Miscellany: Brain Dump, Lists + (Coffee Pot/Food Ideas)

The last week and a half have been an absolute whirlwind. Today felt like the first “normal” day since getting back to Canada, and I have been craving “normal”!

We went to church. We stopped by the store for a rotisserie chicken. We had a simple, easy lunch (chicken and veggie wraps). We caught the end of the Formula 1 race, which was a bit of a gong show but still fun. I finally tackled the stack of mail from our time away and, aside from a few things that still need to be filed, it is DONE. Hooray and hallelujah.

I preemptively spent time on corporate books; it went smoothly and things are up to date.

We’re mostly on top of laundry.

The weed situation on our flagstone walkways continues to be the absolute bane of my existence, but I think it’s a lost cause and I’m trying to just ignore the situation, knowing it will not be going away. Sigh.

Yesterday I took a little nap, and then spent an hour in our backyard hammock finishing a book on my Kobo (Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth; it was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it!). John and I also needed to do some work on our investment portfolio and we got that done. Another big relief!

The Canada World Cup game was heartbreaking, but such is life.

Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic about the next week.

Tomorrow could be a bit hairy. I need to get Indy to multiple places, and we’re coordinating another tow for our vehicle. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.

So many summer plans still feel up in the air, but this week has some structure, including lots of fun for both kids. Indy has sports camp in the mornings and a one-hour tennis lesson in the afternoon. Belle has a mix of babysitting and social things with friends, but she’s at the stage where she mostly coordinates those plans herself, which is both wonderful and slightly surreal.

I also have a loose meal plan, despite currently feeling zero desire to ever cook again in my life. Unfortunately, the pint-sized people who live with me continue to expect food.

On the list:

• Meatballs (made and in the fridge) and rice with steamed broccoli
• Homemade potato salad (already made and in the fridge!) with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
• Greek salad, hummus, and naan bread
• Chicken, veggie, and noodle soup (currently making a stock!)
• Baked beans (from a can; no baking required!) and hot dogs, because we’re fancy like that

Blergh. I love eating, but really don’t like cooking. I’m predicting takeout sushi for an at-home date-night with John next week?

There’s also always boxed Kraft Dinner. The kids never complain about that!

I also unexpectedly came into possession of a big bag of frozen ripe bananas, so I really should prioritize making banana bread/muffins at some point.

I have a few boxes and bags ready for consignment/donations. Our furnace/storage room is still a bit of a disaster zone, but once those things are out of the house, I’ll give it another go.

My Need To Do list is long, but in two weeks we have a solo week while both kids are at camp. EXCITING!!!

LITTLE TWEAKS

• Running the dishwasher every night. I haven’t always ended up using this rhythm, but I really appreciate it when I do. The dishes are dry and cool in the morning.
• Second: outsourcing the dishwasher-emptying to whichever child happens to be nearby. For years the dishwasher has technically been Belle’s job, but lately I’ve been roping in whichever kiddo is available.
• Third: I signed up for curbside pickup at Sobeys, my go-to grocery store. I did this a handful of times during COVID (at Superstore), but at the time it felt like more of a nuisance than a help. I’m going to try again because I think it could be very handy, especially during the summer season.

COFFEE MAKER

I want to buy a coffee maker!!!

Nothing huge and nothing fancy—or, as my father would say, nothing with too many bells and whistles. I’m thinking something that makes four to six cups? It would be nice if I could set it on a timer, but that’s not critical. Mostly I want simple, reliable, and relatively small.

Any recommendations?

MORE MISCELLANY/TO-DOs

• THE ANT SITUATION IS DIRE. There are so many little ants. We always have a few this time of year, but things have really ratcheted up. I went back to my old faithful recipe of Borax and icing sugar, but it doesn’t seem to be working this time.
• I need to schedule my annual PRK (laser eye-surgery) follow-up. This really should have happened in May or June, but I was out of the country, so it slipped down the list. I’ve been able to see without glasses for three years now. Wow… time flies!
• I also need to get my wedding band and engagement ring inspected at the jewelry store. I have a warranty on both rings, but for that to stay valid, they need to be inspected every six months. They let me stretch it to July since I was away, but now July is here and Future Me has become Current Me.
• And then there is food. As mentioned, I have no desire to cook, but I had a delicious poke bowl while we were in Cardiff and would love to recreate something similar at home. Do you have any great poke/taco/burrito bowl recipes you follow, even loosely? What are your go-to ingredients? Favourite sauces?
• I also need to pull my Instant Pot back out. Before we left, I was in a good rhythm of using it regularly, but now it feels oddly daunting to start again, even though I know it is so easy once I get going.

Okay. That’s more than enough blathering from me. I’ll be back tomorrow with another trip recap.

Your turn.

• What’s on your To Do list for the upcoming week?
• Does anyone have a simple coffee maker recommendation?
• Send me your best Instant Pot or bowl recipes!