Monday, June 1: As a reminder, that indeed, June is still Spring, the weather today was very mild. There was a little breeze that carried a surprising coolness. I've no idea from whence it came, but there it was, and since I spent midday doing an onerous task (washing the siding on the front of the house) I am here to say that it wasn't unpleasant to be outdoors at noon on the first day of June at all. And the front of the house looks rather nice, if I do say so.
The only sad thing was that the tree frogs hiding about got sprayed too. I was terribly sorry but not able to do a thing to help them. They seemed to recover well, and I did rinse them off with a spray of plain water, best I could. They all climbed back up the wall again, so there we are. I shall have to continue swinging open the screen door and waiting for the frog to drop before I step out!
I saw just lots of true ladybugs and was so pleased about that. I hadn't noticed any at all in years past but I found true ones on the porch about my plants. Sam told me they are all in his lovely garden as well.
Since Cody had recently uncovered and discovered a HUGE concrete pad in the backyard of their home, the family have set up a pool and plan to put up a pergola and patio furniture. I struck while the iron was hot and asked Katie once more if she'd like the iron patio table. She said, "Yes". It has a hole for an umbrella, I threw in all four chairs and though two chairs and the table need scrubbing and a coat of paint, I think it will make a nice addition to their space. And it frees up my narrow patio from the oversized table at last.
It also means that I am now in the market for more chairs but oh well...I'll find some when it's the right time and price. And in the meantime, I've still got a small cafe table and folding chairs, plus two chairs that were Grandmother's.
I also took time this morning to toss every seed that is viable to plant this time of year into pots of soil or a flower bed. Fingers crossed and here's hoping. So far, I have a hearty crop of marigolds and zinnias coming up from my last sowing session. And I've prayed over them all. I'm hopeful that this year, I shall at last have flowers blooming about the patio once more.
I'd made a list last night before I went to bed of things I meant to get done and I promised myself today that if all were done, or at least started in good measure, then I'd allow myself to have fun for the rest of the afternoon. I made good on my promise, but I added several things to the list. Like sowing the seeds, doing a load of laundry and baking bread. Fair enough, I earned my reward and I sat down and happily played about with genealogy until time to prepare supper.
I've had the hardest time with keeping these sorts of promises to myself. I always add in more jobs and then go to bed disappointed and overtired because by the time I stop working I'm too tired to play, but today I'm trying to 'start as I mean to go on' for all of June. Work by all means, but fun in equally good measure! That's my plan.
I tried an experiment today. I brewed tea using one peach tea bag and one black tea bag. It turned out just as tasty as straight Peach tea. Since the peach tea is a luxury sort of purchase, it's good to know I can extend it in this way, because the black tea is Aldi's Benton tea and it's inexpensive.
I added up last month's grocery spending and while it's not a true figure, it seemed a bit high to me. It's not a true figure because I added in the takeout meal I'd purchased with the debit card, but not all the take-out meals I bought were purchased with the debit card nor were all the groceries. I paid cash for some things, and in some instances, I was buying for a family or another person other than myself. My skewed figure came out to about $83 a week average. That figure seats me in the Moderate food plan.
My actual budget should come in considerably lower...But I've admittedly played loose with the grocery money this past month because I have so much stuff on hand. In fact, one of the tasks I did this afternoon after lunch was to start inventorying my pantry. I can't help but think that for one person this is an incredible amount of food...and most all of it will serve 2-3 or even 4 people. I shall have to determine what a stockpile for just one should look like. It did not seem an excessive amount for two but it's almost overwhelming to think of it all in terms of one.
All in all, for a first day of the month, today went incredibly well. Here's to all the rest of June going as smoothly.
Thursday, June 4th: I thought I'd return to publishing once a week, so you all don't have such a long post to slog through. I'm not promising that any week will be so terribly much to read on its own, but it will at least eliminate long readings on those weeks when I do feel more talkative than usual.
I have had quite a week with a few accomplishments but nowhere near what I'd hoped to have. On Tuesday I spent the day more or less relaxing as I'd overdone it on Tuesday. I did a few simple tasks but mostly I sat about looking at YouTube because I've lost momentum with the whole idea of Junk Journaling as a hobby. I like my own journal (done a month-by-month basis) quite well, but it's more art journal than junky. And I think the thing is I don't like the overall messy look of the junkier type of junk journals. I like something that is a bit neater and a bit more artistic and a bit more of a possible journaling forum.
So, I was scrolling around looking to see how others approached the journals and discovered Glue books, which can be themed by color, subject, genre, etc. Most repurpose a composition book. I have about 20 composition books (the board type covered ones) that I'd made sermon notes in over the years, and I'd been wondering how to dispose of them. Obvious answer is to use them as art journals and Glue books.
On Wednesday, I was determined to get out of the house, go to the grocery store, run errands and have fun. Well reality was that my day turned out considerably less than fun. On my way over to the main shopping area, the 'check engine' light came on. I noted that every time I decelerated it went off but acceleration prompted it to flash on again. Then the car started idling hard at the stoplight and sounded horrible on take-off. I prayed my way the 8 miles over to the mechanics. And there I was for the next six hours. Repairs cost me $1600 which I put on a credit card because I had no desire to have low balance warnings from the bank on top of the day, I'd just had.
I didn't have a book with me, only my phone, no ear buds, so I didn't feel I could watch vlogs on the phone without being a nuisance to others. I sorted through the 3-year-old magazines and created a stack next to my chair that I flipped through. I also didn't have a jacket and it was cool both indoors and outdoors due to a heavy chilly breeze, though the sun shone like a dream come true after weeks of cloudy skies.
At one point I walked across the street to McDonald's and got a quick lunch. If Burger King left me in sticker shock a couple of weeks ago, McDonald's does have a decent pricing on their items, and the value menu is under $5 for a meal. Since my former plan for the day had included going to mine and John's favorite restaurant and using our gift card there, I was inclined to keep lunch a low priced affair. Later in the afternoon, when she was off work, Katie came to pick me up and we went to Kroger to get a few necessities. Milk for her family and eggs for my household.
Eventually the car was diagnosed properly, the repairs done and I went on my way. Traffic was pretty bad by the time I got to that point in the day. I did manage to make one return, and dropped off donations, but then I headed to the backroads and came home. It was nearly 7pm by the time I finally got here. Fortunately, I recalled that Wednesday night service at church was live on air, and I caught the sermon part of the service. It was quite a good sermon and lifted me up. I needed that!
Today, I woke fairly early. A long-time pen pal has recently discovered she can make voicemails over Messenger, and I listened to her voicemail. Then I was inspired to send one back to her. It's rather nice to listen to a voice speaking instead of just reading an email. It feels even more personal. We can never get our hours straight to call through to one another (though she did manage somehow the day John died) so this is a lovely alternative. I discovered today that the voicemail stops recording at 10 minutes. But you can start another right up if you were in the middle of a thought. I soon received a return voicemail from her. I was just waking at the time I was talking to her and she was just going to bed and yawned as she talked, lol.
I puttered around the house, then went off to shower. Since I'm doing intermittent fasting, I am taking the start of most days even more leisurely than I might in the past. The mornings this week have been so cool, I haven't even gone outdoors to sit in the sun as I ought. I've opted instead for sitting in a sunny window. From what I've read it's not beneficial in the least but I'm not chilly. I generally listen to a Bible study or short sermon, write morning pages, have lemon water and sometimes coffee if it's late enough to break my fast.
Off to shower and immediately I heard one of the grandkids walk onto the back porch, then the sound of the lawnmower chugging over to the house, lol. I knocked on the wall of the bathroom that is backside of the back porch wall and told Sam that I was in the shower and I'd be out shortly. When I was decent, I went to the backdoor and looked out and was startled because I thought Bess had come over with Sam.
No... It was Josh! He's sporting long hair these days. He's grown even more in the last two weeks and he's incredibly tall now next to Sam or so he seemed when I looked at him. It took me a minute to recognize him.
Josh did the weed eating and Sam did the mowing. My yard is incredibly green and lovely, but it was beyond needing to be cut. The Bahai grass has started coming up which means we shall have to be more vigilant about mowing because it is terrible stuff when it starts to get tall or it's the slightest bit damp. It bends and then pops right back up again. John used to mow both our yards twice over when the Bahai had come in.
Sam's back has been a bother for nearly two weeks and yesterday when I was having car woes, he was at the chiropractor getting adjusted. He'd just completed a round of corticosteroids for the inflammation in his back. I do hope that mowing for 7 hours today doesn't cause him any more issues!
I puttered in the kitchen this morning, sorting out jars from the pantry. I've had a motley crew of storage jars that I've accumulated over the years and I've decided to empty them all, wash well and offer up to kids or donation. I'll be using the mass of canning jars I've accumulated in the last few years and plan to buy more of them. It just makes sense to have those as storage jars to me. I like the look of them, too.
I made up three small Chicken Pot Pies and cooked the last of a jar of egg noodles that didn't fit in the quart jar. I had some cooked venison burger that I chopped up and made Julia Pachecko's Hamburger Stroganoff. I managed to knock the recipe down to a 2 serving size portion. It's more like a hamburger helper sort of recipe than a proper Stroganoff but it's really tasty and I was quite happy with my portion for lunch today. I should have diced and reheated some of the beet I'd roasted to go with it, but I didn't think of it at the time.
After lunch, I loaded up the dishwasher and then washed everything by hand that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. I tried to pack all I could in there but there's only so much space. Now it's waiting to be emptied.
After that, I emptied three of the boxes of books that were behind the guest room door and put them on the shelves here in the study. They filled just three shelves. I have plenty of room to move 'extras' from the living room shelves and I think I'm going to set up one shelf as Genealogy stuff and empty the tub where I've hoarded those things. I also have one shelf dedicated to John's music books and notebooks and papers. I will eventually be sorting out those and culling out the multiples of things, but not right now. Some tasks are still too personal and painful to handle just at present. I take those things a little at a time and then I'll have to recover from the emotional wear of doing them.
The empty boxes the books were in will be packed with the China and glassware that I've hoarded and not used. It's hard to admit that something I've held onto for so long is simply not going to be used, but it's not and so why am I keeping it all?
While the decluttering spirit moves me, I need to let go of as much of the excess of stuff I have accumulated as I can. I'll still have plenty of stuff. I am a collector by nature, and by no means minimalistic, but I'm determined that in future I shall collect and store only what I'm actually using. No more money spent on pretty things to sit behind closed doors unseen and unused.
The house is changing. I don't find that unusual. There's been a major change in life here and I've always responded to the outward changes of life by adjusting the interior of my home as well. There's the fortune of having a wealth of inexpensively gotten things. I can afford to let them go and find something else that suits this current phase of life. Mostly decor items or thrift and yard sale purchased furnishings, not the stuff we paid proper good money for. I do tend to hang on to those things and use them until they are past their lifespan.
Now I am off to put my Chicken Pot Pie in the oven. I'll try to put away the dishes, which takes far less long to do than it does for me to make up my mind to doing. When supper is ready, I shall officially call my day "Finished". There are a puzzle book and a coloring book waiting on me after supper, and I'll listen to music or TV while I play with those.
Saturday, June 6: Interesting thoughts to note today. I was thinking about Grandmothers in general, different grandmothers and how they approach their grandchildren, etc.
I can't say much about my great grandmothers, as my time around both was fairly limited. Granny was very much prone to being a hands on sort of Grandmother. She kept us when we were too young for school, she took us on holidays when we were in school and she periodically came to stay the night and spend time with us all throughout the school year.
Grandmother and Granddaddy tended to come see us about once a month. Pretty much catching up with the whole family at once. We spent a few summer days with them, but not necessarily every year even though they didn't live that far from us, perhaps an hour and a half? Part of that had to do with an alcoholic and sometimes violent uncle.
And I think part of it had to do with Grandmother's own lack of grandmothers. Both her mother's mother and her father's mother died when her parents were young children and so they more or less were raised by other family members. There were no grandparents about in her childhood. She had no clue what a grandparent did.
Yes, she did keep us when we were young and my uncle was not yet the threat he became in later years, but truly the only time we were allowed to go spend a week with them was when the uncle was locked safely away in jail for a few months' time and not likely to be about.
My mother, though she'd grown up with both her grandmothers and spent lots of time with them was not to be bothered with children. Indeed, she always proclaimed to me that she wasn't going to spend her spare time doing my job for me. Granny sometimes took my children for a few days at least giving them a taste of what I'd had growing up, but not often and seldom did she have them that Mama didn't call and fuss at me over the fact that they were with Granny, whom Mama was convinced I was taking advantage of.
I have friends who have grandchildren, some of whom live near enough and some who live far away. And in varying degrees they choose to spend time with them, or not, as their personality dictates. I don't criticize anyone.
I know only what I had in Granny and those occasional visits with Grandmother and I loved the times I was with them. Hence, I have often tried to say yes to my own children and grandchildren when they request time to come here.
But occasionally I do say 'No'.
I said no earlier today when I had a request for a grandchild to come over. Supposedly wanting to 'work' but from past experience I can tell you sincerely that she is very much into the attention seeking stage and if I don't pay attention is prone to get into trouble doing things she oughtn't. Like gluing coloring pages to the wall or using the carpet as a work surface to put paste on things or leaving the dining table covered with paint or nail polish. Not in a destructive way, nor done to be mean. Simply the way any six-year-old does that sort of thing, with an intent to do the more grown-up things not allowed at home.
Today I was not up to it.
I've had residual guilt all morning. Never mind that one of my scheduled days next week is simply for her particular pleasure.
Otherwise, I've a rather busy and taxing week ahead. The final legalities to tie up, or at least so I hope and a day out with my friend Susan which should be fun, and a day with Millie, as promised, and then a day to have an 'adult' birthday party with Josh. In fact, in the next seven days I've only one day planned to be at home.
Yesterday I went to run errands and get groceries, finishing up what I'd meant to do on Wednesday when I ended up sitting at the mechanics. None of this was what I really wanted to do. What I wanted to do above all else was go do something 'fun' for myself like visit a garden center and get some coleus or go to the hardware store for paint for the entry doors or wander about a clothing store or anything in the world but adult responsibilities. But there you are.
However, next week is already scheduled to the max. Yesterday had to be about the other necessities: Post office, dollar store, paying bills, running by the bank, getting gas in the car, getting groceries, going up to Sam's to get produce for the week ahead, and two or three more things I can't recall just off the top of my head.
It was hot. It was tiring and exhausting. My hip was aggravated from the previous day's work of lifting and shoving heavy things about in my home. I left home around 11am and got home around 6pm with a car to unload, hungry as a bear, and a new worry. The 'check oil' light started flashing on and off as I was finally headed home. More car trouble? And me just having put $1600 into the car... I'm a little worried.
Mind you I do have a second car and it's a perfectly decent car. It just isn't 'my' car and isn't nearly as comfortable to drive as the Toyota. It's a Honda Civic, equally as old as the Toyota, that sits much lower, and I can just see over the nose of the thing because it is so low. And the speedometer is perfectly hidden by the steering wheel, which sits just about the level of my pupils. However, it's far fewer miles on the odometer than the Toyota. So yes, a viable car but it just doesn't 'fit' me like the Toyota does. Not to mention the AC is iffy and this time of year, AC is desirable, almost more than desirable.
I didn't even put away all the groceries last night once I got in the house. I was just too done in. I put away the cold things in fridge and freezer and this morning I've had to divide and sort and put away in proper places all of the things.
We won't even discuss prices. I spent my entire budget, and I know that I shall have to return later in the month for milk and eggs at the least. I made countless choices and swaps in what I wanted and what I felt I might better spend instead. I'm very grateful I have the money to manage on, but ding dang darn I hate to feel I'm running right to the very edges of my income, you know?
So, there you are. My rest day today, protected, but lots of guilt worrying about others and others' feelings and on the other far too tired to do much about anyone's feelings including my own!
But the sun is shining and has since Wednesday so there is a positive spin to it all. The lawn is freshly mown, gloriously lush and green looking. I've done enough yardwork this week that the difference shows clearly. The house is clean, too.
I sat on the porch yesterday evening watching the sunset without being eaten alive by mosquitoes and this morning I was out watching sunrise and listening to the birds calling out as they began their day. I've sheets flapping in the breeze on the line gathering up all the good fresh air and sunshine smells.
My windowsill is full of lovely fresh herbs that Sam cut in his garden yesterday: basil, dill, oregano, parsley). I did think to buy myself flowers yesterday while I was out and they are glowing about the house in the living room, kitchen, and on my desk.
I have good food to cook today for my meals...
And because I've been sensible today, I very possibly might get a nap to make up for the restless night I had.
So, I shall end the week with a list of the positives and no complaints.
June is going to be a good month...
P.S. Sam came to check the oil which was only 3 quarts low...Sheesh. We've not noticed any leaking anywhere, and think it might have been part of the problem with the car's issues on Wednesday, just something they didn't check.
Sam urged me to take that car to church tomorrow since I'll be in an area where he, Bess, Katie, Cody and Not the Mama will all be close to hand to help if I get stranded. I shall drive cautiously. We discussed his putting me on his AAA service which would be a good thing, I think.
