Violets and Geese

Hello,

Leroy came home and was quite excited to show me a violet that someone had brought to the church to give away because they were downsizing. He took it knowing that I would like it a lot. It is quite a large plant. I have had varying luck with violets. Generally I say it is the place that they do not like rather than my fault. I just love blaming something else.

I was expressing concern about it living with someone else who might take better care. Their advice was “just don’t worry about it, enjoy it while you have it. You are giving it a home and that is what is needed at this moment.”

This violet is in a special violet pot which I had never heard of before. Perhaps that is why my violets sometimes had rather short lives. At least this one is still alive and looks good after being in my house for a week. I take that as a sign of hope for a longer relationship. I have taken several plants outside for the summer, but only one large one. The back yard should be more shaded before that happens. The walnut tree and the catalpa tree are just getting their leaves now. In one more week it should be good.

I transferred the pictures from the camera to the computer so I can share them with you. I did not get rid of any of the geese pictures since I am sure that Leroy has a proprietorship feeling about them. Perhaps you can just move quickly through them. Leroy was trying to get a good picture of the difference of the baby geese’s sizes.

Two of those pictures are of deer eating. It was fun to watch a goose head pop up from time to time. Amazing what can be hiding in the grass. Is that true of all of life? There are hidden things that we could enjoy if we just knew about them?

Here is the link so you can see the pictures.

https://goo.gl/photos/yLpbtgASnFBjWaaJA

Paula

Bike Ride

Hello,

Yesterday Leroy and I took a bike ride. It was only my second ride for the season. We went a bit over nine miles and that was just enough for me. We ride around the lake close to us and go up the trail, though the trees, and along Iowa’s only urban trout stream. Looking at the water, trees, and wildflowers lifts the soul in appreciation of the beauty that abounds.

We were both pleased to see many families biking. I was impressed with how young and little some of the children were. They were often riding with great skill as if it were old knowledge. What a great way to spend time as a family: exercising, seeing different things, and experiencing nature.

I searched for the total miles of bike trails in the city and cannot find it, but the number 54 comes to mind. I know there are a number of trails and the city is working to connect them. Seems to me to be a great plan as it fits something I like to do.

Also on the bike ride we finally saw some young geese with their parents. One group only had two adolescent looking youngsters. The other was a bit larger with eight babies between them. Leroy took a lot of pictures, but I do not have time now to connect them with this letter. The curious thing about the last group was that two of the babies were babies and not adolescents. Do you think they had two hatching sessions or do geese babysit for someone else thus accounting for the different ages? Life is full of mysteries.

Paula

Steps

Hello,

Leroy and I both walked many steps yesterday. While we were at a friend’s  house delivering some boots for her to pass on to the homeless shelter, I checked my Fitbit. I had traversed something more than 8,000 steps. “Check your watch,” I told Leroy, “I’ll bet it has 12,000.”

I was wrong it had him walking 19,000 steps. I know these things are not totally accurate, but it seems to me in the course of the day Leroy cannot be walking that much farther than I do. I have read that most of the pedometer devices are not accurate, but are consistent with what they each record. It certainly gives Leroy something I wanted, bragging rights.

I am almost sorry that I bought that watch for him. It has the date and time which is why I got it, not for all the other features contained therein. It has functions that Leroy cannot even figure out. But he is very happy with the date and time. Once in a while he gets out the instruction manual and learns about something more he can do.

At the end of the day both of us were tired, but I think Leroy should have been crawling by that time considering how many steps he had reportedly taken.

I just do a more normal recorded amount of steps but I believe I was the one ready to call it a day first. Even though younger than I am, I do not think Leroy could possibly have more stamina than I do.

Paula

Life changes

Hello,

Today I woke early and started exercising before six in the morning. Leroy knew I was up, but chose to stay in bed. It was quite invigorating and I felt ready to get some work done.

Leroy was similarly ready when he did get up. Must have been that early sunshine. He wanted to work on a table in the yard that is used a variety of ways, by all of us who live in this house. Much of the wood had rotted. Leroy’s plan was to get that done today but first he needed to find his ear plugs and safety goggles. He looked rather hastily in the front closet where they should be. They were not in there so he checked the garage, not there either.

I suggested he take everything out of the closet while I went out to hang clothes in the abundant warm dry air. “I would like to look at everything once you get it out and before putting it back,” I told him.

When I came back in almost nothing was out of the closet. He had looked, found what he wanted and that was the end of that.

“Some things are on rather high shelves. I really wanted to check them over to see what we have up there,” I whined. After listening to me a little more Leroy proceeded to take everything back out and do a thorough sort himself.

I was happy to get as I was able to get rid of some things and put others in a more logical place. Leroy also got rid of some things.

He then went out and worked on that table finishing it just about lunch time. I figure that was good planning. While he was working on that I vacuumed the entry stairs and the back porch neither of which are tackled very often. Just so you know I was not sitting around idle.

This afternoon we were going to shop for the community garden, but we will not do that as someone in the neighborhood has received a lot of donations and we will plant those things first. Now all we have to do is deliver the neighborhood newsletter to the last two blocks, get some eggs from the store and deliver some give away boots. We could also pull some weeds in the garden in places we will not till it up as there are herbs growing, however we are both a little tired.

Paula

Tourists

Hello,

For some time, Leroy and I have wanted to see the Grant Wood stained glass as well as the city hall murals. This was a difficult task because they are only open during the week and some holidays that we never seemed to know about or were doing something else. Today Leroy came home early enough that we had time to go. I thought Leroy knew where they were, but his ignorance was covered by the internet. Isn’t that great? Back in the old days we might have depended on a human being to supply the answers, even perhaps, the library.

It was a beautiful sunny day so we headed off downtown on our bikes because Leroy did not want to fool with the parking meters. I know not all are pleased with the bike lanes downtown, but it was quite fine for us today. Because Leroy goes there more often he also knows some of the best places to be when riding.

First we saw the stained glass which was actually made in Germany in 1929. It was quite fine to see it. It was larger than I thought it would, but also not as brilliantly colored as I had expected. In the same building there was a small exhibit of the Vietnam War and the US involvement. Not that I read every sign, but it was quite interesting. I wonder if it was an exhibit that changes from time to time.

From there we headed off to city hall. The murals were quite extensive. They had been painted in 1936 by four New Deal artists. Apparently some criticism and a judge caused them to be painted over. In 2011 they were restored. We also saw the old post office boxes.

I found a flyer for public art in CR. We had planned to go to Greene square and now it had a little more meaning. The booklet referred to a statue called Mouse Eared Bone in Huston Park. We both declared that we did not know where that park having never heard of it. On the trip home I happened to glance across the street at a small park and there was that Bone. I cannot tell you how many times we have gone past that and never noticed it. Information does increase awareness.

Paula

Comedy of Errors

Hello,

This morning Leroy got up at 5:15 to do exercises and because he just woke up at that time. I heard him get out of bed but thought he was going to the bathroom, but noticed he did not come back right away and I could hear him moving around doing what I knew not. Had I known, I might have gotten up to exercise as well.

Before he left for work Leroy checked the weather forecast several times trying to determine the feasibility of riding the bike to work. He has a more optimistic soul than I realized because he thought he could ride dry to museum work, go to a meeting mid morning at church, ride back to the museum, and then come home late afternoon. I did tell him that I could come get him since I do not work today.

I had washed a load of clothes expecting to hang them out with this bike riding guy as my guide of weather. When the clothes were washed I realized that the air seemed quite damp. I checked another weather source and decided the clothes would stay inside.

Probably an hour later it started to rain. I then had the brilliant idea that I could pick up Leroy with the bike rack in the car, load the bike on the car, take him to the church meeting, bring the bike home, store it in the garage, and go back to pick up Leroy, bringing him home with the other car key in my pocket, and let him drive back to the museum while I went on to shop.

The bike rack is stored above my head in the garage. This item is a bit heavy or at least heavy for me. When I got it off the nails it made a descent straight for my head. I was able to slow it down, but not stop it. Luckily one of the straps with a hook on it caught on a board. Grateful I am for that intervention.

At the museum Leroy remembered how to put the rack on, but it is not an easy thing to do especially when trying to hurry and wearing good work clothes. At one point it was necessary to kneel and hook two straps under the car to secure it. Finally the job was done.

I dropped Leroy at the church closest to the wrong door because I had forgotten that only one door is open during the week. He had to run back in the rain when I could have stopped much closer.

At home it was no problem to get the bike and rack off the car. I went in the house, kept a close eye on the time, got back in the car to pick up Leroy, met him at the proper door, and was amazed that he was there. “I tried to call you on the house phone and your cell,” he said, “but you did not answer so I was hoping you were on the way and I watched out the door.”

He tried to direct me to go home, but I have forgotten about taking him there to get the other car. Instead we had some rather confusing conversations about where I should turn and why. Finally I remembered the plan which I had engineered and headed off to the house.

At the house, I let Leroy out in the rain because it is hard for him to get out inside close to the side of the garage, pulled into the garage only to remember that I wanted to get him some yogurt. It is a crisis if we run out of yogurt. I looked up to see that Leroy was exiting the garage, as expected he pulled in back of me to head out the alley. I waited and waited for him to complete the move. Perhaps he was wondering why I was still in the car. Just when I was thinking I would call him to tell him to move he finally drove off.

I then went off to do my little bit of shopping. Are you surprised that we are still together after 46 years of trying to understand each other?

Paula

Store Deals

Hello,

I do not believe in shopping on Sunday if I can avoid it. I could avoid it yesterday, but I did it anyway because I thought of a veggie deal on the walk home from church and Leroy had money in hand. It seemed best to stop in while I remembered it since I had forgotten it before. The store had a deal on frozen veggies. I was relieved to see the sign still out, but I had some trouble figuring out which bags bit the bill. When we checked out none of them were marked down. That was a bad sign. I spoke with the checker about the date of the sale. “The sign stated the sale goes from the fifth to the sixth.” I said.

“Today is the seventh^,” he informed me.

How could I have forgotten the date?  He had called the manager over just as we were starting the date conversation. When she came she commanded the checker, “Go get the sign.”

He scurried off the find it. “Because the sign was there,” she noted, “We have to honor that price.”

When he came up with the sign it was all noted and we saved over $10 on our veggie purchase. I certainly benefited from someone’s carelessness, but I hope no one got in trouble because of it. I was also pleased that I only required one bag from the store. Since I had not expected to stop I had not come prepared with more than one very small bag holding my phone and keys.

Love my backpack, but I left it home since I did not have to carry so much or so I thought. I do get compliments on my backpack from friends, acquaintances and strangers. Friends ask me what the letters LJG stand for. The bag was cheap because someone had put those on and then not wanted the bag. I tell them it stands for Laughing Jumping Granny. I needed a mnemonic in case I ever lost it someplace and needed to describe it to get it back.

Paula