Author: Kay Krause

We got a very brief shower this morning. Rain all around us and we barely got enough to wash the cob webs out of the rain gauge. It has been cloudy and overcast all day. Still have a bit of a chance for more rain later today. Fingers and toes crossed we get lots!

Kathy’s phone locked up on her. She took it to Verizon and they couldn’t help her. She came home and tried. I offered to help and used the desktop computer. Between her tablet, my desktop and lots of trial and error we got it up and running. Sometimes it takes two heads to figure out technology. Technology is great until it breaks. The tech people don’t speak language I can understand.

I got on a text chat with someone during the fixing process. The lady said no worries I can help. I texted back that was a good thing as we had been worried. She didn’t respond or take the bait. Kathy and I got a good laugh out of it though.

Tagen wants breakfast for dinner tonight so will fix either waffles or pancakes with bacon and eggs. That will be easy.

Tagen starts Vo-Tech tomorrow. Ellexia is here this week and her school starts Wednesday. She wants to go shopping with Papa Craig and Nancy either Monday or Tuesday which means I get to drive to El Dorado to drop her off and then go pick her up. Good thing I didn’t have anything to do this week.

Cleaning is on my agenda all week. I am on the countdown for the family gathering next Saturday. We will host it even if the house isn’t totally clean so no worries – right? I am hoping to get some deck painting done tomorrow as it is to be cooler. I would really like to get the two front decks painted before Saturday but we shall see if that happens. It has either been rainy or too hot the last couple of weeks to paint.

Tagen brought up 20 eggs today. The girls seem to like this cooler weather. I have six dozen eggs if anyone wants/needs some.

Fighting myself against taking a nap. I sure could fall asleep right now if I laid down but I don’t want to start that cycle again. I will fight through and try to get to bed early tonight.

I turned off the thermostat for my bedroom and the ramping up and ramping down sound stopped. I think I have a damper that has frozen shut. I will call the other A/C company to come check it out. They figured out what was wrong last time something like this happened. My regular guy doesn’t seem to understand dampers.

Feeling a bit restless this afternoon. There seems to be a lot of moving parts in my life right now but not much I can do about most of them. Sometimes I feel I am just along for the ride. And this too shall pass…..

Grateful Kathy got her phone fixed, grateful for the cooler temperatures, and grateful this too shall pass……

What a day. I went to bed at a good time last night. It took a bit to fall asleep but was sleeping soundly by midnight. I woke up at 3:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Finally got up at 4:00 and messed around for a while. Went back to bed at 6:00 and was able to fall back asleep at 6:30. I had to wake up at 7:30. I was really sleeping good when my alarm went off.

I took Tagen to El Dorado to meet Craig and Nancy. They are going to take him back to school shopping. After I dropped Tagen off I headed to Costco in Wichita.

Got my Costco shopping done and then went to Chipotle for lunch. I ate lunch and then drove home. Kathy helped me get the car unloaded and after I put away the cold stuff I went to bed.

I slept for about an hour. Feel better although a bit of a hungover feeling. I have forgotten how to operate on only three or four hours a sleep a night.

I was planning on going to Costco next week but since I was only 20 minutes away I decided to get it done today. I’m glad I don’t have to make that drive again next week.

Michelle left about the time I got home to go meet Craig and Nancy and pick up Tagen. It didn’t take him long to get his shopping done. It was nice of Craig and Nancy to do that for him and to get to spend some time with him. They will take Ellexia on another day and do the same thing. She will take more time to do her shopping!

I need to get the stuff I got put away. I was so tired when I came home I piled it all on the counter and decided to deal with it later. This way I have a chance that I will remember where I put things and what I got. I’m not sure I even know what I got at this point.

I plan on getting some more cleaning done this afternoon after I get woke up enough to do so. I have some painting outside I would love to get done but it is too hot to do that now. Tuesday is it only going to be 81 so hoping that is the day I can get a lot of painting done outside.

With the rain we got last week I may need to mow again before next Saturday. We have a good chance for some rain tonight and tomorrow so hoping we will get another inch or more and I will really need to mow later next week.

Found out I may not have Cody on Tuesday. He is going to early start day of school as he changed grade schools this year. Not sure if I will have him for part of the day or not. He will be disappointed if he doesn’t get to come play with Ellexia next week.

Tagen starts Vo-Tech Monday and Ellexia starts 8th grade on Wednesday. That will change the schedule around here and free up my days. Not sure how transportation to and from school is going to work but we will get that all figured out this week. I remember the quick trips to Walmart the first couple weeks of school as the kiddos would find out things they needed for their classes.

One week from today is the family gathering. I am excited for it and grateful it is giving me a reason to get my house clean. The house is in great need of some tender loving cleaning and I haven’t been motivated to do so lately. I love a completely clean house but rarely make that happen these days. I am getting lazy and have been slacking off on cleaning.

If Cody doesn’t come next week, I will have a completely free week. Nothing else was on my calendar for the week. I’m sure something will get added as the week rolls around. It feels good to have some breathing space and lots of empty space ahead of me this week. I have needed that.

We may try to move some things tomorrow. Michelle has done a good job this week working at the house and dividing things up. She is getting close to getting all the smaller things out of the house. I think she is going to rent a U-Haul next Sunday and we will get the big things out. It will be good for her to get everything out of that house and be done with it.

My A/C unit is doing the ramping up and ramping down thing again. I will call the service people on Monday and ask about it. It tends to do that occasionally but it is happening way more than it used to. Not sure if it is something to worry about or not.

Grateful to have the rest of the day at home, grateful for naps to make up for lost sleep, and grateful I got the Costco trip out of the way today.

Went to Emporia early afternoon to pick up a prescription and my grocery order. Had to stop at a different grocery store to get two things Walmart was out of. Picked up my order and prescription and came home.

Man, is it hot outside today. There are some pop up storms all around me but nothing over me yet. Getting out of my car sucked my energy right out of me. Grateful I can stay inside with the A/C on.

Tagen brought up 22 eggs today – a new record. He gave the girls a watermelon to help keep them hydrated from this high heat. So far I haven’t lost any of them to the heat.

It has been nice today to just have Tagen here. I woke up during the night and was up for an hour between 3:00 and 4:00. I took some Tylenol and was able to go back to sleep and I slept in this morning. Michelle’s dog woke me up at 8:00 as it wanted to go outside. I was able to go back to bed and sleep a bit longer.

Yesterday I got the floor of the walk-in kitchen pantry cleaned. I pulled everything out and then hand scrubbed the floor. I found lots of dirt and dust bunnies. Feels good to have that floor clean. When I get done blogging I am going to deep clean the laundry room. The cat has stayed outside much more then coming in so it isn’t as dirty as it sometimes is but it definitely needs a good deep clean.

Tagen is going to town tonight so won’t be here for dinner. I have gotten off easy cooking this week.

Kathy and I did a little project for Pioneer Bluffs last night. We put stamps on over 2,100 postcards. I took the postcards to the post office in Cottonwood Falls this morning so they are done. While I was in town, I delivered six dozen eggs. I still have three dozen plus what we got today if anyone wants/needs fresh farm eggs.

No plans for the weekend although I think Sunday we will moving a lot of Michelle’s things. It needs to get done and we are running out of time to do it. Hopefully we can get the bulk of it done this weekend.

Next week I have my grandson Cody again on Tuesday. Tagen starts school Monday. Ellexia will be here all week so she can help me with Cody this time. She starts school late next week. It will give me a break when both of them are in school all day.

I will spend most of the week next week cleaning house. I need to decide what desserts I am going to make for the family gathering the 19th. If I decide on cookies, I will need to do a batch a day all week. I’ll see what my mood is and what I get done. I wish I could clean sooner rather than later but it is so dusty right now that I can’t clean too much ahead.

I will be glad when the family gathering is over as then I can turn my time and effort to preparing for my big trip in September. I still need to do some research and figure out what I want to go see in each of the towns I will be staying in. I will be in London for three nights, Bath for one night, Liverpool for two nights, Edinburgh for two nights, Leeds for one night, back to London for one night then on to Dublin for one night, Galway for two nights, Killarney for two nights, Waterford for one night and then back to Dublin for 3 nights. Wow! I will get good at packing and unpacking my suitcase. I’m grateful I have several places I get to stay more than one night so I can get laundry done.

I am back up the ladder of consciousness today. It does feel good to be a rung or two above neutral. Things seem to be leveling out and calming down around here as I have gotten used to my temporary normal around here. I am finding my rhythm again.

Grateful for 22 eggs from the girls today, grateful the groceries are put away and things restocked for another week, and grateful I was able to get some good sleep last night.

Happy birthday to my baby brother. He turns 66 today. He has a beautiful family and is a good Christian man. He grows a huge garden every year and is very generous with sharing his extra produce with others.

This has been a long day for some reason. I think the novelty of Cody being here has worn off. We are both getting on each other’s nerves today. He even wore Tagen down a bit today. We are taking turns taking breaks and surviving. I am feeling my age today! I have loved having him here though and am grateful I could help them out. Cody will be back for one more day next Tuesday.

I got the pantry cleaned out today. I took everything off the floor of the pantry and hand washed the floor. It was getting disgustingly dirty and needed cleaned out badly. It looks nice now.

I got a bit more sleep last night then I have the last couple of nights but still not what I consider to be a good night’s sleep. Maybe tonight will be the night.

I am putting stamps on over 2,000 postcards for Pioneer Bluffs this evening. That will keep me busy for an hour or two. They are dropping them off later this afternoon and I told them I would drop them in the mail tomorrow when I go to town. I have to pick up a prescription and my grocery order so will take them then.

No big plans for the weekend other than helping Michelle move. Hoping we get a big chunk of it done this weekend. She is coming up against a time limit and needs to get this job done. It will be good to have all her stuff here and out of that house. Next weekend I am hosting the family gathering and can’t help on Saturday. We will have to finish the job up by nextSunday.

I don’t have anything on my calendar for next week except for the family gathering next Saturday and watching Cody on Tuesday. I should have plenty of time to get my house clean. I might do a Costco run one day next week if I need a day away.

I wasn’t able to stay above neutral for a bit of the day. I have recovered and climbed back over neutral but dropped a rung or two from yesterday. It will be good to have a quiet day tomorrow to recover.

Grateful we were able to watch Cody for three days this week, grateful the pantry is cleaned out and grateful for my baby brother Keith.

The A/C guy found the breaker on the side of the house had blown and was arcing. He was surprised my house didn’t burn down. There was a big black spot behind the breaker box. Thank heavens it was raining hard when the A/C unit got picked up and tossed around. The A/C repair guy got it replaced and all is well. Now to figure out how to either anchor the unit to the ground or have a fence built around it to block the wind.

Cody, my seven-year-old grandson is here again today. We are getting along OK again. Tagen is playing Xbox with him and keeping him entertained. They just went down to do the chicken chores. Yesterday they brought up 16 eggs.

Fixing chicken strips for dinner tonight. Tagen also wants macaroni and cheese. Once I know what to fix it is easy for me to do dinner. Deciding what to fix is the hard part.

Tagen and I went to Cottonwood Falls to check on his Mustang today. It hasn’t been moved into the fix-it shop yet so it will be at least one more week before it is ready. Tagen will either have to use my car or his pickup to get to school next week.

Michelle got her house sold. They close August 28 so they have less than three weeks to get it emptied out. Michelle still has to divide things up so it will be a process. I’m grateful we have the big barn to store things in. Not sure where she will be moving after the house sells but she has some time to figure that out. I will be gone for three weeks in September so she can watch this house for me while I am gone. Hopefully she can find something and be able to move and get settled around the first of October. I’m sure she will be glad to have her own place again. I’m grateful I had space for them to come here for the summer. I’ve really treasured this time I have had with my grandkids especially. During Covid I didn’t get to see them much and this has helped me reconnect to them again in a much deeper way.

I had trouble falling asleep last night. It must have been 3:30 or after before I could finally sleep. I knew I had to be up by 7:30 to be ready for Cody so didn’t sleep very well. I am tired tonight – it might be a very early bedtime for me. I think the storm that was coming in kept me up. My feet were complaining loudly last night which happens when there is a storm. We got about an inch of rain. I was hoping for more but am grateful for what we got.

I will have Cody again tomorrow and then one day next week. He certainly has a lot more energy then I do. The storm woke him up extra early this morning and he is starting to wear down a bit this afternoon. I think we both need a good night’s sleep.

Friday I am picking up my grocery order and a prescription that is ready. I also need to get serious about getting this house cleaned for the family gathering on the 19th. I don’t have much on my calendar for next week except for the day I am watching Cody so should be OK.

The hospital called and scheduled my mammogram and bone density test. They didn’t have an opening until the middle of September. I pushed it to the first week in October as I need some time after my trip to recover. It’s always good to get those preventive things scheduled and out of the way.

My doctor’s nurse sent me a note to tell me my doctor recommended I start a low dose aspirin daily as well as fish oil and garlic to help lower my cholesterol since I won’t take the new medication. I did some research and am not sure they will do much but I will try them and see what happens. Last time I was on aspirin I had trouble with excessive bruising but I will give it a try and see what happens this time.

I leave for my big trip in 30 days. The official count down has begun. It will be so good for me to get away for three weeks and see a new to me part of the world.

Sitting in a good head space today in spite of being so tired. Staying home for a couple of days has been good for me. Cody has kept me entertained and busy the last two days. It is fun watching Tagen play with him. I keep calling Tagen and Cody Jason instead of their correct names. They both laugh at me when I do it.

Grateful Michelle’s house sold, grateful for this time with Cody, and grateful the A/C unit got repaired.

I have had the company of my seven-year-old grandson today. Tagen has been so good with him and has kept him entertained. Cody has been so well behaved and fun to have around. I must say I am tired of cartoons though. I usually have a very quiet house during the day. I will have him Wednesday and Thursday too and then one more day the following week. Glad I can help them out by watching him this week.

Needless to say, I haven’t gotten much else done today. Cody wanted to learn how to dust so he put on some rubber gloves and I gave him a dusting cloth and he went at it. He did a little bit in every room in the house. Better than nothing – right? I will take all the help I can get on dusting.

The A/C guy came out this afternoon to check out the unit. When Jason dropped off Cody this morning he moved the unit back on the pad where it belongs. The A/C guy thought everything looked OK but he is going to give it a good look and make sure. It quit the ramping up and down yesterday and hasn’t done that today so hoping there are no problems with it.

I did ask him if I should have a fence built around it and he thought that was a good idea. I’ll have to find someone to do that for me. This is the second time this has happened to the unit. The first time was back in 2015 when there was a F1 tornado about one mile from the house and I lost a bunch of shingles off the roof. As far as I know this time, the roof is still OK this time.

Tagen and I need to go in to Cottonwood Falls and check on his Mustang. Tagen is getting anxious to get it back. The mechanic told him he doubted if he could get to it until this week. He usually runs late on what he can get done so doubt if he has even started on it yet. Fingers crossed it is an easy and not too expensive of a fix.

My doctor had his nurse call me today and offer me a prescription for a new type of cholesterol lowering medication. It is new and insurance doesn’t cover it. I found out the cost is over $400 a month so I turned down his kind offer. I know my cholesterol is high according to the range but it is actually low for me. I am not going to pay $400 a month to get it lower. I can’t/won’t take statins and the expensive injectable medication I tried didn’t lower my levels at all. I was also concerned the new medication would interfere with my thyroid levels. I have finally got my thyroid levels stabilized and I don’t want to risk having them react to something new I take.

We are having ham and cheese omelettes for dinner tonight. I have some ham that needs used up and plenty of eggs. That will be an easy dinner to fix.

Tagen just took Cody down to do the chicken chores. Cody has been asking to do them all day. He loves to gather the eggs. They were going to give the girls a watermelon today to help keep the hens hydrated. It will be fun to watch them come back up with a full bucket of eggs.

Sitting in a good head space again today. I seem to have been able to climb up the consciousness ladder a rung or two and can hold myself there. Feels good to be back above neutral and able to stay there without effort. I have more energy than I had before and am able to get some things done easily. Glad to be back!

Grateful for this time with Cody, grateful for Tagen’s help with Cody today, and grateful the A/C unit is getting checked out.

I keep typing July instead of August. I have got to get with it!

Went to the Doctor for my annual physical today. Not sure it was a physical but it is what it is. He did listen to my heart and lungs so I guess you can say he touched me. Sure didn’t look for anything I didn’t complain about.

My blood work all came back good. My TSH is 1.6 which is getting a bit low but still considered normal. My cholesterol was only 290 which is really good for me. It has been as high as 475 before. I can’t/won’t take statins so not a lot they can do for it.

I’m glad I got my physical out of the way and that all the blood work came back in the normal range for me. I do have to have a mammogram, stool test, and bone density test in the next couple of weeks. They are to call and get those scheduled. Maybe I can get them all done before my European trip in September.

Tagen helped me clean out the chicken coop today and give the girls some fresh linens. Always good to get that job done. We took advantage of a day when the temperature was in the low 80’s instead of the 100’s to get that little project done. Next time Tagen can do it by himself.

We got 16 eggs today. I am thinking there will be a few more later as we disturbed some of the girls that were in the nesting boxes. Hope they don’t lay their eggs outside. It is always fun to watch the girls reorganize the straw when we are done. They love to play in it and get it where they want it.

Not much else on my agenda to do today. Tagen is going to town for dinner so it will just be Michelle and I to cook for tonight. Sometimes she doesn’t eat dinner so I may get a night off. I am taking care of three loads of laundry today so will get those folded and put away sooner or later.

Tomorrow Cody is coming for the day. I’ll have to set my alarm and get up so I am ready for him when he gets here in the morning. I have been staying up late and sleeping in some. I won’t be able to do that the next three days since Cody is coming to play.

I do need to get started cleaning. I want to do a deep clean in each room and get ready for the family reunion that I am hosting August 19. It will be here before I know it.

I may need to make a Costco run before the reunion. I will need tableware, cups, etc. for the dinner as well as a few food items that I want to fix. I have some friends in KC I would love to see so may take a day trip one day next week.

Got notified that the steer the local rancher took to the butcher weighed over 1,200 pounds. That is huge! It is about 100 pounds heavier than the one last year. My rancher is charging me $2.00 a pound which is less than the market price of $2.25. Beef prices are high this year due to the drought. Many ranchers had to cut back on the number of cattle they could raise due to low pond levels which is creating a shortage of beef on the hoof. I haven’t priced beef in the grocery store for a long time but it must be high right now. Looking forward to having a freezer full of beef sometime the end of August.

My local rancher let me know that she will have steers for sale next summer if anyone is looking for some great beef at a bargain price. Let me know and I can hook you up with her.

I went out last night to clean my A/C unit as suggested by my son. I discovered the wind we had Saturday night had moved the unit off the concrete pad it sits on. It is barely touching the pad it belongs on. The repair guy has been called and will be out tomorrow to set it back where it belongs. Hoping none of the connecting pipes were punctured or broken. I will have to ask the repair guy if I need to have a fence built around it. This is the second time this has happened.

It always seem to be something happening around here. My budget for repairs for this year is blown as it seems like I have had more than normal breaking down this year. Maybe this will be the last of it for the year.

Sitting in a good head space today. It finally feels like I have been able to ground and be present again. Not sure what shifted to allow that but I am grateful for it. Feeling a bit more motivated to do things today then I have felt for a while.

Grateful the blood work didn’t reveal any issues, grateful the chicken coop is clean, and grateful for repair guys that can reset the A/C unit.

We had a strong thunderstorm roll through during the night. Got some very strong winds and a little bit of rain. The rain came hard and fast for a bit but didn’t last long enough. I haven’t discovered any wind damage although the chimes that are handing in the swing set came apart a bit. Grateful for what rain we did get.

I took advantage of the ground being softened by the rain and pulled weeds from the swing set circle this afternoon. They had gotten away from me and there were a lot of them. Some were rather tall. They pulled easily today and it is good to have that task done.

I am fixing a ham, scalloped potatoes and baking some peaches for dinner tonight. It is sure smelling good in my house right now. Making me hungry. Tagen and Ellexia had a late lunch so not sure how hungry Tagen will be. Ellexia won’t be here as she is going to her dad’s house for the week.

Tagen and Ellexia brought up 21 eggs today. Go Girls! A new record for this group. I have six dozen eggs for sell if anyone needs/wants some. They are $3 a dozen.

The air flow from the A/C is making a funny noise. It started last night and has continued throughout the day today. It gets loud and then goes quiet and then gets loud again. Rinse and repeat. Not sure if I need to call a repair man or not. It has done this before but it usually only does it for a short time and then stops. This time is has been doing it pretty consistently. It has always ramped up a bit just before it kicks off but this time it makes that same sound all the time. Ramps up – then ramps down – ramps up – ramps down. Anyone know what might be going on?

Tomorrow I have my annual physical at 10:00. I need to make a list of the things I want to discuss with my doctor. Nothing serious going go – just a few complaints about this body. I notice the little aches and pains more now then I used to.

Trying to think if there is anything else I need to do in town while I am there tomorrow. I hate to go to town for only one thing. It is too early in the week to place and pick up my grocery order.

The temperature was in the low 80’s today. It has been a windy one though. My weather station tells me we had a 67.2 MPH wind gust last night during the storm.

Feeling a bit restless and uneasy this afternoon. The wind wears me down after a bit. It did feel good to get outside and pull weeds for a bit. I’m doing some grounding exercises to see if that will help ease whatever this feeling is. Struggling to remain present for some reason.

Grateful for 21 eggs today, grateful the weeds have been pulled in the swing set, and grateful for the wonderful smells in the house this afternoon.

I went to Emporia this morning with Michelle to help her with something. We didn’t stay in town too long and came back to our quiet prairie.

I fixed the kiddos lunch as I will be gone tonight for dinner. Ellexia wanted Kraft macaroni and cheese and a ham sandwich. Tagen just had macaroni and cheese.

Tonight Kathy and I are going to Union Social to help a friend celebrate her birthday. It will be fun to spend an evening with some good friends.

It has been a quiet afternoon on the prairie. I haven’t gotten much done so I guess I will call this a do-nothing day. No use starting something now since I will be out this evening.

No plans for tomorrow unless we go get some things from the house in town.

We missed out on the rain again. It went south and east of us. We got just a bit but barely enough to wash the cobwebs out of the rain gauge.

Monday I have my annual physical. I am babysitting Cody Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so it will be a busy week.

I also need to start cleaning house and getting it ready for the family reunion on the 19th. The house is really dirty so it will be good to get it cleaned up. I love a clean house but don’t find the motivation to keep it clean all the time.

Feeling a bit unsettled this afternoon. Not sure what is behind that. I feel like there is something important I am to do and I can’t think what it is.

Tagen brought up 19 eggs today. The heat doesn’t seem to be bothering the girls too much. Still waiting for the day we get 24 eggs in one day.

Grateful for a quiet afternoon at home, grateful to be having dinner with friends tonight, and grateful for an almost full egg basket.

I went to Emporia to order the meat for the family reunion I am hosting in two weeks. I then went to the Meat Locker in Olpe and gave them the cutting orders for the steer they are butchering for me. Glad to get those two things out of the way and done.

I took Ellexia to a friend’s house since I was going to town. She will be home later this evening I think. Tagen went with his other grandmother to the lake this afternoon so it has just been Kathy and I in the house this afternoon. Oh the blissful sounds of silence!

Tried to get the new Roku device hooked up to the TV downstairs but our internet was not cooperating. The internet kept going off and on and I wasn’t successful hooking up the new device. I’ll try again later.

Finally got the reminder letter written and envelopes addressed for the family reunion that I am hosting in two weeks. Good to get that task taken care of too. I am really looking forward to this gathering. We could have 50 plus people show up. I love hosting big crowds.

I did chicken chores for Tagen today. He didn’t get them done before he left and I’m not sure what time he will be home this evening. I brought up 19 eggs today. I have five dozen eggs available if anyone needs/wants some. $3 a dozen.

It has been another hot day on the prairie. At least we didn’t reach over 100 today but it did hit the mid 90’s. When it gets that hot, it feels like it is 100 or more.

Hoping we get a couple more loads for Michelle from her old house this weekend but we shall see what happens. I’m grateful Tagen has his pickup running now so we can use it and start bringing some of the bigger stuff home. If we do a couple loads a week it will make the final clean out much easier.

No plans for the weekend other than going to a friend’s birthday celebration dinner tomorrow night. It will be fun to gather with my friends for an evening out. I forget to get out and go places and will enjoy it.

I’m not so cranky today although I haven’t been around too many people today. The guy that helped me at the meat locker was friendly and efficient as was the guy at Bobby D’s. Even traffic was light and people seemed to remember how to drive today. Not sure I am ready to face many people today but the few I had to were fine. Some days I just can’t people!

Since the kiddos won’t be here for dinner, I didn’t have to fix dinner tonight. I will find something easy to fix to eat later and call it good. I got off easy cooking this week. Ellexia won’t be here next week so that will decrease the amount of food I will be fixing throughout the week.

Next week I have my annual physical on Monday and then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I am babysitting my seven year old grandson. That will keep me busy and out of trouble. Thankfully Tagen will be here most of that time to help me out. Cody and Tagen are good buddies.

Sitting in a good head space today although I have been ruminating more than I like too. Never quite sure what causes that to happen. It seems to come in waves. I am working to train myself to just notice it, allow it and move on. When I can do that, it seems to pass quicker.

Grateful the reunion reminder letter is ready to be mailed, grateful the beef order has been placed, and grateful for a free afternoon.

I took my car to Dieker’s this morning to get the oil changed. I met a friend and visited for an hour or so while the oil was changed. It was good to catch up with her and have some adult conversation.

Went to Emporia this afternoon to pick up my grocery order. I stopped at Bluestem and got 200 pounds of chicken feed. That should feed the girls for about a month. Had to go inside Walmart to get a couple of things and then I picked up my order and came home.

I was going to stop at Bobby D’s and order BBQ for the family reunion later this month but decided not to. I have to go to Olpe tomorrow to talk to the butcher and decided I could stop on my way to Olpe.

I am tired today. I finally got some good sleep last night. I wasn’t ready to get up this morning when I got up to get ready to take my car to Cottonwood Falls. It may be an early bedtime for me tonight.

We got a bit of rain off and on today. My Tempest weather station only shows about 0.3 inches but I will take what ever rain we can get. It reached over 90 today in spite of cloud cover most of the day.

I’m fixing hot dogs for dinner tonight at Ellexia’s request. Tagen went to town so he won’t be here. It will be a quick and easy dinner to fix. I have gotten off easy cooking this week.

Tagen brought up 18 eggs today. We are still waiting for our first 24 egg day. I have four dozen eggs I need to sell if anyone needs/wants fresh farm eggs.

I’ve been a bit cranky again today. I seem to be stuck in a cranky mood lately. I was impatient on the highway today and feel some anger and frustration inside that needs to find a safe way to come out.

No big plans for the weekend. Kathy and I are going to a friend’s birthday celebration Saturday night. It will be good to have an evening out. We need to get some more loads for Michelle but not sure what the plan for that is yet.

In just a little over a month my big trip to England, Scotland and Ireland will happen. I look forward to being gone for three weeks and seeing a piece of the world that has been on my bucket list for a long time.

The family reunion is just a little over two weeks away. Time to make some definite plans for that and get a reminder letter out. I may try to get that written and ready to go tonight.

Feeling a bit restless and sad tonight. Feeling a bit cranky and out of sorts. I’m sure this too shall pass. It was a full moon week and that usually gets me. I am betting tomorrow will be a better day.

Grateful the chickens have their feed supply restocked, grateful for a wonderful conversation with a friend today, and grateful this too shall pass.

Another hot summer day on the prairie. We reached over 100 again today. Hopefully the cool front that is to come in late weekend will arrive and next week will offer us some relief from this heat.

I followed Tagen to Cottonwood Falls this afternoon. He has decided to try to get the Mustang fixed and sell the pickup. Casey did a good job on the pickup so Tagen is trusting him to fix the Mustang. Hopefully the fix will fit in Tagen’s budget. Casey is pretty backed up right now but he said he would try to get to it next week.

I changed the sheets on Ellexia’s beds today. While I was making up the beds I made her clean her room. She changes clothes three times a day and just drops them on the floor when she takes them off. They aren’t dirty but…. We got her room picked up and all the water bottles and cookie wrappers picked up. We found a laundry basket full of dirty clothes. Not sure how long it will stay that way but it is clean tonight. Not sure she likes Grandma’s cleaning standards but she did say it was easier to find things when everything is put away. Go figure!

Am fixing leftover spaghetti and meatballs for Tagen and Michelle’s dinner tonight. That will be easy. Ellexia is with her dad for the evening but will back at 9:00. It is too hot to turn the over on and cook.

There were some thunderstorms that came close today. We heard the thunder a couple of times but no rain out of them. Man, we need rain badly.

Tomorrow I take my car to Cottonwood Falls at 10:00 for an oil change. I will go to Emporia in the afternoon to pick up my on-line grocery order at 3:00. While I am in town, I need to stop at Bluestem and get 200 pounds of chicken feed and 100 pounds of dog food. The chickens go through about 50 pounds a week of feed.

Tagen brought up 19 eggs today. I sold five dozen yesterday and three dozen today. Have three dozen on the counter ready to find a home. They are starting to stack up on me a bit. I haven’t told Tagen yet, but I am going to split the egg money with him. He has taken over doing the chicken chores and is doing a great job. Next week when it is cooler, we need to clean out the chicken coop. Bet he will love that – not!

Kathy and I sat outside to watch the Super Moon rise last night. They was a low bank of clouds on the horizon so we didn’t get to see it until it was up for a bit. It kept getting brighter and brighter as it rose above the clouds. Ellexia and Tagen came out and joined us for a bit. The sky was lit up all night from the light of the moon. I love nights like that.

Have been a bit cranky again today. Part of it is the heat, part of it is the full moon, and part of it is I am not sleeping well again. It will all sort itself out sooner or later. I will stay in time-out until this too shall pass.

Grateful the Mustang is in Casey’s very capable hands, grateful for 19 eggs from the girls today, and grateful I can stay home the rest of the day.

Two trips to town today. Ellexia had a hair appointment and it lasted two hours so took her to town and came home and then went back to get her. I had to go to town today to deposit a rent check but hadn’t planned to make two trips.

Ellexia is spending the afternoon at her friend’s house and Tagen is at the gym working out so it is just Kathy and I here this afternoon. Good day to have a quiet day at home.

I came home from town the second time cranky and needed some quiet space to refill. I have some things I would like to do outside but it is too hot to get at them. I did get the mowing done yesterday. I didn’t mow the whole yard but got the worst of it. Most of the yard is burned up and there are only some scattered tall weeds here and there in the outer yard. Not worth the fuel to mow them down.

Kathy went to our brother’s house yesterday and came home with garden goodies. She cut up one of the cantaloupe Keith sent home with her and it was delicious. Love straight from the garden goodies. We are having bacon and tomato sandwiches tonight. The silly kiddos don’t like those so they are having ham and cheese sandwiches.

Other than doing some laundry I haven’t gotten much done today. I’m feeling a bit drained and cranky so decided not to push my luck today and try to get something done.

Gathered up the trash to take to the curb this evening. Five people sure generate lots more trash than two people do. The kiddos are not very good at putting things in recycling so lots of stuff that shouldn’t go in the trash end up there.

I am getting the oil changed on my car Thursday and will take a load to recycling when I go to Cottonwood Falls. Seems like I just dumped the recycling but we have a bunch of it again.

Next week we are to get a bit of relief from these 100 plus degree days. Maybe I can get outside and get some things done then. It is dangerously hot outside again today.

My left shoulder hurt so bad this morning I had tears in my eyes. I took some Ibuprofen and a couple hours later some Tylenol and it finally quit hurting so bad. Not sure what I did to it but man it hurt. Thinking I have a pinched nerve. That shoulder has a tendency to give me problems so I think I have a touch of arthritis in it. I usually can tolerate the pain but not today. It might be from carrying my carry-on bag from the trip last week. It doesn’t have wheels on it and I put the strap over my shoulder.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed and out of sorts today. Not entirely sure why. I am still adjusting to having extras in the house and that is part of it. Maybe the trip last week finally caught up to me too. I will put myself in time-out this afternoon and see if I can turn this around.

Grateful for the cantaloupe provided by my brother, grateful for a quiet afternoon at home, and grateful I got some relief from the shoulder pain.

Another miracle on the prairie today. My plumber showed up and installed the new kitchen sink faucet and fixed the water line to the refrigerator. I had called him the middle of April to do this little project and he finally came today. So happy to cross that off my pending list.

I went to Emporia this afternoon. I had received a bid for propane from Co-Ag Propane out of Hillsboro. MFA Propane is my supplier and they will price match propane for your annual contract. Co-Ag was $0.14 a gallon cheaper. I saved $140 by getting a bid from Co-Ag and taking it to the MFA office. I took the Co-Ag bid into MFA and they adjusted my contract price to match the Co-Ag price. I’ll take savings like that any day!

Ellexia spent the night with a friend in Emporia so she hasn’t been around today. It has just been Kathy, Tagen and I hanging around today. It has been a quiet and easy day for me. I haven’t managed to get much done but am soaking in the silence and peace on the prairie.

It feels good to get the propane purchased for the winter. My freezers will be full of beef in another three weeks and I will be ready for winter. It reached over 100 here on the prairie today and I am thinking ahead to the cold, dark days of winter.

Next week I will need to make a trip to Olpe and give the butcher my cutting instructions for the beef. Nicole is taking a quarter and wanted some different cuts then I normally get. They always do a nice job cutting the beef up.

Tagen brought up 16 eggs today. He took a watermelon down to the girls this afternoon. It helps keep them hydrated in this heat. They get two watermelons a week when the temperatures are this high. So far I haven’t lost any of the chickens due to heat stroke. When the temperatures get this high, that is always a possibility.

We saw some huge thunderstorms to the east of us last night. Unfortunately we didn’t get any rain out of them. The storm that came down from Salina ran out of rain before it hit my corner of the prairie. We sure need rain badly. It is fair week this week and next in Emporia and that usually means we get some rain sometime during the next ten days or so.

I am hosting a family reunion the 19th of August and need to get reminder letters out to my family members later this week. I could have up to 80 people show up for a meal that day. I also need to finalize my lunch plans and get things ordered and a list made. We shall see who all comes. It it always a good day when extended family members show up.

I need to get out and do some mowing. I may wait until after dinner to do it as it is so hot outside. I am fixing the kiddos spaghetti and meat balls for dinner. Ellexia is bringing a friend with her so will be feeding five tonight. Kathy fixes her own food most of the time. The kiddos favorite meal is spaghetti and meat balls so I know they will eat lots tonight.

I need to remember to go to town Saturday and get a case of CO peaches. They are one of my favorites. I love to bake them sliced up in some butter with cinnamon and pecans sprinkled on top. Makes a wonderful dessert or side dish. They are good cold or warm.

There is a full moon Tuesday night. There will be a second full moon in August at the end of the month called a Blue Moon. I love watching the full moon rise on the prairie.

I feel like I have been able to refill myself from the cruise. It seems like I have been home a lot longer than three days. I really am a homebody and prefer staying home to getting out. Time to start preparing myself in many different ways for my three weeks in Europe in September.

Sitting in a good head space this afternoon. I feel like I am a step or two about the neutral level of consciousness. It was such a relief to get the plumber out here and get that project crossed off my list. I hate pending things when I have no control over when they might get done.

Grateful the plumber showed up today, grateful for all the beautiful eggs my girls are giving us, and grateful the propane is purchased for the winter.

This has been a quiet day at home. I didn’t have to go to town to get my groceries as Kathy went to town and offered to pick them up for me. Delivery service on the prairie – love it! Thanks Kathy!

Nothing on my calendar for the whole week. I have some mowing I need to do and some housecleaning but it looks like I will have a quiet day at home this week. Those are my favorite type of weeks. I will contact some friends and see if anyone wants to do lunch one day so I have a reason to get out of the house. It is going to be hot this week so it will be a good week to stay home and putter around here.

Tagen brought up 17 eggs today. We are having waffles, bacon and eggs for dinner so will eat most of them up tonight. It is fun to get a full basket of eggs everyday.

Ellexia will be coming back home this afternoon and will be here all week. She will keep me busy this week. I am betting she will want to go swimming a couple of days and hang with her friends. Staying out on the prairie with just me to entertain her is not her idea of a fun week.

We need to take Tagen’s Mustang to the fix-it guy in Cottonwood Falls this week. He got his truck up and running and figured out how to get the key out thanks to Papa Craig and Tim. Now to get the Mustang running and then he needs to decide which one he wants to sell. I hope he keeps the pickup as it is handy to have around but we shall see what he decides to do. If he sells the pickup, I may have to buy it from him.

Sometime soon I need to start thinking about my trip to Europe in September. I want to research the towns I will be spending the night in and make a list of things I want to do in each town. I should have free time in most of the cities and want to know ahead of time where I should go and do. This trip will be here in a little over a month and I need to start getting my head in the game and get ready.

Sitting in a good head space. It feels a bit overwhelming to have nothing on my calendar this week. I feel lazy and nonproductive when I don’t “do” much during the day. I know it is good for me to have lots of empty space time as that is how I refill myself. The following week I am babysitting my grandson three days and will need to be full and ready to go for him. Things have a way of filling in and keeping me busy when I least expect it too.

Grateful for this quiet day at home, grateful for the grocery delivery today so I didn’t have to leave home, and grateful Ellexia is back with us tonight.

This has been a rest and recovery day for Ellexia and I. I had trouble falling asleep last night. I was up until about 5:00 this morning but was then able to sleep until about 9:30. Ellexia didn’t come upstairs until almost noon.

I fed Ellexia pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Michelle took her to town early afternoon so Ellexia could spend tonight with her dad.

I did three loads of clothes we had taken on the cruise and got them folded and put away. It always feels good to get things put back in place after being gone.

I went out and did some mowing this afternoon. The rancher guy came while I was gone and cut the outer yard and baled it. There is a line of tall grass he can’t cut due to the rocks. It is hard mowing as there are lots of rocks that the tall grass hides. There were hundreds of grasshoppers that flew up in my face. There is some weed that has a head full of fiber like things that when I cut it fly everywhere. I feel like I have them stuck in various places on my body. My feet were black when I took off my sandals when I was done. Glad that job is done.

I sent a letter to my last years egg customers letting them know I am back in the egg business. I came home to six dozen eggs on the counter and got 17 eggs today from the girls. Some of the eggs are still rather small but some are getting to be regular sized. Getting lots of double yolk eggs right now. I am selling them for $3 a dozen through August then in September the price will be $4 a dozen or two dozen for $7.50. I hated to raise prices but the price of chicks had doubled from a year ago and feed has gone up 25%. I don’t make a profit of any sort on the eggs. I probably have $800 in the chicks at this point with just feed and cost of chicks. Don’t think I can make that up let alone the continuing price of feed and hay. They are fun though and bring me joy which is why I raise them. I love farm fresh eggs. If you like farm fresh eggs too, hit me up and I will get you some as I have them.

Haven’t done much else today. I will fix dinner for Tagen in a bit. I laid out some chicken tenders and will make some macaroni and cheese to go with it. I will have to get back in the swing of making food. I can’t just leave my bedroom and go find it all ready for me. Dang it anyways!

Next week I need to try to get the plumber out. He never did show up after promising me two weeks ago he would come. I’ll have to push him a bit this week and get him out here. I am tired of that project on my pending list.

No other plans for next week. It will be good to stay home for a bit. I am going to town tomorrow to pick up a grocery order. I bet I will have to do another one mid-week as I am not sure what I needed for tomorrow. I ordered the basics and will catch up later this week on things I missed.

I posted my trip blogs when I got home last night. The internet on the cruise ship was not the best and I couldn’t post from the ship. I wrote every night so I posted five new blogs in one day last night. It helps me process the day to write and I would forget most of the stuff if I don’t get it down shortly after it happens.

Sitting in a good head space, although I am feeling a bit empty. The noise and crowd on the ship drained me but with only a few exceptions didn’t pull me below neutral on the consciousness scale. I trust I will be able to refill rather quickly and will be able to people again soon.

Tagen only has two more weeks before his Vo-Tech school starts and Lex only has two and one-half weeks before 8th grade begins. That will change things around here having them gone most of the day. It will almost feel like things are back to normal. We have to figure out transportation to town for them but that will sort itself out sooner or later.

Tagen is having trouble getting his key out of his 1987 Ford Ranger. Anyone know anything about these things and could help the kid out? I am so ignorant about those type of things.

Grateful for a quiet day on the prairie, grateful the tall grass is cut for the year, and grateful for lots of eggs from my girls.

Home again! Oh does it feel ever so good to be home.

We got an early start this morning. Ellexia didn’t get to the room until after 11:30 last night but she beat me awake at 6:35. We got up, I showered, and then we packed. Everything fit in our two carry on bags. Ellexia had purchased two new sweatshirts and I was afraid we wouldn’t find room for them but we managed to squish everything tight enough to make room for them.

We went out and stood on the deck landing and waited for our deck to be called for debarking. We waited about an hour and they finally called our floor. We carried our bags and went through the lines to get off the boat. We sailed through customs and immigrations without any issues. It took about an hour to get through the checkout process.

Our bus was waiting for us and we got loaded up and within ten minutes the bus took off for the airport. It was about a 45 minute ride to the terminal at the airport.

It took us about an hour to get through security at the airport. Ellexia had packed her water bottle and it still had a bit of water in it so they took it. We could have gone back out and dumped the water and go back through the security line but neither one of us was up for that.

We had to wait about three hours at the airport for our flight. We found a restaurant that was serving breakfast and enjoy a $20 each breakfast plate that was edible but not great. They were busy and service was slow but the food came out rather quickly. Our drinks took a bit longer to show up.

Our flight was on-time and even arrived a bit early. We had about 15 minutes of turbulence as we crossed the Rockies and dodged a thunderstorm.

The shuttle bus at the airport was waiting for us when we got out of the terminal. It took us to our car and we got loaded up and headed home. We stopped at the McDonald’s in Lawrence for dinner as we only had the one meal late morning.

The drive home was smooth and easy and it felt ever so good to return home. Kathy, Michelle and Tagen seemed happy to see us and Ellexia and I were happy to see them. We updated each other on what had happened since last we saw them.

I unpacked the carry-on bags and started a load of laundry. One going – two more to do. It feels good to do a normal thing like laundry.

I trust we made lots of wonderful memories for Ellexia and this trip will be something she remembers for a long time to come. The time with her was priceless to me. We traveled well together and had fun. She tolerated my cautious watching over her most of the time and never did give me any sass.

We are both tired tonight but too tired to sleep yet. I’m sure we will both unwind and get a good night’s sleep.

The heat of KS kinda slapped us in the face as we stepped out of the airport. I certainly didn’t need my sweater this afternoon once we got to KS. First time all week I didn’t have to wear it.

Grateful for a safe trip, grateful for the memories we created together, and grateful to Tagen, Kathy and Michelle for taking care of the home front for us.

We are sailing on the ocean all day today. I got up and went to the group meeting to teach us how the debarment process works. We will carry our own luggage off and be in the second group that debarks. The first group is the group that has a flight before noon. Our flight is at 2:00 and we have a 9:00 bus to take us to the airport. We will have to be packed and ready to go by 7:45. They will call us by deck number and will debark about 8:00 ish.

I think I am feeling a bit seasick today. I keep having little dizzy spells that feel motion related. I have been able to eat so not sick to my stomach but feeling a bit tipsy. It is cloudy and the ocean is a bit stirred up today, although certainly not rough by any means.

The weather for the cruise has been OK but not great. The first day was bright and sunny but since then it has been very foggy in the mornings and overcast in the afternoons. I am grateful I brought along my sweater as I have rarely had it off. I could have use sweat pants for the evenings. Not good suntanning weather. Beats the heat I hear KS is having this week though.

Ellexia and I checked out the shops on board today. To my surprise she didn’t find anything to buy. She still has a bit of money left from the money her parents gave her for spending money for the trip. Maybe she will find something at the airport. We will have a couple of hours to kill tomorrow so will have time to do some shopping there.

I haven’t seen much of Lex today. She found a group of friends to hang with. I go looking for her about every hour or so and put my eyes on her. She looks like she is having fun. They stop and get food when they get hungry, swim, go down the water slide and just hang out. I’m glad she found some kiddos to hang with. I am a bit boring for her after a while.

I trust Ellexia has created some memories that will last a lifetime for her. Tagen still talks about things that we did when I took him back east when he was 10.

Tagen picked up his pickup today. The cost of the repair was about what I expected. He said the blinkers aren’t working and he was having trouble getting the key out. This pickup will teach him a lot. It is a 1987 so hopefully he will be able to work on it some himself.

No plans for the evening. I hope to convince Lex to get to bed fairly early tonight as we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. She stayed out until 1:00 last night, came in and fell right to sleep and slept until almost 9:30 this morning. She has been swimming a lot today so hoping she will wear herself out and be ready for bed a bit earlier tonight.

Just got us checked in for our flight tomorrow and have our boarding passes. That feels good! I am ready to head for home.

Grateful for a quiet day on board, grateful Ellexia has some kiddos to pal around with, and grateful this ends tomorrow.

We docked at Ensenada MX this morning. Ellexia wasn’t hungry so after we got dressed we debarked and walked towards town. Luckily this debarking is easy – walk on and walk off with no waiting. Neither one of us was impressed with what we were seeing. We walked into town over a mile and found a horse drawn carriage that was to take us on a tour of town. We decided to take a ride as we were tired of walking. We went about six blocks down a street, made a U-turn and came back up the other side of the street. Not sure it was a tour of town.

I paid the guy what I understood I was to pay him. We walked on down the street and after a few minutes the guy came running up to us and said I had shorted him. Ummm…. I didn’t argue and gave him another $10. I think I got scammed but not sure.

We didn’t find much to see going the direction we went so turned around and went back to the cruise ship. Ellexia was hoping for some shopping places but if they are there, we didn’t find them. I was hoping for a white sand beach but it wasn’t there either.

Came back to the cruise ship and had breakfast. We hung out in our room for a bit and then Ellexia went out to walk around. I finally got up again and went to have a burger for lunch. Ran into Ellexia on my way back to the room. She had met another youngster to hang out with and wasn’t too excited to see me. I told her I needed to see her face every hour just to make sure she was OK. She agreed although wasn’t too excited about it. I think she is tired of me, perhaps.

Not much for me to do on board. I don’t drink, I don’t like noise and crowds. I am feeling my age I think. It is nice to find a quiet, shady spot while the ship is cruising to look at the water and sky. So far we have only cruised at night so haven’t gotten to do much of that. Tomorrow we will be cruising all day so will find a good spot and sit outside most of the day and watch for whales, dolphins, etc.

Ellexia stayed out until 1:00 tonight as she made some friends to hang with. She is having the time of her life.

Grateful for this time with Ellexia, grateful Ellexia is having a great time, and grateful it will be over soon.

The cruise is about what I expected – loud, crowded, lots of people. Hard to find a quiet corner to relax in. The boat is hard for me to navigate and find my way around. We stop and ask directions but the crew is so familiar with the boat that they don’t realize their directions are impossible to follow if you don’t speak Boat Language.

We were going to go to the sit down restaurant for breakfast but gave up after asking four different people for directions and being unable to find it. Made me cranky! We finally figured out tonight that some floors you can’t get to the other side of. You have to go up or down a floor and walk to the other end of the boat and then up or down a flight of stairs to get to where you want to get.

We found breakfast in a buffet service place that was noisy, crowded and full of unconscious people taking up space talking and making it hard to get around them. We finally found some food and had to take it out of the restaurant area to find a place to sit down and eat.

It was very foggy this morning so we waited until later in the morning to go to Catalina Island. You have to get boat shuttle tickets to go to Catalina Island. We had to wait about one and one half hours before they called our number so we could go to Catalina Island. It was a bit of a disappointment to me. I had anticipated a white sandy beach a mile long and that is not what they had.

Ellexia did some shopping and spent a big chunk of the spending money her parents had given her. She was ready to come back to the ship after that. It was about a 20 minute wait for the boat shuttle to return us to the cruise ship. Then it took about 20 minutes to debark as we all had to go through the security screening before we entered the ship.

We went to a place that had chicken for lunch. It took another adventure and lots of walking to find the place. Not sure it was worth the hunt.

I spent the afternoon in the room resting. Ellexia came and went all afternoon. She is comfortable roaming around the ship. She didn’t find many kids on board though as I am assuming most spent the whole day on Catalina Island.

We went to the fancy place for dinner tonight. It was elegant night so Ellexia got to wear the new dress she had gotten for the trip. We ate early to avoid the crowd. The food was OK but it was nice to have table service. The waiters were very good. As we were eating we saw dolphins swimming and jumping in the water and even spotted a whale spouting off a couple of times.

We have been out and about checking out what is going on a couple times tonight. Not many kiddos hanging around this evening. Ellexia has changed in and out of her dress a couple of times. Most people still have on their elegant wear and she wanted to fit in. Made no difference to me!

Not sure cruising life is for me. Too many people in a small area. Ellexia seems to be having fun most of the time though and that is what is most important on this trip.

Our room is very small and has one bed. The other bed was pulled down from the ceiling and has a ladder to it. It makes me feel claustrophobic to sleep in the lower bed as the upper bed is over the back part of my bed. We have a nice housekeeping guy though. He learned our names the first day and when he sees us in the hallway he calls us by name – impressive. We can hear the music from the lobby while we are in our room.

Tomorrow is the day in Mexico. I am hoping they have better beaches and more to do. I also hope we can get off and on the cruise ship without having to use the shuttle boats. We shall see what the day brings.

Grateful for this time with Ellexia and for the memories we are making together, grateful the fog of the day lifted and the skies turned blue again, and grateful for the almost quiet in my room.

Traveling yesterday was easy. Ellexia enjoyed the airplane ride and acted like she had done it lots of time. We had plenty of time in the airport to enjoy a pizza before we went to the boarding gate. The flight left on time and was smooth.

We got to LAX and found the hotel shuttle bus fairly easily. It showed up only about 10 minutes after I called it. We only had a five minute ride to our hotel. Unfortunately our hotel room was not ready for us when we arrived at 10:30 at night. We had to sit in the lobby and wait for about 45 minutes until they finally let us in our room. We had trouble finding the room and it was not an impressive room by any means. We were so tired by that point we just went to bed. The guy that checked in right before we did had it worse. He was given a key to a room that had a couple already in it. He caught them in the act. Needless to say he was furious at the front desk and then he had to wait for over 30 minutes for another room – this one empty.

Got up and had breakfast at the hotel. I must say the people in the lobby that were guests at the hotel were not very pleasant. Ellexia wanted some scrambled eggs and I finally had to go with her as she kept getting pushed out of the way and she couldn’t get them.

I called an Uber to take us the the cruise terminal in Long Beach. The lady driver showed up within a few minutes and safely drove us to our destination. It was about a 40 minute drive. I noticed gas costs about $5 a gallon here. The Uber charge was $40 for the drive which seemed reasonable. The bus ride coming back from the cruise terminal to the airport was $40 a piece – Uber wins again.

We waited at the cruise terminal for about an hour and then went through the initial processing point. We then had to wait another hour in a big waiting room inside the terminal before our group was called to board the cruise ship. The check in process itself was quick and easy and no long line until we were called to get on the ship itself.

Unfortunately we never saw a place where we could put our bags so we had to carry them onboard ourselves. Our rooms weren’t ready for about two hours after we got on the ship so we had to carry our bags wherever we went. We finally figured out where the food was and got some lunch. Seating was hard to find but we managed finally to find a place to sit and eat. Ellexia changed into her swimming suit and got in the pool and hot tubs while we were waiting for our room to be available.

We finally got to get into our rooms and dumped our bags. We hung out by the pool most of the rest of the afternoon. I found a place in the shade to sit and Ellexia would go off and then come touch base and go off again. A lady sat and visited with me for a while which was nice. Ellexia got hungry so she grabbed a hamburger and fries and that served as dinner. She came and went all evening after I went to the room and stayed in for the remainder of the day.

I am struggling a bit to deal with all the people and noise. I can hear the music from three levels down in our very small room. I’m glad Ellexia feels comfortable roaming about the ship without me.

Grateful for a safe journey here, grateful for Uber, and grateful to have figured out how to get us on board and into our room.

Ellexia and I are packed and ready to go. Just waiting for the clock to turn 4:00 and then we are off on our adventure. Our first stop is the KCI Airport. We will park, go through security, have dinner and then be ready to board our 8:30 flight. We will fly direct to LAX and then catch a shuttle bus to our hotel, which is close to the airport.

Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast at the hotel and then take a Uber to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. We will board our cruise ship at noon and the ship will depart at 5:00.

I think we are ready for this. It will be good for me to get away from all that is happening here and take a couple days to relax and spend one-on-one time with Ellexia. Hope she can stand me for five days.

Both of us were able to get all our things in our carry-on bags. We have to leave room to put our purses in the bag before we board and both of us have room to do that. I didn’t get stopped with this bag when I went to Vegas with it so we should be good to go. I love traveling without checking bags. Makes it so much easier.

We didn’t make it to town today to get another load. Things got a bit dicey and we backed out. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do. We will try again next weekend when I get back home.

Tagen is ready to take over chores. He brought up 13 eggs today! Go girls. I had told Tagen earlier in the week I wanted the girls to give me at least a dozen eggs in one day before I left. They did it today! When I get home we will start selling eggs again.

I remembered what I had been forgetting to do. I needed to call the bank and let them know to put a travel alert on my debit card and to call the credit card company and do the same. The credit company no longer does travel alerts but the debit card bank does. Glad I remembered to do that in case we need to charge something.

The forecast for KS shows the high to be 99 most everyday this week. Feels like we picked a good week to get away from the heat. Trusting the weather will be nice where we are going. Los Angeles has a high of 82 today.

Grateful our adventure is about to begin, grateful all our things fit in the bags, and grateful for 13 eggs from the girls today.

Rain came very close to my corner of the prairie this afternoon but all we got were a very few big sprinkles. Dang it anyways.

Tagen, Ellexia, Michelle and I went to the house in town and filled Michelle’s car and my car with more stuff. Poor Tagen carried tote after tote after box after box of things up from the basement. We cleared out the bedroom of stuff but then ran out of room in the cars and put more stuff in the bedroom to bring home another day. Thank heavens he can lift a heavy box or tote and carry it up the stairs. Not sure how we would get this job done without him.

Came home and unloaded both cars. The barn is quickly filling up. Michelle has a huge job in front of her to sort through everything and figure out what to do with it. Some things she is going to store here, some she will give away, some throw away and some will be repacked to move to her new house when she moves again.

We got done unloading around 6:00 and I came in and quickly turned the grill on and fixed hamburgers and hot dogs. I had hard boiled some eggs earlier and I turned some of those into deviled eggs. Called that dinner.

I have a load of laundry to do in the morning and then Ellexia and I will need to get packed up. We will head for the airport around 4:30. Still not sure if Michelle is driving us or if I will drive and park. Our flight leaves at 8:30 so if will be a long day. It is a direct flight to LAX so crossing my fingers all will be on time. Not sure what we will do if this flight gets cancelled. That late at night there aren’t a lot of options available.

Made out a checklist of chores that need done while I am gone. Tagen is used to taking care of the chickens but will now have to take care of the dogs and cat too. Kathy will be his backup and reminder person if needed. Tagen is very responsible so am sure he will do a good job taking care of things.

We may go in tomorrow early afternoon and fill both cars again with more stuff from Michelle’s house in town. It needs to get done and the clock is ticking with how much time we have to get it emptied out. We probably can fill both cars with what Tagen carried upstairs today.

Looking forward to getting away for a couple of days. The week will go by quickly, I’m sure. Ellexia is getting excited about taking her first plane ride and getting on the cruise ship. I trust the trip will meet and exceed her expectations.

The kiddos brought up 8 eggs from the girls today. The second Easter Egger has started laying as their were two blue/green shelled eggs in the bucket. Everyday we get closer to all 27 laying. We are probably about half way there now.

I still have a feeling like I am forgetting something important that I was to do before I left. I still have 24 hours to remember what it was. There is still the possibility that I didn’t forget anything too.

Had a bit of anxiety earlier today. Not sure what that was from. I allowed it to be and it finally dissipated and calmed down. As much as I love to travel, I always hesitate to leave home knowing I will be gone for a while. I am at heart, a home body.

Grateful two more loads were handled today, grateful for Tagen’s strong body and help, and grateful tomorrow is the start of our adventure.

No plumber today. Why am I not surprised! I did go talk to the mechanic about Tagen’s pickup. I think we got good news. I don’t understand these things. There is something on it called a MAP sensor. It runs better when it is disconnected. The mechanic put a new one on and nothing changed. He is going to try another new one in case the first new one was defective. If we get the same results he will leave it disconnected. Go figure that one out – it is above my pay grade.

The pickup will be ready to come home Monday. Michelle will need to get it tagged on Monday and it will be good to go. She has insurance for it ready to go on Monday. The boy should have wheels Monday! Yay!

I have had a do-nothing day. I took a good nap in my recliner this afternoon. I got woke up this morning by the yippy little dog and I wasn’t ready to wake up when I did. I laid back down but couldn’t go back to sleep. I felt draggy and low energy all day. It has been a bit cloudy and overcast today but no rain. Felt like a good nap type of day.

I heard a commotion downstairs this morning. I went down and the little dog was on Kathy’s bed shaking. Louis, the cat was on the floor with it’s fur spiked out. The two of them were glaring at each other. I guess they had a lover’s quarrel or else they don’t like each other. Not sure what was going on. I brought the dog upstairs and closed the cat in his room and put both of them in time-out. I tell you it is a zoo around here somedays.

I am cleaning out the refrigerator for dinner tonight and serving leftovers. I haven’t done that with the kiddos before so we shall see how this goes over. May end up making grilled cheese sandwiches or ham sandwiches. I forgot about fixing dinner until just now so you get what you get sometimes.

Tomorrow afternoon we are getting another load or two from Michelle’s house to bring out. Will do the same on Sunday. Not sure what is ready to come but we need to get things out here. Haven’t heard if they are any closer to selling the house yet. Sure would be nice if they got an offer this weekend.

Sunday I will do a load of laundry and pack. We will have to leave around 4:30 or 5:00 for the airport. We have an 8:30 flight. Trusting all will be on schedule and we will arrive on time. Good thing we can sleep in a bit Monday morning.

I have this feeling like I am forgetting something for the trip that is important for me to do before I leave. Wish I could figure out what it is. Hate to leave Kathy to deal with something I forgot to do.

I got all the beef I am getting spoken for. It will be good to have a freezer full of fresh beef come the middle of August. I still have some left over from last years beef that I need to use up. Sure is some good eating.

Somedays I can get lots done, and other days I get nothing done. This was a get nothing done type of day. Only problem is I seem to have more of those days these days than the get lots done type of days. Sign of getting old?

Grateful the pickup will be coming home Monday, grateful the beef is spoken for, and grateful for naps on cloudy days.

One out of three isn’t bad -right? No plumber and no call about the repair on Tagen’s truck but the dryer got installed on time and easily. I was impressed with the delivery team. They worked quickly, quietly and efficiently. It didn’t take them much time at all.

I did several loads of laundry this afternoon and the new dryer dries much quicker than the old one did and much, much quieter.

I will text the plumber in the morning and ask him what time he is coming as he said he would be here this week. Tomorrow is his last chance day.

Tagen and I will go check on the status of the pickup in the morning. Hoping he lost my number and the repair is completed. Michelle got insurance for the truck so it is good that way. Still need to get tags for it and then hopefully Tagen will have wheels while I am gone next week. If not, then Michelle will have to drive us to the airport Sunday afternoon and come get us Friday evening so Tagen can have my car to use next week.

Got some much needed housecleaning done today. The clutter on the kitchen counter was driving me batty. Michelle cleaned out the pantry last night and got it so you can walk through it now. I really dislike clutter and after a while it wears me out. Feels good to have most of it contained tonight.

Tagen went to weights and football conditioning this morning. This evening he was invited out to dinner so he hasn’t been around much today.

I fixed scalloped potatoes with leftover ham for dinner tonight. It was just Michelle and I that ate and I had way too much leftover. Guess what we are having for dinner tomorrow night?

No plans for tomorrow other than checking on the pickup and hopefully greeting the plumber. This weekend we are getting another couple of loads of Michelle’s things. We have got to keep at that job so the end job won’t be so overwhelming.

Ellexia comes back here tomorrow afternoon. I want to make sure she gets lots of sleep Friday and Saturday nights so she is well rested for our long travel day Sunday. Our flight doesn’t leave until 8:30 KC time and will arrive in LA at 10:00 LA time. We have to catch a shuttle bus to get to our hotel so it will be pushing midnight before we get settled in for the night. We will get to sleep in Monday morning as we won’t have to leave the hotel until 11:00. We board the cruise ship at noon and sail at 5:00.

Tagen brought up nine eggs today. Some of them are getting to be regular sized eggs now. Still getting a few first eggs each day from new layers. Still have over half that need to get with the program and start laying. Only one Easter Egger has laid her first egg. Waiting on the other 9 to get with it.

We have a chance for some rain tomorrow morning but not betting on it to happen. Sure wish it would rain all day and night but that is like wishing to win the lottery and not buying a ticket. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Feeling a bit tired and blah this afternoon. It felt good to get the dryer project crossed off my list. Now if I can get the plumber out here and Tagen’s pickup running I will be good to go. I find it frustrating when people don’t do what they say they will do and don’t explain or update you when things change. I am a rather reasonable person when someone tells me what is going on. But when there is no communication I get cranky when things don’t go as they said they would.

I am getting a beef the middle of August. A few of my family and friends have claims on 1/2 of it. I no longer can use 1/2 of a beef a year. If anyone is interested in getting an 1/8 or 1/4 of it let me know and I can give you estimated pricing, etc. It is grass fed beef, born and raised on a Flint Hills ranch near me, and is some of the best eating beef you can get your hands on.

It was good to stay home all day today. Tomorrow I have to run into Cottonwood Falls but will be home otherwise. I do better when I have several days in a row when I get to stay home all day. Next week will be very full of people. Sure hoping I will be able to find a quiet corner somewhere on the cruise ship where I can enjoy looking at the ocean in peace and quiet.

Grateful the dryer was replaced today, grateful to be able to stay home all day today, and grateful the clutter in the house was decreased today.

Ellexia and I headed to Wichita this morning a little before 10:00. First stop was Best Buy to get my iPhone screen replaced. I had a very capable young lady waiting on me. She discovered it was the screen protector that had broken and not the actual iPhone screen. Wow! That saved me a lot of money. She took me to find a new screen protector and the right size Otterbox. Verizon had sold me the wrong size Otterbox.

She got me all fixed up and out of there in under 30 minutes. She even discovered the Otterbox price was cheaper on-line and reduced the price for me. She was amazing.

We found a Roku device for Ellexia’s TV so purchased that and then headed to Dick’s Sporting Goods which was right next door. Ellexia needed some new Crocs. They didn’t have her size and we didn’t find anything else we needed there.

We went to Chipotle for lunch. Ellexia had never eaten there before but she liked it.

We googled and found an Academy Sports store which was on our way to Costco. We saw a Barnes and Noble store on our way so stopped there and got Ellexia a book to read on the flight to LA. We then went to the Academy store and found a pair of Crocs for Ellexia.

Next up was Costco. We managed to fill our cart full and then headed home. I stopped at the garage in Cottonwood Falls but they hadn’t started working on Tagen’s truck yet. It was in the shop and next up to be looked at. He will call me when he finds out what is wrong with it.

Came home and unloaded the car. Ellexia and I are both shopped out. It was a successful trip though as Ellexia got both things she wanted, I got my iPhone fixed much cheaper than I had anticipated, and the Costco run for the month is done.

Tagen brought up 11 eggs today. He said he scared one of the chickens out of the nesting box and as they ran away to go outside they dropped an egg in the coop. He went inside the coop and picked it up. Talk about a fresh egg!

I am grateful to be home. Shopping wears me out! It was a relatively easy trip but I am exhausted. Grateful I get to stay home for the next three days.

There is a haze on the prairie today. We have had cloud cover all day but no rain. There is a chance for some rain overnight. It didn’t get as warm as the forecast predicted today. Only reached the mid 80’s. That is good for me! It is to be over 100 next week.

I don’t think it has hit me yet that Ellexia and I will be leaving on our cruising adventure Sunday. I need to get myself organized and get my head in the game. I’m sure it will be more fun then I am thinking it is going to be. Fingers crossed the weather will be good. If Ellexia is as good on the cruise as she was today, she will be fun to travel with.

The dryer is to be delivered tomorrow. I have extra laundry to do after it gets installed as I have been waiting to change linens on the bed until the new dryer gets here. It will be good to get that crossed off my list. Now to get the plumber to show up — his week is running out of days for him to show up.

Sitting in a good head space today. Feeling very blessed that I got a very helpful clerk at Best Buy that made that visit very easy for me, not to mention much cheaper than I had anticipated. The other clerks we had today were all helpful and fun to deal with.

Grateful the iPhone is fixed, grateful for the fun day with Ellexia, and grateful we had a safe trip.

I took Ellexia to town with me when I went this afternoon. I dropped Ellexia off at her friend’s house so she could have some play time while I got my haircut and ran my errands.

It is always a feel good day when I get my haircut. It was overdue and badly needed. After I got my haircut I stopped and had lunch and then headed to Walmart to pick up my grocery order.

I got the groceries loaded, filled the car with gas and then went and picked up Ellexia. We came home and got the car unloaded and everything put away.

I got a ham today and put that in the oven to heat for dinner tonight. The kiddos want green beans and cottage cheese with the ham so that will make an easy dinner.

Have a touch of a headache this afternoon and am tired. I think the heat is getting to me. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep again last night. I kept waking up and then struggled to find more sleep. Tagen was up at 6:00 this morning with tummy issues. He says he is feeling better now.

Tomorrow Ellexia and I are going to Wichita for the day. I have to be at Best Buy at 11:20 to drop my iPhone off to get it repaired. We will then go have lunch and do a big Costco shopping haul. We will probably stop at Target and then back to Best Buy to pick up my iPhone. Hopefully the repair will go smoothly and it won’t take all day.

No word from the plumber yet as to when he will make it out this week. Kathy will be around if he should show up tomorrow. Thursday the new dryer is to come and the loud, old one will be hauled away.

I’m hoping to be able to stay home Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will be a very full and crowded week next week on the cruise so will need to leave on Sunday as full as I can let myself be. Ellexia is getting excited and I hope some of that excitement rubs off on me.

Tagen brought up 8 eggs today. Several looked like they were the first egg the chicken had laid. This heat is slowing them down a bit but still thinking we will be in the egg business again by the first of August.

Michelle is bringing home her little bitty dog Tank tonight. That should add some excitement and chaos to the house. Luckily he has a crate that he is used to being put in. Not sure how Kathy’s cat Louis and Tank will get along. We shall see how this plays out.

Feeling a bit blah this afternoon. I have managed to stay at the neutral level or just a bit above but barely. Maybe I am overdue to crash and burn one of these days soon. Sure would help if I could sleep well again. Wish I knew the magic formula to make that happen.

Grateful this weeks grocery order is done and put away, grateful for Tylenol that will help quiet my headache, and grateful dinner will be easy to put on the table tonight.

Not sure what I did today. I did make a trip to Cottonwood Falls and ran errands there. I dropped off two dozen eggs to one of my regular egg customers. I didn’t charge for them as they are so small but it was fun to show off all the different colored eggs.

I dumped a car load of recycling material in the trailer. The trailer was pretty full but I managed to stuff it all in.

I stopped and got some cheese for our dinner tonight at the Dollar General store. I made chicken and cheese quesadillas. Ellexia is going to be my dinner fixer helper. Tagen takes care of the dogs and chickens so Ellexia is going to help fix dinner every night when she is here. Tonight she shredded the cooked chicken using the hand mixer and buttered the tortillas.

I stopped at Dieker’s to check on the pickup. They were done with it so I paid for that bill. It was very reasonable for all they did to it. They replaced the battery, drained and replaced all the fluids in the truck, did an oil change and fixed the lug nuts on all the wheels. They checked out the brakes, etc. They are pushing it over to have Casey look at it as the truck dies when you shift gears. They think it may be a transmission vacuum hose leak. Who knew a transmission had a vacuum? Casey hopes to get to it on Wednesday. Hoping it is an easy fix and not too expensive.

Tagen was excited to hear the truck appears to be in fairly good working order. We shall see what Casey says Wednesday. It will be nice if it can be fixed so Tagen has wheels running while I am gone next week. If Casey can get it fixed Michelle will need to get it registered and get tags for it then Tagen will be good to go. If it isn’t running yet, I may have to have Kathy takes us to the airport and pick us up so Tagen can use my car next week.

Tagen brought up nine eggs from the girls – two were cracked so the dogs got to eat those. Won’t be long before we are getting over a dozen a day and closing in on two dozen a day. He used a bucket to bring the eggs up to the house today – he learned quick!

Tomorrow I told the kiddos I would take them to the pool in Cottonwood for the afternoon. It is to be pushing 100 tomorrow and will be a good day for them to swim. Tagen had weight lifting and conditioning training this morning but has an off day from that tomorrow.

I have to go to town tomorrow afternoon to get my haircut so am going to pick up a grocery order when I get done with that. That way I won’t have to make another trip to town on Thursday. Ellexia and I are going to Wichita Wednesday to get the screen replaced on my iPhone and to make a Costco run. We may have a few things to pick up for the cruise. We made our packing list today.

Thursday the new dryer is to be delivered and one day this week the plumber said he would come out. Fingers crossed both of those things will happen.

The thunderstorms went around us again this morning. It came within five miles of us but we didn’t get a bit of the nice rain. Sure wish we could get four or five inches to help fill the ponds. Many of the local ponds the ranchers use to water their cattle have gone dry this summer. Can’t believe it is time for the cattle to be pulled off the pastures already. Seems like they were just put out there a couple weeks ago.

Sitting in a good head space tonight. I am tired. I got more sleep than I had been getting last night but still am behind on my sleep. Maybe I will get another good night’s sleep tonight and get caught up.

Grateful to have eggs to share, fateful Ellexia is my dinner helper, and grateful the truck is almost drivable.

Nine eggs from the girls today. Tagen came up with his pockets and hands full. I suggested he start using a bucket to carry them up. We shall see if he listens. I can just see a pocket or two full of broken eggs in his future if he doesn’t start using a bucket to carry the eggs in.

I went out and painted for an hour or so. I worked on the black rod painting today. After dinner I may go back out and do another set or two of railing rods. It is the slow going type of painting. Sure looks nice when it is done, though.

Fixing hamburgers, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. Michelle is going to town to pick Ellexia up and bring her out for the week. Kid approved menu tonight for sure.

We are in a severe thunderstorm watch for the evening. So far no clouds in the sky. Rain has been all around us again today but none here on the prairie where I am. Sure wish the east coast could ship their rain to us. They are getting too much and we don’t get enough. Kinda like a lot of things, I guess.

I finished my mowing yesterday. My eyes are still dumping out grass pieces. Mowing seems to really bother my eyes this year for some reason. The grasshoppers are still thick. We had a swarm of wood bees in the yard too. Hadn’t seen a swarm like that before.

A week from now Ellexia and I will be headed to the airport for our flight to LA and then the cruise. Since she will be here this week, we can talk about packing and what to take and what not to take. We won’t be checking a bag so will be traveling light.

The plumber and the dryer are to come this week. I know when the dryer will be arriving but not sure about the plumber yet. Wednesday I am spending most of the day in Wichita getting my iPhone screen replaced. No other plans for the coming week. I will need to do a few things to get things ready to be gone. Luckily I have built-in house sitters this time.

I had trouble falling asleep last night. Finally remembered I had forgotten to take my nightly pills which include the sleep aid. I got up and took them and sat up for about an hour and then was able to go to sleep. I didn’t sleep as much as I would like to since I didn’t go to sleep until 5:00 this morning. I hate sleeping all morning so got up around 9:30, which is later than I like to get up.

I told Kathy today that between us we have one good brain. She forgot to put something away after she had her lunch. Good thing we work well together and can remind each other when the other forgets something.

I’m not as cranky as I was yesterday but not fully back to where I want to be either. It has been a quiet day at home which is what I needed. I hope I don’t have to go to town until I go to Wichita on Wednesday. I will do a grocery order to pick up Thursday sometime. I’ll have to think about this order as it will have to get the kiddos through until I get home from the cruise. At least Ellexia will be with me and won’t be hitting the snacks at home.

Grateful some more painting got done, grateful for 9 eggs from the girls today, and grateful Tagen loves doing chicken chores.

Tagen brought up 6 eggs today. I need to get rid of two dozen pullet eggs. They are smaller than normal but a few have double yolks. Any takers?

I went out and mowed the front half of the yard today. Need to go back out and finish but got hot and needed to come in and cool off. I’ll go back out in a bit and finish it up. With the rain we got the other day, the grass decided to grow again.

Tagen went to his dad’s mother’s house today so the house is quiet. He won’t be home until late evening so I feel like I have a day off today. Not sure if Ellexia will be coming out for the week tomorrow or not. Things are a bit dicey right now and we aren’t on a regular, predictable routine yet. Hoping that can get set early next week.

Tagen took my car today so I am staying home the rest of the day. Didn’t have anywhere I needed to go anyways so no worries. Hoping his pickup will get taken care of next week, but we shall see.

The plumber is to come out one day next week and install the new faucet and fix the water line to the refrigerator. We shall see if he comes.

I go to Wichita to get my iPhone screen replaced on Wednesday. While in Wichita, I will go to Costco and replenish my snack supply for the kiddos.

The new dryer is coming Thursday afternoon. The old one sounds like an airplane taking off when it runs. Not sure what is wrong with it but it sure sounds sick. Decided to order a new one and get it replaced before it totally stops working. Hoping it will continue to work for five more days.

The friend from CA that I met on the Camino called today. Always fun to catch up with her. She has gained a new grandson since last I talked to her and has twin grandchildren on the way that will be born late July. I have lost count have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren she has now. She had 12 children so the numbers add up quickly.

Feeling a bit out of sorts today. Not much energy and a bit cranky. Nothing really to cause it. Doing my best to allow it to be what it is without a story behind it and allowing it to come up and flow out. I might go take a nap and see if that helps. I feel a tad tired today and almost like I am hungover. I didn’t get the fun of getting drunk though.

I ordered some furnace filters so I can replace my own. Right now the heating and air guy does it when he services my units twice a year. He charges $40 per filter and I can get two for $38 on-line. The only problem is, I can’t find where the filter is at on my unit. Kathy and I both looked and couldn’t find it. Next time someone I think might know about these things comes over, I will take them downstairs and have them show me how to change it myself. The filters are the 4” thick ones that are expensive.

Ellexia and I leave on our big cruising adventure a week from tomorrow. It will be good for her to get away and have some fun days. She has never flown before so is excited about that. Trusting the cruise will be everything she wants it to be.

Grateful for the increase in number of eggs I am getting, grateful for a quiet day at home, and grateful half the mowing is done.

Waiting on the rain to arrive on the prairie. We have a good chance for some soon. I can hear the thunder start to roll across the prairie and am starting to see a bit of lightning. Come on rain. Pull up a chair and stay awhile.

Kathy and I went with a friend to Florence for lunch today. It was good to get out of the house and do something fun. We all enjoyed it and need to do it again soon!

I haven’t gotten anything else done today. Tagen did the chicken chores just a bit ago so he could get them done before the rain comes. He brought up a beautiful, dark brown egg. I’ve never had a chicken lay one that dark before. He only brought up four today. Still waiting on the first day where he gets a dozen in one trip and has to use a bucket instead of hand carrying them. Maybe next week?

I cancelled the trip to Wichita today as the Best Buy person called me last night and told me it would take two to four hours to do the repair. I didn’t realize it would take that long and it reminded me that last time I took my phone to get the battery replaced it took even longer. They had broken a part on the phone and needed my permission to proceed. They texted me to get permission but they had my phone! I rescheduled for next week when I can drop off my phone and then go to lunch and Costco and then hopefully when I get back to the store they will be done.

It will be a quiet weekend around here. May try to move some things but not sure where we are yet. Thing are proceeding but not final yet and are getting a bit dicey. Patience will win the game!

I have some hamburger thawing for dinner tonight. Since it cooled off I can turn the oven on and I am going to make a Frito Pie for dinner. It used to be a favorite for my kids when they were little. I’ll see if it gets Tagen’s approval.

Got a note from the lady I buy beef from every year. Good news for her is that beef prices are high this year due to the drought. I’ll have to do some figuring and see who is in and who isn’t this year. Still beats grocery store prices and the beef is so much better. I will only keep a quarter or so this year as I don’t have many to feed usually. I can only eat so much hamburger now. I always feel rich when my freezer is full of beef.

Feeling a bit restless and nervous this afternoon. Not sure what that is about. Things have been apple cart upset around here for the last month and sometimes it takes me a while to let the energy pass through me. The thunderstorm rolling in seems to add to my nervousness although I am not afraid of storms. We shall see where this all goes.

Grateful for a lunch out with Kathy and a friend, grateful for beef coming to my freezer in August, and grateful for the rain the prairie is about to receive.

Tagen and I put Ellie, the fat cat, in the laundry room last night so we could catch her easily for her spa day at the vet today. I got up at 7:00 and put her in the carrier so Michelle could take her in. Ellie complained most of the night about being shut inside all night.

I picked her up at 4:00 this afternoon. They shaved her all over except for her head and tip of her tail. I told them I hope she doesn’t die like the last one I had shaved. They told me her hair should start growing in within a week and be fully back within a month. That never happened with the other one so am wondering what happened. The other one must have been sick. Ellie told me all about her spa visit on the way home and I don’t think she was impressed with her new look.

I stopped at Walmart and picked up a prescription while I was in town. I also stopped at Dillon’s and picked up some more fruit snacks. I had forgotten to order those and the kiddos were all but out. I picked up Ellie and came home.

I haven’t done much else today. It is too hot to go outside. Tagen did the chicken chores and brought up three eggs. I have gotten my second dozen from this group now. The bowl full of eggs on the counter is so pretty. The eggs range in color from blue/green to light brown to a light rose color.

I price shopped propane today thanks to help from my neighbor. When I called the company I get propane from and told them the price I could get if I switched suppliers, they met the new price. It will save me $140 on my contract price. The other company is to send me something in writing that has the price and I take that in to my company and presto – they write out a new contract which will save me $140. That was easy!

I sent a text to my plumber and asked if there was any way they could come out next week and install the new kitchen faucet and fix the refrigerator water line. They said no problem they will be here. Ummm….., do I bet on that? This issue has been ongoing since late March. Maybe they will be here? Maybe not?

I’m grilling hot dogs for dinner tonight and warming up some left over cheesy potatoes. That will be quick and easy. I will probably bring home a whole roasted chicken from Costco tomorrow night and call that dinner. I’m on a quick and easy roll! It is too hot to do much cooking or to turn on the oven.

Tomorrow I am going to Wichita to get the screen replaced on my iPhone at Best Buy and then making a quick stop at Costco. It will be good to get away for the day.

No plans for the weekend. We haven’t gotten any more moving done so hoping we might be able to get another couple of loads this weekend but we shall see.

Sitting in a good head space. Realizing the lessons I learned last year are being used now. It is interesting to see things from a different perspective and understand what happened last year. I’m grateful I learned what I did as it has been helpful now.

Grateful Ellie is back home styling a new look, grateful for the propane price drop thanks to my neighbors, and grateful for life lessons (easier done after the lesson is over).

This has felt like a hectic day but I’m not sure why. I had trouble with my Walmart grocery order. The first order I placed last week was put on delay. Not sure what that meant but I couldn’t add items to it. I finally started a second order to be picked up at the same time. Since the delay was still on today, I cancelled the order and added the things that were on that order to the other order. Only problem being once I cancelled the order, the order disappeared and I had trouble remembering what I had ordered. Not sure what I missed yet.

Tagen and I went to Cottonwood Falls to meet the tow truck that was bringing his pickup to Dieker’s. We got to Dieker’s just as the tow truck got there. Cody and BJ are going to give the pickup the once over and see that it is safe to drive. It has been parked for two years so needs new fluids, etc. Fingers crossed it won’t cost too much to fix up.

Then Tagen and I went to Emporia to run errands. We stopped and picked up the grocery order. I remembered to take a cooler for the cold stuff as we had other things to do after we picked up the order.

I stopped and got gas and was going to buy a bag of ice to put in the cooler but the station we stopped at didn’t sell ice. I forgot about stopping somewhere else to get some but the ice cream was still frozen when we got home so all was good.

Went to Tim’s house and dropped off the form that Tim needs to sign and get notarized so I can take Ellexia on our trip. Good to get that dropped off and that process started. I have one ready for Michelle to sign and get notarized too.

Tagen had to return some work shirts so we got that taken care of and then we picked up his girlfriend and came home. We were both glad to get back home and away from people.

The girls gave us four eggs today. One was a green/blue color and it came from one of the Easter Eggers. Yay! He only brought up four eggs today but it is a good sign that the Easter Eggers are laying now too. More eggs daily will be coming soon!

Got all the groceries put away. Some things I got double on and not sure why but oh well. Hoping I didn’t forget something I need before I can get back to town another day.

Michelle will be bringing Ellexia home with her tonight for dinner and then will have to take her back to town by 8:30. I have spaghetti and meat balls cooking in the crock pot so dinner will be quick and easy to serve. Just need to cook the spaghetti noodles and it will be ready.

The heating and air guy came today to do the check on the air conditioning unit. Everything looked good which was good. I had replaced the unit last year so didn’t expect bad news today.

Tomorrow Ellie, the fat cat, has to be in town by 8:30. I think either Michelle will take her or Tagen will as Michelle has to be at work by 8:00 and Tagen has weight lifting at 8:00. Ellie will need picked up at 4:00 so I will run to town to get her then. I need to remember to catch Ellie and put her in the laundry room tonight so we can catch her easily in the morning. She can’t have any food after 10:00 tonight and this way I can ensure that happens. If she stays outside I can’t control what and when she eats.

Friday I am going to Wichita to get my iPhone screen replaced and to make a quick stop at Costco. I need to restock snacks for the kiddos. A friend and Kathy are going with me so it will be a fun outing. I need a day away.

No plans for the weekend and most of next week. I need to start getting serious about the cruise and making my packing list. It is only 10 days away. I’m grateful Kathy and Tagen will be here to do chores for me. I won’t have to find a housesitter this trip.

This month is sure going by quickly. I can’t believe over half the year is over already. Not sure what I do these days but time sure seems to have sped up and go by all too quickly.

Still sitting in a good head space although my short term memory is acting a bit weird. I’m not sure what is causing that problem. I have to remind myself to slow down and make sure I turn off burners, etc. I made the wrong turn in Emporia today as I wasn’t paying attention. Hoping this is a stress reaction and not something else going on.

Grateful the pickup is at Dieker’s, grateful the errands got done and no one was harmed, and grateful for a blue/green shelled egg today.

I had another hard job of finding sleep last night. I finally fell asleep around 4:30 this morning. I really have come to dislike nights like that.

I gathered trash to take to the curb for pickup tomorrow. I had to use two carts to get it all down to the curb. At our next family meeting I need to teach the others how to recycle and see if that reduces the amount of trash we are generating.

I went down with Tagen to do chickens today. I hadn’t been down to see them for a couple of days. I had bought a whole watermelon for them and I needed to show Tagen how to throw it on the ground so it will break open. Watermelon helps keep the chickens hydrated when it is so hot outside. I ordered another one on my grocery order for this week. May need to make it two as the hot weather is headed our way and is going to stay awhile. We only got two eggs today so no more layers yet.

I got Ellexia and I checked in for our cruise. Their website was having issues and it took a couple of tries to get all the information to them they wanted. I need to type up a letter to have Tim and Michelle sign giving me permission to travel with Ellexia and giving me medical power of attorney for the time we will be gone. They both need to sign it and have it notarized.

Tagen went in and lifted weights this morning. He is having to use my car as his is not working and we haven’t gotten the pickup fixed yet either. Tim is hoping to get the wheels and tires on it today or tomorrow so we can get it towed and this process started.

I am fixing chicken strips and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. They are one of Tagen’s favorites and I am guessing will be a weekly menu item while he is here. They are easy to fix so I am good with that.

Tomorrow night we are having spaghetti and meat balls which is a request from Ellexia. She will be here for dinner only tomorrow night. That is another menu item that I get to fix weekly for the kiddos.

I love fixing dinner for them as long as I know what to serve. Every night at dinner I ask them to tell me what they want the next night. Once that decision is made, the rest is easy.

I need to go to Emporia tomorrow to pick up my grocery order. The Walmart website was having issues and wouldn’t let me add things to my order today. I had to create a second order that I will pick up at the same time. I hope this workaround works. First time I have had trouble with the website.

No plans for the weekend. Hoping to get lots of loads hauled to the barn. This weekend will be a bit cooler than the forecast after that so would like to take advantage of that and get some things moved for Michelle. We shall see what happens.

Sitting in a good head space. Sure wishing I could figure out why my sleep is an issue again. I got used to sleeping well and am not handling this not sleeping thing well. I bet it is due to my schedule and routine change but not sure if there is something else behind it too.

Grateful I finally got some sleep last night, grateful I know what I am fixing for dinner tonight and tomorrow night, and grateful Ellexia and I are checked in for our cruise.

Tagen, Ellexia and I went to town today to take care of lots of errands. Tagen needed to stop at the bank and get some cash and then stop and give someone some cash he owed them.

I got the two propane tanks exchanged for full ones. Stopped and had a blood draw and then stopped and got a gallon of milk and some ice.

We dropped Ellexia off at her house in town and came home.

We stopped at home and put the ice and milk away and picked up a gas can. Then we headed into Cottonwood Falls to go to Dieker’s to fill the gas container and talk to BJ or Cody.

Cody was available so we talked to him about Tagen’s pickup. Cody said we could have the pickup towed to them and they will give it the once over and see if they can get it running and to make sure it is safe to drive. What a relief that they can do that for us. I wasn’t sure where to take it and I trust them.

Once they get done with the pickup we will have to get the truck insured and tagged and then Tagen will have wheels again. His Mustang isn’t running safely now and he keeps dumping money into it and then something else goes wrong. Hoping the pickup will be fairly reasonable to get up and running and then will last him a couple of years until he gets through school and can get a job and buy a newer vehicle. The pickup is a 1987 which makes it a bit easier to work on.

Finally came home and stayed home. It is another warm day on the prairie with temperatures pushing 90.

Tagen did chicken chores and brought up three eggs. Keep thinking the other chickens will start laying soon but they aren’t moving too fast yet.

Got the TSH results back and they were 1.7. Getting a bit low but not as low as I thought they would be. I will see if the Endrocrinologist wants me to continue on the dose I am on or if we drop the dosage a bit. I will need a refill either way so hoping they get back to me sooner rather than later.

Don’t have an abundance of energy to do much today. Guess it is a quiet day after the busy day yesterday. Maybe tomorrow Tagen and I can go to town and pick up another car full of stuff to bring out.

I am grilling hamburgers for dinner and fixing a side of macaroni and cheese. That will be easy!

I went on-line and booked an appointment with Best Buy in Wichita to get the screen on my iPhone replaced. I am going Friday. Kathy and a friend are going with me. We will stop and have lunch, get my iPhone fixed and then make a stop at Costco. I will look forward to Friday all week. I need a day away.

Wednesday the heating and air guy is coming to do the summer check on the A/C. They must be very busy as it is a bit late in the season to make sure the unit is running OK.

Thursday I have to have Ellie in town by 8:00. She is getting shaved to get rid of the nasty knots in her fur. She is so fat she can’t groom herself properly. I will have to go back to town around 4:00 to pick her up.

Feeling a bit tired and restless this afternoon. Things seem to be getting resolved, slowly but surely so not sure why I feel so restless. Patience is not my strong suit and several things that need finished up are waiting for someone else to do something before I can finish them up. I need to find something to keep me busy and forget about a few things for a bit while I am patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for others to do their thing.

Grateful for Dieker’s and their honest, reliable service, grateful my TSH wasn’t as low as I thought it might be, and grateful for getting all the errands taken care of.

Family day was great fun. We celebrated Jason’s birthday and ate too much good food. These are my favorite type of days.

The kids all went to Emporia and helped Michelle and Tagen fill two cars full of stuff from the house in Emporia. I stayed home and took a break from helping load things. From what I heard, it went fast. Michelle, Tagen and his girlfriend got it all unloaded in the barn when they came back home.

I got up at 5:30 again this morning and could not fall back asleep. I got up at 6:00 and started my day. I am really tired tonight and trusting I will sleep well tonight. I am getting desperate for a good night’s sleep.

Ellexia is spending one more night here and then I will take her to town when I go to town tomorrow. Tagen has some errands to run and I have some to do so we will all head to town early afternoon and get things taken care of.

I need to find a good mechanic to give Tagen’s pickup the once over and let us know if anything needs fixed. Anyone have a suggestion as to who I should use? I haven’t had to do something like that for a long time and have no clue where to start. The truck has been sitting for a couple of years. It ran well before it sat so hoping nothing went bad while it sat. Does Dieker’s do that type of thing? I totally trust them.

Ellexia and I only have two weeks to go before we fly to LA and then go on our cruise. Time to start making a packing list and getting things lined up. Good thing Tagen is doing the chicken chores for me. I know they will be well taken care of while I am gone.

I fixed the kiddos pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner. Ellexia cracked the eggs for me. The first one she cracked was a double yoke egg. Tagen had brought up a normal size egg today and that was the double yoke one. I used up all the eggs I have gotten so far. We should soon start to get more than two or three a day and the eggs will gradually get to be full sized. By the first of August we should be back in the egg selling business.

This momma’s heart is full of gratitude tonight. Spending a day with all the kids is a treat for me. I needed a fun day and today fit the bill.

Grateful all the kids came home today, grateful two more loads have been taken care of, and grateful for double yoked chicken eggs.

Happy birthday to my son Jason. What a delightful man he has become. I love spending time with him and his family. His path through life has been full of potholes and challenges but he has overcome them to find a career that he loves and a family he loves even more.

I am cranky today. Not sure why but everything seems hard today. I am putting myself in time-out for the rest of the day. Maybe I can make it through the rest of the day without injury to self or others.

Went to Emporia with Michelle. She met a realtor to show her house to. We stopped at Walmart and I picked up some milk and a few other things and then came home.

I have one dessert made for tomorrow and another one started. I will get it finished up soon and then bake a cake and I will be ready for tomorrow. I still need to do some cleaning but that is going to wait until things go easy for me.

Tagen brought up two eggs today. I have gotten my first dozen eggs from this group. Tagen was disappointed that there were only two eggs today. Maybe we will get four tomorrow?

I have a chicken cooking in the crock pot for dinner. I’ll have to come up with something to serve with it but dinner should go together easily.

It sure looked like it was going to rain this morning. I kept checking radar and it didn’t show anything. The clouds are moving on out now and we don’t have a promise of any rain for a day or two.

I might go out and paint for an hour or two. I’m almost afraid to get close to an open can of paint though, as nothing has been easy about this day.

Some days are like this. I am tired as I didn’t sleep well again last night. I think the stress of the last couple of weeks has caught up with me and I need a day to let my body, mind and spirit catch up to each other. Usually when I have a hard day like today, the next day is easy.

Family day tomorrow so it will be a good day. The kiddos are looking forward to it too. Good food, good company and lots of love and laughter.

Monday I need to go to town and have a blood draw. I will take the propane bottles and get them exchanged and take the gas containers for the mower so I can get those filled. Tagen and I will probably try to get another car load of stuff from Michelle’s house to bring out. We have got to get the house emptied out as much as possible so it can show better. Both Tagen and I were too tired today to get a load.

Grateful for a rest day today, grateful tomorrow will be family day, and grateful I haven’t injured myself or someone else today.

This day hasn’t gone as planned but it was a good thing. Court was cancelled as a settlement was reached. Still have some kinks to work out but overall things are headed to a close early next week.

Michelle, Tagen and I went to Emporia and filled my car and her car with more stuff. Michelle had to go to work but Tagen and I brought my car load home. The low tire pressure light came on so took my car to Dieker’s in Cottonwood Falls on the way home. Tagen and I went to the Grand and had lunch while the tire was repaired. The car was ready for us when we were done with lunch. That was easy!

We came home and unloaded my car and then went back for a second load. Kathy came in too this time and we filled both cars full of stuff. Got both cars unloaded when we got home.

Tagen did chicken chores and brought up three eggs today. 10 eggs and counting so far. Go girls!

I went out last night and finished painting the floor of the west side deck. I got the step landing painted too. Only have some railing painting to do and a little bit of ladder work painting to do and the back deck will be done! I still have the two east side decks to paint but those won’t require a ladder and aren’t near as big as the back deck.

I had gotten a pair of strap on knee pads a while ago. They sure helped keep my knees from getting blistered but they are way too big. I made the straps as short as possible and they were still too loose. They need to make knee pads in smaller sizes.

Ellexia will be coming home with Michelle tonight and will be here all weekend. I think we are going to try to get some more stuff moved tomorrow but not sure yet. Michelle will be busy sorting what we brought today if not.

I didn’t get any of my errands taken care of either time I was in Emporia today. I kinda forgot about them until I got home the second time and didn’t want to go back to town the third time today. I will take care of them early next week or tomorrow.

I have some little smokies in BBQ sauce in the crock pot for dinner. I will fix some more of the corn on the cob to go with it and call it dinner. I had forgotten to lay anything else out to fix and had the little smokies and they needed to get used.

Next week will be busy with moving more stuff and helping with some packing. I’m grateful things are going to proceed and get finalized and now plans for the future can be made. Still have a few moving parts to work through but forward progress is being made.

Tagen was a trooper again today and carried some heavy totes full of stuff up the stairs like the totes didn’t weigh anything. Not sure we would be as far along with this move without his strong muscles and help. Kathy pitched in again and help fill and unload her car with boxes.

Looking forward to Sunday and family day. It will be good to take a day of rest with the family and have a fun day together. Lots to celebrate Sunday.

Sitting in a good head space today. I have been surprised I have been able to handle all the chaos without getting triggered. So far, so good. I will need to take a day or two next week and practice some good self-care so I can remain grounded and centered.

Grateful for Tagen and Kathy’s help today, grateful three more loads have been hauled, and grateful a settlement was reached.

I feel like I have had a day off today. Tagen went to Emporia for the day and won’t be home for dinner. Ellexia is back with her daddy so it is just Kathy and I in the house this afternoon. I remember what this is like!

I paid a few bills, renewed my car registration, and paid for the trip to Europe today. The website for the travel company wasn’t working very well so will have to check tomorrow to see if the payment went through.

I cleaned the BBQ grill this afternoon. That was a dirty, nasty job that was way overdue to be done. I should have better results grilling now. The last two times I have attempted to grill, it didn’t go well as there was too much built up grease and it kept catching fire. Amazing how much better a clean grill cooks.

I was going to go to town to run some errands today but decided to stay home and take advantage of a quiet day alone at home. They seem to be rare days now.

Tagen did the chicken chores for me before he left for town. Bless his heart, he has fallen in love with my chickens and loves gathering eggs. He brought two more eggs up today. They are the same color as the other ones we have been getting so thinking only two are laying so far. I’m hoping the other girls will get with it soon. 7 eggs and counting so far.

I took morning pills at bedtime last night instead of evening pills. Figured it out this morning. I fell asleep pretty quickly last night but I woke up at 5:40 this morning and couldn’t sleep any more. Since I took morning pills I didn’t take a sleeping aide. I struggle now to get by on only four hours of sleep. I did that for years and am wondering how I did it.

We got a break from the heat today. It is only in the 80’s today. Feels more like early June than July. I trust we will get some more rain this week. We still are very dry and need several inches at once to help fill the ponds.

I need to go to Emporia tomorrow to go with Michelle to court. I will take care of some errands while I am in town. I need to trade my small propane tank for a filled one and I need to fill my gas containers so I can mow again. I also need to get a gift for a friend of mine that had surgery today.

Saturday I need to clean house as I am hosting family day on Sunday. I will also make two desserts as that is my part of the meal we are having. So looking forward to having everyone home for the day.

Nest week I need to have a blood draw to check my TSH levels. I also will be taking Ellie, the cat, to the vet to get shaved. She is too fat to properly groom herself. I also want to go to Wichita or Topeka and get my phone screen replaced. We shall see what else the week ahead brings.

Sitting with a bit of amazement today. I realized that if Jim hadn’t left the house, I wouldn’t have been able to offer Michelle and the kiddos shelter from the storm they are in. The Universe does have a bigger plan than I can imagine. Learning to trust the Universe and accept the path that I am on is finally kicking in for me.

Grateful for this empty space this afternoon, grateful Tagen loves the chickens and likes caring for them, and grateful for the plan the Universe has for me (and for you)!

Mother Nature put on quite the fireworks show last night. The kiddos were getting ready to shoot their’s off and the wind came up and it was put on hold. The wind finally slowed down and they were able to shoot some fireworks off. We had a small grass fire from one of them. I grabbed the hose and Kathy got a pitcher of water and we got it out before it got away from us.

We sat out and watched the storm clouds for the longest time. The clouds were beautiful and the lightning was a show in and of itself. We finally got some good rain around midnight. It rained off and on all night. Guessing we got about 1.5 inches but not sure. We have good chances for more rain throughout the rest of the week and into the weekend. I will take every drop we can get.

We watched all the fireworks going off in all directions from my house. It was a wonderful night to sit out and enjoy all the bright exploding colors in the sky. I like fireworks from a distance and got tired of hearing the pops and booms that were part of them.

The kiddos slept in this morning. We had a late night last night watching the storms roll in. I don’t think I made breakfast for Ellexia until 11:00 or so. Tagen had cereal and Ellexia had pancakes and scrambled eggs. Tagen had a cheese quesadilla for lunch followed by a strawberry/banana smoothie. Lex had a cucumber for her afternoon snack. Whatever I guess!

I had a phone conference at 1:00 today. I think it went well. We shall see.

I went to town this afternoon and picked up my grocery order. My baby brother Keith met us at Walmart and gave us a big sack of green beans and a sack of corn. We had the corn for dinner and it was delicious.

The kiddos helped me unload the car when we got home and I managed to find a place for everything. The refrigerator is full! Not used to buying three gallons of milk a week.

I fixed chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob and green beans for dinner. Ellexia peeled the potatoes for me. She did a great job. Kathy joined us tonight and all seemed to enjoy the meal. Kathy and I commented that is was the type of meal Mom used to fix every night when we were growing up.

Tagen did chicken chores for me today and brought up two more eggs. We got the hose changed out. One section of the one I had been using had a leak in it and when I would forget to turn the water off, I was wasting water watering weeds. Now if I forget to turn it off, no worries. Tagen said he would take over doing chicken chores for me while he is here. Wonder if he is including the job of cleaning out the coop in his offer to take over chicken chores?

I didn’t get the appointment made to go to Best Buy tomorrow to replace my iPhone screen. I need a quiet day at home instead. I will do it next week.

Friday morning I am going someplace with Michelle. Fingers crossed it will go smoothly if it doesn’t get cancelled. Still holding out hope that a settlement will be reached and things will work out the way that is best for all.

Sunday is family day. We decided to have it at my house as the forecast is a bit shaky. My job for the meal is to fix the dessert. That will be easy. Everyone is bringing the rest of the meal. I am looking forward to it.

Grateful for the corn on the cob and green beans my brother shared with us, grateful for the rain on the prairie last night, and grateful the grocery order for the week is put away.

We had a beautiful evening last night sitting outside watching fireworks. I think the rising of the full orange super moon was the best show in the sky last night. The kiddos had never watched the full moon rising before. It was a delight to introduce them to it. We saw fireworks going off in all directions in the distant. It cooled down and was a wonderful evening to sit outside and enjoy all Mother Nature has to offer.

We came in and the kiddos had s’mores. We watched the fireworks that Cottonwood Falls put on from inside while the kiddos ate their s’mores.

I have done three loads of laundry today and have one more to do. I changed the linens on Tagen’s bed and need to do the same for my bed.

I got my first egg yesterday. Tagen had gone down with me and was pleased with himself that he found it. We got two more today. So far the three eggs we have gotten are a light brown, almost pink color. They must be from the Leghorn breed. I’m anxious to see what color the Easter Eggers will be laying. They are very small but have a yolk in them so they aren’t fairy eggs. They will gradually get bigger over the next two weeks or so. It won’t be long before I’ll be getting two dozen a day, if not more. Go girls! Chicken chores will be fun again.

Tomorrow I have a phone meeting at noon and then I have to go to Emporia and pick up my big grocery order. It will take me a bit to get it all put away when I get home. My grocery bill has doubled with the additional bodies in the house.

Thursday I may go to Topeka or Wichita and go to Best Buy and get the screen replaced on my iPhone. It has a chip and crack in it and I want to get it replaced before it becomes unusable.

Friday I have a thing to attend with Michelle in Emporia in the late morning. Nothing on the calendar for Saturday. Sunday we are having a family day at either the park in Cottonwood Falls or at my house, depending on the weather. If it rains or is to hot we will move it to my house. Craig and Nancy are coming up from Wichita, Nicole and Geoff are coming down from KC, Jason and Melissa will come out from Emporia and Michelle and the gang will be here. I love family days!

I am fixing hot dogs for dinner tonight. We have some leftover Macaroni and Cheese from last night so the kids will get a second chance to eat it up. Dinner will be easy to fix tonight!

I went to Cottonwood Falls this afternoon to dump recycling and to get two Hershey bars for s’mores tonight. I also mailed two checks to get the guttering job absolutely completed. It felt so good to cross off the guttering project from my pending list and to get the last thing between Jim and I resolved.

It has reached 96 so far today and I won’t be surprised if it climbs a bit higher before the day is over. Dang! It is hot outside. I don’t do well in this hot weather. The chickens looked hot this afternoon when we went down to gather eggs and give them fresh water. I trust they will be able to survive this heat.

Still adjusting to the change in my lifestyle with the extras in the house. So far, so good. I like fixing food so it is fun to fix three meals a day. The dishwasher, washing machine and dryer are all getting extra work. The kiddos seem to be easing into living here and we are establishing some ground rules. Luckily they are both old enough to be fairly self-sufficient and are helpful most of the time.

Grateful for the eggs my chickens are producing, grateful for being able to introduce my kiddos to the beauty of the full moon rising, and grateful for air conditioning and a nice cool house to live in.

Five of us gathered and practiced Tonglen last night. All had practiced before so we were able to go deep and get right to it without instructions. It was a powerful evening. We held it inside last night as it was a touch warm outside. My house was blessed by the practice.

It has been a lazy day on the prairie today. None of us have much energy to do much and three of us slept in after having trouble falling asleep. I think the magic of the full moon did its thing last night on all of us!

I went to Emporia around noon. The road construction is back and I had to wait about 20 minutes in line. I took the back roads home.

I dropped off a car load of things at the Salvation Army that Michelle wanted gone. I then went to Bobby D’s and had lunch. I stopped at Bluestem and purchased 200 pounds of chicken feed. The girls are graduating to Egg Layer Feed instead of Start and Grow. Eggs will be coming very soon. I then stopped and deposited a check at the ATM. I was glad to get home after all of that.

I got the bill for the guttering repair in the mail today. I wrote out a check to pay for it and a check to settle the difference I owed Jim. This little project has been on my pending list for over six months and it felt very good to finally get to cross it off my list.

I am fixing a meal loaf and macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. Ellexia will be joining us for the next couple of days. When I asked the kids what kind of food they wanted me to fix she said the meat with sauce on top of it. I finally figured out that is what she calls meat loaf. We may have renamed it around here! Ha!

If I remember I will remind the kiddos to sit out on the back deck to watch the Cottonwood Falls fireworks tonight. I also want to go out and watch the full moon rising. It will be a magic night on the prairie tonight.

I called and ordered a fill for the propane tank. We had a late, cold spring this year and I won’t have enough propane to get me through till first fill in late October. I got my contract for next year and I need to price chop this year and see if I can find a better price with a different company.

We don’t have any Fourth of July plans for tomorrow. We didn’t buy any fireworks this year. They aren’t my favorite thing to do and it feels like a waste of money to buy any. It is to be a bit cooler tomorrow so may get out and paint some. If all five of us paint on it I bet we could get the back deck done.

I need to get the glass on my iPhone replaced. I may go to Best Buy this Thursday and get that done. I am disappointed in the Otter Box that I have on it. It doesn’t fit correctly and didn’t prevent the glass from chipping in one corner. I will see if they have a better case for it while I am getting it repaired.

Sitting in a good head space today. Last night Tonglen was just what I needed. I didn’t get frustrated with the wait for the construction zone or other customers in the stores today. I feel grounded and a step or two above the neutral level on the consciousness ladder. That is a good space to live life from.

Grateful my errands are done, grateful the guttering project is complete, and grateful the chickens food supply is well stocked.

I took a quiet day today. I fixed breakfast for Tagen and then he went to his other grandmother’s house for the day. It has been quiet in the house today without him here.

I went out and finished up the mowing. I need to remember to fill my gas containers for the next mow as I am out of gas. If we don’t get any rain I won’t have to mow for a long time. The outer edges of the yard are burned up and even the inner edges are dry.

I did two loads of laundry and got them folded and put away. I seem to be doing more laundry these days. I have always enjoyed doing laundry so don’t mind having a bit more to do.

The wedding last night was beautiful. I wish Dean and Brittani a life time together of love and happiness. It was a good day for this momma to get to spend time with all three of my kiddos. Those are my favorite type of days.

I started a new grocery order that I will pick up Wednesday. Most of the things on the order are things Tagen likes to eat/drink. I am learning more about what he likes and what to fix for dinner each night. He is easy to please and fix for.

Monday I need to go to Emporia to deposit a check, drop off a bunch of donations at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and then pick up a load of chicken feed. I may try to get some more things of Michelles if I have room in my car for them. I’m grateful I have a car that has lots of back space to carry boxes and things in. My old Prius would not have been very helpful.

I started a packing list for the cruise. I found some small sunscreen containers that I am ordering from Walmart with my grocery order. Since I won’t be checking a bag I have to find some that are less than 3 ounces per container. I also found some sunburn lotion to take with us. My past experience at beach towns tells me they charge a lot for those products if you wait to buy them when you need it. I don’t want to run out with three full days in the sun planned.

Since Tagen is gone today I won’t have to fix dinner tonight. I will have to find myself something later to eat. It is nice to have a day off from cooking. We ate out last night so I got two nights of cooking off this weekend. What a deal!

I have another Tonglen practice scheduled for tonight. I hope someone shows up to practice with me. If not, Kathy and I will do it ourselves.

Feeling a bit restless today for some reason. I need to get a few things on my calendar for me to do. I have all next week wide open and that can feel a bit lonely and overwhelming to me. I do better when I have something planned for the week.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for the time with my kiddos and family last night, and grateful the mowing is done for a bit.

Got my mowing done today except for one last part. It got too windy and too much grass was blowing in my eyes so I had to quit. I will get out in the morning and finish it up. The ground is really dry and the grass has burned up in a lot of spots on the yard.

This afternoon Kathy, Michelle and Tagen and I drove to Lawrence to go to my nephew’s wedding. They had a nice crowd and the wedding was beautiful. Good to see my brother Keith and his wife and family.

There was about an hour between the wedding and the reception. All three of my kids came to the wedding so we decided to go to a tavern and get a drink before the reception. Once we got to the tavern we decided to go ahead and order dinner and eat there. It was a special treat for this momma to get a surprise family day. I’m so grateful all three kids went to the wedding and we got to have a family meal together.

We drove home after we ate and didn’t go to the reception. The weather was getting a bit dicey and I wanted to get home. We drove through some heavy rain for just a bit between Topeka and Emporia. We got sprinkled on as we were walking to our car after dinner.

As we were getting close to my house we saw a beautiful double rainbow to the south and then Kathy spotted a sun dog to the west. Mother Nature put on a beautiful show for us this evening.

Not sure if we got any rain here at the house before we got home. Michelle’s car was sitting out and it was still dusty although it looked like it may have gotten sprinkled on. Dang. Close to the rain again but no cigar.

Tomorrow night I have another Tonglen practice. Never know if anyone is going to show up or not. We shall see. Other than that I don’t have anything on my calendar for the rest of the week. I’m sure it will be busier than it looks like it will. I’m still adjusting to cooking three meals a day for Tagen and fixing an evening meal for the three of us. Ellexia will be here for part of the week and she always keeps me busy.

I’m tired tonight so hoping I can get to bed early and get some good sleep. I’ve been a bit sleepy all day. It felt like a day where I had to slow my body down a bit so my brain could catch up with it.

Grateful to see all three of my kids today, grateful to be able to witness the marriage of Dean and Brittani, and grateful for a safe trip to and from Lawrence.

Where did June go? I can’t believe it is the last day of June already. I am so out of time these days that the calendar doesn’t hold much meaning to me and I get surprised when I tune in to it for a bit.

I went to Emporia early afternoon and Tagen helped me fill my car with another load of Michelle’s things. We haven’t unloaded it yet and will do that when Michelle gets off work tonight. While I was in town I stopped and picked up a prescription that was ready to go home.

Tagen and his girlfriend are swimming this afternoon at the Cottonwood Falls pool. They invited me to go with them but it is too hot to be outside. It is over 100 again today with the heat index reaching well above 100.

I did some laundry today. Tagen had to wait for a pair of shorts to get dried so he could shower and get ready for the day. I ordered him two more pair so I don’t have to do laundry every other day.

I am grilling us some steaks for dinner tonight. Still working on cleaning out the freezer so I have room for the beef that will be coming in August. Tough duty to eat up steaks but I think we can manage that tonight. It will make for an easy dinner to fix and serve.

Tomorrow Kathy and I are going to Lawrence to our nephew’s wedding. Jason and Nicole and their families are meeting us there. Not sure if Michelle and Tagen are coming or not. It will be good to get out of the house and go somewhere. I look forward to seeing some extended family members I haven’t seen for a while.

Haven’t made any plans for the fourth holiday. I enjoy watching fireworks from a distance but not a big fan of watching them in a crowd of people. Since I am retired I don’t get an extra day off anymore as everyday is like a day off.

I did a bit of housecleaning today but always seem to have more to do. I also need to get out and do some mowing. It is to cool off tomorrow so may try to get it done then. We have a good chance for some rain tomorrow so we will see what happens with that plan. I much prefer we get rain over being able to mow but am not betting money that we will get rain.

Next week is another quiet week for me. I don’t have anything on my calendar. I have a few friends I need to make contact with so may try to do that next week. It would be good for me to have lunch with a friend or two and have some adult conversation. Things have been a bit unsettled around here and getting out for a bit would be good for me.

Ellexia and I only have three weeks before our cruise. I need to start thinking about what I want to take with me and making sure I have what I need. It will be time to fly to LA before I know it.

I have been a bit surprised that I have been able to hold myself at or above the neutral level of consciousness for these last two weeks. I have dipped below a couple of times but have managed to pull myself up each time rather quickly. When my normal routine gets broken I normally dip below and stay there for a while. A sign of progress that it didn’t happen this time, maybe?

Grateful another load of things has been brought to the house, grateful for Tagen’s help loading this morning,and grateful for steaks in the freezer that need eaten.

A miracle (of sorts) happen on the prairie today. The guttering guys showed up and fixed the guttering. The guttering got broke exactly six months ago today. I called them the day after it got broken and was told they would fix it the following week. That has been one long week! Thank heavens that job is finally done. Wonder how fast they will get the bill to me?

Jason came out this morning to put together Tagen’s bed. We are putting it in the room Michelle will be using. We moved the twin bed that was in her room to another room and set up the queen sized bed. It was missing three nuts so I went to Strong City Hardware to get some.

The lady in the hardware store found what I needed. I happened to see their large plumbing section and remembered I needed a water ram to keep on hand to clean out the floor drain in the basement. I found what I thought was the right thing. When I went to pay, the guy that owns the drain cleaning business that recommended I get the water ram was at the cashier stand. He said I got the right one. He asked if I needed it already! I told him I wanted to get one before I forgot what I was to get and was grateful he was there to ensure I got the right thing.He smiled and told me to hang it up downstairs and I would have it when I needed it.

I went to Emporia this afternoon to run errands. I took seven boxes of Tagen’s stuff he wanted to donate and get rid of and dropped them off at the Salvation Army. Then I went to the vet and got flea and tic medication for the two dogs and one cat. I made an appointment to take Ellie in to have her shaved. She has dreadlocks on her back. She is too fat to groom herself properly and her hair is all matted and ugly. I take her in July 13 at 8:00 for her to get cleaned up.

I went to Tim’s house and picked up a car load of Michelle’s things. Man it was hot carrying all that stuff and loading my car. I filled my car, leaving just enough room for the groceries I needed to buy. I need to go get another car load but think I will do that another day.

I stopped and filled the car with gas and then went to Walmart to pick up a prescription and a few groceries. Got everything purchased and loaded into my car. I remembered why I like on-line ordering so much. I was worn out by the time I got home and I didn’t even buy much.

Coming home there was a long line of old fashioned cars on the highway. They were going 50 MPH at best. It seemed to take a long time to get home today.

Tagen and Kathy helped me carry the stuff in from the car. Michelle and Tagen are going to be busy this weekend finding homes for all their things.

I am fixing a taco salad tonight for dinner. Tagen will probably have regular tacos and Michelle and I will have salads. That will be light, quick and easy. It is almost too hot to eat today. It has reached over 100 on the prairie today and is to be even hotter tomorrow.

So very grateful the guttering project got completed. Now to get the plumber out here to install the new kitchen faucet and fix the refrigerator water line.

I still need to go down and give the chickens some fresh, cool water. I worry about them on days like today. It is too hot for man or beast to be outside. Tagen went to weight training this morning and was really hot and worn out when he got home.

I came home from town a bit cranky. I got upset at something that happened and it took me a bit to calm down. The slow traffic coming home didn’t help my mood and Walmart was too peopley for me today. I’m glad I am home and can cool down and relax a bit.

I already feel my mood elevator going back up. It dropped while I was in town. Maybe I need to stay home and keep myself in time-out the rest of the day.

Grateful the guttering project is finally done, grateful the drain cleaning guy was at the hardware store when I was today, and grateful for Jason, Tagen and Kathy’s help today.

Oh my what a day. I got up early in case the guttering guys showed up. They didn’t! Why am I not surprised?

Kathy and I went to my neighbor’s house and picked up a pickup. Kathy drove her car, Tagen drove my car and I drove the pickup to the house in town. Jason met us at the house and helped us load. We loaded all three vehicles about as full as you could get them. Came home and unloaded them and then went back for round two. The second time we filled my car and the pickup.

I stopped and picked up my grocery order and then came home and unloaded my car for the second time. Tagen and his girlfriend got the pickup unloaded.

Tagen followed me back to my friend’s house so we could return the pickup after I fixed him and his girlfriend a quick lunch.

It was HOT out today. It reached 100 in town today. We are all wiped out after that task. Tagen now gets to go through everything and decided what to keep, what to donate and what to store in the barn.

Jason is going to come out tomorrow and help us set up the bed and move another bed to another room. Hopefully by the weekend all the stuff will have found a temporary home and Tagen will be settled in for the long haul.

I am fixing spaghetti and meat balls for dinner. Michelle and Ellexia are coming out for dinner and Tagen and his girlfriend will be here too. That will be a quick and easy dinner to fix and serve and one all the kiddos will enjoy.

Tomorrow or Friday I need to go to Emporia and pick up medication from the vet for the dogs and cat. I will have a car load of things to drop off at Goodwill of things Tagen no longer wants. Nothing else is on my calendar for the weekend except the wedding Saturday night in Lawrence.

It felt good to help Tagen make this big move today. It has made this whole situation feel real to both kiddos and I am betting some emotion will be forthcoming. Change is hard for all and things are still a bit unsettled. I’m grateful I can help them through this and be a safe space for them to vent and ask questions.

Grateful the move was accomplished today without incident, grateful for the use of my dear friend’s pickup, and grateful for Kathy’s help today.

I took a whole sleep aide last night and got some good sleep. The only problem is I was sleepy all morning.

I got a text at 7:30 this morning from my renter in Cottonwood Falls telling me the guttering guys were at her house. I told her to give them my address and phone number. They never showed up! Got close to getting it fixed but no cigar.

I got up and got dressed so I could show them what to do but they never showed up. I took a short nap in my chair as I had trouble fully waking up.

Michelle took Tagen to his doctor appointment this morning. Tagen got released from his concussion protocol so he is good to go.

I fixed him two grilled cheese sandwiches and a can of Spaghetti O’s for his lunch. He had three bowls of cereal for breakfast. That boy/man can eat!

I went to the Dollar General Store in Cottonwood Falls this afternoon to get some potatoes, onions and hamburger buns. I am grilling hamburgers for dinner and have fixed deviled eggs and a potato salad to go with them. I will also fix some baked beans.

Haven’t gotten much else done today except for two more loads of laundry and another load of dishes. I told Kathy last night that I needed two dishwashers to keep up with dishes around here now. I sure don’t remember this many dishes when I had kids but I’m sure there were. The washing machine, dryer and dishwasher seem to be running non stop now with four people in the house full time.

We got some sprinkles today. West and south of here got a nice rain but by the time it got to us it had run out of rain to share. Dang. So close but so far away! It is to be over 100 degrees tomorrow. Summer has arrived on the prairie. The next 10 days are going to be hot, hot, hot! Glad my A/C works and I can stay inside.

Tomorrow we are moving Tagen’s things to this house. Hoping one truck load will do it. Jason is going to meet us there and help us get things loaded. I don’t think it will take more than an hour or so but we will see. I have a grocery order to pick up between 2 and 3 so hoping it will be ready to go when we are ready to come back home.

I had a Zoom class at noon today but slept through the first part of it and the instructor doesn’t admit late people. I hope she sends a replay of it so I can watch it later.

While I was in Cottonwood Falls, I stopped by Kansas Graphics to see if they can make some 4, 5, 6 and 7 generation buttons or ribbons for our family reunion in August. The person I needed to talk to wasn’t in and is to call me tomorrow. I will have to guess at the numbers I need of each. We shall see how expensive they are and if I order them or not. Thought it would be fun for everyone to have one but it is an optional thing and not required if cost prohibits it.

The house is back to my new normal today after the weekend guests. Both Tagen and Michelle have gotten settled in their rooms and have found places for their things. We are moving some beds around tomorrow once Tagen’s bed gets here. So grateful I have a big house and room for all of us and all their things.

Still sitting in a good head space. I was on the edge at times this weekend but managed not to fall into the muck pond or below the neutral consciousness level for very long. I do need to get a few things on my calendar just for me for the next couple of weeks. I need to remember to take good care of myself with all the upset around here and find ways to self soothe.

Saturday Kathy and I are going to Lawrence to go to our nephew’s wedding and reception. That will be a fun outing as we will see some family members we haven’t seen for a long time.

Grateful Tagen got released from his concussion protocol, grateful for sleeping aides, and grateful for a quiet day at home.

Another night of little to no sleep. I could not fall asleep last night until about 2:00 this morning. Then I woke up at 5:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep.

I got up and made home made cinnamon rolls from scratch. What else does a person do when they can’t sleep at 5:00 in the morning – right? I don’t eat them but they looked good.

I also served my guests a French Toast Casserole, yogurt and fresh fruit. They packed up and headed home after they ate breakfast.

I have spent the day doing laundry and making beds and washing dishes. We got Tagen’s room all made up and his clothes unpacked and he is settled in. I made up Michelle’s bed so her room is ready for her to get unpacked and settled into tonight when she gets home from work. I still need to roll up the air mattress and get it put away.

I have the trash all emptied and the towels restocked in each of the bathrooms. Things are returning back to my new normal in the house.

Tagen is feeling much better. He went to town today and did a light work out at the gym and then picked up his girlfriend and brought her out to the house. I’m sure he will get cleared from concussion protocol when he goes to the doctor tomorrow. He may have to go through a week or so of gradual release but we shall see.

Wednesday I am borrowing a pickup from a dear friend and Kathy, myself and Jason are going with Tagen to the house to clear everything out of his room and bring everything here. I am hoping it won’t take more than an hour or two. While I am in town I will stop and pick up my grocery order for the week. It will be good for Tagen to have all of his stuff here.

I have nothing on my calendar for tomorrow. The house will be back in order so I can take a calm and relaxing day. I am overdue for a day like that. It seems like it has been a hot minute since I had a day at home with nothing that has to be done.

Does anyone know if the road construction on Highway 50 is completed? Tagen said they weren’t working today when he went to town this afternoon. What a relief it will be when it is done. I’m tired of driving the back roads and it taking extra time to get to town.

I had five others join me last night for the Tonglen practice. Four of the five had never done Tonglen before so we started at the very beginning. I’m not sure what my guests thought about it. It seemed a bit foreign to them I think. They were good sports though and stuck with it until we were done.

Things are still a bit apple cart upset around here. Not sure we can look too far to the future and have an idea of a solid plan yet. Hoping this week will bring some answers or at least a chance for all to catch their breath and allow bodies and minds to catch up with each other.

Grateful I have a big enough house to take in my family as needed, grateful for the guests that came and went, and grateful for the silence in the house this afternoon.