CHRISTMAS IN JULY IS OVER, BUT......

OFTEN I THINK THAT I WILL HAVE MY CHRISTMAS CARDS FILLED OUT DURING THE MONTH OF JULY ready for the Holiday and fail to get this done.  BUT I do think about having an unhurried HOLIDAY where I relax and enjoy the CHRISTMAS SEASON.  

About the only thing I got done toward CHRISTMAS in JULY was to think about it.  Ideas tumble around in my head as to what I will do come December.

As HOT as it has been, I haven't started to desire for the temps to cool down with AUTUMN not far behind.  As long as our air conditioning is working, I am not wanting to hurry into AUTUMN.

We have about 5 months before CHRISTMAS is celebrated.  I have plans of going through my CHRISTMAS DECOR this month and next when we carry it out of the cellar.  Right now the decorations are in the cellar of our COTTAGE.  They will be going to a storage unit that will be known as OUR ATTIC.

WE are inching our way toward getting better organized.  A goal to accomplish and it cannot take 3 years to get there as my heart is pounding to do something else that brings happiness.

We have a huge collection of Christmas decor that I must go through before the end of NOVEMBER so I can decorate this year like a BOSS.

After a few days of resting, we will head out to the unit and begin to straighten out what is in there already.  Lots to pitch for sure.  We have plans of taking a couple of muscle racks out of the cellar and setting them up in the unit along both sides of the outside walls making room for our faux trees. 

As I carry the small boxes out of the cellar, I can take a grand look at what we have and thin out things.  I know off the top of my head that I want to keep the Nativity Scenes.  I believe I have two full sets still.  These I want to keep.  They will be grouped altogether in storage easy to get to knowing what I have.

TWO NEW FAUX CHRISTMAS TREES will be neatly stored.  A number of ornaments in plastic boxes will be keepers.  Twinkle lights as well.

The greenery for inside the house and out on the porch will be a keeper.  Christmas wreaths the same.  They will be all group together for the first time in a long time.  Other HOLIDAY WREATHS will be grouped together as well.  

As silly as it may sound, I start getting excited that my decorations will be ORGANIZED!  It's been a very long time since I could say that.  Drives me bonkers when there's a messy approach to my PRETTIES.  I will eventually get to the place where my PRETTIES are in order and I will kackle that I got them.

In my head, I hear the wicked witch of the West saying I'll get you my pretty!  I want to get my pretties in order so I can decorate like a PRO.  Make it look easy.

It's been a very long time since I got really EXCITED about decorating for the HOLIDAYS.  What happened so I have a better attitude?  Prayer and one less storage unit hanging over my head.  When we moved in 2023, we had filled 3 storage units, the garage, the She Shed, the inside of the COTTAGE.  We slowly dug out from under the disaster.  

First unit was emptied after a year of being here.  It's been a huge morphing thing around here and it ate my lunch.  Mental gymnastics has taken place thinking about where things will go.  Just a few days ago, we emptied the second unit.  PTL.  

During the month of August and September, that third unit will morph into our ATTIC full of decorations.  The garage will morph into an ART STUDIO.  The cellar will house dishes and the glassware overflow.  Maybe some small appliances.  Somewhere in here the She Shed will become a Victorian Bedroom once again.  

I'll get you my pretty.  I must have an attitude of having success with this adventure.  Gotta have a plan and we do.  May it come to pass.

~d  

WISH GRANTED

MIDDLE OF THE WEEK COLONOSCOPY!  So glad it's over.  Prepping for this was a long drawn out thing.  I did the low residue diet for a week on top of taking Miralax each day then drank only clear liquids for two days, took Magnesium Citrate the day before the procedure pushing the Ducolax and Gatorade with Miralax.  By the time I arrived at the surgical center, I was beyond ready for this procedure to be over.

The night before was awfully short.  4 AM wake up time so I had time to get ready for the big event and travel into Manhattan.  Procedure started at 7:20 AM and I was in recovery by 7:35. Polyp taken out.  Groggy and munching on a granola bar.  Health report will be in a week.  If everything goes well, I'll see you in another 5 years. 

The night before, I made plans to eat real food at a local restaurant for Breakfast then go HOME and take a NAP.  Wish granted. 

I rested for the day and watched THE LEISURE SEEKERS with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.  It was very realistic, funny and sad at the same time.  She has terminal cancer and he has Dementia.  Together they are on their last vacation together.  The ending wasn't what I would have had it be, but then I didn't write the script.

The Leisure Seeker follows an elderly couple, John and Ella, as they take one last road trip from Massachusetts to Key West in their aging RV. Along the way, they rekindle their bond, share memories, and face personal struggles—his with memory loss, hers with illness—while encountering moments of humor and revelation. Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland’s performances are praised, but critics note the film’s predictability and uneven tone, making it appealing mainly for its leads’ chemistry. 

How quickly this week has gone.  

~d

COTTAGE CHRISTMAS IDEAS

Since I will be going through our HOLIDAY DECOR in the near future as we are downsizing, I can be gathering ideas even if it's AUGUST.

 I could LIVE here, but since I cannot, 

I will copy some of the decor ideas and call it good.

Since CHRISTMAS is on the way and I know it will be here before long, I enjoy what was done to this COTTAGE even if it's AI.

Blessings,
~d on the prairie

This cozy and well decorated COTTAGE makes me smile as it is truly a gem.  Love everything about this place.  The candles, the greenery, the sweet little touches that make this a place a HOME.

Plants with ribbons.  Pillows and throws.  Lights and candles.  A cup of tea and books.

DESSERTS ON THE PRAIRIE

🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮🥮

Every time I do serious dieting, 

I THINK ABOUT FOOD !!!

that I wouldn't normally think about.  

This go round it's no different.  

Especially CAKE.

I'll be alright.  wink.👁

I came across these DESSERTS and thought alrighty then,
I can save these for another day.

~d🎂

The tiny print can be enlarged.

THE SECRET IS 

TO NOT EAT THE WHOLE CAKE.

WELL.

 

GOOD-BYE ETHAN ALLEN SOFA, HELLO AFRICAN VIOLETS and LET's GET THIS COLONOSCOPY OVER WITH

PRAISE THE LORD!  The storage unit is empty.  EMPTY!  I stood inside the unit for a very short time after emptying her to admire a EMPTY STORAGE UNIT #42.  Temps outside were HOT and worse inside the unit so I didn't stay long admiring something that took us 3 years to make happen.  Now a memory.  Praise the LORD. 

3 years ago we loaded the unit with our better furniture that would not fit into the COTTAGE that we were not ready to get rid of.  The unit is ready for somebody else to rent out and we can keep our money to use for something else. $$$$$$$$$$$

Since it is MOVE IN WEEK for college kids at KSU, it was impossible to rent a moving van over the week-end.  We tried on Saturday and got nowhere.  Everything was reserved.  Out of luck. 

We tried RESTORE and their driver had a broken knee cap so no driver/truck was available to pick up our donation.  We needed a van to take the sofa to GOODWILL.  That's all we had left to get rid of.  One sofa.  We'd have to wait until Monday morning to get a van.  The Hardware store where the moving vans/trucks are to rent were so busy it was a ZOO.  We had a break-through and managed to load the sofa in the back of the truck with ease.  Next, the sofa went to GOODWILL.  Took the truck to get fueled.  Took truck back to store.  It took a long time to get it checked back in.

When it was finished...it was finished.  Tadaah.  

We have been into our 9th week of working on cleaning out this place.  9th.  NOTE TO SELF: Let that soak in.  This has been our late Spring/Summer project.  Mission accomplished. Congrats to us.  A job well done.  I'm stunned that we made it.  STUNNED.  

OH SO HAPPY THIS IS BEHIND US!!!!!

Afterwards, we went to MENARDS to get some African Violet Potting Soil.  They did not have any.  Disappointed, I had to decide what the next step is to get my hands on some.  We went to a beautiful Nursery elsewhere and bought some.  This week, I will hopefully be repotting my African Violets in new soil and give them a squirt of liquid plant food.  If I can keep the Violets alive, I believe I will be quite glad that I have not killed these lovely plants.

So true.

HERE I SIT.  Prepping for the colonoscopy I'll have later in the week.  My system is really slow to clean out, so I have been prepping since last Thursday.  I went on a low residue diet and have been taking Miralax each day for nearly a week.  It's not working like I thought it would. Shucks.  Two days of liquid diet instead of one.  humpf.

Today, I have not eaten.  Sipped Green Tea and water.  Tonight will be vegetable broth for supper.  Yummers.  I have to tell myself that I am disciplined and can do this NOT EATING THING.

I looked in the pantry and noticed I have boxed soups that I can have after the colonoscopy. This is a JUMP START for me to work toward losing weight.  Another attempt in this BATTLE OF THE BULGE.  I might as well as I have had to change my food program doing a LOW RESIDUE DIET for a week for prepping.  If I stay busy, the day will go fast and I will be alright with not eating.

Time for OFF GRID WITH DOUG AND STACY on YouTube.  They're talking about water quality in their area.  Makes sense.

Have a blessed day.  God bless you.

~d