Starry night on the prairie

Didn’t make it 600 miles today. There is a major traffic jam on I70 outside of Indianapolis and all lanes are closed. Decided to pull off and stop for the day and finish it up tomorrow.

We drove through lots of rain today and lots of road construction. Never did hit stop and glide traffic but it was slow going at times.

Indianapolis seems to be our trouble spot this trip. Traffic has been horrible since about 30 miles outside of town. Saw a couple signs warning about all lanes closed about 20 miles down the road.

We stopped at a Hyatt and they were full. They said the only place they knew that had a bed was a LaQuinta. We found it and I went inside to see if they had a room. While the lady was slowly checking me in I asked if there was a bathroom close. They pointed me in the direction. I had trouble finding it.

Finally found it and went inside. I put my purse down and walked over to the toilet. I tripped over my purse and banged my head into the wall hard. Knocked my glasses off my head and I saw stars for a moment. I have a big goose egg on my forehead. It knocked me silly and I wet my pants. Damn!

I have a headache but think I will be OK. I don’t think I have a concussion. I’m sure a good night’s rest will make it all better.

We are on the second floor and there is no elevator. When we came in the side door I had my hands full with a water bottle, my other water bottle and my suitcase and purse. I decided I better not take all of that up the steps at the same time. The nicest young lady was sitting at the top of the stairs and offered to carry my suitcase up the stairs. How nice was that? We have been guided with angels all trip.

600 miles to go before we are home. Hopefully my little mishap this afternoon will be the only one of the trip. We can do this!

Tomorrow we get to go back on central time so will get a redo for an hour. We are both ready to be home. I hated to stop tonight but didn’t want to sit in traffic going nowhere for hours either.

It feels good to sit in a hotel room and rest. Today was hard. I told Kathy the middle day of travel is the hardest as there is no prize at the end of the day except to get up the next day and drive again. I don’t like driving in rain and unfortunately saw lots of that today. Construction zones are particularly difficult when traffic is heavy and it is raining.

We ate a late lunch somewhere along the way so won’t need dinner tonight. I already have my pajamas on so won’t want to get dressed and go out. Hopefully I can sleep lots tonight and have a better day tomorrow.

This trip has been an adventure. Still can’t believe we got the Project Clean out completed so quickly. I originally thought it would take two weeks. Grateful it went as smoothly as it did.

Grateful we are only 600 miles from home, grateful for hotels along the way, and grateful we will be home tomorrow.

This day has been full of unexpected blessings. Kathy and I have both felt Max’s presence and guidance throughout this day.

We got to the apartment by 8:30 this morning. Kathy went over to the community room to bring back the things that the other residents didn’t take from what we have tried to give away. She came back and said the man that asked about the pickup was there and he was interested in buying it.

I got the pickup title and went over to the community room with her. We had received an offer from Kelly Blue Book dealer for $5,500 for the pickup although they reserved the right to lower or raise it once they saw the pickup. This guy offered $5,000 and Kathy accepted the offer. It would save us having to deal with the paper work and a possible delay.

I got on the computer in the community room and found a MA bill of sale for a vehicle. I typed it out and printed it. The guy drove the pickup to his house and picked up the cash for it. He came back and a deal was done. He has purchased lots of vehicles and knew how to work the system.

I am going to wait to cancel the insurance on the pickup for a couple of days so the guy can get it registered before I cancel the insurance. Trusting there will be less questions that way. I gave the guy the file Max had on the pickup with all service records, etc.

Wow! What a relief to have the pickup gone that easy. I think we could have gotten more for it but this way we had no hassle or headache. That was worth a lot!

The make it go away guy showed up as promised a little after 9:00. While he was clearing out the apartment I went back to our hotel and checked us out. We thought selling the truck would take most of the day and that we would have to spend one more night here. We decided to head out after we got the apartment empty and cleaned.

The guy finished clearing everything out by 11:00, he even broom swept the floors for us. He told us that is all we needed to do. We started cleaning and Kathy said let’s go ask the manager how clean it needed to be before we spent hours cleaning.

The manager came over and she only needed us to wipe out the refrigerator. They are going to repaint the walls and wax the floors so she didn’t need us to detail clean much. What a relief that was.

We got the keys turned in and the checkout list signed off and we loaded up and took out. Max’s friend still didn’t have the cremains and didn’t know if the death certificate was ready or not. We decided to have the funeral home mail them to us and not hang around and wait for them.

We drove over 350 miles this afternoon. We stopped in Batavia, NY for the night. I was getting tired and traffic was getting heavy as we are getting close to Buffalo. We still have over 1,150 miles to go so won’t make it home tomorrow night but we should roll in Wednesday afternoon.

Traffic was mainly good this afternoon. Hit a few slow down spots but we kept moving. We stopped for lunch somewhere along the road and made a couple potty stops.

I still need to close out his bank account and forward his mail but I can do both of those things electronically from home. The apartment manager is going to watch his mail and open and scan and send me anything important. I will cancel his pickup insurance after we get home. There is also a small death benefit from Social Security. I’ll see if I have the patience to attempt to claim that. As far as I know now, those are the only things remaining to take care of.

What a relief it was to sale the pickup so easily today. I had thought it would take all day and that we would have to drive miles. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to complete the transaction today without going through probate, etc. I’m grateful I was wrong!

When we left I had told the place boarding the dogs that we would probably be gone for at least two weeks and maybe three. I never guessed we could have this project completed so quickly. We started Thursday afternoon and finished before noon on Monday and took Sunday off.

It seemed like the right people showed up at the right time all the time we were working on this project. Max left everything very organized and easy for us. I got to meet a long-time Facebook friend and Kathy got to see two old friends and all three of her kids. We had many joys and blessings along the way.

Now to travel another 1,150 miles to home. We are both ready to be home. I’m not sure Kathy will leave the house for days. She is particularly ready to be home and stay there. This trip came on the heels of her Honor Flight and is ready to get home and stay home.

Not sure where I am going to put all the stuff we have loaded in my car. Guess we will load up the shed and bring a box in the house at a time and deal with what we brought. Couldn’t even tell you what we brought home. I’m sure a lot of it we didn’t need to bring but wanted to take our time to go through things so we didn’t toss out something important. We want to honor Max’s things and make sure they are treated appropriately.

I am so grateful for how easy this project clean out has gone. I would never have betted we could leave this early. I know more things may pop up over the next couple of months but we will handle them as they do. I am also grateful for Max’s friends that helped us in many ways through this process. It was an honor to meet them.

Trusting I will have a quiet weekend when I get home. I have some emotion that will need to come to the surface to be heard and to be released. In situations like this I focus on what needs to be done and push emotion to the side. That works until it doesn’t. So far I haven’t bitch slapped someone but I can tell that urge is getting closer and closer to the surface.

Grateful for how easy it was to sell the pickup today, grateful we didn’t have to detail clean the whole apartment, and grateful for safe travels so far.

I finally fell asleep around 3:30 this morning. I cooled the room down and that seemed to help. I really didn’t want to get up and going this morning.

We left for CT around 9:30. First stop was to see Kathy’s best friend who is in a rehab facility. Kathy spent about 45 minutes with her. Next we went to Kathy’s youngest daughter’s house. They fed us a delicious steak salad for lunch. It was nice to have a home cooked meal. Kathy’s son showed up for a bit while we were there.

Another friend of Kathy’s came over shortly before we left. This lady had lived next door to Kathy and her family when the kids were small.

Around 4:00 we headed back to the hotel. Traffic was stop and glide as we got on the highway due to a lane closure. We finally got through that and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home although traffic was much heavier coming home than it was going. We went almost 200 miles today.

We need to be at the apartment by 8:15 in the morning. The make it go away guy is to be there around 8:30 or so. While he is clearing out the apartment we need to clean out the truck. I haven’t looked in the truck yet so don’t know what that job will be like.

We have two appointments tomorrow to get a bid for selling the truck. I did some on-line research and we may have a problem. Technically we will need power of attorney and a copy of the death certificate to sell the truck. We don’t have either yet. Am hoping we can make a deal and they will let us store the pickup with them while we get the paperwork we need. Or even better, be willing to turn a blind eye to the letter of the law and complete the transaction tomorrow. We may have to go through the MA probate process. Not sure how long that may take.

Not sure if we will get the death certificate tomorrow or not. One of the guys from the funeral home seemed to think they would be ready Monday but the other guy seemed to think it could take another week or so.

Worse case scenario tomorrow is that we will have to drive the pickup to one of Kathy’s kids house and Kathy will have to fly out later to do the paperwork to sell the pickup. Hoping that won’t be necessary and that we can keep the pickup at the car dealership and do the paperwork electronically. There is also a small chance that we can complete the deal tomorrow without any holdups. We shall see what happens tomorrow.

Once we figure out the truck situation we will need to clean the apartment. Once the apartment is empty it will be easy to clean. It isn’t very big so with both of us working on it we hope it won’t take more than a couple of hours.

We are still hoping to be on the road home Tuesday morning. We shall see what happens with the pickup and what we need to do with it. If we have to drive the pickup to one of Kathy’s kids, we may not get the apartment cleaned out and will have to do that Tuesday morning.

We also have one bank account that needs closed out if the death certificates come in. The guy I talked to at the bank said we could do it electronically from KS if needed.

I am both anxious to head home and dreading it. 1,500 miles seems like a long ways to go. We plan on taking three days again to make it but I know the closer we get to home, the harder it will be to stop.

Today was Mother’s Day. I love that Kathy got to see all three of her kids this weekend. It was a nice bonus on this trip for her. Since we are here on a family matter, Mom has been on my mind all week long. I can only imagine the reunion she, dad and Max are having today.

I am tired tonight. The drive home was challenging for me but I made it. It felt like my processing speed was on slow mode today. Hoping I will get a good night’s sleep and be able to hit it hard again tomorrow.

Another day of finding some joy. It was a delight to get to see Kathy’s kids and two of her grandchildren. It was a nice break from all the sorting and packing we had been doing.

Grateful for time with family, grateful for a hotel room to come back to that feels like home away from home this week, and grateful we are almost done with this project.

We had a productive day today. We had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the apartment. We found a few more boxes to go through and finished clearing out all the kitchen cabinets.

The man that is going to haul everything away came and gave us an estimate. He is able to take all the remaining stuff. He is coming Monday morning to make it all go away.

One of Kathy’s kids and her husband came and helped us out big time. They loaded up my car with the stuff that we are taking home with us. I have a very full car. I think there is room to put our suitcases in it. I had brought two cases of water and the kids took one of them as we didn’t have room for it.

After my car got loaded they filled their car with some stuff they could use. Then they carried all the stuff to the trash and recycling bins. They also carried a couple bags of clothes across the street to the donation bin. What a big help they were. Kathy and I are both tired and sore and so appreciated their help carrying so many boxes and bags today.

We went out to lunch with them when we were done. Just across the street from Max’s apartment complex is a seafood place. Service was a bit slow but the food was delicious.

After the kids left, Kathy and I went to Webs, a yarn store only 15 minutes from here. Back in the day I ordered lots of yarn from them. I got some yarn to knit a blanket. I didn’t have lots of time to spend and might go back Monday to spend more time.

While we were out and about I stopped and got a plug for the bathtub so I can take a bath tonight. Kathy needed some Benadryl so we stopped and got that.

Another friend of Max’s came to the apartment mid afternoon and picked out a few books to take. It was nice meeting some of Max’s friends. They were all people I would love to get to know better and spend more time with.

After he was done we came back to our hotel. We passed a dispensary on the way here and stopped and got some gummies. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

We are going to spend the rest of the day in our quiet hotel room. We have both reached the point of no return and need to decompress a bit. Since we had a big lunch I don’t think we will need to go out for dinner. We have stuff to make a PBJ if we get hungry later.

Tomorrow Kathy is going to CT to see her other kids and a dear friend of hers. Not sure if I am going or not. A quiet day in the hotel room sounds like heaven to me right now. I’ll see if Kathy feels up to driving tomorrow or not. I may go so I can drive. Either way, we won’t be going to the apartment tomorrow. We need a break from it.

Monday the guy is coming in the morning to make everything go away. Afterwards we have two appointments at car dealers to sell Max’s truck. Kelly Blue Book dealers gave us a much better estimate than CarMax did. We shall see what they do when we go to them and they see the truck in person. Trusting one or the other will give us a reasonable offer and we can sell the truck easily Monday. Another company is willing to come to us if we send them some pictures of the truck. We will do that Monday morning and see which of the three will do the best deal.

We still need to close out a bank account and forward the mail but both of those need a copy of the death certificate. Still don’t know if we will have that Monday or not. If not, we can do those two transactions electronically from home. If the truck deal can get done we will head for home Tuesday morning.

We are both exhausted on many levels. It will be good to take a day off tomorrow. Things have gone relatively smoothly so far and it will be good to finish things up Monday. This has taken less time than I had initially thought it would. I had told the place where I boarded the dogs that we would be gone at least two weeks. Looks like it will be more like 10 or 11 days.

Not sure either of us is looking forward to the long drive home. My ankles are still a bit swollen from the drive out here. We will try to stop more often and walk a bit more when we do stop to help the ankles out. We will probably go home the same way we came. Kathy thought it was less traffic than going through Pennsylvania.

What an adventure this has been. We have managed to find joy each day. Project Clean Out has gone faster than I anticipated. Although we are tired it has been rewarding to have been able to do this for Max. We learned more about his life and it was delightful to meet his friends.

Grateful for how smoothly things have gone so far, grateful for the joy we have found each day, and grateful for a day off tomorrow.

Both Kathy and I got a good night’s sleep last night. We got up and going and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

We were at the apartment before 8:45 and got started sorting. Kathy worked on the bedroom and I worked in the living room and made 15 phone calls. For those that know me, you know that is a lot of phone time for me. I hate the automated phone systems. None of them had an option I could choose to report a death. Most of the calls were to medical practices so guess that would send the wrong message to the other patients!

Most of the calls went well and I was able to resolve what I needed to. I have to have the death certificate to close out his bank accounts and to forward his mail. Hoping to get the death certificate Monday but we shall see.

So far it doesn’t look like we will have to go through probate. He doesn’t have much money in his bank account and if we can’t get those funds we will walk away from them. So far that is the only thing that might require probate. If that remains true, we wont’t have to file. That would be nice if we are able to avoid that process.

I went through lots of paper work and decided what to keep and what to throw out. We will have a full car coming home of things that we will go through more thoroughly when we get home. We saved all his journals, poems he wrote, etc. They deserve more time and attention so we can do the right thing with them.

The apartment manager stopped by and was helpful. We found the washer and dryer and did a load of laundry. We took lots of stuff to the community room for the other residents of the complex to help themselves to if they so desire.

Found a guy that is going to make everything go away Monday morning. He is coming over either Saturday or Sunday to look at it all and make sure he can take it all. He is going to show up early Monday morning and make it all go away. I didn’t need near as many boxes as I brought but am grateful I had them in case.

A friend of Max’s came over and went through his books and picked some out to keep. Max and this guy and another guy met for coffee once a month or so and discussed books and life. It was nice to meet him.

A guy that owns a book store came and bought a lot of the books. He boxed them up and carried them away. It was nice to get paid for some of the books rather than paying the guy on Monday to haul them away.

The other book club guy is coming tomorrow to pick out some books. I wish he had been able to come before the book store guy took most of the books but that isn’t the way it worked out.

We still need to find a way to sell the truck. Carmax gave me a very low offer for it and I think we can do better. The problem will be timing. We will work on that project tomorrow and see what we can do. There is a guy that lives in the complex that is interested in it so will talk to him tomorrow. I wish I could drive it home and let Tagen use it but I don’t think we want to have to each drive a vehicle on the way home.

We need to actually try to start the truck tomorrow and drive it and see how it runs. It is a stick shift and we have been told the clutch is hard to work. If all else fails, we will get the car to one of Kathy’s kid’s house and let them sell it for us later. That would make it an out of state transaction and might complicate things but it might not. We will see how this all shakes out.

We carried lots of bags to the trash and to the recycling bin. Have more to carry tomorrow. I wish we had more time so we could have recycled more things. We had to waste a lot of food that was open containers. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to complete a project.

Tomorrow one of Kathy’s family members is coming to help us carry things. We need to get my car loaded up with the stuff we are bringing home. I will have a full load on the way home. He is also going to help us carry the rest of the things to the dumpster and recycling bin.

Sunday we are going to take a rest day. Kathy has a best friend to visit and she will spend some time with her family. I might stay in our hotel room and listen to the quiet and do nothing.

Monday the guy is coming to haul everything away and then we have to give the apartment a good cleaning. I hope the death certificates come on Monday so we can go to the bank and the post office and get those two things taken care of. If we get all that done we will head back to Kansas Tuesday morning. We have our hotel room reserved through Wednesday if we need one more day to stay. After that there aren’t any rooms available as it is college graduation weekend next weekend.

We checked into a different hotel tonight. It is much nicer than the one we stayed in last night. We will be here until we head for home. It was nice to unpack and settle in. This is the fourth hotel we have been in four nights. Nice to have a home away from home for a couple of nights.

We are both exhausted this evening. We stopped at Texas Roadhouse for dinner on the way to the hotel. The food and service were excellent but it was very loud. Neither one of us was in the mood for noise tonight. It was nice to get into our quiet hotel room afterwards.

We both have sore backs and swollen ankles tonight. We did lots of lifting and carrying today. After sitting for three days it was a lot of movement. Our bodies don’t know what to think!

We made more progress today than I had hoped we might. I am hoping that when we go tomorrow we can finish it up easily. The guy that is taking everything Monday doesn’t need anything boxed up. We put some things in boxes just to get the stuff out of the way and give us space to work. Hoping we can get my car loaded up tomorrow with all the stuff we are taking home so it doesn’t get taken in error on Monday morning.

We have had some good laughs today at some of the stuff we found. Really makes me want to go home and get rid of more of my stuff. We both commented today how stuff is stuff and when one dies it loses its meaning. Note to self – get rid of more stuff!

In spite of the hard work we did today, I am grateful we were both able to come and do this project. I feel like I have gotten to know Max better and appreciate him even more. It has been nice to have Kathy here too as we could bounce things off each other and decide together how to handle things.

Looking forward to our rest day on Sunday. We have been hitting it hard since we left home and I think we need a day of rest before we start back home again mid week next week. Not sure I am looking forward to the drive home but it has to be done.

This has been an emotional week but we have been able to find joy each day. It was a joy to meet Max’s close friends. I have liked each and every one of them and wished I lived closer so I could get to know them better. All of his fellow residents at the complex have had nice words to say about Max. It has been a pleasure to meet them and share memories with them.

Grateful for all the work we got done today, grateful for the people that showed up for us today, and grateful this project is moving along quicker than I had hoped it would.

Kathy and I arrived in Hatfield, MA this afternoon around 3:00. We traveled 1,500 miles to get here and it took three days of travel. Grateful to have arrived safely.

This morning Kathy and I had breakfast with a dear Facebook friend of mine. We met each other about 15 years ago on-line through the Prayer Shawl Ministry website and chat room and somehow connected. We have written each other, walked each other through major life changes, and became great friends all via the internet. It was such a treat to meet her face-to-face for the first time. She is as beautiful in person as she comes across on the internet. Made my day to get to hug her. I look for joy on trips like this and I found it this morning. I so enjoyed our conversation and am grateful she took the time to join us for breakfast.

The drive today was traffic jam free! We hit lots of construction sites that slowed us down but traffic was flowing. Had light drizzle most of the day although the sun broke through this afternoon. Drove in heavier rain this evening coming to our hotel room. We stopped at a local Mart and got peanut butter, jelly, bread, frozen pizza, coffee and beer to sustain us over the next couple of work days. Restaurants are not plentiful in the small town where Max lives.

We met with Max’s dear friend at his apartment this afternoon at 3:00. His friend shared with us the information Max had given her including papers, insurance information, etc. We enjoyed talking with her and so appreciate all she has done for Max over the years. They have been friends for over 30 years and she will feel his absence greatly.

After his friend left, Kathy and I did a brief survey of the job in front of us and looked through some of the important paperwork. We decided we were both tired so left for the day. We found a nice restaurant in Amherst to eat at and then found a room for the night. We are both wiped out and were not in a good place to make any decisions about what to do with stuff tonight. We will get a good night’s sleep and hit it hard tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will go through everything more thoroughly and set aside anything we want to bring home. Max had a couple of friends that might be interested in some of his books. They are to get hold of me by Sunday if they are interested in doing so.

Max’s friend gave us the name of a service that will come and make everything go away. They even do the packing. We will decide tomorrow if that is the way we want to go. If it is, we will see if they can come next Monday or Tuesday and empty everything we don’t want out of there. That is easy! Not sure they can be available on such short notice but a girl can hope.

We need to make several phone calls tomorrow and cancel credit cards, insurance, etc. We may need to wait for the death certificate before we can do some of that. There is an order to these things and one is never quite sure what that order is until we call.

We are hoping we can leave for home by Wednesday. That may be optimistic but for today that is our goal. We had trouble finding an affordable hotel room for the night. We finally found one after three tries for around $125. The other two places we stopped at were over $200 for one night. We went on-line once we got into our hotel and found a different hotel for the next five nights for $125 a night. Max’s apartment only has one single bed and we need room for two. This will give us a break from our work each night which will probably be a good thing.

My ankles are really swollen tonight. They were bad last night too and even worse tonight. They will appreciate a couple days not in the car all day. It is hard to drink enough when you are on the road as bathroom breaks can be hard to manage. I’m sure after an active day tomorrow and not in the car much they will recover quickly.

Max did a great job of organizing his papers and left us good information to work from. It will be easier than I expected it to be but also know that we will run into some blocks along the way that will take patience and persistence to get through. Grateful Kathy is here with me so we can share this job.

I had trouble sleeping again last night. Trusting I can find some good sleep now that we are here and the first half of the drive is behind us. Grateful we have several days before we have to tackle the drive home. Since we will have a hotel room for the next five nights starting tomorrow, we can always go to the room during the day for a nap if needed.

It is still raining here in Amherst this evening. They have flood warnings all over as they have gotten more than their share of rain lately. Maybe we can talk the rain into coming home with us.

One of the things Kathy and I had talked about was the need to find some joy during this trip. Meeting my friend fit the bill for the day! We will take some time while we are here and find more ways to find joy. It has been a roller coaster of emotions so far and being intentional about finding joy on this trip is helpful.

Grateful to have gotten to meet my friend in person, grateful for how organized Max left things, and grateful for this time with Kathy.

We are in Rochester, NY for the night. We came another 600 miles today. 300 miles to go!

We hit another stop and glide traffic jam first thing this morning. It took us about 30 minutes to go 2 miles. After that we did well although traffic was heavy and there were lots of construction zones. We finally hit a nice stretch where we could go a little over (Well a lot over at times) the speed limit.

There are way too many cars, people and trees for my liking. I feel very claustrophobic out here. Wide open spaces are few and far between.

We have been lucky and haven’t had to drive through rain yet. We can tell they have had more than their share of rain as there are puddles everywhere. Maybe we can bring some rain home with us when we come back to Kansas.

I am wiped out again tonight. All I have done today is sit and drive. Not sure why that is so very tiring but it seems to be. We stopped for breakfast this morning and ate on the road. The hotel we stayed at last night did not provide a complementary breakfast. We stopped for gas twice more and one or two potty breaks. We had snacks for lunch. There is a Cracker Barrel by our hotel for the night so we had dinner there. It was OK but not great. Oh well, we are fed and tucked into our hotel room for the night.

We have a little over four hours to go tomorrow. Not sure if we are meeting Gene’s friend in Amherst or Hatfield. We need to get the key to his apartment from her. I sent her a message but haven’t heard back yet.

I also sent a message to a Facebook friend of mine. She lives about five minutes from where we are tonight. I am hoping she is free to join us for breakfast tomorrow but it is short notice and she may have other plans. We have been Facebook friends for years but have never met face-to-face.

Grateful for another safe travel day, grateful we are almost there, and grateful it is time to rest for the day.

Kathy and I were up and on the road by 8:00 this morning. We stopped at McDonald’s on Industrial to get a bunch of fry boxes. Our brother Chad happened to be there so we got to visit with him a bit.

We hit the highway and made it 600 miles today. We were going to try to get to the other side of Indianapolis but ran into a traffic jam. It took us over an hour to go 5 miles. Took the first exit we got to and got out of that and found a hotel for the night. Hopefully it will be faster going in the morning.

Luckily this hotel had a restaurant as we didn’t see any restaurants close by. We stopped for gas once today and at one rest area. We had brought snacks so that is what we had for lunch. We are butt tired tonight.

Traffic was pretty good most of the way. Hit a lot of slow downs during construction sites but until the last jam did well. I almost had pee running down my cheeks while we were waiting in traffic. Old ladies can’t handle traffic jams with no potty in sight!

The trip is a total of 1,490 miles so we are not quite halfway. We don’t have a deadline so not sure if we will push it tomorrow and go all the way or if we will make one overnight stay before we get there. I am betting on stopping once more tomorrow night. 600 miles feels about my limit for one day.

The weather was perfect driving weather today. There was a heavy thunderstorm east of here but nothing where we were. Trusting tomorrow will be smooth sailing too.

A day of travel kinda numbs me. How can one get so tired when all one does is sit all day? Having trouble holding any thoughts tonight long enough to act on them. Think I will take a bath and go to bed early so we can hit the road again in the morning.

Grateful for traveling 600 miles today safely, grateful we got to visit with Chad this morning, and grateful for hotels along the road.

This was a busy day doing the things I need to get taken care of so I can be gone for a couple of weeks. Paid the water bill and my contractor, took the dogs to be boarded, got some snacks for the drive, emptied out the refrigerator and trash, etc. All I have left to do is pack and we will be ready to hit the road in the morning for MA.

The funeral home called me to tell me they needed my signature on a form or two. They were supposed to email me the form but I didn’t get it. I called them back after a couple of hours had passed to let them know I hadn’t gotten it. I talked to a different person and he said I didn’t need to sign anything. Not sure what happened and trust that it won’t hold things up.

I moved a doctor’s appointment I had scheduled for this coming Thursday. Her next available appointment is the end of July. Goodness, that is a busy practice. It is a routine visit so felt comfortable postponing it that long. I will need to get a blood draw when I get back to check to make sure things are good.

At the recommendation of a friend we are trying the Spur Ridge Vet Lodge to board the dogs this time. The dogs will be together in the same pen and can go outside during the day. The other clinic we took them to they were put in a small crate and only allowed out twice a day. I trust this place will do a good job. I liked what I saw while I was there. I did pay extra to have Sophia walked at least once a day as she loves her walks. Roxy could care less if we walk her.

Not sure how long we are going to be gone. I told the boarding place two weeks but that I may need to extend it and that I would let them know when I know. Not sure what we will find when we get there and how long it will take to clear out the apartment. I’m grateful I have till the end of the month so I don’t have to rush. Trusting it won’t take that long but we shall see.

Kathy arranged for the neighbor to take care of the cats and to bring the mail in. They will take good care of the house for us. Nice to be able to leave and know someone is watching the place. I probably should clean the house a bit but it will just get dusty again before I get home so what is the use.

We are planning on leaving mid morning. I want to get to the other side of St. Louis before rush hour traffic starts. We don’t have any hotel reservations along the way so will go as far as we feel like and stop for the night. We don’t have to be there in any time frame so can take our time to get there.

I need to take some time and pack tonight. We will have access to washers and dryers so don’t have to take too many clothes. I’m trying to think of other stuff that I may want. I keep reminding myself they have all sorts of stores back east so no worry if I forget something.

It will be good to hit the road tomorrow and get this project started. Not sure what I will find and it will be good to get there and know where we are. I have lots of time and won’t have to rush to get it done. I don’t do well rushing these days.

Grateful for the love and support of friends and family, grateful for the help of Gene’s good friend, and grateful one by one things are getting done.

Woke up late this morning and checked my phone. I had about eight missed phone calls and lots of texts. Found out my brother Max (Gene) had died this morning. A dear friend of his had tried many ways to get hold of me. She had gotten creative and figured out Jason’s phone number and had called him. She also called Kathy but she didn’t hear her phone and she doesn’t take out of state calls unless she knows the caller.

Evidently Gene had been in the hospital since April 8. He first went in with Covid. He has COPD so it had hit him hard. He actually recovered from Covid but while in the hospital he developed a bowel obstruction and had surgery April 27. He did well during surgery but started struggling afterwards. He didn’t want his friend to contact me as he knew Kathy was doing her Honor Flight and he didn’t want to interfere with her trip.

His dear friend that let us know what was going on had known Gene for over 35 years. She had lost her husband a little over a year ago in the same hospital. I felt bad that I was hard to reach and made her morning harder than it needed to be.

Gene had requested that no services be held and he had arranged for direct cremation. His friend took care of all of that for us. I spent some time this afternoon writing and calling family to let them know the sad news.

Kathy and I will be driving out to MA sometime later this week. We will find out tomorrow how much time we have to clean out his apartment, etc. He didn’t have a will that we know about so far so will probably have to go through probate to take care of things. We will see about all that once we get there.

I can’t say I am surprised that Gene passed. He had been in declining health for some time. The last time I saw him a couple years ago he was frail and struggling a bit then. I am so grateful for his dear friend that took care of him through all of this.

Tomorrow I will need to make a few phone calls and start some things in motion. I have something I may have to do Tuesday before we can take off. Once I know how long we have to clean out his apartment I will know how urgently we have to get out there. Hoping we have till the end of the month as he has paid May rent but sometimes that doesn’t mean what I think it means.

I will need to find a place to board the dogs and Kathy is going to find someone to take care of the cats once we know when we are leaving. We aren’t sure how long things will take once we get to MA so will have to leave the return date open. I’m grateful my calendar is rather empty for the month of May. I do have a doctor’s appointment in Topeka Thursday but it is a routine appointment and I can change the date if we want to leave before then. We decided we are driving in case we want to bring home some stuff. Not sure what we will find when we get there and not sure there will be anything to bring home but want the option in case.

Life and plans can change quickly. Grateful my schedule is free and Kathy is free to join me for a trip back east. Kathy will get a chance to visit her family and to check on a friend of hers that is sick. We will find some ways to find some joy on this trip.

I need to start making a packing list so when I know we are leaving I can get ready to go quickly. I will know tomorrow about when we are leaving. I never pack too heavy and we will have access to washers and dryers so no need to pack lots of clothes. Not sure what else I might need.

Memories from the past have been going through my head all day. I’m sure more will surface as I remember Gene. Not sure the news has fully soaked in yet. It will take some time.

Haven’t done much else today. I am still in my pajamas and decided it was too late to get dressed. I jumped right into phone calls when I got up this morning and the day kinda got away from me. I will take care of some things tomorrow and will probably go to Emporia to get some things for the trip so I will get dressed then.

Funny how grateful I am for an empty calendar this month. Sometimes having empty space has a bigger meaning than it appears at the time. It will make it easy to get away for a couple of weeks if needed.

Today gave me another reminder about how I spend my time and who I spend it with. One never knows when it will be the last time you see someone or hear from them. I treasure each and every one of my friends and family.

Grateful for the memories of Gene, grateful for his dear friend, and grateful for my family and friends.

Happy birthday daddy. He would have been 99 years old today. He never seemed to age when he was alive. I can imagine him at 99. Still as mischievous as ever with that smile that said everything.

I baked a chocolate sheet cake this afternoon to take to the party. Brought home over half of it.

Went to a friend’s house for a party this evening. It was a beautiful day to sit out with some friends and enjoy the evening. They even hired a live band to play after dinner. I enjoyed the evening but came home when I got cold. I have been cold all day and once the sun went down I really got cold and had to come home to warm up.

I took a bit of a nap in my chair this afternoon. I woke up early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. After sleeping most of yesterday I was surprised I had gotten any sleep last night.

Did some laundry today but not much of anything else. Tomorrow is a stay at home day and I hope I have some energy to do more.

There were lots of friends I knew at the party tonight so it was fun to visit with them. I wasn’t in an outgoing mood tonight and couldn’t think of much to say. I haven’t spent much time with other people lately and I think I have forgotten how to do small talk.

Still feeling a bit weird. Can’t figure it all out yet. Feeling disconnected from all that I knew. Yet still connected too. Weird! Things will sort themselves out as I get used to this new energy I am in.

Grateful for an evening in the country with friends, grateful for a chair nap today, and grateful this too shall pass.

I am still in my pajamas today. Might tell you how my day is going. Had trouble falling asleep last night and was woke up with a phone call this morning. Took a long nap this afternoon. I may not sleep tonight but we shall see what happens.

It was a beautiful day out today. Kathy spent most of the day outside mowing and playing in the dirt. I should have taken a long walk and enjoyed the day but had no energy for that.

I haven’t had a day like this for a long time so felt good to take a do nothing day. Next week is looking pretty quiet so far so will get a chance to have several empty space days.

Tomorrow I have a party to go to in the evening if I can people. One of my favorite groups is playing after the dinner and it would be lovely to sit outside and listen to them.

Feeling a bit like I am in that in-between space. Not sure if it is the higher timeline I have gotten on to or what. Nothing feels familiar yet everything does. I used to jump between timelines and that doesn’t feel like an option right now. None of this makes a lot of sense to me right now. Something huge has shifted in me but nothing has. It will all sort itself out sooner or later.

Grateful for a day of rest, grateful to let go and be in the flow without knowing where I am going, and grateful for the beautiful day and freshly mowed yard.

Two friends of mine and I went to Topeka to the May Day Rally at the state capitol building. We got there shortly before the speakers were finished. We gathered on the steps for a group photo and then the crowd marched downtown Topeka. We participated in most of the walk and peeled off when we were close to the car.

This is a snap of the crowd on the Capitol steps. One of my friends and I are in the bottom right of the photo. I would estimate the crowd to have been close to 1,000 but I am not a good crowd estimator. For the most part, the rally was peaceful. There were a few chants that I wasn’t comfortable with but most of them were OK.

We left and went to the Blind Tiger Brewery for lunch. Service was excellent and the food was good. I enjoyed the conversation with my friends today.

Tomorrow is an empty space day. I am ready for one! I came home exhausted today. I realized today the reason I was shaking in court yesterday was that I was sitting in the energy of conflict. My body doesn’t handle that well evidently.

I noticed today the dual reality that we are in these days. I am having a physical reaction to the different timeline, just like what happened in court. It feels like the dual realities are splitting wider and wider apart energetically. People that are on a different time line are becoming almost non existent to me in some ways. Trusting that one day soon my body will become accustomed to the differences and I won’t need the physical reminder of the differences.

These times we are in are certainly interesting. I try not to think about the future and stay present to what is. I have no control over what may happen and it is a waste of my energy to worry about it. It takes all I have to keep myself grounded and above neutral.

Grateful for the chance to be part of democracy today, grateful for the company of friends that went with me today, and grateful for understanding what happened in court yesterday.

Got up and going this morning and did a bit of house cleaning. Have more to do but got some of it done.

Went to Emporia late morning and met Jason for lunch at Radius. Afterwards we went to a court thing Jason had. It was a brutal afternoon for Jason. Unfortunately they ran out of time and have to have yet another hearing in June. This is dragging out forever for him.

I had an interesting experience watching the proceedings unfold. The Judge requested we turned off all cell phones. I went to turn mine off and got the shakes. I couldn’t make my fingers stay still. Then my whole body wanted to shake. It lasted off and on all during the hearing. Not sure what was up with that. It felt like I had too much energy running and it couldn’t escape so it built up inside. Weird!

While I was at the court house I paid the second half of the property taxes for my two remaining rentals. It was good to get that taken care of today.

Came home and walked the dogs. It was a nice afternoon for a walk and I needed to stretch my legs too.

Phil fixed a crawl space entrance that is under the bathroom window. The other one had a big rock up against it and that would have created a problem in the winter time if someone needed to get to a frozen water line. He built a box of sorts and put a lid on it. He is painting the lid the same color as the house so it will blend in nicely. Not sure what I would do without Phil next door. He takes good care of my house for me.

Kathy got home early evening. She had a grand time on her Honor Flight trip. My thanks to all that sent a card to her for Mail Call when she got to the welcome home party in Wichita. She was recognized for being the only female veteran on the flight.

Tomorrow I am going to Topeka for another Rally. Two of my dear friends are going with me. I have room in my car for one more if anyone wants to join us. We will be leaving from Cottonwood Falls around 11:15.

Grateful I will have a free day on Friday. I am exhausted this evening. I will be outside lots tomorrow for the rally. Trusting the weather will cooperate and we can stay dry. This will be the fifth rally I have attended. I am turning into an old hippy!

A year ago today Kathy and I moved into this house. Just after the movers left and I was beginning to unpack boxes I got the call that Craig had died. It wasn’t totally unexpected news but it still was shocking and had happened sooner than expected. The kids have really pulled together this year to help each other through. I still forget he is gone sometimes – especially when something happens with one of the kids and I want to talk to Craig about it. He was a huge influence in lots of people’s lives and continues to be missed. I feel his presence around me often and know he is doing his part to watch over the kids and grandkids.

I can’t believe I have lived in this house for a year now. In some ways I can’t remember living any where else and in other ways it feels like a couple of months ago we moved in. I have a weird relationship with time these days. Can’t make sense of it most of the time.

I am grateful I moved and downsized. This house is easier in many ways. It forces me to keep my belongings down to the right amount as if I go over that level the house begins to feel crowded to me. I mentioned to Phil that next year I might have him tear off the back porch and rebuild it and add a second bathroom. Haven’t fully committed myself to that project yet but am going to start thinking about it. The back porch was not done well and it is not heated or air conditioned. We shall see if I decide to proceed in the future.

Still struggling a bit to make anything feel important. Although it did feel important I be at court for Jason today. I come home and can’t think of a thing that feels important enough for me to do. Maybe that is a good thing.

Grateful Kathy had a great trip and is back home safely, grateful for the love and life of Craig, and grateful I have a bed to sleep in tonight.

Got up this morning and walked the dogs. It was a cool, beautiful day. We didn’t get much rain if any last night. Around here got a good soaking.

I drove to Wichita a little after lunch. The ponds are low in the Flint Hills. We need a couple of good pond soaker rains to fill them up. The cattle are being let out on the prairie. It was a beautiful drive today.

I went to Chipotle for lunch and then went to Costco. I got a cart full of stuff I didn’t know I needed. I stocked up on some basic stuff. I needed four cases of water and asked at the register if someone could get them for me. They sent someone after them. They even helped me load them into the car.

It took me a bit when I got home to get everything carried in. I still need to bring the water in but I will get it one at a time over the next day or two. I got everything I bought put away and am washing up the new towels and clothes I bought. It always feels good to be stocked back up again.

Took the dogs on long walks when I got home. They came in afterwards and took a long nap. Sophia wanted back out. When I opened the back door to let her out to go into the pen she took off after a stray dog that was in the yard. Luckily she didn’t go too far and came right back home. Roxy is still in the house but I’m sure she will want to go out soon.

I need to do a bit of housecleaning tonight. The dogs have brought in lots of twigs and leaves and dirt. It rained just enough to get their paws dirty and they cleaned their paws once they got in the house. Yuck!

Tomorrow afternoon Jason has a court thing and I am going to go in to be there. I can’t do much but be present. Hopefully he will get a resolution to this matter soon. Not expecting one tomorrow but will be grateful when it does come.

Thursday is May Day. I am going to Topeka to the May Day Rally at the Capitol. The speakers are to start at noon and the march is to begin at 12:30. I’m looking for someone to ride with me if anyone is interested in going. Call me and let’s ride together.

Friday is an empty space day. Saturday I have a party to go to in the evening. Sunday is another empty space day.

A year ago today I was doing the final packing at the county house. What a job that was! Grateful I made the decision I did and that all is behind me.

Still thinking about how to handle the political situation we are all in. I strongly believe we have to change the energy in the world that created this situation. We each have to do our part and step away from the fear, overwhelm and hate. I think the Rally’s are a good thing but only if they stay positive. I have no control over the energy at the rally. What I am sitting with is bringing positive energy my purpose right now? Positive energy is contagious and I can always leave if the Rally becomes negative.

I follow a lady named Kerry K. She reads energy and helps me understand what is happening in the world. About ten days ago I felt a shift in the collective energy and didn’t know what it was about at the time. Kerry K sent out her monthly email today and explain the shift in energy. April’s energy gave us a chance to choose a path to be on – one that allows one to step into your own personal power and one that is still waiting to be rescued. For those that choose stepping into your own power, the energy is very supporting of a reawakening happening. May’s energy is about walking the path you are on without the continued searching. May’s energy is all about learning to trust all is well and fully step into that knowledge in all ways. It is always gratifying to get confirmation of what I have felt.

Grateful for a beautiful drive to Costco today, grateful for the confirmation of what I had sensed, and grateful for being.

I got up at 8:00 so I would be ready when Phil came to finish the repair job. This morning he worked under the house using the access hole under the window in the living room. He took a lunch break and then this afternoon he came in the bedroom and fixed that side of the foundation.

It is good to have that job done. I didn’t see what he did but I trust Phil and know it is taken care of. That project has been on my list since I moved into this house a year ago. It was the last project on my list.

At some point I may decide to have the back room rebuild and a bathroom added but that is not going to happen this year. I need a year to recover from all the expenses of last year and see where this economy is headed. It might never get done but that is OK.

I haven’t left the house today except for walking the dogs several times. The last time Roxy politely decline my offer of a walk. She didn’t even want to come in the house yet. Sophia is taking a nap on the floor inside. I’m sure she will want to go back out later.

It warmed up today and the house feels warm. Way too early to turn the air on but it is sticky inside. We have a chance for some severe weather later tonight. It sure feels like a storm is brewing.

I haven’t done much today. I was wiped out today and am tired tonight. I will probably go to Wichita tomorrow to do a Costco run. I need to get out of the house for a bit. I’ll see what the weather is doing – I won’t go if it is raining.

The house sure is quiet with Kathy gone. I bet she is having an interesting time in DC. She will be home Wednesday afternoon. The dogs and cats really miss her as she gives them a lot more attention than I do.

Feeling a bit lost and ungrounded today. There was a post on Facebook that hooked me and I am struggling to let go of it. I will get there – it may take a day or two though. I function better with some scheduled things on my calendar and right now my calendar has a lot of blank days on it. I need to find a worthy volunteer job to do on a regular basis. The ones I have tried haven’t given me what I am looking for.

I have been giving lots of thought to how I want to share my voice in these times. It is hard to know what to do that might make a difference. Staying out of hate and fear and above neutral is almost a full time job for me – especially on days like this. I haven’t found any answers yet but I’m sure they will come. I keep reminding myself to stay open and when an opportunity presents itself I will know to take it. Sometimes if I don’t script things in detail I get unexpectedly surprised with the outcome. Trusting that will happen this time.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful the foundation repair job is completed, and grateful tomorrow is a new day.

I saw a post on the 50501 Kansas site today that told me there was going to be a protest at the immigration center here in Cottonwood Falls at noon.

I went up and joined a group of 10 others. We held our signs by the side of the highway and visited with each other. Several people going by gave us the bird and others honked and gave us a thumbs up sign.

I got into a conversation with one of the ladies there. She and her partner live in McPherson. I told her I had read that the Casinos in Vegas are starting to lay people off as the number of international visitors is dropping so quickly that it is impacting their traffic counts. She then went on to say the factory she works for in McPherson is quietly starting to do what she called slow downs in production. They have started to cut a week of production here and a week there. She said their warehouse is full and that customers have stopped buying anything but essential material.

The best part of the rally was the immigration attorney that had come to the detention center to see a client. The client he saw wasn’t the one that had prompted the protest. He explained the “law” and how much of it is open to interpretation by the individual judges. The supposed legal path to becoming a citizen is full of pot holes and mud holes and is a long and arbitrary path that is about as clear as mud.

I asked him what is the best way for us to support the work he is doing. I think I caught him a bit off guard. He said no one had asked him that before. He said the best way for those of us that are citizens to support the other members of our community that may not be is to show up. Be Vocal. Do not be afraid to post our views on social media. Speak up to others when we witness racism and misinformation. Communicate our concerns to our elected officials. Do not back down to the fear, overwhelm and hate that is being pushed on to us.

I told him I agreed with all he said. I also told him I navigate through the world reading energy and not hearing words so much. That we all have to help change the energy of this world. Both sides have helped make this problem and it is going to take each of us changing ourselves to fix the problem. Dropping into hate, fear and overwhelm continues the energy that got us here. We have to respond to hate with love, to fear with joy, and overwhelm with logical thought.

He looked at me with tears in his eyes and told me I was a modern Gandhi. I told him hardly that. I am just an old hippy that believes love is the answer – now what is the question? Regardless the attorney said non-violent, peaceful protests, and keeping faith in hope that love will win is the way to be.

Several in the group nodded in agreement with his words. However, shortly after our exchange, one of the people in the group started leading some chants that I could not chant. A car went by and gave us the bird and the sign was returned.

I decided it was time for me to leave. I came home for a bit and then drove back up about 30 minutes later. They were gone by then.

It was an interesting protest. I did meet a lady that has a guest house in Bazaar. She is from Olathe but comes down often as she loves the Flint Hills. Another man I know from Cottonwood Falls was there. He had heard about the protest and walked up to see what was happening. The others were from McPherson, Topeka, Perry, and Wichita. The person that had posted about the protest wasn’t there.

I must confess I was a bit intimidated to go and wondered if I should. According to the Sheriff a permit is required for a rally. I’m not sure if he would call today a rally or a protest and if a permit would be needed. If the Sheriff showed up and I was there, I was concerned that he would know I knew about the permit situation and hold me accountable. I decided I had to go anyways and see what happened. Fear cannot win!

I took a chair nap when I got home. I was exhausted this afternoon. Not sure if the protest took it out of me or what. I have a bit more energy since my nap. I took the dogs for a walk and they are taking their naps now.

Kathy left while I was at the protest to go to Wichita. She is helping my cousin check in the other participants for the Honor Flight then they are going to my cousin’s house for the night. Her flight leaves early in the morning. I trust she will have a great time.

Tomorrow I think Phil is coming early to finish up the foundation repair project. I will have to set an alarm and get up early for him. I don’t have anything on my calendar other than being around in case Phil has a question or needs something. I will have to walk the dogs a couple times but that will get me up and going. Wednesday I am going to a court thing with Jason in the afternoon. Kathy will be home Wednesday late afternoon.

I may go to Wichita Tuesday as I need to make a Costco run. Sometimes I need to get out of my own space and run away a bit to clear my head. It has been a heavy weekend and I need to clear it out.

I do want to find a rally to go to on May 1. I think I heard there is one in Topeka so will have to find details. I will continue to find ways to show up in love and let my voice be heard.

Grateful for the 10 others that showed up at the protest today, grateful for immigration attorneys that are doing the hard work on a rocky road, and grateful I could leave the protest when it didn’t feel like peace and love.

I was in Council Grove at 11:40 this morning to meet a dear friend for lunch. We had a nice conversation while we ate lunch.

After lunch we walked down to the independent book store in Council Grove. I managed to find a book, a puzzle, and a few cards. It feels important to support locally owned, small independent book stores. It wasn’t a hardship to find something to buy.

My friend and I and another lady set up a cookie/water station for the political rally that was held in Council Grove this afternoon. I made Snickerdoodles to take, my friend brought chocolate chip cookies, and the leader of the rally brought donuts and water. It was a bit chilly sitting out this afternoon. I was grateful I had taken my long rain coat as I used it for extra warmth.

It was interesting watching people walk by as we waited for the rally participants to come. One lady told us she has a government job in Manhattan and it wasn’t safe for her to participate in the rally or to state what she beliefs. That sure made me grateful I was there protesting.

Several walked by and wouldn’t make eye contact. One guy told us he was for Camp Trump. Another guy was grateful we were doing what we were doing and left a donation for the democratic committee in Council Grove.

There were 28 people participating today. They ranged in age from 1 to 80 ish maybe. Most were in my age range. One couple had been at the rally in Cottonwood Falls as was the lady that organized this one today along with my friend and I.

The rally participants that were from Council Grove were going to meet together afterwards and attempt to discover some next steps they can take. I trust they will come up with something that helps them feel they are taking productive steps.

I stopped at the grocery store in Council Grove afterwards. I love shopping at “real” grocery stores Whenever I travel to different cities one of my favorite things to do is to visit a grocery store. You can learn a lot about a local culture from a grocery store. I picked up a few things and then came home.

I finished watching Brothers and Sisters and am now starting to watch Army Wife’s. As with Brothers and Sisters I watched Army Wife’s when it was on before but missed several of the shows. It has been a long time since I watched it so decided to binge watch it all again. It will take me a bit to get through all the shows and seasons of it.

Wednesday will be one year since I moved into this house. In some ways it feels like we have been here forever and other ways it feels like it has only been a few months. I am grateful I made the hard decision to sell the county house and move to town. I loved living in that house and on that property but it was too big for me and getting to be too much for me to handle.

Wednesday is also the anniversary date of Craig’s death. How can it be a year already since he died?

Today’s rally was my third rally this year. This old lady is turning back to her hippy days of love and peace and protesting. I have to believe that protesting on the streets does some good The next call is for rally’s to be held on May 1. I will find one that day and go again. I haven’t seen a list yet of where they will be held. Anyone want to go with me?

No plans for tomorrow except a few housecleaning chores. Kathy leaves for her Honor Flight trip tomorrow afternoon and will be back Wednesday. Phil is coming Monday to finish the foundation repair so I will have to get up and get going early. Wednesday Jason has a court thing that I am going to go with him to.

I am tired tonight. I wasn’t kind to my body yesterday and had tummy issues overnight. Trusting tonight will be better. It did feel good to protest again today yet still struggling with knowing things continue to challenge our democracy. I wonder what it will take before things cross some line that others will say No More.

Grateful for the privilege to be able to protest, grateful for the people that showed up today, and grateful the rain held off during the protest.

This has felt like a Saturday to me. Not sure why. I finally got some sleep last night and slept in this morning. Have been a bit discombobulated all day.

I baked a double batch of Snickerdoodle cookies for the rally tomorrow. I will give the leftovers to my kids. They turned out good today. I learned I have to cook one batch at a time in my oven. If I tried to do two at a time the bottom batch would burn even if I only kept them in there for a few minutes.

Someone posted on Facebook they needed to borrow a knee scooter. I posted they were welcome to borrow mine and they came and picked it up this afternoon. I think that is the tenth person that has used this scooted. I’m grateful I held on to it and am able to loan it out to others. I didn’t get any details from the lady that borrowed it. If it is meant to be, she will return it in a couple of months.

Tomorrow I am going to meet a friend for lunch in Council Grove and then we are manning a water and cookie station for the political rally that is being held tomorrow afternoon in Council Grove. It will be fun to spend time with my friend and to participate in another Rally.

Sunday Kathy is going to Wichita to spend the night at our cousin’s house. She has a very early flight out of Wichita Monday morning for her Honor Flight to Washington, DC. I trust she will have a good time. DC is a beautiful city to visit in the spring time.

Next Wednesday I have a thing with Jason to go to in the afternoon. Saturday I am going to a party at a friend’s house. Other than that, I have a quiet week planned. I will have dog and cat duty Monday through Wednesday so will get more exercise those days walking the dogs.

We still haven’t gotten much rain. Lots of rain has fallen around us but hasn’t found us yet. Trusting that sometime this week it will be our turn.

Still having trouble making much important. Just can’t think of anything I need to do that is important. Makes me wonder what is important. What would feel important to me these days? Making connections with others and being there for my family is about all I can think of.

Grateful the cookies are made and turned out OK, grateful someone else can make use of the knee scooter, and grateful for friends and family.

I could not find sleep last night. I gave up around 6:30 and got up. I did lay down for a couple of hours late morning but not sure I slept for more than an hour. Man I hate when I go through spells like this. I feel very drained this afternoon. Hopefully tonight I will get lots of sleep and will wake up with some energy in the morning.

I went to Emporia late afternoon to attend a visitation. Halfway to Emporia I could tell it had recently rained lots. It was a pond-filler type of rain as all the ditches were full and the sides of the roads in Emporia were full of water. We only got a brief rain in Cottonwood Falls. About three minutes before I got to the funeral home it started pouring again but by the time I was parked and ready to go in the rain stopped and I got in dry.

The person that made their transition was a dear friend of my parents. Mom and Dad had a group of about six couples that they hung out with. This was the husband of one of the those couples. I think most of the “gang” as they used to call themselves have departed. I got to see his daughter this evening and her beautiful family. My, have we all grown up and gotten old!

Tomorrow I need to bake some cookies for the political rally on Saturday. I haven’t baked cookies for a long time – trusting I still remember how. I will allow myself some extra time just in case. This kitchen is not easy to bake in.

Saturday I am meeting a friend for lunch and then we are going to the rally. She is hosting the water/cookie break table for the rally so I may sit with her and join the rally when it gets to us. We shall see how the day unfolds.

I didn’t make it to the gym today. I didn’t have the energy due to little to no sleep. Hoping I can make it tomorrow. One day at a time – one step at a time – I got this. I need to allow myself some wiggle room and remember this is a journey and not a destination. Perfection is not required.

Feeling a bit empty tonight. I’m sure most of it is from lack of sleep. The weather has been a bit unsettling today too. It feels like I don’t have much solid ground beneath my feet. Maybe it is part of letting go and allowing and accepting there isn’t much solid in this world. Going with the flow and allowing means not leaning on anything solid and trusting in the Universe. I think I can, I think I can….

Grateful for what rain we did get, grateful for the memories of days long gone by, and grateful to be in the flow.

I drove to Council Grove to meet a dear friend for lunch. We visited for over 2 1/2 hours. My soul needed our conversation today. It was a beautiful drive through the hills today. The grass is so green that it hurts your eyes. I love spring in the Flint Hills.

I came home and took a chair nap. After I woke up I went and laid down on my bed and read for a bit. I needed some quiet time this afternoon.

We got a few sprinkles this afternoon. Areas around us got some good rain but we got the consolation prize of sprinkles and thunder. Bet there was a rainbow if I could have seen the horizon.

I have a visitation to go to tomorrow evening. I will stop and get a few groceries when I am done. Friday I have a free day. I am going to bake a batch of cookies to take to the rally on Saturday. I’ll do a double batch and take some to Tagen, Jason and Michelle. I haven’t baked cookies for a long time.

Saturday I am meeting a friend for lunch and then we are going to the rally in Council Grove. It will be another fun day.

Kathy leaves Saturday afternoon to go to Wichita. She is spending the night at our cousin’s house and then has an early flight on Sunday to DC. She is going on the Veterans Honor Flight. She will be home Wednesday. I will have dog duty while she is gone.

I am having trouble making anything important this evening. Sometimes I have to let go and allow. When I do that, nothing feels important. I stepped into watching my life as if it is a movie and I have no control over what is happening next. I am along for the ride. I have no idea what is going to happen next and for some reason that feels good.

Grateful for lunch and a deep conversation with a dear friend today, grateful to be able to let go, and grateful for whatever happens next in my life.

It has been a quiet day at home. Don’t think I did much today. A storm is starting to roll in. Hoping we get some rain out it.

I had a long talk with Jason today. He has a major life change happening and needed to vent. I’m grateful I can listen when he needs to do that.

Tagen called this afternoon. He had a situation going on and needed some advice and needed to vent. That seems to be my theme for the day.

I took Sophia for a mile walk this afternoon. Roxy declined my offer to take her. I didn’t go to the gym today so I did a mile walk instead.

Tomorrow I am meeting a friend in Council Grove for lunch. It will be nice to have a deep conversation with a like-minded friend. Thursday I am going to a visitation and Saturday I am going to Council Grove for a political rally.

Feeling a bit disconnected again tonight. My world feels small tonight. It will be good to get out tomorrow and have a long, deep conversation.

I had to take a break from the news today. There are so many distractions going on that it is hard to stay focused on what is important. It was frustrating me so I needed to step away. Right here – right now – all is well as long as I don’t read the news. I think I feel a bit guilty that what is happening hasn’t impacted me directly yet. So many people are hurting from what is happening and many more will hurt in the future. Some nights I can’t go there.

Some days are harder than others. I know love is the answer and that love will win. I need to duck inside and remember that completely.

Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for a mile walk today, and grateful I have the privilege to tuck inside when I get overwhelmed with all that is happening.

Phil was here at 8:30 to get the foundation repair job started. He moved the furniture in the bedroom and pulled up a corner of the carpet. He cut a hole in the floor so he could get to the part of the foundation that he needed to work on.

About midafternoon he put the bedroom back together and had to crawl under the house in the narrow crawl space to do some cement footings. I don’t envy him the job he had to do today. It is a bug filled narrow space to crawl around in.

When he was done today he told me the cement he poured today needs to set up for about a week so Phil won’t be working tomorrow. He will come next Monday and hopefully be able to get the job finished up.

I’m glad I decided not to go out of town for a few days to escape the construction mess. Turns out I didn’t need to.

I didn’t sleep at all last night. I finally gave up around 6:00 and got up. It sure makes a long night when that happens. I was able to take a chair nap mid morning and I got a couple hours of sleep.

I walked down to the gym this afternoon and did a bit of exercise while there. I added a couple minutes to the bike that I rode while there. I worked my legs and abs. I don’t want to get sore so I am going very slow. I walked back home afterwards. The gym is about 1/2 mile from my house so it is a good way to get a mile walk in.

It was warmer this afternoon than I expected. I wore a sweater to go to the gym and I definitely didn’t need it. I came home sweating as I also wore a long sleeve shirt. I will have to dress more appropriately next time.

No plans for tomorrow. It will be good to be able to sleep in if I can find sleep. I will go back to the gym if I am not sore. I happened across a YouTube last night and the person said the main reason people fail when they pick up new habits is because they don’t change how they see themselves. I need to start telling myself I am physically fit, active and strong. Fake it till you make it – right?

I was sad to hear that the Pope died. I respected his deep roots and ideas about charity. I think he encountered head winds in the structure of the church that limited what he was able to do. I didn’t always agree with his positions but I respected that he spoke out for the least of them and turned his back on the trappings of the Vatican. It will be interesting to see if the church uses this as an opportunity to continue his mission or go backwards.

It felt good to get out and walk and get a workout in. I had to push myself out the door but I did it. Not sure why I find it so hard to do things that I know are good for me. I always feel so much better afterwards. One day at a time – I got this. I need to remind myself if I can walk 500 miles in Spain I can make it to the gym most days.

Wednesday I am going to Council Grove to meet a friend for lunch. We always have long lunches with deep conversation. I look forward to getting out. Thursday I have a visitation to go to and then on Saturday I am going to the rally in Council Grove at 2:00. My empty week is filling in nicely.

I can’t say I was surprised but I was still disappointed about the lack of press coverage on the rally’s that happened Saturday. I am surprised even the left leaning media didn’t give them much coverage. Makes me realize how limited we are if we believe that the media is covering everything and giving us truth.

I get a weekly email from a guy named Jack Armstrong. He channeled a book and he picks sections out of it each week to email out. Sometimes they really seem to be what I need to hear that day. Today he suggested that you watch your life play out as it you were watching a movie. When you go to a movie you go with the flow of the movie and know there is nothing you can do to change the outcome of the movie. What if we trusted the Universe to give us what we need with no need to control the flow. With all that is going on in the world these days I needed the reminder that there is nothing I can control except my own reaction to what is happening.

Grateful the foundation repair project has begun, grateful I made it to the gym today and was able to walk there, and grateful for the Pope and the way he showed us how to minister to those that are the least of us.

Kathy and I both decided this was a perfect pajama day. Neither one of us did anything today. It was raining off and on all day and it was a great day to stay inside and take a rest day. I don’t think we got lots of rain but at least Kathy didn’t have to water the grass she planted recently and all the flowers got a drink.

I did walk the dogs this evening. They are both covered in mud and wet and smelly. I brought them in to give them their pills and then made them go right back outside. I had to mop the floors after they got sent to timeout in their pen. They may not be able to come in for several days until it dries up a bit.

Phil is going to be here at 8:30 in the morning to start the foundation work. He has to move my bed out of the way to get to where he needs to cut a hole in the floor. He told me he thinks he can do a temporary fix for tomorrow night so I can use my bed. We shall see how the day progresses.

I did laundry today and decided not to fold it and put it away. If my closets get blocked due to the foundation repair job I will have clothes for four days. That was easy.

I am so grateful this foundation project is getting taken care of. It has been on my list since I moved into this house almost a year ago. It is the last project for this house on my list.

I have absolutely nothing on my calendar all week. This is the first week in a long time that I have nothing scheduled for the whole week. I’m not sure how that feels. Freeing yet intimidating at the same time. I do better when I have a bit of structure in my life.

I am going to set up a lunch with a friend one day this week if we can work that out. I also have a Rally to go to in Council Grove on Saturday. I have a few things around here I would like to get done in my free time. The problem is motivating myself to get them done. I work better when I have deadlines.

Still thinking about the rally yesterday. The numbers that are coming in across the country tell me there were fewer people protesting yesterday than two weeks ago. It is a holiday weekend. I was very pleased that we had 30 people show up here. I wonder how many would have gone to Topeka or Wichita instead? I think most of them would not have.

Protesting feels good in the moment but it still feels like it is not enough. I continue to email my senators and representatives and let them know my thoughts and feelings. That doesn’t feel enough either. I have to keep reminding myself that keeping my energy above neutral is almost a full-time job these days.

The energy in the world shifted last week. Not sure how or why I know that but I felt it deep in my bones. Maybe we reached the tipping point. It will still be a long climb out of this mess we are all in but I felt the momentum shift. I also have to keep reminding myself that miracles happen everyday and it isn’t mine to know how or when or why.

I told the Rally group that I am an old hippy that believes in the power of love. I told them love is the answer. Now what was the question? I need to get out of my head and allow my heart to lead.

Grateful for the rain today, grateful for mops that clean up dirty floors, and grateful the foundation repair job starts tomorrow.

Oh what a day! The weather turned out perfect as the wind and rain held off for our walk. It was a bit chilly but the walk warmed us up.

We gathered around Kathy’s new fire pit where Kathy had started a fire to warm our bodies and souls today. A dear friend brought his guitar and another of the participants is a singer and the two of them sang peace and love songs to us.

We had a meditation and we all roared and threw our anger, frustration and overwhelm into the fire. We made space inside for peace, love and harmony.

We walked downtown to meet up with a group that provided cookies and water for us. There were several people that couldn’t walk the mile route and they joined us at the water break stop.

We walked down to the old bridge and had some more music. We then walked back to the cookie and water break stop for seconds on the delicious cookies. We came back to my house and called it a day.

We had 30 people total at our rally today. We only encountered one person who yelled at us while we walked by their house going downtown. They didn’t yell at us when we passed them on our way home. I didn’t see any law enforcement officers. A couple cars and pickups slowed down to see what we were doing as they passed. I was kinda expecting one or more to say or do something but they didn’t.

It was an interesting mix of men and women. We had a couple of youngsters – those below 40! I didn’t know about half of the participants but somehow, someway they had found out about it and showed up.

My goal was to reach the tipping point of the population of Cottonwood Falls. The census reports the population as 851. 30 at the rally put us a person or two above the tipping point!

It turned out better than I had hoped it would. It was very peaceful, full of love and harmony. There were interesting conversations going on most of the time as people mixed and made new friends.

I will be interested in hearing the totals of the number of people that demonstrated across the US today. I reported our total of 30 to the main group that organized the events today – 50501. I can’t rely on mainstream media to give me accurate numbers. 50501 is adding up the rally totals and are to have a count tomorrow.

It does feel good to have done something to get our voices and concerns heard. Trusting it created some conversation in Cottonwood Falls and others get curious as to why we were on the streets.

Next Saturday there are more rally’s planned. I want to go to the one in Council Grove. We had two from Council Grove at our Rally today.

Tomorrow is a rest day for me. I have some laundry to do and there is always cleaning that could be done if the mood hits.

Monday Phil is beginning the work to repair my foundation. He will be pulling up the carpet in my bedroom and cutting a hole in the floor so he can get to the foundation. I may go away for a few days or just find a bed to sleep in somewhere Monday night. I can always sleep on the couch or in my recliner. He thinks he will need two and possibly three days to complete the job. I haven’t decided yet what to do. If I do stay home, I will need to pack a bag so I can have clothes easily available in case my closet gets blocked.

Other than the construction work, my calendar is completely free for next week. I do want to get to the gym a couple of times but nothing else is planned. It is going to take me a bit to adjust to all this empty space.

It feels like lots of space opened up for me today. That is both delightful and scary at the same time. I do better when I have a bit of structure in my life and it feels like I don’t have that right now. Time for me to get into some Good Trouble and find a project.

Feeling very satisfied about today. I saw a report of 20 people in Ottawa, KS and 70 in Salina. 30 in Cottonwood Falls is great! What I appreciated most was the people that came that I didn’t know and those that came from towns around us. They were willing to take a risk and show up. We live in red country and it took courage from all that showed up today to do so.

Grateful for the support of those that showed up today, grateful the weather cooperated, and grateful for the fire pit today.

This has been a quiet day at home. I did absolutely nothing. My body was sore and it hurt to move today. The temperature dropped overnight and it has been much cooler today. We are getting a bit of rain this evening. I think my body was telling me about the weather change.

Tomorrow is the rally in Cottonwood Falls. It is going to be cold today with temperatures in the 50’s. Hopefully the rain will book end the rally and we won’t have rain during our walk.

A friend is having her husband bring his guitar and he is going to play while we gather. We will start the rally with some music and then a short meditation to get us all in the same energy. I hope our walk starts around 2:15. It will only take us about 20 minutes to do the walk and back. Another friend is hosting a water/cookie break halfway. Nothing like a small town rally having special treats that the big city rally can’t offer.

Tomorrow I will do a bit of housecleaning in the morning before the rally. I’m grateful the rally is tomorrow. I trust it will be peaceful and the people that attend will feel rejuvenated for coming. I also trust that the local community will feel our actions and it will have an impact on all.

Grateful for the rain this evening, grateful the rally is tomorrow, and grateful for the privilege of taking a do nothing day.

I needed to go to Emporia today and thought I had a visitation to go to at 6:00. I didn’t want to make two trips so I waited until late to go. I double checked the obituary to make sure I had the time correct and realized the visitation isn’t until next week.

Dang, I could have gone to town earlier but when I discovered my error I went to town. Man is it windy out today. It was a Job to keep the car on the road. I felt bad for the semi drivers today. We used to call that White Knuckles when the customers would come in at McDonald’s on the Turnpike. They looked completely wiped out when they would come in to take a break from the wind.

It reached over 90 degrees today. That is too hot for April. It is to be in the 50’s Saturday. We are on a weather roller coaster.

I hadn’t shopped for a bit and had a long list of things to pick up. It is good to be restocked. After I was done at Walmart I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Kathy and then went through the car wash and came home.

Kathy went to coffee this morning and invited the group that was there to the rally on Saturday. Most of them didn’t know what she was talking about and didn’t know that people have taken to the streets to protest.

We certainly are living in two different realities right now. Each reality seems to have a different set of opinions they are living from. Not sure either side can claim truth as that is hard to find these days.

I am growing increasingly concerned about due process. If due process doesn’t apply to one then it may not apply to any. Our democracy is based on applying law to one and all equally. I am not naive and I understand the rich have better attorneys than the poor can afford and therefore justice is not equal. There is also a lot of racism built into the system and POC are very disadvantaged upon entering our judicial system. However, the one thing we have all been entitled to is due process. That no longer seems something we can take for granted.

I am grateful that I organized the rally. All people need to be aware of both realities so they can choose the one they want to live in. We will never all agree on all points politically but I want to stand on the side that respects all humans and gives all humans due process. When more than 3 1/2% of the country starts participating in the rallies, the word will get out and give people more information to make more informed choices.

I need to continue to work on keeping myself above neutral and to visualize a better world for all. We won’t get out of this mess using the same energy we used to get into it. I need to rise above it and believe in the power of love.

I trust the weather will hold and we won’t have rain the day of the rally. Cold I can handle but I really dislike cold and wet. The number of people that are indicating they are coming and/or are interested in the rally keeps increasing. I know there are several coming that aren’t included in the numbers on Facebook.

No plans for tomorrow except to do some final prepping for the Rally on Saturday. I will want to have the house clean as I will invite participants in to use the bathroom if needed before the walk begins.

Grateful my list of things got gathered and home today, grateful for a stay-at-home day tomorrow, and grateful it is going to be cooler tomorrow.

This has been a quiet day. Did two loads of laundry but not much else. I did manage to make it to the gym today. I didn’t stay long but I was proud of myself for going. I had trouble figuring out how to use some of the equipment so I will have to schedule a session with the trainer to learn how to use it.

I will gradually increase the time that I stay each week and work my way up to fitness. I will drop out if I get so sore I can’t sit down without pain so will take it slow and easy. Probably too slow but I am not in a rush and something is better than nothing.

Had a guy call me today to ask if he can come to the rally on Saturday. He had been at the City Commission meeting when the permit was approved. He told me that one or more of the Commissioners didn’t know what a “Hands Off Rally” was. I guess he explained it to them.

He said they had quite the discussion before the meeting began. Wished I had been there. When the Commissioners talked about the Courthouse and said they would not allow the rally on the grounds, the guy had asked them about it. The Commissioners said the Sheriff had made that decision. Uhm???? Wonder what is up with that.

I will let this one go and we will honor their request to not go on the grounds or sidewalks of the Courthouse but if I do another one I might check into it more and push the issue.

Tomorrow is another quiet day at home. I do need to go to Emporia in the evening for a visitation. A friend of my parents died and I would like to see his daughter. We spent lots of time together when I was growing up. She now has grandchildren – how did that happen? I freeze people in time and forget they grow old with me.

While I am in town tomorrow I will stop and get some groceries. I am making a list and do need a few things.

I spent some time today reading my blog from the time when Covid caused our lives to turn upside down. It is interesting to read it from a distance from that time. I passed the initial months of Covid making face masks and working the Crisis Hotline as well as writing letters to friends and family. What a time that was. I still wonder how history will treat that time 50 years from now. I bet it had the same major impact on all of us that the Great Depression years did.

I think we lost the knowledge of how to connect to others during the Covid lockdown down times. Trust in others eroded as well as trust in our government and life in general and I’m not sure it has come back. Long term planning has a new meaning since Covid and it still feels a bit tenuous to plan too far in advance.

I also wonder what the history books will say about the times we are living in now. Reality is hard to find these days as it feels like everyone is living in their own little reality bubble. Truth is hard to find and it is hard to know who to trust. Complication from the Covid years? Makes me wonder.

Grateful I had my first gym day today, grateful for my blog and the recording of my life it creates for me, and grateful the rally will be here soon.

This has been a pajama day for me. I woke up at 3:00 and had to go to the bathroom. I have gone about 20 times today. I am worn out! Decided not to go to the gym as I couldn’t be very far from the bathroom. I am slowing down this evening so I think it was just a flare of my IBS. It usually only lasts for one day or so.

I did order some of the expensive probiotics that my gastroenterologist had recommended. I haven’t taken them for a long time but something tells me it is time to get back on them. I haven’t been eating my yogurt everyday and I need to get back doing that too. When i do both of those things it greatly reduces the number of flares I have.

I got back to sleep around 6:00 this morning and was back up at 8:00 and then back to sleep for a bit. I am exhausted this evening and hope that I can sleep all night long and wake up feeling better tomorrow.

We have a good chance to see the Northern Lights again tonight. The best time is to be between 11:00 and 4:00 am. I might go out if I am still awake and feeling OK. The air is full of smoke so not sure we will get a good view tonight. It is amazing how often they have showed up lately. Makes me wonder what is changing to make that happen.

No plans for tomorrow except to go to the gym. I will need to go to Emporia one of these days for some groceries but not sure I need anything tomorrow. I’ll see how my energy is tomorrow and will decide then.

Been giving some thought to the rally Saturday. We might have around 30 people show up. It is hard to know as people can just show up. So far 12 people have indicated they are coming via the Facebook event post and another 30 are interested. I also know about 10 others that have told me they are coming but they aren’t on Facebook.

I would like to start the rally with a short medication and help us all get above neutral to start the walk. I want this to be a walk in love and peace and not one of anger and overwhelm. Our rational part of our brain shuts off when we are in anger and overwhelm and it puts us below neutral. If the crowd is too big it will be hard to do that though. I will make a couple of plans and decide the day of which one feels right.

This has been a weird day. I don’t like days when I don’t have any energy and have to run to the bathroom so much. Trusting it is a short lived flare and tomorrow will be a better day.

Grateful for indoor plumbing, grateful for an empty space day, and grateful tomorrow is a new day.

I went to the gym at noon today and got my key to the building. I paid for a three month membership. I went with three months as maybe it will provide some motivation to me to go. If I only did one month I might not! We shall see if I can make this happen. I didn’t have time to stay and do anything else today.

Went to Emporia to be at Jason’s house for a delivery. It came around 1:30. I then went to the bank and took care of two banking issues. Stopped at Sutherland’s and picked up some chemical ant repellent. My peppermint mix is not working.

I didn’t stop for groceries as I thought I was going to go to town tomorrow. The thing I was going to tomorrow with Jason got canceled I found out after I got home. I really didn’t need many groceries so I will wait and go in one day later this week and get what I need.

I did a tax return for some friends using one of the free sites recommended from the IRS website. I had several text exchanges with my friends so I could get all the information I needed. Hope I did them correctly. Feels good to know they got their taxes filed on time. Not sure they have the money to pay what they owe but that is not my problem. At least they got filed.

Tomorrow has become a free day for me as I don’t need to go with Jason to his court thing. I will go to the gym tomorrow instead and see if I remember how to use the equipment. I will probably schedule a training session with the owner of the gym in the coming weeks so I can maximize my training time correctly. I will play with the equipment for a bit and see what I remember and go from there.

Saw a very interesting video today where the lady was comparing the biblical understanding of republicans vs democrats. It helped me understand the differences. If you pick and choose what version of the Bible and verses you want to follow, the Bible will help you justify most positions. It did help me understand the differences and that both sides have valid points. I tend to live in the gray zone and not the black and white zones. I see both sides but do tend to follow the democratic side of my understanding of the Bible.

I still need to get out and take my walk for the day. It was cold and windy earlier. Hoping the wind slows down a bit so it isn’t cold when I walk.

Have felt tired all day. I must have used up more energy than I thought yesterday. It was so worth it though. Grateful I have a quiet week ahead and can rest up and get ready for the rally on Saturday. Just checked the forecast and the chance for rain Saturday has been moved to evening time. It is to be low 60’s during rally time. We need the rain so can’t complain if it comes early but it will be nice if it waits till after the rally.

Having so much empty space on my calendar feels both freeing and scary. I really do better with a bit of structure on my calendar. I will have to put working out on my calendar so it looks like I have something to do. Oh the games I play with myself sometimes.

Grateful for empty space on my calendar, grateful to have been able to help some friends out today, and grateful for a gym within walking distance of my house.

We had our family day today. Nicole and Geoff came down from Shawnee, Jason, Michelle, Tagen and Ellexia came from Emporia. It was a beautiful day of food, laughs and lots of love.

I fixed some Easter Eggs for the kids. I put money and candy inside them. The money ranged from $0.25, $1.00, $20 and even a few $100. They each got four eggs and opened them.

I had one more egg for each of them. The two that had raked in the least got a golden egg that had $100 inside. The other four got a random egg that had various amounts. One of those also had $100 inside it. It was fun to watch and fun to see how much each of them took home. One got over $200 and I think the least anyone took was around $60.

I fixed a ham, cheesy potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole and a broccoli salad. After the mishap with the cheesecake last night I was hoping I wouldn’t have another mishap. I almost had one as the cord to the crock pot that I was cooking the cheesy potatoes in got disconnected. Luckily I noticed it in time to dump the potatoes in a casserole pan and put them in the oven. They were a bit runny but hot!

The cheesecake that spilled in the oven when I was taking it out yesterday was edible but it wasn’t one of my better ones. It was too dense. I like a lighter cheesecake.

Nicole and I booked a trip to India and Nepal in November. I got the cancel for any reason insurance in case things are dicey in November. I will get to see the Taj Mahal on the trip! It is a ten night trip. It will take over 24 hours to get there. We will have to fly into New York the day before and stay over as there are no flights from KC that get to New York in time to leave the morning we fly out. Coming home we should be able to get to KC without an extra night. I’m sure the flights will change between now and then. We are going to wait to book the KC to New York flights until it gets a bit closer so we can adjust to whatever our flights change to.

Still not 100% sure I want to leave the country but this feels far enough out that maybe things will have settled down a bit by then. If not, I will cancel.

The trip itinerary tells me that we will be walking 3 – 4 hours a day and there will be lots of uneven surfaces. This will give me the incentive I need to get in better shape.

I had left a message at the gym in Cottonwood Falls Friday and they called me back today. I am going to the gym at noon tomorrow to get my membership. I will schedule a training session so I can learn how to use the equipment. I am loosing leg and arm strength since I quit doing my KU Fitness program and need to get it back.

I took my mile walk this evening. I need to start adding a bit of distance as it felt easy tonight. I want to work my way up to 5 miles a day plus do strength training three days a week. I think I can! I think I can!

It is always a five star rated day for me to have all my kids and grandkids come home. I was surprised and pleased that Tagen was able to come today. It does a momma’s heart good to have all her kids together at once.

Tomorrow I go to the gym to get signed up at noon. I then am going to Emporia to go to Jason’s house to wait on a delivery he has coming. When that is done I need to get some ant spray and take care of a banking issue. I need to get some groceries but we shall see if I can do that or not. Some days I can shop and other days not so much.

I have to go back to Emporia Tuesday morning to go to a thing with Jason. I can stop and get groceries after that if I don’t get them Monday.

The rest of the week is free until Saturday. I have some work I need to do to get ready for the rally Saturday so am grateful I have some free time on my calendar. So far 12 people have indicated they are coming and another 30 are interested. I also know of several that are not on Facebook that have told me they will come.

The weather forecast for next Saturday has improved. There is a storm coming in over next weekend but now they are predicting the rain won’t come until Saturday evening. It is to be in the mid 60’s on Saturday which is perfect rally weather. We shall see what happens that day. Sometimes KS weather is hard to predict.

Looking at lots of empty space time in the coming weeks. I hope to use part of that time working out and walking. I have a list of friends I want to get hold up and meet up with. One of the most important things to me is deepening my connection to my friends and family. I so enjoy one-on-one time where we can have deep conversations. Time for me to get some things scheduled so I can make that happen.

Sitting with a glow tonight after our family day. It is so fun to spend time with my kids and grandkids. We had such a fun day. Wish we could do it more often but maybe because we only do it every three or four months makes it all that much more special.

Grateful my kids and grandkids came home today, grateful for a beautiful spring day, and grateful for a trip to India and Nepal.

This has been a quiet day at home. I have prepared some of the food for family day tomorrow. When I was taking the cheesecake out of the oven the hook didn’t stay latched and I spilled cheesecake all over. I scooped up what I could and put it back in the pan. It isn’t a very pretty cheesecake but hoping it will taste OK. I ordered a new cheesecake pan.

The latch had come loose when I was putting the crumb crust in the pan but I had hoped that when the cheesecake was cooked it would be solid enough to hold together. Oops. I miscalculated gravity!

I have the crust made for another dessert I am making. It won’t take me long to finish that one up. Decided I better make a second dessert in case the cheesecake isn’t edible.

Tomorrow I will bake the ham. When it is done I will put the macaroni and cheese and cheesy potatoes in the oven. I will make the green bean casserole in the crock pot. I made a broccoli salad this morning. Trusting I can pull everything together and not have another oops!

I took a mile walk again tonight. I needed to work off some frustration over the cheesecake. I do feel better after I take a walk.

I need to stuff the plastic Easter eggs yet tonight. Even though the kids are grown we still enjoy an Easter Egg hunt. I remembered to get some candy to put in them yesterday. I will put a bit of money in them too. Maybe growing up is optional!

Still need to make my bed – I washed my sheets today. I also have a load of clothes that need folded. I have a bit more housecleaning I want to get done tonight but if I don’t I’m not sure anyone will notice.

So looking forward to having the kids come tomorrow. Tagen won’t be able to come as he has to work but I will take him some leftovers when I go to Emporia Monday. Jason needs me to do something for him around 1:00 so I will go to town Monday and then again Tuesday. Hoping the rest of the week I can stay home.

When I mailed the check to pay off Tagen’s truck I got a tracking number for it. The first two days it said the information wasn’t available. Today it finally showed the letter is on its way. It was to have been delivered yesterday but isn’t there yet. Our postal service isn’t what it used to be! I saw that the price of stamps is going up again in July. Yikes! More money for less service!

Have been thinking of some chants that I want to use during our walk on the 19th. Thinking about “This is what democracy looks like”, “Power to the People” and “ Peace begins with me”. Any one have other ideas? Please send them to me. I want to keep the energy positive and chant things we are in favor of instead of what we don’t want.

Having a battle with ants in my kitchen. My peppermint water spray is not working. Kathy got some ant bait traps today. If those aren’t working by Monday I will call the exterminator. I have a strong dislike of ants. They give me the creeps.

It was nice to have a stay at home day today. My soul cherishes those days. I get to stay home tomorrow too and all the kids will be here – that is an extra special soul filling day.

Grateful for a beautiful spring day, grateful for all the blooming flowers I see on my walk, and grateful for the smell of the lilac bushes – one of my favorite spring flowers.

I went to a brunch this morning. It was a pleasant gathering with delicious food and great conversation.

Came home and took a nap. I had actually slept last night but as is normal for me when my body gets more sleep than it is used to it wants even more.

Late afternoon I went out for dinner. When I got home I took a mile walk. I walked down to the river bridge which is where the rally crowd is going on the 19th. We have been instructed to walk back the same way we go but tonight I walked home a different way. Felt good to get out and walk a bit.

Tomorrow I will make some of the food I will be serving for family day Sunday. Not sure how many are coming but will plan for all and if some can’t make it I will take them food Monday. I also have a bit of housecleaning to do. Kathy cleaned house yesterday so it is in pretty good shape.

Next week is a quiet week for me. The kids will all be here Sunday. I have a thing to go to with Jason Tuesday morning and the rally on Saturday. Feels good to have three empty space days.

I still need to decide where I am going on April 21 – 23. I won’t be able to use by bedroom those days as I am having some foundation work done. Haven’t settled on where I want to go yet.

Feeling a bit out of sorts tonight. I keep jumping timelines and my mind is scattered. There is a full moon tomorrow night and I am feeling the effects of it. The outside energy is so chaotic and dark. It is hard to keep my feet on the ground and under me. Doing taxes gave me a purpose and I need to find a new one in the coming days.

Grateful for a mile walk today, grateful to meet with like-minded friends today, and grateful I get to see my kids Sunday.

I had a busy start to my last day of doing taxes. I took a return with me that needed reviewed and I had two people waiting for me when I got there so we could finish up their returns. Things finally slowed down and we had a cancellation or two. I was out of there by 11:15 which is early. It was a good year doing taxes for me. I finally feel competent doing them.

After doing taxes I stopped and had lunch at Radius. After lunch I went to Price Chopper for my Easter groceries. They don’t stock ham on the bone except at Christmas and Thanksgiving time so I had to go to a different store to get that. I stopped at Good’s and they had one.

I am avoiding Walmart this week as this is the week to boycott Walmart. I know I paid more for the groceries I got today and I had to go to two stores to get everything but I managed to get what I needed without Walmart.

When I got to Cottonwood Falls I stopped at a friend’s house and dropped off the return I had started yesterday. We have a two-step process before they can be e-filed and I had someone review it for me this morning. The return got filed and I gave the tax payer their copy of the return.

Spent some time this afternoon trying to get the word out about the rally on April 19. I hope others will post and share about it so a wider range of people will see it and know to come. So far 8 have responded that they are coming and 13 more are interested. Still a long way from having the 80 that is my goal. I will be happy though if we have at least 25.

Tomorrow I have a brunch to go to at 10:00. After that is over I will have a couple of stay at home days. The kids are coming Sunday for family day. So far other than the rally on Saturday the 19th, I only have a thing with Jason on my calendar next Wednesday. I am way overdue for a long stretch of stay at home days. I need to get hold of some friends and get a lunch or two scheduled. I’m sure by mid week next week I will be wanting to meet up and have a deep conversation with a friend or two.

I do want to get hold of the owner of the gym and get a gym membership Monday. I want to use the time I had been doing taxes to go to the gym. I don’t have anything much on my calendar for a bit so this is a good time to find a new routine going to the gym. I am loosing strength in my legs and my balance is not as good as it was when I was exercising several days a week. I don’t want to feel and act older than I am so I need to get my butt in gear and get to working out again.

Looking forward to slowing things down a bit. I function best when I have lots of down time and the last couple of weeks I haven’t gotten as much down time as I need. I have managed to stay above neutral for the most part which amazes me. The time thing though has really amped up for me. I had to check my iPad about three times this morning before I could fully understand that today is Thursday. Time doesn’t make sense to me right now. That is usually my indication that I need to completely step out of time for a bit until things settle down.

I couldn’t sleep last night and I was cleaning up my phone. I had saved a bunch of emails from one of my mentors from back in the day. I reread what I had sent and the responses I got back. As I read what I wrote I realized how far I have come. The things that bothered me then no longer do. Unfortunately new things have come up that bother me now but I will take this as a sign of progress on my spiritual journey.

Grateful for progress on my journey, grateful this tax season has come to a close, and grateful for free space on my calendar for the coming weeks.

This has been a weird day for me. Time is doing its crazy thing again. Sometimes five minutes feels like five hours and other times five minutes feels like five seconds. Has me upside down today.

I went over to a friend’s house to do their taxes this morning. It only took a short bit to get them done. I will get them reviewed tomorrow and they will be filed tomorrow night. That was easy!

I called the city to follow up on my request for a special event on April 19 so a group of us can walk the streets and rally. It was approved at the city Commission meeting. They did give me a designated route. I had wanted to walk around the court house but that is not allowed unless I go before the county commission. We will walk from my house to Pearl St. Up Pearl Street to Broadway St. North on Broadway to the river bridge and then we will reverse the route and come back to my house. We have to stay on the sidewalks and cannot walk around the courthouse. I will take what I can get.

We will be meeting at my house at 421 Plum St at 1:00 on Saturday, April 19. We will have a short gathering meeting and then will walk the designated route and back again. Afterwards I thought we could stay and visit and brainstorm other steps we can take both collectively and individually. That part will be optional. Spread the word and bring a friend or two with you. The bathroom in my house is available if needed!

This afternoon I am going to a friend’s house for happy hour. I haven’t seen some of my friends for a bit so it will be a good chance to get caught up with them. It is a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy the company of like-minded friends.

I have felt a bit lost today as I have had more free time than I have had for a bit. My mind says get up and do something but my body says sit a bit. I do need to start thinking about cleaning the house and getting things ready for family day Sunday. For some reason Sunday feels like a long way off.

I happened to notice the woodwork in the living room, where the dogs lay at night, is very dirty. I have tall baseboards and the dogs lean up against it when they sleep at night. I will have to get that washed up although I am betting it will be dirty again soon.

Tomorrow I am going to Emporia to do taxes in the morning for the last time this season. I need to stop afterwards and get the supplies for our family day dinner. I want to double check my list so I don’t have to go to town Friday or Saturday and get something I forgot.

Phil came over yesterday and crawled under the house to check what needs to be done about the foundation. He is going to have to cut a hole in the bedroom floor so he can get to where he needs to add some support material to the foundation. He isn’t going to try to level the floor as that will create issues on the back side of the wall and impact the kitchen cabinets and the furnace. He said he would need at least two days and maybe three. I will have to vacate my bedroom while he does that. This will give me a good excuse to take a short trip somewhere. Now the hard part is to decide where to go. Nothing is coming to me yet. He is to let me know a couple days ahead of when he can fit it into his schedule.

Kathy got notified yesterday that she has been selected to go on an Honor Flight to Washington, DC the end of April. Our cousin is on the committee that does fundraising for these trips and he is going to get to go on this trip with her. I’m so proud of her and her service as an Army nurse to our country. She is very excited.

Next week is a much quieter week for me. I will want to do some things to get ready for the rally on the 19th. I also want to get a gym membership and start going to the gym several days a week. I am loosing what I gained from the fitness program I was in. I didn’t think it was doing any good but the longer I am away from it, the more I can tell I am loosing muscle strength, especially in my legs.

I have a weird relationship with time these days. It doesn’t serve me well and I don’t have to pay attention to it most of the time. The last couple weeks have been busier than normal for me and I have had places I had to be at a certain time. I think my body is telling me it is time to step back out of time. I function better when I do that.

Grateful the request for the rally was approved, grateful for this beautiful spring day, and grateful for a restful afternoon.

This has felt like a productive day. I managed to wake up about 10 minutes before my alarm went off. That makes for a better start to my day.

I was in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. We weren’t too busy today and it felt longer than normal today as a result.

After I was done with taxes I had lunch with Tagen and his girlfriend. We took care of a financial matter while we were eating.

After lunch I went to a bank and got a cashiers check and then I went to the post office to mail it. Felt good to get that matter started.

Went to the Friends of the Library book sale and found a sack of books that wanted to come home with me. I only paid $5 for the whole sack full. I am going to try some new to me authors. If I don’t like them I am not out much.

Came home and took care of something I had been asked to do. I was able to cross some things off my pending list today which always makes it a good day.

I am going to be selling Tagen’s truck. I tried to enter it at CarFax but they ask way too many questions that I have no idea how to answer. I will have to try again when Tagen is with me so I know the details of his truck. I thought having the VIN would be enough but silly me. I am not detailed thinking when it comes to vehicles. I’m lucky to find my own car in a parking lot!

Tomorrow morning I am helping a friend do their taxes and have a happy hour to go to in the afternoon. Thursday I go back to Emporia for the last tax day of this season. I need to stop and get groceries afterwards and get the things I need for family day Sunday. Friday I have a brunch to go to. Saturday is a stay at home day that I will use to get ready for family day on Sunday.

I told Tagen today I am fixing a ham, Mac and cheese, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, etc for lunch on Sunday. He said that sounds like family food! I don’t get too original when the kids come home – they seem to like their favorites.

It is a beautiful spring day. I noticed it is to be in the upper 80’s on Sunday. Way too early for that warm of a day. It was in the upper 30’s when I left the house this morning but got up to the high 60’s this afternoon. I love temperatures like this.

Felt good to get the process of selling Tagen’s truck started. It will take a few weeks as I need to wait to get the title back before we can sell it. Time goes by quickly these days so it won’t be long before it is gone. This will give Tagen time to find something more affordable for him. I trust he won’t come out upside down on this learning adventure he is on.

Grateful the truck issue is being addressed, grateful for a bag of books for $5, and grateful for family day on Sunday.

I sure didn’t want to get up when my alarm went off this morning. Had trouble finding sleep last night and I was deep in sleep when the alarm went off.

I did taxes this morning. Only two more days of doing taxes this season. We stayed fairly steady today but had a bit of down time. Most of the returns today were simple ones which makes the day feel easy.

After I was done doing taxes I stopped for lunch and came home. I was going to go to the library book sale and get a bag of books for $10. Decided I would do it tomorrow instead. I needed to come home and take a nap.

I got my passport back today. I am grateful it came. They had told me to allow 8 weeks for it to come but it came in four or five weeks. I didn’t get my old passport returned yet but that should arrive within a week. No worries on that one coming. I feel a bit safer having my updated passport now. Don’t have any plans to need it but with all that is going on I feel safer having it.

I stopped by the Sheriff’s office to ask what I needed for authorization to do a rally April 19. He happened to be in the office so I was able to talk to him. I have to fill out a permit application to hold an “event” with the city council. The city council will have a conversation with the Sheriff and decide if the Sheriff needs to provide services during the event.

After I left the Sheriff’s office I went to the city office and got the application for the “event” permit. The lady was just leaving the office but turned around and gave me the form I needed. I came home and filled it out and then returned it to the city office. The city officials are meeting tonight and will let me know tomorrow if they approve.

Not sure I needed to go through all of this but if the size of the event grows I will feel less stress knowing that I have the permit. I can’t imagine needing one if 15 of my friends gather and walk down sidewalks together. But since we will be carrying political signs and we are in red country I decided to play it safe and request a permit. Not sure what I will do if they deny it but I will cross that bridge if I have to.

I did change the event listing on my Facebook page to show that we will be meeting at my house and not the courthouse. The Sheriff said he was rather sure the County would not give me permission to gather at the Courthouse grounds. I guess I can see that point of view but……. Wonder if they would let me if I leaned right? We will walk from my house to the Courthouse and down Main Street on the sidewalks to the bridge and then back again.

Sounds like the timing of this event may be good as April 20 is the date that Martial Law may be declared. Gosh that feels extreme and impossible but right now even impossible feels possible. Our rights are slowly being taken away from us in plain view. Surely some in political power will grow a pair and stop this insanity. I trust that if they know there are millions in the streets protesting and calling for courage they will step up and do the correct thing.

Phil came over to discuss what needs to be done to my foundation. I have a weak spot in the foundation at the corner where the dining room and my bedroom meet. The foundation has crumbled away and there is a big slope. He is going to go under the house tomorrow and see what needs to be done to fix it. He may have to take up the carpet in my bedroom and cut a hole in the floor so he can repair the foundation. He is a tall skinny man and he might be able to do it using the crawl space. Grateful for however he decides to fix it. I have worried about that spot since I have moved in. I don’t want damage done to the house due to a fixable foundation issue. That project has been on my pending list for months and I will be very grateful when it gets crossed off and taken care of.

Tomorrow I am going to Emporia to do taxes again. Afterwards I am having lunch with Tagen and then I will go to the book sale and get a bag of books for $5. I should hear tomorrow if the permit has been approved for the rally.

Wednesday I am meeting with a friend to do her taxes in the morning and I may be going to meet another friend to help them with their taxes in the afternoon. Thursday I do taxes in the morning again. Friday I have a brunch to attend. Saturday I will get groceries and get ready for family day on Sunday.

Next week will feel empty with no tax days on my calendar. I will have somethings to do to get ready for the rally on the 19th. It will be good to have some empty space back on my calendar.

It warmed up to the mid 60’s today. I had a bit of frost on my windows this morning when I left to go to Emporia. Sunday it is to be 87! KS has trouble moderating its temperature during April.

Feeling a bit empty this evening. I don’t feel my best and sleep is becoming a big issue for me again. When I was on the medication I was taking for a bit I was sleeping too much. But the side effects were becoming too big to ignore. Now that I am off of it I can’t find sleep again. Guess I am having trouble moderating myself these days.

Grateful for the timing of the permit as otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get one, grateful the foundation is going to get fixed, and grateful my passport is here.

Spent a quiet morning at home. The sun was out and it looked warm outside but it was nippy. It is to warm back up tomorrow. We have a freeze warning for overnight. Maybe this is winter’s last kiss goodbye for this season.

I went to the friends of the library book sale today to volunteer between 3:00 and 5:00. I had to sit and work the square payment thing so didn’t get a chance to look for books. I plan on stopping by tomorrow when I get done with taxes and get a bag full for $10.

I got to visit with a lady today that was working the cash booth with me. We had a nice visit and the time went by quickly. She volunteers with the tax program too. She is the one that answers the phone and makes appointments for our clients. It was fun to get to know her.

Tomorrow I have to be back in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. We are getting down to the wire as this is our last week of doing them. I am doing them Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week.

I am doing a friend’s taxes Wednesday morning. If anyone doesn’t have theirs done yet and needs some help let me know. Wednesday is the last day I can do them as they have to be reviewed by another preparer and Thursday is the last time that can happen. Give me a call and let’s find a time to get together and get them done. No charge! I could do them Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon or evening.

There is another protest rally planned for April 19. I am wondering about the feasibility of putting one together for Cottonwood Falls. I know many can’t make the trip to Topeka and can’t walk/stand for a couple of hours like you have to do if you go to Topeka. Anyone interested? We need 3 1/2% of the population to show up in order to turn the tide and help make things happen. We would need 88 people to show up to reach 3 1/2% of the population in Chase County to make that happen here. What do you all think? I can register it on the national tracking site and we would be counted in the global count.

I was reading the news about the protests across the USA Saturday and saw a photo of a lady in a very small town in the Midwest that did a one person protest. More power to the people! I have to shake my head as I read news articles stating that thousands of people attended the rallies. The official site counted 5.2 million! That feels like a hell of a lot more than thousands.

There was a lot of smoke in the air when I was driving home from Emporia this evening. Lots of ranchers must have burned today. It wasn’t so windy today and was a good day to burn. Usually the end of the burning season is around the middle of April so we are almost there. Sure looks like there are lots more pastures to burn. I bet a lot more happens this week.

The Walmart boycott starts tomorrow and goes for a week. I need some groceries for family day next Sunday so will have to find an alternative place to shop. The second total economic blackout day is April 18. I have it on my calendar so I won’t forget.

Busy week ahead. I am going to feel a bit lost after this week as I won’t have taxes to do several days a week. I hope to start going to the gym and working out with all my free time. I have been feeling really stiff the last couple of days and like I am loosing strength in my legs. Time to get working out again.

Felt good to be in service today. It was an easy volunteer job and I got to make a new friend today. How cool is that! I do feel better about myself when I can find worthwhile things to volunteer for.

Grateful to make a new friend today, grateful for ways to use my presence and voice to change the political winds in this country, and grateful for blue skies today with warmer temperatures coming this week.

Just got home from the protest in Topeka. Kathy and I went with four other friends from Cottonwood Falls. I want to capture my thoughts about the day. Hoping someday 20 years from now my grandkids will read this and know that their grandmother was among the millions across the USA that showed up today.

It was a brisk, windy day today but luckily no rain. The sun even broke through the clouds just before we were leaving. We got there around 11:20 and were able to find a close parking spot. People kept coming in after we got there. Crowd estimates range from 2,000 – 5,000. We were pretty spread out and people came and went so not sure how they do a count.

I was impressed with the creativity and variety of protest signs. I didn’t take my phone out and take pictures. Some of the others in the group did though so I will get copies of what they captured. People were complementing others on their signs. One of my favorites said “What Cory Said” and another was “Tariffs hurt Kansas farms and the Penguins”.

Age of attendees varied from Senior Citizens down to infants. I would guesstimate 60% to 70% were over 50 years of age. Whenever I saw a teen or 20 something I would thank them for being there and tell them they give me hope for the future. Some of them thanked me for doing the work for many years.

I didn’t see many minorities. 98% or more of the crowd were white. I would guess 80% women and 20% men.

Saw several people with disabilities and struggling to walk but they showed up anyways. Spoke to one woman who said she just had to come even though walking was a challenge for her.

The crowd was well behaved and it was a very peaceful day. Several mentioned how they felt great comfort in being with like-minded people in such big numbers. If there was any confrontations going on, I didn’t witness it.

The only downside I felt during the time I was there is when the crowd would react when the pickup with Trump flags on it drove around the big block the capitol sits. I wish the crowd would have ignored them as they gave energy to the truck and it brought down the group energy.

I struggled to do the negative chants. I could feel the energy of the group drop when they did that. I liked chanting Democracy for All and Peace for All better as well as Power to the People. The energy rose when positive chants were said.

Counts of the number of people attending around the US and even in Europe are still coming in but last I heard we are over 3.8 million people just in the US. We need to reach 3% of the population to reach a tipping point. Not sure we did that today but this was only the first of the protests that will happen. I have a feeling they will continue to grow in size as more and more people start to feel the impact of the decisions that are being made.

I will go to the next protest and the next and the next. It feels important to me that I show up. There is power in the people when we come together in a peaceful way to say Hands Off! I can’t sit this out. Still feels like it is a lesson in trust to think that my presence can help tip the scales but what else can a person do?

I ran into some people I knew while I was there. It was fun to see them. Some other friends of mine were going to go but I didn’t see them. In that big of a crowd it was easy to miss them.

We stopped at the Blind Tiger for lunch afterwards but it was going to be a two hour wait for a table. We went to some dive bar that was close by and had lunch. The waitress was fun and the food was good. I could tell it was a red neck bar but we encountered no issues.

I am sitting in my chair in front of my space heater warming my bones up. The energy of the day helped keep me mostly warm during the event. I kept walking around which helped too but now my bones are complaining about being out in the cold for a couple of hours. It was in the low 40’s today with a brisk wind.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at 3:00 to work at the friends of the library book sale. I only have a two hour shift so that will be a quick event for me. I will go back to the sale after my tax shift Monday to buy books as I can get a bag full for only $10 Monday. Tomorrow the books are full price which is still a bargain compared to the price of a new book.

Monday and Tuesday I have tax shifts. Looking forward to Wednesday which is a stay at home day after six busy days. I think I can make it until then without having a melt down – we shall see.

It felt good to have a day of action and be with like-minded people. I had a fun drive to and from with my friends. The whole day makes me feel positive for the future of the country. I will be participating in the Walmart boycott from April 7 -14. That means I will have to buy my family day groceries somewhere else – I can do that.

I will continue to find ways to quietly boycott businesses that support the right. There is power to be gained in how I spend my money and I do my best to find places that support the values I cherish. Money seems to be one of the few things that get their attention. Not sure I spend enough to be noticed but I notice it and that helps keep my energy elevated.

Grateful for the right to peacefully protest, grateful for like minded friends that joined me today, and grateful the rain went around us today.

I slept in for a bit this morning. I had trouble falling asleep again last night but finally got more than two hours of sleep in one stretch. Not sure it was enough as I am still tired this evening but I will take what ever sleep I can find.

I went through my tax packet a bit closer today. I had written a note to my accountant and wanted to make sure she had seen it. It was in the package but it took me some time to find it. In the process I found a 1099NEC that belongs to someone else. Oops. I returned it to the accountant when I went to town today.

I went to Emporia to meet Jason for lunch and then we had to go to a court thing for him. We ate at Radius and then went to the court house. Unfortunately the court thing got postponed again. Not sure I understand the ruling behind what happened today. Rules appear to be rules until they are not. He is rescheduled for either mid April or the end of April. At least he doesn’t have to wait four months like the last time the other side postponed things. It will happen and it will get settled – just not sure when.

While I was at the court house I was going to pay the second half of property taxes on my two rental houses. I forgot the coupons so will do that the next time I go to court with Jason. Last year I forgot to pay the taxes on one of my properties and I don’t want to make that mistake again.

Came home and took a chair nap. It is a cold, rainy day and a nap felt good. Not sure how much rain we have gotten but there are puddles in the yard. It only reached the mid 40’s today and is to drop to 32 overnight the next few nights. We will be back in the 60’s and 70’s early next week.

Tomorrow I am going to Topeka to a protest with a group of friends. The high tomorrow is only going to be 46. One of my weather apps is calling for rain and the other one is saying only clouds. We shall see what happens. Maybe both are wrong and it will be sunny. I think it is important that many show up. Our voices don’t seem to be heard in the more traditional contact your elected officials route. Trusting the energy of the day will help keep me warm.

Sunday I volunteer at the friends of the library book sale from 3:00 – 5:00. Bag day starts Monday so when I get through with my tax shift Monday morning I will go back to the sale and get a bag of books for $10. My reading inventory is getting low.

Once I get through next week, I have some friends and family I haven’t seen for a bit that I need to schedule lunches with. It does my soul good to reconnect to those I love and my soul needs some love. I have isolated myself too much lately and I need to reach out and get out more.

I’ve been reading the news and watching the stock market today. One of the comments from a Trump supporter has stuck with me today. In this person’s opinion they are willing to suck it up and take the hit the tariffs are going to cause themselves and the loss of value to their retirement accounts. They are proud of a president that is sticking it to the world.

If one is to look at America as a stand alone community, I guess that reasoning makes sense. However, are we not all one big global community? Not sure I understand how this helps our neighbors abroad or even those within our boarders that can’t take this financial hit.

I see the tariffs as hurting the poor in a huge way – both the poor at home and abroad. I don’t remember the Bible telling me to only love the neighbors like myself. Oh my, what a mess we are in.

Grateful for what rain we did get today, grateful Jason’s case will eventually get settled, and grateful for all my neighbors – here and abroad.

Had trouble sleeping again last night. I finally got up around 5:00 and cracked the window open, turned on the fan and the heating blanket. I managed about two hours of sleep after that.

Went to Emporia to do taxes. We had a fairly easy day and I was out of there before noon today. I stopped and had lunch and then came home.

I took my car for service at 2:00. While they were working on my car I went to the Court House to pay my property tax. The young man that works there knew me by name when I went in. I was impressed. He is very efficient and makes things easy.

I then walked down to pay my water bill. The lady there looked stressed to the max. Her boss had been let go and she was trying to hold down the fort until they can get someone else hired. I gave her a hug and told her I was giving her some good ju ju. She seemed appreciative.

Walked back to the service station and waited for my car. I love that they wash it and vacuum it after they service it. All was well and I came home.

I took a nap this afternoon. Had trouble falling asleep again but I think I got another hour of sleep or so. Still feel tired. Since I quit taking the medication that I was having issues with, sleep has become a problem again.

Tomorrow I am going to Emporia in the afternoon to attend a thing with Jason. Saturday I am going to the protest in Topeka, Sunday I will be at the friends of the library book sale working a 3:00 – 5:00 shift and then both Monday and Tuesday I have tax shifts. Wednesday will be a stay at home day that I will much appreciate.

Next week is the last week of tax season. This has been a good tax year for me as I finally feel competent doing them. We had a good group of volunteers this year and I feel like I made a few new friends.

One day next week I need to get with Tagen and fix a financial issue with him. Not sure yet what the solution is but I’m sure we will figure something out. I was going to meet with him today but that didn’t work out.

It is to drop into the low 50’s and maybe even high 40’s for the high for the day for the next couple of days. My bones have been cold all day. I got spoiled with the high 60’s and 70’s. It is to warm back up next week. Gotta love KS in the spring time and the roller coaster temperatures.

I kept an eye on the Dow Jones today. I wasn’t surprised to see it drop lots after the announcement last night. I don’t have the stomach or courage to have funds in the stock market. I know I could have made more money if I would do that but it feels like dirty money to me somehow. I wonder where this is all going and who the real victims in all of this will be. Somehow I don’t think it will be the millionaires and the billionaires. I struggle to know what my role in all of this is. I will continue to work on myself and keep myself above neutral. Sure doesn’t feel like enough some days though.

I’m anxious to see how many people will show up Saturday at the protest. I trust it will remain peaceful and non violent. I will be there with my sign and heart. My elected officials don’t seem to be hearing me with my emails and calls. Maybe if enough people show up they will take more notice.

Grateful to be in service today doing taxes, grateful for afternoon naps on days when I am tired, and grateful for my space heater that warms my bones on cooler days.

Went to Emporia late morning and picked up my taxes. I stopped and had lunch and while I was eating went through the tax package. I came out about halfway between the worse case scenario and the best case. Since I had prepared myself for the worse case I felt OK with them.

Came home and got the accountant paid and money transferred for what I owe on the 15th. Made some other financial decisions and will get those taken care of over the next week or so. Feels like I tied up several loose ends today.

Stopped and filled my car up at the gas station downtown Cottonwood Falls. I needed to make an appointment to get my oil changed so did that while the gas was pumping. I take my car in tomorrow afternoon to get it serviced.

Tomorrow I have to be in Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. I don’t have any errands to run afterwards so will probably grab lunch and then come home. I have to have my car at the service shop at 2:00. While my car is being serviced I need to walk down and pay my water bill and then go to the Courthouse to pay the last half of my property taxes.

Nothing on my calendar for Friday. Saturday I am going to the protest in Topeka, Sunday I am working a shift at the book sale, and Monday and Tuesday I will be doing taxes. I will enjoy Friday as it will be my last free day until next Wednesday.

I made my protest sign for Saturday. I wrote “Hands Off! All People Matter”. I will put a paint stick on it so I can easily lift it up if needed. The forecast is for rain but I think our group is going rain or shine. It is only going to be 50 Saturday but maybe the energy of the event will keep me warm. I will wear my raincoat and I plan on taking a backpack with water and supplies.

We didn’t get much rain from the storm last night. Most of the storm was north of us. We sure do need the rain so if it rains during the protest on Saturday I can’t complain. Maybe we won’t get any during the protest. The forecasts don’t seem to be accurate these days. There are parts of Ohio and Arkansas that are predicted to get record rainfall amounts this weekend. We don’t need that!

Feels good to have my taxes done and money in the bank to cover my liabilities. I am looking forward to the day when I only own the house I live in so my taxes will be more predictable for me. Looking forward to doing my last AARP tax sessions for the year next week. It will free up several days of the week for me. I enjoy doing volunteering though so need to find another opportunity to be in service to others.

Feeling a bit better today. My energy roller coaster seems to have leveled out for today at least. Trusting I will have a smoother ride for a bit so I can catch my breath and stay above neutral easily. The chaos in the world can overwhelm me if I don’t block it out somehow. All is well in this moment and that is all I have to know.

Grateful my taxes are done for the year, grateful I have money in the bank to pay my liabilities, and grateful for what rain we did get. Every drop helps.

I had trouble sleeping last night. Don’t think I got more than an hour of sleep all night. Time kept doing weird things to me. Five minutes on the clock felt like five hours. I saw 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44 and 5:55. Felt surrounded and crowded in the bedroom last night.

Since I wasn’t sleeping I got up early and got dressed. I headed to Emporia early to have breakfast at Commercial Street Diner. I forgot they are closed on Monday and Tuesday now. I went to Hardee’s instead – not near as good as Commercial Street.

After I ate I went to the bank to deposit the insurance check. I don’t have deposit slips so went inside. I pulled up my account on my phone and they were able to take care of the deposit.

I went to the Senior Center and did taxes. There were four of us today and it felt like a slow day. No big complicated cases. Everyone showed up with fairly simple returns. At one point there were three clients and I knew each one of them. Love when that happens.

After I was done with taxes I went to Walmart to get letters to make my protest sign for Saturday. I picked up a bag of ice along with the letters and came home. When I got home I put the ice into more usable sized bags and then attempted to take a nap.

Time did the weird thing again while I was attempting to nap. Five minutes felt like five hours. Don’t think I got much sleep.

A phone call woke me up. My own taxes are done and ready to be picked up. I will probably go to town tomorrow to get them as I am anxious to see how I came out. Had lots of taxable events last year and am hoping that the accountant estimated fairly closely.

Thursday I am doing taxes again. Friday will be my last stay at home day for a bit. Saturday I am going to the protest in Topeka, Sunday I am working at the library book sale, Monday and Tuesday I am doing taxes. I look forward to my first stay at home day next week on Wednesday.

I have felt achy all day. Kathy said she was feeling that way too. We have a weather system coming through tonight with the possibility of some severe weather. We must both have weather indicators inside us and they are alerting us to the coming storm.

Funny how some days feel easy and others not so much. Although taxes went easy something feels hard today. I don’t feel like I am sleep deprived so not sure what it is. I decided to not attempt to do anything this evening and allow whatever this is space to be heard, felt and hopefully disappear.

Have been mourning the loss of one of my teachers from my Core Star days. Now that her death has been announced I can write more freely about her. She had a stroke and died Thursday last week. She was only 62 so was way too young to die. She had a huge impact on my life while I was going to energy healing school. She is also the one that introduced me to Chriss Lemmon. Chriss was the teacher of the four year program I went through after I completed Core Star Energy School that helped me learn more about myself. Both were big mentors for me and I cherish them.

Barb was a force of Nature. She was a very complicated person and had many sides. She believed in fairy dust and pixies. She tended not to be a rule follower and lived life with much joy and intuition. She was a mother and grandmother and was larger than life. I will hold on to my memories of her and cherish them. I am grateful for all the ways she helped me grow and the ways she supported my healing journey.

Grateful for the people that have taught and mentored me over the years, grateful my tax return is ready to be picked up, and grateful for the sleep I will get tonight.

It has been a quiet day at home. I did go to Strong City for lunch but otherwise have been tucked in at home. I managed to take my mile walk this afternoon. I do feel better afterwards.

I got the bedroom ceiling fan cleaned and the room dusted. I have one more piece to dust in the living room and that job will be done.

I got the refund check from the house insurance on Michelle’s house. Still don’t understand why they told me I needed to send in a bunch of paperwork the first time I called and accepted the cancellation the second time that resulted in the refund check. Grateful that got crossed off my pending list. I will drop the check off at the bank while I am in town tomorrow. My account doesn’t qualify for on-line deposits.

Haven’t heard from the accountant yet so unless they call in the morning it will be Thursday before I can pick up my taxes. Trusting they will be ready then.

Got an email from a couple I met when I went on my 70th birthday trip to England, Ireland and Scotland. It is always a good day when I hear from them. I will send a reply later tonight. Funny how some people you randomly meet stick and others don’t. This couple and I spent several meals together and our core values match. They were the couple that walked to the top of the tower where the Blarney Stone is with me.

Tagen let me know he crashed his four wheeler last week and got a bad concussion. He gets to go back to work this week. He had to get a CT as he had vomiting along with dizziness and a bad headache. Glad to know he is recovering. He had two concussions before. That kid and his hard head!

Nicole is still down with some sort of virus. She has had a bad ear ache, congestion and now a cough. She must have that stuff that lasts for a couple of weeks. I offered to make her some chicken noodle soup and bring up to her. That stuff is miserable and it feels like it will never go away.

Tomorrow I will be in town by 9:00 to do taxes. I have four more sessions to go after this one. It has been a good season for me. I got to see lots of people I haven’t seen for a bit. The regular clients feel like meeting old friends and I enjoy visiting with the other volunteers.

I have a few things to pick up at the grocery store before I come home. I will go by the bank and deposit the insurance refund check. I go back to Emporia Thursday for another tax shift.

Saturday I am going with some friends to the protest at the Capital. With all that is going on these days I trust lots of people will show up to voice their concerns. Other than showing up at protests, calling my elected representatives and senators and choosing wisely where I spend my money, I’m not sure what else I can do. Action feels important but yet limited. I am privileged enough that the cuts that are being made probably won’t change my life, but they certainly have the potential to change the life’s of people I care about.

Sunday I am working a shift at the Emporia Library book sale. Bag day starts Monday. Grateful I have to go back to Emporia Monday for a tax shift so I can go to the sale and get a bag of books. I have a bag full I need to return from the last bag sale.

I will enjoy Wednesday and Friday as they are my only stay at home days for the next little bit. Looking forward to April 13 and our family day. Feels like it has been a long time since I saw all my kids at the same time. Family days are my best days of the year!

Felt good to get the dusting and cleaning done. Those projects never take long but for some reason I put them off for too long. It was nice to get the insurance check today and cross that off my list too. Makes a day feel productive when things get done. The walks are helping me walk out of the pit I had fallen in. Going to the protest feels helpful to my soul too. I do better when I take some sort of action, even when it feels like it isn’t enough.

Grateful the insurance check came, grateful to hear from the friends I met on my trip, and grateful Tagen and Nicole are doing better.

Another quiet day at home. We didn’t get the rain we had hoped for last night. We got some sprinkles but barely. Trusting April will bring some showers. It was cooler today and is to be even colder tomorrow. I had to keep the windows closed today as the wind was too brisk and cold coming in.

I worked on deep cleaning the dining room today. Found lots of dirt. I will need to do my bedroom tomorrow and then can put the ladder away.

I took Roxy with me when I did my mile walk this afternoon. She behaved well on our walk and would have gone farther if I would have. The spring flowers are in bloom all over the neighborhood and it is a joy to look for them right now.

Tomorrow I will get to stay home again and finish up the cleaning project. I am hoping the accountant will call and let me know I can pick up my taxes Tuesday.

Tuesday and Thursday I go to Emporia to do taxes. Only one more week after this week. The tax season went by quickly.

Kathy and I have both said that March feels like it has lasted a year. We had Kathy’s birthday lunch just a little over a week ago and it feels like it was two months ago. Time is doing its wonky thing again. The days seem to pass quickly but somehow the month felt like it lasted a long time.

I am going to the protest march at the Capital Saturday. I need to figure out what to put on my protest sign. I want to march for something instead of against something. Thinking about Love Your Neighbor – even the …… ones. My other thought is All are welcome here – even the ….. ones.

Today didn’t feel as heavy as it has been for a couple days. I welcome the reprieve for the day. Sure wish I could figure out how to level out my ride. For too long in my life I numbed myself out and didn’t allow myself to feel the ride. I’m still learning how to hang on and go with the ride and remind myself that this too shall pass when it gets hard.

Grateful the dining room is deep cleaned, grateful for the spring flowers that add beauty to the neighborhood, and grateful for the privilege of being able to attend a protest.

The director from Pioneer Bluffs came and picked up the Newsletter material. It was good to get that out of my house. This little house fills up quick when I do a project like that.

Have been working on cleaning off and on all day – more off than on. I had the ladder out so cleaned the ceiling fan in the living room and cleaned the tops of the tall furniture and the top woodwork. Still have more to do but at least I have started.

I managed to take a mile walk this afternoon. It is my intention to get out and walk at least a mile a day for a bit and then I will slowly increase the distance. I have not been moving my body enough lately and not eating on plan. I do feel better when I move and eat right.

I will continue working on deep cleaning the house through Monday. I am so grateful I now have a small house and can do this in a short time compared to how long it took me in the big country house. I do like a really clean house.

Sure feels like we are in for a big spring storm. It is muggy out today. We have a 40% chance of rain overnight tonight. We sure need the rain so am trusting it will find us. We will have another chance for rain next weekend.

I’m doing taxes Tuesday and Thursday next week. I need to stop by the Vet and get meds for the cats and dogs on Tuesday. Saturday I am going to the protest at the Capitol with some friends.

I am hoping my taxes will be ready to be picked up Tuesday. I got an email from my accountant today as she had some questions so I know she is working on my taxes. I have some financial decisions to make once I know how I come out on taxes and how much estimated taxes I need to make for this year. I will be grateful when I can simplify my taxes and know where I stand.

Feeling a bit restless and ungrounded tonight. The walk helped a bit. I seem to be back in my pit which feels like a slip backwards. Trusting it won’t be a free fall again and I can find my footing and climb back out. Life is sure a roller coaster for me these days. It feels like I take two steps forward and slide three steps back.

Grateful the cleaning has begun, grateful the accountant is working on my taxes, and grateful for the rain that is headed our way.

I was able to sleep in for a bit this morning. I got a text asking me to help with the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter today. The Director brought the supplies early afternoon. She had stuffed half of them so all I had to do was stuff the other half and then seal all of them up.

Kathy helped me seal one box. A dear friend came over and helped me with the rest of them. We had a good conversation while keeping our hands busy. It was good to get them finished up this evening. I had one final box to seal and then I sorted them and label the boxes. It is good to see results from something I did today.

I decided to cancel the MMR vaccine for tomorrow. I read some more and they are not recommending them for those born before 1957. They are assuming immunity in my age group as measles was almost a childhood rite of passage in my day. I don’t remember having them but I don’t have good memory recall of most of my childhood. It is time for me to get another Covid booster as they recommend one every six months for people of a certain age. I will need a couple days after the vaccine to recover so will look at my schedule and see when I can make it work.

No plans for the weekend and Monday. I have some housecleaning that I need to take care of that I have been putting off too long. It has reached the point where I have to take care of it. This will be a good weekend to get it done.

Next week I am doing taxes Tuesday and Thursday. I need to stop by the Vet’s office while I am in town next week to get the dogs and cats their quarterly flea and tic medication.

Found out that one of my instructors from Core Star Energy Healing School made her transition this week. She was a very unique individual that made a big impact on my life during my training years. She was only 62 so went much too soon. I will remember her with gratitude for all she gave to me.

The kids are all coming home April 13 for a family day. I need to figure out what to feed them. I asked them for suggestions but haven’t gotten any yet. I will probably fix a ham, green beans and macaroni and cheese. I’ll see what other requests I get and will go from there. It will be nice to have them all home for a day.

Feeling a bit flat this evening. I didn’t get out and take a walk today as I was busy doing the newsletter and then I took a chair nap. I got tired after my help left and had to take a rest. Not sure why I get so tired sometimes. Trusting that this weekend I will find some energy and get this house detailed clean.

Grateful for the lessons by teacher gave me many years ago, grateful the newsletter got finished, and grateful for family days to look forward to.

Woke up to the sound of high wind and rain this morning. I didn’t know we were going to get rain so was a bit surprised. We need rain badly and it was a welcome surprise. North of here got hit with a bad hail storm that broke lots of car windshields. Grateful that didn’t happen here.

Not sure we got much rain at all. There was a lot of lightning and thunder. It sprinkled on me most of the way to Emporia and while I was doing taxes another brief thunderstorm came through. Trusting we will get more rain soon.

Went to Emporia at 9:00 to do taxes. It was a slow day as a few didn’t show and most of the returns were simple. We only had three workers today so it was a good day for it to be slow. I did the taxes for a lady that used to work for me years ago. It is fun to run into people like that while doing taxes.

Stopped for lunch afterwards and came home. I took a long chair nap this afternoon. I feel like I have never found my go button today. I am still tired and dragging. Not my favorite type of day!

I picked up one more tax day next week. One of the volunteers has been coming in three days a week for the last several weeks and I offered to take one of her days next week to give her a break. I was only scheduled for one day and it seems more fair for both of us to do two each. We only have two more weeks of sessions.

Nothing on my calendar for tomorrow unless the Pioneer Bluffs Newsletter didn’t get done today. I haven’t heard yet if they will still be working on it tomorrow or not. Saturday I have to go to Emporia at 10:00 for my MMR vaccine shot. No plans for Sunday or Monday.

Trusting I will have some get up and go power tomorrow. I have a few things around the house that I would like to take care of. Don’t have it in me to do them today. They will all patiently wait for me to get to them. Grateful I have nothing urgent that needs taken care of as I’m not sure I could do it.

I think I will go outside and take a walk and see if that helps. I have a bit of a headache this afternoon – thinking it is from the pollen in the air. Maybe the wind will clear out the cobwebs that are in my head.

Grateful for an easy tax day, grateful for the bit of rain we got, and grateful for afternoon chair naps.

I got the shed cleaned out today. We have more than enough room now for all our stuff. Kathy helped me and we got it done! Got rid of several totes full of stuff. Some of it needed thrown away and some of it needed brought into the house. I got all the totes labeled with their contents so I know where to look for what I need.

I found the dough hook for my mixer that I hadn’t been able to find since we moved. Kathy found the extra set of car keys to her leased car. I also found some winter scarves that I knew I had but had no idea where they were. Hope I can remember where I put them so I will have them next winter. Gave several things to my neighbor that I don’t need anymore. Have one tote full of things that I need to find a new home for the stuff in it. I will put it on Chase County Care and Share site and someone will come get it and make it go away.

Kathy and I both tried to start the new mower but neither one of us was successful. The manual was worthless as it was pictures and no words. I watched a YouTube video but that didn’t help. I sent a note to Phil and asked him to help us out again. I. Got a rack thingy so we can hang tools in the shed and I also asked Phil to hang it up for me.

I need to take my bike to the bike shop and get it cleaned and the tires fixed. I may take it tomorrow when I go in to do taxes.

I have a MMR booster shot scheduled for Saturday. I decided not to go through the process of having my levels checked and just go ahead and get the shot. From what I read I will only need one. Measles seem to be spreading lots of places and I would rather be safe than sorry. Way too many don’t take them seriously and don’t keep in if they have them.

Tomorrow I am doing taxes in the morning. I don’t think I have any errands to run afterwards unless I take my bike to the shop. The Pioneer Bluffs newsletter is ready to be put together to be mailed. They are going to work on it tomorrow. If they don’t get it done I will help on Friday. I can’t do two big things in one day anymore.

No plans for the weekend except for the vaccine on Saturday. I only am doing taxes once next week unless I pick up an extra shift on Monday or Tuesday. It will be a quiet week.

I’ve been binge watching Grey’s Anatomy and the season I am watching now was during the Covid lockdown. It has brought up lots of memories for me. What a time that was! So much uncertainty and the show reminded me how very difficult it was for the medical community. I wonder what the pandemic did to the collective physic that we still don’t know. Trust, connections to others, and faith all seemed to have been tested and many haven’t been able to go back to “normal”.

It has been a beautiful spring day. Felt so good to get the shed cleaned out and organized. Phil just came over and got the mower running. Kathy went out to find out how to work it as she is the one that mows the most. I love being able to mark things off my to-do list and be better organized.

Grateful the shed project is done, grateful the mower is working, and grateful for vaccines.