Wildlife in the neighborhood

Hello,

I went out to put out the recycle items. I stuck my hand down into the garbage can we use for plastics, glass and cans. All of those are separated into their own plastic bag. I was reaching for the bag when I realized that things were a mess in there. "Did that Leroy just throw things in here willy-nilly?" I wondered.

Then I saw this black and white animal lying down there. "Whose cat is this?" I thought as I started running through the possibilities in my mind. Suddenly I noticed a long naked tail attached to the body.

"Wow!" I realized, "This is a possum."

I called Leroy right away. "Just roll the can over and let it out," he suggested.

"Don’t you want to see it?" I asked, "I can wait until you come home at noon."

At noon Leroy took the can out by the bushes and tipped it over. I took pictures that I hope are good enough for you to see this animal. I was quite impressed with its cute ear.

I feel a little sad because I think this poor creature has been in the can for two days. We heard a noise outside the other night and did not know what it was. The possum appeared to be sleeping when I first looked at it so I think it just kept quiet if we were around. "Playing possum" you know. After it was free I tried to get a good frontal picture and it bared its teeth hissing a little before running away.

I think we have done our good deed for the day.

Paula

Leroy's Day

Hello,

Leroy got a sideways compliment today. Aren’t those the best kind? One of the visitors in the congregation asked if his sermons were online. She lives in Washington D. C. and is visiting her daughter’s family. She has been here before. Leroy will email his sermons to her. I did have to say, "Leroy that is amazing. I think your sermons are good, but I do not want you to email them to me. I probably would not read them."

Leroy’s hand seems better today, however he finally realized that he did not have to shake hands with it. He did say that some people squeezed too hard. So finally today he used his left hand. Maybe by next Sunday healing will be more complete.

Today is the wedding anniversary of my parents. I do not know why I have been thinking about that. My mother died a bit over ten years ago and it is 21 years ago since my dad died. I would still like to be able to talk to them, but maybe someday that will happen.

It is beautiful here with the ice on the trees and fresh snow on the ground. Soon it will melt and we will think that is great driving weather.

Tomorrow Leroy and I go to Des Moines for our Kenya shots. We will have doctor’s permission slips in hand for the yellow fever shot, since I am over 60 a statement of my good health is required. Leroy, who is not yet 60, has the statement also, just in case. In case of what, I am not sure. It is starting to make this trip real. For some reason I have not thought much about it. Now it is only a little over a month away.

Paula

My Plans

Hello,

I made a list of things to do today and did almost none of them. But I have no real reason for not doing them. It rained starting in the night and then got cold so it became freezing rain. Is that an excuse?

I did make bread today. Leroy pronounced it good enough to give one loaf away. We will do that tomorrow when we return the pans to the Ukrainian couple.

I also walked downtown to get more bandages for Leroy’s hand. We were there yesterday, but neither of us had any money. That is required to buy something so I went again today. We could have continued to use the pads and tape, but Leroy would rather try a big bandaid. Leroy says that his hand feels much better today. Personally I think it is his attitude that is better.

Because of the ice I walked on the grass most of the time. It was not as slippery as I thought it might be, but I still did not want to risk being on the pavement anymore than necessary. It was nice to get out. Leroy walked to church as well as the nursing home so we both got some exercise.

Now I am trying to decide if I should walk home from church tomorrow. I suspect I will since I do not think it is to be very cold. Again I will probably walk on the grass instead of the street or sidewalk so it should be fine.

We had planned to take a family picture in MN, even though the Padre family would not be there. As it turned out Jen was not there either. I think the picture is good of all the adults. Brian had the camera on a tripod, set the timer, and ran into place. This picture is the best of the lot. I think the adults look good even though Miriam was sick. We can fake it as we get older. The kids look like life goes on, so what.

Paula

Christmas Day

Hello,

Leroy and I woke up, remembered it was Christmas, and surprised each other with the gifts we had given. I was not sure that was possible any more.

We called Miriam and Andy including them in our devotions by singing "O come all ye faithful" together as I played the piano. I was really thinking about Stephen in Kenya since he always likes to have a sing time when we are together. If we had a laptop computer that was in the living room we could have gotten this done with them too. We did have a nice visit with Sarah, Stephen, and Lexi on the webcam. I am so grateful for this invention. Later we also visited with Miriam and Andy and girls on the webcam. With Brian we greeted them on the phone as they were traveling to Nebraska.

Our company came in the afternoon and we had quite a pleasant visit. The woman had told us that her husband was not a social person. I think he is probably really an introvert. He talked along just fine and had some interesting things to say. I suspect he would not have been so comfortable if there had been more people in attendance. I am happy they helped us eat up some of the sweets around here.

Today, Leroy had the stitches taken out of his hand. He was initially pleased to have that done, but he flexed his hand and some of the incision tore apart causing it to bleed. Later he put the back of his hand to his face forgetting about the vulnerability of it causing a lot of pain. He now feels a little discouraged. Also the Dr. reported that his "bad" cholesterol is too high and we should stop eating cheese. We love cheese, but we will cut back on it.

It warmed up here so we tackled the ice on the drive and sidewalks. Leroy worked at that, but found that he had to just use his left hand. He also seemed to get tired quickly. I pounded away and after the third trip outside managed to eliminate most of the ice from the sidewalks. The drive is clear. Yeah! It is to get colder again tonight with accompanying precipitation.

Paula

More Generosity

Hello,

The pastor, of the Russian/Ukrainian congregation that meets in our church building, just brought us a pan of cabbage rolls, a big dessert, and some of their special sausage. The cabbage rolls could feed a family of four at least. I did have some things to give them. I had just made granola and we had been given some cookies and candy so I passed on some of that. Leroy said, "We must have them over."

I agree, but I mostly don’t think about it. I must put on the mantel of hospitality that I seem to have dropped since we have moved around more.

Yesterday I did call one of the couples in the congregation who I thought would not have family here and invite them to our house for Christmas dinner. After some negotiating we settled on afternoon coffee/tea and some dessert. I was going to make a cherry pie, but I will put that off for another time since we have much too much food in the house that is ready to eat.

We have been getting snow but it stopped after not a great deal had fallen. The sun is out now so we are trying to get some of the ice off the drive. I am so pleased to see the sun because it lifts my spirits. It is very difficult to eject this ice even with the rock salt and sun. I do not like to use that salt stuff as I am not sure it is good for the environment. I think maybe we should just put on some sand and hope that adds enough traction.

For Christmas Eve, I will be singing at the smaller of the two congregations. I will also go to the service at the bigger one. It is a special day so I will go twice in one day and hear the same sermon, something I usually avoid.

Paula

Christmas Greetings 2008

I am including a picture that Leroy took of Sophia and Jen. It makes me think that we should deal with life and God in this way. We, like Sophia, are on a fabulous ride and we have to be thrilled, laugh, and trust completely. So simple and so hard!

About a week ago Leroy and I put up our Christmas tree. I got up the boxes of stored ornaments, decoration, and the tree. That ugly Christmas tree could be seen through the box. "Why did we keep that thing?" I wondered, "Why do we even have it?"

When Leroy came home I talked, "I don’t want to put up that tree."

"Do you want a live one or an artificial one?" Leroy wanted to know.

"I really want a live one, but call the tree farm and see how expensive they are? I wheedled Leroy because I do not like to use the phone.

He called and reported, "They are $3.50 per foot or $7.00 per foot."

"Oh let’s buy a live one," I joyfully said, "We can afford that."

"But I will not drive there today because of the ice," Leroy stated firmly, "it will have to be tomorrow."

"But I want it up today," I wailed, "I brought everything upstairs."

In the end we decided to just put up the old ugly one and it became beautiful as it was festooned with lights, garland, and ornaments. See the picture of our tree as it now appears.
Is there a lesson in this too?

Merry Christmas and God bless you all for the joy that you have added to our lives.

Paula and Leroy

Really Going Home

Hello,

Early Wednesday morning Leroy and I again started on our homeward journey. It was not bad going through the cities, a little slow as roads were just slushy. It seemed frosty on the road when we finally got to the country. I saw a sign proclaiming Fairbault 24 miles. We were going almost 50 MPH so I thought it would not be long before we got there. Then I noticed that the car in front of me was slowing quite a bit. I checked out the situation and noticed that the road seemed to be covered with ice. In the dark it was hard to tell. After that we went 40 MPH until we passed a car in the ditch with its lights pointing up at us. Then everyone slowed down to 30 MPH. We proceeded at that speed until confidence came back and we would go almost 40 MPH again. Then another car would be in the ditch with its lights on so we would all slow down again. About 10 miles south of Fairbault the road was better so we could again go 50 MPH. It was in Iowa that we went the regular speed with periods of slippery areas. We saw more cars in the ditch from the day before. They might have had yellow tape on them or there was snow on them. We were just grateful that we had turned around and waited a day for an uneventful trip.

We now have about an inch of ice on the ground with perhaps two inches of snow on top of that. We have had negative temperatures with significant wind to make going out a serious excursion. Leroy and I did walk downtown this afternoon. It was not so windy, but we thought it felt cold.

Leroy had a strange spot taken off of the back of his right hand on Thursday. It was a little more of a deal than we thought it would be. He has five stitches holding the skin together. I changed the bandage Friday.

Leroy said, "Would you hurry up with this. I do not feel good."

"Just don’t look at it any more," I suggested.

"I have to sit down," he said as he sank down on the stool.

"I’m trying to hurry," I assured him.

The next thing I knew Leroy was lying on the floor. He had eased himself down there rather than fainting, but it was close.

I admit that it was not a pretty sight, but it did not bother me much. The strange, but good thing is that he has had almost no pain with this wound.

The tissue was sent to the lab for testing, but we do not know the result of that yet.

Paula

On the Road

Hello,

After a nice morning spent with the family we decided to leave just after lunch. As we left, snow was starting or continuing depending on when you consider that it started and stopped. We needed gas so we slid into a gas station. We were both thinking it would be no fun to spend 5.5 to 6 hours driving in these conditions. I decided to call someone in Chariton to see how the weather was there. "Are you on the road?" she immediately wanted to know.

"We just started," I meekly stated, "Since it is snowing here we thought we should find out what it is like in southern Iowa."

"Don’t come here," she responded, "school closed early as did many other things."

With that Leroy and I drove back to Brian’s house and they graciously agreed that we could stay another night.

Miriam and Andy were flying to Utah in the evening. They started checking their flight that was getting delayed. After a fruitless call to the airlines Brian drove them to the airport. Seven minutes after they got there they learned that they could fly out the next morning or spend the night in Denver. Brian went back to the airport and brought them home too. Thank God for cell phones!

Even though Ben Franklin stated, "Visitors and fish stink after three days" Brian and Jen put up with us for that extra day. It gave us the chance to play that great marble game one more time. Leftovers were soon all gone. We were all glad to sleep in our own beds when we finally got home and those Minnesota people enjoyed some well deserved "peace and quiet".

Paula

More Minnesota Doings

Hello,

On Monday Leroy and I went shopping because Leroy needs new shoes and there is a store close to Brian that often has shoes that he likes at a good price. We took Olivia with us to give her an outing and lower the number of people in the house. Well she fell asleep soon after we got started. I was driving Brian’s car since that is where the car seat is. The roads were slippery and I have not really driven much since we have been back in the US. I was quite uncomfortable with the unfamiliar car, roads, and slippery slush. We made it to our destination without mishap, but grumbling from me. Of course the cold woke up Olivia. I felt badly about that since it was not a long sleep for her and I knew we would all be happier if she slept longer. After all this effort Leroy did not find any shoes he liked. More grumbling came from me.

On the same trip we had been asked to return things at two different stores for one of our children who will remain nameless. Neither Leroy nor I like to return things but since we were out it seemed practical. I somehow have the feeling that returning items is an imposition to the store. Miriam tells me that is a silly thought, but it seems to be buried deep in my soul. My mother hated to return things, if we did not like something that was just "tough". I can still remember a coat that I did not want to be seen wearing. I was old enough that I wore it for more than one season. Horrors!

Before we entered the first store I asked Leroy if he would return the items. He very firmly refused. When he is so forceful I know there is no hope for talking him out of that so I returned them. It was not so bad, no one made any remarks or whatever I might have been expecting. Leroy had a list of things that we needed to purchase for Brian so we did that too. He took Olivia in the cart with him. She was the perfect traveler for which we were grateful.

The other item to return was at a store that has a difficult to exit parking lot. Again I asked with little hope, "Would you return this and I can stay out here with Olivia so it would go faster?" He said, "Yes." Miracle? He was quick and for some reason traffic was light allowing me to get out of the lot without trouble and we were soon back at Brian’s warm house.

In a few minutes Leroy came into the room and announced, "Would you believe that I have the recite for the return, but not the gift card?"

So that meant another trip back to the store that is only about a mile away to see if we could find the card in the parking lot or if not if they would cancel that one and issue another. Leroy refused to go. I reluctantly said, "I will go, but I do not like it." Just so the world would know.

Miriam emphatically insisted, "I will drive, ask and get this done if someone will watch Nora." So that is what happened. I went along since I had already planed to be out. We did not find the card, but since we had the recite it was easy to get a new one.

Night times were easy because we play games as a group and that is good, no running around in the cold.

Paula

Minnesota Weather

Hello,

On Monday Leroy and I got up at about 6:30 to walk the dog. I usually walk the dog in MN and in Utah so I think these animals know who I am. When it is morning they often park themselves outside my room and wait. We did not check the temperature, but because there was snow and cold we put on long underwear, boots, wool socks, hats, scaves, and warm gloves. Almost instantly in going outside the nose hairs froze. About half way through this walk Leroy put his hand up to protect his face. I started walking rapidly, almost running. "What is this running about?" Leroy wanted to know.

"I am getting cold," I said, "and we still have about 10-15 minutes to go." We walk a loop so we had to finish. Can you imagine we did not see another person or dog or even a track of any such creature.

When we got back to the house someone informed us that it was –10 with –40 wind chill. I had talked about taking Sophia with us and Brian said, "No it is too cold." Good thing he said that. But then we might have turned around right away instead of doing the whole trip and causing my cheeks to feel as if they could fall off.

When Miriam went out later in the day she said, "This is awful. Why do people live here?" Utah has a much more temperate climate in spite of being in the mountains. I will admit that my coat was so cold that it crackled. When I visited in Utah the last time both Miriam and Andy complained about the cold while I thought it was nice there.

Yesterday, Miriam called and said they were in a better place now. "It is snowing and Olivia is outside just wearing a sweatshirt having a good time trying to catch snowflakes."

Paula

Minnesota Trip

Hello,

Before I talk about that MN trip, I should let you know that when we came home there was a message on the answering machine. Leroy called to find out that he had not been chosen from the interview that he just had. All candidates had been rejected. One additional church had done a phone interview with Leroy, but they said they would do nothing further until the new year. We are still waiting to be surprised by some perfect fit.

People in the church knew that we needed to leave for our trip so they made sure that we were early in line and we did not have to help clean up! They shooed us out the door so we could beat rain, ice and or snow.

The wind had come up and the temperature was dropping. It was a bit of a struggle to drive, as it required steering into the west wind because we wanted to go north. It was below freezing and I noticed that the wind side of my body felt cold when I was driving. I did not speed, but kept going right at the limit. We only made one stop so it was one of our quickest trips. Occasionally, we would be enveloped by sudden dense snow showers that would stop just as dramatically as they had started. It was only at the southern edge of The Cities that it began to snow in earnest. We were happy that it just was another half-hour of driving before we reached Brian and Jen’s house.

Miriam and Andy were already there and we entered a lively group complete with two little girls running around. We exchanged gifts that night since Jen had to work or be at a soccer game on Monday and we were all leaving on Tuesday. This was indeed a fast trip. The adults learned that children under two are not as tuned into opening gifts as they will be next year. Also the best gift seems to be the one someone else is holding, especially if that someone else is another little girl.

Paula

Interview is Over

Hello,

Leroy believes that he did ok in the interview, but he also knows that they interviewed two other people. They did say that they would not be able to pay him at the level of his experience, but could he live with that. He indicated that it could be possible. We will just wait patiently for results. At the moment the church here has no new candidate names so we will probably remain here through January. If they should find someone before we find a new location we do have some money saved for this possibility plus we have two state side children who have room for homeless parents? The trick there is how long can they tolerate us and how long can we stand them.

I am pleased with myself. I made some gift tags from old Christmas cards. I took the pictures and cut around them with a special scissors that makes a nice scalloped edge. Some places the edge was longer than the scissors so it took almost more skill than I had in me to make it look like a continuous row. I had run out of gift cards so I was able to save time and recycle at the same time.

We will be driving to MN tomorrow and I am hoping that the ice happens somewhere that we are not. It is not to snow more than two inches so I do not consider that a problem.

I was on my way back from the library when I heard a train whistle in the distance. I walked up the street to be near the tracks when it came by. It is great to see them whoosh by on important business. I guess I just love trains even if they never choose to stop here.

I indulged in an activity that I rarely do. I read a book this morning. My mother always yelled at me for reading so I do not easily allow that to happen if I have something else I "should" be doing. I will be making a vegetable salad for the potluck tomorrow, one that marinates over night. In addition I will be packing my few clothes as well as making fastnachts dough and saffron bun dough that we will put in the refrigerator and bake at Brian’s house. I figure that is enough work for one evening. Surely worth half a day’s wages. I suppose I could have packed earlier, but mostly I forgot about it. The food prep I wanted to do as late as possible so it is fresher.

Paula

Leroy's Interview

Hello,

Leroy has an interview this afternoon. He just said, "I am feeling a little nervous about this." He said this in spite of thinking that this church is not going to pay at his salary level and he is not sure that they want to change very much. So does that mean he should go there anyway if asked? Who can say? It would be a permanent place or as permanent as any place can be. Does he want that? He still likes moving around. As with anything there are always pluses and minuses.

I spent some time cleaning up our desktop on the computer. I, of course, always put things away in their proper place, however Leroy… I have instead created a folder for him and stuck all of his stuff in there and out of my sight. Yeah!

A woman in the congregation has her mother’s Betty Crocker cookbook from the 1930’s. It has a fastnachts recipe in it. It is not like my recipe that I got from someone in Lancaster, PA in 1974. It does not have potatoes in it nor do they make it the night before frying the donuts.

I walked home from the women’s meeting last night. It was only about 3-4 blocks from the house, but many of these women felt that I should not be walking. I am not sure if they thought ice or molesters might be a danger. Anyway I had no difficulty and I got to see the brilliant moon in all its glory.

I did not get out my skis the first day we had snow and now it is almost melted. I am sad. I should have done it one of those cold days because after all I just go around the yard so I could go inside when I needed to do so.

I am getting together a pile of things that we will be taking up to Brian’s. At first I thought we would not be taking up many things, but now Leroy tells me that he thinks the car will be full. How did we travel with our three children and their clothes in the same size car that we have now? I must have been more efficient in the old days.

We got a Christmas card from a guy who went to the seminary with Leroy. I look at them and think, "They look so young. Don’t think I want to send them a picture of us." Usually we are a bit smug and think that others have gotten older looking and we haven’t. Another idea shot down.

Paula

I Won

Hello,

I won a $25 gift certificate at a local flower shop that we visited on Thanksgiving Day. "I can get another plant!" immediately came to mind.

Now I am thinking, "Should I use it as a gift for someone else?" I know that I am more drawn to the plants than anything else, but can my house and husband live with one more?

Internet ads from Lufthansa in Slovak come to my in box. It is magic, how do they know that I can read it a little? I could change them to English, but I enjoy the challenge of understanding some with no pressure to really understand. Today they had a deal for me to go from New York (all of you could have understood that) to South America (you might not have understood that). Because I know I am not going I do not spend much time looking at it I just leave it in the Slovak and I let it keep coming to my in box.

I gave my neighbor an advent calendar that Sarah and Stephen had given us. It is in French. I believe Tatyana was quite pleased with is since it is only pictures behind the doors and the numbers are universal. Later Tatyana showed me a sheet from school requesting that they make an ornament for the building. Her daughter’s was to be a French gingerbread boy since that is the country they "are" this month. Later she showed me a paper that had the numbers (1-10) written in French. Because I had two years of French I could read those numbers. When I did that father Viktor rolled his eyes and snorted, "What French? Emily is to be learning English!"

Last night at choir practice the person who was to play the triangle was gone. I was selected to play it. It is really two very tiny cymbals. It was not easy to hold one of these in each hand, read the music, sing, and in addition turn the page. Helpfully the woman next to me held the music and turned pages. That helped a lot, but I still had some trouble since I do not know this song so well and my triangle line was at the top of the page and the voice part near the bottom.

Challenges! Challenges! I can feel my brain cells regenerating, or at least something is happening up there.

Paula

Gifts

Hello,

We are exchanging gifts with our stateside children on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. We will leave Chariton right after church, the annual meeting, and the potluck. Hopefully the time will not be too late when it is all done. We are also hoping for good weather in Iowa and Minnesota. The report is not the best, but only about two inches of snow.

I have wrapped or prepared all of the gifts that I have in the house. I am not a gift wrapping person therefore I am saying thank you to that talented person who invented the gift bag. Bag that I believe in using over and over again.

I think all children should go from infancy to age 4 almost instantly because so many things are for infants or age 4+. We have purchased some small things for the two older children and the rest of the gift will go into their college funds. All of Nora’s will go into the fund since we feel that she will not notice that she is not opening something.

Tonight we are not doing a craft at the advent gathering, but bringing a special ornament that we can talk about. Leroy announced this last week just before the worship service. "When did he get that idea?" a friend wanted to know.

"Probably as he was standing there," I replied.

Sure enough that is when the idea came. Guess it is good to think on your feet. Leroy and I picked out one of the ornaments that we had gotten in Slovakia. Because it has meaning for us and because it was at the top of the box!

Just a little complaint, on Tuesday Leroy has a service at housing for the elderly so we have to come back earlier than we would without that. He has tried to get a replacement, but it has not worked. A part of me thinks he should just skip it since I gather that others sometimes do that, but that is not a part of Leroy’s character so we will wave good-bye to our children about three hours early. I both like and dislike Leroy’s standards!

Paula

Worship for Assisted Living

Hello,

This afternoon Leroy and I walked over to the assisted living building so he could have a worship service with them. I go along to play the piano. It was a cool 15 minute walk with the wind directly in our faces the last three blocks. Leroy had on something that covered his face quite well. I however felt the force of the wind and cold temperatures. I had put on some windbreak pants so my legs were fine, but Leroy said his legs were cold. On the way home it was great to have the wind at our back pushing us along.

I walked on the grass in many places because the sidewalks were slick. Or we walked on the street where they had put out sand. Sometimes I clung to Leroy’s arm hoping he could hold me up if I started to fall and if he fell first that I would land on top of him. Does he have enough flesh to stop me from breaking a bone? I am not sure.

These people in assisted living are lively compared to those in the nursing home. Mostly got around on their own, talked, sang, or joined in on the Lord’s Prayer. It seemed that they were not sure that we would come since the weather was so bad consequently people had not assembled by the time we got there. That was not really a problem since we have to get situated.

When we came home we had popcorn and apples. It was so refreshing.

I forgot to tell you that it was a small miracle on Sunday that my hair actually looked better than it had for two days. It was not at top form, but above the ground floor, so I was happy. It must have been that shampoo that guaranteed 90% more curl and no frizz. Then I put a little product on it that was supposed to volumize followed by a brush that seems to have the same purpose. The picture is what it looks like today so you can see how short it is.

Paula

Video Upload

Hello,

Brian and Jen suggested another way to upload a video and it went very fast, or at least much faster than two hours. Now I have decided that if you want to see the video you must contact me. I will not put it on the blog in a public place, but I can invite you to see it. I am pleased that I got it done. I feel that I have leaped a hurdle successfully.

After church someone asked me, " Are you going on the tour of homes?"

"I had thought about it, but have not gotten a ticket yet," I replied.

"Why don’t you come with us we are taking one other person. We can stop and get your ticket on the way to your house," she encouraged.

"That would be super," I said and added, "Leroy did not want to go because he thought last year was enough.

However when Leroy came home for lunch, I told him what I was doing and he looked sad.
"I feel left out," he mourned.

"Why don’t you call and see if they would have enough room for you," I urged, "I do not think they would have left yet."

There was still one seat left in their car so Leroy went too. We had a delightful time visiting in the car and enjoyed looking at the decorated homes. I was glad that we were with someone who knew the countryside better than we did. Two of the places were out in the country and I do not know that we would have found them by ourselves.

I have not put up Christmas decorations because we believe in doing that closer to Christmas Day. In addition I can say that some people have a lot of stuff. I can not imagine dealing with it yearly much less moving it around with us.

Paula

Learning More

Hello,

I now have a gmail account in addition to hotmail, juno, and yahoo. Do you think that is enough? I canceled my premium juno account. I hope they will just leave it as Juno free, but I am not counting on it. I use my Juno account for most of my business stuff. Also, some people can not get mail from me in Hotmail or Yahoo. I am spending some time today learning about the new account.

Last night Leroy and I watched a stupid movie that made us laugh. I went back to the library today and checked out a couple more, hoping for a laugh or two. Again it was fine to walk to the library but coming home into the wind took some fortitude.

I think my haircut is much too short, there is no curl and almost no body since the air is so dry. I would like to stay out of the public eye for about two weeks until I grow some more hair. In the summer at least I could wear a hat to church and leave it on. Now I wear my head wrap and take it off when I am inside. I will be singing a part of the liturgy so I even have to stand in front of people. Last week I hid behind the piano, hair looked good, however fear required some cover. This week they would like me to be at the mic at the lectern. Such exposure! Maybe I should wear a sign explaining the hair? I do not have any scarves that I wear in my hair and no wigs. I need a personal hairdresser because I am almost helpless when I have to do more than wash, dry, brush and go.

Paula

Advent Wreaths

Hello,

The Advent wreaths were beautifully made. I was so impressed with what people did. It does help to be working with mostly adults. They seemed to have ideas and they just leaped onto the project. There are some crafty people in the world. Ironic that two non-crafty people were somehow in charge of this. Leroy and I laid out all of the supplies ahead of time and just showed them what was available. I guess that demonstrates that sometimes leaders do not have to know how to do it, they just have to organize and lead.

When Leroy announced it he said, "If you do not want to make a wreath you can just stay in the dining area and visit."

I think some people breathed a sigh of relief. There are others in this world that are not especially motivated to make some of these things. That meant that we had just enough rings so we did not have to make do and cut up any Styrofoam. Yeah!

As for the candles, they did their own thing with selecting colors. I was sure they would all want blue. Very few of them actually chose blue. Many went for purple and some even chose four different colors. It is such a waste worrying about anything. At 60 I guess I would have to say that I am a slow learner since I still worry as if it makes a difference. However what joy and relief comes from a wonderful outcome.

Yesterday bundled against the cold, Tatyana and I walked to the library. She got a library card and checked out 7 books that she can read to her kindergartner. I think both of us were quite pleased with the outing until we started to walk home facing the wind. At least she has lived in Alaska so I figure she can handle cold.

I walked across our lawn and noticed that either one deer went through twice or two deer walked there. There were also rabbit and squirrel tracks along with some bird tracks. I suspect that mice are out there too. In one spot it looks as if they had a meeting to discuss possibilities.

Paula

Waking Early

Hello,

"Good morning," Leroy said as I accidentally bumped his knee.

"What time is it?" I wanted to know as I looked around at darkness.

"It is about 5:00," he responded.

"Please don’t greet me so early," I gently murmured as I prepared to go back to sleep.

"I am getting worried about the craft for the advent event tonight," Leroy sighed, "so I have been awake a while."

"I think it will be alright," I assured him, "I will go back to the stores and we will make do with what is in town or I will just drive somewhere else."

Within a couple minutes I could hear that Leroy had fallen asleep, leaving me wide awake stewing over the possibilities.

On Sunday when I said I would buy the supplies for this advent wreath venture, I never thought it would be so hard to do in town. We have been grappling with this since Monday. We have contacted people who were out of town for one reason or another, begging them to pick up some of these supplies. We have gotten some that way, but not all. There are not enough rings of one size, not enough candles of the proper color and the greenery costs a lot or it looks cheap.

Considering that we are now getting an inch of snow an hour I am not driving anywhere out of town. Most trips would be at least 30 minutes away on a dry road. The place that I really wanted to go to is more like 50 minutes. So, this morning I got plenty of cheap greenery and candles of a variety of interesting colors. The great this is that they were all 30-50 percent off. I figure that I will tell people to be flexible and they can talk about me when I am gone.
Leroy is starting to wonder if we will even meet tonight. "What! After I put in all this effort?" I wailed.

Paula

Health

Hello,

Leroy and I had annual physicals this morning. Everything seems good for both of us. Leroy is having a couple of skin growths checked out next week. We walked breathlessly to our appointments because we left the house a little later than planned. If you have walked with Leroy you know that he can really put on the speed. I had to trot a little to keep up. At one point Leroy said, "This should raise our blood pressure."

"Not if we are in good shape," I responded.

Well my BP was 116/64 and Leroy’s was 100 over something. How is that for good shape? I thought my pulse was a little high at 84 but no one in the office thought that was out of line. Our weight was heavier than at home, however we weigh naked here and before breakfast rather than after. Guess we will be good for a while, unless we fall on the ice in front of a truck.

I was pleased to help Tatyana with papers that her kindergarten daughter brought home. One of them is a form to put in the titles of books that they have read together at home. That is not a difficult task when you read English well, but daunting when you do not. Tatyana and I are going to the library tomorrow to find some books that she can share with her daughter. I had talked earlier about going to the library. At that point she was not ready, now she is ready.

Hair is the strangest stuff. I thought I would get a cut before I went to Utah, but did not have the time. Then I thought maybe I would get it cut in Utah, but again did not get that done. At that point I was thinking it looked quite fine. Last week was not a good week to get a hair cut besides it did not look so bad. Yesterday my hair looked terrible by the end of the day so it is being cut today. Just how I made it this far I can not imagine since three weeks ago I thought it was looking long.

Paula

After Thanksgiving

Hello,

We had a great visit with Brian, Jen, Sophia, and Cloe (dog). I do miss having a pet, but my significant other is not into that idea at all. Brian did ask, "If something happened to us would you take care of Cloe?" I assured them that I would be happy to do that. I believe that Sophia is not less important, but has already been taken care of.

I was hoping for snow while they were here since I thought it would be great to have Sophia ride on the sled that Leroy’s dad made. We brought the sled into the living room and Sophia sat on it several times. It then snowed, but not until Saturday night. By Sunday morning there was a nice amount of snow, however they felt compelled to start home since they had no idea how long it would take. I was disappointed, in spite of understanding the urge. I had also wanted them to come to church so I could show them off to the congregation. But I am glad that they made it home safely. As with many things there are multiple feelings and I just have to let those feelings settle allowing the good ones to rise to the top.

Sophia did a lot of running, walking, giggling, and exploring. It was great fun to see her. Makes us want to live closer to all of these granddaughters. If we were rich enough we could buy houses in all their neighborhoods and come for some time each year. How’s that for fantasy?

I am excited because Brian and Jen got a new webcam. They gave us their old webcam that is more powerful than our current cam. The new cam that they purchased can track their movements. Sounds amazing to me. When we talked to Miriam she said it was definitely a better picture than we had before. Leroy will take the other one to church and use it there sometimes. Just think we now own two webcams. Are we part of the cutting edge or what? But then we do not have an IPOD. I think that means we still could make some progress.

Paula

Cool Day

Hello,

I walked to a store that is a bit over a mile away. I had bought something there yesterday and today it was on sale at half off so I took it back to get the better price. Great for exercise and my purse! This afternoon I got a mammogram. That involved another walk of about a mile one way. After that I took some banana bread that has no sugar and no oil to the owner of the store where I bought the very ripe bananas. We had also discussed my cookbook that is called "More with Less" so I took my copy to show it to her. That was another walk of almost a mile. I figure that I have walked 5.5 miles and maybe a bit more. It was cool but sunny and not so much wind so I enjoyed all of these walks.

I have to say that I am a bit disgusted because my pedometer quit working. It seems the battery does not connect properly. Leroy tried putting in a small piece of paper to make it more firmly seated, but it squealed at that. We even tried a different battery, but it did not help. We have been back in the US for 2.5 years and I am have used three pedometers. I guess I should move up in quality.

When I was home today, I made banana bread as well as regular bread. While things were baking or rising I went out and pulled out the expired flowers in the front of the house.
We had put some cider in the freezer at church because we have so little room in our home freezer. I thought we had put our name on all of it. Yesterday, Leroy came home and said, "I think there is a gallon of cider in the refrigerator. Did you put one there instead of in the freezer?"

We discussed that for some time, and decided he should make sure it is cider since he had not opened the container. Later he reported, "There is only one gallon in the freezer." I know that I put two in there. That is one of the problems about using a public freezer. I believe someone took it out and did not put it back. Luckily the cider is still good so we have it at home now and will drink it.

Paula

Granny

Hello,

Granny is a term that is fitting me more each day. I came home tired. Unlike my usual pattern I did not clean one thing while at Miriam’s. I used to think "that will never happen to me" when other "older" people talked about being tired from having grandchildren around. Well it has happened. Maybe it is just the result of having two children so close in age. In addition, Nora at four months is not yet sleeping through the night. She is even awake about three times. I slept through it the last two nights. I thought she had too, but Miriam reported otherwise.

Since I have been home I have not heard a train at night. I suspect it is just a soothing lullaby to me now. Sometimes the body just says enough.

I came home on Saturday afternoon. Sunday was almost totally booked with church and related activities. Today Leroy and I have gone shopping twice, made a stop at the library, and I made pumpkin bars. We have pumpkins as decorations and then we eat them when they have served their purpose. We have two more pumpkins to go. Today we had a vegetable dish with pumpkin and chopped peanuts. It was quite good.

"Leroy!" I shouted, "Look in the back yard! There are six deer running through."

They stopped at the back edge before they raced off again. We have not seen deer in this town before. Probably because right by our house there are not so many trees to use as cover.
Last night we saw two deer on the road as we were coming home. We were riding with someone else and their car has a light that shines in the ditch so you can see them more easily. Something else that I had not heard of. I guess I will have to add that to my list of new items.

Paula

Starting my trip

Hello,

"I see snow on the roof," I told Leroy as I glanced out the window. He looked and agreed that there was a little snow.

As we were eating breakfast, I said, "I see snow in the air."

"I can’t see it," he replied.

Then about ten minutes later he remarked, "I can see snow."

"It is snowing harder now," I sadly agreed as I thought of our trip to the airport. We have to drive for almost an hour.

This is when it is sometimes hard to trust. When the immediate looks unpromising. But now it has been snowing for almost and hour and there is not much on the ground so I think it will be ok.

I washed clothes this morning and finished packing with room to spare in my carry on bag. That is a good feeling. I will pack some snacks in a bag that I carry over my shoulder. I wear my fanny pack or belt bag even though it is not the height of fashion. If they feel I have too many bags I can stick the belt bag in the other bag I am carrying, but I suspect they will not care since the belt bag is secured to my body.

I just looked out and I do not see any snow in the air. Yeah!

Leroy is planning to go to a dinner tonight, a movie on Monday night, and check out videos from the library. All of those movies are things I would not care to see. He gets lonely, but he manages to find some things to do. Now I believe I will be so busy that I am not sure I will get to read the one book that I had Miriam check out of her library for me.

Paula

Missouri Crossings

Hello,

Last night a woman was talking about "Missouri Crossings". Now I had never heard that term and really did not know what she meant except that she seemed be going over water.

It turns out, if any of you do not know either, that a Missouri Crossing" is a more exciting way to cross a creek than using a bridge. You drive down into the bed of the stream, through water, on something that is metal, aim up the other side and out. This woman declared that it is better to use a pick-up truck or a jeep than a car. I was also surprised to learn that you can find "Missouri Crossings" in Texas too. I guess I have just lived a very sheltered life. Or maybe Illinois where I grew up does not have such a thing.

I was so happy today when Tatyana came over with my library books. She told me that her daughter-in-law had had a baby so now Tatyana is a grandmother. She had been with the family for five days. Apparently she had told her husband to tell me, but he did not get the job done.
I was also pleased to give away some pears and apples. I have been concerned that we would not be able to use all of them. I think Leroy can be responsible for the rest of them while I am gone. He even thinks he might make something with them.

Life is getting in order. I even finished a book I had been reading. Actually I took a big chunk of time today just for that purpose. Besides that I cleaned the bathroom sinks and raked the front yard. The mailman told me that we are to have a strong wind tomorrow. So does that mean I should have waited for wind help to get rid of leaves? Who knows I might even get more leaves from my neighbors who have not raked just as I had not. I guess that would be an exchange.

Paula

Surveys? Who Notices?

Hello,

I went to the store today and bought toilet paper that I have never heard of before. I was all set to buy Cottenelle because it was on sale plus had two recommendations. But right next to it was this new upstart that was cheaper and squeezed as if it were good. It is called Gentilleness. With a name like that it has to be good, right? If we don’t like it I will grumble a bit and get over it and life will go on.

We had a nice afternoon. We made a pear crisp with no sugar. We liked it just fine. I am thinking that the pears and apples are in danger of moving on to a different life. I found space in the fridge so I added some of both to that cold spot. It has been so wonderful to have all of this fruit around. Leroy takes apples to work. We both consume about two a day.

One of the congregation members came over this afternoon. He and Leroy worked on siding. Some of it was coming off again. Just before he came Leroy painted two of the upstairs window frames. While this guy was here Leroy asked if he would help move the cider press down stairs. That was great that he could assist since I had not been looking forward to that chore. We are getting snuggled in for the winter. I had planned to finally rake some leaves, but it is misting so I am not going to get it done. Maybe there will be a warm December day that the outdoors will call. Then I will get that job done.

I feel badly because Tatyana did not come today for tutoring nor did she come on Tuesday. I went over to her house two times, but there was no answer to my knock. I do not know what to think. I wonder: is she sick, is she not liking what I do, is she just tired of it, or is she not home? Besides that she has two books that I checked out of the library. I have renewed one of them and will have to renew the other since I will be out of town starting Saturday. I keep telling myself it is only money if I have to pay for them. Leroy will have to try to make connections if I do not find her tomorrow. I had not let her know that I would be gone. I do not know her last name neither do I have her phone number so I simply have to go to her door all of the time. That is easy since it is just across the street.

Paula

New survey Totals

Hello,

I have more to add to my survey results.

Northern now has three more votes for the lead at a total of six.
Cottenelle, a new comer, has garnered two votes.

I will have to tell the rest of you that I do have memories of my mother buying Northern tissue for most of my developmental years. Do you think that should also be a factor?

I am going to visit Miriam on Saturday. I will fly out of Des Moines to Denver and then on to Salt Lake. It will be a fine trip without much lay over in Denver. I told her that I would like to try to use public transportation to get to her house from the airport, but I have changed my mind after realizing that I will get there after dark. I do not mind looking as if I do not know what I am doing when it is daylight, but it makes me a little nervous in the dark. I would have to take the bus downtown, find the light rail stop, and ride that to Miriam’s neighborhood. I would only have a short walk of less than five minutes between the two stops, but I have no clue which direction I would be going. So again, against my will, but with my better judgement I have arranged to get picked up by a family member. Andy will be out of town that week and Miriam put out a call for help and I am happy to come to her rescue. Any excuse to learn how much those girls have changed.

I am working on packing everything in a carry on bag so I do not have to pay the fee for a check in bag. It is not the end of the world if I do have to pay that extra $15 each way, but it is a challenge to avoid if possible. I love challenges, especially those that do not challenge me too much. In addition, I do like just walking out of the airport when the plane lands and not going to wait for baggage. It helps that Miriam and I are about the same size so I can wear many of her clothes. I am taking my own underwear, pj’s and toothbrush. It had better not snow at least not much because I can not wear their boots. I win the prize for big feet.

Paula

Quality search results

Hello,

Not all toilet paper is received the same way. Toilet papers got the following results:
Northern --three votes
Charmin Ultra soft-- three votes
Scott 1000’s -- three votes (Two were from the same household so should that only count as two?)
Charmin Ultra Strong --two votes
Sam’s club brand --one vote


My plan of attack might be to try a small package of each. Maybe even having them in the house at the same time so we can compare before we forget which was what.

I would like to share the following quote from my friend Ron Klug. "When we lived in Madagascar, the local brand (toilet paper) was like a brown paper bag. Our students used to thread it into a typewriter and write letters on it. When that was not available, because of frequent shortages of everything, I learned that the Manchester Guardian was better than THE LUTHERAN STANDARD."

I did not ask Ron for permission to quote him so I hope I do not get in trouble, but it is too late now. It is so interesting I thought you would all like to know.

My Russian neighbor did not come for her tutoring this morning, nor she did tell me that she was not coming. I was quite disappointed. I will have to go over tomorrow and find out what happened. It was raining today so I did not get out. The last time she came she gave us a fish salad. I liked it just fine, but Leroy had trouble with the strong fish taste. Besides the fish it had beets and carrots in it with some egg yolk sprinkled on top. I could not identify the other ingredients.

Paula

Serious Subject

Hello,

Because this subject is quite serious I will probably write a little longer than usual because I want to cover all aspects of this issue. I have grappled with this subject for sometime and now I have decided to declare an open forum on this item.

When we first came back to the US I was confronted with the need to buy toilet paper. But what kind should I buy? After four years absence I did not know what was the best in terms of value let alone softness and strength. Instead I was confronted with a dizzying array of possibilities. Since the need was eminent I made a selection based on advertising, coupons, sales and what was close at hand. I can no longer remember what kind this was, but it was not as strong as it seemed it should be. After we dutifully used four rolls, because you know I can not throw it away, but must use it, I bought another kind. This one seemed to be better, but still not the best I am sure.

After we moved here there was a sale on Charmin. Seemed that one ranked high on the scale of good toilet tissue. With coupon in hand I went in and bought the basic variety thinking, "What more do I need?" I bought a package that had about 48 double rolls, enough to last us until we moved.

I soon learned that basic Charmin is about as fragile as toilet paper gets. I was ashamed to have guests come and use it. But use it we must because I can not throw this stuff down the drain.

When Miriam visited she wondered, "Did you buy the cheapest type that you could?"

I even wrote a letter to the Charmin people declaring my unhappiness. They, however, were not concerned and just ignored my lament.

Because we have managed to stay here longer than the original plan, we have used the last of this whimsy tissue. The ordeal now becomes what should I buy? I did buy a store brand but only four rolls, none of this 48 double roll purchase of the untested. This brand was strong, but not as soft as a summer breeze.

Is there no perfect toilet paper out there waiting for me to purchase it?
I am happy to listen to any suggestions that you might have. Leroy and I will just maintain control on until we hear from you.

Paula

Snow on the train

Hello,

Leroy and I went to the hardware store this morning to get some insulation pieces to put behind the light switches by the doors since I could feel the breeze coming through. We also got some for the outlets, but not enough. It did make a difference since Leroy just put those in. Seems to me that we should not be feeling breezes inside the house.

On the way home we could hear a train whistle blowing. "Let’s walk closer to the track," I said, "I want to experience it more completely. You know if Olivia were here we would have to do that and she would want us to stand and watch it go by."

We walked over closer and got the full blast of the whistle and the roar of the cars whizzing by. "Look at that snow," I commented as I pointed to the snow and ice stuck to the sides of the cars.

This was a coal train and we have been told they come from Wyoming. Well we have now seen with our own eyes that some places have a lot more snow than we do. We have just a dusting. Miriam however tells us that they have six inches in their yard. Olivia thinks she should be able to walk on it and instead she falls into it.

I rather like these trains. I shall miss them when we go. There are a number of things that I will miss. As one person in Des Moines told me, "I bet you find things you like in every house you live in." She said this after she found out I was not going to see the house or town before we moved in. I have moved into five places without seeing them first and have found something good in all of them. I am not sure that seeing places has created more good. Course you must know that there have always been some negatives about every place. As I learned from Leroy, life has lots of gray areas.

Paula

Snow

Hello,

We are getting a little snow today. I have walked twice and I will say that the wind is cold. I put on wool pants and winter coat for the second walk and that did make it much more comfortable.

The first walk was for a garage sale at a church. I was able to make some big purchases for a total of $.70. I got a wastebasket, two flowerpots, some stationary, and eight glasses. I think we will use all of these items so I feel good about it. That is what really counts, feeling good about it. We have broken five drinking glasses since we have been here. I am not sure what it is about, but one of them broke just as I was putting it in the water to wash it. Do you think they can get so old that they break spontaneously? At any rate I have now almost doubled the number of glasses that we have. Few glasses was not a problem until I decided to use the dishwasher. Then we seemed to run out of glasses immediately.

This afternoon I went to a service of Church Women United. It is a bit sad that all of these women are so old, but I think there is still some power there. One of the positives of the group is that they are looking beyond themselves. Seems to me that we can not do too much of that. If nothing else they are exposed to other Christian groups so they can dialog with them.

Leroy has not been feeling well for several days now. Not really sick, but he is very tired. Once in a while he complains that he is a little dizzy and then other times his stomach might hurt or again he might have a headache. Personally I am ready for him to be well again. I am not good with a sick person in the house. I want them to get it together and get on with life. When I did some career questions I did not come up very high for being a nurse, but fairly high for being a doctor. I suspect that is because those people have different relationships with patients. Doctors do not have to hang around the "sick bed" so much. That seems to be my style.

Paula

Voting

Hello,

Even thought I do not talk about the election, Leroy and I did vote. Our polling place is on the way to church for Leroy so I just walked over there with him. I thought it might be busy as others could vote before they went to work, but neither of us had to wait. I was a little concerned that I had not brought any identification, after all not everyone here knows who I am, but it was no problem as they could find my name on the list. Did I vote intelligently? Who knows! I had checked out two presidential candidates so that was really the easiest selection. I also had no trouble with the persons running for senate. The house was a little harder, but I had read something about them, but nothing really positive about either. After that it was a much harder to make a mark on the paper. Then there was a list of judges that I knew nothing about. Should they remain? It is hard to say. I could not even vote for them because they looked good in their robes. I really knew nothing about them.

This afternoon I started washing windows. I figure this will be the last time for this house. I had done eight of them by the time Leroy came home for supper. He then helped and we got ten more finished. The leaves only the picture window and the two that flank it. I will do those tomorrow morning before the sun gets around to the west side of the house. I also have to do the doors, but that should not be difficult, as they are more sheltered. I am grateful for these windows that tilt in to wash. They are worth every penny that the church spent on them.

The pastor that this congregation was interviewing is off the list. They decided to wait for another candidate. So we could be here longer than we thought again. Neither of us is getting too excited about an uncertain future. Everyday I tell God that I am trusting for today. I figure that I can not go farther down the road than 24 hours.

Miriam said, "Olivia went to her dad’s office and handed out her trick-or-treat candy to the people who worked there. She had so much fun doing that. She gave one to everyone, but she picked them out."

Paula

Singing In Church

Hello,

My singing in church went well yesterday. Several things helped me. I tried to memorize the piece making it easier to sing without thinking so much about whether I was singing blest or blessed. I did not truly memorize it because I need a lot more repetitions. You know the memory is not what it used to be. I also did not look at the people doing the liturgal dance nor did I look at the congregation even though I like to do that. I believe it makes the singing more personal. Also I tried to visualize myself singing perfectly well. I told God, "This is my gift to you and I will do the best that I can."

Besides all that my hair looked good! That was probably the most important thing.

We had one tree that had not lost all leaves in the last windstorm. It appeared to me that there were not many left on the tree. I was wrong. The ground was blanketed with leaves this morning. Now they have almost all fallen, but I am not going to rake just yet since I misjudged the amount before.

Leroy served breakfast at the men’s bible study this morning. He made pancakes and bacon, accompanied by applesauce, syrup, apple cider, and coffee. He put some cinnamon in the pancakes and many commented that they were great and wondered what brand of mix he was using. He is tired now because he had to get up at five to get all of that together.

We are washing and waxing cars. We have one more to go, but Leroy is not sure that he wants to do it. I was visiting with someone so he did one all by himself. I am not sure that I want to do it alone, but I could do most of it. I do like to take advantage of the warm fall weather that we are having.

Paula

Learning new things

Hello,

"I am going to take apart that old printer from the church," Leroy stated firmly, "and I want you to see if you can clean it or fix it. If not I am going to get rid of it."

I did as requested. I tried cleaning a band in there that I had never touched on any other printer. I had noticed that it was dark colored and the one on our printer at home is white. Also I happened to brush my finger against it when I was cleaning before and noticed that it was sticky. I got out my supplies and cleaned that band. Leroy took the printer back to church then called to tell me that it now works perfectly. Sigh, I should have tried that sooner because there was this little idea in the back of my mind, but I was afraid that I would ruin something.

The church now has three printers that work very well since they bought a new one and Leroy got another old one at the library for a dollar. The new printer can scan and fax so that is nice, but I could have saved them some money. Now Leroy will have the one I just fixed in his office so he does not have to walk into the other room to pick up his copies. It will save him about ten steps, but does he want to save steps? No, he wants to earn steps.

While at church I put on my new organ glasses and "belted" out "For all the Saints". I have not played that in two years so I was a little rusty at first, but it seemed to fix my soul.

In the mail today we got a notice from the insurance company that they did not pay for my eye exam. "Why would they not pay mine when they paid yours?" I exclaimed. My bill was $100 more than Leroy’s.

Leroy looked at the report and saw that I have not met my deductible for the year. Oh well we do have the money and it will come back from our flexible spending account. Leroy said, "It is because you are expensive as my trophy wife."

My new glasses did work quite well to see the music at the organ. So I am pleased about that. They are also the most comfortable frames that I have ever owned. Too bad they are not on the glasses that I wear everyday.

Paula

Bugs World

Hello,

I am not sure what conditions were right, but we now have a lot of bugs and flies around here. Could it be because we left a pile of our apple chunks that are left from cider in the back yard? We had thought that when we were finished making cider we would haul all of them out in the country. In other places we have had some bees come and almost completely consume those apple chunks. I am not sure what it means, but we have seen almost no bees. Instead there has been a flock of large flies. The apple pieces were still very much in place so today we worked on digging a hole and burying most of them. It was hard work as the ground in this spot is like clay and somewhat dry and unyielding. After building up some muscle we got the job mostly done. It is not all out of sight, but looks fine to the casual observer.

Today when I was in the grocery story I became aware that something was crawling on the back of my neck. I reached back but only succeeded in knocking it down inside my shirt. I reached in and tried again but still could not get it. Then I pulled my shirt out of my waist and tried to shake it out. I could not tell if I had removed it, so I moved on. Then I was talking to a woman I know and I could feel that thing crawling about five inches below my shoulder. I asked, "Would you get this bug off my back?"

She pulled out the neck of my shirt, looked in, and reached her hand down. After two attempts she managed to get it, gave it to me, and I stepped on it. It was one of those beetles that look like a ladybug. It probably would not hurt me, but its feet were a bit scratchy and uncomfortable. Someone asked how we make cider. We have a cider press. I wash the apples and cut them in half looking for worms. Even though these apples have not been sprayed I think I have found only two worms. Then I take them out to Leroy who first chops them in the machine and then presses them to squeeze out the juice. We do not know how many gallons we can get from a bushel, but I doubt that it is much over two. Commercially they no doubt get more since they have machines instead of just Leroy’s muscle power.

People often wonder how we got the press. We ordered it from a catalog. They just sent the hardware and my brother made it following the directions provided. People are very impressed with the job that he did. I suspect that it was a lot cheaper to get it this way than completely assembled.

Paula

Pictures of Cider Press

I am posting some pictures of the press as well as the sunrise that we saw from our breakfast nook.

Paula

Apple Cider

Hello,

Leroy and I again made apple cider, about three gallons worth. We gave one gallon away to the people who gave us the apples. Some of the rest we will freeze in smaller containers. The rest we might just guzzle with delight. It is so good. Even though many of the apples were some yellow variety it is still quite good. The color is much lighter than usual. We really do not know what any of these apples are for sure. Most are not delicious, but that is good because I do not particularly like delicious apples.

We have enough apples left that we might make cider one more time if the weather is good about a week from now. Leroy thinks there will only be enough to get about one gallon, but I think there is more. We do want to keep plenty of apples to eat and I will want to make more small batches of applesauce.

I washed clothes today. The sheets looked like sails billowing in the wind. It was a perfect day. The only problem is that I did not take a walk today nor did I do any exercises. I suppose one day off is fine, but it is easy to let several days go.

I tutored again this morning. I am so sorry that I did not ask sooner. I have enjoyed it and I find that we discover more things to talk about as we are together longer. She brings papers that the school has sent home and we discuss what those papers are trying to tell her. Today I was thinking about what it would be like to be a non-reader even if you did speak English. So hard! Most of us are not thankful enough for the abilities that we have.

I was asked if I would sing a solo in church on Sunday as the background for a liturgical dance. I am scared about doing that. It is so hard since I almost never sing by myself. I am practicing, but it is harder when I have to accompany myself. I will have to spend some more time on it.

Paula

Making scones

Hello,

I decided to make scones when we had company. After all, what better time to try a new recipe? I emailed son-in-law Stephen because he had made some scones that I liked. He sent me a recipe that did not use much milk; important since Leroy is lactose intolerant. It also used oatmeal and I liked that idea of adding to the nutritional value of the product. I even followed the recipe, except that I did not have any butter in the house and instead used olive oil. Since the butter was going in as a liquid I felt it would be fine to substitute. Also it seems that altering recipes is my great desire and challenge in life. We think the scones are quite good. I will probably make them again someday. Our guest seemed to like them as well.

We, as did many of you, had a brisk wind on Sunday. Now most of the leaves are off of the trees in our yard. I am happy to say that I do not see many on the ground so raking will not be a large chore. I do not know where these leaves are because I do not see them in the neighborhood, saving me from guilt. I did notice on my walk to the library that two older, but not decrepit women, were raking up a lot of leaves in their yard. I thought maybe I should help, but did not stop to do that. After all being outdoors and working is good for the soul. By the way, I read that old is about 15 years older than what you are, making it a moving target, always out there somewhere.

The church here is again interviewing a candidate for the pastor job. I did a little more straightening up so they can look at the house. I feel sad that my flowers froze, but that can’t be controlled.

Leroy still has not heard from any of the jobs for which he has applied, but we continue to feel that God is taking care of us. We have had to stay here to get copious amounts of apples, pears, zucchini, and cucumbers.

Paula

Applesauce

Hello,

I made a batch of applesauce in my soup pot. This will be plenty for us to eat as much as we would like at any time that we would like. I mixed some red and some yellow apples. It is quite good. This evening, someone gave me a grocery bag full of pears. They are quite big, green and hard. The woman did tell me that she cooked some of them and they were very tasty in spite of being so hard. I told Leroy that when we make cider again we should put in some pears. We have been so blessed.

I hung jeans out to dry this morning. I was quite pleased that they were dry by noon. I thought since it was so cold it mighty not dry very well, but there was enough wind and I think it is dry outside.

Tomorrow I will have to do something about all of the flowers that froze. I thought I might spade them into the ground so they can provide mulch for next year’s plants.

I thoroughly enjoyed our visit yesterday with the young pastor. This woman was between the ages of our oldest and second children. I think she was a little unsure about how it would be to visit us, but I believe she liked it too. I made spaghetti sauce with TVP (texturized vegetable protein) and she even knew what that was. She grew up on it. She has only been in the parish for about two months. I suspect she needed to see someone outside of the church and talk about some of the things that did not fit her idealistic picture of what a church should be. Leroy was sympathetic, but also laughed from the point of age and experience, as he said, "Welcome to the real world."

Our library is having a book sale. We have gotten quite a few books for ten cents a piece. Yesterday was the start of the bag for a $1 close out. Leroy and I went down as soon as it opened and hauled home a bag that was bursting. I kept telling Leroy it would tear and he would add one more. When our visitor came we knew that her town was smaller so we went back to the sale. She only got two books, but Leroy and I found about three more books and three videos to slip into the bag. Today I gave one of the books back to the sale as Leroy had finished it. They may as well try to sell it again.

Paula

Vinegar and bread

Hello,

I bought a short book on vinegar published in 1995. It only costs a quarter and has already entertained me twenty-five cents worth. My favorite suggestion is how to get rid of corns and calluses. I think I have a callus over the corn on my little toe. I have consulted my daughter-in-law, Jen because she has played soccer for many years and thus has calluses on her feet that have become painful at times. Or maybe it is all the time painful. Anyway she suggested that I soak the offending foot and then use a pumice stone. That helped some, but I suppose one soak is not enough for cure.

I now have a new possibility. This book tells me, "Corns and calluses will fall away, overnight, if you treat them with a vinegar compress. Simply tape ½ a slice of stale bread (which has been soaked with apple cider vinegar) to the offending lump. By morning the skin will look smooth and new." The Vinegar Book

I have visions of the bread being all over the bed by morning. Leroy’s question was, "Do you think it has to be store bread?" We only have homemade bread in the house. Perhaps I could borrow some that I would never return. Since it is my little toe I could use just an eighth of a slice I am sure. Perhaps I would need to put a plastic bag over my foot to keep this bread contained.

I can now give you the cure for just about anything. I suspect some of it will even work. People have been benefiting from vinegar for centuries.

My Thanksgiving cactus is putting on buds so we can look forward to blossoms in November. The other two cacti are just looking green and good.

We are expecting company this afternoon. She is a pastor in a neighboring town. She had wanted to ride bikes with us, but we will not do that, as it is only 37 F. degrees. I was afraid that she would want to ride anyway and how could we admit to being such old whimps. Luckily she called and said that she would still like to come, but not to ride. Yes!

I did hang out most of a load of clothes. I have to confess that I did not do the socks and some other smaller items outside. I only put up one section of our makeshift clothesline. That gave me the courage to stop. My hands were cold.

Paula

Comforter Tales Continued

Hello,

A couple nights ago, Leroy said as he marched around to my side of the bed, "I am going to make sure that you start out with enough cover."

He then proceeded to give me a generous portion of the comforter and the blanket beneath. I have to confess that in the middle of the night I woke up with more than my share of the covers. They were hanging down over the side almost to the floor. Because of the weight it was difficult to turn over let alone try to push them over to Leroy. I guess I can not complain from now on I must just grab a hold and pull to get back my share.

I am a little ticked because the battery cover came off the pedometer when I was carrying a heavy load against it. Leroy suggested, "Cover it with tape." The cover is bright blue so I could put it back on, but I still might resort to the tape. But for now, I just decided to try to remember to take it off when I am doing such tasks. This is now my third pedometer. Is there no perfect one that will last a long time? Two of the three have been free so I should not complain about that either.

Faith had been restored in the younger generation. The family that lost their house in a fire is picking out very practical things. They are also not "greedy", but only get what they need on a daily or weekly basis. Many of the women have commented on how they are carefully purchasing items that are on sale. Makes them feel that the world will be in steady hands when we leave the earth.

The other day when Leroy and I walked to the store we saw three deer across the street in an open lot area. They did not pay any attention to the cars going by but they seemed to be keeping a wary eye on us. Guess we look threatening.

Paula

Random Thoughts

Hello,

I went to Des Moines with some other women to buy replacement items for a family that had a fire in their home. On the way one of the women commented, "Paula makes us all feel guilty." I thought she might be talking about the fact that I walk so many places and most don’t do that. Instead she added, "She has such faith. She does not know where she will be living or what they will be doing and she just keeps going with such confidence and a smile."

I must confess that I did not know what to say to that. I do not want people to feel guilty, but I can not control their reactions. I do believe that how we live our lives does create an impression on people. I did finally make some remark about how some days are easier than others are. In other words it may look like we have it all together, but that is not always the case.

I went to garage sales today. I was so pleased to find two pairs of jeans in Leroy’s size and they were in fairly good shape. They both were marked $1.50. Since one was more faded than the other, I wondered if they would take a dollar for it. After going to other sales I went home were I looked at the jeans and thought that I had only given her $2.50 and one pair cost that and the other was just $1.50. I was embarrassed that I had not given her enough money. Even though it was cool I got out my bike. Earlier I had walked around, but it was easily more than a mile. Since I did not want to walk back that longer distance again I braved the wind on my bike. I tried to argue with her that I owed her more money. She, luckily, had kept her stickers and she showed me that it was just $1.50 and $1.00. I guess my short-term memory is just plain shot and no longer to be relied upon for anything of any significance.

When Leroy tried on the jeans he said they fit very well. He did say, "They smell like smoke. We need to wash them."

His "round home" pair of jeans has a hole in the knee. It is now retired. He had two other that were considered good, but one of them will now be the round home pair because the new ones fit him better and look better. He went from having only two good pair of jeans to having three. What luxury!

Gas in town this morning is $2.17 per gallon. Amazing! Too bad we are not driving to Utah now.

Paula

New Pedometer

Hello,

Leroy went to a church meeting where there were some give-away items promoting health. He brought home a new pedometer that I immediately latched onto. Then I found out that he had intended to buy me a new "good" one and keep this one for himself. I have gotten this one all set up and I think I like it quite well. It clips shut so I can not accidentally change the setting. It also includes the time and I like that. I have stopped wearing my old one because the steps kept changing either because I pushed on it when I bent over or because it is malfunctioning. I will have to say that I do walk more when I am wearing a pedometer. It keeps reminding me of the number of steps I have taken.

Today I have done fairly well even though we did not walk in the morning. I am not sure why, but we do not seem to get that done any more. We no longer get up at 5:30. Then Leroy has a series of exercises that he likes, I guess he likes. While he is doing that I like to write in my journal first thing. It is a type of stream of consciousness writing and it seems to flow mostly in the morning. As the day goes on I am too much in control for that type of writing.

I walked to the grocery store that is a little over a mile from our house. While there I bought, because they were on sale, 18 eggs, four pounds of sugar, a pound of cheese, and 3.88 ounces of cinnamon. This did not seem like very much until I was half way home and then it started to get heavy. The weight was not on the eggs, but large eggs do weigh a bit. I can not help but wonder if I would have noticed the weight so much when we lived in Slovakia and I was used to carrying weight around.

Then in the afternoon I found out that my glasses had come. So I walked downtown. That is a little under a mile one way.

I am not sure that I like the glasses, but Leroy thinks they look good. At any rate I only wear them at the computer or the organ. I have included a picture.

Paula

Compliments

Hello,

I have decided to start a file of compliments that people have given me. I just got one from one of the students in Slovakia. I did not know her very well and maybe that is what made it so special. She talked about how she liked to come into the library and hear my beautiful laugh. That was also a new compliment for me. I have never thought much about my laugh. I would have this file so that on the down days in my life I can retrieve them and help to turn the low into a positive if not even a high. I remember reading that when Abe Lincoln died he had a compliment in his pocket from years earlier. I think he was a smart man. If he were still alive I would email him that compliment.

Something else I think I should do is to start an exchange of plastic lids and containers. Somehow I seem to have about three lids that do not match any of my containers and then I have an equal number of containers that have no lids. It is almost as bad as the unmated socks that turn up from time to time.

I was amazed to see that gas has gone down to $2.29 per gallon in Chariton. For sure it is cheaper in Des Moines. Course I was all excited when I filled the car at $2.49 just a week ago. Since we do not drive the cars much it will be a while before we need any more gas. By then it could be much higher than what it was when I purchased it. Such a moving target! Mostly I just say we need to buy gas and do it without so much thought.

We have had a lot of wind and in my heart of hearts I am hoping that all of the leaves will be blown out of our yard and into the neighbor’s yard or the street. And you thought I was a nice person. Many leaves have traveled somewhere far away since I no longer see them. Our neighbor must not have sticky grass.

Paula

Hazards of Cleaning

Hello,

I am not sure why, but I have stopped being very regular about cleaning. The house looks ok most of the time because I can not tolerate much clutter. Dirt now, that seems to be a different matter. Maybe it is because this house is so big. After all I have not had to deal with more than a one bedroom place for four years. Then in Des Moines it was just two bedrooms and all the rooms were fairly small so I think it was about the same size as our one bedroom apartment in Slovakia.

I believe in dusting before I vacuum. Consequently I started by dusting the living room/dining room, but before I got done I remembered that I had not brushed my teeth and prepared my face for the day. I guess it is good to have Leroy around to keep me on a schedule. When in the bathroom I realized that I should clean the sinks. The next thing I noticed was that I should do the bathtub since I had the cleaning things out. "Look at that screw," I thought, "I wonder if it comes out so I can clean out the drain a bit more. It has been quite slow."

I had to search for a screwdriver. Leroy did put things away in the right place so that was easy. I got the plate off, but had to find something to extract the hair that was tangled around the bracket. I tried a tweezers and shortly turned to the screwdriver which worked just fine.

Then it was back to the living room to finish dusting. I now started moving furniture around so I could vacuum behind it. When I moved the chairs out to the kitchen I realized that I should clean off the top of the frig since I had a chair handy to stand on. It had been a while so it took a bit of effort to get that clean. I went back and vacuumed half of the room when I noticed that it was snack time and I was hungry. I must stop to eat since I believe in snacks. While eating I worked on one Sudoku puzzle and then another one because the first went so quickly.

I forgot to mention that I also had to tend to some plants when I moved them. Then I got sidetracked in the garage looking for the little saucers that go under the plants.
I did finish vacuuming before lunch, but it was a miracle.

When Brian was little he told someone, "My mother likes to clean."

I decided that I should not act so happy while cleaning. I did try to make it seem like something good to do in the hopes that my children would do their chores without complaining and it mostly worked.

Paula

Home Alone

Hello,

Leroy is off to a professional leaders conference so I am home alone. Spouses could go along if they like, but I have never done so. I figure that they can get along without me. I might be a bit lonely here, but it is only until Tuesday. I am used to being alone a lot on Sundays and Tuesdays too since Leroy is often gone all day and sometimes just comes home for meals. Now tomorrow might get a little long, but I do have some tasks lined up. I have not dusted in the living room for a long time and then I would have to vacuum too. So that will take some time. Then I need to go renew the car license. That means a walk downtown and while there I will go to the library since it is only a block away. I will look for more children’s books to share with my Russian friend.

This morning one person gave Leroy a nice compliment in adult Sunday school class. They talked about how much they like the Bible study that he does on the lessons for the next Sunday. I will have to say that I probably get more out of the sermon since I know more when I hear it. So the study is of benefit to me too.

It is nice to have someone talk about you when you are absent if they say good things. We should do more of that.

Leroy and I made the fifth batch of applesauce yesterday. I think that will be all since I have run out of jars. My neighbor said I could have more, but for now that will be all. I am pleased to have this much it is way beyond my expectation. We will make one more batch of cider and I think that will be the end of that. We have some apples that we will keep around to eat for the sheer enjoyment of eating them. I may up my quota to three a day. I remember doing that in the past during apple season. I would eat one in the morning and one in the afternoon and one with a meal as dessert.

Paula