Oops!

Hello, The bag of things too heavy to carry to church was placed on the bench in the back porch so I could drop it off on my way back from tai chi. Getting close to the church, I realized no bag was in the car. I had walked right past it on the way out the door this morning. I wash my face, let it dry, put on petroleum jelly, call Leroy to assist putting on the bandages to keep my nose covered. Apparently, my face was not dry enough because the bandages would not stick. After some struggle, Leroy put on tape over the bandages. That tape is white and wide. Many people wanted to know what had happened to me. It does look a bit serious. Our bandage supply is running low so we did not want to put on new bandages. At least this worked. Now I put that heavy bag in the car so the next time the car goes it will be delivered to church. Tomorrow, there will be more drying time. In spite of the wind, I delivered neighborhood newsletters. It was a challenge sometimes to figure out a way to secure them so they would not sail away to the next town. One more block is to be done for this month. Paula

Better Today

Hello, The weather is more pleasant today. It was rather cold this morning, but the wind is not so strong now so my walk was quite pleasant. Also, my nose is better. I had, perhaps been a little careless because it did not seem like such a big deal as the surgery. I had not had it covered some of the time. it has been covered and it looks much better than it did. I am treating it like the royalty that it is. It is certainly front and center on my face. More than once I exclaimed to Leroy, “I should not have been so vain as to want to look better when it looked fairly good.” I finished reading Huckelberry Finn. I have read it before, but it has been a long time. It certainly is a serious, funny book. But I did get a little tired of all the fooling around. Paula

Only the Hardy

Hello, Leroy and I walked to church today. It was a challenge. My face hurt from the cold by the time we arrived. Leroy forgot his phone, but remembered before we had gone a block. He went back, while I forged ahead. Between the low temperatures and the wind, it was not pleasant. Coming home was better, but not balmy. We have discussions about the best way to walk that will block some of the wind. I walked outside this afternoon. It was warmer, but still not so much fun. The pubs or taverns in our neighborhood seem to be doing a brisk business. There was a lot of green around. Except around the pubs I did not see other people. One bike rider was on the trail, but that was it. Leroy walked in front of the tv while he watched some show that I was probably not interested in seeing. I still want 1000 steps so I will also watch something and take those steps. It is not as good for the mind and spirit as it is when outside, but there is a sense of accomplishment. Surely the heart likes it. Paula

Hard Jobs

Hello, “There is too much junk in this house”, I moaned to myself. It was easy to pack up a bag of it, but what to do with it now. For the clothing items it was easy. For the random cords that go to what item, it was not so easy. If we move in a bit over a year from now some of those things will have to be faced and eliminated. On the desk there seems to be a growing pile of paper scraps that cannot be filed, but… We delivered newsletters again this afternoon. On the surface that is not hard, but the wind was quite strong. At one house one woman told me that she did not need one because she already had one. Mystified, I commented, “It is new. This is my route. Who else would do it?” She replied she did not need another and marched off. I have talked to her before that conversation was also a bit different. I did not deliver to her door. At an apartment building a rather large guy was sitting on the bottom step. When he did not appear to be moving so I could go past, I asked, “Do you live here?” Told me what apartment and I handed him the flyer before moving to the lower doors. He then called to me, “Do you want to go upstairs? I was not thinking.” He then moved and I went up. He seemed like a nice friendly sort. Paula

Bandage Off

Hello, The bandage was loose this morning, so off it came. My nose was much redder than I had expected and there was quite a bit of blood in the gauze. Somehow it seemed like a small job, therefore there should not be so much evidence of something out of the ordinary. It was hard to wash it off because I did not want to touch it. Then I had to apply some petroleum jelly, which gives it a noticeable shine. Guess I am ready to play Rudolph with no additional makeup. It was not hard for me to go out in public with the bandage on my nose, but I feel hesitant to go out now. Leroy and I will deliver neighborhood newsletters this afternoon. I will go to the pharmacy this morning to refill a prescription. Hopefully, by Sunday when the choir sings in church it will all look better. So many people told me they thought I was brave to go out with that bandage on, I wonder what they will thing of this. At least it does not hurt so in that sense it is no big deal. It is just cosmetic. Those who had “face planted” would ask if that is what I did. They would then proceed to tell of their experience. The skin cancer people would assume it was that, again there would often be some explanation. This crowd is falling or skin cancer survivors. Good group to be in, survivors. Leroy forgot to water the plants at the museum so he rode his bike there now. He can also stop at the library on his way home. It is a nice day out. He did not ride to work yesterday because we had a nice amount of rain. The rain barrel is not full, but heavy so that is good. Paula

Sand Job?

Hello, I had a sanding of my nose this morning. It was a possibility, but had hoped not. It is not painful except for the deadening process. More than once the nurse told me she could give me a break if I needed it. Long, slow, deep breaths got some relaxation in place. Amazing how we have some coping skills, if we can just remember then. The bandage needs to stay on for 24 to 48 hours. At least this time I feel much peppier, but then it was not such an invasive procedure. This is a vanity move. The choice was up to me, do it or not. Vanity won out. There is a dip in the scar and I guess it will take care of that. For no

w I just have a large bandage. The biopsy that was done last week came back with a good result. It was a precancer spot and the biopsy removes it. So nice to have health care people who can take care of these things and even know what they are doing. My brother’s birthday is today. He is 75 years old. He commented that our father died when he was 76. Wow, my age. I had thought he was older than that. He seemed old at the time, but now it seems young. Our mother lived to be 86. Paula

Trips and Money

Hello, Our friends “drag us along” on trips. We always enjoy them and learn a lot besides relaxing. When we look at the prices by ourselves, we often feel we can’t do it, too expensive. It takes someone more willing to release money from our tight grip to get us on the move. Grateful that we have friends who are interested in many of the same things. We have had many years of being very careful with money because it was often just enough to cover expenses. Now we do not have to be so careful, but on a daily basis we still are cautious. It is easier to do without many things that attract. We know we can be happy and satisfied with much of what we have. It is good that we have people who help us to gain some new experiences. We are looking at the possibility of a cruise around New Zealand and part of Australia. It is the most expensive venture we have looked at, but our friends are interested. We will talk more. Australia does seem quite an interesting place to go. The distance from home makes it cost more to get there. It cost quite a bit to go visit Sarah’s family in Kenya, but I have never been sorry about that. It is interesting, but Leroy and I are more comfortable giving money away then spending it on ourselves. Today we chatted with the friends and took this expensive trip off the agenda. Paula