October - 30 Things To Do This Month - How I Did!

I really needed a good list last month because I had a lot to get accomplished.  There were only two things on the list I didn't get done.  One of them I'll get done this month for sure and that will be to make salsa.  The other one will probably take a crazed moment of motivation. 

As I got each thing done I marked it off the list by highlighting it: 

1.             Replace weather stripping around front door

2.            Purchase electric oil filled heater

3.            Shift clothing - pull out winter clothes and store summer items

4.            Take a bag of donations into the thrift store

5.            Family Game Night

6.            Invite company for dinner

7.            Start Christmas letter

8.            Finalize Christmas card list

9.            Purchase winter water line - use gift card

10.         Finalize Christmas gift list

11.          List items to sell on Etsy I hand stitched two embroidered items.

12.         List items to sell on eBay

13.         Make two gifts

14.         Sew, knit or crochet something Mended a shirt and started an embroidery project

15.         Family Movie Night Star Trek Generations & First Contact

16.         Try a new recipe Chinese Chicken & Cabbage

17.         Make labels to mail Christmas cards

18.         Make return address labels

19.         Vacuum & clean inside of truck I didn't do it because - gasp! - I didn't want too.

20.        Order girl's birthday gifts - Amazon

21.         Super clean & organize bathroom Took about 15 minutes!

22.        Make a batch of salsa Still need to do this.  I have everything I need gathered up.

23.        Make a batch of apple butter

24.        Take the girls out to lunch We went to breakfast instead.

25.        Write a letter to someone

26.        Send a greeting card to someone Sent four!

27.        Make soup from scratch

28.        Take the girls to the library

29.        Flush the holding tank

30.        Bake something delicious Brownies, banana bread & muffins 

In addition to the things on this list there were other things too, like getting the girls outfitted for Halloween, flushing the holding tank on our RV (eeew!), fixing a small leak where the awning attaches to the RV (new bolts, silicone and a friend with a ladder required), hunting up some supplemental income sources and of course the daily grind. 

 

Friends with ladders are a very good thing.

 

Although I didn’t get everything accomplished I am pretty darned happy with what I did.  Now what spectacular feats can I perform in November?

Here It Is!

 

Order Your Copy Now!

Diane is a shy, introverted, young woman grappling with the pressures of being a college student and living away from home for the very first time.  While struggling to keep up with her studies her life is further complicated with self esteem issues, complex family situations and her lifelong desire to simply fall in love.  In a short period of time two remarkable events take place that dramatically change the course of her life forever altering the way she sees herself and the world she lives in.  

Enter William, a handsome, charismatic and somewhat mysterious young man who quickly captures her heart.  At long last she finally has a boyfriend, but something seems amiss, peculiar even.  Traumatizing events from her childhood are brought to the forefront as she learns about his highly improbable and nefarious past.  

Together they learn to deal with the demons of their pasts while building a future together.  Along the way they further discover that world events, ever changing family dynamics and the complicated lives of their friends can make their own problems seem rather trivial.  That is, until someone from William's past makes an unexpected visit that could change everything.

 



Three Months In

The view out our front door.

So far, so good.  Other than the usual housekeeping I haven't had to do too much.  There was, of course, the big flush job I did to the holding tank.  Since then I have added some enzymes and good bacteria to our tank to keep things flowing smoothly and the sensor clear and operational. 

I replaced our warm weather water line with our new winter water line.  It is insulated and heated.  It was also expensive at $105 with my Good Sam's discount at Camping World.  I did check around online quite a bit and found this was the best price.  I had a $25 gift card given to me by the salesman when I bought the RV so I used that to help offset the cost. 

Our last tank of propane lasted five weeks.  I refilled it and now it is ready to go when the other one runs out. 

I made space and picked up my much loved bread machine from my friend's house where it was being stored.  Now we can enjoy homemade bread, pizza, rolls, and cinnamon rolls whenever we wish.  The girls are thrilled about this. 

I am relearning how to grocery shop and keep my fridge and pantry full.  Learning how to organize ad stock the pantry has been a bit of trial and error. Especially after dropping canned goods on my feet a few times.  It has taken a bit of an adjustment but I'm getting there.  Finally. 

Our cute little ironing board.

Cooking has been a breeze.  I half expected to come up against a few issues but so far I find I can fix anything I want with a little careful planning.  The key is simplicity.  Patience helps too. 

I am further impressed by the teamwork we continue to exhibit.  We all help each other get beds changed, laundry done, housework finished and the cooking.  Without really thinking about it we've adapted well to getting out of the way when someone needs to pass by. 

We even managed to weather our first round of family illness.  We all came down with head colds a couple of days apart.  Fortunately none of them lasted very long and although we all felt crummy at first no one missed any school or work.  We did go through a lot of tissues, however. 

Managing the single bathroom has gone well also.  Our old home had two so we were a little spoiled.  More than once someone has needed to make an allowance for someone else to wee while they were in the shower.  I think that happens in most one bath households.  Isn't that why they make opaque shower curtains? 

And lastly, if our precocious kitty Stella would be kind enough to close the bathroom door behind her after barging in on us we would be ever so grateful.  What is it with kitties figuring out how to open the bathroom door?

I just love her when she is sleeping!
 

 

Next Week's Meal Plan

 

Even with a tiny kitchen I can whip up a great meal.  Nothing is better than sitting down together as a family to eat a nourishing and delicious dinner.  So this what I have planned for our dining pleasure next week. 

Sunday – Chicken & Dumplings, Garden Salad

Monday – Asian Noodle Soup, Garden Salad

Tuesday – Cheese & Bell Pepper Quesadillas, Seasoned Rice

Wednesday – Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche, Fruit

Thursday – Spaghetti, Green Beans

Friday – Pork Fried Rice, Egg Drop Soup

Saturday – Leftover Buffet, Pizza or Dine Out 

School Lunches: 

Monday: - Chicken & Dumplings

Tuesday - Soup

Wednesday - Quesadillas

Thursday - PB & Apple Butter Sandwich

Friday - Spaghetti 

What delicious items made it on your menu this week?

I Am So Excited!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. 

This year I wrote a romance novel.  It has been a project I have worked long and hard on.  To be honest, having this project going is really what has kept me sane, especially during those grueling summer months when we weren't sure what the heck was going on.  Throughout everything, it has been my one constant. 

Surprisingly. as I finished the book I began to get a little sad and depressed.  I was amazed when I began to feel like I was about to break up with someone I was in love with.  It's funny how you get attached to your characters and the story that surrounds them. 

Then came the grueling process of proofreading and editing.  It didn't take long to  pull myself out of it.  At his point it became less of an emotional thing and was now more of a task that just needed to be done.  I have been a nervous wreck ever since I submitted it for publishing.  Completely wired. 

Last night I received word that my book is going to be published!  Who hoooo!  I am so excited! 

I was awake at 3:00 a.m. this morning with my mind going a million miles an hour.  Nothing else I could do but get up and start building a facebook page for the book.  Going back to sleep wasn't happening. 

Even though the book is completed and going to publish there is still so much to do.  As soon as it is ready I will let you know more - like the title, what it's about, where you can buy a copy (if you're interested in doing that), how to access the facebook page and stuff like that. 

Oh my gosh!  I did it, I did it, I did it!

Last Week’s Thrifty Moves

Pumpkin ready to bake in the slow cooker.

Sunday the girls and I spent the afternoon playing Dominoes and Uno. 

I reorganized my kitchen and made room to set up my beloved bread machine.  Yee haw! 

I had a speckled banana and used it to make Double Chocolate Banana Bread.  My girls were thrilled when they got home from school and got a big slice of that for a snack. 

I wasted no time and baked up my little pumpkin that the youngest won for me.  I quartered it, scraped out the innards and put it in my medium sized slow cooker on high for three hours.  It was simple to scrape off the soft flesh from the rind.  I used my mixer on high with the liquid that had collected in the bottom of the cooker to make it the right consistency.  Pie anyone?! 

We gave the pumpkin guts and rind to the neighbors chickens. 

I listed and sold items on eBay this week and made more than enough to cover our power bill, groceries for the month, and another bill.  Yay! 

I listed two more items for sale in my Etsy store. 

I came across some killer deals at the neighborhood grocery store so I started my November grocery shopping a little early.  As a result I am filling the pantry and freezer quite nicely and have even managed to stockpile a few things we use a lot.  For some reason I always feel better having a little bit of a stockpile.  I find a lot of comfort in that. 

We currently have two lotion bottles positioned upside down so we can manage to get every little bit out of them.  I also used a pencil to smooth the toothpaste tube and push all the paste toward the top of the tube.  I then folded up the flat part and secured it with a big paper clip. 

Instead of purchasing trick-or-treat bags, which were only $1 a piece, we used our re-usable grocery bags and saved the two bucks. 

We watched a few educational programs on Youtube and our favorite shows on Hulu for free. 

How did you your thrifty week go?

My Favorite Baking Powder Biscuits - Great Grandma's Recipe

 

Every time I went to visit my grandmother I would pour through her cookbooks and write down recipes I wanted to try.  As I did she would often share some little remembrances about a certain recipe.  Little snippets of my family history.  When my grandmother passed away in 1999 I inherited her collection of cookbooks and recipes. 

Traditions are celebrated with food, as we all know, which makes them rather special.  We have a long list of things we make and serve to celebrate certain occasions.  But every day foods, in particular the biscuit, are special in their own right.  Especially when they are golden, light and fluffy and downright delicious. 

My re-creation.

My grandmother had her mother's recipes and cookbooks, which I also inherited as part of her collection.  In fact, my most favorite cookbook belonged to her.  It was so old and well used that I photo copied every page and fit it into a new binder full of page protectors.  The original is put away for safekeeping.  This cookbook is the one I use the most.  It also holds the biscuit recipe. 

Baking Powder Biscuits 

2 cups flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter, shortening or lard

1 cup milk 

Place flour, baking powder and salt into large mixing bowl.  Whisk together with a fork.  Using back of the fork cut butter into flour thoroughly, until it resembles coarse meal.  Add milk and stir to just to combine.  Scrape dough onto well floured board.  Knead lightly with flour until dough is no longer sticky and you can easily pat out a circle about 3/4 of an inch thick.  Use round cutter or glass dipped in flour to cut out biscuits. 

Place on lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake at 400° for 15 to 18 minutes until tops are golden brown.  Do not over bake. 

Once fat is worked in flour should look like this.

Dough will be sticky so start with ample amount of flour
on your board.  I dump out a 1/4 cup.

Knead it just enough until you can pat out a nice thick circle.

Placed in a lightly oiled pan and ready for a hot oven.

Ready for butter and jam!

 

My grandmother told me that when times were tough, as they often were when she was young, and they had no butter they would spread bacon grease on their biscuits.  It didn't sound too appetizing to me but she insisted that it tasted pretty good when you were hungry.  I imagine so.