In a Rut

Hello,

Boy was I in a rut. Last night I came home from work, turned into the alley, curved over behind the neighbors parked cars (just like I always do) turned toward the open garage door, got to the middle of the alley and stopped. I tried to give a little more gas with no forward movement. Then I tried reverse with the same result of wheels spinning like mad but no progress. I immediately turned off the car and called my knight in shining armor. That is Leroy if you have not already guessed.

“I will be right out,” he said, “welcome home.”

I waited a few seconds then got out of the car traversing the solid lumpy hills of ice proud of myself for still being in an upright posture.

I was unable to find the ice chopper, but our shovel has a metal blade so I grabbed that and went outside to do battle. I got a bit of it up after struggling and speaking firmly to it to give up. My knight must be having trouble finding his horse is what I was thinking when Leroy came out. I asked what took so long thinking something might be wrong. His reply, “I had to go to the bathroom,” made me laugh.

He got down the ice chopper from the rafters of the garage, no wonder I could not find it, and attacked more places by the wheels. After a bit he declared, “Get in and I will shove the car over and you should be fine.”

“Be careful,” I said as I started the car opening the window so we could give and receive directions without shouting.

In a few seconds the car moved over and Leroy slid down to the ground. He managed to avoid falling on his hurt wrist. In fact it was about as softly as a person can land on pointy ice. I got the car in the garage and we both went out and got up more of that offensive stuff. This afternoon I once again went out so that I have a clear space of about two feet square that should give me good traction into the garage. I am so grateful for front wheel drive vehicles. The inventor of that deserves many thanks.

All in all it was a fun time with a lot of laughs.

Paula

Clean Phone

Hello,

Once I got to work transferring the names on my phones it was not such a hard thing to just keep going and get it all done. It is good to go through the list and I checked the accuracy of some of the numbers so that was good. I also went through the calls list and eliminated all of them. Oh, and I got rid of all the messages in my in box and out box. Nice to have it so pristine! I tried to look through everything that might have some data that would be just mine. I am glad I found it so it can be passed on to someone who might need it in an emergency.

Leroy thought his wrist was a bit swollen this morning, but still not in such bad shape that he needs to see the doctor. That is good. He made it to church this morning without falling so that is good too.

I have a team meeting at work today which means I should go an hour early. To you think I can manage that change? The last time we had one I had a note on the table just as I do today, thought of it at 9:30 and then forgot about it. Today I have set a timer along with the note. How much help do I need?

Fastnachts will be served this Sunday to the church staff at an open house here. Because of the annual meeting we shortened the time of the gathering. I hope that it does not mean so many people all at once. We have managed with crowds in small spaces before, so surely we can do it again. The apartment at the seminary in Bratislava was much smaller, and this would be about that same number of people. I keep telling myself, “We can do this.”

I will work on Saturday, but not on Tuesday so there is no excuse for not getting the work done ahead of time, such as cleaning. One of the larger issues is that our chairs are not so good for large sized people. I am not sure how to handle that. The best might be to bring out the office chair.

Paula

Walking to Church

Hello,

I walked to church alone because I was singing in the choir. Leroy decided to give his throat some more time off, meaning he could come later. It was a little wet and slippery in places, but I had no difficulty. Leroy, however, fell down hurting his wrist, not enough to see the doctor, but enough to take a pain pill. He is sleeping now so it will probably feel better when he wakes. We both found that in certain places the sidewalk was more like a pond than a walkway. I met one guy on a bicycle in a particularly treacherous spot complete with ice, water and a minimum of bare pavement. He managed to navigate it with skill and daring.

Leroy had a nursing home service this afternoon so he got to walk on these streets for four miles. He did take some different blocks, but all had their unique hazards. It certainly keeps us alert as we walk. I almost wished I had worn my boots, but then I would have to deal with carrying my shoes along with the choir music.

Just to see what would happen, I tried to call the house with my old phone that is not connected to a service. It said it was switched to Verizon wireless and I could make a call with a credit card or phone card. I did not realize that happened. I guess that is how the people who accept used cell phones can utilize them at the shelters, etc.

Now I just have to get all my contacts off that phone. It is a job that I do not really want to do so I am putting it off. I will go do some of them when I get this letter mailed, how is that for a clear statement? Since you are my witnesses I will do at least one or two. I would not want to go back on my word even to myself.

Paula

New Things

Hello,

It is almost an old thing, but Leroy’s head is still not happy. Just a few days ago I learned he was dealing with a lot of dusty, I could have said dirty, books. At least one day he did not wear a mask and it was much worse. Yesterday he came home significantly better because he said he did not handle any of those items. He is moving things around in the back room because they are getting about 20,000 books or items from storage and they have to find space for them. I suspect that means more dust coming in, maybe storage in boxes will stop that.

Today was the first day off Leroy has had in a while and he was moving slower enjoying no pressure when I realized that if we did not mail the birthday card to a granddaughter she would not get it for her birthday. We then sped up a little to get to post office in time to pay the extra postage for the odd size envelope.

The car did not want to start as easily as it should have so I stayed out in the car and moved the floor mat wondering if it were too much under the clutch. It still was a little hesitant to start. We had just gotten a new battery so now Leroy thinks it might be time for a tune up. As he says those cars demand attention with feeding or tweaking. I happened to put my hand down between the front seat and the door only to feel my lost phone. Yeah, now I can get the names off and give it away to the women’s shelter where they use old cell phones.

Thursday when I came home from work there was a rather loud noise as I was pulling into the garage. I stopped immediately thinking I might have hit the side of the garage without realizing it. I then noticed that I was in my usual middle path. I drove into the garage, got out of the car, walked back around, and saw a piece of the car lying on the ground. It was a not so very big triangular plastic chunk that was about a foot long. It had come from the front bumper. Oh dear, now the car is literally falling apart! Later I thought about my parking job in the morning. Hoping to be out of the traffic lane, I snuggled up to the snow pile at the side of the street and scraped the car against. I suspect with the cold negative temperature, the snow was rock solid and damaged it some. It was not until I drove home that I jiggled it a good bit of the way on the bumpy road when it finally disconnected. We are discussing what to do about it. I had hoped to get at least one more year out of this car maybe even two. We will see. Do you think duck tape will work?

Paula

Leroy’s Birthday

Hello,

“Happy Birthday,” I told Leroy before we got out of bed. I was rather proud of myself for remembering in a timely fashion.

“Should I give you your presents now?” I wondered.

“Yes, that would be great,” Leroy said.

I was pleased because He seemed to like all of the gifts. He got an outdoor thermometer which we may change for one of those digital ones. Has anyone had good luck with those? We had one about 12 years ago and it did not work well. I would guess that they have improved. But what would be a good brand?

Next he got a neon green t-shirt. Just when he will use this I am not sure because he likes his bike shirts with the pockets in the back. However this was on his list.

The last gift was a tea pot with three small cups. He wants the pot for the church office. I will now have to make or find a cozy for it.

Nice to know the gifts were appreciated. Maybe I should start thinking about next Christmas now. Actually that will not happen. I seem to do better in the week ahead mode. Pressure makes it happen. Now I can relax for several months.

Paula

Beautiful Snow

Hello,

Leroy went out early to shovel the last snow off the sidewalk before people tracked it down. I lay in bed a little longer grumbling because I had woken up at 4:00 and not fallen right back to sleep. After that self righteous session I got up and tackled the area between the alley and the garage where the snow plow had gone by in the night. It was a tremendous lifting job to hold onto the packed snow and get it up high enough on the pile to be to the side. I should lift weights more often. It is so satisfying to see the clear expanse growing and the snow pile diminish where we want to drive.

Yesterday I was almost wishing for a snow blower, but not today. Each day is a new day. Mid morning I went out with the scoop shovel. That is the scoop shovel that my daddy had given Leroy. So I thought of my father and growing up on the farm. Shovels can spark memories.  With that shovel I dug paths across the lawn for the mail carrier. My neighbor on one side was out and he met me half way. It created an expansive feeling in me to do this cooperative good deed. It is so beautiful outside now. I am not sure why we have to have such disruption to our lives to create it, but I am grateful for my eyes that can see it.

I got on a web site where I could figure out how to put my new phone on vibrate. It is in a slightly different place than my last phone. Now, if I can just remember that when I want to use it, I will be impressed with myself. I also set up my voice mail. Another goal was to add more phone numbers to my contacts, but I am not sure that I will get that done before I leave for work. I thought I would allow a little extra driving time because the Ely blacktop is often not a fun road after a storm.

I am looking forward to working again as I have been absent for a week. How did they survive without me?

Paula

Shoveling equals health?

Hello,

The snow started last night before we went to bed. As is our habit we got up early to shovel. It was such a nice temperature however that made the snow quite heavy. It was possibly about four inches. At any rate we did a good width at first and narrowed to a path at the end as tiredness set in.

Leroy announced that he would not be going to church as he was too worn out. He asked, “Will you drive or walk?”

I was surprised by the question as we seldom drive. I did walk and by that time my tracks had been covered by the new snow. The temperature must have been dropping and the wind for sure had come up because by the time I got there I was happy to get in the building. Because of walking through some deep stuff, I was barely on time for church or was it because I did not have Leroy to race after?

There was a slim crowd, but still a good corporate worship experience. As I was thinking of leaving a woman told me that she could take me about half way home if I would like that. She is quite a bit older than I am. I was impressed that she braved the weather to come to church. I did accept the ride and helped her clean off her car. The streets did not seem that bad for driving. I had walked some on the sidewalk and some on the street, which ever seemed easier.

When I got back home I could barely see my footsteps. I started to shovel a bit more, but did not last too long as it was still quite heavy. I thought more colder temps might help  provide lighter snow for me.

After lunch Leroy when back out to shovel some more. I went out when I have finished washing dishes. I was quite surprised to see that once again my footsteps were just a faint impression.

Later Leroy and I went out to shovel by the garage. After that exertion which was quite deep, Leroy declares, “I think I am better now.”

I guess all he needed was a bit of work to move things around in that body of his.

Paula