Spring Cleaning Nightmares

     Some people can just breeze through things and get things done so fast and efficient!
 Sadly I am not one of those people.
       My usual MO is have the room just absolutely puke all in one pile or area of the room. All those things that don’t belong or use or need any more piled up or in boxes. This leaves me a area that is void of distractions and a blank slate to clean and renew. Other than being slow moving the biggest problem is what to do with all the leftover puke!! Usually it’s good puke, stuff you don’t want to replace if you chunk it or even things you still use but don’t have a nice efficient place to put it. Eventually it gets put but it takes a while and in the way and looking bad until you do.
     The before.....This is what I got out of 5 drawers in the kitchen.

         I pulled out all the plastic I could to donate somewhere. I am trying to clear my house and life of all the plastics I can. You wouldn't believe how hard that is to do !! So I just have to be happy with I cleared out at least some and have less of the plastic around. Now slider plastic bags..... I just don't think so ! LOL
     Here is a added pretty I have to replace my plastic cups and spoons. Good heavy duty ones from Sam's for $10 and the handles are sturdy and easy to use. Only thing is the measurements aren't really easy to see. Darn it. But they really are a nice improvement. 

     

After 

   

   Bamboo divider things..... Oh My Gosh ! They are expensive. Then you add some white paper to make some of the drawers look clean and easier to see and your talking about tearing up $100 ! Ridiculous ! I do have 2 plastic drawer trays I have kept for other areas but still ....... Oh well! A one time shot and should last forever and look good. Now whether it stays this organized.... well we all know how that goes but we have to at least attempt improvements right?? LOL
    The left over puke will probably fill a old style paper grocery sack which will get stashed away out of the normal days path until I either figure out what to do with it or so much time passes it is no problem to toss. 
   So I have cleaned and reorganized my kitchen cabinets to my current life's needs and styles. Under the sink can do with some improvement but it isn't to bad and can wait. Now over the stove cabinets for sure needs some thinning but it is out of sight and out of mind so no problem there. I do have one small corner cabinet but I just don't feel like tackling that. I have so far cleaned and reorganized the pantry, spice shelf, refrigerator storage containers area, Under cabinets redone for all my baking needs with one shelf for nuts, one for chocolates, and 2 more for other baking needs. I have plastic boxes I can slide out like a drawer since I wasn't about to spend the money for a professional job! My drawers as you can see are happier, I have other drawers I reorganized for foil and parchment paper rolls and then one for those handy silly plastic baggie sliders I just can't seem to part with. Hey... at least I reuse the baggies for food left overs that doesn't go to doggie and other critters! LOL
    It looks like my next project is "MY ROOM / OFFICE". I would show you a pic but it is pretty embarrassing. There is just pretty much a path to the desk and even though I have spent 2 days going through stacks of papers on the desk it is still terrible. This is the room that Catches it ALLLLLLL !! I have a saying..... whatever it is can't escape and pass through the doorway. If it does I am done for...... the rest of the house will be a absolute wreck to the 10th power!  I'm not kidding...... Hubby has always had the shop..... the garage.... for whatever he had going on. Me... I have a little 10x10?? room and I have a lot more going on than he has ever had because I have to have things to play with to keep from going crazy. I have homeopathy, cosmetics fun, a library of books dealing with all that good stuff, a load of containers for the cosmetics and 1 oz. dropper bottles for the homeopathy, I have notebooks with recipes for food, cosmetics and medical stuff. I have shelves with over 600 homeopathic remedies in bottles and tubes, I have shelves with cosmetics ingredients to play with, I have people meds that are extra, stocked up on or tried but not used. All in 1 little room !
   I don't know I might show you a before.... maybe if I get brave or is it stupid? This room is such a pain. I will have to tackle one area at a time as I figure out how to restack, organize and use all this fun stuff. I have large closed door cabinets to go through, I have a closet currently used for 2 printers, one standard and one laser, it also houses a 2 drawer filing cabinet. I think I will empty that and put some of the other things Like cosmetic containers and people meds. I may have to find some kind of cabinet for the printers that is sturdy and just the right size. Will see how that goes...... I try to think it out as much a possible before because it is such a huge mess I have to have at least a small plan to get it back in order but that doesn't always work either. It's like moving one piece of furniture in the living room... you do that and nothing is right until you get everything else moved around at least 3 times lol
   I am almost looking forward to this room cleaning. I know I will be happier and I can get to things a lot easier. It isn't one of those JOY things but I do get aggravated when I can't work or play because of the mess. 
   Wish me luck !
Love
Ranchmama

Retirement and Spring

   Spring is here! The grass has been turning green for a few weeks now and it is spreading throughout the fields. The robins and spring pond geese are here also. We had our first really good get on your toes tornado warning stuff Saturday evening. You know where you watch the tv and see which way it is going or when to gather your things and head for the rabbit hole or down the road the other way. I can see I need to refresh my tornado go bags. Things have changed and they need to change also. We mainly had some pea size hail with some nickle and marbles tossed in. The rain was really different this year. It would come in absolute pouring can't see anything waves every 30? minutes or so. Did that about 4 times I think. It was so loud one time I couldn't hear the person I was talking to on the phone. I was tickled it didn't knock off but forsythia bushes yellow blossoms, That is my favorite spring blooms that and daffodils ! I love the color it is such a happy cheery color. 
   Lets get started with retirement. There is a lot to be said about that. It is a hard adjustment to make for sure. When your used to stepping out your door every morning and going to work or looking out the windows to "check things" or driving down the road to check fence and cows pretty much .... being your ever waking thought........ it is for sure different! Driving around checking fences the other day we notice some bozo stole 8 fence posts! I told hubby the good part about that is he doesn't have to put them in ! All he had to do is call the new owners and let them do all the muscle work!
     He gets pretty bored so far. He says frequently... I think I'm going to drive to town and clean the truck it's dirty or whatever little something like that. 
    Me I am having a hard time adjusting to not being right there beside him every day or on the tractor doing something. Weird. So I am going through every room in the house slowly but surely. Starting with the kitchen. Every time your life changes your kitchen changes. All those things I have been wanting to do and was either too tired after helping or couldn't get into spring cleaning mode now I can. Like I said it's slow. Even though we have a really good retirement income I feel like every dollar or 100's of I spend is too much when it isn't coming in on a weekly paycheck. What goes out needs to come in to be replaced by equal income to my way of thinking but I haven't figured that out yet. Hubby says I'm crazy. I told him I could have a few million in the bank and feel the same way!
    This house has over 20 years of accumulated good stuff in it. Some I still use, some I have outgrown and need to donate to a child or grandchild. I figure if nothing else if we ever decide to relocate it should be easier for sure. 
     Everyone is getting into this "If it gives your JOY " decluttering thing. I can tell you right now there is not much in this house that gives me this so called "JOY" crud. I need a change. I don't know if I will ever get it but never know. I might get that lake house with a professional kitchen yet!
    I stopped at one of the fancy kitchen stores with wolf ranges etc. My kitchen isn't tiny but it sure as heck isn't big enough for real quality appliances either! Even if I had a boat load of loot to spend it wouldn't do a bit of good in this kitchen and I'm not about to remodel something I don't really want to live in any more. 
  I have been looking at homes and I love the ones with lots of windows and sunlight coming in. I like the taller ceilings and open feel. I walk into one of the office building in OKC with lots of windows and I actually feel so much better. 
    Speaking of feeling better. I quit eating pork, beef and lamb last Tuesday the 19th and I can already tell a difference. My breathing machine is lasting 5 and 6 hours instead of 2 or 3 hours. I walked around lowes and I could do it so much easier without having to stop and rest. I could tell I still had issues but not like before. What do you expect after years of being seriously ill ! Since then I have also been reading up on gluten and trying to avoid it. I found a really informative website 
 The 14 Most Common Signs of Gluten Intolerance 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/signs-you-are-gluten-intolerant  

   Since I have cut back on wheat my tummy has been feeling a lot better. I don't feel so bruised for sure deep inside. Trying to change my diet suddenly without having made a trip to the store isn't easy at all! I will even have to change my baking to the King Arthur Measure for Measure stuff. It ain't cheap but cheaper than a ER bill if it improves my breathing that much! It is all a adjustment but if I can do it I think I will have a lot of improvement lets just hope I can get off these cortisone spray things too soon. Shoot I have known I have allergies and fairly much allergic to a lot of things but boy this sure does narrow the chow field down for sure! 

    Will let you know if there are any drastic improvements for sure. I so am impressed with this information anyone with COPD or asthma should be tested for ALPHA- GAL tick bite / meat allergy ( if your have ever been bitten by a tick) and for gluten / wheat allergy. I think if I had know this 40 years ago my health would not have been ruined as it is today and I would be a totally different person. 

Love

Ranchmama 

Ranchmama Allergic to MEAT ?!

Yup sure enough. Reading up on the subject looks like it is pretty common for the ticks in Arkansas ( where I lived for many years ) to carry this problem and folks become allergic to meat when bitten. 
  Thought I should be tested when I found out I was allergic to pork they used to prepare the blood thinner I took after the cancer surgery. 
    They say you can usually eat chicken and fish but there are no promises. Think I will start with this list to avoid and see what happens first.
   I was looking at this list and the pork allergy is less than the beef which I eat more of. I could see what the pork meds they gave me did so I am just guessing the beef must mess me up a lot more. 
    Sooooooo...... no telling how long this has been going on but if I can avoid these meats maybe I can breath a whole lot better and a few other things!
   Love
Ranchmama
(who things it's crazy for a Ranching Mama to be allergic to meat ! LOL )

Alpha - gal Testing (for Meat allergy )
Component Results
Component                                           Your Value       Standard Range
ALLERGEN BEEF, IGE                           3.36 kU/L          <0.35 kU/L
BEEF CLASS    2       


ALLERGEN LAMB/MUTTON, IGE          1.10 kU/L          <0.35 kU/L
LAMB/MUTTON CLASS    2 
     
ALLERGEN PORK, IGE    .....................  1.81 kU/L          <0.35 kU/L
PORK CLASS    2       


The test method is the Phadia ImmunoCAP allergen-specific IgE system.
CLASS INTERPRETATION <0.10 kU/L= 0, Negative;
0.10 - 0.34 kU/L= 0/1, Equivocal/Borderline; 0.35 - 0.69
kU/L=1, Low Positive; 0.70 - 3.49 kU/L=2, Moderate
Positive; 3.50 - 17.49 kU/L=3, High Positive; 17.50 -
49.99 kU/L= 4, Very High Positive; 50.00 - 99.99 kU/L= 5,
Very High Positive; >99.99 kU/L=6, Very High Positive
                                                                                  Your Value       Standard Range                                                             
GALACTOSE - ALPHA -1, 3 - GALACTOSE, IGE    7.15 kU/L          <0.10 kU/L

Previous reports (JACI 2009;123:426-433) have demonstrated that patients with
IgE antibodies to galactose-a-1,3-galactose are at risk for delayed anaphylaxis, angioedema, or urticaria following consumption of beef, pork, or lamb.

Retirement !

As 

of 

Tuesday March 5 

at about 11 am 

we are 

O-F-F-I-C-I-A-L-L-Y

 R-E-T-I-R-E-D !

Papers are signed and Nikki and her husband are taking over complete ranch operations!  

  I think everyone is super happy with everything. 

   I have no clue what in the world is next for me and hubby. We are not travelers or partiers. We don't know how to play because we never had time for that. I guess we will just have to see what happens. 

  In the mean time we are here to guide and help if and when needed on the basics of how to do the everyday things until they get the hang of it all. Nikki has done this for years and years and has a really good handle on things. Her hubby has a lot of excellent general know how and is really good at watching and learning. Once they get the basic flow of things I am sure they may have some good ideas on how to change this or that to improve. Sometimes it takes a different eye to help the flow of things.

Love 

Ranchmama -- retired

(Once a Ranchmama always a Ranchmama)