A Win, Win, Win at Bunko

I am so tired tonight. I have been asleep in the chair for hours. I had Bunko tonight and only 6 of us were able to attend.

I won a cute prize and on my way in, I noticed she had zucchini squash decorating her porch. I asked if she was going to use them and she said she had so many she wasn't going to do anything with them. 

I asked if I could take a big one and use it for muffins, and she said that she would be fine with that. While I was talking to her about it, another friend asked if I wanted a banana squash as her neighbors gave her one and she wasn't going to use it. 

I gave her a ride home and she gave me the squash. And, one of my friends had a wedding card for Princess Three and her husband from this past summer as she said she was so busy in the summer she didn't have time to get it done. 

I was happy with my prize, happy with the zucchini, happy with banana squash, and happy for friends being supportive of my children! 

I wanted to do a short post so I could get to bed, but I was so tired I just kept falling asleep in the chair and waking not knowing what I was needing to do. It was weird I was so tired I was so out of it. 

I hope you have a blessed day!

Here is a VIDEO Tour of Princess Two's New Honda - Thanks To Friends

I posted in July about Princess Two getting a new car. I uploaded a video of the car back then but didn't take the time to edit and post the video. I had a busy day and didn't get to my blog so I thought I would finally get this video posted and share it here.

Here is a link to my original post about her getting the new car! 

My Second daughter, Princess TWO, as I call her, got a new car recently and I give details and show all the extra amenities on the car. She bought it from some friends who had leased it and decided to get a new one and said they would pay off the car and then sell it to her. 

With COVID, the car is worth more now than it was in 2019 when they leased it. They paid it off and she paid what they are selling cars from 4 years prior with around 50,000 miles on them. These two friends got a new windshield on it as they had a crack in it as well as cleaned it, (not that it needed cleaning) and filled up the gas tank and took it in for a recall fix. After she got it, they checked in with her recently to see how it was going. 

She is SO grateful for these friends who made such a sacrifice to allow her to have the car as they could have sold it for much more to someone else as cars have gone up so much, but they bought a new one to help her out and to bless my life as well as I was able to detail and fix up her old one for her younger sister who needed a car to drive in the snow as hers wasn't in the best condition. 

When I took my younger daughters car to my mechanic, he found that the rear brakes were rusted and weren't working at all and the front ones rotors are bad and the car shimmied when stopping. He said she could have had an accident in the snow with the brakes being so bad, so I am super grateful for Princess Two deciding to get a new car and the miracle around my friends choosing to get a new one right at that time. In the end, Princess Four got the older Pilot and my mechanic fixed her Honda Accord brakes and a few other things so that her car went to Princess Five who was driving a standard car that really doesn't do well in the snow, so in the end, my friends were helping not only one of my daughter get a new car, but THREE of my daughters to get a new car! 

We are blessed to have such good people in our lives and I love that we are becoming a family of Honda owners as we used to have four Suzuki Esteems at one point! Now three own Honda's and I wouldn't say no if I could afford one, as I have always loved Honda's and drove one happily for years! 

Have a blessed day!

Cute Little Pumpkins Make Cute Little Pumpkins

Princess One has been so sweet lately checking up on me asking how I am doing with all the loss of the last month.

She has been making regular video chats with me and allowing me to visit with the kids almost daily. It has been a crazy year so we haven't been in a routine with calls for a long time. 

She let me video chat with her the other day and the kids were literally climbing the walls like kids do when the wall is the same size as their bodies and they can put their arms and legs on the wall and use pressure to climb.

They called to share some of the activities they are learning about countries they are studying recently as she has been teaching them about countries in Europe now. 

I got a super fun call while I was working the yard yesterday. The kids were carving pumpkins! It was adorable! 

I was excited about that but working in the yard with really strong wind made it hard for them to hear me. Since I couldn't talk long, Princess One was good enough to take photos for me and send them. They are so cute and I had to share them. 

I wish I lived closer to them so I could do fun activities like that with them but am grateful they live close enough that I can visit! 

I am blessed!

Finishing The Monkey Bars Just Before The Rain

In June, I worked in my yard to put up a monkey bar that my neighbor wanted out of her yard. 

I was hoping to get it done quickly but then July and August happened with the wedding and reunion. 

Last month, I struggled with chronic UTI and infected ears, sinus migraines throwing up a record four times in a few months. 

I can't tell if it is just a bad year and the daith piercings are helping, or if the piercings aren't working at all due to the constant irritation and infection due to the allergy to the earrings. 

With all the loss and health issues the past few months, I haven't been able to get back out to the yard to work on finishing the play area where I put in the monkey bars. The bark has just been sitting out in the weather. 

I am going to have the grand-kids here over the holidays and they always end up in the backyard, so I wanted to make sure I had the play area finished so they could enjoy it. 

Since we have already had snow this year, I wanted to get the area done before the ground freezes. I had to get about 8 loads of dirt to even the area out and then put down cardboard boxes and ground barrier before putting down the bark. 

I worked for hours out there and was able to get at least the swing / monkey bars area done. I got some house barrier for free so I put it down over the rest of the area where I want to put a seesaw. I was going to make one but I think I will just put it out there to see if I can find one. 

I like the way the yard is looking in the back. I haven't pruned any trees this year and have been watching the weather and haven't been able to plant the roses or prune as it has been freezing at night. I was hoping we would have a warm spell as I am usually finish with pruning and working on washing the windows over Halloween weekend. It is obviously not going to happen this week. 

I was able to pull out the swamp cooler today as well and haven't turned off the sprinklers yet as I want the roses and shrubs to get some water after I plant them if it would stop raining, snowing, and freezing. 

I felt so blessed that it was supposed to rain most of the afternoon and the rain held off until I was finished and putting everything in the garage. I was going to the store afterwards and it poured and I was so grateful for being able to finish. 

I went looking for more bark to put over the rest of the area and Home Depot doesn't clearance it or put it on sale until spring so I will try around town and see if I can find a good price. If I can't, I'll just wait until spring. At least it is ready for the black barrier and bark now.

Lets hope it warms up again so I can get some pruning done. I also have three trees I am going to cut down that I was hoping to get done this fall as well. Have a blessed day!

Ionized or Hydrogenized Water - God Blesses Me Again

I have taken ionized water in the past at a Dr.'s office and I used to go get containers of water from a woman a few towns over from her Kangen dispenser. When I took if for about 6 months, my cholesterol went down significantly.

I had been doing some research on ionized water as several people suggested it. I just didn't have the funds to purchase a unit. I had taken hydrogen peroxide in water but it is unstable to take  places and sometimes hard to take. 

I was at a second hand store Saterday and saw a ionizer / hydrogenizer pitcher new in the box for $6! I then went to another thrift store, and they had a larger countertop unit for $100. I didn't have time to look it up as I was in a hurry and funds are tight currently, so I didn't purchase that unit. 

I came home and spent many more hours looking up units and the benefits of the different times of units. I read study after study on how the water heals all sorts of things and LOWERS cholesterol! 

I researched comparisons on different ionizers /  and the larger units can be up to $5000. I think I may go back for the larger unit at the other store as it would be nice to have a bigger unit and if it is in good shape, I could also sell it online if I didn't want it.

I then looked up consumer studies on individual ionizing water bottle. They have glass water bottles that have small units in the bottom for less than $100 so you can take it anywhere and have the water at will! 

I watched a very intersting video on a diabetic that had gangrene on both big toes and they were going to cut them off so he left that hospital and went to another he researched that used ionized / hydrogen water to heal diabetic ulcers. They soaked his feet several times a day and he drank five liters of the water daily and was able to heal his feet over a few month period. 

There was a hospital in Japan that gives the water to every sugery patient. I guess it is a common thing in Japan.

I think I may buy an individual water bottle for my girls for Christmas. I have been drining it for a day  and can tell the difference. I am excited to see what it can do over time. It would be SO nice to be able to clean out my fatty liver as I have been praying for something to help detox it so my yellow eyes can go away. 

I don't think it is coincendence that right after praying about what to do I find two different units at TWO different stores. In the 20 plus years I have been shopping thrift stores, I have never seen a water unit EVER. I have found ionizers and ozonators before, but never water units so I feel it is an answer to prayers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could heal and move on in my life with feeling horrible daily!

Have a blessed day!

God Is Good and So Are People

Today I had to go to the post office and mail an item I sold on eBay. After going to the post office, I went to a thrift store. When pulling in, there was an open space right as you pull in and then a truck, and then another space. 

I went to pull into the first open space and I had the thought that I shouldn't park there as someone could pull out backwards and hit my car. I thought, "I don't have that though all the time", so I felt I should listen to that thought.  

Once years ago, I did see a car pull out and back into a car in that spot or the one next to it, so it is something that could happen as it has happened before, however, I have parked in those spots many times since that event. But today, having that thought made me park in the third spot in the lot. 

I was in the store when someone came in and said, "Whoever has a small grey car in the parking lot, someone just hit your car." I was a bit shocked as that thought was maybe five minutes before. I was on a video chat with Princess One and my grandchildren, and another woman came in and told a women in the store that someone just hit her car. My sister was meeting me there as I had something for her and she had something for me and she said she heard the car get hit. 

The lady was NOT happy and went off on the man and since it was on private property, they didn't call the police. He gave her his insurance information and they both left.

I gave gratitude for that inspiration to avoid parking in that spot. The store closed soon after and my sister and I were in the parking lot trading our items for each other, and noticed a man trying to get into his locked car. He wasn't having much luck. My sister called her husband who has ties to the Police and has tools to break into cars. He came and helped open the mans' locked car. 

It was really sweet of him to leave work and come across town to help a stranger. We talked to the man and his truck was broken down in a different town and he borrowed a car and he locked the keys in the borrowed car! 

It was nice seeing others helping people and my sister was sweet asking if the man needed anything else or if she could help in any other way. People are good and God is good! I am so blessed!

Have a blessed day!

Putting Stuff Online - Cleaning Out Rooms

I spent hours yesterday posting things online as I had some mechanics bills that needed paying along with house insurance and taxes. 

I made enough at my yard sale to pay one of the three bills. I kept out about five boxes from the yard sale that were higher items that didn't sell and took photos of many of them a few weeks back. 

I was finally able to get to it yesterday and it is slow going but I am glad that I am finally getting something off my list. 

I also have boxes of stuff that needs to be organized and put into totes. When I purchase gifts, I stack them in an empty room and I also have boxes of grandma totes that I put in the same room. The boxes of stuff got mixed and I haven't looked at that room since last Christmas or so. 

I know I am going to be working in the yard this weekend planting those flowers I bought, so I want to get working on that room. Princess two helped me organize it some and I hope to get to it soon. 

Have a blessed day!

Flowers From Heaven - Rainbows and All

Sorry this post is late, I have had a horrible time with Blogger and my internet today. 

I have been looking for some roses for a long time to fill in the spots in my yard where over the years flowers have died. I figured I could post online and maybe dig up someones who is wanting them gone or I figured I would wait and get them on clearance. 

I also have a bush and a small tree that have slowly been dying over the past few years. I checked prices on them and they were so expensive to purchase that I waited. 

The day after the ice storm in town, I went to a local hardware store for a shelving unit, and I thought I would go out into the garden area to see if they had any plants left. There was a worker uncovering some roses and putting them in a large container. I asked what he was doing and he said he was taking the roses to the dumpster as they had been written off by the company. 

I asked if I could buy them at a discount, so the worker called the manager. He said I could purchase the roses at $5 each. The rest of the plants were half off so I picked out a few sets of plants to landscape my front beds and went to check out. 

When checking out, the plants weren't ringing in at $5, so the worker scanned them and they went in as half off. He first took off $5 and when he finished the total of them all, it was 111! I just knew at that point it was a blessing. When trying to figure the discount out, he just rounded up and took $65 total. He was really great and I got a trolley full of plants for around $50. 

They filled up the entire back of my car and when I got home, I put them into my garage. I gave a laugh when I put down the last plant and one of the flowers on the bush fell off and I picked it up and noticed the name of the bush. The name of two of the bushes I purchased are "Rainbow Sensation!" I just hurried and picked two sets of matching plants that I liked as there were tarps over the plants. 

I felt like my mother was smiling down on me as she LOVED gardens and flowers. I am not the type to remember many plant names and I haven't landscaped much as it was landscaped when I purchased the house. 

I really should have looked up plants and designed what I want where, but I feel like my mother was helping me to be able to get plants I can afford and still that are beautiful without all the work. I hope it warms up a bit more so I can plant them as it has been cold. 

I take them out during the day and put them in the garage at night. I haven't pruned yet but really hope it warms up enough that I can get that done as well. I feel blessed to get plants for cheap. 

Have a blessed day!

Fresh Carrot - Apple - and Ginger Kombucha

 I have been making Kombucha over the past year and I have tried many different flavors. 

I had some homemade green grape juice and really liked the flavor of the kombucha making it with that juice. 

I made some with apple cider and other times tried cranberry juice, but it became it super acidic and so I have learned to avoid using acidic juices or fruits. 

I tried putting bits of different fruit in the kombucha but the bigger pieces made it more fermented really quickly, so I didn't use fruit again. 

However, recently the food bank had large bags of carrots and apples to distribute, so I thought I would try making kombucha using carrots and apples using the juicer as thinking the juice may be less fermented using juice. 

The trick is to let the kombucha ferment to the right stage. A few weeks back I didn't have any juice in the house so I thought it would be good to try using some fresh fruit. I had a bunch of apples and carrots still, so I pulled out the juicer and made carrot and apple juice using the excess I had from the food bank. 

I also had some fresh ginger root so I put that in half of the jars to see if I liked the added ginger. 

I really liked the carrot and apple juice kombucha, but I added more ginger than needed as it is a strong flavor. I enjoyed it enough that I made this next back using the carrots and apples and being in a small town couldn't get any fresh ginger root, so I used powdered ginger and only used a small amount so I could get the flavor but not overwhelm the taste. 

I actually enjoy the flavor as there is the sweetness from the apple and carrots, but the carrot flavor isn't really strong. I have enjoyed the new flavor and thought I would blog it in case anyone else searched the internet for information on new flavor options. 

Have a blessed day!

Another Great Loss - Grandma, Mother, and Friend

When I was engaged, I attended the church we would be living in after we got married. At the time, the bishop / pastor / minister over the congregation and his wife were amazing people. 

I was far from home living on the opposite coast as my family. This couple were similar in age to my parents, and I developed a VERY close relationship to this couple, and especially the wife in my situation. 

My marriage was in trouble from the first few weeks, and not having any family around, I was able to go to this woman for help not knowing how to deal with the situation and being so far from any family and friends.

This woman hosted my baby shower for my first child, she knew about the struggles I went through in my marriage, and was supportive when I thought about leaving my marriage before having my second child. She babysat my children when needed, and took care of them when I was in nursing school. 

She took care of me after I had Princess Three and was in the hospital very sick with a high fever, and took care of the kids while I healed. 

Even after we moved across the country, she and her husband came to visit the kids. We stayed at their house when we went to visit the East Coast. 

I staying with them when I went to visit and attend Mitt Romney's inauguration as the Governor of MA. This is a photo I took on that trip. The picture is on my fridge in the kitchen and I smile each time I see it as it makes me remember how loved I feel from them. 

I went back after "Dad" passed away around 2010. She came to visit Princess One when she graduated from college with her Social Work degree. 

Princess One went to visit her after that to help her organize some things in her home. 

We called her every holiday so the kids could visit with her and give her updates on what was going on in their lives. I called her regularly and no matter how much time passed, it was like none had passed. 

We would laugh for hours visiting and she knew everything about my life. She was like a mother to me as my mother was a public figure and spent much of her life traveling and I often had to take care of her needs rather than her taking care of mine. I would never leave my children with my mother as she just wasn't that type of mom. She was amazing in so many ways, but with 8 children and a public life, she never had the time to "mother" me. 

If I was ever stressed in life, and especially during my divorce, she was the person I would call. She was my support system, confidant, mother, grandmother to my children, and best friend. She knew me better than most people in my family. I never felt judged by her and never felt like I needed to justify myself with her. She was just "THERE" for me and my girls.

She would send money to me and my girls on her limited income. The girls paternal grandmother has never sent me or my girls money, gifts, or supported them in any way since the divorce. This woman WAS their grandmother by CHOICE, not by blood. She just really was an all around support. 

It was funny when I would call her and she wasn't home or didn't answer, because I put in her answering machine years ago and she didn't want to leave a message on the machine, so I put the message on the answering machine and every time I would call, I would hear my own voice! In the past few months, when I would call her, she would tell me she was having trouble hearing anyone on the phone. The last few calls were cut short because she said she was having a "Bad hearing day." 

I got a call from a mutual friend Friday morning saying that she wasn't doing well. I received a text a bit later in the day saying she had passed away. I had no idea how hard that news would hit me. It the past month or so, I lost a host father, one of my best friends, another very close friend, and now this "mother" in my life. 

I couldn't believe that I could lose four people so influential in my life in such a short time. I sobbed and sobbed realizing that this was probably the closest I would ever feel to losing a spouse. When my former spouse left, it was a relief and I have never felt much of a loss. I felt loss for what I wish I would have had in a marriage, but not for his leaving. So, this woman dying was like losing a friend, confidant, and close family member. 

My girls were all really supportive and called or texted. Princess Two said she would come home for a visit just so I wouldn't be alone. She helped me clean up the rest of the broken tree branches from the ice storm. We played games and worked on cleaning out one of the bedrooms. 

Before she arrived, I ran a few errands and smiled when I found pennies at two different stores. I felt like God was letting me know that He was mindful of my loss and to continue to "trust in HIM". 

I wrote her only living son a text note offering to help in any way I could, and his reply was a bit hard for me to read as I felt like he had some hurt feelings at how close my family and I were with this woman. He lived across the country and they only got home to visit every 3-5 years or so. In a way, my children were more like her own grandchildren just because they spent more time together. 

I have had a few sad moments this weekend dealing with her loss, but today when I was leading the congregation closing song for our main church meeting, our closing song was called, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" and is typically sung at funerals. I had a hard time getting through the song without shedding a tear as it may be the only funeral moment I may have with her loss. With Covid, and her not having any family in the East, and her husband was in the military, so he isn't in a local cemetery to her home, they may choose to just have a service later when her family from the west could all get together for a service of some type. 

I figure God must be creating an army of VALIANT people for some reason as he is taking SO many people lately and especially women. I shared that my daughters mother-in-law passed away in March, my other daughters sister-in-law's mother passed in August, and then two friends in our church other than the ones I mentioned earlier in this post passed recently and were women around my age and my girls were friends with their children. It has been a year of great loss. 

I hope that there isn't any more loss anytime soon. I am grateful for those that are so supportive and for the little reminders to "Trust in God" during this difficult weekend. I feel blessed to have had all these kind and amazing people in my life! 

Have a blessed day!

Let The Holiday Cooking Begin - Days of Prep

I am not having all the girls for Thanksgiving this year, but I am having all the girls for Christmas. 

They rotate Thanksgiving as well. I only get all the girls every three years as one year they are at the in-laws, and the other year they stay home. I am very excited that they will all be here for Christmas and since the girls are going to be with the in-laws for Thanksgiving, I don't think I am going to do a full turkey over the thanksgiving holiday this year. 

Most of the girls will be here for a few days before Thanksgiving, so I decided that I would like to have all the meals made ahead of time and in the freezer so that I can just enjoy time with the family and not have to worry about baking and cleaning. 

I usually make muffins ahead of time for snacks and breakfasts, but as far as meals, I don't usually make meals ahead as they all like traditional holiday foods. Since they will be with the other side of the family, I can make what I would like! 

I have spiral ham in the freezer and made "funeral potatoes" to put in the oven for one meal. I made lasagna for another. Tonight I made Chicken Enchiladas, and tomorrow I will make the muffins. My freezers are full with just enough space for the muffins. I am excited that it will be done and I can work on getting the house ready for the next few weeks. 

I hope that we can enjoy spending time together without having to cook and clean. I am going to use paper so that there is no cleanup for each meal. 

It feels good to be ahead on the holiday. 

Have a blessed day!

Cleaning up Branches Until Midnight

It was nice that the weather warmed up enough that most of the snow melted off today. I called my elderly neighbor asking if she had any branches come down in her yard, and she told me that her yard did well. God is so good. I told her I would trim her dead branches on her apple tree and some service missionaries stopped by my house last week and in the end, we went up and worked on her yard and the husband went back after we did much of her yard and took a chainsaw to the tree so I wouldn't have to worry about it. 

I believe that because he did it, the ice storm didn't bring them down and I am glad that I didn't have to go over and work in her yard as I had enough to keep me busy today. 

I was envious of my neighbor who had a trailer and just put all his fallen branches on it and I am not sure where he took them, but he was back in about 15 minutes with it empty. Someone told me there is a place that allows you to drop off branches and they chip them and use them in landscaping. I don't have a truck or a trailer so I would have to get help to do that. 

It is easier for me to break them down and put them in cans as I can do that without help. I worked on it for a few hours and had to run some errands and then when I came back to work on the back yard, and my reciprocating saw started having issues. It lost screws in the front plate and started jangling. 

I went to Home Depot and ended up buying a new one and coming home and spent the rest of the night until midnight filling six garbage cans. I didn't have any more cans and I didn't want to use the saw on a ladder at night so I didn't quite finish taking down the branches and I still have a garbage can or two on the lawn. It was still super wet and cold and my gloves were near dripping by the time I finished for the night. 

I hope tomorrow that I can finish up the yard and that the leaves dry out as they are so wet. I need to start pruning the rest of the trees, but it isn't good to prune when it is so cold so I hope it gets warm again. 

Have a blessed day!