{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 01/10/2022 }

 

Good morning dear friends, come on in out of the cold.  It is a bitterly cold morning, 20 degrees and the real feel is just  15.  Sure cuts to the bones doesn't it?

 

Well, it is Monday morning, a start to a new week, and I just realized that last week, the only post I managed to get up was this one.  Goodness!!!  I don't know why the week got away from me.

 

The colds seemed to be making their rounds, I'm pretty much done with mine, except for the lingering cough which doesn't get a chance to get better with the high winds we've been having.  They kick up my asthma and it's just a vicious circle that never seems to end.  

 

Anyway, it's life and it's normal for this time of the year.  The weather certainly doesn't help, we had 20 degrees two days ago, and then the next day the high was 80.  How?  Why? Crazy!!!!

I enjoyed visiting you all last week, and I can't wait to go by again today and say hi, and see what you're all getting up to.  

 

Have a blessed week my friends!!! 

 

:::: The Weather ::::

 

A bit of a cooler week, at least there doesn't seem to be many flip flopping days from cold to hot and back.  

 

 

 

:::: How I am feeling this morning ::::

 

My chest feels a bit tight and I have the little cough going on, but I've already taken my allergy pills.  I take Singulair for asthma, which is induced by the allergies.  *sigh* 

 

 

 

:::: On the breakfast plate ::::

 

All I've had so far is coffee, however, I will be making some Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats soon. 

 

 

 

:::: On my reading pile :::: 

 

I am now reading Having a Mary heart in a Martha world by Joanna Weaver.  I've already read one book so far this January, it was called Sold on a Monday and it was really good, read it in two hours. 

 

:::: On my TV ::::

 

I am loving, and I mean LOVING the new 1883 show, on Paramount.  I don't usually have that channel, but I do have Amazon Prime, and I got the 30 day trial, with the 99c for two months after, deal.  I normally wouldn't do it, but this is such a good show, and well worth subscribing for.

 

Aside from 1883, I've started watching Yellowstone, since the shows are connected.

 

I am also watching 2 Portuguese Soaps, Quero e Viver and Para Sempre.  And that is basically all the television I am wasting any time watching.  The rest of my time, I've been reading.  

:::: On the menu this week ::::

 

The next two weeks, I am making primarily Portuguese meals.  I've been craving my food, my heritage, the meals I remember eating in Portugal.  Most of the recipes are already on the blog, and those that aren't, I'll be taking pictures so that I can get the recipes up. 

Monday - Pasteis de Massa Tenra, Salad (I have some leftover sausages that I'll be using)

Tuesday - Portuguese Pork Chops and Potatoes

Wednesday - Frango Estufado com Espargete (Skillet Chicken and Spaghetti)

Thursday - Almondegas da Bio, Batata Frita, Salada (Greatgrandma's Meatballs and fries)

Friday -  Galinha com cenoura e Arroz (Dad's Favorite Chicken)

 

 

 

:::: From the camera ::::

 

Every Christmas, we get a real tree.  When it's time to get rid of it, I always cut some of it's branches and place them in a mason jar and label it.  It's something the kids started doing when they were still little, I actually have a jar from 2012.  It's just so much fun to keep and it's amazing how they still smell like pine after all these years. 

 

 

:::: Looking around the house ::::

 

I need to carpet clean, yet again.  I wish I could convince my husband to get rid of the carpet in the dining area/den, because it's a high traffic area and I just can't keep it clean.  Looking at it, you would think it never gets washed.  It's frustrating to me as a homemaker.  

I opened my back door for a few minutes this morning, just to let in some fresh air, but that was about 3 minutes before I closed it again since it's so cold.  

 

The curtains have been opened however, and the sun is streaming the most beautiful rays, through the windows.

 

 

 

::::  To do List ::::

 

 

♥ Laundry - remove the last load from the dryer, fold, and put away

♥ Take my car for a drive - started giving me issues on Friday and it turns out, it was almost empty on the coolant.  I keep an eye on these things, but it had just been to the dealership to get repaired, and I figured they would have checked it as well.  Guess not.

♥ Fix bathroom wall - our master bathroom has a half wall between the tub and toilet.  Since we've moved in, there is an area that gets wet from the shower, and has been falling apart.  We've fixed it a couple times but it continues to deteriorate.  We need to patch it again today.

♥ Make some French Bread rolls

:::: Something fun to share ::::

 

I was thinking this morning about how much I miss the feature I used to have, many years ago, called The Greatest Places on Earth.  

I used to share a beautiful place somewhere on earth, and even shared a recipe from that area.  It was so much fun, and I had quite a few homeschooling moms and littles following along.

 

I would love to bring that back to the blog, however, I know that at the moment, I am not very good with keeping up with anything on the blog, so I won't even attempt to do that.  But, I can certainly show some of these amazing places, here on our Happy Homemaker Monday.  

 

So, this morning, I actually want to share with you a place that I visited on a school trip in Portugal.  We traveled from Povoa de Santa Iria (where we lived), to Evora, which is about an hour and 20 minutes.  

They took us to visit the Capela dos Osso which in English is the Chapel of Bones.  I was fascinated and a bit scared to be honest, I was only 5 years old so this was quite intimidating  Hahaha

The Capela dos Ossos was built in the seventeenth century by three Franciscan friars, a building that used to be a dormitory and a reflection room for them. The idea was to create a space for reflection that would convey the ephemerality of human life and, at the same time, to free some space occupied by the cemeteries in the city. This was a creative solution, but at the same time, very sinister!

 

 They decided to remove the skeletons from the earth and give them a new home, the Chapel of Bones, which was then decorated by various skeletons. There are probably more than 5000 human skulls arranged by the walls, columns, and the ceiling of this building. But let's focus on the message we found before entering this chapel. 

 - Source Living Tours

 

If you want to see more of the chapel or read more about it's history, you can head on over to Wikipedia or just google the chapel.  There is a ton of pictures and interesting information.  

 

 

:::: Today's devotional :::: 

 

Today's devotional comes from the New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.  A short sentence but it makes you stop and think of just how truthful it is.

 

The DNA of joy is thankfulness.  Have you noticed that entitled, complaining people don't happen to be very joyful?

 

Wow!!!  Short but to the point.  The author also tells us to read Psalm 107 to go along with this message, so I'll be doing that shortly.