Christmas Notebook

Our older son and his wife and family came Saturday and stayed through Sunday to help put up some Christmas decorations. The dining room is done, including the Snow Tree. The Putz Tree is done. And the kitchen is festooned with snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and decorating the window garlands. There are a few things yet to do in the kitchen. I need to decide if the fridge tree will go up or not this year. Not sure yet. We have about five weeks to finish the decorating for the Open House. Mark your calendars for the first Sunday in December! Let me tempt you…

The grands were a ton of fun, as usual. We save cardboard boxes for them. Those, along with their collection of duct tape, provide hours of entertainment! This weekend, they constructed a long train, which, later in the day, converted to a club house. They played in the yard, went to the park with Pa, helped Pa change a washer on a leaky sink, checked out all sorts of fun things under the microscope, and generally had a great time. We’ll see them again this week. I’ll post more about their (and our) weekend activities later.

In the mean time, here is our menu for the week.

Monday
That Potato and Hamburger Soup with the French Onion Dip in it that Mom used to make

This soup begs for saltines.

Tuesday
Tacoritos
Lettuce, Tomatoes, Sour Cream, Cheddar Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Wednesday
Heat Free Chili
Celery and Carrot Sticks
Crackers

Yes, that’s peanut butter in my chili. If you haven’t tried it, you must! It adds a delicious, creamy peanut flavor that goes great with the spicy chili flavors.

Thursday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Crash Hot Potatoes
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots

Friday
Cheese Tortellini with Mushroom Sauce
Garden Salad

Saturday
Irish Stew
Baking Powder Biscuits

Sunday
Chicken Ranch Pasta
Steamed Asparagus
Garden Salad
Toasted Garlic Bread

You can find more menu ideas, recipe links, and advice on Menu Plan Monday. You can also link your own menu for the week. Making a weekly menu is a good habit to have. Linking it each week is a good incentive to get it done.

~~Rhonda