Hose, what hose?

Hello, Yesterday when I walked by the garden on my way to a study at church, I saw a garden hose against the building where we can use the water for the community garden. When Leroy came home, I told him, “There is a hose by the dorm. I am going to go this evening and water what we planted yesterday.” We thought one of our group had taken the hose home last fall, but she could not find it in her garage and she does not remember doing that. She did say she would contact the college to learn if they have picked it up. When Leroy spoke to her again we learned she had not gotten around to contacting them. Is this a new miracle hose? There is another member of our group who might have put it there, but we have not talked to her. I am grateful for the hose, but it is not very flexible so it was a bit of a struggle to get it unwound and to put it back against the building. We have to be careful to keep it out of the range of the mowers. While I was watering Leroy, whose guilt would not let him stay home, brought over some buckets of mulch to hold down the cardboard and newspaper that we put between the rows and the plants. That was nice because when I came home from church, I had to run around and pick up 5-10 pieces of cardboard. We have one large rock that the tiller picked up. That rock is quite useful for the odd holding job. I am a bit concerned that we will have to do a lot of watering as we are certainly starting off the season with little rain. The dry soil is concerning. Paula

Thirsty plants

Hello, We watered plants at church this morning. They need to be watered almost daily. The ground and the air are quite dry for this early in the summer. Also, it was been much warmer for the last few days which additionally dries things. I washed and hung out some clothes. They dried in less that two hours. That gives me a number of trips up and down the stairs in a short time. I consider it all part of my health body work. Leroy and I went for a bike ride today. It was definitely hot and dry, but we had water bottles. I am so grateful for all the inventions that are on my bike. We rode only about 7-8 miles. My odometer does only whole miles. I miss the one I used to have which even divided the mile by hundredths. Then I knew much more precisely how far I had gone. It said 108 miles when I left and 115 miles when I got home so it was somewhere in that territory. Leroy forgot to check his for the trip so he did not know anything. There were a number of people out on the bike trail, including some families with rather small children. One dad was riding along side his daughter who was on a bike with training wheels. He had a hold of her handle bar. I believe he was keeping her from weaving around and being safe. I was happy to just take care of myself. We are going to plant in the community garden tonight. We will definitely water as we go. I will probably come back again during the week to give them another drink as no rain is forecast. Paula

What to do in Cedar Rapids

Hello, Before I get to what to do here, I have to say that a bloody nose on an airplane is not much fun. We had not been on our last flight home very long when I realized I should blow my nose. Then I saw it was blood and not snot that was coming out. My tissue was filled in short order. Leroy had a napkin he had stuck in his pocket so I used that too. Then it was on to another tissue. Luckily, I had a number of small packets of tissues so I was ok, but Leroy had to help me get them out. I was very happy when it stopped. I suppose it was a combination of being in the dry Utah air and the dry air in the plane. Possibly I had not been drinking enough either. Leroy and I went to the library this afternoon because he had a book on hold. While at the library we visited the rooftop learning garden. There is a lot of native sedum up there that is drought tolerant. They do have a cistern that is used for irrigating. It was nice, but rather hot so we did not loiter.

I got a map of the murals in Cedar Rapids. There are 21 of them in about a mile area. I invited some friends to go with me on a walking tour. I decided I should check out the situation on my phone to make sure that we could do this. It will work, but I wish my phone display were about twice as large as it is. It would be easier to get around. From the place we stopped we could see four of them by just looking around. Leroy commented, “Some of them are quite large.”

We will not do this tour for about two weeks yet. Hopefully it will not be raining. We could use the rain, but I do not know when the tour could happen again as all have different schedules. Paula

At Home

Hello, Our downstairs friends had texted us while we were still in Utah to ask, “When should we pick you up at the airport?” I thought I had told them we would ride the bus, but now things and changed. The bus does not run so late at night. I gratefully asked for a ride. In a timely manner we got to our house. I did not unpack a thing, but got ready for bed and slid into rest. What a good thing is our own bed. We have gotten into a routine in no time. Leroy has worked his usual hours and I have puttered around the house trying not look at a shelf that needs to be cleaned off. Many of the items are photos and I do not want to deal with them. I did manage to pull out ten t-shirts that I can live without. I rode the bike on the trail the other day. It was a great experience to see all of the white and purple phlox. These are a tall variety that seems to grow wild. I just like the view as I sail past. I even rode past two deer. One on each side of the trail. The one on my left ran off after it spotted me, putting me on alert to be aware that this one might run across in front of me. Lucky for me it just stayed still and looked seriously at me. I also saw squirrels and ducks. In the cool shade under one bridge were two guys conversing and enjoying the shade. I suspect they are homeless because they didn’t have bikes. Many homeless do have bikes, but I usually do not see them on the trail. I am trying to increase my range on the bike. That day was only a total of seven miles. Soon I want to be able to bike to Ely. I need to toughen my seat as well as my legs. Paula

Still trying to get home

Hello, The train stopped before we could make our connection to the airport to announce there was construction on the tracks and we would take a “bridge bus” which would again connect with the train. This took us to some new territory and we seemed to be in the railyard. As we were waiting for the connection, I texted Miriam to let her know what had happened. As it turned out her conference was over, she was close, and could take us to the airport in a timely manner. Leroy and I like to get to the airport in plenty of time, especially this trip. We had purchased two bags of oatmeal weighing seven pounds each. It was a good deal for sure. We were concerned about taking them through the TSA because they would wonder if we had drugs in there. We got there in plenty of time. It was not a very big deal as we had taken those bags out of our backpacks. Leroy had put it in a bin with his watch, wallet, etc. so he went through very quickly. I had put my backpack in the same bin. It caused them to check the backpack as well. The hard part about the seven pounds on our backs is that we had to walk a good distance to the gate. At one point it is a fifteen-minute walk between where we had been and where we needed to be. I can testify that a there is weight gain as one hikes on, but we made it. In Chicago it looked as if our gates would be close together, however on landing, we learned the departing gate had changed. Again, we walked about fifteen minutes or more. We were in time to get on the plane almost right away. After we were seated, the plane waited for another passenger who was coming on a different connecting flight. The crew announced, because it was the last flight of the day to our city, they did not want to leave them. Good to know they do some of that. I also like to get home on the same day. Paula

The Long Day Home

Hello, I set my phone alarm to wake us at 5:15 am. When the phone dinged in the morning, I leaped out of bed, started looking for the laid-out clothes to put on, but then tried to turn off the alarm only to learn it was not the alarm, but a text from the airline telling us that our flight had been delayed over an hour. Oh no! that means we would miss our connecting flight in Denver. “Oh, Leroy we have to call the airline to figure out what is best.” I wailed softly. Because I do not like to call, Leroy put through the call. We kept losing the connection so went to the living room, hoping for a better connection and that we would not disturb the other sleeping people. The helpful person gave us at least three flight possibilities, but we could not remember what she had said as she was telling us about the last one. Miriam, who had been disturbed, came out, got out paper and pen took the phone, and started talking to the agent. She had to explain, “I am helping my parents.” Sometimes it is great to be old and helpless! If we could just figure out when to play this role. We got it figured out that we would fly from Salt Lake in the afternoon to Chicago and get home on the same day, but after 10:00 pm. It made a long day. We spent some extra time reading on the patio and eating more of their food. The rest of the family had school or work obligations. How is that for a good deal? Andy took us to the train stop to get to the airport. That was also a gift. We find good all over if we just remember to look for it and not focus on things not going our way. Paula

Hiking

Hello, We did do a little hiking with Miriam. Leroy, especially was happy to get in the mountains. We did not go very high because they have had so much snow up there. It was melting a lot, but there was still more to come down. They had over 800 inches in the mountains. I have a hard time realizing what that is. Leroy did start to feel tired as we climbed. I did also, but not quite as much. It was hot and that added to fatigue. It is also a slope and we do most of our walking around here on flat land. There are some hills, but we do not live in them. So far, we do not complain about the flat land. There were a number of people on the trail. Some of them were running. That idea scares me a little as I would be afraid of slipping on some rolling pebbles or rock. It also tells me about how much we are out of shape.

Andy went mountain biking two times while were there. I believe that could also put fear in my heart. Am I a chicken? Miriam and a friend walk in the morning. We did not walk with them as they go so fast. They do better than a fifteen-minute mile. I can’t remember the time that they do. Paula

Mother’s Day with Family

Hello, We were in Utah for Mother’s Day. Generally, it is just Leroy and I at home. It was great to spend a big chunk of the day at my niece’s house. We had dinner there and spent a nice time visiting. Andy’s parents were also there. It had been a year and a half since I had seen my niece and her children. Family connections are so important.

It was a beautiful day. We had a nice view and a great view of the mountains and valley on the way to her house from the church. It was great to see some of the people I know who are members of Miriam’s church. Miriam and Andy have had lot of work done on their patio and it is very nice. It was quite pleasant to be out there and enjoy the view along with the warm air and cool breezes when we played games. Leroy managed to read one or two books during the week, but I only did about half of one which I will read when I can get it from the library. Someone else has it checked out hence, it will not be instantly acquired. Paula

More Time in Utah

Hello, We went to two of Nora’s soccer games. The first was held on a beautiful day with a loss, but some good playing by Nora. We traveled a bit of a distance to get to the game. We went past the Park City exit in the rain, but it was clear when we arrived at the destination. I can say I was happy to have Miriam drive in the mountains. I do not like racing down. I am not sure why it is such a goal to get to places as fast as one is able. I am grateful for brakes that work along with the rest of the vehicle, but others driving behind me might get disgusted with the lack of daring. The second game was a rain game. It was not a Midwest thunder storm, but rather a gentler affair that was ok with a jacket and umbrella. This game was so close and at the end, one of the girls on her team was fouled and she kicked a winning goal just a second before the whistle blew for the end of the game. What excitement! This game was also a good distance from home, but in the opposite direction. Again, Nora played well. I learned they can run in the rain. Olivia, who now has her driver’s license, took us for a ride in her car. I was quite comfortable with her skill. We also got to see the place where she works. Close to that was a swollen stream rushing by from the snow melt in the mountains. Certainly, if one fell in that water, it would be the end of the vacation. Olivia was at work on several days while we were there. School also took her away for much of the day. Nora has a job in the neighborhood so she also worked after school. These girls are not idle much of the time. Between school, work, swimming for one and soccer for the other they have to keep a schedule. Both of them like to read so they got some of that done as well as spending time with us. Paula

Nice Trip to Utah

Hello, We left early in the morning with the assistance of a friend to get to the airport since the bus would not get us there in time. In Chicago, we had to wait about an hour for a new connecting plane since the original need some work. It never bothers me to wait while the airline figures out the plan since they are responsible. Our flight was otherwise good. Miriam called us when we were on the train to her house with the offer to pick us up at a stop which was close to where she was at that moment. That saved us some time on the train and gave us more time to visit. She had a discouragingly hard picture puzzle started. I found a few pieces. Then she suggested I put in all the water pieces. Water included boats, swimmers, and some fish. Because we were alone a bit during the day, I managed to get that done and by that time I was hooked. I later finished the buildings. We learned that there were four pieces missing from this second-hand puzzle.

After our arrival, we walked to the library after Olivia got home from school. She picked up more books than we did, but we had enough when we walked home to weight a person down. Wonderful to have a close library. Each day we spent some time playing games with various members of the family. That was a lot of fun. Paula

Such a Sunday

Hello, Leroy and I walked to church this morning. Because of the warm weather, I even wore a dress which I have not done in a long time. I like my legs covered in the cold. Several people commented on how nice I looked and what was the occasion. Guess I do not look so good much of the time. The choir sang which is always a treat. I should do more singing when I am alone. After church our book club met. I had asked if anyone would give me some books they no longer wanted. I would put them in the little free library. Five people gave me books numbering from one to ten or more. When I saw them, I exclaimed, “I cannot walk home with these and I think Leroy has already left.” One of the kind members gave me a ride home and even helped me carry them up to the house. What a deal. I have to confess that Leroy and I looked through them and kept some of them in the house for us to read before putting them out. I figure that is ok since there were more than would fit. I am happy to help people get some things out of their houses. Too many of us have things we hang onto long after they are useful or important to us. Paula

Just Walking

Hello, I thought about riding the bike again today. But just thinking about doing something does not get the job done as some of you know. I did get my 10,000 steps because I delivered more neighborhood newsletters. There are only a few to do and they go to some small businesses in the area. They were not open today, so I will try to get that done when we come back from Utah. I have gotten 10,000 steps for 37 days. That is a worthy number of days. I don’t know if I can keep it up or not. It is both daunting and challenging. I do still do Tai Chi, but yoga has fallen by the wayside much of the time. I feel better when I do that stretching and moving joints in more directions, but it seems I need someone to keep me going on it. I will say that it is harder to get back to, with my increasing age. Where is my personal trainer hiding out? A group from church is in Israel. I did not think I really wanted to go there, but when I see the pictures they are posting, I would like to be part of the group. I think it would be nice if Leroy would organize a tour of the wooden churches in Slovakia. It would be wonderful to go back there and show people places we have been to and lived in. They have talked about it some at his work, but nothing has materialized. The church choir is talking about going to England next summer and we are interested in doing that if it happens. We have never been to England. Paula

Good Brakes

Hello, I went out on the bike trail close to our house for my third bike ride of the year. I have not ridden this new bike much. I miss the toe clips which allowed me to get my pedal in the right spot for takeoff. Now I have to put my foot under the low pedal and move it up. My habit is to stop with the pedal low on the left side, but start with the pedal high on the left side. I noticed that Leroy uses his pedals so they are always in the right position. I am scared of falling if I do not have them in the position that I am used to. Then there are these high-tech brakes. They must be more powerful than ordinary bike brakes. I apply too much pressure and come to a very quick stop, wondering if I could flip over the front of the bike. I will definitely have to spend more time on this machine so I can get used to some new ways of doing things. It is hard for me to relax and enjoy the ride when I am thinking about stopping and how to do it. I did use the battery power when trying to put on more speed to get through a stop light. I was behind Leroy, who was at the intersection, and he sailed on through. I managed as well, but I had to get to the intersection first. I will say that the power is noticeable, especially when I used the second level. I know people who have electric assist and they use that battery power all the time. But they sped along which I am not ready to do. Paula

It’s not Fair!

Hello, One of the companies that we have business with informed us that they had a security breach and we should check our credit score. My score was more than 100 points better than Leroy’s. He thinks that is not fair. We are not sure how or why this happens. We spent quite a bit of time this morning getting those scores. I had frozen mine, but Leroy had not so he went in a little easier. This afternoon we took a bike ride. It was my turn to say not fair because he has almost 2000 more steps than I do. How does this happen? I suppose if I ran over bumps I might have more, but I avoid bumps. Leroy who eats foods that I would not eat has better cholesterol numbers than I do. Although I have the better ratio. My good cholesterol is much higher than his. It is not fair that my numbers are so high. One of my paternal cousins died. He was quite a bit older than I am don’t think I can talk about fairness here at all. My cousins on that side of the family numbered 29. I think nine of them have died. Most of those have been older than I. I was about in the middle of the group for age comparison. My poinsettias that I had so carefully tended all winter, chose now to drop leaves like crazy. I did plant three of them, but do not anticipate much if any return on that investment. Not fair, when I expected them to produce nice plants outdoors. Paula

Where did our brains go?

Hello, I got a gift card from a mail order company. Leroy wanted to buy something from there. “Just use my gift card,” I generously offered. When he tried to check out it did not work. We happened to be speaking to Miriam while that was on our minds. She recommended, “Call them they have good customer service, but do not do a chat, rather talk to a live person.” A day later, Leroy tried to call, but the wait time was so long and they just kept looping him through some canned possibilities. He hung up and used the live chat. It actually worked very well. We learned that we had to take the gift card out of the packaging and scrape off the stuff over the code. Then it worked like a charm. Take it out of the package? I got a deal of money off at a store. Today, I went to spend that. It did not work for self-checkout. A young man helped me. He also could not get it to work even when he saw the text on my phone. He somehow made it give me credit. That was very nice. I am glad it was not just me. He unfortunately did not have an explanation as to why it did not work. There was something else I was going to talk about, but can you believe that I no longer know what it was? Paula

Eagle spotting

Hello, Leroy spotted an eagle in a tree. I was driving so I did not see it. He sees them over the river as well. Again, I do not seem to manage. I learned this morning that there is a nest on the other side of the city, however the directions were not solid enough for me to feel confident to find it. This morning, Leroy went to tai chi in person. It was probably in the fall that he was last there in the flesh instead he has been attending on zoom. We do the longer form later in the hour and he has usually gone to work by them so he was quite unsure of what he was doing. Perhaps we can practice some at home. However, it is always good to have someone else tell him how to do things. My directives seem to have a different more irritating character. Amazing that we have stayed together for more than fifty years. Last summer, we had a bird’s nest in the tree in the back yard. It was so much fun to watch the activity. This year I have seen a number of birds going in and out of that hole in the tree. They are even of different varieties. Leroy wonders, “Do you think it is an apartment house?” So far, we have not seen any young squirrels. I am not sure just when they are born. Our squirrel population has rebounded from the low number after the derecho. Usually I see a rabbit around, but not yet. I believe it is called wildlife in the city. Paula

Still Windy

Hello, Leroy and I walked this afternoon. At one point I felt I could be blown away or at least over. I even held on a bit. We are grateful for the warmer temperatures, but it still feels cold when the wind is that strong. This morning we hung out clothes. The wind, sun, and low humidity dried them very quickly. Several had a pin lose the battle with the wind, but they were all struggling with one clothes pin to stay the course. I thought I had gotten a lot of steps getting the clothes back in the house, but Leroy was over 2000 ahead of me after our walk. He will walk to church tonight for a study so it is not problem for him to get to his goal. I will have to put some more effort into that. Some of the trees are beautiful and in full bloom. Others have passed their prime and the wind is distributing the petals around the neighborhood. It is rather nice. Leroy got his glasses out of line. He went to have them straightened. I had him ask when I had last been in. I was astonished to learn that it was in 2021 which would be after I had the cataracts removed. I now have an appointment for July. I believe at my age I should go every year to make sure all is healthy. Time just slipped away for me. Someday I will make an appointment to have my hearing checked, but put that off all the time. I know I am missing some sounds, but otherwise I believe I hear fairly well. Can that be a false belief? Paula