New Year Resolutions Better Late Then Never

I’m a little late with my resolutions this year, although I have thought about what I wanted to do. I want to keep them do-able, but not so easily that I get bored.

I could make the usual resolutions again. Every year I vow to lose weight and rarely accomplish that. Or if I do lose some weight, I usually get it back with the first holiday, usually Valentine’s Day.  I tend to eat when I’m bored, lonely or lazy.

What do I want to pledge this year? I’m on Mounjaro injections weekly, and it has started to curb my appetite. I still think I’m hungry, but if I eat more than I should, I start to feel like I’ve swallowed a lump of coal. That works well to make me stop overeating. Now to stop eating before I get to that point!

Another resolution I would like to try is to get more exercise in my daily routine. We have a new gym business downtown in the former Blackwood’s Department store building. I haven’t been in to visit yet, but it sounds like a good idea.

I like to resolve to do good things each year too. To be less grumpy with Dennis when he’s grumpy with me. I know he’s grumpy because of pain and he feels guilty because he can’t do everything he wants to do outside. I need to be less reactive to his grumpiness by being that way myself.

I need to get our house back into shape, so we can not be embarrassed when someone comes to our door. Dennis has tools and other equipment all over our yard, and inside is the same way. And my art and crafts are everywhere inside. I’m thinking about having an auction of my art, just within the family. That way I can keep it in the family and yet clear space in our home. The art that doesn’t sell can be put on a general auction after we die. I have plenty of supplies in almost every medium that can be donated after I’m gone, or given to members of the family who like to do art.

My books! I’ve books on almost every subject. Maybe I should open a new library, The Barnes Memorial Library. Hey that sounds pretty good. I’ll have to think about that for a while longer. In the meantime, if anyone wants any books, I’m trying to downsize. I have a few I want to keep, but the others are available at any time (the ones I’ve read but don’t want to keep). They are all mine, picked up from shopping sites, bookstores, or from the Weedy Shelf at the local library. They may have some markings and labels on them, and some have plastic coverings for the book jackets, which are nice. I wish I had some of those jackets for the books I want to keep.

Another resolution I am making is to read my Bible through in one year. I’ve done this one before, and did complete it, although I admit I skipped through a lot of some of the boring parts, like all the laws and rules governing the early Israelites and Hebrews. And the begets. Confusing and boring. The only family tree I’m interested in is mine and Dennis’s.

So I guess my resolutions would have to be:

1.         1.           Reading my Bible and studying it in a year.

2.                            Continue working on getting into better shape through diet, medications, and exercise.

3.                            Be more positive in my reactions to others and less irritated by ordinary misfortunes.

4.                            Sort through my art and supplies, paintings and other collections and determine which can be donated, sold or given away to clear space in our home.

5.              Learn to enjoy life without spending a lot of time and money on electronic equipment.

               I think those are enough resolutions for this year. We'll see what my life looks like on December 31.

Back to normal?

I enjoyed sleeping in today. I finally got dressed at 10:30 a.m. and hoped I hadn't already missed seeing Maliyah off with her parents today. We almost missed her; we arrived at Becky's house the same time as Tim and Jessie. That was almost too close. They didn't stay long, maybe only 15 minutes or so, just long enough to load all of Maliyah's stuff into their car and say a quick goodbye to all who were there to see her off. Rusty was there for his daily "siesta" although he wasn't getting much napping done. He was holding little Tate, and they were enjoying watching kid's videos on Rusty's phone. Also there were Karsyn and Jacob, who were sick with a virus. There are a bunch of those going around right now. Abby was there too. They were all watching tv.

After Maliyah left, so did we. Returning home again with a feeling of relief and sadness that Maliyah was gone again, and we probably wouldn't see her again until at least summer, if not longer. She is our oldest great-granddaughter, and she's growing up so fast! But she seemed happier and much more mature than she did the last time she was here in Clyde.

I told her to keep drawing and sharing her work with me online. I think I'll start sharing my work with her too.

After I ate a quick lunch of hot dogs, yogurt and pudding, I logged in on my laptop and worked on cancelling some subscriptions I've been wasting money on, and a few I didn't really want to give up, but needed to cut back on frivolous spending. I really miss a few of my online games, but Jason and others have been hounding me to get them off my computer/phone. I guess in a way its good to purge my electronics, not just for the finances, but because I waste a lot of time on them instead of doing my art, writing and studying my Bible.

A blessing in disguise. You don't realize you are addicted until you lose them. And I'm missing them, so guess that tells me something about myself.

Anyway, Dennis and Jason are making a road trip right now to get haircuts and shop for whatever it is men like to shop for. He's still got money. I've been overdrawn for so long I've forgotten what it's like to shop.

My washing machine decided it needed to be cleaned and wouldn't run a cycle until I used an Affresh tablet. So that's running right now. Then I've got a couple of loads to do to catch up on my laundry. I did my dishwasher Affresh last week. Those tablets are pretty cool and really simple too. Just drop the tablet in and run a cycle. Your machine comes out looking all sparkly clean and smelling fresh. And that's my advertisement for the day! lol

Ok on to other writing projects. I want to get my novel off the shelf and start the finishing part. I only need to write the last chapter or two, then I can get into the editing and revising.. I hope I can get it published before I die of old age. ;)

Thompson's Together

What do you do when you want to get your family together for a late Christmas gathering, but everyone is tired of holiday cooking?  You have it catered, of course!

My side of the family, the Thompson's, gathered today at the Norway, Kansas former school gymnasium, which was built about 1960, while I was attending grade school there. My brother, Tom and his wife, Cindy were the host and hostess and organizers of the event, and I know it was a big job, so thank you both very much. They took care of texting, calling, ordering the caterer, setting up the tables, chairs, getting the thermostat set, and whatever else they had to do. Like I said, "BIG JOB!

The rest of us just showed up and enjoyed the day. Some had to come late, some got almost to Norway and had to turn around because one of the little ones started puking. So sorry about that! We missed you. A few were out of state, and some had to work today. And a few just didn't show up. Oh well, even with all of that, we still had a good turnout. Each sibling took care of their share of the building rental. The meals were reasonably priced and very tasty. 

The kids all enjoyed playing basketball and since the weather was so nice, some enjoyed playing outside. The adults spent the time visiting.

I texted the group and suggested we do this again. Perhaps we could vary the towns and each take a turn hosting, so no one was stuck with all the work and burden of it. I'm waiting to hear back. I don't really care how we do it, but I don't want to see our family lose contact.  Dennis' family has lost contact with each other, and I'm sorry to know that.

Til next time,

Feeling worn out, but happy to have seen my siblings minus one.

Politics

This morning, we were shocked to find that President Trump and his War Cabinet had made a military strike on Venezuela's President Madura and his wife for drug crimes. They arrested President Madura and are transporting him to the US for trial on many different charges. 

President Trump is well known for his "surprises" but I think this was the biggest surprise to date. Of course, the liberals are screaming foul, but they do that every time Trump trims his toenails. Some Republicans are not happy with his brash behaviors either. Many are complaining that Trump did not consult congress first. Come on, get real! What would have happened had he asked for permission or even announced his plans?  The leaky sieve we call Congress would have warned Madura, and the outcome would have been tragic for our military.

Another point of contention is President Trump's plans to "run Venezuela" until a better government can be placed. And some are no doubt crying foul because their corrupt practices may soon be revealed.

Whatever the case, I am praying for our military, for President Trump, and for all who are in danger from the drug cartels in the world. I pray for good judgment from our government in handling these threats, and a return to honest governing in all countries leading to worldwide peace. 

I pray for those who are addicted to narcotics of any kind, and that they might find the help they need to remove all cravings from their systems.

Won't you join me in these prayers? One prayer is heard, but many have a much bigger impact.

I hope you all are having a good year so far.

55 Years Together

Today marks our 55th wedding anniversary. We were married on this date in 1971 at the St. Mary's Catholic Church in Clifton, Kansas. The officiating priest was Fr. Roger Meitl and he baptized our first son in 1972. It started out a beautiful day, a little chilly outside, but the sun was shining and there wasn't much wind. I felt like God was approving of our marriage.

My maid of honor was my sister, Linda, and I also had two bridesmaids, Joyce Derousseau and Janice Bergquist. They were friends from my college days. 

Dennis had his brother, Jim Barnes as his best man, and his brother Mike Barnes and a cousin Randy Brown as groomsmen. After the traditional wedding mass, we had a few pictures taken and then a reception in the church basement. Following that, Dennis' parents hosted a small lunch at their house. We relaxed until early evening at the house and then Mike and his wife, Deb, asked us to go to the movies with them in Concordia. They had been married a few months prior to our wedding, and Deb was expecting her first baby.

The movie was not one of my favorites, Five Easy Pieces, but I survived it and afterward, we said goodbye to Mike and Deb and got a motel room there in Concordia. It was right on the corner of Hiway 9 and Hiway 81 and was called The Baron's Motel. It wasn't a dive, but it certainly wasn't the Hilton either.  At least it was clean and private. 

We had originally planned to travel to Salina for our wedding night, but after the movie, we were tired and didn't feel like driving that far, especially driving his dad's jeep. That was a completely different story.

Dennis had planned to drive his own car home from Great Lakes, Illinois where he was stationed in the USN Seabees. But he had let a buddy drive it before he was due to come home, and the "friend" had torn the clutch out of it. It was a 1969 Ford Mustang with a 429 Cobrajet engine and was so hot he had won trophies drag racing with it up in Wisconsin. Anyway, the car was in the shop, so Dennis flew home and his friend was to bring the car to Clifton to be in the wedding as best man. Confusing, huh? The friend got drunk and didn't show up with the car, so Dennis had to find a new best man, and different transportation.

Our life back then was very complicated.

Anyway, back to the wedding night. We woke up around 3 a.m. and were hungry and thirsty, so we decided to make a run to the nearest quick shop to get food supplies. We opened the door to the room and looked outside. There were snow drifts about a foot deep on the top of the jeep and everywhere, and that was in a sheltered area.  We made a mad dash to the quick shop and got our goodies and returned to the motel.

The next morning, there was even more snow. Drifts were taller than the jeep and the roads were nearly impassable.  We decided we'd better get back to Clifton as soon as possible with that jeep, because we knew it would be needed.  

We did stop a couple of times and helped pull people out of the ditches. It was a real mess and it was really cold! We had thought we would make it back in time for Sunday mass, but it was lunchtime by the time we got back. So we just relaxed at his parents' house.

I'll continue my story tomorrow.