Starry night on the prairie

Rain, rain and more rain.  It rained most of the night.  Reports of up to five inches of rain are all around me.  The wind blew hard again at times and other times it was a gentle, soft rain.  The river is on flood watch again and expected to get out of it’s banks early this week.  Thankfully after today the forecast shows us drying up a bit.

I got the Newsletters finished yesterday afternoon.  My right arm is sore today from holding it in the same position for too long.  Always feels good to have that project finished up.

Ellexia came out to play yesterday afternoon.  Her mom had to work last night and Ellexia was hungry and bored.  We went out for lunch and then she came out and hung out with me for the afternoon.  Her daddy came out and picked her up when he got off work.  It was nice to have her here for a bit.

Got two beds made up with clean sheets.  That is about all the cleaning I got done yesterday so today will be a major cleaning day.  The house is dusty and dirty and needs some attention.  If it rains this afternoon it will be a good day to stay inside and clean.  Hoping the mood strikes me and I will get it done.

I got the dining room floor cleaned.  I moved all the tables and chairs out and mopped the floor.  When I brought the chairs back in I tightened them up.  Some had gotten rather loose.

I cleaned out the downstairs spare room.  I have a twin sized box springs and mattress that is like new that needs a new home if you know of anyone looking for one.  I also have a head board and foot board that would make a good craft project.  I don’t have the rails that hook them together or the base for the bed.

Cleaned my bedroom and bathroom today.  Still need to clean the living room and then my house will be in much better shape than it was this morning.

I have a list of things I need to do tomorrow so I can leave for a week on Tuesday.  It sure feels like a lot of work sometimes for me to be able to get away.

I was tempted to mow today and thought better of it.  The ground is just too wet today.  It is to be nice tomorrow so will get it done tomorrow afternoon.  I need to leave a bit of it so I can show my intern how to use the mower.  He is going to mow for me while I am gone if the yard needs it.

The forecast looks like we will have a week of dry weather this week.  That will be a nice change.  I sure would like to get some deck painting done tomorrow but I’ll have to see if it is dry enough to do so.  I will only have two days between trips to get more done if the weather cooperates.  I will also have to clean house again before I leave on the 5th of July for CO so the two days will go fast.

I take my car in to have the oil changed tomorrow morning at 10:00.  I will have to stop in Emporia when I go in to have the tires rotated.

I have enjoyed having a quiet day at home alone today.  Not sure if my intern will be back yet tonight or will come in after work tomorrow evening.  He usually is very quiet and stays downstairs so I won’t notice much if he comes back this evening.

I finally was able to eat totally on plan today and not have a snack.  I have gotten off track and have been snacking lately.  I am up seven pounds from where I would like to be.  Time to get real again and focus on doing the little things that will help keep my weight off.  I have managed to not eat foods that contain flour or sugar but all of a sudden quantities have become a problem for me.  Not sure what is up with that.  I truly feel better when I only eat my three meals a day and limit how much I eat.

Grateful I didn’t have any storm damage from the storms last night, grateful my house is much cleaner this evening than it was this morning, and grateful for a day of clean eating.

I was woken up by a severe thunderstorm this morning.  The winds must have reached 70 MPH for a bit.  I lost a good sized tree to the wind.  It snapped at the base of the trunk.  Luckily it fell in a spot where it did no damage to something else.  I almost went to the basement the wind was so strong.

I couldn’t go back to sleep so got up before 6:00 and started working on the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter.  They are all stuffed and I am glueing the last box of envelopes closed.  It will be good to get that project done.  My arms and back are getting sore from stuffing them.

Ellexia text me late morning and asked if she could come out for a bit.  Her Mom has to work tonight and was sleeping and Ellexia was bored and hungry.  I picked her up a little after noon and took her to lunch and brought her out for the afternoon.  Tim came and got her when he got off work at 4:00.  We had a quiet afternoon together.  She was really good for me today.  It is so much easier to have the grandchildren one at a time.  Tagen is at his dad’s house this weekend.

I have a second set of sheets washed and dried and now need to make up the two beds I took them off of.  I haven’t gotten started cleaning yet as I played too much with Ellexia and am still doing the Newsletter.  Now that I am almost done with the Newsletter and Ellexia went home I will get some cleaning done.

We are under a severe thunderstorm watch for the rest of the night.  Trusting the storms won’t be as strong as the one that came through this morning was.  I love hearing the thunder echo over the prairie but I don’t like strong winds.

Ran into one of our ex-employees while Ellexia and I were having lunch.  Found out her husband had died in March.  I hadn’t heard he passed.  I feel bad I wasn’t there to support her when he died.  He was a kind and gentle man.  He had suffered with Alzheimer’s for seven years.  She kept him at home all that time.  It was good to see her.  She started working for us when we opened our first store in 1988 and was our first store manager.  I’m ashamed I haven’t kept in better contact with her.

Tomorrow I will finish cleaning my house and enjoy an empty space type of day.  Monday I will need to go into Emporia and stock up on critter feed.  Monday evening I am going to teach my student intern how to do chores and how to use the riding mower.  Sometimes it seems like a lot of work to be able to get away to play for a week or so.  I have covered three of the four weekends I will be gone already.  I am so grateful for my dear friends that come out to stay and take care of the critters and house.

Feeling a bit of restlessness today.  Thinking the weather has a bit to do with it.  I am also very tired.  Thankfully I am feeling better.  I don’t think I have a UTI as the symptoms went away.  I have tried to drink lots of water today as a precaution.  It is windy and steamy outside this afternoon.  Sure feels like a storm could blow up anytime.

Grateful the Newsletter is almost done, grateful Ellexia came to play today, and grateful I didn’t have serious damage from the storm last night.

 

 

A thunderstorm woke me up this morning.  Things were rocking and rolling on the prairie for a brief time this morning.  It didn’t last long and no damage was done.

I went into Emporia early afternoon to pick up some moving boxes for a friend, pick up a prescription and check to see if the Hardware store had more paint (they didn’t).  Then I went into Strong City and Cottonwood Falls to drop the boxes off, drop off my recycling stuff and pick up the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter pieces.

I have been working this afternoon on the Newsletter.  I am 1/4 done.  Taking a break for a bit and will get another box done yet tonight and then will only have two more boxes to do tomorrow.

I was going to go out this morning and paint but the thunderstorm stopped me from that task.  It is to rain tomorrow and Sunday so may be Monday before I get to get some more painting done.  I need to clean house inside as I have been working outside the last week and have let the house go.  I need to get it cleaned before I leave Tuesday.

I haven’t felt very good today.  I may be getting a UTI.  I will go into Emporia to the Urgent Care Clinic if I don’t get to feeling better this evening.  I thought I had the start of one last week and drank lots of water and it got better.  Maybe that will work again although my history tells me if it comes back a second time in a week I usually need something to help me clear it.  Yuck!

Summer temperatures hit today.  It is in the mid 90’s today with lots of humidity.  It feels like a tropical island outside today.  I don’t like hot and humid days.  They drain me very quickly.

My intern went home for the weekend so I will have the house to myself until Sunday evening. It will be a quiet weekend on the prairie.  I have needed a couple of empty space days and will appreciate the quiet and silence they will bring me.  I have lots of things I need to get done so I can get away next week.  I will crank up the music and get things done!

I am looking for friends to come stay at my house during the weekends I will be gone the end of June and most of July.  I have gotten two of the four weekends covered already.  I have the best friends that love the prairie and enjoy coming out for a night  or two.  They take good care of my critters and my house.  If anyone wants to come stay for a weekend in July let me know.  My intern will be here during the week but I hate to make him stay here all weekend too.  He is willing to if I need him so I have a back-up in case someone can’t come as planned.

I haven’t done chicken chores yet today.  When I get done writing I will need to go down and gather eggs and give them some water and feed.  I worry about them when it gets so hot.  They don’t like hot weather either.  At least it has been cooling down in the evening.

Today is Summer Solstice.  The day with the most light outside and within!  Take a moment and give thanks for the gifts you have been given that you share with the world.  The more we recognize our own gifts and share them the brighter they become.  Hard to believe the days will start getting shorter starting tomorrow.

The moon has been glorious the last couple of nights.  I don’t need to turn lights on when I get up during the night as the moon lights my whole house inside.

Grateful I am 1/4 done with the Newsletters, grateful for friends that will come take care of my critters and house while I am gone, and grateful for the light within today.

 

 

Jim left around 5:30 today to return to OK.  The house feels big and empty to me now.  The only hard part of our relationship is when we aren’t together.  Goodbyes get harder for me each time.  I won’t see him again until July 4.  That seems like a long ways away.

Yesterday we got the main part of the back deck painted.  Jim sanded the edges while I painted.  We still have lots of trim work to do plus the steps and landing but the main part of the deck is done.  We were both exhausted when we quit working last night.

I fixed baked potatoes in the instant pot last night.  They turned out nicely.  I am in love with my Instant Pot.  Keeps the kitchen much cooler to use it instead of turning the oven on and things cook faster too.  Fix beef stroganoff for dinner earlier this week in the instant pot.  It was good.

I was so tired last night I couldn’t fall asleep.  I didn’t fall asleep until around 5:30 this morning.  Trusting tonight will be the night I will sleep.  I keep dozing off in my chair but don’t want to go to bed too early or I will be up way too early.  Sure wish I could get my sleep issue resolved.

Today Jim worked on my front flower beds.  He says the drainage is not proper so he is working to make them drain better.  He brought some more iris and some monkey grass to plant in them.  Critters eat most flowers around here so am going to try ornamental grass and see what happens.  We got it all planted and watered this afternoon.

Neither one of us had an abundance of energy today after all our hard work yesterday.  Hope Jim will return after I worked him so hard this visit.

We worked some more on Sophia trying to get her coat combed out.  I cut huge matted tangles out of her tail.  It looks like a feather pillow exploded where all her hair blew off the deck and caught in the grass in the yard.  She is looking better but is still looking a bit rough.  Ellie, one of the cats, had gotten something on her back some time ago.  Her hair has finally grown out enough that I can cut out whatever it is she got in.  She laid rather still for me to do so last night.  She looks funny but most of the matted stuff is out.  Bell, the other cat, has a spot I need to cut out of her too.

Tomorrow the stuff for the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter will be ready for me to pick up at the printers.  I will work on it over the weekend and get it ready to go to the post office Monday morning.  Anyone want to come out Saturday and help?  I’ll be working on it all day – just show up if you want to help.

The hardware store where I got my deck store is discontinuing their paint department for a bit.  I need to go to town tomorrow and see if they still have some of what I need in stock and pick up two more gallons.  I don’t want to get to the end of this project and run out of paint.  If they are out I trust they will tell me where I can find some more.

I need to start making my packing list for my trip to Maine.  I leave next Tuesday and will be gone for a week.  My student intern is going to do chores for me and take care of the mowing if it needs done while I am gone.  I will get it all mowed up before I leave so unless we get lots of rain while I am gone he probably won’t have to mow.  I need to make sure all the critter feed is stocked too.

Sometime this weekend I need to clean my house.  I cleaned it before my Symphony guests showed up and haven’t touched it since.  I closed it up today and turned the air on but with the windows open earlier it is dusty and dirty.  I will take breaks from stuffing the Newsletter and clean it over the weekend.

Feeling totally exhausted.  It has been a whirlwind week with all the guests, the Celebration of Life Service, and all the work Jim and I got done around here.  I am ready for a couple days of empty space to refill and recharge.

Grateful for Jim and all the work he helped me get done this week, grateful for the sleep I will get tonight, and grateful the main part of the deck is painted.

 

What a weekend! It didn’t exactly go as planned but it was a delightful time. Friday afternoon I went to Manhattan with three friends to attend the Celebration of the Life of Hutch. The service was very nice and honored a gentle, kind man. The church was packed.

Three guests arrived while I was gone. Jim got them checked in and settled. The other three showed up after I got home. We had a total of eight guests for the weekend.

Saturday morning I fixed breakfast for all the guests. I hadn’t fixed breakfast for a group for a bit but it went well. During breakfast we found out the Symphony had been postponed until Sunday. I helped the guests get dinner reservations for Saturday night and then they all went out and about to enjoy the Flint Hills. Jim and I worked around the house and got some weed eating and yard work done.

Saturday evening all the guests and Jim and I sat around in the swings and watched the storm clouds move in. The lightning was spectacular and the guests enjoyed s’mores, wine, and the company of the group.

Sunday morning I fixed breakfast again for the group. We found out the Symphony had been cancelled entirely. Six of the eight guests left after breakfast and the other two went out for the day. Jim and I worked outside most of the day. I kept coming in to do eight loads of laundry and make up three guest rooms.

Monday I fixed one last breakfast for the two remaining guests. They departed after breakfast. Jim and I went into Emporia and picked up a sander for the deck. Jim spent the morning and most of the afternoon on his hands and knees checking for screws that were too high on the deck floor and lowering them. When he got that done he started sanding the main back deck. Sanding didn’t take near as long as all the prep work had taken. My job was to help manage the extension cord and to use the leaf blower to blow the saw dust off the deck occasionally.

Hazel and her brother and his wife stopped by in the afternoon. They had driven out to see the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and since they were in the neighborhood stopped by to visit. We had a nice visit.

The A/C guy came and did his annual summer check on the A/C unit. It is always good to get that unit cleaned out and ready for the summer.

I got the last guest room cleaned and ready for my student intern to come back Monday evening. I still have some more cleaning to do downstairs but all the beds are made and bathrooms restocked.

My arms are sore from all the weed eating I have been doing. I finally figured out how to load the string into the head of the machine. I still don’t like weed eating but the grounds sure look better trimmed up. Jim is sore from all the deck work he has been doing.

We were going to paint today but the forecast is not looking like it will be a good day to paint as rain is coming in early afternoon and hanging around until after midnight. Jim still has some belt sanding to do and we will be lucky if we can get that done today before the rain comes. We will have to go into Emporia in a bit to return the big sander we rented yesterday.

Both of us are tired as we had to get up early all weekend long to fix breakfast. We slept in a bit this morning. It is cloudy and cooler out today and a good day to sleep. I was so tired last night I fell asleep in the bathtub!

I don’t have any more guests booked at this point. I suspended my Airbnb account for a while until I decide what I want to do. I am leaving next Tuesday to go with Hazel to Maine for a week. Two days after I get home from Maine I leave with Jim for Colorado for over two weeks. Then I have bunion surgery August 7. No time to have guests come! When things settle down a bit I may open my calendar back up again. I really enjoy having guests come, especially when I don’t fix food. But I don’t have any open time to commit to being here for them right now.

The Newsletter for Pioneer Bluffs will be ready to be stuffed this weekend so I guess I know what I will be doing. I may paint a bit, come in and work on newsletters and rinse and repeat all weekend. I would like to have the main portion of the deck painted before I leave for Maine on Tuesday. I’ll have to see what the weather does though.

I have been enjoying the time with Jim again. We have fun being together and working on projects around the house. He is one of those guys that knows how to fix most everything and does it well. I appreciate that he is willing to work so hard to help me out.

Grateful for the guests that came over the weekend, I feel I made a new group of friends, grateful the main part of the deck is sanded and ready for a coat of stain, and grateful for all of Jim’s help. I wouldn’t have tackled this job without him.

It has been a busy day on the prairie.  I got up early and cleaned out the intern’s room and moved his stuff to another bedroom for him to stay in for the night.  Got his room and bathroom cleaned, sheets washed and put back on the bed and the downstairs cleaned this morning.

I cleaned the upstairs and then went out and mowed the entire yard.  I still need to do the weed eating but the mowing part is done.  I got kissed by the sun a bit while I was mowing today.  I forgot to wear my sun hat.  Got the farmer’s tan look going on now.

My first two guests arrived around 2:30.  I was almost ready for them!  They had two other people with them.  They all took a tour of the house and moved their stuff in and then left.  They are nice people and I will enjoy having them here.  Not sure what their plans are for the evening or tomorrow.

Jim is coming later this evening.  He got a late start and then forgot a sander and had to go back home and start over.  It will be good to see him.

I went over to my neighbor’s house this morning and picked up a coconut cream pie for my son-in-law’s birthday cake.  She makes the best pies!  When I get done writing I will run it in to him.  I discovered I forgot something for the soup I am making tomorrow and need to pick that up so need to go to town anyways.

Tomorrow afternoon I am going to Manhattan while Jim stays here to greet guests.  I have six more people checking in tomorrow afternoon.  It will be another busy day on the prairie.  Saturday we all go to the Symphony after I fix us all breakfast and we will get home late.  Sunday I fix breakfast again and then six of the eight will depart. Two are staying until Monday morning.

It has been another perfect day on the prairie.  Lots of sunshine and blue skies, very light breeze and only in the upper 70’s.  Love this type of summer weather.

Grateful the house is cleaned and the yard is mowed, grateful for a neighbor that shares her baking skills, and grateful for Tim – he adds a lot of joy and love to my family.

I was at the hospital this morning by 6:40.  Jason had a procedure done.  All went well.  I was able to see him afterwards before I had to leave to go to the airport.

Met Hazel at the Topeka Rest Area on the Turnpike.  We grabbed a quick snack and then I drove to the airport to pick up her brother and his wife.  Their flight was a bit early and they didn’t check bags so we were in and out of the airport quickly.  I drove them to where Hazel left her truck and then headed home.  The drive today was easy – no traffic and little construction to drive around.

I stopped and bought groceries since I was in town so I don’t have to go to town tomorrow.  It seems like I bought a lot of groceries as I am fixing two breakfast for 10 people and three dinners for two people.  I rarely buy many groceries these days.  It will be a busy weekend but should be fun.

After I put the groceries away I sat in my chair for a bit.  I kept falling asleep and decided I might as well go lay down and stretch out for a few minutes.  Three hours later I woke up.  Oops!  I may not be able to go to sleep tonight.  It felt good to get a good nap though.  I’ve had another long stretch of not sleeping well and was tired.

I haven’t gotten my house cleaned yet.  After I get done writing I need to get at it and get some of it done tonight and then I will finish up in the morning.  I need to get out and mow tomorrow so am running out of time to get everything done.  Mowing may have to wait until Friday as I can put it off but not the housecleaning as I have two of the eight guests checking in tomorrow.

Jim is coming up tomorrow afternoon.  It will be nice to see him again.  I’m not sure how long he is staying this time but he will be here at least through the weekend and maybe into the middle of next week.  We hope to work on the deck Monday if it doesn’t rain.  I hope we can at least get it sanded while he is here and then I can work on painting it between the rains that are predicted for next week.

It has been another beautiful day on the prairie today.  The high was in the upper 70’s.  The sunset tonight is wonderful with a full rim of light around the entire horizon.  There is no wind this evening and it is simply perfect outside.  Wish all of summer was like today.

I got a fairy egg yesterday.  They are little eggs about the size of a quarter around and don’t have a yolk in them.  They look a bit like quail eggs.  I have a chicken that I think that is all she produces.  I usually get one about once a month.  They aren’t good for much but they are cute and make me smile when I find one.

Grateful Jason’s procedure went well, grateful the trip to KC was smooth and easy, and grateful Jim is coming tomorrow.

 

 

This would have been mom and dad’s wedding anniversary.  71 years together!  I think of them often and smile when I think of them being together again.  They were great parents and I am blessed to have had them for as long as we did.

This has been a semi productive day.  I used a scrubby to wash the laminated bugs off the front of my car.  I then went into Cottonwood Falls to drop off my recycling and to wash my car.  The recycling bin was packed so full I couldn’t get my stuff in the trailer.  The car wash was out of order so the trip into town was a bust.

I vacuumed the steps and while I had the vacuum downstairs took the screens off a few of the windows and vacuumed the screens and window sills.  A few of them were nasty dirty.

Cleaned out the master bathroom drawers.  That task was way overdue.  Found a bunch of stuff to get rid of and created a couple of empty drawers.  I like simplicity and order and now my closets and bathroom drawers line up with that value.

I haven’t gotten all of the house cleaned but have been working on it.  I still have several hours to work on it tonight and I will have tomorrow evening and part of Thursday to finish it all up.  Decided dusting needed to wait until Thursday as it will just be dusty again if I do it today.

Tomorrow I am going to the airport to pick up a friend’s brother and his wife.  They are coming in to go to Hutch’s Celebration of Life Service on Friday.

Thursday I need to go to Emporia to buy groceries for the weekend.  I need to think of something to fix for dinner Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights.  I may make crock pot hamburger soup for Friday night.  I can get it going before I have to go to Manhattan and it will be ready when I get home.  It makes a big batch and then if any of the guests need dinner they can join us.  Saturday we are all going to the Symphony and will eat on the grounds there.

It has been another beautiful day on the prairie.  It stayed below 80 today.  The clouds have moved in this afternoon and there is a chance of rain overnight.  Tomorrow it is only going to be 74 for the high and we are to have bright blue skies all day.  Rain is back in the forecast for Symphony day but maybe it will not impact us during the time we will be there.  It is to warm up though and the high is to be in the low 90’s.

I have enjoyed the last couple of empty space days.  I feel refreshed and full of energy again.  Quiet restores my soul.  I am almost ready to people again.

Grateful for mom and dad, grateful for more simplicity and order in my house, and grateful for another beautiful cool day on the prairie.

I was woken up this morning by a knock on my door.  It was the pest guy giving me my bill for taking care of the wood bees.  Five minutes later he was back.  They had backed their pickup over the rocks that line the driveway.  He was asking if I had a jack he could borrow.  I don’t have one.  I’m not sure how they got it off but an hour later they were gone.  I did that just after I moved in the first time and almost ripped the oil pan off the bottom of my Prius.

Tim brought out two ladders this morning so I went out and painted the swing set frame.  I got it done!  It looks nice.  Glad that part of the painting is done.  I don’t like ladder painting.

Got notified there was a problem with my blog site.  They have an emergency link you can log in and fix problems.  The back-up plug in wasn’t working properly so I deleted it and I am back in business.  I will wait a day or two and then try to reload it.  It comes in handy when I am typing and if I get distracted and have to leave I don’t have to start over when the back-up feature works.

Made an appointment with my attorney to get my trust updated.  We couldn’t find a date to do so until after I get back from CO in July.  Made appointments for Roxy and the cats for their annual visit.  I think I timed it correctly and Jim will be here that day so I can take all three in at the same time.  I can’t manage to take all three in one trip if I am by myself.  I also called to get a haircut appointment for next week.  I can’t believe it has been two months since I got my hair cut last.  Time flies when you are having fun!

Tomorrow is my last empty space day for a bit.  I need to start cleaning house for the guests that are coming this weekend.  I will be gone most of the day Wednesday and the guests start arriving Thursday.  I also need to go buy groceries Thursday morning as I am fixing breakfast two of the days.

Jim will be here Thursday afternoon.  We are going to the Symphony together Saturday and then on Monday he is sanding the back deck so it can get painted.  I hope the weather holds so we can get that job done.  Rain is in the forecast for the weekend so we will see what happens.

I haven’t made it out to the garage to clean it yet.  I am still recovering from painting for four hours on the swing frame.  I still have the evening so I might get out and get it started at least.  The cleaning and sorting bug has hit me and I am looking for things to get rid of.

Need to walk down and get the mail.  It is so nice out it will be a good day to take a walk.  I got plenty of exercise painting but it will feel good to stretch my legs a bit.

Still sitting in my peaceful valley.  Life is sure easier for me when I can find this sweet spot to live life from.  I am grateful for it as I can slip out of it without notice or reason.

Grateful the swing set frame is painted, grateful I didn’t have any mishaps on the ladder, and grateful for Tim for delivering the ladders.

Had a bit of a thunderstorm roll through around 5:30 this morning.  Only got .2 inches of rain but it was enough that I couldn’t paint today.  Maybe tomorrow it will be dry enough.  It has gotten almost cold this evening.  I had to take my shorts off and put on some jeans and heavy wool socks.  The house is closed up again so I can warm up.  It is hard for me to find the sweet spot temperature wise.

Cleaned out the two closets in the master bedroom today.  Found lots of clutter and stuff that didn’t belong in the closet.  I have three sacks of stuff to take to Goodwill.  Threw a bunch of other stuff out. It is nice to have order in both closets again.  Carried about six loads of stuff downstairs to the storage room where the stuff belongs.  One disadvantage to having too much space is I tend to get lazy and stuff things where they don’t belong instead of taking them downstairs.

Now I need to clean the room downstairs and get it organized.  I have a twin mattress and box springs that I need to get rid of so I have room to move in that room.  Anyone need a set?  It has a headboard and foot board but no side connecting rails.

When I get done writing I want to go out and detail clean my car.  It has been a long time since I did that and it needs it badly.  I didn’t get the garage cleaned out today but will attempt it another day this week.  It took longer to do the two closets than I anticipated it might.

Went into Ad Astra for dinner tonight.  Elexa was singing and I enjoy listening to her.  Remembered to take a friend her birthday present.  The gift is over a month late but better late than never.  I was glad to see her come in so I could give it to her.  I came home early and didn’t stay for the whole set of music.  I thought I wanted to be around people tonight but decided that wasn’t what I wanted after I got there.

Got the intern’s room cleaned and his sheets washed and put back on the bed.  I’m not sure if he is coming back tonight or after work tomorrow.  I have to ask him to do the room shuffle later this week as I had already booked his room for guests that are arriving Thursday.  He can move to another room for one night and then have his room back Monday night.  He knew about the scheduling conflict when he agreed to stay here.  I hate to ask him pack his stuff up just for the weekend but it can’t be avoided.

Tomorrow I hope to get out and paint the rest of the swing set frame.  It will involve ladder work so it can’t be too windy.  So far the forecast looks like it will be a perfect day to be outside painting as the high is only going to be 77 and no high winds in the forecast at this time.  Of course, I do live in KS and that can change quickly.

I have five appointments I need to schedule in the morning.  Somedays making phone calls are harder for me than others so trusting tomorrow will be a day I can make  calls and get them scheduled.

Tim is going to bring out his extension ladder for me to borrow tomorrow.  While he is here I want him to teach me how to use the weed eater.  He is good at stuff like that and is a good teacher.

The pest guy is to come tomorrow to take care of the wood bees.  The bees have done some damage to my decks and need to move away.  It isn’t fun being outside with them buzzing around.  They don’t sting but the sound of them is annoying and they scare the grandkids.

Tuesday I will need to clean house all day to get it ready for the guests that are coming Thursday and Friday.  I will be gone all day Wednesday so will need to get it taken care of Tuesday.

Jim is coming back Thursday.  We are going to the Symphony Saturday together and then on Monday have a sander reserved to rent so we can get the main deck floor ready to paint.  I’m not sure when he is going back home.  Probably Tuesday or Wednesday next week.  It will sure be nice when the deck project gets done.  I couldn’t have taken on that project without his help.

Feeling a bit restless tonight.  Not sure what that is from yet.  I had a weird night’s sleep.  I was up and down most of the night sleeping for an hour or two and then I would be awake for an hour or two.  I don’t like nights like that.  I did get to see an amazing sunrise this morning though.  There were dark clouds to the east before dawn broke but they cleared before the sun rose.

Grateful for two clean bedroom closets tonight, grateful Tim is going to bring me a ladder tomorrow, and grateful the forecast for tomorrow is for sunny skies.

 

 

I remember why I don’t like hot weather.  I am sticky and sweating today.  I turned the A/C off one day too soon and haven’t turned it back on today.  It will cool off this evening and is only to be 71 for the high tomorrow.  Much nicer than the 87 today.

I got the chicken coop cleaned out this morning.  The girls sure enjoy rearranging the straw when I am done.  I haven’t gone down to check for eggs yet today.  Trusting they will give me enough eggs to make it worth cleaning out the coop.

I went into Emporia this afternoon to get six more gallons of paint.  It took them about ten minutes to find the base I needed.  Then the girl that mixed it mixed one gallon at a time.  Each took three minutes to shake and then she mixed the next one and put it on the shaker.  The last two she mixed together and put in the double shaker.  Sometimes I shake my head and wonder about someone’s logical thinking pattern – or lack of one!  The good news is paint was 30% off today.

Stopped and got a few groceries and then came home.

When it cools down a bit I am going out to paint on the swing set.  I didn’t make it out last night and need to get out there tonight.  I will do all the low stuff and then tomorrow when it is cooler get the ladder out and do the higher stuff.  I may need to borrow a taller ladder or break down and buy one.

Contacted my guests for next weekend to see if they wanted to purchase breakfast and to let them know I am going to be gone Friday afternoon.  Hutch’s Celebration of Life Service is that afternoon and I can’t miss that.  They were all very gracious and understanding and we found ways to work around me being gone.  All eight guests want breakfast Saturday morning and six of the eight want breakfast Sunday morning.  It will be a busy weekend!

This has been my third empty space day in a row and I have three more the first of the week before my calendar is full again until the end of July.  I have enjoyed every minute of the last three days and will appreciate the next three.

Anyone want to come teach me how to use the weed eater?  That thing is intimidating.  I haven’t found the courage yet to fire it up and attempt to use it.

I have contacted two different glass people to come look at a window that has a rotted sash.  Both of them told me when they would be here and neither one showed up or called to tell me what happened.  What is up with that?  I will call both of them again Monday and give them a second chance.  May need to come up with a third service person.  Anyone have any recommendations?

My house is dirty again.  I will need to clean it Tuesday so it will be ready for the guests coming Thursday and Friday.  I will be gone most of Wednesday so can’t do it then.  It surprises me how dusty it is with all the rain we have had.

It amazes me how restored I feel after taking three quiet days mostly at home by myself.  I wished I had known years ago I needed quiet time by myself.  It makes me a better human and easier to be with.

Grateful the chicken coop is cleaned out again, grateful my guests were all so understanding and gracious, I look forward to meeting them, and grateful I feel whole and rested again.

 

Today has been a bit more productive than yesterday was but not by much.  A friend dropped by unexpectedly around noon and we ended up going to lunch together.  That was a nice surprise.  We had a nice visit.

Got a few little things crossed off my to do list today.  I didn’t make it outside to work yet but still may as it is cooling down a bit.  My intern went home this weekend so I turned the A/C off.  The house warmed up quickly.  I am not a fan of hot weather.

Am going to be fixing breakfast for my Symphony guests next weekend on Saturday and Sunday.  I will be feeding 10 of us.  Good think I got some practice while Kathy was here.  I think I will use the same menu for Saturday that I used for the coffee I had for Kathy.  Sunday I will fix steel cut oats in the crock pot as I have a feeling everyone will be eating at different times after coming in late Saturday night.  Found out two of the guests will be staying until Monday.  I am learning how to stay flexible when I have guests.

I made my grocery list for the items I will need for the breakfast.  I will have to go shopping next week to get everything.  I’m glad Jim will be here to help me.

One of the chickens has a hurt leg.  Not sure what to do to help her.  She is limping badly on it.  I’ll keep an eye on her and make sure she can get in the coop at night and can get to food and water.  May need to put her down if not.  One of the other chickens has deformed feet and stays inside all of the time.  I catch her in the nesting boxes occasionally so thinking she is laying eggs.  I don’t use a vet for my chickens.

It has been nice to have some empty space the last two days.  Looking at my calendar  for the rest of the month makes me tired as I don’t have many more empty space days left after Tuesday next week.  I don’t like when I get that busy and that happens.  I do much better with at least three empty space days a week.

It has been a beautiful day on the prairie today.  It got up to 87 today and the skies were bright blue with no clouds in sight.  The wind was calm.  The sunset tonight will be beautiful.

I did manage to make it to Strong City and remembered to fill the gas tanks with gas so I could weed eat when the urge strikes.  Haven’t mustered the courage to fire up the new weed eater yet.  Maybe I will yet tonight.

Back in my peaceful valley tonight.  My soul has gotten refilled and my calm has returned.  I am not feeling so overwhelmed with everything tonight.  I’m grateful to be back in my happy space.  Trusting tomorrow I will have more energy and will be able to knock some things off my to do list.  It is to be warm again tomorrow and then cool down.  Maybe I will get out in the morning before it gets too hot and get some things done.

Grateful for an empty space type of day, grateful for a friend that stopped by to visit, and grateful I have landed in my peaceful valley again.

I accomplished my goal of doing nothing productive today. I was up before 7:00 as the pest guy was to come take care of my wood bee problem. He came but it was raining and he couldn’t do the work. He will be back next week.

I didn’t fall asleep last night until almost 3:00 this morning and woke up after three hours of sleep.

I tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t so I got up. A friend came over and got two dozen eggs this morning and we enjoyed a nice visit. I folded two loads of laundry and unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. Around 1:00 I realized I was tired so went back to bed and slept for three hours.

I walked down to bring up the trash cans and get the mail after I fixed dinner. Other than that I haven’t done anything today! It felt good to take a completely lazy day.

My friends from CA I met on the Camino FaceTime me today. It is always a good day when I get to talk to Carolyn and Tom.

I still have my pajamas on. I put on a pair of jeans to go outside but never did get dressed for the day.

Some showers came through during the night. We got about a half of an inch of rain. Broke down and turned the A/C on as it was 87 in the house. I was hoping it would help me sleep better. It is to cool off for the next couple of days so will probably turn it back off after my intern leaves tomorrow.

Got reminders from the vet that the cats and Roxy are due for their annual visits the middle of July. I’ll have to remember to take them in when I get home from CO and before I have my bunion surgery August 7.

I don’t have anything on my calendar for tomorrow. Hoping I won’t take another lazy day but I might. My inner energy level was rather low and needed lots of empty space so I could refill. Next week I start getting busy on Wednesday and won’t have any more empty space days until the following Wednesday. I will have one free day and then I am going to OK for the weekend and the following week I fly out to Maine on Tuesday for a week.

I want to try to use the new weed eater tomorrow and see how I get along with it. I think it had an instructional CD with it so may watch that tonight. I need to go get my gas cans filled up so I have enough gas to mow again.

Feeling a bit down today. Might be from being alone again. It hits me hard for the first couple days after being with Jim and then going back to being alone. I appreciate the quiet space though and know I need that to refill. We are figuring out how to give each other space while we are together but we aren’t there yet. It is getting easier when we are together to do what each needs to do alone. We enjoy each other so much it is hard not to take advantage of the time we are together by staying together all of the time.

Grateful for a lazy day which included taking a long nap, grateful for A/C that cooled my house down last night, and grateful for empty space that refills my soul.

Got the two front decks painted this morning with Jim’s help.  They look nice. We have gone through almost four gallons of paint so far.   Can’t paint the back one yet as it needs sanded first.  Next time Jim comes up he is going to rent a sander and get it taken care of so it can get painted.  I will work on painting the swing set this week and some more of the deck trim work.

After Jim left around 3:30 I went out and mowed.  Got 95% of the yard mowed.  I need to go get gas so I can’t finish the rest.  I’m too tired to go get it tonight.  It is 8:00 and I haven’t had dinner yet.  Need to cool off a bit and then find me something to eat.

Think I will go take a shower when I finish writing.  I have paint on me from this morning’s painting adventure and grass in places it doesn’t belong from mowing.  It was surprisingly dusty mowing.  There is a chance for some rain tonight and tomorrow.  The skies are looking a bit dark towards the southwest which is where my storms come up from.

I broke down and turned on the A/C when I came in from mowing.  It was 87 in the house.  I am really tired and need a good night’s sleep and I have trouble sleeping if I am too hot.  May get to turn it back off soon as the high is only the be in the 70’s for the next few days.

Tomorrow is an empty space day at last!  I am giving myself permission to do nothing tomorrow unless the mood strikes and I have the energy to do something.  It has been a busy couple of days and I need to slow it way down and relax.  I have nine guests coming in starting a week from tomorrow so will need to clean house good for them.  I still haven’t fully cleaned from the guests that checked out Sunday.

Went to the foot surgeon’s office in Wichita yesterday and got the date set for the first of two bunion surgeries.  It will be August 7.  I have to go back four times for follow-up visits following surgeries. Then in November I will get to repeat the process.  It will be good to get them taken care of and have pain-free feet again.

I fixed ham and beans in the instant pot last night.  They were really good and took less than an hour to make.  I will go on-line and find some more recipes to make for next time Jim comes up.  We decided we are going to take the instant pot with us on our trip to CO and fix meals with it then.  Beats eating out all the time.

Still need to walk down and bring up the trash cans and get the mail.  I feel like I am running behind today and feel a bit overwhelmed with my long to do list.  One part of me recognizes my to do list really isn’t as long as it feels but another part is feeling a bit of anxiety over it.  Maybe after I take a shower and eat something I can relax a bit and get a grip on myself.

Grateful the yard is mowed, grateful two of the three decks are painted, and grateful for the time I had with Jim.  I miss him already.

Worked on refinishing the deck yesterday.  Got the first gallon of paint applied.  One down and many to go!  Jim sanded the railing and used wood fill to make it look smooth.  The guy that did the power washing did a really good job.  Trusting it will stay dry and I can get the rest of the front decks painted this week.  Jim still needs to do some sanding on the back deck before we can paint it.

Went into Emporia yesterday and went shopping.  I had a long list of items needed including a new weed eater.  I was tired of shopping by the time we got home.  Need to go back in today and get more deck paint.  I had only gotten one gallon as I wasn’t sure about the color.  I like it so will get several more gallons today.

This morning we are going to Wichita so I can see my foot surgeon.  I will set the date for my first bunion surgery today.  It will be sometime around the first of August.  Plan on doing the second one sometime in November or December.  It will be good to get those both fixed and to have pain free feet again.

Jim is going back to OK tomorrow.  It is sure more fun having him around then when we are apart.  He will be back for the Symphony weekend next week.

Have the house almost recovered from having all the rodeo guests stay over.  I still need to vacuum the steps and clean three more rooms downstairs.  All the laundry is done and put away and the beds are made.  I returned the borrowed air mattresses yesterday.

This afternoon we hope to paint again if the rain moves around us again like the predicted storm did yesterday.  Can we get lucky two days in a row?  Guess I’ll find out this afternoon.  The air feels thick and heavy this morning.  It was sure warm and humid yesterday afternoon.

I finally got brave and have used my Instant Pot.  Oh my Gosh!  It is amazing.  I have fixed split pea soup with ham, pot roast and Pot Chicken with Potatoes.  All three meals have been amazing and ever so easy.  Tonight I am fixing ham and bean soup. It will be nice this summer to fix dinners without having to turn the oven on.  The food is so moist and flavorful.  I am so glad I finally got brave and tried it.  I am a big fan of it now.

The intern that is spending the summer with me has enjoyed having dinner with us. I told him I don’t usually cook dinner but since Jim is here I have been.  He is very polite and good company.  We have enjoyed having him join us for dinner.  I still forget he is here and am having to remind myself to dress decently when I come out of my bedroom early in the morning in case he comes upstairs to fix his breakfast.

I got a good three hour first sleep last night and then struggled to get more sleep.  May need to take a nap today when I get home from Wichita.  We want to stop by Costco and then need to get more deck paint before we return home.

Grateful the deck project is underway and the first gallon of paint has been applied, grateful for discovering how easy the Instant Pot is to use, and grateful for this time with Jim.

It has been a busy few days on the prairie.  I am still not sure how many people are sleeping overnight at my house.  Some come just to take showers, some sleep here one night but not the next, some have been here the whole time.  They are all nice people and very polite and thankful for a place to come to.

The deck guy came and got the decks power washed and the house outside walls cleaned.  He did a good job.  Now if the weather dries out I can start staining the decks.  They have to be dry at least two days before I can stain them and they need two days afterwards to dry. May be August before I get to them.

The grandkids came out yesterday afternoon.  Jim and I took them to the rodeo last night.  I hadn’t been to a rodeo for a long time.  Ellexia really enjoyed it.  Tagen liked it but he got tired of it quick.  I was a bit uncomfortable at times – my religious and political bias and preferences surfaced at times.  It was too loud for me too.  Not sure I will go back another time.  It was fun to people watch.  I didn’t see too any people I knew though.

I have a load of towels in the washer and the trash has been gathered up.  I have a houseful of guests hanging out for the afternoon until they have to go to work around 5:00 tonight.  It will be nice to have the house to ourselves for the evening.

Tomorrow I will have lots of beds to make up.  My intern is moving in tomorrow afternoon so will need to get his room and bathroom done first.  Hopefully that guest will leave rather early tomorrow morning.  I will have to figure out how to let the air out of the four air mattresses that have been in use and get the ones I borrowed returned to their owner.

Going to try making dinner in the instant pot tonight.  I have had one for a long time but have never been brave enough to use it.  Jim’s son has one and showed me how to use it.  Hope what ever I make turns out OK.

Jim and Tagen got the tires fixed on my wheelbarrow.  The inner tubes had rotted out and needed replaced.  I pulled the weeds around the swings yesterday.  Today I need to mow the little fenced in yard.

I think we are going to run to town either this afternoon or Monday and go to Bluestem and True Value.  I want to pick out the deck stain and I need chicken feed and dog food.  Might as well use Jim’s strength to make that shopping trip easier.

I have a bit of a headache today.  I had one yesterday too.  Thinking it is because I have not done a good job staying on my eating plan.  I haven’t eaten stuff I shouldn’t but have been eating stuff I normally don’t eat.

It is another beautiful day on the prairie.  It is to be in the high 80’s today with a chance for a severe thunderstorm later.  I haven’t turned the air conditioner on yet.  The forecast shows a chance of storms everyday next week.  Maybe they will be small ones and dissipate quickly or not even materialize.

It has been nice having Jim around again.  We are having a good time together.  He has enjoyed visiting with the guests.

Grateful the step one of the deck project is done, grateful the grandkids came to play yesterday, and grateful Jim is here today!

This day hasn’t gone as planned.  I stayed home all morning waiting on people to show up.  No one did until early afternoon.  My first cowboy came in – only problem the cowboy is a cowgirl and she has a little dog with her.  Still not sure how many are coming and if they are male or female and when they might show up.  Guess they will sort it all out when they get here and decide who gets what bedroom.  They think I will have at least seven guests and maybe more.  Sometimes the bull riders need a bed last minute.  It will be an interesting weekend if nothing else.

The deck guy didn’t come until after 4:00.  Not sure if he will get done today or not.  The guys came back out to fix the south barn door this afternoon.  Glad that is done.  They can’t figure out how and why it broke.  I had them look at a broken window I discovered but they can’t fix it so will have to call the person they recommended to come out.

A student that is doing a summer internship at LMI came out to see the house.  He is going to rent a room for the next eight weeks or so.  He seems like a nice young man. He will be back Sunday to move in.  His parents will probably come check out the house with him.  He is a typical college kid and doesn’t know what his plans are other than doing this internship for the summer.  He may or may not be around on the weekends.  I will be gone a lot this summer so it will be nice to have someone in the house most of the time.

I forgot to get groceries so I can cook for Jim when he returns tomorrow.  I will run into town in the morning and pick a few things up.  I looked up recipes for the instant pot to try.  I have had an instant pot for a long time and haven’t learned how to use it.  Seems like a good time to try it out.

I didn’t sleep much at all last night so have been dozing off and on all day.  I decided to not take a nap as I did yesterday and thinking that is what caused me to not be able to sleep last night.  I kept falling asleep in my chair today though.  I don’t think I slept for very long at a time.

Got almost an inch of rain last night but thankfully no strong winds.  I need to finish mowing but the yard is too wet to do so today.  Hoping I can get it done tomorrow before Jim gets here.  It was nice to see the sun this afternoon.  It is to be dry and sunny for the next two days.  I am so over rain right now.

Ellexia texted and asked if she could come out.  I hate when I have guests and I can’t let the grandkids come out.  I told her she could come Sunday night.  She replied “maybe”.  She makes me smile!

Feels good to be getting some projects around the house done.  Jim is going to help me paint the deck later this summer.  I’m grateful I found someone that could spray the sides of the house.  There was a fungus growing of some sort on the north side of the house.  Guess it is common with the type of material that this house is made of.  It will be nice to have the decks redone and looking nice again.  Have a list of other projects I need to get done too.  Seems like a never ending list of things to spend money on.

Have felt a bit icky today  I can tell I ate foods that are not on my regular food plan over the weekend and I am detoxing a bit.  Hope I have more energy and am feeling better tomorrow.  My ass has been dragging most of the day today.

Grateful for a sunny afternoon, grateful for the repairs that happened today, and grateful Jim is coming tomorrow.

 

 

Another stormy day on the prairie.  Grateful the storms have skirted around my little corner on the prairie so far.  I did get a bit of rain but nothing severe.  There are reports of tornadoes all around me though and some doing some damage up by Eudora and Lawrence.  The air is thick and heavy with some dark clouds around but nothing showing very close on radar.

Went into Emporia this morning and got a few things. Ran two errands and came home.  Finally got the smoke detector battery replaced so no more beeping noise.

Took a nap this afternoon.  I am still recovering from all the excitement of the weekend.  It was full of people at my house.  I do better when it is only one or two although I did enjoy seeing everyone who came over Saturday and Sunday.

I got 80% of the yard mowed when I got home from town.  I came in to eat lunch and take a break and didn’t make it back out before it rained.  It is to be dry tomorrow so I will get out and get it finished up in the morning.  It was a bit too wet in some places to be mowing and I left wheel tracks.  Good thing I don’t even pretend to have a city yard.

Have one of the blow up beds ready for my guests for tomorrow.  I thought I had another set of queen sheets but can’t find them so may have to use a twin mattress instead.  Hope the cowboys aren’t too big.

It has been nice to have a relaxing, quiet day at home.  I appreciate the silence in the house today and it feels good.  I have gotten back on plan and ate the right foods for my body today which feels good too.  I cleaned out my refrigerator and got rid of the foods I shouldn’t eat.

Still need to get the floors and furniture dusted downstairs and one more bed made up and then I will be ready for my cowboys tomorrow.  I have no idea what time they will be here but have no where I have to go tomorrow so will stay home until they get here.

One nice thing about all the rain is it is keeping the dust to a minimum.  The house feels a bit musty though.  It needs to dry out a bit.  After today no more rain is in the forecast until Saturday so maybe it will dry out a bit.  Unfortunately next week rain is in the forecast Monday through Thursday.  Maybe things will change and they will take it back out.  I am ready for dry, hot temperatures.

The guy is coming tomorrow to power wash the decks and house.  It will be good to get step one of the deck refinishing project done.  I need a couple weeks of dry weather to get the decks stained so hoping that will happen before it gets brutally hot this summer.  we shall see if that plan works.

My neighbor had some tree damage from the wind that blew through Sunday evening.  I was lucky to only have a wet floor to clean up.  It was one strong wind of some sort that blew threw.  Wondering if there was a little funnel that bounced around a bit.  It sounded like a freight train for a bit during the worse of the storm.

Rolled the trash can down the driveway this afternoon.  Trusting the wind won’t blow it over and scatter trash all over tonight.

Grateful to be sitting in my peaceful valley today, grateful the storms that are rolling through today have missed my little corner of the prairie so far, and grateful for a nap today – I needed that!

What a weekend!  I am tired tonight.  We had 16 for lunch on Sunday.  It was so good to see Aunt Glenda and Uncle Jack.  My cousin Randy drove them over.  Jim (Match guy) got to meet three of my four siblings this weekend as well as some cousins and other family members.

After everyone left Sunday Kathy, Jim and I went to three cemeteries and left flowers.  I was glad I had gone to seven of the fourteen graves we went to as the flowers we put out were the only ones at the grave.  There was water everywhere along the route we took.  I am grateful we were able to find open roads to get to the cemeteries.

I went to bed early last night.  I was really tired and I think I was almost asleep before I pulled the covers up.  Jim stayed up and watched the stars come out.  It was the first good night we have had for a bit to star gaze.  I wish I could have stayed up to do so to.

During the night I heard something crash and a strong wind sound.  I came out into the living room and found the south living room door had blown open.  Rain was blowing in all across the room.  Jim helped me mop up the mess.  While we were working the electricity went out.  I found some flashlights and we finished mopping the floor and furniture.  The door between the laundry room and the garage had blown open too.  I guessed the winds were at least 60 mph if not stronger.  It was dark and couldn’t see the swings.  They are my wind gauge.  We got a bit under an inch of rain in a short amount of time.

Kathy left early this morning to return to KY.  She is probably going to be coming back for a couple of weeks when her term ends the end of September.  It was nice to have her home for a short visit.  I am glad she got to see some family and friends while she was here.

After Jim left this afternoon I went out and mowed for a little bit.  It is a bit too wet yet to mow part of the yard.  I’ll try to finish either tomorrow or Wednesday depending on the weather.

My rodeo guys are coming in Wednesday so tomorrow I will need to clean house and get ready for them.  I need to get some air mattresses ready for them as I have more guests coming then I have beds.  I need to make sure I have enough linens for all the extra beds.

Jim is coming back Thursday so we can go to the rodeo Friday night.  I think he is going to stay until Monday or Tuesday next week.  The only hard part about our relationship is when we aren’t together.  I’m glad I only have three days before he will be back again.

I will need to go into Emporia tomorrow as I need a new battery for a smoke detector downstairs.  I can hear it beeping faintly.  I have a few other things I need to pick up too.  I should have gone in tonight but I am too tired to go.  I can’t hear the detector peeping in my bedroom so it won’t bother me to leave it until morning.

My heart goes out to all those suffering from water damage due to the floods.  I only had to mop a very wet floor and that was enough for me.  I know several people that have had huge messes to deal with.  I bet contractors will be busy repairing all the damage that has been done.

Wednesday the guy is coming to power wash the decks and the house.  Jim is going to help me stain the deck later this summer when everything finally dries out.  It will be good to get that project done.

Feeling like I am back into my peaceful valley of life.  It is a bit lonely and empty with Jim gone again but knowing he will be back in three days helps.  It has been so nice to see some sun and blue skies today.  The rain may be back overnight and again tomorrow but then we are to dry out for a couple of days before it comes back to visit.  I do so much better when the skies are blue and the sun shines all day long.

Grateful for another couple of days with Jim (Match guy), grateful Kathy came home for a few short days, and grateful for sunshine today!

Had the most wonderful coffee for Kathy yesterday.  Many of her friends from the area came over to see her and catch up with each other.  I am so blessed to live in a community that loves each other and shows up for each other.  It meant the world to both of us that our friends came over.

It was fun to introduce Match guy to my friends.  He enjoyed meeting and visiting with them.  The girls that came over told me it was time to name him in my blog since they now know his name.  So Match guy will now be know as Jim.

Jim and I sat on the deck after everyone left yesterday and watched the clouds and enjoyed the bright green color of the pastures behind my house.  Another round of storms rolled through last night and dumped more rain on the prairie.  We had to move to the garage at one point when the rain came in.  I love hearing the thunder roll over the prairie.

Unfortunately there is yet another storm brewing this morning and the river between Cottonwood Falls and Strong City is expected to close the road joining the two towns, especially if we get much rain this morning.  There is standing water everywhere around and no end in sight to the forecasted storms. My heart goes out to those that are having to deal with flooded basements and houses.  What a mess they have and clean up work really can’t be done completely until the rains stop.

Today I have about 18 people coming for lunch, if everyone is able to get here through the rain.  I have most of the meal ready and it is too early to fix the rest.  It will be another fun day full of friends and family.  I always enjoy having people over for a meal – the more the merrier.

Kathy leaves early tomorrow morning for the 13 hour drive back to KY.  Jim will be returning to Stillwater sometime tomorrow.  The house will feel very big and empty after they leave.

My rodeo guys come in Wednesday so I will have Tuesday free to get the house cleaned up and ready for them.  Wednesday the guy is coming to power wash the decks and the spray the sides of the house.  I won’t get the deck stained but he could work me in to do the power washing part of the job.  I need a week of dry weather before the staining part can be done.

Jim is coming back on Thursday so we can attend the rodeo.  He has never been to one and it has been years since I have gone to one.  I need to remember to get tickets early next week.  My cowboy guests will be here until Sunday so I will have a full house all week.

I may have a student intern come stay for the summer.  He is coming to Cottonwood Falls to intern for LMI and needs a place to stay.  He is to come meet me this week and if we both agree will start staying here the following week as I don’t have a room for him this week.  He will mow and do chores for me while I am gone as part of the package I am offering him.  That will make it easier for me to get away this summer to go see Jim.  I love how the universe provides for me.

I need to go get started getting the house ready for the guests that are coming today.  It will be a fun day but a busy one for me.

Grateful for those that came to coffee yesterday, grateful for my sense of hearing that allows me to appreciate the thunder rolling over the hills, and grateful I have had this time with Kathy.

Went to a friend’s house this morning and helped her empty out a garage so it could get cleaned out from flood water.  It is the second time in less than two weeks that it has flooded.  I feel for her.  What a mess flood water leaves behind.  At least this time it didn’t get in her house like last time.  More rain is coming our way this evening and even more through the weekend.  Someone needs to turn the faucet off up above.

After I got home from helping her I went into Emporia to get groceries and run a few errands.  I think I have all I need to do my cooking for the weekend.  I haven’t fixed three meals in the same weekend for a crowd for some time.  I did remember to get something for the three of us to eat tomorrow night.  I almost forgot about regular food.

After I get done writing I need to get started cleaning house.  Kathy will be home by 8:00 tonight and Match guy will be here around noon tomorrow.  I detailed cleaned earlier so it won’t take me long to dust and run a mop over the floors.  The laundry room is a mess from the cats but it is a small room to clean.  Need to swish toilets and do a few other little things.  If I get at it I should be done in two or three hours.

Tomorrow I will do some meal prep and bake a few desserts.  I tried to pick easy foods to fix and serve.  Saturday morning I will have to get up early as I want to make cinnamon rolls for the coffee.  They only take two hours to make and are so good served warm right out of the oven.

I hope the rain stops by Saturday morning.  I’m afraid the guests coming from Cottonwood Falls won’t be able to get here if the highway closes again.  They just reopened the highway between Cottonwood Falls and Strong City this afternoon.  Pastures by the highway look like lakes.

I’m tired this afternoon.  I slept fairly well last night although I woke up during the night and it took about two hours to go back to sleep.  Not sure why I am tired today. Maybe it is the clouds – I miss the sunshine.

The air feels thick and heavy this afternoon like a storm is brewing.  I sure feel for those that have had tornado and flood damage.  It is no fun to clean up that mess.

Not sure when I am going to get to the cemeteries this weekend.  May do it tomorrow afternoon after Match guy comes.  I hate to make him ride in a car for two hours after making a three hour drive to get here though.  I don’t want to wait until Monday to go though and that is my only other free time this weekend.

Next week will be busy with my Rodeo guys coming in Tuesday and staying until Sunday.  Match guy will be back Thursday and is staying until Tuesday.  Time goes by fast when I have others in the house.

Grateful the groceries are all bought and put away, grateful Kathy is almost home, and grateful Match guy is coming tomorrow.

 

I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I am tired this evening.  Hoping it will be an early bedtime for me tonight.

I did chores early and then headed to Manhattan around 8:30 this morning.  I spent the day with a dear friend helping her do something she wanted help with.  We accomplished our mission successfully and then went to lunch.  Had a nice lunch and then went to her house to book flight reservations to Maine for June.  We changed the preliminary dates we had set and moved the trip back a week.  I’m excited about going to her camp in Maine.

Drove home and got there around 4:45.  It is still sunny outside and nice right now but storm clouds are building and rain is forecast again for tonight and into tomorrow morning.  Enough with the rain!  I am so ready for it to dry out a bit and be nice.  It has been nice to see the sun today.  I invite it back tomorrow.

Since I got to come home today I will have an extra day to get ready for all the festivities this weekend.  Plan on going into Emporia tomorrow morning to buy the rest of the groceries I need for the weekend meals.  That will give me more time to clean house and prep food on Friday before Match guy and Kathy arrive.

When I get done blogging I am going to try to get the mower out and do the rest of the yard.  The garage door was closed when I went down today and I thought it had been fixed but when I tried to lift it it didn’t work.  Not sure if they came out and at least got it down for me and then had to order parts or if it fell down and they haven’t been out yet.  I will call them in the morning and find out what is going on.  I dislike dealing with repair people!

Grateful for a safe trip to and from Manhattan today, grateful for no rain so far today, and grateful for a bonus empty space day tomorrow.

 

 

The rain finally stopped around noon today.  It has sprinkled off and on this afternoon but no more heavy stuff.  The prairie is in a thunderstorm watch this evening until 10:00.  Hoping it will skirt around me and the sun will continue to shine until sunset time.  The dark clouds are moving in again though.  Hopefully the forecast for tomorrow calls for sunshine all day.  Rain is to return Thursday and continue off and on through next Monday.  Roads are flooded already.  We don’t need more rain this month!

Went into Emporia to get the non-perishable groceries I need for the weekend.  I will go back in Friday morning and pick up the veggies and fruit I need.  Walmart is rearranging their store and I struggled to find stuff today.

Tomorrow I am driving to Manhattan to spend the day shopping with a friend.  If we don’t find what she wants I will stay over and we will go into KC Thursday to look there.  I’ll do chores before I leave and things should be good for overnight.

I have finally settled back into the empty space and quiet of the prairie.  It has felt soul refreshing to be in the quiet today.  I hated to go into town but wanted to get the heavy part of the grocery shopping done so it won’t take so long Friday morning.  I forgot to stop at the bank but I can do that Friday.  I thought I could run over to Cottonwood Falls to the bank on my way out of town tomorrow but they are predicting the road between the two towns will be flooded over by morning.

Had another guy come out and give me a bid to get my deck refinished.  His bid was much more reasonable than the other guy I had give me a bid.  Unfortunately this guy is way behind due to all the rain we have been having and it will be at least two months before he can do the work.  I had him put me on his list.  He is also trained in soft power washing the side of the house and will do that job also.

Didn’t get much done at home today again but didn’t feel quite so lazy and unproductive today.  I am finally refilling my soul and body from being gone for three weeks.  I had forgotten we crossed two time zones and it always takes my body some time to adjust to “normal” time when that happens.

I am back into my peaceful valley where things are smooth and easy.  I miss this space when I fall out of it.  I am grateful my fall into the muck pond was a short one although at the time it felt like I face planted into it.

Grateful the rain has stopped for a bit, grateful the sunshine will return tomorrow, and grateful to be back into my peaceful valley.

Rain, rain and more rain.  It started raining around noon and hasn’t let up yet.  I waded down to take care of the chickens this afternoon.  My rain gauge broke so have no idea how much we have gotten.  Forecast calls for rain for the next 24 hours.  The rivers are already running high so thinking flooding will be bad again.  I feel for the people that live close to a flood zone.  Grateful I live on a hill.

I got cold and had to turn my furnace back on.  I was still cold so went to bed to warm up under the electric blanket and fell asleep.  I am still tired so hoping I will be able to sleep tonight.  I am still recovering from my trip.

Haven’t gotten a thing done today other than chores.  My motivation to do something is totally gone today.  Decided to turn it into a lazy day – as if I had a choice!  Working to drink lots of water and get rehydrated to see if that will help.  Too nasty to get out and go anywhere.

Sure grateful I got the chicken coop cleaned out yesterday when it was nice.  The girls were inside enjoying their fresh linens when I went down to gather eggs this afternoon.  They gave me six eggs today.  I took a dozen to Michelle yesterday as I am getting more than I can use right now.  They still aren’t up to full production mode yet though.  I need a couple dozen for this weekend so hoping they won’t have anything else to do during this rain and will get busy laying.

I did work a bit on my shopping list for the weekend meals I am fixing.  I decided on menus and have gone over my list twice to make sure I have everything I need.  I am so grateful Aunt Glenda and Uncle Jack and Aunt Marylyn are going to come over Sunday if they don’t get flooded out.  I always enjoy spending time with them.

I am to go to Manhattan Wednesday and possibly spend the night.  Wonder if I will be able to get there?  This rain is getting a little much.  Council Grove Lake looked really full when I was past it last Friday.  I don’t know if that highway ever floods or not.  I will check before I head out Wednesday morning.

It feels good to be eating back on plan.  I really do feel better when I don’t over eat and when I eat the right foods in the right portion.  Part of my tiredness is because I am getting rid of the sugar and flour that I ate while I was on vacation.  It is so hard to eat every meal out as I never know what they put in food.  Sugar and flour seems to slip into most restaurant foods.  I remember when I first started eating the Bright Lines way.  I was tired for the first four months until I finally got all the toxins out of my system.  Trusting it won’t take that long this time.

Tomorrow I need to clean house for the weekend.  I plan on being going Wednesday and Thursday and Friday I need to buy groceries and start cooking.  Kathy will be home either Thursday evening or sometime Friday late morning.  Match guy is coming up sometime on Friday.  I do need to add something to fix for dinner Friday and Saturday night to my grocery list.  I forgot about that.

If you know of someone that has to evacuate due to flooding and they need dry beds let me know.  I have three rooms available until next Tuesday when my rodeo guys come in.

Two of my Sonos music system players aren’t working.  I’ll have to mess with them to see what is going on.  The lights went on and off several times before they stayed off Saturday so they might have gotten damaged.  They were working last night though so don’t know why they aren’t working today.  I’m not working well today either.  Maybe they don’t like so much rain either.

Grateful my lights have stayed on today, grateful I have a dry house on a hill to be in during this deluge, and grateful this day is almost over!

What a beautiful day on the prairie.  Sunshine all day long!  The windows and doors are open and fresh air has been blowing in all day.  It was a touch windy today but the wind has slowed down this evening.  Unfortunately rain returns again tomorrow night and will hang around on Tuesday too.  Luckily the rain forecast for Wednesday and Thursday has been taken out of the forecast only for it to return for the whole weekend.

I went into town and picked up the grandkids around 1:00 this afternoon.  They came home with me and played this afternoon.  We hadn’t seen each other for a bit so it was nice to see them.  Ellexia downloaded an app on her phone and worked on teaching herself how to play the piano all afternoon.  Tagen played with the dogs and gave them some love and attention.

I baked no bake chocolate cookies for them and sent them all home with them.  They sure smelled good.  Tagen had some s’mores as they are his favorite food at my house.

When I finish blogging I am going down and cleaning out the chicken coop.  Now that the wind has slowed down I can get that job done.  It is a perfect evening to do it.

Other than playing with the grandkids I didn’t get much done today.  I did wash my bed linens but haven’t gotten my bed remade yet.  I was having too much fun playing with the kids.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are empty space days for me.  They will be the last empty space days until Monday, June 3.  My calendar has filled up and June and July are almost full already.  Time sure flies by when I don’t have much empty space.

I realized yesterday I struggle a bit after each time I spend a couple weeks with my Match guy and then go back to living alone.  It takes me a few days to adjust to being alone again.  It is easier to step into being with him then to step out of that.

Grateful for the time I was able to spend with the grandkids today, grateful for two empty space days coming up, and grateful for the sunshine and blue skies today and a break from the rain.

Took a dive into the muck pond today.  I think I was over tired and emotionally worn out.  Finally climbed out this evening and am feeling much better finally.  It was a long, hard day.

Had a strong thunderstorm roll through around noon.  The Emporia airport reported 86 MPH winds.  We had a gust of over 70 MPH here.  Lost power from noon until 5:30 or so.  It suited my mood today to sit in the quiet and not be able to do much.  Forced me to slow down and rest.  I was grateful when it came back on so I could fix my dinner and finish the laundry.

It was nice to get home Thursday evening.  We drove straight through from Santa Fe Thursday.  It took just a bit over 10 hours.  When we got to my house we went out and started the mowing.  My Match guy pushed the little mower and I did the riding mower.  Only got a little patch mowed.  The grass was over knee high and it took two passes to get it mowed.  Friday morning I went out and finished mowing the main part of the yard with the riding mower and Match guy came out and finished the pushing mower part.

I was going to finish the rest of the yard this morning but the barn garage door broke and I couldn’t get the mower out of the barn.  It is to rain most of the week so may not get the rest mowed before I have to mow the yard again.  With all the rain we are getting the grass is growing fast.

After Match guy went home Friday I took a shower and cleaned up and then drove to Manhattan to see a dear friend.  Her husband died earlier this week and I wanted to go over and give her a big hug.  We had a nice long visit and I drove back home.  I didn’t get home until 9:20.  I’m glad I had a quiet day at home today to rest a bit.

Still processing our trip.  I learned I need to find some time to blog when I travel as I can’t remember what we did well without a written record.  Blogging helps me sort my emotions and it helps to put them into words.  I think that is part of why I fell into the muck pond today.  I felt really overwhelmed emotionally last night and this morning.

I can’t pick a favorite of all the sites we saw.  I loved the landscape of WY and the drive across Idaho and Washington state.  The Grand Canyon felt like sacred ground but so did the Redwoods and the Sequoia trees.  Yosemite was incredible as well.  Olympic National Park was amazing – especially the Hoh Rain Forest.  The beaches in Washington and Oregon were spectacular and so much fun.  Chaco Canyon was very sacred ground too.  I think I hit sensory overwhelm at some point.  Too many beautiful sites for me to absorb.

Spending time with the friends I met on the Camino, meeting and spending time with Match guy’s son, and getting to have dinner with my cousin Pam were highlights of the trip for me.  I will cherish the memories of the time I spend with each of them as well as the time I spent with my Match guy.

I’m grateful I have a couple of quiet days this week to unwind and settle in.  This morning it felt like not all of me had gotten home yet.  I finally feel whole again this evening.

I didn’t gain any weight on this trip for which I am very grateful.  It is so hard to eat three meals a day when I travel and spend 10 to 12 hours a day in a car.  I tend to snack instead of eating meals.  Vegetables are hard to find in some restaurants.  It will be good to get back on plan.  I still have five pounds to take off from the last trip.  I am tired of eating out so it felt good to eat my regular food at home today.

Match guy is coming back up Friday.  Kathy is coming home for the weekend and I have invited lots of people over to see her.  Match guy wants to meet my friends and family that are coming over.  If you want to meet him and see Kathy come join the fun.  Breakfast and coffee on Saturday is from 9:00 – 11:30, lunch is at 12:30 and lunch again on Sunday at 12:30.  Come to one event or all three.  The more the merrier.  I always fix too much food so just show up.  Kathy would love to see you.

Kathy leaves on Memorial Day to drive back to KY.  The following day I have a house full of rodeo guys checking in for a week.  Glad I have some quiet days coming up to get everything ready and to get rested up.

I had a time warp thing happens his morning.  My grandfather clock had stopped and I needed to reset it and get it started.  I checked my iPad to see what time it was and set it according to that.  Later I noticed there was an hour difference in time from the grandfather’s clock and the clock on the kitchen wall.  I checked my iPad again and couldn’t figure out what the right time was.  I finally figured out I hadn’t updated my iPad from my travels and it was showing mountain time.  I was confused for a bit!

Finally feeling grounded again and my foul mood has lifted.  The clouds are rolling in again and it feels like it might storm again this evening.  I have standing water in my yard from the hard rain we got this morning.  I hope all the rain that is forecast for this week doesn’t happen as I’m afraid the flooding will be even worse this time if we get the rain they are predicting.

Grateful for a safe trip of over 5, 850 miles, grateful my trip in the muck pond was a short one, and grateful for electricity this evening.

A quick check in on a rare quiet afternoon while on my trip.  We are having a fabulous time.  It has been nice to stay in the same place for several nights though.  Up until now we changed hotels and cities everyday.  We are staying in an Airbnb tiny apartment in Berkeley for four nights.  Two nights down and two to go.  They even let us do our laundry.  It has a small kitchenette but we have been eating out with Match guy’s son.

Tomorrow we are going to Napa Valley and going to tour some wineries.  I will enjoy getting out of the city and back into the countryside.

I am starting to miss my wide open space.  Berkeley has way too many people, cars and houses for my liking.  We went for a six mile walk yesterday up to the Berkeley University campus and through the main part of the city.  While interesting it is crowded and loud!  The flowers are blooming and it has beautiful smells from the gardenias and roses.

I struggle to decide what my favorite part of the trip has been.  Meeting up with the couple I met on the Camino is at the top of my list.  We had a wonderful visit at their beautiful home.  They live on the edge of Petaluma and had beautiful views of the distant mountains.  Their house was open and spacious.  Carolyn fixed a wonderful lunch for us.  We picked lemons off the lemon tree in their back yard.  She sent gifts home with me.  The visit brought back wonderful memories of a time we shared on the Camino.

The redwoods are breathtaking.  Someone posted on my Facebook wall that big trees are good medicine and I believe it.  We walked the Lady Bird Johnson hike which was an almost two miles loop through the National Redwood Forest.  I loved the ones that were hollowed out but still standing and growing at the top of the tree.  The flora in the forest was beautiful too.

I fell in love with the open plains of WY.  Not sure I could handle the winters but the views are incredible.  I also loved the OR coast line.  We stopped at several beaches and went wading in the very cold Pacific Ocean.  The ferry ride in Seattle was a blast.  What a beautiful country USA is – such diversity.

Thursday morning we head to the Sequoia National Forest and will spend the night in Western CA.  Friday we drive to the Grand Canyon and will spend two nights there.  Sunday will find us in Santa Fe for four nights and we will head home Thursday.  We have traveled over 3,400 miles so far with a bunch more miles to go.

Match guy and I continue to enjoy each other’s company and have lots of fun together.  His son is very nice and I have enjoyed spending time with him also.

It has been interesting staying in an Airbnb.  Our host is good and checks in with us each day but leaves us alone for the most part.  The apartment is nicely furnished although I would add a few more little touches.  It is quiet and clean and that is most important.

The weather has been great since we left the snow behind last week.  No rain in WA, OR or CA so far.  I hear back home has gotten some rain.  We will probably run into rain in Sequoia and at the Grand Canyon by the looks of the forecast.

Grateful for the opportunity to see so many parts of the USA, grateful for safe travels so far, and grateful for the chance to visit my friends from the Camino.

My last guests left this morning before 8:00.  I have their rooms cleaned up and ready to go.  They left a charger and a playbook so will have to ask my house sitter to mail them for me tomorrow.  They were nice guests who requested space for next year’s disc golf tournament.

My Match guy should be leaving OK soon to head my way.  We are leaving tomorrow morning around 7:00 and hoping to get well into WY by nightfall.  There are blizzard warnings up for CO today so we will see what the weather brings tomorrow.  May have to alter our route.  Our first major destination is the Olympic Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State.  From there we will head south to go through the Redwood Forest and then on into Berkeley.  We will spend several nights in Berkeley at an Airbnb.  We will be visiting my Match guy’s son as well as my friends I met on the Camino.  From there we will head for the Grand Canyon via Yosemite.  We will then stay several nights in Santa Fe before we return home mid-month.

My bags are mainly packed.  Just need to add last minute stuff in the morning after I get dressed.  I have to take clothes for winter weather and for summer temperatures.  One disadvantage to car trips is I feel I have room to take extra stuff.  I rarely use it but since I have room I bring it along.

I have a stew cooking in the oven for dinner tonight.  It is making me very hungry today with the yummy smell.  May need to take a nap to make the time go by faster this afternoon until my Match guy gets here.  I’m getting anxious and excited.

I decided to have a lunch on Sunday the weekend Kathy is coming home which is Memorial Day weekend.  I am hosting a coffee Saturday morning for her friends to come visit her and am having the lunch on Sunday primarily for extended family members.  I mailed out invitations today.  I love getting all my family together and hope my cousins, aunts and their families will join us.  My Match guy is planning on being here that weekend so my family can meet him too.  It will be a busy weekend but one filled with lots of love and laughter.

I was getting ready to go out to mow and it started raining.  Looks like it might be clearing up a bit so maybe I can still get the mowing done this afternoon.  If we get the rain predicted this week my grass will be very high by the time I get home.  May need to twist my son’s arm or my SIL’s arm to get them to come mow while I am gone.  Both like to ride my mower.

May is going to go by fast.  I won’t be back home until the 16, 17 or 18th.  Kathy comes the 24 – 27 and then I have a house full of guests coming in May 27 – June 2.  No rest for me in May.  I’ll be gone for three weeks again in July and in August am having a bunion surgery.  Wow!  My schedule is filling up quickly.

I am ready to hit the road again  There was a Facebook meme today that said “I want to get in my car and drive until I find what I’m looking for.  Maybe it’s purpose, maybe it’s a fresh start or maybe it’s just a sky with unclouded stars.”  That kinda sums up this trip for me.

Grateful the house is reset and clean again, grateful my Match guy will be here soon, and grateful to be leaving on another adventure tomorrow morning.  I will only blog occasionally while I am gone.   Text me if you need to get hold of me 620-481-8323.  Much love and light to each of you!

 

 

Wow!  The wind has been in a big hurry all day today.  It is finally starting to slow down a bit but still blowing strong.  It has blown in a bit of a cold front and we are forecast to get below 40 degrees tonight.  Gotta love KS weather!

Two of my guests checked out this morning.  I have the bedroom and bathroom they used cleaned up and ready to go for my next guests.  The other three will leave in the morning.  I will have all day tomorrow to get the basement back into shape before I leave on Monday.  The guests that are still here were gone all morning and came back for a bit this afternoon and then went back out again.  I haven’t seen them to talk to them yet today.  I hope to catch them tomorrow before they leave.

I have my suitcase on the table ready to be loaded up.  I haven’t started dragging stuff out to put in it yet though.  We will be gone for three weeks so will need to find someplace to do laundry along the way.  A lot of hotels have washers and dryers these days so am guessing we will find somewhere to wash things up.  Need to remember to take some laundry detergent with me.  I have a packing list started so it won’t take me long to pack.

Match guy is coming after he gets out of church tomorrow.  Should be here around 5:00 or so.  He tends to run a bit late though.  I need to think of something to fix us for dinner or else take him out.  We will be eating out most of the three weeks we are gone so would rather eat at home one last time before we leave.  I forgot when I went to town earlier this week to get something to make.  I’ll have to see what I have on hand.

Have my house sitters lined up.  One is watching the animals from Monday to May 15 and then a friend is coming in to stay the last few days.  I appreciate them coming out to stay.  The animals do better when there is a person around part of the day.

I had to close the windows and doors today as the sound of the wind was pushing me over the edge.  We had gusts of over 40 MPH this afternoon with sustained winds at 25.  I almost fell over when I walked down to take care of the chickens earlier.  I had to fix their shade cloths as the flex ties had broken off.

I took a short nap again today.  I was sitting in my chair earlier and kept falling asleep so decided to go lay down.  Wish I could fall asleep at night that easy.  I only slept in bits and pieces again last night.  Sure wish I knew what was causing my sleep issues – or should I say lack of sleep issues.

Excited to see my Match guy tomorrow.  I sure miss him when we are apart.  It is so nice to have someone to talk to and be with and do things with.  My life feels much richer when I am with him.

I have managed to stay out of the muck pond today.  The last two days were a little rough for me.  I have been emotional and teary but am doing good so far today.

I am struggling a bit with my eating lately.  I have been craving food that I no longer eat.  Not sure why the cravings have hit me again unless it is from the peanut butter. Thinking it is a trigger food for me.  I have been really hungry this last week and have reached for food I no longer eat several times.  Have managed to stop myself most of the time.  Still haven’t eaten sugar but I have really been tempted.  I gained five pounds on my last trip and haven’t taken it all off yet.  I can’t let myself do that on this trip.  I can do this!  I can do this!

Grateful for the calmer winds this evening, grateful my Match guy is coming tomorrow, and grateful for my house sitters that let me get away with no worries about my animals.

I had trouble falling asleep last night.  Finally around 3:30 I took some NyQuil and slept hard until 9:00.  The only problem is I felt hung over all day.  I even took a nap this afternoon to shake it off.  I feel better now.

Not a very productive day for me.  I did get the front fenced in part of the yard hand pushed.  Emptied trash and washed guest towels was the only other thing I can claim to have gotten done today.  Just one of those days I guess.

The clouds are starting to roll in.  I put the cover back on the fire pit as it is smelling a bit like rain outside.  We have a 30% to 40% chance throughout the night for rain.  The cracks are growing in the yard so I would welcome every bit of rain we get.

Two of my five guests check out tomorrow.  I will get their room and bathroom cleaned up after they leave.  The guests downstairs are leaving Sunday sometime.  I told them I wasn’t in a hurry for them to leave and they were welcome to hang around a bit.  Not sure what their plans are.  I will want to get their rooms cleaned before I leave Monday.  It usually doesn’t take long to clean the rooms especially since I detailed them before they came.

My upstairs guests went to Ad Astra for lunch and then went hiking at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve this afternoon.  They posted some pictures on Facebook and look like they are enjoying themselves.  I always like to see my guests get out and enjoy the beauty of the land.

We all sat out last night and enjoyed the sunset again.  Have a feeling we won’t see much of a sunset tonight as the clouds are getting thicker by the minute.  May get to hear thunder roll across the hills though.  That is one of my favorite sounds out here on the prairie.

Had a rough morning emotionally.  Things and thoughts kept coming up that sent me to a dark place.  I was able to allow the thoughts and feelings without falling in the muck pond.  I had a good cry and felt better although very tired so I allowed myself to take a nap.  Not sure if it was the NyQuil or what.  I’m much better grounded and centered this evening.

Grateful for the chance of rain on the prairie, grateful I was able to move my dark feeling through my body – mowing helped, and grateful I am in a better space this evening.  All is well on the prairie!  Right here, Right now, All is Well!

 

Another night of sleeping in bits and pieces.  So frustrating!

I had a lunch meeting in Emporia at 11:00 this morning.  Afterwards I got cat food and cat litter, went to the bank, and then stopped and loaded up on chicken feed.  I haven’t done much since I got home except for finishing my laundry.  I had gotten the grandkids some bigger clothes for the baskets I keep at my house and got the new clothes washed up and ready for them to come stay the night.

Three of my guests were here when I returned from town.   They spent the afternoon napping as they all had been up and out of the house by 6:15.  One of them had a 7:00 tee time this morning.  Not sure what their plans are for dinner.  So far they haven’t asked if they can use the kitchen to cook.

My other guest drove to KC today to pick up his wife to bring her out for the next two days.  They haven’t gotten back here yet this afternoon.

The wind returned in a big hurry this afternoon.   It was beautiful out this morning but that changed when the wind came in.  The temperature dropped about 10 degrees when the wind came in.  The wind is starting to slow down a bit now but still going fairly strong.  I closed the open windows as the house was getting too cold.  I may be able to open them again soon if the wind continues to slow down.

I hope it is nice enough we can sit out and watch the sunset again tonight.  It is about 10 degrees colder than it was last night so may have to take some blankets out if we sit outside tonight.  Right now if we were out in the swings the wind would be pushing us nicely.

This has turned into a rather lazy day for me.  Maybe I won’t even try to get anything done and chalk this day up to being a rest day.  I haven’t taken a rest day for several days.  Maybe the motivation to do something will find me yet today and I will get something done.

The restlessness that had been with me for several days seems to have quieted way down.  I can still sense it but it is at a very low level tonight.  Still not sure what was causing it although I do have lots going on right now with some major changes headed my way.   Funny how somedays the restlessness roars rather loudly and other days it is quiet.  Kinda like the wind I guess.  I do my best to acknowledge what I am feeling and allow it to be what it is.  It doesn’t require me to do anything about it.  The more I can allow it to be the faster it seems to quiet down.

Grateful for being able to claim today as a lazy day, grateful the big haul of chicken feed is done, and grateful the wind is calming down.  The wind was wearing on me a bit this afternoon.

 

 

 

So far this has been a productive day but has had a twist or two in it just for kicks and giggles.  After sleeping in bits and pieces again I got up and after breakfast headed into Emporia to run some errands.  I have to go back in tomorrow to meet some friends for lunch so will finish the rest of my errands then.  Made it to Cottonwood Falls to drop off my recycling stuff too.

Came home and went outside to work on cleaning up the lower deck.  I cleaned out the very nasty fish pond and washed down the deck.  Cleaned up the old garden area and dumped the dirt in the holes behind the retaining wall.  Filled a trash can full of weeds and other stuff.  Took the garden hose back up to the barn.  The deck could use a bit more attention but it looks much better than it did.

Cut down the little trees that are growing beside the barn.  I need to get something to pour on the roots so they don’t grow back.  I can’t grow a tree in the yard but these seem to grow well.

One of my guests checked out early due to some personal problems.  I had a long visit with him out in the swings this afternoon.  His girlfriend came back  and they decided they needed to head home.  I almost have his room cleaned and ready to go again if I can find someone that still needs a bed for the rest of the tournament.  He is such a sweet kid – I hate to see him hurt like he is right now.

It has gotten warm this afternoon.  It was nice working out in the yard without a sweatshirt on.  Worked up a bit of a sweat today.  There is a nice breeze if I am in the right place in the yard to feel it.  It is only 73 out but feels warmer.

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am leaving again Monday for three weeks.  It will be good to spend that time with my Match guy.  I really miss him now when we aren’t together.  He is coming Sunday afternoon and we will leave Monday morning early.

I made reservations for us at an Airbnb in Berkeley, CA.  It will be my first experience staying in an Airbnb instead of being the hostess.  It is cheaper than the hotels in the area and we will have a small kitchen.  Airbnb had given me a $100 gift certificate for being a Super Host for four quarters in a row.  I’m glad I found a way to use it.

My Match guy made reservations for us to stay near the Grand Canyon the night we will be there.  We were going to stay at the hotel that is on the rim but they were booked.  Not sure where we will be staying.  I’m excited to get to see the Grand Canyon.  I can’t believe I haven’t been there yet.  I’ll get to cross that off my bucket list next month.

The rest of the hotels we are going to book on the fly.  We have some long days of travel ahead and we aren’t sure how far we will get each day.  It is easy to find rooms using the internet on my phone along the way.  How ever did we used to travel without that convenience?

My other guests are still out and about.  I don’t expect them back until later this evening. I bet they will be tired tonight after playing several rounds and then hanging out in the sun watching other players.  Not sure they will be up for sitting in the swings to watch the sunset but they might enjoy it.  One has his guitar with him so we may have a sing along.  That will be fun.  I have stuff for s’mores if they want some.  I love when my guests like to sit and visit outside in the evenings.

Sitting in a calm heart space this afternoon.  It felt good to be here to listen to my guest that needed a Mom today.  I never know what my hostess duties will involve.  It was another reminder of being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.  I love when the universe sends me those reminders.  I feel like I am living my life purpose when that happens.

Grateful for guests that becomes friends, grateful for the ability to do physical labor, and grateful for this beautiful day.   The  birds are busy building nests, the dogs and cats are sleeping in the sun, and the chickens are very occasionally singing their “I Just Laid an Egg” song.  It is a beautiful day on the prairie.    Continue reading “Wednesday, April 24, 2019”

After two productive days I have had a lazy day today.  Not motivated to get anything done.  I slept in bits and pieces last night.  I was too hot for a bit and then was too cold.  It was too cold to get up and close the windows.  I had to turn the furnace back on this morning as it was only 60 in the house.  Burr!!!  Have had some sprinkles on the prairie today but no real rain.  It seems to have gone around me again.

The guy that came in last night was off to work before 8:00 this morning.  Three more guys came out about 11:00 to check-in.  They hauled in lots of stuff!  After they got unloaded they went back into Emporia.  They came back out here mid-afternoon and must be taking naps downstairs as I can’t hear them.  I think they are going back into Emporia this evening.  The next two coming let me know they will be here around 6:00.

The three that came today are calling me Miss Kay.  Makes me feel a bit old but I respect their manners.  They seem like nice young men and will be easy guests.

I got the light fixtures in the dining room and kitchen cleaned today.  I have to put a step stool on the kitchen tables and the kitchen bar to reach he light fixtures.  I always appreciate them when they are clean but forget to clean them very often.

I am fighting the urge to take a nap.  It is cloudy and cold outside and a nap sounds like a good thing to do.  I walked the trash down to the mailbox and took care of the chickens while I was out.  It is actually warmer outside then it looks.  I am missing the sunshine today though.

Cleaning the garage was on my to-do list today and I haven’t made it out there yet.  I still may get out there this evening but not looking good.  There is always tomorrow – right?  It is to be in the 70’s tomorrow and that sounds like better weather to clean a garage in.

I was looking at my Facebook page and noticed it showed single as my relationship status.  I decided to change it to In a Relationship.  I didn’t realize it would create a post and announce that to my friends.  Oh well, guess the cat is out of the bag now in a more public way than I anticipated.

I have some errands to run tomorrow.  I need to drop off recycling stuff, get tick medication for the dogs and cats, buy some chicken feed, drop off some bags at Goodwill or Salvation Army, and get some groceries.  I think all my guests will be out and about tomorrow so should have some free time to get my errands done.

Having trouble remembering I am leaving again for three weeks Monday.  Seems like I just got home from the trip east.  This year is flying by quickly.  I have most of my summer booked so it will go by quickly too.

Grateful for guests that come to enjoy the beauty of the prairie, grateful I can take a day and be lazy, and grateful to be in a relationship.

My house is clean!  Almost all the woodwork got washed down and most of the floors were hand-scrubbed.  It always feels good to have a very clean house.  Sure wish it would stay clean longer than it will.  Someone south of me is burning tonight and the smoke and ash are blowing in.  Way too nice out to close the windows though.

I started cleaning out my closet.  Have filled one sack full of clothes to take to Goodwill next time I go to town and will probably fill at least one more sack.  I hate having things hang in my closet that I never wear.  Someone else might find them more useful so I will pass them on.

My guest showed up around 4:00.  He took a shower and then went to do a small job for his work.  He will be back later this evening.  The rest of the guests will show up sometime tomorrow.  This guy stayed with me last year.  It was nice to see him again.  His wife is coming Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning to join him for a couple of nights.  He is leaving Saturday.  He brought his guitar so we can have some music around the fire pit and watch the sun go down.  My favorite type of guest!

Sharing this house makes it easier to be here.  This house has felt very big to me lately and I feel guilty living here by myself.  I am traveling so much that I can’t book many guests though.  I’m leaving a week from today on a three-week trip to CA with my Match guy.  I do have two weekends full of guests booked in June.  July I will be going to CO for three weeks with my Match guy.  I’m too busy for guests!

It is to rain tomorrow so think I will clean out the garage during the rain.  I also need to clean the lower deck but that is not a good rainy day project.  I’ll save that for Wednesday.

The day started out beautiful and nice and warm but the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped.  I mowed part of the yard this morning and had to wear a sweatshirt as it was rather cool mowing.  The ground is really dry and the Prairie sure could use a nice long drink of fresh rain water.  If it rains I’ll have to mow Sunday before I leave on Monday.  The outer yard still doesn’t have enough grass to mow.

I sure wish there was a market for dandelions as I have a bumper crop of them this year.  A lot of my mowing today was cutting off the puffs the dandelions make.

My kids are trying to find a date that all of us can go to a Royals game this summer together.  That is harder than it should be.  I only have a few weekends free between now and August.  I may not get to go with them – darn it.  I haven’t checked the Royals schedule – guess we need to consider that too – LOL!  Trying to match five families schedules is not easy.

Tagen has a track meet in Emporia tomorrow I would like to go to.  I wish my guests would let me know when they are checking in so I know if I can go to the track meet. I hate to sit home and miss it and then the guests show up after I could have gone.  It sucks to work sometimes!  The rain that is forecast might change the track meet plans too.

I wasn’t as productive today as I was yesterday but I got some things done.  That feels good.  I have gotten into a habit of sitting way too much lately.  I don’t like looking for things to do though.  With the nicer weather all of a sudden I have lots of things that need done outside.  It feels good to move my body more and get things cleaned up.

It felt good to eat totally on plan today.  I have been cheating too much lately and my body started telling me to get with the program.  I still need to take off three more pounds that I gained when I went east.  The weight sure comes back on faster than it goes off.

Still sitting with some restlessness inside.  I think I know what it is from.  I keep repeating Right here, right now, all is well.  I tend to get ahead of myself and anticipate life instead of staying present to what is.

Grateful for a returning guest that is fun to have around, grateful the house is clean, and grateful for the dandelions in the yard – they brighten up my yard.

 

It was so nice having all the kids come home for Easter dinner last night.  Nicole and Geoff spent the night and after we had breakfast they returned to KC.  My heart is full of love from the weekend.

The wind is in a big hurry today.  Have been having over 40 MPH wind gusts with sustained winds over 30 MPH.  I may need to fill my pockets with rocks when I go down to do chicken chores.  I have kept the doors closed today as it is too much wind to let in the house.  It is over 80 degrees out today.  Almost feels more summer than spring today.

I am cleaning the master bedroom this afternoon.  I found way too much dust under the bed.  I have moved all the furniture and am hand scrubbing the floors and woodwork.  Taking a break to let a section dry and then I will go back and finish it up.  Still need to do the master bathroom.  I got the upstairs guest bedroom done this morning.  Slowly but surely the house is getting a spring clean.

After I finish cleaning each room I want to go back through every room and see how many things I can find to remove from the house.  My closets have gotten cluttered again and need emptied out and only essentials returned.  The kitchen panty needs gone through again too.  Not sure where this stuff comes from but it is time for it to go.  Simplify is my word for the week!

My guests start arriving tomorrow afternoon.  I will need to stick close to home all week since they are all staying until Sunday.  That will give me lots of time to get through everything and find treasures to gift to someone else.  I also have some yard work that needs done.  The lower deck needs uncluttered and cleaned.  I also need to detail clean my garage and get rid of some stuff from it.  I also need to clean out the fish pond and get it ready for the season.

Sometime next week I will need to start a packing list as I am leaving for the west coast in another week.  Putting lots of miles on my Match guy’s car.  I’m so excited that I will get to see the friends I met while walking the Camino while we are in CA.  Visiting them was on my 70 things to do before I turn 70 list.  Love when I can cross things off that list.

When I get home from that trip Kathy is coming for a short visit and when she leaves I have guests booked for a week.  Lots going on for me right now.

Tonight I have dinner reservations at Ad Astra.  A guy that I know is coming to sing.  I haven’t had a chance to listen to him for a bit so look forward to it tonight.  It will do me good to get out of the house and be in the world for a bit.  I forget to get out sometimes.

Sitting with a hint of restlessness this afternoon.  Not sure what that is from.  I have some potentially big decisions to make early this week and thinking that is causing it.  I keep reminding myself to stay present in the moment and not get ahead of myself.  Right here, right now, all is well!

Grateful for my kids and the love we share, grateful to have discovered the minimalistic lifestyle and the freedom it has brought me, and grateful the house is almost all detailed cleaned.

 

 

 

Had a delightful dinner with my three kids, partners and grandchildren tonight.  The food turned out good, conversation was lively and lots of laughter was heard.  The grandkids did an Easter egg hunt after dinner.  I sent home lots of leftovers with each of them.

Nicole, Geoff and Jason are off to see a concert tonight.  Tim had worked all day and was tired so he and Michelle and the kiddos went home early too.  The house is quiet for a bit now.  The dishwasher is running and I will have one more load to go when the first load gets done and then the house will be back in order.

Tomorrow I need to finish cleaning the one room in the basement and then start on the main floor.  I have one bathroom done upstairs so have a start on the cleaning.  It has been so dusty and smoky I haven’t rushed getting it cleaned as it won’t stay clean for long.  Sure love having the windows and doors open though and letting fresh air blow in.

We reached 80 today and it was a beautiful day.  No clouds and bright blue skies today.  The wind was in a bit of a hurry though as we had 15 – 20 MPH wind all day.  The wind has calmed down this evening and it is perfect outside.  The sunset was a plain Jane one but or so beautiful.  There is a pink rim around the whole horizon right now.  The almost full moon will be up around 9:00.  I set the timer on my iPhone so I can remember to watch it come up.

Had trouble falling asleep again last night.  Finally took some NyQuil around 3:00 and slept the rest of the night.  My neighbor called at 8:00 and woke me up.  I was able to go back to sleep for another hour.  I have felt a bit hung over today though and almost fell asleep in my recliner this afternoon.  I had a dinner to fix so no time for a nap today.

My neighbor burned the last of my grass today.  I’m glad I didn’t have the windows and doors open when he burned as the smoke was thick as it came by the house and headed north.  I am hoping the prairie burning season is coming to an end and that the air quality will improve soon.  The little rain we got earlier this week helped settle the air but fires have been burned since and the air is thick with smoke again.

I am in a better space today then I was yesterday.  I was restless and emotional yesterday.  Feel much more grounded and going with the flow today.  Dinner was easy to fix and I had no disasters to deal with except for dropping ice a couple of times.  Luckily ice cleans up easily.

For some reason I have been hungry all day today.  I ate breakfast late this morning and was ready for lunch about an hour after I ate breakfast.  I was hungry by dinner time.  Not sure what that is about.  I was able not to snack today even though I was hungry so that was good.  I can’t seem to figure out why some days are hungry days and other days I forget to eat as I am not hungry at all.  Guess my good days and hard days are like that too – I rarely can figure out why a day becomes hard.  Makes one appreciate the good when one has a hard day.  Maybe that is the point!

Grateful all the kids came home to be together with me tonight, grateful the dinner was easy and good, and grateful for the beautiful sunset I witnessed tonight.  Mother Nature sure knows how to put on a show.

Went to KC this morning to have lunch with two dear friends.  I left early with the intention of picking up a few things at Costco.  Got to Costco a little after 10:00 and there wasn’t a parking space to be had.  Decided I didn’t need anything.  Went to Hy-Vee to get some diced beets.  They were busy but I braved that store.  I forgot it was Good Friday and lots of kids had the day off.  People were out and about today in KC. I was glad to get home to the quiet of the prairie this afternoon.

I haven’t gotten anything done since I have been home except for chores.  The slacking chickens only gave me two eggs again today.  They best be getting busy soon or I will have to do something.  I can’t afford their feed at this rate of return.

Still need to get downstairs and finish cleaning.  I only have one more room to detail and two beds to make and the basement will be ready for the guests that are coming Monday and Tuesday.  Trusting I will find the energy to get that done today.  I still need to clean the whole upstairs but I have tomorrow, Sunday and Monday morning for that.

It is time to do the annual spring cleaning of my closets, kitchen cabinets, etc.  Twice a year I go through everything and see how much I can eliminate from the house.  It surprises me every time how many things I find.  I took three sacks to the Salvation Army yesterday and will go hunting for more stuff.  What I think is important changes with time and I am able to release more and more stuff.

I have for the most part stopped the incoming of stuff into the house.  I rarely buy things anymore.  I still have a habit of getting too far ahead with canned goods in the pantry though.  I am working on being more aware of that habit and stop myself from buying two of something when I only need one.  For some reason that has been a hard habit for me to break – especially since I have plenty of room for extra stuff in my pantry.

It turned out to be a beautiful day on the prairie today.  Highs were in the upper 60’s, lots of bright blue skies and only mild winds.  It got chilly last night as it dipped down to the upper 30’s.  Tomorrow it is to be clear again and the high is to reach 80.  A perfect day for the kids to come home and celebrate Easter together as a family.

I set things out that I am going to make for dinner tomorrow night in an attempt to see if I have forgotten something.  So far I can’t think of anything I might have forgotten.  I can always call one of the kids to bring me something if I did.  Cooking a meal for eight is more work for me than it used to be when I did it more often.  I love doing it though.

Sitting in a place that feels a bit like I am between something.  Haven’t completely figured out what that is about.  I know some big changes are headed my way and maybe that is what I am feeling.  I feel a bit disconnected from things too.  Back to being in my observer role in some respect.  I feel like I am watching myself somehow do life.  A bit weird but good at the same time.

Grateful for a safe trip to and from KC, grateful for my friends I had lunch with, and grateful I don’t live in the city – way too peoplely for me.

 

A very productive day after a very poor night’s sleep.  I didn’t sleep much at all last night.  Got up at 3:00 and took another bath.  That helped me fall asleep at last but I only slept for 30 minutes.  Slept on and off the rest of the night.  I have grown to dislike nights like that.  Maybe tonight will be the night sleep will find me.

The garage door guys came out this morning and fixed the garage door opener that wasn’t working.  They put a new battery in it.  Since I had the garage doors replaced last year the service call was free.

My foot surgeon’s office called me this morning.  I have to go in to see him before they can put me on the surgery calendar as it has been too long since my last visit.  They failed to mention that when I was there last time.  My appointment is June 4 and I will get my first surgery scheduled for sometime in early August.  I hope to do the second one in either November or December.

Went into Emporia to get my hair cut at 3:00.  He showed me three different ways to style it so I wouldn’t get the bump in it I have been getting.  I should have recorded them as I’m not sure I remember how to do them.  I have never been good fixing my hair and don’t plan on spending much time on it now.  I am trying to grow it out a bit.  I’ll see how much longer I can stand it long.

Went to Wal-Mart and got groceries for our family dinner Saturday night.  I needed a few things for the Airbnb guests that are coming in Monday and Tuesday too.  It amazes me how fast groceries add up when you buy lots of them.  Trusting I didn’t forget anything but wouldn’t bet on it.

Stopped and got a box of bacon on the way home.  I still had some but today was the bacon sale day and since I thought about it decided to take advantage of it.  Best bargain in town – 10 pounds of bacon for $29.  It is really good bacon too!

When I got home I went back downstairs and am almost finished hand mopping the entire basement floor and washing all the woodwork.  Only have the kitchen area to do tomorrow and then I will be done.  Still need to make two more beds but am waiting for laundry to get done to make them up.  I haven’t had guests since December so am out of practice preparing for guests.

Tomorrow I am going to KC to have lunch with two dear friends.  I have one stop I will make since I am in town but will basically just be going up to have lunch and then driving home.  Seems a bit silly to do so but I love spending time with my friends.  They get me on a deep level and it will be good to catch up with them and visit.

Saturday the kids are coming for Easter dinner.  Sunday I will need to get the upstairs cleaned as my guests will start arriving Monday afternoon or evening.

This afternoon when I got home from Emporia the wind picked up and it rained very briefly.  I happened to look outside and saw a double rainbow int he front yard.  One end of the rainbow was in my yard.  Both rainbows were complete and the lower one had a wide range of colors in it.  Breathtaking!

The friends I want to see when I go to CA with my Match guy read my blog yesterday and called me today.  They are so excited I am coming out to see them.  They invited us to stay as long as possible with them while we are there.  They will make this next trip very special for me.

They shared some tragic news with me.  Their granddaughter had a baby April 4 and the baby died due to the placenta shearing from the uterus.  This baby was their  first great-grandchild.  My heart has been heavy all day thinking of them and the grief the family is experiencing.  Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

It has felt good to move my body and get the basement cleaned today.  My knees are a bit sore though.  I am betting I will have some black and blue places on them showing up tomorrow.  I just don’t like to mop floors using a mop.  They feel so much cleaner to me doing it the old-fashioned way on my hands and knees.  I need a smaller house though!

Grateful the basement is almost all clean, grateful for the beautiful double rainbow I witnessed today, and grateful it has been a productive day.  My body needed that!

 

It has been a nice couple of days having my Match guy here.  He arrived Sunday around 6:00 and left this afternoon around 2:00.  Monday we had some of my friends over for dinner.  All four of us sat outside after dinner and watched the sunset.  There was a prairie fire to the east of the house that we watched for a bit before my friends went home.  It was the first night prairie fire I have seen this year.

Monday afternoon we got the yard mowed up.  My Match guy wanted to ride the riding mower so I saved the mowing for him.  My mower had a flat tire so we took that into Strong City Tuesday morning and got it repaired.  Grateful for my Match guy’s expertise in knowing how to remove the tire and replace it.  I don’t know that I would have noticed the tire was flat or known how to take it off.

We met Tim and Ellexia and the Chicken House in Olpe for dinner.  The food was good and the dinner conversation was great.  It was a nice day to take a drive for dinner.

I had my Match guy help me move some beds around so the rooms will work better for the guests that are coming next week.  Also got my fireplace covers washed.  I needed his help figuring out how to take the fireplace apart and then putting it back together again.  It is nice having a man around the house to help fix things.  Today he fixed a gutter downspout that had come loose.

We continue to have lots of fun when we are together and the only hard part of our relationship is when we have to say goodbye after each visit.  I won’t see him again until he comes up a week from Sunday.  We will be leaving that day or the next day for a trip to CA and will be gone for a little over two weeks.  We are going out to visit his other son.  We had planned to go via Yellowstone but after checking road conditions decided not to go through Yellowstone as most of the roads might not be open for the season.  We will go via Salt Lake City and then up to Olympia National Park and then drive down to Berkeley.  We will be coming home through Santa Fe and stopping there for a couple of days.  I am hoping to see the couple I met on the Camino who live in Petaluma, CA.  Once we finalize our plans I will contact them and see if they will be around on one of the days we are in the area.

Tomorrow I need to finish getting the basement ready for the guests that will start arriving Monday and Tuesday.  I have one bedroom, one bathroom, and one hallway done.  I will get the other two bedrooms, the remaining bathroom and the great room and kitchen room done tomorrow.  Saturday the kids are coming for Easter dinner.  Sunday I will clean the upstairs rooms and then I will be ready for my guests Monday.

Friday I am going to KC to have lunch with two dear friends.  It may be a quick trip up for lunch and then back home again as I do have a lot of stuff I need to do before next week.  I still have some yard work that needs done.  If we get the rain that is predicted for tonight I may need to mow again next week.  Seems like there is always something around here to keep me busy and out of trouble.

I have a headache this afternoon.  Thinking it is from the smoke that is in the air.  I welcome the rain that is to arrive this evening.  It will help clean the air a bit.  Trusting the strong thunderstorm stuff will not occur.  I am in a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the evening.

Feeling a bit empty and lonely this afternoon.  After having my Match guy in the house I really feel how big the house is when it is just me here.  I may try to get downstairs and get a few rooms done so I will have less to do tomorrow.  Moving my body will help move this down feeling out of my system.  But sometimes making myself take the first step towards moving my body is the hard part!

Grateful for the time with my Match guy, grateful he was able to meet Tim and Ellexia and my friends, and grateful he arrived home safely from his visit here.

 

I finally had a productive day today.  I got one bedroom and bathroom plus a hallway cleaned downstairs today.  I hand mopped the floors and washed the woodwork.  May get one more room done tonight yet.  Feels good to have the deep house cleaning started.

Went into Emporia this afternoon to get some groceries for next week.  I stopped by to see Ellexia.  She proudly showed me the medals she had won at her gymnastics meet that was held while I was gone.  I think she has grown two inches since I saw her last.

The smoke is thick in the air tonight.  Several ranchers are burning pastures around my house.  My house smells like there is a bonfire burning inside.  I would like to have a window open but that would defeat my cleaning really quickly.  It has been cloudy and cool today.  I am ready for spring to return to the prairie again at least for a day or two.

I need to move some beds to make the room arrangements work better for the guests that are coming the next three bookings.  I got the twin bed out of a room and another one out of the closet and they are sitting in front of the room they need to go in.  I looked at the double bed but it is too big and heavy for me to move alone.  Hopefully I will remember to have my Match guy help me move them when he is here tomorrow.

The chickens are only giving me two or three eggs a day.  I had to break down and buy some store-bought eggs so I could have some hard-boiled eggs.  I trust when it warms up and stays warm the slackers will get down to business and give me more eggs.  They aren’t earning their keep at this rate.

I’m excited my Match guy is coming tomorrow late afternoon.  The only hard part of our relationship is the distance between us.  He is staying until Wednesday and then we won’t see each other for two weeks as I have to stay close due to the Disc Golf guys that are coming in the day after Easter.  It will be weird to have guests again.  I haven’t had any for a long time.

My music has played all day so maybe my internet problem is fixed.  It hasn’t been staying on lately.  I still don’t have my new keyboard for my iPad working.  I forgot to take it to town with me to have Tim look at it.  I’ll have to google it and see if I can find instructions.  I can’t seem to get it to connect via Bluetooth.

Still feeling a bit restless tonight.  Moving my body while cleaning helped a bit but am still aware of it.  I have had trouble settling since I came home from my trip.  I feel grounded but restless.  I’m curious as to what is behind this feeling.  I can’t quite put my finger on it yet.

Grateful the deep cleaning has begun, grateful my Match guy is coming tomorrow, and grateful I got to see Ellexia and her parents today.

 

 

 

 

 

I finally got some good sleep last night.  I got a text at 6:30 which woke me up but I was able to go back to sleep until I got a phone call at 8:30.  Felt good to get several more hours of sleep than I have been getting.

I went into Emporia this afternoon and ran a bunch of errands.  I have been having trouble with my internet and my service provider recommended I get a new router to see if that would help.  So far, so good.  I was able to get it installed after I got home.  I also got a new keyboard cover for my iPad but I haven’t been able to get it to connect via Bluetooth yet.  Not sure what I am doing wrong.

Got a few more house keys made.  I stopped by Toyota and got a new battery for my key fob.  I had notice a warning that the battery was low and remembered to stop and get a battery installed today.  Last time Toyota gave me a battery it was free but this time they charged me $2.71.  A salesman wanted me to look at a new car.  Tempting but I passed.  Mailed some bills, filled the car up with gas and stopped by the bank to cash a check and then headed home.

A group was burning some pasture between Road W and Road V.  I have never had to drive through such thick smoke before.  I had no visibility.  Glad it was a short patch to drive through.

The wind is finally slowing down.  It has been howling again today.  It has me on edge a bit so am very grateful it is slowing down.  Enough is enough already!

Tomorrow is another empty space day.  I do need to think of some meals to fix for my Match guy when he comes Sunday so will need to go to the grocery store tomorrow.  I don’t think he will want to eat the same thing everyday like I do.  I invited some friends over for him to meet Monday night so will need to decide what I am going to fix for them too.  The hardest part of fixing a meal for me is deciding what to fix.

Hard for me to believe we are in the middle of April already this year.  Time seems to have speed up for me lately.  Guess the old saying time flies when you are having fun is true.  I have some friends I would like to visit before I leave for another trip the end of April.  I have guests coming for a week starting the day after Easter and I leave the day after they leave the following Sunday.  I am running out of time to go visit my friends.

My head hurts from trying to figure out the new technology stuff.  It takes me a bit to remember how to do new things.  Neither new product had instructions with them this time.  I had to use my laptop computer and I haven’t used it for several months.  I forget how to use it between uses when I go so long.  I still don’t like it as well as I like a desktop.

Sitting with some restless energy tonight.  I haven’t moved my body much lately and I think it is telling me to move more.  Maybe I will get on my stationary bike and take a long spin tonight to see if that will help.  Changes are coming my way and I keep reminding myself not to project into the future.  Right here!  Right now!  All is well!

Grateful the wind has calmed down, grateful for extra sleep last night, and grateful all is well in the present moment of time.

Not a very productive day for me today.  I had trouble sleeping again last night and was finally sound asleep when the alarm went off this morning.  I went into Emporia and did my final tax shift of the season.  My last client gave me a hug when we were done.  Seemed to be a fitting ending to a rewarding volunteer job.

Came home and had intended to get my mowing done today.  It was too cold and windy to mow.  It only reached 40 for the high today.  I sat in my chair after my lunch and got cold.  Turned the furnace back on and went to bed with the electric blanket turned on.  Fell asleep and slept for over two hours.

After my nap I braved the cold and wind and did chicken chores.  Man!  That wind is  cold today.  The winds are gusting to over 30 MPH on the prairie today.  Almost did a Mary Poppins flying act on the way back to the barn with the empty water bucket.

Other than doing two loads of laundry I haven’t gotten anything else done today.  Too late in the day to start anything so I guess I am going to chalk this day up to being a rest day.  Maybe tomorrow I will feel motivated to do something.

Today marks my 14 month anniversary of eating the Bright Lines Way.  I am back to honoring the system again after gaining five pounds while on vacation.  It will take me a bit to get back to where I was but I will get there.  My body sure feels better when I eat clean.  I’m so thankful I found this way of eating and that it works for me.

Feeling a bit down this evening.  I haven’t fallen into the muck pond yet but am close to the edge.  The house feels very big and lonely to me today.  After being with my Match guy for three weeks in a row I am noticing the loneliness in a new way.  I’m grateful he is coming back up to see me this Sunday.

Grateful for the chance to get some good sleep this afternoon, grateful for the hug my client gave me this morning, and grateful it is to warm back up again very soon.

I didn’t sleep very good last night.  I woke up to a beautiful sun rise this morning.  It was as if the sun was saying welcome home!

I had a very busy but productive day today.  I worked from 9:00 – noon at the Emporia Public Library book sale.  I was proud of myself as I didn’t buy a single book this time.  I have plenty of books left over from the fall sale and didn’t need to replenish my stash.

After the book sale I met with my realtor/business partner and got caught up on my rentals.  Then I picked up a prescription and my income taxes.  Bought some groceries and then came home.  Ate lunch, did chores and then had to go back into Emporia for a tax shift.

Came home from doing taxes and wrote some checks to pay some bills.  Got the last of the mail that came while I was gone sorted and taken care of.  Finished unpacking my suit case and sorted laundry to do for tomorrow.  Started a load of dishes after I fixed dinner.  It is good to be back home doing normal things.

Tomorrow I have my last tax shift to do at the Senior Center.  It has been a fun volunteer project to do taxes.  I have really enjoyed doing them.  I’m glad it is over though so I can have a bit more free time.  My soul is craving some empty space days.

After being with my Match guy for three weeks it sure feels lonely being in my house by myself.  I miss him!  He is coming down Sunday afternoon and staying until Tuesday afternoon.  We are sure putting the miles on our cars traveling back and forth to see each other.

The wind is howling tonight.  A cold front is going to be coming through and dropping the temperature for a day or two.  It has been in the 80’s again today.  I like the 60’s and 70’s better.  I’m not ready for summer heat yet.  I need to mow tomorrow afternoon so hoping the wind will die down a bit before I mow.

Sitting with a bit of restlessness tonight.  The wind does that to me sometimes.  I am also very tired as I haven’t slept well the last few nights.  Changes are coming and I am struggling to release the anticipation of what if.  I keep reminding myself that right here, right now all is well.  Rarely does the future unfold in the way I imagine it will.  Things have a way of working out for me if I can allow them to unfold organically and not push things to go a certain way.  That has been a hard habit for me to break though.

Grateful for a productive day, grateful for the opportunity to have been in service to others by doing taxes, and grateful it is bedtime.  I am tired tonight!

Home at last!  Three weeks and 3,450 miles!  It is good to be home.  Spring arrived on the prairie while I was gone.  The air is hazy and thick with smoke from the prairie fires that have been happening.  My grass was burned while I was gone and there is a fresh growth of green coming up. This is one of my favorite seasons of the year.

The drive home went quickly today.  Traffic was light and construction zones weren’t backed up. I stopped for gas and to get an iced tea.  I needed some caffeine to help me stay awake.  I am tired tonight!  Thinking it will be an early bedtime.  I have a very busy day tomorrow starting with working a volunteer shift at the Emporia Public Library at 9:00 for their spring book sale.  After that I have a meeting with my realtor and business partner and I need to get groceries and pick up my taxes after that meeting.  I go back into Emporia at 5:00 for a tax shift.  Thursday after I do a tax shift in the morning I will have the afternoon free.

I had ordered new batteries for the dogs electronic collars.  The batteries arrived while I was gone but now I need to find the dogs and see if I can figure out how to put the batteries in their collars.  Both dogs are MIA this evening.  I haven’t found the cats yet either.  Maybe they are hiding from me!

The trip with my Match guy was a great success.  Seeing Kathy started us off on the right foot. We then went to the Washington, DC area and I got to meet and spend time with his son.  We had a grand time in DC touring around and helping his son do some repair work and painting in his condo.  I wouldn’t want to live in DC but it was nice to visit.  The cherry trees were beautiful.

I got to meet my Match guy’s three brothers and his sister while we were in Asheville, NC.  I could see the family resemblance in each of them.  I also met lots of his nieces and nephews.  Not sure I got all the names rights and who belonged to who but they were all nice people and accepted me into their family with much grace.  They all worked hard to accommodate my dietary needs and fixed wonderful food that I could eat.

I gained five pounds on the trip!  Ouch!  It is back to strict menus tomorrow.  I think my problem has been snacking.  I have stayed off sugar and flour but haven’t followed the three meals a day routine. It is so hard to stay on a schedule when I travel – especially since my Match guy doesn’t like to eat breakfast or lunch.  He snacks through the day and then eats a late dinner.  We did some hiking but did more sitting.  Thinking it will take a couple of weeks to get back to where I was before I left.  I took it off once. I’m sure I can take it off again.  It was a good wake up call to me to stay more vigilant next trip and not to allow myself to snack.  I snacked more out of boredom from traveling then I did from being hungry.  Not a good idea!

My house sitter did an excellent job while I was gone.  I think my house is cleaner now then when I left. She was gone when I got home this afternoon.  I will need to track her down this week and get her paid.

My Match guy and I are already planning our

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next adventure!  This time we will be headed northwest and will be gone for three weeks again.  Can you tell we both like to travel?

The hills were so beautiful driving home today.  I love seeing the magic happen after the hills have been burned.  I saw a few pastures being burned on the drive home and many of the pastures already have a fresh carpet of green covering them.  I can barely see the sun tonight as there is a thick smoke film covering it.  I want to open the house and let some fresh air in but am hesitant to do so as the smoke and ash will also come in.  It reached 88 today!  Spring has definitely arrived on the prairie!

Grateful for a safe trip home, grateful for my house sitter, and grateful for the great memories I will hold and cherish from this trip.

Made it to Stillwater, OK from Asheville, NC yesterday.  It was a drive of almost 1,000 miles.  Felt good to get out of the car when we got here.  I’ll drive back to my prairie home tomorrow afternoon.

Our trip was over 3,000 miles in total.  My ass is sore from all that sitting.  We did get in some good hikes in the mountains but I sure did a lot of sitting too.  Thinking I gained at least five pounds.  Back to basic eating starts Wednesday.

Wednesday will be a busy day for me as I have a shift to work at the library book sale in the morning and a tax shift to do in the evening.  I need to pick up my personal income taxes from the accountant and get them sent off.  I will also need to do some grocery shopping.  After three weeks of being away from home I will have a big pile of mail to process and bills to pay.

I have a house full of guests arriving the Monday after Easter so will need to get started deep cleaning all the house.  The downstairs hasn’t been cleaned for a bit so am thinking it is dusty.

Grateful for the wonderful adventure I am wrapping up, grateful for safe travels, and grateful for the time I have spent with my Match guy.

 

i am in Asheville, NC visiting with my Match guy’s family.  His sister had us over for dinner last night. She lives on a farm with horses, sheep, chickens and dogs. I felt right at home.

Tonight his oldest brother is having us over for dinner.  We have been staying with one of his other brothers.

We went to Biltmore house yesterday and took a tour. The gardens were my favorite part of the tour. The spring flowers are in full bloom. The house was crowded and hard to navigate my way through.

Today we are going hiking this afternoon after lunch and a stop at Black Mountain.

Saturday all the family is gathering for a lunch at his sister’s house. Sunday we head for home and will arrive in OK sometime Monday. I’ll drive to Strong City Tuesday. Getting ready to be home.

The weather has been beautiful although rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. I see more green on the trees everyday.   It is beautiful scenery here but I miss the plains  I feel a bit clostaphobic in the mountains and miss seeing the sunrise and sunset.

Grateful for the hospitality my Match guy’s family is showing me, grateful for the beautiful spring flowers, and grateful for this new experience.

We are having a wonderful adventure. Had a great day with Kathy Tuesday. We took a long hike by a lake. Found some wonderful food and got to visit one of her clients. We got a taste of the beautiful work Kathy is doing. It was obvious her clients love her and she is making a difference in their lives. We also got to meet most of her house mates.   They give me such hope for the future of our world.  It was so nice to hug Kathy and have a good visit with her.

Wednesday we drove to the Washington DC area to see my Match guy’s son. We got stuck on the interstate for two hours.  The interstate was totally closed down. They finally had us do a U-turn and rerouted us around the block on the interstate.

Thursday we took the Metro downtown and visited several museums and walked the Mall to the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. We were tired by days end.

Friday my Match guy did some Sheetrock repair in his son’s Condo. I took a nap after I helped his son plant some flowers.

Today we are doing some painting and cleaning. Sunday after church we head out for our next stop.

Grateful for safe travels, grateful for seeing beloved family members and grateful for beautiful weather.

The visit to OK is going great.  Tuesday we went to a woodwind quartet concert in OK City.  It was fabulous.  Wednesday we installed interior wall and ceiling material on a garage addition he had built.  I had moderate success using the power screwdriver to put in screws.  The suckers, I mean screws, had trouble getting started going into the wood.  It felt good when they finally went in – if that happened.  We took an hour and half hike through the cross-country field that is across the street from his house.

Thursday my Match guy taught two classes in Tulsa for Osher.  I went along and got to see him teach.  He is a great teacher.  He has more history knowledge than anyone I have ever met.  His head must be crammed full of history facts.  One class he taught was on the history of American religions and the other was Black American history.  I learned lots of new things in both classes.  It gave me a different perspective of who he is.

Today we are running errands in preparation of our trip which starts Sunday.  We may get back to finishing installed wall boards in the addition.  We ran out of material Wednesday.

The full moon was beautiful Wednesday night.  I didn’t get to see it rise but did go outside and stood under it’s light for a bit.

The spring flowers are in full bloom in OK.  He has daffodils and hyacinths blooming in his yard.  Hyacinths smell so good!

It has been nice to be away from my home and responsibilities and be with my Match guy..  We are having fun and enjoying each other.

Looking forward to our trip and especially seeing my sister early next week.

I may update my blog along the way.  Kinda depends on how busy we are.

Grateful for this time with my Match guy, grateful for the beautiful full moon, and grateful to be of help with a construction job.  Although I am not sure how much help I really am.

It has been a more productive day for me than yesterday was.  I was in town by 9:15 for my doctor’s appointment.  Had to have some blood drawn for a test he had ordered.  The guy that drew my blood was good.  I didn’t even feel the needle go in.

The doctor changed me back to the same blood pressure medication I had been taking.  I am to cut the pills in half as a way to get around the insurance company not allowing the smaller dose pills in what they cover.  He told me to play with the dose and see if I can find out what works best for me.  He suggested I do 50 one day and 25 the next and see what that does.  He would prefer I not skip days although if my BP goes too low he said I could.

Stopped at Walmart after my appointment and picked up some shampoo and conditioner for my trip.  I came back home and started cleaning.  I got the laundry room cleaned really good and washed out the cat box and food containers.  They had made a big mess back their last week.

Used the weed blower to clean out the garage a bit.  I had spilled chicken feed and it was a mess with that and all the mud I and the dogs have been tracking in.  The garage looks better now.  It isn’t clean by any means but doesn’t look trashed.

Am working on packing for my trip.  I had gotten a bunch of nuts that I divided up into individual bags.  I did the same with a big bag of Epsom salt.  That stuff is heavy and this way each night I can grab a small bag out of the car and take it in if where we are staying has a bath tub.  Still need to finish packing but I have my list made out so it won’t take long to put things in a suitcase.  When I go on a road trip I always take too much stuff as I have room to take extra stuff.  At some point I will need to do laundry as I don’t have three weeks worth of clothes to take.

Still have a bit of cleaning left to do but am getting close to being able to leave tomorrow and have a clean house for the house sitter to come into.  With the windows open and the dust blowing in I’m not sure the house will be dust free.  Soon there will be ash blowing in from the prairie fires.

I have a big bruise on my hand.  I must have hit it when I was cleaning out the chicken coop Saturday.  The damn chickens didn’t even give me one egg today.  I gave them an R rated talking to when I went down to gather eggs and there weren’t any in the boxes.  I only have one egg for breakfast tomorrow.  All that work cleaning out their coop and nothing to show for it.  The slackers!

I had a rough night trying to sleep last night.  I had slept fairly well the two nights before that. Sure wish I could figure out the sleep issue and solve it.  So frustrating to lay in bed most of the night awake and not be able to stay asleep.

When I got up to go to the bathroom around 3:00 the moon was bright enough I didn’t need to turn a light on.  I love the way the moon lights the prairie at night when she is almost full.  It feels almost magical to me to witness the shadows she casts on the hills.  Wednesday night is a Super Moon and it happens to be Spring Equinox.  I have sure felt the power of the coming full moon this month.  I have warned my Match guy he might be in for a storm from me.  He told me he would fix a padded room for me if needed.

I’m excited to see my Match guy tomorrow afternoon.  It will be fun to spend three weeks with him.  This trip is different from the last one as this time we will be visiting family for most of the time.  It could be interesting!

Grateful the house is almost all cleaned, grateful for a productive day, and grateful I get to see my Match guy tomorrow.