Life Goes on

Hello, Leroy got up fairly early and took his first bike ride in about three weeks. He declared on his return, “My legs feel like jelly.” He rode a few hills and he usually does not do hills on his ride to work. It was at least cool outside. And his leg did not hurt. It has been a longer time since I have ridden my bike. The problem for me is that is a chore to get it out of the garage. So, I do not bother. We both walked to church to water the plants. On the way we saw the second set of workers looking at the tree across the street at the end of the block. Not sure why it is taking so much discussion, but it certainly has not been removed quickly. On the way home we stopped at the college library so I could use the restroom. Leroy spent some time looking at the Marvin Cone pictures in the entryway. We then asked about his connection to the college. Both he and Grant Wood were on the staff there. Grant Wood taught Cone. Grant Wood’s paintings were up on the second floor. It was a nice morning art tour. Forty-nine years ago, we had our first child. Course we cannot be that old. She too tells us that it sounds old. The gift is that we have known and loved her that long. It was a full moon when she was born and we are coming up to another. One of the nurses asked if there were a full moon, because we were the seventh couple to come in that night. Many more came the second night and they filled all the bassinets. Busy times for them. Paula

Problems or not?

Hello, When at the store I used the restroom facilities. This automatic flushing toilet flushed two times while I was sitting on it. When I was leaving it did not flush even though I mostly stepped out of the door, the button for just such a time worked so it was good. While washing my hands, I heard it flush again. Summer is a great time of year. With the problem of too many good things to eat all at once. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, cherries, strawberries, watermelon, and a few green beans. It is hard to chose when it is all so good just as it is picked. On the hot days, it feels important to do everything that we can before the heat comes. How to get it all done and what to do with a quiet afternoon? How many free pens can we justify having around until the ink dries? How much scrap paper and note pads does one couple need? Paula

Adventures in Iowa

Hello, We had a strong storm last night. It had a lot of wind with some very strong gusts. It seemed to me in the level of about 90 mph. That burst did not last very long. I have to confess that we did not go to the basement, but we were thinking about it. Some parts of the city lost power, but we did not. Flashlights were at the ready. We went to a store this morning that did not have power so they were not open. A neighbor was telling me about a grocery that lost power and they had to throw out all of the meat. This morning there were branches and walnuts in the back yard and more branches in the front. It filled both of our bins that will go to the compost. Leroy spent a bit of time out there clipping it into smaller pieces so it would fit in the bin. He found it to be quite satisfying as the bins filled up, the yard looked neater. There was some rain with the storm, but I went to the church this afternoon to water plants because the rain did not provide enough. One block from our house I discovered a large tree across the street and a smashed car under it. Brought the 2020 derecho to mind. This was not quite the wind speed or the duration of that storm.

The temperature dropped 20 degrees in a short time. The night was quite fine but it has become hot again today although not so much as other days. Paula

Out and about

Hello, Because Leroy was home, he walked to church to help water. He also helped moving some things at church. I transplanted some coleus which might have a hard time given the current heat and not much good soil situation. We walked home past the community garden where Leroy bemoaned the lack of cucumbers in spite of many blossoms. Should we blame the heat again. Also, there are almost not tomatoes turning color. After a snack we went downtown so I could show him the murals in the parking ramp stairwell. They all deal with the history of Cedar Rapids. We did not know of some of the people presented. If you want to take a mural walk with me, just let me know I am happy to do that. The art museum was next on the agenda, but they did not open for two more hours. Crossed that off the list and went on to the library where we could get resupplied with reading material. No libraries would certainly change our lives. Because it is so hot, we are staying inside this afternoon. We even worked on a credit card statement. Leroy cleared out two files in the file cabinet. That is progress. We have booked flights so we can go to Holden Village with our friends. Paula

Visitors

Hello, We were blessed with weekend guests. It was one of the couples we had visited in St. Cloud. They come to visit us when it is hot here and we visit them when it is cold there. Sensible people, aren’t we? We did sit and talk some, but we also toured the area, however we did not visit an escape room. We might not have escaped yet. Visited the great creamery in Ely for ice cream and had a little tour of the town which is now very different from when Leroy and I lived there.

Church was on the agenda for Sunday. It was nice to show them where we spend so much time in the course of our lives in this city. All was good. Following that we did a drive around tour of the murals/art in Cedar Rapids.

It was a bit more complicated to get around since there was a run (need pizza and beer run) which blocked off some streets downtown. We finally decided that we could see it after we ate and toured Leroy’s work place museum. After touring the museum, Leroy was quite pleased to have a captive audience to show them the back room of the library. Our friend sells used books on line so he was quite into the idea of organization and value. In the evening we shared watermelon and talk with our downstair friends on the deck. It was just warm, not hot. It was a short but full visit. Paula

Water

Hello, It is not easy to know how much water is right for me. Today I had seven cups before noon. I was still sweating and weary, but that could just be the heat. It is hot and humid here which is a bad combination. Leroy drove to work again today. The flowers at church are thriving on their ration of water. It would be nice if it could come from the sky. I did take a small water bottle with me. When finished watering flowers, I sat and drank it. I could hear the organist practicing. That was quite nice. On the way home I stopped at the community garden and picked green beans, two types of kale and one gigantic leaf of swill chard. I then sat in the shade and drank that refilled water bottle. On the rest of the walk home no one was on their porch or out so all produce came home with me. Seems that should be enough water, but two more cups were downed after I got home. A neighbor informed me that the rain went around us again. It was necessary to water some of the things around the house. For some reason I do not tend to them as much as the stuff at church. Paula

Tag Patrol

Hello, Just what is tag patrol? For me it is someone noticing that I have a tag hanging out at the back of my neck. Today at tai chi something was tickling my neck from time to time. After an extended period of time, I realized it was a tag bothering me. The last time I wore this shirt Leroy informed me that I had this offending object out in full public view. It might not be a bad idea to have some other patrol in my life. Yesterday, on his way to the dentist, Leroy gave me a ride to church. I watered plants, took a couple of drinks from the drinking fountain. About half way home I started noticing how dry I was, then in a little while I did not feel so peppy. Not sure I had had more then three cups of liquid before I left the house. Not such a good idea in this heat we are now experiencing. Today, because it is on my way home from Tai Chi, I did not notice the thirst, plus I had a water bottle in the car. Tomorrow, I walk again, but I will carry water and go fairly early in the morning. Just a side note, all of our names have been written in Chinese. It is using other words than our names. For instance, Leroy’s title is “Powerful Guard”. It is the shortest and simplest to write. One of the class members suggested we all change our names. We are to learn to write our names without looking at the paper as we are doing it. Seems a bit daunting to me. These names were provided by a man who is from mainland China.

Paula

Staples are out

Hello, Leroy’s staples are out of his leg. There is more healing to do, but it all looks good. He does not even have to give it extra care. He can resume normal activities. It is now so hot that he is hesitant about riding his bike, especially since he has not ridden for two weeks. Going in the morning would not be a problem, but the return after work is a bit hot to think about. He will have a regular skin checkup next month. On his other leg, there is a spot that is a little concerning, but it will wait since there is not chance to have an appointment ahead of that. We are certainly in the age for skin cancers. This skin has been around for quite some time and given us good service without complaining. We were blessed to have guests this weekend. It was a short visit of just two nights and one full day. There was a lot of talk and laughter. Sunday was a full day with church, a tour of the outdoor murals/art, lunch out, and a trip to the museum. They were impressed with our fair city. The guy deals in used books so he was especially interested in the library and the old books they have there. We had a good watermelon which we ate out on the deck with our downstairs friends included. It was quite a nice evening. I did water plants again today. I should have taken water because I was a bit tired when I got home. Some of that seemed to be from the lack of water. Paula

Watering Struggles

Hello, Yesterday, I was tending to my daily watering at church. I knew there was a wind, but figured I have dealt with such before. All was well until I started around the corner where the wind caught one smaller jug and blew it in the parking area. I reached for that jug only to have the cart roll to the side and off the curb, falling and spilling four other empty jugs and three full jugs. I set the full jugs upright in a row to learn if they had sprung a leak. In the meantime, it was a trick to gather the wind tossed empties. The cart is a big of a struggle to get upright and not rolling. After all was good, I rolled on. Usually, the cart goes all the way to end of the row, but there is not really a good place to make it secure and not rolling, so it was parked at the top of the row and each jug was carried as far as needed. Now it was time to get back into the church. At that famous corner the smaller jug blew off. This time I managed to get it without losing control of the rest. Soon a larger jug blew off and that smaller one went again. Rolling on, the smaller one sailed once more. The next time it blew off, I declared, “I am carrying you!” Getting bossy must have been needed because we got to the church door without another problem. Paula

VBS

Hello, VBS is this week. I successfully ignored all of the calls for volunteers only to feel guilty for not volunteering when it was mentioned on Sunday. It had apparently been a hard job to have enough helpers. I am stuck with the idea in my head that I have done my time. I do volunteer at church by watering the plants, greeting, and occasionally being the lector. I suppose even singing in the choir is volunteer since we are not paid. My first eye checkup in almost two years was on the schedule for this morning. My eyes are healthy. I did comment that I had forgotten about an appointment for a long time. His comment was that he does not worry about my eye health since there is nothing of any concern. That is good to know. With an appointment set up for next year, it should not be so long next time. Paula

No Big bandage

Hello, Leroy sat down while I started unwinding the binding on his leg. It is that kind that sticks to itself and holds gauze in place. It took a bit of time and ended a heap of stuff to throw away. The next layer was some gauze like stuff twirling from top to bottom. There was some dried blood on it. The last layer was more gauze like material. This wound was a bit larger than we had anticipated. It appeared to be almost two inches long. We had to wash it and apply Vaseline ahead of putting on a bandage. The bandage we had was two inches by four inches. This thing was definitely two inches. The bandage had to go with the four inches covering the wound. The staples were quite noticeable. They will come out next Monday. It seemed prudent to put on some bandage type tape on all sides of this bandage to make it more secure. Leroy has been fairly careful, but after seeing this he feels he should ramp up the careful idea. He will not be running races or twisting and turning. He is fortunate that it does not hurt and it does not look infected. He did wonder if his leg was a very slight amount swollen. He also said he can take a shower, but I vote against that. It looks vulnerable. He does not smell and he can always tend to any areas that need attention. Paula

Walk to Church

Hello, Leroy walked to church today. It is the longest walk he has taken in a week. He was tired by the time we got there. I had to keep remembering to slow down. He complained of hunger before we got home. We ate a large snack but it was so close to lunch time that we put off lunch because we were too full. He even did a little bit of stretching this afternoon because his back was so tired from some much sitting. Yesterday he commented, “I do not know what will happen when I retire. I can not handle all this idle time.” I can imagine that we will have to be careful not to get onto each other’s nerves. Guess we are not so good with too much time together. Work was a benefit in more ways than one. I wear walking shoes to church with a change to sandals after I get there. Some of my sandals are good for walking, but bits of sand or small pebbles might get under my feet. With each step those small items get larger and more painful. A recent purchase of new shoes has brought out many compliments especially since today they matched my dress. I always have to get them on it seems a long time before we actually leave the building. These days I suspect I could just wear the walking shoes and forget style or fashion. People wear many different styles.

Paula

Butterflies

Hello, After watering flowers at church, Leroy and I headed off to the nature center. It is in the city, but still feels much like being in the country. There were so many cars there that it was a little difficult to find a place to park. On the way in I dropped Leroy off closer to the building so he did not have to walk too far. They had many pollinator friendly plants that they were giving away. We did not take any because we were not sure where they could be planted. It was fun to see so many different possibilities. Many activities were for children including, running around with fake butterfly wings, making seed mud balls that could be thrown into road ditches by riders in the upcoming bike ride across Iowa. There were also a number of activities that I did not inspect that involved drawing, etc. We spent quite a lot of time talking with a retired biology teacher who was very interested in the pollinators of Iowa. We learned a lot. The last big event was the release of 150 monarch butterflies. It was quite fun to see them up in the air. There were so many people we could not see the butterflies come out of the cage that they were in. One of my pictures shows the cage,

one is a butterfly on a flower

and the other is some in the air on both sides of the picture.

It does not look so dramatic, but it really was awe inspiring. Paula

Dermatologist

Hello, I had my turn at the dermatologist this morning. I am grateful for health care. I thought I was in good shape, but when I got there, my name was not on the schedule. I had checked in on line and was able to show the text I had gotten about that. It all was worked out, because it was an error on their side. No skin areas were concerning me, as this was my regular check. Two small precancer areas were frozen. I also talked about a spot on my nose. He looked at it for quite a while, declared it noncancerous, but said he could take off as something might be lurking under it. A three month follow up will show the health of the area. It has been six years since I have had my skin cancer. He was quite pleased with that. My next stop was the church, it was raining some, but not a lot. I filled jugs and went out in the rain. When Leroy was in seminary, we lived in a duplex. Our seventy-year-old landlady went out in the rain to water plants around the house. I thought she was crazy. Well, I have joined the crazy. The plants close to the house did not get rain because of the overhang. I watered because most of the rain we had gotten does not amount to much. We both had our reasons. At home we got an inch of rain. That is so nice. Paula

Watering plants

Hello, Just a quite note to say that Leroy is doing fine today, but still not moving a great deal. He had thought he would go to work, but is home instead. He is bringing food for the men’s bible study at church tomorrow which required a trip to the store. I drove to help out. The first store was out of an item so I just went into the second to place get it since it did not demand decisions. After that we went to the library because Leroy did not have anything in the house that he wanted to read. I was able to find a parking place in the lot, but let him out closer to the door. Getting back to the watering story: I watered at church this morning. It was a nice surprise to see that all the big containers had lids. When they were half done, I noticed that I seemed to have a bit of water on me. I told myself, “Pay attention!” Then I looked down and saw water on the floor. What was going on? Looking up at the jugs, a fine stream of water was coming out about half way down one jug. Quickly that jug was transferred to the sink. No rags in sight so a paper towel cleaned it up. The person who knows where the jugs come from was not there so I just thought I can come back and refill one. Before going out I stopped and talked to someone else. Then the jug lady came back and she told me that someone had donated another jug. She had thrown one away, luckily the garbage was still inside so she could just switch the two. Yeah! Paula

Leroy’s Leg

Hello, This morning Leroy again had Mohs Surgery. This was the third time for him. All of them have been on his leg, same leg. It has always gone smoothy and fairly quickly for him. They only had to cut once. The difference comes in the after care. Before there has just been a large bandage that would have to be changed daily after the first day or two. This time he came out with what I call an ace bandage that extended almost from his knee to his ankle. With instructions that it is not to come off for a week. Leroy said, “There is a gauze affair that goes around the leg and another layer under the external.” He will have to go back in two weeks to take out staples. We are not sure if this is a more serious hole or if they have just changed their methods. Apparently, they mentioned not getting an infection several times. Perhaps that was a problem with the old method. He is not to walk much in the two weeks and he is not to ride his bike at all. I just have to wait on him a little and not expect him to help with many as household chores. I also do not have to do much wound care. It is on the back of his leg so he cannot reach very easily. He is a bit bored. Even had trouble finding anything to watch on TV. He has lounged around and not finding it to be interesting enough to read most of the time. We did go out and eat our snack in the shade of the trees. It was quite fine even if the heat was high. There was a breeze blowing and it was a change of venue. Paula

How to Assemble?

Hello, We bought a “cheap” barrel type compost contraption. We got it last year. After spending quite a lot of time working to put it together, it finally went to the attic for the winter, spring and some of the summer. Our downstairs friend even tried to help but to no avail. It languished in the attic until yesterday when Leroy decided to try once more. He even followed my the suggestion to put a time limit in place. We both worked on it. Leroy felt we should take it apart and try from the beginning. That did the job with the help of a mallet hammer. Sometimes force is the best way. If it broke and had to be thrown, at least we put in our best effort. We quit after an hour with more progress made than with the attempt last year. Today, Leroy got it out again. Something was not right because there were four extra screws. That required backtracking again, but not so very far. With the screws used it was on to the last two steps. It took some serious pushing and pulling to get it done. The door does not open easily, but it will work so it is done. We only spent about two hours this year and many more hours last year, with an eleven-month time of hibernation. Soon, we will learn if it really works or not. At least it was not a child’s toy. There would have been much more pressure to finish the job. One of the members in our church choir celebrates her 90th birthday tomorrow. She has sung in the choir for 73 years. Wow! Hard to wrap my head around such an idea. Paula

How Far to Walk?

Hello, This morning Leroy announced that he would go to church to help water and then walk on to the library which adds six tenths of a mile to the walk. I do not like to do that because I get so tired, but a book on hold was waiting for me. When we started to the church, I had to come back to go to the bathroom. That added three blocks to my walk. Leroy had almost finished watering by the time I showed up. I did do a little more deadheading. Then we set out for the library. Getting there was quite pleasant because of the cool temperatures. Leroy gallantly carried the returning book as well as my book home. We were both tired by the time we got home. It was time for snack which tasted wonderful. Great to have some refreshment. I had over 9,000 steps and Leroy was quite close to that number. Walking a lot is great, but some in the morning and some in the afternoon is better. At least the library was open. A number of people were already there. Is a library one of my favorite places? When we have moved to a new town, it is one of the first stops. We ate the last of the fresh black raspberries. Some regret about that, but we are both happy to be done picking. It is quite a chore. Those clothes are now washed and dried. That is nice too. Paula

A Little Rain

Hello, We watered at church this morning. I deadheaded some plants while Leroy watered. Some of the coleuses were getting tall, so they got a haircut as well. It was a trick to give away some of the cuttings to be rooted and put in where the people lived. Three men accepted that challenge. The last one seemed to be the most familiar with the idea of rooting cuttings. He asked, “Is it deadly to my cat?” He assured us he will do some research. On that question. The rest of the cuttings went in a glass at church so they can root and be set in another place that could use some more plants. It is fun to spread the wealth around. At home, Leroy weeded in the sidewalk cracks with the softening help of the rain. It looks quite clean now. Hopefully this is enough rain for the plants we have around here. So far it has not been overdone. I stopped at the Ely post office to get some forever stamp because the cost is going up on Sunday. Leroy had some of those commutative stamps so we went to a post office here this morning. The sign said cash only. Between us we had $45. The helpful lady at the window helped us spend all but $.90. It was fun. Some will go into Leroy’s stamp collection and some will be used to send letters. Paula

When did 75 start to feel cool?

Hello, Today the temperature dropped nicely with the high being about 75 degrees F. With a brisk breeze, it helped me feel cool. I even put on some more clothing coverage. It seems in the past, 75 was about right and 80 was unbearably hot. Now 80 degrees feels like a cold front has gone through. Maybe, I am cool at 75 years old. Who knew it would not feel so old. Is all of life a matter of perspective and stance? Even 80 which is not far away, looks younger now. Now our children cannot be getting as old as they are. Who knew that the age of children would create feelings about our ages. Live is a continual learning experience. I remember I did not like marigolds very well. But one year they were the only flower that grew. Marigolds seemed quite fine from then on. Paula

Fireworks and Bats

Hello, We took a walk to our favorite park hoping the hill would be high enough to see fireworks downtown. That was not so good. We saw quite a lot of fireworks with all the ones going off in the neighborhoods and in the park as well. At some point I noticed the bats fluttering around. Surely fireworks are not a good experience for them. They were flying around at random, but especially darting when the boom and the lights came. Do the other animals like fireworks? It seems they could feel quite uneasy with all of the noise. Squirrels in the trees probably have a much more stressful time than underground animals. Booms could be heard after we were in bed. That Leroy is a great sleeper so he was not very bothered. Our blackout curtains help for the light, but not the noise. Yesterday I used the oven which contributed to quite a lot of heat in the kitchen. It was okay because the bread was good as was the rhubarb crisp. Paula

Greeting at church

Hello, I greet at church which means that I stand at one of the doors and welcome people by saying something to them and opening the door. It has been a way to see more of the people. The church is fairly large and I do not know the names, but now I recognize so many more faces. It is a bit bothersome when people know my name, but I do not remember or know theirs. This morning I stood/paced at a less popular door. That gives still a look at new people as many choose the same door week after week. I know that we do that. Even though three greeters are not required Leroy then often is at the third door unless he is an usher for that day. He wore the shirt that a member of our congregation gave him. She is from Liberia. This shirt has some very nice embroidery on it. He said many people commented on the shirt. It looks quite fine on him. We find it good to be involved in the church so we get to know more people. It is not easy for me to talk to new people, but when at the door it is easy, perhaps because it is required. We also had book club this morning so I talked to a number of people there about the book. We read the Alice Network by Quinn. Interesting how some liked it and some not so much. It is historical faction about a female spy network in WWI. I usually like historical fiction, so I liked. Paula