Liquid Lunch

At the end of last week, we had a couple of days that hit 80 degrees.  I know for those people who live in southern areas, that's not an unusual April temperature.  But it is in Michigan!  Not only is that unseasonably hot, it also comes with humidity on the high side.  When you are in the mid-50s (and relatively low humidity) one day, then the sun is scorching while the air is moist the next, it's kind of hard on the body.

Often, when its hot and humid (no matter if it's April or a summer month), my appetite for 'heavy' foods--like meat--drops.  Then I have trouble consuming the proper amount of protein in a day.  Since working with a nutritionist again (beginning in late summer 2024), getting the right amount of protein in every meal is something I've learned to try to focus on.

One thing I discovered, is whey (since I have soy sensitivity) protein powder mixed in with milk.  I found a brand of protein powder that I find palatable, that doesn't have soy or artificial sweeteners (soy blows up my gut, artificial sweeteners give me migraines), so I keep a container of that on hand in my pantry.

Now, when it's a hot day and I don't really want to eat, I 'treat' myself to a liquid lunch.  The first time I said Liquid Lunch to someone, they thought I meant alcohol as/with my meal.  Ha!  As someone who doesn't much care for alcohol, I've never understood why people would drink for/at lunch.  It's so not anything I would ever think to do.

So much so that facetious me now has a little laugh everytime I make myself a Liquid Lunch of protein powder and milk.

 

12 oz whole milk to 2 scoops protein powder

whisked until frothy, then poured into a glass

enjoyed out on the deck with a good book

A Happy Friday Post

 I'm still (mostly) relaxed from my great vacation I posted about here.  It really was a great time.  Even the flights went smoothly (okay, there was a little turbulence but it was minimal and all the rest of the flight/airport experience was unusually free of stress).

Other things making me happy lately:

^A new-to-me cookie recipe that was both easy to make and delicious.  I'll be posting about it soon.

^That while we got tons of rain from recent storms, we had no tornadoes or hail.

^The robins are arriving.  Which means, although we are headed into another cold spell, that we're not going to have much more snow before the weather stays warm.  Typically we get a good snowstorm shortly after the first robins are seen, and then maybe one or two more that melt within a day.  So, we are officially through the hard part of winter.

^On sunny days I've found a few half-hour sessions to work on getting the beading done on a Santa counted cross stitch that I'd worked on last year, intending for it to be done in time for Christmas gifting.  It wasn't.  But it will be this year!

^I finally finished the Yoga Camp series that I started in early 2025, unintentionally took the summer and fall off from and picked up again in January 2026.  So 30 days of yoga was spread out over nearly a year, but hey, I completed what I started. ✊

^After coming home from vacation and catching up on tasks at this little place here I started a new yoga series by the same person: Revolution, which is 31 days.  Let's see if I can get all the days done before the end of summer. (Doing yoga daily is not something I am able to fit into my schedule, so I aim for 2-3 days per week).

^Some ruminations about shedding the most recent phase of our lives (say the last 10 years or so) and stepping into the next, complete with purging of stuff that isn't needed any longer, doing some long put-off projects and switching thinking about DH's retirement from the long term to the short term as regard to plans and looking at it in months (36? Less?  Slightly more?) rather than years (5-10 depending on economy).

^Possibly a new horse coming to live at this little place here in April.

^I finished knitting the socks I'm planning to surprise my Mom with on Mother's Day.

^I started knitting a pair of socks intended as my Dad's Fathers Day present.  Really, when I was packing for vacation I decided that Mom's socks were so near completion it didn't make sense to take those, as I might be done with them before even boarding the flight taking us to Orlando.  So I grabbed yarn for a pair for Dad, chose a pattern, and took those to Florida instead.

What are some things making you smile these days?

Friday Happy Things

1. About a week and a half ago, DH and I went out to eat.  It had been my idea, and a planned thing (typically going out to eat in 2025 was a result of a project taking way later in the day than planned and me not being available to cook at the right time, or the power was out and what I'd planned to cook wasn't an option any more due to not being able to use the oven).  

Why had I picked that day, more than a week before?  Because on that date, waaaaayyyyy back in 1991, DH and I met.  It's a significant date, as it altered my life (and his too, obviously!)  We're still trying to figure out if it was a for the better alteration or a for the worse; current consensus, despite recent frustrations, is still leaning for the better.

Anyway, we went out to eat at a (chain) steakhouse we had been to decades before in a different location at the invitation of a friend of his, and now there is a location about 15 miles from us.  I had (as I always do) looked at the menu ahead of time to see what I could eat (with all my food sensitivities), and we ended up splitting a 16 oz ribeye that was piled with grilled onions and gorgonzola cheese, came with an enormous baked sweet potato and equally large side salad as well as garlic bread.  I guess we're slowly becoming that old couple who goes out to eat and shares a meal, LOL. The food was delicious and more than enough for both of to be full for less than $40 including his beer (I always drink water with meals so I have more carbs to use for food).

2. While cold, we've had about the same number of sunny days lately as cloudy ones.  What a difference that sunshine makes!  And blue sky contrasts very nicely with white snow-covered ground.

3. This month, I've been adding yoga back into my week.  Also have managed to fit in a short (10-15 minute) strength training type of workout weekly.  I'm glad to find that, while I've lost some flexibility, I still have quite a bit of the balance I had back when I was doing yoga 3x/week last winter and spring.

4. Mid-month, I went to a used tack sale.  This one is held annually in the next town over, and I always try to go to it.  While I was dumbfounded at the prices of some things, mostly show-related, I was able to find some great deals on basics.  Details to come in a future post.

5. Making a concentrated effort to include fruit into my daily winter diet.  After a few months of not much in that department, it's a nice treat to the taste buds to add some fruit, usually to my breakfast, every day.

6. I finished knitting the sweater for Lucky's first birthday present with plenty of time to spare!  

Walking, First Half of October

 Back in late August? early September?  I decided that I wanted to participate in an online walking challenge for October.  The premise was easy: walk at least 10 minutes per day.

Now, my days are already mostly spent on my feet, but I was wanting to squeeze in more 'fun' walking along with the 'work' walking that I do.  So I signed up.  How hard can 10 minutes be?

BWAHAHAHA!  (Insert maniacal laugher on repeat here)

Turns out I'm really horrible at squeezing in a measly 10 minutes of fun or 'just for me' stuff, especially walking.

The first few days, okay, I got those. I included pictures from those in this post. But the next week or so, not so much.  

October 4, walking on the 'garden road' that runs from the driveway to the garden. Looking towards the driveway and horse pastures. Front yard is to the right of the conifers and front field (and after that, the road) is to the left , garden is out of sight on immediate right.

October 6, standing in the back of the field looking west towards the house/barn/shop area

October 7, in the backyard looking north towards the coop, barn and shop

On Saturday, October 11, I went to a quilt show at the local fairgrounds, and did a ton of walking there, looking at all the quilts on display.  It was a lot of start and stop type walking so I'm not sure I should even count it as it didn't raise my heart rate one iota like constant motion would.  But, since I was there for over two hours, maybe I walked the equivalent of ten continuous minutes?  I took a bunch of pictures while there, and intend to write a separate post about that, but here's a token picture for my 'walking' that day.

This week I redoubled my efforts, and have (so far) walked 10-25 minutes each day.

October 13, near the northwest corner of the property while walking the perimeter path we made for riding horses/driving tractor/driving 4-wheeler/walking on.

October 14, walking in the field near the marsh, looking northeast.

October 15, walking laps in the 'arena' behind the barn while I wait for one of the water troughs to fill.

As you can see from yesterday's arena laps, I'm trying to get a little creative and explore time slots that I can multitask by walking while 'doing' something else, like filling a water trough, or the 20 minutes something (zucchini muffins) is baking in the oven when the day is pretty jam packed and doesn't feel like there's any 'me' time in there available for a walk.

Hopefully the second half of the month I'll do better and actually walk every day.

Happy Things This Week

 While I may not have taken any days off, or gone anywhere that would be considered fun this week (I do not consider the grocery store fun), and I was incredibly busy all week, that doesn't mean it was a bad, draining, unhappy week.

Am I exhausted, sitting here typing this on Friday evening?  Oh heck yes, I'm ready for a twelve hour snooze (as if that ever happens, even on the rare vacation).  The heat and humidity are ramping back up, and I certainly feel that pressure on my body.  But, as tired as I am, I can still see things that made me happy.

For one,--and don't judge me for the first picture, which is partly a before and partly an in-progress photo--I got the master bath shower scrubbed.  It hadn't had a good scouring in about a year (and, honestly, not even a half-assed one in six months or more) and was looking pretty skanky. Gotta love well water, especially iron-rich well water (and yes, we do have a water softener but it can only accomplish so much. . . )  

Part of the lapse was because I was out of my go-to wonderful shower cleaner, and found out several months later that it had been taken off the market (it was pretty potent stuff, so probably not the greatest environmental- or health-wise, but dang it did a good job with hard water stains.)  A different brand was finally recommended to me by someone else who has very hard water, and I was able to get ahold of some of that to try.

Before/During

The after picture looks much more appetizing.  'New' brand did the trick, although it says no scrubbing needed, just spray on and wipe away and I most definitely had to scrub, even with a scrub brush in some areas. Now to keep it this way. Perhaps a monthly cleaning will only require a spray on and wipe away. . . 

After

 I didn't, technically, enjoy scrubbing out that nasty shower, but I am loving how bright, clean, shiny and generally more pleasant it is now!  (Do you think I can give myself a cash bonus equal to what it would have cost to pay someone to do this unpleasant task?)

Much more fun than taking a mineral deposited shower back to pristine brightness (or as close as it gets after almost 22 years of use), was cutting a bunch of black eyed Susans from the front flower bed and bringing them inside to beautify the dining room table.  

The 'vase' is actually an antique blue glass Ball canning jar that previously belonged to DH's paternal grandmother. When she died about 20 years ago her daughters divided up her canning jars and, since they knew I was the only one of this generation (the grandchildren) who cans and preserves food like they do, they shared some with me.  The blue ones I don't use for canning, but use them for display instead.

I have been trying to get DH (and myself) to eat salad of some type--not counting pasta salads-- at least three times a week all summer.  We had an especially colorful one with our dinner the other night (along with marinated and grilled chicken breast from one of our freshly butchered broilers).

After not being home enough the last three weeks to work on anything in the Finish The Tack Room category, DH installed the light fixture I'd bought for it.  It's LED and SO BRIGHT!  But I wanted bright, like full sun daylight bright, because 1) it's a 12' ceiling and 2) there's going to be a 18" or 24" wide shelf around three of the four walls at approximately 6-7' from the floor for storing totes of out of season or otherwise not used daily/weekly horse-related stuff and that shelf is going to kinda block light coming from above.

This is the light I got, with two moveable panels so that I can kind of aim the light 'under' the future shelf, which is where the saddles and bridles will be stored.

Last Sunday evening, DH and I had a small campfire (really to burn some brush and paper garbage we'd accumulated), and while sitting out there watching the fire, I was able to do some knitting.  

Back in March, when we'd taken K3 and Toad to Sedona on Spring Break for a hiking trip, I had started working on a new pair of socks.  It pretty much got a few inches knit on that trip, and then I didn't touch it on a regular basis after Easter.  However, it was to a point that two hours of knitting on Sunday brought me to the needed foot length for beginning the toe decreases. And once you start the toe decreases, well, you get kind of obsessed about just finishing the dang sock already!

I finished the toe and grafted it closed last night while DH was watching TV.  So now I have one sock knit this entire year! Woo Hoo! I'm hoping to at least find a half hour someday soon to cast on and get the cuff knit for it's mate; maybe by Christmas I'll have a pair I can wear.  The yarn is some Trekking XXL that I've had in my stash for probably 10 years.  So if I make it into socks, does that count as decluttering my house?

What 'simple' joys did you find in your week this week?

Can We Please NOT With All The Soy?!?

 Soy.  It has somehow, in the last decade or so, taken over every food product in the store and at restaurants. Or so it seems.

Which isn't a terrible thing, unless your body, like mine, has strong opinions about soy in the things it ingests. Years ago, I discovered, quite unintentionally, that my body doesn't like interesterified soybean oil. Like, really, really doesn't like. As in, almost immediate stomach cramping and purging of all intestinal contents. Not fun.

So, I tried to avoid that particular formation of soy in my food.  Problem solved.

Except, to a lesser immediately violent extent, a couple of years later, on a hiking trip vacation, I discovered that my body also does not like isolated soy protein. UGH.  Add isolated soy protein to the Do Not Eat list.

Try finding a protein bar, or even a granola bar, without that.  Try hiking for half a day (or more) without a convenient to pack, non-temperature sensitive, source of protein like a protein bar.  Luckily in 2024 I discovered Aloha protein bars, which are both palatable, and do not get their protein from soy! Hallelujah! Highly recommend!

Unfortunately, my body's dislike of soy has gotten worse as soy has crept into more and more food items. Regular soybean oil (not just interesterified), soy lecithin (waah, even in the chocolate chips I make cookies with, not to mention pretty much every brand of ice cream under the sun and tons of baked goods, dairy products, etc.), plain old soy protein (not just isolated) all cause a measurable gut reaction. Every single time.

Even my for many years belovedly safe hot dogs from the local meat market now contain smallish amounts of soy.  So supposedly small it's almost the last ingredient listed on the package, but it's enough to make the early morning hours of the day after eating a 'safe' hot dog be requiring frequent trips to the bathroom.  That is no way to live a productive or enjoyable life!

It's so frustrating! Soy is increasingly difficult to keep out of my own kitchen. Trying to eat out (without unpleasant gut issues later) is getting practically impossible.

Now, I know that there's probably medications my doctor could prescribe to 'calm down' my intestines' reactions to soy.  But why should adding chemicals to my gut to lessen it's natural processes be the number one answer?  Why not just take all the (expletive deletive) soy out off all the foods it's been added to in the last two decades? I mean, the same food existed pre-soy craze, why can't it go back to that?

(Truthfully, I know that it's because soy has become the cheaper alternative to those other ingredients, but come on. . . it's so not good for more people than just myself.)

Can we please, please, please, NOT with all the soy?!?

View From The Porch Swing

 Yesterday, I did a lot.  Worked two horses.  Made breakfast (fried eggs and toast for DH, Greek yogurt with granola for me), lunch (leftover chicken tortilla soup) and dinner (burritos!) for DH and I (he rarely cooks).  Washed the dishes, did a load of laundry (and hung it on the line), cleaned stalls, took care of chickens; all of which are normal daily chores.  Spent about two hours painting boards that will become the ceiling of my tack room in the barn.

And then, rather than pick up another chore at nearly 8:00 in the evening (after being on the go for 12+ hours), I told myself I had to sit down.  Not just sit down, but specifically, sit down on the porch swing (because, why do I have a porch swing??? To sit on and relax.)  And, while I was sitting on the porch swing, I may as well read the library book I've had a love-hate relationship with for almost two weeks. 

Why had I not turned the book back in to the library all ready if I wasn't going to actually read it to the end? I still had it, so I should buckle down and get the last 50 or so pages out of the way.  Really, it wasn't a terrible book, and I was sort of interested in how the author was going to tie up all the loose ends. The major plot concept was okay,but I had figured out the gist of it about 150 pages ago and was not all that enthralled with the writing itself.  Overall, not a book for me even though, written a bit differently it definitely could have been more my style (um, less money and time are no object, let's pick a random event in history to add in and then, in the 1950's go back to a semblance of the noble country life of ye olde England and fall in love with the heir whose entire family just happens to love and accept you, American chick, on first meeting. . . nauseum for this person--me--who eschewed poorly written and massed produced romance novels from the time she was a teenager.)  Based on this book, I doubt I will read anything else by this author.

Anyway, I gently swang on my porch swing, skimmed through the last chapters of the book to verify I was, indeed, right about the ending, and then enjoyed about ten more minutes in the beautiful evening before the sun went down.

overlooking the garden, which has been tilled and is ready for planting 

(once it dries up from a rainy Sunday and, now, rainy Monday night and all of Tuesday morning).

due West, to the sunset

I need to remind myself to make use of that porch swing more regularly.  Just because the sun is up and on duty until nearly 9 p.m. these days doesn't mean I also have to spend all those hours working.  Mental breaks are good.  Physical breaks are good.  Remember to allow myself down time.  It's imperative.

Fourteen Years?!?

 Today is 14 years since I started this blog.  Wow.  So much has happened, my family has grown, and changed, and life is so different (but yet, also the same) as it was back in 2011.

There have been many times, in the last two years especially, when I've asked myself why I have this blog still.  I feel like I don't do right by it; that I don't post as often as I want, nor do my of my posts in recent years have the tone I'd like them to have.  A lot of them, to me anyway, feel like I'm giving a report rather than chatting with a friend.

What to do? 

Pull the plug and stop blogging?  Am I just done?  Am I out of things to say and share?  Is blogging dead anyway?  (I find it harder as time goes on to find blogs that I'm interested in--real people not selling products or faux lifestyles.)  Does everyone just prefer photos and not much meaty (as in substantial) talk these days?

Or try to find time (and topics I find fun/appealing) to post about much more regularly--like weekly as a minimum?  Set a schedule and do what is necessary to stick with it (even if I'm not feeling it?)

Give myself grace and just let the timing and topics be what they may?  That was my original intent, really, just to share what comes through my life, good and bad, interesting and dull.  Just an everyday average person, not some super hyped-up-always-bright-and-sunny version of womanhood.

I started this blog more as an outlet for myself (I've always loved writing, but hate writing on assigned topics) than anything else.  It's never been a financial thing, it's never been a popularity thing, and for the most part I never talk about politics or current social hot buttons because those just aren't me.  I do still want to write posts.  I do still want to share thoughts and ideas and happenings and creations.  I'm definitely not out of things to share.  If blogging is mostly dead, well, it's not completely buried yet, and I'm fairly sure there are people like me out there who want to read not just look at perfect pictures and witty captions.

So where do I/this little place here go from here?  Well, we shall see what the future holds.  Life is busy, but it's always been busy.  I'm trying to learn to be better at self-care (a totally foreign concept for most of my life) and writing, for me, is a form of self-care.  

I need to sit on my porch swing more and write.  I mean, that's why I always wanted a porch swing--to sit and relax on--and why my kids bought me one a few years ago. 

Would you like to join me?

Grateful, November third Sunday

 (Oops it's Monday all ready.  Forgot to schedule this for publishing yesterday--Sunday)

My gratefulness post today is about how much better my knee has gotten in the past month.  Or however long it's actually been (somewhere close to a month) since DH's last trip that took him out of town for a week or so.  At that point, I was still having troubles doing my own chores and no way could have taken on any of his (like stoking the wood boiler).  This time, I'm probably at 75% capacity in my own heavy lifting, can actually do stairs like a normal person, walk a good 1/2 mile with no soreness or gait issues, AND I stoked the wood boiler! 

I confess, toting and swinging large chunks of wood into the opening of the firebox did cause a bit of pain the first few days, but by the end of the 10-day trip that DH was away for, my knee was no longer complaining about this task.

Physical therapy is coming along. Still doing strengthening and balance exercises, but they are way different and have increased in difficulty level compared to what they were a month ago.  And I'm down to once a week for PT instead of twice.We're getting there!  Hopefully in another month or so I'll be full steam ahead.

The Second Four Weeks

This is the end of the eighth week that DH has worked from home.

Here in Michigan, we are still under the Stay Home order. It has been extended to May 28th.  There are a few 'restrictions' that have been lifted, but really they were stupid things to be not allowed in the first place: landscape and gardening crews are now allowed to work, garden centers can open, people can go golfing and use boats with motors.  All of which are typically done outdoors and not with people on top of each other. Yesterday, construction crews were given the green light to resume business.

However, it is now mandatory to wear face masks in the grocery store and other enclosed public spaces.

So, I made a few more face masks for family members, at their request.

Flowers have been blooming all over the place.  I've been working on weeding flowerbeds, and also relocating some of my perennials that needed thinning.  DD1 has been the lucky recipient of some of them; she is happily landscaping her and Honorary Son's first home.

the bore bees (aka carpenter bees) are awake!

Garden planning, and tilling, and planting have begun.  Seed potatoes are in the ground.  Onion starts arrived yesterday, and will be planted next week (after this weekends' below freezing temps are over).

planning

tilling

onions

While the ground was still soft, DH and I pulled out a few weed trees with the tractor.  We'd meant to get them a year or two ago, but DH's job was so busy for all that time that they got overlooked and just grew bigger and bigger until they were no longer movable and transplant-able.

The clothesline got it's new lines, and has been in use frequently the past two weeks.

 We've had weather that varied from breathtakingly beautiful, to stormy, to WTF?!?

sunset

foggy sunrise

graupel?!?

beautiful spring day

lightning glow

lightning burst

Shopping has been an ongoing adventure.  I say adventure to put a positive spin on it.  Some of my worst days, mentally, have been days I went to the grocery store.

Toilet paper, unavailable for most of the first weeks, finally showed up in quantity, although usually one brand at a time and with purchasing limits in force.  I'm a die hard Quilted Northern fan, and thankfully I had enough pre-pandemic, to last until it was again available at a store near me.  Although, if you compare the last package of my January purchased tp to the April package, you will notice a size difference.  Hmm. Yes, the package on the left (January) is taller than the package on the right (April).

May has brought further downsizing on the tp front.  Notice that there used to be six rolls to a pack; now there are only four. And for an increase in price, compared to the six roll pack bought in January.

Flour and butter have been hit and miss.  I use a lot of both in my cooking and baking.  Whole wheat flour, which disappeared from the shelves the second week when everyone had bought out the bleached all purpose flour, has been my most desired commodity.  My everyday bread recipe is half whole wheat and half (unbleached) all purpose flour.  I began the pandemic with most of a 5 pound bag in my kitchen canister, but finally ran out about a week ago.  Grudgingly made a batch of all white bread last weekend.  Yesterday, when I went shopping, I scored a (teeny tiny) bag of whole wheat flour, as well as more unbleached all purpose flour.

2 pounds?!?  I'll have this used up before May is over!!

This week has been mostly temperate weather.  We enjoyed a small campfire last weekend, even burning a hollow log (aka a blow log) that DH found while cutting deadfall in the woods earlier this year.

The little oak saplings we had planted two Aprils ago are doing fairly well.  This week they started putting out tiny baby leaves.

Hoping that by the time another four weeks pass, much of the restrictions on daily life will have been lifted.  DH will probably continue to work from home much of the summer, at least for the parts of his programs that are teleconferences and analyzing data.

The New Normal?

We're still hanging in there, DH working from his home office, and me tending horses Monday through Friday in the mornings.  The wood boiler still needs stoking daily, chickens still need care morning and evening.

Still under the Stay Home order too, which has made Sundays a little strange as church is closed.  We have been doing church at home on Sunday mornings, using the live streamed services of sister churches in our synod.  I dug out the hymnals from when my kids were in parochial school (and had a hymn a week as memory work); and for Palm Sunday service we sang along with gusto.  It felt so good to sing those familiar festive hymns.

The plan is to stream Holy Week services too; on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, as well as on Easter Sunday.  I've been giving DH a bit of ribbing over Easter breakfast, as he is a member of the church council and the councilmen cook and serve breakfast at church on Easter morning. I told him that even though church won't be open for breakfast that day, my kitchen certainly is, and it's stocked with ham, eggs, and bread (for toast), so there's no reason he shouldn't make breakfast for me that day. LOL.  We'll see. . .

Meanwhile, it's unclear if people will be required to wear masks when out in public (I've heard conflicting reports on this issue and can't find anything official in writing). . .   Just in case, I decided to go ahead and make myself a couple of fabric masks.  I'd actually been thinking about such a thing for over a year, mainly for when I'm working in dusty conditions such as putting hay up in the loft.  My lungs aren't what they used to be.

And if I'm going to wear a mask, it's going to be one with my personality in mind.  So I went stash diving through my fabric and came out with two horse themed prints.

yep, looks like me

 Each mask has different fabric for each side, to make them easy to recognize which side is which if they get temporarily taken off.  The one with the large horse print, I lined with flannel for softness.  And just in case flannel proves too hot in the warmer months I used a plain piece of cotton for the inside of the second mask.

pinned together

mask 1 sewn together, in need of pleats

mask 2 pleats pinned and ready to sew

two finished masks;

slightly different styling

ready to wear

Working away on a few other crafty projects, one of which will be part of K3's birthday present at the end of the month.  She's been hinting for a doll blanket made by Grandma, and I've got the sewing machine out currently.  No pictures to show yet, it's still in the concept and pulling fabric from the stash phase.  Artistic me wants to go with pieced blocks, yet practical get-it-done me is leaning toward squares of different fabrics sewn in rows.

How are things going with you?  Feeling crafty in your at home time?  Or just like the world has gone off it's axis? 

I confess, there are days when I feel very out of sorts, and others that are not much different as long as I don't read any news or turn on the TV.  My biggest anxiety inducer lately is when I think about paying bills with 20% less income; even though DH is still working, his employer is holding back 20% of his pay until this coming fall or winter.  Not much can be done about that. We'll have to figure this out as we go along.