CONTEMPORARY TREES ON THE WINDOW LEDGE

SLEPT VERY POORLY LAST NIGHT.  Woke around 5:30 which is better than at 4 though.  Yesterday, I came across a small box that held small, contemporary trees and began thinking where can I place these for some Christmas/WINTER cheer in this very crowded COTTAGE that's very limited in spaces to display anything?  The Kitchen window ledge came to mind after little thought.  SO this morning I cleared the Kitchen window ledge above the sink then used glass cleaner on the glass and wood ledge to display the small collection of trees. Whaalah.  Finished.  Making quick work out of this made me sing.  With so much to do, seeing some progress makes a nice difference.

We are wintering/living in the little FIXER-UPPER COTTAGE.  

If I recall, I bought these contemporary trees at Target in their dollar binds, but they were more than a dollar as everything has gone up in price.  I was HAPPY to come across these as I unpacked boxes.  I actually FORGOT I had them.  Oops.  The poor little window screens are in terrible shape.  Next Spring they will be repaired so I can open the windows to let fresh air inside keeping the flies and mosquitoes out.  The brass hardware has long been painted over.  They should be stripped and polished.  The windows still open and close by ropes, sash cords.

Will I miss my large Garden Window I had in the other house's Kitchen?  The answer is YES, but I have to let that go.  Now it is a fond memory, not a point of contention.

SLOWLY, I am going through the moving boxes tweaking where things go.  I have to move things about to make room for other things.  A slow process, but somebody has to do it and it might as well be me.

I had grouped hangers together in the closet awhile back and this morning I moved these hangers to a lower rack.  This little task allowed a freed up rod to hang clothing on that are worn frequently.

I have most of our shirts and blouses hanging on multi hangers that hold five articles.  They are not the easiest to rehang articles that have been laundered so they are more like an off season storage hanger which isn't very handy for a day to day kind of thing.  Eventually the closet will get a remodel, but for now I have to come up with some kind of system that accommodates clothing for two people.  It's been years since we shared a closet.  I'm spoiled and have to return to what once was.  This can be done and I will do it.  

AS FOR CHRISTMAS DECOR.  I had hopes of going through all my decorations before December rolled around and didn't make it as we were so busy getting moved into our COTTAGE and preparing the HOUSE to sell.  There's only so many hours in a day and that's the reality of it.

SO if it takes way longer than I had planned, it just does.

I still watch videos about decluttering and getting better organized.  Seriously, I learned something HELPFUL each time.  SO KEEP WATCHING.

AND THE WEEK CONTINUES...
~d 

A DAILY RAMBLE

This picture reminds me of my childhood HOME TOWN at CHRISTMAS time.  To step back in time comes to mind when I see pictures like this one.  I can close my eyes and remember how I felt as a kid in Kansas with crunching under my snow boots as I walked on the snow packed sidewalks.  Frozen.  I was shivering in the cold even with a wool coat on, socks on my feet, muffins on my little hands and a stocking hat on top of my blonde curls.  Sometimes I wish I could return and stay for awhile.  The older I get, the dearer the memories are causing me to become nostalgic.  

BACK TO THE PRESENT.  Laundry is drying in the clothes dryer while I wait to do the next best thing.  Sipping on hot green tea.  I have plans of doing this more often.  I'll fold and hang the clothing articles before going to the city to look around at MARSHALLS.  It's been about a year since I last shopped there.  Wanting to get out of the house for a few minutes means a day trip to a different community to shop.  I have a few things I want to look for as I organize our HOME.

I gather ideas from the internet, think about it and then go looking.  Getting ORGANIZED is a priority to me as I unpack the many things that are still in boxes needing a new HOME.  Because the COTTAGE is small, I have to be selective in what is kept. 

Waking early again this fine morning, I was off to an early start.  I organized the top shelf of the freezer.  Grouping items and placing small, thick cardboard boxes in the freezer to hold them in place.  On the Homefront of unpacking, I put more things away that were in boxes.  Placed pillow linens in a white plastic basket.  After I get further along on settling in, I will launder all the linens, fold and place them in baskets.  They need freshened up.  

I need to do the same with my HUSBAND's t-shirts.  Many have not been worn in a long while and they need freshened up as well.  I think we will go through the t-shirts together to determine which ones are his favorites to keep.  Another pile for work t-shits then donate the rest.  The keepers will be stacked on a shelf in the small closet as the space required for storing folded t-shirts is quite small.

This is a different challenge.  Both of us are using the same small walk-in closet.  We went from a house that allowed us each to have a single closet per person that were cedar lined, closets for sentimental articles, coats, linens and blankets.  Going from 6 nice size closets to two extremely small and a walk-in.  We're downsizing to make this place work for us.  Creative ideas will help manage the small space we have to work with.

I gathered casual clothing to wear for the day trip to town.  Wearing comfortable shoes is a must. Since we'll be out, I think we'll get a salad to eat.  Supper tonight will be a different salad.  Can't believe I'm saying this...two salads in one day.  

It's not snowing or raining so the traveling should be good.  We'll be in the small Cruiser as our larger car is scheduled to go to the mechanics for work to be done.  We have patiently waited to get the car into the shop.  I don't do well when having to wait so long for certain items to get repaired.  Finish the laundry.  T-shirts.  Fold and put away.

Get groomed and dressed.
Go to town and pick up the mail.
Travel to the city for Starbuck's drinks.
Then Marshalls.
Lunch.
Burlington.
Hy-Vee.
Menards for more storage units for packing Mom's dishes.
Not sure which other stores to go to.
Drive to the main house and check in on her.
Go HOME.
Unload goodies.
Put away.
Rest.
More CHORES.
More laundry.
Telephone my Sister to visit with her and my Mom who are both suffering with C o v i d.  Second time for both of them.  
Supper.
Watch some tele.
REST.

I'm so BLESSED.
I have a roof over my head.
A running automobile to get me around.
Food in the cabinets, in the fridge and freezer.
Medication.
Furniture to use.
Time and the freedom to pray and think.
A family to call my own.
A savior to guide me.

BLESSINGS,

~d

  

SOME DECORATING AT THE COTTAGE

Some greenery above the antique mirror brings the outdoors indoors to warm the room and I really like having greens above mirrors, pictures and windows.

Greenery at Christmas: an overview
The history of bringing greenery indoors pre-dates Romans.  In early times, evergreen plants represented new life in mid winter, and gave hope for the spring. The Romans had a Saturn Festival at a similar time to Christmas, and decorated with greenery.

Why do we bring greenery in at Christmas?

By the late Middle Ages almost all surviving church records include entries for the purchase of holly and ivy in the winter. For Christians evergreens symbolized eternal life and the promise of the return of life in the spring.  We know that private homes would also have been dressed in greenery at this time of year.

A NATIVITY SCENE IS DISPLAYED on the antique walnut chest that sits in the Living room on December 1st which pleases me that we started the month out with placing the Nativity Scene.  I placed some twinkle lights behind the scene.  Makes for a HAPPY face to have this Nativity scene out.  I wasn't sure if we'd get to the place where we would even have one due to overcrowding from moving boxes.  

A few days ago, we came across two vinyl storage boxes in one of our storage units holding the stable in one and the people with animals in the other.  Took these boxes HOME and today the pieces were unwrapped and displayed.

This morning I woke early because my neck hurt.  A pain in the neck stands true.  I got up and took a potty break then sat in my blue chair reading.  In the early hours of the morning I located a red table runner to lay on the chest before getting the stable out.

I made a special trip to St. Marys to purchase two faux Juniper Berry garlands that I hung above the mirror and above the HOME SWEET HOME picture.  

I know 37 PINE has faux garland when I saw them about ten days ago.  They are 20% off.  37 PINE is beautifully decorated for the Christmas HOLIDAY.  So festive.  They'll be having their OPEN HOUSE on Saturday and more than likely they'll sell out of their garland that looks so real.  

I bought some last year and have yet to get it out of the shed.  Where are you and in which BOX is a mystery.  I had truly hoped that before CHRISTMAS I would have gone through all the CHRISTMAS DECOR and thinned down also relocating the boxes into the cellar.  AUTUMN was so busy I didn't get to this.  Didn't happen, but it's not the end of the world.  When we have a warm snap I hope I can get back to it.

Back to bed I went and fell asleep waking mid morning.  I felt better after sleeping.  My stomach has been a little queasy.  7-up time.  

I'm staying in my housecoat today all day resting.  A load of laundry is going.  The rubber seal around the door of the machine was cleaned as the machine smells slightly musty.  Washing blue jeans.  Will launder some towels and curtain panels through the day.  I'll be tinkering on everything else.  

It will be pleasant to have more things off the floor and in cabinets.  The KITCHEN pans will be worked on off and on.  

YESTERDAY was a very full day as we returned the moving truck to it's rightful place.  VICTORY.  We accomplished getting much off the property.  Hubby had emptied the truck earlier in the morning and we needed to return her before 1.  We succeeded then drove on over to Manhattan to get Hubby a BIG BRUNCH at IHOP.  We went to TARGET to look for blue carrots and of course I just wanted to browse.  I visited with my Mom and Sister ON THE CELL PHONE while browsing the store.  They are both terribly ill.  

Remembering that 37 PINE in St. Marys would be having their OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, I drove on over to St. Marys to purchase some Juniper Berry garland.

There will be little decorating in our HOME this year, but will have some greenery in various places.  No tree.  For the front door, I would like to find my plain faux green wreaths that are in the shed and simply place Burgundy colored velvet ribbon on them.  Burgundy instead of red.

UPDATE on the selling of the house.  We have a contract.  Inspections were done along with the appraisal.  There is additional expense when selling property and the expense of it comes out of the proceeds.  If everything goes well, we are thankful that we will not have to WINTER the property.  Closing date will be soon and we will celebrate.  PRAISE GOD.  Praise GOD.

When I go over to the house, it's like a dream that we have moved.  Already a month has passed since we started sleeping at the COTTAGE.  Our big adventure started.  The digging out of the boxes will be a thing of the past in 2024.  Clearing the storage units will take us until SPRING.  I'm not going to kid myself, it will take until SPRING.  SO much stuff.  It will be answered prayer to be in order and have downsized.

ANSWERED PRAYER,

~d

DECORATING THROUGH CHANGES

Finding MY TEXAS HOUSE on facebook, I turned to admiration for this woman's decorating taste.  ERIN.  I would like to morph my decorating style more in lines like this.  This natural looking phase when it comes to decorating seems to be more in lines with a Scandinavian decor.

The trends change often as we skedaddle through LIFE.  The shabby chic phase was a hot one for decades.  Still popular.  Chippy paint was welcomed into home interiors.  I couldn't get into it at the time when it first became popular, but have relaxed a great deal with the distressed look with all its dings.

FARMHOUSE DECOR with natural textures, whites and lots of light colored woods have made their mark on this go round of decorating.

I believe I will RELAX my decorating and get on with LIFE.  Naturals and neutrals will be welcomed. 

~d

 

NEW CHRISTMAS TRADITION

 MERRY CHRISTMAS,

~d

COLOR WHEEL DIET

FINISHING THE SIX DAYS OF THE COLOR WHEEL DIET CAME TO A EARLY STOP.  I didn't finish successfully as I had difficulty finding blue corn, blue carrots and blue potatoes so I ended the day with chili.  Brunch was blueberry pancakes topped with blueberries and blueberry syrup.  Terrible detour.  Late afternoon snack was a NATURE'S BAKERY FIG Whole Wheat Fig Bar and ending the day with Chili for Supper.

The chili was mostly red, but I gave up on blue foods when I couldn't find the items I was needing.  

On Day Seven, I can eat left overs of all colors.  I will take it easy on what I eat and stay firm with portion control and eating a large variety of organic fruits and vegetables, some meat, little dairy, little grains.  More salads which I have come to LOVE the crunching and flavors.  

Some of the foods I ate this past week
on the COLOR WHEEL DIET were as follows:

GREEN FOODS.
BREAKFAST: Skipped.

LUNCH:  Bibb lettuce, green grapes, green peppers, avocado.

SUPPER:  Cabbage, green beans, zucchini. 

YELLOW FOODS.

BREAKFAST: Skipped.

LUNCH:  Corn, yellow potatoes.

SUPPER: Grapefruit and Potato Salad.

ORANGE FOODS.

BREAKFAST: Skipped.

LUNCH:  Orange slices, sweet potatoes, baby carrots.

SUPPER:  Spaghetti Squash.

SNACK:  Sweet Potato Chips, Pimento Cheese Spread.

RED DAY.

BREAKFAST:  Strawberries and Raspberries.

SNACK:  Cherry Yogurt.

LUNCH:  Red Chili.

SUPPER:  Salmon Steak, Red Potatoes
with Red Peppers.

PURPLE DAY.
BREAKFAST:  Purple Grapes.

LUNCH:  Purple Chips and Beans mixed with salsa.

SUPPER:  Eggplant, Purple Potatoes, Purple Cabbage.

BLUE DAY.

BRUNCH:  Blueberry Pancakes.

SUPPER:  Chili.

WHATEVER COLOR OF FOOD YOU WANT DAY!

Leftovers.

This may not be the most nutritious meals to consume, but I was focusing on getting an array of foods without having so many grains, dairy and meats.  This was fun and easy to put together.  Now, to continue the journey of dieting. 

  ~d

THE POWER OF THE DOG, THE GLASS CASTLE and GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES

TODAY WENT VERY WELL.  I had a slow start to the day.  I managed to get paperwork done and a load of laundry.  I picked dead leaves off my geranium plants that sit on a metal rack in the utility room.  They will need nursed back to health over the next few months. Placing the plants in the cellar before a cold snap allowed them to survive the freezing cold, but the lack of sunshine was hard on them.  Now instead of having a garden window in the KITCHEN for wintering plants, I have a 4 shelved metal rack for plants and flowers.  It's crowded in the Utility room, but right now every room is crowded.    

I moved the heavy, large mixer from the pantry shelf to the Kitchen countertop.  I thought it would fit in a slender cabinet, but there is a small upper shelf in it preventing the mixer from sliding all the way back into the cabinet so I placed the mixer on the counter top for now until the shelf is removed.

Hubby believes he can get the small shelf taken out then I can position the mixer in the slender cabinet.  A switch-er-roo will take place AGAIN in my small KITCHEN.  Doing a shuffle.  

The large stainless steel pans do not fit in the bottom cabinet to the right of the stove so I will put these pans in the pantry using the cabinets to house bakeware.  It really is a slow process of morphing the KITCHEN to make room for all the items needed.

We drove over to the main house to pick up the urns off the front porch.  Placing the urns into the back of Cruiser took little time as my Husband muscled them.  I placed trash bags over the tops of them and pulled one up from the bottom to contain the dirt while placing in the car and transporting.  

I took the pretty Harvest Wreaths off the front doors.  We'll need to rent a truck to load up the patio furniture, ladders, left over wood in the carriage house and a few other things.  It would be best to get this done with the temps in the 50s before plunging back to bitter cold weather again. We need to completely clear off the property of what we do not want to leave behind.  From here we went to one of our storage units to get a Nativity Scene, a couple of Christmas wreaths and some PIPKA SANTAS.  The car was once again packed.

Drove to our COTTAGE and carried the Christmas wreaths to the porch.  I hung one wreath up and sat the other one on the church pew.  I will need to place a hook or nail on the screen door so the wreath can hang on it.  The rest of the car will need to be emptied in the daylight.  The urns still have live mums in them so these will come out.  Not sure if the urns will sit on the steps or in the flowerbed.  Shall see.     

I gathered the AUTUMN HOLIDAY DECOR and boxed the items in matching storage tubs stacking them in a neat pile in the LIVING ROOM.  We took the tubs to the cellar which has a muscle rack to store the tubs on it.  That's a good feeling to have the HARVEST DECOR out of the Living room.

Since our LIVING ROOM is tiny, I may sacrifice having two BEDROOMS and use one for a TV room.  I imagined what this might look like.  I want to keep the Living room formal with a loveseat, two wing chairs and ottoman.  Because of health issues we'd like to use our recliners and that would make the Living room less formal if they were in there.  Comfortable, but less formal.  With turning loose of so much, I cried that I don't want to give everything up and still WANT a pretty parlour.  This is the smallest Living room we have ever had in all the places we have resided.  With TINY comes challenges amongst the blessings of having a HOME.

With making the front BEDROOM a TV room, the LIVING ROOM will be kept formal.  Having a casual room will be very comfortable for watching TV, reading, computer research, praying, drawing, writing out bills, writing letters, etc.  Think we will do this.  

The Victorian Bedroom Suite will be set up in the SHE SHED which is an individual room attached to the storage side of the garage.  It will be a extra place to sleep when company comes as it has heat in it and we will place a window unit in it for cooling it off in the hot months when we're out there.  We've sketched up some drawings of making the shed a additional place to stay. I think before we purchased the COTTAGE in 2013 that someone had lived in there before.

We gutted the shed 2 years ago and remodeled it to where it doesn't look anything like it did. New beaded board on it walls and new ceiling, painted floor, new entrance door, windows fixed, new light fixture.  Turned out nice. 

SEEING RED.  Red foods for the day in the color wheel diet.  We had Salmon Steak with red potatoes, red onions and red peppers for Supper.  Breakfast was strawberries and raspberries with Lunch being a meatless chili made of red kidney beans.  A red apple was for a snack and we had cherry yogurt for dessert.  All was delicious and enjoyed.

We watched two movies tonight to relax.  The first one was a bit dry and lacked luster, but the cinematography of New Zealand was breath taking.  Supposedly the place in the movie is Montana.  The story line left me scratching my head when Ree Drummond said this flick was in the top ten best Westerns and has suggested watching it.  THE POWER OF THE DOG.  I must have been too tired to appreciate it like she did.  Perhaps I will watch it again earlier in a day and see if I get more out of it than I did.

The other film was THE GLASS CASTLE with Woody Harrelson as a man with a drinking problem when moving from place to place living in extremely run down habitats by being a squatter with his artist wife and four children.  Based off of a true story by Jeannette Walls, it truly shared the heartache of living the way they did.  At one point in the story, it was Christmas where the father had no money for gifts so he let the children pick out a star for their gift plus a planet.  He was what I'd call a free thinker that was very creative to get away with the life he lived.

As I watched the movie, I told myself I do not want to live the way they did.  It was heart breaking to me that there were days that the entire family had no food to eat.  I had wondered how on earth did they have the funds for buying gas for their car?  I'm sure they did not follow the rules of having auto insurance and up dated car tags.  How did they manage to live at all when he continually would lose his job and they'd move on?  The mother was engrossed in her artwork by painting which was the world to her.  The children were neglected. 

Of the two movies, I liked THE GLASS CASTLE better than THE POWER OF THE DOG.

Two movies in one night means we were sitting in the Living room watching the tele.  I believe I am a movie addict.  Seldom does the TV come on during the daylight hours and this is progress for me.

The phone rang.  Our Iowa family has the flu.  Gotta run.  Think we'll go get a moving truck to get the rest of our things off our property while the weather is nice and we don't have the flu. Best get on with this so we can close this chapter of our lives. 

UPDATE:  We did get a truck and loaded it with the last of our belongings from the main house. It is a relief that we finished before dark.  We'll unload tomorrow.  ANOTHER PHONE CALL CAME IN.  My dear 91 year old Mom has  C O V I D  with a nasty cough.  A nodule was found by x-ray on her left lung.  A CT scan has been ordered.  It may be cancer.

Sister and Brother.in.law are ill as well and will get tested tomorrow for you know what.  This is round two with  c o v i d  for my Mom who had her shots and boosters.  She was ill at the start of 2022 with this beast.  What a year she had.  Leading up to C O V I D, she had fallen which put her in a wheel chair.  She recovered and caught 
C O V I D.  Recovered.  Then two months later, she broke her hip.  Recovered.  Two months later she passed out causing her to fall which cracked her pelvis.  She recently moved to IOWA and this has happened.  Praying for her.  I'm concerned this round may destroy her.

BACK ON THE VITAMINS FOR ME AND MY HUNNY.  I encourage taking good quality vitamins to assist with keeping you healthy.  The last two mornings I woke with severe feet and leg cramps.  Drank some pickle juice each time and it does help stop the cramps.  Vitamin D deficiencies can be the cause of such cramps.  

Reading about are Vitamin D injections better than supplements.  I have a tendency to have low levels of Vitamin D.  I think this may be the culprit behind these leg cramps.  Injections get the Vitamin D into your system faster than supplements.  I believe I may visit with my Doc about a injection.       

After Supper, I tinkered in the KITCHEN grouping the stainless steel cookware.  I'm moving the pans from a lower cabinet to the pantry.  Freeing up a shelf made another mess to deal with. Shucks.  This seems to be the way it goes.  In order to make some order I have to make other messes to accommodate the new order.  This Kitchen does not have the drawer space for pans that the main house had.  Moving makes challenges.  Give a little take a little.

Later, we will remodel the KITCHEN and then perhaps the KITCHEN will have more bells and whistles to make the room more likable.  Anyhow, the KITCHEN will change a few more times before it is all said and done.    

Where the pans were, the bakeware will now be with the nesting mixing bowls.  Cookie sheets will probably go in the warming tray in the bottom of the oven.  This rearranging of the Kitchen is like a merry go round as I am going in circles getting dizzy.  Tis a slow process and this evening I am a tad bit flustered.  Making progress, but not very fast.  MOVING is a work out.  I have to remind myself that if I don't like the set up, I can always rearrange the Kitchen again, hang loose and chill out.

If I concentrate on individual rooms by taking a full week per room getting the room organized and cleaned up, I believe I will see great progress.

HOME LIFE is for me,

~d

 

THINGS TO DO

We bundled up and took a ride to the main house to check on it since the temps have been in the 20s.  Before we headed out, we loaded the car with a few boxes because I wanted to box up the AUTUMN DECORATIONS on the fireplace mantle and in the garden window.  Post Office stop and then onto a drive across the prairie in this cold weather.

Thankful we have heat in our little car, but as I was driving I noticed our windshield had a crack on the left side.  Sigh.  I think with the deer hitting our car in October that this caused stress on the car frame and the window would feel the brunt of the impact.  With the colder than usual temps, the windshield cracked.

We'd pick up our meds at the local pharmacy.  We'll have to get use to not being in the same town as our pharmacy.  We'll need to coordinate purchasing most of our meds at the same time. Can we do this?  Going to try.

Hubby shoveled the main house's long sidewalks since it snowed.  He said it's a lot of sidewalk to shovel.  After the sale of the house, we will have so little sidewalk to shovel it will seem like a synch when we do shovel snow off.  I went inside and checked the faucets and flushed the toilets.

Walking through the empty house, I said another round of good-byes to it.  Once again I will miss living in the 1883 structure.  The house looks so pretty to me and I thought about what we had done to it since 2017 when we bought her.

Boxing up the faux pumpkins and garland plus the Autumn wreath with globe, it will be my last time to decorate this house.  I need to remove the Fall Wreaths off the front doors and remove a few more things from the property.  Tomorrow, I will empty the front porch urns and remove them from this property.  

We have some patio furniture and a metal arch that's got to go as well.  Hubby has a couple of ladders to move away.  We'll probably rent a truck to move these larger items.  It will seem odd when we no longer have anything left to remove from the property.  ODD.  

After we sell the house, I have said that I do not want to drive by the property for at least a year. I don't think I could bare seeing it.    

On our way to Manhattan to get some storage boxes and groceries for my RED, PURPLE and BLUE FOOD DAYS, we stopped off at one of our storage units to check to see if CHRISTMAS GARLAND was stashed there.  It wasn't so we left with a couple of CHRISTMAS WREATHS. How quickly this past year has gone as it seems like I just created these wreaths instead of it being a year ago.  The red berries on the wreaths popped due to the bitter cold weather.  I'll need to trim the bad berries and call it good.  These wreaths will more than likely go on the COTTAGE's front doors.

Onto Starbucks for green tea for me and WENDY's for chili.  MENARDS is in the neighborhood for storage boxes.  They had very nice CHRISTMAS containers with greenery for sale.  I bought two of them to place in the urns I will bring HOME tomorrow.  The urns will be placed on both sides of the cement steps to hold these CHRISTMAS containers.  I had plans to buy 2 small Christmas trees to place in the urns to decorate the porch, but the greenery was a decent price so I went with the greenery.

If I cannot decorate the inside of the house with a large CHRISTMAS TREE then I will decorate the porch instead.  This will help lift my CHRISTMAS SPIRITS.   

From MENARDs we went to ALDI and HY-VEE to purchased some foods for my COLOR WHEEL DIET.  I left the grocery stores saying the price of food has gotten more expensive.

On our way out of town we did a GOODWILL drop and went by the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS to see the Christmas display.  It does not seem like it's been an entire year since we did this.  No way, but it has been.  I'm in a twilight zone.  A time warp of sorts.  Where did the year go to?  

The drive across the prairie went fast and we unloaded the car after having sweet potato chips and some cheese.  This was ORANGE DAY so eating these orange foods was legal.  Watched some television and rested.  Went through the mail and paperwork.  Rearranged the fridge.  Put groceries away.  The joy of having a nice refrigerator to store food in.   

As the clock struck midnight making tomorrow today, I ate some pink yogurt made with cherries.  Cherries are red and this is legal with the new day being RED DAY.  grins.  Yogurt is less fattening than ice cream so I allowed myself a cold treat.  Drank water throughout the day.

As we figure out what we need to do, I wrote some notes down so I don't forget.  Hubby has got to visit with our Insurance Agent about our COTTAGE Insurance going from a rental to main residence.  He had already paid the insurance, but the Insurance Company has not acknowledged that it was paid so he had to go through emails to find evidence it was.  It can be frustrating when the info is not in the computer data.  When the Insurance company has messed up, they are forgiving on themselves, but when a customer messes up, the story is different. Seems to be the way businesses run these days including our government.  They excuse themselves when wrong.  As a citizen, it isn't this way.  My advice is to keep excellent records at all times and when they say to destroy documentation, DON'T.

I want to bring the urns home with me.  They are rather heavy so it will take two people to carry them to the car and lift them.  Again to unload them.  I'll place the CHRISTMAS containers in the urns and admire them.

I'm THANKFUL Thanksgiving has come and gone.  We continue going through our moving boxes.  I may be slow, but I'm steady.  To make this more fun, I have to rest and think about where I am going with the goods.  

1. Autumn Decorations moved to cellar.
2. Bought a turkey and it needs to go to the freezer in the cellar.
3. Some duct tubing needs to be pulled through the vent in the bathroom.
4. Trip to Insurance Company to speak with Agent.
5. Load up 2 urns from main house porch.
6. Take urns HOME placing Christmas containers in them and sitting in the flowerbeds.
7. Load of laundry.
8. Mail Mom a letter.
9. Box up Mom's china and take to the cellar.
10. Go looking in shed for faux garland and sprigs.
11. Place some sprigs above mirrors and pictures.
12. Continue unpacking.

Since it's RED DAY on the COLOR WHEEL DIET, I'll have strawberries and raspberries for breakfast.
Lunch will be meatless chili made of red kidney beans.
Supper will be salmon steak, red peppers, red onion, red potatoes, watermelon.
Snack will be a red delicious apple.
Water to drink throughout the day.

I am a broken record.  Getting unpacked is a priority.  I will need to take some time to pray and meditate on a scripture.  

A couple of my school mates have passed away.  SO many people I have known have died.  Time marches on and I need to continue on thinning things out.  I need to work fast and get this done.

Blessings to you,

d   

THE ANSWER IS YES

AS OF LATE, I AM AWAKE SITTING IN MY CHAIR BEFORE THE DINING ROOM LIGHT CLICKS ON AT 6:15.  It's on a timer.  6:15 comes and like clock work, the light clicks on and shines.  I haven't been sleeping the best since we moved.  It's been three weeks.  The little Victorian bed has a very firm mattress and our two grown bodies aren't use to sleeping so close together as older peeps.  It isn't our Queen size mattress.  

With having three bedroom suites, one had to go into storage.  I wanted to keep the Victorian Bedroom Suite and my Husband's Grandparents Bedroom set which meant I couldn't use the furniture with the Queen size mattress.  I'm not sure I made the right decision.  Truth is, I had been sleeping in a recliner at the main house since 2020 due to having a horrible cold at the start of  the  c o v i d  pandemic.  When I returned to my bed sleeping on the mattress hurt my shoulders and hips so badly that I returned to the recliner.

After a few months, my Husband started sleeping in his recliner so we were together in the same room.  It remained this way until about a month ago when we left the main house and started sleeping at the COTTAGE.  Hoping I adjust may be a pipe dream.  

I believe I will sleep better after the house sells and the responsibility of the main house is no more.  This process between living in the main house to living here in the COTTAGE is full of changes.  Downsizing and having a change of scenery is a huge adjustment.

With THANKSGIVING behind me and CHRISTMAS before me, I have much to think about and do.  The transition from what was to what is takes on a different feel about LIFE.  I am not only working at downsizing our earthly belongings, but I am working at downsizing my huge physical body as well.  I finished DAY ONE of the COLOR WHEEL DIET.  It was trying.  Old habits are hard to break at times.  What I eat is more than what is placed before me.  It's a habit to eat a certain way.  I want sweets and breads.  They call my name in the evenings.  I have got to focus on eating crunchy vegetables in the evening when my BAD HABITS start rearing their ugly heads.  Eat me.  Feed me.  You really want it, don't you?  Am I addicted to certain things?  Have I been programmed to eat unhealthy things?  Yes.  The answer is YES.  I have to retrain myself to say NO.  I don't need that JUNK FOOD.  I don't need to eat.  Drink water and say, NO to eating just because I can.  

Actually, with this COLOR WHEEL DIET I am eliminating certain foods from my daily intake of calories.  It's in restrictive eating that I eliminate the wrong kind of calories.  DAY TWO of the COLOR WHEEL DIET.  Tis YELLOW DAY where I get to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast and corn for lunch.  It seems like when I am restricting my food intact that I think about eating FOOD way too much.  I suppose it is the body's way of protecting itself from starving.  To get my focus off of so much food will help make the dieting easier.  How do I do this?  Controlled thinking. Discipline.  Retraining my thoughts.

MAKING HEALTHIER CHOICES has become easier for me and I do think about what I am eating before I pop it into my mouth.  What is this stuff made up of?  Calories?  Fat?  Carbs?  Is it healthy?  Portions and time of day when I eat is also taken into consideration.  In regards to that, I have made huge progress in the last few years.

With a very slow metabolism, my body is slower than the average bear to burning calories and losing weight.  With no thyroid, my thermometer is broken.  I understand that those with hypothyroidism have more difficulty losing weight and should avoid carbs.  Doesn't seem fair when I love carbs.  If I had to choose between a fresh out of the oven piece of bread to eating a salad, I would choose the bread every time.  If I had to choose between a piece of bread and drinking a soda, I'd pick the bread.  Keep in mind that the wheat of this era is not like in Biblical times.  Our wheat has been altered and is no longer the same as it were.  Man has done a number on wheat.  

By embracing healthy fruits and vegetables and looking at the bigger picture, I can select to not eat foods higher in carbs.  Encourage myself with veggies which has far less carbs than grains and highly processed foods full of carbs, sugars, chemical additives and fats. 

NOW, with having my ovaries removed, I understand that weight gain is common.  I kind of knew that. Taking certain medicines can cause weight gain.  Being Insulin and Lipid resistant can cause weight gain as can being Type 2 diabetic.  I'm not real happy about this.  Not only does OVER EATING and not burning the calories off cause weight gain, but so do a multitude of other factors.  Hormones and chemicals for weight gain are fed to the animals we eat for foods causing us to gain weight as well.     

Eating vegetables, drinking water and exercising is the tough pill I must swallow in life.  I have to overcome this obesity.  I don't want to be obese all the days of my LIFE especially as a older woman.  Over time being too heavy contributes to unwanted health issue.  I truly believe this.

Yes, I was one of those people that wanted to believe that being heavy was alright.  Couldn't be helped.  I made excuses as to why I could eat the way I wanted and could get away with drinking diet pop and not exercising.  I truly was.  Now I have embraced the truth that being obese is unhealthy and adds to health problems.  I truly believe this, but I also believe that being skinny can be unhealthy as well.  The quality of our food matters.  NO MATTER WHAT SIZE ONE IS, the quality of what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat, matters.   

I know I was not alone about believing that obesity is alright when I read article after article and heard that big is beautiful as a woman.  The untruth that being FAT is alright and that FAT is beautiful, rings in many a ear.  Accept me as I am an oversized lady.  PLUS SIZE ME. TRUTH IS it isn't alright to be obese and it takes special attention to deal with it.  I know that just because one is so called normal in their appearance does not mean they have their act altogether either, but the fact that they weigh less and fall into a range that is more acceptable on the medical charts is far better than being too heavy which causes additional problems.  My goal weight is a ways off, but I see light at the end of the tunnel and having a OH WELL ATTITUDE doesn't belong in my vocabulary.  

I have to know what added chemicals are in the food I eat.  Is it really even food?  If the food I'm eating has come from a lab and I eat it, I'm part of the lab experiment.  I AM NOW A LAB RAT and the so called experts like that.  I become a statistic.  A number in a report.  I am one of those that is manipulated and controlled in the scheme of things.  

When the truth comes out about chemical additives being in foods and it's GMO engineered, these foods are being pushed on you and red flags should go up.  If you are fooled into believing that this is alright, you'll encounter an unhealthy body where emotional disturbances take place. Mental health issues arise as well.  Poor choices become the norm and you may not know it is even taking place.  A sound mind and body are affected when eating FAKE FOOD that's been created to destroy your well being.  Your very existence is being challenged by a higher hierarchy in human society that believes you are expendable and they want to depopulate the world to make the planet more self sustaining with you out of the picture.  Sounds weird, YES?  Yes, but it is the way of the world and the reality of eating fake food is on the agenda to make room for the elite that believe they are gods and you are an unimportant carbon print taking up space and using resources they want for themselves.  You are a worker bee for them and they own you. They think they can do what ever they want to you and get what the results they want. Conspiracy theory?  No.  It's a reality when you read between the lines and figure out what two plus two is. 

Just because there is an abundance of food to eat does not mean it is the right kind of fuel to eat.  That's where MINDFUL EATING needs to kick in and help you process what you are eating.  Why are you eating that? Why?  Because you have to eat and it's what's before you?  It's what you can get your hands on.  It's cheaper to buy?  

A lot of times I thought what I was eating was considered being a part of a balanced meal. I believed I was doing the right thing to be healthy.  It was what I was taught and educated about. I had no idea I was being misled until recently.  Ignorance is not bliss.  It's ignorance.    

It wasn't simply that I overate and was a slob.  What I ate mattered a great deal.  Being active matters.  Resting matters.  Lower stress levels matter.  Being organized and staying tidy matters. How much I eat and what I eat, matters.  Time of day I eat, matters.  Why I eat MATTERS. What's in the food and if it's actually food, matters.  

If I eat what I think is healthy for me and it isn't then I have a problem, don't I?  Many have problems. It isn't just about how much you are eating, it's what you're eating.     

Eating vegetables has taken some training and rethinking what and when to eat.  I got use to intermittent fasting this last year and yet, it didn't seem to work well at losing weight.  Not for me.  I know I have to CUT THE CALORIES BIG TIME.   If I give the intermittent fasting more time it might eventually help.  I seem to take longer at everything to get the same results as others.  Slow metabolism.  Very slow.  If I eat more vegetables and pay attention to the time of day I eat, eating within an 8 hour window of time each day, it might assist me in reducing.  Shall see.  

When I diet and calories are burning up in my body, I can actually tell that something is happening in my body.  It's uncomfortable, but doable.  I can tell.  This should be good news, but I have a tendency to not like the sensation I am feeling.  It isn't a comforting feeling.  If it's what it takes to thin down, I best let this take place in my temple.

Be selective in what I buy to eat.  Keep in remembrance that not all food is created equal and it matters what I eat.  Eat a variety of different colored foods avoiding highly processed foods and make sure it was grown in healthy soil.  This is a new one to take in.

Nutrient rich soil.  Where do I find this kind of food if I don't grow it myself?  Must I completely change everything about eating?  The answer is YES.

MINDFUL EATING requires an education that may not get me a diploma made out of sheep's skin, but it will assist me in having a healthier physical LIFE.   The answer is YES, I will practice MINDFUL EATING.

~d