Starry night on the prairie

What a magical adventure we had. Everything went even better than I had hoped as we traveled to Antlers, OK to be in totality of the eclipse.

Three of my best friends and I left yesterday afternoon and drove to McAlester, OK and spent the night at a hotel there. The room was clean and quiet and there was a good seafood restaurant right next door where we had dinner.

We got up this morning and went to Jimmy’s Egg and had a delicious breakfast. We had a very efficient waitress and enjoyed a good breakfast. It was only five minutes from our hotel.

We then drove to Antlers, OK. You could tell traffic was heavier than normal driving to Antlers but there was no slow down until we reached town and a stop light. We didn’t have to go all the way through town as we turned off to go to our host family.

We had a beautiful spot to sit out and watch the eclipse with the nicest hostess you could ask for. Her sister and brother-in-law were there too. They welcomed us and made us feel right at home.

We were on the outskirts of town and had a big, beautiful yard to sit in. Her neighbor is a paramedic in town and he came over and invited us to use his front yard if we needed it too. Our hostess had two cats and five dogs and one of the cats got lots of extra love from our group today.

We had a picnic lunch in the yard as we waited for the eclipse to begin. The cloud cover came and went and gave our necks a break occasionally. When it was time for totality the clouds disappeared so we got to see the moon fully cover the sun. It got dark enough we saw a star. It didn’t get as dark as I had anticipated but it was so cool to watch the moon over the sun. Totality lasted for almost two minutes and then it got bright out again.

We stayed for about 30 more minutes and then decided to leave to beat the traffic out of town. It took us a bit to pack up and say our thanks and goodbyes.

Traffic coming out of Antlers was heavy but except for a couple of places moved along. We had stop and go traffic three times the whole trip home and those periods only lasted for five or ten minutes. It was way easier coming home than I had feared it might be.

We got home around 9:00 tonight which was way earlier than I anticipated we would arrive. I’m grateful we got home at a decent time. I’m tired tonight and am hoping I will sleep good tonight.

This trip could not have gone any smoother. Our hostess was perfect for our group. All of us felt like we made a new friend. I wished we lived closer so she could be part of our quarterly equinox and solstice group. She would fit right in.

We both said it was a great lesson on trust for both sides. We trusted she would be the perfect hostess for us and she trusted we would be the perfect guests for her. She is normally a very private person and offering to open her house to us was way out of the normal for her. We all decided there was a higher power at play here and there was a greater purpose than we know now that brought us all together.

This will be a trip that I will remember for a very long time. It felt magical and divinely guided and inspired.

Grateful for a safe journey, grateful to have made a new friend, and grateful for the companionship of my friends that journeyed with me.

I am writing from McAlester, OK tonight. We had a safe journey here today. Traffic was moderate and only got slowed down during road construction places. OK has a lot of road construction going on.

Got to the hotel without getting lost. The guy at the front desk recommended a sea food restaurant right next door. It was excellent. I think everyone enjoyed their choices.

We only made one stop on the way down at some turnpike rest area in Oklahoma. I am terrible with geography and have no idea where we were other than it was in OK. I filled the car up with gas and we used the bathrooms. It took us about five hours to get here today.

Tomorrow we are going to Jimmy’s Eggs for breakfast which is only about 1.5 miles from our hotel and then are heading to Antlers to view the eclipse. Our group is meeting at 8:30 to go to breakfast and then from there we will go to Antlers. It should only be about a one hour drive to our hostess place but I’m not sure about traffic. Totality isn’t until 1:45 so we will have plenty of time to get to her house before.

Sure hoping the traffic coming home is like the traffic going today. Not sure what to expect. Guess we will get home when we get home and will deal with what ever happens.

We had plenty of room in the back of the car for all the things we brought. We certainly won’t go hungry on this trip. We brought lunch to share with our hostess and her two other guests and lots of snacks.

Had a couple of Facebook messages when I could check them once we got here. Have two different people interested in the TV. Hoping one or the other will actually take it. Also have two people interested in the night stands. Sure would be nice to get rid of those things.

Feels good to get out of town for a bit and enjoy lots of great conversation and girl talk. I love these women and love having time with them.

Looking forward to tomorrow. I am so grateful we have a place to go to watch the eclipse that will be safe and out of traffic and crowds. Trusting the hostess and her guests will be fun and all will enjoy themselves.

Don’t forget to look up tomorrow and enjoy the eclipse from wherever you are. It will be a day of wonder for sure.

Grateful for a safe trip to McAlester, grateful for time with my friends, and grateful for a great dinner.

A good day to get rid of some things. Nicole and Geoff stopped by on their way to Wichita and picked up 8 kitchen chairs, the telescope and a few other things. They may take the extra freezer if it will fit in the space they have. They will have to make another trip to pick it up if it will work for them. They only stayed for about an hour but it was good to see them for a hot minute.

I went to Emporia to volunteer at the Friends of the Library book sale. I sat with a nice lady and we had a good conversation between customers. They weren’t very busy so I didn’t have to work very hard. Today was full price day so we had to use our brains to figure out pricing. Working on bag sale day is easier. I only came home with one book by one of my favorite authors so was proud of myself for showing such restraint. It helped that I worked the cash table today and wasn’t walking around and laying hands on the books on the shelves.

While I was at the book sale, two people came and picked up some items I had listed on Marketplace and took to town with me. I got rid of two more of the armless chairs and the sunflower milk can. I’m grateful both people showed up as promised and got their things. I needed a bit of cash to take with me on my eclipse adventure tomorrow and that will cover that need I had.

Slowly but surely things are leaving this house. It is starting to look a bit empty in some rooms. Still have a few more things to get rid of but I’m feeling better about where I am at. I have a big pile I need to deliver to the Salvation Army one day next week when I go to town. I don’t want to get boxes mixed up and give away things I want to keep and move things that need donated. I am almost to the last of the things that I have to donate, although as I start packing I’m sure I will find some more.

The wind this afternoon is crazy. I’ve had a 50 MPH gust so far today. When I went down to do chickens I stepped away from the house and got blown a couple of steps until I could find my footing. Coming back up to the house with an empty water bucket was a challenge. At one point I had to stop and very carefully plant a foot before I picked up the other one. I sure hope we get some rain out of all of this.

The smoke in the air is hanging low today. I don’t think anyone is burning today but the wind is picking up the remnants of the burning that was done yesterday and blowing it around. Days like this can drive me a little batty after a bit. I’m glad I was in town this afternoon to escape it for a while.

We are in a severe thunderstorm watch for the rest of the evening. I would love some rain but sure don’t want anything serious. I just got things repaired from the last bad storm we had last August.

While I was in town I stopped at the Sweet Granada and picked up a gift basket to take to our hostess for Monday. I am going to take two dozen eggs I gathered today too. The others in my group are bringing gifts too. It is an incredibly generous thing for our hostess to allow four strangers into her house and property to watch the eclipse.

Got my propane bill and discovered I was out of contract propane. I somehow missed my February bill and the ticket that they had come then to fill the tank. I will need to call them Monday and have them send me a duplicate copy of it as I thought I still had contract propane left. I will get reimbursed by the buyer for this fill but sure hate to have to pay the amount before then. Money seems to be flying out lately.

It will be fun to get away for a night tomorrow night. I forget to stop and have fun days and am overdue for one. It will be an adventure however it turns out. The ladies I am going with are always fun to hang out with and I’m sure we will have lots of laughs together.

Nicole mentioned the possibility of going on a trip with me later this year. Her vacation plans had to change and she now has some vacation time she needs to use up and invited me to go with her. We will start watching tours and see where we both want to go. I hadn’t planned a big trip for this year but if the opportunity presents itself I won’t say no. I will go and celebrate the big move I am making.

Tomorrow morning I will need to pack for our adventure. We are leaving early afternoon so have lots of time in the morning to gather what I am taking. I have a list going so hopefully won’t forget anything too important.

I forgot to do exercise yesterday so need to do that today yet. I don’t have the video to watch so will have to come up with something to do for 50 minutes. I’ve done enough sessions now I think I can remember enough of what I have done to make it work. I need to remember to start saving the video links each week in case this happens again. I haven’t needed them before so haven’t been saving the link.

Things seem to be falling into place for me. There have been a few things happen this week that helped remind me the universe has my back. I needed that reminder as sometimes I get locked into something that isn’t playing out the way I wanted it to and forget that most things are working in my favor. One thing I learned when I walked the Camino is I had a better day when I let go of any expectations about how the day might play out. Staying present to what is and not overly anticipating what might happen helped me to have better days. I needed that reminder today.

Grateful to have gotten rid of more things today, grateful to have gotten to see Nicole and Geoff for a hot minute today, and grateful our adventure begins tomorrow.

Crossed off a few more things on my to-do list. I went to Cottonwood Falls this morning to meet the guys delivering the new shed. The guys looked like they were barely 18 years old. They worked together well and were well trained on what they were doing.

They got the 10 x 12 shed off the semi trailer and pulled it into place using a little mobile device of some sort. They set it right where it needed to be. It only took them about 15 minutes to get it unloaded and into place.

After I left there I stopped at the Courthouse and paid the second half of the property taxes for this house. I had forgotten my payment slip but they were able to take care of it without it. I love small towns and how you rarely have to wait in line.

Came home and took a little nap in my chair. I had trouble falling asleep again last night and was still tired this morning. Felt more rested after my chair nap.

Went to Emporia and got the ham and cheese for our trip to Antlers, Oklahoma Sunday and Monday. We are packing a lunch for Monday as the size of the anticipated crowds is large and I don’t want to fight for a place to eat. I’m sure I got way too much but that’s OK. I will freeze the meat and then it will stay nice for the trip down Sunday.

I stopped and got the car washed and then filled it with gas. I need to go out this afternoon and wipe the inside down. It is very dusty. I vacuumed it last week so that still looks good.

The propane guy came and filled the tank. I had checked it yesterday and it was down to 12%. I wasn’t sure that would last me the rest of the month and I didn’t want the buyers to come into a house that had no propane. The buyers are going to reimburse me for the cost of this fill. I will use the 12% that was in it and then the rest will be theirs.

I scanned the copy of the propane invoice and sent it to the title company so it can be dealt with at closing.

I called a moving company and am going to get a moving bid. They do a virtual estimate using Zoom somehow. That is set up to happen next Tuesday. The mover I had lined up has agreed to move Jason the day the mover was to be moving me. The mover has a hard time saying no to people and he told Jason he had a couple others that want moved during that same time frame. I know how this guy works and decided I wanted a smoother, less stressful process.

When he moved Michelle he took three days before he unloaded her and I don’t want that to happen to me. I would rather pay a bit more and know the job will be done timely than to stress out and wait on stuff to get delivered or loaded.

My exercise trainer let me know she was sick today so I am to do exercises at home. I deleted the email that had the video link for today’s exercises so will have to fake my way through my exercises today. This is the third day of this set so I think I can remember enough of them to get by. I will do them at home later today.

Tomorrow I am working at the Library book sale from noon to 3:00. It is full price day but they will be busy as it is the first full day of the sale. Time will go fast if they are busy. I always go shop at bag day where you can get a full bag of books for $10 or $5 depending on which day you go. I have three big boxes of books to take to them so will try not to buy books this year.

Sunday we are leaving for McAlester, OK and will spend the night there and then Monday late morning drive into Antlers, OK. A family just outside Antlers has graciously invited us to their place to spend the day watching the eclipse. We will drive back to KS that night. Hoping traffic isn’t as bad as predicted. It is probably going to be cloudy and possibly even rain on Monday so hope that cuts down on the amount of people that will head that way. We might not get home until early Tuesday morning if traffic is really bad.

Kathy has decided not to go. She is having some health issues and got put on some new medication and is not sure she is going to feel up to making the trip. Dang it anyways. KS is to experience about 85% totality so she will get a taste of it from here.

Time seems to be speeding up for me right now. Three weeks from next Wednesday is moving day. Yikes! When I get back from OK I can start packing the non essential things. I really don’t have lots of those but will have to get started packing sooner or later. I can take pictures off the walls, etc. and get that type of thing packed.

I have a 51 inch LG Tv with a corner stand to give away. Anyone know of someone that could use it? Let me know and have them come get it. I tried to sell it on Marketplace and had no luck. I will leave it for the buyers if no one wants it. I am done with Marketplace. Too many flakes and scams.

I also have seven matching armless chairs to get rid of. Four are alike, two are alike and then one odd one. They are comfortable chairs – just won’t have room for them at the new place. I also have two matching night stands.

My to-do list is getting smaller. It felt good to cross a couple things off of it today. My savings account is getting smaller too as I keep paying for things. Yikes! When I saw the propane bill today it reminded me why I am selling this house.

Lots of prairie burning happening around me this week and today. The sunset last night was beautiful but you could really tell how much smoke was in the air. Not a good day for anyone with lung issues to be outside today. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is burning today so the smoke is very thick west of me right now.

Sitting in a good place. Things are moving along and getting taken care of. The reality of the move is finally here and I think I am ready. It will be a busy month ahead of me taking care of all the packing and all the transfers, etc. Looking forward to having the move complete and the unpacking done. I look forward to a simpler life with less to be responsible for.

Grateful the new shed is safely in place, grateful the property taxes are paid, and grateful I have a full propane tank.

I got up early this morning to be ready for the buyer of the TV and stand. They didn’t show up. I sent a message and asked if they were still coming and got no response. Last night the buyer of the chairs didn’t show up. I sent a message and asked if she was still interested. She said she was and would come today to get them. I asked her what time and no response. OK, I am officially done with Facebook Marketplace. Too many flakes and it stresses me out too much.

The buyer told me I could leave what ever I wanted so I might do that. Not sure how to get rid of things otherwise. The TV is too big for me to handle by myself to take to the Salvation Army. The chairs are not heavy but are awkward so I may be leaving those too.

I packed five boxes in my office today. I don’t want to pack the rest of the stuff yet as I might need it the next three weeks. It won’t take long to pack so decided to stop and will pack it up when it gets closer. Felt good to get a few boxes packed of things I am taking though. I hadn’t started doing any of that yet.

Got the internet, electric and gas set up at the house I am moving into set up. I haven’t cancelled the utilities where I am at yet. I want to wait until the last minute to do that just in case the sell doesn’t go through. I will be responsible for utilities at the new house regardless so it felt safe to get those set up.

I ordered some checks with the new address on them. They have to go through some sort of security check as I am having them shipped to this address. Hoping the security check doesn’t take too long and I get them before I move.

The pest guy came and did an inspection for the new buyers of this house. He told me the inside all looked good and he is outside now finishing up his inspection. He told me he would come back in and tell me if he found anything. He is married to the sister of a good friend of mine he told me. Good to know that as it makes me feel like he will be honest with me.

I was going to go to Cottonwood today to pay my property tax but have stayed home in case the lady that wanted the chairs showed up. I should know better than to adjust my plans for something like that. So far, she hasn’t come and I have the feeling she won’t come tonight. I have to go to the new property tomorrow to meet the guy delivering the shed so can stop after that and pay the taxes.

When I go to town tomorrow afternoon for exercise I need to stop and get meat and cheese for our eclipse adventure. We are packing our lunch for Monday and my part of the lunch is the meat and cheese. I will freeze the meat and that way it will stay cold for Monday. The other ladies are bringing fruit, veggies, bread, and dessert. It will be fun to get out of town for a night and have an adventure. Sounds like it might be cloudy that day in Oklahoma but we will have fun regardless.

Had trouble finding sleep again last night. I fell asleep in my corner chair early afternoon and found an hour or two of sleep. I will take it whenever I can find it these days. Finally feeling rested this afternoon and I have some energy to do something. Now I need to decide what I want to do. I have some packing I can do downstairs that I will probably go take care of.

I will need to stop at McDonald’s and get some more fry boxes soon. I still have some to use but I don’t think I have enough to pack everything. I hate to run low on them as that makes packing harder. I also need to load my car up with the boxes I have ready to go to the Salvation Army. I don’t want to get boxes mixed up and donate things I want to keep and move things I want to donate.

Feeling a bit restless and unsettled today. There are a couple of situations going on in my background that are concerning me. I’m sure all will work out OK. Nothing I can do about any of it so will be good practice for me to be an observer and watch how it plays out. The fixer in me wants to jump in but I need to break that habit and stay out of things. I feel the pressure rising at times to do something and have to breathe and remind myself it isn’t my garden to tend to. I’m grateful I have learned about boundaries and what is mine to carry. I think I will always have the tendency to give too much but at least now I can stop myself most times.

Grateful for this beautiful spring like day on the prairie, grateful the first boxes are packed for the move, and grateful some things got crossed off my to-do list today.

Long day with no nap and little sleep last night. Grateful I am home for the night and can go to bed early.

Went to Emporia at 9:00 this morning for round one of taxes for the day. We had some no shows so had down time which makes the morning feel longer than it was.

Went to exercise afterwards. I was kinda dreading going as I am a bit sore from exercise Monday yet. I powered through and did OK. I did less of the exercises that caused the pain – I still did them just slowed them down and did less repeats. As is normal for me, the fear I had about going was worse than the actual session.

Came home afterwards to meet someone that came to pick up a chair I had listed on Marketplace. I wanted to take a nap but had to stay up as I knew they were coming. By the time they left it was too late to take a nap as I had to go back to Emporia for round two of taxes. I did the chicken chores and then headed to town.

Stopped at the Chiropractor for my weekly adjustment. He stretched out my hips which hurts for a bit but hopefully makes them better later.

Went to taxes. I stayed busy tonight. Had a few complications that slowed things down but had some fun people to work with tonight.

Finally got home for the day a little after 8:00. A person that was to have come pick up two chairs this evening hasn’t shown up yet. Not sure they will this late now but we shall see.

Tomorrow someone is to come pick up the TV and stand from downstairs and the pest guy is coming for an inspection in the afternoon.

I called the city of Cottonwood Falls today and my permit for the shed addition was approved. I asked now what and found out nothing has to happen since it is a delivery and not a construction. Good to know it got approved I guess. The shed is to be delivered Friday morning at 9:00. I will go meet the delivery guy and pay him the remaining balance for the shed.

I go into exercise Friday afternoon and then back to Emporia Saturday to work at the library book sale. I will make six trips to town this week. No wonder I am tired tonight!

Wish I could sleep in tomorrow but not sure when the people picking up the TV are coming. I need to clear out my info on the different services on the TV before it goes away. Hate to do that if they don’t show up but need it done if they do. Guess I could make them wait if they show up while I do it. We shall see what I decide to do.

Jason and I are trying to figure out moving. We are using the same guy to move both of us to two different places during the same short time window. The guy that is moving us is hard to pin down on dates and commitment. He tries to please everyone and ends up pissing everyone off. I don’t want a two day move to turn into a four day move. This move will be an adventure. It will all work out one way or another.

I think I won’t put anything else on Marketplace. It is causing me stress this week and the little bit I am making isn’t worth it. I will donate stuff or leave it for the buyer. He told me it was OK to leave anything I didn’t want to take.

The person I am getting my flooring, kitchen cabinets and countertops from let me know she ordered samples of my choices for me and that she would let me know when they arrived. I want to pick out paint colors, etc. and had asked if it was possible to get samples. She still hasn’t put together my bid as she has been busy but promised to get to it by the first of next week. Gosh, this process is slow. No wonder it takes so long to build a new house.

I’ve been able to stay in a good head space. Still staying above the neutral level most of the time. I fall down occasionally but haven’t stayed there long. The next four weeks are going to be crazy busy for me and I have lots of little things to manage and track. All is well and all will be well. One thing at a time and I can do this!

Grateful I only have two more tax sessions to do this year, grateful exercise was easier than I feared, and grateful I can go to bed early tonight.

Went to Emporia this afternoon to get my hair cut. I took my hairdresser some eggs. It will be the last time I can do that for him. Stopped and got groceries at the grocery store on Merchant afterwards and then came home.

I got brave and listed some things on Facebook Marketplace. The first response was a scam. They wanted to send me a code of some sort to verify I was a human. I looked it up and found out it is a scam. I blocked them. Made me remember why I don’t like Facebook Marketplace.

However, I have sold three of the armless chairs. Two are to be picked up tomorrow late afternoon. We shall see if they come. The other one went to a friend so I know that one will go.

I listed some nightstands, luggage racks and the painted milk can also. No nibbles on any of those yet. I may end up donating all this stuff if it doesn’t move. Not up to having a garage sale.

Took another car load of trash to the curb. So far the trash man hasn’t complained about all my extra trash. The mice had chewed a hole in two of the bags so had to double bag them. I have a big pile of old chicken feed in the barn I need to clean up soon. Grateful I discovered the hole before I put the bag in my car. I wasn’t that lucky last week and made a mess in my car.

Still waiting on the price estimates for the flooring, kitchen cabinets, and countertops that I picked out last week. Hoping those will come in this week. I don’t think I asked her how long it takes to get an estimate back. Still haven’t heard from my builder but he may be waiting for these bids to come back before he finalizes his cost to build the house. All this takes time – I’m grateful I started before I close on the sell of this house. At this rate, the builder won’t need a deposit of any sort before May 1.

Tomorrow I have to be in town by 9:00 to do taxes and then I have exercise at noon. I go back to town at 4:00 to go to the Chiropractor and then do another tax session. I only have this Wednesday and next Wednesday and then tax season is over for this year. That will free up one whole day a week for me. It was a lot to make two trips to town every week on the same day. If I do them next year, I will do them on different days and not make two trips on the same day all season long.

The termite inspection the buyer has requested is being done Thursday afternoon. The new shed is being delivered Friday morning. I need to go to the city clerk’s office and pick up the permit so I have it in hand for the delivery. They haven’t called to tell me it is ready or to tell me it was denied. Ummmm…. Guess I will find out when I get there if they approved it or not.

Friday I go to Emporia for exercise and Saturday I am volunteering at the Friends of the Library book sale. Sunday and Monday I am going to Oklahoma to be in the totality of the eclipse. One of these days I will stay home and start packing. 29 days and counting.

I feel like I have a lot to do but it is still too early to do much of it. I will need to get all the utilities at this house disconnected and the utilities at the next house connected. I don’t think any of them except for the internet provider is the same company. I don’t like making phone calls but guess I will have to suck it up and get it done one of these days soon.

I need to go to Cottonwood and pay my property taxes on this house this week so that is taken care of before the close of the sale. I will have to pay the estimated property taxes for 2024 from January 1 – May 3 at closing. The taxes I have to pay are the second half of the 2023 taxes. It won’t be long before I will need to pay the second half of 2023 on all the rental properties too.

Just got a message about the 52” LG Smart TV I listed. They wanted to know if it was a smart TV. I almost said smarter than you. Read the caption – it says Smart TV! Geez! Not sure I have the patience for this.

We got a bit of rain today but not near enough. Most of it went east of us. Grateful we missed the nasty stuff. We had 40 plus MPH wind this morning. It is clearing off this afternoon and the sun is coming through. Sure wish we could get a couple inches of rain but guess it wasn’t my turn this time.

Grateful for a haircut today, grateful I am selling some of the stuff I have listed, and grateful more trash left the building today.

30 days and counting until the move. Yikes! It is starting to feel real.

Went to Emporia this morning to do taxes. I did four or five returns today and reviewed two others. Not much down time this morning doing taxes.

Went to exercise at noon. Our session this week is 50 minutes which is the longest one I have had so far. We used the resistance bands and I felt like I got a good workout this time. The trainer helps make the time go by quickly.

Came home afterwards. I was going to stop for lunch but I felt something telling me to get home.

I got about halfway home and got a phone call from the guy delivering the mower. He was almost to my house and wanted instructions for parking his semi. I got home just as he was turning the corner on my driveway.

He unload the mower. It is in pieces on a shipping flat. I will have Jason help me figure out how to put it together and get it running.

While I was doing taxes the guttering guys called me with a question. They showed up this morning to complete that project. I had no idea how to answer his question and finally told him to act like it was his house and fix it how he would if it was his. They finished up about an hour after I got home. What they did looks good to me. I never know if they do a good job or not on things like that.

That means the Hail Restoration Project is done! What a relief. The only thing left to do is to get the funds to pay the guttering team and I can cross that whole project off my pending list.

After I got those guys all sorted out when I got home I took a nap. I didn’t want to wake up this morning when my alarm went off and I was still tired. It is a lightly raining type of day on the prairie and a good day to take a nap.

When I was napping I would hear a weird sound every once in a while. Hadn’t heard that sound before but was too tired to get up to see what it was. When I went to the bathroom after I had gotten up, I noticed the wind had blown the roll of toilet paper and had unrolled the whole thing. That was the sound I had been hearing. Looks like an April Fools prank a kid would pull but it was for real.

Tomorrow I have to go to town for a haircut. It stresses me out to try to time a haircut after exercise or taxes as I never know if I can get there on time or not. Decided I would rather make one more trip to town and eliminate that stress. I need a few groceries this week so will stop and get those after my haircut.

So far most of the rain has gone east of us. We have only had light sprinkles today. Dang! We need rain badly. There is still a chance we will get some later tonight and into tomorrow so I am crossing my toes and fingers it comes my way. I may not get to test out my new mower if we don’t get some rain soon.

Sitting in a good place this afternoon finally feeling more rested. It feels so good to have the guttering replaced and the hail restoration project completed. I can do hard things! The house looks better outside now than it has for a long time. I feel like I am leaving it in good shape for the new buyers.

This week will go by quickly as I have to make six trips to town this week. I am almost close enough to moving day that I can start notifying utilities and getting things transferred. Need to start working on changing my address on bills, etc. Lots of little things that will need taken care of this month.

Grateful the guttering got replaced today, grateful the mower showed up, and grateful for a rainy day nap.

Happy Easter to one and all. I celebrate the spring renewal of possibilities and hope. We can and do renew ourselves when we offer grace and compassion to ourselves. Live is full of change and possibilities if one allows them in.

It has been a day of rest and recovery for me today. I finished up the dishes and have done a couple loads of laundry today. Did a bit of housecleaning but otherwise have sat in my chair and listened to the wind blow. It reached the low 80’s today. Have a feeling we might be in for a hot summer this year.

Still feeling the love from yesterday’s family day. What a special treat it is for me to have all the kids come home and enjoy a feast together. Nothing I enjoy more than family day.

Need to go down and take care of the chickens in a bit. Just heard one of them singing their just laid an egg song. They have been giving me 18 – 23 eggs a day lately. 23 was a new record for this group. Michelle and Nicole both took home some eggs yesterday. I think we will all miss the chickens when I move.

With the calendar switching to April tomorrow it is making the move feel close. I am getting packed up and loaded on either April 30 or May 1. It is time for the count down to switch to days instead of weeks. I have such mixed emotions now. I realize more and more how much I am going to miss this place and the views. However, if something breaks and I have to get it fixed, I remember why I made the choice I did to move. Sitting in the in-between time is hard. Wish the move was already over and done with. But that takes me out of the present moment and I keep reigning myself back in and sitting in the present. Tomorrow and the move will come soon enough.

A week from Monday is the eclipse. I keep reading reports of anticipated numbers of people that are traveling to see the eclipse. Working hard to stay out of the fear of the return home traffic. It may or may not be as predicted. It will be an adventure, however it plays out.

Feeling a bit unsettled and restless today. It feels like there is a lot going on under the radar for me right now. Lots of change in store and lots of unknowns in my world right now. The best thing I can do is work hard at remaining grounded and centered and staying present with what is. I’m struggling a bit to stay out of my head and playing out the what if’s. Rarely do those play out the way I expected them too and it is a waste of my energy to even go there. Easier said than done though to keep it at bay.

My mantra for the day is “Right here, right now, all is well.” And so it is and so it shall be.

I also know that the eclipse can stir up the energy in the universe in the days leading up to the eclipse and for a short time afterwards. It can be hard the week leading up to the eclipse to stay grounded and centered and present. Being aware of that helps me offer myself grace during this upcoming week.

Grateful for spring and the chance to renew myself, grateful for a day of rest and recovery, and grateful right here, right now, all is well. And so it is and so it shall be.

Family day is a wrap. We had a good time together. Too much food, an Easter egg hunt, coloring Easter eggs, lots of hugs and some hard conversations. A successful day.

I am so proud of how my kids are working together on a tough family situation and figuring out ways to help in the midst of so many unknowns and twists and turns. When the going gets rough, they band together and help out as best they can.

I fixed a meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole and roasted veggies. Jason fixed pig tails and gravy. Pig tails are pork loin cut into thin strips and deep fried. They were so yummy. Michelle brought our family’s traditional bunny cake and I made a banana pudding for dessert. Everyone took home lots of leftovers.

I used my egg money and put it in the Easter eggs that I hid for all the kids – big and little to find. The top winner found $22 worth and the lowest was $11. They had fun finding the eggs in the back yard.

Michelle, Tagen and Ellexia colored a dozen eggs. It has been a family tradition with those two little ones since they were very little. They had fun coloring the eggs. My chickens give me green, brown and white shell eggs so each egg took the color in a unique way.

I am running the fourth load of dishes and I have at least one, and probably two more loads to do. I do like to dirty dishes when I cook. I have the rest of the kitchen cleaned up so will work on the rest of the dishes through the evening. No rush to get them done as I am not cooking tomorrow.

I have a load of kitchen linens and tablecloths in the washing machine. I’ll get those washed and dried and put away later tonight. I’m grateful this kitchen cleans up easily.

I went to Cottonwood Falls this morning to meet the guy that is setting the foundation for the new shed that is going to be delivered to the house I am moving to next week. I showed him where I wanted it and paid him and then came back home. I want to run into Cottonwood Falls in the next couple of days and take a look at what he did.

I am tired this afternoon. I didn’t fall asleep until almost 5:00 this morning and then was up by 7:00. It is late enough now that I will wait and not take a nap and go to bed early. I have really gotten to dislike bedtime as I have too many nights like that.

Nothing on my calendar for tomorrow. I’ll take a rest day and recover from today. Monday I have to be in Emporia by 9:00 to do an extra tax shift and then go to exercise. The new mower is going to be delivered sometime on Monday but Kathy will be home while I am gone in case in comes before I get home. Tuesday I get to stay home. Wednesday I have to make two trips to town as I have two tax shifts to do. Thursday I get to stay home but will have to go back to town Friday for exercise. I will also have to go to town Saturday as I am helping at the Friends of the Library book sale. Sunday and Monday I am going to Oklahoma with a group of friends to experience the totality of the solar eclipse Monday.

Busy week ahead. I need to find some time in there to continue downsizing and getting rid of things. I had lots of things to list on Facebook Marketplace when I get brave enough to do so. I move May 1 so am starting to run out of time.

Family days are my favorite days ever. It is so fun to have all the kids together and see them interact with each other. I would do it every week if it was up to me but that isn’t fair to them as they each have their own lives and friends and things to do. I am always grateful when they give me a day or two every couple of months. I am one blessed mother.

My heart is full from today. This may be the last gathering we have together in this house. Life changes, moves happen, life goes on. Looking forward to a lot of new firsts for us in the future.

Grateful the kids all came home today, grateful for the wonderful food and fun we had together today, and grateful of the kind and generous adults my kids have become.

The EFIS guys came and finished their job. I sent them on my way with my gratitude and a big check to pay them. So very grateful I can cross that project off my pending list. It took seven and one half months to get that job done. Now to get the guttering done and the hail damage restoration job will be complete.

I went to Emporia early afternoon or exercise. I’m sorry the video we did this week is done. I really enjoyed it this week. It was mainly yoga and it is the first one that I felt like I was getting a good work out in. I had a different trainer today and we were joined by the guy that works out with me occasionally. He is half way through this program and goes to KU next week for his mid way check in and tests.

Went to Walmart after exercise to pick up some groceries. The store was a zoo. Guess people were out getting things for their Easter celebrations. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long to check out but I did have to dodge people all through the store. Had to back up from an isle as there were some people visiting and were oblivious to others around them. Made it out alive – a bit cranky – but alive.

Came home and put things away. I got the Easter eggs stuffed for our Easter egg hunt tomorrow. Even the big kids still enjoy hunting for eggs. Hope it isn’t as windy tomorrow or the eggs may blow away.

Still need to get downstairs and get the bedroom and bathroom ready for guests tonight. Need to find some towels to take down as I emptied out the cabinet earlier this week not knowing I would have more guests in this house. Good thing they are family and deal with what they find down there. I have boxes and stuff piled downstairs in the great room and am not in the mood to move them.

I’m fixing a meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, roasted veggies and banana pudding for lunch tomorrow. Jason is fixing pig tails, mashed potatoes and gravy. Michelle is bringing our family’s traditional Easter Bunny cake. We will have plenty of food.

I think I get to stay home all weekend. I’m ready for two days at home. Monday I have to do taxes in the morning and then go to exercise. Wednesday I go twice to town to do taxes and exercise and then I go back again on Friday for exercise. Saturday I am helping at the Friends of the Library Book Sale in Emporia. It will be at least a five trip to town week.

The new lawn mower is to be delivered Monday morning and the new shed is to be delivered Friday. It will be another busy week for me.

Five weeks from today I will close on the sale of this house. It will be here before I know it. Thinking April is going to fly by with all the last minute stuff I need to deal with. Utilities to change over, final packing, etc. I think I can, I think I can.

Sitting in a good spot this afternoon. Have a bit more energy than I had yesterday. Haven’t gotten much done today but that is OK. I won’t have the luxury of taking do nothing days in the coming weeks so might as well take them when I can now.

Looking forward to family day tomorrow with all the kids. It will be our last one at this house. The house I am moving to will be a bit harder to have family days in as it is so much smaller than this one. Even the new house I am building will be a tight fit but we will make it happen anyways.

Grateful the EFIS job is completely crossed off my list, grateful I survived Walmart today, and grateful the kids are coming home tomorrow.

Lazy day for me today. I wash, dried and put away two loads of laundry but not sure I have gotten anything else accomplished today. No energy and nothing seems important enough to get up and do.

Have two things on my mind and am spending lots of energy trying to figure out what to do about them. One is a relationship thing and the other is planning a short trip. Not sure why I am struggling with either one but I am. Can’t seem to make a decision about what to do for the trip. I usually am a quick decision maker and adjust on the fly but for some reason can’t seem to decide what to do with this one. I’ll figure it out – sooner or later. Still exploring some options.

The relationship thingy is a hard one for me. I seem to have a yo-yo relationship with this person and can’t seem to stay on track with them. It takes two to solve this and the other person doesn’t seem to want to do that. I keep telling myself to hold my boundaries and that their reaction to what I do is not my business or my problem. This is a hard habit for me to break. Someday I will allow this to come easy to me – just thinking today isn’t that day – yet!

Lots of burning going on around me today. The smoke is very thick south of me. My neighbor hasn’t burned yet. I decided not to burn this year as the grass is scarce and thin. The front yard is going to look bad this year if we don’t get some rain. Still haven’t had to mow as my grass hasn’t filled in yet and have more brown patches than green ones. The fire danger is getting higher by the day.

We are having family day Saturday. Nicole and Geoff may be coming down Friday night and staying through Saturday and maybe into Sunday. I cleared out the bedroom downstairs thinking I wasn’t going to have company again. Oh well, it is family. They are super easy guests and we can make it work. It will be fun to have the kids all home Saturday. I need to get the Easter eggs ready and double check to see if I need to get anything in town tomorrow in addition to some more bananas. Ellexia requested banana pudding. Family days are my favorite days of the year and I am grateful the kids will come home so that can happen. It fills my heart every time we gather.

Tomorrow I have to go to town for exercise in the afternoon. Will stop and get a few groceries and then come back home. I don’t think I have anything else I need to do while I am in town.

The new bed is very comfortable. It has some sort of coil that helps prevent the whole bed from moving when I move around. The other bed shook and rocked every time I turned over. I’m grateful I treated myself to a new bed. Maybe sleep will find me easier now.

Just call an email that let me know the siding guys are coming tomorrow to finish cleaning up the siding repair job. It will be so good to have that project finished up. Haven’t heard from the guttering guys. I was expecting them this week but so far they haven’t showed up. Guess they will get here when they get here. Maybe both groups will show up tomorrow and get me taken care of.

The Rural Electric company showed up to look at the transformer base. Overtime it has tilted and the transformer is about to slide off. I had reported it months ago. The guy said the transformer may need to be replaced. We shall see how this goes down and what they do. Trusting I won’t have to pay for it but we shall see.

Feeling a bit restless today. Having trouble getting grounded and centered. I have been sitting and stewing for too long and need to get up and move my body and move this heavy energy out. And this too shall pass….

Grateful the EFIS guys are coming tomorrow to finish up that project, grateful the Rural Electric is finally getting to the transformer, and grateful for my new comfortable bed.

I got an email from my house insurance company again. This is the third time that they have tried to increase my insurance premium as they can’t quite figure out for good that I have a Class 4 shingles. I called my agent and actually got to talk to him instead of his secretary. I told him I was two seconds from canceling my insurance with him as I was tired of doing this same thing three times.

He acted all surprised and after a bit asked me if I had signed a form of some sort. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. I had just done what his secretary told me to do before and she never mentioned I needed to sign a form. He said I needed to sign a form. I told him I had lost faith in his office and was really concerned that if I had a claim they would not handle it properly. He told me they would do better. I said talk is cheap I want action.

I went to Emporia and stopped by and signed the form. The secretary was a bit cold to me but I got it signed and left. If this doesn’t do the trick, I will not be giving him the rest of the rental properties and will find other insurance next year. This is the third time I have had to call them about this issue and each time they have me do something different to help them fix it. Third time a charm? We shall see.

Went to the Chiropractor and got adjusted. I had to wait about 10 minutes today but had plenty of time to spare so was good.

I went through the car wash on my way to exercise. I had taken trash down yesterday in my car and one of the bags had ripped open and I had a mess in my back seat. After my car was washed I stopped and vacuumed up the mess.

Went to exercise a bit early but my trainer was waiting for me so got in and out quickly. I really like the exercises we are doing this week. It is a yoga thing of some sort. They made more sense to me today and when I do them Friday I will have them down. Next week we will have another new set to learn.

After exercise I went by the Catholic Campus church and their drive thru and got some pinned tacos for my lunch. They were OK but not great. They tasted like they had been cooked about an hour ago so were not as crispy as I like them but they were good.

Filled the car up with gas at Flying J on the way home. I had stopped at Caseys before exercise but the car reader wasn’t working and I didn’t want to go inside.

Feels like I had a bit of a whirlwind trip to town. Got everything taken care of and it will be good to stay home this evening as I don’t have to go in to do taxes tonight.

My new bed is going to be delivered this afternoon. I pushed the old one out of the way and cleaned the floor under the bed. I am leaving the old bed for the buyer. I told him the frame was barely holding together but he said he wanted it anyways. He is a fix-it guy so can probably figure out a way to make it hold together better.

I will wash up all the bedding on my old bed and get the new one made up once it gets here. Trusting it will be comfortable and I will like the new mattress.

Other than chicken chores, I don’t have anything else I have to do today. I went downstairs last night and sorted through the two bookcases of books and filled four boxes with books I will take to the Friends of the Library. I only kept the books that have a spiritual theme to them or books that may be hard to replace. The romance and other books I have I can buy back at the Friends of the Library book sale another day.

I’m tired for some reason this afternoon so may take a nap after the new bed gets delivered. I get to stay home tomorrow so if I take a nap and then don’t go to bed until late tonight, I can sleep in tomorrow and be good. Friday I have to go back to Emporia for exercise.

It is slowly warming up today. It was well below freezing when I got up this morning. It has warmed up to 47 so far and will be back in the 60’s tomorrow. I am trusting this was the last blast of winter we will see this spring.

Appreciating that several things are getting taken care of this week. Some have been on my pending or to-do list for a long time. I am feeling the support of the universe helping me get things done in preparation of the move. Five weeks and counting down to moving day. Slowly the reality of the situation is sinking in and I am slowly detaching myself from this house. It is nice to know I don’t have to clean up the flower beds or straighten out the swing set this spring. I feel the burden of the upkeep of this house sliding off my shoulders.

Grateful I don’t have to make a second trip to town tonight, grateful I get to stay home tomorrow, and grateful to get a new bed to sleep in tonight.

Whirlwind type of day. Went to Emporia this morning and did a special tax return. I stopped and picked up the couple we were working with, did their taxes and then took them home. It felt good to be able to help them a bit.

Stopped at Applebee’s afterwards and had lunch. I ate too much but it sure tasted good.

Need to take the trash down in a bit. It is a cold, windy day on the prairie today. Had some ice frozen to the windows this morning. The sun has come out this afternoon and it is warming up a bit but it is still cold. Going to be in the 70’s later this week. Gotta love spring time in KS – you never know what you are going to get temperature wise. Grateful we missed the snow that west of here got. The pile in the barn is slowly shrinking and I should be able to get rid of all of it over the next four weeks.

I’m not doing taxes tomorrow but will have to go to town for exercise. It will feel weird not doing taxes but I will take it. Good to have a week off. Two more weeks of doing taxes and we will be done for the year. I’m grateful I went ahead and did them this year in spite of the awful prep work that has to be done. The actual doing of the taxes is fun and I enjoy helping people out.

Got a phone call this morning to let me know the shed I ordered for the new property is going to be delivered next week. They are two weeks ahead of schedule. They are to nail down a time mid week and let me know when I should be there to meet them.

Also got notified that the mower I ordered has shipped and will be here next week. I hope I like it and it works well. It was well rated in several different places that I checked. It will be a change from the zero turn one that I have been using the last ten years but I think I can adjust to a steering wheel. We shall see how steep the learning curve is.

The new bed I ordered is being delivered tomorrow afternoon. The guttering guys are to come either tomorrow or Thursday. Lots of things finally getting taken care of around here. My pending list will shrink after all these things get taken care of.

Ellexia got to choose the dessert for Saturday and she wants banana pudding so I stopped and got the stuff to make that while I was in town today. I’ll stop on Friday and get bananas for it when I go to town for exercise. That will be an easy dessert to make.

Plan on going downstairs this afternoon and doing some decluttering and packing. I have two bookcases full that I need to go through and cut down in quantity. I know I have room for one of the bookcases but not sure I have room for both. I’ll take both in case I can make them work but need to reduce the number of books I have downstairs as I have some books upstairs that need to fit on the bookcases too.

I also need to carry upstairs the six boxes I am going to take to the Salvation Army. I also have a few other things that I need to get rid of somehow and those need to come upstairs so I don’t forget about them. Still need to pack the furnace room stuff that I am taking. Most of the stuff in that room are in totes but there are some loose things that need boxed up for the move.

I move five weeks from tomorrow and the clock is ticking loudly in my head. Those weeks will fly by and I need to be ready. Not sure if we are being loaded on April 30 and unloaded on May 1 or if the mover is going to do both ends of it the same day.

It will be nice to have tomorrow morning and evening free. It doesn’t take long to do exercise so my trip to town tomorrow will be a short one. I’ll go to the Chiropractor before exercise at noon and then be able to come home and stay home after exercise. No second trip to town tomorrow evening – that will be nice.

Sitting in a good place today. Felt good to help a couple out today and get them caught up on their taxes. Feels good that several things are going to get taken care of that have been on my list for a bit. I feel supported by the universe when things get taken care of and I am seeing lots of movement right now. That helps me know that making this move is the right thing for me at this time.

Grateful to have been in service today, grateful we dodged the snow last night, and grateful it is to warm up later this week.

Busy afternoon in town today. I picked out the kitchen cabinets, countertops and flooring for the new house. The lady that helped me at Mark II Design Center made it easy. She listened to what I wanted and found samples that matched what I asked for. I am not locked into my choices today but she is going to work up a bid for pricing so I have an idea of what they will cost. If they are too expensive, I may have to make other choices – we shall see.

Stopped at the Vet Clinic and got flea and tic medication as well as HeartGuard for the two dogs and cat for the coming months. It cost me $350 to get out of there today. Yikes.

Went to Bluestem and got eight bags of chicken feed. It cost me almost $200 for that. Yikes! I spent much more on my pet stuff than I did on the grocery order I picked up for me after I left Bluestem.

Stopped by Affordable Room Group and arranged for the delivery of the new bed set for this week. I was surprised they could do it this week.

Went to exercise and did my thing. Today we did a yoga video. I liked doing it but wished we held the poses for longer than the three breaths we did. Monday is the start of a new week of videos for me so it is a learning day. By Friday I will have them down pat only to get a new set of exercises to learn the following week. This keeps me from getting bored in exercise class though.

Came home and got the eight bags of chicken feed unloaded and all the groceries brought into the house and put away. I feel like I did two sets of exercise today lifting the feed and making trips into the house to bring the groceries in addition to doing exercise class.

This morning I went downstairs and finished up emptying out the two guest bedrooms and bathroom. I have six boxes to take to the Salvation Army, I made another box of things for Jason to take, and I found a few things I will be moving. Now I need to go down and clean those rooms and they will be done. They are the first three rooms I have completely gotten ready for the move. Three down – not sure how many to go -maybe 20? Good thing I have five weeks to go.

Can’t start packing most of the other rooms yet as I will drive myself crazy if I do. I can pack up the books and stuff from the great room downstairs and get that ready. I can also do the furnace room and the cedar closet room. I don’t use that stuff and have gotten rid of most of it but there are some things I need to pack to take.

The buyer had discovered two spots on the roof that needed some shingle repair. I had sent my shingle guy a picture of the broken shingles. He called me this morning and sent a guy out today to fix them. That was impressive service. He is to send out his guttering team later this week to get that job done.

Little by little things are falling into place and getting done. I appreciate days like today where it feels like I take a giant step forward in moving from this house and building a new house. Somedays the needle doesn’t move much but today it jumped forward a bunch.

Tomorrow I have to go to town to do a special tax session for a couple that needed some extra time and help. Not sure I have anything else to do while I am in town since I got all my errands done today. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it might making my flooring and countertop decisions so I had extra time today to get things done.

Still need to go down and take care of the chickens today. I needed to sit for a hot minute after I got groceries put away and catch my breath. The trip to town was a whirlwind and I needed to take a minute to catch my breath before I did the chickens.

We may get some snow tonight. It is to get well below freezing tonight and tomorrow night. Maybe this will be our last blast of winter this year. It is to warm right back up again so if we do get snow it won’t be around long. We need the moisture but I would rather have rain.

Feeling good about all I got done today. Somedays are productive and some are not and this was a productive day. Crossed off several things from my pending list and to-do list. Wish more days could be like today. Guess you have to have to unproductive days to appreciate the productive ones.

Sitting in a good head space today. The move and build is starting to feel real for me as I start to empty out rooms and pick out new things. Still feeling mixed emotions with thinking about moving and leaving this house but know that is what I need to do. Once the move is over and I am in the new house, I’m sure it will feel like a good thing. I am usually pretty good about letting go of things that are no longer meant for me. It can be a process though and it never seems to be a straight line.

Grateful for the decisions I was able to make today, grateful the animals have feed and med supplies for the coming months, and grateful the roof got taken care of so easily and quickly.

Rain on the prairie. I invite it to sit and stay for a bit. We are so dry my grass hasn’t turned green yet. Not sure how much we got this afternoon but there are there a few puddles in the back swell.

We have had 37 plus MPH winds this afternoon. I had a Mary Poppins minute when I was coming back up from the coop. I was holding my watering bucket with the lid open and the wind caught it and almost pulled me up and over.

I didn’t make it in to hear the music this afternoon. About the time it was time to go I got very sleepy and had to lay down. I ended up sleeping for about two hours. One hour was in my chair in the living room. I woke up and was cold so went to my bed and turned on the electric blanket and then fell back asleep and slept for another hour. Sure wish I could find sleep like that at night but I will take it whenever it finds me these days.

Went downstairs to work on the two spare bedrooms and bathroom. Got one bedroom and the bathroom emptied. The other bedroom is piled with stuff that I need to decide what to do with. I reached decision fatigue quickly and had to stop. Not sure why this room is causing that as it is stuff I never use. I’ll try again later and see if I can get that bedroom emptied out too.

It kinda hit hard today when I looked at the completely emptied bedroom and bathroom that I am moving. The other decluttering I have done just lightened my load but I didn’t completely empty a room out. I have to trust myself and continue to know and believe that selling is the right thing to do. I sure will miss this house and the views though.

I am working on our solar eclipse trip and put a post on a site created for visitors to Antlers, OK that are coming for the solar eclipse. I asked if anyone local would let five old women come sit with them during the eclipse. I offered to pay and bring lunch for all.

The amount of invitations I have gotten and information about local going’s on that day is so cute. I need to finalize our trip plans and then make a decision about where we are going to be that day. If we do go to Antlers, we will have a private place to enjoy our time with access to their private bathroom. None of the people that have responded want to be paid – now this is a great lesson of how humanity still is good.

I got concerned about the return traffic if we went the extra hour to go to Broken Bow. It is a little over an hour from McAlester to Antlers but then another hour to get to Broken Bow. After we went to Atchison the traffic coming home was really bad and the trip took twice as long as it did to get there. Not sure I want to spend four hours in traffic to get from Broken Bow to McAlester as it is still a five hour drive from there home. I’m trusting that once we get to Tulsa, the traffic won’t be so bad but it is two-lane roads all the way so it may be. We may have to go through Oklahoma City going home to catch the Turnpike if traffic is really bad.

I have read a couple times though that if you want the true experience of the eclipse you have to get to a place that has 100% coverage. One article said there isn’t that much difference between 50% and 99% but a world of difference between 99 and 100. Both Antlers and Broken Bow are in the 100% path. Broken Bow will have over four minutes of darkness and Antlers will only have two. Is four more hours of traffic afterwards worth two minutes of darkness?

We will have a grand adventure no matter where we go. I am grateful that strangers would open their homes and toilet up for five old ladies to come share the wonder of the day with them.

Tomorrow I need to go to town for exercise at 3:00. Before that I am going to the Design Center to pick out the material for countertops and flooring for the new house. I need to stop and get chicken feed and also stop at Affordable Room Groups to arrange for the delivery of my new mattress. I will have a couple of boxes to drop off at the Salvation Army and I need to stop at the Vet to get quarterly meds for the dogs and cat. Hoping in the morning to finish up the bedroom downstairs and get those three rooms clean.

Tuesday I am doing a special tax session for a couple that need some extra time and help. I don’t have to do taxes Wednesday but I will have to go to town for exercise and the Chiropractor. Thursday I get to stay home and then back to town on Friday for exercise.

I need to call my plumber and find out why the check I sent him over a week ago hasn’t cleared the bank yet. The last time I tried to paid him, he didn’t get my check. Want to make sure he received this one. Not sure why he doesn’t get the checks.

Still need to get a couple things listed on Marketplace to try to keep moving the bigger items out of here. These last four weeks are going to fly by and I need to keep at it. I have a tall ladder, an extra kitchen table or two, some night stands, luggage racks, and a decorated milk can that need to find another home.

It has been nice to stay home for two complete days. I needed a break and I feel more grounded and centered tonight than I have for a bit. I’m grateful I chose to sleep instead of getting out and being around people today. Hoping the urge hits for me to finish up the basement this week and cross that off my decluttering and moving list.

Grateful for a rainy Sunday afternoon nap, grateful for the excitement of the upcoming eclipse trip, and grateful I got the basement packing job started.

Cold, gray day on the prairie today. If it is going to be like this, I wish we would get some rain with the clouds. I kinda liked the 60’s and 70’s better. It is only 44 today.

The buyers came over and did a thorough inspection of the house, inside and out today. They are going to schedule a termite inspection soon and then their inspections will be complete. So far, so good. They did find two shingles on the roof that need fixed. The guys that are putting the guttering on is the same company as the ones that did the roof so I will request they fix those when they are here next week.

I did a bit of cleaning today but haven’t gotten much else done. I still haven’t made it downstairs to sort books. Not sure why that project feels overwhelming to me but it does. I wish I knew if I was going to have room for both bookcases or only one. That will make a difference as to how many books I keep. Guess I can plan on two and if only one fits, get rid of books at the other house. Sometimes it is the little things that stop me in my tracks.

Sophia has been wanting to come inside all day. Last night before I went to bed, both Sophia and Roxie had to come in the house, walk around the house and then go back outside. Wonder what is up with that? They don’t normally get to come inside but they have been acting weird lately. Wonder if they are trying to tell me they could be inside dogs if I will take them with me? They must sense something is about to change.

It isn’t windy today so when I do the chickens I will take them a bit more straw and more cottonseed hulls for the nesting boxes. They like to pack it down and it looks thin after they do that. This should be my last trip to the coop with straw unless they tip over their watering can somehow.

The moon will be full in two nights. I am starting to count down my last things at this house. I have two more full moons to watch rising until moving day. I did the last chicken coop clean out this week. I need to buy chicken feed one more time next week. Bit by bit, I am going through the process of detaching from this house. Some I celebrate and some I am grieving. Very mixed emotions lately.

If we get some rain this next week, I will need to mow for the first time. The grass around the house still hasn’t turned green. There are places in the yard where it is starting to grow a bit but not enough to mow yet. The people that are buying my mower are coming April 20 to pick it up. I ordered a new small mower for the new house that will be delivered here that I can use between April 20 and May 1 if needed. It will take a lot longer to get the yard mowed as the new mower is only a 30 inch deck and the existing mower has a 54 inch deck. Hoping things work out so I won’t have to mow after the 20th. Guess I really don’t have to as the new buyers can mow when they get here May 3.

Next week I don’t have too much going on. I need to get a few more things listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace. I have mixed feelings about using that site as I sometimes have good luck with it and other times it isn’t worth it. We shall see what happens next week.

I do need to go to the design center one day next week and narrow down my choices for flooring for the main part of the house and countertops so the builder can get me a closer estimate of building costs. I need to figure out what type of flooring I want in the bathrooms and laundry room too. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I can see how one gets decision fatigue building a house.

Kathy’s company can’t come so I have the green light now to finish decluttering the basement and getting rid of extra bedding, towels, etc. That will be good to get that all taken care of. It won’t take long to pack that stuff up and take it to Salvation Army. If anyone needs blankets, pillows or towels let me know and I will save some for you. I had stocked four bedrooms and four bathrooms with supplies and I am moving into a two bedroom, one bathroom house. I will have lots to get rid of.

I will need to get some groceries next week. I don’t think I bought any this week. We are having family day a week from today so will need a few things for that. I’m trying to use up what I have and not buy much right now. I don’t want to buy stuff just to have to move it.

Sitting in a good place this afternoon. Feel a bit more confident that this sell will go through as planned after the inspections today. There is still a very small chance that something will come up and it won’t go through but I am all in at this point. Sure wish it was April 23 today and I would only have two weeks to go. Oh well, time is going by quickly and I will be moved before I know it. I do want to be intentional about enjoying all my last things here and soak them up in my memory.

Grateful most of the inspections are over, grateful for a quiet day at home, and grateful this move continues to progress to the finish line.

Windy day on the prairie today. Had a 30 MPH wind gust earlier today. Averaging 20 – 25 all day. When I would pass a semi on the highway I could feel it in my car.

Asked Kathy to go with me to Cottonwood Falls around noon so I could do some measurements of the existing garage and the old garage foundation. I only have a short tape measuring device and what I was measuring was longer than my tape. Kathy made that job easy.

Went in for exercises at 2:00. They were short and easy today. By Friday it is the third time that I do the same set of exercises so have them down pretty good by then.

Afterwards I drove out to the place I ordered my shed from. I had taken measurements of the old foundation that is on the spot I want the shed and had also taken a picture of it. I needed to make sure the shed could be placed in that spot without me having to remove the foundation. The guy recommended I put it in the middle of the area and then have gravel put between the existing foundation and where the shed will be. Good idea and I am grateful I don’t have to remove the old foundation.

Then I went to find the new Mark II Design Center. I couldn’t find it. I finally called them and got the address but found out it is only open between 9:00 and 3:00. It was closed already today. I need to go in one day next week and look at counter top material and flooring and give the builder a price range to use. I don’t have to pick out the actual colors but need to narrow my choices down a bit so I get a closer estimate as to the cost of building this new house.

Sent the builder an email with pictures and measurements of the existing garage. He needed those so he can estimate how much it will cost to have it taken down and hauled away. Wonder if anyone wants the parts from it and would take it down for free? Discovered there is a tree next to the garage that will need to come down. I got a picture of that and sent that to the builder too.

Sent a message to a kid that likes to do odd jobs. I have an old boat on the property in Cottonwood Falls that needs to be hauled away. He has asked me lots of questions that I have no idea how to answer or why he needs to know the things he is asking. Hoping he will just go over and look and it and let me know if it is something he can haul away for me. Not sure who else to try to find to take it away for me. I tried before and had no luck but I really need it gone.

Got the hotel reservations made for our solar eclipse trip to Oklahoma in April. We are going to stay in McAlester, OK. It is about an hour from where I want to go to be in the 100% path of total coverage. Decided to get as close as possible to our destination in case traffic is really heavy and it will take us lots of time to get there. This was about as close as I could find. Not sure where we will be able to find a place to have lunch but thinking we can take a cooler and take snacks with us just in case. This trip will be an adventure for sure and one never knows how things will go down.

I moved my exercise lesson from Monday to Tuesday that week. Grateful my trainer is flexible and lets me move my schedule around as needed.

Tomorrow the guy that is buying this house is coming over in the afternoon to do some more inspections and take some measurements of rooms and draw out a floor plan of the house. He said he might need a couple hours in the house. I need to be downstairs decluttering so will let him have at it.

Six weeks from today we close on the sell. Trusting the rest of this time will pass by quickly and will be relatively easy. I could be ready to move by next Friday if I needed to. Way too early to start packing though so will need to practice patience and wait for more time to pass before I start that.

Sunday the Tallgrass Express group is giving a free concert at Prairie PastTimes at 3:00. I hope I remember to go in and listen to them. I enjoy their music and will enjoy getting out to go. Things always sound fun to me until it is time to actually leave the house and go. Maybe I can make myself get out and go – we shall see what happens.

Need to get down and do chicken chores today. I need to take them a bit more straw but that may need to wait for a less windy day. The bale of straw that is open has come all loose and I’m afraid it will blow away in the wind before I could get it down to the coop.

Kinda cranky this afternoon. I did manage to get most of the stuff I wanted to get done today done. Not sure why I am getting cranky but I am. I almost wish someone would call me so I could yell at them and get it out of me. Maybe when I walk down to do the chickens I will yell into the wind and see if that helps. Sure wouldn’t take much to push me over the cliff right now.

Grateful for Kathy’s help today so I could get the garage measured and to the builder, grateful the new shed will fit on the old garage footprint and I don’t have to have the foundation removed, and grateful hotel reservations are made for our grand adventure to see the eclipse.

It has been a fun day today. I met a friend and we drove to Council Grove for lunch and then went to the Grove and got some fresh strawberries. Lunch was good, strawberries delicious and the conversation amazing. It does my heart good to have deep one-on-one conversations with dear friends.

Tagen came out after he got out of school this afternoon to help me clean out the chicken coop one last time. It was mainly dry straw to shovel out and was a relatively easy job. We worked together and got it all cleaned out. I’m sure the girls are busy rearranging the straw to their liking this evening.

We came in when we were done with that project and I fixed chicken strips and macaroni and cheese for dinner. I’m glad I fixed two packages of chicken strips as that boy/man ate lots tonight. I sent the few leftovers home with him. We had a good conversation while we ate dinner. He has grown up into a caring, sensitive and kind man.

He told me a company from Emporia had come to his welding class and watched them do a special project. Three of the class were offered a job when they graduate on the spot – he was one of the three. He still has the rest of this year and all of next year of welding school to go. He told me the starting wage is in the six figures. Wow! I’m so proud of him for going to a trade school and doing so well. He told me about his high school graduation and the party afterwards and told me he wants me there. I promised him I will go. Can’t believe he is old enough to graduate from high school in May.

I appreciate Tagen’s help with cleaning the coop out today. I can do it myself but it is a big job for me. He always makes it look easy. It is fun to work with him while we do it together.

I didn’t have a lot of down time today. When I got home from lunch I fixed a dessert for Tagen for tonight. He took it home with him as he ate the last of Kathy’s birthday cake instead. I kept some out for Jason to eat on the next couple of days.

Tomorrow I have to go to town in the afternoon for exercise. In the morning I need to go to Cottonwood Falls and take some pictures and measurements for my builder. I didn’t get over there this afternoon to get that done. Hoping once I come home from exercise I can stay home all weekend. It will be nice to have a quiet weekend without workers in my space all weekend.

Next week is a four trip to town week again. I have to go to town every day but Thursday. I am only doing taxes once next week so won’t have to make two trips to town in one day. That will be nice. Next Saturday is family day which will be a fun day. Jason is fixing our main dish so that meal will be easy for me. Love our family days and look forward to them every time we schedule one.

I’m tired this afternoon. I got two short sleeps last night and was up between 1:30 and 4:30 during the night. Makes for a long night with little sleep when that happens. My friend told me about some sleep patches she is using and thinks they are helping her get better sleep. I ordered them and will see what happens. I’m willing to try about anything these days that might help me find sleep.

Six weeks from tomorrow I close on the sale of this house. I need to spend some time this weekend in the basement and start deciding what I want to take and what I need to get rid of. I know I have extra pillows, blankets, night stands, lamps, and books to get rid of but not sure what else I might find. I rarely go downstairs and forget what I have down there.

I need to make some hotel reservations for April 7 in Oklahoma. Some friends and I are going to drive to Oklahoma Sunday the 7th and then will find a good spot to be in the 100% path of the solar eclipse on the 8th and drive back home afterwards. It will be a fun little get away. Hotels are hard to find though as many other people have the same idea. I think I found a town that won’t be too far from where we want to go to watch the eclipse that has vacancies but I need to confirm and get them made. Not sure what traffic will be like that day but will deal with what ever we run into.

Sitting in a good place tonight. It was a fun day for me. I love having lunch with a dear friend, I enjoyed fixing dinner for Tagen and getting to spend time with him. Somedays I need to call time out and do fun things and take a break from all the moving stuff. It energizes me and I will be able to get more done when I get back to sorting and decluttering.

Grateful for time with a friend, grateful for time with Tagen today, and grateful the girls have fresh linens.

Another long day with two trips to town. I was in town by 9:00 this morning and did a tax shift at the Senior Center this morning. It was a relatively easy day and we were done by 11:00.

I went by Affordable Room Groups and bought a new bed. My bed frame will not survive a move and the mattress had failed sometime ago. Not sure if they are going to deliver to this house or to the new house. I am checking with the family buying this house to see if they want the old set or not. They had requested any extra beds I have be left in the house. Went and did my exercises at the Fitness Center and then headed home.

I took a short nap in my chair this afternoon after I had lunch. I didn’t want to get up this morning when my alarm went off and I have felt sleepy tired all day. Got up and did the chicken chores and then went back to Emporia.

I stopped at the Chiropractor and got adjusted and then went to the Credit Union for my evening tax shift. It was another easy shift and I got out before 7:00.

Came home and plan on doing nothing the rest of the day. I am still feeling sleepy tired so may take my bath and go to bed early. If I can find sleep I will take advantage and sleep.

Tomorrow I am going to Council Grove with a friend and we are having lunch. Tagen texted me and said he could come out after school tomorrow night to clean out the chicken coop so will help him do that and then feed him dinner.

Friday afternoon I have to go back to Emporia one more time this week for exercise. Hoping I can stay home this weekend. I need a down day or two or three.

I do need to get over to Cottonwood Falls to take some measurements of the existing garage that needs to be torn down as well as the foundation of the garage that has already been taken down. I also need to take some pictures of the building site for my builder. I need to get that done and to him by Friday afternoon. If I get up in time I will try to get over and take care of those things in the morning. If not I have time to do it on Friday morning.

So far next week is only a four trip to town week. I don’t have to do taxes Wednesday as someone is covering for me since I covered for her a couple weeks ago. I will have to go to town on Wednesday for exercise and the Chiropractor but that will make a much shorter day for me than today was.

We had a lovely Spring Equinox Ceremony last night and a fun little birthday party for Kathy before hand. I love gathering with my close friends and sharing our lives with each other. We try to celebrate the good times and hold each other during the hard times.

Moving day is six weeks from today. I still need to get downstairs and declutter all the rooms down there. The books will take the most time as I need to downsize them and I have lots to sort through. Most I got at the library book sale so I will return the ones I am not moving to the library. I may end up buying them back at some point. When books are $5 a grocery bag full I tend to not be too picky about what I bring home.

Sitting in a good head space tonight even with being tired. Last night was rejuvenating for me and filled my heart with joy and love. Still having the feels from that today. The tax returns today were easy for me and I enjoyed visiting with the people as I did them. They are usually very appreciative of our service and are patient with us while we work our way through everyone.

Grateful for the friends that gathered for Sacred Ceremony last night, grateful for short afternoon naps in my chair, and grateful I can go to bed early tonight.

Happy birthday to Kathy today. We will be having a little party for her later today. She had to work today with her hurt finger but managed to keep it dry. Trusting that this year will be a good one for her.

Tonight some friends are coming over to help celebrate Kathy’s birthday and then we are going to have our Spring Equinox Ceremony. I love this time with these friends and look forward to them every time we gather. The world would be a different place if everyone had a small group they could gather with and share their hopes, dreams and fears.

I met with the house builder. He is young but I liked him. He did a great job hearing what I asked for and figured out a way to make all that I asked for happen. We changed a couple of things while we were talking. Amazing to watch him make a few changes on his computer and like magic a wall moved. I am to take a couple days and make sure the plan is what I want. He is to start gathering prices from the subcontractors and give me a rough estimate of costs once I approve the final plans.

I have found two more changes I want to make and then I think I will be good to go with what he came up with. It will be small as it is only 1,200 square feet but that is what I want. I’m glad I will be living in the rental house for about a year before the new house is ready as that will help me get used to small.

His computer program showed me a 3D image of what it will look like inside and out. That helped make it feel real to me. I like the way the outside of the house looks in his plan better than the plan I gave him as a starting point. The inside works better too.

Seeing the actual floor plan makes it start to become real for me. It will be a long year waiting for it to be built but time goes by quickly and I will be in it before I know it.

He gave me a better idea of how the financial part will work and what I will be responsible for and what is included in his cost. I will be busy shopping for flooring, countertops, door handles, doors, cabinets, appliances, etc. in the coming months. I am not a good shopper so will have to figure out a way to shop without draining myself. Not sure I look forward to all the decisions that will have to be made but I will make them one at a time and work my way through them. When I hit overwhelm I will stop and give myself a break and go again. I can do this!

Doing some laundry and cleaning this afternoon. I took another car load of trash down to the curb for tomorrow. The pile in the barn keeps shrinking and I should be able to get it all gone before closing day. There are some big pieces I need to figure out how to make go away or maybe I will leave them for the next owners.

Tomorrow will be a long day as I have to go to town twice to do taxes. I’ll do exercise class after I get done doing taxes in the morning and then stop and see the Chiropractor before my evening tax shift. Thursday I am going to Council Grove for lunch with a dear friend and then Friday I have to go to Emporia for exercise class. No stay-at-home days for me this week.

The EFIS supplier reached out to me this morning. He knew about the missing filter thingy in the overhang and said the guys told him they needed some more time to do a bit more touch ups and clean up. He will let me know when they are coming back for the last bit of work. I appreciated him getting hold of me and letting me know he knew about the missing filter thingy. He has a good crew that works for him and they did a nice job.

The guttering is to be done next week sometime. I haven’t been told yet what day they are coming. Gosh it will feel good to get that done and have the hail restoration project completed. It took over seven months to get it all done. The insurance adjuster told me he was impressed I got it done that quickly.

We are having a family day March 30. Jason asked me what I was fixing and I told him I hadn’t got that far in planning and he offered to fix the main dish. How nice is that? Love when the kids surprise me with things like that. That will make that day even more fun for myself.

It is a beautiful spring day on the prairie today. Temperatures reached the mid 70’s. It is windy on my hill today though. Funny how the wind isn’t such a factor when I am in town. I must say the one thing I won’t miss about living here is the wind. Somedays the sound of it almost drove me over the limits of my sanity.

Sitting in a good place this afternoon. I’m excited a big step was taken towards building a house today. I liked the builder and feel like we are off on the right step together. This move will be a huge change for me on many levels but it feels so right that I am making this change. Time to simplify my life and downsizing will help do that. Sometimes I have to step outside my comfort zone and head in a new direction. I feel so supported by the Universe right now that I know this is what I am to do.

Grateful to see floor plans today that match what I want, grateful for this beautiful spring day, and grateful to get to celebrate Kathy tonight.

It turned into a two trip to town day. Kathy came home from town with a cut finger. She had fallen at iHop and cut it. It was rather deep and in a place that was going to have trouble healing without being held together. I took her to the hospital Urgent Care Clinic.

The waiting room at the Clinic was standing room only when we got there. It took them two hours before they called Kathy back. It only took about 20 minutes once she got taken back. They used Super Glue of sorts and then put Steri-strips on it and gave her a tetanus shot.

She may be sore tomorrow from both the shot and the fall. We shall see how she does. A kind couple that was going in the restaurant and saw Kathy fall, stopped to make sure she was OK.

We didn’t get home from the Clinic until after 1:15. I ate breakfast and then got ready to go back to town for my 3:00 exercise session. Exercise went OK today. It was only 37 minutes. I did stretches using a towel today. Something different for me and the time went fairly quickly.

After I finished exercises I went to Walmart to pick up a few groceries and somethings I needed for tomorrow’s ceremony. Got those and came home and put everything away. Went down and took care of the chicken chores. The girls gave me 22 eggs today. I have a big stash of eggs again if anyone needs some.

Tomorrow my special tax session got moved to next week due to a location unavailability. I do have to go to town though as I am meeting with my house builder at 1:00 to see the first draft of the floor plans. I sure hope they are close to what I want. Not sure how this whole process works so I will take a long list of questions for the builder. I do better when I understand a process and what to expect.

Tomorrow is Kathy’s birthday and our Spring Equinox ceremony. We are having a little party for Kathy before our ceremony so it will be a fun evening.

I realized today that Jim and I were married on March 19, 2020. That feels like a different lifetime ago to me now. I have moved on and have put that little (or big) mistake in my rear view window and try not to look back. I can’t change what happened but I can take the lessons I learned about myself and make myself a better person as a result.

Wednesday I have two tax shifts and an exercise class. It makes a long day to do two shifts in the same day. I’m grateful I enjoy doing taxes and the time goes fairly quickly. I prefer the days we are busy and don’t have time to sit around waiting for people to show up. You never know what type of day you are going to have until it happens.

Had trouble falling asleep last night. Finally got up and took a second hot bath and that did the trick. I got some good sleep after that. Didn’t feel rested when I got up this morning but was grateful I was finally able to find a bit of sleep.

I had done some Tonglen last week when I came home in a bit of a distressed mood about a tax situation. I was telling Nicole about it today and realized I hadn’t held on to the negative feelings I had experienced. Usually I have trouble letting those go. Tonglen had really helped me release them. I need to remember that and use it more often.

Grateful Kathy got her finger taken care of today, grateful groceries are put away for the week, and grateful for the practice of Tonglen.

The EFIS guys worked until 8:00 last night. They had arrived here around 8:30. A second crew joined them late afternoon. I can’t imagine working those types of hours week in and week out.

They showed up this morning around 8:45. I think there are five or six guys here today and they are finishing up this project. They have the east side cleaned up, down below cleaned up and are finishing up the west side now. They still have a couple hours of clean up to do and then they will be gone. So grateful that project got completed. Now to get the guttering guys here and the hail restoration will be complete.

I took a nap in my chair today. I had trouble getting going today and felt tired so decided to rest my eyes for a bit. Slept longer than I expected to but woke up feeling rested.

It is a windy day on the prairie today. Only reaching the low 50’s today with 25 MPH plus wind. At least the skies are bright blue and clear.

Haven’t done a thing today other than take a nap. One of those lazy days I guess. Don’t have anything pressing that needs done so decided to call this my lazy day and not even think too hard about finding something to do. Have a busy week coming up and I needed to take a day and rest.

Tagen hasn’t come out yet today to clean out the chicken coop and I have a feeling he won’t be out today. No worries, it can wait. I don’t really have to have it cleaned out before I move. I can add some material to the nesting boxes and call it good if needed.

Tomorrow I will go to town for exercise in the afternoon. I need to stop and get some groceries while I am in town. I also need to go to the rental house in Cottonwood Falls and measure the foundation of the old garage to see what needs to happen with that. Not thinking it will work but you never know.

Tuesday late morning I am doing a special tax session with a couple that needed some extra help. After that I am meeting with the house builder for the first time to see the first draft of floor plans. I’m excited to see what he came up with and am hoping they are fairly close to what I asked for. Tuesday evening is our Spring Equinox ceremony. I need to give some thought about what I want to do for that.

Wednesday I go to town twice to do taxes with exercise in between. Thursday I am going to lunch in Council Grove with a friend and Friday I go back to Emporia one more time for exercise. I won’t get a stay at home day all week.

I will send the guttering guy an email and let him know the EFIS guys are done. I had told the guttering guy any time after March 25 just to be safe. Not sure if he can move it up a week or not. Guess it doesn’t matter as long as he gets here and gets done before May 1.

It is nice to be able to see out the windows again and go out any door in the house I want to. It was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic in this house with all the windows and doors covered. I need lots of natural light to keep me grounded and centered. The sound of the plastic over the windows blowing in the wind was getting on my last nerve.

Having the EFIS guys here was good practice on holding two opposing thoughts at the same time. I was grateful they were here doing the work and I was wishing they were done and gone. The disruption in my quiet daily life was annoying and yet I knew it had to be done. When I would get especially worked up over the noise and discomfort of them being here, I would remind myself of how good it will feel to get the work done. It helped reduce my frustration and kept me better grounded.

Feeling a bit out of sorts today. Realizing this in-between-time is wearing on me. I am ready to get this move over and done with. Still over six weeks to go. Time is going by quickly and I am staying busy but I am ready to have it done and over with. I am an action type gal and sitting and waiting is not my strength. Good practice for me to have to wait and see what comes up for me during this time.

Grateful the EFIS project will be done today, grateful for Sunday afternoon naps, and grateful I can have a do nothing day when I need one.

It was fun listening to Ellexia and her friend giggle into the night last night. I managed to keep them fed and they had a good time. I attempted to fix s’mores for them but the marshmallows were way past their fluffy days and were hard as rocks. They ate the chocolate bar and graham crackers. When I don’t have regular visitors some things don’t get replaced. Ooops.

I deep cleaned the refrigerator today. I took it all apart and washed everything. It was way over due to have a bath. I should have taken a picture of it before I removed everything but I managed to get it all back together again with no parts left over. It was nasty dirty. It sure looks nicer now. Don’t know why I put off cleaning tasks like that but I seem to be able to do so. I still need to clean the freezer part out but I don’t think it is so dirty. I’ll see if I manage to get that done today or not.

I fixed the girls pancakes and scrambled eggs this morning. One got chocolate chip pancakes and the other got blueberry pancakes. They both ate well and cleaned up their plates when they were done. I was in the middle of cleaning out the refrigerator when they came up for breakfast so they had to eat around refrigerator parts.

The EFIS workers showed up around 8:30 this morning. I saw one of the dogs act like someone was here so I looked out the kitchen window. One of the workers was watering one of my little trees in the front yard with yellow water. A car drove by while he was in the act. They do have access to a bathroom inside but going outside must feel good! Oh well! To be honest I have done the same thing when I am out mowing before. At least they came and are working hard at finishing up this project.

They had a bit of a disagreement about something this morning. Their voices were rather loud and sounded angry. I don’t speak Spanish so not sure what was behind it all. They seemed to have worked through it and are back to normal voices this afternoon. It will be nice when they are done.

For a bit this morning they were scrapping the sides of the house by the living room. It sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. Yikes. I had to do something to distract me so I cleaned out the refrigerator. Grateful to have gotten that project done. Sometimes things happen in strange ways around here.

Sometime later this afternoon I will need to take the girls to town. I may stop and get a few groceries while I am in town. I had grabbed a few when I went to Council Grove early last week but didn’t get all I needed. I shall see what mood I am in and if I can handle Walmart today. Some days I can, some days I can’t. I have to go to town Monday for exercise and can get groceries then if I decide to wait.

I went to Cottonwood Falls Friday to deliver the application for the shed at my rental property. I drove by the rental property to eyeball the spot where I want the shed put. I realized there is an old foundation from where a garage used to be still there. I need to go measure it and see if by chance the shed can sit on the old foundation or if I need to find someone to remove the foundation. Things seem complicated to me sometimes. I had forgotten I have an old boat that is parked back there that needs to go away. I tried to find someone to take it away before and didn’t have any luck and then I forgot about it. I’ll have to add that little project to my to-do list and get that taken care of before the shed gets delivered.

Tagen may come out tomorrow to help me clean out the chicken coop. If he comes, I need to figure out something to fix for him to eat. I’ll lay some chicken out today so it will be ready to be cooked if he comes. This will be the last time I have to have the coop cleaned out. The chickens are staying here and the new house owner will be the proud owner of 25 chickens and one rooster. I will miss the fresh eggs but not the cost of the feed and the daily care of the chickens and I will not miss having to clean out the coop.

Feels good to have gotten something done today. It feels like it has been a hot minute since I have done something productive. I have gotten too good at doing nothing most days. Going to town four or five times a week is taking it out of me right now. I’m looking forward to when tax season is over and I only have to go three times a week for exercise. Even three times a week is too much but it will feel like less since I have been going five or six times a week lately.

Less than seven weeks to go before close. Sure hope things proceed without a hiccup. Not sure what I will do if by chance the buyer backs out. He is to have some inspections done and has the right to back out if they find something serious he doesn’t want to deal with. Can’t imagine that will happen but one never knows. He already knows I’m not paying for anything the inspections find. If he backs out, I will still attempt to find a buyer and I will still move to the smaller house. It would just complicate things for a bit.

Grateful the EFIS guys are here and getting this project completed, grateful the refrigerator is clean and grateful Ellexia and her friend spent the night and filled the house with youthful laughter.

Seven weeks and counting. Time is flying by. May 3 will be here before I know it. The decluttering project is almost done. Now I have to wait for some more time to pass before I can start packing.

Went to Emporia for my 2:00 exercise class. Stopped at Cottonwood Falls to drop off my permit application so I can put a shed on my new property. I won’t hear back until after April 1 if it was accepted. Not sure what I will do if it isn’t.

Exercise was OK. There was another student in the class with me as well as the trainer. He is quiet and we don’t talk much when he is there so the time goes a bit slower. We do the same exercises three days in a row so by the third day they are rather familiar. I’ll have a new set to learn next week.

Picked up Ellexia and then we picked up her best friend. They are spending the night. We made a stop at Panda Express for lunch and then a quick stop at Casey’s for chips. We are home for the night and they are getting settled. It will be fun to have them here for the night. I am fixing them hot dogs with macaroni and cheese for dinner and they want pancakes with eggs for breakfast. I don’t have many snacks in the house so hopefully I can keep them from starving while they hear.

I remembered to park down at the barn when i got home. The EFIS guys are to be here again tomorrow morning and I wanted to be able to get my car out to take the girls home tomorrow. I haven’t heard from the EFIS boss guy yet confirming they are coming but am expecting them here. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t come. Hoping it will be a full crew and they can get that project finished up this weekend. I’m tired of my doors and windows taped up with plastic. I miss going out the doors and being able to open windows.

I plan on staying home most of the weekend. I will take Ellexia and her friend home sometime tomorrow but other than that I think I get to stay home all weekend. Don’t have much on my to-do list but there is always cleaning that needs done if I get to looking for something to do. Time seems to pass whether I am busy or not.

Next week I have to go to town Monday for exercise, Tuesday to help a couple do taxes and then I will get to go see the floor plans for the new house. Wednesday I go to town twice for taxes, a Chiropractor visit and exercise and then I will have to go back one more time on Friday for exercise. It will be a five trip to town week again. I spend way too much time in my car these days.

Tuesday is Spring Equinox and some friends are coming over Tuesday evening so we can have sacred ceremony. That is always a treat for me and I look forward to our gathering. Next time we meet after this one will be at my new house.

I sure could take a nap this afternoon. I actually got a good night’s sleep last night but as usual when that happens I am sleepier the next day than normal. I need to walk down and take care of the chickens. Maybe that will wake me up a bit and I can stay up until bedtime.

Sitting in a peaceful valley this afternoon. Things seem to be falling into place and things are moving forward with the move. It was such a relief to hear from the house builder yesterday and to have a date to see the floor plans. I will be really happy when we are able to break ground for the new house. He told me it can take several months to finalize the floor plans as he doesn’t allow changes once we start building. I hope he is on the right track with what he has come up with and we can reduce that timeline.

Grateful Ellexia and her friend are spending the night, grateful the permit application got turned it today, and grateful for the sleep I got last night.

Went to Council Grove with a dear friend and had lunch. The time spent with her was a balm for my soul today. I really need to remember to do this more often. I thrive on heart-to-heart conversations with women I deeply care for and love.

The drive over to Council Grove was lovely. That is a wonderful drive through the Flint Hills and I enjoy it every time I go. Not much traffic and the open vistas are a sight for sore eyes. Spring is busting forth on the prairie. The trees are leafing out and the spring flowers are blooming.

We dodged the thunderstorm last night. There were tornadoes and huge hail to the north and east of me. Grateful to have been spared all that this time. I need the rain but sure don’t need the damage the high winds, hail and tornadoes can bring.

Haven’t gotten much done today. I woke up at 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m tired this afternoon so may need to take a nap. It is nice out today so probably should go clean out the garage today. It would be a good day to do that project if I can find the energy and motivation to do so.

Tomorrow I have to go to Emporia for exercise at 2:00. Not sure I have anything else to do while I am in town. Ellexia might come home with me and spend the night. We shall see if something more exciting came up for her or if she still wants to come spend the night.

No plans for the weekend. The EFIS guys should be here and hopefully finish up the project this weekend. They still have to coat all the west side and a small part of the east side. It will depend on how large the crew is if they can get done or not. The guttering guys are coming the week of March 25 so hoping the EFIS guys get done before that or I will have to postpone the guttering crew.

Feeling a bit more grounded today after having lunch with my friend. I think I came up with a solution for my problem from last night. We shall see what happens next week. Feeling better about it all though. Will give it my best shot and see what happens.

Have a bit of a headache today. Probably from lack of sleep and not eating right but the unstable weather pattern adds to it too. Gotta love KS in the spring time. Spring allergy season has arrived early on the prairie this year. Wonder if the mosquitos will arrive early too?

Tagen may be coming out Sunday to help me clean out the chicken coop one more time before I move. I told him I would fix him lunch if he would come out. We shall see if he remembers to come. I can bet what he will want me to fix to eat – chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, and a pudding dessert thing.

I am meeting with my house builder next Tuesday to see the first rendering of the house plans. I’m so excited. Hopefully the builder understood what I am looking for and will have something close to what I want. Anxious to get the house building process started and plans finalized. It will make it feel more real to see actual plans.

Things do fall into place and get resolved sooner or later. I have to keep reminding myself that time is an illusion and to not get hung up on “my time table”. Life flows better when I can let go of expectations of when and how things might unfold.

Grateful for lunch with a dear friend, grateful we dodged the thunderstorm last night, and grateful for a meeting with the house builder.

Another long day with two trips to town. Went in to Emporia this morning and dropped ten more boxes off at Salvation Army. Then went to the Senior Center and did my tax shift.

I was five minutes late getting to exercise at noon today due to a complicated tax case. My trainer was understanding and we got through my exercises. My heart rate was lower at the end of doing exercises than it was when I started. I was a bit stressed when I got to the gym.

Took Ellexia out to lunch when I finished up exercising. I hadn’t seen her for a long time and it was great getting some one-on-one time with her. She has grown up lately and we had a good conversation over lunch.

Came home and took a short nap in my chair. I was exhausted again this afternoon.

Took care of the chickens and then went back to town. Stopped at the Chiropractor for my weekly adjustment and then went to my evening tax shift. Had a hard shift tonight with a very complicated case. Came home with a heavy heart.

So far it looks like we have missed the severe weather that is north of us. Trusting it stays away from us. I have scaffolding on the east side of the house and I would hate for high winds to blow it over and into the house. I really would love to have this house hold together for seven more weeks.

I may go to bed early tonight. I am exhausted tonight. Not sure if it is because I was around people today or the hard case I had this evening or the lack of sleep last night. Maybe a combination of all three. I sure trust I can get some good sleep tonight and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.

Tomorrow I am having lunch with a dear friend. Good timing of that as my heart needs a lift. Friday I go back to Emporia one more time this week for exercise in the afternoon. The EFIS guys are coming back this weekend to hopefully finish up this project and I think I get to stay home all weekend. I need to refill.

Next week I will only do taxes on Wednesday twice. Doing them four tines this week was too much. I don’t do well when I have to go to town twice a day on two different days a week. I need more down time than that allows. I will still have to go to town three times next week but that is much better than five or six like I have done last week and this week.

Feeling a bit out of sorts tonight. The inequality of the world hit me in the face tonight and I don’t understand why our system is so broken. I wish the politicians would have to face some of the people that bear the consequences of the actions they take. It is easy to not see the hidden members of society and the domino effect that happens when policy changes. It makes me very sad and angry. We have a record number of millionaires and billionaires and yet we don’t have the resources to provide a basic safety net for those less fortunate. I’m not sure how to process all this and what to do about it. I will do some Tonglen tonight and see if I can move some of this heavy energy out of my body.

It’s been a hard day. Felt good to come home and do some deep breathing and release some of the pent up frustration at a system too big for me to wrap my head around. I don’t have the power to change it but there has to be something I can do as an advocate and voice for those that have no voice. The question of the day for me is what to do now?

Grateful for the time with Ellexia today – it was a bright spot in a hard day, grateful for a short afternoon nap, and grateful that the storm has avoided us so far.

Another night where sleep was hard to find. I finally feel asleep around 5:00 this morning. I was sleeping pretty good when my phone rang around 9:30. Four and one-half hours of sleep is better than none – right?

The garage door people came to fix the remote for the garage door opener. The only problem was the lock button on the wall opener had gotten turned on. I had never notice there was a lock button on that opener. Dang it anyways. That was an expensive service visit to teach me that lesson. It will be nice to get to use my garage again.

I haven’t gotten much done today. Another low energy type of day. Still waiting on the internet repair guy to come. The internet has started working on and off today. The wind is rather brisk and it must have blown the receiver back into position. I’m going to let the repair guy go ahead and come and maybe he can fasten the receiver down a bit so it will stay in place.

I was waiting for the funds for the painting of the deck from the insurance adjuster. I finally got hold of him today and he told me he paid those out when the claim was first filed. Uhm…. I’ll have to go back and verify that. I hadn’t realize that if that was what was done. Good to know I have already received them though. Not sure why he didn’t tell me that two weeks ago when I sent him an email asking if he had received the bill.

I called my house builder but haven’t heard back from him. He was to be working on drawing up the floor plans and was to have gotten hold of me a week ago to make an appointment so I could see what he has done. I haven’t heard from him. If he doesn’t get back to me soon, I may have to choose another builder. He may be showing me who he is and how he works by his poor communication. I tend to give people too many chances and this guy has been anything but prompt in responding to my messages.

It has been a good day to stay home. I am still a bit cranky and would not be able to people well today. I have another long day tomorrow as I have to make two trips to town to do two tax shifts and exercise in between and I need to recharge a bit to handle that.

I have eight more boxes ready to load up in my car to take to the Salvation Army while I am in Emporia tomorrow. I still want to get a closet cleaned out in the laundry room and may find another box or two to add to the pile. I can’t believe how much stuff I am finding to get rid of. Good to have it gone. I don’t think I could tell you too many things I got rid of and know I won’t miss any of it. Makes me wonder why I hadn’t gotten rid of it before.

I need to take the trash to the curb and load my car up with bags from the barn to take down with it. I love seeing all that stuff leave the barn and free up space and energy. The trash can isn’t very full this week so I might be able to get a few extra bags taken to the curb today. Still have seven weeks to go so should be able to get it all taken care of before close.

Realized today part of the crankiness I am feeling is from sitting in the in-between space. I have an underlying sense of urgency inside that makes me feel like I need to be doing something right now but I can never figure out what it is that is urgent that needs done. I am in really good shape with the decluttering project and there really isn’t anything urgent that needs done. It is my sense of being uncomfortable with this in-between space that is causing the urgency. Reminding myself that is what is behind this feeling helps me to relax and allow it to be what it is. May it be so!

Grateful for a full day at home, grateful to cross some pending issues off my list, and grateful for figuring out what is behind my crankiness.

A long day today. I had to be in Emporia at 9:00 this morning to do my first tax shift of the day. We weren’t too busy and I got done early. On my way to the Senior Center this morning I dropped off 10 boxes at the Salvation Army. I took a box of homemade face masks to the Senior Center. They were glad to get them as they have some Seniors that want to wear them but can’t afford the disposable ones.

After I got finished doing taxes, I went to Walmart to pick up a prescription and a few groceries. The Tirosint that I take for my thyroid has gone up to $158 a month this year. Last year it was $75 a month. Yikes. My body doesn’t absorb the Synthroid pill so had to switch to the liquid form. Dang! My prescription insurance doesn’t cover this drug.

Came home and put groceries away. I called the internet people and they did some troubleshooting but couldn’t fix the problem. They are sending out a repair guy tomorrow late afternoon.

I took a short nap in my chair and then went back to Emporia. I did exercise for 45 minutes today and then grabbed dinner and then did another tax shift. All the returns tonight were super simple and we got done early.

Came home and am going to crash. I am really tired tonight. I slept better last night than I have for several weeks – finally! Hoping it is a sign of more good sleep to come.

I have two repair guys coming tomorrow. One to fix my garage door opener and the other to repair the internet. I think I have the morning free so will try to get back to the decluttering project and get another closet or two or three cleaned out. I need to clean house too. I noticed when I came home tonight how dirty the house is. I haven’t cleaned it for quite a while and it is reaching the point where I have to do something about it.

Wednesday I am doing two tax shifts again with exercise in between shifts. I will come home for a short break but then go back to town again in the late afternoon. Thursday I am going to lunch with a friend and then Friday I will go back to Emporia in the afternoon for exercise. Hoping to be able to stay home this weekend. The EFIS guys should come finish up that project.

I got the bill for the booster pump replacement today. Yikes! It was another reminder as to why this house needs to be in the hands of someone else. It is taking all my money from me to keep it going. The bill was about twice what I expected it to be. Hoping this booster pump will last much longer than the other brand did although I guess that won’t be my problem as long as it lasts until May 3.

I have a couple of phone calls to make tomorrow if I am in the mood to make them. I never know if I can make calls or not. Since I get to stay home all day I might be able to.

Feeling a bit cranky tonight. It was a long and busy day and I didn’t have much down time today. I’m so tired of having to get repair people out here and that seems to be what I spend a lot of my time doing these days. Sure hope that decreases when I move to the next house. I’m about at my limit of repairs.

It got up to the low 70’s today. Another beautiful spring like day on the prairie. Winter seems to have receded for the year. We still could get one or even two more blasts of cold weather before it is gone but days like today sure give me faith that spring has sprung.

Grateful I get to stay home all day tomorrow, grateful for the 10 boxes of stuff that is out of the house, and grateful this long day is coming to an end.

I won’t get started on my thoughts about daylight savings time. Doesn’t do any good to bitch about the stupidity of thinking you can increase the hours of daylight by rearranging the clock. Sometimes the thinking power of humans amazes me in not a good way!

Got my bedroom finished up decluttering today. Also finished up the living room and the kitchen. Went through the drawer full of warranty and instruction booklets and sorted out the ones I will need to take and the ones that remain with the house. Have eight more boxes ready to go to town but my car is full so they will have to wait until I take the load I have in my car now. Hope to do that tomorrow.

The EFIS guys were here at 8:00. I was still in bed but heard them and got up in case they needed something from me. They waved at me through the window but I haven’t talked to them today. They are finishing up the east side and doing the top of the house and the north side today. They haven’t gotten to the west side yet so doubting that they will finish up today. They will need at least one more day if not two. Maybe by the end of next weekend they will be finished.

They had to take down the internet receiver. Trusting they will be able to replace it and it will work without having to call out the service guy. I’m using cellular data to get on the internet this afternoon. Good thing there isn’t a football game on that I wanted to watch.

Think I will bake a batch of cookies and share with the crew for their afternoon coffee break time. They left for an hour for lunch and went somewhere to eat. They usually stop around 3:00 or so and take a 15 minute afternoon coffee break.

It is a beautiful day on the prairie today. It has reached the mid 60’s today. We have some wind but not too brisk. The guys are enjoying the warmer day we are having.

Got a bit more sleep last night than I have been getting but still feeling a bit tired this afternoon. I am so far in sleep debt that it would take several weeks of good sleep to get me out of this hole. Maybe last night was the start of a new way of sleeping for me. I was up and down quite a bit last night but did manage to get more sleep than I have been getting.

I have to be in town at 9:00 in the morning to do taxes. I have exercise at 3:00 and then another tax shift at 5:00. I will come home in between taxes and exercise but will stay in town between exercise and my second tax shift. I can find something to do for an hour or so. It will be a long day though. I’m working tomorrow for one of the ladies that needed to take care of some family business.

Thinking about driving to OK or TX to see the solar eclipse in April. I want to go to a place that will be 100% in the path of the eclipse. It is about a six hour drive to the two places I am thinking about so might make it an overnight trip. Driving over 12 hours in one day doesn’t sound like too much fun. Anyone want to ride along?

I remember when I hired a bus and took 15 friends with me to celebrate my birthday several years ago. We went to Atchinson to the Abbey to view the eclipse. It was a rainy day but we had so much fun.

I realized yesterday that I have become too focused on moving and am forgetting to stop and smell the roses and take some time for fun. I am almost done with the decluttering project. Only have the garage as my last big project and then some rooms downstairs. Waiting on someone to come visit us for a long weekend before I can finish up downstairs. I need to take some time to relax and catch my breath before the big move.

Sitting in gratefulness that the EFIS project is about 70% done. One more weekend and that can get crossed off my list. Then the guttering guys can come and finish the hail restoration project up. With the booster pump fixed that will complete my list of things I was responsible to fix before the sell. Yay! I will be even more grateful when I get the last payout from the insurance guy for the deck and guttering.

In a bit of a dark head space today. Not sure what that is about yet. I think I need to take a step back from all that is happening and allow all parts of my body to catch up with each other. Hard to keep myself in balance and in sync.

Grateful for the movement on the EFIS project this weekend, grateful the giant decluttering project is well underway, and grateful I know what I need to do to take better care of myself.

The EFIS guys showed up as promised at 8:00 this morning. They are applying product to the east side of the house as I type. They had lots of prep work to do today before they could start that. There were only four on the crew today. They are to have a bigger crew tomorrow and there is an outside chance that they will get finished tomorrow but I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it. The west side is big and they have the upper back west side to do too. Grateful for the progress they made today. It will be nice to be able to go out the doors of the house when they get done.

I took a nap this afternoon and got a bit more sleep. I slept some last night but not enough yet. I am very sleep deprived right now and I will take sleep whenever I can find it. I feel more rested this afternoon after my nap then I have for over a week.

I got the results of my thyroid TSH levels back and they were spot on. I think they were 2.7. My goal is 1.5 – 2.5 so very close to goal. It is almost impossible to hit goal so anything close to it is good. It is reassuring to know that Covid without Paxlovid didn’t affect my levels. I have been using up some boxes of medication that range from 100 – 112 – 125. Each box costs me $75 and I didn’t want them to go to waste. I am finally on my last box and will need to get some more ordered. Feels good to have used those others up and know that it didn’t bother my levels.

I cleaned out my cedar chest today and found several boxes of things to get rid of. I have a couple more boxes to fill up from stuff in the cedar chest. I scratch my head and wonder why I was saving what was in there. I also cleaned out the under the window storage box and got it emptied out. A little progress made today on the giant decluttering project. I will keep at it and by May 1 will be done. The biggest rooms are done and now I am down to the little spaces.

I need to spend an hour tomorrow carrying boxes from the living room to my car. I bet I have at least 20 or more of them to take to my car and then deliver to the Salvation Army. I’m getting tired of looking at them and want them out of my house. I got behind on taking them a few at a time and now have to pay the price and do a huge haul off.

Less than eight weeks till moving day. I made a list of all the places I still need to declutter. While the list is long, the spaces are not big and each one won’t take more than an hour at best. It feels doable to me. It sure will make packing easier to know that everything left gets packed and I won’t have to sort and pack at the same time. Wish I had a better sense of what I will have room for. I’m purging pretty deep as it is but guess one can always get rid of even more things. I can purge as I unpack if needed.

Tomorrow I plan on staying home all day again. I couldn’t get out today as the guys put scaffolding behind my car in the garage. I wanted to go to the Chase County Craft Fair today but didn’t think to get my car out of the way before the guys started. It felt good to stay home today and it will be good to stay home again tomorrow. Monday will be a two trip to town type of day and a long one at that. I get to stay home next Tuesday but then I have to make two trips to town on Wednesday. I will stay home Thursday and only have to make one trip to town on Friday.

I feel myself disconnecting a bit from this house with every box I pack. I saw a post on Facebook from a guy I follow that said giving away your personal items is good practice of learning how to let go. I look back to 20 years ago when I started my journey into minimalism and I hadn’t connected the dots before but I have to agree with him. It is much easier for me to let go of most everything these days be it materialistic things or emotional baggage. I had never thought of letting go of material things as practice for letting go of emotional things before. Grateful I began this journey years ago and realize it is not a journey that has an end point. Letting go is a daily practice.

It has been a beautiful day on the prairie today. It was a bit cold this morning but it has warmed up to the lower 50’s with bright blue skies. Tomorrow it is to warm up to the mid 60’s. The trees are starting to bud out and the spring flowers are blooming where they are planted with some protection from the wind and cold. Spring has sprung!

Grateful for a long afternoon nap, grateful the EFIS project is being completed, and grateful I got to stay home all day today.

Eight weeks from today I will close on the sell of this house. Tick, tick, tick. The time is ticking down. Eight weeks sounds like a lot of time but time seems to be flying by. I think I can. I think I can.

The plumbers showed up with the new booster pump this morning. It gave them a run for their money to get it installed (or maybe a run for my money) but they got it done after two trips to town for parts. Grateful to be able to cross that off my pending list. It had been on there for over five months. I was getting tired of having water on the floor of the furnace room. Fingers crossed the new one will hold together until after May 3.

The EFIS boss let me know he is only sending four guys tomorrow to work on the house so they will not be finishing the job this weekend. He may send a full crew on Sunday but doubt that they will get it done even if all 10 show up Sunday. What’s one more week – right? We shall see how far they can get.

Last night the guy from Wichita showed up to buy one of the solid core oak doors. While I was waiting for him to show up I finished sorting the barn stuff and have the small pile I am taking from there all stacked and ready to go. Michelle will need to come get her stuff out of the barn and get her camper and then the barn will be done. Felt good to cross that project off my list. I still have lots of bags of trash to haul to the curb every Tuesday between now and May 1 but I will get it all down there sooner or later.

I packed a few more boxes of stuff from the pantry and I think the pantry is ready to be crossed off my list. It sure looks like there is a lot of stuff in there to pack but what is left is all stuff I use. I have a feeling I am going to run out of cabinet space at the small house but we shall see. The house has a back porch that I plan on storing anything that isn’t temperature sensitive.

Went to town this afternoon for exercise. Got part way to town and realized I had forgotten my Fitbit so had to turn around and come back home to get it. Stopped and had a blood draw done to check my thyroid levels post Covid and then went to exercise. Another participant from the research study joined my lesson today. It took 48 minutes for our video today and the time went fairly quickly. Came home when I was done as I wasn’t in the mood to run any errands.

I haven’t gotten the results of the Thyroid levels yet. Usually they have them to me before I get home but they must have gotten busy in the lab and haven’t gotten to them yet. I had my levels checked early in February when I had my semi-annual visit with my family doctor. I wanted to see if they had changed much since my bout with Covid. I didn’t take Paxlovid this time but was curious to see what my levels did after having Covid.

I think I get to stay home for the next two days. I’m tired of going to town once or twice a day all week long. Next week I will have to go twice a day on both Monday and Wednesday and then once on Friday. Hoping I can stay home on Tuesday and Thursday next week. I do better when I don’t go to town everyday of the week.

Didn’t sleep very much again last night. I slept for an hour or two but woke up around midnight and was up until around 4:00. I woke up at 7:00 and at 7:30 decided to get up. I knew the plumbers were coming and I wanted to be up and dressed for when they got here. They didn’t come until after 9:00 so could have tried to sleep for another hour. Maybe tonight will be the night that I get lots of sleep. I am way overdue for a good night’s sleep.

It was too cold today to take the boxes to the Salvation Army. I will get them loaded up this weekend and take them Monday. Not sure they will all fit in one trip but I will take a car load when I go in to do taxes Monday morning. I have to go back to town Monday afternoon so can take another load if needed then.

It is only 38 degrees out right now. It has gotten colder as the day has gotten longer. It is windy out too which makes it feel even colder. I don’t look forward to going down to see the chickens in a bit. I am tired of cold weather and so ready for spring to come and stay. It has been cloudy today but we didn’t get any more rain. Tomorrow the sun is to return and it is to warm up to the mid 50’s. It will be even warmer on Sunday. Sounds like it will be a beautiful weekend. Grateful I get to stay home and enjoy it.

Feeling a bit ungrounded and just about to cross over into cranky land this afternoon. I’m tired and having another low energy type of day. I don’t feel like I have gotten much done this week yet I look at the piles of boxes that need to go to the Salvation Army and know that I have gotten some things taken care of. Maybe what I am feeling is a bit of overwhelm again. Eight weeks till closing day and it feels like there is a lot left to do before then. I learned some time ago though that it isn’t in my best and highest interest to push myself when I am not feeling it. I’m sure if I could get some good sleep my energy levels will come back and I can get a lot done in a short amount of time.

Grateful to be able to stay home this weekend, grateful one of the oak doors is gone, and grateful the booster pump is fixed.

Rainy day on the prairie. Not sure how much we have gotten as my rain gauge is down. There are nice puddles everywhere. I’ll have to wear my muck boots when I do chicken chores in a bit. The sun has come out this late afternoon although it is still partly cloudy. Nice to see the sun for a bit today.

Went to the Vo-Tech to have my teeth cleaned this afternoon. Abby did a great job. It took almost two hours but she stuck with it and got them done. She graduates in May so I will have a new person next fall.

I filled eight more boxes to take to the Salvation Army. These boxes hold treasures (or junk) from my master bedroom closet. I still have some more to go through to get the last of it out of that closet and then I have the other closet in the master bedroom to go through. Yikes! I thought I had scaled down before. Finding lots to get rid of.

I found a full box of face masks I had made back in 2020. I will send them to the Salvation Army but am thinking they will probably throw them away. Maybe I should just do that for them. I made over 1,500 of them back in the day when we couldn’t find disposable ones. No one wears homemade masks any more though. Wonder if museums are collecting some of the homemade ones to save to show future generations of what we did to survive in 2020?

I didn’t do much this morning. I didn’t sleep much again last night. I finally fell asleep around 3:30 this morning and I slept until 7:00. Not enough sleep has me feeling a bit off today. I’m so tired but am unable to find sleep. I really wish I could find a solution to my sleep issues. I’m starting to get a bit desperate for a good night’s sleep.

Still need to do my 12 minutes of exercises for the day. After I do chicken chores I will get those done. Not feeling very energetic today and am going in slow motion.

Tomorrow afternoon I have to go back to Emporia for the sixth time this week. I will do exercises and then I have an errand to run if I am in the mood for it. I need to get my car loaded with boxes to take to the Salvation Army and get them out of my dining room. I feel like I am being displaced by boxes. Hopefully I can take those in tomorrow.

Truly hoping I can stay home all weekend. I need a couple days of staying home. Not sure if the rain we got will prevent the EFIS guys from coming this weekend or not. Sure would like to see them show up Saturday morning and get that project completed. We shall see what happens.

Next week I am doing taxes twice a day on both Monday and Wednesday. I am filling in for someone that has to go out of town. That means I will get to take at least five trips to town next week. So far it looks like I will get to stay home Tuesday and Thursday so that will help.

The guy that wants the solid core oak door messaged me asking if I would be home around 5:30 tonight. He might be able to break free to come get the door. He said he would let me know. 5:30 is about an hour from now and I haven’t heard from him yet. Not sure what is up with this guy but not really expecting him to show up.

I need to get brave and complete the paperwork so I can get a permit to have the shed at the house in Cottonwood Falls installed. I don’t like doing paperwork like that as it feels like it is written in a language I don’t understand. I will have to do it three times as I will also need a permit to tear down the garage that is on the property as well as a permit to build the new house. Those two permits can wait a bit as they are only good for 90 days. Too early to apply for them.

On the verge of being cranky today. I think I am more sleepy than cranky but it wouldn’t take much to push me into cranky territory. I don’t like low energy days when I have lots of stuff to do. Maybe with the sun coming out it will brighten up my day and pull me out of this funk.

Grateful my teeth are cleaned, grateful more boxes are filled and ready to leave this house, and grateful for the rain on the prairie today.

Busy day. I was in Emporia by 9:00 this morning to do a tax shift. I didn’t get done until 11:45 and should have stayed a bit longer but I had to get to exercise at 12:00.

Did exercise for 45 minutes and then went to the Chiropractor. I stopped for lunch and then came home. By then it was almost 2:30. I fell asleep in my corner chair and didn’t wake up until 4:00.

I quickly did chicken chores and went back to Emporia for my evening tax shift. We had a busy evening and I was done around 7:30. Came home and collapsed. I am worn out from the day and not getting good sleep again last night.

I stopped at Sutherland’s and got a new tool box. The other one I had was a bag and a strap on it broke and it was hard to manage. Got a box this time – we shall see how long it lasts.

I forgot to take the boxes to Salvation Army today so will try to remember to do that tomorrow when I go back to Emporia to go to my dental appointment. My appointment is at 1:00 and I probably won’t be done until 3:00 or after. I go to the Vo-Tech and they take a long time to clean my teeth as they have to get their instructors approval after each step.

The garage door people texted me today to tell me they will be out on March 12 to fix my garage door opener. Dang, sure wish they could come sooner but I guess I will take them when they can get here. I miss parking in my garage.

Still haven’t heard from the plumber about the booster pump. He was to have come last Friday to install it but didn’t show up. Guess he will come when he can. Sure wish he would let me know when that might be.

Hoping tomorrow morning I can get back to the decluttering project. I haven’t done anything on that project since Monday. Time is clicking down and I need to get that project finished up so packing will be easy and quick. I have a little over eight weeks to go and time is slipping away fast.

Friday I go back to Emporia for the sixth time this week for exercise class in the afternoon. Sure hoping I can stay home all weekend. I’m worn out from going to town everyday this week. I’m hoping the weather is warm enough and dry enough that the EFIS guys can come back and finish up that project this weekend. We shall see if they can come and if they come if they can get it all finished up. That will be a huge relief to get that project completed.

No plans for the weekend except lots of decluttering. It will feel really good to stay home for two days in a row. The biggest adjustment I have had to make with the exercise program is making three trips a week to town to do them. Doing taxes adds to the number of trips a week too. It’s a big change for me as I used to only go to town twice a week at most. I am a routine type of person and love staying home.

Even with all the busyness of the day, I was able to stay above the neutral level. Taxes are fun for me this year and it is easier for me to ask for help when I don’t know something. Time goes by fast when I am doing them and the people are so appreciative of the service we are providing. I am humbled by them and wonder how people survive on so little income.

I’m really tired tonight even with taking a nap today. Sleep has been very hard for me to find lately and the lack of it is catching up with me. Every night I think tonight is the night where I will get lots of sleep and that hasn’t happened for a bit. Sure wish I could fix my sleep issues.

Grateful to have been in service to others today, grateful for an afternoon nap, and grateful for the sleep I am going to get tonight.

I went to Cottonwood Falls this morning to vote and to check about the permit situation for a shed. Only one vote on the ballet and that was for the President nominee. That was quick and easy.

I stopped by city hall and it turns out I do need a permit to put a shed on my property in Cottonwood Falls. The guy that sold me the shed yesterday told me to check. I got the paper work and will get it completed and turned back in. I hate filling out that type of paperwork. They ask things I have no idea how to answer. Will do the best I can and let them figure the rest out. It costs $10 for the permit. I also asked about building a new house – that permit is $50. Grateful the shed guy tipped me off on this need as I wasn’t aware I needed one. I will get it filled out and returned later this week so I will be good to go when the shed gets delivered in April.

Went to Council Grove to have lunch with a dear friend. It was so good for my soul to have lunch today with her. I need to remember to do this more often. This friend is the type that really sees and hears me and we can go deep together. Love those conversations. As a bonus, two other friends came in for lunch and I was able to get a hug from each of them. Great way to spend part of a day.

I stopped at the grocery store in Council Grove to get the few groceries I needed this week. That was easy and now I don’t have to make a stop in Emporia tomorrow.

The drive to and from today was beautiful. The sun is shining and it has warmed up to the mid 60’s today. A delightful day to drive through the hills.

I called the door guys to come fix my garage door opener. I’m not sure when they are coming. They told me they would text me a time but I haven’t gotten a text yet. You don’t realize how much you depend on a garage door opener until it doesn’t work. Guess I better get used to it as I won’t have a garage to park in at the house I am moving to May 1. It will be nice to have one again when the new house gets built and I get moved into it.

Still need to do my exercises for the day. They only take 10 -15 minutes so not a big deal. For some reason my FitBit is not sending data to KU so will need to get that figured out when I have the patience to do so. Not impressed with the FitBit. This is the second issue I have had with it and I’ve only had it for less than a month. I would think they would work longer than that.

My friend took six dozen eggs today and another friend requested three dozen for tomorrow. I had given 12 dozen away Sunday to the EFIS workers so my egg supply is finally low. Glad the eggs found a home and I didn’t have to waste any. They will pile back up again in a week or so.

I haven’t heard from the plumber this week. He told me he would come out last Friday to install the new booster pump but didn’t show up. Any bets as to when he will come? Sure wish there was some communication when things change. I can deal with change but it makes it easier to do so when someone tells you about it. I don’t like guessing when someone will show up.

Tomorrow will be a two trip to town day. I will do taxes in the morning and then go to exercise at noon. I will go back to town at 5:00 for an evening shift doing taxes. I have a couple of errands to run when I am in town. Not sure if I will do those the first or second trip. I’ll see how I am feeling after exercise. If the tax shift gets done early I might be able to get them done before exercise.

Thursday I go to the Vo-Tech in the afternoon to have my teeth cleaned. Friday I go back to Emporia for exercise. Six trips to town this week. Maybe I will get to stay home this weekend.

Kathy took the trash can down to the curb so all I have to do is load up the car with the bagged trash from the barn and put it by the trash can. It feels good to get more stuff out of the barn and gone. I have six boxes ready to load in the car and take to town tomorrow to the Salvation Army. I’m sure I will have a bunch more to take as I declutter more rooms. I keep thinking the end is in sight but then think of more places to go through. I will get to the end someday soon.

I’m tired this afternoon so not sure I will try to get much done today. I didn’t sleep well again last night although I got a bit more sleep than I had the night before. One of these nights I will crash and get sleep. Just wasn’t last night. I may have to take a nap this afternoon. Not sure I can stay awake until bedtime.

Sitting in a good head space today. Having a deep conversation with a dear friend is medicine for my soul. It feels good to take a day off and let things be for a bit. I will be busy tomorrow with taxes and exercise so won’t get anything done then either. I will get back at it Thursday and declutter some more spaces. I have eight weeks from Friday to get it all done. The clock is ticking down, down, down. I can do this.

Grateful for a wonderful lunch and conversation with a dear friend, grateful the shed guy told me about the needed permit, and grateful for the privilege of voting.

Another night of little sleep. I would fall asleep and wake up 15 – 20 minutes later. Stay awake for an hour or two and then sleep for 15 – 20 minutes. Makes for a long night when that happens.

At 6:15 this morning someone texted me with questions on an item I had listed for sell on Facebook Marketplace. I have two oak, solid core doors listed for $50 each. The guy wanted to know if I would sell only one – I said yes. He then asked the price for one. I told him $50. He then asked $50 for one or both. WTF! Then he wanted me to meet him in El Dorado as he is from Wichita. I told him no. Then he said since he has to drive all the way to Strong City would I take $40. I said no. He ended up saying he would take one but not sure when he can get here. Any bets as to if and when he will show up? This was not a good way to start my day. Take it or leave it guy – I don’t care. Just be smart about it.

Got up after all that. Sleep was hard to find before I got riled up and would have been impossible after that.

Around 9:00 someone said they wanted the live animal traps and could come get them right now. I went down to the barn and did some cleaning while I was waiting for them to come. I got to talking to the guy and ended up giving him a weed eater and a compost shifter thingy. Good to get those gone. That was easy and the way it is to work.

Another person wanted the animal containment pens. She lives closer to Topeka but said she had a friend that could come get them. I told her when I would be home today but never heard back from her. I was taking a nap and heard a man’s voice coming from downstairs. I got up and went to see why a man was in my house. The doors on the main level are all covered with plastic and the only open one is through the garage. He had walked around to the lower level and came in those doors. He was here to pick up the pens for his friend. No one had told me he was coming.

I think I am done trying to use the Marketplace. I find too many people that don’t understand basic communication. Out of five things listed, two of them have been easy. Not good odds. I think I will just give the rest of the stuff away and not deal anymore. I have reached my limit.Not sure the stress of selling was worth the $50 I made today.

Went to Emporia at 1:45 to deposit a check and to do exercises. It felt good to be back doing exercises. We used stretch bands today for some of them. The time goes by fairly quickly and I did feel better afterwards.

I drove out to the Amish Woodwork store when I finished exercise class and ordered a storage shed. I had bought other things from them through the years. The guy remembered me and made ordering a shed easy. I’m glad I went out today as the lead time for them is 4 – 6 weeks. By ordering today, I should have no problem having it in place when I move in May 1. I paid extra to have them do the prep work needed to put the shed on. The overall cost was lower than I feared it would be. He also sells lawn mowers but the smallest one he had was too big and too expensive. I’ll have to look elsewhere for that.

I sent an email to the guttering guy and he responded and told me he would put me on the schedule for the last week of March. That will give the EFIS guys three more weekends to get that job done. They should only take one more but with KS weather in March you never know if they will be able to work.

I sent a text to the mover and asked to be put on his schedule for May 1. He replied with three responses – all were emojis. I will have to have him confirm with words that I am on his schedule. What is with people these days? I seemed to have found some today that pushed my buttons. Can we be grown ups and use words please, or is that too much to ask?

Can you tell I am a bit cranky today? Lack of sleep did a number on me today and I woke up cranky after that exchange with the guy from Wichita. It was one of those days that most things were not easy for me.

I do feel like I got most of what I wanted to get done today taken care of. The shed guy made it easy for me to get that ordered. That is a relief to know that the shed will be there when I move in. One less thing to have to take care of another day.

Tomorrow I am meeting a friend for lunch at Hays House in Council Grove. That will be good for me to get out and do something fun. I love our lunches and the way we can go deep with each other and share. My soul needs a lunch like that.

Wednesday I have two tax shifts to do with exercise in between. I need to stop and get some groceries while I am in town. I also want to look for a new bed frame. The headboard set I have now is falling apart and I don’t think it will survive a move. I want to just get a frame and no headboard. Makes it much easier to make a bed. One of these days I need to get a new mattress set but that may wait for a bit. I am reaching decision overwhelm and am not sure I can make a choice of what I would want right now.

Got most of the barn sorted through and have started the cleaning project. Still have a few more things to sort but it is almost done. That feels good to have that big project almost completed. I will soon run out of rooms to declutter. I do have a big load to take to Salvation Army. It will be good to get that big pile of boxes out of the house. I have lots of bagged trash to take to the curb each week between now and when I move. Hope the trash guys don’t mind the extra bags each week.

My garage door opener stopped working. Jason changed the battery for me but that didn’t fix it so I will have to call someone to come out and fix that. Dang. Can things please hold together in this house for eight more weeks? Maybe that is asking too much? I know the Universe has been telling me it is time to move on. I got that message loud and clear – enough with the messages!

Cranky a bit today – can you tell? A good night’s sleep will fix what is wrong with me today. All in all it was a productive day – just not an easy one.

Grateful the shed is ordered, grateful for the stuff that is leaving without me having to haul it away, and grateful tomorrow is a new day.

Very windy day on the prairie today. Wind gust of up to almost 40 MPH today off and on. Sustaining wind is between 25 – 30. Hold on to your hat!

It has warmed up to 76 and may reach 80 before the afternoon is over. Unseasonably warm temperatures for early March. Spring is in the air!

The EFIS guys were here around 8:30 this morning. The wind is making their job a bit rough today. They moved around to the lower back and got it coated. With it being a walk-out they had a bit of protection from the wind.

All the doors and windows on the main level are covered in plastic. I can only enter and exit my house from the garage door. It is a bit warm in the house today as I can’t have any windows open to let air in.

The dogs decided to come inside to nap today. The noise from the repair guys was scaring them and they kept sneaking in when the guys would leave the door open. I decided to go the path of least resistance and let them stay in.

They won’t get finished this weekend as they still have the west windows to trim out and then it all needs coated. The front, north and south sides of the house are ready to be coated. They haven’t gotten to the very top of the west side of the house yet either. Thinking they have one more weekend of work to do.

I got down to the barn yesterday afternoon. Don’t have a lot left to do down there but I do need to clean it out when I finish getting stuff out of there. There is a bunch of stuff I’m not sure what to do with. Some I would like to take but not sure I really need to. Got a bit overwhelmed and had to stop. I have the trash bagged for this week and maybe the following week. I try not to overwhelm my trash guys with extra bags. I don’t have a lot more to bag from the barn but will fill several more at least. Found some things I need to try to sell. I’ll probably have a bunch of stuff to giveaway too.

Finding more and more things that I would like to keep. Getting a storage shed is becoming more urgent. I hope to get to town this week and get that found and arrangements made for it to get delivered. I can have it delivered early if they are able to do so.

I walked down to the mail box today and got a closer look at my front yard. Due to the drought we had last summer and fall, the grass is very short this spring. I think I will have the guy skip burning this spring. There just isn’t enough fuel to burn. He had mentioned that he wasn’t going to burn his pastures this year for that reason. It does the soil good to miss a burning season here and then.

I hit overwhelm today and haven’t gotten anything done. Sometimes I need to stop and let it all be for a bit and then I can go at it again. I think I reach decision overload and can’t make anymore decisions for a bit. Good thing I have a little over eight weeks to go. I still have time to take some days off and let it all sit in my mind.

My goal for this week is to get the mover confirmed, call the guttering guy and get on his calendar for early April, get the booster pump installed, find and purchase a storage shed, and get some things listed on Marketplace. I will also continue to find things to declutter and remove from the house and barn. I have to go to town everyday this week so will have to budget my time wisely to get things done. May 3 will be here before I know it so need to keep at it.

Sent a note to the buyer and got the propane and trash sorted out. I didn’t want to have the propane tank filled again if the buyer was not going to continue using the same supplier. He is going to use the same supplier and he will pay me for the value of the propane in the tank on closing day. Sent that information to the closing company so that can be included in the final settlement. Same with the trash guy. The trash is billed quarterly and I have paid through the end of May. The buyer will reimburse me for May at closing. Good to get some little things settled. I’m sure there will be a bunch more little things that come up between now and May 3.

Moving sometimes feels complicated. I am dealing with three houses right now – this one, the one I am moving into, and the new one I am having built. Seems like there are lots of little things at each project that need resolved. Most are fairly easy but keeping track of all of them and keeping the communication lines open with all involved seems to be a challenge. Too many moving pieces and too many players involved. It will get easier once I move and only have the new house to contend with.

Still feeling relieved that the EFIS project is getting done. Trusting that the guttering guys will show up in early April and then the hail restoration project will be complete. That will simplify closing for the sell of this house. I don’t like unfinished business and have had to deal with a lot of that lately. Waiting patiently for someone else to do something has never been a strength of mine. Have gotten lots of practice doing so lately and I am better at it than I used to be but still don’t enjoy it.

I’ve been able to hold myself above the neutral level except for one little dip last week. I will take that as a sign of personal progress. I have learned when I hit overwhelm like I did today, to take some time and let things be. It doesn’t last long and I am ready to go again and get things done.

Grateful for the sound of workers around the house today, grateful for to-do lists that keep me on track, and grateful for life lessons that help make transitions easier for me.

I had one of those nights last night where sleep eluded me. I doubt that I slept more than two hours combined last night. So frustrating to be tired but not able to sleep.

The EFIS crew started showing up at 7:35 this morning. By 8:00 the boss showed up and they had a meeting for about 30 minutes. By 8:30 they were working away. They took a lunch break and then cranked up the music and are hard at work this afternoon. They are fighting the wind a bit. I told them wait till tomorrow when we have a wind warning for the day. Otherwise, they are loving the warmer temperatures this afternoon and the bright sunshine.

They are over half way done prepping the main level. Each window needs lots of time and attention and then they have to prep the sides of the house filling in holes and putting a skim coat on. They have to do the west lower level and the upper part of the house yet. Those will go faster as the lower level didn’t have windows replaced and the upper level only has three windows to deal with. Sure hope it isn’t too windy for them to spray the actual EFIS on tomorrow. We shall see.

I am so relived they are here and this project is getting done. The hail storm was August 13 so I have been waiting over six months for this repair. The house will look brand new when they are done. I’m anxious to see the color of it. The existing finish is no longer available so they are having to do the entire house. Not sure what the final product will look like. They have to cover all the windows with plastic so the house is gradually getting closed off to the outside.

I told Kathy I am holding two opposite thoughts today at the same time. I am rejoicing that they are here working and this project is getting done. I am also holding the peace and quiet that will come when they are gone. It feels a bit like my world has been intruded today and it is noisy. There is a crew of 10 guys working so lots going on at the same time.

I got the furnace room done this morning. Found two more boxes of stuff to get rid of and found two more tubs of stuff that I will keep. May need a bigger storage shed than I thought I would. I did the hallway closet and went through all my winter hats, scarfs, gloves and jackets. Got rid of some of them and reduced the amount I had. I had way more scarfs and hats than I will ever use. Had too many jackets too.

Slowly working my way through the whole house. Have lots more to do but have made good progress. The barn still is waiting for me to spend lots of time in it. I might get down there this afternoon to work. It is so nice out it would be a good day to be down there.

Monday I want to get the mover lined up and booked. I also need to call the guttering guy and give him a heads up that he can get me on the schedule to get the guttering replaced. I’ll know by Monday morning when the EFIS crew might get done. They said there was an outside chance that they could do it all this weekend. With the high wind forecast for tomorrow I’ll be surprised if they can finish but I don’t really understand the EFIS process so may get pleasantly surprised.

I didn’t hear from the KU people about being released to do exercise Monday afternoon. Hopefully they will get hold of me Monday morning and let me know. Sure would like to resume my exercise program. That would help me know I am fully back to normal. I haven’t coughed much today even when I was going up and down the steps. Progress!

I took a nap late morning and was able to sleep for about an hour. Sure hope tonight I can find sleep and get a good night’s sleep. It is hard to function when you are sleep deprived.

Need to get a few things photographed and put on the Facebook Marketplace to sell. I only like to have two or three things listed at a time so I can easily track them and keep things straight. If things don’t sell, I will have to find a home for them a different way. Lots of things to get rid of yet. I don’t have a lot of patience selling things or waiting on people to come take giveaways. Too many people don’t tell me what is going on and flake out on me. Most stuff I am just taking to the Salvation Army and getting rid of it easily.

I wonder how long I can handle having stuff piled in the dining room. It has become my sorting place and I have empty totes, boxes that need to go to the Salvation Army, empty boxes, packing paper, tape, etc. Clutter like that drives me crazy after a bit but it is too much work to clean it up everyday. Bets on how long I can let things stay out without driving me over the edge? Less than nine weeks before closing date. I can do this!

One day next week while I am in town I want to go look at some storage sheds. I read on one website that it can take them six to eight weeks to deliver. I am in that time line so need to find out if that is normal and if so, get one ordered. Phil recommended using cinder blocks or gravel to put the shed on. I’ll have to find out if I am responsible for getting that prep work done or if they can do it when they deliver the shed.

I am a bit naive when it comes to construction stuff. I don’t know about lead times and what needs to be done in what order. Grateful I have Phil to ask questions to and get somewhat educated. I can make things happen when I know what needs to be done when.

Sitting in a good head space today. So excited that the EFIS job is getting done. That takes a bone of contention away from the sell of the house. It was yet another lesson for me from the Universe on patience. Things happen – just not always on my timeline.

Grateful the EFIS restoration job is happening, grateful for this beautiful day for the workers to work in, and grateful for late morning naps.

It has been a productive day on the prairie today. I am almost done cleaning out the furnace room. Still have two more totes to go and that project can be crossed off my list. I reduced the number of totes from 10 to four. Found three boxes of stuff to take to the Salvation Army and got one big trash bag full to throw away.

The extra Fiesta Ware got picked up today and is gone. Yay! The Lincoln logs are to be picked up this afternoon. Someone was to have picked up the legos but they didn’t show so put them back up for grabs.

I went to town and got a banking issue taken care of. Stopped and had lunch while I was in town. Didn’t have any other errands to do so came home. My picking up Ellexia got canceled so I didn’t get to do that.

We are moving the closing of the sell of this house up to May 3. Nine weeks from today! Oh my, that will be here before I know it. Grateful to have a working date so I can make some things happen now. I will get a mover lined up next week. That will make things feel real!

The renter will vacate the house we are moving into April 30. That will give me a day to clean it out and then move in on May 2. Closing on the 3rd will give me a day to play with in case things need adjusting at the last minute. Jason’s house will be available May 1 so we will both be moving at the same time.

I got confirmation that the EFIS guys are to be here bright and early in the morning and work both Saturday and Sunday. There is a chance they will get that project done this weekend if things go as hoped. Wow! What a relief that would be. Then I can call the guttering guy and get them out in a week or two and the hail project will be complete.

I don’t have any plans for the weekend. I will continue to sort and get rid of things. Still have several rooms downstairs to work on and I can always go out to the barn and work on it. I hear the clock ticking in my head now that we have a firm closing date.

I sent a note to the exercise coordinator but haven’t heard back yet to know if I can resume exercises Monday. I might not hear until Monday. I will plan on going unless I hear different. It will feel good to get back and move my body. My cough is almost gone although movement can stimulate it. Trusting by Monday that will be gone too.

Kathy went to the doctor today and she may have long Covid. The doctor said she should very slowly continue to heal but it may take lots of time. She is still having shortness of breath, weird tingling, brain fog and forgetfulness, coughing, and she had Covid toe this morning. She has to take a baby aspirin to help prevent blood clots. Dang it anyways. Trusting she will make a full recovery sooner rather than later.

Next week is looking pretty clear. Tuesday I am meeting a friend for lunch in Council Grove. We had to reschedule when I got Covid. I will do taxes on Wednesday twice and I have a dental appointment on Thursday. Add in going to Emporia to do exercises three times next week and my week starts to look busy. Will still have plenty of time to declutter and continue that project.

I realized yesterday I haven’t cleaned house for days. I got started on the decluttering project and have been avoiding looking at the floors and thinking about cleaning. One of these days soon I will need to stop and do some cleaning. It is reaching the point of no return. Sure will be glad when I have a smaller house to keep clean.

I should hear from the guy that is drawing up plans for my new house next week. I’m anxious to get a first look at what he is putting on paper. Hoping he understood what I asked for and is close to putting down what I asked for. He told me this is the part of building a house that can take the longest as he wants to make sure we are both 100% on the same page. He can change anything I want changed now but once we get started, any changes cost time and money.

The plumber didn’t call so evidently the booster pump didn’t arrive today as hoped. Maybe it will come in next week and he can get out here and get that installed. That little project has been on my list for over four months. Sooner or later they get crossed off but man it seems to take a long time sometimes.

Selling this house is starting to feel real now. I don’t think I have fully come to terms with it but setting a date for close sure helps. I have a few dinners and gatherings I want to host before I move so need to give those some thought and get some things on the calendar. Hosting groups will be more of a challenge once I move. Hard to know yet how many people the new house will be able to comfortably hold.

Sitting in a good head space today. I’m excited that things are moving along and grateful to be moving stuff that no longer serves me out. I feel freer inside with the stuff moving out. One can’t take on new things if they are still holding on to old things. I’m ready for a new way of being and new things to hold.

Grateful for a closing date, grateful for the things that are leaving this house, and grateful the EFIS guys are coming tomorrow.

I came home exhausted from doing taxes last night. We usually have four or five workers and last night we only had two with one more joining us late. We do eight returns each session. One was a no show last night so we did seven. I stayed very busy all night. I learned a few new things again which I always appreciate. I was pleased that the guy in charge was stumped for a bit with the situation but he figured it out. He is good about teaching me how to do whatever I didn’t know how to do so next time I can do it.

I took seven more boxes to the Salvation Army when I went to town late morning. That makes a total of 15 boxes I have dropped off there so far. Many more to come.

Jason forgot something he needed so I ran that in to him. I then went to McDonald’s to get another load of fry boxes as my supply was getting low. I got another big stack so should be good to go for the weekend. I’ll need more boxes on another day when I start to pack for the move. I am using all the boxes so far to put stuff in that I want to get rid of. Fry boxes are the perfect size for me to handle. They are nice sturdy boxes and I can lift them rather easily when they are full. Using all the same size boxes makes it easy to stack them. The best part is they are free.

Phil came and fixed the faucet in the garage. I had turned it on yesterday for the first time since the great freeze in January. The faucet worked but I couldn’t get it to turn completely off and it dripped constantly. He ended up having to replace the faucet. He tried repairing it but that didn’t work. Grateful he was able to come today and get that taken care of. I so appreciate him. Wonder if that will be the last unexpected repair I will have to do to this house? Wouldn’t bet on it. Things keep popping up around here that need fixed.

I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was overly tired and could not fall asleep. For some reason my left hip hurt and I had trouble getting comfortable. Finally got some sleep around 5:00 this morning. Got a text before 8:00 that woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep. My hip is still sore but not as bad as last night.

I have emptied six totes from the furnace room so far. Still have about six or seven more to go through. Progress is being made but it feels slow. Good thing I still have two months before we more. Hoping I can get the furnace room done this weekend and then I will move on to the rest of the rooms in the basement and get those taken care of. Still have a couple of rooms to do upstairs too. I forget how big this house is until I have to go into every room and clean it out. Some rooms won’t take near as long so I should be in good shape.

Haven’t made it down to the barn yet to fill a couple more trash bags for next week’s trash pick up. I will get to it before next Tuesday. May need to hire someone to come haul some things off for me that are too big and awkward to take to the curb. I can always leave things too although that doesn’t feel fair and I don’t want to leave unusable things for the buyer to have to deal with.

Looking like we may get to move the first week of May. I will know definitely by Monday. I would very much like that to happen. I don’t want to drag this out any longer than necessary. I will give myself a couple of days to get moved once the rental house is vacant so the process will be less stressful. If all goes well, we should be able to close May 3. Yikes! Two months to go. I can do this!

Tomorrow I need to go to town to pick Ellexia up after school. When I go to town I need to open a new bank account somewhere for a partnership thing I am doing with Jason. Hope we can get that taken care of tomorrow. We shall see if Jason can get free when I am in town. I’ll probably have a couple more boxes to take to the Salvation Army while I am in town tomorrow. If I take a few every time I go to town, they don’t pile up and overwhelm me so much.

No plans for the weekend. The EFIS crew is to be here both Saturday and Sunday to begin that project. Sure hope they show up as promised. I will feel very relieved once they get here and get started. The weather is to be good this weekend for them to work.

The water booster pump may get delivered and installed tomorrow. That has been on my pending list for several months. It will be good to get that crossed off the list and taken care of. Things seem to be falling into place and getting done.

Hoping next week I can resume exercise. I will find out tomorrow. I may have to wait one more week as I still get a cough if I move around too much. It is much better and decreasing each day but still hanging around. The program’s protocol calls for me to be symptom free for seven days before resuming. Not sure what they consider to be a symptom so not sure what they will advise me tomorrow. If I don’t have exercise next week I will only have taxes on my calendar for next week so will have lots of time to declutter.

Feels so good to be moving stuff out of this house. The house feels lighter to me and I like that feeling. I sure thought I had done a good job of decluttering before but am realizing I still had a long ways to go to get to where I want to be. The disadvantage of having a big house is you have the room to keep stuff you don’t need.

Grateful the garage water faucet got fixed today, grateful seven more boxes full of stuff are gone, and grateful my box supply got refilled.

Tested negative again today. I am confident now that Round Three of Covid is over. Feeling better everyday and getting close to being back to normal. Still have a lingering cough and am coughing up stuff but not near as much as I was earlier this week. Thinking by the weekend the cough will be gone and I will be fully back.

Went to Emporia and went to the Chiropractor. I had coughed so hard that I had several ribs out of place. Felt good to be put back together and aligned up. We shall see how long it lasts.

While I was downtown I dropped off five more boxes at the Salvation Army. Seven boxes so far and still packing….

Went through the car wash and went to Walmart. I needed one more Covid test package and some more Mucinex. Got those and came home.

The tax coordinator called last night and checked in on me. She had been unable to find someone to take my place doing taxes for tonight. I agreed to go in this evening if I tested negative today. I did so I will. Wasn’t up to doing a morning and evening shift but I will try the evening shift tonight. Trusting I won’t have a coughing fit as they wear me out. As long as I don’t talk too much I should be OK. It will feel good to do something somewhat normal.

I haven’t gotten anything else packed up yet. Taking it easy today since I have to go to town this evening. Grateful I have lots of time and don’t have to push myself hard. I do want to get what I have pulled out packed as it will begin to drive me crazy to have stuff on my kitchen counter and kitchen tables for much longer.

Friday I will talk to the coordinator of the fitness program and see if I am cleared to resume exercise on Monday. She wanted me to be symptom free for seven days. Not sure what she counts as symptoms. I’m afraid if I wait until my cough is totally gone it will be another two weeks before I can resume. We shall see what see says.

We missed the snow last night. It came close but stayed away. It is in the mid 30’s today but is to warm up tomorrow. Felt weird having to put a heavy sweater on when I went to town. Sure like the spring like days better. At least the sun is shining today so it doesn’t feel so cold.

I got the egg incubator sold. They are to pick it up tomorrow evening. Little by little things are leaving this house. I will list something else on the buy sell or trade site and keep moving things out. Most of the stuff I am donating but there are a few things I will attempt to sell first. As long as it is easy to sell, I might as well try.

Friday I am picking Ellexia up from school. Not sure where or when but she is to let me know. Michelle got to go to Dallas for a prize trip she won. She will be back Friday so it was a short trip. It will be fun to see Ellexia for a hot minute Friday. I miss those kiddos since I don’t get to see them so much now. They are busy and don’t have the time to come see me so much.

No plans for the weekend except to continue the great downsizing project. I will continue to find stuff to move out and will get it packed up and taken out. I may need to stop and get some more boxes soon. I got 30 last time and know that won’t be enough. Wonder how many boxes I will fill of stuff that I am giving away?

I should know this weekend when the moving day will be. That will make things easier when I know that date. I have a few decisions to make about a few things and need a date in order to proceed. I haven’t contacted a mover yet as I need a date for that. I will feel better when I get a mover locked in and can plan from there.

I want to get the furnace room cleaned out this weekend. Lots of treasures in there and lots of yarn. It will be good to get it gone through and cleared out. I reduced the amount of yarn I had several years ago but now need to reduce it even further. I had saved some thinking I might go back to making prayer shawls but that didn’t happen. Time to move that yarn out of the house and into the hands of people that will use it.

Feeling more and more excited about moving and downsizing. It is time for me to make this big move while I still can. Having a smaller house to keep clean sounds wonderful to me. I know I will desperately miss the views this place has to offer but the cost of the views has become higher than I am willing to pay. My energy is worth preserving and I want to focus on other things in the future. Simplicity is calling me and making this move will help let that happen.

Grateful I am on the mend, grateful I was put back together again today, and grateful to be able to do taxes tonight and resume the real world.

Kathy and I both tested negative today. We will retest in 48 hours to confirm but am hopeful this round of Covid has been put to bed. Kathy continues to have brain fog and shortness of breath. I am full of snot and am worn out from attempting to cough it up. And this too shall pass – maybe like a kidney stone, but it will pass.

Grateful we are both negative and the healing has begun. It has been a long week for me since I tested positive and Kathy is well into her second week. We are both ready to get on with our lives and are looking forward to regaining our energy and being able to get out and about at will.

I am cranky today. I told Kathy a bit ago that I wished someone would call me and give me a good reason to go off on them. I feel like I could bite someone’s head off and have it for lunch. Not sure why I am so cranky but it is one of those days.

Got another email from my new insurance company. They keep trying to charge me extra for my house insurance. I have the Class 4 shingles and qualify for a discount. My agent tells them that, it gets corrected and then the decision gets reversed and they change it back to the higher rate. Not sure why they can’t figure this out. This is the second round of this. Not sure what I will do if we go for round three but enough is enough. Not today, folks!

I have five more boxes ready to take to the Salvation Army next time I go to town. Probably have two more boxes of stuff pulled out but not put in a box yet. I have put two boxes full in Jason’s room for him to take to his new house. I am almost done with the pantry and kitchen downsizing project. Have a couple more cabinets to go through and I want to go over the pantry one more time and I will be done. I’ll probably find a few more things when I actually pack but at least most of it has been pulled out. It will make packing much easier knowing I want to take all that is left.

I may work on the coat closet this afternoon. I have a basket full of hats and scarves that need reduced. I also have too many jackets and coats and won’t be taking all of them. I will have a much smaller closet at the house I am moving to and seriously need to reduce what I have. I hate a too full closet as it makes it hard to find what you want.

I have the two guest bathrooms and bedrooms downstairs that I need to go down and see what is in them. There is a chance Kathy’s daughter and granddaughter are coming for a weekend visit soon so will wait to get rid of extra things until their visit is over. I still have plenty of time before the move to do it but am wanting to get as much done as I can ahead of time. That will make moving week much less stressful.

The biggest project left to declutter besides the barn is the furnace room. I have lots of tubs of yarn, family mementos, etc. in that room and need to go through everything and drastically reduce what I keep. I’m ready to part with the yarn so that part will be easy. Anyone want yarn? I have a bit of this and a bit of that and a lot of that. I rarely knit these days and will get new yarn if the urge hits again.

I have two massage tables and only need one – if I decide to keep one. I appreciate having one when I need it but rarely use one. Not sure which way I will go on that one. Anyone need a massage table?

I am seeing the disadvantages of having a big house. I had room so I kept more than I needed. I am appreciating this chance to declutter and reduce what I have. I am all for simplicity these days and reducing the amount of stuff I have to take care of works for me. Betting I won’t even miss anything I have gotten rid of so far. I thought I had been doing a good job of decluttering but since I had extra space, I could justify keeping things I rarely used. Can’t do that in the new space.

Someone picked up my surplus of knitting needles yesterday. I put them on the Chase County Cares site and someone said they would put them to good use. They came and got them promptly. That encourages me to try that site again and give some more things away.

I listed the egg incubator for sale on a Facebook site. If it doesn’t get any takers, I will try giving it away. Surely someone wants to have the fun of hatching some baby chicks. I only used it once – it worked. I won’t be having chickens again so won’t be doing that again.

Took the trash down to the curb earlier. Took two big trash bags full from stuff from the barn. Hope it doesn’t blow into Morris County tonight. The wind is mighty strong today and in a big hurry to get somewhere. There is a cold front moving in that might bring some snow overnight. It is close to 80 today so that will be a big drop in temperatures. It is to warm up again by Thursday.

The EFIS guys are to be here Saturday to start that project. I sure will feel better when I see them here and working. Part of me still is wondering if they will show up as promised. The hail damage was over six months ago and the restoration project is still not done.

No plans for the rest of the week or weekend. I’m not doing taxes tomorrow out of Covid precautions. I sure don’t want to pass this crud on to someone else. I will continue the downsizing project and see how many boxes I can fill of giveaways. I’ll need to get back down to the barn and get the two bags filled for next week’s trash pickup. I am starting to see the reduction in stuff in the barn. Still have lots of bags to fill but progress is being made. Once I get rid of everything I then will need to clean up the barn. It is disgusting right now.

March will be here this week. February flew by. I’m sure March and April will go by fast too. Moving day will be here before I know it. Still don’t know if it will be early May or June 1. Should know later this week. It will be good to have a firm date in my head.

Think I will spend the rest of the day in time-out as a public service to my fellow human friends. One of those rare days for me where I am below the neutral level and struggling to rise above it. I will get there soon. Evidently I have some emotions that need to be heard and then released. They can pull me down sometimes. I will take some time to listen and hear what they have to tell me. When I can do that, I find they release rather easily.

Grateful for the negative test results for both Kathy and I today, grateful for all the things that are leaving my home in trash bags and donation boxes, and grateful that this mood will pass soon.

Woke up with some energy this morning. Yesterday I went through some of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out extra stuff. I sorted it into three piles and then decided to sleep on it overnight.

Got three boxes filled this morning – one for Jason and two for the Salvation Army. Still have a table full of stuff that others have let me know they are interested in.

Decided to run some errands and go to Strong City and Emporia. I invited Kathy to ride along so she could get out of the house for a hot minute. She stayed in the car while I went inside places as she is still testing positive for Covid.

I took a big pile of egg cartons to the elementary school in Strong City. Then we went to Emporia. I picked up my taxes and dropped off the two boxes of extra stuff I had to give away at Salvation Army. We then went to Walmart as we needed more Covid tests and some packing tape.

Came home and tested myself one last time. It was positive. Talk about a life plot twist! Read that you can have a bounce back case even if you don’t take Paxlovid. Dang it anyways. I don’t feel symptomatic this time except for a lingering cough. I am coughing up lots of phlegm. No fever, body aches, diarrhea etc. I sent a note to my doctor asking if I need to isolate again for five more days or what he recommends I do. Not sure if I got two false negative tests, this one was a false positive or if I have a rebound case.

I sent a note to the tax coordinator telling her I wouldn’t be in again to do taxes Wednesday. I also sent a note to the coordinator of the fitness program and gave her an update. Thinking this will knock me out of fitness again all of next week too as I have to be free and clear for seven days before I can start again. If I isolate for five days that puts me to the end of this week before I can test again.

Dang it anyways. Good news is I don’t feel bad and I got some errands run today before I go back into house arrest. Bad news is I am bored and sick and tired of staying home. I can get dangerous when I get bored and restless. Trusting I won’t feel sick this week and will be able to get lots of things sorted and packed to give away.

Grateful I don’t work so am not having to call in sick. Kathy had already decided not to work this week and the way things are going she may not be able to work next week. I’m grateful she cancelled her trip that she was to have gone on next week as I’m not sure she would have been able to go. Covid is so weird and unpredictable. Never know what curve ball it is going to throw at you.

Having to reset my mind back to being under house arrest. It may take me a day to get caught up with this life plot twist. Felt so good to be free for a hot minute today. Grateful I got to do that and get out. I’ll have to get some more Covid tests when I start testing myself again later this week. I didn’t pick up enough this morning for this little change in plans scenario.

Funny how life happens when you are busy making plans. Sometimes the path I want to walk on closes and I have to adjust. Grateful I am better at that than I used to be. I know and trust the universe has my back and is giving me another week at home for my highest and best interest.

Grateful I am feeling well despite the positive test today, grateful I have a beautiful house to ride this out in, and grateful my errands got done today.

Finally got more sleep last night. I was way overdue for a good night’s sleep. As is normal for me, when I get more sleep I am more tired the next day. Grateful some good sleep found me.

I tested negative again this morning so feel comfortable that round three of Covid is done. Feeling almost back to normal today. Still have a bit of a lingering cough but it isn’t bad. I am coughing stuff up and sometimes that takes effort, My rib cage is sore from that. I hate when stuff gets stuck and won’t come up. Several times I have felt like I am drowning in snot.

It is a beautiful but windy day on the prairie today. It is in the mid 70’s today – in February! This weather is a bit crazy. The spring flowers will be budding out soon, Hope they don’t get froze off when the cold weather appears again.

Jason is picking up a grocery order for me. I gave Walmart his phone number but they didn’t text him to let them know the order was ready. I got an email notification. When Jason picked up the order, they had it under his name and my phone number. Dang, why are things so hard sometimes. Grateful they got it fixed and Jason was able to pick some things up.

Went through my Covid tests and had to throw a bunch away as they were way over the expiration date. We looked them up to make sure they were way over. I have one more test left. I’ll have to get some more when I go to town this week. Kathy is still testing positive and will need a couple more tests this week. I used to be able to get them for free but I don’t think that is available any more. I have gotten my limit from the free ones that come in the mail.

Went through the drawer that I store my pan lids in. Found five lids that I don’t need and will get rid of. Not sure how that happened and where some of them might have come from. Slowly but surely I am starting on the great downsizing project. I will not have room for anything extra so anything I rarely use will go out one way or other. I will either donate, sell or give it away. Come see me if you want to go shopping!

I went through my skillet pile and found a couple of skillets to get rid of. There have been days when I used two or more skillets at a time but it doesn’t happen often enough to keep extras. Out the extras will go.

I think I am going to reduce the amount of plates and silverware I have to what I think I will need. I will hold on to the extras and see how we make out and if we can get by with less. There are three in the house right now and when we move there will only be two. If I can get by with three people, I know I will have plenty for only two.

It will be a quiet week this week. My exercise got taken off my plate so that freed up some time for me. I will go to town twice on Wednesday to do taxes but other than that have nothing on my calendar this week. I will have to run a few errands Monday but they won’t take long.

My egg supply is overwhelming me right now. Kathy didn’t work last week and she is my egg distributor. If anyone needs eggs, let me know. Sure wish I knew of some place I could donate some to. I hate to see them go to waste.

When I do chicken chores today I will stop at the barn and gather up two more big trash bags of trash. I am taking two big bags down every week when I set my trash at the curb. I am having no problem finding enough to fill two bags a week at this point. Still lots to get rid of down there.

Hard to believe it will be March next week. February went by very quickly for me. I hope March goes just as fast. The move will be here before I know it at this rate. Still feels a long ways off but I know that is an illusion of time. I will keep doing something everyday to get ready for it and hoping by the time it gets here, it will go smoothly and easily and I will be ready.

Grateful my groceries are restocked thanks to Jason, grateful for a second negative test, and grateful for lots of empty space this week.

Got an email from the exercise program coordinator yesterday afternoon. She informed me the program protocol has me not resuming exercises until I am symptom free for seven days after having Covid. I’m not there yet so that means I won’t be going to the gym or doing home exercises next week. This is a well regulated research program I am in and they have to follow strict protocols in order to have the results be valid. I sent a text to my trainer to let her know I wouldn’t be in next week. Hoping I can go the following week but that won’t happen unless I am symptom free by tomorrow and doubt that happens. We shall see.

I didn’t sleep much again last night. I doubt that I am getting more than three hours of sleep a night right now. Just can’t fall asleep and if I fall asleep I can’t stay sleeping. Not sure what is up with that.

I am having a good day. My first no temperature day since Wednesday and my cough is better. The sneezing is less each day. Still have some nasal congestion but even that is getting better. I am on the mend. I will test againtomorrow. I tested yesterday and I was still showing positive.

I’m a bit worried about Kathy. She still tested positive today and her cough sounds much deeper to me. I hope she isn’t having a rebound case. She should be much better by now. I will force her to go to the doctor if she doesn’t get better soon. She did call and let her work know that she won’t be in next week. Grateful she did that.

I was cleaning my bathroom this morning. I used it a lot earlier in the week and it was disgusting. I cleaned the toilet and swept the floor. I didn’t get on my hands and knees to mop but got it mostly clean. Felt a bit weird so checked my O2. It was 78! Yikes. I sat down and rested for a bit and it came right back up to the upper 90’s. I think my body is telling me I still need to rest some more and only work in short bursts and not try to do much yet. I really am feeling better and it is hard to pace myself. Covid sucks and I am getting really tired of it.

This has been by far my best day since I tested positive. I truly think I am on the mend and will continue to pace myself and should be over it early next week. I am ready to get on with my life. This has definitely been my easiest case of Covid of the three. I know that it still may whack me a bit more before it is gone but trust it will be a gentle whack if it happens.

Wrote a long letter to my two remaining aunts (my mother’s sisters). I love them both dearly and I needed something quiet to do. That fit the bill. They seem to enjoy reading my letters and it gave me something to do for an hour or so. Had lots to tell them with the upcoming sell and move, etc.

It is a windy day on the prairie today. I need to walk down and take care of the chickens soon. The temperature is in the mid 60’s again today. Still having trouble remembering this is February with these temperatures. Sure hope March isn’t winter type weather. One never knows what to expect in KS these days.

I managed to get three loads of laundry done today. The clothes are even folded and put away. Who would have thought that doing a bit of laundry would make me feel like I did a day’s work?

Since exercise got taken off my schedule for next week I have lots of empty space open up. I may or may not do taxes Wednesday, depending on how I am feeling Tuesday. If this trend continues, I should be able to do them. I won’t hesitate to not go if I am still testing positive or have a set back in any way. I will not take any chances of passing this crap on to someone else.

Starting to have a list of errands I will need to run once I get released from house arrest. I’ll have Jason pick up a few groceries for me Monday if I can’t go to town by then. I’m almost out of yogurt and will need some more soon.

Kathy ate some of the spaghetti and meat balls I fixed for dinner last night. I was kidding her and told her I bet it was absolutely the best she had ever eaten. She has lost her sense of taste and smell. I could have burned it and she would have eaten it. I guess there are advantages of no taste but it kinda takes away the enjoyment of eating.

Tagen’s girlfriend is coming out tomorrow night at sunset to get some senior pictures taken. I told her she will need to stay outside and not come into this virus infested house. I sure don’t want the kids getting Covid again. I will watch from inside as she gets her pictures taken. Not sure how contagious we still are but am not going to take any chances. I wish they could come in and have dinner with us but can’t let that happen.

Life slows down when one gets sick. Nothing on my calendar and not much I can do. I sure have compassion for those that are chronically ill and can’t do much. Life gets real quiet and slow when that happens. I am about at my limit of tolerance for doing nothing. Hard to imagine how hard it is to live like this all the time.

Still feeling excited that the EFIS project is finally going to get done. They are to start it next weekend. I will feel even more excited when I see the workers show up and start work. Last August feels like it was a long time ago. I will be ever so glad when the hail restoration project is complete.

Things still feel like the universe has my back is arranging things in my best and highest interest. I love when I notice the little things that are happening on my behalf and things feel easy. That is my confirmation that I am on the right path and making the right choices.

Grateful to be feeling better, grateful for another spring-like day in February, and grateful the end to many things is in sight and new beginnings are coming.

I woke up this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Finally got up and came out to my favorite chair. I opened the blinds and discovered an almost full setting moon to the west and the sun rising to the east. One of those magical days on the prairie. Since I am moving soon, I especially enjoyed it and attempted to load it into my memory banks.

Day whatever with Covid. Not sure how to count days. Tuesday I started showing symptoms with a day of explosive diarrhea but tested negative. Wednesday the fever and cough started and I tested positive.

Still having periods where I feel like it is over and then when I least expect it I get whacked over the head and crash. This is such a roller coaster. I’m never quite sure what to expect next. Felt good most of the afternoon yesterday. Had trouble sleeping again last night and woke up feeling crappy again. Finally am feeling better early afternoon.

I was running around a 100 – 101 degree temperature this morning but it has broken and is back to normal now. The sneezing is less although still violent when it happens. All in all I am on the mend. The cough comes and goes with no apparent pattern or reason. My oxygen levels have been staying above 95 so I am good there. I figure if everyday the good times get longer and the bad times shorter, I am good.

Kathy and I decided this morning we are done – just stick a fork in us and pull us out of this. We are both tired of being tired and sick and ready to get on with our lives. Kathy gets to come out of house arrest tomorrow if all continues to go well with her. She still has times of coughing and feeling short of breath. She got symptoms on Saturday and tested positive on Sunday so she is three days ahead of me. I have had a bit milder case than she had though. Crossing our fingers and toes that Jason doesn’t come down with it too.

Grateful for this beautiful weather so we can get outside in the afternoon and get some fresh air. We have been airing out the house every day so it isn’t germ invested.

Heard from the EFIS guys and there is a chance they will be here over the next couple of weekends to do the job. What a relief that will be to get that job done. As soon as they get done, I will have the guttering guys come and take care of that and the hail restoration project will be complete. Thank heavens! The EFIS guy is working with me to get this taken care of and I appreciate that.

The tax lady called me yesterday to tell me my taxes are ready to be picked up. I was surprised they got them done this early. I had called last week to see if they got my email and never heard back so I wasn’t expecting them to be done this early.

I started a to-do list I am calling “When released from house arrest”. I need to find some humor somewhere in my day and that makes me smile when I see that list. The first thing on that list is to pick up my taxes. I’m anxious to see the results. I usually get a refund but I never know from year to year how well the rentals do and if I have to pay or not. I didn’t have a good year for the rentals last year so should get a refund.

Still haven’t managed to do any exercises. Not sure how hard to push myself. Thinking it is better to rest than to do them right now. I will get back at them soon. I was sure yesterday I was going to be able to do then today but then I had the rough morning and decided not today. Maybe tomorrow? We shall see.

Having trouble tracking what day of the week it is. When you do nothing for several days in a row it is hard to sort things like day of the week out. Time does pass regardless of how I spend my time.

I got my trash service bill. He bills quarterly and I realized it may be the last one I pay if we close June 1. The reality of the move is starting to seep into my awareness. It still feels too big to absorb yet. Have my fingers and toes crossed the close will proceed as planned and no big hurdles or hiccups will happen that will delay or stop it.

I was sitting with a moral dilemma for a bit today and decided I had to do the right thing as I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t. Someone did something upsetting to me a while back and I could have paid them back big time. I truly believe the universe balances those things out on its own and I only need to worry about doing the right thing from my perspective. It sure was tempting for a hot minute though but I couldn’t do it. Just not made that way. Sometimes I wish I could but I can’t play that game.

Still able to hold myself at or above neutral level. Staying home does help that as I am not dealing with many people these days. Covid is reminding me once again that allowing things to come to me and not pushing them works. It has taken me a lifetime to get to this point and I still have a habit of pushing sometimes. Grateful for another reminder today about allowing.

Just found out I have the mower sold for sure. That is a relief. They will get it around the time of the move. One more thing that was easy to take care of. Grateful!

Grateful Kathy and I are improving, grateful it looks like the EFIS project is going to be completed soon, and grateful for this beautiful day on the prairie.

Day three with round three of Covid. Running about a 101 temperature, have a cough and a headache. My eyes get tired very quickly and I am sneezing an ungodly amount of times each day. I have short periods of time where I feel pretty darn good and then I crash and burn for a bit. Still grateful this appears to be a mild case so far. Thinking the worse will be over in another day or two. Another lesson on patience for me. This is a roller coaster ride of sorts – up and down, round and round, where it stops, nobody knows.

My Facebook memories reminded me that it was two years ago this week that I had round one of Covid. That was by far the hardest case I had. It took six to eight weeks to recover from that round and I was very lucky I stayed out of the hospital – it was close. The second round recovery got slowed due to the thyroid reaction. Third time is a charm and it is time for it to go smoothly and quickly this time.

I’m so grateful for the vaccines that help my body fight this off and make each case less severe. Grateful I have the time to stay home and not worry about not being able to do something important.

I didn’t sleep very well last night. I kept waking up coughing. Hard to find a comfortable spot to sleep in. I may take a nap in my chair in a bit. Thinking that might be easier as I seem to cough less when I am sitting up.

Haven’t been able to eat much today. I’ll try some chicken noodle soup in a bit and see it that will go down. Nothing sounds very good and my tummy is a bit nauseous today. Thank heavens the diarrhea has slowed down. Doing my best to drink lots of fluids so I don’t get dehydrated.

Kathy is doing better. She still has brief periods of relapse where her cough comes back and she doesn’t feel good but the good times are now much longer than the hard times. She has lost her sense of smell and taste. That hasn’t happened to me during any of my rounds of Covid. Finger crossed it doesn’t. One good thing about loosing your sense of taste is the Paxlovid doesn’t cause a bad taste in her mouth as she can’t taste anything.

It is another beautiful spring-like day on the prairie today. It is to reach over 60 again. I will go outside and sit for a bit this afternoon and get some fresh air and let the sunshine help heal me. Trying to keep the house open a bit too so the icky germs can escape and leave this house.

We are forecast to reach the low 80’s a couple of days next week, however there is a cold front coming in and the temperature will drop to the high 30’s the next day. Crazy weather these days. Hard to remember it is February with these warmer temperatures.

Feeling a bit humbled with being sick again. Each time it reminds me how I take my health for granted. My body is missing working out. I haven’t had a period of time where I have felt good enough long enough to get a work out in. Hoping that may happen tomorrow but we shall see. I sent a note to the coordinator of the exercise program to let her know I had Covid and wouldn’t be working out for a couple of days at the gym. Hoping I can get back next week but we shall see.

My mower got brought back home yesterday afternoon. It is good to have it all cleaned up and ready to go for mowing season. I have someone interested in buying it. We shall see where that goes. I told them I would need to keep it until much closer to closing date on the sell of the house. If something happens to the closing, I will have to back out of selling the mower.

I have a couple of phone calls I need to make but hate to make them right now. If I start to talk much, I start coughing. None of them are absolutely urgent and all can wait till next week.

My wrapping paper to wrap dishes in came in today so if I should feel like it, I can start packing up things. Not sure the best way to handle somethings as I want to give some stuff away, sell some stuff, and take some stuff. I guess I will figure out a system for it all sooner or later. A bit early to start packing things to take but I can start getting rid of things. Still need to decide if I just want to donate things or try to sell them first.

Grateful I am having at least brief periods of time where I feel better, grateful Kathy continues to heal, and grateful for this beautiful day on the prairie and the fresh air that is coming in the house.

I tested positive for Covid this morning. Third round of it for me. So far it seems to be a fairly mild case. Fingers and toes crossed that it remains that way. I was getting suspicious yesterday when I had diarrhea as that is the way round two started. I felt really tired and shaky this morning and kinda knew I had it then. It didn’t take long for the test this morning to show a positive.

I sent a note to my doctor and we both agreed that I would not use Paxlovid this time. Last time it caused my thyroid TSH levels to jump to 22. That was worse than the actual Covid for me. It took six months for things to level out. I really don’t want to go through that again.

As long as things don’t get severe, the doctor was OK with letting it ride for a few more days and not do anything. I have until Friday to change my mind if things take a downward turn.

Most of the time, I don’t feel too bad. My temperature got to 101 briefly once today but most of the time it is around 100.5. The cough wears me out but it isn’t too bad most of the time. I’m not very hungry but that is normal for me when I’m not feeling well. I did manage to eat half a serving of my normal breakfast this morning. I made a batch of hamburger soup if I get hungry later. We shall see if that happens.

Good thing I had lots of empty space on my calendar this week. I had let the tax coordinator know yesterday that I wasn’t going to come in today. That way she had time to try to find a replacement for me. I cancelled with my trainer for today and Friday. We will see how I am feeling come Monday. I haven’t done my exercises for the day but I may try to do them later. It is hard to find that balance between pushing yourself and letting yourself rest. My body will tell me what it needs if I listen to it.

The EFIS guys came this morning as promised. They walked around the house with me and talked about what they need to do. Not sure I understand all of it but they are going to spray the entire house. They said the house will look brand new when they are finished. They are going to try to work it in soon, we shall see what Mother Nature does. What a relief it would be to have that project done. He is to send me an updated bid sometime this week. I think I am still within the range that insurance will pay for all of it.

While those guys were here, the window guy came and put a weather strip on one of the bathroom windows. Snow had blown in sometime in January and that was their solution to that issue. Good to have that little project crossed off the list too.

The good news of the day is Kathy is feeling much better. She seems to have turned a corner and is on her way to recovery. She still has a bit of a lingering cough but it is less frequent and doesn’t sound as deep. Fingers and toes crossed she doesn’t get a bounce back case from the Paxlovid. So far Jason is the last man standing in this house. Hope he continues to avoid it. My biggest fear with Covid is the risk of having long-term Covid afterwards. Dang, that would be bad.

I need to go down and do the chickens. I am grateful I carried a bucket of feed down yesterday so today I only have to take water. When I’m not feeling good, it can feel like a long walk down there and back up again. It is fairly nice out today so it will be good for me to get out and walk for a hot minute or two.

I am under house arrest through Saturday. After that I will wear a mask for five days if I get out. No real plans on getting out even then. I would feel really bad if I gave it to someone so will play it safe and stay in for 10 days at least. Hoping by then I will be feeling back to normal. It is easy for me to stay home for extended times so it isn’t much of a hardship to stay in. Jason said he could pick up things from town for me as needed. Grateful I just bought groceries Monday so I am all stocked. Funny how that worked out- I don’t usually do that on Monday.

Jason and I had dinner together Monday night. He was out last night and I didn’t see him yesterday. Hoping I wasn’t too contagious Monday and he will avoid this crap. He needs to work and not miss. Grateful I am retired and am not missing out on work.

Another curve ball the Universe threw me. It reminds me to slow down and allow things to unfold in their own way, at their own time. If I was going to get Covid again, now is a good time for me to have it. Not much on my calendar and not much that needed to be done urgently. I can do this!

Grateful for a mild case so far, grateful Kathy seems to be recovering well, and grateful the EFIS guys showed up today.

Not feeling the best today. Have had a bit of diarrhea today. I was worried for a hot minute as last time I had Covid, it started with a day of diarrhea. So far I have tested negative so here’s hoping that trend continues. I still have a sore throat and a bit of a cough but that hasn’t changed since late last week.

I’m hoping it isn’t the start of C-Diff round 6. I had to take an antibiotic when I had my root canal in January. I don’t have cramping or a fever so trusting it is my IBS and nothing more. It has been a bit stressful putting together the house deal and I am guessing my tummy is telling me to relax now.

Kathy is feeling better today with the Paxlovid. Have my fingers and toes crossed she doesn’t get a rebound case. She is going on vacation in early March and I would hate to see her trip cancelled. She has looked forward to this trip for a long time.

It is 74 on the prairie this afternoon. Spring has sprung! One of those rare February days that make you think it is April. Bring it on. I am so ready for spring this year. It feels like it has been a tough winter. I am betting Mother Nature will slap us at least one more time with more winter weather but today reminds me if she does, the cold won’t last long. Kathy opened up the windows downstairs today to air the Covid germs out of the house. Good idea on her part!

Out of an abundance of caution, I told the tax coordinator that I won’t be coming in tomorrow. I really don’t think I have Covid, but I have a tendency to test negative longer than most and don’t want to take a chance and give it to someone in case. I will make a decision about going to exercise tomorrow morning. My trainer won’t be able to fill my spot anyways so she doesn’t need to know until last minute. Telling my coordinator today gives her a chance to find someone to fill in for me.

The EFIS guy is to come in the morning to check out the job so he knows what supplies to send with his crew when they come to do the repair job. With this warm weather, it might get done sooner than later. What a relief that will be when that project is done. The only thing still pending from the hail restoration is the EFIS and guttering. The damage happened last August. It feels like this project has consumed my time and energy since.

Got the signed copy of the contract to sell the house today. That makes it feel somewhat official. Still have some potential bumps in the road until closing but feel pretty good about the deal. It sure will uncomplicate things if the EFIS and guttering can get done before close. The buyer is going to have some inspections done so trusting those won’t turn up something that will cause the buyer to back out. He has the right to do so. He already knows I am not paying for any repairs that the inspections may uncover. I can’t imagine what they might find but one never knows.

I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself just in case this deal falls through. If it does fall apart, I will find a realtor and list the property on the open market. It is time for me to move on and downsize.

Need to go take care of chicken chores and take the trash to the curb. I filled two big trash bags in the barn and will take those down today. Slowly but surely the barn is getting cleaned up. Still have lots more to throw away but I can only take two bags a week to the curb. If I stay with it, I should be able to have it all thrown away before I move.

Not much going on the rest of the week since I’m not doing taxes tomorrow. I may or may not go to exercise tomorrow. I may skip the Chiropractor this week if I don’t make it in to exercise. Hoping by Friday I will be back to normal and can make it to town for exercise. We shall see what happens. No plans for the weekend. Love having this empty space right now, especially with the weather so nice.

Still able to hold myself at or above neutral level. Having a quiet day at home always helps. Trusting I will get to feeling better soon and will be able to get some things cleaned up and downsized. I have plenty of time so no need to rush.

Grateful for a beautiful spring-like day on the prairie, grateful Kathy is feeling and looking better today, and grateful the EFIS guy is coming tomorrow.