Totally Joann

I am feeling so good about myself. This is the very first time in ........... I don't remember when.


In December I went to see my doctor and was diagnosed with high blood pressure. It was high enough she was concerned enough she wanted to make sure I got immediate attention. She put me on some medication and I took it as I was supposed to, but I still didn't "get it". I went in for my follow up visit and my blood pressure didn't improve much ... all I was doing was taking the pills (most of the time). She scolded me and sent me home with more medications. I went back a few months later and she laid it on the line for me. She said something like, if you want to stay alive to watch your grandchildren mature, you have to make some changes in your life.

It was a wake up call. I joined a gym and I joined weight watchers. I go to the gym 4 times a week over my lunch and WW on the other day. I have lost 22 1/2 pounds and I have lowered my blood pressure. Yesterday and today it was lower than "normal" 104/53. I am feeling quite good about myself. I am getting so addicted to feeling good that I would like to spend more time at the gym... I honestly don't know how. The only option is to go in the early morning .... I just don't think I can get up any earlier than I already am. Going after work is not an option. I always have a ton of work at home to do in the evenings. I'll have to work on that!!!! My goal is to get my blood pressure under control so that I no longer need to take the medication. Also to loose enough weight that Phil will find me more interesting than the Royals cheerleaders. (Just a joke, but he DID end up following one of the cheerleaders and helping her tote a huge dice) I am finding more energy to climb steps and find myself less out of breath after doing something strenuous.

If I keep this up I will live a very long life.

Saturday .......... another auction

What a killer day this has been! It was an auction day, and we have been looking forward to it for quite some time. We both love auctions but sometimes spend to much money … and but some crazy things. Today was no exception. The first cool thing that happened is that I met some “old home” people. Phil is always talking to people, and met one of the Hammons family from Weeping Water. The guy never did tell me his first name, but he is related to the funeral home Hammonds …. So I am sure I would probably know him from my youth days. The auctioneer is a cousin of the Mason family … Dad and Bill Mason used to be good friends. What a small world it is.


So, we got there around 8:30 this morning (we needed time to check everything out). There was so much STUFF it was amazing. I was excited to find a chicken plucker (got it for $30) and a few canning jars (about 3 doz for $1). Phil found a new lawn mower for $300 … and excited to see them listed on line for well over $1,000. I was heartbroken that I didn’t get the Ford tractor … Phil said the bad tires made it a liability. We also got a chicken feeder for $2 plus a shade screen (that we have been looking everywhere for) for the coop. I think the most amazing price was for a really big trailer (hay rack size) for $4. The silliest was a mobile burn barrel. But the wheels are steel and look really cool. Maybe we can put something else on the wheels.

There was a cute little lawn tractor that didn’t work and sold for $10. The guy who bought it said if we want it, he is probably not going to take it home. Another project for Phil. It was a good day; we met nice people and really enjoyed the time with them. It was so hot that I thought I was going to melt a few times. My skin is getting to dark I don’t think I can burn anymore … but I don’t know after standing outside for 8 hours straight! We went through 6 bottles of tea and water that I brought from home, plus 5 bottles we bought at the auction! I don’t know what the high was today …. But I am sure it was well over 90. I think we are getting tougher!

Tomorrow morning we have to go to Springfield and pick up Hay for the gardens. I am so thankful for all of the free hay we have gotten this year. The gardens are well mulched and happy. We have had to work hard to bring the hay home …. But no complaints it was free. We have a new source of manure …. haven’t had the time/ability to take advantage of it yet but I certainly plan on finding the time. He is close and will even load it for me.

Life on Pooh acres is good. We love it here. What a wonderful gift we have been given, the ability to live out here and enjoy life they way God intended us to life.

The beat goes on ..... and the beat goes on

Have you ever heard a chicken coo? I forgot over the years what a peaceful sound chickens make. For the most part they walk around scratching and picking at the oats we throw out for them. Phil says they have an egg laying cluck … I am not convinced of that but he has been around them more than I have. Tonight one of them (we don’t have names for them yet) started cackling/clucking like crazy(the laying an egg sound according to Phil) ….. she didn’t lay an egg. They are so peaceful and easy. I want more … at least 10. The plan is to grow the flock in the spring then in the fall winter over only 10 or 12. Next fall our freezer will be full of yummy Sunday dinners. We are enjoying the fresh eggs every day. I am so excited to have fresh eggs because I see how much prettier they are than store eggs. I read about the Omega 3 that they produce and how healthy that is for you.


Last night we had a wonderful “garden” dinner. We had fried potatoes with onion and garlic from the garden (it was SOOOOO good) and broccoli and beets (neither one of us thought we liked them until we tried them again) fresh salad, tomatoes and cucumber slices. We didn’t grow the T-bone steaks, but they were farm raised. It was a wonderful dinner. I am so excited to have more fresh food throughout the summer.

We are trying some new “stuff” this year. I planted lima beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. I have never grown eggplant until this year. I am still not entirely sure what to do with the eggplant that is ready to pick. Every year I want to try at least one thing I have never tried. Phil is expanding the lower garden for next year …. I am SO excited, I can’t wait!!!!!!!

He said he is going to expand the “original” garden from the fence to the retaining wall. He wants to make that an herb garden. I am currently planting herbs by the garage but they are going crazy and growing over one another. It will be so cool to have a specific area for each herb.

I am so excited to see the changes over the last three years. Phil reminded me this evening when we moved here there were no outbuildings (except the garage and barn). Much of the property was covered in trash. There was just nothing going on. We have worked very hard. Pooh Acres is looking very good. We look more and more like a farm every day.

On a personal note. I am SO excited. At my weigh in this week I have lost 20 pounds. I am working so hard at getting healthy. I am still going to the gym 4 days a week (unless I have to get my oil changed or ????) and weight watchers one day a week. I think I am doing a good job. I am thankful that Shanna is going to WW with me, and giving me encouragement. I know I have done this before, but the high blood pressure diagnosis has given me a reason to want to get healthy. I am thankful to the two older sisters being my cheerleaders. I will get more healthy.

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry ..... wait only chicks.

Things are happening now! Phil finished the chicken coop (95%) last weekend. We still need electricity and water but we have a great enclosure and coop (it is built better than a prison! I don’t think anything will get in or out of it). Wednesday I picked up 2 chickens. It was so cool to put them in the pen and watch them scratch and pick and get to know their new home. Thursday Phil’s friend (and the hired hand at Pooh acres) gave us 4 more chickens. I was very surprised when we got home last night at dark and I saw so many chickens in the coop.


Tonight when I got home I went to the coop to check out the “chicks” and I found 3 eggs! One was white, one brown and the last pink. I believe I know what we will have for breakfast tomorrow!!

We went to an auction last night. It started at 5 PM ……. We left around dark. It was fun. I got a pressure canner (the last one I got for $12 and sold for $25) that I plan to put on Craig’s list, and some canning jars. Phil got a couple of toys, some extension cords, and the mother load of wood. We spent $250, but we probably got more than $1000-$1500 worth of wood. We have everything from a simple 6’ 1 X 8 to a 24’ 6 X 6. We started bringing it home today ….. It is amazing how much wood we got. Phil and Rudy (the hired hand) brought home two loads today and I helped with the third when I got home from work. I think there is one more load tomorrow. I wanted to help but they will be getting the wood during Ruby’s game. This is her last game I will be able to see so I will be there. I didn’t realize how much wood there was until we started bringing it home. I have no idea what we are going to do with all of it. I guess there are some projects in the making. One thing I am SURE I will get out of this is my hammock.

Last year I bought a wonderful hammock dreaming of a lazy nap in the shade after working in the gardens. The problem is we don’t have any trees the right distance apart to put the silly thing up. Phil said he would put two 4 X 6’s in, but they really have to go down a ways to make sure it will hold us. (We got some of those in the misc. wood). I can see me napping in the afternoon enjoying the fruits of my labors …… OK, maybe not in the middle of the afternoon. Well me taking a nap is unheard of, but perhaps I will try to change that.

The garden is beginning to “come in”. I was so late in getting things planted … we had so much rain this spring. I am sad the peas are already gone. We have had a ton of “greens”. Beans are getting close and corn will be soon. I am excited for tomatoes and peppers! Potatoes look like they will be bountiful this year. We planted the “leftovers” from last year plus our neighbor brought some seed potatoes over that she didn’t have room for. I planted sweet potatoes this year. I am excited to see what kind of yield they will bring. The watermelon plants have softball size melons on them. The kidney beans are big, and the squash seems to be growing like crazy. Yummm, what a fest we have waiting for us. We are so blessed to have this property and the opportunity to take advantage of the blessings.

Three years?

It has been 3 years since we signed on the dotted line ……….. and our lives changed. I sometimes think back to my “before” life when I had time to volunteer and go to theater productions on a regular basis. Mowing the grass took 20 minutes. Tending the garden just a few minutes.


Yes, it was much easier “back then”. Yes, I did have more time for “fun stuff”. Was I more fulfilled? Was I happier? Nope. I know that I am frustrated sometimes …. And I wish that I could do more in less time. How can I fit 48 hours into a 24 hour day? It seems I am always trying to fit more and more into my days. I still have to work at a “real” job to pay the mortgage and bills. And then come home to work at my hearts passion.

When we signed the papers I had so many fears …. How will we ever pay the mortgage (the mortgage is four times the monthly mortgage payment on the Omaha house). What if one of us looses our jobs? How will we EVER keep up with the outside work? Will I keep the life I have lived for so long, volunteering at the theater and opera? What if the Omaha house doesn’t sell? Oh My Goodness ………….so much to worry about.

The Omaha house didn’t sell. We decided to become landlords. Phil found a renter when he was out buying a tractor to scoop the snow …. We interviewed several families and decided on the Wades. They have 4 children, and have become one of the “kids”. I am so thankful we found them. They are not prefect …. But they are good.

What if one of us looses our jobs? Phil was laid off of his job in March. Things were never good with the contract. In February things came to a head and on March 31 he was unemployed. He has been home since and we are doing just fine. He is working his fanny off and wondering how he did everything while he was working!

How will I pay the mortgage? Yes, it is 4 times the mortgage in Omaha ……… we did just fine with the payments and in March last year refinanced to bring the rate down a LOT. Our mortgage broker was amazed at how much we had paid in such a short time. We have managed to pay forward 6 or 7 months “just in case” so we still have a cushion.

How will we keep up with the outside work? We don’t. We try hard but some things just don’t need to be done!

Somehow things work themselves out. I have been blessed with a wonderful job. Amazing as it is I am paid to talk to people and pretend to be a sales professional. (I have a fantastic boss who loves the fresh food we grow.) Our life is totally different from a few years ago. We don’t go to the theater very often. We don’t go to movies very often. Shoot, we don’t even have time to watch TV! Recently we have not come in the house until dark … then it’s time to shower and go to bed.

Moving to the country has been good for us. We raise most of the vegetables and potatoes that we eat. We have learned to can everything from simple vegetables to soups and meats. The meat we eat comes from a farmer, not the grocery store. Our fruit trees and bushes are in and maturing. Phil has been working on a chicken coop … it should be finished soon, and then we will be raising our own poultry. I wanted to raise a pig, but I don’t think that will happen until next year.

Three years ago changed our lives, in a very good way!

Ramblings of a "fall" woman

Mom told me (on several occasions) that the older you get the faster time flies by. At first I poo poo’d the statement. As a child the days lasted for weeks. Special days seemed so far away. As a young mother my days were busy but time moved relatively slow. The girls got older and busier and the days were shorter. I am now in the “fall” days, well into my 50’s and time is speeding by so quickly I can’t get a handle on them. In a few days we will have crossed into the second half of 2010. Didn’t we celebrate the New Year a few days ago?


Mom told me even in the “winter” of her life the days flew by until she had to leave her beloved Weeping Water. Her days were full until she moved. Even then she made new friends and days were still pretty full. It was in the last few years of her life that time slowed down again. She told me she would sit in that tiny apartment all by herself for days and time seemed to go on forever.

I see myself age and I am surprised. I look down at my hands and see skin that has seen 54 summers. It is no longer soft and young looking. My eyes need more and more help to read small print. And printers keep using smaller and small fonts on the pages. I don’t think as quickly as I used to. I used to be able to crack a joke at will. Now I have to think about a “smart” answer … and by that time everyone else has forgotten what we were talking about (yes we ARE all in the same boat).

My “fall” years are still good. My bones are aching more and I need more sleep than I did a few years ago. I did decide a few months ago that I need to start taking better care of myself. I joined weight watchers with a friend and I joined a gym. I am taking more time for me. I need to learn to take more time and take care of myself so I will be alive and full of energy to the grandkids.

With that ……. I think I need to get off of my bottom for a while.

Emotions run high

Monday is Memorial day. I have been very bad about staying away from the cemetery since Mom died. I know that is not where Mom and Dad are, so I didn’t want to go. I didn’t go at all last Memorial day. Phil convinced me I need to take flowers and go visit. When I got home from work today we headed down to Weeping Water. Phil will never turn down a road trip …. and enjoyed his normal “look at that” all the way down.


We first removed all the nasty flowers from Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Joe’s graves then put some new pretty flowers on. Phil as usual had lots of questions about the family and how things used to be. When we finished there we went to Mom’s mothers grave. I pulled the old flowers out and found the strangest thing. The flowers were wrapped around with a coat hanger kind of crumpled up in the vase to keep them from blowing away. I looked at that and realized Mom must have done that when we took her to the cemetery 3 years ago to put flowers out. She is the only one I know who would come up with something like that. I can’t believe I haven’t changed the flowers in all that time! They were pretty faded and ratty looking. Now that I have them in my car ……… I’m not sure I want to get rid of them. That was Mom’s last gift to her mother.

I was showing Phil how old the graves were in that part of the cemetery, when I noticed a man in a wheel chair come into the cemetery. He had no legs, but seemed to get getting around very well in the chair. Something inside of me wanted to go talk to him … but I couldn’t do that. I had no idea who he was. Just then his big yellow lab came running over to me giving me kisses. The man was close behind and stopped to talk to Phil. Phil said hello, the man introduced himself as Delmer Guehlstorff. I looked at him and told him my (maiden) name. His face kind of dropped and he held his arms and to me and asked for a hug. His son and I went to school together. We talked for a long time. He told me about his wife being in a nursing home and dying a few years ago. He is still able to drive and get around OK with the chair and his van. The dog (and a cat inside) are his companions. When we parted he gave me another very long and hard hug. I saw tears in his eyes. I wonder if he was just lonely or if I brought up old memories of when we (Steve and I) were younger and his wife was alive.

After that Phil and I drove through town. I wasn’t sure where he was trying to go, but it didn’t matter. I was happy to see my home town again. He drove past houses and I told him stories about things that happened years ago. As he got to the edge of town I saw someone I thought was my cousin sitting outside her house. I wasn’t sure because she lost her husband recently and I didn’t know if she would stay in that big old house by herself. Phil pulled into the driveway so I could make sure it was Doris …. She recognized me at about the same time. She said she knew that smile. We had a wonderful visit. She and Dale were so good to Mom. They were the best of friends. As we were leaving she asked me to wait she wanted to give me something. She had an aerial photograph of my great grandparents Barkhurst farm she wanted me to have. She told me that Aunt Shirley and very likely all of the kids were born in that house. I remember Mom went to visit that house shortly before she died. I am still amazed at the generosity of that gift.

My heart was and is full of the awe of the day. It was happy and sad at the same time. I wish that Betty and Marge could have been here with me. I miss them so much.

Tomorrow is probably a slow day at work. Many people will be off for the holiday weekend. I am already in the mindset for a long weekend. Phil and I will be finishing up planting the garden. We hope to get the chicken coop completed and ready for occupancy. Gosh, can I push my luck and hope that we get a pig pen done? I know I ask a lot!

Off to bed for me. 5 AM comes much to quickly.