Not Moving

Hello,

Leroy and I will be staying in Cedar Rapids for another year, maybe longer. Leroy is not sure how long he will work now before the pastor decides she is able to come back to work. She has given a letter of resignation to the congregation and is retiring at the end of June. At time Leroy will be hired as a half time interim visitation pastor. He will work about 20 hours for the church while continuing his 15 hours for the museum. It is expected that the church job will last for at least a year while they look for an additional pastor. I am amazed because I kept saying that Leroy would like a half time church job and a half time library job, I had no clue how such a thing could happen. It is now his job with a foot in both worlds. How did that happen? You know if he had not lost half of his job at the museum it would probably not have materialized. Things fall into place in the most amazing ways.

Now one of my goals will be to not accumulate things. A longer stay has a tendency to lead to that possibility. A loaming move causes me to question all purchases in the light of weight and do we really need it.

One purchase I will make is a new water kettle. Ours died. Leroy and I both like them so the search is on. It was under warranty consequently money will be refunded. I would have liked it if they replaced, but there is the right water kettle out there waiting for me.

Leroy does move around a lot without dragging the whole house with him. Yesterday he walked a total of eight miles. I talked him into riding his bike this morning even though it was cold. He was stopping at the church on the way to work so I thought that would give him a chance to warm up before heading out for the last two miles. It is to be much warmer this evening when he comes home.

Paula

Life as Usual

Hello,

In spite of the thin layer of ice with a bit of snow on top, Leroy walked to work today. He had planned to ride the bike, but after shoveling off the sidewalk and discovering the under layer of ice, he thought walking was the better course.

I confess to urging him to walk or ride, but this morning I kept interjecting, “You could even drive.” A comment that he handily ignored.

He is at the church in the morning so that is only a mile, but from there he walks to the museum which is another two miles. After working all afternoon he will come home, a three mile walk. Later he will go back to church for a meeting. I will not be home so I can have no influence on his walking or driving decision. Oh I know the exercise is good, but this seems like a lot of walking especially because it is quite windy and cold today. But Leroy is tough, right? Who could guess by looking at him?

Our water kettle decided not to work this morning. We were both quite sad. I will have to contact the company because it is still under warranty. I even have the sales recite. However I put off attending to this because I do not like to make phone calls.

It would be helpful if our phone worked, but that will be another day to try to get that fixed again. It will be some day when I feel stronger and do not have to go to work. For now we use our cell phones or I make calls using Google software on the computer.  The hard part is that if someone calls us on our home phone, we do not know about it. I believe it takes messages and stores them in cyberspace. Seems to me cyberspace must be more and more crowded. In the overall picture of life will any of those stored stuff matter? I am grateful that we can still communicate with the outside world. We even have choices.

Paula

Up and Down

Hello,

I am almost well today as tiredness is almost gone. Would you believe that Leroy and I were still in bed after 7:00 this morning? I do not know when that has happened in the past. Leroy is not working today so he was not scheduled to get up. I first woke at 4:30 with just a bit of a struggle before I relinquished myself to more sleep. It was wonderful to wake up refreshed. I still have blown my nose a few times and coughed a little, but I think the end is close for this virus.

Leroy has gotten some business taken care of in terms of retirement and his pension so that is also good. They had failed to send him all of the papers that he needed. He felt confused because he could not follow the instructions.

The down side is that our landlords are purposing their space and in so doing they have moved the computer router to the further corner of the house. Our computers still pick up the wireless signal, but the phone is having trouble. Last night we put the phone receiver in three different rooms, but it seemed to show little regard for such care. I am not sure what we will have to do. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. Surely we will solve this as we have solved issues in the past, but I really want it done effortlessly right now.

An upside of the refurbishing is that we have garnered quite a lot of boards that can be used to make the attic friendlier to cross. Leroy and Clark are putting these boards on top of the insulation up there. Luckily those two guys work well together.

We had a little snow on the ground this morning. Is that an up or a down? Depends on who you might speak with. It is almost all melted now so it is not a problem, but warmer would be nice.

Paula

Leroy's Sermon

Hello,

Well it was not the worst of sermons and not the best of sermons. Actually it was probably in Leroy’s top ten, maybe I was even impressed. Several people told me about how good it was. One rather emotional woman even told me that it was speaking directly to her sister. Then she added it was Leroy and God working together. It is humbling to know that we do not know what will touch another person and their needs at the moment.

At any rate I was not embarrassed to think that I was connected to Leroy when he conducts himself as well as he did. Next time will be more comfortable knowing that he can do well in this situation.

Besides the service last night and the three this morning as well as the radio recording on Thursday Leroy has a nursing home service this afternoon. Next week he will just do the liturgy and not the sermon so there is a little less pressure, but still a bit of time involved. I have no clue about nursing home services. I cannot get a feel for what he will be doing next week. I just take care of my own schedule. My impression is that Leroy is happy to be back in the saddle part of the time. But not the whole saddle as he does not have to deal with all the issues of the church just a part of it. That seems to fit him well.

I think I have been unwell even though not lying in bed. Today I feel much better, however I could hardly sing because taking a deep breath caused me to cough. Then my ears are stuffed so I had a harder time discerning the pitches. And once in a while I needed to blow my nose. When wearing a choir robe without pockets it is difficult to know what to do with tissue. However, I remembered taking piano lessons from a nun who kept a hankie stuffed somewhere up the sleeve of her habit. I followed her example and stuffed mine into the sleeve of my blouse out of sight under the robe. With the tight wrist it held them nicely while waiting for my need.

Paula

Sea Shells and other comments

Hello,

While Brian and his kids were here we got out the sea shells. Brian was amazed that we have moved them so many times without getting rid of them. He had decided to get rid of them several years ago. I do not remember when that was even, but I could not bear to part with them. When we lived in Chariton we did have them in the display case in the library. Other than that, a box has been their home.

Sophia and Logan were quite interested in these pieces, handling them with care and a bit of awe. On Monday I learned that my co worker was going to do a story time that was beach related so I offered the shells. Ironic that in one week they have been viewed twice after years of being tucked away in the dark. Even though I have no earthly use for them, I am reluctant to get rid of them. I find them interesting to look at, just not often.

Leroy has managed to work at one place or the other everyday this week. He will have to get that squared away a little better so he has at least one entire day off. This was a particularly busy week at the church so maybe next week there will be that magic day. Leroy is preaching Saturday night. He was talking about getting his alb and stole to church. I suggested he stuff it is his bike bag. He said, “I am thinking about walking.”

A vision of Leroy walking to church in full garb flapping in the wind, flashed through my mind. “What would people think of that?” I wondered. Maybe he ought to do that just to see the reaction in the neighborhood. Somehow I suspect he will just carry it as he planned to do.

Miracles still happen. I got in the quickest checkout line at the grocery story! Also would you believe that I earned six dollars more than Leroy in our current checks? I am the big wage earner in this family for a little while.

Paula

Leroy's Schedule

Hello,

I have little idea about Leroy’s schedule. Leroy is working 20 hours or about that for the church and 15 for the museum. It is not so simple that he can go to work at the museum for two days and the church for three. There are nursing homes services that have a set schedule as well as visiting hours at hospitals and nursing homes. There are meetings at both concerns that are also scheduled. So he goes some hours here and some hours there. I just ask each day what he is doing or where he will be and hope I remember if I need to know that information.

He is preaching this Saturday and Sunday. That also is requiring adjustments for him. He used to have a set schedule of how he approached a sermon. His preferred method was to look at the lessons on Monday or Tuesday, let it percolate in his brain for days and on Friday morning write his sermon. That is not working now because the sermon must be done on Thursday so it can be recorded. He will adjust, but it is stretching him at this moment.

He is also having a harder time riding his bike to work as he needs to be quicker getting from one place to another. That is a bit of a loss because it is now warm enough and the streets are clear so he could ride the bike with those considerations.

Then I have to go listen to Leroy preach. Generally he does a good job, but the first times in a new church I find that I am a little nervous, perhaps feeling responsible for something that I have no control over. At least I seldom hear him make a grammatical error now. He commented that both of the preachers here are so good that he feels a little intimidated. All will be well is my mantra.

At least his brain is being stimulated as he tries to figure out all of these almost new things.

Paula

Feeling Better

Hello,

Amazing how a little grinding and polishing could bring relief. The pillar in my mouth is gone. My tongue is still a little tender, but I suspect it just needs some time to heal from all of the abuse.

The dentist did not charge anything for this service. He also told me that for the time being it is ok to ignore it unless it bothers me. It is just the porcelain coming off and the tooth is still protected by the metal on it. Not that porcelain coming off is a good thing, but that it is the last tooth in the row and the back of it so it should not be an issue.

I can now talk, eat, swallow, and sleep in comfort. Amazing how precious those ordinary tasks are. Also how we hardly even think of them and just take it for granted that it will all work. I have some new things to add to my gratitude list.

Son Brian will be pleased, but I decided to get rid of a pair of shoes that does not feel so good on my feet. I kept them because they cost more money than they should have just to be given away. Last year I did not wear them at all. Today I took a two mile walk in them and that sealed the thought of giving them away. I hobbled home for the last half mile wondering why I had kept them. Hopefully someone who can enjoy them will find them.

I made a big to do list today, but have not crossed off much of it. It seems that a book was calling me or just resting was calling. For some reason I am coughing today. Last night my throat hurt, but that is better today. My nose is running a bit more than usual. Do I have something? Probably a little something as I also feel tired. I still feel better than I did a day ago because my hard working tongue is having a great day wallowing around in comfort.

Paula