I as learn to live my new life, I have decided to add a little travel, to the best of my ability and to have a little more fun. Because, at this time, I have no animals to tend to and no job, I can make the time to get out and about. It’s been nice.
One of the things I have been participating in is a walking group around a portion of Claremore Lake. It has been very nice to walk with a small group of ladies, some with their dogs. We chat and enjoy the view of a lake that I never realized how pretty it was until we started these early morning walks before the heat of the day could drive us away.
As my situation continues to drag on, I am trying to come to terms with the idea that I may never get back to my beloved farm. Tom’s increasingly bizarre behavior is completely destroying everything that I have worked for for over a decade. I have built a YouTube channel, Grandma’s Homestead and I am no longer on the homestead. I needed to come up with a way to continue to produce video content. I came to the conclusion that I would do cooking videos on Grandma’s Homestead, many times specializing in depression-era or cooking from the pantry recipes. I am doing other things in my life, along with the traveling, and decided to take my other YouTube channel, This Grandma’s Life and incorporate other things I’m doing, mixing it in with the podcast channel that it originally started out being. Episode 82: Pivoting…Again can be listened to on your favorite pod catcher or here.
For the Grandma’s Homestead channel, I made a meatloaf for the adults on Wednesday evening and produced a video. Meatloaf: A Family Favorite can be seen here.
In my last blog post, I told you about the trip Dianna and I took to Florida to visit my parents. Since this visit, my brother told me that Dad no longer recognizes Mom. That breaks my heart for Mom as she is in an earlier stage of dementia and may not understand this at alI. I finally got the video posted. Rushing to Florida can be seen here.
I also got another of Kinzie’s softball games posted. Porter Away September 9, 2024 can be seen here.
Speaking of softball, I got to play in a softball game with several other adults. I was apprehensive to play at my age, especially not trusting my foot completely yet, but it went well and I had a lot of fun.
My daughter-in-law’s mother found out that I wanted to do some traveling and was even going to go camping to save money on these trips. She gifted me with several wonderful things to use for camping: a Coleman propane stove with propane, a couple of lanterns, a mess kit, a sleeping bag and several other things. She also gave me a tool kit when she learned that I had missed my own tools so much. A Softball Game and a Huge Blessing can be seen here.
With my newly acquired camping gear, Dianna and I took off to Western Oklahoma. It had been many years since either of us had done any camping so I was a little frustrated with myself when I couldn’t get neither the cook stove nor the grill lit in the 40 mile and hour wind. We did finally get the tent set up but we ended up eating cold precooked smoked sausage on buns with some chips for dinner.
Even with the first night frustrations, we ended up having a wonderful time. We explored and laughed a lot. Gone Camping can be seen here.
The next day, we got around and walked across the parking lot to wait for the first tour of the caverns for the day. I enjoyed looking around in the mini museum while we waited and I particularly enjoyed teasing two preteen boys who were also going to be on the tour with their grandfather. The tour was very nice and our guide did an excellent job. Wandering around in a cool cave when it is one hundred degrees outside was very nice.
After the tour, Dianna and I drove around looking for places to see and do to get out of the heat. We were not successful there but we had a good day anyway. That evening, we took off for our after dinner walk and stumbled upon the sign that indicated the way to the Water Cave. This is a cave that has a small waterfall in the back of it and you can book a night to stay in it. We were thrilled to find the cave, but we were ill prepared to do much as our phone flash lights did little to help us see inside. Dianna was particularly thrilled to find the cave and she had me laughing with her enthusiasm. Even after getting back up on top of the canyon, we were laughing almost uncontrollably with all fun we were having. I am so glad that we took this trip together. Exploring the Alabaster Caverns Area can be seen here.
That night, storms were nearby and we were in a tent with the rain flap off. We ended up moving our whole camp over to a large covered area with several picnic tables. We tied the tent to the tables and put the rain flap on. We listened to the thunder in the distance and the coyotes that were not so far away. That was a little eerie. It turns out that most of the storms skirted around us with only some sprinkles on occasion. I was glad we moved and prepared anyway. There was only one other camper on the whole grounds and she was a solo camper traveler with a beautiful black lab at her side. I had been admiring her from a distance as she exhibited the camping skills that I certainly did not have. The old camper that she was staying in was beautiful and I knew she had done the work herself. I was thrilled to get to talk to her the next morning. She’s doing exactly what I want to do. She was happy and doing work she loved and her dog stole my heart. I was encouraged by our conversation.
After we packed up to leave, we stopped on the way home to check out Salt Plains state park. It was very hot and windy, but we still had a wonderful time attempting to dig for selenite crystals. Apparently, it was obvious that we did not know what we were doing and a family of six offered to help us. They really knew what they were doing and it was really neat to see them finding so many crystals. One little girl kept find some and gave them to us. I got tickled when she said one time. “I’m just a random stranger helping people find crystals.” Salt Plains State Park can be seen here.
Dianna and I were tired after so much adventure and glad to get home. I was so glad we went and had such a good time. I look forward to more adventures, hopefully with wonderful friends like Dianna.
I posted an audio only podcast on my Books Highlighted podcast. This particular podcast covered a book I read to help me get my head wrapped around severe disabilities, end of life, and all things related. Episode 28: When Is It Right to Die can be heard here or on your favorite pod catcher.
I have been told many times to be wary of my surroundings as my husband spirals in his mental illness and I have tried very hard to do that. One evening, I came home to the parsonage to find a bouquet of flowers on the front porch. My heart lurched in my chest and I was even afraid to touch it, but finally picked up the beautiful flowers to take inside and look at them a little closer. A brown napkin tucked into the arrangement was the calling card. Looking closer, I saw that the napkin had been decorated beautifully, telling me that this person was praying for me. It was signed “SS.” I struggled to think of anyone I knew with those initials. Then it dawned on me: SS stood for Secret Sister! I was so happy and relieved…and so very touched.
I love cooking for the people on Wednesday nights and I love being able to experiment with different recipes. Sometimes, I use some of the recipes that I cooked back at the farm for my family and this was one of them. Curried Veggie Stew is a great vegetable dish that can be eaten as a side or a vegetarian meal or meat added for a hearty dish the family will love. The video can be seen here.
I know I’m even slower getting videos edited and posted on Kinzie Lackey Sports YouTube channel, but I did get an old basketball camp video up. Glencoe @ the Oilton Basketball Camp can be seen here.
Now that Dianna has moved on to her new apartment, the church has decided to make a large portion of the parsonage into the clothing ministry. I get moved from my old bedroom into the master bedroom and I love my new set up. Preparing for More Changes can be seen here.
As life continues, I am sure that more changes are coming. Let’s see what the future has in store. I’m looking forward to it. See you next time!