Starry night on the prairie

I had trouble sleeping last night. Don’t think I got more than an hour of sleep all night. Time kept doing weird things to me. Five minutes on the clock felt like five hours. I saw 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44 and 5:55. Felt surrounded and crowded in the bedroom last night.

Since I wasn’t sleeping I got up early and got dressed. I headed to Emporia early to have breakfast at Commercial Street Diner. I forgot they are closed on Monday and Tuesday now. I went to Hardee’s instead – not near as good as Commercial Street.

After I ate I went to the bank to deposit the insurance check. I don’t have deposit slips so went inside. I pulled up my account on my phone and they were able to take care of the deposit.

I went to the Senior Center and did taxes. There were four of us today and it felt like a slow day. No big complicated cases. Everyone showed up with fairly simple returns. At one point there were three clients and I knew each one of them. Love when that happens.

After I was done with taxes I went to Walmart to get letters to make my protest sign for Saturday. I picked up a bag of ice along with the letters and came home. When I got home I put the ice into more usable sized bags and then attempted to take a nap.

Time did the weird thing again while I was attempting to nap. Five minutes felt like five hours. Don’t think I got much sleep.

A phone call woke me up. My own taxes are done and ready to be picked up. I will probably go to town tomorrow to get them as I am anxious to see how I came out. Had lots of taxable events last year and am hoping that the accountant estimated fairly closely.

Thursday I am doing taxes again. Friday will be my last stay at home day for a bit. Saturday I am going to the protest in Topeka, Sunday I am working at the library book sale, Monday and Tuesday I am doing taxes. I look forward to my first stay at home day next week on Wednesday.

I have felt achy all day. Kathy said she was feeling that way too. We have a weather system coming through tonight with the possibility of some severe weather. We must both have weather indicators inside us and they are alerting us to the coming storm.

Funny how some days feel easy and others not so much. Although taxes went easy something feels hard today. I don’t feel like I am sleep deprived so not sure what it is. I decided to not attempt to do anything this evening and allow whatever this is space to be heard, felt and hopefully disappear.

Have been mourning the loss of one of my teachers from my Core Star days. Now that her death has been announced I can write more freely about her. She had a stroke and died Thursday last week. She was only 62 so was way too young to die. She had a huge impact on my life while I was going to energy healing school. She is also the one that introduced me to Chriss Lemmon. Chriss was the teacher of the four year program I went through after I completed Core Star Energy School that helped me learn more about myself. Both were big mentors for me and I cherish them.

Barb was a force of Nature. She was a very complicated person and had many sides. She believed in fairy dust and pixies. She tended not to be a rule follower and lived life with much joy and intuition. She was a mother and grandmother and was larger than life. I will hold on to my memories of her and cherish them. I am grateful for all the ways she helped me grow and the ways she supported my healing journey.

Grateful for the people that have taught and mentored me over the years, grateful my tax return is ready to be picked up, and grateful for the sleep I will get tonight.

It has been a quiet day at home. I did go to Strong City for lunch but otherwise have been tucked in at home. I managed to take my mile walk this afternoon. I do feel better afterwards.

I got the bedroom ceiling fan cleaned and the room dusted. I have one more piece to dust in the living room and that job will be done.

I got the refund check from the house insurance on Michelle’s house. Still don’t understand why they told me I needed to send in a bunch of paperwork the first time I called and accepted the cancellation the second time that resulted in the refund check. Grateful that got crossed off my pending list. I will drop the check off at the bank while I am in town tomorrow. My account doesn’t qualify for on-line deposits.

Haven’t heard from the accountant yet so unless they call in the morning it will be Thursday before I can pick up my taxes. Trusting they will be ready then.

Got an email from a couple I met when I went on my 70th birthday trip to England, Ireland and Scotland. It is always a good day when I hear from them. I will send a reply later tonight. Funny how some people you randomly meet stick and others don’t. This couple and I spent several meals together and our core values match. They were the couple that walked to the top of the tower where the Blarney Stone is with me.

Tagen let me know he crashed his four wheeler last week and got a bad concussion. He gets to go back to work this week. He had to get a CT as he had vomiting along with dizziness and a bad headache. Glad to know he is recovering. He had two concussions before. That kid and his hard head!

Nicole is still down with some sort of virus. She has had a bad ear ache, congestion and now a cough. She must have that stuff that lasts for a couple of weeks. I offered to make her some chicken noodle soup and bring up to her. That stuff is miserable and it feels like it will never go away.

Tomorrow I will be in town by 9:00 to do taxes. I have four more sessions to go after this one. It has been a good season for me. I got to see lots of people I haven’t seen for a bit. The regular clients feel like meeting old friends and I enjoy visiting with the other volunteers.

I have a few things to pick up at the grocery store before I come home. I will go by the bank and deposit the insurance refund check. I go back to Emporia Thursday for another tax shift.

Saturday I am going with some friends to the protest at the Capital. With all that is going on these days I trust lots of people will show up to voice their concerns. Other than showing up at protests, calling my elected representatives and senators and choosing wisely where I spend my money, I’m not sure what else I can do. Action feels important but yet limited. I am privileged enough that the cuts that are being made probably won’t change my life, but they certainly have the potential to change the life’s of people I care about.

Sunday I am working a shift at the Emporia Library book sale. Bag day starts Monday. Grateful I have to go back to Emporia Monday for a tax shift so I can go to the sale and get a bag of books. I have a bag full I need to return from the last bag sale.

I will enjoy Wednesday and Friday as they are my only stay at home days for the next little bit. Looking forward to April 13 and our family day. Feels like it has been a long time since I saw all my kids at the same time. Family days are my best days of the year!

Felt good to get the dusting and cleaning done. Those projects never take long but for some reason I put them off for too long. It was nice to get the insurance check today and cross that off my list too. Makes a day feel productive when things get done. The walks are helping me walk out of the pit I had fallen in. Going to the protest feels helpful to my soul too. I do better when I take some sort of action, even when it feels like it isn’t enough.

Grateful the insurance check came, grateful to hear from the friends I met on my trip, and grateful Tagen and Nicole are doing better.

Another quiet day at home. We didn’t get the rain we had hoped for last night. We got some sprinkles but barely. Trusting April will bring some showers. It was cooler today and is to be even colder tomorrow. I had to keep the windows closed today as the wind was too brisk and cold coming in.

I worked on deep cleaning the dining room today. Found lots of dirt. I will need to do my bedroom tomorrow and then can put the ladder away.

I took Roxy with me when I did my mile walk this afternoon. She behaved well on our walk and would have gone farther if I would have. The spring flowers are in bloom all over the neighborhood and it is a joy to look for them right now.

Tomorrow I will get to stay home again and finish up the cleaning project. I am hoping the accountant will call and let me know I can pick up my taxes Tuesday.

Tuesday and Thursday I go to Emporia to do taxes. Only one more week after this week. The tax season went by quickly.

Kathy and I have both said that March feels like it has lasted a year. We had Kathy’s birthday lunch just a little over a week ago and it feels like it was two months ago. Time is doing its wonky thing again. The days seem to pass quickly but somehow the month lasted a long time.

I am going to the protest march at the Capital Saturday. I need to figure out what to put on my protest sign. I want to march for something instead of against something. Thinking about Love Your Neighbor – even the …… ones. My other thought is All are welcome here – even the ….. ones.

Today didn’t feel as heavy as it has been for a couple days. I welcome the reprieve for the day. Sure wish I could figure out how to level out my ride. For too long in my life I numbed myself out and didn’t allow myself to feel the ride. I’m still learning how to hang on and go with the ride and remind myself that this too shall pass when it gets hard.

Grateful the dining room is deep cleaned, grateful for the spring flowers that add beauty to the neighborhood, and grateful for the privilege of being able to attend a protest.

The director from Pioneer Bluffs came and picked up the Newsletter material. It was good to get that out of my house. This little house fills up quick when I do a project like that.

Have been working on cleaning off and on all day – more off than on. I had the ladder out so cleaned the ceiling fan in the living room and cleaned the tops of the tall furniture and the top woodwork. Still have more to do but at least I have started.

I managed to take a mile walk this afternoon. It is my intention to get out and walk at least a mile a day for a bit and then I will slowly increase the distance. I have not been moving my body enough lately and not eating on plan. I do feel better when I move and eat right.

I will continue working on deep cleaning the house through Monday. I am so grateful I now have a small house and can do this in a short time compared to how long it took me in the big country house. I do like a really clean house.

Sure feels like we are in for a big spring storm. It is muggy out today. We have a 40% chance of rain overnight tonight. We sure need the rain so am trusting it will find us. We will have another chance for rain next weekend.

I’m doing taxes Tuesday and Thursday next week. I need to stop by the Vet and get meds for the cats and dogs on Tuesday. Saturday I am going to the protest at the Capitol with some friends.

I am hoping my taxes will be ready to be picked up Tuesday. I got an email from my accountant today as she had some questions so I know she is working on my taxes. I have some financial decisions to make once I know how I come out on taxes and how much estimated taxes I need to make for this year. I will be grateful when I can simplify my taxes and know where I stand.

Feeling a bit restless and ungrounded tonight. The walk helped a bit. I seem to be back in my pit which feels like a slip backwards. Trusting it won’t be a free fall again and I can find my footing and climb back out. Life is sure a roller coaster for me these days. It feels like I take two steps forward and slide three steps back.

Grateful the cleaning has begun, grateful the accountant is working on my taxes, and grateful for the rain that is headed our way.

I was able to sleep in for a bit this morning. I got a text asking me to help with the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter today. The Director brought the supplies early afternoon. She had stuffed half of them so all I had to do was stuff the other half and then seal all of them up.

Kathy helped me seal one box. A dear friend came over and helped me with the rest of them. We had a good conversation while keeping our hands busy. It was good to get them finished up this evening. I had one final box to seal and then I sorted them and label the boxes. It is good to see results from something I did today.

I decided to cancel the MMR vaccine for tomorrow. I read some more and they are not recommending them for those born before 1957. They are assuming immunity in my age group as measles was almost a childhood rite of passage in my day. I don’t remember having them but I don’t have good memory recall of most of my childhood. It is time for me to get another Covid booster as they recommend one every six months for people of a certain age. I will need a couple days after the vaccine to recover so will look at my schedule and see when I can make it work.

No plans for the weekend and Monday. I have some housecleaning that I need to take care of that I have been putting off too long. It has reached the point where I have to take care of it. This will be a good weekend to get it done.

Next week I am doing taxes Tuesday and Thursday. I need to stop by the Vet’s office while I am in town next week to get the dogs and cats their quarterly flea and tic medication.

Found out that one of my instructors from Core Star Energy Healing School made her transition this week. She was a very unique individual that made a big impact on my life during my training years. She was only 62 so went much too soon. I will remember her with gratitude for all she gave to me.

The kids are all coming home April 13 for a family day. I need to figure out what to feed them. I asked them for suggestions but haven’t gotten any yet. I will probably fix a ham, green beans and macaroni and cheese. I’ll see what other requests I get and will go from there. It will be nice to have them all home for a day.

Feeling a bit flat this evening. I didn’t get out and take a walk today as I was busy doing the newsletter and then I took a chair nap. I got tired after my helped left and had to take a rest. Not sure why I get so tired sometimes. Trusting that this weekend I will find some energy and get this house detailed clean.

Grateful for the lessons by teacher gave me many years ago, grateful the newsletter got finished, and grateful for family days to look forward to.

Woke up to the sound of high wind and rain this morning. I didn’t know we were going to get rain so was a bit surprised. We need rain badly and it was a welcome surprise. North of here got hit with a bad hail storm that broke lots of car windshields. Grateful that didn’t happen here.

Not sure we got much rain at all. There was a lot of lightning and thunder. It sprinkled on me most of the way to Emporia and while I was doing taxes another brief thunderstorm came through. Trusting we will get more rain soon.

Went to Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. It was a slow day as a few didn’t show and most of the returns were simple. We only had three workers today so it was a good day for it to be slow. I did the taxes for a lady that used to work for me years ago. It is fun to run into people like that while doing taxes.

Stopped for lunch afterwards and came home. I took a long chair nap this afternoon. I feel like I have never found my go button today. I am still tired and dragging. Not my favorite type of day!

I picked up one more tax day next week. One of the volunteers has been coming in three days a week for the last several weeks and I offered to take one of her days next week to give her a break. I was only scheduled for one day and it seems more fair for both of us to do two each. We only have two more weeks of sessions.

Nothing on my calendar for tomorrow unless the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter didn’t get done today. I haven’t heard yet if they will still be working on it tomorrow or not. Saturday I have to go to Emporia at 10:00 for my MMR vaccine shot. No plans for Sunday or Monday.

Trusting I will have some get up and go power tomorrow. I have a few things around the house that I would like to take care of. Don’t have it in me to do them today. They will all patiently wait for me to get to them. Grateful I have nothing urgent that needs taken care of as I’m not sure I could do it.

I think I will go outside and take a walk and see if that helps. I have a bit of a headache this afternoon – thinking it is from the pollen in the air. Maybe the wind will clear out the cobwebs that are in my head.

Grateful for an easy tax day, grateful for the bit of rain we got, and grateful for afternoon chair naps.

I got the shed cleaned out today. We have more than enough room now for all our stuff. Kathy helped me and we got it done! Got rid of several totes full of stuff. Some of it needed thrown away and some of it needed brought into the house. I got all the totes labeled with their contents so I know where to look for what I need.

I found the dough hook for my mixer that I hadn’t been able to find since we moved. Kathy found the extra set of car keys to her leased car. I also found some winter scarves that I knew I had but had no idea where they were. Hope I can remember where I put them so I will have them next winter. Gave several things to my neighbor that I don’t need anymore. Have one tote full of things that I need to find a new home for the stuff in it. I will put it on Chase County Care and Share site and someone will come get it and make it go away.

Kathy and I both tried to start the new mower but neither one of us was successful. The manual was worthless as it was pictures and no words. I watched a YouTube video but that didn’t help. I sent a note to Phil and asked him to help us out again. I. Got a rack thingy so we can hang tools in the shed and I also asked Phil to hang it up for me.

I need to take my bike to the bike shop and get it cleaned and the tires fixed. I may take it tomorrow when I go in to do taxes.

I have a MMR booster shot scheduled for Saturday. I decided not to go through the process of having my levels checked and just go ahead and get the shot. From what I read I will only need one. Measles seem to be spreading lots of places and I would rather be safe than sorry. Way too many don’t take them seriously and don’t keep in if they have them.

Tomorrow I am doing taxes in the morning. I don’t think I have any errands to run afterwards unless I take my bike to the shop. The Pioneer Bluffs newsletter is ready to be put together to be mailed. They are going to work on it tomorrow. If they don’t get it done I will help on Friday. I can’t do two big things in one day anymore.

No plans for the weekend except for the vaccine on Saturday. I only am doing taxes once next week unless I pick up an extra shift on Monday or Tuesday. It will be a quiet week.

I’ve been binge watching Grey’s Anatomy and the season I am watching now was during the Covid lockdown. It has brought up lots of memories for me. What a time that was! So much uncertainty and the show reminded me how very difficult it was for the medical community. I wonder what the pandemic did to the collective physic that we still don’t know. Trust, connections to others, and faith all seemed to have been tested and many haven’t been able to go back to “normal”.

It has been a beautiful spring day. Felt so good to get the shed cleaned out and organized. Phil just came over and got the mower running. Kathy went out to find out how to work it as she is the one that mows the most. I love being able to mark things off my to-do list and be better organized.

Grateful the shed project is done, grateful the mower is working, and grateful for vaccines.

Another busy day in Emporia. I was at the tax site by 9:00. We were a bit shorthanded today as one had to leave early to go to a funeral and another had a lunch to go to. We still got out by 12:15 though.

After taxes were done I went to the post office to mail my great grandfather’s diary to one of my mother’s cousins. There was no line and it was quick. I did purchase a different mailing envelope as the one I had was paper and I was afraid it would get torn and the diary would fall out. It is not replaceable so didn’t want to take a chance.

I then went through the car wash and then to Bluestem to get a new mower. The guy that waited on me was knowledgeable and helped me pick out the right one. I didn’t want a leaf bagger but they don’t sell them without one. Hoping I can use it without the bagger. Phil is going to pick it up tomorrow and bring it home to me.

I then stopped for lunch and then I went to Walmart to get some groceries. I needed some peppermint extract so I could get rid of some ants that like to come inside through my kitchen window. I picked up a few other things I needed. Stopped at Braums and got some ice cream and then came home. I didn’t get back home until around 2:30 so it felt like a long day in town again.

This afternoon I walked up to the old school that has been converted into apartments. I didn’t go through all of them but the ones I went through were nice. I heard they have all but one or two of them rented already. Housing is in short supply in Cottonwood Falls so am grateful for all that made this project a reality. It is a nice use for an old building. Reminds me of the project Craig and I did to convert the old St. Mary’s hospital into apartments. Not an easy process but worth it in the end.

Nicole called this afternoon and told me about her trip to the DR. They had a great time but she picked up a bug of some sort and didn’t sound great. Hoping it passes through her quickly and she recovers quickly.

Tomorrow is a free day for me. I welcome it and will enjoy it. I don’t have much I need to do but I would like to get the shed completely cleaned out and reorganized. Now that the riding mower is out of there I will have more room to store things. I dislike not being able to put my hands on what I want immediately and right now I can’t remember what I have in it. I want to label all the totes so I know what is in each of them easily. It is to be in the low 70’s tomorrow so that will be a perfect day to work outside and get this project done.

Thursday I go back to do taxes again. We only have two more weeks to go after this week. I will have to find something to do with myself when this project ends. I promised myself I would join the gym and use the time I was doing taxes to workout. We shall see if I can make that happen.

Next week I am only going to do taxes on Thursday unless something changes between now and then. I don’t have anything else on my calendar so will have a fairly quiet week. I am looking forward to that.

I took some of the medication last night for the first time in three days. The doctor recommended a brief taper. I had diarrhea this morning and I didn’t have it on the days I didn’t take the medication. My hand tremor was back again too. I will be grateful when I am totally off of it.

Sitting in a good place this afternoon. It is a beautiful day and I felt productive again today. I am working on becoming more active and forcing myself to get out and take a walk each day and move more during the day. I do feel better when I do those things but some days I can’t do it.

Grateful the mower will be coming home tomorrow, grateful my errands got taken care of today, and grateful for a beautiful spring day.

It has felt like a busy day. I was in Emporia doing taxes at 9:00. We stayed busy all morning so the time went by quickly. I did the taxes for a high school classmate. I don’t think I had seen him since high school graduation. I kinda know his wife but I didn’t know that was his wife until today. That is the fun part of doing taxes – seeing old friends.

Had lunch with Jason after my tax shift. It is always a good day when I get to spend time with one of my kids.

Had a request for some business records from back in the day when I did McDonald’s. I had to go out to my shed and clear out a path so I could find the box that has the records in it. I thought I had thrown out anything to do with McDonald’s when I moved but I wasn’t sure if I had kept tax records or not. I didn’t find any so thinking I threw them out. I still need to reorganize the shed so will look a bit deeper whenever I get out there to clean and reorganize it.

While clearing out the shed I pushed the riding mower out of the shed. I am going to ask Phil to take it to my son in Emporia. I couldn’t get it started but am not sure if I forgot how it works or if something is wrong. I’ll have Phil look at it and see if he can get it running and then have him make it go away. I never did like that thing and struggled to run it. It will give me lots more room in the shed to have it gone.

I also needed to find my great grandfather’s diary. One of my mother’s cousins requested it as they are doing a family history thing. I managed to find it so will get it packaged up and mail it to them. The diary is from 1965 and 1966. It is mostly weather reports but it does cover the time when my great grandmother died. He reported over 800 people attended her funeral. That was back in the day when people went to funerals to pay their respects.

I am on hold with the insurance company attempting to cancel the insurance on Michelle’s house. I am number 25 in line. This may take a bit. Edited to add they finally answered after a 20 minute wait. I pushed the wrong button and hung up on them. I called back and waited 30 minutes. The person that answered the phone was efficient and didn’t make me send anything in and was able to cancel the insurance. Grateful but not sure I understand. Trust it will hold and I will get a refund in the next month or so.

I did manage to get my new local account hooked up with my on-line bank so I can transfer funds between the two. The process of depositing the proceeds check and getting the new account linked took over two weeks. Man, that wasn’t easy.

Tomorrow I go back to Emporia for another tax shift. I have Wednesday off but work another shift on Thursday. Next week I only have one shift and then the last week I have three. We are almost to the finish line of this tax season. There is some concern if AARP will be able to offer this service next year. We shall see what happens.

Got permission from my doctor to go off the new medication. I have to taper for a week or two and then can discontinue using it. Trusting my side effect symptoms will disappear when I am able to go off it completely. The side effects were worse than what I was taking the medication for.

Feel like I climbed a bit higher out of the pit I had fallen into. Today has felt somewhat easy and productive. If I can get the insurance thing resolved today it will be a really good day. I tried to cancel it the day after I closed on the sale and didn’t have the patience to do what they wanted me to do. I have to prove that I have the authority to cancel a policy that is in my business name. The things that make me go WTF!

Grateful I found the diary, grateful to see a classmate from years gone by, and grateful the shed is closer to being more useable.

It has been a quiet day at home. Felt more like myself today than I have for a bit. I even managed to go outside and take a mile walk. I got some laundry done and managed to take care of an internet thing that had me stumped for a bit.

I haven’t taken the medication that has been bothering me for two nights. I will contact my doctor tomorrow and let him know I need to go off of it. When I read the information about it I learned I am not to go off of it cold turkey so will need to get instructions on how to get off of it.

I have been a bit teary all day. Not sure where that is coming from but it has been a bit since I have been able to allow myself to cry. Know it was long overdue and I am grateful my feelings and emotions are being released.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia to do taxes at 9:00. I will need to stop afterwards and pick up some groceries. I didn’t stop and get any last week and don’t need much so it won’t take long.

I get to go back to Emporia on Tuesday and Thursday too this week. Tax season is almost over for the year so grateful I get some extra time to be in service.

I feel like I am slowly climbing out of a dark hole I had fallen in. Not sure how I have been able to both stay above neutral and allow myself to drop down into my own personal hole to dig space out for my emotions to be heard and felt. You can hold both sides in your hands at the same time.

Grateful some things got done today, grateful I feel like I am climbing out of this pit, and grateful for new beginnings tomorrow.

I kinda lost yesterday. I woke up late but didn’t feel rested. I kinda laid around and next thing I knew I fell asleep in my chair. I slept for another eight hours! Guess I was making up for sleep I didn’t get earlier in the week.

Woke up and of course when it was bedtime I couldn’t sleep. I finally fell asleep around 7:00 this morning and got a couple ours of sleep. Trusting tonight I will get back on schedule.

I did manage to eat better today – at least so far. It has been a bit since I ate on plan. I even took both dogs for a walk this afternoon and walked a mile. It has bit since I managed to do that too.

No plans for tomorrow although I am going to try to get up fairly early and not sleep all day. I need to get back on track. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I have to be in town by 9:00 each morning to do taxes so won’t be able to sleep in.

Sure hoping the accountant calls next week to let me know she has my taxes ready. I had to pay lots of estimated taxes for 2024 and am curious as to how close she estimated by taxes. Expecting the worse but hoping for the best.

Beginning to think the new medication I started about six weeks is causing more problems than it is solving. I am going to send a note to my doctor and let him know that I need to stop taking it. We reduced the dosage after the first 30 days but the side effects don’t seem to be going away and in fact seem to be increasing. My body didn’t read the rule book and doesn’t seem to like medication.

Still feeling a bit isolated. I have had to quit reading the news again. My little world feels small but safe right now. It is taking all my energy to keep myself above neutral. I peek my head out once in a while and it feels like someone is playing the game whack a mole and they find me each time.

Grateful for the extra sleep, grateful I think I figured out what is causing my symptoms, and grateful I was able to eat on plan and take a walk today.

It has been a busy day. The weather is much nicer than yesterday with bright blue skies and temperatures in the mid 50’s.

Five of us gathered for lunch to celebrate Kathy’s birthday. It was a delightful meal and even better conversation.

After lunch I went to pick up the birthday cake I had ordered for Kathy. I was supposed to have it for lunch but the baker wasn’t available for me to pick it up today until after lunch. Kathy and I will enjoy it later.

Then I went to the bank to finally get the proceeds from the sale of Michelle’s house deposited. The lady I needed to see was at lunch so I had to come back later.

I went to Jason’s office to drop off a check for him but he wasn’t there. I went to his house and found him there and gave him a check so he could pay the deposit for the guy that is going to clean out his drains.

Went back to the bank and was finally able to sign the papers to open two accounts and get the proceeds in the bank. It didn’t take long and I was finally done – or so I thought.

I left and headed to Sutherlands. Part way there I got a call from the bank that they had forgotten to scan my identification card and I had to go back so they could take care of that. Depositing this check took eight trips to various banks before I could complete what I thought would be a simple task. Not sure why this turned out so complicated but grateful it is finally done.

Went to Sutherland’s and got Kathy her birthday present and then I came home. Four hours in town today was too much! Grateful all the errands got taken care of and now I get to stay home for a couple of days.

I still need to figure out a way to cancel the house insurance on Michelle’s house. When I called last week they told me I needed to send them documents to prove that I have the authority to cancel the insurance. I wasn’t in the mood to deal so I need to call back and figure out what in the world they need and then figure out a way to get it to them. I will have to be in the right mood to make that happen. Some days I just can’t do that type of thing.

Today is Spring Equinox. A day that nature is in balance. I found some balance during lunch today while enjoying the company of my dear friends. Trusting I can hold on to it or at least remember how to come back to it. The greater world feels very off balance these days and it is easy to get pulled off balance.

Next week will be another fairly busy week as I am doing taxes three times next week. At least those trips to town will feel somewhat productive. I enjoy being in service to others. Most of our clients are very appreciative of our services. It is like greeting old friends as I work with repeat clients.

Hoping I will hear from my own tax accountant soon. At least now I have the funds if the news is not good. I know I will have to pay estimated taxes again this year due to the sell of Michelle’s house. Grateful I have the funds to pay them.

I’m a bit tired this afternoon. I wasn’t able to fall asleep until almost 5:00 this morning and I was up a little after 8:30. Since I don’t have anything on my calendar tomorrow I trust I will be able to sleep in tomorrow and make up on some lost sleep. This hasn’t been a good week for sleep.

Letting Mother Nature teach me balance today. I realized I have not been staying present to what is and have been in resistance to life lately. That is draining and nonproductive for me. Something feels like it shifted inside today and I let go of some things I had been holding on to. I will sit with this moment of balance and get this feeling locked in so I can return to it.

Grateful for my dear friends and Kathy and the wonderful lunch we had today, grateful all my errands got taken care of today, and grateful after eight tries the banking issue is complete.

Today is Kathy’s birthday. A group of our friends were going to meet for lunch to celebrate. I chickened out due to the weather forecast and reports of snow coming. I shouldn’t have postponed the lunch as the snow didn’t come until around 4:00 and it only lasted minutes. We are going to try again tomorrow.

I haven’t done anything today. It was too cold and windy to go out. It is to be in the 50’s tomorrow so this cold won’t last long.

Tomorrow I will go to Emporia for the lunch with Kathy and to take care of my banking stuff. Once I get home from Emporia tomorrow I will get to stay home until Monday. Maybe I will make a to-do list and get some things done around here. Then again, maybe not.

I’m grateful we are on the back end of winter and this may be our last taste of winter for the year. It is not unheard of for it to snow in April so we may get yet another blast but at least it won’t last long if it does come back for a final farewell.

Tomorrow is Spring Equinox. I am not holding a ceremony this time for the first time in a long time. I needed to take a break and figure out what I need. I will take some time tomorrow and do my own personal ceremony.

Grateful we dodged the snow bullet today, grateful we can celebrate Kathy’s birthday tomorrow, and grateful it is to warm up tomorrow.

Just got home from Wichita. It has been a long day for me. I left home at 8:25 this morning and got home at 4:30.

I did taxes this morning. We had a busy day and not much down time today. Most of the clients needed Homestead tax forms and that takes a bit to figure. I finally feel comfortable doing them this year.

After I was done with taxes I went by CVS to pick up a prescription for Kathy. I then headed to Wichita. I stopped at the Matfield Green rest area for lunch and then continued to Wichita.

I got to the dealership about 15 minutes before my scheduled time. A 10 minute job took almost two hours. They tried to up sale me some maintenance things that aren’t even due to be done. I politely declined them.

After my car was done I went to Costco and picked up a few things. I didn’t need much so it was a quick trip in and out. Came home after that.

A couple times both ways a semi would attempt to pass another semi and traffic would back up. I was slowed down to 50 MPH at one point. The semis were struggling to get up the hills in the wind. The wind was blowing hard both ways. I especially noticed it on the way down. I got six miles more per gallon coming home than going down. Should have set a sail on my car coming home and I would have gotten home real quick. I passed a semi with three trailers that were weaving and bobbing all over the road. Grateful I wasn’t driving a semi today.

Tomorrow I need to be in Emporia at 11:00 to pick something up and then I have a thing I am going to after that. I may stop at the bank and make a sixth attempt to get a check cashed and the proceeds invested. Not sure if I can do it tomorrow. It may wait till Thursday.

It will be good to have a couple stay at home days after that task is done. Next week I am doing taxes three days so it will be another busy week. We only have three more weeks of doing taxes after this week so getting close to the finish line.

We are to get some snow tomorrow after it was almost 80 today. Gotta love Kansas weather. If you don’t like it,hang around cause it might change the next day. The cold isn’t to last long and by the weekend we will be back up in the 70’s. I like that type of snow!

Jason let me know the drain guys are coming to his house tomorrow to give him an estimate of adding clean out things to his drain. I need to drop a check off so he can give them their required deposit. His drains have been backed up for almost a month now and it will be nice to get them back open.

Felt good to get the recall thing taken care of today. Turned out it didn’t impact my car but it is good it got checked out. I got my list of things I needed at Costco taken care of too so it was a productive day. I need one of those occasionally.

Feeling a bit empty this afternoon. I don’t do well being gone all day anymore. I’m grateful I have several days ahead of me to refill again. My body is telling me the weather is going to change. My allergies are really bad this spring. I feel drained and like my body is fighting off an infection of some sort. Guess time will tell.

Grateful the recall is taken care of, grateful for a safe trip to and from Wichita in the wind, and grateful my butt is in my comfortable chair for the rest of the day.

Not much sleep last night but I kinda expected that. I had to be in Emporia at 9:00 so had to get up and get going this morning.

We had a slow day at taxes today. One person didn’t show up and two returns became one so we had a lot of down time today. I was out of there a little after 11:00 this morning which is about an hour or more earlier than normal.

I stopped by the bank to do the banking thing. Unfortunately the papers were not ready and the lady that I was working with was off. I will have to go back later this week. This thing is taking way too much time and energy to get resolved.

I took a chair nap when I got home after stopping for lunch. Sure wish I could get this sleep thing fixed.

I did manage to take a walk this afternoon. I need to start moving my body and I was able to make myself get up and go outside to walk.

A dog in the neighborhood got out of a fenced yard this afternoon. There was another dog on a leash with its owner walking by. It got loud and ugly for a bit. The owner of the dog that got out came to get the dog. It was painful to watch how he treated the dog. I considered calling and reporting him. Not sure I understand why people like that have animals.

Tomorrow I am doing taxes again at 9:00 and then am driving to Wichita to get the car recall issue resolved. I plan on stopping at Costco afterwards. Hope I can get out of taxes around noon. I don’t have to be at the dealership until 1:45 so will have plenty of time to get there. Sometimes we don’t get out till 1:00 so I told them I had to leave at noon tomorrow. They can dock my pay if needed – not that I get paid!

Wednesday or Thursday I will go back to the bank and attempt to finally get the check deposited and invested. Not sure why it is taking me over a week to get that done.

I picked up four more tax shifts for the last three weeks of the program. One of the other preparers has a daughter that is going to have a baby any day now and needs to take some time off to go stay with her. I enjoy doing taxes so it will be good for me to do a couple extra shifts. This tax season has gone by quickly and has been one of the easiest ones I have participated in so far. I finally feel like I know what I am doing this year.

I haven’t heard from my tax accountant yet. Trusting I will soon. I am not sure it will be good news this year. Hoping she calculated fairly close and I won’t have to pay lots extra. I know I will have to do estimated payments again this year due to selling Michelle her house. Sure wish I could designate how I want the government to spend the money I send them.

Feeling a bit more in my body tonight. The walk was helpful and I am grateful I was able to make myself do it. Wonder why I am in resistance to doing the things I know will help me feel better long-term. Guess that is everyone’s million dollar question.

Grateful for a walk on a beautiful spring day, grateful for the extra tax shifts, and grateful my car recall problem is getting fixed tomorrow.

I didn’t fall asleep until about 6:00 this morning/. I was able to sleep all morning and then laid in bed reading for a couple of hours. I decided not to get dressed today as I would be in clothes only about six hours.

Have been doing some laundry today but that is all I am doing. The last load is drying and then I will make the bed with fresh sheets and fold and put away the clothes.

My chest feels a bit heavy today. I have had some allergy stuff and I keep feeling like it is something more. About the time I think I am going down for the count I start feeling better. It has been a roller coaster ride for the last couple weeks. I have been taking some allergy medication and that seems to help but then it comes back.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes and then will go to a bank and finish the paperwork to get the funds from the sell of Michelle’s house deposited and invested. It will be good to get those funds taken care of. It has turned into a time consuming process.

I am doing taxes again on Tuesday and then going to Wichita to take my car in for a recall fix. I need some things from Costco so will stop afterwards and pick up what I need,

It has been nice to take a quiet weekend and not do anything. It will also be nice tomorrow and Tuesday to have something to do. I do feel better with myself when I do something productive during the day.

Having trouble finding much motivation to get my body moving and doing the things I need to do. Not sure what is behind that. Offering myself some grace to allow the energy to work through me. Trusting that this will be resolved soon and I will be on my way to a healthier lifestyle.

Grateful for lots of sleep last night, grateful for two quiet days at home, and grateful I have something that I have to do tomorrow.

After I blogged yesterday I took an eight hour nap! Needless to say I didn’t sleep much overnight. I think I was finally able to fall asleep around 5:30 this morning and only slept for a couple of hours. Maybe tonight I will get back on schedule.

I took a day and did nothing today. I am still watching all the seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and just finished season 11. I don’t remember how many seasons there are but I think I am about halfway done.

It was much colder today than the last couple of days. At least the wind isn’t blowing as hard. It is to be back in the low 80’s by Tuesday and then dip back into the low 50’s on Wednesday. Wish we had more chances for rain in the forecast but the spring showers haven’t shown up yet.

Tomorrow will be another rest day. I have to go to Emporia Monday and Tuesday to do taxes. Monday after taxes I need to get the banking thing taken care of. Tuesday after taxes I am taking my car to the dealer in Wichita to get a recall taken care of. I will need to feel full going into Monday to handle two busy days.

Feeling a bit isolated again today. I am struggling to find the balance between giving myself lots of quiet time and being “in” the world. Things are changing around me and it is taking lots of energy to hold my ground.

Grateful for a warm house on a cooler spring day, grateful for extra sleep yesterday, and grateful for the sleep I will get tonight.

It was a beautiful night to stand outside and watch the lunar eclipse. I started going out around 1:00 and went out about every 15 minutes until 3:00. The moon turned blood red and slowly the white appeared. Mother Nature is the best!

I went to Emporia around noon to open a new business banking account and to open a CD. The first bank I stopped at didn’t know how to open a business account and the lady that does them was at lunch and no one really knew when she would be back.

I went to a different bank and they require I have a personal account before they could open a business account. I didn’t need a personal account so I left.

Went to a third bank and because I use my social security number as my business account number they couldn’t open a business account.

Went to a fourth bank and found a very competent person. We were in the process of getting the two accounts open and the power went off. I have to go back Monday to sign papers and finally deposit the proceeds check from the close on the sell of the house yesterday.

Wowsers. Four tries to complete what I thought would be a simple banking issue and it still isn’t finished. Wonder what my lesson in all of this is?

The drive home was a bit scary. The wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t see homes that were off the road a bit. I held my breath when I passed a semi as it was blowing all over the road. I was going to stop for lunch in Strong City but we had a sudden downpour and I decided to go home. Days like this make me grateful I no longer own the house on top of a hill. I can tell it is windy in town but not near like it is out on the hill.

It is still weird looking outside. The sky is a funny color and there is a lot of dust and debris in the air. Feels like there is a lot of unsettled weather happening somewhere close. Not sure we will get any rain out of it but we shall see.

I still need to find the courage to call the insurance company and make a second attempt to cancel the insurance. Not sure why this sale has turned into a never ending saga of issues.

I don’t have any plans for the weekend. Next week I have something everyday Monday through Thursday. I’ll take it slow this weekend and make sure I have enough energy to get through the busy week I have scheduled.

Feeling a bit disconnected this afternoon. Wondering why investing these funds is so hard. I will take some time and step back and see if I can see a different perspective on this. When things aren’t easy it is usually because there is a lesson in it for me and I have learned to let go and pause for a bit. Maybe something will become clearer to me this weekend.

Grateful for a safe trip home in the high wind, grateful I found a bank that will be able to take care of the business need, and grateful for a safe house to be in out of the wind.

I was in Emporia by 9:00 this morning to do taxes. We stayed fairly busy all morning. I got out of there by 12:15 though. I stopped for lunch and then went to the close of Michelle’s house. That all went smoothly and easily. Came home afterwards.

I called to cancel the insurance and the company won’t let me without sending in some forms. The insurance is in the name of my LLC and they said I am not listed on the policy. Things that make me say WTF! I got too frustrated to finish the phone call after speaking with the supervisor. Still don’t know what forms I have to send in. I had been on the phone for over 30 minutes and didn’t reach a resolution. When I find some patience I will have to call back and figure this out.

Then I went to deposit the check from the closing. It is in the name of the LLC and banks won’t let me put it in my personal accountant. I had closed the LLC account as I wasn’t using it anymore. Now I will have to go to a bank tomorrow and open a new LLC account to deposit the check in. Once it is open I can transfer the funds to my personal account. Oh the games one plays to follow rules.

Guess what mood I am in now? That’s right! I am cranky. I must be getting old as these things don’t feel easy any more. Remember the days when banks and insurance companies knew you an would bend over to help a person out. Sorry to say those days are gone!

So guess I will go to town tomorrow and figure out this banking thing. Trusting that process will go smoothly. I need to open a CD with part of the funds too. Maybe I can make that happen tomorrow too.

On the bright side of life it was another beautiful spring day. I took Sophia for a walk this afternoon and was dressed too warmly. These are the types of days where one could change clothes three or four times a day to be comfortable. I needed a sweater when I left for Emporia this morning and a T-shirt this afternoon. Later this evening I will need a sweater again.

Tonight is the full moon and lunar eclipse. I think the best part of the eclipse is around 1:35 tomorrow morning. I usually am still up then so will set an alarm and step outside and see what I can see.

I was planning on staying home tomorrow but will have to go to town and take care of the banking things. Not sure I have anything else I need to do while I am in town. Wish I had thought about the problem cashing the check today so I could have taken care of it today.

It is to be extremely windy tomorrow with a chance of some storms later in the day. Grateful I have the Forester and not the old Prius. The old car was so light I wouldn’t drive it on a windy day.

No plans for the weekend. Next week is filling up. I am doing taxes Monday and Tuesday. I had scheduled my car recall thing on Tuesday but think I will change it to Thursday so I don’t have to do two things in one day. I better rest up this weekend as I won’t have another stay at home day until next Friday.

Ellexia is on spring break next week so will check to see if she wants to go to Wichita with me. We could do lunch and then the recall thing on the car and then do some shopping. She is usually up for shopping. She likes it lots better than I do.

Feeling a bit frustrated with myself this afternoon. I got so angry at the insurance company when I was on the phone with them. I had to take a pause and will have to call them later and figure out how to resolve this. If I didn’t want a refund check I would let the policy run out but it is over $700 so that is too much to leave on the table. I also figured out the account I used to pay the insurance with has been closed so will have to give them new banking information. Dang, things are hard sometimes.

Grateful the sale of Michelle’s house went smoothly, grateful for the wonders of Mother Nature, and grateful there are always solutions to problems if I am willing to play along.

I did’t fall asleep until almost 5:00 this morning. One of those nights. I have been tired all day but managed not to take a nap. I have to be in Emporia at 9:00 in the morning so will be going to bed early. Trusting I can sleep tonight.

It has been a quiet day at home. I didn’t do much today. It has been a beautiful day outside and I walked around outside a bit. Kathy did a lot of yard work again this morning.

After taxes tomorrow I am going to the closing on Michelle’s house. That will be fun. I’m not sure I am excited about the amount of taxes I will have to pay but I will set that aside and worry about that part another day. Tomorrow we will celebrate Michelle’s come back.

No plans for the weekend. If it is clear Friday night I want to watch the lunar eclipse. It is to get cloudy and we have a chance for rain on Friday so we shall see if I can see the blood moon during the eclipse. It is to cool down for Saturday but then warm back up and possibly hit low 80’s on Tuesday. That is too warm for mid March!

I wonder if the government will shut down this weekend. I just sent my passport in and if they shut down that will delay getting it back to me. I sure wish there were some bipartisan leadership in charge and they could find some middle ground.

It was weird this week only doing taxes once. I have been doing them two or three times a week until now. Next week I am doing them twice again but then only once until we close in April. The days of the week this week have felt mixed up for me all week.

I meant to call today to get an appointment in Wichita to service my car. There is a recall of some sort that needs attention. If I remember I will call tomorrow and take it next week. I need a few things from Costco and that is close to the car dealership.

Feeling a bit disconnected again tonight. I feel like I never got completely woke up and going today. Trusting I will get a good night’s sleep tonight and will have a great day tomorrow.

Grateful for what sleep I did get last night, grateful I had the privilege of getting to stay home all day today, and grateful for this beautiful spring day.

I had a busy afternoon in Emporia. I went to the Court House and did the paperwork needed to renew my passport. They took my picture and I filled out the required paperwork. They put the paperwork and my old passport along with my check in an envelope and then I took that to the post office to mail. In total I spent $155 to get my passport renewed for ten years. It is due back to me by May 1. Wonder if it will make it by then? I don’t have any trips scheduled but I like knowing I have my passport in case something comes up.

After I mailed the required paperwork for my passport I went to Bluestem and got four bags of dog food. It is cheaper at Walmart but I am trying to shop local and Bluestem will load it in my car. The dogs go through about a bag a week so I am stocked for a month or so.

I then went to Walmart and got some Claritin. Kathy said that is what she takes and it helps her. I have a sore throat that comes and goes along with thick drainage. It hasn’t developed into anything else so am thinking it is allergies. Read a report that with the storm that is coming in this weekend, allergies will be at record high levels. Crossing my fingers this stuff will help.

I stopped and had lunch and then went through the car wash. Ended up at my hairdresser for a long overdue haircut. I hadn’t had my hair cut for three months. I usually get one after six weeks or so.

Stopped at Braum’s on my way home to get some ice cream as it was on sale. Came home exhausted. I don’t do town well and I spent several hours in town today. Felt good to get the errands run and the passport taken care of as well as a haircut. I had put both tasks off for too long.

After I rest up a bit I will need to get the wheelbarrow and unload the dog food and get it inside. Each sack is 44 pounds so I will get a good workout in moving it.

No plans for tomorrow. Thursday I am doing taxes and then going to the closing on the sale of Michelle’s house. I think I will have some stay at home days after that.

It was an absolutely beautiful day today. Kathy has worked hard in the yard leveling out the piles of dirt that were made when the water line was replaced. We are both anxiously awaiting the spring flowers to grow and bloom. This is our first spring in this house and we have no idea what will be coming up.

Hard to believe we have been in this house for almost a year now. We moved in April 30. A year ago I was busy getting rid of lots of stuff and getting ready to transition from a house that had almost 5,000 square feet to one that has less than 1,000. It is hard for me to remember what I got rid of. I think I have only missed one thing and I can’t remember now what that was.

I might tackle cleaning out the shed tomorrow. It is too full and needs rearranging. I am getting rid of the riding mower so I will have more room in there. I don’t like not being able to put my hands on what I need right away and right now I have no idea where things are in the shed. I have something I need to find for a cousin of mine and I told them this spring I would find it. If it isn’t windy tomorrow it might be a good day to do that long overdue project.

It did feel good to get some things crossed off my to do list. I find myself isolating myself too much and getting out was good for me. I am also grateful I don’t have to tomorrow. I am working hard at simplifying my lifestyle and preparing to tuck in for a bit. Changes are coming in the world and I want to be ready on all levels for them – physically, mentally, spiritually and financially.

Grateful for this absolutely beautiful spring day, grateful my passport renewal is in process, and grateful dog food is stocked.

I have spent a third quiet day at home. I did manage to call and schedule a haircut for tomorrow. One thing taken off my to-do list. Didn’t get the other three calls made but one is better than none.

I am going to Emporia tomorrow afternoon. I have a haircut at 4:15 and have a couple of errands to run before and after it. Hoping to get a couple of things off my to-do list tomorrow.

It will be good to go to Emporia tomorrow afternoon. I haven’t taken time to go when I didn’t have taxes or a visit to the gym. It will also be good to get some things crossed off my to-do list.

I did manage to do two loads of laundry. I was even able to wash, dry, fold and put it away. Some days I can’t manage that.

It was a beautiful day. I have the windows open and fresh spring air coming in. It reached the mid 70’s today. It is to stay this way through Friday.

Thursday I have taxes in the morning and then I am going to the close on Michelle’s house afterwards. It will be an exciting day to see Michelle take over ownership of her house.

No plans for the weekend again. Roxy, my mama dog, will turn 9 on Saturday. Maybe I need to plan a birthday party for her.

Feeling a bit more grounded today and like the clouds that have been hanging around in my head have started to clear a bit. It still feels like I have a big hill to climb to get back to my normal but it finally feels like the journey has begun.

Grateful for this beautiful spring day, grateful I get a haircut tomorrow, and grateful for inner movement.

Not sure how time goes by so quickly when I do nothing during the day. One third of March is almost gone already and it feels like March 1 was yesterday. My relationship to time is hard to wrap my head around and comprehend. It doesn’t make sense.

I have had another quiet day at home. I didn’t do much again. I did get outside for a short time and picked up the markers the utility companies had put down when I had a water link. It will be mowing season soon and I need to pick up the yard and get ready for it. I also remembered to get the scooter out of the back of my car so I can buy dog food one day this week.

I have several phone calls I need to make tomorrow. I have been putting some of them off for way too long. I am going to have to make myself make those calls tomorrow and get them off my list.

It is to be 74 tomorrow. WOW! Spring time has arrived. I hope it hangs around for a bit. Makes me wonder though if we are in for a very hot summer. It is a bit early for it to be this warm.

I need to dig deep and find some motivation to get the things that have been on my to do list taken care of. The last couple of weeks have been hard on me and I have had no motivation at all. I have to figure out how to cross that bridge and get something done. I can do this!

Grateful for a beautiful spring day, grateful for all the spring flowers that are coming up, and grateful I can do this.

It has been a quiet day at home. I decided to gift myself a lazy day and not attempt to do anything on my to-do list. It has been a few days since I had a quiet day at home and I have taken full advantage of it.

I don’t have anything on my calendar until Thursday. I have lots of things I need to take care of during this down time. I will give myself tomorrow to do nothing and then I will have to get some things done starting Monday.

I got started on a new prescription about a month ago. I have been having tummy issues almost every morning since and I have also developed a slight tremor in my hands. I notice the tremor the most when I use the mouse on my computer. It doesn’t last long but is a bit unnerving. I got curious and looked up the side effects of the new medication and sure enough both of those side effects are listed. I contacted my doctor and he is going to decrease the dosage and see if that helps. He said both problems should go away as my body adjusts to the new medication. My body and medications don’t get do well.

It is to be in the 70’s next week. I have a bad case of spring fever and that will help heal me. I’m grateful I have free time so I can enjoy it.

Feeling a bit more in my body tonight but still ungrounded. Not sure what pulled me out but it is taking a bit to get back. I am allowing it to be what it is and am grateful I am coming back.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for four more quiet days ahead, and grateful I figured out what was causing some issues.

Kathy and I joined a dear group of friends at one of our friend’s house and celebrated the birthday of three women in the group. It was a wonderful gathering with delicious food and delightful conversation.

When I got home I took a nap. The dogs let me sleep last night but last night I was restless and didn’t sleep well.

One of our friends delivered a picnic table to my house. Kathy loves to sit outside and will especially enjoy using it this summer. We are so blessed to have such dear friends.

It sure was windy. The house we went to today is out in the country close to where I lived in the country. Living in town I had almost forgotten how windy it can be out in the open.

I doubt that I go to the memorial service tomorrow. I don’t do well in big crowds. I knew the family but I wasn’t close.

I don’t have any plans on my calendar until I do taxes next Thursday. It will be a delight to have several days in a row without any plans.

Michelle and I are closing on her buying her house next Thursday afternoon. I am so proud of Michelle for being able to take this step. It will be good for her to be a house owner again. And I will like only owning three houses instead of four.

Feeling a bit disconnected tonight. I feel like I an having trouble staying in my body somehow. It is to warm up by Sunday. Trusting I will be able to get outside and take some long walks and get grounded better.

Grateful I get to slow things down for the next week, grateful for my dear friends that celebrate all things together, and grateful for afternoon naps.

Sophia had a restless night so therefore I did too. She wanted out and then in and then out again. Roxy joined the fun at some point. Sometimes I wonder why I have dogs.

I went to Emporia to do taxes this morning. We stayed busy all morning. I handled a couple of returns that usually give me fits but today things seemed to click and I could handle them. That felt good.

After I finished taxes at noon I stopped for lunch and then went to Walmart to get groceries. I had forgotten to take the scooter out of the back of my car so couldn’t get dog food. I ran another short errand and then I got a text that a prescription I needed was ready. I went back to Walmart and picked that up and then came home.

After I put things away and started some laundry I took a nap in my chair. I get to sleep in until 9:30 tomorrow so hoping I can find some good sleep tonight.

Tomorrow I am going to a birthday brunch at 10:30. I enjoy the ladies that will be there so it will be fun. Don’t have any plans after that. Saturday I may go to a memorial service in the afternoon if I can find the energy to go. It will be long and crowded and sometimes I can’t make myself be in a crowd of people.

Next week I am only doing taxes one day so I have a quiet week ahead. I am looking forward to that. I have a couple of things I need to take care of and maybe some quiet days will give me time to do that.

Tomorrow starts the one week boycott of Amazon and all of Amazon’s affiliates. Some of them are Whole Foods, Goodreads, and Zappos. I will not order anything from Amazon for the next seven days. I may cancel my membership and consider alternatives to using Amazon. I hate shopping and it will be a challenge to give up Amazon. These times call for each of us to step up and do things outside our comfort zone. I will have to give it some strong consideration.

Grateful for an easy day doing taxes today, grateful for a nap in my chair this afternoon, and grateful I was able to get my prescription while I was in town without having to make another trip.

I was grateful when I woke us this morning and looked outside and didn’t see snow. It was a windy drive to town. Sounds like the worst of the storm was north of us. We got mainly wind.

I went to Emporia this morning to do taxes. There were only two of us and only four clients scheduled. However an additional three clients showed up. Luckily one of the other tax preparers was at the Senior Center and volunteered to help us out. We were done by noon.

I stopped for lunch and then came home. I still need some groceries but not something I needed today so decided to wait till tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow the wind so won’t be so high and it will be easier to get the groceries into my car.

I took a long nap in my chair this afternoon. I had trouble falling asleep last night and had to get up at 7:30 so I could go to Emporia. I finally felt rested when I woke up from my nap. Hope I can sleep tonight.

Tomorrow I have taxes again. I will have to stop and get groceries afterwards as I don’t want to go to Emporia again this week. I also need to stop and get dog food as I am down to my last bag.

Friday I am going to a birthday brunch. Saturday I have a memorial service I want to go to. Sunday is free and clear though.

Next week looks fairly clear. I am only doing taxes once next week unless something comes up. Nothing else on the calendar. I will welcome a slow week. Hopefully the weather will be nice and I can get outside for a bit.

The world still feels a bit small to me. I seemed to have isolated myself in a cocoon of sorts. It is hard to reach outside my cocoon right now. There is so much chaos happening in the larger world that it doesn’t feel safe to engage with it. I trust that if I have a role to play in calming things even in a small way, I will be able to break out of my cocoon and be in service to others.

Grateful the roads were clear this morning, grateful for the chance to be in service doing taxes, and grateful for the privilege of cocooning myself.

It has been a very quiet day for me. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. I have had one for the last week or so. I think it is from post nasal drip and I have some thick stuff I cough up occasionally. I have been very tired all day so decided to let my body rest all day.

I took a nap in my chair this afternoon. I didn’t fall asleep until after 4:00 this morning and woke up at 9:00. I stayed in bed all morning but couldn’t go back to sleep. It has been one of those days.

The temperature dropped from almost 60 to 30 this afternoon. We have had high winds all day and they are to blow all night. The wind sure feels different in town than it did on the hill in the country. Part of Emporia is without power due to the high winds.

We are to get blizzard like conditions overnight. Not sure if I will be able to get to town in the morning to do taxes or not. I’m sure if it is bad the Senior Center will close anyways and we won’t do them. We aren’t to get lots of snow but with the high winds it will cause some tough driving conditions.

The nice thing about KS in the spring time is the temperatures bounce back quickly. It is to be in the mid 70’s by the first of next week. Winter blasts usually don’t last long in March.

I am feeling a bit better this evening so trusting what ever this was today will be gone tomorrow. Grateful I have the privilege to take a day of rest when I need one.

Grateful I have power tonight, grateful for a day of rest, and grateful this winter storm won’t last long.

I went to Emporia mid morning today to drop off my old iPad at CVS for the UPS return. They don’t give me a receipt of any sort so it is a lesson in trust.

I stopped by Tagen’s to pick up the plumber’s bill so I can get that paid. Found out that now his bathroom has a drip that they can’t stop. It is going to take this plumber three trips to get this job right. Tagen is to text the plumber and let him know. I don’t think I will be using this plumber again.

I stopped at Spangles and had lunch. The food was hot and fresh and the service was excellent. I felt right at home as all of their eat in customers were my age or older. It must be the place for the senior citizens in Emporia to eat.

I didn’t stop to get groceries. I decided it could wait a couple of days as I didn’t need anything today. I have to go back to town Wednesday and Thursday to do taxes and I can stop one of those days.

I went to fold laundry today and got puzzled. The clothes I wear were on top of the towels. I had washed the clothes I wear and couldn’t figure out how they got on top of the towels. I folded the clothes and when I got to the towels the first one I picked up wasn’t completely dry. I got to looking at them and realized they hadn’t been washed yet. I asked Kathy about it and she said she had pulled my clothes out of the dryer and put them on top of the dirty towels which were in a basket on top of the dryer. It caused me to have a WTF moment. Dang, life is hard sometimes! Ha!

We have a chance for some winter weather overnight and then again tomorrow afternoon. Trusting this will be the last blast of winter weather this season. I’m grateful I don’t have any plans for tomorrow and can stay tucked in warm and dry all day. Trusting the roads will be clear by Wednesday morning so I can get to town to do taxes. This is a rescheduled day from the storm a week ago. Trust we won’t have to reschedule them for the third time.

Saturday night is the night we change to daylight savings time. I sure wish the laws would change so that we stay on the same time all year long. It takes me a couple weeks to adjust to the time change each time we do it.

I got a notice about a recall on my car. I need to remember to call the dealership and see if they have the parts to fix it so I can get it taken care of. I also need to call and schedule a haircut. I forgot to do that today.

Feeling a bit restless again tonight. The energy right now feels huge and chaotic. It is hard to find my grounding and stay there. And this too shall pass. I will continue to work on finding my center and blocking out anything that pulls me away from that. It feels isolating and lonely sometimes but this too shall pass.

Grateful the iPad got sent on its way today, grateful I figured out my laundry puzzle, and grateful I have the privilege to isolate as needed to hold my ground.

It has been a quiet day at home. A friend came over and I did her tax return for her. I will take the return when I do taxes Wednesday to have it reviewed and then get it filed for her. I’m grateful I learned I can do taxes for friends and family and take the information in to have them reviewed without having to have the client there too.

I haven’t done much this weekend. I had hoped to have a productive day today but other than doing one tax return I didn’t do anything else. It felt good to have two quiet days of nothing this weekend.

I need to go to Emporia tomorrow to drop off my iPad at CVS for UPS pickup. I need to pickup a few groceries while I am in town. I don’t think I have any other errands to do while I am in town so it will be a quick trip to town.

Tuesday should be another stay at home day. I have something each day the rest of the week. I need to get a hair cut on my schedule this week too. Hoping I can do it and not have to add another trip to town this week.

The world feels small to me tonight. I seem to have disconnected from it somehow. Not sure if this is a good thing or not – guess it is what it is.

I haven’t been able to find any articles that help me understand if the one day economic blackout had any impact. I have a feeling the week long Amazon blackout March 7 -14 will have a bigger impact since it is longer. I put it on my calendar to remind me not to order anything from Amazon that week. I’m grateful someone came up with this idea so I can participate in an active resistance.

Grateful to be of a little help to a friend, grateful to have the privilege to disconnect from the world as I need to, and grateful for ways to actively resist.

It has been a quiet day at home. It was colder out today than yesterday but more seasonable. I walked Roxy this afternoon and only needed a sweatshirt. Not bad for the first of March.

We noticed some of the flower bulbs that Kathy planted last fall coming up. We still have lots more to come through but it is fun that some of them have started. I love spring flowers and look forward to enjoying them this spring,

I got my old iPad cleaned up and boxed and ready to return to Apple for credit. I will drop it off next time I go to Emporia.

Tagen let me know his water got fixed yesterday. Not sure which plumber fixed it but I am grateful he has water now. I haven’t heard from Jason if his plumber has scheduled his drain repair.

Last night Roxy had an accident in the house. Kathy said she had a runny stool on her morning walk. So far this evening she is OK. Sure wish I spoke dog so I could ask her if she felt sick.

No plans for tomorrow either. It was good to have a quiet day today but tomorrow I need to find a project to work on. I do feel better about myself if I do something somewhat productive every so often and I am craving something productive to do.

Next week is a relatively quiet week so far. I am doing taxes on Wednesday and Thursday and a brunch to go to on Friday. I need to get the iPad off before Wednesday so I will go to town Monday and drop that off.

Feeling a bit disconnected and uneasy this evening. Had a few things happen last week that I am still processing. It sometimes takes me a while to process my emotions and it takes as long as it takes. I used to not allow my emotions to surface and that backfired every time. I’m grateful I now know how to allow my emotions to surface and tell me what I need to know. The quicker I can do that the quicker they dissipate.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful Tagen’s water got fixed, and grateful I know to allow my emotions – the good, the bad and the ugly.

What a beautiful spring-like day. It reached over 70 today. Maybe it will stay this way through March. I know that is wishful thinking but one can always hope.

I went to Council Grove for lunch today. A friend had a fall during the ice storm the first part of January and is recovering nicely but it is hard for her to get out and about yet. Six of us joined her at the Hays House for lunch. It was a beautiful day to drive through the Flint Hills and meet friends for lunch.

I look forward to two stay at home days this weekend. It turned out to be a busy week for me and I need a couple days at home. I don’t have much planned to do this weekend and I am going to give myself some quiet time at home alone.

I haven’t heard an update from Tagen’s house about the water issue. I had two plumbers that were to go there today and see if they could get him hot and cold running water. Hope one or the other made it and he is fixed up. He hasn’t had water for over a week.

Still wrapping my head around the fact that tomorrow is March 1. These first two months of this year went by so fast. I swear it is going to be Christmas before I know it.

Today is the economic black out day. All of us that went for lunch paid with cash and we went to a locally owned restaurant. It will be interesting to see if stores report lower sales than normal today or not. I think the planned week long boycott will be more telling. I’m grateful someone came up with an idea that we can participate in that is peaceful and may be powerful.

Grateful for a lunch with my friends, grateful for a beautiful drive through the Flint Hills, and grateful for a quiet weekend ahead.

I got ready to go to bed and realized I had forgotten to blog last night. I needed to get some sleep so decided to skip a day.

Yesterday I went to Emporia to do taxes. This was a make up day from the day the storm hit. We run with three people doing taxes and when I got there I was the fourth one. I stayed for an hour and didn’t do any taxes. Several people didn’t show up. I decided to go buy groceries and go home.

I had trouble sleeping last night. I had tummy issues that woke me up around 4:00. I wasn’t able to go back to sleep and I hadn’t fallen asleep until around 3:00. It has been a long day.

Today I wasn’t sure I would be able to go to Emporia for another tax shift with my tummy acting up but it finally settled down and I went in. We stayed very busy today as everyone showed up. A couple of them were complicated and took longer than normal. I didn’t get out of there until almost 1:00.

We only have a couple appointments left on our tax schedule. They are starting a stand by list in case we get cancellations.

I came home and took care of some things I needed to do around here. I still have a few more things to do this evening. Betting I go to bed early tonight. It was hard to stay awake all afternoon.

Tomorrow I am going to Council Grove for a lunch with a group of friends. It will be fun to get out and spend time with some dear friends.

Starting to see some signs of spring flowers popping up. Kathy planted lots of spring flowers last fall and we are anxious to see what comes up. I have a bad case of spring fever developing.

Jason had someone come clear his drains today. They discovered the block is in the pipe connected to his that is in the neighbor’s yard. The plumber’s line wasn’t long enough to reach the block. There are no clean out things. They have to dig up part of the line and install clean out things and a T of some sort. Still not sure I understand how that clears the block in the neighbor’s line but what do I know? I wonder if I should contact the neighbor and see if they are blocked up too.

Tagen had a plumber come fix his pipe but he still doesn’t have water in the shower and there is still water in the crawl space. How can a plumber leave a house and not know there isn’t water everywhere? I sent a text to my trusted plumber and he is going to go over tomorrow to see what is going on. Dang I should have called him to start with. Tagen hasn’t had water since the pipe froze the week of the storm.

Water issues sure seem to follow me. Not sure what that is all about but it seems to be a theme in my life.

I don’t have any plans for the weekend. This week has been too busy for my liking and I look forward to having two quiet days at home. I can’t believe it is the end of February all ready. Time seems to have sped up and is going by faster than I can comprehend.

Still haven’t taken much time to read the news. I look at the headlines but haven’t read the stories. Headlines can be so deceiving though. Several of my tax clients talked about their concerns about what is happening. I am not supposed to talk politics so I didn’t encourage them to go too deep.

Grateful my tummy issues go better this morning, grateful for a hint of spring in the air, and grateful plumbing issues eventually get resolved.

Sophia had a restless night and so did we. I put her outside at 3:00. Roxy decided to go out too. An hour later Sophia was barking and wanted in. Roxy stayed outside. Sophia wanted back out an hour later. Rinse and repeat all night and it makes for little sleep.

I had to get up and get going to be in town at 9:00 to do taxes. All but one showed up but it felt like a slow day. Most of the returns were simple ones and didn’t take much time. I was able to get Kathy’s taxes done and they got filed today.

I met Jason for lunch after I was done doing taxes. It was nice to get to spend some time with him. I hadn’t seen him for a few so it was nice to see him and get caught up with what is happening with him.

I am working on getting some laundry done this afternoon. Haven’t done much else. I didn’t get a lot of sleep and sure could take a nap.

I have to go to Emporia tomorrow and do an extra tax shift. This is a make-up day from last week when the Senior Center was closed due to the snow and cold. I will go again Thursday. Lots of trips to town today.

Since I have to go to town tomorrow I decided not to buy groceries until then. There wasn’t anything I needed tonight so decided to wait till tomorrow to get groceries.

Doing my best to not fall asleep in my chair. I will hopefully manage to stay awake and go to bed early tonight. I have gotten into a bad habit of staying up late and sleeping in late and need to get back to a better schedule.

My quiet week has gotten full. Three days of doing taxes and a lunch to go to on Friday. At least next weekend is empty and I will have a couple of quiet days at home again.

Grateful for lunch with Jason, grateful for a warm, beautiful spring like day, and grateful for a quiet afternoon at home.

It has been another quiet day at home. I haven’t done much today again. I’m grateful I get to go to Emporia tomorrow to do taxes. I do feel better when I am at least a bit productive.

I trust I remember how to do taxes. I haven’t done them for over 10 days. Last week got cancelled due to the weather. Next week I will do them three times as one day is a make-up day from last week.

I need to stop and pick up a few groceries after I do taxes tomorrow. I haven’t been to the store for about a week and need some basics.

Tagen’s water pipe that was frozen broke as it thawed. He called a plumber but they weren’t able to get there today. I may need to find another one for him tomorrow. Poor kid hasn’t had water since last Thursday. Hoping we can get the pipe fixed tomorrow. Life is hard without water.

Aunt Marylyn called this evening, It always feels like I had a conversation with my mother when she calls. Love hearing from her and getting updated on the extended family.

Still haven’t looked at the news. I am feeling stronger and almost ready but decided to wait another couple of days before I catch up. I figure if anything really major happens I will find out sooner rather than later.

Feeling grounded and full again for the first time in a bit. Three stay at home quiet days has been productive to help me get back to center.

Grateful for phone calls from Aunt Marylyn, grateful for this quiet respite time, and grateful I have taxes to do tomorrow.

Another quiet day at home. I did a few housekeeping things today. Kathy vacuumed the floors and then I hand scrubbed them. The dogs tracked in big time yesterday and it was hard to tell what color the floors were.

I got the laundry I did Friday folded and put away. I am running a bit behind. It felt good to get caught up today. I did a bit of picking up and straightening things up around here.

It almost reached 60 today. Lots of snow melted. All this is left is the big piles where people shoveled. It is to be even warmer this week. It is to get close to 70 later this week. A taste of spring in the winter. Good news is it is the end of February so if winter comes back it won’t last long. I feel a case of spring fever coming on.

Got the news a friend had a heart attack and died today. Then his father heard the news and died. My heart has been with that family all day since I heard. Both men will be missed as they were strong pillars in the community.

I get another quiet day at home tomorrow. Don’t have any specific plans. I need to make a few phone calls if I can summon up the energy to do so. Some days I can and some days I can’t.

I’m grateful my schedule has finally slowed down. I only have taxes on my schedule for the next couple of weeks. Hoping I can find a new rhythm to my life which will include some physical movement.

Life feels a bit like it is on pause for a bit. I need a quiet valley for a bit. It feels like I have been on a roller coaster for the last couple of months and I need things to slow way down. Whenever I have a big inner learnings about myself I need time to integrate the learnings and figure out who I am now. This will give me some time to do that.

Grateful for the warmer temperatures, grateful for life’s peaceful valley, and grateful for a cleaner house tonight.

It has been a nice and quiet day at home. I haven’t done much today. I did work on my iPad and figured out how to load the apps. The only problem is I lost all the data from them but most of them that don’t matter.

I still need to reorganize the apps on the home screens. I can’t find things the way they are now. I may take that challenge on tomorrow.

It is to warm up this week. The forecast calls for close to 70 one day next week. I’ll be surprised if it reaches that high with the snow on the ground. The dogs came in from being outside in their pen all day and made a huge mess on the floors. I’m not too inclined to clean it up as they will do the same thing tomorrow and the next day until the snow melts and dries up.

No plans for tomorrow either. It is to be a bit warmer tomorrow so maybe I will get outside and walk the dogs a couple times. It feels like it has been a long time since I was able to get out and walk them and enjoy the walk.

Sitting with a quiet mind tonight. It has felt good to take a day of rest and quiet. I haven’t read the news yet and plan on taking a couple days break from it. It is just too much for me right now.

I do plan on honoring the boycott that is being called for on Friday. It feels like the only way to get corporate America to listen to us is voting with our dollars. They have created a schedule of companies that they are asking us to boycott. I plan on following it.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for the warmer temperatures coming out way, and grateful I get another stay at home day tomorrow.

It has been a long day. I was at my appointment at the KU research program at 9:15 this morning. I started with the program coordinator and answered a bunch of questions she had. She handed me off to the test lady.

I spent almost three hours doing all sorts of cognitive testing. Recalling a list of items several times, telling her back two short stories she read, doing matching games on the computer and many others. I don’t use my brain like that often and I was fried when I was done.

This was my third time doing these tests and I was able to do what I could and not beat myself up when I messed up. There were no consequences for me if I did well or if I did poorly so I didn’t take it too seriously.

Afterwards I made a quick stop at Krispy Kreme and got Michelle a box of donuts. I know she likes them and thought I would get her a treat.

I drove home after that stop. The drive home was smooth sailing. Stopped in Emporia and dropped off the box of donuts at Michelle’s house and then came home.

I started some laundry and unpacked and then took a long nap. I hadn’t slept well last night. I had woken up at 7:00 this morning and looked at my phone to see what time it was. I’m glad I had done that as I had forgotten to charge my phone and it was dead. I would have not had the alarm go off at 8:00 had I not noticed it at 7:00. It was hard to get up when the alarm went off.

After my nap I started working on setting up my new iPad. I ordered one yesterday and it came in today – impressive. It needs to update and I haven’t finished transferring everything to it yet. I will finish it up tomorrow when I am more rested.

I met a dear friend for dinner at 5:00. We had a much needed deep soul to soul conversation while we ate dinner. I so needed that and appreciated it very much.

No plans for the weekend. I feel like I need a couple of days to recover from the testing this morning. My brain is tired and needs some quiet to recharge.

Next week is relatively quiet. I will do taxes a couple times but other than that don’t have anything scheduled yet. It is to be in the lower 60’s next week so maybe I will get a chance to get outside and do some walking. I need to get to the gym and get a membership and get going on a new program for myself.

My friend asked me tonight how do I want to be seen these days. I realized that was the question I have been trying to answer without knowing what the question was. I don’t have an answer for that yet but at least now I know what the question is. Now that I know that I feel the answer can now come in.

Grateful for a safe trip home today, grateful the exercise program is completed, and grateful for friends that see me completely.

I am sitting in a hotel room in KC. Just came from having dinner with Nicole and Geoff. I have to be at my last KU research appointment at 9:00 in the morning. It will only be a ten to fifteen minute drive from where I am at.

The test tomorrow is the mental acuity test. Maybe if I tell them when I get there I no longer have a brain they will let me go! It is a three hour test on memory, reaction, and logic. I will come out of it wiped out. This is the third time I have had to do this process.

The good news is I have nothing to win or lose if I do poorly. I will offer myself grace and do what I can and let it go. I doubt that they share if I do better or worse than I did before. I will give it my best and allow that to be enough.

Dinner with Nicole and Geoff was the best part of this trip. It is always a good day when I get to spend time with one of my kids. We had a good meal and great conversation. The drive up today was easy and smooth. I will get a good night’s sleep and be ready to go in the morning.

I got a call at 7:30 this morning to let me know that the tax session for today was canceled. I had guessed that but it was good to get confirmation. We rescheduled the clients we were to have worked with today to a Wednesday in March.

I may make a few stops after the testing tomorrow is over. I may be too wiped out to do so though. I need a new charging cord for my iPad as the one I have is splitting. I need one that the plug in part to the iPad can twist. I also want to get a light to attach above the kitchen sink. I had ordered one on-line but it didn’t work as I wanted it to. I need to see what I am getting so I can get the correct one this time.

I broke my financial fast today and ordered a new iPad. My old one is over six years old and no longer has enough storage to be upgraded. I don’t have big programs on it but the regular operating system now takes up lots of storage. I ordered one that has almost 10 times more storage. Hope it will last a long time. Not sure if Apple designs changes to force one to replace old equipment or if technology keeps changing that much. I use my iPad much more than I use my desktop.

I am meeting a dear friend for dinner tonight when I get home tomorrow afternoon. It will give me a treat on a day that is tiring with the mental test and then the drive home.

No plans for the weekend. I will need a day or two to recover from this little trip. Next week is fairly quiet with only two tax days on my calendar.

I have been in a bit of a funk this week and gradually feel myself coming out of it. Things didn’t feel easy this week and I had little to no motivation to do anything. I am so looking forward to the warmer weather that we are to have next week and getting back outside. It wasn’t good for me to isolate so much this week but with the weather it wasn’t wise to get out.

It is nice to sit in a quiet, warm hotel room and be able to ground and center tonight. I stayed at this hotel last week so it feels safe and comfortable. Sometimes a change of scenery for even one night can help me reset.

Grateful for a safe trip to KC today, grateful to get to have dinner with Nicole and Geoff, and grateful tomorrow will wrap up my exercise research program.

It has been a very lazy day for me. I sat in my chair all afternoon and dozed off and on all afternoon. I woke up this morning and couldn’t make myself get out of bed. Not sure what was going on but I didn’t have anything that needed done so went with the flow.

I had Wyatt come and shovel a path from the door to the two cars. He had a helper with him and a snow blower and shovels. They got everything cleared out in about 20 minutes. I paid them well for their efforts as it was still single digit temperatures while they were working.

The Senior Center is closed again tomorrow so no taxes in the morning. I will sleep in and then drive to KC in the afternoon. I am meeting Nicole and Geoff for dinner at 5:30 and then will go check into a hotel room for the night. Friday morning I have to be at the research center at 9:15.

My brain is in one of those places where I am having trouble connecting the dots. I can’t hold a thought long enough to act on it. Nothing feels important yet nothing feels invalid. Weird place to be in.

Grateful no taxes tomorrow, grateful for a quiet day at home, and grateful the snow has been shoveled.

Well the storm found us. It is hard to tell how much snow we had gotten due to the wind. I would guess 4 -6 inches. It has finally quit snowing and now it is going to drop below zero overnight. It is not fit for man or beast outside.

No plans to leave the house until Thursday. Tomorrow we aren’t to get more snow but the temperatures are going to stay in the single digits and below. The dogs have been using their pens to do their business as it is too dangerous for us to walk them.

Sometime tomorrow I will go out and clean off my car so it will take less time to hit the road Thursday morning. At least this snow storm we didn’t get ice before the snow came so it should clean up easier.

The kid that shoveled me out last time contacted me and asked if I wanted him to come today and dig me out. I told him maybe tomorrow. I couldn’t see having him clear the snow with the wind blowing so hard. Not sure it would have stayed cleared out. We shall see tomorrow if I need him to come.

I made cheesy potato soup for dinner. It was a good day to have warm soup. I love leftover potato soup so I will enjoy it for the next two or three days.

No plans for tomorrow except to stay inside and stay warm. Not feeling very motivated to do much so I will enjoy staying home and do nothing.

Thursday morning I will go to Emporia and do taxes and then drive to KC to spend the night. I am having dinner with Nicole and Geoff and then Friday I will do the last activity to wrap up the exercise program. If I have the energy I will stop at Costco afterwards but may not be able to. This is the mental acuity test and it will wipe me out.

No plans for the weekend except to recover from the trip to KC. Next week I only have tax duty on Tuesday and Thursday so it will be a relatively quiet week.

I haven’t read the news today. I am giving myself a break from all of it. I need to use this time to make sure I am completely full inside again. I feel like completing the exercise program is freeing me up for something new to come in. I want to be mentally in a good space to accept something else to come in. Practicing good self care sometimes means shutting out the outside world.

Grateful I could stay home today snug and warm, grateful for do nothing days, and grateful for warm homemade potato soup on a cold day.

I went to Emporia a little after noon today to get groceries. I didn’t need much so it didn’t take long. I didn’t have any other errands to do so came right home.

KU called me while I was in Emporia and canceled my appointment for tomorrow. We rescheduled it for Friday. Unfortunately it is a morning appointment so I will drive up Thursday afternoon so I don’t have to drive in rush hour traffic Friday morning.

Fortunately Nicole and Geoff are available to have dinner with me again Thursday night so that will make the trip worth it. I don’t look forward to taking a three hour mental acuity test but I have done it twice so what is once more.

Many schools and other things are already closing in anticipation of the storm coming through this evening and tomorrow. I have provisions tucked in and am ready to stay home until Thursday. Hopefully by Thursday the roads will be clear and I can make it to Emporia to do taxes in the morning and to KC for the night.

I made a pot roast for dinner tonight. Feels good to eat a good home cooked meal. I’m on a roll at this is two days back to back. Soup sounds good for tomorrow.

No plans for tomorrow and Wednesday except to stay inside warm and dry. I have the heater going in the bathroom and I will leave the water dripping overnight. It is to get to -3 tonight and the high for tomorrow is only going to be 6. It is to get to -12 Wednesday night. I really dislike bitterly cold weather.

Feeling a bit isolated. For some reason it feels like a long time since I have been out with friends. Maybe this weekend I can cook something up.

Grateful my cabinet and refrigerator are stocked for the incoming storm, grateful for space heaters and furnaces that keep the house warm, and grateful I can stay in during the storm tomorrow.

I decided to make this a pajama day. I had no plans to go anywhere and no real reason to get dressed. It has been delightful to have two stay at home days back to back. One of these days soon I will have a productive day but not sure when.

I might go to Emporia in the morning as it sounds like we are getting up to and maybe over 5 inches of snow Monday evening and Tuesday. I will need some groceries if I am going to get snowed in for several days.

It is also going to get bitter cold for the next couple days. The forecast shows -13 for Wednesday night. Dang it anyways. Grateful it is the middle of February and that means winter won’t last too much longer. I always appreciate that February is a short month. March gives me hope for warmer temperatures, spring flowers and green grass.

I am calling KU tomorrow to talk about options for Tuesday. I am rather sure I won’t be able to go and not sure they can reschedule as they have some sort of cut off to get the testing done. It won’t hurt my feelings if I don’t have to take the test.

If I don’t go to KU Tuesday and don’t do taxes on Tuesday I will have three more stay at home days. I am betting they will cancel taxes on Tuesday due to the storm. Thinking by Thursday they will have the roads clear enough that I can go to Emporia and do taxes.

I probably should come up with a project to work on during this extended time at home. I feel better about myself when I am somewhat productive. Just not sure what I can come up with to do.

The outside world feels miles and miles away today. I haven’t read the news the last two days and blocked everything out. The duality of living in two worlds feels very real right now. I kinda like my little isolated world. It does feel very small though.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for a warm house, and grateful I like staying home.

It has been a quiet day at home. We didn’t get the winter storm that was going to come through. It came close but has missed us so far.

The dogs were sleepy this morning. It was almost noon before Roxy would agree to go out to pee. They spent most of the day inside. Not sure what was up with them as they are usually anxious to get out in the morning.

I made a meat loaf and baked potatoes for dinner. I needed a good homemade meal and it hit the spot.

Nothing in on my calendar for tomorrow so I should have another quiet day at home. I may run to Emporia for some groceries but I shall see. Staying home is very tempting and it is hard to get out.

It is looking more and more unlikely that I will be going to KC Tuesday. The odds of the storm hitting here keep increasing, I could go up the night before but I would have to drive home in it and I refuse to get out when the roads are bad.

I got a text from KS Drives saying I still owed something from December, I am on auto pay so went to the web site to see what was up. They had a big warning at the top of their website that they do not send text messages and if I receive one it is a scam and not to click on the link and give them my information. Gosh you have to be careful these days.

Sitting in a valley and practicing good self care. January felt like I was climbing a mountain and February feels like I hit a flat valley. I am adjusting to the different energy feeling around me. Still struggling a bit to figure out my role in all that is happening in the greater world while maintaining my vibration. Balance can be hard to find at times.

Considering going to Topeka Monday for the demonstration at the capital at noon. I will see what the weather is like and make a last minute decision. I strongly feel the need to take some sort of action. Not sure demonstrating helps but I don’t think it can hurt.

Grateful the storm has missed us so far, grateful for a stay at home day, and grateful I discovered the text was a scam.

Made it to my appointment at 9:00. I did a series of physical exercises including sit to stands, lifting weights, leg pushes, walking down a hallway and a treadmill test among others. I was grateful when it was over.

I also had blood drawn twice and a finger stick. They had to poke me twice the second time as the tube the blood goes in wasn’t working. My finger stick bleed for about ten minutes and there was blood all over the floor. That’s what you get when you stick me after 15 minutes on the treadmill. My finger tip where they stuck me is all black and blue.

They were having trouble getting my blood pressure down after the treadmill and finally decided to take it manually instead of using the auto machine. It was fine with the manual reading.

The exercises felt a bit easier to me than they did a year ago. They shared some of the results with me and I see a bit of improvement from where I was a year ago but not much. I know I was doing better when I had a trainer three days a week than only once. I need the accountability of being on a schedule with someone else to get me to the gym. I’m going to have to figure out how to do it alone and make it work.

I stopped for lunch as I hadn’t gotten to eat breakfast as I had to go in fasting. I ate and then drove home. It was sprinkling a bit as I came out of KC but that never developed into real rain.

When I got home I went to bed. I was completely wiped out. I slept hard for a couple of hours. Not sure why I was so tired as I had slept well last night, although I wasn’t ready to have to get up this morning at 8:00. I still don’t feel rested but better than I was when I got home.

My final appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday but that is the day another major winter storm is coming through. Not sure if it will be cancelled if I can’t make it or if they will try to reschedule. Someone said my window of opportunity closes the 20th but not sure what that means. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they cancel it and don’t reschedule.

Last night at dinner Nicole and I were talking about the retreat we went to in Sedona. I mentioned that the group leader had kicked me out of the group chat on WhatsApp after she received my review of the retreat. Nicole checked and found out she had been kicked out too. Nicole sent the leader a text and asked her why. After a bit of back and forth the leader wrote “You were both so rude the whole time. I have no obligation to stay in contact with people who wish to abuse others. Have a good night.”

I am speechless at that response. I don’t think I have ever experienced a more unprofessional person in my life. Not sure what to do about it other than to let it go and laugh. Guess I now know why my review was never published. I did go back and read other reviews and anyone that left any sort of criticism she countered with it was your fault you didn’t do something or misread the rules, etc. Passive/aggressive much? Narcissistic? Grateful our paths won’t cross again.

No plans for the next three days. Hoping to be able to stay home and rest. I will probably have to go get groceries at some point but don’t have anything else on the agenda. Tuesday I am scheduled to go back to KC and Thursday I will be doing taxes. I’m grateful I don’t have too busy of a week coming up. It is time for me to slow things down again.

Grateful for a safe trip to and from KC, grateful the physical exercise part of testing is over, and grateful for life lessons about not taking personally what others say and do.

It was another one of those nights last night where sleep was playing with me. I doubt if I got more than two hours of sleep all night. Dang it anyways!

I was in Emporia before 9:00 this morning. I left early in case the roads were bad. No problems at all. I did several returns and reviewed a couple others. The clients are so appreciative of our work. It is fun to work with them and my fellow preparers.

We were done by 11:30 today. I was going to stop and get some groceries but couldn’t do it so I went straight home. I had skipped breakfast so I fixed myself some lunch. Sat in my chair for a bit and then decided to drive to KC this afternoon.

My appointment tomorrow is at 9:00 which meant I would have to leave home by 6:30 and then drive through rush hour traffic. I went on-line and found a hotel close to where I need to be tomorrow morning. I quickly packed a few things and headed to KC.

Luckily Nicole and Geoff were available and we met at the Hereford House for dinner. It was fun to have dinner with them and catch up on life. After dinner I came to my hotel and got checked in.

I turned TV on but went through 98 channels and couldn’t find anything to watch so I turned it off. It feels good to sit in the silence tonight. Hoping I will be able to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep tonight. Feeling very tired tonight.

Tomorrow morning I will have several blood draws. I have to go fasting. Then I will go through a bunch of physical exercises such as sit to stands, lots of walking, some sort of treadmill test where they wire me up, and lots of others. Still feeling a bit drained from my tummy issues Tuesday so not sure how well I will do. Oh well, it really doesn’t matter to me how well I do. I will do what I can and say that is enough.

Since I saw Nicole tonight I won’t go have lunch with her tomorrow. I may stop at Costco before I come home just because I am near one but I may not be in the mood to stop. We shall see what I do. I have a thing or two on my list but nothing that is essential.

No plans for the weekend. There is a chance we are going to get more winter weather Saturday so it will be a good day to stay home..

I have to come back to KC next Tuesday but not sure I will be able to as we have a very good chance of yet another winter storm coming through that day. I may come up Monday night so I will be here but not sure I want to drive home in snow so may have to reschedule that appointment again. I think I am to have that session completed by February 20 so not sure what the options are. I will have to ask tomorrow what other options are available. I am not going to risk my life to do that test.

It is nice to get out of town tonight. I forget to go sometimes. The room is warm and quiet and I hope I get a good night’s sleep. It is a relief to know I am only 8 minutes away from where I need to be at 9:00 in the morning. I can sleep in and still make it on time.

Feeling a bit isolated today. This dual reality seems to be getting wider and wider apart. The path I am on feels like one that I am to walk alone for a bit. Life is like that with ebbs and flows. I do some of my best inner work when I am spending more time alone. It can be hard though and lonely. I’ll climb out of this space sooner or later.

Grateful for the safe trip to KC today, grateful to have gotten to spend time with Nicole and Geoff tonight, and grateful for a quiet night alone.

We got about three inches of snow last night and this morning. It is light, fluffy snow. It is nice that it doesn’t have ice underneath. Kathy shoveled the sidewalks and she said it was easy going.

I decided to make this a pajama day. I had no plans to go anywhere and decided to stay comfy today. It has been a quiet day tucked inside. I have been binge watching Private Practice lately. I am almost done with season three. I watched the show when it was on years ago and decided to watch it all. Back in the day if you missed a show there was no way to watch it.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. I am assuming the highways will be fairly clear. At least it will be daylight when I go. I may stop and pick up a few groceries afterwards if it isn’t too cold and windy.

Friday I have to be at KU at 8:45 so will have to leave by 6:45 and drive in rush hour traffic. Trusting the roads will be much better by then. I may have lunch with Nicole afterwards if she can get free. She has a visitation to go to that evening and may not be able to get free. I doubt if I stop at Costco although I have a few things on my list. I’m sure I will want to get home as soon as possible.

I have the weekend free which is good as we have a good chance for another winter storm coming throughSaturday. I am supposed to go to KU Tuesday but there is yet another system coming through that day. Winter weather seems hard to predict so I will wait till Monday to figure out what to do that day.

The tummy issues from yesterday seem to be gone. I feel more grounded and centered than I have been lately. I got a long night’s sleep last night and that always helps. Things feel lighter for me today than they have for a while. Not sure why that happened but am grateful. Sometimes I have to strap on the seat belt and ride the waves.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for an easy to remove snow, and grateful I have gotten above neutral again.

I woke up at 6:00 this morning having to go to the bathroom. For the next two hours I went every 10 minutes or so. It finally slowed down a bit but I decided not to attempt to go to KC today. Wasn’t sure I could find enough bathrooms along the way if needed. Turns out I could have gone but have felt drained this afternoon. I’m sure I am a bit dehydrated. I have been attempting to drink as much water as I can tolerate.

This kinda sucks! Not the way I had planned my day to go. I wanted to get this mental test over with today. They rescheduled it for next Tuesday.

I hope I can go on Friday for the physical test. We are to get lots of snow tonight and into tomorrow. There is a second system coming behind the first one that may have more snow. I will see how the roads are Thursday night and decide if it will be safe to go. I have to be there at 9:00 so will have to drive in rush hour traffic. Not my favorite thing to do when the roads are nice.

The good news of the day is I got a stay at home day and I get another one tomorrow. Hoping between the two of them I will get over whatever this is and feel better by Thursday.

Feeling a bit weak and rung out this evening. Two days of tummy issues can drain a person. I’m grateful I was able to call and cancel going to KC. There was a time in my life that I would have attempted to push through and go. Since things slowed down I might have been able to go but I don’t think I would have done very well on the testing.

Funny how life gives me little lessons daily. I never know when or how they might present themselves. Grateful I was able to practice good self-care and do what I needed to do for myself today. I am 71 years old and am finally learning to put myself first.

Grateful things have slowed down, grateful I was able to stay home today, and grateful I get another stay at home day tomorrow.

It was another one of those nights last night. If I got two hours of sleep I would be surprised. Sure makes for a long night when I can’t sleep.

I was in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. I did a couple returns and then at 10:00 left to go to my doctor’s appointment. Someone else came in to fill in for me while I was gone.

Got called back quickly after I got checked in for my appointment. The nurse did her thing and then I waited about 30 minutes for the doctor to come in. Not sure much was accomplished other than permission to refill my regular prescriptions.

I asked him about the abnormal results from the blood work I did for the Endocrinologist and he had me repeat them. They called me this afternoon to let me know the two levels that had been out of range the end of January were back in range so all is well.

I didn’t get back to doing taxes until about 11:25. By then I only had to review two returns and I was done for the day. The best part of doing taxes is the people I meet and the friends I see while doing them. Today I got to see a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time. One of the people whose taxes I did was a friend from days long gone by. Always good to see old friends.

Dropped my tax package off at my accountant’s office. Dropped a notice off at Tagen’s house and saw him for a hot minute. He is home sick and I didn’t want to stay very long.

Had to stop by Walmart and pick up a new prescription and then I came home. Kathy had made some chili so I had a bowl of that and then I took a chair nap.

Took Sophia for a walk around 5:00. Roxy politely declined my offer of a walk. She is a stubborn one and sometimes the path of least resistance is to do what she wants us to do.

Tomorrow I have to be at KU at 12:15 for a two to three hour mental acuity test. Sure hope I sleep tonight or I might not do well. Trusting I will get home before the snow starts flying.

Wednesday I get to stay home all day. Thursday I do taxes again and then Friday I have to be back at KU at 9:15. I am going to lunch with Nicole after that session.

Haven’t had much energy today due to being very sleep deprived. Had some tummy issues this morning but I think my tummy has settled down a bit. Chili probably was not the best thing I could have eaten today but it sure tasted good going down.

It will be good to finish up the exercise program this week. I don’t like making two trips to KC in the same week but will be glad to get it done. I will need to get hold of the owner of the gym in Cottonwood Falls and get a membership so I can work out there a couple times a week.

Feeling a bit off tonight. Probably from lack of sleep but it is hard to find much joy right now. I will be grateful when this week is over and I will have some more free time. I do so much better when I have at least four stay at home days a week and that hasn’t happened the last couple weeks.

Grateful the blood work was good today, grateful for the people I meet while doing taxes, and grateful for the sleep I will get tonight.