Life Now

Hello,

It is amazing how a bit of pain focuses your thoughts and life.  I lost a chunk of a crown on Thursday.  Brian urged me to call the dentist even though they might be closed. They, unfortunately, were closed until Monday however a person had not yet left. I made the earliest possible appointment on that Monday. “In the meantime what should I do about the pain to my tongue as it is stabbed by the jagged edge?” I wondered.

The person answering the phone suggested that I get some orthodontic wax.  That helped, but I was unable to get it to stay on my tooth and eat. I ate a minimum of food, consuming just enough to stop hunger pangs.

Sleeping was a bit frightful as I was afraid the hunk of wax would come off and I might choke on it in my sleep. “What would it be like for my grandchildren to have their Granny die while they were sleeping on the floor beside the bed? I wondered. (Am I dramatic or what?)

That did not happen. I learned in the course of Friday and Saturday how to talk, eat and swallow with more comfort. However, I am still looking forward to seeing the dentist because I know that my life will be better following this visit. What a gift that we have such care available to us.

I was going to weigh myself yesterday morning, but forgot. I ate a bit more yesterday than I had for the past two and a half days. I weighed this morning and I had lost at least two pounds. Surprisingly enough I did not feel hungry much of that time in spite of the diminished eating. Perhaps the thought of pain while I consumed something put hunger on hold.

Paula

Spring

Hello,

Spring is coming. The signs? Much of the snow has melted, people are walking more, people are hanging outside to smoke, people are talking about grilling, and more people are riding bicycles. There are also more birds around. When it is warmer outside, our apartment is frequently colder than when it is very cold outside, perhaps because the furnace does not run frequently.

The mail just came. Surprise, surprise there is a recall on the Saturn that I drive. I am not sure why, but it surprises me because it is ten years old. Seems it has taken awhile to find this need. There is something about the starter that could cause it to stop unexpectedly. It is recommended that no other weight be on the key ring. So I am going to just use the key by itself until the parts come.

Leroy is settling into his additional part time job. Yesterday he spent some time at both concerns making a very full day of it. Guess he is going to try to take Mondays off, reminiscent of former days. The museum library is closing on Mondays because of the limited staff hours. Apparently there is not much scheduled at the church job for Mondays so it seems like the best possibility.

When we got our last checks I actually made more than Leroy. Now for a little while he will again be make more than I do. It is astonishing how our income bounces around. Feast or famine and all that. I believe that it makes us less dependent, than many US citizens, on money for our happiness and sense of stability.

When I come home from work tomorrow Brian, Sophia and Logan should be here. They will stay through Sunday. I am looking forward to spending time with them. Jen is working; consequently she is keeping track of the home and dog.

Paula

A Car Door Handle

Hello,

A few weeks ago the inside door handle on Leroy’s car broke. Can’t remember if I told you about this before or not, if this is a repeat I apologize. Leroy had told me about this issue, but I did not realize what a bother it was until I rode with him. More than once he turned off the car only to realize that he could not get out the door. At that point he had to turn the car back on, put the window down, stick his arm out, open the door with the outside handle, pull his arm back in, raise the window, turn off the car, get out, lock the door, and go his way. Coming in from the outside was no problem as the outside handle worked.

Hurrah for the Internet. Leroy found instructions on taking the door handle off and putting on the new. It all looked very simple. He ordered a replacement. With the sub zero temps he put if off because he did not want to get into some type of unanticipated predicament that could not be solved easily. Besides he was concerned about his cold hands. He could be in our unheated garage; however the temps could also be well below freezing.

Yesterday in the late afternoon and the above freezing temps, I first learned that Leroy had worked on it and gotten the old handle off when he called up the stairs for me to give him the new one. In less than 15 minutes he was back in the house. He can now get out of his car without thought and planning. He was so happy. Now he is looking at replacing the radio in that car. He found one at Goodwill, did not buy it, but sent me there the next time I was out and about. He wonders if the radio I brought home was a different one because there were no cords with it. He still has hopes of being able to accomplish this task with his limited knowledge and the help of the Internet. If all else fails I figure we just made a $3 donation to Goodwill.

Paula

Great Weekend

Hello,

Saturday I volunteered at our church for a larger area meeting. It was so great to see people I know from a distance. Hugs are great. We did have one couple stay and visit a while so Leroy was also able to interact with them. He enjoyed that. I told him about all the people I had seen passing on their greetings but he would have rather seen them in person.

I walked to church but got a ride home. However because I was moving around on my feet most of the day I figure that I got in the other half mile, so it seems quite honest to record the two miles for my daily walk during Lent. I had forgotten my pedometer. I suspect I walked four or five miles.

Today we had Fastnachts for my co-workers. It was an easy deal because there are not so many of them. One batch was plenty with just enough dough left for eight cinnamon rolls. Six invited and four came with family. It was fun to see them. Leroy had not met all of them so he appreciated that too.

That Leroy went out and chopped away some of the ice close to our garage. He declared, “We and our neighbors must have shade on this part of the ally as the rest of it was almost clear of ice.” It is to be nice for the next couple days. I am looking forward to much more ice disappearing in those days.

This morning we walked much of the way to church in the street. It never occurred to me that I would walk in the street of a city that is over 100,000 people. Small towns? Yes, I did that all the time there. Course I walk in the street at Brian’s house and their city is connected to a larger metropolitan area. We walked in the street because the previous days melt created many thin icy spots that were hard to see.

Paula

Leroy's Job

Hello,

Starting on Tuesday, Leroy will have a temporary part time job that will last until sometime in April. He is going to fill in for the visitation pastor at our church while she has her hip replaced and recovers from that experience. Leroy has spent some time talking with the pastors and getting a sense of what is required. With Leroy it is hard to tell how he is reacting as he holds feelings close, but he is excited about this venture. He has been chattering on and on about how it will all work out. The schedule at the church is quite scattered. His museum boss is very open to making this work. He will be working on an hourly basis, but it seems that he will have no trouble adding 20 hours to his 15 hours at the museum. He feels one of the more difficult things might be to find a day off in the week. Because the church is paying more per hour he will come out ahead financially. We will see if he would indeed like to work part time in two rather divergent careers. I think it will be good because it will give him the variety that he craves.

Just when I had gotten slightly adjusted to having Leroy around more he is going to disappear. We had agreed to help Brian and Jen by babysitting when they took a vacation, but it looks now as if it will just be me. I have done such a thing in the past so I can do it again, but I was looking forward to having his company and input.

On another note entirely, I got my haircut at the cosmetology school in the neighborhood. I had told my regular cutter that I needed to economize and she took that information graciously. She did tell me that I could get a good cut at the school and I now know that to be true. Course it might have helped because the stylist was ready to graduate. It is nice because it is so close, a mere four blocks away.

Paula

Walking in the Cold

Hello,

Brian’s dog, Cloe is so excited to see us. One reason might be because I always take her on walks. So not long after we arrived, Leroy and I bundled up and took this eager animal for a walk through the park. It takes about 30 minutes. Their street was covered with packed down snow that almost forms ice. The plowed paths in the park were much the same condition. I felt fairly secure with my wonderful warm Sorrel boots that seldom slip. Leroy also had on Sorrels so he was in good shape as well. We had two layers on our legs and our face masks on. It was a nice walk in spite of the low temperature.

Logan was disappointed that he did not get to walk with us. Saturday morning the temperature was again below zero so Leroy and I walked without Logan. I told him if it warmed up in the day we would go then. In the afternoon the temperature was a slight bit above zero. We headed out for a shorter walk. Logan’s scarf kept slipping off his cheeks. As red circles started to form, the walk was cut short over the protests of Mr. Logan. Leroy had on his face mask and he tells me that he does not get such a good breath then. He tried to carry Logan back to speed up the return, but could not manage that the entire time because he was not getting enough oxygen. Sophia did not seem to be bothered by the cold.  Back in the house Logan’s cheeks turned a bright red and stayed that way until in the evening when aloe was applied. Guilt, guilt settled in.

Sunday morning Leroy, Cloe, and I headed out for our walk. As we were getting into the park, I declared, “I am getting cold; let’s just do a short loop. Or if you want you can go longer, but I must go back.”

The cold was seeping into my arms and legs. Long underwear was not enough protection. When we entered the safety of the house, Brian said, “Here is why you were cold. It is -15 degrees F. and feels like -32 degrees.”

It is a good thing we came back when we did. Fifteen minutes was plenty at those conditions. Later on the way to church the temperature was still at -12 degrees. Cold, cold! I am grateful for car heaters and furnaces in homes. All in working condition!

Paula

Going to Brian's

Hello,

Even though we are home I want to tell about our trip to Brian’s for the weekend. We started off in good time in the morning with clear roads, cold surrounding our warm car, no snow in the air, and the sun shining.

Leroy had me drive first, out of some sense of chivalry that is he would be driving in the bigger city and letting me cruise through open country. He did sleep a good bit of the time. Heading north, I had noticed a significant increase in the amount of snow on the sides of the road. Also there was some packed ice under the overpasses.

After Leroy started driving we noticed increasing cloud cover, ice under all overpasses, and snow blowing across the road. After a while Leroy declared, “I think it is snowing and not just blowing snow. It seemed like minutes later we were enveloped in a cloud of snow that was so thick we lost sight of the vehicles ahead of us. It seemed that it was clearer across the median with cars lights visible from a greater distance.

We were both staring intently ahead. “Is that a car?” I wondered occasionally. Or “Do you see a truck ahead?”

Leroy has better vision then I do so it was a good thing that he was driving although he was tense as a board with a firm grip on the wheel. It was frightening to zoom up on a slower car and when following the semis the snow was swirling around with such abandon that we felt lost in our own world. I kept wanting to push the snow aside. I had heard on the radio that it was snowing more than an inch an hour with a brisk wind. In these conditions should one slow down, drive the speed limit, get off the road, or just cry and wail for help?

We were less than an hour from Brian’s house. He told us it was not snowing there. So we proceeded with caution, although quite a lot of speed as we were afraid someone might run into us, and hoped to be out of it soon.

Later we learned that there was a multicar pile up that closed the road for a couple hours. I am so thankful that we missed out on all of that excitement.

Paula