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  1. We used a convection/microwave oven for quite a while when our regular oven stopped working…thank goodness the burners on top still worked…It wasn't a Breville but it made some good meals…As for what I am reading now…I decided to go with something light and fun for a while so I am reading the series of "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children" by Ransome Riggs…I am starting the second one "Hollow City" tonight…and the third one is "Library Of Souls"…they are just such fun reading and the old photos make it even better…Great if you like unusual things…or you're a kid at heart!

  2. I don't mind watching….as long as I've read it first! I think that 90% of the time books are better. Have you ever made cornbread salad? Yummy! One of my favorites- especially in the summer time!

  3. Hi Brenda, I walked by The Woman In Cabin 10 at Target, trying to justify the hard cover price. When I was at Target the following week I'd decided to get it – and of course it was gone! However, they had "in a dark, dark wood" by Ruth Ware in paperback, so I picked that up. I've just started it! I enjoyed the book, Girl on a Train, more than the movie. But I enjoyed The Light Between Oceans movie as much as the book. Do you remember when you recommended that? I bought the book and loved it!
    Thank you for the kind words about our new family member, Midgie. She's such a love. I don't think she is a Maine Coon as she's only 10 lbs, which is small for a Maine Coon. And even though she's long-haired, she doesn't have the super long fur and ear tufts of a Maine Coon. Baby told me she wants me to do a post on her after the special post Midgie just got, so you'll get to see her soon! So nice chatting, Brenda!

  4. Your dinner looks amazing and it makes me want to cook! Meat loaf is a favorite of ours but I don't make it that often. Not sure why because it's so easy. Have you ever made Hobo suppers? They are so delicious and perfect for one serving at a time.

    I haven't had the chance to read lately with our move. Tonight I am going to crawl in bed and read though. Looking forward to it. 🙂

  5. Your meal sounds so good, Brenda. We never have leftovers, at least none to make another meal. We are pretty good at cleaning our plates and I like the little bit left for lunch the next day.

    I will check out your new thriller. I loved Girl On The Train and I hear great things about the movie. I have about 5 books going on now. When one gets slow I pick up another If a book is really good, I would read it cover to cover right away. Maybe I won't ever finish the ones I've set aside. I no longer feel guilty about abandoning a book…just the money spent.

    I was thinking about you and your grandson the other day. So glad you guys are enjoying time together!

    Jane

  6. Hi Brenda – Sounds like a great day. Neat to hear that you and your daughter share a love of reading! I smiled to myself when you said you fall asleep to the sound of rain. You'd love Seattle… at least when going to sleep, I guess. Lol.

  7. Since all the books I read come from the library, if I am not enjoying the book, I just put it in the return stack. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful library in my small town. I am currently reading Damaged by Lisa Scottoline and, thus far, it is one of her better books. When I was growing up, we had no convenience foods except for loaves of sliced white bread. Everything else was cooked from scratch and my mother was an exceptional cook. Next week is Thanksgiving!

  8. i love these posts about your everyday life.
    simple. and cozy. and wonderful.
    i too grew up on beans and cornbread! and fresh tomatoes and fried potatoes and onions… and fried okra! when i think of home that is what i taste in my heart.
    i must look up the breville oven.
    and … no. i never trudge on in a book i don't like. life is way too short for that now. i get novels from the library. so i don't feel bad about giving them back early!
    i only buy books now that i want to read and re~read. i love cozy english mysteries.
    and…
    YES RAIN! the sound the smell the shining reflected light… oh my. i never tire of it.

    1. We must be sisters! Yes, fried okra is the best. I love a cozy afternoon with the rain pattering on the roof.

    1. Marty, I don't think I know anyone who cooks as much as you do. Your home must smell heavenly all the time. Those potential buyers will lap that smell right up too!

  9. Next weekend is going to bring some cold weather my way so I will be settling in with some good books. I freeze my own individual meals too. So great to pull out when I don't feel like starting from scratch. I freeze cornbread, banana bread, and pumpkin bread to pull out too. xo Laura

    1. Sometimes I think of you there in your little apartment, much like me here, and I'm so happy for you! Cold weather is the perfect reason to gather in some books and cook up some good meals to freeze.

  10. Nothing beats a meatloaf sandwich the next day! Do you make your cornbread from scratch?

  11. We don't eat meatloaf often, but I happened to make it last week. I used half ground beef, half ground pork. Makes it really moist. I also put bacon on top, then in the last 20 min, I made a glaze of ketchup, mustard, vinegar and brown sugar to put on top. Oh my, it was so good!

    I just finished reading Cruel, Beautiful World. At first, it was so good that I could barely put it down. But then a little after halfway through, the tone of the book totally changed and became really sappy and "hokey". I was so disappointed. However, I wanted to know what happened to the characters, so I skimmed through until the end.

    I happened to make a pan of cornbread last week, too! (Great minds think alike?) We didn't eat it all, so I put the leftovers in the freezer. So easy to just take out a few pieces and heat them up. In fact, I'm going to do that this afternoon for lunch with some of my homemade soup.

    1. You are such a creative cook, Melanie! I hadn't thought to freeze cornbread. If I have any left, I will if I find room in the freezer.

  12. Your meatloaf looks great! And now I'm craving meatloaf – sigh. I just sent a sample of that book to my kindle, when it goes on sale I'll buy it – looks amazing and I LOVED The Girl On The Train, so I can't wait! I rarely give up on a book, although it has happened a few times. Mostly, once I start I'll plow through and hope it improves. Who knows why….?!

    1. I only buy Kindle ebooks that are free or are 99 cents. Otherwise I get real books from my daughter, who does not have a Kindle.

  13. I grew up in south Texas but we ate whatever could be grown at my grandparents in north west Louisiana. No "store bought" meat or vegetables. I miss going to the peanut loft to pull peanuts from the dry vines. Also miss taking the corn in to be grounded and making molasses syrup in the fall. We were spoiled back then and did not realize it.

  14. Good Monday Morning Brenda. Oh that meatloaf looks and sounds yummo.
    Glad you had a good time with your daughter for her birthday and got some good books to read too.
    Kris

  15. I am reading mainly biographies in 2016, currently reading a bio on Norman Rockwell, just finished one on Kathleen Kennedy (a fascinating read!). Only in this year have I trained myself to give up on a book if I can't really get into it – before I made myself finish it – no more! Life's too short for a boring book. And yes, books over TV anytime. Do you have Netflix and if so are you watching The Crown – fascinating though not completely historically accurate in one or two spots.
    Mary

  16. I love meatloaf and it will last me for several meals also. My daughter has a Breville oven and loves it. I have stopped reading books I start but don't like. Too many other books to read so I don't wast my time on one I'm not enjoying!

    1. Some people have told me that their Breville gave up fast. But mine is going strong two and a half years later. And I use that thing most every day.

  17. Brenda, I also cannot stand to read a book I do not find interesting. I used to soldier on when I was younger, but now if I do not get interested in the first couple of chapters, I just stop and find something else to read.

    I like the idea of your sound machine and I might think of getting one for myself. I would like the sound of the ocean to lull me to sleep.

    1. My sound machine I got from Bed, Bath & Beyond I think. Or perhaps Amazon.com. It was just under $20.

  18. I'm reading 'The Girl on the Train' now. I'm almost done and its just now getting good. I was a little bored starting out.

  19. Growing up in Texas, we had beans, cornbread, fried potatoes, spinach at least once a week. The spinach was canned which I thought was delicious until I had fresh spinach…what a difference! I am reading an Anne Perry mystery…really like her books…takes place in 1880's when women were not liberated, but the heroine is and several of her friends. I always enjoy your blog and read it everyday. In many ways, you are a woman after my own heart.

    1. So did we. We didn't have a car and lived in the country. So we pretty much lived eating from the garden and what was canned for the cellar. Beans was a staple.

  20. Brenda, you described the "good life" perfectly….and I agree the sound of rain completes it. I don't finish books I don't love. Too many good ones out there and not enough time. Thanks for being you and for returning to posts about every day life.

    1. When I was purchasing more books, like on the Clearance rack at B&N, I felt more compelled to read them because I'd spent a bit of money on them. But with Kindle, I only read free books or just occasionally ones that are 99 cents. So I don't feel guilty if I just can't get into them.

    1. Mine is a convection oven. It isn't cheap. Runs around $250. But then I don't have a stove and use it for most everything. I think it originated in Australia. Google it. I bought it because of so many good reviews when I gave up my oven.

  21. I had to laugh at your comment about canned food. My mother was a dear, but a cook she was not! I didn't realize that spaghetti came any way besides inside a can until I was in 7-8th grade!

    1. Spaghetti was never on my childhood menu. Now that I think about it, no pastas were for some reason.

  22. Glad your meatloaf was good. I was raised on a farm so we were meat and potatoes all the way. I never had pizza until I was about 16 years old. lol

    I used to make myself finish a book even if I didn't like it- now I quit if I read a few chapters and they don't catch my interest Right now I am reading After The Storm by Linda Castillo. (mystery/murder set in Amish country). She has a whole series. Language is a little rough sometimes but the book is a good one.

    Have a great week, Brenda. xo Diana

    1. The first time I heard of pizza, I was about 10, my neighbour friend got an easy bake oven for Christmas and we baked a pizza 🙂 if you could call it Pizza, just crust, sauce and powdered cheese in a wee pan! We didn't like it 🙂 Didn't taste the real thing until I was 20 and living in a cosmopolitan university town, what a difference! I'm checking the Library for The Woman In Cabin 10. Our Library has a program called Books By Mail, it's absolutely fabulous, order online and in a few days there's a book in your mailbox, included is a return address label, you read then send the book back to the Library. I love it! Especially in the winter when I do not get to town often.

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