REAL CIVILIZED FOLK

HEAVENS.  Three weeks of coughing.  I know I've slowed down on the coughing activity, but still, it seems like a couple of months at the going rate of this.  On one hand, TIME passes quickly and on the other hand when ill time is crawling.  I haven't been a very good patient.  It gets the best of me at times.  Perhaps if I said, "IN YOU LORD WILL I TRUST."  I will that I will get better soon.  I promise to take good care of myself and do all that I can to get better.  In you LORD, I will trust and REST.    

I've been slowly working on laundry.  Too slow.  Energy level is way low.  Lean in darlin' and make some progress.  Forge ahead.  Take some supplements, drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated, walk about, eat well, PRAY and rest for sure.  

Hubby is napping on the sofa.  The house is extremely quiet.  Some days I crave this.  The floor fan is buzzing which reminds me of days gone by.  The COTTAGE is cool inside and that's good even with the outdoor temps in the low 80s.  This break from 100 degree temps is wonderful.  So wonderful.

I think I'll go drive over to one of our storage units and check it out to see if I can pull somethings out of there as we need to clear the unit out.  It would be a start.  The money being used for it can be used for savings or to ease the financial crunch that doesn't need to be there.  I believe SEPTEMBER will be the month that I dedicate working on it.  All of the month.  With the HOLIDAYS in the forecast, I have got to have the front bedroom of our COTTAGE up and going. Family will be visiting and I want to have the COTTAGE up and running like real civilized folk do.

I thought for sure we'd be there by now, but we're not.  Hubby works on the remodeling of the BATHROOM while I tend to other things about our estate.  We're in motion, but quite slow at the movement.  Real civilized folk have a better handle on all of this.  At times I think I have completely worn myself out as often as we moved and fixed houses up.  Makes sense.  Over 20 times we have moved during our 50 years of marriage.

Gosh, that's a lot coming from someone who basically stayed put while growing up in Liberal, Kansas living in the same house all that time.  Moved there when I was about 3 years old I think and left when I was almost 19 years old.  Liberal was my HOME TOWN and a place that I loved. It has really changed through the years.

I believe my folks were really civilized folk.  I'd like to get back to this lifestyle.

ONTO THE HOME FRONT thrifting.   My latest doll I purchased while thrifting is about 24" tall. I'll be styling her hair today and she'll get cleaned up as best I can.  Her pretty dress probably needs washed in WOOLITE on gentle cycle and air dried.  She's a sweet Fayzah Spanos doll and a very nice addition to my collection. Fayzah is a Greek-American Doll Artist.

I hope to have all my dolls displayed on a newly made built-in bookcase with a multitude of shelves along the bedroom wall by next Summer. 

ON TRIFT TRIP, I purchased a few books for CHEAP.

A few clothing articles made it HOME with me.

FRONT PORCH PLANTS seem to like it there.

THE BUSHES ARE DOING WELL.  

The COTTAGE'S rock foundation will be reworked later.  
Right now it looks like HECK.

PEPPERMINT in the urn.

THE FIRST RED BUD TREE THAT WAS PLANTED on a May Day seems to like it here.  She's growing well.  On the other side of the sidewalk a RED BUD TREE was planted the following AUGUST 31st and she is stunted for some reason.

I'll be doing something with the front doors.  

Either painting them or stripping them to the raw wood.  

If by chance I find matching antique doors that are a decent price, I'll be replacing what we have.  I know the storm doors need replaced or removed altogether.  Lots to think about.

PLANS IN ACTION.  After the Bathroom is completed, there needs to be a floor repair in the Dining room then onto the front porch rebuild.  We need prayers for sure just like REAL CIVILIZED FOLKS receive.  Amen.

Thank you for stopping by.  

I enjoy hearing from you,

~d

DAILY RAMBLE, THRIFT and A PRAIRIE FARMHOUSE TOUR THAT I LOVED

FRIDAY ROLLED AROUND as I woke to snowfall.  Stepping onto the front porch, the chilly air refreshed me as I watched the snowflakes fall to the ground.  SNOW AGAIN.

I did walk to the Post Office the day before and got the mail.  Don't believe I'll be on a walk today. Next chance I get, I will walk.  Getting out of the house makes a difference with my mental health and clarity.  I so like getting out.

ON THE AGENDA today.  Laundry.  Working in the DINING ROOM folding all the empty boxes that have piled up.  Putting the empty shoe boxes in the closet to be filled.  Exercising.  Drinking water with electrolytes.  Writing out correspondences.  Getting mail mailed.  Researching on the internet.  Hugging my Husband.  Prepared questions for my medical appointment coming up. That took some doing as I don't want to forget anything.  

TIME FOR A REFRESHING NAP right now.  I decided that I will welcome the naps instead of putting myself down that I took one.  I need the quiet time to get regenerated.  Getting up before 6 in the mornings makes for a long day.  Afterwards I will get to work and enjoy the day.

No breakfast.  Lunch was left-overs and supper had better be a huge salad full of goodness. Drinking Hibiscus Tea and electrolyte water throughout the day.

With the Kitchen in better order, it is a pleasant thing to walk into the room and see it in order. Now to make order out of the Dining room so I can go ahhhhhh and get a lift to my spirit.

Last TUESDAY when I went thrifting, I purchased a LINDA STEELE PORCELAIN DOLL.  Circa 1992.  A little boy doll.  Beautiful glass eyes instead of acrylic eyes.  Cute costume. He needs cleaned up, so I will do this.  

I have very few male dolls.  This one caught my eye and was marked at a reasonable price plus my senior discount.  I did well that day as I did not over buy.

I found a couple of SPRING BLOUSES as well.  The bluejeans were too expensive so I avoided them.  If I'm going to pay $10 or more from a thrift store then I will put the money into a brand new pair from a different store.  I drew a line.

I believe the more we organize on the house, the better I will feel and the better I will be.  DINING ROOM is the next project in getting in order.  We won't remodel until we are further along.  Quick clean-up and time to think about what we will do to make the COTTAGE look like we want.

During my PLAYTIME and surfing I ran across a beautiful tour on a gorgeous Prairie Farmhouse.  Not sure where it is located, but I sure liked the way the lady of the house decorated.  I wouldn't mind imitating her style.  Out the windows I could see the flat landscape and it reminded me of where I grew up in Southwest Kansas.  Less noise with wide open spaces. My heart went ahhhh. 💗

I believe I will tour this one again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKr1nTIuej0

https://www.youtube.com/@ourprairiefarmhouse8987

TIME TO CLOSE and go rest,

~d

TERRIFIC THURSDAY

SEEMS LIKE IT OUGHT TO BE SATURDAY instead of Thursday. Perhaps this is because I've been so busy the last few days that the week ought to be over already.  The weather is gorgeous and I am spending my day doing laundry, blogging, paperwork and general chore.  Dishes are washed, dried and put away. Laundry continues.

THE LAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN A BLUR OF ACTIVITY and I am not recalling everywhere we went and what we did.  HODGE PODGE THOUGHTS.  As I sit here typing and thinking about what I did and what my plans for the day will be...I will just wing it and see what comes to mind.

Cowtown, visit with Mom and Sister, Yard work, Boston Fern bought and taken to COTTAGE, house payment made, paint hunting, thrift shopping, laundry, Doctor's appointments, trips to Menards, Dollar General for cards and supplies, Gas Bill paid, MJs for steamer, Arbys, Sams, Walmart, God's Storehouse, to the COTTAGE, Sugarcreek, Westmoreland Court House for car tags, drive around town, Downton Abbey movie at Astro 3 Theatre in Marysville, Local Library, car worked on, dishes, laundry, etc.

Tuesday, we needed to go purchase stickers for our car tags in Westmoreland.  LONG line and 45 minute wait.  A mission accomplished.  I can't help but notice the little blue house on the corner across from where we got our car tag sticker.  

There's one little blue house in Westmoreland that I know has had a great deal of tender loving care with the yard being so gorgeous.  A great inspiration to me.  Neat ideas to use.  

Afterwards we decided to drive on over to Frankfort to go to ELSIE GRACE'S gift shoppe and Bakery then to the Highway 9 Pizza and Grill for a hamburgers.  Grill was on a limited menu and hamburgers were out.  No hamburgers...whaah and a half.

I ate a huge salad instead.  A spontaneous DATE.  We were so close to The Astro 3 Theatre in Marysville that we drove on over to watch...get this...DOWNTON ABBEY (A New Era).

Earlier in the month I had made my mind up that I wasn't going to go to the Theatre to watch another Downton Abbey movie as I was disappointed with the 2019 movie.  I guess I had placed too high of an expectation and was disappointed.  Dining at the theatre was great fun.  This I wasn't disappointed in.  SO I wasn't too keen on another Downton movie, but when we were being spontaneous I decided seeing this new Downton Abbey movie would be alright after all.  So we went to Dollar General first for some cards and then to the the movies at the charming Astro 3 Theatre in Marysville.  Ate popcorn and Junior Mints.  The ads came on with no picture just sound.  

Black screen.  Manager apologized and said they had someone coming to take a look.  If it didn't get fixed, he'd give our $money$ back.  We had a 30 minute wait then the show began.

DOWNTOWN ABBEY came on and all was well.  I actually liked this movie better than the one I saw in 2019.  Time gets away from me these days.  2019 being 3 years ago. 

This movie has NO sex scenes, no foul language, no grotesque violent scenes.  A movie with an actual story line and good acting.  A plus.   

I am about ready to start watching again from the beginning the television series.  The costuming is so well done.  I don't like the short scenes though.  I barely get a chance to look around in the room before the scene changes knowing this is deliberate as they do not want to lose the viewers' attention.  So with the quick scenes I have to freeze frame to absorb all the interior details.

Slowly driving HOME in the dark with rain, it was nice to be HOME after being gone for the day.

I missed Tuesday Senior Discount Day in Topeka, but went ahead and went Wednesday as we were out and about looking for PAINT.  The paint store I went to in Manhattan on Tuesday after our medical appointments didn't excite me as they were playing very loud punk-rock-rap noise in the store.  This type of music isn't peaceful nor is it professional.  I couldn't find the paint sample strip I collected a few days ago to have paint mixed up for me.  The vibes weren't good so we left.  

Wednesday came and I needed to Fast for the blood work that would be done later in the morning.  Drive to the doctor's office, check in and wait.  Here comes the nurse to weigh us.  I'm holding my own when it comes to weight, but need to lose more weigh which I suppose will come when I get serious about walking 3 miles a day.  Lord help me.  Oh Lord, I know I can do this thing...I just have to do it.

Off to MJs for a steamer and a coffee for hubby.  Ate Lunch at Sugar Creek, grabbed a steamer and drove over to Topeka to God's Storehouse, Sam's fuel, Aldi's and paint.  

Picked up a sweet porcelain doll.  Sweet, but very dirty.  She'll need some tender loving care. Dark marks on her skin, filthy dress and wig.  Can I save her?  Hope so.  She has a nice weight to her and I think she will clean up rather nice.  Another doll for my collection.

Hello Shay.  Her name is Shay.  A Donna RuBert doll circa 1992.

She was wearing a gold necklace with 3 pearls.  Her little dress will be hand washed, her body cleaned with Watkins All Purpose Cleaner and her wig washed with Johnson's Baby Shampoo.  I may be looking into getting a prettier wig for her.  One like I see on the internet.

A lovely white glass cheese/butter dish
with dome lid. 

I bought a couple of capri slacks for Summer weather, but I believe they will only fit after I lose another 10 to 20 pounds.  They are in nice shape so if I take a while to lose this weight, they will keep.

I was thrilled to get to buy them since I need shorter slacks to wear instead of blue jeans all the time.  Perhaps I will check into Summer dresses and surprise those around me that I am wearing dresses again.  No shorts for oui. 

Washing machine is whirring.  I am planning on working on laundry loads today for sure, blogging, cleaning a porcelain doll, writing out some greeting cards and sorting through the piles of paper lying about me.  Hubby is working on our little car as a belt broke causing the steering to be next to impossible.  Awful.  

We have been driving the larger car which uses more fuel.  The gasoline prices have climbed and are expected to climb more this Summer.  That's to be expected, huh?  I have noticed the grocery prices and other items to become more expensive as well as at the Topeka Thrift Store I frequent.  

Much to do and I am working away at getting a handle on it.  If I can get 10 loads of laundry completed today, I will feel that I have made huge progress.  I have been working on catching up on it since I returned HOME from helping with my MOM and then after returning from STATE TRACK AND FIELD MEET.  Confession Time...I had a basket full of sweaters needing laundered.  They were overdue.  Their time has come.  Woolite to the rescue.  I will wash them, allow them to air dry, gently fold them, store away for Autumn weather in the FALL.  They will be ready to wear.  I either running way behind or way ahead of the game since it is June.

I am amazed at how much laundry my HUSBAND and I contribute to the dirty laundry pile, also the amount of trash between the two of us and our dirty dishes that pile up to boot since it is just the two of us these days.  I know I have slowed down and don't work as fast as I use to and don't have as high of a energy level.  Still, I am dumb founded at this.   

I am not the HOUSEKEEPER I once was when my children were at HOME when I still had my youth.  

MY GOAL this month is 1) to get the COTTAGE PANTRY completely painted.  
2) Gather up more articles to turn loose of. 
3) and lose 5 pound.  Maybe 10.
4) Paperwork thinned out.
5) Make headway on clearing out the upstairs TV room.

That's enough for JUNE.

With no thyroid, weight reduction is most difficult.  I have been holding my own for nearly 6 months.  Nothing is happening.  Staying steady with a bit of a flexing of 5 pounds.  This I don't like.  Next goal...my 67th birthday in July then a Thyroid Appointment in September.  I think if I can drop 10 pounds by September that it would help.  

Yesterday, was our labs for upcoming yearly physical and a Medicare Medical Appointment.  The results came in last night into my medical portal which is pretty handy actually.  I am thrilled that my A1c was fantastic, but disappointed my cholesterol climbed. That's the bad cholesterol.  My good cholesterol climbed as well which is the way I want it to go.  

I will be visiting with my doctor about going off of HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE which can contribute to raising blood sugars and cholesterols.  A diuretic that raises cholesterol.  Hum.  What can I take to help with this?  VITAMIN B6 helps with water retention.  Not too thrilled about the LISINOPRIL I take either.  

ANYWHO...my CBC looked fantastic.  A1c super!  UA was a clear catch.  I never have a clear catch.  This time apparently I did.  Wahoo.  Okay the lab results answered a lot of questions I was stewing on.  I AM RELIEVED except for the high cholesterol reading.  

Can stress raise the cholesterol as well as OTC meds taken for coughing?  I would like to visit with my doc about giving me some more time on lowering the cholesterol as he would like to place me on statin drugs and I'm wondering.  More HOMEWORK to do about health issues.

When the nurse was asking us questions for our medicare update, my hubby missed one of his questions which surprised me as we sat in the same exam room together.  The nurse said three words and then said she'd do some other things then come back to the three words for us to share and say them to her.

Hubby's words were apple, table and nickel.  When it came time to repeat these, he said apple, pear and nickel.  Completely forgot the table and ad-libbed with pear.  A little stunned.  I said nothing.  Test continued.  I know last year as I was walking to the exam room, I gave the wrong birthday for me to the nurse!  Okay.  We slip up sometimes.  I have.  This year I did better.

When I was given the three words, mine were different than my hubs.  Today, I cannot remember what they all were...pear...something?...penny.  I know my short memory isn't as good as it use to be...so there it goes, I need to study up on brain health about memory and see what there is to see out there in google land and read up on it.

I have read more about health the last 12 years that it makes my head spin and the maddening thing about it is that I cannot recall much of what I had read making recall nonproductive.

HEALTH Subjects that I have read up on are:
THYROID (UP TO MY EYEBALLS INFORMATION FOR 12 YEARS)
POLITICS (NOT ALL HEALTH ISUES, BUT CAN AFFECT OUR HEALTH)
DIABETES
HYPOTHYROIDISM
PLANTIS 
ARCHILLES TENDONITIS
PINEAL GLAND
MENTAL HEALTH
RADIATION
FOOD
FLUORIDE
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
ADDITIVES
MEDICATIONS
VITAMINS
MINERALS
SUPPLEMENTS
INFRASONIC SOUND
METABOLISM
CHOLESTEROL
BROKEN HIPS
DIETS, DIETS, DIETS
RECIPES

SO MANY OTHER SUBJECTS THAT I CANNOT RECALL AT THE MOMENT.

THE INTERNET IS AWESOME WHEN IT COMES TO DOING RESEARCH.  I'm not saying all info out there is all inclusive or COMPLETELY truthful, but there's much out there to read.  Misinformation makes a dishonest statement.  Take the info as a grain of salt and dig deeper.

Rest of the week, I will gather up things to get rid of for the near future...catch up on laundry...continue getting the old paperwork thinned out...paint the COTTAGE Utility room...makes my head spin.  I have too much on my plate to be so slow at all of this.  Patience needs to kick in and I have to remind myself that I am human and can just go at a snail's pace...hello.   

So much chaos in the world.  I desire a slower paced LIFE with peace and have the ability to hear myself think.  To God be the glory great things He hath done.

~d