The Ways of God?

Hello,

We are looking at TV’s and trying to decide what is the best for our lives, space, environment, and bank balance. We are in no hurry to purchase as our old TV still works. At Wal-Mart we glanced, then stopped even though we were on the way past to get other things. Either we looked like serious buyers or we just took so long with so much discussion that one of the clerks even talked with us about possibilities. After she left, we spent some more time talking and looking.

At that point a customer guy who looked to be in his 20’s came up and asked, “Would you like some more help? I used to work at Best Buy.”

“Sure, tell us what you know,” I told him.

After gleaning all of his TV advice he happened to mention that he was from Utah. I then told him we have a daughter who lives there. He wondered if we were Mormon. I said, “No we are Lutheran.”

“I am too,” was his response.

After he learned that we belonged to the same branch of Lutheranism that he does, he commented, “I do not know where to find a church around here.”

Talk about coming to the right people. Leroy was able to name two churches that are somewhat close to where he is living. He does not have a car, consequently we got his name and phone number so we could have someone call him. He then talked some about the state of his soul. I let Leroy answer that while I prayed he would come up with the best possible answer for this person. He seemed so happy to have talked with us. He is also looking for a bible study. We got TV advice and he got some God advice. Guess there is more to everyone and every situation than meets the eye. I must remember never make assumptions about anyone.

Paula

Issues

Hello,

Our address issues are not over as concerns the insurance company. The frequent address changes in the last year have created an unstable environment even if we always pay our bills on time. Perhaps two weeks ago we got a check from them on our personal items account. It appeared that it was being cancelled. At that point I decided our rings were not worth fooling with so I just cashed the check. Friday we got a bill from them for that same account with an amount due that was a bit larger than the check and extended the policy for a year. The only concern was that the location was listed as our last more permanent address; however the bill was addressed to this apartment. I had thought about visiting the friendly agent up the street from us, but on consideration paying it seemed the easier thing to do. I certainly would like them to know that our possessions are now residing in the same place as our bodies.

Another issue I do not know how to fix involves my special girls at the library. I had to have a serious talk with them about their vocal volume. A bit later one of them asked me if I would continue to work there or if I would look for a full time job. I said I would stay. One of them asked what I disliked most about my job. Without considering all the options I pointed at them. I could tell it hurt their feelings a lot. I know, I know that they are the reason, but on the other hand I have had some good talks with them. It is not all bad, I just report the negative. Then I added that I do not like to discipline. She in addition asked what I liked best. I could tell her that I find a great deal of satisfaction in helping people find what they were looking for. It was not long after that that they got worse and soon left. I personally think that was hurt coming out as anger. I wish I could take back that point, but as you know it is impossible to retract words or actions. I still have much to learn.

Paula

More on Ethics

Hello,

The dilemma is not so much where to get rid of the discs, etc., but if we should get rid of them to another person. We have paid for these discs, therefore contributing to the livelihood of the composers. Maybe or maybe not the composers since they might be dead. But many of the artists are still alive as are the other people who earn money from putting together these products and hold royalties on them. As two people will benefit from this purchase, but only one payment comes to the producers it is cutting into their earnings. It is not like a book that can be given away, used, and given back or not. It is not owned by both at the same time or used by both at the same instant.

Perhaps we should just repurchase all of this music and give the discs away. That would solve the problem, but we are unwilling to spend money on items that we already own and have the right to.

It is the same with photocopying music. You deprive the producing people of their income from their work. At a workshop a composer said, “When you copy, instead of buying my music you are stealing from me. People want me to compose more things, but I cannot make a living at that work.” Unfortunately in spite of some law suits I think this activity still goes on under the guise of who will know, it is easy to do, it is cheaper than buying, and everyone does it. It is ironic to me that churches are some of the worst offenders. Those people who can so easily feel superior to other lowly sinners who steal because they feel they do not steal.

How is the sermon for today?

A part of me wants desperately to sin because of some of the same reasons: it is easy to do, it is cheaper than buying, and everyone does it. And it would lighten our load considerably. Who knows I/we might still do that sin.  To myself, I can also justify it by saying much of this is old and who is alive anymore anyway?

Paula

Ethics Issues

Hello,

Leroy and I are having an ethics discussion. What to do with the CDs, records, and cassettes once we have recorded all of this music?

Our basic purpose is to lighten our moving load. Just getting rid of the equipment to play them is the largest part of the weight and bulk. But that question of disposal is easier even if it might be difficult to actually get rid of the stereo. I certainly do not want to put them in the dump since they all work, but is there a soul out there who would want these rather antiquated players?

I thought we could give away the discs, but Leroy is definitely not happy with that idea as it feels dishonest to him since we are still in possession of the sound. It is meandering in the morass of copyright issues. I protest that it is also a big problem to just add these usable items to a landfill. We both agree with the other person to a degree. But do not know how to solve it. Because the CD’s are newer and can still be easily played on some piece of equipment that we might buy in the future I could see moving them around. In addition we only have 30, but Leroy says closer to 50, consequently they are not so heavy nor do they take up as much room.

Leroy says that I could give them away, but just not tell him about it. Guess that means the sin is on me.

Then there is the question of copies that were already illegally recorded but given to us by someone else. Certainly it seems they should not be copied yet one more time; however there is a hesitancy to get rid of them as we did like to listen to them. Being honest in all is not so easy, especially when time and money are involved. Plus there is a sense that everybody does it! I do not like to know this about myself.

Paula

Shelves

Hello,

It is wonderful to have all of these shelves. It is not so easy to find that item we want. Leroy has decided to give to the museum the slide projector that we got as a gift from some other Americans as they were returning to the US. I think it would not fit in their suitcase. Somehow we managed to get the job done, maybe taking it on some strip across the waters before we moved back to the US, and have had it in our possession. In the six years that we have been in the US we have rarely used it. The museum would use it as they have a collection of slides so it seems like the perfect place to re-gift this item. We found it easy enough, but I suggested that before he gives it away Leroy should look at his slides from Israel. Sadly I have not been able to find my 1999 (that’s the year not the number) Russia slides. The last place I remember looking at them is Knoxville, IA. Because we lived there in 2001-2002 I know I have not seen them since then.

This morning we spent a time looking for the slide trays. Leroy was sure we had two and I thought even three, but then I wondered if we had given them away because they were not in any box so far. Finally when searching the shelf that should not have held them, they came to light nestled in two separate boxes on that high shelf. Do I now complain about too many shelves? No I am happy to have so many places to put things on this level. I have been a control freak about labeling boxes and having the labels face out for readability, but it is difficult when other things sit in front and cover labels.

After that it was a struggle to get the projector to work. Something seemed to be stuck in front of the lens. Leroy was able to extract that slide from the former owners. Paul and Kay did you ever go to Mombasa? If so we can send you this picture of the sea and a “head”.

Leroy enjoyed looking at his Israel pictures, but says it is fine not to see them again. I also liked looking at the few Russia slides that I had that were rejects from my slide show. I would still like to have the others in my possession, but I have mourned their passing.

Paula

Habitat

Hello,

At 8:00 this morning we were at the habitat building site ready to build. Work actually started at 8:30 after gathering time with prayers and instructions. Then it was off to work painting woodwork for me and truing door frames for Leroy. I continued to paint for the rest of the time, but Leroy did some clean up and other odds and ends before he saw me stopped at 3:15, he said, “Are you ready to call it a day?” Since not being the pastor, Leroy apparently does not feel obligated to remain until the last board is moved. What a change in character!

I was ready; however it was an enjoyable day. I am happy to make a contribution with some hands on experience. We often contribute money to this and that, but in many ways that does not cost so much as taking the time. It was also good for us to meet some other people from the congregation as that has not been so easy for us. We do not stay for coffee hour after church making it more difficult for someone to talk to us, however we have noticed that no one comes up and talks to us unless they know us. I was a little sad that only one other woman was on the building site today, but it was nice to meet some men.

Leroy wants to go camping on the coming weekend. The weekend of the 7th I am to get training to help with the grand opening of the Czech/Slovak museum. The next weekend is the opening which will apparently keep both of us quite busy. The next weekend is my work weekend. After that I am free for a few more weekends until they are scheduled with something that I have not thought about.

Paula

Cleaning Mode

Hello,

The new library director is in a clean it up mode. The office looks and feels quite different as many things have been moved out or thrown out. It helps me to work with an uncluttered mind. I know that people talk about the messy desk being good for some people and shows they have lots of work, but it is not a good thing for me as I often have to stop and put things away before I can move on.

Even though it was not intentional I found some things out of place on the children’s video shelves. I do not like reading shelves, but it must be done from time to time. This time I was just putting some videos away. There was a shelf divider in the way so I pulled it out and tried to slide it under the shelf. For some reason it would not go. I got down on my hands and knees to discover three DVD cases, and four books along with a lot of dust bunnies who have been multiplying in private. On further inspection the cases came up empty and one of the books was no longer in the system. The director knew that there was a pile of DVDs without cases luckily these three were in that pile. Now how they got separated I cannot imagine.

Then it was on to cleaning the drawer at the checkout desk. Besides an abundance of pens and pencils it yielded 5-6 scissors. We could have been real cut ups.

I tried to block out the closed dates on the calendar. Even though I was using the user and password that I later gave the director, I could not get it done. It would not toggle. For her it was just as it should be. I was disgusted. Does this software like her better than it likes me, or does it just know she is the boss and it had better respond?

Paula

More Tech Knowledge

Hello,

Brian called to tell us that we need to make playlists so we would have some on the computer and some on the device. Miriam mentioned the same thing in a call. Then Stephen sent an email detailing how the computer is similar to a library where we can keep much of the music and than just access what we want when we feel like listening to something by using play lists. All of that was quite helpful for getting it more neatly arranged in our minds to realize that we do not need a large IPod. Then I remembered that I had signed up for ICloud where music, photos, videos, and more are stored out there in the heavens somewhere just waiting for us to get to them and use them.

I asked Leroy if he was storing the music on or in ICloud, (It seems if it is in the cloud it might fall though.) but he had no idea. So we will have to learn about that. I have a feeling it would be seamless if we had a Mac computer of one type or another. We feel that we are floating off somewhere in the clouds.

Stephen also commented that the IPod with the ear phones was a great sound. We have not tried that as neither of us likes to use ear phones. I suppose someday I will try it, but not yet. I know that the sound with just the IPod is not as good as with the docking station as that is what we were hearing when we thought we should take the docking station back to the store.

Good thing we have savvy kids who can help to guide us through some of these steps.

On the other hand I did help that woman transfer her files from her old floppy to her flash drive. It was as smooth and easy as I thought it would be. She thinks I am quite good, however she knows nothing about my IPod rant. Then there was a student, maybe college age, who was working on a project. He was not going to be able to finish it before his time ran out. I told him to email it to himself and then he could work on it again when he opened up the additional time. He could not figure out how to copy the email so he could paste it back in word processing. I knew how to do that. So, younger brains do not always know everything. The big difference is that I had done such a thing before and knew that I could copy an email after I got in reply mode.

I tried to change the library close dates, but was unable to do that even though I followed directions. There I wonder if I need another password even though I thought I had been given one that allowed me to do everything.

Learning, Learning! Surely the brain cells are healthy.

Paula

Material things

Hello,

Material things do not necessarily bring instant joy, especially if there is struggle involved in using them.

We did not buy the most expensive well rated docking station, but went for one that cost about $60 less. In the store they sounded remarkably alike. Besides I am not that sensitive to sounds, or sights. I accept mediocre quite well accept when it comes to clutter. We were sure we could live with this. Then at work I mentioned to a patron friend what we had gotten. She then talked about their unit that is the expensive one. I found my immediate response was that I wanted to keep “up with the Jones” or my sister who also owns this type of speaker with a CD player. I considerably allowed that to color my outlook and joy in finally making this move so our next move could be much easier and require, if needed, much less storage space.

For some reason when I got home I took it out on Leroy who was proud to have figured the system out and recorded at least half of our CD’s put on the speaker so I could enjoy it. Instead I noticed immediately how lacking it was in fullness and richness of sound.

We talked about visiting my friend who has this upper level speaker and comparing and then possibly taking ours back and putting down the money for the better one.

Leroy said it had sounded better before I came home so we fiddled with buttons, growled at each other and the equipment, before I finally got the proper combination and got good sound. The real problem is that I do not know how to replicate it because I do not really know what I did; I just pushed buttons like an elementary student.

In teacher Leroy mode told me, “Do not push any other random buttons now that we have figured this out.”

We decided to keep the speaker and I think it sounds quite fine to my crude and uncritical ears.

Paula

Just Buy It

Hello,

Friday evening Leroy and I went and bought the IPod along with a docking station. We were excited and anxious wondering, “What have we done buying this thing we do not really need?”

Then at home it was open it up and try to figure it out. Today Miriam tells us that it is to be intuitive. However, perhaps that is a different generation as we have struggled a bit with it. Or perhaps our intuition is off to the left of pre technology. I had a stressful time putting in my email password as I could not find one symbol that I use. Leroy finally found it on another screen. Because it was late all we found on it of value to us was the weather and maps.

While I was at work yesterday Leroy learned how to transfer our CD’s. That is the original purpose of getting this compact player so we do not have to haul around our dated, but still working large stereo. We have not yet decided how and if we will save our records and cassettes.

We only got an 8 gig machine because the kid in the store said that it should hold about 5000 songs. We do not have nearly that many. Leroy said when I got home, “I am not sure we can get all of our songs on here as I have used at least half the space and I have a ways to go.”

What we had not thought about is that most of our music is classical and it has long running time compared to popular music that is done in about three minutes. So we are maxed out with just what we have here.

We also can not figure out how to search easily through our 300 plus songs. But Miriam tells us we need to create play lists.

Then when we talked to Sarah, we learned that she and Stephen think maybe we should have considered an IPad. We had not even thought of that. There are just too many choices out there. But in addition, we can still buy an IPad later, right?

Paula

Library Work

Hello,

Tuesday I was to work alone in the library, but the new director was there for an hour. It was a help with the afternoon opening business. Then later one of my co-workers came. She is scheduled to work with the summer reading program, but because of our sewers issues it was cancelled, consequently I did not expect her to come. She left in the late afternoon. The people counter registered 152 people in those seven hours that I worked. I know I felt busy and a bit tired when done. Now maybe three of that count was the guys working on the sewer. So it was not all library usage. But I still talked to these guys some when they wanted to let us know about plans.

The three special girls were in to use the computers, talk rather loudly, and generally create a slight disturbance. I was happy when they decided to go somewhere else.

In the evening a woman came in to update her resume. She had called first because she had a 3.5 inch disc., or whatever that older style is. On the phone, I suggested she get a CD to convert her files to as in the future she might not find a computer to read it. We have two computers with that type of drive. One of them however would not access her disc. With doubts I had her use another computer, however it worked without a hitch. She brought with her a flash drive that she said was recommended over the CD. I also realized that was a good idea. She worked on her resume for some time, and printed it. She then tried to open the physical flash drive and was unable to do so. I struggled with it for possibly ten minutes. She talked about returning it to the store, but later she called to tell me that she had shown it to her mother and she opened it easily by flipping the top to the side. I had been trying to pull it off. Guess I do not know everything. This woman still had enough confidence in me to ask when I was working again so she could come at that time and have me help her transfer her data from the disc to the flash drive. Think I can do it? Maybe or even probably, but I am not saying until it happens.

Paula

Treats

Hello,

I keep thinking of small things we can have for our anniversary. Walnuts were the special one day as we do not get them so often because of the cost. In all honesty I relish them more than Leroy does, but he still likes them. On our Ely bike ride we went to the farmer’s market and bought a wonderful whole wheat, seed filled bread that we enjoyed by breaking off chucks and savoring. Now that was equally liked by both of us. This week a store has the IPod on sale and it is calling to us more strongly each day. Friday or Saturday it might get so powerful that we/I will be drawn irresistibly to it.

Leroy did have a preaching supply job. He then said we could put that money toward the IPod. Is that just another justification since we really do have the money? Course once we have the IPod we then need a docking station. Do we opt for cheap or top of the line?

Going back to that church job, I did not go with Leroy because it was for two services and I did not really want to hear the service twice. Because he is not preaching on a regular basis Leroy fussed around about writing the sermon. But perhaps the biggest problem is finding the time to do it. In the past he always wrote his sermons on Friday morning after spending much of the week thinking about it. This time he was still muttering about it on Saturday. However, in spite of, or maybe because of that it must have been an acceptable to good sermon. Two of the listeners asked for a copy of it. One woman wanted it because her husband was not able to come to church and the other person just wanted it to reread it. I can tell you that I have never asked anyone for a copy of their sermon and do not expect to do that in the near future. In this instance, it might have been good to have heard it in person. I have to admit that I did not ask Leroy for a private oration. Guess sermons are just not my big interest even though I have listened to many.

Paula

The rest of the bike ride

Hello,

The rest of the bike ride was really quite uneventful, but very nice. There is no longer a barrier on the trail and they had re-oiled the north end so it seemed quite fresh and new.

We did see three chipmunks on the southern trip. Coming back however, I was saddened to see a recent dead one. I suppose some bike had hit it. We have more power than we realize. Leroy spotted a live snake on the way down, but I unfortunately missed it. I am interested in snakes so I was disappointed.

We looked for black raspberries, but only found a few along with a few mulberries. If we had worn jeans we might have ventured into the brush a bit more and been more successful.

Even though it was early in the morning a number of other bikes were on the trail, perhaps trying to beat the heat just as we were. After our exciting beginning we were especially careful to call out loudly, “On your left.”

On the return trip we got intermingled with a run. A man and a woman were in front of me. I called out when I wanted to go around. The man moved over, but commented when the woman did not that she probably could not hear with the head phones in her ears. I had noticed the same response from other head phone wears. It seems that they do not hear Leroy’s bell at all so shouting is required.

Thinking of safety on the trail makes me ruminate about the fact that most, possibly above 90%, of bicycle riders wear helmets. However on the Iowa highway where danger is exponentially greater, motorcycle riders cling stubbornly to their bare headed independence. After all no one can tell them what to do, no matter how sensible it might be.

Paula

Bike Ride

Hello,

Saturday Leroy and I planned to take a bike ride to Ely (25 miles round trip). On getting out of bed it seemed much less exciting than it had the night before. The plan was to leave early because it was to get hot. Finally after some talk, I said, “Let’s just start out. We can turn around at any time. It isn’t like we have an obligation except to ourselves.”

As soon as we started down the street to catch the trail, we both felt so good in the cool morning air that there was no reason not to make it the full distance.

In the city the trail goes under some streets before it cuts back to the city parking lots/street to cross the railroad tracks. I was riding behind Leroy when a guy said rather softly, “On your left,” indicating he was passing me.

In a minute he started to go around Leroy without an additional warning. At the same time, Leroy turned left to the exit as the trail ends in a few more feet and crosses the track before catching the trail again.

In a panic I yelled, “Leroy”, too late, as the two riders came together over the same piece of trail. Astonishingly they did not fall, but both started to turn left onto the exit as I yelled, “Leroy” again. They stayed together for a little while before separating, but still upright. A woman came up behind me and said, “Obviously you know this trial better than we do.”

Later I noticed a scratch on Leroy’s rear view mirror. “Yes,” Leroy said, “His handlebar was actually hooked onto my mirror for a little while.”

Leroy just leads the luckiest life, doesn’t he?

After we were farther from the city streets we saw a gaggle of geese, more than half of them were adolescence. Those birds poop on the trail a lot. “Do you think we could slip and fall because of goose poop?” I asked Leroy.

He thought that could happen. How ironic it would have been to perhaps survive a crash with another bike and then be taken down by goose poop.

Paula

Ring Falling

Hello,

Friday at work, Leroy was moving some boxes around. Consequently he caught his wedding ring on some of them and tucked it away in his pocket. He was standing by the open elevator on the first floor when one of his coworkers needed a key. Forgetting that the ring was in his pocket he pulled out his keys only to hear something hit the floor, bounce a couple times down the elevator shaft, before the final thunk. At first he could not imagine what had fallen, but his coworker suggested it was a ring. Looking at his hand reminded him that he had indeed put it in his pocket. They walked downstairs so they would not disturb it if the ring were in the elevator shaft ready to be smashed or pushed further away.

After a bit of searching one of them spotted it lying close to the elevator. It had apparently fallen between the elevator and the shaft and then rolled out before it came to rest. That was almost like an impossible feat.

Just that day we had gotten a letter from the insurance company telling us that we had over paid on our personal items policy. This check is for almost the entire amount of the payment. I wonder if they are still not sure where we live. Before it was stated that we must be insured in the state in which we resided. They had Utah as our address, but we have tried two times to correct that. This letter came here, but who knows what the problem is. Anyway not that it is valuable; it seems we might not have been able to replace the ring with insurance money.

Even though I do not believe in working on Sunday I washed the last two windows. My excuses are, Leroy was home to help reach over the dryer, I had energy, and I wanted them to be clear and clean. It was not hard at all to reach over the dryer so I could have done it on Friday. For some reason we were both tired yesterday and unmotivated.

Leroy made another shelf that was a bit more of a trick because he was using up the end of an angled board. He had to cut a piece and attach it securely to the board. He got disgusted because he broke a drill bit, but it is done now. Small drill bits have had a high casualty rate with all of this shelf making and picture hanging.

Paula

Visitors

Hello,

Yesterday I had a couple from Chariton visit as they were on their way to Dubuque. See we are on the way to somewhere, you can come visit too. And you can even visit if we are the end destination.

It was great to see them again and it was great to show them the apartment. They were quite impressed with the amount of space that we have. I think my sister was too. This couple also commented on how nice the place looked. I have become quite settled in and liking it. I am pleased now that we have so much up on the walls and that Leroy has put in so much shelving allowing us to store more things on this level. It is quite good. The hard part was coming from the last two parsonages that were larger than we needed and we just oozed, seeped, and spread into all that space as if it were our due.

It has taken a mental adjustment to pull in a bit, but it has happened, so come see us.

Before company came I washed three more windows, and vacuumed the floors since I had the vacuum out for the sills. One of the windows has an awning, for which I am grateful in these sun intense days, but it made it tricky to get the screen in the house without dropping it. There was also a cable of some type that required more maneuvering to get past. Going back out seemed easier, but maybe that was just because I was prepared. Preparation does make a difference doesn’t it?

Then Friday afternoon, it was back down to Ely for a staff going away party for our director who is moving. Three of us are recent hires with one longer term person, but we still felt that we should acknowledge her time and help in getting us situated in our positions. I understand that a new director has been hired, but I do not know when the starting date is. So things might change some. Good thing I am flexible, right? I am flexible, right?

Paula

Window Washing

Hello,

Yesterday I tackled one window that has especially noticeable dirt. It washed up beautifully and with little difficulty. The windows are of the newer kind that tilts into the house. It was so easy to get to the outside. I also believe in cleaning the screens and the sill. That created some problem as I struggled to put this full sized screen back in the slot without dropping it several feet to the ground where it would surely crumple in a non repairable heap. I do not know how high we are, but we come up about 15 steps. When I got home from work I was disappointed to learn that Leroy had not immediately exclaimed about the great looking window.

He could not even find it when I asked, “Did you notice anything different when you came home?”

Even after looking around for a while he was mystified. I had to give several hints, before he looked out that window that he had often complained about.

Even with the two of us it was a struggle to get that screen securely in place. I wondered if we were going to have to ask for the ladder and climb up beyond Leroy’s comfort zone to finish the job when it finally settled into place.

Today I, with Leroy’s permission, took out two more screens and washed two more windows. I had thought about just waiting until Leroy came home before attempting to put screens back, but tried anyway and they slipped right in as if we all knew what we were doing.

Now with such success behind me I will try to do two more windows before the day is over. I do not like washing the windows, but I so like the results. It opens my soul and takes me more clearly outside.

Paula

Anticipation

Hello,

Sometimes the anticipation of an event or exercise can be different than the result. Why do we even bother to use energy anticipating?

Leroy had been so sure that the watercolor would be difficult to cut down to the frame size. Well it was a breeze and not worth any anxious thoughts about it. It is now looking good hanging in our bedroom. We could have even spent more on the frame and gotten a mat to enhance it.

Sunday we were the only people who turned out or up? Just what is that preposition? We turned up for a bike ride. Because we were already out we headed off anyway. It has been a while and Leroy especially told me about his bottom noticing the rather harsh seat. Somehow regular riding is not in our schedule. I am impressed that Leroy is doing exercise almost every day. There was a time when I was the one who exercised with religious fever. We have switched roles.

This morning as I wrote for my devotions, I realized that it is our anniversary. I wished Leroy a happy anniversary. “We should do something special, but what?” he asked.

I work today from 1:00 to 8:00 and Leroy works from 8:00 to 5:00, consequently we do not see much of each other. Some other day, some other time will have to be special. It just occurred to me that we could buy an IPOD and the base and convert our cassettes, records, and CDs to that little storage/playing unit. Leroy used to be the person who was all eager for this change. We have switched roles here too. Perhaps Leroy has lost his anticipation of just such a change as I had resisted spending the money on something we already have access to.

Going back to anticipation, I believe that part of the joy of a celebration is in the anticipation of that event. So anticipation can be good. Memories also make it special as I remember the gathering with our children and grandchildren last year.

Paula

Working

Hello,

I do not usually work on Friday, but it was the start of summer reading so I helped. There were only two of us and it was a busy day. I can say that I enjoyed most of it. I have missed working with students. It is especially nice when there are no necessary disciplinary measures that need to be enforced. I am grateful that most people, young and old, discipline themselves.

I had just a few of those large print books to enter in the catalog. I was sure that would be done early, however I only finished the last one fifteen minutes before leaving. I understand that the summer will just be busy.

At least I got the Inter Library Loan books ready to go. There were eight requests, but we did not own two of the books, however it takes a bit of time to track that down. Then there were two books to return. I am yet attached to my lists to make sure that I am completing all steps. It seems too easy to forget one of them.

The special girls were in again, but they were not so much of a problem. Do you think they could be maturing nicely? The brother of one of these girls was also in at a different time. He has a long way to go. Hopefully it will just get better and better.

Leroy is volunteering at the museum this morning. Yesterday they completed the move to the new/renovated building and the museum guild will be touring the finished place. I think we have both missed volunteering. We used to do quite a lot of that when we lived in Ely and have not done much since. We both get a sense of satisfaction from being able to help out.

Paula

Killing Time

Hello,

This morning, Leroy said, “I got three more stamps in the albums while I was killing time before work.”

Why do we have such a violent statement about our use of time or lack of use? Is wasting time a better way to talk about the same activity? Just what is so bad about being idle?

Bless technology for the message that I got yesterday informing me that our anniversary is coming next Tuesday. Leroy was in the room when I read this and told him. We both laughed because neither of us had thought about it at all. We are just not so good at this anniversary stuff. Years ago we found out it was our anniversary day when we got a card from Leroy’s mother. Again it was an occasion for laughter.

Years ago I had a dryer fire. It was the result of an old dryer having too much lint packed away and a snap on jeans that created sparks. Since then, I have checked dryers. The dryer here had kindly been storing lint for some purpose that I do not know about. Leroy figures that it will even dry more efficiently now with the removal of half a wastebasket of fluff.

Our library borrows almost 100 large print books from another library. Those books were in and because we keep them for six months we catalog them. I do it the quickest way possible and I have to say that yesterday the z sources were flying. It was quite exciting. I finished almost 80 books. Someone else did help by unpacking them and attaching the bar codes. It was quite exhilarating to get all of them finished.

On the down side, our sink has developed a small leak around the faucet plate. Leroy tried unsuccessfully to reseal it. Our land lord will look at it soon, but neither of us has been home. In the meantime I have a rag in position to catch drips as well as a pan and rag below. I like rags. Such a useful humble object!

Paula