In My Own Bed

Hello,

Leroy and I came home from MN yesterday afternoon. I had washed the sheets, but not made the bed before we left. It was quite pleasant to finish that task and slide into our own bed at night. We both slept well through the familiarity. There is just something about home that is so appealing to me. I understand the words home body. I am happy to visit, but happy to come home where I do not need to think so much about where I will sit or what I will do.

Our trip north was not as easy as the trip home. We started in rain with temperatures getting close to the freezing mark. It was nice to see the outside temperature above freezing as first as we were driving. About an hour from the start I noticed ice hanging on the signs and after a bit I could see it on the rear view mirrors. The road surface remained wet and sloppy even after the windshield wipers were starting to get coated with ice. Perhaps that salt stuff had been put on the road surface. About another hour later the temperatures dropped enough that it was snowing rather than raining. Leroy was driving by this time. It was almost a relief to see the snow. However as we continued north the snow increased or maybe it was just that the wind was strongly picking up snow that had already fallen. Sometimes it was a bit hard to see others. The road surface had a lot of packed down snow/ice on it so that it was quite lumpy to drive over it with perhaps a path where other tires had been.

About an hour south of the cities the snow disappeared. We were happy. On the GPS we had been watching our estimated time of arrival getting later as we were forced to drive slower, but once there was no snow it mostly remained steady. We called Brian to let him know when we were getting close. Nice how all the technology works for us; GPS, thermometers, and phones. How did we travel back in the old days?

Paula

Ironies

Hello,

We have had such beautiful weather which would have been great for traveling. But we did not even go out of town except for me going to work. That could hardly be called traveling since it is so regular in my life.

Last night we had a serious rain storm complete with lightening, thunder, and hail that popped against the windows waking us up feeling grateful to be in a secure house and distressed because it spoke of that storm being different to the north.

Grandson Logan is celebrating his birthday tomorrow. Leroy and I plan to go, but we are keeping a close eye on the road conditions and weather conditions. The snow is concentrated in an area that we need to travel through to get to Logan’s house.

Leroy went to work this morning and we are hoping that later means better travel by giving the storm time to move on and road crews to do their best work.

I am astonished that we can fly with only a carryon bag each plus that other personal bag. For some reason when we plan a car trip we pack it in to the max. I am trying this time to lighten the load although I am packing a winter emergency bag as well as our pillows which we like to take with us when we can.

Last night when I came home a guy I had seen knocking on a door two houses down, came up to the garage. He asked, “Can I borrow a jack?”

I said, “Yes if I can find one. I looked around the garage and saw none, but remembered that the car had one. I opened the truck. He gratefully extracted the spare tire to get to that jack.

“I will bring it back and put this away for you,” he said.

I did not want to hang around so long as I had to go the bathroom, so I said, “Just put it here by the garage and my husband can put it away.”

It seemed to be quite a long time later that he finally returned it. However I had no idea how he was using it and how long that might take. The problem now is that Leroy cannot get it to go down so he can return it to its home in the trunk. I am not sure that we have ever used it in the ten years we have owned this car so it could be a bit tired and stuck from idleness.

Paula

Windows Open

Hello,

I have the windows open as we have done for the last few days. In the fall I took off the screens, but feel quite comfortable with the no screen deal. Surely there are no bugs out and about that I do not want to come in. However two days ago Leroy said, “A big fly is in the house.”

I did see it sitting on the wall, got out the swatter, and made short work of it. Today I saw a fly on the window that was not open. I opened the window, grabbed a towel, and encouraged it to go out the opening. Windows are still open in the expectation that no more flies will come in. At least I have not seen any bees or butterflies as the coming cold would not be good for them.

I should have worked outside today on my day off, but I washed and hung out a load of clothes which I have brought in and put away. Next on the list was a quick shopping trip to get some soy milk for Leroy and a gift for Logan whose birthday party is Saturday. When home, I made granola; recorded monies spent, donated to a seminary, and looked at a show that lasted an hour. It is on DVD and Leroy said it was good. I want to catch up to him as he has watched four episodes. Does that sound like work or fun? After lunch I made bread and chastised myself for not buying whole wheat flour while I was out and about. I could only make one loaf.

Because I have been coughing a little, sneezing a little, and not feeling peppy I tried unsuccessfully to take a nap. I spent my time lying down and visualizing the tai chi routine that we do. From that I realized that I do not know what my hands do in at least two moves. More learning must take place. We have choir practice tonight, but I do not feel motivated to go at this moment. Even though I could not sleep, my eyes feel very tired. No big walks, but I have put on 5500 steps.

Paula

Growing Celery and Accounts

Hello,

My celery is sending up leaves and a center stalk. It is amusing to see how quickly this starts to happen. I usually plant this outdoors, but I might decide to put it in a pot so I can move it in and out. I have had trouble with the rabbits finding it to be a delicious addition to their diet.

This morning I was able to add up some accounts and put them in the book that I have used for years to keep track of what we have spent. I do have a program that I use on the computer which adds it all up. What I find is that I do not pay so much attention to the totals since I am not doing that by hand. I was almost nine months behind on my old fashioned way, but now I have done enough so that there is only three months to go counting the one we are in.

While working in this book, I looked back at some of the figures from the 1980’s. We actually spent as much or sometimes more on food than we do now. What an eye opener. Especially when you consider that we make more money now than we did then. Leroy was the only one who earned any money. I say that because I worked and I think worked hard, but no one was paying me for that. I had the joy of being with and there for our children. We had all three children at home. Some years I did not gather much from the garden. We certainly lived a bit closer to the line. Interesting that I do not remember feeling vulnerable, but I do know that I never spent on anything that was not necessary unless it fit in the budget. We always had enough to eat and a place to live. Clothes were not of the latest fashion, but were available and clean most of the time. There was also money to be shared with the church and some other places besides and that made us rich.

Paula

Leroy is Ill and I am walking

Hello,

Leroy did not go to choir on Wednesday because his throat was scratchy. Thursday evening when he came home from teaching a class he declared that he felt quite fine. Friday morning when he woke he realized that he could not go to work, especially to visit people in the hospital. He stayed home yesterday, and again today. His head is full, nose running, and coughing. He thinks he feels somewhat better today and is not quite so tired. Many people have talked about how hard it is to get over this coughing thing. We are hoping that he defies the odds and manages sooner than expected to be normal or close to it.

I have been enjoying my Fitbit and walking more than usual. Several days I have passed the 10,000 steps goal. I can tell that I have let myself get lax. It has also reminded me that I must do my exercises. Generally that is yoga. I have always done some, but now I make sure it is 30 minutes worth. This device was well worth the little bit I paid for it. I have it clipped to my pants waist, in a pocket, or on my underpants. That all works well, but I do not record all steps as I do not get it on so early in the morning.

A woman at church talked about her experiences walking on the Appalachian Trail. Another woman came up to me after and asked if I was ready to go. Almost! Leroy talks about doing parts of it at a time. We might be able to handle that. I am not sure that I could carry enough stuff with me. The walking seems possible, but not the load. That woman was in her 50’s so I am leaning on my age as the excuse for not hopping on the trail tomorrow.

Leroy is most saddened about the nice weather when all he feels like doing is sitting in the sun reading. He wants to be doing those little odd jobs that he can think of.

Paula

Tight Pants

Hello,

I put on some jeggins this morning. Why I bought these I do not know. I do to know, trying to keep up with style. They are a size medium so they should be plenty roomy except for the panel in front that is to hold any wandering stomach overflow in place. This morning I had them on about half an hour when I realized it was not going to be a good fit. Trying them on in the store and wearing them around the house for another day did not tell the tale. I must have been slim on those days. Pain was telling me to take off these pants. Sigh! I need something that is small in the legs, but large in the waist. It seems food cannot be processed through my intestinal system if my pants are tight. Apparently my father had the same problem. He wore suspenders. Perhaps, I can make that the new fashion accessory with baggy pants. I cannot find the store slip to take these back so I will just have to pass them on to my friend who works with refugees. Do you think they will be the proper size? At least now I can wear baggy underpants as long as the outer pants do not hug too close. Or I can wear bikini underpants so they do not put much pressure on my abdominal area. Who decided tight is better anyway? Perhaps it makes ones legs look great to have them outlined for all to see.

I do have two pair of slim legged pants that fit a bit below the waist. I can wear them all day without a problem, but I would like another pair to give some variety to my clothes. The corduroy pants that are baggie and feel almost like wearing nothing appeal to me, but once I noticed someone’s glance when they saw them. An interesting expression crossed their face. Since then I have seldom worn them even though I want to.

Paula

Hair

Hello,

Can I be vain? My hair looked so good today when there was only my downstairs friend to see it although she did not see it at its best because I had had my hood covering and flattening it. I was a little disappointed to be viewed by so few.

When we were San Antonio my hair was less than stellar for three reasons: it flattens out in the dry, I had to wear a hat to hide from the sun, and I did not take along any of my hair products. I did not want to haul so many liquids on the plane that TSA might get excited and eliminate some.

What am I going to do with the stuff for the rest of my life? It is thinning and that definitely makes it harder to hold down. Guess the weight of the other hair is good for control. We have talked about retiring to UT where it is as dry as Texas. Would I have to adapt a new style and what would that be?

We have also talked about retiring to MN. There I would have to wear a hat for much of the year, either from the cold or the sun. Should I just buy a very good wig and be done with much of the care and upkeep or is there more to taking care of a wig than I know about?

Sometimes it seems to me there is an advantage to Leroy’s spare do because he does not have to spend much time considering it. Hats, dry, or humid really make little difference. I suppose I could start a new fashion statement and just shave my hair all off.

We are having my work team over for fastnachts this Sunday because no other day works. It is supposed to be on Shrove Tuesday. I even washed three of the most rain spotted windows today. It was nice to have a breeze momentarily blowing through the house. Love those window cleaning cloths. They work so well.

Brian was born 40 years ago. Can I be old enough to have two children who are now 40 or older?

Paula

Flowers in my life

Hello,

Leroy brought home flowers yesterday. They are sitting in the living room where I can enjoy them daily. Then the amaryllis has finally opened two blossoms with two more to come in the future. Next there is the cyclamen that had been my sister’s. It has about six blossoms and fewer leaves. It is still beautiful, but interesting how the leaves contribute to the overall effect. Too often I do not think about green leaves as being so important to the overall look. The pink Christmas cactus has many open blossoms. Now the primrose is a different story. It has had many buds that have not come to their open glory; instead them come up and drop down almost immediately. Never have I seen that before.

I am using the speaker that I got for Leroy’s birthday. Did I get it for myself? It works quite well, although son-in-law, Andy might pronounce it not the best sound because he has a well developed ear for the stellar sound quality. I do find that it works best if the Bluetooth signal does not have to go through much wall.  Since the IPod and the speaker are both small I have them almost anywhere together so it is not a problem.

I just listened to some organ music played on historic Slovak organs. This was given to me as a gift from the congregation in Slovakia when we left. I do appreciate it, but have not listened to it very often as I mostly forget to add music to my life. I am going to place music on the same wave length as flowers, as something that adds beauty to my life. No life can have too much beauty.

“Ugliness is so grim,” Lady Bird Johnson once said. “A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions.”

Paula

Walking and books

Hello,

Leroy and I took a long walk today. That warmer air is so inviting that we went farther than we had planned. I do not understand this Fitbit Zip thing. Usually I have to work to get it to record my steps even though I had thought it would be quite effortless. Tonight when I was using the computer I had not yet opened the FitBit app and it recorded my steps and sent me the notice. Even thought the fitbit does not care, Leroy and I walked some hills. Both of us had to breathe a little more strongly. It is good for us.

We just noticed that the neighborhood meetings are starting again. That means we need to start focusing on the community garden so we can let people know what is happening. Some days I feel lazy.

I perhaps told you that I got a grant from our insurance company to do an Action team project. I ordered the multicultural books tonight. I had planned to get some from a couple sources, but my mentor in this process recommended that I could get multiple copies because the neighborhood closest to us has a number of Little Free Libraries that can be stocked with some books. Good idea, plus I was able to order them at a school book sale. I had to create a fictitious student in the class. John Smith wanted a lot of books.  I did look in one of the free libraries and most of the books were old and quite dated. I know that many of the titles that I saw do not get checked out in the library where I work. The kid books were almost all about Caucasian kids. I am happy to provide books that show people of a variety of colors. Hopefully it will help these children to know that they are important enough to feel good about themselves and their possibilities.

Tonight I should sleep quite well as this has been hanging over my head, but I just could not seem to take the steps to get it all done. Now I just wait for the books to come. I and some others can take them around to the libraries and slip in some of the copies. Wonderful to give away someone else’s gift.

Paula

Research Study and Step Tracking

Hello,

Leroy has been chosen for a research study that involves chocolate. He sent in the survey a long time ago to let them know that he was willing to do it, but had heard nothing back. Yesterday his “pills” came. He is to take three a day. He could be taking a placebo. They sent a year’s supply. This is to last three years so he will get more. It is from a college in the eastern USA. I just glanced at the info so I do not remember. I do remember that the word women’s was in the title of the study, but apparently they want to check the results for men as well. Even though this involves chocolate, he does not get to eat chocolate, but just takes these tasteless pills. I was surprised that he seems rather pleased to be doing this. Usually he grumbles when he has to fill out a survey. This survey was not so long as to be off his time allotment.

I have been enjoying my Fitbit Zip. The big issue is that it is difficult for me to get it to connect to the computer. Sometimes I have to reset it. Other times I just grumble a lot and try again later. Supposedly it is to record steps every 15 minutes, but that is not happening for sure.

Leroy got a new watch at the same time that he found the Zip. He got the watch because it was marked way down for clearance and the date and time display was so large. It also tracks his steps as well as recording his pulse. However he thinks the step tracking is less than accurate. He wonders if it is tracking his arm movements. But he is still pleased that he has the date on the watch.

I had gotten him a watch when we lived in Slovakia. I tried to take it back when I learned that he had also gotten one from Sarah and Stephen which he liked better since it looked good and had the date. Unfortunately I could only get a different watch and not get my money back so I just kept it. His Swiss watch died consequently he did start wearing that one which I had given him. Now he is happy again with his bargain find.

Paula

New experiences in San Antonio

Hello,

“Oh, what is that?” I wondered because I had never felt such a thing before. Pigeons were walking on my feet while we were eating at an outdoor table. I had on sandals so I felt every little nuance of their foot anatomy as they stepped lightly on their way to a possible crumb. I could feel the claws, or are they called talons? Then there was the softer middle part as they continued on. Somehow they did not weigh as much as I had thought they might. Guess all that feather fluff makes them look heavier. At first it was almost creepy as I thought about what else they might have stepped on or in. Everyone else had on regular shoes so they did not get to experience this treat. At least they were not walking on my food or flying onto the table. So it was all good as I settled back to just note what it all felt like and enjoy the light sensation of them passing by.

In a convention hall we went to a hall of statues of known Texans. There was someone there that I did not realize was a Texan, but right now I cannot think who that was. Seems to me it was an astronaut. There is always new learning to be had.

I had not realized how early some of the European settlers came to this area. Do you suppose the warm attracted them even then? There was a large German community as well as a number of Czech/Slovaks. In Fredericksburg the library and a museum both had some very old Bibles. Somehow I was not expecting that type of treasure.

We also saw some white tail deer. Leroy noted that they must have a huge area of the country in which they live. And then there were those Texas longhorns who managed to look quite threatening even when standing still. I never was very fond of cows and the horns just capped the feeling. I had not really noted the flash flooding in this area, but we drove on some back roads that had five to six foot marks to show possible water depth if it had been raining. That certainly is a new idea that it would occur so much or so seriously that a pole could be put up to warn people.

Paula

Gift Giving

Hello,

Because I did not give my co-workers anything for Christmas, I thought I should bring them something from my trip. That was a serious decision. In retrospect I do understand why people give candy of one kind or another. It is the easy choice. I found some pecans and thought that might be a good idea, but the price per pound totally destroyed my enthusiasm. It was double what I pay for my almonds or walnuts. What makes them so special?

From there I wandered around the store looking for just that Texas thing. Because I am so practical there were many rejects. Finally I was in the cast iron skillet area. These seem to be made by a local company. However the skillets would be too heavy to take back on the plane and the individual cost was also unappealing. Hanging close they had some silicone handles that would protect the hand. What an excellent choice! I got one for each friend only to learn after I was out of the store that they were made in China. When I told my co-workers about this saga they all laughed. I guess they liked them, but I have to remind myself that I am not responsible for their reaction or enjoyment.

I am not sure why, but it seems to me that other people make it look so easy and they come up with the perfect gift. Perhaps my parents did not teach me well. It is nice to blame someone else. There were not many gifts given at my home, but I should figure it out from the example of others. Someday I might get all of life skills mastered, but I am only thinking of one at a time. I can still live many years because there is still so much to learn.

Paula

Life in the fast or slow lane

Hello,

Yesterday I found a Fitbit Zip at less than half price. Now was the time to try it. After we got home I forgot about it, but remembered today to get it set up on my computer since I do not have a mobile device with which it would work. After an hour I still was not functioning even though it talked about easy set up. I finally wailed to Leroy. He came into help with no real assistance as he spent much time reading over much of the things that I had just read. We tried to get it to work on either the tablet or the laptop. For some reason when I went back to the laptop one time it just worked and I could finish setting it up. Now I have walked quite a number of steps. However, as I told Leroy, “That was not a calming stress less experience contributing to my health.” Fitbit healthy indeed!

We both laughed. So maybe health was restored.

We ordered Leroy’s birthday present from me to him. Since I do not have a pay pal account he did the ordering himself. I needed to make a quick run to a dollar store so I brought him a dinosaur that lights up when agitated. Leroy laughed and seemed to enjoy that.

Leroy’s goal is to read all of the Louis L’Amour books. He had a list of all the books on which he would check off the finished items, but he could not find the list. I located that list in a collection of short stories by this author. Leroy was ecstatic. He finished the short stories this afternoon. That guy Leroy is a speed reader compared to me. But then he never reads such serious books as I do. So he tells me his stories require little thinking, but offer much escape. Apparently I am not generally into escape, but only feel like it is time well spent if I learn something new or can ponder some social situation. I learned when we did personality studies that I like doing things the hard way.

Paula

Warm San Antonio

Hello,

We spent three full days in San Antonio. The weather was just perfect. Each day was warm, but not too warm with the sun shining. I had my protective gear: hat, long sleeved shirt, and sunscreen. Even though one day was high 70’s or low 80’s it did not seem hot, guess it must be the dry air.

Our friends were the perfect tour guides. We were driven around, escorted on tours, and introduced to great restaurants. The sights were interesting, food delicious, and laughter abounded. We spent some full days taking in a variety of sights. From the usual tourist things; the Alamo and the river walk to exploring the hill country, a wildflower seed farm, and Buc-ee’s gas station store. We also went to the SAS shoe outlet that is really more like a department store with quite an old time flair to it. I did manage to buy only one pair of shoes. I do not really need so many shoes at the moment, plus it had to fit in my carryon bag as we did not check a bag. Leroy settled for a pair of fine socks. At least we are now well shod.

Our wonderful hosts picked us up at midnight when we arrived and took us back to the airport before 4:00 am. I appreciate the sleep sacrifices that they incurred. We were blessed indeed. It was a great trip that was basically just with adults and none of our family. What a departure! It was a new experience.

Paula