Nickel Farm

When I awoke this morning, the weather was clear but had turned cloudy by 10:00.  Since I left my large tarp at home, I am hoping to get back home before having to patch my small ones together to protect my large load from rain and/or snow.  Left the city about 4:00 and arrived home just as it was getting dark.  Since a winter storm was imminent, I enlisted the help of two beer-drinking neighbors to get the beastly couches into the house tonight.  They are good people and are always ready to help.

Awoke to 3” of snow this morning and it snowed most of the day.  It was great!  Had an enjoyable time at church and determined to shovel my neighbor’s walk and driveway across the street afterwards.  Turns out someone beat me to the task and here I was, all bundled up and ready for action.  So, I found a couple of other neighbors whose walks needed shoveling and set to work.  One of those neighbors was one of the guys who had brought my couches in the house last night.  It felt good to return the favor and create good feelings in the neighborhood.

Went back to bed about 9:30 and slept an hour and a half.  Still dizzy and my stomach is doing flip-flops.  I had planned to leave for the city at 10:00 am but don’t feel well enough to drive safely.  Lying in bed about 2:00 pm listening to my stomach growl, I decided I might feel better if I got up and moved around a bit.  It did, so I started getting things ready for my trip to the city.

I made it to the thrift store about 7:00 still feeling pain in my gut and proceeded to have store volunteers load the two couches on the trailer.  The couches were 44” wide and my trail is 45” wide so it was tight.  One thing I know how to do is pack a truck, car trunk, or trailer.  We placed the loveseat upside down on the large couch.  With a few well-placed strands of nylon rope, the load was secured and ready to travel.

Repaired the taillights on one of my utility trailers today. Will be traveling to the city tomorrow to pick up the beautiful red and gold couch and loveseat that Lara found for me at the thrift store for $130.

Went to the Temple tonight with a lady friend. We enjoyed sweet and sour chicken over rice in the temple cafeteria before the session. Unfortunately, I had a baked potato and some very sweet chocolate cake with it and my blood sugar went off the charts during the night. I awoke at 2:00 am feeling very sick and got up and built a fire since I was trembling quite severely. I attempted to call my home teacher from two different locations in my room without success. It was only after I pleaded with the Lord for assistance that the third attempt was successful and I was able to speak to him. He came right over and gave me some cheese and a blessing.

Decided today to revise the house plan by converting the present living room to a family room.  I had previously planned to convert the living room to another bedroom and a bath but now realize that my large family will need a big room in which to gather for reunions, etc.  I will provide an additional bathroom in combination with the laundry just east of the kitchen.  Also, will completely re-design the kitchen to include two separate workstations for large gatherings.

Enjoyed a Family Valentine Party at church tonight.  Lots of food and fun dances like the Virginia Reel, Greek Dance, etc.

Mostly did housekeeping and bookkeeping chores today.  Came across a good quote on the Internet that pertains to preparedness: “ What the wise man does in the beginning, the fool does in the end.”

Snowed today and lots of it!  Even though there was 5-6 inches of the fluffy white stuff on the road I gathered up a couple of friends and drove to a nearby town to attend a fireside program at church in the evening.

Finished yesterday’s cleanup work along the west boundary and hauled a load to the dump.  Weather looks threatening.  As I drove along, a bald eagle swooped past about twenty-five feet in front of my car at eye level.  It’s always a thrill to see one of these majestic birds up close.

Felt much better this morning after about nine hours of sleep.  I munched several stalks of celery (very alkaline) last night before retiring and had no problems while sleeping.  I believe that a lot of so-called acid reflux disease symptoms are actually the result of our habit of consuming too many acid-forming foods in our daily diet.  Worked outside in shirtsleeves today.  Feels like spring but I hope we have “winter” first as we really need moisture.

Awoke at 3:00 am this morning with heartburn.  I will often get heartburn when I turn over on my right side and that’s what happened here.  I normally combat heartburn with naturally alkaline plants and plant juice, but I was too lazy to get out of bed this time and popped a few Tums instead.  Nonetheless, I started feeling headachy and my bowels went into an uproar.  I am here to say that a 40-degree bathroom is not a fun place to visit when one is sick.  I turned a small electric heater on in there for what proved to be several nighttime visits.  All in all, it was a pretty miserable night.

My ears ring constantly and have for over twenty-five years.  When I am sick or in stress, they ring extremely loud and it can become hard to bear.  I prayed for some relief several times during the day and kept a lot of background noise going in my room.