Starry night on the prairie

Another lazy day on the prairie of resting and healing. I took a long nap this afternoon as I didn’t sleep well last night. The wind was blowing 20 – 25 MPH all afternoon and the sound of it wore me out after a bit. It has calmed down some this evening but still blowing. It is working hard to bring in the cold front that is due in sometime Tuesday night.

Worked on making masks again today. I have 50 made up and am out of elastic and ties so can’t finish putting any more together until my supplies get replenished. The elastic is due to arrive Wednesday and the ribbon is still MIA. Not holding my breath that the elastic will arrive as promised. The mail is all screwed up these days. I have some flannel I can cut into pieces while I wait for the elastic to show up. Still waiting on the sheets to come in so I can cut them into pieces. Got all the pieces I have cut and pressed sewed together so when the elastic comes in all I have to do is cut it to length and start pinning masks together. They will work up quickly once I get them pinned.

Did some embroidery work this afternoon. Trying to get the set of tea towels finished that I started several weeks ago. Today is the first day I have felt good enough to pick them up and work on them for a bit. Only have one more to go and the set will be finished. I am tired of looking at the clutter on my end table.

Still haven’t gotten any housecleaning done. It seems to patiently wait for me to get to it. The dust just got thicker today with all the wind. Maybe it is a good thing I hadn’t gotten to it and I would have had to do it all over again anyways. That’s the trouble with house cleaning work – you rinse and repeat over and over again. Never seems to end and things don’t stay clean for long.

Feeling better each day. Still running a bit low on energy in my tank but each day I can do more things easily. I am on day 8 of 10 of taking the antibiotic. I think once I am done taking those I will started feeling better. I still have mild stomach cramps but nothing like I had been having. I will check with my doctor mid week and see if I need to be retested or if I can assume I am no longer contagious and stop the quarantine. Fingers crossed it won’t come back.

Jim is almost out of cookies. While he is in Stillwater I will need to replenish his supply for him. I enjoy baking cookies and he enjoys eating them. I need to take some in to my grandkids too. I sure have missed them. It seems like it has been a long time since I have seen them. Hoping to get released this week so I can see them again soon.

Still haven’t made it back to volunteering for the Crisis Text Hot Line. I thought about getting on last night but decided I was too tired. I may check with them to see if I can do a day shift for a couple of weeks until my strength and energy comes all the way back. They usually have plenty of day time volunteers but guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I do miss doing the work. Hope I haven’t lost my skill set. It has been almost a month since I was on-line.

No plans this week other than resting and healing. Trusting by the end of the week my energy will have returned and I can gradually start working on getting some things done around here. I’m getting tired of being tired and not doing anything.

Grateful for afternoon naps, grateful my grandmother taught me how to embroidery and the joy it brings me to do so, and grateful for the healing my body continues to do.

I had a better day today than yesterday but still didn’t get much done. I laid down around 5:15 and ended up sleeping for over two hours. Extra sleep must be what my healing body needs right now.

I worked on making masks off and on today again. I am out of elastic and ribbon for the ties so can’t finish up any more. I have a bunch to sew the first seam together and more sheets to cut into pieces so I will stay busy until the elastic and ribbon finally arrives.

I finally got the bed made up downstairs that my friend used over a week ago. I had washed the sheets but hadn’t had the energy to go down and make up the bed. Don’t plan on having guests again for a bit but I was tired of looking at the sheets piled on a dining room table.

I cooked some chicken and added it to the can of chicken noodle soup. So far it has only caused mild stomach cramps so I will take that as progress. Still struggling to figure out how to add protein and fat but taking baby steps.

Maybe tonight I will be awake enough to hop on the Crisis Text Hotline and take a call or two. I have missed being on the Hotline but haven’t had the energy to give to it. I haven’t booked myself off my shifts for next week yet as I am hoping to be able to get back on for my shifts next Wednesday and Thursday. We shall see what happens.

I have been in quarantine for a week now. The time has gone by quickly and I haven’t missed other people. The doctor told me to stay home for ten days to two weeks. Thinking since I am symptom free at this point I can be released at the ten day point. I don’t have anywhere to go so may extend it.

No plans for the next few days. Jim will be headed to Stillwater one day soon. I will have him do one last grocery run for me before he leaves so I won’t have to do that while he is gone. I don’t eat much these days and only a few things so my list will be short.

Grateful for extra sleep, grateful for the healing my body is doing, and grateful my quarantine time is almost over.

This has been an OK day. Have had mild stomach cramps off and on all day. Thankfully no diarrhea to go with them but have felt kinda off all day. I slept for three hours last night, woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep until four hours later. Took a nap this afternoon and still feel a bit tired and weak.

Struggling to find a protein to eat that my body likes. It makes my stomach cramp when I try to eat it. I haven’t tried eating any fat yet as it turns my stomach to think about eating it. Simple carbs seem to go down well and not cause trouble. I’ll get there – it is just going to take me longer than I want it to.

Sent a box of 125 masks off to Jim’s son. His girlfriend has lots of contacts all over the country of places that can use masks. I’m glad she can help me find a home for them. Still have pieces cut to make another 150 or more plus material to cut to make another couple hundred. I have sent over 800 masks out into the world so far.

Today would have been the wedding anniversary of Nicole and Chris. I think of him so often. It is a bittersweet type of day.

I haven’t felt like doing much today. Low energy type of day so I am honoring my body and resting. I have sewed a bit off and on but haven’t gotten started cleaning house yet. The dust and dirt seems to wait patiently for me to come find it.

I rode into town with Jim to mail the box of masks. I stayed in the car. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit. I hadn’t been off the property since I went to the ED Sunday afternoon. Another week or so of quarantine and I should be released. I am pretty much symptom free at this point so should no longer be contagious but I want to play it safe and make sure I don’t spread this to someone else.

Today is what it is. Just grateful I am making progress towards healing. I don’t think it is a setback today – more of a reminder to continue to slow down and give my body time to heal.

Grateful for the life of Chris and the love he brought to my family, grateful for rest days that allow my body to heal, and grateful for the food I can eat.

A normal stool this morning at last! I think I am on the mend. Feeling much better and my energy is slowly starting to return. I have been hungry today for the first time in a month. Still eating bland foods as my tummy doesn’t feel ready for other stuff yet but it is getting close.

Went out last night and mowed for about an hour and finished it up this afternoon. The whole yard didn’t need mowed so it didn’t take me the normal three hours to mow. It was good to get outside and bounce around on the mower for a bit. It is very dry and dusty though. The volunteer sunflowers are blooming and are beautiful. They are late blooming this year but am grateful they are blooming now.

The baby chicks are still doing well. They are growing everyday and love to fly around the big house. I opened their windows today and they have enjoyed the sunlight and fresh air. Next week they will get to go outside for a bit during the day. I have had them for three weeks today. 29 out of 31 are still alive.

Took a short nap this afternoon. I still get tired rather easily but can tell my strength is returning. I slept fairly well last night. It was so nice to not have to get up several times during the night to use the bathroom.

From what I read after 48 hours of no diarrhea and having normal stools I am considered non-contagious. I plan on staying home for another week or so anyways just to be sure. I do not want to give this crap to anyone else. So far Jim remains symptom free. It will be a huge blessing if he somehow escapes the curse of this stuff.

Still working on making masks off and on. I got about 35 pinned and ready to sew and have started sewing them together. I work in batches of 10 and switch off to doing different parts of them after I finish making 10. Keeps me from getting too bored with them. I must like repeating doing what I am doing though. I think I can make them in my sleep at this point.

I need to start cleaning house. I haven’t cleaned much since I got home the end of July. The house needs a good going over and not just a lick and a promise which is all I have been doing lately. I don’t like when my house feels dirty and that is where it is now. Maybe I will feel like cleaning tomorrow and get a room or two done.

Jim didn’t leave for Stillwater today as planned. He has now decided to wait until next week. Part of it is he loves being here and part of it is he wants to double make sure I am healed and well. I don’t want to ask a house sitter into the house right now with my C Diff germs in the house. Maybe when he goes after this trip I will be well and feel comfortable going with him and finding a house sitter.

We sat outside for a bit last night and enjoyed the light of the full moon. There were clouds on the horizon so didn’t get to see it rise. It went in and out of clouds for a bit before it lit the prairie with it’s golden light. Fog rolled in and dimmed everything for a bit but there was a magical feel to the night when that happened. I love sitting out under the light of the full moon.

I ordered a package of elastic and ribbon from Amazon on August 17. It was shipped August 21 and USPS can’t tell Amazon or me where the package is now. Amazon is going to ship a replacement package. Have a feeling that is going to happen more and more with what is happening at the post office these days. That really hurts us rural people that don’t have a lot of shopping options.

The grandkids started school this week. Ellexia gets to go to school everyday for now but Tagen only goes occasionally and most of his classes are on-line. I can’t imagine how difficult this situation must be for teachers, students and parents. I trust they will all find ways to make this work for all and learning can happen.

I sure miss seeing the grandkids. Maybe in another week or so I can go in to see them and we will all be safe. Although now they are being exposed to all the kids at school and I’m not sure I want to be exposed to that. Damn! This is hard sometimes doing the right thing.

Grateful to be recovering quickly now, grateful Jim is taking good care of me, and grateful for the light of the full moon.

Still doing better today. No diarrhea today! The first day in a long time! My bowels moved but it wasn’t watery. I know, TMI but it is part of this journey I seem to be on right now.

I managed to get down about 500 calories yesterday. I’m almost at 300 for the day today so far. Progress in baby steps!

I did have a short episode of stomach cramps this afternoon. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and am thinking my stomach isn’t ready for protein yet. The cramps didn’t last long and I laid down and took a short nap and they were gone when I got up.

Jim and I walked down the lane to the mailbox. It felt good to move my body. I took it slow and easy and made it down and back without issue.

The baby chicks are growing fast right now. They are definitely entering the ugly ducking stage. They sure like trying to fly and are enjoying all the room in the big house. We cleaned up their coop this afternoon and raised the feeder and watering can up off the ground so it will stay cleaner. Jim poured the feed into kitty litter containers so it will be easier for me to handle while he is gone.

Worked on mask making a bit today. Will do more of them later. Have about 200 more to sew together and have 80 more made. I’ve surpassed the 800 mark at this point.

Trying to talk Jim into going to Stillwater tomorrow. He is afraid to leave me I think. He will be safer down there as we are to continue social distancing for another week or so. I am strong enough to stay home alone now but I am having trouble convincing him of that. We will see what he decides to do.

No plans for the rest of the week other than resting and recovering. I sleep when I can and do little things around the house when I feel like it. I may try to do a shift on the Hotline tonight but will make a last minute call on if I do so or not. Sometimes the calls can drain me and I don’t have a lot in my tank right now. I may wait one more week before I start back up again.

It sure feels good to be feeling better. It is going to take me a bit to return to my “normal” but it seems to be getting closer everyday.

Grateful my health is returning to my “normal”, grateful the chicks continue to grow and thrive, and grateful for the ability to eat real food again.

FINALLY! Feeling so much better today. Only three small episodes so far today – way down from the 15 I had yesterday and the 30 or more I was averaging. Maybe there is hope for me yet.

I had some unsweetened applesauce for breakfast. I think the natural sugar from the apples gave me a bit of an energy boost. Had chicken noodle soup for lunch. I am still full and my tummy is starting to make lots of noise for the first time in several weeks. I have been able to drink water today and not have it be a problem. Not sure I am ready for Thanksgiving dinner but real food tastes good. I have mainly been fasting for almost a week now.

Jim went to town to get some baby chicken feed. I think I confused him as it took several texts for him to feel comfortable that he got the right stuff. He also picked up my drugs and got me a few groceries to get me through while he is in Stillwater this week. What would I do without him?

The lady from SOS came and picked up the two twin beds and one night stand I needed to go away. It is nice to have more room in the furnace room again. She may come back and get the other set of mattresses another day. What we gave her filled her truck. Jim was kind enough to load them and then cover them with a tarp as it started raining while she was here. I’m glad they found a good home.

The chicks are growing and starting to enter the ugly duckling stage. They go from cute to ugly to grown up. Guess humans do that too – chickens just compress the time table. They are three weeks old now. Another three or four weeks and I can treat them like grownups.

Took the sheets and mattress cover off my bed this morning and washed it all with bleach. Need to get my bed remade this afternoon. Trying to kill off the C Diff bug. I may repeat that several more times over the next few days. Jim has to sleep in the guest room down the hall as we are not to touch each other for another 10 days or so.

I had a really hard day yesterday. I was in tears most of the day. I think my filters were gone and I was letting everything going on in the world in. I was tired of going to the bathroom and feeling crummy and was beginning to think that was going to be my life. I had felt so good after getting fluids Sunday and felt a long ways away from that yesterday. Jim and I are not to touch each other in hopes of not spreading it to him. All he could do is sit and watch me cry. It was hard on him too. Sometimes I go kicking and screaming into acceptance and yesterday I was kicking and crying. I got a good nights sleep and things feel much brighter for me today.

I laid down for a nap this afternoon but didn’t sleep. I’m still a bit weak and have to pace myself a bit to get through the day. I am hoping once I can eat a bit more my strength will return rather quickly.

Someone from the State Dept of Health called me today to do a contact tracing since I had Salmonella. She was relieved to hear we had not eaten at a restaurant since March. She thanked me for not being around many people over the last month. She agreed it was probably the baby chickens although it could have been a bag a lettuce as I guess they have been having issues with that. Jim ate the lettuce too though and he didn’t get sick. She said some people are more susceptible to it then others and my case sounded like a mild case although with the C Diff at the same time it would be hard to know which one caused what. I now wear a pair of muck boots down to the chickens and take them off before I come into the house when I come back up. Hopefully that will help prevent a repeat case.

I think Jim is going to Stillwater tomorrow and staying for a week to ten days. It will be safer for him to be there and I am feeling well enough now to be alone. I can’t cook for him here so he may as well be in Stillwater and get some of his projects there done.

He got my chicken ramp up for me yesterday. The ramp that came with the chicken house four years ago was poorly designed and has given me trouble from day one. He built a nice solid one that will last a long time. It is nice to be able to cross that project off my wish list of things to fix around here. I will enjoy watching the chickens come down it in another week or so when I let them outside for the first time.

He also built a platform for my bales of straw to sit on. I had been putting them on the ground and over time they rot. He put a layer of gravel down on the floor of the lean-to where I keep the straw and put the platform on the gravel. The bales are now nicely stacked and will last much longer. It looks so nice and neat now. Two big projects completed this week. I’m glad one of us has been productive – it certainly hasn’t been me.

Still working on making more masks. I have 70 completed so far and hundreds more to make. I work on them in bits and pieces and slowly but surely they get made up.

Grateful I am feeling better at last, grateful the chicken ramp is up, and grateful the mattresses and box springs are gone.

August has come and is almost gone in a big blur to me. I’m having trouble processing all that has happened this month. I feel like I flushed the month away!

Not feeling as perky today. I got a huge lift yesterday from the fluids. I needed to be reminded what feeling better felt like. I don’t have that same feeling today but can remember what it is at least. Something to look forward to soon.

Stomach cramps are much better. Still having diarrhea x ten so far today but it is a big relief to have the stomach cramps gone. I am on clear fluids yet today as the diarrhea hasn’t gotten down to a manageable number yet.

I did manage to make it down to check on the baby chickens. All are well and they seem to be enjoying this cloudy, cooler day. I realized while I was down there that I need to have Jim do a feed run before he heads for Stillwater Wednesday. The chicks are eating more everyday and will need another 50 pound bag of feed soon. I’ll have him get two just in case they really start eating big time which I have a feeling they will. They are growing fast and like to try out their flying skills. I am finding them in the nesting boxes now and up on the top rung of the roosting bars.

Am working on making masks off and on today. Not very motivated or energized to do much so mainly resting. I can only sit for so long though. Thinking a nap will be in order this afternoon. I laid down for a bit a while ago but didn’t go to sleep.

Got a note back from my doctor’s office. I had asked some specific questions and don’t feel like they answered any of them completely if at all. His nurse is going to pray for me though. Maybe that will help me know when to start eating agin or what type of probiotic to take. Yes, I know that was full of sarcasm but really I was not in the mood for that response this morning. Just answer my questions – is that too much to ask?

My Endocrinologist on the other hand sent me back a very appropriate note and directly answered the question I asked her.

I was beating myself up last night for not going into the ED sooner. Then I realized Friday I spoke with my doctor’s office and my temperature had broken and both of us thought I was getting better. Saturday things were a bit better but still going on and I went in on Sunday. I really could have only gone in one day sooner. Time is doing a funny dance with me right now and not making sense.

I’m still trying to make sense of the world these days. The division seems to be growing and things keep coming so fast I don’t think many of us can process all that is happening and make sense of it. There are so many lies, propaganda and half truths out there to sort through. The outright corporate and collective greed is overwhelming. Protecting the stock market seems to be the goal of some. The continual evidence of racism grows and yet the resistant to facing that fact also seems to be growing. It gets harder and harder to find common ground with those that are on the opposite side of the fence.

What does one do with all of this?

For today I sit with it and allow it to be in my heart. I remind myself I don’t have to know any answers. It is OK to sit with the questions. I will continue to keep my heart as open as I know how to do so and do my best not to become part of the problem. Somedays that is hard, though.

Grateful for the reminder of what feeling good feels like, grateful the stomach cramps are gone and grateful it is OK not to have to know answers to hard questions.

I have answers at last. Went to the ED today on the advice of the Nurse Practitioner I visited with on the phone this morning. My doctor’s clinic has a weekend call a nurse program and I used that to contact someone this morning and she recommended I go in for a C Diff screening.

The hospital took me right back to a room and bypassed triage as I told them I was there for a C Diff screening.  After blood, urine and stool samples were collected we waited for about three hours for results. They gave me a bag of fluids while we were waiting which helped me feel much better.

The Doctor finally came in to tell me I had a double whammy going on. I have Salmonella and C Diff. He gave me an antibiotic for the C Diff and some meds to help slow the diarrhea and sent us on our way. He offered to keep me for a night or two if I wanted him to. I declined his kind offer of a stay in the big house.  I have been able to keep enough fluids down to not get seriously dehydrated and promised to return if I don’t get better or if I get worse.

I wasn’t impressed with the doctor.  He really didn’t want to listen to the beginning of my story with the Cipro back in July.  When he came in to tell me what I had he acted surprised I had questions for him.  He was in a rush and really didn’t want to deal with me.  He figured out what was wrong though so I guess that is all I should expect from him.

The C Diff was probably caused by the Cipro I took way back the end of July for the UTI.  When I had the yeast reaction to the Cipro I was given a different antibiotic that must have stirred up my gut and allowed the C Diff to run amok.  Now they want me to take another antibiotic to fix the problem the other two antibiotics caused.  Yikes!  May this cycle end now!  Third one is a charm – right?

Have no idea where I got Salmonella from.  Perhaps the baby chickens although I have been very diligent about hand washing.  I could have picked it up on my shoes and got it on my hands when I took my shoes off.  I’ll have to double down on being careful so I don’t reinfect myself.

Just knowing what is wrong is a relief.  I was beginning to think I was going to spend the rest of my life on the toilet doubled over with stomach cramps.  Yes, I know I am playing the drama queen card but I was getting pretty discouraged.

I am to call my doctor tomorrow and get advice about when to start eating again.  The ED Doctor recommended clear fluids for two to three days at least and maybe up to a week if the diarrhea doesn’t slow down.  I am also to stay away from people for fourteen days as I guess C Diff is very contagious.  I can’t cook for Jim or share a towel, a drink or dishes with him.  We each have our own hand towels in both bathrooms now.  We aren’t to have physical contact with each other during that time.  Since I have had symptoms since last Wednesday I am thinking If he is going to get it I have already given it to him but we will follow the rules and work hard to prevent him from getting it.  It is miserable and I don’t want to see him go through it.

Jim gets to unload the dishwasher and put the dishes away.  I can load it.  I think he will escape to Stillwater sometime later this  week and stay there for a week so we can avoid contact with each other.  He wants to wait to leave until he is sure I am fully on the mend.

We stopped at Walmart after I got out of the hospital and picked up my drugs and a few groceries.  It was good to get home.  Now I get to stay here for the next two weeks.

Kudos to my sister Kathy who called what I had last week.  She knows her stuff!  Sometimes I think we should let the nurses be the doctors.  They just know stuff!  The nurse today knew what I had too.  Not sure if it had crossed my doctor’s mind last Friday or not – he didn’t mention it if so.

Thankfully my calendar is pretty empty for the next two weeks. I have a mammogram scheduled for Friday so will ask the Doctor tomorrow if I can do that or if I should reschedule it again.  I cancelled the first appointment to get one when I was running a temperature.

Jim is just now getting his coffee for the day and looking at the news.  He got up a bit early for him this morning to take me in to the hospital.  He really does take good care of me.  I’m grateful he has been at my side through all of this.  Crossing my fingers I didn’t share the bug with him.

I really am feeling much better this afternoon.  The extra fluids perked me up and I have more energy than I have had for over a week.  I will not eat anything so hoping that will help quiet down the diarrhea.  It has been much slower today without me eating.  I just hope I can keep up with the fluids enough so I don’t have to go back to the big house.

Grateful for answers, grateful for solutions, and grateful for Jim!

Am continuing to feel better although eating is still a bit of a challenge for me. My temperature never reached over 100.5 yesterday and for most of the day was well below 100. 30 minutes to an hour after I eat I still experience painful stomach cramps and diarrhea episodes. They can also happen when I don’t eat. Hopefully today those will slow down.

My COVID19 test came back negative. Whew! Since my temperature had broken I wasn’t surprised. I kept reading the symptoms of COVID and my symptoms just didn’t match up. My doctor said many are starting to report with GI issues and if they have a fever with them the recommendation is now to test for COVID. Glad I don’t have that but now want to know what I do have.

Grateful the doctor’s office got the results yesterday instead of me having to wait until Monday. I messaged the office to give them an update as to how I was feeling. In their response they let me know I can now take something to slow the stomach cramping and diarrhea down. I took something last night that let me sleep good for four hours and then after I was up an hour or two I took another one that let me sleep for another three hours. I feel a bit hungover today but it is worth it to get some good sleep.

No plans for the day except for recovery and rest. I have a bunch of mask pieces that need pressed so I can start the assembly process. That doesn’t take much energy so may work on them off and on today. Other than that I don’t have anything that needs done.

Jim got the ramp to the chicken coop made. He is going to attach it today. He is now working on building a platform for the hay to sit on so the bottom of the bales don’t rot. He does like to work with wood and build things. I’m grateful!

We are released from quarantine since I didn’t have a known exposure or direct contact with someone with COVID. Jim is going to town later today to get some more chicken noodle soup and bananas for me and some stuff he needs to do another project he wants to work on. I am going to double down on my effort to stay healthy and away from people. I just can’t take any chances for a bit.

Jim is a bit shy about going to Stillwater to work on some projects he has going on there. He wants to make sure I am recovered before he leaves. I’m thinking by the first of the week I should be good to go. My strength will return quickly once I can eat again and get moving a bit. I managed to stay up most of the day yesterday and only took one short nap. Having trouble sleeping last night was another sign things are returning to normal for me.

Once again I am humbled and grateful for my health. I take it for granted too often and need reminders to not do so. It is amazing to me how our bodies can heal if we treat them well and allow them the space and time to do so.

Grateful for negative test results, grateful for Jim’s love and care, and grateful for all who reached out to me with prayers, good vibes and good intentions.

Good news. My temperature broke yesterday afternoon after peaking at 102.0. I took some Tylenol and by 3:00 it was down to under 100 and has continued to drop and stay down. This morning I only was at 99.1. That makes me feel much better.

Still having stomach cramps and diarrhea occasionally. I was able to get down a few crackers last night in hopes of giving my stomach something to work on. I may try eat something this morning later and see what happens.

The fact that my temperature broke gives me much hope that I don’t have COVID. I’m still weak and tired but am feeling much better this morning. Grateful!

I may hear results late this afternoon and if not then I won’t hear until Monday morning.

I slept most all day yesterday and most of the night last night. I am finally feeling not so sleepy this morning. I know I will take some naps today but right now I have the energy to stay up for a bit this morning. That feels good too. I may walk down to see the baby chicks – but it feels like a long walk to me right now.

Grateful my temperature broke, grateful for healing sleep, and grateful for a bit of energy this morning.

Damn! I’m sick. Running up to 101.9 temp, diarrhea, stomach cramps, headache. Going to get COVID tested this afternoon. If I have it I have no idea where I got it.

Be careful out there.

Five years ago today I completed my first day of 50 walking to Santiago on the Camino. My lesson from the first day was to learn how to ask for help. I asked a local for directions to get me started on my walk and he showed me the way by walking with me for my first 20 minutes. He acted like I did him a huge favor by asking for his help. That lesson has stayed with me. It does feel like someone does me a favor when they ask for my help – not sure why it can feel uncomfortable for me to ask for help at times. I try to remember my first Camino Angel when I need help and the lesson he taught me.

I had another dead baby chicken this morning. Yesterday I noticed another one of the Rhode Island Red chick was struggling and I told Jim then that I expected I would find a dead one later in the day. It was still alive when I closed them up last night but found her dead this morning. This is the hard part of raising chickens. I don’t think it will ever get easy to find them and have to dispose of them. The others seem to be liking the big house and having lots of room to move around in.

Got the house ready for my friend that arrived late afternoon. He is staying two nights as he is working in Emporia for the next two days. We had a wonderful conversation this evening. He is a gentle man with a huge heart for mankind and humanity. He is going to join us for dinner tomorrow night. I laid out some steaks to grill – that will be easy.

We took apart two twin beds in the bedroom Jim is going to use as his camera storage room. SOS in Emporia will take them – just have to nail down a time to deliver them to them or have them come pick them up. It will be good to get them out of the way as well as a third set that has been taking up storage space in the furnace room. They will also take the extra bedding so that can all go away soon too.

Worked on ripping up sheets for the next big set of masks I will be making. I got four sheets ripped up so far and have three more sheets to rip. I got all the pieces marked out and have been working on cutting them while conversing with our guest. Jim has been helping me cut so it shouldn’t take too much longer and the pieces will be all cut out. Then I will have to press all of the pieces and I can then start putting them together. I haven’t counted how many more masks I can make yet but guessing 300. We will see how close I am in count.

For the first time since Wednesday night I haven’t had to run to the bathroom today. Progress at last. I am tired tonight as I had to rebuild my strength a bit but it is coming back. By tomorrow I will probably forget I was sick over the weekend.

Got the results of the blood work back that was drawn Monday morning. Everything is normal for me. The doctor sent back a message saying I didn’t need a different antibiotic for my vaginal rash unless it stops getting better and starts getting bad again. I’m good with that. I’m tired of pills for a bit.

Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow except fixing dinner for our guest and us. We might go to town to deliver the beds if SOS can accept them tomorrow. It was nice to stay home all day today and take my time and get a few things done. Did some more embroidery work on the tea towel set I am making. Almost have the fifth one in the set done. Makes good sitting time work for my hands.

We had leftovers again for dinner tonight. I promised Jim good food tomorrow night. He has been generous to eat leftovers for the last four nights. We still have leftovers in the refrigerator but I am tired of leftovers and need something fresh.

We were going to build the steps to the chicken coop today but never made it down there to do so. Jim got busy carry stuff downstairs to put in the bedroom and reorganizing it and I got busy doing other things. Maybe tomorrow we will get down to the coop and get the steps made. The chicks have to be four weeks old before they can go outside and they are only two weeks old so we have some time yet. Although Jim is planning on going to Stillwater for a week and I would like to get them done before he leaves. We will see what happens. It won’t hurt the chicks if they have to stay in a bit longer after they turn four weeks anyways.

Grateful I found a home for the extra beds and bedding, grateful for time to visit with my guest, and grateful all the blood work came back normal.

Got up late this morning after not sleeping well last night. Took my shower and headed into town for my fasting blood draw. Stopped to get some groceries and then came home.

The baby chicks survived their first night in the big house. They seem happier having more room to play in. They didn’t sleep on the roosting bars – they probably don’t have the leg strength yet to support themselves all night. They like to jump up on them and sit for a while and then hop down and run around.

They seem to have found the feeder and watering containers as both had lots missing this morning. I turned the heat lamp off before I went to town and when I got home opened some windows for them. The closed up coop gets mighty hot on days like this.

Started embroidery work on another set of tea towels. Heavens knows why as I have lots of sets already done. Just trying to clean out some totes and found some blank tea towels. Have three of the set of seven done so far.

Completed 10 more masks today. I only have about 15 more to sew and then I have to start cutting sheets into pieces for the next bunch of masks. That part is the part that seems to take the longest and nothing to show for the time spent.

Have a friend coming to spend two nights starting tomorrow evening. I’ll need to get downstairs later today or sometime tomorrow and make sure the basement is in good order. I’m sure the floors need dusted as well as the furniture. It will be nice to have him here again. He is one of my house sitters occasionally along with his wife and family. I enjoy visiting with him when he comes.

Did some laundry but haven’t done much else today. Am feeling much better but can tell I am still not 100% – getting closer everyday though.

Tim and the kiddos got released from quarantine today. They are free to rejoin the world. Michelle hasn’t gotten moved to recovered status yet but is getting closer everyday. She is still weak from not moving much the last two weeks but is regaining her strength bit by bit.

We are having leftovers again tonight. The refrigerator is full of leftovers and it seems silly to make new stuff when we need to eat the old stuff up. Jim is good about eating leftovers. Maybe tomorrow night I will fix something fresh.

A heat wave has descended upon the prairie. There are big cracks in the yard as it has dried out again. Possibility of rain over the weekend but I will believe it when I see it. The heat drains me very quickly when I am outside working.

Other than my Crisis Text Hot Line Shifts this week I have nothing else on my calendar this week. I will relish my empty space time. Still not sure when Jim is going to Stillwater. He wanted to make sure I was fully recovered before he left again. He has found some projects to do here and has been staying busy working on them. He has lots of things on his to do list.

Grateful Tim and the kiddos are released from quarantine, grateful Michelle is feeling much better, and grateful the chicks like the big house.

It has been a productive day on the prairie at last. I got up fairly early and decided to get my mowing done while it was still cool. I’m glad I did because it has warmed up this afternoon.

After Jim got up and had his coffee we went out and got the chicken coop ready for the baby chicks to use the whole coop. It was plain ass hot working inside the chicken coop.  I was dripping in sweat by the time we were done.  I used the cottonseed hulls as bedding this time since I had them.  Next time I clean it out I will switch to straw.

I trust the babies can find the new watering cans and feeder.  The watering can has a red bottom like their other ones did.  I laid a trail of feed to the feeder.

When we went down to check on them they had discovered the roosting bars and were enjoying sitting on them.  The second time I went down there was one all the way up on the third bar high.  They seem to be enjoying all the new space they have now.

I have everything cooked for the dinner I am taking in to Michelle and Tim for tonight.  I sent a text to Jason to see if his family would enjoy chicken and noodles too and he said yes so am taking them the same dinner.  Jason is working 6 twelve hour days a week right now and I thought he might enjoy a night where no one had to cook.

I need to get things boxed up soon and taken in.  Ellexia likes to eat early as she is so hungry then.  I baked a chocolate sheet cake and am waiting for it to cool a bit so I can divide it in half and take each of them half of that.

My friends I met on the Camino FaceTime me this afternoon.  Carolyn and I talked for almost an hour.  It is always a treat to talk to her.  They have smoke filled skies right now with all the fires going on.  The fires are very early this year she told me.

Five years ago I was in Paris getting ready to start my Camino de Santiago walk.  I still have trouble believing that I walked almost 500 miles across Spain.  I think I will get my blog that I had printed into a book and relive my adventure again.  I’m so glad I blogged so I wouldn’t forget the little things that happened along the way.  I actually started the walk on August 25.

I sent 60 masks to Jim’s son David last week.  Through contacts his girlfriend has they will be passed on to people in KY, ND, and CA.  Makes me want to make a bunch more for them to pass along.  Glad they are going to good places and people that need them.

Tomorrow morning I have to go to the clinic to have my blood drawn.  I have a few groceries to stop and get and then I hope to tuck in at home and not leave for the week.  Last week was too busy for me and I am feeling the need to nest at home.  Maybe I will follow in my chickens footsteps and find a roosting bar and settle in!  Ha!

I am way behind writing letters again.  I have one to mail tomorrow and have a list of people to write too.  When we get back from delivering meals tonight I might get a few more written.

Grateful for meals to take to the kids, grateful the chicken coop project is complete, and grateful the chickens found the roosting bars.

I made the mistake of restarting my antibiotics yesterday and started having stomach issues again last night. That confirms what caused my issue Wednesday night. I have stopped taking them again and won’t start them again. At least this time I didn’t run a low grade temperature. I think the temperature was from the pneumonia vaccine.

I took half of a pill of the medication that stops the diarrhea and makes me very sleepy around 6:00 this morning. I slept in today and didn’t get up until 2:00. I hadn’t slept most of the night though as I was up going to the bathroom so much. I feel a bit hung over this afternoon but am not running to the bathroom near as often.

I had gotten up at sunrise and went down to take care of the chicks. I had taken the half pill and didn’t know when I would get back down there. When I got up at 2:00 I went back down. They were suffering from heat stress as their heat lamp was still on. I gave them cool, clear water and opened their door and windows to cool down the coop. Hopefully they will recover and be OK. It has been tricky keeping them cool enough in the big coop. I didn’t have that trouble when I kept them inside.

Tomorrow I need to fix the big coop so they have more room. I don’t have the energy to do it today.

Jim went into town for me to get the noodles so I can make chicken and noodles for the kiddos tomorrow. I hope he can find them – I’m not sure where they are anymore since the Walmart store was reorganized. I also gave Jim a list of several other things I needed. Grateful he was able to run my errands for me as I am still feeling a bit weak today.

Have 30 masks made and decided to order material for another round of them. I don’t know when I will get them all made but don’t have to get them made if I change my mind. I use sheets for the material to make the masks out of and order queen sized which is what our bed uses. That way if I change my mind the sheets will still be helpful.

Jim needs to take two twin bed sets out of the room downstairs he is setting up his camera collection in. Anyone want to haul off two twin bed sets? Make me an offer and they are yours. I will throw in the bedding on them too.

Other than fixing dinner for the kiddos tomorrow night I have nothing on my calendar this weekend. We are eating left overs tonight so don’t even have to fix dinner tonight. We grilled steaks last night – they were yummy.

Monday I will need to go to the doctor’s clinic in the morning to have my blood draw that I should have done Thursday. I will also need to call and reschedule my mammogram. Other than my Crisis Hot Line shifts I don’t have anything else on my calendar all week.

I would like to get some letters written. I sent some out a week or two ago but haven’t written any since. I got handwritten letters from both of my Aunts for my birthday and so love hearing from them. It is like I get a brief visit from my mother when I talk to them or get a letter from them.

I am hoping I will get to stay home all week next week once I go to the clinic Monday. I am feeling the need to nest and not leave the property for a long stretch. Last week seemed busy to me and I prefer the quiet and privacy of staying home these days. Jim is going to Stillwater soon for another week or so but I will stay home and tend to the baby chicks. When they get old enough that I don’t have to tend to them four times a day I will go to Stillwater with him if I can find a housesitter.

Feeling a bit out of my body this afternoon. I need to get some more fluids in me to replace those I lost overnight. I have been able to eat a bit today which is helping. I’ll be glad when I am totally back to my normal energy level and all these drugs are out of my system. I don’t handle drugs well.

Grateful Jim volunteered to go to town for me this afternoon, grateful I am back on the way to feeling better, and grateful the kiddos were flexible and allowed me to switch to Sunday night instead of tonight for dinner.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. It has been a quiet day on the prairie which is my favorite type of day.

I am feeling much better. Still not 100% but getting there. I slept for 24 out of 27 hours yesterday. I have been able to eat a banana and some oatmeal today. Think I am on the mend. Thankful I am recovering so quickly and that I didn’t have COVID. I was worried for a minute that I had a few symptoms of it but am very grateful that isn’t what I had.

I haven’t done anything today except rest and take care of the baby chickens a couple of times. Don’t have much energy so am taking it very easy. I’m sure by tomorrow I’ll be back to close to normal.

Need to get down and fix the whole chicken coop for the chicks. They are starting to get so big their nursery is getting smaller by the day. Hopefully by Sunday I will feel good enough to get that done.

Jim is going to Stillwater sometime next week. He wants to wait until he is sure I am on the mend.

Tomorrow or Sunday I am taking another meal into the kids. Michelle is slowly recovering but still having some symptoms. I trust she isn’t one of the unlucky ones that their symptoms linger for a long time.

Grateful for rapid healing, grateful the chicks are thriving and grateful Michelle is slowly improving.

I started not feeling good after dinner last night. I had a hot line shift but kept having to sign off to go to the bathroom. I gave up after an hour of that and told my supervisor I couldn’t stay on.

Went to bed. Was up and down going to the bathroom most of the night until I remembered I had some drugs left over from when I was sick in March. Took one tablet and it worked.

I have slept all day long. Just took a shower and am headed back to bed. Thinking I am having a reaction to the antibiotics I am on for the vaginal infection. One prescription for a UTI caused the vaginal thing and now the pill to solve that leads to this. I just want this cycle to end.

Going to bed. I’m sure I will feel better in the morning.

It has been an eventful day on the prairie today. This morning I looked out the window to see what Roxy was barking at. There was a pair of raccoons perched on top of the swing set in the back yard. I had heard her barking most of the night and wondered what was out there. Jim locked the dogs in the garage and then shot a few marbles at them using his sling shot. The raccoons crawled down and ran out into the back prairie. They better not come back and eat my baby chickens.

I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce in the crock pot this morning. Made a double batch of No Bake Chocolate Cookies.

Went into town at 12:45 for my 1:30 doctor’s appointment. They took me back on time. I think I was there about 30 minutes. The doctor spent a bit more time actually examine me this year than he did last year but I certainly wouldn’t call it a complete physical.

Stopped by the Salvation Army and dropped off five bags of stuff I had pulled out of my closet to donate. Went by the bank to cash a check and then went to Walmart to get a few groceries.

Finally got home around 3:30. Fixed spaghetti and garlic bread and then boxed everything up and headed back into town to drop off dinner for Tim, Michelle and the kiddos.

When I get done blogging I will go down for the third time today and check on the baby chickens. They were all alive and doing well this morning. It got a bit cooler last night than I expected it to. The chicks were all huddled together under the heat lamp when I went down this morning. I am going to have to lower the lamp for night time. Today I turned it off again as the chicken coop got too warm for them earlier. It is harder to control the temperature in the big coop than it was when I had them inside.

I saved back some spaghetti sauce and bread for our dinner tonight. Jim went down to do some mowing and when he comes up to eat I will cook some spaghetti for him and dinner will be done. That was easy. Tomorrow night I am fixing a pot roast. I want to try one of our new ones from the beef we got last week. Friday we are going to have steaks. I like when our menu is decided ahead of time. Makes fixing dinner much easier when I don’t have to decide what to fix.

Tomorrow I have to have some lab work done so will go in early to my mammogram appointment and get that done. I have to be fasting so they couldn’t do that today. After my mammogram I am going to Matfield Green to visit a friend. I won’t get much done tomorrow either. Good thing I don’t have much on my to do list anyways.

No plans for the weekend so far. Jim is going to Stillwater some time next week but hasn’t decided when he is leaving and when he is coming back. We don’t have anything on our calendar so it really doesn’t matter when he goes.

I have a Crisis Text Hot Line shift tonight and tomorrow night. I’m a bit tired this evening so hoping I can stay awake until midnight to finish out my shift.

Feeling much better today. My yeast infection is improving with the medication I got Monday. Still raw and sore but I can see improvement. It will probably take two or three more days before it is a lot better. I hate when you have to take a medication to counter the medication you took before that. Hopefully this will end this cycle. I am done with doctor’s for a bit.

This day has gone by quickly. I don’t like taking two trips into town in one day but that is the way it worked out today. I’ll be glad when Friday comes and I can stay home for another long stretch of time. I have gotten used to being home and don’t like the days I have to go to town and people.

Grateful the raccoons went away, grateful my annual physical is completed, and grateful for a quiet weekend ahead.

Found a dead baby chicken when I went down to check on them this afternoon. It was a very tiny Rhode Island Red that I was concerned about yesterday. Its wing feathers were not coming in like the others were. It was not growing much in size either. All the others seem healthy and doing well. I had over ordered guessing I might lose one or more.

Cleaned out my closet today. Went through my clothes and got rid of anything I haven’t worn for the last year. I filled four trash bags with clothes to donate to Good Will. They are loaded in the car and I will drop them off tomorrow when I go to town. Got the extra stuff that seems to pile up in my closet instead of going downstairs where it belongs all taken downstairs. That project was on my wish list of things to do. Glad I got something crossed off the list today.

I also cleaned above the kitchen sink. I have a plant window that was really dirty with plant droppings and lavender buds that had dried out and fallen off the stems. That spot had been bothering me for a bit so glad it is cleaned up.

Worked on making masks. Got David’s box of 60 mailed today. Have about 40 more to make and then I will be out of material and will have to decide if I am going to order more supplies.

Jim has been out mowing this afternoon. The lagoon area was way overgrown so he is cutting that back into shape. I was gone this spring after it was burned and it got away from me. The lagoon area has a big gate for the big mower to get in to mow it but the grass was so tall that I was afraid to take it in there. Jim is using the small, push mower. It is hard mowing for him as it is so tall.

The kiddos want spaghetti and meat balls so I told them I would make it and bring it to them for dinner tomorrow night. I’ll probably make some no bake chocolate cookies to go with it. That is one of their favorites. I will have to go to town tomorrow twice as I have my physical at 1:30. Need to stop and get some garlic bread to fix with the dinner when I get done with my doctor’s appointment.

Thursday I have a mammogram in the morning and then am going to Matfield Green to visit a friend. Won’t get much done either tomorrow or Thursday but I will have some fun visiting and cooking.

I have some chicken tenders marinating in olive oil and seasoning. I will grill them for dinner. Guess we will have spaghetti and meat balls for dinner tomorrow night. I will have the meat balls without the spaghetti.

Still feeling a bit out of sorts. I think I hit overwhelm last week and haven’t fully recovered yet. I am having trouble finding a routine and rhythm being back on the prairie. Can’t seem to fully relax into being home again. Not sure what is behind that other than all the chaos in the world right now. For some reason it seemed easier to block it all out when I was in Stillwater.

Grateful something off my wish to do list got done today, grateful for the mowing Jim is doing today, and grateful the kiddos decided what they wanted for the next meal I am taking them.

The baby chicks are growing and all are still alive. Had to turn the heat lamp off today as the coop was getting too hot. When I went down to check their water late afternoon most were laying flat out and sleeping. They all woke up though when I reached for the watering containers. They will get easier to take care of when I can put the bigger water container out. It is too tall for them to reach into it now. They survived the brief thunderstorm we had last night. Ended up not getting much rain but the wind blew up to 40 MPH for a bit.

Jim’s youngest son requested I send him 50 more face masks. He and his girlfriend are well connected into the under served community and they see a need for them. I got 30 made today and had made 20 yesterday so I can get a box fixed up for them and put it in the mail tomorrow.

Went to the doctor this afternoon. I have been fighting a vaginal infection and it was driving me crazy. They could work me in this afternoon so I went in. I have my physical Wednesday but decided not to fight with this for three more days. Trusting the medication he prescribed will work quickly. CVS was very slow filling the scripts but I waited it out and finally got home.

Took a short nap in my chair this afternoon. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep so got up. Felt good to get a bit of a nap this afternoon. Jim is taking a nap now. When he wakes up I will fix dinner. We are having our weekly clean out the refrigerator dinner tonight. We have some left over chili and Shepherd’s pie. Might even have some scalloped potatoes and ham and who knows what else. It will be a bit of this and a bit of that for dinner tonight.

Haven’t gotten much else done today. Jim went into town and got some supplies to fix the chicken coop and picked up a few groceries we needed. It has been another lazy day on the prairie today.

Don’t have anything on the calendar for tomorrow either. I seem to be stringing together lots of do nothing days. Wednesday and Thursday I have doctor appointments but other than that nothing much going on. I really need to get going on my wish to do list and get some things knocked off of it. Maybe I need to move them to my have to do list. Maybe that would help me find the motivation to get something done.

Michelle and Tim are eating left overs tonight too and didn’t need a meal today. They will let me know when they want another meal. Michelle seems to be feeling better although she is still weak and having some symptoms yet. I’m grateful her case was relatively mild although it was hard for her getting through it. Hopefully by the end of this week she will be getting her energy back and feeling more like herself. I keep hearing of people that have symptoms that linger for months and sure trust Michelle won’t have to deal with that.

Feeling a bit out of touch with others. I haven’t done a good job of writing letters lately and haven’t taken time to call others either. It is easy for me to isolate myself out here on the prairie and forget how needed it is for me to stay in touch with my friends. Maybe with Michelle on the mend I can get back into some sort of routine and do a better job of reaching out and connecting.

Grateful Michelle is recovering, grateful the doctor was in today and could see me, and grateful for left overs in the refrigerator so I don’t have to cook tonight.

It has been a weird day for me. I woke up at 5:00 and couldn’t sleep anymore. Got up and have wasted the day. Don’t feel like I have done much yet it is after 4:00. I did take a two-hour nap so guess I accomplished something today.

Jason and his little buddy came out to see the baby chickens. The little one enjoyed seeing them and running around all over the place. I found some bubbles and he enjoyed chasing bubbles in the back yard. Jason picked up his quarter of the beef. My freezers are looking a lot less crowded now with half of the beef gone.

I worked on making masks this morning for a bit. Have 20 completed and another 20 pinned. Need to cut out some more flannel pieces to finish up the sheet pieces I have pressed and ready. One of Jim’s sons requested 50 of them so I know where these are going to go. Will need to decide soon if I make more or not so I can get more material ordered if needed.

Have gone down to check on the baby chicks several times today. I haven’t done the pasty butt check on each of them today yet so will do that when I finish blogging. I checked several of them while my little buddy was here and only found one that needed attention. Hoping most of them are clean today.

I listened to the church service from Jim’s church in Stillwater today. It is nice to see familiar faces. They have resumed having in person services but from what I have heard only about 30 people attend. I still don’t feel it is safe enough to go back to church services in person. I don’t like being in buildings with lots of other people yet.

Michelle had a good day yesterday but didn’t feel as good today. Thinking it is going to be a bit of a roller coaster for her as she continues to recover from COVID. So far the other three in the house are staying symptom free. They have survived their first week under strict quarantine – one week to go unless another one goes down. I will be happy when I can see Michelle and give all of them hugs again. Not sure when I am going to take another meal in to them. Tim said he had some left overs they needed to work through before they needed more food.

I have a car load of recycling I need to take into Cottonwood Falls and I need to fill the two gas cans for the mower before I can mow again. Also need a few groceries so may run into town tomorrow. Jim has a few things on his list he needs so might give him the grocery list and let him pick them up.

Maybe I will find some motivation to get something productive done today. I appreciate days better when I get something accomplished. Good thing I don’t have much on my to do list and can take a day or two here and there and do nothing.

Grateful my little buddy came out to see the chicks, grateful all chicks are still alive, and grateful I found a home for the next 50 masks.

We had a fun time visiting with Nicole and Geoff last night. Stayed up way too late but it was worth it. Sat out on the back deck and watched the lightening from a storm a long ways away. I gave in first and went to bed but I don’t think it was too long after I gave up that the others went to bed too.

Got up this morning and fixed breakfast for them. They enjoyed a walk down to the chicken coop to see the new baby chicks before they left. They brought a big cooler and we almost filled it with their quarter of beef. They were on the road before 11:00 to go back to KC. It was a short trip down for them but I sure enjoyed their visit.

The baby chicks are doing well. Their wing feathers are coming in already. I had to turn the heat lamp off as the coop gets too hot during the day. I even opened the window today to help them cool down a bit. It is harder to maintain the proper temperature in the coop but it is sure nice not to have them in the house.

I am fixing meat loaf, cheesy potato casserole, corn and E’Clairs to take to Tim and Michelle this evening for their dinner. I put a small bit of the potato casserole and meat loaf in separate containers for our dinner. I will put ours in the oven when we go to town to deliver their food. Then when we get home ours will be ready to eat. I’m anxious to try our new beef.

Don’t have anything on the calendar for tomorrow except Jason is bringing his little guy out to see the baby chickens and to pick up his quarter of beef.

Am still working off and on making more face masks. I got 10 more made yesterday but 10 more went out the door today. Still have pieces to make about 90 more and then will have to decide if I am going to make more or not. I haven’t worked on them much the last couple of days.

I’m a bit tired this afternoon. I laid down for a bit after the kids left but couldn’t go back to sleep. Thinking I won’t stay up so late tonight.

Don’t have much going on this coming week except for my physical on Wednesday and mammogram on Thursday. It will be nice to have a quiet week and a short to-do list. Maybe I will get to my wish list of things to do and get a couple of those things knocked off the list.

Grateful for the visit from Nicole and Geoff, grateful the chicks are all still alive and growing fast, and grateful for the delicious smell of the meat loaf cooking.

It has been a very busy day and it is only 3:15. Got a text from Michelle this morning requesting a few things from Walmart. I got up and got dressed and headed into town. Stopped by Walmart and picked up the things she needed then dropped them off on her porch.

Since I was in town I decided to go ahead and head to Olpe to pick up the beef that was ready. We ended up with over 500 pounds of beef. It filled my two freezers when I got home. It took me a bit of time to get it all unloaded from the car and into the freezer. The hamburger packages kept falling out – luckily I missed my toes.

When I got the beef all put away I mowed the yarn. I still have a little bit to finish but 90% of it is done. It was getting hot outside by the time I finished mowing.

Then I went down to the baby chickens and cleaned out the nursery. I picked up the paper they were on and put down the cottonseed hulls. As I put each chick back into their clean pen I checked them for pasty butt and cleaned the ones that were showing signs of it.

You should have seen the look on Jim’s face last night when I told him I needed to check the chicks butts. He didn’t offer to come down and help me this afternoon.

Came in from mowing and taking care of the chicks and took another shower. I was dripping sweat and was itchy from the grass I blew up in my face mowing.

Started some laundry and am cleaning house. Nicole and Geoff are coming in later tonight.

I took three calls on the Hotline last night – none of them urgent. I didn’t feel like I was doing a very good job last night. I felt impatient and like I pushed them off the line too fast. I quit when my two hour shift was up even though they were busy. Some nights are easier for me than others and last night wasn’t too much fun.

I dug out some tea towels and cut out the transfers so I can get some more stamped to embroidery. I had left the ironing board up to remind me to do that and I want to take the ironing board down so need to get the tea towels stamped. I also have some flannel pieces that need pressed so I can finish up this batch of face masks. I haven’t sewed on them all week. I am getting tired of the mess on a kitchen table and want them done and out of the way.

Michelle seems to be doing a bit better today although that is relative and subject to change quickly. This virus is a bit unpredictable and takes a different course everyday. Just hoping the other three In her house don’t come down with it too.

I need to go back out to the garage and sort through the beef. I didn’t count the packages when I put it away and still need to do that. We are dividing it up amongst the four of us and I need to get a good count of each package so I know how to divide it up. The guy at the processing plant in Olpe said he is booked up until June 2021.

I’m finally cooled down from all my work outside. I was too sweaty to be able to put a bra on after my second shower of the day. I think I have quit dripping sweat and can probably put it on now. Oh the joys of a KS summer.

I may go take a nap. I’m tired and kinda grumpy. Maybe a nap will revive me and give me enough energy to stay awake for a bit this evening so I can visit with Nicole and Geoff.

Last night around 1:30 we were still up so the lights were on all over the house. The doorbell rang. Jim answered it and it was some guy that said he had just moved to Emporia a bit ago. He wanted to know where Highway 50 went so he started walking. He got tired and saw our lights and came up to ask for a ride back into town. I called the Sheriff and they came to get him. Kinda gutsy of the guy to ring the doorbell at 1:30 in the morning. The sheriff showed up quickly and took the guy away. Weird!

I wondered if he had found out we run an Airbnb and was stopping to see if we had any beds available. Jim said he didn’t think the guy knew about the Airbnb. I trust he doesn’t come back in the middle of the night again.

Grateful for the beef in the freezers, grateful Michelle asked for some help, and grateful the yard is mowed and chicks have fresh linens.

Jim got home a little after 8:00 last night. It was good to see him. We got his car unloaded we had chili for dinner.

I had to work my volunteer shift on the Hot Line after dinner. I handled seven calls last night. We weren’t too busy when I logged on but they were getting busy when my shift was over. I usually stay on later but wanted to sit outside with Jim for a bit and watch the meteor shower.

Didn’t see lots of meteors last night before the clouds started rolling in. We checked radar and could see the lightening from storms over 100 miles away.

I got some good sleep last night at last. I fell asleep very quickly and slept most of the night.

Got a phone call at 7:45 this morning telling me my chicks had arrived. I got up and got dressed and went to pick them up. All of them arrived alive and looking good. I mixed up the sugar water and filled the watering containers and then filled the feed container. I sprinkled extra food on the paper they are on. One by one I took them out of the shipping container and dipped their little beak into the water. All of them started drinking right away.

Just as I was finishing i got a phone call from Tim. He had to take Michelle to ED as she was dehydrated badly. He couldn’t stay at the hospital with her so had to leave her at the door. She has COVID and was pretty out of it. Luckily after getting lots of fluids she perked up and was able to come home late morning.

Jim went back to bed after we got the chicks settled. I stayed up and got the new tv connected. I had trouble finding the USB ports on the TV. They were located on the side of a slot on the back of the TV. Once I found them I got everything up and running smoothly.

I took a two hour nap this afternoon. I was more tired getting sleep then I am when I don’t get sleep. It feels good to feel rested now.

I’ve been down several times checking on the baby chicks. They all seem to be settling in and are not peeping so loudly now. Tomorrow I will have to remove the paper they are on and put down the cottonseed hulls. Have to figure out a way to lift the water containers up off the floor a bit. They will stay in the small nursery for about two weeks and then they can have the run of the chicken coop. At four weeks I can let them go outside during the day.

I am fixing scalloped potatoes with ham for dinner. I called Tim to see if they wanted a pan of it too and found out Tagen’s dad and wife are bringing them over dinner tonight. A neighbor is fixing dinner for them tomorrow night. How sweet is that? It takes a village to survive COVID and I’m glad the village is stepping up to help them out.

Tomorrow the beef should be ready for us to go pick it up. Nicole and Geoff will be here late evening to spend the night. I’ll fix breakfast for them Saturday morning and then they will return to KC. I’m fixing dinner for Tim and kiddos Saturday evening.

It was scary getting the call that Michelle had to go to the hospital this morning. I’m grateful she got to come back home and trust she will continue to recover at home. This shit is dangerous and things can go downhill quickly.

Grateful the baby chicks arrived safely, grateful for the village helping to support Tim and Michelle, and grateful Jim is back home.

Oh what a night! Very little sleep. I took a nap from 9:00Pm – 11:00pmm so I could stay up and watch the meteor shower. I got to watch for about 30 minutes before the clouds rolled in and blocked the view. I saw several meteors but it wasn’t a great show like in 2016. I came in after the clouds rolled in and got on the Hot Line. I stayed on until 4:00 am as I wasn’t tired. Finally took a bath and went to bed but couldn’t fall asleep. Still haven’t slept. Hoping I can take a nap yet today so I can stay up for a bit when Jim gets here. He won’t be here until after 8:00.

I took 7 calls on the hot line last night. Two were intense but successfully resolved. I am feeling more and more comfortable with handling calls now. I have volunteered for 90 hours so far. Only 110 more hours to fulfill my commitment. I have a scheduled shift tonight. We have been very busy lately late at night and there are less and less counselors on each shift now. When the call is intense I only take one call at a time but when it is a routine call I take two at a time. Some people can handle up to four conversations at a time but I’m not there yet.

Did some house cleaning and laundry today. Have a crock pot of chili cooking for when Jim gets here for dinner. I wasn’t sure what time he would get away and needed something that was forgiving of time in case he was later than he expected to be. I told him this morning I would be surprised if he left before 5:00. He told me he would leave at 3:00. I was right this time!

Sure hoping the baby chickens will arrive tomorrow. It may be Friday though. I worry about them traveling without food or water for 2 – 3 days but they ship them successfully all the time and I have to trust they know what they are doing. It will be fun to have baby chicks again.

I should get a call either tomorrow or Friday that our beef is ready to be picked up. It will be nice to have a full freezer of beef. I still haven’t gotten the bill for the beef so not sure how much it is yet. Hopefully I will get the bill soon.

Nicole and Geoff are coming to spend the night Friday night. They are leaving after breakfast Saturday morning so it will be a short visit. They are coming to pick up their quarter of beef. It will be fun to see them.

Saturday I am going to take dinner to Tim and Michelle again. This time the request is for meat loaf. Not sure what I will fix to go with it – probably cheesy potatoes, corn and a dessert of some sort. Ellexia texted me last night to thank me for the dinner I took in last night. That was so sweet of her.

With all that going on it will be a busy weekend tending to baby chickens and cooking. I will enjoy every minute of it though.

Next week I have my annual physical and mammogram appointments. It is always good to get those done for the year.

It will be good to have Jim back home again. It is hard for him to leave his place in Stillwater and come back here. I think he feels like a man divided. I know the feeling as that is how I felt for the first six months this year. It is hard to live in two different places.

Grateful Jim will be home soon, grateful the baby chicks will be here very soon, and grateful I will have a full freezer of beef by weeks end.

I spent most of the day cooking in the kitchen. I volunteered to take dinner into Tim and Michelle. I fixed creamed chicken and biscuits, mashed potatoes, green beans and brownies. It takes me longer to fix a meal than it used to. I didn’t sample anything so trusting it was all edible.

I ran it into them at 5:00. Ellexia wanted to eat early as she was hungry. I stopped and got some groceries after I dropped the meal off and then came home and put everything away. I got the kitchen cleaned up and everything put away from my cooking adventure. All is back to normal again.

Got an email from my chicken supplier. The chicks were put in the mail this afternoon and should be here either Thursday or Friday morning. I trust their travel adventure will go smoothly. I’m sure they will be hungry and thirsty when they get here.

I haven’t gotten much else done today. Want to do some more cleaning this evening. Last night I was going to clean but my neighbor called and we went for a 3 mile walk instead. My legs needed stretched and it was good for my soul to move my body. I might take another walk tonight – we shall see. I really need to get some cleaning done.

I haven’t worked on face masks today. Needed to take a break for a day from them. They seem to sit patiently waiting for me to get back to them to finish them up. Have enough pieces for about 100 more. Then I will have to decide if I want to order more material to make more or not. Right now I’m not so sure I do but that may change. They do give me something productive to do when I can’t think of other things to do.

Jim picked up the TV I purchased on-line from Best Buy. The wall stand was back ordered and they are going to ship that to us. It will be nice to have a TV big enough to see the words on the screen.

I spent 20 minutes cleaning up Tony’s feeding station yesterday. When I went into the study today I noticed he had destroyed it again and it is a big mess. He is worse than a child at times. Tony is one of Jim’s cats. He spends most of his time outside but comes in to eat and sleep. If he doesn’t quit making a mess he may find himself eating and sleeping outside.

Jim is to come home tomorrow. His floor guys showed up a day early and got the job done today. He had some last minute things to finish up but will load up and head home early afternoon tomorrow. It will be good to have him back home.

So far today the skies are clear. I want to go out tonight and look for meteors as the Perseid Meteor Shower is this week. I hope they put on a great show this year.

I slept in bits and icees last night. I sure wish I could sleep for five or six hours straight without waking up and staying awake for an hour or so. I’m really tired tonight so maybe tonight will be the night I can get some good sleep. It has been several nights since that happened.

Need to take the trash down and track down Jim’s cats to give them their flea and tick medication. Those are the last two things on my to do list for the day. I have a wish to do list too but that one seems not to get done very often.

Feeling a bit better today although I am still not fully grounded. Am giving myself some grace and lowering my personal expectations of myself right now. Things keep changing and spinning around me and I struggle at times to keep up. Sometimes the best thing I can do is let go and block out as much as possible and remember to take care of myself. Harder to do that than it feels like it should be sometimes though.

Grateful I was able to take dinner into the kids tonight, grateful the chicks are on their way, and grateful Jim will be home tomorrow.

Happy birthday to my baby brother Keith. He turns 63 today. Trust he is having a great day. If I know him he is probably working in his garden today.

A member of my family tested positive for COVID19. Thankfully I haven’t been around them for the last six weeks. Their whole household is under a 14 day quarantine and no one is allowed to go anywhere and no one can come in the house. So far the symptoms are mild – I trust they stay that way.

I didn’t have any takers on my latest face mask offer so I took 100 of them to the High School today. I trust they will find a home for them. Not sure how the staff is protected and am guessing not all the students will have one. I left my phone number with them so they can call me if they need more of them.

I’m thinking the next big batch of masks I make will be children’s sizes and I will donate them to the grade schools. I’ll see if I do another batch. I’m at that point with this batch that I’m thinking I am done but I have been here before and started again. We shall see what happens.

I baked a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies today. I was anxious and needed something to do. The house smells good when I bake them. I love cinnamon and the house smells like cinnamon and sugar. I took the peanut butter cookies I made yesterday and dropped them off at Michelle’s house when I ran into town to drop the face masks off at the high school. I’m still feeling the urge to bake but not sure what to bake.

I have started my house cleaning project. I got the study almost done yesterday and have bits and pieces of other rooms done. Guess I will work off my anxiousness by cleaning this afternoon. I’m surprised how much dirt I am finding. I cleaned the main floor before we left for CO and have to keep reminding myself that was six weeks ago. It feels like it was last week.

I have an electric fireplace thingy that warms a room up nicely. If you know of someone that needs extra heat for the winter let me know. It is in great shape and has extra storage on both sides of the fireplace. We are reorganizing the study and I don’t have room for it any more. I can send pictures if needed.

I called the post office in Strong City this morning to alert them that I have baby chicks coming sometime this week. She told me they would call when they got them. Their mail arrives around 7:30 in the morning and I can come then to get them. Sure hope we don’t lose any during the shipping process. I have their nursery all set up and waiting for them. Just have to add sugar water and feed and plug in the heat lamp.

The Perseid Meteor shower is this week. I hope the skies clear during the night so the meteors can be seen. In 2016 it was a fabulous display and hasn’t been so good the last couple of years. The moon will be a bit bright which will cut down on the number visible but hopefully it will be a fun couple of nights to stargaze.

Feeling a bit anxious and pissed off this afternoon. If you are a tRump supporter I would stay away from me for a while. This whole COVID situation has been handled so poorly and now it has come home for me. I will spend some time making more masks as it is something productive I can do and feel like I am making a bit of a difference but it sure feels like it isn’t enough.

Grateful for my baby brother Keith, grateful for home made cookies, and grateful for the Perseid Meteor shower.

A rainy day on the prairie today. The clouds are moving on out and the sun is coming through this afternoon. It is to warm up and be hot and humid this afternoon. Didn’t get much rain though. More is in the forecast for the coming week.

I couldn’t sleep last night so hopped on the Hot Line. They were getting slammed. I took five calls in less than an hour. None were urgent type calls and two disengaged pretty quickly. I got tired so got off even though they were still busy. At some point I don’t feel I do a very good job if I am too tired.

I didn’t sleep very well again last night. I’m never sure why. I finally got up at 8:00 and went back to bed at 11:00 and got one more hour of sleep then.

The lady that borrowed my knee scooter brought it back today along with two rib eye steaks. I would say I got the better end of that deal. She had found the scooter to be most helpful and was amazed I had loaned it to her without knowing her. The scooter had dumped her off once. I’m glad I had warned her that might happen. I got dumped a couple times too.

I baked a batch of cookies for the grandkids. They aren’t home today so will take them in tomorrow unless they stop by today and get them. I was in the mood to bake today. Next up is getting some cleaning done. Once I get started I will be OK – it is the starting part that trips me up.

I now have 100 face masks completed. If you need some let me know and I will mail some to you. I haven’t made any kid sized ones yet though. If no one I know needs them I will donate them to the high school.

Starting to feel a bit disconnected from the “real” world today. Not sure why as I have spent lots of time alone before and haven’t felt that way before. Guess I have forgotten how to spend time alone.

Have had a touch of a headache today. Thinking it is the weather that is causing it. The wind has been blowing much of the day and it is hazy outside when it isn’t raining. Not my favorite type of prairie days.

Got the results of the nuclear stress test and everything that I read seems like it was normal test results. I see the Cardiologist the middle of September for a follow-up visit. I am guessing he will dismiss me again. I have quit wearing my smart watch to bed. If I don’t know my heart rate is below 40 at night I don’t have to worry about it – right?

I need to go into the study and write some letters. I figured out last night how to make the font bigger so it will make it easier to write letters. Please don’t tell me that is a sign of getting old when one has to increase the font size on the screen. Next thing you know I will be buying large print sized books.

I need to get up and move my body before I fall asleep in my chair. I am going to try hard not to take a nap today so I can give myself a better chance of sleeping good tonight. I am overdue for a good night’s sleep.

Grateful the scooter has been returned along with two steaks, grateful The nuclear stress test results were normal, and grateful I figured out how to increase the font size on my computer screen.

I think I burned up Jim’s sewing machine today. I heard a clunking sound and then it froze up and won’t move. It made over 600 face masks. Maybe it is just tired and needs to rest for a bit. I have another machine I got out. I didn’t realize how loud Jim’s machine was getting. Onward with the new machine!

The guy came back today and baled the hay he cut yesterday. I think I have about 20 – 22 bales. Last year he got 29. The grass was not as tall this year due to the drought we had in June and early July. It is fun to watch him bale it and have the machine poop out the big bales. That is what Ellexia and Tagen called it anyways when they were younger and were here and watched the process happen.

I mowed the tall grass that was still standing between what I normally mow and what the guy mowed. I’m glad that project is done. It is dusty and dirty mowing with lots of grasshoppers jumping on me. I took a shower when I was done but still am finding dirt on me in places it doesn’t belong.

I took a nap again this afternoon. I didn’t mean to but stuff happens occasionally that is not planned. I hadn’t slept very well last night and was tired after being outside mowing.

I got on the Crisis Hot Line last night and handled three calls. Two were normal teenager issues and the other was a single mom. I felt bad for the single mom as I’m not sure I was able to offer much help. Society doesn’t play nice sometimes with single moms and what she needed isn’t available.

Finished another 20 masks today and will probably do another 20 before the day is over. I have 80 made now so am ready to offer them to anyone that still needs a mask. Send me a message if you need some and I will mail some to you. I have a group that will take as many as I can make but I want to make sure all my friends and family have masks first before I donate them to the group.

It was a hot one today. Got up to the upper 90’s. If you add in the heat index it was almost 110 this afternoon. It is to be hot again tomorrow and then rain comes in Monday and stays around for most of the week. I’m glad the yard work is done.

I haven’t seen another person all day. Nicole called and I talked on the phone with her for a bit. I texted with Jim several times but haven’t talked to him yet. I remember when I would go days like this and not think anything about it. I have gotten used to having Jim around and it is weird being alone again.

I ordered a new TV and wall stand for the study today. Jim is going to use curbside pickup at Best Buy in Stillwater and pick it up and bring it home with him next week. That was easy! The TV I have now is a very small one and I can’t read the words on the screen from my desk. Is that a sign I am getting old? Maybe! I had a $40 gift certificate I wanted to get used up before it expired and this seemed like a good thing to use it on. Trusting I can get it all hooked up without issue. Sometimes I can manage those things and other times not so much.

Haven’t started cleaning house yet but am starting to feel the urge. Maybe tomorrow will be a good cleaning day as it will be too hot to be outside. I would like to at least get the main floor cleaned really well before Jim gets home the end of the week. I’m not sure he Yet understands my cleaning standards. Somethings are hard to explain to someone else.

Nothing on my calendar for the next few days. The baby chickens should be here Wednesday or Thursday. They will give me something exciting to do for a few days. Once they get to be a week old they take less work. I’m glad it is going to cool down a bit come Monday so their shipping adventure won’t be so hot for them.

The quiet today has done my soul good. I feel more grounded and centered than I have for some time. I’ve had some relaxing, quiet music on today and I have enjoyed that. It feels good to have some quality empty space again.

Grateful the hard mowing is done, grateful the hay got baled, and grateful for all the miles Of sewing Jim’s sewing machine gave me.

Jim left for Stillwater around 4:00 this afternoon. He will be gone a week. The house feels so big and empty without him here.

He waited to leave as he had a zoom call scheduled for 3:00. The lady never sent him the credentials to get into the call and never called to say what was happening. A bit frustrating to have waited all afternoon for a call that didn’t happen.

The guy came to mow the tall grass on the property today. I enjoy watching him work. He will come flip it over in a day or two and then come the third time to bale it. I have some mowing to do now that I only do after the tall grass is cut. I don’t like this mowing job as the grass is tall, it is rocky, it will be dirty and dusty, and there will be lots of grasshoppers, turtles, and snakes to watch out for.

I worked on making masks for a bit today. I have 50 of them made so far and lots more bits and pieces to put together yet. Slowly but surely I am making another big pile of completed masks.

I went into town this morning to go grocery shopping. I didn’t think I had many things on my list but ended up spending way more money than I had planned to and got lots of things that were not on my list. Always feels good to have my weekly trip to town over and done with. I picked a good time to go to the store as it wasn’t busy while I was there. I was able to get in and out fairly quickly.

I have nothing on my calendar for the time Jim is gone. I have lots of things I may get done that are on my to-do list but nothing that has to be done. It will be interesting to see what I do with this empty space time. Feels like it has been a long time since I had a full week of empty space and no one around to share it with me.

I had invited a friend to come spend a night or two but she decided not to come. She is in the middle of a journey and felt like she needed to stay home. I have a few people I need to go visit so may do that one or two days this coming week.

I’m excited the baby chickens will be here soon. I had to buy eggs today. Looking forward to having a fresh supply again in my backyard.

Our beef will be ready a week from today. It will be nice to have a full freezer of beef to eat. Grocery store prices have become outrageous for beef. Not sure who is getting rich off of the prices they are charging but it isn’t the local rancher.

I’m sitting in my corner chair looking at my dirty house and trying to find some motivation to clean it. Sure wish it would stay clean longer than it does. I do love a clean house though. Hoping I find the motivation to get after it this week and get lots of detail cleaning done. We shall see what the week brings.

Grateful for the guy that mows my tall grass, grateful for empty space, and grateful for lots of options for me to choose from on how to spend my time.

The chicken coop is set up and ready to welcome the new babies that are arriving mid-week next week. All I need to do is fill the water and food containers and turn the heat lamp on. I’m getting excited to get them here and get them settled in.

They will only need the baby corral for the first two weeks or so. Then I can open it up and let them have run of the whole chicken coop for the next four weeks. They won’t get outside until four weeks old and then I will have to put them back inside for the night. It may depend on the weather though. If it gets cold early they will have to stay inside until they are six weeks old.

I tore the other sheet into strips today. Still need to measure and cut the strips into pieces. Then I can press all the pieces and start the assembly process. I have half the ribbon cut and sewed so will need to do the other half of the ribbon. I’ll probably cut the ribbon into pieces while waiting on a Crisis Text call tonight.

Other than doing three loads of laundry I haven’t done much else today. I laid down and took a nap this afternoon. I have to stay up late tonight and this way I will be able to do so without getting too tired taking calls.

Jim has been outside working on moving gravel all afternoon. That is hot work today as it has warmed up again on the prairie.

Still not sure when he is going to Stillwater. He attempted to call the garage door people today but was having trouble getting the call to go through. Not sure what he found out if anything.

I finally feel like all of me got home. I can start to look ahead at the things I want to do here and get started on some long overdue projects I have to do. It is nice to feel settled and rooted again.

Need to go into Cottonwood Falls and take recycling. Friday I will need to go to Emporia and go grocery shopping. I don’t have too big of a list this time so it won’t take too long to get what I need.

I was happy to see Lyon County adopt a required face mask policy. Wish Chase County would revisit the issue and do the same in light of their increasing case counts. It may take someone dying before they do that though. We will continue wearing ours whenever we are inside a building.

I am going to fix ham and beans in the instant pot tonight for dinner. Jim wanted split pea soup but I don’t have any split peas. Have some at our Stillwater house but not here. I’ll make some corn bread for Jim to go with it.

Grateful to be welcoming baby chickens next week, grateful for face masks, and grateful to be home on the prairie again.

This day has not gone as expected but in the best of ways. The only thing I had on my to do list today was to clean out the chicken coop. I worked on masks too long this morning waiting for it to warm up a bit. About the time I decided to go down and get started Jason came out.

It was good to see Jason and visit with him for a while. He stayed for a couple of hours. When he left I laid down for a minute and 30 minutes later Jim woke me up. We had somewhere to go and it was time to get ready to leave.

We went to a friend’s house for an outdoor sing along. Ten of us sat in the shade of the trees and sang together. Several played various musical instruments. It was so relaxing and great fun. Jim got to meet some new to him people from the community. I took along my knitting and knitted two dishrags while enjoying the music.

Afterwards we invited the hosts over for dinner. I had a crock pot of white chicken chili cooking. They came over for dinner and we visited for a while afterwards. After they left Jim helped me clean up the kitchen and here it is almost 9:00 and the chicken coop didn’t get cleaned out today. There is always tomorrow.

I don’t have anything on my calendar for tomorrow except the Crisis Text Hot Line shift at 10:00 in the evening. Maybe I’ll get the chicken coop cleaned tomorrow. It is to be a bit warmer tomorrow but no rain until Thursday.

Thursday the air conditioner guy is coming to do the spring check up and to fix the stack on the barn. The new oven is to be installed Thursday too. It will be good to get those three things crossed off my to do list. All three have been on it for several months.

Jim still hasn’t decided when he is going to Stillwater. He keeps forgetting to call the two guys to see if they can come do the two pending projects he wants to get done while he is there. We will continue to play it day by day.

Found out today that the beef we have coming will be ready the end of next week. Nicole and Geoff are going to come down a week from Friday and will spend the night and then take their part of the beef home with them Saturday morning. It will be nice to have a freezer full of beef again.

I need to start cleaning house. I need to finish my spring cleaning – or maybe I will start my fall cleaning early. Every room needs a good going over and freshened up. I need to go through all the kitchen drawers and cabinets and put my kitchen back together again. Once a year I like to go through every drawer and cabinet in the house and get rid of stuff I no longer use. Helps keep the clutter down and it is nice to remember where everything is. It always amazes me what I find and what things I no longer use.

I need to write a few letters. I have written five since I have been home but have a bunch more to write and send off. I so enjoy writing letters and staying in touch with people the old fashioned way.

I have 30 face masks made and looking for a home. I cut out one of the two sheets and have the pieces ready to be pressed. I still need to cut two more spools of ribbon into the right sized pieces and sew them together. I have the other sheet to cut into pieces yet. Then I can go into mass assembly process again. Every time I get to this stage and think I doubt that I will make another batch and yet every time I have decided to continue making them. We will see what happens this time. I am getting tired of the clutter on my dining room tables.

Grateful Jason came to visit today, grateful for the friendship and music today, and grateful our friends joined us for dinner.

Went to Topeka mid day to have the Nuclear Stress test done. When I got there they took me back and started an IV and injected the nuclear medication. Then they sent me back out to the waiting room for an hour. The nurse told me to drink something and offered me Coke or Sprite. I told her I didn’t do sugar so she offered me a diet Sprite. I told her I didn’t do artificial sugar either. She looked at me like I had two heads. She then offered me the water fountain. I had brought water with me so went out to the car to drink 32 oz of water.

While I was sitting in my car drinking the passenger side door of the car sitting next to mine opened and their door hit my car. The guy in the passenger side glared at me like I had done something wrong. He went to get out and managed to hit my car with the door several more times. After he got out I realized he was physically challenged and had trouble getting out of the car. The only problem is my car was there before they pulled in. My car was well inside the lines. I didn’t react and after he went in the building I moved my car to another spot so it wouldn’t get hit again when the guy came back to get into his car.

After my hour was up they called me back and did a 15 minute scan of my heart. I had to lay with my arms above my head and not move. When that was over I did the Tread mill for 10 minutes. They kept increasing the incline and the speed every three minutes. My heart went from 60 to 140. I could have gone longer but I had reached the heart rate they were after. I had to sit in the room for a bit afterwards until my BP and heart rate returned to normal.

They injected me with more Nuclear junk and then sent me to the waiting room for 15 minutes. Had another scan done and then I was able to leave. I am to drink lots of water today to wash that stuff through my system. I have 64 oz down so far and am working on another 32.

The Turnpike has five construction zones between Emporia and Topeka. Traffic was light both ways but it is a pain to have to speed up and slow down for construction zones all the time.

Before I left town today I stopped by the Senior Center and dropped off 50 face masks for them. I was lucky to catch the Director at the Center as it was closed.

Stopped by the clinic before I left town and had my blood drawn so they could check my TSH level. Got the results back and it is 3.6. A tad high but not too bad. The doctor at MD Anderson wanted me to keep it between 1.5 – 2.5 but that is a hard range to stay in. It is safer to have it a bit high than a bit low. Not sure what the doctor will do about my medication level. I need to order a refill of my thyroid meds so hope to hear from her tomorrow. If not, I will call and ask.

Worked on making more masks when I got home. Jim had gone to town and bought a new wheelbarrow and had taken 18 loads of rock from the rock pile to the driveway to fill in where the rain had washed away the rock and left some holes. He is a tired puppy tonight. We were going to take a walk but he laid down on the couch and fell asleep. I think I will let him sleep for a bit.

I had forgotten to lay out some meat to thaw so ended up making BLT’s for dinner tonight. Jim likes his with an egg on top. I like mine without bread. It wasn’t fancy but it filled us up. I need to come up with some new ideas for dinner. I have run out of ideas and keep fixing the same things all the time.

Nothing on the calendar tomorrow or Wednesday. Still not sure when Jim is going to Stillwater. He forgot to call and see if the garage door can be installed and if the guys leveling the floor can come this week. He may wait and go next week. We will see what happens.

Thursday the air conditioner guy is to come do the spring tune up – better late than never I guess. He also is to fix the stack on the shop building that blew down in a storm we had in June. I had called them six weeks ago and they had forgotten about it. The oven is also to be installed Thursday sometime.

I’m hoping to get back down to the chicken coop tomorrow and get it cleaned out really good and get it set up for the babies. They will be here in a week. It is to get really hot this weekend and I want to get that project done before the next heat wave comes in. Not sure if Jim will get it leveled but I can get my part done and it will be ready for the babies.

Read Chase County now has 32 active COVID cases due to an outbreak at the jail. Trust the jailers that have it won’t spread it throughout the community.

Got my electric bill for June. It was $52. Not bad at all. My minimum charge is $32.90 so I actually only used $20 of electricity that my solar panels didn’t generate. I’m liking the savings I am seeing monthly. Last year my bill would have been at least $350.

Grateful the stress test is done, grateful for a safe trip to and from Topeka, and grateful for an empty space type of day on tap for tomorrow.

Yesterday my neighbor brought us over some squash, tomatoes and cantaloupe straight out of her garden. Yummy! The tomatoes are so big and good, the cantaloupe was ripe and sweet. My brother called today and is dropping tomatoes and cantaloupe off at Tim’s for me to pick up tomorrow. Can’t beat fresh produce from the garden!

We took a walk last night and couldn’t go past the low water bridge as water was running over the road. I bet it is clear by tonight though as it wasn’t too deep.

I have been working on making face masks on and off all day today. I have 50 ready to take to the Sr. Center when I go to town tomorrow. Have another 10 made too. I do them in bits and pieces and finish some up off and on so I feel like I am making progress.

We worked in the chicken coop today removing weeds that have quickly grown up since the chickens have been gone. I thought I could pull them but some were way too big. Jim brought the mower down and cut them down that way. He is also attempting to reclaim the garden space that has been overgrown with weeds for the last several years. It is hard, dirty work.

I have a peach cobbler in the oven for Jim tonight. Tim gave us a few fresh peaches when we stopped by Friday. It smells wonderful. I saved one peach out for me to eat. They are too sweet to eat more than one but I will savor every bite of the one I will eat.

I am grilling some burgers I found in the freezer for dinner tonight. Serving them with cantaloupe and fresh tomatoes. That will be easy!

Tomorrow I have to be at the heart center in Topeka by 12:30 for my nuclear stress test. I want to leave a bit early and drop off the face masks at the senior center and go by the clinic and get my TSH tested. I need to refill my prescription and need to know what dose to take. The Nuclear stress test will take several hours so won’t be home much before 5:00 if then.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Finally got up at 6:00 and have stayed up. I could take a nap right now but am going to try to stay awake so I will sleep good tonight.

It has been in the low 80’s today. I saw the forecast for later in the week is calling for higher temperatures and by Saturday we will reach over 100. Yuck! Maybe I will go back to CO where it is much cooler.

I have been in a better mood today. I was able to let go of what triggered me yesterday. Still haven’t figured out how not to pick it up next time it happens but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Maybe I will figure out a way to detour around it!

Grateful for the fresh produce that has found it’s way to us, grateful progress is being made on making face masks, and grateful progress is being made down in the chicken coop.

Got up and made Jim a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Glad to have that project done. A double batch will last him almost a month.

Made the left over pot roast meat from last night into roast beef salad. I makes a good snack to have around.

Am working on making face masks. Got another 15 or so completed. I am trying to get 50 made so I can take them to the Sr. Center in Emporia. I promised the Director I would make some for them when I got home from CO. I have over 40 made at this point so getting close to being able to deliver my promise.

Went out and finished weeding the swing set. Jim had done most of it yesterday. Then went around and weeded two more flower beds in the front of the house. Jim came out and helped me finish them up and he hauled the weeds down to the compost pile. I need to go back over all the beds and get the left over weeds pulled but they are now recognizable as flower beds. Ran into some sticky, prickly weeds in the north bed. Ouch!

Still haven’t made it down to finish up the chicken coop but we still have 11 days. We will get to it – just not sure when.

I only took three calls last night on the Hot Line. All three were slow responders so the conversations seemed to take a long time. I really wanted to do two more calls so I could level up but I ran out of patience and logged off. I worked three hours instead of the scheduled two. I might log on tonight and see if I can take two more calls. One of the three calls was rewarding for me but the other two felt like I didn’t make much difference. One never knows what the real story is and what the rest of the story will be however.

The full moon is Monday and I am feeling the effects today. I am cranky and grumpy. Doing my best to stay busy and not sit and think as I am over thinking everything today. Sometimes the full moon does that to me. I know what triggered me this afternoon and I need to let it go.

I have two letters I need to write this evening. I am going to attempt to get back to writing a letter a day. I so enjoyed that project and missed it while I was in Estes Park and didn’t have access to a printer.

I need to find a YouTube to learn how to thread my weed eater. I haven’t done it for a year and have forgotten how to do so. I really dislike using that thing but enjoy the results of doing so. Sometimes I have to suck it up and do what I don’t like to do.

Ordered some new bathroom rugs last night. Two of the rugs in the bathroom are stained and look dirty all the time. I have meant to order them several months ago and kept forgetting to do so. I looked on-line last night and found what I was looking for at a reasonable price. Trust they are a good quality.

Grateful the weeds are out of the flower beds, grateful the cookies are made, and grateful I know what triggered my grumpy mood.

What a busy afternoon. We went to town to do our errands for the week. Six stops and three hours later we were back home. I am more worn out than if I had stayed home and cleaned house. I really don’t like going to town.

We stopped by Michelle and Tim’s house for a minute. It was good to see the grandkids for a hot minute. I still am not used to Tagen being so much taller than I am.

We stopped at Bluestem and got baby chicken supplies. Then we stopped to get Jim a box of wine. Dropped some mail in the outgoing mail box. Went into Sutherland’s to get a special light bulb for Katie’s lamp and some lumber for Jim. Happened to see a freezer For sale and purchased it.

Went to Walmart to get groceries and a few other things. I don’t like the new organization of the store as I can’t find what I need now. I know I will eventually get used to it but it took longer than it needed to today as I had to back track. The one way isles are still new to me too. Can you tell I came home from town grumpy?

When we got home we unloaded the groceries and then Jim drove the car down to the shop to unload the chicken supplies and lumber he purchased. I put the groceries away and then drove into Cottonwood Falls to vote. The river is running mighty high but wasn’t over the highway yet.

As I was pulling into the driveway the Sutherland’s truck was pulling up to deliver the freezer. That was easy and quick. Gotta love local service.

I have a pot roast in the crock pot cooking. When we got home I added potatoes and carrots to it so dinner will be easy tonight. It smells divine and is making me hungry.

Jim is cleaning out the garage. It was a mess again. When I get done writing I am going out to pull weeds in the neglected flower beds. The ground is nice and soft and the weeds are easy to pull right now.

We got a nice rain again yesterday late afternoon. Don’t think we got as much as those to the south of us. It is monsoon season on the prairie right now.

Crossed a bunch of things off my to do list today. Still have a long list to go but feel like we made some progress. Maybe by the first of the week I will feel caught up.

I took seven calls last night on the Hot Line. I would finish one call and another would come in to me. I have another shift tonight. The three hours went by very quickly last night since I didn’t have time between calls. They were really busy when my shift was over but I didn’t stay on. I was getting tired and needed a break. I have learned not to over extend myself as I don’t feel I do as good of a job when I get too tired. If I get seven calls tonight I will level up again.

Got some thread so I can sew the ribbons together for more face masks. Tonight while I wait for my first call I will start cutting up the sheets into the correct sized pieces. I got the flannel all cut last night before my calls started coming in. The prep work in making masks seems to take a long time. I still need to cut more ribbon to size and then sew all the ribbon pieces together. Then I can start pinning and sewing the masks. If I work on them an hour or two a day I will get them worked up by mid week next week.

We don’t have any plans for the weekend other than getting the chicken coop ready for the babies. Jim is going to Stillwater sometime next week and is staying for several days. Monday I have to go to Topeka for the nuclear tread mill heart test. I don’t have much else going on next week except on Friday Best Buy is coming to do the oven exchange. It will be nice to have some empty space on my calendar.

Grateful I found a freezer today and they could deliver it so quickly, grateful the weeks errands are completed, and grateful for the privilege to vote.

We got the yard mowed this afternoon. I thought I was riding a boat in the back yard. I slipped and sliced a bit and found lots of standing water. It feels so good to have the yard mowed though. Jim pushed the mower and did the trimming and I rode the big mower.

I was going to go to town to get groceries but started watching the memorial service for John Lewis. I didn’t know it was going to last so long but I couldn’t stop watching it. I learned a lot about black history in America and feel embarrassed I wasn’t aware of more of it. The speeches were moving. It was so refreshing to hear a president speak in full sentences and didn’t make it about themselves. How far the bar has dropped these last four years.

It has threatened rain all afternoon but just now it has started raining. I came in from mowing and took a shower and put on jeans and long sleeves. Can’t believe it is the end of July. It looks more like May outside with all the green grass and water standing.

Tomorrow I will have to go shopping in town. I have a long list of things I need. Groceries, thread, Vote, Post office, and stuff for the baby chickens are all on the list as well as cat and dog food. I am hoping I can get it all done in one trip to town and then I can stay home for the next week and not leave the place. It feels so good to be home I don’t want to leave again for a long while.

I have started the next batch of masks. I am almost done cutting up one of the three sheets I will use. The other two are washed and ready to be cut up. Once all the pieces are cut I will press the material and then start putting them together. I promised someone I would give them 50 masks so need to get started making them so I can fulfill my promise.

I am having to mail the Y Camp a check for the balance due. For some reason their machine is not talking to my bank and no one can tell me why. I gave up and asked them for an alternative method of payment as I was beyond frustrated trying to get it resolved. I will mail their check when I go to town tomorrow. Sometimes the old fashioned way of paying works best.

I have a Crisis Hot Line shift tonight And tomorrow night. I changed my Wednesday night this week to Friday as I knew I would be too tired to take a shift when we got home last night. I went to bed early last night and fell asleep fast.

Feeling a bit behind with all the stuff I need to do. It seems to take me a bit to get caught up after being gone so long. I keep thinking of more things I need to do and add them to my to do list. I’ll get it done but forget every time it takes longer than I want it to.

Grateful the yard is mowed, grateful I was able to sleep last night, and grateful for the life of John Lewis – what an inspiration his service was.

We got back to the prairie around 6:30 tonight. We left Estes Park at 8:40 so it took a little less than 9 hours to get home. The drive home was smooth although we ran into very heavy rain around McPherson. We tried to hydroplane and had to slow way down for several miles.

Jim got a call from the Y Camp that the credit card they had on file was declined. I called my bank from a pit stop we made outside Hays. The bank had no record that the card had been tried. I called the Y back and they tried the card again with the same results. I had to hold for 10 minutes to talk to the bank person and 15 minutes to talk to the Y person. By then we had stopped for over 30 minutes to try to sort this out. We decided to come home and will attempt to sort it out tomorrow. After we hung up I think I figured out the problem is the zip code. Jim didn’t change his address with the Y Camp and the address on file with the credit card is different. Hopefully we can get this sorted out tomorrow. I was too frustrated and tired to do so when we got home.

It took us an hour to get the car unloaded and most of the stuff put away. I still haven’t unpacked my suitcase. I did sort through the Hugh stack of mail and opened the packages that had arrived. Everywhere I look there are things that need done but have decided it will have to wait until tomorrow. I am wiped out tonight.

The yard needs mowed as soon as it dries out enough to do so. It is really tall and will be fun to mow as I will be able to tell where I have mowed. I may be able to do it tomorrow afternoon but we shall see. The forecast is for more rain tonight and more again tomorrow. It is to dry out after tomorrow for the next five days so will get it done this weekend if not before.

My brother texted me yesterday with the name of his chicken supplier. I went to their web site and it was easy to order what I wanted. I got 10 Rhode Island Reds, 10 Ameraucanas, and 10 Amber Star chicks ordered. They also send one chick of a surprise breed as a bonus. They will hatch the week of August 10 and will ship within 24 hours of hatching. I should have them no later than August 13. We will have to get the chicken coop ready for them and I will need to go to the feed store to get baby chicken feed and some extra watering and feeding cans. It will be fun to have baby chickens again and I look forward to picking up 24 – 30 eggs a day come Christmas time.

I grilled some brats on the new grill for dinner and fixed tator tots with them. I will have to go to the grocery store tomorrow to stock back up. We are on clean out the freezer mode to get ready for our beef that is coming in two weeks. I’ll have to check tomorrow what is in the freezer and plan groceries around what is in the freezer.

After dinner we sat out on the deck and watched the storm clouds. Most of what we saw is way too far away to make it rain here. There are some impressive clouds to the south and way far out west. It is nice to be able to see the horizon again.

I am wiped out tonight. Sitting in a car for 9 hours is more tiring than working or hiking. Jim did all the driving again so all I had to do was sit. A bath and bed are going to come early tonight.

Grateful for a safe trip home, grateful the prairie is nice and green, and grateful my chickens have been ordered and will be here soon.

I am feeling much better than I was yesterday. No more blood in my urine and no pain or sense of urgency today. I even have more energy and have been hungry today. I didn’t eat much the last two days.

It was a rainy day in the mountains although it has cleared off late afternoon. We have stayed in so far and packed up most of the cabin. We still have our clothes, the stuff in the refrigerator, and toiletries to pack. We will get the car mainly loaded tonight so we can get off and going quickly in the morning. We hope to leave by 9:00 at the latest.

I took a nap this afternoon. When I woke up Jim was sleeping. It has been a good nap day in the mountains. We are getting ready to go for our last hike. When we get back we are cleaning out the refrigerator to find dinner. Not sure what we have in there but am hoping we find enough for both of us to have something for dinner. I have bacon and eggs if nothing else that need used up.

We finished the second puzzle this morning. It was a challenging one as the colors were subtle and the light in the dining room was not puzzle friendly. We both enjoy putting together puzzles.

My house sitter let me know she hasn’t been able to mow since the prairie has received so much rain. I told her I’m glad as I like to mow. I guess I know what I will be doing as soon as it is dry enough. Yay!

I keep forgetting to call and order my baby chickens. Guess I will wait until I get home now. The cell service here is very bad and any calls I get I usually get cut off.

We had a fire in the fireplace for a bit this afternoon but it kept setting off the smoke detector. The winds would shift to a downdraft and cause the smoke from the chimney to come back into the house. We finally decided to just let the fire burn out instead of listening to the ear splitting noise from the detector. The detector is too high to reach in the cabin.

Tomorrow we drive home. It will be so good to be back on the prairie but I will miss the beautiful Mountain View’s and fresh air. It is only in the low 60’s today here and that is a bit cool for my liking. Sounds like the prairie is getting lots of rain and is only in the low 80’s. I can’t wait to see the horizon and watch the storm clouds blow in. I have especially missed the sunrises, sunsets and the moon.

Grateful for the power of antibiotics and feeling better, grateful for the time we have had in the mountains, grateful to be headed home tomorrow.

Not one of my better days. Woke up in the middle of the night not feeling very good. Got up and read for a while. Took another bath to relax my body. Finally was able to get some more sleep.

Had blood in my urine again during the night and felt crummy this morning. I found an Urgent Care on-line and around 11:15 decided I better go in. They delivered excellent care although the paperwork process was lengthy.

I was surprised and pleased they were able to pull up my medical records listing my medications, allergies, etc. That makes so much sense that those records are accessible to providers.

I have a UTI as I suspected and they prescribed an antibiotic. They will culture the urine and will call me later this week if they need to change the antibiotic. The local grocery store we shop at has a pharmacy and I knew where that was so that is where they sent the prescription. After a ten minute wait there the meds were ready and I came back to the cabin.

The NP told me to rest today and not go on a long hike. Hoping tomorrow I will feel better and we can take one last good hike before we head home Wednesday morning. Usually it only takes 24 hours before the meds kick in and I feel much better. Trusting that will be the case this time.

The NP told me she sees a lot of UTI’s. She said it is easier than you would think to become a bit dehydrated in the mountains if you aren’t used to them and that can cause the UTI. Lesson learned!

So today is turning into another rest and recovery day. We finished the puzzle we had been working on last night and may start another one to work on this afternoon and evening. It is a beautiful day in the mountains. Rain had been in the forecast but has been removed. It is still supposed to rain tomorrow but maybe the same thing will happen then. I hate that I can’t hike on this beautiful day.

I finished my seventh book of the trip last night. I have some knitting I can do if we decide not to do the puzzle. I’ll see what my mood is like and what I feel like doing.

Still feeling a bit crummy this afternoon but better than I felt when I woke up. I think I will live and am sure I will be better tomorrow. Attempting to drink 96 oz again today and am feeling a bit water logged.

Grateful for Urgent Care that provided excellent care, grateful for pharmacies that provide medication to fight infections, and grateful for rest that heals my body.

What a beautiful day we have had. We drove up Trail Ridge Road all the way to Grand Lake, turned around and drove back out. It was raining most of the way up. We drove through the clouds today. At times you couldn’t see off the side of the road but on the other side of the road you could see for miles. It made for some interesting light patterns on the mountains which I loved.

We stopped at a trailhead on the other side of Trail Ridge and hiked for two miles. It had stopped raining for a bit and we needed to stretch our legs. The forest we walked through smelled so good due to the freshness of the rain.

We saw two huge buck elk on the way up the mountains. We saw a moose in the far distance when we got close to Grand Lake. Saw a small female herd of elk also close to Grand Lake.

I woke up this morning with symptoms on a UTI. I have drank 96 oz of water so far and think I have flushed it out. I will drink at least 32 more ounces before bed and if I wake up during the night will drink then too. Sometimes I can drink them away. Fingers crossed that is what can happen this time.

Last evening we hiked to Moraine Park. We drove the car to the trailhead so we could hike further on the trail. It was a delightful walk until the mosquitoes decided to eat me for dinner. They didn’t seem to bother Jim. What’s up with that?

I have chicken baking in the oven. I am hungry so hoping it cooks fast. We have some left over scalloped potatoes that need eaten to go with the chicken tonight. We only have two more full days here to eat up the last of the food we have. Thinking I will be hauling more home than I wanted to. At least we have a cooler to take it home in.

It is a beautiful evening tonight. The clouds have moved on out and the skies are bright blue. The air is so fresh from the cleansing rain we got during the day.

We stopped and got a few more bundles of firewood to get us through our last three evenings. We have really enjoyed the fireplace and the smell and sound of the burning logs. I have a gas fireplace at home and it just isn’t the same as burning wood. Gas is easier and cleaner though.

Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow. It is to rain again during the day. Hoping we can get out and take a long hike somewhere on campus. We are planning on taking another hike tonight after dinner if the chicken gets done relatively soon. Tuesday we will have to start gathering our stuff and packing the car so we can head out Wednesday morning. It will be good to get home.

Grateful for driving through the clouds today, high up in the mountains, grateful for the bright blue skies this evening, and grateful we still have two more full days to enjoy the fresh mountain air.

We had a nice dinner last night. The food all turned out OK although I thought the ham was too sweet. I used the glaze packet that came with it and wished I hadn’t. Not sure when we will see Jim’s brothers again. They both have long drives ahead of them today and in to Monday.

We have taken another lazy day in the cabin. It has rained most of the afternoon although the sun has peaked out now. We have had a fire in the fireplace and have been working on a puzzle. A perfect activity for a rainy day.

I did laundry late morning. The laundry mat was empty so it was a good time to go. Always feels good to have that job taken care of. I don’t think I will have to do laundry again before we leave but will have lots to do when we get home.

We will probably go take a long walk in a bit. We both need to get some fresh air and stretch our legs. I have been sitting way too much the last couple of days. Need to take advantage of this cool air and walk while we can. Only three more full days here before we have to head back to KS.

Both of us are ready to go home. I almost wished we had only stayed three weeks instead of four. We don’t want to leave early and have to pay for an empty cabin so we will stay until Wednesday but we thought about it for about a minute.

Tomorrow we have a park pass at noon. Hope the weather cooperates so we can take a hike tomorrow afternoon. We shall see. The forecast isn’t looking good at this point.

I have had a bit of a headache all day today. Thinking it is related to my sinus issues. Sure hoping that when I get home whatever I have been allergic to will not be in KS. I’m tired of blowing my nose. It is getting very sore and tender.

We are having hamburgers for dinner so that will be an easy meal to fix. We have some frozen potatoes that need used up so will fix them too. I am hoping we won’t have to go to the grocery store again before we leave so we may have some interesting combinations to eat to use up what we have in the freezer and refrigerator. Both brothers brought left over stuff to us as they both have such a long drive home they didn’t want to take refrigerator stuff with them.

It has been a restful, relaxing time in the mountains but it is time to go home. I am ready to settle back in at home for the long haul. With the number of cases climbing so fast I don’t think we will be able to do a fall trip like we had planned. Maybe things will turn around and we will be able to do so but not going to count on it. I still think things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

I’m concerned about all those people that were relying on unemployment to survive. The extra $600 Is going to expire and many will now have to make some very hard decisions about how to survive. My heart goes out to them. I sure wish Congress was a bit more connected to the real world and would have gotten another stimulus bill passed before they went home for a break. I just don’t understand how they can turn there back on so many hurting Americans.

Grateful for another lazy day in the mountains, grateful for puzzles to work on, and grateful laundry is done.

Another lazy day in the mountains. We both slept in a bit later than normal this morning. It has been cool and cloudy all day with sprinkles every once in a great while. Good day to stay inside and rest.

I took a NyQuil last night and have a hangover this afternoon. I slept a lot last night and have dosed off and on today.

Jim walked down to his brother’s cabin so I have some peace and quiet this afternoon. I fixed the scalloped potatoes for our dinner tonight and they are in the oven cooking. The ham is in the crock pot and smells divine. Jim helped me cut it to fit in the crock pot before he left for his brother’s cabin. We fixed a cucumber, tomato and onion salad and that will be dinner. Joe’s family is bringing some bread they got at the Farmer’s Market and some veggies. It will be a simple and easy dinner to serve.

I took five calls on the Hot Line last night. Two were intense, one disengaged quickly and the other two were normal calls. It is interesting to me that they seem to come to me in groups of the same crisis. I had three with the same type of crisis last night that I hadn’t handled before. Two of the calls felt very rewarding to me.

We have no plans for tomorrow. Hoping we can get a hike in around the Y Camp. I have been lazy and haven’t walked much the last couple of days. Sunday we have a pass into RMNP at noon but the forecast is for rain again so we might not get to do what we would like to do. We shall see what happens.

Then we will just have Monday and Tuesday next week to get our last hikes in and we will leave for KS on Wednesday morning. Time has flown by while we were here. It will be good to get back on the prairie though.

Grateful for a lazy day in the cabin, grateful for a last dinner with Jim’s brothers and families before they leave tomorrow early morning, and grateful for the Crisis Text Hot Line and the rewards it brings to me.

Just saw a complete double rainbow after a beautiful evening rain. I love seeing rainbows – especially in the mountains.

We didn’t do much today. Did go to the grocery store to get a ham for the dinner we are doing tomorrow night. Both of Jim’s brothers are returning to NorthCarolina Saturday morning so it will be our farewell dinner. It has been fun having them in Camp and spending time with them. It will be a quiet last few days after they leave.

We have a pass to go into RMNP at noon tomorrow but I need to be back by 3:30 to get the scalloped potatoes in the oven by 4:00. It is to rain most of the day tomorrow so we may not go into the park. We have one more chance on Sunday but again rain is in the forecast. We will see what happens.

Jim went over to see his brother Tom this afternoon. I stayed home and took a short nap. Tom went to order a pizza and found out they only took online orders. Tom called Jim and Jim called me to order it for Tom. I hope he got what he wanted. It got a bit complicated but he ended up with a pizza.

I did a 2.5 hour shift last night on the Hot Line. I took three calls – two were fun and rewarding. The other person disengaged just as we got started. I always worry that I said something wrong that turned them off but I hadn’t had a chance to say much to this one. Hoping they text back in when it is a better time for them to chat.

I have another shift tonight. I’m glad I took a nap so I can be more alert for the calls. They can get intense at times and if I am tired I have trouble thinking fast enough. I sure enjoy doing this service. I think I get more out of it than the texters do though.

Only five more full days at Camp and then we have to head home. So grateful we were able to stay four weeks this year but to be honest I am ready to go home. I am craving my prairie view and staying home for a long time. I’ve only been home for five weeks all year so far. It is calling me to come back and stay awhile.

I want to call and order chickens tomorrow. I need them to tell me a final price so I can go to the post office and get a money order and get it mailed to them. They ship on Fridays so should have them the Monday after I get home. Seems a bit cruel to ship baby chickens but they know what they are doing.

It has been a cloudy afternoon with rain off an on. While we were in town it rained hard for a bit. We sat out on the deck and listened to the rain after dinner tonight. Seeing the double rainbow ended another quiet, beautiful day in the mountains.

Grateful for a full double rainbow tonight, grateful we still have five full days to enjoy the quiet and beauty of the mountains, and grateful for the fire burning in the fireplace tonight.

Our guests left this morning around 10:00. It was hard to see them drive away. I so enjoyed our time with them and wish them safe travels home today.

This has been a rest and recovery day for me. I exchanged laundry and put fresh sheets on our bed. I have sheets to make up the two twin beds but haven’t done so yet. I vacuumed the living room and did some picking up.

I laid down for a bit this afternoon but wasn’t able to fall asleep. I think laying down helped though as my headache went away. It has felt good to sit in silence today. I enjoyed visiting with our guests but am talked out. I think I have forgotten how to be social.

We had bacon and tomato for lunch today. Our guests had brought some home grown tomatoes that were huge. They were so good. I had almost forgotten how good home grown tomatoes can be. I don’t eat bread or I would have had a sandwich but they were good with just tomato and bacon on the side.

We are going to Tom’s house for dinner tonight. It is nice not to have to cook again. I am getting spoiled by eating others food. Our guests fixed steaks for us last night that were delicious. Two nights in a row I don’t have to cook. What a treat.

We don’t have any plans for tomorrow except to go to the grocery store one last time. Friday we have a park entry pass for noon. We plan on taking a hike somewhere in the park. We will have to get back fairly early as Jim’s two brothers and families are coming over for dinner at 6:00. Both are leaving for home Saturday morning so this will be our farewell dinner for them. It will be weird not having them in camp.

Hard to believe we will be heading home next Wednesday. One more week! The time has gone by so fast. I am looking forward to going home though. I have been away so much this year that I am ready to go home and stay home for a bit.

I found a source to mail order some baby chicks. I will do that Friday. I’ll have to find a place to get a money order to send for payment. I think the post office can do that for me and I know where that is in Estes Park. I’m not sure if the post office on campus can do that but I will check. I’m hoping they will ship them a week from tomorrow and I should have them the Saturday after we get home. It will be fun to have baby chickens again. We will have to get the chicken coop ready for them but we will have a couple days to get that job done. I’ll also have to get baby chicken feed and cottonseed hulls and make sure my baby chicken feeder and water containers are still usable. I haven’t used them for four years. I plan on putting the babies directly into the big chicken coop and keep them out of the house. I haven’t done that before so this will be a learning experience for me.

I have a Crisis Hotline shift tonight. I checked last night when I was up in the middle of the night for an hour or so and they could have used me but I was too tired to hop on. Hoping we are busy tonight so my shift will go by quickly.

It is a bit cloudy this afternoon and looks like it could rain anytime now. Heard we got a nice rain the last two days back home. Maybe I will get to mow when I get home.

Feeling a bit drained this afternoon. I have gotten used to not being around other people. It was so fun to have our guests here though and I so enjoyed having them here. I am a bit tired today though. I will recover quickly and will be back to wishing I had guests around again.

Grateful for the guests that came and shared their time with us, grateful for a rest and recovery day, and grateful I get to eat “out” tonight.

Internet is back up – finally. It has been down since Saturday evening. I didn’t realize how addicted to it I have become.

I went into town this morning to check email as I hadn’t been able to check it for several days. Nothing urgent but I felt better checking on it. Did a quick check on Facebook to see if anything had happened. A friend had a horseback riding accident and was in the hospital for a week. But nothing else seemed urgent.

I’m not sure much happened over the last couple of days. We have been enjoying the company of our friends. We took a quiet day on Sunday and did a short hike around camp. Monday afternoon we went into RMNP and went up Fall River Road. We hiked at the rock cut and made a couple of other stops. It was a beautiful day for a drive through the mountains.

I fixed hamburger soup in the crock pot before we left and then fixed beer bread to go with it when we got home. Make for a quick dinner. We were all hungry after being out in the mountain air all day.

Today we have hung around the cabin and we all took a nap. Jim and I walked to both of his brother’s cabins this afternoon to deliver a fresh tomato our guests brought from KS. It was about a 2.5 mile hike. Felt good to get out and stretch my legs. I was breathing hard coming up the hill today.

Our guests are leaving in the morning. Jim’s brothers are both leaving Saturday. I can’t believe we will be heading home a week from tomorrow. The time has gone way too fast. It will be weird not having people here that I know to visit with. It has made the time here much more enjoyable to have friends and family here.

We are having Jim’s brothers and families up for dinner Friday night so they don’t have to cook on their last night here. I think we are going to get a ham to fix and I have a bunch of potatoes that need used up so I will make scalloped potatoes. It will be an easy dinner to fix.

I haven’t been sleeping well the last couple of nights. I think it was the decongestants that turned from making me sleepy to wiring me. I haven’t taken any today so have been plugged up but am hoping I can sleep good tonight. I have to pick my poison – sleep or breathing.

I’m grateful the internet came back so I can do my volunteer shift on the Crisis Line tomorrow night. I might check tonight to see if they need some extra help. For some reason it has been busier lately and they have more texters than counselors. Since I took a nap today I can stay up late tonight.

Grateful for the internet coming back, grateful for the hike we took around camp today, and grateful for the time I have had with our friends and family.

We had an uneventful night last night. No more bears came knocking at the door! I think both of us slept with one eye open though. We are both tired today.

We have some guests coming in later today so cleaned our cabin today. I went down and exchanged some linens so we would have plenty of clean towels and kitchen linens. I had a crock pot of chili cooking to serve them when they get here later. It sure smells good.

It has been warm here today – reached the mid 80’s which is much warmer than it has been. We have most of the windows bolted shut and the cabin feels hot to me this afternoon. Having the crock pot on is adding heat to the room too.

My sinus stuff is getting the best of me today. I am so tired of taking decongestants and sniffling and blowing my nose. I have had a sinus headache all day. Still haven’t figured out what I am allergic to up here but I wish it would go away.

I got up during the night and couldn’t sleep. I checked the Crisis Hot Line and they had way more calls than counselors so hopped on-line and took two calls. One I was getting close to getting to a calmer state and something happened and my responses wouldn’t go through. I looped in my supervisor and he couldn’t send any messages either. I had to end the conversation. I still think of the person I was texting with and feel really bad I wasn’t able to finish the conversation. The other texter was high on drugs and wanted me to come to their apartment and pop their hip. Not a very satisfying hour spent.

I had taken five calls earlier in the evening during my shift. Some were intense enough that I didn’t want to handle two calls at the same time. I am not used to handling two at a time yet and when the calls are intense I don’t feel I can do it. I’ve handled 30 calls in July so far and had only handled 50 in May and June. We have gotten much busier lately for some reason. Makes the time go by quickly when you don’t wait for calls.

Jim walked down to visit with his brother. One of his brothers came up here this morning to visit. I napped during that visit. I wasn’t feeling up to visiting this afternoon so Jim walked down by himself. I’m not very good company right now. Maybe with some quiet I will get to feeling better before our guests arrive.

I cleaned the cabin today. It cleans up easy as it is rather small compared to my house. It is nice to have it clean again. I don’t like clutter on the table and coffee tables and some how we seem to clutter them up quickly.

I have enough yarn to make about six more dish rags and then I will have to start a baby blanket. I have made one dish rag so far today and have another one started. It is cooler out on the deck so may go out there and sit and knit when I finish this.

A dear friend posted that her oldest grandson died yesterday. I have no idea what happened and I keep thinking of her. He was in his 20’s. I can only imagine the hurt and pain they are going through right now. They live in Houston so I won’t be able to go see her and give her a hug. It is so hard to watch your child have to go through something like that not to mention the pain she is feeling from losing a grandchild. Hard times for them right now. The Virus situation makes this an even harder time for them.

I am cranky today. Not sure if I am coming down from all the bear excitement from yesterday or if the sinus stuff is pushing me over to the cranky side of life. Whatever it is can go away. Maybe the arrival of my friends will distract me and lift my mood.

Grateful for some quiet time this afternoon, grateful for a clean cabin, and grateful my friends will be here soon.

I woke up in the middle of the night hearing Jim say “Get out of here”. I got up and went into the living room to see who he was talking to. He told me there was a bear in the window that had climbed halfway into the living room. When Jim yelled at it, the bear backed up and retreated.

Jim had heard a noise of an animal on the deck and it had woken him up. He laid in bed for a minute trying to decide what animal it was. When he heard a screen tear he got up and came out to see who was there. I slept through the whole thing and didn’t get the see the bear.

The bear tore two screen windows off and tore a gash down the screen door leading into the kitchen. There are bear claw marks on the window sill of the window he climbed in.

Jim called security and they came up and drove around with their spot light but didn’t see the bear.

Jim ended up staying up all night in case the bear came back. I got up at 4:30 and took over bear watch duty so Jim could get a bit of sleep. Hopefully tonight will be less of an adventure and we will both sleep all night.

Today we had to stay home so the maintenance people could repair the damage. Most of the locks on the cabin windows didn’t work so they either fixed them or made wood stops so we can sleep tonight knowing the bear can’t get back in.

We had a pass to go into RMNP at 2:00 this afternoon but didn’t make it. It felt more important to bear proof the cabin!

I took five calls on the Crisis Hot Line last night. They were getting really busy at the end of my shift but I was tired so went ahead and logged off. For some reason we have been busier the last three weeks. I’ve handled almost as many calls these last three weeks as I did the two months before that.

I went over and did laundry this afternoon since we were stuck at home. Jim stayed at the cabin and handled the repair guys. Someone from Wildlife called and talked to Jim to get the story. I guess there has been three other bear break ins in the camp over the last several weeks.

The outcome could have turned very serious quickly last night. Grateful the bear backed out and no real harm was done.

I cooked some chicken today and am going to make chicken pot pie for dinner in a bit. It took longer than usual for the chicken to get done.

My dear friends from the Camino FaceTime with me today. It is always fun to talk to them and catch up. They are doing well and have avoided the virus so far.

Tomorrow evening some friends from KS are coming in to stay for four or five nights. It will be fun to have them here. I’m hoping we will get out and take a hike tomorrow to make up for not getting to take one today. Maybe we will get out yet today and walk around the grounds for a bit.

It was an eventful night. I had commented to Jim after our hike yesterday that we hadn’t seen any wildlife. Guess they decided to come to us!

Grateful the bear backed out without hurting Jim, grateful repairs are being made so our cabin will feel safe tonight, and grateful to have gotten to talk to my Camino friends.

We hiked 4 miles today. It was a beautiful day to be outside walking. The trail was fairly easy and well marked. It was a gradual uphill and not too steep. We didn’t get to the destination we wanted to get to as we ran out of time but got to see some wonderful waterfalls. We hiked to Calypso Cascade in Wild Basin In RMNP.

Last night I handled 8 calls on the Crisis Text Hot Line. None were high risk texters and all seemed to go from upset to calm. It was a good night for me on the hot line. We were busy and I didn’t have to wait for a caller. I handled two callers at a time for most of the night. I am signed on for my shift tonight and so far we aren’t busy so will probably have to wait up to an hour to get a texter. I bet they get busy later. I am tired so may not be able to help them out much when they get really busy. I don’t feel I do a good job when I get tired.

I didn’t sleep much last night. My feet were aching and my mind was busy. I finally took another bath at 5:30 and was able to sleep for an hour after that. I got up at 8:00 and gave up. I laid down at noon and slept for an hour before our hike. I am tired tonight.

We had dinner at Jim’s brother’s cabin tonight. It was so nice to eat a meal someone else fixed. It is only the second time since the middle of March that has happened. For some reason someone else’s cooking always tastes better.

Tomorrow we have a timed entry pass at 2:00 to get into RMNP. Not sure what part of the park we will be going to. We want to do another 4 – 6 mile hike. I could have gone longer today but we had to get back to be at Joe’s house by 6:00 for dinner.

I need to do laundry either tomorrow morning or Saturday. I want to have it done up before our guests arrive Saturday evening. I also need to remember to clean the cabin a bit. I forget to do that! I am looking forward to having them come and keep us company for a few days. I have missed having long woman to woman conversations.

I got a client so need to give them my attention.

Grateful for a beautiful hike today, grateful for the family dinner that was held tonight, and grateful for what sleep I was able to find last night.