Busy Morning

Hello, We were off to tai chi, even managed to arrive ahead of the instructor. But that just meant we needed to get the computer and TV set up for the internet connection. We are often joined by five or more online people. My foot did quite well with the balance poses. Leroy had a bit more of a struggle. The next stop was to pay a dentist bill. Just grateful that we have the money to do this without stressing about it. Course we like to stop at the city library. Leroy found about five books and I even managed to find two. I am reading one at home that will go in the little free library when I am done. Our little free library is frequently almost empty. Books go out, but seldom come back. We stopped at church to do some watering flowers around the building. Even though I had been to the pharmacy to pick up a filled prescription, we went there again to pick up one for Leroy. Now I have a message that I will have one there in a week. Are we on a lot of drugs? At home we had to do some watering because one flower looked rather distressed. We got water from the rain barrel. It was a task since leaves or some green growth was blocking the exit. It took two of us to get that open. The plant looks much better now. At home I asked Leroy for help with one of the credit card statements. I always keep the receipts and then check it against the statement. I can do it by myself, but it is easier with the two of us. Paula

Brass Band

Hello, The brass band was an interesting concert. They were quite good. They even stopped and showed all of their instruments. It was based on the British style of brass band. All of the selections were introduced with a little description. The concert was in the Shakespear garden. That certainly fits. I had wanted to visit the Shakespear garden. It was a good excuse to get there. What makes it a garden of that period, I can not begin to say. It was quite well organized and colorful. We were a bit early so we could walk around and admire the plants. There was a breeze scattering the bugs. The temperature was warm, but not hot and the breeze helped with that too. There was a municipal band concert after the brass band, but Leroy did not want to stay so long. I would have stayed if I had been alone, but it was ok to come home and go to bed before it was late. Today is so much hotter. Glad the concerts were last night. I went out early to water plants this morning. Neither of us did much outside this afternoon. Air conditioning is a comfort. Leroy had an appointment this morning with the cardiologist. I did my volunteer job. Trusted him to pay attention. He seemed to do a good job with questions and listening. Some of his meds are changed. He will have another procedure done when it can be scheduled. Guess these people are very busy. Too many people with hearts that require attention. We are fortunate that he can get it taken care of. Paula

Getting Ready for a trip

Hello, Even though the trip is still a little more than two weeks away, I keep planning for it. Perhaps it has been too long since we have taken a trip. Wondering which suitcase should I take. Old faithful or the new one? How cold will it be outside, on the bus, or in the hotels? What clothes to pack? Warm or cool weather? How much of each type? People often ask what cities will be visited. It seemed good to make a list that I can see them and start to learn them. Perhaps I should learn something about each one. Now that would be out of character. Should I set aside something when it seems we might need it? What shoes? Sunhat for sure, but it is worn almost daily. Should a spare go in even though it is not the favorite in case the favorite is forgotten at the last minute. How much reading material to take? Not a lot of time for reading, but certainly some. Perhaps the magazines will be just about right for reading and leaving someplace. How much money should we take? We like to leave a tip in the hotel room for the care we get. Then there are some meals that we purchase ourselves, but usually we use plastic for that. Souvenirs are not really on our list. Paula

Ordination At Church

Hello, We went to an ordination at our church last night. That is the consecration of a new minister who has just graduated from seminary and received their first call to a parish. This was a second career for this man. It was a good service. I drove and Leroy walked. I envy him the ability to just walk and feel good about life. On Tuesday it will have been two weeks since my toenail was removed. The instructions were to take it easy for two weeks. I have been trying to follow the instructions, but it takes a bit of encouragement on my part. Many days I have not even walked 5000 steps. Feels a bit sinful. Tonight we helped at the Saturday evening meal for the food insecure. It was not so nice for my toe. Too much standing and moving around. I did drive, but there was still about two and a half hours on my feet. Also we were short one person although the meal was not so hard to clean up. That helped quite a bit. Fireworks are going off in our neighborhood. Apparently it is legal until 11:00 at night on the weekend before and after July 4th. Leory and I like to be asleep by 10:00. Guess we can manage. Paula

Pieces Found!

Hello, This morning both Leroy and I went back to the parking lot where I had dropped the fob. We searched quite a while. Finally, I looked in a spot I was sure I had not parked. There was the red button. The other darker harder to see button was nearby. We were both quite pleased. Leroy suggested we see about replacing the battery in his fob which has not worked for several years. Previously we could not get the fob apart to get to the battery. We went to a battery shop that he remembered. The shop was dark and appeared closed with a sign on the door. It stated that they had permanently closed in February. One of us had the brilliant idea of going to an auto parts shop. “Sure, we can do that,” the worker said when we arrived. After a few minutes and with additional help they had to admit that they did not have a screwdriver small enough to take out the screw. These helpful people recommended a lock shop. They felt those people could do about anything. Driving again and looking for the shop. Leroy had noticed it before. We went in with high hopes and a little trepidation since we had heard it is sometimes quite expensive to work on these fobs. The woman there said, “I can do that. It not be long.” She was true to her word. It might have taken her five minutes and the bill was $8.03. Talk about a deal, no reason to wait years to get this done. On the way home we even completed another errand. Paula

That Car Key

Hello, Today I started shopping for books to put in the little free libraries. Again, I am looking for books that are of people of color or people who are in some way different from the norm. The purpose is to help them feel the importance of being true to themselves or their value just being who they are. I will have to go back with a list of titles that I would like. I found some things, but not enough. On the way out to the car, loaded with three heavy bags of books, the car key slipped from my hand. It smack landed, broke open losing the battery back along with all of the identifying labels. I was unhappy. All of the parts were there except for two of the button covers. I managed to get the basic unit together so I could drive home. With help of a screwdriver, the fob came open. With guidance from the second key, we could tell which cover went in which spot. Leroy then suggested that we take the covers from his fob since it is seldom used and the battery is dead. That seemed like a good idea. He took it apart and got one back together. But had to go out to the car to check to see if it is in the right order. All was good.

Paula

Returning to Regular life

Hello, I volunteered today. Usually, I am standing the full two hours, but today I sat some of the time. I was careful not to bump my foot. I have also decided that I must leave the band aide off so the air can help dry it off. When I am home it is bare. I also did some exercises this morning. That made me feel good. Sitting around much of the day is not my happy place. Tomorrow will be tai chi. That should feel good too since we do not get down on the floor with toes against the floor. Leroy is out trying for more steps and more black raspberries. He thinks they need more heat to ripen. We have gotten quite a bit of rain in the last few days. Leroy also did some vacuuming this morning. It is good to have it look a bit cleaner around here. If I could just get motivated to dust, we would be in good shape. Paula

Still Sitting

Hello, I am trying to be a good patient and not do so much the first week after the toe nail removal. It is hard because that is not my style. I also do not hurt so much that I want to stay still most of the day. I have read much more in the last few days than I usually do. I found some mysteries that I like. That keeps my mind a bit occupied. These mysteries do not have recipes in them or much descriptions of the rooms and building. Some how those things do not appeal to me. Today I have not put my foot up so very much and that makes it easier to read. Envy sneaks in because Leroy gets to go weed in the community garden with others. Guilt also sneaks in as I just find that I am useless. Leroy also picked black raspberries this afternoon. I enjoy those tramps into the brush. He has not found so many raspberries at any one time. We think some other neighbor might have visited the patch between times. At least it gives us a nice supply to eat with delight. We do not have an automatic dish washer so Leroy is getting in a lot of dish washing. I do help put them away. Tomorrow I will drive to church but Monday I am going to return to more walking as it will have been a week. The instructions were to take it easy for two weeks. I will be a little careful. Hopefully after that it will be back to normal. Paula

Some Hard Things

Hello, It is hard to lie around with my foot higher than my heart after having a toenail removed. For sure I was to do that for most of the first 24 hours. It is too bad the TV does not project to the ceiling. Or that a book does not float above one’s head. If I liked them, there are audio books. Or Leroy could tell me titillating stories. I managed to get through that time. I got up a little more in the evening, but the pain came a little bit. It seemed better to go back to elevating. Today I went with Leroy to pick out some more plants to put along one side of the church. I did not help with the planting, but gave orders. Those flowers are not evenly spaced, but they will add color. We did help unload the order of food items. I just held one cart in place and then pushed it into the building. I also put the milk in the refrigerator. After that I had to sit down and I noticed some pressure on the toe. We came home soon after that. Two days ago, I had not necessarily planned to have the nail removed, but she had the time. I called Leory to learn if he could bring me home since I had walked that mile to the facility. He could come. She assured me that I should be able to travel in a month. Now I am trying to obey the rules, keep it up and keep it clean so there should be no infection. Paula

Black Raspberries Already?

Hello, Leroy has been talking about checking on the black raspberries for a week or so now. Because heat has moved the season ahead, he thought they should be ready. I thought he was a bit ahead of the game. He was right and I was wrong. He checked today and came back with two cups. He did leave some in the patch because he had not taken a bigger container. Good for Leroy. He also got 7,000 steps. I only have 3,700. I did my volunteering this morning and came home tired. It helps when I do some stretching ahead of time. I also do not eat a snack on those days and I miss that little bit of pick up. There are plenty of things to eat at the place, but much of it is sweet and I do not eat that. Next time I will eat ahead of time. This afternoon we will go to weed in the community garden. We have not contributed much this year. In places, the weeds are sure they are in their new home. They look happy and flourishing. Yesterday we went on a hidden Gems Tour of Homes in our neighborhood. It was quite nice. Some of the homes are more than 100 years old. The owners were there to give some history of the building as well as old photos. Now if I can just remember some of it. Paula

Walking Summer or Winter

Hello, Walking outside lifts my spirit and helps me to connect with life around me. Sometimes it seems the best time to walk is in the summer. However, we have had two days when it rained most of the time and the sidewalks became full of water in places. Then there is excessive heat. Generally, that slows us down, but does not stop us. Enjoyment is taken down a few notches. In the winter there is some extreme cold which keeps us indoors. Snow is usually great to walk in unlike rain. Then there can be ice hazards in the winter. As my bones have become more fragile, it also sometimes curtails a walk. Looking down at my footing keeps me at a rather forward and downward slant. Upright keeps my posture intact, but falling would not be good. Today we delivered many newsletters. It was a bit daunting in the morning heat. The afternoon handily won that contest. I have only about 200 steps to reach my goal of 10,000. I am pleased with that. Leroy is going out again since he still needs about 3,000. He will walk more on the level so as not to aggravate his heart. I did talk to some people while delivering the newsletters. One guy is growing asparaguses which are quite small yet. I have visited with him before. He recognized me. I think it is my hat that identifies. He commented, “I would like a hat like that.” I kept mine on my head. I do think about getting a second one, but have not done that yet. Both seasons have drawbacks and positives. Such is the way of much of life. Paula

More Rain

Hello, Today we had more torrential rains. I was in Ely for the morning stretch class that I lead. The dark sky was quite in evidence when I was finished. There was some rain, but not much so I headed home. It quickly became more intense. With the radio announcing that there was a tornado warning, heavy rains, and possibly hail. The speculation was that it would be with me in about ten minutes. It would take me about that long to get home. The rain got so strong that it was difficult to see, but I kept going. As I was pulling onto a larger four-lane road, I noticed that four semis were pulled off to the side of the on ramp. Is that a sign? But I still kept going. Then there were semis in the road with their hazard lights flashing. After a while I saw several cars also with lights flashing. Sometimes it was there was a bit of clearing, creating a sense of safety. As it pulled off on the street for home it seemed much better. However, then came a long stretch of street that was covered with water. It felt so good to pull into the quiet of the garage. After I cleaned off the back up camara, and squeegeed some car windows, it seemed I should just brave the rain that was still falling and make a dash for the house. It was wonderful to get in the house. Even though in a tornado it would not be so safe on the second floor, it still felt better. Paula

Another Graduation Party

Hello, After two days at home, we headed to Minnesota for Sophia’s Graduation party. It was an uneventful trip until we got to a turn off from the interstate only to find the ramp closed. Then life got more on edge. I was driving so I just took the next exit. Leroy was trying to turn on GPS on his new phone, but it was a struggle. In the meantime, I am still driving with no place to easily pull over to wait for instructions. He finally tried calling Brian who was able to help some even though he was not with us. All the talk was going through Leroy’s hearing aids so I could not hear, but had to depend on Leroy to tell me. Nothing was going through the car radio which would have also been a help. We spent some time wandering around the U of MN. A place that we are not familiar with. Brian gave some instruction, but we did not turn in the right place so were lost once more. Finally, we got it figured out with Brian’s help again. We were able to assist a little with the party, although Brian and Jen had it well organized. We even knew a few of the people who came. And met some more of the neighbors.

We left on Sunday and drove through some intense rain storms. In the car we had discussions about pulling over or not. Neither moving or stopping seemed safe. In the end we kept moving more slowly, along with the rest of the traffic that we could see. It is good to be home again. Nice to go and nice to come home. Paula

Good Graduation

Hello, Nora’s graduation was over an hour long with a certain amount of formality. Sophia’s graduation was shorter and more informal. There are positives to be said about both. We did watch Sophia’s on line because it was just a day after Nora’s and they are geographically too far apart. We will head to Minnesota tomorrow so we can be there in person for her graduation party. I graduated with 28 people. All these graduations are quite different than what I experienced. But the sense of celebration is the same across the generations. There is also the feeling of grads looking ahead and missing what was. People are still basically the same people on many levels. Perhaps that is why we can read some old books and find connections. In Utah, we walked the dogs every day. We have only been home one day and I have not walked as much as I should. Leroy did better as he walked to church. Today he rode his bike to the museum. At Miriam’s house, we learned that Andy had hurt his shoulder, making him a one-armed man. Then Miriam tripped and hurt her knee. She could walk, but there was a certain amount of pain involved, especially with stairs. Their daughters helped with a lot of things and we did too. Sometimes the young and the old have to work together because the middle is not able. At least Leroy and I could still manage most things. Paula

Flights Were Fine

Hello, After two weeks away we got home yesterday. We were in Utah for Norah’s high school graduation. We got to the airport in plenty of time. We like that. Because we fly economy, we could not see our boarding pass much before we left. That did make me a little nervous. They appeared in time with seat assignments. Leroy and I were across the aisle from each other. No one was sitting by him after we had boarded. The flight attendant agreed I could move by him. Then just before we left, another couple got on. The man sat farther ahead. And the attendant ushered the woman to the seat I had vacated. For the next flight we each had the middle seat in the row. I thought I had looked at the seat number. Later a woman came up and said that I was sitting in her seat. I realized then I should have been in the seat ahead, but someone was sitting there. Guess I did not even process that too much, but assumed that I had looked at the wrong row. An attendant came to solve the issue. It was determined that the row ahead of me had two people with the A seat ticket, but one was sitting in my B seat. After some checking, they learned that one of the A people had been reassigned to first class. She moved and the wondering person in the aisle took her seat and I just stayed put with feelings of embarrassment. Otherwise, the flight was uneventful just how I like a like a flight to be. I know some think bigger is better, but I am so happy to come to the smaller airport here in town. Leroy and I both got our 10000 steps. In the two larger airports we got plenty of walk to the gates. In Denver we went from 88 to 22. We just walked and did not take the moving steps as we had enough time. Paula

Solved Some Things

Hello, I got a doctor bill for a trip to the emergency room. The amount seemed shockingly high. The insurance had not been billed. On the website, they did not have my insurance information. I added it, but immediately it disappeared. Going out and coming back in did not bring it up. Calling the company put me on hold to the road to nowhere. I then wondered if this was a scam. The check on that said the website was rated at 30% not sure what that means, but it does not sound good. Today I went to the billing department at the hospital where I had been. She could tell me that it was a legitimate billing company. However, she knew that others have been having trouble with it. She felt I would have some help by calling that number again. This time when I called, I reached the company and they took my information and stated they would turn in the claim. Hurrah! A friend had a serious health issue. We wanted to contribute to a food train for them. I do not make meals for others. When I cooked with meat, I might have, but now I am not comfortable doing that. There was the option to give a gift card to a restaurant. Leroy tried to do that, but it kept being rejected. Today he got a notice from the credit card asking if he had done that. He got that straightened out. He tried again to get the job done but it still would not accept his credit card so he had to use another method which did work. However, he was quite upset by this time. it took a bit of time and a nap for him to settle down. Paula

Rain or Not

Hello, Today the sky teased us with the idea that it might rain. We need rain, so it was a disappointment when it did not become more than some sprinkles. In places the ground is starting to crack. We talked about watering the garden in front, but did not get it done, hoping for more rain. Tomorrow, I will try to remember to do that ahead of a phone call we are expecting at 9:00 am. That should give me plenty of time, however memory is the harder part of this deal. The community garden would certainly benefit from some rain or watering as well. Leroy did ride his bike to the museum for volunteering. He fussed around for a while saying, “Should I drive or ride my bike?” He might have had some sprinkles, but that would have been all. I even hung out some clothes and they are now dry. Between the wind and the temperature going up it did not take long for that to happen. We have some starlings that must have a nest in a hole in a tree in the yard. At least now they keep zooming in and out carrying food for the babies. This morning I saw a sparrow looking in the hole. It stayed there for a bit of time. Wonder what that was all about? I like more colorful birds, but these sparrows and starlings give me some entertainment and speculation. Paula

Where Can They Be

Hello, Leroy has been missing some of his white handkerchiefs. He has looked unsuccessfully; I have looked unsuccessfully. He used to have a rather large stack of them, but now he only has five. Could the washer have taken them? I am missing two pair of socks. Leroy looked in his sock drawer, but found neither. Now could the washer be so smart that it would take a pair of socks rather than just one sock? I have to confess that I have not taken out my sock drawer and looked very carefully. But they are not were I usually put them away. We are mystified. On a positive note, the iris are blooming and are beautiful. The deep purple and the salmon are from my sister’s house. How nice to think of her when I see this beauty. The other iris was lying on the sidewalk where someone dropped it. I took it and planted it.

Paula

Getting used to the New

Hello, I had become quite adjusted to taking out the temporary tooth. Now I keep wanted to do that. My tongue is constantly checking out this new piece. Biting anything very hard has not happened yet. I did manage to floss last night and this morning. They gave me a lesson in the office. I am grateful that they encouraged me to try it there as well. New learning! I do not wear reading glasses much of the time. even after five years I still sometimes think I am wearing glasses and I should remove them before going to bed. Old habits are hard to break, but it can be done. I did get to qigong this morning. The library there had had a book sale and was offering left over books, free. I randomly picked up several for the little free library. Three of them were by an author that Leroy reads. I was clueless about whether he had read them or not. He does not think he read them. So, they are in the house. I looked over the other books and decided to read them or at least give them a chance with me. Now there are too many books in the house and not many in the little free library. I have two other books that someone donated, but I keep checking out from the library and do not get around to reading the ones waiting for me. After all they do not have to be returned. Paula

New Teeth

Hello, This morning the dentist put in a permanent bridge. He predicts that it will go with me to the grave. It was not a hard thing to endure, but I am glad to think that I will not have to do it again. My bottom teeth are now straighter than they were before all this started five months ago. Who knew that losing teeth would make such a difference in my appearance. My tongue is almost constantly checking out the new addition. Surely that will become ordinary in time. I will just take it easy for a day or two before I bite into any hard thing. He suggested that I always bite raw carrots more to the side. A new habit to form. I am grateful for dental care that could work with this situation and that we have the money to pay for it. They sent the bill to the advantage plan, but I do not expect it to pay much or any. Dental work is not covered unless it causes health risk. That has not been a problem because we have not needed much expensive care. Leroy rode his bike to the museum. He came home almost panting. That heart does not like to be used too much. He said there was also some heavy living in this volunteer session. He had to rest from time to time. Paula

What a Day

Hello, Mostly, I forgot that it was May 1. Someone talked about may baskets. I had forgotten about them too. I washed clothes which we hung out in the cool, but tolerable temperature. There was a breeze so drying was expected. After that, we packed the car with a shovel, a number of large buckets, a large old piece of cloth that we cover plants when it gets cold, potting soil, and garden gloves for both of us. At church, we spread out the cloth on the sidewalk. Leroy set to work shoveling up the top layer of soil. The soil along this eight-yard-long wall is not very good. It looked better than I remembered. Some of it went into buckets. Leroy used a wheel barrow to take the rest around the building to dump it. I worked the lower soil to make it pliable. I also picked up any debris or rocks that were here. We found a rock so large that we could not get to the bottom of it. It is still there. We found some additional soil in the church garage. Leroy put some of both types on the cleaned-up place. He added back some of the best of the top soil. We kept repeating this process. Until we had prepared the entire strip and used up all of the added soil. The plants went in the ground next. That was followed by watering. We dashed home for a quick lunch as well as getting the clothes off the line and in the house. The AI program at the library was quite interesting. It told us some things we did not know before. After that we spent some time visiting with some other people there who were members at the church. Back to church for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the redo of the building. We finally came home about five. That was a long day for us. We decided not to go to a concert. Just being home called too loudly. Paula

Life Changes

Hello, I learned yesterday that I have a balder infection. Could that be true even though the symptoms were not at all typical? Anyway, I am taking antibiotics and I seem to feel better after just two pills. Can that be true as well that it matters so quickly? Certainly, seems an easy cure to my pain, discomfort. On a totally different subject: we have lost/misplaced a two-inch hitch plug. We have both done some serious searching. Nothing has turned up. Today we drove to the place where we took our bike ride on Sunday. No luck there either. We found a relatively cheap replacement at a store in town. As Leroy says, “We can afford it.” Leory likes to tell me how to park when I back into a parking spot. I groused at him for that and accused him of “back seat driving”. He insisted he does not do that, just for parking. However, on this little road trip, he learned forward, blocking my view to tell me a car was coming from the right. I was upset and almost yelled at him, saying, “You can look too, but do not block my view.” That hurt his feelings. It is not the best to solve such things when driving down the road. We managed and it is settled now. It seems that after almost 55 years together we should be past all of that irritation. Life still has its moments. This morning I went to qigong an hour late. I participated in just the last things. I can go in person now and I somehow thought that meant I could go an hour later since I did not have the meeting afterwards. It was just slightly mixed up in my mind. Paula

A Tree gone, Plus and Minus

Hello, I am happy to have the tree gone, because now I do not have to think about it falling on my stuff or me. The tremendous weight would have caused a lot of damage. However, I miss it and it has only been a number of hours. Leroy and I were gone first to tai chi and then to volunteer at the church so we did not get to see this great transition. It was almost shocking to come home and look over the yard and not see branches. I wonder about the squirrels who were living in it. Birds were on it a lot, but I was not aware of any nesting there. The birds seemed to enjoy the bugs that had their home there. Leroy and I just liked looking at the activity in the tree every day. The center of the tree was quite dead. It is amazing how the outside held it up. Our friend figures it was well over 100 years old. What history it has seen with people coming and going. Already I notice the lack of shade that it graciously provided. Since it was somewhat over the clothes line, I suspect there will not be any bird poop on the clothes. So, it is all a bit of plus and minus. Paula

What a Morning

Hello, I have had some bowel issues so I needed to collect four samples. I was not excited about doing it, but instructions were clear. I soon had two vials filled to the proper line and in the refrigerator. There were little jars and in bags so nothing was exposed, but it felt a bit vile anyway. Oh, the new learning that can happen. The next little bottle had a stubborn cap that popped open all at once. Oh no, it had liquid in it that I had not noticed. On the floor a bit of it went. Should I continue? Would it matter. I suspected it mattered since instructions were so dictatorial. But I put in the required amount anyway and moved on to the last thing. Those two vials were to be stored at room temperature. The splitting tree is still standing and taunting us with its vigor. Someone is to come today to look at it, but the rain was coming down quit strongly now. How much weight does that add to a tree? The lab opens early so I aimed to get there around 7:30. The front desk opened the door. When I got to the lab, I found the lights to be off and no one there. Back to the desk where I learned they were to be open at 7:30. She called around to find them. They came a bit later. I turned the collection in, confessing my goof. They did not know if the spill would be usable as the amount of liquid was required, but would call to check. They sent me home with more correction materials, but said they would call if it was needed. They did not call back so hoping I am good. Later we learned that the tree had moved a little bit more. The tree guy said that the position of the split holds it for a while longer. He is looking for a crane high enough to be safe taking the tree down. On the plus side. I have felt better today than I have for days. Although, I still want to know what is causing my discomfort. Paula

Exciting Times

Hello, Just when I think everything is the same stuff, something happens. Leroy and I went for a bike ride this afternoon because we are going on a CROP bike ride tomorrow. It is only a little over three miles so we should be able to handle that. Leroy finds that if it is too hilly, he is bothered and might have to walk up the hill. There is only one short hill tomorrow. There was a bit of hill today and he managed. I have only ridden my bike one other time this spring, but I think I too can make it just fine. After we got home from the ride, I was getting a snack and looked out the kitchen window. I noticed a light-colored streak in the neighbor’s large old maple tree. Leroy came to take a look too and he agreed the tree is splitting. It was not like that before we went on the ride. I ran downstairs, and out on the deck for a closer look. It was indeed split. I pounded on our downstairs friends’ door. I was wondering if they had the neighbor’s phone number. They did not come quickly, in a panic remembering when a branch had come down from this tree in the past, I ran to the front of the house and rang the doorbell. Again, they did not come quickly enough for me so I ran to the neighbor’s and rang their doorbell. This time I waited long enough for them to come to the door. I think they thought I was a bit excited when I told them about it. They did go out and look. As of now they are trying to locate a tree service. It does not help that this is a weekend. We moved our cars out of the garage and put them on the street. Then we moved the bikes onto the back porch. We also took pictures of the things we have in the garage. Hopefully, the tree will not hit the garage if it comes down before it can be removed. It looks very possible now. I like those big old trees but they are a bit of a risk. The picture is to give you an idea of the size. The split is almost between the two large branches or trunks.

Paula

Trying to Remember

Hello, I heard a master garden speak. She talked about cutting back the fall sedum so it would regrow and remain upright in the fall. I remember those words, but cannot remember how low to cut it or when to cut it exactly. Today I decided it was tall enough so I cut off a good bit of height. We are getting rain now. Seemed to me that should help it recover. It looks a bit short and pale. Then I have been trying to remember how long I have been taking one of my meds. Previously I had written it down. I am glad to have that record, but have not added to it since we have been here. I took it for a while and then stopped for a while before starting it again at the urging of my primary care giver. I am not sure how to “wade” though the electronic records that I find. When I go to the office again I will have to ask how to navigate on that web site. I learned of the death of one of my high school classmates. It shocked me a bit. We are not that old. Paula

Mirrors Everywhere

Hello, Usually, I spent little time looking in mirrors. After all I do not care to see how much older I look by the minute. I can pretend it is not true. It was nice when I had cataracts and could not see my face clearly in the mirror. Blurry was a fine illusion. Today I was in a room that had mirrors on one wall. I did not notice my age, but my posture. I was slumped over a bit. Shoulders up and back improved my look considerably. Maybe I should be surrounded by mirrors. Would that help my posture? Certain more regular moves for strengthening the core would make a difference. I usually get my steps, but not the stretching or strength work. Strange that I used to do moves with great regularity and Leroy would do almost nothing. Now we have switched roles. He does them when he gets up, but breakfast takes my attention and then so does the rest of the day. Only later do I realize that I have not worked out. Mirrors would remind me to get at it if nothing else to move my shoulders into the proper spot. Paula

Storm or Not

Hello, Leroy did not walk to bible study this morning because there was a light rain when he left the house. It stopped soon after he left and stayed away until after he came home. When I left for church, for my study, there was no rain so I walked. People came in after me and asked, “Did you walk?” “Yes,” I replied, “it’s not raining, is it?” “It is raining and quite a bit.” was the reply. “Hopefully it will be done when we are,” I rather confidently said. Well, it was raining and quite seriously. I jumped in the offered ride. It is supposed to be a strong storm when we go to choir so I suppose we will drive just to be on the “safe” side. Because there is to be hail, we might park in the parking ramp to protect the car windows, etc. It is fairly close to the church. It is good to get the rain as it has been dry, but it would be nice if it did not come violently all at once. Sometimes we forgot that the weather is one thing we do not control very well. Paula

Still Not Understanding

Hello, Leroy and I will have been married 55 years in June. As of yet we can still have misunderstood conversations. Sometimes I think Leroy reads my mind and then again, I think he does not have a clue about how I think. Today we have had two convoluted conversations. The first was about AA batteries and whether they were good or not and where said batteries had been placed. How this can occupy ten minutes time I do not know, but it did. I, of course, was perfectly clear and understandable. While Leroy’s talk was a mystery. In the end we figured out what the other person was trying to say, but it was a struggle. Later we talked about knives. Guess we should just give them names so we each know to which knife we are referring. At least we did not stab each other. I know some people name their cars although that seems to be out of affection rather than the inability to tell them apart. We do not do that, but we know when we say, your car and my car which we are talking about. Or we might use the brand name. There are times when we have a very clear conversation and I guess that keeps us at it for a bit longer. Paula

Picture Taken

Hello, There was a “photo booth” set up in church on Easter Sunday. We did not have our picture taken. I did not say it, but thought it was a bit silly. Today someone our age, came up and said, “I just had my picture taken. It was so easy. You should do that.” Leroy and I have not had a picture taken of the two of us for some time. We were dressed decently and my hair looked fine It was really all done with computer. There were just three instructions. How to get started, that three pictures would be taken, and how to transfer them to our phones. With help from onlookers we got arranged in a good way. Then Leroy was even laughing because of comments. I think they all turned out quite fine. There is someone standing too close so we have the side of their arm. On the app that these photos are on, I could not find a way to crop the pictures. When I uploaded it to FB, I could crop it so I like that photo better.

Sometimes people complain about technology. It can do amazing stuff if one just knows how to use it. Paula

Binge Watching For sure

Hello, I had my second tooth extracted two days ago. Yesterday I watched TV for about five hours. The idea of taking it easy is not easy for me. I got tired of reading books. So, the shows came on, but they were spread out a bit. I certainly feel better than I did the last time. This tooth popped right out. The last one had to be dug out. That made me tired and the stitches meant more healing time. Now I am rather ready to move on and get some things done around here. Course I should confess that yesterday we washed four windows and put on the screens. Leroy did a lot of the work of cleaning the screens and the window wells. I just washed and dried the window panes. I was a bit tired after that and sitting for a while felt quite good. I also got my 10,000 steps yesterday. That was spread over the day. I see my regular dentist in two weeks for the work to begin on putting in the permanent bridge. He tells me it will be much easier with that tooth gone as they were so crooked. I joked, “Is this the new way to straighten teeth?” It was not recommended. At the oral surgeon’s office, I asked about the reabsorption of a tooth. It seems strange to me since I have not found another person who has ever heard of the reabsorption of a tooth. The woman who was prepping me did say it is rather rare. But then you people have always known that I am rare. Dentists seem to know about reabsorption, but few others have ever heard of it. Paula

Binge Watching

Hello. Is it binge watching if I watch three hours of TV in one day? I have decided to watch All Creatures Great and Small as well as Downton Abby. I was planning to watch it on the TV. Because we contribute to the station that airs it, we can watch older programs. For some reason that ability stopped and it says we need to contribute again. I could still get it on the laptop. Don’t have a clue how to resign in on the TV. For a while we were casting to the TV from the laptop. That worked just fine. For unknown reason we can no longer find the TV listed to cast to it. So, the library was the next solution to the issue. The only thing is that the shows are in season packages. I like to return things on time hence more watching than I usually do. We can renew, but some of the packages are from other libraries so they cannot be renewed. I might get used to a lot of screen time. Leroy is ok watching All Creatures, but prefers not to watch Downton. There is not a lot of room for him to go else where with a good reading light. It means when he is not home, I spent a bit of time. It has doubled or tripled my screen time. I will have the other tooth extracted tomorrow. That will mean some quiet days. More screen time? I do have about three books to read. I started one of them and I am not sure that I really like it. Paula

Does a Nap Help

Hello, When there is a lack of sleep in the night, is the sleep need rescued by napping? I am not sure. I almost never take a nap. Today’s nap almost helps me feel a bit more rested, but a bit groggy as well. It seems to me night sleep is the best. Volunteering was good this morning. I like being busy and feeling like there is a purpose. I helped put some things on the shelves. One person said, “I knocked a couple boxes of macaroni and cheese on the floor at the back of the shelf. Someone else will have to get it.” I squatted down to look under the shelf. Then I needed to get to hands and knees. I found several boxes of the mac and cheese. There was also a box of mashed potatoes in packages along with several cans of things. Someone was quite surprised to see me down on the floor. It is all the moves that I do during the week that help me be able to do this with a certain amount of ease. I have done it for much of my life. I should rest easy at night. but if we have been out for anything it seems to get my sleep pattern off. We have church choir on Wednesday nights and those nights are always hard for me. Paula

Volunteering

Hello, We volunteered at the Saturday evening meal at church. The team was a bit different. A boy was working for his Eagle Scout Badge. He recruited seven other scouts to help him. Only three of us were part of our usual team. That was a clean up crew. It seems to be a bit more specialized. As it involves running the dishwasher. Leroy and I scraped trays put dirty glasses and cups in the proper trays, and sorted the silverware, I guess it is still called silverware even though it is not silver. I will admit to being a rather tired. Leroy did eat a bit of ham and some bread when we were mostly done. I am not much of a ham eater so I did not. I dragged behind Leroy on the way home. Perhaps it was because I was hungry. If any salad or vegetables had been left, I would have eaten some of them. There were more than 150 servings tonight. I have 14,218 steps. Leroy only has a bit over ten thousand. In the morning, I got some groceries since we were out of bananas. Leroy stayed home and did some cleaning which does not get so many steps. We have had a bit of rain the last couple days. It was nice to be able to walk tonight without that. The wind made it rather daunting at times. Paula

What’s In the Attic

Hello, The person that we often help at church gets empty 32-ounce yogurt containers from me. I like to recycle things and she has a need for them from time to time. Just recently, she asked if I would give her some of them because she wanted them for freezing blocks of ice. At the time we were having lunch with two men who were working around the church. “I think I have some in the attic, but I might have gotten rid of them when I found them the other day.” I commented. “Who would keep empty yogurt containers in their attic?” one of the guys asked with a grin. He then started to laugh as did the other man. Leroy joined and I did too. I explained that I had been saving them when the pandemic closed things down as well as church remodeling. There was no room to store such extra items. Then I forgot that I had them in the attic. I found them in a plastic bag. We washed all of them again before taking them to church. I feel good about another use for a throwaway item. I thought my tooth saga was about done. However, next I am going to have another tooth pulled which should make it easier to put in the permanent bridge. I am getting to know my dentist with all of these visits. Paula

Great Forgetting

Hello, Leroy and I had books to return to the library. The plan was to return them on the way to do some shopping. It seems all we do is go to the library and then shopping. But we were out of figs so it was necessary. A week is long enough without a fig. I forgot and turned the wrong way at the end of the alley. That necessitated a bit more traveling. Not impossible, but I was disgusted with myself. Then on the way to the store, Leroy kept not hearing me when he confessed that he had not put in his hearing aids. At least now I could understand his lack. At the store I realized I had forgotten to bring some returns. We only go to this store about once a month so again, I was disgusted with myself. At least it was not so busy when we arrived. I do not like to shop with a lot of people moving around. Generally, I avoid Saturday. Leroy says we are perfecting our forgetting skills. When it was warm, I did not put out the suet for the birds as it was quite soft in the heat. Today I put out a block. It was impressive how quickly they found it and pecked away. Later we refilled the seed supply. That attracted many of them. A squirrel came a bit later and claimed the space. The birds and the squirrel remember quite well where food is. Paula

The Joys of Technology

Hello, I listened to a concert with Sarah singing in the chorus. It was great to be able to hear her and see her. I am more than one thousand miles away. But can almost be there for her. It was the same for Natalie’s piano recital. Technology allows us to connect to family and friends at a distance. We can discuss world events as well as things that are more personal. Paper and pen are also technology that has not totally gone away. I like to use them. At one time in history, they were only available to the wealthy. And now they are almost a throw away item. We can find movies and TV programs that we would like to watch. It does not matter if we see them at the time they are aired. Course sometimes things happen that we do not understand and the source stops. We had been watching some older programs on TV, but it just stopped. We can still get them on the computer. It had worked to cast that to the TV, but just recently it has not worked. Some of today’s technology is a mystery to us. We are grateful for the benefits that we have from technology. We can find open hours, schedules, address, maps, phone numbers and menus. Lots of times we have no excuses for missing something. I forgot to save this letter when I left the computer. Then I did not click on the right button to save it when it opened on my return. My memory did a good job of getting most of it. But you know my first run was much more entertaining. Paula

Breaking and Entering

Hello, We got to Tai Chi and no one was there. The guy who leads it came with a key. Unfortunately, there was a new deadbolt on the door. He did not have the key for that. I called the library person who lives in town, only to learn that she was at an appointment in another city. I called the library person who usually lets us in. There was no answer so I left a message, but did not hope for much result. There is another person in town, who would have a key, but I did not know her phone number. I called another person who would have a key. She was several states away. She gave me instructions about getting into her house. A door had been left unlocked because they were expecting someone. She also gave careful instructions for finding her key. It is a short drive from the library. Leroy went with me in case I did not remember any instruction. All went as planned. It felt a bit or quite uncomfortable going into someone’s home when they were not there. I have no such compunction going into downstairs friends’ place because I have done it so often to water plants while they are gone. There were only seven of us at tai chi. Some were on line and some in house. Usually there about eleven there. It was still worth it. I did have a challenge to calm down and move into a more meditative state. There is always more work to be done. At the end of class, I put the key back where it belongs. Someone saw me coming out the door. Did they realize I should not be there? Paula

Easy Shoppping Trip

Hello, Yesterday I went shopping. Leroy told me he would rather stay home. That sounded like a fine idea. We are looking for a new squeegee for the shower. Leroy had already looked at the closer hardware store. They only had some rather large ones. At the big box store, I searched in vain for such an item. A helpful store worker found them and directed me that way. They had two, one that was $7, but about a foot wide. There was another shorter one, but it cost $11. That did not seem like a bargain. I called Leroy to get his opinion. Because the old was still usable, we put off the purchase and would do more looking. I found a denim shirt in the men’s department that was on clearance for $3. I called Leroy again. That shirt went into the cart along with another $3 shirt. Then I found some long underwear on clearance at $3 per package. Small, large and very large were all that were left. I called Leroy again. Since he usually wears medium, we discussed the sizes as well as did he need them at all. He suggested, “Buy all of them and we know where to give away the rest.” At check out, my total was the cost of one shirt, if the shirt had been full price. Bargain, indeed! A stop at a big box hardware/lumber store produced a squeegee that I purchased. On to the grocery store. I only called Leroy two more times to learn if I should buy this or that. Would it have been easier if he had just come along? Paula

Another Visitor

Hello, Yesterday, Leroy heard noises in the spare bedroom. He said, “I think we have a mouse.” The chewing noise continued behind the bookcase that holds his stamp collection. Upon investigation with a flashlight and looking behind the book case, he saw a mouse run. Not the happiest moment in my life, but not the worst either. I set a mouse trap in that room. It was one that already had peanut butter on it. It had been in the back porch, but no mice came near. I had great hopes for catching one overnight, but it not happen. I moaned a bit about that when Leroy said, “Do we have a discriminating mouse that does not want to be killed?” I don’t like the word killed applied to what I am trying to do. What does that say about me? Today I refreshed the peanut butter on all four of the traps that are in our apartment. I was here all morning and never heard a trap snap. Mice are okay, but I do not want them to live in the house with me. We think the mouse came in from the attic. I had noticed that some of the insulation on the door had been pulled out. We suspect it was that mouse. Leroy wondered if it was making a nest. Oh, great, we could have an expanding population. Paula

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

Forgot What?

Hello, We sang parts II and III of Handels Messiah this afternoon. I carefully packed my music, spare shoes, glasses, and phone. Stopped at the bathroom, just to be prepared before going to the seat. Just when it was almost time to sing, I realized I had left my glasses upstairs in my backpack. I could see the director just fine, but the music was a challenge. The person ahead of me remained seated for the entire concert requiring me to hold my music up high. That was a good thing as it should be high to see the director and the music without moving my head. My arm got tired since the book is heavy and some of the selections are long. I was astonished at how much I remembered. Especially, the second part was almost all in my brain. That was a good feeling. The third part was more challenging. Apparently, I had sung the selections in part two enough in the past to have them in my memory. I did know two of the selections in part three, but the rest were not there. The last is the amen and that is the only word. Ahead of time I thought that would be easier. However, the notes were harder to connect to where we were. One thing that was good about this, my voice did not feel so stressed. It seems I am forcing it when I can see the notes. I just let them come with proper voice placement and breath control. It was even rather fun. Paula

Gleaner

Hello, I brought home some grapefruit that were fragile and had some bad spots. The person who gave them to me called me a gleaner. That must be true as I am quite comfortable cutting off the rotten spots to see if the rest can be salvaged. For instance, half of two grapefruit went to the compost pile and we ate the other halves. They were quite fine. I grew up with the idea that it was ok to cut off the rotten part and eat the rest. We fed food scrapes to the dog or the pigs, but we did not have that many things to give them. Perhaps it is because most of the food we ate, we grew ourselves. The labor of growing makes it more valuable. It is hard to throw away the result of hard work. If we had extra produce, I remember my mother offering it to others. much of that went to the minister and his family. When we butchered, meat was set aside to give to them. We had more things to share than money to share. There have been times when I have gone to a grocery store that marked down items that needed to move out of the store. Many of those bargains appeal to me. Is that another type of gleaning? Could this term be also applied to the fact that I am more comfortable buying clothes on clearance that at full price? We know spring is coming because the Dairy Queen close to our house has opened. Paula

Sparrows

Hello, We get many sparrows at the bird feeder. Leroy even got out the bird book to try to see how many different species were out there. He did not report. Perhaps he felt unsuccessful about identification. Many starlings also come. We are not so excited about either of these bird types. We do see some cardinals, juncos, nuthatches, and the occasional chick-a-dee. Some downy woodpeckers also come from time to time. We would like to see more color, but have come to appreciate the appearance of the sparrow. We seem not to appreciate the ordinary as much as the occasional. Is that true of much of life? We have paid our car insurance for another six months. Sometimes we wonder if we should just have one car since we are both retired. There is the day when we want to go different directions and we are glad to have two cars. In our visit to the insurance company, we took along the papers that they sent. Our purpose was to learn if we needed to keep these papers. It was decided that we could eliminate all of them because everything is kept online. Paula

Is it that cold?

Hello, Before we got into church someone asked, “Is it that cold?” They came in a car and probably did not go out of their house to get in the car. Leroy and I had on winter coats, scarves, hats, and mittens. We were not too warm. It was in the 20’s with a brisk wind blowing. It was nice to get in the building. The trip home was disappointingly not much warmer. I walked this afternoon and it was still cool even though it was in the 30’s F. One thing about being in the cold, it is so wonderful to come into a warm building. What a gift that we often just take for granted as our due. I thought that my Thanksgiving cactus plants were not to rebloom this year. But two of them are growing buds just now. It is exciting to see that. Only one of the three amaryllis is sending up a bud. The poinsettias are starting to lose leaves at a steady rate. The violets look good. It seems there is always something on one end of the bloom cycle. It puts a lot of color in my life. Our rubber band supply is set for a long time. I mentioned to a friend that I had gone to the store for rubber bands and they were out. He had some from his newspaper. He brought me many more than we need, or else they will last three years. Life is full of unexpected riches. Paula

Some Jobs Change

Hello, We had planned to be at church to do our usual unloading help. That was to be followed by cleaning the balcony. Our cleaning helper was not well so we would not do the whole balcony, but planned to do a part of it. We helped onload and put away some things. We finished the stowing of items and moved on to the balcony. The organist was practicing. He said, “It is just fine if you want to clean.” I moved a few things and got ready to clean the window blinds. It would not release all the way. Another guy came by. He also could not get it to release. He had another suggestion, “The new family bathroom is finished and needs cleaning so it can be used on Sunday.” Off we went in another direction. We had to brush or dust all surfaces to remove any leftover plaster. Then we had to clean the mirror, wash walls, the door, and the floor. We followed that by dusting and washing the baseboard in the area outside of that bathroom. All of the dust from one project seems to float around any open space. We were both tired by the time we went home. Paula

Another Trip Planned

Hello, One of the multiple cruise catalogs caught our attention. After talking with some of our traveling friends, we checked into the possibility. The trip to the middle east involved such a long plane ride that it lost some of the luster. I have wanted to go to eastern Europe. That seemed much more possible. After talking to the agent, we signed up and deposited money. We even upgraded the room so we have a balcony. Then we checked again with our friends about them joining us. For various reasons that will not happen. Almost immediately I had some quandaries. Could we travel without friends? We have not done that for many years. I have come around to the idea that it will be ok, but wonder if it will be as much fun. All of the excursions were a bit daunting with time involved. Some of them were listed as a higher difficulty. One has some altitude involved. I wonder now, can Leroy’s heart manage that? He tells me, “I will spend some more time working to get stronger.” There is only one city that we have ever been to and that is Budapest. We will again spend two nights there. All of the rest are just a one day stop except for Bucharest where we start. I believe it should be an interesting trip. We will go in November over Thanksgiving time. Hopefully the airports will not be too challenging two days after that holiday. That will be for the return trip. Paula

Harassing a Squirrel

Hello, Yesterday I came home to see a squirrel hanging on the birdfeeder. I came on the deck and told it, “Get off of there. Go away.” It moved but not really off the deck. I went closer and yelled again. It moved some more. It was almost within touching distance. I stamped my feet and repeated my advice. Finally, it left and ran up a close tree. Today I saw it back on the feeder. I raced downstairs, grabbed a broom, and proceeded to chase and run at it. It moved away very quickly to that tree. Later I saw it coming back on the deck. I opened the upstairs window, put my head close to the window, and yelled, “Get out of here. This is for the birds.” That squirrel ran up the tree. It must recognize my voice. But then it came sneaking back. “Oh no, it is back again.” I told Leroy. This time it was not impressed with the window yell. Once again for me it was time to go downstairs, grab the broom and go out. We were gone for a while. It was once again on the feeder. Leroy commented, “They are smart. It knew you were gone and it could do what it wanted.” I guess the squirrel is winning since I cannot be glued to the window all day. Paula

Saving money is a hard job

Hello, Saving money can be harder than shoveling snow. I would rather shovel snow at least there I know what I am doing. We have a foldable lamp that we like a lot. We can no longer recharge the battery. I ordered a new one today. The price was about what I expected, but there was a $7 shipping charge if the order was less than $35. What more could I buy that I really wanted? After thinking about it, I decided to get some make up. The phone rang and I answered as I was trying to put in the credit card numbers. Somehow the numbers were not correct. I forgot to see if the total was over the required amount which I had not written down and could not remember. When I finally thought to check about the shipping or not, the order was being processed and not changeable at that point. I had been just two dollars short of free shipping. Grumble, grumble. In the whole of life, it is a small thing, but annoying none the less. I do not order much on line. Leroy is more likely to do that. Practice does make it easier. Shoveling snow was not so easy this morning. It was wet and heavy. In places it was rather deep because the wind and blown it around. When we walked to church the places that had been shoveled were actually slippery compared to the unshoveled where we could walk though snow. When we came home the sidewalks that had cleared were dry even though the sun was not shinning. There must have been some residual heat to melt and dry it. Paula

Getting to Know my Dentist

Hello, Another dental checkup confirmed that I am healing well. It will be another month before the work is started on creating the bridge. Here I was hoping for it to be done. Guess I have no concept about how long all of this takes. Some minor adjustments were made so my jaw will not ache so much when I have the spacer appliance in my mouth. I can eat almost anything as long as the pieces are small enough that I do not have to bite them off. We have a dinner to attend for the volunteers at church. I will not be able to eat with this thing in my mouth. Can I handle eating in public with the gap in the front of my mouth? Am I vain? I like to think I am not, but it shows in this type of decision. Paula

Amaryllis Planted

Hello, I attended to some hard things this afternoon. The morning went well with a spirituality meeting. The first thing this afternoon, after I worked up my courage, I called the insurance company about a prescription. Does insurance rule the world? I learned that there was a pharmacy that was cheaper than the one where I had gotten my prescription. And the insurance company would not cover what I had purchased. The other more expensive place they did cover was forty dollars more than what I paid. Since I already had the compounded medicine, it will be next time before I check into this third place. After that I ordered more checks. We almost never use them, but we only have seven left. There are certainly widely varying prices for this item. I finally called and talked to a robot to get the job done. After that it was time to plant the amaryllis. They have been waiting patiently. Leroy helped a bit. We decided that it needed to be done in the garage because of the strength of the wind. There are now three pots in the house. The bulbs are small, but still feel firm so I am hoping for some growth and maybe even a bloom or two. Paula

Just an Ordinary Day

Hello, It is hard to know what to write about when the day seems so ordinary. Leroy has been sick, is that ordinary? He did not feel well on Sunday with respiratory issues. Yesterday he woke up, declared, “I feel so much better.” About half an hour later, he said, “I am so tired. I could go back to bed.” That is about what happened again today. I have heard of many people who have had some illness, comment on how tired they were for days afterwards. He is still doing some things to help me, but I have tried to step up for myself. My mouth is still delicate. I can do some of the tasks of other kinds. I too do not feel as peppy as I sometimes do. It is probably from too much sitting around. Seems to me that pulls a person down. Movement is energizing. Now if I just felt like dusting, the place would look better. One thing for sure we know some who have serious health issues and they are much younger than we are. We are grateful that what we are dealing with is something that will be resolved in time. Plus, we both had some time outdoors even if the wind was a bit strong. Paula

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