Temperature and Relative Comfort

Hello, We moved here 14 years ago. It was 70 degrees F. Quite comfortable for the task of carting things into the space. It almost felt hot at times. Today the high might have been 30 degrees F. Leroy walked to church. He is part of a group that counts money. He wore his warmest coat with his face covered. I went for a walk and did not wear my warmest. But it was 30 degrees so it did not seem that it should be necessary. Several people had not shoveled their walks so that was a bit hazardous with the melting and freezing. Plus, there was a brisk wind. My walk was cut short because of discomfort. It was not as warm as I had expected. Some days 30 degrees feels quite fine, but wind and damp do not make it nice. I am so grateful that the furnace runs. Hot tea was also a nice soother. According to my phone, my walk amounted to 19 minutes. A bit of that was waiting to cross streets. Lots of traffic was moving around when I wanted to get to the other side of the street. Patience is a virtue and sometimes a health preserver. I am reading the book, James by Percival Everett. It is quite good. Gives much for contemplation. Paula

Snow Shoveled

Hello, We put on warm layers to out to shovel the sidewalk. Shoveling was a bit of a daunting task. The snow was not so much, but it had drifted. Under the snow in many places was a layer of ice. We attacked with metal, scraping the surface, but still left some ice behind. We were only able to make a shovel sized path before we got too cold and had to go in. We shovel in front of our house and the two houses on each side since both of those neighbors cannot complete the task. When we were younger and stronger, they both did their own sidewalks. We surely build muscles by doing this. We try not to push ourselves too fast. We rested a good bit. I then learned that the place I volunteer was closed today. We then went back out and worked on the alley by the garage. It was a difficult because cars had already driven on it. I slipped, but did not fall on the slant by the garage because it was coated with ice. Sand should help that be safer. Later the sun came out. The sidewalk became clear and then dry. We went back to the alley and removed quite a lot of the thick ice and some more snow. It looks good now. It is to be warm in about two days and it will melt. Paula

A Little Mix up

Hello. We brought home an extra umbrella. Leroy did not want to go back to church by the time we had discovered that. Probably it would not have helped since they were likely to have left. We had two umbrellas in our bag. Leroy added one more. I wondered about that, but did not check on it. Sometimes it is hard to get it all right. This morning, I noticed that one of the flower pots had been knocked over on the deck. There was also no bird seed in the feeder even though it had some in there when we went to bed. The birds and squirrels do not visit in the night. I am blaming a racoon on circumstantial evidence. One other day there was a lot of bird seed under the feeder. Again, I suspect the raccoons. We do have some in the neighborhood. They live in the storm sewer and come out at night. In a time between the rain storms, we put seed in the feeder. The birds came in groups. Apparently, they have a message system. We drove to church to avoid walking in the windy rain storm. It was not bad on the way to church, but coming home it was quite nice to be able to get in the car. Paula

Sit Up Straight

Hello, For some reason sitting up straight is escaping me. Does that mean that my core is weak? Or I am just not noticing? Leroy is even telling me to sit up from time to time. It seems we have switched roles. I do not like it but seem not to be able to solve this issue. I do not do as many exercise as I used to. Leroy is doing more than he used to. Perhaps that is strengthening him and I am getting weaker. Somewhere I have to find the will to work on it. We both notice that it is harder to take up bike riding when we have been away from it for a while. Guess the same is true of all other movements as well. At least we are both getting many steps. Even there too, I notice that I am not as straight as I could be. Some of that is that I do not want to fall so I pay close attention to the ground in front of me. Some of the sidewalks are uneven. It seems it could be easier just to take a pill and solve it all. Life does not work that way as I should know from all the years of observing. I do notice that I cannot lift very heavy things. At church there are nine half gallons of milk in a container. I can shift them between equal surfaces, but cannot life them from the floor to a higher place. They would equal about 36 pounds. I remember lifting children that weighed that amount. It was just a daily part of life. Yesterday we cleaned the choir room at church, but that did not require much heavy lifting, just moving chairs. Paula

Known by our Flashing Lights

Hello, Leroy was walking without me one night. He wears a flashing light on his arm so he can be seen, especially when crossing streets. We have had these lights for a few years and found them to be good. We can recharge them when they run down. Sometimes people we meet will stop us to ask where we got them. I think we should get a commission on sales. That night Leroy was without me; he walked through the campus. The security guy stopped him and asked, “Where is your partner?” We suspect that he was identified easily because this guy has seen us other times. If the lights have saved us from being hit by a car, we think they are a good investment. They go easily on the arm because they are a snap bracelet.

Our hats also seem to identify us for others. Once our neighbor saw was walking downtown. He pulled over and visited. He commented, “I saw your hats and knew it was you.” I might say we are a trend setter except for the fact that I do not see many others wearing either the hats or the flashy lights. Now if we were just famous it would probably happen. Do we want to be famous? Probably not. Paula

Healing Service

Hello, We had a prayer service for the healing of the nations. It was very meaningful to me. In the course of that service, we put candles on a map of the world. We chose a country that we wanted to pray for peace and the wellbeing of the citizenry. A part of me wonders where God is in all of this unrest, killing, and violence. There were several countries listed in the hand out. The number of killed and number of refugees was listed. It is so awful to see the number of people who are unsafe in their own country. Apparently, the number of refugees is higher than it has ever been. So many countries close their doors and do not give help to the needy. The refugee status became personal when we sponsored a refugee family from Laos back in the early 80’s. They came into our house with the clothes on their backs and one small suitcase for three people. Besides fear they had few resources. The woman told me she had sold jewelry into order to eat. Later we met a “kid” in Slovakia who was at a refugee camp there. His story is heartbreaking, but he was filled with hope. Is God in the sharing that people do? Paula

The Season is Changing

Hello, Daylight saving time started Sunday. Not sure how we are saving daylight since it is not in our control. Now we know that we must adjust. It takes a few days, but we can get that done. Another change, we started delivering the first neighborhood newsletters today. I rather enjoy it. It is an excuse to walk. I get into a part of the neighborhood that I normally do not travel. We both were too warmly dressed for this trek. It was good to get home and shed some layers. There are some tulips emerging by the side of the house. We do not remember planting any in that spot. Must just be our weak memories since they are looking good. The winter onions are turning green or sending up green shoots. Wish I had some regular onion bulbs in the ground. Maybe I should plant some lettuce. If I had a cold frame, it would be good to get that started. Leroy walked by the community garden. He tells me he spotted some rhubarb poking through the ground. Clothes were hung on the line outside. They were dry about noon. I hung some things out Saturday. That was not a successful venture. The wind might have blown out some of the moisture, but most of it came back in the house. The adult side of the little free library has only one book. I looked through the books I have been expecting to read and decided I can take out two of them. Surely a library somewhere would have a copy if I can remember that I want to read that title. Paula