Freezing More

Hello, We like to use our back porch when we cool soup. I made a batch yesterday, put the left overs on the porch, forgot to set the timer and by this morning it was frozen quite solidly. Oops! The enclosed porch is a nice addition to a refrigerator or sometimes to a freezer, but it is good to remember that we have put things out there. I thought of the soup this morning, brough it up, and put it in the refrigerator. Hopefully it will be thawed enough to use for our evening meal. We often used the deck in Slovakia if we needed a bit more refrigerator space. It was not quite as cold there in terms of low temperatures, but it still was prudent to pay attention when putting something out there. It was often very cold when waiting for a bus in Bratislava. Sometimes it seems that it went all the way to my core. I know someone who was from Minnesota, but living in Bratislava. They also commented on how penetrating the cold was. Perhaps the humidity was higher making it more noticeable. We did have -4 degrees F. this morning. The sun is out and it looks lovely out there. I will walk to church this afternoon when it should be a bit warmer. At least now it does not look to be much wind. Paula

Retirement Party

Hello, Yesterday afternoon was my retirement party. Leroy said, “I will come too and leave after half an hour to go to the organ concert.” “It might not be worth it for you to come as there might be no one there.” I cautioned. “I want to support you,” he firmly replied. So off we went in two cars. I got there a bit early and people were setting up this lovely colorful feast of fruits, veggies, crackers, and sweets. They catered to my food tastes! Leroy visited with others as friendly faces started coming in the door. I was surprised and delighted at how much I enjoyed it. I had not been at work for a month. What a pleasure to see these people who had been sprinkled throughout my days at work. Talk was the name of the game and there was plenty of it along with hugs and laughter. What gifts people bring with their presence and some presents! It was joyful for me to say the least. I was astonished at how many people came. It was also great fun to hear from people that they liked my smile and kindness in dealing with them as library patrons and how much they missed me. I feel blessed and uplifted. A lovely plant I received.

Paula

Questions Not Asked

Hello, Recently, I have noticed when I am telling someone about happenings in someone else’s life, they often ask me questions that I cannot answer. In the first place what is gossip and what is ok to tell others? Why does it happen that people have all these questions and I did not? Some I remember thinking and some I had not even considered. Leroy finished the book that had me laughing out loud. He may have smiled but no laughing. The last book series that he read and laughed at, had about that same effect on me. Guess that means we do not really find the same thing funny. Although when we watch the same movie, we often laugh at the same scenes. We do not always like the same movie, but it is satisfying when we find a movie that we both endorse. At least we share many common ideas about the world. Or would it be good if we had differing points of view so we would understand and be more sympathetic to other ideas? Life is full of mysteries and questions which often do not have a clear answer. Now we must learn to live peacefully with that idea. Paula

Tracker Miles

Hello, According to tracker records I have walked 7,900 miles which is equal to walking through the center of the earth. I did not set it up to have my exact miles calculated, but close enough. It also does not record the times that I have not worn it for one reason or another, such as charging, forgetting, and lost. Apparently, I have also walked 10,000 steps for the last 17 days. How is that for the middle of the winter? It might be a tough go today with the cool temperatures and bracing wind. It would be nice to live in someplace where we could comfortably walk some miles without seeing the same walls too often. I got a haircut this morning and only wore one layer under my coat. I managed to do some moaning while walking from the establishment to the car as well as later to the grocery story. Sometimes moaning is a nice release. I talk to myself and sometimes I listen. Leroy commented on how much space there is in the living room without the four large plants. I have seven poinsettias in the house with only four in the living room. One is in the spare bedroom and two are in the office, both of which offer some nice sun times in the course of the day. It is so wonderful to feel the heat from the sun on such cold days. Paula

Not much Cleaning

Hello, Not much more cleaning than usual has been done at my house. It is still on the list for someday. Perhaps it needs a day attached so it would happen. My friend came to pick up her four plants today. It was much warmer than the day she brought them. I felt quite guilty because one of them died while she was gone. I do not think I killed it. It looked a bit odd when she brought it. Within about three days leaves started dropping off. She graciously did not complain, but gave me some fruit for plant sitting. We also shared lunch together and that was quite nice. It is good to have people to talk to. Yesterday I went to a spirituality session. I wish more people would come to this time as there were only four of us and that does not encourage much sharing. The other group is quite large so I thought this might be the better group, but I am not sure. I know more of the people in the larger group and like to hear what they have to say. There is some snow on the ground, but it has mostly melted. I am glad the sidewalks are so clear as it makes walking feel much more secure. On Sunday when we went through the college campus, I complimented the guy working to clear the sidewalk. He was quite pleased and commented that they try to get it done before the students get out. I also like to clear snow before there is too much walking as it packs it down making it hard to remove. Paula

Laughter and More

Hello, I read, Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B Ross. In the first half of the book I did a lot of smiling and I had to quote some for Leroy. Maybe it was the last half or later, I laughed out loud. When Leroy would glance curiously at me, I just laughed harder. He tells me he likes hearing my laugh. It has been a while since I have laughed at a book. I will have to get some more by this author since she has written a long series. Think I have read some of the titles but certainly not all. Perhaps the first is the funniest. It is nice to have some light, entertaining, reading in the house. We have been watching mysteries on TV. Not much laughter involved there, but certainly curious as to “who done it”. I do feel that there is a bit of sameness among them. This afternoon, and into the evening we will help with clean up at the meals our church serves each Saturday night. It is a satisfying contribution. I am glad people have this opportunity if they need it. We did some grocery shopping yesterday. I go around the store muttering to myself, “How can poor people manage to feed themselves?” It is scary to think about. I also realize that many of them pay much more for rent than I do. I am so blessed and cared for. Paula

Effort Expended

Hello, Leroy and I shoveled snow by the garage before he went to work. I assured him I would have plenty of time to do the front after he was gone. Back out after breakfast was the process that worked for me. That means I was still in the shovel mode. This snow was wet and heavy, but not so much of it. That meant it was important to pay attention to how much snow was on the shovel before pitching it to the side. Out front, I went ahead and cleared a path on the neighbor’s right of way because in the fall he had had back surgery. I have not seen him out shoveling. Not sure if he should be doing such activity, plus, I know he goes to work very early in the morning. It seemed prudent to do a path of the neighbor on the other side because he had also told me of some health issues. He certainly looks thin. What a chore, but so much satisfaction both in seeing the sidewalk come into view and helping some neighbors. It is still wet out there, but the sidewalk is not slippery that I know of. I learned that I could amass over 3000 steps doing this task what a double benefit. Exercise and accomplishments. Last night Leroy and I walked to church in the snow that was really more like rain. We were quite wet when we got there. It did not soak through our coats but our legs were wet. People know we like to walk so no one offered a ride home. Just when I was trying to decide who lived closest to us, a younger woman started talking to us. She told us she would give us a ride and it did not matter what direction she lived. She was not close to us, but we were quite grateful. Leroy already has 10,000 steps and I was close. So, no loss there. I forgot my mittens at church in the excitement of getting that ride and not slowing her down. On his way home from work, Leroy is going to look because he can easily go close to the church. Paula

A gift

Hello, One of my former coworkers gave me the gift of some apples and pears. As I told her, she knows me. There were also two smaller bags of chocolate covered cherries and chocolate blueberries. Leroy has been eating most of them. I did have a taste of each, but there seems to be more chocolate than fruit. Chocolate and I do not have a close relationship, or perhaps I should say no relationship. Does about 95 percent of the population like chocolate? It seems that way. People are always a bit amazed when they learn that I do not eat it. There appears to be an attitude that chocolate is good when you do not know what to have for others. That has helped me to avoid many sweets over the years. Now I have the gift of time. I am attending a study at church which I find quite interesting. There is no book to read, so I have more time than I thought I would. What do I do? Twiddle my thumbs? I am reading more than I have in recent times, but I find I do not like to sit for such a long time. Moving around is more my style. Long walks help some, but it is cold and damp so staying out for a long time is not appealing. Paula

Tornado Warning

Hello, We were talking to Sarah on the phone when Leroy’s phone sent out a warning followed closely by the city sirens. We looked out the windows and could see clouds along with the rain. The warnings seemed very unusual. The TV did indeed have tornado warnings with the report of one some distance from us, but the storm was coming our direction. It did not look that bad out, but we still had a little time before it was with us. There was thunder and lightning. There was also the report of hail to be with it. We watched some more, talked about going to a lower lever of the house. We did finally go to the bottom of the stairs, but kept listening to the phone for reports. It did go a bit south of us, going over Ely. There was no damage, but it was disconcerting to have such an event in the winter. They always say to not look out the windows, broken glass being dangerous, but that is the first thing we did. For some reason we wanted to see what was going on. It did not look that bad. Given the flighty nature of tornados, we are not very sensible. Grateful that there was no damage, just a bit of excitement. We had returned from a walk not very long before and it was nice to be in a warm dry place -- safe. Paula

Change in plans

Hello, We had planned to meet with my brother-in-law this Wednesday. He was driving about seven hours from the south, while my brother and family were coming from another direction about an hour. Leroy and I were planning on about an hour as well. Yesterday we were informed us about the weather prediction, snow. We certainly do not like to drive in that especially as the temperatures were going to drop. We were to have rain here and it would get colder as we went. We are getting old and cautious because we cancelled the gathering. Taking changes in the weather while on the road is no longer our strong suit. Safe at home is much more appealing. We will try to find a day later that works for all of us. Hopefully the weather will be much better. We are also planning to visit some friends about a six-hour drive to the north of us. The target date for that is in March, but weather can still be a problem. I think we can be flexible about that too. We like to walk in the morning, but it was raining before Leroy went to work on stamps at the museum. It stopped a bit after that and I took a longer walk because it might start to rain again. I stayed fairly close to home, but got a lot of distance covered. I want to get back out, but do not know if it will happen. Paula

Too many clothes

Hello, I just realized today that being retired means for sure I do not need so many clothes. I might have thought this before, but it is reinforced. Most of my clothes are staying in the closet or a drawer. Now the question would be, what should I eliminate? Was life simpler when I was growing up and I only had one Sunday dress? One dress that I wore until I outgrew it and it became a school dress or was passed on to a smaller cousin. It was at least worn once a week during its stay with me. Even if I did not like it, I had to wear it. Now, if I made a bad choice it just hangs around but is not worn. Hard to get rid of because I paid for it. Oh no! I do not remember the number of outfits I had for school. Surely it was a week’s worth, but I am not positive. At least clothes are easier to deal with than photographs. It is better now that so many of them are digital and I do not have to fuss about the space they take. Attending to them is on my to do list which I have basically ignored. Luckily, we do not have so many books in the house because we are both quite comfortable moving them out. Also, the library is our greatest source of books. Grateful for the public libraries. Before we move once more, we will probably eliminate some more. I can certainly see some books of Leroy’s that I do not understand the point in moving as he as not looked at them in a year or more. Paula

Enough Steps

Hello, Yesterday, Leroy and I gathered enough steps between shopping and a fairly long walk. We just stomped around the house to get the rest. It was a challenge to be out yesterday because of the cold, damp, wind. I keep thinking if we could just walk in one direction we could make it around the world and always have the wind at our back. I heard of a guy who always planned his bike rides that way with the wind at his back. Not sure anymore if that was the beginning or the end of the ride. Leroy and I talked about doing a bit of cleaning today, but I left it up to Leroy what we would do and I have not heard a final place to start. Nothing seemed appealing? Perhaps? Right now, he is reading and I know he wants to spend some time working on stamps. He always calls it working, but I know it is a pleasure. He did recently comment that if/when we downsize he will have to give up his stamps because they take up quite a bit of space. That will be a sad day. The word downsizing does strike a bit of terror in the hearts of those with prized possessions. How did possessions become such a garner of attention and care? It would be easier to eliminate Leroy’s things than my special things. Maybe we should work on each other’s stuff? Paula

Local Tourist

Hello, Yesterday, Leroy and I made our way to a town to check out the collection of nativity sets that a man there has acquired. It was a bit overwhelming. Certainly, more than we could absorb in one visit, however it is far enough away that we will not go back. The collector did give a good 30-minute talk. That talk was well worth the time. There was a little history of nativity sets in general and then some talk about specific ones that he had. There certainly was quite a variety. They come from about100 countries. We also learned about fish bladders (Those air bladders that allow fish to stay high in the water.) This guy brought this subject into the open because he has an isinglass nativity set. Isinglass is made from fish bladders. Also in attendance was a guy who works for the DNR, who with his background was able to add quite a bit of information. I saw the DNR guy later and thanked him for his contribution. He then added some more interesting facts. Iowa does have some things that are interesting and informative. Thought you might enjoy seeing some pictures from the exhibit. First a picture from one one room.

Leroy was looking at something interesting.

This one is from Kenya

and the last from the West Bank Israel

Paula

Tai Chi

Hello, This morning I was all set to start the link for Tai Chi. Getting into the program as a host was no problem because that had now been set up correctly, however, I could not find Tai Chi on the schedule. Traditionally it has been at the top of the list, instead there was a meeting listed for Alzheimer class. Good heavens! Had I slipped over the edge? In a bit of a panic, I called my former boss because there was only 12 minutes before the start of class. There are times when it takes more than ten minutes to make changes. Did I wake her up? She sounded a bit groggy, but I plunged into my story of what was wrong. As we were speaking I found recurring meetings listed at the bottom of the page and tai chi was right there. In no time I had clicked the right buttons to get it up and running. Then I did apologize and cut short the conversation. After that it was a little unnerving because no one else had come. Usually, the leader is there ten minutes ahead of time. He did finally come at about five minutes before the hour followed closely by four others. Success. We had a good session. I always feel better afterwards. I first did some tai chi 13 years ago. There have been big gaps in the time between, but I have always liked it. I will go to a spiritually study at church this afternoon. That will give me a two-mile walk. It is sunny so I hope I remember to use some sun screen. Paula

Clothes hung out

Hello, Leroy helped me hang out sheets and some other bedding items this morning when it was 21 degrees F with a thin layer of old snow on the ground. There was some immediate freezing and stiffening of the fabric. I remember my mom carrying sheets out to hang and freeze. When some of the overalls came back in they were able to stand up by themselves. When we washed, everything had to be hung inside over the registers. She also liked the smell of sheets that were out in the air when drying. This afternoon it was 43 degrees F. when I brought everything back in. Some things had dried quite a lot. But most needed some hanging time. We have one of my mother’s wooden clothes racks. It is memory time indeed, especially since she always washed clothes on Monday. It seemed to be a law at our house. I also made a trip to Ely to get some financial papers signed for retirement as well as to return some books. Then there were three books that I checked out because they were not in the libraries that are close to me. Larger population means more books, but also more people to check them out. I might have to make a trip to check out books from time to time. Leroy finally made a trip to the local library to get some paper copies of books. He actually found three on the shelf that he wanted. Parking was a bit of a challenge for him too. There is a free lot with the library, but it was full. There is not much free street parking that is close. We are in good enough shape to walk so it is not a problem. Paula

Epiphany

Hello, Because epiphany started yesterday, we took down the Christmas decorations today. It is nice to have more space in our house. That is more space in all room except the office which seemed to gather some extra things. We decided that we did not need all of the things we had been storing. Things that we brought home from Slovakia. We still have quite a few mementos, but not some much of the lesser known, we can’t remember why we happen to have them. We did find some photos. I was amazed at how dark my hair was. Gray is now the dominate color. We also managed to collect quite a few Christmas things that we no longer want to keep. The goal is to store them until about October when we can donate them to a thrift store. Can either of us remember that plan in time to get it done? It will be nice not to have so much extra stuff in the house. Perhaps, I am thinking about moving in the future. It is at moving time that we have been able to eliminate things. Especially if it is something that we have not really looked at in ten years, the value to us goes down. Some of the books were gone from the little free library, so I took out three more. That is a changing population, just as it should be. Leroy has not felt well this afternoon, both head and stomach. I hope he is feeling better now, at least I have not heard any complaining for a while. That is a good sign. Paula

Learned something

Hello, When I updated to the new windows platform, I could no longer see the icons on the desk top. Today there was a successful search for direction to change that status. I also changed my background photo. It is amazing to me how comfortable other people are with all of this technology. Somedays it seems like a gargantuan task to manage some of it. It is like buried treasure, out of sight, but around here somewhere if I just look in the right spot. The car licenses are paid for another year. It is nice to have a few tasks finished. Leroy tackled that one on line. It is an amazing thing what can now be accomplished from our home computer. Our grandchildren will never know that sense of amazement about this task, but I suppose there can be many other changes in the future that they will remember as being different in the old days. Leroy is using his tablet to read. I thought he was going to the library, but he downloads a book and then when he has the time to go, he wants to finish the book he has in hand. I am not ready to start reading much on the tablet. I like the feel of the book in my hands. Leroy is declared healthy with his home health visit. Paula

Mystery Question

Hello, Do birds space themselves so they do not poop on another bird sitting on a lower branch? I looked out this afternoon and saw a large flock of birds landing in the neighbor’s tree. I figured it would be a good idea to stay away from this tree. Then I started wondering about the birds themselves since they often travel in rather large close-knit groups, surely they would not like to have poop land on them. I did dust one room in the house, don’t want to over due it. I also did a little more catching up on the financial records. So, the day was not a total sit around and read a book. I managed to finish reading the American Sirens. It was an informative book. Happy that I read it. My downstairs friend came up for a nice afternoon visit. That helps to feed my soul to have some people contact. I took a short walk in the cold wind so I have at least 5000 steps. Yesterday I did not accumulate that many. We are going to watch a mystery on TV. Perhaps I can remember to get some more steps while watching. That can be a quick way to get more action. I did 20 minutes of yoga this morning. This is my first morning of not going with a group. Paula

Slippery Today

Hello, Leroy called shortly after he left to let me know that it was very slippery on our deck. Not sure how it was driving, but there were surely slippery spots. He also said he had a terrible time walking across the church parking lot after the early morning bible study. I am home. I did not have to be anywhere so it is a good time to be here. Generally, I did not work on Wednesday so I would not have driven there anyway. Emptying the compost and putting a letter in the mail box, took some concentration. With my phone in my pocket, I felt that I could call for help if needed. Weightlifting is done. It is a very light weight, but I do not want to strain or sprain anything. In time I will build that up. I am trying very hard to make it slow so it works muscles rather than harness kinetic energy. I did work on our financial accounts a little bit otherwise I have not had a need that is pressing. There are some cleaning chores to be done, but it seems to me they can wait for another day. Will they ever get done? I will also spend some time cooking for supper since we have a rather cleaned out refrigerator. Paula

First Day of Retirement

Hello, Because the library was closed yesterday, it does not count as my first day of retirement. I got up knowing I did not have to rush to pack a lunch or rush out of the house to get to the library in time for tai chi. I volunteered to start the zoom account from my home. That did not go as smoothy as anticipated. Because I was on a different computer it wanted to sent a verification code to my boss’s email. I texted her and got no response. Then I texted a coworker who has been going to the library early to get some writing done. She also did not respond. Then because it was fifteen minutes before the class was to start, I called my boss. She answered, but sounded terrible. She had a bad cold, but said, “I will be there in a few minutes.” She cannot access her email at home. I would try the other worker. Calling her worked. It took some doing to have her to sign on my work computer, get the meeting going and make me the host. Next week we will be more prepared. I washed two loads of clothes, went to the church to drop off some things, went to the library, then back to the church to pick up three poinsettias that were beautiful, but in need of a home. Next on my list was to call my pension office, got put on hold, and finally learned that they will send me a form which my employer must fill out. Guess I will be back in the library soon. It seems I should have taken care of this before. Somehow, I am not so fast on the thinking of what needs to be done. Perhaps, it is because I have never retired before. Paula

Things to Do

Hello, I did lift weights this morning and do some other moves. Tomorrow is the regular day for tai chi. I should be able to get that done as well as walking both of these days. I am going to try to track exercise on my fitness device. Leroy has a dentist appointment this morning. Since he is close to the grocery store, he will go there after his exam. Hopefully he can find his was around that other side of town. We did talk about the route before he left so it should be good. I commented, “I hope you can find your way home.” To which he replied, “I can find my way home.” He did indeed find his way home as well as to the grocery store. We are going to have a zoom call with our traveling friends to discuss our next trip. These people help us to figure out what would be good to see and experience. Sometimes it is hard to believe that we did so much of this on our own. I personally enjoy having other plan the trip and I just sit back and let it all flow. Then I started thinking about the loss of my income for work this year. Next year Leroy’s income will stop. We will be fine, but it will make a difference in our finances. As it is we do not spend all of the money that comes into the house from salaries, pensions, and social security. It will be a change of thought. We also have a bit of money saved. Will we ever feel that we can spend that too? Paula

Changes For 2023

Hello, This morning in the shower Leroy said, “I don’t need this shampoo.” I had been thinking for some time that no or so little hair means no shampoo is necessary. We will give that bottle away to a place where homeless can shower. My curls do not like that shampoo. We walked to church, but we walked so slowly which is not our usual style. There was a thin, thin layer of ice on the sidewalk in some places. We had thought we would be early. We were not late, but right on time. I plan to document my exercise. That is so I keep things moving and try to build some muscle by lifting weights every other day. Is that a new year’s resolution? Perhaps! Can I keep it going? We took everything out of our kitchen freezer to find out what was in there. There were two surprises. Some salmon and frozen bananas. There was much kale which was hiding things behind it. I am glad to know what is in there. Kale usage will to continue to be high. I will have to start using the library that is within about two miles of my house. I wish I could walk there, but when it is nicer, I can ride my bike. How did I find books to read before they came across my desk? Do I still have the browsing skill? Can I make myself clean the apartment more than I have been in recent days? Especially the corners. Paula