August Is Here???

 I can't believe August is here!  Time is sure flying by so quickly and the  weather here in the Twin Cities couldn't be more perfect than today.  I have socks on and a cozy shawl to keep the chill off.  The best part is the humidity is very low and I was able to style my hair, and it looks very decent.  No more Brillo pad!

The last two months have been a whirlwind blur in my life.  I traveled all by myself (including two Chi's and one ginger cat -- co-pilots) from Sun City, AZ, all the way to MN.  A first time driving solo almost cross country all by myself!!!  So proud of myself!

Due to the extremely stressful year I have gone through for almost over a year now, lately I have been suffering from extreme anxiety and/or panic attacks out of the blue.  It usually takes a day to get over one.  How I have been coping with these attacks, is by immersing myself in hard work around the house, and lots of meditation.

 One very good way to deal with my anxiety is to work really hard in the garden, and the best thing is to see our garden blooming.

 Having these two close by me all the time --Daphne & Jack.  Sometimes I do tell them that I need some privacy.  They don't understand that yet.

 Trying out new recipes.  I bake all almond flour chocolate chip cookies, and they turned out to be so good!   No flour and so much less sugar and other ingredients.  A cookie or two a day keeps my sweet tooth satisfied.

 I took advantage this week on a very low humidity day to wash our windows!  I kept singing "I can see clearly now, …" over and over again all day long!

Of course, summers here are the perfect past time for me to go thrift shopping and stop at garage sales, or even making pit stops at FREE stuff on neighborhood curbs.

Here is Oliver in his new Longaberger Basket and Ikea pillow cover.  It was a fantastic deal!!!

 FREE stuff?

How about picking up and recycling 68 pavers for free?  I did all the hard labor.

 Thrifty find and more FREE stuff:

The planter was $3 from one of my favorite thrift store, and the rest was FREE (curb) … big basket included.

FREE plants and flowers for the garden.

Thanks to Nextdoor App and Facebook Market Place, I'm able to continue adding plants to our huge backyard.  Some plants I did pay for at a bargain of the cost from nearby neighbors.

I discovered that every Wednesday at one of my favorite thrift store is Senior Discount -- 25% off Day!!!

I actually had a chance to read a complete book … beginning to end … and it's a good book!!!

Cross stitching keeps me busy and focus; and if I start seeing double due to an incoming migraine, ...

I crochet washcloths.

If none of the above helps or if I have free time, weeding helps.  And weeds seem to be always there!

My attacks usually manifest the worst after all is done and said.  While going through hard times I hold everything in and deal with it, and tough it out!