Hello,
Leroy and I had an uneventful trip up north. We were fortunate that it was cool when we got there. Brian and Jen were learning to live without air conditioning.
Repair people were coming on Tuesday so I stayed home Monday with Sophia while Brian went to work. Sophia and I had a good time together swinging, pulling weeds, walking the dog, eating, and napping. Even though it got up to 90 it was not too hot in the house. Now the next day when the workmen were there was hotter since the doors were open or ajar much of the day. Unfortunately they needed to return for a second day. At the end of the second day it still was not able to run automatically requiring a return trip.
Leroy enjoyed his class on the pastor as coach. He was even excited about reading the accompanying books. An added bonus was that he got to ride the bike forty-five minutes to the seminary, helping him to get in condition for the bike ride across Iowa that he will participate in on the last full week in July.
Coming out of the library, Brian said, “That looks like Dad.”
Seeing a gray bearded man on a recumbent, I said, “Yes that does look like him.”
“That is Dad,” Brian exclaimed as he pointed at a guy on a bike farther down the street, “What is he doing here?”
“Dad,” Brian yelled. When there was no response he called, “Leroy.”
Leroy was trying to find his back street route home from the seminary. The street, Cleveland goes onto the interstate. Leroy promptly got off of there and tried another street that turned into a dead end. Brian was able to get him pointed in the right direction as well as take his bag to lighten the load.
Paula
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
To New Brighton
Hello,
After church tomorrow Leroy and I travel to Brian’s house. Leroy will be taking a continuing Ed class and I will be free to do as I please with Sophia. I will baby sit with her on Monday and the rest of the week is up to me. How is that for a deal?
Today, Leroy rode in the Chariton Classic bike ride of 62 miles. He is weary, but glad that he completed it. He has not done that much riding for a long time so it was a stretch for him. He will ride in the bike ride across Iowa in July. Training will be high on his list of priorities. I did not really want to go because I was spending so much money to make a second trip to Kenya and then again to SLC. My neck hurts quite a bit when I ride the bike and I think I would need to have a new bike. Now I have the time, but not the money. If I were salaried, I would have the money, but not the time.
The new kitchen floor is buckling. They will look at that while we are gone. They wondered if we had spilled water on it, but I cannot think of a time when that happened. I am wondering if it is a problem because we had not turned on the air conditioner. That will about “kill” me if we have to run that more frequently just to keep the floor in good shape. Besides, my hair would fall in the dry air.
Our lettuce has been so nice. I will pick the rest of that tonight and take it to Brian’s house. Even if they do not want to eat it, Leroy and I will enjoy it before it is all gone. Fifty cents worth of seeds has given us many meals. I have given away 4-5 sacks besides. We are so blessed.
Paula
After church tomorrow Leroy and I travel to Brian’s house. Leroy will be taking a continuing Ed class and I will be free to do as I please with Sophia. I will baby sit with her on Monday and the rest of the week is up to me. How is that for a deal?
Today, Leroy rode in the Chariton Classic bike ride of 62 miles. He is weary, but glad that he completed it. He has not done that much riding for a long time so it was a stretch for him. He will ride in the bike ride across Iowa in July. Training will be high on his list of priorities. I did not really want to go because I was spending so much money to make a second trip to Kenya and then again to SLC. My neck hurts quite a bit when I ride the bike and I think I would need to have a new bike. Now I have the time, but not the money. If I were salaried, I would have the money, but not the time.
The new kitchen floor is buckling. They will look at that while we are gone. They wondered if we had spilled water on it, but I cannot think of a time when that happened. I am wondering if it is a problem because we had not turned on the air conditioner. That will about “kill” me if we have to run that more frequently just to keep the floor in good shape. Besides, my hair would fall in the dry air.
Our lettuce has been so nice. I will pick the rest of that tonight and take it to Brian’s house. Even if they do not want to eat it, Leroy and I will enjoy it before it is all gone. Fifty cents worth of seeds has given us many meals. I have given away 4-5 sacks besides. We are so blessed.
Paula
Friday, June 19, 2009
Embarrassment
Hello,
Embarrassment is not a disease that causes death, but causes acute discomfort. On the flight from Amsterdam to Minnesota I started noticing that my stomach was rumbling and complaining after the first meal. It was necessary to go to the toilet. About half an hour later I needed to go again. When it was more frequent then that I mentioned it to Sarah because surely she was wondering about all these trips I was making. Both of us had Imodium, but unfortunately it was in our check in bags in the bowels of the plane when it should have been in my bowel. We were not seated close to the toilet, but with attention to the symptoms I managed to get there without mishap. There were four toilets and I always found one of them open. Everyone on the way was surely noticing this woman running to the facilities all of the time.
One time I had to get up after the flight attendant was in the aisle with her meal cart. This woman moved into action after I tapped her on the shoulder and softly told her that I did not feel well and needed to use the bathroom. In less than a second she had stopped passing out food, unlocked the cart brake, and moved rapidly up the aisle. When she approached a man out of his seat with his back to her she announced loudly, “Sir,” and then louder, “Sir, this woman does not feel well and she needs to use the toilet now.”
So much for trying to look inconspicuous. But at least I again made it to the toilet. This attendant was very nice. She came and brought me some 7-up and later inquired at least two additional times about my welfare.
Just before landing I again used the facilities. Unfortunately it took a little while to get hundreds of people off this plane, but I told Sarah that I was going to try to go ahead of her to the bathroom. Moving as swiftly as I could down this never ending corridor I knew I would not make it. I could feel stuff going down my leg to my shoe. I did not look down or back to see if it went on the floor, but hurried to the bathroom stall where I stripped off my jeans, took off my underpants, shoes, socks, and cleaned myself as well as I could. I gathered my socks and underpants in a bundle, put my jeans and shoes back on, listened to make sure no one was out in the main room, threw my bundle in the trash, cleaned my hands, and walked out the door.
I now had to stand in line to have my passport checked. Sarah and Lexi were not visible, but that was ok since Sarah said, “We will just go ahead and meet at the baggage claim.”
I was so disgusted that I had not put any extra clothes in my carry on just useless things like books and snacks. I am not sure if I smelled or not, I tried not to let people see my backside. Not an easy task when I must have gotten in the slowest line on record.
Sarah had already gotten all of our bags by the time I was finished. I was praying that there would be no questions when I went to the passport guy. I was afraid that someone might notice and think I had Swine Flu. Then there was one more line for the customs check. After that we walked to the entrance and I went to stand outside in the open air where smells would not be so noticeable.
I rode to Brian’s house sitting on my coat so I would not mess up the car, got out of the car, Sarah ran and got a towel on the carpet so I would walk across it into the bathroom and take a shower.
As my children say, “I will never see those people again.” I am still alive, but I can think of more fun ways to spend time. For some reason I did not have a fever, ache, or any other discomfort and I am grateful for that.
Paula
Embarrassment is not a disease that causes death, but causes acute discomfort. On the flight from Amsterdam to Minnesota I started noticing that my stomach was rumbling and complaining after the first meal. It was necessary to go to the toilet. About half an hour later I needed to go again. When it was more frequent then that I mentioned it to Sarah because surely she was wondering about all these trips I was making. Both of us had Imodium, but unfortunately it was in our check in bags in the bowels of the plane when it should have been in my bowel. We were not seated close to the toilet, but with attention to the symptoms I managed to get there without mishap. There were four toilets and I always found one of them open. Everyone on the way was surely noticing this woman running to the facilities all of the time.
One time I had to get up after the flight attendant was in the aisle with her meal cart. This woman moved into action after I tapped her on the shoulder and softly told her that I did not feel well and needed to use the bathroom. In less than a second she had stopped passing out food, unlocked the cart brake, and moved rapidly up the aisle. When she approached a man out of his seat with his back to her she announced loudly, “Sir,” and then louder, “Sir, this woman does not feel well and she needs to use the toilet now.”
So much for trying to look inconspicuous. But at least I again made it to the toilet. This attendant was very nice. She came and brought me some 7-up and later inquired at least two additional times about my welfare.
Just before landing I again used the facilities. Unfortunately it took a little while to get hundreds of people off this plane, but I told Sarah that I was going to try to go ahead of her to the bathroom. Moving as swiftly as I could down this never ending corridor I knew I would not make it. I could feel stuff going down my leg to my shoe. I did not look down or back to see if it went on the floor, but hurried to the bathroom stall where I stripped off my jeans, took off my underpants, shoes, socks, and cleaned myself as well as I could. I gathered my socks and underpants in a bundle, put my jeans and shoes back on, listened to make sure no one was out in the main room, threw my bundle in the trash, cleaned my hands, and walked out the door.
I now had to stand in line to have my passport checked. Sarah and Lexi were not visible, but that was ok since Sarah said, “We will just go ahead and meet at the baggage claim.”
I was so disgusted that I had not put any extra clothes in my carry on just useless things like books and snacks. I am not sure if I smelled or not, I tried not to let people see my backside. Not an easy task when I must have gotten in the slowest line on record.
Sarah had already gotten all of our bags by the time I was finished. I was praying that there would be no questions when I went to the passport guy. I was afraid that someone might notice and think I had Swine Flu. Then there was one more line for the customs check. After that we walked to the entrance and I went to stand outside in the open air where smells would not be so noticeable.
I rode to Brian’s house sitting on my coat so I would not mess up the car, got out of the car, Sarah ran and got a towel on the carpet so I would walk across it into the bathroom and take a shower.
As my children say, “I will never see those people again.” I am still alive, but I can think of more fun ways to spend time. For some reason I did not have a fever, ache, or any other discomfort and I am grateful for that.
Paula
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Getting on the plane in Amsterdam
Hello,
Even though Lexi was a great and easy to entertain companion it seemed like a long wait for our trip back to the US. I am glad that I was there to help Sarah because that would have been long. We figured that the entire trip from door to door took 28 hours.
In the airport we never heard them announce that they were loading the plane, but it was happening. One kind flight attendant came up the line and, because of Lexi took us to the front of the line. That was nice. At the check-in counter something was wrong and they could not check-in Sarah or Lexi. The woman who was working on that finally asked us to step to the side and she would call for help.
Waiting for assistance we could hear a man talking loudly to the person behind the desk. He had been moved two rows back did not like that at all. Apparently two people had been assigned to the same seat. Because he was the second one she moved him. He thought because it was their fault they should move him forward and not back. He expounded on the unfairness for a long time even though she told him repeatedly that there were no seats forward. Can you believe that he was an American? I had to stifle the urge to go to him and tell him to suck it up. He was getting on the plane and in a similar seat. So what if it was back two rows.
Help arrived for us. The guy asked to see the ticket that Sarah had and solved the problem almost instantly. The woman who had helped us originally was so embarrassed that it was such a simple oversight on her part. I was just happy to have it all solved. We were going to get on this plane and get home. I even got enough flyer miles out of this trip that I can go free sometime on this airline. Usually I have gone on a number of different airlines so I never get enough miles with any one. But two trips of 16,000 each tipped the scale.
Paula
Even though Lexi was a great and easy to entertain companion it seemed like a long wait for our trip back to the US. I am glad that I was there to help Sarah because that would have been long. We figured that the entire trip from door to door took 28 hours.
In the airport we never heard them announce that they were loading the plane, but it was happening. One kind flight attendant came up the line and, because of Lexi took us to the front of the line. That was nice. At the check-in counter something was wrong and they could not check-in Sarah or Lexi. The woman who was working on that finally asked us to step to the side and she would call for help.
Waiting for assistance we could hear a man talking loudly to the person behind the desk. He had been moved two rows back did not like that at all. Apparently two people had been assigned to the same seat. Because he was the second one she moved him. He thought because it was their fault they should move him forward and not back. He expounded on the unfairness for a long time even though she told him repeatedly that there were no seats forward. Can you believe that he was an American? I had to stifle the urge to go to him and tell him to suck it up. He was getting on the plane and in a similar seat. So what if it was back two rows.
Help arrived for us. The guy asked to see the ticket that Sarah had and solved the problem almost instantly. The woman who had helped us originally was so embarrassed that it was such a simple oversight on her part. I was just happy to have it all solved. We were going to get on this plane and get home. I even got enough flyer miles out of this trip that I can go free sometime on this airline. Usually I have gone on a number of different airlines so I never get enough miles with any one. But two trips of 16,000 each tipped the scale.
Paula
Thursday, June 11, 2009
In the Amsterdam Airport
Hello,
There is a 4-5 hour layover in the Amsterdam airport so we knew we had some time to work things out. Our first task was to find a live person to talk to. They have wonderful kiosks where you can do many changes, print boarding passes, and other tasks yourself. But because we really wanted to get on the earlier plane a breathing person was required. In this very large airport we learned that is one place to yet speak with a person in front of you. Looking at a departure board revealed that our original earlier flight had been delayed for more than two hours so it was now later than the later flight we were booked on. Before we got to speak to the person we learned that the flight had been cancelled until tomorrow. We switched from feeling disgruntled to feeling grateful that we were still going to arrive on the planned day, however we still wanted to talk to a person.
This nice woman told us that they had switched Sarah and Lexi to the later flight because they wanted her to get out rather than be delayed more. She was able to print my boarding pass and get us seated together. So now we just had to wait the extra hours.
This is a great airport to be stuck in. They had a big room for infants/toddlers for sleeping. There were beds for the kids with seating built in for the caretakers. A curtain could be pulled across the area for privacy. Next door there was a playroom complete with tree houses and slides. While I stayed with Lexi Sarah scouted out public use computers so she could our ride in the US since we neither have a cell phone that works in Europe. Leroy was to pick us up on his way into the city. Because we were afraid he would not check email we told the rest of the family to call him when they read the email. It all worked and Leroy was there at about the right time.
I will continue this tale in another email, but I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely in SLC while Leroy is at Okoboji for confirmation camp. He is the chaplin and doing fine with that.
Paula
There is a 4-5 hour layover in the Amsterdam airport so we knew we had some time to work things out. Our first task was to find a live person to talk to. They have wonderful kiosks where you can do many changes, print boarding passes, and other tasks yourself. But because we really wanted to get on the earlier plane a breathing person was required. In this very large airport we learned that is one place to yet speak with a person in front of you. Looking at a departure board revealed that our original earlier flight had been delayed for more than two hours so it was now later than the later flight we were booked on. Before we got to speak to the person we learned that the flight had been cancelled until tomorrow. We switched from feeling disgruntled to feeling grateful that we were still going to arrive on the planned day, however we still wanted to talk to a person.
This nice woman told us that they had switched Sarah and Lexi to the later flight because they wanted her to get out rather than be delayed more. She was able to print my boarding pass and get us seated together. So now we just had to wait the extra hours.
This is a great airport to be stuck in. They had a big room for infants/toddlers for sleeping. There were beds for the kids with seating built in for the caretakers. A curtain could be pulled across the area for privacy. Next door there was a playroom complete with tree houses and slides. While I stayed with Lexi Sarah scouted out public use computers so she could our ride in the US since we neither have a cell phone that works in Europe. Leroy was to pick us up on his way into the city. Because we were afraid he would not check email we told the rest of the family to call him when they read the email. It all worked and Leroy was there at about the right time.
I will continue this tale in another email, but I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely in SLC while Leroy is at Okoboji for confirmation camp. He is the chaplin and doing fine with that.
Paula
Monday, June 8, 2009
At the Nairobi Airport
Hello,
Just a little note from the present, I am still feeling fine. It is a nice thing to get so much sympathy at church. The pain and trauma is almost worth it. Being a hypochondriac has some attraction. In addition the swelling erased almost all my forehead wrinkles. I declare it to be as good as Botox.
Now back to the airport. After standing in other lines first we finally got to the point of checking in our bags and getting confirmation of flights. Sarah had a paper ticket and I had an e ticket. It required some time and an additional person to get us checked in. They handed us our tickets and said, “You are not seated together on this plane, but you can work that out on the plane. Also out of Amsterdam you will not be on the same plane.”
“What does this mean?” we wondered. I had called the companies and made sure that we were on the same plane with seats together.
Sarah and Lexi had been moved to a later flight. We did not want this to happen. “We both want to be on the earlier flight,” we told them.
After much time waiting while they tried mysterious things they finally got us both on the later flight but they could not print my boarding pass for Amsterdam. Sarah could not back on the earlier flight, as it was full. This made no since as to why Sarah’s flight would have been changed without telling her about it. Sarah figured that we should just get to Amsterdam and deal with it there.
When we got on the plane we found that I was sitting one row in back of Sarah and to the side. There was a couple with a baby. The women and babies were sitting together and the man was sitting in front of me. Sarah asked if he would like to trade with her. Sarah then sat beside me and when the person came in she asked if they would mind sitting in the seat in front. That was ok with them so we got to be together for this eight-hour flight. Lexi was a good traveler and sprawled across our laps managed to sleep some.
Paula
Just a little note from the present, I am still feeling fine. It is a nice thing to get so much sympathy at church. The pain and trauma is almost worth it. Being a hypochondriac has some attraction. In addition the swelling erased almost all my forehead wrinkles. I declare it to be as good as Botox.
Now back to the airport. After standing in other lines first we finally got to the point of checking in our bags and getting confirmation of flights. Sarah had a paper ticket and I had an e ticket. It required some time and an additional person to get us checked in. They handed us our tickets and said, “You are not seated together on this plane, but you can work that out on the plane. Also out of Amsterdam you will not be on the same plane.”
“What does this mean?” we wondered. I had called the companies and made sure that we were on the same plane with seats together.
Sarah and Lexi had been moved to a later flight. We did not want this to happen. “We both want to be on the earlier flight,” we told them.
After much time waiting while they tried mysterious things they finally got us both on the later flight but they could not print my boarding pass for Amsterdam. Sarah could not back on the earlier flight, as it was full. This made no since as to why Sarah’s flight would have been changed without telling her about it. Sarah figured that we should just get to Amsterdam and deal with it there.
When we got on the plane we found that I was sitting one row in back of Sarah and to the side. There was a couple with a baby. The women and babies were sitting together and the man was sitting in front of me. Sarah asked if he would like to trade with her. Sarah then sat beside me and when the person came in she asked if they would mind sitting in the seat in front. That was ok with them so we got to be together for this eight-hour flight. Lexi was a good traveler and sprawled across our laps managed to sleep some.
Paula
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Leaving Nairobi
Hello,
Sarah’s co-worker was taking us to the airport. He brought a bigger van but we could have fit in something much smaller. Besides the three of us there was a car seat, a stroller, four suitcases to check in, one of them was small enough that it could be a carry on, and we were each carrying something about the size of a medium tote bag.
Even though it was at the later end of rush traffic was not bad until we came to a crawl and then a stop. Many people came past the cars hoping to sell something to the people trapped in their inert vehicles. Their varied wares ranged from bagged fruits to blow up child’s chairs. After a while it became clear that traffic must always come to a stand still in this spot because the driver said it was always like this.
Progress was made finally. After about 20 minutes we were next in line at the round about. At that point a police officer stopped the lanes of traffic in our street. In a bit many cars started zipping round about. This went on for almost 5-10 minutes before it again became our turn. It was after dark and the police officers had on reflectorized vests. In this organized chaos it was a necessary item.
Lexi started talking about the airport and Daddy. Perhaps she was expecting daddy to be there since that was the last place she had seen him.
It was a bit of a trick to get everything on the cart, however Sarah is a master organizer. We got security scanned just inside the door and then had to reload the cart to stand in the passport/ticket check line. Lexi was a model girl at this point in time, it helps to have some things to look at with so much happening.
Paula
Sarah’s co-worker was taking us to the airport. He brought a bigger van but we could have fit in something much smaller. Besides the three of us there was a car seat, a stroller, four suitcases to check in, one of them was small enough that it could be a carry on, and we were each carrying something about the size of a medium tote bag.
Even though it was at the later end of rush traffic was not bad until we came to a crawl and then a stop. Many people came past the cars hoping to sell something to the people trapped in their inert vehicles. Their varied wares ranged from bagged fruits to blow up child’s chairs. After a while it became clear that traffic must always come to a stand still in this spot because the driver said it was always like this.
Progress was made finally. After about 20 minutes we were next in line at the round about. At that point a police officer stopped the lanes of traffic in our street. In a bit many cars started zipping round about. This went on for almost 5-10 minutes before it again became our turn. It was after dark and the police officers had on reflectorized vests. In this organized chaos it was a necessary item.
Lexi started talking about the airport and Daddy. Perhaps she was expecting daddy to be there since that was the last place she had seen him.
It was a bit of a trick to get everything on the cart, however Sarah is a master organizer. We got security scanned just inside the door and then had to reload the cart to stand in the passport/ticket check line. Lexi was a model girl at this point in time, it helps to have some things to look at with so much happening.
Paula
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Nairobi Central Park
Central Park Nairobi
June 6, 2009
Hello,
I am still feeling fine, but I am trying to be more still then usual. It works sometimes. At least I have let Leroy prepare most meals and clean up afterwards.
One Saturday, Sarah said, “I would like to see the picture display of the uprising that happen just after we moved here.”
So off we went closer to the center of the city. We parked and walked through Central Park in the direction of tall buildings. The park, complete with small termite mounds, was so much greener now in the rainy season. I was pleased to see that there was some playground equipment even if it was just a few things considering this is a city of almost three million. A group of schoolgirls walked through waving delightedly at Lexi and she reciprocated. Was that because she is a white kid and they do not see many of them? As usual the girls had on uniforms. Later some guys with suitcases set up close to a fountain wanted us to buy post cards or other small items.
Crossing the street here is not for the faint hearted. I gave a sigh of relief when we were safe on the other side. Traffic on the left and the round about with several lanes requires much thought for the uninitiated.
The pictures at the exhibit were a stark reminder of how close to violence some people have lived. Sarah said, “I really learned a lot because the TV news had been so censored. I was right here, but I did not know about a lot of this.” There was also a short video in which many news people talked about that they had seen and felt.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/NairobiCentralParkAndEnvirons#
Paula
June 6, 2009
Hello,
I am still feeling fine, but I am trying to be more still then usual. It works sometimes. At least I have let Leroy prepare most meals and clean up afterwards.
One Saturday, Sarah said, “I would like to see the picture display of the uprising that happen just after we moved here.”
So off we went closer to the center of the city. We parked and walked through Central Park in the direction of tall buildings. The park, complete with small termite mounds, was so much greener now in the rainy season. I was pleased to see that there was some playground equipment even if it was just a few things considering this is a city of almost three million. A group of schoolgirls walked through waving delightedly at Lexi and she reciprocated. Was that because she is a white kid and they do not see many of them? As usual the girls had on uniforms. Later some guys with suitcases set up close to a fountain wanted us to buy post cards or other small items.
Crossing the street here is not for the faint hearted. I gave a sigh of relief when we were safe on the other side. Traffic on the left and the round about with several lanes requires much thought for the uninitiated.
The pictures at the exhibit were a stark reminder of how close to violence some people have lived. Sarah said, “I really learned a lot because the TV news had been so censored. I was right here, but I did not know about a lot of this.” There was also a short video in which many news people talked about that they had seen and felt.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/NairobiCentralParkAndEnvirons#
Paula
Friday, June 5, 2009
Still on the Health Trail
Hello,
I walked to the garage sale this morning to find that they did not need my help so after a short visit I headed home to rest. Someone dropped by with fresh strawberries from their garden, cool whip, and two homemade shortcakes. It was delicious. Homegrown berries are the best.
Just as we were finishing lunch another person came asking, “Are you alright? Happy anniversary! Do you like Chinese?” With answers of “Fine, thanks, and Yes “ she proceeded to give us $20 with instructions to go the Chinese buffet place that is just opening. Unexpected pleasures have a special coziness.
The eye doctor put up the eye chart, left my glasses on, covered one eye, and asked me to read the lowest line that I could. I was shocked to say that I could guess at three of the letters in the top line and could not read the others. The left eye was a little worse. This was not the big E on the chart but some place farther down. The next step was another test with flashing lights that I thought was for my peripheral vision. I had some real difficulty on that. Again it was especially difficult with my left eye. When he met with me to talk about results he said he was not checking peripheral vision, but making sure all impulses were getting through the nerves. He showed me normal and then my not normal results. He speculates that there is some bleeding in the brain. It could be sealed over or it could be an aneurysm. He then ordered a CT scan for Tuesday.
“I was planning to leave town on Tuesday,” I said.
“Ok call to see if they can do it today,” He said.
I did get that done. The technician assured me that if it were an emergency they would have a different procedure. As it is the radiologist will read it Monday. I do not have a headache or other symptoms. It was to be done with and without contrast so I needed an IV. He checked my arm for a good vein. “They are so small I am going to call a paramedic,” he said after examining both arms.
“Oh great,” I thought, “needle pain as they search for the vein.”
“Wow,” I realized, “This woman is good,” as she got it on her first stab. After that it was all just a case of lying still and being grateful for people who know something about what they are doing.
My eyes are in good shape, for instance, there is no damage to the retina. In spite of that exam I feel that I am seeing just fine. Apparently I do not know what I am missing.
The Chinese restaurant had tasty food. They were busy enough that it is encouraging. That is our 38th Anniversary celebration. I am tired. Is that physical or emotional? Who knows?
I have booked a flight to Utah for Tuesday since Leroy is gone all next week at confirmation camp. Andy is also gone much of next week. I will give Miriam some help and myself some company.
Paula
I walked to the garage sale this morning to find that they did not need my help so after a short visit I headed home to rest. Someone dropped by with fresh strawberries from their garden, cool whip, and two homemade shortcakes. It was delicious. Homegrown berries are the best.
Just as we were finishing lunch another person came asking, “Are you alright? Happy anniversary! Do you like Chinese?” With answers of “Fine, thanks, and Yes “ she proceeded to give us $20 with instructions to go the Chinese buffet place that is just opening. Unexpected pleasures have a special coziness.
The eye doctor put up the eye chart, left my glasses on, covered one eye, and asked me to read the lowest line that I could. I was shocked to say that I could guess at three of the letters in the top line and could not read the others. The left eye was a little worse. This was not the big E on the chart but some place farther down. The next step was another test with flashing lights that I thought was for my peripheral vision. I had some real difficulty on that. Again it was especially difficult with my left eye. When he met with me to talk about results he said he was not checking peripheral vision, but making sure all impulses were getting through the nerves. He showed me normal and then my not normal results. He speculates that there is some bleeding in the brain. It could be sealed over or it could be an aneurysm. He then ordered a CT scan for Tuesday.
“I was planning to leave town on Tuesday,” I said.
“Ok call to see if they can do it today,” He said.
I did get that done. The technician assured me that if it were an emergency they would have a different procedure. As it is the radiologist will read it Monday. I do not have a headache or other symptoms. It was to be done with and without contrast so I needed an IV. He checked my arm for a good vein. “They are so small I am going to call a paramedic,” he said after examining both arms.
“Oh great,” I thought, “needle pain as they search for the vein.”
“Wow,” I realized, “This woman is good,” as she got it on her first stab. After that it was all just a case of lying still and being grateful for people who know something about what they are doing.
My eyes are in good shape, for instance, there is no damage to the retina. In spite of that exam I feel that I am seeing just fine. Apparently I do not know what I am missing.
The Chinese restaurant had tasty food. They were busy enough that it is encouraging. That is our 38th Anniversary celebration. I am tired. Is that physical or emotional? Who knows?
I have booked a flight to Utah for Tuesday since Leroy is gone all next week at confirmation camp. Andy is also gone much of next week. I will give Miriam some help and myself some company.
Paula
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Yesterday and Today
June 4, 2009
Hello,
Yesterday Leroy took the afternoon off and we went shopping in Des Moines. We almost never do that in part because it is a 50-60 mile trip. Most things we can live without.
But I wanted to check out the framing possibilities for our family pictures. I am pleased that we can have a custom made frame that will include all nine pictures. It was within our price range so that is great too.
It was a good opportunity for Leroy to shop for tennis shoes since he had not found any in town that fit or he liked. Because he takes so long to make sure he has the proper fit I wondered off in the clearance aisle and found some great winter boots for me. They are by Nike so I am expecting good things on my winter walks. The store was having a buy one and get half off the second pair sale. The boots were more expensive than the shoes. Then I also found a pair of Birkenstock sandals. So then it seemed that we should get a fourth pair to take further advantage of this sale. Saving money or spending money? Anyway Leroy found another pair of shoes that fit him very well so that is good, but if I had not been there we would have saved a lot of money.
We went because there was a good sale on dress pants. Well Leroy ended up with two pair and two clearance shirts besides. I guess we do not get out of town often enough.
Today I went over to help get ready for a garage sale. At one point I took some clothes up to another woman stepping over a bar on a clothing rack, realized I had brought the wrong pants, turned around, started walking forgetting about the bar, tripped, pitched forward, tried unsuccessfully to regain my balance, felt down a step, banged my knees, caught much of the fall with my left hand, felt my glasses crush against my face and fly off as my skull crashed onto the cement. I lay there a half a minute before I rolled to my back and groaned, or at least people said I groaned. Someone wanted me to get up right away, but I refused and took a bit longer to assess my condition. They insisted that I should go to the emergency room. I did not really think it was necessary, but my hand hurt quite a lot and I could not move two of my fingers. They tell me that my head did not look very good either. They quickly got ice, wondered if they should call Leroy I said no, but they did anyway, telling him to meet us at the hospital. My vision was a bit fractured for about 10 minutes. People in the emergency room took it quite seriously checking me over complete with a mini neurological test. I can subtract from 100 by 7’s correctly. Took a little thought, but I got it done.
My fingers had stopped hurting by then. Seemed strange, but the Dr. suggested that it had been dislocated by the force of the fall on it. If so it had gone back on its own. It still hurts when I put much pressure on it, but I can bend it easily.
He checked my eyes, but recommended that I have a more complete vision screening and I will have that done tomorrow.
I uploaded a picture to the fushia file, not that it has anything to do with it, but it was a place to put it.
Some people will go to any length just to have something to talk about.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/Fushia#
Paula
June 4, 2009
Hello,
Yesterday Leroy took the afternoon off and we went shopping in Des Moines. We almost never do that in part because it is a 50-60 mile trip. Most things we can live without.
But I wanted to check out the framing possibilities for our family pictures. I am pleased that we can have a custom made frame that will include all nine pictures. It was within our price range so that is great too.
It was a good opportunity for Leroy to shop for tennis shoes since he had not found any in town that fit or he liked. Because he takes so long to make sure he has the proper fit I wondered off in the clearance aisle and found some great winter boots for me. They are by Nike so I am expecting good things on my winter walks. The store was having a buy one and get half off the second pair sale. The boots were more expensive than the shoes. Then I also found a pair of Birkenstock sandals. So then it seemed that we should get a fourth pair to take further advantage of this sale. Saving money or spending money? Anyway Leroy found another pair of shoes that fit him very well so that is good, but if I had not been there we would have saved a lot of money.
We went because there was a good sale on dress pants. Well Leroy ended up with two pair and two clearance shirts besides. I guess we do not get out of town often enough.
Today I went over to help get ready for a garage sale. At one point I took some clothes up to another woman stepping over a bar on a clothing rack, realized I had brought the wrong pants, turned around, started walking forgetting about the bar, tripped, pitched forward, tried unsuccessfully to regain my balance, felt down a step, banged my knees, caught much of the fall with my left hand, felt my glasses crush against my face and fly off as my skull crashed onto the cement. I lay there a half a minute before I rolled to my back and groaned, or at least people said I groaned. Someone wanted me to get up right away, but I refused and took a bit longer to assess my condition. They insisted that I should go to the emergency room. I did not really think it was necessary, but my hand hurt quite a lot and I could not move two of my fingers. They tell me that my head did not look very good either. They quickly got ice, wondered if they should call Leroy I said no, but they did anyway, telling him to meet us at the hospital. My vision was a bit fractured for about 10 minutes. People in the emergency room took it quite seriously checking me over complete with a mini neurological test. I can subtract from 100 by 7’s correctly. Took a little thought, but I got it done.
My fingers had stopped hurting by then. Seemed strange, but the Dr. suggested that it had been dislocated by the force of the fall on it. If so it had gone back on its own. It still hurts when I put much pressure on it, but I can bend it easily.
He checked my eyes, but recommended that I have a more complete vision screening and I will have that done tomorrow.
I uploaded a picture to the fushia file, not that it has anything to do with it, but it was a place to put it.
Some people will go to any length just to have something to talk about.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/Fushia#
Paula
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Return trip to the store in Nairobi
Hello,
We walked through street repaving on our way to the store. I believe it looked quite typical, but not as blocked off as it would have been in the US. As you might notice there is much dirt and little grass.
Sarah was interested in spending her local money so we splurged and spent some time on the Internet at the café with a faster connection than the one at home.
In another picture you will see a guy shining shoes. It was typical to see business set up just about anywhere.
In the store someone must have wanted the mattress at the bottom of the stack. They seemed to discuss how to get it out before trying unsuccessfully to lift the pile to pull out a low one. Later more guys came and helped. Still not sure that was successful since we moved on to do our shopping. Sarah did not think they had box springs, just mattresses that could be folded in half in need be to get them home. We did occasionally see trucks pilled high with mattresses. They would move down the street and keep them all, but we did not know how. Someone surely knew how to tie them on securely.
This store seemed to be used more by locals than by ex-pats. Notice the baby carried on the back. Lexi is sitting in a toy car in the front of the shopping cart. Certainly something that can be seen in the US. It was cool while we were there so jackets or many wore sweaters.
The store had a little of everything almost like Wal-mart with much narrower aisles and smaller carts.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/PavingStreet#
Paula
We walked through street repaving on our way to the store. I believe it looked quite typical, but not as blocked off as it would have been in the US. As you might notice there is much dirt and little grass.
Sarah was interested in spending her local money so we splurged and spent some time on the Internet at the café with a faster connection than the one at home.
In another picture you will see a guy shining shoes. It was typical to see business set up just about anywhere.
In the store someone must have wanted the mattress at the bottom of the stack. They seemed to discuss how to get it out before trying unsuccessfully to lift the pile to pull out a low one. Later more guys came and helped. Still not sure that was successful since we moved on to do our shopping. Sarah did not think they had box springs, just mattresses that could be folded in half in need be to get them home. We did occasionally see trucks pilled high with mattresses. They would move down the street and keep them all, but we did not know how. Someone surely knew how to tie them on securely.
This store seemed to be used more by locals than by ex-pats. Notice the baby carried on the back. Lexi is sitting in a toy car in the front of the shopping cart. Certainly something that can be seen in the US. It was cool while we were there so jackets or many wore sweaters.
The store had a little of everything almost like Wal-mart with much narrower aisles and smaller carts.
http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/PavingStreet#
Paula
Monday, June 1, 2009
Back in the USA
Hello,
Our family picture taken in New Brighton, MN on May 8 is a great picture. All of the pictures that I bought bring such joy to me. I look at them several times a day. They are arranged on the dinning room table. I am trying to decide what to do with them. We took them to the small church and social function in the evening so a number of people have seen them. The favorite seems to be the one of Leroy and I on the ground with the granddaughters hanging on us. I thought all of them were quite good.
Our family picture taken in New Brighton, MN on May 8 is a great picture. All of the pictures that I bought bring such joy to me. I look at them several times a day. They are arranged on the dinning room table. I am trying to decide what to do with them. We took them to the small church and social function in the evening so a number of people have seen them. The favorite seems to be the one of Leroy and I on the ground with the granddaughters hanging on us. I thought all of them were quite good.
Someone suggested that I get them matted and put in one large frame with the large group in the middle. I just might do that. The picture weather turned out perfect just for the few hours that we needed it. The little girls put up with more pictures than I thought they would and even Leroy smiled.
I always thought that our children look like me, but someone suggested that Brian looks like Leroy, Sarah looks like me, and Miriam is a combination. We certainly share some resemblance.
Just so you can see all the smiling adults and sober children, but we thought it was the best and most natural. This picture has not been cropped so in the final copy you do not see my white socks.
The fushia had a hummingbird visit this morning. This bird proceeded to collect nectar all over the plant so I got to watch for quite a long time. Can life hold more joy?
Paula
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