In a pickle ~ and menu plan for the week of May 3

 We ran out of pickles.  We actually ran out of pickles a few months ago, but I didn't put pickles on my grocery list when we ran out.  As a general rule, we don't go through all that many pickles, and also, I believed us to not be out of pickles, because we had two jars of pickles sitting on the shelf that houses our home canned food.

About three weeks ago, I decided I wanted pickles, so I opened one of the jars.  And that's when I discovered that we were, in fact, out of pickles.  They tasted bad.  The tasted so bad, in fact, that I fed them to the compost--not even to the chickens.  Just, you know, for future reference, do not substitute dry herbs when the pickle recipe calls for fresh.  You can thank me later.

So about three weeks ago, I wrote pickles on my grocery list.  And when I went to the grocery store, there were no pickles*.  I didn't think much of it, just made a mental note to carry pickles over to my next grocery list.  And the next time I went to the grocery store, there were also no pickles.  The next week, there were still no pickles.

Three weeks without pickles, y'all.  I mean, I've definitely gone more than three weeks without eating a pickle, but always I have known that I could eat a pickle if I wanted to eat a pickle.  And it seemed strange that every** store would be out of pickles. So I asked the universe (aka the google), "why can I not find pickles?"

And it turns out, there is an actual pickle shortage that people of the universe (aka people on the internet, which is, technically, a part of the universe) have been talking and writing about.  In fact, one of the national fast burger joints delayed the release of a new sandwich because of the pickle shortage.  

Of all the things I thought would never be in short supply, pickles is, well, not at the top of the list, because it's not on the list of all.  Who thinks pickles*** are going to be in short supply?  Anyway, I just thought I should let you know, so that if you do happen to spot pickles, you can stock up.

And I'm crossing my fingers (but not holding my breath) that I'll be able to find some pickles tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Cheese, crackers, and summer sausage, raw veggies
• Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli
• Italian beef sandwiches, buns, green beans
• Leftovers
• Hamburgers, buns, green stuff, raw veggies, chips
• Hot dogs and brats, buns, green stuff, raw veggies, chips
• Cilantro lime chicken with avocado salsa, salad

Other:

• Mexican quinoa with grilled chicken
• Taco bean soup
• Chicken broth

* Of the variety which I wanted to purchase, which was dill slices.  There were bread and butter slices, and dill spears and whole pickles, but no dill slices.  

** Every store that I went to, which included 2 different locations of one grocery store, one other store, and as many local stores as I could think of that would tell me online whether or not they had any pickles.

*** It sounds like it's not actually pickles that are in short supply, but glass jars, which is affecting pickle storage and transport, although why that would affect a fast food chain?  I do not know.  I feel like national restaurant chains do not buy their pickles in glass jars.

2021 Garden plans

 I planted beets, radish, and cabbage yesterday afternoon.

And then 3 hours later, I was outside, in the rain, checking to see if anything had sprouted yet.

Y'all. Not only is 3 hours not a very long time for seeds to sprout, but it was also around 45°F at the time, which is not warm enough, really, for seeds to sprout.  That deserves a facepalm, yes?  I just can't help myself, though.  There is something magical about an entire plant being contained in a tiny little seed.  And that first sign of growth?  Awe inspiring.

Here's the garden plan for this year.  As a reminder: I have three 4x4 raised beds, three large pots, and two window box rectangular planters.  There are also other places I can plant things around the property, like in front of the chicken coop.  Which might be behind the chicken coop, depending on your perspective.

In the raised bed that is farthest east, I am planning to plant sugar snap peas.  That's it.  Sixteen square feet of sugar snap peas.  I bought a bush variety for this year, so they supposedly won't need trellising.  I may do something crazy and plant another crop after the peas are done.  If that happens, it'll be something like Brussels sprouts or radishes or lettuce.

There used to be strawberries in the raised bed that is in the middle, but I pulled them all out last year because I was fighting a losing battle with little white worms and we weren't ever going to get enough of a harvest from that bed to make caring for the strawberries hand picking all of those little worms worthwhile.  In this bed, I'm planting flowers.  I have some marigold and zinnia seeds that I saved from last year's plants, and some nasturtium and sunflower seeds.  I will probably plant a cherry or grape tomato in this bed as well.

In the raised bed that is farthest west, I am going to plant Sakata's Sweet Melon and  Otome Watermelon.  I started the seeds indoors yesterday.  No growth yet (double face palm).  Y'all.  We came so close to having edible watermelon last year.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but of course I am hopeful.  Gardens are all about hope.  I may also plant beets and/or radishes in this bed.  Both of those are small plants that don't take long to mature, so they'll probably be done before the melons start to shade them out.

Also in the garden enclosure, I may plant potatoes in a huge bucket that AKD brought home from work a couple of years ago.  We'll see how I feel about that when it comes time to actually do it.  And also, we'll see what kind of seed potatoes we can come up with.  Lately, we've been eating the grocery store potatoes before they sprout, so that might not work for us this time.

As I mentioned, I planted cabbage, radish, and beets yesterday.  The cabbage is in the three large pots--I planted it mostly because I had the seeds (they were the free seeds included with one of my Baker's Creek orders) and I wanted to see what would happen.  There were no planting guidelines on the packet, so I just threw some seeds in there, and I'll probably have to do some thinning.  I planted radish in one of the window boxes, and golden beets in the other.  Last year was disappointing for both radish and beets--the beets never came up that I could tell, and the radishes ended up going to seed.  Yes, I planted my homemade radish seeds--we'll see what happens.

I have some butterfly bombs that I think I will deploy in front of the chicken coop.  Or maybe I'll try corn there again?  Or sunflowers?  If I do plant something there, I need to protect it from the girls, because they're currently using the area for dust bathing.

And that's all I have planned for now.  I'll keep you posted.  Maybe.  We'll see.

Email subscription changes and menu plan for the week of April 26

Well hello there, friends.

You may have noticed that I did not publish an actual post the next day, nor did I publish a menu plan the following week.  But you probably didn't notice.

Whether you noticed or not, I'm going to tell you why right now.

I got an email from my email subscriber service saying that they were discontinuing the service in July.  Even if you didn't notice the non-next-day post and the non-next-week menu plan, surely you have noticed a, shall we say, content shift in this space.  

My heart's not in it, y'all.  Not anymore.

So when I heard that my email subscribers weren't going to be subscribed any longer, I wondered if maybe it was time to give it up.  I mean, it's not like people who don't know me go looking for my content.  It's not like people who know me go looking for my content, either.  People being emailed when I post new content is kind of important if I want anyone to read what I write. 

But I'm just not ready to give it up yet.  I may be delusional, but I do think that someday I might feel like writing something important and real again.  

So this weekend, I did something that was hard.  I figured out how to migrate my current email subscribers to a new service.  I know, I know: that doesn't sound difficult to some of you, but I find learning about this kind of abstract, can't-see-it, cyber-stuff to be excruciating.  The feeling I get is similar to the one I felt solving AKD's Rubik's cube all those years ago.  I can follow instructions, and the instructions work, but it really bothers me that I don't know how and why it works.

Anyway, I left the old service in place for just this one blog post.  So if you subscribe by email, and you get this one twice, you're good.  You are subscribed to the new service and you don't have to do anything--I will delete the old service, so this should be the only time you get a post twice.  If you subscribe by email and you only get this post once, you probably didn't get migrated to the new system, and you should sign up again using the form on the right under the Popular Posts widget.

It looks like this: 

If you think you're subscribed, but you don't get this post via email, at all, you should also sign up.  And if you don't think you're subscribed, and you don't get this post via email, you should probably also sign up.  So you'll know if I ever publish again.

Anyway, on to this week's menu.

Supper:

• Nachos
• Grilled chicken with salad and garlic toast
• Spaghetti
• Fend for yourself
• Pizza, salad
• Mini corn dogs, raw veggies
• Chicken tenders, raw veggies

Other:

• Yes, there will be other things.
• No, I don't know what they will be.

Menu plan for the week of April 12

 Hi friends.  I think I might write an actual blog post tomorrow.  Wouldn't that be exciting?  Hasn't happened for a while.  In the meantime, you'll have to be content with this.

Here's what's on the menu this week.

Supper:

• Fend for yourself/leftovers
• Garlic parmesan chicken wings, broccoli
• Nachos
• Ham & cheese turnovers, raw veggies
• Hamburgers, buns, French fries, grilled veggie
• Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and honeyed carrots
• Pizza, salad

Other:

• Yogurt
• Pancake mix
• Beef jerky

Menu plan for the week of April 5

 Hi friends.  Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Fend for yourself
• Nachos
• Spaghetti
• Hot beef sandwiches
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, raw veggies, chips, jello
• Grilled pork chops, grilled veggie, garlic toast
• Takeout pizza & breadsticks, funfetti cake, ice cream

Menu plan for the week of March 29

So.  

It's another Monday.  

How are you feeling about today?  I mean, I guess I'm ok* with it.  Monday used to be my favorite day of the week, back when my people went to school and work on Mondays and I gave myself permission to stay home.  It isn't my favorite anymore.  

I don't think I actually have a favorite anymore.  I feel like it's sad to not have a favorite day of the week.  But maybe I'm wrong.  What do you think?  Is it sad to not have a favorite day of the week?

Welp.  Regardless of the day of the week, there will be food.  Here's this week's plan.

Supper:

• Tacos with yummy veggies and tortillas
• Chicken tenders, raw veggies
• Spaghetti & meatballs, green beans
• Fend for yourself
• Pizza (crust, sauce), salad
• Hamburgers with or without buns, raw veggies, chips, jello
• Kielbasa and potatoes/kielbasa and cauliflower

Other:

• Sugar cookies
• Creamy vanilla frosting
• Bagels?  Honestly, this is on the list, not because I actually think I'll make them this week, but because I've been wanting to make them, and I felt like I needed another item on the "Other" list.  I guess it could happen.  I wish my bread machine would hold more dough, because if I'm going to take the time to heat up a vat of sugar water in which to boil bagels, it sure would be nice to be able to do more than one batch of eight.  Hmmm.

* I mean, it's Monday regardless of how I feel about it, so why bother feeling less than ok?

Menu plan for the week of March 22

 Well, two of you who read the last menu plan post told me you'd like me to continue, so that's what I'll do, for now.  But I've given myself permission to not feel guilty when I post sporadically.

I told my Instagram friends, but not you all, that I've obtained a permanently-on-loan immersion blender.  Maybe 6 times a year I will make something that would be a lot easier to make if I had an immersion blender, and being an entrenched underbuyer, instead of buying an immersion blender, I wondered if the cost of an immersion blender (not so much the monetary cost, but the cost of storage space, maintenance, and brain space) was worth the ease of six recipes a year.

I've used my permanently-on-loan immersion blender twice so far, and yeah, it was easier, but I'm not convinced that it was easier enough to justify the space it's taking up in my house and my brain.  This week, I'm making mayonnaise, and I'm hopeful.  The reason I stopped making mayo was because it was so messy to make in a regular blender.  I would end up with a hand full of mayo (from where I was covering most of the hole in the top of the blender), and a bunch of wasted mayo on the sides of the blender.  Also, sometimes mayo splattered in my eyes.

I'll let you know how it goes.  

I will also tell you what we're planning to eat this week.  Right now.

Supper:

• Sunday night stew with mashed potatoes
• Lemon garlic butter steak and broccoli
• Tacos with all the fixin's
• Fend for yourself
• Italian sausage & cream sauce with bowtie pasta, veggies
• Cilantro lime chicken with avocado salsa, salad
• Italian sausage sheet pan meal

Other:

• Brownie pecan pie (because we missed π day)
• Muffins (probably chocolate chip)
• Mini waffles (definitely chocolate chip)
• Mayo

Menu plan for the week of March 8

 Hi friends.  Can you do me a favor?  If you care about these menu plans and would like me to continue to post them, could you please leave a comment, contact me through the contact form, or if you subscribe by email, reply to the email?  Thank you.

* * * * *

Do y'all remember the urban myth about the $250 cookie recipe?  There are many variations, but I first heard it from my grandma in probably the mid to late '80s (that's nineteen80s for you youngin's out there).  Her story was that someone, a friend of a friend (it's always a friend of a friend) loved Mrs. Fields cookies, so they called the company and asked for the recipe.  Mrs. Fields said, sure, we'll give you the recipe.  That'll be two fifty.  Thinking that meant $2.50, the friend of a friend gave payment details (mid to late eighties, so not sure what kind of payment details?  Were credit cards in wide enough use at that point?) and got the recipe.  To the friend of a friend's horror, the charge turned out the be $250, and as "revenge," the friend of a friend decided to share the recipe far and wide for free.

At the time, I thought it was true.  I didn't have much experience with scams or urban legends and didn't know to be skeptical.  But then I started hearing the same story with different companies and different dollar amounts (I feel like I even heard $250,000 once), and realized the story was just that--a story.  That's ok, though, because those cookies are so very delicious.

This week, I'll be making $125 cookies, which is, of course, half of the $250 recipe.  I'll also be making other things, including:

Supper:

• Easy beef stroganoff, green beans
• Tacos with avocado salsa
• Keweenaw bowl
• Pulled pork or beef sandwiches, broccoli
• Chicken fajita pasta, mixed veggies
• Hamburgers or hot dogs, buns, chips, raw veggies
• Leftovers/fend for yourself

Other:

• $125 cookies
• Apple pie
• Sugar-free candied pecans

Do you floss? My 21 day streak.

 Hello, my friends.  Do you floss regularly?  I mean floss your teeth, not floss the "dance."  Through years of observation, I have come to the conclusion that most people don't.  I've lived with a lot of people, first in a residence hall for four years, and then at a summer camp where I was on staff.  I have seen hundreds of women going through their hygiene routines, and I have never seen another person floss their teeth (aside from various family members, some regularly, and others sporadically).  

And then there was that one time at MOPS.  We were playing some kind of game--I'm a little foggy on the rules, but it was something like one person stands in the middle of a circle of people sitting in chairs, and the person in the middle says something that's true about themselves, and then everyone who is sitting in the circle about whom that thing is also true has to stand up and quickly find another seat, leaving one person still standing in the middle of the circle.  It's kind of like musical chairs, but not really.

The woman who was in the middle said, "I floss my teeth twice a day."  And no one moved.  We just kind of stared at her like she was some mythical creature.  And to be honest, to women who have children that have not yet started school, someone who takes the time to floss daily, not once, but twice, does seem like kind of a unicorn.  I mean, some of us could barely shower, and even teeth-brushing sometimes went by the wayside.  She stood there, incredulous, exclaiming, "nobody?!"

I asked the Google, and she told me that only about 32% of adults in the US over the age of 30 floss their teeth daily (she sited a source, but I have since lost it).  Even that seems high to me.  I characterize my own flossing as regular, but I don't floss every day.  It definitely goes in spurts, but I estimate that, on average, I floss 4 to 5 times per week.  Knowing the fallibility of the human brain, I'm probably estimating high, but the point is, I should be flossing every day.  I would like to keep my teeth for as long as possible, thankyouverymuch.  Although, the very best food in the world (ice cream) does not require teeth, so, I guess I'd survive.

One of my issues with being able to floss daily is that I think I need to do it at night, so my teeth are nice and clean overnight.  Often, by the time I'm getting ready for bed, I'm tired enough that flossing, even though it only takes a minute or so, seems like too much work.  So I skip it.  Now, I've given myself permission to floss earlier in the day.  

As you may remember, one of my goals in 2021 is to complete streaks of 20 and 21 days.  Right now I'm smack dab in the middle of my 21 day streak, flossing my teeth daily.  According to conventional wisdom, it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so I'm hoping flossing will stick.  

How about you?  Do you floss regularly?  Daily?

Menu plan for the week of February 15

 If you live in the US, it's probably cold where you are.  I say this with some confidence, since much of the US is experiencing temperatures that are much below average right now.  I also say this knowing that cold is relative.  I feel like -20°F is cold.  I feel like three or four days of negative high temperatures is cold.  

I also feel like January is supposed to be colder than February, but I'm probably not right about that.  Temperatures are supposed to warm up through the week, and next week looks like perfect tree tapping weather.

Isn't that crazy?  Today, we're at around -25°F for a low, and in a week or so, we'll be seeing temps close to 40°F.  We'll be walking around in shorts.  Talk about temperature whip-lash.  Actually, no, don't talk about temperature whip-lash.  I'm good.

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Tacos
• Pancakes (it's Mardi Gras, donchaknow.  Maybe we'll make them green, gold, and purple)
• Kielbasa and potatoes/kielbasa and cauliflower
• Fend for yourself
• Pizza
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, chips, snap peas and carrots
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts 

Other:

• Granola
• Muffins

Chicken update

Welp.  I guess it's (way past) time for another chicken update. 

We lost our sweet chick, Guacamole, in October.  You may remember that Guacamole was our Americana pullet from the spring hatch, who developed a crossbeak.  Guacamole was sweet and she was a happy chicken.  I was determined to take care of her and give Guac a good life for as long as I could.  I knew that her health was fragile, so I tried to hold her in my heart loosely.  She spent her last moments soaking up the sun.  I did my best for Guacamole, but it turned out my best wasn't enough for her.

Charlotte--the new generation of lap chickens

We currently have 7 chickens, Toasty Crunch, Rocky, Esther, Koko, Indigo, Charlotte, and Buttercup.  They're doing well, for the most part.  Indigo is moving slowly these days, and I had to put a lower roost in the hen house for her because she can't fly up the two feet to the regular roost anymore.  

I also have a shoulder chicken.  They're all the rage these days.
Buttercup

In September, our California White, Charlotte, laid her first egg, and shortly after, all of the older chickens stopped laying due to molt, and continued to not lay because of shorter days.  So we've spent several months getting about 5 eggs a week, which is better than nothing, but is way fewer than our family eats in a week.  In just the past week, Toasty Crunch and Koko started laying again, so things are looking up in the egg department.  We're still waiting for Buttercup's first egg.

Three days worth of eggs from last week

At some point during the past several months, Koko managed to land herself at the top of the pecking order.  Not sure how that happened, but there she is.

Koko, Toasty Crunch, and Rocky
I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures of the chickens in the past few months, so you'll have to be satisfied with some no-snow pics.

Esther

Indigo

I bribed the girls to come out of the coop with soldier fly larva. 
Rocky, Koko, and Buttercup.
Charlotte, fulfilling her lap chicken duties, as usual.

So that's it for now, I guess.

21 for 2021 January update

 You guys.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I don't want to do those things.  Not all of them, anyway.  Why, oh why, did I not follow the 2020 goal model?  Why didn't I brainstorm a list of possible goals, and decide which ones I wanted to accomplish as I progressed through the year?

Note to self: do that next year.

So,  here's what's happened so far (the numbers in parenthesis are the goal number from the list at the end of the post).

• (1) I set up a spreadsheet to keep track of my mystery shopping assignments.  I even figured out how to sum cells in a column if a check box is clicked in another column.  This spreadsheet will make it so much easier to keep track of assignments and payments.
• (4) I've begun decluttering Pinterest.  As of this writing, I'm down to under 1200 pins and 41 boards.  This job will be significantly easier because Pinterest added the capability to add sections to boards not too long ago.
• (6) In the first 21 days of 2021, I unsubscribed from 30 email lists before I stopped counting.  I get significantly fewer emails these days.  I also unsubscribed from a couple of text messages from businesses.
• (7) I've improved my scores on all JD 2019 extreme versions to superstar or better.  All but two are megastar scores.  I haven't danced JD 2020 for a while, so I'm not sure where I stand there, but I'm pretty sure I have at least 3 to go there.
• (8) I've completed three new (to me) hikes.  It was actually four, but I decided these hikes need to be over 1 mile in length to count.
• (11) I walked 11.87 miles in January.  In order to complete 202.1 miles in 2021, I need to walk a little under 17 miles a month.  I'm not too worried, though, because I'll be walking more in the spring and fall than in the winter.
• (18) I have attempted to donate blood two times so far this year.  The first was canceled because there was a problem with the bloodmobile.  The second was successful.
• (19) I have volunteered not-at-home six times so far this year.  All of these sessions involved food.  Huh.

So that's two fully completed goals, and several in progress.  Not too bad, eh?

In February, I plan to continue to work on the year-long goals, as well as the electronic goals (2, 4, 5, and 7).  I'm also hoping to start my first streak (9).

Here's a list of the goals:

1. Set up a spreadsheet to keep track of mystery shopping assignments, payment, and reimbursement.  There's one particular mystery shopping company that I really need to keep a close eye on payments for, and the system I've used in the past--hatch marks on an envelope--revealed itself to be insufficient last year, so I really need a new system. 
2. Set up an electronic list of future projects--these can include Cricut projects, building projects, or really any ideas for future projects that I may want to accomplish at some point in the future, but that have no urgency or due date.  I do have a running list in my to-do notebook, but an electronic list would be easier to organize, which would make it easier to keep track of what's on the list.
3. Complete 10 of the projects from my electronic project list (it's acceptable to add something to the list just to cross it off).
4. Declutter and reorganize Pinterest boards.  At the beginning of the year, I had over 1600 pins in 90 boards.  It's too much.  I'm hoping to get down to 21 reorganized boards.  Twenty-one, because it's 2021, not because I've done careful consideration and planning and decided that 21 is the number of boards I need.  
5. Declutter electronic mystery shopping receipts, photos, and screen shots.  Again.  
6. Unsubscribe from 21 email lists in the first 21 days of 2021
7. Improve my scores on all 2019 and 2020 Just Dance Extreme versions to Superstar or better.  I've been working on 2019, and I've only got one more to go.  I'm not sure where I stand on 2020.
8. Complete 12 new (to me) hikes.  Stretch goal: 21 new to me hikes
9. Complete streaks of 20 and 21 days.  The 20 day streak will lend itself nicely to a Monday through Friday goal, and the 21 day streak will work for a 7 day a week goal.
10. Send birthday cards to 12 people I don't usually send birthday cards to.
11. Walk at least 202.1 miles (hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and running count.  As if I'm going to run any miles.  Ha).
12. Plant a pine cone.
13. Go to at least one in-person flower show at the conservatory.  Stretch goal: go to all of the shows either in person or virtually.
14. Obtain a non-plastic countertop (which I will keep under the sink, because I hate countertop clutter) compost bin.  My current kitchen compost is in a repurposed plastic container, and it stinks.  The plastic picks up odors from the compost, and will not release them.  That's why I need something not-plastic.
15. Make marshmallows from scratch.
16. Make a list of 21 go-to meals that (mostly) everyone in my family likes.
17. Oil wooden spoons, bowls, and cutting board regularly.  Not sure what "regularly" means.  Once a month?  Each quarter?  Once a year?  It's too nonspecific to be an actual goal, but it's my goal, so deal with it.
18. Attempt to donate blood 6 times.  I'm saying attempt because I have a history of being rejected, and I want to make sure all of my goals are actually achievable.  If I successfully donate 6 times this year I'll earn my gallon pin, which should actually be a 2 gallon pin, but I took a long enough break in between that they stopped keeping track of my past donations.
19. Volunteer not-at-home at least 12 times this year (I was going to say once a month, but since volunteering is a little more difficult for me in the summer, and I've already volunteered more than once this year, I went with 12 times).
20. Grow paperwhites.  These are the little white flowers that are available around Christmas time when the amaryllis bulbs are in stores.
21. Create a new goal.

Menu plan for the week of February 8

 Did y'all watch the Superbowl yesterday?  What a game, eh?

Actually, I don't know what kind of game it was, since I'm writing this before the game.  But I don't have any witty repartee to bestow upon you today, so let's talk sports.  And weather.  It's darn cold out there.  Supposed to be around -8°F when this publishes.

OK.  Was that enough?  Let's get to the food.  

Supper:

• Zuppa Toscana, rolls
• Tacos
• Italian sausage sheet pan meal
• Egg roll in a bowl
• Pizza
• Fend for yourself
• Peppered steak with Portobello mushrooms, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, brownies

20+ for 2020 wrap-up

The other day, I published my 21 for 2021 list and promised an update/wrap up of my 2020 goals.  Here it is.

This 2020 goal wrap-up post is a little overdue, and slightly out of order.  Because I actually finished 20 goals by June last year, I sorta forgot about wrapping up the year.  Well, and then there was December.  And December is hard.

But there were a few more goals that I accomplished from my big ol' long list of potential goals in 2020, so I wanted to tell you about them.

• Light an outdoor tree.

I bought the lights in early 2020 when they were on clearance, and I put them in the tree in October or November, as high as I could reach, perched precariously on a ladder.  I had scratches on my arms and twigs in my hair, but it was so worth it.  The lights will be staying in the tree, either forever or until they don't work anymore, and the tree will be lit at night until we have to move the extension cord for mowing purposes.  Whenever I catch a glimpse of the lit tree through our front window, my heart leaps to see those little lights shining in the darkness.  I am so pleased.

• Can apple pie filling

I canned the apple pie filling in quarts and pints because it seemed like one quart was too little and two quarts was too much, for one pie.  I made enough for five full sized pies, and used the extra pint to make these two mini pies.  Someday, I hope to can cherry pie filling.  You know, for a little variety.

• Grow and can pickles

The pickles are on the right.

Accomplishing this goal was a bit of a surprise, since I didn't plant any pickling cucumbers.  What I did plant was zucchini, and the nature of zucchini is to overrun its masters in August.  I ended up canning 3 jars of zucchini pineapple, 2 jars of sweet zucchini relish, and 2 jars of zucchini dill pickles to use up that overabundance of zucchini.  We haven't tried the pickles yet, but the pineapple worked beautifully in a recipe, and I'm told the sweet relish is delicious.

• Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  

You are right, friends.  I am counting this goal twice, sorta.  This was the last of the 20 goals that I told you about in June.  At the time, I had finished the shelf, but it was not yet installed, because we were waiting for the bathroom to be painted.  Now, the shelf has been installed, and I love the way it looks and functions.  Now I just need to figure out what is worthy of going on the shelf.  Let me know if you have any suggestions--maybe a fun saying to put on a sign.

So that's it.  I'm impressed with myself.  

Stay tuned, because the next post in this series will be the January update for 2021.  Yeah.  I know.  It's February.  Grace, friends.

21 for 2021

 Today I am doing something that has been on my to-do list every day so far this year, and even a few days last year, too.  I am writing (and publishing, because that's how I keep track) my 21 for 2021 list.  I'm not even sure it'll be 21 items, but I'll do my best.

It's taken me this long, well, I'm not exactly sure why?  Commitment issues?  Inertia?  Perfectionism?  Depression?  Pandemic exhaustion?  All of the above?

Anyway, if you've been around for a while, you've probably seen at least one of my goal posts (ha!  Goal posts.  Perhaps I should say one of my posts about goals).  Many years ago I gave up on new year's resolutions and started making goals.  And then three years ago, I took Gretchen Rubin's advice, and numbered my goals according to the year I was in: 18 goals in 2018, 19 in 2019, and so on.  I really enjoy this method of goal formation.  It's a little whimsical, and it's fun to be part of a group of people that I don't even know, each pursuing their individual goals.

So I'm going to type out some goals I'd like to accomplish this year, and hopefully there will be 21 of them by the time I'm done.  Wish me luck!

1. Set up a spreadsheet to keep track of mystery shopping assignments, payment, and reimbursement.  There's one particular mystery shopping company that I really need to keep a close eye on payments for, and the system I've used in the past--hatch marks on an envelope--revealed itself to be insufficient last year, so I really need a new system. 
2. Set up an electronic list of future projects--these can include Cricut projects, building projects, or really any ideas for future projects that I may want to accomplish at some point in the future, but that have no urgency or due date.  I do have a running list in my to-do notebook, but an electronic list would be easier to organize, which would make it easier to keep track of what's on the list.
3. Complete 10 of the projects from my electronic project list (it's acceptable to add something to the list just to cross it off).
4. Declutter and reorganize Pinterest boards.  At the beginning of the year, I had over 1600 pins in 90 boards.  It's too much.  I'm hoping to get down to 21 reorganized boards.  Twenty-one, because it's 2021, not because I've done careful consideration and planning and decided that 21 is the number of boards I need.  
5. Declutter electronic mystery shopping receipts, photos, and screen shots.  Again.  
6. Unsubscribe from 21 email lists in the first 21 days of 2021
7. Improve my scores on all 2019 and 2020 Just Dance Extreme versions to Superstar or better.  I've been working on 2019, and I've only got one more to go.  I'm not sure where I stand on 2020.
8. Complete 12 new (to me) hikes.  Stretch goal: 21 new to me hikes
9. Complete streaks of 20 and 21 days.  The 20 day streak will lend itself nicely to a Monday through Friday goal, and the 21 day streak will work for a 7 day a week goal.
10. Send birthday cards to 12 people I don't usually send birthday cards to.
11. Walk at least 202.1 miles (hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and running count.  As if I'm going to run any miles.  Ha).
12. Plant a pine cone.
13. Go to at least one in-person flower show at the conservatory.  Stretch goal: go to all of the shows either in person or virtually.
14. Obtain a non-plastic countertop (which I will keep under the sink, because I hate countertop clutter) compost bin.  My current kitchen compost is in a repurposed plastic container, and it stinks.  The plastic picks up odors from the compost, and will not release them.  That's why I need something not-plastic.
15. Make marshmallows from scratch.
16. Make a list of 21 go-to meals that (mostly) everyone in my family likes.
17. Oil wooden spoons, bowls, and cutting board regularly.  Not sure what "regularly" means.  Once a month?  Each quarter?  Once a year?  It's too nonspecific to be an actual goal, but it's my goal, so deal with it.
18. Attempt to donate blood 6 times.  I'm saying attempt because I have a history of being rejected, and I want to make sure all of my goals are actually achievable.  If I successfully donate 6 times this year I'll earn my gallon pin, which should actually be a 2 gallon pin, but I took a long enough break in between that they stopped keeping track of my past donations.
19. Volunteer not-at-home at least 12 times this year (I was going to say once a month, but since volunteering is a little more difficult for me in the summer, and I've already volunteered more than once this year, I went with 12 times).
20. Grow paperwhites.  These are the little white flowers that are available around Christmas time when the amaryllis bulbs are in stores.
21. Create a new goal.

Hey, look at that, friends.  I did it.  I listed 21 goals to accomplish in 2021  :)

Stay tuned, because next I'll update you on the 2020 goals I accomplished after I finished the first 20.  Does that seem a little out of order to you?  It's fine.  Don't worry about it.

Have you set any goals for this year?  Let me know in the comments!

Menu plan for the week of February 1

I bought a mini waffle maker.  I bought it, partly because I'm a sucker for anything mini and cute, and partly because I wanted to bulk cook waffles to freeze for future consumption.  I've tried, a couple of times, to make and freeze waffles for my people to eat in the future, but they never really liked to eat them.  I thought it was kind of weird that they wouldn't eat the frozen waffles.  They love waffles.  And they eat Eggos, which are frozen waffles.  They love Eggos.  What's the difference?

I suspected that the shape was the difference.  My regular waffle maker makes round waffles that are about 8 inches in diameter, and scored into four wedges.  Wedges don't sit in a toaster neatly.  Eggos are round.  Circles sit in a toaster symmetrically.  I know.  Why would that make a difference?  Yeah.  I don't know.  But tell that to my kiddos.

So I took the risk, and I bought the mini waffle maker.  And it worked--the people liked, and ate, the frozen waffles.  Now, about once a week, I make a batch of waffles in the mini waffle maker, flash freeze, and the people eat them throughout the week.  It's cheaper than Eggos, the people like them, and my waffles have fewer ingredients than Eggos.  Win-win-win.

I also make other foods for the people to eat, and mostly they do.  Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Chicken enchilada soup, tortilla chips
• Tacos
• Spaghetti, oven roasted green beans, garlic toast
• Fend for yourself
• Pizza
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, chips, carrots
• Baked bone-in chicken breast, mixed veggies, oven roasted potatoes

Other:

• Lemon-chia friendship muffins
• Bacon Jalapeno Cheeseburger Casserole
• Copycat thin mint cookies
• No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Menu plan for the week of January 25

 Hi friends.

Let's just ignore the fact that I've only published one post in the past (almost) three months and pick up where we left off, shall we?  M'kay?

For as long as I can remember, I have written my grocery list in the order in which I will encounter the items in the store.  I don't know if this habit is something I picked up from my mom, or if I came upon it in some other way, but I do feel like it saves some time while I'm shopping.  

Generally, putting a list in store order means produce first, followed by dry goods and bread, then meat, dairy, frozen.  At my regular grocery store, though, which is Aldi, it's dry goods, dairy, more dry goods, even more dry goods, produce, meat, bread, frozen, and yet more dry goods.  

The problem is, I will occasionally go to an Aldi that is not my regular Aldi.  And even though it's the same brand, it will be laid out differently.  It throws me off, and I miss things.  Tomorrow will be one of those days, when I'll be going to not-my-regular store.  Wish me luck!

Regardless of the store layout, the people around here still want to eat, like, every day, and so here's what I plan to feed them.

Supper:

• Fend for yourself (we're not starting out very strong, are we?)
• Bowtie pasta (except it's going to be rotini because I want to use it up) with Italian sausage in cream sauce, broccoli
• Chicken fajita pasta (using up the egg noodles in this one), carrots
• Leftovers
• Slowcooker Italian beef with rolls and shredded mozzarella, mixed veggies
• Hamburgers with or without buns, jello, chips, grilled or roasted veggie (whatever looks good when I go to the grocery store)
• Cilantro lime chicken with avocado salsa, grilled or roasted veggie (maybe the same as the day before, maybe different.  Time will tell)

Other:

• Chex mix (I make it in the microwave, so I don't have to babysit the oven for an hour)
• Crustless quiche with bacon and cheese
• Some kind of eggs with breakfast sausage in them (maybe this?)
• Muffins?  Maybe zucchini, because we've got some shredded zucchini in the freezer.

Menu plan for the week of December 7 (and cookie plan!)

 I have a turkey carcass in my freezer, as one does.  I saved it to make turkey stock, because I used the last of our turkey stock about a month ago.  But I'm not feeling the turkey stock making vibe these days.  To be honest, I'm not feeling any kind of vibe these days, including, as you could probably tell from the lack thereof, menu planning vibes.  November and December are hard for me.  

So, the turkey carcass sits in the freezer, and I feel guilty about the general lack of interest in doing anything.  Which, in turn, leads to even less interest in anything at all.  Bah.

But...as you may have noticed, I am doing something now, that is, sharing my menu plan.  So I guess that's something.  I've been through this particular ebb enough times to know that the flow will begin again soon(ish).  

Still no vibes, though.

Here goes:

Supper:

• Beef stroganoff, corn, applesauce
• Tacos
• Spaghetti, garlic toast, some kind of vegetable
• Mexican cauli-rice, broccoli
• Pizza, salad
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, chips, carrots

No "other" this week, because that menu plan up there was hard enough.  Practically heroic.  But I will share the Christmas cookies and other treats for which we have ingredients in the house.  I mean, the potential is there.  We'll see.

• Sugar cookies--I'm thinking about decorating these using royal icing, which I am sane enough to realize is delusional.  But not sane enough to realize that it's ok to not decorate these (as yet nonexistent) cookies.
• Snickerdoodles--Still not a Christmas cookie, in my opinion.  This here cookie is an anytime cookie.
• Oreo truffles
• Marshmallow star cookies--Hubby thought these had pretzels in them.  He had me almost convinced, too.  But they do not.  Which makes me feel defeated.  Which is not rational.  
• Oreo snowmen & Nutter butter reindeer--these are season-neutral enough that I feel good about the very real possibility that these will be pushed into January.  Well, not good.  Certainly not good.  But ok.  Ok-ish.  Ok-ish should totally be a word.

Cricut brag post

It's been a while since I've done a Cricut brag post.  The last one was in May.  And even though May was a long time ago, both in actual time and in perceived time, I was still surprised at how many projects I've completed since then.  It feels like I've been doing a whole lot of nothing during these past 5 months, but apparently, that's not quite true.

Here they are, in reverse chronological order (not including a couple of Christmas items, which I'll include in a special Christmas Cricut brag post.  Maybe.  If I get to it).

One of my friends saw my box, which sits on our fireplace with flowers in it, and asked if I'd make her one.  So I did.

We've had a lost sock basket in our laundry room for ages.  About a month ago, I decided the lost sock basket needed a pun (it was an actual basket before I realized it needed a pun.  Now it's a bin).

I made some masks and personalized them.  I was intending to make an AZD mask for Hubby, but he did not cooperate.  So AKD got a Husky mask instead.

And the Wisconsin mask was too small for its intended owner, so off to the thrift store it went.

Did I tell you about AKD's summer job situation?  Yeah.  It was pretty crazy.  Eventually, the school district opened the pool for swim lessons and AKD ended up there for the last 4 weeks of summer.  The staff gave this shirt to their boss.  That's a coronavirus inside the cross.

This was a commissioned sign for a hairdresser.  Last I heard, it was supposed to be a Christmas gift.  I wonder if the giver has been/will be able to wait that long.

My brother in law said this one time.  So I made him a sign.  I thought it was clever.  No comment from him.  I'm working on one for myself, but I'm having trouble deciding if I want it to be horizontal or vertical. 

Did you know that all of my parents' and my husband's parents' grandchildren are boys?  Yes, it's true.  Know what else is true?  Boys are wildlings.  So, of course, when I saw this sign, I had to make three: one for me and one for each of my sisters in law.

This is my biggest sign to date--a commission for a friend to give as a gift.  Through some combination of luck an magic, I managed to get the decal on straight.  I also made smaller versions of this sign for two friends.

Another commission.  This was a fun one.

This sign is for a guest bedroom.  I love the sentiment.

I made this one for my friend's RV, to which she and her wife loving refer as the "Bird Mobile."  My friend had this picture made into a garden flag to hang in their campsites, which I thought was an amazing idea.

Another commission.  A loving gift from mother to son.

As you can see, I made three of these.  The red one was specifically requested.  The others I made for a friend who wasn't sure which color combination she preferred.  After my friend picked her favorite, I sold the other one.  

Two of them went to people who actually have broken doorbells.

AKD requested and designed this shirt, which also has a pocket graphic.  I love that AKD makes it easy for me by creating his designs and emailing them to me in a form that is easily usable in the Cricut software.  I have seventeen pictures of the back of this shirt, but not a single one of the front.  

 And that's all for now.  Hopefully that Christmas Cricut brag post will be coming soon-ish.  As always, let me know if you need me to make something for you.

Menu plan for the week of October 26

 Hi friends.  It's Sunday afternoon as I'm typing this, and I am tired.  So I think I'm gonna take a nap.  Because I can.  (I mean, hopefully I can.  There are varying degrees of can happening here).  Happy eating this week!

Supper:

• Shepherd's pie, rolls, applesauce
• Nachos, guacamole
• Chicken casserole, rolls, applesauce
• Hamburgers or hot dogs with or without buns, mashed potatoes, grilled broccoli, corn
• Pizza
• Cilantro lime chicken with avocado salsa, salad, roasted Brussels sprouts
• Grilled pork chops, whatever veggies and fruits we have on hand

Other:

• Banana muffins
• Italian cauliflower salad
• Bacon potato corn chowder

I made dirt (again)

 OK, so I didn't actually make the dirt, but I did create conditions that were favorable for entropy to do its work.  And entropy made me some beautiful dirt.

Earlier this summer, Hubby and the boys built a new compost bin for me.  I stopped adding to the bin on the right about a month ago, in anticipation of being able to harvest some compost for the garden this fall.  At the same time, I started a new pile on the left.  The pile is mostly chicken bedding and droppings along with our kitchen scraps.  This time of year, I'm adding fallen leaves as well.

To harvest the compost, I throw a couple of shovels full from the pile into the compost screen.  The screen filters out the largest chunks and bits that are not yet decomposed, which I dump back into the new pile.  Upon giving the screen a good shake, the compost falls into the wheelbarrow.  Speaking of my wheelbarrow, isn't it lovely?  AKD found it on the side of the road this summer.  For free.  And it's pink!  It was meant to be.

Look at that beautiful dirt!  I am just so tickled that time can take literal garbage, and turn it into something useful and nurturing.  It's so easy.  I don't even worry about ratios of brown and green components or moisture or temperature.  I do wish I had an easier way to turn the pile than shoveling it, but because I don't have an easier way to turn the pile, I don't worry about that, either.  I just pile it up and let it go.  

I mean, you can see the inspirational life lesson in this, right?  Please say yes, because I don't have the energy right now to spell it out for you.  OK.  Twist my arm.  Here's the abbreviated version: pile up your metaphorical garbage and let it go.  Something beautiful will result.

This garbage-turned-dirt will nurture my family next summer by providing nutrients to the plants we will grow and eat.  This is recycling at its best, and it is so very satisfying.

I'm always a little sad when I pull the plants out of the garden at the end of the season. There's so much hope and potential in a garden, and pulling out the remains of the plants feels sad.  But this year, it was a little easier, because I knew that after the plants were gone I would be adding some of that beautiful compost.  And I know that next year will be beautiful because I let this year's garbage go.

Menu plan for the week of October 19

 Guess what happened!  I made this quiche.  And when I baked it at the specified temperature for the specified time, it was actually done.  That (almost) never happens (I mean, I can't say it never happens anymore, because it did happen).  For some reason eggs and pork take way longer in our oven than recipes indicate.  

I've learned to live with the uncertainty--knowing that it will take longer, but not how much longer.  Now?  I can't even be sure it'll take longer anymore.  How can you plan for that?

Reminds me of another thing I/we are all uncertain about right now.

One thing that I can be certain of is that my family will want to eat things.

Here's what's on the menu this week.

Supper:

• Mini cheeseburgers (if you want buns for your cheeseburgers, which Bubby does, hot dog buns cut into thirds work great), brown rice, mixed veggies
• Italian sausage sheet pan meal, applesauce
• Breakfast sandwiches, fresh fruit
• Fend for yourself
• Hot dogs and brats, buns, chips, carrots
• Peppered steak with portobello mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus
• Grilled chicken caesar salad (we use ranch instead of caesar dressing), garlic toast, salad, carrots

Other:

• Rolls
• Cookies--I've been wanting oatmeal chocolate chip, but since I like them much better than anyone else in the fam, it's dangerous for me to make them.  So it'll probably end up being snickerdoodles or sugar cookies
• Banana muffins