Today’s accomplishments

Hello, I made yogurt this morning. The hardest part of that is heating the milk without scalding it. It takes a bit of time for the slow heat. We also washed bedding because we did not have time on other days. It dried in a hurry in the warm wind. Then Leroy suggested we walk to church and pull some of the milkweed plants in the back flower bed. Someone had already taken a number of them, so that is good. I saw some tree shoots around a tree and went to tear them off as close to the ground as I could get since, we had not brought a clipper and they were not pullable. I noticed some small bits of trash nearby. Somehow the trash seemed to multiply so we both ended up picking up quite a lot of it. I even chased a plastic bag under a car in the parking lot. That was a bit of a challenge as the wind kept moving it around, and not necessarily where I thought it was going to go. It was a great help for picking up more trash. Cigarette butts and blue coffee stirrers made up a large part of the load. It is surprising to think that you have cleaned an area only to have you partner find some more. It was a satisfying job. We did call the woman who prepares meals for people in need because her car was there. She let us in so we could get a drink, we had thought it would be a quick trip. She was making meals for the shelters where she said they are not fed on holidays. She also had an abundance of food that she could use for that purpose. Yesterday, we rode along the bike trail to find beautiful phlox growing in many places, especially close to the trout stream. These pictures do not give the whole picture. There were just many of them.

Paula

Energy abounds

Hello, Leroy has been pursuing his 10,000 steps a day with great focus. One day he commented that he might have to stay up to midnight to accomplish it, but he did it much sooner than that. I was prepared for him to stay up late. His goal is to do this for the month of May. As he commented, “May is a long month!” I frequently get 10,000 steps, but often not on the days I work. He gets some step credit when he rides his bike to work so I think he has it easy. My biking trips net few steps unless that road is quite rough, then it adds a few more. We have had baby birds leaving the nest this week. It is quite fun to watch. In the past I have only disparaged starlings, but those nesting in the trees have changed my attitude. I admit they might have a place in the world. These birds can fly quite strongly when they leave the nest. It just seems to take a little practice. There have been hummingbirds visiting the feeder. It is so much fun to see them fly forward and backward with wings moving faster than my eye can really see. Even the young squirrels can run up and down the side of the tall maple tree. I am sad that so many branches are no longer on this tree, but it gives us a great view of the local wild life. We also have a baby rabbit that lives in the back yard. It scooted around getting braver all the time. I am not particular pleased to see rabbits because they happen to like the garden things too much. Leroy and I walked to church today and pulled some weeds in the back flower bed. We also walked around to look at the front and ended up yanking out some small trees in the bushes there. We are done working for the day. Paula

Mysteries: junk drawer and squirrels

Hello, I was looking for stored pens and I stumbled across a key I did not recognize even though the tag read, “Paula’s”. I asked Leroy about it, but he did not know. However, he looked in a drawer in the computer room. It had several unmarked keys. Groan. This drawer has turned into a real junk drawer with many miscellaneous items. Hurt my pride because I thought I was avoiding just such a place. There were far too many things in there that I did not really recognize. Yesterday I happened to look down and see a squirrel starting to dig a hole in a flower pot on the deck. I opened the window and yelled to no avail. Immediately I dashed down stairs and yelled at it in closer proximity. That squirrel ran up a deck support pole to the top. I chased it to one side, hoping it would jump off. It was out of my reach. When it got the end, it dashed all the way to the other side with me in pursuit. Chairs slowed me down, but I made it. Again, it raced past me to the other end. We repeated that routine some more before I got the brilliant idea of grabbing the broom which gave me an adequate reach. It then went to the end, realized it was trapped, turned away from me, pooped in my direction, gave me a glaring look and finally jumped off into the neighbor’s yard. Not sure I won this battle, but I did not see it today. We have seen three baby squirrels running around on the tree. They are certainly at home with the height and gifted with much strength to move up and down. I have enjoyed watching them explore the world. Will they also want to dig in the flower pots? Paula

Librarian or Listener

Hello, It still amazes me how much people stay and talk about some difficulties in their life. Just the other day, a woman who does not even check out books, but uses the computers, told me about how much trouble she was having finding affordable housing. She apparently lives on social security. At the moment her rental place is good, but soon will not be available because of changes beyond her control. I gather other rental places in Ely are much more costly than she had been paying. She would like to stay in the small town as she feels a bunch of crazies live in the city. She did not respond when I said that I lived there, perhaps she already knew what a crazy I am. She did look at a low-income place on the edge of Cedar Rapids, only to learn that there is a two-year waiting list which does not help her. She is grateful for the food pantry that is available in our lobby. This place is used quite a lot with even out-of-town people coming. Some of the reasons for that success is that there are no questions asked and the hours are quite long with it being open every day of the week. Other people have also talked about how much they appreciate getting food there. One woman felt the need to tell me that the food was not for her, but for her sister who was not well off. I am not the only one that people do talk to. It seems we are a place for many to come and get some relief by talking. My boss thinks we should not even consider self check out machines because it gives us a chance to interact with our patrons. It is interesting to me that people often make sure they tell the entire staff good bye when they are leaving which also says something about that personal touch. Paula

Changes in Our Lives

Hello, We drove 25 miles to have Leroy get a hearing test at this store that has been recommended by many. We drove home with little more than knowing Leroy has too much wax in his ears to have a reliable test. He got an appointment with an ENT. Can you imagine the only appointment available is this Wednesday? His next hearing test is two weeks later than his last appointment. He thought he would have hearing aids by then but as many of you know life does not always go as planned. At least this is just a minor bump in the road. I had won a raffle at the museum two years ago. It was a nice amount on a gift card for a local bike shop. We had gotten a bike rack, but I could not find a bike that I wanted. Because of my hip/leg issues I felt that maybe it was time to buy an electric assist bike. They had two on the floor for me to look at. I went with the more expensive even though we would have to contribute quite a bit to the cost. It seems to me that because I have used my other bike since 1993, this could be my last bike. I still have to pedal all of the time; I just get some help when I ask for it. We brought it home yesterday, charged the battery and let it get used to its new home. Today we went for a three-mile bike ride that included some hills. It only has ten gears compared to my former bike that had 21 gears, if I remember correctly. It was amazing. We started riding and I had no idea what gear I was using with no assist. It was only after a bit that I found I was in top gear, but it did not seem that hard to get going. It moves so much more fluidly than my old bike. The only time I needed any help was going up a hill. The two lowest levels did a great noticeable help.

I will have to admit that my bottom was ready to come home and sit on another surface. It was saying, “Go home!” Paula

Why Did I come In Here?

Hello, How often, in the course of a day, do I go into a room and wonder what I want in there? It seems to happen with great regularity. Just now, I needed to fetch my phone for a password. I returned with water, but no phone. At least it was a short return trip. Yesterday, my leg felt better than it has for a long time. Today not so much, but I still managed to walk to church by myself. The heat was also so noticeable. We air-conditioned people do not quite know how to deal with the heat pressing down on us. Yesterday we had tai chi class in Ely. Leroy drove his car to the museum so he could bring home plants. I was to follow him, gather him and head off to Ely. I followed him out of the garage, but when I got to the street, I went the usual way to go to Ely only to think about him as I was pulling onto the interstate. Luckily there is a close exit and I did not have to drive miles, but it slowed me down on the pickup end. We still made it on time so that was fine. I have to be there to set up the computer for zoom. We have several people who participate that way so it is necessary that I attend or at least let the rest of the staff know so someone else can do those tasks. Paula

Feeling Good

Hello, I still feel some twinges in my leg, but otherwise it is good. I move around a lot more at work. Someone commented that I did not look like I was in pain. I am being a bit careful and trying to pay attention to my posture when I pick things up off the floor. I also have not walked so much yet. Yesterday was the first time I made it past 5,000 steps in at least a week. Finding the right spot in a chair is also a challenge. My chairs at work are just about right. Or the kitchen chairs here are quite fine. I am home for the next three days. I will try to keep up my awareness of movements and positions. Hope you have some good days. Paula Out and About May 6, 2022 Hello again, Shopping was on the agenda for today. It involved both the morning and the afternoon. Leroy worked in the morning so he was not with me to help pick up a watermelon, but I managed. I even survived all of that. I was happy to get the watermelon at a bargain price. We have not eaten any yet, but we are hoping for a great taste. I did spend some time with legs up the wall and putting ice on the painful spot on the outside of my shin/calf. I also wore some compression socks part of the time. All it all it felt better. I do see the family doctor on Wednesday. I will ask her about it. Maybe by that time it will be all better and there will be no need. It is so nice and warm now. I understand that we will be hot for some of the rest of the coming week. We seem to have lost middle temperatures. Paula

Sleeping In Church

Hello, Our adult choir sang yesterday. Leroy and I are not close to each other, so I do not have to keep an eye on him. After we got home, he reported that he and the guys sitting on either side of him took turns sleeping during the sermon. Apparently, they would all woke from second to second or minute to minute. I was blissfully unaware that Leroy was sleeping. It embarrasses me if I am beside him. In the afternoon we went to an organ concert. Leroy, had a goal of finishing the book he was reading so no nap at home. He did take a nap during the first piece of the concert. I woke him two times by discreetly and gently rubbing on his thigh. He did wake, but promptly went back to sleep so I decided to ignore him. He woke for the clapping and was awake for the rest of the concert. This organist did a great job of improvising. He is from Croatia. I talked to him afterward about it. He did have the theme ahead of time so he could think about it. This was a familiar hymn. It was fun to hear what he did with it. For an encore he did another hymn. It was so obvious that he had fun. The audience even laughed at spot. The only other time I have heard an organist improvise was when I was in college. This organist was also a European. A composer gave him a 12-note sequence that they had just make up. The organist sat there for about two to five minutes and then proceeded to play for about 15 minutes. I was amazed. Paula