Vanity, Rules?

Hello,

We walked to church with no wind, or not much and the temp right around zero or three above depending on the source of information. I did not want my hair to be extremely flattened so I wore my puffy hat that is not quite so good at the warming job. By the time we got to church my cheeks and the rest of the front of my face where quite ready to step inside.

Going home no such restrictions applied consequently I was much more comfortable with my hooded neck warmer. Beside, the sun was out and the temperature had surely risen. I am grateful for coats with hoods. I have given mine plenty of use this winter. I don’t even like to purchase a jacket without a hood as I never know when I might feel the need for a little something more. With the hood attached I am always prepared.

I cook frequently without a recipe especially when making bean soup. The batch I made yesterday was delicious. Spices or flavorings were: bay leaves, a half stick of cinnamon, cumin, basil, garlic, and onion. I cannot duplicate it because except for the bay leaves and the cinnamon, I have no idea how much I put in. Leroy too thought it was great. At least we will enjoy it a half week.

For dessert there was cranberry gingerbread topped with plain yogurt and unsweetened homemade applesauce. It was also quite good. Sometimes the meals come together and sometimes not.

Paula

Life is the same

Hello,

I cannot remember if I told you, but Leroy had another interview with yet one more Bishop. This one is for the Rocky Mountain Synod. He seemed to be quite fine with Leroy and is submitting his name to a congregation there in far western Colorado. So far the bishops seem to like Leroy, but he has yet to hear from a congregation. I suspect the age is a problem for them even though Leroy has stated that he would like to work for five more years. That may not seem so long, but some pastors do not even stay that long, so I consider it quite a long time.

Leroy worked today. It might be the last Saturday that he works for some time. His boss does not feel it is right to ask Leroy and the other person whose time has been cut so much to work on Saturday.

I shoveled today. It was a nice day to do that. Temperatures were above zero and the snow was falling softly with almost no wind behind it. I would guess that we got at least two or three inches. This morning I told Leroy he cannot complain about too much snow until it gets to be April. If it is still snowing then that would be the time to complain.

We are noticing that the days are getting longer. Leroy does bemoan the fact that he cannot ride the bike to work. On the one day the temp was high enough, the road surface was too riddled with ice and snow hazards. At least we can still walk.

We walked to a concert at Coe College last night. It was quite cold to be out, but the walk is only ½ mile so it was not a problem. As we were coming home some girls came out of the dorm. They were dressed much differently than we were. No hats, no gloves, and short jackets rather than coats. Is it our age?

Paula

Leroy's Birthday Gift

Hello,

I had Leroy come shopping with me so he could select his own gift. I thought he might like some new slippers because the ones that I bought for him last year fit my foot better. Hence I have been wearing my gift to him. He was unable to find slippers, but he did settle on a couple of action movies. That is good because I am ill equipped to meet such a need. Leroy and I have different taste when it comes to movies. I am hard pressed to say that he would like something when I do not have a clue what is available.

This afternoon on a trip to the grocery store, great cool walk by the way, I got him a pound of Swiss cheese. Now his birthday gift is complete. After looking on line he found some slippers that he thinks might be good. He is not quite ready to take the plunge and get them, one, what will be involved to send them back if they do not fit, and two, they cost more than he usually spends on slippers. They are the brand that he is currently wearing. We found them on a special sale. Sometimes special deals are good and sometimes they spoil us for life.

After I came home from the grocery store, we each had a rice cake with Swiss cheese on it. After all I cannot let him eat all of it. He declared it good, “but Schmeir Brick is even better.” I think that is how you spell that cheese. It is a smelly type that we buy from a cheese factory in Wisconsin. I suppose I could look it up on line and order it. Another possibility would be next summer if we are in the area to take a road trip and get some at the store.

We have both been enjoying the poinsettias. I think, however, that they must have had fruit flies on them as we are now inundated. I have put out the cider vinegar and soap. A few, maybe 50 to 70 have been enticed, but there are still many flying around. Then one of those poinsettias just drooped and dropped several leaves. Do you think nine is too many for me to remember to water all of them? Or did it just give up on life?

Paula

The Drive to Work

Hello,

On Thursday mornings I do yoga at 8:00 am. So I get on the road at 7:30 so I can set up and have the door open for the participants.

I went up the ramp to get on the interstate and noticed that traffic was moving slowly, much slower than usual. I moved into the lane with some hesitation. I could stay in the lane that I use to come on and just get off at the next exit, meander through town, and go to work the back way. After a bit of consideration I did move back over to the exit lane, but decided that traffic was still moving and it would surely go faster later so I speeded up a little to get ahead of some cars where there was a bit more space. Are the other drivers thinking that I just used that ploy to get ahead of others? Before the next exit I noticed that traffic in the oncoming lanes was stopped. I could see flashing lights from emergency vehicles on both sides. A couple cars ahead of me moved into another long exit lane again I thought that might be my best move so I followed. I had not been there long when I noticed that traffic going my direction was speeding up a little. I once again made that move to get ahead of some others as the cars next to me were packed together. Now I have moved forward quite a bit, hoping that no one is cursing me as someone who budges in line.

It was not long after this that I saw the tow truck gathering up a dented truck. After that we seemed to be in the clear and it was business as usual, just a bit slower. Frost was visible on the road surface so perhaps all decided to respect that.

All the yoga people had gotten there before me, but I still managed to get set up and ready without starting very late.

Later in the day I learned that there were accidents on both sides of the road on those notorious curves. I was fortunate to have gotten through in a timely manner.

Paula

More About Those Napkins

Hello,

Last May Sophia and Logan came to visit and I briefly thought about finishing sewing names on napkins. By working hard I managed to let time go by and the napkins remained an idea. I am diligent!

Brian tells me that he and his children will visit us in March. The napkins put out a plea to complete them. It was so strong that I could not ignore it. I experimented with stitches, asked Leroy’s opinion, and set to work. The first day I completed Logan’s name because it was shorter, by one letter, than Sophia. The next day I took a little time to get started on Sophia. Now I was excited. I had finished two and they looked ok. A few days later I tackled Nora, wondering why all the grandchildren could not have four letters making them just a breeze to do. Then I moved on to Olivia, rested two days, and started on the last two names that win the prize for being long; Natalie and Alexandria. I had now completed this job which would have taken many people just a week or so and not years. What can I say? I am just good.

Now my plan is to do the last two napkins with Leroy’s name and my name. At least they are not the longest names in the world. After that I will put our children and spouses on alternate colored napkins. My plan is to get all of them ready for our family get together in the spring or summer. Do you want to make bets on whether they will be done?

It might depend on our life situation and whether we move soon or not. Course if I move to a place where I do not have a job, I will have more time and no excuses. Oops, that did not work in the past.

Paula

Arts and Crafts, Who Me?

Hello,

Before you ask me to complete any project that might be in the arts and crafts area, read the following.

At some point my mother embroidered her grandchildren’s’, children’s, and my parents names on napkins. She did not really embroider, but just used the sewing machine and made a quite simple stitch doing cursive letters. I do not think it was easy. It seemed to me that everyone liked finding their own napkin when we visited. I thought it would be a great idea to do that now. I had spoken with Jen about it. She too thought it ws a good idea so she got eight nice napkins second hand, after all we would not want to put too much money into this idea. I am not sure how long she held on to these napkins before she realized she was not going to get at this grand scheme. She asked me if I would like to finish the task.

I readily agreed, thinking that I would be able to do this in short order. However, I put them aside and forgot about them. Rather I did not totally forget, but would wonder how to do this so it would not be too hard. This thinking and wondering went on for a year or two or maybe three. Last year before Christmas as I anticipated the visit of Sarah’s and Miriam’s families I thought I should get this task done. Well after discussions with my sister I managed to decide on printing rather than cursive. Actually I never considered cursive for long, it seemed too hard. I cut some paper the size of the napkin and experimented writing the grandchildren’s names in the space. After I felt competent I wrote the names on the napkins in non washable black marker. After all it seemed to me that black behind the stitching would not detract and besides I would be able to see and follow it. Somehow it was getting too close to Christmas and I was feeling stressed so I put all that aside once more to be completed at a calm time.

Paula

Sun Shine

Hello,

The sun shining in the computer room is beautiful as it lights up the two poinsettias sitting there. A bright yellow primrose is also giving its small but best show. The shamrock is not blooming, but it offers wonderful green color. What beauty is mine!

In spite of the cold I have recently taken two good walks. Saturday I just went around a large section of the blocks close to the house. On Sunday we walked the mile to church. On the way we learned that it was two degrees F. The wind was not strong or it was at our backs so even that was a pleasant fifteen minute walk. We do not loiter on the cooler days.

Someone at church asked me if I had made a cake for Leroy. Oops! Forgot! I explained that usually we have pie instead. When I got home I asked Leroy what he wanted. He replied, “Pineapple squares.”

Luckily I had the ingredients for that so it was doable even if I had not made this recipe in some years. That smart guy knew I did not have the ingredients for many pies. It was a recipe that my mother used to make. I, however, did not frost them. We ate it last night because I work from 1pm to 8 pm today and Leroy works from 8 am to 5 pm. Consequently we see little of each other on Mondays and Tuesdays. With Leroy’s more abbreviated work schedule I am not sure how it will all be scheduled. He is thinking that he might work on Monday and Wednesday.

At any rate with all this togetherness we are getting some cleaning done. We did the kitchen Saturday. We managed to keep arguments to one, but it was a good one. Leroy was upset because I “horned” in on his territory. I am going to try to watch that in the future. Even at age 66 I still have more social skills to acquire and put in my pocket. Will I ever learn it all?

Paula