I went to Emporia today to take care of some errands. I mailed the hat and scarf, picked up the monthly receipts from my rental property manager for the year so I can do my tax prep work, picked up my prescription and got some groceries. I also dropped off Tagen’s birthday present and some cookies for the grandkids. It always feels good to have all of the errands taken care of. But it feels even better to get back to the prairie. I’m not a city girl any more.
I took a long nap this afternoon. I slept off and on last night and have a Crisis Hot Line shift tonight and needed some sleep so I can manage my shift. Jim took another long walk while I slept.
I fixed green chicken for dinner. It is the simplest recipe ever and so good. Put raw chicken tenders in the crock pot, pour one jar of Guacamole Salsa over them and cook for 2 – 3 hours. So tender and delicious and easy to make. I fried some apples for me, Jim had a baked potato and we both had green beans. Now to decide what is for dinner tomorrow night.
When I went down to the chickens this morning to gather eggs, there was a chicken sitting on top of the eggs in the nesting box. I picked her up and put her on the ground while I gathered the eggs. When I picked her back up to put her back in the box I discovered she had laid her egg on the ground. Talk about a fresh egg! I had it for breakfast.
Got a notification from the Hot Line asking us to consider adding a shift or two to our schedule next week. They are anticipating an increase in the number of calls due to all the national tension that is occurring. It is a tough time for a lot of people right now on many levels.
I got a letter from Aunt Marylyn today. It always brightens my day to get a letter from her. I am going on the hunt for some prairie quarters for her. I happened to get one of the new quarters at the post office today. Last I had heard the Tallgrass Prairie National Park has some so need to go over there and see if I can find some for her. I also need to check Lyon County Bank – at one point they had some too.
I went down yesterday to find some yarn so I could make a prayer shawl for a request I had. I found a box of shawls I had made a long time ago so picked one of those out and sent it on its way today. Now I can start the new blanket I ordered yarn for instead. Knitting is my go-to relaxation method when I need to escape for a bit.
The prairie has fire warnings for tomorrow. The wind is to be in a hurry and the temperatures are going to drop. Not much chance for moisture though – just high winds. We are so dry the fire danger is high. There is a chance for a wintery mix on Friday but then it is going to warm back up again next week. Almost hasn’t felt like winter for long this year. That is a good thing for me – I don’t like cold weather. But we need moisture so will welcome some if it comes in what ever format on Friday.
It is beginning to look more and more like we won’t get our vaccine shots until February sometime, if then. A friend that lives in New York State said 7 million people in New York State are over 65 and they only have 330,000 shots. Wow! It is going to take a lot of coordination and patience before people get their vaccines. Who would have thought a year ago March when we went into isolation that it would drag on this long. Good thing we are used to it at this point. I am jealous at my Oklahoma friends as most of them that are over 65 have gotten their first shots already. Come on Kansas, get your act together and lets get this done.
My propane tank got filled today. One advantage of a mild winter is I haven’t used very much propane this winter. Trusting I will carry a credit over to next year so the bill for next week will be less. I prepay for propane every year to take advantage of the discounted price. It is always a guess as to how much I will need.
No plans for tomorrow or the rest of the week. I have to give myself my shots for my cholesterol on Friday. Trusting I won’t develop welts again this time. The ones I got almost a month ago are slowly disappearing but are still visible. I am to use new injection sites each month – guess the welts will help me remember where I injected myself the month before.
Still sitting with all the chaos in the world and deciding how I want to face it. I see splits occurring in families as a result of siblings being on opposite sides. I see friendships being broken. It is hard to know what to do and how to think. Jim and I keep talking about how we build bridges between the two sides. It seems impossible at times though. I know what a person believes as far as politics is just a part of who they are but I am struggling to find common ground with them and maintain friendships when they have fallen down the rabbit hole in their beliefs.
Grateful for a letter from Aunt Marylyn today, grateful the errands got done today, and grateful for freshly laid eggs.