Visits

Hello, Miriam and Nora were scheduled to fly in a little before midnight. We were at the airport in time and waited until about 12:20 before the plane landed. It was good to see them even if it was past our bedtime. Leroy wanted to get a smart watch so they helped him shop for that. Then Nora spent quite a bit of time helping him get it set up. He knows how to work some of it, but there are still many mysteries. A friend from church asked if we could help with the meal on Saturday night. They were still shorthanded even with the four of us helping. We just had to work harder or more intense. Leroy and I were quite tired by the end of the shift. We got in plenty of steps that day. When you come visit, do not expect to sit and do nothing. We might put you to work. It seems there are many needs. Being able to help lifts my heart. Paula

Leroy Helps And Gets Many Steps

Hello, Today Leroy walked to bible study, came home, and walked back to church to help move things back into two refurbished rooms. He said he now has 16,000 steps. We are planning to walk to church tonight. Seems he is going to the extreme. I only have 4,500 steps, but by walking to church and a little more I should get to 10,000. After my exercise class, I took things out of the kitchen and bathroom in prep for washing those floors. After lunch and washing dishes, Leroy took a nap. I read for a little while before starting to wash the kitchen floor. Leory heard the rag squeaking on the floor and he came to help. We got both floors finished before going outside to put the hose away. It seemed like a good time to put away the fences keeping the rabbits out of the garden. All that is in the garden is sweet potatoes. I am hoping rabbits do not want to eat those leaves. It is satisfying to get all of these things cleaned up. I have to confess that I spent a bit of the morning finishing the newest book by William Kent Krueger. It is well ahead of the 10 day check out deadline. I enjoyed it. Paula

Change in Schedule

Hello, Our morning went as planned. Leroy counted money at church. I volunteered at the place that serves lunch five days a week. The plan was that we would later wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. The walk to church to water flowers could be added on to a walk to the library. After lunch, I realized that I had earlier planned to get flu and covid shots today. It seemed to be the best day. Leroy decided he would come too. At the pharmacy, we learned that three people were ahead of us. I wondered about coming back another day. After more discussion, we decided to stay. Leroy had to fill out some paper work which I had picked up another day. We then learned that I too needed to fill out another page. By the time we got done filling that out, it was almost our turn. Course, we went in one at a time. After, mine was done she suggested that we stay in the store fifteen minutes to see if we still felt ok. We could walk around. Then it was drive off to church to water plants and deliver some items. That took some time. The mums had blown over in the wind. After getting them adjusted, we spent some time visiting with some people at church. Leroy “needed” more books. We got the large return load from the car and set off walking to the library. Got to get those 10,000 steps. At the library I could not find the book I was looking for so I asked for help. Silly me, I had overlooked a shelf. It was right where it should have been. But when we were checking out Somone returned a book that I wanted to read. If I had not asked for help, I would not have seen that book. It is new and only out for ten days. Read fast! On the walk back to the car, our next-door neighbor pulled over and asked if we needed anything. He recognized us by our sun hats. We are a rare breed. Paula

Garage Cleaning Morning

Hello, After some early grocery shopping, we cleaned the garage. It was a job chasing all of the spider webs away. We even managed to get rid of a few things. That seems to be a major accomplishment these days. We do not move enough to make us evaluate our possessions. Amazing how things cling. Leroy had gotten a new garage boom about six months ago. The end piece kept popping off. In frustration, he used a mallet to pound it back on only to have more of the end of the handle crack. Wish this had happen shortly after the purchase, because we could have taken it back. Now we are stuck with a broom that has an uncomfortable handle, but the brush end is in excellent shape. It meant moving many things out and then putting them back in a cleaned-up space. They are a bit more organized. Just hope we can find things again when they are needed. Both of us were rather tired after this effort. Are we getting older or would we have been tired in the past and just figured that was normal. Paula

I was Wrong

Hello, The company that closed was not a publisher, but a supplier or book seller. I had forgotten that, so publishing should not be affected. Libraries are still struggling to find sources for the books they want. Leroy walked to church twice, giving him plenty of steps. I took two walks and achieved the same goal. It was nice to walk in a bit different part of the trail. It has some trees and green grass to appreciate, along with squirrels and rabbits. In one place we used to see a fox, but have not seen her for years. It was a her because there were babies with her. I am trying to cut back on carbs and it is not an easy job. I seldom eat sugar or white flour. Instead, it is recommended that I do not eat so much rice, pasta, or potatoes. I thought I did not eat large servings. We did have a gallon of cider and I had been drinking that before I had the blood draw, perhaps that is culprit. We have not gotten any since then, even though we both really like cider. More aerobic exercise might help. But it seems to me that 10,000 steps a day helps. I could walk faster and I will make an effort to do that. Thanks for listening to my whining and moaning. Paula

Libraries

Hello, One of the major publishing houses in the country has closed. That will certainly affect libraries who often depend on them as a major source of books. Will that make it more difficult for authors to publish their works? That is a bit scary. Leroy thinks there will be more self-publishing, but the marketing is another matter. We certainly depend on libraries as a source of reading material. Seldom do I read a book twice so I do not want to buy them. There is something satisfying for me to browse the shelves and find something that I want to take home. Sometimes I do not like that item, but then I can just bring it back without finishing it. There was a time in my life when I felt I needed to read to the end, but no longer. Fifty pages is a good sample. If I do not like it then I just quit unless it is for a book club. Generally, I finish them because I want to know what others thought of the book. I also check out DVDs from the library. It is again because I do not want to buy them or pay to have the movie streamed. Am I cheap or what? I am reading a fiction book now, The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom. So far, I find it interesting. Paula

Crop Walk and Clothes

Hello, Beautiful weather today for the crop walk. It was shorter this year. Not sure why, but we walked farther to get a bit over two miles done. It was good to be out in the breeze and in the beauty of fall.

Many people participated this year. Hopefully it was not just a big group, but that much money was collected. A person suggested we come to their house afterwards. We did that and had a nice visit. Before we left, they gifted us with some beautiful romaine lettuce, large spinach leaves, and a butternut squash. What treasures! I have decided that my legs are size small and my waist is size medium. My top is also size small and again my waist is size medium. It seems that at some point everything that was movable, moved lower. Finding comfortable clothes is a challenge. On our bike ride yesterday, we met a couple on bikes and thought, “We know them.” Today, they both asked if they had seen us. They were headed in the opposite direction, going for ice cream. Another man at church asked, “Did you ride bikes?” I thought he meant to church, so I said, “No, we walked.” He explained that he meant yesterday. He was driving and waited for us to make a left turn. I thanked him for that wait because not all drivers do that. There are some careful people out there. Paula