Monday, October 23, 2023

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - October 23, 2023

It's a beautiful, warm, and windy afternoon here in southwest Missouri with plenty of sunshine and an expected high of 83 degrees. 

Monarch on Zinnia
October 2023

I'm taking advantage of the nice weather and above-normal temps to get outside work and weatherization done before temperatures take a tumble by week's end.

How are you? How was your weekend?

My weekend here was good! I worked on Saturday and was able to get in a good hike on the autumnal prairie. 

Spent Native Thistle and Splashes of Color
Mark the Tallgrass Prairie in Autumn

Yesterday morning was church and, in the afternoon, I enjoyed watching 'Night at the Museum' with Ben Stiller. I hadn't seen that movie in years and forgot how funny it really is!


In the late afternoon/early evening I made a mad dash to Butler with family to pick up a Facebook Marketplace purchase, then we enjoyed supper out at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Picture of the Fam Celebrating Birthdays
@ Tu Casa Back in January

Now, today, here I am...getting ready to have Tu Casa leftovers for lunch and trying to make sense of my world. Ha!

As you, know, I've gotten away from the 'Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday' posts in recent months and, to be honest, I think I've paid for it. I thought, since living alone and cooking for one, it didn't make sense to go to such lengths, but I'm finding that, even when things didn't go the way that I originally thought they might, at least, having time each week to think and plan helped me to focus and recenter more than I realized.

I know that part of it is still just trying to find out what works for me since my husband passed away, and I don't know that anything will ever be "normal" again, but, for today, let's give this a try and take a look at the week ahead...shall we? 

New England Asters Blooming in My Back Yard

This week's master to-do list...

- Clean house 🏡
- Do laundry 👕
- See about getting my dryer fixed. It works, but it takes longer to dry a load than it should. Since purchasing a drying rack I hardly use it, but, whenever I do use it, I would like for it to be as energy efficient as possible. 
- Finish winterizing
- Prepare for and present tomorrow's 'Spider Web Wonders' program at the local library 🕸
- Finish up our six-week 'Reformation' study (this week we're studying reformer, William Tyndale) 
- Wish granddaughter, Kayla, a 'Happy Birthday' 🎂
- Work

Sunrise Over Our Town
October 21, 2023

This week's menu plan...

This week I want to focus on using up fresh items on-hand and, since I want to use up older canned, boxed, and frozen items first, I will probably do a food inventory at some point. I've not done one in over a year. 

Foods that I know need used up right away include: two apples, a green pepper, two bags of baby carrots, a box of spring mix greens, cottage cheese, potatoes, and onions. 

The apples will be eaten as snacks with the last of some caramel dip leftover after Bible study last week.

The cottage cheese will also be used as snacks...either by itself sprinkled with tumeric and black pepper or blended up in the Magic Bullet with frozen blueberries and stevia for a real THM treat!

The spring mix will be doled out throughout the week sauteed with egg whites for breakfast and the baby carrots eaten daily with lunch or for snacks with French onion dip or ranch dressing.

The green pepper, along with an onion and a potato, will be sauteed on the griddle and served with either a turkey Italian sausage, a turkey breakfast sausage, or a turkey burger for supper tonight.

Other meal ideas for this week include broiled salmon with baked potato and a vegetable, turkey Italian sausage oven-roasted with potatoes and fried cabbage, homemade pizza, and THM's 'Hearty Red Soup.' 

Well, that's it for today! I hope your week is off to a great start and that all is well with you and yours!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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6 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading your post afternoon. I do miss the HHM posts when I don't do them, somehow even if the only time I think about the things is during the writing of the post I feel more on track. Beautiful purple aster! Mine are all gone here. Your menu ideas sound great. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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    1. Thanks, Jean! I didn't realize how much the Monday posts kept me on track each week. Hopefully, I can get back into the swing of things and post weekly again. That's my goal! Yes, I thought the New England asters had all died out, but, nope! They surprised me this autumn with four plants AND I discovered a patch of white crownbeard in the middle of the yard! I am so excited! They're small, but am hoping that they produce frost flowers this year! Have a great rest of the week and thanks, again, for stopping in. Am hoping to catch up with you again soon, too! Blessings!

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  2. I find writing up a master to do list each week (or sometimes just for the day) does help keep me focused and on task. I have been slacking off a lot on the housework lately and it's really starting to show.

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    1. I hear you, Joanne. It's amazing how much more gets done when just taking that few minutes each day or week to think things out. Thanks for stopping in! I hope you're having a lovely autumn!

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing this post and linking up at the #UnlimitedLinkParty 135. Pinned.

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  4. Hello! So happy to visit with you here today. I am also working on using up some fresh veggies and fruit. I have begun slicing up apples at mealtime and just settting them out. They get eaten so much more!

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