The Weakly Tribune Vol. 1 Issue 5

THE WEAKLY TRIBUNE

Monday 7.18.22

Finished the last of the Crumbl cookies for breakfast. Hard to say which was my favorite, but the Pop-tart one won hands down for presentation! Faried all the freezer food out to the lean-to freezer, and wiped the Baber’s freezer out before they came and picked it up. Sure was ready to see it go, but it definitely saved the day(s)! My phone completely froze up; I couldn’t make or take calls. Thankfully I was able to do a hard reboot and get it working again. I MUST prioritize getting a new one ASAP. Right after lunch, Gwen picked up Danielle to go swim at Kevin’s Pond. I had too much Work to do to go along. Got the last of the pink-eye peas from Mr. Byrd simmering on the stove with lots of fatback. Our peaches from Steve’s Farm are ripe and delicious! Ready to be put up, but alas, I have no FruitFresh. Worked at my desk, edited, posted, and mailed The Weakly. Commenced to make kombucha again! Enjoyed the peas, country-fried steak, instant mashed taters, and white gravy for supper. Danl had to run to the barn and to check a job. Danielle and I did a thorough clean out and refill on the pool. Lit the torches filled with mosquito repellent fuel and sat in the firelight while Danielle splashed and slid and swam! The fresh hose water was too cold for me. Once Danl got back home, he took a turn on Antics Watching, and I made us a batch of fresh peach/orange smoothies. Yummm. Then fed my very first sourdough starter from Karma! I named her Susie. Really feeling like a homesteader today with two things brewing and bubbling. Got to bed quite late with my Evening Routine not even touched. 

Simple Satisfaction: Seeing the bubbling activity in Susie; life exists everywhere. 

Tuesday 7.19.22

Woke up to the discovery that Diesel had had an accident in the night. He has always been such a dignified dog and was so embarrassed and ashamed. Bless his heart! Cancer is not for the faint hearted. Cleaned up the mess. Discovered I did not have enough flour to make sourdough bread. Ugh. Mel brought Ellie and Zach over to swim in our little pool. So good to get in some long overdue sister time again! And to soak up some sun! Scrounged up some lunch together. Gave the house a much-needed tidying. The rain couldn’t stay away for long, but it felt cozy to hear it pittering again, so I lit the tapers and put some cold orange juice in my strawberry mug since it’s too hot for afternoon tea. Sipped and read in The Secret Life of Bees. Finished Morning Routine and was just gonna start putting up peaches when Danl came home. Made cheese dip and served leftover fajitas from last week with fresh flour tortillas. The meat didn’t quite stretch, but I was not in the mood to cook, so I had an avocado “fajita!” Delicious. Cleaned up the kitchen and put up 6 bags of freezer peaches. Danl was feeling off and went to bed early. Danielle and I grabbed some snacks, blankets, and pillows and had a fun stargazing session. Nothing like hearing little girl giggles and crickets chirping under a starry summer night sky. Life is good. I opted to sleep on the couch to be able to let Diesel out if needed. Stayed up too late adding things to my Walmart Pickup for tomorrow. 

Simple Satisfaction: Slipping the skin right off a fresh Georgia peach. 

Wednesday 7.20.22

The Day of Ramen! Daniel is for sure ill. I should’ve been more thankful for these two last weeks of wellness! Fried the rest of the rind-on bacon for everybody, then made myself a most decadent pile of French toast topped with a fresh peach and lots of Cool Whip since I was the only one interested. Highly Recommend! Use Cynthia’s recipe in the Schneider cookbook and add a small splash of both almond and vanilla extracts. Worked on clearing up storage space on my phone. Made Danl some ramen. Ate lunch on the back porch before hoping to swim, but those plans were dashed with a tremendous summer thunderstorm!  At one point, lightning struck so close and so fiercely that it blew our front door open and made the fire alarm shriek out! Felt sad that I wasn’t sewing as I worked at my desk all afternoon. Good thing I put some hours in, because I was about to fire myself! Danl wanted another bowl of ramen; then Danielle asked for a bowl! Kept on working like a good secretary should. Danielle has a huge Play-doh production ongoing. Got really off-schedule as the evening went on. Push-mowed the backyard, then swam with Danielle to cool off as the sunset glimmered pink and gold. Got her some supper, and finally made myself some Public Goods ramen around 10:00! Eating ramen at home has been leveled up with the awesome authentic ramen bowl with wooden chopsticks Gwen gave me for my birthday! Read No Girls Allowed to Danielle before settling myself in for another night on the couch. 

Simple Satisfaction: Seeing the mounds of bagged grass clippings outside the fence. 

Thursday 7.21.22

Danl had ramen for breakfast. I had peach French toast again. Danielle actually wanted to scramble herself a couple eggs! Puttered around majorly; it’s so hard for me to stay on schedule when life isn’t normal and sickness hovers heavy. Swam with Danielle in the backyard. Headed for Pensacola around 2:00 for a quick stop at Dollar General, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart for Pickup. Kinda neat when they substitute 11 containers of fresh raspberries for the 6 bags of frozen ones they didn’t have! Ate a whole container for a snack on the way home. Danl was feeling good enough to help with supper and grilled the chicken while I put away mounds of groceries and made mac ‘n cheese and green beans. Listened to Russell Spence give a lecture at the Care Meeting in Texas while pedaling. I really love my new little contraption for exercising! Bounced around with Danielle pretending we were dodo birds before going to bed. 

Simple Satisfaction: Hearing Danielle shriek with laughter while we play-acted. Goal: More Grinning, Less Griping!

Friday 7.22.22

Right away, clouds of doom and gloom wanted to settle heavy on my shoulders like a crocheted shawl from the 1960s. I really tried to shake it off, but like I’ve learned from the past, sometimes you just need to accept it and wear it for a while. Then later, you realize that it slipped off somehow when you weren’t even aware of it happening. Danl went to the barn for a bit, but was soon home and back in bed.  After making sausage biscuits for breakfast, I read for too long in The Secret Life of Bees. Such a great book! Worked at my desk. Danielle pretended to be a puppy. She has the boxes that contain the storage cabinets I ordered on Prime Day arranged into a “pen.” She even goes outside, then taps on the back door with her “paw” like Diesel does, and barks. Danl suggested I get a pizza since I had to run to town to deliver an invoice and pick up a check. Did more desk work, then Danielle and I were gonna swim only to be halted by the sky starting to cry. Danl drummed up enough energy to help me make Philly cheesesteaks for supper. Danielle helped me put together a 3 layer cart on wheels that is really gonna improve the hall bathroom organization! Finished my book and went to bed. 

Simple Satisfaction: When a book ends well; not “happily ever after” but just realistically “good.”

Saturday 7.23.22

Slept in again. Our schedule has gone to pot with Danl being ill. Discovered my oven has decided it no longer wants to heat! Conveniently right when I needed to bake the crust for my Raspberry Pretzel Dessert for the wedding too! Thankfully Katie saved the day by offering to switch her already baked crust for mine when borrowing my glass jars for girl’s class decor. Phew. Finished the dessert, wrapped wedding and birthday presents, picked up milk, and Danielle and I went to Paige’s 7th Birthday Party! It was a festive fun event held in their spacious new shed. Gwen had one corner all decorated up with an adorable kitty theme, and Nes had made a stunning cake. After a delicious feast of hamburgers, beans, pasta salad, watermelon, cake and ice cream, the kids (and some adults) had a blast tie-dying T-shirts!

Simple Satisfaction: Fixing the skirt on a dress from shein.com so I would have something newish to wear to the wedding. 

Sunday 7.24.22

Happy Wedding Day, Landon 💛 Rachelle! Left around 9:40 to pick up Miss Smith, thinking we would be plenty early! We weren’t, but were thankfully early enough to snag Sanctuary Seats! It was a lovely wedding! Particular highlights to me were hearing It is Well sung so serenely after the vows, and seeing all the whimsical bouquets of greenery with splashes of white. The meal of Smoked Turkey, Wedding Salad, (the bbq frito twist one) Baked Mac ‘n Cheese, and Orange Fluffy Salad, with a dessert choice of either Lime Chiffon or Raspberry Pretzel did not disappoint either! Kristi and were the ones privileged to wash the Bride’s Table Dishes. At first, I was very dubious of my capabilities for this task, but Rachelle had not chosen dainty dishes and the kitchen company was most pleasant. Next time I’m asked to do this job, I will say Yes with less hesitation! Connecting with old friends was wonderful but felt cut short. The new Mr. & Mrs. left in the rain driving Ronnie’s old green van! Took Miss Smith home and then took myself home. Soon everyone at our house was hungry but no one felt like cooking, so I volunteered to run up to Popeyes for a box of chicken, biscuits, and Cajun rice. Did lots of WhatsApp chatting reporting on the wedding etc. 

Simple Satisfaction: Knowing that love will never end. There will always be new vows vowed and old ones renewed.