Flowers in my life

Hello,

Leroy brought home flowers yesterday. They are sitting in the living room where I can enjoy them daily. Then the amaryllis has finally opened two blossoms with two more to come in the future. Next there is the cyclamen that had been my sister’s. It has about six blossoms and fewer leaves. It is still beautiful, but interesting how the leaves contribute to the overall effect. Too often I do not think about green leaves as being so important to the overall look. The pink Christmas cactus has many open blossoms. Now the primrose is a different story. It has had many buds that have not come to their open glory; instead them come up and drop down almost immediately. Never have I seen that before.

I am using the speaker that I got for Leroy’s birthday. Did I get it for myself? It works quite well, although son-in-law, Andy might pronounce it not the best sound because he has a well developed ear for the stellar sound quality. I do find that it works best if the Bluetooth signal does not have to go through much wall.  Since the IPod and the speaker are both small I have them almost anywhere together so it is not a problem.

I just listened to some organ music played on historic Slovak organs. This was given to me as a gift from the congregation in Slovakia when we left. I do appreciate it, but have not listened to it very often as I mostly forget to add music to my life. I am going to place music on the same wave length as flowers, as something that adds beauty to my life. No life can have too much beauty.

“Ugliness is so grim,” Lady Bird Johnson once said. “A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions.”

Paula

Walking and books

Hello,

Leroy and I took a long walk today. That warmer air is so inviting that we went farther than we had planned. I do not understand this Fitbit Zip thing. Usually I have to work to get it to record my steps even though I had thought it would be quite effortless. Tonight when I was using the computer I had not yet opened the FitBit app and it recorded my steps and sent me the notice. Even thought the fitbit does not care, Leroy and I walked some hills. Both of us had to breathe a little more strongly. It is good for us.

We just noticed that the neighborhood meetings are starting again. That means we need to start focusing on the community garden so we can let people know what is happening. Some days I feel lazy.

I perhaps told you that I got a grant from our insurance company to do an Action team project. I ordered the multicultural books tonight. I had planned to get some from a couple sources, but my mentor in this process recommended that I could get multiple copies because the neighborhood closest to us has a number of Little Free Libraries that can be stocked with some books. Good idea, plus I was able to order them at a school book sale. I had to create a fictitious student in the class. John Smith wanted a lot of books.  I did look in one of the free libraries and most of the books were old and quite dated. I know that many of the titles that I saw do not get checked out in the library where I work. The kid books were almost all about Caucasian kids. I am happy to provide books that show people of a variety of colors. Hopefully it will help these children to know that they are important enough to feel good about themselves and their possibilities.

Tonight I should sleep quite well as this has been hanging over my head, but I just could not seem to take the steps to get it all done. Now I just wait for the books to come. I and some others can take them around to the libraries and slip in some of the copies. Wonderful to give away someone else’s gift.

Paula

Research Study and Step Tracking

Hello,

Leroy has been chosen for a research study that involves chocolate. He sent in the survey a long time ago to let them know that he was willing to do it, but had heard nothing back. Yesterday his “pills” came. He is to take three a day. He could be taking a placebo. They sent a year’s supply. This is to last three years so he will get more. It is from a college in the eastern USA. I just glanced at the info so I do not remember. I do remember that the word women’s was in the title of the study, but apparently they want to check the results for men as well. Even though this involves chocolate, he does not get to eat chocolate, but just takes these tasteless pills. I was surprised that he seems rather pleased to be doing this. Usually he grumbles when he has to fill out a survey. This survey was not so long as to be off his time allotment.

I have been enjoying my Fitbit Zip. The big issue is that it is difficult for me to get it to connect to the computer. Sometimes I have to reset it. Other times I just grumble a lot and try again later. Supposedly it is to record steps every 15 minutes, but that is not happening for sure.

Leroy got a new watch at the same time that he found the Zip. He got the watch because it was marked way down for clearance and the date and time display was so large. It also tracks his steps as well as recording his pulse. However he thinks the step tracking is less than accurate. He wonders if it is tracking his arm movements. But he is still pleased that he has the date on the watch.

I had gotten him a watch when we lived in Slovakia. I tried to take it back when I learned that he had also gotten one from Sarah and Stephen which he liked better since it looked good and had the date. Unfortunately I could only get a different watch and not get my money back so I just kept it. His Swiss watch died consequently he did start wearing that one which I had given him. Now he is happy again with his bargain find.

Paula

New experiences in San Antonio

Hello,

“Oh, what is that?” I wondered because I had never felt such a thing before. Pigeons were walking on my feet while we were eating at an outdoor table. I had on sandals so I felt every little nuance of their foot anatomy as they stepped lightly on their way to a possible crumb. I could feel the claws, or are they called talons? Then there was the softer middle part as they continued on. Somehow they did not weigh as much as I had thought they might. Guess all that feather fluff makes them look heavier. At first it was almost creepy as I thought about what else they might have stepped on or in. Everyone else had on regular shoes so they did not get to experience this treat. At least they were not walking on my food or flying onto the table. So it was all good as I settled back to just note what it all felt like and enjoy the light sensation of them passing by.

In a convention hall we went to a hall of statues of known Texans. There was someone there that I did not realize was a Texan, but right now I cannot think who that was. Seems to me it was an astronaut. There is always new learning to be had.

I had not realized how early some of the European settlers came to this area. Do you suppose the warm attracted them even then? There was a large German community as well as a number of Czech/Slovaks. In Fredericksburg the library and a museum both had some very old Bibles. Somehow I was not expecting that type of treasure.

We also saw some white tail deer. Leroy noted that they must have a huge area of the country in which they live. And then there were those Texas longhorns who managed to look quite threatening even when standing still. I never was very fond of cows and the horns just capped the feeling. I had not really noted the flash flooding in this area, but we drove on some back roads that had five to six foot marks to show possible water depth if it had been raining. That certainly is a new idea that it would occur so much or so seriously that a pole could be put up to warn people.

Paula

Gift Giving

Hello,

Because I did not give my co-workers anything for Christmas, I thought I should bring them something from my trip. That was a serious decision. In retrospect I do understand why people give candy of one kind or another. It is the easy choice. I found some pecans and thought that might be a good idea, but the price per pound totally destroyed my enthusiasm. It was double what I pay for my almonds or walnuts. What makes them so special?

From there I wandered around the store looking for just that Texas thing. Because I am so practical there were many rejects. Finally I was in the cast iron skillet area. These seem to be made by a local company. However the skillets would be too heavy to take back on the plane and the individual cost was also unappealing. Hanging close they had some silicone handles that would protect the hand. What an excellent choice! I got one for each friend only to learn after I was out of the store that they were made in China. When I told my co-workers about this saga they all laughed. I guess they liked them, but I have to remind myself that I am not responsible for their reaction or enjoyment.

I am not sure why, but it seems to me that other people make it look so easy and they come up with the perfect gift. Perhaps my parents did not teach me well. It is nice to blame someone else. There were not many gifts given at my home, but I should figure it out from the example of others. Someday I might get all of life skills mastered, but I am only thinking of one at a time. I can still live many years because there is still so much to learn.

Paula

Life in the fast or slow lane

Hello,

Yesterday I found a Fitbit Zip at less than half price. Now was the time to try it. After we got home I forgot about it, but remembered today to get it set up on my computer since I do not have a mobile device with which it would work. After an hour I still was not functioning even though it talked about easy set up. I finally wailed to Leroy. He came into help with no real assistance as he spent much time reading over much of the things that I had just read. We tried to get it to work on either the tablet or the laptop. For some reason when I went back to the laptop one time it just worked and I could finish setting it up. Now I have walked quite a number of steps. However, as I told Leroy, “That was not a calming stress less experience contributing to my health.” Fitbit healthy indeed!

We both laughed. So maybe health was restored.

We ordered Leroy’s birthday present from me to him. Since I do not have a pay pal account he did the ordering himself. I needed to make a quick run to a dollar store so I brought him a dinosaur that lights up when agitated. Leroy laughed and seemed to enjoy that.

Leroy’s goal is to read all of the Louis L’Amour books. He had a list of all the books on which he would check off the finished items, but he could not find the list. I located that list in a collection of short stories by this author. Leroy was ecstatic. He finished the short stories this afternoon. That guy Leroy is a speed reader compared to me. But then he never reads such serious books as I do. So he tells me his stories require little thinking, but offer much escape. Apparently I am not generally into escape, but only feel like it is time well spent if I learn something new or can ponder some social situation. I learned when we did personality studies that I like doing things the hard way.

Paula

Warm San Antonio

Hello,

We spent three full days in San Antonio. The weather was just perfect. Each day was warm, but not too warm with the sun shining. I had my protective gear: hat, long sleeved shirt, and sunscreen. Even though one day was high 70’s or low 80’s it did not seem hot, guess it must be the dry air.

Our friends were the perfect tour guides. We were driven around, escorted on tours, and introduced to great restaurants. The sights were interesting, food delicious, and laughter abounded. We spent some full days taking in a variety of sights. From the usual tourist things; the Alamo and the river walk to exploring the hill country, a wildflower seed farm, and Buc-ee’s gas station store. We also went to the SAS shoe outlet that is really more like a department store with quite an old time flair to it. I did manage to buy only one pair of shoes. I do not really need so many shoes at the moment, plus it had to fit in my carryon bag as we did not check a bag. Leroy settled for a pair of fine socks. At least we are now well shod.

Our wonderful hosts picked us up at midnight when we arrived and took us back to the airport before 4:00 am. I appreciate the sleep sacrifices that they incurred. We were blessed indeed. It was a great trip that was basically just with adults and none of our family. What a departure! It was a new experience.

Paula