Wait List

Hello, I had a doctor appointment in January, but got on a wait list. Two days ago, they called to say that there had been some cancellations. I was able to see the doctor today. I was not enamored of the 12:30 time, but could manage. So that is done and now I need to make some decisions about treatment. Blood test was ordered and administered. In a month, I will again meet with the doctor and proceed. The person taking the blood was new on the job. It hurt a bit when the needle went and then there was a struggle with something before the needle came back out. The person watching suggested a procedure. The needle stayed in the next time and did not hurt so much. Four vials of blood were collected. I had thought one would be enough. Seems more of my blood was needed. I just took off the wrap and it is easy to see which was the first poke. It did a little damage.

We know people have to learn, but we really want them to learn on someone else. Paula

Adventures in the House

Hello, We have very little counter space and no dishwasher. When we do dishes, we put some on the dryer and or on the washer to air dry for some time. Today, I put a plate close to the back edge of the washer. Big mistake! It slid down in back of the washer. We have a long-handled grabber. Leroy could not see the plate. I leaned against the washer turning on many cycles, but the door was open so nothing worked, except the lights and the sounds. I was finally able to see the plate when I climbed on top of the washer. I could not grab it, but pushed it to the side where the grabber could grab. It was not too hard to pick up, but somehow the angles in the small space were not right and I dropped it before I could get it out. It landed face down with no edges available for pick up. Leroy looked into climbing down there, but he is too big for the small space. We needed a kid. With no kid available I bravely said, “I’ll do it.” It was fairly easy to climb from a chair to the top of the washer, but then it was a bit of drop to the floor. I managed to do that without breaking a bone, picked up the dusty, dirty plate, handed it to Leroy and contemplated how I was going to get out. I could not manage to pull myself up, weak arms? We have a small plastic step stool and that worked. Then I have to use the grabber to get it out while I was still on top of the washer. I could tell I had done some unusual moves. I believe that the yoga helps keep it a possibility. Paula

A Day Goes Fast

Hello, Leroy got up late, about six in the morning, but he has been earlier. He does not have so much time to get his exercises done. I used to be the early riser in the family, but I do not sleep so very well. Popping out of bed is no longer my style, although maybe I should just fake it since I usually wake when he gets up. We washed and hung out two loads of laundry before we headed to church to water plants and unload the items that will serve food to many people in need. I put 54 half gallon milk cartons in the refrigerator. It was not hard, but getting them off the cart was a bit of a trick. Moving the cart, even with good wheels, took a bit of strength. Since the milk goes on the bottom shelf it is good for me to do that since I can easily squat rather than bend over. Leroy helped unload other stuff. Then we sorted through nectarines as some of them had bad spots on them. We cut off the bad and the pits and brought the rest home. We had a big bowl for snack. I made another crisp. On the way home, we stopped and picked all of the hot peppers that were still on the plants. Those were a gift for a neighbor who will use them along with the green beans that we shared the day before. I like gardening, but I am looking forward to the end. This evening and tomorrow, I will go to a women’s retreat that is a part of the church spirituality program. Leroy will get to spend some time without me around bugging him. Paula

Frost, but not everything was Bothered

Hello, Close to the house most of the plants are ok. I did bring a number of them into the porch, so they did not have to struggle so much. In the community garden the tops of the tomatoes were touched. The pepper plants were wilted and the sweet potato vine is done. We picked a lot of green tomatoes or some that were just starting to turn color. We had them spread out on eight large dinner plates. What should be done with so many green tomatoes. yesterday I chopped up and froze the ripest. Today we chopped and froze some of the green ones. Now we only have four dinner plates of tomatoes. I hope some of them will ripen. Otherwise, they are going into stir fry or whatever I am making. Leory has become quite an adventurous eater. If he did not join me, he would have to fix his own meals. Just now we went to toss the frosted pepper vines. It feels good to get those out of the garden. We also found six almost red tomatoes that we missed. Our neighbor was happy to get those. We just finished delivering the neighborhood newsletter. It felt hot out there with my jacket on. Such temperature swings. We are to get some apples today from our CSA. We think it will be a lot because they asked if we would like some seconds. It is also a lot because it makes up for the time we were gone. apples that are seconds just have a blemish on them so they cannot be marketed as firsts. Paula

Frost Tonight?

Hello, A frost is predicted for tonight. I picked all our peppers, some tomatoes that were turning color, and brought more houseplants into the porch. After this it is supposed to be warmer by the end of the week. It seems the first frosts are just lone rangers and then it is back to a warmer temperature. The mums usually do not freeze in the first round as they are rather hardy. Some of the inground perennials at church will probably be done at that point. Then we will need to trim them. If I remember I will bring the car so I can bring the remains home to compost them. At church they just go in the garbage. There were still some green beans in the community garden, but I could not convince myself to pick them. I just have not enjoyed these beans with strings. They also do not fill out as I would like before they get too old. You can tell I am not starving or I would be out there working on it. Paula

CROP walk finished

Hello, The sun was bright, the wind was strong, and the temperature was middle of the possibilities. There were places sheltered from the wind and it felt quite warm. In the full force of the wind, it was rather cold. A stocking cap would have been nice along with a light weight winder coat. We walked right along, but not as fast as some people. Perhas, we have slowed down. We also passed some people. It seemed there were not as many people as we have had in the past, but life is always in flux. It was delightful to see two deer leaping in the tall dry grass. When they were on the ground they were hidden from our view. Part of the trail is paved and much of it is pea gravel or sand/dirt. When the wind blew strongly, I covered my face, but I could still see the dust swirling away as it ran into me. At home I noticed my laces were dusty. Tapping the soles together let go of quite a lot of dust. Leroy suggested we also shake out our jeans when we got changed. They too were holding quite a lot of dust. Paula

Nectarine Crisp

Hello, We were given some nectarines that were only about half good. The giver knew I would rescue what I could. We each had a nice bowl for our morning snack. Leory cut up the rest of the good parts. I made a crisp this afternoon. We had some cherries in the freezer so I put them on the bottom layer. Even though I have no sugar in the house I had intended to put in honey, but forgot all about it. Leroy pronounced it excellent. I liked it as well. Leroy is getting cut off from his sweets. Not working means he is not eating so much sugar as people would often bring things to share with others. It was reported that there had been northern lights and might be again. We went to a local park last night seeking darkness. The street lights are just a hazard for sky viewing. Even in the park it was not so very dark as there are lights there as well. We sat on a bench on the top of a hill and enjoyed the night silence, warmth, and breeze, but no lights. Leroy has never seen them. I have seen then at least two times, but long ago. I would like to see them again. Paula