The Wednesday Hodgepodge #74

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. Fall arrives this week in the northern hemisphere. Does it look/feel like fall where you live? What's something you love to do this time of year that makes you feel its officially fall?

It is really starting to feel like autumn here in England. On Monday, when I was writing this, it was sunny but colder than it has been. Some days it feels like summer is still hanging on, when we have the odd warm day but you can feel the chill in the air, especially in the morning. I don't want to get up in the morning and would rather stay under the duvet and poor Stu leaves for work with a jacket and jumper on as it's cold and by the time he's coming home he's having to carry it as it still warms up later in the day. It's getting darker earlier in the evening and it won't be long until the clocks go back. The leaves are starting to change. Some are still green but I'm starting to see more yellow, orange and brown appearing! I have noticed Conker shells on the ground. I couldn't see any conkers but it won't be long until they start appearing too. I do like collecting them. Years ago my great aunt said that if you have conkers around the house it keeps the spiders away. I'm sure it's an old wives tale but it's something I still do.

Getting under a blanket is one of the things that make it feel like autumn has arrived. I always have a blanket next to my armchair so I can grab it whenever I want it. At the moment, it's not really cold enough for it all the time but it's nice to put over me when I am wanting that warm, tucked up feeling. It’s a brilliant blanket, it has a bit of weight to it so it doesn't fall off all the time, it is thick and it is very cosy. In a month or so, it will be over me all the time when I am sat here on my laptop or watching TV.

2. What's a small daily task or chore that always seems to fall through the cracks when your schedule gets busy?

For me, it's probably putting clothes away properly. I can keep on top of the laundry, getting it all washed and get it all dried but actually folding it and putting it away seems to be the bit that gets forgotten when I'm busy. I always think I'll do that later and later comes and there's still a pile of clean clothes sitting there!

3. What's something you're falling for lately?

I'm falling for hot chocolate again. I don't need much of an excuse to have one but the chillier and darker evenings somehow make it feel right. Now I am having a hot chocolate in an evening instead of my usual cup of tea. Over the summer, I didn't drink hot chocolate at all and I always forget how much I enjoy it. Mostly I just have plain hot chocolate but sometimes treat myself and top it with cream and marshmallows and when December comes around I will add a drop of Bailey's Irish Cream.

4. Pumpkin is a popular flavor this time of year. Are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?

I am a fan of pumpkin but I like it more in sweet things rather than savoury dishes. Now is when you start seeing everything pumpkins in the shops and it's hard not to get tempted by it all. My favourite drink has to be a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I love having an iced one while it's still warm outside and then switching to a hot one when the weather gets colder. If Autumn had a taste, that would be it. Food wise, I have just discovered a cranberry & pumpkin seed bread that is delicious. I just have it with butter spread on.

5. What's something you wish would never change? Explain.

I think it would be family time. Things have changed as my girls have got older but I never want to lose those times that we have together. Even when the girls move out, I hope we still have those moments. Enjoying a nice meal together, watching TV, random phone calls talking about nothing, going out somewhere or just having a laugh over something silly, usually the TikTok videos that they send me.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Poor Ellie, my youngest had a midday appointment all sorted and then a couple of days before they went and moved it to 10am which actually worked out better for her day anyway. So she gets all the way into town, steps right off the bus and they ring and say it's been moved back to midday! When she told me, I asked why she didn't just tell them she was already there and see if they could squeeze her in early. She said she hadn't thought of doing that. Bless her. When I was her age, I was exactly the same, terrified of making a fuss, asking a question or being an inconvenience to anyone. It’s taken me a lot of life experience and years to gain the confidence to realise that sometimes you need to speak up and ask! The worst they can do is say no and then you're no worse off than you started. I gave Ellie a little pep talk and she promised me she'd try asking next time. It's hard being a grown up!

Parenting young adults - When their partner stays over!

Nobody really warns you about this stage of parenting. You get plenty of notice about sleepless nights, tantrums, slammed doors and teenagers who communicate entirely in sighs but nobody sits you down and says one day another adult will stay in your house and it will feel strange for reasons you can't quite explain! When your children are adults and have been in a solid relationship for a decent amount of time, it's bound to happen, they want their person to stay over. Eek! 

I thought I'd be relaxed about it. I told myself I'm modern, reasonable and there would be no stress over the partner of your adult child staying over and I said it all very confidently, right up until the first time it actually happened and that is a whole different story! Oh! and before anyone jumps to any conclusions, don't assume there are shenanigans happening and people are sharing beds.

The first stay is just weird! The house feels different. Everyone’s polite in an over-the-top way. My young adult keeps checking in with me using their eyes, like they’re asking permission but without words. Their partner is doing that careful guest behaviour where they’re trying not to take up too much space, even though their presence alone already feels quite big. That first night, I go to bed far more awake than usual. Not worried exactly, just aware. Aware of doors closing and of footsteps moving around. It is just weird!

Morning comes and immediately I remember someone else is here. I suddenly care about how I look when I leave my bedroom, even though this is the same house where I will happily wander around with no bra on, scruffy PJs and with my hair doing whatever it wants. I become oddly aware of my voice, my clothes and the general state of things. Then comes the first kitchen moment. That overly cheerful "good morning". Everyone is smiling a bit too hard. Breakfast is awkward. I don’t know whether to offer breakfast or pretend I was just grabbing something and will be back later. They don’t know whether to sit, stand, or hang around near the doorway. Your young adult goes to the bathroom, abandoning me and then I have to make small talk, it is just so awkward.

I notice me editing myself too. There is less muttering, less narrating what I'm doing and fewer random comments fired out there. I'm still me but a slightly toned down version. I'm the version I use around people you don’t know very well yet. Which feels odd, because this is my house and I usually don’t filter much at all. As the day goes on, things ease a little with conversations lasting longer and then nighttime rolls around again, bringing with it that same quietness. I don’t talk about it but you know everyone else is aware too.

What surprised me most was how grown up it all felt in a how did we get here so fast! One minute I was tying their shoelaces, the next I'm sharing a sofa with another adult who is part of my child’s life now. This person isn’t just passing through, they matter to my young adult and that adds some extra importance to everything. I want to be welcoming without putting on a show, I want to be myself and I want my home to feel safe for everyone.

By the second or third stay over, things become a lot less awkward but still not how they usually are. I've moved past the initial shock but I'm still getting used to things. I start noticing things more. The way the house sounds with an extra person in it and how conversations change slightly. It is different having another adult around, someone who isn’t your responsibility but is still there, someone who belongs to another family, another home and is now in mine for a short time. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I've had a few emotional moments and realised this isn’t really about the guest at all, it’s about my child growing up, about them building relationships that don’t revolve around me and I am no longer the centre of their world!

As time goes on, the awkwardness does fade. I've stopped overthinking everything, worrying about if I'm doing things right and I have gone back to being more myself. The house has settled down again, even with an extra person in it and sometimes, if I'm lucky, that extra adult starts to feel less like a guest and more like a member of the family. Someone I can chat to easily and who fits into the rhythm of the house without trying too hard. It doesn’t happen straight away and it doesn’t happen all the time but when it does, it takes the edge off those wobbly days.

If you’re in that stage now, feeling like your house has shifted slightly and you’re still adjusting, that’s normal. It doesn’t mean you’re not supportive or relaxed or handling it well. It just means you’re human and this is one of those quiet parenting milestones nobody really talks about and if nothing else, it’s proof that somehow, without much warning at all, you’ve raised someone old enough to bring another adult home and that’s both a lovely thing and a slightly surreal one all at the same time.

Our weekly meal plan! 21st - 27th September! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We had a great one. I was out on Saturday night with friends. We went for a meal and then went to a country night at the pub where they had a singer on. It was a lot of fun! Yesterday we all had a lazy day. I spent most of it in front of the TV while doing some blogging, which is pretty much my idea of a perfect Sunday these days!

Last week's meal plan went well. I did swap a couple of meals around but we ate everything. Our favourite meal was of course the leftover roast dinner pie! I put all the leftovers from the Sunday dinner into a pie dish and pastry on top and it was so good! I love using leftovers to make a different meal. I really enjoyed using the Gousto boxes last week, so we have another one this week with some of our favourite meals!

This week is going to be a strange one with Ellie working! Eek! Everything is up in the air at the moment as she doesn't get her shift pattern until later today. I can see myself being on edge all day, until she is home and I can hear about how her first day went. It feels like such a big thing when your children start a new job, even when they are grown up. I am going to keep myself busy and have a big tidy up in the garden. There is always something that needs doing out there and I have been putting quite a few jobs off. Stu is talking about having a tidy in the garage but he can do that himself. I do not like all the creepy crawlies in there! I am quite happy to leave that job to him.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - No idea!

Stu is doing the cooking tonight, so it will be a surprise. I don't think he knows what he's planning to cook either but I think it will be something out of the freezer. I quite like nights like this because I don't have to decide anything. I can just turn up and eat!

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Mushroom Wellington With Onion Gravy And Mash!

This is one of our favourite meals from Gousto which is surprising considering my family are meat lovers. I think the first time we ate this I didn't tell them there was no meat in it. Hehehe This is a plant-based Wellington and you almost forget that it's supposed to have meat in it. Puff pastry is stuffed with mushrooms, sage and walnuts and served with mashed potato and covered in delicious onion gravy. It is one of those meals that sounds a little fancy but is actually really easy to make!

Wednesday - Gousto meal - Crispy Chicken Katsu Curry Burritos!

This is a fun twist on chicken katsu. Crispy breaded chicken and shredded lettuce wrapped in tortillas and topped with the most amazing sauce. Wrapping it all up makes it feel fun and it is a nice change from having katsu curry served in the usual way.

Thursday - Gousto meal - Sausage Meatball & Tomato Sauce With Fresh Orecchiette!

This is another one of our favourites from Gousto. My family would eat this every week given the chance. This one is sausage meatballs cooked in a tomato sauce, served with fresh orecchiette. Those little bits of pasta are brilliant at holding onto sauce. Every time I tell the girls we're having this, they look puzzled until I say the pasta, which is like the Skips crisps. lol

Friday - Chip shop tea!

We are back to having a chip shop tea this week and I am looking forward to it. No cooking and no fuss. The biggest drama is deciding what we fancy. Fish and chips? Sausage and chips? A burger? Kebab? Maybe a pie? There are so many options. Last week Stu and I had fish and chips and Ellie had her usual Doner kebab wrap.

Saturday - Pizza!

I don't know if it will be home made, fresh from the shop or frozen but I know it will be enjoyed.

Sunday - A help yourself evening!

I have no plans for Sunday at all. Everyone can help themselves to whatever they fancy and use up bits from the fridge, freezer and cupboards. There is always something that needs using up.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 13th - 19th September! Week 38 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I was glad for the weekend to roll around. It was a hectic week with sorting out Ellie and her new job! You can read more about it in my Word of the Week post yesterday. It's only for 4 weeks, a temporary job but at least it's something. I am hoping for a nice little lie in this morning after being out last night with Becky and some friends. Today I am going to plonk my behind in my armchair, do some blogging and watch another Harry Potter movie!

Now for a photo every day!

256/365 13th September

Cooking a roast dinner is brilliant until you realise just how many dishes there are to wash afterwards! This wasn't even all of them! We don't have a dishwasher, so in our house the kids are the dishwashers and dryers. Hehehe! As much as I would love a dishwasher, we don't have the room in our kitchen and sometimes I do actually like standing looking out of the window and washing the pots, just not on a Sunday.

257/365 14th September

This looks like vomit but it was actually the leftover roast dinner pie filling! It wasn't the nicest thing to look at but it tasted so good! It had chicken, carrots, stuffing, parsnips, pigs in blankets and gravy, all mixed together and then I just whacked some puff pastry on the top. It was one of the best pies I have ever eaten, again! I say that every time that I make it. lol

258/365 15th September

I know it's far too early for Christmas things but I love the Merry Munch from M&S and Becky was very kind and treated me to an early tin. I couldn't resist opening it either. Christmas food seems to start appearing earlier and earlier every year and I am not complaining! There are milk chocolate coated salted peanuts, milk and white chocolate coated popcorn, salted pretzels, sugar coated milk chocolate peanuts, almonds in a salted caramel flavour coating and dark chocolate coated salted pretzels!

259/365 16th September

Just when I think my garden is finished giving me flowers, another one appears. This time it was another California poppy and it was such a lovely bright colour. It was so bright it was practically glowing!

260/365 17th September

I spotted the Pumpkin Spice Latte instant coffee sachets in Asda and couldn't resist giving them a try. They were £1.50 for four, which I thought was a pretty good price, especially when you pay around £4.50 for one from the actual Starbucks store. If they taste as good as the ones from Starbucks, I will be saving myself quite a bit of money. I haven't got around to trying them yet, I want to have one when I can sit down and really enjoy it.

261/365 18th September

On Friday I shared a photo of the biggest tomato from my garden which hasn't yet turned red and on Friday I think I found the smallest tomatoes growing in my garden! They are about the same size as small grapes. It amazes me that even in the middle of September things are still growing.

262/365 19th September

I had a look outside and it looked very grey. I was sure it was starting to rain too but the weather forecast says it should only last until lunchtime and then it will be dry until mid-week!

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