Life as Retired people

Hello, Leroy is going to the museum two days a week as a volunteer. He had planned to be there the whole day but got tired so he came home. Guess that is a perk of retirement. The project he is working on is a large donation from one man. This man seemed to think the museum wanted books on all subjects as some of them are in the science area and have nothing to do with the themes of the museum. Now they have to dispose of them. Take note, if you want to donate to a museum your “gift” could be a burden. Last night we went to an hour session on Qigong, meditation and some tai chi. I liked it quite a lot and Leroy said, “That was ok.” Meditation is not his thing. I will go back two more times and Leroy might come also. After that choir starts. I forgot to get the book for book club until Tuesday. It seems I will be able to finish it by Sunday. That would have been much harder when I was working. Today I went to a rheumatologist. I had thought I was done seeing specialists, but, Tuesday, they called to set up the appointment. Apparently, the hematologist/oncologist referred me. Now maybe I am done. He did require another blood draw, but felt he would not need to see me. Some people have an elevated number in the blood work and I might be part of that group. I seem to have no symptoms. Today they only took five vials. is that good sign? Paula

Mysteries

Hello, The towel in the picture was out on the clothes overnight. Whose footprints are these?

They are front and back on the bottom of the towel. It is a couple feet off the ground. I vote for a large racoon. I have been told by neighbors that there is a large one that comes out at night and roams around the area. Raccoons are out in the daytime, but not a big one. It seems they live in the storm drains. Leroy though it might be a squirrel, but looks too large for that. It could be a possum, but I think their foot is shaped a little differently. Who is adding to our little free library? That is a big mystery. Six middle level dictionaries were put in there. To my astonishment two of them have left. The Korean language learning books are still there. When I remember, I will take them to the public library for their book sale. Now there are several duplicate copies of books on magic. They will stay a while, but if here too long they are also going to the public library book sale. When rain is predicted should we water at church? Sometimes it rains and sometimes it does not. Can I finish a book by Sunday that I just picked up today for the book club? I had forgotten about it. It is about three hundred pages long. Paula

Neighborhood Fungi

Hello, We saw this beautiful white ball mushroom or fungus on a neighbor’s lawn. Yesterday we saw a number of them on a lawn, but there someone had attack them perhaps with a stick. There were white balls that had been knocked off the stems. That saddened me. I liked looking at them. At least today both of the fungi were still intact and looked good.

I happened to glance out the window as I was making the bed. I saw a young man, riding a bike, stop in the middle of the street, get off the bike and inspect it a bit. Then he picked the bicycle up and heaved it at the side of the road. As it landed the front wheel snapped off along with a part I could not identify. He then turned the bike over on its handle bars, retrieved the wheel and tried to fit it back on. That did not work so he threw the wheel. At that point he went pack to the bike and fiddled with back tire. Whatever he tried to do was unsuccessful. He then picked up the bike and threw it next to the curb. After we had lunch, I suggested we go look at it to see if it would be worth giving to a place that repairs bikes and gives them away. The bike was gone, but a neighbor was mowing the lawn so I stopped and asked him about it. He said someone who lives in his house wondered if they could use parts to repair their own bike. He also added that if that did not work, they would take it to the place that shares bikes. I was glad to hear that there was a bit of a positive ending. I prayed for the angry man. Paula

Another county Park

Hello, Yesterday afternoon Leroy and I went to another county park. We have been to Wickiup Hill several times in the past. Some of the times we picked black raspberries. They were wonderful. We saw no briars this time. We did find some black berries. We picked about a half pint to bring home. Leroy was not very comfortable with that as a sign tells the visitors to leave in the park what they find. When we picked the black raspberries, we asked permission and were given that. The visitor center has been updated and I found it quite interesting. The displays start way back in the past with early humans in the area. They also showed the former depth of the top soil and the length of the grass roots. I could almost reach the entire length of the root which much have been over six feet long. As we know, the land changed when the European settlers came and invented the plow. Our top soil is now quite small and contaminated with herbicides. At least we have some park areas that are reclaiming the prairies and wetlands. Some farmers are also trying to care for the land as they know how important it is. There was also a small bit about the Meskwaki who are some of the early inhabitants of this part of the world. After they had been moved to Kansas, the Iowa legislature allowed them to buy back some of the land that was taken from them. People in the Amana Colonies in Iowa helped them a bit with this. The picture of the baby swing is an effort on their part to maintain their culture.

Paula

At What Time?!

Hello, This morning, I thought I had my day all organized. I had even gotten ready to go to church to water plants. Leroy asked what time my physical therapy appointment was. I replied glibly, “Eleven forty.” For some reason I checked my calendar only to see that it was set for 7:40. Eek! I was already late as it was 7:45. Leroy said, “I will water, you just go.” At least I was dressed well enough to be seen in public. I grabbed my purse, keys and slipped into some sandals. I had planned to walk since it is fairly close, but the car got me there a bit faster. When I walked in on of the people at the desk said, “Good morning, how are you?” “All upset!” I blurted out breathlessly, “Because I am late.” They all laughed and one of them said, “We have all been there at some time.” There were a few questions and some papers to sign before I met the therapist. When she started to take my blood pressure, I said, “It is always terrible.” Since I came in with such anxiety, I was surprised to learn that it was quite fine. Maybe I should dash around more often instead of being on time or even early. Paula

More Weeds gone

Hello, I was surprised when Leroy talked about going back to the community garden this morning. We have two yardies ready to pick up tomorrow. Our city has a pickup of yard waste and it is composted and gifted back to people who would like to come get it. I think it is such a good thing. The shovel was necessary again today. We also took some water with us to drink and that is a good thing. It was not so hot, but as the time when on it got warmer. I should take a picture of some of these large grasses. I think enough big ones are still in the garden. The paths in the garden have been mulched so the weeds are not there, but some are growing from under that mulch. It has been raining so much that we did not water at church yesterday or today. Tomorrow I will go again. The food pantry in Ely is rather short of produce and other foods. Our church in doing a big food drive for the food pantry in our town. Food scarcity is a real thing for many people. Paula

Weeds stronger than we are

Hello, Leroy and I went to the community garden for about an hour to dig/pull weeds. It was a struggle to win. The knuckle grass was well established and enormous. Luckily there were two of us and a shovel. Guess it has been good weather for growth and we have been gone a long time. I had gone by myself without a digger or a shovel and was not so successful. It was such a little attempt, that no one would know that I had been there. Today, Leroy and I learned that we will be going on another trip at the end of August, first part of September. It will be a bus trip to the west in this country. This will be the fourth big trip this year. Leroy is getting to the end of his trip need for the time being. Certainly, it is more than we have ever done in one year. Last night I went to a presentation about the 50 years of the Ely Library. The best part for me was to see some of the people I knew from the past, but had not seen in a long time. People make the world go round. Paula