Resolved

Resolved

April 30, 2013

Hello,

Once again I have a strong resolution not to click on any suspect link on the computer. In the past, I have said, “I have learned my lesson; I will not click on anything that does not make sense.”

It seems I am a slow learner. Yesterday when Leroy asked how to contact the library I looked at the Ely library web site. It seems that if he wants to contact us he must select a particular person on the staff. While looking at those names I noticed that the technical services after my name was in blue font and underlined. That seemed usual, but I wanted to know more. So I clicked on it. It stated you, as a Cedar Rapids resident, how was that known? I was then invited to take a short survey with the chance to win prizes at the end. It only had three questions about how much I used and liked the site. I did have to supply my email address and my cell phone number, but no home address and no bank account number.  It stated I would get a verification code on my cell so I could get a prize. I did not get a message and then I realized this could just be a scam. So I shut it down. How could I be reeled in so easily? How many times does it have to be before I really never respond to this type of thing again?

At least the computer has not acted oddly. I did get two new junk mail emails in my inbox. I put them on my block sender list with hopes that I will never hear from them again.

Learning is a continual process. Just think what it will be like when I start losing my ability to reason so well. It defies the imagination.

By the way that link did not appear on the computer at work. Is something really able to select just my name out of the list and why on our home computer? Do we already have a virus?

Paula

Hanging out Clothes

Hello,

In spite of the prediction of rain I hung out clothes. It seems to be time to take the flannel sheets off the bed. Doing that meant I should wash the mattress pad plus a few other things that fit in the load. I also washed and hung out some things on Friday. That day I did not hang out the clothes in the morning, because I am concerned about bird poop falling on clothes. It is especially problematic when the leaves do not catch some of the poop on its way to the ground. Leroy wondered, “Why don’t you hang them out before you go shopping? They could dry while you are gone.”

“It is all true, but I have this theory that the birds will not poop on the clothes while I am home.” I told him. When I hung out clothes later in the day my theory was shown to be true.

This morning I saw a little drama between a bird and a squirrel. The squirrel was climbing up the tree even though this little brown bird, maybe a sparrow, was dive bombing it. That bird may have been a fraction of the size, but it was persistent in the attack. The squirrel noticed all of this as it dodged bill or claws but it persisted in going up the tree. When the squirrel got high enough, the bird left it alone. Sometime later I saw the bird go into a hole on the tree, no doubt a nest hole. Safety of the offspring always helps to bring out extra measures of courage and strength.

Paula

Outside Work

Hello,

Outside work restores my soul. Leroy and I have now planted some things in that garden we are using in Ely. We have put in some onions, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, beets, turnips, radishes, and hope. Hope for rain, sunshine, and satisfied critters who do not want to eat anything that we are growing.

We also took some time to ride bikes along the bike trail where it goes along Iowa’s only urban trout stream. “I would like to see some trout,” Leroy said. Maybe ten minutes later we saw a school of fish. Were they trout? We do not know since we did not get off our bikes and check out the situation more carefully. We will just assume that they were the right kind of fish.

After church, and before lunch, Leroy worked in the garage. Straightening a shelf, adjusting positions of clutter in the garage, and cleaning satisfied his soul. He also raked in the yard for a while. Just a bit ago he mentioned what a good day it has been.

I can tell that we have been in this place for more than a year. We now feel busier. Next Sunday we will go to Burlington to share in an anniversary celebration. The Saturday before that is the great Ely garage sale. I will attend hoping for that perfect treasure that has eluded me in my past ventures. Leroy is working so I will make decisions on my own.

The second Friday in May I will fly out to Salt Lake to help Miriam as she is starting graduate school. I will take Nora to and from preschool for a week. The next week Leroy will fly out to take up those duties.

The first Sunday I am gone Leroy will be preaching in church. He is both pleased and nervous about that as it has been a time since he has preached.

Paula

Great Day

Hello,

Yesterday was a great day. I had a fun time at work. There was a group of new exercise DVD’s to enter into the system. Most of them were quite easy and straightforward from the PA Z source that I found. This site has 16 million records that I can use. Generally it all works well. It might take a bit longer, just seconds, than the usual source. Some of the disks were in a set of seven that my boss wanted put on the shelf as single disks. That was fine. I was a bit concerned that they would not be there as single records, but luck would have it that someone in PA did the same thing. I found record one and two just flashing onto the computer screen.  For some reason even though I put in the same search word, Zumba an entirely new list came up and my disks were not on there. I went back out and tried again, twice, on the next try the proper record was there. For the four last DVDs I had to repeat the process each time. When I was complaining or moaning to my co-worker she said, “Someone is playing with your head.” I certainly do not understand it all. Have those Pennsylvania people gotten wise to the fact that I am copying their records?

The Slovak display at school went well thanks to the set up help from my friend. People did some interested in the things that we had around. No one seemed too disappointed that we had no food to pass out although some did not stay long. Others even asked some questions. I had thought we were to be done at 7:00 so I started to pick up some of the items when a fairly large number of people came through the door. We had people until 7:30. Later I learned it was to have been over at 7:00. Why those people came then, I do not know. Leroy and I were both quite tired by the time we got home and brought our things into the house. I certainly did not put any of it away until this afternoon. Then I had a bag of Russian items to put away that I had loaned to the Russian presenter. All in all it is good to expose the kids and their families to other countries and cultures. Hopefully it has expanded their world view a little.

Paula

Busy and Excited

Hello,

We have several different things going on this week. Today we will have company. They will first visit the museum and see Leroy’s work space. Then it will be a visit to our house for supper. These friends are Americans we met in Slovakia. Peterson’s for those of you who might want to know. They have lived a little different lifestyle than Leroy and I have. I find myself feeling a bit ashamed of the place that we live in. It certainly does not look like a successful American lifestyle. Leroy and I talked a little about that last night. Yet I like it here and I am comfortable. God does indeed take good care of me and Leroy.

I remember having a conversation with Leroy many years ago about how we choose to live and how we are judged. I would like to be judged by my standards, but instead I suspect that each of us is judged by the standards of the observer. Part of me says people don’t judge but I believe that it is always there even if we try not to.

The other big thing that is going on is that we are participating in a school event featuring cultures of the world. Of course, Slovakia is our presentation. It will be in an open house style. It was fun to gather things, ruminate about the past and note some of the differences about another place. One thing I found to be true is that there is a mix of people everywhere and I have been fortunate to know mostly the good people. Or is there some good in everyone if we give them a chance?

My boss’s daughter has studied about Russia and will have information about that big country. I was pleased to be able to share my Russia treasures with her. It was fun to go back in time to my great Russia trip in 1999 and dig out the good memories once more.

Sometimes it is too bad that my spelling abilities are so under my vocabulary. I just had to use another word because the one I thought of is spelled so differently that spell check could not help me. Where is that Misspeller’s Dictionary? Oh there it is. Now I know I could have used paraphernalia instead of treasures. By the way, spell check does not like misspeller’s even though that is on the front of this book.

You all have a good day.

Paula

More Things

Hello,

Leroy and I worked on two of our closets switching winter coats and spring jackets around. That also swept a bit larger and included some of the boxes that are in the closets.  We added a little bit to our give away pile, three twin sized blankets and two down coats. The blankets we have not used in the year we have been here. Besides we still have two extra blankets besides all of the ones that are on the beds right now. We should be covered. We have not worn the down coats in the last two years so neither of us feels a strong urge to hang onto them any longer. My coat was purchased in 2000, so it has had some staying power even if not worn very often. I do think I will wait until closer to the winter season before giving away these things as I am not sure how much space the mission has for storage. For sure, homeless people do not need to have a winter coat as summer approaches.

Once when we were in Salt Lake in the hot summer we were downtown waiting for the light rail when a good looking man sat next to me dressed in a very nice, very warm looking winter coat. Perhaps I stared a little, because he conversationally asked, “Do you like my coat?”

“It is a very nice coat,” I replied wondering why he was not sweating buckets in the 90 degree heat.

“It is a very nice coat,” he agreed and added, “I like it very much.”

When relating this tale to Miriam she assured me, “He was very likely one of our clients at the homeless shelter. He perhaps did not like to leave his prize possession where others might take it.”

Paula

Computer wokr

Hello,

Leroy and I are preparing for an open house type exhibit of Slovak culture. It will be at the elementary school where I had worked years ago. It was easy to gather stuff. Then we wanted to have a slide show that loops. Leroy found a small presentation that we had done for another talk. However, we wanted to add some additional interesting photos to it. I found just the right pictures in a photo album that was the old fashioned printed type. Leroy started digging out the camera so he could take a picture and then download it to the computer. I paid little attention to what he was doing. Then he started getting disgusted because he could not find a part that holds the camera to the tripod. Stability is necessary. “Why don’t we just scan the pictures and move them to the other computer?” I wanted to know.

I have done the majority of the scanning so I did just that. We took a break to eat a meal. After that Leroy captured the pictures and put them on the other computer, but he took the pictures that were not cropped or straightened. I volunteered to just send my more perfect specimens to him. In that process I realized I could upload them to google+, however on the second computer I had a time finding them since I do not really use google+. At that point I decided to just email them to him. That worked. “I used to feel that I knew my way around the computer,” Leroy moaned.

“Is that because now about all you do on the computer is catalog,” I wondered, “consequently you have not acquired these new skills?

Perhaps it is because we have too many options. I realize now that I could have just scanned the photos to the laptop in the first place. However, Leroy has working on that computer and look at how much I learned. At least we could figure it all out.

Paula

Bemoaning weather

Hello,

I did a little shopping today. The most frequent comment that I heard had to do with one of the most uncontrollable parts of life, the weather. Surely that is the ultimate example of something that we cannot change, but must adjust our attitude or perhaps our position by moving away from it. I even saw briefly some snow in the air. Of course that is nothing like the foot of snow on the ground by Brian’s house. He did not really complain except to talk about how hard it was to shovel it off the driveway. He also had some help from the snow blower. When Jen tried to go to the gym before work she got stuck in the drive. Somehow I think it was more like Iowa snow when he talked about how slippery it was.

Just two nights ago Leroy and I did walk to church. There was almost no mist in the air and the wind was truly a little breeze as we left the house. When we came home after choir it was another matter. The rain was coming in earnest and the wind was seriously blowing. Leroy had his big umbrella so he was not so very wet when we got home. I, however, had rain up most the length of the sleeve of my coat and my jeans were quite wet. The good thing was that we were going home and when we got there we could get out of those cold wet clothes and get in warm pjs.

It was not raining today, but I was again happy to get in the house when I came home from reading the paper at the library. At least that was only a half mile walk each way. Leroy rode the bike today and he tells me that the wind was a serious opponent when he was coming home. He even had to use some lower gears. He did not even complain about the cold, but that might be because he was working so hard to make progress that he warmed up under his winter coat.

Leroy is attending an electricity class to night hoping to master three way switches. He said, “I hope it is not a jolting experience.”

Paula

Warm and Dry

Hello,

Warm and dry with rain beating against the windows for much of the day. Who could ask for more? Well, maybe I could ask for a checkbook that would balance to the penny instead of the bank statement indicating that we have $20 more than I can account for. No mysterious deposits so it must be my numbers handling. Couldn’t be Leroy as he almost never makes mistakes plus I do most of the figuring in the checkbook. I seldom write checks but we still have electronic activity.

There was no discussion about Leroy riding the bike as we could see the rain coming down. He noted that it was to get worse during the day with the prime time to be as he was headed home.

I did walk to the Coe library to read the paper during a slight lull. I admit to being glad to get home. I was wearing sandals so my feet were cold and wet, but I figured it would be fine when I got home and took off the water type footwear.  I walked part of the way with one of the students. I was a bit surprised that she was so talkative. We agreed that we were both lucky to have umbrellas unlike many of the rest of her school mates. She is from Colorado so surely not used to so much rain, but she seemed to be handling it well.

Now the question will be, should Leroy and I walk to choir tonight or just give in and drive. If there were no wind I would vote for the walking, but I see the tree outside frequently swishing around. However I do not notice so much rain so maybe it is coming to a close.

I have bread baking and soon I will make some chili, vegetarian pumpkin. That is a new recipe. Will we like it? Who can say?

Paula

What to Write

Hello,

It is tough to write when the day seems so ordinary. How do newspaper columnists do it?

I will have to say that I lost the gas lottery today. Did you know there is such a thing? Maybe you call the wildly changing prices something else. Most of the time I just get gas when the tank is registering low. It is too hard to know the best price that might be coming. Because I had less than a quarter of a tank and the price, at $3.31 was the lowest I had seen in some time it seemed prudent to fill up yesterday. Now today when I was out and about I saw a station with $3.17 posted. How could it drop like that? But then in another neighborhood gas was $3.25. Just get gas when you need it and forget the price.

At least with certain other merchandise if I make a mistake I can exchange. For instance I wanted to get some vitamins for seniors. When I got home I realized that I had younger people vitamins. That would never do. Who knows what might happen? We might start to act like a 30 year old. At least that I could easily exchange for the appropriate age dose.

One of the stores gives credit for walking. I think I earn about two cents per mile. But the real gain is in my physical and mental health. It is so nice to be out in the spring and see what else is blooming. This year, however, it is slow so not much discernible changes from day to day.

I might even throw away some food. I guess it could be called food. It is low fat mayo dressing. I have used it twice now and do not feel good after eating it. Leroy is urging me to get rid of it. He knows how hard that concept is for me. I wish I knew someone around here who might like such stuff. Is it that high fructose corn syrup I saw listed in the ingredients? One son-in-law will not eat declaring that it makes him unwell.

Paula

Grateful

Hello,

I am grateful for all of the new technology in our lives. Gratitude is there even when frustration sets in if something is not working the way I think it should. Usually some time down the road I or Leroy figures it out.

The phones have been a blessing. I do not have a smart cell phone, but a dumb phone. It still allows me to text if I wanted to, know the time, day, set up an alarm, use the calculator, use the calendar, call someone by saying their name (if I have that set up), check caller ID, check on calls missed, use speaker phone, as I recall if I wanted to pay to access the internet I could also do that, or call from most odd corners of the country. These are things my parents could not have dreamed of.

Back in the days when we lived across the state of Iowa from our parents we could call them from the home phone. However we did not do speak them frequently. Leroy’s parents told me they did not want to call because they did not know if we were home. I guess we were gone too much of the time. Then my parents did not call very often because it cost too much money. Consequently I remember making most of the calls to all these parents, but not often because it did indeed cost a bit of money to make a long distance call. Certainly we kept the calls short.

Now with the phone set up at home I can call anywhere in the country for free, talk as long as I might like, and still just pay a few dollars a monthly tax payment. What a blessing! I am grateful that I can keep in such contact at my whim. Then I have not even mentioned email, social networks, webcam, or Facetime. Opportunities abound. Grateful, grateful.

Paula

Bike Ride

Hello,

I took my first bike ride since November. It seemed to me it should be a short ride, but Leroy just kept urging us to go farther. Oops I think I did a little of that urging at one point. Course he has been riding much of the winter. Admittedly it is only a three mile ride with a big work day rest in-between followed by three miles home. We both were too warmly dressed. How wonderful it was to be out with a few more sensibly dressed people sharing the trails. There were bikers, walkers, runners, young people and old people. I am happy that people want to get out and move.We rode a total of eight miles. I think that is quite a few for a start of the season. At least my walking does mean that I have been moving much of the time.

There were plenty of ducks on the lake and some geese. Plus there were birds in the air many small and one large one that I thought might be an egret or pelican. I realize that that does not narrow identification very much, but it is a little hard when the bird is almost flying over me when I notice it along with a racing bike that zoomed around on my right.

It was especially wonderful to see so many small children out on their bikes. I do keep a good eye on them because I am not sure what they might decide to do.

We went by two ball fields where I learned that Sunday afternoon is the time for college ball games. At least it was nice out for them. Spring is coming soon. We still have not planted anything, but it seems that when the rain stops will be the time. My winter onions are coming up around the house. I wish more had survived so I could eat a lot of them and share the rest. Maybe I will still have to share some and just hope they grow well.

Paula

Tired

Hello,

Right now I am so tired that the word exhausted comes to mind. How did this happen? I went shopping, washed four loads of clothes some of which included sheets, vacuumed the mattress, hung up some of those clothes, folded most of the clothes, and made granola. Course I did not even count washing dishes or making a couple meals.

But I have done such things before. Two days ago Leroy was complaining mightily about being tired. Perhaps we have a little something that is not quite right contributing to this low feeling.

It is so wonderful to look out and see the green grass. Are we programmed to like green? It certainly seems pleasant.

Then there is the pounding I hear from two houses over where they are getting a new roof. I am impressed at these workers who almost walk on this steeply pitched two or three story venture. I would be clinging to the ladder unable to step foot on this roof.

I was pleased to find some new, on clearance, khaki pants that actually fit me. They are not as slim as some styles are at this time, but better than my old pair which I will pass on to Goodwill. Leroy remarked that they are too big for me. I had also gotten an ink mark on them that I failed to remove before I washed them. I know that Goodwill takes stained or torn clothing and makes it into rags. So they can do just that.

I also bought Leroy a new winter coat. We had been eyeing it, hoping it would be reduced more, but I just decided to buy it. At this point in time it is not easy to find a man’s winter coat. The zipper broke in his current coat so it will also be passed along.

Paula

Grateful

Hello,

How exciting that I am no longer held to the standards of a college student. I walked over to the college library to read the newspaper. During that trek in the steadily increasing rain I only counted three umbrellas besides mine. I even had on a rain coat complete with raised hood. I was soothingly dry under my shelter as the majority of them chose to move along with just a sweatshirt for protection. Most of the heads were bare with only their hair acting as a slight water repellent. Well the guy who held the library door open for me on the way in was almost my age so probably not a student. Only two student held umbrellas sighted. Although one never knows for sure as he could be a non-traditional student. How lovely to be dry and warm. Age does have certain advantages.

I am also glad that I had the fortitude to make that walk in spite of rain. The lack of wind made it much more comfortable than it might have been. Now I see the fir tree outside my window rocking back and forth. I would not go now.

Our landlords have once again offered any or the entire front yard for a garden if we would like. I am not ready to disturb the place. Leroy is not ready to tackle sod removal. From past experience he knows that can be a daunting task with just a shovel and a hoe. Besides we have our great possibility in Ely as well as the neighborhood gardens that are only about four blocks away. It seems we have gone from few possibilities to more than we need. When it rains it pours and all that.

Paula

Timer tools

Hello,

My life has many assisting tools. Just today I thought about how wonderful the timers are in my life. I have a timer on the stove that I use frequently. It saves me from burning food, getting to work on time, and stopping a pleasurable activity like reading so I can finish some chore. I also have a timer on the microwave, but I almost never use it.

Then there is the timer on the clocks, however because they are called alarms I almost never use them either. Who wants to be alarmed? Leroy and I just naturally wake up on schedule so it is rare that we set an alarm. The IPod has a timer that I sometimes use, but generally only when I want to stop meditating. The reason I choose it over the stove timer is the soft soothing tone that lets me know to come back. My cell phone has an alarm feature. I do not use it and just now I checked to see if I could still find it on the phone. It is easy to find, but the cell phone is not on my list of places to go for very many helps.

I am grateful that someone took the time to invent a timer. I remember the one that my mother used when she had the wood stove. It was a hand held circular, white battery less, device with a top that twisted. It is still possible to buy that type of mechanical timer. When she got her new gas stove that time was not used so much as the stove had a timer on it.

Do people without timers have a better built in sense of time. Or do they just think of time differently. I remember speaking with a Laotian refugee who told me that for them, “time is elastic”. Have we tried to make time rigid and conform to our ideas of what it ought to be? Or is time different for all?

Paula

Cleaning

Hello,

Memory tells me that I used to be a bit more enthusiastic and direct about cleaning. Today, for instance, I thought I would dust everything. After just doing a few pieces I convinced myself to take a break and read a bit. After that I thought about putting my larger houseplants that never go outside into the shower and using the hand held unit to give at least one of them a good washing off. Then before I could get back to that dusting, I called my sister. With dusting far from my focus I went on to read email, checking in with Facebook at the same time. Then the pictures that I had just printed up caught my eye. Leroy had taken some to work, but I will not as I really do not have a place to put them. I divided some out to put on the refrigerator. The rest went on to the bulletin board in the computer room.

On line I signed up for a walking goal and thought that I must work on that before I headed off to work. It was so wonderful to be out in the warm sunshine. What a gift after coolness and overcast skies of the recent past. I was pleased to see so many green grass blades taking their rightful place in the sun. Some flowers are opening and adding to the festive air.

Soon I will have to get ready to go to work and the dust is still happily decorating my furniture. It will surely wait until I have the will to tackle it with fortitude. Today is just not the day for that.

Yesterday I looked out into the walnut tree and yelled, “Leroy you must come see this.”

When Leroy got there I pointed out the squirrel stretched out sleeping on the branch with its back feet dangling into the air as the front paws were up in front of his head. Such a languid looking squirrel! As I watched, its body took on more tension and the eyes popped open. “What happened?” I wondered.

Leroy said, “Our landlord just came out.”

Paula

Happy Life

Hello,

The April calendar page by my desk has the saying, “very little is needed to make a happy life”. Right now I believe that to be true. Today has been a good day talking to friends. Surely that is part of the happy life. Leroy volunteered with college students to help clean up the neighborhood. What could be better than contributing to the good looks of the area? We have also checked out our garden space so we have some idea of what is ahead. The only downer for me was the deer tracks that meandered around the soft dirt. The man who owns the dirt talked about the nibblers that might come through. Nibblers sounds much kinder than I was thinking.

I attended the book club discussion at church; consequently I did not help clean up the neighborhood. Leroy was the lector at the earliest service. Because I did not want to go to the Sunday school class, I went to the second service so I was about right on time for the book club when that service was done. I love reading and then talking about the books.

Earlier in the week, Miriam called me about another deal for pictures. This was for 25 free photos. The hard part for me was finding 25 recent, decent photos that were worthy of printing. Miriam ended up sending me a few to pad my numbers. The hard part for me was getting those photos downloaded, cropped and into the store site. Learning, learning! But I am happy to have gotten it down. I then used two of those photos for my Facebook account. I have to confess that I almost never change FB pictures because I am just not that into it all even though it is easy, again not many good pictures around here.

Besides that, today the sun was shining and it was a lovely temperature, not too hot, not too cold. “Very little is needed to make a happy life.”

Paula

Shopping

Hello,

Shopping is not usually on my list of tasks for a Wednesday. However one store that had some desired items on sale also had a senior day in which most of their name brand products were 20% off and most other items were 15% off. I had no idea what was excluded, but decided to take a chance that my list was included. Also this store was only about two miles away. If it had been warmer and I had wanted only light weight things, I might have walked there. It struck me as extravagant to use the car an additional day.

In addition to sales, I had some coupons. I was pleased that I remembered to hand all of them over. I also stopped the checker from putting the purchases in a plastic bag, but handed over my cloth bags. After he told me the total was $35, I asked “Do you automatically ask for an ID or did you just assume that I look old enough to get the senior discount?”

He did not crack a smile as he said, “Is today senior day?”

“Yes, according to your ad,” I said.

He then had to call to verify the day. After which he needed to cancel my receipt as the discount number needed to go in first. He then had to call for help to open his register drawer where he had slipped my coupons. I felt sorry for the people waiting behind me, although they did open another register. I gained by waiting as my total was then $28.

Now I am wondering, why does just the virtue of being older entitle one to discounts? I realize that some are on a fixed tight income, but certainly not all seniors. I suppose it is like any help that goes to all because of some particular circumstances. Some need the help and some don’t. Life is never really fair across the board is it? It seems that the needy should get rather than just everyone. Should I ignore it because I can pay the full price?

Paula

Easter Preparations

Hello,

Before Easter one of the girl patrons at the library asked me if I was prepared for Easter. “What does that mean?” I wanted to know.

It seemed it involved getting clothes, candy, and eggs.

“No, I am not prepared,” was all I could respond to that.

Even on the day of Easter I was still not prepared that way. When growing up I generally got a new dress for Easter. That was my church clothes until fall rolled around. At least there was not much energy going into the decision of “What should I wear to church?” as the choice was one thing.

Now I did not get any new clothes for Easter, but I had a closet full of options. Cool walking weather, warmth in the church from the additional worshippers, and style all played through my mind. I wore a raw silk shirtwaist topped off with a feather necklace. I am now old enough that my clothes are older than a number of people at church. In spite of that, I got a compliment on this look.

I did not buy any candy for Easter, but I got asparagus and sweet potatoes. Leroy and I both felt it was quite special. Is that combining spring and fall in one meal?

We have not often had tacos lately so I got some of them too. Then Leroy wanted cinnamon rolls so that was on the agenda as well. Unfortunately I did not get them made ahead of time so spent time Easter afternoon making them. Leroy and I both missed spending time with our families. Guess we could invite someone over. Know anyone who would like asparagus for Easter dinner?

As part of our preparation for Easter we went to church each Wednesday evening in Lent as well as all service during Holy Week. With some thought and meditation, we were prepared.

Paula