Leroy

Hello,

I was so sure Leroy would be better, but he won. He did not go anywhere all day. He thought he might work in the morning, but was too tired after breakfast. His long nap revived him, but he still was not able to go anywhere even though he did a number of small jobs around here.

I did not really go much either. I think I need a dog to remind me to go take a walk. A dog could be a personal trainer. They never seem to forget what the usual walk time is.

Leroy and I are getting together our financial information so we can speak with a more knowledgeable person than we are. I think the real deal is that neither Leroy nor I care so much about the financial world. We would just like to have things land in our laps in the proper way without effort on our part. Sounds like winning the lottery, doesn’t it? Since we do not play it would be a hard win.

We have eaten many of the greens in our freezer. There are two bags left and both are smaller. I now find that I have four bags of rhubarb in there. I made a crisp today with not enough sugar. We put molasses on it and liked it very well. Back in the old days we used to eat black strap molasses as our sweetener. Somehow I had gotten away from that habit. Reading the nutritional content on the bottle makes me realize that I should do that again. It has quite a lot of calcium and potassium in it.

I am hoping that Leroy will be well enough to go to church tomorrow. Our choir is singing at another church. We can walk there, but it is to be snowy and I am afraid of ice under the snow as it is raining now. But maybe the temps will stay high and I can walk with ease. I certainly do not want to fall especially if I am walking alone.

Paula

Home Again

Hello,

I arrived home this afternoon. Leroy was home to greet me because he is not feeling well. Apparently yesterday he felt worse, but he seems fairly good now, in spite of a bit of a stuffed head. I suspect tomorrow will almost be normal. I’m so glad as I am not good in the role of nurse.

He had kept the place quite neat as usual. I never worry about it when I am gone. He cooks, cleans, and watches my plants.

It would be so nice if I lived closer to all of my children then I could help more frequently and easily. But as people tell me this way I get to travel.

I will miss having younger people who seem to spark laughter with ease. I will have to work on just laughing more. It is so good for the sole. Their dog knew that I was leaving and I believe felt sad about it. Sophia confided that no one else walks her. Anyway the dog turned away from me as I was packing up.

Now that I am here I will have to start growing my chia pet. It should be interesting. I will also get more sprouts started. In the winter I keep alfalfa sprouts growing much of the time.

I call my grandchildren Henry and Henrietta. That saves me from calling someone by the wrong name. Logan has two Henrys in his pre-school class so I guess I have to come up with another name to tease him. I was quite surprised to hear about it. Name fashion changes.

Paula

Thinking of home

Hello,

Jen is home now. I could have headed for home, but wanted to be sure that she was here to take over before I left. Because of thinking she might not be here on time as one never knows with air travel, I did not tell the kids good-bye. I know they both said they wanted me to stay another day, they even talked of me coming to live with them. But I feel that when Mom is home I might fade into the background. All schedules were met this morning without a hitch. I did not tell so many stories in the car on the way to daycare because I thought the pavement might be a trace slippery so I kept more than half a mind on the road and traffic. Perhaps this evening I can tell a couple more stories. Sophia was pleased that I even told one story she had not heard before.

I have taken two walks today with a grateful heart that I did bring my down coat. During the first days it did not seem necessary. I did not put on my windbreaker pants, but wished that I had brought one wool sweater. I am not as warm as I like when sitting around. I suppose I could turn up the heat more, but hate to do that. It is nice when I am at home and I can make the adjustments to my coverings.

I looked for the white squirrel today, but did not see it. I only saw two gray squirrels when they ran across the snow. Yesterday I noticed that the white animal looked like a clump of snow.

I am proud of myself because I figured out how to eliminate the keyboard sounds on my new phone. I am not sure why anyone would want all that noise. It should have been easier to find the solution which was buried at least two layers deep.

Sophia used my phone to take several pictures. She declares my phone to be the best. Is that because she does not handle her parents’ phones very often and mine seemed so available or because she could move around so easily with mine. I learned without Sophia’s help how much it cost to send a picture to someone else and how much it costs to access the internet when one does not have a calling plan, but just a prepaid set up. I believe I could burn through a lot of minutes in a short time. Oh well, at home and away I will just use the tablet and Wi-Fi.

Tomorrow I will see Leroy again. That guy made granola while I was gone, I know because he called for the recipe. Nice he is so capable.

Paula

Live and Learn

Hello,

Well would you believe at the end of the day I was not outside waiting for the bus when I should have been.  Sophia did come to the door and knock and I thought I heard the bus at about the same time. I have excuses, whether they are good or not I cannot say. I had set the timer, but for some reason I was five minutes off on that. Guess I cannot add time. Then I was lost in a book and did not think about the time. I felt terrible, but glad that the bus driver allowed Sophia to come to door and knock. So it did not cause more distress.

When I told Leroy about it he said, “I bet you will be out there tomorrow.”

He knows. Brian left his watch with the alarm set, I set the alarm on my new phone, and I have once again set the timer. I made sure the timer will go off ahead of time. No serious book reading for this person today. In the morning I had both the watch and the phone alarm set. The phone rang first. So we were out there in plenty of time, but that was true yesterday in the morning, I just thought the bus had come early.

This morning I looked out in the backyard to see a beautifully white squirrel dashing around the trees and bushes. It was a great experience for the current visual and for the memories it brought forth of when we lived in St. Paul while Leroy was at seminary. There was a white squirrel in our yard there and I so enjoyed looking at it. That was a time of life filled with new experiences. Now I suppose I could say that my life is still filled with new experiences. At least it changes frequently.

How many alarms should I set tomorrow?

Paula

Exciting Morning

Hello,

Sophia and I delivered Logan to his pre-school. On that short trip I had to tell two stories. I am both pleased and pressured that all my grandchildren want to hear stories about my growing up or of their parents’ formative years. It is a challenge to come up with new stories so I do repeat, but have no compunction about telling them I have run out of new. From time to time I remember something, but that does not happen so often because I have told a lot of stories.

Once we were back home Sophia had a bit of time before the bus would come. I set the timer so we would not forget. Jen was home yesterday to be in charge of all this so I knew the routine.

I was not sure if the bus was to come at 8:10 or we should be out there at 8:10. I asked at 8:00 about that. Sophia said she should be out there. We were down in the mud room getting coats etc. on when I heard the sound of a motor belonging to something larger than a car. I glanced out the high window and noticed flashing lights. “The bus is here,” I stated with an edge of panic.

I popped into the garage, pressed the button for the door to go up, thinking that Jen had said the bus would not even stop if the student were not out, and wondered how the door could be so slow. Sophia hurriedly got her backpack on, carrying her gloves, and her coat flying open. As the door got high enough we both burst into laughter! It was the garbage truck and not the bus. I had a vision of Sophia being picked up and taken to school in a new fashion.

We were in plenty of time for Sophia to zip her coat and put her gloves in her bag. The bus came at the right time and Sophia climbed on the normal way.

I sighed with relief, came in, got out my devotions and settled into a more contemplative mode. After a bit I heard a bell ring downstairs. Brian had told me that the alarm was on in Logan’s room, but he said, “I will turn it off.” So I ignored it. In a bit I heard that bell once more. Later I was downstairs getting ready to run an errand for Brian when I heard it once more in Logan’s room. I could not see how the alarm was set on this clock, but pushed two buttons anyway thinking it could not hurt. Before I left the room I once again heard that bell and realized it was not coming from the clock, but from the bag holding my new phone. When I opened my flip phone I was pleased to see a welcome message. My phone now works. I had understood that I would have to turn it on myself, but it was on without my help. Who knew that could be done remotely?  I am pleased. The only problem is that I have to enter my contacts myself. I can put in Leroy and Brian and any other family members Brian has on his home phone. Life feels like it is stable once more. I wish I could transport Leroy’s phone to him through the air, but it will have to wait and go home with me on Thursday or Friday.

Paula

Losing my Phone

Hello,

My phone battery was getting very low so it seemed like a good idea to take the charger to work and charge it there. However at work I could not find my phone, only the charging cord. surely my phone would be at home. When i looked it was not in the usual spot. leroy said he too had noticed it was gone. I did some searching around the apartment and found it not. I tried calling it, but it immediately went to voice mail so for sure the battery was now dead. Leroy searched as well. He also found nothing. I was thinking about my trip to MN tomorrow and wanted to have a phone with me. Leroy and I looked in the car and in the garage before going back to Ely.  We took a flashlight and shined it where I had parked, where I walked and then searched inside the library. I had thought I might get a smart phone for my next purchase, but now I wanted a phone fast so I just got another cheap one that I will probably keep for years because it still works.

I am not sure what has happened with my phone records but they tell me that the name recorded for my mother’s maiden name is not the one I am telling them. Neither is my maiden name or Leroy’s mother’s. Beyond that I do not know what to say. I guess they believed me although it took a while to find an email that matched the records with my lost phone. I was able, after two attempts, to use the right zip code for it.  Because we have moved so much it is a hard task to guess which zip code they have. Several years ago we made a card in our address box that has former addresses and phone numbers on it. It is a very handy help.

My new phone still has not started to work so I will probably have to call them again. They did talk about it taking two business days so I will tackle this tomorrow. I have recorded when i have talked to someone as well as theaca name and the ticket number. It is stressful, but I keep telling myself that in terms of all of life it is a small thing.

In the meantime I have Leroy’s phone so he is without for the week. He told me that he would rather I have a phone while traveling. So far no one has tied to call him.  He did, however have something scheduled so it sang to me on the trip up. I can not focus on it while driving. I was able to stope it from singing, but it came back two more times before it was silenced.

Paula

Oh, That Leroy

Hello,

I wanted to tell a tale about Leroy. I asked him if I could write about it and he thinks it is too embarrassing. Personally I think it puts him squarely in the absentminded professor territory even though I have never heard of anyone do this particular thing. It also made me think about how I can start on a task, see something else that needs to be done, start on the new task, and several mini jobs later realize that I never finished the first thing. It seems to me that happens more frequently as I have grown wiser, not older, but wiser.

Surprise, surprise, I did find two birthday gifts for Leroy while I was shopping this morning. One was purchases at Goodwill, but it seems to be new. At least it was snuggled deeply in the original box. Two of the workers there commented that they would like to buy it for themselves, but they are not allowed to buy things from the store where they work.

The other I got in a regular store, but it was on sale about 50% off. Just the way I like it. Leroy did give me a suggestion for a gift for him. Unfortunately I did not write it down so I spent quite a lot of time wondering just what it was. Oh well another day. He also suggested that I get him some winter boots that might be on clearance at our favorite shoe store in St. Paul. I will be going to the Twin Cities on Sunday. The only problem is that Leroy’s feet are often not happy in a shoe even if it is the size he frequently wears. The boots like he likes are not very often in the stores. I believe that even men’s styles do change. Apparently the last time we were in that store he did see some that he wanted, but they were regular price and that was a bit more than he considered paying. So maybe I will find them. We can always send them back to the store if they do not fit. I have done that before.

Paula

Gifts for Leroy

 Hello,

This is true confession or at least as far I can go with it.  I was just going over our expenditures for December and thought about what I had given Leroy for Christmas. Oh no, now I realized that he has a birthday coming February 3 and I have not thought about that at all. Poor Leroy! Perhaps he is married to the only female in the USA who is not especially into buying gifts and marking special days.

What I got Leroy for Christmas was two pair of light weight wool socks because I found them on a good sale. I got two for myself as well. He does like those socks and wears them to work where the temperatures are kept low for preservation of the books. He tells me it is great to have them. It helps so he does not get too preserved.

I also gave him a can opener because he was talking about buying one for me. I did not want a can opener even though I am all for the practical gift. Funds were limited when I grew up and gifts were often a practical item extravagance. For example I remember my mother getting a pop up toaster. That was a wonderful present. We had a toaster, but one needed to keep an eye and a nose aimed toward it because if left to its own devices it would burn the toast. The doors needed to be opened and the toast flipped. My non swearing mother swore a bit at that machine. So, we had had a toaster that worked, but it was not as freeing as the pop up variety.

I thought our can opener still worked even if a bit hard to turn. Leroy, however, grumbled when he washed dishes and cut his hand on the sharp edges of the cans to be recycled. He was quite surprised to get this gift. I am not sure about the pleased feeling, but he accepted it. Now I will have to say that I like the new no sharp edges can opener very well. Perhaps it should have been a gift for me.

Leroy likes to open many things. What else to get? I saw some special soap on sale. But it was still too expense for my standard so I got him some other cheaper regular soap. That was a joke, but he did not laugh much just wondered what it was all about.

I did get him a blue ray player which he has wanted for some time. He was quite happy with that. So I was redeemed, but what will I do for his birthday? Let him use my tablet for a month? I will have to think about this for some days. Next week I will be out of town so much thinking time there as I babysit for Brian’s children. I did also give him all the candy, most of it had chocolate which I do not eat, that I had been given for Christmas.

So I think he was satisfied with what I managed to think of.

Paula

A Change

Hello,

I woke this morning at 5:25 am. I was alert enough to get out of bed, grab a jacket, uncover the heat in the computer room, sit down, and start writing three stream of conscious pages in my journal. That felt good. I was even able to read short pieces in two books that I like to connect with. All of this before Leroy woke up and wondered why there was a light on in this room.

Maybe I can do that again tomorrow. I have not walked today, but I did do about 45 minutes of Tai Chi, but then I do that every Tuesday morning when I am home. Now if I could just practice between times I could improve my memory of the form.

I have been reading an interesting book called “Breakfast with Budda” by Roland Merullo. It causes me to think about many things spiritual. It is not an action, mystery, romance or science fiction so it might not appeal to some of you. At church I am participating in a four week class on forgiveness. That also gives some things to think about. My mind is busy even if my body is not so much.

Leroy and I both like the pumpkin/molasses bread that I made. I wish all experimental projects could all turn out so good. I am using up things in the freezer; the back wall is even visible in a few places. Leroy is sure that I will not know how to cook when I have used all of the greens in there. It will be a sad day. I even found some rhubarb in the back that had been hidden. Sarah is planning to come with her girls for their spring break. Rhubarb just might be the treat we all need.

When Sarah’s girls were here we saw some geese fly over in a sloppy v formation. I pointed out the formation but these little perfectionists did not really think it was a v. This morning I saw the perfect v of geese go over. Where were those birds when new people could see them?

Paula

Runners

Hello,

On the walk to church this morning we met five runners and could see two more in the distance. Then there was the couple in running gear at the gas station with dog in tow. Or perhaps the little dog was towing them. They had gotten a coffee or some drink so perhaps the gear did not indicate running. At the moment there was no forward movement. Running report was just gleamed from circumstantial evidence.

On the way home there were again runners greeting us. Later in the afternoon I glanced out the window and spotted three more runners. Oh, I should get out there. But I did walk two miles. For some reason I am not getting much exercising done on a daily basis. In the past I have had regularly scheduled times and that made it all happen. Now I put it on my “to do” list but it seems not to get done. Too often at the end of the day it is still waiting to be crossed off.

I have cooked a small pumpkin today and made some pumpkin bread that has variations to it. It has some coconut oil as the shortening, along with molasses instead of sugar. I reduced both of those items from the recipe. Then there is the addition of some cranberries. We will eat it even if it does not taste as fine as it could. Hope is abounding that we will be impressed.

I looked at a website for a shoe company. They even talked about Morton’s Neuroma. The one thing that is a little bothersome was that they do not make half sizes. The instructions are to go with the smaller size. Trying on before buying would appear to be beneficial.

Maybe then I could run once again if I had the right shoes. Walking if I do it often enough will be the perfect answer.

Paula

Poinsettias

Hello,

I am getting a reputation at church as being the person who will save poinsettias. I never said a word to anyone this year, but last Monday Leroy called home to tell me, “They are getting rid of the distressed poinsettias and wondered if you would want them.”

Course I took them because they have a lot of life left in them. Also, I did not want to think of them being tossed on the compost heap at this time in their lives. I now have seven reds massed together on my living room floor next to the peace lily. Apparently there are a few more that I will get this Monday. All of the white ones are going to go to a different home. Last year I still had red leaves in June. They all spent the summer outside growing and expanding under the sun and the warmth of my admiration and affection. I felt a small twinge of guilt when I let the frost have them. But I do not have room for the large plants they had become.

A friend was going through pictures and sent me a picture of our family of five. Leroy and I do not know the year it was taken, but we think we must have lived in Ely because Sarah was in 4^th grade when we moved there, Brian in 1^st, and Miriam was four. All the children look older than that.

I put that picture as the desktop background on the laptop. The only problem was that it covers the entire screen. I used to know how to make it just in the center. I liked to do that because then the icons were just around it and not on it. Now Brian was covered with icons. Ironically two of them were squarely over his eyes. With much thought and perhaps a little carelessness I put many icons in the trash or in another folder until I brought Brian into the picture with the rest of us. I have posted that picture on social media, but I know that some of you do not participate in that so I am attaching it to this letter for you to enjoy also. Surely you will enjoy? Those of you who do not know our children personally can tell who is who by knowing that Sarah is older than Miriam.

Paula

Leroy's Days Off

Hello,

Leroy goes from a week where he does not have a complete day off to one that has two and a half days in a row. It all takes some adjustment and flexibility. Luckily the full time parish job in his earlier life has prepared him for such variations in schedule. I think I learned in that past life as well. I do not pay so much attention, but I do ask if he will be around or not.

Leroy did some hospital calling this morning and then he was free to hang out. We went shopping and it was a good thing for him because he found a bargain on pant hangers at the second hand store where we were looking at the possibility of curtains or curtain rods in our bedroom. We have blinds in there, but I am hard on them as I like to put them up each day. They do not last long with my strong hand on them. I thought curtains might be able to outlast me. We will see what we can find.

We also looked for thumb tacks. One store had a pkg. of 300 for one dollar. Another had 200 for two dollars. Neither is so much money, but I only wanted two of these tacks. I refused to deal with 298 or 198 of them when I was done. Leroy had looked at home and located none. This afternoon I looked in a place Leroy had not thought of and found six. I am grateful that we did not buy those extras.

I have had steel cut oats in the past but my source had too much hull in it, so I quit purchasing it. I bought some once more, but am not very successful in cooking it. I tried the crock pot, but it was quite dry in the morning and much stuck to the pot. Then I tried soaking it over night and cooking in the microwave that worked, but seemed a lot of trotting back and forth. Then I tried in the pan on the stove, but did not closely read the directions and boiled it over three times more than I wanted to. I will try that again and leave the lid off as instructed. Do you think that will help? The directions might be good.

Paula

At Work Yesterday

Hello,

Before I talk about work yesterday I will let you know that that puzzle vase can be found at “uncommongoods” on the internet. Also there really are some beautiful red roses in that vase, I am not imagining it.

Yesterday at the library, I was calling a patron to let them know that a book they had on hold had been returned. Their phone rang and rang. In the meantime a repeat patron came in to use the computer. He wanted an hour of time rather than the default 30 minutes. Holding the phone to my ear I gave him a pin and told him I would change the time. The phone is ringing and ringing.

Clicking on my computer I saw that the current display was so large that I could not see the icons at the bottom of the screen. I moved the mouse around searching for a way to make it smaller. In the meantime the patron did not realize that he must wait for me to change the time, so he informed me that the pin did not work. I told him that I could not find the program. Then I started talking about where my usual display had disappeared. At that moment my boss returned and asked, “Do you know you have the phone by your ear and you are not talking to it?”

At that point I realized the answering service had come on a while back and I had not responded. I burst out laughing and hung up. She started to help me get to the program we wanted. The man is once again telling us that he cannot access the computer. My boss told him we were trying. All at once I remembered that F11 might make the display not cover the entire screen and it worked. Life returned to normal.

I got the mail and my boss left again. I got the magazines ready to be entered into the catalog. One of them was in its plastic protector. I pulled on that, but it did not open easily. Giving a strong yank it split open, the magazine came out hitting me in the nose. In a matter of seconds I felt fluid coming out my nose. Sure enough I had a nose bleed. Just then my boss phoned, “Do you miss me already?”

“Yes,” I stated, “I have a bloody nose.”

Again we had a good laugh. I think I could be called the entertaining employee of the year.

Paula

Pictures

Hello,

The amazing vase now has five red varying height tight bud roses resting in the out of sight cup. I could take a picture for you, but do not want to expend my time in that manner. It is too many steps for this moment. I would get out the camera, choose a clean uncluttered background, take at least two shots, determine the best, take the chip out of the camera, put chip in computer, download the pictures, note the number, and attach it to the letter. I suppose it is not really that much work, but I just do not want to be bothered right now. Use your expansive imaginations. I know they work in a matter of seconds. I know, I know some of you would use your smart phone, but…

Leroy did bring home the family picture grouping last night. It is hanging in the kitchen where we can enjoy it at all meals. Last night I would have said there was no glare, but this morning with the sun outside I do see some, but it something that I can live with. This museum glass does not magnify the light, but just allows it to exist in the smallest of ways.

I asked Leroy, you know that guy Leroy who works in a museum now, “Museums do not have windows in their art exhibit areas?”

His emphatic response, “No they do not. They have very controlled lighting.”

My home is not so controlled and I love the windows which allow the sun to shine or give us light in every room.

Speaking of pictures, in my Yahoo email account there is now a picture of someone posing as me. When I to write to my other accounts that have my name clearly associated with them, this picture comes up. It is of a woman who might be in her thirties with dark straight hair. She is fairly attractive, but I have never had such chin length straight hair. Where did she come from? I do not recognize her and neither does Leroy. By googling my name I know there is another Paula Bradway, but I think she lives on the East coast of the USA. How did this happen?

Paula

Amazing Vase

Hello,

Last night I told Leroy I would like to have a date with him to put together the puzzle vase that I received as a Christmas gift. I really wanted some hand holding as this vase looked a little daunting on the box in spite of the fact that an eight year old was supposed to be able to put it together. The end result is a three dimensional object that will hold water and cut flowers.

The water makes sense because a cup or cylinder was included in the box. The rest I was not so sure about. We opened up the packages took out a stand, the cup, a ring for the top, a ring for the bottom, and 160 pieces. It was easy to sort out the pieces that were the top as they had a straight edge. The bottom ring was also not hidden because they had little locking grooves in them. After that it appeared quite a mystery as there were many colors of flowering plants on the vase along with some birds and, oh no, white space. It was not long before we realized that the back of the pieces had a number and an orientation arrow.

Leroy almost immediately started looking for the next number. I stayed with the idea of the color and shape, but gradually shifted to looking for the number. Then Leroy sorted the numbers in groups of ten. I asked him to then leave them picture side showing. That worked for awhile. I tried to not feel that I was cheating if I looked at the back. After a bit I asked him to orientate the pieces. He mostly did that, but did not always seem to get it right.

It was tricky to put the pieces on. Certainly working in order helped them to stay in place. Some were so hard to snap in that I had to have Leroy do that. Once in a while some of them would fall out. We got the job done with two people aged 67 and 65 working steadily for an hour or a little more. It looks great.

Paula

Leroy's Bike

Hello,

Leroy has just now started the process for getting some insurance money to cover the cost of his stolen bike. One of the first questions that the insurance agent asked was, “When was it stolen?”

Neither Leroy nor I knew, but we could narrow it down a little. Leroy knew the time, but not the date. The agent looked through his records and could not find it. Luckily we have good police records in this town. A phone call resulted in an answer in a short time.

Leroy also had the receipts for the bike and many of the extras such as the rack on the bike as they wanted to know about the cost of those items as well. It will not be a big check when it comes as the deductable will be most of it, but it will contribute to the cost of a new bike.

Insurance claims are new territory for me. Oh wait, I just remembered that we did claim it when Leroy slid on the ice and damaged the car. We have been fortunate. Guess all those payments are now coming back to us a little.

I learned from what Leroy told the agent that someone in the building next door had seen the perpetrator walk up, take out a cutter, and get away with the bike. That person called the church right away, but of course the slippery thief was already gone before anyone could react any more. That person who called knew that Leroy (owner of the bike) was going into the church all the time. Probably the robber was also aware of the habit. Leroy tells me that he had told me someone had seen the robbery happen, but I do not remember.

Today I saw a squirrel jump from the tree to the peak of the garage roof where it slid about on the snow before gaining its balance. Daring squirrels!

Paula

Changes

Hello,

I had thought to take the family pictures, from 2009 away from the mat and put them in an album, but when I got home I realized I was not ready to do that. I moved some things in the spare, or Leroy’s bedroom, around I hung that mat up with no frame or glass on it. I like it. I seldom redecorate. Usually, once things are on the wall they stay there until we move. It is called Leroy’s bedroom because he often takes naps there and he has his clothes and stamp collection in that room. I do not spend much time there. Especially not looking in his drawers as his folding standard is different from mine.

One of the things I moved today is a wooden form of a dove with the word Jesus in it. The word is like optical illusion. I realized today that we had it backwards so no wonder I could not see Jesus. Now Jesus is looking down on a print that we bought at an art museum in Germany. The museum was getting rid of some things and it was only two Euros. I am not sure that I like this picture of two rather maudlin people. I guess we bought it because we could. The woman has a cigarette between her fingers and there is a bottle of some type of liquor to the side. All in all it is quite a dark and brooding scene. I wonder if Jesus likes looking at it.

I made a list today and followed almost all of it. I did not take a walk, but I took longer shoveling off the blown in snow. I figured that counted. Also did not yoga or tai chi which were also on my “to do” list. Otherwise I crossed off everything. The house has been dusted and vacuumed everywhere. A feeling of satisfaction comes over me.

I also completed a novel that was not too serious, but I cried at the end. It is The Art of Arranging Flowers. I cannot remember the author’s name. Just before supper, while Leroy took a nap I finished looking at a magazine. It is so great to finish things.

Paula

Weather

Hello,

This morning Leroy misread the weather prediction, not noticing one small negative sign. Consequently he mixed up his highs and his lows. He said, “It is zero and will get to thirteen, I can easily walk.”

As a result he wore his lighter weight hat and face mask for his walk to church. It was three degrees rather than the balmy thirteen he was expecting when he walked home with a strong wind blowing in around his face. He had a bad headache when he got home for lunch. He compared it to an ice cream headache only maybe worse. He had to sit with his eyes closed for at least five minutes.

Earlier I had also been surprised by the coldness when I went out, however I just shoveled the drifted snow off the sidewalk, walked into the garage, and got in the car which is quite effective at blocking the wind for me.

When I bought the down coat I wondered if I would use it. Since it has gotten colder I have used it every day and been grateful for it. It had seemed quite warm, but now I find that I love having my wool sweaters under it if I am out very long. And wool socks are worn by both of us. I washed a load which included the wool socks today and was surprised at how many were there. Love those sheep contributions to my life!

Leroy and I took the picture back this afternoon only to have the lint thread disappear by the time we got in the store. I suppose it fell down to the bottom with the movement. I did decide to get museum glass and hang the expense. It seems that I am buying happiness because I am unhappy now and hope to be happier later when I see the new result.

I found a Chia hello kitty planter left over from Christmas. It was 90% off. I figure I will enjoy that. Do you think we can eat it when it grows?

Going back to the weather, it states that we are colder than Brian is in St. Paul. Perhaps we should move north?

Paula

New Framing

Hello,

Six months later we now have our family picture hanging in the kitchen. We had those photos taken back in July. It was a long time before we even saw the pictures. After that it was a question of choosing them. Miriam told me she would be happy to have them printed at the cheapest place in Utah. That worked out well although it took several trips to the store. By the way, we had to crop and adjust color on our own. Andy even helped photo shop (Is photo shop the proper expression?) out something in the background that made it look as if Miriam had a giant bow on her head. He tried to open my eyes, but was unsuccessful at doing that. I decided that was ok as I was mostly interested in the other people’s appearance. As it was the sun and my myopic solving glasses did away with much of my eyes.

After I took the pictures home from Utah I noticed that I had not properly protected them and three of them were slightly bent. At Christmas time I got replacements from Miriam. She tells me that she picked them up on the way to the airport. Seems to me that is leaving it to the last minute. At least now they all looked good. Oh no, when I got the framer one of the bent photos had not been replaced or I somehow misplaced it. It did not look so noticeable so I just let it go.

Today I went to pick up the frame. This was the same arrangement that we had before so we were just replacing the pictures and having a new mat put in. It looked good. It consists of one 8 x10 of the entire group surrounded by various poses.

At the store the woman asked if I wanted to drive up and they would hand me the picture. I said, “That is ok as I have parked close.”

As soon as I stepped out of the door I was struggling with the wind for control of the 2 foot by 3 foot frame. I had put up my hood, slid on my gloves, and retrieved my car keys before leaving the building. But the wind wanted my hood too. So I turned my body in an odd posture.

A young man walked past and said, “Do you need help?”

Silly independent me said, “No thanks, I am fine.”

At the car, however, I wished that I had allowed him that small assistance. In order to open the car door, after unlocking with the key fob, I had to balance my foot on the car wheel rim that has a nice slot for just such a purpose? Then the picture was balanced on my knee as I let loose with one hand and opened the door about two inches. The next step was to grab the picture with both hands, pick up my big foot, stick in the small door opening and bring it back toward myself. I moved the picture in and on the back seat. As I was letting go I realized that my key scratched along the top of the frame. At home after removing the plastic covering I found that the plastic took the beating and the frame was fine.

Now I see a piece of lint under the glass. The person at the store had said it was under the plastic and not under the glass. I am also bothered because the glass is glaring. It did not before with the other pictures. I think I had gotten non-glare glass. What happened?

I will have to take this picture back. I dislike dealing with this type of thing, but it will wait for a day when Leroy can help me as doors are definitely a problem. Thanks to my landlord who saw me when I came home and opened all house doors for me. That was certainly the best deal.

Paula

Creeping home

Hello,

Blessed Epiphany to you. During this time find God working in new ways in your life. Leroy packed our Epiphany star with the Christmas things because he did not want to bother going back into those boxes later. However he did not win as we found an additional Christmas item that we had overlooked when packing up. Maybe that item will just go in its own carefully labeled box.

Last night I crept home through the serious snow fall, at the maximum speed of 35 mph. gratefully there was no slipping except once starting at a stop light. Every driver liked my speed so I did not have to concern myself with anyone anxious behind me. Amazingly I was prepared to go a little faster on the Interstate than some others although I was quite happy with the speed around the notorious “S” curve.

All of the way home I kept trying to send Leroy mental messages. I had called him before I left. Was that so he could worry if I had any trouble? My mental message was that he should shovel off the apron by the garage so I could glide in with ease as I negotiated the curve leading up to it. I, perhaps unfairly, felt angry when I saw the blanket of undisturbed snow covering that little incline. He tells me that he did not think of it. I told him to sharpen his ESP skills.

I just stopped the car across the way, opened the garage door, got out the shovel, and went to work. At least I can do that. By the time I saw Leroy I had shoveled out my disgust with him.

Oh by the way, I now understand that it is a wattle on my neck. You know me and spelling. I guess I could just think about my wattle waddling.

Paula

Technology

Hello,

New technology is always surprising and amazing me. As a birthday gift, my children and husband gave me a tablet/keyboard combination. They surprised me as we are generally low key for birthdays. Just a little thing I thought of I, alone, in the family am often with family for my birthday because of that Christmas birthday. But they knew we had been looking at tablets and Leroy will also use it, perhaps more than I will, especially in the beginning. For example when we got the laptop I did not use it, but once I started I almost never put a finger on the desk top.

Sarah and her girls were checking out the tablet camera feature. They took a few pictures of themselves. I decided since it was my device I should get in a picture too. Click and the picture appeared on the screen. Amazing! This technology switched out my picture for someone else. The person almost looked like me but with some significant differences. The first big difference was that her neck had what could politely be called an almost waddle. Oh, my, where did they get this picture and how did they change it so fast, in the blink of an eye? A few strong facial wrinkles next caught and held my attention. When I rolled my eyes up I noticed graying and thinning hair. Maybe I will look like this in about 10 or 20 years, but surely not now.

I will have to say that new technology is nice, but people who can create such advances should think about making people look younger not older. In our youth loving culture they would certainly sell a lot more products. Now my task is to find myself and put me back in the picture as I really look. Do you think I can solve this problem? For some reason I was the only changed one. Sarah and her girls looked just like they always do, beautiful!

Paula

Alone

Hello,

Leroy and I are now adjusting to the two of us living in one place without others. It is an easy adjustment. Not as fun and exciting, but easy to slip into the known routines. Quiet! Leroy and I are rather staid and set in our ways.

It was great once again to see all of our children in the same place at the same time. One of the granddaughters told me in a little aside that it was great to be with her cousins, making my heart swell. I have often wondered if they would get along since they see each other so seldom. All seemed to go well.

The day after Christmas, Sarah and her girls headed to Iowa with us in a full, but not totally stuffed car.

I wondered briefly if I should have planned something to do for these seven days that were stretching ahead of us. Planning is not my forte in life; I would rather just go along for the ride. Leroy seems to plan well at work, but apparently he uses up his quota so nothing much gets planed for home. Complimenting each other would be a better deal, but we work with what we get.

Going back to the week that was, it went so rapidly that I can hardly tell you what happened. No child mentioned being bored very often. There were libraries to go to, books to read, pictures to create, walks to take (even though it was quite cool), and movies to watch.

Laughter, tickling, yoga, and games all happened to create some interest. Sarah even had a little time to visit with some of her high school classmates.

Paula