Spring Cleaning & other March Happenings

Walking to work on the 1st day of 
March, the hoarfrost was beautiful
on the trees against the bluest of
blue sky background.

Hello there Adventurous Friends.  Greetings from South Dakota. To celebrate the arrival of spring, I washed my car & ate smores.  How you doing?  This month for me was supposed to be all about spring cleaning, doing a little specialized cleaning in the same room for at least a week.

My good intentions unfortunately didn't pan out.  I did do some cleaning, but it wasn't as thorough as I had intended. There are several reasons I can think of as to why I didn't follow through - mainly my cleaning mood fizzled out after several days, the dog needed petted, worked more hours on the job, had a flare up of sciatic leg pain, there was Heartland episodes on Netflix that needed watched & other darn good & not so good reasons, I could go on & on.

I did declutter my gloves while cleaning/organizing dresser drawers. There was one glove that was thin on the fingertips & had holes beyond repair, I threw it in the trash.

This is my March happenings, writing a little something about each day in a long drawn out sentence or 2.  Here are snippets of others around the globe that I've linked up with if you'd like to see what they've been up to.

* Mon 1st - Kevin helped me flip the mattress, washed the bed covers, went to Lions club meeting at restaurant & ate out for supper, discussed the Happy Day Award fundraiser & roadside cleanup.

* Tues 2nd - Got my spring hair cut & our month's supply of farm fresh eggs.

* Wed 3rd -  Boiled a dozen eggs, set the stove timer so I wouldn't forget about the eggs cooking.

What do you remember eating as a kid?
Moma used to make a chicken & biscuits
pot pie.  I liked this even back then.

* Thurs 4th - The weather was so nice out, saw robins in the yard & geese flying north, Kevin cooked us a pizza & we ate it out at the lake, did some walking & watched the sun set.

.

* Fri 5th - Leftover pizza with eggs for breakfast, cleaned out dresser drawers.

Week 10

* Sat 6th -  Temperatures reaching the 50s forecasted for the week, some were talking it was going to snow.

* Sun 7th - Took a 4wheeler ride, did some walking, a gorgeous day.

Taking a walk around the pond thru the tall grass &
across the prairie looking for antler sheds, heart
shaped rocks & crocus, didn't have any luck.

I asked "Rose, are you going to help me do
the housework this morning?  Her reply "No
thanks, I'm exhausted from chewing the
stuffing out of that new toy you got me".

* Mon 8th - Dirty clothes hamper lid wouldn't close, made extra trips up & down the stairs for exercise carrying sorted laundry to the washer.

Picked up trash on my walk to work,
there's always something that needs
picked up, it's like going on a treasure 
hunt looking for stuff to put in the 
garbage can.

* Tues 9th -  Messaged with Daughter about her baby shower & the youngest Grandgirl's birthday party plans, t-ball had started for the youngest Grandboy.

Working on April care package - Easter for the Grands,
Daughter's birthday (she's 29 (again) if anyone was wondering)
& a dog bone for Rose's mother.
  

Opening one of my gifts, I got
her an outfit, bloonies & snacks
to share with the family.

* Wed 10th - Made egg salad for lunches & deviled eggs for supper.

Happy Birthday to Grand, Jemma.

* Thurs 11th - Facetimed with Moma, she was babysitting the Grandgirls, she talked about visiting her brother & taking him supper while his wife was in the hospital.

* Fri 12th - Kevin brought in breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls & long johns, we ate those for lunch & supper along with some salad & fruit.

Week 11

* Sat 13th - Rose had her 1st close encounter with a porcupine, good thing it wasn't alive & she only got 2 quills stuck in her face.

Taking a rest looking at the view while out walking
 during a 4wheeler ride in the hills, found a couple
sheds & a heart shaped rock, no crocus yet.

* Sun 14th - Saw partridge, a badger & deer while 4wheeler riding & walking in the pines, cold while riding, hot while walking.

Kevin cooking hotdogs for our picnic lunch.

* Mon 15th - Didn't want to get up & couldn't get going, perhaps effects of the time change, thank goodness there wasn't any snow to have to shovel & lunches were already packed with leftovers. 

* Tues 16th - Drizzling rain & 28* F during 1st dog walk of the day, driveway was slippery, organized & cleaned out storage cabinets at work, lots of old paperwork to recycle & shred.

Who comes up with this stuff?  We use natural fertilizer
 on our garden. Hehe!

* Wed 17th - Ate green eggs & green pancakes at the fire department's St Patrick's Day pancake supper, good turnout to the fundraiser, there was trucks & equipment on display to show donations at work.

Noticed my Christmas cactus had 2 blooms.

* Thurs 18th - Participated in an online Color Street party, ordered a couple different colors of nail strips for myself to try & a couple to give Daughter as gifts, hope to win a mani.

* Fri 19th -  Took a walk out on the prairie, sniffed the fresh smelling air, the grass was crispy crunchy dry, talk around town has often been about how dry winter has been with getting very little snow accumulations, there are no potholes.

There's antelope down there, flushed up some grouse
& found a shed.

Ingredients for making Easter
smores in the microwave.



Resting tree, had to bundle up my
head, the wind was cold while
4wheeler riding.

Week 12

* Sat 20th - Visible green patches of grass seen all around in the yard, went to Lions bingo, won $4.75 & a chocolate Cadbury egg, helped with snacks & clean up.

* Sun 21st - Saw moss while walking in the buttes, started writing down my food & exercise to help see where I need to improve, starting with 1 sweet snack a day instead of 3 or 4 or more & no snacking after supper.

The air is dry, it's unusual to
see moss growing.

* Mon 22nd - Listened to KSLT Power 107.1 morning show for positive uplifting while making up the bed, washing the breakfast dishes & such, one of my favorite songs is Remember Who I Am by Jason Gray.

* Tues 23rd - Washed the shower curtain liner & couch blankets, cleaned out my bathroom drawers, excited to try some of Joanne's recipe idea's with the ham that's in the freezer.

* Wed 24th - Cleaned out Kevin's bathroom drawers, put away the snowman scene puzzle I wasn't working on, not been in much of a puzzle working mood, only worked 1 puzzle this winter, ready to move the patio/puzzle table back out on the deck.

* Thurs 25th -  Happy to find Gale's tomato soup recipe, Kevin likes to grow tomatoes, I like tomato soup, took the change bowl to the bank, $136 went in the fun money spending envelope.

* Fri 26th - Tried blueberry cheerios, a coworker of Kevin's gave him some to sample, thankful the house didn't catch on fire, a thermostat shorted out & had to be replaced.

Week 13

* Sat 27th - It's baseball season for the Grands, got rain or snow overnight, moisture of some kind, the pavement was wet, short staffed at work, worked a little in 3 offices, made a day of it.

Work has started on moving the bridge & road,
hadn't drove my car out of town in a couple months.

                                     

* Sun 28th - Took pictures of crocus, found them popping up all over the place, the South Dakota state flower, also called pasque flower, May Day flower, wind flower, Easter flower & meadow anemone.

While riding -
"Stop! There's a bunch of crocus"

While walking -
"Look! A crocus coming up beside that rock."

* Mon 29th - Changed the decorative pillows on the couch to spring/summer flowers & fish, windy, a semi blew over up the road, the drivers dog ran off & went missing.

* Tues 30th - Got the Lions club Happy Day Award fundraiser tickets to sale, another windy day, the school bus didn't run, a semi blew over down the road, a wildfire to the east in the next county, 8,000 acres burned.

* Wed 31st - Mailed money to Grand for his school's moon pie fundraiser, got the double-decker chocolate, he'll keep the pies for me till I visit in a couple months.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?  Do you do any spring cleaning?

Walking for Wellness - Week 1

Hello there Adventurous Friends, this is where I'm keeping my eating & walking notes, if you'd like to follow along or maybe not.   This is my attempt to help me be accountable to shed a few pounds & maintain a more happy & healthy mind & body.  At my last yearly check-up, cholesterol had once again climbed to the point that the Doc wanted to put me on meds to get that lowered.  I suggested, I would try eating healthier & loosing some weight to see if I could get that lowered naturally.  Also, I'm hoping a little weight lose will tame down my leg pain that is perhaps from the sciatic nerve having to carry around that extra weight that has formed on my center, since I'm being honest here.  This was my 1st week getting back on the wagon, so I focused on being mindful of eating a little less & getting in a fruit & green veggie everyday.  I'm starting out weighing in at 185ish with a goal in mind of 140.  I'll get the official weight when I go to my next yearly check up at the end of the year.

I have tender ears & have to keep
them covered up if it's the least
bit windy.

Here's my Plan:

• Eat smaller portions, take smaller bites, chew more 
  
• Eat varieties of all the foods I like & not deprive myself
• Eat at least 1 fruit & 1 green vegetable a day
• Stop eating when full
• Walk more
• 1 small sweet a day, if any
• Drink more water
• No snacks after supper

* Sun  

Breakfast - 1 egg instead of 2, ate salad instead of bread, ate a smaller piece of meat by cutting off some.

Lunch/Sweet - fewer crackers & less peanut butter, drank water instead of coke on picnic, 1/2 Cadbury chocolate egg shared with Kevin

Supper/Veggies - smaller portions of everything, okra & squash

Drink - 1 cup of coffee, water

Exercise - Took several walks in the buttes during 4wheeler riding

No snack after supper

There was a fire years ago then the wind broke out the tops of the trees.  It was like
walking in a maze where the animals had made trails.  The view at the end was amazing.

* Mon

Breakfast - put less peanut butter on pancakes, no syrup (syrup gives me a big time sugar crash)

Snack/Sweet- coworkers birthday, 4 crackers with meat & cheese, lemon bar, didn't go back for seconds

Lunch/Fruit- ate till full, didn't eat last couple of bites just to clean plate, berries

Supper/Veggies - ate smaller portions, salad 

Drink - 1 cup of coffee, water

Exercise - walked to work, walked lap around town

No snack after supper

* Tue

Breakfast - ate less cereal & milk

Snack - boiled egg slices on top of 4 crackers, salty & savory, protein instead of a sweet

Lunch/Fruit - ate less, pear half

Supper/Veggies - ate less, green beans 

Sweets - None

Drink - 1 cup of coffee, water

Exercise - walked to work, walked 1/4 lap around town, longer dog walk during lunch

No snack after supper

* Wed

Breakfast/Fruit - ate less cereal & milk, pear half

Snack - boiled egg slices on 4 crackers, protein instead of sweet

Lunch/Veggie - ate less, green beans

Supper - ate less

Drink - 1 cup of coffee, water

Sweets - none

Exercise - walked to work, walked to park, longer dog walk during lunch

No snack after supper

* Thurs

Breakfast - ate less, put 1/2 in container for snack, ate till full & didn't eat the last couple bites just to clean plate

Snack - other 1/2 of breakfast; fried egg, 1/2 biscuit & couple tablespoons of gravy, protein instead of sweet

Lunch/Veggie/Fruit - ate less, green beans, pear 1/2

Supper/Sweets- ate one slice of pizza instead of 2, can of coke instead of several refills from 2 litter bottle then having some later

Drink - one cup of coffee, water

Exercise - walked to work, dog walk during lunch, walked out at the lake

No snack after supper

Thursday pizza & walking out at the lake.  It was a little windy & cold. 
We had to wear our big coats.  Geese were honking, flying in & out of
 the water. Rose got 3 cactus stuck to her leg.

* Fri 

Breakfast/Fruit - ate less cereal & milk, pear 1/2

Snack - boiled egg slices on 4 crackers, protein instead of sweet

Lunch/Veggie - ate less, salad

Supper/Veggie - ate less, ate fish patty without bread, roasted cauliflower & broccoli

Drink - one cup of coffee, water

Exercise - walked to work, dog walk

No snack after supper

End of Week Notes:  pants not as tight around the waist, didn't feel bloated 

Cold & other February Happenings

Hello there Adventurous Friends.  How you doing?  Greetings from South Dakota, it's been cold here most the month.  February has been known to have some of the coldest temperatures in this area in our 5 year history with the place.  This February did not fail. 

Our area was on the outside edge of the territory that was to experience rolling black outs due to sending electricity into the power pool to be sent south, due to the unusual winter storms of snow & ice in Texas & surrounding areas.  Our electric company sent out notice that we too, could possibly be included in power outages for up to an hour each day at any given time to help provide electricity to the power pool.  Everyone was asked to conserve electricity.  We pitched in to help.

I'm trying to get into the groove of writing a little something about each of my days.  I got started a little late this month & didn't even do it the last 2 months.  I'm back at it & it's a good feeling along with the warmer temperatures forecasted for the 1st week of March.  

I'm going to break my month into weeks, writing one long drawn out sentence of each day.  My work-week starts on Saturday, so my brain has programed me that Saturday is the 1st day of the week.  My planner starts the week on Monday.  The traditional calendar hanging on the wall starts the week on Sunday.  What day does your week start on?  My work-year starts in October, not doing that.  Here are other's I've joined with that also share tidbits of their days, weeks & month; if you'd like to see what they've been up to.

 

* Tues 9th - Did some cleaning in the kitchen, wiped out inside of microwave & fridge, disposed of a chicken wing & almond milk, threw out 1/2 rotten apples into the garden for the deer, took the Keurig to work I bought to have a little tea, coffee, hot chocolate or cider on occasion.

Our scarecrow seems to welcome the deer instead
of scatting them off.

* Wed 10th - Amaryllis in bloom is a pleasant site when everything outside is brown & white, got the play-mobile doll house I ordered for the youngest Grand's summer visit, the little house looked so fun, ordered the school & school bus, made manwich for supper during lunch break.

I got it to bloom this 2nd year by following instructions
I read online.  Moma got me the bulb for 2019 Christmas.

* Thurs 11th- Kevin went into work early to clear sidewalks of snow, school delayed 2 hours due to more snow on east side of county, town sent out notice about a frozen water line, luckily it didn't affect us even though it was across the street, -9 high temperature forecasted; got groceries, gas for car & paid propane bill during lunch break, Rose has reached puberty & is in heat, thinking of putting a diaper on her for the discharges. 

* Fri 12th - Grands had their Valentine parties at school, remembered way back to my elementary school days, spending hours time choosing the perfect Valentine to give to each classmate, writing names to & from, walking around the classroom putting those mini cards into each one's decorated folder. 

         

Valentine box made of a character from
something they do in school.

           

Week 7

* Sat 13th - Got new Keurig going at work, spiced apple cider hit the spot, Rose & I rode with Kevin to take the garbage to the dump, rode out to the lake, got ice cream sandwiches, checked on vacant house of fellow Lions club member, heat was on & no other leaks found from frozen busted water pipes, started watching Young & Hungry on Netflix, cute show, had some laughs.

Sunny -4 temperature.

* Sun 14th - Up at 5 am & don't know why, off work for 2 days, perhaps anxious to get my no plans for 2 days started, -39 degrees, sipped coffee in the quite by the fire, ordered short sets for Grand's, Kevin went into work for a bit to check the heat & prepare cleaning supplies, sausage burgers for brunch, took a truck ride over in the buttes, got hot chocolate at the station on the way,  BBQ chips & coke for picnic snack lunch, cereal for supper.

Happy Valentines Day!  Kevin gave me a heart box of
 chocolates like he always does, though a few days early
this year for some reason.  I had the candy all ate up a
couple pieces at a time by Valentines day.

* Mon 15th - President's Day - George Washington's birthday & Celebrating all Presidents, a day off work for me, did a couple loads of laundry & hung on clothesline in basement to dry, read blogs, made to-do lists to prepare for Daughter & Grand's summer visits, vacuumed downstairs bedrooms & set up cots, UPS stopped by with some of the short sets I had ordered for the Grands, put totes under cots for clothes, went to Lions club meeting at restaurant & ate out for supper.

* Tues 16th - Seemed like Monday, folded clothes off clothesline, got results from Cologuard at-home colon cancer screening - negative,  made hamburger helper for supper during lunch break, started watching Good Girls on Netflix, mothers during the day, criminals at night type thing.

 Checked in with Big Brother  
down in Texas.

* Wed 17th - Did a part to save electricity to go into the power pool over what we already do to save on the electric bill, unplugged the answering machine, turned off the printer, made sure all chargers were unplugged, unplugged alarm clock, turned down electric & gas heat thermostats another degree, turned off breakers to cook stove (has a clock) & hot water heater, kept lights turned off unless absolutely needed, was going to make cube steak & gravy in crockpot for supper, instead had leftover hamburger helper with crackers.

Big Brother said they are not used to
10 degree weather, they have AC not heat.  

* Thurs 18th - Started working on taxes using Turbo Tax, get a discount if done in February, balanced check books, put leftover $$ in savings which was not much after getting clothes & toys for Grands, got groceries, Banquet pot pies were on sale, stocked up.  

Brought home this not on the shopping list
sale item from the grocery store. 

* Fri 19th - Tidied bathroom & restocked personal products, 1 active case of Covid, 1st birthday of the year coming up for Grands, this birthday sets the precedence, prepared priority large flat rate box for care package, made the cube steak & gravy had planned for supper the other day along with mashed tators & biscuits.

Glue wrapping paper to the inside 
side of the box.  Trim paper at folds.

Cut box apart at a fold, lay out flat.

Tape box back together at the fold,
form box, tape bottom & fill.  

Week 8

Saw grouse & deer on our Sunday
afternoon walk.

* Sat 20th - Happy to see warmer temperatures forecasted, good to walk to work the past 2 days, it helped my mood tremendously, goodbye stiff achy legs, went to Lions club bingo, helped with snacks, taking money, counting cards & cleanup.   

* Sun 21st - The 3 of us took a walk up to the pond behind the house, Kevin cooked chops on the grill for lunch, I fried tators, onions & peppers, watched Behind Her Eyes on Netflix, a twisted thriller, cut Kevin's hair, planned to go to the chili cook-off as taste testers, didn't want to get out, had soup & sandwiches for supper.

Meanwhile there are signs of 
spring in Moma's yard in NC.

* Mon 22nd - Vacuumed & tidied the house before work, got back to reading a morning devotion, it's been a while since I picked up the book I had started reading Reach Out Gather In, read how spouses show love with their actions not only with words, opps - didn't notice the schedule change at work that I was supposed to have gone in earlier to do the cleaning 1st thing.

* Tues 23rd - Skidded across the driveway due to black ice when took Rose out for her 1st potty walk of the day, Kevin's coworker's son flipped his truck, the young man was ok, tidied kitchen, poured out some oat milk, no other food waste this week, took trash out, facetimed with Moma, full day of work, pot pies for supper.

* Wed 24th - It snowed overnight & throughout the early morning, the moist beautiful stick on everything kind of snow, got about 2 inches worth, Kevin went into work a little early to remove snow, I got called into work early to shovel snow off the sidewalks, the sun came out & by the end of the day most the snow was gone, ordered Daughter Color Street Nails & a maternity top for her birthday.

My version of dish jenga.

* Thurs 25th - Read the newspaper - 4 wrestlers qualify for the state tournament, legalization of marijuana could provide economic boost for SD tribes, chamber elects new officers, sheriff's office is taking applications for a deputy & the school has a job opening for an assistant track coach.

* Fri 26th - Kevin showed me his love with his actions by bringing me a special snack at work & picking up a package too big for me to carry home walking, though I did ask him if he would do it, got the uniforms I ordered for work, uniform allowance is one of the perks of my job.

Week 9

Moma working on making a
diaper cake for Daughter's
baby shower.

* Sat 27th - Looks like March weather is coming in like a lamb with temperatures forecasted to reach 60s, facetimed with Grands, they were having dunkin donuts for breakfast, there was a green one each one was taking a bite of & said was yucky, seems Dunkin went green with their seasonal menu to celebrate spring's arrival with a matcha (green tea) flavored donut along with some other green themed flavors. 

Guess which egg the dinosaur
is in?  Not the orange one.

 
    

* Sun 28th -  Woke up to sunny blue skies & the ground covered with snow, income taxes done & accepted by the IRS, no estimated payments needed this year - Yeeepeeee, took a ride in the truck,  stopped by the dollar store; needed crackers, poultry seasoning & Easter goodies for the Grands, got a few other things too, goodbye long cold winter, goodbye cabin fever blues, hello longer days of warm green spring, I'm on the lookout for the crocus blooms.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?  Are you ready for spring like I am?

Walk with me

The temperature has warmed up good for taking a walk, though still too windy & cold to enjoy a Sunday afternoon ride in the side by side.  Rose & I took our longer Sunday morning walk out on the prairie through the backyard.  Later, I'm planning to help Kevin set up his leather working hobby area & cut his hair.  Supper plans are going to the chili cook-off & be taste testers.

Walking out into the prairie, we didn't
see the deer.

Still a little snow left on the backyard trail in
the shady spots.  My face got that cold numb
feeling walking into the wind.

Grouse flew up.  They eat these
olives/berries that are in the trees & on the ground.

Rose likes to take a rest on the bench at the firepit
as we walk by it.  I need a haircut too.

The community birdwatching bird feeder has been
up several weeks.  Lots of birds chirping & fly away
when we get near.

Wondering if the asparagus is coming up yet.  The stalks
from last year are still there. It's probably still
a smidge too cold.

"Whoever is in charge of feeding the dog needs to do it."
Ohhh....that would be me.

  Happy Sunday!