A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. Jonathan Swift

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.
-George Horace Lorimer

Hi ya'll.  Hope your day is going better than mine.  Using my coupons at Walgreens, I had to get rain checks on several items (no big deal).  Mary, my cashier was very kind and helpful (unlike the last cashier at Homeland...see previous post).  However, when I got home and using my online banking, found that they had charged me $29.74 (which was correct because I saved over $22 using coupons with sale items). But then they deposited the money back into my account. Huh? What? Why?  So I called the store to alert them to the possible problem.  They were as confused as I.  To make a long story short, if it doesn't sort itself out, when I go into town next week, I will pay them again and maybe this time they will keep it.  My bank lady said she had never seen such a thing!  You know weird freaky stuff happens to me a lot.

If only this were the end of my tale of woe!  My final stop of the day was K Mart (right after Wal Mart).  Having not had time to eat today, I was feeling a little weak!  They overcharged me on an item (which I caught) so I had to go to the service desk to sort it out.  The moment I looked into my purse, a sick feeling came over me (and it wasn't from not eating). 

My car keys weren't there!  Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!  But the correct answer was oh, yes!  Locked in the car was the ONLY key!  After saying a few choice words regarding my ability to leave the house unsupervised,  I called my brother, the long suffering David.  Oh, Good Grief!  He's 30+ miles away instead of being home in Muskogee where I need him to be.  No help there this time!  Shoot, shoot, shoot!  My only other option was to call my long suffering daughter, Becky, who works in Okmulgee for Creek Nation, to come and get her deranged Mother  before she collapses  from the heat and starvation. 

Feeling faint, I went back into the store.  In my younger days, if I had swooned, someone (good looking man) would have caught me before I hit the ground.  But nowadays, being a little old silver haired lady, most men would have left me laying and stepped over me. Growing old sucks sometimes!

(now back to my LindaDrama). And what to my wandering and desperate eyes did I see?  A neighbor who just happens to be a former employee of a wrecker service which also opened car doors!  THANK YOU GOD!  I WILL BE GOOD FROM NOW ON!  O.K. I WILL TRY TO BE GOOD FROM NOW ON!  I'm not going to tell you how he opened my locked car door using bits and pieces of stuff he had in his truck (can't contribute to any possible Grand Theft Auto you know) but in less than five minutes this cleaver man had my door open!  I was truly amazed at what I saw!  I didn't know that could be done!

But anyway, here is the breakdown on my coupon activity today.

Walgreens:

Carmex/New Lime Twist           $1.50 but I received $1.50 in Register Rewards to be used on my next trip.

2 Frito/ Lay Chips                     $4.29  Buy one get one free so $2.15 each

Charmin Ultra Soft 6 double rolls=12 regular rolls    $4.00-.25coupon=$3.75 or.63 each for double or if       they were single rolls .31 each

4 pack Energizer Batteries        On sale for $2.99-.75 coupon=$2.24 or .56 each

Bounty Paper Towels  6 rolls    On sale for $5.50-$1.00 coupon=$4.50 or .75 per roll

Cover Girl Liquid Makeup    Buy one get one half price   so  $11.99 + $9.99 for Mascara=  $21.98 - $5.00 for half price Mascara - $2.50 coupon  =   $14.48 for both

Bottom Line:  Spent $29.74 (which they accidentally gave back to me) but saved $22.51 using store coupons, sale items, register rewards ($5.00 from previous savings trip) and coupons.  (Also got rains checks for 30 oz. Mayo on sale for $2.49 (with coupon in Sunday's Walgreen Sale Flyer) -$1.00 coupon = $1.49 each with a limit of 3 and a 4lb bag of Domino Sugar $2.49 with Walgreen's coupon - $1.00 coupon = $1.49 each with a limit of 3.

Are you feeling the itch to save a lot of money legally and  embrace the art of couponing (the other legal currency)?  Just be warned, once you get the hang of it, you will become a coupon addict and your children will become coupon orphans as you clip coupons and organize coupons and search for coupons on-line and.......well you get the idea.  This is all a wonderful puzzle to me.  I love playing find the hidden object games and this is the same only the hidden object is a coupon to match the sale item.  Try couponing if you dare but I must warn you, life will never be the same once you start to see the really long register tapes with a hefty percentage saved on each trip.  We all want something that money can buy so why not save our way to that dream

Now this is Simple Living at it's very best! Each time I go couponing, I know that I have learned some lessons and will do better next time.

I saved $11.91 on pet food at Wal mart today.  When you've given a home to as many lost animals as we have, you have to save as much as possible and still provide quality food.  Not an easy task! Wal Mart is not my favorite place to shop because they try to distract me and sell me impulse items.  Big Mistake!  I no longer distract or impulse to their great dismay I am sure.  I go with a list (well prepared ahead of time), coupons in order, and stay focused.  The last is the most important to saving time and money.  They pay millions of dollars to people to learn how to get our hard earned money but I am willing to spent my time learning how to defeat them legally.  So, Wal Mart, you can kiss my grits! 

Gypsy was a neighborhood stray.  Now she is my loyal and faithful guardian angel.

Pushka showed up one winter's day and liked our Harmony Acres.  So he stayed.

Mischief and Pickle are Gypsy's boys.  They went to see Stacey (our beloved family vet) and came home missing their tails and other manly parts.  They still can't figure out why Stacey took their tails but they want them back.

Sophie purred her way into the house and the next thing I knew, I had a sleeping buddy.  She's kind of weird though.  Pulls my hair in the middle of the night.  It's rather startling!

At first she was just outside "porch kitty" and then she became inside "Molly".  Being one-eyed gets a lot of sympathy from Becky.

Maggie stays mad most of the time because there are cats in her bed, on her bench, next to her Becky and trying to eat her Cesar's!

Izzie and I just try to stay out of everyone's way!

Grabby Britches just wants to be everyone's friend.  She is the one that gave me cat scratch fever last year.

And then there are the weinners!  Need I say more?

Tomorrow, I have Homeland in my sites (that cranky cashier had better be on her toes) and my coupon binder (3 inches isn't really that big? Is it?) organized and ready to go.  So many nice cashiers have commented on how organized I am.  I don't tell them about my OCD and AADD which won't allow me to be any other way.  It's our little secret.

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. ~Andy Rooney

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

 -Unknown

Good Morning from Harmony Acres!  We are all doing just fine, now.  There have been a few setbacks lately:  peach tree died, my ankle healing much too slowing, Becky sick over the weekend, little store busier than usual (once again, I limped home on the bad ankle and retired to my recliner) and grass three feet tall in some places (what a nightmare).   So today, I play catch-up on outside work til my brain frys. 

The gift:  onions & broccoli from neighbor. 
What a great place to live!

There is a very heavy dew this morning which will delay my yard mowing a little while.  We have gone from the Spring rainy season to fry an egg on the sidewalk summer-like weather (like I need this when I live in my own personal constant burning, scortching, smothering summer hell year round. it happens to women of a certain age. gee, thanks, mother nature).  Ah......the joy of living in Oklahoma!  The cost of living is one of the lowest but the Summer temperatures are some of the highest (O.K. Texas beats us there again). 

There is so much to do today, I barely know where to start!  How about meditation (drink coffee and smoke cigarette on front porch with a cat wrapped around my sore ankle)? When in doubt, meditate!  Gracie (black outside cat) has been missing for a few days.  Hope she returns soon.  Really like her.  She is so sweet (unlike a lot of people I used to know). 

My friends at Hubler Vet Clinic are doing a home visit today.  We don't refer to it as a "farm call" because it is more like family dropping by and besides, We don't have a farm.  What we do have is "Dr. Doolittle on Steriods".  (the movie you know. He and the animals talk to each other).  The blue heeler pups (the Boys) need their follow-up Parvo and Rabies shots. This is going to be fun. Not!  They are way too big to crate and put in a car now (I don't know exactly what's in that high dollar dry food I'm feeding them but they are strong enough to knock me to the ground if I'm not firm with them). 

Berta and Stacey making a "house call" for the boys.

Berta trying to be friends with the Pickle.
Maybe, Maybe Not.

Pickle looks on as Berta goes the extra mile to be friends with Mischief (hiding behind house).

 We have never had outside dogs, so the boys have proven to be a challenge for me.  Their mom (Gypsy) is in heat again (that Hussy!) so I can't get her spayed for a month (the fun never ends around here).  Gyps and I have a special bond.  She was a stray and I loved her unconditionally and she now is my devoted friend.  I tell her all my troubles (I whine) and she listens without judging. 

Gypsy trust me and I trust her.  Perfect match.

All the male dogs in the neighborhood now stop by to see if she is interested (she had better keep her tail down).  It is total chaos!  I need a retreat from my retreat!  But instead I will go scoop poop in their pen.  Mow the yard.  Pick up junk out of the yard and head for the house before the heat gets me. 

Anti-social big ole mama's boys.
They could destroy an armored tank.
Terrors, I tell you!  Terrors! Big T.

Thank you for stopping by today to sit a spell and visit.  Hope to see you again soon.

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role model for being alive. 
~Gilda Radner

From The Heart Of Suffering..........

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

My beloved Harmony Acres is saturated but it will survive.  We are all O.K.  Today, God is smiling down upon us with wonderful, glorious sunshine (for one more day and then more rained predicted). We are in that yucky drying out stage. The ground is mushy and muddy; oozing between my toes in my crocs (hurt my ankle again and can't wear rubber boots because of swelling). We were lucky! It could have been much worse!

Brother Dave cut this rose bush back to a nub so he
could replace the porch post.  It's never bloomed so beautifully.
I guess everything needs a little pruning sometimes.

Why is it that the light of day always brings renewed hope?  And an opportunity to give Thanks?  The list of things to be grateful for is far longer than any list of complaints I have ever compiled.  Gratitude.....hm mm....I like the feel of that word. 

Definition:   Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.

Yeah! Attitude! Got plenty of that! Emotion! I'm a woman for heaven's sake, no shortage of emotion here.  It's the positive part that sometimes hangs me up.  On many occasions, I have been Positive of something only to have it bite me in the rear.  O.K. that's enough about my mental and emotional shortcomings; let's talk about me and my day (narcissistic, too? had to use spellcheck.  if I can't spell it then I must not be it. right?).  There is much to be done today.  No matter what, the animals (dogs, cats, bird, fish) still have to be taken care of.

Even if I didn't want to get up, the unrelenting howling and whining
coming from these two would force me out of bed to feed
them just so there would be no mad neighbors!

After many fruitless attempts (bath in dawn, herbal spray, benadryl, neosporin) to calm Maggies' allergies, the time has come for a trip to see Stacey (Hubler Vet Service)  for a shot.  The shots make Maggie go wee-wee frequently with no control, which upsets her to no end.  No rug (and we have a ton of them) is safe (she especially likes the bathroom rug.  Becky says she goes to the right room that ought to count for something).  Usually this is not a problem but at the moment I can't do laundry because........it's rained so much the lateral lines aren't draining. 

Mags wore her sailor outfit to visit Stacey.
Duke (Indy) came in to say hello.

We made our usual stop at McDonald's for Maggie's chicken.

Becky's plane lands in Tulsa at 4:30 p.m. today. It was a difficult trip to Denver for her (nose bleed, fatigue, headache; she is not accustomed to the altitude).  She has requested her favorite meal (not cold cereal again)--Spaghetti with vegetarian meat substitute.  Not a seven course meal: just spaghetti.  No problem. In the meantime, Maggie is taking a little nap so she can play with Becky when she gets home.

It's been a long week for a little girl.

It's been a long week for all of us and we still have another day left. Perhaps a tiny reprieve from the rain and a little sunshine will revive our souls.  Oklahomans are not strangers to disaster.  Natural or man-made.  We live in tornado alley, we suffer drought and flooding (all of Mother Natures extremes), poverty (At the end of 2010, more than 779,000 Oklahomans were on food stamps according to Janet Pearson's article in the Tulsa World) and the riches (all of the financial extremes) that the oil and gas business brings.

If one of us is hurt, we all bleed. Life can beat us to the ground but we will still stand and meet the challenge. Just heard Reba McIntire and Blake Shelton are doing a benefit concert for the Atoka County, Oklahoma victims of the tornadoes.  Okies helping Okies.  That's what I'm talking about! 

We are survivors!  We are Oklahomans!

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. 

Winston Churchill

Ode To Spring

Ode To Spring

It snowed today
Again
Like yesterday
And once more
Snow tomorrow

A harsh winter
That's what they say
Colder than it's ever been
Snow like we've never seen
Spring... it will be late

But I will wait, for like fate
Spring always follows
Spring always comes
Spring has never failed me

Sonya Florentino

I refuse to let the howling wind and blowing snow outside dampen my enthusiasm because I know Spring is just around the next blizzard.  Speaking of Spring, who knew the beginning was in question?  My wall calendar indicates it starts on March 20th but other sources (including my countdown gadget) insists it is March 21st.  I will check the 2011 Old Farmers' Almanac to get to the truth of the matter. 

I am so excited about this Spring because it will be my first serious attempt to grow and preserve our own food. I have been researching the various methods of building a root cellar and cool pantry.  It will have to be inexpensive and hopefully using simple materials easily available. 

But in the meantime Beck, the animals and I are taking it easy and doing the smart thing in this weather:  staying home.  It's now nap time and everyone goes to their own space and their own blankies (no one likes to share personal items). Pushka has to be separated from the others just in case she has something contagious.  As soon as the weather breaks, we will take her to see Stacy for tests.

Grey Kittie (Pushka) is incarcerated until she can go to the Vet.  No, she is not going to live inside! When the temperature is above freezing, she is going back out and that is that.

Gigi just wants to wrap up in her puppy blankie.

Noah just wants a hug and a biscuit.

A human can't hardly find a place to sit around here.

How many times have you heard it said "what goes around comes around"?  It's an old fashioned way of saying "Karma". We are continuously polluting Mother Earth in 2011 as we were in 1937 (only much worse).  Will we (the human species) ever learn?  When we look to the past, have we made any positive changes or are we continuing to abuse the beautiful earth that God gave us?  We are his stewards and we need to start acting like it.

The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. 
 (Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. Democratic politician, president. Letter, February 26, 1937, to state governors, urging uniform soil conservation laws.)

Neti Pot 101

You already have the precious mixture that will make you well. Use it.
Rumi
I'm sure Rumi wasn't referring to a Neti Pot when this was spoken but I took it as a sign when I came across this today. In recent years, I have suffered from allergies which leads to sinusitis which leads to bronchitis which leads to pneumonia which leads to a very expensive doctor visit and medications.  It is a vicious cycle. 

However, the preventive medicine for this malady has been sitting in my medicine cabinet for over a year, the Neti Pot.  I have avoided using it because it involves water in my nose.  To me, a non-swimmer and scared to death of water up my nose, this was not my first choice in the "heal thyself" scenario.  It has come to my attention, after checking the cost of my last brush with an infection, this is less expensive and painful than a doctor visit (and my doctor uses it herself).

First, let's identify the source of my allergies.  Mm.....surely it can't be.......................cats and dogs?

It's not me. It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me.  It's HIM!

It's not me. It's HIM!

It ain't easy being the only guy in a household full of women!

Upon discovering the possible source of my symptoms, I move on to the cure.  The Neti Pot box says "Allergy & Sinus Natural Relief ".  Now your talking.  Then it says "for nasal irrigation" as in nasal=nose and irrigation=water, therefore;  water up my nose.  Oh, boy! Oh, boy!  This ain't no cure for the faint hearted.

Upon opening  the box, I discover a small library of instructions enclosed.  Why can't they just say "mix the stuff in the pot and pour it up your nose?"  They lure you in with "nasal irrigation" and "sinus rinse". 

The dreaded Neti Pot.  Looks harmless enough, huh?

This is a five step process.  First read the Warning Before Using the Product.
Step One:  Wash hands and rinse pot.  Fill the pot with 8 ounces of warm distilled water. Hey, wait a minute!  If you can drown in less than an inch of water in the bathtub, why am I getting ready to pour 8 ounces of water up my nose? 
Step Two:  Put sinus rinse stuff in pot.  Place one finger over the hole of the cap and shake gently to dissolve mixture.
Step Three:  Stand in front of sink, lean forward and tilt head.  Sounds simple so far.  Without holding your breath and with mouth open, apply tip of device snugly against nasal passage and allow the  solution to gently flow until the solution starts draining from the opposite passage.  Ugh....gross.  It should not come in your mouth unless you are tilting your head backwards. (now they tell me). 
Step Four:  Gently blow nose.
Step Five:  Repeat steps 3 & 4 on other nasal passage.  Obviously, if you make it to this step, you didn't drown on step three.

The brochure says a lot of other stuff but this is the condensed version. If my family doesn't hear from me by noon, the first place to check for me will be leaning over the bathroom sink in a puddle of "Sinus Rinse".

Hope this will help you find a "natural" preventive cure for your allergy symptoms.  Natural healing is a staple in any Simple Living household.

Thank you for visiting today.  Hope I didn't bore you with the details.  But as they say "the devil's in the details".  One little detail omitted can change the outcome of a really great idea.