Dad's surgery, dinner out and an estate sale

 Despite having a crazy work schedule over the past week and a half, I have managed to do some fun things for myself.  I was off this past Monday because I worked 2nd shift over the weekend.  That worked out perfectly because Dad had his 2nd cataract surgery scheduled for that day and wanted me to take him.  It was quite a long day because I got up early and was on the road to Angier by 7.  Then Dad and I drove to Rex Hospital in Raleigh for his procedure.  This time, thankfully, the drive was not nearly as crazy.  Driving in Raleigh is definitely not my idea of fun but it was completely manageable this time.  His surgery went well and I ended up spending the night because we were all exhausted.  Even under the circumstances, it was a nice visit.  June and I started watching the American Idol finale. I don't follow it but June loves the show.  Neither of us made it to the end LOL But we had a good time.

Yesterday, after getting some things done around the house, I went to an estate sale.  It was put on by Happy Camper Estate Sales which is one of my favorite estate sale companies. I shouldn't go because I don't need more stuff but it's quite addictive LOL  It was a house in my neighborhood so that was very convenient.  I ended up not getting anything.  On the estate sale website, I had seen a stereopticon that interested me but it was gone by the time I got there. Actually, it may not have been gone but there was so much stuff and lots of people it was overwhelming.  I may go back over this afternoon to look around since it's half priced day.  We shall see.  Later on, I met up with Alex and Lenny for dinner at Elizabeth's Pizza.  It's always good to get out of the house and I had not been to this particular Elizabeth's before on Bridford Parkway.  There are several of them all throughout Greensboro and the Triad, but this was my first time at this one.  I had smoked chicken ravioli, and it was delicious!  I will definitely be going back there.  

After I got home fro

m dinner and chilled out for a while, I began to rearrange my kitchen.  Why not since I have some new appliances.  I'm not near finished but I am really liking how things are shaping up.  I have more counter space now that I am moving things around the clearing things away. Today, I have prepped a new casserole for lunch.  I follow Meme's Recipes on YouTube and I just love her.  She does my kind of cooking.  She has at least two cookbooks out which I hope to get one day.  Hint, hint at those buying me a Christmas present LOL Today's recipe is Meme's Mazetti which is her take on the classic Johnny Marzetti Casserole.  It looked divine so I am excited to see how it turns out. 

So that has been my week along with my work.  It's been a good week and I am looking forward to doing more things next week.  Cheers!

Things I want in my dream home

 

I posted recently about different pieces of vintage furniture that I would love to own one day.  Today, I'm going to talk a little about things I would love to have in my house.  After all, if I acquire these items, I will need a place to put them.  I think a lot about the houses I frequented growing up and the houses that I have lived in for this list.  I have taken most things from these houses and made a dream house list. Maybe if I win the lottery, I will find a home that has all of these. Or at least I could have one built, possibly. Either way, it's always fun to dream!

1. Front hall

I love a house that has a front hall/foyer.  I think that it sets the tone of the house, and it is important as it will be the first things guests see in your house.  

2. Butler's pantry

Now, this is not something that any of the houses I have experienced had but nevertheless I would love to have one.  It would be so convenient for the many dishes that I have LOL

3. Screened in porch

The house on Sherwood Street that I lived in years ago had a screened porch in the front and I absolutely loved it.  Grandmother's house had a screened porch on the side which was also very nice.  It was not used much as I remember but I did enjoy going out there on warm days to read and do homework.  I have no preference where the porch would be located as long as it fit in with the style of the house.

4. Colored walls

I love color in a home.  Beit paint or wallpaper.  Not that there is anything wrong with white walls.  My current house is all white walls and that is fine.  But I would love some color.  We had the 70s wallpaper in our hall at home:  avocado green, orange and yellow.  It was very 70s but I loved it.  It got painted over white later on and I missed seeing it.  But, the choice was not mine to be made LOL The house on Sherwood Street had a different color in every room and I thought it was beautiful!  

5. Built in shelves

I have never lived in a house with built in shelves.  Both Grandmother's and Aunt Billie's house had built in shelves in their dens.  They were great for books, obviously, but also for displaying collectibles.  You know I do not lack in those!  I would love to have a den with built ins or maybe even a library with built ins all the way around the room. 

6. Dining Room

This one is non-negotiable.  That is, of course, unless someone gifted me a house and it didn't have a dining room.  Then I would make do LOL  But I want a separate space for dining, not just a dining area.  It does not have to be completely closed off, necessarily, but I want it to be its own space. Dining rooms have always been my favorite room in a home and I must have one.

7. French doors

I love the look of French doors.  I like the idea of being able to close off a room and yet still see inside of it.  Again, this is not something that I have had in a house before.  The house in Wingate and Grandmother's house had French doors at some point.  Grandmother's had two sets:  going into the dining room and going into the den.  She said she always regretted having them taken out and I don't blame her.  They're fantastic. 

8. Knotty Pine

I'm one of the few people I know that likes knotty pine paneling.  To me, there is something very cozy about it.  And very retro. To me, it adds a certain warmth to a room.  When Aunt Billie added a den to her house in the late 50's it was all knotty pine.  It also had a huge picture window in it.  I loved sitting in that room and spent many house in there.

9. Glass cabinets

I love being able to easily find things in glass cabinets and they are aesthetically pleasing.  The house on Sherwood Street had them in the kitchen and Grandmother's breakfast room had them.  It's also a great way to organize and display my wares. 

10. Walk in attic

Attic space is so important for storage. And, as I am getting older, having a walk-in attic will be important. Now I don't want an attic with a pull-down ladder but one with actual stairs to it.  That, or simply a door to go through.  I have been in attics with the pull-down ladder and it's fine if you're not carrying anything in or out.  If that's the case, it never feels secure so something walk-in would be ideal.

So, those are some of the things I would love to have in a house someday.  For those of you who fantasize about your dream home, what kinds of things are you looking for?  I'd love to know!

Quote of the Week

 

This is great advice for anyone, but especially for me.  Follow through has not always been my strong suit but it feels amazing when I do it.  I want that feeling more. 

Appointment Television

 I don't binge watch shows like many of my friends do.  At the most, I will watch two episodes of something in a row but that is usually it for me. I do not have anything against those who binge watch, it is simply not how I watch television, and I can say that is because of the television watching routine that was engrained to me in my formative years. 

Appointment television was a very important part of my childhood.  Watching television in the 80s and 90s required patience because it meant you had to wait a week to find out what happened next.  You couldn't just click a button and watch the next episode. We often scheduled out lives around when a tv show was going to air.  For kids especially, favorite tv shows were a great motivation to get chores done and get homework done.  And parents used that to their advantage.  I don't blame them because it worked.  There was almost no greater fear than having to miss an episode of your favorite tv show and then having to hear all about it the next day at school. 

Different years held different days of the week when you had to sit in front of the television and watch the latest shows. Monday nights in the 90s had Designing Women at 9 p.m. followed by Murphy Brown.  In the 80s, Tuesdays gave us The A-Team at 8:00 p.m. and Unsolved Mysteries on Wednesdays.  Everything stopped on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. for The Cosby Show and several years later it was followed immediately by A Different World at 8:30 p.m. Fridays had TGIF on ABC from 8 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with Full House and Family Matters anchoring that line up.  And, of course, every Saturday night was  reserved for The Golden Girls at 9:00 p.m.  And if you weren't watching, you'd better have your vcr set to record!

And then there were the prime-time soaps.  Dynasty was on Wednesdays.  The Colbys and Knots Landing were on Thursdays. Dallas on Fridays. Falcon Crest on Saturdays.  These were must sees for many people each and every week.  And then there were the cliffhangers.  The last episode of the season had some extraordinary event happen and you had to wait for months to find out what happened.  That couldn't happen today with streaming and social media.  The genius campaign of Who Shot JR? would never be able to occur in today's world.  And that's sad to me. 

Anyway, having to wait a week to see what happened next shaped the way I watch television.  And as an adult, it makes my television viewing more special.  I don't really know why it does, but it does. And I'm also not afraid to watch commercials like so many people are today but that's a topic for another day.  However, you like to watch your shows is totally fine.  We all do what works for us.  I just enjoy bringing part of my past into my present.  That is all. 

Switching up how I plan my meals

 

I have really enjoyed working on healthier eating over the past week and half.  I have tried some new recipes that I have really enjoyed like avocado egg salad and avocado toast.  And, yes, I have eaten other things besides avocados.  They just happen to be pretty good for you.  I have gotten more fish into my diet. I had salmon several times and tilapia once.  More fresh fruits and veggies.  Whole wheat starches like breads and pasta.  And much better snacking ideas.  Fruits, nuts, raw veggies. All in all, I was very pleased with how things went.  

What I need to work on, though, is waste.  I liked how I was able to make one thing and then use the leftovers for something else.  Like one night I had broccoli that I sauteed in olive oil to go along with some chicken thighs I cooked.  I used the leftover broccoli in an Asian pasta dish that I made, and it worked out beautifully.  I mostly planned my menus well but there has been some waste.  I was not thinking ahead necessarily about not using the leftovers because I already had meals planned.  Oh well.  Sometimes it worked out and sometimes it did not. A learning point.

So, this week and probably going forward, I am going to not be so meticulous about my meal planning.  By that, I am not going to plan out an entire week of meals.  I will plan several and then utilize the leftovers until they are used up.  This means that I will be adapting my idea of focusing each day on one area of my health, like heart or liver or iron.  What I will do is focus each meal I plan on a specific area, I just will not do it daily.  Like one day is heart, the next day is liver, etc.  That is unless I actually finish up my meal the first time, which probably won't happen.

Either way, I am enjoying this journey.  I did treat myself to Chinese on Sunday because why not?  It has been a lot of fun to find recipes that are not only healthier but also taste pretty good.  I don't have to give up flavor just to eat better.  Now, time to plan my next meal!

Prayer of St. Francis

 I was first introduced to this prayer as a teenager at FBC Monroe.  We sang a version of this prayer as an anthem in youth choir.  I remember it being a beautiful arrangement. I need to search for a recording of it because it was a lovely anthem.  But the words of this prayer really stuck with me.  In today's world, we could definitely use more St. Francis types, and it gives a person something to aspire to. 

New recipes, new people, new glasses

 

I mentioned yesterday that I was on a healthier eating plan and have tried several new recipes.  I did a new cucumber/tomato salad that was quite delicious and the avocado egg salad was awesome.  I will be posting both of these to my blog soon.  BTW, if you're serving the avocado egg salad to guests, you will want to make it right before because, even with lemon juice, it's going to turn colors in the fridge.  Still tastes good though.  I also made an onion gravy for the first time. I had some sausage I wanted to use up and needed a sauce for it and since I had the onions on hand, it worked out beautifully.  And that was last weekend before the healthy eating started LOL

I have been getting more letter writing in as well this week.  I got five letters written this week, which is definitely an increase from the last few months.  I enjoy it and hope to keep it up as I have gotten slack on that.  My letters tend to be like my FB page.  Most of the time, I like to keep them light with lots of questions and updates.  I think it's important to give people a chance to take a few minutes and read something that is just nice.  No drama.  No politics.  Just nice.  So, that's how I shape my letters, and I do hope that people enjoy that little escape from the realities of the world. 

I met some new people this past week as well.  Last Saturday, Alex invited me to a potluck at his house.  There were 12 people there total, including me.  I had a wonderful time, and it was good to get out of the house. One of the people there was a guy that I used to work with when he was at Heritage Greens years ago so it was very nice to reconnect with him and meet his husband.  It was an eclectic group of people and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I got invited to a cookout today, but alas I am working 3 to 11 so I will have to wait until the next time!

I also treated myself to a trip to Reconsidered Goods, a local thrift store.  They have lots of neat items in their store and you just never know what you are going to find.   I picked up a few records, a couple of nice frames and a recipe organizer.  I can never have too many ways to keep my recipes organized!!  And then I spotted some glasses at the back of the store.  Because, you know, I need more glassware in my life LOL  I walked by them and left them there.  They lingered in my mind while I was walking around the store so I decided that if they were still there when I made my second trip around the store, I would put them in my basket. 6 glasses, Anchor Hocking "Tartan" pattern. $1 each.  I think Replacements has them for $22.  They came home with me and are now on my dining room table.

Along with getting a new stove on Thursday and waiting for my new fridge to arrive sometime this morning, it's been a nice week of doing things and meeting people.  And cooking. Thank goodness for the induction burner!  Looking forward to seeing what this upcoming week has in store!