Sam Squared

    Funny candle in my photos from a past day trip. I think I bought for one of my sisters.      I've been all systems go the last 30 months. I dove into major house projects like two bathrooms, the deck removal and patio pour, the fence, updating fireplace unit and now the water system. I've travelled as much, work trips aside, in this time period as I have in the five years preceding. Due to pups needs, the state of the world, the economy, and my own physical and mental bandwidth, I am on a much needed pause. I need to focus on day to day basics instead of the next big thing.       My daughter had a couple unexpected shoots on Saturday and needed help at her house with her dog. It gave me time to hang out, take him on walks and play, and do some thinking where I want to invest time, energy, and resources now and short-term future, now that it's been a full year retired. House spring clean: Purge, organize, and clean needs to be my full time...

                                            For my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, March 20 to Thursday, March 26. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Use it Up/Avoid Waste    To the chicken below, immediately deboned for chicken salad and a second meal, and made more broth ( though have several containers in the freezer) for chicken and mushroom gravy. Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs  Coordinated weekend errands after bringing my MIL for breakfast and didn't use the car the rest of the weekend. Took advantage of a few clearance items including two flatbread pizzas, Italian sliced loaf, and a rotisserie chicken. Combined walking the big dog with getting a couple bills that still do not have an...

      One day it's decidedly spring and the next, winter wants to linger. I took advantage of yesterday leaning towards spring to get a few outdoor jobs done. One, not fun and probably disgusting, was cleaning up dog poo all over the back yard. We really try to retrieve when the dogs are finished and dispose, but it's not always feasible, thus the spring time ritual for dog owners. There were a few broken pots and one that practically disintegrated to clean up as well.        The rest of March and April will be unpredictable weather wise, and the weather almanac says its too early, but I'm itching to get the yard raked and get grass seed put down. I have an idea of how I want a fire pit area but there's a lot of prep work to happen first.  Shadowy mess still from last year.          Another job was to finally call it an end to the spruce pot. After it crashed in January (probably from the neighbors visiting cat) I salvaged...

      Delicious open grilled sandwich in Athens      I tried meal planning last week by day. It was hit or miss, but did help me maximize food on hand. I did a top off shop after my breakfast out with my MIL. By the way, it was fine. I just went with the flow of her talking in depth about people I didn't know and her experiences 15, 25, or more years ago. She appreciated that I brought her a little something back from my trip. To relate to this post, I noticed breakfast is no longer an affordable option for going out any more so than other meals. I had a breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns, no beverage but water. She had just a simple two eggs, ham, and toast with coffee. With tax and tip, it was $35. It's getting insane and will continue to be so and I doubt things will go back down. Prices never do on groceries. Anyway, here's the meal options for the week, trying to go for healthy and tasty so I dont miss restaurant meals. Most yield leftovers for my son a...

                                           I'm trying to get back into the blogging habit. For som reason, I've still been dragging (plus hip still raging) so a bit out of rythm. I owe you all a better recap, but honestly, might be a while so the snippets might have to do. For this post, as a reminder in case you feel repetitiveness to my Friday posts, I copy the previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This will help me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, March 13 to Thursday, March 19 . I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Use it Up/Avoid Waste    Used leftovers for last night's supper. Made muffin bread with old bananas. Consolidated travel clothes with home worn clothes to maximize laundry loads. Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs Son picked up a few needed but minimal grocery basics a...

          I didn't spend silly money on vacation but even the non-silly adds up but I have not an iota of regret. The food was delicious, and wish I'd have had even more. I'm going to be on the hunt for real plain Greek yogurt, not what passes in the US. A pleasant surprise...my ridiculously priced beer and quesadille in the Toronto Airport that after tip came to $40, was actually $30 US dollars. I had the exchange rate for Euros engrained and wasn't thinking the US dollar was higher than Canadian. Yay, I guess. Anyhow, pricey cheese on a tortilla and flat beer aside, here's my attempt at a menu requiring no additional groceries. Sunday: Chicken, cilantro rice, and black bean wraps or bowls Monday: Meatballs in mushroom sauce with penne, steamed carrots Tuesday: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables Wednesday: Tuna hotdish with peas Thursday: leftovers Friday: Dinner out with family, fish fry or may have something else Saturday: Chicken drum...