What's Been Going On: Monday, 20 December - Wednesday, 22 December, 2021

 What a lovely week this has been so far!

There’s really something so nice when our kids are home from school, isn’t there? I homeschooled my son until he was nine, and then I was pretty much counting down the days until every single break, because he was so much fun to have at home. My daughter has been a different story; it’s been clear from the beginning that she learns better from other people, so homeschooling was never really an option for her (believe me, if it were, I’d gladly keep her home right now!), and I was thrilled for her to go off to kindergarten (and, uh, maybe learn some of those behavioral skills she obviously wasn’t showing me she’d learned at home! Her kindergarten teacher called her her ‘angel child’ and seemed shocked when we told her that our daughter’s nickname at home was The Beast, haha). But she’s grown and matured and we have so much fun together now on her days off. I’ve had such a nice time with her this week!

Here's what I’ve been up to so far!

 

Monday, 20 December, 2021

After coffee and breakfast, I posted my Monday post, then posted my review for Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow Cox over at my book blog. I scooped the litterbox, loaded the dishwasher, and tidied and swept the living room. I wiped off the stovetop, got dressed in some cozy, at-home clothes, and my daughter and I tidied her room and then sat down to read a few books on climate change. Last week’s heavy winds and high temperatures had prompted her to ask what climate change was, so I’d gone to the library and found some children’s books that explained both the science of climate change and things that we (even kids!) can do to be better to the earth. This has led to some great conversations between us, and I love when her thoughtful side comes out.

I put several sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot and cooked up some Soyrizo to go with dinner, and I made a batch of Spanish rice in the rice cooker. And then I made up what I called our ‘fancy lunch,’ and my daughter and I had lunch together. It’s just steamed sweet potatoes with white beans, salsa, and a little cheese, but she absolutely loved it, and I thought it was really good as well!

 

After lunch, we worked on my Read Harder project for 30 minutes (I read my The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso; my daughter read a middle grade series novel. I told her she had to help keep me on track when she was home, and she readily agreed). My husband came home and we did 22 minutes of Pilates while my daughter laughed at us and played on her Kindle.

Some days, Pilates wears me OUT. I wanted to read, but ended up napping for a while instead. When I got up, I took out the garbage, the recycling, and the compost, and I hauled the cans to the curb. I prepared a batch of Garlic Brussels Sprouts, leaving a few behind to steam in the Instant Pot, since my daughter hadn’t liked the oven-roasted ones the last time I made them. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, replaced the garbage bag, and played on the computer while the Brussels sprouts roasted.

I stirred the Soyrizo into the Spanish rice, and we had the Brussels sprouts on the side (and of course my daughter liked the oven ones better this time!). This was a really tasty dinner!

 

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, showered my daughter, and cleaned up the kitchen and put dinner away. I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Cold Case Files before bed.

 

Tuesday, 21 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I prepared a pot of Cauliflower Potato Soup in the Instant Pot (no link; I adapted this from a cookbook, and it’s a family favorite. One day, I’ll put up a post about it...). I loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters, I posted my review of When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teens by Ken Krimstein on my book blog, and then it was upstairs to read with my daughter! We read a bunch of books about activism, about using your voice to point out what’s wrong, standing up for what’s right, and the importance of taking action to make things better. All lessons that I hope she’ll take far into the future!

We spent the morning reading; after lunch, we returned back upstairs to my daughter’s room to do our 30 minutes of Read Harder (I finished the section on Islam and began the section on New Age religions). When the timer went off, I finished reading American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser. When my husband got home, we did 20 minutes of Pilates, and then I began reading Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu (a book I stumbled across at the library last week).

I blended the soup and we ate dinner. I did my Duolingo, biked, showered, read, and put my daughter to bed (we began reading Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women by Kate Schatz). I read more of my book, and my husband and I watched two episodes of Cold Case Files before bed.

 

Wednesday, 22 December, 2021

Even when my daughter is off school, I’m still committed to doing my volunteer work, so after breakfast and coffee, I set to work on an hour’s worth of work. My daughter, meanwhile, started on a project I’d found earlier this week: the local grocery co-op-to-be put out a call for coloring some pages for a local nursing home to bring them some brightness and cheer, so I had my husband print them up. She had gotten a few pages done by the time I was finished, so I grabbed some of the tougher ones, that looked more like they came out of an adult coloring book, and got to work. This took us all morning, but we were pretty pleased with the results!

 

We got dressed, packed up the pages, and drove across town to drop them off, then came home so I could prepare some breakfast burritos for lunch. Afterwards, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, swept the living room floor, finished reading Brazen, and then it was time for 30 minutes of Read Harder.

When my husband got home, I headed out the door; I stopped by Aldi (so busy, yikes! I did buy a new set of flannel sheets, though!), the Dollar Tree, for wrapping paper, and the library, to pick up a bunch of books. At home, I put the groceries away and took out the compost, then sat down to write this post. I wrote two book reviews, then chopped up mushrooms to put on the pizza I put in the oven. (I love nights when I don’t have to cook!)

We had dinner and I did my Duolingo. I showered (no biking or Pilates today; my arms and legs were so sore from Tuesday!), put dinner away, and then dove into my next book, Challenging Pregnancy: A Journey Through the Politics and Science of Healthcare in America by Genevieve Grabman, from NetGalley. My daughter wanted me to put her to bed, so I did that, and then it was more reading before watching two episodes of Cold Case Files with my husband before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’ll see you tomorrow for Friday links. Whatever your plans are, be safe about them. Things are a little scary out there!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 16 December - Sunday, 19 December, 2021

Happy Monday! I hope this is the beginning of a relaxing, stress-free week for everyone (I know, I know, it’s tough around this time of the year, but we can always hope, right?). We’re keeping things fairly low-key; we haven’t even really finalized any plans with our families at all. We’ll definitely test first (we have a bunch of at-home rapid tests from my husband’s job) before visiting my father; he’s a type I diabetic, so I’m especially concerned about keeping him safe whenever we visit him. Whatever you do, whatever your plans this week, be safe about it and exercise caution. Things are getting scary out there again.

Here's what I’ve been up to this week!

 

Thursday, 16 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I got dressed and ready and tossed some white beans into the Instant Pot (which I scrubbed out a little with baking soda before). I edited and posted my Thursday post, and then headed out for a very windy school drop-off. We had winds that gusted between 60-70 miles per hour all night long, so that was a little scary! Wind is my least favorite kind of weather.

I drove to a grocery store in the next town over to pick up pickles, onions, and peppers, and on their marked-down produce shelf was a large bag of green beans for a dollar, so those also went home with me. Back at home, I did an hour of volunteer work, then threw together a seitan loaf (which used the white beans, and which we would slice up for sandwiches for dinner). I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and then it was time for lunch with my daughter.

At home, I had lunch myself, then read 30 minutes’ worth of my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso). I skipped Pilates again (the weather changes were making me sore, and I didn’t want to push it), and put the seitan loaf on to steam, snapped the green beans and chopped mushrooms, and put them together to make Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms. The seitan loaf went into the oven, later followed by the beans and mushrooms, and I checked in on my favorite homemaking blogs.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, biked on my stationary bike for 25 minutes, showered, and put dinner away. I settled down with my book, American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser. My husband and I watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

Friday, 17 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I scooped the litterbox, loaded the dishwasher, and dropped my daughter off at school. I learned that one of her best friends will be traveling with her family to Bangladesh, to visit extended family. She won’t be back until mid-February, so while my daughter is happy that her friend gets to have such an exciting adventure, she’s really going to miss her until then!

And then it was time for Christmas errands at Walmart, Five Below, and the Dollar Tree. Nothing major, just a few extra odds and ends for not-my-holiday. Still fun! At home, I poked around on the computer in the brief time I had, then took lunch to my daughter. Back home, I scarfed down lunch myself, and then my husband and I picked our daughter up because it was an early release day. Hurray for winter break!

We drove over to the local animal park and met another school friend and her mom there. It was super fun getting to see all the animals (and pet some of them!), and even more fun getting to hang out with friends. I had bought a pair of thermal socks at Five Below earlier in the day and stayed warm the whole time, while everyone else was freezing!

When we got back home, I ran my son on some errands, and then it was time for dinner at home. I did my Duolingo, biked, showered, put dinner away, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and then watched YouTube videos while I cross-stitched until it was time for virtual services at my synagogue. Afterwards, I worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch a little more until I went to bed early.

Saturday, 18 December, 2021

After coffee, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counter and stovetop, scrubbed out the sink, and then got dressed and ready. I took out the recycling and compost, tidied the living room, and wrote two book reviews. And then it was off to my mother-in-law’s for lunch! She made a delicious breakfast casserole, which we all enjoyed. After that, we all went to Target so my daughter could pick out a gift (which she won’t get until Christmas). She picked out an Our Generation doll accessory set that she’s been eyeing for ages, and everyone was happy! (This took FOREVER, though. My daughter hadn’t been in Target in ages, so this was a big deal for her and she couldn’t make up her mind.)

At home, I had a headache, so I just played on the computer until dinnertime, when I threw together bean and cheese quesadillas for my daughter and me. Afterwards, we finally put up the Christmas tree! I enjoy the lights, but not the mess, and it’s always a relief to me when I’m able to put it away and have my living room back. It IS pretty, though!

 

I showered and read my book until my husband came upstairs, and we watched two episodes of Forensic Files, thus completing all the episodes Netflix had to offer. Not sure what we’ll watch next!

 

Sunday, 19 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I was browsing the local Freecycle group and found someone across town was giving away a recorder and a tin whistle, so I got dressed and picked that up from them. I played the recorder for years as a kid (it gets a bad reputation because it’s often a first instrument for kids, but when it’s played properly, it’s actually gorgeous), and the tin whistle fingering is close to it. I can play by ear, so it’s fun to be able to mess around on any kind of musical instrument.

I sat down to work on this post, then started a load of laundry and loaded and ran the dishwasher. I spent the morning catching up on some things on the computer, and after lunch, I biked for 25 minutes (sweaty!). I was going to read when I was done, but I ended up falling asleep! I must’ve needed it. I came downstairs and hung out with the family (and found something for my daughter to do later on this week!), and we had pizza for dinner. I did my Duolingo and showered, then worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch while watching YouTube videos.

 

I put my daughter to bed (we finished reading The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park), and then settled down to read my book. My husband and I watched an episode of Cold Case Files before bed.

 

And that’s it for this week! After I get this posted, I’m going to tidy up the kitchen and living room, and then spend the day with my daughter. We have a whole stack of library books to get to, so I’m excited for that! I know this is a time of hustle and bustle for many people, along with tension, but I truly hope you’re able to find some enjoyment in this time as well. Whatever your plans are for this week, be safe!

What's Been Going On: Monday, 13 December - Wednesday, 15 December, 2021

 We’re in the home stretch! Just two more school days before two blissful weeks of the alarm not being set!!!

I think everyone’s ready for a break at this point in the year- definitely in normal years, and ten times as much during these bizarre pandemic times. My daughter’s school is still doing remarkably well; they’ve had only 11 cases total so far, and at least one of those cases was a staff member who got sick before the kids even returned in the beginning of the year. Her school is the lowest of all the schools in the district, not counting the school that serves special needs pre-k. I’m really proud of how well they’ve done.

Here's what I’ve been up to so far this week! (Sorry for the lack of pictures, not much to photograph lately!)

 

Monday, 13 December, 2021

After having coffee and getting dressed, I scooped the litterbox. I loaded the dishwasher, prepared taco-spiced lentils in the Instant Pot (to go with dinner), then edited and put up Monday’s post. I dropped my daughter off at school, then published my review for Ant Egg Soup over on my book blog.

I unweekended the living room (what I call cleaning up after everyone’s been home all weekend!), made my daughter’s bed, then sat down to 20 minutes of decent piano practice. I spent 30 minutes on my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso), where I began the section on Islam. I appreciate the author’s clear explanations, tinged with a wry sense of humor. When the timer went off, I picked up a new library book, Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow Cox, and settled in to read that until lunchtime.

After lunch with my daughter and gulping down lunch myself, I ran my son on some errands, then came home for 20 minutes of Pilates with my husband. I took out the garbage and recycling, then took the cans to the curb and brought in a bag of frozen peppers from the garage freeze and sauteed a bunch.

I loaded and ran the dishwasher, sliced some grape tomatoes and olives, and got the rice going in the rice cooker. Once again, I settled down to read until dinner, which was homemade Chipotle bowls. Always a favorite around here!

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, read some more, put dinner away, put my daughter to bed (we finished reading Have You Seen Hyacinth Macaw? by Patricia Reilly Giff), and read until my husband came upstairs. We watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

Tuesday, 14 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I got dressed, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and cleaned off my supergross stovetop. It was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

I took out the tofu to press, then dropped my daughter off at school. I did my 30 minutes of Read Harder, then snuggled under my blanket to read Children Under Fire until lunchtime with my daughter. We began reading The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park. After having lunch at home, I prepared a batch of Tofu Non-Meatballs for Tofu Non-Meatball Subs for dinner.

The prior day’s Pilates had done my husband’s abs in, so we skipped this day. I read and played on the computer, brought in the trash cans and brought in a bag of Tater Tots from the garage freezer. I cooked the non-meatballs and Tater Tots, and we had dinner. I did my Duolingo, biked for 20 minutes, showered, and finished reading Children Under Fire. My husband and I watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

Wednesday, 15 December, 2021

Another whirlwind day! Literally. 64 degrees in December in the Midwest makes for seriously bizarre conditions, include a LOT of wind.

After coffee and breakfast, I got dressed and made out my grocery list. I scooped the litterbox, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and then out the door we went for school drop off. I had to get gas before heading to two grocery stores. The only fabulously priced item I got was two pounds of mushrooms that were marked down to what their sale price normally is at Aldi, from one of my local grocery stores. But as mushrooms hardly ever go on sale anymore, I wasn’t about to let this pass me by!

At home, I put the groceries away and settled down for an hour of volunteer work compiling lists of housing resources. While working, I listened to a program on the rise in antisemitism around the world, which talked about things like synagogue shootings and stabbings, the murder of Sarah Halimi, the murder of Heather Heyer (who wasn’t Jewish but who was killed at a protest where people on the far right were shouting antisemitic phrases), the rise in hate groups in the US, and other depressing subjects. Informative, but depressing.

After that, I made probably the best batch of Buffalo Wing’ish Hummus of my entire life (forgive me, hummus purists, I love buffalo sauce-flavored ANYTHING!!!), and then it was off to lunch with my daughter. At home, I ate lunch, took out the recycling and compost, and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. I did my 30 minutes of Read Harder, and skipped Pilates- the temperature swing had me feeling creaky in a way that I didn’t like, so I didn’t want to push it. I just hung out with my husband instead, which was nice, since we don’t often get much quiet time together!

He did school pickup, while I stayed home to look for some books on climate change for my daughter. She had asked questions about it, so I wanted to find her some books that explained it in a way that wouldn’t scare her or stress her out more than necessary (not that it’s not inherently a stressful topic already, but she’s 7 and living through a pandemic where they still have to do active shooter drills, SO). When they got home, I went to the library and grabbed all the books on the list, plus a few extra, including one extra for me!

At home, I worked on this post and got the frozen pizzas into the oven (Aldi had no fresh cheese pizzas this week, so frozen it was! At least it was one vegetable pizza with goat cheese, and one spinach and mushroom!). After dinner, I did my Duolingo and biked for 20 minutes, showered, read with my daughter and then put her to bed. I read When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers by Ken Krimstein in its entirety, then began reading American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser. When my husband came upstairs, we watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed. The wind was scary all night long!

 

And that’s it so far this week. I have a bunch of errands to run these last two schooldays, along with all my regular house stuff, so I’m going to be busy busy busy (when I’d rather be relaxing, relaxing, relaxing!). But we’re almost there! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’re safe from the scary weather we’ve been having!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 9 December - Sunday, 12 December, 2021

Monday, Monday! Our last school week before winter break, and then two delicious weeks of the alarm not needing to be set. Two weeks of snuggling with my daughter, reading, being cozy at home…can you tell I’m looking forward to it???

It was a nice, relaxing weekend around these parts, and I hope the same is true for you! Here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

 

Thursday, 9 December, 2021

I loaded and started the dishwasher, then sat down for my coffee. Always a good way to start off the morning, being productive!

I ended up having to rewrite my Thursday post; it seemed that my computer had eaten it, so I banged that out as I drank my coffee, then got dressed. After school drop off, it was time for another hour of volunteer work. I started compiling lists of housing aid resources in my state, which is interesting to learn about. And, uh, afterwards, I spent until lunchtime with my daughter reveling in the guilty verdict in the Josh Duggar case. I’ve been creeped out by that family since they first hit the scene and was utterly appalled by the numerous foul deeds perpetrated by their eldest son over the years. I was deeply gratified to see justice served in this case. Child sexual abuse material is no small matter, and the material he downloaded was referred to as some of the worst investigators had ever seen. I deeply hope that everyone who has been victimized by both Josh and the people responsible for the material he downloaded are able to find peace in their lives. If you or someone you know in the US are struggling with having been sexually victimized, please contact RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization at https://www.rainn.org/ or their 24-hour hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

After lunch with my daughter, I had lunch myself and did 30 minutes of my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso). I did 20 minutes of Pilates with my husband, then stripped the bed, put clean sheets on it, and threw the bedding in the wash. I wrote out my Friday post, switched the laundry, and put the leftover tomato soup on to warm before dinner. Then I called my dad; it was his birthday, so we had a lovely chat.

After dinner, I cleaned up, did my Duolingo, restarted the dryer, and killed a few minutes of time before logging on to the class I had signed up for with the Union for Reform Judaism. The funny thing about the Jewish world is that it’s relatively small; even in random spaces like this class (made up of about 50 people from all over the US), odds are that some people will know each other or be related to each other, and sure enough, I knew TWO of the people there! It was a wonderful class.

When class ended, I put the bed back together, showered, read my book, and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Friday, 10 December, 2021

That comforter I bought last week? SOFTEST. THING. EVER. What an incredible night of sleep! This thing might be trouble, y’all! :D

After coffee and breakfast, I put up my Friday post and put some beans in the Instant Pot. I got dressed and ready, scooped the litterbox, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and gathered my library books to return. I dropped my daughter off at school and returned the library books into their drop box, then drove over to Kohl's. My mom had given me the Koh'ls cash she wasn’t going to use, so I wandered around the store trying to find something. Their clothing didn’t appeal to me much (I have a pretty plain and simple style; most showy patterns don’t look good on me), so I ended up finding a new shiny unicorn watch for my daughter, and a pair of earrings for me. Perfect!

 

At home, I tidied my daughter’s room and the living room. I took lunch to my daughter, had lunch myself, and took out the compost and recycling. I did my 30 minutes of Read Harder and then started coming down with a headache, so I skipped Pilates and closed my eyes, hoping that dozing for a bit would take the edge off. Instead, I slept HARD for an entire hour! It did indeed help and felt wonderful. I picked up my daughter up from school, lounged around on the computer, prepared a pot of One Pot Southwest Pasta for dinner, and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.

I ate dinner, did my Duolingo, showered, put dinner away, and worked on my grandmother’s cross stitch. Virtual services at my synagogue were lovely this week; one of our members was celebrating her adult bat mitzvah, and it was truly joyful to watch! My husband and I watched three episodes of Forensic Files before bed, and we were awoken several times in the night because of the fierce winds. All the tornados were well south of us, but our daughter still got scared and climbed in with us at some point in the night. My heart goes out to everyone affected by these storms.

 

Saturday, 11 December, 2021

Lazy, relaxing Shabbat! I had breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher, then spent the morning working on my grandmother’s cross stitch and watching YouTube videos. After lunch, I did 20 minutes on my exercise bike (starting slow; this tends to flare up my SI joints, so we’ll see how it goes), then spent the afternoon on my soft, soft bed comforter, reading, napping, and reading again. Ahhhhhh. That comforter is dangerous, I’m telling you! I may live the rest of my life from bed…

We had Chinese food for dinner; I did my Duolingo and showered, and loaded and ran the dishwasher after putting dinner away. I put my daughter to bed, then read until my husband came upstairs, and we watched three episodes of Forensic Files.

 

Sunday, 12 December, 2021

Another slow start to the morning! Coffee, breakfast, and working on this post made up the bulk of my morning. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and took out the recycling as well. I spent my time after lunch cross-stitching and listening to a podcast. 

 We met my sister-in-law and nephew at a local park and let the kids play for a bit, then went into the military museum. It’s always a moving experience in there- there’s a video of soldiers liberating concentration camps and forcing the citizens of the surrounding towns to provide burial for the dead there, as a way of ensuring that these people not only understood what had been going on in their backyard, but acknowledging that they too were responsible for it; I wasn’t feeling up to spending time in front of it this visit, but I said a brief prayer as we passed by. The whole museum to me emphasized on this visit what an utter, utter waste war is: the destruction, the loss of lives, the loss of human potential. So much heartbreak. How have we not learned to stop killing each other after so many years on this planet???

By the time we got home, it was time for dinner. I did my Duolingo and continued cross-stitching while watching YouTube. I showered, showered my daughter, loaded the dishwasher, and threw some chickpeas in the Instant Pot to cook overnight. I finished reading God Is In the Crowd by Tal Keinan, and my husband and I watched three episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

And that’s it! This is the start of the last school week before my daughter is off for winter break, so I’m looking forward to the end of the week. I’ve got two library books to finish, two ARCs from NetGalley to dive into, and hopefully visiting the local animal park with our friends at the end of the week (didn’t happen this week because my daughter’s friend wasn’t feeling well). I may have a few things in the works with my son as well, but we’ll see. I hope you’re all gearing up for a wonderful, productive week!

What's Been Going On: Monday, 6 December - Wednesday, 9 December, 2021

 Brrrr! We had the coldest day in the last nine months here this week, and it was brisk! One of those walk-outside-and-your-nose-sticks-together kind of days. I’d be lying if I didn’t say summer is my favorite, with its warm temperatures and ability to sweat half to death while reading for hours on my backyard swing, but there’s something so lovely about the cold weather as well. I find I’m more productive during this season, if only to stay warm! What about you? Are you busier in warmer weather or cold?

Here's what I’ve been up to so far this week!

Monday, 6 December, 2021

After coffee and sharing the leftover sufganiyot with my daughter, I got dressed and posted my review for Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, and then it was time for school drop off.

After that, I headed over to Walmart to rustle up some Christmas gifts for my daughter (because it’s still Mom’s job even when it’s not Mom’s holiday, right? Ha!). I was lucky to find a whole bunch of stuff, and I found even more at the Five Below store at the other end of town. We’re pretty much done with her; I’d like to get her some more fuzzy socks, because she really loves those, but I can pick those up at any time. Shopping wasn’t all that fun, since I had a lot of nerve pain in my left leg, but I was glad to cross this off my list!

At home, I posted my Monday post, and then it was time for lunch with my daughter! After I ate my lunch, I read my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso) for 30 minutes, then closed my eyes, but a nap was elusive, so I grumblingly joined my husband for 20 minutes of Pilates when he got home. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading Ant Egg Soup and helping my daughter with her math homework; I finished the book and put it back in my library bin.

I took out all the trash in the house as well as the recycling, replaced the trash bags, and took the cans to the curb. I threw the leftover kugel into the oven to reheat and made a batch of cinnamon vanilla waffles, and filled and ran the dishwasher. After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, showered my daughter, began reading God Is In The Crowd: A Model for Post-Diaspora Judaism by Tal Keinan (despite the dryish-sounding title, it’s actually really fascinating, I promise!), and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Tuesday, 7 December, 2021

After having coffee and getting dressed, I prepared a batch of Tomato Butternut Squash soup in the crockpot, since the high this day would be about 21 degrees, and cold weather means soup! This is my go-to tomato soup recipe; I buy the squash in the fall when it’s cheap, roast it, and freeze it in freezer bags, making this a fairly quick meal. I also blend the soup so it’s completely smooth. It’s delicious!

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and dropped my daughter off at school. This was the first day of the year that they let the kids walk right in, instead of waiting outside, since it was only 16 degrees out. Brrr! At home, I got some bread dough started in the bread machine, started a load of laundry, and posted my review for Nurture the Wow by Danya Ruttenberg. I tidied the kitchen and living room, vacuumed the rug under the table, and swept the living room and kitchen.

I did 20 minutes of piano practice, switched and hung the laundry, did my 30 minutes of Read Harder, and then it was time to take my daughter her lunch! After I ate lunch at home, I switched the bread dough into pans to rise, then worked on my grandmother’s cross stitch while watching YouTube videos. 20 minutes of Pilates with my husband when he got home, and then, since I was on such a roll with the cross stitching, I continued to work on it until dinner time while watching more YouTube videos.

 

Piglet likes to join me when I stitch, but it often doesn’t last too long. He got booted right after I took this picture for being a little too swipey with his clawed paws!

After dinner, I did my Duolingo and showered, put my daughter to bed (we finished Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli), read, and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Wednesday, 8 December, 2021

A different sort of day!

I had coffee and scooped the litterbox, put together my grocery list, and ran the dishwasher before dropping my daughter off at school. Getting groceries took me to two stores; the local store had some jackfruit mixes in the markdown section for 99 cents each, and a huge package of zucchini for a dollar, so those all came home with me. Aldi finally had in the bedspreads they’d advertised a few weeks back. I thought about it for a bit and ended up buying one. I’ll still need a lighter one for the summer, I think, but the bedspread we have right now is old, limp, discolored, and starting to really show its age, so we really did need this.

 

At home, I put the groceries away, brought in the trash cans, took out the recycling and compost, then sat down to do an hour of volunteer work. One of the people speaking on JBSTV (which I usually have playing in the background as I work) was author A.J. Jacobs, whom I love, so that was really enjoyable to listen to as I compiled lists of legal resources.

I took lunch to my daughter and started reading Have You Seen Hyacinth Macaw? by Patricia Reilly Giff to her as she ate. At home, I unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen and the living room, and then my mom arrived!!!

This was the first time we’d had an inside visit since February of 2020. She and I have gotten our boosters and my daughter is double vaccinated, so we all felt safe enough to let our guard down a little bit with each other. It was so nice to finally hang out with my mom and hug her! I made a batch of frozen pierogis that I’d bought that morning for lunch, and we had lunch together and chatted. My daughter didn’t know she was coming, and it was so wonderful to hear her excited shriek of, “GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” as she ran out of school. She dropped her backpack on the ground and ran right into Grandma’s arms. So sweet!!!!

We all spent the afternoon together at our house, and we watched Frozen 2 while enjoying an Aldi pizza for dinner (I did my Duolingo during this!). When my mom headed home, I showered, put my daughter to bed, then returned downstairs to work on some of the upcoming year’s reading lists (I like to be prepared!). My husband and I watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

So nice to spend time with my mom after so long! Yesterday was truly wonderful. Right now, the only thing I’m struggling with a bit is balance, trying to find time to fit in crafting with all the reading I want to get done, along with trying to keep the house in a livable state! I’m sure I’ll figure it out as time goes on. I’d really like to get to a place where I’ve got at least a little bit of time to work on my grandmother’s cross stitch each day. Hopefully my brain is working on this problem in the background and will present me a solution or a better schedule soon! : )

 

I was going to strip the bed, wash the sheets, and put the new bedspread on the bed today, but the cat decided to go back to bed immediately after breakfast and I feel bad moving him, so that’ll have to wait until he gets up! (I’m such a sucker, but he’s an old man cat, so he gets what he wants from me!)

I hope you’ve had a great start to your week and you’re looking forward to lots of fun things as we head into the weekend! We’re supposed to meet up with some friends at an outdoor mini-zoo near us, so hopefully that’ll happen, because yay, animals! What kind of plans do you have for this weekend?

Weekly recap: 1/28/2019

Snow day!

Not for my husband- I still had to drive him to the train on seriously nasty unplowed roads- but my son is off today; I was already awake when the call came at 5:45 this morning. We got about another six inches or so of snow last night, and not only is it still coming down, it's supposed to keep falling until about noon. I'll send my son out to snowblow later on (he did the driveway yesterday, thank goodness, because there's zero way I could've).

So...you know that thing where you say something like, for example, "Hey, my back has been pretty good this week!" and then the bottom drops out? Yeah, I really need to stop that. That was me stupidly saying that sentence on Friday...and then Saturday happened. No bueno, friends, but I'm hanging in there.


Let's recap the week, shall we?


MONDAY

I did wake up with some nasty pain in both SI joints this day, even before I got out of bed (that's a heck of a way to start a week, isn't it?). I ran the dishwasher in the morning, and then it was off to the library, where we took my daughter to mini golf (my husband was off work).

A slightly unorthodox technique, but it gets the job done!

She had an absolute blast and had one of the librarians cracking up with how many strokes it took to finally finish each hole. We stayed and played at the library for a while afterwards.

At home, I unloaded the dishwasher, tidied the kitchen, and started a batch of beans in the Instant Pot. During naptime, I started to read my library book, but then my son came downstairs and asked if we could go back to the library, since he'd already finished the book he'd checked out! I never refuse a trip to pick out more books, so I drove over there and he ran in, grabbed a stack of four more books, and we drove back home. 

I made a batch of delicious sweet potato and black bean chili (my own recipe that I just kind of make up as I go along), baked a batch of Vegan Corn Muffins, then threw together a double batch of Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (using some frozen pumpkin I had in the freezer in place of the applesauce)  and set the dough to chill in the fridge. I ran the dishwasher again, and after my shower, I baked the cookies and unloaded the dishwasher. I actually did my PT exercises on this night, read a little of my library book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Supernatural before bed.

TUESDAY 

Back to the grind! I drove everyone to where they needed to be. We usually hit the road at about 6:15-6:20. YAWN. At home, I took down the laundry hanging on the racks and delivered it to my son's room, and then it was time to overhaul my daughter's room. 

I can't even explain how much better this is for everyone.

The majority of the clean-out took about two hours. I tossed the compost outside into the compost bin, and then I read aloud to my daughter while she played quietly (we're still slowly making our way through Sense and Sensibility. I used to read to grown-up books to my son all the time when he was little, but I haven't been able to do that as much with my daughter. Now that her room is calmer, she seems a little more amenable to it, which is nice).

I tidied the kitchen during naptime, then started a batch of Rice Cooker Vegan Lentil Bolognese. It's not my favorite recipe, but I'd done two hours of heavy lifting and carrying stuff down two sets of stairs (we live in a split-level), so this was good enough. I had been planning on trying some yoga, but my hip hurt enough that I figured I'd better leave it alone and read my library book and dozed a little instead. 

I read to my daughter more when she woke up, then hung out in her room with both kids (now that her room isn't so crowded with toys, my son has been coming to hang out with us in the afternoons, which is a super big treat for both me and my daughter. She absolutely adores her big brother and is so thrilled when he plays with her, it's really cute). I put the noodles on to boil, leaving my son in charge of them, and then my daughter and I headed off to pick up Papa.

My husband and I played with my daughter in her room (he was super impressed by it!), and after she went to bed, I read my library book. My husband and I watched two episodes of Supernatural before going to bed ourselves.

WEDNESDAY

I drove everyone to where they needed to be, and after breakfast, I bowled with my daughter in her room. She'd received a bowling set for her birthday last year, but she'd only used it once or twice. We had a fantastic time and bowled for a good 30 minutes! Afterwards, I started a batch of white beans in the Instant Pot, then my daughter helped me add the ingredients for a batch of Lazy Dave's $5-bread-machine Turkey-flavored Seitan. I love seitan, but this was a new recipe for me. I took out the recycling and compost, then read to my daughter as she played Play-Doh at the table in her room (something she's never been able to do before, since the table was covered in toys she never played with). We cleaned up, and when we came downstairs, the bread machine was...smoking? I *think* some debris got onto the heating element. The dough was perfectly fine, so I unplugged the machine and removed the dough, covering it in foil and steaming it on the stovetop (which is the usual way of cooking seitan, and it worked out perfectly fine). I cleaned out the bottom of the machine once it cooled, and I'll test it out again this week, closely supervised, of course. If it works, great! If it's smoky, out the door it goes, and we'll find a new one at the thrift store.

During nap time, I made a batch of white bean gravy and a batch of skillet potatoes and green beans to go with our seitan. I swept and mopped the living room, then filled and ran the dishwasher before reading my library book. Once my daughter woke up, it was time to bowl with both kids. 

Almost 12 years between them, but they can still have a fun time together!

My daughter and I went to the library, where we read and played until my husband met us there. Everyone loved the seitan at dinner- there was none left over!- to the point where my husband has been looking at 50lb bags of vital wheat gluten on Amazon. I emptied the dishwasher, put away the leftovers we did have, reloaded the dishwasher, and cleaned up the kitchen. My husband and I watched two episodes of Supernatural before going to bed.

THURSDAY

I drove everyone to where they needed to be, and after getting ready for the day, my daughter and I hit the grocery stores. Next week is supposed to be brutal- the forecast is for a high of -18F- and we're not leaving the house other than to *maybe* drive my husband to the train if he decides to go in (his boss already said not to worry about it, so we'll see. The odds are that my son's school will be called off, because that -18 doesn't even begin to factor in windchill). I'm not planning on shopping at all next week, and maybe only the absolute necessities the week after that. We're good on food for a while. :) 

At home, I put everything away, including in the garage freezer. At naptime, I felt kind of awful and tried to nap myself, only to be jarred from sleep almost immediately by my jerk of a cat.

He's lucky he's cute. And warm. And cuddly. GRRRR.

I wound up with a massive headache the rest of the day. UGH.

For dinner, I made a batch of Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup. Now, look at that recipe. Serves 8 people. 

Sure. If those 8 people are having a thimblefull of soup each.

I took the compost and recycling outside and ran the dishwasher, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that amount of soup wasn't going to be enough for three adult-sized people and one soup-loving preschooler. I started the ingredients for a second batch and realized that I was going to quickly run out of potatoes over the next few weeks. Add to that my realization that I'd forgotten baking spray (my reusable oil sprayer DIED on me this week!), and I came to terms with the fact that we were going to need to run back to Aldi, and we did just that after naptime. I almost never have to make extra trips, but again, it's brutally cold here and is going to get worse, so I'm not making ANY trips next week! We picked up spray, potatoes, and an extra gallon of milk, just to be sure.

At home, I got the rest of the soup ready, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and cleaned the kitchen. We picked up my husband when it was time, and the soup was FABULOUS. Highly recommended (plus I found a use for all those bags of frozen broccoli! I used to throw them in quiche, but I'm not a huge fan of this. This soup is so, so much better). I finished a library book and then went to bed early, my head still pounding.

FRIDAY

BRRRRR. 

HUGELY cold morning. I drove everyone where they needed to be, scooped the litterbox, and then I tossed my daughter in the bathtub on her request, wiping down the sink and the toilet while she was in there. After her bath, she requested to weed out some of her food toys (less really is more, and she's so happy with her room that she's actually taking ownership of having fewer items. I'm seriously impressed with all of this; I can't believe the difference this has made), so we did, sorting everything out into batches and choosing certain items (extras, stuff she didn't play with) to go into a bag that will go in the basement with her other toys. The end result was a lot more space in the two drawers where she keeps her toy food and dishes. Fewer choices to get frustrated over, fewer things to clean up. Everyone wins. 

During naptime, I huddled under a blanket and read. I also tried to nap, but it didn't really work; I'm not sure what's up with me and sleep lately. After my daughter woke up, we headed to the library. It was so empty, I started to feel like we'd done something wrong showing up there! It was because of the weather, I knew; not only was it not much above 0 degrees F, it was also snowing, but when the weather gets that cold, my husband's train is often late, and sure enough, he was late on this night (he also doesn't have the greatest of cell signals at the station, so there have been a lot of times when I don't get the message that he's going to be late until we're already sitting in the lot, waiting to pick him up at the usual time. It's just so much easier to hang out at the library and read and play than let the car idle outside for ages). My daughter came close to melting down a few times, but a few quiet words with her helped her keep it together. I was really proud of her.

She found a shawl I'd knitted ages ago and wore it all day, looking so much like a tiny grandma that it charmed me to pieces. <3

We picked my son up on the way home, and I waited in the car while he ran in and grabbed his stuff, and then I dropped him back off at his best friend's house, where he spends almost every Friday night. At home, we had leftovers for dinner. I read my library book and cleaned up the kitchen, and my husband and I watched two episodes of Supernatural before going to bed. 

SATURDAY

Another cold day! 

This was the day I woke up feeling not so great, pain-wise. Some of my right glut muscles decided to throw a spasm-party and spent the entire morning trying to hug my aching hipbone, or so it felt. My right leg is something like 4/10 of a centimeter longer than my left. My physical therapists can move it back into place so that both legs are equal length, but it always creeps back, and I could definitely feel the difference in length as I walked around the house this morning. Imagine walking around for a while in one sneaker and one high heel, what that would feel like after a while, and you'll get an idea of what walking feels like for me. I hung out reading my library book (finishing one book, starting another) in my daughter's room in the morning while my husband and daughter worked on an art project together.

As the day went on, the pain got worse. I really wasn't able to do much of anything this day, other than fill and run the dishwasher. By nighttime, I could barely walk, and turning over in bed was close to impossible. Imagine lying on your side, with a 300-lb weight on your hip, and think about how difficult it would be to turn to the other side like that. That's exactly what it feels like, to the point that my left arm muscles were hurting on Sunday because I had to use that arm to haul myself over in bed and up the stairs.

I didn't get much sleep this night due to the intensity of the pain.


SUNDAY

The pain was still there when I woke up. Getting dressed involved having to roll around on the bed, because when my back/SI joint is this bad, I can't put my pants on standing up (years ago, it was so bad that I couldn't bend to remove or pull up my pants and ended up having to wear long skirts for several weeks solely so I could use the bathroom regularly). I did manage to sloooooooooowwwwwwly unload the dishwasher while the coffee machine ran, and then I spent the rest of the morning once again reading on my daughter's bed while my husband and daughter played, although it was difficult focusing from time to time because of the pain.

During naptime, I read my book and tried to doze (again, didn't really happen), and after my daughter got up, she wanted to go play at a neighboring town's library. I was able to handle the car trip fairly well, although the long walk down to the children's department- it's a REALLY big library- got me out of breath. I finished one book and started another there.

We picked my son up on the way home. After dinner, things settled down a little with my back. The constant spasm wasn't *quite* so fierce and I could at least move at a somewhat more normal pace, so I loaded up the dishwasher and ran it. My husband and I crammed in three episodes of Supernatural (I think we're on season 12 now, out of 13 on Netflix; I'm going to be so sad when we're done!) before going to bed, where I slept a little better, fortunately.

And that was my week! Pain is so-so this morning. I'm functional, at least. I can still feel the muscle spasm in my right hip as I sit here, and I had a *nasty* all-over spasm getting my daughter out of the car when we got home after dropping my husband off, but I can at least get around, so I'm grateful for that. I've got laundry and cooking and baking and cleaning to do today, and my son has a choir concert on Friday that I'm looking forward to. Wednesday and Thursday, however, are going to be brutal. The high on Wednesday is -15F. Odds are school will be cancelled (possibly Thursday too, as the high is -2F), so we'll all be huddled inside here under many layers of blankets.


Stay warm, friends! How did your week go?