One year later and here I am...

Yes, Sissy and I left the east one year ago today at 7:30 in the morning EST with two screaming cats!

Hard to believe?

I segue...(Sissy was so sick with vertigo when she came to me five days earlier that I was very concerned. She should have called and told me but came anyway! What a trooper! And she was absolutely no help in those five days! Well maybe not I do not really remember, so much to do.  But I had rented a hotel suite close to the house and took her and the Cats to the hotel and dumped her! She knew I need her for moral support and the drive across country)

And we made it! Five 10 hours days and four nights with screaming Cats (at least three hours every morning and a lot of laughs)!

The true miracle is we found our house less than a week later and it was purchased in less than 10 days!

Now it did take us another six weeks to truly move in.

It has been a real transition, not so much for me, but the Husb has had issues.  

My take and Sissy's also are he was too young to retire.  Husb is four years younger than we are and he just was not ready.

(Yes, I robbed the cradle, but we have been married over 40 years)!

He retired only two weeks before we left the east coast and was only able to do this as he has a Military retirement and our health insurance was in place!

Going from almost 3000 square feet to about 1600 was too much for him.  But He picked out the House, remember the Holy Medal in the basement?  Had to buy it!  I choose my battles lightly!

Fast forward to today.

We worked five hours in the yard and things are coming along.  Just little things that need to be done as we have to wait until late August to have sod placed.  But we are finishers and Husb is a perfectionist so the little details matter.

I am exhausted and I see a long soaking bath this afternoon and Pj's and then binge-watching Netflix and an early to bed.

I was going to make pork chops for dinner tonight, but they can wait another night.  I see a cup of noodles in my future.  I truly think they are a horrible food, but in a pinch they work.  As my grandmother used to say, "they fill a hole"! Husb is so on board with this!

I did make egg salad for lunch and ran some up to Sissy.  She has a busy day and evening, and I brought some Geraniums (very small) that she had planted from seed and put them in pots at the rear of the yard and we shall see.

Now I am going to sign off and go run a tub!

Hugs, Kay

 

Rainy and Cold!

Thea weather has turned, and it will be rainy and cold for the next nine days. Now we really need the rain, but it stops us with our outdoor projects and that is okay as we need a break.

We have managed to get all the river rock up in the areas it is needed for now, so that is good.

I worked so hard on Saturday to get this done and I was stumbling tired.  I really over did it!

I managed to get all my herbs planted and we really cleaned up our patio area as it was a disaster on Sunday and just took it easy.

I ordered an outdoor Alexa for the patio, and we are really enjoying it.  Sissy and I went to secondhand stores to find a small black piece of furniture for me to place it on and I found something immediately for only $10.00!  Score!

Sissy came for dinner last night and I made chicken wings and salad, and it was good. Tonight, we will have stuffed cabbage rolls and rice.

There is a local Restaurant chain (many different types of restaurants) owned by one Family.  Yes, they have a monopoly of sorts, but they do a lot for the Community and are very good to all of their employees, so I applaud them. Every second Tuesday of the month they have a free veteran's lunch for all vets and Husb and I take advantage of it.

So today we will go to one of them and have a free lunch for Husb, and I will order something light and tip very well!

We also need to make a trip to Home Depot, but I think I will have Husb take me up to Sissy's as I cannot stand spending hours in a hardware store while Husb looks at everything.  I tell him he has lookers' disease.

With all the rain we are getting maybe just maybe I will get the basement vacuumed.

Now I must get in the shower and clean up, as I am a mess.

Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Sissy Kay
 

More Rock!

Yep, this is a rock, and I have worked three hours every day moving it to the back driveway.  I think I still have at least six more hours to go to finish one patch.

It has been a busy week.

My list below shows I did get some things done, but again the yard is everything right now.

We have been back and forth to Sissy's this week as She had some things she needed help with, and the shop is really getting busy.

Husb cooked for us last night and he made great ham and cheese omeletes!  So good and Sissy and I vegged.

Sissy is heading to Moscow for the day after her piano lesson so we will have Roscoe, and I am determined to get my gardening work done and then make pizza sauce to freeze for pizza's.

We will have pizza tonight and if I am ambitious, I will try and make four more crusts to freeze. I have one left thawing in the fridge that Sissy made me.

I will also attempt to get some other things done on my list and report back.

Sissy is spending the day with me tomorrow as I have so much to do and paybacks are hell, I tell you.

I will make some chicken salad for tomorrows lunch with the white meat I froze for enchiladas.

Just no eating out this week and so far, we have been good.

There is still enough for in the upstairs freezer for another two weeks' worth of meals.  I am really working this.  I got really off track the last month that Auntie was here.

I am also so hoping that they have good beef and pork sales over the Memorial Day weekend.  This is normally when I spend a ton and have enough for six months.

The list!

 Get all ironing done - it's taking over.  I can get Sissy's done, but not my own?  Okay that took thirty minutes from start to finish and it is now 8:30 and my morning chores are done, and I am in my yard working clothes!

Clean downstairs freezer - got upstairs done yesterday morning.

Update last month's spreadsheet and report and it will be ugly thus I am avoiding it! Also enter all receipts for May as there is a huge pile in my inbox

Go to the nursery and buy a Mr. Lincoln Rose, as the tea rose, we transplanted is not going to make it.

Continue to do two to three hours in the yard every morning.

Eat all meals at home except for dinner out after Little Sisters nuptials.

Get up to Sissy's at least two afternoons and get some personal sewing done.  I need new aprons so badly and I have them cut out, just need to do it.  Also hem two pillowcases for Husband's pillows.

Vacuum entire basement - yes this has been nagging me for two weeks!

Get Sissy's car early one morning and take all yard cloth to the dump.

Clean out gardening bench - it is a disaster and has been this way since we left the east coast.  I just had the movers lift it and put it on the truck and I dig through it with disgust!

I am seeing rock in my sleep!

Have a great day!

Kay

Things I want to accomplish this week?

 I have so many things I need or want to get done, but the yard is all swallowing of time. After two or three hours I am just spent. It is early Tuesday morning and our Nuptials dinner for Little Sis was wonderful!  Pricey but wonderful and as they need nothing Sissy and I paid for dinner and that was our gift.  We also have leftovers for tonight!  I call that a win.

Now I will go and attack something...

So here is my list:

Get all ironing done - it's taking over.  I can get Sissy's done, but not my own?  Okay that took thirty minutes from start to finish and it is now 8:30 and my morning chores are done, and I am in my yard working clothes!

Clean downstairs freezer - got upstairs done yesterday morning.

Update last month's spreadsheet and report and it will be ugly thus I am avoiding it! Also enter all receipts for May as there is a huge pile in my inbox

Go to the nursery and buy a Mr. Lincoln Rose, as the tea rose, we transplanted is not going to make it.

Continue to do two to three hours in the yard every morning.

Eat all meals at home except for dinner out after Little Sisters nuptials.

Get up to Sissy's at least two afternoons and get some personal sewing done.  I need new aprons so badly and I have them cut out, just need to do it.  Also hem two pillowcases for Husband's pillows.

Vacuum entire basement - yes this has been nagging me for two weeks!

Get Sissy's car early one morning and take all yard cloth to the dump.

Clean out gardening bench - it is a disaster and has been this way since we left the east coast.  I just had the movers lift it and put it on the truck and I dig through it with disgust!

Now let's see if I can get this done this week.

I always find if I make a list, I am more able to tackle things in a timely manner.  I also know that I must do at least and hours' worth of other work before I head out to the yard as this work just exhausts me.

Now I am off like a prom dress, as Sissy likes to say!

Hugs,

Kay

I cannot believe Auntie has been gone a week? Where does time go!

Not a good picture of Auntie as she was staring into the sun, but the short nails look great, and I promised you all a picture.

Now these will be done once a month and all is set!

We have done nothing but work in the yard and Husb also spent some time up at Sissy's and her garden has come together.  It looks so good, and it was a lot of work.

We got an estimate to put underground sprinklers in the back yard and also for sod.  The downside is they cannot get to us until late August, early September, but we are willing to wait and have a lot more prep work to do before this can happen. However, we will be living in a sea of dirt for four months!

We have decided that the driveway will happen next year and must save funds for that project. I have funds set aside for the sod and undergrounds.

There are days when I think we are getting nowhere, and then I see how far we have come and relax.

This is a picture of about where we started.

This is how it looks now, and we still have to lift each edger and power wash and place back straight.

I painted the old Cedar above ground beds and will plant my Herbs in one and flowers in the others.

Just have to decide what.

I did get all my hanging baskets done and my pots and they look so good, pictures later.

At present Husb is power washing landscaping stones and I am picking more river rock.

I see river rock in my sleep!

This is river rock that we have picked and cleaned, and it will go to my little Sisters house eventually.

This is the area I spent 2.5 hours on this morning, and it will take me all week long several hours a day to get all this river rock up.  There are also three ugly large roots that need to come out, but the Husb will do that.

Now I must get into the shower and clean up as Little Sister is getting married at the Court House this afternoon and we will meet them for Mexican Food to celebrate.  After all it is Cinco de Mayo!

Sissy and I wanted to be flower girls and Husb wanted to be the ring bearer, and our plan was vetoed?

Now really, Sis and I thought it was a great plan.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures from the trenches.

Hugs,

Kay

Thursday and no yard work today!

Husb and I have been on a dead run in the backyard all week long and we are very tired.  So, we are taking a break today! It looks like a bomb went off in the back, but it will get done!  I guess no yard work on Saturday either as we will watch the Popes Funeral on YouTube in the morning.

It has been a busy week and so much has happened.

Auntie has another hearing aid out for repair, and it is supposed to arrive this morning about 10:30.  The problem is she is due to fly home at noon, so this was not going to work.  Just cutting it too close, so I spent hours yesterday changing her ticket and she will fly out Monday.  Thank heavens that Delta Airlines understood my dilemma, as we just could not send her back with one aid and then mail it to her as it had to be properly fitted.  They usually charge between $100.00 and $300.00 to change a ticket, and they did not!  For this I am forever grateful!

We knew that the aids were going to be a big learning curve, and she is doing great, but her long pointy fingernails are doing damage. She damages the cord when taking them out.

My Husband put his foot down yesterday and said we have got to talk to her about those nails.  So, we took her to dinner (Chinese, her favorite, although Husb and I think every Chinese restaurant in the Vally is horrible) and kindly told her that the nails have to go.  She cried a bit but agreed.  Husb said Auntie we have gone to great expense to make the quality of your life better, and your vanity is getting in the way.  You have to make a choice, or this is going to keep happening and we will not be there to help you.

At the end of dinner while we were taking her back to Kim's, she quietly said, I have said, a Prayer and God wanted me to hear so the nails are going to be my sacrifice!  I just love this woman!

So even if the aid arrives this morning, and I will take her, the nails will be taken off today and we will have a nice manicure and that will be it.  It will take getting used to, as I know it did for me.  I wore my nails long and had them done once a month, and when I decided I was done, I had lost the feeling at the tips of my fingers, and it took months for it to come back.  It also took a year for my real nails to heal, but I persevered.  Vanity can get one into trouble! My biggest fear is her nail beds are so damaged by years of abuse, I just don't know.

Husb wants steak tonight and Auntie cannot eat steak so I will make her chicken cordon blue, and she will love that.  I need to go to the bank and the grocery store for a few things today also.

Because we have spent so many hours in the yard this week the house needs love.  So Husb took the upstairs and I will take the basement.  The house is so small it does not take long.

Okay took an hour break and did my morning chores and part of the basement.  Will finish tomorrow as today I just have too many other things to do.

Now I am on hold with the hearing aid place, and they are still expecting the aid by 11:15 with tracking numbers, so changing her ticket was the right thing to do.

Sissy has a nail appointment at noon, and she is giving up her appointment so we can get Aunties done! Sissy also says that the nail beds are too damaged, and we must put a short gel nail on them. I trust her judgement on this!

We scheduled the aid for tomorrow at 11:50 and all is well!

Now because our aunt lives on a very limited income, my Husband and I have decided that we will take on the expense of having her nails done once a month and I called her daughter who is willing to take her.  I also called a recommended Salon and told them the situation, and I will pay them directly with a CC for each appointment and they agreed to put a tip on the card, which most salons will not take!  Problem solved.

I have stressed so much about getting that aid back and now we have the solution.  Sissy says I have no faith!  I have faith, but.... when dealing with any delivery well, NO!

Short rounded pretty nails in hot pink! Will take a picture and send tomorrow!

Now I am heading out to do my errands and Husb has decided to work in the yard so good for Him!

Will have a relaxing day and just breath!

Hugs.

Kay

 

Monday and back to the yard!

Well Folks it is actually Tuesday as I got sidetracked.

This is a project I have worked on for three days, pulling large rock and moving small rock so Husb can take down this dead tree and dig out three old stumps of some sort.

I worked very hard yesterday and am sore today, but my goal is to get stronger, and it is happening.

Sissy's garden sitting area is coming along beautifully and I will go today to get the finishing touches and Husb will hang some things on the fence later this afternoon.

The mornings are still so cold here and the rumor is among gardening enthusiasts that there will be a very hard frost the first or second of May.  So, no planting of any sorts is going to happen anytime soon. Both Sissy and I have learned this one the hard way.

Back east we were told not to Plant until after Mother's Day and I think that is going to be the golden rule this year in our section of Idaho.

It is almost eight o'clock and I will head out to the back shortly to start my two or three hours. My morning routines in the House are done.  Dinner is planned.  

HUsb is going to the shooting range today with our soon to be BIL and I will run some errands before heading up to Sissy's.

I am giving a shout out to Sam, and I know Her yard is going to be spectacular it just takes time and energy.  At least She does not have a ton of rock to move.  I wish we lived closer as I have so much hardscape that must be given away.

This project is all encompassing in our world at present and it seems we can't finish anything completely as so much has to be moved from one area to another.

The Elephant rules!

Have a great and productive day.

Hugs K

P.S.  So sad to lose our Pope, but he is in paradise.