Quiet New Year’s Eve

Hello, Leroy is working on stamps and I am writing this letter. We will go to bed at our usual time. Things can happen without our attendance. I would still like to walk 1600 more steps so I can get to 10,000. Maybe later I will watch something on TV and step away. It is somewhat rainy or I might have gone outside once more. I have a book called American Sirens which is the story of the first modern ambulance service. All of the first guys on this service were Black and they did an incredible job. We spent some time this afternoon trying to decide which pictures to have printed for our family picture frame which holds eight 5x7s and one 8x10. The frame will be holding the fourth new picture set. It is hard to select the best picture when there are so many to chose from as well as the fact that some people look better in one shot and some look better in another. Sarah has been a great help since she has a great deal from a photo printing company. We just have to get it done in time before the deal expires. We are also working on our desk calendar to get it ready for the new year. I still like to have a paper calendar for what I consider easy access. That means I do not have open some electronic device to see it. We actually have three calendars for the coming year, and places to put them. Are we rich or what? Happy New Year. May you be blessed and experience joy, laughter, contentment, and peace. Paula

Last Paid Day

Hello, Yesterday was my last paid day. I was going to say the last work day, but that is not really true. We as a society so seldom count unpaid work as important. Many of us put in a lot of hours doing unpaid work. How did we come to the conclusion that pay makes work more important? The unpaid can be doing service of great value to the earth or society. It was a bit of a sad day to realize that it would be the last time for many tasks, especially those I enjoy doing. Only one person came to yoga. I was disappointed, but I knew others were occupied elsewhere. I did have a nice chat with the one. I managed to keep busy the entire time I was there. When I left the day before, I thought I would be able to get the last pile of books catalogued. That did not happen. I only snuck in three that were on hold for patrons. The rest of the time I was at the front desk. There were tasks to tend to there as well as a number of people to visit with. Some had come just because they knew it was my last day. Is visiting work or work visiting? I realized I should have thought it might happen and looked at the schedule for getting things done differently. There is to be some type of gathering to recognize my service for the years. Goodness, I have been there more than ten years. My boss is on vacation now. So, it will be later in January for a gathering. I am looking forward to that. I will have to go to the library as I have two books to return and Leroy has one DVD to return. Otherwise, I made sure we had returned almost everything. It will be a learning experience for me to use the library closest to me. Where will I find what I want to read? It was nice to have things go in front of me and realize that I might like to read it. An era of my life is over; a new page is open. Paula

The Day After Christmas

Hello, Leroy and I still have a quiet day because we both work for the next three days. There was new snow so we shoveled. Leroy did most of the area by the garage and I helped with the sidewalks in front. It was over an inch, but I have no real idea how much. Because of the dry quality of it, shoveling was easy and rather enjoyable. The wind was down so it was nice to be outside. After that, we called the woman at our church who does meals for many of the homeless shelters. She was coming to church to get the lunch fixings for the homeless overflow shelter. She is there almost every day no matter what the weather, even when the church might be closed. I had some frosting, milk, and butter that she can use for future needs. I also give her my large yogurt containers as she can use those. I had a scarf that I had not been wearing. I do not like to keep things around if we do not wear them and they are good for cold weather. We also wanted to pick up a devotion booklet for the next three months. I had thought we could mail our Christmas letters today, but learned that the post office is closed. Tomorrow will be the day. Perhaps Leroy can take them there after work as he goes close to the post office. We will go to tai chi tomorrow morning. Leroy will drive his own car since I stay for work. He has been doing tai chi on zoom because he has to be at work and driving two cars did not seem appropriate. Today will be the last in person session for three months so he wanted to see people once more. I have been reading the Henna Artist for a book club and enjoying it. Paula

Shopping on a Nice Day?

Hello, The temperature was at zero or a degree above. The wind did not seem so fierce, or at least it was quitter. I did not wear my stocking cap, but did take it with me. Also, I was not wearing my warmest gloves. It felt like a very cold day as I walked from the car to the stores and back to the car. What a difference all of my warmest gear makes for comfort. We went to the post office for stamps only to learn that we were too early. The closest store seemed like a good move where we bought envelops, some hair stuff for me, and a clearance shirt for Leroy. The last two items were unplanned purchases. Back to the now open post office for a variety of stamps. Leroy likes to get some of the commemoratives and that is fun, but the staff had to do a little searching to find them. The first grocery store was a leisurely stop as nothing in the car could be frozen. When leaving that store, I walked off with Leroy’s gloves which he had left in the cart. Consequently, his hands got quite cold before he caught up to me. When putting the cart back, I became quite cold as it was a longer windy walk. My hands were also cold. Leroy suggested I sit on them and let the heated seat warm them. It worked wonderfully well. We have used and appreciated those seats this year even though we have owned them for two or three years. At the last store, also a grocery, we did a quick in and out. It was also a quick transfer at home from the garage to the house. We are so grateful to be able to come into a warm house. Paula

More Wind

Hello, Leroy packed his lunch, bundled up, and climbed in the car with no thought of riding the bike at -8 F. with a wind chill in the -30 range. At work he soon learned he was the only one there. He had not looked at his work email since usually he is called about a closure. The plants are now watered and he printed off our Christmas letter. So, it was not a wasted trip. He is fortunate that he can park in the garage at work. He and I both shoveled a little more in the alley behind the garage. The wind was definitely the winner in the struggle. We like to have the entire width of the alley cleared, but it is not, more like three fourths done. Later in the afternoon, we went back out to work on the front sidewalk once more. He wore the heated gloves that Brian had gotten him. He now knows he needs to have them set at the highest level for this low cold. We had cleared the sidewalk yesterday. The wind put some of the snow back and packed it down. We did manage to get all of that removed once more. Hopefully it is done. Much of the snow has packed down under the force of the wind so it is not blowing as much. I should be doing something useful, but instead I am just spending most of my time reading. We do not have enough envelops or stamps for the letters mailing will wait another day. Tomorrow, we have several stops to make, weather permiting. Paula

Snow Day

Hello, I was supposed to work today, but the library is closed due to the snow, cold, and strong wind. I am happy to stay home rather than make the 12-mile drive. Leroy’s museum was closed before mine. It would have been much easier for him to make the drive in town with only three miles to go. He is concerned because today is plant watering day. That is true for me as well, but I figure those plants can manage until Tuesday when I will be at work. I only have three more work days before retirement. Amazing that it is so close. Right now, I have quite a few books piled on the desk area that need to be catalogued. The plan was to get much of that finished today, but it will wait. After I am gone someone else will have to do that. Much of that work is now being done by the book ordering service, but they still need to be checked for accuracy. They are not replacing me as cataloguer and my boss who also has her library degree will take over that part of my job. I also call for overdue items, but someone else has been trained to do that. My book club duty will also go to another staff person. No one has come forward to do the yoga/stretch class. My coworkers also tell me they should make a list of my “swear” words. I tend to say “Oh for cat’s sake, fiddlesticks, fuddy-duddy”, and a few other things I cannot think of right now. Who knew? My vocabulary would be missed. With this storm a reminder, I am glad to be able to avoid this drive during the winter. It is a nice time to retire. Some people feel that I will wonder what to do with my time and others tell me I will be too busy. I am not going to book myself with too many volunteer jobs right away as I try to figure out what I really want to do. Paula

Long Flight Home

Hello, One of the other couples was on the shorter flight with us, but seated quite a distance from us so we did not visit. When we landed in London, we reconnected and worked our way through that airport. To our surprise we once again had to go through security. The time between flights had seemed long, but after much walking it was getting shorter. We did not have issues going through security, but they did. One of their bags was thoroughly checked. That takes a bit of time. We were getting nervous about making the flight, but they finally completed that ordeal. As we went on, we found the direction we needed to go. Finally, they suggested we hurry on because we could move faster and to let the crew know they were coming. At the gate we told them our friends were coming. The person replied, “They will be here in plenty of time.” How they knew such I do not know. It was a while before we took off and they did make it with time to spare. It was great fun because we were seated across the isle from each other. This flight was not so full and that allowed both of us to spread out a bit more. This flight also did not have any turbulence. I was grateful for that. It was hard to know that we were moving. I managed to read every magazine I had with me. When we landed in Chicago, we could still spend some time with our friends as we both had a few hours to wait for the last leg of the journey. Planes more us through space fast, but not so fast in the airports sometimes. All the airport time adds a lot to the journey. Paula

Still in the airport

Hello, Finally, we found our departure gate, but there were closed glass doors barring it. One man did come over to tell us that they would open at a certain time which was about 20 minutes later. As we waited, another person came up to wait. He spoke both English and another language with some of the people who were with him. They wandered off so I asked, “How many languages do you speak?” His English was spoken with a slight accent so I thought he was not from this country. He speaks at least three languages and knows two or three others. I was happy to learn that he is originally from China and moved here as a young person. He commented, “They really had us walk through the shopping mall to get here, didn’t they?” After the door was open, we learned that we had to go through another type of security. They dusted our bodies/clothes as well as opening our bags and dusting much of the contents. Amazing how life can be full of new experiences. They asked for someone to check their carry-on bag through to the end of our journey. Leroy decided that it would be nice not to have two bags to wrangle around. Our friends who were on this flight had gotten wheel chairs. It seemed like the better way to move thought this large building. At least the people pushing the chairs knew where they were going. Now we all just had to wait for boarding. Paula

Leaving Istanbul

Hello, We got up at some early hour 2:00 or 3:00am in this time zone we had become adjusted to. Our bags had been picked up outside our doors the night before. What we learned was that they were busing many of us to the airport at the same time. Earliest to leave dictated the time. Our flight was not so early, but it all began to make sense on the long ride to the airport and the giant airport terminal that required many stops, starts, and steps to traverse it. Immediately inside the door we had to go through security. We US fliers were used to the idea of being dropped off by the airline name. Such a system was not in operation here. After security we did spot an information kiosk. We were pointed in the proper direction for British Airways, but it was still a bit of a trick to feel that we were in the right place. There was no one on duty. I cannot remember how we learned that they would not be there until a certain hour. We waited anxiously until more people from our ship also got in line. We could not all be in the wrong place, could we? Crew came, at the appointed time. First, they had to set up, then start processing people. We learned later, we went though quickly because we not in the economy line. I even checked in my carryon bag. I was so happy that I had done that because I did not have to manage that luggage as well as my backpack. Leroy kept his with him. We looked around for the gate, but could find so signs for such. Then we came to another security place. I asked a passenger, “Do you speak English?” He rolled his eyes a little, replied, “Yes.” From him we learned that we must go through security once more. He also gave us excellent directions for finding our gate. Thankful. It was a long line of people. I was happy to be with only one bag to scan. Leroy’s two bags took longer, but we finally got done and headed out for the long walk to the gate. The shopping district in this airport was beyond anything I have ever seen. They certainly wanted us to spend some money before we left. Paula

Istanbul

Hello, It was fun to watch another ship pull into the dock. Impressively, there was no impact at all it just stopped moving as the tugs expertly got it into place. We had been warned that this harbor was quite large and would take a while for us to get to our buses. It went beyond my expectations as we walked and walked. Usually, it is just a short walk from the ship to the bus, usually we could even see the buses. We went to the Egyptian bazaar. It was quite full of people even though the tourist season had passed.

I was having stomach issues so I did not concentrate on anything but “hanging on” until I could use a bathroom. It was not a totally successful battle. So, I can tell you I did not really enjoy this city as I had hoped. Leroy and I had been here in the past. At least there are those memories. This also had a tour inside a mosque. That was nice as we had been in a mosque, but no tour or explaining the culture. We had a boat ride tour of the area that was very nice. In the evening we were to go on another bus ride around the city in the dark. I had expected that to be quite nice as I remembered when we when we came in the city years ago and it was all lit up. Beautiful. I decided I had better stay on the ship close to a toilet and wash my clothes. Grateful that I could use those washers and dryers. Grateful that friends understand and have sympathy. The rest of our group decided to skip that last excursion as we were all to get up very early in the morning. I chose not to eat anything more that day or the next morning and I was much better. While we were out in the city in the afternoon, waiting for our guide to lead us a guy came up behind Leroy and started massaging his shoulders. He then cracked his back. He also did that to one of the other guys in the group. We are not sure what this massager was up to, but we were all uneasy about it. After this some boys came up and he yelled at them. I wonder if they were to pick our pockets while we were distracted. Nothing happened. Perhaps we all had our things well guarded. Paula

Sailing Day

Hello, Just a month ago we were to be stopping in Troy, however the wind and current were so strong that we could not reach port. We just kept going toward Istanbul. There was a sense of disappointment, but also a sense that things would be fine because we were safe. Even though there was a strong wind we did not notice the ship rocking. It was surprisingly smooth. We had some time to do laundry which had been planned, but it would have been more of a push to get it done without that free time. As it was it was a trick to find some of the machines free to use, as many others were taking advantage of this time off. There are four washers and dryers on the floor we were on. The use of these was included in our total fees used or not. There was also soap provided which is so nice. People who had used the machines in the past told us what to do. That is so helpful even though they did have quiet good instructions on site. We three couples who were traveling together combined our clothes and it made for fewer machines used for the three of us. The laundry room also seemed to be one of the big meeting and greeting places. As in much of life it is the places where we do mundane chores that we connect with others. Many of the people on this trip were from the USA, but all over the country. We visited, laughed, and played games. Or some of spent some time on our own. Paula

Ephesus, Greece

Hello, Our stop at Ephesus went as planned. Even though this place figures prominently in the Christian bible, a book I am quite familiar with, I did not really know much of the history of Ephesus. I heard about more history and remember some of that. It was a great city in the early days. As a leader in learning, it developed a great library. This was also a city of many cultures that came together and learned from each other. We did not see the modern city, but toured the ruins which are being carefully restored. We also saw many dogs and a few cats wandering around. They tolerate stray animals and gather them up to neuter, give shots, etc. Certainly, these critters were used to people. Perhaps some tourists feed them as well as locals feeding them. We were often told that the tourist season was just over the week before so there were not some many crowds to contend with. Making us lucky not to be contending with crowds. This end of the season also affected the merchants who cater to the tourists. Some of them opened just because they knew that our ship was in port. We were told to be careful because of pick pockets. Again, because of smaller groups it was not as easy to be a victim. The library was more than one story tall. There was a fire, however it could still operate, even with reduced resources. An earthquake stopped it altogether. I believe some of this has been reconstructed or at least made safe for people to be around.

This is a picture of us in front of the library.

This is Leroy inside the library. Paula

Rhodes Drive Around

Hello, Leroy and I are now home, but I am still giving my trip report. We flew to Athens and back from Istanbul. Certainly, lots of moving around for two weeks.

In the afternoon we took a bus ride tour around the island. It was quite wonderful scenery. St. Paul was in Lindos, but did not preach there. It is recorded in Acts 21. These places do note the journeys of Paul as I suspect it brings tourists to the area. We could also see, from a distance, the acropolis of Lindos with the temple of Athena.

Before we returned to the ship, we had a snack/meal of local foods. It was basically quite fine, although I do not think I will add many of these things to my diet. On all of our excursions our guides have been local people who speak excellent English. They have much information to impart. Once we returned to the ship, we had a bit of a panic time as we could not find the paper copies of our Turkey Visa. We were sure we had brought it, but where was it? We had several copies on our phones. By that I mean we stored it in more than one place on our phone. There were computers and printers on board and we went to print. However, all computers were being used so we waited to see on of the support staff. Our young woman was quite helpful, but I was disappointed to learn that we could not print from our phones, instead we had to email her and she printed them from her email. She too thought we should have the paper as well as the e version. Only the printed copy was ever looked at. Paula

Rhodes walk around

Hello, Still talking about the cruise, we had a nice walk around Rhodes, Greece. It was a name I knew, but that is about all. Other members of our group knew more. The castle was quite fine even if most of the interior had been originally somewhere else. There were many beautiful mosaics along with some nice furniture. It is amazing how some beauty appeals to people many years later. Sort of gives me the feeling of connecting with those who have gone before. Many cultures are in this city including a small Jewish remanent. On the way to visit the Jewish quarter, we passed a public library. Leroy and I went in. The first small room seemed nothing much like a library, but more like a store room or package receiving room. The next room had a check out desk, complete with attendant. Looking through the glass, straight ahead we could see a nice courtyard with book shelves across the way.

I asked if he spoke English, just as a woman came up to talk to him. He did speak English, but the woman patron had better command of the language. We told them we were librarians in the USA. Then I asked if I could take a picture. At the positive response the woman stepped aside. I said, “You can be in the picture. Just be at the desk.” “Oh, I’ll be famous,” she giggled.

I had a note about inner walls and outer walls of the city, but cannot imagine what that was about. Paula