then quite muddled up.  Whatever I have planned this week that was there last week and the week before are meals I didn't end up making for some reason or another.  Most likely, life got in the way and we were too busy to stop and heed the plan.

I was thinking about the way my plans have been unheeded and the meals that have resulted from things like arriving home at 6.30pm.  I think it's time to consider an SOS Storecupboard plan so that my stand-by meal is something I know we will all enjoy.  Frozen pies or quiches from the supermarket do not inspire my tastebuds one little bit.

What is your standby meal to counter unexpected busyness?

Productivity and Wasting Time

I've done lots of work on my to-do list over the last two days.  My bedroom, desk and laundry are all winking and sparkling with cleanliness.  I've even taken over the upright deep freezer as storage space, given that it has sat idly for far too long.  It now has a reason to take up space in the laundry.  I have gotten rid of half the old shoes hanging about and there's a pile to go downstairs to be stored out of my way.  I was feeling very productive, until this afternoon.

Then we wasted a few hours watching a football grand final that ended up in a draw and will be replayed next week.  I will be looking for some other way to spend the afternoon next Saturday.  I don't enjoy football that much.  It was a chore the first time round.

'Beneath the Southern Sky' by Deborah Raney

I love Deborah Raney's writing.  I was very excited about being handed this book to be reviewed.  Finally, after many weeks of languishing on my bedroom floor or my school basket, I have gotten around to writing the review.  You will find it here at Relz Reviewz.  Enjoy!

Little Holiday Fancies

Tomato & Chorizo Salad

Yesterday I had a friend and her two sons come for much of the day.  I made Jamie Oliver's Tomato and Chorizo salad for the grown up's lunch while the kids had macaroni & cheese with a salad.  Rather than the required goats cheese, I chose baby bocconcini.  Tender, sweet, perfect.  That salad is going to become a favourite, I just know it.  I have leftovers for my lunch today :)

Delicious food and wonderful company always rate highly on my list of things to enjoy over school holidays.

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Surely reading in bed first thing in the morning is one of the most luxurious things a person can do.  The idea that there is time enough to spend there, without thought for the time is one of my little holiday joys.  Of course, being the early riser I am, 8am is as far as I tend to get.  Still, it is nice to still be home at 8am instead of running out the door for the day.

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Inspired by Shiny Red Houses and photos like the one in this post by Debbie at Artful Aspirations, I am determined to douse some fires around my house.  I'm certain my desk could look more inviting and my craft pile needs to be organised and better contained.  And let's not even mention the laundry just yet.  I mean, how do things get clean in a room that gets so grubby?  On the top of the list though, is my bedroom.

I don't relish the idea of housework, not when a pile of books beckons me.  But there is something rather nurturing and embracing about a home that is in order before you head into another busy term.

What do you enjoy doing when you have some time at home?

Op Shop (Junking) Entertainment

My daugthers and I went on an Op Shop tour this morning with my Mum.  We stopped in at a funny little place that I knew was going to be a treasure trove, just because the outside of the establishment had a myriad of bits and pieces on shelves and trolleys before we even walked in the door.

We went into each little room and were amazed at how much stuff filled each corner and crevice.  We went upstairs to the 'mens' room and down to the basement to the 'furniture' room.  In one of the rooms that had lots of kitchen stuff, there was a box filled with beaters.  If you had an electric beater in your house somewhere, I bet you there was a beater in that box to suit your needs.  None of them were paired or labelled with the appropriate beater machine they fitted.  But that box amused me more than anything else.  I took a photo on my phone, but posting it will have to wait til I get a hold of a cable.

My purchases included a beautiful little bowl and a steamer saucepan.

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Yesterday I met Mum at my Granny's nursing home for a visit, along with my kids.  Granny has come back to life after a drug change and she's very entertaining now.  She was insistent that we needed to take her to Charles St to visit the glasses place and she needed new pants and shirts.  It took us a bit to realise that Charles St was in Launceston (Tasmania, where she grew up) and not in the suburb of Melbourne that she had lived in when I was young.  The kids and I giggled our way through the visit and left her happily attempting some knitting.  I'm pretty sure her knitting will be far below Miss Mischief's beginning pieces in quality, but she'll have fun and insist that she's knitting something rather grand.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 20 September

This past weekend has been filled with lots of sweet fellowship with good friends and extended family, over meals, afternoon tea's and 2yo birthday parties.  Amongst the treasures of the weekend ~ watching a man making scones with practiced ease.  And they were really good too, especially the small half I ate in curiosity.  I'm trying very hard to avoid wheat more diligently...the brain fog simply isn't worth it most of the time.  The odd mouthful here and there is easier to handle.

Given that we've entered our first full week of school holidays, we've begun making plans, which means I won't be cooking meals for the next couple of nights.  A blessing for me.  A bit of a whole for anyone who might've been inclined to cook along with my menu plan.  I'll begin my plan from Thursday, since that's the next meal I'll be making!

Thursday:  Oven fried chicken, potatoes, vegies
Friday:  Homemade pizza
Saturday:  BBQ.  Hmmm..that's what I wrote down.  Perhaps I'll change that later to suit the rainy weather :(
Sunday:  Tuna & pasta

Over the last few days I've been pondering questions like "is a Costco membership worth the price, in Australia"; "perhaps a price book would be more helpful than I've given it credit for in the past"; "I need to make a list of all the around-the-house jobs I need to do".  I've printed out a price book page from organizedhome.com and will begin my list.  On that list will be a note to make a phone call to Costco.

And I plan to read.  A lot.  And write the corresponding review the second I put the book down.  But mostly I plan to enjoy reading, because I'm certain I won't have much time to read for the pure pleasure of it next year.

Has anyone ever followed someone else's menu plan?