Starry night on the prairie

Delivered 12 dozen eggs to four different customers today. Nice to clear out a bit of the egg stash. I so appreciate my customers. I got to visit with one of my customers for a bit. That makes egg delivery day even more special.

After I delivered the eggs I went to Emporia so I could have a blood draw to check my TSH levels. Got the results back this afternoon and they have dropped to 0.9. The first of June my level was 5.9. The new medication is working. I’ll be curious to see if the doctor reduces my dose or leaves it the same. It can be dangerous if the levels get too low so am thinking she will either have me skip one dose a week or will reduce the dose amount. Sure wish my body could find a dose that worked all the time for it and I could level out and not have to switch things up so much.

Took a nap when I got home. I was surprised I slept as I wasn’t too tired when I laid down. My body likes to sleep in the afternoons better than it does at night.

I am going to clean out the freezers tonight. Tomorrow is trash day so it will be good timing to get rid of the things that are old and freezer burned. I have no idea why both freezers are full and no idea what is in them. It will be a treasure hunt to go through both of them and find things.

We are having leftovers for dinner again tonight. I need to clean the refrigerator out too as we will be leaving for three weeks Friday. Jim is so good about eating leftovers.

I have managed not to eat any flour products today. It is so tempting to have some crackers as they are about the only thing that tastes good to me right now. But I am starting to think the cramping may be due to a gluten intolerance due to the C-Diff. The cramping has been much better today since I abstained from flour. We will see what happens over the next couple of days.

I only have three full days before we leave. Time to step it up and finish getting this house cleaned and stuff gathered that I want to take. I also need to bake the grandkids some treats and take them in. We need to do a feed run either tomorrow or Wednesday so will take the treats to the kiddos then.

I’m not sure either one of us is excited about getting away. Once we get there we will both enjoy it but we both love staying home so much it is hard to leave. I could be content not to leave this place for very long again.

I need to write out a time line of when things happened to give to the doctor on Thursday. I have found that helps them understand the flow of things better. Time has a funny meaning to me these days as I am out of step with time most of the time. I really can’t guess if things happened a week ago, a month ago or even a year ago. None of that seems relevant most of the time.

It feels heavy out. Much of the area around us is getting some nice rain but once again it went around us and we won’t get any. The ground is starting to crack and dry out. Jim has been watering the new grass seed he planted. I don’t think I want to see my water bill for this month. Yikes! I sure would love to have a strong down pour so it can test the new drainage system and I will know for sure the problem has been fixed. Doesn’t look like that is going to happen anytime soon though.

Feeling a bit better again today. No bathroom emergency runs. I can’t say I have lots of extra energy but I am not quite as drained as I have been. It helps that the cramping hasn’t been as bad today. Pain can sure wear a person out quickly.

Grateful the new thyroid medication is working, grateful for my egg customers, and grateful for to do lists that help me remember what needs to be done.

Another quiet day at home. I did go to Emporia this morning and got some groceries and some things I need for our trip to CO. I have started a pile of things to take to CO. It will be a huge pile before we leave.

No bathroom emergency runs today but the cramping continues. Sure will be glad when Thursday gets here and I can get some answers as to why the cramping is so bad. Not sure the doctor will have an immediate fix for me but to know that something can and will be done to help will be reassuring.

Parts of the prairie have received some nice rain today but so far it has gone around us. It sure feels like it could rain but not sure we will get any. It would be nice to let Mother Nature water our new seeded area of grass but am betting we will have to use the sprinkler tonight.

I am going to deliver 12 dozen eggs tomorrow. That will cut my stash way back. I am going to take at least 6 dozen with me to CO. I notified my regular customers that I was going to be gone and several wanted me to bring them some extras to get them through until we return. I will have to ask my house sitter to deliver 6 dozen a week to one of my customers. I didn’t have enough to give her enough to get her through while we are gone.

I was hoping to clear up most of the things on my pending list before we left but not looking like that will happen. I’m still waiting for several workers to show up and do some work for us. Thinking they will all want to come while we are gone. Part of the work can be done while we are gone but I don’t think I can ask the house sitter to have to deal with the replacement of the shower in the master bathroom.

I’m concerned I will ruin our trip to CO by having another major C-Diff episode. I am hoping the doctor I am seeing Thursday can help come up with a preventive plan so I can get through those three weeks without an issue. My body doesn’t seem to be responding to the antibiotic as well this time so not sure if that will be possible. Guess I will deal with what ever happens when it happens. Worry won’t make it go away.

Tagen wants chocolate chip cookies before we leave so will get those baked either tonight or tomorrow and take them to him. Ellexia hasn’t responded to my text so I don’t know what she might want. I have the stuff to make some peanut butter balls for them if I find the energy to get those made.

The house cleaning project is slowly happening. I sure wish I had a bit more energy and get up and go right now. I have very small bursts of energy that I can get a few things done but I wear out quickly.

Other than the egg delivery tomorrow I don’t have anything on my calendar until I go to the doctor in Topeka on Thursday. Grateful for the empty space to have lots of rest time to heal in. I took a nap again today – it seems to have become a daily habit again.

Read today that most of the major hospitals in KS are full again of COVID patients. One said they were going to have to reduce the amount of non emergency surgeries they will be doing due to staffing issues caused by all the COVID patients. I find this all so sad as the majority of people getting sick don’t have to get sick if they would have gotten a vaccine. Not sure what it is going to take to end this pandemic with so many refusing vaccines.

I have gone back to wearing a mask when I am out and about. Not many people are doing so. I have a feeling with the way I have been feeling lately that if I got COVID even with the vaccine I would get into trouble with it quickly. I just don’t seem to have much resistance these days.

Grateful to be reducing my egg stash tomorrow, grateful for my vaccine, and grateful Thursday will be here soon.

Summer has arrived on the prairie. It was 95 today with a hot wind. The yard is getting cracks in it again.

I went out and mowed three different times today and finally got it done. Sitting on the riding mower isn’t too hot but after an hour or so I would come in and take a break. Glad to have the mowing done. Unless we get some rain I doubt that I will need to mow again for a bit.

Took a short nap this afternoon. I have had tummy cramps most of the day and they are wearing me out. I can’t decide if I should eat or go back to a liquid diet. Sometimes if I eat they get better and sometimes eating makes them worse.

I fixed a pot roast for dinner tonight. Have way too many leftovers. I asked the butcher to cut the roast smaller next time if possible. We have trouble eating it all up. The flavor was really good but it was too rich for me to eat much of it.

I mowed a bit of the rocky ledge today. There is a plant that has fiberglass like fibers that fly all over when I cut the plant down. I took a shower when I was done mowing but am still finding little pieces of those fibers on my hands. I can feel them but can’t see them. I need to remember to wear gloves when I finish mowing the rest of them.

No plans for tomorrow. I will get some more cleaning done and start pulling things out I want to take to CO. I have a long list of things I am going to take.

Jim checked the temperature at the Y Camp and the high was 75 today. That sounds so nice! I will be glad to escape this heat. I need to remember to take some long sleeve shirts and pants as it gets too cool for me in the evenings there.

Last night after I took my bath I sat outside on the glider for a bit and enjoyed the full moon. It was a clear night and the moon created beautiful moon shadows across the prairie.

I need to check with the grandkids and see how there cookie supply is holding up. I may be baking cookies tomorrow to stock them up for the time we will be gone. I need to bake another batch of Snickerdoodles for Jim so we have enough to last him for three weeks.

Grateful the mowing is done, grateful for a crock pot, and grateful for showers that cool me down after mowing.

Another good day – no bathroom emergency runs today. It is starting to feel like the C-Diff is back under control. Trusting it will stay that way now. I see the specialist a week from today. I will be anxious to hear what she recommends as a permanent solution to all of this.

The handyman came late morning and fixed a water leak in the laundry room. It is good to be able to cross something off the pending list. I so appreciate him and the efficient way he works.

I met a friend for lunch today. We had a great visit. I need to remember to book lunch with friends more often. It is nice to get some girl time in occasionally.

Came home from lunch really tired so took a long nap this afternoon. I sure wish I could sleep at night like I can in the afternoons. I almost felt rested for the first time in a long time when I got up this afternoon.

Jim is out planting grass seed in the area where the digger guys worked. It is so hot I’m not sure the grass were germinate but we are going to give it a try.

Working on getting the house cleaned up. Attempting to do one or two rooms a day. I will leave the main part of the house until last. I have a week to go to work my way through the whole house. Finding lots of dirt as it has been a bit since I have felt like cleaning.

Summer has arrived on the prairie. We are in a hot spell that looks like it will be hanging around for some time. Grateful we are escaping to the mountains the end of next week. Extreme heat is not my friend.

Still struggling a bit to find foods that don’t cramp my stomach. I need to get off crackers but they are one of the foods that feel safe to eat. Flour products cause me to stay hungry all the time and crave more food. Just can’t handle much meat right now or many veggies. Still eating bland foods for the most part. Maybe in another day or two I will be able to expand my choices.

The door company that replaced my screen any fixed a door at the rental house finally sent me a bill today after I sent them a text to let me know I hadn’t received it. I got that paid and was able to cross that off my pending list. It is nice to cross things off and have a day when I don’t add something else to the list.

Need to put a feed run on my to do list for next week. I don’t want the house sitter to have to go to town to buy feed. I have a list started of things I want to get to take to CO so will get those things when I go to town to buy feed.

Found out some friends of Jim will be in Estes Park Y Camp the same time we are going to be there. It will be fun to have dinner with them one night and get to know them a bit. I have met them briefly before and know I will enjoy spending time with them. Last year two of Jim’s brothers were out there when we were but this year they will have left before we get there.

I’m a bit worried about how much hiking I will be able to do. I have been down for the last month and haven’t gotten much exercise and am horribly out of shape. Add the higher elevation and I may be sucking wind while I am there. Guess I will do what I can and not do what I can’t.

No plans for the weekend except cleaning house and staying cool. I need to clean out our freezers so they will be ready for the beef that is coming when we get home from CO. Not sure how I managed to fill both freezers and not sure what I have in them. Half of the new beef will be going to other places but I will need room to store it until they can pick it up.

Grateful the water leak is fixed, grateful for long afternoon naps, and grateful to be feeling good again.

It has been a quiet day at home today. A friend came up at 10:45 and we did a little mission together and had a nice short visit. I love days when my path crosses with a friend.

I took a nap this afternoon. I was wired last night and very emotional and had trouble getting to sleep. I slept hard once I fell asleep but was still tired when I got up. My nap took the rough edge off and I am doing better this afternoon. There is a full moon tomorrow – I think I am feeling the effects of it.

It has been nice to have the workers gone today. Jim’s cat Tony is back to acting normal. He didn’t care for all the equipment noise the last couple of days. Tomorrow our handyman is coming in the morning to take care of a water leak in the laundry room. Hoping that is the last of the repairs that need done for a bit.

Jim went to town while I was taking my nap and picked up some grass seed. We need to seed the area the workers dug up. Not sure how successful we will be getting it to sprout in this heat but will give it a try. My water bill will be high again this month as we will need to keep it wet for a while. Hoping it will sprout before we leave for CO next Friday.

Tomorrow I am having lunch with a friend. Not sure what I will be able to eat at the restaurant but not sure that is the point of the lunch. I love days when I get a chance to have a nice visit with a friend.

Summer has finally arrived on the prairie. It is in the high 80’s today and we are to cross over into the 90’s for the next couple of days. Things are going to dry up soon and start to turn brown. The pastures are still green for the middle of July. By the time we get home from CO mid August they will have turned brown from the heat and lack of rain.

I attempted to make cinnamon rolls yesterday but they didn’t turn out very good. I didn’t let the heated milk cool enough before I added the yeast and it ruined the yeast. They didn’t raise like they should have and they are heavy. I hadn’t had a failure of cinnamon rolls for a long time but things happen! Not the end of the world I guess – just disappointing. I might try again later this weekend.

I need to bake some cookies to take to CO. It is hard to bake in the small cabin kitchen and it will be easier if I bake them here and take them with us. I wish I had a bigger freezer in CO so I could take lots of meat, etc. with me. I try to keep meals as simple as possible while we are there and not have to spend lots of time cooking. The last week we are there I will be fixing meals for six. I need to give that some thought and figure out what will be easy to fix.

I have felt pretty good again today. Only one bathroom trip today so far. I did eat something that gave me stomach cramps this afternoon. I had eaten the same food yesterday and was fine. Not sure if it is what I just ate or if I have cramps just because. What a mystery to me. Sure hoping the doctor next week can help me understand what is happening and give me some useful advice on what to eat.

I sent a text to my door repair guy. He did some work for us at the rental house two months ago and replaced a screen on a door at this house over a month ago. I haven’t received a bill for either of those projects. It could have gotten lost in the mail but they have had trouble with billing in the past. They deserve to be paid for their work and I don’t want to cheat them.

It has been nice to have a couple of days back to back of feeling better. Reminds me what feeling good is all about. Trusting these good days will continue and I will be able to enjoy the trip to CO without having a relapse.

Grateful for friends that bring so much joy to my life, grateful for a quiet day at home, and grateful to be feeling better today.

The guys were here again before 8:00 this morning to finish the job. They worked all morning and I think they left around 1:30. Glad to have that project completed. It hit me today how much faith the owner of the business put in me that I would pay when the job was done. He didn’t require a deposit and is trusting that I will pay. They did a nice job and were very professional to work with. I sure am trusting they got my water leak fixed.

We have a big area in the back yard that needs grass seed put down. We will need to go to town tomorrow and pick up some seed and get that put down. I have extra straw we can use to put over it. We don’t have a city lawn by any means but I don’t want to leave such a bare area open in the back yard. Jason is getting married in my back yard the end of September and I would like it to look a bit better than it does right now.

Ellexia came out late morning to spend the day. Her daddy brought her out. I fixed them both breakfast when they came – blueberry pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs with toast. We took Ellexia back in around 7:00 tonight. Stopped at McDonald’s and got her some food before we took her home. We had a quiet afternoon together. I so enjoy her company when she comes to play for the day.

Jim didn’t get much sleep last night as he didn’t get to bed until very late and then got up when the workers showed up. He got a good nap in this afternoon. I didn’t take a nap today so hoping I will sleep long and hard tonight.

The infectious disease doctor’s office called today and I have an appointment for a week from tomorrow. If I have another rough day or two I am to call them and they will work me in earlier. We are leaving for CO the day after my appointment so hoping they don’t need to do any testing that can’t wait. We will see how this plays out. Getting well will take priority over vacation but hoping I don’t have to choose between the two.

I have had a good day again today. Only one trip to the bathroom today! Wow! That hasn’t happened for a bit. I had some mild cramping late afternoon but even that is better than it has been. I only have a few doses of the antibiotics left so hoping I don’t have a relapse when the pills run out. My biggest fear is getting out to CO and having another bad episode. I will talk to the doctor and see what they can do to prevent that from happening or at least give me a back up plan to use if it does.

Tomorrow is a quiet day at home. It will be nice to not have workers in the yard. I do have a friend coming over late morning and we are doing a little project together but that won’t take long. It will be nice to sleep in if I can in the morning. I may go to bed early tonight so will probably be up fairly early tomorrow.

Friday the handyman is coming to do a water leak repair in the laundry room. Other than that we don’t have anything going on this weekend. I need to start pulling things that I want to take to CO and I need to finish getting my house cleaned so it will be ready for the house sitter.

I called the meat locker today and asked them to cut the roasts as small as possible when they package our beef. We have trouble eating a full roast and end up wasting part of it. They had my order from last year so I didn’t have to do a new one this time. I sure am hoping the beef this year is as good as the one we got last year. It was the best beef we have ever had.

It is nice to cross a couple things off my pending list. Most days I cross one off and add two. Today I got to cross three things and didn’t have to add anything. I’m grateful!

Grateful the work on our drainage problem is complete, grateful Ellexia spent the day with me, and grateful I have a doctor’s appointment for next week.

The diggers showed up at 7:30 this morning. They worked until 4:00 and need to come back tomorrow to finish. All I kept thinking today was how much is this going to cost? Yikes! I’m not sure I want to know.

I have been impressed with the way they work. The boss man was here today and I liked the way he listened to the other two and together they came up with a plan. The guy that ran the digger machine is really good. It was fun to watch him operate it. He had a nice touch with the jaws and didn’t waste much motion. The south trench went fairly easy but they hit rocks on the north one. They had to go get the crusher to break up the rock. They have done a nice job of returning the dirt to the trench to cover it all up. They put a concrete barrier over the ends of the pipes so the mower won’t disturb the end of the pipe. Jim helped them mix the concrete and they used some he had on hand.

Jim said they knew what they were doing and he was impressed with the quality of their work. I will be anxious until it rains hard again and I know that what they did worked. Not sure what I will do if it didn’t fix the problem.

It is nice to think we can get the sheet rock fixed in the basement and it won’t get wet again. We won’t finish that part of this project until it rains hard again and we know we have completely solved our water issue.

I went to Emporia late morning and got groceries. I also picked up some yarn so I could make a bunch of dishrags while I am in CO. I’m not sure how much hiking I will get to do this year so am taking lots of yarn in case I stay behind and need something to do.

I canceled the appointment with the other construction crew as the job is already done. I sure hope I made the right decision with letting this crew do the work. They are local and I have heard good things about them.

I didn’t hear from the specialist in Topeka today. I will wait until the first of next week and if I haven’t heard by then I will call and see what is going on. I have felt better again today and haven’t had to run to the bathroom. I have only gone three times so making progress.

I took a short nap this afternoon. I had woken up at 5:00 this morning and wasn’t able to go back to sleep. It was a long morning today. The nap will help me get through the evening without falling asleep in my chair while I am reading.

I stopped at Panda Express and picked up some lunch for us. I had never been there before and was a bit confused as to how to order. The girl that took my order got confused too. We ended up with what I wanted but they split the two orders and we each got half of each which isn’t what I ordered. Not sure why that happened but oh well. The food was OK but not sure I would go back. It was a bit pricey and wasn’t exactly freshly made. I like the little Chinese restaurant on the east side of town better. They make your order fresh.

I have lost my debit card somewhere. Luckily I have a second one for a different bank account so I could pay for my groceries. I called the bank and cancelled the card and they are going to send me a new one. Sure wish I could remember when I used it last. It is probably in a coat pocket somewhere.

Got a bit of cleaning done again today. I am doing some deep cleaning projects that I had been putting off. The house doesn’t look cleaner yet but it feels cleaner to me since I am taking care of some hidden areas. Feels good to get some of those taken care of at long last. Since I have a house sitter coming a week from Friday I will need to get the rest of the house cleaned before that. I don’t like leaving a dirty house for the house sitter.

No plans for the rest of the week except lunch with a friend on Friday. I do have a couple phone calls I need to make if I can find the space to make them in. Some days I just can’t do the phone – today was one of those days.

Grateful the work is getting done on the drainage issue, grateful for continued healing of my body, and grateful Jim is here to supervise the workers.

I had a pleasant surprise today as the contractor that came out Friday called and told me he could bring his guys out this afternoon to start the work in the back yard. I really had thought it would be several months before they could get here to do the work.

The guys dug three different holes before they found the drain pipe they were looking for on the north side of the retaining wall. They then dug a hole on the south side to uncover the pipe on that side.

When the house was built the pipe was only put out to the end of the retaining wall and not extended out further like it should have been. The guys are going to come back tomorrow with the material they need to extend both pipes out to the end of the yard. The pipe is about six to eight feet deep and they will need to dig a trench that deep all the way through the back yard on both sides.

I’m so grateful Jim is here and has been watching what they are doing as I don’t understand any of it. Jim says they know what they are doing and their plan should work. He is going to have them extend the trench he hand dug through the middle of the back yard so we have better drainage there too.

I have no idea how much all this is going to cost. It had to be done to prevent more severe damage to the retaining wall and to the house. They found a lot of wet spots where the water has been accumulating instead of draining like it should, especially on the south side.

When I delivered eggs today I drove by the rental house. The handyman got the front porch painted and the steps repaired. The house is really looking nice. We still need to repair a small part of the foundation and burn the big burn pike and then I think we can stop working on it for a bit. We still have lots of rocks in the yard that need removed but I think those are going to wait. They won’t go anywhere and they aren’t causing problems. At some point we need to do some drainage control at that house too but I am out of patience and money and it is going to have to wait.

I am feeling better today. I’ve only gone four times which is a nice improvement from the weekend. Food is starting to sound good again but I am trying to be cautious and not push things just yet. I want to get several good days behind me before I start trying to add real food in again.

My doctor’s office sent me a note today letting me know they had faxed the referral information to the infectious disease doctor in Topeka. They gave me the name and phone number of the doctor’s office in Topeka and told me that office should call me soon to schedule an appointment. I didn’t hear from them today but I have been down this road before and understand it may take several days or more before they reach out to me.

When I went down to gather eggs this morning I found the chicken that has been getting picked on sitting in a nesting box. I picked her up and put her in a different box. There was another chicken in the same box with her so I picked her up too and put her on the ground. I gathered the eggs they had been sitting on and turned around and found an egg on the ground. The chicken I had picked up and put on the ground had just laid her egg. Talk about a fresh, warm egg!

We got all the smoke detector batteries changed last night. The taller ladder really helped make that job easy for me. We changed two light bulbs in the furnace room while I had the ladder out. Good to have fresh batteries in all the detectors. I got good at figuring out how to put in the batteries by the time I was done. This house has 12 smoke detectors. I’m so grateful the two tall ones don’t have to be changed for 10 years.

Ellexia may come out tomorrow for the day. She was going to come out today and then remembered she had somewhere to go. I need to pick up a few groceries when I go to town to pick her up. It will be fun to have her out for a bit. Maybe she can help me bake cookies while she is here.

I confirmed with my house sitter that she is still able to come take care of the house while we are in Colorado in August. I never worry about things when she is here. I’m so lucky to have found her.

It is nice to have a stretch of empty space days. My body has needed this quiet time to recover. I am almost feeling good enough to get some things done around here. It feels so good to feel good!

Grateful the contractor worked me in so soon, grateful the referral to the specialist is in process, and grateful to feel alive again.

A much better day today – only four emergency runs to the bathroom. I didn’t get woke up during the night so got some good rest – that always helps. I am sticking to eating crackers and chicken noodle soup again today but hoping to add something more nutritious tomorrow if things continue to slow down.

Last night Jim called me from the chicken coop. The girls were ganging up on one of the poor hens. The hen looked like she was either sick or hurt. I brought down a cat carrier and we sheltered the hen in the carrier over night. I expected that she would be dead when I went down this morning as chickens do not recover well if they get hurt or sick. She was still alive and looked OK. I let her out and she rejoined the others and acted like all was well. We will see if that continues.

Jim has such a tender heart. He hates to see a critter hurting. He was standing over her protecting her when I got down there.

I haven’t gotten much done again today other than a bit of cleaning here and there. I am reading a good book. I took a short nap again – seems to be my daily habit these days.

Got an email letting me know the beef we ordered has been taken to be processed. I need to call the processing plant tomorrow and adjust my standing order just a bit. I want to see if they can cut the roasts a bit smaller. We have trouble eating a whole roast. Other than that I really liked how they processed it last year and trust the beef will be just as good this year. Two of my kids take a quarter of it. One half lasts a year for Jim and I. It will be ready to be picked up when we get home from CO August 20.

Beef prices are up just a bit from last year which is good news for the rancher. I feel like we get it for a bit of a steal even at the higher price. I can tell you it isn’t the rancher making a killing off the high beef prices the stores are charging right now.

The guttering guy came and fixed the slop of the front side guttering piece at the rental house. Nice to be able to cross something pending off my list.

Sure hope the specialist calls me for an appointment tomorrow. I would like to be seen before we leave for CO July 30. Not holding my breath though as it seems these specialists are booked and it can take a month or more for an appointment. I hate the thought of continuing to have bathroom runs for another month but not sure what else I can do.

I can’t believe how mild the temperatures have been for the middle of July. I don’t think we have hit 100 yet this month. I’m not complaining as I like the milder temperatures but it is unseasonably cool. Wonder what August will be like?

Nothing on my calendar this week except lunch with a friend on Thursday. Not sure if Jim is going to Stillwater or not. He is shy about leaving me home when I am not back to normal. Maybe I can talk him into going. He really needs to get some things taken care of down south.

I feel like I am riding a roller coaster right now with good days and bad days. I never know how a day is going to go and it is hard to plan anything right now. It has been over a month since this all started and I don’t see an end in sight yet. Although it could end today and I just don’t know it yet.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful the beef is coming soon, and grateful for a mild month of July.

Another rough night. I was up three times running to the bathroom. When I got up this morning I had a rough two hours. I was getting close to waking Jim up to take me to get some help when things finally slowed down. I haven’t gone again today. I told Jim at lunch today that maybe this was my last rough day. He looked at me like I had three heads. I told him one day has to be the last rough day – why not today?

After I got to feeling better I went out and mowed for over an hour. Came in and took a nap and then went back out and finished mowing. It is still pretty wet in places but Jim hand mowed the very wet part of the back yard so I wouldn’t leave mower tracks in the yard. We got her done.

Jim is working on digging a trench to drain water away from the house in the back yard. It is slow and hard work but he is managing to get quite a long trench dug. It is full of water already.

Got a bit more house cleaning done today. I keep working at it and sooner or later – probably much later – I will get this house back into shape and cleaned. I seem to have a small burst of energy occasionally that I can tap in to. I am amazed at how tired I get. I am working to listen to my body and rest when it needs it.

I only ate crackers, toast and chicken noodle soup today. I miss eating vegetables, fat, fruit and protein. If I can get my tummy to calm back down again for two or three days I will try eating real foods again.

The guy that had been renting my barn came and cleared all his stuff out of it. Jim is getting ready to start building his shop and we needed clear access to that space. I wasn’t getting much money for rent and it was more of a bother than helpful to have the guy have it full of stuff. With all his stuff out of it Jim can easily park his second car in the barn and keep it safe from KS thunderstorms.

Being sick humbles me. I realize how much I take my healthy strong body for granted. It is so hard to see things that need done and not have the energy to do anything about them. I don’t like depending on others and feel like that is all I do these days. I never know from one hour to the next what my body is going to feel like doing – if anything.

Grateful I felt good for most of the day, grateful the yard is mowed, and grateful for what I was able to eat today.

Got woken up by a phone call at 7:30 this morning. It was the contractor that I need to come out and help me fix my water issue in the basement. He showed up at 8:00 and walked around outside and inside. I think he came up with a plan but am not sure. He is to get back in touch with me. The other construction company is coming the 27th. I’ll see which one gives me a solid plan first and if they agree on the plan of approach. I’m grateful Jim understood what the guy was talking about because he lost me along the way. I don’t understand it all and just want it fixed. Hoping we can come up with a relatively simple fix and not the worse case situation he said might be happening.

My handyman came over at 11:00 to clean out the dryer vent and to install the two new smoke detectors. He found a water leak in the laundry room while he was cleaning the dryer vent. Dang it anyways! I get two things crossed off my list and have to add a new one. He took pictures of the leak so he knows what type of parts he will need and will come back another day to fix it. We put jars under the leak to catch the drips so it won’t ruin more wood moldings.

I sent a note to my doctor to let him know how I have been doing. I had 12 episodes Wednesday, eight yesterday and six so far today. He wants to refer me to an infectious disease specialist in Topeka. His office is going to complete the referral and then the new doctor’s office will contact me to schedule an appointment. I’m grateful he did that as I still think we haven’t gotten to the real cause of what is causing all my tummy issues. We will see how long it takes to get in. We leave for CO in two weeks so hoping I will get some answers before then but not going to bet that will happen. Sure hope this doesn’t interfere with our planned vacation.

I took a nap again today. I have trained my body to enjoy a nap most afternoons and it now demands that. I didn’t have anything pressing to do so why not sleep if I can. Jim had gotten up early o talk to the contractor but then went back to bed after that guy left. The bed has been well used today.

We got more rain this morning but it has stopped raining and feels like a steam bath outside right now. We have standing water in the back yard again. My neighbor got 3 1/2 inches so guessing we got about that too. Still too wet to mow but will probably be able to do so by Sunday if not tomorrow.

No plans for the weekend. I started doing some cleaning today and will work on doing lots more this weekend. As far as I know we get to stay home all weekend. I have some deck painting to do if I find the energy to get it done.

Next week Jim is going to Stillwater. He has something he wants to go to in Tulsa on Saturday next week and then will come home from there.

We leave for CO two weeks from today. Time to start gathering things up and making a list and pile of things we are taking. I will take too much stuff as always. We will cook at the cabin and it is helpful to take my favorite appliances with me.

I get so discouraged with this house at times. I can’t seem to get all the repairs it needs done to it before new ones add to the list. My pending list of things I am managing doesn’t seem to go away. I am at the mercy of others to get things done. Guess things will get done in their own time table and I get to practice being patient. Not my strong suit by any means.

Grateful two things got fixed today and only one thing added, grateful my doctor is referring me to a specialist, and grateful for the rain we got yesterday and today.

A rainy day on the prairie today. I am guessing we got close to 3 inches of rain today. There is standing water in the yard and in my basement.

I went to KC today. It rained on me off and on the whole trip up. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what speed I should have my wipers on. I stopped at Home Depot and got some new smoke detectors that have a 10 year battery life. My handyman is coming over tomorrow to replace them. They go in the living room and dining room and need a 20 foot extension ladder to reach them. Good that we will only have to do that every 10 years.

I stopped at Whole Foods and got another jar of Manuka honey. Last time I had C-Diff I think it helped me get over it so decided to give it a try again this time.

I went in Old Navy and looked around. I tried on a dress and the one I tried on was too big but wasn’t in the mood to get dressed and then find the same dress in a smaller size. I ended up not buying anything.

I went to Nicole’s house and we went to Chili’s for lunch. After we ate we went back to her house and visited for a bit. She had to get back to work so I left and went to Costco. Not sure what all I bought but managed to get a full cart full of stuff. Several things on my list were on sale so it was a good day to go.

Drove home through moderate to heavy rain all the way home. Stopped in Emporia to fill my car up with gas. It was not raining too hard when I did that. Came home and got the car unloaded and things put away and then took a long nap.

I bought some rotisserie chicken today so we had that for dinner. After dinner I baked Jim a huge batch of Snickerdoodles as he was out of them. He likes to help me make them. He dips the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and puts them on the cookie sheet. Good to have those made up for a bit.

No plans for the weekend. I am hoping to get some house cleaning done. I am sure I will find lots of dirt and dust. I will need to mow the yard again once it drys out a bit.

I felt better today although I went four times. I ended up with a count of 12 for yesterday. It seems to have finally slowed down again. Sure wish I knew if it was something I was eating or just spores that are hatching. A bit frustrating and disheartening for me to have a hard day like yesterday but encouraging when the next day is better.

Jim has been using the wet vac to mop up the water in the basement off and on all afternoon and evening. Sure hope the contractors can figure out a solution that is affordable and not too messy.

It was nice to get lots of rain today. We were getting rather dry again. I don’t think our drought has broken but it is sure nice to see full ponds again. The forecast calls for a bit of chance of rain over the next couple of days and cooler temperatures. Mid 80’s in July is unseasonably cool but I will take them. Hoping the heat of summer will hit while we are in CO in August.

I look forward to having a couple days of being home and not having to leave the prairie. Those are my favorite type of days.

Grateful to have been able to spend time with Nicole today, grateful for a safe trip home from KC in the rain, and grateful for a nap after a day in the city.

Mostly a quiet day at home. I did go to Emporia this morning to get my hair cut and pick up a prescription and a few groceries. It was good to get home. A friend I hadn’t seen for several years came in to the hair dressers as I was getting ready to leave so I sat and visited with her while the hair dresser cut her husband’s hair. It was good to see her.

I helped Jim replaced a long deck board this afternoon. I did some painting while the board was out and again when he got it in place. Jim sure is handy to have around when it comes to repairing things. The wood bees had eaten a hole in the plank and the dogs had dug it out creating a big hole. It is nice to have it replaced and looking good.

I took a nap again this afternoon. I haven’t had a bathroom emergency today but I have had six stools. Thinking I ate something yesterday that my tummy didn’t like. I have had mild to moderate cramping most of the day. Just when I think this stuff is over I have a day like today. Sure trusting tomorrow will be a better one. At least I wasn’t having to run to the bathroom – I will take that as progress.

We had leftovers for dinner again tonight. That makes putting dinner on the table easy for me. I plan on picking up some rotisserie chicken at Costco tomorrow while I am there and that is what we will have for dinner tomorrow night. I usually get two or three of their whole cooked chickens and put the meat in sandwich bags and freeze them. Makes lots of meals out of a $5 chicken.

Tomorrow morning I am going to KC to meet Nicole for lunch and do a Costco run. I also need to stop at Home Depot and get some 10 year battery life smoke detectors. I have a long list of things I need from Costco. I need to remember to take a freezer bag with me so things stay frozen on the trip home.

Jim didn’t make it to Stillwater this week. He is planning on going next week as he wants to go to an event in Tulsa a week from Saturday. He will come back to KS after that event. Not sure when he plans on leaving next week but am hoping he will get several days of work in on his house in Stillwater. He has a long list of things to do at both places.

I’m surprised at how tired I continue to be and how low my energy level is. I can feel it is starting to refill but certainly can’t run a marathon right now. I’m grateful I don’t have plans for the weekend as I am guessing I will be worn out when I get home from KC tomorrow late afternoon.

We leave for CO two weeks from Friday. I need to start making a list of things I want to take and start gathering things up. At the top of my list is sweat pants to put on in the evenings. I forgot them last year and struggled to stay warm enough at times. Jim is really looking forward to seeing his sons and their partners when they come the last week we are there. He hasn’t seen them since December 2019.

No word from any of my pending water fix it guys. I’m running out of time for them to get the repairs needed done before we leave for CO. Business must be good for them to cause them to run behind schedule.

My house needs me to find some time to clean it up again. It is reaching the point of no return. Maybe Friday and over the weekend I can find some energy and start getting it cleaned back up again. I just haven’t felt up to cleaning. Good thing the dirt waits for me.

Grateful for a hair cut and a chance to see a friend, grateful the deck board got replaced today, and grateful Jim will eat leftovers for dinner.

A quiet day at home. Still feeling much better and allowing my energy to return on its time table – not mine.

I painted three boards for Jim today. He is going to use them to replace some decking boards. The new deck paint is a shade or two lighter than the old but hoping they will blend in and not stand out too much.

Baked a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to take to Nicole when I go see her Thursday. Tomorrow I need to bake a batch of Snickerdoodles for Jim. Good thing I enjoy making cookies.

Am getting my hair cut tomorrow morning. I finally got hold of my hair dresser. It always is a good day when I get my hair cut.

I got to stay home all day today – yay! Those are my favorite days. Jim made a trip to the hardware store to get some sort of saw that will cut the deck boards. I never realized there were so many different types of saws.

I have a broody hen that likes to sit on the nest and she gets cranky when we take her eggs out from under her. As I don’t have a rooster it doesn’t do much good to allow her to try to hatch infertile eggs. I lift her up and put her outside. Jim leaves the eggs under her. I told Jim I don’t allow anything to come between me and my eggs!

I’m making a list for my Costco run on Thursday when I go to KC. I haven’t been for a bit so the list is rather long. Maybe I can start going again monthly although with the rise in the number of COVID cases I’m not so sure I want to be around that many people. I am fully vexed but I don’t trust those that aren’t to wear a mask.

I finished another book yesterday and started another one. I hope the library has their book sale soon as my reading supply is starting to get low. I still have enough books for a couple of months but they won’t last through the winter. I have been taking the ones I read to the little library box in Strong City.

I laid down to take a nap this afternoon but didn’t fall asleep. I will take that as another sign my body is healing. I am still tired a lot but the need for sleep seems to be easing up a bit. It will take me another little bit before my full energy returns.

Grateful I got to stay home all day today, grateful for healing that is happening in my body, and grateful for used books to read.

Still feeling much better today. I had to take a nap as I got very tired this afternoon but no bathroom emergencies today. I went once and it was normal! TMI I know but sometimes I have to celebrate the little things in life.

Jim went to Emporia while I slept and did the feed run. The girls needed feed and oats and the dogs needed another bag of food. I’m grateful he took care of that heavy lifting chore today.

I sent an email to the guttering guy and told him about finding standing water in the gutters he put on the rental house. He responded and said he would send someone out this week to fix it. That was easy.

I’m going to KC Thursday to do a Costco run and have lunch with Nicole. We haven’t had lunch together since December of 2019. We are way overdue for a lunch date. While I am in KC I want to stop at Home Depot and pick up two new smoke detectors. They now make them with batteries that last 10 years without being changed out. I will replace the two tall detectors with these new ones and then not have to worry about them for 10 years. Thanks John for tipping me off about them.

It hasn’t been much of a productive day for me. I can’t think of anything I got done today except grill hamburgers for dinner. My energy level remains pretty darn low right now but I am ever so grateful the running to the bathroom has stopped.

I got rid of 11 dozen eggs today. I had four stops on my weekly delivery at noon. I have four dozen left. It is good to knock back the stash of eggs and not have so many on hand. I am going to bake some cookies tomorrow and boil a dozen for us to use.

I tried calling to get a hair cut appointment but kept getting a busy signal. I’m thinking my hair dresser is on vacation. I’ll try again tomorrow but may have to wait till next week to get in.

I think Jim is going to Stillwater tomorrow but he hasn’t committed fully yet. He is shy about leaving me if there is a chance I am not over the C-Diff. I have had two good days in a row and thinking I will be good to go. We will see what happens.

It was a beautiful day on the prairie with temperatures in the mid 80’s. I can’t believe it is July in KS with that low of a temperature.

So grateful to be feeling better at long last, grateful the guttering guy is going to fix their mistake, and grateful to my egg customers.

Another day of feeling much better. I haven’t gone once today! Things are finally slowing down.

Went to Emporia to get some groceries. I was out of bananas and for some reason they are what I am craving right now. Picked up a few other things we needed and came home and put it all away.

I helped Jim cut down little trees that are growing around the lagoon. It was the most physical exercise I have had for over three weeks. It felt good to move my body but man am I out of shape. I am thinking use it or lose it is correct.

Jim took a load of what we cut down to the rental house and added the limbs to the huge burn pile there. He has another load to take tomorrow and then that project can be crossed off my pending list.

I have to call the guttering guy tomorrow as one of the gutters is at the wrong angle and water doesn’t drain out it. The handyman found it when he was painting the eves. Trusting they will get out this week and get that fixed.

Jim got the light bulb in the garage door thingy put in today. We had brought home our tall ladder yesterday. Now we need to get the smoke detector batteries changed. I think that is something I can do so will start working on them tomorrow. We have two in the main living room and dining room that need the very tall extension ladder to reach the detectors. I will wait and have Jim help me with those two.

Tomorrow I will deliver nine dozen eggs to three different people. I will be down to five dozen after that. I’m grateful they are going out quicker now. The girls are only giving us closer to 20 eggs a day now and not the 26 – 28 they were laying for a bit.

We got a bit of rain today but betting we didn’t even get 1/4 of an inch. Some areas around us got over an inch but it seems to split and go around my little corner of the prairie. This coming week doesn’t hold much chance of rain. At least it isn’t going to be close to 100 this week. We are having a very mild July.

It is so good to feel good. I was hungry today and am afraid I ate some things I shouldn’t have but so far no cramping. If I have a good day tomorrow I can get back to eating on plan. I will have to detox the flour out of my body again.

Grateful for a full day of feeling good, grateful the little trees are gone from the lagoon area, and grateful the light bulb got changed in the garage today.

A quiet day at home. We did go to the rental house to bring home a ladder so I can change some light bulbs in the garage. The handyman is finishing up the painting today. Yay!

He sent me a text with pictures letting me know the guttering is not sloped correctly and was full of standing water. I will have to call the guttering guys Monday and have them come out and fix it.

I’m glad we went in as I was able to decide on the floor paint of the front porch and give it to my handyman so he could get that done. We are oh so close to calling it a wrap.

I’ve made four quick trips to the bathroom today. Feeling a bit better though. I got really tired early afternoon so laid down but wasn’t able to go to sleep. Maybe that is a sign of progress too.

Last night Jim and I sat out on the deck and watched the light show Mother Nature was putting on to the west and north of us. The power in the thunderstorms is wonderful to watch – especially when I am not in the path of the storm. We got some rain over night but I bet not even 1/4 of an inch. Areas around us got some nice rain but it broke up and went around us.

This has been another day of not doing much. I have been reading a lot lately and am quite content to sit in my corner chair and read. One of these days my energy will return and I will do something productive but until then I will rest and read.

Since my jury duty was canceled for Monday I have a free week ahead of me. I think I will plan a trip to KC one day so I can have lunch with Nicole and do a Costco run. I need to start thinking about getting a dress for Jason’s wedding but not sure I will be in the mood to shop next week. I still have over two months so no real rush. They are having a pretty casual wedding so I don’t have to find something fancy.

I will also call and get a hair cut scheduled for one day next week. I am overdue for one.

Jim went out and is mowing the lagoon area. We let it get away from us again this year and it is hard mowing as the weeds are very tall. There are lots of little trees that are growing up in the wrong place that need cut down too. So grateful Jim is willing to do that type of work around here.

I have been hungry today for the first time in a bit. Hard to know what to eat that won’t upset my tummy. I’m fixing Jim Tuna Noodle Casserole for dinner – I don’t think my tummy would approve of it for me so I will probably have chicken noodle soup again. I’m kinda getting tired of that though.

July has been relatively cool this year. We only reached 85 today and that is the temperature forecast for most of next week. I am grateful it hasn’t been 90 and over very often.

I’m not feeling quite so discouraged today. I am grateful my body is slowly healing and progress is being made towards recovery. It has been a long and hard three weeks for me. Trusting I will start recovering quickly now and will be able to put this behind me.

Grateful the rental house painting is done, grateful for the beauty of Mother Nature, and grateful my jury duty was canceled.

It has been a quiet day at home. My friend came and had three massage clients. Unfortunately I fell asleep while she was doing her last client and missed out on my chance to get a massage. I’m not sure why I am sleeping so much these days but will take the sleep. I’m sad I missed the massage though.

Jim went to the rental house late afternoon and did the final mow. He came home tired, hot and dirty. I’m glad we don’t have to mow again. He reported the handyman is almost finished with the painting of the house. Yay! What a relief to have that done. I will go look at it tomorrow. As we have time and energy there is more yard work that needs done at the rental house. All of it can wait though until it is cooler. After the handyman burns the big burn pile again I need to use the big rolling magnet and look for nails. I still need to get a small part of the foundation fixed but that isn’t urgent either.

My stomach cramping is better but I made four trips to the bathroom today. I took the last of the medication that I think is causing my sleepiness. I will be curious to see if the sleeping so much part of this goes away in the next couple of days. It has been three weeks since this all started. I can tell I am getting better but still not back to any sense of normal yet.

I fixed Jim stuffed chicken breast tonight. He was so hot and tired he didn’t eat much dinner. I had a few bites of plain chicken. I wasn’t too hungry either.

I did go out late morning and finished mowing the yard. I had mowed most of it last night. It is good to have that job done again. If we don’t get rain tomorrow as forecast I won’t have to mow for a bit. It is amazing how dry we are getting again.

No plans for the rest of the weekend. My jury duty responsibilities got cancelled for Monday so that frees up next week. I want to go to KC one day next week and do a Costco run and have lunch with Nicole. I need to call Monday and schedule a hair cut sometime next week. Trusting I will be feeling well enough to get those two things done.

I almost am feeling good enough to start thinking of coming up with a project to work on. I have a few minutes today where I had the energy to have done something but couldn’t come up with anything that needed done. It will be a switch for me now that the rental house project is wrapping up. That project consumed my time and energy these last six months. It is nice to have empty space again but I do like having a project to work on.

Grateful to see my friend today, grateful the yards are both mowed, and grateful for a moment of feeling much better today.

Happy birthday to my oldest – Jason. He came into this world weighing 10 pounds 2 ounces. I’m so proud of the man he has become. So looking forward to his wedding later this year.

I went to the doctor today. He wasn’t able to do much for me and still is thinking it is the C-Diff causing my ongoing problems and nothing else. I am to continue on bland foods, i.e. chicken noodle soup, rice and bananas for the near future. Once I can go several days without a bathroom emergency I can start trying to add gentle foods in. He encouraged patience.

My patience level is pretty low right now. I know progress is being made and things are slowly down but dang, I am so tired of this. I will allow myself to feel my disappointment and anger for today and then pull up my big girl panties tomorrow and deal. I can do this!

We called the people that Jim is buying a saw from when I was done with the doctor. Turns out we needed a trailer to haul the thing so they were kind enough to deliver it to Jim. How very considerate and kind of them. Jim was pleased with the condition of the saw and felt he got a good deal.

Once the saw was delivered Jim went back to town to run the errands we were going to run while we were in town. I needed two prescriptions picked up and some more bananas. He is picking up another gallon of paint for the rental house.

When I gathered eggs this morning there were four girls in the same nesting box. The other five nesting boxes were empty. How like humans chickens are sometimes. We humans tend to follow each other and not look for other options.

Tomorrow my friend is coming to do some massage work. It will be fun to see her again and to see her clients. I get treated to a massage at the end of her day. That will be sweet.

Jim is going to the rental house tomorrow to mow the yard one last time. I’m glad we can turn that over to our renter after this last mow. The handyman is going to paint tomorrow and may get finished by the end of the day. We shall see.

We don’t have any plans for the weekend. I have jury duty Monday afternoon unless they cancel it. I need to schedule a haircut but can’t do that until I know if I will be tied up in court.

I think Jim is going to Stillwater next week to work on his house there. He changes his mind often so we will see if he makes it. He has lots of projects to do here as well as there.

I called another company that does basement work to get an estimate. They are coming July 27 to look at the job. Hopefully one or the other of the companies will be able to do the work sometime soon and find out why I keep getting water in the basement.

I have a growing respect for people that have a chronic health condition. Thankfully, mine is short lived relatively speaking. I don’t do well when I don’t feel well for long periods of time.

Grateful for my body healing, grateful for chicken noodle soup, and grateful for Jason and all the joy he has brought to my life.

It has been a quiet day at home. I did go to Strong City this morning to talk to the Postmaster about the flag they put by our mailbox. Found out the carrier put the flag by my mailbox by mistake – it was meant for a neighbor. Glad we don’t have to move the mailbox 9 inches. Glad to cross something off my pending list and grateful we didn’t have to move the mailbox.

Went to the rental house to talk to the handyman but he wasn’t there. The house is looking really good painted up. I need to get him one more gallon of paint tomorrow when I go to Emporia. It is almost all painted up.

I haven’t done much again today but take a nap. This medication is knocking the stuffing out of me. I have slept more this last week than I did the whole month before that. Maybe they should sell this antibiotic as a sleeping pill. Still feeling a bit drained and very low energy. I am reading a book and struggling to keep my eyes open when I read. At least I haven’t had but one trip to the bathroom today.

We had leftovers for dinner. Still have another meal or two of leftovers in the fridge. I will try to come up with something fresh for tomorrow night though. Running out of ideas of what to fix. I am working to get the freezer cleaned out in preparation of the beef I have coming in August. Not sure I am making much progress. Not sure where I will put the beef but will figure it out when I need to.

I got hold of the guy that needs to come dig up my back yard to find the lateral lines for the drainage of the footings. He isn’t sure he wants to take the job but promised to come look at it. He isn’t sure when he can make it out. As long as it doesn’t rain a lot there is no rush. We didn’t get any of the rain that was in the area today and it doesn’t look like we will be getting any soon. It usually only leaks once or twice a year so there isn’t any rush. Just something that needs fixed sometime soon.

I’m still waiting for the plumber from Strong City to come install a water line from the faucet to the chicken coop so I don’t have to carry water so far. They had told me it would be a three week wait but I think it has been a month now. Good thing that wasn’t an urgent fix.

My regular plumber hasn’t made it back out to fix the water leaks in the barn either. I get tired of waiting for these guys to get out here. I hate to be a pain in their side but not sure how else to get them out here.

We still haven’t had the sheet rock repaired downstairs as we are waiting for the leak to be fixed.

I haven’t heard about the installation of our new shower either. They had told me that would take up to three months before they could do that job. I ordered it in May so they should be getting around to getting that job done soon. I sure will be glad when all these projects get completed. I don’t like loose ends and it seems like I have lots of them.

There is a common element to all of these repairs – water. Trusting this house will get into the flow of things soon and my water issues will go away.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my family physician. Things are slowly down so it will probably be a waste of time. I am still struggling to figure out what to eat though and hoping he can give me some ideas about what is save to eat. Anything other than bananas, rice, or chicken noodle soup make me cramp. While I am in town I need to stop and get yet one more gallon of paint for the rental house. Truly hoping this is the last gallon needed.

Friday a friend is doing some massage work at my house. She used to live in the area and is back visiting and some of her former clients are coming so she can work on them. She has offered me a free massage in exchange for letting her work in my house. What a deal for me!

Next Monday I am to report for jury duty at 1:00 unless it gets settled and the jury gets cancelled. I will find out Monday morning. Hard to plan my week until I know my obligation to the court.

Three weeks from Friday we leave for Estes Park and will be there for three weeks. Sure would like to have the above noted things completed before we leave but I have my doubts it that will happen. I need to start making a list of things I want to take with me when we go. It will be nice to get away for a bit and be in the mountains.

Grateful for the sleep I have been getting, grateful the rental project is all but done, and grateful for repair guys that know how to get things done when they get around to it.

Another chicken noodle soup day. Six times and counting today. I called and made a doctor’s appointment for Thursday. Not sure there is anything he can do but I want him to get curious and make sure we aren’t missing something. Friday will be three weeks since this diarrhea started – that seems like a long time to me right now.

I went to Emporia this morning. I stopped at Flying J to get gas but the card reader wasn’t working so left and went to Casey’s. Then I went downtown to go to the bank that handles my rental property accounts so I could make a deposit. I stopped to see my business partner but he wasn’t in the office.

I then went to Sutherland’s to get another gallon of trim paint for the rental house. Stopped at Walmart to get some groceries. Jim wanted some fly strips to hang in the chicken coop so picked those up too. I picked up a prescription that was ready and then came home.

I went by the rental house to drop off the paint. That house is really starting to look nice with the trim paint going up. We are so close now to finishing up that project.

I was gone over two hours running all my errands. I ate some chicken noodle soup for lunch and then took a nap. I sure am getting lots of extra sleep right now. I’m not sure if it is the medication that is making me so tired or if my thyroid medication is working and my levels have dropped allowing me to be able to sleep. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for the sleep.

Jim is teaching the last of his three class series on religious history. He sure enjoys putting these classes together. He spends hours working on a 1 1/2 hour lecture.

I haven’t done much again today except for the trip to town. Going to town still wears me out. I don’t people well these days. The pandemic isolation caused me to lose what ever little people skills I had. I much prefer staying home and not being around people.

I have some chicken cooking in the crock pot for dinner tonight. These are the chickens I got from a local rancher that is starting an organic farm and raising humanly raised animals. The chickens are very small and don’t have lots of meat on them so I cooked two of them tonight. I like the leftover chicken to heat up for my lunches.

I’m still struggling to find foods that I can safely eat right now. What my body seems to tolerate best right now is graham crackers, rice, chicken noodle soup, and Rice Chex.. I don’t normally eat carbohydrates like that. I’m hoping I can tolerate the plain chicken tonight as I am craving some protein but haven’t found one that doesn’t cause my tummy to cramp up. I tried an orange the other day and that was a mistake. So far the banana I ate earlier has not caused trouble. I had some peanut butter the other day and that was a big mistake. I can’t seem to eat fatty foods right now.

Nothing on the calendar for tomorrow so will have another quiet day at home. Still waiting for the urge to get some house cleaning done but so far that hasn’t happened. May have to force the issue soon as the house is starting to bother me again as it is getting dirty and dusty.

I sat out with Jim on the back deck last night for a bit. The night sky was incredible- I love seeing the Milky Way over head. I had to put a jacket on as I got a bit chilled. Amazing that happens in July in KS. This weather has been delightfully cool for July.

I don’t think Jim is going to make it to Stillwater this week. He is shy about leaving me while I am still having issues. Hoping the doctor can figure out something else we can try Thursday and this all ends soon. I am ready to get on with the rest of my life instead of being worried about where the closest toilet is.

Grateful my errands have been run for the week, grateful for the painting the handyman is getting done, and grateful for the beauty of the night sky on the prairie.

Today has been a rest and recovery day. I haven’t had to run to the bathroom which is good news. I’ve been really tired today though and haven’t had much energy. Good thing there was nothing that had to be done.

I did my egg delivery late morning. The eggs don’t seem to be piling up so quickly on me right now. Tim took two dozen home yesterday and I used three dozen over the weekend so I could make deviled eggs and potato salad. I’m glad they are moving on out.

We went to the rental house this afternoon to see the painting work that the handyman is doing. What a difference it is making to the house. I’m getting excited to see it all done. The house really looks nice. Once we get the painting done we can turn the mowing over to the renter. We will have to mow it one more time and then that job will be done. When I go to town tomorrow I will need to pick up one more gallon of trim paint and then I think we will be done buying paint.

I fixed Jim stuffed peppers for dinner. I wanted to make some rice for me to eat and had some hamburger thawed and two peppers that needed used up. He said it was good – I had never made it before. I had chicken noodle soup with rice added. I decided to go easy on my tummy today and see if it would help it settle down. It seems to have worked but we will see how tomorrow goes.

I took a nap this afternoon. I seem to need lots of extra rest right now. I was sitting in my chair reading and fell asleep. It is only 7:00 now and I could go to bed for the night already. I still may although I’m afraid if I did I would wake up at 3:00 and not be able to sleep any more. One of the side effects of the second medication the doctor gave me last week is fatigue.

I kept smelling something icky in the kitchen. I finally figured out it was one of the pans of wheat berries that I sprout for the chickens. Not sure why this pan went bad – this is the first time that this has happened. Glad I figured out what the smell was so I could get rid of it.

I need to go to Emporia in the morning to pick up a prescription, go to the bank and get more paint. I don’t have many groceries on my list but will pick up the few I need.

Jim is buying a saw of some sort from a lady in Emporia and we will need to go pick that up tomorrow sometime. He teaches his last class tomorrow late afternoon. He sure enjoys teaching and spends lots of time getting ready for the classes. I think his next class will be in October sometime.

Feeling a bit discouraged again today. I am so tired of not feeling well and feeling so drained. I may call the doctor tomorrow and make an appointment. I have the feeling we are missing something. I need to talk to the doctor about what to eat. It is hard to find things that don’t make my tummy cramp when I eat.

Grateful for the painting that got done on the rental house today, grateful the experiment making stuffed peppers turned out good, and grateful I can rest whenever my body needs it.

We had a wonderful evening with the kids. Good food, good company and lots of fireworks and fun. The weather was perfect. It is always a good day when the kids come out.

Besides the fireworks we did there were lots of fireworks we could see all around us tonight. We had a good view of the fireworks the City of Emporia set off tonight.

I took a nap again today. I have had eight trips to the bathroom today and am feeling a bit drained again. At least I haven’t had stomach cramps today so progress is being made. I didn’t eat any flour today so hoping that will help me feel better tomorrow. Wish I could figure out the connection between my stomach issues and what ever causes them. Can’t seem to make sense of all of it. If things don’t slow down tomorrow I will have to go back on clear fluids for 24 hours and rest my tummy again.

We don’t have any plans for tomorrow – for that matter we don’t have anything on the calendar for the rest of the week except for Jim teaching his class Tuesday late afternoon. Hoping I am feeling better and can get to town to paint in the mornings.

Grateful for the time I had with my kids tonight, grateful for an empty space day tomorrow, and grateful for afternoon naps.

A much better day today. I am feeling almost normal today – at last! So very grateful for healing of my body.

Jim helped me give the girls fresh linens today. The monthly summer clean out of the coop is fairly easy as the straw is still dry and light. I love to watch the girls get busy and rearrange the straw when we are done. Hoping clean straw will help cut down the number of flies that are inside the coop.

The kids are going to come for dinner tomorrow night instead of tonight. Jason and his family will be able to come then so it worked out good for all. This morning I thought we were going to have hamburgers for dinner tonight and now we aren’t so guess we will have leftovers. No worries – I have several to choose from.

I took a nap today again. I can tell my body is working hard to recover and it needs extra rest right now. I slept fairly good last night but was up at 6:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.

I haven’t done much today. The house needs some cleaning done to it if the mood strikes but so far it hasn’t. If I keep feeling good I may be able to get some painting done in the mornings next week. That would be nice!

I need to get back on my eating plan. I can tell I have been eating way too much food that has flour in it. It causes me to be hungry all the time and all my body thinks it wants to eat is more food that has flour in it. Now that my tummy has settled down I can get back on my regular eating plan and get back off flour. I will have to detox for a couple of days while my body withdraws from the flour cravings.

It was another beautiful day on the prairie with the temperature in the mid 80’s. It felt warmer than that to me though. I’m grateful for the sunshine and more seasonal temperatures. Hoping the upper 90’s aren’t seen for a bit longer.

I finally figured out why I don’t like fireworks. Someone posted something on Facebook that called them warfare and that rang a bell deep inside me. I am so against war and fireworks represent warfare. Not sure why I hadn’t made that connection before. I’m a bit slow at times. Makes me wonder why I don’t like Christmas and what connection I am missing with that.

Grateful for the healing my body is doing, grateful it worked out for the kids to come tomorrow night, and grateful the girls have fresh linens.

Not such a good day today. Eight runs to the bathroom and mild cramping. Wish I knew if it because I am eating the wrong foods or if that doesn’t matter. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day.

Went to Emporia to deliver a stool sample this morning. Stopped and got a few groceries and exchanged the propane tank for my grill. Came home and got everything put away. I took a nap this afternoon and am still a bit tired this evening.

I did manage to get the yard mowed today. I did it in three different sessions but stuck with it and got it done. Jim got out the push mower and did the edges. The yard looks nice tonight.

Fixed fish for dinner. I was able to eat about half the piece of salmon I fixed for myself. Not sure it was the right thing to eat but that is what I had.

I drank a gallon of fluids yesterday. Haven’t gotten that much down today but still working at it. It does help to be hydrated. Sometimes I can drink lots and other times I get a bit nauseous drinking.

Not sure any of the kids are going to make it out tomorrow night for dinner. No worries, we will grill hamburgers for the two of us if they can’t make it. I cooked some potatoes today so will make some potato salad – it happens to be something Jim really likes.

It was a beautiful day on the prairie today. Lots of blue skies and sunshine. It warmed up to the middle 80’s. I could get used to weather like this everyday.

I am a bit discouraged again today. After not going yesterday I thought I had turned the corner and was over this crap. Maybe this was the last of it and things will be better tomorrow.

Grateful the mowing is done, grateful I can stay home all day tomorrow, and grateful for the beautiful day we had today.

A much quieter day on several fronts today. No emergency runs to the bathroom so far today. Things are slowing down! Yay!

I did get a response from the Gastroenterologist today. She wants me to have a different type of stool test done. I went to Emporia and picked up the collection kit so when I do go I can collect a sample to take in tomorrow.

Jim took me to Council Grove to drop off the router to the internet company I fired. I didn’t ask and they didn’t say if I have to pay the cancellation fee.

I took a short nap when we got home from Council Grove. I had slept fairly well last night but woke up at 6:00 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m still pretty low on energy but not running to the bathroom has helped me recharge a bit today.

I am attempting to drink a gallon of fluids today. I am well over half way through it. The blood in my urine is clearing up. Things are moving in the right direction today.

I have some chicken tenders thawed to fix for dinner tonight. Not sure I will be able to eat them but will grill them and see what happens. I made some ham salad to snack on. I ate a couple bites of that and so far my tummy hasn’t screamed at me.

I called the construction company that my plumber recommended. I talked to the office lady and the guy was supposed to call me back this afternoon but hasn’t so far. Trusting he will call tomorrow and I won’t have to pressure him to call. I never did hear back from the guy that I want to look at the foundation of the rental house. What is it about construction guys and their inability to return calls?

I tracked down all the critters but one cat and gave them their flea and tic medication. Jim will have to catch the remaining cat and help me dose it. She is a bit shy and doesn’t like her medication.

Nothing on the calendar tomorrow except taking a stool sample to the clinic. I need to stop and get a few groceries when I go to town. The kids may be coming out Saturday night for dinner and I need a few things for that.

We don’t have anything on our calendar all of next week either. Jim teaches his last class on Tuesday evening and then may attempt another trip to Stillwater after that. He stayed home this week so he could be around in case I needed help.

I need to start making a list of things I want to take to CO. We are going for three weeks starting July 30. We will be cooking in our cabin most meals so I like to take things that make that easy.

We didn’t get any rain today. The deck was wet this morning but we have managed to go the rest of the day without rain. It has been partly cloudy most of the day. It is to clear up and start warming up again. I will have to mow this weekend after it dries out some more.

I trust today has been a turning point and wellness is returning. I am feeling better today than I have for two weeks. It is nice to have a bit of respite and remember what feeling good feels like.

Grateful for good health today, grateful the router was returned, and grateful for a quiet day at home.

What a day! I made three trips to Emporia today. Feel like I have been going in circles all day long.

Got up and fixed a batch of spaghetti sauce to cook in the crock pot. I spent some time running to the bathroom this morning – again! Dang, this is getting old. I sent a note to my doctor after the third trip to the bathroom this morning letting him know that yesterday I had gone 12 times and I was already at 3 for today. I was starting to feel like I was getting a UTI too.

Someone had posted on Facebook that they were looking for chicken feed sacks. I responded and the lady stopped by to pick them up this morning. Good to get those out of the way.

I baked a pan of brownies and then Jim and I went to Emporia to pick up Tagen and his girlfriend. We stopped and got some ice cream for dessert and came back home. I fed them spaghetti and meat balls with garlic bread and brownies and ice cream for dessert. They all seemed to enjoy it.

I got a call from the doctor after lunch and I had to run back to Emporia to pick up a new prescription and to have a UA done. The doctor is giving me a second antibiotic to fight the C-Diff.

I sent a note to the specialist I had seen last time letting her know what was going on. I didn’t hear back from her today.

Just before lunch Jim discovered the basement is leaking again. Jim thought that a sump pump might help so I called the plumber to see if he could install a sump pump for us. To my surprise the plumber showed up mid afternoon. He thought we already had a sump pump and he was going to fix it. After looking at where it is leaking he said the problem is a block or break in the lateral pipes that drain from the basement fittings. I have to call in someone that has a digger to find the lateral pipe so it can be repaired. Dang! Good to know what the problem is though and that we might be getting closer to solving our water leak.

While the plumber was here I had him show me how to turn the water in the barn on. He turned it on but discovered two water leaks out there. He is coming back another day to fix those.

What is it about this house and water? It seems to be a continuous and ongoing problem.

Jim went to Emporia after I got home to get a new wet vac to suck up all the water. He had used the mop and picked up 10 gallons of water. After he got home he sucked up another 12 gallons.

We had to take Tagen and his girlfriend home so we made another trip to Emporia. I took the leftovers from lunch to Michelle and her family so they could eat them up.

My UA results came back. I have blood in my urine but so far not enough of an infection to treat. If I am not better by Friday I am to go see the Doctor then.

I got a jury duty summons today. I have to report on July 12. Hoping it will get cancelled like last time I got summoned.

Thankfully things have slowed down this evening. I am really feeling discouraged and drained this evening. I don’t have anything on my calendar for the next couple of days so hoping I can rest and recover and kick this stuff. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Grateful for the time with Tagen and his girlfriend, grateful for a plumber that responded so quickly, and grateful and hopeful the new meds will help.

Jim is teaching his OSHER class right now. This class starts at 5:30 and ends at 7:00. We will have dinner when he is done teaching tonight.

This has not been a good day for me. I am up to 10 trips to the bathroom today but I think things have finally slowed down a bit. I will call the doctor if this happens again. I have been on antibiotics since Friday and things should be better by now. I don’t remember doing this last time but may have and forgotten about the bad days.

Maybe tomorrow I will turn the corner and be on my way to recovery. I am a bit discouraged again today. Sure wish I knew why I have had a reoccurrence. Everything I had read says to expect one up to two months after the first one. It has been six months. Guess my body didn’t read the owner’s manual and it seems not to follow the expected rules.

I haven’t done much again today. Just don’t have any energy to do much. I did manage to go to Emporia this afternoon to pick up a few groceries, go to the bank and stop at the vet’s office to get flea and tic medication for the five dogs and cats. I was able to go to town and get home without a bathroom emergency thank heavens.

Tomorrow Tagen and his girlfriend are coming out for lunch. He requested spaghetti and meat balls. That will be an easy lunch to fix. When I get up in the morning I will make the sauce and cook it in the crock pot. I will come up with some sort of dessert – I am trying to remember what his favorite dessert is.

Ellexia requested no bake cookies. I may ask Tagen if he wants to make them for me tomorrow. That would give them something to do while they are here.

It has rained most of the day off and on. We have probably gotten close to an inch of rain over the last 24 hours with more on the way overnight and into tomorrow. I don’t think the drought is broken but we have made a good dent in our rain fall shortage for the year. When things dry out and warm up again I will have to mow the yard again. It had gone dormant and hasn’t needed mowed for a bit.

Thursday I will need to go to Council Grove and return the internet router to the old internet company. Jim has decided not to go to Stillwater this week so he will probably drive me. He was afraid to go to Stillwater since I am still a bit symptomatic. I’m sure it would have been OK for him to go but he is a bit of a worry wort sometimes.

We don’t have any plans for the holiday weekend. I am going to check with the kids to see if any of them want to come out sometime over the weekend for a meal. The kiddos like to shoot off fireworks in front of our big shop. They may all have made plans already but will check and see if any of them are free to come out.

I talked to my handyman yesterday and he has agreed to do the rest of the painting at the rental house for me. Not sure when he will be able to get to it. Maybe I will get to feeling better soon and will be able to do more of it myself. It took some pressure off of me though to know that he will do it if needed. Maybe it will get done this week or next after all.

I need to dig out a knitting project and start working on something. I need a new project that doesn’t take a lot of energy to do. I want to get 100 dishcloths knitted before our family reunion the first Sunday in October. I have some made but not enough. I need to get knitting if I am going to reach my goal of 100. I plan on taking yarn to CO in August and making a bunch while I am there too. I have yarn to knit another blanket and need to get it started. I had started it once and made a mistake and had to rip it out and haven’t restarted it. I can’t even remember when I knitted last – time to pick up the needles again and get started.

Feeling a bit blue and lost today. I’m not used to not having lots of energy and having several days in a row of not getting anything done. I am bored with myself right now! I’m sure I will turn the corner and start rebuilding my energy and this will be behind me soon.

Grateful to have the privilege to take rest and recovery days as needed, grateful I made it to and from Emporia without an emergency pit stop, and grateful things have slowed down today.

It was another rest and recovery day for me. I didn’t sleep very well last night again. I had an hour of running to the bathroom during the middle of the night and when that finally slowed down I was able to get to sleep. Unfortunately that was at 5:00 this morning.

So far today I haven’t had bathroom issues so that is positive. I have had mild cramping most of the day. I am still struggling to figure out what to eat. I can’t seem to find food that doesn’t cause cramping. I have tried fasting and that doesn’t seem to help either. Hard to figure this all out.

I didn’t make it in to paint today and it would have been a good painting day. I was afraid to be too far away from the bathroom in case the urge hit again. I may try it tomorrow depending on how I am feeling. I may have to ask he handyman to do the painting for me if this doesn’t clear up soon.

We ran the cookies I baked last night to the grandkids this evening. Tagen and his girlfriend are coming out for lunch on Wednesday. I’m anxious to meet her. It will be fun to have them out for lunch.

I got the check from the solar panel people for the power the panels couldn’t generate due to the installation error. I appreciated the way they handled their mistake.

I remembered to call and cancel our old internet service today. I have to take the router to Council Grove one day this week. I will find out by next week if they are going to wave the cancellation fee. Their own tech guy told me the best solution would be for me to find another company and he would recommend I not be charged a fee. We will see how this turns out.

Jim got the chicken porch roof finished today. He told me there are a few parts of it that he recommend I paint so I may try to do that tomorrow if it doesn’t rain.

Tomorrow I need to go to Emporia and pick up a few groceries and get the dogs and cats their flea and tic medication.

We got a flag put by our mailbox telling us it is pointing in the wrong direction. I’ll have to call the post office and ask some questions. The note on the flag doesn’t tell us we have to do anything about it or give us a timeline to take care of it. Weird after seven years out here they are flagging it now.

This turned out to be not a very productive day again. Guess I just need to allow that given my fight with C-Diff. One of these days soon I will be back to 100% and will get things done. Until then I guess I allow myself to rest and recover and do only what I can do.

Grateful Jim got the chicken shade roof done, grateful for what sleep I was able to find this morning, and grateful for the check from the solar panel people.

Definitely has been a rest and recovery day for me today. I don’t have much energy at all. I’m glad I had it yesterday and since I didn’t have anything that had to be done today it is a good day to do nothing.

I got up this morning and messed around for a bit. Went back to bed three hours later and slept for over two hours. Thinking about taking another nap yet today. I will sleep when ever sleep finds me.

Jim is out finishing up the shingle job on the chicken porch he is building. He had to buy some more shingles and is pleased that the ones he got match pretty darn close to the ones we had on hand. It will be good to have that project finished up. He wants to do something to the fencing but not sure that is a priority.

I hope I am feeling full of energy tomorrow so I can go in and paint for a bit at the rental house. It is to be relatively cool this week and a good week to get some painting done. I would like to get at least one window done each day this week. I think there are a total of ten doors and windows that need painted – there might be 11 or 12. I would feel really good if I could get most of them painted this week.

The front porch still needs some work done to it before it is ready to paint. Jim is probably going to Stillwater Wednesday so I doubt that he gets any more done to it before he leaves. I will also need to paint the soffits once a couple of them get repaired.

I won’t make my goal of having it painted by the end of June but will keep working at it. One of these days I will get it done.

Our basement did not leak during this last round of heavy rain. I think we may have solved the problem and it is now safe to do the sheet rock repairs. I let the handyman know he can do it when ever he can work it into his schedule. It would be a good hot day project for him.

I’m still smiling thinking about the party yesterday. It was so nice and everyone seemed to be having a grand time. The weather turned out beautiful and the food was great. They didn’t get the wedding they had planned but I think the reception turned out just like they wanted.

Jim has been pushing me to plan a reception for our wedding – one in Stillwater and one here. I’m not sure we need to do that but am giving it some consideration. I do have some friends I would love for him to meet. I do better in small groups though. Maybe we can start inviting small groups over for dinner once a week until I get him introduced to everyone I would have invited to the reception. That sounds more enjoyable to me.

I’m struggling to find foods that I can eat. What seems to be going down right down are foods with flour in them – crackers, noodles, dry toast, etc. Not my type of food but I have to eat something. Meat and veggies sound nauseous to me right now as do fresh fruit. Guess I will eat what I have to eat for a bit until my tummy settles down and then I will go through detox again. Trusting this will be my one and only time to do this again.

I may bake the grandkids their cookies today. The request this week is for Snickerdoodles. Jim always hates to see me give Snickerdoodle cookies away as they are his favorite. I may have to bake Jim a batch just for him tomorrow.

Feeling a bit discouraged today. This is a roller coaster ride I am on again with highs and lows. Yesterday was high and today has been a low. At least I am not running to the bathroom very often so I know things are getting better. My energy will take some time to fully recover and return. I must have needed another lesson in patience.

Grateful for a rest and recovery day, grateful the chicken porch is getting the last of the shingles put on, and grateful for what food I am able to eat.

Went to Clinton Lake where Nicole and Geoff had their wedding reception. What a perfect spot to have an outdoor reception. The weather turned out perfect – not too hot, not too cold. No rain for the main event. The food was great. It could not have gone any better.

I am feeling much better today. The running to the bathroom has stopped and the cramps are much less. I ate some food at the reception that I probably shouldn’t have eaten and I have had more cramping since but it was worth it.

I am still more tired than I normally am but thinking that will pass soon. I got up this morning and was up for three hours then went back to bed for another hour or so. I’m glad I got a nap in then as I would have struggled to make it through the party otherwise.

We had to stop in Topeka on the way to the reception and get a tire repaired. The low tire pressure light had come on before we left Emporia. The app on my phone that tells me how my car is doing was malfunctioning and we were 15 miles from Topeka before I could tell how low the tire really was. We went to one tire store and it was going to be a 1 1/2 hour wait before they could fix the tire. I called another and got the same wait time. We found a third place and they could fix it right away. It took them about 20 minutes to fix the tire. We had picked up a nail in the tire. If you are going to have to deal with a flat tire that is the way to do it.

No plans for tomorrow. Jim wants to finish shingling the chicken shade porch. I don’t have anything that has to be done. It will be a good rest and recovery day.

I don’t have much on the calendar for all of next week. Jim may go to Stillwater on Wednesday and stay until Saturday. I hope to be feeling back to normal and get in and get more painting done on the rental house. We will see how the week unfolds.

It was a good day – I got to see all three of my kids and my grandchildren. That is always a good day when that happens.

Grateful for Nicole and Geoff, grateful for the beautiful weather for the party, and grateful we were able to get the tire fixed without mishap.

Had a rough night last night. I had convinced myself yesterday afternoon that the C-Diff test would come back negative as the diarrhea had stopped for over 18 hours. Man was I wrong! The diarrhea came back hard last evening and continued through the night. I lost count after 10 trips to the bathroom. I was not at all surprised by morning time when the doctor’s office called and told me my lab test for C-Diff was positive.

I am on a six week regiment of antibiotics again. At least the doctor recognized I am a repeat offender and went for a long dose instead of trying a short dose and me offending again. I truly trust it will work and I won’t have a reoccurrence when this round of antibiotic is over.

I am on clear liquids, crackers and rice for 24 – 48 hours. Once I have things slowed down and they stay that way for 24 hours I can add other food back in as tolerated.

I didn’t think I would ever eat chicken noodle soup again but here I am. Never say never! I poured the broth of the soup over rice for dinner. I fixed Jim Beef Stroganoff using the left over steak from Sunday night. He said it was good. Can’t say I have much of an appetite right now but am doing my best to get some liquids down so I don’t get dehydrated. I really don’t want a trip to the ER if I can avoid it.

Things have slowed down today. Hoping they will stay that way through the night. I took two naps today – I don’t have much energy today. It has rained most of the afternoon and it was a good nap day. So very grateful for the rain we are getting. I can almost hear the earth drinking in the rain. We were so very dry.

I sure hope I am feeling much better tomorrow afternoon so we can go to Nicole and Geoff’s wedding reception. I couldn’t have done it today but with the antibiotics on board I am hoping tomorrow will be a good day. It may be a wet event as they are getting lots of rain there too. It is all outside but there is a shelter house and lots of canopy tents. It will be an adventure for sure.

The handyman got the second exhaust fan installed today. Nice to have that project crossed off my list of things pending. So far the basement has stayed dry. Today was a good test for that as we got lots of rain in a short amount of time. I think it is now safe to finish the sheet rock project and be fairly sure that it won’t leak and get wet again.

I forgot to call today and cancel our old internet provider. I will do that Monday. I will have to take the router to Council Grove sometime next week. I really like the new internet so far. I loaded a movie from Amazon Prime today and it loaded very quickly. That never happened with the old internet provider.

Jim went to Emporia today to pick up my prescription – it was $110 out of pocket. The prescription insurance covered $1,500. Wow! What do people do that don’t have insurance? I spend most of my “fun” money on prescriptions these days.

Got the bill from the propane company so I pre-purchase propane for next winter. $1,800! I’m grateful I have the funds but hate to spend it on propane. I don’t have any carried over from last year as last year’s temperatures were colder than normal. I wonder what this year will be like. Hopefully we will be above normal temperatures for most of the winter and some will carry forward so next year’s bill will be less.

Trusting tomorrow will be a better day and I will be feeling much better. I am tired of this already. I allowed myself to cry and be upset today but told myself I will accept what is and deal with it with my big girl panties on tomorrow.

Grateful for medication that will help me feel better, grateful for the rain the prairie is getting, and grateful for Jim’s loving care.

I went to Emporia this morning to take a stool sample to the hospital lab. I was disappointed this afternoon that I didn’t get a phone call with the results. I will call first thing in the morning to see if I have C-Diff again. I felt better most of the day but early evening the diarrhea came back for about two hours. It has stopped again but now I am feeling drained again.

Two different workers showed up at the same time early afternoon. The handyman came to install the new exhaust fans in the bathrooms downstairs and the internet guy came to get the new internet hooked up.

At one point the internet guy called me on his phone. He had gone up a ladder to look at the roof and while he was up on the roof his ladder fell over in the high wind. I found Jim and had him go out and get the ladder back up so the guy could get down from the roof.

The internet is fabulous! I’m very happy with it so far – we haven’t dropped once today. I turned my Sonos system on this afternoon and it is still playing this evening. I hadn’t been able to do that with the old internet as it would keep shutting off anytime the internet dropped us. I trust it will continue to do as well into the future. I’m anxious to see what it does when it is stormy out.

The internet guy was nice and did a great job but he was loud. He is a retired Marine and had a deep, loud voice. He is from the south and said Yes Sir to Jim all the time. I was glad when he left as the house got much quieter instantly.

The new exhaust fan downstairs is so quiet I can’t tell if it is on or off. It will be nice when we have guests and they turn the fan on and we don’t hear it upstairs. The handyman ran into some problems and only got one of them installed. He is coming back in the morning to do the other one.

I had three friends over and we did a Summer Solstice celebration and then watched the Super Moon rise. During the solstice celebration I interrupted it twice so we could go out and watch the sunset. It was a beautiful one tonight. The Super Moon was beautiful too. It was a beautiful evening and just what my soul needed.

Jim got some shingles put on the chicken shade porch tonight. He has to go get more shingles before he can finish that project.

We got a tad bit of rain last night but not enough to close the cracks in the ground. For a while this evening it looked promising that more rain would find us but no such luck. We still have a chance of rain the next two days but I am not going to hold my breath.

I’m tired of not feeling good. This is getting old quick. I’ll be glad to know in the morning what is going on and move into the problem solving part of this. I thought all day I was over the hump and was disappointed when I had another rough couple of hours. I should be grateful it isn’t happening all day long, I guess.

Grateful for the celebration we held tonight, grateful for the beauty of Mother Nature, and grateful for new internet.

Well, this day hasn’t gone as planned. I woke up not feeling good again today. My tummy rumbled and rolled all night. I have had 8 loose stools today. I called the doctor and they had me come in. He is testing for C-Diff as a precaution. It it is negative he will come up with a plan to help slow things down. Lord help me if it is positive. I was able to make it to town and back without issue. I did take some wet wipes with me just in case!

I will need to run a stool sample in to Emporia tomorrow morning. I went all afternoon before I got to the doctor’s office and then couldn’t go when I was there. I should have results tomorrow afternoon sometime.

Jim went to the rental to mow this afternoon – bless his heart. I wasn’t sure I could be away from the bathroom long enough to do much mowing.

I did go to Emporia this morning and got a gallon of house paint. I made it to town and home again with no issue. The problem began after I got home.

While I was in town this morning I stopped at the car wash and washed and vacuum my car. It was way overdue for some tender loving care. It is already dusty again but still looks better than it did earlier. We need rain badly.

We made an Airbnb reservation in Maryville, TN for two nights in October. We are going to Jim’s 50th college graduation reunion. I had a $100 coupon from Airbnb to use so we are staying in a cabin somewhere just outside of town. The place looks nice – has a kitchen, washer and dryer and is private.

My car tag sticker came in the mail today. I had ordered it last week. Nice to be able to cross a few things off my pending list today.

Right now I am feeling better. It seems to come in waves. Trusting I scared my tummy into behaving by going to the doctor and the C-Diff test will be negative. I want to be in good form to go to Nicole and Geoff’s wedding reception this weekend so decided I better get checked out so I can get on top of this in case it is C-Diff. Last time I felt much better within 24 hours of starting the medication.

Tomorrow will be a big day around here. The handyman is coming to install new exhaust fans in the bathrooms downstairs in the afternoon. At the same time we get new internet. Sure hoping the new internet will be the solution we have been waiting for. Then tomorrow evening some friends are coming over so we can celebrate the Summer Solstice and watch the full moon rise. I love sacred ceremony and it will be good for my soul to participate in this one.

I haven’t gotten much done today. I didn’t take a nap today and have wasted most of the day. I don’t have much energy and am feeling drained. Decided to baby myself today and not do anything.

Have some green chicken in the crock pot for dinner. Not sure if I will attempt to eat real food today or not. I had chicken noodle soup for lunch. May stick with that again tonight depending on how the tummy is feeling later.

The dog nail clippers I ordered came in. I tried them out and they worked great. My old pair was so dull I couldn’t clip through their thick nails.

Grateful the doctor’s office could get me in today, grateful Jim mowed at the rental house today, and grateful for rest days.

Went to the rental house to paint this morning. The handyman got some more siding pieces up so got those painted as well as the last of the ladder work on the back of the house. Just need to paint the peak of the house in the front and the main body of the house will be done.

I got too hot painting. It got a bit warmer than forecast today and by noon was 91. I was getting a bit dizzy and nauseous so came home. I went to bed and slept for over two hours. Felt better when I got up but still not back to normal. I stopped and took water breaks today but am thinking the diarrhea I had the last two days dehydrated me a bit and I am having trouble catching up. So far no diarrhea today so hoping that is behind me now and I am back on the road to recovery.

Took my first dose of the new thyroid liquid medication today. The taste is bad but not awful. It is less than a teaspoon full and I can take it with water. I would prefer a pill but am willing to do whatever it takes to get my TSH levels down. Sure hope this form of Synthroid works.

I had to go back to the rental this afternoon to put the ladder away. I didn’t have the strength to carry it back to the shed when I quit painting earlier.

Thursday the handyman is coming to this house to replace the exhaust fans in the bathrooms downstairs. I am going to talk to him about finishing the rest of the painting. I am struggling to handle this heat and the forecast is not looking good for cool days for me to paint in. I want this painting to get done one way or another and hiring it done may be my best option.

Tomorrow I need to figure out how to get the mower in my car in the morning so I can go in and get the yard mowed. We had told the renter we would mow until the house was painted as a way of compensating her for not having the outside of the house painted. The yard is way over due to be mowed and I have got to get it done tomorrow. If I get up early enough I think I can get it done before it gets too hot.

Still feeling a bit out of sorts this afternoon. It wouldn’t take much for me to fall into the muck pond. I don’t like it when my body acts like it did today. I feel old and weak. I know part of it is the thyroid thing but I am tired of that excuse. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to feel better.

Thursday we get our new internet. I sure trust that process will go smoothly. I haven’t notified the old company yet that I am firing them. I want to make sure the new internet is up and running first.

Jim teaches the first of three OSHER classes this afternoon starting at 5:30. He likes to have me around in case he has technical difficulties-he rarely does though.

Grateful for what painting I got done today, grateful for a long nap, and grateful I have options for the remainder of the painting.

Got up at 6:00 this morning to fix breakfast for our guests. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. They ate and left before 7:45 this morning. They had a safe trip to Estes Park and are in their home away from home tonight. They will be there for five weeks.

Went to Emporia at 8:00 this morning and picked up Ellexia and took her to her dental appointment. I went to Dillon’s and got some groceries and she was done when I went back to the dentist office. I was almost to her house taking her home when she decided she wanted to spend the day at my house. We stopped at her house and she got a sweat shirt and we headed back to my house.

I fixed her blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs when we got here. She helped me gather eggs three times today.

We went in after she ate breakfast and painted at the rental house for about two hours. Ellexia did a nice job painting and made the job get done quickly. We got all the replacement shingles painted. I have a bit of ladder work on the back of the house to do tomorrow and then all but the front peak of the gray color will be painted.

Ellexia was so good today. She and Jim had fun together. Ellexia and I laid down to rest – I fell asleep but she got up and visited with Jim while I took a nap.

We took her back into town around 5:30.

The Endocrinologist office called today to let me know my new thyroid medication had been approved. The appeal I wrote worked. We stopped and picked that up when we took Ellexia to town. I have to pay $49.13 a month but that is better than $140 a month.

I have had a touch of diarrhea again this afternoon. I don’t think it is C-Diff as I don’t have a fever or cramps and it isn’t extreme diarrhea like I had before. I had chicken noodle soup for dinner as a precaution hoping that it will help settle my tummy and this stuff will be gone tomorrow. I am feeling a bit drained after having diarrhea for two days in a row.

We missed the rain that was all around us last night and this morning. It sprinkled on our way home from Emporia this morning but even that stopped before we got home. More rain is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday this week but again I will believe when I see it. I did enjoy the cooler temperatures today. We only reached the high 70’s today. What a welcome change from the 90’s and 100’s we have been having. It is to be in the mid 80’s tomorrow and then a return to the 90’s after that.

I hope to go in and paint some more in the morning. I want to finish up the gray color and then start on the trim painting. Some of the windows still need scraped but some are ready to be painted. We will see how much work I can get done tomorrow. Part of it will depend on how I am feeling- I am a bit drained tonight but hoping by tomorrow I will be back to normal.

Tomorrow and Wednesday are free days for me. Nothing on my calendar. I am ready for some empty space again. I hope to get some painting done but other than that I am free. I have some phone calls to make to try to get some things knocked off my to-do list but I have to me in the right mood to make those. Maybe that mood will strike and I can get some things taken care of.

Grateful for the day with Ellexia today, grateful for the company that spent the night, and grateful my appeal was successful and I can try the new medication.

Had trouble finding sleep last night. Finally found a couple hours after daylight. Sure makes for a long night when that happens. I took a second hot bath and that helped a bit.

Our company came in mid afternoon. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening visiting with them. I grilled steaks and had baked potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner with banana pudding for dessert. It was an easy meal to fix and clean up from.

Tomorrow I need to be in Emporia to pick Ellexia up at 8:45 to take her to a dentist appointment. I will get up early and fix breakfast for our guests and then head to town. Jim needs some shingle nails so I will stop and get those on the way home.

When I get back from town I hope to go to the rental house and paint for several hours. We are to get some rain tomorrow so will see if that happens or not. The yard needs mowed too but guess the weather will decide for us if we get those things done or not.

Today is Nicole and Geoff’s first wedding anniversary. They are hosting a reception this Saturday to celebrate. Their wedding plans got changed due to Covid last year. Their backyard wedding was a beautiful event. Time has flown by – I can’t believe it has been year already.

I need to remember to do my egg delivery tomorrow and not get too distracted by painting. I have enough eggs this time to be able to fill the orders with extra eggs left over. The girls have slowed down laying a bit and am only getting about 20 eggs a day right now. Trusting when it cools down a bit they will lay more eggs again.

Tuesday Jim teaches the first of three classes for another OSHER class he is doing. This class is at 5:30 – 7:00 in the evening. We will be eating dinner a bit late for those three Tuesdays.

Thursday we get our new internet service. I trust it won’t kick me off-line like the current internet company does. It sure will be nice to have reliable, decent, fast internet.

Thursday evening I am having some friends over to celebrate Summer Solstice and the full moon. I trust the clouds will part so we can watch the full moon rise.

Saturday we are going to Lawrence to Nicole and Geoff’s wedding reception. It is going to be a busy week.

Happy Father’s Day to my dad and all men who fill the role of being a father. I was so lucky and had a good one. He taught me how to enjoy the little things in life and to make room for play as well as work.

Grateful for the memories I have of my dad, grateful for the guests that came to visit, and grateful for the memories of Nicole and Geoff’s wedding.

I got the chicken coop painted last night! Yay! I may decide to paint the new supports for the shade roof Jim built but I may not. We shall see. So glad to have a project finished and crossed off my list.

I sent a note to the rancher who I buy a whole beef from each year checking to see when the butcher date will be. I am running very low on beef in the freezer. I mentioned that to her and she responded back and told me she had 85 pounds of extra hamburger she would sell me if I wanted. I did! We met her in Matfield Green around noon to pick up the hamburger. It is so nice to have lots of hamburger on hand again. I was down to fourteen pounds which probably wouldn’t have lasted until the new beef will be ready the end of August.

We went to Emporia after we put the hamburger in the freezer. I needed to get two new exhaust fans for the bathrooms downstairs and a few groceries. Jim needed some more stuff for the chicken shade project. Walmart was extremely busy and I was really glad when we got out of there. We stopped at Fanestils and got some bacon, ham and turkey and then came home. I took a very short nap when we got home. I was cranky and worn out from all the people at Walmart.

I’m still surprised at how many things Walmart continues to be out of these days. I wanted a watermelon to give the girls and they didn’t have any. I needed some tomato juice and they were out. I buy Epsom salt in 5 pound bags and they were out of that. I looked for an iced tea maker and they didn’t have any. Jim wanted a piece for the hoses and they were out of them. I don’t remember prior to Covid that they would be out of so many things so often.

I went out and mowed most of the yard this morning while it was still relatively cool outside. By the time I was done mowing it was warming up. I didn’t mow close to the north side of the house as Jim was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake him up. I went back out around 4:00 and finished up the yard. Good to have the yard mowed up again. I didn’t mow the far west part of the yard as I couldn’t tell where I was mowing and decided I was wasting gas and time owing where it really didn’t need it.

We had leftovers for dinner tonight so dinner was quick and easy to fix. Jim is so good about eating leftovers. He had spaghetti and I had grilled chicken.

I took a shower when I finished mowing this afternoon. It is so dry out. Dried grass and weeds kept blowing in my face. I had dirt in places I didn’t know I had when I came in from mowing. I was hot and itchy so decided to treat myself to a shower. I put on clean clothes and decided I wasn’t going to do any more work today.

Jim’s brother and his wife are coming in tomorrow afternoon and will spend the night. They are on their way to Estes Park, CO. We won’t be at the Y Camp when they are this year as they are leaving the week we arrive. It will be good to see them for a short bit tomorrow.

I sent an appeal to the pharmacy insurance group to see if they would reconsider their decision on the new thyroid medication. It costs $140 a month so if they deny me again I may try it anyways and pay for it and see if it helps. They had approved the $1,500 cholesterol medication so not sure why they would deny the $140 thyroid medication but I’m not sure they operate on the same logical thinking that I use. If they deny my appeal then my doctor will write an appeal. They had denied the cholesterol medication and my family doctor had appealed that decision and got conditional approval for me to try it for six months.

I need to go through my desk and check my pending file and see if I need to make some calls Monday to clear some of those things up. I feel like I have lots of balls in the air right now and am loosing track of things. It is time to make a fresh to-do list so I know where things are.

The new 10 day forecast only shows the cool down lasting for two days now. I plan on painting at the rental house as much as I can on Monday and Tuesday while the temperature is below 85. We are to get some rain on Monday but I will believe that when I see it.

The girls are catching me up on eggs. Last week I didn’t have enough on Monday to fill my orders. As of today I have what I need for Monday and I will get more eggs tomorrow and Monday morning. Go girls go!

Grateful the chicken coop painting project is complete, grateful for lots of hamburger in my freezer, and grateful the mowing got done at this house today.

Went down and painted for a bit this morning. It was windy and hot. Got the east side of the coop finished. Only have the top of the north side to do and the chicken coop will be painted. I was feeling a bit weird so decided not to push myself and came in before I did the last little ibt.

Came in and fell asleep in my chair. Woke up feeling better although I have been a bit off still. Thinking maybe the heat from yesterday got to me today. We will see if that is what this is.

It got windy last night and has stayed windy today. Nothing like hot heat blowing in your face. It got up to the mid 90’s today – a bit of relief from the 104 yesterday. It is still feeling plain ass hot outside today.

Got a call from my Endocrinologist office. They told me insurance has denied my doctor’s new prescription for the thyroid medication. When I asked the nurse how I file an appeal she didn’t know. She called me back and told me I needed to come to the office and sign a form and they would send it in. When I told her I was over an hour away from the office she said she would check and call me again. This time she told me when I get my denial letter I could sign the appeal form that should be with the letter and then mail it to them and they would file an appeal.

I checked the pharmacy website and there is an appeal process on it too. I have to wait for my denial letter though as they need a claim number before I can completely fill out the paperwork on-line. Obstacles in every direction.

Then I got the mail and got a bill from my family doctor’s office for the physical I had in May. Insurance denied coverage. This happened to Jim too and I knew what to do. I call the billing office for my doctor and told them they had coded it wrong. Sure enough, that is what happened. They are going to correct their mistake and refile. Dang! Insurance issues today. What is up with that? They ran into the wrong person though as I am not going away quietly.

I wonder what people do that don’t know how the system works? It seems a shame that insurance companies dictate what medication you take. I will notify my family doctor about the error in coding and let him know it happened to both Jim and I. One time is a mistake, the second not so much.

Got the floors on the main level cleaned today. Still need to dust and clean the bathroom and I will be ready for my guests that are coming Sunday afternoon.

Jim and I are going to Emporia tomorrow to pick up a few things. He needs to go to the hardware store again and I need a few groceries and other things from Walmart. It will be our big adventure for the weekend.

The dryer got delivered to my renter today without issue. She was home so she handled the delivery. Glad that is crossed off my list.

The handyman let me know the exhaust fan is old enough that they no longer make repair parts for it. There is a modified part available but it costs almost as much as a new unit does. He is going to order new units for me and then come install them when they come in.

I’m still waiting on the check from the solar panel company. It will be good one of these days to cross off these things that seem to be hanging around on my pending list.

I’m fixing sauerkraut and hot dogs for dinner tonight. That will be easy. Not sure my tummy can handle a hot dog tonight so I may have left over grilled chicken. I still feel a bit queasy and a bit off this afternoon. That is what we were going to have yesterday until the kiddos decided they wanted to stay for dinner. Hot dogs hold over well so no worries.

Cooler temperatures and chances of rain are in the forecast for next week. I hope to be able to paint most everyday next week at the rental house. We need to go in and get it mowed early next week for sure. Jim can do that while I paint. It is almost all done and I would love to get that puppy done with. I’m so tired of it.

Jim starts teaching a new OSHER class next Tuesday. This is a short class of only once a week for three weeks. He so enjoys teaching them. He will need to spend some time the next couple days doing the final preparation for that class. Since he is teaching on-line he uses a lot of Powerpoint photos. They take a good bit of time to find the images and then label them and get them in the correct order.

We get our new internet service next Thursday. I sure trust it will work better than the one we have now. I have to log on to the internet several times a day and once or twice a day restart my computer so I can get on. That becomes a nuisance and pain in the ass after a bit.

A week from tomorrow is the wedding reception for Nicole and Geoff. They had planned on getting married last October. They ended up with a small family wedding last June and are just now able to hold their big reception. It will be a fun afternoon and evening with them and their friends and family.

Summer Solstice is this coming week along with a full moon. I’m sorry to see the long days start getting shorter. I love all the day light -especially in the early mornings.

Grateful for the painting I got done today, grateful for medical insurance even with its problems, and grateful for the cooler temperature and rain headed our way.

It got up to 104 today on the prairie. Yuck! At least there was a light breeze to move the air a bit but damn, it was plain ass hot today.

I woke up at 7:00 this morning after sleeping for at least six hours straight. Wow! Sure wish I could do that every night. It felt so good to get some sleep last night.

The handyman came this morning and finished the water drainage project he had started last week. He had ordered some basins and got those installed. He also looked at the bathroom exhaust fans and is going to order some parts for them if they are available. If not, he will replace them. They are so loud they wake me up at night if a guest turns them on downstairs.

I went to Emporia around noon. I returned something to Bluestem I had purchased and decided we didn’t need. Then I went to pick up the kiddos to take them swimming. Neither one of them could find a friend to go with us today so it was just the three of us. We ended up going to the Cottonwood Falls pool. They swam for about 20 minutes and then had to get out for the ten minute hourly break. They got back in after the break but decided after 30 minutes they had enough. It was so hot today – even in the water.

We came back to my house and they had s’mores for a snack. They both were so good while we were at the pool and all afternoon. Ellexia and I gathered eggs a couple of times. They hung out and played with each other. Jim enjoyed having them around too.

I fixed spaghetti and meat balls for dinner. I think Ellexia ate more than anyone. That girl can eat when she is hungry. I made a cherry dump cake for dessert. Tim came out and joined us for dinner and then took two tired kids home. Michelle had to work at her second job tonight.

It was a fun day today for me although I am tired tonight. I got in the water for a bit with the kiddos and sat out in the sun for the rest of the time while we were at the pool. I so enjoyed watching the kids play in the water and go off the diving board. It was fun listening to them play this afternoon. It made me realize how much I lost out on during the pandemic when they weren’t able to be around us.

I didn’t get any painting done today but it was a good day to take a break from painting. Jim took the day off too and didn’t put the shingles up. It was just too hot to be outside today.

We don’t have anything on our calendar for the next two days. Found out last night Jim’s brother and his wife will be here Sunday late afternoon for dinner and to spend the night. They are on their way to CO. It will be good to see them. I will need to spend some time the next two days cleaning house a bit. Good thing they are family and it will be what it is but I would feel better if the house was cleaned up a bit.

Thankfully it is to cool down a bit next week. Maybe I will finally make it to the rental to get some painting done there next week. It is bothering me that I haven’t made it in. My goal was to have that painting project done by the end of June and I am running out of June painting days.

Grateful for the time with the grandkids today, grateful for sleep last night, and grateful this heat wave is to break the first of next week.

Went to the Endocrinologist today in Topeka. I had a list of complaints I have been experiencing including poor sleep, sweating (unusual for me), fatigue, mood swings, anxiousness, fluctuations in blood pressure, and constipation. She told me all of them are telling her that my thyroid levels are not under control. There is a new thyroid medication out for those of us that struggle to control our levels. The new stuff is more pure and is more easily absorbed. If my insurance will approve it, I am going to try it.

She told me this all was probably caused by the C-Diff that I had last year. It caused the flora in my gut to change and as a result can cause poor absorption. That kinda makes me upset that I have struggled this long before they decided to do something. I had notified her back in August last year when I first got C-Diff and asked if I needed to watch for anything. My levels have bounced from 0.3 to 6.5 since I had C-Diff. Not sure why she is just now connecting the dots. I have had my levels checked every 6 weeks and they just kept adjusting the dosage. I didn’t know there was another medication I could try.

She asked if I wanted a referral to go back to MD Anderson for another opinion. I asked her why would I do that? She said she didn’t think I needed to go but wanted to offer it as an option. If the new medication doesn’t bring things under control within six months then we decided that might be my next step.

I’m not 100% convinced that my problems are all connected to the C-Diff though. I haven’t been able to maintain my levels for longer than three months since this all started in 2017. They went up and down before the C-Diff too. I did learn that weight can impact my levels as the more I weigh the more medication I need – or at least that is the way it is supposed to work. I have lost 20 pounds over the last six months and my levels have gone up even though the dosage I have taken has increased. The higher dose should have brought my levels down.

My body needs to have an owner’s manual to explain why it acts differently than most. She was surprised to learn the new cholesterol medication didn’t work for me. She said she hadn’t heard of anyone else having that result. In her mind that too was related to the C-Diff and the way my body metabolizes medication.

I asked her if there was something we are missing but she seems to think it is just my body not absorbing the Synthroid medication as it should be. Hoping the new medication will be the answer. If not, I will have to go get a second opinion again.

I also asked if there was anything I could be doing to help myself. She said to maintain my weight at where I am now, continue to avoid flour and sugar, and to take the medication at the same time everyday and fast for 30 – 60 minutes afterwards. Other than that she said there really wasn’t anything else I can do.

She assured me that the symptoms I have been having are all related to the uncontrolled thyroid and that is why I have been feeling kinda crummy lately. Sure hope and trust this new medication will do the trick for me and things can level out.

I stopped and got a gallon of paint before I headed to Topeka this morning. When I came back through Emporia on the way home I stopped and got some groceries. I bought a watermelon for the girls. When we went down to give it to them they were showing signs of heat stress. I set up the sprinkler and Jim threw the watermelon into their coop. Within an hour they had mostly stopped showing heat stress signs.

Jim is still here. He decided not to go to Stillwater this week. He is in the middle of fixing the girls some shade and wants to finish that project for them. The shade he has put up is really helping to keep their coop cooler already. He is putting up some supports of some sort this afternoon and will put shingles over it tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to take the grandkids swimming. I told them they could each take a friend along. They are going to swim for two hours then I will take them to get a treat and take their friends home. Then the kids can either come out to my house for a bit or I can take them home. I invited Jim to go with us but he doesn’t like to swim so I think he is going to pass. Not sure swimming is my favorite thing to do but I will enjoy spending time with the grandkids. I’m not sure if we are going to the Emporia pool or to Cottonwood Falls. I’ll see which the kiddos would prefer.

I haven’t gotten any painting done today yet. I might be able to go down this evening when it cools down a bit and paint. I am really struggling in this heat and don’t want to make myself sick by being out in it. I worry about Jim working in it. He has been fairly good about coming up to the house and taking cool down breaks every two hours or so. It is dangerously hot out today again.

Next week it is to cool down so that may be the week I finally get to the rental house and get some painting done. Dang, I am tired of that project and need it done! I can’t paint in the evenings as the renter is there and I haven’t made it in the early morning times this week. I guess it waits for me and will get done when it gets done.

We don’t have any plans this weekend. I had thought Jim would be gone and hadn’t planned anything except for painting. I’m sure he will continue to work on the chicken coop and hopefully I will get back to painting this weekend. Someone please remind me there is life beyond painting!

The grandkids want chocolate chip cookies this week. I will bake them after sunset tonight. I hate to turn the oven on during the heat of the day. The A/C is struggling to keep up as it is.

Grateful Jim is staying home this week, grateful for my Endocrinologist and her care and concern, and grateful the grandkids agreed to hang with grandma tomorrow afternoon.

This day didn’t go as planned. Jim was going to go to Stillwater today but didn’t make it. He went down late morning to work on the chicken coop after running to town to get some more lumber. It took longer than he thought it would and then it got so hot he had to stop working and come in and cool down. He wants to finish part of it before he leaves so he decided to stay another night here and leave for Stillwater tomorrow.

I went into Cottonwood Falls around noon and delivered a dozen of eggs. I stopped by the house to see the new guttering and some work the handyman had done. Wow! The house is really starting to look nice. I didn’t make it in to paint today. I got up late and the power was off and I couldn’t get the car out of the garage. Then it got way too hot for me to be out.

I did get some flowers planted in the east side flower beds. Jim had bought a bunch last time he was in town and they needed put in. He is busy doing things I can’t do so I said I would plant them for him. Even that was hot work today. It felt good when they were in and I was able to water them (and me) and cool us all down a bit.

It reached 97 here today and is to stay this hot and get even hotter over the next couple of days. It is scary hot out there. I really feel for those that have to be out in this heat all day long. I got light-headed twice and had to come in and take a break and I wasn’t even working hard. I don’t tolerate this heat very well.

I took a nap this afternoon. I slept hard for about two hours. It felt good to get some extra rest. I had gotten about four hours of sleep last night which is more than I had been getting. The heat wore me out though and I was grateful I could get another two hours of sleep.

Tomorrow I have to leave at 9:30 and head to Topeka for a doctor’s appointment. I have a few things on my list of things I need so may do some shopping in Topeka when I get done at the doctor’s office. We will see how my day goes and if I can tolerate shopping. I usually can’t! I do need to stop on my way home and pick up a few groceries and a gallon of paint. That will save me from making another trip to town on Thursday.

My air conditioner is having trouble keeping the house at the temperature I have set it at. It got a bit behind when the electricity was off this morning for two hours and hasn’t been able to catch up all day. I’m grateful it will cool down this evening after the sun goes down. Later in the summer it doesn’t cool down so much.

I grilled chicken tenderloins on the grill today. I cleaned the grill this afternoon and it performed much better tonight. Jim had a corn on the cob with his and I had some green beans with mine. Simple and easy dinner with few dishes and I didn’t have to turn the oven on. I like those kind of summer dinners.

Guion’s called and are going to deliver the dryer Friday. Not sure yet if I have to go let them in – my renter wasn’t sure of her schedule yet. Grateful that is going to get crossed off my pending list.

I ordered some hiking pants and two of the five came in today. I guessed at what size I needed correctly so won’t have to send anything back. The other three pair are to come tomorrow. I needed some hiking pants for our trip to CO in August.

One of the things on my shopping list is a couple of summer dresses. Not even sure where I will go look for some. I hate trying on clothes in stores but will need to do so. If I am in the mood to do so I will look tomorrow – we shall see.

Sure hoping Thursday I can get up early and head into town to get some painting done. I will have to paint between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning as it is too hot for me after that. I could paint in the evenings but I don’t like to bother my renter. She may be going away for the weekend and if so maybe I can get a couple hours every morning in this weekend too.

It is to cool down a bit next week but we shall see if that forecast holds. I feel like a wimp in the summer time as I tend to stay inside most of the time and avoid being outside during the day. I just don’t tolerate heat well at all.

Grateful I get to have Jim home for another night, grateful the flowers got planted, and grateful the girls are getting shade.

It has been a lazy day on the prairie today. Too hot to do much. I didn’t sleep much again last night. I went out and painted for an hour this morning. The step stool I am using isn’t working very good so will bring the short ladder home from the rental house tomorrow.

When I came in from painting Jim was still sleeping. I sat in my corner chair and fell asleep and slept for about an hour. When I woke up I did my egg run. Had to short a customer a dozen eggs but will take them in tomorrow. I was 4 eggs short of having what I needed.

Went back down to the coop this afternoon and painted for another hour. Jim is working on the shade structure for the coop and needed another set of hands occasionally. He won’t get it done tonight but he got a good start on it. It will have to wait until he gets back from Stillwater this weekend before he can finish it.

I have all the lower painting done on the coop now. The ladder work is only the top 10% of the coop so it won’t take me too much longer to finish up this project. I had to use the new deck paint I got and it doesn’t match the old paint. Oh well, I don’t think the chickens will complain.

We didn’t make it in to mow this afternoon. Jim wanted to work on the shade thing instead. I will mow sometime this week – that is something I can do.

I grilled steaks for dinner tonight. I need to clean my grill as it is getting too hot. The steaks were a touch over done for my liking but we both ate all of them so they were OK. We are all but out of steak now and almost out of all my good beef. It is a good thing I have another beef ordered – not sure when it will be coming though. Hate the thought of having to buy store meat.

Ran out of paint this afternoon so will need to go to town and get another gallon. I think I am going to paint at the rental house tomorrow morning. The handyman has most of the siding repairs done and ready for painting. Most of them are low enough I don’t need a ladder to paint. Sure would like to get all the main color of the house painting done and then start the trim painting later this week.

The guttering guys showed up this afternoon and I think finished the job. I haven’t gone in to check it out yet. It will be nice to cross that off my list if they got done.

I called and got on the plumber’s list. I need a second water thingy put in down by the chicken coop. I’m tired of hauling water everyday. They said it would be three to four weeks before they could get to me.

Our electricity is going to be turned off from 9:00 – 11:00 tomorrow morning. Might as well be outside painting during that time. I need to remember to open the garage door first thing when I get up tomorrow so I can get my car out if I don’t get gone before 9:00.

Not sure what time Jim is leaving for Stillwater tomorrow. He usually tries to get on the road by 2:00. It is a three hour drive to get to his house. Not sure when he is coming back home – probably either Friday or Saturday. I am trying to talk him into staying until Sunday. He won’t be able to go down next week as we have some things going on here. He really needs to put in some hours down there and get his house done. He has so many projects on his plate right now – both in Stillwater and here. No rest for him these days.

It was another day of temperatures over 90. We are to get up to 100 by the weekend. Yuck! I am not a fan of hot weather. The poor chickens are showing signs of heat stress. I may need to set the water sprinkler up for them tomorrow to help cool them down a bit.

Wednesday I go to Topeka for a doctor’s appointment. I won’t get much painting done that day unless I paint in the early evening after the heat of the day has passed. I will get back at it Thursday and Friday. I sure would like to finish up the deck, chicken coop and rental house in the next two or three weeks. I’m tired of all three projects.

Grateful the guttering guys came back today, grateful for the work the handyman is getting done, and grateful for the shade thing Jim is building for the girls.

Had a wonderful lunch with Jason and Michelle’s families celebrating Tim’s birthday. I was told the beef enchiladas were good, everyone enjoyed the nacho cheese dip and the banana pudding was a hit. It is so nice to be able to have the kids out again for meals and fellowship. Fills my heart with joy.

I made banana pudding for Tim’s birthday cake not knowing for sure if he would like it. He was so excited when he heard I had made it – it is one of his favorites. We put candles in it and sang happy birthday to him. Jim was glad to hear the family likes it as that means I will make it again soon. Jim loves it too. It sure looked good but I don’t eat anything with sugar in it so I didn’t eat any.

I went down and painted on the chicken coop this morning for an hour. I painted on the west side while it was still cool out and I was in the shade. After dinner tonight I went back down and painted for another hour, this time on the east side in the shade. I ran out of paint so decided to call it a day. I have some more paint but I had enough painting for the day. I may have to get more paint soon as I am using a lot of paint on the coop. The siding is rough and is taking in lots of paint. I am almost to the point where I will need a ladder to finish it up.

I didn’t sleep much last night. I had trouble falling asleep and if I was able to fall asleep I would wake up after ten minutes or so. Sure makes for a long night when that happens.

After the kids left today I laid down to take a nap and couldn’t fall asleep then either. Maybe I will crash tonight and get lots of sleep. I am overdue to crash and burn.

Tomorrow we need to go into the rental house and mow and do some painting there. I need to focus on painting at the rental house all this week while Jim is in Stillwater. I am so tired of this project and need to stay focused and get it done. Hoping the handyman will have some free time this week to get the rest of the siding ready to be painted. He will then need to repair some soffit pieces and then I will ask him to help me paint the trim. The peak of the house still needs painted and I may ask him to do that too. I don’t like painting on a ladder but will do so to get this project done.

It was a hot one on the prairie today. It reached above 90 today and is projected to hit 100 later this week. Yuck! This hot weather drains me. I will have to get up early this week and get into town and get painting while it is cool outside. I don’t do well in the heat of the day.

Tomorrow I deliver eggs. I am going to have to short a customer some eggs as I don’t have enough on hand. I should have enough to fill the back order by either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. I had cleaned out my stash twice last week and am behind. Once I get caught up I will be OK – should be a temporary shortage unless the girls decide it is getting too hot to lay and start cutting back on how many they lay. I had a talk with them today – we will see if it did any good.

I’m going to need to do a grocery run sometime this week. Maybe when I come home from Topeka on Wednesday I can stop and pick up some groceries and not have to make a special trip to town this week. With Jim being gone most of the week I won’t need many groceries. I’m not sure if he is coming home Friday or Saturday.

Grateful the kids were able to come for lunch today, grateful for Tim’s birthday as that gave us a reason to gather, and grateful for what painting I was able to get done today.

Successfully made a batch of fudge today. I don’t eat it but Jim tasted a bite and said it was good. It looked OK – not too soft and not too hard. Fudge is not one of Jim’s favorite things but he sure has enjoyed the peanut brittle I made.

Went out and painted on the chicken coop for about two hours this afternoon. Got some more sun – it was hot but not too hot today. I was in the shade for a bit of the time I was out there.

While I was painting Jim was digging two holes to set two posts so he can build some sort of shade for the girls. He kept hitting rocks he had to dig out and around. Not sure what his plan is yet but it will be nice to have shade. I helped him while he was mixing and pouring the cement to set the posts after dinner.

Grilled hamburgers for dinner. Jim had some corn on the cob with his and I had carrots. Simple and easy.

Tomorrow is Tim’s birthday so he and his family are coming for lunch. I think Jason and his family are coming too. I am going to fix hamburger enchiladas, refried beans and chips with cheese dip. I made banana pudding for dessert. It will be an easy lunch to fix and fun to have the kids out for part of the day.

Good thing it is family coming tomorrow and I don’t feel like I have to clean house. This house is so dusty right now but I am not very motivated to clean it as it won’t stay clean very long. We have dried out and the dust is thick.

After the kids leave tomorrow I hope to get back out and either paint some more on the deck or the chicken coop. I have about half of the coop painted. It is going slower than I had hoped it would as I am painted cedar siding and it is rough with edges that take extra care to fill in. I am going to have to use a step stool to reach the top part of the coop. That always slows me down a bit too.

Monday I need to mail Gene’s birthday present of fudge and peanut brittle to him. Shipping is so undependable these days I want to give it plenty of time to get to him. Jim has a package he needs to mail too.

We are going to mow the renter’s yard Monday before Jim leaves for Stillwater on Tuesday. I will paint while Jim mows. Hoping to get lots of painting done next week at that house while Jim is in Stillwater. The handyman is to work on the windows and putting some more siding up so I should have lots to paint. Beginning to wonder if we will ever get that project wrapped up. I haven’t worked on it this week and if I don’t get back to it we won’t get it done.

I took a nap this afternoon while Jim went into Emporia to pick up something he had ordered. He stopped and picked up a few groceries so I didn’t have to go to town. I got some sleep last night but still needed a nap today.

I haven’t heard when the dryer is going to be delivered. I will call Monday and see if they have a plan yet. I also need to call the guttering people and find out what their plan is. I wish businesses would communicate better.

We sat outside on the deck after dinner tonight when we were done with setting the posts. It was a perfect evening to sit outside – no wind and a beautiful sunset with lasting colors. The stars were slowly appearing and there was a crescent moon hanging above the horizon. I love summer evenings on the deck.

Grateful for the beauty Mother Nature provides when we slow down to look, grateful the chicken coop painting project has begun, and grateful the shade project for the girls has begun.

Happy anniversary to my parents – they were married on this day in 1948. I imagine they are celebrating together on the other side. They had a solid relationship grounded in love and respect for each other.

Jim got home around 6:15. It was good to have him home. He brought another car load of things including the Roto tiller and a bunch more iris that he will plant in the front flower bed.

I went out and finished mowing the yard this morning. It took about two hours to get the job done. I am still finding dirt in cracks and crevices of my body I didn’t know I had. It is amazingly dry already with cracks in the yard. My eyes are still itching a bit from all the junk that blew in them while I was mowing.

Made a batch of peanut brittle this afternoon. I am fixing a box to mail to my brother for his birthday later this month. I didn’t get the fudge made as I need a sunshiny day to make that. Hoping I can do that tomorrow and then I can get his box put together and put in the mail on Monday. Jim taste tested the peanut brittle when he got home today and said it was good.

I may go in to the rental house in the morning and paint. Found out the renter is going to be gone this weekend. The handyman got some more siding pieces up that need painted. If I get at it before noon it isn’t so hot. Doesn’t look like we are going to get any of the rain that is all around us tonight so things will be dry in the morning.

I had the handyman work at my house on Wednesday and Thursday. He finished up a water drainage issue Jim had started in the front yard. He also sealed around the outside of the garage and then cut out the bad sheet rock out of the bathroom and hall way downstairs. He will come back and put up new sheet rock after we get a heavy rain and we know that the water leak has been fixed.

I had him come do this work as a surprise for Jim. Jim has so many projects that he needed some taken care of. He was pleased that this work had been done while he was gone. Tomorrow he is going to work on putting up some shade for the girls.

Nice to have a few projects finished. Seems like we have gotten backed up with a list of things that need done. I wish I was able to do more of them myself. I don’t have the skills to do most of them.

Jim is planning on going back to Stillwater next week. He really has a lot of work to do there and it doesn’t get done unless he is there to do it. I have a doctor’s appointment in Topeka on Wednesday next week so I will stay home again while he goes.

Grateful Jim is back home on the prairie, grateful the yard is mowed, and grateful the peanut brittle turned out good.

Another hot and humid day on the prairie today. It reached the 90’s today and is still very warm out this evening. I think summer has arrived on the prairie.

I went out this morning and painted the landing and last stair case. It feels good to have that done. Now I need to do some rail painting but I need a ladder for that. I do have some black iron I can paint without a ladder so may work on that in the morning.

One of my regular egg customers increased her order from two dozen a week to six dozen a week. That is so appreciated. I took her four dozen today. I had to go down to gather more eggs to have enough to make four dozen. The girls came through with the exact number of eggs I needed to fill the last carton. Go girls!

Stopped by the bank and cashed a check while I was in town delivering eggs. I had forgotten to do that last time I was in town.

I was going to go into the rental house tomorrow and paint but found out my renter is off tomorrow so I won’t go in and bother her. I have painting I can do here instead. If all else fails I can get the chicken coop started.

I fixed a piece of salmon again for dinner. It is quick and easy and no waste. I am working to get back on my eating program and cut out the cheating. I have six days in a row that I have been successful. Go me! I am slowly learning what I can eat and stay within my three pound range. I would like to lower my range about five pounds but I am not going to push myself too hard to do so. I’m OK with where I am right now and it is fairly easy for me to maintain. If I remember not to eat snacks I can stay where I want to stay.

I need to go to the city and go shopping for some shorts. I don’t like most shorts – they are too short. My favorite capri pants are too big and Lee doesn’t make them in a size 2. I need to find something to substitute and will need to try pants on to find something. I hate trying on clothes.

Jim will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. He got a stud wall built around his hot water heater. Slowly but surely he is making progress on his house in Stillwater. Now he gets to come back here and work on some more projects. No rest for him wherever he is.

Building something to give the girls some shade will be a priority for him when he gets home. He has gotten some material to build a shade for them and got busy doing other things and hasn’t gotten it made yet.

The solar panel part came in and the electrician was here installing it. I am back up and running on solar power. They are going to watch it for a week and make sure it is operating correctly. Then they will issue me a check to make up for the power I had to buy from the electric company due to the solar panels not functioning correctly. I didn’t ask them to do that and appreciate that they offered that. They were very prompt in getting the part installed and getting me back up and running.

I haven’t heard from the guttering guys and am assuming they haven’t shown back up yet. If I remember I may call them tomorrow to find out when they might be back out to finish up the job. Sure wish companies would communicate better.

I haven’t heard from the contractor that I want to look at the foundation at the rental house either. I left a message for him but not return call today. Not sure what is up with him either.

Got a phone call from my accountants office reminding me my tax estimate is due June 15. I am grateful they called as I had it down for July 15. I transferred money to the right account so it will be covered. Not sure why tax estimates are due April, June September and January. You would think they would be every three months.

Still haven’t gotten our refund from over paying on our federal return. The IRS was to figure the difference and send me a refund. I need to admen my return but I can’t do it until they do this part. What a mess.

I had another rough night trying to find sleep. I did take a nap this afternoon and was able to sleep for about an hour. Hoping tonight will be the night I will be able to find some good sleep. It can get frustrating laying in bed looking for sleep most of the night.

I might go out and mow for an hour tonight. The yard is going to need mowed soon and it is a big cooler right now than it was earlier. I could get about half of it done tonight and finish it up in the morning before it gets hot again. I expect the growth to slow down again now that the rain has stopped. I am seeing cracks in the yard already.

This quiet respite time has been good for me. I have missed Jim and having someone to talk to during the day. Eating alone is not near as much fun as eating with someone else. The quiet has been good for my soul though and I can tell I am more grounded and centered now.

Grateful the main painting on the deck is done, grateful I found a place for four dozen eggs a week, and grateful Jim will be home tomorrow.

A quiet day on the prairie. I didn’t have to leave the house today. My favorite type of day!

I went out this morning and got the rest of the main flooring on the back deck painted. I still have to paint one staircase and the landing but the worse part is done. I may go out tonight when it cools down a bit and get it done.

My knees are a bit of a mess. I didn’t realize I was rubbing blisters on my knees yesterday. One is about the size of a quarter and the other is bigger than that. I also have two blisters on a finger on my left hand. Painting is hard on the body. Today I stayed on my ass instead of getting on my hands and knees to paint. It took longer but was easier on the body.

The handyman let me know the back side of the rental house is done and ready to be finished painting. If I get the steps and landing done tonight I might go in tomorrow and paint at the rental property. That project needs my time too. The chicken coop can wait.

Last night I was hearing a beep occasionally and kept thinking it was part of the music I was listening too. It finally dawned on me this morning it was a smoke detector that needed the battery changed. It took me a bit to figure out which one it was. I was able to use the small two-step ladder and change the battery. I’m grateful it wasn’t the ones in the living room or dining room as those need the very tall extension ladder to reach. I need to get all the batteries changed out when I get a ladder back to this house. They are overdue to be changed.

The clock that hangs over the kitchen sink stopped working and needed a new battery put in it today. Wonder why the batteries are failing all at once? Maybe this heat has gotten to them too?

A friend came to get two dozen eggs today. The girls gave me enough eggs today that I have two more dozen waiting to go home with someone. My stash doesn’t stay empty very long

Other than painting I don’t have anything on my calendar for tomorrow. I will get to have another quiet day at home. I have a check that I need to deposit but I didn’t feel like leaving the house today. The check can wait until the next time I have to go into Cottonwood Falls.

I grilled myself a hamburger for dinner tonight. The last time I was at Costco I got some 1/3 pound hamburger patties. They came in handy tonight as I didn’t want to thaw a pound of hamburger just for one hamburger. The patties aren’t as good as my hamburger is but it was OK and convenient. I rarely turn the grill on just for one hamburger but decided to do it tonight. That is my favorite way to eat hamburgers so I treated myself tonight.

The house seems extra quiet tonight with Jim gone. I haven’t talked to anyone today. Kinda weird when that happens but it is good for me to sit with silence once in a while.

I was sitting in my chair in my corner of the living room this afternoon and next thing I knew it was an hour later and I had slobbers on my face. I didn’t sleep much last night and must have needed a bit more sleep. I was not going to take a nap today to see if that would help me sleep better tonight but my body decided otherwise.

While I was outside painting this morning I heard the loudest yell from my cat. It was in the laundry room. Evidently Tony, Jim’s cat, was on the other side of the laundry room door and the two cats were exchanging words with each other. It went on for several minutes. I finally got up and let my cat out. She shot out the door like the house was on fire. Those two have not liked each other from day one. They had kinda declared a cautious peace but it must not have worked out for them. They are back to being enemies again.

Looks like the weather will be good for the symphony this weekend. I’m glad they will be able to pull it off this year. They had to cancel it the last two years. Lots of extra people will be in town for the weekend. We have tickets if we decide at the last minute to go. Not sure I am ready to be in a crowd of 6,000 people yet even with it being outside. Way too many people in this area have chosen not to get vaccinated and I don’t want to be around them.

Two more weeks before we get our new internet. I can not wait! I have to log on to the internet four or five times a day on my computer and restart it at least once a day to get connected to what we have now. I can’t keep my Sonos music system playing as the internet kicks off several times a day. Sure trusting the new system will work better – not sure it could be worse.

Haven’t heard if the part is in for the solar system yet. The owner told me it could take up to two weeks before the part came in and they could get out to fix it. It will be one week Friday.

Feeling a bit slow and drained tonight. I was moving around this morning painting but haven’t done much of anything this afternoon. I need to walk down to get the trash can and the mail – maybe that will wake me up a bit and I can find some energy to go out and finish the painting job I am working on. I’m a bit stiff tonight but moving my body would help work out the kinks.

Grateful the main flooring of the deck is painted, grateful I was able to change the smoke detector battery, and grateful for a day at home on the prairie.

I made up for doing nothing yesterday. It has been a busy day today. I woke up at 4:15 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had slept for five hours straight which is an excellent night of sleep for me. I finally got up at sunrise and took my shower and started my day.

I went to Emporia at 8:30. I had a bunch of errands to run. I mailed a birthday package, filled my car up with gas, got groceries, ordered a new dryer for the rental property, and made two stops to find deck paint. Sutherlands had made some for Jim Sunday but were unable to do so for me today – go figure. I went to True Value and after two clerks consulted for ten minutes they decided they could do it. Then they made one gallon at a time and shook it extra long. It took 30 minutes to get two gallons of paint.

I got the dryer at Guion’s – it was a quick and easy purchase but they couldn’t give me a clue as to when they might be able to deliver and install it. Maybe this week – maybe next week – maybe the week after that is all they could tell me. Guess they are having trouble with their delivery crew showing up for work. What a way to run a business. They are to call me when they know when they can come. Hope I am available that day – whenever it happens.

I didn’t get home until almost noon – way too long in town today. I ate lunch and took a short nap. After I got up I went out and painted about 1/3 of the back deck flooring. I was dripping sweat which is unusual for me – I usually don’t sweat. I came in to cool off and made a big batch of Chex Mix for the grandkids. They wanted that this time instead of cookies.

I made myself some tuna salad for dinner. It was easy and quick and I was hungry. I think I am going to run the Chex Mix into Emporia and get rid of it tonight. I love that stuff and it is too tempting to have it sitting around. I don’t eat that kind of thing any more but I do get tempted – especially when it is fresh and warm.

I may go back out tonight and paint some more. I would like to get the back deck done before Jim comes home Friday. I’m sure I will get it done – I have almost three days to do it in. It goes fairly quickly – I just have to think about where I am in relationship to what has been painted so I don’t paint myself into a spot I can’t get out of. So far the dogs have stayed off of it. In this heat it is drying quickly.

I would also like to get the chicken coop painted this week. I will stick with the deck and get it done first and then go get started on the chicken coop. I think I can do the coop without a ladder – I have a small two step one if I need one. The other ladders are still at the rental house. If I get the chicken coop painted then I need to go to the rental house and paint some more there.

I stopped by the rental house today and checked out the guttering. The handyman was putting up siding pieces. He said the guttering guys only worked till noon yesterday and didn’t come back. They haven’t communicated with me so not sure what their plan is to finish it. What they have put up so far looks really nice. Makes me want to get the soffits painted so they look nice too. The house is starting to come together outside now. I can’t wait to paint the windows as they will really make the house look nice.

It was in the mid 80’s today – felt warmer than that while I was out on the west side painting. The humidity level is high and there wasn’t much of a breeze. The dog days of summer have arrived. It is to get to the low 90’s later this week. I’m grateful I turned the A/C on as it was nice to come into a cool house after being out painting this afternoon.

The girls gave me 26 eggs today. We added a second water container to their yard for them. So far they seem to be tolerating this heat wave OK. We need to get some shade of some sort put up so they have a cool place to lay during the heat of the summer. I won’t be surprised if they slow down laying a bit as it continues to warm up.

I need to go out and water the new plants Jim put in before he left. In this heat and light wind things dry out quickly. The road is extra dusty right now. You could write your name in the dust on my coffee table right now. Not sure it is worth cleaning it as it will be covered in dust again soon.

Feels good to have had a productive day. I’m glad my errands are done and I can stay home for the next couple of days. I will spend the next couple of days outside painting and hope to get two things crossed off my to-do list. We will see how much I get done. Next week I’ll need to get back to the rental house and get some more painting done there. No lack of painting projects in my future.

Grateful I was able to get more deck painting today, grateful for dry days to do painting, and grateful I can stay home tomorrow and Thursday and Friday.