WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Jeepers]

I'm taking my white boards to bed with me and making lists while I'm on the heating pad. My 'must-do' lists on paper always seem to get lost. Or, out of sight out of mind. I'm going to make a list of ALL the things that must get done to this house this summer. I have one white board for outside things and one for inside things. They are all things that I need to use a handyman or pro for. Major things like paint the house trim, make a new fence, install a porch rail, waterproof the basement and on and on. Divided into 4+ months it should be doable. About the only thing I need help with inside is changing out light fixtures and toilets. And maybe help with the tile floor. This is the year!!!

I hope.

[The WE2's]

Hit the wrong studid button and "away" went my whole post! Grrrrr! So, guess I'll try this again. Had a wonderful New Year's with lots of fun and a really good band. The couple that shared our table took some pics and supposed to email them to us. Hopefully they'll not forget ... like we forgot our camera! Fixed some biscuits and gravy for breakfast :-) Then did some shopping. First at $Tree to pick up some erasable markers for our white board. Our friends are hosting a birthday party for me on the 8th and we'll play games. We like to use the white board for several types of games. Also picked up some paper plates, paper bowls, lighters etc., for emergencies. Then stopped at Big Lots and picked up some new totes for our emergency travel gear. One large one that will hold what we need and slip in the cargo area of our Class B motorhome, and then 2 that will fit in the floor board back seat of the truck. We normally don't travel much during the winter but we need to keep emergency gear in both vehicles "just in case". We'll put some water and energy drinks in a small cooler and just leave it by the back door to grab when we leave the house. Mixed up a fresh batch of my thieves oil recipe and refilled my roller ball bottle and will have plenty to put some into my ceramic cup that I keep sitting on my candle warmer to diffuse the aroma etc., into our livingroom. I dug out my plug in diffusers and bought a narrow lantern wick and cut it in small lengths. Fit perfectly. Dropped several drops of eucalyptes on them and plugged one into the socket in our kitchen and one into our bedroom. What a wonderfully refreshing smell for the evening (I turn off the livingroom scent at night)...I may try adding a drop of lavender to them the next time I refresh. Got a call from a lady who had about a dozen mulched bags of leaves so we picked them up this afternoon and took them over to the Homestead house. We're putting alot of the bagged leaves around the foundation of the bathroom for the winter, since it's an add-on room with no duct work :-( We're keeping the temp at 50 and it's working great. Keeping the temp here at 60 and we're plenty comfy. In the mornings we slip on our fleece pancho's and I have a cup of coffee and MrWE2 has hot chocolate (he doesn't drink coffee nor tea). We're already making our To-Do list for tomorrow :-)

[dogmom4]

Mr WE is a man after my own heart....never been a coffee or tea drinker.

[Mt_Rider]

Pushing to get this 15 Puzzle of my living room arranged has worn me out! I went to bed at 1:30am....sleep at 2:00. Woke at 3 and 6 to go to bathroom [unusual...I normally sleep thru] and then I slept until 11:30am. Even then, I was only half awake and got up at noon. Sheeeeesh! :sleep1: :sleep1:

 

So groggy that I lay on the couch [that is now cleared and nice with a blankie and pillows] and nearly went to sleep again. Hunger drove me to make breakfast.....er, lunch. But I'm still rather flopping around, brainless.

 

Not surprising since with my version of MS, I get a worse Second Day Affect after heavy labor.

 

 

Just sitting on computer letting my brain/body really come around. Often I get a renewal later in the evening. DH is off today and he also slept from midnight to 11:30am.

 

.......mebbe we aren't getting enough oxygen way up here? We're not THAT old or working THAT hard!

 

MtRider ......oye!

Edited January 2, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[The WE2's]

Must be the diffusers pleasant aroma...we both slept until nearly 9:00 am! Did get up for a potty break "sometime" in the early morning but can't remember for sure :-) that's how quickly I went back to sleep! I put some lavender in with the eucalyptus in the diffusers this evening and it's just such a pleasant smell. Went ahead and just mixed up an ounce so all I have to do now is use the dropper on the wicks. Didn't even get out of the house today, just re-did our emergency tote for the motorhome. By using a larger tote we've been able to get ALOT more stuff to put in it! Hummm...let's see, just what do we now have? A space blanket, firstaide kit, mess kit for eating, BIC lighter, Butane lighter torch, matches in an empty med bottle, some fat wood, some packets of fire starter, water purification tablets, allergy tablets, ibuprofen, aspirin, space blanket, small tent, cylinder of toilet paper, cylinder of paper towels (the tiny cyclinders that the stuff is vacuum sealed down in it), vinyl zip bag to pull over our sleeping bags (only one of those though), small "stove" that folds down flat (about 4"x6"), water bladder/container, knife, paper plates & plastic forks/spoons, LED flashlights, emergency candles with booklet of matches in plastic baggie, and I've forgotten what else we've put in because a lot of it's at the bottom! LOL We'll work on the truck's totes perhaps tomorrow? Did crochet two more pairs of wrist warmer and am working on another camo pair for MrWE2. Ugly was gone all day so we didn't go get the dog house. Still not sure if he's going to stay or what? Anyway, he showed up a little after dark so MrWE2 went ahead and put him out some kibbles. He didn't even move, just curled up tight. We're thinking because the day was sunny and not windy that maybe he was out adding some mice to his diet. Since he's getting one of our meals every day perhaps he's stronger and can hunt longer? Anyway he's back :-) Did get a bit of excitement after we first got up though. Head the biggest commotion going on across the street, and it was about 6 ankle biter dogs (that belong to a house across the street) were loose and were charging the lady mail carrier. The owner finally got them corraled and the mail carrier was able to block herself with some mail in her hand as she yelled at them. I watched and when she came with our mail, I told her "you need to report that to the police and animal control. Our city ordinance says any more than 3 dogs you must have a kennel license, and we also have a leash law. Why didn't you just mace the idiots?" She said she can only report the incident to the postmaster and they'll be sent a letter telling them they'll have their mail service stopped and they'll have to get (and pay for) a post office box. She also said she had maced a dog once and would never do it again because it only p..... it off and she was then in even bigger trouble. Oh well, she's the one they charged. If I had of had on my clothes & would have stepped out to the road and helped...but I had on my camo insulated underwear with my fleece pancho over it, and my hair looked like I'd just gotten out of bed... When I first opened the door she jumped like she'd been shot. No wonder! All seems to be quiet right now. Don't know what's going on around this silly neighborhood :-( Have we been having a lot of full moons?

Edited January 3, 2016 by The WE2's

[The WE2's]

Read an article on Yahoo news where the tuna fleet has been banned from fishing in the Pacific area. And guess who's doing it? The department of wildlife management (or whatever they're official title is!).

[The WE2's]

Meeting the Dane breeder today at noon for her to pick up the old carpet we removed from the Homestead. We only have one room left to do, but she'll be glad to have two nice big rooms of carpeting. We cut it in 3rds when removing so it's easier to handle and we're sure she appreciates not having a big roll to deal with. Removed rings, wash jars and labeled the carrots & sweet potatoes this morning. Put the rings in the dishwasher (as usual) with my other dishes and they'll be ready to hang on the coat hanger for "next time"! We'll be looking out for carrots to come on sale. I want to can up more of them. We don't eat alot of them alone, but sure use the dickens out of them when I make stews or stir fry meals. I know they say you're not supposed to can cauliflower but I've watched some of my favorites can them...cut up small. I'd love to be able to can up a "stir fry" quart of veggies :-) I've dehydrated them (and have them in half pints and pints) but I'll do some more research before I decide. You know me...if "they" can can it, why can't I?

[Jeepers]

I've "heard" cauliflower get a strong taste when you can it but I don't know that first hand. If you like it that way, try it. I've also heard cabbage gets strong when canned too. I like cabbage and the strong taste or smell wouldn't bother me a bit....I don't think. I even put vinegar on my boiled cabbage so I don't imagine it would bother me if it turned bitter. Must be something in the 'cole' family that does it. I've heard the same thing about brussel sprouts and broccoli getting strong.

[Annarchy]

Today, I spent the day with my nose in ledgers, adding, subtracting, and balancing. End of the year financial statements. Inventory, closing & opening balances. Still have a bunch of reports to prepare to get ready for our Board of Directors meeting and for taxes.

[Annarchy]

I did manage to download the photos from my camera when we got snowed in. This is how much we got overnight....

 

Grrr looking for the rawhide chew bone we threw out for him.....

 

.... still looking....

[Jeepers]

Oh my, Grrr is adorable!

You have more snow than we have had all this season.

[Annarchy]

Jeepers, I called him and he swung around and said, "What?!"

 

[Jeepers]

OH. MY. GOSH.

 

He is so stinkin' cute! I'm having major dog withdraw. MAJOR.

Wish I could rent-a-pet for awhile. I'd just end up keeping them though.

See, if we all lived closer I would be you all's FREE pet sitter! Snuggling and spoiling provided. FREE!

[dogmom4]

Cute dog!

[Annarchy]

Thanks, he's a good old boy. He still stares at the burnt out house he came from, but, for the most part, he has accepted us as his 'family'. And he's getting chunky.

 

Today is house cleaning. With all the rain we got this week, dirty feet prints are all over the place, with grass and fur balls. Grrr got his winter coat and chunks of his undercoat poof off. LOL. For a short haired dog, he sheds a lot.

 

I hope everyone has a great day.

[Daylily]

My grandma used to can cauliflower. It does develop a strong taste but some might like it.

[The WE2's]

Jeepers, I called him and he swung around and said, "What?!"

 

Grrr3.png

 

Yep...he's definitely asking "what mom"?

[The WE2's]

I've canned and dehydrated (cooked) cabbage and didn't have any issues either way. The dehydrated cabbage was really quite tastey when re-constituted. I had cooked it well with salt. Still thinking about cauliflower though. I know they pickle it but we don't care for any "pickled" foods. I'll eat bread & butter pickles, but neither of us like dill etc.

[The WE2's]

Got the butter canned up. It's setting up good. I'll go in and shake the jars again and then in the morning I'll remove the rings etc. Told MrWE2 "Don't you imagine that in a dire situation we'd enjoy some pancakes with butter & honey/syrup/molasses/sorghum and maybe an egg or two if we had some chickens? LOL

[The WE2's]

Had a wonderful birthday celebration with our friends. Wonderful meal, my favorite german chocolate cake, and then we play a really fun game where we were teamed up, and then drew cards in several different categories (sports, academic, entertainment...etc.) and then had to answer the question that was listed for that card. It was absolutely hilareous as our teams (two teams, 4+ people each) had to discuss their answer. Wish I could remember the silly name of it! Got a small disting of snow today, but it's really cold. It's about 10 out there now :-(

[The WE2's]

Beautiful day today! Temp 63 with lots of sun :-) Did a little bit of shopping and I mean a "little". Wer'e still recovering from paying real estate taxes on all 3 properties and personal property. Abby-girl also needed some doggie food and it runs a bunch for just one 30# bag :-) Ugly gets his little share from hers. We're not buying separate food. Both of us did have a "grrrrrr" moment at Aldi's though. Without going into gender, race or nationality we were very frustrated to be counting our dollars to pay for our $45 food purchase AFTER we stood in line for a woman and her adult daughters and a small "grand-daughter" paying for nearly $200 worth of food (lots of it junk) with 2 or 3 EBT cards. Only the mother could speak English. They had ONE cart literally piled high, and when we got behind them we didn't know the purchases would be divided into three separate purchases, but all paid for by the mother. We work our tails off and are seniors, to make ends meet so it's difficult to witness something like this :-( End of subject 'cause I don't want to go to the Edge :-) I'm so grateful though that MrWE2 did get a check for the work he did this week, and before he came home got another call from a well known business here in town to come do some work that will take about 2 weeks :-) Then the customer he just finished the work for asked him "do you have all the work you need?" MrWE2 told him "not really. I could use some more work". So, he took some of MrWE2's biz cards and is to hand them out to the Landlord's Association meeting tonight :-) I'm so amazed sometimes how God hears our very tiny whisper when it's not really even a prayer! I just made the statement to MrWE2 "I haven't been this financially strapped for a long, long time". Then God takes that statement as a prayer (I guess?) and turns it into an answer! :-) Thank you Father God!!!! MrWE2 saved back a few dollars of his check and we'll be going to the big city to pick up a couple of food safe barrels. We'll be putting them to use for water catchment. Hopefully we'll have some nice weather still yet that will allow us to wash them out, bleach them out, and get them set up for spring rains. Been watching a youtube couple (I don't agree with everything they believe) that's been quite interesting. It's called "Full of Faith Farms" (I think?) They're in the mid-west and their farm is totally off grid. They're quite opinionated (and sometimes a bit arrogant (sp?) but they have a lot of stuff to share. We're planning to watch the final GOP debate this evening. Should be interesting :-) In the next couple of days or so I'll be filing our taxes, so will be glad to get that done.

[Jeepers]

I understand your frustration. Been there...

 

I've been sort of lazy lately. Having sleep issues again. Nothing unusual for me though. One more night and I'm bringing out the Ambien. A couple of nights on it and I'm straightened out for 3-4 weeks. I'm too old to fight not sleeping when I can get better in a few nights. No more waiting around knowing it isn't going to straighten itself out on it's own.

[Mt_Rider]

I have also come to the same conclusion on sleep, Jeepers. I absolutely did not want to take "The Blue Pill" or even a half dose for years. This year has changed that....dramatically. Even on The Blue Pill....I've been getting to sleep at 3,4 or even 5 AM. Fortunately....this is part of what disability is about....I can sleep til I wake at 10, 11, or NOON. I've still been short of sleep as I really neeeed 8 or 9 hours to feel well. Last nite I went to bed at 1am .....about the earliest we are able to sleep with our new schedule, unfortunately. I lay awake ....nearly going to sleep until 3am. At that point is phase II. Muscles begin to go into small spasms all over the body. I'm stretching them out and then they spasm again...and again...and again. By 4am I put the bed into sitting position and took a dropper of homeopathic muscle relaxant...sitting up until it was absorbed under my tongue. THEN I WENT TO SLEEEEEEP!

 

The past week has been like that.

 

But....today has been very successful. We had three things to accomplish. DH had an appointment. I went to finally visit my folks again during that...and it was a good visit. First time I've been able to get there since Christmas day.....second time since Thanksgiving. Usually we try for 2-3 times a month!!!!

 

But first we went to get DH some new chore boots. He's been making do with a pair that I'd picked up years ago at Goodwill. But recently his arch in his foot has gone PAINFULLY out .....twice. First time might be a misstep while unloading hay. The second time cinched it......the boots are broken down. After an hour of trying on every type of boot they had, he was down to only 2 that didn't send his already swollen/sore foot into worse spasm. He made the choice between them and wore them tonite to feed animals and walk dog in icy pasture. His feet felt BETTER AFTER THE DOG WALK in the new boots.

 

 

MtRider .....WAY more than I usually do in a day but it's good!

[Jeepers]

Yep, life is too short and my time here is too, to be this miserable. Especially when there is something I can do about it. I get spacy with the stares and make stupid mistakes. If I do get an hour or two of sleep I have vivid annoying dreams. This morning I was chopping down trees and clearing out my woods.

 

Tonight will be an Ambien night! I just have to make sure the bedroom door is closed and there are no snacks in the bedroom or I will manage to eat them and find the wrappers the next morning.

[Mt_Rider]

I just hate night coming on when I'm like this. Such a struggle and not a lot that really helps. Then the struggle to get thru the next day after sleep deprivation.

 

My dream this morning was that me and others were captured and trying to get away but the bad guys kept coming in just as we made progress.

 

Poor DH. He had on his new boots and they're going to work well. However, no boot is great on sheer ice. We have patches and while looking at a part on Koa's leash that was coming apart, he got too close to the WELL MARKED ice patch. [i spread old straw all over it before it melted to ice...stupid hose leaked and created the problem. BLAM! Feet went forward and he went over backwards...cracked his head on the ice. OW!

 

 

MtRider .....so we decided to take it easy today.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Mt_Rider