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I congratulate you both on getting that old sofa dealt with!

Not only do those fast food stops cost money but precious time that we do not like to spend when traveling . We like peanut butter sandwiches with an apple and we always have those items on hand.  We always keep our insulated water bottles full and in the fridge so grab and go.  

We have become overwhelmed with the to do list as well.  It is hard to get older and not be able to deal with everything ourselves.  I put money in a budget category each month for repairs to our home.  It is hard to find help here though because of all the explosive growth and thousands of new houses being built. We will press on and do our best.

I remember so many things that you talked about. Growing up back then was so different. I still miss those times even though they were so much harder. It wasn’t just harder but more rewarding. If not for the things I learned I would have a totally different outlook on life. 
in this day and time we need to be much more thrifty. It doesn’t matter what your income. But with me I have to be extra careful. Social security doesn’t cover what my income did when I was working full time as well. Since I “retired “ from disability it costs more due to doctors bills alone. 
Since we are 1st cousins I was wondering if you still have the same phone number. 
you stay on my mind so often and I truly miss the times we’ve shared in the past. Like in particular the time when Grandmother laughed so hard at Charles and Mike’s antics. Lol

I lost your number along the way is why you haven’t heard from me but I think I can get your number from sis if it’s still the same. 
I have enjoyed your posts and am so thankful that I signed up. 
It’s like having you back in my life again but maw bell lied it’s not as good as actually talking and being together. I miss those times more than I can say. 
It’s funny how our lives seem to go full circle back to the past. Without the knowledge from our past we would be in some serious trouble without the lessons we learned. 
Hopefully we can connect soon. 
Thank you for taking the time to share these things with us. You don’t know how much it’s truly appreciated. 
BTW I REALLY MISS YOU  Thank you for so many sweet memories. 
love cuz. 
One last thing I hope and pray that you have a very blessed Thanksgiving. 

I was reading along, wondering and wondering how the sofa bed was going to get out of the house, and then you took it apart! I love it! :) I think that if we didn't have to do these things, we'd never learn how to problem solve so well. I am grateful that since this study, I have to face obstacles I have to think through, not buy my way through. And Grandma Donna is the best example! 

My life goal is to never have too much to do again. A peaceful life to me is one that you can maintain comfortably. I'm working hard to get there. Right now we're in the middle of changing the landscaping in the front yard. We're doing all of the work ourselves, and it's been a very cheap project that will gain me room to plant more flowers. I have a 7,000+ sq ft yard. It's pretty small, and I have big ideas, but I am limited by the space I have. :)

I am so excited because after admiring all of the furniture Grandma Donna and Grandpa Charles have picked up over the years and restored, I finally have one! I've needed a new desk chair and wanted an old-fashioned one. Someone had a beautiful old, solid wood, curved legs, sturdy ladderback chair put out with their trash! The cushioned seat needs cleaning and there are some scuffs and scratches on the wood, but my son sat in the chair and gave it some hard wiggling before we put it in the car and took it home. It looks like it was unused for years and someone was doing some cleaning out. 

We're working especially hard right now because we want to have everything about the house done by the end of next year. It's all necessary changes, like the painting we did. We started painting in the hallway, painting it a beautiful light blue that curved around into the entryway, and I actually had tears in my eyes as it was painted. I didn't realize how depressing the brown walls were until then. I love the color change, but we're fixing the bad painting job the builder did. We've fixed the plumbing, we've fixed the grading, we've fixed the ventilation, we've fixed the A/C, and we've fixed the painting, so far. 

I keep a basket under my purse with snacks yo take with us when we’re out. I also keep my lists, shopping bags, and any other errand items there as they come up because I can easily forget something if I don’t! 

We had a large sectional left in a rental that we couldn’t move…. Until Mister got his reciprocating saw out… it was firewood in short order! 

Today we were going to change our dryer vent hose… and ten minute job took two hours because I ended up washing the walls, appliances, and floor as well as replacing and securing the hose to the wall better. These little jobs become huge so easily! But I’m glad it’s done until February when I will be sure to do it again so it won’t be such a mess!!! 

Thank you for another wonderful post, gDonna. I have felt overwhelmed for several years. We have way too much to go through and I have to do it. Fifty-eight years of our items (although I purged much before our move to this house), plus my husbands parents antiques.

The idea of listing the highest priorities is a very good help. I will do that this evening. I do hate feeling overwhelmed to the point of holding my breath, at times.

I went on and on and never said what food I'd pack for a trip! For years, on our road trips, we'd pack sandwiches in a cooler. I'd make enough for lunch and dinner, and have fruit and snacks like nuts to go with them. That way at least the first day of travel was taken care of. Since reading this blog, I've gotten a lot of new ideas for food to pack. 

I always have crackers and cheese along with a cereal bar available to take with me even if its just a trip to the grocery store along with my reusable water bottle. I get low blood sugar attacks and this takes care of it.

On longer trips we usually take sliced ham, cheese, pepperoni and crackers and/or rolls. Homemade cookies and I make up peanut butter crackers.  We take whatever is available in the fridge, cold chicken, apples, homemade trail mix and even homemade granola. All of us carry water in reusable bottles. oranges and grapes also carry well. We have bags with cold packs to use.

Growing up we did not eat out, we always carried food and if it was a long trip we ate at roadside tables and rest areas.

Great job on removing the old sofa, I understand the heavy mental lifting in dealing with these things, I am still dealing with a basement full at my parents house and they have been gone since 2014 and 2019. I work on it a bit at a time as it is overwhelming and emotional. Sometimes I think I am just moving things from one place to another. Plus some of it goes to grandkids when they get their own homes. 

I have to hire things done that I used to do myself, its frustrating but necessary. I am also lucky that I have family around to help with heavy jobs, I hate having to ask but I am learning my limits.

JC

When we were newlyweds we received a “Pyrex Portables” bowl and carrier that had a cold pack.  I would make a pasta salad for us to eat at the rest area as we traveled between states to see family.  These days those kinds of trips are taken in our campervan, so I have a refrigerator, microwave, and stove burner at my disposal — such luxury!  Still, we often pack the making for sandwiches as they are quick and simple.  If we are gone at supper time we pack premade (by me) meals we can heat in the microwave.  If we are going someplace over a meal time and won’t be with the van, I typically pack muffins, cheese, fruit, etc.  I try to keep homemade muffins in the freezer so we can grab and go.  When I am on the ball I also bake cookies and wrap them in packs of 2 for us to pack as well.  If we go somewhere and it’s hot out, I pack two water bottles, on to carry with me and one for when I get back to the car.  I fill that one to the top with nugget ice and tuck an iced tea spoon inside — having that to look forward to taught me to stop wanting to get an ice cream or soda.

I grew up in a time and place where fast food was everywhere, although we rarely ate it until the 1980s.  Over the decades we’ve had times we ate restaurant food often (not fast food so much) and times we hardly had restaurant food at all.  We’re once again in time where we almost never get restaurant food, and it feels completely normal to us.  Last night we were driving home from the market and my husband wanted to drive through the downtown area to see if the Christmas tree was lit — he’d seen it lit last week on a walk during the daytime, but then I read the city was doing the official lighting this weekend.  It wasn’t lit.  Anyway, the point is as we came toward downtown I saw all of the restaurants (sit down and fast casual, we don’t have fast food in that area), and I remarked how I rarely even think of restaurants anymore.  It is as if they aren’t there, because they aren’t in my mind.

The little pink and white pitcher and basin are lovely!

I too was wondering how you and Charles would get the sofa bed out of the house, and enjoyed reading about your ingenuity in taking it apart!  Over the past few years we have cut apart and taken apart several items so they fit in our city waste bin.  Last week my husband took apart some packaging made of pressure treated wood; our son’s gym equipment arrived in it and then it sat outside for a year.  Pressure treated wood isn’t safe to burn, so we didn’t think it would be safe to use in planters either, because of the chemicals.