Walking

Hello,

 

Leroy and I took our usual short early morning walk. It is expected by both of us that we would walk once more in the day. Some friends called asking if we would like to walk around Cedar Lake with them this afternoon. We accepted. We walked down to the Lake and met them there. I learned after we got home that the walk to the lake is .9 mile. I do not know how far it is around the lake, but we did the circuit twice. By the time Leroy and I got home we could admit to being quite tired. My device showed over 14,000 steps for the day while Leroy’s showed over 13,000 steps. That feels like an accomplishment. We are both rather tired, but elated. We had to drink tea and eat crackers and cheese to recover.

 

Unfortunately tomorrow will be a much less stepped day for me because I work. On those days it can be a struggle to get much over 5,000 steps because I spend too much time at a desk. Leroy, who will be home, will get the 10,000 most likely.

 

It was quite windy this afternoon, but we had the wind at our back coming home and that was nice to have it help us in that direction. I had thought I would be done wearing long underwear for the year, but it was on and I was grateful even if it made my jeans a little tight.

 

How can tomorrow be the first day of March?

 

Paula

Outdoors

Hello,

 

It was up to 45 degrees F. So Leroy and I took a good long walk. We even drove a ways across town to get a different view. We consider ourselves fortunate to live in a city that has almost 65 miles of bike/hiking trails. It is so nice to see so many people out. There were quite a lot of walkers and just a few bikes. The trail is paved and cleared of snow. There was some water running across the trail and in spots quite a large puddle. If needed, we just waited for others to cross on the narrow dry spot first. I have my 10,000 steps now. Leroy is a bit disgusted because we walk the same distance and he has fewer steps recorded. Maybe I take more steps or maybe my device just logs more steps than his does. Close, but not equal.

 

Leroy has his personal librarian. As I was leaving for work yesterday he said, “Get me some books. This is my last one.”

 

Life is just not satisfying without a book in hand for either of us. Course that can be overdone. I had three nonfiction books going at once on the subject of spirituality. I decided I am not going to finish them all so I did take one back. It takes me a long time to read a nonfiction book because it seems to require stopping and thinking about the issues it is presenting. That is a luxury in my privileged life to be able to read and consider different ideas. Also, what a privilege it is to just get books from the library. If I do not like them it is no big deal to return them. I am gifted with my luxuries.

 

Paula

Health Care Provider

Hello,

 

I have not seen a general practitioner for almost four years. By the way, do you good spellers know how hard it can be to find the correct spelling of a word that you have so totally wrong? Spell check does a great job when it is close miss, but cannot read my mind when quite removed from the proper spelling.

 

I got a note from the former provider’s office that my second pneumonia shot is overdue. Also listed were a bone density and mammogram. I knew about the last two, but thought it was not a pressing concern. You all are my witness I will make more of an effort to find a new provider.

 

My last provider retired and I do not want to see her replacement because she works with the doctor that did not help Leroy. I do not want him to be over my care person.

 

I read a book about geriatric care and it seemed like the time might be right for me to find such a person. I would also like a woman and I would like someone close enough for me to walk there. So far I am not finding such a person. The only woman who has a specialty strictly in geriatric care, works at a nursing home. Somehow, that seems a little more than I need. I called the closest one listed, but she does not work there any longer, but at one that is driving distance away. The on line information looked like she deals with people who are in a facility.

 

There is a man who also has this specialty, but I would like to have a woman. Sigh. I cannot have it all. I must decide which criteria matters most.

 

Paula

Chopping Ice

Hello,

 

I had planned to take a walk, but ice called with a stronger voice.  Yesterday, Leroy had done quite a lot of work on the alley close to the garage. I noticed a pool starting to form so I worked a bit on the drainage channel which allows it to flow to the drain about three houses down. It was so satisfying to see that pond disappear that I decided to learn what I could do about the much larger pool at the end of the alley. Three houses in the other direction.

 

With the ice chopper and shovel it seemed there were real possibilities. Before I worked on the area by the backup it seemed prudent to make sure the water could move on when it was released. That took a bit of time, but seemed well worth it to have a more freely flowing down stream.

 

When closer to the ice dam, I worked rather far out again, making sure that there was space for the water to move into. Not wishing to be injured I took it with less force that I would have liked. It is so satisfying to see more water rushing out of that area, but it is such a big back up that after an hour and a half, quitting was the most attractive option. No hurting places, but I was quite tired.

 

When I showed my work to my downstairs friend, he commented, “That should be good and it should just keep getting out of the area for a few days.”

 

It is so amazing to have days warm enough to melt some of the snow and ice. I just hope it goes slow enough that there is no flooding.

 

Paula

Mysteries of Life

Hello,

 

Why am I now adding chemicals to one part of my body to grow hair and adding chemicals to another to eliminate hair?

 

How is it possible to go to a zoom meeting but be in the “wrong” room with three others who also found this room?

 

Why do my fingernails now have ridges where no ridges are required?

 

Why does it keep snowing and not melting?

 

Why is one of our required tax papers so late in getting to us?

 

Who knew that the snow would provide a record of how much use the trail gets: human foot traffic, bikes, and animals?

 

Who knew squirrels hop when on the ground?

 

How long will it be before we can hug a person who does not live with us?

 

Where did the third bud on the white Thanksgiving cactus go?

 

Why does the pink cactus bloom with so much more vigor?

 

Why have I gotten so lazy about dusting and cleaning?

 

Paula

 

Masks

Hello,

 

On the way to the grocery store, I realized I had forgotten my mask, but it was not a problem as two extras are in the car so that was an easy fix.

 

At the gas station on the way home, I got out to pump gas only to find that it prompted: press enter to move to the next step. There was no “enter” to be seen. Usually it is buttons alongside the screen. All the buttons were white with nothing showing on the screen. My guess was incorrect. Looking for a number pad or another entry pad yielded nothing of value. The message changed, but not as I wanted. So after three more guesses and still no gas pumping, it was a trip into the store where it is possible to prepay at the register. After I was at the counter, I noted that the person who was helping me was wearing her mask below her nose. I thought, “Oh well, I have mine, Oh no I left it in the car because I had not planned to come inside.”

 

It seemed prudent to just stay and get the task done as quickly as possible. It did not take long. I prepaid $20. It seemed that would surely be more than adequate since it was just under half a tank left. Back at the pump that same screen was up. I waited a bit. Nothing happened so I checked the pump on the opposite side just in case it went there. Nothing! Back at my original pump the screen finally changed and started to clear than it informed that I could select level and start the gas. What a relief! I was quite surprised when the entire $20 was used. I had forgotten about what a difference the recent raise in gas prices makes to the total. At least the car registered full when started. The adage is to keep the tank above half in cold or snow. Since there had been a lot of both, I was trying to be prepared for any eventuality.

 

Paula

Picking up Leroy Vaccine part B

Hello,

 

Confidence rode in the car with me. It should be so easy. At the store, it seemed prudent to text Leroy from the parking lot to let him know that I was there. He sent me a text which said, “I just had my shot.”

 

Because it was about 15 degrees, I texted back, I am coming in. I gathered mask, etc. and went to the store to find him. His text had not come to me at the right time. Once I was inside he called me to say that he was outside and where.  Alas, if only I had known he was already waiting for me, I would have just driven up and picked him up. Finding him was easy and we headed off to the car. At the car no car keys were in my pockets. Even my small purse backpack did not have any. After emptying it all out it still yielded no keys. We could not see them in the car because it was quite dark by this time. Leroy got the brilliant idea to use his phone flash light feature. He could not get his to work. I managed and shone the beam in the car. There were the keys where I had laid them down to text Leroy.

 

Because it was so cold we went back in the store and called our downstairs rescuer. He said he would come. So I gave him details about where we were and where our car keys are at home. Great to have trustworthy people who can get into the apartment and gather our keys! As it turned out he was over on the other side of town in a home store, but he assured us he would be going home soon and coming on with the car key. In the meantime his wife went up, sent us a picture of the car key which was for Leroy’s car, before sending the picture of the required key. It was a relief to see that picture. Leroy had been going to take his key with him, but decided at the last minute it was unnecessary. After a bit of a wait we were on our way home. We are blessed to have such good downstairs friends who can rescue us.

Glad that we ate before all this, because it did get a bit late. Even though this is across town from our house, it is a smaller city so only takes about fifteen minutes to get across depending on traffic.

 

Paula

 

Getting the Vaccine

Hello,

 

Leaving work an hour early got me home in good time to eat a bit before we headed off across town. Even though I had been concerned about getting Leroy to his appointment and then getting to mine on time it went smoothly. He was in agreement that he could be there half an hour early. His place was easier, I thought, to access.  Making the left turn into the pharmacy had been bothering me, but there was a nice long left turn lane so waiting until the light turned so was easy. With more than fifteen minutes to spare I went into the building. Check in was just inside the door. “My appointment is at six,” I said.

 

“Paula?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” I replied. This was just so smooth until she gave me the card. My last name is not Smith (Name changed to protect the innocent.)

 

“Well that is the only Paula on my list,” she stated as she looked a little further. “I cannot do anything about this, but here is a card. You will have to ask at the desk.”

 

Keep calm! If no vaccine today another will do! Self talk does calm me.

 

At the desk that person also did not have my proper last name on her list. There was not a single letter in common in these two last names so I figured it could not have been a typo.

 

The pharmacist was called out. She also did not have me on her list. There was some discussion that I might be in the wrong place, but on my phone the text had this address. She asked a few questions, did I just call in, etc. There was also discussion between the women about the number of shots still available. They had called someone because they thought they had an extra. Finally, Miriam, surely someone named Miriam would be a big help, went to the back and looked at another place. Miriam found my name, came out syringe equipped, asked appropriate questions, cleaned the spot, and gave the vaccine. All this was done ahead of schedule. In the end it all seemed very easy. After the fifteen minute observation wait, I headed out to pick up Leroy.

 

This tale is not over yet. Stay tuned for part II.

 

Paula

Heat Wave?

Hello,

 

The temperature was up to 20 degrees this afternoon. Surely that is like a heat wave after so much time hovering above or well below zero. I went out to chop ice from the sidewalk. Even in the sun it was not enough of a heat wave for me to get that ice up in very many places. I did feel fine so I took a walk, but with the wind in my face for a while it did not feel like a heat wave to me either. I was happy to turn and have the wind at my back. I realized after a block that I did not have my phone with me. Rather than turn back, I just was much more careful with the thought of falling in my mind. It was just two blocks one way and one block the other so I guess you could say it was a rectangle. It did feel so good to be out. I like the outdoors at almost any time of year.

 

Leroy just called and told me he is on the way home and plans to try chopping some ice. I will help him as much as I can. He might have better luck because he is stronger or because the sun has had another hour to work on the release of ice.

 

The birds in the tree are so interesting to me. Sparrows are moving up in my appreciated bird list. When growing up, sparrows were seen as more of a pest than not. One of the issues was that they built nests in the gutters blocking it from letting rain run into the cistern which was our source of soft water for washing dishes, clothes, and bodies. Our house was tall so it took a seriously long ladder to make it to the gutter to get them out. I was always a little dismayed at the babies that might be in there and that they would die when thrown on the ground. My father did not mess around with sentimentality when he was up there. His focus was the goal of a clean gutter with as little effort as possible.

 

Paula

Leroy, Feeling Good

Hello,

 

Leroy has been feeling so good for the past two weeks. We are both pleased. Otherwise his sense of wellness seems to go up and down quite a bit. He will now drop some more of the strength of his medicine every other day. Sometimes when the amount has dropped it is as if he has to learn to adapt to that new level. We are hoping this will be a good move. The dosage is getting quite low so one would assume that the body should not be quite so affected by the change.

 

We have put together a picture puzzle. Leroy does not spend much time working on them, but when I came home last night he told me that he had spent much of the day sitting by it and did not get much else done. We worked on it together and finished it. There were two missing pieces, but that did not bother us so much. I just wish Sarah were closer so I could pass it to her. She has been putting many puzzles together since the pandemic started. Not sure I can justify the cost of mailing a puzzle that is missing pieces.

 

We will get our vaccine on Friday. It was such a struggle to get it scheduled. I know many people who spent many more hours that we did in order to be successful. With some people that became our first topic of conversation, “Did you get your vaccine or appointment yet?”

 

I know people who stayed up and signed up after midnight or else they got up very early in the morning. People who do not have a computer have had another barrier to possibilities.

 

Paula

Short Walks and Recipes

Hello,

 

With the continuing low temperatures combined with too much wind, Leroy and I only took a short walk in the morning and again in the afternoon. We checked the wind direction so we could face into the wind in the first part of the walk and have it at our backs on the return. We were both quite happy to get back in the house. Nothing like a cold outing to appreciate all the comforts of home!

 

We are making a lentil tomato dish and following or almost following a recipe. It specified four garlic cloves. Two of the cloves were large so we put a number of small cloves to make it more equal. There were no onions in the dish, but I like onions as does Leroy so we added half an onion. Then it suggested three cups of precooked, canned lentils. We did not have such in the house so we used two cups of non cooked lentils which we have now cooked ahead of time. The one item that is exactly what the recipe calls for is a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes. We had that. Leroy is basically making this and I am assisting. It is so rare when I look at a recipe, I hardly know how to act and Leroy is learning from me to have a total disregard for the rules.

 

I never liked coloring in school because I did not like following the rules about neatness and staying in the lines.

 

Leroy and I both have Covid vaccines scheduled for the end of this week. I will be happy when that is done.

 

Would you believe our mail was delivered today? We even got a valentine on Sunday. We had not had a delivery for three days.

 

Paula

Cold, Snow

Hello,

 

It is hard to believe that when Brian was born over forty years ago on Valentine’s Day, the temperatures were almost in the 70’s. Our low last night was -5 degrees F and -20.6 C. What a difference!

 

Leroy and I took our usual quick short walk this morning before the sun was up. Today Leroy walked behind me. I usually walk behind him because he wants to go faster. When I commented about it he replied, “I am so bundled up that if you fell, I might not be able to hear you.”

 

With this cold it is nice to have two of us out there to help each other if needed. There was also a fresh blanket of snow that might have been half an inch to an inch. Where did this come from? We were not expecting it. At least this now was easy to shovel with its light dry quality.

 

We watched a film about homeless people called My Friend Karl. It is available on Amazon Prime. The person who did it is a teenager and he has won awards for this film. We were both quite impressed with it.

 

Snow and cold encourages more sitting around reading or watching TV. It is good to find something that inspires.

 

Here is a branch outside our window. It is sheltered from much of the wind so it has a load of snow.

 

We have not gotten mail delivered to the house for two days, not sure why. Wondering if it is the cold and snow or illness.

 

Paula

Leroy’s Glasses

Hello,

 

Leroy and I were getting ready to take a walk after we both got home from work. Leroy could not find his glasses. I helped look. With my glasses on I can see quite well, but I was unable to find them. He said, “What if I left them on my desk at work?”

 

“You drove home,” I said, “You really can see quite well, besides I think you were wearing glasses when I saw you.”

 

We searched more unlikely places. Leroy figured he would have taken them off to put on his sweatshirt as prep for walking. I wondered, “Did he not have on his glasses and I just did not notice?”

 

He texted his boss to find out if he had left them on his desk. We did a more through hunt and Leroy found them. They had fallen into one of his slippers. He had laid them on the bed and they must have slipped off. I gave him an abbreviated talk about where to put his glasses when he takes them off.

 

My vision is quite a bit more challenged than Leroy’s. Consequently I try to be very careful about where I put my glasses since I am often unable to see them and have to feel around. Or if Leroy is home I ask him to look and usually he finds them quickly.

 

Paula

 

Hello,

 

Before he left for work Leroy asked, “What exciting things do you have planned for today?”

 

I am not sure if he was being factious or what. He knew that I would be home all day. I had a nice day, but probably not considered exciting by very many people. It started off with tai chi through the Ely library. I open that meeting so I am always there. Now our instructor is at a warmer place in Mountain Time zone. I am happy that he and his wife, who also attends, are ok with getting up an hour early for this class. Then one of the participants is also in a warmer place, but in Eastern Time Zone. This pandemic has shown us that we can still meet even though in far places.

 

I was washing some dark clothes and because the washer makes so much noise, ball bearings are going, I moved to the computer room to finish my devotions. There the sun was coming in the window, highlighting the plant blossoms and showing the snow on the tree with small birds taking shelter. That was exciting and joyful. I basked in the sun.

 

I went out to try to get a little more of the ice and snow off the sidewalk before I took a walk the long way around two blocks. With the low temperature I did not want to go too far, but I did have my phone with me if I needed to call for help. I can say with authority that it is much nicer to walk with the wind at your back on sub zero days.

 

Later I went out again, getting some of the snow and ice off the alley by the garage. It was hard work but because my tracker is on my wrist, steps counted without much foot movement. Calories were burned so I figure it is ok.

 

I also made a batch of granola which I snacked from time to time as it cooled.

 

 

Paula

Leroy’s Cake

Hello,

 

Leroy is an adventuresome eater. Or I have just convinced him to try the new thing. I did make a cake for his birthday. When one set of grandchildren heard about that they were amazed that I had done that, but after hearing what went into the cake they were convinced it was true to my character and that they would not like it.

 

I showed them the picture which for some reason I shot as a video even thought the cake was not moving. It was baked in my butterfly pan which I got on clearance for 75 cents. I have used it many times on a whim. I too think the cake looks inviting even with no frosting. Frosting, you know, has sugar so I ignore that.

 

It was sort of ginger bread with no sugar, but still it had molasses in it so it was sweet. Even though molasses has trace minerals in it, giving it some food value, it is still too much sugar to eat very often. I served the cake with unsweetened applesauce. We both liked it, especially when it was warm out of the oven.

 

This cake had one fourth white flour and ¾ whole wheat which gave it a little more food value. Leroy likes raisins so I added some raisins. Then because I had it I added a can of pumpkin making it be more like pumpkin bread. Even though the pumpkin is unsweetened it is naturally sweet so I consider that it adds to the sweet taste. I failed to bake it as long as needed with all that pumpkin in there so it was ¾ cake and ¼ pumpkin pie. It is always an adventure eating at my house.

 

I could not get a copy of the cake video to send so I just am adding a picture of the cake pan.

 

Paula

Cold, cold, cold

Hello,

 

We are so grateful for a warm place to live, a car heater that works, warm clothes, and warm comforter for sleeping. So many good things in our lives! As an added bonus we get to see birds, tracks in the snow, squirrels making tracks, and snow on trees.

 

I did walk around the block and that was enough at that moment. Our temperature is 7 degrees F. We had done some more shoveling before that so Leroy did not walk with me. He got worried about me before I got back because it was more work to walk in the newly falling snow. We are blessed with more snow that we need.

 

Yesterday we both went to work. Leroy, who only drives in town, had the easy drive. My drive was a total of 12 miles pne way. It was not drifted or bumpy, but I was so happy to get there because the Ely road was, although cleared, totally covered with a pack of snow and ice. I had no idea if it was slippery or not. I like to gently put the brakes on to test the surface, but I never had the road to myself. I just drove quite slowly, hoping the people behind me were patient souls. They all stayed back there and I collected more from time to time. Every once in a while the car directly behind me would drop back so I suspected they felt comfortable going even slower. I thanked the car for doing such a good job when we got to the parking place. I am impressed that these materials can take such extreme cold as well as extreme heat.

 

One thing I am not as happy about. With age, I am happy to age, but I seem to be developing a belly. No more pride in my slim front. It is particularly noticeable with certain tops because they come close and show the world what is there. Oh well, so much better than many other things that could happen to me

 

Paula

Snowy Walk

Hello,

 

With the prediction of a blizzard and seriously dropping temperatures, I told Leroy about mid morning that I was going for a walk and he was welcome to come along. When we left the snow was falling fast and furious in big beautiful clumps. It was so nice to stop and look at them on our mittens or coats.

 

There is a silence to the air which adds a sense of mystery in a good snowfall. However, when you go by a manufacturing plant there can be a serious hum in the air, but oh well, walk on by and silence returns to sooth.

 

We knew that the trail close to our house had been clean yesterday so we walked in that almost flat length and stayed away from the park with hills and possible slipping. We skirted an area that often has a puddle which we thought might have frozen over and be a hazard. However earlier, Leroy had not noticed a darker appearance to the snow and slipped. He did not get hurt or fall, but it gave us a warning to be alert.

 

Before we got back home we were both quite tired. On our return trip the snow had filled in the tread left in our footsteps. By that time the snow was not quite as copious, but the wind was increasing, making us notice the cold more. It took us almost an hour and a half which was longer than usual to walk these 7,000 steps.

 

Paula

New Light

Hello,

 

The local power company had a goal of reinstalling all the street lights by the end of January. These lights or often poles have been gone since the storm on August 10. It seemed a lofty goal with over a 1000 left to do. We now, as of February 1, have a street light in the middle of our block as does the next block up. We also walk by another new pole that has just recently been put up. It is good to have the light, but I had gotten used to the dark, so the light does not feel that it was necessary. The dark was quite ordinary, almost a friend.

 

Once on a winter night when I was quite young, my dad came in to tell us to come out and look at the northern lights. It was quite beautiful and breathtaking with even the snow looking red. City lights would never let us see such a thing.

 

In the summer when all the power for the city was off, the dark was a different issue as we could not see around the apartment. Since then I have heard of people tripping over something in the dark during those nights and getting injured. There were questions about what do we do when we are depending on lantern light. Reading did not seem possible and even playing games was a bit of a struggle. Light is missed when there is no possibility of turning it on.

 

Now it is especially bright out at night with all of the light reflecting off the snow.

 

Paula

How much snow?

Hello,

 

Some where there is a site that would tell me how much snow we have had, but I must not do the right search. Generally, I find a history and not the day’s amount. This is more of a history report, but quite close to home. Our downstairs friends measured the snow in the front yard. It was fifteen inches deep. That is from three snow falls with some melting in between. Seems quite impressive! It is now a serious question of where to put the snow when it is removed. We have been wheel barrowing the ally snow to the back yard. Leroy commented yesterday, “It will be a long time before you can get to the clothes line.”

 

This morning, Leroy speculated about the snow melt and flooding. Snow is good for soil moisture if it melts in an orderly fashion.

 

On our walk in the neighborhood last night we saw some beautiful sights. Building light was shinning on a shorter tree that was not damaged by the derecho. There was a wonderful round shape that caught glistening snow and ice in its branches. Many street lights are still not repaired, but there was reflecting cloud cover, light from porches, etc. creating a wonderful night glow.

 

We decided our block should get the cleared sidewalk award. It was wonderful to get back to it after going on some that had considerable snow, which from time to time convinced us to walk in the cleared street. I am privileged to have three pair of boots to choose from to traverse the wild piles.

 

Paula