Monday day 7 of social distancing

Today I need to mail some letters and a package.  It’s a small package so I can print the postage here and just place it into the mailbox and not have to go to the post office.  I also have two checks I need to cash, I’m supposing that’s okay since the bank is drive through only anyway.

I wonder if I dare stop at the feed store to pick up soil so I can get some plants goin?

I’ve been looking for my journal that obviously I haven’t been writing in.  I thought it would be good to track my thoughts during this time in our county.  Since I can’t find it since the move I’ll use this blog as my journal so at least I’ll have something written down.

Yesterday Jeff popped two big bowls of popcorn.  I made one into Carmel corn for a sweet treat and the other just salted.  Before all this we had kind of gotten used to eating some candy bar in the evening. Now that we don’t go shopping we are doing alternative things.  It’s a good thing really and certainly much cheaper.

I have tried to place an online grocery pick up order for well over a week to no avail.  Fortunately we get eggs from a friend who has chickens so we should be okay there.

After online church yesterday and lunch and naps I made new kitchen curtains to match the new cloth napkins I had made a few days ago.  They look nice with my spring oil cloth i put on the table.  For fall and winter I have a black and white checked cloth and checked napkins and curtains.  The rest of the year I have a teal, green and yellow plaid cloth. The napkins and curtains are yellow.  I chose that color because that’s what I had in my fabric stash.  It’s a nice heavy duty fabric that almost feels like linen.  It brightens the place up for sure..

I also made more flannel hankies and I think I may make a few more today.  I just use two pieces of flannel about 9 inches square and surge around the edges.  I fold and stack them when they are clean and after I use them I put them in a net laundry bag so that they are easy to care for.  When the girls were small I made them hankies and I made some for the neighbor kids too.

We live not too far from the Hiway and I’ve noticed there is a lot less traffic then there used to be. I guess that means people are staying home.

I hope this virus isn’t as bad as they fear.  I do wish it would close the abortion clinics though.  So many lives would be saved if it did close them down.

Posting from my phone

Yesterday’s post was done on my iPad. With technology growing I thought I’d try posting from my phone. So far I haven’t figured out how to add pictures from the iPad so I want to see if I’m able to with the phone.

Well look at that. It looks like I can add from my phone pictures. That’s cool. This is a sample of the little purses my mom and I are crocheting for the operation Christmas child boxes. We will put a little something inside like a necklace, hair scrunchie or something like that. 

Well I’m glad to know I can post from my phone. Maybe that will help me post more often. 

That’s all for now. I’m going to try posting this and if it works I may be back later to write again. I’ve decided to use this platform more as a diary than an informational blog, at least for now. 

Later💕

Strange new world

It's a strange new world we are living in these past several days.  People are hoarding toilet paper and emptying store shelves. It makes no sense. And the battle cry is wash your hands you filthy pig.  Haven’t we always been washing our hands?  I guess not.

We’ve moved to my moms farm and I’m glad we are here.  Not only is there wide open spaces so staying away from others is easy, but we get to see my mother every day, several times a day usually. She comes over for lunch every day.  Then we have bible study and I read aloud from a book of choice.  We are on our sixth book I believe since we started this.  We are also studying about hymns.  Who wrote them and such. It’s quite interesting.  The book we are reading right now is about Theodore Roosevelt.

We hadn’t planned to have a garden this year.  We thought we would be traveling and camping.  Right now that doesn’t look promising so I’ve been planning the garden.  We decided not to plant potatoes this year because we don’t eat them very often, although I love them, because they are high in carbs.  I’m going to try growing tomatoes from seed.  I’ve never tried that before.  I’ve always purchased seedlings.  I’d like to also make another small hoop house like we had in Oklahoma.

We are getting along real good.  Jeff retired and so life is pretty slow.  Hannah called today and wanted to know how we were doing, then she laughed and said, probably not much has changed for us with the social distancing.  I said no it really hasn’t except we can’t order groceries from Walmart anymore, the orders won’t go through.

The girls are all doing well and other than being bored they are handling the situation very well.  They say they had good parents who taught them to survive.  Made me feel pretty good.

I’ll close for now and try to write more often.
Debbie

Long time no post

I didn't realize it has been over a year since my last post.  I'm very sorry about that.  I will try to update about what has happened since then.

My husband is much better.  He is able to walk and do a bit of work.  He was on disability for a year and then they just cut him off without any communication.  He is currently only working once in a while and waiting until he can draw social security.  It will have been a year with no income.

We are selling our house and moving to be closer to my mother.  That should be accomplished within the next couple of months.

I don't have time to post anything else.  My helper is here so I need to get to work.  I will try to not wait so long next time.

I hope all of you are doing great.  Take care.

Life changes

This is only May but already our lives have changed so much.  Jeff had the automobile wreck on the 25th of January which was the biggest change in our life.  We are thankful that he is now mobile and can walk with a cane.  He is even able to do a little outside work for a short period each day.  It pretty much wrecks him for the rest of the day but as opposed to being bed ridden we are genuinely thankful.  He did get put on long term disability so that means our income has been drastically cut.  Its something we have to learn to live with.  His retirement was only two years away so we had been planning for that somewhat.

The other big change is that Hannah is formally moving out and will have a different address for the first time.  Its been unusual for me because I have had a child at home for the last 39 years almost 40.  Good grief.  That's a long time.  That's two thirds of my life.  I was either a child growing up or briefly a young married woman for the first third of my life.  When I put it like that it seems incredible.  I wish Hannah great success and I know she will do fine just like the other four daughters are doing.  I raised them well if I do say so myself.

We suddenly realized the other day that we don't have to stay home all the time and that we can actually travel as much as Jeff's health allow.  That was a stunner.  We are so used to me doing the majority of the traveling and Jeff working that it was a surprise to realize we can both go places.  Now we just have to do it.  

Another change for me is I've learned to set my alarm if I am watering or need to go somewhere at a certain time.  I even set my alarm so I remember to read the Bible with Jeff each evening.  That's terrible that I would forget that.  But I guess a person learn to compensate.

I have been enjoying selling Tupperware and I love their products.  I have found out being a Tupperware Lady that pretty much everything goes on sale at some point.  And they do have real good sales.  If you would like to shop on my website just go to :  DebbieKOlson.my.tupperware.com or click on the link to the right of the screen.  It will take you right to my webpage.

I hope each of you has a great day and week and that God puts his hand on you and keeps you safe and healthy.

Hubby update

We appreciate everyone’s prayers. He has improved after the operation and then spinal pain shots, but he has to use a cane.  He doesn’t have as much pain, thank God.  But he has weakness and numbness.  We don’t know if that will come back so he is walking as much as he can stand. 
It’s amazing how one moment in time can change your life.
Thank you so much for praying for him and thinking about him.

I’m a Tupperware lady now

I’ve joined the Tupperware team.  I’m so excited.  I love Tupperware.  My website is:

DebbieKOlson.my.tupperware.com

I have held Facebook parties with customers 14 hours away from me and have one booked for my daughter who lives about 24 hours away from me.  I think that is so cool.  It’s also very nice to be able to see and touch the products at a home party.

If you book a party for April you get this refrigerator bowl with hang on spoon free.

The Thatsa Epic set is so nice.  I bought a set for myself.  It’s buy one set get one free so you can get with a friend and order a set each for just $75.50 each.  Be sure to look on the picture to see when the sale ends.  The color is Parrot and is beautiful.  Sales items must be ordered through me and not the web site.  You can email me at bootstrapdko@yahoo.com. Be sure to put Tupperware in the memo so I don’t think its spam.

Other sales going on right now are:









These lunch sets are so adorable and make great gifts.

Be sure to visit my website at: DebbieKOlson.my.tupperware.com

Im asking for prayer for my husband

Thursday, my husband had a wreck on his way to work.  He has had a cough for a few weeks and went to the doctor and it still hasn't gone away.  He was coughing and coming up to a T in the road and missed the stop sign.  He slammed on the brakes and held the steering wheel so tight that as he slammed into the ditch it bent the steering wheel and he stomped on the brakes so hard the light wouldn't go off once this was over.  Anyway, in the course of this slamming and banging through the ditch he managed to receive a compound fracture of  his L5 vertebrae.  This is an unusual vertebrae to break apparently.  Anyway, he went to the emergency room where they discovered the extent of his injury.  The next day we went to a spinal surgeon who will be doing a kyphoplasty surgery this coming Wednesday. He is in tremendous pain and can barely walk.  A friend loaned us a real nice walker without which I don't know how we would of made it to the doctors office.  Thank God for pain pills as he is in so much pain when they begin to wear off that it makes him cry.  Its very hard to see a big strong man cry from pain.

ky·pho·plas·ty

ˈkīfōˌplastē/

noun

1. the surgical filling of an injured or collapsed vertebra. This procedure restores original shape and configuration and relieves pain from spinal compression.

The procedure is very interesting and is supposed to relieve pain almost immediately.  He should be able to walk with out pain right away.  The healing time will be from the incisions which may be a little larger due to the fact that he is a large man.  We asked if there was a chance of the body rejecting the stuff they inject and were told that it will make that bone the strongest one in his body and he would not reject the composite stuff they inject.  That is good news.

When something like this happens it really makes you thankful for good health and a body that works.  

Missionary update

Bush Beat BlogF FROM "BUSH BUNNY BRENDA" DATE:  JANUARY 20, 2018 7 DAYS OF RAIN DOES NOT A HOPPY BUNNY MAKE Upon my return last Friday it was raining. By the time the sun appeared TODAY, 9+ inches of heavy rains had fallen in Balama in the last 7 days. Needless to say only essential work was done this week, and even that had to be done when the rains decreased to a light drizzle.   TODAY, the sun dawned bright for the first time since my return, and I am a VERY HOPPY BUNNY! Using the days drizzling rain to water their newly made bricks PASTOR JOAQUIM OVERSEES REBUILDING OF HIS RAIN DEMOLISHED HOME Being too muddy to even make bricks (our normal rainy season project), our team of brick layers made short work of getting the destroyed home’s “Pao-Peeky” (pow-peeky) walls built  in a matter of 2 days  (see photo).  The roofing has been delayed since Wednesday due to the cyclone-induced rains. Pastor Joaquim, gray shirt, directs builders of his new home Roof construction should begin this Monday if the weather man is correct for it is “supposed” to be dry until Thursday.  Only God knows, for the weather is very unpredictable.  But the Bush Bunny Construction Team arrives every morning, rain or not, ready for action. Morning devotions in the rain PASTOR FRED RECOVERING WELL WITH NEW CAST Pastor Fred is the member of the BBC Motorbike Team whose bike was hit by another motorbike on their way to give a Christmas Program in a nearby village on Christmas Eve.  Until he heals, Fred is staying in Balama with staff member, Pastor Armando, whose house has a concrete floor.  (Fred lives in a typical mud hut in the village of Rovuma which is deep in mud right now.) Pastor Fred enjoying a few rain free moments outside Trying to walk on crutches in deep mud is not the best environment for anyone with a plaster leg cast. The cast will “melt” if it gets wet. With this week’s horrendous rains, Fred slipped while hobbling to the outdoor bathroom on his crutches. Forced to put his casted foot into the mud to keep from falling, I found him last Saturday afternoon with a damp, muddy cast that had begun to melt on the bottom of the foot area. If you look closely at the photo you will see that WHITE GORILLA TAPE now covers the foot of the cast, making it more water resistant. (Texas Aggies know how to make repairs with what is available, and this seemed like the easiest solution.) My thanks to Dave Deboer of Michigan, who brought us several rolls of that tape from the USA.  Proves you can fix almost anything with DUCT TAPE! NOTE:  THE BBC MOTORBIKE TEAM will venture out tomorrow for the first time in 2018, provided it doesn’t rain tonight. Time to get God’s Word flowing through the villages once again. BLESSINGS FROM ALL OF US IN BALAMA. BUSH BUNNY BRENDA LANGE AND THE BALAMA STAFF

My favorite scripture

Romans 8:38-39King James Version (KJV)

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2018 Goals

In this new year of 2018 some things I want to accomplish are as follows...

• Sew a bunch of doll clothes, both for an 18 inch doll and a baby doll
• Sew aprons.  Pretty and sweet aprons.  I also want to get a non tie or Mobius apron pattern and make some of them.
• Help my niece sew her diaper stash for her coming little blessing
• Try to remember to send a card for everyone's birthday.
• Exercise more.
• Continue to down size my stuff.
• Decide on a floor plan for my retirement home.  Specifically the kitchen, dinning and living-room areas.
• Hire someone to paint the walls and ceilings in my house.
• Hire someone to lay new flooring in my house.
• Sell a lot of my crafts on Etsy (this will also help me downsize that area)
• Make twiddle mats for elderly nursing home patients.

I'll have to come back and add to this list and see how I am doing on it.

Do you make goals for yourself for the next year?  If so, what kinds of goals do you strive for?

No Christmas Party for us this year

Last year we decided not to attend the company Christmas Party for who knows what ever reason.  This year we decided to attend.  For the party you get to go to a town a couple hours away and check into a nice hotel, then go to a fancy steak house.  I don't understand it exactly but something about they bring the meats around and you choose what you want.  There is also a salad and vegetable bar the way I understand it.  Last year it was in San Antonio Texas and after the meal they all went and rode the river boat which I heard was a lot of fun.

So, we decided to go this year and made our reservations according to company directions.  Then work happened.  The party is supposed to be today in San Antonio.  Yesterday at 4:30 am, my husband got a call and had to get up and work on his computer until it was time to go to work.  Then he went to work and came home at the regular time.  About an hour later he got another call and had to work until 11:00pm.  So he basically worked from 4:30am to 11:00pm with a couple hours off in that time span.  Then he gets another call at 6:00am this morning and is still working 6-1/2 hours later.  It looks like we will not be going to the party.  Oh well, he is making extra money for over time which we cant complain about.

I used the extra time to sew and clean a bit in my craft corner so it wasn't a total bust for me.  I am a little disappointed but I also feel like there is a reason we were not supposed to go.  In my life I always feel God has his hand on me and my family and protects us from things even when we think things are not going our way.  I keep getting the feeling that today is just such a day and there is another reason besides the work that is keeping us from attending the party.  It could be that we might have had a car accident or something like that.  In any case I am grateful to God for always watching out for us and that he cares about our lives.  Even though we were made to serve Him doesn't mean he doesn't care about us and our lives.  

A good thing that came from this is I got to buy a new blouse for the party and now I will still have a new blouse.  Its red.  I always go to holiday parties and a lot of the ladies are wearing red blouses or sweaters.  Now I have owned red sweaters in my life but for me a sweater mean (Debbie is going to sweat)  I don't care what the temperature is.  I have always been hot blooded my whole life and require much less heat than most people.  And now that I am at the lovely stage of life where the heat is turned up a sweater is not a good idea for me.  So, I found a pretty red blouse in a stretchy fabric with 3/4 sleeves and long hemline which I like.  Now to have an occasion to wear it.  : )

Bowl cozies or bowl hot pads

A nice lady called me and asked if I would make her 20 bowl cozies for gifts for Christmas.  I said yes and began making them.  I had so much fun that I made several extras to give as gifts of my own.  Tomorrow I take these to her and she can choose the 20 that she wants and I will have the rest for my own gift stash.

These work well with cold food like ice cream just as good as they do with hot food like soup.  They are washable and reversible.

Preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner

Today is pie baking day here.  I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving for several weeks.  I love turkey, dressing, potatoes and gravy and all the rest of the great foods we get to eat.  We will only have four at our table this year but we will cook the traditional meal just the same.  Just not as much.

Today Hannah and her friend Flor are coming and I think they may want to bake the pies.  I'm also trying to decide if we should bake the turkey today and slice it and just warm it up tomorrow.  The advantage to that would be we wouldn't have to get up so early tomorrow and I can make broth from the carcass to use in the dressing and gravy tomorrow.  If I am careful and cook and cut it properly it should retain the moisture.  I'll talk to Hannah and Flor and see what they think.

My big task for today is to clean off the dinning room table.  Its a mess because its where I cut up my old jeans for squares and use the computer and just about every thing else.  At the other end of the table are some cotton snowflakes I crochet drying and starching.  You can see where I am going here I'm sure.   It's a mess.

Here is a turkey cooking chart in case any of my dear friends need it.

I remember years ago cooking my first turkey and how scary it was.  It turned out fine and in the last few of years I have learned to save the carcass to make broth.  I used to take the turkey carcasses home when we had thanksgiving at our old church.  I think some of the ladies thought I had a screw loose.  But I just added a few carrots and onions and cooked those carcasses in a big ole pot for several hours and then I had the best turkey broth I could want and it is basically free.  So many people throw away their chicken bones and beef bones and turkey bones.  If I don't have time to make the broth right then I just put the bones into a bag and keep it in the freezer.  I also save carrot scraps, onion scraps, celery scraps and so on the same way.  Then when I'm ready to make some broth I just roast my bones in the oven, then either put them in a big pot filled with water on the stove along with the vegetables and a splash of apple cider vinegar or I just put them in my crock pot and let them cook for several hours.  I then strain the broth and cool it.  Its keeps for a few weeks in the fridge if you leave the fat on top.  If you want to remove the fat and are not going to use it right away its best to freeze it or can it.  Remember its dangerous to freeze items in glass so use plastic containers or even zip lock freezer bags.

OK, back to the pies.  This year we are just making one or two pumpkin pies and one pecan pie.  But while I was at the chiropractor I was talking to the ladies up front and they mentioned German chocolate pie.  Oh my that sure sounds good.  I will ask for their recipe next time I go in and maybe I can make that at Christmas time.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving and what are you thankful for?  I am especially thankful for family.  Even though I don't get to spend the holiday with them, I know they are well and safe so that is the most important thing I have to be thankful for.

               Happy Thanksgiving

Spiced tea and Chai tea mixes

     I love the smells and taste of winter teas.  Spiced tea and Chai tea to name two.  There is something about cinnamon simmering that makes me think of winter and warm mugs of tea.

     This weekend I plan to make a small batch of spiced tea and a small batch of Chai tea.  I'm learning to make smaller batches of things as I get older.  With a mostly empty nest its not necessary to make huge batches of whatever I'm making any more.  That has been a hard lesson to learn.

     The is the recipe I am going to use for the spiced tea.

1-1/2 c. Tang ( I will use my orange juice mix from the cannery)

3/4 c. instant tea

1-1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ginger

I will divide this up between Hannah and I so we neither one have too large a batch.  To make this just add 1 tbsp. to a cup of hot water and stir.

For the Chai tea I will have to look on Pinterest to get a recipe.