If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Sunday, August 15, 2021

August things

Good evening everyone- this summer has truly gone by in a blur.  
The best news from this summer is we have a new granddaughter-  an adorable 2 year old named Cora.  She is healthy, happy, very smart, very busy, funny and loved by all of us.  

  
She is fond of her cousins,  especially Elizabeth who Cora calls “Beth” 

Because she is adopted and that situation,  I won’t be sharing much about her.  
She has been spending her days with us, while her parents work,  for about 2 months.  But tomorrow,  she starts full time at a child care center.  
Our town has a number of day care centers but they all have waiting lists- there seems to be shortages of most everything anymore but an opening for her came up.  
I’m a bit nervous about daycare -  but Cora seems to be easily adaptable and very brave so I’m probably worried for nothing.  

My mom has had a rough summer.  She spent almost 2 weeks in a hospital and then 3 weeks in a skilled nursing home.  
Now she is back at their retirement home in Respite Care,  which I’m not sure of the definition but it’s a lot like assisted living with hopes that she will back to previous mobility and health.  
  

It’s a very comfortable apartment.  It has a living area,  a bedroom, a bathroom all accessible for her needs and a small kitchenette.  
Her meals are all provided  so the the kitchen is used by her guests.  
My dad still sleeps in the apartment down the hall where they have lived for 5 years but he spends his days with Mom in this respite apartment,  

Mom still has a ways to go but she looks better now than she has since at least a month before her surgery.  
The nursing shortage, because of Covid,  is also affecting their retirement home.  The nursing staff is short handed and the nurses  there are working way more than 40 hours.  Their Director of Nursing normally would be in a office doing paperwork and such but she working on the floor doing patient care.  
Covid really has had a detrimental domino effect on so many things.  



You all know I like to bulk cook.  I did a big grocery pickup yesterday (yes, Covid is so concerning and I’m staying stocked up) 
This morning,  I made 2 salad and cooked 7 pounds of ground beef.   And Yes, today is Sunday but I had it all cooked and the kitchen cleaned up in plenty of time to watch our local church service streaming on line.  
Some of the beef was cooked with just onions and I will use it for things like soup, goulash and stuffed peppers.  
The rest of the ground beef was cooked with taco seasoning.  
That’s a green salad,  a diced veggie salad and extra diced onions.  
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Taco meat and plain burger 
All divided and in freezer containers 


If you want to see inside our freezer——

The top 2 shelves are mostly things I cooked to freeze like today’s meat, chili, pasta sauce, chicken broth, etc. 
also peaches and grated cheese 
there are also some big containers of pecans and walnuts 
Also on the 2nd shelf are bags of frozen vegetables.  
The 3rd shelf is meat straight from the store- assorted chicken pieces, chicken sausage, more ground beef
On the 4th shelf are bags of blackberries and green beans from our garden and bags of grated cheese. 
Then on the very bottom are whole chickens and more vegetables.  

So, that’s what has been going on with my home and family.  This week I plan to get some homekeeping things caught up,  visit my parents everyday and my husband will be having an outpatient back procedure (as long as Covid doesn’t blow up so much that the VA hospital stops non-emergency procedures before his appointment) 

Hope you all have a good week and hope you all stay safe
❤️ Rhonda 

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update. Loved the photo of your freezer, inspired me to start making some more soups ;)

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  2. I was just thinking this morning that we haven't heard from you for a long while. Congratulations on the new granddaughter. My grandma's sister was named Cora. It is making a comeback. I hope my grandma's name, Ethel, doesn't! Your freezer is impressive.

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  3. Congrats on Cora! Love the name.
    Your freezer is so neat. I too have been steadily squirrel ing away needful things. Who knows what the fall/ winter may bring covid,regular flu, lock downs,shortages, etc. Best to batten the hatches while we can.

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  4. Your freezer is so very inspiring!!!! I hope your mom gets better.

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  5. Congrats on your nee grand daughter. She is one lucky girl to have found her way to your family.
    Hoping your Mom gets better each day. Her apartment looks so nice.
    WOW - nice looking freezer.
    Take care and hope to see you post more often.

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  6. Another grandchild to love! How wonderful!
    Hope everything goes well for your entire family.

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  7. Yes, me too - loved the freezer photo. I am just thinking now about adding more to my stash. I'm hoping to keep shopping inside the store even with Covid getting crazy again. I need to stay mobile.

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  8. SO good to hear from you!!

    Congrats on the new granddaughter. As someone said, she is lucky to have found her way to your loving family. xo

    I also loved the freezer pictures...it is inspiring me to do something with my freezer. it is separated by "type", but does not look neat like yours! I love all the containers!

    When you cook the large package (7 lbs)? of hamburger, how do you go about draining it?

    I am also keeping my "what if" pantry very stocked up in these uncertain times...it seems prudent to do so, and there is no down side!

    Semper Fi--Jane

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  9. Your freezer is so neatly organized! I am going to go through my deep freezer this week and see what I need to remove, what I might have pre-made and such.
    I tried a new Chicken Rice recipe yesterday that was so yummy. It smelled so good cooking and it's good plain simple budget friendly ingredients. I love recipes like that!
    Off to eat our leftover pizza (homemade) and then I want to pit the cherries and make a cobbler while we have vanilla ice cream to go with it.
    I feel just the same at the idea of Caleb going off to nursery again. It won't happen for a few weeks yet, but part of me hates it and part of me will be glad when I can just be Gramma and not babysitter too lol.

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  10. Congratulations on the arrival of a new granddaughter.

    Your freezer looks so very well organized. I am hanging my head as mine is a real mess right now.

    God bless.

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  11. Congratulations on a new granddaughter in your family! What a blessing for all of you.

    Sorry to hear your mom has had a rough summer. Things are so scary now with Covid, I'm not surprised to hear there was a nursing shortage.

    Now that's a stocked up freezer - very impressive!

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  12. I've been wondering what your new granddaughter's name is - welcome to Cora! It's nice that you got to have that bonding time with her over the summer.

    I was just doing pantry inventory late this afternoon. Our freezers are packed and we have a hog coming next month, so I want to do some freezer cooking to make room. I took a page from your blog and set up food storage shelves in the guest room. That helps with being able to be stocked up.

    Best wishes to your mom - I hope she recovers quickly and completely. Greg's dad is declining little by little, and it's hard to know how to help. Another season of life for us to navigate.

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