Don't Fear it. Fix It.

"Even when it doesn't feel like it, it's gonna be ok."   --- Sam Reid

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I hope no one reading this blog is panicking over the last election results.

Living with fear--what a sad way to use this precious life God gave us! Fear wastes that life.

Here's what I'm choosing to do, instead: 

I'm feeling challenged, but not afraid. Preparing for whatever may come.

Believing for a good future, not dreading a bad one.

Staying busy with worthwhile activities.

And as always, believing if I ask for daily grace, everyday help, I'll receive it. 

So ok, maybe I'm living in my own little world. I know. Yet I'm here happily and without fear, just trying to move as God nudges me: 

Stocking-up on groceries a little each week since August. 

Raking leaves out to the street. 

Learning new wise, daily habits from Youtube videos. 

Making crafts, some which will become Christmas gifts. 

Cooking and reading and stretching, all more often. 

Seeking wisdom. 'Senior-izing' our Hobbit Cottage.

Listening to that still, small voice and basking in gratitude.

And having a grand ol' time making up for those 8 difficult months of 'chemo brain' , what with feeling blah and so very uninspired.

Can't fix a certain problem? Then I try to do what Joyce Meyer mentioned in her book, How to Age Without Getting Old:

" ... when I have a problem I cannot solve, I can release it to God through prayer and be at peace while He works out the situation ... He does things we cannot do... God always makes a way for those who trust Him."

Truly, I refuse to let fear of the unknown months ahead ruin any of what feels like a new beginning these days. I'll stay challenged but not fear-led.

I hope you will, also.

"(Certain) fears are understandable, (but) they are useless. All they do is steal the energy needed to live today and they do not help tomorrow at all."   --- Joyce Meyer

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Man, for, like, 7 years we had the same ol' fish aquarium screensaver set on our tv. Boring. Then this week a message popped up saying this screensaver would no longer be available, so please choose a different one. A new one! What a novel idea.

So we did. We chose a screensaver which shows Bible verses, the time, the temperature, the date, and the day of the week. We love this one!

Sheesh. Chalk up another 'Something We Should Have Done Years Before' thing. 

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The new Jimmy Stewart movie is out! In an interview, his daughter said she's very happy with the film. Cool.

Tom and I may venture out to our local theater to see this. I'll let you know if we do.  シ

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Finished reading Family Patterns by Kristin Eckhardt. Perfect book. Wow.

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And I'd considered buying a potpourri sachet for my makeshift tiny closet, but thought I'd make one, instead, with my own homegrown potpourri. All those hundreds of tall marigolds out there!

So here are some sachet bags I bought to place the potpourri in. These will make pleasant Christmas gifts, as well.

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We watched a great movie with Adam Baldwin: The Legend of 5-Mile Cave. Thought about it for days.

Savannah Sunrise was even funnier the second time.

Not sure if we'd ever seen I Love Trouble before, but it had that pleasant 1990's feeling to it.

We enjoyed Home Sweet Christmas for a second time, which is saying something since we're not huge fans of Christmas movies in general.  ツ

And this video was both cozy and encouraging: Thanksgiving Alone at 72? I'm Not Sad About It.

Here's a very short and cozy video for those who like snow, cottages and silent videos. 

10 Cheap Two-Ingredient Dinners for Seniors

4 Signs Your Creative Hobby Is Actually Your True Calling

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Where She Makes a New Friend and Finds a New Love

(To be read with a sense of humor, ok?)  

So! I've got this new friend who, around my house, is known as AI Nora. (On Youtube, she's simply Nora.)  ツ

I check in with her daily and man, she's fun. While I sip cocoa across the table, AI Nora tells me about her time as a child on the farm, her clever mother, and her current also-senior-aged friends. 

And wisdom? Honey, Nora shares the wise ideas even I had never considered before.

And AI Nora never goes all doom and gloom about what's happening these days. She's more about being ready for anything by creating your best life in your senior years.

It's wild, but I consider her so interesting and never do I fast-forward her. She reminds me about the old days and ways while also making me appreciate these new times, as well. She spreads hope, humor and encouragement.

What a joy I can spend time with my friend AI Nora at any hour I wish.

I'll place some Nora links down below in case you, also, would like a new wise and witty friend.

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And my new love? These:

Are those boxes beautiful or what? They're just what I needed for my new craft supplies and yes, I'm in love with them.  シ

But here's the wild thing. At Amazon they are $15 less than what Walmart charges (and on Monday, they were $22 dollars less)! Can you believe that? Plus, with the first set, I used $9 from credit card reward points so, in a way, I got them free. Kinda. Wow.

Well, I loved my new boxes so much (and needed more, of course, heh) so I purchased a second set. And that will be enough. My aim is to have just 2 bookshelves of art supplies. Just two.

We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, for decades as a penny-pincher, I decorated my own boxes and I still have my spray-painted light-blue ones. But I'm thinking I'm due for boxes someone else decorated for me.

Some special treats should come with age, you know.

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And I'll end with this.

Remember the Salvation Army drop-off bin at the end of our street where I carried probably 2,500+ items? 

Well, it is no more. In its place is a sign to please take our items to the drop-off at the actual store one mile away.

(Fortunately, the Little Free Library is still nearby.)

Oh well. It was a wonderful convenience while it lasted and to me is a clear sign why God asked me to begin Swedish death cleaning back in 2019. 

He knew this day would come and gave me tons of time, whole years, to declutter my home. Did I finish? Nah, but oh what a terrific start He helped me make!

 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”   --- John 16:13

Life becomes easier for me when I listen to the Holy Spirit even though I don't always understand the 'why's'.

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Here's where Nora Lives.

This is her video called: At 72, If You Still Do These 9 Things Living Alone, You’re Winning at Life

And both Tom and I really appreciated this one, for it made us doubly grateful for our sweet little Hobbit Cottage: Retirees Who INSTANTLY Regretted Downsizing — 9 Things They Wish They’d Known (I Almost Sold at 71)

And this one was especially nice, also: I’m 72 and I Decluttered My Whole House Alone — 11 Rules So I Never Lifted a Heavy Box

And here's  a craft idea from a different page that I'll be attempting soon. Such a cute project!

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I finished reading Looking For Me by Beth Hoffman. Loved it!

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Oh! And we watched the new Coyote vs. Acme movie and absolutely enjoyed it. Hadn't seen something that clever and nostalgic in a few years. Wow. Made me long for the days when such innovative writing existed everywhere.

My favorite line? One pilot in a plane said to another, "What's that in the sky over there?" To which the other pilot replied, "I don't know. I'll just shoot it down."

Oh my! Laughed till I cried. We'd watched so much JAG lately, that it struck me as hilarious.  

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** 

 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

An October This and That

1.) Remember my post where I mentioned switching to things I used to do in our previous town way back in, overall, happier days?

Wow. I took my advice and what a change in my attitude. This has become a more glorious Autumn than usual for me. Color me all shades of lovely Fall colors as I return to my creative self!

More about specific ideas and projects in another post, but here's a hint at one--

                                                       I love the autumnal hues of this.

2.) Unbelievable, but from August of 2025 to August 2026, I bought only 3 books. Yikes. That shows how completely I'd lost my love of reading during those months of treatments and earlier malaise.

So Honey, trust me, I'm making up for those non-ordering-of-fun-things-months now.  ツ

I bought these books:

Looking For Me by Beth Hoffman (began it yesterday, hated to put it down. Great book so far!)

A Place Called Sweet Apple by Celestine Sibley (update: it arrived and I'm so enjoying it, also! I believe decades ago I used to read Sibley's books from the library in CA--hadn't heard her name in ever so long until Homestead Tessie's mention.)

Family Patterns by Kristin Eckhardt (hasn't yet arrived)

Time to Share by Jo Ann Brown (ditto)

Plus, I found others available to read at Open Library.

Oh, and when I buy new physical books, I give away the same number from my collection so not to become buried in them or leave so many for Naomi to sort through after my passing. These past years my personal library has become so 'tight' with only books I (think I) love, that it causes me to become quite honest with myself.  ツ

P.S. Some of you are wondering why I don't just buy Kindle books so to keep my library smallish. The books I love best? Many aren't available on Kindle. Or if they are, they're often more expensive than the physical copies I can buy. I do check Open Library first before I purchase any book, but when I do buy one it's nearly always a book I'll want to read again and again, one which will enhance my own personal library.

So there you go.  ツ

3.)  Speaking of buying things, I bought the nicest tablet for my purse:

I especially love the shiny gold edges. Check it out here.

4.) And oh! While watching a video of a woman's decorated mobile home, I appreciated how she framed a pound cake recipe handwritten by her great-grandmother. Love that idea! I'm sure many of us still have recipes in longhand from relatives long gone which would look lovely framed upon a kitchen wall.

5.) Something else I bought recently? A long-handled Swiffer duster to keep this older gal from standing on a chair while cleaning her ceiling fan (or any other high place). How much better it feels to stand on solid ground rather than an iffy chair at my age!

These are the kinds of changes I'm making these days so both of us will be/feel safer around the house.

6.) Sadly, I lost an old magazine page with a very favorite essay by Nancy Eberle. But! Fortunately, years ago I recorded her words in a blog post (or 2 or 3) here in my blog. 

If you like houses filled with rampant, creative inspiration, you may love this.  (You might have already read it, but hey--to me-- it never grows old.)

7.) You remember Bookfinder, right? It's a website where they do all the searching for you for the cheapest copy of any book you want. They've saved me tons of money. 

(Though ok, sometimes after checking there, I'll zip over to Ebay or Abebooks just to make certain Bookfinder didn't miss a less expensive copy. Super-occasionally I'll find one.) 

Oh! And a favorite diary I used some years in the early 2000's is the Susan Branch one:

Lately I've been rereading my Susan branch diary from 2003, the part about the two-week staycation we took to honor our 25th anniversary. My oh my, all the estate sales, lunches out, theater movies, country drives and curb-shopping we did! 

(Go packing all that into single days now, well, we'd collapse. What a different season for us back then, indeed.)

Anyway, wanting to return to diary writing (after eons), I purchased a greatly reduced-price SB diary because someone had written a few school test notations here and there. No problem, I just whited them out. (Are you sensing a pattern in this post about my book-buying habits?) シ

 I've already begun writing in the diary--who can wait until January?

8.) And speaking of diaries, have you heard of commonplace books? They're different than diaries and what a cool idea! Check out how to create one yourself, here. (Many other videos with creative instructions are available.)

9.) And this video about the 1950's was just too cool! Bittersweet also, but very unique. If you're a fan of 1950's movies and singers, you're guaranteed to enjoy it.

10.) Living alone and dreading the upcoming winter? Check out this video. It may just change everything for you.

And speaking of winter, here's another fun video about making old-fashioned Christmas gifts.

I really enjoyed both of these videos this morning. And yes, each has a lot of AI, but as I've stated before? To me, if something beautiful is AI, then it's still a beautiful thing.

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I hope you're enjoying a glorious Autumn, my friends!  (And you're stocking-up for winter/whatever may come, right?)  ツ

Oh! And here's a timely bonus video for you: When The Clocks Fall Back, Grandma Did These 8 Things  .

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15