Shots Galore

Hello,

 

I have now had two more shots in the arms. One was DPT and the other was the upgraded and improved shingles shot. The Dr. noticed that I needed a booster of DPT and that I had not yet gotten the new shingles. Because I was not working, today seemed like the perfect day to get this done.

 

Walking up to the pharmacy was a bit of a challenge with the cold and strong wind. But Leroy rode his bike today. He will have more of a challenge coming home as much of the time the wind will be in his face. I am just impressed that he is well enough to do it. He is so much better. Almost like I remember him being before all this started. His sense of humor has returned.

 

This pharmacy is in a grocery store. When I walked in I wondered about going home because they seemed to be so busy. There were no vacant chairs, not much of a problem because I was happy to walk some more inside, but how long to wait? At the desk she said they could probably do it, but she would have to ask the pharmacist. I wondered if I should wait a month, but she did not think that would help.  It was decided to go ahead. The wait was quite long, but by the time I was done, all the rest of the people had gone. The pharmacist even spent a bit of time visiting with me. I had filled out the questionnaire, but he told me that there is a national vaccine site and he could see on there that I had had the Covid as well as the other shots on my little yellow card. That yellow card goes back to 2001. “Oh we are being kept track of in many ways.” I exclaimed.

 

I had not known about this, but now I wonder what else is known about me? Do they know I like broccoli?

 

 

He also told me that neither shot usually causes any repercussions after, but having these two together might make a difference. Just a warning there so I could be prepared, but not concerned.

 

 

Paula

No Backup Camera

Hello,

 

Four days ago, confidently approached the garage door at an angle, put the care in reverse, and gasped because I was looking at a blank screen instead of a view behind the car. “How can I back up? What do I do?”

 

Even after shifting in and out of reverse no picture came back to me only this gray screen that did not help. My self talk went like this, “You can do this. You learned to drive this way almost sixty years ago. Good heavens! Can it be that long ago? I still have two years to go. I have backed up without camera assistance for probably fifty-five years.”

 

I managed to back up, but it was a stretch of my neck that is no longer ordinary. Once in the garage again the reverse was checked with no improvement even after restarting the car. I even cleaned off the camera, but did not restart the car. I wailed to Leroy, “The backup camera did not work. It showed only a blank screen!”

 

“I will call tomorrow,” Leroy assured me.

 

Since that was Saturday our car repair place was not open. I drove the car Monday morning and my valued camera was back. Was it what I might have wiped off, or is some repair just waiting for another day to fail?

 

For now I am driving on faith in the mechanical item that has served me so well and quickly become a valued and trusted part of my driving experience.

 

Paula

Joys of the Day

Hello,

 

Today when I opened my social media account, I saw this picture of my sister and me. It was taken just three days before she died. I had looked and looked for it on the computer. After giving up, I thought it was gone forever. What a wonderful thing to find it in my memories for six years ago. I told Leroy, “It is saved on the computer desktop for me to lose again.”

 

It is time to make a print of it.

 

Another joy of the day is that when shopping this morning and looking for rosemary, we could only find it in a jar that was rather expensive. Leroy asked the person there if they ever sell rosemary in bulk packages. I protested, “I do not want a pound of it. I will try to plant some again this year.”

 

The store person then said, “We might have some in pots by the door. Let me go look.”

 

She then came back with a pot that had as much rosemary as the jar, but was about half the price. I am hoping to keep it alive for a longer time that I did last year. As it is I just enjoy looking at it and smelling it.

 

I hung out kitchen linens (Do I have linens when they are low class?). With the strong wind and low humidity they dried in record time. The only sad thing is I am missing one towel. Do you suppose that the wind blew it into the next county? Or that it will turn up in some mysterious place?

 

Paula

Worshiping at home

Hello,

Having the worship service live streamed has brought a new realization to my life that God is in our home. We have done devotions here in our house for many years, but there was always separateness to the Sunday service. Somehow this year long, different way of worshiping makes God seem closer to everyday life. It is difficult to put God out to the edge of life when God is not reigning from a church building. This just came to me after church this morning.

 

Both of my Thanksgiving cacti are going to bloom once more. This could be the fourth time this year, but I am not so sure always when one session ends and another begins. The white one has four buds coming with one spent blossom hanging on. The pink has 27 buds with one open from the last go around. The new ones are a bit smaller so there will be a short break. I did not even count all of the buds because some of them were so small that I am not convinced they will manage to open.

 

Yesterday, we ate winter onions from our front garden. They could still use a few more days. Plus I did not take the bulbs apart last fall when they fell to the ground; consequently it is very difficult to get up the largest without disturbing the entire clump. Several bulb clumps were still on the top of the ground with small green sprouts. After breaking them apart, turning them the right direction, they are now in the ground, but not very deep. Hopefully we will be eating them in less than a month.

 

We have learned we can have our former community garden space this year. Those of us on the committee are so happy because that was a much better place. The garden has not been so productive the last two years or has it been three years?

 

Paula

Tax Papers Gone

Hello,

 

This morning we drove across town to sign our tax papers and pay the accountant. Leroy works Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I worked Monday, Thursday, and Friday. It is a struggle to find a time when we can both meet someone during the week.

 

At least some of our children think we pay too much for this tax service. It does come to a bigger bill than I thought we would ever pay for such assistance. However, I find that peace of mind makes it worth it. After all, some probably spend much more for cigarettes or alcohol in the course of a year than we paid this person. Before this Leroy often or usually did it himself, but he worked himself into quite a frenzy doing it. So, it is freeing to be able to pass it on to someone else. Isn’t that feeling what others are seeking in smoking and drinking? This is cheaper and without side effects.

 

It is my fault that Leroy did it for all those years. When we first got married, I was upset to learn that he had someone do his taxes. I always did my own, but they were very simple. We started doing them together; soon finding that was not an area where we could work well together. Somehow, it became Leroy’s task and point of pride. After ordination the tax questions became much harder, but he still did it. I no longer even know how to do them. Certainly I like the idea of the Slovak method where it is just paid and that is that without so much input from payees.

 

This year we had a refund from both the Federal and State. I personally like to pay so that means we can get the benefit of the money until it needs to be paid. It is a bit of a trick to find that right amount so it can all happen without penalty. Maybe next year will be closer.

 

Paula

Exercise or Write

Hello

 

Writing wins on a cool windy day. Where did all this wind come from? Did the trees protect us more in the past by blocking much of the wind? Or is there just simply more wind being created? Such deep question, but no answers from me.

 

I should do some exercises because those can be done inside. I have a tough time doing them if I do not get it done early in the morning. It used to be perfect for me to get up at 5:30, walk the dog, come back and do yoga with Lilias on TV. It was great to be done before almost anyone else was out of bed. It was my time. Plus, back then if I did not do it when it was programmed, I seldom taped it to do later. Oh discipline where did you go?

 

This morning I did some reading which I almost never do early in the day. It seems to have thrown off my schedule and my will. Does that mean I am inflexible?

 

I should get out and walk some. Leroy rode the bike today. It was almost rainy when he left, but he did it anyway. I should see him as my guide and motivator.

 

This morning I met with my spiritual guide so that was a satisfying and uplifting time. All is not wasted.

 

Paula

 

I walked and could not stop so I have logged 10000 steps today.

Getting it done

Hello,

 

Finally I made it to see a new doctor. I believe I am satisfied with her. I will soon have appointments for mammogram and bone scan. They have not been done for a long time. Apparently I will not need to have a mammogram much more because of my age, however I can still choose to have that done. There are some advantages to getting older. Maybe I will not have to have another colonoscopy. Now there is a good deal. Because of that exam I had in the fall, for getting some insurance I did not have blood work done today. That is nice too. I was happy to have the paper work for that as well as my vaccine card and other shots listed on a card. More than one person in the office commented on the fact that I do not take any medicine and that I move so well. The doctor was quite happy to learn that I do yoga and tai chi regularly. That helps to keep me on task. I do know that those classes help me to feel better. On the post-visit papers it was noted that I was alert and coherent. Good to know about that too.

 

After this visit, I did clean out some of the paper in my health notes file. Some things are good to have at the time, but not so pertinent ten years later.

 

This morning when doing tai chi on line we were cut off ten minutes early. One of my coworkers must have started the next meeting ten minutes early, nice for them, but not so nice for us. I will have to check the schedule more carefully ahead of time next week and let them know that we generally meet until the hour, but if it is needed we can quit early. Knowing the end time helps to organize the class.

 

Paula

Nice Day

Hello,

 

March is living up to the old rhyme of “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers”. The last two days the winds have been quite strong.

 

Leroy and I walked down to the lake today. On the way Leroy commented as we struggled to keep our sun protection hats on, “We may have a hard time coming home with the wind more in our faces.”

 

It was great to see just a few geese, ducks and gulls. There were a number of families out with children walking or riding bikes. Good for people to choose this way to spend leisure time. We did stop once to rest and then later one of our granddaughters called so we sat on a bench while we responded to that call. Even though we did not log more steps we surely used more energy to make forward progress and sometimes to remain upright.

 

I have to confess I did not do that yoga routine again today. I will surely be ready for it again tomorrow. Especially if I do not think about it too long and just do it.

 

Leroy lifted weights for a time this morning. He has not done that recently that I know about.

 

Paula

Bested by an 85 Year Old

Hello,

 

Who would have thought that an 85 year old woman, whom I have not even met, could get the best of me? Who knew it would be so hard? The story in the yoga magazine talked about how her life has changed since she is now 85. She still leads yoga classes, but has modified the moves somewhat so they fit her body. Well, my 73 year old body had a tough time getting it done. One of the difficulties is that each move is held for two minutes. You might think that two minutes is a short time, but I can tell you two minutes is an eternity. There was one move that I have never been able to do very well and holding it for two minutes was frightful. There are some tough old people out there, beware.

 

Now, I have to confess that I did not do the last three poses even though only one of them looked hard to hold or take two minutes. I will try again tomorrow because I am seriously considering using this with my group, all of whom are younger than I am. Some even quite a bit younger.

 

On the other hand there is an amazing switch when you have to ask your youngest grandchild, nine years old, how to do something on the online platform and she knows the answer without thinking much at all because she uses that for school. Coming and Going!

 

Just in case we did not know it is officially spring, the tree on our weather station now is covered with pink flowers. It changes with the season.

 

Paula

Storm Lives On

Hello,

 

Yesterday while walking on the trail, I came close to a business that was doing some clean up from last summer’s derecho. One of the guys was in the mood to talk after I complimented him on how much better it looked around there. Besides the cleanup they have a new roof and new siding.

 

He said that their company, which does some construction work, is booked for nine months yet. He added, “People call and they want an estimate. But I have to tell them there are only so many hours in the day and we cannot do that yet. It is still so hard.”

 

Then he told about his wife getting her derecho damaged car’s body work done. He said, “The car body shop said they are booked through January.”

 

I know there are still many damaged cars sitting around, but I had no idea about the repair lines. That storm raised my consciousness in many ways.

 

Today I again heard about storms coming, but to the southern USA. I have new feelings of empathy for what they might be facing. If they were talking about our area, I would be seriously preparing.

 

Leroy has to increase his level of meds back to the former level. His blood work showed an infection. He has also been experiencing some headaches. Hopefully this will take care of that.

 

On a side note, would you believe I went to the store for a gallon of milk and come home with $25 worth of groceries?

 

Paula

Tai Chi Me?

Hello,

 

Our tai chi leader is in Arizona for some months. It has not mattered because we meet on line so it is still possible. I have appreciated that.

 

They are not changing clocks for day light savings which means they would have to be ready at 6:00 to meet with us. They will be home after Easter. In the meantime we are still meeting, “led by me”. I am not totally comfortable with that. In the past when they were out of town another member of the group led it, but she does not do the on line classes, so it came my way. This morning, the group was quite good at offering opinions and help along the way. I did the Qigong for the heart moves. It helps that I have a sheet to follow with the names and a short description.

 

I was also quite comfortable leading the ten movement form. We did have a lively discussion about where and which direction to breath, you know, in or out at what point.

 

We also spent a little time on the calligraphic form which I do not have such a good grasp of the last segment of that. I asked one of the other participants if he would lead that since he is way ahead of me. He did a fine job. It seems strange to me, but I have learned it more since we have been doing the online classes. Part of the reason for success is because I have my cheat sheet in front of me and when we met in person I could not have that there.

 

One thing is for sure, I would not want to lead this class for a long time without much more training.

 

Paula

Sunday Squirrel Day

Hello,

 

The squirrels seem to be more ready for day light saving time that we are. They are getting up earlier and earlier but that is governed by the sun and its arrival each day. It is great to see them in the trees at the second floor level.

 

This afternoon I looked out in the backyard to see a squirrel rolling around on the side walk and then going off onto the grass. It was acting very oddly indeed. Leroy came to see it and declared, “It looks like it might have fallen and broken its back or have a hurt leg.”

 

I went down to get a closer look from the back porch. It tried to stand up but just collapsed and rolled some more. I called my downstairs friend to come see. He was concerned about rabies, but agreed it was acting more like an injury. That was confirmed when we got close enough to see the side of its face which looked quite damaged. Speculation was that perhaps a car had hit it.

 

We had a discussion about what to do. Death would be a kindness, but how to achieve that? In the meantime he gave the squirrel some water as well as sunflower seeds which it did eat. He then told us that his wife had learned something we could do. He did not explain and we did not ask, but I no longer see the squirrel. My heart just went out to this poor injured creature.

 

Paula

Vaccine and drive home yesterday

Hello,

 

Yes, we got our second shot today. It seemed so much easier to me since I knew where to go and Leroy took his car keys so I could not have a problem if I locked the keys in the car. My only hang up was when I waited in the left turn lane to go to the pharmacy, the line did not move when it could. I checked and there was a big line of cars that were waiting to get to the adjacent donut place. I just pulled back into the lane to the right and turned left at the very close stoplight. That was the easy way to go. I got there quite early, but they just took me in anyway. There was one person getting their shot ahead of me with others who had already gotten it. I left the building before my appointed time was reached. Leroy, who was also early, was waiting for me outside when I came to pick him up. Nice?

 

We got gas and headed home to increase our fluid intake which was recommended. The person in my store commented that she had told people before their second shot to drink a lot the day before. Obviously I cannot to that, but I can drink more than usual today.

 

Yesterday when coming home, there just seemed to me one slow down after another. I delivered some things to a volunteer who was going to work on something heavy at home. She had walked and could not carry it. But five minutes before closing someone came in and that delayed closing time. On the way home I could not merge onto the lane for the interstate. “Oh well, I will just get off at the next street.” I reassured myself.

 

I did not pay attention and I ended up going south on the interstate. So that meant a trip down to the airport exit before heading north again. Luckily I had already called Leroy to let him know I would be late before I left Ely. I could just push one button on the phone, tell it to call Leroy, and that call went through the car speakers. Leroy just laughed when I told him I was going south and said, “Drive carefully.”

 

That helped put me on track to pay attention and realize it was just a small thing in the whole of life. No need to feel agitated and upset.

 Our cactus are blooming again. 

Paula

Dirty Car

Hello,

 

I went to the store this morning in the midst of a slight drizzle. There must be a lot of dirt on the street because now quite a bit of is back on the car. I had been very careful driving through puddles, but no more, as it is quite a different picture now. It was great to have a clean car for a week or two.

 

I also picked up some of the city manager’s one bag challenge of cleaning up Cedar Rapids. The person behind the desk asked if I wanted two bags and I took them. I was surprised that they let me have two because I know they do not want people to use them for their own personal garbage. We do not have to pay to remove these bags. We do not have so much garbage so I often just put the clean up bags in the regular bin. But I could tell this was going to be a big load. I might pick up some more trash later in the afternoon if it is much dryer out. I do not like picking up wet things. These bags have gloves rolled in side of them, but they are cotton gloves so not much help for wet conditions.

 

I do not need so many pair of these gloves since I already had at least one set at home. I will not throw them away, but find an outlet for them. These can be washed and I will do that when I wash rags.

 

Speaking of rags, I was showing a high school volunteer how to clean the library shelves. I also suggested that she wipe off the books before putting them back. I had a rag and recommended she use that instead of a paper towel, stating as I gave it to her, “I believe in rags.”

 

I was astonished to see her nod her head and say, “I do too.”

 

Who knew this about the younger generation? There is hope for the future.

 

Paula

Rugs Washed

Hello,

 

With the sunny warm day it was perfect to wash some throw rugs. They all dried before noon. That is almost like summertime conditions. A long, long walk will happen this afternoon.

 

It is so wonderful to be outdoors when it is comfortable. Leroy rode his bike to work today. It has been quite a while since that has happened.

 

It is warm enough that even I could ride my bike, but I will walk instead. At some point we had 69 degrees F. We like our thermometer which gives us the temp for the past 24 hours.

 

Our house is home to a number of fruit flies. I think they especially like the blooming plants, at least I see many of them in that area. Today, I have put out traps of apple cider vinegar and soap. So far two of them are trapped.

 

I walked for a while, but came back to the house because I wanted to pick up some of the trash that has been revealed by the melting snow. With two plastic grocery type bags on my arm I headed out. It did not take long before one bag was almost too full to deal with. As I was juggling bags the strong wind snatched the empty bag out of my hand. Catching it or finding was not a possible task for me. Guilt set in as I thought about how I was contributing to the trash. Sigh!

 

This winter we used quite a lot of sand on the sidewalk, etc. So my next job was to sweep some of that up and put it back in the containers so it could be reused next year. I do not like all of the sand being tracked into the garage or the porch. We take off our shoes so it does not come in the house so much.

 

Paula

Around the Lake

Hello,

 

This afternoon Leroy and I walked down to the lake and around once. We had thought about going twice, but both of us were tired so we just came home. We got about 7,000 steps which was plenty. One of the tiring things was that we dressed too warmly. It was great to see all of the people out on the trail either walking or biking. There were a number of dogs enjoying it as well. It is a satisfying thing to have these trails so close to our house.

 

Leroy and I played a game of scrabble when we got home. I pulled into the lead almost immediately, but in the end Leroy soundly beat me. We borrowed that game from the library. We used to have scrabble, but I suspect we lost tiles and that was the end of that.

 

If I were to hang out clothes today, there would be a lot more snow free space under the lines. Leroy rode his bike to the lake yesterday and he commented, “There was a place where I had to ride on the street because of the snow pile on the sidewalk.” Today that pile had diminished considerably. What a difference a warm sun makes.

 

This morning we had the book club at the church. It is so good to be able to connect virtually and discuss. I enjoy seeing these people. I have my other book club on Tuesday. It is a bit hard on me when the first Sunday and the second Tuesday are almost next to each other. Luckily the two books are nothing alike. For the church we read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. For the library book club we are reading mysteries and I am reading one by Sue Grafton which was written in 2004.

 

Paula

Outside kind of day

Hello,

 

I hung out our sheets and pillowcases. What a wonderful smell when I brought them in. It did require boots to get them on the line. Leroy and I did it as a partnership job with care taken to make sure they were not going to reach the snow under the line. I also prepared the sheets in the house so that they were ready to flop over the line. My mother would always do that on cold days. She had not option, but to dry clothes outside or on the racks in the house. It was a very cold day indeed when they did not get out at all. Overalls would freeze stiff. It was great to see that.

 

Leroy and I took a walk to pick up a prescription for him and took the long, long way home. It was so great to be out. I took another walk later while he rode the bike. My ears do not like the wind blowing in I just walked in the sun. He did comment that it was a little cold and he needs to toughen up his seat because he has biked so little this year.

 

One indoor treat was our zoom meeting with friends from seminary days. It is so great to visit and actually see people. I remember in the long ago past hearing about phone calls that would include our faces and found that unappealing as I was sure I did not want to be seen. Would I have to dress up to answer the phone, maybe comb my hair? What a bother! I am now grateful for this technology.

 

Paula

Thinking Spring

Hello,

 

With the snow melting and the warmer temperatures, it is easy to think about spring. Now if I had a seed catalog… There is still quite a bit of snow around here even in places where it was not shoveled into heaps. I guess this is considered a slow melt so the rivers are not threatened. Not all places on the sidewalk are clear, but that is ok. Sometimes when there is too much water or mud the street is still a good place to walk.

 

My coat was too warm by the time I finished my walk. It seemed like a light weight jacket, but I almost envied the workers I saw with just short sleeve shirts as they were putting on some siding.

 

The clean car took me to the store, but all puddles were avoided if possible or at least passed through at the slowest possible speed to keep the muck off the car. It still looks good.

 

Leroy did not ride his bike today because he is concerned about ice on the street in the morning. As he explained, “Ice is off to the edge and that is where I ride.”

 

He does not want to fall down!

 

Via Zoom, I visited with a student of architecture at Iowa State. As “a give back to the community” he wants to put a little free library in our neighborhood. I am excited about this and hoping it will be in our front yard.

 

The Dairy Queen just three doors away has opened for the season. Spring is coming.

 

Paula

Clean Car

Hello,

 

My car is clean! It has been a long time with much winter dirt and road treatments collected, sticking as it if in a new home. During the long stretch of sub zero weather; it did not seem like a good idea to apply water to anything outside. it was great to go today because there was a special price on the purchased wash. There was also money off on the next gas purchase. After Leroy got my text, he told me he would go there on his way home from work. Wow, two clean cars will be in the garage. It is no longer such a task to walk between them and try not to touch any dirty surface.

 

Still on the subject of cars and subzero weather, I asked Leroy, “Did you remember that you have heated seats in your car? It must have been nice on those really cold mornings.”

 

He had totally forgotten about it. His bottom warmed up in the usual slow rate. I had not thought about it either the time or two that I rode with him. Luxuries are wasted on us unless they happen automatically.

 

Yesterday Leroy went to the close grocery store to get some things, including popcorn. He said, “It was a bit expensive. But I think it was from Iowa.”

 

The package was distributed in Iowa, but was not the more local kind that is the usual purchase. I went to a different store and bought some that is a much smaller company and just up the road so to speak. I returned the other. It seems to me this popcorn is the best.

 

Paula