Monday, January 21, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday - January 21, 2019

Greetings, Dear Ones! Happy Monday! I hope that your week is off to a GREAT start! 💗

How was your week and weekend? Ours was good here! 

Monday was spent cleaning, doing laundry, running errands, and a whole host of other things. At the end of the day I said, "Something's got to change!" 

Mondays used to be the calmest day of the week...thus the reason for designating it as my cleaning and laundry day...but, here lately, it's been as crazy as every other day, so I'm thinking that, starting now, I need to reevaluate my schedule and redistribute my chore list in some other way. I'm not sure what that is at the moment, but I'm working on it. 

On Tuesday we joined family for brunch, then spent the rest of the day at home working on and finishing up things that we didn't get done Monday (i.e. - cleaning out the fridge and doing a food inventory). 

Brunch @ Daughter and Son-in-Law's
On Wednesday I presented two library programs and, believe it or not, I forgot my Ipod, so no pics! 😲 (Very unlike me!) But both classes went well and the children seemed to enjoy them. I read the book Animals in Winter by Henrietta Brancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder and the children made peanut butter pine-cone feeders to take home and hang for the birds. 🐦

I worked Thursday and Friday at the park. On Thursday the bison came to the building...which is always a treat (and one that I never get tired of)...and on Friday we were entertained by the antics of an armadillo that spent his day digging for grubs around the nature center. (He was so stinkin' cute!!!) Here is a video of him for you to enjoy! 


Saturday I was off...which doesn't happen very often...and, basically, I did NOTHING! 😆 I worked a bit on the blog (responded to comments mostly) and...speaking of comments...

Have any of you been inundated by comments from anonymous commenters? I have...like...three or four posts that seem to be targeted by this group of people...all listed as ANONYOUS...and they just keep posting the same silly comments over and over again. They're nothing bad...just silly...and the same handful of identical comments keep getting posted over and over again on a select three or four posts that have been posted within the last six months to a year. I refuse to publish them and just mark them as spam, but I get really tired of wading through them to get to the REAL comments. Is anyone else having this issue?

In getting back to my weekly update, Saturday night and into Sunday morning we had temps into the teens with windchills near zero. There was no church yesterday morning and in the afternoon I had to run out to the park to take care of a couple of things, but, other than that, the rest of the day was pretty much spent relaxing and taking it easy. 

Now, today, here we are! It's Monday again and we're off and running into another beautiful week full of wonderful blessings! Let's get started on it...shall we??? 😊

Today I am joining Sandra and the other ladies over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom
for Happy Homemaker Monday. Please be sure to go over and check it out! 💗
Right now I am...

...finishing up my morning tea while working on this post.

Am thinking...


...about the changes I want to make in my weekly routine and figuring out ways to streamline things.

On the breakfast plate...


This morning I enjoyed ham, eggs, and toast with a cup of hot tea. We don't normally eat much pork around here, but one of our sons butchered a couple of hogs this past fall and shared some of the meat with us. I've tried to dole it out a little here and a little there and we have greatly enjoyed it as a real treat! 🐖

The weather...

Right now it's 34 degrees, cloudy, and we're under a wind advisory. Despite the super cold temperatures over the weekend, the week ahead looks fairly good with daytime highs fluctuating between 32 and 51 degrees with nights in the 20's. There are slight chances for snow showers on three different days, but all the really bad weather lately has skirted just to our north. I keep waiting for the big snows, but, for us, they're just not happening. 😥

On my reading pile...

Am still reading The Great Buffalo Hunt by Wayne Gard (I'll be reading this one forever...I've designated it as my "only read at work in my spare time" book...which my spare time at work is minuscule, at best...so...oh well...I'm enjoying it that way anyway) and Pioneer Girl  - The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have also added God's Will for Your Healing by Gloria Copeland.


Pioneer Girl - The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the menu this week...

It's not official (because I'm not posting about it and I should be), but we're in the middle of one our low-spend, clean out the cabinets and freezer challenges. If the meals seem a little redundant or weird...that's why! 😆

Monday - ham and beans with cornbread (freezer)
Tuesday - pasta with meat sauce, salad, and homemade French bread (freezer)
Wednesday - garbanzo bean burgers on thin wheat buns with sweet potato fries
Thursday - 
stuffed peppers with black beans and corn
Friday - salmon patties, canned buttered potatoes, and steamed broccoli
Saturday - cheeseburgers and oven fries
Sunday - leftovers

On my 'to-do' list...

Monday - Weekly "home blessing" (am thinking about how to reschedule the work load), laundry, HHM post

Tuesday - Take a friend to her hair appointment, then grocery shopping
Wednesday - Work on a few select projects here at home

Thursday - Might be going to CPR class with oldest granddaughter (not sure about this yet)
Friday - Work
Saturday - Work
Sunday - Church

In the craft basket...


Christmas gifts for next year using recycled Christmas cards. "Thank you!" to those that have saved and sent theirs to me. I appreciate it! 💗

Looking forward to this week...

Catching up on a few things at home and working on this blog.

Something interesting that I watched this week...


Last night's super moon, wolf moon, blood moon, and eclipse combo. It was awesome! Here is a beautiful photograph taken by our youngest son...

Super Moon, Wolf Moon, Blood Moon, Total Lunar Eclipse - January 20, 2019
Photo Credit - James Knox Photography - Lamar, Missouri
From the camera...

The Creek @ The Low-Water Bridge @ Prairie State Park
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Scripture passage...

Image result for psalm 34:8 kjv


Well, Ladies, that's it for this week! I pray that each and every one of you have a blessed and beautiful New Year, and I'll see you next week! Blessings!

14 comments:

  1. Great photo of the moon. My kids went out to watch it, but none of their pictures turned out that well. They found it fascinating!
    Have a great week.

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  2. Blessings, Monique! Glad your children got to watch last night's lunar eclipse. A lot of people weren't able to view it for the cloud coverage and it's a shame, because it was absolutely beautiful! Thanks for stopping in and for leaving a comment! Have a great week ahead! <3

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  3. Loved seeing your photos especially the one your son took of the moon. Nothing but cloud cover around here. I'll be interested in hearing if you find a new system for cleaning. The hour one always sounds good to me in theory but doesn't work well on days I get called into work. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

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  4. Wow! That photo of the eclipse is stunning! I was too lazy to bundle up to see the eclipse but my 16 year old made the effort and said it was really something. Have a lovely week!

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  5. I like that swamp picture! Your meals always sound good.

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  6. Thanks, Jean! Yes, my aunt that lives at Urich called me at a quarter till 11:00 last night. She couldn't see it either and was so disappointed. I'm glad James got a good picture of it. I will make sure she gets a copy of it. What's the one hour system? Just clean for one hour a day? That might work for me! Thanks for the idea! Have a great week ahead, my friend! Blessings! <3

    You, too, Carol! Have a lovely week ahead! Blessings! <3

    Thanks, LA! That's the creek down near the campground and picnic area where I work. The creek was covered with a thin layer of ice except where it was still running across the low-water bridge. It was so pretty! Have a great week ahead, my dear! Blessings! <3

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  7. What a FANTASTIC photo your son was able to get - looks professional! Good luck finding your new schedule - I hope it brings you balance. Have a GREAT week.

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  8. Thanks, Tamy! He IS a professional! :D And thanks! Balance is exactly what I need! Have a blessed week, my friend! <3

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  9. Great moon photo :)

    You know I'm finding myself struggling to balance everything too, there seems to be a shift in life at the moment, it's so rushed, it's so incredibly complicated and crazy at times. I'm just needing to catch my breath at times and shift things back and forth here and there....this is why I miss simpler times.

    Anyway, I hope you're having a great week :)

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  10. Thanks, Sandra! And, yes, that's exactly it! "...rushed...incredibly complicated...crazy...a shift in life..." and it seems that everyone I talk to is experiencing it. I, personally, feel that time is short and the enemy knows it. It's like he's turned up the heat, so to speak, so as to keep us as distracted and disoriented as possible so as to keep us totally consumed with just trying to survive. Like you, I miss simpler times and am determined to carve them out however and whenever possible...even if it's just in fleeting moments here and there. Hope you're having a great week, too! Blessings! <3

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  11. Sounds like a great week ahead. ;) That armadillo was so cute!! ;) And I love the pic of the moon. It was too cloudy here to see ;(
    Blessings to you dear Friend. xo
    PS: no spammers on my blog that I've noticed

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  12. Thanks, Carrie! Appreciate you letting me know about no spammers. I don't where these people are originating from, but they're wasting their time. Hope you're having a great week! Blessings! <3

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  13. Late getting here. Great picture of the creek and lovely book series you are reading. I've never seen an armadillo for real, that is impressive. Hope you had a great week

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  14. Hey, Lucy! Great to see you! Thanks! Glad I could share the armadillo with you! They're so cute! (Sort of!) LOL! Hope you're having a great week, too! <3

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