Helping Others

Hello, The shopping trip was not going as well as I had hoped. Do you know how many different kinds of curl cream are available? I do not know the precise number, but I can say it is more than twenty. How does one choose? I was at the second store this morning without making a selection. Finally at the third store I picked some and figured I would just try it. True to my buying character it was not so expensive as some that cost twice as much. It also appealed because it could be put on wet or dry hair. Many of them required that the hair be damp, whatever damp is. There were also curl gels, but it was to be cream not gel that my hair cutter recommended. Hair care is big business. At the car, an older woman and a small boy were struggling with two heavy grocery bags (larger than the usual size), two gallons of milk and two other things. They did not get in the car across the way, but stopped and rested before going on. They were joined by a young woman who took on most of the load, but they again stopped to rest. I drove over and asked if they wanted a ride. They spoke Spanish and asked if I spoke Spanish. The younger woman got out her phone, but said, no wi-fi. I got out my phone, put in the phone number that she showed me, but no answer. She provided another number. A man answered. She spoke to him in rapid Spanish. I motioned that I would talk to him. I asked if I could give them a ride and he said OK and gave me the address. With the trunk open they put in all their bags I also put in some random bags that I had in the back seat. Without thinking, I put my purse there with the phone in it. I knew the street they lived on, but had not much idea how the numbers went. I stopped at a gas station, got out my phone and used google maps. We were quite close and going the right direction. They were basically on the way home. I did not get any groceries, but Leroy and I can live a few days off of the food we already have in the house. Slovak words kept coming out of my mouth. Who knew I remembered so much. It lifted me up to do this. I know that I was always so appreciative of people who helped when we lived in Slovakia. Language is such a gift. Mybe I should learn Spanish and six other languages. One of the men called and said, “Thank you for giving my grandmother and aunt a ride. I would like to give you two tacos.” He explained where he worked. Leroy and I went there. It was quite delicious and all homemade. We will recommend this taco bar to others. I decided to accept this offer because sometimes people really do want to give you a thank you. Paula

Skippers and tending plants

Hello, When out delivering newsletters, I was impressed by the number of butterflies. Perhaps they are really skippers. Several different varieties were out and about. They seem a bit smaller than a butterfly. At least they can find some flowers to visit for a meal. It is fun to see the different blooms. I was given some house plants. Today was so nice that I could take them out and work on them outdoors. The two vines had many places were there was just stem and not leaves. It took some major trimming to leave just a few stems with leaves close to the base. Some of the pruned pieces went back in the pot and some went into a jar of water so that roots could form. It is difficult to say what will live and what will die. I was going to use a different word here, but I misspelled it so much that neither spell check or my mis-speller’s dictionary could help me.

Paula

Celebration Day

Hello, We went to a 50 year celebration for Corydon Lutheran. Leroy was there for three years as an interim pastor. It was so great to have some time to visit with people that we have not seen for a long time. Leroy commented, “It is amazing how they have gotten older, but we have not.” I have heard such before, but somehow it still feels rather true. We do not notice aging inside our ourselves. Perhaps we did not see ourselves for 10 years we might notice the aging. A number of the former pastors were there. Some of them I knew, some not.

The NAAC woman’s basketball game was on so our drive home was much less populated with vehicles. We stopped at a store to get gas and return some items. The guy at the return counter asked if we had watched the game. “No, since we were driving. Did you watch it?” I asked. “Yes, it was very slow around here so many of us workers got to see quite a bit of it. There are a lot more shoppers here now.” He commented. Do sports control the viewing world and activities? Paula

Tree Friends are Gone

Hello, This morning two trees in front of the house were cut down. They were great shade for cars parked in that area. They had been damaged by the derecho, but our downstairs friend managed to delay removal for three years. It was good to have them for some more company. The city deemed them to be risky trees. We certainly did not want them to fall on anything important. New trees will replace them, but it will be a number of years before they are tall enough to give good shade. It was nice enough to hang out clothes today. I like it so much when I can have sheets dry outside. No birds pooped on them this time that is another win. The rest of the clothes are good too. When the leaves come back to the trees, things stay much cleaner. Trees are helpful in so many ways. Someone invited us over so we can watch the Iowa Women’s Basketball game tonight. We are pleased as we did not know how were going to manage that feat. Paula

Some Highs, Some Lows

Hello, On the drive to the car repair place, I realized there was no noise. How embarrassing! We did leave it as Leroy said, “Let them check it over.” I did call after they were open to tell them that I no longer heard the noise. They replied they did not hear it either, but they were checking it for safety. We are glad about that. On the way back, Leroy filled his car with gas. Later, I was looking at some accounts and decided to look at the credit card. Oh groan, there were three charges that we did not make. I believe the same person must be accessing our account as the usage pattern is always the same with the same amount of money. I feel watched or wonder who close to me gets into this. I tried to call the credit card company, but Leroy is the primary card holder and it would not accept me to talk to anyone. Leroy is at work, but he is going to try to call. He feels much better today. I had blood drawn ahead of my yearly physical. I am low on two things, but high on one. The initials for these items are not in my vocabulary. So, I have no way of knowing what is off. None of the numbers are very far from the norm. I feel ok. Paula

Leroy feeling Low

Hello, Leroy went to work, but soon came back home. He is feeling a bit achy and very tired. We both wonder if it is a reaction to the covid vaccine. He is much better this evening and will go to work tomorrow. On my way to Ely to participate in the tai chi class, I changed lanes on the interstate and heard a kind of whine from the front passenger tire area. I could still steer, no lights had come on the dash so I kept going but did not travel so fast. When I stopped for a stop sign the sound stopped only to start as the car moved again. When totally stopped, I checked around the tires, but could see nothing. On the way home, I just took back streets. The noise was not so loud, but that is no doubt because of the lower speed. We are taking it to a shop tomorrow morning. Hopefully it will not be too large of a repair. At least it did not cause an accident or leave me stranded. At the store today, I played the helpless old lady card and the clerk helped me a lot. It is great to get the help, but should I be more independent? Paula

Home again and vaccinated

Hello, We spent the week end at Brian’s home. It was good to see them again. We spent some fun times playing games, even one we thought might be not so good. It was a trivia contest of do you know more than a 5th grader. Luckily, we managed to know most of the things asked. Travel was good both directions with rain on the return trip. Today Leroy and I got our covid vaccine or booster. So far, everything is good. My arm is not complaining yet, but that could come. I am struggling with Leroy doing things differently in the kitchen. How can I learn to let it be? I guess it is the result of ruling that space for too many years. Am I a bit on the obsessive side? Could be. Leroy got a walk in this morning to pay the car insurance bill. We were both astonished when the call came on the way to Brian’s that we had not paid this bill. Luckily, there is some leeway in that as it was only about three days over. We do not remember ever doing this before. The bill came so early that it seemed there was plenty of time to tend to this matter. We are now “legal” again. Paula