A DATE, HEALTHY FOOD AND TOWELS

FRIDAY.  WENT ON A DATE WITH MY HUSBAND.  Twas a rainy day with cooler temps.  If I have to chose between a summer day with temps in the 90s verses a cooler day with cloudy skies, I'll choose the cooler day.

Nine hours later we returned HOME. Now that was a DATE.  

The day started where he suggested that we have breakfast at FIRST WATCH.  Okay.  

Decided to order one of their healthy beverages, the "Morning Meditation" refers to a fresh juice blend made with orange juice, lemon juice, turmeric, organic ginger, agave nectar, and beet. Added vitamin.  It had a little bite to it until I got use to it.  

I ordered a SALAD at 10:30 in the morning.  hummm.  Was this too early for a SALAD?  nope. SUPER FOOD KALE SALAD. Vitamin-rich kale and organic mixed greens with house made maple-roasted carrots, warm all-natural chicken breast, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and shredded Parmesan tossed in our refreshing maple-lemon vinaigrette.  Asked for additional dressing as it needed it.

Twas good.  Ate everything in my bowl.  Left with a very full stomach. Thank you, Lord.  

Off we went to the HOME GOODS STORE across the street where I found a glass jar with metal lid for a decent price.  This particular style of jar used to be sold at DOLLAR GENERAL and when coming across it at other locations, the jar is priced way higher than it use to be.  I bought the jar they had at a low discounted price.  I like to use these jars for storing popcorn, spices, dried items.

I picked up a white melamine bowl for serving salad.  Checked out.

🧋STARBUCKS ICED TEA time.  For some reason it was really refreshing to sip on.  
👚Drove over to GOD'S STOREHOUSE.  Left with only a few items.  Good girl.
🛠LOEWS Lumber Yard.  Really nice store.  Needing caulking and some other building supplies. I've been on the look out for wide curtain rods as of late as I could not find any wide rods. Checked the computer and LOEWS had some.  Their selection of curtain rods is excellent.  One of the best I've seen.  Bought two of them for my KITCHEN WINDOWS.  I now have the rods plus black and white Buffalo Checked fabric to create window treatments.  
When we were finished at LOEWS, we went for our weekly stash of veggies and fruit from Dillons in North Topeka.  We both like this particular grocery store.  
Slow shopping before heading to St. Marys for supper at SUGAR CREEK.  
🥗A Rachel Salad with the toasted rye toast to the side.  Water to drink.
🏡 HOME WE WENT and I was ready to call it a day.  Very nice DATE.  

Fell asleep as I read a new magazine.  Snoozed and woke thinking it was a new day.  Falling back asleep won't be easy, so I'll blogged, count my blessings and say some prayers.  

The week-end is here.  Plans are always present.  I can restock the linen closet now that it's been painted and the crown molding hung.  Looking good.  The cabinet door panels come next.  Some of the doors are still being waited on.  So I wait.  

It will be SWEET having the towels and toiletries back in the Bathroom.  I will refold the towels so they all fit nice and neat into the cabinet.  Martha Stewart would be so proud of me.  Maybe Marie Condo would approve as these towels give me a spark.  

This week-end I'll fill the new linen cabinet with items.  It shouldn't take me very long to do this. Stay focused.

Getting organized seems to be on my back burner.  AND SHOULD BE.

~d     

WHAT A DAY WHAT A DAY

OFF TO Kansas City WE WENT.  Had an appointment with an oncologist about uterine cancer.  I didn't want to go, but knew I needed to.  FIRST was Lunch on the third floor at the NORDSTROM CAFE inside NORDSTROMS in the mall.  I had a nice salad with iced tea.  

HUBBY's HAMBURGAH.  I'm so proud of him as he ate the salad as well and said it was good.

It's been umpteen years since I was in this store when I went shopping for a dress to wear to my Son's Spring Wedding.  I haven't been back to Nordstroms since, until today.    

About 19 and a half years to be exact.  19 years?  I was 19 when I got married.  Seems like time has passed quicker than I ever thought.  19 years ago President Reagan passed away and I was coming back from the wedding in Belarus.  We were on the Washington D.C. Airport runway waiting to get off the plane.  Time passed and here I am going to see a cancer doc. 

We arrived early at the Cancer Center, checked in and waited for my turn.  I was a tad bit nervous, but managed to be ready for the appointment.  Paperwork completed.  Medical bracelet on wrist.

Checked in, questions asked, nurse weighed me, took my stats which were very good for me, and waited to meet the doctor.  When he arrived he was very pleasant and personable.  Took his time, explained everything to me.  Had a exam.  Needed some labs done and a CT Scan.  Afterwards, I returned to the exam room and visited with the doc some more.  Looks like surgery will be later this month? 

Scheduling will take place tomorrow or Monday.  Surgeries are done on Tuesdays and Fridays, so I shall see when they will fit me in.  

It's odd to be told you have cancer.  Who wants that?  My prayer is that it is all contained in the uterus and not spread elsewhere in the body.  It's bad enough to have cancer in the uterus, but if it has spread then that will be a different story all together.  

WE DECIDED THAT OUR DAY IN KC WOULD 

BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A DATE TOGETHER.

Supper was at PF CHANGS.  After we ate, I was so ready to be HOME I could have weeped.  From Kansas City to Topeka as I remembered we were out of bottled water so we stopped at SAMS.  This stop woke me up some.  Did some shopping and hit the road HOME.  Unloaded the goods and put my feet up.  

The week-end is here and we will work diligently to get more furniture moved to the COTTAGE and get as much done as we can before I have surgery.  If all goes well, I will have a 6 to 8 week recovery time where I am not allowed to lift heavy things or vacuum or push a grocery cart.  I think I will find things to do at HOME that do not require much physical effort like read, write and do paperwork.

I don't want to take anything for granted.  Life is short.  Eternity longer.  

Praying all goes well and I get through this with flying colors.

~d

WENT ON A STRAW BLUE DATE!

HUBBY AND I WENT ON A MUCH NEEDED DATE!  We've been working hard on the COTTAGE and preparing for the adventure of downsizing to fit into the COTTAGE in the SPRING.  Part of me just wants to morph into a different creature that's not so sentimental hanging onto to so many knick knacks, dolls, books and dishes.  I think I can turn loose of more before this thing is over and never look back.

Shedding of so much could be liberating and make me feel so much better.  Playing by ear as we pack.  When we get to the point of unpacking, then I will sort through my stuff and start another donate pile/get rid of pile.  Why wait?  Because I'm just not there yet to turn loose of so much more.  I've done quite a bit of this already, but by the time SUMMER gets here, I will know what will fit in to the COTTAGE and what won't.

AS FOR OUR DATE, I got through it without incident having a pleasant time with my dear HUSBAND.  We needed some time to have fun and be carefree for a few hours.  The weather was chilly, but warmed to the 40s.  Almost SPRING LIKE.

With sunshiny skies, we drove over to Seneca and Marysville and the trip was so pleasant.  When my husband actually ask me out on a date, I turned into a youngster again and enjoyed the ride. Light blue skies and plenty of straw colored landscape to look at as we drove.  Calling the sights Straw Blue instead of blue skies and straw colored landscapes. 

 

We had planned on having lunch at the CORNERSTONE COFFEE HAUS, but they were closed when we got there.  Not sure why.  We went across the street to CHINA. 

Their buffet was small, but they had everything on it that I usually eat at a Chinese Buffet so it worked out just fine.  String Green Beans and broccoli, chicken pieces, Lo Mein noodles, crab rangoon, pineapple and two tablespoons of vanilla pudding.  H2o to drink.  When I dine out, if I eat more veggies than anything else, I will have been successful at changing the dynamics of the dinner plate.   Life is full of choices.  Choose WISELY?  Amen. 

In between Seneca and Marysville, we noticed a small community. Tree stumps caught my eye so I pulled over to take a few snapshots.  Think I'll draw a picture of a tree stump.

~STRAW BLUE~

Supper was in Marysville at Penny's Diner.  I've wanted to eat here for years and we finally did. A fine diner inside and out.  What a treat for Be-Bopers.      

~Penny's Diner~

Lunch out at a Chinese Restaurant in Seneca, some shopping at a few of their local shops where I bought some vintage Brooches which I plan on wearing and a pair of new earrings.  Off to Marysville to Penny's Deli for an old fashioned HAMBURGER with onion rings and a movie at the ASTRO 3 to watch A MAN CALLED OTTO.

I liked the movie.  It tugged at a lot of emotional strings which caused a few tears to flow. I'll watch it again when it is on television.  Sometimes we just need a good cry.  It was my turn.

I should have just ate popcorn at the movies instead of both a hamburger than popcorn.  Shame on me for pigging out at Penny's Diner and the Movie Theatre as well.

Slow this way down and be young again.  The laundry can wait and the packing too.  Plenty of time to do that tomorrow and the next day.  Why put off today what you can do tomorrow? Because spending time with your husband MUST be a priority.  We had a great time and I said at the end of the day, I could spend a lifetime doing this.  I meant it.  

God doesn't promise us tomorrow.  Each day needs to count.  After checking facebook, two of my High School classmates passed away.  Pause.  They were my age.  

We are going to rent a storage unit so we can get out of the main house sooner.  When looking up the phone number for a man we knew that has a storage unit complex that we have used before, I discovered he died a few days ago.  Only 58.  Sigh.    

It may sound odd, but when I read an obituary it comes with mixed emotions.  Saddened, yet encouraged to turn loose of things I really don't need any longer.  I don't want to waste anymore time being upset about anything.  Let there be peace and appreciation for the good in my LIFE. Amen.

FAMILY is part of what is GOOD in my LIFE.  Here's my grand baby.  This lil guy went sunning.  

Smiling.

This morning I cleared out the upstairs closet in what I call the Victorian Bedroom.  I forgot I had certain dolls already packed in plastic storage boxes.  These are ready to be moved over and should be rather easy to deal with since they are already in nice boxes.  Hurray for having some ORDER that I forgot about.  grins.

Perhaps I will get to the place where I can take these over to the COTTAGE, place the dolls in the curio cabinet and reuse the boxes to load more dolls for relocating.  

I hope to finish loading up the Christmas wreath boxes and other red tubs from the basement this afternoon and get relocated to the shed this week.  This will be a wrap for sure.  I can get rid of more Christmas decor as I truly do not need all of this wonderful STUFF.  Someone else can have fun with it.  Yes, someone else.    

~d

JOINING This MONDAY Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Happy Homemaker

https://familycorner.blogspot.com/2023/02/happy-homemaker-monday-44-happy.html

The Weather::  55 degrees outside expecting colder weather by Thursday.  Maybe snow.  For now I have to get outside to enjoy this SPRING like weather.

As I look outside my window::  It's blue skies and sunshine.

Right now I am::  Planning on going to the basement to bring CHRISTMAS WREATH boxes upstairs to take over to the COTTAGE's shed where they will stay in storage for now.   

Thinking and pondering::  About life and downsizing.  Packing things up and getting on with this move from this house that we have called our home for almost 6 years to downsizing into the COTTAGE.  It is requiring a great deal of thought as to how to do this at my age.

On my bedside table::  new magazines to look at when I can.

On my tv today::  Nothing right now.  Last night we watched 1923 and not the SUPER BOWL.  Then an old movie, LIFE WITH FATHER.  

Listening to::  Silence.

On the lunch plate::  Guacamole toast and green grapes.
On the dinner plate::  Steamed vegetables.

On the menu for this week::  Lots of vegetables.  Valentine's Day meal will be a huge salad with a side of spaghetti with meat balls.  Undecided on a dessert.

 

On my reading pile::  Too much.

On my to do list::  Packing.

Plans for this week:: Valentines and Packing.

What I am creating::  Messes everywhere.

My simple pleasure::  Chewing gum and blogging.

Looking around the house::  What a mess.

From the camera::  

Bible verse, Devotional::  Proverbs 13

only 25 verses.

13 A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

6 Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.

7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

8 The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.

18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

25 The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

A PUMPKIN PECAN FUDGE KIND OF DAY!

AS I SIT HERE TYPING THIS POST, I cannot help but know that TODAY was a great day and I am exhausted to say the least.  A good kind of tired.  Whew.  Sigh.  Pause.  Start again.

We were up at the crack of dawn to go to McDonald's for a quick breakfast for the road.  On our way to a Regional Cross Country Meet for High School students.  Grand was running.  We had a nice trip there, but nearly got stuck in the mud where we were going to park in a field.  Parked the car and walked a ways to the START LINE.  Sloppy muddy.  We walked about a quarter of a mile across the rain soaked grassy stubble hay-like ground.  Weather was pleasant at 62 degrees with over cast skies.  Wore a jacket and should have had rain boots on for this sloppy field.  

The girls would be running 3.2 miles across a sloppy, wet, muddy course.  

I like to walk about a quarter of a mile past the start line so I can cheer her on and see how she is pacing herself.  Today was no exception as I walked a ways and after the girls passed me I walked over to where the girls would run when they are about finished with the race.  Hubby took the spectators path to cheer her on at the half way mark.  It was extremely muddy and slippery as he walked and ended up sliding down a bank near a creek.  He was covered in mud by the time we met back up.  So were the runners.

Our Granddaughter did well in this run.  I cheered her on as she was headed toward a very sloppy muddy area in the path.  I knew I wouldn't be seeing her cross the finish line as I had a ways to walk so as I was walking toward the finish line, I cheered our runners on.

It was an exciting run and the girls are headed to STATE!  It was a very good day for us.

As we drove to Emporia, we got to see some beautiful cars parked downtown Strong City.  Oh if wishes were fishes in the sea, I'd be a fisherman.  I'd have one of these goodies, but oldies.

  

Hubby and I were hungry so on we drove to Emporia ordering WENDY's.  I had a new salad, Southwestern Avocado Salad.  I loved the dressing.  Gobbled it up and then went to THE SWEET GRANADA SHOP to get a piece of fudge especially for moi.   

Mine didn't have two scoops of avocado...just one and mine didn't have as much chicken as this image shows.  
Still tasty.

Pumpkin Pecan Fudge.  I have never eaten Pumpkin Fudge before.  It was worth the wait.  Melt in yo' mouth good.  I'm sure it is loaded with calories, but...and that's a big but.  I think I earned it.  Tomorrow will be a low cal day to make up for this.  Soup, soup, soup.  Pumpkin?  

Stopped off at ALDI to pick up some salad items.  I could hardly walk after attending the cross country meet.  My feet are feeling it tonight.  

Drove HOME across the back roads of Kansas and loved the Autumn countryside and the pace I could drive on the hilly, curvy roads.  Hardly no one else in sight.  Beautiful trees with orange and yellow leaves mixed in with different shades of lush greens.  This time of year with the cooler temps makes for a gorgeous landscape to feast your eyes on.  

We stopped off at the Cottage to check the heater and I picked up a few things to bring HOME with us.  I'll be back tomorrow to clean some more if I can get out of bed.  

Not sure I will be able to do so.  Not trying to be funny.  haha.  It's a reality for me these days.  Shall see and if I have to stay in bed, I'll be a good patient and stay in bed to rest so I can go full speed the next day.  Full speed ahead.

  

I'LL BE BETTER IN THE MORNING AND IF I'M NOT, I'LL SAY I SHOULD HAVE BEEN and stay in bed.

May your WEEK-END be restful.

Blessings,
~d👵