Life

I'll be back in the new year, I hope. Things are too busy right now for daily blogging, and besides I broke my glasses and can hardly see out of my old ones. It'll be a week OR TWO before I can get them repaired, due to the holidays and living in a rural area.

Wednesday & Thursday, Dec 12 & 13

Getting back into the habit of blogging seems to be difficult! :P Wednesday I made it up for a good walk on the treadmill, walking 2 miles in 35 minutes with intervals. We're out of bananas the right amount of ripe, so my morning porridge had apples and canned peaches in it--wooo watch me live dangerously. Still vanilla yogurt. Still mocha to go.

Hubby met me in town for lunch. I had falafel and pita with a tossed salad, a pretty good lunch. I'd taken grapes to eat at work, and 2 crackers with salmon cream cheese (thinking I'd be on my own for lunch). A piece of chocolate later.

The kitchen is a disaster again (renovation disaster) so I made room to do rice in the cooker and make a pineapple based sweet and sour with ground beef and spinach.

I'd been forgetting my back stretches some lately but made sure to do them Wednesday night.

This morning I got a shorter walk on the treadmill but decided to do it when I woke up even though I could only walk 20 minutes. Still did one mile, which I suppose is better than no miles. Breakfast: porridge with apple, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Flat-out busy at work today. The water pump for the car finally arrived and hubby spent the day doing that, so I took tuna and crackers to work for lunch, grapes, and two oranges. He was going to put a ham in the oven for supper but forgot. I made patties from ground pork, baked potatoes, and Greek salad.

The kitchen is now clean and the dishwasher is running. I'll be doing my stretches in a bit. When hubby comes in from changing the oil on the car I understand we'll be installing the range hood. I also thought that yesterday!

Tuesday, December 11

Couldn't seem to get up for the treadmill this morning. :( Not only that, but I didn't even have enough time to eat breakfast at home, but cooked my porridge (etc) and took it to work. Along with the mocha.

I walked some on my noon hour but not enough to get my heart rate up. I bought a sandwich for lunch: ham, cheese, lots of sprouts and tomatoes on whole wheat. A piece of chocolate later.

For supper I fixed a spinach salad, yammy fries, and a beef steak. Later a banana shake. Spent my *extra* time in the evening working on the calendar for the other side of the family. I now have 7 pages done and am waiting for some of the input for the other 5. Hubby's home now for a few days. We'll see how it goes with the car and the kitchen.

Monday, December 10

So I managed to drag my carcass out of bed at 6:45 and hit the treadmill for the first time in a couple of weeks. Just so's you know, it's still totally and completely dark when I get OFF the treadmill. Two weeks till the days start getting longer again. I'm finding it hard this year.

Next up was breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Took mocha to work. Ran errands at my lunch hour. I ate black bean soup, leftover Greek salad, grapes, and an orange. A piece of chocolate at 4 (only civilized!)

Got home and fixed shrimp and broccoli. I was still hungry so I pulled spaghetti and meatballs out of the freezer. I've cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom and done my back stretches (which I also ignored while I was sick.)

Early to bed would be good. Hubby is home on days off again starting tomorrow.

Sunday, December 9

Look at that, a two week holiday to be sick in. I've been recuperated(ish) for the past four or five days but haven't gotten back into the swing of things on this blog.

I've posted all my kitchen renovation/ house cleaning/ vehicle woes over on my other blog. Here, suffice to say that I have not been FlyLadying on a regular basis for...a month or more? It showed. Though I'd still have had a massive cleanup this weekend after ripping out a ceiling, I think it would have helped if I'd been keeping things up to date. It would have been less overwhelming anyway. I think I need to do a modified FlyLady the next couple weeks to make sure things are up to speed before the hordes descend for Christmas week.

I'd intended to go to the ball exercise class on Friday but apparently the rest of the sessions have been canceled and I'm not sure why. Then I thought I'd go for a walk when I got home (being as it was a sunny, if cold, afternoon) but the sight of the kitchen squashed that idea. Hubby needed help with the potlights anyway.

So Saturday and Sunday I started each day with a walk outside. I'm slower than I used to be. :( Both days it was about minus 8 (20 degrees Fahrenheit) and too early to be sunlit.

Today I've eaten: an orange, toast & scrambled eggs (with bacon, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, asiago cheese), a pomegranate, a banana shake, a bowl of chili (with corn). Sadly, I think this was a GOOD day for eating well compared to the past couple weeks.

Now I need to fix my lunch for tomorrow and put the slipcovers back on the couch. I've also been neglecting my flat-on-the-back time, so maybe I'll do that and then head for bed early. Now there's an idea.

This week

I've been sick with a nasty cold. I haven't been walking, I haven't been cleaning my house, I haven't been doing anything useful. Unless coughing and sneezing have suddenly become useful. Ahem. I thought not.

Yeah, hope to get back in the swing soon.

Tuesday, November 27

I didn't get up to walk--sick :(

And it DUMPED snow overnight. About eight inches. Bleh the roads are slime. Breakfast: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go. Hubby met me in town for lunch. I had a salad and a bean burrito at a new restaurant. Quite a decent lunch. I took peas and grapes for snack.

At home I made spaghetti and meatballs for supper. And I've prepped out a stew for the crockpot tomorrow. And cleaned the kitchen and enough of the porch to get through it again. It's bad in there.

I'm tired and sick. That's it.

Monday, November 26

Bleh. Jim's cold having grabbed me and held me close, I didn't even bother pretending I was going to get up and walk. Besides, I'd slept poorly. I HATE being sick. Had my usual brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Drove home at noon and--being as we're honest here--fried sausages and potatoes for lunch. No veggies. The only redeeming fact is that Jim had more than twice the amount I did. Sigh. I did have peas and grapes for snack.

I got home to a completely installed under-counter microwave. Wow. I have counter space! **Happy Dance** I served us salad while the mini-meatloaves and yams were cooking. Later I made a butterscotch pudding. (**Looks back at the day--I really can't claim healthy choices today, can I!)

Cleaned the kitchen as best I could around the tools and such. Apparently a section of upper cabinets is on the agenda for Tuesday. Bed early. Sick. Tired.

Saturday & Sunday, November 24 & 25

Once again a weekend went zipping by and I forgot to post here. Saturday I slept in and went for a walk outside. Came back and fixed my usual breakfast: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt.

Cleaned up upstairs; we'd gotten all the kitchen trims out to sort through the other day: crown molds, light rails, fillers, and kick boards. I tossed the cardboard packaging out the door and restacked the wood by category. Did some other sorting upstairs. Came down and did some critting on the laptop.

Had peas and oranges for lunch/ snack (breakfast was kinda late). It began to snow so I rushed off to town for the library, a quick buzz through the Christmas craft fair and the grocery store. My daughter called, panicking because all her Christmas decorations were in storage here as their place is so tiny. Thankfully my boss's son, who is in my son-in-law's college class, was home for the weekend and agreed to take them back. Disaster averted. While I was digging them out of the storage cabin I realized we'd just stacked all the cardboard from the cupboards we've installed thus far so I hauled it all to the burning pile and lit it. A few times I took a break and did some more critting.

I zapped burritos for supper. Finished off the crit in the evening and sent it out. Started reading Body Clutter. Looks like an interesting approach.

Sunday, got up and walked. Had 2 slices wholewheat toast with a sliced banana for brekkie. Feather dusted and vacuumed the house. When my sick hubby got home, I did the laundry, eventually putting through four loads. I opened a jar of ham and clam soup for lunch. Later an apple for snack.

Began to feel my throat tightening up and my eyes burn. Yay. Why does he have to share?

Made two big sausage casseroles; we had part of one for supper and I froze the rest in containers. We also had salad. Later I fixed banana milkshakes that felt good on our throats. Kinda dragged myself through most of the day but did go to bed with a clean house, so that's worth something when you feel like something the cat dragged in.

Friday, November 23

Yay me, I made it up for the treadmill today. Had breakfast: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Hubby picked me up from work at 12 and we drove to the next town over, hoping to get our passports processed there. Again, much too long a line for our timeframe. Gotta huck those applications in the mail, come Monday. Enough is enough! We grabbed a pizza-by-the-slice cause we were in a hurry (not the greatest lunch). Got some Christmas shopping done. Hubby went on up to the apartment to work and I caught a ride back home with his folks, who'd had appointments there today.

Had a sandwich, then a leftover turkey dinner from the other day. Some peas and grapes. After I finished reading Tahn by L.A. Kelly, I read my nano '05 novel. Yes, all 52K of it. It's all Jean's fault cause she made me remember it. And now I'm dying of curiosity what she thinks of it. No pressure timewise, but have you read it YET? :P And I was going to go to bed early, too. haha.

Wednesday-Thursday November 21-22

Wednesday I slept through my alarm. Had breakfast: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt and mocha to go.

I discovered a few pages that had mis-printed on the calendar so instead of spending noon hour binding them, I went for a walk. May I say very cold? Even walking very briskly did not help much. I'd brought tuna and crackers and peas and grapes for lunch. I think I needed hot food! I was still cold when I got home and even though the house was at nearly 68 degrees, I stayed chilled through for a couple more hours. Heated a piece of lasagne, then a bowl of split pea soup and toast.

Finished up the house blessing by cleaning the bathroom,watering plants, doing mirrors, vacuuming, and washing the kitchen floor. And went to bed early.

This morning I actually caught the alarm in time to treadmill! And got in a solid workout. Breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, and vanilla yogurt (if you're bored reading about my breakfasts, think how I feel eating them!) mocha to go.

This time I had all the calendar pages good for sure so got to the graphics shop right at 12. Brandy always lets me bind my own (8th annual!) and charges me half price so its a good deal for me. Got the holes drilled and then across the street to the post office where I stuffed ten of them in padded envelopes, scrawled out addresses, got them weighed and stamped and GONE! The rest are for hand delivery. I was five minutes late getting back after my break but I figure I did pretty good.

I'd brought a jar of borscht for lunch so it was nice having something hot today. Along with a few crackers and peas and grapes. After work had a massage, swung by the grocery store, broke down and grabbed an A&W burger on the way home (almost 7pm). I'm planning to take it easy the rest of the evening to rest up from the massage!

Hope my American friends had a good Thanksgiving today.

Tuesday, November 20

Somehow hubby hit the alarm wrong yesterday morning and turned it completely off, which we almost never do. So it didn't go off this morning. I woke up easily in time for work, but not for treadmilling. Had breakfast: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Came home at lunch and made fried rice with the leftover beef from the other night, onion, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli. Had a very stressy afternoon at work. I came the closest I've come in a long time to kicking someone out of the store: an older man who was still being tediously *polite* and repetitive when he finally left. Spare me. Had my peas and grapes and wished for pizza. Why yes, I guess I'm an emotional eater. Who knew.

Hubby had a stressy afternoon too with his temporary crown falling out and the dentist's office shoe-horning time to do the permanent a few days in advance of his scheduled appointment, also a leak in the truck tranny so he had to take it back to the GM shop for them to have a look. Turned out to not be significant. At any rate, no progress on the kitchen today.

I stopped for a barbecue chicken on my way home, toaster ovened some fries, and tossed a salad. Hubby headed off to the apartment and I tackled the living room. Where everything was stacked that had been in the way in the kitchen. Oy. That took more than five minutes. My evening routine is done and my lunch is made for tomorrow. Though this is usually the night I do the full *house blessing*, tonight I am being satisfied with *tidy* and mostly dusted. That there FlyLady duster is kind of cute and has been randomly swiping at things for a few days. I'll run the vacuum and wash floors etc tomorrow. I'm bushed.

I finished printing off the calendar and its ready to get bound tomorrow. I'm waiting for the phone to ring saying hubby's safe and sound and arrived at the apartment and then I'm headed to bed. Better check the alarm!

Monday, November 19

Yay me! I made it onto the treadmill! And then I had breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Went home at noon and re-discovered the word chaos. Hubby's been working on the kitchen! Thankfully I had lasagne in the fridge from the other night and zapped us each a piece. We also had salad. I have to say I was glad to go back to work and a bit apprehensive going home at the end of the day. (Had peas and grapes for afternoon snack)

Hubby had followed directions and put two packages of turkey drums and thighs into the oven in the roasting pan 45 minutes before, so I chopped up two yams, a few potatoes, six carrots, an onion, and three cloves of garlic and put them in the pan under the turkey (added a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper). Ummm, delish! And best of all, three lunches for hubby in the fridge.

I finished reading Auralia's Colors Sunday night, so I picked up Tahn by L.A.Kelly and began reading it around the mess. (I'd ordered the book in by inter-library loan.) Every time hubby needed a tool or something I jumped up to help, so I was thankful the book has short scenes! By the end of the evening the dishwasher was completely installed (and running, lol) and most of the electrical was in place for the micro/convec to move to its own little cubby under the counter. It's so big I'll be glad to have it off the counter. Counters are for working on, not honkin' huge appliances. Anyway, when hubby declared himself done for the day we picked up tools and I swept and cleaned the last couple pots that hadn't gone in the dishwasher. The living room is a really scary place right now but the kitchen looks pretty good! Had a couple slices pumpkin loaf before bed. Crashed.

Sunday, November 18

Went for a walk in the morning and found two lonely ducks on the irrigation ditch to send flying. My work here is done. :P

I fixed scrambled eggs for brunch along with a slice of toast. In with the 3 eggs (for 2 people): 2 strips bacon, half an onion, clove garlic, 1 zucchini, a few mushrooms, 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes, and a handful of spinach. With a sprinkle of mozz on top.

We spent the day working on the kitchen, though there isn't a lot of physical advancement to report. I also baked whole-wheat sourdough bread. Had peas for snack. Cooked a small beef roast for supper, had it with potatoes and gravy (only a little of both, I swear!), corn, and a large salad. And a couple slices of pumpkin bread later.

I'm finding that FlyLady routines are really helping keep the mess from the kitchen renovation under control and I'm not losing so much stuff. You know from the: it used to live on that counter and I had to move it and where did I put it variety!

Saturday, November 17

Got up and had a walk in before it started to rain this morning. Yes, outside. I have to be outside when I can or I'll go crazy. Had a bowl of miniwheats and a banana shake for breakfast! :P Spent awhile cleaning the bathroom and playing with my new feather duster. I'm not quite as enthusiastic as the folks that write testimonials to FlyLady, but it seems to do a decent job up in the rafters. Lunch was a large salad and then a piece of toast, an egg and one piece of bacon.

Spent quite awhile on the laptop critiquing in the afternoon. Made a double batch of lasagne for supper so there will be some for the freezer. And made Bonnie's pumpkin bread in the evening. Hubby is munching some as we type and has declared it a success.

Jean and I have been exploring raw food cooking this evening. Check out the pretty pictures at The Raw Chef and Raw Test Kitchen. I don't think I'm going to quit cooking any day soon, but some of the recipes I've found today look quite fun.

Now off to clean the kitchen one more time before bed!

Friday, November 16

Another day that I just couldn't face morning at the alarm. This is crazy. It's going to be almost three months before the days are this long again. Three months is a long time to fight this battle. Anyway, brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go.

Went to the ball/ core exercise class at noon. I'm doing a bit better with some of the exercises. It's a lot harder than it looks. Came home, dug a container of turkey soup out of the freezer and had it with 2 slices whole grain toast.

Eventually I made myself plan out a menu for the next week; then I went back to town and bought some groceries. For supper I had peas and leftover ribs and rice. Then I went on the treadmill for 35 minutes, had a couple oranges.

Tired.

Thursday, November 15

I actually dragged myself out of bed for a 35 treadmill this morning. And after less than seven hours sleep. Huzzah. Had brekkie: porridge with apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Snow to go, too. Bleh. The roads were slimey this morning. Hubby met me for lunch; we checked out a newish restaurant. I had steak and potato soup that was really nice (I left about half the potatoes) and a chicken and monterey jack melt on garlic toast. And I stole a few of hubby's fries and gravy! I'd taken peas and grapes for snack. And a piece of chocolate.

He went on up to work. I came home after work and had the leftover chicken wings and fries from last night and a couple oranges. Printed off quite a bit of the family calendar. My printer has decided it would like me to hand-feed the second side of every page. Tedious, that.

Oh! I'd ordered the Flylady duster and scrubber thingie and they came today. It really is quite a cool duster. Maybe I'll even go on a dust bunny hunt this weekend.

I've been reading Auralia's Colors and quite enjoying it.

Wednesday, November 14

This getting up in the morning thing is really hard. Again today I thought I was catching the first wave of the news and it turns out I really wasn't! Yes the alarm is set right. It's my brain that isn't. So had brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. I was so frazzled trying to get out the door ten minutes early to fuel up the truck that I forgot to make my mocha. Had to buy one. That's a sad thing to do with $4.25.

My next excitement had to do with the passport clinic. Apparently I did not clue in that one had to be there way early and take a number. Silly me thought it was drop-in. It said no appointment necessary, by which they meant they wouldn't make them ahead of time I guess. At any rate, they were not giving out more numbers when I arrived. So much for that. At least our apps are ready for the mailbox now, all filled in and everything.

So I had the full hour to WALK and tried to pick the steepest streets. So I did get my walk in after all. I'd taken leftover pasta sauce and rice, peas, and grapes for lunch. Also had a piece of chocolate.

When I got off work I was feeling stressed out. Had to go by the grocery store anyway for lunch stuff for hubby so I bought marinaded chicken wings, came home and cooked them up and french fries. I did also have a salad and a couple oranges. Really...I was looking for a splurge that wouldn't do too much damage. I was just sick to death of healthy food! If the healthy food was making me skinny that would be one thing, but...that's not the case.

So now I've been calendaring all evening and am on way off to clean the kitchen and read til hubby gets home. Which, due to the mines having changed time (and our town not) will be quite late. I like to wait up if I can, even if we just talk for five before I crash. He's too high on caffeine from the drive to sleep right away. And then we'll see each other at lunch time tomorrow. Which reminds me to think about lunch after I've posted this, too.

That's it. The November blahs have hit.

Tuesday, November 13

I finally managed to get out of bed early enough to treadmill before work, though only 25 minutes fit. (My goal is 35.) Typical brekkie: porridge with apple, banana, vanilla yogurt and a mocha to go.

Had some soy nuts for snack in the morning--maybe 1/3 cup. Spent most of my noon hour standing in line at the bank to get money orders made for passports. I'd brought the last of the baked beans along with peas and grapes for snack.

For supper I stir-fried a zucchini with onion, mushrooms, and garlic and had a small steak. Later when I was hungry I had a bowl of Kellogg's Mueslix cereal with skim milk. I spent the evening scanning photos for the *other* side of the family's calendar. I finished reading Stephen Lawhead's Scarlet and prepped the blog posts for it for next week. While lying out on my back on the floor I started reading the next one: Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet. Got to bed at a decent time.

Sunday-Monday, November 11-12

Sunday morning I got up in time to go for a walk outside. I walked to the irrigation ditch and back, but all the ducks have flown the coop since last time I was there (two weeks). Jim wanted bacon and eggs for breakfast--I had a poached egg on toast, 2 oranges and a mocha. For lunch I made kinda clam chowder (big batch) from the ham bone broth I'd boiled up last weekend. Fixed half whole wheat biscuits (ate 2). I was smart enough to put supper in the crockpot before breakfast: beef short ribs with sweet and sour sauce. We also had brown'n'wild rice mix and a salad. Also had an apple, peas and grapes for snacking on.

We got all the filler strips in on the cabinetry Jim installed Saturday and mounted one more cupboard. It took us quite awhile to figure out how EXACTLY things will get installed around our brick chimney what with the need for wiring to be run there. Even though there wasn't a lot of visible progress, there still was plenty of mental progress.

Hubby woke up in the middle of last night with a full-blown electrical solution. Sadly it kept him awake quite awhile so I let him sleep in today. Then we went to town for the other passport paperwork, came home, racked the plum wine, and got my oven fixed (yay!). Somehow we missed breakfast, had chicken noodles soup and biscuits for lunch, crockpot hoison chicken with rice for supper (tossed salad and leftover butternut squash).

We sorted out a bunch of stuff for the kitchen renovation including tools, so when he left after supper for the apartment and day shifts to start Tuesday, I had a head start on my FlyLady weekly blessing hour. Considering what a disaster area we had most of the weekend, the house if quite decent. All the kitchen counters are mostly clear, the dishes are done, the bathroom is clean (took a swipe at the cabinet fronts in honor of the bathroom zone this week), the plants are watered, the mirrors are wiped, the coffee table has been rediscovered, the floors vacuumed. Whew. I've also done most of my evening routine and know what is for lunch tomorrow at work. And errands for noon hour are set out on the peninsula. Shortly I'll be off to read and do my back stretches. That's it.

I feel pretty good about what all we got done this weekend. It's looking soooo good.

Friday & Saturday, November 9 & 10

Friday morning I made it out of bed early enough for a walk on the treadmill. Brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go.

I went to the ball exercise class at 12 and it was really a solid workout. Came home and opened a jar of chicken soup, added veggies and noodles. 2 slices flax bread toast on the side. Hubby was sleeping off night shift so I did some work on the laptop from home. Had peas and grapes for snack.

Later we had a tossed salad, then butternut squash and a steak. Went to bed at a decent time to prepare for a big day in the kitchen today.

But first we slept in late enough that I skipped the treadmill in favor of emptying the rest of the open shelves in the kitchen so Jim could start bashing them out. I made sourdough whole-wheat pancakes with applesauce and yogurt on the side and then we got to serious work.

We came up for air mid-afternoon and decided to go to town to grab a burger (and fries and a chocolate milk, for me) because the kitchen was quite non-functional and we didn't want to take a bunch of time. We did get our passport photos done also, and ordered our range hood. Came home and worked till about 8. Up so far, five upper cabinets. Filler strips still needed. But we figured out a couple of major things with the wiring today too. (Concrete block walls make electrical entertaining.)

So supper time had come and gone...I fixed us a chef salad and now we're both a bit collapsed. Jim hurt his leg yesterday out in the yard, and my shoulders aren't the happiest with holding upper cabinets up against the wall while the bolts went through.

However tomorrow we will be doing more of the same. I think the filler strips are on the agenda and then the wiring/ plumbing for the dishwasher and wiring for the microwave. Hopefully it will get moved into its new location yet this weekend.

Photos to come in a few days over at the other blog.

Still have to wash up the few dishes we've dirtied since I did the breakfast dishes. In a few minutes....

Thursday, November 8

So. What I said about it being hard to get up mornings? Yeah. It's the whole time switch thingie. We don't do it, being in this little band right on the zone edge. but our radio station is far enough over that they do. Which means that the morning shows are an hour off by my mostly-asleep brain's reckoning.

Which means that today it took me the better part of an hour to recognize the time. Which means I didn't have time to walk AND I was rushed to boot. Good times. Brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt, mocha to go.

BUT today was a day when hubby wasn't home at noon hour AND I had no errands to run AND the weather was decent so I went for a boogeying walk in town for about 45 minutes, up and down hills. So it qualifies. Definitely.

I'd taken leftover baked beans along for lunch as well as peas and grapes. Had a piece of chocolate later. The memories of yesterday's supper fiasco fresh on my brain, I stopped by the grocery store and bought myself a small marinated peppercorn steak and a zucchini, came home, chunked the steak and sauteed the works: onion, mushrooms, steak, zucchini, garlic, 2 roma tomatoes. Pretty decent. Had a tossed salad a couple hours later.

So kitchen weekend being upcoming, I cleared off part of my kitchen counter and started emptying some of my top cupboards. I doubt we'll actually START tomorrow as hubby will be sleeping off night shift, so I have time to finish. Apparently I am dropping off cans and milk jugs at recycling tomorrow. They need a real home. (**thinks about that nasty entryway**)

At any rate, I consider my evening routine pretty much done, other than my back stretches and some reading. So I'm off to do that now.

Wednesday, November 7 Baked Bean Recipe

I actually got out of bed a bit earlier today but instead of using the *extra* time on the treadmill I used it to throw lunch in the crockpot, then took 30 minutes on the treadmill. Usual brekkie: porridge, apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

It was great coming home at lunch to hot baked beans. Here's what I had done:

2 cups (ish) chopped leftover ham
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can beans in tomato sauce (pork'n'beans without the pork)
1/2 onion, chopped (which I should have cooked ahead cause it was a little crispy in 4 hours)
1/4 cup (ish) molasses
2 tablespoons (ish) sugar-free ketchup
1 tablespoon (ish) yellow mustard

Could/should have put in mushrooms or garlic as well, but didn't. If you're using small-ish cans of beans (14-ounces), you might want five cans total instead of four.

Anyway I just ran the slowcooker for four hours on low because everything was pre-cooked (except the onion) and just needed to be hot and blended. It certainly wouldn't mind going for 8-10 hours though.

So I also took peas and grapes and soy nuts for afternoon snack.

Hubby is now on two night shifts and I absolutely could not get enthused about supper when I got home from work. Against my better judgment I had a couple pieces of toast. A bit later I had the last serving of cole slaw from the fridge. Eventually I dug taco meat & bean mix out of the freezer and had some of that with Wasa crackers. And then, after awhile, a couple of oranges.

My big project in the evening was laying out the last calendar page, making sure all of them were good, printing out a copy of each, shuffling them into the order I want them in, and renaming all the files to come in order, eg: 01_jan_child's name. Oh, and designed my cover. I've picked up the ream of cover paper required and just need to stock up on all five colors of ink before the weekend. Though I don't know if it will be a good idea to be doing anything on the computer while we're constructing in the kitchen, being as they're open to each other. At any rate, I'll be ready. This printer is waaaay faster than my old one so it won't take too long to print out 17 copies once I have my assembly line running. Yes, 17. Sigh.

So the kitchen is clean and I have breakfast and lunch planned for tomorrow. Supper, as always, is somewhat of a mystery, sadly. Just headed to the floor for my stretches and off to bed early. Hubby got home after 11 last night so I didn't sleep enough.

Tuesday, November 6

Getting up in the dark to exercise is the pits, I tell you. There might well be a reason I've never yet managed to consistently get through the winter months with a morning workout. Both Monday and today I've managed to roll the CBC morning news on the clock radio straight into my dreams and not wake up as thoroughly or quickly as I ought to. I've still been managing 30 minutes on the treadmill but having to rush a bit more with the rest of my morning routine. I don't really WANT to switch to evening walking; it's hard for me to be consistent with that when hubby is home. Mornings are more the same regardless (he is SO not a morning person!) So, for want of a better alternative, I'll keep trying to push. Brekkie was the usual: porridge made with an apple, banana, and vanilla yogurt. Mocha to work.

Partly because of the rushed morning routine I didn't pack a full lunch today. I had a kazillion errands to run at my noon hour and while I was out picked up a salad from the grocery store which included chicken breast and tomatoes (which taste pretty bad this time of year) and dressing on the side. So that wasn't a bad option. Had along peas and 2 mandarin oranges. I was all set for some chocolate late in the day but the customers took over and I didn't get back to it.

I'd done some thinking about menu planning for the week though I hesitate to say I *have* a menu. Let's just say I have some ideas for a few meals! :P Anyway, stopped by the grocery store on my way home and picked up needed stuff.

I had a bowl of cole slaw and stir-fried up some zucchini (onion, mushrooms, roma tomatoes). Pan-fried a pork chop.

FlyLady is in the kitchen this week. Starting Friday, hubby and I will both be home for 3.5 days and have targeted the time for installing our long-put-off upper cabinets. So I'm making up my own zone challenges this week. Tonight I cleaned out the under-sink cabinet. Don't know how it got this icky.

I did a core workout, partly on the ball and partly on the mat. The kitchen is clean, lunch is ready to put in the crockpot, and all I have left to do is my half hour back stretch time.

Friday-Monday, November 2-5

Heh, I'm sure you don't want the blow-by-blow of four days. Suffice to say that I walked on the treadmill Friday and Monday, went to ball exercise class on Friday, walked for 45 minutes with my daughter Saturday AND went hiking for a bit. Spent Friday aft to Saturday evening with daughter and SIL (hubby was fixing their car), saw my mother, sister, and great-niece briefly.

Sunday was ALL morning at the church: 8:30 for worship team practice, visiting (during Sunday School!) and on into church. I spent awhile in the nursery during the sermon, lying down and listening in there. Really, I could have been at the sound booth in seconds had something gone wrong.

Hubby left Sunday after supper for the apartment and so I spent my evening *blessing my house* as FlyLady says. Blessing myself is more like it. I'm getting quite used to a tidier space and it makes me antsy when too much is messy. I've been keeping up with the kitchen daily and everything else has been much improved. We just won't talk about my entryway. I mean, I know it will have to be dealt with some day but I'm just not ready to go there. It needs a lot of help with basic storage solutions.

I've been doing my back time daily and mostly eating well, though it hasn't all been exactly under my control. But...I'm not perfect even when it IS under my control.

FlyLady's habit for November is menu planning. Does she have my number or what.

This weekend I've read The Restorer's Son by Sharon Hinck and Boo! by Rene Gutteridge.

Thursday, November 1

I did not start my day on the treadmill. I had to be in town a half hour early for a haircut and I just couldn't wrap my brain around it. For breakfast I chopped an apple up and had it with Fiber One and vanilla yogurt, took my mocha along.

Enjoyed a handful of soy nuts as a morning snack. Hubby was home at noon so I opened a jar of split pea soup and made toast (storebought whole-grain flax bread). Had peas and grapes for afternoon snack, and chocolate. I buy the Lindt Ecuador 75% cocoa; a bar lasts me five servings.

I was exceptionally tired after work but still made a big dinner (fridge was about out of leftovers and easies). Asian style coleslaw, garlic-roasted potatoes (hard to limit myself on those but I managed!), ground beef patties, and zucchini stirfry. And yes, it made a big mess in the kitchen and yes I cleaned it. Oy.

Read a bit, did no FlyLady missions, did no computer work. Spent half an hour on my back and went to bed early.

Wednesday, October 31

I know I'm getting a better workout this week on the treadmill than I was outside. Too bad there's no breeze and no birds. Of course, it also isn't dark! Brekkie: porridge with apple, banana and vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

I took a package of soy nuts to work because I keep forgetting to eat them at home and according to the GI guy, they are pretty much a perfect snack. So I enjoyed some of those in the morning. At noon hour I walked to the library and back to the shop (with a detour), probably 40 minutes total. For lunch I had turkey bean soup, peas, and grapes.

Hungry when I got home, had 8 crackers with cheddar, then a tossed salad followed by a steak. And an orange later.

In honor of FlyLady's dining room zone, I emptied out a cupboard we'll be loaning our daughter and son-in-law and put the displaced objects in new homes. Top's still covered but oh well. I've done core training exercises and had my flat-on-the-back time. And it's nearly bed time. Again.

Tuesday, October 30

Got a good walk on the treadmill. Brekkie: back to porridge with apples, banana, and yogurt. Maybe I was adding too much good stuff. Mocha to go.

Had homemade beef/ tomato soup with hubby at lunch, one slice wholegrain toast. Peas and grapes for snack, and a piece of dark chocolate. Quite unenthused at the idea of supper later (hubby's gone again): had the last of the soup, reheated some pasta sauce and wild rice. There's a glass of shake from last night in the fridge that I'll have and an orange.

While supper was heating I set the timer for 15 minutes and did Monday AND Tuesday FlyLady tasks. Got the basket under the coffee table sorted, some tossed, some put away upstairs, a bit put back that actually makes sense to live there. Also cleared around the computer (which is in the living room too).

Now I'm off to tidy the kitchen and do my back stretches. I was up too late (waiting for hubby to get home) and I need to get to bed early for once. The alarm still goes off at 6:30 regardless.

Monday, October 29

Hit the treadmill first thing and had a good walk. Brekkie: porridge with raisins, apple, honey, banana and yogurt. Mocha to go.

Got to work and discovered it was Monday. Who knew. It was totally out to get me.

At noon hour I walked over and canceled my Curves membership, which made me sad. I've been there 3.5 years and actually quite like it. But I can't concentrate on this many things at once, and that one eats the bank account each and every month. Weighed in at 149. The sound you hear is a combination sigh/ scream.

I'd taken tuna, 3 Wasa crackers, carrot sticks, and grapes for lunch.

Had a massage after work, and that, at least, is going well. My back is starting to hold the alignment better. I'd say there is evidence of that as headaches and backaches have been fewer.

Stopped by the grocery store, came home to more beans and rice and salad. I think there's an orange or two in my near future. And a clean kitchen.

Sunday, October 28

Sunday again. I got up and went for a walk. My thing is walking as far as the irrigation ditch so that I can shock hundreds of ducks into taking flight. Why yes, I am very mature. I came home and went through my book Core Training by Sara Rose and began to build a workout for at home using mat exercises as well as with the ball. I *am* going to get fit again, this time from the inside out.

Shower and brekkie: instead of making my porridge with half a cup of old-fashioned rolled oats I substituted oat bran for a bit of it. Quite a different texture. Still made it with raisins, apple, served with dollop of honey, tofu, banana and vanilla yogurt. Yes, it is a big bowl!

I decided to listen to a BlogRadio show from the archives on FlyLady's partner site, the exercise guy. Didn't realize it would be over an hour long! It was interesting, though. I spent the time making a page for the family calendar.

For lunch I fixed a bowl of leftover turkey bean soup. Then I started the 45/15 minute routines that worked so well last weekend. I was able to finish editing and email off a series of classes I'll be teaching in November at Forward Motion and write a new opening scene for the never-ending novel saga. In between I got the remainder of my *house blessing* completed (dust and vacuum upstairs, windows & mirrors cleaned, plants watered) and the rest of the laundry done and put away. Also the paper garbage burned and the wandering cow put back in the pasture (yay for another exercise round--I guess!)

Had 8 whole-wheat crackers with cheese and a clump of grapes for snack mid-afternoon and put the jars of roasted tomato sauce down cellar. For supper I reheated a jar of black beans (that didn't seal the other day) with onion & garlic & salsa and served it over leftover brown rice. And had a salad.

I read through the FlyLady Holiday Control Journal. To some degree I have been doing this method the past few years, keeping things together and a plan written down to compare year by year. The one thing that will be new this year should be the ease at doing the decorating. In theory, anyway, the house won't need a crash cleaning so I can decorate! And the biggest trouble spot for me always is the baking. It's not like we need it, and all those calories have to go somewhere. I had good intentions last year and then baked for four days flat like a crazy woman. Sure I shared lots with hubby and the kids when they were home, but it was waaay too much anyway. How can I pick just a couple of favorites?

I also looked through my morning routine and updated it. It's a little different now than in the summertime when I wrote it.

Now my evening routine is done, my breakfast is prepped and my lunch is in the fridge. I've even done my back stretches already. It's time to start getting into a new book; it's been a few days since I finished one!

Saturday, October 27

My walk got derailed this morning because I got up late. I thought I'd still have time for a short walk, but when I got outside I saw one of the cows out (off in search of her missing calf, no doubt) and spent half an hour putting her in and fixing the fence. (Or hopefully fixing it anyway; it was dark when I got home so not sure of my success.) By then it really would have put me too late if I'd gone for my walk. So I hit the shower and brekkie: porridge, raisins, apple, honey, banana, vanilla yogurt. Made the mocha and took it in the car.

Headed out and over the mountain about 10:15 (told you I'd slept in!) and got to my mom's nursing home room at 11:45. She'd told me she wanted to go out for lunch and that she wanted Chinese food so I drove her to the restaurant and she managed pretty well, buffet notwithstanding. She was tired when we got back to her room though. I stayed visiting her until about 1:30 when I drove back downtown to meet up with my daughter as she had a 3 hour break in her working day.

We found a flannel nightie for Mom--any idea how hard it is to find old-lady nightgowns? Try it! Then I bought myself a new pair of New Balance walking shoes. Sheesh they're pricey. Hanna and I popped into a bunch of little shops, picked up some stuffed breads that she knows her grandma likes, picked up coffees/ lattes and drove back up to the nursing home to share our treat. Then I dropped Hanna back to work for 5pm, and headed for the ferry landing.

I was there a bit early, but it wouldn't have been worth going back up to the nursing home in between. So I pulled out the laptop and critted a couple chapters and ran the battery low. So when the ferry arrived and I drove on, I took the palm and its keyboard up to my favorite perch and typed up the notes that have been stirring in my head for my newest project.

Then had another hour drive home. I spent the first half hour on my back once I got home; all that driving is hard on it. Then zapped the leftover stir-fry from the other day and had some grapes to top it off with. I've done a bit of wandering on the web but will now clean up the kitchen (not much to clean, but still...) and go read in bed for a bit. Yes, that sounds nice.

Friday, October 26

What do you think? I'm thinking the neighbor walking thing isn't working so good. It's not that light out at 7 am this time of year, either. So today was a treadmill day. Followed by brekkie: porridge with raisins and apple, honey, banana and vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

At 12 I went to the rec center for the exercise ball class. Somehow it didn't go as well as last time (2 weeks ago). Just couldn't get coordinated or something. Still, I gave it my best shot. Swung by the grocery store on the way home.

Hubby racked the plum wine this morning and some spilled. He'd washed the counter and the floor, but things were still sticky when I got home about 1:30. So with a wave at some other FlyLady week (she's in the master bedroom but apparently I am in the kitchen) I completely cleared off all the counters and washed them, also cupboard doors. While prepping seven batches of roasted tomato sauce. And while doing laundry. Being as the oven parts aren't here yet, Jim ran the pans back and forth from the barbecue.

The last pan came out just in time for him to barbecue pork chops for supper. We also had salad and yammy fries (yay for toaster ovens). Then he headed out the door for work and I washed the dishes (again), cleaned the bathroom, tidied the LR, vacuumed kitchen, DR, LR--all lino--and washed the floors all the way through. Oh, and canned the roasted tomato sauce (10 pints).

Why yes, I'm tired. Why do you ask? Hungry too. Snack might be in order, and by the looks of the above list, mebbe it should be peas. And then put the clean sheets back on the bed and spend a half hour on my back on the floor. It needs it.

Thursday, October 25

Thursday was a long and exhausting day. Jim had corralled this year's calves (12 out of 13, keeping one for meat) Wednesday, so we spent the night listening to the calves bawl and their mamas bellow. At 6:45 Jim's BIL and nephew showed up to help him load the calves into a large horse trailer. When he left the farm to haul the calves to the place designated for meeting up with the semi, I went for a 20 minute walk (all the time I had left). Brekkie: porridge with apple, raisins, dollop of honey, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

The guys had one other batch of calves to haul for a neighbor and got done just before noon. I met them for lunch: the Mediterranean style chicken burger (spinach, feta, mozz, lettuce) and a tossed salad. I stole a few of Jim's fries also.

Meanwhile, he'd broken a filling and cracked a tooth a couple days ago and the dentist called to fit him in about 3:30, and then the 6pm jewelry class we thought was canceled wasn't, and no one was home to fix supper, and besides hubby's mouth was frozen and I'd snacked in the afternoon on peas, 2 oranges and some grapes...so we went to the library and then to our class. Which was FABULOUS and ran til 9:30 by which time we were STARVING. Jim phoned a pizza order in and we picked it up on our way home and I had four pieces of Hawaiian pizza at 10pm, then cleaned the kitchen (which didn't take long as no one had been home to dirty it...) and spent half an hour flat on my back. Needed that badly after more than three hours doing detail work in that class.

Whew. What a day. I guess I shouldn't be surprised I have a residual headache this morning (Friday).

Wednesday, October 24

So, mega fog in the morning and my neighbor decided not to walk. So I went on the treadmill. I have to say its a better workout--you KNOW when you're slowing down! Soon it will be too dark in the mornings anyway...fog or not. Brekkie: porridge with apple and raisins and honey and banana and vanilla yogurt. And mocha to go. (Think of that like the refrain: and a partridge in a pear tree.)

Lunch: salad and sausage and leftover mac'n'cheese. Snack: peas, 2 oranges. Stopped at the grocery store after work and ate grapes while I made supper: beef stir-fry with onions, mushrooms (from our field), carrots, broccoli, and bean sprouts. The only pre-marinated steak they had (who me, plan ahead?) was a sundried tomato basil sauce, which wasn't really right for an asian style stir-fry. I discovered that fat-free Italian dressing squirted over the stir-fry turned out pretty good.

We're prepping to ship calves Thursday morning which took a chunk of the evening. Banana milkshake and cleaned the kitchen. I've finally got all my soup and bean jars washed, labeled, and put down in the cellar.

This week is master bedroom week. You know what? I need to go through the Christmas decoration boxes in the back of my closet and that's about it.

Tuesday, October 23

A walk with my neighbor in deep fog, breakfast: porridge with raisins, honey, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

Other than keeping up the fruits and veggies, I didn't pay a lot of attention to the Glycemic Index today, hubby's birthday. He wanted bacon and eggs for lunch with whole grain toast. I took peas, 2 oranges and an apple for snack, though!

We ate dinner out; I had a pulled pork sandwich with a tossed salad. And yay! We finally got our truck back out of the shop and it is running SOOOO nice! :) (It better be for the small fortune it cost us.) Hubby and I went to a glass pendant class in the evening. Because my oven is still broke down (waiting for parts there) I made his favorite dessert in the toaster oven when we got back from the class, a butterscotch dessert that cooks into a cake with sauce. It's definitely not GI friendly so he doesn't get it too often! Cleaned the kitchen, done the basic evening routine, and calling it a day.

Monday, October 22

Finally I got to walk with my neighbor again this morning! It was kinda misty raining but not bad. Breakfast: porridge with raisins, honey, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go. Turkey bean soup for lunch with toast, peas and 2 mandarin oranges for snack. Homemade mac'n'cheese (ww mac) for supper plus a big salad. Banana shake to close the day.

As for being organized and FlyLady and stuff--not so much. Basic routines done, kitchen clean. That about covers it! One of these days I'll get back with the program. Not likely this week though, gonna be a busy one. Oh, finished the last Susan Cooper book Silver on the Tree, the fifth book of the Dark is Rising sequence.

Sunday, October 21

So today was pretty productive, too. Had the walk first thing but then popped a load of jars into the canner before my shower, (rightly) believing that it was going to take all day if I didn't get right on it. And the first load was going to take longer just to heat through. Shower, breakfast: porridge with raisins, tofu, banana, a dab of honey and vanilla yogurt.

More canning. I thought once I'd emptied the bulk soup from my bigger canner (into jars) I'd be able to keep them both going but no such luck as I couldn't get the bigger one to seal. That's happened before and it's really frustrating when you want to get done in half the time. I'd done one load Saturday night and had four to go. Each takes about two hours from beginning to beginning. So yeah. Do the math.

I ate an apple and fixed a mocha for the first time I could sit down for a few minutes. Brought the laptop into the kitchen (well away from the work zone) and surfed the net while keeping an eye on the pressure gauge. I spent a lot of time standing at the counter today--the stools we have (old ones) aren't really at the right height.

Come lunch time I had a large salad, then chili and toast. And kept canning. Then I opened up the crit I started working on yesterday and made quite a lot of progress on it over the course of the afternoon. I finished up the canning about 5 pm with a couple of oranges for a snack (what I really wanted was pizza...) Then cooked up salmon fillets from the freezer. Later the last piece of plum crumble that I'd found in the freezer while digging out the stuff for the soup.

I was pretty ready for some time in the recliner after standing for the better part of eight hours. Having finished reading Mercedes Lackey's Fortune's Fool I started into the final Susan Cooper book: Silver on the Tree.

And now hubby is on his way home. He's booked his night shifts off this week so his days off perfectly coincide with my working days. Something about that just seems backward! More floor time coming up. The rest of the evening routine is done (including the kitchen cleaned for like the fourth time today).

Saturday, October 20

Went for my morning walk and decided to take at least a stab at FlyLady's missions for the week (bathroom) by scrubbing the grout while I was in the shower! Then I cleaned the rest of the bathroom including the floor and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast: porridge with raisins and tofu, banana, honey, and vanilla yogurt. And an apple afterwards!

My plan for the day was to make use of the laptop hubby had so kindly left me. And FlyLady says you can do anything for fifteen minutes. So I set the timer for 45 minutes and started a novel-length critique (ensconced in the recliner with mocha and laptop), then 15 minutes getting a load of laundry in. 45 minutes working on a synopsis, 15 minutes doing housework. 45 minutes on the family calendar, 15 on housework. Etc. So I got a lot accomplished on many fronts. As far as housework, got the dusting and vacuuming done, put kidney beans and garbanzo beans on to soak, got the turkey broth out of the freezer, made a humungous batch of soup for canning, and canned the beans that didn't land in the soup. Canning the soup itself will be left for tomorrow.

I had chili and toast for lunch, carrot sticks for snack, toast and leftover chicken for supper, 2 oranges. Off to read awhile before bed

Friday, October 19

When I woke up it was pouring rain. It would have been easy to shut the alarm off, but I knew my neighbors were back from their trip. But then she's sick and still not walking, but by then I was up and out and it was only misting. So. I walked. I really need a new breakfast plan. Had 2 slices of toast with a sliced banana, and 2 oranges mid morning (after the mocha).

I was pretty sore today after that massage. I finally had control of the family wheels for a few hours so needed to go grocery shopping. It was almost too much effort but...I did it. Yay for fresh produce again.Though we had poached eggs on toast for lunch.

Hubby spent the afternoon setting up the laptop to wireless so I spent my afternoon alternating between staying out of his way and helping him. Ran some laundry, did some reading (having completed Susan Cooper's The Grey King I have moved on to Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey). Spent some time on the floor.

For supper I cooked up a large batch of chicken thighs (sort of fried chicken but without the oil) in the electric frying pan and some fries in the toaster oven. (Hubby hasn't had a chance to work through the oven yet.) We also had a large tossed salad. After he headed out to the apartment I cleaned the kitchen, watered plants, did mirrors etc and tidied up. I'm putting off the vacuuming for Saturday. Hubby left me the laptop (yay!) so I hope to get some actual writing work accomplished as well. Now I've just enjoyed an apple and am headed for the floor for awhile with my book and then off to bed perchance to sleep. My evening routine is done but for that.

Thursday, October 18

Another walk first thing, then a breakfast of Fiber One with two mandarin oranges and vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

So my truck is in the shop and apparently the parts still have not arrived. I guess I couldn't be driving it anyway, but I am so very tired of being dependent on someone else--even hubby--for wheels. Cross-communication (he's trying to finalize the deal for selling this year's calves and some of the laws have changed) and I find myself stranded in town at lunchtime. So I went for a walk and then grabbed a sandwich (on what passes for wholegrain bread) at the bakery. Lots of sprouts, though :) and carrot and celery sticks.

I was thankful we'd prepped out the casserole Wednesday night when I got a call that the massage therapist had a cancellation for 5pm. I snapped it up. While hubby waited for me, he got a call from his mom that her oven wasn't working, could she put her supper in ours? He said, yes, it's already on at 350 and there's room. She phoned a few minutes later to say ours wasn't working either, it was about 200 degrees. What are the odds of two gas ovens, next door to each other, both having the same problem at the same time? My FIL was a gas-fitter most of his working years and he sure can't figure that out. All our other gas appliances (stove top, space heater, HW tank, dryer) work fine. Anyway, the casserole wasn't cooked through so I transferred it to the micro-convec when we got home and supper was a bit late. My MIL finished hers off in her barbecue.

We had a banana shake later. I spent a lot of time in my recliner with heat on my back. Considering how NON invasive this massage treatment is, I hurt like crazy afterwards. I did my most basic evening routine before bed.

Wednesday, October 17

Heh, forgot to post last night. Oh well, here I am now. I'm sure you're waiting with bated breath. Walk: same. Breakfast: same. Mocha: same. (Aren't you glad you stopped by?)

For those who are wondering, our plum wine is bubbling away happily these days. I was incorrect in labeling it Zinfandel. Goes to show how little I know. The sad thing about the wine vats is that I apparently can't bake bread until the wine has moved on to the next stage. Something about the yeast in the air. So I have to buy bread today.

Back to yesterday. I went home at lunch and opened a jar of beef vegetable soup, had my bowl with a slice of toast (very nearly the last of that sourdough). I took peas and grapes for snack, also had a piece of chocolate.

For supper we had a tomato/ cucumber salad, ground beef patties, and yammy fries. Banana shake later on. I spent two bouts of time *on the floor*, prepped a casserole supper for tonight, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, did my evening routine, and got a little reading in.

What I seem NOT to be doing a lot of these days in FlyLadying--is that a verb? Other than the base routines, anyway.

And on the writing front, I completed this pass of the never-ending revision. All is well.

Sourdough

Here's a document I wrote up for my girls when I gave them each a sourdough starter. Our family starter dates back to the Cariboo Gold Rush. If you can get an active start from someone, that's best.

Sourdough must be kept in the fridge, and must be kept in a covered container that is not metal (glass, ceramic, or plastic are fine.)

About 8-10 hours before you want to begin a sourdough recipe, the sourdough start needs to come out of the fridge and be revived. Scrape it into a large bowl (such as a casserole dish), add 2 cups warm water and 2.5 cups of white flour (whole wheat flour will turn it rancid), give it a good whisking, cover, and set in a warm place. I put mine in the oven with just the light on.

Anything that comes in contact with the sourdough, be it whisk, spoon, bowl, countertop, should be washed fairly quickly as it dried on very hard and is a bear to get off

In the morning, it should be fluffy and bubbly. Measure out one cup, return it to the storage container (which should have been cleaned before it hardened on) and put it back in the fridge. You will now have about 2-2.5 cups of starter to use in a recipe.

My sister heard somewhere that if you weren’t using your sourdough regularly, you should freeze it in between. My advice would be: don’t. She keeps killing hers. I have left mine for months on end, and once it was all moldy. Sounds gross, but it works: just scrape off the mold and use the sourdough. It’s true, though, that it is happiest the more often it is used.

Sourdough Pancakes
To the revived sourdough add and whisk thoroughly:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp oil
In a separate bowl mix:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp sugar
Mix these three ingredients thoroughly, sprinkle on top of the sourdough, and GENTLY work in. Let rest for five minutes before beginning to cook.

Sourdough Waffles
To the above pancake mix, just add 2 extra Tbsp oil.
Remember waffles are done when they stop steaming. My waffle iron takes 7 minutes.

Sourdough Bread
2 cups sourdough starter
2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt
Combine above and then begin adding flour (either white or whole wheat or a mix)
4-5 cups flour
Knead until thoroughly mixed, let rise until double in a warm place.
Punch down and knead. Form into two loaves and place in pans.
Let rise until double.
Bake in 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until browned and sounding hollow when knocked upon. Cool on wire racks.

Lots of other things can be done with sourdough as well, from cookies and coffee cakes to many kinds of breads, including breadsticks and dinner rolls. I have more recipes if you’re interested, but these three are my basics. Enjoy!

You'll notice that by following this recipe, your pancakes/ waffles will be white flour only and your bread (at best) half and half. I do have a trick for that! When I am preparing the sourdough for the initial fermenting (8 hours before using) I leave a little in the jar the start had been stored in. To THAT JAR ONLY I add a couple tablespoons of warm water and white flour. 8 hours later (or so, it isn't really fussy) I double it again. 8 hours after THAT I put it back in the fridge.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the starter is now in that casserole dish and all of it will be used in whatever I am making (the little jar contains the reserved start for next time). To this I now add the 2 cups warm water and the 2.5 cups whole wheat flour. I buy a coarse ground flour that we really like; I have no idea what is available where you live. I can't stand the fine grind of Robin Hood or whatever, but that's personal.

So that particular weekend, I'd started the sourdough fermenting in the evening as above, planning to make bread in the morning. Instead, we left town for the day, so I added 1 cup warm water and 1 cup whole wheat flour (to feed the start) and put it back in the oven. I thought I'd be home early enough in the afternoon to make bread then. I got home about 8pm, so I fed the start again (same as before) and left it until morning. This gave me a good amount of bubbly starter--enough for 4 loaves of bread.

If you have questions, just holler. I'm sure I made this about as clear as mud!

Tuesday, October 16

Hey I did something different today. Not the breakfast, that was the same. But then I drove the truck to the GM dealership and left it there, and walked the rest of the way into town (about half an hour). Made the mocha there. Can't do without that! Thankfully the truck cooperated fine on the trip in. The parts hadn't arrived yet (gotta love small town life, really) but they're still hoping to have it back to us by Friday.

Hubby came home from night shifts and went on home to sleep. I'm used to going home for lunch on those days but...I had no vehicle. So I picked up a personal size BBQ chicken pizza, and later had a piece of chocolate. Hubby picked me up at 5 and I came home to deal with the remaining leftovers from last week's turkey dinner. I made a kind of turkey stew with the leftover meat (about 2 cups), the remaining rice stuffing (maybe 3/4 cup), the last of the gravy (maybe 1/4 cup), a can of chicken broth, onions, mushrooms, peas, and carrots. Thickened with milk and cornstarch. It was reasonably good, and best of all there are 2 dishes of leftovers (again!) to send to work with Jim. We also had a salad of fresh garden tomatoes and cucumbers.

FlyLady is in the bathroom this week. I did two zone missions by cleaning the garbage can and washing down the base of the toilet and the floor around it. The kitchen is also clean already, but I have a few other things to do yet in my evening routine. We've had a banana milkshake which helps with the sweet cravings at very few calories.

As for the Ba Gua, I'm guessing I won't go back. Not truly because of the Eastern meditation thing so much as that my shoulders and upper back are quite sore, but I don't feel it lower in the abs. That seems like a waste of effort. If I'm going to activate pain in my upper back, I need something positive to show for it as well--a cardio workout or something. There was nothing of that sort, so it doesn't meet my needs at this time. I sure wish they offered that ball class twice a week. I guess I'll have to learn to do some of those moves myself at home about half a week away from Friday noon!

Monday, October 15

The neighbors are away for a few days so I walked all alone in the fog this morning. Very eerie! Breakfast: porridge with apples, raisins, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go.

My MIL drove me to work, and at noon I met my SIL at my favorite lunch spot where I enjoyed the famous Thai Chicken Salad. Mmmmmm. Tangy crunchy goodness. Had peas and grapes for snack.

After work I walked up to the Rec Center for a Ba Gua class. I'm not into the whole Eastern meditation thing and parts of this class made me uncomfortable. I'll have to see if it was good enough exercise (at this point I think not) to make it worth going regularly. I'll try it at least once more though. The concept of the class is listed as:

Smooth flowing movements that help relieve tension and replace it with relaxation, flexibility and increased energy. No cardio, no choreography and no complicated moves to remember. Ba Gua incorporates a slight twisting motion at the core that will flex the spine gently and massage your internal organs to stimulate all functions. A great class for seniors and/ or adults with limited movement in the upper or lower joints.

I'm sure you caught the word *core* in there that made me decide to give it a try in the first place. That and the limited movement in upper joints. Which are admittedly sore afterwards.

Came home with MIL, cleaned out the truck in preparation for its trip for open heart surgery tomorrow, and made myself a sautee supper: onion, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, shrimp, and spinach. I'm still really craving sweets and had a couple of cookies.

Need a good stretch on the floor, my most basic evening routine and an early bedtime tonight. I'm really tired. What else is new.

Sunday, October 14

Another beautiful fall day here in BC. Another morning walk, but shorter this time. Hubby was home so I made a poached egg on sourdough wholegrain toast for breakfast. Also had 2 mandarin oranges. I made a batch of honey spice snap cookies and sent most of them back to work with hubby and the rest (after I ate 5) are in the freezer.

Reheated chicken sweet'n'sour on rice for lunch. And had some peas and grapes. I spent much of the day on the computer trying to get our broadband internet server new homebase email working. Issues. And I don't think they're all solved now.

Reheated a bowl of chili at supper. Had an apple. I spent way too much time sitting around today. It's not good for my head OR my back. Or my butt. Off now to clean the kitchen (again), fold laundry, and read for a bit.

Saturday, October 13

Sometimes it is nice to have a lazy Saturday all to oneself. I slept in and woke up to a gorgeous autumn morning, sun shining and all. So I climbed into my walking clothes and headed out to enjoy it. You can see the photos over In My Little World. By the time I got out of the shower I debated whether it was breakfast time or lunch time, and decided on breakfast. (Porridge with apples, raisins, banana, vanilla yogurt.) Sat down at the computer with my mocha to upload my photos and share them.

I make a calendar every year for my side of the family (which my mom pays for as a Christmas gift for everyone), so I spent a good deal of time on that today, setting up the calendar grids for it. The family is responsible to get pages (or at least photos) to me. I've received three complete pages by email (thanks Karen!) and all the photos needed for one more. I've been told that another three are on their way via snailmail. Yes, there are still folks who don't have computers and email in their homes! Everyone else has at least contacted me regarding what they're doing and when.

Meanwhile when I got hungry again, I reheated the last of the chicken bean soup from Monday. I spent awhile out on the floor (I should paint a mural on my ceiling some time...) and finished reading Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins well before bedtime, and besides hubby will be home tonight so I needn't lie awake afraid.

I've snacked on peas and grapes and apple salad (also from Monday) and made a pot of chili and had a serving of that. Will save some out for the next couple days and freeze the rest.

That ball exercise class is really something. I'm totally amazed how much I feel my abs today. Honestly, I thought I was in much better shape than I obviously am! I've only been NOT exercising for the last month (except for walking. And I'm still doing pain drugs for the upper back. I thought about working in the flower beds but decided not to push it, that I really *should* be sensible and not always push the limits.

Hubby's home now and I still have the kitchen to clean. All is well. It'll be done.

Friday, October 12

Got up, walked with neighbor, had porridge with apple, raisins, banana, yogurt, and mocha to go. Because I have no wheels until my truck gets fixed (unless hubby's home, which he isn't...) I caught a ride to town with my neighbor.

I went to the ball exercise class at 12. Different instructor today, different tempo. Same sore feeling afterward, though! My MIL met me, we both picked up a few groceries and headed home. I did some research online, then spent the better part of an hour on my back on the floor, reading Holly Lisle's Create-a-Plot clinic on the Palm.

I was on and off the computer the rest of the day. Sent some emails regarding our change of (home) email address. Read Greenwitch by Susan Cooper. Poked at my story idea.

And kind of grazing all day. Let's see, 3 Wasa crackers with chocolate cream cheese, a handful of peas, 2 pieces of tempura salmon, 2 mandarin oranges, some grapes...Really craving junk food here. The closest I've come is the NF NS chocolate *ice cream*.

Need some pain killer drugs to head off to bed with, though. The kitchen is clean. Bleh. I need a sense of purpose for tomorrow. Maybe dig out the character clinic and poke my new idea some more. Maybe redesign a blog or two. Maybe sleep first...

Wednesday-Thursday, October 10-11

Huh. Not sure how I forgot to post up here last night, but I did.

Started out Wednesday with a foggy walk with my neighbor. By the time we got back home the fog was lifting in layers and the sun was shining across the valley. Very pretty. Porridge with apple, banana, yogurt for breakfast, mocha to go.

Hubby was working on the car so I took a lunch to work: tuna, 3 Wasa crackers, peas, grapes. Finished off my chocolate. I took my workout bag to work, unsure of whether I should go to Curves or not. Decided not to being as I was already fighting a headache and taking drugs for it. So I went for another walk instead.

When I got home I had the privilege of cleaning up behind hubby's zinfindel making experiment. Now we have two batches of plum wine stewing away in the corner of the living room and the whole house will have to be kept consistently too warm for me for a couple of weeks. I spose I will survive it. :P My zone cleaning for the day was washing plum juice off cabinet doors and the floor, so once again they are very clean.

We had salad for supper, followed by leftover turkey dinner. Most of the remainder is packaged up and ready for hubby's lunches. I made banana shakes for snack later and spent nearly an hour on the floor stretching out the back over the course of the evening. I am consistently amazed by what a huge difference that makes. I started reading Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins. I should know better than to read anything by her in the evening. I'll save the rest for weekend days!

So this morning my neighbor and I walked again, and I had the same breakfast. Really, the first few hours of my day could be put on automatic repeat! Except no headache today YAAAY. (Actually got a good chunk of writing done.)

At noon hubby met me in town, we grabbed a sub at Subway and went to the library. So now I have alternatives to reading Crimson Eve.

I'd put chicken legs in the slow cooker (12 pieces) with my mother's sweet-and-sour rib sauce in the morning. When I got home from work I put on a pot of rice while hubby fed the cows. While that cooked I finished getting his laundry together and made his sandwiches. He left for work right after supper.

So it was Home Blessing night. I cleaned the bathroom--somehow I haven't really gotten into the daily swish'n'swipe mode. Did the dishes while talking to my mom on the phone. Dusted and vacuumed and washed mirrors and watered plants. My plants are quite unsure of what to do with this regular watering. One of them is considering blooming. Wow.

Left to do before bed: get the coffee pot ready to turn on in the morning, and do my back stretches. And some reading. But not anything by Brandilyn.

Tuesday, October 9

My neighbor wasn't up for a walk this morning (their kids were still visiting from Saskatchewan) so I went alone in the fog. Kind of eerie! Came back and fixed breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go at work.

Hubby and I went out for lunch. I had a Mediterranean style chicken burger (feta and spinach), and I left the top off. Had a side salad. I'd also taken peas and grapes to work, which I had just about finished when it got crazy busy for most of the afternoon. Had a piece of chocolate at the end of the day.

For supper I served up a large tossed salad and then leftovers from the cabbage unroll casserole from last week. Then I polished off the last piece of pumpkin pie!

I've got hubby's laundry done and ready for his next shift. Breakfast and lunch are prepped out. I had to laugh at FlyLady's zone task for today, wiping off the all the counters. Mine are covered with pans of thawing plums as apparently hubby is starting the zinfindel in the morning. So I settled for Wednesday's task: scrubbing and buffing the kitchen faucet in between two batches of dishes. I also deboned and packaged for the freezer the turkey broth I'd had simmering all night. So the kitchen is as clean as it can be in prep for another onslaught of Real Life tomorrow.

Also finished reading The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Reminds me a fair bit of Madeleine L'Engle's writing actually. I guess it is YA fantasy from a similar era so that makes some sense.

Monday, October 8

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians that read this blog. Which is probably no one, but anyway... :P

So my day off...and up at 6:20 to drive over to pick up hubby. Thanks to the Georgie-cat for waking Hanna up so she came with me for the ride. I took a mocha along and we stopped at Tim Horton's for breakfast: bagel breakfast sandwich. When we got home I put the turkey in the oven and started soup for lunch, then Hanna and I went for a walk. Came back and stretched out on the floor for awhile to work the kinks out of my back.

Lunch: homemade chicken soup with garbanzons, kidney beans, tomatoes, carrots, spices. And a piece of sourdough toast. By the time we'd cleaned up from lunch, hubby was awake (sort of) and we drove out to one of our favorite walking trails along a dike (separates a boggy lake from the river). Came home, had some peas and grapes (so I could take pain drugs without them bouncing!) and got rolling on the rest of turkey dinner. Hanna did roasted veggies (beets, yams, carrots, parsnips, and fennel) in a vinaigrette. I'd made Bonnie's rice stuffing recipe in the turkey (it's on the forum) and I will definitely make that again; we all really liked it a lot. I made a small pot of mashed potatoes because you just need them with turkey gravy. And we had apple waldorf salad (also on the forum). Tasty and pretty dinner!

Because I don't really have a dining area right now, the four of us sat around our little drop-leaf table in a slightly too-small area. I'd brought home my mother's china back in spring and dug out the dinner and dessert plates for tonight. What's the point of having china if you never use it? I'm looking forward to being able to display it on day relatively soon.

We cleaned the kitchen--that took a while!--and then enjoyed the pumpkin pie before the kids headed back over the mountain to home. I did up the dishes (again) with the dessert dishes and the roasting pans that had been soaking. Decided the self-cleaning oven needed running so turned it on. (There's nothing like turkey to make the oven need a good cleaning!) Then I read my email and discovered that FlyLady's zone task for Monday was washing out the kitchen garbage can. It needed emptying anyway so I did the task.

Now I'm looking forward to a bit more surfing on the net and then a good long back stretch on the floor. After Curves on Thursday, Ball class on Friday, driving to C and back Saturday, the folding chairs at sis's Sunday, and doing the trip again Monday, I'm feeling a bit sore again. But it'll all be good. I'm sure.

Sunday, October 7

Got up, went for a walk, and made breakfast: a smoothie of banana, raspberries, tofu and yogurt over porridge. Because of my unplanned trip yesterday, I'd added flour and water to my sourdough starter several times and this morning turned it into bread dough. I played with a new story idea while cleaning the bathroom, running the vacuum, and finishing up the laundry.

I fixed Glory Bowl for lunch, then baked a tofu pumpkin pie for Monday's Thanksgiving dinner; the bread went through the oven right behind it. Handful of peas for snack, then over to hubby's sis's for the extended family Tday dinner where I got to hold my five week old niece and eat (too much) turkey dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, yams and a whole wheat bun (like I needed THAT added...) and a piece of pumpkin pie.

Folding chairs are not the greatest for my back and there were too many people there to secure a *better* seat so I came home a bit early, badly needing to stretch out on the floor. Finished reading Over Sea, Under Stone from that vantage point--and with a cat stretched out on my torso, purring away.

The laundry is all put away, the kitchen is clean, the prep for turkey dinner is done for tonight, and the bread sliced and frozen. Just waiting now for our daughter and son-in-law to arrive for what's left of the long weekend. Thinking of getting up at six thirty and driving to pick up hubby has me yawning already.

Saturday, October 6

Got up and went for a walk first thing. After all the rain and fog and all, it was nice to see a little sunshine this morning. It didn't hurt that I went a little later and the sun was already up... Hubby was home and couldn't sleep in (though he's switching to nights and should have!) I made us toast and scrambled eggs with bacon and a lot of veggies in (onion, garlic, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, carrots). So many veggies the eggs couldn't hold them together, lol.

In discussion about the truck, we got this little brainwave whereby I would go with him (canceling my massage apt) to the larger next town over and we would look at trucks on the car lots and he'd catch a ride the rest of the way to work with a buddy, leaving me with the car. (Yesterday the truck decided it didn't like going into reverse...which can be an issue, trust me...) So my plans for the day got as scrambled as the breakfast eggs. The upshot of a couple of hours of lot scrounging is that we can't afford to replace our truck with something better and can't see the point of replacing it with something worse. Our next stop is to get an estimate from the local GM dealership to replace the transmission. We grabbed Burger King just before meeting up with his buddy, which isn't really on my diet but hey I did it anyway (BK double stacker, half a pkg fries, and the first coke I've had in eons.)

Ran into a pal of mine shortly after (hiya Joyce!) and we went for coffee and a visit, bringing my quota of mochas for the day to two. Could have yakked a lot longer but it was getting on to supper time and besides my eyes aren't that happy with night driving anymore.

Starved by the time I got home and was glad I had a quickie supper planned: the other marinated pork chop sautéed with onions, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli, zucchini and spinach, which almost brings my veggie quota for the day up to something reasonable. Had a handful of grapes later while reading. (I've started Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper as it occurs to me I have never read this classic children's fantasy series.)

The kitchen is clean and most of my routine is done for the day. My back is sore-ish from the combination of the ball class yesterday and too much car today. And I get to do the car again Monday morning (mighty early) to pick hubby up again. Ah well. I expect I shall live through it.

Friday, October 5

At least it wasn't pouring for Hannah's and my walk this morning. I'd woke up in the middle of the night with a charleyhorse in the calf, which caused me to realize I'd been skipping stretches after the walks. So I taught them to Hannah, standing out in the middle of the dirt road in front of their house. Not sure what the passing truckers thought.

Breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go.

So Fridays at 12:15 is a 40-minute fitness class at the Rec Center that is low impact with an exercise ball. It is advertised as strengthening the core and abdominals. Just what the doctor (and the massage therapist) ordered. It was trickier than I thought it would be, and it's going to take a day or two to recuperate. Definitely pointed out how weak I am in that area and once I learn to do the exercises correctly I think it will be very positive. So I expect to go to this class regularly.

Picked up groceries (mostly produce and dairy) on the way home after class. I heated leftover pasta and tomato sauce for my lunch, also had a tossed salad. I ate a handful of grapes while I put away groceries, then some peas and a couple of Wasa crackers with chocolate cream cheese as I finished reading Nobody...with the heating pad on my back.

Then I dragged myself up the stairs with the timer set for thirty minutes and worked on sorting and tossing in the spare room. I cooked up a marinated pork chop with onions, mushrooms and spinach for supper.

I must be getting closer to the optimal GI diet again. I'm always hungry. Sigh. I gave in to a serving of chocolate ultimate frozen dessert--the euphemism for sugar-free low-fat not-quite-ice-cream, which is also low-guilt in moderation. Moderation it is. I still have the kitchen cleanup and another round of back stretches to go tonight.

Yay the weekend!

Thursday, October 4

So. 6:50 am. I'm lying in bed listening to the downpour of rain on a metal roof. And I'm thinking...is Hannah really going to want to walk in this? I'm talking cats and dogs raining--tigers and wolves, not kitties and puppies. The phone does not ring. It creeps closer to 7. I think, well, I know *I* have rain gear, so it won't be me that makes the call. Eventually I decide the phone really is not going to ring, and I get up, throw on my workout clothes and rain gear and head out the door.

Of course I discovered that Hannah had decided she'd canceled on me enough times and it wasn't going to be HER fault if we didn't walk today. So we walked. And talked. And got absolutely soaked, rain gear or not. And by the time I left for work the sky was nearly clear. Figures.

Breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, vanilla yogurt. Mocha to go. And I need to get another option in my brekkie routine. Don't know what yet.

At lunch hour I went to Curves for the first time in about three weeks. Weighed in at 147#. I'm debating whether to give Curves up or not at the moment, but you know, I like it. And I enjoy many of the lunch hour regulars. So I don't know. And yes, I'm frustrated like crazy about the 147 as well.

I'd taken leftover rice and Hawaiian chicken to eat at my desk, along with carrot sticks and grapes.

After work I came home and fixed myself supper, a stirfry with steak, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and the last of the green beans. Later I had two pieces of whole grain toast with margarine and cheddar.

I cleaned the kitchen and didn't do the zone cleaning. Instead, I set the timer for fifteen minutes and began cleaning out the stuff on the floor of the spare room closet. That room is kind of organized chaos. It's not cluttered, really, but it contains a lot of things I probably don't need. Including things from my kitchen that have been packed away for the last six months. It's time to start sorting it and doing some tossing.

I watched X-Weighted on tv. Interesting to see what these folks go through to lose (in this case) 29 pounds in six months. She trained really really hard, and a lot of it was upper body workouts (full body pushups, for instance) that I really can NOT do anymore (if I ever could) and heavy duty cardio--running. So I sat there and ate my toast and wondered if I was doomed. Yeah. Like that makes sense.

I've made a good start at reading Nobody by my buddy Creston Mapes. Interesting story in an interesting voice. Now I need to do my back stretches and head for bed at a decent time.

Wednesday, October 3

My neighbor and I went for a walk first thing this morning, and then I made breakfast: porridge with apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to go.

I forgot to mention that Tuesday night hubby and his b-i-l had a good look at our truck's transmission while we were out at their place and all may not be as bleak as it seemed. At least hubby has one relatively inexpensive thing to try meanwhile. hopefully it will do the trick.

At lunch I reheated chicken veg barley soup and made toast. I had peas and grapes for snack, also two pieces dark chocolate. Why yes, I do seem to eat the same things over and over again. Hubby made a cabbage unroll casserole for supper--which means I had a heck of a lot of kitchen cleanup to do when I got home! Still it was nice not to have to cook today and besides it tasted darn good.

After supper he headed back to the mines and I started in on the Home Blessing. Two mega-batches of dishes, watered the plants, hauled canning and empty jars to the cellar, and stole a few minutes to finish reading The Proof by Austin Boyd. Did a Room Rescue on the Living Room. Gathered the garbage together in the porch (it's pouring rain out and I don't feel like hauling them to the truck tonight) as it is dumpster day at work Friday. Then I vacuumed the entire main floor and washed the kitchen floor, including the dining area (in honor of dining room zone week!)

That's it. Now I'm going to read for a bit, do my back stretches, and have a banana shake (once the floor is dry in the kitchen) and off to bed. I'm really bad with zone work when Jim is home on weekdays. I don't know if I should fight it or go with it. Right now--apparently--I am going with it!

Tuesday, October 2

Up and for a walk in the rain with my neighbor. Breakfast of porridge, apple, banana, yogurt, and a mocha-to-go. Hubby and I grabbed take-out lunch today: Hawaiian style burger (pineapple and lettuce) and fries. I'd taken peas and grapes for snack.

For supper--lol I didn't even realize that I had Hawaiian on the brain till this minute. Made sweet-and-sour chicken breast over brown-and-wild rice, also with salad and corn on the cob. I did the basic kitchen clean-up and then we went out to hubby's sis and b-i-l's for the evening. And she gave me some more of their fabulous grapes. Did my back exercises on their floor while hubby showed them some stuff on their computer that they couldn't figure out. Nice visit, home at bedtime, that's all she wrote. No zone cleaning.

Monday, October 1

My neighbor wasn't up to a morning walk yet, but I donned my rain gear and headed out into the rainy morning. Came back, fixed porridge with apple, banana, yogurt. Mocha to work. Hubby called to say that indeed the broadband guy came to install in the morning. Yay!

We had chicken veg barley soup for lunch, one slice of whole grain toast. I was mad at myself because I forgot to take snacks to work. I did have some chocolate. Once home I made meatballs to put in pasta sauce (extra meatballs for the freezer) over tomato-basil spaghetti. Also had corn and salad. And a banana shake later.

I cleaned the kitchen thoroughly and ignored the FlyLady zone clean in favor of scrubbing the top of my stove, which hasn't been done since last time she told me to do it! And the canner really makes a mess. The canners are put away and the jars are washed. When they are completely dry I will label them and haul them to the cellar (Tuesday night).

Of course we also had to have fun with the new broadband internet, and I spent an hour on the phone walking my sister through an issue with printing out photos. Evening routine complete, I did my back stretches and headed for bed.

Sunday, September 30

I slept in again this morning, but it seems to have helped keep that cold from taking over. Still an occasional sneeze, but I can live with this. I walked to the end of the road and back, then fixed porridge with apple, and had it with a banana and vanilla yogurt. I did a bit of research on the internet, then made myself a mocha and began dealing with the canner full of chicken bones. I made part into vegetable barley soup and had some for lunch. (Meanwhile hubby came home from night shifts and crashed on the couch.)

I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen, canning two canner loads (14 quart jars) of soup. While the bobber bobbed I began reading the second book of the Mars Hill Classified Trilogy by Austin Boyd (The Proof). Meanwhile I munched on peas and two Wasa crackers with garlic cream cheese and a handful of dates.

For supper I fixed stuffed pork chops (apple, onion, bread crumbs, seasonings). I bought these really thick chops a few weeks ago and so this has been on my menu every week for the last three (grin) and I finally made them. They were kinda fun but not perfect. Oh, we also had salad and corn. (So does that mean the menu works? Eventually?)

While I was cleaning the kitchen (a real chore today, trust me...) hubby received a phone call regarding the application we submitted nearly a year ago for high speed internet. The guy will be here tomorrow morning!!!!! Glad hubby *happens* to be home for this. Wow, I can hardly believe we'll soon actually be untied from the phone line.

Saturday, September 29

I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up this morning. I'd sort of woken up around 6:30 but fallen back asleep and when I really woke up, it was quarter to nine!!!! I'd slept through the whole night, and then some. Wow.

So, in celebration, I went for a half hour bike ride. Time will tell whether that was a smart move or a dumb one, but I was in the mood for something a little farther afield than our little road. My bike allows me to sit quite upright, and I wasn't off-roading...

After my shower, I fixed two pieces of whole-grain toast which I had with margarine and a sliced banana, eating the last few plums...and now plum season is officially over.

Went upstairs, mocha in hand, to think about the Master Bedroom zone, which we've been concentrating on this week via FlyLady. I went through two drawers in my dresser and all of my closet (and hubby's) sorting things to keep, to toss, and to take to the thrift store. I loaded the bags to toss and donate into the truck. I cleaned up what I'd accomplished over the last week in magazine sorting, taking a stack to the truck for recycling. Decided to leave the books for another time. Stripped the bed and started the laundry. Vacuumed the stairwell and the whole upstairs. Realized that it was time to take the fans from upstairs out to the storage cabin for the winter, grabbing a couple of other things that fit that category while I was in the mode.

Then I washed the mirrors and a couple of the windows (remember I did the exteriors a couple weeks ago) and watered the plants.

Lunch time anyone? Fixed myself Glory Bowl and tried to make a menu for the week. I find that the most difficult organizational task and have never yet made and kept one for a full week.

Went into town for errands: dropped stuff at the thrift shop, the library, recycling depot, and the dumpster. Got water and my daughter's birthday present and stopped by the grocery store for a couple things we were out of.

When I got home I dumped all the chicken parts I'd found in the freezer into my large canner, topped it with about 4 gallons of water, and started it towards boiling. Then I curled up in the recliner with a library book, a handful of peas, and 2 Wasa crackers with garlic cream cheese. And a couple of Entrophen as the exertions of earlier caught up with me.

I picked green beans and sautéed them for supper with shrimp, and also had a salad. Talked to my kids on the phone while doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Now a little surfing and reading and back exercises before bed!

Friday, September 28

Got up and went for my walk. I'm starting to increase the briskness of the walking, easing the arm movements back in. Breakfast: soaked oats, plums, yogurt. Mocha to go.

For lunch we had leftover ground beef stew and whole-grain toast. Later I snacked on peas and had a piece of plum cobbler from the freezer.

Hubby left for his night shifts shortly after lunch. Because he'd been home (sick) for two extra days, I hadn't done the FlyLady house blessing, so I started on it Friday afternoon. I tidied up the living room, dusted and vacuumed. Tidied up the kitchen and vacuumed.

I reheated chili from the freezer for supper and had a tossed salad.

I spent several hours online researching the new farm use idea hubby and I have been talking about. It sounds like it could be reasonably lucrative for less work than the cows. Part of the problem with the cows is our local elk population, who have decided that our back pasture is on their daily (weekly?) migration route. They hop over our electric fences--or just plow through them. So even if the cows aren't in the back pasture, the loss of electric power in the fenceline causes shorts throughout the system, meaning that the calves in particular wander in and out of the pastures at will (in a bad week, anyway.) It seems like fixing fences is permanently on hubby's to-do list. Also, the price of beef cattle has been low most of the seven years we've owned the farm. A couple of years extremely low (during the mad cow crisis), but it's never gotten anywhere near the first year for dollar-per-pound. This year the cruncher is the fact that the Canadian dollar is so high versus the American dollar. Apparently the price-per-pound has sunk 25% in the past couple of months, just as our calves are getting to market weight. It has become increasingly clear to me that raising beef cattle, particularly with hubby out of town half the time, is just beating our heads against a wall. Hubby is not quite on board with my realization, so we'll see what happens. He is pretty excited about some of the research we've been doing, though. Of course it always costs money to switch gears and use land for a different purpose. And spare cash is something we don't have a lot of.

No, I'm not going to talk about the specifics at this time.

Cleaned up the kitchen in the evening, then watched What Not to Wear and finished the novel I've been reading: The Evidence by Austin Boyd. Jean, have you heard of him? I'm suspecting you might enjoy this trilogy.

Thursday, September 27

Have you noticed it is almost the end of September? Where do all the used up days go, anyway?

So, I got up, went for a walk, had the shower and the brekkie (porridge with apple, banana, yogurt, and mocha-to-go).

First stop of the morning was the follow-up doctor's appointment in which I found out that my weight issues are all my own and cannot be blamed on thyroid problems. I haven't been to Curves for a couple weeks now so haven't weighed myself; I'll have to stop by and do that soon, just for record-keeping. Doc suggests that I had better steer away from high impact exercising. No more running, for example. He thinks I should concentrate on building up my core muscles, which is something I've become aware of recently anyway and have started focusing on.

I need to really think about the movements at Curves and decide if it is going to continue to meet my needs or if I'm better off dropping out and saving myself forty bucks a month. Which I will probably spend elsewhere. The rec center has some low impact workouts listed, for example. Really, other than the thyroid question being answered, I don't feel it was a particularly helpful discussion.

At lunch time I went home, being as I still have a sick hubby there (who now has the bathroom taps taken apart to fix the leaks and then finds out that he can't get the parts in this town. So no sink taps for a few days, yay.) Normally I would send most of the leftovers (planned-overs) to the apartment with him but...decided we had too many now being as he's been home all week. So I reheated a couple servings of the pork roast supper. Brought peas and grapes to work for snack.

After work we test-drove a truck. I am rebelling. I want to stick my head in the sand and when it comes out, I want our truck to work right and my bank account to look the same. I am absolutely freaking out over this. So I try not to think about it. Which is hard to do when you're test-driving trucks.

Came home and pulled the last of the mini meat-loaves out of the freezer and reheated them alongside yammy fries, and ate salad while it all baked. Had a piece of chocolate-chip cake.

Discussions of vehicles, what we would use the farm for if we sold all the cattle, and trying to load RealPlayer on my Palm took up the remainder of the evening. I did the evening routine, including the back stretches.

Not only do I want the truck issues to be fixed when I wake up, I could do without this stupid cold, also.