Books From the Little Free Library

Hello,

 

Books can be in the little library for some time and then just like that, several move on to a new home. This morning when we walked by on the way to church, I noticed one on the ground in the light mist. We picked it up and shut the adult side door. Luckily the book was not so very wet, more like damp. We did not have time right then to take it in the house. Our doors are not latched as securely as they should be. Leroy put one of his “rubber bands” on the adult side. He makes these from old bike inner tubes.

 

I was so surprised to see that many of the books for adults were no longer there. Considering the book on the ground and the door open I wondered if it were vandals. Leroy convinced me that they were probably taken to be enjoyed because it seemed that there are more things they could have done to the unit if interested in vandalizing.

 

I have had two people say they would have some books to donate. It will be a big help. I have been buying them from the library when people donate books that look like a possibility for sharing. I try not to cheat the library friends, but I do not pay so much for each book. It is an easy way to replenish our supply. I will have to pay more attention to the children’s books because they are definitely not hanging around so long. We are happy to have this service for the neighborhood.

 

Paula

Gardening in the Heat

Hello,

 

These are days of gardening in the very early morning or in the evening, hoping for some cooler temperatures. The morning has worked out better for our community garden helpers as it is much cooler then. However one woman does not go to bed very early and she cannot come at 6:00 am. Consequently we have had some meeting times in the morning and some in the evening. We are putting newspapers and wood much on the garden, trusting that will then require much less weeding. We have not had a good rain for some time so watering is also crucial.

 

For some reason our home garden has not really gotten much planted in it. I am just now really noticing that. We will start to think about planting with an eye to a fall harvest.

 

We did finally buy some marigolds to put in there. Someone had donated many harvested marigold seed. They have not produced any. That could be because the seed was not stored well, too old, or maybe because the weather has not been good for germination. At any rate we bought some started marigold plants today.

 

Leroy also bought a shirt that said sun protection on the label. It was 70% off. At home, I did look up the company and learned that it should have a UP number of 30 to 50, however the label just said sun protection. Since it is a light color it is probably the smaller number, but should be a help.

 

Paula

Mulberries

Hello,

 

Leroy and I rode our bikes, packed with some small containers, over to the mulberry trees along the bike trial. We had not been there long when a woman stopped as she rode along to tell us that this tree had the nicest berries, but too high up. The next tree was good, but not so many berries and the last tree had the sweetest berries.
She apparently picks the berries to give to the local groundhog.

 

Leroy and I are picking for breakfast or the freezer. A bit later a bike riding couple stopped to get berries from the next tree from us. They just ate all they picked. We talked about what we do with the berries. I learned that they eat as little processed food as possible by only buying things of one ingredient which means nothing mixed together by someone or something else. We thought we were almost kindred spirits. “I wish I had met you long ago!” the woman exclaimed, “All my family and friends think it is so weird.”

 

I did not tell her that I have been eating much differently than most people since the 1970’s. I have come more and more onto this path. It is not an easy thing to buck the trend. But I am satisfied that I did.

 

I suspect my kids were always a little taken aback by how our eating style compared to their friend’s. Visiting with a group of Sarah’s HS friends, I learned that the friends used to have some talk about what different kind of thing they would eat at our house. We were the mystery place. Little did they know that I “cleaned or mainstreamed” it for visitors.

 

Paula

Being a Tourist

Hello,

 

In DC we got in some new sites. Two of them are new monuments. Or at least new since we were last there. The first was the WWI monument. It was quite simple and tasteful with lists and lists of names of those who died. The second was the monument for Eisenhower. How is it decided what people will have a monument and who will not?

 

We also visited the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers museum. Because of the pandemic we needed an appointment and were the only people there with the guide. It was quite interesting. At the time of the Civil War in the USA no one notified families about the fate of their loved ones. It came to the attention of Clara Barton, spurring her into action. She formed an organization that tackled the job. They were able to track down the information for 22,000 Union soldiers (Or at least I think that was the number.). With the next war the government took on the role of letting families know when death or imprisonment occurred.

 

The second museum was the African-American Civil War museum. I had known that there were black soldiers in the civil war on the Union side, but not many of the details about how that came about or just what happened to them. As might be expected, much was required of them, but their compensation was quite a bit less than that of white soldiers. There was much information in the place and we could have stayed much longer, but it was more reading than any of us wanted to accomplish, or perhaps it is just more than we could take into our brains on one trip. Perhaps on another visit we could go back.

 

Paula

Celebrating our 50th

Hello,

 

When scheduling our trip to DC to visit Sarah’s family we did not really consider that we would be there on this important date. It was nice to be with some family when we celebrated. They, and an additional friend, feted us at lunch. It was quite fine. 

That was followed by a multiple berry pie and ice cream at their house. There was a little quiz about what was happening in 1971 when we got married. We missed a lot of answers, but I was not surprised. We have not changed so much in the intervening years. Some things we know, but not fashion or entertainment culture.

 

Is fifty years a long time or a short time? It all depends on the day month or year. Sometimes have flown by so fast it is hard to grab a hold while others have dragged. Leroy thinks we are still together because we are very stubborn people and committed. Sometimes inertia also has a hold.

 

It seems love should be central and I suppose it is, but is it the cement or glue?

 

Now it is hard to imagine life without the other person since we have been together much longer than not. Certainly feeling blessed to have been together this long.

 

Paula

A Mouse or Two

Hello,

 

The day after we got home I looked in the cupboard/closet for some oatmeal that is in a plastic bag. There was some on the floor. How did the bag break when we weren’t even home? Oh, mouse droppings. Many mouse droppings. I picked up the bag wondered about keeping it, but did not let my saving side have control. It went outside on the ground away from the house in the back yard. Hopping birds find it and not a family of mice. Next it was trap setting time. I got one trap out of the attic, put precious small amount of peanut better on it, anchored the string, gingerly moved the bar into place, and released. Success! When I came back from grocery shopping there was not yet a mouse. Before Leroy came home from work there was a mouse so he could take it outside. The trap was reset with another mouse trapped the next morning.

 

Leroy does not like to set traps and I do not like to release the mice so we are a perfect pair for such an activity.

 

Our downstairs neighbors have not had mice in the house. One of them wondered why the mice would come upstairs when they could go downstairs first. It is a mystery.

 

No mice have been captured for a day and a half. The trap will remain set for at least another day or four. I put a sign on the closet doors to warn of impending trap danger.

 

Paula

Where are we now?

Hello,

 

Yesterday, Leroy and I came home from a weeklong visit with Sarah and her family. The first part of the trip was as expected. We rode the metro to the airport with ease. Since there is much caution about the pandemic, there were few people on the train, only one or two were ever in the car with us. At the airport it was quite simple to get the boarding passes printed, go through security, and wait in the boarding area with the realization that Sarah was right, we were there plenty early. The plane took off on time and we landed in Chicago for the transfer to come to Cedar Rapids. There were only about thirty minutes to find the gate, but it turned out to be fairly close.

 

At this point things started to change. We learned that the gate had changed, with a plane leaving for Detroit at the assigned gate, but our new plane would come in after that. The old plane had had mechanical difficulties. We then went to the proper place, sat down, ate a bit of the food we had brought with us, and relaxed. Our departure was now scheduled about half an hour later than the original. That was all fine since we are fairly good at waiting.

 

The announcement stated that our plane would come as soon as they found someone to move it to the gate with departure pushed back a bit more. When the plane finally came it was too hot inside as it has been it had been sitting in the sun. It took about 15-20 minutes to cool it from 90 degrees to something more tolerable. At take off we were about two hours later than expected. Nice we were not facing another transfer. It was to be a short 36 minutes flight. As we were approaching Cedar Rapids, the pilot came on to say, “There is a thunder storm over Cedar Rapids. We will stay in the air another 10-15 minutes before landing.”

 

I do not know where we were as we mostly went in a straight line. Sometime later the pilot came on again, “I am running out of fuel and the storm is still over Cedar Rapids. We will go to Moline and fuel before going back to Cedar Rapids.

 

On the short jaunt to Moline a woman ahead of us summoned the flight attendant. I could not hear the conversation except for, “will have to call when we get on the ground. Would some water help?”

 

The woman was traveling with two preteen children. When we landed she and the children got off the plane while the rest of us stayed. We did not pull up to the building but instead they brought a moving stairs. At this point the flight attendant told us we could use any electronic devices and the toilet if needed. He also brought water for anyone who wanted it.

 

In a bit the pilot got back on, announced, “I had to sign some papers and we will be able to depart now for the short 15 minute trip back to Cedar Rapids.”

 

That was the shortest commercial flight I have ever been on.

 

At the airport I had to wait for my plane sided bag while Leroy went off to check on the bus schedule. We had planned to be there about three hours earlier. At the six o’clock hour there was no one at the information desk. Leroy suggested we go out to look for a bus schedule at the stop, even though we have never seen such. No schedule, but a number to text. Leroy tried that, but was unsuccessful. I suggested, “Let’s just call our downstairs friends and beg for a ride.”

 

While I was talking to them, Leroy said, “I think I see the bus.”

 

I could not see it, but informed my listeners of the possibility. We stayed on the line until I could say; yes it was the bus so we changed plans and hopped on. The driver was the sole occupant. We learned that the ride was free. At some other stops he had to sit and wait a little because he was getting too far ahead of schedule with no additions or subtractions of riders. Leroy got a bus schedule and found we were on the last bus of the day just as the driver told us that fact. So we called those wonderful downstairs friends and asked if they could pick us up downtown which is really much closer for them. She agreed. Just when we were getting close to the terminal, I was wondering how we would find her. At that moment she pulled around the corner and slipped into an area where the buses pick up passengers. What luck!

 

Paula