Starry night on the prairie

I took a nap yesterday morning and woke up feeling much better.  The day definitely ended better than it started.  Woke up at 3:00 this morning instead of 1:00 like yesterday so making progress!  May be another long day though as I couldn’t go back to sleep.  I was able to stay awake until 9:00 last night so making progress there too.  Trusting by the end of next week my jet lag will be gone.

Guests are arriving around 2:00 this afternoon.  Not sure what their plans are so don’t know if they will be hanging at the house all evening or not.  I have a dinner I might go to tonight if my guests aren’t going to be around.  I’ll play it by ear this afternoon and see what I decide to do.  Not really sure I want to go to the dinner anyways so I may decide to stay home.  The dinner is the annual Hartford High School Alumni Banquet.  I rarely go as sitting around and making small talk is agony  for me.  Kathy went last year and had a good time.

Still need to figure out a time to sneak away this weekend and decorate graves at Florence, Hillsboro and Cottonwood Falls.  If my guests are going to be out and about tomorrow I’ll run over and do it then.  Kathy ran into town this morning and was going to pick up some flowers for us to take.  Have about a dozen graves we visit and put flowers on.  Sure wonder who will be doing that 20 years from now.  Times have changed and that tradition seems to be  changing as well.  I want to be cremated and scattered on the prairie so no one will need to decorate my grave.

I have a family reunion I want to go to Monday but I have to flip a room and not sure yet when the second guest is arriving and the first ones are leaving.  It sucks to have to work!  I had forgotten how inconvenient that is sometimes!  Ha!

I have lost 3 pounds since I have been home.  Thinking it was water weight from the two days of travel.  That put me down two pounds from where I was when I went on vacation.  Not bad!  23 pounds released and 18 to go.

Sent a note to my thyroid doctor to see if she will let me have my blood drawn so the results are back when I see her June 18.  I also need to have another ultrasound done.  Her nurse sent a note back saying they had ordered the tests.  I’ll have to go to Emporia either Tuesday or Wednesday morning and have my blood draw.  The ultrasound place will be calling me next week to get that scheduled.  Doesn’t it make more sense to see the Doctor when the results are in rather than hearing the results via email later?

Have my nuclear heart stress test scheduled for June 13.  They finally called to get it scheduled.  Somehow Newman Hospital had lost the original order from the Doctor and hadn’t called me to schedule it.  I had sent a note to my Cardiologist asking why I hadn’t heard anything.  I think the communication at Newman Hospital could use some fine tuning.  They screwed up my insurance claim too.  Think I got that issue resolved yesterday.  Good thing the stress test wasn’t urgent as it was originally ordered May 3.

Got my drain running again.  The guy said if it happens again within a couple of months he would recommend having someone who has a plumber’s camera come out and have them see what is wrong.  He is thinking the joint was plumbed incorrectly and may need to be replaced and fixed.  Wouldn’t surprise me at all if that was the case.  Grateful I got it unplugged before my guests arrive.  Don’t think they wanted to go wading in the basement.

Need to find someone to replace two boards on my back deck and to replace a section of baseboard in the basement.  Anyone know of someone who does that type of work?  I don’t think they are big jobs but I don’t have the tools or knowledge to do it myself.

Have my house all cleaned and ready.  I like to have it done early so I can be ready and relaxed well before the guests arrive.  Kathy did most of the cleaning for me this time so all I had to do this morning was touch up the floors and dust.  That was easy!

I was up early enough this morning to watch the sunrise.  I had turned my shower on and then came out to the kitchen to take my thyroid pill.  I happened to see the sun rising and stopped and watched it for a minute or so.  Oh how I missed seeing the sun rises and sun sets while I was gone.

The two baby chickens really grew while I was gone.  One of them is almost full size now and the other smaller one is still a bit small but catching up.  They seem to have integrated into the flock well and are no longer hanging back and staying together all the time.  Still can’t tell for sure if one or both are roosters.  Guess I need to go to chicken sexing school to learn how to tell the difference.  I can’t tell for sure until they are about four or five months old.

Glad I am out of the muck pond so quickly.  I realized what had happened yesterday and was able to rezoom and not get stuck for long.  Funny how what you think upsets you is not really what is going on sometimes.  Glad I was able to figure it out quickly this time!

Grateful for the beautiful sunrise I witnessed this morning, grateful I am out of the muck pond today and in a much better mood, and grateful my house is all cleaned and ready for my guests to arrive.

This may be a long day.  I woke up again at 1:00 and only slept for one more hour.  My body thinks it is still in Paris!  May take a nap this afternoon.

Went into Emporia this morning to restock dog food and get fruit for my guest’s fruit bowl.  I wanted to get a replacement ink cartridge for my printer but Staple’s didn’t open until 9:00 and I decided not to wait 20 minutes for them to open.   I meant to buy kidney beans and bought beets instead.  I hate when I do that as now I will have to go back to town in a day or two to get kidney beans.  They are both red – right?

Have a situation I am sitting with trying to decide what to do.  Feels like a test to me to see if I have found my voice.  I will continue to sit with it and see if I can come up with a good solution.  Sometimes if I wait things work out just perfectly.  Other times I feel like I get taken advantage of.  Hard to find the line between using my voice and using patience sometimes.

We got more rain overnight.  I was glad I was awake as the south deck door hadn’t gotten closed tight and it blew open during the storm.  I almost turned the air off and opened the windows but that just makes the air conditioner run more when I turn it back on.

Grateful the floor drain cleaner guy is coming today.  Every time I use the dish washer or run water down the kitchen sink it backs up on to the floor in the furnace room and has to be sucked up with the wet vac.  The drain cleaner guy is to come this afternoon.

Need to figure out my Medicare supplement.  I have a friend that sells insurance.  I sent him an email to ask if he could help me.  My timing was good as his company is putting on two educational seminars in June to help others like me understand our options and choices.  If you want to go with me let me know.  My friend said he would meet with me later in June and finalize my choices.  Leave it to the government to make this process seem complicated!  Grateful I have friends that know this stuff and are willing to help a girl out.

I am getting information in the mail almost daily now from companies trying to “help” me get enrolled.  Not sure I trust any of them though.  They feel like snake oil salesmen to me.

Feel a bit on edge today.  Not sure if it is because I have jet lag and still recovering from my travels, the situation I am sitting with, or if I am just a cranky bitch.  May be a bit of all three!  Thinking I will go back to bed and see if a nap helps.  One of those days when I allow the little things to bug me.  I know on one level they aren’t really important but my head struggles to let go of the thoughts and is attempting to pull me down into the muck pond.  My mantra for the day is “Just let go”.

Have the house almost ready for the guests that are arriving tomorrow.  I will need to dust and touch up the floors in the morning.  I got the bedrooms and bathrooms done yesterday.

Just got a glimpse of the dogs who are on the deck.  I almost didn’t recognize them as they are so dirty and muddy.  It is a muck boot type of day on the prairie today.  Maybe that is why I slipped into the muck pond!

Going to bed and trying this day again!  It will get better!  It will get better!

Grateful for the rain we received on the prairie overnight, grateful for a free day so I have the time to go back to bed, and grateful for a friend that will help me out and unwind the Medicare supplement maze with me.

 

Went to bed before 8:30 last night.  Woke up at 1:30 and I was confused as to why it was still dark outside.  Guess I was still on Paris time and thought it was time to get up and get going.  I was surprised when I was gone that I didn’t really struggle with jet lag this trip.  Maybe I saved it all for the return side.  I was able to go back to sleep around 3:30 and slept until 6:30.

Kathy cleaned house for me before I got home so all I have to do is touch ups. Bless her heart!  I have one bedroom and one bathroom done.  Taking a break and then I will do the other two downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.

Several weeks ago I got a night stand I was going to use as a table in the library.  It didn’t work for the library so it had sat in the garage.  Kathy helped me get it downstairs today and I set it by the couch in the coffee-room downstairs.  I had gotten a lamp for it.  It looks good in there and makes the room look a bit more cozy.

The floor drain in the basement backed up yet again.  I called the drain cleaner guy and he is going to come out tomorrow afternoon.  I just had the plumber clean it out less than a month ago.  Wish I could figure out a fix instead of having to repair it all the time.

Got a bill for over $2,200 from the hospital for my ER visit in April.  They said the insurance company denied payment.  I called the insurance company this morning and they found out the hospital submitted it with the wrong code.  The insurance company will reprocess it under the correct code.  I have all but met my deductible so they should pay most of it.

Went through the bills that came in and wrote checks to pay them today.  It is time to do my annual propane pre-payment.  That one always hurts as it is almost $1,500.  I forgot it was due this early.  One of the rental property’s insurance was due too.  Money seems to flow out quickly these days.  Going to have to tucker in and not spend any extra for a bit.  I spent more on vacation than I thought I would.  Food is expensive in Europe.  Most meals were 50 euros which is almost $70 US.  Eating healthy is not cheap!

Got my yard mowed this morning while it was still cool.  I had a rough start mowing as the barn door had gotten locked, had trouble getting the gas cap off, and ran out of gas.  I got it done though!  The mower is still not running as good as it should.   Sure felt good to be outside on the mower.

Got my suitcase unpacked and my laundry washed up.  Always feels good to get that done when I get home.

Felt so good to eat my own eggs this morning.  They are so much better than any eggs I got on the trip.  Had my regular lettuce, cucumber, tomato, hummus and kidney bean salad for lunch.  My tummy is happy!  I gained one pound while I was gone.  Thinking when the swelling in my ankles so down the pound will go away quickly and I will be back on track.  I didn’t eat any flour or sugar to my knowledge but I did eat snacks occasionally and I have no idea if I stayed in the portion size I normally eat.

The living room feels weird as we lowered the blinds in the dining and living rooms to help keep it a bit cooler.  I don’t like them down as it makes the room feel claustrophobic to me.  The blinds are such a pain to raise and lower I usually keep them down all summer.  Maybe since I have guests coming I will raise them for my guests.

Have guests arriving Saturday and will have people here from then until June 11.  I have several days where I have to get rooms cleaned up for different guests checking in later on the same day.  Trusting it will all go smoothly.  At least I don’t have to cook except for breakfast on two days for two people.  That should be easy enough.

Still processing the trip.  I really learned I am not a good sight seeer.  I am not too interested in history stuff and felt rather ignorant at the art museums.  I much prefer trips that have a specific purpose to them like the trips I took to Peru and Japan.

Going away always makes me fall in love with my prairie home.  Still haven’t found anyplace I would rather be.

Grateful the mowing is done, grateful for a quiet day at home, and grateful to be back on plan and able to access the right food for my body.

Got home around 7:00 tonight.  Our flights were both smooth and easy.  We even got into KC 30 minutes early.  Nicole called an Uber and he picked us up one minute later.  Perfect timing!

I stopped and had a quick dinner at Chipotle and then stopped in Emporia for groceries on my way home.  I didn’t want to go to town tomorrow and knew I needed food.  I am so ready to go back on plan and eat the right food for my body.

I ate way too much protein foods the last two days and not near enough veggies.  Had to eat what I could find at the airport today and didn’t have good choices yesterday either.  We skipped dinner last night as we were so tired.

I have been up over 24 hours at this point so am ready to take a nice soak in my tub and then am going to bed.  My ankles are swollen from sitting so much today.  Don’t think I even got 2,000 steps in today.

We lucked out in the airport in Paris this morning.  Our driver picked us up on time.  We had to go pick up another couple and then he took us to the airport.  There were no lines getting through immigration or security.  We did have to wait at the airport for several hours for our flight but would rather do that then stand in line.

Our bags passed security leaving Paris but we both had a bag pulled for hand search going through Newark’s security.  Immigrations and customs were both rather easy and rather short lines for both.  It sure helps not to check a bag as you get to the front of the line that way since you don’t have to wait for your bags to arrive.

So happy to be home.  The best part of traveling is coming home!

What a long day this has turned into.  There was a strong thunderstorm here this afternoon and traffic became a parking lot.  Took us four hours to get to our hotel from the last castle we stopped at.  Only took two hours to get to the first one.  The driver used the gas peddle and the brake at the same time it felt like.  Both us of are a bit shaky from the ride.  One of the other women in the car got car sick.

We went to three different castles in the Loire Valley Area today.  It was so nice to get out and see the real countryside of France.  Gave me a new appreciation for France.  The second castle had a labyrinth that was really cool.  I think I enjoyed the outside of the castles more than the insides.  I had been craving green space and breathing room.

We had lunch after the second castle at a little restaurant.  The food was OK but not near as good as the organic farm in Italy.  I had veggie soup and chicken.  Didn’t get all my veggies in for the day but ate what I could find.  I had taken some cheese and cashews with me and I think I ate too much protein today.  Not sure if we are going out for dinner.  Both of us feel a bit uneasy after a four-hour ride.

We are to get picked up in the morning at 5:30 to get taken to the airport for our 9:45 flight to Newark.  The same company that took over an hour to pick us up when we arrived in Paris is the company that is taking us back to the airport. Trusting they will be a bit more prompt tomorrow.  I don’t like running through the airport.  Haven’t heard if the strike will effect our flight out or not.  Fingers crossed it won’t as we are both ready to go home.

Only have 8,000 steps in so far today.  I’ll add another 2,000 if we go out to dinner later.  It is after 8:15 and I don’t like to eat that late.  Still need to get packed and organized for the morning so we can sleep as long as possible in the morning.  Gotta figure out the best way to get my crystal piece home safely.

Our car mates today were a grandma, a mom and her two daughters.  They are from the Boston area. We enjoyed visiting with them today.  Grandma is the one that got car sick.  They had gotten to Paris yesterday and were all a bit jet lagged which probably added to the car sickness.

Our guide was our driver too.  He sure wasn’t as good as the guy from Italy.  The one today didn’t have a sense of humor and was almost rude when we didn’t finish lunch fast enough.  We were waiting for the restaurant to serve us dessert and coffee.

Still glad we did the tour today.  I loved seeing the countryside and getting out of the big city energy for a day.  We got sprinkled on at the second castle but it didn’t downpour until we were on our way home.  We lucked out this trip with the weather.

Grateful we arrived back to our hotel in one shaky piece,  grateful for green grass and blooming wild poppies that we saw today, and grateful I get to head for home tomorrow.

Ended up with over 12,000 steps yesterday.  After we took a nap we took the Metro to Notre Dame.  The line to go inside was long but moving quickly so we went in.  They were having a mass so could only walk the outside isle.  I remembered the inside differently from the last time I was here in 2015.

We ended up walking back to the hotel as it was a beautiful night out.  Needed to stretch our legs after the two flights and nap.

This morning we got up early and were downstairs a little after 7:00 for breakfast.  They had hard-boiled eggs but no fruit.  I had 2 eggs and some walnuts.

We took the Metro to the Louvre stop and got our tickets from the Big Bus Company.  We went to the Louvre to stand in line as it didn’t open until 9:00 am and it was only 8:15.  Sure glad we got in line when we did as it was a long line by 9:00.

When we got in we headed directly to see the Mona Lisa so we could beat the crowd. We were able to stand directly in front of it and take pictures.  After we left that room we walked for several hours looking at things.  Both of us hit overwhelm at some point and decided we needed fresh air.  We went down a level too low and ended up in a shopping mall.  Finally had to ask somehow how the hell we got out of there.  When we left the lines were really long of people waiting to get in.

The idea of a very modern shopping mall sharing space with with the Louvre gave me a chuckle this morning.  Somehow I had trouble wrapping my head around the two of those things hanging out together.

We got on the double-decker bus outside the Louvre and rode it around town for a bit.  Got really close to the Eiffel Tower and other cool sights.  Finally got off when we were close to a restaurant as both of us were hungry. I ordered vegetable soup.  It was delicious but it was purée veggies.  Had to order some mozzarella cheese over tomatoes with pesto as I was still hungry and needed some protein.

We walked after lunch for a bit and then hopped on a Metro to go about halfway to the hotel then walked the rest of the way to our hotel.  So far I have over 12,500 steps in and we still have the evening to go.  Not sure what our plans are other than Nicole wanted to do some shopping.

Stopped at a little market close to the hotel and picked up some bananas, cashews and cheese to take with me tomorrow so I will have something for breakfast.  We leave for our Loirie Valley Castle tour at 6:00 tomorrow morning so the hotel won’t be serving breakfast yet.  Somewhere along the day we will have a lunch but never know if what they are serving is something I can eat.

Had a bit of a fast heart rate today and didn’t feel good for a while.  That hadn’t happened since the first few days here.  Not sure why it happened again today.

Not sure big cities are for me.  I am craving my prairie today!  Too many people, too much noise and too much stimulation in the city for this country girl.  Glad we are going to the countryside tomorrow and headed home Wednesday.   I am ready to come home.

Grateful for a soft bed in a hotel after a long day of walking, grateful for the Paris Metro to help save walking, and grateful the rain didn’t happen as was forecast for the afternoon.  It was another beautiful, sunny day in Paris.

Left our hotel on a water taxi around 3:50 this morning. It took about 30 minutes in the water taxi to get to the Venice Airport. We had to wait until after 4:30 to get checked in. Found our gate with no problem. Venice has a small airport.

I had a bowl of fruit for breakfast and the last bit of pecans I had brought with me.

Flight took off and landed on time in Frankfort. Had a long walk in Frankfurt to get to our next gate. I was glad we had an hour and one-half layover. Got a mozzarella cheese and tomato sandwich and left the bread. The sandwich only had three bits of cheese and tomato on it. Also had a bag of potato chips. Not thinking the chips are on plan but i counted them as a grain. Didn’t have many choices and they were better than bread for me.

The flight from Frankfurt to Paris was a bit late but not much. We had checked our bags so went to claim them and then called for our pick-up service. We walked a long ways to where they said to meet them. We waited over 30 minutes and called them again as they had said it would not be longer than 20. This time they said it would be five more minutes before the driver arrived which turned into another 30 minutes.

The guy finally came and we headed to our hotel. We had to drop another passenger off first and about an hour after we got in the van we got to our hotel.

Our room wasn’t ready so we dropped off our luggage and walked two blocks to find food. I had a chicken Caesar salad. It had green beans, potatoes, and other veggies in it. I was hungry and ate most of it.

Came back to the hotel after lunch and got to our room. We both took a much needed nap.

We are a 15 minute walk from Notre Dame so plan on walking there this afternoon. The Louvre is another 15 minute walk on down from there. We will take a bus to go to the Louvre in the morning.

Paris feels busy and loud there is a lot of traffic. I enjoyed the no car scene in Venice.

Only have a little over 5,000 steps in so far today. Nice to slow down our pace a bit this afternoon and rest.

Grateful for our safe arrival to the hotel, grateful for a nap today, and grateful to find food that is mostly on plan.

Much slower pace day today.  We didn’t go down for breakfast until almost 9:00.  They had the best breakfast buffet of our trip.  Fresh strawberries, a slice of cheese and hard-boiled eggs made me smile this morning.

At 10:00 we went in a water taxi to the Murano glass blowing factory.  It was a great trip.  We watched a guy give a short glass blowing demonstration.  Then we toured their sales floor.  OMG!  Such beautiful pieces every direction you looked.  I indulged myself and got a piece.  It is heavy and they added lots of packaging to it.  Trusting I can get it home safely and in one piece.

They dropped us off fairly close to our hotel so we could bring it back up to our room and not have to carry it all day. Nicole carried it for me on our ten minute walk to the hotel.  We dropped the piece off and rested for a few minutes then headed out for the day.  We took a slow walk down to the main square area although we didn’t end up going that far.  We stopped along the way and had lunch.  I had a Chicken Caesar salad and a plate of grilled veggies.  After lunch we did more walking and looking at the shops.  Sat for a long time in a Plaza area and I drank a bottle of water while Nicole had a glass of wine.

Got back to our hotel around 3:45.  Walked almost 10,000 steps so far today and almost 4 miles.  We will rest up for a bit and then go out for dinner later.  It is a beautiful day here today but warmer than it has been.  Parts of the sidewalks were really crowded although where our hotel is seems to be less so.

Tomorrow morning we have to be downstairs by 3:30 so we can take a water taxi to the airport to fly to Paris via Frankfurt.  We can’t check into our hotel in Paris until 3:00 so may be a long day tomorrow.  Trusting the flights will be on time and we will be able to drop our luggage off at the hotel and then get out and see a bit of Paris tomorrow afternoon.

We booked Skip the Line tickets for the Louvre for Monday morning at 9:00 am.  They come with 48 hour tickets for the hop on and hop off double-decker bus.  We couldn’t get Catacomb tickets as they are sold out until sometime in June.

Tuesday we have our tour and then Wednesday have an early flight out of Paris to Newark with only a two-hour layover until we head for KC.

I really like Venice.  Especially like that there are no cars you have to watch for.  People sure get distracted walking by looking at maps, their cell phones and eating pizza and gelato.  It became a sport to see who could break through the crowd and not get run into.   I would come back to Venice and Florence anytime although I would probably stay in one of the smaller towns and do day trips into the cities.

Lots of people kayaking on the canals.  They must have group kayaking tours that come here.

It seems almost sinful that I have come to Italy and not tasted the gelato or pizza.  It just doesn’t look good to me thank heavens so I haven’t been tempted.   Thankful most restaurants have grilled veggies and salads.

May take a nap this afternoon as we won’t get much sleep tonight.  Sure like traveling by train better than flying.  My bag will be too heavy so I will have to check it tomorrow.  Say a little prayer that my piece won’t get broken before I even get it home.

Grateful for the beautiful sunny day, grateful for a slower pace day today, and grateful walking gets easier for me each and everyday.

 

 

 

We are now in Venice, Italy.  We took the train from Florence this morning.  The train was crowded but we had reserved seats.  Never did get our tickets checked.  They kinda look at them when you get on the station track but they didn’t check them after that.

We were met after we got off the train and the person that met us walked us to a pre-reserved water taxi.  We were delivered to the front door of the hotel.  Our room wasn’t ready yet so we found a restaurant close by and had lunch.  I had baked fish, a salad and grilled vegetables.  The fish was the whole fish.  It had a delicious tomato sauce over it.  I ate as much as I could figure out how to eat without getting into the bones.

Our hotel is the best one we have had on this trip.  Nice service and nice rooms.  After we got checked in we rested in our room for about 30 minutes and then decided to walk the 1.2 miles to go to our 5:00 gondola ride.  The map helped but we got lost several times.  The roads seem to change names without warning and the directional signs are a bit challenging to figure out.  We would run into dead ends.  You have to figure out which bridge to cross and which road had a bridge to cross.  The good news is there are no cars on the roads.  Some of the roads were full of people but still not as crowded as Rome was.

We got to the starting point of the gondola ride with lots of time to spare.  We walked around the square and enjoyed the beauty of it all.  At 5:00 we went to the starting point and had to wait about 15 minutes for our turn.  We had an accordion player and a guy that sang to us during our ride.  We got our picture taken lots during the trip by the people standing on the bridges we went under.  It was incredibly cheesy but hard to come to Venice and not do a gondola ride.

Our original plan was to take a water taxi back to the hotel after the gondola ride but it was so nice out we decided to walk back.  We stopped for dinner on the way back.  The food was good but the service was poor.  I had a chicken Caesar salad and grilled veggies.

Finally made it back to our hotel.  It started to sprinkle just as we were finishing dinner but it never did rain.  I walked 13,000 steps today and over 5 miles.

Venice is a beautiful city.  Hard to navigate but I bet we figure it out better tomorrow.  We are going on a free tour of the glass blowing factory at 10:00 in the morning.  We will have to pay the water taxi fee to get back.  The glass products are absolutely beautiful.  It will be hard to resist getting some but am not sure how I would get them home safely.

Not sure what we are going to do in the afternoon tomorrow other than probably go back to the city center square and maybe go to a museum or two.  We have to be downstairs Sunday morning by 3:30 am to get to the airport in time for our 6:30 am flight to Frankfurt and then Paris.  Trusting the air traffic control strike will not interfere with our travel plans Sunday.

We need to decide what we want to do with our one whole day in Paris.  Don’t want to book anything for Sunday afternoon in case the flight is delayed.  Tuesday we have a Loire Valley Castle tour all day.  We learned in Rome we need to pre-book Skip the Line tickets if we want to do more than one thing that day.  I think Nicole decided she wants to go to the Catacombs and the Louvre on Monday.  If we get in with time to spare on Sunday we will do something that afternoon too.   I hope we have time to take the boat ride around Paris either Sunday or Monday evening so Nicole can see the Eiffel Tower at night.

Italy has been different than I expected it to be.  I sure enjoyed the countryside part of Italy more than the bigger cities.  Haven’t found much eye candy as far as cute Italian men yet.  It is amazing how different the energy is in the three different cities we have stayed at.  I haven’t decided if I like Venice or Florence best yet.

Grateful for another safe travel day, grateful for the cheesy gondola ride, and grateful for a very nice hotel to stay in.

Best day of the trip so far.  We boarded a bus at 8:30 this morning and did a Tuscany Tour.  Our first stop was about an hour out at a village of 55,000 people called Siena.  We were met by a local tour guide who shared some of the history of the town with us.  Most notably they hold two horse races a year around the city square. Thousands of people come for them.  They bring sand and dirt in to make a track just for these two races.  The first horse race in Siena was held in 1555 and they have held them ever since.

The ten horses that race on those days are taken into the big church for a blessing from the Cardinal before the race.  It is considered extra lucky if the horse poops while in the church!  They showed us a video of the horse race.  The horses are rode bare back and due to the sharp turns it is common for the jockey to fall off.  They make three circles around the town square.  The horse can still win even if the jockey isn’t on it at the finish line.

We toured the main church which was amazing.  The floor tile was impressive as was the tall dome ceiling.  This town has the world’s oldest bank in it which is still operating today.  It had a hospital that opened in the 9th century that just closed in 1995.

The local guide told us the phase God Bless You after someone sneezes originated here.  There was a plague in the 1500’s and sneezing was often the first symptom people had.  When someone sneezed people would say God Bless meaning they hoped God will receive them when they die from the plague next week.  They lost 80% of the population to the plague.

Our next stop was at a local organic winery where we had lunch.  We toured where the wine is stored before it is bottled.  As it was raining they cut our tour short and we went in for lunch.  They served four different types of wine for lunch.  Nicole got double servings of each as she drank mine for me.  Since I don’t eat bread or pasta they fixed a plate of roasted veggies for me.  The main course was salad, cold cuts of meat and sheep’s cheese.  It was a delightful lunch.  We enjoyed talking to our table mates as they served the lunch family style.

Next up was a little town called San Gimignano.  What a beautiful little village it was.  The countryside views were incredible in spite of the rainy, foggy skies.  We mainly did some shopping in this village.  The shops were really cute.

The last stop of the day was Pisa.  What a tiny town it is.  We had gotten tickets to walk to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and didn’t have time to do much else.  I made it halfway up before I turned around and went back down.  Nicole made it to the top.  I felt drunk walking the stairs especially on the side that leans.  Felt like we were on a boat.

Our tour guide was one of the best ones I have ever had.  He gave us enough information but didn’t talk all the time.  He had a good sense of humor and made it a fun day.

We had sprinkles off and on today but it never rained hard.  The rainbows before, during and after Pisa were some of the prettiest ones I have ever seen.  They had all the colors of the rainbow in them and were intensely bright and close.

Saw lots of olive trees and grape vines.  Reminded me of the countryside in Spain when I was walking through their grape vine countryside.  It was so nice to get out of the city energy and see the country side.  We didn’t get back to Florence until after 8:30 so it was a long day.

We walked from the bus station to the main area of Florence when we got back and had dinner.  Didn’t get back to our room until almost 10:00.  Walked over 18,300 steps today and registered 7.61 miles.

Tomorrow morning we catch the train to Venice and will be there for two nights.  We have a Gondola ride tomorrow evening booked so will only have tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday to explore Venice.

Can’t believe this trip is getting close to being over.  It has gone by very quickly.  Just about the time we get comfortable finding our way around a town it is time to move to the next one.

We are booked on a countryside tour in Paris too.  Trusting it will be as fun as today was.

Grateful for all the rainbows we saw today, grateful to see more of this beautiful country, and grateful for a tour guide that made the day so fun.

After taking a nap yesterday afternoon I got my energy back and we walked back down to the main city area for dinner.  Found a great place to eat with fun service.  I had vegetable soup and chicken.  They served the chicken in slices and leaned up a pile of arugula with fresh shaved Parmesan cheese with a drizzle of reduced Balsamic Vinegar.  It was amazing!   Ended the day with over 21,000 steps!

Got up and at it early this morning.  We were out of our room and at breakfast before 8:00 this morning.  I sent a bag of clothes to be laundered.  They just returned my laundry.  I am good to go for the rest of the trip now without having to wash out clothes in the sink.

After a breakfast of cheese, eggs and an orange we headed out.  We didn’t use any buses today so spent the day walking again.  We first went to Duomo:  the religious center of the city and it’s museum.  It was hard to find the ticket line but we walked all around the church which is almost a full city block big and finally got tickets and went to the bell tower.  It has 414 steps.  I walked up a few of them and decided if I wanted to be able to do lots of walking today I wasn’t going to the top.  Nicole made it though.  She said her knees felt like gelato by the time she was done.  Glad I turned around.  We went into the museum and toured it.  The church was closed for some reason.  The grounds around it were relaxing and it wasn’t crowded inside.

Next we attempted to go to the Uffizi Gallery but the line was way too long and it was sprinkling and we decided not to wait.  Instead we went into the Galileo Museum which was right next door.  It was cool!  Impressive instruments in it and to think they were mostly from the 16th and 17th century.

We had lunch afterwards to wait out the rain.  I had vegetable soup and a grilled chicken breast.  It was OK and on plan.

We found the Ponte Vecchio bridge and walked halfway across it.  It had a beautiful view of the river Fiume and lots of shops to see.  I had forgotten about Italian leather.  There are leather shops everywhere full of beautiful coats and purses.

We waited almost an hour in line to get into the Academia to see Michelangelo’s David.  Well worth the wait!  It was magnificent.

Our last museum was the DaVinci museum.  That man was a genius!  He wrote in a mirror reverse script.  There were several things in it I would have loved to brought home with me.

Saw lots of little plazas full of beautiful flowers and old statues.  It sprinkled on us for quite a bit this morning but the sun came out this afternoon.  Started sprinkling again on our walk back to the hotel.

I took a nap again and then we went out for dinner.  We ate where we had lunch yesterday.   I had a salad and grilled veggies with a warm hunk of cheese.  Satisfying!

Tomorrow we booked tickets to go on The Best of Tuscany Tour.  We meet up with the group at 8:15 in the morning by the train station which is three minutes from our hotel.  We will visit Siena, have a Tuscan lunch at a Chianti vineyard that includes a wine tasting lesson, go to San Gimignano and Pisa in the afternoon.  We got tickets to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  We should get back to our hotel around 8:30 tomorrow night.  At each city we will be given free time to walk around and enjoy the sights.  It will be fun to get out and see some of the countryside.

I really like Florence.  It has a more intimate feel to it than Rome did.  Easy to walk to all of the places we wanted to see.  Not near as many people although in some places it felt crowded.  We were able to take side streets and avoid the crowds most of the time.  The sites we visited were not near as crowded as the sites in Rome.  Here you can take your time and enjoy the sites without being pushed and run into.  I would come back here anytime.

Friday we go to Venice via train, Sunday we fly to Paris and then Wednesday we fly home.  This trip is going by very quickly.

Felt much better most of the day today.  I only had to sit down once and that was when we were waiting in line.  All of a sudden my heart rate jumped up and I felt light-headed again.  I sat down on a door step across the street from the line.  By the time Nicole got close to the entrance I was feeling better.  I didn’t even get tired walking today.  Only got over 12,000 steps today though.  My Fitbit tells me I walked over 5 miles today.

Grateful the rain was only sprinkles when it happened today, grateful the sun came out this afternoon, and grateful for all the beautiful things I saw today.  Hard to wrap my head around how old most of the things are.

 

It is 1:30 in the afternoon in Florence, Italy.  We just got checked into our hotel room.  It has two bedrooms which is a nice change.  The shower is tiny though!

Last night we walked up the street from our hotel for dinner.  The menu was not in English so I took a chance with what I ordered.  I got two big scoops of cheese and some sort of cold meat.  No veggies!  I was so tired I didn’t care.  I ate one scoop of the cheese and two slices of the meat.  Nicole had a Calzone which smelled wonderful.  I sure was tempted to taste the bread it was made from but I didn’t!

On the walk back to the hotel there was a little fruit market so I stopped and bought a basket of strawberries and ate some of those.  Sometimes you have to roll with what you have available.  Just grateful I have been able to resist the bread and pasta as it looks fabulous.

This morning I skipped breakfast at the hotel and ate some more berries.  Our prearranged transportation picked us up a little before 9:00 this morning and took us to the train station.  They don’t post your boarding gate until 15 minutes before the train leaves so we had 45 minutes to wait.  We stopped at a McDonald’s and had breakfast.  I had scrambled eggs and bacon.  It was OK but not great.  I was just grateful to find eggs to eat.  Finding the correct train and car was much easier than it was in Paris when I rode the train from Paris to St. Jean Pied de Port.

The train ride was pleasant.  We are in the Tuscany Valley so we saw lots of grape vines in the hillside on the way here.  It was nice to be out of the city and see the countryside.  They must have gotten lots of rain lately as the rivers are full and everything is very green.  Saw lots of old castles and buildings on the hillside.  Beautiful county – reminded me of part of the Camino walk.  Glad I was riding the train and not walking this time!

Our hotel was a three-minute walk from the train station.  Nicole found it easily for us.  We dropped our luggage off and we went back up the street for lunch.  Found a great little restaurant the hotel guy recommended and gave us a 15% coupon off for.  I had grilled vegetables (mushrooms and zucchini) and a warmed hunk of cheese.  Yummy!  I have been eating more cheese than normal as that seems to be readily available.  Nicole had ordered a salad with her spaghetti and couldn’t eat all of it so I ate some of it too.  I don’t think what I ordered had 10 oz of veggies.

At least today I didn’t have a bathroom emergency like the last two days.  Maybe the salami I had eaten those other two days didn’t agree with me.

We are resting for a bit in our room and will probably go out in an hour or so and see what we can find.  We have the rest of the afternoon and two full days to explore Florence.   So far I like it better than Rome -the energy is very different and the people seem more relaxed and friendly to me.  We aren’t too close to the main part of town but it is within walking distance I think.  I see lots of buses so maybe we will figure out how they work and catch one of those.  Might be another 20,000 step day tomorrow!  I will come home in good shape.

It has been raining off and on today and is rather chilly out.  I only brought sandals and no socks and my feet are cold.  It is nice being in a room with a heavy wool blanket on me.

I have decided I like trips with a purpose better than trips like this where I am only sightseeing and having to decide where to go.  The trip to Japan and Peru were much better as we had a designated reason for going.  This trip has been fun but very different from the other two.

Looking forward to seeing more of this city.  I didn’t sleep very much last night so might take a nap and then go out and see what we can find to do.

Almost halfway through this trip.  It is going by quickly.  Not sure if the strike in Paris will delay us after Venice but we will worry about that if it happens.  We take a train to Venice on Friday but then are to fly to Paris on Sunday.  Wish us luck!

Grateful for another safe travel day, grateful for a nice hotel room, and grateful for this experience!

Lots of steps walked today – over 20,000!  We did our best to walk all over Rome today.  We started the day taking a Uber to the Sistine Chapel.  We had hoped to beat the lines and crowd but that strategic move didn’t work.  The line to get in was over two city blocks long when we got there before 10:00 this morning.

We walked around St. Peter’s square in front of the Vatican for a bit trying to decide what to do.  I felt I couldn’t pass up a chance to see the Sistine Chapel so we joined the long line.

While we were waiting in line a lady came up to talk us into a Skip the Line Ticket.  I had a bathroom emergency about that time and ask if she knew where a bathroom was.  She walked me to a restaurant which was across a busy street.  As my thank you to her I bought two Skip the Line tickets.  She went back and got Nicole for me.  After a second emergency bathroom stop we joined the group to head into the Chapel at 10:45.

It took over an hour to get in and get started even using the Skip the Line advantage. There were thousands of people there.  I had no idea it would take so long of a walk inside to finally reach the Sistine Chapel.  We went through chapel after chapel after art gallery and on and on.  It took a good hour or more to get through it all.  Nicole took lots of pictures again.  I tried hard not to have a panic attack from being so close to so many people for so long.

Not sure it was worth going to after we finally got there.  Sightseeing and history are not my thing I am discovering.  It felt really good to finally get outside again after being trapped with all those people and feeling a bit like a rat in a maze.  There are people from all over the world here.  Wonder if there is a slow time of the year?

After we left the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican area we walked to another site.  I lost track of all the places we went to today.  We walked and walked and walked some more.  Stopped at a little cafe outside the Vatican for lunch – I had a chicken salad which was OK but not great.  We did make it to the Pantheon which is where we had tried to go our first day here.

At some point this afternoon we got on the double-decker bus and rode it to the last stop.  When we got off I was hungry so we decided we would walk until we found some place to eat.  The restaurants weren’t open yet and all that was available was ice cream and pizza.  We kept walking and I finally found a cheese and tomato sandwich.  I took the bread off and ate the rest.  It gave me enough energy to get the rest of the way to the hotel.

We will need to go out and get dinner later.  I think the restaurants open around 7:00.  I’m so tired I could almost skip dinner tonight.

Not sure I am in love with Rome.  It would not be at the top of my list to come back to at this point.  Lots of stuff to look at but after a while I got overwhelmed and didn’t appreciate it.   It is expensive to go into all the different sites.  We only paid to go into the Sistine Chapel today.  We did go inside a little church that was open and free but didn’t stay long.

Got lucky with the weather as the original forecast had called for rain most of the day.  We got sprinkled on after our bus ride but it never did rain on us.  Forecast calls for rain tonight and all day tomorrow.  We are taking a train tomorrow to Florence so the rain shouldn’t interfere with that.  I’m glad we have a travel day tomorrow so I can rest.

Wish I knew what causes me to not feel good each morning for several hours.  Afternoons I do much better.  Not yet in Camino fitness mode but working my way there.  It amazes me that I was able to walk 12 miles a day when I did the Camino.  Over 8 miles wore me out today.

Grateful for the rain holding off for us today, grateful I was able to walk over 8 miles today, and grateful I can put my feet up for a bit and rest!

 

We finally made it to our hotel room around 1:30 this morning.  Our hotel room was awful.  It smelled like cigarette smoke and was dirty.  The hotel guy had to unlock the outside door to let us into the hotel.  I was afraid to let the guy that transported us from the airport leave for a minute.  As it was so late we didn’t say anything to the desk clerk about our room.  We had requested two twin beds and only had one double bed.  We decided if they couldn’t move us in the morning we would call the tour company and tell them we needed to change hotels.

This morning we talked to the desk clerk and he agreed to move us to a different room for tonight.  We packed up our stuff after we had a bite of breakfast as they said they would move our stuff for us.

Breakfast was a challenge as they mainly had breads.  I ate some cheese and salami type meat.  They didn’t have any fruit. Nicole chose not to eat anything.

We got directions from the hotel clerk and headed out. Our plan was to ride the bus and then the subway and then another bus and we headed out to see the Pantheon.  We struggled to find the first bus stop and had to stop and ask directions.  We found the bus stop and waited a bit for the bus to show up.  We had to change buses to get to where we wanted to go.  After waiting 30 minutes for the second bus we decided to try the subway.  About that time my stomach acted up and I needed an emergency bathroom stop.  Luckily I found a restaurant close and found one to use.  Barely made it in time.

We rode the subway to get as close as we could to the Pantheon.  We had to catch another bus to get us closer to where we wanted to go.  The bus came just after I finished a second emergency bathroom stop. We were excited to see the bus and got on it only to discover it was going the wrong direction.  We gave up at that point as we had to be back to the hotel for our afternoon adventure and still needed to eat lunch.  We came back frustrated that we were unable to navigate the subway and bus system.

To our defense, their subway and bus system is not near as efficient as the one in Japan and Barcelona.

After we got to the hotel we found out our new room wasn’t ready but they let us rest for a bit in the dirty, old room.  We then went to a restaurant about eight blocks away and had a brunch.  It was 20 euro’s each but not worth it as it should have been called a seafood brunch and neither one of us likes seafood.  I had a few bites of veggies but my tummy was still a bit unsettled and I decided I better not eat much.

We got picked up for our afternoon adventure at our hotel.  He drove us to the Colosseum for a guided tour.  We saw Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.  Nicole took lots of pictures.  I struggled a bit with a very rapid heart beat at times and felt a bit light-headed.  Thankfully the guide stopped a lot to talk and I was able to rest between climbs.

I opted out of the final part of the Colosseum tour and sat and enjoyed the shade and sights while the rest of the tour finished up.  Nicole decided to stay with me.  By the time the group got back I was finally feeling much better.

We had to find our own way back to the hotel as return transportation was not included in the tour package.  We saw one of the double-decker buses that are hop on and hop off and decided to get a 24 hour pass for one of them.  We hopped on and it took us back around to where we had gotten on the subway this morning.  It took over one and one half hours to get there though as traffic was so heavy.

We found a nice little restaurant after we got off the bus and had a lovely dinner.  We needed a good way to end this day.  The waiter was fun and good and the food was good.  I had chicken and veggies so was able to stay on plan.

We then went to the bus stop to ride the bus home but it was going to be at least a 30 minute wait for the bus.  We were tired and it was getting dark.  We are in a shady neighborhood and decided it wasn’t safe to walk the half mile from the final bus stop to the hotel.  Nicole got a Uber for us who picked us up three minutes later and got us to the hotel quickly, safe and sound.

When we got back to the hotel they had our stuff in a different room.  We now have two twin beds and a much nicer bathroom.  This room doesn’t have a broken window and it doesn’t smell like a beer hall.  We were relieved they fixed the issue for us.  The A/C even works in this room.

Tomorrow we have a list of places we want to go see.  The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel is at the top of my list.  We saw a glimpse of them from the bus this afternoon.  May call a Uber in the morning to pick us up and take us to the double-decker bus stop.  It would give us more time to be on the bus as the city buses and subways tend to run behind schedule here.  Forecast is calling for rain tomorrow so will see how many places we get to.  Nicole has several places on her list too.

Lots of people in the city!  Sure wouldn’t want to come here in the hot summer months.  It was warm enough for me today.  Got kissed by the sun while on our tour this afternoon.  Walked over 14,500 steps today.

Tuesday we head to Florence via train so tomorrow is our last chance to see Rome.

Grateful we were able to salvage this day and enjoy the second part of it, grateful we have a much nicer room tonight (although it isn’t great – it is much better), and grateful I am feeling better tonight and was able to find bathrooms in the nick of time earlier today.

Stuck at the Frankfurt Germany airport for a six-hour layover. Our flight out of Barcelona was delayed for over an hour due to a traffic control strike in Paris so we missed our connecting flight. We won’t get to Rome now until almost midnight. Good thing we don’t have an early tour tomorrow.

Ate dinner last night in one of the little restaurants close to our hotel. I had grilled chicken and roasted veggies. Best meal ever!

Tonight we ate at a German restaurant in the airport. I had grilled chicken, salad and potatoes. It was OK but I wished I hadn’t eaten some of the potatoes. They didn’t have any other veggies available. This is my first break from my bright lines on this trip. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do! At least I didn’t have apple strudel. Still haven’t had any flour or sugar.

Still have almost four hours to wait. Sure makes a day long when delays happen. We each got a $10 voucher for dinner. Our bed in Rome will be much appreciated when we get there.

We got stuck in a huge people jam leaving the airport security area. I came close to having a panic attack. We got shoved, pushed, and stepped on. No personal space at all and no consideration shown to anyone. Glad we made it out intact.

Some days travel is easy and other days you get delayed. Guess it was our turn to get delayed.

Grateful for this experience, grateful we may get to Rome yet today and grateful for a quiet spot to sit and wait for our flight.

Another beautiful day in Barcelona.  We were lazy again this morning and didn’t go up to breakfast until after 9:00.  Today I found hard-boiled eggs and I felt better eating those.

We went to the Batilo Gaudi house.  It was amazing!  No straight lines in the house – all curves and every detail tended to.  Lots of stained glass too.  It was very crowded and hot and after only the second floor I had to go outside.  Nicole made it to the seventh floor which was the top floor.  She took lots of pictures.

I found a bench outside and talked to a woman about my age from Northern CA.  She is doing a two-week tour of Spain and had come in two days early to adjust to the time change.  We had a delightful conversation while I was waiting for Nicole to finish her tour.  It was so beautiful and nice outside I enjoyed sitting on the bench visiting.

Afterwards we walked around some more, took the subway to a different part of town, walked around there then headed back to the Gothic District where we had been last night.  Only walked over 11,000 steps so far today so not as much as yesterday although we will go back out later this afternoon after we rest for a bit.

Found a lovely cafe and had lunch.  I had a chicken Caesar salad.  It was good although it had croutons in it.  I tried to pick as many of them as I could out.  Nicole enjoyed what she ordered too.

Walked around some more after lunch and finally decided to come back to our room.  We will stretch out and rest and then go out for dinner later.  We will need to get organized and packed up as we leave for the airport in the morning at 9:30.  We won’t get to Rome until around 5:30 so will have a rest day of sorts traveling.  Trusting both flights will be on time and we will have a smooth travel day.

I’m been surprised I haven’t been tempted to go off my eating plan.  The stuff I would have eaten before doesn’t even look good to me.  Trusting Italy won’t tempt me beyond my will power either.

There were lots more people out and about today in Barcelona.  I bet the weekends are really crowded.  Glad we came early in the season as there are more than enough people here for me.

The weather has been perfect.  We had a few sprinkles the end of our first day here but none since.  Bright blue skies and lower 70’s has made for perfect walking weather.  The spring flowers are blooming and the trees are all full.

We want to walk down to the beach after we rest.  Gotta stick my feet into the sea!  Will find some place close for dinner later and then come back to the room to get packed up.  Barcelona is a beautiful as I heard it was.  I would come back if I got the chance.  Have to admit though I still prefer being on the prairie without so many people around.

Grateful for the beautiful weather we have had here, grateful for finding food on my plan, and grateful for being able to move my body.

 

Oh what a day.  I walked over 16,000 steps and over 7 miles walked today.  I am getting in shape!  I walked over 25 flights of stairs according to my Fitbit.

We went to bed early last night – we both beat the sun to bed last night.  We both slept fairly good and didn’t get going until after 9:00 this morning.  We ate breakfast at our hotel as it is included in our room charge. I had scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese and some mini-oranges.  The eggs had a funny taste to them and made my tummy rumble later in the morning.

After breakfast we headed out to go to Guell Park.  We took two trains to get there and then hike up a huge hill.  Thankfully there were several sets of escalators to help us get up the hill.  We still had to walk lots of sets of steps too.

The park was beautiful but what Nicole wanted to see was under construction and we didn’t get to see it.  There were lots of people there.  I had to stop and rest several times this morning as I felt off all morning.  We found a different way to come back to the hotel and didn’t have to walk down all those steps.

We ate a late lunch at a little restaurant near the hotel.  Took over an hour to get waited on and get our food.  It was worth waiting for though.  I had a beautiful Parmesan salad.

Came back to the room and rested for a bit after lunch.  We changed clothes and then headed out for the evening.  Close to where our dinner reservation was is the Picasso Museum which is on most of the top ten lists of things to do while you are in Barcelona.  Unfortunately the workers were on strike when we got there and it was closed.

This part of Barcelona is the Gothic District and reminded me of the bigger cities in Spain I saw while walking the Camino.  Cute shops, narrow streets, flower boxes in the apartment windows and lots of cafes with sidewalk seating areas.  We walked around for several hours.  There is a place in this neighborhood that you can find one of the Camino trails but we didn’t find it today.  I had found following the trail through big cities was the hardest part of the trail.  Too many distractions to always be able to see the trail symbols.

For dinner we went to a Flamenco show and dinner place.   It was interesting to say the least.  Dinner was a buffet style and was OK but not impressive.  They had a platter of roasted veggies but I scraped the bottom of it getting what they had.  I had to add some other stuff to get enough to eat.  I’m not sure if I stayed completely on plan but came as close as I could.  At least I avoided flour and sugar.

The Flamenco dancers were good but am thinking they are not the best out there.  I enjoyed the guitar players the most.  We got all the free drinks we wanted with dinner and several in the audience must have indulged as they were rather loud during the performance.  I must need some quiet space as they really irritated me!

We managed to get back to our hotel with no issues.  Nicole is so good with figuring out the subway system and getting us on and off the right trains.

Walking this evening was much easier for me and I felt good tonight.

We are going out again tomorrow morning to a different district and may try to spend at least part of the afternoon down on the beach.  It is only two blocks from our hotel and we have been enjoying looking at the water from our room.  Our subway 48 hour pass expires tomorrow afternoon so we will have to buy individual tickets if we go out after that.  We had made good use of our 48 hour pass.

Saturday is a travel day as we fly to Rome via Germany and then Rome. At least we won’t have an early morning as our arranged car doesn’t pick us up until 9:45.

Grateful for getting in some good exercise, grateful I felt much better this afternoon, and grateful for all the beautiful sights we saw today and the memories we are making.

We arrived in Barcelona around 9:45 this morning.  After we went through immigrations and customs we looked for our driver.  He wasn’t there so we called his company and the driver showed up about 10 minutes later.  He safety took us to our hotel.

The flight was long but uneventful.  I sat by the cutest three women.  They were dear friends and travel a lot together.  One said she was over 80 and the others were close if not older.  They spilled coffee, water and juice.  They needed an adapter for a plug in and extra blankets.  It was fun sitting by them and helping them out.  They were going on a two-week cruise which will end up in New York City May 22.

While we were in the airport in Newark we talked to a couple from OK.  They were going on that same cruise.  The wife in particular was interested in our past travels.  They have walking the Camino on their bucket list.

I slept a bit on the plane – probably two or three hours total.  Nicole slept less than I did.  We are both wiped out this evening.

We left our luggage at the hotel front desk as our room wasn’t ready and went for lunch.  There is a row of restaurants on the same street as the hotel.  At the last one I found roasted vegetables with ham.  They were good although they had a few more green peppers than I would have preferred.  Felt good to eat on plan though.  Nicole had a wood stove pizza.

After lunch I tried to nap on the couch in the lobby of the hotel.  Nicole figured out the bus schedules and how to get us to our tour for the afternoon.  We got into our room a bit before 2:00 but had to leave right away to get to where our tour started.

We ended up calling Uber to take us.  He dropped us off by the church but not the tour company office as we requested.  We got to the tour office and luckily there was a man outside the door as the office address had moved.  The man gave us directions but they weren’t very specific.  We walked back to where the Uber driver had dropped us off and ended up having to call the tour office as we couldn’t find the office.  They were rather rude and told us we had three minutes to be there or they were leaving.

We finally found it and ended up waiting for them for five minutes.  We went to the Basilica de Sagrada Familia.  It is under construction but had some amazing features to it.  I loved the stained glass in it.  It was certainly not as ornate as some of the cathedrals I saw in other parts of Spain but was impressive.

We were both so tired the tour group tested our patience.  There must have been 25 or more people in our group.   The cathedral was crowded and people felt pushy. After the tour of the cathedral we were to have gone somewhere else with the group but we were both too tired to go.  Nicole had figured out the subway system so we rode two trains and then walked 1/2 mile to our hotel without getting lost.

I ate some pecans I had brought from home when I got back to the room and that may be dinner.  We both missed a night’s sleep last night and are exhausted.  Plan on taking a shower and going to bed early tonight.  Trusting we will both sleep good and be ready to hit the streets tomorrow to see the beautiful city of Barcelona. I walked over 8,500 steps today!.

Grateful for a safe trip, grateful for nice people we met along the way, and grateful for a bed to sleep in tonight.

 

First leg of our adventure arrived over 30 minutes early in Newark.  We are delayed departing for Barcelona however.  So far they are saying we have a two hour delay.  That will solve what to do in the morning when we couldn’t get checked in to our hotel if we arrived at our original time.  Trusting we will still get out tonight.

Struggled to find veggies at the airport restaurants.  Luckily I had bought two salads at the KC airport thinking I would eat both for lunch but couldn’t do so.  I had the extra one for dinner here.  I will need to search some more and find some food to take on board the next flight.  Have plenty of time to look as we still have four hours to wait.  ‘

This is a big airport with lots of shops and people.  It is interesting what people wear these days. Can’t believe how many people travel these days.  Lots of airport announcements regarding lost and found items.

Well this adventure is off to a delayed start.  I’m sure all is in perfect alignment and is designed for a reason and purpose.

Off to search for veggies for a midnight meal.

Packing day!  I need to leave the house by 8:00 in the morning so my goal for the day is to have everything packed and loaded in the car before I go to bed tonight.  We have a 12:25 flight tomorrow so need to be at Nicole’s house by 10:00.  So ready to get this adventure started.

Took a two-mile walk yesterday morning and plan on doing the same this morning.  Need to remember to wear a hat though as the sun gets hot.  Not sure I am ready for summer temperatures.  I like that the house gets a bit chilly at night with the windows open.  I am not a big fan of AC so won’t turn it on until the house doesn’t cool down at night.

Forgot to stock up on chicken lettuce so after my walk I want to run into town and pick some up.  May look for one more top to wear with my skirts.  I tend to spill things down my front so an extra shirt might come in handy.

Tim said he would come out and mow for me while I was gone.  He can listen to my mower and decide if it needs to go in for a check.  It sounds at times like it cuts out to me but I don’t know much about mowers.  I have been able to get it started without using the magic spray.  Thanks Tim!  That makes a nice Mother’s Day gift!

I have been watching some barn swallows nesting in a light fixture just out my south door.  They sure get noisy and protective when someone walks on the deck.  I think I see little heads poking up out of the nest now but am not sure.  I need to get a ladder out and take a peek.

Another beautiful KS spring day – although it will feel more summer like by mid-afternoon.  It is to reach close to 90 again today.  When I came out of Prairie Past Times yesterday the thermometer in my car said it was 93.  Not a big fan of hot weather.  It has been easier this year tolerating it though as I am not sweating near as much as I did last year while I was hyperthyroid.  I did sweat a bit after my walk yesterday but I wasn’t dripping like I would have been a year ago.

Lost another pound today so am now over halfway to my goal weight!  Sure trusting I won’t blow it while I am on vacation.  It is harder to get back on the wagon if I fall off than it is to stay on.  I am really determined this time to stay off flour and sugar as I know my very life depends on it now.  Flour and sugar feed cancer and I need to do my part to make sure the thyroid cancer doesn’t come back.  The heart issue I am having reminds me to take better care of myself too.

A lady contacted me about her and her boyfriend staying here for two months starting July 5.  I haven’t heard back from her so not sure she is going to book.  I have mixed feelings about it anyways so if she decided not to I will know it wasn’t meant to be.  Two months of having someone living in the house is a long time.  She had good reviews from her other hosts on Airbnb but I like my private space.  I would be willing to try it once to see how it went though.

Got a call from someone looking for a room the weekend of the DK and rodeo.  I already have all three rooms booked that weekend.  They may bring their camper out and plug it in down by the barn.  They have a horse so they weren’t sure what they were going to do with it.

Grateful for new baby birds on this beautiful day, grateful for Tim and his willingness to mow for me while I am gone, and grateful that it is packing day and my adventure starts tomorrow!

I think it is finally sinking in that I am leaving Tuesday morning for Italy!  Going to Italy is on my 70 things to do before I turn 70 list.  I met the cutest man on the Camino who was from Italy.  Lots of eye candy to look forward to if others look like he did!

Yesterday I got the last of the old McDonald’s records from 2011 put in a trash can that will go to the curb Wednesday morning.  I used the new electric leaf blower to sweep the floor while I was down in the barn.  The new leaf blower is much more powerful than the battery operated one was.  One more load of junk to put in the trash when I get back and the barn will be cleaned up and records I could get rid of gone.  I still have two totes of records in the basement to haul up and out but I don’t have any more trash can room this week so they will have to wait until I get back.

Doing laundry today so I will have everything washed up so I can get packed. Need to get a couple of protein items weighed up and bagged to take.  Decided to trust I can find what I need and not take too many.  Usually there is chicken on a menu and trusting I can find enough veggies to go with it.  That is all I will need.  Two eggs and a piece of fruit and a small bit of cheese works for breakfast.

Still need to figure out what food to take with me on the airplane.  I have eaten enough airplane food to know they won’t meet my needs.  Trusting I will have time in Newark to get something to take with me for the flight to Barcelona. If not, I may go hungry for a bit.

Another beautiful Kansas day on the prairie today.  It is to get to the upper 80’s today.  Almost think summer is here but it was nice and cool this morning early.  I want to get out and get a nice long walk in before it gets hot.

The baby chickens are getting braver everyday.  The big one still protects the little one.  I haven’t seen them apart yet.  They are growing so they must be finding something to eat.  They don’t come running like the others do when I scatter oats and sunflower seeds in their yard.  I try to find them and give them a few too.

Planning on going into Art Day at Prairie Past Times this afternoon.  Have never considered myself an artist but they have a broad definition of what that is.  I usually take knitting to do.  I have a shawl I am almost finished with so will probably get it finished this afternoon.  I knit in spurts these days.  I can go weeks without picking up my needles and other times I make a shawl or blanket a day for several days in a row.  Have a full tub of completed ones I don’t know what to do with.  Always feels good to get yarn used up though.

Got my pill-box filled with three weeks worth of pills yesterday so it is ready to go.  I feel like such a drug user these days. Trusting I can get off of some of these pills after I get back and have the stress test completed.  Did find out when I was checking to see where I was at with my medical deductible that if I have to stay on the blood thinners a three-month mail order supply is cheaper than a one month supply from the pharmacy.  I would rather not have to take them but if I do I will switch to mail order.

I had picked up two new t-shirts when I was in KC last week.  I got size small thinking they would probably be too small for now but I would be able to wear them later this summer.  I tried one on this morning and it fits.  My mind doesn’t see my body as a size small yet.  Wonder how long that will take?  Wonder what size I will wear when I lose the last 21 pounds?

Grateful for a clean barn, grateful for another perfect KS spring day, and grateful my trip begins Tuesday.

Got the yard all mowed up yesterday.  Found Roxy’s shock collar which I didn’t know was off of her.  That was lucky!  I didn’t even mow over it first.  She hadn’t run away. Wonder if I can trust them to stay in the yard without their collars on now? Don’t think I will risk it yet.

Had the nicest two guests last night.  They were a young couple celebrating their second wedding anniversary.  They went into town to have dinner at Radius and then came out and sat in the swings with the fire on and watched the stars for a long time.  She loves dogs and my dogs joined them for the evening.  They left a little after 8:30 this morning to go hike the prairie and see the buffalo before they headed home.  I have their beds made up and am waiting for the towels to dry.  That was easy!

Ran into Emporia this morning after they left to pick up a prescription and I thought I was going to go get a pedicure.  The battery for my leaf blower I use to clean out my riding mower bit the dust so I priced an electric blower.  It costs just a bit over what a pedicure cost so decided to get the leaf blower instead.  It will last a lot longer than a pedicure will.  I doubt anyone will notice my toenails aren’t painted!

I think I have everything I need so I can get packed up Monday.  Still have all day Monday if I decide I can’t leave home without something.  Nicole loaned me a small purse and a carry on bag that I can use.  I tried the small bag today and it works perfectly.  Need to remember to snap the extra security hook as I had been told by several people that it is easy to encounter a pickpocket in Italy.

Lost another pound today so I have released 20 pounds so far!  21 to go so almost halfway there.  Am working to remember to let go of the fear of what I am going to eat while on vacation.  I will do my best and reboot and refocus once I get home.  I only get to go to Italy once – right?

I am having a hungry day.  I could have eaten breakfast again when I was finished eating this morning.  Not sure why hungry days happen and some days I can barely finish my meal as I get so stuffed.  I have learned not to trust what my stomach says and just wait it out as another meal comes soon enough.  I haven’t died yet of starvation although my stomach makes me believe I am about to sometimes.

It is another perfect day on the prairie.  The house was a bit nippy when I got up this morning as I had left the windows open all night.  It is warming up outside and inside now.  There is a gentle breeze with bright blue skies, the birds are singing their songs and lots of sunshine.  I got kissed by the sun yesterday when I was mowing.  Started my farmer’s tan!  My arms look funny when I wear a sleeveless shirt as they get really brown from mowing and I usually wear a t-shirt with sleeves.

Nothing on my to-do list left except for packing.  Getting excited to get this adventure started.  I got international cell service and my bank cards approved for travel yesterday.  Got my last needed prescription this morning so should have enough drugs to get me through 16 days of being gone.  Can’t think of anything else I needed to do before I leave.  Maybe tomorrow can be a rest day for me.  I have a fun place to go Sunday afternoon if I feel up to it.  A fun rest day sounds good to me right now.  It has felt busy and a bit chaotic lately.  Nice to slow it down for a day or two and enjoy my empty space.

Grateful for easy guests last night, grateful for an empty to-do list, and grateful for 20 pounds released!

I got the main floor cleaned and the guest room downstairs ready.   Now to play the waiting game until the guests arrive.  They haven’t let me know what time they expect to arrive.

Need to run into Cottonwood Falls to drop off the recycling material and get gas for my mower.  With the rain we got this week the gas has decided to grow.  I would like to get it all mowed up before I leave Tuesday morning.  May have to have someone mow it for me while I am gone.  I’m sure it will be really tall if I wait until I get home the 24th of May.

Feeling a bit weird today again. Not sure what is going on.  I have a knot in my chest and waves of icky feeling goes out from the knot.  No real pain though.  My heart rate is in the lower 50’s so not thinking it is Atrial Flutter.

The Cardiologist assured me yesterday I do not need a Pacemaker.  That was good news!  My family doctor has been telling me I probably need to consider having one put in.

I was able to get my blood thinner medication refilled.  I had to call the Pharmacy and ask them to call the insurance company to get a travel exception so the Pharmacy could fill it early.  After my guests leave tomorrow I will go in to Emporia and pick it up.  I want to get a pedicure before I leave so I will take care of that too.

Need to do one more walk through the house to make sure I have everything ready for guests.  Hard to find the motivation to get it all cleaned since it is only for one room and one night.  They deserve a clean house too though.

Going to be a beautiful day and weekend in KS.  Mid 80’s tomorrow and Sunday and bright blue skies with not much wind.  Doesn’t get better than that.  My guests wanted to do some star-gazing tonight and they should have a perfect night to do so.

Kathy told me the baby chickens were out and about with the big girls this morning when she went down to check on them.  Good news!  Trusting they will continue to play nice together.

Still need to make a few calls and get a travel advisory placed on my credit cards and to get international service for my iPhone.  I hate talking on the phone and have been procrastinating doing so.  I’m running out of time so need to get that done today.

Felt a bit discouraged when I went to the Cardiologist and got weighed.  According to his office my BMI was between 25 and 26 and he considered me overweight.  I had lost 3 more pounds since I saw my family doctor on April 18.  My scales show my BMI has dropped to below 25.  Oh well, it is what it is and will soon enough be below 24.  My goal is 23.0.  There is conflicting information on what a person of my age should have as their target BMI goal.  One source says 25.0 is perfect and I shouldn’t go below that.  Other sources say 23.0 is what the target should be.  Wonder who is more correct?  Wonder who paid for the studies that were done and what their motivation was?  Sometimes I think our health care recommendations are designed to keep us sicker and need more medication.  Hard to sort them all out sometimes.

Once my guests leave tomorrow I will start packing.  I have my list ready and just need to pull out things.  It makes such a mess I wanted to wait until after my guests leave to get started.  Hard to focus on the trip until they leave too.  First things first!

Grateful for the beautiful weather today, grateful for a clean house, and grateful the chickens are playing nice.

Happy birthday daddy!  I think of you often and miss you.  I feel your presence though, especially then I am trying to fix something.  I hear your laughter when I do something stupid and feel your pride when I succeed.

Went to the Cardiologist today.  Left with more questions than answers again.  That seems to happen to me a lot!  He looked at the report from the ED that diagnosed me with Atrial Flutter.  He didn’t understand why they reached that diagnosis other than that is what the machine said.  He said the strip didn’t show that.  Did I have it or not?  He isn’t sure.

He is requesting more information from the ED to see if they have any other proof of their diagnosis.  He seemed surprised they sent me home without putting me on a blood thinner.  He almost took me off of the blood thinner my doctor had put me on five days after I was in the ED but decided to wait to see if the ED can provide more confirming information.  He did order a Nuclear Stress Test to be done.  That will probably not happen until I return from my trip.

His office is to call me with the results of the Stress Test and if it is negative and the ED has no more information he will let me go off the blood thinner. If I didn’t have Atrial Flutter he really didn’t know what might have been happening.  I have a follow-up appointment with him in August.

Not sure what to think of all this yet.  Maybe I was given a reboot and the medical field doesn’t understand how that works.  It would be great news if it wasn’t heart related although that leaves me not knowing what did happen.  As long as it doesn’t happen again I guess I am good to go!

Didn’t do any shopping in Topeka.  I tried on the skirts I had gotten last year and they fit so I have what I need for clothes to take to Italy.  The shirts hang lower than they did but I have no trouble keeping them up so I am good to go.  Glad I didn’t buy something new yesterday.

Got some heavy rain for just a bit last night.  The wind was pretty strong for a bit too.  Only have 1/2 inch in my gauge.  It was a pond filler type of rain though as it came down fast and hard.  Grateful for every drop.  Missed the rain that was in the forecast for today.

The baby chickens survived the storm.  I thought about checking on them just before the rain hit but I wouldn’t have made it down to the coop and back up to the house before the heavy rain started.  They are still hiding out.  Trusting they are figuring out a way to get something to eat and drink.  Not sure if they went in the big house last night or if they stayed outside.

The rest of the day and tomorrow morning I will spend cleaning and preparing for the guests arriving tomorrow evening.  They are only spending one night so won’t be here long.  Almost not worth cleaning for only one night and only two guests.  Will be nice to leave knowing my whole house is clean though.

Don’t know anything more than I did before I went to the Doctor today.  Next time I come to earth I need to remember to read the medical book so I can present with issues that the medical staff can understand.  I seem to not follow their protocol and rules.

Grateful for the rain we received without having any damage done by the high winds, grateful for skirts that fit and that I didn’t buy anything new yesterday, and grateful for a safe trip to the doctor and home again.

A quick trip to KC today.  I didn’t find the main thing I went for which was a dress or skirt for my trip.  We went to Kohl’s but the only one I liked they didn’t have in my size.  I’ll figure something out I’m sure.

Had Lunch at Panera.  I was hungry and didn’t take my time ordering and ask the right questions.  The salad I got had a dressing on it that had sugar in it.  I took one bite of the salad and didn’t eat the rest.  It was way too sweet.  We looked up the ingredients on-line and discovered the second ingredient in the dressing was cane sugar.  I had ordered a bowl of black bean soup so ate that.  I didn’t get my veggies in for lunch.  I got a fruit cup with my salad and ate over half of it.  Got a headache from the bite of sugar and too much fruit.  Learned a good lesson though!

Went to Costco and picked up a few things.  They didn’t have two of the things I was looking for.  We went to IKEA and I got some lamps and a round table for the library.  I’ll have to put them together when I am not so tired.

Got home around 3:30 so it was a quick trip up and back.  Always good to see Nicole. She loaned me two purses for me to use on our trip.  I took her a printed copy of all the vouchers and tickets we will need in Italy.  She is better at keeping track of that stuff than I am.

We moved the two baby chickens into the big house last night after dark.  They were huddled in a corner of the coop yard this morning and this afternoon are hiding between the dog crate and the chicken coop.  The big one stands over the little one to protect it.  Trusting all will adjust and things will settle down soon.  The little one sure is small.  We had to lower the feed container so she can reach it.

Tomorrow I have to be in Topeka by 9:15 for my Cardiologist appointment.  Anxious to hear what he has to say.  Best case is I will get off the blood thinner medication and he will take a wait and see approach before he does anything else.  Can one have Atrial Flutter a few times and then not have it again?  Guess I will find out tomorrow.

Storms are moving in.  We are under a tornado watch for the evening.  Sure is quiet and the air is heavy right now.  I want the rain that a storm may blow in.  Radar doesn’t look too promising that we will get much.  Time will tell.  Glad I beat the storms home today so I can watch them from inside my house and not on the highway.

When I get home tomorrow I will need to clean house for the guests that are coming Friday evening.  I have the beds made in all the bedrooms so will just have to dust and do floors and clean the bathrooms.  Maybe if we get some rain tonight the dust won’t blow in so quick and things will stay clean longer.

Need to call and get my international phone service ordered as well as notifying my banks that I will be out of the country.  Need to get myself organized and ready to go.

Feeling a bit ungrounded today.  City energy tends to do that to me. Right now the wind is calm so may go out and take a walk and see if I can get re-centered.

Grateful for a safe trip to KC and home again., grateful the baby chicks are still alive, and grateful I learned a good lesson on how to eat out and the need to ask questions.

Took a dip in the muck pond yesterday for the first time in several months.  Not sure what drove me there.  Probably overwhelm from the recent medical issue.  So tired of dealing with doctors, paying medical bills, new medication, etc.  It is what it is and I was able to step out of resistance fairly quickly and walk out of the muck pond.

I didn’t sleep very well last night.  Had a hard time falling asleep and then I woke up several times during the night.  Feel a bit hung over this morning.  Might be a nap day!

Have my list ready for KC tomorrow.  Need to do a Costco run as well as pick up a few things for the Italy trip.  I’m going to go into Emporia today to do a critter food run so all the critters will have feed while I am gone.  Have two or three things I need to get for myself too.

Thursday I go to the Cardiologist.  His office called yesterday to tell me the Holter Monitor didn’t pick up any Atrial Flutter.  I could have told them that as I haven’t felt any since the day before they put it on me.  My heart rate varied from 40 to 153 while I had the monitor on.  I expected the 40 but not the 153.  Will be interesting to see what if anything he recommends.  Sure hoping I get off the blood thinner.  I have felt “off” since I started taking it.

I finally met my out-of-pocket medical deductible of $3,200 for this year.  I have a $1,000 bill to the Doctor’s office to pay for the ultrasound and a doctor’s visit and will have to pay part of the ER cost and then insurance will start paying everything else.  No wonder my cash flow has dropped since the first of the year.  Man!  Hard to get ahead when I have to pay out $3,200 for medical expenses.

Started looking at my Medicare options.  My monthly expense will go up in August but my out-of-pocket expense will decrease.  Should come out ahead if I have another medical issue.  Trusting I am almost done with those.

Today is day 80 on the Bright Line Eating Plan.  I have lost 19 pounds so far.  22 pounds to go.  Eating the Bright Line way is becoming pretty automatic for me right now.  I don’t get tempted to eat something not on my plan.  I do have hungry days but I distract myself and get through without eating off plan.  I am a bit nervous with the trip coming up.  Decided I am not going to ruin my trip by being overly concerned about eating on plan.  I will do the best I can and get back on track if needed when I get home.  The biggest thing I want to avoid while in Italy is flour and sugar.

I haven’t broken my Bright Lines yet.  I don’t trust myself to do so.  I’m afraid one bite of flour or sugar would lead me down a dark path.  I do much better avoiding it all together.  I don’t seem to do moderation well.

The clouds are rolling in today.  We are already under a thunderstorm watch for tonight and tomorrow.  First hint of possible tornado activity for the season.  I love watching thunderstorms roll in.  Trusting I won’t have to drive through them tomorrow though.  I prefer to watch them from my house and not be in my car when they roll through.  Trusting I will get some nice rain from the predicted storm.  I could use several inches at least.

I leave for Italy a week from today!  Time to get moving and get things crossed off my list.  Guests are coming Friday but leaving Saturday so will need to get the house cleaned later this week for them.  I will have Sunday and Monday free to pack.

Grateful for being able to walk out of the muck pond fairly quickly this time, grateful  my Atrial Flutter has stopped, and grateful for the promise of rain on the prairie.

Went into Emporia first thing this morning to have my blood drawn.  I had to wait to eat until I got home as I was required to be fasting when they did the draw.  Made a quick stop at Walgreen’s  to pick up a prescription and then went to Walmart to get lettuce for the chickens and veggies for myself.

Still need to run into Cottonwood Falls to go to the bank and drop off recycling stuff.  Nothing else on my agenda for the day as I got the bedrooms put back together again yesterday.

We moved the baby chickens into a dog crate and set the dog crate inside the coop fencing with a tarp on it yesterday.  The babies seem to be liking their new digs.  I will move them into the big house Tuesday night.  Trusting by then all will play nice and the babies will survive the transition.  Last time Michelle brought out a baby to integrate into my flock it died within six hours.  Don’t want a repeat of that!

It is a beautiful day on the prairie although very windy.  The wind is to blow in a thunderstorm for Wednesday and Thursday.  I’ll take the rain and tolerate the wind if it helps make the rain happen.

Got another night booked for June.  I will have another full house for several nights during the first ten days of June.  Nothing yet booked after that though.

Made a shopping list for Wednesday.  Also got my packing list started.  I had a discussion with the girl who drew my blood today about packing.  I told her I would only take a carry on bag for the 16 day Italy adventure.  She told me she had four full closets of clothes plus more in the basement.  I told her I only own six shirts and six pants right now.  She said she was going to go home tonight and fix a bag of clothes to give away.  Sure glad I broke the habit of shopping and having too much stuff.  Life is simpler with less stuff!  The house is a lot easier to clean too.

Need to find something productive to do today.  I have been sitting for too long again.  Ellexia came out and played for a bit yesterday afternoon.  It was fun having her here as I hadn’t seen her for a bit again.  Tagen was at his dad’s house so he didn’t get to come.  Maybe this summer I will see them more.

The full pink moon last night was breathtakingly beautiful.  My guests have reminded me how lucky I am to live where I do and I have a front row seat to Mother Nature’s show each evening and morning.  I listened to a podcast yesterday.  The speaker said to help your body heal a trust issue you need to watch a sunset three times a week and be fully present for it.  No wonder so much healing can happen in this space.

I leave for Italy a week from tomorrow.  Don’t think it has sunk in yet but I am starting to get excited about the trip.  I love exploring new places and pushing my boundaries by being in new places.  I always learn something about myself.  Trusting the lesson will be gentle this time.

Grateful for getting the baby chickens out of the house, grateful for Ellexia and the fun we had together, and grateful for a day full of empty space so I can refill my soul.

 

Nine days and eight nights of guests completed.  The last guest left this morning.  I sure enjoyed my guests and the time they spent with me.  I feel like I made several new friends.  Most left with promises of returning again in the future.

Learned a lot too.  It is much easier doing the Airbnb than doing retreats.  I like that the guests are out and about during the day and mostly just here during early mornings and evenings.  I love that I didn’t have to fix food!  I have another long stretch booked June 1 – June 12.  After that group leaves I will make some decisions about any changes I am thinking may need to be made.  I also need to see if any more bookings come in.  So far I don’t have anything else booked after June 12.

One of my guests was a smoker and although he didn’t smoke inside the house or in his room I will need to wash all the linens in his room to get rid of the smell that he brought in on his clothes. I need to get some no smoking signs to post and an outside butt can.

As I have guests coming Friday night I will wait to clean part of the house until Thursday and Friday morning.  This house really does clean up fast.

Finally lost a pound today.  15 days of weight lost drought has ended.  Glad I was able to stick to my Bright Lines and trust the program.  19 pounds gone – 22 to go!  almost half way to my goal.  Finally dropped below 25 BMI.

Tomorrow I have to go into Emporia first thing in the morning to have a fasting blood test done.  Will do a few errands while I am in town.  Wednesday I am going to KC to pick up a few things for my Italy adventure and Thursday I am going to Topeka to see the Cardiologist.  Guests are coming Friday night and leaving Saturday morning.  It will be a busy week.  I leave May 8 for Italy.  May will be here and gone before I know it.

Gave the chickens fresh linens yesterday.  The weather forecast is for rain and wind this week and yesterday was so nice I decided to get that project done.  I love to watch the girls nest in the new straw.  They so enjoy their fresh linens (aka straw).

The cats and dogs enjoyed all the extra love and attention they received from my guests last week.  They all behaved themselves as far as I know.

I slept really good last night.  I was exhausted as I hadn’t slept well the last several nights.  I so appreciate getting a good night’s sleep.  I was in bed before the sunset last night so was up early enough this morning to watch the sunrise.  I had left my bedroom window cracked open and my bedroom was chilly this morning.

Thanks to all that have liked and shared my Airbnb Facebook page.  It helps get the word out.  Trusting I will soon have all the business I want to have.  Not sure what that number is yet but am trusting I will know when it comes.  I need to make sure I have lots of empty space too.  This is such a learning experience for me but one I am really enjoying at this point.

Other than laundry and some cleaning I don’t have much on my agenda for the day.  Time to sit and enjoy my empty space.  I have some videos I want to watch.  Several I tried watching last week and kept getting interrupted so gave up.

Grateful for a successful nine days of guests, grateful the last one left today, and grateful for breaking my weight lose drought.

 

Went to the Scotty McCreery concert at the Granada Theatre  last night.  Craig had given Kathy and I tickets to it for our Christmas present.  I can’t say that I had lots of fun. I am not a big country music fan although I enjoy some of it.  Every seat was full so there were lots of people there.  The music was way too loud for my liking.  The lights were flashing off and on.  Just not my scene.  I told my guests when I got home I enjoyed sitting around the fire pit the night before watching the sun set and the stars pop out much more than I enjoyed the concert.

I did enjoy spending time with Michelle and Kathy at the concert last night.  They really enjoyed the concert.  I also enjoyed the personal stories Scotty told.  He seems like a very nice person with a gentle soul.  The lady sitting next to Kathy had been to 30 of Scotty’s concerts.  She knew the words to every song he sang.  Safe to say she has a bit of an obsession with him.  She must have been in her 60’s or 70’s.  She had driven up from Texas to see him.

Sometimes I need to remind myself of the things I don’t like to do so I can more fully appreciate the things I do like to do.  Staying home and enjoying the free show Mother Nature puts on every day and evening is much more my speed these days!  I felt a bit old at the show last night.  Funny that I enjoyed the Deva Premal and Miten show and there were at least three times as many people at it.  More my type of music – not near as loud and their type of music was much more gentle.

One guest has already checked out this morning.  Two others are out and about already and will be back.  One is still here as he has a late tee time.  I’ll probably wait and clean house after the last one checks out tomorrow.  I think he is driving to Texas tomorrow so hopefully he will get an early start.  I’m ready to reclaim the quiet of my house after having guests here since last Saturday.  The June stretch is an even longer stretch.  Need to figure out a way to find a bit of balance in all this.

The next guests come this Friday but are only staying for one night.  That will be easy.  Then I don’t have anymore scheduled until June 1.

My weight lose drought continues.  I haven’t lost weight for over 15 days now.  Thinking I need to change-up something but not sure what so I will continue keeping to what had been working.  I will change things up big time when I go to Italy and eat out all the time.  I keep reminding myself a year from now it won’t matter how fast the weight came off.

Still thinking with my thyroid issue that I may have to further restrict what I am eating to be able to lose more weight and keep it off.  I’ll wait until I get back from Italy to make that decision though.

I took a 30 minute walk yesterday down V Road.  A semi truck full of cattle came by me while I was walking.  The driver had seen me out walking and slowed way down as he passed me so he wouldn’t throw dust and gravel on me.  I so appreciated that.

Didn’t get the baby chickens moved yesterday so need to get that done today.  I want to go in and watch some disc golf today.  Also noticed a bank is having a shred day so I want to take some more old employee files to drop off to be shredded.  Glad to be getting to the end of that project.

Another beautiful Spring day on the prairie.  Rain is coming in next week so want to get out and enjoy this beautiful day.

Grateful to remember and more fully appreciate the type of music I love, grateful for the simply beauty of Mother Nature and remembering it gives me much happiness, and grateful for the new friends I have made from the guests that came to stay.

Had a delightful evening last night.  Took the cover off the fire pit and turned the fire on.  We all sat outside and watched the sun go down and the stars pop out.  It got a touch cool before all the stars showed up so we went in.  The moon was so bright it took a while for the stars to be seen.

One of the guests turned 60 Tuesday so most had a piece of birthday cake around the fire pit to celebrate.  I took stuff out for s’mores and a few enjoyed those too.  I was good and was able to say no to both.

Had another guest join us last night.  He had been sleeping on the floor in a basement somewhere and one of my guests invited him to share his room.  I had invited my three guests to invite others if they ran across someone who needed better accommodations and if they didn’t mind sharing their room. The more people who come see the Airbnb the better my chances of getting future bookings.

Two of the four guests were up and gone before 7:15 this morning.  They both had early tee times today.  One came up and fixed some fresh country eggs for breakfast and then took off around 8:30.  The newest guest is still here.

I have two of the three bedrooms refreshed.  Still need to do a bathroom, the last guest room and the coffee-room.  I’m waiting to wash towels until I can do the last bathroom.

Kathy, Michelle and I are going to see Scotty McCreery in concert at the Granada tonight.  Craig had given us tickets for our Christmas present.  I told my guests to make themselves at home tonight as we wouldn’t be here.  Glad I can trust them!

I extended their check-out time for tomorrow.  They won’t know what their tee time for tomorrow is until later this evening.  If they have an early tee time I told them they could come back after their round and gather their stuff up.  One is staying until Sunday but the other three will leave tomorrow.

I’m sure Kathy will be happy to get her private bathroom back.  I need to figure out a way the bathroom doors can be locked.  Someone would have to lock both doors when they are in the shower though and remember to unlock both of them.  Not the best arrangement but for short times manageable I guess.  Most times I will only have two or four guests and it won’t be an issue.

It has been another great experience having Airbnb guests.  Still learning the differences between running a retreat center and the Airbnb.  So far I like the Airbnb better.  Interesting that I have only had male guests so far.  I do have a different mix coming in June so that will be interesting to see if it is different having more women than men.

Need to fix up the baby chicken pen outside today.  Other than that I have nothing else that has to be done once I finish refreshing the rooms.  Kathy works this afternoon so I might even have the house to myself for a bit today.

Got some mowing done yesterday.  The mower sounds funny to me and started to smell hot.  Not sure if it was burning off the oil that was sprayed on it last year or if something is wrong with the mower. I may have Tim come out and take the mower to be checked out.  I might go out and see how it does today.  I have one more small section to mow.  Not enough green yet to move the whole yard. Felt good to be out on the mower for a bit yesterday.

No more Atrial Flutters!  Sure trusting that little episode is behind me and what ever caused them has settled down and won’t be an issue for me again.  I see the Cardiologist next Thursday so will find out then if anything else needs to be done.  I sure hope he lets me discontinue the blood thinner medication.  Nicole was a bit concerned about me being on a long flight with a heart that is misbehaving.  I’ll make sure the Cardiologist knows I will be flying to Italy so he can advise me of any precautions I need to take.

Another beautiful spring day on the prairie.  Bright blue skies and mid 70’s today.  Not even much wind.  A perfect day to be out playing disc golf.

Grateful for a beautiful sunset last night, grateful for being able to move the chickens outside today, and grateful for seeing the beauty of my place through the eyes of my guests.

Got the Newsletter finished before noon today.  Kathy helped me yesterday and both Lynn and Kathy helped this morning.  Always glad to have that project completed.

All my guests had fairly early tee times this morning so were gone early.  Not sure if they will hang around Emporia this afternoon and evening or come back to the house to rest.  They each play again Friday and Saturday.  I want to go watch them one of those two days.  I have never seen anyone play disc golf.

After I finished the Newsletter I had lunch and then ran into Emporia for some groceries.  Going through lots of fruit in the fruit bowl for my guests and lots of coffee pods.  I needed fresh produce for me too as I hadn’t been to the store since Sunday.

Some man came to my door yesterday.  He had a framed picture of my property taken from the air.  He tried to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  I didn’t buy his line.  I told him I didn’t remember giving him permission to take pictures of my property.  He left shortly after I said that.

Got my order from LL Bean this morning.  The Small sized raincoat barely fits.  It is almost to snug in the hips but I have decided to keep it as I still plan on losing another 20 plus pounds.  I haven’t tried the pants on yet.  The raincoat is a different type of fabric than the one I had gotten from them in 2004.  I liked the older one better but this one will work.

Friday night Kathy and I have tickets to go to a concert at the Granada.  I had an extra ticket so Michelle is coming with us.  Should be a fun evening out.  Glad the schedule with my guests worked so I feel comfortable not being here.

Nothing else on my schedule for the next couple of days except the concert.  I will need to refresh bedrooms and clean them as my guests leave but that never takes long.  Nice to have empty space return.  I do plan on getting out and doing some mowing either Friday or Saturday but the whole yarn doesn’t need mowed yet.  I’ll need to go into Strong City and get some more gas before I can mow. The weather is to be beautiful the next couple of days.  It will be fun to get outside and enjoy it.

My next set of guests arrive May 5 for a one-night stay.  I have a busy week next week as I am going to KC Wednesday and Topeka on Thursday.  I’ll need to remember to plan some time to clean the house for the guests arriving next Friday.  I blocked off the days while I am in Italy so no one can book so Kathy didn’t have to bother with guests.  June 1 – June 11 I will have multiple guests 11 days straight.  Nothing else is booked after that though.  Trusting some more guests will book soon. If not, I will enjoy the break.

Only have 11 days before my trip.  I still haven’t started my packing list.  Maybe after my last guest leaves Sunday I can start focusing on the upcoming trip.  Getting excited about going away for a bit.

Grateful the Newsletter is done and that I had some help to do it, grateful for the nice guests that are staying with me – I have really enjoyed them, and grateful for some empty space so I can recharge and refill.

Had a delightful evening talking to two of my guests last night.  It is fun meeting new people and sharing our stories.  Fixed some hard-boiled eggs for one of them.  Not sure what they are eating or when but it is nice not to have to worry about it.

I had another deep conversation with one of them this morning.  One left before 8:00 this  morning but the other two slept in.  One left around 10:30 and the other one didn’t leave until almost noon.  Got their rooms refreshed and have a load of towels washing.

Two board members from Pioneer Bluffs are coming by in a bit so we can finish up our little project.  I will be getting the supplies I need to get the Newsletter ready to mail when they come.  That will give me something to do this afternoon and tomorrow.

Kathy and I may go into town tomorrow and watch my guests each play a hole or two.  The sun is to return and be a beautiful day.  I would like to see what Disc Golf is all about.  It has been fun listening to them talk about it.

It rained most of the night but I didn’t get much in my rain gauge.  Not sure if it has a leak in it or if it didn’t rain hard enough to accumulate much rain. The grass grew overnight though so by Friday or Saturday I will need to mow for the first time this year.

When the wind shifted to the west yesterday afternoon the smoke from the pasture my neighbor just burned blew in.  It looked like a dust storm for a bit.  Grateful for the rain that made sure the fire was out and quieted down the ash.

My neighbor usually burns the grass on my property when he burns his but this year didn’t do so.  Not sure why.  If I had known he wasn’t going to I would have found someone to do it.  Too late to find someone now.  I’ll need to call a rancher and find out if I need to mow the tall grass or if it will be OK to bale without it being cut.  I’ll have to find someone to cut and bale it for me this year as my neighbor used to arrange that for me and then he took the hay the cutter didn’t take.  Anyone know someone?  They can have all the hay they bale.  I have no use for it.

Still on my weight plateau.  Feeling OK with it and trusting the program.  My pants feel looser so I know something is happening even though the scale isn’t moving.

Rainy, cloudy fireplace on type of day.  I will welcome the sunshine back tomorrow.  May need to ride my bike instead of taking a walk today to get my steps in.

I got a real sense of being in the right place at the right time when I was talking to my guest this morning.  We were talking about energy and my Philosophy of life.  It was affirming that doing the Airbnb was the right choice for me right now.  Not sure how long I will want to do this but so far, so good.

Grateful for the gentle, soaking rain we have received, grateful for the opportunity to share my life stories with my guests, and grateful for a service project to do this afternoon and tomorrow.

My second guest arrived yesterday afternoon.  I am so lucky to get the nicest guests!  He is another very kind and gentle soul.  He is a friend of my first guest so they are hanging out together.  Both are so quiet and polite.  They went out last night together to play some disc golf and came home after I went to bed. I didn’t hear them come in.

The third guest arrives this afternoon.  Once I get him checked in I will feel a bit more free to come and go.  I need to run into town and get some more fruit.  Both the  oranges and apples I had gotten last week have gone bad.  I offer a fruit bowl for my guests to snack on and the guys are enjoying it.  Also need to get some more coffee pods.

I refreshed the two guest rooms and coffee-room downstairs this morning.  Have a load of bath towels in the dryer.  I haven’t learned yet how often I need to do a refresh when guests are staying more than two nights.  I had time today so decided to do it.  My house rules tell them I will do it every three days.  I don’t want them to run out of fresh towels as I dislike using a towel twice myself.  It doesn’t take long to empty trash, refresh the coffee area and fruit bowl, and gather up dirty coffee cups and towels.

I went for a walk down V Road last night.  A truck drove by and the guy stopped to make sure I was out walking for pleasure and didn’t need a lift somewhere.  He was cute – if I had thought fast enough I would have had him give me a ride!  I wasn’t very far from home though.

It is another beautiful spring day on the prairie.  I want to get out and walk again today.  I set a goal of going at least 10,000 steps a day for myself.  I really do feel better when I am more active.  After I get down to goal weight I also will need to add in some strength training.

Still haven’t broken my weight plateau.  It has been over two weeks now.  This hasn’t happened to me before.  A good lesson on trust and faith in the program I am in.  Wondering if adding the blood thinner medication has anything to do with my weight lose stalling out.  I will keep on keeping on and see what happens.

Cleared out my egg supply thanks to Kris today.  I am back to getting over a dozen a day so they add up quick.  I told my guests they were welcome to help themselves to fresh eggs for breakfast but so far they haven’t taken me up on it.

I slept really good from 8:30 to 1:30 but didn’t sleep much after that last night.  May be a good day for a nap if my guest arrives early enough.  I’m really tired today.

Another day full of empty space.  Other than taking a long walk I have nothing that has to be done.  I love that my house is all clean and there is no housework that needs done.

Saw a post on Facebook from a local guy that is looking for stuff he can haul away for free.  I sent him a text and asked if he wanted to bother to come get the water cooler I need to go away.  He said he will come get it so I went down to the barn and moved it outside for him to pick it up.  That was easy!  The rest of the stuff will gradually fit into the trash can.  Love easy solutions!

Craig came out this morning so he could talk to me.  I hadn’t had a chance for conversation with him for a bit.  It was nice to see him.  He has a beard and is letting his hair grow back out.  I almost didn’t recognize him.

Sitting with an awareness of how much I have changed since we divorced three years ago.  It has been a grueling three years in some aspects and a delightful three years in others.  I like where I am now.  Lots of self-healing has happened on many levels.  I am much more comfortable with myself and able to use my voice much better now.

Grateful for my easy Airbnb guests, grateful for starting to move my body more, and grateful for the deep soul work I have done over the last three years and the place it has taken me to.

Guest one of three arrived yesterday afternoon.  He is the nicest young man.  Had a wonderful, deep conversation with him this morning.  Very considerate, wise beyond his years and a delight to have as a guest.  Guest number two should be here sometime this afternoon.

Other than doing my laundry I haven’t gotten anything done yet today.  As soon as my guest gets here  and gets checked in I want to go for a thirty minute walk.  Time to start moving my body again.  It is to warm up to the low 70’s by late afternoon.  There is little wind today so I need to get out and enjoy the day.

I was asleep yesterday before 8:30.  Not sure why I get so tired in the evenings but I seem to lately.  Woke up at midnight but was able to get back to sleep and slept off and on the rest of the night.  I have a book I wanted to finish reading last night but couldn’t stay awake enough to read it.

Have gone 10 days now without losing any more weight.  I lose a pound, gain a pound, lose a pound, gain a pound over the last 10 days.  This is the longest I have gone since I started Bright Lines Eating without permanently losing a pound or two.  Going to stay the course and trust my body will start releasing weight again soon.

Didn’t get the two sacks of books to the Earth Day Celebration yesterday.  It was too cold and wet to take them.  I will put them in my car and either drop them off at the library in Emporia or see how many I can fit in the free library box in Strong City.

Got the results of the Echocardiogram.  Most of it was normal although I have one thing that was abnormal but it is a grade 1 so not serious yet.  Sounds like the treatment is more walking exercise and possibly taking a beta-blocker.  Haven’t heard the results of the Holter Monitor yet. Good news is I haven’t had any more episodes of Atrial Flutter.  Maybe this was all just a kick in the pants to tell me to start moving my body more.

Kathy helped me give the two baby chickens fresh linens yesterday.  I will be glad to get them outside later this week.  Think I will put a tarp on the dog pen and set the pen inside the chicken pen and have the baby chickens hide out in the dog pen for a couple of days.  It might help their transition to the big house go smoother.  They sure seem small and I am not sure they can hold their own with the big girls and rooster.

Our guest enjoyed watching us change their linens yesterday.  He said it reminded him of visiting his grandmother’s house.

Empty space for me most of the week.  I may do the Pioneer Bluff’s Newsletter if it gets printed this week some time.  Other than that I have lots of empty space.  The house is clean so I don’t have any cleaning to do other than refreshing the guests bedrooms.  That doesn’t take long.  Need to find a project to do.

Time to start a packing list for the trip to Italy.  It will be here soon.  Not sure what clothes I need to buy so need to give that some thought.  I did order two pairs of trail pants and a raincoat this weekend.  Trusting they will fit although I think I have time to return them and get the right size if they don’t.  Need to do a Costco run while I am in KC too.

Enjoying the beautiful sunshine today and the spring temperatures.  More rain is to come in later this week so better get out and enjoy it while I can.  Feeling like I have slipped back into my peaceful, quiet valley.  I am full of joy and contentment today.

Grateful for the conversation I had with my guest this morning, grateful for empty space and the feeling of contentment, and grateful for this beautiful space I get to call home.  My guests help me realize how beautiful this space really is.

And my first set of Airbnb guests have come and left. I couldn’t have ask for a better set of guests. They were polite, clean, and easy to talk to. They weren’t around much as they left about an hour after they checked in and then didn’t get back until after I was already in bed. They fixed themselves breakfast this morning, cleaned up and left right at 11:00 a.m.

I got tickled at them this morning. The two brothers did the cooking. They had a box of pancake mix and added what they thought the directions called for. The pancake batter was way too thick. They added some milk but couldn’t seem to get it thin enough. I looked at the box and the directions had called for one cup of batter instead of the whole box. They finally added more eggs, oil and milk and fixed lots of pancakes. They ate most of them.

After they left I quickly stripped the beds and threw a load in the washing machine and then went into town as I needed some groceries. Came back just as the washer was done. Gathered up the towels and started the second load. Ate lunch and then made up for the four beds and cleaned the bedrooms. The house is reset for the guest who should arrive anytime now. The next guest comes in tomorrow and the third one comes in on Tuesday. Two leave on Saturday and one leaves next Sunday.

Having guests when I don’t have to cook is so much easier! So far I like doing Airbnb much better. My guests did give me some useful suggestions this morning. I have a sheet in each bedroom that has my house rules on it. I had forgotten to update them from when I had the Retreat Center. Got that taken care of this morning.

They used the coffee-room to play poker in last night. They ended up moving some of the comfy chairs into the coffee-room. They recommended I have a lamp or two in there so they didn’t have to turn the bright over-head lights on.

I may need to rethink not having much furniture in the great room. I had intentionally kept it mostly empty when I had the retreat center as that room was used in so many different ways. Now it may make sense to turn it into a living room type room so the guests have a private space to relax in. I’ll wait and see what type of guests I am attracting and how much they are here before I decide to invest in more furniture.

Both brothers suggested I take lots more pictures of the rooms and the little things I offer. Both are the type that look at every picture and read everything I wrote about myself and the house. Both told me I offered lots of little things that really made their stay more comfortable and that I need to market that to my advantage since I am offering those things anyways.

Trusting they will write a review for me and post it on Airbnb. Not sure how that works yet. They told me they almost didn’t book as the price was so low and there were no other reviews.

After I get my guest checked in I have a couple of errands to do. I forgot two things while I was in town. I even had them on my list but forgot to check my list. I want to go by the Earth Day Celebration at Mill Street Inn for a bit but am not sure when my guest is coming. I need to figure out a way to get my guests to commit to a time or else I am going to be hanging out waiting a lot.

I did change my check-in time to 2:00 instead of 1:00. I need three hours to get the house ready between guests if they arrive on the same day others check-out.

I am on a learning curve learning the difference between running a retreat center and a Airbnb. The differences are not obvious but energetically I can sense them. I trust by the end of this week I will figure most of them out and make my adjustments.

Have a bit over an inch of rain in my gauge. Grateful for every drop. The grass around the house has already greened up. Looking forward to mowing this week.

Grateful my first Airbnb guests had a great time and enjoyed themselves, grateful for the rain, and grateful more guests are headed my way.

Rain has arrived on the prairie.  Almost 1/2 inch in my gauge and the forecast calls for it to rain all day and evening.  Yeah!  It is a nice soaking rain that will surely help the grass start to grow and turn green.  I may get to mow next week!  Hallelujah!

I had a rough night’s sleep last night.  Slept good for two hours but the rest of the night was very hit and miss – mainly miss.  I even took a sleeping pill but it didn’t do any good.  Must have been the weather system moving in.  My feet hurt all night long.  I really don’t enjoy nights like that.  Feel a bit hung over today.  I might go back to bed to see if I can get some more sleep in a bit.

A dear friend went to a garage sale this morning and brought over some size Small and Medium clothes for Kathy and I.  That started my day off on the right foot!  How very thoughtful and kind of her.  Thank you so much Sharon!  I love you.  I scored a skirt out of it and a down vest.  I picked out several things that looked like Kathy would like.

Have the fireplace on this morning.  It is 44 out with the high only to be 49.  Keep thinking I won’t have to keep the furnace on anymore but keep turning it back on.  I will need to check my propane level and make sure I have enough to get me through the summer time.  Come on warm weather – I am ready for you to come and stay.

On day 70 of Bright Line Eating.  I have lost 17 pounds so far.  Haven’t lost any this last week.  I expected to start hitting a plateau and have done so.  There is something called a Woosh Factor where you go for at least a week or more at the same weight than all of a sudden drop two to five pounds in one day.  Trusting I will soon get to experience that.

I keep reminding myself there is no real rush to get to goal weight as nothing really changes when that happens other than I start adding food so I don’t drop more weight off.  Have a feeling with my thyroid condition I won’t be adding much food to my plan.  What I eat now is enough for me and most days I wouldn’t want to add more food.  However if I get more physically active I may need too.  I’ll cross that bridge 24 pounds from now.

Cleaned the garage out yesterday.  We still had the dog pen up in the garage but with the shock collars weren’t using it anymore.  I collapsed the pen and carried it down to the barn using the wheelbarrow.  I will hold on to the pen for a bit to see if I can find a use for it.  It would make a nice baby chicken pen if I decide to do baby chickens again.  Have lots of room in the barn to store it in.  Someday I need to finish cleaning the barn out.  Nice to have the garage cleaned out though.  Found lots more stuff to add to my throw away pile.  May need to borrow a pickup and take a load to the dump after all.  Have one or two things that the trash man won’t be able to take that need thrown away.  Made lots more room in the garage for Kathy to park.

Next Friday the baby chickens get to be moved to the big house.  They will be eight weeks old.  They sure look small but trusting they will be able to hold their own with the big girls and rooster.  It will be good to get them out of the house.

My locksmith came yesterday and installed the door handles with a key lock on them.  Great timing as my first guests arrive today.  I stopped and got some key rings for the guest keys.  Now I need to figure out a way to remind myself to ask for the keys back.  I don’t lock the house but some guests might want the privacy of a locked bedroom door.  The third bedroom doesn’t have a lock on it as it connects to Kathy’s room and it seemed pointless to put a lock on it.  It will be interesting to see if the guests even bother taking a key.

The house is all cleaned and ready for my guests to arrive.  Still not sure when they are coming but I have no plans today so guess it doesn’t matter when they get here.  Need to make sure I have sent directions to the three people arriving the next three days.  I need to set up a copy and paste directions sheet so I don’t have to type them out each time.

Grateful for the rain on the prairie today – I can hear the earth drinking it up, grateful the house is cleaned and ready for my first Airbnb guests to arrive, and grateful for a dear friend that surprised me with a gift of small-sized clothes today – I feel cherished and loved!

Quiet day at home today.  The sun is shining and the clouds are moving out.  It is to rain all day tomorrow so I will enjoy the sun while it lasts today.

The house is all clean!  Just need to touch up tomorrow morning.  There was a lot of burning going on around me yesterday and the ash blew in.  Hard to keep it out.  My guests are arriving either early afternoon or late afternoon. They are to let me know tomorrow.

I haven’t had any more Atrial Flutters.  Maybe I just had a reboot and I am done with them.  I have a light pressure in my left upper chest but it has been here for a long time.  Not sure what causes it.  Too insignificant to pay attention to but in light of what has happened this week maybe it is important.  I am getting the million dollar work up so I’m sure if something is there they will find it.

I have noticed my heart rate is not as low as it was for a bit.  Night time it only drops to 44 now instead of 38.  Daytime it rarely gets below 50 now.  I haven’t noticed it getting high and staying high for long periods of time.

Nothing on my to-do list today.  Feeling a bit restless today for some reason. Maybe I am just anxious about the guests coming.  Need to find something productive to do and move my body to shake it out and let it go.  Might go into town today and do some clothes shopping.  I doubt I lose more than two or three pounds before I leave for Italy.  I also still need dog food.  My car was too full to get it yesterday when I was in town.

Have a raw spot on my knee from hand mopping the floors.  Kathy said her toe was black and blue from hand mopping downstairs.  Who knew house work was so dangerous!

Need to run to the bank in Cottonwood Falls.  Think I will drop off the yarn when I go.  I also need to take a load to the recycling trailer.  I have some cardboard that the canvas frame pictures came in I need to get rid of as well as the normal recycling stuff.

I haven’t joined the Chase County Chamber this year yet as I wasn’t sure I was going to do any business.  Since I decided to open the Airbnb I probably should stop by and pay my membership fee.  They do a good job of marketing the small businesses in the county.

Noticed my business cards have Spiritual Retreat Center on them.  May decide to get them reprinted with the same design but replace Spiritual Retreat Center with the Airbnb site link.  Not sure I use them enough to bother with that though.  They still have my old website address on them too.  I’ll wait and see if I start using them again.

I created a page on Facebook with the Airbnb link.  Not sure it will produce any bookings but it is free so worth putting a page together.

Got all three canvas pictures hung.  It wasn’t easy but I got it done.  Not sure why things like that are hard for me to do.  Seems like it would have been a simple project but I have a way of turning simple into complicated sometimes.

Starting to let little things bother me again.  Not sure why!  Must be getting ready to climb to another level of higher vibration.  I have enjoyed the peaceful valley I have been in for the last several months.  Things would roll off my back like water off a duck.  Maybe this step up will be graceful and easy.  Need to remember others are teachers and not the reason for my agitation and unease.

Always grateful after I reach a new higher level but I don’t always remember to enjoy the climb up.  Life is a balance – the good and the bad – the beauty and the ugly.  Can’t have one without the other.  How would you know something was hot if you don’t understand cold?

Allowing what is to be.  Very aware today of resistance and remembering that resistance prolongs the agony of the climb.  Letting go!  Releasing!  Allowing!

Grateful for the peaceful valley I was in for several months, grateful I am climbing the vibrational ladder of life, and grateful for the awareness I have today.

Got the Echocardiogram completed yesterday.  It took an hour to do the test.  The man who did it was very kind and gentle.  I should have results sometime next week. I was given permission to stop using the heart monitor.  Not sure it recorded a heart event but the nurse said I could send it back.  Got a different prescription for a blood thinner.  This one had a free 30 day trial card.  The girl at Walgreen’s  had trouble getting the card to work but this time she asked the pharmacist for help and he got it to go through.

This will give me enough medication to get started before my appointment with Dr. Chow on May 3.  Maybe he will let me stop taking it.  If not I will have to remember to ask him what I am to do while I am in Italy as I will run out during the trip and I won’t be able to get a refill before I leave.  Hopefully he will have a supply in his office that can fill in the blanks for me.  Sure hoping I won’t have to be on this medication very long.  If I hadn’t had the free 30 day trial card it would have cost $410 for a 30 day supply.  I need to call my insurance company and see what my cost will be once I hit my out-of-pocket deductible.  That should happen before I need to have it refilled.  If I have to pay that much I will switch to a cheaper alternative when I get back from Italy.

Went into Emporia this morning to get chicken feed, oats, sunflower seeds, baby chicken feed, lettuce for the chickens and cat litter.  Also took the heart monitor to Staples so I could return it.  Stopped at the Vet Clinic to get flea and tic medication for the cats and dogs.  Spent more on the critters today than I did myself.  That seems to happen frequently.

Have moved the chairs and tables out of the dining room so I can get that floor cleaned.  I may hand scrub it today.  It has been a while since I have done that.  Next up will be the living room and kitchen floors.  Tomorrow I will do the hallway, entry way and the laundry room.  Love a clean house!

Another beautiful day on the prairie today.  Bright blue skies and little wind!  Only to be 60 for the high today but without the wind it will feel warmer than that.  Love days when the wind doesn’t blow!

Got a note from the guests coming Saturday.  They wanted to bring firewood so they could have a fire outside Saturday evening.  I had to tell them no as this area is still in a burn ban.  Maybe if we get rain Saturday the burn ban will be lifted.  I don’t even like to use the propane fire pit burner as dry as it is.

Got the canvas frame pictures I ordered in yesterday.  I am very pleased with two of them.  I hung one in the dining room this morning and it looks really good there.  Need to get the other two hung this afternoon.  I will order some more after I figure out how many I still need.

Going to enjoy my empty space today and tomorrow as I will have to “work” for the next nine days.  Glad I don’t have to leave home to work.  This will be a good test for me to see if this is what I want to do.  Good news is most of the guests will be out and about for most of the time.

I realized I may not be able to go to Earth Day as I have guests leaving Sunday morning and one coming in Sunday afternoon.  I will have to get a bedroom ready for him and be here when he arrives.  Maybe things will line up so I can make it to at least part of the afternoon.

Grateful for a low wind day today, grateful the critters are stocked up, and grateful my house is almost cleaned.

And my medical saga continues….I took the trash down to the end of my driveway in my car yesterday as I had extra boxes of trash to take down.  When I got my car unloaded I decided I was halfway to town and might as well run into town and pick up the prescription (Don’t you love my logic?).

I presented the $10 co-pay card to the young girl at Walgreen’s.  She ran it and told me without the card my out-of-pocket cost for the prescription was over $400 and with the card it was $525.  Yikes!  I told her thanks but no thanks.

Came home and called the $10 co-pay card company.  They told me they had received an error message as the girl had not entered the card correctly.  They had me call Walgreen’s back and tell them to run the insurance card and then the co-pay card.  They also told me I had qualified for only paying $10 out-of-pocket for it.  I called Walgreen’s and the girl told me that is how she had run the cards and there was nothing else she could do.

I sent a note to my Doctor’s office and asked for a different type of medication.  I am not paying over $400 for a medication when there are cheaper alternatives.  May have to take the one that requires lots of blood tests.  I will be gone for 16 days during the time they will be checking me closely but oh well.  It is what it is!

I haven’t had an episode since I have had the heart monitor on.  I hand scrubbed a bedroom and bathroom floor this morning and detail cleaned both rooms.  Wanted to try to trigger an episode but no luck.  Figures that when I want to have an episode I don’t have one!

I have my Echocardiogram this afternoon at 3:00.  They will check my monitor and if I still haven’t had an “event” as they call them, I will have to wear it another 24 hours. I haven’t gone 48 hours without an event since the first one yet so hopefully if I am going to continue to have them they can get one recorded.

The good news is with this latest medical episode I will meet my out-of-pocket deductible and will have no more medical expenses I have to pay until I switch to Medicare in August.  Not sure if I have to meet another deductible with that change this year or not.

Guests are coming Saturday so have another two days to finish getting the house clean and ready.  All three bedrooms and two of the bathrooms are done and will just need dusted Saturday morning.  I’ll get one or two rooms done upstairs today and do some more rooms Thursday and Friday.  Kathy said she would work on the basement great room and coffee-room.  Starting Saturday we will have guests in the house for over a week straight.  Four coming Saturday and leaving Sunday, another one comes in Sunday, another on Monday and another on Tuesday.  The last one leaves a week from Sunday.  They will be out and about during the days so probably won’t even know they are here.

The wind has returned to the prairie today.  It is to slow down by evening.  Only to reach the mid 50’s today.  The forecast still shows rain for Saturday and Sunday.  Trusting that will happen.

A friend came over and got some yarn yesterday.  She sent me a note this morning that one of the artist at Prairie Past Times will take the rest of it.  Yeah!  I will take it Sunday as that artist is to be working Sunday.  Good to get that out of the house.  My storage room downstairs is looking less cluttered already and I still have a few more totes to go through to see if I can get rid of more stuff.

One more week of taking extra trash down to the curb and the trash pile in the barn will be gone.  Still need to sweep the floor in the barn but it is almost clean.  Have lots of extra garden hose I need to figure out what to do with.  Some of it needs thrown away and some of it can be spliced and still used.  If I can get a nice warm day without much wind I will tackle that project.

I need to get my garage cleaned out too.  Doesn’t do much good to sweep it out with this wind though as I leave a door to it open all the time and stuff seems to blow in.

Feeling a bit frustrated with this latest medical setback.  I am working so hard to clean up my eating and improve my health.  Guess I will keep my head down and stick to my eating plan and ride this latest episode out and see where it goes.  I continue to lose weight and can feel my body continue to heal and change.  I can only control what goes in my mouth.  My body will do what it needs to do!

Grateful for medical options, grateful for guests coming, and grateful for clutter leaving my space and allowing for empty space to enter.

Went to Emporia for my 10:30 Doctor’s appointment.  They were running over 30 minutes behind.  The Doctor finally came in around 11:15.  He agreed to order the Echocardiogram, Holter Monitor and a anti-coagulant.  I waited in the room for another twenty minutes while his staff worked to figure out how to get those tests ordered. Finally a nurse from the Cardiology Department came and got me to take me to the room where they could get the Holter Monitor connected up.

There were three nurses from Topeka down for the day working with three nurses from the 2nd floor Doctor’s office in the room with me.  Took them over one and one half hours to do the paperwork so they could place the heart monitor on me.  Evidently they still use the old system from before the Doctor’s office merged with Cotton O’Neil.  Took three different people to figure out how to get it to work right.

I have to carry a phone they provided with me at all times.  I have already pulled off one of the leads.  The phone beeps at me when I do that.  I was able to reattach it.

Tomorrow afternoon I go in and have the echocardiogram done.  They will check then to see if the heart monitor recorded an “event”.  If so, I will return the heart monitor to a company via UPS.   If not, they will have me continue to wear it for another 24 hours.

Got home a little after 1:15 and didn’t do anything else in Emporia.  I need to get a prescription picked up but my insurance company needed more information before they would approve it and I decided to get it tomorrow since I have to go to town then anyway.

Medical paperwork!  I had my fill of it today and the delays it causes.

The Doctor gave me a discount card to use in filling the new prescription.  I called and got that verified and now need to call the pharmacy and let them know about it. It may help get the insurance to approve the drug.  The other drug requires lots of blood tests and since I am going to be gone for two weeks during the time I am on it the doctor decided not to use that one.

I did get a note back from my Endocrinologist saying my thyroid medication and levels are really good and no adjustment is needed.  She didn’t think the Atrial Flutter was caused by my thyroid.

I had scheduled a meeting with a fellow board meeting from Pioneer Bluff’s to do a little project for tomorrow afternoon.  Luckily she is available to come this afternoon instead so we can get that project done. We were to present a proposal at the May Board meeting but I will be in Italy then so she will have to do it alone.

I was in Atrial Flutter off and on all morning but of course now that I have the Holter on it has stopped.  Maybe that is how I fix this issue!  Not sure I want it to come back but if it is going to continue to return I hope it does while I have the Holter on.

Man!  Tired of these medical situations.  I kinda liked my peace and quiet and easy living.  At least I was able to get these tests done much quicker than I expected.  Trusting this issue will get resolved rather quickly and easily.

Kathy is in KC taking Bow to the airport for her return flight home.  It was nice to have Bow here for a bit but Bow was starting to get homesick and it was time for her to go home.  She was missing her television!  It is always nice to get back to normal – what ever that is these days.

I didn’t feel very good yesterday.  I think I was experiencing Atrial Flutter off and on most of the day.  I ate but was never really hungry and felt a bit nauseous off and on.  I’ll be glad to get to my primary doctor later this morning and see what he has to say.

The Cardiologist nurse called me back yesterday afternoon.  I have an appointment to see a Cardiologist on May 3.  I am to have the Holter Monitor test and the echocardiogram test done before I see him.  I was hoping to have all this resolved with a permanent fix before I left for Italy May 8 but not looking like that will happen.  However, maybe it will just go away on its own!  One can dream anyways!

Filled the house for the Glass Blown Open week quickly and have had several more requests for rooms.  I ask some of the other local people who rent space if they have vacancies and have been referring the requests I can’t fill to them.  Love how we all work together to help each other stay as full as possible.

I put a notice on the DK200 Facebook page that I still have two rooms available and I think I have filled one of them so far.  Might as well have a full house as opposed to just renting out one room.  I am full the weekend of the Symphony the following weekend.  Love weekends that I can fill every bed.

Got my Medicare Insurance card in the mail yesterday.  It isn’t effective until August 1.  I thought I had to go to Social Security to get it but it happened automatically.  I will need to shop for additional coverage when I get home from my trip. The paper work they sent me enrolls me for Part A and B unless I do something to opt out.  That was easy!  Still having trouble believing I will be 65 in August.  I certainly don’t feel that old.

Have four guests coming for Saturday night this weekend so will need to get  some cleaning done this week.  Lots of prairie burning yesterday since the wind was quieter and have a coating of ash in the house this morning.  Glad I didn’t clean yesterday – it would have been a waste of time.  These guests leave Sunday and the Glass Blown Open guests start arriving Sunday.

Went through my fancy yarn yesterday and filled three grocery sacks and a tote with what I need to find a new home for.  A friend is coming over later today to go through it to see if there is any she wants.  Think I will take the rest of it to the Earth Day Celebration Sunday to see if I can find a new home for it.

Need to head to Emporia and go to my doctor appointment.

Grateful for bright blue skies and warmer temperatures today, grateful for three full weekends of guests, and grateful for the love and support I receive from my family and friends.

Spent an enjoyable couple of hours at Prairie Past Times yesterday afternoon.  Always fun to have good conversation with like-minded women.  I took some yarn and started a shawl while I was there.  Decided against winding the yarn I had picked out to make a sweater.  It wasn’t the right type of yarn and I came to my senses before I started it.  I would not have liked the yarn made up in the pattern I choose.

Have decided I need to get rid of all the fancy yarn as it is just all odd skeins and I don’t have enough to make anything out of them.  I don’t even have enough to make color coordinated shawls.  I hate weaving in ends and the only shawl I can make with the odd skeins would have me changing colors every other row.  Anyone want lots of single skeins of good yarn?

Called for an appointment with a Cardiologist this morning.  They didn’t give me an appointment yet as the nurse said she had to do some shifting with the schedule and was going to do her best to find a spot for me in the next two weeks.  She said they have had a huge influx in the amount of new patients lately and were fully booked for several weeks.  What is up with that?

She did advise me to go to my primary doctor and have him order an echocardiogram, a Holter heart monitor and have a discussion about going on a blood thinner as a precaution until I can see the Cardiologist.  She is to call me back sometime soon.  She was going to put in a request for my records from the ED in Emporia from Friday.

It usually takes two to three weeks to get a thyroid ultrasound done so am not expecting to have an appointment to get the echocardiogram anytime too soon.  I will be lucky to get it done before I go to Italy.  She wanted both the echocardiogram and Holter tests done before I see the Cardiologist.

The world of western medicine is a hopping business these days!  Lots of sick people in the world these days.  I have been doing my best to clean up my act and not be one of them.  Frustrating for me to have this set back and have to reconnect in a big way to the medical profession.  Delays, testing, and waiting some more all seem to be part of the game you play with them.  Must have needed another lesson on patience.

Empty space on my calendar today.  Feeling a bit uneasy with it.  I have reached the point of having too much empty space and need to find something productive to do today.  Not sure what that might be though.

A guest messaged me last night asking questions about my place.  Her husband and son are driving coast to coast and wanted to stay here tonight.  Her first text came in just as I was about to fall asleep.  Every time I would answer one question for her she would ask another and another and yet again another.  Finally at 9:00 I told her I was going to have to be off-line for a bit and would check back in after midnight.  She still sent me three more texts after 9:00.

By then I couldn’t sleep anyways so finally answered her sometime after 10:00.  She finally decided they weren’t going to stay here as both men are over 6’4” tall and I only offer single beds.  If she had read my listing she would have known that in the first place!  I’m glad it worked out that way as experience tells me when people are that picky upfront it only goes down hill from there.  Now to figure out how to more quickly stop the conversation when someone drags it out like that without being rude.

I finally got to sleep around 2:00 and slept off and on until 7:00 this morning.  I hate nights like that.  Good news is I didn’t have another episode of Atrial Flutter to my knowledge last night.  Not feeling the greatest this morning but think I am still tired and frustrated more than anything.

I peeled my fingernail off that was loose yesterday.  One small part of it was not ready to come off but did so anyways so now I have a sore and torn fingernail bed.  Put some Manuka honey and a band aide on it last night.  Looks better this morning but it is still tender to the touch.

No wind on the prairie today and the last few remaining clouds are to clear out in the next hour or so and it is to be a beautiful day on the prairie.  Maybe I will get motivated to get outside today and soak up some Vitamin D.  I might go get some gas and mow my yard even though it doesn’t need it yet.  The movement on the mower will help bounce out this restlessness and irritation I am feeling today.  Worth $10 of gas to accomplish that!

Grateful for no wind today, grateful for a guest that made the decision not to stay, and grateful for another lesson on patience – (not really but working to allow what is)!

Another windy day on the prairie.  Forecast calls for wind all week long.  One could be tempted to go over the cliff from the sound and effect of it.  Getting close to the edge!

Going to Prairie Past Times Art Day today.  I was going to wind some yarn and start a new knitting project but I can’t find a place to hook my winder to.  This must be the first time in this house I tried to wind yarn.  I’ll take the winder and yarn with me this afternoon and see if I can find a place to use it at Prairie Past Times.  Maybe this is my sign to get rid of the fancy yarn I have.  Most of it is single skeins and most projects I find I want to do calls for multiple skeins of the same color.

It will do me good to get out and people this afternoon.  I haven’t been out of the house since Tuesday except to go to the ER Friday.  Time for me to be in the world and not so isolated.

Had another short episode of Atrial Flutter last night.  This time it didn’t scare me.  I remembered years ago I had a very fast heart rate due to a reaction to a medication. The ER staff then had me bear down as if to push a baby out and it helped slow my heart rate down.  I tried that several times last night and it worked to convert me back to normal rhythm.  I had done that in ER on Friday without prompting from the medical staff.  Thinking that is what converted me back to normal rhythm then.  Glad to know I can deal with it on my own.  I will call a Cardiologist Monday and get an appointment.  I see my primary doctor Tuesday morning.

I find it strange that it occurs during the middle of the night.  I am not up running around and doing anything strenuous – just laying in bed trying to sleep.  Makes me think it is an electrical malfunction in my heart as opposed to a heart disease type of thing going on.

The hospital released my blood tests results.  My TSH was over 2 so it wasn’t as low as it had been as last time I had it checked it was 1.11.  Over 2 shouldn’t have caused the Atrial Flutter.  Maybe my heart was damaged from from the thyroid storm I had last September?  Who knows – my body doesn’t present textbook style very often.

My liver is still showing signs of being unhappy but the numbers are coming down so it must be healing.  I was surprised my glucose was 100 as that is high for me.  With the good foods I have been eating lately I expected it to be lower than that.

The balance the body works to achieve amazes me sometimes.  Unfortunately for me the thyroid plays a big part in achieving that balance.  Medication helps but doesn’t do the same job as the real thing.

Find it interesting that my heart is out of rhythm now.  Internally I am finding a beautiful rhythm in life that I hadn’t experienced in a long time – if ever.  Wonder what my heart is trying to tell me?  Physical manifestations are the last to show up and the last to heal so this may be from something earlier in my life that is just now showing up.

The three different times I am aware of going into Atrial Flutter were accompanied with a bout of several very loose stools.  Haven’t been able to find anything on the web that relates the two situations yet.  I notice the flutter first and then the loose stools start.  Obviously in the energy world loose stools represent letting go.  Trusting whatever I am letting go of is in my best and highest interest!

Medical mystery for sure!  Trusting the doctors will be able to pin point the cause and find a permanent solution for me.  I have a big trip coming up in May to Italy and I intend on being able to fully enjoy it without concern for my health.

Grateful for a fun place to go to this afternoon, grateful for simple ways to convert my heart back to a normal rhythm, and grateful it is to warm up this week.  The wind is easier to tolerate when it is warmer outside.

No more episodes of Atrial Flutter during the night!  Yeah!  Got two sleeps in.  One from 9:00 to midnight and another with the help of sleeping pills from 2:00 to 7:30.  Feel much better today and well rested.

Snow flurries have arrived to the prairie.  This is the middle of April!  I am so confused as to the date as the weather doesn’t give me good clues anymore.  85 earlier this week and now snow.

I need a few groceries but am going to wait to go until tomorrow.  Need to tucker in today to regroup and recover from yesterday.  Kathy gets to stay home today too and not go open Pioneer Bluffs as they decided no one will want to come visit today.  Good day to stay home and allow myself to be filled with the grace of empty space.

Have the fireplace on again today.  May run out of propane yet!  Someday soon it will warm up and stay warm.  We may go straight to summer this year and bypass spring.  Hard to know what tricks Mother Nature has in store for us this year.

Did some research on Atrial Flutter and found a connection with it and the thyroid.  Treatment consists of medication and or an ablation to fix the electrical system in the heart.  Will be interesting to see what the Cardiologist recommends.  I would prefer a permanent fix rather than taking medication.  When the hospital portal releases the results of the blood tests I had while I was in ER I am going to send the results to my Endocrinologist to see if she wants to adjust my thyroid medication.

So hard to know which doctor to ask what to.  Trusting my primary doctor will be the overseer and help me sort out the different causes and effects the other doctors recommend.  Sometimes I wish my body had read the rule book before – I seem to present with unusual situations.

Feeling a bit restless today for the first time in a long time.  Probably a reaction to yesterday.  Will work on getting myself grounded and centered today.  Resisting the urge to find something to do as a distraction.  I need to sit with all that is happening and allow it to be what it is.

Grateful for a good night’s sleep, grateful for the grace of empty space, and grateful I have a warm house to be in out of the snow, wind and cold.

This day didn’t go as planned. Ended up going to the ER around 1:00 this afternoon. That weird feeling I had wasn’t going away. Turned out I was in Atrial Flutter. It stopped on its own while I was in the ER. They aren’t sure what caused it. My potassium was low and it is possible that caused it. The other possibility is when I had the thyroid storm back in September it damaged the electrical system in my heart. The ER Doctor recommended I go see a Cardiologist and get a complete work up to see if they can figure out the problem.

I have had a slow heart rate for years but since I had the thyroid storm it is lower than ever. Most days my average resting heart rate is 51 with it going as low as 38 at night. My primary doctor was OK with seeing if it would recover on its own but not sure that is the wisest option now. I’ll go see him early next week and get a referral to a Cardiologist. I won’t let him put me off this time. I had asked my primary doctor if I needed to see a Cardiologist when I had my physical in October and he said I could but he didn’t think it was necessary. I should have listened to my intuition then.

Feeling back to my normal now. Glad to know what has been happening so if it happens again I won’t be so panicked. Trusting I can now figure out what has been causing this to happen and find a permanent solution.

Ready for this medical stuff to stop! I have had my fill over the last six to eight months!

Working on embracing the wind!  Man!  The wind is in a big hurry today.  Trusting it will blow in some rain and the snow in the forecast will go around us.  Not ready to go back to winter after having two days in the 80’s.  I am on the edge of the severe storm warning area so may see my first thunderstorm of the season this afternoon.

Sent a request to my Doctor today for a referral to a Cardiologist.  I have been having some weird symptoms that I’m not sure I can even find words for.  Intuition tells me I need to see a cardiologist.  I may be wrong and it isn’t necessary but with my big trip to Italy coming up I don’t want to take a chance.  Trusting I will hear back from his office today with an appointment date for sometime next week.

Today and tomorrow is empty space for me.  Nothing on my to-do list.  Have some cleaning I can do if the mood strikes.  I did get my bathroom and laundry room cleaned yesterday.  Still need to do my bedroom.  Too early to clean for the guests that are coming next weekend.

Six bookings so far through Airbnb.  Another guest called me today to book for one night.  Two of her friends are staying here the weekend of the Symphony so she is coming to join them.  I will have a full house that evening as two other guests have booked that night through Airbnb.

Had trouble falling asleep last night.  Finally took a sleeping pill and then was able to sleep good for several hours.  One of these days that will happen without the need for a pill.

Sitting with a bit of unease today.  Thinking it is the wind as much as anything.  These weird symptoms I am having have me distracted too.  Wish I could define them better.

Grateful for bookings, grateful for the freedom of empty space, and grateful for the beauty in the clouds today.

Had a nice visit with a friend from Wichita who came up and spent the day with me. We had lunch together and then I did a healing on her.  Always nice to spend time with someone whom you can have a deep conversation with.

Another windy day on the prairie.  It is over 80 and still climbing this afternoon.  Possibility of strong storms coming through tomorrow afternoon and it is to be 38 for the high on Saturday.  No wonder the trees are confused about budding out.  I unplugged the heat lamp in the chicken coop but left it down there so I can plug it back in for Saturday.  One day soon I hope to be able to remove it and not have the water freeze overnight.

Found out the volunteer job I was going to do Sunday at Pioneer Bluffs is no longer needed as they cancelled the event.  Now I get to go to Art Day at Prairie Past Times.  Love how that worked out.

Nothing on my calendar for tomorrow and Saturday.  May try to get some housecleaning done.  Noticed this morning my bedroom and bathroom need a good cleaning.

Called a locksmith this morning to order door knobs that can be locked for the two Airbnb bedroom doors.  The knobs on their now do not have a lock on them.  Somehow it felt necessary that they lock with the change from a Retreat Center to Airbnb.  I don’t lock the outside doors but city folks like to lock their bedroom doors.  Trusting I will remember to recapture keys when guests leave.  Not sure when the locks will get installed as the locksmith had to order the parts.

The dust is getting thick in my house today as windows and doors are open.  Feels so good to get the house aired out from the stall winter air inside.  Need to make peace with the dust and allow it to be.  Hard to get motivated to clean when the dust blows in so fast.  Maybe we will get some rain tomorrow and settle the dust down for a day or two.

Thought about mowing today but the grass just isn’t long enough yet.  I don’t like mowing when I can’t tell where I have mowed.  Seems like a waste of gas.  I picked up bones and dog toys out of part of the yard yesterday and need to do the other half  before I can mow.  Thankfully now that the dogs are contained they don’t drag so many bones into the yard.

Finding myself with lots of empty space again.  Haven’t gotten my old restlessness feeling so far.  Not sure what I do with myself during the day but time seems to pass and I don’t get bored.  Don’t feel too productive most of the time but guess there is no requirement that says I need to be productive.  Looking forward to being able to add in physical exercise soon.  My body is starting to tell me to move which is a good thing.

Grateful for a good conversation with a friend today, grateful for fresh air blowing through the house today, and grateful I can relax into my empty space and tap into my inner peace and contentment without doing anything.

When I went down to check on the baby chickens last night I discovered the floor drain had backed up yet again.  I called my plumber this morning and he is here now fixing it for me.  He can’t understand why this keeps happening.   Wish we could fix the problem for good.  He got it unplugged – said it was about eight feet down the line.  He couldn’t recommend anything for me to do to prevent it from happening again.  Thinking the house was plumbed wrong to begin with.

Kathy and Bow went to coffee this morning in Strong City.  Wished I could go but I don’t enjoy events like that.  I love most of the women that come but just don’t function well in groups talking small talk.  Drains my energy and I do better staying home alone.  Much prefer small groups of one, two or three people.

Kathy took my egg stash to coffee to hopefully get rid of them for me.  Someone had requested two dozen so am thinking she will come home empty-handed.  With six of us eating eggs daily my stash has been slower to build up lately.  The chickens went on a mini strike due to the unseasonal cold weather and have not been laying as good either.  They are ready for spring to come and stay too!

Had a rough night last night.  Woke up in the middle of the night feeling weird.  Not sure what was going on.  When I laid on my right side I really felt bad.  Finally went to the bathroom several times.  Checked my blood pressure and it was very high.  I had run hot all day yesterday but all of a sudden I started shaking I was so cold.  About an hour later I fell back asleep and felt better this morning.  Wish I knew what happened.  Felt bad enough for a few minutes I thought about calling Kathy and having her come up and check me out.  My blood pressure was fine this morning when I checked it when I woke up at 7:30.

I went to bed at 8:00 and woke up at 10:30 thinking it was morning.  Got some more sleep before I woke up not feeling good and then slept some more afterwards.  One of my life goals is to be able to sleep eight hours a night straight through without waking up.  Some day it will happen!  A girl has to dream anyways!

Nothing on my calendar that has to be done today.  Tomorrow a friend is coming to visit for the day.  Sunday I have an event at Pioneer Bluffs I volunteered to help with.    Nice to have things spread out a bit with empty space in between events.

Supposed to hit 81 today and 84 tomorrow.  With the high wind it is hard to want to get outside and enjoy the warm weather.  Possibility of rain on Friday now.  That will make the wind tolerable if it blows in a good spring shower.  Only to be 38 on Saturday.  Mother Nature is bi-polar these days.  Poor trees don’t know if it is safe to bud out or not.

Set out three more boxes with my trash today.  My throw away pile in the barn is starting to get low.  Three or four more weeks and it will be gone.  Glad to have that little project almost done.

Two more weeks and the baby chicks can go out to the big house.  I’ll be glad when they are outside.  They seem to make a mess inside.  They still haven’t flown over the little pen yet so counting that as a win for me.  Trusting the rooster will not kill them when I take them outside.  Still thinking at least one of them is a rooster – if not both. If so I will have to eliminate one or both as I only can handle one rooster.  They are both part Ameraucana so they will be green egg layers if they are hens.  May keep one of them and get rid of the other rooster as I like green eggs.  My other rooster is a Buff Orpington.

Next week I will need to clean the whole house as I have four guests coming April 21 – 22.  Two bedrooms and two bathrooms have already been detailed clean so will just need to spot clean those four rooms.  Have another guest coming April 24 and staying until April 29.  I will get two bookings out of one cleaning!  Love when it happens like that.

Grateful my plumber responded so quickly and got my drain unplugged, grateful I am feeling better this morning, and grateful I have a day full of empty space and can do whatever I want which may be doing nothing!

60 days on the Bright Line Eating Plan.  16 pounds released.  39% of the way towards my goal.  25 pounds to go!

The scale is only one measurement of the changes my body is making.  The more important ones include 60 days with no flour, no sugar and no processed foods in my body.  I am noticing a significant decrease in brain fog and mood swings.  Few of the clothes I was wearing when I started fit now.  Down two sizes in pants and one size in shirts.

I like knowing what I am going to eat each day.  I have broken my bad habit of skipping meals and then eating what ever I could put my hands on.  I no longer snack between meals.  Grocery shopping is much easier as I buy the same things every week.  Eating out is getting easier but I still prefer to eat at home.  Cravings have gone away.  My taste buds continue to evolve and I am enjoying trying new to me vegetables and expanding what I like.  My BMI has dropped to below the overweight category.

Still feeling like this is a plan I can stay on the rest of my life.  When I get to goal weight I will add more food, one additional food at a time each week until I find the quantity that will maintain my weight at goal.  After I stabilize my weight and no longer need to add food I then start adding in exercise.  It may be that I will need to add food to compensate for the additional exercise I add in.

If I continue losing as I have been I should reach goal weight some time this summer and by fall be eating the way I will the rest of my life.  Looking forward to the freedom that will bring to me.

I haven’t broken my Bright Lines yet.  I did take some medication one day that had sugar in it and learned I don’t want to use that medication again.  Other than that I have had no flour, no sugar, no eating between meals and I either weigh and measure every meal or use the one plate method.  Still feeling a bit like an alcoholic and don’t trust myself to eat just one bite of a food not on my plan.  I don’t want to fall off the wagon and go down a path not good for me.

I get hungry occasionally but have learned my stomach is not the best judge of true hunger.  Usually when I get hungry I am either thirsty or upset and uneasy with something.  Luckily there is always another meal coming soon and I am learning to ignore the old habit of eating when hungry.  I have yet to be hungry between dinner and breakfast so I never go hungry very long.

Feeling a deep peace and contentment with life these days that I contribute to Bright Line Eating.  I know the inner work I have been doing plays a big part in it too but being off flour and sugar has helped a great deal.

Grateful I found this plan and it is working for me.