My W's This Week

   

      Rainy earlier in week and a bit frosty this morning and a mix of all seasons for the weekend. That's my weather report to start my weekly wrap up of W's. It's a good weekend ahead for some outdoor time, and hunkering down to continue with my purging and organizing projects. I say it plural as each room and space is a beast of its own. I'd like to hear from all of you so play along if you'd like. 

What's top of mind:  As I said, the house is still on my mind but slowly things are shaping up. It's always worse at first with pulling things out from where they've been hid. I  didn't get nearly as much done before today as hoped, but I'm farther than had if I had not started. I'll try to keep that attitude. Really though, top of mind is the college kid. My kiddo is expected home about 6:00. She'll have someplace to crash for the week so that's something. She already told me she has some sort of school project to complete, likely see her friends both weekends, and we'll both provide a little TLC to her sister. Mostly, it's going to be a true relaxing week-a break from her 17 credits, two choirs, and three part time jobs! I'm very proud of hard she works. 

Where I've been: Last weekend I hunkered down other than the movie theater with DH. I didn't go to a single store, restaurant, anywhere. DH had suggested dinner out both Friday and Saturday, but  I was both gross and tired from what I had done so far, so we stayed home. I also was not feeling more restaurant meals. 

Where I'm going:  I'm working on and off day today so I'll run to get a few groceries. She's requested curry and while I'm getting all the vegetables prepped for that, I'll make a sort of pot pie for DH who doesn't like the curry flavors, but everything else he does. Like my work day, my week is going to be a mix of vacation and work time, plus some scheduled sick time for DD1. I'm fortunate we can use time for our immediate family-through parent in-laws and grandparents. I'll need to check if siblings are included, as in the future, I can see that being a need. At some point in the week, as she feels up to it, I'd like to go visit my cousin and bring her some treats. 

What I'm reading: After finishing Where the Crawdad Sings, I'm on a massive wait list for the next book, The Firekeepers Daughter. I could get the CD version, but not sure we even have a working CD player anymore! When purging, I pulled out m three volumes of  The Tightwad Gazette books for a bit of a poke through, but not really reading them. My youngest has an incredible book collection and I'm hoping she both culls some, but minimally , organizes them onto her books shelf rather than the stacks everywhere. It's hard to convince book people that they do not need to own all the books. For her, her job in the library is a gift. Being surrounded by books is to her, like being surrounded with a warm blanket on a cold day. The sight and smell of the volumes on the shelves relax and calm her, soaking up part of her stress. 

What I'm listening to: I still have not found my pod cast library that I saved, but on one of my down days, hope to try and recreate it. I've listened to a few conference key note speakers-pretty much all conferences are still virtual, so most are recording portions. The other day it was the speaker from a  Pre-Natal to Age Three symposium that I streamed while doing some Excel spread sheet work. 

What I've been watching: I've put a bit of a pause on the Finish show-it was getting too depressing and haven't picked up Finding Alice again yet. I broke the last Harry Potter movie down into chunks on the weekend and watched that, but otherwise, I've only watched a bit of sports, a bit of the news, and parts of  Wheel of Fortune. Oh, and while I was doing some kitchen purging, I had YouTube on in the background-so that should have been in the listening section.

What I'm eating: Do I dare go here again? Well, no new challenge this week after Sunday's chili and grilled cheese. We had  Brats, sauerkraut, and homemade air fryer French Fries one night, and leftovers last night.  I made a tasty cashew chicken stir fry made with, as Kim calls them, one ingredient foods, though I guess soy sauce, sesame oil, and the little packets of chili sauce used to bring out a bit more flavor probably are more. DH loved it. I had  a big tub of cashews from summer, and threw a cup in with the chicken as an after thought, but that was DH's favorite part. Admittedly, I cheated by using a frozen  steamer bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. The chili sauce was left from frozen egg rolls or a past take out-not sure which. If the chicken had been what I normally spend on boneless, skinless chicken, this might have been a $3 meal, without the flaws. I am so pleased we bought the huge basmati rice bag-I like it so much more than just long grain white rice. I made extra so I could use with a chick pea masala for lunch over a couple of days. 

Who I'm paying attention to: Some local Facebook moderators put a pause on allowing any candidate campaigning on the local community page. Thank goodness as it was getting a bit nasty for the school board race. You all don't live in my community I'm assuming, so I'll spare too many details, but clearly three candidates and their fans have no real understanding about how a school system is required to work, where a school board has oversight and where they do not, and the mechanisms for making decisions and creating change within the parameters of authority. They seem to just think they can come in and radically make change happen because "it's not working now." They cherry pick phrases from the national  conversation, but have nothing in their platform of substance, and answer questions with, 'the school board needs new thoughts and perspectives." Do they share those thoughts and perspectives? Not that I've seen. The statement all politics are local is true, starting with school boards. Whether you have kids in school or not, pay attention. Schools are a reflection of communities.

Who needs to be (figuratively) slapped: People who have barking dogs, which happens, but instead of coming to get them to calm them down, or take them back inside, they stand and scream at the dogs! I'd rather hear the dog bark than their yell. We've got  neighbors, nice family, but have two big  lab mixes that go bananas when they see another dog when they are outside. They have the invisible fencing so they do not run off. Well, they back up to the park as well, so of course, the dogs are going to see a lot of other dogs when they are outside. Twice this week, S just stood on their back deck and called, more  yelled, for them for  the entire time it took me to walk through the park and back out to the road with pup. There's another neighbor I hear every morning scream "shut up". Maybe they're not the owner and it is another  neighbor. 

What's Making Me Smile:  You all make me smile again. Next time I have a visceral comment, I'll just leave it alone and ignore, but I appreciate the positive words from so many of you. The experience, pun intended, did give me food for thought! 

     I've got DD2's bedding in the wash now. I hope it stays dry and can put it out on the line for the bulk of the day, though might have to finish in the dryer.  She can decide if she wants to stay in the extra room or her room. It would be easier in the extra room if we want to keep working on getting her room purged, but she likes her soft comfy bed. That's what I have this Friday, just one more before October closes.