Ordering My Ordinary Days

Oh, so much has happened since I last posted here. What a difference a day can make in the direction our lives flow.
 My sweetheart suffered a stroke recently and spent the better part of a month in the hospital. After an emergency stent operation in his carodit artery and many days of in patient occupational and physical therapy, I am happy to say he is at home recuperating well. He has no feeling in his left side but does have use of his extremities so he is able to walk and has some use of his left hand (with struggle and frustration).
Needless to say, it has brought on some changes to our day to day routines and dealings but I still feel we are oh so blessed regardless of all that has happened. After all, things could be worse.

Count your blessings, name them one by one...

And I am blessed to be able to be at home to help him when he needs it. Cook our meals, tend our home and just be together.

But there are moments that happen where the loss of control over certain aspects of life slap us in the face just as hard reality so often does. And we move on.

Because of this, I have been trying to embrace those things that I can control: groceries (and the budgeting of), my little garden (that I continue to struggle to make happen), frugality (more important now than ever since we're not sure if hubby will be able to go back to work) and other household happenings. Doing these things seem more important to me now (even though they have always been important to me). I guess because it's familiar and it comforts me to know that they are still there for me. The ordinary things in my ordinary days. 

A few "comforting" things I've done this past week:

* planted more mint, lavender, parsley, zinnia, cilantro, dill, nasturtium, English daisy, chamomile and viola seeds. (I had tried with these seeds a few months back and had no luck, with the exception of parsley, mint and lavender plants that took but are struggling.) I'm going to experiment and see if they will sprout and do better with cooler months coming. It's soo hot here in the summer months! I also planted Table Queen squash, pumpkin and cantaloupe seeds for the first time ever! I'm curious to see what will come of them.

* made a conscious effort to use up leftovers before they went bad. I used up leftover steak to make hubby steak and eggs for breakfast one morning and a second dinner (yes, one steak lasted him three meals!). Took all the stale bread in the fridge & freezer & made my standby bread pudding (that recipe is so forgiving!) also incorporating two cups of applesauce that my DD had lost interest in (in place of the apples). Made french toast out of a few slices of day old homemade french bread for one of our breakfasts. Pulled out some pear sauce that I made a couple of years back from pears off our tree and froze for a yummy ice cream topping! (love my FoodSaver!)

* began the new habit of adding a couple of capfuls of bleach to my dishwater to help prevent colds, flu & other contagious, icky things. (our dishwasher is broken, whahhhhh! ) ':

* made a couple of loaves of french bread and one loaf of oatmeal bread. (Which wouldn't happen without my trusty breadmaker~just being honest.)

I'm sure there's more that I can't think or right now, but while I'm at it I'll make my "to do" list for the upcoming week for the projects that have been floating around in my mind...

* tackle some paper craft projects with the upcoming Christmas holidays in mind

* straighten out the pantry (how does it get SO out of control?!)

* work on some sewing projects that need to be finished.

* continue to forage in the freezer and pantry for items I can use to make meals, snacks & treats But this is ongoing...

* focus on more bulk purchases for our food stockpile rather than buying smaller quantities of items that can easily be stored. (Sam's, here I come!)

Thanks for stopping by!