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

A 1925 Wedding Reception

A lovely setting for a 1925 Wedding Reception 

on Season 6 DOWNTON ABBEY.  

Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson tie the knot.

The still pictures are worth studying and copying 

for other lovely gatherings of fellowship.

BLESSINGS,

d

A Three Pot Day

The Kansas morning temperature was recorded to be a negative 14 degrees F. with a windchill factor of negative 28 degrees F.  Way too cold to be out in it for very long.  My Husband commutes into Manhattan across the Flint Hills of Kansas to where if there were auto difficulties, it would be dangerous.  Life threatening.  Frost bite.  We'll not debate about Global WARMING today.

He stayed HOME and working from the computer for a three pot day.  That's three pots of fresh coffee through out this bitter cold day.  May the power stay on...it's WINTER for sure.  

DOWNTON ABBEY was televised in the United States Sunday night on PBS Masterpiece Theater.  We do not receive PBS.  Have missed it.  By the miracle of ROKU, we can now watch PBS.  Downton Abbey is available the day after the broadcast.  grins.  Makes me smile.  I am a Downton Abbey Fan.   

Quality television returns.

It is now 1922.  Matthew has died in an auto crash after the birth of his first child and Mary is grieving.  The Children's Nanny West is evil.  Mary stands to inherit a Fortune and the Kitchen Help have an electric Mixer~Beater to figure out.  Carson has a secret that he'd just assume remain in the past.  The Roaring Twenties are upon them.  Scandal is sure to happen.

A January day at our Prairie Palace.  
Spring time is being coveted,
d

Home Happenings and Raised Eyebrows

With the week-end behind us, I hope yours was pleasant!  Our weather was cold and really windy.  It rained just a little bit.  Flowers are popping through the flowerbed soil.  Tulips!  I'm like a Kid in a Candy Store.  Spring is my FAVORITE SEASON.  I love it.  I put my snow men away and started getting Spring Decorations out.  This refreshes me.  The pastel colors are a reminder that milder temps are coming.  It will be time to open the windows and let FRESH AIR into my HOME.

The birds are already chirping as if it were SPRING.  SPRING WREATHS for the front doors will need to be hung.

Sippin' my hot coffee while writing out my day timer for this week to come.  Sighing.  I am a tad bit tired this morning.  Laundry is in and already I have had a full morning telephoning and emailing banking business.  Finishing up wrapping Valentine and Birthday gifts that will have to be mailed from Topeka so they arrive a day earlier than if I mailed them from here.

I need to hop in the shower and shampoo my hair.  Hopefully it will help my mop top.  Looks pretty bad this morning.  Hair appointment scheduled next week.

Speaking of hair......I had a NEAT THING HAPPEN on Friday. 

I had Lunch with my Sweetheart.  After I dropped him off at work, I decided I'd go get my eyebrows WAXED.  I had been wanting to get this done and finally made it to the BEAUTY SCHOOL.  As I was waiting in the LOBBY for my appointment, a Beautician came out with one of her Clients.  While the Client was checking out, the Beautician asked the Lady, "Is your birthday really 7-14?"

The Client said, "Yes."

The Beautician said, "That's my birthday, also."

I sat there a little stunned.  I asked, "Did you say your birthday is 7-14?"

Beautician said, "Yes."

I piped up, "That's my birthday!"

What are the odds of three Ladies in a Lobby having the same birthday?

I don't know, but when I told the Beautician that was waxing my brows what had happened, she told me that July 14th is her anniversary for her first date with her husband.

Felt kind of special.  Okay.  Have you had stuff like this happen?








 

 http://topekahabitat.com/restore/

This week-end, we checked out the RESTORE store in Topeka.  They had beautiful NEW tile for a DIME a tile.  It was just the right color, so for under $27 Hubby purchased enough tile for the Kitchen's back splash.  He figured that if he had purchased this particular tile at regular price, he would have spent around $300.00

Don't you know we were soooooo happy to be blessed for $27.oo  We are remodeling on a shoe string budget!  

Hubby drew up newer Kitchen Plans since we decided to leave the Kitchen where it is.  We now have floor tile, counter top materials, double sink, faucet, stove and now back splash tile all purchased and waiting in the Garage for us to CREATE THE NEW KITCHEN!  I came across a Country Kitchen on the internet that I really liked.  We'll sorta imitate it.  Dear Lord, Please let this Kitchen come together before SUMMER.  Please.  

I will proudly show pictures when it happens.  The before pics will make you laugh and wonder how on earth did DEANNA manage?  My Husband and Daughter have cooked and baked more than I have!   Just wait.  I'm telling you the truth.

There will be glass front cabinets in the upper part of the cabinets.  It will be here that I display all my pretty Crystal that's resting in the Parlour's Display Cases.

After relocating the Crystal into the Kitchen, Porcelain Dolls will go in the Parlour's Display Cases.

I get excited when I think the rooms will be better arranged.  This waiting is hard to do.  Sounds silly, but I can't help myself.  When I've waited so long to get the rooms like I want them and it finally happens....well....it's uplifting to me.  I DECLARE. 



Bought some OMAR COFFEE at Tuesday Morning for 50% off.  Each bag cost $2.50.  YAHHHH.  It taste pretty good.  

With me going to Topeka to mail the packages, I will go buy Tuesday Morning and purchase a couple more bags of this coffee for that price.

 
I did not get my PAINTING started.  I was busy shopping for gifts, eating out and and and.....will attempt to get this done this week.  

Day dreamed about putting our two wing chairs that are in the Parlour upstairs in the Master Bedroom.  SPRANG this on my Hubby and he said to wait until the bedroom ceiling is textured and painted.....I said ALRIGHT!   Between now and then.....I will probably have a change of heart.  If I take the chairs out of the Parlour, it would open up the room to where the Camel Back Sofa, miniature Coffee Table and Area Rug would sit facing the Spinet.  I think I could live with this.  Opening this room up would make my heart sing just a little louder.

In my mind, I like the idea.  I have DREAMED of having our Master Bedroom like a Suite.  If the 2 Wing Chairs go upstairs along with the Tea Table and they sit where the Pencil Desk is now.....it would be like a Suite.  The Antique Pencil Desk would be relocated into the Guest Bedroom.  There's room.

Have to take measurements and think about all of this.  With Spring coming.....this would be my SPRING SHUFFLE 'BOUT.  I can envision it in my head.  

 DOWNTON ABBEY CAST

Do you recognize them?

Leaving on a good note:
DOWNTON ABBEY will be coming to Home Haven via DVD.
Instead of calorie packed candy for Valentine's Day, I was gifted from my Hubby Season 3 of Downton Abbey. 

Can't wait to watch it! 
Have a HAPPY Day,
d 

CHRISTMAS

It has started cooling down....but when the temps were nearing 110 in Kansas, I was having chilly thoughts about snow and decorating for Christmas.  Sticking my peri-menopausal head into the inside of the freezer never felt so good.

While watching DOWNTON ABBEY  I freeze framed the show and snapped a pic.  Pretty Tree! 

This year I pray that I have a more leisurely attitude toward the colder months and remembering our Lord's Birthday.  Perhaps we'll have a white Christmas and a pretty Christmas Tree to decorate.

I started sniffling and coughing.  This is the first cold I have had in 2012.  Was hoping that I wouldn't have one this year.  Immune system has been weakened due to cancer.  The year after I had my cancer surgeries, I had 4 colds in a 12 month period.  So I have improved and I thank the Good Lord.

It isn't beginning to look alot like Christmas everywhere I go....not yet anyways.  Give it a month or two and it may.  I hear that we will have an early Winter.

God bless,
d

cheerios and crayons

Felt really great to be able to vaccuum up the yuck from under the sofa cushions.
Wondered what would be resting there when the cushions were lifted.
This time there were cheerios and crayons.

It is amazing how quickly this stuff grows in the dark.

Company came over Sunday evening and I wanted the Family room to look like humans lived here.
I have struggled to tidy the house.  I am praying that in mid August when Lil Miss goes to school that with my free time during the day that some of my old habits will return.

Praying for stamina and strength to get this 'ole house looking better.  Being better.  Dust grows here for sure.

Our friend Deb brought us irises that she had dug up.  Can't wait to get these in the ground and see what colors they will be next Spring!  When they bloom it will be like waking to Christmas morning to see what Santa brought.  As the buds form and open up.....i will take pictures.  We'll be planting them around the bases of some trees.  Excited in my old age.  It is so nice to be excited about something in life!!!  Looking forward to this treat.

Though she was wearing her crash helmet, Lil Miss took a spill and tore up her knee.  As she was crying, she said she was never going to ride her bike again.......she will.  Her first bad spill left her knee scraped and bloody.

We had brownies, the children played and we looked at the Sunday eclipse in a shoebox.

Last week I shopped Salvation Army and bought the nestest book for 40 cents.

MINIATURE ROOMS 

THE THORNE ROOMS AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO.
 

Mrs. James Ward Thorne's miniature rooms are truly State of the Art.  Through photographs of these rooms, I admire their superb quality of displaying what an actual room may have looked like in days gone by.  I am amazed at how lovely these little rooms are. Amazed.

Mrs. Thorne had collected miniatures and eventually had miniature rooms created to put her collections in.  It was a team effort that would go on display for the world to see.  It's easy to be transformed into a different time era through these visual examples.

Gathering ideas on how to decorate my own home.  Making a room lovelier to live in and enjoy can be a labor of love....I know cleaning is a labor of love!  Taking the emotion out of cleaning makes me a happier person and when I actually get it done.....I do feel better.

It calms my nerves to see a room tidy.  It's like EYE CANDY to me.

I ended the night by watching Part One of Season Two: Downton Abbey.  Someday.....someday, I'd like to see in person actual castles and estates so large that it takes a crew to operate.  This will be a dream come true.

Do you still have dreams that you'd like to see come to fruition?

At times I  have been afraid to dream or think about these dreams for they seem like they will never happen.  So why bother.  I have been surprised before when God allows a dream to come true.  It's truly wonderful when it happens!  So I will dream and have thoughts of things to come.

Jeremiah 33:3 states in the old testament, Call unto me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not.

Lord, I know this to be true.  You have so much you will show us if we call on you.  You have shown me wonderful things.  Things that are far more wonderful than eating brownies.

~d~

Downton Abbey

Ahh...to be a Lay daaay!

~Deanna~

Home Happenings

Hi!  Thanx for stopping by on this blistery day on the Kansas Prairie.

Very nice week-end.  Cold outside, but toasty inside as we worked on stripping the family room wall paper.  In various places there have been five different layers of wall paper.  Just guessing, but some of this paper I think comes from the 1930s.

This week looks like lots more cold weather and maybe some snow.

Monday, we hope to have the family room's entire west wall completely stripped.  The north wall might be done.  We decided that the east wall will have a built in book shelf, so we stopped stripping the paper off of this.  The majority of this wall is stripped, so this wall will be completed by the end of the day.  The stairs are along the south wall and we are pretty sure that we will add wood to the wall.   Newer and in better condition wood will be placed over the old, not so good wainscot presently there.

Later in the year the lower part of the walls with wood will be painted a warm white and eventually the window wood and shutters will be painted warm white as well.

After the wallpaper has hung on the walls a month, then I will paint the paper, which isn't really paper but a paintable embossed textured vinyl wall covering.

I have flipped flopped all over the place and still have no definite color picked out.  By the time the room
is finally papered, I will know!

We don't always get PBS on the television.  Depending on which way the wind is blowing, we might get it.  Last week we watched episode 1 of Downton Abbey.  There's just something about the clothing of that time era that makes my head turn.  The interior decorating puts a sparkle in my eye, not to mention the glorious exterior shots.  Tonight was episode 2.  So far the costuming is absolutely beautifully done.

Hope if you're up to your elbows in a project that it's going really well.

Happy day to you,
~Deanna~