Walking in the Cold

Hello,

This morning Leroy had mostly a froggy voice along with a cough. I convinced him, with little effort, to stay home. He wondered, “I did not know if I could handle the walk to church.”

I did go out about an hour before my leaving time to shovel the bit of snow that had fallen since we last shoveled yesterday. This was to test my ability to handle the walk in the sub zero temperatures. It was a low wind day and the sun was starting to come out so I thought it would be fine.

I will admit that when it is so cold I would like company just in case. The main streets with a few open gas stations seemed like a good choice. It was a fast walk even though many people had not gotten up that last bit of snow. Because of the cold it was not slippery.

I was warmly dressed with a t-neck shirt, sweater, wool socks, wind breaker pants over my fairly warm slacks, a hat, three scarves along with a warm coat and gloves. My face was the only exposed part of my body. I was even so warm that when I got to church I had to remove my sweater which I might have normally worn indoors.

We are pleased with our weather station even if we have not figured out how to connect to our mobile devices. The directions stated that we could include family and friends. Our downstairs friends also could not get it connected for themselves. Maybe on a business day we can finish the job with assistance from a human being. As it is it seems to be connected to some unknown network because it is giving us the forecast, we just do not know what network it found. I like being able to see the outdoor temperature while indoors. Yeah for technology!

Paula

Traveling to Salt Lake

Traveling to Salt Lake

December 30, 2017

Hello,

Our travels to SLC started off smoothly. I encouraged Leroy to go to the bus stop earlier than needed because I did not want to miss it. We were there at least 15 minutes ahead of time which was nice to wait in the fine weather. I thought it was interesting that almost everyone on the bus had a smart phone. We are seriously getting behind the cultural norm. Leroy corrected that by buying an older IPhone. Hopefully this phone will be the perfect one just for him.

I was pleased to see the bus had a number of people on it. That helps to keep the routes up and the cost down. The transfer bus to the airport was not so populated. The bus driver had asked Leroy, who had a suitcase, if he were going to the bus station or the airport. There was another woman who asked if she was getting on the bus to the airport. When we got to the airport I talked about pulling the bell to alert the driver that we wanted to get off. Leroy did not think that was necessary. In a bit the driver had gone past the stop. I pulled the bell and he exclaimed, “I forgot!” as he pulled up to another door at the airport.

On the plane we were set to get started when the pilot said something was not functioning and he needed to restart some part of the equipment as he thought it was the computer that needed a little encouragement. Then after that was good we went out to the runway to take off when the pilot again came on and told us there was no place to park at Denver since we did not leave on time so we had to wait for another open gate. I was pleased that we did not wait very long and we were able to catch our connecting flight by walking rapidly, using the airport tram, and walking rapidly once more.

At SLC we called Miriam to let her know that we were on the ground and we would get on the train there. She told us she was doing a job only about five minutes away and she would pick us up. It all worked out just fine.

Paula

Traveling Day

Hello,

I do not know about you, but I am always just a little on edge the night before we travel, wondering if it will all go as planned. At midnight when I had finally managed to put aside anxieties about how the next day would go, I got a text message startling me awake. Oh no, the text was from the airline informing me that our flight was delayed for four hours. If I was remembering times correctly, I suspected that meant we would miss our connecting flight in Denver. After a bit I just thought that if we had to spend the night there, I would contact my friend to see if she was available so we could visit. Sleep was much more elusive after that. In the morning I was sleeping deeply when Miriam came rushing in to tell me that I should get up.

I explained the situation. Leroy, also having sleep issues, was up reading. We tried to check the website, but could not learn anything there. Andy and Miriam said, “You must call.”

We found a number that led to an automation answer that told us, “You will fly on another flight that was leaving two hours earlier than your delayed flight.”

That meant that we had some time, and we could catch our connecting flight. We got ready ahead of time so the girls played a card game with us. That was good for me as it helped calm me down. I was quite surprised that we even had seats together on the first flight where we had not been previously scheduled. Happy, happy me! We did not sit together on the second flight because we had gotten an economy fare and we were both in middle seats. That was fine as we each had reading material.

Going later meant that Miriam could take us to the train station so we did not have to drive one of their cars there and leave the keys in it. I did not feel so comfortable about doing that.

Temperatures were 30-40 F when we left Salt Lake and about 5 F when we got to Cedar Rapids. We stayed in the airport looking for the bus out the window and just ran out at the last minute. Later, waiting in the bus station for our connecting bus, one of the congregants walked though and offered us a ride home as it was on her way. Traveling was smooth and easy. Why do I waste any time or energy fussing in my mind when it often turns out well, maybe even better than planned?

Paula

In Utah

Hello

Yesterday afternoon it started to snow. After the evening meal there was enough that had not melted. It had been quite warm and the ground was still temperate when it started coming. It enticed the children to come play in it. Leroy and Andy’s dad spent some time shoveling. Since I did not want to be left out I went out to help shovel, but I did not bring boots so stayed strictly on the sidewalk. Because they were done here, I went across the street with the kids and shoveled over there. It was an interesting phenomenon. On the sidewalk area the snow packed together and was even a bit heavy to get off the shovel. However, over the grassy areas it was quite a bit drier and did not pack well enough to make a snow animal except for the smallest variety.

This family had books due at the library so Leroy, the girls and I walked to the library. In the middle of the night I had remembered that Leroy had brought his hiking boots which are water proof as well as some boots. I wore his boots and he wore the hiking shoes when we walked the blocks to the library. The girls were quite excited about the wonderful, large, pristine expanse of snow in the front and in the back of the library. Leroy and I just walked on some dry sidewalk while they played in the snow. We did not give them too much time as I had to go to the bathroom and Leroy was getting quite hungry.

On the walk home there was much talk about how wonderful the snow is and what a great thing that we were here for it. Blessed indeed. Both Leroy and I grew up in places that had an abundance of great sledding hills. Even though the mountains are close, here in the valley it is flat, flat, flat. But it did not stop good times as they created their own idea of what to do.

I must recapture the art of playing in the snow. Snow angels and fox and geese games along with building snow creatures should do the trick.

Paula

My Haircut

My Haircut

December 17, 2017

Hello,

Some of you asked to see my haircut. This morning Leroy took two pictures one of which I posted on FB. I did not post the second picture because it was mostly a duplicate, but it was closer to me and showed more wrinkles and cords in my neck.  I chose the vanity shot because of course, I look better. Here is the picture so you can also check it out.

I decided to include both because if you were to see me in person you could note all details, so no hiding.

Two more people complimented me on my hair this morning in church. One of them talked at length about how lucky I was to get a haircut and just have almost the same look because of my curly hair. I did not tell her about how few times I comb my hair. Also a hairdresser once told me that if I forgot a comb I could just bend over, run my fingers through my hair, stand up and it would almost fall into place. I have been known to do that more than one time in my life and I bless that woman for her good advice.

The adult choir sang quite a lot in church this morning. There were only six sopranos and the two strongest voices were missing. We had a hard time singing over the 25-30 others who were all singing enthusiastically.

This afternoon Leroy and I will once again walk to church, easy 10,000 step day, to sing with the children for their program. This will be the first time we have been to the children’s program since we have joined this church. I guess both of us have enjoyed not needing to go to all church activities which was not the case for the 30 years Leroy was the solo pastor. Generally we did like attending everything, We probably would have been there anyway, but once in a while it would have been nice to stay home or do something else.

Paula

Tourists or Not

Hello,

Leroy and I had planned to go to a town about an hour or hour and a half drive away to go to an art exhibit. Leroy was not so peppy when we got up, complaining a little about his voice. The drive had not seemed so interesting to me. I suggested that we might like to stay home and go some other time in January.

I had a time set up to help another person apply for an action grant from that insurance company. She came and we got the job done. Hopefully her application will be approved.

After that Leroy and our downstairs responsible guy, set about changing the nonfunctioning outlet in the kitchen. It all took a few trips up and down stairs to make sure that the proper wires were no longer live and capable of causing shocks. At one point Leroy thought it was all done only to discover that the kitchen light could not be turned off. A second attempt locked it all down in the proper place. I was happy that both guys were unscathed from this experience.

When lunch was over we went out to do a little shopping. One purchase was a thermometer which as near as I can tell, records only wrong temperatures. Sigh, a return is in the future. From there we took some things to Goodwill. I was looking for some glass contains were lids that sealed. No luck on that score, but Leroy found a bike rack for the great low price of less than four dollars. The rational was that if it did not work on our car it was not much money gone. Leroy reported that it took some thought and figuring, but it works. Our old one which we bought years ago for much, much more money no longer works because one of the cords broke. Replacement is good.

Now if we could just find the right thermometer for our lives we would be all set.

Paula

Haircut

Hello,

I got a hair cut on Wednesday. When the stylist was finished, she had me look in the mirror to see if it was good. “I would like a little more off, especially at the back and bottom.” I rather flippantly replied.

She got to work and took off some more length. When I looked, all I could think was, “It does not look like me.”

I feel the same every time I see me in the mirror; consequently I am not looking in the mirror very much.

I had spoken with Nora before my haircut. She said, “Don’t get you nice curls cut off.”

With great assurance I stated, “I would not do that.”

Well, they are almost gone.

When I have gone out, many people have noticed my haircut and said it is good. But in my head I am thinking, “What else would they say when they cannot miss the fact that I have a haircut. At least I have never said, What a terrible haircut to anyone else.”

However today someone I had not met before complimented me on my hair, so perhaps it is better than I realize. I will admit that it does not frizz, course some of that is because of the lack of humidity, so not much curl either.

Leroy said it looks more like the cuts I used to get. Definitely shorter than I am used to now.

Paula

500 Miles

Hello,

At the library I answer the phone, “Ely Public Library, Paula speaking.” On Monday the response from the caller was, “Send Malinda out. I am out front waiting for her.”

I glanced at the three people in the library at that moment. No one called Malinda seemed to be there. I hesitated before telling him that, as one of the people is not well known to me, so she could use a middle name Malinda that I had not heard before. I told him, “No one here has that name, but perhaps Bernice is the one you are looking for?”

He sighed and said, “I am in front of the Ely Nevada Library waiting for Malinda.”

I laughed and said, “I am in Ely, Iowa Library.”

He did not laugh, but commented, “It is only about 500 miles away.”

Looking up phone numbers on the internet puts Ely Public Library in Iowa at the head of the list for Ely, MN and Ely, NV. Technology is both a help and an interesting side trip for the unwary.

Now if I could just get my Christmas letter written, the maelstrom in my head would calm down. Maybe I should contact one of the other Ely Public Libraries to see if they have brilliant ideas about finishing the job. Some of you people are so good and I do not understand how you get the job done on time every year, but good for you. At least Leroy is not ahead of me although he is also talking about it.

Paula

Not a Drying Day

Hello,

I was excited when Leroy said that temps were in the 30’s and it was to be in the 40’s. Sounded like a great day to hang out clothes. I quickly got our sheets in the washer along with some other whites. They were on the line before the sun was fully up.

The sun put in an appearance for a short time before it hid behind the clouds. With almost no wind and dampness in the air, the clothes made little progress toward a sense of dryness. Because I am working this afternoon/evening, I realized I had to change plans. I brought in those partially dry things and hung them up on the racks. The note to Leroy hopefully will make sense so we have some dry bedding to get into when we are ready for it.

I am not sure why, but often my note or instruction to Leroy makes perfect sense to me, but he finds it totally baffling. How that can be I do not understand as I am surely numbered among the most logical, clear thinking people on earth. Does that mean that Leroy’s mind is a total muddle? Certainly that must be the case rather then that I am not precise.

For some reason I kept thinking we were returning from UT on the 26^th while Leroy thought it was on the 27^th. We had the info in our email and did not print it off. This morning we checked, Leroy was correct and I was a day early. I suppose it helped him to be more accurate because he was the one who booked the tickets. Or could my mind be a muddle? I was happy to read that the airline has gathered pilots for all but a few hundred flights during this season. Should I be hoping our flight is one with a pilot or not?

Paula

Singing

Hello,

I do like all of the singing that we do in choir, especially close to Christmas. It keeps me focused and breathing. Always after practice I feel lifted up and energized. This afternoon we did a lessons and carols service with another church. Leroy and I were almost late because we got half there and realized that we did not have our music. At least it was not miles and miles, but it still took some time to retrace our distance and come back once more. Someone asked if we had walked. We did not because it probably would have been about two and a half miles. I did not see anyone come in after we arrived. At least we did not miss the entire practice.

The service was very nice. I was happy to be there. Leroy seemed to like it as well, but we had to leave almost immediately after it was over because he wanted to eat something before he headed off for his night meeting. It is the last session so his Sunday night will be free until something else comes along to require that time.

I am fortunate I have the night off. I got the dishes washed as well as cleaning up some lettuce that I have over purchased the amount we need. We have been eating it a short step ahead of spoilage.

For lunch, I came home and cleaned up the rest of the broccoli that I had picked as well as some of the kale leaves. There is still quite a lot of that kale on the steps that lead up to the cool/cold attic. For now that is our root cellar. I am pleased to have produce from the garden at almost the middle of December. At this time the bugs have ceased to be a problem. Guess I should learn to grow more things in the winter time. One of my friends told me today that he has started lettuces and other greens in his cold frame. He expects to harvest in March. I do not want to plant yet, but it seems to me a cold frame would be a nice move to get some early greens. When we have more leisure we will work on that.

Paula

Old, Who Me?

Hello,

Today at work, a book salesman was showing his children’s book samples to those who will make the choices to buy or not to buy, when he took a break to get something letting the deciders confer. As he came past the desk where I was working he told a story that involved an elderly librarian of at least 65 or 70 years old. I was astonished that he was telling this to me in this way. But then I wondered, “Perhaps he has no idea that I will be 70 in just two and a half weeks.”

That is possibly the way it is even though people have generally thought that I am older than I actually am.

I also felt a twinge at labeling people who are 65 or old as elderly. I do not consider myself elderly even though I consider myself older. Interesting how it all changes and the term used makes a difference. In my view finder, people in their late 60’s or early 70’s used to be quite elderly, but now they are in the prime of life.

I do not know just how old this man is, but I thought he would be late 50’s or possibly even into his 60’s.

Maybe with age, I just look younger and younger. I do not believe that, and it does not matter. What is, is. I am just happy to be alive and well. I expect to be working for a bit of time yet.

Although Leroy commented last night after we went to bed and he was so tired, “I am getting ready to retire soon; at least one of my jobs is enough.”

If he only retires from one job and we stay longer, I will probably keep working as long as I feel like am doing a good job.

Paula

Bargains

Hello,

At a garage sale, last summer, Leroy found some sports/ski goggles. He got them to see if that would help him to ride the bike in cold weather without steaming up his glasses. He wore them this morning. He was so excited about it he had to call me when he got to work. “They worked! I could see just fine with no fog on my glasses. I should have had on warmer gloves, and warmer socks, but the rest was all good.”

Those functioning goggles are a bargain indeed as he paid just a small fraction of the original cost. On that same garage sale trip around the community, I found some glass storage containers that I have been using at least every week if not every day. The price differential is not as great, but the amount of use makes it all worth it.

On that trip we also got the water kettle which I have not really liked, but have used since then. It has been a good teacher showing me the features that I liked about my former water kettle. I consider it a cheap education. So am happy with my new water kettle even though we have not yet opened it. I am pleased with all that I see on the box although I do wonder about how far the lid opens.

It is all about that idea of one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Now if we could just figure out how to make the match all of the time there would be a lot less in our trash bins in this country.

Paula

No Dusting Here

Hello,

There was a time when I cleaned every Saturday because that is what mom did or rather mom had my sister and I do it when we became old enough. I still remember feeling a bit insulted that I was not considered good enough to clean downstairs. My sister was three years older and she got that prestigious position. My bother did not have to do any house work which also seemed unfair, but I do know that he did plenty of work outside even helping to milk cows before and after school while I was more of a free bird. Carolyn and I did have to feed the chickens, pick up eggs, and run the separator. However, I do not remember doing those chores all of the time.

For some reason I find Saturday cleaning much less demanding than I used to. Perhaps I can blame it on the mentality that occurs when we only stayed in a place for a year so it seemed much less important.

This weekend I had a great excuse for ignoring any dust bunnies, how did they get that name anyway?

Saturday, we headed off to the museum for their old world Christmas market. Not as old world as Leroy and I have seen, but still nice. It was nice to visit with anyone that we knew as we met them. I do like that about living longer in one place. The number of strangers tends to decrease, even though there were plenty of people that I did not know. From there we rode the trolley over to the area across the river where we inspected more buying options. Leroy wanted to buy some tea for a co-worker which he did. When ready to head back to the car, the trolley was not there so we walked back across the river which was quite fine.

In the afternoon we went to a band concert at the closest college. This included performance by the percussion ensemble. They played a selection that I quite liked. This was followed by a jazz band that played four pieces. I do not always like jazz, but I liked this as well. This school has a good music department. In the evening we went back for the orchestra concert. I consider it an added bonus that we can walk to these venues. Health, beauty, and entertainment all in one package is great.

Paula

Christmas Shopping for Leroy

Hello,

Leroy and I must have few wants because neither of us can be of much help for the other in terms of what to get for gifts. Leroy told me last week, when he was wearing a sweater, “I would like to replace this sweater because it is looking shabby and it is too big for me. I want about this same color as I do not have much that is this color.”

I was out shopping today. I was in one big box store, but they did not have piles of sweaters. In fact, the only ones I saw were on display hangers over shirts. No one was around to ask so I just considered that I would look elsewhere. In the second big box store, there were no sweaters to be seen. “Do you have men’s sweaters?” I asked a person stocking a shelf.

She took a while to think and then she said, “No or we only have the rather ugly Christmas sweaters.”

“Have men’s sweaters gone out of style?” I then wondered out loud.

“Perhaps,” she replied, “we did not have any last year either.”

I will look at some other stores because I know have seen them. While in the first store I serendipitously found a water kettle on sale. It had many of the features that I like. Leroy also likes the water kettle and I thought I could buy it for him. I bought it, but later asked Leroy, “Are you still planning to get the water kettle repaired?”

“Yes, but I just have not done it,” he sighed.

He then called the repair shop in our neighborhood. They told him that they did not do that and they did not know anyone who would.

After that Leroy started looking for water kettles on the internet. He found one he really liked. At that point I thought I had better confess that I had already bought one before he purchased another. I revealed my thought to give it to him for Christmas. He laughed while owning up to the fact that he had planned to get it for me. I extracted that box from its hiding place, gave it to Leroy, and with a big grin said, “Merry Christmas.” We agreed that the one in hand had an additional feature that we liked, it not only had variable temperatures, but it looks like we can set it exactly to our desires. What more could one want? Now should we wrap it and put it under the tree addressed to both of us?

Paula

Tree or No Tree

Hello,

As a person who does not feel obligated to put up the Christmas tree very far before Christmas, I find myself in a dilemma. When I was growing up my family did not decorate for Christmas until right before Christmas. Actually I do not remember any decorations when I was small, but the Christmas tree would appear Christmas morning.

 Leroy and I will be gone from December 19 to December 26. We usually put the tree up on about the 14 or 15 of December and leave it up through the church’s official notice of the Christmas season. I am not sure that it will be worth it this time as we leave so soon after putting it up.

I am a little annoyed at my second favorite radio station for now playing only Christmas music. I listen to the radio in the car. At first when I heard the music I simply turned it off and rode home in the silence around me and the noise of my thoughts. Since then I have listened a little.

I was also astonished when I came out of the library in the dark on the Monday after Thanksgiving to see the town tree next to the library was all lit up for the new season. Many houses also had festive lights. There certainly is a strong tradition for getting the season going early, right after Thanksgiving. Even though people complain about the commercial aspect starting too soon, I wonder if they secretly enjoy it.

I do have out a Christmas note pad that I saw the other day. I am determined to use it up so I broke my own rule and put it out. Guess I do not write very many notes. I also got out some small Christmas cups because I often forget about them on the top shelf in the cupboard. I was looking for something else today and got them out instead. Sunday we will have our advent wreath on the table. For a change I checked ahead of time and we do have candles for that.

We have some fall decorations and I have seldom remembered to get them out. This year was a typical year. Decorating for seasons is not my strong suit. Maybe I should just throw in the idea of decorating as I spend little to no time thinking about it.

Paula

Miss Paula

Hello,

We wear name tags that produce our first names in large, readable letters. Often children, because we are all women, call of Miss and whatever our first names are. Hence I am Miss Paula to many children and adults. Probably many people have no idea of my last name.

Yesterday a man came in with his youngest who might be 2.5 years old. The father told me that they had gone to the public library while on vacation in Estes Park, CO. They had not been there very long when their youngest asked, “Where’s Miss Paula?”

I laughed with surprise as this kid, while in the library, hardly acknowledges my existence unlike his older brother who almost always greets me. In the meantime, he is standing over by the gum machine checking out the knob and the slot to see if there are any missed treasures.

His dad called to him, “Here is Miss Paula. Say hello,”

The boy turned around with obvious reluctance, looked at me, made a funny face, and turned back to his task. It seemed like normal behavior to me. I am still astonished that he even knew my name.

When they left, his dad said, “Wave good-by to Miss Paula.”

This kid raised his head from his father’s shoulder, grinned at me, and waved a great send off.

Life is full of mysteries, some with great gift wrapping.

Paula

Nervous

Hello,

Last night I was once again a wake for a while before morning. Is this becoming a habit? It is a habit I do not want. I saw in a sleep coach article that we should set an alarm so I do not continually try to look at the time. The alarm will take care of getting up. We have set the alarm for three days now. I have managed not to look at the clock. It takes some effort on my part to see it because of my limited distance vision so that was not too hard to get down. Leroy has learned how to reset the alarm with just one button push. This was a three day experience. But he had it down now. Tomorrow maybe I can sleep a little longer as I know for sure that the alarm will go off.

This morning I took care of book keeping our money information. I had not intended to do that, but our credit card bill was unusually large, demanding a look at it. I had forgotten that our flights at Christmas were on there as was Leroy’s Medicare bill. Since he does not collect social security that is a bill that must be paid if we want to receive the benefits. He does want those benefits. There are some pluses to aging and we consider that one of them. Just those three expenses explained the large payment due. At least our account was not compromised. Everything else was something for which I had a paper record.

I also ordered the books that I will distribute to the Little Free Libraries in the neighborhood. That took a little bit of adjusting to get the total to come out so I could spend the entire action team money. Now it is just a case of waiting for the books to come and get them ready to distribute. I am looking forward to doing that.

For the church book club in January I need to order books through ILL at my library. Now the trick will be to figure out the proper time to order and get those in people’s hands before the February meeting. Last night I just realized that I will not be home from our cruise yet. That caused a sad feeling to move through me. At least I will read the book before I go. My real joy in book clubs is the discussions and I will miss that.

My nervousness is gone because I have tackled some of these “hanging over my head” tasks.

Paula

Leroy's Sunday Off

Hello,

Leroy did not have to work at church services or do his class tonight. When he got home from church he took a big nap. Since then he has done some reading. But friends called and said they were cleaning up the garden so we both went to help. It was great to spend some time visiting. I think both of us like to visit while we are doing some not so difficult task. We took out a lot of paper that we had put down to keep the weeds at bay. Some mulch had blown off and paper threatened to become debris in the neighborhood. I was pleased to see some new cilantro about an inch high. Someone told us this morning that the weather could hold for two weeks yet. I think that would be great as more chard is also growing. The oriental greens are still good along with some of the kale. Other kale looks like it has had it. It must be colder there than by my house as my kale still looks quite fine.

After he came home Leroy cleaned off his bike wheels and some of the frame. Air also went in the tires. His brakes had been complaining mightily. It is better now. He said, “Riding the bike in the winter is dirty business.”

Then he got the idea to clean out the rain barrel which had collected quite a lot of unwanted settlers. I went up and down stairs to bring down small buckets of water. That gave me enough steps to get to 10,000 today and the rain barrel’s openings are not clogged with roof run off. It was wonderful to be outside and that is a plus.

Next Leroy cleaned off his stamp storing shelves. It is a nice day off when he feels like he has accomplished so many things around the house.

We scheduled the tours for our cruise in January. I had been concerned that we might forget, but we got it done. Maybe I can sleep better tonight. Both of us logged a lot of awake time.

Paula

This is us at the garden two years ago. We have not changed that much neither has the garden.

Cleaning

Hello,

Yesterday I noticed dust on the furniture in the spare bedroom. This morning I tackled that task. I did fairly well with everything except the bookcase that Leroy uses for his stamp collection. I know better than to touch that well organized, stacked this way and that area.

I decided that it had been a long time since I had seriously cleaned out the book cases in the hall. Two of them have pictures and other memory type things there. That is harder to get through. Someday I will have to eliminate more of the pictures. A year or two ago, I took pictures and showed them to the grandchildren. They all wanted some of them, so I gave them away as most were extras. Some were pictures my parents had and I did not even know some of the people in them. Sophia showed me once that she has her share in an album. Nice to know they have gotten a little more life or interest for them.

Leroy is participating in a secret Santa gift exchange at work. He will buy some things for this person, but they also like art books so he is going to give them a book of Russian art that we got on our trip to Russia. Leroy did some consulting at the seminary library in St. Petersburg. We did not go to the Hermitage, but went to a Russian art museum. The book has seldom left the shelf so it is moving to a new home.

Once in a while I see recipes in a magazine that look good. Apparently the intention to make them is all that I have because they mostly just sit on the shelf. Today they went into the recycle bin. It cleared off a bit of real estate. We both have books that we intend to read. For me it is being saved for that day when I do not get to the library. So far that has not happened. Those books are so patient. Perhaps I will move them as that might be a time when I cannot get to the library. Reading each day is essential to my sense of well being. Leroy’s books are mostly by the author, Louis L’Amour. Leroy’s goal is to read every one of his books. He might be over half way to that goal.

Paula

Holiday

Hello,

Leroy and I had a quiet day yesterday. We ate a little more food than usual because we ate using my Mother’s china. The plates are quite large. During our normal life we eat from small plates.  In deference to the holiday, I made mashed potatoes. This almost never happens at my house.

In the afternoon, Leroy and I went to a park close to our home. Walking for two hours through the woods and in the prairie soothed the soul and added steps to my Fitbit. We both like getting in the woods and outdoors. We would have liked to see some wildlife, but besides other humans, birds were the only visible creatures.

We also visited on the phone with each of our children’s families. That was good as well. Grateful for all these people in our lives.

Leroy is working today and tomorrow. I have, as usual, both days off. This morning when looking at the IPod I got a message about how I needed to call Apple because my device had been hacked. It seemed strange to me, but I could not get rid of that message. As instructed, I called the number; however I could hardly hear the person with a little bit of an accent. They told me they would call me which they did. I answered, but did not hear them right away so I hung up just as they answered. I decided I had better call some family to ask questions about this. Since the people on the east coast were likely to be awake, I called Sarah. They were able to tell me that it probably was a hacker and I should completely log off. After doing that the IPod seemed normal once more. They also advised me to change passwords on my emails, etc. I spent some time doing that as some programs are easier to navigate than others.

I am a bit disgusted with myself as it did not feel right in the first place, but I went ahead and called. Does that mean I am easy to scam? I know better than click on links on the computer that do not seem legit, but there is more to learn.

Paula

New Toilet

Hello,

We have a new toilet. Leroy and Clark, mostly Clark, were able to get it hooked up and functioning. It is great to have this water sparing, properly working tool in the house. The old one still worked, but it occasionally needed quite a lot of persuasion to get the entire job done. It reminds me once again how much we take for granted in our lives as I know many people in the world do not have such a possibility. It is just one more thing to be thankful for. Even the old one that was a bit cantankerous required my thankfulness, even though I did not give it, for the job that it did without out complaint for such a long time.

What would it be like to go through every room in the house and note all things that are an asset in my life? Leroy and I could do that tomorrow along with being grateful for the many wonderful people in our lives.

I am reminded of the time we were in Paris along with Miriam and Andy. It was cold and rainy. By the time we went up to the top of the Eiffel tower the rain turned to snow and we could mostly just see gray air outside the windows. Back on the ground it was rain once again. The guide book told about touring the Paris sewers, or storm sewers. So we did that. Leroy and I found it particularly interesting. I had read some things by Victor Hugo who wrote about the sewers. I learned on the tour that he had actually been down there. We took pictures with us by the balls down there, but they are not digital pictures and I would have a long time finding them. On the internet you can find pictures of the balls that were used to keep the sewer cleaned out. This invention allowed the city to stay clean and to enlarge its scope. Seems to me we should honor that inventor, but I do not know his name. Those same balls are still used today. What a simple thing, if you can think of it, to keep us healthy. If seems to me it was stated that if the sewer pipes were put end to end they would reach from Paris to Istanbul. Guess it says something about my nature that I was more impressed with the sewer museum than the Eiffel Tower. Practicality, practicality!

I am grateful that I can live in sanitary conditions.

Paula

Blooming Flowers

Just time to share some photos of the flowers in my house that give me joy.

Paula

Story Time

Hello,

Story time was my gig this week because the leader was out of town. I have certainly done this before, but it is a bit far back in the past. My co-worker had already shown me the craft and where things were stored to help manage that. She had also picked out five books. Three were for the younger sat. Most of these children were on the young side of the game. We have some colorful “donuts” that the children can sit upon. Apparently there are times that the lure of changing (some other color suddenly looks better), throwing or rolling is strong.

I decided to start off with a rule: if they were not sitting on the donut it would be taken away. That worked fairly well, but changing was embarked upon almost immediately. The second rule: only two different donuts per the story time.

I soon realized that I should get out of my chair and perhaps that would draw the attention of the children closer to me. That seemed to work fairly well. At least one and a half stories were finished. Then someone wanted to select another color donut. I pushed the donut cart into a small corner and sat in front of it declaring that everyone had to keep what they had selected. We then finished the last story and moved on to the craft table. Luckily all of the adults with the children were helpful, helpful, and helpful. The time flew by.

Some of the children got done and started to run in the larger meeting space. I decided to run with them. It was great; however they seemed to be happy running in circles in one direction. I told them I was getting dizzy and needed to change. After that our running was a little more random, but we all had a good time.

Story time is not for the faint of heart.

Paula

The Key

Hello,

Yesterday I hurried out of the house and down the road to Ely because I was the person in charge of getting the meeting room open so we could have yoga. The key I have doesn’t open that room, but it does open the library through which I have access to the meeting room. I tossed my coat, purse, keys and other unnecessary items on the desk or on the floor, rummaged to find my “yoga” pillow, the forms if there were a new person, a pen, “my” IPad, and headed into the hall. Just as the hall door was closing behind me I realized that I did not have my keys with me. The library was locked to me and everyone else who was coming. Upon opening the external door to the meeting room, I greeted the three people who had already gathered and told them I could not get in the library. Somehow I felt all cut off from what I might need. Someone asked me, “Do you need anything from there for the class?”

At my no, they assured me life would be good and we could proceed as we normally do. I have to confess that concentration and focus were difficult for me to grasp. Says something about how yoga is ingrained in my psyche; not as much as I had hoped.

My two co workers who are usually there by this time had other obligations that day. I was to do story hour and someone else was coming to “man” the desk. At ten minutes before the hour they had not yet arrived. I started to feel panicky again. I could not see the schedule in the office to learn if they were coming at nine when the library was to open or closer to story time. My phone was also in the office so I could not call anyone. Someone volunteered to go to the home just a few doors down, of a faithful tai chi member. This person called my boss who said that the helper with a key was coming at nine. Indeed it was just a few minutes later that other co-worker came and opened the door.

I went into the lobby and told her about my dilemma as she unlocked the front door. I then went back to get my things and stood by that locked door in the hall, but it did not open. After a bit I knocked on it, nothing happened. Then I called her name and again nothing happened. At that point I walked back to the lobby door and entered the library through the unlocked front door. My co-worker was not in the library. “What happened to her?” I wondered as I looked for her.

In a few minutes she again entered the library. She had gone out to the external book drop and brought in the books from that source. I almost laughed as I saw her and my confusion evaporated.

What a morning!

Paula

Prepared

Hello,

After work, Monday night when I got out to the car I saw frost on the windows. I searched unsuccessfully, in the car, for something with which to extract it. I even tried a cloth that I keep in there to use if there are rain spots on the windows. I turned the car on turned up the fan, heat, and buttons that proclaim the ability to clear front and rear windows in the cold. Soon the front windows looked a bit better. I also used the washer function consequently the wipers were able to clear it enough that I could see almost everything. The back was not as good, but I departed anyway. All went well. One good thing about driving at night I could see the head lights behind me through the haze.

As soon as I pulled into the garage I put a brush with a scraper in each car. Now we are more prepared for winter driving than we were just a week ago. However, today it was warm enough that I washed out my garden gloves outside and felt quite comfortable doing that in spite of the brisk wind blowing.

I like to take the screens off for the winter because I like looking through clear windows. I have done that so I am more ready than I was. I washed half of the windows, but have not motivated myself to finish the job. I only seem to think of it when I do not have the time to tend to that matter.

I have switched my winter and summer clothes around so I can dress more warmly if I need to. I even found everything that I thought about finding.

The flannel sheets are on the bed so it feels deliciously cozy to slip under the covers as we go to bed. The down comforter is on top to give warmth from above. What a great experience!

Paula

Glad Things

Hello,

We carried umbrellas to church, but it did not rain on us. All of the books that go back to the city library tomorrow have been returned to the book kit so I can deliver them. I got an email from the library reminding me that they are due tomorrow. Oops, I had forgotten about them since they are at church.

The tire went flat again, but in the garage. Our downstairs friends have an air pressure producer (Can’t remember what they are called.). Leroy filled the tire, took the car in, where they found a screw in the tire, repaired it, and just charged a small amount.

I made gingerbread today using butter and cow’s milk. It tasted great, but Leroy’s lactose intolerance made its presence known. Usually I use olive oil and some soy milk.

We used up all but a few tomatoes that we have been trying to ripen. Much Swiss chard from the garden as well as tomatillos was used today. I love the produce, but I am getting weary of feeling like I must use it before it goes bad. Now I feel as if I am gaining on it all.

I just read a Newberry Award book and, as expected, found it to be a great read.

Sunday school class gave me much to think about and perhaps it will change my life. Change is a big thing and not always done easily.

Leroy purchased a new brighter light to use when riding the bike. He got a mount so it can go on his helmet or on the bike. He was so excited to get it set up on his helmet that he rode his bike to church tonight. Usually he walks to his class.

Paula

Phone Birds and Straw Hair

Hello,

This morning Leroy went to a meeting at church. He, unfortunately, left his phone at home with me. About half an hour before the meeting, he left early because he had some other things to do at church, his phone started doing a little bird tweet with some musical tones to let him know that his meeting was coming up. I tried to stop the birds from singing, but I needed a password to get into his phone. Fortunately the birds gave up after three or four signals. Unfortunately they tried again every few minutes until the meeting had started. I did not feel very friendly towards them by the time it was all over. In this apartment, I could not get away from the sound. I would have called Leroy for his password, but, alas his phone was here and there is no secretary at the church on Saturday to answer the church phone.

Straw hair has nothing to do with that phone. I just want to say that I am not a swimmer so I do not always realize just what pool water does to hair. It turns mine to straw. I did wash my hair, but I did not use the shampoo and conditioner that I had brought from home. Instead, I used the stuff that was provided. I can say that I am not a fan of this practice and will not do that if I can remember the results in the future. When I washed my hair at home I was quite taken with how good it looked and felt. Who knew that just a different product could make such a difference? Not me! I usually ignore ads and just get whatever, especially if it states that it is good for curly hair. I am grateful for the research that those hair care companies have done to improve their products.

Today Leroy and I finished delivering the neighborhood newsletters. It gave me a nice walk. Then a plastic bag was floating around so I grabbed it and started to pick up trash as I waited for Leroy to get done with the newsletters. He found a bag as well and we filled both of them. If you look for trash it can be found and removed. Plastic is both a bane and a blessing. My negative feelings about it keep growing as so much of the trash is plastic and it will never disappear from the earth.

Paula

Neighborhood Newsletter

Hello,

This afternoon I delivered two and a half blocks of newsletters. I left a small segment for Leroy to do so he does not feel left out. He probably would not feel left out, but he usually does this block so I like to include him in the process. We will not deliver again until sometime in March.

It was cold today, but the sun was out and that always helps me to feel quite fine. I wore my old coat that is 17 years old. I once sent it back to the company to repair the zipper about five years ago. I suppose it is not in style, but I like it a lot. I generally wear it for “around home” or in the neighborhood purposes. It has great pockets, length, hood, and warmth. What more could I want in a coat. The zipper is sometimes a little recalcitrant, but I will not send it back again. I have looked for another coat to replace it, but do not find any just like it even from the same company. There are three newer coats in my closet that seem to fit different times and temperatures, but I would still get one more if I could find that perfect one.

Anyway it was great to be out recording steps on my tracker. I only need 500 more to get to 10,000 which I will easily do before bedtime.

I have applied for another action team grant and I am pleased to report that I received it. As soon as the money comes, more new multicultural books will be added to the little free libraries in the area close to me. It feels so good to be able to do this. I am allowed two action teams a year and this is my second.

The first was to advertise for the CROP walk in my area. It seems to have been successful as more people walked than had ever walked. I gather the donations were up a little. I did have some people tell me they had made contributions for the hurricane relief so they could not give, but many still were able to share some.

Paula

Picking Up Trash

Hello,

I know several people who frequently pick up trash, some every time they walk. I generally look at it, sigh, and wish people were not so quick to throw things down.

This morning as Leroy and I headed to church, I saw a plastic grocery type bag stuck in a bush. “No time like the present to pick up trash,” I thought as I snagged it.

I did not pick anything thing up on the way because Leroy was in a rush to get there to vote and then go to work. I was just going to vote and the trash would still be there on the way home. Before we got to church I stepped on another bag blowing past. The return street I walked on seemed not to have too much trash, but by the time I had covered four blocks I had one full bag that I was able to stuff in an almost full trash bin. If there were a receptacle on every corner would the neighborhood look different? Perhaps people would be neater if it did not take so much effort.

Another bag was in my area and I grabbed that one too. Across the street from me a person from Coe College was picking up trash, he however was not walking, but sitting on a small lawn tractor and using a grabber to snag the items. I found a cardboard box that was larger than I wanted to carry so I took it over to him and asked if I could add it to his pile. With a smile he said, “Yes!” I then asked if I could empty one of my bags in his large bin. I got to do that too. In the end I filled two more bags before I got home. I feel that mile is a little cleaner than when I started.

It is so easy to complain, even if only in my head, about the trash, but much more energetic and difficult to be a part of the solution.

Paula

Power Cords

Hello,

For Tai Chi last week, the instructor wanted to use a DVD for a segment of the class. I had found the DVD player and remotes for the player and the TV; both had been put away in a “new place”. It seemed everything was ready. While Tom finished the set up, the rest of us moved on to our opening exercises. Tom hooked the player to the TV; however the TV would not turn on. He fiddled around a while before I came over to check on what was happening as it seemed to fit under my area of responsibility. I checked all cord connections, even though I knew he was a retired engineer of some type. He assured me that he had checked all the cords as well. He wondered if the TV remote was not working. Finally I found a switch on the large TV by sliding my fingers all along the bottoms and much of the sides. It still would not turn on. I went to fetch batteries and saw that my boss was there. When informed of the problem she came in and starting checking the cord connections. We are so used to people not having this or that plugged in that it is the first line of defense and is often successful, but not today.

A cord that was hanging out of the TV seemed not to go to a power source, but it was difficult to see as the TV had been attached securely to the wall and could not be moved out. Both my boss and Tom declared it the wrong type of power cord for the TV. My boss was a bit aggressive in trying to ease it out. She was lucky that it did not come off the wall. She soon went to track down the manual that came with this item. The pamphlet indicated that the plug in spot was on the other side of the TV. I got out a small flashlight to assist in looking in tight places. There is a long heavy, hardly movable book case below this TV so we had to reach hands down when we did find a cord that could be the necessary one. Finally with much huffing and puffing as well as grunting and groaning we got that cord up, plugged into the back of the TV, it was already plugged in the wall and just been dropped there. The TV lights flashed and Tai Chi viewing could go on.

Such a time with just the lack of a cord plugged in the proper place. Sometimes in life the small things become very important. Are we all plugged into the proper source?

Paula