What's Going On?

 

Berkey finally got set up

Well, a lot has happened in the past week.

First of all, 6 of the ladies from both Joe and my Autumn trip decided they were fine going without me needing to walk WITH them, with a little support from my end. So I've kept their lodging and transport reservations. They have paid me their full fees in exchange, and everyone is excited to walk! This has been a great relief to me, both spiritually, physically, and financially, and I feel they are also relieved. If this works out, it may be the way I offer this trip in the future. There's really no need for me to go along. Generally, after the first day or two, people are confident enough to head out on their own, so we'll just see how it goes.

The house is coming along. Joe spent a few days here helping me this week. We got mom's room completely cleaned out, the carpet shampooed, and the bathroom cleaned. It's ready for Joe to move in. 

My Entryway

Dining Room

Clean Carpet in Den!

I can finally hang photos of my family

I love my living room!

Joe got the Berkey set up so we'll have nice filtered water. 

He also worked on a sprinkler that's been broken and apparently leaking for the past year or so. I had just noticed it before I left for Spain and had been wondering why my water/sewer bill was so high! I tried getting a sprinkler company here to look at it, but they are working almost a month out, so he's going to see if he can't fix it. He did a few other "honey-do" jobs around the house, including moving a giant mirror in my living room, taking down some of mom's decorations, and putting some of my stuff up for me.  

I had him up the motion sprinkler to discourage cats from catching the birds at my feeder. We caught one orange tabby... scared the poop out of him, and we laughed so hard at the video. Cameron said it was "mean but effective."  LOL!  I'd seen about 3 cats going through that flower bed. They must talk to each other because we've been watching, and so far, so good.

Today I moved all the furniture out of the den and shampooed the carpet. I'm also working on the kitchen, going through cupboards and getting rid of the things I'll never use. 

I'm hoping to have an estate sale when the weather calms down. 

I had a 1.5 hour massage yesterday. I sure did need it. I think one more next week is in store. 

I've been sleeping SO much better now that I've figured out my hours. I've been watching videos on Circadian Rhythm and what I've learned is that my body clock is set to the hours I kept most of my life. 

My grandparents, farmers, were my primary caretakers and it was quite common for us to go to bed at 8 pm and get up at 3 am.  So that's what I've been doing and guess what? I'm sleeping 7-8 hours each night! I feel stupid that it took me this long to figure it out. Waking up at 3 am every morning despite what time I went to bed was exhausting until I figure out I should just go to bed earlier. I don't mind these hours, either. It's so nice and quiet in the world at 3 am. I get a LOT done in the mornings!

My eyes have really been bothering me. I think I need cataract surgery. I made an appointment end of the month with an eye doctor here in town. I went to Costco last time and have had trouble with my glasses ever since, so no more Costco. I guess you get what you pay for.

I'm going to Portland next week for my grandson's high school graduation. Wasn't it just yesterday he was this size and wanted to be a policeman?

Hiathan will be headed to Annapolis soon after graduation and we are all SO very proud of him. He had a choice between West Point and Annapolis and he chose Navy. I'm not sure why yet - I'll be asking when I see him, but it probably had to do with longer term benefits. He's pretty darned smart!

I guess that's about it for now.  Loving my house and my garden, and enjoying life. Looking forward to sunshine, which in Oregon is anytime AFTER July 4, so I can do some camping.

Life is good!

Annie

New Beginnings

I've been home now 4 days.

The time change has been tough on me. Going to Spain is always easier for me than coming home. 

I'm taking time to recover ... from 2 years of caretaking mom, from breast cancer and surgery, from this last Camino, from the time change. I did a bit of online research and one thing mentioned was getting out into the sunshine as early as possible. So yesterday I worked outside in the garden from sunup to sundown. It was very healing. 

I pulled up parsnips and carrots that had been in the ground way too long. Like me, they were soft outside, but woody and tough inside. The carrots had been in the ground too long and had grown too fat and split.  I've put them aside for the worm farm I'll start up again this week. I pulled some of the leeks and onions that had gone to seed and made a big soup when I first got home. Yesterday I cut the bottoms of the rest of the onions off - I think I'll dehydrate them today. 

My asparagus plants have a full bed devoted to them. They are in their 3d year.  I expected them to be full and lush when I got home, but they were looking awfully spindly, so I got online and tried to figure out why. Thinking I was protecting them, I had planted a row of onions in the same bed. The first thing I read was DO NOT PLANT ONIONS WITH ASPARAGUS! Apparently, the onions steal nutrients from asparagus. So I yanked all of those onions out, staked up the feathery plants, planted four more crowns in the empty space, and topped off the bed with some good quality compost, all the time apologizing to them and promising to do better. I think they'll recover.

I cut back an invasive blackberry bush. I didn't cut it completely out because I love blackberries and would like to figure out a way to keep it. The tiny thornless blackberry out front is full and doing great, climbing the chain link fence between my neighbor and my yard. I made a deal with her that if I could plant two plants there, she could harvest all the berries on her side. My golden raspberries are full and loaded, as are my strawberries. It's going to be a fruitful berry year!

The bees are loving my chive blossoms!

My figs are struggling and I'm not sure why. They feel stunted. I need to do some research and figure out what to feed them.

I hilled up my potatoes. Before I left for Spain, I planted a full bed of Peruvian Purple Fingerlings. They are VERY happy, and that made ME happy. I also have a few Yukon Gold plants that seem to be doing well. 

Before I left for Spain, I tossed some wild ramps on a pile of dirt in the corner. Looks like some of them survived. Hopefully they will spread.

I yanked out my 8 foot kale plant. I had hoped to harvest seed, but after checking the garden, found 3 new kale plants growing, so decided that was enough. I brought those seeds home from Spain a few years ago. The plants are harvested by pulling off the bottom leaves, and they just keep growing up, up, up, much like sunflowers.

I planted a few Mammoth Sunflower plants again. Last year they grew higher than the house and the neighbor told me how much she enjoyed seeing them, so I put in a few along our shared fenceline.

I cleaned out the last of the Swiss Chard and planted 3 varieties of squash in that bed. I put in a Delicata - last year one plant gave me over 2 dozen beautiful delicata squash fruits and those have lasted all year in storage. I still have two to eat. I put in a black zucchini and a patty pan summer squash. That bed gets full sun all day so hopefully they'll do well again. 

The Dahlia bulbs I ordered were sprouting in their bags, so I planted two of those. The rest will go in pots today.   

I planted a few rows of lettuce and radishes.

I mowed the lawns after a rough time getting my lawn mower to run. It kept stalling and I knew it had to be something simple. After fooling with it for about half an hour I realized the problem was a safety feature and a simple matter of tightening the handle. 

When I finished working in the garden, I hosed down the patio and raised the blue umbrella. It will be a wonderful spot to have coffee and read in the mornings. I'm happy.

I stood back and admired it all. It was after 6 pm when I finished. I was pooped, but feeling good.

I love my garden! Being outdoors brings me such joy and yesterday was a wonderful day. 

 After a nice hot bath, I got to bed around 9:30 pm and woke up this morning at 4:30. It was the first full night's sleep I've had since getting home. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the house now.

I'm with coffee and my journals - just checked messages - I've canceled the Autumn trip and have offered to help a few of those pilgrims in exchange for their deposits. I can't afford to devote any more time to the trip without pay. I've already put in hundreds of hours. If they don't feel they want to pay a small fee for consulting, I'll return their deposits and move on. I'm waiting to hear back. 

Sunday, I pulled all of Mom's clothes out of her big walk-in closet. It was a HUGE job. Mom had some very nice clothes - she had expensive taste. Many pieces still had tags attached. After looking at it all, I decided I didn't want to sell her clothes in the yard sale. It didn't seem right. I also didn't want to just give it to a shelter because Mom's clothes weren't the type you could just toss in the washer and dryer. They needed care. We have a neighbor who wears the same size who Mom loved. So I called her and asked if she'd like to have the clothes and shoes. I told her, "keep what you want and sell or donate the rest." She was very happy! She and her daughter and friend came over after church and picked them all up. It was a huge relief for me to have found a home for all of those. In her old house, they had taken up four full closets!

I pulled the Berkey water filter out of my office and gave it a home in the kitchen where it belongs. Mom didn't want it in there so it's never been used - I'll have Joe set it up when he gets here, and we'll enjoy using it.

So here I sit now, in my newly decorated living room, getting ready for a new day and a new beginning. 

Today, after coffee and some journaling, I do a bit of stretching. Yoga or Callanetics. 

Then, I'll start cleaning and pushing things to the dining room and den, where Joe and I will stage for a big estate sale. Joe is coming tomorrow to help me. He is going to move into the house and share expenses for at least a year. He and I get along great and the house is big enough for each of us to have our own private space. The only room we'll share is the kitchen. It will be a big help to me.

I'm making the house my own and it feels right.

Life is good again.

Love,

Annie