Catching up.

 Hello out there,

I miss blogging so I am going to be attempting to get back to writing more often.

Yesterday, while sitting on our patio looking at our pond I saw it start turning.  We have been here 22 years and each spring and fall the pond water will turn.  This is the first time I have ever seen it happen and was able to watch it happen over a 2 hour period.  The water was crystal clear, you could see all the way to the bottom.  Then it started getting cloudy at the south end, looked like smoke or steam rising from the water.  Slowly it creeped along until half the pond looked like it was in a hazy meadow.  This was 7 pm in the evening on a hot sunny day.  By dark the pond was no longer smoky above the water and it just appeared to be cloudy.  This morning it is back to being clear again.  Nature amazes me.

Today is a hot one, the thermometer is reading 99 and sunny.  Thehubs is mowing, the heat will force him to take many breaks. Yesterday I picked my first cucumber from my garden. We have 2 semi ripe tomatoes and will probably eat them this weekend.  So far we have had onions, beets, dill, radishes, and peas.  For a very small space, we do seem to get a good yield.  In past years the garden was bigger, but at age 65 with 5 fusions in my back, it is now a lot smaller.  Thehubs built me a sidewalk all the way around our house about 3-4 feet from our home.  This area is much easier to weed and prepare and I can stay on the sidewalk when I work it.

We are still looking for a home in another city. We currently have 2 acres of landscaped yard and a large home with storage buildings. I am ready for a smaller home, a smaller yard and more time to enjoy laughing and exploring.  I am ready for a smaller chore list.  My back is ready too.

I was very blessed  and thankful for a friend that recommended a fantastic cleaning lady.  She is the only helper I have had that has told me to pay her what God lays upon my heart.  I pay her well, as she does all the hard stuff while I do the easy stuff.  Her hands are strong, her heart is giving and she made my bathrooms sparkle.  Thank you Dear Lord for sending her my way.

I was blessed with a visit with a long time blogging friend Linda and Louis Dean Chapman.  Linda's blog is https://lindaslifejournal-artlady1948.blogspot.com/   named Linda's Life Journal.  She was one of the first bloggers to welcome me with open arms to the blogging world.  She is way more disciplined than I!  She has continued to blog and getting to know her is a wonderful experience.  She is so kind and her blog reflects her wisdom and creativity.  We drove the hour and a half to meet up with Linda, LOuis Dean, Brenda and Billy in Branson, MO.  They had been in Branson to see some shows and had rented a cabin.  Linda and I connected and planned to meet.  They are so gracious on the way there she text me and said they would serve us brunch when we arrived.  Delicious food around a table of friends, felt so good!  Thank you Lord for this, for Linda, Ld, Billy and Brenda.

Lord, I thank you for this blogging platform and all the good people who use it.  

Thank you for stopping by.

A little of my world

 Hello dear friends,

Maybe it is time for me to make a post about my home decor.  I don't claim to be a decorator. I love what I have and most of it is a collection of items gathered over the last 25 years.

Comfort is number one for us, function is just as important. So as I take you through my home today, you may see bits of everything.  Mostly, I have plants.  I love plants, especially small ones that I can grow along with.

I love these carts!  Thehubs hates them but when I vacuum they just roll out of the way, they store anything and can even be used outside.

I also love my vegetable/fruit wire bins. I have had them forever. They are great storage.

We built our home 23 years ago. Board by board, each one touched by thehubs. We had left our 3600+sq ft home with an inground pool and walkout basement, 5 bedrooms, in the city. The kids had all moved out and the big house was too much for thehubs and I. 

This is our back yard.

February is not a goo dmonth for pictures.

Today, the wind is blowing, it is 35 degrees.

Everything is brown and muddy.

Typical Missouri February.

Thanks for stopping by!

JackieSee

aka

GeeDazee

Another Monday

 Dear Friends, I will be glad to see January come to an end. It has been cloudy, cold and wet. Our weatherman tells us that February will begin with sunshine and warmer temperatures!

The pond has been frozen for a few weeks and slowly it turns to slush. When I look outside, I am reminded of the movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase. That movie always makes me laugh! 

We live in the country, as I have for most of my life.  Life here is changing though.  We now have people living here and not respecting our laws, our neighbors, our quiet or our friendliness.  They are currently disobeying laws, being a problem with their neighbors and throwing their trash anywhere they want.  I understand that coming across our border with no plans, no money, no direction gives them little choices. Afterall, choices are a luxury for most people. But to just throw your trash out your door onto the neighbors is not American. Then them telling the community that "There is more to come" has raised concern.  You see, we are a good 30 minutes from 911. We depend on each other, on being aware and protecting each other. I pray that these new neighbors and their new community within our community learn that we need each other.

I awoke at 4 am this morning. I hurt from pain in my bones, my old bones, my not so great bones. I saw my cousin's home wake up and leave for work, then another cousin, then another. I am surrounded by family, mostly cousins younger than me, and their kids.  My brother bought the land years ago and then built a pond and a private lane.  He then sold lots to each of our family and we have all built new homes here. I have over 30 years of hard labor in this land, it is beautiful to sit and watch the sun rise up over our pond.

I love Mondays here. It is a quiet catch up day with all the kids back to school and work. A day for me to catch up on my thoughts and duties. My heart tachycardia seems to be less painful and less occuring, at least the intensity of it. My new hip and spine are getting stronger, at a painful and slow pace, due to being flat on my back for over 4 months. I am now only taking 2-4 tylenol per day or less. The work is paying off.

January included some purging, cleaning and organizing. My pantry, didn't get torn apart and wiped clean this year, But it did get wiped, purged and organized. I also concentrated on our bathroom cabinets.  I have a very large three-mirrored medicine cabinet that is great storage. But most of the storage is in lower cabinets, which I don't bend or kneel as easy as I use to. I keep our towels in a cabinet in a corner next to the toilet.  I don't like them there, too hard to twist, bend and kneel so I plan to find a way to move lesser used items into that cabinet. They have some really nice organizers available now, and its a good time to get it done.

It is winter, so not much going on except plans for this years garden. I wanted to order from Park seeds but wow, $50 for 5 seeds packets, had to think on that one. I still may as their quality is top notch but wow, I am having an adjustment period before pay now button is clicked.  Their radish seeds are the best I have ever planted. I want to plant peas, radishes, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and maybe potatoes. Also I will need the flowers and herbs to draw in the pollinators! 

Our Kansas City Chiefs are going to the SuperBowl!!!!  Yea, we love KC!  We live about 2 hours south and we take short trips to the city to shop and eat great food.  KC Barbecue, yum!!

aka: jackiesee

Talking to Myself

 It's going to get very cold in the next few days.  

That is not unusual for January.  Thehubs has his 75th Birthday Sunday and we had planned to spend a nice evening at the local casino. But, the Chiefs play Saturday night and this weather will be so cold. Instead we will have a few people over to watch the game and I will prepare appetizers.  I am thinking spinach artichoke dip, pickle roll ups, wings, maybe chili with red velvet cake for his sweet birthday.

I am still healing from my spine and hip surgeries.

I am progressing very well and just have to be patient.  I didn't know that carrying something in your hands while walking could be so hard.  I will be using my bone stimulator another 4 months for 2 hours a day. I am lucky I have always done stretches and rotations for my fibromyalgia. This has been a big benefit in my recovery.

My mental health is getting better. I just started a new anxiety medicine and so far it is helping with a few side effects. Hopefully I won't be on it long.  I have had a hard time picking myself up after these few months of so much pain.  I do know that a younger body heals faster than this old one.  I have been tested and I am working to get better. I have a great psychologist and she is opening my eyes to what I had lost when we buried our kids these past few years. We are still lost at the holidays. It is hard to say that I am no longer a mom, it hurts, and I need to find my own identity. 2024 will be interesting. I am walking in uncharted territory.

My word for 2024 is kindness. I want to be more kind, be surrounded by kind souls, feel the kindness of others and give kindness first. I also plan to remove myself from unkind conversations or events. My second word is fun.  I want more fun, to be more fun and to laugh more.