Hello and happy Monday beautiful Friends!
First of all, thanks again to all who entered the giveaway. I posted the winners earlier this morning - so go back and look at that post if you want to see who won.
It is freezing in the northwoods today! It was double digits below zero this morning out there. And I need to go out and run errands and go to my mammogram appointment. Brrr! I'm not sure if I'll get this post done before I need to go but I'll post it this afternoon if I don't.
How was your weekend? The update here was it was a nice mellow one for Matt & I. We went to our usual Saturday mass and went out for dinner. We did things around the house. But we also went out to my Uncle's place yesterday. He's the one that is a retired priest and he recently had surgery. He lives about 50 minutes away. We went to check on him and I had made some soup, banana bread, a pasta meal, and some cookies to bring him. We hung out and visited and played some cards with him. We also did some chores around the house for him - including Matt doing some snow removal and we brought in some firewood for his wood burning stove. It was a lovely visit and he's happily healing up really well.
Now on to this cold week ahead...
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
yogurt & berries, coffee
ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:
mammo appt, errands, some home projects and some fun ones, hospice work
THINKING ABOUT:
how I'm looking forward to snuggling under a blanket with a good book
THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:
the look of big evergreen trees filled with snow ❄️
CURRENTLY READING
Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson
ON THE TV TODAY:
Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother & the office, Junk or Jackpot on HGTV, Best Medicine, the Pitt, Shark Tank, Miss Scarlet & All Creatures Great and Small on PBS, cooking shows and movies
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - leftover creamy chicken wild rice soup (really good with an Italian bent as I threw some cut up red pepper in it too, and added a little pesto. I had also deglazed the roux with some wine too 😋) I will share the recipe in the future
TUESDAY -
WEDNESDAY -
THURSDAY -
FRIDAY -
*not sure about the rest of the menu this week yet, but with this cold weather it would sure be good to do a little baking!
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
read, bake, craft
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
we're doing a few trips this year - I've never thought to do this...but I am a list person so it speaks to me :)
FROM THE CAMERA:
We got more snow over the weekend as you can see from Matt's truck. Lol
With the cold and the snow, Ruby says it's good snuggle in weather. Bubba agrees and loves to hang out in the weirdest places. 😂
On Sunday we brought my Uncle some goodies I made including this homemade creamy chicken wild soup, a slow cooked homemade pasta sauce (with pasta, garlic bread & a salad), and some sourdough chocolate chip cookies I made from my sourdough starter discard. I also made and brought him some banana bread. He was so appreciative and said he felt treated like a king. 💗
It was snowing the day we drove to his place and the trees were so pretty. I love his long driveway lined by evergreens.
In his foyer he still has this little ode to our former pope Francis
And you may think that's a lot of kiddos - but here are my great grandparents...Martin and Clara:
And they had 17 children, with only 1 set of twins!! Can you imagine? My Grandpa was one of the oldest of 17 kids. The picture below isn't even all of the kids yet... if you count there are only 16 and she was going to have 1 more! Those good Polish Catholic farm living folks. Lol 😉
PRAYER LIST:
For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence. For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace.
For the Lord's love and peace to fill 2026. ❤️
For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻