Quiet Time

 I find myself remembering when I started this blog while I sit here thinking about living simply again in my little house in small-town America. I made the choice to stay home and give up working in the Covid environment.

I didn’t make that decision without really examining my options; I am 67 years old. It is time to slow down and try to keep myself well. Experiencing COVID-19 myself in September 2021 really made a difference in how I viewed things. I remember praying for God to get me through another day; I prayed that every single day that I was so sick. Of course, when my crew started getting COVID-19 the second time I had to make a choice. I didn’t want to get sick again so here we are back in my little house.

I have learned to stay home more than I’m used to secondary to the horrible cost of gasoline. They said it was going to come down but lo and behold it has gone up again!  This has given me more time to work on things here at the house. I usually pull weeds in my flowerbeds; I did a little mowing today.

This has given me more time to work on things here at the house. I usually pull weeds in my flowerbeds; I did a little mowing today. This morning I stopped and visited with one of my Amish friends. It’s so nice to see the children and the puppies as well. They are my Amish grandkids… Lol. I live simply so we have a lot in common, for sure.

On Monday of this week I took a friend to lunch and I was quite surprised at how expensive eating out has become. She lives by herself and she is lonely, too. I checked that box so I won’t be eating out anymore this week. I have truly been praying for the resources to continue to help out the people that I was working with… Service work has kept me going over the years.

So I’m sitting here thinking About being home, cutting corners, pinching my pennies, and just making this work. Yes, I had to apply for food stamps and help paying my Medicare. I just wanted to cry because I had to reach out for help. In an effort to reframe it for myself I thanked God that these resources are available to me.  That makes it easier for me.

This evening I chatted with Father Richard for a little while… It just helps me as he is a good friend. If I want to live in my little house and be able to stay home I have to make this work. He understands how important my service work is is to me. With his encouragement I hope to continue to keep moving forward.  

Time to say good night.

Sign me, Living Simply in Small Town America.

Shrove Tuesday… Pancake night

 Another quiet evening in small-town America. The wind is blowing and we have had a lot of snow since last night. I put some leftovers out for the cat that’s sleeping under my shed.  I was just watching a little TV well enjoying life at the little house.

I am just not sure how it got to be Shrove Tuesday already; tomorrow is going to be Ash Wednesday. I always say that each day brings us closer to spring but I am counting the days myself.  

Growing up in Newfoundland we would have pancakes tonight with little trinkets in them.  It was a nice family time and I realize it’s been a very long time since I’ve had any family time. It has been over a year since I’ve seen my grandchildren with the COVID-19 and the closed Canadian border.  What I wouldn’t give to be sitting at a table with all the kids my son and his wife. It will be so awesome to have been able to serve a pancakes this evening for my family.  

I live by myself with two little dogs; Living very simply in small-town America can be lonely. I briefly signed up for a dating site in hopes of meeting other people who were just as lonely.  The responses that I received were discouraging… LOL.  I was looking for somebody to go to dinner with from time to time. It would’ve been nice to meet someone who love to go to flea markets and yard sales like I do. So, I closed that account and chalked it up to experience.  It is easier to continue to live simply than to complicate my life.

Sign me, living simply in small-town America.

A Quiet December Evening

 It is December 12th and I am watching Netflix while I am waiting for the resident to come home.  I find myself thinking of my children and how much I loved being with them when they were young.  Christmas was such a great time for us.  Dawson used to make it fun as well.  They are all grown now with two of them alienated from me; this makes Christmas a bittersweet time for me.  I have prayed for healing in our family and placed this gently in God's hands.  Broken hearted but faithful, indeed.

Christmas is a lonely time for me; I wish it was a joyful season but with the COVID-19 limitations we are just not getting together.  Not my family, not my friends, not my church congregation, not my neighbors...we are all staying in and biding our time.  We are waiting for the storm to pass every moment of every day.

Things are anything but normal.  I miss my sense of community but I feel that the isolation has become a necessary evil.  Yet, I believe we will get through this and learn from the experience.  I have faith.  God is so good.

 As usual, I am amazed to see that the calendar is showing that we are getting closer to Christmas.  It is  December 6th and I just got home from work.  I am a part-time house parent at a crisis pregnancy home working the weekend shift.  It is good to be back to work again even if COVID-19 still has the country in its grip.  I do miss working in a hospital but I would be no good to my crew as I am compromised three different ways due to multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and asthma.  This job is a nice experience for me though...I cannot wait for the baby to be born as well.  Lots of love to spread around!

I did a little Christmas decorating last week and today I hope to put up some exterior Christmas lights to add a bit of seasonal cheer.  One of my friends has been exposed to COVID-19 so she is in self-quarantine mode until she can get a test on Monday.  We are adjusting to the pandemic on a day-by-day basis.  People have become resilient like the trees that bend in the winds.  

Sign me, Living Simply in Small Town America

Checking In - July 14, 2020

I just popped back inside to take a break from the humidity that has kept us at bay for the second week.  The temperature had dropped down to the 70s from the oppressive 90 degrees we were suffering with.  I took a moment to check the last time I had posted; it was surprising to see that it was back in April!

The border to Canada remains closed; it has been extended for another 30 days so grandchildren visits will have to be postponed again.  I had hoped to get a chance to see them this summer but the pandemic has changed a lot of things, that included.

August 10, 2020

I just realized that I had not published the post above in July after all and here it is August.  My world has remained much the same with minimal financial output; the only exception being money for home improvements including materials and labor.  I have a new front porch since Spring so this inching along is working out well for me.  It is very comfortable and it has been a long time coming.

Cork came down from Canada to visit for 12 days; he is an American and he was able to cross the border.  It was so wonderful to see him after so many months of being away.  His cancer has not returned; he is in remission.  God is good.  We enjoyed spending time together; it was a nice respite from my daily norm of social distancing to the max.  He had to self-quarantine when he returned to Canada; this came complete with calls from the Government of Canada to track his contacts.  He is doing well and he may come back down later on.

Now that August is upon us, I find myself thinking of the necessary preparations for fall and winter.  Part of me feels like I am rushing it but I do remember just how cold it can be here when the snow comes.  The cottage needs closed in on the sides before fall so that I will be snug in the winter months.  There is plenty of time to get these things done.  I feel like the pandemic has really messed up this year; it feels out of sync or something.  

It is good to be back in the little house in small town America.  It is lonely but it is a peaceful time not a bleak period of restrictions and deprivation.  Social distancing, wearing masks, no hugging, no shaking hands, no problem...just moving forward trusting in God.

Sign me, Living Simply in Small Town America...wearing my mask.