Laverne

 

Laverne was born in 1987 and I acquired her on her 30th birthday.  Since that day I had been working on her for quite a while sprucing her up, making some repairs and improvements to get her ready for my retirement.  In the past two years she has sat patiently waiting for me to get back to it after working my way back from my heart attacks and hospitalization in April of 2021.  It took much longer than I was expecting and at one point I was seriously considering having to sell her when my recovery stalled.  I was left tired and much weaker than I've ever been in my life and had concerns that I couldn't handle a motorhome anymore.  I feared I didn't have the strength and fortitude to finish what I had started or even to drive her.  Fortunately, my girl knew better than I (me?) as she sat proudly in my driveway waiting my return.

 

In January of this year I did return.  In the frigid cold I unlocked her door and stepped inside just to say hello and she was very happy to see me.  All of my hopes and dreams from the beginning of owning Laverne and why I purchased her in the first place flooded back to me.  She told me, "Don't give up, you can do this.  You don't need to be scared."  In my defective heart I knew she was right.  I had been allowing fears and doubts to creep in and as a result my confidence in myself and my own abilities had plummeted.

 

I was so close to having her done.  Tires.  That was the last big thing I needed to do and then in the spring, summer and fall of 2021 I was planning to take her on some adventures to sort out anything else that I might need or want to do.  And finish her stripes.  I was two thirds of the way through that project with only the driver's side left to complete.  Sadly, that didn't happen, I couldn't do it.  My cardiologist at the time told me it wasn't possible and instead I did a road trip (should've flown) to Rochester, Minnesota and spent two week sat the Mayo Clinic in October of 2021.  It was a grueling trip and I knew on my way back home that I needed to make some major changes in my life.  I began to get myself ready and on April 1, 2022 (April Fool's Day - seemed appropriate) I retired.

 

Initially, I spent the first six weeks of retirement just trying to settle down and get rested.  It proved to be rather difficult as I just could not seem to settle in.  In fact, I still struggle with it.  Then my youngest child graduated high school and within a couple of months she moved out on her own, however she didn't exactly do it in the nicest possible way, while my oldest left to New York for graduate school, also not in the nicest possible way.  Let's just say sometimes our children don't always assert their adultness with kindness.  At the same time I lost my best friend to ovarian cancer.  It was a hell of a couple of weeks, let me tell you.  I was pretty much shattered.

 

In my usual fashion I harbored all of the blame for this new situation with my children.  I always harbor the blame whenever things go wrong.  With any situation I always assume I did something to cause it and then I try to fix it, not understanding why I can't seem to make it better.  I've always been this way.  But, at the same time all of this was happening I was actually a month in with a new therapist (thank you Mayo Clinic for this recommendation) to sort out a lot of what I'd already been through.  Well, let me tell you, in the past eight months I've learned a lot.  About myself and about my children, my family and even my friends and past coworkers.  I've finally learned to accept that other people's actions and decisions are theirs and not my responsibility and I've finally learned to stop taking the blame for everything that goes wrong in life.

 

Life has taken some interesting twists and turns of late.  Some I was expecting, but some have taken me by complete surprise.  I do know, beyond all doubt, I am a good person, a hard worker, kind and generous, a great mom and an awesome friend.  I possess a great deal of integrity and high ethical standards.  I know I have worked really hard and done everything I could throughout my life to create the best possible outcome, whatever the situation might be, and I did a solid job raising my children with love and all they ever needed, plus many, many options to fulfill their greatest desires.  I feel really good about that and I hold my head up high.

 

So what does all of this have to do with Laverne?  Everything.  You see, I was seriously contemplating that I might need to sell her and let someone else enjoy her.  I had been considering it for quite awhile by that time.  Over Christmas my BFF said he didn't think I should sell her, but I had some doubts that I could do it, the traveling that is.  But then something changed inside of me.  Because on a cold day in January I realized something.  The time has come to get back to why I bought her in the first place.  I have always had a dream to load up and do some long term travel in an RV and Lord willing, that is what I intend to do.  I am going to finish what I started and I'm going to get on with my life.  

Laverne and I have things to do, places to go and people to see.  It is time for me to have the life in retirement I had always planned for myself.  It is time that I not be controlled by fear or by other people's actions.  It is time to regain that confidence I used to have, once upon a time, and get on with it.  It is my turn now, it is my life and I'm moving forward.  I'm ready to make it happen.  I'm ready to hit the road!

 

How Much Do I Stockpile?

 

I am, and always have been, a firm believer in being as prepared as reasonably possible.  Having started out my adult life with minimal personal belongings and low wages while I raised my son and put myself through school I knew what it was like to have to go without something or to worry about having enough.  As soon as I was able I began to put away a little bit of this and that and create my first stockpile, which looking back was simply filling the cupboards with a decent amount of groceries and household items for everyday living.  So how much do I stockpile now?

 

My easy rule of thumb, depending on the item, is typically "one for now and two for later".  If it is something I use frequently I may stock more and if it is something I use very little I will stockpile less.

 

If I know I will eat four cans of green beans in one month I will stock four cans in my pantry and put eight in my long term food storage (LTFS).  I eat one can of pineapple a month so I stock one in the pantry and two in my LTFS.  Same with peaches, pears, fruit cocktail and mandarin oranges.  So I essentially have five cans of fruit in the pantry and ten stored away in my LTFS.  I eat more vegetables than I do fruit so I tend to stock a lot more vegetables.

 

I want to keep a one year supply of food on hand at all times in case of an emergency.  That is what I am personally the most comfortable with.  So many different things will constitute an emergency - weather, natural disaster, illness, a pandemic where people are losing their minds at the grocery store, job loss, lack of funds, break down in the food chain, unexpected expense, etc.  Whatever an emergency means to you and whatever makes you the most comfortable is what you should strive for.

 

For me it is and has been "one for now and two for later" per person residing in my home for quite awhile and it is a formula that has worked very well.  If I find I need more than that on some things and less of others I simply make those adjustments.  I'd love to hear what your thoughts are and what makes you feel comfortable.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 51

 

Good Morning!  I hope you all had an enjoyable week.  Ours was a bit on the gloomy side, wet, windy and rainy with a little snow thrown in for good measure.  The first day of spring was last week, but I couldn't really tell, LOL.  I do have some tulips popping up through the ground though.  I'm hopeful that sunshine and warmer weather isn't too far off.  I really, really, really need some warm weather.

 

It was so nice to get rid of all the winter sludge & debris
The very next day it was all covered in snow again

In spite of the weather I was able to get outside between storms and do some work on my latest project.  Stick around this week and I'll bet you will figure out what I've been working on.  I'm not going to lie though, sunshine and a little warmer temperatures outside would definitely make it more pleasant.  I wind burned my lips the other day, of all things, and that was definitely no fun.  They even swelled up a bit, gave Angeline Jolie a run for her money, I did. Ha!  I also got some leaves and yard debris cleaned up, not enough though, and cleaned my driveway.  It really needed it.

 

I made this little batch of pasta to use up some items in the fridge & pantry

Most of the week I was stuck inside so I did a few little projects around the house and guess what?  Yeah, I started decluttering again.  I couldn't help myself.  I think I might be addicted to it now!  Ha,ha, ha.

 

While I was working on stuff around the house I binge watched Daisy Jones & The Six on Amazon Prime.  Loved it!  I started a free trial of Prime, not sure if I will keep it.  I might.  The shipping times are so much better if you have Prime.  And I do like access to their music.  I still have three weeks to decide.

 

My massive grocery haul last week

It turned out to be a busier week than my usual.  I ran some errands, visited with some friends, went out to dinner with some friends, wrote a letter to a relative, did some work outside and in the garage as well as inside the house, knocked a few items off my "To Do" list, did my usual household chores, did some decluttering, sorting and organizing, took care of my animals, made some plans, worked on my BIG project a little bit and even checked the boxes on some goals I had set for myself.  It was a very productive week!

 

Let me know what has been keeping you busy lately and if you are experiencing cabin fever.  Are you as ready to get outside, breathe fresh air and soak up some sun as much as I am?

 

Starchy Carbohydrates

 

Recently, about four months ago, I began to add more carbohydrates into my diet.  Up to that point I'd been Keto for nearly four years.  Loved it. Loved how I felt and how it addressed some of my health issues, in particular my migraines, tinnitus and menopause.  The medication I am currently taking for my heart issues has seriously messed with my metabolism and one of the side effects, there are many, is weigh gain.

 

Slowly over the year I'd been taking the medication I've also been gaining weight.  I'd also been having trouble with leg cramps and my hair had become very thin.  I decided to change things up a bit and slowly began to introduce some carbohydrates back into my daily diet.  My starches of choice being potatoes, I'm an Idahoan afterall, so of course I have to have spuds, rice, some bread and on rare occasion pasta.

 

I will occasionally eat oatmeal

My daily meal routine is still primarily meat and vegetables.  I eat potatoes the most as my starch since that, to me, is a vegetable and a simple one at that.  It's a potato.  Next is rice because again, to me, it is a simple one in that it is just rice.

 

My starch portion is kept rather small compared to the rest of my meal

Bread gets more complicated because it includes more ingredients so to handle that right now I am making all of my own bread products from scratch.  That is pretty easy too, since I don't consume bread on a daily basis I can get by with baking bread about once a month or so.

 

A homemade dinner roll with a sausage stuffed portabello mushroom & broccoli

Pasta is the last one on my list and one I rarely consume, mainly because I don't make my own pasta and the back of the box shows a lengthy ingredients list.  I choose to eat pasta the least and when I do I try to eat mung bean or rice noodles as they often only have a few ingredients, however rice noodles are not my favorite and I really do prefer the regular white flour durham wheat pasta.  Who doesn't ?  All things in moderation, right?

Pasta like this ranks lowest on my list and I keep the portions relatively small

So what has happened in the last four months since I made this change?  No increase in migraines, which was my greatest concern, my hair is getting thicker, the tinnitus is worse, but I can manage it and my weight has not changed.  It is not going down, but it isn't going up anymore either.  I've apparently hit that plateau and I just have to get used to it.  My doctor told me I need to accept it as part of the deal.  At least I can take solace in the fact that the medication is doing what it is supposed to do.  And then buy bigger pants.

 

I just try to make the healthiest choices I can

I still try to keep my meals as healthy and nutritious as possible, limit sugars and sugar substitutes like what is in soda and junk food, consume mostly whole foods and stay as far away from weird ingredients and preservatives as possible.  I'm curious, what is your starch of choice?

 

30 Days To A Bigger Home

 

There is absolutely nothing in my house that any of my children will want after I pass away, save for my great grandmother's aluminum dutch oven and maybe my recipe books, so I'm confident that whatever is left at the time of my demise will end up at thrift store.  No need to hang onto any extras so I've been diligently going through my home, space by space, and getting rid of everything I no longer need, want or use.  It is quite a job, but it is also extremely liberating.  At the end of the day I feel really good about the things I've decided to let go of.

 

Our stuff can be good and helpful impacting our lives in positive ways.  However, when we have too much, it can weigh us down to the point of causing stress, anxiety and depression.  When we have too much stuff the walls of our homes start to close in on us.  We waste countless hours moving, cleaning, maintaining, storing and navigating around hundreds of items we no longer need or use, or even care about.  Now is the time to let it all go.

 

I know it can be overwhelming to even know where to start.  Here is a list to help you get the ball rolling:

 

Day 1 - Make Up & Toiletries

Day 2 - Books & Magazines

Day 3 - Water Bottles & Coffee Mugs

Day 4 - Purses, Belts & Scarves

Day 5 - Food Storage Containers

Day 6 - Art & Craft Supplies

Day 7 - Cooking Utensils

Day 8 - Old Electronics - Cell Phones, Laptops, Cameras, TVs & DVD/VHS Players, PCs, Monitors, Etc.

Day 9 - Games & Puzzles

Day 10 - DVDs & CDs

Day 11 - Cleaning & Laundry Supplies

Day 12 - Towels, Washcloths, Dish Towels, Dish Cloths, Potholders, Cleaning Rags & Scrubbers

Day 13 - Socks & Shoes

Day 14 - Throw Blankets & Pillows

Day 15 - Broken Toys

Day 16 - Candles, Candle Holders & Essential Oils

Day 17 - Blankets, Sheets & Pillowcases

Day 18 - Pots & Pans, Bakeware

Day 19 - Rugs, Doormats, Bathmats

Day 20 - Broken & Worn Out Furniture

Day 21 - Art, Wall Hangings, Posters, Picture Frames

Day 22 - Coats, Jackets & Backpacks

Day 23 - Office & School Supplies

Day 24 - Mail & Junk Mail, Piles Of Papers, Owner's Manuals & Instruction Booklets

Day 25 - Stuffed Animals, Age Inappropriate (Too Young or Hazardous) Toys

Day 26 - Jewelry & Accessories

Day 27 - Nail Polish & Manicure Supplies

Day 28 - Placemats, Cloth Napkins, Table Runners & Tablecloths

Day 29 - Food & Condiments

Day 30 - Clothing, Pajamas & Underwear

 

To begin with you can start with trash.  Anything that is old and worn out, broken, stained, has a hole in it, is expired, is dangerous, or you absolutely do not like it, it can go.  Like peeling a layer off of an onion you can get through the stuff in your house.  Take it one step at a time and soon you will see a change.  And you will start to feel really good about it too.

 

Decluttering our homes and our lives is a constant process.  Once you've completed the list start over.  You will be amazed at how much stuff you will end up getting rid of, but also, it will be easier the second time around.  And the third and the fourth and so on.  As time goes on we get better at this with each pass through.  Remember too, any progress is still progress so don't get discouraged if you don't think you did a good enough job.  There is always tomorrow and we get to start again.

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 50

 

Hello lovelies!  How is everyone this fine day?  I'm feeling pretty good.  Rather accomplished, I might say.  I've managed to tick quite a few things off of my "to-do" list lately and that always makes me feel on top of the world.  Like I really have a handle on things.

 

I shopped my freezer and fridge to make my meal plan
Then I did some meal prepping and used up a bunch of odds & ends too

Last week I finished up a pretty big project to break down and consolidate all of the CDs and DVDs I had decided to keep after decluttering by removing them from all of the plastic cases they originally came in.  It was a monumental decision for me and turned out to be a much bigger project than I initially thought it would be, primarily because I had to wait for my organizing supplies to arrive.  I bought some of those zippered cases with the sleeves inside to hold CDs and DVDs in and I ended up needing to place two orders before all was said and done because as it turned out I had more stuff than I thought.  Amazon's shipping has been less than stellar of late so it took a fair bit of time for them to get here.

 

That is some serious consolidating of my CDs & DVDs

Once I was done I ended up hauling out two black trash bags full of packaging to my big wheelie bin.  That was a lot!  And it was heavy too, much more so than expected.  I am super happy with the final results and to have this done so I can work more on another BIG project I have going.  I just need the weather to be a little more cooperative.  Anyone else still getting snow?  At least it all melted off but we've also had quite a bit of rain.

 

Some of the empties from things I used up and are no longer in my home
What have you been using up lately?

Progress was also made with my goal this year to use things up that have worn out their welcome.  Little dabs of stuff left in containers as well as items I simply have too many of.  In the past few weeks I've been able to empty quite a few things and send the emptied containers to recycling.  I seem to have accumulated a plethora of hand soap dispensers and I'm pleased to have eliminated a few of those lately.

 

Three new shirts for $12

I ran to the grocery store for some more fresh produce and milk.  A tiny little haul to supplement what I already have on hand as I continue with my pantry challenge and only my second shopping trip for groceries so far this month.  On the way I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and picked up three new T-shirts.  I really like the Gildan brand and they were on sale.  I only needed two to replace a couple I had purged because they had stains and were pretty worn out after all the projects I've been working on this past year, but it was less expensive to buy three shirts on sale for 3 for $12 than to buy two at $6.99 each.  An extra one isn't a bad idea.  I replaced a blue shirt, a gray shirt and added the fuschia one because I like that color.

 

My little grocery haul

For meals I prepped I pulled out ground beef, frozen veggies and the sausages I had in the refrigerator.  I spent a little more than half an hour to prepare five stuffed bell peppers with the ground beef and a tray bake with some of bell pepper, chopped onion, a couple of potatoes I cubed, a couple carrots I sliced and frozen green beans.  I sliced up the four smoked sausages and tossed it all with olive oil and some seasoning.  I baked it all together in the oven along with a strawberry rhubarb crisp to used up the frozen fruit I had in the freeze from last May and a little bit of oatmeal I had in the pantry to use up.

 

Several meals ready to go

I was able to efficiently use up frozen veggies, frozen rhubarb and frozen sliced strawberries as well as the marked down peppers I had purchased at the beginning of the month.  By the time I was done baking these dishes I had eight healthy meals prepared.  I had quite a few things I was working on around the house so it was perfect.  All I had to do was heat it and eat it.  They were pretty tasty too.

 

Plus a dessert!  Strawberry rhubarb crisp

Well, that is all I have to report.  How was your week?  Anything exciting happen?

 

Investment Cooking - Refried Beans

 

If you enjoy refried beans I heartily recommend making your own as opposed to purchasing the canned varieties at the grocery store.  For one thing, I've noticed the prices on canned refried beans have skyrocketed, which is crazy to me.  They're beans for pete's sake.  I like to use a combination of half black beans and half pinto beans, I make them in my slow cooker, either overnight or allowing them to cook all day until they are super soft. What your are left with is soft beans and a nice bean broth that is perfect for making refried beans.

 

Several years ago I wrote a post on the technique I use to make my version of refried beans.  I will link that here.  I love that I can make up a batch, portion it out into freezer containers and they freeze really well.  I always have them at the ready for taco night and making burritos.  The best part is I can make them for mere pennies plus I know what is in them because I put it there.  Try it once and see what you think.  I bet you won't go back to buying canned refried beans at the grocery store.

Decluttering Technology

 

As you all know I've been on a decluttering journey since the first of December in an effort to live with less stuff in my everyday life.  That also includes computers, audio equipment, visual equipment and all of the crap that goes along with that and it is quite a bit when you take a really good look at it.  We are talking about computers, laptops, tablets, kindles, telephones, cellphones, routers, televisions, stereos, players of all kinds like MP3, DVD, Playstations, you get it, right? It is A LOT!  And all of this stuff comes with even more stuff.  There are monitors, keyboards and mouses (mice?), speakers, game cartridges, CDs, DVDs, apps, files, digital photos, the cases that stuff comes in, screen protectors, special cleaners and cloths, cameras, ear buds and earphones, loads of accessories and let's not forget the miles upon miles of cords, cables and adapters.

 

I'm going to be completely honest with you.  I was so overwhelmed by this particular category that it took me until the middle of February before I could start to get a handle on it.  It was SO MUCH!  Just putting all of my DVDs, which I don't think I have a lot of, into one "space" filled up three copy paper boxes.  My CDs filled up a banker box.  And that is where I stopped and realized I was about to drown in all of this technology I had amassed inside of my home over the years.  I had barely touched the surface and feeling completely overwhelmed by it all so I took a giant step back and approached it from an entirely different direction.

 

Instead of going through everything and getting rid of stuff I decided to first, get real with myself, and then second, pick out only the items I truly need, want and use.  What do I need to happily exist in my life?  After a good reality check I realize all I need is one laptop or computer setup, one cell phone (although I don't love them I do acknowledge their value), one television, one music player of some sort, my favorite DVDs and CDs.  Whatever was left over needed to go.

 

Currently I have two laptops, one is really old and is about to give it up, but I plan to run the wheels off it anyway.  My other one is newer and a workhorse so I will keep it for now, purge it and start transferring any files I may want to keep.  I recently purged A LOT of files from my current laptop and backed up the rest onto a jump drive so I'll be ready to start this little project quite soon.  The old dilapidated laptop along with my very old PC sitting in the garage will be going to the recycler in about a month or so.  This will be a project of its own.

 

Along with all of the actual equipment is the intangible clutter that goes with it.  In the past year or so I have been diligently unsubscribing to automatic emails and deleting read emails, older saved emails, apps, and pretty much anything else on my computer and cell phone that isn't needed and doesn't add to my life.  In the process I've been much more selective about the media I read and pay attention too, especially when it comes to the news.  Often when I see a headline I will ask myself if reading that article will be a benefit to my life.  Most of the time I determine it won't.  With so much negativity and the horrible events going on in this world every day I have to be careful about how much of that I absorb because it will really bring me down if I let it in.

 

From this...

Then there was the box of CDs and three boxes of DVDs I had after "decluttering".  I'm one of those who has hung onto the cases these things come in because I just thought that is what I needed to do.  Well, time for another reality check and this, for some reason, was a tough one for me.  I ordered some zippered organizer cases with those plastic sleeves inside and made the monumental decision to pull all of the CDs and CDs out of their original packaging and get rid of them.  Yes I did!  And I'm really proud of myself for doing it.  The only exception will be my Queen collection.  Those CDs and DVDs (music videos & concerts) will be staying in their original packaging, simply because this is what I want.  Now I am able to store everything together in one bankers box with room to spare.  I filled up two, yes two, big black trash bags with all of those cases and they were amazingly quite heavy too.  Along the way I also found some CDs and DVDs to donate.

 

... to this!

This was a HUGE project that I worked on for about two weeks, start to finish.  It was quite the process.  Now that I'm done I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted and I can actually breathe better.  Once again, I find myself amazed at how things can weigh a person down and stress us out without even realizing it is doing that.  It is both a physical and mental burden to keep things that don't serve a useful purpose in our everyday lives.  I'm really glad I stuck with it and persevered.  Technology can take over our lives and our homes if we aren't careful.  I'm not going to let that happen.