Fixed Computer

Hello, Our computer that required such exacting ways to turn on and to use, it seems to have reverted to its former self of just turning on. We can use the laptop keyboard without restarting. It is a nice time saver. Ideas of getting another laptop have been set aside for other things. We don’t want to make any decisions. The tire pressure sensor on my car had a battery wear out. That battery is now replaced so it is good until the next battery wears out. There is one for each tire. Apparently, they generally last about seven years. We have not replaced this before so they are all at least ten years old. We have been given a gift of longevity. There was a discussion of spiritually meetings at church. We have not had any for a time. They will start again, but not at a time convenient for me. Do I want to give up Qigong which I find quite relaxing? This will require some thought and contemplation. If the time were 30 minutes later for the church meetings I could get to both. How can my life feel too full to get everything in? Paula

Downsizing

Hello, Today we managed to give away a set of Pfalzgraf dishes. That meant three heavy boxes are gone. The furniture rescue place was happy to get them. We did ask before we dropped them off. Having worked in the museum, Leroy knows that some dropped off gifts become a burden of unwanted stuff. While there, we got a short tour of the place. It made me realize many of the things they would accept. That will take some more thinking on my part as I do not have extras of many of those ordinary household items. We also gave them a cash donation. We had not used those dishes in 13 years. When asked, our children stated that they did not want them. I was happy to find a place that seemed eager to accept them. The tough thought came on the drive home when Leroy commented, “I think we should have had a meat serving platter.” I could not remember such, but looked in another box when we got home. There was that meat serving platter. The place was closed for the day, so tomorrow will be a phone call and perhaps another trip to the place. It is only about three miles away, so not far. We have some storage space now, but are reluctant to fill it up. Less stuff means a lighter feel to life. Tomorrow the tires on my car will be checked. Hopefully it will not be a big deal. My tires are six years old, but I do not drive much so they still look good. Paula

How much Snow

Hello, Leroy and I thought we had missed all the fun shoveling snow. We were pleased to learn that more snow was predicted for Saturday night. Leroy found a site that said 1-3 inches. That seemed like a nice amount. Not so heavy to shovel. The snow was coming when we went to bed. Beautiful stuff. It seemed to be over when I got up at 11:00 pm. It was very light outside so I took a picture to share with you.

Leroy woke up at 4:30am. He got up and went out to shovel the alley in back of our garage. I woke, but stayed in bed for another hour. I went out and started to work on the sidewalk by the house. The snow was definitely deeper than three inches. It was closer to six inches which is a bit more work to move. We cleared by the side of the house, but reduced our effort to a shovel wide path on the public walk. We also got that path on the next-door neighbors’ walks on both sides. It was time to stop because we like to eat breakfast. I trimmed Leroy’s hair and we took showers. All that takes time. On the walk to church, we both had on good boots. It was a bit more effort because most walks had not been cleared. Some of the cleared ones had ice on them. We got to church on time, but barely. I tense my hips when walking the slippery places. Why that would help, I am not sure. But I feel more in control. Now my hips hurt a little from all that muscle gripping. We feel like we did not miss winter. Do you think we will get to the day when we get tired of it? Paula

The Facts of Life

Hello, Just so you know even if you are still able to walk without help, public restrooms can be challenging. On this last trip only one toilet flushed while I was still seated. In more than one restroom, I had to put my hands by more than one tap to get some water to run. One friendly patron pointed to the one that worked. At least I was able to get the soap off my hands. Once I was stuck with removing it with a towel. This trip, there were no long lines in the women’s restroom. Nice! Because I was traveling with Leroy, I did not have to bring my bags with me, so it was easy to use a small stall with the door opening in. On one flight I used the airplane restroom. It was a puzzle for me to figure out how to flush. Even though there was no sign, I finally pulled a handle that turned out to be the right thing. I had been imagining causing some problem. Who knew what might drop or appear? There were family restrooms in the airports. I was glad to see those. I was also impressed that the DC airport had an adult changing room. The signage showed a person in a wheelchair and a changing table. That should be a help for people who are unable to walk or stand. Since we have been home, we have been busy with many things. Today was our first day with no obligations. However, late morning, we got a phone call asking if we could help at church with the distribution of boots and gloves. We had done that before, but the crowd was small that day. There are several boots and gloves left over. Hopefully this will meet the need for some more people. On the positive side we can get some good steps this way. Just so you know how crazy I am, we hung out bed sheets even with all the snow on the ground. It is now above freezing so they are drying some. Paula

Health Changes

Hello, Because I have been told I have prediabetes, I watched even more what I ate. I actually lost two pounds over the holiday. I do not need to lose weight. The focus will be: what can I eat and gain weight. The number of shoppers has increased. It makes me want to stay home since I am not a fan of crowds. Today we went to church for another time of deep cleaning. It seemed the room was fairly clean, but then we found some dust on chair rungs. There are more rooms to clean, but they are still missing some ceiling tiles, so there is not much point in doing anything now. I am reading Huckelberry Finn for a book club that meets on Sunday. I should have started it some time ago. There are too many words for me to get through before Sunday. I have read it before, but do not remember all of it. I have a book for a book club that meets in a week and a half. Also, a book I had on hold came in and it needed to be picked up or it would go back. Pressure to read, that is where it is now. We are so blessed. One orchid, two violets, and three holiday cacti are blooming. Three rooms have flowers to look at. The rest of the rooms have green plants, course that is only two more rooms. So good we too care of the plant pots at church and dug the amaryllis blubs before we left town. It would be a terrible job to do now with the cold and snow. Paula

Pull a Roller Bag on a Snowy Sidewalk?

Hello, After leaving the bus we had a two-block walk to the house. After I got a bit stuck crossing the first street, Leroy offered to help with my bag. I declined because I did not want to give in. The snow was a challenge. At one point I gathered two hard, baseball sized blocks of snow. A stop was required to extract them. Some places the snow was about an inch high, nothing like what was on the sides of the walk, but pulling became much harder. I even grumbled a bit to myself. It was wonderful to get to the house. Back on the bus, Leroy was sitting toward the back and I was in the front with my backpack on my back and my bag between my knees to keep it from rolling away. I signaled to Leroy to pull the “stop requested” strap. He misunderstood my great gestures and indicated I was to do it. I reached over my head and to the back, but my arm was not long enough. Finally, I half stood with my arm in the same wonderful position and managed to snag the strap. When I settled back in my seat, I could see the guy across the way smiling and laughing. At least I provided entertainment. I wish more people used the bus so it could afford to run more frequently. It would make our trips to and from the airport much quicker. I often wonder about the people who have that as their main means of transportation. And some people think poor people have an easy life just taking handouts. That is not true from my perspective. I even feel a little guilty that as a senior citizen I do not have to pay for my ride on the bus when I could easily pay the full fee. In DC and Salt Lake, we pay half price. Paula

Coming Home

Hello, Our flights were quite smooth, however coming home was a bit of a mystery at times. We got a notification that our flight had been delayed by half an hour. We hung around at Sarah’s and hoped that the rain would stop. When we walked to the metro, we decided not to use our umbrellas as it was not so much rain. On the escalator going down into the stop, I somehow got the handle of my roller bag under my backpack. I yelled for Leroy, who was behind me to help. He did not understand what was wrong and I had no idea how to work my way out of it. I finally managed to get my words clear enough that he could untangle me before the end of the escalator ride. As soon as we got to the airport, we got another notification that our flight had been delayed again by fifteen minutes. We finally boarded 1:40 minutes late. It was because of a low ceiling in Washington. Many flights were delayed and almost no planes were there. We got our seat assignments about ten minutes before we departed. Leroy and I had the emergency row seats. If we had needed to, I hope we would have handled it okay. Our bus was a little late coming to the airport. It seemed that it was a driver in training as some other guy was sitting at the front checking the time frequently. They even called the bus terminal and told them we would be late and gave the numbers of the buses that we passengers wanted to transfer to. It all worked out. Paula