Not my usual Friday Finds . . .

 

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 Dad seems to be feeling a bit better. He stayed in bed pretty much all of yesterday.  I went over after I took Eileen and Tim out for lunch yesterday. I had been going to bring him some soup, but he said not to as he wasn't hungry.  I bought him a piece of Coconut Cream Pie at the restaurant and took that to him as he is always up for dessert, no matter what.  

He was in bed when I got there. He had been supposed to go to his friend Maryann's birthday BBQ yesterday, but of course was not going. He had a card and some scratch tickets for her, so he got up long enough to sign the card etc. He wanted me to take it to Maryann's daughter's house, which I said I would do.

He was going back to bed so I helped him get back in bed and made sure he had everything he needed.  Cindy was going back at supper time so I knew he would be okay for a while.  I took his cards, etc. to Maryanne's daughters and then stopped off at Cindy's for a visit before heading home.

Last night he was up and watching TV when I called and seemed better.  I called him this morning, but he was still in bed.  (I woke him up.  Sorry dad!)  I told him to go back to sleep and just call me when he was feeling like it.

To be honest, I think he is a bit depressed about this thing with the ladies.  There is nothing worse than being ostracized and not knowing what it is you have done, so maybe Cindy and I will have to make a trip some morning and ask them what's up with that?  I don't know.

Nobody wants to go and sit alone, feeling left out, especially when you have been sitting with a group for all these many months. Its not that he could really hear what anyone was saying, but at least he felt like he had some company, and it gave him a purpose and a place to go each morning. For someone who has always been quite sociable, this is a sad thing.

 

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It is raining quite heavily out there this morning. Its not really a day that I want to go out anywhere in. I am happy that Cindy and I did our running around earlier in the week. That was a bonus.  

Eileen, Tim and I had a nice lunch yesterday. It was lovely to spend the time together.  I got all caught up on Tim's trip to Ontario with his mom.  He seemed to have really enjoyed himself. They are both pleased with the work her dad did on their apartment during that time.  A cleaner has been hired now to come in once a week and clean for them.  

I don't think they were doing a good job of things. Eileen is very stubborn and she gets it into her head that she has certain jobs and he has certain jobs and there is no way she will do his jobs for him!  So I think nothing was getting done.  She has anxiety and I think it got overwhelming and when that happens, people with anxiety just shut down.  Hopefully having this cleaner come in every week will help. I know how hard it can be when life becomes overwhelming.

I've been enjoying videos on YouTube this week on a channel run by Cecelia Blomdahl.  She lives on the Svalbarg which is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic. At first I was just interested in why anyone would want to live in such a place and then I just kind of found it quite interesting.  The way of life, etc.  There are only two months of the year where they have normal daylight and nighttime.  The rest of the year it is essentially dark all the time or light all the time.  Apparently the Polar Bears outnumber the people, which to me sounds a bit scary.  But . . .  look at that photograph . . .  I imagine there is plenty of stunning scenery to enjoy and if you are an outdoors, winter kind of person, it might be ideal.

Not for me however. I prefer to enjoy travel spots like that from the comfort of my armchair in a nice warm house without any polar bears for neighbors.

 

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Another channel I enjoy on YouTube is The Early American Channel with Justine and Ron. I enjoy the cooking videos and lifestyle videos.  If I was a much younger woman this is something which would really appeal to me. I have always felt a bit like I was born at the wrong time, but then again, at the same time, I really enjoy my modern comforts!

Realistically speaking I am far too comfortable in the 21st century to be able to live like that happily, but it is  nice to play with the dream in my head.  There is a part of me that would love to live like Tasha Tudor, but I am afraid that I could not physically or even mentally really truly cope with that lifestyle.

Something else I am really enjoying at the moment is this shampoo my sister gave me for my birthday. It smells heavenly.  Absolutely heavenly, and my hair feels really nice after using it.  I love it.

Right now I have one of these burning. It smells lovely. All apple-like and fresh. It reminds me of how the farmer's market smells once the apple crop starts to come in. I love apple season.  I am not really that fond of eating apples.  I can't eat a whole one raw.  I have never been able to tolerate the skin on my teeth, but I do love the taste of them, and of course, the smell.

Slices of apple with peanut butter are a lovely snack and a treat. A honey crisp apple will last me almost a week.  They are so huge.

I recently purchased this cookbook for myself.  I love old cookery books. I had seen Diane Schiffer using it on Instagram and I was instantly intrigued.  I have my mother's original Money Saving cookbook from the 1950's and a copy of her Martha Logan Meat Cookbook that I was able to find and purchase last year.  

My copy is not quite as old as hers, but it is still very good and in very good shape.  It has a few colored photos, but is mostly just recipes.  There are also some interesting menu plans for every month of the year.  My old money saving cookbook has that as well.  I used to love making up menus, but I seldom found myself following them.  lol  I am the kind of person who really decides on the day what I want to cook and eat.  

These old menu plans are really fascinating however.  I do find myself wondering how anyone could possibly eat  as much as is in them for a day.

Here is an example of one menu for  one day in August. (There are two week's worth for every month.) Recipes are included for those items in italics.

Breakfast

Grapefruit juice

Soft cooked eggs

Cinnamon toast

Coffee for adults, milk for children

Lunch

Beet Borsht

Crisp crackers

Sliced Bananas with Lemon sauce

Hot or Iced Tea, milk for children

Dinner

Roast Boston Style Pork Butt

Roast Potatoes

Buttered Peas

Whole Wheat Bread and Butter

French Bowl Salad

Cantaloupe Wedges

Coffee for Adults, milk for children

And it is like that for every day, sometimes even more food than that.  I wonder to myself, could I eat all that?  Perhaps. Looking at it now and having typed it out, it isn't really all that much I guess.

I would like to try the menus from the book as an experiment for one week to see how it went, the cost, etc.  It would probably be a very interesting exercise/experiment.  I will think about it.

Oh my, between this book and the smell of the candle I am getting quite hungry!  I best sign off now.

A thought to carry with you  . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.I put on my list all the busy, useful 

independent spinsters I know,

for liberty is a better husband

than love to many of us.

~Louisa May Alcott•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Sweet & Easy Buttermilk Pie for two. Delicious!

I hope that you have a wonderful Friday. Be happy, safe, and blessed. Don't forget!

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And I do too!