Great Day

Spent a lot of time looking for The Farms.  Someone had posted the link on FaceBook.  All the aerial photos were taken in 1969.  These are posted in order of the age they were settled.  All within a 1/2 mile of each other.

The Ancestor's--1857

On the other side of that woods, at the top, is the farm where I raised my children.

My sister lives here now

My Grandparents Poultry farm and Hatchery--1920

See the woods on the right.

On the other side is where Susan lives.

Turn left onto that road and 1/2 mile is Mark's farm.

This is where me, my hubs and kids moved to in 1967

Where my daughter Pam lives now 

My parents farm--1938

Where I was born and grew up

See that road in the distance?

Turn right on that road and Susan's farm is 1/4 mile away.

Where my son Mark now lives

See all the open fields around these farms?  It is still like that.  The nearest neighbor's to south and east and west, are all family members.

NOW--do you know why I'd like to move back "home"?  Quiet.  Space.  My roots.
<Dear Lord--I miss it so much>
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I am continuing the cleaning/rearranging/moving stuff.  My living room is piled with boxes and stuff and looks like I am either just moving in, or organizing to move out.

Of course, with everything in my house in an upheaval, I had company.  My sister and Chuck and last night, Karen stopped in and John came over.

Karen's father-in-law (now retired) makes beautiful crosses, some plain, some with a heart in the middle, some with the Holy Spirit dove in the middle.  She gave me one for Christmas and when John saw it, and I told him the story, he wanted to order 7 of them.  I told Karen, she told her FIL and when Karen's hubs Mark went up north to visit his Dad last weekend, he brought them back.  

This is what mine looks like.

 The cross is made from a special wood from the Purple Heart tree that grows in Brazil.  Some come with a white cross and the center figure is done in the Purple Heart wood.

Karen brought over an assortment.  Some with walnut cross, some white, some Purple Heart.  John took an assortment of 7--he is giving them to his daughter/DIL/friends for Easter.  He is also taking one over to an older lady he knows who is bedridden at home, under hospice care.

So, Karen got the impression that John is "such a gentle and kind man", which he is and John got to meet Karen that he later declared to be, "such a lovely, sweet and gentle woman," which she is.
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Okay--I do not like this!!  When people walk in my front door, with the slanted entertainment center gone, they can see all the way back into my bedroom!!!












See that yardstick on the floor between the carpet and the kitchen chair?  What if--I put something like a room divider there?  Something like this:

6' tall, 35" wide

Still open, but with things on the shelves to stop the "eye" from seeing all the way down the hall.

OR--is it going to be too busy?
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I think I am just going to have to wait until I get the new media/fireplace center and see.

This wall would be the purrfect place for the fireplace.

However, there is no cable outlet on that interior wall and--a few years ago, I moved the couch over where my chair is now and it is so long, it stuck out past my east window and looked dorky.

Basically, I am stuck with the TV where it is AND all other furniture where it is.
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Yesterday, I went up to the Wal-Mart.  The last time I was there, I had such a dizzy spell I thought I was going down on my face, so....I was kind of worried.

I picked up a prescription refill, then down to the cat aisle where I had to get food and a big jug of litter, then turn to walk way to the back aisle to get light bulbs, over to bit to get a storage box and then, allllllllllllllllllllllll the way back to the other side of the store for 4 gallons of refill water for the humidifier.  Then, alllllllllllllll the way up to the front of the store to check out.  Then allllllllllll the way to my car to pack up the car and unload when I got home.

I did it all with not one problem.  In fact, I felt great for all the exercise!!!
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We are getting a Canadian Clipper or a Polar Vortex coming in today and tomorrow.  Below zero temperatures during the night.  Not much snow--that is all going south east of us up into New England--again.

Have a good weekend.  I will be inside my snug, warm wee house, moving stuff and cleaning and---watching Basketball games and---knitting and crocheting!  :-)

YOWZA!!!

I can't believe how well I feel!!!  This is amazing!  I have felt so out of it for so many months.  The brain fog I had.  The dizziness/light-headed.  It seemed this came on slowly and I am so used to feeling not entirely well, and just putting it off as an age related thing.  I got used to it and just tried to cope.

You never know how bad something is until it's gone.  My mind and thinking and memory are so clear now.  I get out of my chair and walk all over and don't get dizzy.  Out of habit. I get up and walk to the kitchen table and stop, because that is where the dizzies used to hit me.  Then I realize, there is no dizzy feeling.  I can get up and walk all the way into the bathroom and no dizzies.

It was such an effort to do any thing.  Not just a physical effort, but a mental one too.  I am positive it also had something to do with the terrible depression I have been in for the last four months.  I felt like a Zombie all           the           time!!

"They" (medical people) have told me for the last three years that the dizziness was caused because my BP dropped when I stood, but I knew it was more than that.  I have no dizziness when I get out of bed in the morning, or when I am driving my car, or outside working.  So--I had to figure it out for myself.  Not one medical person has ever suggested that I take my meds at night.

Quite by accident (or was it a God Whisper?) I heard somewhere the Mayo Clinic suggested people take their BP med at bedtime because most heart attacks/strokes occur in the morning.  That sent me searching.  I Googled every med I take to see WHEN I was supposed to take it.  No where did it say to take it in the morning.  The only thing stated was, "take at the same time every day."

<although cholesterol med must be taken at bedtime and blood thinner should be taken right after supper>

Then quite by accident (or was it a God send?), my friend WHO NEVER CALLS ME, called the other day asking if I had an address for a fellow classmate.  She is a retired nurse.  I told her about my dizzies and she said she had experienced the same thing so she takes her BP meds at bedtime! "I just couldn't stand the brain fog they gave me during the day," she said.

 OH. MY.  GOSH!

So I decided to try taking them at night and watching my BP to see if it was high in the morning and late afternoon.

Nope!  It was the same as it had been when I took the meds in the morning.  After 4 days of taking the meds at night, I started feeling such a marked difference in "my head", I really couldn't quite believe it!

Have you ever taken a strong pain med, or a new med that made your head feel like it wasn't quite connected to your body, your head was swimming, or so full you could barely function?  That is the way I have felt since last summer.  I could not concentrate!  I thought perhaps I had a TIA and it was affecting my thought processes and even my speech.  Even the 24/7 Tinnitus doesn't seem as loud.

I tell you---IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

===============

So--today I tore into this house!!  So many things I have put off and it will probably take me a few days to get caught up, I was on a tear!

I had it all cleaned out, ready to move it to my bedroom.  Providentially, my sister and BIL just happened to stop in.  How do you like that for another Godsend?

I'm so glad because even with the sliders underneath, it took Chuck and me both to move it all the way back there and get it set in place.  He pushed, I guided and Susie vacuumed where it had sat.

My biggest fear has been getting my TV/cable box/DVD player hooked back up correctly.  Of course, my BIL Chuck is a genius and a heavy furniture mover helper.  :-)

I now look at my TV straight on--I kind of like it at that level, just don't like the old trunk it's sitting on, but...this will spur me on to save more money for that media center/fireplace!

Now, the next few days, I can move stuff from the computer room closet back to my bedroom and have every single skein of yarn and every needle and hook I own, all in one place.

And the "washed" painted pale green of the cupboard goes with my bedroom furniture. 

I'M HERE! I'M HERE!

I don't post on Saturday or Sunday.  You all need a couple of days respite from my ravings!

I got my absentee ballot for the Michigan Primary.  I haven't even opened the envelope because.....I haven't a clue whose name to put my "X" next to.  What a conundrum!!

I really am sickened by Mr. Trump's crude and vulgar language.  The people that are angry at our government like him.  That doesn't mean he would make a good President--he has no experience governing.  I adore Dr. Ben Carson, but I won't vote for him.  He has no governing experience either.
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I think I have self diagnosed myself again and found the reason for my light-headedness that I have every single morning.  Another reason I schedule all my appointments after 2:00--I usually feel terrible every day until about 1:30.

I take all three of my high blood pressure pills plus my anti-depressant when I get up.  I started wondering what would happen if I spaced them out during the day.  That seemed a bit better, but.....so I Googled when to take them and all it said was, "take at the same time every day."  It never said to take in the morning.  Then, I got a call from one of my high school gal pals and she said that she takes ALL her meds at bedtime--because------they make her so light-headed and dizzy during the day that she has fallen a couple of times.  Now, she is a retired nurse so I figured....why not.

I started Saturday night and took them at bedtime.  I woke up Sunday and left like a new woman all day long!!!!!  Yes--one of them is a diuretic and so I had to get up at 3:00 and pee, but I will put up with that to feel so much better.

When I went to the doctor today for my Wellness Check, I asked him if I had to take all my med in the morning, or if I could take them later in the day, or even at bedtime.  I DID NOT tell him I had already started doing that.  He said it would be fine.  Hee hee hee

Then he looked at my blood work results, turned to me and said, "If all I had to go on were the results of your blood work, your blood pressure and your medical records, I would say, "this is a healthy, fifty-five year old woman'."

I smiled because I had already check the blood work results and knew they were good.  Then he asked, "What IS your age?"

"Seventy-six and a half."

He shook his head and said, "You are amazing.  Keep on doing what you've been doing.  Get outta here and don't come back for six months!"

He has always insisted that his older patients go in for a check-up every 3-4 months.  He and I have always fought about this.  "If there is nothing wrong with me, why do I have to come in more than once a year?"

"Because I like to keep track of you and make sure you're all right."

So today, when he said six months, I smiled and nodded and figured, if I can get away with it, I'll go back next February.  HAH!!

I have only lost 1/4 inch since I was 18.  I am 5'10 1/4" tall, weight 162# and my BP was 130/62.

To my way of thinking, all our health issues, and problems are due in large part to our genetics.  My ancestor's ate anything they wanted= eggs, real butter, red meat, potatoes fried in bacon grease.  None of them were overweight.  Of course, they worked hard and needed the fuel, and they DID die of heart disease in their late 80's or 90's.  (Wink)

None of them drank alcohol.  When I say that to people, they say back, "Oh, I don't drink either.  Just a little wine once in awhile."  NO!  I mean alcohol never even touched the lips of my ancestor's.  I come a long line of Teetotalers and Temperance Union members.  Does that have anything to do with it?  I have no idea.

As long as I have smoked, I should be dead a long time ago.  Of course, I have never inhaled--that may have something to do with it?

None of my ancestor's ever had cancer.  Yes, my son has it, but it isn't based on a genetic factor.  Who knows?

So the doc says, "Keep on doing what you've been doing."  So that means, a candy bar everyday.  Potato chips, Diet Pepsi, smoke a half a pack of cigarettes and get very little exercise?  I don't think he meant that!!!!!!  <but if he insists> (Sorry, I am being a smart a**)

All I do know is that TODAY I am as healthy as a 55 year old female.  Tomorrow I could drop over on my face, dead of a heart attack.  My preferred way to go, actually.  At my age, I know how quickly health matters can change.
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We had quite a bit of snow last night.  I didn't get up very early and when I peeked out the window, all the snow in my drive had been plowed out AND my car has been swept off.  An hour later, I heard a Snow-blower and there was John, heading back home from clearing every one's drive on this street!  He is such a lovely man.  I called to thank him and he was in a rush to get to his volunteer job at the nearby elementary school.

A February Friday

I didn't forget!!  Got to the doctor's office at 10:00 to get my 3 vials of blood drawn.  I prefer getting it don't there, rather than the lab, because Michelle, the doctor's nurse uses a butterfly needle and I barely feel the pick.

I can hardly wait to see the results of the tests.  I will get on my Patient Portal and be able to read them loooong before my doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon.  I keep a record, so I will be able to look and see any changes from last year or if one is "high or low", I will be able to ask the doc about it, because usually all a doc will say is, "You blood looks good."  NOPE!!  I want to see and compare results.

<you may notice I have a tendency not to fully trust medical people>

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The wounded female Downy Woodpecker has a perfectly fine, brand new, suet cake feeder in the Lilac bush where she likes to hang out.  She was feeding from it on Wednesday,

The minute I refilled the nicer little wooden house one and hung it up under the porch railing, she wanted to feed there.  Insisted on it in fact.  As you can see, she can't fly that far to get to it.

video

Only one thing to do, lower it and put it on the Shepherd's crook where she can get to it.

BUT--if she continues to sit and sun at the bottom of the Rose of Sharon bush, the Big Black Feral Cat with the bright green eyes, is going to get her again and this time I might not see it in time to save her little bird brain!!

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I've felt rough all day long.  Tired and light-headed.  Didn't know what I was going to have for supper, but John and Maizey stopped in at 5:00.  He had made chicken noodle soup yesterday and brought me two plastic containers.  He makes really good chicken noodle soup!!!  So--problem solved!!

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Have a nice weekend.  Enjoy the Super Bowl, if you watch.  I don't much care of Pro Football, but I will watch.

Tomorrow, Michigan State plays their cross state rival, University of Michigan.  I for sure will be watching that game and rooting for my Michigan State Spartans.

GO GREEN!!!

Sad/Happy

What an unusual day!  Well--not exactly the day, but the happenings.  

I have a Downy Woodpecker (female) that I noticed had a bad left wing.  She would climb up the tallest part of the Rose of Sharon bush, but every time she tried to fly up to the suet cake feeder, she'd take a header to the ground below.

Tuesday, I went out and tried to catch her.  Even with a bad wing, she could hop faster than I could hobble to catch her.  She flew into the Lilac bush and clung to the side of a limb.  Every time I put my hand out to get her, she'd maneuver around to the other side of the branch.  Back and forth we played this game until I finally game up.

Yesterday, while at the store, I got a new green wire suet cake holder.  I forgot to tell you--this is the 3rd one I have purchased this year.  I put up my nice copper one this fall, but I had it too close to the porch roof line, a squirrel hung over the edge, knocked it down and hauled it across the street to the woods behind Jackie's.  I bought another one--a green, wire one, and again, a squirrel did the same thing.

This spring, I plan on going into the woods and hunting for my suet cake holders.

Anyway--I then bought a nice one, with a little wooden roof and hung it in a different place,  way under the porch roof and said squirrel couldn't reach it.  I didn't exactly want to put that nice one down for my injured Woodpecker, so I got another wire one and hung it on the Lilac bush limb.  She could get up to it and ate from it.

This morning, as I was watching activity at the bird feeders, I noticed she was once again sitting in the Rose of Sharon bush--about four feet up from the ground.

All of a sudden, a black Feral cat we have around her, came leaping out of the air, grabbed her in his mouth and looked around.  I ran to the front door, yelled at him, "NO!" and he fled.

Oh. My.  GOSH!!  I was horrified!! He knew she was injured so he went after her.  Mother Nature's, survival of the fittest.  It bothered me all morning!
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After my Soap, I had to run up to the bank.  When I got home, I decided to fill up all the feeders and the squirrel lunch counter.  I looked around a little bit, while I was under the large silo bird feeder.  I thought perhaps I could find one of her feathers and put it in with my feather collection, to remember her.

Well, what to my wondering eyes did appear?

There she was!  Huddled down at the base of the bush!  I tired to pick her up, but she hopped away and back up into the Lilac.

I went about finishing up filling the feeders.  An hour later, I saw her, at the top of the Rose of Sharon bush.  She wanted to eat from the wooden feeder, instead of the one I had put in the bush for her.

 After her 4th attempt, she finally did fly up to the feeder.

 You can see her wing(s) aren't quite right, but I think she is getting better.
At least, she wasn't the Feral cat's lunch!!!!!!!!

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I don't suppose you remember last March, when I made up a beach vignette in the kitchen?

I have decided if I move the tall entertainment center to the bedroom corner, I need to get rid of the cart and beach stuff--leave that whole area by the kitchen table, open.

So--I moved my beach stuff to my bathroom, which is decorated in all beachy stuff anyway.

I am going to move the cart, across the room to where my collection of old boxes and Cows are now residing.

I may use the old trunk for my TV to set on.  Maybe.  It would be lower than the fireplace/media center, but it will give me the open feeling, to get used too.

I am going nutsy-cuckoo about all of this.  LOL

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I hope I don't forget that I have a fasting blood draw in the morning--in preparation for my  annual Wellness Check-up next Tuesday.

We used to call it our Yearly Check-Up.  Now, the primary care doctor's don't do those (Pap, breast exam, etc), now we get a Wellness Check.  Where we tell him how we feel and he listens to our heart and send us on our way.

GEEZ!!!

Mid-Week This 'N That

Look at this.

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This is how many people stopped by to read my blog

WOW!!!!!  I don't even know that many people!!

But--look at the number of comments left.  

Why are you stopping by and not leaving a comment?  You don't have to have a blog to leave a comment.  You can just leave a comment and then type in your name or not.  You can just type, "Hi Judy." and that's all it takes.  I do love your advice, opinions and comments.

I just might have to do another MANDATORY, "leave your name and where you are from" comment requirement.  If you don't, I will only post commentaries on the political races for a whole week!!!  Now--none of us want that.  Right?

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My Social Security hit my checking account this morning so off I went to get my hair cut, eyebrows tamed, inkjet cartridges refilled and litter and cat food at the grocery store.

Now, I have a question.  Do any of you know someone who takes Prevagen?  The memory helper?

I expect an answer in the comments.  :-)

<which reminds me...rent was due today and I haven't even written out my check>

I've Been Thinking.

I can hear you all saying, "Oh. Oh."

Really, it's not all that bad--honest.

I have wanted a fireplace in my home for many years.  When we remodeled my grandmother's house, we had a perfect wall for a fireplace.  Unfortunately, the contractor convinced my husband (who didn't want one) that a fireplace would draw all the warm heat from our living room, up the chimney, therefore increasing our oil bill.  UNLESS--we had an insert or a draft pipe up to the outside and tight glass doors on the front.

Now--more than the heat source, I just wanted the look of the flames and the SOUND of the crackling logs.  So I said, "Never mind."

When I was staying with my friend, Ernie, he put an electric heater Franklin stove in his living room.  We could see the flames, but there was no sound.  No crackling of burning logs.

When I moved in here 13 years ago, I looked at electric fireplaces,  I knew right where I'd place it. But, I also needed an entertainment center, and there wasn't room for both.

A few years ago, Fred and I found an electric fireplace, plus media center all in one!  At the time, most of them were up into the $1,500-2,000.00 price range and no way we could afford that.

I have not lost that long held dream.  I've been searching the Internet, looking for just the perfect one.  I found it last winter.

So--I have an idea!

This is my entertainment center in the living room.

Painted a pale, washed green.

This is part of the closet in my den.  Plastic boxes filled with yarn.  Patterns, etc.

 This is the corner of my bedroom.  Plastic box and boxes and bags filled with yarn for the projects I am working on for Chrissy. My bedroom furniture is a painted green

I want to put this in that corner.  Take ALL the totes I have filled with yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks,

from the closet and put this in that bedroom corner.  I hate clutter and want it hidden behind the closed doors!

Then, I want to place this lovely Craftsman Media

Center, in light oak, in it's place in my living room.

 

where this stood.

I am going to have the outlet rewired with a ground (like the ones in our bathrooms and kitchens) so I CAN use it for a heat source, but I probably will never use it for a heat source.  Basically it's just a small space heater behind the magical flames.  The one I want costs only $402.00--much lower price than the $1,200.00 one I first fell in love with that had glass front doors on the storage.  These doors will cover up the sight of the videos hidden behind. :-)

The "mantel" of the fireplace is (34" tall) three inches taller than where my TV sits now, so it would be just above that chair rail thingie that runs the length of the wall.  It is also 20" wider and 2" thicker, than the now entertainment center.

The electric fireplace itself can be used just with different flame heights, patterns and different sounds, campfire, dying fire, whatever.  So I can get the ambiance of the flames flickering and the SOUND of crackling, burning logs.  All run by remote clicker! and not use the heater.

I have several friends that have these and, they ALL love them.  They come in all sizes and prices.  Tall, very wide, ornate.  Cherry, Mahoganey, Red Oak and Light Oak, that will match my furniture.  I want to keep my wee house with an open, clean, minimalistic feel so I am going for the one I finally chose.  The TV sets on top, the media stuff in the shelf underneath and the videos behind closed doors.

I have been saving up for my 5th and hopefully last car repair, and when I get that taken care of, will put money in the jar that has the pix of the fireplace on it. :-)  Maybe by next fall?

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Now--what I have been thinking about is this:

I want the many knitting/crocheting storage boxes all in one place AND I want that corner clutter in my bedroom GONE--what if I got a 34" tall stand or table or something, at the Salvation Army Store, to put my TV on and move the entertainment center into the bedroom NOW?

YES--my living room might look strange with the TV sitting on the "whatever", but it also would give me a sense of not having that tall piece of furniture that is now there, and I would get used to the idea?  I really don't know how I am going to feel with a lot of open wall space above the fireplace. 

Although that tall piece was purposefully purchased and sat there on the slant, to kind of use as a room divider between there and the kitchen.  Am I going to feel like the kitchen is invading my living room with it gone?  

This is the view any guest has, from the couch.  Can you picture the fireplace sitting in that space, flat up against the wall and only 3 inches above the chair rail with the TV on top?

From the rocking chair, where most guests sit.

That tall piece DOES accentuate the height of the ceiling and sort of divides spaces.

What do YOU think.  I was never any kind of room decorator!!!

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OR--should I just leave everything right where it is until I get the fireplace?

OR--should I just forget the whole damn thing because in reality, how many years do I have left to enjoy a new piece of furniture?

AND I probably need to buy a new recliner first!

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Move it now?

Leave it until fireplace arrives?

Forget the fireplace altogether?