Starry night on the prairie

I got the best news today when I got the mail. IRS finally approved the 501(c)3 status for Love in Action, Inc. This has been in the works since last December. The first step was becoming an organization with state nonprofit status. The next step was applying for the 501(c)3 status which I did way back the end of February or March. I’m grateful it is complete.

Now I need to educate myself on all the rules of running a 501(c)3 to make sure I don’t do something I shouldn’t do. I want to keep it as simple as possible but sometimes what I think is simple is not what the IRS thinks is simple.

Another person stepped forward to be a Pen Pal volunteer. A second one requested the guidelines and I haven’t heard a response yet. I trust more Detainees sign up so all the volunteers can be matched.

My neighbors had a yard sale today and their young son was out helping with it. He had dropped off a flyer a bit ago that he will brush the dogs and bathe them. I went over and talked to him and he agreed to come over several times over the next couple of weeks and brush the dogs out. The dogs are getting their summer haircuts the 13th of May and the haircut will go much easier if they aren’t full of mats like they are now.

I went to Emporia to the Lyon County Democrat gathering. They served chili and cinnamon rolls for lunch (for a donation). After a bit the speakers started. I couldn’t stay. All of a sudden it felt like I was on a different vibration than the room and it didn’t feel good. We have got to figure out new ways to do politics. The room was full of gray haired old people. We are the ones that created this mess and we are not the ones that is going to get us out of it. We have got to change and rebuild the system – this one is not working.

Getting several emails from vendors that my debit card isn’t working. I changed several of them ahead of time but I sure missed a lot of them. I went through the car wash today and it wouldn’t let me in as my debit card was not good. I came home and fixed it. I’m sure I will get more notices.

No plans for tomorrow or Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I have medical appointments. I’m grateful I have the following couple days free to recover.

Still feeling like I am sitting in the in-between space although it feels lighter with the resolution of the 501(c)3. Still feels like some big change is headed my way but I have no idea what it is.

Grateful to get the approval for the 501(c)3, grateful to listen to my intuition and I was able to leave the event early today, and grateful for some quiet days ahead of my busy week next week.

This has been a quiet day at home. It is May Day and the day of dropping out of the economy. I haven’t left the house or purchased anything on-line today. Not sure one day is enough to get the attention of the billionaires but it is a start.

Thirteen years ago today was my first day of retirement. It took me several months to wrap up all the odds and ends of selling the business and taking care of all the bills, etc. I do remember how nice it was to answer my phone and not hold my breath wondering who had done something stupid.

When the girls were still in middle school and high school, Craig and I took them on a mission trip to Mexico City. We went with a small group of people and stayed for about ten days with families that attended a Methodist Church. On the trip was a lady named Paula. Yesterday she left a note on my Facebook page and said she had known me for over 30 years. It took me a bit to figure out who she was and how I knew her. I didn’t remember what her last name was when I knew her. I finally got brave and sent her a PM and asked if she was the Paula from Mexico City. It was. How cool is that!

Got two more letters from the Detention Center. One of them was from a person from Laos that will be deported soon. He wanted to thank Love in Action for the things we do for the Detainees. I sent him back a note and wished him a safe journey to Laos. The other note was from a woman that had a probation violation and had to come back for a couple of months. I matched her with a Pen pal and trust that will help her.

Had another request from a volunteer to join the program. I don’t have enough Detainees to match with all the volunteers but it is nice to have more than I need in case a bunch come in. Unfortunately most of the ICE Detainees aren’t there long enough to get in the program or if they do request a match they are gone before we have much communication with them.

It started out to be a beautiful day but the clouds have moved in and we have a chance for rain. I have had to put my little space heater on to keep warm today. I am ready for it to warm back up although I need to be careful what I ask for as I don’t do well in temps over 80.

Nicole and Geoff are headed home today. They have a 32 hour trip ahead to get home. The hard part of traveling is getting there and then getting home. With the time change I’m confused as to when they will be home. Thinking sometime tomorrow and then they will have Sunday to recover before they go back to work on Monday.

Next week I have three appointments. Tuesday I see my Cardiologist, Wednesday I have a MRI in Topeka and Thursday I see my family doctor for a sleep apnea check. After staying home all of this week, next week feels busy!

Not much on my to-do list right now. Still sitting in the in-between time of something that I can’t put my finger on. This week of quiet, stay-at-home time has been good for my soul. I feel a tug of war going on inside though as it is hard to be in service when you aren’t around people.

Grateful for retirement, grateful to reconnect to old friends, and grateful for this quiet time.

Two years ago Kathy and I moved to this house in Cottonwood Falls from the big house in the country. It was a huge change for us but one I am so happy we made.

The moving truck had finally finished loading up this house with boxes when I got the call that Craig had made his transition. I guess we both made transitions that day. I think of Craig often and wish I could call him when something comes up with one of the kids. His love for them continues and I see him in the kids. He left a big hole for all of us to fill with love.

This has been a quiet, low energy type of day for me. Had trouble sleeping last night so it felt like a long night with little sleep. My sleep apnea machine and I were not good friends last night.

Have stayed home most of the day. I was going to go to Emporia to get groceries but decided I really didn’t need that many things so went to the Dollar General store instead and got some essentials. The rest of the things on my list can wait till another day. Gas is too expensive to make a needless trip to Emporia. Went to the bank downtown Cottonwood Falls to cash a check and to deposit a check.

Got the month end report posted for Love in Action. We used to have a rather complicated process for month end when we had the McDonald’s. It would take me several days to get all the numbers added and the proper people notified of our monthly sales. This report is nothing compared to those days.

No plans for the weekend. Tomorrow is the national day of protest with a call to not spend any money. I haven’t been doing much of that lately anyways but will intentionally stay home tomorrow and not eat out. I am still on my no spend kick that I started the end of last year. This is the longest I have ever gone on it. Material things just don’t hold much interest for me these days.

I saw a recommendation that those of us that are retired do intentional acts of kindness tomorrow since not going to work is something we do everyday. I got a new box of greeting cards and if I remember I will spend some time writing some cards and mailing them. It is fun to get a card or letter in the mail as it doesn’t happen often these days. You kinda have to be around people to do random acts of kindness and I don’t plan to be out and about.

Wrote two letters to the pen pal Detainees. One of them needs a pen pal and I haven’t found one to match him with. The other one has a pen pal but she is out of the country for the next couple of weeks and I didn’t want him to not get an email while she was gone.

I wrote a response to a post on someone’s Facebook page and a lady commented back that what I wrote was not true. Hmmm…. I don’t like when someone tells me what my truth is. I ignored it as when someone is that close minded it doesn’t serve me to argue with them as they can’t hear me. Truth is probably the wrong word here as it is more of an opinion.

Grateful for another quiet day at home, grateful Dollar General has the essentials so I don’t have to go to Emporia, and grateful for all that support Love in Action.

This has been another quiet, stay-at-home day. I am working on finishing up four loads of laundry. I changed the sheets on my bed and am washing the bedspread. It will be nice to crawl into bed tonight with fresh sheets and a fresh bedspread.

Did a bit more decluttering today. Slowly working my way through the little piles here and there in the house. I guess I am doing my spring cleaning. Funny how I let little things pile up until I can’t anymore. Time to clear things out again.

My tummy has been a bit angry today. Sure hope the MRI and colonoscopy gives me some answers and solutions as to why it does this way too often. The MRI is next week and the colonoscopy isn’t until the end of May.

Got another donation for Love in Action in the mail today. I will adjust the month end numbers to reflect this additional donation. Every time I get a check in the mail, I wished I could meet the person that mailed the check and give them a hug. The donations feel like a confirmation that this little project is to continue, even when I hit challenges.

Kathy mowed the yard today. I sure appreciate how she keeps the yard looking so nice. I offered to hire someone to do the mowing but she likes doing it. She is in heaven having a yard to play in.

I plan to go to Emporia tomorrow to get groceries. I’ll text Jason this evening to see if he is free for lunch. This is his crazy busy season so he may not have a lunch break. I don’t think I have other errands to take care while I am in town other than going through the car wash.

No plans for the rest of the week or the weekend. Next week I have three medical appointments on three different days so that will feel busy to me after these last couple weeks with nothing to do.

Still disconnected from the news. I attempt to read it and it all reads like a comic book. Most of it feels like lies and extreme distortions that I struggle to believe and relate to.

I still need to make some connections and put some things on my calendar. I would rather stay home alone than spend time with groups of people. I do enjoy one-on-one time with friends and need to make some of that happen.

Grateful to be working on spring cleaning the house, grateful I may get some answers to my tummy issues in a month or so, and grateful I have the privilege of choosing to stay home or go out.

It has been another quite day mostly at home. I went out for lunch but didn’t do anything else while I was out.

I took care of a few little things that needed done and I had been putting things off. I am slowly reorganizing things and getting rid of the clutter that has piled up. Still have two more places to work on.

I worked on the end of month report for Love in Action. I like to write it and then sit on it for a day or two to make sure it says what I want it to. It is hard to keep it short – I tend to over explain things and I’m sure some that read it don’t appreciate all the extra details.

Still no plans for the rest of the week. I have three doctor things next week to keep me busy. Maybe I have reached the age that I don’t get out unless it is to go to the doctor or a funeral.

One of these days I will need to go to Emporia and get groceries. Maybe I will see when Jason is available for lunch and go that day.

I haven’t been able to read much of the news this week. So much of it feels false and truth is very hard for me to find right now. Sometimes I wonder what happened to all the grown ups. This throwing insults back and forth feels like grade school. Time for all to grow up and figure out how we co-exist.

I am working hard at building a foundation with love as my base. It sure feels lonely at times though. I need to do more one-on-one connecting so I don’t feel like I am alone in this. I have a feeling there are more that think like me than not but somehow the noise from the other side seems to be louder and more dominant in most places.

Grateful the clutter is slowly going away, grateful for another soul filling quiet day at home, and grateful to know love will win!

This has been another quiet day mostly at home. I did go to the Grand for lunch today. My favorite waitress was there so it was nice.

I did some clean up of my files today. I have a pile of papers I need to take out to the shed to store. Got everything else filed where it should be. I really dislike not being able to find a piece of paper I need.

Got another note from a Detainee looking for a Pen PAL. Not sure if the next one in line wants this one or not. I haven’t heard back from her. This is one that is there not for immigration issues. Some of the volunteers only want immigrants.

Got another volunteer through the process to be a pen pal. Now I just need to pen pal to give her. I never know how many will request to be in the program and how long someone that does request a pen pal will remain at the facility. Three of them that wanted in the program are already moved out of this facility.

It is time to work on the end of the month report for Love in Action. We are in a good position with funds for the moment. Still haven’t paid for the exercise equipment. I haven’t heard an update on the expected arrival date. We don’t have to actively fundraise right now.

The river is up and running fast. Haven’t heard when it is to crest. North of us got up to five inches of rain yesterday. We were on the tail end of the storms both time they passed this way.

My new debit card came in today so I worked on updating my accounts with the new card information. I’m sure I forgot some accounts to change. Some of the accounts the funds come directly out of the checking account and not through the debit card. I have a couple more I need to check on. One doesn’t realize how many auto pay accounts they have until something like this happens.

Felt a bit restless today. I did manage to get up and work on some little projects I needed to get done. That helped a bit. I function better when I feel I have been productive and that wasn’t what I have been the last couple of days. Some old habits are harder than others for me to step away from.

This empty space feels more like in-between time and I am not sure what I am in-between. Maybe it is the world shift that is happening that I am tuning into. I have learned how to sit in this space and feel the uncomfortable feelings and hold them while what ever is coming happens. This feels like it is going to be a long haul and I will get lots of practice holding space without knowing what I am holding space for.

Grateful for lunch out today, grateful the filing is caught up, and grateful we missed the heavy rain that fell around us.

This as been a stay-at-home pajama day today. I have been dong laundry but haven’t gotten anything else done. The afternoon went by quickly for some reason.

We had some heavy rain this afternoon but it didn’t last long. Lots of area around got heavy hail but we didn’t get any. I am grateful for that. Hail can do even more damage than heavy wind.

I put a frozen pizza in the oven to share with Kathy for lunch. Five minutes later she comes out with a frozen pizza she was going to put into the oven to share with me. We must think alike!

We have an eager beaver pen pal recipient that I may have to remind to only send one email a week. He wants daily responses. I can understand where he is coming from but not sure we have the resources to send responses daily to all the pen pals.

The single parent that had her hearing last week is no longer at the Center. She has either gotten moved to another Center to prepare for deportation or has already been deported. I’m not sure what the procedure is and am not sure it is the same for each of them,

One of the disadvantages of the pen pal program is not knowing how long they will be there to correspond with. Not sure the detainees know the answer to that either though. We shall see where this goes and how it plays out.

Nothing on my calendar all week. Hoping I have a couple of productive days and get some things done around here. I have several small projects that need done if I can make myself get them done.

Today it feels weird to have no plans for the week. It feels a bit empty and overwhelming tonight. Tomorrow it may feel freeing. I will do my best not to allow my feeling of the moment to put limits on this empty space time. The more I can be uncomfortable with it the more comfortable with it I can become.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for the rain we got without hail and heavy wind, and grateful for empty space and all the feels.

I went to the Longest Table event in Emporia today at noon. It was a gathering of I would guess 80 plus people that shared a meal together at one long table. Its purpose was to help people connect to others. Not sure how successful that was but I did appreciate the effort.

I saw some people I hadn’t seen for a long time which was nice. Met a couple new people. I did introduce myself to a mother and son and had a nice conversation with the mother. I found out she also attended Hartford High School but is 10 years younger than me so I didn’t know her.

Shared with a few the Love in Action story. Not sure how the story landed. One of the people had been incarcerated himself and knew the Captain of the Center I work with.

Came home exhausted. That type of social setting is very draining to me and I usually avoid them. Making small talk with strangers is hard for me, especially sitting at a table where you can’t mix and go. I left as soon as it felt politically correct that I could do so. Not sure if there was a program of sorts after I left or not. I thought they were going to have some live entertainment but if they did I left before that happened. I didn’t see a lot of people mixing with people they didn’t know. It probably happened more than I realized.

I stopped and filled the car with gas and then came home. I laid down for a bit but woke up with acid reflux – I really dislike when that happens. I had trouble falling and staying asleep all night last night. I am really tired again today.

Nothing on my calendar for all of next week. I should have lots of empty space to get done some little projects I need to do around the house that I have been neglecting.

The weather is starting to look a bit threatening again. I have had a headache again today but think it is weather and allergy related. Kathy spent a lot of time outside today pulling weeds. They were easy to pull since we got rain earlier this week.

I feel relief that today’s event is over and my calendar is empty for the next week. I reached my limit of being with people today and it will take me a couple days to refill. Some people really love events like today but I am not one of them.

Grateful people are working to help others connect, grateful the deviled egg plate was empty, and grateful I have lots of empty space to recover.

This has been a quiet, stay-at-home type of day. It has been sunny and cool outside today. Mother Nature is behaving herself today after all the storms yesterday.

I got the deviled eggs made for the lunch I am going to tomorrow. I was to bring a side dish – I trust they will serve as that. It will be good for me to get out and people. I haven’t done much of that lately.

Worked a couple hours on the Pen Pal Program. I think I finally have it organized and all the volunteers up to date on their status and what is happening. The application we go through to send emails is getting easier for me with repetition. I think all the Pen Pals have figured out how it works. I still have one more Pen Pal that needs to send their first letter and then all will have used the application.

Got another new request to be a Pen Pal today. This one is not an ICE Detainees but someone being held on drug charges. One of the volunteers agreed to work with him.

One of the Pen Pal recipients has been deported. We only had a brief exchange with him before he left. Have a feeling that may happen again. The ICE Detainees don’t get much notice when they are leaving and won’t be able to always tell us ahead of time. That can happen with the other Detainees too. Advanced planning doesn’t always happen!

I am hoping for more Pen Pal requests as I have volunteers waiting to get matched. I have no control over that end of it so will accept what ever comes in and be grateful for those that do sign up.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at noon for the Long Table event. Not sure how many people have signed up for it so not sure what to expect. We have a chance for rain tomorrow so it might get moved inside.

No plans for next week at all. Lots of empty space right now. In this moment that feels comfortable and just what I need. There is something up in the greater world energy that makes me want to cocoon at home right now. Trusting it will calm down soon.

Grateful the deviled eggs are done and the eggs played nice and were easy to peel, grateful I get to stay home all day, and grateful I have an event to go to tomorrow.

I met Jason in Emporia for lunch today. I hadn’t caught up with him for a bit so was nice to have his company for lunch.

After lunch I went through the car wash and then went to Walmart to get what I needed. I had a long list of things I needed today so it took me a bit. I saw my baby brother and a guy I graduated from high school with. I need to get out more as it increases the odds I run into someone I know!

Came home and got everything put away. I picked up the wrong stuff for my colonoscopy the end of May so will have to go back and get the right stuff.

We had quite the storm blow through late afternoon. The tornado sirens went off for a short while. By the time Kathy got her shoes on and found her cat the sirens were done. We got a small amount of pea sized hail and some heavy rain for a short bit. Didn’t get the nasty stuff that others around did. Heard there was a tornado that touched down out by Lake Kahola and they are reporting damage to roofs.

Kathy was coming home from going to the movies right before the storm hit. She saw two tornadoes north of highway 50 on her way home. Grateful she got home before the nasty stuff hit here.

Worked on the Pen Pal program for a bit today. I have a feeling some of my emails are going to people’s spam file as I don’t get much response back. So frustrating when that is the only way I have to communicate with them. Guess I better get phone numbers from now on so I can check in. All but two of the Pen Pals have received their first responses so we are moving along. One of the two said they will get on it soon and I haven’t been able to get hold of the other lady.

I came up with a letter to send the Detainees that sign up laying out the program and what restrictions we are working under. Some have already requested things that we can’t do. I want to make sure they know this will be a weekly response and not a daily one. Can’t afford to do them daily – especially if lots more sign up over the coming weeks.

Have a few people that want to be Pen Pals but haven’t heard back from them if they agree to follow the restrictions. I will attempt to send them an email from a different account and see if that will go through. I don’t want them to think I have forgotten them. I don’t have Pen PALs to assign them but thinking more will sign up as time goes on.

I have to take a side dish to the event I am going to Saturday. Decided to make deviled eggs. Everyone seems to enjoy them and most people don’t make them often. I will get those made tomorrow. They are easy to make if the eggs will behave and play nice and let me peel them easily.

The Detainee that is from Palestine is to be deported tomorrow. His father has kept me up-to-date on his progress and will let me know when his son arrives in Palestine. Not sure where they are flying him to and how far it will be for him to then get to his father’s house. ICE doesn’t make it easy for them to get to where they want to go.

Still haven’t heard about the status of the 501(c)3 application. I check the website daily and nothing has changed. Not impressed IRS! A friend tried to call them yesterday and last I heard she had waited on hold for over two hours. Never did hear if she got through or not.

I mailed a letter to a PO Box in Strong City from Cottonwood Falls and it took over a week to arrive. Man, I could have walked it to the post office and walked back home quicker than the mail took. Not impressed with the postal service these days.

No plans for tomorrow except for making the deviled eggs. It should be a stay-at-home type of day. Saturday I have the Long Table event and then nothing else on my calendar for next week.

Had trouble with sleep again last night. I kept having nightmares which is most unusual for me. I would wake myself up to turn the dream channel. I was up from 2:00 – 4:00 and finally found some more sleep. I am tired tonight though. Maybe I can sleep tonight!

I feel like I am sitting in that in-between space right now but not sure what is on either side to make me feel that way. I really don’t have too many projects going on except waiting for the 501(c)3 to be completed. Maybe what I am feeling is bigger than my little projects. The world energy is crazy right now and when I get still enough I can feel the new love energy coming in and overtaking the old, fear energy. Maybe that is really what I am feeling.

Grateful we didn’t get the nasty storm energy this evening, grateful for lunch with Jason, and grateful the Pen Pal program is up and running.

This has been a quiet, stay-at-home type of day. It was cloudy this morning but cleared off this evening. I miss the sun when it takes a day off. It is to rain the next four days. We need the rain but I do miss the sun.

I got some letters and notes written today that have been on my list to do for some time. Felt good to get those done. Got a few spots in the house decluttered and cleaned up. Finally got the iced tea jug washed out and out of the dining room. Only took three weeks for me to do that! Geez!

A friend came over and I helped her get her Pen Pal site up and running. That site is not an easy site to navigate. I need to check in with a couple of the Pen Pals and see if they set it up privately or are having issues getting on the group site. I finally figured out how to work it. I purchased 90 more emails for the group site. Each email is $0.50 no matter how many you purchase at a time but the service fee is much less when you do the bigger purchase. The service fee was $6.20 for 30 emails and $8.00 for 90.

A girl that lives here in Cottonwood Falls posted she needed to borrow a large sized dog kennel so she could care for a momma cat and her babies for a few weeks. We have two so I offered one to her to come get. This girl spends most of her time caring for all the feral cats in Cottonwood Falls and making sure they are fixed and cared for. I admire the work she does.

I might have fixed my Grandfather clock. It has been ringing the wrong number of chimes on the hour for a long time. It ran down last night and I changed the hands moving them forward this time and stopping on the quarter hours. When I reached the hour it rang the right number of chimes. I stopped it and then started it when it was the right time. I will see in a bit if it is fixed.

Tomorrow I need to go to Emporia and get some groceries and run a few errands. I may try to meet Jason for lunch but he is really busy this time of the year and may not be able to take a lunch break.

Saturday I am going to the Longest Table Event. It is an attempt to gather lots of people to share a meal and make new connections. A friend I haven’t seen for a long time is a table chair and I will sit at her table. Trust the rain will hold off and they can hold it outside as planned. We shall see.

Time is doing its thing with me again. I don’t have a good relationship with time anyhow. When something happened in the past I would not be very accurate in telling you how long ago it happened. Could be days, weeks, months, years ago – it all feels the same to me. The clock stopped today didn’t help with my time issue as it said the same time all day! I guess it is a good thing I am retired and don’t have to be places on time very often right now.

This empty space time has been interesting for me to experience. On one hand it is just what I needed. On the other hand I struggle to feel productive and feel a bit isolated. Interesting to me that my perspective changes throughout the day. Same time, same space, different perspective makes the time feel different. Makes me wonder what else my perspective changes my thoughts about.

Grateful to get caught up on my correspondence today, grateful I got another Pen Pal up and running and grateful I could loan out a dog kennel to a neighbor.

Neither Kathy nor I slept much last night. There was something in the air! Trusting tonight we will both crash out and make up for the lack of sleep we got last night.

Kathy and I headed for Wichita around 10:30. I needed to do a Costco run and Kathy asked if she could tag along. I was grateful for the company.

We had lunch at Chipotle before we hit Costco. It was good as usual and service was OK. There was a bit of a line when we got there but it moved fairly quickly.

We did the Costco thing. I forgot my phone in my car and had to go from memory to get what I needed. I did well as I didn’t forget anything. I couldn’t find their powdered sugar so didn’t get that but I looked. I didn’t break the bank when I checked out so all was well!

It was a beautiful drive through the hills going and coming. The grass is so green it can almost hurt your eyes. We saw cattle being unloaded onto the pastures and saw a couple of pastures being burned. I was surprised they were burning today as the wind was a blowing strong.

We are starting to get some responses from the Pen Pal program. So far we have nine or ten people that have signed up for the program and have touched base with over half of them so far. We shall see where this program goes. I hold no expectations for it but trust that both sides will find some value in it. I made a new match today as a letter came in yesterday wanting a match.

Read a heartbreaking story of a family from Emporia that has been broken up with the dad being deported. He leaves behind in Emporia two or three small children and his wife. She wrote about the amount of attorney fees they had to pay both before and after he was picked up. It was over $30,000. She also mentioned how much it cost to stay in touch with him while he was being held for 60 days. She provided him with funds so he could order things from the commissary plus funds she had to pay to communicate with him on a regular basis. He was dropped off in Mexico far from where he needed to go and she had to fund transportation for him to get to where he had family.

She didn’t say what his status was prior to being picked up although she mentioned how long the process was and how the tules kept changing creating an unclear path for him to citizenship. She has no idea when or if they will see each other again.

Her young family is now in financial disaster with the loss of his income and all the additional expenses. Man! What the hell are we doing? Can’t believe this man posed a threat to anyone and he certainly wasn’t the danger criminal that we were led to believe were going to be deported.

I am waiting to hear about the young single mom of an 8 year old that got picked up and has been held in Chase County Detention Center. She was to have her hearing today. I sent her an email and asked her to update me but she may not have the energy to do so, especially if she got bad news. Not sure what will happen to her young son if she gets sent back to Mexico.

Multiply these stories by the thousands and you get a glimpse of what life is like for far too many in the US right now. Do we really not have room for them? What are we so afraid of if we allow them to stay? Our immigration policy must be fixed so immigrants are given a clear path to citizenship. If they don’t or won’t follow it, then deport them but at least give them a clear path to pursue.

Bearing witness is not for the faint of heart. Man, these stories hurt my heart. We have to find a way to do better for all mankind, not just the rich white people.

Grateful to be restocked with things from Costco, grateful for lunch at Chipotle, and grateful for the extra sleep I will get tonight.

This has been another quiet day. I did get out of the house today but didn’t go far.

Kathy wanted to open a new checking account at the local bank here. She went to do so but they wouldn’t let her write an out of state check to make the initial deposit. She came home and got me and they allowed her to write the check out to me and then they were able to deposit it as her initial deposit. I have an account with them. What a circus! Oh well, mission accomplished.

A guy from NPR called me today. He is from St. Louis but covers KS as part of his territory. He is working on a story about the 300% rise in deportations that have happened in KS so far this year. He was looking for a family that had a member deported and somehow got my contact information. I referred him to the father that I transported last week. We talked about the Afghanistan man I transported in February. He is going to call the father and see if he will talk to him. He did tell me he wanted to do a story about Love in Action in the future and would call me again. That would be cool!

I went to Jacalito’s for lunch today. The food was good as usual and the service excellent.

I went to the Dollar General store as I needed a couple of cards. They had what I needed. I was also looking for two other things but they didn’t have those. I will attempt to remember to look in Emporia next time I go.

I am finally figuring out the Pen Pal program app that we have to use to communicate with the Detainees. I think I have it set up OK now and the Pen Pals should be able to fairly easily use it. I went to add some more dollars to the account so we would have plenty of emails and remembered I don’t have my debit card. I can use a credit card if the balance gets too low before my new debit card comes in. I think it will be OK for another week or so.

It hurts my heart that the detainee families have to pay to send their loved one an email. I understand that there is administrative time involved to monitor and track all that but it adds another financial burden to families at a time when they are already under stress and financial worries.

The system has not been easy to learn how to use. Not sure how the families get it all figured out. Those that don’t have extra money can’t communicate with their loved ones. Wish there was a way to reach the families and help them out. Not sure how one would accomplish that though. I need to remember we are there to bear witness, not necessarily solve problems.

One of my Pen Pals stopped by today and I got her set up and ready to go. Wish I could personally visit the others and help them through the process the first time. Maybe I can make that happen.

We got our first response to a note a Pen Pal sent. It was good to get confirmation that the system works. It took them a day or two to approve the message. I trust both sides of the Pen Pal program will find this program valuable and of some service to each.

I got another letter from a Detainee requesting to be part of the Pen pal program. I still have several people that have volunteered that haven’t been assigned a pen pal yet. I will get that connection made later today.

It has been an absolutely beautiful day out. Light wind and bright blue skies with temperatures in the 70’s. Perfect spring day. Kathy has spent most of the day outside puttering in her gardens. She is counting down the days until she can plant her flowers.

The new neighbors that moved in across the street brought by a flyer. Their young son runs a dog grooming business. For $6 each he will brush out the dogs. He would give them a bath too but I can’t ask him to do that as these dogs hate water. I think I will hire him to brush out the dogs weekly. The dogs are getting their summer haircuts in May so not sure they will need brushed for a bit after that but I bet they would enjoy getting brushed out between now and hair cut day.

I may go to Wichita tomorrow or Wednesday to make a run to Costco. I am almost out of a couple things and I really need to get out of the house. I don’t have anything on my calendar until Saturday this week and need to find some place to go.

Nicole and Geoff are in China. They went to the Great Wall of China today and walked over 2 1/2 miles of mainly steps to go to a lookout and then came back to their starting point. Add squatty potties to the day and ouch!!! I trust they will have a wonderful time and see some incredible sites and create memories that last a lifetime.

Feeling a bit isolated today. It was good to see the Pen Pal person that came by today, I do better when I have interactions like that during my week. Need to make some calls and get something’s on my calendar.

Grateful Kathy got her bank account open, grateful I know the Pen PAL program is working, and grateful for NPR and the reporting it does.

This has been another quiet day. I did get out of the house today but didn’t go far.

Kathy wanted to open a new checking account at the local bank here. She went to do so but they wouldn’t let her write an out of state check to make the initial deposit. She came home and got me and they allowed her to write the check out to me and then they were able to deposit it as her initial deposit. I have an account with them. What a circus! Oh well, mission accomplished.

A guy from NPR called me today. He is from St. Louis but covers KS as part of his territory. He is working on a story about the 300% rise in deportations that have happened in KS so far this year. He was looking for a family that had a member deported and somehow got my contact information. I referred him to the father that I transported last week. We talked about the Afghanistan man I transported in February. He is going to call the father and see if he will talk to him. He did tell me he wanted to do a story about Love in Action in the future and would call me again. That would be cool!

I went to Jacalito’s for lunch today. The food was good as usual and the service excellent.

I went to the Dollar General store as I needed a couple of cards. They had what I needed. I was also looking for two other things but they didn’t have those. I will attempt to remember to look in Emporia next time I go.

I am finally figuring out the Pen Pal program app that we have to use to communicate with the Detainees. I think I have it set up OK now and the Pen Pals should be able to fairly easily use it. I went to add some more dollars to the account so we would have plenty of emails and remembered I don’t have my debit card. I can use a credit card if the balance gets too low before my new debit card comes in. I think it will be OK for another week or so.

It hurts my heart that the detainee families have to pay to send their loved one an email. I understand that there is administrative time involved to monitor and track all that but it adds another financial burden to families at a time when they are already under stress and financial worries.

The system has not been easy to learn how to use. Not sure how the families get it all figured out. Those that don’t have extra money can’t communicate with their loved ones. Wish there was a way to reach the families and help them out. Not sure how one would accomplish that though. I need to remember we are there to bear witness, not necessarily solve problems.

One of my Pen Pals stopped by today and I got her set up and ready to go. Wish I could personally visit the others and help them through the process the first time. Maybe I can make that happen.

We got our first response to a note a Pen Pal sent. It was good to get confirmation that the system works. It took them a day or two to approve the message. I trust both sides of the Pen Pal program will find this program valuable and of some service to each.

I got another letter from a Detainee requesting to be part of the Pen pal program. I still have several people that have volunteered that haven’t been assigned a pen pal yet. I will get that connection made later today.

It has been an absolutely beautiful day out. Light wind and bright blue skies with temperatures in the 70’s. Perfect spring day. Kathy has spent most of the day outside puttering in her gardens. She is counting down the days until she can plant her flowers.

The new neighbors that moved in across the street brought by a flyer. Their young son runs a dog grooming business. For $6 each he will brush out the dogs. He would give them a bath too but I can’t ask him to do that as these dogs hate water. I think I will hire him to brush out the dogs weekly. The dogs are getting their summer haircuts in May so not sure they will need brushed for a bit after that but I bet they would enjoy getting brushed out between now and hair cut day.

I may go to Wichita tomorrow or Wednesday to make a run to Costco. I am almost out of a couple things and I really need to get out of the house. I don’t have anything on my calendar until Saturday this week and need to find some place to go.

Nicole and Geoff are in China. They went to the Great Wall of China today and walked over 2 1/2 miles of mainly steps to go to a lookout and then came back to their starting point. Add squatty potties to the day and ouch!!! I trust they will have a wonderful time and see some incredible sites and create memories that last a lifetime.

Feeling a bit isolated today. It was good to see the Pen Pal person that came by today, I do better when I have interactions like that during my week. Need to make some calls and get something’s on my calendar.

Grateful Kathy got her bank account open, grateful I know the Pen PAL program is working, and grateful for NPR and the reporting it does.

This has been another quiet day at home. One of these days I will need to leave the nest and venture out into the world. Just wasn’t today!

I had trouble with sleep again last night. My sleep mask and I were not on speaking terms by morning. Some nights it leaks and hisses at me most of the night. That was last night. I finally took it off and found some quiet sleep.

Made goulash for lunch. I needed some real food to eat and I had what I needed to make that on hand. The pickings are mighty slim around here right now. I need to figure out some food to fix and what I need to make it and go to the grocery store. I keep avoiding that situation and am emptying out my cupboard.

A lady that is working with Leavenworth Detention Center called me today to get some ideas of what they might be able to do. This makes the second call I have received about that Center and a third person said they were going to call but haven’t yet. I trust they are communicating with each other and each group finding a path. There is lots of work to be done but no use doing what someone else is already doing.

The advice I gave her is to pick a side you want to work on. Do you want to work to close the Center and document what they are doing wrong or do you want to work with them and help improve the life of the people being held inside. It feels like an energy thing to me. What do you want the Universe to help you with? Pick a side and work that side. Both need done but it is cross energy for the same person to work both sides.

The Pen Pal program continues to challenge me. Not sure I understand how the email system works. So far only one note has been read by a Detainee. One other note has been sent but is sitting and waiting approval. No one that I know of has sent a note back. I might not be pushing the correct buttons and I am thinking there is a bit of a time delay going on too. Hope we can figure this all out and it becomes a meaningful program. Not off to the best of start though. Patience, grasshopper, patience!

Hoping this week will be the week that I get final approval for the 501(c)3 application. That may be overly optimistic though. Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I sure would like to cross that off my pending list and have it be official. Not sure what I will do if it isn’t approved. I will cross that bridge if I have to when I have to.

The guy I transported from the Center to Wichita let me know his son’s flight to Palestine is booked for the 24th. I wish them both the best and trust that all will be well. It would be scary as a parent to send your son to Palestine alone, especially knowing the son has some challenges processing information due to a brain injury.

I felt like I was walking through a swamp land today. No energy and I could feel my energy draining for some reason today. Not an easy day for me. Trusting a good night’s sleep tonight will solve my issues today.

Grateful I could stay home today, grateful for the grass fed beef in my freezer, and grateful it is almost bed time.

I was surprised I was able to sleep last night after taking a long nap late afternoon yesterday. I woke up feeling rested for the first time in a long time.

I got a piece of mail today that was mailed from Maine on March 22. I also got the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter that was mailed from the Cottonwood Falls Post Office on March 25. Not too impressed with our postal service today.

I got a text from my bank asking about a charge that was made using my debit card. I assumed the text was a scam but opened a chat direct with the website of my bank. Unfortunately it was not a scam as someone had attempted to charge something to my debit card. That means they had to cancel my card and it will be up to a week (or more if the above paragraph holds) before I get a replacement. I carry two credit cards just in case so may have to use them. Dang scammers anyways. Now I will have to change my card number on all my automatically billed accounts. What a pain!

I am grateful the charge was strange enough that they checked on it before they let it go through. Their security measures worked. How do the scammers get my number though?

Kathy ordered a yard swing that came in yesterday. She spent most of her day putting it together. I was proud of her that she was able to do so. She lit a fire in our fire pit and sat out by the fire this afternoon. It was a perfect day to have a fire as it is a bit cool today but we have bright blue skies.

Talked to my Aunt Marylyn today. She had called while I was napping yesterday and I didn’t hear my phone ring. It is always a good day when I get to talk to her. I think she has more of a social life than I do and she is 90. She has lots of grandkids and great grandchildren that have events that keep her busy. What a joy it is to talk to her.

I need to go to the store and get some cards. I need to send the daughter of a friend a graduation card. I also need a get well card to send to my Camino friend that lives in CA. I haven’t heard from her for a long time. She has lung cancer and is undergoing treatment. I am out of sympathy cards and need to send one of those out too.

I have an empty calendar for next week. I did sign up to go to an event next Saturday at noon. Wonder what I will do with all my empty space?

Grateful for the pieces of mail finally arriving, grateful the scammer that attempted to use my debit card was stopped, and grateful for this absolutely beautiful spring day.

This has been another pajama day for me. I slept in late this morning so time has been off for me all day. I took a nap late afternoon which added to my time warp. Not sure why I was so tired today but it was a crash and burn type of day.

We had some pea and marble sized hail this afternoon. Strong winds and rain came with it. We got off easy though as there was rougher stuff east and north of us. This the time of the year for thunderstorms and tornadoes.

One of the Pen Pals attempted to write her Pen pal today. I had to add each of the Pen Pals names under my driver’s license and photo so the Pen Pals could write them. Not sure if her email went through or not. It isn’t showing up yet so not sure what is going on. This system is not the easiest to navigate. I trust the Pen PALs will stay patient and work through all of this for me.

Adding the names was a bit of a challenge. Some of their names are in different orders than I expected. Never did find one of them. He could have been moved out already. I will check again tomorrow and see if I can figure out what is going on.

I guess I didn’t expect the Pen Pal program to be easy but not sure I expected it to be this hard either. It really makes me wonder how stressed out families deal with all of this. Makes me want to put together a guide of some sort for them but not sure how I would get it to them. Then again, we are to bear witness and not problem solve. Hard place to sit in.

Our neighbor fixed Kathy’s mower for her. She had overfilled the oil and the mower wouldn’t start. He sucked some of the oil out of it. I ordered a new air filter as oil got in the old one. Nice to have neighbors that help some old girls out. He was a mechanic for over 30 years so he knows engines and was happy to help us out.

Trusting I will find some motivation to do something tomorrow. I have a few little things that I need to do and get off my list. I also have some house work that needs done. Just didn’t have any motivation to do anything today.

Feeling so weird that I have nothing on my calendar for the next two weeks. Tonight that feels overwhelming and hard. Funny how that feeling changes day by day and hour by hour.

A very non productive day for me. Trusting tomorrow I can get a few things done. I do feel better about myself when I can get things taken care of.

Grateful for the rain we received today, grateful the stronger storms didn’t find us, and grateful for all the sleep I got today.

I was up and out of the house before 8:00 this morning. The drive to Topeka was easy and smooth.

I got to the Gastroenterology office by 9:10. I got checked in and they called me back at 9:30 for my 9:30 appointment. The NP that I saw today came in around 10:00.

I liked her although she said the referral said I was there for rectum bleeding and I thought I was there to evaluate the stone in my pancreas duct. We worked through that and she decided to check out both issues.

I reported all my GI symptoms over the years. She must have asked me three times if I had reported that to my family doctor. Yes I have! They blew me off every time.

She put in orders for me to have an MRI of my abdomen done at St. Francis hospital. They are to call me to schedule it.

I am also having a colonoscopy done on May 27. They gave me the instructions for the prep. Yikes! I had one done years ago at Mayo Clinic and then they gave me a prescription to get things cleared out. This time it is all stuff I can get over the counter. Certainly not looking forward to the two days of prep but I will survive it.

She seemed knowledgeable and competent. At one point she said I need to call a friend to ask her something and stepped out of the room. Not sure what that was about but I like that she got a second opinion on something she was considering.

We didn’t talk next steps so will have to wait till the tests are done and go from there. Seems like nothing happens too quickly in medicine these days. Hurry up and wait seems to be the slogan of the medical field these days.

I didn’t get done until after 10:30. I stopped and filled the car with gas and then went to Schlotzsky’s for lunch. It wasn’t as good as I remember it being years ago. Brought Kathy home a Cinnabun as a treat for her.

Got another note from a Detainee that wants a Pen Pal. This guy is from Cuba and has been there for 16 months and due to not having any funds in his commissary account hasn’t spoken to a family member or friend since he got detained. I can’t imagine! We aren’t allowed to put funds in his commissary account but maybe we can help track down some family members and they can do so. Not sure how family is informed about the commissary account process. I know one recent family that had someone there was surprised their dad wasn’t able to keep his phone on him at all times.

I have nothing on my calendar for the next two weeks. Not sure if that is a good thing or is scary for me. I may make a Costco run one day next week if the mood strikes. Sure need to get some cleaning done around here but the dust seems to sit patiently waiting for me to scatter it away.

The ant spray came in so I need to do that task. I need to take everything out of the kitchen cabinets and spray them down. That will take some time. They need reorganized anyways so that will force that little project to get done. I haven’t been able to find where the ants are coming from. Not sure if they are under the house or where their nest is. I will spray inside and outside. May need to spray and leave the house for a bit for it to sit and work and not get us sick from it.

I’m tired tonight. I had to get up way too early. I am grateful I have a long stretch in front of me where I can sleep in as late as I want.

Feeling a bit vulnerable and isolated tonight. It will be good to have some down time to process the last few weeks and fill and refill my soul. I may fast from Facebook and the news for a few days. Time to spend my time on the really important things in my life.

Grateful for a safe trip to Topeka today, grateful for a NP that was a great listener and was curious, and grateful for lots of empty space in the next two weeks.

This has been a quiet day at home. I stayed up way too late last night finishing up a series I was watching on TV. I slept in very late this morning. The day has felt weird all day time wise as a result.

Did two loads of laundry today and managed to get them folded and put away. That doesn’t always happen so grateful I could at least manage that today.

Worked on the pen pal program for a bit. Got the letters addressed to send to the pen pals so they can have the hard copy of what their pen pal wrote. Still have one more email to write. I attempted it last night but her mail box was full and it didn’t go through.

Tomorrow I have to be in Topeka by 9:15 so will have to leave the house by 8:00. That is too early for me! Hoping I can get to sleep before midnight but we shall see what happens. I am looking forward to what she has to say tomorrow. She may recommend watch and see or surgery or something in between. I feel like I have kinda put my life on hold waiting to see what they are going to do. It will be good to have a direction to go tomorrow.

I don’t think I have anything I need to do in Topeka once I am done at the doctor’s office. Have no idea how long the appointment will be as I have never seen this doctor before. May be a quick trip up and back and it may stretch out to a longer day.

No plans for the weekend or for next week for that matter. Lots of empty space on my calendar as I have intentionally kept it empty in case the doctor wants to do something. Once I know if it is still empty space, I will find some things to put on my calendar as I do better with a little structure.

I didn’t file an extension for Love in Action as I couldn’t find a form to use. The only ones I could find were for individual tax returns. Hoping IRS will let me know within two weeks what the status of the application for the nonprofit is and go from there. I may have to pay a bit of a penalty if they don’t approve the application.

Had an experience today that reminded me that some people can’t hear what I say. We must be running different energy patterns. I’m grateful I understand that and didn’t push the point. It sure makes it easier to communicate when you understand that. Or maybe communicate is the wrong word as I stopped the communication more than communicated. Interesting to watch it play out.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful to have been able to refill and recharge today, and grateful for lots of sleep last night.

At some point this afternoon Kathy commented I must have declared today a PJ day. I had forgotten to get dressed this morning. Oh well, I had no plans other than to stay home and get a few things done here.

If I got four hours of sleep total last night I would be surprised. One of those nights where sleep was playing hide and seek and I couldn’t find it. Even took a second bath but even that didn’t help much. I did take a nap mid morning and got an hour or two of sleep. Trusting tonight I will crash and burn and get lots of sleep.

It is muggy in the house today. I wish the storm would hurry up and get here and be gone. I have felt anticipation all day waiting for the storm to arrive.

Last night when I was driving home from Wichita I saw the back end of the storm that caused the tornados. It was fascinating to watch the constant lightning and watch the clouds swirl.

I got the Pen Pals matched up today. I need to do one more match and the first set will be done. Still not 100% sure how the app program works but hoping it is flexible enough that all the Pen Pals can use the same account. Guess I will find out as others attempt to log in. I am learning along with the other volunteers.

As I was matching them up I discovered one of the detainees requesting a pen pal had sent two letters. Not sure why he did that but guess he is anxious for a pen pal.

For a while I have been sitting with a bit of an unsettled feeling about Love in Action. Where are the boundaries around it? What is our real purpose? How do I keep the focus on what we are doing without getting pulled off track?

I finally realized today that our main purpose is to bear witness to the detainees and their stories and to share their stories. The program limits what we can do for them individually and as a recovering people pleaser that was hard for me. I too used to jump directly to problem solving and the program limits doesn’t allow that as what we do for one we have to do for all. Understanding we are bearing witness helps give me a better sense of our purpose and accept that it is enough.

Someone called me this morning and was really pushing Love in Action to do more to solve individual problems. It triggered something in me and I had to sit and figure out why that happened. Now I get it and I can release the anxiety it caused.

I am a bit concerned about the pen pal program. It has the potential to grow into something bigger than I want to handle. However, it is a great way to give volunteers a hands on experience with the Detainees and for us to learn about their stories and to be able to bear witness even more. It is so tempting though to problem solve and offer solutions beyond what the program can offer. No use anticipating problems though. Maybe others are better at bearing witness alone than I am and I can learn from them.

Isn’t it interesting how life can provide the exact lesson you need at the exact time if one is open and ready for the lesson? Now I know how to frame the pen pal program and allow it to be enough without fixing anything.

Tomorrow is another free day. Maybe I will even get dressed tomorrow! Thursday I have to be in Topeka by 9:15 for a doctor’s appointment. No plans after that for a long while on my calendar.

Love days where a life lesson comes into clarity. I feel an ease about Love in Action that settles something in me.

Grateful for a PJ day at home, grateful for clarity about bearing witness, and grateful the storm that is coming will be here soon.

I am cranky and tired and it would probably be better if I didn’t write tonight but I need to get it out of me so I can sleep tonight. This might be a post to skip if you can’t handle my crankiness!

Had Trouble sleeping last night. I was probably flying too high after having the kids home Sunday. It was such a perfect day. Sometimes I struggle to come down from the high.

I got a phone call that woke me up too early this morning as I didn’t get to sleep until after 3:00. By the time I answered the call they had left a message. It was a reminder about a doctor’s appointment i have Thursday. I couldn’t go back to sleep after that so got up.

I can’t remember what happened next but I quickly figured out this might be a hard day. Nothing seemed to go easy for me. Kathy reported having the same type of day! What is going on in the energy right now? Yikes! I attempted to eat some lunch and it made my stomach start cramping again.

I attempted to call the company that provides the email service for the Detainees. Once I got through the fifty AI questions I was put on hold and informed the wait time would be approximately 68 minutes. I wasn’t in the mood for that so I hung up. I thought I would attempt again tonight but the universe had other plans for me.

I got a letter from the IRS about my 501(c)3 application. I had forgotten to check the box that stated I agreed under perjury that I had the proper authority to sign the application. They also wanted more details about what the non profit was going to do. I wrote a response letter and then went to the post office to mail it so it would go out today.

I checked the IRS website to see if I am listed on their pending file since they are working on the case but I am not. Why was I not surprised?

As I was getting ready to leave the house to go to Emporia to volunteer at the friends of the library book sale the Captain of the Detention Center called me and told me he had someone that needed a ride to Wichita. I told him I would attempt to find someone that could take him as I was going to be tied up until after 6:00.

I texted a few friends to see if anyone was free and then headed to the book sale. I got there a bit early so I did some shopping at the sale myself and filled a bag of books. I then sat at the register and checked people out from 3:00 – 6:00. For some reason today, I was alone at the register. Usually there are two people that work it but all the workers stayed in the other room for most of the shift. Maybe my energy said leave me alone – I am cranky!

Kathy let me know while I was at the library book sale that CWF had a hail storm and strong winds. I will check her car out tomorrow and make sure it wasn’t damaged.

At 6:00 I headed to the Detention Center to see if the guy was still there. The Captain said the guy may find a ride. He was there. He gave me the biggest hug and was most appreciative of the ride.

The guy had come to CWF this morning for a 9:00 hearing for his son. His son had come to the US on a student VISA several years ago. About a year ago his son developed a brain tumor and had to have brain surgery and was hospitalized and in rehab for over six months. His son still struggles with processing information and was unable to finish school.

His son had been picked up by ICE on March 24 and brought to Chase County. He will be deported in the coming weeks. They are from Palestine which is not exactly a safe place to live right now. The father has no idea what to do in the future. The father has the proper paperwork to be able to work and live in the US.

While the father was inside at the hearing, a deputy had noticed that his car tag had expired. In questioning the father, they also discovered his insurance was expired. The cops impounded his car hence the guy needed a ride home to Wichita.

He was the most interesting guy. He has lived all over the world doing his job in the oil and gas industry. He shared the history of his country with me. We discovered through our conversation we share many of the same beliefs and values.

I will say hearing about their problems made my day seem not so hard. However, I got to see first hand the results of yet another family get torn apart. There has got to be a better way people! I hope some will feel safer knowing yet another harden criminal is off the streets! NOT!

I will go to bed and attempt to get some sleep if I can come down or is it climb up from this hole I feel like I fell into today. I certainly have experienced a full range of emotions this last 48 hours. Going from the highest of highs having all my family here to hearing about a father that has to watch his brain injured son be deported, Hopefully, I will find my center and ground. What a day!

Grateful to have been able to help this father out by gifting him a ride to Wichita, grateful to have been in service at the library today, and grateful tomorrow is another day and another chance to get above neutral.

This was the best of days. All three kids and both grandkids came home to have lunch with me. Life doesn’t get better than this!

The leftovers from the Singing our Resistance event heated up nicely and made for an easy meal to fix. That was a good thing as I am still a bit weak from yesterday. I am getting stronger as the day goes on. I was able to eat a bit today which helps. I am thinking by tomorrow I will be back to normal.

I got the dishes washed and everything put away. I didn’t bother setting a table today so we ate in the living room and balanced our plates on our lap. It worked and made things easier to set up and clean up.

Tomorrow I am volunteering at the Friends of the Library book sale at 3:00. I will go to town early and get replacement parts for my sleep apnea machine and I also want to buy a sack of books before my shift starts. Last year while I was working the register one of the other volunteers picked out books for me. She made some really good choices and I discovered some new to me authors. Maybe I can make that happen again tomorrow. I can afford two bags of books at $10 a bag.

I need to call the company that manages the email situation with the Detainees tomorrow. I need to fully understand how this process works and what will be the best way for volunteers to log in and use it. I would like to find out if it is possible for Love in Action to have an account and the volunteers can use it. I don’t know if different Detainees can use the same account or if we have to have different accounts for each. I feel bad for the families of the Detainees that have to pay the prices they charge in order to stay in email contact. It is $15 for 30 emails but then there is a $6.20 service fee in addition.

Nothing on my calendar for Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I have to be in Topeka by 9:15 so will have an early morning.

I need to figure out how to file an extension for Love in Action’s tax return. I have never done that before but I don’t think it can be too difficult. Then again I didn’t think filing a return for Love in Action would be a challenge and it has been.

Feeling very happy and content this afternoon. I love spending time with my little family and having a meal together.

Grateful for a day with my family, grateful for safe journeys for all, and grateful I am feeling better today.

This has not been my best day. I have had tummy issues that started overnight and really ramped up this morning. I spent most of the morning running to the bathroom. I finally took some Imodium and after about an hour it slowed things down.

I ate a small bowl of chicken and rice soup but couldn’t finish it. I just had two pieces of toast. We shall see if that was a good idea or not.

This morning if I drank anything it activated everything even more. Grateful it seems to have slowed down this evening.

I laid down for a bit this afternoon. I was folding clothes and got very tired. Not sure I slept much but it felt good to lay down. I didn’t get much sleep last night as I had to keep getting up to go.

Haven’t decided what caused all this today. For a hot minute I was concerned it was the pancreas stone but I didn’t run a temp and the pain in my tummy was in my lower stomach and not in the upper left side. This evening the pain has shifted to the upper left this evening but it is not intense by any means.

I will be glad when I see the specialist Thursday so she can reassure me that the stone isn’t causing these problems. I have these flare ups occasionally but haven’t had one that lasted a whole night and day for a long time. Maybe I was just letting go of something!

I didn’t get out and run my errands today. I didn’t trust that I could be that far away from the bathroom. I do need to run one in the morning. I was going to go out tonight but it feels like it could rain any minute and I don’t like getting caught in the rain.

Didn’t get any housecleaning done. Good thing it is my kids that are coming and they won’t inspect my house for dirt. I’m grateful I picked an easy menu to fix tomorrow as I’m not sure how I will be feeling then. Just have to warm up BBQ and the cheesy potatoes. Going to make some green beans and a chocolate sheet cake. Both of those are fairly easy and won’t take much energy.

It takes a day like today to make me grateful for the good days and good health. One never knows when that all can change. Kathy had a bit of an episode today that was concerning. What is going on?

Tomorrow will be the best type of day with all the kids and grands coming home for the day. Life doesn’t get better than those days.

Monday I need to go to the Detention Center and find out how to write the Detainees so I can share that with the Pen Pals. I have three Pen Pals confirmed and am waiting to hear from 11 others that said they were interested. They have to read the guidelines and put in writing that they will follow them. I also need their mailing address so I can send them the notes from the Detainees. Not sure if the Detainees will respond in writing or via email. I think it costs them a bit to send an email so if they don’t have funds in their commissary account they will have to mail a note.

I am working at the Friends of the Library book sale from 3:00 – 6:00 Monday afternoon. It is $10 bag day so if I work the register that will make it easy. I plan on going a bit early so I can get a bag of books too. I am getting to the end of the bags I got last fall.

While I am in town I want to stop by the store where I got my sleep apnea machine. It is time to get some parts replaced and I need them to check and see if the leakage thing is enough that I need to try a different face mask. I keep getting emails from the company that supplied the face mask and machine that I am leaking too much air but not sure the store guy will agree.

Thursday I have to be in Topeka by 9:15 for my doctor’s appointment. I am anxious to see what they will recommend and what tests they might order. I have read about all the options and they range from watch and see to surgery to remove it with others in between.

My cousin on my dad’s side is doing some family research and sent me a couple of photos. One is of our grandfather standing with his siblings at the grave of his father. I didn’t know that his father died when Grandpa was eight years old. He was a towhead! Now I know where the towheads in the family came from. Genetics are fascinating. I wished I had asked more questions when my grandparents and parents were alive.

Feeling a bit vulnerable this evening after this day. One never knows what the future holds for yourself and when there will be a major plot twist in the road. Trusting this was a one day thing and my tomorrow I will be feeling much better.

Grateful for Imodium, grateful the kids are coming home tomorrow, and grateful for the rain that is coming.

This has been a quiet day at home. I am still in my pajamas as I had no where to go today and no one was coming over.

I did send a letter to all that have volunteered to be a Pen Pal to the Detainees being held at the Chase County Detention Center. They need to respond and send me their mailing address and agree to follow the guidelines.

I am struggling to figure out how we are to communicate with the Detainees. I think the Center uses a service to handle correspondence with the Detainees but can’t figure out which one. I sent emails asking for more information and how the process works but so far haven’t gotten the information I need. I will go up there Monday if I haven’t figured it out before.

I checked several different web pages and find conflicting information about how to correspond with the Detainees. The Captain asked that we not send physical mail. Uhmmm… wonder how the families figure this all out.

I’m anxious to get the letters to the Pen Pals so that program can begin. They can’t respond until I figure out how they do that. Round and round I go. I seem to spend lots of time chasing my tail these days.

No plans for tomorrow except for doing some house cleaning. The kids and grands are coming Sunday for lunch. I will bake a cake Sunday morning. I already have the BBQ and potatoes ready to heat as I am serving leftovers from the Singing Our Resistance event. I will make some green beans and call it good.

We had a thunderstorm roll through during the night. Got several rounds of rain but I don’t think it all added up too much. Didn’t see many puddles of water anywhere today. It has been cloudy and cool today with misty rain coming and going – mainly going. We are forecast to get more rain through the rest of the weekend. We need rain so can’t complain.

I stepped outside during the night and the smell of smoke after the first rain was heavy. I still smell smoke in the air. We need a couple inches of rain to clear the smoke out.

I have ants back in the kitchen. I fought them all last year. Anyone have any knowledge about how to get rid of them. Everything I tried last year didn’t work. I tried getting a professional to come out and didn’t have any luck. One guy wanted almost $1,000 to deal with them. I hate those little buggers.

Monday I am working the Friends of the Library Spring book sale from 3:00 – 6:00. Thursday I go to Topeka to the specialist to check out the stone in my pancreas duct. I have had a tummy ache for about a week now that never completely goes away. No fever, no loss of weight, no chills so don’t think it is pancreatitis. I’ll keep an eye out for it and see if I can wait till Thursday before I need it checked out.

It will feel funny next week not doing taxes. Hoping the IRS will get my 501(c)3 application listed so I can file taxes for Love in Action. If they don’t, I am not sure what I am supposed to do.

Haven’t been able to read beyond the headlines of the news today. I need to refill myself before I can do that as the news would drain me today. The headlines can be very misleading so not sure what has happened in the world.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for the rain we did receive, and grateful I will figure out the Pen Pal thing sooner or later.

I was in Emporia a little after 9:00 this morning. It was the weirdest day dong taxes. We decided it was a good day to have a hard day doing taxes as it was the last day of the season. We only filed two returns today but helped a couple of other people. Taxes feel so complicated to some people and they struggle to bring us what we need to complete their returns.

We didn’t get out of there until almost 1:00 today. I helped organize the material we use so the leader can take it to its storage space next week.

I stopped at Bobby D’s for lunch and then came home. I haven’t felt the best this afternoon so haven’t done much. My blood pressure was high when I checked it earlier. It randomly does that – sure wish I knew what causes it to misbehave. My ankles were a bit swollen which is unusual. I doubled up on my pee pill to see if that will help reduce them.

I got nine letters from the Detainees at the Chase County Detention Center today. Several of them are looking for a pen pal and several were thank you notes. Not all of them gave us their identification number so not sure how we can respond to them.

I will match pen pals tomorrow after I get clarification as to how the Center wants us to communicate with them. I need to get two letters translated. I didn’t have the energy to attempt that today.

I didn’t sleep well last night as I took too long of a nap yesterday afternoon. I have nothing on my calendar for the next two days so hoping I can sleep lots. Sunday is family day which I am getting excited for.

Today was the last day of tax season. I turned my computer in and I am done. We will have a gathering of all the preparers sometime soon to wrap up the season. I finally feel competent to do taxes this year. Things clicked in for me and most all returns I feel like I can handle. I still see an occasional thing that I haven’t seen before. Wonder how many seasons I would have to do before that stops happening?

Next week I have family day Sunday. Monday I am working at the Friends of the Library book sale from 3:00 – 6:00. Thursday I have a doctor’s appointment in Topeka to check out the stone I have in my pancreas duct. I will be anxious to hear what they recommend to take care of it. They may order another CT scan to see what if anything has changed. It is possible they may need to surgically remove it. They may surprise me with another recommendation too.

One of the notes I received from a Detainee was from a 27 year old single mom of a nine year old. She has been in the country since she was a toddler. She has a hearing April 21 to determine what will happen to her. She didn’t say who was taking care of her son. Another example of a Detainee that is not a criminal and has been detained for two months and counting. I wonder just what the hell we are doing! Can we really sleep better tonight knowing she is behind bars?

We are to get some rain this weekend. The ground is very dry and the smoke is very thick tonight from all the pasture burning that is happening. I will be grateful for the rain to lay down the smoke and cleanse the air. Burning season should almost be over as pasture season traditionally starts April 15.

Feeling just this side of cranky tonight. Our systems are so broken and I saw too much evidence of that today. Our tax system is set up to benefit the rich, not the ones working several jobs to survive, our immigration system is broken and we punish the wrong people. Add the mess in the Middle East and the truly horrible way it is being handled and I guess I figured out why I am cranky. I will allow some hard feelings to be felt and arise and be released. Sometimes you have to take a dip in the muck pond to wash away those hard feelings that come with doing life and interacting with others. Once I can fully be present with my hard feelings and allow them to be heard, I find they usually can be released and then I can rise above and get motivated to do more acts of kindness for others.

Grateful to have completed another tax season, grateful we are expanding our role with Love in Action to include being pen pals, and grateful for the rain we will get over the next couple of days.

This has been a crash and burn day for me. I slept in till mid-morning and then took a two hour nap this afternoon. I didn’t realize I was so tired. I still don’t feel completely rested and trust I will sleep tonight.

Needless to say, other than sleep I haven’t done anything today. I did go to the Grand for lunch but other than that nothing of note.

Tomorrow is my last day of doing taxes. As far as I know we only have one client on the schedule unless some more were added today. They aren’t scheduled to come in until 11:15 so I don’t have to get there early.

I am thinking what I might need from Emporia tomorrow while I a there. I think I have all I need for family day lunch on Sunday. I talked to Nicole today and she is craving a chocolate sheet cake so I will make that for dessert. I already have the BBQ brisket and cheesy potatoes fixed and frozen as they are left overs from the Singing our Resistance event. The only other thing I am making is some green beans for Ellexia.

I probably ought to do some housecleaning Friday and Saturday. I need to dust and a couple of the floors. This house is so easy and fast to clean.

Haven’t received any notes from the Detainees. Not sure if they were given a chance or if that hasn’t happened yet. I helped fix the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter two weeks ago and I haven’t received that yet either. Mail service isn’t what it used to be.

No movement on the Love in Action 501(c)3 application. Tax day is coming quick and I have no resolution yet. Guess I will file late if nothing happens in the next week.

Anyone else read the news today and feel like you are reading the Sunday comics? Very little of it feels like truth. I feel so manipulated every time I read the news. So much of it is fear mongering and distorted. It is probably an energy thing with me and the news. Our vibrations do not match and I can’t hear what they are saying.

Grateful for extra sleep today, grateful to take a day to rest, and grateful tax season will be over tomorrow.

I was in Emporia a little after 9:00 this morning. I was told I didn’t have to be there until closer to 10:15 but I knew they had three clients and only two preparers and didn’t want what happened last week to happen again.

Around 10:00 I ran to the grocery store to get something I need to fix our family day lunch this Sunday. Came back and we got busy again. We were out of there at noon. I had to wait for a spouse to come sign the return before I could leave.

I took the list of clients that are ready to be e-filed to our leader and then went out to lunch. Saw some of my friends at the restaurant I ate at so had a short visit with them. Ate and then came home. I haven’t done much this afternoon. I’m working on getting some laundry done. No plans for tomorrow so will finish it up then if needed.

We don’t have anyone on the schedule for tomorrow for taxes. Only have one on the schedule for Thursday and I am going to go in and help do that one. Then tax season will be over for this year.

I have a headache this afternoon. The smell of pasture fire smoke is heavy in the air today. I had anticipated they would burn early this year but it seems like most of the burning is happening this week. Usually they are done by April 15 so only have about a week to go of burning season. We are to get some rain later this week so maybe that will lay the smoke down a bit.

Am working on getting caught up on the thank you notes for Love in Action. I have three more to go and I will have that little project done. I had gotten behind and needed to get caught up. Hopefully with fundraising suspended for a while, I won’t have so many to write the rest of the month.

I had to stop reading Facebook and watching the news today. So much fear about what Trump said. I read a quote that I posted that says: “One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.” This was written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I have spent time grounding today and doing some Tonglen to exchange the fear energy with love energy. I have no control over anything else.

Grateful tax season is all but a wrap for the year, grateful to run into friends while eating out, and grateful I get a free day tomorrow.

I was in Emporia by 10:45 this morning. I stopped at Walmart and picked up the prescription that was ready and then I headed to Radius where I met a dear friend for lunch.

It is such a delight for me to be able to have a deep conversation with someone I trust and admire. We visited for over an hour.

I came home and haven’t done much else today. I did go to a joint meeting between Cottonwood Falls and Strong City. They are working on coordinating their animal control ordinances. The audience was given a chance to speak. I didn’t hear them address my concern which is people that own dogs that don’t follow the leash law. They do have an ordinance that addresses animals at large but I am not sure it is enforced consistently. When I have called in an animal at large I haven’t gotten very far with anyone doing anything about it.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia by 10:15 to do the second part of the morning tax returns. I think we only have three to do so should be able to get out fairly close to noon. Haven’t heard it I will be needed on Wednesday yet.

I need to stop at a grocery store and get something so I have what I need to fix lunch for family day Sunday. Still need to decide what to fix for dessert so may need a couple more things too.

If I don’t do taxes on Wednesday, I don’t have anything else on my calendar for the rest of the week. I am looking forward to some empty space days.

Don’t have much on my to-do list right now. I have somethings I could do if the mood hits but it doesn’t seem to hit often. Dust and dirt seems to sit and wait for me.

Eagerly awaiting notes from the Detainees. Not sure they will be coming as they may have chosen not to write. Time will tell.

Sitting here tonight feeling the empty space ahead. Tonight it feels a bit lonely. Funny how some days it feels freeing and other days it feels hard. It really isn’t either of those – it just is.

Grateful for lunch with a dear friend, grateful for city and county commissioners that are willing to work to improve our city and county, and grateful for empty space.

This has been a quiet, stay-at-home day for me. I even managed to take a nice, long nap this afternoon. These are my favorite type of days.

A family came over to get some forms notarized. I had set out the patches the lady made for the fundraiser at the Rally in Wichita the 28th so I could send one to a donor. The family that came over saw them and loved them and ended up buying some of them so I raised $75 more dollars for Love in Action. That was easy!

I have two checks to take to the bank tomorrow on my way to Emporia to meet a friend for lunch. Love in Action now has a surplus of funds which should last for several months, if not more. We don’t have any special events or projects that require funds right now so I have suspended fundraising efforts at this point. There are plenty of good causes that have immediate needs and I would rather people donate to those causes for now.

My left hip has been bothering me for a couple of days. It hurts when I stand up and start walking. It calms down for a bit and then reminds me it is there. I dug out my heating pad and used it while I took a nap today. It feels better this evening. Not sure what I did to cause the pain. I trust it will calm down and stay calmed down soon.

I need to remember to pick up a prescription when I go to town tomorrow to meet a friend for lunch. It has been ready for a couple of days and I didn’t want to waste gas and go to town for one thing. I probably ought to check what groceries I may need for our family day next Sunday and pick those up while I am there. I think I will probably have to do taxes Tuesday so will have another chance if I forget Monday. Not sure I will be needed on Wednesday.

I have a very small pending list and current to do list right now. Lots of empty space time coming up for me. Some days that feels comfortable and other days not so much. I do better when I have a bit of structure to work around. It does feel like I have a new season of sorts coming up and that it will be revealed to me why my calendar is empty. Now I need to remind myself to have patience so whatever is coming will have space to enter.

I attempted to watch a movie this evening and had to turn off the TV. My body is craving silence right now. The outer world noise is a bit overwhelming right now. When I can connect to my inner being I can feel the peace and calm that is there. I attempt to carry that awareness with me as I go out and about amongst others. The world energy is shifting and that peace and calm for all is on its way if one is quiet enough to feel it and become it.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful to have raised a bit more funds for Love in Action, and grateful for empty space ahead.

This has felt like a Sunday to me all day. Have been a bit confused most of the day.

I took the money I collected from the fundraiser that was held at the Wichita and Newton Rally’s to the bank this morning. It felt good to get that in the bank.

I attempted to file the income tax for Love in Action. I submitted the application for the 501(c)3 the middle of March. The IRS still hasn’t touched it. They have told me it was received but they haven’t processed it.

I couldn’t file the postcard 990 as the EIN wasn’t yet on the list of applications in process.

I then attempted to file the 990-EZ. I had to pay a company to file it for me as the IRS no longer accepts paper files and they don’t have a way to file it with them direct. I had to pay $84.99 which they didn’t disclose until the very end. The return was rejected. I had forgotten to mark the box that the 501(c)3 was in process. I fixed that and they attempted to file it again. It was rejected again.

I looked up the reason for the rejection and I can’t file until the IRS processes the application and puts me on the pending list.

Geez. I feel like I was chasing my tail around a tree all day. Can they make this any more complicated? Not sure what I will do if they don’t put me on the list before the 15th.

When I got the mail today I received another big donation for Love in Action. We are way over my goal of raising $6,500 now. I won’t have to fundraise for a long time now. That is the part of Love in Action I don’t care for – fundraising. I am grateful we have more than we need for the foreseeable future.

I made sloppy joes this afternoon. I have been needing to up my protein intake and for some reason sloppy joes sounded good. I ate too much though as I feel fuller now than when I was eating. Beef takes longer for me to digest than chicken. I may have to stay up longer tonight to give it more time to go down.

No plans for tomorrow. I do have a friend that needs a couple of forms notarized so they are going to come over to take care of that. Not sure what time they will be over but I don’t have any plans for tomorrow.

Monday I am meeting a friend for lunch and deep conversation. I love days when that can happen.

Tuesday and Wednesday I am scheduled to do taxes if there are enough clients to do them. If I go Wednesday it will be my last shift of the season. Nothing else on my calendar for the rest of the week. Next Sunday we are having family day. I will look forward to that all week.

Lots of empty space on my calendar the rest of the month. I will have to find some new things to do. Wish I could find another volunteer job that is as fun as doing taxes. Will do my best to embrace this empty space and use it for my best and highest good.

Sitting in gratitude knowing Love in Action is well funded for now. Eagerly waiting for the notes from the Detainees to arrive. That will keep me busy for a bit if there are a lot of them. I will need to find pen pals for all that want one and respond to the others.

Reminding myself the tax situation will get resolved when the timing is right. I forgot to allow the Universe to provide the timing.

Grateful for another big donation for Love in Action, grateful for sloppy joes, and grateful for the empty space that is ahead for me.

I made some new friends today. I met a lady and her husband that had made hundreds of patches that she sold at the Wichita and Newton No Kings Rally last Saturday. She gave me almost $800 from her efforts to donate to Love in Action.

We had the most delightful conversation and I left feeling like they are now friends for life. We have so much in common and share many of the same values. I trust our paths will cross again.

The drive to Florence was beautiful. I love driving Lake Road to Highway 50 and then the drive from there to Florence. My mother was raised in Florence and is buried there along with my dad and her parents and siblings. I ran into my neighbor at the Cafe we ate at. What’s the chance of that?

On the way home I could tell some rain had fallen. We didn’t get any in Florence while I was there. We got another brief shower mid afternoon but it didn’t last long. We may get more rain yet this evening. We are in a severe thunderstorm watch for the remainder of the evening.

I got my bedroom floor mopped today. I couldn’t remember the last time I had mopped the floor. Found lots of dirt. Got rid of a couple things before the trash man came to take them away. I still need to dust but the room is much cleaner than it was when I started. I think I need to replace the blinds as they are very dirty and almost impossible to clean.

Tomorrow I will get my bathroom and laundry rooms cleaned. I also need to dust the whole house. Dusting seems like a waste of time though as it doesn’t stay dust free for long. This house leaks and dust likes to come in through the leaks.

No plans for the weekend. My family is gathering a week from Sunday for a family day. Not sure if I will do the Easter thing then or not. We are all getting too old for an Easter egg hunt. Not sure if the kiddos will be able to come. I am going to serve the leftover brisket and cheesy potatoes from the Singing our Resistance event so that will be easy.

Next week I am meeting a friend for lunch on Monday and doing taxes if needed on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is the last week for taxes so my calendar becomes empty after this week.

Monday night there is a city meeting about the dog ordinance that I may go to. Something needs to be done about all the dogs that run loose in town. It can get scary walking my dogs when there is a loose dog around. Someday someone is going to get hurt when the dogs encounter a strange dog on the loose.

Had to change the settings on the Love in Action page as we are starting to get posts that don’t belong on the page. I now have to approve any posts before they show up on the page. People can make comments without approval but even that may have to change if the bots continue to show up. We have almost 2,000 people as friends of the page or are following our page now and that attracts the crazy people. I sure wish Facebook would do something about all the bots.

I think I will file the tax form for Love in Action this weekend. The IRS is still processing applications received prior to February 24th and won’t get to mine before April 15. I have read the instructions for the form I need to file and it doesn’t sound too difficult. Sometimes I read too much into one of their questions though. I printed what I could of it and will go on-line and fill it out. That is the only way they will accept it as they won’t let you mail in the return. Wish me luck!

Have been thinking this afternoon about all the people that I have met since I started Love in Action back in July last year. So many new acquaintances and friends! I feel so blessed and lucky to get to meet the most wonderful people with big, kind hearts.

The lady that passes out the cards to the Detainees usually does that on the weekends. I am anxious to see if any of the Detainees will send a note. I have six volunteers that will be a pen pal if any of the Detainees wish for that. I trust this new program will allow volunteers to actually get to have some contact with the Detainees – even if it is through the mail.

It feels like I am getting ready for another new season of my life. With tax season all but over I again have a lot of free time on my calendar. I keep thinking something big is headed my way and I will be grateful I have the time to handle it. Have no idea what that may be.

Grateful to have met a wonderful couple today, grateful for the beauty of the Flint Hills in Spring, and grateful for the rain we received.

I sure didn’t want to get up this morning when the alarm went off. I had trouble falling asleep last night. I slept hard once I fell asleep though.

I took my jug of pee to the lab to drop it off. They noticed I hadn’t had my TSH checked for two months so took care of that since I was there.

Went to do taxes when I was done at the lab. I only entered one return today as we didn’t have many clients. But I did help resolve a couple of returns that had been rejected Tuesday. I was glad to see the other preparers weren’t sure how to handle them either. Not sure if they are resolved yet or not.

I went to the Vet’s office when I was done doing taxes and got flea and tick medication for the two dogs and two cats. Man that stuff is expensive.

Stopped at a new to me place for lunch. I won’t go back. It is the BBQ place by the old Water’s Hardware store. The meat was so burned that I couldn’t find much tender enough to eat. I left hungry!

Went through the car wash on my way to Walmart for groceries. Got what I needed at Walmart and came home. I hadn’t bought groceries for a bit and had to restock some essentials.

Haven’t done much since I got home. I am tired as I needed more sleep this morning. Maybe I can go to bed early tonight and get extra sleep.

Tomorrow I am meeting a couple for lunch in Florence. It will be fun to meet them and pick up the money she made at the Rally in Wichita last weekend.

No plans for the weekend. I am looking forward to two quiet, stay-at-home days. We might get some rain Friday evening which we need. We got a bit last night but can use more.

Next week looks fairly quiet. I may or may not have taxes to do. Next week I am doing them Tuesday and Wednesday if needed. One of my co-workers needed to have Wednesday off so we traded shifts. So far there is only one person scheduled for Monday and I think only a couple on Tuesday and then none for the rest of the week.

My TSH came back 1.37. The blood draw was taken only an hour after I took my meds so I expected it to be lower than it normally is and it was. I hope the Doctor doesn’t try to adjust my meds. If she does I will have to tell her not to. I usually have it drawn 4 – 5 hours after I take my meds so the results are more consistent.

I seriously need to do some housecleaning this weekend. It has reached the point where I can’t handle the dirt anymore.

I haven’t mentioned my spending freeze that I started the end of December. I am still honoring it. This is the longest I have ever gone. Material things just hold no interest for me right now. I keep feeling that I need to stay on this path for the foreseeable future. Now doesn’t feel like the time to do unneeded purchasing. I have increased my charitable giving though. I have a feeling too that things are going to get increasingly difficult for those that live on the margins and can’t absorb the rising gas, food and fuel prices.

Grateful for a short and easy day doing taxes, grateful for the rain we got last night, and grateful for a quiet weekend ahead.

This has been mostly a stay at home day. I did go to the post office to buy some stamps, I stopped and dropped off my water bill and then took the stamps and some mailing labels to the detention center. Other than that, I have stayed home and haven’t done much.

I did call to get an appointment to get the dog’s haircut for the summer. The first day they can do both dogs on the same day is May 13. I didn’t get Roxy done last year but she had a long, hot summer so need to do both this year.

I do have to go in to do taxes tomorrow. We had a couple returns rejected from yesterday that I need to help figure out a solution to so they can go through. I anticipated a problem with two of them and not sure what the solution will be. Sometimes the options they give us doesn’t fit the problem. I will take my pee jug into town and drop it off at the clinic before taxes. Luckily our first appointment is at 9:45 so I can get there a bit late.

I need to stop and get flea and tick medication for the dogs and cats after I am done with taxes. I also need some groceries so it may turn into a longer day in town than I would prefer. Glad I can get all this done in one trip though and not have to make another trip Friday or the weekend.

No plans for the weekend. Monday I am meeting a friend for lunch. Not sure if I will go to town for taxes next week or not. When I was there Tuesday the schedule for next week was completely empty. Maybe some appointments have come in though. I will keep my calendar free in case I am needed.

Felt good to have a quiet day today. Yesterday’s tax session was exhausting as it was so long with a couple of complicated cases. I was completely peopled out by the time I got home. It will be good to have a couple weeks of quiet coming up.

We may get some storms tonight. It has been cloudy and cool all day. We need rain so won’t complain if we get rain. Trusting the stronger winds and severe weather stuff stays away from here. Not sure where we would go if there is a tornado. This house is 126 years old and still standing so not too worried.

I attempted to read the news today and felt so detached to it that the news felt like I was reading a comic book. Things are really heating up and moving at a quick pace. Old, rich white men are scared and when they get scared they do crazy stuff to attempt to remain in control. My heart goes to those that are getting caught in their crosshairs.

Grateful for a day at home, grateful for the chance of rain, and grateful for a quiet weekend ahead.

This was a long day at doing taxes. We didn’t get out until almost 3:00. There were only two volunteers as it initially had looked like it was going to be a light day. Add in two long, complicated returns and several drop ins with questions and it turned into a long day.

I felt bad for the guy that locks up the Senior Center. He was supposed to be off by 1:00 as we were to be out by then and he ended up staying way later. I will have to take him a thank you gift next time I go as he really went out of his way to help us out today.

We ran out of copy paper so I had to go to Dollar General to get some. I was grateful it was close and they had it in stock.

This may be my last day to do taxes. We only have a couple on the schedule for tomorrow and then no one else scheduled. Someone told me it was on the radio today that we still had openings so there might be some clients next week. We shall see what happens. I will leave the days open in case I have to go in.

Neither Kathy nor I could find sleep last night. Not sure what is going on with that. This has been going on for several days. It is most unusual for Kathy to not be able to fall asleep.

We may get some rain over the next couple of days. Kathy mowed the yard today so she said she is ready for the rain. There are big cracks in the yard so some rain would be welcomed.

Tomorrow I am doing my pee test collection. I will stay home most of the day so I don’t miss a collection as I don’t want to drag the red gallon jug with me wherever I go. It is to be refrigerated so that would be a problem to take it everywhere.

I do want to go to the post office and get 300 more stamps and then take them and the mailing labels up to the Detention Center. I am hoping the Pen Pal program will start soon. I never know when the cards and writing opportunity happens from week to week. It depends on the person who does that schedule and her schedule changes often. I will be anxious to see if any of the Detainees write.

Thursday I will have to take the pee jug to the lab in Emporia in the morning. I need some groceries so will stop and get those while I am in town. I may have taxes to do if people call in tomorrow and get scheduled. Since I have to go to town I might as well do several things while I am there.

Friday I am meeting a couple for lunch in Florence. Does anyone know if the Brandin’ Iron restaurant is open Friday? I find conflicting hours on their facebook page and website. I think there is another restaurant in Florence by a gas station if Brandin’ Iron is closed.

No plans for the weekend. I am ready for some quiet days at home. Not much on my to-do list right now. Most things on my list are waiting for someone else to do something before I can take the next move. Maybe I will get to some long overdue housecleaning – not sure I would bet on it though.

I keep checking the IRS site to see how the 501(c)3 application process is going. They are still processing applications received by February 24. That is the same date since the day I submitted my application. This may take longer than they said it would. Can’t say that surprises me. I will prepare the tax return and if I haven’t heard by April 14 I will get it filed as if we had received our 501(c)3 status.

I need to call and get both dogs haircut appointments. I may board them for a few days so I don’t have to make four trips to Marion. I think they are due for their annual shots so will need to get those done first. It is almost time to renew their tags too.

Welcoming the coming empty days on my calendar. The first three months of this year went by very fast for me. It is time to slow things down and allow more processing and integrating time for my system. The world energy feels very heavy yet fast to me. Things are happening so fast it is hard to keep up with things. The news almost feels outdated even when you read it the day something happened. Underneath it all is a slow, steady heartbeat that is calling me to stay steady and grounded and to not allow the fast pace to overwhelm me.

Grateful tax season may be done for me this year, grateful for employees that quietly serve others, and grateful for the coming rain.

It has been a bit of a whirlwind day. I had to leave the house at 9:30 this morning to go to Topeka for my Endocrinologist appointment.

The drive to Topeka was smooth and easy. I was at the office by 10:40. I didn’t wait long before they called me back. However, I waited over 30 minutes after the nurse was finished checking me in.

I always have an interesting conversation with this Doctor. She is a good listener and is curious. I wish she was my regular doctor. I told her I am still concerned about my rapid heart rate that has been occurring since the incident I had last August. No one has figured out what happened and why it is continuing.

She asked me a bunch of questions and then ordered a 24 hour pee collection test. There is a slight chance that I have an endocrine system malfunction. She said it is rare but worth checking out. I have to stop some of the medication I am taking and be caffeine free for 24 hours before I can start it. I am home all day Wednesday so will do it then.

She did say something today that cancelled out what her PA had told me last time I was in. She said my ten year anniversary of having thyroid cancer is next year which means they can back off doing every six month blood tests and ultrasounds. Her PA had told me they had to continue indefinitely. Guess we will see next year which way they decide to go.

I often forget I had cancer and do not identify as being a cancer survivor or patient. I get surprised when they talk about it. I never claimed the cancer or developed an association with it. Part of that is because they didn’t find it until the thyroid was removed and I didn’t have to have any further treatment. Maybe if they had discovered it and then removed the thyroid I would have gotten attached to it. Whatever! The chances of a reoccurrence after ten years is almost zero so am thinking I am good to go and something else will get me in the end.

My next one year appointment with her is in June, 2027. She is a busy doctor with a huge patient load.

I stopped for gas and then went to Annie’s for lunch. I hadn’t been there for a long time. All the customers in there were over 70 and most were in their 80’s and even 90’s. It is not the place I remember from years ago. The food was OK but not great.

Drove home and came in the house to grab a deposit I needed to make. Went to the bank and made the deposit and then went to the Courthouse for a meeting. The meeting took about 30 minutes and then I came home and melted. It seemed like an intense morning and early afternoon.

Had a chat with a lady that is spearheading the care and comfort of the ICE Detainees at the new Leavenworth ICE facility. She wanted to know what we were doing with Love in Action and get ideas of what she might do in Leavenworth. I also told her about Abide in Love and she was going to attempt to reach them and find out about their program. No use reinventing the wheel when others are doing the same thing.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. There are only going to be two volunteers tomorrow as evidently the schedule is light again. Maybe I will get out in time to join Jason for lunch.

Wednesday I have to stay home and collect my pee. I do need to run some stamps and mailing labels up to the Detention Center but hoping I can pee before I leave and get home before I have to pee again. Thursday I may or may not have another tax shift depending on how full the schedule is. Friday I am meeting a couple in Florence for lunch. The weekend looks free and clear at this point.

Have some thank you notes to write and some housekeeping chores to do. Hoping I can find some energy and get those done yet today.

It is too hot for my liking today and too windy. I am particular and like temperatures no higher than 75 and no wind. Kathy was in heaven today with the higher temperatures.

Starting to feel like one of those days where I can’t make anything feel important enough to give it my energy. I get more done when things feel important but maybe I need to learn how to do things that aren’t urgent. We shall see what I get done.

Feeling a bit isolated today for some reason. Part of it is from knowing next week is the last week of doing taxes this season and my calendar is almost empty for the remaining weeks. I do better when I have a bit of structure in my week.

Grateful for a good report from the doctor, grateful for her curiosity and ordering a test none of the other doctors thought about, and grateful for a safe trip to and from Topeka today.

I have been a puddle all day today. I slept from 6:00 to 11:00 PM and then was up for a couple of hours. Went back to bed around 2:00 and slept until 10:00. Man, was I tired.

I did get all the stuff put away from yesterday except for the cooler of water that is on the front porch. It will wait for another day.

I am still in my pajamas. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere and wasn’t expecting anyone over so I didn’t bother getting dressed.

I have some news that I will break to my readers first. When I do the month end report for Love in Action April 1 I will announce we have met our goal of raising $5,500 for the exercise equipment for the Detention Center. Thanks to the four fundraising events that were held at the No Kings Rally’s in Topeka, Newton, Wichita and Cottonwood Falls. I am so excited! I can’t wait to get the pictures of the piece of equipment once it gets installed and the Detainees can use it to work out.

Not sure when I will have to take the check to the Center or when the equipment will get ordered or how long it will take to get it. My part of all of that except for writing the check is done. Now we wait for installation.

I have had several people sign up to be pen pals for the Detainees that choose to utilize that new program. I need to take the address labels up to the Center along with some stamps this week and then the next time cards are made available to the Detainees they can write us. I have some questions about how the program will work and don’t know all the steps we will need to take but those answers will come as we need them to. I have no idea how many will want to participate so I don’t know how many penpals I will need. I’m sure all of this will sort itself out in the coming weeks. I’m excited about this program addition as it will give us our first real contact with the Detainees themselves and it will give others a chance to get involved as a volunteer.

We had bots post comments on one of the posts on Love in Action. The post was pictures of the rally that was held in Topeka. I wish I knew how those bots finds posts and how to prevent them. I hate to change the settings to posts must be approved but if it happens again I might have to. It took almost an hour to block and remove all the bots posts. They are ugly and evil posts.

Tomorrow I have to be in Topeka at 11:00 for a doctor’s appointment. I will stop and have lunch afterwards and then come home. It is with my Endocrinologist and she is always fun to visit.

I have some thank you notes to write when I find the energy to move. Three ladies stepped in for me at Topeka and manned a booth to raise awareness of Love in Action at the Rally there. I also have some thank you notes to send to people that helped make the Singing our Resistance event so successful. One of the guests at the CWF event wrote a very nice check as a donation. And a I owe the lady who made and sold all the patches a huge thank you note.

A lady that is hoping to do a version of Love in Action at the Leavenworth ICE facility is to call Monday and ask me some questions. I have a feeling she is going to have a hard time getting Core Civic to allow her to do much but one can always try.

Tuesday and Thursday I do taxes. Wednesday is a free day. Friday I am meeting a couple at Florence for lunch. She is the one that made the patches as a fundraiser in Wichita and Newton. She was very successful raising funds and has lots of stories to share with me. I can’t wait to meet her and her husband and make some new friends.

Only two more weeks of doing taxes and then my schedule is really going to open up. Trusting some good things will come in and fill some of my time. I need to get back to a project I started a month ago and kinda dropped. I need some technology help to finish that project up. I know who I need to call so will get that done sometime soon.

Feeling very satisfied after the event yesterday . It was all I hoped it could be. I trust the people that came feel the same and that they left feeling more is possible with love in their heart.

This has been an interesting year for me already. I feel like I have given up control and am along for a ride. It has already taken me places I didn’t plan on going. Working hard to stay present to what is and listen to my intuition and guidance. It has been spot on so far this year and trust that will continue.

Grateful we reached our goal for the exercise equipment, grateful for lots and lots of sleep last night, and grateful people are signing up to be pen pals for the Detainees.

I came home from the event today more tired than I can remember feeling. I only got about two hours of sleep Friday night. I would have a conversation with someone today and if we got interrupted at all, I couldn’t remember what we were talking about. I’m surprised I made any sense at all today.

We had about 30 – 35 people at the event. It went beautifully. I had two men show up around 11:15 to help me get the room set up. They saved the day for me and I will always be grateful to them.

There was a stack of card tables by the room we used and I asked the lady that is in charge of the building if we could use those instead of the long tables. They are easier to handle and I would much rather sit at a table of four than a table of six to eight. She gave me her approval so we only used one long table and the rest were card tables.

I had brought plastic tablecloths and borrowed a pair of scissors and cut the tablecloths in half. The room looked bright and cheery.

The person that catered the meal delivered the food around noon. I didn’t get any BBQ sauce which I thought was a bit weird. We called him and he said I hadn’t ordered any. I had assumed it came with but what ever. I ran to the Dollar General and got a couple bottles of it.

People didn’t start showing up until after 12:30. I was expecting a family to come so let people visit for a bit. Finally around 1:00 we started eating. People had brought salads and lots of cookies and we had plenty of food.

Around 1:45 I shared the Love in Action story and then Elexa took over and led us in singing our resistance. She did a wonderful job and the crowd joined in singing the chorus of the songs she led.

We were done before 3:00. Everyone helped put the chairs away and folded up the tables. Cleanup went fast as everyone pitched in and took care of it. The two men that helped set up helped me carry everything to my car and even offered to come home with me and help me unload. I turned down that offer but sure did appreciate their help today.

The day could not have gone better. Everyone left in great, positive spirits and I think some new friendships were made.

I came home and melted into a puddle. It took me a bit to get the energy to unload the car. Kathy helped me and we got it all in the house. I got the BBQ meat and cheesy potatoes put away. I froze the leftovers and I will serve them when the kids come home for family day in two weeks. The rest of the stuff is still sitting out and I will get it cleaned up and put away tomorrow.

I took a bath and was in bed before 6:00. I woke up at 11:00 and decided to get up for a bit. I am writing this now and will attempt a second sleep when I feel like I can sleep some more. My face mask from my CPAP was leaking badly and woke me up. I’m sure I was sleeping very deeply for a while. My mouth was bone dry when I woke up.

Most of the people that came today were from the area but we had several that had driven a bit to get here today. Not sure what brought them here but am grateful they showed up and added to the energy of the day. We raised several hundred dollars at this event today.

The ladies that took care of the Topeka rally for me shared they had a fun day manning the booth they did. I will be anxious to talk to them sometime soon and find out what the reaction was and the comments they got. They raised $87 in donations.

I haven’t heard yet from the lady that sold patches she makes at the Wichita Rally. I’m sure she was tired today too.

I haven’t had a chance to read the news and find out how many people showed up today. Saw a few pictures of some of the bigger cities and there was a sea of people everywhere.

Tomorrow I will get the house cleaned up and everything put back in place. Don’t plan to do anything else as I will need a quiet day to recover. Monday I have to go to Topeka and then Tuesday and Thursday I do taxes again. I’m grateful I have a fairly quiet week ahead.

Grateful for everyone that came today, grateful how smooth the day went, and grateful for my helpers today.

It has been a quiet day at home. I haven’t gotten much done. Felt like I needed a day of rest before the event tomorrow.

I made the decision early afternoon to move the event indoors. I hated to do that but it is to get really cold over night and not warm up till mid afternoon tomorrow. The wind is forecast to be blowing around 30 MPH. Between the wind and the cold it didn’t feel like it was going to be very comfortable to be outside.

I loaded up my car with the stuff I need to take tomorrow. I will make the tea but not fill the cooler with ice until I get to the Old School. That way it won’t be so heavy to carry. Have everything else loaded and ready to go. I will stop and buy ice on the way in the morning. I have been thinking all day about what I might need to take. Good thing I only live three blocks from the Old School.

I got a response from the Captain at the Detention Center today to my request. He is going to allow me to provide mailing labels with the Love in Action address on them. Detainees can write Love in Action if they choose to do so. I am trusting that those that don’t have anyone to correspond with will write. The Captain will allow us to write back via email but not sure how that works yet. When we get our first responses I will ask the questions and figure it all out.

We do have some restrictions for the pen pal program. We cannot offer them gifts of any sort or provide funds for their commissary accounts. We cannot provide legal assistance or provide funds to pay attorneys or recommend attorneys to them. We are not to impose our religious beliefs on them. Any and all of the Detainees will be offered this opportunity, including those that are not ICE Detainees and we will treat them all the same.

It will be interesting to see how many write us. The mailing labels I ordered are missing in the mail and may be here tomorrow. I need to deliver some stamps to the Detention Center next week and when I take those up I trust the mailing labels will be here by then too.

This will be one more program we can offer to support the Detainees. It will be a program where volunteers can actually interact with the Detainees. It will be interesting to see how this goes and how many people will sign up to become a penpal under the restrictions that we have. I trust people will actually follow through and write regularly.

Tomorrow is the pot luck and singing our resistance event. I trust there will be a nice response. I sent an email to the guy doing the food and asked him to deliver to the Old School. I didn’t hear back from him but he is slow to communicate. I will have Kathy stay at the house and direct people to the school until about 12:45 or so.

I put a post on Facebook asking for some help to move tables, unload my car, etc. A guy that I knew was coming to the event offered to come up early and help me. He is my hero of the day! Kathy should not be carrying heavy things with her lungs the way they are. I am out of shape and will get a very rapid heart rate if I do it all myself. I am grateful I have finally learned how to ask for help.

Sunday will be a rest day and then Monday I drive to Topeka for my Endocrinologist appointment at 11:00. Tuesday and Thursday I do taxes if we have enough clients to need me.

I am excited about tomorrow and the new pen pal program. Both have the potential to make some small steps towards spreading love.

Best get to bed and attempt to get some sleep. It will be a fun but long day tomorrow. Hope to see some of you there.

Grateful for the Captain’s permission for Love in Action to start a pen pal program with the Detainees, grateful for an offer to help move tables tomorrow, and grateful the day for the big event is finally here.

Back to regularly scheduled programming as I did taxes today. Lost was found which was a relief. A couple things had gotten misplaced two weeks ago but they were found and returned to their owner. What a relief.

Stopped at Sonic for lunch. I hadn’t been there for a long time. Not sure the food was as good as I was hoping it would be. Wow, prices have gone up when you don’t go to a place for a couple of years. It isn’t cheap to eat anywheres these days.

It is in the mid 90’s today. The wind is in a big hurry. I passed between two semi trucks on the highway coming home and when I hit the wind draft spot I wasn’t sure I could keep my car on the road. The semi trucks were blowing all over the place. Grateful I didn’t have to manage one of those today.

Tomorrow I plan on dusting and cleaning the house to have it ready for Saturday. I want to wrap the silverware in napkins to have ready for Saturday too. I might get that done this evening. The mailing labels didn’t show up today so guess I get to cancel that order and get my money back. I wonder where the labels are. Lost in transit somewhere. I bet if I reorder both sets will show up.

The weather for Saturday is looking OK. It will be a bit chilly but anything will feel chilly after the 90’s today. I prefer a bit cool over too hot. I wilt quickly in the heat these days.

Monday I have to go to Topeka to the Endocrinologist. I meant to stop after I was done doing taxes to have a blood draw to have my TSH levels checked and forgot to do so. I don’t think I have to go to town tomorrow but if I do I will have them checked then. I won’t make a trip to town just for that though. I had them done about six weeks ago so if the doctor wants more recent ones she can order labs while I am in her office.

Only four more tax days this years. I sure hope our schedule fills up a bit. We stayed pretty busy today once we got going. We were slow for the first hour though.

Not too motivated to do much this afternoon. It is too hot to move. I refuse to turn the A/C on as it is only going to be in the 50’s tomorrow. Gives me a good excuse to do nothing today.

Excited about the event on Saturday. I trust all over the country people will turn out and it will be the largest attended event yet. I trust all events will remain non-violent and people’s voices will be heard.

Grateful lost was found, grateful I made it home in the wind safely, and grateful to have some quiet time this evening.

Kathy and I were at Pioneer Bluffs by 9:00 this morning to help with the Newsletter mailing. We had nine volunteers so we were totally done by 11:15. I think we set a new speed record. Afterwards, we all enjoyed a nice lunch together and then we came home.

I took a short nap when I got home. Kathy said she was exhausted too. Doing people these days can be a challenge. It was a fun day and it didn’t feel draining at the time but man was I drained when I got home.

Tomorrow I will do a tax shift but I don’t have to be there until 10:00. It will be nice to have an extra hour in the morning before I have to show up. Our schedule is really light right now. I like the full days better.

I don’t think I have anything I need to do while I am in town tomorrow. I will probably stop and have lunch. I need to check my refrigerator and see if I need any groceries. I will double check and make sure I have everything I need for Saturday.

I made a list of the things I will need to do Friday or Saturday morning to get ready for the Singing our Resistance event on Saturday. Trusting the weather will cooperate and we can hold it in my yard outside. I want our voices to carry over the prairie and help change the national energy. I do need some ice for Saturday but my freezer is full so will wait and buy it Saturday morning.

Got a note from the Detention Center that they need more stamps. I will probably wait till next Wednesday to take care of that as I have a feeling Friday is going to go by quickly. They have plenty of cards already stamped. We had sent some new cards and they want to get them stamped and added to what the detainees can choose from. That can wait a week. I haven’t heard back from the Captain yet on a proposal I sent him earlier this week. I will see if he is free Wednesday when I take the stamps up and see what he has to say about the proposal.

The tarp for the dog pen came in today. Kathy and I got it hung using the new attachment things. It looks secure but we shall see what happens when the wind blows hard. I may order a second one to give them a larger shade area. I’m still waiting for the trees to leaf out so I can see how much shade they will be getting. I miss the big tree we had to cut down to make room for the addition. It provided them lots of shade.

I need to take a class on technology. A lady had trouble sending me an application I needed to fill out for Saturday’s rally in Topeka. By guess and luck I figured out a way to open it, fill it out and send it back to her. Now she is struggling to open it. My biggest lack of knowledge with computers is in moving files around and formatting them in a way that the person receiving them can open them properly. It all feels like Greek to me and if I make it happen, I don’t know how I did and sometimes can’t repeat it a second time.

Looking forward to the event on Saturday. It is hard to plan when I have no idea how many people may show up. The more the better though. It has come together easily and should be a fun and easy day. It will free up some brain power though when it is over. With taxes ending in two weeks I will feel free again and have very little on my calendar.

Felt good to be in service today and feel somewhat productive. It is amazing how fast the Newsletter can be done when you have lots of volunteers. Many times I have done the whole thing by myself.

Grateful to have been in service today, grateful the dog tarp came in and is up, and grateful for afternoon naps.

I had trouble remembering what day of the week it was all day. For the last eight weeks on Tuesday I have gone to Emporia to do taxes. We didn’t have many clients today so I got to skip doing taxes today. Messed with my routine! My, I am getting old and set in my ways.

I did go to Emporia this afternoon though as I had a dental cleaning at the Vo-Tech at 12:30. Ivy is one of the best students I have ever had there. Very gentle. Usually when they measure your pockets around your teeth it shots pain to my toes. When Ivy did it today, I rarely even felt it and if I did it was minor. I have a lot of plaque that builds up and I give her a run for her money. She found a piece of cement from a cap I had put in place years ago. No wonder that spot was always sore.

Stopped at Applebee’s and had lunch and then came home. I forgot to eat before I left the house this morning and I was getting hungry by the time I was finished a little before 3:00.

I got a check for Love in Action deposited on my way out of town. When I got the mail today, I got the notice from IRS letting me know my refund had been reduced. I will send it to my accountant but unless I am wrong, I think she made a mistake and showed that I had paid six estimated payments instead of five.

Tomorrow I have to be at Pioneer Bluffs at 9:00 to help stuff the Newsletter. If you like doing that type of thing, come join us. Not sure how many will show up or how long it will take us. Many hands make light work so the more that come, the faster we will get it done.

Thursday I am doing a short tax shift. We don’t have any 9:00 clients scheduled so won’t have to be there until 10:00. That will make for a short day.

Friday I probably ought to do some housecleaning as I will open the house so those that come Saturday can use the restrooms. I have a thick layer of dust everywhere as I haven’t bothered dusting for a bit.

Saturday is the pot luck and singing our resistance event. I will go over my list on Friday and make sure I have everything I need. Saturday morning I will make tea and get things set up. The food I am having catered is to show up around 12:15. I trust the weather will cooperate and we can do it outside. I will make the call at 11:00 as to moving it inside or keeping it outside. Trusting lots of people show up as I ordered plenty of food and would rather not have to deal with lots of leftovers.

Next week I have to go to Topeka on Monday for a doctor’s appointment late morning. I will go to lunch afterwards and then come home. Anyone want to ride along? We could stop and do some shopping if you need something.

I keep checking the IRS site for the nonprofit application. They are still processing the same batch as they were when I applied. Wonder if they don’t update their website or if they got distracted and aren’t working too hard on processing applications right now. Looking like I will have to go ahead and file my tax return for Love in Action without getting official notification of our status. Not sure what they do if they reject it and I file the wrong return.

I will have lots of free time in a couple of weeks when the rally is over and tax season is done. Not sure what I will do with myself. Maybe I can find some good trouble to get into. Or maybe good trouble will find me. Not sure which way that works for me.

Feeling like this is a good time to attempt to start a new routine for myself. Old habits are shedding and the energy is calling me to come into alignment with the most authentic me I can be. That will require me changing some old habits and developing new, healthier ones. I can do it!

Grateful for the Vo-Tech dental program, grateful for a gentle cleaning, and grateful for the beautiful weather we had today.

I almost forgot to blog tonight. I got involved watching a series of three movies and forgot all about it.

We don’t have many people scheduled for taxes tomorrow so i get to skip going in tomorrow. I do have to go to Emporia for a dental cleaning at the Vo-Tech at 12:30 so it won’t be a stay-at-home day but I get to sleep in.

Wish we could have a full schedule. I know there are people that haven’t gotten their taxes done yet and I hate to see someone pay to get theirs done when we do it for free. If you know someone, have them call the Emporia Senior Center between 9:00 and 1:00 and they can make an appointment. We do taxes for all ages and income brackets. We don’t do depreciation or complicated taxes but 90% of most people we can handle.

I ended up ordering a wind tarp for the dog kennel from Amazon instead of going to town to buy one. They had what I was looking for in the size I needed. The fence is only six feet tall and that size can be hard to find. It should be here Thursday.

I had over an hour phone conversation with a dear friend today. My soul needed a deep conversation and that did the trick. I love having deep conversations with someone that is safe and I can go deep and not worry about how I say what I say.

I got a small package in the mail today from the lady that is making patches to sell at the Wichita No Kings Rally as a fundraiser for Love in Action. They are incredible. I trust she will sell out Saturday. If you are going to the No Kings Rally in Wichita look for her and check out the things she has made.

I had ordered some mailing address labels for Love in Action and got notified that they are delayed four days. Wonder what the delay is unless it is the postal service. They seem to be very slow these days. If I don’t have them by Thursday I can cancel the order and get my money back. I would rather have the labels.

Wednesday I am going to Pioneer Bluffs at 9:00 to help stuff the Newsletter. I am thinking I will be there most of the day.

Thursday I do taxes in the morning if there is a need. Saturday is the pot luck and singing in resistance event in my back yard. The weather forecast keeps changing but so far has been improving. I sure hope we can do it outside but have indoor space if needed. Have no idea how many people will come but hoping for a nice crowd. It will be a good event for those that don’t want to hold up a protest sign to come to. This one will focus on creating an intentional community and singing together.

I sent a text to the kids today to see if we can organize a family day sometime soon. I am homesick to have the kids home for a day. I think we are going to make it happen April 12th. I still need to make sure Michelle can come that day and then will put it in my calendar. The very best days are the days when all the kids come home at the same time and we have family day.

Grateful for some extra free time tomorrow, grateful for the package I got in the mail today, and grateful for some soul-to-soul time with my dear friend today.

This has been a quiet, stay-at-home type of day. What a difference a day makes with the temperature. Not sure it reached 60 today and there has been a strong wind all day. Felt colder. May have to turn the furnace back on. No worries, it is to be back in the 90’s in another couple of days.

Watched a couple of movies this afternoon but haven’t done anything else. I did manage to get my thank you notes written yesterday and I figured out the income tax refund issue. My accountant made a mistake, not IRS. My refund will be lots less than I expected. Good thing I was only going to put it into savings anyways and hadn’t spent it.

Made arrangements with the lady that manages the space I have reserved for next Saturday. I will make the call at 11:00 that morning as to where we will be holding the event. We may move it inside if it is in the 50’s and windy. I will put my request in for a day in the upper 60’s to low 70’s with little wind. Don’t really have much pull with the weather man but it doesn’t hurt to ask -right?

I have another day at home tomorrow. I may go to Emporia so I can go to Bluestem. We need a tarp that has holes in it to put up for a shade for the dogs. I used something similar for the chickens and had good luck with it. Kathy tried something she had but it didn’t last in the wind we had today. If I use a solid tarp, the wind and the tarp combine and attempt to destroy the fence. I think this fence is secure enough not to go anywhere but I don’t want to test it.

Only six more tax sessions to do. This season went by so quick. I will feel a void when it is over and I don’t have to go to Emporia twice a week. Need to find something to replace doing taxes.

I need to do some publicity for the pot luck and singing event that is going to be held next Saturday. I will start making daily posts on my site and on Love in Action pages and see if I can get some more people to come.

Sitting here thinking about how fast the weather changes. Things really can turn on a dime. Trusting that is true for the national politician scene too.

Grateful for my space heater this afternoon, grateful for another stay at home day, and grateful it is to warm back up later this week.

Kathy’s son and grandson came over around 10:30 to say goodbye as they head back to their home in CT. We haven’t heard from them yet today but am trusting their journey home is going smoothly. They had to fly to Minneapolis and then to CT. Kathy had a wonderful visit with them and a great 75th birthday celebration.

I got my four thank you notes and letters written today. Didn’t get them done in time to go out in today’s mail but they will go out Monday. I have a regular monthly donor that isn’t on Facebook so I end up writing her a letter and update her on all the things that have happened in the last month. It always surprises me how much has happened.

Haven’t done much else today. It reached almost 100 degrees today and I refuse to turn on the A/C. It was too hot to move much. Last weekend it got down to 15. That is a big swing for one week. Wonder what the summer will be like?

No plans for tomorrow or Monday either. We have new neighbors so would like to get a batch of cookies baked to take over to them. We shall see if I can get that done tomorrow or not. I didn’t want to turn the oven on today as the house was already hot.

Tuesday I do taxes in the morning and then have a dental cleaning at the Vo-Tech in the afternoon. Wednesday I am going to Pioneer Bluffs to help stuff the Newsletter and Thursday I do taxes again. Saturday is the pot luck lunch and Singing into Resistance Rally. It is going to be a busy week.

I sent a letter to the Captain at the Detention Center today asking for permission to start a new project. We shall see if he will agree to it. I always hesitate to ask for more privilege from him as he already gives me more than most Captain’s do. All I can do is ask and he can always say no – right? Of course, he can always say yes too!

Kathy nor I could sleep well last night. There is some crazy energy right now that I can feel coming in but it is taking my body a bit to adjust to. I saw the northern lights were visible again last night in KS. I didn’t get up to go check them out as they can be hard to see in town and I didn’t feel like driving out to the country.

Next Saturday there are three separate fundraisers going on for Love in Action. A lady is making the most incredible patches that she will be offering in exchange for a donation to Love in Action at the No Kings Rally in Wichita. Love in Action was invited to have an informational table at the Topeka No Kings Rally and will be accepting donations. I will be accepting donations at the pot luck lunch and Singing into Resistance Rally at my house Saturday. Between the three, my trust is we will raise enough money that we can suspend fundraising efforts for a while.

I truly don’t like hoarding cash and we are so limited as to what we can spend that we will end up sitting on lots of cash for a couple of months. I would rather people donate to other causes that have more immediate needs. Part of what I am attempting to do with Love in Action is model a different way of doing things and this falls in line with that. Rarely do nonprofits stop fundraising and I don’t want to fall into that trap of not enough.

Grateful for the time with Chip and Mason this week, grateful for a couple of quiet, stay-at-home days this weekend, and grateful for donors to Love in Action.

Had another rough night with the CPAP. I slept the first time for a couple of hours and it woke me up. I got up and stayed out of bed for a couple hours and then went back to bed. The second sleep was better and the machine didn’t wake me up.

I fixed hot roast beef sandwiches for lunch today. I put a chuck roast in the crock pot before I went to bed last night on low and let it cook on low all night long. The meat was delicious. Fixed some mashed potatoes and gravy and presto, lunch was ready.

Jason came out and joined us for lunch today so I fed five of us. Easy meal to fix and easy to clean up.

Kathy’s company heads for home late morning tomorrow. It has been a delight to have them here. Not sure what they are doing for dinner tonight but I’m sure they will figure it out.

I did two loads of laundry today and even got it folded and put away. I never got the last laundry I had done folded so had extra to fold today. Not sure why I procrastinated doing it as it feels so good to have it done.

No plans for the weekend or Monday. It will good to have a couple rest days. Next week I am busy Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday so will have a busy week.

KS50501 offered Love in Action a table at their Rally the 28th. I made a couple posts on Facebook and three wonderful women stepped up and said they would man the table. I created a messenger link with the three of them and will leave the planning up to them to take care of it. I also included the lady that asks us to participate so she can answer their questions. I’m grateful for volunteers that can take the lead and take care of business. Wish I could be there but I will be busy with my own potluck and singing event.

I haven’t gotten the letter from IRS explaining why they changed my refund amount so can’t take any action until I get that letter. Also waiting on the acceptance letter about the 501(c)3 application.

It’s been a busy week with the extra company but oh so worth it to see the joy on Kathy’s face. I’m grateful the weather cooperated and it was nice out so they could get out and about. It will be nice to get back to our normal routine though.

Have some miscellaneous things to take care of that I trust I will get to this weekend. I am procrastinating on a few things that won’t take long to do and get crossed off my list. Just do it! That needs to be my new motto.

Today is Spring Equinox – the day of balance between light and dark. When I woke up this morning I could feel something has shifted in me again. I felt lighter and could tap into the goodness in the world and set aside the dark stuff. The portal feels mighty thin to me today. Things are getting resolved and moving forward. I have more hope today than I have had for a bit.

Grateful for a meal that was delicious and easy to fix, grateful Jason was able to join us, and grateful I have three quiet days ahead.

Happy birthday to Kathy. She turned 75 today. We were trying to decide if that is old or not. Kathy said she doesn’t feel old most days so we decided it isn’t old! She is enjoying having her son and grandson here with her to celebrate.

I went to do taxes today. It was a weird day. We had a very light schedule and had some most unusual clients today. The three of us working made a fun day of it and figured it out.

I had a conversation today after taxes with the mother of an eleven month old. We were trying to resolve a couple issues she was having with a couple different agencies. Her life is complicated and a bit chaotic. Found out her puppy died this morning. It had worms and parvo and she hadn’t taken it to the vet. Then we got into a discussion and the issue of immunizations for her daughter came up. Found out the daughter hasn’t been seen by a doctor since she was born and hasn’t gotten any shots yet. The mother had read some articles about how dangerous immunizations could be. We talked about how the puppy might still be alive if the puppy had received its shots. Then we talked about what might happen to the baby if she doesn’t get them. We talked about altering the schedule and only giving one or two at a time so she would know if the baby had a reaction what she was reacting to. I trust the mother will reconsider her decision and get the baby at least some of the immunizations. She is a person who seems to have bad luck and the worse case scenario happens often to her.

I stopped for lunch and then came home. I am tired again this afternoon. I am not sleeping well as my CPAP wakes me up and then I struggle to go back to sleep. Hoping it will even out soon.

Kathy’s son and grandson carried in the four sacks of dog feed I got Tuesday and the four cases of water Kathy got today. They need to be closer so they can do that more often for us! It was deeply appreciated as those bags and cases are heavy and awkward. They picked them up like they didn’t weigh anything and they weren’t even breathing heavy when they were done.

Not sure what the plan is for dinner. I had told them I wasn’t cooking today. I guess if they get hungry they can order a pizza from Caseys or eat leftovers from last night. I will check with them to see if I can fix dinner for them tomorrow night. I have the makings of a pot roast with potatoes and carrots.

It reached the mid 80’s today. It is to reach the low 90’s on Saturday. Man, if it is this hot in March how hot is it going to be in July and August? I don’t like when the weather does unseasonably things. Something is out of whack to be causing that and it seems to be increasing in frequency over time.

Found out KS50501 wants Love in Action to be at a table for the rally in Topeka on the 28th. I can’t be there as I am hosting my own gathering that day. I am looking for someone that will sit at the table, answer questions and accept donations for Love in Action. Topeka is allowing an hour before the start of the Rally for informational and educational tables to present their activities. It is nice to be asked to participate. Wish I could be there myself but haven’t figured out how to be in two places at the same time.

Tomorrow is Spring Equinox – a day of balance between light and dark with the light overtaking the dark for the next three months. This can be one of the most productive times of the year for those that are attuned to the rhythm of Mother Nature. Things often feel easier during this time and if one takes the time to tune in, intuition can be heightened. It is a nice time of the year to honor the gifts you have been given and allow them to shine and be put to use to better the world.

Sitting with the realities of how unfair life can be for some. I think part of that is due to the choices we make and part of it is random bad luck. I think we create part of our reality by our expectations. If you expect hard things to happen they do. If you expect good things to happen they do. We also have a choice as to what we do when suffering does appear. We can feel it, allow it and learn to let go or we can hold on and allow it to dominate our thoughts and behaviors. Little life choices that we each make hourly, daily, weekly, etc. can make a huge difference in how our reality is shaped.

Grateful for Kathy and all the love she brings to the world, grateful the dog feed and water cases are in the house, and grateful for Spring Equinox and the balance it can bring to my life.

This has been a stay at home day. It was nice to have a day at home. I have felt sleepy tired all day and it was good to be able to relax into that feeling today.

Kathy’s son and grandson from CT arrived midafternoon. I have known for some time they were coming but it was a surprise to Kathy. Her birthday is tomorrow and they came to celebrate with her. I’m grateful I don’t have to keep their secret anymore. It has been hard to not say the wrong thing and tip Kathy off that they were coming.

I fixed meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans and a cherry jello salad for dinner tonight. We had Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dessert. It has been good to see them and to visit with them. They will be here until Saturday. They are staying at an AirBnB up the street a block from my house.

I hadn’t fixed a meal for quite some time. I fixed Kathy’s favorites to celebrate her birthday. We had lots of leftovers so hoping they will all eat the leftovers over the next two days.

A friend of a friend had a Zoom meeting with me today. She asked me several questions about Love in Action and my understanding about the immigration issues. The 30 minutes went by quickly. She was easy to talk to and seemed interested in the Love in Action project. I have no idea what she will do with the interview or I will ever see bits of it sometime in the future. It is gratifying to know there are lots of people working on the immigration issues from a lot of different angles and perspectives.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia by 9:00 for another tax shift. I am hoping a lady will show up afterwards so I can help her with a couple of things. She was to have come yesterday but didn’t make it.

I don’t have too many errands to run after taxes tomorrow. Hoping I can get home fairly early in the afternoon. Kathy and her company are going to go visit Hartford and spend the day touring the area. They are going to take her out for dinner tomorrow night for her birthday.

Not sure what the plan is for Friday. I have the makings for pot roast if they decide they are eating here. Otherwise they can find somewhere to eat out again. They leave late morning Saturday so it will be a short visit.

I got my income tax refund today. As expected they deducted one of my estimated tax payments saying they didn’t get it. I have proof that they did so will wait for their letter explaining what happened and then will send in my proof and trust they fix their mistake. I had sent an extra estimated payment in December and I bet they saw that and didn’t look for the January automatic payment. I trust this will be fairly easy to resolve.

Has anyone gone to the IRS offices in Topeka or Wichita to settle a dispute like this? It is one of the way the websites recommend I use to resolve this. It might be worth a drive if I could take care of it in person.

It was a beautiful day in KS today. Temperatures were in the 70’s and it wasn’t too windy. I could live in a climate with days like this all the time. It is to be even warmer tomorrow and Friday and then another cold front is coming through. Crossing my fingers that the 28th will be like today.

I managed to sleep all night using my CPAP machine. It woke me up but I turned it off and then back on and was able to go back to sleep. I think that happened a couple times though so my sleep got interrupted a couple of times. Hoping my body adjusts and learns to ignore the air leaks. I ordered some head bands that the guy I got the machine from suggested. I will wear them to help keep my mouth shut at night when I fall into a deep sleep. Fingers crossed they will work and I will figure out a way so I can sleep without getting woke up all night long.

Spent some time reading the news and listening to the hearings that were happening today. I was able to not fall down the rabbit hole doing so. I feel a disconnect of some sort between me and the news. Most of it seems to remote and yet so damaging and at times even childish. My heart goes out to those that are being personally affected from all of this. We feel it in remote ways like the increase in gas prices and the consequences of the silly laws that are being passed. At times I keep asking myself is this real?

Grateful that Kathy’s son and grandson had a safe journey today, grateful my tax refund came even though it was too little, and grateful for this perfect, spring day.

Had a bit better night with my CPAP. It woke me up again but I tried turning it off and then back on. That helped but I had trouble falling asleep again. I had to get up after I laid in bed for about an hour and go to the bathroom. After that I was able to fall back asleep and it didn’t wake me up again. I sure didn’t want to get up when the alarm went off this morning.

I was in Emporia a little before 9:00 for another tax shift. It felt like it was a weird day. I ended up doing more reviews than I did entering new ones. The time passed quickly and we were done a little after noon.

A lady was to have come meet me at noon so I could help her with a form she needs to complete and she needs internet to complete it. She didn’t show. I waited till 12:30 and gave up. I went to the restaurant right by the Senior Center for lunch. The food was good but it took about 30 minutes before I got it.

The lady texted me about 1:15 and asked if I was still at the Senior Center. I told her we would have to try another day.

I went to the Social Security office to ask about the process to replace lost social security cards. Last week I was doing a return and somehow the social security cards disappeared into thin air. We have all looked for them and they have simply disappeared. I got the paperwork the client will need to fill out to get replacement cards. I will help her with that Thursday.

I went to Bluestem to get four bags of dog food. The guy at the loading dock yelled at me for where I parked so he could load the feed. Last time I went to the place he wanted me to go to today and they yelled at me that day to move to where I was today. Not sure what is going on there but they need to have a meeting and everyone agree on what they are doing.

Stopped at Walmart and got my missing sack of groceries from Saturday. It took the lady a bit to find them. Evidently I am not the only one that leaves a sack behind.

When I got to Cottonwood Falls I went to the bank and made another deposit for Love in Action. I finally got home around 3:00.

Tomorrow I have an interview at noon. I am fixing dinner for Kathy’s birthday tomorrow night so will work on that in the afternoon. Hoping I get to stay home all day but we shall see. I have a bit of paperwork I need to work on so hoping I get some quiet time to take care of that.

Thursday I do taxes again and hopefully will take care of the person that needs some help with a form. I’ll see if she shows up on time.

No plans for the weekend. We shall see if something comes up or if I will get some quiet days at home. I sure hope it warms up as I don’t care for this cooler weather. I got cold today and am having trouble warming up.

Today I got some practice in remembering when people explode it says more about them than it does about me. I dropped into that remembrance rather quickly so that was a good thing. People seemed a bit cranky today for some reason.

I am to get my tax refund tomorrow. I think it is going to be short so will have to figure out how to protest it. Not sure if they will send me instructions or not. Maybe they caught it and fixed it. One can always hope.

Figured out how to do Love in Action’s income tax return if I don’t hear from IRS before April 15 on the nonprofit status. I will get the return ready to go. It is the same one that will be filed if I do get nonprofit status, I just don’t check a box stating that the application is pending.

We have some vacancies in our tax schedule next week. If you need to get your taxes done for free, call the Senior Center in Emporia between 9:00 and 1:00 and we can still get you on the schedule. We do taxes between 9:00 and 11:15 Monday through Thursday.

Feeling like I have forgotten to take care of something today. I just remembered to start laundry but it feels like something more important than that. Guess I will find out sooner or later if I was to have done something today.

It is getting harder and harder for me to communicate with people that are in a different vibration than I am. Either that or I am noticing it more. It feels like we can’t hear each other and words get taken out of context and conflict begins almost immediately. My instinct is to immediately disengage as it feels pointless to continue. Anyone else feeling/noticing this?

Grateful I got my errands taken care of today, grateful I made it through the whole night with my CPAP machine on, and grateful it is to warm up yet this week.

I wasn’t able to use the CPAP all night again last night. It wakes me up when I am in a deep sleep as it leaks cold air and blows it on my face. I am not thinking clearly at that point and struggle to make it work. I take it off and go back to sleep.

I called the store I got it from this morning and the guy was really good troubleshooting with me. He recommends I turn the machine off and then turn it back on. That will make it go back down to a low pressure and allow it to seal so I can go back to sleep. He thinks I will adapt to the cold air on my face soon.

He also told me to get a hair band that I would wear around my chin and forehead. That might help me keep my mouth closed when it relaxes at night and help keep the seal on the mask.

If those two things don’t work and I am still struggling, I am to call him back and we will go to a different mask. He looked at my data and told me the leakage wasn’t as bad as it feels like it is. Maybe knowing that will allow me to relax with it.

I baked a Chocolate Sheet Cake this morning to take to Kathy’s lunch. It turned out OK. They are so easy to make and only take 30 minutes.

Seven of us gathered at the Grand to celebrate Kathy’s upcoming birthday. We had a new waitress that struggled a bit keeping track of who ordered what but we helped her out and got through it. Everyone got almost what they ordered. It took almost an hour to get our food but we weren’t in a rush and enjoyed visiting with each other. I haven’t laughed that hard for a long time. That was good for my soul.

I got another donation check in the mail this morning and when I was at the Grand I ran into a friend who someone had given her a donation for Love in Action to pass along to me. I may need to eat at the Grand more often!

After lunch I stopped at the bank and deposited the donation I was given Saturday and then dropped off the water bill. I’ll have to go back to the bank and deposit the two donations I received today.

I haven’t done anything this afternoon. I didn’t sleep well again last night and am tired. Hoping I can get this CPAP thing worked out. I still have hopes it will be part of the solution to my sleep issues.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia by 9:00 to do taxes. Afterwards I need to go see a friend. Then I need to go to Walmart and pick up my forgotten groceries from Saturday. I also need to go to Bluestem and get dog food. I have one other stop to make and at some time I will stop and have lunch. I might not get home until mid afternoon.

I haven’t read the news much lately. I try to read it and it doesn’t make sense to me. All these old white men playing out their last grip on their power. Things are a changing and I wonder if they can admit it?

Grateful for friends to gather and celebrate with, grateful for a helpful health care worker today, and grateful for more donations for Love in Action.