Shopping

Hello, Leroy and I had quite the shopping trip this morning. We got a new small clothes drying rack because our old one had broken in several places. Leroy had diligently tied it together, but now it needed to be tied each time it was set up. This morning he had had enough and declared, “We are going to get a new rack!” While in that store we looked at the clearance aisle where we found quite a few packages of underwear for adults and one for boys. These had been marked down to half price! What a deal! We know that our friend who works with the homeless and refugees might know what to do with all of them. I called her, but she did not answer so I left a message. After a wait, probably short, but maybe I am impatient, I asked a clerk who was working there about returning them if they were not needed. She said, “Oh yes that is a fine idea. Sometimes people come in, tear open a package, check the size and then stuff it back in the bag. These would be quite nice.” My friend called back to say, “Oh yes we could use all sizes and for both sexes as well as the package for boys.” So we bought all they had. She also asked if we would be willing to buy a certain size bag she needs for the meals for the homeless. We found those and bought the ten boxes she requested. She said that we would be paid for these, but we decided to add that to our donation. It gave us quite a good feeling to contribute just exactly what was needed. Tomorrow we will help pass out the meals for the homeless who pick the meals up at the door. We are supposed to have a blizzard tomorrow but we can walk to church so driving is no issue. Again we are happy to contribute time and energy. What a nice way to end one year and start another. Paula

Home With more snow

Hello, Yesterday seemed like the better time to be driving because only an inch of snow was predicted. Arriving at work, I took the time to secure the cloth piece that fits over the wind shield. It saves me a bit of time when cleaning off the car. Last night was a great time to have put it on because there was not much wind so I could basically flop it over to the other side and pull it off in one sweep. I have learned to clean off the rest of the car before clearing the front so I can hop in and drive away. Last night was no different. That cloth thing is stored in its own zippered pouch. I find it to be a very nice invention. Before leaving for home, I called Leroy to let him know when I was ready to leave the library since it would take some time to get the snow off and be ready to drive. I know if I am late he starts to be concerned. I was happy to hear him say that he would clear the incline in front of the garage. In fact that was a subliminal reason for calling. With the full garage door now, instead of two smaller ones, it is not so much of an issue, but I do not enjoy slipping as I go into the garage. Early in the evening, a library patron said, “It has started to snow and is a bit slippery. You must be careful on your way home.” I did not notice any slipping, but I did not drive fast either. It felt good to pull up the snow free incline and park in the garage. Leroy had also had time to do all of the sidewalks. It was so nice to walk this morning. I am so grateful for all those who promptly clear the sidewalk of snow. It is a city rule that there is 24 hours to get it done, but some ignore that and let it become solid ice. Paula

Walking outdoors at 8 degrees F.

Hello, I am going to work today. It is to snow again while I am there or coming home, but it is predicted to be only two inches and the temperature is much lower so it should be easier to drive. I am not concerned, but I will pack my winter bag of extra boots in the car along with some warmer things. I believe I usually have a sleeping bag in there since it is so easy to make compact along with a warm hat and wind breaker pants. That should help me if I go in the ditch and have to spend some time there. From now on I will also make sure there is half a tank or more of gas in the car. We walked this morning at that low temperature of 8 degrees Fahrenheit. There was little wind so it was not too bad. I wore my new packable down coat. It is not a long as my other down coat. I did notice that. I also noticed that I did not have snug enough clothing under it so the cold crept up from the bottom. Otherwise it was a warm coat. Leroy and I are so happy that we cleared the sidewalk. It is perfect for walking. The trail had not been cleared, but not many had traveled on it so it was like walking in new crusty snow. The sidewalks that had not been cleared were more of an issue as there were many frozen foot prints creating icy ridges to navigate. We should have come down to the end of the alley and cleared that snow away, but were tired when done with our own areas. Paula

Snow and a changed day

Hello, We were in the middle of remote tai chi class when it started to snow. Leroy whispered to me about putting the kids’ books in the side where the door blew off. He has been unable to fix it. In a bit, he went out and rescued them. When the wind and snow became stronger I was so glad that he had done that. We had loaded three lamps in the car to give to the refugees in our city. It was so good that we had done that before the snow came. At church we could unload under the awning, but, even so, the wind was blowing snow into the trunk. When downstairs we asked the person who takes care of these things if she needed some help. We ended by staying two hours to get things ready for the Saturday meals. Leroy asked if she needed help Saturday afternoon. She did, as two others had just cancelled because of health. It is so nice that we can make use of this unexpected time at home. Gives us purpose! I called my boss and asked if I could take today off and work tomorrow. That would give her tomorrow off. She said that was fine. As it turned out it might have been fine to drive, but at the time of the call, snow did not appear to be quitting. Shoveling gave us some exercise. It was only three inches, but was wet and heavy. Paula

Quiet Day

Hello, We are so grateful for technology that allows us to see our family even when we are apart. Good to know that things will be different in the future. Life is always changing. It is a bit difficult for us to have such an open day. I did not make or suggest any task to Leroy and he tells me, “I feel a little stir crazy.” Leroy and I took several walks to get to our total. It was a very nice day to be out. God Bless you Paula

Merry Christmas

Hello, Leroy and I will be home for Christmas. We cancelled our flight to UT. Sarah’s family in DC has two members with Covid so they cancelled. We had become quite unsure because of all the reports of the spread of the variant. We feel less anxious, but much more sadness, especially the day after we cancelled. We are ok now, but still missing something from time to time. Miriam was surprised and disappointed that we cancelled since they were all ok and we were ok. I learned that she had expected to use us to drive her around to her work places. That might have been interesting because I suspect we do not drive as she would like us to. We are too slow and deliberate. On the plus side we were able to go to choir and will be there tonight for the 10:00 pm service. I do like the piece we are singing. I just wonder if we can stay awake that late at night, certainly past our bedtime. We will walk home from the service so it will close to 11:30 by that time. It is nice out so it should be a good walk and we can keep each other alert. Hoping that your Christmas brings you joy and serenity. Peace would be good. Paula

Christmas cards mostly done

Hello, This morning Leroy and I worked very hard to get almost all of the Christmas cards in the mail. Seems to us this is about as early as we have ever managed. We included a picture of the two of us that looks quite fine. The letter, of course, is entertaining. Hopefully, it is error free. Leroy and I both checked the electronic copy and then the printed copy. Sometimes much later we will see some glaring mistake. I have great resolve to exercise more. I believe I should lift weights more. I have a nice set of weights, but lately they remain resting in the holder. I thought I might use Leroy’s bands, but after one day they were forgotten by me. I believe that I could use more muscle. The only exercise that manages to get done with regularity are the one day per week yoga and tai chi. We do manage to log a lot of steps most days, but my working days slow me down. Last night we went to a concert at the museum. Two friends went with us. Two vocalists and a pianist from the Czech Republic preformed. They now live and work in New York City. They were quite good. I knew that the man who went with us is not so into classical music, but he commented several times about how much he enjoyed it. Unlike most concerts at this time of year it was not Christmas music or if it was Christmas music, I do not know since it was all in Czech. Paula

New Shoes

Hello, I am wearing one pair of new shoes at home to learn if they are a good fit. So far it has been good for this first mail order purchase. I like to wear the shoes at least two hours before I declare them acceptable. It is better if I spend much of the time walking, but I am just not motivated to do that. I am ready to wear my new shoes when we leave town in two weeks. I have not purchased any new clothes for quite some time, so I suppose I should look into that, but I find that a chore. I should have a personal clothes buyer. Leroy and I decided not to put up or out any Christmas decorations. We usually put them out in the middle of December and take them down at Epiphany which is January 6. Because we will be gone from December 22nd to January 4th it did not seem worthwhile. Leroy now tells me he wants to put something out. If we had a small tree that could go out, but instead we will put out our manger scenes because we store them on this level, making them easier to access. Also, for the second time we cannot find our epiphany star. Surely we put it in a place which was supposed to be good for us to find it. Leroy drove to work today because of the low temperature. Yesterday we went to tai chi together and I dropped him off at work. He walked home the three miles, but was overly prepared for the cold which included wind. He said, “I was so warm when I got home that it was great to put on a short sleeved shirt for a while.” I had been a bit concerned about him being too cold, but that was not necessary. Do you think I can learn from that? Worry or fussing does not help or create the ultimate outcome, right? Paula

Papers eliminated, shoes added and health report December 4, 2021 Hello, Our last year’s tax forms were requested by our financial advisor. When looking for them, I was astonished by the amount of paper in there. Leroy is financially conservative and that includes eliminating older tax forms. He learned that seven years is plenty for us. He had them since 2001. He went through and tossed all instruction forms, or anything that did not have personal information. That took our several pounds. This morning we both went through the pile again and weeded out many more pages with careful scrutiny. He will go Monday and buy a new shredder as ours does not always work so well. He has long wanted one of the newer more meticulous ones. The house will be lighter. I have one pair of sneakers that is getting a hole. I ordered two pair online and they came today. With a short time on my feet they felt good. I will wear them at least two hours in the house before deciding that they are keepers. Miriam wrote this update for her health and I am passing on that note. “Here’s the current health update for me. It has now been three weeks since the surgery to remove the mass in my brain. Honestly having the surgery was incredibly scary and stressful for our family, but the surgeon and medical team did an excellent job of providing care for me. Once back home from the hospital the first week to week and a half were incredibly challenging with pain and needing to receive help with a great deal of basic activities of daily living. I’m happy to report that now I have not taken anything for pain in over a week and I’m feeling fairly good. I’m able to sleep through the night and have not had any seizures in over a month. I was able to return to work this past week (with a driver) and greatly enjoyed being back in the world. Thanks so much to everyone for the care, love and support we have received during this time.” I also wanted to share the pictures of my flowering cacti. I found that one orange flower to be quite a mystery. How did it come to be on a plant with only white flowers?

Paula

Masks Lost and Found

Hello, Two years ago, if I had been told I would be concerned about lost masks, I would have thought they were crazy. We have found and lost our washable masks much more than seems possible. Right now I am disgruntled because I cannot find my mask for singing. Leroy is also disgruntled because he cannot find the mask he got from the museum. We have searched in all the logical places and no masks. Just a little side note when I picked up trash in the neighborhood I found many disposable masks, but several cloth masks. The new litter of this age. We have church tonight so I must go to eat. We are walking. So it means leaving earlier than in a car, but it is such great weather for walking. Paula

Pump Bottles

Hello, I have a new bottle of body lotion. I twisted the pump at the top to get it to come up, counterclockwise did not work. I tried clockwise. I made sure I held the cap as I turned the pump, first one way then the other. No success! When Leroy came home I had him try. He did the same steps that I did resulting in the same outcome, nothing happening. It sat out on the counter for about a week and we each tried this and that from time to time. Mostly we were repeating steps that had not worked before. Finally in desperation, the Internet was consulted. There were many sources of advice on this topic. Apparently we are not the only ones who have had trouble. A few assumed that we knew nothing about operating this pump, giving us the same method that we had tried. Looking farther down the list was the best one. It said to unscrew the cap, clean the entire tube of product, firmly grasp below the cap and turn the pump counterclockwise. I took off the cap, pulled out the tube and cleaned it off putting the lotion on my waiting dry skin. I still could not manage to get the pump to turn. Leroy also tried, but he commented, “My hands are still slipping a bit I am going to get one of the jar lid grippers”. What magic! The pump made a satisfying click as I turned it with Leroy holding the tube. Just a couple more turns and the pump came up. After a few pushes lotion came out onto my hand. It was a joyful moment. Paula

Various Activities

Hello, I went grocery shopping this morning. It was quite fine to be in the store because so few people were there. Out in the parking lot, something on the ground was fluttering a little in the breeze. Closer inspection revealed two twenty dollar bills. No other cars were close to mine at all. I picked up the money, but felt a little guilty. A car had been much closer when I came, but it was gone. Leroy and I will decide what to do with it. There are always many places to give cash to help in one way or another. This afternoon I headed out for a long walk in the warm, sunny time of day. As I went on the busiest street I once again noticed trash flying around. Back to the garage for some plastic grocery bags made a different walk goal. I get quite a few steps as I go back and forth across the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street. I filled a bag rather quickly so took it into the garage and deposited it in the large city bag for clean up purposes. Usually I only carry two bags because it can be hard to deal with so much in one hand while the other is picking up. As part of the trash I did find a paper bag with handles that I considered recycling, but managed to fill my two bags before I was home, so I filled that paper bag too. I felt quite satisfied to have picked up four bags of trash. Leroy and I walked this afternoon when he came home and I pointed out the lack of trash. He did think it looked quite fine, but there were some new pieces or things that I had inadvertently missed. With the strong winds it is not easy to know where it is coming from or where it goes if not picked up. It certainly looks better now and that will last for a day or two. Paula

Does Leroy have more sense than I do?

Hello, Leroy saw the temperature on our outdoor thermometer was 21 F. On the “official” report it was 19 degrees F. He decided to drive rather than ride his bike. I washed bedding and hung out the sheets when it was 26 degrees F. on our home thermometer. With the breeze the sheets almost dried. I really like getting them outdoors for some drying time. I made granola today. I use to put powdered milk in it, but since Leroy is lactose intolerant I have not put that in for many years. About a year ago I could no longer get soy flour, so chickpea flour is the substitute. Recently I have had a hard time finding wheat germ. More rolled oats takes the place of that. It is a changed recipe. I checked the spending on the credit card against the receipts. I found a credit that Leroy could not find yesterday. I was happy to see that. I was afraid that it had been credited as store credit, but I did not want to spend more money there. It was cool and windy this afternoon, but I managed to get over 6,000 steps. If Leroy wants to walk when he comes home from work, I will go with him. I might make it to 10000 steps. Paula

Thankful

November 25, 2021 Hello, Leroy and I are grateful for some time of peace and quiet. I did a zoom class of yoga this morning. Leroy joined us and he did a lot of groaning. Definitely it included some stretches and moves he is not used to doing. Don’t know that he was thankful for that. I was glad to get my time in for some good stretches. We are grateful for the instant pot. We used it yesterday for lentils. We were grateful for directions on how to take it apart to clean. I will perhaps go back to doing the lentils in the slow cooker. I am cooking some butternut squash in there now and I think that will be a much easier clean. It turned out very fine. Even though I seldom use it I am grateful for my mama’s china. I like the simple design of it. We used it today and did not break any. We are grateful for the brilliant sun, but not so pleased with the low temperatures and strong wind. Grateful that I can put aside the idea of getting 10000 steps, but I will go back out to get to 5000. We are grateful for legs that work. Our furnace is a comfort on a cold day. What a wonderful invention, there is heat in the rooms without a fireplace. I texted Miriam this morning and asked if she was going to let her husband and her cousin do all the work for thanksgiving. I resisted the urge to say, “Take it easy,” when she replied that she felt quite good. I am sure she will hear “take it easy” enough. Paula

Ignorance or just not knowing?

Hello, I felt totally surprised to come home and see so many bigger buds on both of the Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus. I suppose someday I will learn to change the name because they do bloom early for Christmas and they have those pointed leaves. Some of the buds on the pink one are open. The white has more buds than I have ever seen on it. Neither of these bloomed for their previous owners. They just like our bedroom window. For some reason I am noticing many things in my house that I do not know what to do with. Some of them are things that once belonged to my parents or Leroy’s parents. What to do with them is a big open ended question. Someday before we move again I will try to figure that out for some of them. I suppose some of them are just junk that has become attached to us. The pharmacy let Leroy know that his refilled prescription was ready. I walked up to get it since he rode the bike and does not like to stop on the way home. Today he did not take his bike lock since he can put his bike in a secure stairwell. It was a nice day for a walk. The pharmacist, who recognizes me, asked what he could do for me. I told him I was picking up meds for Leroy Bradway. It seemed to me he was taking a long time to find it. Then he pulled a bag out and asked me for his birthday. I thought carefully before answering. For some reason I never remember whether Leroy’s birthday is Feb. 2nd or 3rd. Leroy’s mother told me that it was close to Groundhog Day. The trouble is that Groundhog Day is not important to me and never has really been in my memory. This creates a struggle to figure it out on the spot. Then the pharmacist with a puzzled face asked, “Harold?” I tend to forget that Leroy’s first name is really Harold as I never use it. That makes it difficult for me in legal situations. I wish he would go by his first name, although now I would be living with some stranger. It is also tricky at the hospital where people talk to him and call him Harold and he does not respond. Such times! Paula

Windy Weather

Hello, This afternoon, we walked with friends. Because of the strong wind we did not make the long planned distance. It was not like this when we walked to church and back. Also with the wind a cold front was blowing in and the temperature was dropping. The warmest temperatures were history by noon. Leaves were flying rapidly away. Most trees will be bare tomorrow. Now who will rake, what yard will they come to rest in? In spite of the wind the workers finished putting siding on the house across the street that was damaged during the August 2020 derecho. Such a long wait, but it now looks very nice. Most of the work was done yesterday. The tallest part was done today. Guess those ladders were steady enough in the strong breeze. We talked to Miriam today. learning that she was able to sleep through the night for the first time since the surgery. Even during the day she is able to lengthen and reduce the amount of pain meds. It seems like fast progress to me even if she did look a bit tired. There is still healing work to do. Leroy will be working four days this week because his boss is taking the week off and Leroy had off last week. It is nice those two manage these things so well. We both have good jobs that give us satisfaction and a sense of purpose. Paula

Beautiful Day

Hello, It is such a nice day here. We hung out three loads of clothes and all dried well. Love the smell of outdoor dried sheets. We both got our ten thousand steps. We went to a hardware store to get a stronger magnet to hang my new pot holders. The pot holders are apparently heavier than the last set because the magnetic hook just slid down the wall of the refrigerator. This magnet was touted as being able to hold twenty pounds. It certainly is a solid hold. I am pleased. In the hardware store, Leroy wanted to look at a good latch for the little free library. On the way to the latches, we walked by some amaryllis blubs. They were even on sale. I had dug up my bulb from its outdoor home only to stab it with the fork because I miss judged the larger size. It does not look too bad, but I am not sure it will live. It was exciting to find these at such a good price. We talked to Brian this afternoon and he sounds quite fine. Such a difference from Miriam a day after her surgery. Brian is a little anxious to get to drive again. This time it was his right leg so he will have to wait a longer time for that to happen. He is also tired of sitting around so much even after just one day. The Instant pot was given its trial run today and it was indeed easy and quick. It is perhaps safer than the pressure cooker that I used to have. Certainly it is easier to operate since it is not on the stove but controlled by the controls in it. Paula

Leaving Utah

Hello, Yesterday we came home, leaving Miriam and family to figure out life. Miriam is up and around a bit. We all yell at her to take it easy, but it does not do much good. Pain or tiredness seems to have more say in the matter. Each day she has been getting better. I just hope she keeps getting better, but not overdoing it. We were leaving on an earlier flight with a long layover in Chicago. Miriam called the airlines and got it changed to a shorter, later flight. We got to Cedar Rapids at 11:30 pm. Lucky for us we were coming from Mountain Time so it only seemed like 10:30. We are grateful for our downstairs friends who could pick us up at the airport at that late hour. In the Salt Lake airport we learned how the TSA struggles to get items out of the scanner. A passenger ahead of us had not managed their things very well; some fell out of the bin and jammed up the conveyor belt. They had some long poles and long handled grabbers. They could get some of it out but not everything so the belt did not run. We finally were moved to another line, but that meant they just worked us in. We did get through in plenty of time, but I was starting to feel nervous. After we were through, they opened another line because it was not getting unstuck. Note to self, be careful how you place items in the TSA bins. Brian had his surgery today and is home already. Guess that is ok. As many of you know hospital stays are short. Apparently the surgery was successful. Paula

Moving around

Hello, We again went for a brisk walk in the morning logging 6,000 steps. It was brisk for us, but tomorrow morning we are going to walk faster since we took a minute longer than is usual for this walker. Who knew that we would slow someone down? We will have to up our game. I guess I have been dragging because my pace is a bit slower. Leroy picked up dog poop in the back yard. He did a lot of walking back and forth trying to survey all the ground. He logged an additional 1000 steps. After lunch we both raked leaves. Then it was time to take the dogs for a short walk. Later we walked to meet Nora after school. I have over 15,000 steps for the day and Leroy has over 16,000 steps. We also spent some time sitting with Miriam and getting her this and that. She woke up with a bit more pain this morning, but that seems to be much more under control now. Since she has been home, she has only had two of the opioids, so I do not think there is any danger of addiction. Addiction is certainly something she wants to avoid. At times it seems a bit of a tricky path to decide which way to medicate. We are grateful for advice from the health care team. It is to be colder here tomorrow, but so far, the weather is quite fine. We are grateful for that too. The guest bedroom was just put back together after a redo, so we are grateful for that too. Miriam’s husband is doing a lot. He works from home, consequently, can do a lot for Miriam. Her daughters have also stepped up and helped when they are home from school. Paula

Getting Better

Hello, Today we have been following the med schedule and Miriam is much better. We have a written schedule and then we record it when we give it to her. She is ready for more meds by the time they are to be given. She has certainly rested much more than she did yesterday. She has had much more of an appetite so that is also good. This morning we walked with Miriam’s friend. Miriam has said this person did not walk so fast, but Leroy and I both commented on the speed later. Guess we have slowed down. We also walked a bit over two miles which is more than we usually do before breakfast. We will have to pick up the pace. We could still talk, but it was a little more effort. Miriam is sure she will be bored with the month of lying around or of limited activity. Today she has had her eyes open. Before she felt like she needed to keep her eyes closed, but they have been open more today. Leroy is doing some dishes. He picked apples from their apple tree, and he cooked them up. He and I are eating them as sauce with the granola that I made. Paula

Visiting Miriam

Hello,

We finally made it to Utah after some delayed, but uneventful flights. Who knew that when a plane has been readied for a longer trip they might offload 6,000 pounds of fuel for the shorter trip? It takes a bit of time.

We got to their house after 11:00 PM mountain time. We were a bit tired, but pleased to be able to talk to Miriam on the phone. /she was slower talking, but good.

This morning, Leroy, Andy and I went to visit her. She was good, but experiencing quite a bit of pain which seems like a very normal thing to me when your head had been cut open. She is very cognizant and is able to get up to go to the toilet with some steadying help on the steps there. I am so pleased that her speech functions are good. As the neurosurgeon said, she should not have many after effects.

He had originally talked about her surgery as being very easy, but on the day of it was put somewhere between easy and medium difficult. All in all it went according to plan with a good outcome. This picture is from this morning.