Mornins With Mommy ~

 This is an all too familiar sweet scenario in my mornings. Gally on my lap, Dollar by my side. I thought I would share in the hopes that it might put a smile on your face! 😊

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! ~ xo TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (December 3 - 9)~

 endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

Some weeks are more relaxed and low key than others. Truly, they all are pretty relaxed and low key for us at this point in time. Some are pretty dreamy though~

Even though I had a doctor's appointment for an ultrasound and some labwork, it went smoothly and quickly.

And there was the time and beautiful weather for more wonderful walks in the neighborhood.

Mid-week my allergies started acting up but it gave me the perfect excuse to take it extra easy, enjoy our blessings and just be.

One evening, after hubby and I left our vaccine appointments, we splurged and ordered takeout from our favorite Mexican restaurant 😋. It was delicious and it was such a treat to not have to cook but there was just one problem: it put us into a carb coma...

And then we woke up a bit later with a bad case of bedhead...

There was also plenty of time to snuggle with my buddy, Galahad...

I'm still watching every version of Little Women and A Christmas Carol that I come across that interests me. They are my favorite Christmas time movie traditions that I always make time for. I'm always surprised that there seems to be a new version of them both each year.

In the kitchen, I tried a new hot chocolate mix recipe and have been absolutely enjoying it (sprinkled liberally with chocolate chips that I stir into it to make it extra decadent🤫) as part of my cozy nighttime routine.

I hope you had a great week with plenty of time to do all the things that you find makes your week dreamy !

Thanks for stopping by!

💋xo, 

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (November 26 - December 2)~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

Welcome back!

What I'm cooking, baking and eating ~ 

Chicken veggie noodle soup, asparagus fritatta (using asparagus bought on sale back in the Spring and then blanched and frozen), salmon salad (made like I do tuna salad) served on a bed of greens, blueberry breakfast (or anytime!) cake (I just added a few frozen blueberries to a Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mix and baked in an 8" pan), bacon and egg breakfast burritos 🌯 😋, Toll House Cookie Bars.

Homekeeping ~ 

This past week's homekeeping focus was the kitchen. In addition to the daily tasks, I focused on cleaning the face of the cabinets (where do all those tiny splatters come from?!😄) and the edges of the floors where the floor meets the walls and cabinets.

Highlight ~

Walks!!! Lots and lots of walks in the neighborhood. We've had some gorgeous, cool weather that just begged us to get out and enjoy nature. And we did!

And after an abundance of fresh air and sunshine, we mayyy have needed a little nappy-poo.

Enjoy the upcoming week and...

thanks for stopping by!

💋xo, 

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (October 8-14)~

endeavor:

authentic•oldfashionedvalues•lowtech•slowliving

~livingsimply~

How was your week? I hope it was a good one! I was able to be a little more productive this week, thank goodness. Here's a little peek...

gregg's mist

Garden~ 

I harvested swiss chard. I can't wait to incorporate it into something delicious (TBD)!

I sowed several different types of seeds: parsley, cilantro,  kale, spinach mustard, jalapeño, bell pepper, zucchini, turnip, radish and lettuces (Grand Rapids. Black Seeded Simpson, Four Seasons and Iceberg). Some of the seeds are several years old, so only time will tell if they are viable. I'm also experimenting with trying to grow more Gregg's Mist from (what I think is) seed from my existing plants. The butterflies love it!

We have not had rain in many, many days. Plus it hasn't been as humid on a lot of those days so I have had to water much more often. Our poor grass sounds crunchy when you walk on it if I don't. On the bright side, less humidity is making the mostly still warm October days, much more pleasant. 

Homekeeping ~

This past week's focus was the kitchen, dining room and breakfast nook. I focused on wiping down the cabinet facings, cleaning out the "junk" drawer and in the breakfast nook area, I set up a small table by the window for seed starting.

What I'm cooking, baking and eating (besides the usual) ~ 

Egg salad (hubby likes his served with crackers and I have mine served on a bed of salad greens), cheeseburgers & pork burritos (using the pork from this recipe that has been in the freezer. A pork roast lasts the two of us an astonishingly long time. I cook it, we eat some right away, then I cool the remander and divide it up to freeze for future meals.)

I was thankful for being able to pull out a couple of "power food meals" (the one I made "Italiano" style back in September) one evening that I had previously frozen from leftovers, for a quick and easy (seems to be a favorite thread that runs through my mealtime repertoire, no? 😁) dinner for the hubs and me. DIY "TV dinners"? I'll take it!

I know I don't often mention veggies but yes, we do eat them alongside our meals. Common around here are: broccoli, cauliflower,  mixed vegetables, green beans, salads of some sort or crudités.

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.” 

~ Hippocrates

wanna go for a WALK?

Highlight~

The "cooler", less humid couple of days we had afforded us the opportunity to take a walk around our neighborhood. 

the pattern the wind created in these fallen leaves fascinated me!

I'm looking forward to more cool weather walks but enjoyed immensely these little tastes of being able to enjoy the great outdoors in comfort! 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time~

💋xo, 

TJ

{VLOG} Come Walking with Us | A Neighborhood Walk with Dollface Vlog~

 

Up for a little walk in the neighborhood? Come along with Dollface and me as we finally have the chance to get outside and enjoy the cooler weather! Video here .

Thanks for joining us!

💋xo,

TJ

A Peek Into Last Week (July 23-29)~

I had the curtains open all last week to let the sunlight in so, if you happened to be passing by and caught a glance in our windows, you may have seen a bit of this and that...

Homekeeping~ In addition to the usual suspects of daily chores, this weeks focus was the office, desk and paperwork. I was successful in clearing off the top of our filing cabinet (that had been more of a "piling cabinet") and shredding a three inch stack of business papers dating back to 2016(!) that were no longer needed. 

I also spent some time copying and transferring recipes from my phone and tablet bookmarks, that we've tried and want to make again, into my recipe binder.

In the garden~ I planted out a Roma tomato plant that was grown from seed and harvested more sweet potato leaves.

What I'm cooking, baking & eating~

Pancakes and over easy eggs, oatmeal with cinnamon raisin toast, scrambled eggs and toast, fruit & veggie smoothies, French toast, chocolate "nice cream" (frozen bananas, chocolate almond milk and a bit of Swerve sweetener blended until smooth), banana bread, "French" cobbler, lemon cooler cookies (you wouldn't know we have a sweet tooth would you?😋), fresh cherries, Chana masala served over rice, tuna pasta salad, bean burritos with blender salsa, mac and cheese, cucumber salad with homemade Italian dressing, pulled pork burritos. 

What I'm watching/reading~

"Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman, lives alone in the Klodzko Valley where a series of mysterious crimes are committed. Duszejko is convinced that she knows who or what is the murderer, but nobody believes her." (movie summary taken from imdb)

It was an interesting and enjoyable movie!

the books I've been pursuing lately

I like to read several books at once at any given time. I mostly read nonfiction but will occasionally get caught up in a good fiction read. I hardly ever read the latest and "greatest" books that are out since most of my books are found on my treasure hunts at thrift stores.

Create~ I spent a few minutes a couple of days this past week prepping pages in my traveler's notebooks. I love the calming outlet this provides for me but don't always make the time for it. I have begun to put it on my to do list so I don't get too busy and overlook this small gesture that feeds my spirit so greatly. 

Highlight of the week~ Another good rainstorm!

And watching Galahad give Dollface a bath, lol!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this peek into our week, and that maybe something you read here gave you an idea or inspiration to put on your to-do list for your upcoming week.~TJ 

Oh, Just Living Life!

winter roses from the garden at Christmas time 

I just began a batch of organic crock pot yogurt and sat down to organize my thoughts when I realized that it has been a couple of moons (at least) since I have recorded my thoughts and goings on here. I seem to forget to record life when I am so immensely enjoying it! I think it's no secret that I adore the cool season and am able to spend much more time outdoors puttering around in the garden, going for walks or on outings.  Speaking of...today was a chilly, cloudy, rainy day...my favorite kind of weather!

Dollface enjoying a chilly walk on a rainy day 

All that being said, here are some of those thoughts...

 My renewed focuses lately have been:

▪  less food waste
▪  seed sowing
▪  soil amendment
▪  garden planning
▪  tightening the grocery and miscellaneous purchases budget
▪  the here and now 

Galahad checking out the Christmas tree 

I will elaborate more on each of these in future posts.  For now, I hope that, no matter where you are or what your weather and circumstances, you will find ways to savor the moment in time. Right. Where. You. Are. At.

Happy New Year and thanks so much for stopping by, it means so much to me!  I'd love to hear how you enjoyed your winter holidays! ~TJ

PS~ as you can see, I've included a few pictures taken over the winter holiday. Enjoy! 

Simple Living, Extraordinary Life ~ The Dailies 11/6/17

hundred year old oak

I discovered a Youtube channel today called Great Depression Cooking (link is to the first video I watched. I'm not affiliated with it in any way.).  It was hosted by a cute lady in her nineties named Clara and filmed by her grandson Christopher.  She shares recipes that her family ate during the depression of the early 1900's here in America, stories from that time of their lives and bits of wisdom that life has taught her.  One of her statements that stuck with me (this is not a direct quote) was how life is so much better for our population at large than it was in those days but people are still "squawking"/complaining/griping about their lot in life.  So true.

After spending the day watching her short videos when I had a moment to spare, I found myself taking mental trips down memory lane.  Back to the days of my childhood spent with my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother.  And then the days of my own young motherhood, of which many were spent as a single mom.  And how we all cooked and served our own versions of depression fare.

It also got me to thinking how quickly, if we don't record the minutiae of our lives, it can be forgotten and lost in the next generation's own struggle of building their families and lives.  And how knowing those little things can birth a new and great appreciation for your own lot in life.  Since I have never been the best journaler, but have developed a new hunger to know my own family's history, I have vowed to become better at recording "the dailies" of my life, on the chance that someday my own offspring begin to wonder "what was it like when...?".  

So here we go (this should be about as much fun as watching paint dry for most of y'all, lol!)...

Today's tidbits:

In addition to getting to know Clara ^^^ (RIP Clara), today I had some errands to run that could include our miniature dachshund, Dollface (named by my daughter).  Bank and veterinarian's office to pick up Galahad's (our cat, who was named by the shelter we adopted him from).  (Since my children are grown, I find I apparently need to continue nurturing, so the pets are my new "babies" that I tend to humanize, much to my family's eye rolling dismay😂).

On the way to the bank, I stopped at a local park that I love so Dollface could get a bit of exercise.

A Quick Walk in the Park

A Quick Walk in the Park pt 2

Other than that, we followed our usual routine: breakfast (homemade apple cinnamon raisin oatmeal), lunch (leftovers), dinner (leftovers), a snack of DIY microwave popcorn in the evening, and all the little tasks in between.

I hope you took time to savor those little moments in each day that all add up to your extraordinary life!

Thanks for stopping by! ~ TJ 

Five Frugal Things ~ August 24 Edition

my sweet, but high maintenance fur babies

I'm a tad behind in posting this. Living on the gulf coast, our family has been on hurricane Harvey watch. Fortunately for us, we have only had some heavy rain and wind, nothing damaging. As I type this, it's raining, thundering, windy and we are still under tornado warnings and flash flood watches. More of the same is expected over the next few days. My thoughts and prayers are with my coastal neighbors.

In this week's frugal adventures I:


•  organized my grocery budgeting plans a little more so I can be aware of how much I'm spending each month when grocery shopping. This will be an ongoing project for a while until I feel I've figured out a good grocery budget amount.


•  continued filing my dogs nails with the Pedi Paw and giving her a supplement that seems to be helping her not to need to have to have her anal glands expressed (sorry, real talk here) every three weeks. This has been saving us the $40+ every three weeks that I was paying the vet to perform this service. It doesn't totally eliminate having to take her for these services occasionally, just buys more time in between visits.


•  made homemade mosquito repellant for our yard. Non toxic for us, our dog and the environment and best of all it works! I have a feeling we are going to need it when the rains subsides!


•  took some apples that were past their prime and made applesauce in the slow cooker. I took the portions of apples that were inedible and placed in the freezer in a clearly marked bag to use in the future for simmering potpourri.


•  my daughter had a medical procedure at the hospital so I took my own coffee and a protein bar for when I got hungry while waiting. Downside: I usually take my own water everywhere I go, but forgot this time (it was early and my brain doesn't switch on until later in the day /: ) so I ended up buying a bottle of water.


I hope you have had a wonderful, frugal week as well.


Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things~

*This post contains affiliate links. My family and I appreciate you using them~it helps us out so much!

I always enjoy learning about the tried and true favorites of others, so I thought I would share mine!

At the top of my list this week:

♡  This beautiful bracelet (actually three separate bracelets, so you can wear one, two or all three together for different looks!) that my hubby surprised me with one day recently! The picture of course doesn't do it justice. When I first opened it, I thought it was turquoise, but it is howlite. I have been wearing the heck out of it this summer (looks soon good with a cool white outfit)! The turquoise color would compliment any skin tone. A side bonus, there are no clasps or hooks to fiddle with, just slide it on (it doesn't have an extreme amount of stretch to it so take note of the sizing of 6.75" when purchasing).

♡  Access to the internet. Having lived in the pre-internet era (gasssp!!! I know right?) And being an avid bookworm with a voracious appetite for learning all I could about things that interest me all my life, I used to frequent the library and lug home stacks of books. I'm talking mini mountains. Just so I could research things. Gardening, recipes, decor, (and every now and then I'd throw in a Danielle Steel novel 😉) you name it. Now, I couldn't tell you the last time I stepped foot in a library (which makes me kinda sad honestly). And anything we need, literally, is but a few keyboard clicks away (boy am I glad I learned to type in school. On a typewriter, not a computer. Noooo, I'm not going to bore you with talk about the five TV channels we had to choose from, sans remote control. No. I won't go there. It's too painful.). So yes, the internet, with all of it's flaws and aggravation at times, is high on this list of my favorite things!

♡  Plastic wrap? Really? Yesss! When I first used this I knew I would never go back to those other plastic wraps. It's a sturdy plastic wrap, that stretches & sticks to the dish really well, providing a reliable sealed covering for...well...whatever you're covering!

♡  I do my fair share of baking and I've put this set of bakeware through it's paces! Non-stick, not heavy (which really matters now that I'm getting older~I probably should be lifting weights instead of cookies!) and a snap to wash up, it makes baking a breeze! The beautiful chocolate brown color doesn't hurt my feelings either.

♡  This handy motion sensor night light has given me peace of mind for those times when my little dachshund, Dollface, wants to climb into the bed at night and has to maneuver her doggy stairs in the dark. I had become increasingly concerned for her safety when I could hear her hesitating while trying to work up the courage to hop up the stairs (we have a very tall bed). Luckily, there is a standard outlet right across from her stairs so when she saunters to her stairs on my side of the bed, the motion sensor night light illuminates long enough for her to get up on the bed and find a comfy spot before turning itself off. I am so truly glad I bought this little light and I think Dollface is too.

♡  Last but not least, a garden fave: Superthrive Vitamin Solution for all my plants. My outdoor plants, houseplants, fruits, veggies and flowers get this tonic on a regular basis to keep them spiffy and happy. So easy to use, this will always be in my gardening arsenal!

If you have any favorite things you would like to share with us, we would love to hear about them in the comments!

If you have tried, or decide to try, any of these favorites of mine, let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

Five Frugal Things for the Week of 10/5 - 10/11/14

I had started doing "Five Frugal Things" a long while back but I'm beginning to think I have a touch of ADD & it somehow got dropped along the way. In honor of my renewed desire to be better with da money that is entrusted to me, I thought I'd fire that baby back up! So without further ado...this past weeks (drumroll please, heheh)...

Five Frugal Things

 

 

1)  I went back to making my homemade laundry detergent. There's so many recipes for this around but I use an easy to remember 1 bar Ivory soap grated; 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing powder & 1 cup baking soda. Dump & stir, shake...whatever you gotta do to mix that stuff up. Then I use 1-2 tablespoons of it in my front loader, depending on how dirty our laundry is. I remove that little detergent cup thingy in the drawer so as not to clog it up with the powdered laundry detergent. I have also continued to use white vinegar for fabric softening but will occasionally use liquid Downy on the items that don't need to be absorbent (apparently towels & whatnot don't absorb as well when you use fabric softener on them).

 

2)  I continue to plant seeds in hopes of having more veggies  & herbs to help cut down on the grocery bill.


3)  I bought two dog toys marked down 50%. I always check the markdown & clearance areas in the stores I frequent. You just never know what you will find and when I find products I use anyway...SCORE!!!

4)  I've been keeping a large bowl in the kitchen sink to catch runoff water from washing our hands, rinsing veggies, etc. I use this water to water my plants. I've been surprised to realize that this is enough water to water ALL of my plants each day. The outdoor container plants usually need to be watered everyday so this is saving on our water bill!

5)  And speaking of water, I have been making a concerted effort to turn water off during times it might normally be running down the drain unused. For instance, when showering, after wetting my hair & body, I turn the water off, soap and shampoo up before turning the water back on to rinse off. Or while brushing my teeth, I turn the water off while brushing and then turn it back on again to rinse. 

These are all little things but they add up! And as I always say to my eye rolling family (usually while picking a penny up on the sidewalk), if you have enough pennies you can be a millionaire! Well, it's true.

Have a great day!~TJ 

Checking In

I wanted to stop in & say "hey" after another loooonnnng absence!

After riding a precarious roller coaster with my hubby's health for so long, I'm hoping we are finally seeing some light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. He has just begun seeing a new pain specialist at the nearby university hospital, she changed his meds and they seem to be working so much better than the others he had been taking that were offering little to no relief for his constant, excruciating pain. Because he is feeling so much more relief, we were able to spend the last couple of days out doing some shopping for things for the garden and other miscellaneous goodies.

Needless to say, since he is feeling better, I am feeling better. Not only for him, but because I know that he isn't suffering as much, it has freed my mind and spirit to become more productive and (obviously) less constantly stressed. Many prayers have been answered!

Anyway, I'm still here and since I have missed my little blog so, I'm hoping to share snippets of my life more often again. One thing I'm so excited about is a delicious oatmeal cream pie cake inspired by a certain cute little hat wearin' girl whose name begins with a "D" that I came up with for the fam recently. It's gotten two thumbs and two big toes ( ;) ) up from hubby so it's definitely a keeper. Oh...DD, DF (Dollface our mini weanie) and I love it too! So if my camera cooperates, I'll be sharing that soon! 

Take care, and if anyone is still out there..."see ya soon!~TJ

Pet Palooza



We all love our pets. I personally enjoy animals of all sorts and one of my hopes is some day to have the means to have a ranch with the room and resources to take in animals that need a home. A furry heaven on earth!

 

Anywaaaay, I was browsing through some of the recent photos of my critters and thought I would share. If you care. Ha, made a rhyme, right on time. Ahem. Moving on...



 

This fine specimen is Bobo. He loves to be loved. But only when he wants to be loved.

 

 And this is Bobo wondering why I'm bothering him. He requested, in no uncertain terms, that I move along, as there was nothing there to see, ma'am...

 Here we have Dollface. She's never met a stranger. She looooves everyone and is quite the social butterfly. This is her "me so comfy" pose which she assumes when she is really into gnawing on something. And I have obviously disturbed her here as well. Move along mom, por favor. (She also speaks a little Spanish and is quite mannerly.)

 Here is Dollface doing her seal impersonation. She can bark like a seal as well but it comes out sounding more like a dog bark. She promises to keep practicing...

 This is Dollface on her tempurpedic mattress (aka daddy's pillow. Shhhhh...) all snuggled up with her baby after a busy day of sleeping, eating and playing. And in that order...

 Meeting a new friend, Scooter... 

 Back to Bobo. Oh, and let me introduce Bob. He sort of adopted us. Or I guess I should say, our accommodations. He doesn't really want anything to do with us personally. This is a picture I entitled: In the Jungle...

 And another masterpiece of mine entitled:

That Look of Love...

 In the spirit of the upcoming Halloween holiday I had Bobo do tricks for treats (you can see he works hard for his money)...

 Bobo generally enjoys the great outdoors like the manly man that he is. Until it starts raining. Then he cries like a little girl and wants to come in and enjoy the comforts of home. (Bob? I guess Bob would prefer to weather the storm rather than be touched by filthy humans, lol. FYI~we call him Bob because of his bobbed tail.)...

 Mommy and her snuggle bunny... 

 Mommy's snuggle bunny fast asleep on mommy. (Yes, I'm one of "those" dog owners. And yes, I made and embroidered her blanket with her name on it. No shame.)...

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this little bit o' silliness!

 

Wishing you furry kisses kinda day!~TJ

Dog Days

*This post is from the spring of 2012. I don't know how it got overlooked...

Wednesday afternoon, our little princess, Dollface began scratching. I asked her "Do you have a flea?" No answer, just more scratching.

After picking up my daughter from school, she calls out, "Mom, I think Dollface has fleas!" Had she seen any flea? "No", just scratching.

So I promptly put a vial of Advantage on her (the dog (o; ) and a couple of hours later, we all headed out to dinner.

When we returned, Ari noticed that Dollface looked puffy around her neck area and when I looked down, her collar looked a bit tight and she had bumps all over her head! I removed the collar & inspected her a little further and then promptly called an after hours vet. The person I talked said to keep a watchful eye on her and maybe give her some children's Benadryl. We did and then I bathed her thinking she might be having an adverse reaction to the Advantage.

She continued to scratch throughout the evening but acted otherwise, normal. Eating, drinking, going potty, playing...and ScRaTcHiNg.

Thursday morning, she looked much better. No head bumps and only slight puffiness in her neck and face. We gave her another dose of Benadryl and I called our vet. After I explained the situation, the tech said they were seeing more allergic reactions since the weather was warming up and there were more bugs out. Since Dollface had been out in the backyard early the morning this all started, she surmised that she may have gotten bitten and was having an allergic reaction. "Keep giving Benadryl very 8 hours but if she isn't continuing to get better by one o'clock bring her in."

Well, come Saturday morning, she's scratching, scratching, scratching & I'm feeling terrible that she's suffered this long. To make matters worse, I was scheduled to work & wouldn't be able to take her to the vet, who would only be open a short time that day. Hubby volunteers to take her, bless his heart, he's not used to being the take the babies to the doctor parent, unless we go together.

All's well that ends well. The vet gave her a shot, and a homeopathic ointment to put on the rashy areas where the skin had gotten broken from all that scratching ): She's all better now & sleeping comfortably, none the worse for wear.

And so ends yet another saga that contributes to my "mother guilt".

Am I the only one that has this?

A Walk in the Park

We like to explore nearby, woodsy parks when we have a little time spare.

But don't let all the shade & stuff fool you.

It's HOT out there!