Starry night on the prairie

Had a rough start to our day.  We got up early and took our time packing.  We took a load to the car.  Something felt wrong when we got to the car and it took me a few minutes to realize what.  Someone had broken the passenger side front window and broke into the car.  There was glass all over the front seat and floor.

Everything inside the car was upside down and tossed around.  As far as we can tell now, they took the coins that were in the car, two rolls of quarters, and Jim’s camera case that held three of his all time favorite cameras that he has had for a long time.  That one hurts.

Judy quickly got on the phone and found a glass repair guy that could come to the car and replace the window.  Thomas brought down a vacuum, broom, dust pan, brush and trash bags.  Jim, Thomas and I started picking up glass.  It took us about an hour to remove most of the glass.  I’m sure we will be finding pieces of it for a long time.

The repair guy showed up about two hours later and very efficiently replaced the window.  He charged $300 which felt fair, especially since he came to us.  The repair guy had a powerful vacuum and sucked up the rest of the glass.

It was a tough morning, especially after Jim discovered his cameras were missing.  The worst part of that is two of them hold more sentimental value than monetary value.  The guy will get some cash for one of the cameras and will probably throw the other two away.  One of them Jim has had since 1967 and the other one since 1969.  One was the first decent camera Jim ever owned.  Hard to replace that!

If this had to happen, I’m grateful it happened in a big city with this type of service.  It would have been more of a pain if it had happened in a smaller city somewhere else along the way.  Judy and Thomas were a huge help.  The window repair guy said this happens over 100 times a day in Washington, DC.

I felt so violated afterwards.  It took me a bit to fully understand what had happened.  This type of thing is so foreign to me.

We finally got on the road around 11:45.  We had to skip going to Monticello as planned as we had a timed entry pass at 12:45 and couldn’t make it by then.

Traffic was very heavy all the way to Abingdon, Virginia which is where we are for the night.  We saw one crash shortly after it happened and there were lots of road construction slow downs and too many people on the road.  Stressful driving to say the least.  It took us almost two hours longer than expected to get here due to the heavy traffic.

The highlight of the day was having dinner with a college classmate of Jims.  She was a delightful person and we had a fun dinner with her.

Tomorrow morning we drive to Jim’s brothers house and will stay with them for three nights.  His family is hosting a lunch for us tomorrow.  Hopefully we will have a smoother morning tomorrow than todays was.

It feels good to be tucked into our hotel room for the night.  We are both emotionally and physically worn out tonight.  We will sleep in a bit tomorrow morning and not rush too much.  We have a little over a two hour drive tomorrow.  Hoping traffic won’t be so heavy.

Grateful for Judy and Thomas’s help today. Grateful the window was repaired so quickly.  And Grateful for another day of safe travels.

We went to the Capital Building today.  This time we took the guided tour through part of it.  We left a little before 9:00 this morning to catch the train to the city.  Got off on the correct stop this time and had a short walk to the Capital Building,  The 45 minute tour actually lasted almost 1 1/2 hours.

We had a neat tour guide that knew his stuff.  It was amazing to see the Rotunda where bodies lie in state.  It was smaller than I expected it to be.

We walked through part of the Botanical Gardens afterwards.  It was refreshing and green inside.  We then went to a little cafe and had lunch.  We road the bus home.  On the bus route home we road past Howard University and part of the Walter Reed Hospital complex.

Jim’s son Thomas went with us today.  He knows all the shortcuts and best way to get around,  We appreciated him acting as tour guide for us today.  We stopped at Target on the walk home after the bus so I could get some berries and yogurt to get me by the rest of the trip.

We got back to the room around 2:30 and have been resting and relaxing since.  We are both a bit wiped out from all the people and noise.  Not what we are used to.

Jim is off visiting someone that lives in this complex that he had met before. He likes history as much as Jim does.  I choose to stay in the room and enjoy the quiet a bit longer.

Later we will meet up with Thomas and Judy and take them out to dinner.  Jim wants to eat some good crab cakes while we are here.

Tomorrow we have to be on the road by 9:00;  We have booked a 12:45 tour of Monticello.  After that we are driving to Abingdon, Virginia to have dinner with a college classmate of Jim’s.  We will spend the night in Abingdon and then drive to Swannanoa, NC Saturday morning.  We are having lunch with one of Jim’s brother and his extended family.  Sunday another of his brothers is hosting us and on Monday we will go to his sister’s house for a meal and visit.

We will stay in Swannanoa until Tuesday morning and then head home.  We have two stops planned on the way home so will hotel it somewhere along the way and arrive home on Wednesday.  I am ready to get home.

The best part of a trip for me is the day we arrive home.

Grateful we got to go inside the Capital Building today, grateful Thomas helped us get around today, and grateful we only have 6 more days till we get home.

 

I am tuckered out.  We walked over 6 miles today and I took over 15,000 steps.    We took the Metro to the Mall.  We went one too many stations so had to walk a bit longer than expected.  Since we were close to the Capital Building we walked by it and then went in the Library of Congress.

We were walking up to it and Jim started talking to a young man from CO.  When we got to the Library of Congress we discovered you have to have a timed entry pass.  I got on my phone and got all three of us one.

I had never been in that beautiful old building.  I was glad we ended up there.  Jim loves seeing Thomas Jefferson’s library.  I enjoy the building itself.

From there we walked down to the Mall and to the African American Museum.  We spent three hours there and probably could have spent longer.  It was the first time either of us had been in it.  Jim teaches an OSHER class on Black History and appreciated the museum very much.  The slavery stories and stories about lynchings were hard to hear and read but necessary to do so.  It is a dream that someday we will do better.

From there we walked to the Metro Station and came back to Silver Spring.  We managed, with the help of Maps on our iPhones to get there and back without getting too turned around.  This city is not easy to get around in.

We have rested in our room for about an hour and are getting ready to go have dinner with Thomas and Judy.  They are grilling steaks for our dinner tonight.

Not sure yet what the plan is for tomorrow.  I may be too sore to get out of bed and move but we will see.  Taking a quiet day sounds good to me.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were not hundreds and thousands of people out and about today.  It was still too peopley for my liking but it wasn’t a mob scene by any means.

Got a report from my house sitter that one of my chickens died.  I hate that she had to deal with that.  Down to 24 chickens now.  Never knows what causes one of them to die but it seems to happen occasionally.  Part of farm life that is hard to deal with.

Grateful for the beauty of these old buildings in DC, grateful that hard stories of our past are being shared and told, and grateful for my house sitter.

We made it to Silver Spring.  The traffic was heavy most of the way today.  We only hit three or four stop and go spots but we didn’t hit many open places.  We  briefly saw the skyline of New York City and I saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance.  There are too many trees everywhere out here to see much of anything.

We made good time – we left the hotel around 8:45 and made it to Thomas’s place by 4:15.  We stopped for a few potty breaks, to get gas and to have lunch.  All in all it was a smooth day but Jim is tired tonight.  Neither one of us is used to riding in that much traffic for that long.  We both found it stressful and tiring.

We had a nice visit with Thomas and Judy and Thomas fixed a nice dinner.  After dinner we all took a nice walk around the neighborhood.  It felt good to stretch our legs after sitting in the car most of the day.

We are staying in one of the guest rooms in the East Village co-housing building.  The room is as nice as any of the hotel rooms we have stayed in.  The bathroom is much bigger than any of the hotels so far on this trip.  The cost is much lower.  We are close to Thomas’s condo and we have our privacy and they have theirs.  Nice.

Tomorrow we want to get on-line at 8:15 and reserve tickets so we can go to the African American Museum.  We will build our day around our ticket time.  We will take either the bus or the subway into the city and leave the car parked.

It is awfully peopley out here.  So many cars, people and trees everywhere you go.  I miss my wide open space on the prairie.  One more week to go before we are back home.  I think I can.  I think I can.

Grateful for another safe day of travel, grateful to see Thomas and Judy, and grateful we can leave the car parked tomorrow.

Typing through tears as I had to hug my sister goodbye.  It is always so hard to leave her.  We had a great visit.  We seem to be able to pick up where we left off last visit and we built some more wonderful memories together.

This late morning we went to the Mystic Seaport Museum.  Jim was like a little boy in a candy store seeing all the ships.  We walked around outside at the museum for a couple of hours.

Went to a lovely restaurant for lunch.  All three of us were pleased with our food.  Jim got some Clam Chowder which was very good.  He was disappointed in the crab cakes but the chowder made up for it.

Went to UConn Avery and sat by the ocean for a bit.  It is so nice to see an open horizon.  Drove through downtown Mystic Port and saw the draw bridge.

Ended our day at the Submarine base and museum.  We saw the Nautilus sub but it wasn’t open to tour.

Came back to the hotel.  I think I will take a nap.  The heat of the day has worn me out.  I did sleep last night from 10 – 2 and was up between 2 and 5 and then got a second sleep between 5 and 8.  More sleep than I had been getting.

We are still very full from lunch so not sure we will need dinner.  There are several choices within walking distance of the hotel if we decide we need a bite later.

Tomorrow morning we head for Silver Springs, Maryland to see Jim’s oldest son Thomas and his finance Judy.  We will stay with them until Friday morning.  I’m not looking forward to the drive tomorrow as we have been told the traffic will be very heavy most of the way.  We will make it through somehow.

Grateful for the time I had with my sister, grateful for the wide open space the ocean provides, and grateful for another day of safe travels.

We made it over to Kathy’s house late morning.  We sat and visited for a bit and then went to lunch.  After lunch we went to a beach and walked the beach looking for sea glass,  It was a beautiful day to be on the beach.

We stopped and Jim and Kathy got ice cream and I got a bottle of water,

After we left that beach we went to another one.  It was just as beautiful.There is something very healing and soothing about watching the waves come in and starring out over the water.  Lots of sail boats and other boats on the water.

The water was surprisingly warm.  It felt good to walk along the shore and let the waves crash over my feet.  The sand was fine and white.  I laid down for a bit and let the warmth of the sand warm me up.  There was a gentle breeze and the warm sand felt good.

We dropped Kathy off and then came to our hotel for the night.  I am tired.  All that fresh sea air and walking on the beach wore me out.  Maybe tonight will be the night I sleep really well.

Grateful for a quiet day on the beach, grateful for the time with Kathy, and grateful for a beautiful day.

 

Spent a delightful afternoon at my nephew’s house.  My sister, her three kids and some of her grandchildren were there.  There were lots of other family and friends there too.  My brother Gene came down for part of the afternoon.

It was a beautiful day to sit outside and visit.  The food was great and fun was had by all.

We got to sleep in this morning and didn’t leave the hotel until check-out time at 11:00.  We drove to my nephew’s house.  There are lots of little twisty  turns in the roads here.  Hard to find where you are to turn sometimes as we couldn’t tell if it was a road or a driveway.  Too many trees to see the landscape.

We are checked into our hotel in Groton.  I think tomorrow we are going to slow it down and go to Kathy’s house and the beach and have a quiet day with little driving.  Monday we will go to Mystic Seaport and a few other scenic places.  Hoping there won’t be too many people out and about on Monday.

Tuesday we drive to DC.  My family told me that the drive to DC is a hard one as the traffic is really heavy.  Not looking forward to that.

I’m ready to go home.  We still have a week and half to go though.  Maybe after a quiet day tomorrow I can face the rest of the trip.

Grateful to see more family today, grateful for beautiful weather today, and grateful for a quiet night in the hotel.

It has been a long day but we are safely tucked into our hotel for the night.

I went down to the office of the hotel we stayed at last night to sort out the billing.  They charged me three nights worth of stays.  The poor kid that checked us in didn’t know what he was doing.  I stood and talked to the morning guy for over 20 minutes while he attempted to sort it all out.  He was still figuring it out and I went back up to the room so I could finish packing up.

When I came back down, the manager was involved.  I think we have it sorted out but not sure yet.  The manager said it would take up to five days to show the reversal of the extra charges on my bank account.  Thank heavens I have extra money in the bank right now and am not running it close.  That could have created a big problem otherwise.  I took her business card in case I need to get back in touch with her.

We hit the road around 8:15 and made a quick Starbucks stop for coffee for Jim and a McDonald’s stop for iced tea for me.  The manager at McDonald’s told the customer in front of me to use the kiosk to order or it would be a 10 minute wait before she could take their order.  I used the kiosk and it took 10 minutes to get one burrito and 2 iced teas.  Not too impressed!

Traffic was heavy most of the day but most of the time it was moving.  We did hit one accident on the New York Turnpike where it took us over 35 minutes to go two miles.  It didn’t look good for the driver of the car that was under a semi when we passed the accident site.

We stopped at the rest area on the New York Tollway for lunch.  A quarter pound value meal was $11.89.  Ouch!  Their soda machine was down so Jim had to go to the convenience store next door to get a Coke.  They were super busy so we had to wait about 10 minutes for our food but they had a person that took our order and we didn’t have to use the kiosk.  The burger and fries were hot and fresh.  Best McDonald’s food we have had for a bit.

We got to Gene’s apartment around 5:45.  We unloaded the book case Jim had built for him and the six boxes of books we brought.  Gene had stored them at my house when he moved from Emporia 14 years ago.  He still has some more boxes of books at my house but we brought what we could fit in the car.  After we got that all moved into his apartment we went out for dinner together.  We had a very pleasant evening visiting with him.

Tomorrow Gene is going to Kathy’s son’s house for a family gathering in the afternoon.  Since he is coming to that we won’t go back to his apartment in the morning. That means we get to sleep in tomorrow morning.  We are about 1 1/2 hours from Kathy’s son’s house so will head that way late morning and spend the rest of the day with Kathy’s family and Gene.

Tomorrow night we will check into a hotel in Groton, CT and get to stay in the same hotel for three nights.  That will be nice.  It is hard to remember what our room number is when you change rooms every night.  Not sure what we are doing with Kathy on Sunday and Monday.  Jim wants to go to Mystic Seaport and spend some time on the beach.  We may go to Cape Cod but driving that far doesn’t sound inviting right now.

Tuesday we head for the DC area to see Jim’s son and his fiancée.  We will get to spend three nights in the guest room of the co-housing place Thomas lives at.  It sure is easier when you spend more than one night at the same place.

We are tired today.  Sitting all day in a car is tiring.  Dealing with traffic is stressful.  I’m tired of trees and miss my wide open vistas.

Grateful for another safe day of travels, grateful to see Gene, and grateful we are safely tucked into our hotel room for the night.

We made it to Mentor, Ohio tonight.  We traveled over four hours midday and then spent the rest of the day with a college friend of Jims.  We had a delightful afternoon visiting and they fixed us a delicious dinner.  After dinner we drove about 2 1/2 hours to Mentor, Ohio.  Jim wanted to get through Cleveland tonight when there was little traffic.

We both got some good sleep last night and took our time leaving this morning.  It was nice to only drive for four hours, take a long break and then drive for 2 1/2 more.

Tomorrow we have an 8 hour drive to get to Springfield, MA.  That sounds better than 10 1/2 which is what we would have had to drive if we hadn’t gone 2 1/2 hours tonight.

We will cut through the NW corner of Pennsylvania tomorrow morning and then drive mainly in New York State tomorrow.

We are both tired tonight but not near as tired as we were last night.

I booked our hotel while we were driving this evening.  When we got here the guy that checked us in told me it was his third night on the job.  He was the only one working and had to call someone to help him through the process.  I checked my bank account and he charged us for our room and I paid for the room through the booking company.  I will sort it all out in the morning as I don’t think the guy knows how to fix it.  It took him 15 minutes to check me in.  He was most pleasant but still has some things to learn.  Jim asked him where the ice machine was and he said I don’t think we have one.  Jim found it and then told him where it was.  Ahh, the joys of new employees.

I’m excited to see my brother and sister this weekend.  We will also get to see most of Kathy’s family.  Saturday we check into a hotel in Groton, CT and get to stay for three nights.  That will be nice too.

Grateful for another day of safe travels, grateful to have met some of Jim’s friends, and grateful this day of travel is done.

We made it to Terre Haute, IN today.  Drove over 500 miles today.  We are both exhausted.  We got up early and were on the road before 9:00 this morning.  Neither one of us got much sleep last night.  We kept thinking of one more thing to take or to do.

Tomorrow we are driving to Columbus, Ohio which is a little over four hours from where we are.  We are meeting up with a college friend of Jim’s and having dinner at their house.  Not sure if we will spend the night in Columbus or try to get a few more miles in before we stop for the night.

Friday we are driving to Springfield, MA which is over 10 hours from Columbus.  It would be nice to drive two hours Thursday evening before we stop but we will see how our visit goes and how tired we are.  Grateful we are only driving four hours tomorrow before we get to stop for a bit.

We stopped for gas once and a couple of potty breaks today.  Traffic was heavy but we only hit one real slow down outside of Terre Haute.  We had dinner at a Texas Roadhouse – it was excellent.  Service was great, the food came out hot and quickly, and the place was clean.  The hotel gave us a coupon for a free appetizer.

It is only a little after 7:00 eastern time but we are both ready to go to sleep.  We are going to call it an early night and get some good rest tonight.  Onward to Columbus tomorrow.

Grateful for a safe journey today, grateful for food in my tummy, and grateful to be out of the car for a bit.

A busy day around here today.   It sure seems like a lot of work to get away.  I didn’t sleep well again last night so was up early this morning.  Got most of the laundry done before I had to leave for Topeka at 9:45.

Had an interesting visit with my Endocrinologist today.  She thinks my TSH levels are well controlled – even with them bouncing between 0.5 and 7.2.  She said she has seen TSH levels higher than 100 before.  She told me I was very aware of my body and very sensitive to the level changes.  Most people wouldn’t recognize the differences like I do.

She did tell me that a person that has even part of a thyroid wouldn’t have as much trouble keeping their levels more stable as the thyroid is constantly reading your body and adjusting the levels it produces.  Medication provides a steady stream of TSH and your bodies needs flex minute by minute.  Stress, heat, food, etc. can all cause your demand for TSH to change.  That is why she doesn’t respond aggressively to my levels being high one time and low the next.  She said if I were to have them checked three times a day, all three would be different and bounce all over.  She is happy if I can keep them where they have been.

When I told her the MD from MD Anderson said to keep them in a target of 1.5 -2 she said that was impossible and way too tight of a range for someone with no thyroid.  She helped me understand better how the TSH levels work and I need to let go of trying to keep them within that tight range.

She still wants me to get my levels checked every 6 – 8 weeks to make sure they aren’t getting too low as that can become a life threatening situation.  Too high can cause longer term problems but are less threatening urgently.

Next time I have my levels checked she might change me to a lower dose of the liquid thyroid medication Tirosint instead of me alternating it with tablets of Synthroid.  She thinks we might maintain better control that way.  I will have to get insurance approval to change the dosage.  She said I am her only patient that takes a combination of the two drugs.  That is why they have trouble communicating with me after my blood draws.  Not sure I buy that excuse as I would think they have to look at my chart before they make their recommendations but what do I know?

She is willing to refer me to a specialist if I want that but feels my levels are “medically well controlled”.  I asked about adding Armour but since I had A-Fib when I had the thyroid storm that started this whole thing she didn’t recommend it.

She happened to notice my birthday was Sunday.  She thought I was 59 instead of 69.  It took her a moment when she realized I was 69.  She thought I looked younger than 59.  That made me smile!

Later in the conversation though, she said if I was her mother this is what she would recommend.  Not sure I feel old enough to be her mother but I am betting she is in her 40’s and two of my three kids are in their 40’s so guess I am.

The Nurse Practitioner that I used to see left the practice and moved to Florida.  The first NP that I had seen left the practice too.  She has a new NP that has started and another one coming later this year.  They are running one person short right now.  I will meet the new NP in February, 2023.  My next “annual” visit with the Doctor won’t be until November, 2023.  That is her first available appointment.

Went to Chipotle for lunch and then came home.  Had to make a few stops in Emporia.  I delivered Chex Mix to both sets of kids in Emporia, mailed a letter at the Post Office and made a quick Walmart stop.  It was good to get home.

When we got home Jim helped me take the recycling in to Cottonwood Falls to dump and we made a couple other stops in Cottonwood Falls.  When we got home I got the rest of the mowing done.

My to-do list had 12 things on it this morning and I am down to two things – packing and finishing cleaning the main level of the house.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can be ready to leave in the morning.

Grateful for a doctor that listens and explains things, grateful for a safe trip to and from Topeka, and grateful my to-do list is almost done.

 

It has been a productive day so far on the prairie.  Project Clean House is well underway.  I’m not done yet but getting close.  It feels good to have a totally clean house.

I went to Emporia this morning to pick up supplies to make Chex Mix for the grandkids before we leave Wednesday.  When Covid started, I started making a treat each week to take to the grandkids.  I couldn’t see them or be with them but thought maybe they would remember me if I sent them treats.  This week they requested Chex Mix – again.  It is one of their favorites.  I got it made this afternoon and will drop it by when I am in town tomorrow.

I picked up a few things on my list that I needed for our vacation.  I got a couple more pill organizers so I don’t have to take all the bottles of pills with me.  I can fix three weeks worth and call it good.  We are going to be tight on space going out as Jim is taking Gene a bookcase and six boxes of books.  Three pill organizers will take up way less space than all the bottles would.

Tomorrow I go to Topeka to see the Endocrinologist and I have an errand or two to run in Topeka.  One the way home I will stop and drop off the Chex Mix for the grandkids.  When I get home tomorrow afternoon, I need to do laundry and pack.  I also need to mow.  It will be a busy day.

The TROPP forms I have been waiting for finally came in today.  I ordered them the middle of July.  What I ordered they couldn’t send me but we finally figured out something that would work.  The guy on their end was a bit slow to respond and communicate with the person that does the mailing.  Good to have them.  I have a client that was waiting on one so I will get that off to her tomorrow.  I’m glad they came in before we left Wednesday.

I have been a bit low on energy today.  I slept hard for about four hours last night but couldn’t get a second sleep.  I feel a bit draggy today.  It didn’t help that I ate some food I shouldn’t have eaten.  That slows me down too.  One of these days I will learn to stick with my safe foods.

My attorney called me back and I scheduled a Will review for the middle of September.  Jim will need to update his too.  I hate doing that project but it always feels good to have it done.  Our old one shows Jim as my companion and not my husband.  It will require two trips to KC as we will have to go back and sign final documents after he makes the changes we need.  I will try and schedule lunch with some friends or my daughter that day so the day will be more fun and worthwhile.

Still not mentally ready to leave for two weeks Wednesday.  Guess I best be getting packed and ready and getting there quickly.  I have become such a home body since Covid hit.  There is no place like home!

Grateful the TROPP forms came in, grateful Project Clean House is almost done, and grateful for all the birthday wishes sent to me yesterday and today.

 

What a wonderful day it has been.  I need to sit down for an hour and catch up on my Facebook page and read and respond to all the birthday wishes.  I appreciate each and everyone that took a minute and sent a greeting.

Jim has treated me well today.  One of the gifts he gave me is an organizing notebook titled “I’m Dead, Now What?’  Not sure everyone would appreciate it but I do.  I will spend sometime with it and see if it is something I will recommend to my clients.  It has space to plan your funeral, emergency contact information, passwords, financial information, personal wishes, etc.  All someone would need to know when I die.  It will take me sometime to get it all completed but I will work on it as I can.  Someday this will provide an even bigger gift to those that have to deal with my affairs.

Have had lots of texts, emails, PM,  and phone calls today to wish me Happy Birthday.  It is a good day when your family and friends think of you.

Project Clean House is going strong.  I managed to make a quarter size blister on my knee from scrubbing the floor of great room downstairs.  That floor looks best when it is hand washed.  The basement is all clean.  Tomorrow I will do the main floor and then Project Clean House will be completed.

I am grilling some of our new steaks for dinner tonight.  I wanted to taste test the new beef and having steaks tonight for my birthday dinner felt right.  Jim offered to take me out but we are going to be eating out for over two weeks on our trip and I prefer home cooked meals.

Tuesday I go to Topeka in the morning for my appointment with the Endocrinologist.  When I get home I will need to do some mowing.  Hopefully the grass won’t grow too much while we are gone but if it means getting rain I will be OK with it growing.

I still haven’t thought much about packing.  Last trip when we left Estes Park and headed west I fixed a bag of clothes for each day.  When we got to the hotel, I grabbed a bag and only had to take in a small tote of toiletries, medication, charging cords, etc.  It worked so well that I am going to do it again this trip.  It saves having to decide what to wear as I put on whatever was in the bag I grabbed.  I may have to do laundry somewhere along the line as I’m not sure I have 16 different outfits.  Most hotels have laundry machines so we should be OK.

Again, thanks for all the birthday wishes.  Turning 69 isn’t bad when one has as many caring friends and family as I do.

Grateful for another birthday, grateful the basement is clean, and grateful for my friends and family and all the wonderful way they show their love to me.

 

 

 

 

Project clean house is underway.  Made some progress on some rooms downstairs.  Have lots of house to go but have to be careful not to do where Tony goes until the last minute.  He leaves cat paw prints everywhere as he likes to play in water.

We got 1.9 inches of rain last night.  It was very welcome.  The cooler temperatures and lower humidity today was a welcome change.  You can almost smell fall in the air.  We have a chance for more rain next week.  We could use another couple of inches.

Got a phone call from Aunt Glenda today.  She and Aunt Marylyn have decided not to schedule a Koch reunion for this fall.  The risk of getting Covid and taking it to Jack in the nursing home is too high.  I’m sad that we won’t gather this year but fully support and understand their decision.  Aunt Glenda was exposed to Covid via a neighbor last week and is in isolation as a precaution.  It would break her heart if she got it and gave it to Jack.

Aunt Glenda did say that if the cousins want to gather without her and Marylyn she would understand.  I doubt that we do that but we will see what happens.  I treasure those two women and want to see them stay healthy.

About five years ago I came up with a list of 70 things I wanted to do before I turn 70.  Have managed to cross many of them off the list but still have lots on the list.  I realized today that since I am turning 69 tomorrow, I better get busy and get to the rest of the things on my list.  Covid has slowed down my travel schedule and not sure if and when that may change.  I had a couple of international trips on my list but none of them seem enticing to me right now.  I have some friends that have started international travel again but I just don’t feel comfortable doing so yet.  Maybe I will add 10 things and call it 80 things to do before I turn 80!  70 snuck up on me quickly.  I can’t believe I will be 80 in 11 years.  It will be here before I am ready for it.

Got a phone call letting me know about a person in my community that doesn’t have any family and is going into Hospice care.  If we weren’t leaving on vacation this week I would have called and offered my services.  The call gave me confidence that the training I took will come in handy and I will be able to use it to be of service to others.

The girls only gave us 8 eggs today.  Not sure why they have slowed down laying so much.  I keep hoping that since it is cooling off they will start producing better but so far they have not.  They are only 2 years old and should be be giving me twice what they are now.  Jim doesn’t want to hear that they need replaced next year.  They have become his pets and he will struggle to let them go.

Grateful project clean house has begun, grateful for the rain the prairie received last night, and grateful for my two aunts and the richness they add to my life.

 

This has been a great day.  I got birthday cards and handwritten letters from my mother’s two sisters.  It is a wonderful treat to get their letters and cards.  I so appreciate them and love hearing from them.  What a great birthday gift and to get two of them on the same day – wow!  I hit the jackpot today.

I took half of a sleeping pill last night.  I had slept for two hours than was awake for two when I took the pill.  It took another hour for me to fall asleep but then I slept for over six hours straight.  Unfortunately I have a hangover today from the sleeping pill but it was nice to sleep for longer than two hours at a time.

The rain has gone north of us so far.  Still calling for a chance for rain this evening but not going to hold my breath.  We sure could use a rain that would pull up a chair and stay awhile on the prairie.  You could break an ankle tripping on the cracks that are in the ground.  They are wide and deep.

Project clean house needs to get started tonight.  After dinner I need to clean a few rooms and get that project started.  I only have until Tuesday to get the whole house cleaned.  Trying to figure out what rooms I can do early. Jim’s cat Tony likes to leave paw prints everywhere so need to clean the rooms that I can shut the doors and keep him off the floors.

I am grilling chicken tenders on the grill for dinner tonight.  Will fix some potato wedges in the oven to go with the chicken.  It will be an easy dinner to fix.  Tomorrow night I want to try some of our new beef and taste test it.  I’m sure it will be wonderful.  Sunday I will fix some steaks for my birthday dinner.

Feeling a bit restless today again.  I hate when that happens.  I have trouble settling and doing much when I am restless.  My mind is busy and I am not well grounded.  I need to get up and move my body and see if that will help.  Only trouble is I have trouble getting myself up and moving.  Just one of those days I guess.  They seem to pass quickly if I don’t obsess about them and allow it to be what it is.  Sometimes that is easier said than done though.

I find myself resisting going on this trip.  It will be wonderful to see my family and Jim’s family.  Not sure why the resistance is there.  I am trusting that once we hit the road my resistance will lessen.  I have become a homebody since Covid started and being away from home feels icky to me.  Anyone else have that feeling?  Maybe I am just getting old and Covid has nothing to do with it.

Can’t believe I will be 69 Sunday.  Next year I start my 70’s.  Where did the time go?  As I get older it seems like time goes by even faster.  I don’t do much these days yet the days pass quickly by.  I have gotten very good about sitting and allowing myself down time.  I do more of that than busy time these days.  I remember when I was younger sitting and “doing nothing” was impossible for me.  Now being busy feels impossible to me.  How things change as we get older.  I certainly don’t feel 69 but then again I’m not sure what it is supposed to feel like.  70 is the new 40 – right?

Grateful to hear from my two Aunt’s today, grateful for sleep last night, and grateful for the time I have had on this trip around the sun.

I had a busy morning in Emporia.  I dropped off some out-of-date and unused prescription medication at the bin at Walmart.  Went to Goodwill and dropped off two bags of donations.  Stopped at the library to drop off some books I had read.  Both the auxiliary and main library buildings were closed.  There is a little free library by Capital Federal so I put the books in there.  Mailed a letter at the Post Office.  Stopped by the church to drop off some green beans.  While I was there I saw a friend I hadn’t seen for a long time so sat and chatted with him for a bit.

Went to the hospital to have my mammogram.  The lady that did it was efficient and quick.  She didn’t even smash me too hard.

I came home and had lunch and while I was eating, the doctor’s office called to tell me the results were negative.  That was fast.  I appreciated being told so quickly.

It felt good to get some stuff out of the house.  I take great pleasure in giving away things we don’t want/need.  The house always feels a bit lighter to me when I do that.

I attempted to take a nap this afternoon and maybe dozed for 15 minutes.  Sleep is playing hard to find for me right now.  I was up between 4:00 and 6:30 this morning again.  Maybe tonight will be the night that sleep finds me for longer than 2 hours at a time.

Nothing on my calendar for the rest of the week.  I need to start cleaning house so it is clean for the housesitter next Wednesday.  Not sure either one of us is ready to hit the road again.  It will be here before we know it and I have not done much to get ready to go.

The boxes to return the DISH equipment came in today.  Jim had to get the tall ladder out and get on the roof to remove a piece of equipment that I had to send back.  I can’t believe they ask us to do that.  Jim had to go to town this afternoon to get a part for his saw so he took the box and dropped it off at CVS  which is where you can drop off UPS items.  It is good to have that out of the house and on its way.  Hopefully they will receive it on a timely basis and I can be done with DISH.

Jim’s oldest son Thomas, sent a donation to the Kansas Abortion Center in my honor as a birthday gift to me.  What a nice gesture.  Nicest gift I have received in a long time.

Grateful to have some extra stuff removed from the house,  grateful to see an old friend and have a nice chat, and grateful for the early birthday gift.

 

 

Another lazy day on the prairie.  Can’t say I got anything done today.  I am on a roll of lazy days.

Got a recorded phone call from DISH telling me if I don’t return my equipment they are going to charge me for it.  Only problem is I haven’t received my boxes to send the equipment back.  I called them and they tried to get me to stay as their customer.  They offered a huge reduction in the price for 12 months, although you have to sign a two-year contract and won’t tell you what they will charge for the second year.  I kept telling the lady move on – I wasn’t interested but she kept circling back to their offer.  The lady finally looked up the tracking information and told me the boxes are expected to arrive Friday.  That call was to make me call them so they could try to get me back.  I am so glad I am almost done with them.

My local bank called me today to let me know my account was overdrawn.  I found the account my credit card payment came out of.  I use the automatic payment system with this credit card.  I had checked the credit card on-line to see what account the funds would be coming out of and it showed my regular checking account number, not this account number.  When I had the Airbnb I used the local account for that business and used that credit card if I needed to charge things to the Airbnb account.  When I closed the Airbnb, I changed the automatic withdrawal account number to my regular checking account number.  I haven’t used the card since.  Not sure why they picked up the wrong account number.  The guy from the bank was nice and I appreciated his call.  I transferred some funds to cover the overdraft.  That mystery is solved.

Called about the TROPP forms and had to leave a message.  I got an email from them late afternoon today saying they needed my shipping address and will mail the forms tomorrow.  Not sure why they didn’t have the original order that showed my shipping address but what ever.  Grateful the forms will be on their way to me tomorrow and I can scratch this off my pending list.

Called my attorney to see if I need to change my will.  When I was pulling out my living will to make a copy of it to give to my doctor, I read through my will.  Found out I haven’t updated it since Jim and I got married.  He is named in my will as my companion, not husband.  Nicole has changed her name since I did my will.  Not sure what needs to be done to fix those.  Jim will need the same thing done to his will.  I also want to make a change to my living will.

As I read through my living will, I realized it stated that I wanted IV fluids as part of my end-of-life care plan.  I have since learned that is not what I want.  Giving fluids to a person that is dying can cause pain and problems.  Your body does not need fluids as it goes through the dying process.  I will get my living will changed when I fix the will.

I have my mammogram in Emporia tomorrow late morning.  I don’t think I need any groceries but I do have some books to donate to the library for their book sale, some things to drop off at Goodwill, and some medication to put in the disposal container at Walmart.  I always like getting extra stuff removed from my house.

I cleaned out the refrigerator and took some tomatoes that were soft, some old grapes and old spinach down to the chickens.  They went after the grapes first but made quick work of all three.

When we cleaned out the freezers yesterday I found some whole chickens I had bought from a local rancher that is trying to start an organic ranch.  The problem with these chickens is they were butchered at the wrong time and there is little meat on them.  I think if you worked hard, you might get 6 ounces of chicken meat off the whole chicken.  Too much work for so little effort.  I was going to throw them away but Jim convinced me to keep them and cook them up and give them to the dogs.  I put one in the crockpot today and cooked it.  The dogs loved it.  One down, seven to go.  I’ll try to remember to do one a week for them.  We had bought a box of bones for them from the butcher so the dogs are really getting some special treats right now.

Had trouble sleeping again last night.  Sure hoping that tonight will be the night I can sleep longer than two hours at a time.  Once I wake up I am usually up for a couple of hours and on a good night can get a second sleep of two hours.  I’m starting to run on empty due to little sleep.  I have come to dislike going to bed as I never know if I will be able to sleep or not.

Grateful the credit card mystery has been solved, grateful my TROPP forms will be on their way tomorrow, and grateful the dogs like cooked chicken.

We picked up our beef today.  A steer that weighed 1,150 pounds yielded 663 pounds of hanging weight.  A friend took 1/8, another friend took 1/4 and Nicole is going to take 1/8.  My freezers are full.  Bring on cold temperatures so I can bake a roast.

It was a bit of a job when we got home to sort and count all that beef so I could divide it up evenly.  Trusting I didn’t short anyone.

The final cost was close to $2.00 a pound.  Not bad considering all the steaks and roasts I have in additional to lots of 90/10 hamburger.  It was much higher than last year’s price but worth it.  I’m anxious to fix some of it soon and taste it.

Didn’t get much else done today.  I didn’t sleep well last night and am tired today.  Maybe tonight will be the night that I sleep well

Jim has a doctor’s appointment in Emporia tomorrow but I don’t have anything on my calendar.  I do need to start pulling some things together for the trip.  We leave a week from tomorrow.

I called about the TROPP forms but had to leave a message and I haven’t heard back from them.  Not sure why I am having so much trouble getting those.

I ordered a shirt on-line and when I paid for it I noticed they charged $7.99 sales tax for an item that cost $22.99.  I sent a note to them to tell them if they can’t fix that then I want to cancel my order.  Over 30% sales tax is unacceptable.

Still working with the company that I used to get my notary supplies.  You are required to be bonded and the bond they sent me didn’t have the correct dates on it.  I sent my certificate from the state but the bond hasn’t been corrected yet.  Sometimes it is the little things that drive me batty.

We have only gotten sprinkles off and on today and no measurable rain.  North of us got lots of rain.  We were close but no cigar.  We sure could use a day or two of rain.  Still have rain in the forecast but not looking good at this point.

Grateful for full freezers of beef, grateful for friends that take my extra beef, and grateful for a cooler temperature day.

 

 

Went to Emporia to get my haircut this morning.  Stopped at Walmart to pick up a prescription and eight more free Covid tests.  Spent over $100 on Jm’s cat.  Tony needed wet cat food and cat litter.  He is an expensive cat to keep around.  Picked up a few groceries and then came home.

My doctor’s office called to tell me the Celiac test and the autoimmune tests were both negative.  He was trying to help me figure out why my TSH levels won’t stay stable.  We tried!  Guess now I will wait to see what the Endocrinologist says next week.  She may refer me to Mayo or MD Anderson.

Got a call from the meat locker this afternoon to tell me our beef is ready to be picked up.  I need to sort through my freezers and make room for it all.  I will coordinate with two of the three people that are taking part of it to see when a good time for them is to pick it up.  When I get it home, I have to count it all and sort it into who gets what piles.  It will be nice to have full freezers again.

Still haven’t received the TROPP forms I am waiting on.  I will call them tomorrow if they don’t come in by then.  Their office is a bit slow to respond so not sure if they have even been shipped out yet.

Need to start thinking about cleaning the house before we leave.  I hate to do it too soon but if I wait too long I won’t get it all done.  Tony, Jim’s cat, loves to walk in our wet shower and then he leaves paw prints all over the house.  He also plays in his water bowl and leaves paw prints down the hall downstairs.  If I clean the hallway now, I will have to do it again before we leave.  Dang cat anyways!

Looking forward to the cooler temperatures that are coming starting tomorrow.  Along with the cooler temperatures is a chance of rain.  We have some wide and deep cracks in the yard.  I am so over the hot temperatures we have been experiencing.  Bring on fall temperatures, please!

I’m grilling Jim some Sirloin steak for dinner.  I will have my normal chicken instead.  Sirloin is not my favorite steak.  I have been trying to use up the beef from last year and found a couple packages of steaks to use up.  Jim will enjoy his steak tonight though and will have a second one for leftovers later this week.

Maybe with the cooler temperatures I will regain some energy.  I have felt like a slug bug lately and haven’t been doing much.  My get up and go got up and left without me.

Grateful for a haircut, grateful our beef is ready, and grateful for cooler temperatures the rest of the week.

I have managed to string a few lazy days together.  Can’t say that I did much of anything today.  Too dang hot to be outside and I am too lazy to do much inside.  It is to cool down Tuesday and maybe my energy will return then and I will get something done.

Tomorrow morning I have a haircut in Emporia at 10:00.  Need to run a few errands while I am in town.  Always feels good to get my haircut.  I’m going to pick up 8 more Covid tests while I am in town so we have plenty for our trip.  We want to test before we meet up with family to make sure we aren’t giving our family Covid.  I have a big stack of Covid tests already but better safe than sorry.

The grandkids start school Wednesday.  I may try to get them out here Tuesday to spend some time with them before they get busy with school.  The summer flew by and we didn’t get much time together.  We got out of the habit of spending time together when Covid hit and it has been hard to make it happen since.  They both have friends that are much more fun to spend time with than coming out here for the day.  Tagen will be a Jr. in High School and Ellexia is starting 7th grade.  Where does the time go?

The girls only gave me 7 eggs today.  This heat has taken their energy and they don’t have enough to lay many eggs.  I trust the cool down that is coming this week will help them cool off and they will start laying more eggs again.  I can’t keep up with demand for eggs.

Jim only saw three meteors last night.  The moon is so bright that it overshadows the meteors.  We sat out again last night and watched the moon rise.  There was a bank of clouds low on the horizon and the moon would go behind them, then peak out, then get lost again.  It was a beautiful night to sit out and enjoy the light of the moon.

Hoping the box i will use to return my DISH equipment arrives tomorrow so I can get things boxed up and sent back to DISH.  I managed to hook up the downstairs TV to Roku and Hulu.  It went fairly easy once I could get the plug in thingy to fit correctly.  I need to remember to go downstairs occasionally and watch a movie.  I forget to do that.

Grateful for the beauty of the moon on the prairie, grateful for lazy days, and grateful for quiet days at home.

Lazy day at home today.  Not sure I got much done today other than laundry and fixing dinner.  It was way too hot to be outside.

I submitted my case study information for my class.  I’m not sure when I will hear back from them.  I still need to submit the presentation I have planned.  I was halfway through submitting it and discovered I have to do more than I thought I did.  I need to write up a few things and try again another day.  Not sure why they are making me do all of this but it is what it is.

I need to call my attorney and change some things on my will and trust.  It still has Jim listed as my companion instead of my husband.  Maybe it doesn’t need to be fixed but need to check.  I also have a change I want to make to my living will.  I made a copy of my living will and Jim is going to take it to our doctor when he goes for his appointment next week.

Nicole seems to be getting a bit better as she deals with her second bout with Covid.  She said she is very tired but the congestion was a bit better today.  Trusting Geoff won’t get it again.  That stuff is nasty.

I don’t think either of us is ready to hit the road on August 24.  Neither one of us has done much to get ready for the trip.  Maybe the reality will hit soon and we will get it together and start getting things ready to go.

Monday I have to go to Emporia in the morning to get my haircut and pick up a prescription.  So far I don’t have any groceries to pick up but that may change before Monday.  Thursday I have my mammogram so will have to go to town twice next week.

No plans for tomorrow.  We are to start to cool down on Tuesday so will wait until then to clean the chicken coop.  My girls turned 2 this week,  They better start to lay more eggs or I may have to replace them.  I am hoping that when it finally cools down a bit they will lay better.  I can’t keep up with my customer requests for eggs.

Grateful my case study has been submitted, grateful I got to stay home all day today, and grateful for air conditioning.

Met with a client today in El Dorado.  We had the most delightful conversation.  It is interesting to me how our life experiences shape our beliefs about death.  We didn’t get  her end-of-life plans finalized and that was expected and perfectly OK.  It is so important that my clients feel very comfortable with the decisions they are making.  The big advantage to doing it way ahead of time  is you can take your time and think things through.  When she is ready, we will meet again and get them wrapped up.

Between what I did today and yesterday, I have enough done that I can send in my final paperwork and finish up the Care Specialist Class.  It will be good to have three of the four classes completed.

Today confirmed for me this is the part of Doulagiver that I will enjoy.  I find it fascinating to learn about others beliefs about death and what happens next.  I enjoy deep conversations around the topic of death and end-of-life.

After we wrapped up our session I went to Wichita to make a stop at Costco.  I managed to fill a cart with necessities – some I didn’t know I needed until I saw them in the store.  It is probably a good thing that the nearest Costco is over an hour away from me.

Took me a bit to get the car unloaded and everything put away.  I bought a bunch of chicken that I needed to break down into smaller packages and freeze.  Trusting I will have room for the beef when it comes next week.

I’m tired tonight.  I didn’t sleep well last night.  Thinking the influence of the full moon had something to do with that.  Jim and I had sat out on the front deck and watched the Super Moon rise last night.  It was lovely.  We didn’t see any Perseid Meteors though as the moon was too bright.  Love seeing the moon shadows across the prairie.  I was up between 4:00 and 6:00 and didn’t need a light turned on in the living room as the moon light was so bright.

Nothing on our calendar for the weekend.  It is to be hot again this weekend so will take it slow and easy if we go outside to work.  We need to clean out the chicken coop before we leave August 24 but it is to cool down later next week and will probably wait to clean it out then.

Grateful for this new line of “work” that I am doing even though it doesn’t feel like “work”, grateful for the beauty of a full moon, grateful for lovely moon shadows across the prairie.

 

Went to town this morning to have my blood draw.  The lady did a great job – I didn’t feel the needle entering my arm.  She took four vials of blood.

The Doctor’s office called early afternoon with part of the results.  My cholesterol is high which is normal for me.  They wanted me to try the injectable medication.  I reminded her that I have been here, done that and it didn’t work before.  The nurse was going to check with the doctor and see if he had any other recommendations.  I can’t take Statin drugs.  I told the nurse my levels have been much higher before and to take a deep breath and not worry about them.  She laughed!  The rest of the blood work results that are back were all normal except for the two that have been off for a long time and no one ever mentions it.  The Celiac and Autoimmune tests will take a week or so to get results back on.

The scheduling department called and got my mammogram scheduled for next week.

A dear friend sent a message to me that a member of her family had received a scary diagnosis and they needed to make their end-of-life plans. They had called their attorney but he wasn’t available to help them.  She came out today and I gave her the forms she needed.  When they are ready we will finalize them and get them notarized.  It felt good to be of service to this family during this stressful time for them.  Hopefully they won’t need to put their end-of-life plans in place for a long time but it is helpful to know they are ready if it comes to that.

It is so much easier to make your end-of-life plans before someone is sick or dying.  Death is hard to think about but it will happen to each of us sooner or later.  May as well plan for it and have it go the way you want it to go instead of leaving it up to someone else to make decisions for you.  You can always change your plans if you want something different to happen in the future.

The Hospice Volunteer Coordinator called me today.  She is arranging a training class for sometime in September and will be in contact with me about it soon.

I’m going to El Dorado tomorrow to meet a client that is ready to make her end-of-life care plans.  This case will be my final project for this class.  I have to write a summary of how the visit goes and submit it to my instructor.  It may take more than one visit to get everything done, depending on how fast of a decision maker the client is and how comfortable she feels with the process.  When I get done with the visit, I am going on to Wichita to go to Costco.  I need more chicken tenders among other things.

I mowed the yard today.  Had to go to Strong City to get more gas for the mower.  Grateful gas is down to $3.59 a gallon.  Spending $36 to fill my mower gas cans seems like a lot of money.

Tonight is a Super-moon and the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower.  With the full moon, I doubt that we see many meteors.  The moon is to rise around 8:35 tonight.  The sun sets at 8:24 so it will still be fairly light out when the moon rises.  Last night the moon cast some beautiful moon shadows across the prairie.

Found out a family member has COVID for the second time.  Dang it anyways.  This virus just keeps going and going.  Hopefully they will have a smooth course with it and not have any complications or have long-Covid afterwards.

Grateful the yard is mowed, grateful most of the blood work showed normal, healthy results, and grateful to be of service to a friend today.

 

I did no work on my classes or marketing plans today.  I had my physical this afternoon and did some errand running in Emporia before I came home.  My physical was not what I called a physical.  The Doctor listened to my heart and lungs and checked my ankles for swelling and that is all the hands on he did.

I discussed with him my unstable TSH levels.  He added some extra blood work to check for inflammation and autoimmune problems.  He is also checking for Celiac disease.  I have to go to the lab tomorrow to have the blood drawn as some of the tests require me to be fasting.

The scheduling department is to call me and schedule a mammogram sometime soon.

I did ask the doctor if my Advanced Directives were charted.  They are not so will take a copy with me when I go to the lab tomorrow and drop them by his office so they can get charted.  I had given my Advanced Directives to my other doctor but they must not have transferred with the rest of  my medical records when I switched doctors.

I didn’t get much else done today.  I don’t feel like I have much energy today.  Good thing I didn’t have anything that had to be done.  Not sure it would have gotten done.

Other than the blood draw I don’t have anything on my calendar for tomorrow.  Hopefully I will find something productive to do with myself.  I don’t like lots of lazy days in a row.  I feel better about myself when I do something productive during the day.

Tomorrow I need to bake Jim some more cookies.  He is on his last bag of them.  I bake a double batch and freeze them for him.  I enjoy making them and he enjoys eating them.

I picked up a Roku device for the TV that is downstairs.  I may go down tonight and get it hooked up and running.  I trained Jim on how to use the one in the study.  He wants the extra apps to disappear but not sure I can do that.  I trust Jim will get used to the new way of getting to his news program soon.  Change is hard sometimes!

I haven’t gotten the shipping box from DISH so I can return their equipment.  Trusting it will come in this week.  I will be glad when I am done with them.

Grateful my physical is over, grateful the doctor is exploring reasons my TSH levels are wacky, and grateful I can go to bed early tonight if I choose to do so.

 

I passed my Death Doula final.  Yay!  When I got to the sheet that I report my hours, I read it carefully and found out that I have already met their requirements.  So that class is done!

I will do an end-of-life care plan with a client Friday and then I will be able to graduate from the Care Specialist class too!  Feels good to have that class almost done too.

Finally figured out a solution with the people that provide the TROPP form.  They have a booklet that includes a copy of the TROPP form, the living will form and the Medical Power of Attorney form along with instructions on how to complete them.  It will be perfect for my work with my clients and will keep me from having to make copies of the forms.  They are to ship it out today and I should have it later this week.  Grateful that worked out the way it did.

I haven’t heard from Hospice in Emporia yet.  I called them yesterday morning and they haven’t returned my call yet.  Maybe I am not to volunteer there?  We shall see.  I don’t need the hours now but I would enjoy the experience.  Maybe another path will open for me instead.

Now I need to give some thought as to how I will find clients.  I am doing a presentation at the Emporia Senior Center sometime in September or October.  I have a press release of sorts that I could write up but who reads paper newspapers anymore?  I am working on making a Facebook page with my services on it.  I’ll get that up and going this week and see if that brings any clients in.

If anyone wants to work with me, give me a shout.  I’m looking for lots of clients to practice on – you don’t have to pay.  It is something that feels heavy to think about doing but it feels so good when it is done.  If you change your mind later, you can always change your end-of-life care plans.

I pulled weeds around the swing set this morning while it was still damp and cool out.  The weeds pulled easy and the swing set looks much nicer.  I picked a few more tomatoes while I was down in the back yard.  I may need to mow later this week.  That little bit of rain caused the grass to grow a bit again.

I cleaned the very tops of the kitchen cabinets as well as the six pendant lights in the kitchen and dining room today.  Jim acted like a nervous Nellie while I was doing it.  Sometimes he is overprotective of me.  Next time I clean them, I will do it when he isn’t home.

Tomorrow I have my annual physical.  I think it will probably be a waste of time. Physicals sure aren’t what they used to be.

Need to give some thought about what to fix Jim for dinner.  I have some hamburger thawed so need to use that up.  I get stuck on ideas and end up making the same thing over and over again.

Grateful one class is complete and I am certified as a Death Doula, grateful the light fixtures and tops of the cabinets are cleaned, and grateful for Meteor Showers that put me in Awe of the mysteries and beauty of the Universe.

 

Did one more class today and printed out my last class to read through later today.  I’ll take my final exam tomorrow.  I still need to document 15 hours of Hospice care before I can officially graduate.

I call Hospice in Emporia today to find out why no one has gotten back to be about me becoming a volunteer for them.  Found out the Volunteer Coordinator has been out on personal leave for over a month.  She returned to the office today.  I left a message with her and trust that she will call sometime this week.  There is some sort of training that I have to go through before I can do patient interaction.

I have been waiting for over two weeks for a supply of TROPP forms to come in.  I called them today and have had several conversations with them.  This is a medical order form that is used in the hospital setting that states the patient’s wishes for end-of-life care.  I want the original form to show my clients what the form looks like so they can request one if the time comes for them to need that.  Since this form is a medical order form, the doctors are legally obligated to follow your wishes.  Doctors have the right to refuse to follow a Living Will if they think it is not in the best interest of the patient or if a family disagrees with the living will.  I have a copy of the TROPP form I can give my clients if they won’t ship me the originals.  The TROPP form is printed on pink paper and I thought that my clients would remember it better if they saw the actual pink form.  We will see how this shakes out.

I went to the Chase County Senior Center today to see if they would allow me to work with their customers and help them make their Advanced Directives.  The Director of the Senior Center told me she does that for them and they don’t need my services.  I asked a few questions about her process.  It sounded like what she is doing isn’t acceptable but I didn’t push it.  Maybe the local hospital will accept what she has done for her clients.  Oh well, I tried to help them out.  Sometimes it feels like one step forward and two backwards.

Jim and I are both feeling at loose ends today.  Not sure if it is the weather or what is happening.  Guess it is just one of those days.  I’m sure tomorrow will be better.

We got less than 1/2 of rain this morning.  Grateful for what we got.  The grass looks a bit greener today than it did yesterday.

I remembered to call and schedule a hair cut for next week.  I needed to get one in before we leave on vacation the 24th.

I was getting ready to get in the shower this morning and looked out the west window.  There was a beautiful rainbow.  I had to go outside to take a picture of it.  About 15 minutes later there was another rainbow to the southwest.  I love rainbow days!

Grateful for the rain the prairie received this morning, grateful to see two rainbows today, and grateful I only have one more class to complete.

Did another Death Doula class today.  This one was more interesting than the last couple of classes.  It gave me a list of supplies that I should have on hand if I attend a death.  The most interesting part of the class though is when she talked about the science of what happens when someone dies.  It aligns with what I believe.

The next class doesn’t have a transcript so will need to sit at my desk with my head phones on to listen to it.  May do that this evening.

I fired DISH today.  They are going to charge me $15 to send me a box so I can return their equipment.  I swear they have got you in a corner.  I can’t return it to a store as “it might get lost”.  So grateful to be almost done with them.

Took a short nap again this afternoon.  I seemed to be back into the habit of taking naps.  I will take sleep whenever I can find it – or it finds me – not sure which is more true.

Not very motivated to do much today.  Good thing I don’t have much that needs done today.  It is too hot to be outside doing anything.  It is only to be 84 for the high tomorrow so might get out then and get some things done.  We have a 40% chance of rain for Tuesday but am not going to hold my breath.  I’ll believe it if I see it.

I have some errands to run tomorrow so am grateful it will be a touch cooler.  We will be back in the upper 90’s the rest of the week after that.  Can it be fall yet?

The Perseid Meteor Shower is this week with the peak coming Thursday – Saturday.  There is a full moon on Thursday so the sky may be too bright to see too many.  We have been seeing a couple a night the last couple of evenings.  Maybe this year will be a good year for them.  The last two or three years haven’t put on a good show.

Grateful for a lazy day at home, grateful for air conditioning, and grateful for afternoon naps.

 

 

Have a bit of a puzzle happening.  I charged the cost of the Doula Class to my Amazon credit card.  I transferred money to my checking account in anticipation of the credit card bill being paid.  I have it set up for an automatic withdrawal of the total amount due.  I got notice from the credit card company that they would be withdrawing the funds July 28.  Nothing showed up on my bank statement.

I waited over a week and called the credit card company to make sure the payment had been made.  It had and my balance is zero.  Only problem is the money was never withdrawn from my checking account.  They told me to call my bank and see what happened on their end.

I called my bank and after waiting 45 minutes finally talked to a clerk.  She double checked and confirmed no charges were made against my checking account. She said there was nothing else I could do.  I had her check with a Supervisor and the Supervisor said the same thing.

Who paid my bill and how?  It is a mystery.  The credit card company said it came from my bank account but it didn’t according to the bank.  Guess I wait and see what happens and if someone will catch the mistake that was made somewhere along the line.  Neither the bank nor the credit card company want to take any action to solve this mystery.

Anyone work in the banking or credit card industry and can tell me what happened?  Curious minds want to know.

I got the Hulu thing working today.  Still not 100% sure how I get to what I want.  Sometimes it goes right there and other times it doesn’t but I eventually get there.  I will train Jim on how to do it and then will call DISH on Monday and fire them.  I’ll probably have to go to Topeka or Wichita to return the equipment sometime next week.  I’m going to El Dorado Friday to meet a client so could go on to Wichita from there if I need to.

Did another lesson from the Death Doula class and printed the next lesson off so I can read it this evening.  Not sure how many lessons I have left but am on the third and final section of the class so almost done.

Jim went with a friend to an old fashion tractor show today.  He had a good time but came home exhausted as it was hot.  He sent me a couple of videos of a thrasher machine being used.  Grateful I didn’t have to go.

Got some letters written and mailed today so am finally feeling caught up with my paperwork.

Nothing on my calendar for the next couple of days.  I do want to call Hospice Monday and find out what is happening with my volunteer application.  I also need to go to the Senior Center in Cottonwood Falls and ask if I can do a presentation about Advanced Directives and start scheduling some clients through them.  I meet with my first client on Friday.  Wednesday I have my annual physical.

We are leaving on vacation again on August 24 so need to start thinking about that and getting things ready.  I found a housesitter and that is the hardest part about getting ready.  I need to start a packing list and see if there is anything I need to buy to take on the trip.  We will have to do a feed run before we leave to make sure we have enough feed for the dogs, cats and chickens.  I also need to book a haircut.

Grateful I was able to get Hulu working, grateful Jim had a safe and fun trip today, and grateful I was able to stay home all day.

I finished the Care giver Doula class today and passed the test. I was disappointed in this class. I’m still a bit confused as to what a Care Giver Doula can and cannot do. Grateful it was a free add-on and not the class I paid for. Good to have it out of the way and completed.

I sent my Notary approval letter to the company that bonded me and am awaiting their final approval so I can begin notarizing things.

I did two more classes in the Death Doula class. I finished up the second part of the class which was on the disease process of the top ten diseases that a Death Doula will see. Interesting material but a bit overwhelming to a non-medical person. Still not thinking that is the path for me but we shall see where this journey takes me. I will start the third and final section of the class tomorrow. I need to call Hospice in Emporia on Monday and find out if they received my application and if so if I was accepted and when I can do their training. I mailed the application while we were in CO and haven’t heard anything yet.

I booked my first appointment with a client to complete their end-of-life care plans. It will be good to have that first appointment over and done with. Once I do that I will complete my assignment worksheet and get that turned in for approval. Then the only other requirement I have is to schedule a presentation. I only have to have it on the books and not completed before I can graduate.

I am now accepting appointments to do end-of-life care plans. If you have been considering making yours, hit me up. I accept donations but don’t charge for my service. It may take one, two or even three sessions depending on how quickly you feel comfortable making decisions and how detailed you want to be. My phone number is 620-481-8323 and my email is kaykrause872@yahoo.co.uk I would love to work with you.

Had trouble sleeping last night so at 3:30 I took half of a sleep aid pill I had gotten from Costco. It is basically a Benadryl type pill. I slept until noon and then had to take a nap this afternoon. I have felt hungover all day. Wonder what would have happened it I had taken a whole one? My body didn’t read the rule book and has strange reactions to medications.

Didn’t do much today. Did get some paper work cleaned up on my desk this evening. I got some correspondence taken care of. Still have two more letters to write and then I will feel caught up.

I didn’t mess with the Roku system today. I was too tired and drugged feeling. Jim is going to be gone tomorrow so will play with the system then. I can get MSNBC to come up live on my iPad but not on the TV. I will hopefully figure it out tomorrow and then can call and fire DISH.

No plans for the weekend except for completing more class work. It is going to be hot all weekend so won’t get outside much. This heat is starting to wear me out. We need rain on the prairie but it isn’t in the forecast. These are the dog days of summer.

Grateful for my first appointment on the books, grateful I passed the Care Giver test, and grateful I got some sleep last night.

Good news. My Notary certificate came in today so I am legally a Notary Public now. I can start booking appointments to help people make their end-of-life plans now. Yay! I am still waiting on one more package to come in but it isn’t essential that I have what is in that package.

I did a couple more lessons today in both the Elder Care Class and the Death Doula Class. Neither one were exciting. I did find out I have to take a 20 question multiple choice test for the Elder Care Class when I am done. It is open book though so shouldn’t be a problem. The Death Doula class requires 15 hours of hands-on experience with three different dying patients. My time with my parents counts so I will need to have one more experience before I can “officially” graduate from that class.

Now that my Notary approval has come in, I will contact the four brave people that volunteered to be my guinea pigs and get them on my schedule. I only have to do one for my class but the more practice I can have, the better. I’m hoping to get at least one done before we leave on vacation August 24.

Went to Emporia this morning to deliver some Ritz Cracker peanut butter treats to my grandson. Stopped to get some groceries and a Roku device. I managed to get the device hooked up but haven’t figured out how to watch MSNBC live without the 10 minute thingy. Jim is watching DISH TV tonight so I will work on it some more tomorrow. Grateful I got as far as I did. Sometimes technology is not my friend. Once I figure it out I can call and fire DISH.

Took a nap today and finally feel rested and have a bit of energy tonight. I was wiped out from family day and election night results. The older I get, the longer it takes for me to recharge.

August 11 is the peak of the Persoid Meteor Shower as well as the full moon rising. Not sure if the bright light of the moon will allow good meteor shower viewing. Jim reports the Persoid meteors have already begun.

Nothing on the calendar for tomorrow again so will get a few more lessons read. I have a couple of letters that I want to write and get in the mail so will do those in the morning. I always have cleaning I could do if the urge strikes. Unfortunately the mood doesn’t hit me very often these days. I let my house get dirtier than I ever have before. Once it really starts to bug me I clean it.

For some reason we had a high electric bill for July. We used way more electricity than we had a year ago. We have had a long heat streak so thinking that is the cause. If the bill is high again in August I will call the solar company and ask them to troubleshoot for me.

I want to go to the Senior Center in Chase County tomorrow and see if they will allow me to get on their schedule to do a presentation about Advanced Directives and then come in once a month or so to do one-on-one consultations with their clients. I was waiting for my Notary approval to come in before I went to talk to them.

Grateful my Notary approval came today, grateful I am feeling better this evening, and grateful I was able to get the Roku device hooked up.

Completed two more lessons today. Another one on the most common diseases process and one of the Doula Elder Care classes. So far I am a bit disappointed in the Elder Care Class content. It isn’t very detailed as far as what one might actually be doing. She tells a lot of stories of clients she has worked with but not much information about what I am to do doing in this role. The common disease section is a bit overwhelming with all the medical stuff that might happen. It helps me realize that the Care Specialist role which helps others arrange their end of life care plans is the role I want to play.

No new supplies arrived today. Still waiting on my notary approval so I can start scheduling my first test cases.

We had a wonderful time last night. Four other couples came over for dinner and to be together to watch the election results come in. We ended up out on our deck and I read off the election results as they came in. We had a champaign toast to celebrate the defeat of the Amendment proposal after the New York Times called it a victory. It was a beautiful night to sit outside and enjoy the company of good friends.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised that KS rejected the proposed amendment as soundly as they did. I really thought it would pass. That gives me great hope for the November elections. The vote in Chase County was 48% NO and 52% YES. That was much closer than I had hoped for. There were over 1,000 people in the county that voted which was a very high turnout.

I have felt hungover all day today. I had two sips of wine last night so don’t think I had enough to have a hangover of that type. I have been low energy and draggy feeling all day. I took a two hour nap and still felt tired and worn out. My tummy was a bit upset most of the afternoon as well as having a headache. Trusting I will be feeling better tomorrow. Thankfully there was nothing I had to do today and could take a day of rest.

We have an empty schedule the rest of the week. I plan on continuing to work on my classes and get some more of them knocked out of the way. I will be done with them soon. Then I need to complete my class projects and I will be ready to get to work.

There was a beautiful rainbow this evening. We have had little bits of sprinkles off and on all day. Not sure it has been enough to register in the rain gauge though. We could see the rain all around us but it didn’t manage to get to us.

Have been doing some research on different ways to watch TV. Dish TV pissed me off yesterday and I want to fire them. I’m going into town tomorrow and will pick up a Roku device and see if I can make it work. If so, I will get to fire Dish. That would make my day.

Grateful for the beautiful rainbow this evening, grateful for the company of good friends last night, and grateful the amendment proposal was defeated.

Did a lesson in my Death Doula Class. This series of lessons is teaching me about the top 10 diseases that a Death Doula will see and the symptoms they present with and how best to help the family deal with those. Tonight’s lesson focused on COPT and Emphysema.

I will continue taking this class but am more and more convinced that being a Death Doula is not my path. My skill set is better suited for helping people before they get to this point. Life may have other plans for me and I may change my mind but for now I am going to focus on being a Doulagiver Care Specialist.

Two of my supply orders came in. One is a booklet called 5 Wishes. It provides a detailed format for someone to express their End of Life Plan by giving them lots of options. These booklets will be very helpful to the person they name as their Medical Power of Attorney as it really spells out what your intentions are. The other thing that came in is a game called Elephant in the Room. I will use these cards when I do public presentations to small groups. Each card has a question about end of life that is intended to stimulate conversation.

The main thing I am waiting on is my Notary approval. Kansas is one of six states that require Advanced Directives to be notarized. It will simplify the process when I can do that for my clients. You have to have two unrelated persons as witnesses in addition to the form being notarized. KS doesn’t make things easy!

The window guys were to have come today at 9:00 to start repairing all the windows in the house. They didn’t show up and Jim called them a couple of times and got an answering machine. Finally got hold of them around noon. They told us it was too hot for the material they used and they rescheduled to come next week. Wonder why they didn’t call this morning and tell us that? Not a good way to do business.

We have to replace our air conditioner and that job was scheduled for Thursday. They called today and moved it up to tomorrow. Now that is the way to do business!

I got most of the yard mowed today. I mowed for over two hours and took a break and didn’t make it out to finish. It was a hot one today. I got sun kissed a bit today. If I remember I will get out early tomorrow morning and finish it up. I only have about 30 -45 minutes of mowing left to do.

My Endocrinologist’s office called to give me the results from the TSH test. Unfortunately the orders they gave me don’t make sense with the medication I am taking. I told the nurse and she was going to send a note to the Doctor and then call me back. I haven’t heard back yet. I am going to have a discussion with the Doctor when I go to my appointment in August. I get my blood checked every 6 – 8 weeks and every time I go through this with them. They give me instructions that don’t make sense with what I have been doing which is following their orders from last time. It always takes at least two calls or messages to get things sorted out. It is frustrating, to say the least. It decreases my confidence in their office. You would think my chart would be in front of them when they place new orders. I don’t understand why they can’t fix this.

Jim and I are making plans to go back east the end of August. We found a house sitter which makes getting away possible. We are making contact with all the family and friends we will be visiting and firming up our agenda. It will be good to see my brother and sister as well as Jim’s family.

Tomorrow night some friends are coming over for dinner and we are going to watch the election results together. I am going to fix a crock pot of White Chicken Chili and everyone is bringing something to go with it. Trusting we will be able to break out the champaign and celebrate a NO victory on the amendment proposal. We may be crying in our soup instead and will be drinking to cope with the disappointment. Please go vote NO tomorrow if you haven’t already voted. We need every vote we can get.

Grateful the yard is mostly mowed, grateful the new Air Conditioner is coming tomorrow, and grateful some supplies came in today.

I did no work on any classes today and took a family day instead. The classes I am taking have reminded me about choosing the best quality of life I know how to choose. Taking a family day is for me the best part of living my life to the fullest. It was wonderful to have all three of my kids and their families over for lunch today. We were missing one grandchild but everyone else was here.

Lunch was a taco bar. It went over well. We had some leftovers but not too many. I sent home some meat from my freezer with each of the kids. Making room for the beef that is being processed and will be ready to come home mid August. With beef prices the way they are in the grocery store right now, the kids appreciated some free beef.

I have an 1/8 of the steer up for grabs if anyone is interested in purchasing it. The cost will be approximately $250 depending on how much the processing fee is. You will get about 50 pounds of beef which works out to about $5 a pound. That would include steaks, roasts, and hamburger. It will be ready around August 21 if not a bit before.

Tomorrow I will work on some more lessons. Today I am going to bask in the after glow of a day with the family.

Grateful all three kids were able to come home today, grateful lunch went over well, and grateful for a heart full of love tonight.

Finished my last two sections of the class today. Now I need to do my two class projects and I will be official as a Doulagiver Care Specialist. I am still waiting on supplies to come in before I can do my case study and wrap up this class.

I made contact with the director of the Emporia Senior Center today to discuss scheduling a public presentation on the work I am going to be doing. He will allow me to do so sometime in September or October. I have to have an event on the calendar before I can graduate and don’t actually have to have held it which is a bit weird but that works for me.

I also want to go to the Senior Center in Cottonwood Falls and make the same offer to them. I’ll try to get in there sometime this week. I was waiting to get my business cards in and they are to arrive by Wednesday if the tracking is to be believed.

Got a letter for the State of KS from the notary department. I thought it was my notary approval but it was to return my application as they no longer process credit cards in office. I have to pay on-line. That meant figuring out how to download a copy of my application that they returned. I remembered that you can scan using your iPad so looked up directions for doing that. The first try was all four pages in one file but that made the file too big so had to send four separate attachments. I was proud of myself for figuring out how to do that. I have the hardest time with figuring out how to manage files.

When I hit the final submit button it told me there was an error and to try again. However I checked my bank account and the funds are showing as pending so am guessing the error was in generating a receipt and not that the application didn’t go through. Now I wait to see if I sent them the right things and that they can read them. Somedays it feels like I take two steps backwards instead of forward.

While I wait for supplies I will start one of the other three classes that I have to take. I’ll start those Monday as tomorrow all three kids and their families are coming for a family day. I am fixing a taco bar for lunch. I have the desserts made and the chicken cooked and shredded. Tomorrow I will brown the hamburger, make nacho cheese sauce and heat up the refried beans. Easy peasy! It will be a fun day to see all the kids – those make the best days ever!

Feeling a bit frustrated as my TSH levels for my thyroid came back way too high again. Eight weeks ago they were too low. I sure wish we could figure out why my levels roller coaster so much. They just don’t seem to want to stay in the acceptable range. I think I am doing everything I can to control them. I take my meds at the same time each day. I wait an hour after taking them before I eat. I have read all the literature and avoid the foods and meds that interact with the thyroid meds. I don’t eat sugar. Not sure what else I can be doing to help level out my levels. I see my Endocrinologist August 23. She may have to refer me to a higher level specialist somewhere. She talked about doing that last year if we couldn’t get things leveled out.

Grateful I completed the lessons for my first class, grateful to my friend at the Emporia Senior Center for allowing me to get on their schedule, and grateful the kids are coming home tomorrow.

One of my lessons today was on trusts and wills. The most important part of it was to remind me to remind my clients that everyone needs a Power of Attorney to take care of their affairs should they become unable to do so while living and also someone to take care of their affairs after a death.

I remember I was the person who handled my mother’s estate and I used the power of attorney paper a lot. Even if you don’t have lots of financial resources to leave someone, the power of attorney will save lots of headaches, time and money for those that have to deal with your affairs after you are gone. With all the new laws regarding privacy these days, it is very difficult to get access to your accounts without a written power of attorney form.

Wills and trusts are not always needed but if you have special items that you want to go to someone special, it is helpful to have that in writing. You don’t need an attorney to do this for you. Attorneys are needed if you have a large estate but for simple affairs you can write your own will. It needs to be notarized and have two witnesses sign it. This is something I will be able to help you with.

One of the kindest things you can do for the executor of your affairs is leave a notebook with all your financial records, bank account information, passwords, and directives that you want to see happen. Having everything organized is a real blessing for the people you leave behind. Your phone has a wealth of information in it but without a passcode to get in it, no one can access that information – i.e. your contact list. Putting together a notebook that contains all your pertinent information, including your end of life plan is a gift you can give your family. Make sure several know where you keep it so it can be found immediately so your final wishes can be carried out. Better yet, make sure those most important to you have a copy of your final life plans so they can be prepared to honor those wishes immediately upon your death.

When you are putting together your notebook, take some time and check who is your beneficiary on your banking accounts, etc. Is that person aware they are listed? I remember mom had an account and for what ever reason she only listed one of my siblings as the beneficiary. He wasn’t aware of it. The person at the bank couldn’t tell me who it was. The manager of the bank helped me narrow it down by having me play a guessing game of sorts. Technically he probably shouldn’t have done that but the balance was not very big and he was working hard to be helpful for me. It would have been helpful if mom had written it down for me. Maybe she had forgotten who she named – who knows. IF we hadn’t of figured it out, that money would have eventually been turned over to the state as unclaimed money and we would have had to go through their process to claim it.

Once you make your notebook, make a habit of reviewing it annually to see if anything has changed. Doing the review on your birthday makes it easy to remember to do. Check your driver’s license expiration date on that day too!

I only have a couple more review classes to do and then the classroom part of this first class with be done. Next up is waiting for my supplies to come in so I can do my case study which is working with a client setting up a complete end of life care plan. I also need to plan an event in the community to help spread the word about the importance of doing advanced directives. I then have a worksheet to submit my results of those two projects and a final written test to take and then I graduate.

While I am waiting on my supplies to come in, I will start working on one of the other three classes I have to take.

Just a heads up for those in are around the Emporia area. The wonderful Colorado peaches are here! The truck stand is in front of the mall just north of Walgreen’s. I picked up a case today. When Jim and I were on our trip earlier this month we actually drove through Palisade, CO and I got a few peaches then. They had just started picking them and didn’t have a full case to sell yet. They were so good!

When I was in Estes Park the local grocery store had some peaches – not from Palisade but they were good. I baked them for the first time. I melted butter and rolled the peach slices in the butter and placed them in a baking dish. I then sprinkled them with cinnamon and added some chopped pecans. I baked them for 30 minutes. Wow! They were SO GOOD! Legal for me to eat as I didn’t add sugar. I will have to be careful not to make them very often though as I could have eaten the whole pan of them. I served them with cream cheese on the side instead of ice cream as I can’t eat ice cream.

Grateful for fresh peaches, grateful for the beautiful sunset tonight, and grateful for a safe trip to and from Topeka today.

Today’s lessons were all about how to engage people in conversations and how to get them to feel more comfortable discussing end of life care plans. I ordered some more suggested supplies that may help people engage. Most of the tips were about practicing good listening skills and allowing the client to steer the conversation. I can do that!

Spent some more time organizing the resources I have gathered so far. Need to get a file box to put my folders in. I will need to make a bunch of copies sometime soon. Next time I go to Walmart I need to pick up a file box and another ream of copy paper.

There is a lot of choices one can make – or not. The more a person makes ahead of time, the less choices the family will have to make after a death. It feels a bit overwhelming to consider everything but much easier now than after a death. The good news is that in most cases there is no urgency to make the decisions and clients can take their time and consider all the options. That is why it will take several sessions with clients to finalize everything. They recommend an annual review in case things have changed.

The more I learn about end of life, the more I want to live my life, fully embracing the moments I have. As the instructor said in the video today, there is not one thing I can change about my past. I can change my relationship to the past and accept it for what it is and leave behind any regrets or shame I may still be carrying. Letting go frees up space inside that I can use to live more fully in the present.

One homework assignment I have is to write letters to those that I want to ask forgiveness from. Mailing them is optional and maybe not even desired or needed. The forgiveness I am seeking is really self-forgiveness. Writing can help process those thoughts and allow one to let go easier. Many of us carry guilt and shame about situations from the past that the other person involved has long forgotten about. Think of the freedom it will give you to put that energy to a positive use instead of all the stinking, negative thinking.

There are those situations where a relationship was damaged and there is no longer communication with the other party. Maybe you felt that you were wronged and are waiting for the other person to admit their fault and apologize. Writing a letter to yourself about that situation may be helpful to allow yourself to finally step out of the binds that hold you to that person and allow yourself to be set free. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. It also doesn’t mean that engaging in a relationship again is needed. Boundaries are there for a reason and it may be appropriate to continue to have the distance between you. What is important is that the situation doesn’t consume your emotional energy and that you forgive yourself for your part of the situation.

This isn’t easy work! It takes a lot of courage and authenticity to step out and cut yourself free. The freedom you will feel afterwards is worth it. Sometimes it helps to find someone neutral and have them hold your hand through the process.

I think the world would be in a lot better place if more people could take the steps to learn forgiveness and set themselves and others free. We would then each have more room inside to use our energies for positive things if we can release the negative experiences we each carry.

There is an emotional scale that is used to gauge where a person is emotionally. Let’s say it is a scale of 1 – 100. 50 is at a point of being neutral. Anything below that is a negative drain on yourself and everything above 50 is a positive charge. Did you know that the vast majority of people run on a negative charge all day? They take out more emotional energy than they give to the world. If we each could do our own inner work and find ways to be above neutral, collectively we could change the energy of the world.

No one is asking one to always be above neutral. That is for the saints to accomplish. But if the majority of your time you could stay above neutral you would be more emotionally healthy than the majority of people on earth. The way to get there is to let go of the stinking, negative thinking about past situations that you cannot change. We can only change things by staying fully present moment by moment. By having more personal emotional energy available we can be more fully present and have a much better chance to react to life in a positive way.

If you need help getting to a positive, emotional state, reach out. My Hand in Yours would be glad to help!

Enough preaching! Grateful to be increasing in my gratitude for the little things that happen each and every day. Grateful for the 2 inches of rain the prairie received overnight. Grateful for the cooler temperatures today.

Today’s two lessons were all about reviewing. There is a lot of new language to learn and the instructor repeats herself many times so the terms become familiar. Most of it is making sense to me now so I think her repeating is working.

We were given some more resources to look up to ensure that we understand what applies in our state. I am grateful I have my notary papers in process as in KS several of the forms have to be notarized. I should receive my notary approval within the next 30 days.

I spent some time today organizing all the forms into folders so I can easily find them. I had quite a stack a papers growing on my desk and it drives me crazy not to be able to find what I need easily. I will need to make some copies of some of the forms so I have them available when I meet with clients. I need to put the originals in a plastic sleeve so I don’t give them away.

I went to the website for the Secretary of State for KS and did the initial paperwork to register My Hand in Yours, LLC as my business name. I will need to get the LLC paperwork drawn up but that can wait a bit. I also found business insurance and got that taken care of.

I’m still not sure how much business I plan on doing but for the first year I will do things by the book and decide from there what I want to do for the following years.

I found out the easiest way for a person to donate their body to medical research. If the body is accepted the medical research place will pick up the body, issue a death certificate, and then at some point return the cremated remains to the family. All of this happens with no charge to the family. I am seriously considering having this done for my body. Saves the expense of a cremation and someone could benefit from my body. I know of two different families that did this and I see it as a wonderful benefit for medical science.

I found out in one of my lessons today that one of the graduation requirements is to do a public presentation on the importance of having Advanced Directives. I will have to give this some thought as to where I might do so. I will check with the Senior Centers in Chase and Lyon County and see if they allow such a thing to happen. It would be a good way to find some clients that I could help.

I have decided to not have a flat fee but instead allow my clients to pay what they think the service is worth. I’m sure some will pay $10 and some will pay much more than that. It will all even out. I’m looking to earn back what it has cost me to take the course and order my supplies. The rate the instructor recommends is way too much – especially for this area. She lives in New York and can probably get that there. Don’t think I would have many clients if I tried to charge $1,000 – $1,500 like she suggests.

The other graduation requirement is to work with someone from start to finish on writing out their Advanced Directives. I have three people that have volunteered to let me work with them. I’m waiting on finishing the rest of my training and for my supplies to come in before I get those sessions scheduled.

There is also a written test that I will have to take. Not sure how long or big the test is but I can usually pass those fairly easily so that shouldn’t be an issue.

When I finish this class I still have three other classes to work on. The Death Doula class requires 15 hours of bedside service to a dying patient. Hospice hasn’t called me back so I’m not sure how I will get those hours in. Not sure that is the path I want to take with this training anyways although I would like to have a bit more experience with that path. I attended the death of both of my parents and those hours count. I have to attend a total of three deaths to graduate so only need one more. If it is meant to be that I get that certificate a way will be shown to me.

I have a physical scheduled for August and will practice what I preach and have a discussion with my doctor about my wishes for end of life care. I want to take a copy of my advanced directives for myself and make sure they are entered into my medical records. I think I did this before with my other doctor but not sure the records transferred when I changed doctors.

My kids are all coming Sunday for a family day. I will again communicate with them what my wishes are so they are all on board with my decisions. Surely not planning on them needing to know that information immediately but it will be good practice for me to communicate to them as that is what I will be asking my clients to do to their families.

Thinking about death sure helps me be grateful for living and the little things that happen throughout the day. My appreciation for all the blessings I have continues to grow and deepen. I am embracing the thought that some day things will change. I see death as my next grand adventure so I don’t fear death. Making my end of life plans feels like a gift I am giving my family ahead of time.

Grateful for the rain we got on the prairie last night. Grateful for the cooler temperatures. Grateful for knowledge that helps me make better decisions about my end of life plans.

Todays lesson taught me more about completing Advanced Directives and naming a Medical Power of Attorney. A couple things I learned that surprised me I thought I would share.

Advanced Directives are not legally binding. A Doctor can choose not to follow them. That usually happens when there is one or more family members that disagree with the directives. The legal system backs the Doctor’s right to refuse to honor them. That is why it is so important to have a family meeting before a family member is in crisis and get everyone on board with your wishes.

There is a work around available but you have to know to ask for it. It is called a POLST which stands for Physician Order of Life Sustaining Treatment. In KS and MO it is called a TPOPP which stands for Transportable Physician Orders for Patient Preferences. Unfortunately these orders can only be issued when a patient has a terminal diagnosis. They can be written when a person is frail and old, however. But usually they are forms that can not be done years ahead of time.

When I work with my clients I will give them a copy of the TROPP and they can complete part of it and take it to the hospital or doctor if and when it might be appropriate to do so. It is hard to ask for something that you don’t know exists – right?

I also learned that your Advanced Directives, or at least your DNR orders should be hanging on your refrigerator. That is where EMS professionals will look to see if you have them. It might be wise to keep a copy in your car, your purse, and a copy with a few of your loved ones. Without them present they won’t do any good. You can also give a copy to your doctor to scan into your medical records. That presents a good moment for you to have a discussion with your primary doctor about your wishes if and when that time should come.

Advanced Directives can be cancelled if you change your mind. If you get divorced and you had named your ex as your Health Care Proxy they are automatically cancelled upon divorce.

Think carefully about who you choose to carry out your wishes. If your partner is struggling to accept your choices maybe it would be best to choose someone else. They don’t have to be related to you. It makes things easier if they are geographically close to where you live so they can be present at the hospital. Who you designate may change throughout your life. Relationships change and people move on. Maybe set a reminder on your birthday each year to review your records and see if the person(s) you choose still works for you. It is also a good idea to name two people in case someone isn’t available.

The instructor also talked about the need for people of all ages to do Advanced Directives and a end of life care plan. Accidents and medical trauma happen and it is a real gift to the family if they know what your final wishes are. My family learned that a few years ago. Making all those tough decisions when you are under an incredible amount of shock, grief and stress adds to a hard situation. Knowing what they would have wanted and being able to honor that makes things easier for loved ones left behind.

Advanced Directives and end of life care plans can be changed as your life changes. The choices I make as a 68-year-old are probably different than the ones I would have made as a 30-year-old.

Another choice you can make is to designate a conservator. They will be the one that has the duty to carry out your wishes as to what will happen to your body when you die. This can be the same personas your healthcare Proxy or Healthcare Power of Attorney or you can designate a different person. Again you predetermine what you want to happen and this person will then carry out those wishes.

Another point that was made was to remind us that the Power of Attorney that was designated in your will to handle your material and financial matters is not automatically your Medical Power of Attorney or Healthcare Proxy. You may name the same person to do all these tasks or you may have different ones doing different things. You need different paper work to name the different roles people will be playing for you. Man! This gets confusing and challenging to navigate through.

I ordered a stack of TPOPP forms today as well as new business cards. I am going to call my practice My Hand in Yours. I have my notary stamp papers in process and should be good to go as a notary soon. All these little bits and pieces that need to be done so I can be in service to others.

I had three people reach out to me and volunteer to have me help them create their end of live care plans and directives. I so appreciate their willingness to be a guinea pig for me to practice on. I could use at least two others so if you are interested in getting your wishes on paper let me know. I won’t be ready to do the sessions for probably another month but we shall see how quickly I move through my training and when my supplies come in.

Doing this work has helped remind me to be grateful for my healthy body and to live each day fully as we never know when our time will be up. There are no guarantees of another day but there is a guarantee that one day we will each die.

I am embarking on a new journey and decided to blog again to capture my journey. I am in training to become a Certified Elder Doula, a Certified Death Doula and Elder Care Consultant as well as a Certified Forgiveness Course Instructor. All of them are under the same umbrella of helping people plan how they want to live and die.

Death is a human experience we will all go through at some time or other. It can be a beautiful thing if our fear around it can be released and we do our work before the time comes. My training will allow me to help people figure out what kind of quality of life they want should they become ill and what they want or don’t want to happen to them when the time comes.

It is such a gift to our family members to express our thoughts and wishes ahead of time before the family is in a crisis mode dealing with the imminent death of a loved one.

I have been looking for something new to come into my life for some time. I have a desire to give back to my community and needed to find a way to do that. As a community at large, we don’t deal well with death. We don’t talk about it, we rarely plan for it, and often we don’t know what to say or do when it happens. It is almost like we are surprised every time someone dies. Sure, unexpected and untimely deaths happen, but I am talking about death that follows an illness or death of an older loved one. There can be a real gift to all involved when death happens under Hospice or another type of umbrella that allows the death to be a human experience and not a medical crisis.

As a nation it feels like there is a lot of unresolved grief happening. Our institutions seem to be falling apart – there is a death happening before our eyes. It represents the collective energy that we as a country have about death. Ignore it and it might not happen! Guess what? It does happen and will happen to each of us at some time or other. Death is the one human experience that we can not escape from. We might as well prepare for it and be ready!

My work and training as an energy practitioner seems to fit right in with this new training that I am doing. At the end of our life, our physical body begins to diminish, and our spiritual body of energy begins to grow. When one can remove the fear from the dying process, it can become a beautiful thing – for both the person making their transition and the family left behind.

I am looking for a few brave souls that will allow me to talk with them about death and about what decisions they want their family to make for them when that time comes. I have to do some case plans for my class. If you are interested, hit me up and let’s talk.

I’m not sure yet how and what my practice will look like as I complete my training. It is going to take me about two months to finish all the training. If you know of a need or a way that I can put this in service to the community please share with me. I’m open to all ideas at this point. At some point in my training we write a business plan and I will need some suggestions and help with that.

I welcome all ideas and thoughts from all religious and non-religious souls. Some of us have strong beliefs and preferences for what may happen. I find it fascinating to hear from others what their beliefs are about what happens when a person dies. I’m open to all possibilities and beliefs.

Today my lessons were on Advanced Directives and naming a Medical Power of Attorney. The instructor stressed the need to name someone that will be able and willing to honor your wishes and not impose their own desires. She also stressed how important it is to ask that person to do that honor for you and that it not be a surprise to them. You really need to have a conversation with them so they know what your wishes are so they can carry them out for you. When I finish my training I will be able to help people with those decisions and help facilitate discussion with your family members so all know your wishes. What a gift that will be for your family members to know what you would want.

I will also be learning about all the options after death and how to help someone plan their own burial, cremation, home care or funeral home, green burial or casket, or what ever your choice is. You can even preplan what music, if any, is used, funeral or no funeral, wake or no wake. You have lots of choices if you plan ahead. You can even write your own obituary – or not!

Last week my lessons were on the three stages of dying and how to help a family through them. The class talked about deaths that happen through a hospice type setting. Knowing what is going to happen throughout the dying process helps keep the fear at bay for all involved.

Not sure how often I will be blogging but decided to capture this new journey for myself. It will be interesting to me to see if my views of dying change. Writing helps me process what I am learning and the questions, doubts and Ah Ha moments I have during classes. You are welcome to come along with me on this new journey. Maybe we can learn together.

Learning about dying teaches me to appreciate, with even more gratitude, each day I can live life to the fullest in a healthy way. One never knows when my time will be up and I need to continue doing my inner work so when my time comes there are no words left unspoken, no deeds left undone, and no regrets about the choices I have made.

It has been a busy day around here today. Jason, Melissa and her parents came out this morning with two cars full of wedding stuff. They got everything unloaded and sorted. Tables are set and things are where we can find them for tomorrow (I think).

Jason and Jim helped me make potato salad. They cut and peeled potatoes, chopped onion, celery and sweet pickles. I made deviled eggs. The work went fast with two extra set of hands.

Tomorrow morning I need to go to my neighbor’s house and pick up the cakes and then go into Strong City and get a couple bags of ice. I will make iced tea and lemonade and set up the beverage bar. I need to remember to put the meatballs and BBQ sauce in the crock pot first thing in the morning so they will be ready by noon. Not much left to do other than that.

I hope I remember to change into my fancy clothes before pictures at 1:00. It would be like me to forget! We are doing pictures at 1:00 and the ceremony is at 2:00. We will follow that with cake and punch and then everyone can relax and visit until dinner time. Dinner is being delivered at 5:30 so we will probably eat around 6:00.

I’m expecting about 36 for lunch and 24 for dinner although either number may change. We have enough food for how ever many show up.

Melissa is coming out yet tonight to decorate the swing set for the ceremony tomorrow. It was too windy earlier today to get it done then. Trusting the wind will stay slow the rest of the night and into tomorrow. The forecast is showing light winds all day tomorrow – sure trusting they are right on that part of the forecast.

It seems I have waited for this day to come for a long time. It is so nice to see Jason find someone that makes him happy. They are so good together. I think that is all a parent can ask for is that their children find someone that makes them happy.

So looking forward to a full day tomorrow with all my family here.

Grateful things are ready for the wedding, grateful all the kids will be home tomorrow, and grateful the weather will be perfect tomorrow.

We had a beautiful sacred ceremony last night. We prepared ourselves for the work ahead of us over the next three months. It is time to go internal and find those areas inside that feel uncomfortable and then transform our relationship with them. We went outside and used the smudge stick to clear our energy of stuck places. We ended the ceremony by watching the moon rise. It was huge, bright orange and amazing. I slept better last night than I have for a long time.

I have had another productive day. I got the yard mowed up today. I did a bit of it last night and finished it this morning. Jason came out and he and Jim did the weed whacking while I mowed. Nice to have that project crossed off the list.

I got the iron painting done. The only thing left to paint is the posts in the swing set if I decide to do that. Not sure yet. They are taking the swings down tomorrow so it will be easy painting if I decide to do that tomorrow afternoon. We will see how the day goes and if I have the energy to do so. There are marks on the posts where the wind blows the swings into the posts. They would look better painted up but not sure I will get that done.

Got the outside of the windows on the lower level washed. We have barn swallows that live down there and the windows are usually a mess. The swallows have migrated away so maybe the windows will stay clean until Saturday evening. Still need to do the upstairs windows in the living room, dining room and kitchen.

Tomorrow Jason, Melissa, her mother and the preacher and his wife are coming out to get things ready. They are doing some decorating, removing the swings, and helping me set up tables for the lunch and dinner. Let the preparations begin!

Tony is acting better each day. He is eating more and acting more like himself. We have to give him wet cat food each meal to get him to eat enough before we can give him his insulin. Jim isn’t too happy with that as the wet food is much more expensive. That cat is becoming an expensive dependent. Too bad we can’t deduct him and claim him as a child on our taxes.

I keep going over my list for Saturday making sure I haven’t forgotten anything. I will make the potato salad and deviled eggs tomorrow so they will be ready. Still haven’t decided if I am going to bake a chocolate cake or not. We will see how the day goes. I’m really trying not to have so much food left over this event. I usually way over order food. Not sure how many I am feeding for dinner so not sure what to prepare. Have a feeling we may have lots fewer than expected so will have lots of left overs. I hate running out of food so will deal with left overs if needed.

Dropped my blood pressure again today. It only went down to 100/50 today. It is taking its time to come back up. Sure wish I knew what was causing that. Guess I will call the doctor sometime soon if it continues doing this. It seems to happen the most when I am active and then get hot. I get light headed and then a touch nauseous. Sitting down and resting is the fix. After a bit I can drink something. I’m pretty good about getting 100 oz of water down a day so don’t think I am getting dehydrated.

The girls are really slowing down laying eggs. Only getting between 12 – 16 a day right now. Won’t be long and I will be lucky to get 2 – 4. Next cool snap should bring on their molting. I need to get their coop cleaned out next week so they have fresh straw when their molting begins.

Tomorrow will be fun as we start the wedding preparations. I’m really getting excited for the festivities on Saturday. It is always a good day when all my kids are here and we are together. It is an extra special day to welcome Melissa, Dylan, and Cody into my family. I gain a daughter and two grandchildren Saturday!

Grateful for the Fall Equinox Ceremony last night, grateful the iron painting is done, and grateful for Jason’s help getting the yard ready.

Tony ate better this morning and has been acting better today. He handles getting his shots well. I think we are adapting to this new routine with him. We both set alarms on our phones to remind us to feed and shoot him every morning at 8:00 and again every evening at 8:00. Wonder how long it will take before that becomes routine?

I got the living room deep cleaned today. Found lots of clutter that had accumulated and needed relocated somewhere else. Good to have that room done. Still need to do the Kitchen and wash all the cupboards down. I am almost done deep cleaning the whole house. That feels so good.

My handyman came this morning and put the woodwork that had been taken off so the sheet rock could be repaired back on. He also fixed a loose deck railing. Good to have those two projects crossed off my pending list.

I went to Emporia and paid the caterer for the meal they are delivering Saturday evening. I picked up a few things at Walmart and then came back home. I have an errand to run tomorrow and then I think I am good until last minute stuff to do Saturday morning. I have to make a potato salad and deviled eggs Friday and may bake a cake. I think we have too many desserts already but we will see what I decide to do. Saturday I will have to go get ice and pick up an order but then I should be good to go.

Jason is coming out tomorrow afternoon to help me get things mowed and trimmed. Jim is working to get a book shelf/TV stand thingy built for the study. He still thinks he can get it done before Saturday. He has to varnish it once he gets it sanded and all put together so not sure he will make it but we shall see. No worries either way. It would free up a card table but I can make do without it if needed.

It is a perfect fall day on the prairie today. We have the A/C turned off and the windows open. I loved hearing the coyotes sing during the night. There is a light breeze and the fresh air is blowing in. I know the dust is coming in to but not much I can do about it. I will have to do a light dusting job Saturday morning.

I’m looking forward to this evening as several friends are coming over so we can do ceremony to celebrate the Fall Equinox. I love doing sacred ceremony with my friends. My soul needs some time with like-minded friends. When we are done we will go outside and watch the moon rise and use the smudge sticks. That will put me in a great mood to start the weekend of celebrating Jason and Melissa’s wedding.

Think I will go out and do some more iron painting. I had pushed that aside to make sure I had time to get the house cleaned. It is so nice out that spending time outside seems inviting right now.

Grateful the woodwork project is done, grateful the house is clean, and grateful for Fall Equinox and the reminder to stay in balance.

Tony was missing this morning. I looked all over the house for him and couldn’t find him. Finally found him locked in Jim’s bathroom downstairs. He had been trapped in there overnight. He didn’t eat very well this morning and has been very lazy today. If he does the same thing tomorrow we will call the vet and see if they can check his blood sugar. He acts like it is too low but I’m not sure what his new normal behavior is yet.

Giving him his shot was easier than I anticipated. He doesn’t flinch when we inject him which makes it much easier for us.

I took my car in to have the oil changed and the tires rotated. I took a book with me and read for the hour or so it took to do my car. The time went by quickly. I asked the guy if they could remove rocks that get trapped in the brakes. He knew immediately what I was talking about and said no problem. So next time I get a rock in the brake I will take it to them.

Got the staircase woodwork cleaned today. Did the dining room too. Washed all the chairs and cleaned the bottom of the chairs and tables. Still need to do the living room and kitchen and then the house will be clean. I will either finish tonight or tomorrow.

Thursday I have reserved for mowing and washing windows outside. Friday I need to make deviled eggs and potato salad and start thinking about serving dishes, etc. Saturday will be here quickly – I’m getting so excited. I think things are organized enough that I will get to just enjoy the day and not be stuck doing much in the kitchen. It helps that we simplified the menu and it will set out easily and quickly.

I do need to go to Emporia either tomorrow or Thursday and pay for the meal they are delivering on Saturday. I keep trying to think if there is any thing I need from town last minute and the only thing I can think of is ice. I don’t have room to get it until Saturday morning. That will only take 15 minutes to run into Strong City and get bags of ice.

Feels good to have most of the house deep cleaned. I so enjoy having a very clean house. Just don’t have the energy to keep it that way all the time. I used to try to do so but I gave that up. Having the Airbnb helped motivate me to clean more often.

I promised to help Pioneer Bluffs with their newsletter next week. Jim is going to Stillwater and after all the hustle this week it will be nice to have a sit down project to work on for a couple of days. It is to be ready mid week so that will give me something to do next week.

Tomorrow night I have some friends coming over so we can celebrate Fall Equinox. It is helpful to have a community during this time. We will name and claim those things within we want to change our relationship with. Somehow naming them out loud to others seems to give it more power and intention. I have learned to choose wisely as things shift around the things I name.

We had fish for dinner tonight. Jim gets breaded fish baked in the oven and I grill myself a piece of salmon. I’m not sure it is either one of us favorite meals but it is easy and filling. I grilled myself some apples tonight. Now those I could eat every day.

Grateful the car was serviced today, grateful some more cleaning got done, and grateful giving Tony his shot was easy.

Tony is home! We picked him up this afternoon. The Vet’s office was a bit disorganized today. They were going to go back and just give him to us. We told them we needed to be taught how to inject him, what to feed him, etc. We waited about 30 minutes to be taken to a room.

The Vet came in (not the one that has been treating Tony) and she handed us the insulin. We had to slow her down and tell her to start from the top and tell us all we needed to know. It took her a bit to realize we didn’t know anything about caring for him. She told us how to give him a shot but we didn’t get to practice or actually see it done. Hopefully at 8:00 tonight we can figure it out.

The insulin he is on costs $125 a bottle. It should last for about two to three months although the bottle says to throw it out after 60 days. We will ask next week when we take Tony in for a follow up if we have to do that. They gave us 100 free needles and a box to dispose of the old ones in. The Vet said we could use the same needle twice.

He can’t have food on demand all day for a bit. We will feed him twice a day at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm and then give him a shot. After he stabilizes for a bit he might get to go back to grazing his food. We will see what happens.

They had him on a dose of 5 units but this afternoon his sugar dropped to 50 so the Vet said to try 4 units for the next week. We take him back a week from tomorrow for a blood sugar check and the dose may get adjusted then. Crossing our fingers that we will get through this first week OK and not put him in danger.

I had a really bad night of sleep last night. I even took a NyQuill and that didn’t help. I had the shakes a couple times during the night. Took three hot baths and that didn’t help. Sure hope the worse is behind me and tonight will be an easier night to find sleep. I have had a NyQuill hangover all day.

I got 12 dozen Snickerdoodle cookies baked this afternoon. That is about all I have done today. I have my cleaning bucket ready to go so after dinner I will get the woodwork on the stair case cleaned and the two bathrooms downstairs cleaned. Tomorrow I will start on the upstairs and get it cleaned. I have two days left to get that done.

Thursday I will mow and get the outside work done. Friday I will make the potato salad and deviled eggs and do any last minute cleaning. Saturday is the day!

Tonight is the full moon and Wednesday is Fall Equinox. The energy is stirred up right now. Maybe that is why I couldn’t sleep last night.

Grateful Tony is home, grateful the cookies are all baked, and grateful for what little sleep I did get last night.

I got four hours of sleep in two attempts last night. This is getting old. Sure wish I could solve my sleep issue.

I made 8 dozen peanut butter cookies this morning. Three different cookies made now. I will probably make a batch of Snickerdoodles either later tonight or tomorrow and then the cookie project can be crossed off my list of things to do for the wedding.

I went back to bed after I baked the cookies and slept for 2 hours. I didn’t wake up on the right side of the bed and have been cranky all day since my nap. I even tried going back to bed this afternoon but that didn’t help.

I went to Emporia after my nap and got the things on the list for wedding as well as a few things I needed. I had to go three different places to find one of the things I needed but I found it. Glad to have the groceries bought.

Came home and put everything away and then went downstairs and deep cleaned the great room. I hand mopped the floor. I sat on my ass and scooted across the floor to try to save my knees. I really don’t want to get blisters and then have scabs on my knees in the wedding pictures. It is good to have that room clean and looking nice. Next up is to vacuum the steps and wash the woodwork on the stair case.

I fixed a meat loaf for dinner. I was hungry for one. It isn’t Jim’s favorite meal but it is one of mine. He got some corn on the cob and fried left over baked potato with his so that made up for having to eat meat loaf. I have lots of leftovers for my lunches this week and some tucked in the freezer for another week of lunches.

I am feeling the effects of the full moon which is tomorrow night. The Fall Equinox is Wednesday. Lots of energy in the air right now pulling me into the dark side. This is the time of the year where I go deep inside and work to change my relationship with some habits and patterns I have. Not always easy work but oh so necessary. As I look back over the last couple of years I can tell how much I have changed as a result of the work I have done. Not sure if there is a finish line with this type of work. I am beginning to think the finish line is death.

Grateful the great room downstairs is clean, grateful the groceries for the wedding meals are taken care of, and grateful for the inner work I have done and continue to do.

Tony is still in the hospital. They switched to a more expensive brand of insulin yesterday hoping that will help bring down his numbers. Jim asked them to keep him until he has 24 hours with his levels stabilized. Hoping we get to bring him home Monday. Wonder how much the insulin will be? That darn cat!

Had trouble finding sleep last night. If I could fall asleep I couldn’t stay asleep. I finally gave up early this morning. I tried taking a second hot bath and even that trick didn’t work last night. Hate nights like that.

This morning I painted the mailbox and put new letters and numbers on it. It sure looks better now. The old letters had worn out and were unreadable. I had to go to the hardware store in Strong City to get some numbers and red paint for the flag. Glad that project is crossed off my pending list.

I made a double batch of Oatmeal Raisin cookies this morning and a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans this afternoon. I am baking four different kinds of cookies for the wedding lunch next Saturday. Half way done. Am going to bake some Peanut Butter and Snickerdoodles tomorrow and then I will be done. Slowly but surely I am getting things ready. We are on the seven day count down now.

I may go down when it cools off a bit and do some iron painting tonight. I still have that project to finish up. I hate ladder work and that is what is left. I keep procrastinating on it. It is to be cooler next week so maybe I can find a couple hours next week and get it done.

I took a nap this afternoon but had trouble finding sleep. I fell asleep about 10 times and kept waking up. I finally gave up and got up. Maybe tonight will be the night that sleep finds me.

Still have some cleaning that needs done but am trying to time it so I only have to do it once. I can’t wait until Thursday to do it all so will do the rooms this weekend that I can close the door and not let anyone go in them. I’m about out of those rooms.

Am going to take my car in to get the oil changed and the tires rotated Tuesday morning. I had to cancel that appointment when I got the rock in my brake last week. Second time is a charm – right?

Grateful the mailbox project is done, grateful half the cookies are baked and in the freezer, and grateful for what sleep I did find.

The Vet called last night to tell us they still haven’t been able to get Tony’s blood sugar below 300 with two shots a day at a pretty high dose. He is switching Tony to a different brand of insulin today to see if he can get better results. Jim called the owner of Tony’s brother, who was also diabetic, to find out what brand they used with him. We found out today that the new brand the vet switched Tony to is the same brand they used with his brother. Crossing our fingers this will do the trick. I am anticipating Tony will remain in the hospital over the weekend. He needs to be stable for at least 24 hours before we bring him home.

The Vet hasn’t called this afternoon with our daily update but I anticipate he will soon. They have been very good about keeping us informed about how Tony is doing and what they are doing to help him out.

I went out and painted this morning. I was going to paint the black iron but waited too long to go out and it was too hot to be on a ladder. So instead I painted the top board of the railing of the deck. The new paint doesn’t match the other paint that was on there and am hoping it won’t be too noticeably different. It sure made the deck look better although now I notice the bottom needs painted again too. Don’t think I will attempt that unless I get all the black iron painted and still have a couple of free days. The wedding is a week from tomorrow so am on the final count down.

I took a nap this afternoon. I got some sleep last night but it was in bits and pieces. When that happens I don’t feel very rested. My blood pressure dropped again today while I was painting. I have noticed when it does that it makes me feel exhausted. Sure wish I could sleep at night as easily as I do most days when I nap.

The plumber called today and said he had some free time and could come fix the pipes in the barn if I still wanted that done. I did so he came out this afternoon. Jim now has a bathroom to use in the barn. We will have to figure out a way to heat the bathroom this winter so the pipes don’t freeze and break again. Jim said something about base board heaters for the bathroom. Not sure what those are but will add them to my to do list and next time we are in the city will look for some.

While the plumber was here he discovered a breaker box in the furnace room of the barn that I had forgotten about. He flipped a breaker and we now can use the water hydrants on the sides of the house. Yay! Two things crossed off my pending list that have been on there for a long time. It is a good day when that happens.

Jim went to town this afternoon to get some lumber. He is going to build some shelving units for the study. Right now we have the TV sitting on a card table and it is not a pretty site. Not sure what all Jim is going to build but he said it will match the desks he built earlier that we each have in the study. He loves to build things like this and will enjoy the process of doing so. I will enjoy seeing and using the end results.

Jim wants a bacon, tomato and fried egg sandwich for dinner tonight. That will be easy enough. He is stopping at the grocery store while he is in town to get some bread. I will eat bacon and eggs instead as I don’t eat bread or tomatoes.

I did a bit of cleaning downstairs yesterday and will do some more today. With Tony gone the house is staying cleaner longer. Hoping when he comes home next week he doesn’t undo all the work I have done this week. If so I may throw him outside for a couple of days. Just kidding – can’t do that to the poor sick boy now. I will just have to touch up what he messes up.

Jim may run down to Stillwater this weekend. I need the tables and chairs I have down there for the wedding next week and he needs to water his plants good. I doubt that he stays more than one night but he may stay two. We still have some things to do around here before the wedding that I need Jim’s help with.

I’m grateful we are hosting the wedding as it is helping to motivate me to get some projects done. It will be so good to finally cross the deck painting project off my to do list. It has been on there forever it seems.

No plans for the weekend other than painting and cleaning. One of these days soon the house will be all clean and the deck will be done and I will be out of things to do. Time to think of another big project to start working on. I have no idea what that might be though. I have considered trying to find a job that I could do from home. It still looks like we are going to get to stay home much of the fall and winter again and I might as well earn some money if so. I’ll put that intention out there and see what happens.

Grateful for the painting that got done today, grateful for the plumbing fixes that got done today, and grateful Tony continues to get great care at the Vet Hospital.

We haven’t heard from the Vet yet today so we don’t know if Tony gets to come home today. I doubt that he does at it is so late now. They seem to be having trouble getting his levels to stabilize. Hope they call soon so we know what is going on. Jim is starting to get a bit worried.

I went out this morning while it was still cool and painted the rest of the top of the swing set. Good to have that project completed. I then did some more black iron painting. I keep finding more areas that need painted. It is beginning to feel like that part of the painting will never get done. I am to the point of needing to do ladder work now and can only do that when it is cooler out. Last night I went out after dinner and painted for an hour and am hoping I can do that tonight.

I cleaned out under the stairwell closet in the basement today. Jim climbed in it for me and helped get everything out and used the vacuum to clean the floor. I threw away a sack full of crap and organized what I kept. I store the kiddos toys in it. Most of the things haven’t been used for years and don’t anticipate they will be so got rid of most of them. Feels good to have that little area cleaned out and decluttered.

Little by little things are coming together for the wedding. I counted tables and chairs today and realized I am coming up short. Nicole is going to bring some and two other people have offered to let me borrow some. Jim may get down to Stillwater to get the two tables and stack of chairs we have down there and bring those up. If he does that I think I have what I need.

I counted tablecloths, cups, plates, and plastic ware today and am in good shape with all that. I don’t have anything left on my list that needs tended to until the day before the wedding. I will need to buy some groceries the day before and do some cooking but other than finishing painting and cleaning I am good to go. It helps so much that Melissa and her mother are doing lots of things for the big day too.

More painting and cleaning is on the agenda for tomorrow and through the weekend. I am beginning to sound like a broken record. The house is almost done and the painting is getting close. I think I will be ready for the wedding the 25th.

I have some hamburger thawed for dinner tonight. Not sure what I am going to do with it. Might just grill hamburgers – that is one of my favorites.

Sitting with a bit of restlessness this afternoon. Not sure where it is from or what it is trying to tell me. I feel like I have a lot of bits and pieces of things that need tended to but nothing I can do to move things along at this point. Fall Equinox is next week as well as the full moon. I keep reading memes and reminders about letting go and changing my relationship to things that bug me. I start to pay attention when the same message shows up and that message has shown up about five times this week. I need to spend some quiet time determining what internal habit I need to change my relationship with. Sometimes when I force things I can see what is obvious so I need to back off and let the answer come to me slowly and quietly.

Grateful for the swing set is painted, grateful Tony is getting the care he needs, and grateful the storage area got cleaned out today.

Tony earned himself another night in the cat hospital. His glucose levels have not dropped enough yet. They are going to increase his dose again tomorrow and see what happens. That darn cat!

I went out and painted the top of the swing set today. I made it all around the outside and will go back out when it cools down tonight to do the inside. My blood pressure dropped while I was painting and it wasn’t safe to be on the ladder any longer. It sure looks nice where I have painted so far.

I opened the can of black iron paint and discovered the paint had turned into a solid rock in the can. Jim is in town now getting some lumber and some more black paint. It sure will be nice to get both of those painting jobs finished up. Maybe by tomorrow night I will be done with both projects.

I took a long nap this afternoon. I got two sleeps last night but was up between sleeps for three hours. I got up and finished reading a book I have been reading. I was grateful I was able to get a second sleep after that but felt tired when I got up this morning. It was a good nap day so I took advantage of it.

We saw and heard lightening and thunder last night but got hardly any rain. The deck was a bit wet this morning but the grass didn’t even get wet enough to stay wet very long. Hate when we miss a golden opportunity to get rain. We have slight chances in the forecast over the next ten days for more rain but nothing that looks too promising. We sure need some rain to help close the cracks in the yard.

Jim wants scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns for dinner. That will be easy. He is staying home until Tony gets out of the hospital and we get a routine with Tony established at home. At this rate, Jim might not make it to Stillwater before the wedding. I have some folding chairs and two tables down in Stillwater that I could use for the wedding but if he doesn’t make it I will figure something else out. I can always use my dining room chairs if we have to.

It was nice to be able to stay home all day today and not leave the property. If feels like it has been a long time since that has happened. I didn’t go anywhere yesterday but it felt like a busy day with the kids coming out for dinner. Today has been very quiet and nothing urgent to do. I like those days the best.

We had fun with the kids last night when they came out. The food turned out good and it was nice to do a normal thing. Ellexia and Tagen had fun after dinner climbing on the big hay bales that are still on the property. We watched a beautiful sunset before they left. It was nice to be with Michelle on her birthday.

Took care of another wedding detail today and have an email to send to take care of one more. The napkins for the lunch and dinner came in today. Little by little things are falling into place. The end of next week will be busy doing last minute cleaning and cooking but it will be fun.

Nothing on the calendar for the rest of the week and through the weekend. I love having Jim home and having a stretch of empty space days ahead of us. We both have little projects we are working on and this gives us time to do them. We both work at turtle speed most of the time and take lots of rest breaks between working. Good thing someone doesn’t pay us by the hour – it would get costly to them as we don’t work very fast these days.

Grateful to have gotten some painting done today, grateful Tony is getting the care he needs, and grateful for some empty space days ahead of me.