Cabin Fever & other end of February Happenings

Greetings

We woke up to the coldest temperature of the year & perhaps it will even be the coldest of the entire year.  January's winter was the mildest we've had in the 4 years we've lived here, according to the electric bill, then February gave us this.

A very cold morning.

Grandkids

My daughter & I both like to do cooking activities with the Grands.  This one makes good french toast & spaghetti.  He has a new grilled cheese & over easy egg sandwich that I'm excited for him to make for me.  Over easy being my favorite way to eat eggs.

Each Grand made their own heart shape 
pizza on Valentines Day.

Cooking

I experimented with cooking grouse breast in the crockpot with gravy for supper.  Kevin usually hammers out that meat & fries/sautés it to have for breakfast with eggs.  The grouse came out of the crockpot tender & tasty.  I cooked green beans in the pressure cooker & oven roasted summer & zucchini squash to go with the meat.  The beans & squash were put up out of our garden.  Green beans are a vegetable I like & they don't have many calories so, I can eat as many of those as I want to.

We usually use 8 1/2 inch salad/lunch plates to help with the 

eating of smaller portions.  The plate is full but smaller, rather

than 10 inch dinner plates.

I found a couple of recipes I would like to try that uses yeast.  I've never cooked with yeast.  The word yeast in cooking sounds scary to me.  The ladies giving the step by step instructions with pictures for the recipes makes it look less scary.  I would like to try making these cinnamon & orange rolls & these butternut squash rolls.

Gardening

Still waiting to get the seeds in the ground.  We both kept looking out the window to see if it's time to plant yet.  We've looked through the seed packets in the basket several times to see what we've got.

Tree across the street while the snow 
was coming down.

Cleaning

I added to the box going to Good Will & sent it out.  I got our income taxes completed & sent on their way.  I got back to my cleaning routine.  Not that I do spick & span cleaning.  It's to do something extra in the room other than just tidying such as vacuuming, dusting, wiping or scrubbing.

• Monday - Living Room
• Tuesday - Read Mail, Pay Bills, Balance Check Book, Grocery Shop & Errands
• Wednesday - Bedroom
• Thursday - Kitchen
• Friday - Bathroom 
  

I switched Tuesday & Thursday so, I could grocery shop on Tuesday to have a better chance to get the sale items before they are sold out.   March will be spring cleaning, doing things such as washing the shower curtain & all the bed covers.

Taking a walk to the park & around town during lunch break to get in extra

 walking exercise & to get some sunshine.  The grasses were nice to look at
 along with the ornamental crab apples still hanging in the trees. 

Health & Weight Maintenance

My goal this month to not eat any snacks after supper went good overall, though I did eat several bowls of popcorn during Lions Club bingo.  I did snack after supper several times for different reasons but it was not every night like the bad habit routine I had started getting back into.  I'm going to continue my goal of not snacking after supper though March in attempts to make it a habit.

I've suffered cabin fever & PLOM (Poor Little Ole Me) a time or 2 or 29 this month.  When the episodes occur, I try to keep thinking positive thoughts that it will pass & it does within hours or by the next day.  During the time my winter blues are taking place, it feels never ending.  Some things I do when I realize I've spiraled into a mild winter depression is unplug from electronics & social media other than quickly looking on Facebook to see new pictures of the Grands.  I get my mind busy doing things such as reading in a book, watching TV or taking a walk outside.  Also making a to-do list & doing the things on the list helps.  What I try really hard not to do is whine to my daughter or moma or life-long friend but, sometimes that is what happens.

I did some heavy lifting & moving furniture around at work then I wonder why I have sciatic leg pain.  I read that putting a pillow behind the back while sitting helps support the back & keep it straight or something like that.  I've been putting a pillow behind my back while sitting on the couch reading & it helped, until the heavy lifting & moving of furniture happened.

Over the hill & through the field walking to work I go.

Frugality, Saving & Spending

I spent $18.65 at the grocery store.  The fruit special was grapes, but the grapes were not marked as being on sale so, I got a couple of apples & some bananas instead.  I got a bag of all purpose flour that was on sale.  The flour was on my list & I thought I had checked the pantry.  When putting the groceries away, I realized I already had a bag of that flour unopened.  I decided it would be a good time to make a batch of rhubarb muffins since there was plenty of all purpose flour in the pantry & rhubarb in the freezer that needed to be used up.  Since the oven would be hot, I thought I would go ahead & make 2 batches of muffins while I was at it.  I got the ingredients out & realized there was not enough brown sugar for 2 batches.  I went ahead & made 1 batch of the muffins.  A day or 2 later I got the brown sugar & made the other batch while I was still in the muffin making mood.  We ate some of the muffins & the rest went in the freezer for later.  

            

              Ingredients for rhubarb muffins.

Made 45 muffins.

My total spending at the grocery store this month was $104.47.  I got chex mix to munch on while traveling to my daughter's so, I won't have to buy airport foods.  Frozen pizza's were on sale for $1 each.  I got some of those for times when we need something fast or just don't want to cook for whatever reason.

I made another order online from Walmart & had the stuff sent to my daughter.  Things that I'll be using there during my visit & also to help her out a little as a consolation prize for having to put up with me.  I got things such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, dishwasher tablets & of course some special snacks for the Grands.  I also sent money to help with groceries while I'm there (On vacation drinking lots of coffee & eating lots of popcorn.) & since we're planning to host a cookout & have family & friends over.

I walked to work the days I worked in town.  I had to fill up my car with gas a couple of times due to working out of town a couple days each week.  I get reimbursed for that driving time.  I took all the food & drinks I needed while working so, I didn't spend any money on snacks or eating out for lunch that is until those malted milk balls started calling out my name over & over & over then the girl scouts came by selling their cookies.   I ate some of the malts. The leftovers will travel with me & go to the Grands.  We ate some of the cookies for our Sunday afternoon picnic.  I put the others away to have on our next several picnics.

Saw lots of random cows along the side of the road on my drive to work.

The cows didn't seem to mind the snow collecting on their back.

Social & Community Service Activities

Kevin & I went to the Lions Club regular scheduled 2nd meeting of the month with supper provided.  A few things the club has coming up in the spring is the Happy Day Award fundraiser & roadside trash pick up.  Also talked about during the meeting was the fire department's upcoming annual St Patrick's Day Pancake Supper fundraiser that is held in the Lions building.  I'm looking forward to having one of their big green pancakes for supper that night.  The women chatted after the meeting while cleaning up the kitchen & washing dishes.  The men chatted after the meeting while playing cards.  

Other Activities

I worked on the Farm Life puzzle I started.  I read some more in the 2 books I'm reading, By the Shores of Silver Lake & The Little House Cookbook.  I searched for words in my giant word search book.  I read blogs & organized pictures on the computer.  Kevin & I watched more episodes of Roseanne along with Grace Under Fire on Vudu.  We watched more episodes of Medicine Woman on DVD.

Sunday afternoon 4-wheeler riding, hiking & picnicing in the hills.  

We saw several bald eagles flying.  Kevin wondered if it was their 

mating season.

Mustard & other mid February Happenings

Greetings

Winter weather was back.  We got a little snow.  Then we got a little more snow.  Then there was lots of snow that had to be moved.  I got my spring haircut & felt like I lost at least 5 pounds of hair.  I got my favorite candy for Valentines day, Bridge Mix.

The snowplow up ahead clearing my path as I drive to work.

Grandkids

The Grands got some winter weather at their house too.  They had a good time playing outside & getting their Valentine boxes made.

         

Cooking

Kevin made our Sunday Snowday chocolate gravy & I made the biscuits.  We had leftovers for several days of breakfasts.  We mostly make the chocolate gravy on Sundays when it snows.  I roasted some carrots to go with the last of the cowboy beans & hotdogs.  I had cut up the carrots for us to nibble on raw for lunches & snacks.  We weren't eating them much.  We gobbled the roasted ones up in no time.

I dipped them in ketchup & ranch dressing.  Both dips were good

along with just eating them plain.

Gardening

The garden got a another good saturation of snow.  Hopefully that will help get more moisture down deep in the dirt.

Kevin worked on moving snow at home, work & for others
most the weekend so, we didn't get to go on a hiking adventure.

Cleaning

I vacuumed downstairs after the putting away of the Christmas totes & the cleaning up of the extra bedroom had been done.  Also there was little lents & strings all around on the floor from the shaking out of laundry that was hung on the clothesline to dry.  I also started filling a box that will be sent to Good Will.  

Who is not fascinated with icicles?

Health & Weight Maintenance

I stretched & walked in the house most every morning.  I walked to work most days then walked some extra during breaks & lunch.  I walked up & down the stairs extra times while cleaning & also just to be doing to get in more walking exercise.  My sciatic nerve was still giving me some leg pain so, I treaded easily while still trying to keep up my routine.  

I might have ate cookies for a snack after supper even though my goal for this month was to not eat any snacks after supper.  Kevin brought home some leftover homemade cookies from work.  We couldn't let the cookies go to waste, now could we?  

Kevin gets cramps in his legs quite often.  He said he had read to take a spoonful of mustard & the cramps would be gone instantly.  Now, he is not a mustard eater, none at all.  The time came that he got cramps, in both legs at the same time.  The pain just would not ease up.  He decided to try the mustard thing.  He ate a spoonful, smacked his tongue several times getting rid of the taste then said the cramps were gone.  We both were wondering how it worked.  I searched online & this is what I found -  How does a teaspoon of mustard cure muscle cramps.  You can click on that link if you're interested in reading about how it works.  

Looking out the dinning room window while doing my

stretching & walking & up & down the stairs in the house.

Frugality, Savings & Spending

I spent $33.77 at the grocery store.  I changed my shopping day to Tuesday instead of Thursday so, I would have a better opportunity to get sale items before they were all sold out.  I was able to get everything on my list & got only the items on my list.  I got strawberries that were the fruit special.  Also there was cereal on sale. I got a couple boxes to have for breakfast (& supper) with the strawberries.  I got cheddar dogs (Johnsonville Bratwurst) with the store's 2 week coupon.  We like to have those Bratwurst with veggies from the garden cooked on the grill in aluminum foil.  The cheddar dogs went into the freezer for later.  I got some other sale items that we liked to keep stocked with extras in the pantry such as cooking oil & granola type bars for lunches.

I got the stuff I ordered online from Walmart.  The downside to ordering can goods is, some of the cans get dented in shipping & sometimes items are missing.  I got a refund for the missing items though I would of rather had the items replaced.  I could reorder, but reordering just those items would not be enough to get the free shipping.  I didn't want to order $20 worth of more stuff that I didn't need at the time.

The toilet paper came in a huge box that I'm saving for the Grands to make a 

playhouse.  I made the Grands some balls from the long strips of paper packing 

material.  Kevin & I tossed one of the balls back & forth a few times.  It was fun!

Social & Community Service Activities

Kevin & I went to the Lions Club monthly community bingo.  I helped set up in the morning before bingo & before going to work.  I cleaned some while waiting till time for me to go to work.  I swept the floors, wiped tables & put away cups left from the littles wrestling team practice.  During bingo I took the money, kept up with the card count & helped with snacks.  Kevin was the number caller.  We both helped clean up afterwards.

Christmas/Valentine cactus blooming.

Other Activities

I completed the Holiday Stamps puzzle & there was a piece missing.  I've had that puzzle for years so, no telling where & when the piece went missing.  Kevin & both looked for several days for the missing piece & it was not found.  I started another puzzle called Farm Life.  I also finished up reading the book On The Banks Of Plum Creek & started the next book in the Little House series By The Shores Of Silver Lake.  I also started reading The Little House Cookbook.  The book has frontier foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books that I've been reading.  I plan to try some of the recipes.  I searched for words in my giant word search book.  I read blogs & organized pictures on my computer.  Kevin & I watched some more episodes of Roseanne & a movie called My Giant on Vudu.  We watched more episodes of Medicine Women on DVD.

Having a picnic out at the lake.  We got burgers & fries using a gift certificate

we got for Christmas.  We sat in the warm truck overlooking the lake, ate the 

food & talked mostly about going fishing.

Blooms & other beginning of Febuary Happenings

Greetings

The groundhog didn't see his shadow & the apple tree in the corner of our yard has buds on it.  I'm hoping these are sure signs that we're going to have an early spring this year.  I walked over to the salon to make an appointment to get my spring haircut.  There was a note on the door telling that the beautician was honeymooning, so my haircut will just have to wait a couple more weeks. 

I was surprised to see that the apple tree had buds & so did the lilac bushes.

Grandkids

These 2 are gearing up for baseball season.

Cooking

I cooked a ham roast in the crockpot.  While the juice was still hot after taking the ham out of the crockpot, Kevin wanted to cook pinto beans so, we did.  I made BBQ sandwiches with some of the ham.  Kevin fried tators & onions, that was put up from out of our garden, to go with the sandwiches for supper.  We ate ham & eggs for breakfast a couple of mornings.  We had leftover BBQ & I made us each a sandwich to take to work for lunch along with some of the beans.  Then we had ham & beans for supper. Then I made cowboy beans with leftover beans & added more beans.  Then there was that one evening we had a big chocolate ice cream sandwich from the convince store for supper.

I used Kevin's mother's recipe to make the cowboy beans.  

We were out of any kind of ground meat so, I used our 

canned antelope meat.  Delicious!  The peppers & onions

came out of the freezer put up from our garden.

Gardening

The garden is still covered with snow looking out the kitchen window.  Kevin has several different kinds of seeds drying on the counter under the window.  He saved the seeds from last year's garden with plans to replant some of the seeds when the time comes.

My Moma gave me an Amaryllis bulb for Christmas.  Kevin & I have really enjoyed watching the bulb come to life with the stalks growing & then the flowers blooming.  The flowers sure added life & color to the short days & long nights of winter.  The Christmas cactus has a few flower buds so, we'll see if this year we have a Valentine Cactus.

Cleaning

I worked on putting stuff away that had collected in the extra bedroom better called catch all-out of site-put away later room.  The stuff was mostly Legos, books, puzzles & games from when the Grands were visiting (months ago).  We also had a box of picture albums & such from the cleaning out of Kevin's parent's house after the passing of his dad so, I put those items in the closet with my other picture stuff.  I also did some other household cleaning that needs to be done routinely but not everyday such as cleaning the bathroom, changing the sheets on the bed & cleaning the inside of the microwave.

Health & Weight Maintenance

I had a couple of cokes & a couple of ice creams not depriving myself of these treats when the opportunity came up.  I did my morning stretching & walking in the house most everyday.  I walked to work most days then walked some extra during lunch & breaks.  My goal the rest of this month is to not have any snacks after supper.  

I was reading my retiree e-newsletter & read that February is American Heart Month.  Heart disease being the leading cause of death in men & women in the United States.  A good reminder for me as to why I need to keep my weight & cholesterol under control.  I remember the Valentine Court back in high school.  We students voted for  representatives from each class.  The representatives were in competition to see who could raise the most money.  They decorated jars that were placed in businesses to collect donations. The boy & girl that collected the most money was crowed Valentine king & queen.  The money collected was donated to the American Heart Association.  

Frugality, Savings & Spending

I spent $30.60 at the grocery store getting only the items on my list.  Also there was a 2-week coupon sale.  Several items I normally buy when on sale, were on sale at an even lower sale price.  I got pizzas, hotdogs & soup with the coupons.  Our favorite kind of dinner party to host is a hotdog roast so, I stocked up on hotdogs.  The pizza & soup will be quick fixes on busy days when we're too tired to cook or just simply don't want to cook.    Blackberries & raspberries were the fruit special & I wanted to got some of those, but didn't.  They had sold out the day before.  I'm changing my grocery shopping day to Tuesdays instead of Thursdays.  Monday is when the truck comes & by Tuesday the shelves are restocked & not yet sold out. Saltine crackers were on sale & those are Kevin's favorite cracker so, I got extra boxes of those.

I spent $111.16 total in January at our grocery store, shopping each week for items we needed or wanted.  We ate mostly from our pantry & freezer making meals with ingredients we had on hand.  We're going to continue doing that thru February too.  We still have lots of vegetables in the freezer that were put up from out of our garden.  Back last November when turkeys were on sale, we got 2 of them & still have 1 in the freezer.  That turkey needs cooked before summer so, the extra cooking time needed doesn't heat up the house at a time when we don't want that extra heat.  I made a list of items we have to make meals with.  We ate leftovers for several days on most the meals that were made so, we barely made a dent in the freezer.  

I made an online order from Walmart doing our spring stock-up spending $203.21.  It's about 50 miles to the nearest town that has a little more shopping other than our little grocery & hardware stores.  It's more efficient & economical for me most of the time to just order & get the free shipping.  I ordered our years supply of toilet paper.  I like the Scott brand & our grocery store doesn't have it.  I also ordered canned lunch meats for Kevin's lunches that should last till our fall stock-up.  Ordering these items in bulk saves a significant amount compared to the individual prices at our grocery store.  I also ordered peanut butter & coffee.  We like the Skippy brand peanut butter with honey.  Our grocery store doesn't have it.  This peanut butter is not the cheapest brand but it is one we really like for sandwiches & on graham crackers.  I've not ever noticed my coffee on sale at our grocery store & I was almost out so, I went ahead & got 2 jars of it while I was stocking up.  Our spring stock-up was planned for March, though we were getting low on toilet paper & canned lunch meats so, I went ahead & made the order.  I check our stock about every 6 months.  I'll stock up again around August.  The fall stock-up will probably include household items such as trash bags & personal items such as shaving cream & whatnot.     

Social & Community Service Activities

We met 2 other couples from our Lions Club at a local restaurant to work on the club's Super Bowl Board fundraiser.  Kevin & I had cokes & chocolate sundaes using the remaining amount on a gift card we were given back at Christmas.  The coke was the 1st I'd had since.... weeks. 

Our Lions Club regularly scheduled 1st meeting of the month was canceled due to some members needing to take tickets at the basketball game.  The couple I invited to the meeting for their consideration of joining the club, for our end of January service project, graciously declined.

Other Activities

We watched the last 1/2 of the Super Bowl after discovering we could watch it on the computer.  I yeahed for each team as they did something good & awhed for each team as they did something not so good.  Most folks I talked to that watched the whole game mentioned the last 1/2 was the best.  We didn't get to watch the 1/2 time show due to the live stream freezing up. I assumed so many people were watching that the internet was bogged down.

I continued working on the puzzle I've been working on.  I continued reading in the book On The Banks Of Plum Creek.  My goal is to read at least 1 chapter a day.   I searched for words in my giant word search book.  I read blogs & organized pictures on my computer.  Kevin & I have been watching Roseanne on Vudu free tv.  I watched August: Osage County & Tin Cup on Vudu.  Kevin & I also watched some more episodes of Medicine Woman on DVD.

Making progress 5 or 6 pieces at a time.

Shed hunting & taking a Sunday afternoon walk in the backyard.

My sciatic nerve had been giving me some leg pain so, I did easy

walking close to home.  I picked up some trash along the way that

had blew in.

French Bread Pizza & other end of January Happenings

Greetings

The weather gave us a few warmed up days.  Kevin & I both enjoyed our walks to work on those days.  I put a couple pieces of left over cornbread out around the birdfeeder for the birds.  I put tator peelings out in the garden.  I noticed a deer was out there munching on those peelings before I got the mashed tators made.

A beautiful frosty morning.

Grandkids

Our budding little artist.

Cooking

Kevin bought a box of individual serving size French bread frozen pizzas for a school fundraiser.  Those little pizzas were good with a cup of hot chocolate.  We split the last pizza & had it for breakfast.  Kevin cooked us eggs to go on top making it a breakfast pizza.  Kevin likes his eggs scrambled.  I like mine over easy.  We had grapes on the side.  We get whatever fresh fruit is on the weekly special at the grocery store to have with our breakfast.  I'm not a big fan of fruit but try to get in a serving most everyday.  

I made antelope steak & gravy in the crockpot.  We topped a piece of loaf bread with tators, steak & gravy then put carrots on the side. The tators & carrots were put up from out of our garden.

Very good grub if I do say so myself.

Gardening

We got our seeds in the mail, so now we wait.  The garden has held a covering of snow when areas around had melted.  Hopefully that snow will be good moisture for the garden.

Cleaning

I finally got the Christmas totes organized & put away.  I done away with 3 totes & a large box that had wrapping paper in it.  I consolidated stuff to go in fewer totes.  I put the Christmas wrapping paper rolls in a trash can that already had other occasion wrapping paper rolls in it that was stored in a closet.

I started working on Income taxes & organizing paperwork.  I also put away some uniform work clothes that I got with my uniform allowance last year but didn't need those clothes at the time.

We saw these deer while out on one of our Sunday outings.

Health & Weight Maintenance

We got the Hershey bars ate up that was left over from when the Grands were visiting, so then we were back to snacking on graham crackers & peanut butter.  

I stretched & walked in the house most every morning.  I walked to work most days & walked some extra during lunch & breaks.  Kevin & I took a hike in the hills.  While walking we saw a coyote & heard lots of others barking & howling in the distance. 

I think I've lost some weight.  My wedding band is loose & I've caught it slipping off several times.  That's right, seems I've lost weight in my finger.  Of all the places I wanted the weight to come off, it was not my fingers.  I have noticed my pants are not as tight around the waist.  I actually have been having to pull them up, so perhaps soon, very very soon I can go down a size in pants, not just yet (I tried them on), but soon.

I've been trying to be more mindful to eat smaller portions & stop eating when I feel full.  I've been drinking water & haven't had any cokes.  (We're originally from the South.  All soda/soft drinks/pop are called Coke whether it's Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Orange Crush or other.)  I haven't been eating snacks between every meal.  If I feel hungry, I drink some water.  If I still feel hungry after a short time then I do eat a little snack.  I snack on granola type bars or graham crackers & peanut butter, sometimes pretzel sticks.

A beautiful sunset one evening after work 

looking out the kitchen window.

Frugality, Savings & Spending

I spent $24.51 at the grocery store buying only one other thing that was not on my shopping list & that was pork chops.  I always keep an eye out for these chops when they are marked down.  Blueberries were the fruit special on my list.  They are one of Kevin's favorite fruits, maybe even his favorite overall.  The grocery store didn't have the blueberries as advertised in their sale paper.  Since we're eating mostly from our panty & freezer this month, we ate blueberries in our freezer put up from previous sale price specials.  I got Valentine candy & popcorn for the Grands Valentine care package.  We were almost out of peanut butter, so I got the store brand largest over $5 size jar.

Even though I saved money at the grocery store this month by eating mostly out of our pantry & freezer, January was a big spend month in other ways.  The vehicle & 4-wheeler insurance was due along with the last payment for 2019 expected income taxes.  We paid Lions Club membership dues & got our vegetable seeds for the garden.  There was medical bills to be paid after insurance paid their portion.  I had my well women check at the end of last year & had to have more blood work done to rule out aliments causing some of the numbers to be slightly above average.  The verdict is still out, though I did have a phlebotomy to see if that helps. 

I didn't have to get any gas for my car this month due to walking to work.  When I have to drive out of town to work in another office, I get reimbursed for the travel.  I took all the drinks & food I needed while working, so I didn't spend money on eating out for lunch.  I participated in the January Uber Frugal Month Challenge.  The only unplanned extras I bought this month were DVDs for the Grands.

I found this heart shaped rock on one of our hikes in the hills.

Social & Community Service Activities

Kevin & I went to the Lions Club regular scheduled 2nd meeting of the month with supper provided.  After the meeting the women washed dishes, cleaned up the kitchen & chatted.  The men played cards & chatted.  Us women finished cleaning the kitchen & the men thought we women needed to clean some more stuff, so they could play cards longer.

Our Lions Club service project was to invite someone to the next meeting to encourage & boost club membership. 

Other Activities

I continued working on the holiday postage stamps 500 piece puzzle.  I continued reading in the book On the Banks of Plum Creek.  I searched for words in my giant word search book, read blogs & organized pictures on my computer.  I'm trying to keep on top of my pictures this year, to delete the not so good ones as I download them to the computer (so far, so good).  We watched DVDs from our collection.  Several of the movie choices were Nell, Baby Mama & Monster-In-Law.  We started watching the series of Medicine Woman.

Sunday evening hike.