March Sneaking Past Old Man Winter

March is sneaking in on tiptoes so as not to trigger Old Man Winter’s breath of freezing temperatures and snow. Yesterday’s abundance of rain in high 50 degree weather was a blessing which brought a deep breathing of fresh air and hope for spring as the last bits of snow on the landscape disappeared.

This triggered a need to clean my garage floor from the ravages of salt and road debris. Picture this. Me grabbing a broom (not a good straw broom) and sweeping the filth from the garage floor section by section (4 sections). I have a 2 car garage. I believe at 77, this was a great exercise. I did manage to sweep the floor fairly clean but it still needed to be washed. Next, picture me filling a two-quart pitcher with warm water from the kitchen sink and doling it out bit by bit onto the floor and sweeping and sweeping to clean and to push the water out of the garage. How many times did I fill that pitcher? Honestly, I lost count. I didn’t take a break, just kept at it until the floor was looking much better. Then I left the garage door open so the floor could dry.

This morning I smiled at the image of my husband on my laptop background. I thanked him for showing me how one can use ingenuity and muscle power to do anything they set their mind to! He was a genius at doing this. I also told him how much I missed him and that I was doing the best I could to keep on keeping on. All the while he smiled at me. I’ve had to learn how to do a lot of things I took for granted that he did to maintain our home. Today I’m feeling the muscle soreness of an accomplished work. I’m planning on purchasing an adapter for the kitchen sink and one of those expandible hoses for future cleanings of garage and porch. I could buy a long hose and attach it to the outside faucet on the end condo unit, but I really don’t want to do that. Small and compact are my standards of living now.

Thursday I received my 2nd COVID vaccine. As with the first one, I had discomfort in my arm for less than 24 hours. No other issues. My friend told me at church yesterday that a nurse said drinking a lot of water before and after receiving the vaccine would help to move the vaccine through the body. Maybe that’s why I have had minimal reactions. I drink water constantly all day and night long. It’s the only thing I drink beside a cup of decaffeinated or herbal tea in the morning. I would encourage anyone who is hesitant to receive the vaccine to just do it. We won’t receive all the answers to questions we harbor about all of this, but I’m trusting in God. He gives us wisdom through the Holy Spirit. We need to tap into that through prayer and He will guide us to make wise decisions.

One decision I made was to contact my internet provider and talk to them about bundling streaming tv onto my internet in hopes of eliminating the pay per month apps and still enjoying my favorite shows and saving money on my internet. Satisfied with what I was offered, I gave the go ahead. A couple of hours later, I searched and searched but could not find the provider’s app for streaming. Called them back and talked to a different person who told me the salesperson should have asked me what kind of tv I owned. Why? Because roku and my internet provider have not reached an agreement for streaming channels!! And I have a TCL Roku Smart TV. They suggested “casting” the app from a tablet or laptop onto the screen. What?? Sigh. So stop the billing immediately. I do have the privilege of changing to a different provider (only one other is in my area) but if I do I lose the benefit of paying only $14 a month for my cell phone usage. So, I’m going to be content with paying $80 a month for internet and additional charges for other channel apps. It’s painful how much money I spend for having the benefit of internet.

This past week, I ran quite a few errands along with my normal upkeep of home and laundry. I enjoyed quite a few tutorial videos on You Tube, mostly crafting. The remainder of the time I read two books and listened to two other ones while coloring and diamond painting. Oh, and I bought two foam poster boards which will work as a backing for two of my larger diamond paintings. I just have to think a little more about how I want to mount them. This will save tons of money it would have cost to frame them! I’ll show you all the results when completed.

And now, here are the pretty colors I added to my journey this week.

And that finishes the coloring pages through yesterday. I do have two works in progress which I’ll add to next week’s unveiling. Oh, and please, if you read this blog, leave a comment on my blog to help me. All you need to do is click the “leave a comment” tag right under the title of the blog. Thanks a lot! I’m looking at a beautiful shade of blue sky peeking through an abundance of fluffy white clouds. It’s a gorgeous March day! May your views be awesome, your hearts be full, and you smiles be many through this week. Until next time…