NIXA JOURNAL: Hooray for November

I promised myself I'd use October as work month, and I feel like I've been a hermit for a month. I put fewer than 100 miles on my car for the entire month, mostly trips to recycle to dump yard waste. I filled up with gas on October 1, and my gas gauge needle has barely moved. I only ate restaurant food twice; once I picked up a pizza from Little Caesar's and then orange chicken from Panda Express. I haven't seen my friends and I'm starting to feel sorry for myself. Thankfully I can have a life again. I'm still working on weeds here and there, but no stress. I subscribed to a blog called Gardening Knowhow, and today I got an email about "What to do now to prevent weeds next year." I know what I'll be reading tonight.

I'm still plugging along with windows and weeds. The problem with windows is that I have furniture (or whatever) in front of most of mine, so when I washed the breakfast area window, I had to move the (sort of) baker's rack, but first I had to remove all the silk flowers and dishes. Then before I put it back, I had to clean it and wash all the dishes, etc. before I put them back. Lots of things sitting in front of the office window to remove and put back. You get the picture. But thankfully Mother Nature is cooperating with the weather so that I can keep on keeping on.

And my secret stash, which is very bulky to move.

I'll be so happy when this election is over. It's stressing me out. I'm praying that Sleepy Joe calling us garbage will be the worst thing which happens.

I'm going to try a new pancake recipe today. I made a vow to stop wasting food. At the current prices, it makes me feel guilty. I'm trying to keep track of what's going south and nip it in the bud. Last week it was bananas, so I made a loaf of banana nut bread with pecans. The pecans ensured that I wouldn't eat it - remember my head-to-toe rash? So it's in the freezer, waiting for a consumer. Perhaps I'll take it to the Travel Expo on Tuesday and give it to Terri to take to Raymond. He's allergic to walnuts but can eat pecans. The pancakes are made with cottage cheese (expires soon) and only 1/3 cup of flour for four servings. We'll see. I'll let you know if they're any good, because they're mostly protein, which is a good thing. I can put on some jam or syrup with a clear conscience.

Included in my plan is a transfer from plastic to glass. I bought a case of twelve quart jars and one of pints. I have lots of jars, and use them to store and freeze, but now when I open a bag of frozen vegetables and use only part, I'll transfer the balance to glass instead of returning the bag to the freezer, only to discard the remains later because it's too icy or freezer burned. I also found a gadget to vacuum seal the jar on Amazon. I probably could have found it cheaper on Temu, but you know where that leads. Fortunately it seals both wide and small mouth jars. I've been making strawberry freezer jam for years in glass jars, and I love that you can see the contents clearly. Right now I have a Mystery item in my freezer which is either beef broth or pot roast frozen in gravy or ?, which I froze in a white plastic tub.

Here's the gadget I found on Amazon. It's electric - no loose batteries to replace. And here's the link if you want one. Click

It's nice to have a life again. Just wish I'd been more diligent with my weeds, so that I could read or study now. The fence across my back is 162' and I had curbing poured all along in a sort of wavy pattern, so some areas are 3'-4' deep. Plus I have the curbing on both sides and the back of the house, plus areas in the front and a triangle in the corner where my fence butts up to the neighbor's. I see lots of planting in my future and more WEEDS to deal with on a daily basis. There are also three separate beds in the middle of the yard and an area by the side fence. What was I thinking?! At least the pressure is off. I can do other things besides weeds now. Finishing up will be my new hobby.

I made a casserole last week that you might like to try. It's Chicken Enchilada Casserole, and super easy, freezes well, and makes lots. So much quicker than Chicken Enchiladas.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Corn tortillas, white or yellow, not the soft kind
Diced cooked chicken
Minced onion
Shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Sour cream and green onion slices for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 350°.

Spray an 8” x 8” or 13” by 9” baking dish with non-stick spray.

Whisk the chicken soup into the enchilada sauce and pour a thin layer in the baking dish.

*Put two scanty layers of tortillas. Cut them in 1/2’s and/or 1/4’s to make them fit better.

Spread a layer of chicken and sprinkle on onion.

Pour on enough sauce to cover.

Sprinkle cheese over sauce.

Repeat from * one time.

Bake 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

If you have leftovers, you can cut it in squares and freeze it.

Note: I used a rotisserie chicken and since I had lots of meat, I decided to do a 13 x 9 with two cans of soup, and a large can of enchilada sauce. I made the mistake of using soft tortillas and they get too mushy. And I think white will hold up better than yellow.

I made a few cards for Halloween

Plus four which had orange stones instead of little stickers on them which I had to reglue. Hope they made it intact.

Brother Bill always finds the cutest cards.

And David's card this year is my favorite of all time.

I promised myself that if I didn't reach my weight goal by the end of October, I'd get rid of ten more clothing items. Here they are, ready for Neat Repeats (the thrift store for a women's shelter): Yellow is two pieces, wine is three pieces, white is two pieces, and turquoise is two pieces.

I found a bucket list calendar for 2025, and I'm so eager to share it with you. There's a different page for each month. Then I can cut out all the cute pictures for cardmaking. Or maybe I'll use it again for 2026. I don't use the calendar part anyway. I just like the pictures.

By the way, calendars are great for pictures to frame. These are in my breakfast area.

And the herbs are an Avon calendar in my kitchen. There are more beside the bookshelves, but my camera battery said, "No more - charge me."

I just received the photos of the food Linda and Burt prepared for a Happy Hour Celebration for Burt's skeet-shooting club. What a feast! She should have a YouTube channel - and don't you love her presentation when it's ready to serve? Well done, Girl! Bushels of kudos.