How many Books?

Hello, I have seven books that I have started. That seem a bit over the top for a read one book at a time person. Two of the books have been put aside because too many other books are in progress. They are both nonfiction and require more pondering. Two of the books are for studies at church which requires about a chapter a week, but I am behind. Then there is the book club book, but it is really to the side because it is such a light read. Next week I must read it for sure. The other two books had been on hold so there was an uncertain starting time. both of them are also nonfiction, but one reads more like fiction. Almost all of the books have a spiritual slant. Then there is the book that had also been on hold, but came yesterday. Leroy is reading it now. It is certainly more in the fiction, murder mystery category. Besides all this reading, I have gone to the museum two afternoons and volunteered. They are moving an unknown number of books from the library back room to the upstairs. Leroy wondered if it is about 5,000 books. It is a big job. Two other volunteers were there yesterday. It is enough to make a person tired with stretching, turning, lifting, pushing carts and elevator buttons. I managed to get one loaded cart caught in the slot going into the elevator. Luckily, I got it out. I moved on down the hall to the freight elevator, only to realize I did not know precisely where it was. I had to back track with that heavy cart. Then I knew what door, but did not have a staff key so I could get to that elevator. Hence, it was back to the first elevator, make sure wheels were lined up to miss slots, pushed the loaded cart in, and confessed what had taken me so long when I arrived at the destination. Paula

Car Okay

Hello, Cars have changed. Our car has been in our possession almost ten years. Almost no money has been required for repairs. There has been some maintenance, but that would be expected. We bought it when it was a year old. Course, as they commented at the shop it does not have so many miles on it for the age that it is. Because after some repair, they had put on the tires, they suggested I bring it back to have the lug nuts checked. It was all good. Before I left the lot I backed up and the backup camera did not come on. I went in to ask about that periodic malfunction. They looked it up on line and found no mention of such a thing. When the key comes out and the car is turned back on it all works again. Not surprising, it will not be checkable unless it would stay off. He also commented that it could be something is just not turning on as well as it used to. I can back up without the camera, but I have come to depend on it. It is certainly a good view of what is back there. Leroy’s car is two years newer than mine. It also works well and has required little repair attention. It was so different when we were young. A ten-year-old car was about ready for the trash heap. We have been happy to not have to spend so much repair money on cars. If we keep our head in the right direction, we know that allows us to give away more money to things that we care about. I have applied for another action team. This will help furnish drinks and snacks for the homeless in the hot summer time. Our church already contributes to this, but this year could be a longer time since it has been quite hot some days. Paula

One Mystery Finished

Hello, Our weather station has a clock in it. For the last year we have struggled to have the correct time. It was resistant to changing for day light saving time changes. Yesterday, Leroy set it for an hour ahead of us. It has been holding at the standard time. It held that new time, but it was an hour off the other direction. He decided to just pull the power for over an hour. When he reset it to our current time it stayed. The mystery is not solved, but he managed to trick it. I look at that time a lot so it is nice to have it in the proper time zone. We actually got four screens washed, in the window opening, windows washed, and sills cleaned. It is a good feeling. At one of the windows a bee was checking us out while the window was open. We managed to keep it out without harming it or us. It is to rain in the next day or two so I will not get at the rest of the windows for some time now. It was been quite hot for the last two days. The Red Russian Kale is now going to seed. That is certainly much too early. Someone else is heading up the community garden, but we will certainly help if I notice the announcement. Saturday, I went an hour late and Leroy was even later. We could still contribute. The garden is tilled with rows marked and some early items planted. I bought some pansies today. I hope I have not waited too long considering the heat wave. They are beautiful so I will enjoy as long as they thrive or last. Paula

Helping Others

Hello, The shopping trip was not going as well as I had hoped. Do you know how many different kinds of curl cream are available? I do not know the precise number, but I can say it is more than twenty. How does one choose? I was at the second store this morning without making a selection. Finally at the third store I picked some and figured I would just try it. True to my buying character it was not so expensive as some that cost twice as much. It also appealed because it could be put on wet or dry hair. Many of them required that the hair be damp, whatever damp is. There were also curl gels, but it was to be cream not gel that my hair cutter recommended. Hair care is big business. At the car, an older woman and a small boy were struggling with two heavy grocery bags (larger than the usual size), two gallons of milk and two other things. They did not get in the car across the way, but stopped and rested before going on. They were joined by a young woman who took on most of the load, but they again stopped to rest. I drove over and asked if they wanted a ride. They spoke Spanish and asked if I spoke Spanish. The younger woman got out her phone, but said, no wi-fi. I got out my phone, put in the phone number that she showed me, but no answer. She provided another number. A man answered. She spoke to him in rapid Spanish. I motioned that I would talk to him. I asked if I could give them a ride and he said OK and gave me the address. With the trunk open they put in all their bags I also put in some random bags that I had in the back seat. Without thinking, I put my purse there with the phone in it. I knew the street they lived on, but had not much idea how the numbers went. I stopped at a gas station, got out my phone and used google maps. We were quite close and going the right direction. They were basically on the way home. I did not get any groceries, but Leroy and I can live a few days off of the food we already have in the house. Slovak words kept coming out of my mouth. Who knew I remembered so much. It lifted me up to do this. I know that I was always so appreciative of people who helped when we lived in Slovakia. Language is such a gift. Mybe I should learn Spanish and six other languages. One of the men called and said, “Thank you for giving my grandmother and aunt a ride. I would like to give you two tacos.” He explained where he worked. Leroy and I went there. It was quite delicious and all homemade. We will recommend this taco bar to others. I decided to accept this offer because sometimes people really do want to give you a thank you. Paula

Skippers and tending plants

Hello, When out delivering newsletters, I was impressed by the number of butterflies. Perhaps they are really skippers. Several different varieties were out and about. They seem a bit smaller than a butterfly. At least they can find some flowers to visit for a meal. It is fun to see the different blooms. I was given some house plants. Today was so nice that I could take them out and work on them outdoors. The two vines had many places were there was just stem and not leaves. It took some major trimming to leave just a few stems with leaves close to the base. Some of the pruned pieces went back in the pot and some went into a jar of water so that roots could form. It is difficult to say what will live and what will die. I was going to use a different word here, but I misspelled it so much that neither spell check or my mis-speller’s dictionary could help me.

Paula

Celebration Day

Hello, We went to a 50 year celebration for Corydon Lutheran. Leroy was there for three years as an interim pastor. It was so great to have some time to visit with people that we have not seen for a long time. Leroy commented, “It is amazing how they have gotten older, but we have not.” I have heard such before, but somehow it still feels rather true. We do not notice aging inside our ourselves. Perhaps we did not see ourselves for 10 years we might notice the aging. A number of the former pastors were there. Some of them I knew, some not.

The NAAC woman’s basketball game was on so our drive home was much less populated with vehicles. We stopped at a store to get gas and return some items. The guy at the return counter asked if we had watched the game. “No, since we were driving. Did you watch it?” I asked. “Yes, it was very slow around here so many of us workers got to see quite a bit of it. There are a lot more shoppers here now.” He commented. Do sports control the viewing world and activities? Paula

Tree Friends are Gone

Hello, This morning two trees in front of the house were cut down. They were great shade for cars parked in that area. They had been damaged by the derecho, but our downstairs friend managed to delay removal for three years. It was good to have them for some more company. The city deemed them to be risky trees. We certainly did not want them to fall on anything important. New trees will replace them, but it will be a number of years before they are tall enough to give good shade. It was nice enough to hang out clothes today. I like it so much when I can have sheets dry outside. No birds pooped on them this time that is another win. The rest of the clothes are good too. When the leaves come back to the trees, things stay much cleaner. Trees are helpful in so many ways. Someone invited us over so we can watch the Iowa Women’s Basketball game tonight. We are pleased as we did not know how were going to manage that feat. Paula