Starry night on the prairie

I didn’t get home from doing taxes this afternoon until after 5:00. We had a steady stream of clients today. The last one I did took a bit of time to do and the guy that reviewed it afterwards is slow. I did five clients today and enjoyed all of them.

I may get some painting done tonight. After sitting all afternoon I need to move my body. Jim isn’t working on the cabinet doors today so I can get to what I want to paint today.

Anyone want to come house sit July 22 – 27? Jim and I are going to Estes Park for the whole month of July and my regular housesitter has to be gone July 22 – 27.

It was a bit cooler in Stillwater today but still a beautiful day. It only reached 49 today. It will be back in the 60’s by Sunday. Winter is mild in Stillwater.

Tomorrow I do taxes all day. Maybe I will get out early instead of 5:00 like today. But since we only are doing taxes two days this week there may be a crowd again. Some people had to wait for over two hours today until we could get to them. That makes me a bit crazy but it is what it is. We can only go so fast and some returns take more time than others.

Thursday night we are going to a piano concert. I happened to see the notice about it. Jim loves classical music and this is a Beethoven Sonata series. I bet we will enjoy it.

Saturday a friend of Jim’s is holding a brunch for us to celebrate our upcoming wedding. Not sure what she has planned but it should be a fun morning.

I need to go to the grocery store soon – if I get done with taxes tomorrow afternoon early I will stop on the way home. I don’t have anything I need tonight so it can wait until tomorrow. I get confused what I have at what house – I end up with duplicates at one house and none at the other.

The pantyhose I ordered last week came in today. I wonder if I remember how to put them on. I can’t remember when I last put hose on. I had to ordered two different sizes as I have no idea what size I need now. I may wear a dress Thursday night to the concert so I can practice putting hose on. Maybe it is like riding a bike and one doesn’t forget how to put them on.

Feeling a bit scattered tonight. It usually takes me a couple of days to settle into a different house. I am looking forward to combining our stuff and mainly being in one house or the other someday in the future.

Grateful for the people that I met today doing taxes, grateful for another beautiful day in Stillwater, and grateful for Amazon that helps me not have to go to a store.

We had a safe trip back to Stillwater today.  Left Strong City around 1:15 and got to Stillwater at 4:15.  Light traffic and clear roads all the way.

It was nice to be on the prairie for a few days.  It does my soul good to be there.  I need the wide open space to fill my soul and quiet my mind.

We went out for dinner tonight.  We ate at Texas Roadhouse.  The one here in Stillwater does a nice job.  We have eaten there probably ten or twelve times and haven’t had a bad experience yet.  Sometimes the line is too long and we don’t wait but if we can get in the food is always good and the service acceptable if not exceptional.

I had ordered another pair of dress heels and they came in while we were gone.  I like these much better than the first pair I got.  I think they will be comfortable.  They are made by an orthopedic company designed for someone that has bunions.  I won’t wear them often but am glad to have them.

The envelopes for the wedding invitations came in so we can get the rest of the invitations in the mail this week.  I also ordered and received a few more reception invitations and will get those addressed this week too.  Another thing to cross off my to do list.

Tomorrow I do taxes from noon until 4:30.  I go back at 9:00 Wednesday morning and do taxes all day Wednesday.  Thursday evening we are going to a piano concert and Saturday a friend of Jim’s is hosting a brunch for us to celebrate our wedding.  This week will go by quickly.

I called my orthopedic doctor and told them about my right foot.  It feels like I have a silicone gel pack under the big toe.  I can feel it squish when I take a step.  Most of the time it pinches a nerve during the step.  Not sure they can do anything about it but they want to see me.  I go to see the doctor a week from Tuesday.  I’m kinda hoping since I called them and made an appointment it will stop hurting and I can cancel the appointment.

We took a one mile walk when we got to Stillwater today.  It was 66 out and we had to get out for a bit and enjoy the warmth and stretch our legs.  I only did the one mile so I wouldn’t push my sore foot too much.  Not sure it makes it hurt more though when I take a walk like that.  Figure I can’t hurt it as it already hurts – right?

Grateful for a safe trip to Stillwater, grateful I found a comfortable pair of dress heels, and grateful for 66 degree days in February.

We didn’t make it to church today.  It was too hard to get out of bed and get ready to go. After we finally got up I finished cleaning up the laundry room and put it back together again.  I didn’t get the closets painted but I got them cleaned out.

Took a two mile hike this afternoon.  Both of my feet are rather cranky now.  I am going to call the doctor’s office tomorrow and see if they can tell me why the right one feels like it has a pocket of fluid in it.  Every step I take I can feel the fluid squish around and pinch a nerve.  It almost feels like when I had my neuromas.  The left foot still gets cranky too.  I am over six months out from the left foot and over three months on the right.  I thought they would be better by now.

Most of the snow melted today.  All that is left is on the north side of trees and buildings where the sun didn’t hit it.  We got nice and muddy on our walk as the roads are sticky muddy.  We cut through the grass on the way back so the grass could clean our shoes off.

The chicken coop is one big mud puddle.  I got five eggs yesterday and none today.  I really need to get a new bunch of chickens and get rid of these old ladies.

The laundry room looks much nicer.  I put the paint that I had been storing on the folding table in the closet.  I got everything scrubbed down and hand mopped the floors.  It is nice to claim the laundry room again.

It was in the mid 50’s today and little to no wind.  We would have walked further if my feet weren’t bothering me.  I had to take off my jacket on the walk as I got too hot.  For mid February in KS I’ll take these moderate days anytime.

We head back to Stillwater tomorrow.  I’ll be sorry to leave the prairie again.  We have a long list of things we need to get done in Stillwater before the wedding though and can’t do it from here.  Tuesday and Wednesday I have taxes to do.  Maybe Thursday I can get Jim’s kitchen painted.

Five weeks from today is the wedding.  I keep thinking there is something big I am forgetting to take care of but can’t figure out what it might be.  I got both batches of mints made this weekend and will start making the ice cubes that I will put in the punch soon.  I am putting raspberries in the ice trays to freeze in the ice.  Jim has some super big ice cube trays that will work but I can only make six at a time.  Not sure how many I need but thinking at least 36 if not more.  They take about a day to make six.

Jim is continuing to work on his slide project.  I’m glad he had that project to do while he is here.  It had been on his to do list a long time and he doesn’t have much to do here so he could get that project done.

I have white chicken chili cooking in the crock pot for dinner.  It sure smells good.  I added the cream cheese and half and half so it will be ready whenever we decide to eat.  We will have lots of leftovers to take back to OK with us.

I have been trying to clean out my refrigerator freezer and the freezer in the garage. I found a bog of cooked chicken left overs so decided to get it used up.  I love using up left overs in a new way.

Feeling a bit low energy today.  I worked hard yesterday and expended my limit.  I decided not to paint the closets today as I wasn’t sure I could do a good job as I feel tired today.  I got lots of sleep so not sure what this tired is about.  Probably just letting down and relaxing on the prairie.  Sometimes I need a quiet day to refill my soul.

We will be back to KS March 5 – 8.  Will only stay until Sunday that weekend as I will have taxes to do on March 9.  Then we will be back the day after our wedding March 22.  I am taking that week off from doing taxes so we can come here and have a few quiet days together and get ready for the reception on that Saturday.  I’m so looking forward to seeing some friends.  I feel I am out of touch with most of them.

Grateful for a quiet day on the prairie today, grateful the laundry room is put back together again, and grateful for a two mile hike even if my feet are not.

 

Jim and I went into Emporia early afternoon to watch Ellexia do her gymnastic thing.  She came in third in tumbling in her class and first in her heat.  We also watched her do trampoline.  It was fun watching her perform.  She has really grown and improved since the last time I watched her perform.

We came home when she was done and had lunch.  After lunch I started painting the laundry room.  I fiinally got it finished tonight at 9:30.  We had to pull the washer and dryer out so I could paint behind them.  We managed to put them back into place without issue.  I brushed the paint on the walls instead of rolling it,  I have never painted a room just using a brush before.  I think it was slower this way.

Tomorrow I will do any needed touch-ups and paint the closet.  It will be nice to have one room painted – don’t want to count how many more rooms I have to do.

Jim has worked all afternoon and evening on his slides.  He is getting them into order of some sorts and putting them in sleeves.  It is a project he has wanted to do for a long time.  Good project to work on here.

The weather warmed up nicely today.  The snow is almost all melted.  I’m sure by tomorrow afternoon it will be all gone.  We sat outside and watched the sunset tonight.

I am sore and tired tonight.  My bath will feel good!  It was nice to move my body and get something tangible done. The laundry room has bugged me forever as the guy that painted it when we moved in didn’t pull out the washer and dryer and paint behind them.  I could always see where he didn’t paint.  I used a lighter color this time and it looks refreshed.

When we get back here for good I want to repaint every room in the house.  I have lived here almost seven years and it is time to refreshen the whole house.  Not sure what room I will do next.  I have to thinkabout doing the living room, dining room and kitchen as the ceiling is so tall.  May need to hire those three rooms to be done.

We are driving to Manhattan tomorrow morning to go to church.  Jim wants to check out the Presbyterian church there.  They have a profesisonal director for the choir and a big organ.  Church music is important to him and finding a new church with a good choir and organ is something that will make his move to KS easier.  The choir in Manhattan meets on Sunday mornings before church and doesn’t have a rehearsal during the week.  That would make it easy to only have to make one trip a week instead of two.  We’ll find out tomorrow if he likes the church and the preacher.

It feels like we have had a productive weekend in KS.  We have to go back to Stillwater Monday.  Sure looking forward to the 20th of April when I get to come back and stay here more than I am in Stillwater.  I miss the priaire when I am gone.

Grateful to have gotten to watch Ellexia today, grateful the laundry room is freshly painted, and grateful I get to take a hot soaker bath in a bit.

 

 

It has been a cold, windy day on the prairie.  Got up and went into Emporia so I could get my hair cut.  I have had enough of trying to grow it out and went back to shorter hair.  Stopped at a bank to get cash to pay the housesitter and then went to Bluestem to get critter feed.  It was good to get back home on the prairie.

Made a double batch of Jim’s favorite oatmeal cookies.  Made one batch of mints for the wedding.  Jim helped me make the little round balls that I then smashed with a fork.  I’ll probably make a second batch tomorrow so I can have mints of two different colors.

We went down to do chicken chores.  That wind is cold!  Had two eggs that had frozen and cracked open and got one egg to bring up to the house.  It is too cold for them to be laying much right now.  They didn’t even come out to see if I brought treats for them – they stayed inside the coop.  I gave them some sunflower seeds inside as I didn’t blame them for not coming outside.

Ordered some hose from Amazon.  I needed a few other things to get free shipping so ordered a few things Jim had on his list.  I set them to arrive Tuesday in Oklahoma when we are back there.  I like that you get to choose your delivery day.

When I bought my new computer I got $250 worth of Best Buy credits that expire April 2.  I need to replace my double wall oven so went on the Best Buy site and found out they have free delivery and installation going on right now.  Jimhelped me measure the existing one so I knew what size to order.  I got one ordered.  They won’t deliver it until March 26 at my request.  I’ll be home that week as it is the week after the wedding on the 22nd.  Kathy will be here and I want to be in KS to spend time with her.  I think that is the last appliance that needs replaced.

I still need to make some ice cubes that I will use in the punch for the wedding but it is too early to do that.  Other than that I don’t think I have anything else I need to do for the wedding.  I’m so relieved I have found a dress that will work.  That takes alot of the stress off of me.

Jim is working on his slide project.  Not something I can help him with.  Glad he has something to work on here though.  We still need to get the deck project done but the weather is not right for that today.  Sure hoping we can get it done this spring.  I’m tired of having it on my to-do list.

I may go paint the laundry room.  I got the paint for it several weeks ago. I need something to do this afternoon.  I always feel better when I get something done during the day.

We are coming back to KS March 5 – 8.  I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned at the Vo-Tech on the 5th.  It always feels good to come back to the prairie even if for only a few nights.

Tomorrow we have to go into Emporia early afternoon so we can watch Ellexia do her gymnastic thing.  Luckily two of her events are fairly close together so we will get to see her perform twice without having to hang out all day.  Sunday we are going to Manhattan for church.  Jim wants to check out the Presbyterian Church there.  Monday we have to go back to Stillwater.

We are almost down to five weeks from wedding day!  Wow!  Time is flying by.  Glad I have things under control and can coast the next few weeks.  It will be here before I know it.

Grateful to have short hair again, grateful cookies and mints are made, and grateful I have a warm house to stay in on this cold, winter day.

 

 

 

Home on my beloved prairie again!  It fees so good to have lots of breathing space again.  The trip north was smooth and easy and the roads were nice and clear.  Seems funny to see snow again – Oklahoma hasn’t had much.

We got into Emporia about 15 minutes early for my appointment with my accountant.  I passed off my taxes to him.  He is going to estimate my tax liability for 2020 so Jim and I know how much we need taken out when we combine incomes.  I have a nice tax credit coming as a result of the solar panels that were installed last year.  I am hoping we won’t owe any taxes for 2020 as a result.  I didn’t pay much last year and am not expecting to have to pay much this year.

We stopped at Walmart and picked up a few groceries after we were done with the accountant.  It was so nice to get back home on the prairie.  My soul needs the breathing space this place offers me.  The wide open spaces fill my heart and soul.

We are going to Ad Astra for dinner tonight at 6:00.  Neither one of us could think of something to fix for dinner while we were at Walmart and decided we would eat out for Valentine’s Day tonight.  The restaurants will be full tomorrow night.

I have to go into Emporia for a 10:00 haircut tomorrow morning.  We will stop and get some cash to pay the housesitter and get critter food while we are in town.  Saturday we go back into Emporia so we can watch Ellexia compete in a gymnastic meet.  Luckily she has two events fairly close together so we will get to see two of her three events.  Sunday if the roads are clear Jim wants to go to Manhattan to check out the Presbyterian Church there.  Monday we go back to Stillwater.  The time here will go fast!

Yesterday two different dresses came in.  I tried both of them on last night and both fit and look nice.  Either one of them will do as my wedding dress!  YAY!  I can cross that off my list.

I tried the dresses on while Jim was at choir practice.  I didn’t feel like getting dressed again so I took hot bath.  I laid down afterwards as I was a bit lightheaded and fell asleep.  I slept from 8:15 last night until 7:15 this morning!  Wow!  I haven’t gotten that much sleep without being on drugs or sick in a long time.  I was over due to crash.  Jim said he kept checking on me as it is unusual that I sleep that long and that hard.

We brought a car load of stuff from Stillwater to KS.  Each time we come we bring a full car load.  Wonder how many car loads it will take before the house in Stillwater starts to look like we have taken stuff out of it?  Can’t believe how much stuff we still have to bring and how many loads it will take.  We will eventually need to rent a U-Haul truck to bring the bigger stuff.  Thinking we will need a big truck!

Not sure Jim has wrapped his head around the fact that he is moving to KS sometime this year.  It will be a huge change for him.  We still may have to go to Plan B – what ever that is.

Almost time for our dinner reservation.  Best get myself ready to go.  It is hard to get back in the car after just getting here but we won’t be gone long tonight.

Grateful to be back home on the prairie, grateful for a safe journey, and grateful I found my wedding dress.

 

Had a rough night of sleep last night.  Both feet were aching and super sensitive.  Had to hang them off the bottom of the bed as they couldn’t stand to have even a sheet touching them.  Finally feel asleep around 2:00 and was sleeping really good when I had to get up at 8:00.  Could have slept longer but had to get up to get ready to do taxes.

Did seven returns today.  Had another couple challenging ones but all in all nothing I couldn’t handle.  I did have to call a client and have her come back.  I screwed up her return and we had to amend it.  It took the experts some time to figure out how to do it.  One of them had helped me do her return.  The client was very understanding and kind.

Need to get things ready to go to KS tomorrow.  We hope to leave around 11:00 so we have some time in Strong City before we have to be in Emporia at 3:30.  We will see if that happens.  We can always go directly to Emporia and my accountant appointment.

The prairie has gotten lots of snow today.  Several of my friends have posted pictures on Facebook.  Oklahoma got some rain but not much.  The temperature has been cold though but it is to warm back up by the weekend.  The snow will be pretty to see tomorrow.  I’m glad the roads will be clear by the time we drive that way tomorrow.

A dress came in today – so far I like it but haven’t tried it on yet.  I”ll do so tonight after I take my bath.  Another one is to arrive tomorrow so hoping between the two one or the other will be THE one.

Jim is working on loading the car with stuff he wants to move to KS.  It will also give him a project to work on while we are in KS this weekend.  Not sure I understand his master plan of things he wants to do but know I don’t need to understand it.

I haven’t gotten any more painting done in the kitchen.  Guess it will wait for me until we get back next week.  I do taxes Tuesday afternoon and all day next Wednesday so won’t get to the painting until Thursday.  Maybe by then Jim will have the cabinet doors he is building up and I can get to the wall I want to paint.

I have the paint to paint the laundry room in Strong City.  Maybe I will get that done this weekend.  We certainly have a list of projects to do in both houses.

I’m going to fix tacos for dinner.  I laid some hamburger out this morning not knowing what to do with it.  When I was giving Jim options when I got home this afternoon he choose tacos.  I think he would eat them daily if given that option.  I enjoy them but don’t love them like he does.  I’m tired and they are easy to fix so will go with it for tonight.

There was a communication glitch between me, another person and the person that was going to sell me a house so that deal is not going to happen.  He has some other properties he may be interested in selling this summer so will see if that happens.  I’m relieved that the deal is off the table.  The house he wanted me to buy was at the top end of my price range and I wasn’t overly eager to proceed anyways.  Love that it turned out the way it did.

Grateful for another day of being in service to others, grateful the snow came today and not tomorrow, and grateful I get to go to the prairie tomorrow!

Did taxes this afternoon. Only did three and we ran out of clients. I didn’t stay past 3:00 as there were six other preparers there and no clients. The ones I did today were all fun. Had two new things to enter – love when I get to learn something new.

I have a casserole in the oven cooking for dinner. It has hamburger, potatoes, cream of mushroom soup, milk, onion and salt and pepper in it. When it is almost done I will sprinkle cheddar cheese over it. I laid hamburger out this morning but didn’t know what to do with it. I looked up hamburger recipes and found this one. Hope it is good.

It is cold and cloudy here today. I sure miss the sun when it doesn’t come out to play during the day. It is to start raining during the night and rain most of the day tomorrow. I wonder if the rain will keep clients from coming in tomorrow to have their taxes done. I am scheduled to work 9:00 – 4:30 but may get off early again if clients decide not to get out in the rain.

We have some packing to do to get my car loaded for the trip to KS. Each trip we try to get it filled with more of Jim’s stuff. He needs to pull some stuff out in the morning so we can start loading the car tomorrow when I get home. We have to leave Thursday morning around noon. It will help us get out of town on time if the car gets loaded tomorrow afternoon.

Looking forward to getting back on the prairie tomorrow. My soul needs some open space and night skies. Friday I have a haircut in Emporia and Saturday we are going to Ellexia’s gymnastics meet. We won’t have lots of down time as Sunday is our only free day. We will come back to Stillwater Monday afternoon.

I have several packages being delivered tomorrow. I didn’t time that very good as likely they will arrive after we leave tomorrow. Luckily someone is coming over to check on the cats late afternoon and can bring the packages inside.

Friday while I am in town I will need to do a restock on critter food if needed. My house sitter had to buy sunflower seeds for the girls as I didn’t have enough on hand to get her through.

I may have found another rental property to buy. Someone contacted me about buying one and we are negotiating the price. I have been looking for my fifth property for some time. This one is at the top of my price range though and needs $15,000 – $20,000 of improvements done to it. I prefer to get smaller, cheaper ones as the return on investment is higher but haven’t had much luck finding any for the last two years. I’ll see what happens with this one.

Haven’t gotten any more painting done. The wall I was going to paint is right above where Jim needs to work. The other walls that need done have cracks he needs to repair before I can paint. I have a bit of touch up painting I may do after dinner. I hate washing out brushes though and hate to get a brush dirty for a small job. I may wait until we get back and I have a full day to get lots of painting done.

I need to pull my taxes out one more time and make sure I haven’t forgotten anything on them. I meet with my accountant Thursday afternoon to pass them off to him. It is always a good feeling to have my taxes completed for the year.

I get my haircut Friday. I have decided to go back to having shorter hair again. My hair just doesn’t look right to me when it is longer. I tried growing it out but haven’t really liked it. I don’t want to go back to having it as short as I had it but need to find a good point between as long as it is now and not as short as it was.

I don’t have too long of a list of things I want to do while I am in KS this time. I need to bake Jim a couple batches of cookies as he is out of cookies again. Maybe I can find some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful views.

Two years ago today I started my Bright Line journey. I have not eaten much flour or sugar since I started. It has become pretty automatic for me to not eat it now. I struggle though with snacking which I had stopped doing for a long time. Chips and peanut butter are my biggest downfalls. I am up 15 pounds from a year ago thanks to the weight I gained when I had my two bunion surgeries. I’m back on the wagon though and working to take it back off. I’m very grateful I found the program and that it worked so well for me.

Grateful for my Bright Line journey and the weight I lost and the confidence I have gained, grateful for the tax clients I had today, and grateful I am headed to my beloved prairie tomorrow.

I did ten tax returns today.  Only two had something I hadn’t seen before.  The others were all simple ones.  Seemed I had time to do nothing today as I waited for a review of my work.  Usually I can find a return to review but that didn’t happen so much today.

The day went fast.  I left around 3:45 as we had finally cleared out the line and had no clients.  There were plenty of other prepares that were going to stay in case someone else showed up.  It was spitting ice and I wanted to get home before the roads get slick.

Jim has a medical test tonight at 6:00 so we won’t have dinner before 7:00.  I may go take a short nap when I get done writing my blog.  I am tired tonight but not sure I am sleepy.

I should do some painting in the kitchen.  I think I will lay down for a bit and if I don’t fall asleep I will get up and paint.  I want to get one wall done so we can see how everything is going to look.  I sure like what we have done – especially since I changed the color of the top running board above the paneling.

Tomorrow I do taxes but only in the afternoon.  Wednesday is another full day of doing taxes.  Thursday we head for KS.  This week is going to fly by quickly.

My right foot is still bothering me today.  I’m glad I didn’t walk much on it today as it screams at me every step I take.  Sure wish I knew why it has become a problem child for me.

I did Jim’s taxes today. The manager of my site let me do them without Jim coming in.  They bend the rules a bit for the volunteers.  That was nice!  He was glad they were done and filed and he didn’t have to do anything.

I took my lunch today and took 15 minutes and ate it.  Last Monday I didn’t take a break and came home and ate anything and everything I could get my hands on.  I hate to take a break when I know people have been sitting for two hours waiting for us but I have to take care of myself.

Three dresses are supposed to arrive Wednesday.  Trusting one of them will be THE one.  We shall see!

Grateful to have been in service today – I get to meet the nicest people, grateful Jim’s taxes are done, and grateful I took the time to eat lunch today.

I am tired tonight!  I came home from church, fixed lunch and then started painting.  I am just now stopping for the night.  Got most of the kitchen woodwork and lower half of the wall painted.  Still need to paint the upper wall and do some touch ups.  Jim wants me to paint the back door and frame too.  Got it started but started getting sloppy so stopped.

I have taxes to do the next three days so doubt I will get back to the painting in the evenings.  We will see.  I might find some energy and get some more done.

We are leaving for KS around 11:00 Thursday morning so won’t get any painting done until next week unless I sneak some in the next three evenings.  I have some painting I need to do in KS if the urge to paint is still there.

I have an appointment with my accountant next Thursday at 3:30 in Emporia to turn my taxes in to him.  Seems a bit ironic to me that I do lots of other people’s taxes but have to hire an accountant for my own.  With the Airbnb and the rental properties mine are considered out of scope for the program I use to do other people’s taxes.

Jim is going to bring his taxes up tomorrow for me to do.  I did them using the Practice Lab program and he has good news this year.  I can’t access the proper program from my home computer.

We stopped by the grocery store on the way home from church.  I needed to get some salad stuff so I can take a lunch tomorrow.  I learned my lesson last week when I went the whole day without lunch.  I ate completely out of control when I got home that day.

It was 61 when I got up this morning and is only 52 now.  It is going to continue to drop.  The high for tomorrow is only going to be 47 and it will be even colder the next three days.  I kinda liked the 70”s better.  It has been cloudy all afternoon but we didn’t get the rain that was in the forecast.  More rain is forecast for tomorrow so we will see what happens.

Six weeks from today is THE big day.  Time is flying by right now.  Glad most of the list of things I need to do to get ready for the wedding is done.  If I can find a dress I will be in good shape.  Have two more arriving this week so hoping one of them will be THE one.

We were going to try to move back to KS full-time April 20 but Jim had something come up and he needs to stay here another week.  I’ll have to come to KS though as I have guests coming in April 25 and will need to get the house ready for them.  Jim will join me the 26th or so.  We still have lots of work to do on his house before he can get it rented so will be spending more time here than I would have liked during the summer.  One day soon we will be in one house!  I believe in miracles!

My right foot continues to bother me.  It feels like I am pinching a nerve every time I take a step.  It kinda swishes when I walk on it too.  If it doesn’t straighten out soon I will call the surgeon and go in and see if he can figure out what is going on.

Grateful for a good day of painting, grateful it is only six weeks till THE day, and grateful tomorrow I will be in service doing taxes.

Got the lower half of the kitchen walls painted today.  Still need to do some touch up and then push the appliances back into place.  I had painted the top of the molding the same color as the lower part and don’t like that so will have to repaint it the wood work color.

Tomorrow I want to do the final touch up on the outside of the kitchen cabinets and start painting the upper walls.  Jim doesn’t like a roller so will have to brush paint it. He needs to do some repair on some cracks on part of the wall before I can paint part of it.

Jim worked on installing the frames to the storm windows on the three windows in the master bedroom.  He got the frames up but didn’t get the storm windows put in them yet.  It is to rain tomorrow so may not get them done tomorrow.

I made Shepherds Pie for dinner.  It was good!  I tried not to eat too much of the potatoes on top as white potatoes are not good for me.  They are Jim’s favorite food!

I ordered two more dresses today.  If they fit I will have a nice collection of dresses to wear to church.  Also ordered another pair of heels.  Found an orthopedic type that may be more comfortable than others.  I haven’t worn anything beside New Balance tennis shoes for over a year.  Do they even make hose any more?  Not sure I like wearing heels without hose but it has been so long since I’ve worn any I don’t know what to wear with them.

It will be good to get the kitchen put back together again.  We get it put together and tear it apart again.  One more day of disorder and hoping we can put things back together and they will stay in order.  Neither one of us like chaos and clutter.

We are watching Hidden Figures.  It is a movie I actually saw in the movie theater.  I enjoyed it and Jim is enjoying seeing it for the first time tonight.  It is a good movie and one everyone should see.

Did five loads of laundry today.  Put fresh sheets on the bed.  Need to do some cleaning but that may have to wait until Monday night.  I want to get the painting done first.

The moon will be full tomorrow night.  It was beautiful this evening.  I can see the moon out of the east bedroom windows once it is up a bit.  It will be nice to get back to the prairie where I can see it rise and the the sun rise and set.  I feel a bit claustrophobic in town without my views.

Grateful to have gotten some more painting done today, grateful for on-line ordering, and grateful for movies like Hidden Figures that educate me about how life is different for those of other races.

 

I took my car to the dealer where I purchased it today.  The Service Manager drove it on the highway with me in the car.  It only acted up once on the drive.  They checked it out and said it was functionally normally.  I’m disappointed in the blind spot detection system as it doesn’t work as well as Jim’s Mazda.

They explained to me how the system works and when it doesn’t work.  Not sure I totally agree with their justification as to how it works as it doesn’t work at times they don’t talk about.  The guy that checked me in at the service desk said other owners have had the same complaint with this system.

I bought this particular car especially for the blind spot detection system.  I am disappointed in it as it doesn’t work as I had hoped it would.

I also had them check out the lane departure system.  It turns on and off without my understanding why.  It did that when the service manager was driving it.  Again they said the system is working as designed and they tried to give me the times it would do what I am complaining about.  Again I find it not working under different circumstances but guess I will have to learn to live with it.

We stopped for lunch after our appointment and then went to Home Depot to look for bath tub surrounds.  The one Jim needs they don’t stock but can have it delivered in two weeks.  Not sure what he is going to do.

When we got home I did his taxes on the practice lab part of my training.  I’ll have to do them again on the real program but found out he will get a nice refund.  With all the extra remodeling and wedding expenses it will come in handy.  He is going to come up to the library Monday and let me do them for real.

Tried on the dress that had come in earlier this week.  It fits and will work for Nicole’s wedding.  Not sure it is what I was looking for to wear to my wedding but it would work for that too if needed.  It is floor length and I decided not to wear a long dress but could change my mind.  I’ll see when the others come in – hopefully I will fall in love with one of them.  I like this dress but I don’t love it.

We have a free day tomorrow.  Seems likes it has been a bit since we had one.  Hoping we can sleep in late.  Jim has only been getting 5 – 6 hours a night and he likes to get 8 -9.  He is getting tired and needs to catch up on some sleep.

I hope to get lots of painting done tomorrow.  Jim is going to build cabinet doors.  He is out in the shop now starting them.  It will be so fun to get them up and painted.  The kitchen is being transformed slowly and surely!

My feet have been cranky again today.  Sure wish I knew when they will calm down and quit with this.  I haven’t over used them and don’t understand why they got cranky.  They were very sensitive to touch last night.  I have quit taking ibuprofen and maybe I need to start again.  I was trying to give my liver a break.

Looking forward to a quiet day at home tomorrow.  We haven’t had one for a bit.  Sunday we just have church and will have the afternoon at home.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I do taxes.  Thursday we go to Strong City.  I need to get lots of painting done tomorrow and Sunday as I won’t get back to it before we get back from KS.

The full moon is Sunday.  I have felt its effects this week.  Been a bit down and cranky.  I didn’t fall into the muck pond but feel like my valley closed in on me a bit.

Grateful there is nothing wrong with my car – I just need to get used to it, grateful the dress I ordered fit and will work for Nicole’s wedding, and grateful for a quiet day at home tomorrow.

After having a very productive day yesterday I did the opposite today.  I didn’t do much at all today.  We had a pre-marital counseling session this afternoon and then stopped at Walmart for groceries on the way home.  I did get the rest of the stuff to make the punch for the wedding and a container to put the mints in when I get them made.

I didn’t get any painting done yet today.  I didn’t sleep a lot last night and have felt a bit hung over today.  I didn’t want to paint when I wasn’t at my best.  I might get some painting done tonight but doubt it.  Somedays you just need to take a rest day.

Jim had a board meeting to go to tonight.  When he gets home in an hour or so I will fix dinner.  We are having chicken Parmesan that I will fix in the instant pot.  It will only take about 20 minutes to make.

I am hoping Jim will get the new tub ready for me to use tonight.  I didn’t get to take a bath last night or a shower this morning.  The tub had to sit empty for 24 hours so it would set up correctly.  The surround was partially removed when they removed the old tub and Jim needs to rig a temporary surround so water doesn’t get under the tub.

Tomorrow we go to Oklahoma City to take my car in to get the blind spot detection system checked out.  Jim wants to leave early so we can stop by Langston University so he can drop some things off.  My appointment is at 1:00 so we won’t be home until  mid to late afternoon.  That will waste most of the day.

We don’t have anything scheduled for the weekend except for church on Sunday.  Hoping we will get some more work done on the kitchen then.  I do taxes next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday we head for KS.  I have an appointment in Emporia at 3:00 so we will need to get going fairly early.  We will come back to Stillwater the following Monday.  It will be good to be back on the prairie for a few days.

Feeling a bit down today.  Hoping it is just from not sleeping well last night.  I was up between 3:00 and 6:00 and then managed to get two more hours of sleep.

Grateful the wedding details are almost done, grateful for what sleep I did get, and grateful tomorrow is a new day!

I woke up to about two to three inches of snow this morning.  It was so beautiful sitting inside and looking at the snow.  The wind has been quiet all day and the snow is still clinging to the trees this evening.

I painted the rest of the outside of the kitchen cabinets today.  I still have to finish the cabinet above the microwave but the rest are done.

Jim got a new bathtub installed today.  We can’t use it until tomorrow so it will be another sink bath tonight.  He will need to put the water board up around it tomorrow and attach the faucets.  We should be able to use the new tub tomorrow night.

We went to Lowe’s this afternoon and picked up samples of tile for the kitchen floor. While we were there we got a gallon of wall paint.  The kitchen has wainscot on the bottom half of the walls and we got the paint for that.  I might put some up while Jim is at choir practice tonight so we can better choose what floor tile we like the best.  I’ll get it painted tomorrow.  After that I will need to paint the top half of the kitchen walls.  We already have a color picked out for that.

It is amazing to see the kitchen go through this transformation.  I am excited we are this far along.  It sure would be nice to get the new floor down this weekend as well as the walls painted.  Then all that we will need is the doors to the cabinets made and hung and the counter top laminate replaced.

We also need to get the bathroom floor redone and the walls above the new tub replaced with something else.  Not sure Jim has decided which way he wants to go on them.  We also need a new toilet installed.  I have painting to do in the bathroom too.

After the kitchen and bathroom we need to get back out to the back room and get insulation up and then sheet rock it.  I see more painting in my future!  We also need to sand and stain the floor we laid some time back.

A dress came in today but not sure it is going to work for the wedding – it is a very dark blue and seems too dark for a wedding.  I might be able to use it to wear to Nicole’s wedding in October.  I’ll try it on after I can take a shower or a bath.

I still have three more dresses I ordered to come in.  Starting to worry a bit that none of them is THE one though.  I may have to go shopping in stores soon.  Sure would feel better if I could find THE dress.

Need to run to Walmart tomorrow and pick up some juice and pop that I will use to make the punch for the wedding.  Jim needs cat food and ammonia.

Have a beef stew in the oven cooking.  It is done and waiting for Jim to wake up from a short nap he is taking.  Jim didn’t sleep very well last night worrying about the bathtub installation.  The guy that came to install the tub knew what he was doing and it went fine.  Jim had to cut a piece of plywood to put under the tub as the wood that was there was rotten.  It was interesting to watch the guy cut the old tub into pieces and haul it out.

We rearrange the stuff in the kitchen cabinets today.  Not sure Jim is on board with the changes I suggested.  He doesn’t adapt well to change sometimes!  We still have some more sorting to do and reorganizing some shelves but I think everything fits.  I wanted the stuff we use the most in the easy to reach shelves and stick the appliances and other stuff we rarely if ever use in the high shelves and in the back of the pantry.  He still needs to build some shelves for the upper cabinets but the stuff up there fits – it is just hard to get to and hard to see what we have.

We will finally get to move the spices that have been stored in the dining room into the kitchen cabinet where they belong.  I found a bunch of spices in the back of the pantry that Jim had forgotten he had.  Now we have some duplicates as I added some spices I didn’t think he had.

Tomorrow we meet with the preacher for another pre-martial counseling session.  Friday we take my car to Oklahoma City to see if anything is wrong with the blind spot detection system.  We don’t have anything on our calendar this weekend except for church on Sunday.  Maybe we can get the floor laid on Saturday.

I got two checks in the mail today and tried to deposit them on-line using photos of the checks.  I screwed that up and need to call my bank and find out how to fix it.  I may have to see if Jim’s bank will accept them if I endorse the checks over to Jim.  I don’t want to wait to deposit them until I get home the 13th.

Grateful for the beautiful snow – it looks like a winter wonderland outside, grateful I didn’t have to shovel the snow, and grateful for the smells of a hot beef stew cooking on a cold’s winter night.

Went in to do taxes at 12:15.  We weren’t supposed to start until 12:30 but most of the other volunteers were already there and helping clients.  I will go in at noon after this.

I did eight returns today.  All were easy and simple ones.  I did have a Health Savings Account return – grateful I got my certification for that part.  I love meeting the clients.  They are so very grateful for the service provided.  I’m also humbled to meet so many that live on so little.

We were to work until 4:30 but we didn’t have any clients come in after 3:30 so I left early at 4:00.  The other volunteers are fun to visit with but I decided not to stay for 30 minutes to waste time.

Several of the volunteers that had been there yesterday said they were wiped out last night too.  Glad it wasn’t just me.  Half days are much easier.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  I had a few things on my list to get.

I fixed a crock pot of chili this morning before I left to do taxes.  The house smelled really good when I got home and it was nice to have dinner ready tonight without having to fix anything.  The chili turned out good and we have enough for another meal.

The weather took a wicked turn today.  The high was only 37.  We got a few sprinkles but no snow.  Tomorrow the high will be 33 and snow is in the forecast.  Glad I get to stay home tomorrow.

I plan on painting the rest of the outside of the cabinets tomorrow.  I have been too tired the last two nights to attempt to paint.  Thursday we meet with the preacher again and Friday we have to take my car to Oklahoma City for service.

The rest of the invitations came in but I forgot to order the envelopes for them.  Rats!  I placed an order for them tonight and ordered 10 more reception invitations too.  I had thought of a few more people to invite and was out of invitations.  They won’t be here for ten days so I will get them out a bit late but better late than never!

I have been riding through a wonderful valley lately.  I haven’t fallen into the muck pond for a bit.  The ride has been fairly smooth and easy.  I need to take more time to appreciate when I am in these valleys.  This one has been a long ride and I am grateful.

Grateful for the opportunity to be in service to others by doing taxes, grateful for chili on a cold winter’s night, and grateful for the valley of life I find myself in right now.

 

First day of doing taxes in Oklahoma is in the bag.  It was an interesting day.  Met some wonderful people and had fun working with my co-volunteers.  Did eight returns.  The first one took three hours and stumped the long-term volunteers.  I had another one that took three people to figure out too.

Their system of finding someone to review seems to work.  I didn’t like having nothing to do while mine were being reviewed although most of the time I could find someone to review during that time.  Felt a bit like a round robin of sort and a bit chaotic but it works.

We had a hall full of people this morning waiting to get their taxes done.  It was much slower this afternoon.

I like the way we can help each other out.  There seems to be different subject matter experts and we can call on others when we have a question.  There is no judgment when a reviewer finds a mistake.  The person that imputed the information just gets told what the reviewer found and if they didn’t understand how to do something it gets explained.  The newest people had an experienced person with them for most of the day.  That was nice!

I go back tomorrow from 12:30 – 4:30.  Wednesday got cancelled as the library where we do the taxes had the room booked for someone else,  I’m glad it is only two days this week.  I have lots of painting I want to do Wednesday.

The plumber came this morning to fix the bathtub drain.  In addition to the broken pipe Jim found out his bathtub needs replaced.  They are coming back Wednesday to do that.  It needs new surround panels too but the only ones available won’t fit.  He is going to have to have it tiled instead.  Not sure if Jim will try to do that or if he will hire it done.

He got the cabinet above the stove installed today and is finishing getting the microwave hung below the cabinet.  Wow!  The kitchen is really looking different.  I hope to get the painting on the outside of the cabinets done on Wednesday.  Jim needs to finish stripping the doors and then he needs to make some more doors.

After I get the cabinets painted I will start painting the kitchen walls.  We will have to pick a paint color for the lower part of the wall.  Some of the wall will need some crack repair done before I can paint.

It is exciting to see the kitchen get redone.  Wish the floor guy could come sooner than three months but guess he will get here when he can get here.

Once we get the kitchen as far as we can get it we need to get back out to the back room and get insulation and sheet rock hung.  Still need to sand the floor and stain it.  Jim will also need to build some trim around the windows.

We are making lots of progress though!  Still not thinking we will have the inside of the house done by April but we will get more done than I had thought we might.

It was much colder this afternoon than when I went into the library this morning at 9:00.  The high tomorrow is only going to be 37 and it was 69 this morning.  We are to get snow on Wednesday but by Friday it will warm back up to the 50’s.

I didn’t take a lunch break today and I came home at 4:30 very hungry.  I haven’t started dinner yet as Jim wanted to finish installing the microwave before we eat.  I have some leftovers to warm up for dinner so when he is ready to eat it won’t take long.  I’ll have to put something in the crock pot tomorrow morning before I leave at noon to go do taxes.

The rest of the invitations came in today so we can get those addressed and in the mail this week.

I’m tired tonight.  It was fun doing taxes but I feel a bit drained tonight.  I should have taken a lunch break and gotten some fresh air.  I’ll remember to do that next week.  Tomorrow is only a four hour shift so that should be easier and not so draining.

Grateful the first day of taxes is in the books, grateful I only have one more shift to do this week, and grateful for all the progress being made in the kitchen.

75 degrees on this second day of February in Stillwater, OK.  I’ll take this weather any day of the week, month or year.  It was bright and sunny out but the clouds are rolling in now.  It is to snow on Wednesday.  The ups and downs of winter in Oklahoma.

Went to church this morning.  Several people had gotten their wedding invitations and we were greeted with much cheer.  Most of the ones I know are going to be out of town during the wedding.  It is spring break at the university and people are leaving town.

After church I started painting the outsides of the kitchen cabinets.  It is slow going painting as there are lots of edges to cut in.  The paint seems to drip more than the other paint did.  We got cabinet paint and I had hoped it would be thick but it doesn’t seem to be.  It is taking two coats to cover nicely.  I have the lower set almost finished and will need to do ladder work next.

I didn’t like the color when I first put it on but since it has dried I like it.  It is a smokey blue gray color.

Took a break from painting and took a four-mile hike.  It was too nice of a day to stay inside and paint all afternoon.  Now I am tired and getting back to painting is going to be a struggle.  I almost have my 10,000 steps in for the day.

I bought some Impossible Burgers at Costco last week and we thawed some out for dinner tonight.  Jim is going to fire up the grill and cook them outside.  Thawed they look like hamburger patties with white cheese in it.  Hope they are good.

Tomorrow I will get to do taxes for my first shift.  Trusting I can figure out how to do the Oklahoma state returns.  I don’t feel I was trained very good on how to do them.  I will have to bug one of the experienced people and have them show me how to work them if I can’t figure it out.

I still can’t quite figure out how their system works so looking forward to having the first day done.  I’m sure it works or they wouldn’t do it the way they do.  I hope they keep me busy and I don’t have lots of time to sit around and wait.  Maybe I will be so busy I won’t want to leave for lunch.  The manager of the site told me to take good care of myself and slip away if I need to get lunch.  Most only work half the day and a new crew comes mid-day to finish up the day.

Jim finished getting the dishwasher installed last night.  We ran a short cycle with it empty to make sure their were no leaks and to get the dust out of it.  We then loaded it and did the dinner dishes.  This is the first time this house has ever had a dishwasher.  Jim sat and watched it for about ten minutes.  He is so excited it is in and working.

We got all the stuff put back into the cabinets.  Jim needs to build some shelves for the upper cabinets.  We put lots of coffee cups and various other dishes up there. Most are things that haven’t been used for years but Jim isn’t ready to let go of them yet.  Once he put some shelves up he will have lots of room to store everything.  It is nice to have it out of the easy to reach cabinets.  They now have a bit of empty space which is nice.

I may not get back to painting after today until next weekend.  I do taxes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday we meet with the preacher for another pre-marital counseling session.  Friday I have to take the car back to Oklahoma City to get the blind spot detection system checked out.  It still is working very inconsistently.

The wedding is seven weeks from today.  Sure wish my dresses would come in so I could cross that off my list.  My shoes came in today – not sure I love them but they will work.

Grateful for another beautiful day and wonderful hike, grateful the cabinet painting has begun, and grateful the dishwasher is in and working well.

Got the inside of all the cabinets painted.  Am in the process of filling the cabinets back up.  They sure look better already.

We went to Lowe’s and Jim picked out some cabinet paint.  I will start painting the cabinets either after dinner tonight or tomorrow afternoon.  I wanted to pick the wall colors too but we didn’t worry about that today.  Trusting we will find some that will coordinate.  Picking colors is one of the hardest part of remodeling.

We took a four-mile hike this afternoon.  It is in the upper 60’s and perfect walking weather.  Lots of other walkers with dogs on the hike around Boomer Lake today.  My feet held up and didn’t yell too loudly during the walk.

Jim is going to get the dishwasher in place tonight.  It is so nice out he has had trouble staying inside to work on it.  Hoping tomorrow he will get the new cabinet and microwave installed above the oven.  We have so many projects going on it is hard to keep focused on just one project.

Jim’s birth certificate finally came in.  He had ordered it sometime in November.  It is the first step he needed to complete so he can apply for a passport.  I’ll try to talk him into calling sometime next week and getting a passport interview.  It can take up to two months to get a passport once he gets an interview.  I don’t know how far out he will have to wait to get an interview.  He needs to get his passport before we can start planning a trip overseas we want to take in late August or early September.

The wedding is seven weeks from tomorrow.  Still don’t have a dress but have four more ordered.  One of the ones that I have could work if it had to.  My shoes should be in next week as well as at least one of the other dresses.  I won’t panic until the first of March if I haven’t found the right dress by then.

The rest of the wedding invitations should be here Tuesday.  We will get those addressed next week and get them out.  I wish I had a few more reception invitations as I have thought of a few more people to invite but I sent all that I had out.  I may order 10 more.

I am sitting here looking at all of the extra stuff Jim had in his cabinet and thinking about all the dishes I have in mine back home.  I need to rearrange my cabinets and store the extras somewhere else.  I use all 16 plates I have several times a year but they don’t need to be at hands reach all the time.

One of the projects on my to-do list is to repaint the inside walls at our house in Strong City.  I was going to do that this winter but then decided to winter in Stillwater instead.  I am getting practice painting and will have lots more to do when we get back to Kansas full-time in April.

I sure like having big projects to do here.  It makes the days go by faster and I feel useful.  I love seeing the difference it is making in the kitchen.  I wasn’t sure we would be able to get the kitchen done before the wedding but am thinking we will now.

Grateful for a beautiful day, grateful for a four-mile hike, and grateful the inside of the cabinets are painted.

 

 

The house is a mess!  I have been painting inside the kitchen cabinets and stuff is everywhere.  We went out for lunch and will need to go out for dinner.  Can’t find the stove or dishes to eat off of.  I have three more shelves to paint and five need a second coat.

There were two layers of contact paper on the shelves.  I had to use a razor blade to get it all up.  At some point someone had painted some of the shelves red.

Jim has a lot of sorting to do before I can put things back up.  He has way too many coffee cups and water cups.  If he can’t part with them they need to go on the upper shelves out of the way.

The drain coming out of the bathtub has a leak in it.  We can’t use the shower until it gets fixed.  The plumber is to come Monday to fix it.  I’ll have to use the kitchen sink to wash my hair.  At least we have water and can flush the toilet.

Not sure what I will find to do tomorrow.  I have been busy all day today painting.  I like days like this when I have projects to work on.

We took a one-mile hike this afternoon.  It was so pretty out and both of us needed some fresh air and to stretch our legs.  It reached 51 today and is to be 62 tomorrow and 75 on Sunday.  I like winter in Oklahoma!  Maybe we can take a really long walk one or both of those days.

My feet have plain out hurt today.  I woke up to my right one screaming at me.  The left one joined in on the chorus.  I took some Advil and they quieted down for a bit but are yelling again tonight.  They can take a hike!

We picked up some more paint samples at Lowe’s today.  We are getting to the point of needing to pick out paint colors for the cabinets and walls.  The colors I like don’t go with the living room color.  They don’t share a wall but it wouldn’t look good as you look into the kitchen from the living room.  It will be interesting to me to see what color Jim decides on.

Grateful inside the cabinets are almost all painted, grateful for a nice walk today, and grateful for Advil!

Busy day today!  We left around 10:45 to head to Oklahoma City to go to Subaru school.  The lady that worked with me was good.  I learned how to turn off most of the automatic systems that beep at you when you do something they don’t like.  She was able to answer all of my questions except explain why the blind spot detector is inconsistent.  I made an appointment with service to have them check it out.  I’ll have to go back a week from tomorrow to take it in.

The lady gave me a $25 gift card to On Cue, a local convenience store/gas station and a coupon for $50 in Subaru merchandise.

We went to Costco when we were done with Subaru school.  Got the cups, plates and nuts for the two wedding receptions we will be hosting.  Ended up with a cart full of stuff.  Not sure what all we bought.  I get into trouble going in that store.  Somehow I always come out with stuff I didn’t know I needed.

Next stop was REI.  I got a day pack for hiking and a warm pair of gloves.  Jim got a hat and a water bottle.

We stopped at a place called Tucker’s Onion Burgers for lunch.  They had great hamburgers – I had a turkey burger wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

The drive home was nice – no beeps!  I was able to turn off the automatic cruise control that slows you down if there is a car in front of you.  I also was able to turn off the lane departure system.  Jim appreciated the lack of beeps on the way home!

When we got home after we unloaded the car I painted the inside of two cabinets.  Jim worked on fixing the bay for the new dishwasher.  After dinner I painted the bay and the adjoining cabinet.  All the lower cabinets are painted and one of the upper ones.  Lots more to go but progress is being made.

Tomorrow Jim has to cut the holes to put the water line and waste water line in the cabinet next to the bay.  He also has to trim the edge of the counter as it is 1/4 inch too tall for the dishwasher to fit in properly.  After that he can hook the lines up and get the thing in place.  We got some dishwasher detergent and rinse aide at Costco today so we are ready to let the new dishwasher help us out.

I will work on painting some more upper cabinets tomorrow.  10 more to go!  Six done!  Some of the cabinets are high and I will have to be on a ladder.  That will slow me down a bit.  We are sorting the stuff that has been in the cabinets and throwing some of it out.  We have found treasures Jim forgot he had.

We don’t have any plans for the weekend other than continuing to work on the kitchen.  An electrician is to come tomorrow to run a plug for the microwave so we can then get that hung up.  I got that cabinet painted today so it is ready to be hung.

Monday I start doing taxes.  The managers called me again today.  They are trying to get my password situation fixed.  Sure trust that come Monday I will be able to get on and do the taxes without a problem.

Feeling good about the wedding plans.  Unless I have forgotten something I think I am going to meet my goal of having everything planned before I start doing taxes Monday.  Still waiting on a few things to arrive but trusting when they do they will work.

Grateful for Subaru School and the knowledge it provided me so I can manage my car, grateful some more cabinets got painted today, and grateful more wedding items  were purchased today.

I told Jim this morning I needed a physical job to do today.  He had me paint the inside of a kitchen cupboard and inside the new cabinet he is going to hang.  I got paint in my hair as I had to climb inside the cabinet to reach the back of it.  It felt good to see something I did.  I have had a long string of days where it doesn’t seem like I accomplished anything tangible.

I ordered a pair of shoes today.  Trusting they will fit.  It is hard to find wide width.  They are a plain pair of navy pumps.

I helped JIm address a bunch more invitations today.  He still has some more he wants to send out but we have to wait for a second order of invitations to come in early next week.  Feels good to have most of the invitations out.

Went to Walmart tonight to get some Epsom salt and contact paper for the kitchen cabinets.  I found some plates I can use to serve the mints on and I got two bowls for the nuts.  Also got a tablecloth for the serving table.  Got ingredients to make a sample batch of punch for Jim to taste.  We will end up throwing most of it out but I want to have him taste it and see if he likes it.  I can’t drink any punch as it all has sugar in it.

I also got the stuff to make a sample batch of mints.  The mints freeze well but the recipe recommends only freezing them for three weeks.  I got a scoop at Murphy’s today so I may go ahead and make a sample batch of mints now and see how they freeze.  I was looking for some large silicon ice cube trays so I can make big cubes that I will put maraschino cherries and mint leaves in to cool the punch.  I couldn’t find any.  Jim has a tray that makes six cubes so I can use it and make several batches and freeze.

Mailed the check for the extra cake I ordered as well as the deposit for the flowers.

Tomorrow we go to the Subaru dealer and learn how to operate all the systems in my car.  We are also going to Costco to get some things for the wedding.  May stop by REI for a day pack.

We have a free weekend and hope to get lots more work done in the kitchen.  Jim got some support boards put in while I was painting.  He is almost done with that.  I will get that area painted either tomorrow night or Friday and then we can get the dishwasher in place and plugged in.

We got some paint samples for the cabinets and walls but what we got isn’t going to work.  We’ll have to go back and try again.  We aren’t ready to paint the walls and cabinets yet so have time to think about what colors would work better.

We got busy working this afternoon and forgot to go take our walk.  Jim had choir practice tonight so we couldn’t do it after dinner.  Hopefully when we get home from Oklahoma City tomorrow afternoon we can get a long walk in.

Texted with Ellexia for a bit today.  She seems to be feeling better.  She told me she was bored staying home.  I’m glad her mom kept her home today for another day of rest.  I’ve heard there is a lot of crud going around and once you get down it is hard to get over it.

Grateful for a painting job today, grateful some more to-do things are crossed  off the list, and grateful progress is being made on the kitchen.

It is a cold, rainy day in Stillwater.  It has rained all day long.  Heard it is snowing on the prairie.  It may change to snow here overnight but it is to warm up to 44 tomorrow so the snow won’t last long.

Went to a flower shop this morning and ordered flowers for the wedding.  I wasn’t going to get any but Jim’s sister sent an idea that made so much sense I decided to go for it.  Thanks Jane!

I mailed the first set of wedding and reception invitations.  Jim still needs to address the ones he wants to send out.  I addressed a few more of each this afternoon and will mail them tomorrow.

I decided to order some more cake.  I had to order some more invitations as Jim’s list keeps growing.  I’m not sure how many can come but I don’t want to run out of cake.  Decided to make it easy on myself and just order another cake and not have that worry on my mind the day of the wedding.

My right foot is swollen up big again today.  Not sure why it does that.  I have stayed off of it most of the day.  I want to bitch slap the damn thing and tell it to snap out of it.  I’m so tired of its whiny ways!

I took a nap this afternoon.  I slept for three hours last night and then was up for three.  Might have gotten another hour or so sleep after that.  It is cold and wet outside and I didn’t have anything to do so a nap felt like a good use of my time.  We are going to a piano recital tonight and will be out later than normal.  Maybe this way I won’t fall asleep during the recital.

Both of the dresses that came in fit – one is a bit tight and the other a bit big.  Not sure either one is THE dress but either one would work.  Still have four others coming so am reasonably certain one of the six will work.  Now I need to get a pair of shoes and I will be set.  This will be the first pair of shoes I will buy since my surgeries.  I am to continue to wear my New Balance tennis shoes for six more months.  A girl has to break the rules though on her wedding day!

I made a crock pot of hamburger soup this morning.  The smell is so divine.  Jim is out in his shop working on the cabinet for the microwave and will be in soon so we can eat.  It was a good day to make a hot soup for dinner.

I don’t have anything on my calendar for tomorrow.  Thursday we are going to Subaru school in Oklahoma City and then to Costco.  Nothing special planned for the weekend.  Monday I start doing taxes.  It will be a relief to get the first day under my belt and understand their system.

January flew by!  I can’t believe it will be February Saturday.  Glad I have the wedding plans under control and most everything figured out.  Once I start doing taxes three days a week time will fly by even faster.  It will be March before I know it.

Grateful for the idea for flowers from Jane, grateful for the rain and rainy day naps, and grateful for hot soup.

I went to the library this morning to play with the Chrome book.  I had trouble logging on.  The ID number the instructor had given me didn’t work.  I had received a note from AARP with a different number and that number worked.  I didn’t have any trouble navigating the Chrome Book.  Not sure why they were telling us they are really different.  My $10.99 keyboard worked just fine.

I sent an email to the instructor and the lady in charge of the program to give them a heads up about the ID numbers.  Still concerned that come Monday I won’t be in the system correctly and won’t be able to do taxes.  We will see what happens.  Neither one has gotten back to me yet.

I stopped by Best Buy after I was done at the library.  I haven’t received my new credit card or the bill to pay for the computer I got January 2.  They were able to look up my account and I paid for the computer.  The salesman had told me I would get 10% off the cost if I opened the credit card.  That didn’t happen.  The assistant manager told me I get it in store credit.  I told him I was really pissed as his salesman had told me something different.  The manager said he would talk to the salesman and didn’t even apologize to me.

My license plate came in today and I got it put on my new car.  I can finally cross something off my pending list.

After lunch Jim and I took a one mile walk.  My feet were a bit cranky after the walk yesterday.  The weather was mid 60’s today and it felt like a spring day outside today.

Jim had gotten a cabinet to put above the stove and the new microwave.  The cabinet wasn’t square and needed some work done on it.  We worked on it for about an hour adding some supports and reinforced the sides of it.

After we were done with that Jim came in and cut the cabinets so he could get the dishwasher in place.  Tonight the dishwasher is almost in place.  Still need to cut the holes to run the lines through the adjoining cabinet.  Hopefully by tomorrow the last bits and pieces will be done and the dishwasher will actually work.

The weather is going to change drastically tomorrow.  The high is only going to be 39 and there is a chance of snow.  It will be a good day to work inside and make more progress on the kitchen.  When we started working on the kitchen I didn’t think we would get it done before the wedding but am beginning to think we might.

Something we need to do soon is pick paint colors for the cabinets, inside the cabinets, and the walls  Jim is going to build new doors to put on the cabinets but I can start painting inside the cabinets soon.

Two of the dresses I ordered came in today.  I haven’t tried either one on yet.  One looks a bit matronly and the other is a print and I’m not sure I want a print.  More dresses should be in later this week.  I’ll try the two that came in today on when I take my bath tonight.

When we go to Oklahoma City Thursday I want to stop by Costco and pick up plates, forks and cups for the receptions.  The Costco is close to the car dealership that we are going to so they can teach me about all the systems in my car.

Ordered 20 more wedding invitations.  Jim worked on his list last night and kept adding people to it.  Many of the people that he is inviting won’t be able to come but I want him to feel free to send an invitation to all he wants to.  May need to order the second cake after all in case more show up than he expects.

We have a piano concert to go to tomorrow evening but nothing else on the calendar for the daytime.  Trusting we will get lots of work done in the kitchen.

We did some of the homework the preacher had assigned us.  She asked us to talk about how we think and feel about finances and there were some questionnaires that we needed to discuss.  We had a good discussion.  I find it interesting how differently people think about money and how difficult it is to have those discussions.  Jim and I agreed about 80% of the time on the answers of the questionnaire and weren’t that far off on the ones when we didn’t agree.

Grateful for the time I was able to spend outside today, grateful progress was made in the kitchen remodel project, and grateful the dresses I ordered are starting to come in.

Had trouble sleeping last night. I slept good for about three hours but then couldn’t sleep much the rest of the night. I would fall asleep for about 15 minutes and then wake up and be awake for a couple of hours. I went back to bed this morning around 9:30 and got another hour of sleep or so. Hoping this was just a weird night and won’t repeat anytime soon.

Went to Walmart to pick up a few things. I’m always proud of myself when I can find where I want to go and get back home again without getting lost. I also stopped and got my car washed. The machine didn’t go a great job but my car looks better. I also vacuumed the car out. With all the moisture we’ve had we have managed to track lots of dirt in the car.

Jim went to church and then had a meeting he had to go to. When he got back home we took a four mile walk. It was in the low 60’s today and was a beautiful day to get out and walk. My feet held up OK. They still hurt at times, especially at night, but walking doesn’t seem to set them off any more or less than if I don’t take a long walk.

I would like to get up to walking 10 miles a day before we go to CO this summer. I’m pleased I can go four miles already and not be worn out when we are done. We will keep adding some distance and see what happens. Jim helps to motivate me to get out and walk – I appreciate that.

Tomorrow I have to go to the library to play on a Chrome book. I got a keyboard today as the Chrome doesn’t have a numeric pad and it is much easier to enter numbers on a pad. Walmart had one for only $10.99 so it didn’t cost much. If it makes it easier for me to correctly and quickly enter the information for the clients it will be worth it.

I have done all the wedding planning done I can do for the next couple of weeks. The remainder of the things on my list can’t be done eight weeks ahead of time. I have ordered several dresses so trusting at least one will work. Once I finalize the dress I will need to get a pair of shoes. I need to decide on a punch recipe and get the supplies for that, make the mints and buy the nuts. As far as I know that is all I have left to do.

Ellexia has the flu and has been running a high temperature all day. I trust she will be feeling better soon. I’ve heard there are some nasty complications happening with kiddos that get the flu. Wish I was closer so I could help watch her this week so her mommy can sleep.

Grateful the wedding plans are completed for a bit, grateful my feet carried me on a four mile hike, and grateful for what little sleep I was able to get last night.

Went to a military promotion ceremony this afternoon.  A friend of Jim’s is in the Reserves and was promoted.  The ceremony was held at the church where our wedding is going to be.  They had a reception in the same area where ours will be so it was good to see how the traffic flowed and where to set things up at.

Before the ceremony the family had gone in to sit in their assigned seats.  I was out in the reception area waiting for Jim to finish a conversation he was having with someone.  I was looking around the area and noticed they had forgotten to put forks out for the cake they were going to serve afterwards.  I went in the kitchen and found some and put them on the table.

The guy that got promoted was hoping to have his father pin him but his father got put in the hospital.  They set up a phone so the dad could see the ceremony.

There were about 40 – 50 people there.  I kept an eye on the cake to see how much they used.  I’m still not sure I ordered enough cake.  I would hate to run out yet I don’t want too much left over.  They had a 11 x 14 sheet cake and didn’t quite serve all of it.  They had fairly big pieces though.  The one I ordered is a two layer 12 x 12.  Sure would help to know how many people are coming.

We were by Lowe’s afterwards.  Jim got a new microwave oven that has a vent for the stove attached.  It requires a cabinet above it so he found a plain cabinet to hang above the microwave.  He also got a piece of plywood to build a box for the dishwasher that he is going to install.

We talked at dinner about what needs to be done to the kitchen after the dishwasher and microwave gets installed.  Jim needs to get the cabinet doors made and then sanded and all the cabinets painted.  We will need to remove the linoleum and bring the wood floor back to life.  He also needs to do something to the counter tops and put in a backsplash of some sort.  The walls will need repaired and painted.  After he broke it all down for me I have a better idea of what needs to be done.

It is exciting to see some progress being made though.  Our goal is to have the kitchen done before the wedding in March.  We would also like to finish the back room but am not counting on that.

Tried a new recipe for dinner tonight.  I had thawed some chicken tenders.  Went on-line and found a recipe.  I dipped the tenders in butter than rolled them in a Parmesan cheese spice mixture and baked them for 25 minutes.  They were good although I will adjust some of the spices next time.  Made an easy dinner.

We took a two mile walk before dinner.  My feet are a bit sore from yesterdays long walk but I am doing my best to ignore them.  It was warmer walking today than yesterday.  It sprinkled a bit while we were at Lowe’s but by the time we took our walk the rain had moved on and we didn’t get wet walking.

Tomorrow morning we will go to church.  They have their annual meeting after worship followed by a lunch of some sort.  Hopefully when we get home from church we will get some more work done in the kitchen.

I hope next week won’t be as busy as this week has been.  We didn’t find much time to get much work done on the house.  I have to go to tax school on Monday for two hours so I can get my hands on a Chrome book and learn some basics.  Thursday I go to Subaru school to learn about the systems in my car.  Other than that I don’t have anything on my calendar.  We have tickets to a piano concert Tuesday night.

Monday I hope to mail the invitations to the wedding and reception in Strong City.  I’ll have to remind Jim to get the rest of the wedding invitations addressed so we can get them mailed Monday.

Grateful to have spent some time in the reception area of the church so I can plan better now, grateful progress is being made in the kitchen, grateful for another nice walk today.

Decided on a wedding cake today.  I’m not sure I got a big enough one but will wait until it gets a bit closer and order another one once I have a better idea how many people are coming.  The lady at the bakery told me how many it served and the size of the piece.  It feels really too small to me.

We took a three and one-half mile walk today.  It felt good to get out and stretch my legs.  We went at 4:45 and didn’t get back until after the sunset.  It was getting pretty cold before we got back.

Got the paperwork to reserve the church filled out and the check written for the deposit and fee they charge.  The preacher is bending the rules a bit to accommodate us.

The photographer the preacher recommended can’t do the pictures.  I think I will book the lady I found on-line.  Jim is a bit shy about paying her fee but I really want good pictures and want a professional to take them.

I spent the afternoon looking for dresses on-line.  I ordered two more from a different company.  One is perhaps for Nicole’s wedding and the other might work for my wedding.  The first two dresses I ordered haven’t shipped yet so have no idea when I might get them.  I trust I can get the dress finalized soon.  I will still need to get some shoes but can’t do that until I decide on the dress.

Last night Jim got a door hung in the bedroom for the bedroom closet.  Tonight we are going to tear out some of the kitchen cabinets to make room for the dishwasher.  We looked at Lowe’s today for a hood for the stove.  We may go back and look for a combination microwave and hood.  Jim was going to tear all the cabinets out and build new ones but has decided instead to paint what is there instead.  That will save lots of time.  We hope to have the back room and kitchen done before the wedding.  That would be exciting if we can make that happen.

Anyone have a really good punch recipe?  The one I usually use has cranberry juice in it and Jim doesn’t like cranberry juice.

My to do list is almost complete.  I still need to decide if I want to order personalized napkins or not – probably won’t.  I also need to decide if I want to carry a bouquet of flowers – probably won’t.  We have flowers for the alter and the reception area already taken care of.  I can’t make the mints this far in advance.  I will pick up the nuts when it gets closer.

We are having a family dinner Saturday night before the wedding and we need to decide if we are going out or cooking at home.  I am fixing a brunch for family Sunday morning at the house.  Sunday night we will have pizza or something like that.  We need to decide about Saturday night so we can reserve a table somewhere if we are going out.

I need to decide what to serve for the reception.  I have a baker confirmed and will need to give her details when it gets closer and I know how many people are coming.

The bits and pieces seem to be coming together.  I sure would feel better if I can find a dress.  I may have to go to a store and try dresses on – yuck!

Grateful for a long walk today, grateful to get the wedding cake confirmed, and grateful my to do list is getting smaller and smaller.

Had a busy day today.  The electricians showed up before 9:00 this morning.  Jim had them add some plug ins to the bedroom, kitchen and back room.  They also added a plug for the new dishwasher.  They didn’t finish until after 3:00 although they were gone for almost two hours during the middle of the day.

A third photographer called me this morning to give me a bid.  He was over an hour late calling and he was later last night than he said he would be.  I don’t think I will go with him even though his bid was $25 less than the prompt person.  I don’t want to have to worry if they are going to show up or not.

I went to tax school this afternoon.  Other than getting my ID number it was a waste of time.  We were supposed to get a tutorial lesson on how to use the Chromebooks but they don’t have enough to go around and the guy teaching the class was a bit clueless.  I can go in next week on Monday or Wednesday and play with one on my own.  Thinking I will do that.

I did get a quick chance to visit with one of the other new volunteers.  She had not been impressed with the training either.  I said something about next year and she said she wasn’t sure she would be back.  Trusting she will get the support needed and will have a good experience actually doing the returns.  She is a retired accountant so has the expertise they can use.

We met with the preacher for our second marriage counseling session.  We got the results of our personality tests back.  She had us predict our weak area and we nailed that.  The results were interesting but expected.  She gave us some homework to do before we meet with her again in two weeks.

She gave us the church’s wedding rules.  I asked her a lot of logistic questions.  I need to find a woman from the church that has helped with receptions before and knows the kitchen we will be using.  They have most everything I need but need to pick out the table cloths I want to use ahead of time.  Trusting a few women from Jim’s choir will agree to help us serve and set things up for us.

Came home after the meeting with the preacher and put the kitchen back together again.  The electricians had to move a bunch of stuff to do their work.  We moved some items Jim never uses to the high shelves to find room to put some more stuff away and clear off the kitchen counter tops.  The kitchen looks better.  It would look even better if the stuff that is never used could be removed but Jim isn’t ready to do that yet.

The invitations to our reception in Strong City came in today.  I thought I ordered the same design as the wedding invitations but the reception ones are much bigger.  Luckily they are below the limit that would require extra postage.  Not sure how I got a bigger size – oh well.  They will work.

I got most of them addressed and hope Jim will finish the wedding invitations this weekend so we can get them all mailed the first of the week.  That will feel good to have them in the mail.

The lady at the Subaru dealership that is going to teach me how to manage all the systems in my new car called today and needed to change our appointment.  We are going on Thursday next week instead of Tuesday.

Jim is at a meeting of some sort right now.  I need to get dinner started soon so it will be ready when he gets home.

Tomorrow we meet with the bakery and will order the cake for the wedding.  I think we are going to Langston afterwards.  Jim wants to deliver some letters to some staff there that he doesn’t have their home address.  He wants to introduce me to some of his friends there too.

Saturday a friend of Jim’s is getting promoted and having a pinning ceremony.  His friend is in the Army Reserves.

Grateful the reception invitations are ready to mail, grateful for our session with the preacher – she is fun to visit with, and grateful the electrician was able to finish there job today.  One big step taken to get this house finished!

Two months till the wedding!  Oh my!  I can do this!

Had a productive day making lots of phone calls today.  The refrigerator line got fixed yesterday.  Finally able to cross something off my to-do list.

Called the Chase County Treasurer Office and let them know the post office won’t forward my car tag.  They were able to call the state office and the state is to mail it to my OK address.

Contacted three different photographers.  I want family pictures taken before the wedding.  One was way too expensive, the other gave me a quote, and the third one didn’t get back to me until late tonight.  We are going to talk tomorrow morning.

Made an appointment with a cake baker in Stillwater.  It is the same baker I used when I got Jim’s birthday cake and he loved it.  We meet with her Friday morning.

I called my car insurance lady to let her know the card I received showed my insurance was only effective until 1/20/2020.  My annual plan expired 1/20/2020 and somehow they didn’t send me the correct card.  I am covered and she emailed me a new card with the correct dates.  So far she says I don’t owe anything more by adding the new car.  Not sure I understand that but I’ll take it as long as I have coverage.

I addressed some wedding invitations today.  The rest are people that Jim wants to invite and he hasn’t decided on a final list yet.  He promised to work on them this weekend so we can get them mailed the first of the week.  The reception invitations should be in Friday so I can get them addressed this weekend and get them mailed the first of the week.

Someone from the Subaru dealership called me today to thank me for buying the car and to see if I had any questions.  I went out to sit in the car and started asking him my list of questions.  It was quickly obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to answer my questions.  However, he made an appointment for us with their Technical specialist that supposedly can answer all my questions.  We will have to drive to Oklahoma City to make the appointment but it will be worth it.  There is a possibility Service needs to look at the car too as the Blind Spot detector system only works part time.  We go next Tuesday at noon.  I find it interesting that sales people don’t know how the cars work.

We have a busy day tomorrow.  A photographer is calling in the morning to get some more information so he can give us a quote.  An electrician is coming in the morning to do some work in the back room and to add a plug for the new dishwasher.  I have tax class at 1:00.  I’ll have to leave early as we have a meeting with the preacher at 2:00.  We also have to pick Jim’s car up as he took it to the shop today so they can put new headlights in it.  Hopefully we will have some time to do some work on the house.

Friday I have an appointment with the bakery so I can tell them what we want for the wedding cake.  Not sure if they make sheet cakes or not – may have to serve cupcakes or cut round cakes.  Cutting round cakes makes a mess and is a bit of a hassle.  I prefer to serve sheet cakes.  I’ll see what they can do.

I decided I want to make the mints for the wedding so need to get the ingredients to make a sample batch.  I’ve made them before but it has been a long time.  I wish I could taste them but they have powdered sugar in them which I don’t eat.  I’ll have to ask some friends to try them and see if they are OK.

By the end of next week I want all these little details firmed up and decided on.  The invitations will be mailed, a photographer will be booked, the cake booked, hopefully the dresses I ordered will be in and one of them will work, and Jim’s ring should be here.  I still need to get a pair of shoes and take care of a few other little decisions but the bulk of the plans will be in place.  My goal is to have most everything taken care of before I start doing taxes the first week of February.

I feel better about all the wedding plans tonight.  It feels good that some things are almost booked and confirmed.  Still have more things to take care of but it feels like the big things are almost done.

We didn’t get anything done on the house today though.  Both of us were a bit tired and needed a rest day to catch up from the weekend.  Jim plans to do a bit of work when he comes home from choir practice.  He was gone for an hour or more this afternoon as he had an eye doctor appointment.  Not sure we will get much done tomorrow either though as we are both busy then too.

Got a light dusting of snow overnight.  Most of it melted off today though.  It was in the mid to upper 30’s today but is to be in the low 50’s tomorrow.  Hopefully we will find some time to take a long walk sometime tomorrow.

Grateful I was in the mood to make needed phone calls today, grateful I may finally be able to figure out next week how my new car works, and grateful for to-do lists that help keep me on track and get things done.

Back in Stillwater, OK. Had an uneventful trip home except for the stop at McDonald’s. I hadn’t had lunch and was hungry. We each ordered a quarter pounder at 3:12. At 3:30 Jim went up to the counter to find out where it was. We finally got them after another seven minutes. Not impressed! The energy in the store was very low and borderline rude. So grateful it is not my work any more.

Went to the court house this morning to get my new tags. They gave me another temporary tag. The state will mail me the tag within 30 days. Trusting it will get forwarded to me in a timely manner. They weren’t 100% sure the mail would forward it. May have to make another trip to KS sooner than expected if it doesn’t come on time.

When I got the mail when we got to Jim’s I found out the Forester insurance was active 1/20/19 and expired 1/20/20. Not sure what it up with that as the card they faxed to the dealer had different dates. I’ll have to call them in the morning and find out what is going on.

Called the plumber this morning before we left. He was going to send his son out this afternoon to fix the refrigerator line. Haven’t heard if he made it or not.

Got the wedding invitations. I’m not sure I like them as they are a bit hard to read but they will work. Jim is working on the invitation list so will need to get those out the first of next week. The reception invitations will be in later this week so will get those out next week too. I have been working on that guest list and need to start pulling some addresses so they will be ready to address.

My new shoes came in and fit. I put them on when I got here but haven’t walked much in them yet. They feel good so far. I can tell they have more support in them than my old pair. Trusting they will help my feet not hurt so much

I have a long list of things I want to take care of this week. We meet with the preacher again on Thursday afternoon. I have a list of things to ask her about the logistics of the church so I know what I need to come up with for the reception and what the church has on hand.

It was good to be home on the prairie for a five day weekend. Thinking time is really going to go fast this month with all the wedding planning and tax preparation shifts I will be working. Two months from tomorrow is the wedding and not much is ready.

Grateful for another safe trip from KS to OK, grateful for the time I had on the prairie, and grateful I no longer own a McDonald’s.

What a busy day!  Glad the house is quiet again and I can relax a bit before bed time.

Went into Emporia this morning.  First stop was Kari’s to try on dresses.  They only had two that I wanted to try on.  I got tickled at the lady that was helping me.  She asked me my size and I told her I had no idea.  She looked at me and guessed a size 12.  Since we are getting married in two months she said I would need to get a dress from stock as they didn’t have time to order one.

I tried on a size 12 dress and it was way too big.  I’m not sure they could have altered it enough to fit.  I didn’t like the dress anyways after I put it on.  The second dress was a size 6 and it fit but it wasn’t what I was looking for.  They didn’t have anything else I liked.

While we were there Jim tried on wedding rings and got sized and asked some questions so he would know what he was looking for.  He didn’t find anything there that he was interested in.

After the dress shop we stopped at Staples to drop off an empty ink cartridge to be returned.  Went to the bank and got some cash for my housesitter.  Stopped at Bluestem to get dog food and went to the Vet’s to get flea and tic medication and Heart Guard.  Our last stop was at the grocery store.

After we got home and had lunch we took a two mile walk.  It was 28 out today but with the wind chill it felt much colder.  It was good to get out and stretch my legs but it took me a while to thaw out when we got back to the house.

I went dress shopping on-line when we got back from our walk.  Found a new to me place and ordered two dresses.  They can be returned within 30 days of receipt and I will get all my money back so figured I can’t go wrong trying.  Trusting one or the other will work.  Neither one was very expensive.  If they don’t work I’ll have to go to KC or Oklahoma City and go shopping.

Jim got on-line too and found a wedding ring he liked and got that ordered.  He has been working on the guest list for the wedding.  I may have to order some more invitations so have been encouraging him to get the list completed so I have time to get more in if needed.

Tim Ellexia, Jason and Jason’s girlfriend and kids came out for dinner.  We had a nice evening.  I got rid of all the leftovers which was nice.  I fixed meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and beer bread muffins.  I had gotten a cheesecake at the grocery store and served it with fresh strawberries.  Everyone cleaned their plates so guess it was good.

Tomorrow I will go to the court house in the morning and get the tags for the new car.  I also have a load of recycling to dump.  We will leave for Stillwater sometime in the early afternoon.

Our next trip to KS will be mid February.  I made an appointment to pass off my tax planner to my accountant for that weekend.  Ellexia has a gymnastics meet then too so we will get to watch her perform.

It has been nice being on the prairie for a few days.  I’m sorry we have to go back to Stillwater tomorrow.  I would love to stay here for a bit but we have things on our schedule there we need to get back to.  I have a feeling time is going to go fast the next two months as we prepare for the wedding.  I will start doing taxes the first week in February so will be extra busy doing them.

Grateful I found a dress on-line I liked, grateful Jim got his wedding ring ordered, and grateful the kids came out for dinner tonight.

Today my buddy Tagen turns 14.  He has a very big heart and a gentle spirit.  He is several inches taller than I am now and still growing.  It is a delight to watch him turn into a man.

Baked a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for Jim this morning.  He should have enough to take home with us Tuesday to get him through until we come back to KS in four weeks.  I baked a double batch of no bake chocolate cookies to take in to Tagen.  They are his favorite cookies.

Jim worked on his slide project most of the afternoon.  He is organizing them before he starts the process of transferring them to a different media as a back-up.  This project has been a trip down memory lane for him.

I attempted to transfer photos from my old laptop to my new computer but didn’t have any luck.  When I am home next time I will schedule some time for my technical support person that does house calls to come out and do that for me.

Figured out the problem with the ice maker and water dispenser on the refrigerator is tied to the broken water softener.  When the plumber shut off the water softener water supply it turned off the water supply to the filtration system which is where the refrigerator line gets its water.  I sent a text to the plumber to see if he needs to run a new line and hook the refrigerator line into the main water supply.  I’ll see what he has to say tomorrow.

We ran into Emporia this afternoon to deliver Tagen his cookies.  Unfortunately Tagen was at his dad’s house so he won’t get the cooking until he comes back to his mother’s house on Wednesday.  I was sorry not to see him on his birthday.  Ellexia was fun to visit with for a bit.  I had given her a cookbook for Christmas and she and her dad had made pancakes and chocolate chip cookies using recipes out of that book today.

Tomorrow I have an appointment at the local bridal shop to try on dresses.  Not sure they will have what I am looking for but worth a shot to try.  While I am in town I need to get some more dog food – that is the only critter feed I need.  I also need to get some cash from an ATM to pay the house sitter and stop by the Vet office and get some flea and tic medication for the dogs and cats.

Tuesday I will get my new car tags and dump recycling before we head south.  This visit home has been too short.  It has felt good to be on the prairie and where it is quiet.  I enjoyed the moon last night and the sunsets I have seen.

We plan on coming back to KS on February 13 and staying until Monday, February 17.  Ellexia has a gymnastic meet that Saturday and I would love to watch her at least once this season.  Monday the 17th is a holiday so we won’t be doing taxes.  I may try to schedule an appointment with my accountant on the 14th so I can get those handed off.  I will need to come back March 5 as I have a dental appointment that afternoon.

The wedding is only a little over two months away.  Starting to feel a bit of pressure to get some things taken care of.  The invitations should be in OK when we get back.  I want to spend the next two weeks getting as many details taken care of as I can before I start doing taxes February 3.  Time has a way of getting away from me.  If I can find a dress tomorrow I will feel a bit better.

I have been able to stay on my eating plan the last two days.  I sure feel better when I do that.  Seems to be easier to do here than in OK – not sure why as I do the cooking both places.  Haven’t been tempted to snack like I am in OK.  Maybe because I can find more things to do here and I am not used to snacking in this house.  Sure would like to take off the 15 pounds I have gained the last six months.

Grateful for a quiet day on the prairie, grateful for my grandchildren and the wonderful humans they are becoming, and grateful cookies were successfully made today.

I had a rough night last night.  Woke up in the middle of the night crying.  Not sure if it was from a dream or what.  I had been close to tears for several days.  I allowed myself to cry it out.  Felt much better this morning.

Went to KC today to help Nicole pick out a wedding dress.  She is going to make a beautiful bride.  She had invited her mother-in-law-to-be to come join us.  It was a fun morning with those two.  Geoff joined us for lunch and than we toured the wedding venue.  I am so excited about their wedding.  They are really doing a nice job planning and have lots of special details planned.

Stopped by Lowe’s on the way home to get a new water filter for my refrigerator.  When I tried to fill my water mug with water this morning the water was running very slowly.  Put in the new filter when I got home and am not getting any water out of it now.  Took out the filter and still don’t get water.  Now I have to decide if I want to call someone out to look at it.  It may wait until April when I will be home for a longer amount of time.  The refrigerator is only a little over a year old.  Ugh!

When I got home from KC Jim and I took a two mile walk.  After sitting most of the day it felt good to move my body.  It was cold but the wind had slowed down and it was bearable.  Came in after our walk and fixed dinner.

Before I left for KC this morning I played with the new computer.  Figured out a few things but still have more to figure out.  I was playing with it tonight and it needed to restart in order to update the updates.  I am on a 24 minute remaining delay as it updates.

Anyone really good with Apple computers?  I need some help learning how to do some things.  Jim knows what he knows with his but I want to do some things he doesn’t know how to do.

Jim played with his slide project today.  He got lots of boxes sorted  and dated which is his first step in getting them transferred to the computer.  I’m not sure he is going to dispose of the slides once he gets them transferred but not sure I understand his master plan.  Guess I don’t have to.  He has been taking many trips down memory lane as he reviews the slides.  Fun for him to do!

Monday I am going into Kari’s to try on some dresses.  Not sure they will have anything I want but decided to see what they have.  I looked briefly at David’s Bridal today but didn’t see anything even close to what I think I want.

The papers for my new car came in so will go to the court house in Cottonwood Falls on Tuesday to get my car tags taken care of.  Trusting they will take the temporary insurance card as I haven’t received the insurance bill and the annual insurance card yet.

We have a down day tomorrow with nothing on our calendar.  It is Tagen’s birthday so hoping we will get to see him.  Can’t believe my little buddy that is taller than I am is turning 14 tomorrow.  How can that be?

We return to Oklahoma Tuesday afternoon.  The drive back and forth is getting a bit old for me but have lots more trips in my future.  It is only a three-hour drive and the scenery is beautiful so it really isn’t too bad.  Just a bit unsettling to me to split my life into two different states and places.

Grateful for a fun day with Nicole in KC today, grateful for tears that release what ever it was I was holding on to and no longer needed, and grateful for a nice walk this evening.

I am home on the prairie.  The roads were nice and clear all the way.  We did run into some light rain but none of that freezing stuff.  Grateful to be home.

It was a bit of a frustrating ride to KS though.  Jim drove my new car and he is having a pretty steep learning curve with it.  It has more beeps than his car does and I can’t figure out how to turn them off for him.  It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks sometimes!

When we got here we unloaded the car.  Jim brought lots of slides to work on.  Not sure I understand what he is doing with them – something about putting them into order and eventually he wants to put them on the new computer.

I set up the new computer but I was on my last nerve and it didn’t go well.  I have an apple iPhone and iPad but haven’t used an apple computer for a long time.  I finally had to walk away and I will try tomorrow when I am better rested and not so worn down.

We went to Ad Astra for dinner.  Service was a bit slow but the food was good.

Tomorrow I have to leave around 8:30 to go to KC to meet Nicole.  Trusting the roads will be clear and easy going.  It will be a fun day although a long one.

I am beyond frustrated tonight.   Think I will call it a night and go to bed and wake up in a better mood tomorrow.

Grateful for a safe journey home, grateful I didn’t snap completely today, and grateful tomorrow is a new day!

It has been a quiet day at home.  After the three days of training I needed a quiet day to recharge myself.

Jim had a physical this afternoon so he was gone for about two hours.  This evening he had a political event the Friends of the Library sponsored.  As he is on the board he needed to attend.  I stayed home as I have no interest in local Oklahoma politics.

I was bored a bit while he was gone earlier today so got out my tax books.  There is an optional certificate I can get if I pass another test.  It deals with the clients that have a Health Savings Account.  You get two chances to take the test and didn’t think I had anything to lose to try it.  I passed with 100% on the first try!  I sent an email to the guy that tracks all that to let him know I have my certificate now.

We are going to KS tomorrow afternoon.  The forecast is calling for rain, sleet and snow until noon so will probably take our time getting ready to leave.  I would like to get home before dark though as the roads will probably start to refreeze after dark.

Last night I ordered the invitations for the reception we are going to have in Strong City the weekend after we get married.  I used the same invitations I am using for the wedding and just changed the wording.  Now that it is on the calendar it is starting to feel real and I am thinking about all the things I need to do to pull it off.  We decided to do an afternoon reception instead of an evening one.  It feels more informal which suits both of us better.  The reception in Strong City will be at our house there.  I haven’t decided what else besides cake we will be serving.

My Ktag came in today for my new car.  The KTA keeps asking for my tag number which I don’t have yet.  I haven’t gotten the papers from the dealer yet and don’t know if I can get the tags without it.  I will go into the Court House Monday and see.

When we get back from KS next week I will have two full weeks free before tax season starts.  I hope to get most of the wedding plans settled before I start doing taxes three or four days a week.  It really shouldn’t take too long as we are going to try to keep it as simple as possible.  I sure would feel better if I can find a dress I like. Not sure what I am looking for so it may be a challenge.

So looking forward to getting back on the prairie for several days and nights.  I have missed it greatly.

Grateful for a quiet day at home today, grateful I passed the test I took today, and grateful I am going to the prairie tomorrow.   

Happy birthday to my brother Chad.  He turns Medicare eligible today.  It’s like getting a nice pay raise.

Tax school is finished!  Class ran about thirty minutes longer than it was supposed to today.  I was ever so grateful to walk out of the library today knowing those long three days were behind me.  I do have to go back for one more session next week.  We will be using Chrome books this year to do the taxes on and there is a learning curve with them.  Not sure why they didn’t have us use them during class so we could get used to them but they didn’t think of that.  They are going to dig them out for a couple hours next week and let us play on them so we won’t look completely stupid in front of our clients when we start doing taxes in February.

I was sleeping really good this morning when the alarm went off.  I had slept for a couple of hours and than woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep until around 5:00.  I am grateful I got a bit more sleep before I had to get up.

I did get some lists made during class and feel a bit better organized.  I have a list of about ten things that are pending meaning I am waiting on someone else to do something so I can finish what I am trying to get done.  It helps me to keep a running list so I don’t forget to get something taken care of.

I need to think about packing some clothes for our short trip to KS Friday.  I brought most of my clothes to OK with me a month ago so will have to pack some to take to use while I am in KS this weekend.  It will be good to be back on the prairie for a couple of days.

Saw the winter weather warning forecast for KS for Friday.  Trusting we will be able to make it to Strong City safely.  May need to adjust a bit for the winter storm that may be coming through.  It has been so mild in OK that I forget it is still winter time.

When I get back to OK next week I will need to start making some wedding plans.  I have a list of things that I will need to pull together.  We are going to keep it as simple as possible but there are things I need to get ordered and arranged for.  I want to take advantage of all five kids being in the same place at the same time and get some good family photos taken.  One hard thing about having the wedding in OK instead of KS is my normal vendors are not available.

We meet with the preacher again next week and I have a list of logistics about the church to ask her.  I’m not sure what equipment and supplies the church has available and what I will need to bring in.  We are having a simple reception at the church following the ceremony and will serve cake and punch.

Grateful tax school is done, grateful for to do lists that keep me organized, and grateful for my brother Chad.

Two days of tax school down.  One day to go.  It was a long day today.  We didn’t get out until 4:30 this afternoon and we started at 9:00.  We only got a 45 minute lunch break.  This afternoon a lady from the Oklahoma State Tax Department came to teach us how to do the state returns.  She covered lots of topics that we won’t see but were of interest to some of the guys in the group.  The one thing I needed to learn which is a rebate of $40 per tax payer under a certain income she didn’t cover!  Ugh…….Most of the clients that will come in will qualify for that rebate and in fact that is why they come in.  I’ll have to ask someone tomorrow to show me how to do that form.

This morning I was able to track with the instructor most of the morning.  He forgets we don’t all know what he was talking about and did a poor job of showing us what he was talking about.  It feels like I was in a foreign language class and not understanding most of it.  Again he taught us a bunch of things that he said we probably won’t see.  Why do they do that?

After class I went to Best Buy.  I wanted to get a new computer.  I decided to get a desktop one instead of a laptop.  I take my iPad with me when I travel and can’t see me taking a laptop in addition to the iPad.  The new desktop will allow Jim to load all his photos and negatives using PhotoShop in it and have plenty of storage room.  We can share the desktop and it will get much more use than if I got a laptop.

The guy that helped me was very good.  He didn’t try to over sell me and offered good advice without pushing it.  He looked like he was 12 years old but am guessing he is a college student.  I opened a credit card so I could get a 10% discount on the computer.  I got an Apple as that is what Jim has used for years.  I will have a bit of a learning curve with it but I don’t use a desktop much anyways.  I’ll be excited to get home later this week and get it set up and running.

Jim and I took a one mile walk when I finally got home this evening.  We stopped and watched the sunset half way through our walk.  After sitting all day it felt good to get out and walk.

I ordered wedding invitations last night.  Seems like a big step to me somehow.  We don’t expect any friends or family from KS to come to the wedding except for my kids and will host a reception in Strong City the weekend after our marriage in Stillwater.  We set the date for the wedding for March 22, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.  Something very synchronized about all the 2’s in the date and time!  We will have a reception in Strong City on the 28th in the afternoon.

One of these days soon I need to start shopping for a dress to wear.  I don’t want a traditional wedding dress but want something soft – probably knee length.  Anyone have any good ideas where to go look?  I prefer either short or long sleeves and I don’t want a low neck line.  Flowing skirt works best for me.  I so rarely wear a dress I don’t know where to go to look for one.  HELP!

Tomorrow I have my last day of tax school thank heavens.  Not sure I can handle much more.  I did my homework and worked two problems this evening that we will be going over tomorrow in class.  I still need to continue to work problems in the sample workbook but am finally starting to feel comfortable with them.

I did a problem in class today and didn’t get the results I expected to.  I asked one of the experienced guys to check my work.  He couldn’t find anything I did wrong so he had me delete the form we were focusing on and re-enter it.  This time it showed up properly even though I re-entered it the same way it had been.  When the program hiccups like that it doesn’t make it easy for me.

Thursday Jim has a doctor’s appointment and Friday we are driving to Strong City.  Saturday I am meeting Nicole In KC at 10:30 to do some of her wedding stuff.  Jim and I will return to OK on Tuesday.  It will be nice to spend a few days on the prairie.

So far this trip home I don’t have too long of list of things I want to do.  I will need to restock critter feed and go to the vet and get the dogs and cats their flea and tic medication.  I hope to get to see the grandkids while I am home again too.  They have busy schedules so will see if we can make that happen.

I’m tired tonight.  I woke up around 3:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Finally took another bath around 4:30 and got a bit of a second sleep from 5:15 – 6:30.  I’m ready for a goodnight’s sleep.  Maybe tonight is the night.

Grateful tax school day two is over, grateful I got to see a beautiful sunset tonight, and grateful tomorrow is the last day of tax school.

 

 

Went to tax school today. It was a long six hour class. We did get a one hour lunch break.

I have trouble understanding why the first problem we would work in class is one the instructor said we would never see doing taxes. Why wouldn’t we start with a return that 90% of the returns we do would be like?

When class was over I chatted with one of the first time ladies. She wasn’t going to come back tomorrow as she was so frustrated. I visited with her for about 15 minutes and talked her down. It will be interesting to see if she shows up tomorrow or not.

The test we have to take is so ridiculous. It deals with cases we just won’t see. I guess it is fun for those that have done lots of taxes for lots of years but for the newbies it is overwhelming.

Two more days of class! I think I can! I think I can!

The fun part was getting to know some of the people in the class. The guy I sat next to was fun. We helped each other with the problem we were assigned to do. He only does taxes once a week for a couple of hours so hadn’t done lots last year.

Several of the people in the class know Jim and came up to me to introduce themselves to me and tell me why they know Jim. That was fun to meet them.

The weather did not behave as forecast for the day. It barely reached 50 today and has been spitting some moisture. Had a minute or two of light hail this afternoon. The forecast is still showing tomorrow will reach the low 60’s but not sure I believe it.

We put the old cat in the big dog crate last night. She has forgotten how to use the litter box and Jim was getting tired of cleaning up after her. The crate is big enough to hold a litter box, her food and water and a lamp for her to sleep under on a big blanket. It was nice to go in the kitchen this morning and not be afraid of stepping in cat pee. She didn’t seem to protest being in the crate.

Going to try to use the air fryer for dinner tonight. I haven’t tried using one yet. I’ll see if I like it. I looked up some recipes and am surprised at the time it takes to make things in it. Trusting the taste will be so good the extra time is worth it.

I have tax school again tomorrow all day. I have some homework to do tonight but needed to clear my head before I attempted it. Not sure the teacher today taught me what I needed to know to do them although he felt he did. I learn best by doing, not by listening.

Jim is outside working in his shop. I need to get dinner started soon.

Grateful day one of three tax school days are done, grateful for the fun people I met today at tax school, and grateful Katy seems content in her new small home.

Went to church this morning.  They held worship in the Fellowship Hall for some reason.  It felt much more informal.  Today they served communion and celebrated baptism vows.  It was a nice service.

Jim sends out a holiday letter each year and got them out last week.  In his letter this year he mentioned our engagement and upcoming wedding.  We got lots of congratulations today before and after worship.

Two of the choir members have been to Disney World several times.  Jim mentioned I am taking Ellexia this summer so both of them were giving me hints as to where to stay, etc.  I looked up prices today.  Ouch!  It is expensive to stay at a Disney property and the tickets alone are astonishingly expensive.  How do big families afford to go?

We took a one-mile walk this afternoon.  It was a bit windy and cool but not bad.  I had taken my sweater off before I put my coat on and I am glad I did as I would have been too hot with a sweater and my coat.  All of the snow we got yesterday has already melted.  It is to be in the low 60’s for the next two days.

Ellexia text me the football game score as the game was played today.  She had almost given up on the Chiefs before they got their act together and came back big and won.

Tomorrow starts my tax class.  It is from 9:00 – 3:00.  I have been told we break for lunch but in the letter I got that isn’t mentioned.  I’ll play it by ear and go with the flow.  We are to take laptop computers with us but I didn’t bring mine from KS.  There are a few in the library so hopefully I can get on one of those and follow along with the teacher.  Sure trusting they will walk us through some returns.

Looked up OK marriage license requirements.  Found out they cost $50 but if you attend a premarital counseling for at least four hours they only charge $5 for the license.  We have counseling with Jim’s preacher scheduled so maybe that will count.  They don’t require a blood test or a waiting period but the license is only good for 10 days and we both have to be present to sign for it.

Once we get the date officially firmed up I want to find a photographer as I want some family pictures.  Jim’s choir members all want to come to the wedding so guess we will have a little bigger ceremony than I had planned on.  I’ll also need to line up a cake, punch, etc for a small reception afterwards.  I am going to plan a bigger reception in Strong City sometime this spring for my friends back in KS.  I can’t ask them to drive three hours to come to the wedding.

My cranky mood was gone this morning.  I am grateful.  I hadn’t felt that blue and down for a long time.  Little things bugged me all day and I was tempted to over react to those little things.  Grateful I was able to stop myself and go quiet instead.  I need to do some journaling and see if I can figure out what set me off besides the full moon.  Maybe I don’t need a story and can accept that something old and dark moved through me.  All is well today!

Grateful for all the well wishes we received today, grateful for Ellexia’s Chiefs updates, and grateful my cranky mood is gone.

This has been a cranky day for me. Not sure why I have been cranky all day but I have been. Maybe it was the effect of the full moon yesterday. Little things bothered me all day long. I am glad this day is about over.

Didn’t get much done today. Did some practice tax returns but didn’t do them correctly as my answers were different than the correct answers. I have class next week and am hopeful they will cover the practice returns and teach me what I did wrong. Most of the problems are returns that I won’t see doing the real thing.

We were invited to the home of a long time friend of Jim’s for dinner. I had a nice time. The couple both teach English at OSU and have traveled the world and were interesting people to talk to. She fixed white chicken chili for dinner. I took strawberry cheesecake for dessert. It’s nice to meet new people in town.

Tomorrow morning we will go to church in the morning. Not sure what we will do in the afternoon. Hopefully it is to be warmer and we can get out and walk again. Jim tried to get me out today but it was too cold. We got about an inch of snow overnight. It did warm up to the upper 30’s today but that is too cold for me.

Monday my tax classes start. They run all day Monday through Wednesday. Trusting they will be productive. I’m glad I got the tests done so I won’t have to worry about passing them. I do need to continue to work problems and learn what I have been doing wrong.

Most of the tax volunteers are male in Stillwater. I don’t remember having any male volunteers in Emporia. Not sure why the difference here. Trusting they will be as fun to work with as the women were in Emporia.

Grateful this day is almost over, grateful to have had a nice dinner with two new friends, and grateful tomorrow is a new day and my crankiness will be a thing of the past.

Took a 3.2 mile walk around Boomer Lake this morning while it was still warm out. It sprinkled a bit on us but not enough to get us wet.  Had to take my sweater off as it was in the mid 60’s.

Stopped at a diner downtown Stillwater for lunch and than came home.  As soon as we got home I went to the library to meet with the tax coordinator.  She gave me the answers to the two remaining tests I have to take.  As part of the test you have to complete a return and than write down the answers.  While I was entering my return the power to the library went off.  It flickered back on twice but than stayed off.

Came home and Jim had power here.  Took my tests and got that done.  Now I can study the information without the stress of the test.

We have been invited to a friend of Jim’s house for dinner tomorrow night.  The hostess asked me to bring dessert so we ran to the grocery store to get supplies.  The temperature has dropped to the high 30’s and there is a cold rain coming down.  Glad we got our walk in this morning when it was fairly warm.

The PA had told me I couldn’t hurt my foot so took her at her word and went ahead and walked over three miles on it.  They didn’t hurt anymore afterwards than they did when I started.  I haven’t checked to see if they are swollen or not.

Got my tax prep worksheets done for my own taxes.  I’ll have to go home sometime in February after I get all my forms in the mail and pass them off to my accountant.  Feels good to have them done.

I ordered a new pair of tennis shoes today.  I have been wearing the pair I have on now for over a year.  The foot doctor had recommended them and said I would do better not wearing any other type of shoe. They are starting to wear out as I have worn them everyday for over a year.  Hoping the new ones will help my feet feel better.  I ordered the same type that I have been wearing as they fit nicely.

Haven’t done much else today.  We worked long and hard yesterday but not so much today.  Does feel good to have my tax tests done with a passing grade.

We are to get some ice and snow this evening and into tomorrow.  Sounds like the prairie got lots of ice already and more winter stuff is headed their way.  We have had a very mild winter.  Guess we are overdue for a touch of winter weather.  It is to warm back up next week.

Turns out the tax coordinator is a good friend of Jim’s.  They have served on the friends of the library board together for several years.  It is a small world after all!

Grateful my tax tests are completed, grateful I can stay in the rest of the night, and grateful I was able to walk over three miles today.

Had a rough night of sleep last night.  Slept hard for two or three hours and that was it.  Woke up around 4:00 with a bite of some sort on my arm.  It caused a quarter sized welt and itched like crazy.  Got up and put some lavender oil on it as that was the only oil I have with me in Stillwater.  Calmed it down some but than I couldn’t go back to sleep.  Finally got up at 5:30 and took a hot bath.  My bite felt better but I didn’t get any more sleep.

I stayed up and worked on my taxes.  Got the rental properties information entered into my tax worksheets.  Still need to do the Airbnb information.

At 9:00 I was at the library for my first tax preparation class.  The guy teaching it didn’t know I was coming.  It was a helpful class and one that I would have really appreciated if this was my first year.  In addition to the six new people there were six experienced people there so each of us had a tutor to help us through as needed.  We only worked one tax problem but it was more than we had done my first year.

I thought the guy that taught the class could have done things a bit differently to help teach the class better but with the tutors there I think everyone got through it.  One return almost wasn’t enough practice though but it was better than nothing.

Found out that if I turn the answer key into him instead of entering the information myself I will get help on the answers I miss before the test gets graded.  In Emporia they taught to the test.  Here they don’t do that.  I will see what is covered in the classes next week and decide how to proceed.  You get two chances to take it so I may give it a go by myself and than get help if needed for the second test.

The guy also offered to hold another test prep class if we decided we wanted it.  I’ll see if they offer that.  My problem with the test is it asks questions that we don’t have to really know the answer to as the computer figures it for us. It does give me experience using the tax manual to look things up but I struggle with why I need to know the information and it is hard to give it much of my energy.

I have several more returns to practice on from a book they gave me.  They are going to send us the correct return information so we will know if we are doing them correctly.  That will be very helpful to me.  I never did find out last year if I was doing them right or not.

The first couple of days they have a tutor sitting besides the new people to help them through the process.  That will be nice too!

Several people came up to me afterwards and introduced themselves to me.  They go to Jim’s church and recognized me from attending the church with Jim.  That was sweet of them.  I don’t remember names unless I see them written down so couldn’t tell Jim who they were.  I looked one person up in his church directory that has pictures of the members of the church.  The directory is several years old but I recognized the lady that introduced herself to me.  Couldn’t find a picture of the man.

The people that I met today look like interesting people.  Lots of men volunteer.  Most are retired professors from OSU.  It will be nice to get to know some locals.

We worked outside cleaning out the garage.  We threw stuff away, tore down and recycled old shelving units, and cleared most of the stuff off the back porch and got it in the garage.  Jim still has a bunch of sorting to do and a bunch more stuff to throw out but at least it is out of the way now.

I came in at 2:30 and laid down for a minute.  Had a headache again and wanted to see if I could get rid of it.  Fell asleep and slept until 6:15!  When I woke up my headache was gone.  Jim kept working while I slept.  He put in a long day of work outside today.  I wish I could help more but I have no idea what can be thrown away and what he wants to keep.

Fixed an instant pot recipe of chicken pot pie that is cooking now.  Trusting that it will be a good dinner.  It doesn’t have flour or sugar in it and has lots of vegetables.  I have been slacking eating my vegetables.  I sneak them in dinners like this.

Tomorrow I am going back up to the library to do some more tax returns for practice.  The lady that runs the site said she would be there and we were welcome to come in and practice.  They are hard for me to do on my iPad and I didn’t bring my laptop with me.

Grateful for a long nap that compensated for little sleep last night, grateful for my first tax class and the nice people I met today, and grateful for the wonderful smells coming out of the kitchen right now.

 

 

 

Got a good report from the PA at the surgeon’s office today.  I have officially been dismissed but am to return if my feet get worse or if the healing doesn’t continue.  I told her today I still don’t trust my feet to get me where I want to go pain free.  She reminded me it will take up to one year for them to completely heal and feel normal again,  I am five months out with my left foot and only two months on my right.  The swelling is finally going down on the right foot although the PA noted some swelling today.

She told me to keep pushing my feet to their limits and even though they may act up and set me back I can’t hurt them.  She said it was all part of the healing process and it will get better slowly.

I enjoyed driving my car to OK today.  It is so much more comfortable riding in then the Prius ever was.  Still not understanding why the lane centering device turns itself off for brief times and why the blind spot detecting system works inconsistently.  I need to call the dealer tomorrow and ask.

I was going to go dress shopping in Wichita after my doctor’s appointment but after I stopped for lunch I wasn’t in the mood to go shopping.  I will confess I am rarely in the mood to go shopping.  Just couldn’t make myself do it today.

I got back to OK around 4:00.  Helped Jim build some shelving in the garage.  It was a nice day today although it was a bit windy.  Felt good to be outside for a while this afternoon.

Tomorrow I have my first tax preparation class.  It will be good to get this process started and to get to meet the people that I will be working with.  I think the training is only in the morning but am not sure.  I never got the email with the details.  I haven’t gotten the details of the training next week either so am assuming I will find out more about that training tomorrow.

I brought my own income tax worksheets back to OK with me along with the backup information so I can get my taxes ready to take to my accountant.  I want to get them done before I go back to KS on the 18th so I will know what other information I need to track down while there to complete the forms.

I’m still not getting mail on a regular bases here.  I got the renewal policies for my homeowners insurance which told me the invoice would arrive under separate cover.  I haven’t gotten the invoice yet.  If I don’t get it by Monday I will have to call my agent and see if I can pay her over the phone and give her my banking numbers.

Feeling a bit more grounded today than I had been.  Going back to the prairie always fills my soul.  I look forward to getting back in ten days and staying for a couple of days.

Grateful for a safe trip to the prairie and back to OK, grateful for feet that are slowly healing, and grateful to be back with Jim.

 

I am back home on the prairie. Only going to be here for one night but it is good to be home again. I forget each time how much I enjoy the open space and big sky.

Jim sorted through his dark room supplies this morning and threw some old supplies away, recycled some and boxed the rest up for me to bring to KS.

I left Oklahoma around 12:30 and headed north. It was fun to drive my new car on the highway. I am learning how to manage all the beeps and buttons. Had to get the manual out before I left Jim’s house to learn how to get the gas tank lid open as I knew I needed to stop to get gas. You use the key fob to do so. Who knew?

Stopped at the bank in Cottonwood Falls to get some cash before I came home. I drove the car around back and unloaded the car that was full of Jim’s dark room stuff. Checked all the critter feed supply and was pleased to discover nothing was needed. Gathered up some things I want to take to Oklahoma with me tomorrow and put them in the car. Went through the mail and opened several Christmas cards and bills.

Went into town to pick up a prescription at Walmart. My thyroid medication at Walmart is only $10 for a 90 day supply. It is cheaper there than using my regular pharmacy and insurance. Doesn’t make sense to me but I’ll take the $10 price for 90 days any day. The line was about 12 deep when I got there. I was glad I had allowed extra time. My blood pressure medication is more expensive at Walmart than through my regular pharmacy and using my insurance. Thinking our pharmaceutical system is very broken!

I met Tim, Ellexia and Jason for dinner. Jason brought his girlfriend and her two side kicks. I’m glad I got a chance to meet her. We had a nice dinner at Bruff’s. It’s always a good day when I get to see my kids. Michelle has to work tonight and was home sleeping. She has had to work five 12 hour shift days in a row. Wow! Don’t think I would survive that.

Almost have my list of things I need to do while I am home completed. After I finish writing I will bake some cookies. My kitchen is much easier to do that in than Jim’s.

The house is quiet tonight. I tried to watch the news but had to turn it off. My soul is craving quiet tonight. The news wears me out after a bit.

Have felt off-centered and a bit cranky the last two days. Forgot the full moon is Friday and am thinking that might be pulling me off. Jim was probably glad I needed to go north for 24 hours. I’ve had a headache the last 24 hours that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Not sure what that is about. Trusting it will be gone when I get up in the morning.

I need to be in Wichita at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon for my doctor’s appointment. I will leave around 11:20 or so. I hope I can sleep in a bit but we shall see. I’ll stop for lunch in Wichita before I head south for Stillwater. I’m coming back to Strong City in ten days and will be here for four or five days and than head back to Stillwater. I think Jim is going to try to come with me next time if the cat is better. I am taking my huge dog crate down tomorrow and if she is still peeing on the floor we are going to crate her with a litter box in the crate until she remembers what the litter box is for. We aren’t sure if she is upset because Jim has left her home alone so much or if it was the UTI she had or if she is just getting old and senile. Whatever it is it needs to stop.

Thursday morning I have my first tax preparation tax class. The weekend is free and am hoping we get some work done. We have been slacking too much lately and not making much progress. Beginning to understand we won’t get the house ready to rent by April. So many projects are left to do and it seems it is hard to stay focused and get them completed. We fight a lot of fires at that house and jump around on projects.

My heart is heavy and sad thinking about the world situation tonight. I will never understand the need for war and do not believe it ever solves a problem. I can’t wait until there are more women in power than men. There is a better way forward but we have to do things differently than we have always done them.

Grateful for a safe trip home to KS today, grateful for a family dinner tonight, and grateful to be back on the prairie tonight.

This has been an interesting day.  It started off a bit slow and lazy.  We finally got outside and worked on doing some shelving work in the garage.  We didn’t get too far but got it started.

At 2:00 we met with the preacher that will be marrying us.  We may try for a March wedding.  Trying to coordinate the five kids schedules and the preacher, the church and our schedules is a challenge.  Who knew the date would be the hard part?

Jim needs to confirm with his sons if the day we have in mind will work.  I text my kids and they are all going to see if they can make it work.  Flexibility is a key part of all of this.  We want to do a family dinner the night before and have an early afternoon wedding the next day.  All five kids will have to come from out of town to be here.  I appreciate their accommodating us.

The preacher is going to have us do a series called Prepare and Enrich.  It is some sort of personal assessment we each do and find where potential strengths and weaknesses of our relationship might be.  We will discuss the results with the preacher in a series of meetings with her.  We meet with her again in two weeks to get those sessions started.

We have been outside since we have been home from the meeting with the preacher.  Jim is working on shelves and I have been scrapping windows.  He had to go get some brackets and hit my new car and locked the two cars together.  Luckily there is a rubber protector where he hit my car and no harm was done.  He feels really bad!

I fixed chili in the crock pot this morning so when Jim comes back from the hardware store we can have dinner whenever he gets hungry.  The house sure smells good.

Tomorrow early afternoon I am headed for Strong City.  I’m meeting Tim, Ellexia and Jason for dinner tomorrow night.  I have two prescriptions to pick up, I need to go to the bank, and restock critter feed while I am in town before dinner.  My surgeon’s appointment is at 1:00 Wednesday afternoon in Wichita and I will return to Stillwater after that.

I’ll be back in KS the 17th as I am going to KC on the 18th to do something with Nicole.  Not sure how long I will stay that time or if Jim is coming with me.  It will depend on how the cat is doing.  The cat didn’t pee on the floor today so progress is being made.  We’ll see if she can keep that up.

Thursday morning I have my first tax preparation class.  I am excited to get to meet some more people from Stillwater and find out how they do their program.  Trusting I will remember how to do taxes.

Next week I have class from Monday to Wednesday.  Not sure if they are all day classes or only half days.  I haven’t gotten any information on the classes yet.  Not sure why communication seems to break down but it is broken.  Trusting things will sort themselves out soon and I will get in the loop as to what is going on.

I will have to get going if we are going to get married in March.  Still thinking we will  have a very small wedding and plan receptions on a different date afterwards.  That may change.  Jim has lots of friends here in Stillwater so he may end up inviting them to attend the ceremony.  He hasn’t decided what he wants to do yet.  I am a planner and he tends to be a procrastinator.  I understand being a procrastinator as I can also be one at times.  Have no idea what I want to wear to the wedding.  We really need to decide how big it is going to be as that will drive part of my decision what to wear.  I hate trying on dresses and have no idea where to go to find one.  I will not be wearing a traditional bridal dress.  Jim will not be wearing a tuxedo either.  We are way more casual than that.  I kidded him and said I might spring for a new pair of blue jeans.

I called and got car insurance for the new Forester lined up today.  Also chatted with the Sirius and got a year’s extension of the free service lined up.  They had a special deal that I get a free Amazon Echo and the Sirius service is only $5 a month for the first year.  Much cheaper than their normal pricing.  I have four free months until I have to start paying for it but the deal had a time limit and if I prepaid today they honored the deal.

Feeling a bit unsettled tonight.  I think the thought that I am getting married this year is finally soaking in.  Part of me is terrified I will screw this one up too and part of me is so very happy and confident it will work this time.

Grateful for a wonderful, compassionate preacher, grateful for five kids that are willing to drive or fly miles to be here to celebrate with us, and grateful there was no damage done to my car.

Went to church this morning.  There was only one service at 9:30.  The associate preacher had a good sermon today.

After church we went to Tulsa to the Gilcrease Museum to see a special Doretha Lange exhibit.  Today was the last day for it. She became famous for the pictures she took during the depression.  Some of them made me cry.  They were powerful!

Jim drove my new car to Tulsa.  I don’t think he likes it.  I had to turn off the change lane indicator and the power eyesight cruise control.  They kept singing to Jim and were driving him crazy.  He didn’t like all the bells and whistles.  He complained most of the way to Tulsa.  I spent the trip looking up how to turn things off for him.  At one point we thought we were getting a warning light about the power steering system but it wasn’t that.  I had to laugh at him.  I saw a side of him I have never seen before.  Change doesn’t come easy to him sometimes.

I drove home and the trip was much easier although he wanted me to drive in the left lane as it was smoother.  We missed the turn to Stillwater and had to go a different way home which pissed Jim off.  He was talking about the church and forgot to tell me to turn off.  We made it home even though we had to come a different way than he had planned.  Oh well!

We stopped at a place called The Tavern and had a hamburger for a late lunch.  It was a bit pricey but the burger was good.  A touch fancy for my simple taste but I was hungry and it hit the spot.  Not sure we will need dinner tonight as we didn’t have lunch until 3:00.

Tomorrow afternoon we meet with the preacher to see about her availability and the church’s availability.  We also have to meet with the preacher four times before she will agree to marry us.

Tuesday I am going to Strong City for the night and than coming back to Stillwater on Wednesday after my doctor’s appointment in Wichita Wednesday afternoon.  I’m meeting Tim, Ellexia and Jason for dinner Tuesday night.  It will be a quick trip home.

Thursday I have my first tax class.  Sure hoping the classes are productive and will make things easier this year.  I will have to learn the differences between KS and OK state returns.

I’m going back to Strong City the weekend of the 18th as I need to be in KC on the 18th to meet Nicole for an appointment.  Not sure if Jim will go with me that weekend or not.  It will probably depend on how the cat is doing.  She seems to have forgotten how to use the litter box consistently and he doesn’t want to make the house sitter clean up pee all day.

It was another beautiful day in Stillwater.  Mid 50’s and bright blue skies.  It has been a very mild winter so far.  I did see where Wichita got a bit of snow a day or two ago.   Thankful we missed it here.

Grateful for photography that tells stories that we can’t forget, grateful for a car manual that kinda tells us how to operate the car, and grateful for a safe trip to Tulsa today.

I was tired last night and went to bed around midnight.  As soon as I laid down I woke up and couldn’t sleep.  I finally got up around 4:00 and took another hot bath and took a NyQuill.  Between the two it knocked me out and I slept until noon.  Have felt a bit draggy all day though as I ended up with too much sleep.

We worked on cleaning out the garage today.  Jim found all sorts of treasures he had forgotten he had.  Threw away a trash can or two of stuff, loaded the Element with a load to take to the ReStore and have a big pile for recycling.  Still not done but progress was made.

I helped some but most of it Jim had to do as I would have thrown away too much stuff.  I cleaned out my Prius and than used a Scotch Brite pad to attempt to remove the bug splats.  I still need to take it to a car wash to finish the cleaning and to vacuum it good but it looks much better.  Found out I was missing my insurance card.  I had to provide one Thursday when I purchased my new car so the car insurance agency faxed the dealer a copy.  Glad that happened as I am now legal in that car again.

Worked on my tax prep stuff today a bit.  Got my test certificates printed using Jim’s computer.  For some reason they wouldn’t print from my iPad.  I still need to do some more practice exercises but got a start of them today.  Not sure what the training will cover so not sure how much to do in advance.

Had lunch around 4:30 so am not hungry for dinner.  I’ll probably get hungry in another hour or so and it will be too late for me to eat tonight.  I have some celery and peanut butter I can eat if I need something small later.  Had some hamburger thawing but will save it for tomorrow.  We had one of the containers of left over White Chicken Chili for lunch.  It was really good – I think that is one of those things that the left overs taste even better than the first serving does.

Finally got a piece of mail that was forwarded today.  Maybe that is the only mail I had that needed to get here.  I’ll see when I get home what is there.  Hope I don’t miss any bills and get a late fee.  Seems to take a long time to get things from KS to OK.  I noticed on the confirmation notice I received that the Post Office thinks this is a permanent move and not a temporary move.  I am rather certain I checked the temporary move box and entered the dates.  I’ll have to go through this process again when we go back to KS full-time in April.

Tomorrow we will go to church in the morning and than finish cleaning the garage.  We need to get the stuff off the back porch and into the garage.  Than Jim needs to empty the back room of dark room stuff.  Some of it will go into my car and I will take it to KS when I go Tuesday.  He has a hard time parting with stuff.  He is also much more responsible about finding the appropriate place to send things off to.  He doesn’t like to put things in the trash and some things are hard to recycle so he hangs on to them.

Monday we have a meeting with the preacher to check on availability for a wedding date and to start the counseling process she requires before she marries someone.  I think she requires at least four sessions.  She is fun to visit with so am looking forward to conversing with her.

Tuesday I am driving to KS and spending one night in Strong City.  I have a doctor’s appointment in Wichita at 1:00 on Wednesday and than will return to Stillwater.  I have several errands to do while I am in KS.  Jim is staying in OK to care for Katy, his sick cat.  I look forward to driving my new Forester.  I ordered a new KTAG sticker for it.  Need to remember to stop and get a manual ticket on the turnpike.

Grateful for sleep at last, grateful the garage clean out project has started, and grateful my Prius is cleaner than it was.

This day went by fast.  Not sure why but before I knew it the sun was setting.

Met with the lady in charge of the local tax preparation program today.  She answered a lot of my questions about how they run their program and what her expectations of me will be.  They do things a bit differently than Emporia does.  They don’t make appointments so everyone is a walk-in.  They run the program mornings and afternoons on Mondays and Wednesday and afternoons on Tuesday.  They also do one Saturday morning a month.

They take however many of us volunteers that are available to work each shift.  They prefer we each work at least two shifts a week but several work all five.  It is no big deal if I need to be gone.  They also review each other’s returns instead of having a person that only does the reviews.

Found out their training is different also.  I need to take the ethics tests on my own as they don’t cover that material in class.  Came home after I met with her and took both of the ethics tests.  I got 100% on each of them so that is good.  I am still a bit confused about the other tests I have to take.  I’ll see how comfortable I am with the material and may go ahead and attempt to take them before our training.  You only need 80% to pass and you get two chances.

Thursday next week is a class for the first timers.  I am going to go to that even though I am doing them for the second year.  I need to get a password, etc. as I am not fully in the Oklahoma data base.  It will also give me a chance to meet some of the people I will be working with and get comfortable with them.  The following week is the three days of training that I will need to attend.  Their is someone coming from the state of Oklahoma to teach us how to do the state tax return.  That will be different for me this year.

After I was done with that meeting I stopped by the grocery store and got things to make White Chicken Chili for dinner.  I used the rest of the roasted chicken I had gotten at Costco yesterday.  We ate part of it last night so it gave us several meals.  What a deal – they are only $4.99.  The White Chicken Chili turned out really good.  Had enough left over to freeze one container for a meal in the future and still have one container for lunch tomorrow.

Finished making the jig saw puzzle I had been working on.  There were two missing pieces when I was done but finally found them this evening..

Need to spend some time reading the manual to my new car.  It has some buttons that I don’t know what they are.  Luckily a Subaru and a Toyota almost run the same so the lights, wipers, etc. are in the place I expect them to be.  The learning curve hasn’t been too steep.

We have an appointment to meet with the preacher next Monday.  She requires four counseling sessions before she will perform a wedding.  Still trying to nail down a date but am getting closer to finding one.  We will find out Monday what her availability and the church availability is.  Once we have a date and place I can start planning.

Still haven’t gotten any mail that I had forwarded.  Hope I didn’t make a mistake in having the mail forwarded.  Seems like it should have caught up with me by now.  I’ve been here two and one-half weeks.  Maybe tomorrow will be my lucky day and I will get a bunch of it.

Not sure what the plan is tomorrow.  We really need to get the garage cleaned out so we can get the back porch cleared.  Jim got distracted today and played with his wood chipper instead.  That job needed done and it cleaned up the back yard.  There are so many tasks it is hard to know which one to do first.

Grateful to have the tax preparation project started, grateful for good White Chicken Chili, and grateful I found the missing two pieces to the puzzle.

I bought a new car today.  We headed to Oklahoma City around 11:00 this morning.  Got to the car dealership around noon and didn’t complete the deal until close to 5:00.  I am exhausted.

The salesman was a very pleasant young man.  He got a sense of what I was looking for and pulled up a Forester Premium and the Outback Premium.  I drove the Forester first.  I fell in love with it.  I liked the visibility and how it handled.  I was surprised when I drove the Outback that I didn’t like it.  It was too much vehicle for what I need and felt a bit pretentious to me.

The car has a weird cruise control that adjusts to the car in front of me.  It also has lane control.  The car can basically drive itself although if you take your hands off the steering wheel it beeps at you.

I like the side blind spot alert on the side windows and the back-up mirror.  I didn’t have either of those on my Prius.  It doesn’t have GPS but when I plug my iPhone in the GPS shows on the control panel of the car.  I have unlimited cell service so no problem.  I do have Sirius radio which I will enjoy.

I didn’t like the business manager.  He tried to sell me the extended warranty and to get me to pay for some sort of service that needs done at 36, 000.  When I told him I didn’t want any extras but understood if he had to pitch them to me anyway his whole tone changed.  He told me that his Subaru customers are smart and over 90% buy the extra warranty and prepay for the service.  He didn’t call me stupid but he implied it.  If that had been the salesman I would have walked out.

The salesman did give me some wrong information a couple of times.  I bargained the price down and asked about KS sales tax.  He told me the $399 fees would cover them.  When the sales manager came to finalize the price it jumped $399 from what the salesman told me it would be.  What a game they play!  Not my favorite thing to do.

We did go out for lunch at some point during the negotiations to give them time to get the paperwork ready.  I had hoped it would speed up the process when we came back but it didn’t seem to.

We stopped at Costco and picked up a few things and than headed to Stillwater.  By than it was dark and I turned on the head lights on the car.  They are much better than the ones on the Prius.  The car handled beautifully.  I think I will enjoy it.

My GPS took me a different way home than the way we came.  Jim didn’t approve of the different route but hung it there and we made it home.  I never know why the GPS routes me differently but assume there must have been an accident that they were routing us around.  We went through two toll booths – one had an attendant but the other you had to throw cash in the box.  I had no coins so put in paper bills.  I hope they don’t come knocking on my door with a ticket.  There was no attendant and I didn’t know I needed change to pay to get off.  What is a gal to do?

Feels a bit like I wasted the day.  Didn’t get anything done around here.  Glad the car purchase is complete though.

I got an email from Carlos today.  I had met Carlos the first day on the Camino and we walked together for the first week or so.  I had sent him an email over a year ago and hadn’t heard back from him.  It was a delightful surprise to get his email today.  Brings back wonderful memories.

Jim and I are trying to nail down a wedding date.  We need to check with the preacher and church and see what is available.  We may move it up to the end of March as our summer seems full already.  Good thing we are going to keep it simple and it won’t take much to plan.

Jim is feeling better today.   He had gotten his shingle shot December 31 and was very achy and tired all day yesterday.  He took a four hour nap yesterday and slept for nine hours last night.  Grateful he is feeling better today.  It is rare that he doesn’t feel good.

Grateful for a new car, grateful to have heard from Carlos, and grateful Jim is feeling better.

 

Happy New Year!  May 2020 bring many blessings and much peace to all mankind.

We stayed up till midnight and celebrated the start of a new year.  I was in bed by 12:10!  Jim stayed up for a bit after that.  We stayed in and had a quiet, peaceful evening.  Neither of us enjoy crowds and I don’t like cold.

We got up and going this morning when the Lowe’s delivery man called and said he would be here in 30 minutes to deliver the new refrigerator.  I emptied everything out of the old one while they took off doors and frames to be able to get the old one out and the new one in.

When they were successful we sorted through all of the contents in the refrigerator and eliminated many jars and containers of unknown origins.  After we got the refrigerator put back together we tackled the freezer.  Jim was pretty good about dating the meat and leftovers.  We threw away over half of the contents of the freezer.  At least now we both know what is in it and will work to use the rest of the meat up soon.  Have lots of room for new stuff now.

The freezer is an old fashioned type that you have to unplug to let defrost.  I worked on that this afternoon and chipped the ice away.  It finally got all melted and I put the freezer stuff back in place.  We have lots of freezer space now.

Jim got a shingles vaccine yesterday and has been achy and tired today.  After we had lunch he went to take a nap and has been sleeping for over five hours.  Hope it is just the vaccine and not the flu.  He wouldn’t take some ibuprofen before he laid down.  Trusting he will be feeling better when he finally wakes up.

I went to JoAnn Crafts this afternoon while Jim was sleeping.  I had been given a gift certificate and wanted to use it up before I forgot about it.  The gift certificate purchased enough yarn for three more baby blankets.  That will keep me busy for a bit.  I wanted to get some fun fur that I use as trim for the blankets and shawls I make but they don’t sell it anymore.  That stuff has become hard to find.

Have been working on a jig saw puzzle today.  Gives me something to do and keeps me from eating all day.  For some reason the last couple of days I have been hungry all the time.  We still have some Christmas treats laying around and I have been tempted more this week than I have for months.  I have almost two years of not eating sugar or flour under my belt and I don’t want to blow it now.  So far I have resisted the urge to have just one white chocolate covered pretzel.  I can resist it!  I can resist it!

Did two loads of laundry today but nothing else productive this afternoon.  It was a nice day out but a touch windy.  My feet have been fairly quiet today probably because I have stayed off of them most of the afternoon.  They were cranky during the night again last night.

I need to figure out something for dinner.  I am waiting for Jim to get up before I start anything as I don’t know if he will feel like eating anything or not.  I have some left over taco meat and will make a taco salad if not.  There is also some left over chicken that needs used up.  We are committed to using up left overs and not wasting so much food.

Ellexia just FaceTime with me.  I love when she does that.  She had a sleep over last night and wanted to share all the details with me.  Sounds like they had a fun evening.

Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow.  We may go car shopping unless we find a project of some sort to work on.

Grateful for a new year full of promise and hope, grateful for a new refrigerator and a clean freezer, and grateful for my granddaughter who was full of excitement and wanted to share with me.