New Way of Eating

Hello, I am eating much slower with more care in placement of food. It seems to me I do not have as many green veggies in my diet, because many of them are rather crunchy, at least the way I serve them. Leroy has been very good about fixing meals and washing dishes. We do not have a mechanical dishwasher. I often say, “I have a dishwasher and I call it Leroy.” Yesterday I was eating the evening meal for almost half an hour after Leroy was finished. I usually eat nuts for my snacks or even in a meal some way. I had not had a nut for three days. Peanuts aren’t really a nut, but I have had peanut butter. This morning, I cut the apple quite small and enjoyed it immensely. Absence can make the heart grow fonder. Just a side comment. Spell check does not know what to do if I have the first letter of a word incorrect. It goes off on tangents that are not it. Leroy is more of a help. If he had not been here, I might have searched my mispellers dictionary for immensely. That miss word is wrong according to the checker, but the dictionary itself knows what I want to do. What do people do who do not have that dictionary or Leroy? Wow, today is son Brian’s birthday. Can he really be as old as he is? I know I am not so old to have a child that age, ops then there is his older sister. My children age me more than my age. Happy Valentine’s. Paula

Tooth Extraction

Hello, Yesterday, I had a lower front tooth extracted. I had not been given a time expectation. It took longer than the five minutes when Leroy had his abscessed tooth taken out. It seemed that it was at least five minutes and the dentist was still working. Finally at some point he stopped and said, “The tooth broke. There is still some of the root in there. I will get it, but it will take a bit more.” I was ready to be done before it was out. Such a relief to have him say, “I got it.” After a little cleanup of the area, two stitches were put in. I wonder if the procedure only took 30 minutes, but my mouth was tired from being open so long. I one point I did ask for some rest time. I have decided my teeth want to stay in my mouth. The first time I had a wisdom tooth extracted, the dentist was shaking before it was over. The next time the oral surgeon figured it would be about 20 minutes, instead I was there two and a half hours. Course some of that time was going under and coming out of the anesthesia. Today I got a temporary to block the hole so I do not look bad. The dentist commented that the healing looked good for just being one day. I have had little to no pain. I did take some over the counter pain pills but have stopped that now. I even, very carefully, brushed my teeth. I am missing the crunchy food that I often eat. I have another appointment next week. Seems I am spending more time with the dentist. Paula

Small Run Around

Hello, After tai chi we were out with the car so drove to the pharmacy to find out why I had not been contacted about a prescription that the Dr. office told me they sent in a week ago. I went in person because I do not like to use the phone, always avoid it as much as I can. The first person I talked with found my records, but did not know why it had not been filled. She called over someone else. They told me, “We called the office, but have not had a reply. This medicine is quite expensive and we want to order a generic.” I called the Dr. office. Where I was told, “There is no record of them trying to reach us. I will call them.” The office called back to tell me that the pharmacist wanted to know if I had taken this medicine before. Which I had done. I guess now the medicine is ordered. Life is full of many little mix-ups. Patience, patience is key to feeling good. Since we were in the neighborhood, we got my car washed. It is so nice to be much cleaner than it was. Paula

Where are my slippers?

Hello, This morning after we had done our exercises, Leroy was walking around muttering, “Where are my slippers?” He struggled for a while, before I asked, “What are you looking for?” “My slippers!”, he exclaimed. “I will help look,” I said as I headed to the bathroom. Nothing. Then it was on to the kitchen, again nothing. The living room also had no slippers. The spare bedroom has also clean. The office was barren. Then I went to our bedroom and there was a pair of slippers! But they were my slippers. However, I had slippers on. Oops! I had on Leroy’s slippers. I had put them on in the dark they felt a little different, but they were in my spot. We do have the same size foot. Paula

At Church Again

Hello, We had a nice walk to church. A little cold, but not bad. Leroy carried the backpack which had a bit of weight in it. I walk in different shoes than I wear in the services. So, there was a pair of shoes in there. We also brough three boxes of granola/protein bars. Plus, I brought an opened calamine lotion that we did not use much of. There is a person who volunteers at a health care place. They can use medicines that have been opened. I am pleased about that. We have not use this, but once. I do not feel good about throwing such things away. The choir sang so we had practice ahead of time. That is always good. After the service there was a light meal followed by the annual meeting. They kept to a fairly strict schedule so people could get away to watch the super bowl game. Neither Leroy nor I watch it. We noticed that help was needed for clean-up. We helped get papers, etc. off the tables. We then spent some time washing all of the tables. Before long another woman joined us. We made short work of that task with three of us. I like to write stories from my childhood for our grandchildren. It is getting much harder to think of new ones to record. I have moved on to college times for the two girls who are in college. Then I am trying to think of some high school stories. I have always enjoyed telling them stories about when I was little. My suspicion is that I do better telling then writing about it. Paula

At Church Again

Hello, We have both been at church for one reason or another for three consecutive days. Leroy is planning to go to a funeral tomorrow. I might go, I did not know the family as well as he did. There are services on Sunday. You would think we have some connections there. We don’t even have plants to water. Someone else takes care of the plants in the church. One time she told me that she has 100 in her care. That is a lot of walking and watering. We helped unload the reduced cost food again. We also put just a few of the things away. Often there are 54 half gallons of milk to put away. That has become my job. In part because I am comfortable squatting to get at the bottom shelves of the refrigerator. Today the woman who coordinates all of this made the comment that she has five meals to get together by Sunday. How she manages all of this, I have a hard time imagining even though I see much of the prep. I feel like a wimp. After putting the milk away, I packaged plastic silverware for her to use for some of the meals. I am glad to be able to save her from doing some of the work. She always has to be in charge because she knows the big picture. On a side note, I connected with one more college friend on the chat program so we can all meet. It takes a little while for people to get on. When we do it soon as a group, it should work quite well. I have had the pleasure of connecting with all of them individually. Paula

More Deep Cleaning

Hello, I am definitely against using scotch tape on glass. Paint is easier to get off with a razor blade. The custodian did show me a trick, but it still seemed more involved than just scraping the paint away. The tape itself came up but a lot of sticky stuff was left behind. I was just working on the glass in the classroom doors. I had not really noticed how many of them there are. Now I know them more intimately. Leroy and another fellow cleaner spent time in other places. Steaming an area and cleaning the wall board and many chairs in one room. We are happy to do this when thinking about it as we sit in the comfort of home, but get tired at the end of two hours. Leroy and I still have to walk home so we are not technically done. At least it was a bit warmer today. True confession. Our home is being neglected. It would not pass the white glove test. This morning, I did go shopping and get a haircut. Leroy stayed home and gathered, evaluated, and organized tax papers. We are still short a couple items. Paula

We will get lots of steps today

Hello, Leroy left for a bible study at 6:15 am. It was a bit cold he tells me. When I went at 8:30 am, so I could do a class on line followed by a spirituality meeting it was warmer, but not warm. I had walked around the house some doing this and that so my step count is nice. We have choir tonight and that will add all the steps we need for the day. Leroy volunteered this morning at the museum along with other stamp club members. He was pleased that some representatives of National Geographic from Czech Republic were there. They took some pictures of the guys working. Maybe Leroy will be in a magazine that is read overseas. There were also some high school kids at the museum. Some of them stopped and asked questions of the stamp workers. Leory sensed that they were interested. Maybe young people will find something good in the old. I washed and folded a number of things.That is satisfying to get that done and off my list. We got mail delivered to the house for the first time in four days. An inquiry told us that there has been a number of people sick so they cannot meet all of the demand to get mail out. It was rather like being gone on vacation and seeing what had piled up. Most of it was just waiting to be recycled. Paula

What is in a day

Hello, We woke up to see that it had snowed, hurried outside, and started shoveling. We managed to get it clean before we headed off to Tai Chi. There was a bit of a struggle to get on the zoom site. So, it all started late and there were two new people. After that we headed off to the dentist where I was expecting to have a tooth extracted. I suppose I was not paying attention when the appointment was made. Instead, an impression was made for the aftercare time. After that we went to the library to return books and check out more books. It is Leroy’s birthday. We had planned for him to take care of me for the day. Yesterday I made lasagna for his birthday dinner. It was good yesterday and today. At least he did not have to prepare anything and I could comfortably eat today. We did not really do anything special, but we just relaxed a bit more. I have not gotten very many steps. But will try to get at least 5000. I forgot to put on my watch before shoveling, so my body actually got more steps than I can count. Paula

Organ Concert

Hello, The organ concert was great. It is so nice to have the technology to be able to have cameras on the hands and then another window of the feet. It shows an astonishing amount of movement and coordination. I almost never tell anyone that I can play the organ, or at least I used to be able to, because there are so many organists that are so good around here. I have not touched one for several years now. I would be a little slow and awkward. Skills left on the shelf do not keep growing. Since we do not have a piano, I suspect even the keyboard is not as easy for me as it once was. We have walked to church enough to get our steps. On the way out of church, we stopped to help an older person put her walker in the car, get the snow off her windows, and adjust her seat. She offered us a ride home. We did not need the steps so we said yes. It was a bit of a challenge to stay calm. She came close to hitting something on her way out of the parking lot. She also tended to drive on the center line or even a bit over it to the other side. Now the question is do we have a responsibility to do something about this or just hope for the best? She was glad to give us a lift home since she thought walking was unsafe. We think walking would have felt safer. She did say I could “back seat” drive and I told her more than once to move into the lane. We could use some stickers that say the driver is older just like there are signs for student driver. Paula

Walking in the Cold

Hello, I just read that being out in the cold is good for a person. Leroy and I should be gaining all kinds of health benefits. We both walked this morning. He walked very early and I did later. We will walk to choir tonight to get all of our steps. I did not manage to get that done yesterday with other obligations in my day. But we were out Sunday and Monday. Three days should count for something. I still wonder about the younger people that we see on campus. They are now generally wearing long sleeves, but they can still be rather lightly dressed. Another person was running this morning when I was out otherwise, I do not meet many people. This weather means we need to start gathering our income tax information and organizing it so we can give it to someone else to finish. Income tax in Slovakia was no big deal since everyone was taxed at the same percentage. Not sure if it was fair, but it certainly simplified life. We will go to church choir practice tonight. I am not sure why, but my voice seems rather fragile. It is not comfortable for me to sing for a long time. Maybe I need to sing more during the week to strengthen my throat. I do not really want to give up singing. I remember that my mother had some trouble singing in her later life. Is this another way I’m becoming my mother? Paula

Life Mysteries

Hello, At zero degrees F. we walked to church cold, but we could handle it. It should be warmer on the return trip. Instead it felt worse with the wind blowing in our face or on the side of our faces. It was warmer by six degrees, but felt much colder. My cheeks hurt by the time we made it home. Counting blocks and then houses helped to encourage me to keep going. Course, how could we stop? We keep a careful eye on the condition of the side walk as we do not want to fall in this time. How can there be so much cruelty in the world alongside so much kindness? Why does this keep repeating or reappearing in many different places? There is certainly no chance to feel superior as it can be found everywhere. Sometimes it goes underground, but then reappears. Thank God for good people who give their all. Where and how do I fit, in all of this? How can I get rid of possessions that have some sentimental value, but no real purpose in my life? How many times can I move them before they become more of a burden than an asset? Ah the mysteries go on. Paula

Skill Set

Hello, Leroy and I cleaned our bedroom closet. This is an old house so the closet it not wide, but long and probably was not a closet originally. Boxes and other stored objects take up the back space. I have all my hanging clothes in here. The current season to the front and the off-season clothes to the back. I managed not to throw out anything but a box that contained nothing. That’s where skill and ignoring are necessary. There are a number of photos in here and some necklaces that I do not look at or wear. Decisions are hard so it all went back. I did manage to weed out three bests because I never wear belts. After searching on line, I found some tips for making unsweetened applesauce in the instant pot. We both like it quite a lot. Simple, simple, simple. Core the apples, cut them up add lemon juice, and water. Cook for the specified time and remove. I did suggest we use the potato masher on it. It worked very well. We will do this again. It will be a great way to use the apples faster.

I also figured out how to have a meeting in a program that used to be skype. It took some “monkeying” around, but we did it. Paula

Out Before the serious Cold

Hello, Yesterday we had the whole day off. We had planned to make a little out of town trip to a museum. Instead, we stayed home, did exercises indoors, went out and shoveled snow. This includes our neighbors’ sidewalks on both sides who have some health issues. We went to the library because that is a very important place to go when we are low on books. Next was a shopping trip that involved several stores. Leroy has decided he needs a steering wheel cover but was not prepared for the prices of such devices. He came home without such a thing, but someday the desire and the price will meet. At the grocery store we only needed three things; however, we came out with quite a few more items. In the afternoon, a friend texted to tell us that someone we had known in the past had died. The visitation was to be in about two hours. So, we went back out. It was a good thing to visit with many of the people we had known for a long time. We do not often see them. We managed to spend an hour there. The day filled up easily. When I look out now at the clean sidewalk, I am so glad that we got to that clearing task as the temperature did not get about zero today. Windchills have been at daunting levels. I am grateful for a warm place to be with power and water available. What luxuries! Paula

Bargain Cheese and Postage Stamps

Hello, Yesterday on Facebook a store was advertising Brie cheese for a dollar a package. One of them was supposedly a $26 saving and the other was a $10 saving. It was as long as supplies lasted and at one store only. After fussing around a while, I went the two miles, hoping that some would be left. The “cheaper” one was gone. We had never had the more expensive one, but two 27ounce packages found their way into the cart. I have enjoyed it. Leroy is rather careful because the soft cheeses are more problematic for him. He could take a lactose pill, but prefers not to do that. I looked on line and learned that the $26 was a low-end price for the type and amount of cheese imported from France. I live with a stamp collector, consequently we have some sheets of stamps where only one is needed. I am happy to have some stamps to use on cards. No letters mailed here any longer. We had some stamps commemorating the day of the dead. It did not seem right to use them to mail a sympathy card or a birthday card. They had been in the house so long that it was just time. Two were left. The paper came off with the sticky stuff on the back. That means I had to glue it on the envelope. The second one did the same thing. They both went on birthday cards. Hopefully no one is insulted. The stamps had to be used and not tossed in the trash. Paula

Talented and Gifted

Hello, Now I am talented and gifted. I frequently go to the library and they let me know after I am home, that my book on hold has come in. Today when I was there, I even checked the hold books for my initials of bra. BRA was there, but not in a book I had ordered. I am also skilled at getting in the slowest line at a store. Even if the line appeared shorter when I stepped in place. Someone might have an issue that needs to be solved changing the entire dynamic. I have even warned people who are obviously looking for the quickest way out, that I have some issues with lines. Maybe if I work hard I can develop some more skills. The temperature was not so low, 20 degrees. However, it was still a bit chilly. With a little bit of wind. That means I did not get in as many steps as I wanted. It is satisfying to see where we cleared the sidewalk. Some people did not attempt to get that job done. The depth of the snow is not deep, but it is noticeable when I step on the snow. I try to be more alert as there can be slippery areas hidden. Paula

Walking in the cold

Hello, I walked to my volunteer job. It was three blocks. It was not too bad, however when I came home the wind was in my face. That was definitely more noticeable. It was five above zero by that time. later when it was still the same temperature we went out and did a bit of shoveling. It was mostly just making it neater. There had been some snowfall and the wind created some different patterns. The sidewalk is now quite clear. Double layers on my legs was a bit help. The boots and thicker socks were also appreciated. Earlier when walking, I had on sneakers and medium weight socks because I do not want to be too warm inside the building. The guys across the street are working outside at least some of the time. It is cold to think about that. Leroy drove to church this morning. He helps count money. I wanted to know, “Did anyone ask if you had walked?” On the cold days that is a very common question for us. Now, he is walking or marching while watching TV. I will probably spend some time doing that also. It is not my favorite activity, but it gets the steps to mound up. If I am interested in the program, it can go very fast. Do birds feel the cold on the bottom of their feet? It looks vulnerable, but they do not act as if it is a problem when standing on cold surfaces. Paula

New Learning

Hello, I now know something about three types of team meeting software. Not an expert, but I can get on, create a meeting, invite others, change the background, chat or deal with the audio or video. It is amazing how technology has changed our lives. What a gift to be able to connect with people from the past who do not live close to us. They can even see my wrinkles. When we walk to church it is also a time of learning. Where are the icy spots, uneven sidewalk, when to cross the street, where is there shelter from the wind, and what is the college student doing with no coat? Last night we volunteered at the Saturday evening meal for the food challenged crowd or anyone who just might like to come eat out with others. We were on the clean up and it was quite usual. At the end of the time, the director of all this looked around and said, “Everyone here is over 70, sigh. Paula, would come over here and see if you can get under this counter to open the drain for the new steam table?” Squatting is my favorite way to get down. However, this was low enough that I had to get on my knees and twist around to get at four handles. It was done. Then it was time to get back down and close the drains. At least I managed to get that done without banging my head. It was definitely a challenge. Not sure who does it when I am not there as many of the volunteers are at the older end of age spectrum. Paula

More Cleaning Done

Hello, We did more cleaning today, but this time it was at church. An area was renovated and ready for use, but for all the dust around. I washed windows and the baseboard before sweeping the floor. Leroy and someone else cleaned out cupboards. It took them quite a while to get that done. It is the type of thing that others probably will not notice, but we could tell a difference as we knew the before picture. Seems that cleaning is mostly noticed when it is not done. Then there is complaining. After it is done it is easy to take for granted that it will be done all of the time. Is that why housework gets such low marks? Because it does not have such a noticeable result. Yet if it is ignored, it is quite noticeable. Ah the mysteries of life at the basic level. It seemed colder when we came home from church with a more serious wind blowing against us some of the time. Now it is cold as the temperatures are starting to drop. What a wonderful thing to be in a warm house with someone I love. Paula

Cleaned Bedroom

Hello, Last week I looked for something that had fallen behind the bed. I found the object, but was shown a lot of dust. The long handled wooly cleaner helped, but could not get it all. Today was the day to give the room a deep clean. We took out all things except the bed which is a sleep number. We managed to move it around to clean under it without shutting it down. The bed skirt was laundered. What a difference that made! It is so much brighter. We got this bed in 2021 and have not cleaned so seriously under it. The rest of the room had some dust, but not so much since we regularly go at it. Leroy is a mover and shaker on this project. He sweeps down the ceiling and the walls, because my arms get so tired doing that. He also runs the vacuum with head phones on to save his hearing. I kept busy much of the time, moving things out, dusting the baseboard, washing the baseboard, and inspecting his job. He did well. We both shared in the return task. One issue that we have not solved yet is that I have a picture that was in my parent’s bedroom. The hanger came off the cardboard in back. Not sure how to fix that. Oh, yes when Leroy set the clock it is now on the wrong year with the day listed as Sunday instead of Friday. He could not figure out how to get to the proper year. He might even have to read directions if we can find them. Paula

How to Save Money

Hello, One way to save money is not to spend it. After many years of practicing this skill, I am fairly adept. But then there is that receipt that tells me I have two coupon dollars to spend just because I bought something in the store. There is also a dollar because of something else I bought. I was just in the store and do not want to go right back. Also is there anything I want that is close to the coupon price? The expiration date is next week. Can I remember to go then since I don’t often go to this store? Is it alright to just let three dollars float away? There was a time when I went shopping one day a week and that was good for the entire week. Somehow those days seem to be in the past as I often go twice a week for some needed item. Just what fits in the category of needed? Bargains are hard for me to resist. Our favorite apple orchard had a deal on apples that got some hail damage. If we got 40 pounds and a little more there is free delivery. The orchard is 25-30 miles away so free delivery sounded good. I got those 40 pounds and some beets. Now the question is what to do with the apples. We managed to get all of them in the refrigerator which was not so full, but is now. Unfortunately, there were still ten apples in there from another purchase. I could cook the apples, but we or maybe it is I like them raw the best.

It is cold now and I am grateful for the warm house with the furnace running. Paula

Volunteering

Hello, Today there had been no donations for me to date. Potatoes, onions, and carrots had already been bagged to put in the giveaway bags. I wandered around and could see nothing to do. Another woman had just finished the bagging. We were in an area that did not have other people close. She started telling me about her mood which she declared was quite grumpy. I told her, “I did not notice that. You seemed pleasant as always.” She then proceeded to tell me what was affecting her mood. This took quite some time as it involved several family members who had issues of one type or another. She was not able to help them change their life style. Instead, she said, “I have been enabling them to live the way they do I can’t do it anymore.” I just listened, tying to say just a few small things in the active listening mode. In the end, she thanked me for listening before we went off to tend to the things that had been procured from fast food establishments. Perhaps that listening was just a part of the volunteering job for the day. Paula

Five Mugs will be gone

Hello, There is a concern in town that said they need cups. We translated that to mean mugs. We have five mugs that can go live in another home. We tried to get rid of more plates, but have trouble finding a place that might sell them. I think they are worth something, but we do not want to bother packing them up to ship to a different location. Leroy did give away the last of his phonograph records. That is nice since we have not listened to them in years with nothing to play them on. One place would have given us $5 for all of them. Leroy was just happy to have them out of the house. This person did not really think there was a market for them around here. I feel so much lighter when we can eliminate some items. This is especially true of things we do not use any longer. They seemed important at some time in the past. It would be good to go through my clothes. Surely, there are some items that I no longer wear, but just have not decided it is too much to have around. Photos are something that I do not really how to handle. Many I know have them digitally, but I seldom look at anything. Either on a device or in print. When I happen to stumble on them accidently, it is a pleasure to look at them and remember. Who knew there would be so many choices and new learning at this stage of life. As a thirty something it appeared nothing much was happening to those old people. Paula

Helping at church

Hello, Leroy and I went, as usual, to help unload the items. We also help put some of that away. There were boxes of cookie dough in boxes ready to be baked. Leory put about 1000 of those on trays while someone else baked them. Later they were packed for the Saturday evening meal at church. While he was doing arranging dough, I washed and pruned lettuce that was getting closer to the edge. The parts that were torn off were taken by someone else to put out for the animals in the wooded area. I also scrubbed, trimmed and set aside large daikon radishes. The largest one weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces. We like daikon radishes, but have never seen any this large.

We were both tired by the time we got done with these chores. We did bring home three poinsettias that have been left at church. No begging, but close to it to have us remove them. They are beautiful. I might have to relegate Leroy to the hall to create some room for them. He knows he takes second fiddle to my plants.

Paula

Do you Want a Ride

Hello, We walked to church for a senior luncheon with a speaker about the new library branch building on the west side of town. We arrived in plenty of time to buy a book for a study that starts next week. The talk was interesting. I am ready to check this new building out when it opens in the fall. We will still use the downtown library because it is closer to our home. This new one looks quite fine and intriguing. We had planned to walk the long way home, dropping some craft items off at a secondhand store. Imagine our surprise when we got upstairs, looked out the window to see that it was steadily raining. It did not look like something that was going to stop soon. We started running through the names of people who were there and who might give us a ride home. At the opposite door there was a guy just going out with his umbrella. He asked if we wanted a ride. We said, “Yes.” On the ride home, we learned that he lives in the opposite direction. At least our city is small. He is 92 years old, but we felt quite comfortable riding with him as he did nothing that was questionable. So happy we took that offer because the rain did not stop for an hour or two. It even got harder at times. We would have been wet through by the time we walked that mile home. It could be done, but not fun. Now we are both quite short on our step count. It is a small thing to be concerned about. Paula

Making Bread

Hello, I still make bread about every week or two. We don’t have a bread machine and that is the way I like it. It is satisfying to put my hands in the dough and knead it. Does that mean I am a hands-on person? I do use a mixer with a dough hook for cookie dough to stir. It does take a lot of mixing out of the job. Would I be stronger if I just used a large spoon for all of that? My grandmother would make about seven loaves of bread at a time. She did this well into her 80’s. No electric mixer or bread machine for her. Maybe she also just liked the feel of the dough. We never talked about it. Not sure why she needed so many loaves when she lived alone. I know she shared bread crumbs with the stray cats from the grain elevator across the street. I started out this morning for qigong, but circled the block and put the car in the garage. I could tell it was foggy, but it looked much worse in the car when I was unable to see to the end of the block. Now the sun is shining. Most of my trip would have been on the interstate when speeds are much higher. If I knew what the speed would be for be all, it might have been ok. I worry about going slower and someone running into me or going faster and zooming up behind a slow person. I missed the group and the meditative time. I did some exercise by myself, but it is not as much fun. I have only written the year as 2025 about four times. I write the date on my devotion journal and on these letters. Guess I have not moved into the future yet. Just roaming around in the past. Paula

Epiphany is Here

We took the tree down this morning. That was not such a long job, but it still takes some time to get the items off and put in the proper place. As close as we remember the proper place. Memory fades on some things. Perhaps they are as not as important as we once thought. Tonight, Leroy noticed that we had not put away the Christmas throw. I would be happy to get rid of it, but asked the kids about it. Miriam said she might like it. It is packed away now. I was irritated with Leroy when I learned that he did not get out everything. He thought it was just too much. I had wondered where some of the things were. Earlier, I had gotten rid of some things and thought that it must have included those unrevealed items. I did bring home a poinsettia from the Ely library because they were considering getting rid of it. I will keep it going for a while longer. When it is too tired, it will go in the compost. I like saving these plants from sure a quick demise. There are still a lot at church so I might get some more

Is it being cheap? I think about buying one every year, but then think about how many get thrown out so soon. I enjoy having them here for a month or more. Paula

Christmas tree still up

Hello, Nothing has moved with the Christmas decorations. Leroy went to church today to count money. I went to the place to volunteer. Interestingly, the shelves had some bare spaces and almost no donations of canned goods had come in. Before Christmas, the donation amount was almost overwhelming. It was a struggle to keep up and to find a place to put them. In just two weeks things look very different. On the other hand, there was a huge amount of donations today from some of the fast-food places. These are items that cannot be served but are still good. They freeze them and then give them instead of throwing them in the landfill. So this fills two good purposes. We did meet with our financial advisor today. He told us how much the RMD should be for this year. There was also some talk about the other accounts that we have. Our investments are gaining so we can easily give away more money. This is so important because many people are now living so close to the poverty line. We can also feel comfortable to take some more trips. We only have one trip planned this year. That will be to Nova Scotia in the summer. Plus, we also have graduation events of two more grandchildren so that will involve some traveling. Paula

Advent Wreath put Away

Hello, As I washed dishes, Leroy took apart the advent wreath, cleaned off drips of wax, and got it into the box. The table is back to ordinary size so it is easier to get around in the kitchen. I like having this wreath out, but it is nice to put it away again. Reminds me of traveling. I like to go, but like to get back. Tomorrow or Tuesday the Christmas decorations will all go away as epiphany starts then. Again, I will be happy to have them out of the living space. Now if we could just find that epiphany star. Leroy was not feeling well this morning so he stayed home to watch church online. I walked by myself which is just fine. I was vain and did not put on my hat. That was not so fine. My ears were mighty cold when I got to church. Vanity is not a virtue? On the way home, I wore my hat and felt much better although it was still cold. I figure I can comb my hair or it is only Leroy who sees it? The book club met this morning and I did not want to miss that. I enjoy our discussions and the fact that we all seem to like slightly different books. Each time we rate the book as well as make comments about it. I go to another book club. I will have to get Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and read it. I have read it before, but I know it has some darkness to it. Some days it is easier to read emotionally draining materials. Paula

What to Do with Stuff?

Hello, Three storage boxes are begging to be looked at. Today was the day to look in the one that had the outside note: Slovak and African stuff. Many of these items were no longer in our idea of something to keep. But what should to do with the things? Our children or grandchildren probably do not want them as they mean nothing to them with no memories attached. Memories are still there for us, but is it necessary to keep the items? Some were things we bought because we were feeling quite sentimental when we left the country after living there five years. We also kept some bus tickets because that was so important for us to have and a part of our daily life there. I am so glad we have now gotten the idea that we do not buy souvenirs anywhere. That makes us not typical tourists, but certainly lighter and freer. We packed up almost all of these things and put them away again to await another day when sentiment is lighter. Or perhaps our children will have to go through our things and get rid of them. Paula