November 30, 2013

     Good morning. I have been very busy the last couple days and have been unable to post. Wednesday cousin T was able to get here, thankfully, and I was able to make my apple pies and get the last bit of cooking and cleaning done. Thursday was Thanksgiving and the whole family was here except for two of my great nieces and one great nephew which were spending the day with their dad. We had a lot of food and a lot of good laughs. Even though this house is small and there are a lot of us I love when we all get together, it is so good to see and talk to my nieces and nephews that I don't get to see very often. They are all growing up and becoming such fine young ladies and men.
     I believe I have said it before that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is a holiday not based on receiving gifts but celebrating the gift of family, of being together, and being blessed with never having to walk this life alone. It is a holiday to reconnect after a long year and hopefully show each  of us that no matter where the year has taken us or where the year to come takes us love in this family is real and will remain for each and everyone of us. No mater how many miles may be between us we will always be together in our hearts.
     The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, my sister A and I have went shopping together for years. We both love the excitement and the savings. We get the sales papers on Thanksgiving and after we eat we sit around and plan out our shopping trip for the next day. Well we both agree that the stores opening their sales on Thanksgiving has ruined the black Friday experience, so we decided that we would not go this year and instead we would just go out to eat. We would usually shop early in the morning the eat breakfast before going home. Well we went to eat around 9am and I said we should at least stop at Kohl's and look around even though we would have missed all the good sales. After we ate we went to Kohl's and we found ourselves in a the middle of a great jewelry sale. We couldn't help ourselves and we bought several pieces. We both got Christmas gifts for a couple people and ourselves. We could not believe how good the prices were and that there was so much to choose from even with us showing up so late. I think we may have stumbled upon a new black Friday tradition.
     Well I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair
    

November 27, 2013

     Good morning. I have so much to do today. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the family comes here for dinner. We always say we eat at noon but we actually don't get all the food on the table till closer to one. We have a bunch of good cooks in this family. Everyone is in charge of something, my 17 year old niece makes the mashed potatoes my husband is in charge of baking the turkey, all of us make or bring something.
     Cousin T was unable to make it here this morning because the roads are slippery and she has bad tires on her car. I am hoping that she will be able to get here later. If she is able to come she can give Mom a bath and keep her occupied while I get some cooking and cleaning done. I was able to get a lot done yesterday. A special thanks to my husband who has done so much to help me get ready for Thanksgiving day. I don't know what I would do without him. Right now he is putting rolls in to the pans so they can start to raise, so I can have time to write this.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair

November 26, 2013

     Good morning. Wow I had a wild crazy lady on my hands last night. Yelling, running around the house naked, and throwing things. She finally fell asleep on the couch I covered her up and she slept till around four then she woke up and I was able to get her to lay in bed, dressed and she slept off and on till around ten this morning.
      I got a lot more cleaning done yesterday than I thought I would. But I still have a lot to do over the next two days. I hope I can get most of it done but I have decided that I am not really concerned if I don't get everything done that I want to. The basic areas are clean and that is all that matters.
     Well if I don't get off here and get started I will never get anything done today. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair

November 25, 2013

     Good morning. I woke up this morning with a small headache. I took some Ibuprofen and I hope it works soon. I have my cleaning list made and I need to get a lot done today. Only three more days left till Thanksgiving. I have not even set out any decorations yet. I am running so far behind this year.
     Mom is awake and already driving me crazy. Questions, questions, questions. Cousin T will be here to keep an eye on her on Wednesday, which is good because I will be cooking and baking all day. Hopefully she can keep her from being under foot while I am cooking.
     Oh a new thing that Mom is doing, she has done it twice now. She will sit on the floor and crawl or crab walk or just scoot around on her but. Not sure why she does it maybe she feels safer crawling than walking or maybe she thinks she is suppose to. My husband says maybe she is going through her second childhood.
     I need to get off here and get started with my to do list. Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

November 23, 2013

     Good morning. Didn't get much sleep last night. Mom woke up several times and now she is sleepy. Not much happened yesterday. My life is so boring but I guess it is better to have a boring life than one full of drama and trouble. Why is it some people seem to live under a cloud of drama? And when ever you go near them their drama cloud rains down on you. I try to avoid drama cloud people as much as possible.
     Not much on the agenda today. I will try to get some cleaning done. I am slowly getting this house ready for the upcoming holiday.
     Have a good day.

                                                     April Whitehair

November 22, 2013

     Good morning. Yesterday cousin T stayed with Mom, Mom was acting crabby and stubborn. I hope Mom treats cousin T nicer or I fear that she wont stay around for to long. Everyone sees nice sweet old lady when they are around Mom very few people see her acting mean and crabby. But cousin T said she would be back next week and I am thankful and hopeful that she will.
     My husband and I went out to eat at IHOP yesterday morning. My niece C had told me that the cinn-a-stack pancakes was very good and told me to try them. It is very difficult for me to get out of my comfort zone, regular pancakes and bacon, but I made myself try something different. The cinn-a-stack pancakes was very very good. But they were way to sweet and I could only eat half. I think they would be good as a shared plate at your table, something that everyone could eat a piece or two from but it is way to sweet to eat the whole thing for one person.
     After breakfast we went Christmas shopping. We actually got a few things and can mark a few things off our list. Plus I had my husband show me some things that he would like. He is so hard to shop for. Now I have ideas of what to get him and I will have to go back without him to get those things.
     I need to go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                       April Whitehair

November 21, 2013

      Good morning. Yesterday Mom had a visitor, her baby sister came and seen her. Mom may not have remembered her but I know she was glad to have company. It was also nice for me to have company also. Today cousin T comes and takes care of Mom. My husband and I are planning on going out together, that doesn't happen much. We are thinking IHOP and some Christmas shopping.
      I actually started cleaning yesterday. I may get this house clean before Thanksgiving after all.      
      Last night there was a bad accident here in our town. My thoughts and prayers go out to all their friends and family.
                                                 
                                                                 April Whitehair

November 20, 2013

     Good morning. I sure feel better now than I did just a couple days ago. Cousin T, the lady that is coming to help take care of Mom, was here yesterday. Her and Mom got along so well. Though Mom was very tired and napped most of the day. Cousin T also cleaned my stove top and the outside of the fridge and swept the living room floor. I didn't expect her to do all that but I am grateful. I had neglected the stove top for a long time, it sure is shiny now. While she was here I was able to leave and go to the store and I actually came home and took a nap. I so should have hired someone to help a long time ago. I seem to mentally feel a whole lot better and have more energy and desire to actually do something. She will be back again tomorrow and my husband and I are planning on going out and doing something, maybe getting some Christmas shopping done.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair
     

November 19, 2013

     Good morning. I sure didn't get any sleep last night. Tossed and turned all night and now I am so sleepy. The lady is here that will be here helping with Mom. We shall call her cousin T. So far she is doing an excellent job and Mom is responding well to her. Mom has already had a bath! I can tell already that I will feel better and less stressed with this help.
     I will get out of the house today not sure what I will do except I am going somewhere or I might just go take a nap. I love being able to do something anything and know that Mom is safe and taken care of.
     I need to go help cousin T and show her where things are around the house. Have a good day.

                                                April Whitehair

November 18, 2013

     Good morning. Well I must tell you I finally mentally broke. Friday night I started crying and couldn't stop. My wonderful husband made me go to bed and sleep and he took care of Mom. I woke up Saturday morning and started crying again and couldn't stop again. Two of my sisters came down and my sister M took Mom to her house for the day and night so I could have a break. I slept all day  and all night Saturday. We have found a relative that will come in a couple times a week and look after Mom so I can get a break. What do I think was my problem? I had been saying for a while that I am just tired but I do get sleep I don't think I am sleepy tired I am just over stressed and some what depressed. I think that most of my issues began when my husband was away for those six weeks training for work. Though my sister M came down every week to let me get out of the house I was here every minute except for those times. I just over extended myself and I have never been good at asking for help. To me asking for help is a sign of weakness showing everyone that I can't do everything all the time. Or at least showing myself that I am weaker than I want to be. My sisters think I need to go see a doctor and see about getting antidepressants. I am not completely sure that I need them but I will go talk to a doctor and leave it up to him/her. I think I am just over stressed and with the help of the lady we have coming in to help it should decrease my stress some so I wont be over stressed so then I wont need medication. But I can see where medication may help me deal with the stress better and more productively. Like I said I will go see a doctor and talk to them about my life and how I have been feeling and see what they suggest.
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                                   April Whitehair

November 15, 2013

     Good morning. Last night I went to the local college for one of the lectures. This lecture was a pictorial history of Salem. The lecture was very nice though a bit long. I loved seeing all the old pictures and hearing the history of our small town. I learned a lot and I think more people from this town should learn what happened in this town and how it shaped and transformed our current lives. I was surprised to see that not as many people came than what I thought would have. I guess most people are not that interested in history. The major turn of events in the history of Salem was an oil boom, wonder what we could learn from the past that may help us during this current oil boom....
      Though the lectures are nice to hear I think myself and my teenage niece C, that also goes to the lectures, really go because they also have a very nice dinner afterward. And by nice I mean cloth napkin and several forks kind of dinner. I for one was definitely out of my comfort zone. Though I try to be lady like I just can't pull it off. My cloth napkin on my lap kept falling on the floor and my area of the table cloth seemed to be the only one covered in crumbs and spilled food. But the food was excellent. I almost tackled the waitress who missed our table when offering cool whip topping for my nieces pumpkin pie. If my niece wanted cool whip she was getting cool whip!
     The fellowship with my cousins and niece was wonderful. Actually getting out of the house and being apart of conversations with people who could carry a conversation was wonderful. Talking about things other than Mom was great though I seem to be out of the loop in regards to the outside world. Also I found it difficult to keep up with three different people talking. I think I am out of practice socializing in reality.
     A special thanks my sister H and my husband for looking after Mom so I could go.      
     I need to go. Have a good day.

                                                                      April Whitehair

November 14, 2013

     Good morning. I did not sleep very much at all last night. Mom slept good but I had just got into a good sleep when she decided to wake up. Mom responds so much better to my husband than she does to me. But that may be because I don't respond a nicely as he does. I try to be nice and sweet but after the fifth time saying the same thing I get irritated.
     Tonight I get to get out of this house!!! I have been invited to go to the local college to hear a lecture and eat a nice dinner. They do these lectures a few times a year, I went a couple times last spring/summer. I always have a good time no matter what the lecture is about. My husband will be here with Mom and my sister H will be here hanging out with Mom also. I am so thankful for a great family who understands that I need to get away every now and then.
     I think I am most excited about going to the lecture because I will be around other adults that can have a normal conversation with, other than my husband. Don't get me wrong I love my husband and we talk all the time and I am grateful for our good relationship but I need other adult conversations also. I miss having girlfriends. Though I don't intend to get into the details I will say that I went through a difficult time a few years back and had to walk away from all my friends. Those that know me know what and why. But now I have been thinking of trying to reconnect with some of my lost girlfriends through social media, not in person. I just hope those that were real friends will understand and honestly those that don't understand weren't real friends anyway.
     I need to go get something done today. Have a good day.

                                                        April Whitehair

November 13, 2013

     Good morning. Mom is doing well, eating good and slept well last night. She is sitting at the table eating Cheerios right now. She keeps asking me if she is doing it right.
     Yesterday I cleaned and seasoned another one of my cast iron skillets. This one is quite small, not sure what I will cook in it but it is so cute. Only four more skillets to clean and season to go. I probably wont keep all of them, I wouldn't know what to do with all of them.
     I went to the Dollar Store last night, my husband stayed here with Mom so I could get out of the house. Boy, there is something wrong at the Dollar Store. Why are their lines so long? Only one register open, they are acting like Walmart. Make sure you plan being there an extra 30 minutes just to wait in line.
     Only two weeks till Thanksgiving, I have got to get this house cleaned up and ready for company. I usually deep clean the whole house before Thanksgiving then it is done and good for Christmas as well, except for the usual daily cleaning. But this year I am just not feeling it. I am so exhausted physically and mentally from taking care of Mom that it is hard to even do the regular upkeep let alone a full deep clean. Though I will hopefully make it look presentable just don't look in cabinets or behind doors or under beds, you might not like what you see.
     I need to go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                      April Whitehair 

November 12, 2013

     Good morning. I am very sleepy this morning. Mom was up off and on through out the night. My husband came home from work this morning and made breakfast. He is such a good husband. Now it appears that Mom is sleeping in, I must admit that I am a little jealous.
     So a couple months ago I had bought some cast iron skillets at a yard sale, I had put them away and did not do anything with them. Yesterday I decided to try to clean one of them up and season it. I must say I think I did a good job. I made cornbread in it last night for dinner and it was very good. I plan to clean a couple more of them and start using them also. 
     It snowed last night and it is still snowing right now. It looks very pretty outside, as long as you are inside a warm house looking out at it. I am hoping that I don't have to go outside for any reason today.
     My plan is to clean out the deep freezer and organize everything when I put it all back in. I never can find anything in there when I need it. The other day I was making meatloaf and when I was cutting up the onion to put in it I was thinking that most things only take about half an onion then I put the rest in the refrigerator then toss it in the garbage on garbage day. What a waste! Why don't I just cut the whole onion up use what I need and freeze the rest to use later? Even though they will be mushy when they are thawed they can be used in soups, meatloaf, fried potatoes, and etc.. There are only a couple things that require unfrozen onions that I can think of like hot dogs and topping for soup beans. So now with the chopped up onions and the chopped up bacon from the other day and the chopped up sweet banana peppers from the garden this summer and all the other usual stuff plus a giant turkey for Thanksgiving all shoved in the freezer it is getting to be a large mess.
     Well Mom is up and requiring my attention. Have a good day.

                                                   April Whitehair  

November 11, 2013

     Good morning. So this morning the electric went out. My husband had only been home from work for about a hour and I had only been awake for a few minutes. I thought ok a chance to see how my preps will work. Percolator found coffee made, sitting at kitchen table drinking coffee and listening to battery powered radio, these were my thoughts and concerns. Water, I definitely don't have enough potable water on hand. I have a little over a gallon, but my plan was to get fresh spring water from a source close to home. This plan was made in the summer when it was warmer and also before Mom needed such close attention paid to her. I would not have been able to leave her alone to walk and get water if I had needed to. Also when I planned for water usage it was before Mom needed extra water every morning for personal bathing. So I need to come up with a new plan for water. This is good I find out now where the areas are that need attention and correction before we have to be with out electricity for a long extended period. So back to when I was setting at the table, percolated coffee in hand and listening to the battery powered radio. I realized that I need a better radio than I have, I was using a small alarm clock type radio. I could only find two stations and one was K Love which is national and the other station may have been more local but I am not sure I didn't listen long enough to tell, I would rather listen to K Love anytime anyway. So another area on concern and needing correction is a good working radio and I also need to find out what station is local so I can tune in to it if needed. Ok yet again back to me sitting at the table drinking my percolated coffee I hear something, like a machine running in the distance. How could anything be running with the power out? Hum... Well I guess the next lesson I learned this morning was to check and see if the electric was really out or if just a fuse had blown. Yep the deep freezer was running. The fuse that ran the rest of the house had blown but not the one that works the laundry room. Live and learn. But I did learn a lot this morning. I guess that is why a lot of prepper sites urge you to shut off all your electric for a period to test yourself and your preps.  
     So the stomach bug that I had over the weekend is now gone. That was one nasty bug. My husband is such a great help with Mom. I couldn't ask for a more caring, loving, and understanding husband.
     I need to go get this day going. Have a good day.

                                                    April Whitehair

November 9, 2013

     Good morning. I got more seeds yesterday! I know I am crazy that I get excited over seeds. The seed club that I am in usually sends 4 packs a month but this month I got an email from the club owner that said that one of the seeds did not get to him in time so this month I would only get 3 packs and next month I will get 5 packs. Anyway I got Squash Burgess Buttercup, Brussels Sprouts Liberty, and Basil Cinnamon. I am excited about all those especially the Brussels Sprouts, we love those. I am not a big fan of Squash but the pack says this kind is good baked and served with butter and brown sugar. That sounds good. If I had a small counter top aquaponic system I would grow some of the Basil in it.
     My husband is home for good. It is wonderful have him here. I have been sick the last two day with a stomach bug and with him here I was able to actually take a nap. He is like a filter for my Mom when I am trying to nap, he filters out what she wants to wake me up for and only wakes me up when it is important. Unlike when I had a headache while he was gone and I tried to take a nap, she would wake me up to ask if I was sleeping or if I wasn't feeling well.
     Like I said I have been sick today will be three days. The only thing I can drink or eat successfully is coffee. I am starting to feel weak and yucky all over and I had a temperature last night. I so hope it will go away soon.
     I have lots of house work to catch up on today and I hope I feel well enough to get it done. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair

November 8, 2013

     Good morning. I was finally able to log on to Blogger. Sometimes websites just don't work no matter how many times you refresh. Oh well, I was able to get on today. Didn't miss much, my life is very boring.
     Yesterday my sister M came down so I could get out. I told my sister I only needed to get a few things but came home with the trunk completely full. But like I told her I can justify everything I bought. Plus I needed to get some things for Thanksgiving dinner, I would rather just go ahead and get it and know I have everything I need just in case something would happen and I can't get out again before Thanksgiving.
     So I seen somewhere where you take a pack of uncooked bacon and chop it up into small pieces, then put them in dry ice cube trays and freeze them. Then put the frozen bacon cubes in a Ziploc in the freezer to use anytime you want bacon in potatoes, beans, or anything you would want a little bacon in. Like it would be just the right amount of bacon to fry and put into an omelet, on homemade pizza, or to top a salad. Oh so many ideas. I will be totally be freezing some bacon today.
     My husband comes home today for good. He will be graduating and not have to go back out of town. I am so proud of him. They say the training that he went through was very hard and I am so proud that he made it and did so well. It will be so good to have him here everyday and he can help me with Mom. I wont be alone anymore.
     I need to get this house cleaned up before he gets here. Have a good day.

                                                                April Whitehair

November 6, 2013

     Good morning. Last night was a bad and frustrating night, I caught Mom trying to give her medicine to her little dog. Thankfully I was there to knock him away or he would probably be dead by now. She didn't just try it once she tried it twice even with me sitting right next to her and she did it in a way that he thought his mommy was giving him a treat. Some of her meds might not kill him but they probably would damage his kidneys or liver irreversibly. This scared me deeply.
      Today's goal it to get up into the attic and mount a thermometer so I can check the temperature up there this winter. I have seen that a long long time ago people would use their attic like a root cellar but it would have to stay in a certain temperature range. I plan on seeing how my attic does this winter to see if it would could possibly be used next winter.
     I have a lot to get done today. Have a good day
                
                                                 April Whitehair

November 5, 2013

     Good morning. Not much going on around here. Mom is up eating breakfast, crazy as ever. She slept well last night. I on the other hand woke up often for no reason.
     My wheat plants are growing but now I have to transplant them outside, I hope they do well over the winter and come back in the spring. I really don't know if they are winter or summer wheat, I am just going to roll the dice and hope they are actually winter wheat. We shall see in the spring.
      My birdhouse gourds are not going to make it. They did not have enough time to mature before they got frosted on. I will take that as a learning experience and plant them a lot earlier next year. I seem to have found a great place for them to grow and will plant them there again.
     I am already excited about gardening next spring. I have most planed out. This winter can't be over soon enough.
     I need to go get something done. Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair

November 4, 2013

     Good morning. My husband and I had a great weekend alone. My sister M took care of Mom at her house so we could have a much needed break. The weekend was way to short but we enjoyed every moment we spent alone together.
     We went to the Memorial Dinner for my Uncle who passed away last week. Though we were all together to morn the loss of a loved one it seemed to me that it was a celebration of his life instead. I must say I do prefer the gathering of family and friends at a potluck than a funeral. My Uncle did not want a funeral and I was glad that the family respected his wishes. Though there were tears there was also a lot of good memories shared.
     At Mom's doctor appointment last week the doctor prescribed her a sleeping pill. It does work and help her sleep but it also makes her more argumentative. My sister M and brother G said they didn't notice any difference except she slept better but my husband and I can see how crabby she has gotten. I am hoping that after her body gets use to it the crabbiness will go away. If not I don't think I will be able to handle her like this for very long.
     I need to go get this day started. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair

November 2, 2013

     Good morning. I sure did sleep in this morning. With Mom spending the weekend at my sister M's and brother G's I did not have anyone yelling at me to wake up. Yesterday evening my husband and I was able to go out alone together. Oh course we went out to eat. Not wanting to wait in a long line before getting a table we ended up at Garfield's and let me tell you we were very pleased. We both ate way to much and left very satisfied. After eating we went and stopped at Kroger's and picked up some things I needed to make the rolls and cheesecake for the Memorial for my Uncle tomorrow. We also got the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
     Today I will be baking rolls and making cheesecake after that is done I hope to be able to get up on the hill and cut some more trees. But with sleeping in so late this morning I don't know if I will have enough time to get all my plans done today. Especially if I don't get started soon.
      Have a good day.

                                                        April Whitehair

November 1, 2013

     Good morning. Wow we had a good/bad storm roll through here last night. The wind was so strong that it shook my bedroom so much that it woke me up. Out of some sort of instinct I ran and stood in the door way between the kitchen and living room. I heard a lot of crashing and things falling outside but it was to dark to see anything. This morning I must say that we are lucky compared to my neighbors. My aunt/neighbor had a large tree fall in her yard, if it was over a little it would have taken out her car port. My sister H/neighbor had a tree fall on her van and break her windshield. The only thing that happened here at this house is a cabinet on the front porch fell over. So I can say that we were very lucky.
     Yesterday I went out with my cousin, I had such a good time. We went to an old 5 and dime, there was so much stuff that I would have loved to have bought but I controlled myself and spent a little under thirty dollars. Then we went to a very large antique store, there was so much stuff there it was hard to see it all. I seen several things I would have liked to buy but I didn't want to splurge to much. I am hoping to be able to go back to both places some time in the future. I had a good time spending time with my cousin. It is so nice to talk to someone who can carry a conversation with you. And she is such a sweet person, she treated me to lunch. I hope to be able to get out and go other places with her again in the future.
     Thank you to my sister M for staying with Mom while I got out yesterday. I don't know what I would do without you. You are such a blessing. Also she and brother G will be picking up Mom today and taking her to their house to spend the weekend. I love having weekends to spend alone with my husband every now and then. I think the alone time is a much needed thing in a marriage.
     Today is going to be a busy day. My husband comes home from working out of town all week and Mom leaves this evening for her weekend away. I need to get this house cleaned and Mom packed and ready to go. Have a good day.

                                                          April Whitehair