My first full
week of 2025 was pretty darn good. I
worked all day Friday riding the bus to and from work despite it being a rainy
day. I managed to only get sprinkled on
a little bit walking from work to the bus station and then got home just in
time for it to start really start raining.
I totally lucked out.
Saturday was a
quiet day spent working on some paperwork, finalizing some grocery shopping
plans and backing up the last of the files I wanted to put on a thumb
drive. Later that day I worked a jigsaw
puzzle and did a little paper crafting making it a perfect day. Sunday was more of the same, although I did
manage to scrub the holidays out of my oven so it is now shiny and clean once
again.
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| A basic working pantry |
Monday I awoke to a gloriously foggy morning. I truly love a good fog. I worked a few hours on Monday and then was off work the remainder of the week. On Tuesday I spent some time in the kitchen going through the refrigerator and freezer compartment as well as my pantry. I cleaned and organized the refrigerator pulling out two partial bottles of salad dressing no one was eating and tossed them into the trash. Next I went through the pantry and pulled out everything that was ultra processed and still in there. Out it went as well. After wiping and reorganizing the shelves I shopped my LTFS and restocked as needed. I am really pleased with the final results.
A small haul this week
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| 2025 food preservation has officially begun! |
Wednesday was
the day I had decided to run my errands.
I went to the library and then to Cash & Carry which I hadn’t been
to in ages. After picking up a few items
there I topped up the fuel tank on the truck, stopped by the bank and then headed back home. I had picked up two large bags of frozen vegetables so once I got home I got out my vacuum sealer and divided the vegetables into
smaller packages. I kept out two and
then placed the rest of the packets into my deep freezer.
I am really happy with how the journal turned out
Thursday I spent
the entire day paper crafting! I made up
a complete journal to add to my gift stash and then went through all of the
greeting cards I had made in the past couple of years and made up a couple of
note card sets to also give as gifts. I have plans to do this again very soon too. My
gift stash shelf is totally bare, I had given everything away, so my goal now
is to replenish it with handmade and useful gifts to hand out throughout the
year.
My Weekly Challenge – Collect two books from the library, one fiction, one nonfiction, and start reading.
How Did I Do? I picked up the books and have now begun
reading at night before I go to sleep!
I made enchiladas 
and zucchini bread
I hope you all
enjoyed a lovely week. Ready for another
one?
FYI - My retirement week runs Friday
through Thursday
That journal is beautiful
ReplyDeleteThank you Lee Ann!
DeleteYou have created quite a comfortable life for yourself, filling your days with things you enjoy doing. I love it!! The journal is beautiful and please let us know about the Matthew Perry book. It's on my list to read. Have a great Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lori :)
DeleteWhat a nice mix of work and play, duties and fun! It sounds both relaxing and industrious.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to seem like a weird question, but I am serious: how do you clean your oven?
I know how to clean a super crusty oven with Easy-Off, but I don't know what's best to use for a lightweight clean. I don't want to use baking soda because I seem to be unable to ever rinse it well enough. So does that leave me with Dawn and water? Or is there something better? Thanks in advance!
I use Mean Green degreaser. They sell it at Wal-Mart. I spray the oven, let it sit for about 5 minutes and wipe it out. I attack any stubborn spots with a green Scotch Brite pad. I do it often enough that I don't need to do a deep clean or use the clean cycle on the stove which stinks up the house. I also don't do well with oven cleaner fumes.
DeleteThank you so much for the info! I've never even heard of Mean Green degreaser. But I am definitely going to try it! I bought that Pink Stuff that gets such raves, and I gotta say, it was useless--even when paired with a scratch-free scrubbie.
DeleteMy oven has some spatters, but not enough to turn on the clean cycle (which I don't want to do, anyway, because I figure those fumes are hazardous) Easy-Off does make a low-fume cleaner (which is much better than the original stuff, BTW), but this just isn't a job for the big guns.
Again, thank you! :^) :^)
You are so welcome. I do have some of the Fume Free stuff, but it still seems strong and fumey to me. I may be overly sensitive to it though.
Delete