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