48 YEARS TOGETHER AS HUSBAND AND WIFE

TIS MY 48th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.  We're staying HOME to celebrate. Went grocery shopping on Tuesday for the makings of a fine candle light dinner.  Since the dining room table is my work station for paper sorting, I will create a cozy dining area in the entryway that's in the front of the house.  It's like a miniature room where we can close the interior door as if we are in a fancy restaurant.  

I will sweep and wash the entryway floor, dust the buffet that sits in there, round up some white candles, place the tea table in there with two chairs.  Locate some romantic music and set a fine table for our steak dinner.  

I will whip up a small combination salad with dressing.  Hubby is fixing the steak, garlic bread, baked potatoes and broccoli.  I bought a couple of Key Lime flavored yogurts for dessert if we have room for it or perhaps we'll eat it later.  We'll have a small amount of wine so we can toast one another as lovers do.  

I think we'll say I DO and look through our wedding pictures.  A quiet evening together will be pleasant as we exchange anniversary cards.

Perhaps I should go cut some of the lovely roses from the large rose bush.  The blooms are very fragrant and how lovely that would be.

48 years.  Lord have mercy as I pray for our health, wealth and well being.  A Christian marriage with a lifetime of adventures.  I honestly cannot say that our marriage has been a bed of roses or that it was a Christian marriage the entire time.  With much heartache and prayers we have persevered and made 48 years together building a HOME together, making a living, raising a family, and learning a great deal about LIFE and GOD. 

I enjoy hearing LOVE STORIES.  I enjoy hearing how someone's marriage fell apart and came back together with God's help.  Sometimes marriages don't make it.  If you are heart broken, God can help mend your broken heart and give you strength to go on.  

Blessings,

~d~

OKRA IS A FRUIT AND I HAVE THYROID CONCERNS

 WHAT WILL I DO TODAY THAT IS GOOD FOR ME AND HEALTHY???  Eat organic veggies throughout the day and drink tea for medicinal purposes. Yes, this is good for me.  

Breakfast was a V8.  
Lunch will be a scramble of three kinds of small potatoes, two types of onions, two types of bell peppers cooked in olive oil.  Iced tea to drink.  
Supper will be oven baked vegetables such as radishes, beets, carrots and celery.  Making this a vegetarian day for the meals.  

~Nutritious OKRA is actually a FRUIT~

I ate wonderful vegetables and fruit from my daughter-in-law's homegrown garden when we visited.

It was a first for me nibbling on a crunchy raw okra.  A FIRST!  Raw okra straight from the garden.  The only okra I have ever had has been breaded and fried... and was very slimy.  This okra was crunchy and I managed to eat the whole thing and liked it.

When produce has seeds inside the food, they are technically a fruit. All this time I thought certain produce were vegetables when in reality they were a fruit because the seeds are inside except for strawberries and pineapples.  Pineapples are neither a pine or apple but a group of berries that have grown together known as a multi fruit.  

Pumpkins are fruit?  Yes.  Bell Peppers are fruit?  Yes.  Squash and eggplants are fruit?  Yes. Cucumbers are a fruit?  Yes.        

I ATE THE ALL AMERICAN DIET OVER THE WEEK-END. McDonald's Sausage Egg Burrito was my choice for breakfast as we traveled to Oklahoma.  I am not eating as much pork these days by design, but ate small pieces of sausage in the burrito and again the next day in a breakfast casserole.  Lunch was DQ Chicken strips, Texas Toast and I had my yearly DQ Chocolate Cone which I proudly say I only ate about a third of it and threw the rest away.  Still, where were the veggies vs. breaded chicken and TEXAS TOAST?  Their toast was flattened instead of sitting tall in the saddle.

Only a nibble of the cone... onto a birthday party which I knew I'd be having CAKE!  So in this respect, I cut the carbs and sugar just a little in preparation for cake later.  I ate a cupcake topped with luscious frosting and a wonderful cookie.  Water to drink.

Sandwiches, chips, veggies and fruit for Supper.  I enjoyed every bite knowing in the back of my mind that the week to come I have to focus on beefING up the veggies and downsizing my appetite toward more of THE DANIEL DIET meals. That means no meat, dairy and bread. 

On our way back to Kansas, we stopped at the same DQ eating the same meal of chicken strips. We split the meal.  Hubby got the gravy, french fries and chicken strips and I got the Texas Toast dipped in BBQ sauce along with three strips.  Tea to drink.  Some Starbucks Iced Green Tea was sipped on as we drove the long way HOME.   ARBY's Classic Roast Beef Sandwiches were later. That's over kill on the bread, no fruit and veggies.  MY BAD.  Returning to organic veggies and fruit this week.     

Knowing that the middle of the week will come and I will be eating a steak meal to celebrate my 48th Wedding Anniversary, I will have to scale back on what I consume which actually means I will allow a NICE MEAL for our anniversary then eat differently to make up the difference.  BACK TO IT.  Get back on the wagon, girl.  

PLANS THIS WEEK:  Making plans this week as I sit, I need to stay flexible like a noodle.  

Laundry caught up.  
Boxes of papers gone through, organized, sleeving important papers to keep and filed.  
Kitchen cabinet sanded.  
Paint bought and start painting this tall cabinet.  Aiming to have first coat of paint on it by the week-end.  
Purchasing sheet rock for the shed walls and hauled to COTTAGE. Celebrating our 48th wedding anniversary mid-week.  
Cleaning on the house.    

I have a large cardboard box sitting on a dining room chair.  I stand sorting through the papers, work a while on this then go and do something else.  Return to the sorting and off to do something else. Each time I pass the box I stop and sort through some of the papers placing them in certain piles that I will organize after the box ie emptied.  By the end of the week I will have gone through hundreds of individual pieces of paper making it to the bottom of the box.  The medical box will have been dealt with.  Can I hear an AMEN?  Not just one...maybe five or six of 'em.  Amenamenamenamenamen!!!!

What a magnificent thing this will be when it is finished.

I went through the financial box last week and am satisfied that it is HISTORY!  Praise the LORD.  Medical papers this week and then I have a huge misc. box begging for attention. Another week's worth.

THEN the binders of the GRANDCHILDREN will be made up.  I think after I get this done, I will need to jump for JOY and pat myself on the back for getting the paperwork all in order AGAIN. Praise the LORD!!!  I will have accomplished something BIG in our estate. Praise the Lord again and again.  This will be like a ton of weight off my mind which does affect my body just the same.

Going through mounds of papers.  When finished, THIS will ease my mind that this has been taken care of.  Getting my household back in order.  I ask myself, "BACK IN ORDER...you remember what that feels like, Deanna?"  It has been a long time since I can honestly say ALL the paperwork is in order.  A VERY LONG TIME.  It has been on the back of my mind for years.  It has tremendously bothered me that it needed dealt with.   

IT'S STRANGE, but this morning I actually felt rested.  I feel pretty good for having had a very active WEEK-END with traveling.  I am thankful to feel so good.  It's been awhile.  Looking over the calendar and the month of September is speckled with medical appointments. I need to keep this in mind and pace myself so I don't freak out getting over tired.    

As I change eating habits and work toward being healthier, I do talk a great deal about food.  Not to over emphasize it, yet I have health concerns and can see how it is so easy to want to lose weight, but I mustn't be mesmerized to do every wacky diet on the planet.  

Later this month, I have my follow-up Thyroid medical appointment and I won't be shy to ask quite a few questions that I really would like to hear their advice on such as when not having a thyroid how do you suggest one lose weight?  Cut back on carbs and exercise?  I'm doing that so if I'm doing that what next?  I'd like more investigation done.  What next?

What vitamins and supplements should be taken?  Calcium?  Why haven't you been checking my calcium levels since I have been your patient?  Twelve years is it?

A healthy thyroid produces T1, T2, T3, T4, peptide hormone calcitonin...but the golden standard when treating someone who does not have a thyroid is the T4 only treatment.  Why? Shouldn't all the hormones be given to replace what a thyroid normally produces? Why are these hormones produce in the first place from the thyroid if the other organs do the work that you are mentioning? 

If my TSH level is a good number and I still feel awful, what will be done to help make me feel better?  Please Investigate.  Should I be concerned about inactive ingredients and additives to the medicine?  What else can be taken if Synthroid doesn't work or Armour?  What's the purest form of levothyroxine that can be taken?

Are the powers that be willing to give T4 to keep the person alive verses actually feeling well? 

I faithfully take my meds the way I have been instructed to do...still my TSH numbers are not stable even when I used name brand Synthroid for 5 and a half years.  I still had issues.  I take my meds with at least 8 oz. of water in the morning about the same time each day on an empty stomach before eating.  I wait an hour after taking the meds to eat or drink anything besides water.  I wait over 4 hours before taking any supplements such as vitamins or other meds.  I no longer drink coffee or milk that might interfere with absorption of medicine.  What else?  The medicine is kept at a proper temperature out of sunlight, moisture and heat.    

Now as I research I find out that dairy products can interfere with the absorption of the medicine and should not be taken for at least 4 hours after taking T4.  Hello somebody...why hasn't my thyroid doc informed me about this?  I'll have to ask, won't I? 

What else might interfere with the absorption of T4?  Ask.

I told a friend of mine there are no thyroid doctors and she said yes there are...I repeated, there are no thyroid doctors.  She didn't catch my drift.  What I could have said is, thyroid doctors aren't helping my difficult case therefore it's like not having a thyroid doc.  Frustration is real.   

EATING BALANCED MEALS full of nutritionally dense foods is the way I have chosen to get healthier.  Being healthy is the basis of why I am doing what I am doing...eating organic, less grain, avoiding soy products, less dairy, less pork.

Here's to our HEALTH,

~d~

BIRTHDAY BOY

~TURNING EIGHT IN AUGUST~

GRAND SON had his 8th birthday in mid August.

WONDERFUL AGE.

Grandma sure loves her GRANDson.

Onto more adventures at this age.

I don't get to see him very often in person so when I do, 

it's extra special.

Hugs,

Gma

ANNETTE REEDER's SALAD

 https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=87w2S&m=gfJq9qheAmqiQ7E&b=D9Fqu7PDU5V9uQyrexunMQ

05_Wells Fargo Wagon

Retired Teacher's Single Level Tiny House

FEELS LIKE SATURDAY TO ME!

GLAD IT'S ONLY THURSDAY.  I have stayed in my housecoat ALL DAY working on sorting through financial papers.  Making headway and needed a break.  

I took all the papers that were in one rather large cardboard box and made individual piles for each account such as Banking, checking, savings, retirement, credit cards, etc.  

This morning I began taking a pile at a time and sorting through the pile dating each paper on the upper righthand corner for quick identification of dates then putting the papers in monthly order.  When I finish a pile, I go to the next one.  I am so contented to be making progress.  ahhh.  

I like having my paperwork in order.  This downsizing phase is helping me move forward in LIFE as an older woman.  Once again I will have order.  After our 2016 fire, all the order I physically had was gone.  Total mess.  After 5 and a half years, I have finally been able to dive into the boxes that we had stored in the garage shed.

It's like having a heavy load lifted off my chest.  

My plans are to stay in my housecoat and work all day focused on paperwork getting organized. After these financial piles are done, the medical box full of info about health issues and individual accounts will be dealt with.  I know I have medical papers from as far back as 1987.  It use to be when you visited your doctor, that as you were checking out you were handed a piece of paper showing what you were there for, the diagnosis, tests ran, etc.  Here's your receipt. 

I want to keep these older papers as a LIFE HEALTH JOURNAL.    

No more is this done.  It's now, you owe us this much, no paper, no print out, no nothing. I SUPPOSE I COULD PRINT OUT MY OWN AT HOME to keep on file for future references such as why and when I went to see the doctor, their diagnosis, medicine prescribed, follow up. Might come in very handy.  I know there have been times that my recall of when I had such and such doesn't come to remembrance.  The health portals are very helpful these days for recall if the portal is up and going.  I started printing out my pages.  I know more paper, but it sure is handy having these print outs on hand for quick recall.  

After going through THYROID CANCER, I began to do loads of reading and printing off articles that I wanted to keep on hand.  Each health issue will have a file on it.  

THYROID
DIABETES
OBESITY
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
CHOLESTEROL
NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA
VITAMINS AND MINERALS
DIETS/FOOD PROGRAMS
BLOOD WORK/LABS
ETC.

I may have a medical library after I get done.

YESTERDAY I MADE ANOTHER TRIP TO TOPEKA.  Had a great time getting out.  I returned to OFFICE MAX for a wider binder for my greeting cards.  This morning I transferred my 25th Wedding Anniversary cards into a 1 1/2" thick binder.  This size holds the cards nicely.  I wanted to get a sparkling silver colored binder representing our 25th Wedding Anniversary, but they didn't have this color.  I may have to try the internet for my Wells Fargo Wagon order.  

OFFICE MAX did have a gold sparkly one that would be great for one's 50th Anni. cards.  I bought a ruby colored one for when I come across our 40th Wedding Anniversary cards.  I have them somewhere around here. 

When I glance at the book shelves, I will know in an instant that those are our cards.  Silver binder for 25th anniversary cards, Ruby colored for 40th and gold for 50th.  Instead of having these cards boxed up, they will be in binders sitting on a shelf.  

Each Grandchild will have a binder in either light pink for the girls and light blue for the boys or I will chose a special color per child.  Don't want to make this complicated.  I've already done that and it kept me from being productive.  

Welp, I had better get after more sorting.  I've finished retirement papers, credit union, savings account piles...now for checking accounts and credit cards.  I'm forging ahead and will have another paper shredding day very soon which is actually FUN.  

Did I ever think  P A P E R  would have such importance in my book keeping?   

N E V E R! Here I be going through papers GALORE again.  

Fine tuning is a must.

ALSO went to SAMS as I saw the day before some wonderful interior paint with primer  called Tribute CONTEMPORARY WHITE made by KILZ in eggshell.  It has a blue undertone making it look slightly gray.  

I checked this paint and color out on the internet and liked it thinking it would be a good fit for our COTTAGE and our BUDGET.  The price was exceptional.  We bought enough for the COTTAGE's two bedrooms, living room and dining.  It's a soft white that I believe will be relaxing to be around.  

 

With a gift card from my Oklahoma Family, I ordered a book I had on my WISH LIST.  It arrived yesterday and I am so please with its content.  BEAUTIFULLY ORGANIZED A GUIDE TO FUNCTION AND STYLE IN YOUR HOME BY NIKKI BOYD.  

I came across Nikki Boyd's youtube channel a few years back and fell in love with her style and ability to organize then when she wrote this book... I wanted it.  I waited.  I FORGOT.  I remembered.  I ordered.  I received!  

The book is chalked full of helpful ideas.  One can watch for FREE her videos which are all informative.  www.athomewithnikki.com 

She has recently relocated so I know there will more than likely be newer videos coming out about her new HOME.  

I like the bright WHITE cabinets and the airiness of this KITCHEN.

Back to it.  I had a nice BREAK now to get after another pile of those  w o n d e r f u l  PAPERS that aren't going anywhere unless I help them along.

AND AWAY I GO,

~d~

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:12
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

HEALTH MATTERS

MY DAY DIDN'T GO QUITE LIKE I PLANNED IT, but still got a lot done.  I had plans to go to Topeka today...just happened a little later in the day than I thought I would go. Had a medical emergency happen that required me to take a high dose of Ibuprofen and wait until it kicked in.  Between my TSH numbers being TOO HIGH and having fibroids, I had an issue arise that needed some serious attention.  Fibroids can bleed and when a woman is hypothyroid, the fibroids can bleed.  Well, mine did and I just about went to the hospital.

I never felt faint, nor ran a fever or became weak and nauseated.  I sat an hour and a half. Decided that I was going to be alright and if while I was out and about were to have another episode then I would either go to the Hospital or immediately return HOME.

My body quieted down and I felt well enough to go to Topeka in the afternoon.  I will have to watch and see if I have additional issues.  I took it easy and drank unsweetened iced green tea for medicinal purposes.   

I'll try again to do a SPA DAY where my hair gets shampooed and ROLLED on actual curlers. Maybe just maybe it will happen.  grins.

Greeting cards were sleeved in paper protectors and I purchased some binders at OFFICE MAX for 99 cents a binder.  I'll have to go back and get one just a little bit bigger as the size is a tad bit too small for the cards I sleeved.  I went ahead and bought $10 worth of some white binders at this price.  I can use them for a multitude of paperwork.

The oversized box full of financial papers is in the Dining room to where I can stand when going through it.  I worked some on this and will continue until it is empty.  I'm making individual piles per bank, savings institution, retirement papers, etc.  I have an urgency to get this done as quick as I can.  Working when I can on it.  Much to do.  

After I get these papers into piles then I'll go through and put the papers in proper order and file away for a rainy day.  It's going to take some time to make this happen and when it's done I'll do a dance.  Really.

 

Topeka shops we went to...Starbuck's for Trenta Unsweetened Green Iced Tea.  A medicinal treat.
Long John Silvers for a fish meal.
OFFICE MAX for binders.
God's Storehouse just to look around and get a peanut butter cookie.
SAMS to check on auto tires.  Bought a WILLOW and SAGE magazine for entertainment and ideas.
DILLONS for organic veggies.
TACO TICO Taco Burger for supper.  My favorite.

Got through the day without issues.  Safe travels and time to put feet up to relax.  Praying for good health.

Shall see how the day goes.  More paperwork to do.  Sanding the kitchen cabinet.  Laundry. Carry some ice chests down to the basement.  Study health issues and decorating on computer. Fix Grandson's Birthday gifts.  Shower and fix hair.  Dishes.  Vacuum the rugs.  Not sure I'll get all of this done.  Will play it by ear and rest when needed.  I am not young anymore and I feel it.  

Scripture draw today:  Isaiah 58:10.  If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity.

~d~

YEAR OF THE BINDER

AS I SIT HERE TYPING UP THIS BLOGPOST, the locust are singing rather loudly outside probably from the huge trees.  They may be out of sight, but not out of mind.  I hear you.  It's a familiar Summer sound that I'm use to in Kansas.  They must love the weather as they are extremely loud.  The weather is very pleasant today.  I have got to get around and take a shower so I can shampoo my hair.  I can't seem to find the time to curl her as I will be putting her up on my head in a hairclip so I can dash off to work on the COTTAGE.  

I'll be sanding baubles off of the tall kitchen cabinet.  When I get this done...more papers to go through.  Lord help.  Hubby said he came across a couple of storage tubs in the Carriage house without a clue about what's in them.  I sighed when he told me there might be more papers to go through.  More?  I thought.  More.  Take a deep breath and don't get emotional.  It has to be done.  Amen.  The sooner the better.  

On the other hand  the piles of paper I haven't already gone through that I am keeping have been moved to the dining room table so I can stand while sorting them.  Bending over to get into the boxes requires more effort and this old body needs help making this task easier.

Sleeving pieces of paper with vinyl paper protectors that I plan on keeping has been uplifting as I see some order take place amongst our paper stash.  

I will be sleeving my children's papers and Grandchildren's such as Birth Announcements, Birthday Invitations, Graduations, notes, cards, etc.  Planning on making up individual binders for each child so there will be binders on the bookshelves in the near future.

I have large yellow envelopes that will be gone through so the papers can be sleeved.  I am how many years behind...maybe 20?  Better than 30 years behind.  I'd encourage Parents of young children to keep a file box with folders to save fun papers from their children as they grow up then make up binders with sleeve protectors holding a few papers for each year for remembrance.  I think it is easier on the nerves to do this in real time instead of waiting until your 67.  Anyways...it's taking place.

I have baby books on my children sitting on the shelves.  I gave my daughter a scrap book with certificates/programs in it a little while back.  Now as I group other papers, I have to decide if I should give the kids their grade cards, birthday cards from loved ones and friends, hair trimmings and baby teeth that their momma saved behind the scenes.  The grade cards and birthday cards...yes.  Hair trimmings...maybe.  Baby teeth?    

Recent studies have indicated that stem cells can be retrieved from baby teeth that might help with health issues later in life.  

https://kidshealthyteeth.com/what-to-do-with-your-childs-baby-teeth/

BINDERS MADE FOR GRANDCHILDREN and CHILDREN papers. Vacations, Inventory warranties, important purchases, recipes, newspaper clippings, what else...decorating ideas and creations from magazines.  Antiques, dolls, Christmas ornaments.  Photo Albums.  Special greeting cards.  THE YEAR OF THE BINDER 2022.

As of date, I have a Christmas Ornament binder of my Hallmark ornaments also one for my children's childhood ornaments.  If the kids choose to throw the ornaments away...well then I have a picture of the cherished ornament and when I get HOMESICK over a simple ornament, I can look at the picture for recall.  These ornaments are the kids' and I need to be done with it.  Not even the cute wooden ones my folks gave to them each year when they were little.  Shed a tear and go on.  They all have children of their own now and guess who gives the grandchildren a Christmas ornament each year?  Oui.  I'm not sure it means anything to the grands, but I know I have a tradition that I repurposed from my folks.  A simple tradition.

Binders to hold important papers and pictures to me...I will be relieved to have them worked up and sitting on a shelf for easy access.  Having some of this in the cloud would be a smart thing to have as a back up.  

I've worked up a large turquoise binder full of sleeved obits of loved ones and friends.  I know more dead people than alive these days.  It's a bit sobering.  Still rounding up obits.  Sigh.  I am blessed by knowing these peoples.

THIS MORNING, I sleeved up the 25th Anniversary Cards we received 23 years ago.  As I sleeved them, I reread the cards.  Beautiful messages.  Some had hand written notes that I had attached to the cards.  Gosh...this brings back such good memories of the friendships I had while living in Tulsa through Christian Women's Club.  I spent more time today looking at the cards and notes then I did 23 years ago.  I'm in disbelief that it has been 23 years since I last saw some of these friends and have lost track of them.  That part saddens me.

New friends have been made and I pray there will be more friendships formed as a 67 year old.  

I will get a binder and put the sleeved cards into and there they will be.  I haven't the heart to pitch these at the present.  The cards are gorgeous and I think the people that gave them to us are very special to me.  SO for now, the cards will be on the shelf.

I am spending hours dealing with going through boxes filled to the brim with PAPERS.  I hope I see the day when I have all this dealt with.  Next are the financial papers.  Retirement, checking, banking, expenses.  More thinning to do.  Making headway.  PRAISE THE LORD.

Praise the LORD!!!

~d  

  

DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT

THE AUTUMN WREATHS WENT ON THE DOORS.  I needed brown ribbon looped around the wreaths to make hangers. The ribbon made fast work of it.  I hesitated hanging anything close to harvest decor, but in a flash I changed my mind and out they went. The wreaths should get about 3 months on display before Christmas Holiday wreaths switch out the theme.

It may have been SUNDAY, but I stayed in my housecoat all day.  This didn't stop me from working as I had a pretty active day anyhow.  I did my fair share of sitting and doing paperwork between working in the Kitchen making way to get the church pew out of the cubby area surrounded by this and that.  Since the co vid pandemic when I stayed home to do laundry, I've washed in a miniature washing machine that hooks up to the Kitchen faucet.  Hanging the freshly laundered clothing on plastic hangers to air dry on a metal clothing rack on wheels.

My Kitchen very easily becomes a messy Utility room.  Piles of dirty laundry do end up being sorted.  It's not a pretty sight as I am a very messy Laundress.  With the machine hooked up to the faucet, there is a hose that attaches to the faucet and another hose that lies in the sink so water runs down the drain.  Also a plug in cord draped across a countertop.  There are four wheels that must be locked down to secure the machine in place.  If you allow the machine to move about...well, the robot doesn't always stay in place and the water hose shimmies out of the sink spewing water onto the floor making a pond.  Not fun.  Rather messy with so much water on the floor.  

Wet towels and underwear are carted over to the COTTAGE where I use the clothes dryer these days.   It's not very convenient, but it is doable.  I haven't been to the local laundromat in a while and the last time I went there, I decided that I don't want to go alone as the laundromat had about 12 men and no women occupying the place.  I had gone to wash some pillows in their larger machines.  I didn't stay as the pillows were washed, but returned to pick them up.  I brought my hubby with me to pick up the pillows.  Stayed just long enough to get them and left.  

My Sunday was suppose to be slow paced and relaxing. Instead, I worked in the Kitchen to make a path to get the church pew out.  We'll be placing her in the screened-in porch so we can haul her over to the COTTAGE soon.  Same thing is happening upstairs in the junk room so the heavy treadle sewing machine can be relocated to the COTTAGE.  

It's like a three ring circus around here and at the COTTAGE.  I have to stay in motion to get things done.  I finished painting the primer on the COTTAGE Kitchen Cabinet this week-end. Now to sand it and go shopping for paint.  Pretty sure I know what kind to get.  I was flip flopping back and forth between white and soft gray.  I talked myself into playing it safe and go bright WHITE.  The hardware is brushed nickel so I will have a white backsplash and countertops of white and gray.  Gray floor tile and white cabinets.  Lots of bright white for my small Kitchen.    

I hope I like it as I go back and forth between the two options.  I suppose if I don't like it I can always paint again later on.  Right?  Right.  

I have been busy shuffling things like storage boxes.  The last few days, I made temporary room for some pieces of furniture that will be coming into the COTTAGE to get them out of our main house garage known as the Carriage House and out of the house.  The curio cabinets that have been in the Carriage House for over a year will finally have a new HOME in the COTTAGE.  We figured out where they will go.  Sigh of relief.  They will be used to house my porcelain doll collection.  

When the Cottage Storage Shed is completed, the Holiday decor will fill the shed which means it will come out of the main house basement and out of the Cottage where some of it is already. When the Cottage is emptied of it THEN I can paint the Utility room.  In the meantime, I am working on the Kitchen Cabinet that will hold small appliances.  I started taking inventory of the appliances today.  Pictures are needed.

2 Coffee Pots, waffle iron, large elongated skillet, crockpot, air fryer, coffee urn, juicer, blender...can I get an amen?  Amen.  

I suppose it's alright to be this busy as an old woman shuffling stuff.  I still have to have down time and that's helpful.

Hubby didn't feel the best today.  So he napped and rested some.  I get concerned about his Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  In September, he'll have an appointment and we shall see how his blood work is doing.  Appreciate prayers.  I depend so heavily on him.  We will celebrate 48 years of marriage at the end of August.  48 years.  Here we are working like a couple of 20 year olds remodeling an old house.  I pray we can do this.  Pacing ourselves.

The thinning out of our belongings has been a work out.  Throwing away things has gotten easier as I know we need to be better organized.  Life is short while on planet Earth.  Heaven is longer and we won't need any of this stuff.  So knowing this, has given me courage to turn loose of much.  Downsizing is an art form for sure.

Sometimes I watch HOARDERS on youtube.  I am stunned at the messes.  No words to describe what I have seen.  With going through all of our things, we have messes that need to disappear. So in one respect, this downsizing is terribly HEALTHY for us.  I wish it were done, but then I would have missed the dance as Garth Brooks sings it.  

Dancing in the moonlight like no one is watching, 

because no one is,

~d  

Join me at:

  https://familycorner.blogspot.com/2022/08/happy-homemaker-monday-08222022.html

THE WEATHER:  BEAUTIFUL TODAY WITH LIGHT BREEZE AND BLUE SKIES.
AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:  TIS PITCH BLACK OUT AS IT IS NIGHT AS I TYPE THIS.
RIGHT NOW I AM:  RELAXING AND BLOGGING.
THINKING AND PONDERING:  I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY WITH PAPERWORK.  I WENT THROUGH AN OLD ADDRESS BOOK WHERE MOST OF THE PEOPLE HAVE PASSED AWAY.  I HAVE TO GET ON WITH LIFE AS NONE OF US KNOWS HOW MANY DAYS WE WILL HAVE BEFORE WE TAKE OUR LAST BREATH.  I AM DOWNSIZING AS QUICKLY AS I CAN.
HOW AM I FEELING:  PRETTY GOOD.
ON THE BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND SUPPER PLATES:  BREAKFAST WAS MATCHA GREEN TEA WITH 2 HARD BOILED EGGS.  LUNCH WAS A CUP OF COTTAGE CHEESE SPRINKLED WITH WALNUTS AND BLUEBERRIES, SNACK WAS ABOUT AN OZ. OF RIBS PLUS 3 BLACK LICORICE STICKS AND SUPPER WAS POPCORN.
WHAT I'M WEARING: BLUE JEANS AND A T-SHIRT WITH SNOOPY ON IT.
ON MY READING PILE:  A BOOK BY THE DELANY SISTERS, BOOK OF EVERYDAY WISDOM.  FOOD IS YOUR BEST MEDICINE BY HENRY G. BIELER, M.D.
ON MY TV THIS WEEK:  OLD MOVIES.
ON THE MENU:  JACKIE KENNEDY'S DIET AND LOTS OF VEGETABLES.  GOING TO TRY TO MAKE AND DRINK SOME OF DR. BIELER'S BROTH.
LOOKING AROUND THE HOUSE:  IT LOOKS LIKE A WAR ZONE AROUND HERE AS ONCE AGAIN I'M SHUFFLING FURNITURE TO GET READY TO RELOCATE IT TO THE COTTAGE.  MUCH TO DO.
TO DO LIST FOR THE WEEK:  BUY TIRES FOR THE CAR.  PAINT A KITCHEN CABINET.  SLEEVE IMPORTANT PAPERS FOR BINDERS.
SOMETHING FUN TO SHARE:  I GOT OT SPEND SOME TIME WITH MY YOUNGEST GRAND BABY WHO IS TRULY AT A CUTE AGE.
FROM THE CAMERA:
DEVOTIONAL:  A MUST!

All the best!

~d

LIVING LARGE IN A SMALL COTTAGE

I HAVE MOMENTS WHERE I GET EXCITED THINKING ABOUT when the COTTAGE is completely remodeled and we're living in it full time.  Getting to this place will take great effort and time.  Slowly we are making progress.  Slowly.  Slow is better than not at all...yet a faster pace would be appreciated.  

Remembering when my Grandparents redid a log cabin and made it into more of a RANCH style habitat.  They stuccoed over the logs, made walls inside the structure for rooms, etc.  They were in their 60s and I thought them soooooo old to be doing this.  I am 67.  DO I feel soooooo old to be remodeling a COTTAGE?  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I don't.  

Grandpa and one of his brother-in-laws did the work taking an empty log cabin structure and turning it into a very nice livable HOME.

I saw photographs of them laying the linoleum tile in the dining area.  Two OLD men sitting on the floor working away.  My Grandparents lived there from the 1960s until they moved into town living in a huge bungalow in the mid 70s.  Grandpa would pass away in this bungalow in 1978. While taking a nap that he didn't wake up from, he passed away so peacefully after his morning walk about the neighborhood.  

The only time I ever saw my Grandma cry was at his funeral as she stood alone looking at him in the coffin, she cried out loud, "What am I going to do without you..."  This is itched into my memory.  Grandma lived another 12 years or so.  She'd relocate to Syracuse, Kansas to be closer to her sister.  Grandma had grown up in the Syracuse area so back she returned.  She was contented, I think.

What we have in our COTTAGE is something to work with.  I will be a painting fool in the next few months as I will be painting inside the COTTAGE as well as painting in the main house. Part-time GIG.  This week-end I hope to finish priming the tall Kitchen cabinet then next week actually applying the paint.  Once again I can visualize the finished product.  This keeps me going.

This afternoon I was working at planting a coleus clipping that I had rooting out in a throw away cup.  Beautiful root ball and ready to plant.  As I worked on the patio planting it, I heard a noise overhead that I thought was a squirrel in the tree.  Down came a small branch falling on my head.  It scared me as I thought the squirrel had jumped into my hair.  Ha.  Nope, it was a tree branch.  Now the timing and location had to be just right for me to be standing just where I was to be the target of a tree branch to fall and hit me in the head.

I let out a scream.  I wasn't hurt.  Still, it makes me wonder if God is trying to knock some sense into me.  The last few weeks I have had some accidents and this one tops the list.  Thinking back...as I worked in the COTTAGE closet a large heavy box fell on my head rolling off my back. On a different day, a stack of cabinet door fronts fell over onto my right foot.  Scratched it was all.  No pain.  I tripped over a box of floor tile and landed on my right hip.  I jarred my back was all on this one.  A week later, I tripped going up the porch steps landing on my knees.  This one hurt worst of all.  Both knees hurt plus wrists and hands again jarring my back and neck...now a tree branch fell onto my head.  Okay this is more than enough accidents.  I think I have outdone myself.  Enough is enough.

OFF TO THE COTTAGE to paint and go through old papers.  Beautiful week-end.  I have to stay focused and stay busy getting downsized and organized.  My newest HOBBY.  A phase in life right now.  A part-time job.

Living LARGE in a small cottage hopefully will not be all about being an obese woman in a small house.  I have this ongoing issue about losing weight at 67.  Lord, I pray that the vegetables will help me shrink.  Being healthy is desired so no more tree branches on the head.

~d  

BACK TO SCHOOL 2022

 

AND THEY'RE OFF...school began again.

Praying for a great year,

~d

CAME BACK WITH A SWEET QUILT

Some serious handiwork.  
Lots of stitching went into this sweet quilt.

DRIVING ACROSS THE KANSAS PRAIRIE took my breath away with its beauty.  Still have lush green pastures sprawling across gentle hills with gorgeous blue skies and fluffy white clouds shadowed with gray.  We ventured out on this Friday taking advantage of the cooler weather.  Needed a break from working on the COTTAGE.  

Hubby put in 7 hours in the heat working on the shed door as I painted primer on the oversized kitchen cabinet.  I'm not finished, but hope to be by Monday.

Reviewing where we went.  
Bank deposit.
Wood working shop.
Lunch at Sugar Creek.  Rachel Salad.
Macadamia Nut flavored Almond Milk Steamer at MJs.
Office Max for sheet protectors so I can sleeve a multitude of papers. Large binder for obituaries print outs.
God's Storehouse.  Bought a twin size quilt!  Bright mustard colored border.  Cheery.  In pretty good shape for $20.  

BONUS: Free cabbage, sweet potatoes and green apples were picked up.
Fuel for the car.  Gas prices have come down.
Natural Grocers.  Free organic candy bar and shopping bag for an Anniversary Celebration.  Needed Co-Q-10.
JoAnn's Fabric for brown ribbon.  50% off.  Now I will make ribbon hoops to hang the Autumn wreaths on the front doors.
Menards for water and trim.
Went to Long John Silver's for supper, but the dining room was closed so we tried a New Mexican Restaurant.

Drove HOME with the tireds coming on.  I'm fading.  Unloaded spoils.  Rested and worked on Book of Remembrance of Loved ones and friends.

I did absolutely horrible on my calorie count today.  I ate black licorice which is loaded with calories.  This put me over the top on calories.  IF...and I say if, I had only ate one piece it wouldn't be so bad, BUT I ate I think 6 pieces.  That's not the way to lose weight.  Tomorrow I will have to eat way less like two hard boiled eggs, V8, salad for lunch, soup for supper, no snacks.  Lord, Help me.

Almost Saturday,
~d  

  

DINING ON THE PRAIRIE

~Dining On The Prairie~

Meals with Baked Chicken, Grass-fed Beef, Kansas Pasture-fed Bison, Steel-cut Oatmeal...organic veggies and some fruit with nuts.  Heavy on the Green Beans this time.

More meals with organic vegetables, fruit and less grains.

Have a blessed LIFE and may you eat well
while wanting to be healthier,
~d 

Baked Chicken with Green Beans and Dumplings

Beef Stroganoff with Green Beans

Southwest Chicken Dish with Rice, Quinoa, Corn, Bell Peppers
and a side of Green Beans

Bison Wraps with Spring Greens

Organic Vegetable Soup

Steel-cut Oatmeal topped with Strawberries,
Mixed Fruit, Nuts and small amount of Maple Syrup

 

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

WEDNESDAY HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN AS HUMP DAY, middle of the week and as I like to call it...middle of the road.  I spent my day working on downsizing Christmas tubs by taking the contents out of super large plastic storage tubs and placing them in smaller tubs for easier handling.

When it comes to stacking large tubs on the racks, I only need a few that will sit on the bottom shelves of the muscle racks we have.  When reaching up high for large tubs and pulling them off the racks or stretching to put them back, there seems to be a tendency to not be able to handle with ease the larger tubs which puts a strain on old people's muscles.  I need things to be easier on this old body.  My muscles aren't as strong as they once were.  A day or two after lifting and pulling off the racks, I feel aches in my body that don't go away very fast.  Being kind to myself doesn't include straining it.  Gentle comes to mind.  

After I downsized the tubs, I carried the smaller tubs to the other end of the COTTAGE for storing until the storage shed is completed.  This took me awhile as I am no longer Speedy Gonzalez. 

I rested off and on all afternoon until I had a stopping place concerning the Holiday decor then I went through a large cardboard box full of none other important papers.  More papers.  Surely I will be getting to the bottom of all of this soon.  I found an obituary in this box that I had been looking for as I put together a notebook of remembrance.

Many old papers and checks from 1992 were shredded.  1992.  There was quite a few notes that I will sleeve to keep and papers pertaining to my children's school years.  Sure brought back sweet memories.  Boggles my mind that this was 30 years ago.  How can that be???  I seem to be in a time warp of some kind when 30 years is just a blink away in my memories.  I was 37 years old.  I will group together the things that I will give the kids allowing them to do the honors of pitching or keeping.  

I laughed when I read through a calendar book about what we were doing in 2005 when preparing to put our house on the market to sell.  After spending a summer of doing lots of remodeling and painting we placed our house on the market in a September and closed on the selling the following month.  That was a quick sell.  So much of what I read is exactly what we are doing now as we fix up the COTTAGE to live in.  I believe if we continue to stick with this remodeling, that by Spring 2023 we will be living in the COTTAGE.  By the time we have owned the COTTAGE for ten years, we will be living in it as our primary residence.  I'm getting excited about seeing what it will be like to have downsized to the place where we are COTTAGE LIVING for real.  Everything in its place and a place for everything BECAUSE we have to be orderly due to the lack of space.

The majority of remodeling will hopefully be done and we can move into it with a few things to do after we move in.  It's all done in my thoughts and I continually think about what it will look like when we are finished.  I go to sleep at night thinking about what we will do and how it will look when completed.

Making headway with the paperwork.  Making progress with the rearranging of the basement. On the cooler days, Hubby works on the Cottage storage shed and in the heat of the day, he is working on the bathroom plumbing.  I go through boxes of old papers making sense of what to shred and what to keep to file.  I finished the Cottage pantry, filled it with food and am now priming a Kitchen cabinet that will hold small appliances when done.  Thinning out Holiday decor, packing and stacking.  Frequently giving thought to where our main house furniture will go in the COTTAGE.  Thinning down everything we own.  This Summer is a busy one when it comes to what we are doing.

Sometimes I wish I could move as fast as Speedy Gonzales.  

Praise the LORD, I may not be moving very fast, but I am in motion and that counts for something.
~d

AUTUMN IS ON HER WAY

THANKFUL WE HAVE COOLER TEMPS this morning.  I opened the French doors to let cooler air inside the house.  I LOVE doing this.  Looking out into the yard, the large mature Locus Tree stands to where I can admire its majestic beauty.  A background of overcast gray skies provides a calming atmosphere for me.

I'm reminded that AUTUMN's cooler temps are on their way.  Temps in the 70s will be welcomed.  Hugging the idea with embracing thoughts that put a smile on my face.  Autumn.  

As I rearranged the basement boxes, I found my ceramic pumpkin I made when I was in my twenties.  HARVEST DAYS are ahead.  There will be wreaths on the front door.  On display will be a few pumpkins and gourds showing splashes of oranges and browns.  I need to get some brown ribbon to tie around the wreaths as they stick too far hanging on the door hooks.  If I tie ribbon around them, they will hang straighter...not so funky at an angle.

A trip to a store is needed.  I don't have any brown ribbon.  I found some miniature metal acorns that I will add to the Autumn wreaths.

As the basement is becoming more organized, I feel a surge of happiness knowing I know what we have down there and that it is tidy ready for the exodus to the COTTAGE's storage shed.  I didn't realize how much this being out of order was BUGGING me until I started tidying.

Harvest HOPEFULS are having the Cottage Bathroom completed, the storage shed done and filled with HOLIDAY decor.  As Hubby works on these projects I will be painting rooms in the Cottage, organizing important papers, and thinning out belongings.  Together we will get this remodeling done.

I've got to enjoy the journey as this adventure is LIFE right now.  Health issues tag along slowing us down some.  There are always obstacles.  Always.   Part of it.

Today, I will continue working in the basement and if things go well, I'll go to the COTTAGE to prime another cubby in the Kitchen cabinet.  6 or 7 of these cubbies, I forget, all need primed.  I know I am slow and my muscles get weak after awhile so it will be one cubby per day.  

As hubby works at other things and I rest, I go through old papers while sitting and listening to the TV that we get through an antennae.  The wonders of being old fashioned with no cable.  The antennae allows several tv channels to come in very well.  I may continue doing this even after we move into the COTTAGE to live full time.

Changing subjects...As a child, I use to watch the television program The Adventures of SUPERMAN with George Reeves as Superman. I loved this show as I know many children did as well.

When I watched the reruns while growing up, I had no idea that the actor playing Superman had died in 1959 by a gunshot wound.  SO he was already gone before I watched the afternoon reruns.  Look! Up in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...IT'S SUPERMAN!

Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. 
Man 1: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! 
Woman 1: It's a plane! 

Man 2: It's Superman!  

As a child, when I had heard that Superman died by gunshot wound being called a suicide...it didn't register.  Why would Superman kill himself?  Later, others would speculate that he was murdered.  I WONDER.  

Last night we watched the 2006 movie HOLLYWOODLAND about the behind the scenes of Superman.  Some language.  Some nudity.  Some sexual content.  This movie is not for youngsters.  Mister Reeves was far from innocent.  I was totally naive to the way of the world as a 10 year old child, but as a 67 year old, I see.  George Reeves had an affair with an older woman, Toni Lanier Mannix that helped him get the part of Superman.  He was a KEPT MAN.  Toni called him her boy.  

Former Ziegfeld dancer Toni Lanier Mannix was married to MGM's FIXER Eddie Mannix that had ties with the mafia, but so did George Reeves.  Interesting twist to the real world of the Superman actor who wore a muscle suit appearing more manly in the series. 

As I learn about the television and movie industries owners back in the day, I'm not so naive.  Ungodly businessmen galore.  When we bring this to light and disagree with their practices, we might be seen as anti-simitic even if we disagree with their dark moral character for good reason not because they are jewish but because they are actually ungodly with ungodly behavior as their norm.

Toni Lanier Mannix confessed to a priest before she died that she arranged for Reeves to be murdered.  Make believe or real?  He died.

Pause.

It feels like Autumn outside.  

Almost sweater weather.  

Autumn is on her way.  

Look! Up in the air! It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a beautiful leaf falling to the ground.  Tis Autumn.

~d