Hello,
We are leaving Sunday to go to Miriam’s
for Thanksgiving. This will get us there ahead of time, but the tickets were
cheaper a bit farther out. When I look at the weather forecast, I think it is
nice to be early as some storms are predicted for the days closer to Thursday.
Hopefully that means we will be in place and miss all that excitement either
coming or going.
I have not packed yet, but should face
up to that because I am working tomorrow and then we have church so we will not
be home until a bit later in the evening. We do not leave until 10:00 Sunday morning,
but I am not comfortable putting off the packing task that long. My much
traveled son-in-law would, but then he now has a million miles in the air.
Course I am not sure when that count started. He does much flying for work. My point
is that all of this repeat trips gives one a certain amount of knowledge about
ones needs for the trip.
We have some clothes and shoes at Miriam’s
house, but it can be a trick to take the right things or the things I find I want
when there. One thing I know for sure is that I have no winter pjs there. That seems
to be a requirement. I also have no socks for winter wear. The weather is not
to be so very nice, but not so cold as it could be, however I will wear my
winter coat and include hat, scarf, and mittens. There might be some snow, but
at the moment I am thinking no boots because they would take so much room or I would
have to wear them and they are too hot for comfort on the plane. I am grateful
that I have some time to think about this. I am also grateful that this is
small stuff in the total of life. I was happy to find the TRAX schedule so we
can ride the train from the airport. We could figure it how there by looking at
the maps, but I feel much more at ease when I know ahead of time what I am
doing while I grip firmly on the paper. Leroy would also be a good help because
he believes in thoroughly reading all directions.
Paula
Friday, November 22, 2019
Monday, November 18, 2019
More on the Stolen
Hello,
In response to the comments from some of you, I thought I should offer some more explanation. I too think it was quite remarkable that the police found my things. However, I think they had a little help from the secretary because she immediately thought it was a particular person when she learned of it. I heard her tell the custodian about it. We have many homeless people who come to the church Sunday morning for coffee and treats. Now as another person in the church told me, we often think of them first when something goes missing, but it could be just anyone who walks in off the streets. I did wonder about the secretary talking about this person in particular, although she knows many of them since she visits with them frequently. Later, when I called her to let her know my things had been returned, she mumbled something about the bathroom and shoes. I believe she was also able to give somewhat of a description of those shoes. When the police gave me the case number they accidently gave me two pencil notes with more of a description of what the woman was wearing as well as her name and a common Sunday meal site. The police did tell me they were almost positive when they saw the pink swoosh on the shoes.
I said, “When someone takes shoes and wears them, they probably need them. She could have kept them. I am just happy to get my keys, hat and bag back.” I did not press charges.
In our church we give away coats, hats, mittens, and we even have an Undie Sunday when we donate underwear. How do people living on the edge get shoes that fit? I don’t believe that supplying everything is the best way to go, but I do not know how to change the current paradigm without harming people. I wonder too as the economic shifts in the advantage of the rich and the poor gets wider and wider, will there be more and more theft as people struggle to survive.
It is so ironic that I got back these things of little economic value and nothing was ever found of Leroy’s two bikes that were stolen. One of them was taken from outside church by someone who knew what they were doing.
Paula
In response to the comments from some of you, I thought I should offer some more explanation. I too think it was quite remarkable that the police found my things. However, I think they had a little help from the secretary because she immediately thought it was a particular person when she learned of it. I heard her tell the custodian about it. We have many homeless people who come to the church Sunday morning for coffee and treats. Now as another person in the church told me, we often think of them first when something goes missing, but it could be just anyone who walks in off the streets. I did wonder about the secretary talking about this person in particular, although she knows many of them since she visits with them frequently. Later, when I called her to let her know my things had been returned, she mumbled something about the bathroom and shoes. I believe she was also able to give somewhat of a description of those shoes. When the police gave me the case number they accidently gave me two pencil notes with more of a description of what the woman was wearing as well as her name and a common Sunday meal site. The police did tell me they were almost positive when they saw the pink swoosh on the shoes.
I said, “When someone takes shoes and wears them, they probably need them. She could have kept them. I am just happy to get my keys, hat and bag back.” I did not press charges.
In our church we give away coats, hats, mittens, and we even have an Undie Sunday when we donate underwear. How do people living on the edge get shoes that fit? I don’t believe that supplying everything is the best way to go, but I do not know how to change the current paradigm without harming people. I wonder too as the economic shifts in the advantage of the rich and the poor gets wider and wider, will there be more and more theft as people struggle to survive.
It is so ironic that I got back these things of little economic value and nothing was ever found of Leroy’s two bikes that were stolen. One of them was taken from outside church by someone who knew what they were doing.
Paula
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Stolen
Hello,
I often wear walking shoes to church and change into shoes that I have carried in my backpack. Generally there is nothing in that backpack of value to anyone else so I just leave it up in the area where we hang our coats. Before I got out of bed this morning I had a thought, “I should take my backpack downstairs with me."
When at church I ignored my warning to myself. After changing my shoes I left my tennis shoes under the coat rack where our coats hung. I tucked my socks inside of them, took my phone out of the backpack, and placed the backpack on the shelf above our coats before heading downstairs for worship.
Upon my return, I went to get my items for the bible study in which I participate. Immediately I noticed that my socks were on the floor, but not my shoes. I looked around the area, but did not see them. Oh no, I did not see my backpack on the shelf. Where could that be? Again I did a little more searching. Then I went to the welcome desk and reported my missing items. After that I went back to do a little more searching before going to my Bible study room. No one else was there yet, so I went back to the coat area. Now I could not see Leroy’s coat. This was a little more serious as he “needs” that coat to walk home. I found him in the class he was attending and brought him up to speed on the circumstances. He came down with me and spotted his coat right away. He had worn a different coat than I remembered. I must learn to be more observant.
In the meantime, unknown to me, the secretary of the church had called the police. I went to my class where someone came and found me telling me that the police wanted to talk to me. I was a little embarrassed to have “bothered” them Because of the low monetary value of my things. Even though I especially like the backpack, my house keys, and my hat, most of it would not matter to others. They did tell me that they were not so likely to find these things because they would probably be thrown in a dumpster. One troubling thought was that I might have written our address on a piece of paper. Someone once told me that I should always have some identification just in case…
After we got home Leroy set about learning if he could take the dead bolt from a closet and put it in the deadbolt spot downstairs which would make us feel safer until he could go to the store to replace it. I tried calling the city library because I did not want someone to check out a number of things and I could be held responsible for them when not returned. They were not yet open.
We were hungry so we ate some lunch. I was washing dishes and Leroy was working on the lock for the garage which was also on the key ring. The police came bearing my bag. They found the woman wearing my shoes. My vague description was close enough, I thought they were aqua but they were really grey with aqua laces. The pink Nike swooshes convinced them they were mine since I knew that was the right color there. I did have my name on a paper along with Leroy’s and his phone, but not our house address.
The police said the woman was very polite, took off the shoes, and then took them to the spot where she had dumped my bag. As nearly as I can remember all of my things were still in it.
Paula
I often wear walking shoes to church and change into shoes that I have carried in my backpack. Generally there is nothing in that backpack of value to anyone else so I just leave it up in the area where we hang our coats. Before I got out of bed this morning I had a thought, “I should take my backpack downstairs with me."
When at church I ignored my warning to myself. After changing my shoes I left my tennis shoes under the coat rack where our coats hung. I tucked my socks inside of them, took my phone out of the backpack, and placed the backpack on the shelf above our coats before heading downstairs for worship.
Upon my return, I went to get my items for the bible study in which I participate. Immediately I noticed that my socks were on the floor, but not my shoes. I looked around the area, but did not see them. Oh no, I did not see my backpack on the shelf. Where could that be? Again I did a little more searching. Then I went to the welcome desk and reported my missing items. After that I went back to do a little more searching before going to my Bible study room. No one else was there yet, so I went back to the coat area. Now I could not see Leroy’s coat. This was a little more serious as he “needs” that coat to walk home. I found him in the class he was attending and brought him up to speed on the circumstances. He came down with me and spotted his coat right away. He had worn a different coat than I remembered. I must learn to be more observant.
In the meantime, unknown to me, the secretary of the church had called the police. I went to my class where someone came and found me telling me that the police wanted to talk to me. I was a little embarrassed to have “bothered” them Because of the low monetary value of my things. Even though I especially like the backpack, my house keys, and my hat, most of it would not matter to others. They did tell me that they were not so likely to find these things because they would probably be thrown in a dumpster. One troubling thought was that I might have written our address on a piece of paper. Someone once told me that I should always have some identification just in case…
After we got home Leroy set about learning if he could take the dead bolt from a closet and put it in the deadbolt spot downstairs which would make us feel safer until he could go to the store to replace it. I tried calling the city library because I did not want someone to check out a number of things and I could be held responsible for them when not returned. They were not yet open.
We were hungry so we ate some lunch. I was washing dishes and Leroy was working on the lock for the garage which was also on the key ring. The police came bearing my bag. They found the woman wearing my shoes. My vague description was close enough, I thought they were aqua but they were really grey with aqua laces. The pink Nike swooshes convinced them they were mine since I knew that was the right color there. I did have my name on a paper along with Leroy’s and his phone, but not our house address.
The police said the woman was very polite, took off the shoes, and then took them to the spot where she had dumped my bag. As nearly as I can remember all of my things were still in it.
Paula
Friday, November 15, 2019
Flowers Blooming
Hello,
The first Thanksgiving cactus blossom opened today. I still want to call it a Christmas cactus, but it does have the pointy leaves that I have been told is really a Thanksgiving cactus. The blooming times last year were three so I do not think it is quite so tied to a season. It just lifts my heart to see it open. Almost every stem has a bud on it so it should bloom for a long time. I have a white one as well. It was my sister’s. It has a lot of buds, but they are much smaller and will not open for a week or so. Leroy and I are going to UT to be with the family for Thanksgiving. I suspect it will start blooming while we are gone. One thing nice about these flowers is that they last more than just two days once they are open.
One of the violets is blooming and has produced without stopping for a long time now. The other plant is either taking a rest or it has given up on the idea of flowering.
It actually got up above 40 degrees this afternoon. I took a walk only to learn when I got home that my tracker battery needed to be charged. Does that mean my walk does not count?
It was so nice and sunny out that it was good for me. A woman was sitting out in the sun by the laundry mat. She commented on how nice the sun was, in fact it was almost too bright for her phone.
I certainly appreciate all the people who clear their walks. The ice surrounded by water on some of them was a bit of a challenge to navigate.
I am ashamed to say that I left our large pumpkin on the carpeting too long. It required a bit of cleanup effort to get the smell and the stain out of the room. I know better, but just did not listen to my better judgment. Maybe I will remember the lesson for another year.
Paula
The first Thanksgiving cactus blossom opened today. I still want to call it a Christmas cactus, but it does have the pointy leaves that I have been told is really a Thanksgiving cactus. The blooming times last year were three so I do not think it is quite so tied to a season. It just lifts my heart to see it open. Almost every stem has a bud on it so it should bloom for a long time. I have a white one as well. It was my sister’s. It has a lot of buds, but they are much smaller and will not open for a week or so. Leroy and I are going to UT to be with the family for Thanksgiving. I suspect it will start blooming while we are gone. One thing nice about these flowers is that they last more than just two days once they are open.
One of the violets is blooming and has produced without stopping for a long time now. The other plant is either taking a rest or it has given up on the idea of flowering.
It actually got up above 40 degrees this afternoon. I took a walk only to learn when I got home that my tracker battery needed to be charged. Does that mean my walk does not count?
It was so nice and sunny out that it was good for me. A woman was sitting out in the sun by the laundry mat. She commented on how nice the sun was, in fact it was almost too bright for her phone.
I certainly appreciate all the people who clear their walks. The ice surrounded by water on some of them was a bit of a challenge to navigate.
I am ashamed to say that I left our large pumpkin on the carpeting too long. It required a bit of cleanup effort to get the smell and the stain out of the room. I know better, but just did not listen to my better judgment. Maybe I will remember the lesson for another year.
Paula
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
A Day Together
Hello,
Perhaps you can tell that Leroy and I are not thinking of leisure activities that involve going anywhere. Today Leroy spent a good bit of the morning “working” on some stamps that someone gifted him. He was quite content to look them over, get a stronger magnifying glass (Amazingly I knew where that was.), make exclamations, and put some of them in his stamp albums. There were more than he expected that he did not have and could be added to his collection. He was quite happy. There are still many to look at.
I only asked him to help me with one task and that was to wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. Or does that count as two tasks? Neither floor is very large so it did not take us long. My real need for help was in moving things out so the entire floor could be scrubbed at once without moving the table around. We are both happy to have that job done. We sweep quite regularly, but washing gets put off until?
We have an offer on a credit card so we applied for that this morning. Leroy wanted one with his name first. This one also has some good rates, or at least we think they are good. We both have good credit ratings. We seldom check on that so it was nice to learn that all is fine.
It is snowing once more, but Leroy tells me it is not supposed to be as much as the last time. We are walking to church tonight for choir practice. Guess it is boots and carry shoes because I do not like having my feet become so warm when inside. It seems to me that they get colder when we go out if they are too hot inside the building.
Paula
Perhaps you can tell that Leroy and I are not thinking of leisure activities that involve going anywhere. Today Leroy spent a good bit of the morning “working” on some stamps that someone gifted him. He was quite content to look them over, get a stronger magnifying glass (Amazingly I knew where that was.), make exclamations, and put some of them in his stamp albums. There were more than he expected that he did not have and could be added to his collection. He was quite happy. There are still many to look at.
I only asked him to help me with one task and that was to wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. Or does that count as two tasks? Neither floor is very large so it did not take us long. My real need for help was in moving things out so the entire floor could be scrubbed at once without moving the table around. We are both happy to have that job done. We sweep quite regularly, but washing gets put off until?
We have an offer on a credit card so we applied for that this morning. Leroy wanted one with his name first. This one also has some good rates, or at least we think they are good. We both have good credit ratings. We seldom check on that so it was nice to learn that all is fine.
It is snowing once more, but Leroy tells me it is not supposed to be as much as the last time. We are walking to church tonight for choir practice. Guess it is boots and carry shoes because I do not like having my feet become so warm when inside. It seems to me that they get colder when we go out if they are too hot inside the building.
Paula
Monday, November 11, 2019
Snowy Day
Hello,
Leroy was out early to shovel snow. I was still doing laundry so he did the major part by himself. He pronounced it slippery under the snow, but we continued to clear the five or six inches off the sidewalk, hoping no one would slip on what was left. We were lucky because the sun came out this afternoon and dried off the wet and melted the icy spots. The sidewalk in front of the house looks great and safe.
I was so happy that I did not have to work today so there was no concern about the road condition.
Leroy will be walking to church tonight. I envy him a little as it is a great excuse to walk. I did not get to many steps so I went out this afternoon; however it was icy in many spots prompting me to cut that short. Also the wind was bitterly cold. Leroy has some tracks things that he attaches to his boost. He will wear them tonight. The temperature is dropping and I do not think people who could not shovel this morning will be able to tonight as it is quite solid in some places.
I invited a friend to come share rhubarb/mulberry crisp. In honor of her visit, I put in a little more sugar than I usually would. It seemed quite sweet to me.
It was quite fine to have the oven going. The room/apartment is nicely warm, but opening the oven door when the baking is done lets a luxurious amount of heat envelop the room. When I grew up we had a wood burning cook stove as well as a wood burning furnace. We were always warm, but there was something about having that stove working in the kitchen that warmed the soul.
Paula
Leroy was out early to shovel snow. I was still doing laundry so he did the major part by himself. He pronounced it slippery under the snow, but we continued to clear the five or six inches off the sidewalk, hoping no one would slip on what was left. We were lucky because the sun came out this afternoon and dried off the wet and melted the icy spots. The sidewalk in front of the house looks great and safe.
I was so happy that I did not have to work today so there was no concern about the road condition.
Leroy will be walking to church tonight. I envy him a little as it is a great excuse to walk. I did not get to many steps so I went out this afternoon; however it was icy in many spots prompting me to cut that short. Also the wind was bitterly cold. Leroy has some tracks things that he attaches to his boost. He will wear them tonight. The temperature is dropping and I do not think people who could not shovel this morning will be able to tonight as it is quite solid in some places.
I invited a friend to come share rhubarb/mulberry crisp. In honor of her visit, I put in a little more sugar than I usually would. It seemed quite sweet to me.
It was quite fine to have the oven going. The room/apartment is nicely warm, but opening the oven door when the baking is done lets a luxurious amount of heat envelop the room. When I grew up we had a wood burning cook stove as well as a wood burning furnace. We were always warm, but there was something about having that stove working in the kitchen that warmed the soul.
Paula
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Finding the Lost
Hello,
We took flashlights out to the garage to search for those floor mats. After all, it is hard to see a black item on a black surface. We even backed the cars out into the sunlight and shone the light more seriously in the garage parameter. No mats appeared.
Leroy dug deep into the closet in the computer room, no luck, but he did find some other things that he moved around.
We looked under beds. Leroy searched the attic but no mats came to light. Finally at the end of the day I went up to scan the attic. I found them in the first place I looked. Admittedly they were not in plain sight but under some other things including the canner. The lower position was to guarantee their flat shape.
Today Leroy cleaned the mats we are storing for the winter and vacuumed the floor of the car so it would be clean for a while. We stored the summer mats in the attic with both of us witnessing the storage place. Do you want to take bets on our ability to find them when we want to swap them out?
Yesterday we decided to take the dirtiest car to the car wash. When there we learned that there was a special with the $12 wash only $5. We promptly went back with the second car to take advantage of that great price. One of them still has some smashed bugs on the front, but we can live with that. Apparently it takes a bit more hands on scrubbing to eliminate those corpses.
Paula
We took flashlights out to the garage to search for those floor mats. After all, it is hard to see a black item on a black surface. We even backed the cars out into the sunlight and shone the light more seriously in the garage parameter. No mats appeared.
Leroy dug deep into the closet in the computer room, no luck, but he did find some other things that he moved around.
We looked under beds. Leroy searched the attic but no mats came to light. Finally at the end of the day I went up to scan the attic. I found them in the first place I looked. Admittedly they were not in plain sight but under some other things including the canner. The lower position was to guarantee their flat shape.
Today Leroy cleaned the mats we are storing for the winter and vacuumed the floor of the car so it would be clean for a while. We stored the summer mats in the attic with both of us witnessing the storage place. Do you want to take bets on our ability to find them when we want to swap them out?
Yesterday we decided to take the dirtiest car to the car wash. When there we learned that there was a special with the $12 wash only $5. We promptly went back with the second car to take advantage of that great price. One of them still has some smashed bugs on the front, but we can live with that. Apparently it takes a bit more hands on scrubbing to eliminate those corpses.
Paula
Friday, November 8, 2019
Cold but Good
Hello,
This afternoon I delivered more newsletters. There is only a little left for Leroy and I to finish tomorrow afternoon. It is supposed to be a bit warmer then which fits Leroy’s hands better. He has such a time with cold hands. He feels it is because of frost bite when he was much younger. It did not bother me to get a big chunk of this job done. I even visited with two of the neighbors. They live about four blocks away, but they are still in the group. One guy was mowing his lawn and bagging the leaves. He said, “I will take this mulch to my cabin and mulch things there. I do like to use everything. I am a retired biologist.”
I was glad to hear that the leaves were going to be used. They are not thrown away. The city here uses them as well. If the leaves are at the curb a truck with a vacuum comes to suck them up and take them to the city compost pile. That is a great service to the citizens and the earth.
Because it was below 19 degrees this morning, Leroy drove to work. This is not starting off as a good fall/winter to ride his bike.
Leroy remembered that we got some winter floor mats with the latest car purchase. Neither of us can remember where we put them. We both remember taking them out of the car, but then what? Leroy especially has looked in the most likely places with no luck. Will winter be over before we find them? Even though we have limited storage options we still seem to be able to hide things from ourselves. Some places just might be too creative.
Paula-
This afternoon I delivered more newsletters. There is only a little left for Leroy and I to finish tomorrow afternoon. It is supposed to be a bit warmer then which fits Leroy’s hands better. He has such a time with cold hands. He feels it is because of frost bite when he was much younger. It did not bother me to get a big chunk of this job done. I even visited with two of the neighbors. They live about four blocks away, but they are still in the group. One guy was mowing his lawn and bagging the leaves. He said, “I will take this mulch to my cabin and mulch things there. I do like to use everything. I am a retired biologist.”
I was glad to hear that the leaves were going to be used. They are not thrown away. The city here uses them as well. If the leaves are at the curb a truck with a vacuum comes to suck them up and take them to the city compost pile. That is a great service to the citizens and the earth.
Because it was below 19 degrees this morning, Leroy drove to work. This is not starting off as a good fall/winter to ride his bike.
Leroy remembered that we got some winter floor mats with the latest car purchase. Neither of us can remember where we put them. We both remember taking them out of the car, but then what? Leroy especially has looked in the most likely places with no luck. Will winter be over before we find them? Even though we have limited storage options we still seem to be able to hide things from ourselves. Some places just might be too creative.
Paula-
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Changing Temperatures
Hello,
Leroy also had Wednesday off, so I had plans for him to help me clean a closet. However, after he looked at the five day weather forecast those plans changed. The community garden still had some of the cold weather tolerant veggies in it, but most would not handle the predicted 16 degrees F. or the 8 a few days later.
We also needed to deliver some neighborhood newsletters. At first it seemed like a good idea to do the newsletter and wait for warmer weather in the afternoon for the garden. Not sure why, but it seemed better to go to the garden earlier because the temperature was in the high 40’s.
I also needed to drop off a book, at a neighborhood school, that had ended up in our library. Morning appealed to me to do that errand and it was on the way to the garden. It was pleasant to be out in the sun.
At the garden we quickly realized that we needed to make another trip. Leroy suggested we bring our garden cart and two saws so we could get the roots off the collards, kale, and Brussels sprouts. We carried some home, but did indeed come back. Then it was all unloaded on the deck where we could work at the table with cutting boards, knives, bags, and stamina.
I had called a friend who cooks for the homeless in about three places, wondering if she could use the mountain of greens that we were collecting. She agreed she would like them. The Brussel sprouts were not much larger than peas, but she took them with the exclamation, “They are cute.”
That is what all veggies should be is cute. They might have a better reputation; maybe even become the stars of the meal.
It was great to go to the garden in the morning. When we left on our walk the temperature was 44 which had dropped from 50. When we got home almost an hour later it was 41 and now another hour later it is 37. We are so happy to have done all that outdoor garden stuff at a better degree of warmth.
Paula
Leroy also had Wednesday off, so I had plans for him to help me clean a closet. However, after he looked at the five day weather forecast those plans changed. The community garden still had some of the cold weather tolerant veggies in it, but most would not handle the predicted 16 degrees F. or the 8 a few days later.
We also needed to deliver some neighborhood newsletters. At first it seemed like a good idea to do the newsletter and wait for warmer weather in the afternoon for the garden. Not sure why, but it seemed better to go to the garden earlier because the temperature was in the high 40’s.
I also needed to drop off a book, at a neighborhood school, that had ended up in our library. Morning appealed to me to do that errand and it was on the way to the garden. It was pleasant to be out in the sun.
At the garden we quickly realized that we needed to make another trip. Leroy suggested we bring our garden cart and two saws so we could get the roots off the collards, kale, and Brussels sprouts. We carried some home, but did indeed come back. Then it was all unloaded on the deck where we could work at the table with cutting boards, knives, bags, and stamina.
I had called a friend who cooks for the homeless in about three places, wondering if she could use the mountain of greens that we were collecting. She agreed she would like them. The Brussel sprouts were not much larger than peas, but she took them with the exclamation, “They are cute.”
That is what all veggies should be is cute. They might have a better reputation; maybe even become the stars of the meal.
It was great to go to the garden in the morning. When we left on our walk the temperature was 44 which had dropped from 50. When we got home almost an hour later it was 41 and now another hour later it is 37. We are so happy to have done all that outdoor garden stuff at a better degree of warmth.
Paula
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Decisions
Hello,
We voted early today walking there at a fast pace as it was quite cool maybe even it could be called cold. A neighbor was scrapping frost off the car windows. It required a bit of work and effort. I am grateful that we found a place to rent that has a garage. Leroy and I agree that the cars spend their down time in the garage rather than any items we might have accumulated.
There were not a lot of choices in this small off “season” election, but we still had to know something about the best possible. Does anyone ever know the best possible? I read more and more about how important to our lives local elections are, but the voter turnout is frequently quite low. Another person was a head of me on the sign in sheet and someone came before we left so at least a few people have put forth the effort to make their wishes known.
Our state is already inundated with candidates vying for a spot on the ballet in the next major national election. I personally do not put much effort into that decision at this point. Guess I am happy to let others deal with it all.
I have had a few people expound on the virtues of this or that candidate. Mostly I just nod and smile as I really have not a clue.
Besides all those decisions we have a barrage of daily choices: what to wear, what to eat and when to sleep. No wonder a day passes with such speed.
Paula
We voted early today walking there at a fast pace as it was quite cool maybe even it could be called cold. A neighbor was scrapping frost off the car windows. It required a bit of work and effort. I am grateful that we found a place to rent that has a garage. Leroy and I agree that the cars spend their down time in the garage rather than any items we might have accumulated.
There were not a lot of choices in this small off “season” election, but we still had to know something about the best possible. Does anyone ever know the best possible? I read more and more about how important to our lives local elections are, but the voter turnout is frequently quite low. Another person was a head of me on the sign in sheet and someone came before we left so at least a few people have put forth the effort to make their wishes known.
Our state is already inundated with candidates vying for a spot on the ballet in the next major national election. I personally do not put much effort into that decision at this point. Guess I am happy to let others deal with it all.
I have had a few people expound on the virtues of this or that candidate. Mostly I just nod and smile as I really have not a clue.
Besides all those decisions we have a barrage of daily choices: what to wear, what to eat and when to sleep. No wonder a day passes with such speed.
Paula
Monday, November 4, 2019
Props For Our Age
Hello,
While working on the puzzle, Leroy and I have discovered that we both need some props to help us succeed at getting this together. The first is bright light. I also find that I had to bring the pieces close or lean over more to bring the individual pieces into focus. I also have to bring the box closer to see it as well.
Is there a puzzle that is still complicated but has more visible details? Course we do not want it to be too complicated. Ability level does make a difference. We do not fit in the extreme category.
We need to vote tomorrow because we believe that voting is an important privilege. We both read about the candidates and have come to a conclusion as to who to vote for. When I talked with Leroy this morning, admitting to not remembering the names of all the people I support, he also could not remember who he had selected. I have written down names, but is it alright if I look at that list when voting? I have not had to do that in the past.
We are both having more difficulty opening a jar that has a larger top. Perhaps it is because our hands do not fit so well around it. My mother always tapped the jars against the edge of the counter and I find myself doing more of that. We have some grippy circles that are for help in jar opening and we now know where they are in the drawer.
Paula
While working on the puzzle, Leroy and I have discovered that we both need some props to help us succeed at getting this together. The first is bright light. I also find that I had to bring the pieces close or lean over more to bring the individual pieces into focus. I also have to bring the box closer to see it as well.
Is there a puzzle that is still complicated but has more visible details? Course we do not want it to be too complicated. Ability level does make a difference. We do not fit in the extreme category.
We need to vote tomorrow because we believe that voting is an important privilege. We both read about the candidates and have come to a conclusion as to who to vote for. When I talked with Leroy this morning, admitting to not remembering the names of all the people I support, he also could not remember who he had selected. I have written down names, but is it alright if I look at that list when voting? I have not had to do that in the past.
We are both having more difficulty opening a jar that has a larger top. Perhaps it is because our hands do not fit so well around it. My mother always tapped the jars against the edge of the counter and I find myself doing more of that. We have some grippy circles that are for help in jar opening and we now know where they are in the drawer.
Paula
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Puzzles
Hello,
We opened a puzzle two days ago. Leroy got right to work turning the pieces over so we could see what they were. It brought back a memory of working with Logan this fall. His method of puzzle construction was to look through the box for the piece he wanted. He and I had little talks about the best method. I believe these were friendly talks. In the end he acquiesced to let me have some more pieces out and I stopped fussing about those left in the box.
Here in this house, they are all out right side up on the table, but the puzzle is not going together very fast. Leroy is persistent in working on the outside pieces which we have not found the total. I have quit on that and have worked on the shapes I see. I figure that the more pieces connected to each other the fewer pieces we have to search through. Now we can look at 900 instead of a thousand when wanting one more piece.
The laptop now has an updated windows program on it. There were some instructions about the updates. For a change I decided to check them out. Usually I just figure it will all come together or not. There were some steps to follow to do a certain task. The first step was to click on “more”, unfortunately, I cannot find “more”. That certainly takes my ego down a step or two. Keeping up is hard to do!
Perhaps I do best with a live body who can tell me how to get to the first screen.
Paula
We opened a puzzle two days ago. Leroy got right to work turning the pieces over so we could see what they were. It brought back a memory of working with Logan this fall. His method of puzzle construction was to look through the box for the piece he wanted. He and I had little talks about the best method. I believe these were friendly talks. In the end he acquiesced to let me have some more pieces out and I stopped fussing about those left in the box.
Here in this house, they are all out right side up on the table, but the puzzle is not going together very fast. Leroy is persistent in working on the outside pieces which we have not found the total. I have quit on that and have worked on the shapes I see. I figure that the more pieces connected to each other the fewer pieces we have to search through. Now we can look at 900 instead of a thousand when wanting one more piece.
The laptop now has an updated windows program on it. There were some instructions about the updates. For a change I decided to check them out. Usually I just figure it will all come together or not. There were some steps to follow to do a certain task. The first step was to click on “more”, unfortunately, I cannot find “more”. That certainly takes my ego down a step or two. Keeping up is hard to do!
Perhaps I do best with a live body who can tell me how to get to the first screen.
Paula
Friday, November 1, 2019
Intermittent Chores
Hello,
One car now has four new tires. Hopefully that will make stopping better, although we probably will not notice. It took some discussion to decide if we should get just two or four tires as all four were not equally worn. But Consumer Reports and Click and Clack agree that it is best to get four new tires so we went with that suggestion. The new used car might also need new tires soon, but only a mechanic knows for sure.
We also went out for lunch, not a chore, but we had a generous gift card we had not used because we had not managed to be at home together at the time when the idea came to mind. It was quite nice. I was pleased to find some vegetarian possibilities on the menu at this establishment. The amount of food was about right as well because we could have a half salad and half pasta.
After lunch we went to a book store, again Leroy has a gift card from his retirement. He found a couple books that are the beginnings of two different fantasy/si-fi series. Those will be donated to my library. So two benefit from this purchase; Leroy and the library.
Later we met with a financial adviser. Leroy is now 70 so he needs to take money from his pension fund, but because we are both working we do not need that money to live on at the moment. So we figured out where to stash it, but not under the mattress. I suppose we should get a new mattress too maybe they make them with money slits in them.
Just yesterday Leroy got another gift from church for his retirement. He was surprised, amazed, and pleased. Tonight he had the pleasing chore of writing a thank you.
Paula
One car now has four new tires. Hopefully that will make stopping better, although we probably will not notice. It took some discussion to decide if we should get just two or four tires as all four were not equally worn. But Consumer Reports and Click and Clack agree that it is best to get four new tires so we went with that suggestion. The new used car might also need new tires soon, but only a mechanic knows for sure.
We also went out for lunch, not a chore, but we had a generous gift card we had not used because we had not managed to be at home together at the time when the idea came to mind. It was quite nice. I was pleased to find some vegetarian possibilities on the menu at this establishment. The amount of food was about right as well because we could have a half salad and half pasta.
After lunch we went to a book store, again Leroy has a gift card from his retirement. He found a couple books that are the beginnings of two different fantasy/si-fi series. Those will be donated to my library. So two benefit from this purchase; Leroy and the library.
Later we met with a financial adviser. Leroy is now 70 so he needs to take money from his pension fund, but because we are both working we do not need that money to live on at the moment. So we figured out where to stash it, but not under the mattress. I suppose we should get a new mattress too maybe they make them with money slits in them.
Just yesterday Leroy got another gift from church for his retirement. He was surprised, amazed, and pleased. Tonight he had the pleasing chore of writing a thank you.
Paula
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