What's for Supper/Dinner and What I've Been Up to Lately
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
Midland, Michigan
April 11, 2017 5:19pm CST
I'm trying fish tonight baked with the pesto we'll see if it's a win with my husband or not. The picture shows it in the oven baking. I don't know whether it will bake in enough since it doesn't need to be cooked as long as the chicken was, but we'll see in a bit. It didn't seem to flavor the fish as well as it did the chicken, but I only tried one bite so far.
One major thing I wanted to accomplish while off these three months after surgery was getting a lot of paperwork filed away and if time begin whittling away at the mess in my daughter's old bedroom where I pretty much dump stuff when I don't have time to take care of it properly.
In January, she moved with her boyfriend of four years to the other side of the state as he got a full-time job. Things aren't going as well as she'd hoped. Mostly she's homesick, but she's also stressed out about many things and doesn't have anyone else there to vent with. It looks like she's returning home by the end of this month.
That means that not only do I need to go through the stuff in that room on my list, but I need to move everything out and I don't have much time to get it done. She may share a room with her sister for a bit until I get more done.
I actually made a lot of progress today and got rid of lots of old paperwork that was over seven years old. Half of it I put into the shred pile and the other half into the trash. A few things I found that I want to keep and file. I realized while working on this stuff that I have three file cabinets; one with four drawers and the other two with two each. I also have accordion folders and other containers that will hold the file folders for easy access. I'm sure that most of the file drawers have the same type of info. That means even more things to go through eventually. Yikes.
Once that room is done I have my husband's desk to make room for in some other room and the file drawers and then there's the closet. I can't even think about that just yet as it's loaded too.
I also put an ad on Craigs list this afternoon as we're looking for another guy to carry ladders and clean second story windows. They can't be afraid of heights either as most don't like to do the work if they're quaking in their boots.
13 people like this
12 responses
@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Apr 17
We had fish too but it was tilapia and had lemon sauce on top. Very tasty. You do sound busy. I did what I call The Purge of 2014 when we had bed bugs. Got rid of everything. Had so much stuff accumulated and I was so freaked out over those little horrors we had.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189927)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman .....We got rid them with three sprays over about a month and a half. Then we got cockroaches. What next?! I'm told it is because of refugees that have moved in here.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
16 Apr 17
@celticeagle You have refugees in Idaho? I didn't think any were allowed to come to America unless small groups came in that I'd not heard about?
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
12 Apr 17
I thought at first it was tilapia as we sell that at my store and I buy it a lot, but looked at the package and realized it was pollock instead. It would be easier to get rid of everything, but I have to keep a lot for seven years at least. Eventually, I'd like to work in the basement and take all the yearly stuff boxed away into shoe boxes to the shred thing too, but maybe I can do that a different year instead.
It's amazing if you were able to get rid of those little buggers that easily even though I know it was a major event to go through everything like you had to. I have a friend that lives around Colorado and she lived in an apartment some years ago and found the whole place was infested. She wasn't too happy about that.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
13 Apr 17
We have started giving away a lot of stuff and our basement is lighter, My son comes home every once in a while so his room is always the way he left it last. I don't clean it or change the sheets, its his job. He has his own place while he landscapes near by but its seasonal (closed for the winter) He has a farm house near by daughters home for the winter but he does visit us often.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
14 Apr 17
My girls went through our basement some years ago and threw out a broken desk and lots of papers that got waterlogged when we had a leak one year, but it doesn't take much for it to get cluttered again since it's fairly easy to put things down there out of view when we don't have enough time to take care of it right away.
Eventually, I want to be better at that. I'm thinking I may want to rent, for free the large dumpster that our city allows each person to have several times per year if desired. They'll put it on the outlawn and empty it daily for a three day period of time. Once my knee heals better and I can manage the stairs without holding on, I'd like to begin working on decluttering the basement too.
My problem is we run a cleaning business so I have a lot of extra gallons of different cleaners just in case we get those bigger jobs. At least any papers filed down there should be way older than the seven years we have to keep stuff, but that would be another project for later as those papers wouldn't be thrown into the dumpster.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
15 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate We don't have actual trash down there either, but we do have lots of cleaners that can't be put into the regular trash unless we pour them all down a drain beforehand. I ran our business out of the basement before moving everything upstairs and there's still old paperwork down there that could be shredded too. It I didn't have to work two jobs it would be more caught up than it is.
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@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
15 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman we have been going through our "stuff" in the basement which is also my studio, its amazing what we have found and we have only lived here about 15 years. My husband puts the good stuff on his work bench so I can take photos and I send them to our kids, asking if they want any of it, If yes it is set aside and the rest goes to the charity shops. There is very little trash down there - thankfully hubby will not keep trash, it disappears in the weekly garbage .
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
13 Apr 17
Well I hope you accomplish everything and find someone good to help out with the business.
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@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
14 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman I know that my nephew gets lots of day jobs on Craig's list so I think that young people use t for jobs, me I have never used it for anything.
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@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
12 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman No only this week and I am not even obliged because I have more than 60 years, so I am no more obliged to respect.
Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia if you are not updated about this
Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. Every person between the age of 18 and 59 (beginning of 60th year) must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
16 Apr 17
@LadyDuck Well I was made to follow that when I was a Catholic growing up, but I gave up that church when I was twenty-six and no longer follow their rules unless they are also found in the Bible.
I'll have to ask my siblings, if I remember tomorrow, whether they knew that once they got to a certain age they wouldn't have to observe the abstaining from meat during this time period if they don't want to.
For most people, it doesn't hurt to eat less meat and to eat more fish anyway, so even older people probably still follow that rule for the most part.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
12 Apr 17
Have you been staying away from meat for the last month, or six weeks, Anna? That's what we did growing up although I no longer remember the length of time or if it was mostly on Fridays that it wasn't eaten.
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@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Apr 17
you have been busy today. I made a big ham a couple of days ago, today we had ham and cheese omelets for dinner.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
12 Apr 17
That sounds good. I bought a lot of eggs as I get to make deviled eggs for our easter get-together. If I have too many left over, I may make a quiche, those are always good too. Your use of the ham sounds delicious though, too.
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@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman Today I'm going to make pea soup with the rest of the ham. I try to get the smallest ham I can but that's still to big for only one or two meals.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
12 Apr 17
@fishtiger58 Me and my daughters love homemade split pea soup, but my husband won't eat it, so I don't make it much. Mostly because I could never get the peas to soften up the way they did when my mom made it. My husband prefers bean soup, so I've done that too and that works with leftover ham.
We have a ham in the freezer from meat my brother gave us in the fall. I should let it thaw, they are delicious.
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@responsiveme (22923)
• India
19 Apr 17
Looks like you've gone through a lot of work cleaning up stuff. When I do that, I stop and read and get side tracked and end up not doing enough.
How are your knees.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
20 Apr 17
Up to recently my knees have ached, but never really hurt not even right after surgery. They are beginning to hurt less and less but my muscles will still hurt as I continue to work them and try to do more.
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@responsiveme (22923)
• India
22 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman I think with use the muscle pain becomes less. I was aching all over the first day when I went for my swimming lessons after the pool reopened for the season.
Take care
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@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
12 Apr 17
I wish you luck at finding someone to work. Good luck with all of that clean-up. I find myself bombarded with paperwork as well. I finally have a better order to keep the kid's schoolwork in. I went to Dollar Tree and bought 3 rectangle plastic boxes. They are deep enough to hold their paperwork/artwork from school without bending anything that is large. One problem solved and several to do.
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
12 Apr 17
good to know you are there for your daughter when she needs you
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@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr 17
@MarshaMusselman Ok, I understand, but I repeat - don't overdo it.
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@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
19 Apr 17
Its my junk and papers in there. It wouldn't be fair to make her do it although she may help me with it once she returns at the end of the month. I was trying to get a lot of it done for our shred day tomorrow, but discovered we can only take three bags of shreddable material and I have over five already. I'll still need to go through the papers, but I have a bit more time to do it now.
She will be sharing her sister's room for a few weeks until we can get it all done. I'm hoping to begin moving some of the file cabinets into my area one of these days. I plan on putting old towels under the corners so I can just easily push it through the rooms and then get help to put it into place when ready.
I've gotten two letters from the disability manager where I work. They're hoping the surgeon will clear me to work limited hours and a different department if necessary. I know the surgeon would prefer that I have off one more month, until the end of May, but I don't know whether he will get his way or not.
I began doing a small amount of windows yesterday and today to hopefully increase my stamina. It may rain the next two days so I'll get a break from that again and maybe get more of her room done.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54720)
• United States
12 Apr 17
We had hamburger steaks tonight hope everyone enjoyed your fish.
hope everyone enjoyed your fish.1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
12 Apr 17
My daughter usually eats with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other weekend and at first I was going to make chicken with the pesto on it as I have about six thighs, but then when I remembered she was hanging out with a friend for supper I changed it to the fish. It was just my husband and I and I never heard any complaints. I'd ask what he thought, but I don't want him to wonder or ask what was different about it, so I'll wait to see if he ever asks or not.
I'll be finishing up the rest of the pesto on thursday with the chicken. I usually buy different brands of breaded fish so this was a nice change of pace.
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
13 Apr 17
When we begin decluttering, something we learn almost immediately is that the biggest problem is always papers! We never give a thought to how they accumulate over time and when we finally get around to trying to deal with them, they seem to have multiplied like bunnies! I hope you find a solution! And I hope you find someone good to help with your business, too!
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
14 Apr 17
I think I'll have the worst of it done before she returns home, but I'm hoping she can help me keep up with my bookkeeping for a while after her return. She did that a bit before she moved out.
The problem with owning a business is that you have to keep most related papers those dratted seven years. At least I've finally gotten to the place where I shred my current, personal bills after paying them. I used to keep those a while too but changed that to alleviate more needing to be done later.
