In My Own Bed

Hello,

Leroy and I came home from MN yesterday afternoon. I had washed the sheets, but not made the bed before we left. It was quite pleasant to finish that task and slide into our own bed at night. We both slept well through the familiarity. There is just something about home that is so appealing to me. I understand the words home body. I am happy to visit, but happy to come home where I do not need to think so much about where I will sit or what I will do.

Our trip north was not as easy as the trip home. We started in rain with temperatures getting close to the freezing mark. It was nice to see the outside temperature above freezing as first as we were driving. About an hour from the start I noticed ice hanging on the signs and after a bit I could see it on the rear view mirrors. The road surface remained wet and sloppy even after the windshield wipers were starting to get coated with ice. Perhaps that salt stuff had been put on the road surface. About another hour later the temperatures dropped enough that it was snowing rather than raining. Leroy was driving by this time. It was almost a relief to see the snow. However as we continued north the snow increased or maybe it was just that the wind was strongly picking up snow that had already fallen. Sometimes it was a bit hard to see others. The road surface had a lot of packed down snow/ice on it so that it was quite lumpy to drive over it with perhaps a path where other tires had been.

About an hour south of the cities the snow disappeared. We were happy. On the GPS we had been watching our estimated time of arrival getting later as we were forced to drive slower, but once there was no snow it mostly remained steady. We called Brian to let him know when we were getting close. Nice how all the technology works for us; GPS, thermometers, and phones. How did we travel back in the old days?

Paula

Ironies

Hello,

We have had such beautiful weather which would have been great for traveling. But we did not even go out of town except for me going to work. That could hardly be called traveling since it is so regular in my life.

Last night we had a serious rain storm complete with lightening, thunder, and hail that popped against the windows waking us up feeling grateful to be in a secure house and distressed because it spoke of that storm being different to the north.

Grandson Logan is celebrating his birthday tomorrow. Leroy and I plan to go, but we are keeping a close eye on the road conditions and weather conditions. The snow is concentrated in an area that we need to travel through to get to Logan’s house.

Leroy went to work this morning and we are hoping that later means better travel by giving the storm time to move on and road crews to do their best work.

I am astonished that we can fly with only a carryon bag each plus that other personal bag. For some reason when we plan a car trip we pack it in to the max. I am trying this time to lighten the load although I am packing a winter emergency bag as well as our pillows which we like to take with us when we can.

Last night when I came home a guy I had seen knocking on a door two houses down, came up to the garage. He asked, “Can I borrow a jack?”

I said, “Yes if I can find one. I looked around the garage and saw none, but remembered that the car had one. I opened the truck. He gratefully extracted the spare tire to get to that jack.

“I will bring it back and put this away for you,” he said.

I did not want to hang around so long as I had to go the bathroom, so I said, “Just put it here by the garage and my husband can put it away.”

It seemed to be quite a long time later that he finally returned it. However I had no idea how he was using it and how long that might take. The problem now is that Leroy cannot get it to go down so he can return it to its home in the trunk. I am not sure that we have ever used it in the ten years we have owned this car so it could be a bit tired and stuck from idleness.

Paula

Windows Open

Hello,

I have the windows open as we have done for the last few days. In the fall I took off the screens, but feel quite comfortable with the no screen deal. Surely there are no bugs out and about that I do not want to come in. However two days ago Leroy said, “A big fly is in the house.”

I did see it sitting on the wall, got out the swatter, and made short work of it. Today I saw a fly on the window that was not open. I opened the window, grabbed a towel, and encouraged it to go out the opening. Windows are still open in the expectation that no more flies will come in. At least I have not seen any bees or butterflies as the coming cold would not be good for them.

I should have worked outside today on my day off, but I washed and hung out a load of clothes which I have brought in and put away. Next on the list was a quick shopping trip to get some soy milk for Leroy and a gift for Logan whose birthday party is Saturday. When home, I made granola; recorded monies spent, donated to a seminary, and looked at a show that lasted an hour. It is on DVD and Leroy said it was good. I want to catch up to him as he has watched four episodes. Does that sound like work or fun? After lunch I made bread and chastised myself for not buying whole wheat flour while I was out and about. I could only make one loaf.

Because I have been coughing a little, sneezing a little, and not feeling peppy I tried unsuccessfully to take a nap. I spent my time lying down and visualizing the tai chi routine that we do. From that I realized that I do not know what my hands do in at least two moves. More learning must take place. We have choir practice tonight, but I do not feel motivated to go at this moment. Even though I could not sleep, my eyes feel very tired. No big walks, but I have put on 5500 steps.

Paula

Growing Celery and Accounts

Hello,

My celery is sending up leaves and a center stalk. It is amusing to see how quickly this starts to happen. I usually plant this outdoors, but I might decide to put it in a pot so I can move it in and out. I have had trouble with the rabbits finding it to be a delicious addition to their diet.

This morning I was able to add up some accounts and put them in the book that I have used for years to keep track of what we have spent. I do have a program that I use on the computer which adds it all up. What I find is that I do not pay so much attention to the totals since I am not doing that by hand. I was almost nine months behind on my old fashioned way, but now I have done enough so that there is only three months to go counting the one we are in.

While working in this book, I looked back at some of the figures from the 1980’s. We actually spent as much or sometimes more on food than we do now. What an eye opener. Especially when you consider that we make more money now than we did then. Leroy was the only one who earned any money. I say that because I worked and I think worked hard, but no one was paying me for that. I had the joy of being with and there for our children. We had all three children at home. Some years I did not gather much from the garden. We certainly lived a bit closer to the line. Interesting that I do not remember feeling vulnerable, but I do know that I never spent on anything that was not necessary unless it fit in the budget. We always had enough to eat and a place to live. Clothes were not of the latest fashion, but were available and clean most of the time. There was also money to be shared with the church and some other places besides and that made us rich.

Paula

Leroy is Ill and I am walking

Hello,

Leroy did not go to choir on Wednesday because his throat was scratchy. Thursday evening when he came home from teaching a class he declared that he felt quite fine. Friday morning when he woke he realized that he could not go to work, especially to visit people in the hospital. He stayed home yesterday, and again today. His head is full, nose running, and coughing. He thinks he feels somewhat better today and is not quite so tired. Many people have talked about how hard it is to get over this coughing thing. We are hoping that he defies the odds and manages sooner than expected to be normal or close to it.

I have been enjoying my Fitbit and walking more than usual. Several days I have passed the 10,000 steps goal. I can tell that I have let myself get lax. It has also reminded me that I must do my exercises. Generally that is yoga. I have always done some, but now I make sure it is 30 minutes worth. This device was well worth the little bit I paid for it. I have it clipped to my pants waist, in a pocket, or on my underpants. That all works well, but I do not record all steps as I do not get it on so early in the morning.

A woman at church talked about her experiences walking on the Appalachian Trail. Another woman came up to me after and asked if I was ready to go. Almost! Leroy talks about doing parts of it at a time. We might be able to handle that. I am not sure that I could carry enough stuff with me. The walking seems possible, but not the load. That woman was in her 50’s so I am leaning on my age as the excuse for not hopping on the trail tomorrow.

Leroy is most saddened about the nice weather when all he feels like doing is sitting in the sun reading. He wants to be doing those little odd jobs that he can think of.

Paula

Tight Pants

Hello,

I put on some jeggins this morning. Why I bought these I do not know. I do to know, trying to keep up with style. They are a size medium so they should be plenty roomy except for the panel in front that is to hold any wandering stomach overflow in place. This morning I had them on about half an hour when I realized it was not going to be a good fit. Trying them on in the store and wearing them around the house for another day did not tell the tale. I must have been slim on those days. Pain was telling me to take off these pants. Sigh! I need something that is small in the legs, but large in the waist. It seems food cannot be processed through my intestinal system if my pants are tight. Apparently my father had the same problem. He wore suspenders. Perhaps, I can make that the new fashion accessory with baggy pants. I cannot find the store slip to take these back so I will just have to pass them on to my friend who works with refugees. Do you think they will be the proper size? At least now I can wear baggy underpants as long as the outer pants do not hug too close. Or I can wear bikini underpants so they do not put much pressure on my abdominal area. Who decided tight is better anyway? Perhaps it makes ones legs look great to have them outlined for all to see.

I do have two pair of slim legged pants that fit a bit below the waist. I can wear them all day without a problem, but I would like another pair to give some variety to my clothes. The corduroy pants that are baggie and feel almost like wearing nothing appeal to me, but once I noticed someone’s glance when they saw them. An interesting expression crossed their face. Since then I have seldom worn them even though I want to.

Paula

Hair

Hello,

Can I be vain? My hair looked so good today when there was only my downstairs friend to see it although she did not see it at its best because I had had my hood covering and flattening it. I was a little disappointed to be viewed by so few.

When we were San Antonio my hair was less than stellar for three reasons: it flattens out in the dry, I had to wear a hat to hide from the sun, and I did not take along any of my hair products. I did not want to haul so many liquids on the plane that TSA might get excited and eliminate some.

What am I going to do with the stuff for the rest of my life? It is thinning and that definitely makes it harder to hold down. Guess the weight of the other hair is good for control. We have talked about retiring to UT where it is as dry as Texas. Would I have to adapt a new style and what would that be?

We have also talked about retiring to MN. There I would have to wear a hat for much of the year, either from the cold or the sun. Should I just buy a very good wig and be done with much of the care and upkeep or is there more to taking care of a wig than I know about?

Sometimes it seems to me there is an advantage to Leroy’s spare do because he does not have to spend much time considering it. Hats, dry, or humid really make little difference. I suppose I could start a new fashion statement and just shave my hair all off.

We are having my work team over for fastnachts this Sunday because no other day works. It is supposed to be on Shrove Tuesday. I even washed three of the most rain spotted windows today. It was nice to have a breeze momentarily blowing through the house. Love those window cleaning cloths. They work so well.

Brian was born 40 years ago. Can I be old enough to have two children who are now 40 or older?

Paula