No boxes in the kitchen

Burlington, Ia

Hello,

Right now there are no longer any boxes in the kitchen and adjoining dinning area. Course that is not taking into account the boxes that are downstairs labeled kitchen. I consider them less important. They will be opened later.

Tomorrow, I am going to stop living out of a suitcase. The dresser has been cleaned out so I can start to put my clothes in there. I can also hang things in the closet. Guess I could have done that sooner, but it is always a choice of what to do first. As it is I hop from job to job.

Leroy’s sister brought us some tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, concord grapes, and one green pepper. I washed and put the grapes in the freezer, cooked and ate about half of the beans, froze many of the tomatoes, put the cucumbers in the refrigerator, and ate half of the green pepper. As she said, “I know it is a bad time to bring them, but they will be gone later.”

I am happy to have them. We so enjoy fresh produce. We have been eating the best tomatoes and cucumbers that the earth can provide. What a gift.

Leroy and I are strong but tired. Geese fly over every day, morning and evening. The first night Leroy could not sleep and while he was wandering around he looked out and spotted a deer in the back. I am not surprised as the hosta have been eaten by someone as has another plant. Wildlife abounds all over.

My house plants survived and thrived in others care this summer. The trip seems not to have affected them at all. Yes!

Paula

Moved

Burlington, IA

Hello,

We made it in one piece or several pieces depending on how you look at it. We will not have a phone or internet at home until September 7. That is certainly disappointing to me. I will have to use the church computer when it is not being used by Leroy.

Unfortunately Iowa was hot and wet so our things did not fare so well in the garage. Some of them are coated with mildew so we are putting in some extra time to clean those things before we put them away. But then I have a lot of time and energy, right? And it is only things. We are fine.

The second car has developed an inability to be shifted into the forward gears. A member of the congregation looked at it and made some suggestions. Now Leroy is looking for a mechanic who will have some time to work on it in the near future.

Today when I was out in the garage washing mildew off various things I happened to notice that the functioning car has a small ½ inch split in one of the tires. Can’t tell how deep it is.

Leroy insisted that one set of bed rails was not ours. Wrong, we are still not sleeping in our own bed, but using the “spare” bed.

So many things to be thankful about: it is only stuff, we have bleach and will power, the car is here and not stalled on the road somewhere, the tire did not blow on the road causing an accident or other excitement, one bathroom has two sinks, this large four bedroom house easily holds all of our things, and we have a spare bed to use until I can make the trip back to Chariton.

Paula

All is Well

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Nora never threw up but once. She was her normal sweet self yesterday. We even went to the historical farm in town and climbed in the tree house.

Miriam and Andy came home this morning to the joy of dancing girls, maybe dancing grandparents too. Even though I said this time was too long. I now know it will be over too soon and too short as we leave early tomorrow morning for our trek out of Utah, through (or is it over) Wyoming, to the west/middle of Nebraska where we will spent the night before going to Chariton on Friday.

We expect to get to Chariton early enough to pick up the u-haul truck. If that does not happen it will delay our packing up stored things by an hour. We will be in Burlington Saturday late afternoon or early evening depending on everything going according to plan.

Here, the car is packed with all but the bag we will need at the motel. It is hard for me not to feel a little tense, not much, but I am concerned about some unthought-of item. It will be ok I keep telling myself.

We babysat for the last time as Miriam and Andy had obligations tonight even though they just flew home today. Sleep disruption is a problem with the four hour shift in time.

Now I do not have such a big time change, only one hour tomorrow. Hoping that the girls sleep well tonight. Last night I was up twice for Nora, once for Olivia, and twice for Katie. Katie has lost a lot of weight and she does not snore for which I was grateful. Last night however, she needed to go outside twice. Then wouldn’t you know it, I went to the bathroom at some other time when no one was getting me up for any reason, sigh. The rest of the time I slept and dreamed deeply.

Paula

Too Long

Salt Lake City

Hello,

This time on the loose has been too long. We are tired of living in a borrowed house, out of a suitcase, without a comfortable routine, using someone else’s bed, dinnerware, and most of all we are tired of spending so much time with each other.

I say that Leroy is the most annoying person on earth and he for some strange reason thinks the same of me. Rather I am too critical. Ouch where did that come from? We know that we are not yet ready for retirement in a small space for two. A small space for one next door to each other is preferable.

Yesterday we took the girls to a park that is within easy driving distance, but not walking distance. We ate our snack at a picnic table under a shelter. While there, the sprinklers turned on. These were serious sprinklers shooting the water several feet away from the source. It was fun to watch almost like the ones that we see in fields. Then a sprinkler close to the shelter started spraying parallel to the side of us. It even started coming into the shelter, but we were at least five picnic tables away. It turned a little more and massively soaked a pillar. “Oh no, it is coming close to us.” I thought. Before I could grab Nora and dash out of the way it got us, but just with a light spray as we laughed.

Before we left that spot a young guy came up and apologized, “Sorry about that, I thought it was going to stop at the pillar.”

“That is ok it is just a little water,” Leroy said.

So much for a soak in the park.

Paula

Nighttime

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Getting little ones to bed goes easier with practice. However those times awake at any hour are a bit more trying.

Last night two year old Nora woke up crying at 11:30. I went in and because she seemed inconsolable I changed her diaper in bed as she was adamant about not getting on the changing table. Even when finished she cried some more but went to sleep in a few minutes. At twelve o’clock she called out and almost immediate retched. I grabbed for my glasses, hopped out of bed, went into her room, and wondered what should I do?

I rescued her favorite night time companion bear so he would not suffer any more indignities. Leroy had followed me in so I suggested that he find a sheet and something to clean her with as well as new pj’s. I also got two of her blankets out of the way, but the favorite had already taken a direct hit. I figured I would just keep her in the same place until she was finished.

Leroy could not find a sheet, but used his head and brought a soft towel. This info was not in the list of instructions that we had received. We got the sheet off, pj’s off, cleaned the girl, redressed, and to my surprise she laid down on the towel after asking about it. She also seemed somewhat ok with the idea that her bear was dirty as well as her special blanket. She even went to sleep.

At 4:44 am she called out again. I went in to find a girl who was upset about missing bear (Leroy had even taken him out and rinsed him off.) and blanket. Finally I got into the extra bed in her room and invited her to lie down with me. She did that but I am not sure that she slept even though she was fairly quiet. Sharp elbows and knees frequently found me so I know that I did not sleep again. At 6:30 her sister woke up and the day had officially started.

Paula

Pink Underwear

Salt Lake City

Hello,

We were out of clean underpants. That means a wash load must go in. After collecting items from around the house, I added the things in the clothes basket by the washer. When I removed the clothes I wished that I had not done that as there were some “red” rags that Andy uses in the garage in there. These rags are generous with that red dye as they fade and pass it on to any receptive material.

“Oh why didn’t I look through those things more carefully?” I moaned.

Luckily some items do not like dye because they were there same self. Both Leroy and I now have pink underwear. Leroy says, “I do not mind. Who cares?”

Fortunately, this morning I gave dog Katie her eye drops, fortunately, I thought of it as I put my own eye drops in, unfortunately I do not see well after putting in drops, unfortunately some went on the floor as I held back Katie’s head, fortunately Katie tolerated my handling, unfortunately I could not find her treat right away, fortunately Katie is patient, fortunately I found the treats.

Olivia wants to know when mom is coming home. Wednesday is not a clear answer even though she knows the names of the days of the week. I got the brilliant idea of making a chart for her with black marks for the days and the first letter of the day under the mark. Between the black marks I made a yellow mark for the nights. Now she can count the number of days left and mark off the completed days. Tomorrow morning we will x out the mark for S(follows the S for Saturday that we have already crossed off).

I made cornbread and forgot to put in baking powder, could I be distracted? Leroy and I are eating it as some type of strange flat bread. That Leroy will eat anything.

Paula

Good complete First Day of Babysitting

Salt Lake City

Hello,

The morning was very smooth with few bumps in the road. At noon however, it was not quite as smooth. Three year old Olivia did not want to eat her scrambled eggs that she had originally wanted. I told her the choice was to eat the eggs or nothing. She chose nothing. That was ok, but she left the table and was playing in the living room which attracted Nora who also declared herself finished and went to the living room where a fight immediately started. Leroy went in to referee. Olivia came in to report to me because she did not like the outcome, but instead of talking to me she stood there and screamed. That is frequently her response of choice these days. Without thinking too much about it I opened my mouth and joined her in a scream. Katie, the dog leaped up off the floor and raced out of the room. Olivia’s eyes bulged and her scream died. Nora and Leroy became as quiet as if someone had pushed the off button. Olivia and I talked some about screaming and talking. She did not like it when I screamed so we will hope for talking next time. I am not proud of this, but it worked for the minute.

We took an extra walk to the bakery for some bread and on the way home bought a watermelon from a local farmer who has a stand on the way. He personally picked out a good one for us. It is quite fine, but not the best I have ever tasted. I also got some tomatoes that were certainly grown in the sun and vine ripened. Delicious. I do miss a garden. There is a difference when it is just out the door. Value and flavor are lost.

After naps we went to the library. Leroy is reading up a storm and I even finished one book even though we had been there not so long ago. That is how it usually works. He reads three to my one. One of my books is How to be a Grown Up. It is good, but I cannot read it fast. Leroy does not read anything so serious. This library has some good reading lists. I would like to just start working my way through them so I would not have to think when I check out a book.

Paula

they are OFF and we are ON

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Heading for Hawaii, Miriam and Andy left the house at 10:00. The girls and I promptly got out the promised snack for when mom and dad were gone. Not much crying at the gate since life goes on and food beckons.

Leroy and I have managed well for the first hours. We even made a trip to the grocery store. How does this ever get done with only one parent in charge? Leroy and I think divide and conquer is a good method for any outing.

I watered a hanging plant of Miriam’s. For some reason the nozzle had been taken off the hose. So when I turned it on water started running out. I quickly dashed around the gate put the hose over the plant, two year old Nora wanted to help hold the hose, instructed Nora to keep the water on the plant, raced around the gate again to turn off the water, got a full blast of water on my body as Nora walked in my direction, yelled for help, turned off the water just as Leroy lowered the hose and laughed. Everything takes a little more thought. I did laugh too, but not as much as Leroy did.

Leroy and I will work on some of the plums and put them in the freezer for making into jam later. We are now out of containers suitable for jam. The tree is still loaded. We had been hoping that the peaches would be ready too, but it is not to be before we leave. There are some green apples that are ripe as well. I might make something with them.

Enjoy your day.

Paula

Cars Fixed

Salt Lake City

Hello,

The easiest job was replacing the lift mechanism on the back door the vehicle that Miriam drives all of the time so she is especially happy. It was quite a job to take something out of the back while holding the slightly heavy door up and keeping two rambunctious little girls corralled.

Our car has started like a charm all the time so there is no solution close on that issue. But the oil has been changed, a new air filter inserted, and the tires rotated and balanced. Andy did not do the tires, but did the rest and suggested that the noise he had been hearing was the unevenly worn tires making a lot of road noise. We feel all set to go for our journey a week from today. Course we keep gathering things that Miriam is getting rid of. Leroy is sure the car will be too full. But I think this car is expandable.

Miriam and Andy leave for Hawaii tomorrow morning. Leroy and I will then be in charge – almost in charge – for five days. The little girls too have a bit of control; we just try to act as if we know what we are doing.

We will take walks, read books, create meals, take another walk, read another book, break up a spat, sigh with pleasure during nap time, read a book of our choosing, and do the crossword puzzle. Each day we will read devotions, play and sing a hymn. Following that I will play more hymns for the girls to dance. And you thought church music was dull, silly you.

Paula

Correction and Leroy's hike

Salt Lake City

Hello,

This is just a correction about the income tax on the rental value of the parsonage. Leroy concurred with someone else who told me that we do not pay the tax on income but instead pay social security tax on the rental value of the parsonage. Seems strange to me since it would be income, but that is the way it works.

Leroy did not come home until 9:50 last night. So that was a long day from 6:15 am. He said the hike up the mountain was great and went according to plan. Once at the top at over 11,000 feet they ate lunch and rested in the sun. Even though Leroy had taken sun screen he is quite red in certain places. He had only applied it twice and the tube was running low so he did not get good coverage the second time.

The other three climbers were experienced climbers. Even though one guy is over 80 he has climbed for years and is still in good shape. Another guy commented that he has climbed for 30 years. The other was in his twenties.

The differences in gear were that Leroy only had sneakers/walking shoes and shorts on. On the return trip they decided to take an alternate route. At first the trail was good and clear making it easy to follow. At some point it got much fainter and then finally disappeared altogether. Andy exclaimed, “Oh you were bush whacking?”

“That is right,” said Leroy, “that is when I could have used long pants as we made our way through the brush.”

“We then ended up in a valley, but not where we wanted to be so we had to climb again. Luckily one guy had a water purification system and we were able to get water from a stream as we had all run out of water.”
“In one place the trail was very narrow and slippery, but I was able to get through even in my tennis shoes. Another bad part was when there were so many loose rocks and it was difficult to get good footing. We finally made it to the parking lot about three hours later than we had expected.”

Leroy has pictures that I will forward to you when he gets them on the web. Leroy was pumped when he got home, but zapped today.

Paula

Another Day in Utah

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Even without alarm Leroy was up at 5:30am to prepare to be picked up at 6:10 to go on a six hour hike in the mountains. Three year old Olivia had actually beaten him up, but she went into her parents’ room. Nora heard all the activity and raised her head questioning. I convinced her to lie back down.

In the meantime Leroy trotted in and out of the room at least three times. Nora stayed down in spite of curiosity and disturbance. Finally I had to get up at about 6:05 when Leroy’s ride was here, because the sunscreen was not to be found. Since I knew where it was that was not hard. In the meantime Olivia was downstairs talking to Stan. After they left I finally got up as did Nora. In the end Miriam and Andy also got up to join us in our walk around the neighborhood. The beauty of the morning lifted our spirits.

The mountain hike was to start about 45 minutes away and once started to last for six hours. Miriam and I thought Leroy would be home in the middle to late afternoon. At 5:30 when Andy came home there was still no sign of Leroy. Finally we got a hold of Stan’s wife at 6:30 pm. She was not yet worried. Some time after 7:00 Leroy called to let us know that they were going to eat before he came home. Miriam said that he sounded amazingly energetic. We think it was the lack of child care that helped him to feel so zipped up.

We have had a bit of a hard day as children and adults were all tired. For some reason the afternoon nap was cut short. Not a good thing for some dispositions.

I made some plum jam and a batch of cinnamon rolls. That was enough time in the kitchen for me. Maybe tomorrow I will go back to make more plum jam. Miriam is out of sugar and only has enough containers for two more batches of jam.

Paula

Questions

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Where are Miriam and family moving? Just two and a half miles down the road to a larger house is the destination. We have seen this house and there are some nice features, but it will require a lot of work. I am glad that I am not moving into the place. Leroy and I are not fixer uppers. I am used to the idea that I will accept whatever I find, like it or not. Living in parsonages did not give much luxury of choice and I believe that I have buried that gene if I ever had it. Certainly I have always found things I do not like but after a while they just become part of the landscape and not noticed so much. Also, generally, I have found more things that I do like. I try to think of those rather than the negatives on a daily basis. Some are just treasures waiting for me to enjoy them even though I had had no idea that I would like such a thing. Now how will I live without two sinks in the bathroom? Perhaps there are two sinks. I have not yet seen my next home. It will be a surprise to me on the day I move in. I do not even know how many rooms there are.

I have moved into seven places without seeing them ahead of time. I go expecting the best and often find it. Could you do that? Have you ever done that? Course I know that I will not be spending years in this place or paying for it except as a deduction from Leroy’s salary.

In the past I felt that I wanted “my own place” and that home owners came out way ahead. Because of course even in a parsonage we are paying rent, the money just does not exchange hands. For your information we do have to put a rental value on the house and pay taxes accordingly as is only fair since it is part of salary. In my mature years I am not so sure that I want or need to own. Certainly we could not have sold homes as frequently as we have moved and come out ahead. Also when I see how much time, effort, and money goes into my children’s homes I am not sure they come out ahead either. But there is still a part of me that yearns to pound a nail in the wall and not consider who might care about that.

Paula

Utah Days

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Andy was working; Miriam and Leroy were out running errands. Granny, namely I, was home with the granddaughters. The three year old was over playing with a neighbor when the phone rang. It was Miriam asking, “The realtor called. Can you get the house cleaned up and ready to show in about an hour?”

It is not bad around here, but certainly pick up is required in all rooms. “I’m not sure,” I replied with a note of panic in my voice.

“I will call back and maybe they can come an hour later after I get home to help,” Miriam suggested, “Just do what you can.”

As soon as she got done with that conversation, I raced over to the neighbor, asked if she could also have two year old Nora visit, found out that both children had to come home in 15 minutes, raced back to the house, started putting things away, wondered if any of it could ever be found again, and finally felt good about how much I got done.

The place looked nice by the time the people came. They are seriously interested in buying the house. It appears that Miriam, Andy, and girls will be moving in September. I am not going to help even though I have helped with many children’s moves. I will just be done with my own move and that is enough for me to handle.

Leroy and I are giving some help with packing so it isn’t as if we are turning our backs on the process. Except for our move in 1999 our children have not helped us move, maybe I have forgotten some time. By my count we have moved seven times in the intervening years. Admittedly once it wasn’t in this country so I suppose it does not count. Instead we have had wonderful local help in all cases.

Paula

More Information

Salt Lake City

Hello,

We are in SLC visiting/living with our youngest child, daughter Miriam and her family. We will be here until August 26 when we start the trek back to Chariton where we will gather our things and head on to Burlington. We expect to arrive there on August 28. Leroy will then start work August 30. So that is some busy days ahead, but we are young and agile, right?

I am looking forward to sleeping on my own pillow.

Yesterday Miriam reminded me that she was the first to diagnose the car as having a worn wheel bearing and it was confirmed by Andy. Andy is the family car expert. Last night he replaced the starter in their car and it now works. They got a pleasant surprise when they took the old starter in to get credit for it. The records at the store showed that they had bought the returnee in 2006. Because the starter was guaranteed they got their money back on the purchase of the current part. One down and two to go.

With all of this living in a different environment, I have not done yoga but once or maybe three times. I really do feel a difference in my body. The message is clear, when I have a routine again I must include yoga if I want to feel good. We do get up to walk the dog and two girls every morning so we get some walking exercise as well as lifting, chasing, and moving workout.

The plum tree has been producing fruit so we are making jam. So far we have made three batches. We think all of the best fruit is at the top of the tree and out of reach. There is still plenty, but you know about that grass on the other side.

Paula

MPG and car issues

Salt Lake City


Hello,

SLC = Salt Lake City when I do not want to write the words out completely.

We have seldom kept track of the miles per gallon that we get with our cars, but this trip seemed like the perfect opportunity. The first time it was 32 then it rose to 34 and then the climax of 42 miles per gallon. Do you believe that? I thought we were going uphill since we started at something like 1000 feet of less and we are now at about 5000. True there was some up and down and sometimes we had a tail wind that probably helped us along.

Miriam and Andy have three cars and two drivers, but I will not get into that. I just do not understand the need for more cars since I would really like to live with one or even none. Anyway one of their cars will not start at the moment. So Andy is driving our car because we do not need to drive anywhere as we can go with Miriam. Andy has diagnosed the noise in our car as a wheel bearing going. Also the third car is special and mostly sits in the garage staying clean and safe as it is of an advanced age.

Yesterday when Andy went out to go to work our car would not start. Yikes, that has not happened for six months. We thought getting rid of the floor mat had solved the problem. It is like driving a time bomb that could go at any time. Maybe that is indicative of all of life. We really do not know what will happen next, we just think we do.

Andy drove the special mustang to work. At noon I decided to see if our car would start. No problem! It turned on without a hitch. Andy drove it again today without difficulty. We will drive it home and hope for the best. We will have two long driving days one of them will be more than nine hours. Leroy reminded me that we will also change time zones getting us out of sync with the rest of the population.

Paula

Billings and Beyond

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Billings was an early stop as we only had to drive six hours to get there from Bismarck. We are thankful for working cell phones as the google directions were not taking us to the right place. Long time residents can do a better job.

After spending a nice time visiting with the Hanson’s, yes the Hanson’s of Paul and Kay fame, we went to dinner and church. What a refreshing combination. Sometime in the later afternoon we talked about our projected route to SLC. Paul suggested we try to stay in Yellowstone and go on to Jackson, WY. There were no places to stay as no cancellations had materialized in spite of the lethal bear attack just a few days before. Rooms at Jackson appeared to be possible, but then evaporated into thin air. After watching, on the news, lines of cars waiting to get into Yellowstone, it seemed the more prudent idea would be to just drive some of the cross country roads and see a small slice of the park in this almost nine hour drive. We would even start early in the morning because we are morning people.

It was a beautiful cool morning with not so many people on the road. Are there only three other people driving somewhere? Until we ventured into UT that was true. Where did all these cars come from? Seemed that rush hour reaches quite a distance north of SLC. Fast and thick is the name of the game. Are we in Minneapolis?

One interesting scene: a police car was pushing another car. I had no idea they would perform that type of service.

Paula

Traveling West

Salt Lake City

Hello,

There was a beautiful bright yellow field in the distance. “Do you think that could be rape seed?” I wondered. Rape seed is used to make Canola oil.

A little later a yellow field was right by the road and the sunflowers turned their bright smiling faces to the sun. Beauty is everywhere. The rolling hills grew into odd lonely grass covered projections that grew into mountains that were a lot of rock. Grass then was a scarce and valuable commodity with sage dominating the green choices. The Teddy Roosevelt National park overlook was great. It would have been a great place to see buffalo, but there were none in sight in spite of signs warning of their dangerous speed.

Somehow we did not bring our road atlas instead it was stored in Chariton. We also have ND, MT, and Utah maps, but not with us. Sign! It was easy to get across ND by just following Interstate 94. As soon as we got to MT we looked for an information rest area. This great stop also provided not only a MT map but also a WY map so we could plan our trip south from Billings. Yellowstone seemed like a nice route to take.

Leroy suggested that I stop at Mile City, MT to get gas and eat lunch. It seemed about the right distance on the great MT map. Just before this city was in sight, Leroy woke up. As I saw the first exit I asked should I get off here. Leroy was not with it enough to answer. I headed down the off ramp because I did not want to miss my stop. I was concerned since they had not listed any gas stations.

After driving what seemed like two miles we finally came to a town, but which way to go? Again Leroy had no idea so I made a decision based on feelings. We drove through the town and were again out in the country. It was time to ask. There was a Veterinarian’s office close. They would surely know the area. We had to back track for a few miles, but we had seen a nice city park on the way the first time. It was a great pleasant shady place to eat lunch. Then we made our way to the gas station that was at the second Interstate exit. The air in the town seemed to be so clear. Is there less pollution here?

Paula

Odds and Ends

Salt Lake City

Hello,

In Minnesota Sophia heard Leroy call me Paula. “Why did you say Paula?” she wanted to know.

“Because that is her name,” Leroy said.

“Why?” Sophia asked.

“Because her mother named her that,” Leroy informed her.

“Why didn’t her mother just call her Granny?” Sophia wanted to know.

The back window was left open in the car so we started out with a wet seat and floor. Luckily there was enough sun and air conditioning to dry it out by the end of the day.

Bismarck has nice bike trails that we could use for walking providing exercise, mental health, and transportation to supper. It was also much cooler in the evening, a harbinger of things to come. It was 55 F. in the morning. That is a temperature that we had not experienced in some time. Did we bring enough warm clothing? It is so hard to pack for an opposite condition when it is sweating hot weather.

In North Dakota almost all of the roadside grass was mowed and baled. That disappeared as we made our way west. Then somewhere in Montana there was not enough vegetation to make even a small bale.

It was disappointing that we did not see much wild life. Leroy saw elk, but there were in a farm situation and that hardly counts.

Paula

Still Moving Around

Salt Lake City

Hello,

We were on the road for three days with an overnight stay in Bismarck, ND and in Billings, MT. there was a computer available in Billings, but not the time or inclination to write. For almost three weeks we will be stationary in SLC. That is great, but I would rather be settled. This living out of a suitcase is for some other type of bird. At least we are not living hand to mouth. We are well blessed and have more than enough.

Just a note to bring you up to date. On September 1, Leroy will start to work as an interim pastor at Bethany in Burlington, IA. This is Leroy’s home congregation. It should be an interesting experience. I have only visited in this place so it will still be some learning for me as I acclimate to a new place.

Your Interstate Highways are being repaired and prepared for your pleasant, comfortable trip across the country. Every day we witnessed this fact up close and personal. Generally it was relatively painless just to be funneled down to one lane. The farther west we went the speed through these areas was dropped to 35 mph. That seemed excessive especially in those places that no work, machines, or people were visible carrying on any meaningful endeavor. Some spots did not even have machines or people around just 5-6 miles of cones. Least you thought to speed through any of these spots; you should know that in the far west a police officer was often seen talking to someone in their vehicle pulled off to the side of the road.

At first I groused in my head about the 35 mph and in two places after traffic slowed to 10 mph for a couple miles, I declared, “I would be happy to go 35 mph.” It was good to laugh. Perspective changes emotions.

For reasons I did not understand motorcycles were sometimes warned that they might want to use an alternate route because of the unsafe road surface. Nothing looked different to me.

Leroy read that only three states in the country do not have a helmet law for motorcycles. It seems that was a moving target as every state sported cyclists without helmets. But I suppose is that no different than many people feeling that speed limits are suggestion rather than a law. Seems to me that we just think the laws we break are the ones that are ok to break. Others, choose the wrong laws and should “have the book thrown at them”. Or is a speed limit indeed a suggestion rather than a law and I just do not know that?

Paula

Reunion

New Brighton, MN

Hello,

The day we came back to MN we had a reunion of Slovak—American--Canadian workers who were geographically close enough to come together. It was great. Such fun to see those dear faces once again. We had lots of catching up to do. I was so happy to be there. There is something special about being out of your normal environment for making quick deep friendships. Seems to me some of the same thing happened when I went to college.

We used the light rail to go from the airport to a bus stop so we could go to within .6 mile of Brian’s house. Brian had emailed the schedule that seemed as if it would fit our plans. Even though the plane touched down at the scheduled minute, we were unable to get off the plane quickly enough to make the ten minute walk to the light rail stop. Luckily it runs about every ten minutes, but that was just a little late for getting to the bus stop. The difficult part about the bus stop was that it was not obvious where it was. We had the cross streets names, but as there is no schedule listed we could not tell which side of the street we should be on. Asking people on the street did not lead to an answer, but when a bus came to the stop, not the one we wanted, we just asked the driver.

We were two minutes late getting to the corner, unfortunately the next bus would not be there for an hour. This stop had plenty of sunshine so we walked about a block to the library that someone had pointed out as they knew that we could find bus schedules there. It was nice and cool in the library. We decided not to enter the library proper as we did not want to have our bags searched looking for books as we exited.

Finally we were on the bus even though it was 8 minutes late. It also became more comfortable to me to ask where our stop was as again they are not labeled. At least here we can talk to the bus drivers. I was pleased that the bus had a number of riders.

The less than a mile walk was a piece of cake since we knew where we were and where we were going.

I will have to say that Minnesotans complained about the het and humidity. It seemed like a cool place to be in comparison to what we had just left.

Paula