Starry night on the prairie

Called BlueHost and was told they are still working to fix my blog site. Trusting they will be able to fix it today without losing all my posts. Grateful I have a paper copy of most of them.

It is a windy, cold day on the prairie. Got just a bit of moisture this morning but unfortunately most of it went around me. Kathy is driving through lots of rain today. Maybe she will bring it home with her. Snow is back in the forecast for Friday and Sunday.

A passenger on the cruise ship Nicole is on went overboard this morning. The ship cancelled one of the port calls it was to have made and is headed back to Barcelona. I don’t know if Nicole will get in early or not. They hadn’t told her what was going on. She had noticed the ship was going in circles and had come to a stop in the middle of the ocean. I found an article on-line and sent it to her so she knew what was going on. Scary! Glad I didn’t find the article until after I talked to Nicole.

Got an unexpected email from my mentor last night. He was checking in on me. Always nice to hear from him and happy to be able to report I am in a really good space right now. He has been teaching a year long webinar on “Happy”. I told him it must be working as I am feeling happy most days right now.

Remembered to call to get an appointment to get my haircut. It is in the morning so will go to town for that. Have a couple errands to run while I am in town. Think I will stay home today as I don’t like to have my little car on the highway when the wind is blowing this hard.

I am really tired today for some reason. I got two sleeps last night but seem to still be very sleepy. May give in and go take a nap. No reason not to.

The guest that ask to bring a dog must not be coming. There is a 24 hour limit on how long someone can hold a booking and not take it with Airbnb. I got a notice today that he let the booking go. He may still come back and book it. I almost hope not though as I don’t think it is a good idea for someone to bring another dog here. Not sure how my three would react.

If this cold weather keeps up I will need more propane soon. I still have some prepaid on my contract but only enough for one more partial fill. May have to cough up some more money for my summer fill. I have the fireplace on today as it is only 36 outside and the wind chill makes it feel like 23. Burrr…….

Cleaned out my closet today and removed the Large sized shirts and all the pants that are too big. Not going to buy anymore clothes until I get closer to goal weight. Still expecting to go down one or two more sizes and no use buying clothes I will only wear for a month or two. I will have to buy some clothes to wear in Italy but I will wait until the first week of May to do that.

I will need to order a new rain coat as the one I have is almost 20 years old and is an EX Large size. I hate to get rid of it as it has been a very good rain coat. It is so big on my now that it almost hangs to the ground and is very sloppy looking.

When I go to KC Friday I want to buy a new pair of shoes that I can wear with a skirt. For years I have had to only wear SAS shoes as they were the only shoes that my feet would tolerate. I want to find a cute pair of shoes for a change! My feet still bother me from time to time but nowhere close to the way they did before I had the Neuromas removed. They ache when a storm system is coming in now which they didn’t before.

Will need to drag the trash down to the curb this afternoon. May wait to do it till morning so it doesn’t blow all across the county. Supposedly it is to be 67 tomorrow but the forecasters have missed the high for the last several days. I’ll believe it when I see it!

Feeling a bit restless today. I’ve had five days at home with little to do. Tomorrow is my last day of empty space for a bit though so will do my best to embrace the empty space and allow it to be what it is. Balance is sometimes hard for me to find.

Grateful my blog will be fixed soon, grateful for my mentor and teacher, and grateful for deep peace and contentment within.

Mother Nature is still playing an April Fool’s Joke on us as the weather is still icky. It looks like it might clear up yet this afternoon. I don’t like icy weather!

Broke down and took the chickens down their heat lamp last night. Their water was starting to freeze up and I didn’t want to mess with thawing it this morning.

Went into Emporia this morning as I was out of grapefruit and salad lettuce. Also needed to get some pants to wear to a funeral I am going to this afternoon. My old clothes do not fit anymore! I don’t want to buy very many new clothes as I still have over 20 pounds to lose.

Need to go feed the chickens but decided I better wait till I get home this afternoon as I have my new clothes on. I have a tendency to spill things these days and don’t have a backup set of clothes to put on if I spill something. The wind is nasty and cold right now so hopefully by the time I get home later this afternoon it will have warmed up a bit.

Had a third request for a booking through Airbnb this morning. He wants to bring his dog. I told him I had three untrained outside dogs and if he was willing to deal with that he could bring his. I haven’t heard back from him. He wanted to know how far Park City was from here. Not sure why he didn’t use Maps like I did to find out. Maybe my address doesn’t show up for him until he confirms the booking.

Kathy had a late start this morning so probably won’t be home until Wednesday. The East Coast got yet another snow storm overnight and this morning. Hope she doesn’t bring the snow home with her. Rain I want but I would prefer the cold and snow stays away until next winter.

Haven’t heard from my blog company yet. Found a back door into my blog site through WordPress. It skips the JetPack and BlueHost site. Sure wish I understood how all that works together.

Took a two day break from my Fitbit. Still haven’t decided if I like wearing it or not. I haven’t worn a watch for years. The Fitbit gives me fitness credit for knitting so I don’t get a very accurate picture each day as to how active I really am. It tries to tell me I have walked over 10,000 steps each day when I know that is not even close as I sit in my chair most of the time.

Need to put a reminder on my calendar to pay my property tax bills before I leave for Italy in May. They are due while I am gone. I hate late fees for anything as it is a waste of money but I don’t want to pay a month early either.

My restlessness from yesterday seems to be gone today. Getting out and seeing people this afternoon will be good for me. I have stayed home for the last three days and haven’t have a conversation with anyone other than FaceTime with Nicole and Ellexia. I really have to watch how much I isolate myself at it would be easy for me to go many days in a row without having much real contact with others.

Grateful for the warmer temperatures headed my way, grateful for a friend that is driving me to the funeral this afternoon, and grateful my house is toasty and warm this afternoon.

Spent an hour on the phone this morning trying to get my blog site up and going again. No luck. The issue was escalated to a higher level tech support group. WordPress sent me to JetPack who sent me to BlueHost. Sounds like it is something on their end but the lady helping me kept getting error messages she had never seen before. She said it could take up to two days to fix it. She was very nice and made the call easy for me by keeping her technology terms simple. Maybe by Monday it will be up and going. Grateful I have a paper copy of most of the entries in case this wipes things out.

Cleaned out some more of the office closet while I was on hold during the long call. That closet is finally starting to look better. I had cleaned it out some in January but needed to finish the job. I have one box of old bills I need to take down to the barn and a have a pile of old paint-by-number paintings to throw away.

The sun has disappeared behind clouds again today. The wind is in a big hurry to blow in a cold front. The high tomorrow is to be 33 and the low is to be 22. May need to take the heat lamp back out to the chickens so their water doesn’t freeze. It will warm up some again next week.

Got one bedroom and one bathroom downstairs deep cleaned last night. May try to do another room yet today. It takes less than 30 minutes to do a room – not sure why I just don’t get them done. I decided not to wash all the linens as they have not been used much, if at all, since I washed them last September.

Got my first Airbnb listing today. The guests won’t be here until the first weekend in June but it is a start. A friend looked at my listing and let me know I had a few typo’s so got those fixed. I need to check my listing again to make sure I caught them all.

I went with the pricing that Airbnb recommended which is significantly less than what others in the area are charging. I may need to go back and raise the prices. I’ll see what happens with where they are now. One thing I need to figure out is to see if I can book more than one couple when they only want one room. I would prefer to have two rooms booked at a time, even if the couples aren’t together.

I need to have Nicole come down with her nice camera and take some pictures of the outside of the house and bedrooms so I can add them to my site. I used what I have but some need updating and I didn’t have any pictures of the guest bedrooms and bathrooms. I tried taking some with my iPhone but they didn’t turn out very good.

Need to remember to figure out a top to put on the baby chicken pen. The biggest chick looks like he is big enough that he could fly the coop if he decided to. He is almost twice as big as the other one. Four more weeks before I can take them out with the big chickens. I probably need to change their linens out today too.

Day 49 today on the Bright Lines Eating Plan. Seems pretty automatic to me by now. I like knowing what I will be eating everyday. I still forget to lay meat out to thaw for dinner but have several things I can fix when that happens. I have lost 13 pounds so far. If I keep this pace of losing up I will be at goal weight in 100 more days. Don’t expect that to happen though as I will probably slow down losing the closer I get to goal weight. I also have the trip to Italy in there and not expecting to lose weight while I am gone – I trust I will not gain too much though!

Grateful I found the group that can fix my blog after three attempts, grateful I got my first Airbnb booking, and grateful the snow has been removed from the forecast.

Happy Easter and Passover to all. I can’t remember Easter being on April Fool’s Day before. I think Mother Nature is pranking us with this blast of winter weather today.

Three years ago today Craig and I signed our divorce papers. Someways it feels like a different lifetime ago and in other ways it feels like yesterday. I have grown so much over the last three years and have found the deep abiding peace and contentment I was searching for.

For some reason today has been a difficult one for me. I feel restless in a way I don’t recognize. Have been hungry which is unusual too. I took a sleeping pill in the middle of the night as I couldn’t fall back asleep. I slept really hard after I took the pill. Woke up later than normal and have felt off all day. Feel like I could go to bed already and fall asleep and it is before 6:00pm. Maybe I have a sleeping pill hangover. I have taken them before and this hasn’t happened but my body is changing and maybe it is reacting differently today than it has before.

Trusting by tomorrow this will have passed and tomorrow will be a good day. I need to go be around people tomorrow somehow as I have had several days at home alone and haven’t really talked to anyone for several days now.

Nothing on my calendar to do until Thursday when a friend is coming to visit. Friday I am going to KC to have lunch with some friends and will hopefully get to see Nicole after that. Next Sunday I am helping with the Chase County Bridal Crawl at Pioneer Bluffs in the morning.

Need to put some boots or skates on and go down and check on the chickens. We got a thin layer of ice earlier and it looks slick out. I took the heat lamp out of the coop when I was cleaning the coop last week. Need to go down and make sure the water hasn’t frozen up. I guess I can drive my car down so I don’t have to skate downhill to the coop.

My bog site is still down. Trusting they will get it up and running Monday.

Got a second booking through Airbnb. This one is for five nights in June. Wonder where this is all going? I’ll have to make sure I book some days off so I don’t have guests all the time at this rate. Need to figure out how I can double book when only one room gets booked. I would prefer to have four guests at a time instead of only one or two. This second booking comes in the same day as the other guests leave and then they leave the same day I have other guests coming in. 10 nights booked so far in June!

Got the ends woven in for the throw I knitted. I was listening to a Bright Line recording and kept my hands busy so I wouldn’t get so bored with the call. Wasn’t able to listen to all of it. Not sure why I find those a challenge to listen to. Now I need to decide if I am going to try to knit a side border on the throw or just leave it the way it is. The pattern had me knit the whole thing in stockinette stitch which makes the throw roll inwards on the sides. No real reason it has to lay flat and it is wide enough the ends rolling in won’t matter. Think I am talking myself out of doing the side borders!

Grateful for my fireplace on this cold day, grateful I have made it through the day without breaking my Bright Lines, and grateful this day is almost over!

Oh what a beautiful day! The sun has returned from its long vacation and it is glorious out with bright blue skies and no clouds. It is 51 and on its way up to 60. Spring has returned to the prairie. My soul is singing today.

Nicole text me this morning. Nicole had met a woman that remembers meeting me once. Nicole is in Spain touring around. I am not sure I remember the lady she met today but that lady did mention a mutual friend we have. It is a small, small world!

Worked on getting my Retreat Center converted to an Airbnb site instead. Still have some work to do on it but my site is up and listed. Need to get a good face shot of myself to put on the site. I don’t have many pictures of myself. Good news is I don’t have to create a website. Yeah!

Struggling with my blog site today. I contacted Word Press and they referred me to JetPack. I hate when that happens. Just sent an email support note to JetPack to see if I can get this straightened out. Sure wish I understood who does what and when. Technological terms and I don’t speak the same language.

Bought a pair of size 6 jeans in Manhattan yesterday. I didn’t think I would be able to get them on but they fit! Wow! Wonder what size I will be when I lose the 23 – 28 more pounds I need to lose to get to goal weight? Down 13 pounds so far but the hard pounds to lose are still in front of me.

Got the chicken coop cleaned out after my lunch today. It wasn’t very hard to do but I worked up a good sweat. Had to take my sweatshirt off. Removed the heat lamp and extension cord from the coop. Supposed to get down to 22 next week but will trust the water won’t freeze overnight. As long as I keep the windows closed to the coop it stays pretty warm. May have to drag it back down there if it gets cold and stays cold for two or more days.

The moon was so pretty last night when I was up during the night. It will be full tomorrow night. I thought I had left the living room lights on as it was so bright out. It has been so cloudy lately that I haven’t seen much of the sun or moon lately. Nice to have them back and shining brightly on the prairie.

Have been reading all the stuff about Facebook and privacy invasion. I did go through my settings and eliminated all the data sharing apps that were open. Have decided not to do anymore of the silly quiz’s and tests that are offered. Most of the data apps that I had open were a result of those. Not even sure what this all means and what the consequences for myself might be. I tend not to think of worse case scenario in cases like this. I enjoy more of what Facebook has to offer than the things I don’t like. It sure helps me stay connected to others and keeps me somewhat informed of what is going on with them. I have managed to get most of the political posts main sites blocked from my page so I see very few of those now. I have also unfollowed several people who have different political views than I do and who like to post those views often. Once in a while I can handle but not daily or even weekly.
Facebook is a fun place for me – not one I go to get triggered with negative posts.

I can feel the energy of the sun pouring into my soul today. I sure missed the bright light during the day. I have more energy today than I have had in several weeks.

Grateful for this glorious, beautiful spring day on the prairie, grateful I got my Airbnb account set up, and grateful for my upcoming empty space weekend.

Went to Manhattan today to visit two dear friends.  Left at 10:00 this morning.  I stopped at a store in Council Grove to get a new egg skillet but they didn’t carry what I was looking for.  Drove on to Manhattan and went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and found what I was looking for.

My friend and I went out for lunch.  I ate from the salad bar that had kidney beans, chopped eggs, and cottage cheese for protein.  Probably ate too much protein and didn’t get enough veggies.  I was satisfied and didn’t get hungry until dinner time.  When I eat out I do the best I can and then let it go.

Stopped at JC Penney’s on the way home to get another pair of jeans.  The rest of the drive home went smoothly but seemed to take a long time this afternoon.  The ride up went fast.  Nothing different – just my perspective of time was different.

Did chores when I got home.  My girls gave me 16 eggs today.  I was surprised there were that many as it is a cloudy, cold day on the prairie.  Only got to 45 degrees today.  I am so ready for spring to return.

I am really tired this evening.  I didn’t sleep very good last night.  Finally took something around 2:30 and was able to sleep then.  How did I ever manage to function on three hours of sleep most nights?  Betting my lights will be out shortly after the sun goes down tonight – if I can stay awake until then.

No plans for the weekend.  Still need to get downstairs cleaned and am running out of time to get that project done as Kathy and her friend will be home no later than Wednesday.  I half expect them to roll in Tuesday night.  Maybe if I get those rooms cleaned I will get inspired to do some cleaning upstairs too.  Then again, maybe not!

Almost done knitting the throw.  Only have 10 more rows and then the bind off row to go.  Still need to figure out how to do the side border and will need to cut and add the fringe edges.  Lots of little ends to weave in too.

The sun is to return from its long vacation tomorrow and the high will be 61.  Yeah!  I am so ready for a sunny day.  Trusting I will get the chicken coop cleaned out tomorrow if the wind isn’t too bad.

Need to do some banking business tomorrow.  I have a CD that is up for renewal and need to decide what to do.  I am not good at knowing what to do with things like that.  I tend to ignore them and just let them auto renew.

In another month or so I will need to look at my Medicare options and get signed up as I turn 65 in August.  I am getting solicited by mail almost daily.  Someone must make money off of selling Medicare plans.  I have looked at the process and what some of my options are but have trouble knowing what choice is the best.  At times like this I need  a crystal ball that will tell me how much I am going to be accessing medical care.

Grateful to have a couple of days full of empty space ahead of me, grateful to have had a nice visit with my friends in Manhattan today, and grateful I can go to bed as early as I want to tonight!

Went into Emporia to get chicken feed and water softener salts this morning.  I lifted the four 50 pound sacks into the cart but asked for help to unload them into my car.  The guy that helped me lifted them like they weighed 10 pounds each.  He told me he lifted them all day.  I ask him if he ever had to go to the gym – he laughed and said no.

There was a house being moved down Highway 50 in front of Bluestem.  It slowed me down a bit but my timing was good and I only had to go slow for two blocks.  I remember the day when my parents moved the house to their property back in the 60’s.  We went from a two bedroom house to a four bedroom house after the new house was finished.  Big change for a family of seven.

Another foggy, dreary day on the prairie today.  I am so ready for the sun to return from its’ spring break.  Starting to get a bit depressed from the lack of sun.  If it is going to be cloudy at least let it rain!  I have almost two inches of rain in my rain gauge from this last week.  Still in severe drought conditions so need six to eight more inches to fill the ponds and the cracks in my yard.

Managed to get over eight hours of sleep again last night although I was awake for eight times during the night.  Loving that I am sleeping more without the use of sleeping pills.  Working on sleeping for longer stretches at a time.

Had sauerkraut and chicken apple sausage for dinner last night.  It did not agree with my tummy and gave me pretty intense diarrhea for a bit.  It finally stopped around 11:00 last night.  I feel cleaned out and a bit weak today from it.  Not sure why my body likes to release like that.  Working on drinking lots of fluids today to make up for what I lost last night.

Haven’t gotten the guest bedroom and bathroom downstairs deep cleaned yet.  My guest is arriving early next week so need to get it done and stop procrastinating on it.  Maybe the urge will hit today and I can get it done.  Considered cleaning out the chicken coop today but felt a bit weak yet so decided not to push myself and do it today.  I’m sure by Friday I will be back to normal and can get it done this weekend.  Emptying the 50 pound chicken sacks into the feed containers was enough physical labor for the day.

Considering changing the retreat center to an Airbnb instead.  What I don’t like about the retreat center concept is the expectation that food will be provided.  It is too much work with little financial return to fix five meals for six or more people for a retreat.  I also think the name Retreat Center implies that it is not a place to come stay for a night or two unless you are part of a group.  I didn’t think when I started it I wanted guests one or two at a time but I have found them much easier than doing a full retreat.  Kathy has taught me how to share my kitchen so I don’t think having guests using it will bother me now.

I let my retreat center website go as I couldn’t find the motivation to organize a retreat.  If I change it to an Airbnb I may look at putting up another website.  People don’t like to talk to people and prefer to book through a website.  I sure like doing it that way better.  I will have to check and see if Airbnb provides what I need without adding a website.  Seems like when I looked at their site two years ago they did but I can’t remember for sure.  That would be nice if I could skip the expense and work of putting together another website.

Grateful for changing my sleep habits at long last, grateful all critter food is stocked again, and grateful for another quiet, peaceful day on the prairie – it refills my very soul!

Went to Pioneer Bluff around 11:00 this morning to help serve a lunch.  I had fun giving the lunch guests a tour of the grounds and serving and cleaning up after the lunch.  I took a salad to eat so I didn’t sample the yummy food that was served.

Sent a message to my doctor’s office this morning about my low heart rate and they wanted to see me today.  I went in this afternoon for that appointment.  The doctor is not going to do anything right now as I am not symptomatic at this time.  He thinks it is just my thyroid slowing it down and it will improve on its own.  If I get symptomatic I am to come back in.

I spent most of the time I was with the doctor talking about international travel.  He has traveled a lot and is always interested in where I am going next.

I was going to have the doctor check out the fingernail that is falling off but I forgot to mention it to him.  It doesn’t bother me and so far I haven’t caught it on anything and pulled at it  Michelle told me to keep it trimmed short and let it do what it is going to do.  So far that is working.

Glad I went in as now I won’t worry about my low heart rate.  It was dropping lower than normal for me and I just needed to make sure I am good to go for another 20 years or so.

Stopped at Walmart on the way home and picked up some groceries.  I need chicken feed but decided to get that later in the week.  I’m tired and didn’t feel like lifting 50 pound sacks of feed.

I have a free day tomorrow and then Thursday I am going to Manhattan to visit some dear friends with a stop on the way in Council Grove to get some new pans to cook eggs in.  Need to decide if I want to organize something for Easter dinner.  I’ll see if the urge hits me – it hasn’t so far.

Have started the last repeat on the throw I am knitting.  It will take me a couple more days to get it done.  The pattern calls for me to pick up stitches along the sides and knit a border.  I’ve only done that one other time and not sure I remember how to do it.  May need to find someone to help me do that.  Last time I used this pattern I didn’t do a border but I had made the first one much narrower than the one I am working on now.

It was interesting watching myself interact with the guests today.  I was able to step up and engage them in conversation and not feel uncomfortable doing so.  It sure helped that I had several quiet days alone before today and I went today feeling well grounded and centered.  I have had days where I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did today without coming home totally exhausted.

Grateful to have been of service today, grateful to have gotten a green light on my low heart rate, and grateful for the rain we received today. The sun returns from its short vacation tomorrow!

 

 

Lazy, rainy day on the prairie today.  Woke up in the middle of the night to a hail storm.  Haven’t noticed any damage yet but it is still misty and foggy out so haven’t done a walk about yet.  Got 1/2 inch of rain.  Still may get some more rain today and tomorrow early morning.

I had trouble getting back to sleep after the storm woke me up.  Texted with Nicole for a bit as she is seven hours ahead of me.  Finally got two more short sleeps in for a total of 8 hours of sleep spread out over 13 hours.  I didn’t get much deep sleep during the night last night so I’m pretty tired today.   May need to take a nap.  Rainy days are good napping days.  The more sleep I get the more sleep I want.

Finally the scale showed I dropped another pound today.  It had been over a week since I had lost weight.  Down a total of 12 pounds so far.  Loosing about 2 pounds a week.  I expect that to slow down to 1 pound a week soon.  With my thyroid missing I will take that decrease as it is hard for me to lose weight.  My metabolism works very slowly these days.

I had an app that charts my weight.  It tells me I have lost 26% of the weight I want to lose.  It helps to see it on a graph and see the downward trend overall.

Had someone come pick up two dozen eggs today.  We had the best conversation.  She is one of those people who I was able to go deep with quickly.  I had only met her one other time but feel like I made a new friend.  Love when that happens!

I am amazed how many like-minded people I keep meeting that live in Chase County.  Something is calling us to this sacred place.  Sure helps to have the support of others in times like this with all the nation’s issues.  Maybe we are to hold each other and increase the amount of space and love we are able to send out to the world.  Some days that doesn’t feel like enough but other days I know in my bones that is what my purpose is right now.

Nothing I need to do today.  Knitting and cleaning are on my agenda for the afternoon.  Tomorrow I am going to Pioneer Bluffs to help serve a lunch.  I will need to make a grocery store run sometime over the next two or three days.  It is hard to keep fresh produce in the house as I eat so much of it and I can only buy it so far in advance.  I am starting to use more frozen vegetables as they give me more time to use them up.

Grateful for the moisture we received on the prairie overnight, grateful for making a new friend, and grateful for this quiet, foggy day full of moisture.

I am almost afraid to write this as I don’t want to spook myself.  My Fitbit tells me I have gotten 8 hours of sleep (or more) five of the last seven nights.  I can’t even begin to tell you the last time that happened.  I am still waking up five or more times during the night, sometimes for minutes and other times for hours.  However, the fact that I am able to go back to sleep and get more sleep is amazing.  My deep sleep periods are increasing each night.

This almost feels like a miracle to me.  I am no longer taking my sleeping pill and am considering stopping the non-prescription sleep aids.  The only thing I am doing different is eating the Bright Line Eating Plan.  Can sugar and flour have been the cause of my insomnia for all these years?  Beginning to think so.  That provides me a lot of motivation to stay on plan.

I started Bright Line Eating to get off sugar and flour so my cancer wouldn’t return.  Sugar and flour feed cancer.  Between that motivation and now the bonus of fixing my insomnia I think I have found an eating plan that is right for me.

A quiet day at home on the prairie planned today.  Nothing that needs to be done other than starting spring house cleaning.  If the mood hits I will get that started today.  Otherwise I will knit on the throw I am making some more.  The chicken coop will need cleaned out sometime this week but think I will wait for a sunny day with little wind to do that.  Trusting one day this week I will get a nice day.  The no wind part is the hard part.

Nicole made it to Barcelona where she will be boarding a cruise ship.  Our first stop in May for our Italy adventure is Barcelona.  She took a tour of the city while waiting for time to pass this morning so she could board the ship.  She was going to scoop out the city so she can figure out what we are going to do for our two or three days we are there in May.

No rain yet today but it looks good that I might get some overnight tonight.  I eagerly await its arrival.  I am in the mood to mow my yard but I need it to turn green and grow first.  Need rain to make that happen.  With the fire danger so high it scares me a bit to have the yard surrounding the house be so brown and dry.  I need a fire barrier around the house.  Not going to water through as I don’t think that is a good use of water I have to pay for.  Besides I can’t even imagine how long it would take for me to water to get a big enough barrier around my house.

Remembered to buy some starter fluid so I can get my mower started.  I went in the hardware store in Strong City and ask for some magic spray.  It took me a minute to realize the real name for it is starter fluid.  My old mower had issues starting and when my brother gave me a can of starter fluid and taught me how to use it the mower would start at the first turn of the key.  I thought it was magic!  That is what the guy that came out a month ago to start my mower used too.

I saw a recipe for a blend of essential oils that is to calm your tummy.  I tried it and it works.  My tummy rumbles a lot now – it doesn’t hurt but the sound of it bothers me. The blend immediately calms it down. I put some on Ellexia the other day when she complained about her tummy hurting and it worked for her quickly too.  The blend uses 2 oz of almond oil as the base to which you add 5 drops of grapefruit essential oil, 5 drops of lemon essential oil, and 5 drops of cypress essential oil.  I put my blend in a little spray bottle and spray it around my belly button and then massage it in.  Highly recommend it!  Supposedly it is to help melt abdomen fat too.  If it does that it will be a bonus.

Grateful for longer periods of deep sleep for the first time in years, grateful for essential oils and the comfort they bring to me, and grateful for magic and the many ways it shows up in my life.

Watched a video last night as part of the bonus Bright Lines Boot Camp offers.  This one was on right brain vs left brain and how the two parts of the brain each have a different way of helping you achieve your life purpose.  Many times due to trauma and events that life brings us the two parts can quit working together and can drive you a little crazy with conflicting messages.  One part only cares about right here – right now – immediate gratification and the other is more long-term.

The speaker in the video has us do an exercise to get the two parts of the brain to work together.  As I did the exercise I realized that is what I had done in Peru with the plant medicine but I didn’t know what was happening.  Powerful stuff!  I may watch the video again tonight.  It was well worth my time.  Want to figure out how to create an energy healing technique that would help this process to happen for others.

Went back down to Pioneer Bluffs this afternoon to give my third wedding tour.  Unless I didn’t read the brides right I think all three will book.  All three are booking for 2019 weddings.  The bride today looked to be 12 years old – or maybe I am the one looking old!

Still working on the throw I am knitting.  I have four and one-half repeats done so only two and one-half to go.  Sure is slow going but guess I don’t have anything else to do.  Doing small needle knitting forces me to slow down and learn patience.  I am getting better at it!

Wore my size 8 jeans today and they fit a bit loose already.  Glad the store didn’t have any more yesterday as I have a feeling I won’t be in them very long at all.  The scale hasn’t moved this week but my body continues to shrink.

A bit cloudy and cool out today.  Sure trusting the wind we have today will blow in some rain.  It is at least in the forecast for the next two days. We’ll see if it actually happens.  It smells like rain out right now.

Picked up 14 eggs when I was down in the chicken coop this afternoon.  The hens act like they are waiting for spring and the bugs that come out when spring gets here.  A friend posted she found a tick already this year.  Wish I could free range the chickens so they could eat ticks in the yard.  They wouldn’t last a day if I let them free range though.

Nothing on my calendar until Tuesday when I am helping to serve a lunch at Pioneer Bluffs.  I probably will start doing some spring cleaning and deep clean a few rooms.  I need to get a bedroom and bathroom downstairs ready for the friend that is coming from CT with Kathy.  She is going to stay here for a few weeks and then fly back to CT.  She has never been to KS before so it will be new for her.  Trusting she will enjoy her time on the prairie.

Never did hear from my doctor about my low heart rate at night or if he can cut off my fingernail.  The nurses must have been on vacation too.  I will call them Tuesday if I haven’t heard from them before that.  They are usually slow at calling me back.  Not sure why communications seem to fail often between me and my doctors.  With all this new technology you would think it would improve communication but I haven’t found that to be true.

I was able to book our seats for the flight from KCI to Newark, NJ in May.  I had to get on my laptop to do it.  I forget not all websites support the iPad.  I rarely get on my laptop these days but am grateful I have it for incidents like this.

I am looking for a short-term volunteer project to do in April.  If you know of something please let me know.  I love being in service to others and have lots of free time right now.

Grateful to have discovered the video I watched today, grateful for fresh eggs every morning for my breakfast, and grateful for the peace and quiet on the prairie today as it feeds my soul and fills it with peace and joy!

Took my little buddy home this morning around 10:00.  Ellexia went home with her parents last night.  Much more room in the bed with only two of us.  Tagen was excited to see that K-State won their game last night.  He was too tired to stay up and watch the whole game.  I think he was asleep less than five minutes after he went to bed.

Got the tires on my car rotated after I dropped Tagen off.  Then went to Walmart to get some groceries.  Stopped at JC Penney’s  and got another pair of size 8 jeans and two t-shirts.  I would have gotten two pairs but they didn’t have any more in stock.

Am doing another tour at Pioneer Bluffs this afternoon to a bride.  Have one to do tomorrow afternoon too.  I am filling in for Kathy while she is gone.  They are fun to do so don’t mind doing them.

Cleared out my egg stash again today and could have sold three more dozen if I had them.  Someone else is coming Monday for two dozen.  Yeah!  Love when the eggs move out quickly.  Ran down this morning to the coop to see if there were any eggs so I could finish filling another carton but the girls hadn’t gotten to work yet today.  Must be a lazy day in the chicken coop today.

The dogs smelled better today.  They must have been lightly sprayed or maybe just rolled in skunk spray to have it dissipate this quickly.  Glad the smell is gone.  I could pet them today and not fear that my hands were going to smell like skunk all day!

Other than the tour at Pioneer Bluffs tomorrow afternoon I have a free weekend.  Still haven’t made it to Council Grove so may do that Saturday.  I have a friend that lives in Manhattan so may go see her next week and stop in Council Grove on my way then.  I’ll make it there one way or other soon.

The rain forecast got pushed back till Monday and Tuesday.  Going to be colder on Sunday with a forecast high of 55 with clouds.  Trusting it will rain Monday or Tuesday.  Going to be in the 70’s today but it is windy.  Gotta love spring time in KS!

Still enjoying my empty space.  I have been aware that I have been practicing my pause.  Pause is my word for the year.  I needed to become more conscious of pausing before I react to anything.  I seem to be able to do so with more ease these days.  Noticed when the kiddos were here I failed once or twice but for the most part was able to pause and react in a much calmer way.  Progress!

Grateful for my buddy staying over last night, grateful I can be of service today, and grateful life is easy for me right now.

 

Went into town mid morning and picked up the grandkids.  We had to stop at Walmart to get some “real” food for them as I don’t have good stuff in the house any more.  Stopped and picked them up some breakfast and then headed for the hills.

They colored their Easter eggs around noon.  I am amazed I had some I didn’t break. I seem to be on a roll breaking eggs the last couple of days.  Not sure what my problem is but I have broken more eggs this week than I have in months.

It is 1:00 and I haven’t fixed the kiddos their lunch yet.  They haven’t stopped eating all day so am not sure when they might get hungry.  They requested spaghetti and meat balls for lunch.  Won’t take long to fix if and when they get hungry.  So far I haven’t been tempted by the food they are eating.  They will have to take any they haven’t finished eating home with them though.  I don’t want to tempt myself beyond reason.

Booked a flight to Newark last night which is the start of our Italy adventure in May.  When I got the confirmation I noticed I spelled Nicole incorrectly so had to cancel the reservation and rebook.  I’m glad I caught it as I’m not sure they would have allowed her on the flight if her name didn’t match her passport.  Sometimes the security people are pretty lax and wouldn’t notice but sometimes they have eagle eyes.  Didn’t want to risk it.  Luckily because I cancelled so quickly there were no penalties.

I have tried a couple of times to reserve our seats for that flight but haven’t had any luck yet.  Not sure if I am doing something wrong or if their web site is not working correctly.  With the snow storm out east and all the cancelled flights their site may be  operating on overwhelm.  I’ll try again later.

Today is the day to charge the dog’s collars.  The dogs all got lightly sprayed with skunk last night.  My kitchen had a brief odor of skunk while the collars were charging.  The garage stinks too as I locked the dogs in the garage while was I charging the collars.  I didn’t give the dogs much love when I took the collars off and put them back on.  Yuck!

Another spring day on the prairie.  Bright blue skies and in the 70’s.  There is a bit of wind so it doesn’t feel as warm as it is out.  Rain clouds move in tonight and tomorrow.  Bring on the rain!

Tagen wants to spend the night but Ellexia is not sure she does.  I’ll see how this plays out tonight.  Not sure if Mom has something planned for tomorrow for them to do.  My schedule is free so we will see what comes of all of this.

Slept eight hours again last night if I add it all together.  Four nights this week I have managed to get eight hours of sleep.  Even though it comes in spurts it is way more sleep than I have gotten for years.  Thank you Bright Line Eating!  Now to work on sleeping eight hours straight without waking up.  A girl can dream – right?

Ellexia has decided she is hungry and wants lunch NOW!  Better go feed her before she gets mad.  She isn’t fun when she gets hungry and mad.

Grateful for catching my booking mistake quickly and getting it fixed easily, grateful the grandkids came to play today, and grateful for sleep – even if it happens in spurts.

A beautiful spring day on the prairie.  It frosted overnight but the sun is out today and it is warming up.  May be the last sunny day for several days as a front is moving in and there is rain in the forecast for Friday, Sunday and Monday.  Love the sunshine but right now we need rain so I will take the clouds when they return.

Set up a site that organizes meals for a family that is going through a tough time right now.  Love that sites like that are available for free.  What a blessing it will be to this family to have hot meals five days a week.  We skipped two days a week so they can use leftovers and not get overwhelmed with the amount of food that comes in.  It was sent out to the community last night and the first ten days are already filled with volunteers willing to bring in a meal.  I love small communities and the love they share when a family is hurting.

Went into Emporia this morning as I needed baby chicken feed.  Those two little ones like to eat!  While I was at Bluestem I got a pair of sandals and a pair of size 8 jeans.  I tried them on when I got home and they fit!  I seem to be loosing inches faster than pounds.  Don’t think I will get too many pairs of size 8 though as I am trusting I will be down to size 6 in the near future.

May need to go clothes shopping the week before I leave for Italy in May.  Betting the clothes I have now will all be too big by then.

Stopped by to see if the grandkids wanted to come out for the day but they weren’t home.  They must have found some place fun to go for the day.  Grateful for the empty space that I feel has been given to me today.  Not sure what I am going to do but sitting quietly and knitting feels good to me.  I got my house cleaned so I can relax and enjoy the day with nothing that has to be done.

I am giving another bride a tour of Pioneer Bluffs Saturday.  I had thought about going to the rally in Topeka Saturday but decided against it.  The bride I gave a tour to last Saturday booked her wedding with us.  Maybe this one will too!

May run to Council Grove this afternoon and look for some new pans to cook eggs in.  Both of my non-stick pans are worn out.  Last time I was in Council Grove I went into a little shop that had nice kitchen stuff.  It is a beautiful day for a ride through the hills.

Not much booked on my calendar for April.  For a change I don’t feel nervous about that.  Empty space seems to be soothing for me right now with no pressure to do something.  Think I will enjoy this space while it lasts.  I feel myself settling into a new rhythm that feels more attuned to nature.  I feel like I am gently floating down a stream and am able to navigate my way around rocks and obstacles in the path.  It has been a long time since I have found such peace and contentment.

Grateful to fit into a size 8, grateful to live in a loving and supporting community that wraps those in need in love and home-cooked dinners, and grateful for this time of year that is so full of potential and beauty.

So much for sleeping 8 hours a night.  I got a little over two hours last night.  So frustrating to be tired but not able to fall asleep and if I do manage to fall asleep to wake up five minutes later.  Maybe tonight I will be able to sleep again!

Nicole and I got on-line this morning on the same website and planned our trip to Spain, Italy and France.  We will be leaving May 8 and returning May 23.  Nicole is going to finalize the purchase this evening.  We still need to book a flight to Newark, NJ which is where the tour leaves from.  That works well for us as there are non-stop flights from KC to Newark for some odd reason.  It is mainly an unguided tour but we picked a few guided tours in some of the cities and have lots of free time to do and go where we want.

This afternoon some friends came over and we had a beautiful Spring Equinox Ceremony.  Today is a day when there is a wonderful balance between light and dark.  Each day for the next three months will have more light than dark.  It is a time to allow our own light within and our spiritual gifts to shine forth.  The world desperately needs each of us to shine our bright lights.

Nothing else on my calendar today other than trash and chores.  May be in bed early tonight if I think I can get some sleep.  It is cloudy and cold out today and a warm bed sounds inviting to me right now.  It is only 44 out today so am looking forward to the 60’s forecast for tomorrow and 70’s for Thursday through Saturday.

Will probably have grandkids tomorrow for the day and they may possibly spend the night.  Ellexia called me at noon today and told me she was bored.  She forgot I told her yesterday I had guests coming this afternoon and couldn’t come get her today.  She was going to try Uncle Jason and Papa Craig and see if one of them would come play with her.

Got the second of seven repeats done on the blanket I am knitting.  It seems to be going slow but I am making progress.  It is finally long enough that the weight of the blanket can rest on itself and I don’t have to hold it up.  Not sure the colors are the right blend but I am using up yarn and that is what I had on hand.  It will be nice to get 12 skeins of yarn used up from my fancy yarn stash.

The sun just came out for the first time today.  It is still pretty cloudy out so not sure it will stay out long but it is wonderful to see it for a bit.  Feels much warmer out when the sun shines.

Another day of quiet mind for me.  I love days like today.  Friends come to visit and we had a deep conversation.  Concerns were lifted up and comfort shared.  Hard to find a way that a day could me any better.

Grateful for my friends who so generously share their spirit with me, grateful for Spring Equinox and the example of perfect balance it provides for us, and grateful for the deep joy and peace I feel in my soul today.

Happy birthday to my sister Kathy.  She is out in CT celebrating with her kids and grandkids.

While I was cleaning the living room this morning Ellexia called and asked me to come get her and bring her out here for the day so her mom could sleep.  I went in and got her and then we stopped at Walmart for a few things.  Finished cleaning the living room when I got home.  Fixed her blueberry pancakes for lunch.

We picked up two Easter Baskets while we were at Walmart.  I have some old glitter left over from when mom worked at Hallmarks way back when I was a kid.  Ellexia has been decorating the baskets with glitter – one for herself and one for Tagen.

Have over one inch of rain in my gauge.  Yay!  I invited the rain to pull up a chair and stay all day but I think it has left the prairie for the day.  You can almost see the grass turning green this afternoon.  It was so nice listening to the rain and thunder last night while I slept.

I have gotten more sleep the last two nights than I have gotten for a long time.  I am still sleeping in spurts and not straight through the night but if I stay in bed for 12 hours I can get 8 hours of sleep.  I can’t even remember the last time that has happened for me.  I credit the Bright Line Eating plan for the change.  Trusting my future includes more sleep every night!

My body is not used to that much sleep though and I am more tired now than when I only slept three or four hours. I am trusting I will adjust to getting more sleep soon.  I think I could get used to that.

Still trying to figure out the right dose of chelated magnesium to take each day.  Some days I take too much and go to the bathroom all day but when I cut down the dose even a slight bit I don’t go at all.  Not sure which I prefer!  Someone suggested I cut dairy out completely and see if that will help calm things down.  The only dairy I eat is 1/2 oz of cheese each morning with my eggs.

Not sure if eggs are considered dairy or not.  Sure would hate not to be able to eat my own chickens’s eggs.  I’ll give it one more week and if I am still not back to normal I’ll cut out the cheese and see what happens.  Eggs will be the last thing I cut out.

Got a new ironing board cover today but got the wrong size.  I’ll have to take it back and get a different one next time I go to town.  Sure wish I could get the right thing the first time I go.  Doesn’t seem to be the way things work for me these days.  Didn’t know there were so many different type of ironing boards.  Can’t remember how old my ironing board is and the last time I replaced the cover.  Might not even make one for it any more.

Need to put my muck boots on and go down and check on the chickens.  They will need fresh water today.  I bet the eggs are muddy in the nesting boxes today.  Need to teach the chickens to wipe their feet before they lay their eggs.

Want to change the bedding in the baby chicken pen today.  I noticed when I went down yesterday and again this morning that I could smell them.  That is my sign to give them fresh bedding.  Trash day is tomorrow so the timing works to change it out today.  Two sure don’t make as much of a mess as 10 did.  I had to change the bedding weekly when there were 10 in the pen.

Ellexia is nagging me to go do something fun.  Wonder if she will think cleaning the baby chicken pen is fun?  Guess I am about to find out.

Grateful for rain, grateful Ellexia is spending the day with me, and grateful I was able to get some cleaning done today.

 

 

Went to Art Day at Prairie Past Times.  Always nice to visit with the women that come.  I had picked up some Scubby yarn at Walmart and knitted two scubbies while I was there today.  Not sure if they are the size I want so decided not to make a third one until I try these two.  They might make good skin exfoliating cloths as they feel pretty soft.  I needed something for the kitchen but they almost feel too soft for that.  It will be interesting to see how I end up using them, if I do.

Cloudy, cooler day today.  Have a good chance of getting some rain overnight and into tomorrow morning.  It could rain all night and all day tomorrow as far as I am concerned.

Nothing on my calendar for tomorrow.  I do want to go to Council Grove and go to the kitchen store.  I need  some new non-stick pans to cook my eggs in.  One of the pans I have the coating is peeling on it.  I want to invest in some really good, safe pans.  The ones at Walmart felt cheap and I don’t think would last very long.  If it isn’t raining I may make a trip to Council Grove tomorrow.

I have been on the Bright Line Eating plan for five weeks now.  I am down 11 pounds.  I don’t get hungry very often and have lost my craving for sweet stuff.  I like how simple my meals are to fix and knowing what I am going to eat.  I have gotten used to eating three meals a day although it would be easy for me to skip breakfast.  It is an easy plan for me to follow and so far feels like it is something I can stay on for a long time.  I am on track to reach my goal weight by June, if not before.  Trusting my trip to Italy in May won’t derail me.  I’ll worry about that when or if that happens.  I do better staying focused on today and what I need to eat today.

Am starting to notice my clothes are fitting differently.  My sleeves are hanging lower, my blouses don’t gap open, and my pants are much looser.  Not ready to go down a size yet but it won’t be long before my pants will be too big.  I may try to wait until I drop two sizes before I replace them with brand new pants though.  May check at Goodwill to see if they have any in the next size down as I hope I won’t be in them more than two months before I drop to a smaller size again.

Turned the fireplace on when I came home this afternoon as there is a bit of a chill in the air.  Won’t mind it a bit if it rains and gets cold.  Don’t want the cold without rain though.

Cleared out my egg stash today.  Love when that happens.  They can pile up quickly if I forget to take them with me when I go places and attempt to sell them.  My egg money stash is piling up.  I use that money to treat myself once in a while.  Need to think of a special treat.  Maybe I will go get a pedicure.  My heels are in bad shape and need smoothed out.  It is almost sandal weather.

Enjoying the empty space again.  The pressure to “do” instead of “be” seems to be gone for now.  I can feel myself slowing down on several levels and allowing what is to “be” and know that is enough.  Something shifted in me during the Peru adventure and the process of releasing I did their.  I feel a contentment within me I haven’t felt before.

Grateful for the potential of rain, grateful for the beautiful women I spent time with this afternoon, and grateful for empty space that feels welcoming and peaceful.

I went to Pioneer Bluffs this afternoon to give a bride a tour of the grounds.  Her fiancé, his mother and the bride’s parents all came along.  It was a beautiful day to show off the grounds.  They were laid back and I bet their wedding will be lots of fun.  I like real people who can keep things simple.

Nothing else on my agenda today.  I really need to think about doing some housework but the urge hasn’t hit me yet.  When it gets to bothering me even more I will get it done.  It is almost to that point.  I have some friends coming over Tuesday afternoon so maybe that will motivate me to get at least the living room, dining room and kitchen done.

I started knitting a small needle project yesterday.  It is a throw using Super Wash Wool.  It has 207 stitches per row so it will take several weeks to finish.  I can only knit on small needles for brief periods of time.  My eyes don’t like that type of knitting.  I have so much fancy yarn to work up I need to get some worked up or I need to get rid of the yarn.

The wind finally calmed down during the night last night.  It was about to drive me over the edge yesterday.  There is something about the sound of the wind that can take me to a dark place inside.  I see why pioneer people went crazy from the wind howling.  We had wind gusts of over 50 mph yesterday afternoon.  I prefer days like today where there is a nice breeze but not strong winds.  The sun is shining and the skies are bright blue today.  Only 55 out but I will take that over yesterday’s 70’s with the strong wind.

Realized I had something to do everyday this week.  Next week is much quieter for me unless I end up babysitting the grandkids so Michelle can sleep.  I do better when I have several days a week with nothing on my calendar.

My heart rate dropped to 42 last night during the night according to my Fitbit.  When I looked up low heart rate on Web MD it said hypothyroidism can be a cause.  My heart rate has been low for lots of years – bet it was a symptom of my thyroid issue and no one connected the dots for me.  Wonder if it will improve when I get my thyroid levels raised to normal limits.

My Fitbit is giving me credit for my knitting time.  Yesterday it said I did 36 flights of stairs.  Got that thing fooled for sure!  I sat and knitted instead of climbing stairs.  May have to take it off while I knit if I want a more accurate picture of my physical activity.  I do have slender fingers though!  Sure wish knitting burned more calories as it is my favorite sport.

Another quiet mind type of day.  I seem to be stringing several of those together right now.  Loving this peaceful valley I am finding myself in right now.  Challenges appear but I immediately know a solution.  I will appreciate and enjoy this time for as long as it lasts.

Grateful the wind quieted down, grateful to have been able to spend an hour outside giving a tour at Pioneer Bluffs on this gorgeous spring day, and grateful for the peaceful valley I am in right now.

 

 

Went into Emporia late afternoon yesterday to babysit the grandkids while their parents had a date night.  The kids were a bit out of sorts and looked tired.  We went out for dinner via drive-thru and brought our food home to eat.  Neither one of them ate very good.  They had showers and went to bed fairly early.  Ellexia fell asleep first but Tagen had a hard time falling asleep.  He finally moved into Michelle’s bed and fell asleep.  About the time Tagen fell asleep Ellexia woke up with a tummy ache and headache.  I rocked her and did magic on her tummy and head.  She finally fell back asleep and I carried her into her parent’s bedroom.

Not sure where Michelle and Tim were going to sleep last night.  Guess the kid’s beds were available!  I went ahead and came home after they got home as my legs were restless and I hadn’t taken my restless legs medication with me.  I took a hot bath when I got home and finally got to bed around 3:30 this morning.  I got up at 9:00 but I was awake for about 40 minutes during that stretch of time.

Went into Emporia to return the keyboard case I had ordered as it was the wrong size.  Dropped it off at the UPS Center in Staples.  I took my iPad with me and had an associate help me pick out one that would fit.  The first one I tried didn’t prop up so I could use it on my lap.  He picked out another one but I couldn’t try it as it had a security wire on it.

When I got to the register I ask the clerk if I could try it.  She helped me open the box and we found out it didn’t fit.  It was too big just as the one I had ordered was.  She helped me try another one and we finally got one that fit.  Made me feel better about ordering the wrong one.  Glad I tried it at the store instead of driving home and having to go back in.

I was able to get it up and running when I got home.  So far I like typing on this keyboard.  I had gotten a free-standing keyboard but I didn’t like it as it was hard to balance on my lap.  Even when i tried using it on the table it didn’t work very well.  I should know better than to get something cheap.  You get what you pay for!

Ran over to Walmart to get lettuce greens for my girls and headed home.  The wind on the highway is bad!  My little car got blown around when I passed the semi-trucks.

Switched the band on my Fitbit.  I had ordered a large band and should have ordered a small one.  Nicole had an extra band that was a small size she had given me.  This one has a magnetic strap which is easier for me to put on than the buckle type.  The only problem is I catch the magnetic end and pull it off.  Right now the Fitbit is a bit tight to get on my wrist so I don’t think it will fall off.  Maybe by the time I get down to my right size body I will be used to it and won’t be pulling the end up.

I liked being able to see my sleep pattern last night.  I hit the deep sleep stage for a few minutes twice last night.  It will be interesting to see what sort of pattern develops over time.  I also noticed my heart rate dropped to 44 during the night.  My resting rate is 50 – 52 but I didn’t know it was dropping that low over night.  Next time I go to my doctor I will take that information in with me and make sure that I am not endangering myself.  I have had a low heart rate for a long time but it seems to be getting even lower these days.

Nothing on my calendar for the afternoon.  Tomorrow I am giving a bride a tour at Pioneer Bluffs in the afternoon.  Sunday is the Art and Craft Day at Prairie Past Times.  I enjoy going and visiting with the women that come.  Next week is Spring Break for the kiddos so I told Michelle I could babysit some so she can sleep during the day.  Not sure if or when I will have them yet.

It sprinkled as I was driving home last night.  Unfortunately that is all the moisture we got.  Don’t see any more rain in the forecast for the upcoming days – just more high wind alert days.  May break down and water the spring flowers that are popping up in my flower beds.  Not sure they will have the energy to bloom without getting some water.

Need to go do another critter check.  The dogs are hanging in the garage today even though it is nice outside.  They are probably wanting a break from the wind.  May need to carry something heavy down with me to the chicken coop so I don’t get blown over.

Kathy made it to CT safely.  I’m sure she is enjoying the time to reconnect to her family out there and seeing her friends.

Sitting with a quiet head today and enjoying my empty space.  Even feel like taking a nice walk but not sure I want to fight the wind.  Gotta love living on top of a hill!

Grateful I found a keyboard for my iPad that I like, grateful I was out in the middle of the night and got to at least smell rain even though we didn’t get much, and grateful for the time I had with my grandkids last night.

 

Had a nice quick trip to KC yesterday.  Nicole and I went to Costco together and then spent some time planning a trip in May to three different cities in Italy, Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain.  We will be gone 16 days.  This is a tourist trip with no specific agenda.  Spring time in Paris!  Oh my!

Went into Emporia this morning to get groceries.  Got two 52 pound sacks of dog food and a 30 pound sack of cat food so got my weight lifting done for the day.  Also got myself some groceries for the week.  I mainly shop the produce section these days.  I forgot lettuce for my chickens so will have to stop on my way home from babysitting the kiddos to pick some up.  I had it on my list and forgot to check my list.

Lat night we ate at Jose Peppers.  I ordered a salad that had grilled chicken on it and had them leave other stuff off.  Also ordered a bowl of fresh grilled veggies.  Wish I had taken my scale so I knew for sure my portions were OK but I guessed the best I could.  Didn’t finish either dish but was satisfied so stopped eating.

I will go back into town late afternoon as I am babysitting grandkids tonight.    Not sure what the plans are for dinner so will take my dinner with me.  I may take the kiddos out for dinner but where they like to eat is sometimes hard to find food I can eat.

I have the doors open letting in fresh air today.  It is nice to get the house aired out.  It is a bit windy today but it feels so good to have fresh air.  I remembered to call the door guy I use.  The door leading from the garage to the house is hard to get closed and needs adjusted.    I also want him to hang the screen doors for the sliding doors downstairs.  I have the screen doors; they just have never been hung.  When I had him add the screen doors upstairs I didn’t bother doing the downstairs ones as I wasn’t downstairs much.  With Kathy down there now I think she will enjoy being able to have the doors open without bugs coming in.

I raised the heat lamp in the pen for the baby chickens again.  They are three weeks old now.  They are starting to enter the ugly duckling stage as they have outgrown their baby feathers and their big feathers are too short for them.  Pretty sure one is a rooster and one a hen as the rooster is almost twice as big as the other one already.  Not sure I need two roosters.  Five more weeks and I can put them outside with the others and see what happens.

Gave all three dogs their HeartGuard today.  I even managed to get Roxy to eat hers.  The other two dogs eat anything and everything but Roxy is picky.  Today is her second birthday so I gave them all a treat to celebrate.  Roxy is the queen of the three girls.  What she says is the law of the land!  She is a touch moody and the other two have learned to avoid her when she is in one of her moods.  They sure seem happier with their shock collars on.  They aren’t near as crazy around people now.

I heard from one of the teachers of the students that did my reading Tuesday night.  They offered me a free session to make up for the one the students had done.  Not sure if I am going to take advantage of it or not.  Nice of them to offer though.

What a glorious spring day.  It is to get up in the 70’s with a touch of wind.  The only thing that could make this day better is a couple of inches of rain.  I got another early morning text alert telling me my house is in a high fire danger zone,

Spring Solstice is next week.  Hard to believe we are at the halfway point of the light returning.  Time to let our inner light shine and embrace our life’s purpose and mission.  The universe really works to support us during this time of light!  Shine on!

Grateful for fresh air blowing into my house today, grateful for an upcoming trip with Nicole, and grateful I get to see my grandkids tonight.

 

It has been a quiet morning home alone today. I did the critter chores and decided I needed to put rocks in my pockets to keep from being blown over. It is beautiful out today if you can find a place out of the wind. I have gotten three fire danger alerts already today. One came in as a text before 6:00 this morning.

I had another night of not good sleep. It took a long time to fall asleep and then I couldn’t stay asleep very long. I don’t enjoy nights like that.

Going to KC this afternoon. Need to make a Costco run and then am having dinner with Nicole. Feels like it has been a long time since I have seen her.

Thursday evening I am babysitting the grandkids so Michelle and Tim can go to a concert. Decided to watch the kids at their house as the kids have school Friday morning and they would have to get up really early if they stayed overnight here. Not sure if I am sleeping overnight or if I will come home after Michelle and Tim get Home. May depend on if I can sleep or not.

Ordered a new iPad case this morning. I have chipped the corners on the one I have and it hurts my hands as the case has some sharp edges. It has been like that for a bit. Funny how I put up with things like that and forget I can fix them easily. Cases are not very expensive.

Had a reading done last night by two students that are taking an intuitive class. They didn’t do a very good job as they doubted themselves too much. At the end they got one of the leaders to help. He did a nice job coaching them but didn’t give me any information. The technology they used was pretty cool though.

I was to sign on at 7:15. When I did the leader was setting the space and leading the students in a meditation. It was weird to have that going on when I didn’t expect that. I then got put on hold for 15 minutes before the students were ready.  Wonder why they didn’t have me log on at 7:30. They got cut off at the end when they weren’t expecting to as they had their eyes closes and missed the silent time prompt. They must be at the start of their class. Hopefully they aren’t about done with the class.

I hit the wrong button on my blog edit page and when I type I can’t see what I am typing.  When I scroll down to read what I typed it won’t stay so I can see it when I correct my spelling and grammar.  Need to take a class and learn more about this shit.  It drives me crazy when things like that happen and I don’t know what I did to make it act differently than it did last time I used it.  I think gremlins got in my iPad last night and changed things up.

It is usually the little things in life that trip me up – the everyday little irritating things.  Like catching my hands on a chipped case and forgetting I can fix that by getting a new case.

Someone was going to come pick up a shawl today and she didn’t showed up when she said she would.  That is one reason I don’t like making them anymore.  They are free and the least someone  can do is show up when they said they would.  Another little thing in my life that bothers me.  Guess my life is going pretty good if something as small as that bothers me!

Grateful chores are done for the day, grateful for my quiet, empty space this morning, and grateful I get to see Nicole today and Michelle and her family tomorrow.

 

Finished writing the grant proposal I was working on yesterday.  Just waiting on a financial report and it will be ready to deliver.  Good to get that little project finished up.

Went into Cottonwood Falls for a birthday lunch today.  I had a good time and met some people I hadn’t met before.  The birthday lady is the one that told me about Bright Lines eating and the whole lunch was Bright Line friendly.  Even the birthday cake was made out of several different wheels of cheese and decorated with fruit so it had no sugar or flour in it.  How kind of the birthday girl’s friends to honor her in this way.  Such great support!

There was another woman there on the program too.  One of the things Bright Lines suggest we do is form a small Master Mind group of other people on the program that we can turn to if we need support.  Since Kathy is on it too, the four of us could form a group that we could do in person.  How cool is that!

I took eggs to sale and forgot about them and left them there.  I called one of the women still at the party and she was going to give them away for me.  Nice to have my egg stash cleared out again.

Got out of jury duty yet again!  I think they can’t call me now for at least one year.  That was easy!

I am going to KC tomorrow afternoon to see Nicole and have dinner with her.  I am anxious to see all the pictures she took on her last trip.  Trying to remember if I need to get anything while I am in KC and can’t remember what it was if I did.   Must not be too important.

I have an appointment tonight with some students that are taking an intuitive class.  Their teacher is one of the guides that escorted a group of us when we went to see John of God on my first trip there.  It should be a fun hour.  We do it over zoom so they can see me and I can see them.   I set the alarm on my phone so I won’t forget to call in.

It is warming up today.  The sun is out and we have bright blue skies.  Only going to be in the 50’s today but is to be in the 60’s tomorrow and the 70’s later this week.  Bring on the warmer temperature.  Sure wish we would get some rain though.

I noticed today that the finger I bruised when I helped with the Symphony’s newsletter is going to lose the nail.  So far only half of it is loose so may have to have it all cut out.  If I can keep from catching it it might all come off on its own.

Enjoying this quiet little valley I am in right now.  My mind has been quiet and I feel very grounded and centered.  Not getting too much done but feel no pressure to do anything right now.  I am in that space where being is enough.

Grateful for empty space that feels relaxing, grateful to have met some new friends today, and grateful all is well on my little corner of the prairie.

 

 

Another night of not sleeping very well.  I am tired today and may need a nap.  I have a grant writing project to work on and need to be more alert.  Trying to decide if it would go easier if I took a nap first.  I am using my laptop computer to type it and it isn’t going easy right now.  That computer uses short cuts I don’t find helpful and I haven’t figured out how to turn them off.

Ran into Emporia this morning to return some rental equipment the Symphony had borrowed from True Value.  I drove a big double cab truck.  Nice to have power on the highway but it was a big difference from my little Prius.  Glad I didn’t have to fill the truck up with gas and pay for that.  I’ll take my $16.35 cost of gas to go 350 miles car.

I will find out at 5:00 tonight if I have to report for jury duty tomorrow.  Sure hard to plan my week without knowing if I will have any free time or not.

Nice to see the sun come out today.  It is still too cold for my liking but it is warming up slowly.  Going to get lots warmer later this week.  So far the wind isn’t blowing very hard.  I got cold yesterday and haven’t warmed up yet.  I kept turning my electric blanket control higher during the night and never did get too hot.  Before I had my thyroid out I ran hot all the time and it is hard to get used to running cold now.

I stayed in my Bright Lines yesterday but anytime I eat out I am never sure about the portion size.  I ate meat at lunch so had black beans for dinner.  I wasn’t hungry last night and couldn’t eat all I was supposed to.  Guess it is better to under eat than to over eat.  I don’t like eating out as it is hard to know for sure I am not getting any flour or sugar in my food.  It is hard to get 10 oz of veggies in a restaurant.  So far I am only eating out about once a week so don’t think I am doing too much damage to my plan.  Some restaurants are easier than others to find food I can eat.  I lost two pounds this morning and last time I ate out I gained two so must have made better choices this time.  Nine pounds gone and 32 to go!

Once I find out about jury duty I want to schedule a time to go to KC and see Nicole.  She leaves again in twelve days so want to get up before her next trip.

Need to check to see if I need any groceries.  If I do I will need to run into town this afternoon and get them in case I am tied up the next couple of days in court.

I can’t stop yawning so think I will go lay down for a bit.  Never know if I will fall asleep or not but a rest sounds inviting to me right now,

Grateful to have a service project to work on,  grateful to have been in service today by returning the equipment, and grateful I have the luxury of taking a nap if I decide to do so.

 

 

Daylight savings time started today.  I sure don’t like it.  I don’t think it is wise to mess with Mother Nature.  Not sure what we think we are saving by switching the time.  We still have the same amount of light.

It has been four weeks since I cut out flour and sugar and started eating the Bright  Lines way.  I lost 7.2 pounds my first four weeks.  This last week I only lost one pound which is what they tell you to expect to happen.  Still have 30 to 40 pounds to go.  Sooner or later I will make it.  I will continue to live my life and wait for the pounds to drop off.  I’m trilled I am losing weight since I no longer have a thyroid.  Everything I read about removing the thyroid prepared me for a weight gain.  It is harder for me to lose weight than most so I will gracefully accept a one pound a week drop.

Went to Pioneer Bluffs last night with some friends for the Contra dancing.  It was fun to get out and I enjoyed the fellowship of the event.  The first half was traditional Contra dancing which was a lot like square dancing.  The musicians were really good and the caller made the evening a relaxing and fun event.

The second half was a modern Contra event.  The music was very different and the dance was a blend of  Contra with a modern twist.  It was a bit more complicated but the dancers seemed to catch on and made it work.  I liked the rhythm of the traditional Contra better.

Coming home last night we drove through a very light rain.  I was sorry to discover it didn’t make it up the road to my house.  Sure smelled nice though.  I really need a good couple of inches of rain.  The ponds around here are getting very low.   It isn’t a good start to pasture season.  Ranchers won’t be able to burn until we get some rain and grazing season will be delayed if we don’t get good spring rains..

A friend came to visit today.  We met up with some other friends at Ad Astra for lunch and then went into Emporia for the premiere showing of a locally produced movie about local women.  It was fantastic!  Go see it if you can.  It will be on several different TV stations over the next month too.  It has a great message about the roots of the prairie and how women are keeping it going.

Saw several friends at the movie that I hadn’t seen for a bit.  The longer I live in Chase County the more people I meet and get to know.  I’m so lucky to live where I do.

It feels like it could start snowing any minute.  What a change from yesterday.  Spring in Kansas is unpredictable.  We are on a weather roller coaster and going high one day and dropping low the next.

Grateful for a visit from a friend, grateful to the prairie where I live, and grateful to have so many beautiful women in my life.

Picked up the grandkids yesterday at 6:00.   Michelle was having a Pampered Chef party last night and I offered to get the kids out from under her feet during the party.  We had a fun evening at my house together.  They ate popcorn and s’mores and took soaker tub baths.  Both were sound asleep by 9:00.

It was not a good night for sleeping for me even after I moved to the bed in the guest room.  Tried several tricks but none seemed to be working last night.

Both kiddos were up around 7:30.  I fixed them bacon, eggs and pancakes for breakfast around 8:30.  Ellexia ate especially well.  She cooked the eggs for me.  She helped me do chores after breakfast.

Tim came and got them around 9:30 this morning.   I’m glad they came out as we all had a relaxing time together.

A friend invited me to go to the Contra dancing event at Pioneer Bluffs tonight.  I need to get out of the house and said I would go.   Not sure it is my thing to go dancing but it will be nice to be around people tonight.

Tomorrow a friend is coming in the morning and we are meeting other friends for lunch and then going to the locally made and produced movie that is being shown at the Granada Theatre in Emporia in the afternoon.

I ate lunch a bit early as I need to have dinner done before 5:30 tonight as that is when my friends are picking me up.  I get hungry between lunch and dinner but so far have never gotten hungry between dinner and bedtime.  They are selling barbecue tonight so trusting the smell doesn’t lead me off plan.  I need to remember to take extra bottles of water with me.

Since I have a guest coming tomorrow I probably should do some housecleaning this afternoon.  The dust on the end tables is thick enough to write in.  The floors aren’t much better.  Need to consider doing some spring cleaning this month.  I’ll see if the urge hits or not.

Nicole made it home late last night.  I haven’t talked to her today yet.  She had been awake over 36 hours so trusting she is getting some sleep today.  I’m anxious to see all the pictures she took and hear more about her adventure.  It sounds like she had a wonderful trip.

Need to run into Emporia this afternoon and pick up a prescription.  Trying to remember what else I needed before I drive in.  I forgot to write it down and can’t remember now what it was.  I hate when I do that.  I can’t trust anything to memory anymore.

Grateful the grandkids came out to spend the night, grateful to my friend who invited me out tonight, and grateful for the peace and quiet I am enjoying this afternoon.

 

 

 

Kathy got off on her adventure a little before 7:00 this morning.  Trusting she will travel safe and easy.

It feels like it should be afternoon already and it is only 9:30.  Not sure why this day is dragging slowly.  I have gotten several things done already and am running out of little projects to do today.  Did some more work in the pantry.  Cleaned out my tool bag and reorganized some other things.  I really dislike not being able to quickly put my hands on what I am looking for.  Reducing how much stuff I have helps but keeping what I need organized is vital to my mental health!

I have a small power screw driver but can’t find the charging cord.  I have two more places to look and if I can’t find it I will throw it away.   No use having it if I can’t use it.  It is so small it doesn’t do a lot of good anyways.  I have a bigger one down in the barn.  It is heavy though and my arms get tired when I use it.

Got my federal income tax return back already today.  It only took one week.  Good job feds!  I treated myself and ordered a Fitbit.  As I start to get more active I want to track my progress.  I also want to track my sleeping patterns to see if I can discover something helpful.

Got the results of my thyroid levels back yesterday.  They had dropped from 1.6 to 1.111.  I think I read that when you start the Bright Line Eating plan it can cause your levels to drop temporarily and then after two or three months they bounce back up.  The doctor doesn’t want to change my dose of medication so I sent her the pharmacies fax form so I can get a 90 day supply at a time instead of monthly.  I can refill after two months so if I decide to take a long trip I have enough pills.

Have a meeting to go to this afternoon.   May go to music tonight in Cottonwood Falls if I am not too tired.  I really need to make myself get out more.

Need to go do a critter check before I leave for the meeting.  They all seem to be enjoying this beautiful spring-like day on the prairie.  My girls are laying at least a dozen eggs a day.  They are enjoying all the veggie scraps I now generate.  I don’t have to give them lettuce everyday as they get enough greens without it.

Did a bit of work in my storage room and discovered I only have three more totes of shawl and blanket yarn left!  I still have three other totes of other yarn to work up.  That will be more of a challenge to work up as most of it takes smaller needles and the projects take much longer.  It is nice to have more space in that room though with three totes gone so far.  Makes me feel hopeful that someday I will get it all worked up.

I was thinking it was time to deep clean every room again.  Last time I did that was last September and I ran into problems as that is when I had my thyroid storm and ended up in the hospital for two nights.  What a shit storm that started.  I have had 33 doctor appointments or procedures since then.  Thankfully things are slowing down.  Hard to believe that all started six months ago.  Grateful for the way things turned out as they looked pretty dark at times during it.    The cancer is gone and I am on my way to much better health.  I must have needed to be knocked down hard for me to get my lesson.  Sometimes I am a bit slow to understand what the universe is trying to tell me.

Grateful for this beautiful spring-like day on the prairie, grateful for the ease and peace in my life right now, and grateful for all the friends I have in life now.

Went into Emporia a little after noon to get my blood drawn so my thyroid levels can be checked.  I picked up some egg cartons from a friend who saves them for me.  I appreciate that!  Went to meet with someone else but we missed connecting with each other.

Took my boxes to the shred event yesterday.  There was quite a line the whole time I was there but it was well-organized and the line seemed to move fairly quickly.   It took me about 15 minutes to get to the drop off point.  Kathy and Craig each took three boxes too so got rid of nine boxes.  The attorney general gave everyone some political propaganda.  Wonder if my tax dollars paid for it or if it came out of his campaign money.  I’m afraid I am a bit suspicious of all politicians these days.

The wind finally quieted down today.  It is warming up this afternoon and turning into a nice day.  It is to be spring like tomorrow!  Bring it on!!

Haven’t gotten much done today.  I did finish knitting another blanket.  Four more skeins used up!

I heard today about the deaths of two women from surrounding communities.  One had cancer and the other died in a car accident.  Both had lots of children and both still had children living at home.  My heart goes out to their families.  Life sure isn’t fair sometimes.

Kathy is going with some friends to a movie tonight.  They invited me to go with them but I haven’t decided it I am going to go.  I really don’t enjoy movies but I would enjoy being with that group of women.  I am a bit tired today so will probably stay home and go to bed early.

Feeling very lazy today and not very motivated to do anything.  Sitting in my chair in the bright sunshine and looking out the window is about my limit of doing for the day.

Have a board meeting to go to tomorrow afternoon.  I like the people on the board but don’t enjoy the meetings.  This will be my last year on the board as I don’t enjoy them.  I do better just doing my thing for an organization and not knowing all the behind the scenes stuff.

Think I will go outside and do a critter check and walk down and get the mail.  Maybe some fresh air will give me some energy and I can get something done today.  Still have two baby chicks that need a new home.  Anyone know of someone who wants them?

Grateful for the sunshine this afternoon, grateful for empty space, and grateful for a day where I can be and know that is enough.

 

 

 

I have had a productive morning.  Rolled the trash can down the driveway as it was too heavy to lift into my car.  Fed the dogs and cats.  Put three boxes of old store records in my car to take to Craig and then headed into town to buy groceries.

Dropped off the boxes of records at Craig’s and then went to Walmart.  Since I only eat fresh produce these days I find I have to go to replenish my supply at least twice a week.

Came home and loaded six more boxes of records in my car.  Went through them to pull the metal files and clips out of them in case they can’t be shredded with metal in them.  I pulled some of the paper clips but not all.  Kathy said she would take three boxes in so I will get rid of nine boxes today!  Yeah!  I pulled the boxes that were full of ex-employee files and the boxes that had deposit slips and payroll stuff in them.  The daily records are not so sensitive and I will continue to put them in my trash can each week.  One by one they too will disappear.

Jason came out and took two bags of water softener salts downstairs and added it to the softener machine for me.  Those bags weigh 50 pounds each and wear me out to carry them down and pour them in.  If I divide them and use a different container to carry them down I can eventually get them loaded.  Jason is so much easier!  Thanks buddy!

Tomorrow I have to go in to town for a blood draw.  Time to get my thyroid levels checked again.  Friday I have a board meeting at Pioneer Bluffs in the afternoon.  Kathy is leaving Friday morning for CT and will be gone at least three weeks if not four.

Nothing on my schedule the rest of the day except for taking the boxes to the shred event between 4 and 6.  I need to do some more cleaning.  I got my bathroom cleaned yesterday and need to finish cleaning my bedroom today.  Wish I could get on a schedule and make myself clean one room a day.  I have never been that disciplined to be able to stick with a plan like that for long.

The wind is only blowing 20 – 25 mph today.  Much better than yesterday.  It is to blow itself out and be much calmer tomorrow.  Maybe I can get outside and work in the flower beds tomorrow.  Craving some fresh air and dirty hands.

Grateful for Jason’s help today, grateful for calmer winds, and grateful nine boxes of records are going away easily.

35 mph sustained winds on the prairie today with gusts up to over 50 mph.  I was going to go to town and get groceries but decided not to take my little car out on the highway.  There are way too many semi trucks on the highway that pass me and blow my car around like a Tonka toy.

There was a fire about three miles west of me this morning.  We watched the smoke for a bit to see what direction the fire was moving.  Luckily they were able to get the fire stopped before it did much damage.  No telling how far it might have gone if it had reached open prairie.  The sound of the wind and the shaking of the house is wearing on me this morning.

I didn’t sleep much last night.  Finally got up at 3:00 this morning and knitted for two hours.  Went back to bed and slept for about an hour before I couldn’t stay in bed any longer.  May need a nap this afternoon.

Had a request from two people who want to spend the weekend of the Symphony on the Prairie in June with me.  One has house sit for me before and is bringing a friend with her.  I have a ticket for the Symphony this year so may go join them.  Both of them volunteer the day of the Symphony.  I haven’t decided if I am going to work the Symphony or not.  I may go and enjoy it for the first time ever this year.   Need to figure out a way to get Kathy a free ticket too.

I got summoned to appear for jury duty again already.  Can I get lucky two times in a row and not have to appear?

A friend is coming to visit Sunday.  She knows several others in this area so we will all meet at Ad Astra for lunch.  Last time I ate there I didn’t make a food choice that was Bright Line friendly and it set my weight loss back by four days.  Think I will take my own lunch this time and play it safe.  After lunch we are going into Emporia to watch a locally made movie about some Flint Hills women.  I know several of the women being featured in the film.

I noticed there is a paper shred event happening on the fairgrounds tomorrow afternoon.  There is a limit of three boxes so I will only take three boxes in.  I have old employee files that I would prefer be shredded instead of just dumping.  I could take at least 30 boxes of old files if there wasn’t a limit.  I will pick the most sensitive ones and take them.

If the wind isn’t blowing so hard tomorrow morning I will fill up my second trash can with boxes of files that need taken to the dump.  No use setting it out if they are going to blow away though.  It will take me a couple of months to get rid of all of them.  Bit by bit – piece by piece they will be gone!

Might be a good day to go down to the storage closet and clean it out.  It would help me get away from the sound of the wind upstairs for a bit and get another project done.  As I release weight I am feeling the urge to release clutter in my house too.  Not much clutter left but when I look I am always amazed at how much I find that can be thrown or given away.  The garage needs done but this is not the day to do that.  Maybe if I open the big door to the barn the wind would sweep the floor for me!

Grateful for a warm house to shelter in from the wind today, grateful to friends that come visit, and grateful I have all that I need without having to get out on a day like today.

 

Took my car into Cottonwood Falls to be serviced this morning.  They returned it to me washed and vacuumed.  I almost didn’t recognize my car!

I noticed lots of cars at the courthouse and was told there is a jury trial today.  Glad the one on Friday was cancelled and I got out of jury duty this time.

Walked over to the Symphony office to see if it was time to iron aprons for the June Symphony event.  They sent about 80 aprons home with me to iron this afternoon.  Have all but 20 of them done.  Needed to take another little break and then I will get them finished yet today.   They sent a flat piece of cardboard with me to lay them out on as I finish ironing them.   Not sure I can get it into their building with the aprons still on it with the wind blowing so hard.  May wrap them in Saran Wrap when I am done and see if that will work.

I enjoy ironing when I don’t have to do it.  That used to be one of my chores when I was a kid.  I ironed my work uniforms for the longest time as well as Craig’s stuff.  Eventually got smart and found a different way to do uniforms.  I rarely iron anything now as I hang stuff right out of the dryer.

It has felt good to have a service project to do for the day.  Wouldn‘t want to have something to do everyday but once in a while I enjoy having a little project to do.

The sound of the wind could drive a person crazy.  I haven’t seen it blow this hard all day for a bit.  The swings are a rocking and rolling this afternoon.  Sure trusting no one throws a lit cigarette out of a car window on highway 50.  A fire would be very hard to stop with these high winds.

Brought up another tote of yarn last night.  I was able to dump it in the tote in the closet.  So nice to empty out another tote!  I thought I had only saved yarn that had matching end trim pieces but am struggling to find matching trim yarn.  Not sure if I will break down and get some more trim pieces or just give that yarn away that doesn’t have trim pieces that match.  Guess I will knit up what does have matching trim pieces and decide later.  Maybe I have a tote of trim pieces somewhere I haven’t found yet.  This is my second empty tote since I started knitting again.  I was afraid to count how many more I have.  Three less downstairs than when I started!  Progress!

I was bored yesterday afternoon so replaced the lining in some kitchen drawers.  Used up one whole package of shelf paper and almost a second one.  I was sorting stuff in the pantry and found the shelf paper.  Love when I can use up stuff that is sitting around.  I had forgotten I had some leftover paper.

Still have some more work to do in the pantry but with the food I no longer eat out of it I have several empty shelves now.  Makes me want to have a couple more empty shelves.

Quiet head space day again.  Feel like I am floating down a gentle stream and life is easy right now.  After the year I had last year I am appreciating this pause from drama and enjoying the gentleness of life that has presented itself to me right now.

Grateful for a service project to do today, grateful for the bright blue skies, and grateful for a clean car.

 

Lazy day on the prairie today.   Not quite as warm as it was yesterday.  The wind is in a big hurry again today though.  Got a text from emergency services telling me I am in a high fire alert area.  I think they even used the word catastrophic fire danger.  A bit scary as my local fire department doesn’t have the equipment to fight a fire on this house.

Finished knitting another shawl this morning while I watched a video.  Make the time go fast and I enjoy movies better if my hands are busy.  May start another shawl or blanket this afternoon.  Love getting this yarn worked up.

Got the light fixtures in the dining room and kitchen cleaned yesterday.  They are clear glass and difficult to reach to clean.  I love when they are clean and sparkling but don’t like to clean them as it involves a ladder.  I always get window cleaner in my eyes as it drips down on me.  It is hard to get them clean without them streaking and it is hard to tell if they are streak free while I am under them.

Sure wish it was time to mow my yard.  I feel like getting out on the mower.  Maybe I will just ride it up and down the driveway!  I really need to find something productive to do.  Left to my own devices I can get into trouble!

Got my taxes back from my accountant Friday.  I signed the permission slip so he can E-File them.  Should take about three weeks to get my money back from the Fed but who knows how long from Kansas.  Good to have that project wrapped up for this year.  Grateful I am getting money back and don’t owe anything.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to get the oil changed in my car at the service station in Cottonwood Falls.  I so appreciate the fact that they vacuum my car out and wash the exterior as part of their service.

Sometime next week I need to go to the lab in Emporia to have blood drawn so they can check my thyroid levels.

Sitting in a quiet head space again today.  The wind is wearing on me a bit but I need to get used to that as the forecast shows high winds for the next couple of days.

Kathy is leaving Friday for a three-week trip or longer back east.  She is bringing a friend back with her who is going to stay here for a couple of weeks.

Spring is coming to the prairie.  My tulips are starting to pop their heads out of the ground.  I think spring is my favorite season.  Can’t wait for the spring rains to arrive and the grass to start turning green.

Grateful for a lazy day on the prairie, grateful my taxes are done and grateful I have nothing urgent on my to-do list so I can enjoy this empty space.

 

I enjoyed my two house guests last night.  The little one helped me do chores this morning.  She gathered 11 eggs, fed and watered the baby chicks, and checked on the  dogs and cats to make sure they had food and water.  She took home the eggs she gathered to show her dad.

I fixed them breakfast of blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and yogurt.  They left around 11:45 as they had fun plans for the afternoon.

I happened to see a guy from Strong City on Facebook that does lawn mower repair.  I sent him a message and ask if he did house calls.  Since I live fairly close he said he would come out this morning and see what he could do.  Using some starter fluid he got my mower started and running.  He brought a quart of oil and showed me how to fill it.  Next time I go to town I need to get a can of starter fluid.  I call it magic spray!  Now I just need rain and warmer temperatures so my grass starts to grow and I am ready for mowing season.

It is to be 68 degrees out today.  It would feel like spring if the wind wasn’t blowing 28 MPH!  I may go take a walk even in the wind.  I feel like I have cobwebs in my brains today and maybe the wind would help blow them out.

Yesterday I went down to the barn and got the old records thrown down from the loft and loaded on the trailer.  I’ll either get the trailer to the dump or will start putting one or two boxes a week in my trash and get rid of them that way.  Still need to sweep out the barn and that project will be completed.  Lots of empty shelf space.  Found lots of stuff to throw on the trailer that needs to be thrown away.  Nice to have a clean barn.

Have the sheets off the two guests beds washing.  I’ll get those made up this afternoon.  This house sure cleans up easy.

Watched the almost full moon rise last night.  It was beautiful – so big and orange.  I hadn’t caught the moon rising for a bit.  When I got up during the night the living room was so bright I thought I had forgotten to turn a light off.  Gotta love the full moon!  Sure wish my guests that came out for the blue moon rising party could have seen the moon rising like I saw last night.

For the first time since I started eating the Bright Lines way I gained a pound this morning.  Everyday before this I had either lost weight or weighed the same as I had the day before.  I ate out last night so I’m thinking that is why I gained.  When I eat out I have no control how food is prepared.  At least to my knowledge I didn’t eat any flour or sugar!  It is hard for me to determine portion size without my scale.  I’m trusting this pound will drop back off tomorrow morning.  I keep reminding myself that the scale number is one piece of information.  It can’t weigh how much better I am feeling about myself.  Six months from now when I am at goal weight and maintaining it I won’t even remember I gained a pound today.

By the way, for those that know me well, you know I don’t usually eat Brussels sprouts.  I did last night and I enjoyed them!  That makes the second time this week I have eaten them and liked them!  Whoa!  Things are changing for me!

Nothing on my calendar for the weekend now that my guests have left.  Nothing that needs done urgently so I get to enjoy some empty space.  I got some new modules to watch from Bright Lines so may knit and watch them this afternoon.  I might take a nap.  I actually slept fairly well last night but still feel sleepy today.  It is too windy to go outside so might as well nap.

Grateful my mower is ready to go when I need it, grateful for my empty space this weekend, and grateful for a clean barn.

 

Went into Emporia this morning to get some groceries.  Stopped at a bank to close a checking account.  I had only put one deposit in it last year and had only written one check.  Not worth the $3 a month checking fees and no interest on the money sitting there.  After the clerk gave me the ending balance in cash one of the other clerks ask me if I knew if I switched to on-line statements I wouldn’t have had to pay the $3 a month.  Wonder why they didn’t tell me that earlier.  Irks me a bit I have been paying this monthly charge all along and no one ever told me I had an option.  Glad I am done with that bank.  They did take all my checks and deposit slips and told me they would shred them for me.

Woke up this morning in time to watch the beautiful sun rise in the east and the full moon setting in the west.  Didn’t know which direction to look as it was beautiful both ways!

I didn’t have to report for jury duty today.  I find serving to be an interesting process but I have done it several times in the past and was glad I got out of it this time.  The last time I got summoned and didn’t have to report I got summoned again within a couple of months.  I think if that happens the second time they will take me off the list for a year.  It may be three times though.

Two guests are coming for the night.  I am going to meet them at Ad Astra for dinner at 5:00.  I studied the menu and found something that is close to what I need to eat.  At this point I really prefer to eat at home as it is easier and safer for me.  I will fix them breakfast tomorrow morning and they are leaving around lunch time and will eat lunch out.  Still need to clean a toilet and then I will be ready for them to arrive.

Another beautiful spring-like day on the prairie.  The wind has returned.  Sure wish it would blow in some rain but I don’t see any in the forecast.

Still have two chicks.  Anyone interested in taking them?  They were a week old yesterday.  I had forgotten how much they change each day.   Their wing and tail feathers are already starting to come in.  They sure are quiet.  I like having them downstairs but I have to post a note for myself so I remember to go check on them.  With only two in the pen it doesn’t get near as dirty or as loud as it did when I had 10 in it before.

Need to call and get an appointment so I can get the oil changed in my car.  I was going to drop it off on my way into the courthouse today but since I didn’t go that plan won’t work.  I usually just sit and wait for them to get it done.  It rarely takes more than 25 minutes.  I love that they vacuum and wash my car as part of the service.  It is about the only time my car gets cleaned out and washed.

Sitting in a good head space today. The restlessness from yesterday is gone.  My energy level is starting to return and my mood has almost completely leveled out.  No sugar or caffeine highs and lows anymore.  Not ready to take a ten-mile hike yet but I bet by the time it warms up and stays warm most days I will be ready to get out and start walking again.

Averaging about a two-pound weight loss per week right now.  Nice and steady – I like that.  Sure doesn’t feel like I am on a diet though and I’m really not.  This is a permanent change in the way I approach food and I intend to eat like this the rest of my life.  I rarely get hungry and am to eat more food than I want.  What is not to like about that?

Grateful for the beautiful sunrise and moon set this morning, grateful to have gotten out of jury duty this time, and grateful for my unexpected empty space for today.

Not motivated to do much today.  I didn’t sleep very good again so maybe I just need to go take a nap.  I made myself eat breakfast at 9:00 this morning even though I wasn’t hungry.  I need to eat lunch soon but am not hungry for it either.  I will wait another thirty minutes or so and see if I can get it down.

I don’t think I am getting sick.  When I reduce how much I eat and only eat healthy stuff my appetite tends to decrease significantly.  It would be easy for me to slip into a pattern of not eating enough.  When I do that my weight loss stops as my body thinks I am starving and really slows down my metabolism to protect me.  My metabolism is already going slower than normal and I really don’t want it to go any slower.

I will find out after 5:00 tonight if I have to appear for jury duty tomorrow.   I have a friend and her granddaughter coming to spend the night tomorrow night so trusting I will get out of the court-house fairly early in the day if I have to go.  We are eating out Friday night so I don’t have to fix dinner.  I need to give some thought to what I want to fix for breakfast Saturday morning for them.  I don’t have guest food in the house right now.  I did save some pancake mix and syrup for the grandkids and my friend’s granddaughter likes pancakes and eggs.  I have plenty of eggs right now.  

Need to think of something to do outside today and get out and move my body.  Maybe if I did I would sleep better.  I can always go sort records and pull the ones that I can now discard.  Haven’t made it down to the barn to do that yet.

I subscribed to Amazon Prime for a free thirty day trial to see if I will watch enough videos to make it worth it.  I am disappointed in their selection of movies though.  I may go to Netflix instead.  I am really not a movie person but occasionally I like to watch one while I knit.  I struggle with the whole Hollywood ego thing and how much actors get paid.   Not sure they contribute that much worth to society.  Watching a movie feels like I am endorsing that myth.  Some movies do have an important message in them but most do not.  I particularly do not enjoy the violent crime movies.

Feeling a bit uneasy today for some reason.  That familiar restlessness has returned to visit me.  Doing my best to sit with it and make friends with it.  I will not allow it to drive what I do or don’t do today.  And this too shall pass!

Need to get someone to check out my mower.  Last time I ran it last fall the oil gauge stick was not tight and oil came out.  When I was down in the barn a month ago I tried to start it and I couldn’t get it started.  I’m sure it needs oil but haven’t a clue where I add it.  The mower is under warranty so I can take it in but I need it to run to get it loaded on the trailer.

I am having typing issues today so I will take that as a sign that I am to end this for the day.

Grateful for the bright blue skies today, grateful March is here and Spring is close, and grateful for the fireplace warming up my living room today.

Went to KC today to meet a dear friend for lunch and make a Costco run.  Left at 9:30 and got home at 4:00.   Not ure why but making a round trip to KC always wears me out.

I got to the restaurant a bit early so I could have a discussion with our waiter about my food choices.  I decided on a piece of salmon and a double serving of vegetables.  When the salmon came it was rare on the inside and didn’t have many veggies so I had to send it back.  I reminded him I wanted a double serving of veggies when I sent it back and then asked for more when he brought it back.  He never brought me more.  Maybe it was a double serving but it wasn’t close to 10 oz which is what I was to have.  They didn’t have any fruit and I forgot to take some with me.  Eating out can be a challenge on this plan.

The veggie of the day was roasted Brussels sprouts.  They were chopped up and mixed in with salad greens.  I actually enjoyed them!  That is new for me as I don’t usually like Brussels sprouts.  They didn’t have another veggie choice so I had decided to try them.  I’m glad I did.

Not sure I stayed in my Bright Lines but I did the best I could at this restaurant.   The only thing I could have done differently is taken my own food.  That feels uncomfortable to me and a bit rude.  Easier to eat at home right now.

I’m surprised I am not really hungry for dinner tonight since I didn’t eat all my allowed food for lunch today.  I am starting to get hungry but am not starving.  Good sign I think!

Tomorrow is a free day for me.  I feel like I need one to get caught up.  Friday I have jury duty unless I find out otherwise Thursday night when I call.  I need to get the oil in my car changed so think I will drop it off on my way into the court-house Friday morning if I have to go. The service station is right across the street from the court house.

Drove through a bit of moisture coming home today.  Unfortunately it didn’t follow me all the way home.  The ground was damp this morning here but don’t think we got much rain over night.

Need to go do a critter check and make sure everyone is good.  I miss the critters when I am gone for a day.

Grateful for a safe trip to and from KC today, grateful to see my dear friend, and grateful I remembered Epsom salts so I can take a salt bath tonight.

With Kathy’s help we got almost 2,000 post cards labeled and stamped today.  They were here at 10:00 and I had them at the post office at 2:30.  Glad that little project is done.

I finished writing the grant I had worked on yesterday morning last night.  I took it into Emporia and gave it to the appropriate person after I dropped the post cards off at the Cottonwood Falls post office.  That makes two projects completed today.  It has been a productive day.

I didn’t sleep very well again last night.  Just could not fall asleep.  May have gotten three hours of sleep before I finally gave up.  I don’t enjoy nights like that.  I thought I was really tired but could not relax enough to sleep last night.

I got my laundry done today.  It is all folded and put away although I still need to make up my bed.  I took little five-minute breaks every hour while I was working on the post cards to let my shoulders relax a bit.  They are a touch tight this afternoon.  Repetitive motion is not good for a body.

My friend hasn’t come to pick up the two chicks yet.  May need to come up with Plan C.   As they are downstairs they don’t bother me so I can keep them if needed.  These two seem pretty quiet so they must be content where they are.

I’m going to KC tomorrow to do a Costco run and have lunch with a dear friend.  I always enjoy getting away for a day but am always happy to get back home too.

The clouds are starting to roll in.  The wind has been in a big hurry all day today.  Trusting it will blow us in some much needed rain.  Chase County is back into drought conditions and high fire danger alerts.  Sure could use a couple of inches of nice, gentle rain.  67 degrees out today!  Spring has sprung early on the prairie.

I have been off caffeine for three weeks now.  When I was in town today I almost stopped to get an iced tea and then remembered I no longer drink it.  Glad I remembered before I ordered one.  Old habits die hard sometimes.  I was hoping if I quit drinking it I would sleep better but that hasn’t proven to be true yet.

Grateful my two projects are completed, grateful for the coming rain (I am ever the optimist), and grateful for Spring!

 

Kathy decided to clean out the chicken coop this morning so I went out and helped her.  She did the heavy work of shoveling the shit from the coop into the wheel barrow.   My job was to dump the full wheelbarrow into the garden area.  I cleaned out the nesting boxes and then laid fresh straw inside the coop.  It is so nice to have a clean coop.

The weather is amazing today.  I had to take my sweatshirt off as I worked up a sweat and got too hot.  It is a spring-like day on the prairie.  Love it!

The lady that was going to pick up the two chicks today backed out as she has too much going on at home and needs to tend to some loved ones.  Luckily another friend said she would take them and is to pick them up tomorrow.

I fell asleep yesterday afternoon around 4:00 and didn’t wake up until after 8:00.  I got four good hours of sleep!  Yeah me!  I wasn’t sure if I should make myself eat dinner or not but changed my food plan to something soft and got some food down. I wasn’t hungry but I am not to skip meals if at all possible.

I went back to bed around midnight but didn’t sleep very long at a time all night.  I am tired again this afternoon but hate to start the napping game.  Maybe I can push through and stay up and get back on schedule tonight.  I need to go to town and run some errands and get chicken feed.  Maybe that will wake me up.

Still haven’t cleaned house.  Funny I got the chicken coop cleaned but not my house!  My bed needs fresh linens too!  Kathy is doing her laundry today so maybe I will wash mine tomorrow.

I’m going to KC either Wednesday or Thursday to do a Costco run and have lunch with some good friends.  Friday I have jury duty.  My week is filling in.

Wrote out a rough draft of a grant proposal I am working on this morning.  I need to let it sit for a bit and then go back and do a final draft.  I have already thought of some things I forgot to put in it.  I can only use 200 words so need to be diligent in choosing the right ones.   I am already at 200 words so will have to take something out to put in what I forgot.  I get too wordy sometimes.

Gave away seven shawls and blankets yesterday but still have a tub full.  Guess I will start carrying them with me and find people to give them to as I am out and about.  I don’t like having stuff I am not using sitting around in my house.  Clutter invites other clutter.

May go down and sort old business records this afternoon.  I can throw them down from the loft they are in and load them on my trailer so they are ready to go to the dump.  I can also throw a box a week in my trash can as I have room in it and get rid of them one by one.  I have two trash cans go can start setting both out for several weeks until I get rid of them.  I love throwing stuff away.

Grateful for this beautiful spring-like day, grateful my chicken coop is cleaned out, and grateful the chicks have found a good home.

Another long night for this grandma!  Tagen was asleep by 8:00 and Ellexia followed shortly afterwards.  I slept from 9:00 to 1:00 although I was awake for brief periods about every hour.  Finally at 1:00 I moved to the couch.  A queen-sized bed is too small for three people.

At 1:15 Tagen comes out and tells me he is very cold.  I took his temperature and it was 101.8.  Gave him some Motrin and tucked him back in bed.  Ellexia heard the commotion and woke up.  I put her in the recliner in the living room.  Tagen came out about 30 minutes later and wanted to lay on the couch so I went back to my bed.  30 minutes later both kids joined me in the big bed.  By then Tagen was too hot so I got a cold wash cloth to put on his forehead.  Both kids stayed up until about 3:00 until they finally settled down and went back to sleep.  I went back to the couch and got two more hours of sleep.

Both kids woke up a little after 8:00.  Tagen has a bad sore throat but no temperature this morning.  I fixed them pancakes and scrambled eggs.  Ellexia ate most of hers but Tagen only ate half of his.

During the night I decided to take an Emergency C packet to help me not get what ever it is that Tagen has.  Big mistake!  Immediately after I took it I didn’t feel very good.  Started getting a bad headache about 15 minutes afterwards so I checked the label.  The first two ingredients are sugar in two different forms.  Yuck!  I didn’t even think about that when I took it.  I am still feeling the effects of it hours later.  Those things work for me but not sure I am willing to pay the sugar price again.  Lesson learned.  One more thing to get rid of.  It was a reminder to myself that sugar doesn’t do good things to my body.

Took the kids home this morning around 10:00.  I wanted them to be in their mom’s hands if Tagen started running a temperature again.  Sure hope he didn’t expose Kathy and I to something icky.   Kathy has a trip coming up and I don’t want her  to leave not feeling good.

I am going to Prairie Past Times this afternoon for their Art Day.  It is fun to watch others be creative.  I am going to take some knitting and a tub of shawls and blankets.  I need to weave the ends in so they will be finished.  I think I will offer the others there a shawl or blanket so I can get rid of them.   I knit at this point to relax and use up yarn.  No real purpose in making what I make.  I have no desire to start distributing prayer shawls again and deal with the requests that came with that.  I really got taken advantage of by a few people and that kinda took the fun out of that project for me.  Shipping has gotten so expensive that I don’t want to go there either.

Found a friend that will take the two baby chicks.  I decided it wasn’t worth raising just two.  The other six eggs did not hatch.  It was fun to incubate the eggs and watch the two hatch.  I may try it again.  I need to learn how to tell if the eggs are fertile or not.  I can tell when I crack them open but that doesn’t work if I want to incubate them!  I really don’t need more chickens right now as my coop was designed for 18 and that is what I have.  More than that will encourage them to lay eggs other places than in their nesting boxes.

It may be warm enough tomorrow we can get the chicken coop cleaned out.  I use the deep straw method during the winter which means I add fresh straw monthly and don’t remove the old, dirty straw.   It helps add warmth to their coop.  When it is warm out it is really stinky.  In the summer I remove the old straw and lay fresh down monthly.  The chickens seem to enjoy fresh linens and a clean coop.  Makes it more fun to gather eggs when the coop doesn’t stink.  The winter clean out takes a lot longer and is an especially icky job.

Another quiet week ahead although I may go to KC one day.  I have a growing list of things I need from Costco and have some friends I like to visit monthly.  Since Nicole is out of the country  I won’t be able to visit her.  Friday I have jury duty if the case proceeds to that.  I’ll know Thursday night if I have to go.

Grateful for the blue skies and warmer temperatures today, grateful to have had the grandkids out for the night even though Tagen got sick, and grateful for my sugar lesson last night.  I am committed to staying off sugar!

This has been a long day.  I woke up around 2:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Finally got up at 3:15 and knitted until 5:30.  Went back to bed but never did get much more sleep.  At least I got three hours in before I woke up at 2:30.  When I get up before the butt crack of dawn it makes for a very long day.  It goes on and on and on…..

Finished knitting the blanket I was working on and got another one started.  Not sleeping is good for something I guess.

Ellexia wanted to come out and couldn’t get a text to go through so she texted Jason and had him call me.  She is very creative in getting what she wants.  Michelle brought the kids out a little after noon.  They wanted to see the two baby chicks.  They haven’t been out for a bit so we are having fun.  They got bundled up to go outside to play but didn’t stay out long as it is sprinkling and cold.  May have to find something fun to do with them in a bit.

I think they are spending the night but not sure yet.  Tagen said he is for sure but Ellexia isn’t sure yet.  She has never liked spending the night like Tagen does.

It was so foggy earlier this morning I could barely see off the deck.  It cleared up for a bit but looks like the fog is moving back in.  Grateful for the moisture but I will be happy when spring comes and it warms up.  My yard is one big mud and ice puddle right now.

Took three boxes of stuff I will no longer be eating to the lady that coordinates filling up the little pantry located in the south part of Emporia.  They are struggling to keep the box full and she was very grateful for the food to put in it.  I was grateful she was willing to take my boxes.  Feels good to have my pantry cleaned out of stuff I won’t be eating any more.

One part of Bright Lines Eating is to write out each evening or morning what you are going to eat that day.  I have struggled to get that part going.   Not sure why I am in resistance to doing other than it feels like someone is telling me what I have to eat (even when that someone is me)!  I know, it doesn’t make any sense.   Kathy has found much comfort in writing her food out.

Part of my problem is my stomach is in shock from all this healthy food I have been giving it.  Some meals I feel it needs raw veggies and other meals I need to cook them in order to get them down.  I never know ahead of time which it seems to want.   Trusting my tummy will settle down soon and I can eat my veggies either cooked or raw with no issues.

I did write down my food for the day today for the first time.  So far so good.  Maybe I’ll get the hang of this.  The reason the program has us do this is to move the decision about what to eat to a time when you are full and your blood sugar is good which is right after either dinner or breakfast.  As long as I make good choices at the grocery store I can decide quickly and with no effort what to fix.  However at some point that may not be true.  This system helps one not rely on willpower and automates my food so it reduces the likelihood of not following the plan.

I have gone almost two weeks without flour or sugar.  I don’t get hungry between meals and have had no cravings.  We are not allowed to snack between meals.  I am surprised how fast I have adapted to eating three times a day.  That was one of my worse food habits before – skipping meals and forgetting to eat.  Then I would all of a sudden realize I was starving and would eat the first thing I could find which was usually a flour and/or processed food.   So far on this plan about the time I start to think I might be getting hungry it is meal time.  The meals are simple to fix and I usually have my meal fixed in under five minutes.

So far I am very grateful I found this program and that I jumped in and joined it.  I needed to find a program that would teach me how to eat for the rest of my life and help keep me off sugar, flour and processed foods.  That will help increase the odds in my favor that my cancer will not return.  Feels good to be treating my body well and feeding it real foods.  Who would ever have thought that I would learn to like veggies!

Grateful for the grandkids coming out today, grateful for the moisture we have gotten, and grateful for finding a new way to feed my body.

Both chicks are still alive this morning.  I had a dream the one in the incubator had died.  Glad to find out it was just a dream.  I was almost afraid to look in the incubator when I got up.  I heard chirping so I knew something was alive in there.  I carried it downstairs to the big girl nursery so the first one hatched has company.  The other six eggs are not showing any signs yet of hatching.  The expert I get advice from told me to wait until day 25 before giving up on them.  Today is day 21.

Nicole made it safely to her hotel.   Not sure where in the world she is at.   She had been up for over 31 hours last I texted with her and was going to try to get some sleep.  She had to be downstairs in her hotel  in 6.5 hours to start her tour.

Half way done with another blanket.  Sure wished I knew what to do with them.  They are piling up!  Have another big stack that needs their ends weaved in.  Prairie Past Times is having their art day Sunday so I may take them and do it there.  Maybe I can find a home for some of them there.

Cleaned out my pantry today and got rid of the food we will no longer be eating.  I have two big boxes full.  I plan on taking them to Emporia when I go next time and drop them off at the little food pantry box.  Someone that is helping with it said I could drop the rest at her house and she will take them when the box isn’t full. I may just drop both boxes off with her so I only have to make one stop.  I need to figure out how to make the boxes lighter.  They are too heavy to lift off the floor.

Kathy and I cleaned out the refrigerator freezer.  Found some hamburger from 2014!  Yuck!  There was food I had long since forgotten was in there.   Most of that had to go in the trash as it was freezer burned.  Nice to have freezer space again.  I need to clean out my freezer in the garage next.  Too cold today to do it.

The shock collar for Sophia came in today.  The last one Kathy had gotten for her had a short in it and it shocked Sophia all the time.  Sophia is a bit of a wuss so it may take her a while to get used to it.  It will be nice to let her run while Kathy is gone in March and know that Sophia will not run away.

The nurse from my Endocrinologist office called yesterday to tell me my ultrasound I had done Monday came back clean.  Yeah!  I have blood tests scheduled again sometime in March and then I go see the Endocrinologist again in June.  I’ll have another ultrasound and more blood tests then.

Need to go to town and get a few things but am waiting for the temperature to climb a bit and for the gravel road to thaw a bit.  Kathy walked down to the mailbox and could barely keep on her feet the driveway was so slick.  Chase County cancelled school again today due to the slick gravel roads.  We are to get more moisture this evening and tonight.  May be Sunday before I can get to town.  I don’t need anything too urgent so it can wait until it is safe.  I don’t like driving when the roads are bad.

Didn’t get my house cleaned yesterday.  As muddy as it is I hate to do it yet.  We will just track in after chores.  Another couple of days won’t hurt – right?

Eggs are piling up again.  Got rid of seven dozen Wednesday and already had seven more dozen.  Need to find some regular customers.  Anyone want a regular supply of fresh, country eggs?

Grateful for two, live baby chicks, grateful for my yarn supply as it gives me something to do when I am trapped at home, and grateful Nicole made it safely to her destination.

A chick hatched during the night.  I was up at 3:00 to close a door that had blown open and checked on the eggs then.  No chick yet but when I was up a little after 6:00 it had broken free.  Another one is getting very close to breaking out.  These two are from the two green eggs I put in the incubator.  None of the brown eggs have started yet but they aren’t technically due until tomorrow.

I set up the chicken nursery in the furnace room.  Kathy reminded me the cats have claim to the laundry room so I put the chicks downstairs.  Trusting I will remember to check on them several times a day.  They tend to dump out their water and feed containers.  They are rather messy creatures.  Still need to move the heat lamp downstairs.  It is in the garage and the dogs have been enjoying it this morning.

Still haven’t decided if I am going to sell the chicks or keep them.  Two different people have said they are interested in them so know I can find a home for them if I decide to.  It will depend on how many hatch.  Two doesn’t really make it worth it to raise them and go through the hassle of integrating them into the big house.

I charged the dog collars today.   Roxy was outside the front door so I let her come inside and Star came in through the other door.  I put them in the garage with the doors closed while their collars charged.  I went two weeks between charges and the green light was still on.   I will go fifteen days next time and keep increasing it until the light gets to red.  They must be avoiding the borders and the battery is not draining very fast.

Need to clean house this afternoon as my house smells like wet dog now!  Yuck!  It is icy out and nothing else I have to do so maybe I will clean house.  Then again maybe not!  I seemed to have learned how to do nothing and be content.

I finished the baby blanket I had been working on this morning.  Even got the ends weaved in.  Need to get another knitting project started.  As cold as it is I will probably knit a blanket next.  They feel really good on my lap when they get long enough as I am making them.

Day 12 of my new eating plan.  So far so good!  I have lost 5 pounds so far.  Only 30 more to go!  I am really liking this plan.  My biggest challenge is eating three times a day.  I had gotten in the habit of grazing my way through the day instead of eating a meal.  I have had to reduce the amount of food allowed as it is too much for me.  Even with the reduction I struggle to eat everything all three meals.  I get a touch hungry sometimes between meals but not crazy hungry.  I keep telling myself another meal is coming soon when I get hungry.   If I can find something to do I forget I am hungry.

The other big change for me is absolutely no sugar or any type of flour or processed foods.  I knew when I was diagnosed with cancer that I needed to get my gut changed to an alkaline gut as sugar and flour feed cancer.  For some reason I wasn’t able to make the decision to do that until all the cancer stuff was settled.  All of a sudden I knew it was time.  A friend had mentioned the name of the plan she was on.  I looked it up and it seemed to be exactly what I had been looking for.  It is called Bright Lines Eating.  You can do the on-line class or you can order the book and follow it that way.  I signed up for a two-week on-line class and will follow it with an eight- week on-line class.  Many of the theories of the program are what my mentor has preached to me over the last couple of years so it feels very congruent for me.

One thing I really like about this plan is that it is a lifetime plan.  Once I get close to goal weight I start slowly adding foods until I find that perfect level for me that will maintain my weight forever.  Most diets don’t prepare you for living once the weight is off.   The diet is really easy to follow and I don’t spend much time in the kitchen fixing food.

Nicole left on another trip this morning.  She is going to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia this time.  She is doing her first tour group experience but has lots of free time to do her own thing too.  Last I heard from her she was boarding her 13.5 hour flight to South Korea and then will have another 6 hour flight to her first destination.

I am tired today.  I didn’t fall asleep until around 2:30 this morning.  I woke up when I heard a noise and finally figured out the dining room door had blown open.  The house was getting cold fast with the north wind that was blowing in.  I got a text this morning a little after 6:00 which woke me up.  I was so excited to watch the new baby chick I couldn’t go back to sleep.  May be time for a nap soon.

While Nicole is gone I am going to make my blog public again so she can know what is happening on the prairie while she is gone.

I am in a really good spot right now.   I have reached a new, higher level of vibration and life seems easy right now.  I never know how long this calm will last and know that I will start climbing another step higher at some point.  But for today I am going to enjoy the fruits of my labor and enjoy where I am at right here – right now!  Peace and calm feels so good after the hectic year I had last year.

Grateful for my new baby chick and the potential for some more hatching this week, grateful for leveling out and the peace that comes with that, and grateful I can stay inside today and not get out in the winter, icy mess outside.