Around Town Octobert 5, 2024 Hello, Yesterday, Leroy and I went to see the new astronomical clock in the clock tower where Leroy was formerly employed. We planned on leaving just before the hour so we could see the action. I had to go the bathroom at the last minute so we were driving up as the music was playing. It was almost done by the time we parked and got over there. We also had plans to go to the pubic library so we got that done and came back with much time to spare before the next hour. Leroy visited with people in the museum and I looked at a photo exhibit of people who have fled Ukraine. They were people of many ages and experiences escaping to Slovakia. It was interesting and well done. This time we were in place about five minutes before the hour so we got the full show. It was interesting. I was a little disappointed that the figures did not come out, but they went past the opening for quite some time. Leroy wondered if that was to protect them from the weather.

There was a woman there who said she has come almost every day since it started. A bicyclist came up and afterward he started tell us about it as well as the one in Prague. Neither of us told him we had been there. Leroy knows quite a bit about how this one came into being. A man who said he was from Texas also dashed up to see it. For some reason last night, I had a fever and lots of aches. It is much better today, but still not perfect. Paula

Granola Made September 30, 2024 Hello, It got hotter today, but granola was gone so the oven had to go on. All in all, the kitchen did not become as hot as I thought it might. We certainly like to have granola on our daily breakfast oatmeal as well as on snicks that include yogurt. I am happy eating the same thing every day so my diet does not change much. The granola recipe has changed over time. the first thing that is gone is the powdered milk since Leroy no longer tolerates milk. Then I had trouble finding soy flour so chickpea flour has taken the place. Recently I could not find large amounts of sesame seeds so hemp seeds have taken that place in the recipe. Brian had fermented honey last year so I substituted that for regular honey. Today I sued the last of the fermented so will go back to regular honey. Just because I like it, I added vanilla a long time ago. It seems to be that is still a fairly healthy recipe. It along with bread is about the only thing I bake. I certainly enjoy doing that in the winter. We stopped on our trip at Crater Lake. It was beautiful. I have to confess that I had never heard of it until it was listed as a stop on this trip.

Paula

Cleaning and Tripping

Hello, On Saturday, Leroy and I planned to water the church flower garden and do some trip to a local park and hike. On the walk home we decided we were too hot and tired so we stayed home and cleaned our side of the back porch as well as washing the kitchen and bathroom floors. Makes sense, right? It was certainly satisfying to get those jobs done. We think it looks good, but not sure that anyone else will ever notice. One of the sad things about cleaning is that seldom is it noticed by others, but dirt and a mess are noticed by many. In the winter I expect to have help from Leroy for some deep cleaning of rooms. It seems he should have some time in retirement to do one room at a time. We did visit Yellowstone National Park on our trip. We have been there before but we did see some different areas. Old Faithful was still regular so we got to see it and it is still breathtaking.

A stop at Geyser Basin was good. While in the bus a herd of bison walked somewhat close giving us a good look at them.

The last time we were in our car in the Tetons they surrounded us and I could hear the noise from their stomachs. This time there was a little more distance. Paula

Another trip cameo

Hello, First, I am not doing the days in order so do not try to make sense of our route. As Leroy said, “We saw a lot of things we did not know we wanted to see.” Leroy and I do not often talk about places we might like to go except in our neighborhood or state. Our friends give us tips about places they would like to go and we go there and do like it. It is nice to have travel suggesters and companions. Besides seeing some sand dunes, we also stopped at Multnomah Falls, Oregon. It was breath taking. Leroy and I walked up to the higher falls, but not to the top of it. We were puffing a little and did not know about the time required for us to get up there. We liked to be on the bus when it pulled away.

The weather was good, that means no rain. I realize that locals in many places might have wanted some rain. We got into a routine going after about two days of staying in a motel and packing up to have bags out before 7:00 am. I had divided my clothes by type. With long pants going in one bag and capris in another saved so much time when searching for things to wear the following day. If I take another bus trip, I will do that again with more clear markings on the plastic bags, like on every side. Paula

What a Trip

Hello, We returned home two days ago from a bus trip to the Pacific Northwest. The first two days, as we spent a lot of time riding to the west, I wondered “Was this a good thing to sign up for?” At that point we were tired and a bit weary from so much bus time. By the time we got home from this 5,000-mile ride we were excited about so many things that we had seen. This is the fourth extended trip we have taken this year. This trip was the longest. We had to add one additional day to get to Minnesota for the starting point and then to get one day to get back home. All told it was 19 days on the road for us. Many people have asked what was the favorite part. It is hard to exclude anything, but I have finally settled on the walks among the red woods as my favorite thing. I like trees and it was astonishing to be about half way up one of these trees and realize there is still so much tree above me.

Paula

Seeing with clarity

Hello, I had laser surgery to clear up my vision which had changed after cataract surgery. I had not realized how my sight had deteriorated. It was wonderful to walk out of the office and see better than I had in months. It came so gradually that I had not noticed. The world looks brighter. The surgery was painless and easy although it lasted quite a while for my right eye. They had talked about 30 seconds and both Leroy and I think it was more like a minute. The left eye took just a few seconds. There were no restrictions on my activity. Liked that feature. I do have a lot of floaters now, but they had told me that would very likely be the case. Most of them are small, but one is rather large. I am hoping it will go away after some time of visiting me. I sometimes think there is a bug near and once I thought a mouse had moved out of my sight, but it was just floaters. It would have been nice to have realized this vision lack before all the trips we took this summer, but as someone said the pictures will look so much better now. Good thing I had that appointment with the eye doctor who knew what was going on and what to do about it. I did have a check up with my personal care provider. I was pleased when she said, “I forget you are over 70 because you are in such good shape.” Paula

The First Two Days

Hello, We did stop and do some touring on the first two days. The corn palace was in this segment of the trip. I did learn something about that. At one time there were many corn palaces and they change the design each year.

On the first day we stopped at the Lewis and Clark rest stop and saw the Dignity Sculpture of Earth & Sky. I found that to be quite amazing to see. There was also a small museum at this rest stop. I think Leroy and I have been at the before.

We also took in the changing landscape as we traveled along. Then there was a stop at Wall Drug which had some features that caught my attention. The next day we stopped at Devil’s Tower and were able to walk around it. They had had a big storm so there were some places that the trees were across the trail and they had been cut so people could still walk around. There were four climbers almost half way up. They looked very tiny and hard to see. Someone figured they had been at it four hours to get that high before noon.

Paula