What We are Eating Wednesday

Still living without fridge means I'm not doing much creative cooking but I did try something new this week! 

On Tuesday I made a big ol' pot of chili for dinner.  I know, I know, that is not a summer food but I'm trying to make food that we either eat all of so there are no leftovers for the coolers OR that I can freeze enough of for another meal later, thus, I made chili.  I picked up this cornbread mix instead of the normal "Jiffy" mix and it was amazing!  It was sweet and crumbly and went perfect with dinner.

My first slice I just had butter on it and it was good . .. . the second slice I added a little honey and it was amazing.  It was the perfect side dish to my fabulous chili!

A Little Summer Fun

Earlier this summer, Josh made a request.  He asked to visit the beach that is the farthest South on Lake Michigan.  If I remember correctly, this request came after swimming in Lake Michigan further North where it was 42 degrees.  There are many things that we couldn't do this summer but visiting Lake Michigan is always a for sure thing! 

My mom joined us on our adventure and I think we all had a great time!  Our adventure started with a fun lunch at a long standing tradition of a burger place just outside of New Buffalo. 

Darryl and I have eaten at Redamak's one time years ago so we thought it would be fun adventure to take the whole family.  Due to Covid, they have an outside ordering window and we were fortunate enough to end up with one of their two picnic tables to enjoy our meal.  The burgers were big and messy and the onion rings were super tasty.  We were ALL very full when we were done!

From there, we drove through New Buffalo to head to the city beach.  New Buffalo is a beautiful town with a marina that houses some incredible yachts. The city beach was huge with plenty of space to spread out. 

 My mom and the boys were having a blast in the waves! 

Lake Michigan is always beautiful. 

It was a "red flag warning" day due to the huge waves and strong under current so we stayed close to shore - we still got soaked due to the high waves!  

After spending a few hours at the beach, we headed back to the car to continue on our trek along the lake shore.  We started out going South so the Josh and Nate could step foot in another state! 

 They first stood right on the state line with one foot in Michigan and one foot in Indiana. 

 Next, they stood in Indiana. 

And the "Michigan" sign on the other side of the road. 

We explored alone the lake shore and saw some amazing homes and great views.  We also stopped at Warren Dunes State Park. 

 This state park as huge dunes that you can actually climb (if you feel so led HA!)  They are just amazing. 

 One of the reasons we love exploring is you find neat stuff - Josh and Nate had fun with this huge log.  

 And we found this amazing tree with a huge above ground root system. 

From the park, we continued on our trek and found a great park for a picnic dinner. 

We stopped at one more park before hitting the highway. 

At this park, there is a plaque that commemorates homes that fell off of the dune/cliff that we were standing on.  There was an earth slide that caused the homes to become unstable, then another one not long after.  Several homes were lost while several more were able to be moved.  There are still a couple of houses left on the cliff but are close to falling into the lake as well.  Nate, my history buff, loved this information 

It was truly a great adventure - we all came home sandy, tired, and sun kissed.  

Flowers

I am not a gardener.  As a matter of fact,  we have slowly pulled out all the bushes around our house and are working at making most areas mowable grass (even though we don't like mowing either!).  I don't like weeding or working in the yard - it's just not fun.  What I do love are beautiful flowers.  I decided to do a search and post some of my favorites that I would plant if I loved to garden.

 Tulips are my favorite.  If I could have rows and rows of them, I would.  

 I just love the look of this flower.  

 I buy sunflower seed packets every single year and I don't get them planted.  I would also love a wall of sunflowers along my house. 

 This is one of the flowers I actually do have planted and I love them.  They are effortless and come back year after year. 

 Poppies are high on my list.  Such a pretty flower. 

 Purple Alum.  I've always loved these - especially the giant ones.  There is something about HUGE flowers that just make me smile. 

 Glads.  I planted bulbs a few years ago and really enjoyed them.  I should plant more - again, such an easy flower to grow. 

I really dislike bushes but I love decorative grass.  Maybe it's because it reminds me of being by Lake Michigan near the dunes and that is my happy place.  

Weekly Worship Casting Crowns - Start Right Here

I love Casting Crowns.  For Real.  This is a new released (released July 24th).  It's got a great message!

2020 Weekly Photos #31

This week was a little wonky - not a whole lot going on. 

Saturday - Last Saturday . .. it was so long ago.  My mom treated us to a late lunch/picnic and Nate did some swimming at the lake.  I had my weekly family zoom call. 

Sunday - I don't think we did much - I think we just hung out at home. 

Monday - It was so hot.  Just hot.  One of our AC units was on the fritz (but is now working since it isn't as hot out!!) and we were about dying.  My mom came over for dinner.  Darryl grilled some amazing pork chops. 

A picture of my cat -- just because :-) 

Tuesday - it was still too hot to think.  

Wednesday - Darryl and I did some cleaning in the basement (I know, thrilling).  

Darryl and Josh started this game of Scrabble on Sunday, I think.  They finally finished it on Wednesday. 

Thursday - We went to my mom's for a great dinner.  When we got home the boys decided they wanted to get the ladder out and look in the attic. 

Friday - Today I planned to get my fridge ready to leave the house.  I even took some photos.  Then I talked to the store to conform the delivery time on Saturday only to find out that our fridge has been delayed.  The new expected delivery date??? August 29th.  For real. 

So my old fridge is sticking around, broken, for a few more weeks.  Which also means that menu post that appeared yesterday (Friday) is obsolete HA!  Oh well!  

Weekly Menu

 Guess what?  My fridge comes tomorrow!  Guess what else?  The AC window unit that cools off the end of the house with the kitchen died a few weeks ago so the kitchen is ALWAYS hot and makes me not want to be in it HA!  For real.  We will replace it next spring but for the rest of this season, it's just warm in half the house.  I'm still very excited to get my fridge and have cold water once again (the cooler's aren't the same!)  Plus to have leftovers, and cold fruit, fresh veggies and more.  For at least a few weeks, I'm trying to avoid meals with long oven times since that really heats up the kitchen.
Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - This is our weekly "eat out" night.  We all enjoy this fun outing.

Saturday - Pork Chops on the grill again along with some corn and blueberry struesal muffins.

Sunday -  This is a throwback to our favorite camping meal that we haven't gotten to enjoy since we aren't camping this summer it appears.  I'm going to marinate some steak and have steak kabobs.  Maybe we will even try some veggie kabobs too (or I'll cook those inside)

Monday - Today we are heading off on an adventure with Josh and Nate and my mom.  Where?  To Lake Michigan of course!

Tuesday - Pork Loin, Baked Beans, and Veggies

Wednesday - Today we are heading to my mother-in-laws to return her coolers and spend some time on her lake as well.  Trying to enjoy these last few weeks of easy day trips before school takes over our schedule.

Thursday - Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Veggies.

Five Months Later

Five months ago our state went into lockdown due to Covid-19.  It seems a little surreal thinking back to March.

This was our last photo before things changed.  It's weird thinking back to that Thursday.  There were already a couple of cases in Michigan but they were in Detroit.  We had a family day - both Nate and Darryl had a doctor's appointment with the same ENT so we all went together, all went into the waiting room, and all went into the same exam room.  We joked about the nurse who was sick with a cold (the same symptoms we were checked for and told we couldn't come if we had them!).  From there, we went to lunch at Wolfgang''s - which was full of people.  (Including one guy who was coughing up a lung at the table next to us).  We also drove all around downtown Grand Rapids enjoying all the sights around us.  We got home in time for Darryl and the boys to all take Dash to the vet for his annual check up.  They all went, all went inside, and all went into the exam room.  We had our plans ready for Friday school the next day - the last day of the semester.  It was a very, very, normal day. 

By midnight, everything had changed.  Schools were closed, our Co-op was cancelled, store hours changed, it was just surreal.  If you would have asked me then if I thought we'd still be facing this battle 5 months later, I probably would have told you no.  Like most of us, I thought that by summer the virus would be gone and we'd be good to go but instead, things are just as tough as they were 5 months ago.  I've learned to move through it easier but it is still there. 

* We wear masks into any building and when space is crowded

* We avoid indoor activities or outdoor activities with crowds

* We do not eat at sit down restaurants

* We haven't been back to in person church since March 
* Our Co-Op is cancelled for the fall

There have been TP shortages, Lysol shortages and lack of hand sanitizer.  Shelves at the grocery store have come up empty and gas prices dropped super low at one point.

Sometimes it starts to feel like things won't go back to normal but in studying past pandemics guess what?  Eventually things return to normal.  So for now, we just do the best we can to stay healthy and, well, stay sane :-)