Would it Happen or Not

Hello, I have developed a strange sleep pattern. I fall asleep quite easily, but wake around 3 am to find sleep illusive. Sometimes I drift away, but never seem to reach real sleep. Last night, in the driftless region, I got thinking about what I would do with a billion dollars. You know a million is too small to make much difference. Without giving things particular numbers, I thought about all of the places I would like to give money. Especially those places that have been cut and it is noticeable to the poorest in our country. Refugees, people who depend on Medicaid, people who are food insecure, homeless with no shelter, people without health insurance, and those dealing with mental health issues. All of these groups were getting millions from me when I figured out what organization to give it to. Then I wondered, if I had that much money would I really be altruistic? It seems that so often when people have so much money they just want to make more and ignore the needs around them. Would I be sucked into that vortex as well? Paula

Tai Chi

Hello, Our tai Chi instructor is back from the winter months in a warmer place. I am glad for their return. Even though it was available on line in real time, it is great to have help right in the building. It is easy to miss things without a good camera person and just the camera on the laptop. We always visit some before and after class and I like those times as well. As we are learning, social interactions are of great important for our lives and health. Leroy and I are getting a bit of social expansion with our volunteering. We were at church briefly today. We were asked to help out more on Friday. It does not take long for someone to think of an area where more hands are a good thing. Along with helping with food delivery for the meals, we will stuff bulletins for Sunday. I can believe it will be a big job. We are happy to do it, but we are leaving on our bus trip on the Monday after Easter. I had thought of doing some other things in the time. We will manage to get it all done. I have some plants to put out that I kept over the winter. I think the geraniums can go out as well as the amaryllis. The real question is, where should they be planted? Could there be a late frost? Paula

Woosh!

Hello, I took a walk this afternoon. While on the sidewalk, I felt something brush my arm as I looked to see a young man on a scooter racing past. It was a motorized machine. I do not know how fast he was going, but I felt startled and a bit afraid afterward. I do not always walk is such a straight line as I look at the grass, flowers, sky, birds, or squirrels. If I had stepped over just a short way he could have hit me. That might not have had a good ending for me as he was quite a bit taller than I am and probably weighs more. He also had sped on his side. After that I kept looking back to see if anyone was racing up on me. Many walkers and runners pass me, but I can hear their steps before them are even with me. On the trail many bicycle riders say something before they go around. That is very helpful. Not many bikes ride on the sidewalk which is narrower than the trail. There is a lane for them on the street. Scooters with motors, should they be on the street too? When I volunteered today I learned that someone donated many cans of veggies that are out of date. They went out on the free table as they cannot be passed out when giving out bags of groceries, but if someone wants to take them, they may do so. In a good can the food is probably still good. We checked all cans to make sure they were still safe. It does bother me that people would hang on to these things for so long and then donate them. The cans were dusty and had bits of this and that on them. Paula

Afternoon Movie

Hello, This afternoon we watched a movie. I had borrowed the DVD from the library and it had been renewed once. So, it was time. The title is On the Basis of Sex. We both enjoyed it. It gives a bit of the story of the life of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Sometimes I forget how restrictive life was for women. One of the issues that was brought up was that women took jobs from men who needed to support their families. When I was subbing in the schools while Leroy was at seminary, I was in one of the high schools. The librarian there told me that she was told a job was not given to her, but to a man because he needed to support his family. At the time she was a widow with five children. No one asked about her need for a job. I can hardly imagine not being able to have a credit card in my name, but that was the case in my early adult life. The job possibilities for women were certainly limited. I knew I did not want to be a nurse or secretary so teacher it was. When I got to college, I learned that other women had more vision of the world and pursued other career choices. Paula

What Flowers to buy

Hello, A few years ago, I started to help water the flowers at church then the job increased to getting some flowers for church. We, along with another person who also provided flowers, decided when to start this for the season. This year a couple people have been urging us to get flowers for Palm Sunday. I said, “I would not like to do that because it seems too early. I refuse to take them in and out with lower temperatures. That is too much of a twice daily task.” After the final push, I agreed to see if I could find some flowers that tolerate lower temperatures. Yesterday we stopped at a big box lumber store. They had two selections that were touted at going to the frost time. To me that says they will deal with low temperatures. We got three of one kind that I do not remember the name, but they are beautiful. There are two pots of pansies and dusty miller combined.

Hopefully we will only have to take them in and out a couple times. After Easter, Leroy and I will be gone so they may die. The other flower provided found some hydrangeas that were not so terribly expensive. She got five of those. I think we are covered for Palm Sunday and Easter. Later we will get some more that we do not worry about in the temperatures. Paula

Out and About

Hello, Both Leroy and I have had several reasons to be out and about. He counted money at church for the last time for a month. It took longer than usual because two people struggled to get the figures to be correct. All I can say is that it is a good thing he is doing this job not me since I switch numbers. I volunteered at the neighborhood meal service. I saw another one of my neighbors there getting food. It strikes me how vulnerable some are. I am glad there are resources for them to find help. We went to a talk about a birder who spent a year going around the USA on his bike to record birds. It was quite interesting. Made me feel like a bike riding wimp. He started in Boston in January in a snow storm. At some point the temperature was -10 F degrees. We don’t even walk below that temperature. He had beautiful pictures of many birds that I did not know even existed. Yesterday we spent much time at church. Leroy provided food for the men’s early morning bible study. I went to tai chi, not at church. Then we went to church service at noon and stayed for a vocal presentation. In the afternoon we came back for a meeting with some about volunteer jobs that will come as part of the renovation of the church. We stayed and ate at the church because we were on the cleanup crew after the meal. That was followed by choir practice. We were both rather tired at the end of the day. We also made granola in tandem in the morning. I started it and Leroy finished it. Paula

Lazy Weekend

Hello, Yesterday Leroy and I had nothing planned so we washed some clothes, hung them out and enjoyed the fresh air. It was rather cool, but our walk was long and kept us warm. We both spent quite a lot of time reading. I just finished Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Guess I must like race horses because this was about a horse named Lexington. Seabiscuit also took my attention when I read about him. Lexington was born before the civil war so he is much older. Someone at church said, “I have seen him!” when I talked about this book at book club. She saw the skeleton in Kentucky. Maybe some day I will see that too. This book also dealt with racism past and present. It was a thoughtful book but was easy to stick with it. It is a novel based on historical fact. Leroy went to a stamp event that is sponsored by the stamp club that he has joined. He was pleased to get rid of some books that he did not need. He also bought some stamps that his collection was missing. This evening, he went and helped with cleanup so it was a good thing for him. Paula

Ideas revisited

Hello, I am reading a book about women who have made a difference in the world. The reference to Hidden Figures made me realize that I wanted to see that movie again. I think that I also read the book in the past. Last night we watched the movie and both of us enjoyed it. There is another movie that I also checked out, but we have not yet seen it. It certainly brought to mind the time I grew up and the ideas that were passed on to me about racism and the role of women. It was quite good to be reminded of that and how some things have moved on, but some have not. Wondering what my role is in all of that. Paula

Clean up Job at Church

Hello, Leroy and I signed up for clean up after a meal at church last evening. It was not a big event so it was basically just the two of us. Leroy did the scraping and dishwasher running while I was on clean duty. That was a new job for me and I had a hard time with waiting for some clean dishes to put away. It was especially hard when I would see things that needed to be scraped and Leroy did not seem to move as fast as I would want him to do. At first another guy was helping with the chore, but then he went to eat and it was just Leroy on that duty. I tried to look busy, but it was not easy, so sometimes I went over and bossed Leroy around. That helped me a little, but maybe not him. The problem with the clean job is that clean and dirty do not mix. Once hands are prepped for clean work, they can not do dirty work unless they re-prep. Logically that makes a lot of sense as we want to have the dishes, etc. as clean as they can be. It is probably some type of law from public health. It certainly was hard on me as I kept wanting to help Leroy and just had to stand and watch him inch along. Paula

Left and Right Challenged

Hello, This is not an April’s fool’s joke. I went on a long walk today. Over half way around, I decided to check my steps on my phone. After I fussed with my phone a bit, I noticed that I did not have a ring on my finger. “Oh no,” I moaned, “I lost my wedding ring. Well at least it is insured.” Should I go back and look for it where I took off my glove? But just where was that? Should I seek out a metal detector? What is involved in replacing this ring? It was never attached to the diamond ring, but they fit together. Should I just forget about replacing it? But the insurance policy covers replacement, not just loss. I have lost a ring before in the cold weather, but I knew it right away. Frequently I do not wear rings because of this tendency. In the summer sometimes my hands swell and it is uncomfortable to remove them. I often do not wear them that season either. However, I wear my wedding ring all of the time. I looked again in my glove and realized that I was looking at my right glove so my ring should still be on my left hand. It was there! Problem solved. Now if I could just know left and right without having to figure which is which life might be simpler for me. Paula