Mini Vacation

 

I hope you all had a blessed Easter holiday!

I've had to take a break, because I've just been too busy to get everything done.

I'll be back on Sunday with my menu plan, at least I hope to be.

Until then, take care and see you soon!

Weekly Menu Plan 3-15 to 3-21, 2026

This week, making my menu plan has been on my To Do List since Friday.  Still not totally done.

But before the week slides by, I at least had my dinners planned out.  I thought I better post them in case someone actually looks for them!

So here are my dinners this week.  Breakfast is going to be mostly eggs and bacon or sausage this week.

Hope you're all having a great week!  Mine is good, but super busy!

As always, links to recipes are below:

Links to Recipes:

Irish Soda Bread

 Mint Oreo Parfaits

Big Mac Sloppy Joes

Shamrock Lasagna

Irish Grilled Cheese

Cannoli Poke Cake

Crockpot Baby Back Ribs

Shrimp Scampi

Woolworth's Cheesecake

Have a wonderful week!  Hopefully I'll do better next week!

Hugs,

This Week's Menu Plan

 

Hi there!

That was me, yesterday.  

One of my granddaughter's friend's dad passed away suddenly last week.  They planned a traditional Jewish shiva to honor him, and my granddaughter asked me to prepare some food.

So, I did.  I made a huge pot of matzoh ball soup, another huge pot of lentil soup, deviled eggs, rice pudding, a bagel platter with assorted cream cheeses, and a Jewish apple cake.  I bundled it all up in containers suitable for the freezer, and delivered it.

I've been so busy I haven't even thought about next week's menu plan.

Today, I have a corned beef and cabbage dinner cooking in the crockpot.  We're having it today so my son can have some fresh and not left over.  It's best the first day.  We'll probably have leftovers tomorrow.

After that, I'm not sure yet!  I haven't sat down long enough to think about it yet, or to plan a shopping list.  So, I may post it later this week.

So stay tuned....maybe I'll get the plan done tonight and can post it tomorrow!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Hugs,

Weekly Menu Plan March 8-14, 2026

 

Happy Sunday!

We've had such a nice, long stretch of fake spring!  But, my daffodils are budding, and I'm afraid when winter returns this week I'm going to lose my daffodils.  They don't usually bud until April, so they're a month early.  Oh well, Mother Nature knows what she's doing.  It just may not be my year for daffodils.

This coming week starts out beautifully, but then I think on Thursday winter comes back.  He's not finished with us yet.  I keep forgetting it's not even spring yet!  I'm trying to brace myself.  I just hope it doesn't stay too long, before spring kicks him to the curb.

This week's menu plan is a bit ambitious, I think.  I don't know how I'll do as far as following it.  It's hard for me, because I follow a carnivore way of eating.  And, we've decided to follow a much better heart healthy way of eating.  So I see lots of changes coming.

Here's an example of what I do to adapt to my carnivore diet.  For tonight, we're having smoked sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut.  As I prep it, I keep some smoked sausage aside for me, and I use fermented sauerkraut for my portion.  No potatoes for me.  The rest I will prepare according to the recipe.  So, I usually buy extra meat so I get enough.  I have added fermented sauerkraut and pickles to my diet, because they're good for my gut health.  So I'll have a big bowl of smoked sausage and sauerkraut, and my husband will get the regular meal.  

When I went for my annual checkup this week, my blood work came back so good that I'm trying to steer my husband's meals more carnivore.  I'd love to get him away from the desserts, but he's got the old sweet tooth.  I'll have to keep working on him.  

Carnivore seems like such a drastic way to eat for most people, yet I find it's the easiest thing in the world.  I'm going on 2 years carnivore now, and I'm down from well over 200 pounds to 135 and holding.  My blood pressure is down, my aches and pains are mostly gone, my energy level is up, my focus ability is up, my GERD is gone, my skin is soft and healthy looking, and I just feel great.  I wish I would have done this 30-40 years ago.  

Sorry for the ramble!  Here is my menu plan for this week.  I'm going to have to freeze several of the baked goods, or I give it away to friends and family, since my husband is the only one eating it.  And that's okay, but sometimes (like today) I would rather use my time doing something else, than spending a lot of time baking.  So we'll see how this week goes!  I'll try my best to follow my desserts plan, but I may cut one or two desserts and just let him eat leftover dessert all week!

Links to the recipes I'm using this week are below.

Recipe Links:

Mint Chocolate Chip Muffins

Smoked Sausage, Sauerkraut, and Potatoes

Easy Tiramisu

Irish Pancakes

Baked Denver Omelet

Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

Lemon Meringue Pie

Irish Cream Coffee Cake

Garlic Butter Steak Bites

Custard Oatmeal

Butter Toffee Sugar Cookies

Christmas Morning Rolls

Copycat McDonald's Egg McMuffins

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I'm almost finished with Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl.  I'll probably finish it tonight or tomorrow.  It's really different than I thought, but I've  really enjoyed it.  It's not so much a story about Estee Lauder as it is about the fictionalized friend of hers.  Estee is more like a recurring character, and Gloria Downing is more the main character.  I thought, when I checked it out, that I was going to read a biography about Estee Lauder.  So even though it's not what I thought, it's a fun story set in the 1940's, and I can totally picture it as a Netflix series.  

My next read is going to be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I have to read as much as I can of that one, because I'm going to an event this week where the author is speaking.  I at least want to be halfway through it!  

That's it for me this week!  I hope you have a great week ahead, with lots of sunshine and smiles!  

See you next Sunday!

Book Report: The Trackers

 

★★★☆☆

(3 out of 5)

Title of Book:  The Trackers

Author:  Charles Frazier

Genre:  Fiction

Started:  January 13, 2026

Finished:  February 19, 2026

Published:  2023

428 pages (Large Print)

Themes:  Historical Fiction, Depression Era, Suspense, Art. Wealthy vs. Poor, Survival

Tone:  Somber, gritty, reflective

One Sentence Summary:

The Trackers is about a New Deal muralist who becomes involved in a cross-country search for a wealthy rancher's wife, while working on a commission in Wyoming.

Setting:  Early 1930's Wyoming

What I Think:

Although I enjoyed the book overall, I found the story line to be slow moving and almost too detailed.  For me, the story lacked depth, and I found it to be somewhat monotone.  It was like I was reading it in the voice of the old Dragnet guy on television.  After all the detail after detail in the middle of the book, the quick wrap-up at the end left me a little frustrated.  It was almost as if the author himself was just tired of writing this book, and woke up one day and said, "I'm wrapping this thing up today."  And notice I used quotation marks - the author does not use quotation marks in this book.  So although I didn't dislike the book, I can't say I was enthralled with it, either.  This book, for me, was meh.  But I did finish it!

Rating Scale

On a scale of 1-5

Readability - 3.5

Setting - 3

Enjoyment - 3

Writing Style - 2 (no quotation marks)

Characters - 3

Overall, just an okay book for me.  

Weekly Menu Plan March 1-7, 2026

 

Yay, March!  My daffodils are popping up out of the ground!  Maybe that old groundhog isn't as smart as we think he is!

This week had its ups and downs, but all is good today.  I just finished deep cleaning a bathroom, which felt really good!  I got some sewing done:

I finished this sweet little zipper pouch for a friend of mine.  We had breakfast together this week, and I'm pretty sure she liked it!

I used a pattern from Ticklegrass Designs.  It's just a mini charm pack, plus the lining fabric and a zipper.  Super great instructions, very easy to put together.  I've made several others of this pattern, and loved how each one of them turned out.

Now I'm working on a different zipper pouch for a different friend, and I'm kind of making it up as I go along.  I'll share it when it's finished, hopefully I'll get it done this week.  I'm using a bunch of my pink scraps.

I have lots planned for this coming week, as I'm starting to get some spring cleaning done.  It's supposed to rain all week, so I'm planning on staying in most of the time.  Although we did get out and start walking again the other day.  My husband and I just walk through the neighborhood, but it felt so good to get out and get some fresh air.  We'll continue to walk if it's not raining!

Here's my menu plan for the week.  Nothing too exciting again, just some good home cooking.  As usual, links to the recipes are below.

Air Fryer Baked Oatmeal

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

Banana Cream Pie

Cinnamon Sugar Cruffins

Air Fryer Pork Chops

Coffee Toffee Brownies

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Oven Baked Omelet

Lemon Crumb Cake

Tuna Casserole

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Cups

So on to books.  I'm still reading Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl.  Really good, though, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  After looking at the end of the book, which I should have done before I started, I found out it's a fictionalized biography of Estee Lauder, based on real events in her life, but some of the other characters have been created by the author.  So even though it's fiction, it's based on her real life.  I'm loving it!

Have a great week, everyone!  See you next week!

Hugs,

Book Report: A Man Called Ove

 

★★★★★

(5 out of 5 stars)

Title:  A Man Called Ove

Author:  Fredrick Backman

Genre:  Fiction

Started:  January 12, 2026

Finished:  January 26, 2026

Published:  2014

337 pages

Themes:  Love, loss, human connection

Tone:  Grumpy humor, deep sadness, hope, love, loneliness

One Sentence Summary:  A Man Called Ove is about a crabby widower, whose life and suicide attempts are put off by some new neighbors, leaving him to find friendship, love, and a new outlook.

Setting:  Ove's home in Sweden

What I think:

     I loved this book.  It is written so simply, so beautifully, yet has such a deep characterization of Ove.  I felt like I knew him!  He's seemingly simple on the outside, yet such a hurting, lonely man on the inside.  This book is compassionate, funny, sad, simple, complex, and intense all at the same time.  Yes, I cried for him, especially at the end.  Not a book I will forget.  I highly recommend this book.

Rating Scale 1-5

Readability:  5

Setting:  5

Enjoyment:  5

Writing Style:  5

Characters:  5

This is definitely one of my favorite books of all time.