Little Trip

Hello,

RAGBRI was in town Thursday night and Friday morning. They were to go close to the museum on their way out of town so Leroy was asked to come to work at 6:00. Anyway he got there at 5:30. He does not believe in being late. Because he was going in two hours early he would get off two hours early. He learned this fact on Wednesday. We contacted Brian and found out that it would be a good weekend for a visit. Apparently Leroy looked very tired in the afternoon so his boss asked if he would like to leave even earlier than the 3:00 time. That was great, but not so great because I was not ready to leave at that point. We did manage to leave ahead of our planned departure time.

“It has been a long time since we have been out of town,” one of us remarked.

We noted the dryness of the corn and pastures. It is quite sad looking. In the city we are, at this point, more inconvenienced than seriously traumatized by the lack of rain. I knew it is problematic, but seeing helps me more fully grasp the depth of the despair. Some places obviously had had some rain, but some just next door looked terrible. It was much better in Minnesota and north places.

We had not seen any of our grandchildren since the end of March. It was great to get some hugs, playtime and general horsing around. Logan, at seventeen months, was a just a little hesitant at first, but quickly got in the thick of things. Maybe he even remembered us.

He is talking now and liberally sprinkled “grandpa” around when he felt the urge. Granny was slower to come out of his mouth, but he made that too. We think earlier he was calling me grandma.

Now if those daughters of ours just lived closer we could drop in on them for a short visit when the opportunity suddenly presented itself. I fantasize about having bungee cords attached to all my children and just pulling them in when I wanted to see them and they could spring back when it was time to leave. Mass and matter does not work that way does it?

Paula

Still Working

Hello,

I still have work to do. I am working on getting the series numbered properly. Also my boss decided to go through the junior section of the library because the shelves are so packed. She was able to find more than a cart load of books that can be weeded. Weeding in the catalog system is usually my job, but she started on that before she left last night. Then there was the large stack that, after discussion, we decided to shelve in a different section of the library. Hopefully that will make them attractive and available to the right patron.  I had to make those adjustments. Then she told me about a section of the library in which the cataloging needs to be edited as one cataloger had no skills and just did whatever they felt like doing. So there is enough work to keep my busy. Plus there was an order of about ten videos that just came and those need to be catalogued.

Besides that every day that I go to work I do some Inter library loan tasks. That keeps me feeling necessary.

Yesterday Leroy and his boss went to the airport to pick up a shipment of books. The books could not be found. After much searching they learned that those books were still in Chicago. Subsequently they learned that they had not come through customs as the shipper did not fill out the proper papers to make that happen. Consequently Leroy felt as if he had gotten nothing done for an entire morning. Why do we not count as getting something done the time that it takes to work on problems? Are we too concerned about a product? Is that true of all personalities or just some like Leroy’s?

I have not gotten so much done on my day off, today. Wait, I took a walk in the morning coolness, mixed up a batch of bread, worked on the bank statement, paid the rent and utilities, paid a credit card bill, and dusted. For enjoyment I worked on two Sudoku puzzles, and read a magazine as well as a newspaper. And I was grateful for water and air conditioning. Life would be very different if those two items were scarce.

Paula

Successes

Hello,

Yesterday, I finished cataloging all the videos and all of the books that had been lined up for some time. It is great to look at the shelf and see it almost empty. As my boss laughed, “I will have to order more books to keep you busy.”

The videos especially have been there since I started in March. More books would just keep materializing because of purchases or gifts. This z source I found is so great because everything that I did yesterday was available there. Admittedly I had to search rather diligently for some for it, but it finally came to light.

There was a movie with a one word title that I was looking for. After entering this title at least three different times, getting it to run, and doing some other job while it ran only to come back to failure left me discouraged. My boss suggested I could just do a slim catalogue record and forget about it. Before I did that, I looked at Worldcat. The movie appeared complete with the proper picture on the cover. I happened to notice that the actors were listed as authors. That gave me another search point. I first tried the only actor name I knew but nothing returned. Then the next name gave me the record. Yes! Happiness filled my soul. Why it did not show up long ago I cannot imagine, but there it was just as it should be. There still are mysteries in life and I suppose that is good. I certainly could not have felt so good if I had found this catalog record on the first try. It would have been just added to the other easy finds.

There were ten DVDs that we had been unsuccessful at finding on Saturday. Today I found all of them. Some were even not that difficult. Why they did not turn up on Saturday I cannot say, but it was great to conquer the pile.

Besides that, my friend gave me a tip to make magazine cataloging much faster. And it was fast already.

Little things can be satisfying.

Paula

A Fool and his Money

Hello,

Surely a fool could not be referring to me since I am not a “he”. But it might be a close fit some days. We have been carrying another picture that we have not framed, mainly because there is no premade frame that works with it. It is a picture that the school in Bratislava gave me. I decided to frame it or pass it on as there is really no point in keeping it in my dresser drawer for safety. This must be the year to purchase frames because I realize since we have lived here I have bought three other frames, each more expensive than the last. What I did not know was that I was building up to the largest out lay of frame money for this group of two people who believe in holding onto their money.

I went back to the store where I selected the other frames. I could find nothing that would work with this picture. A clerk came and helped me look. She was also unsuccessful. Consequently I ordered a custom made frame. Is this print as valuable as the frame? Not even close. Probably the frame outshines the picture. I will surely have to work hard to enjoy it as much as the cost deserves.

It is a picture of the castle in Bratislave from the 1700’s. After all, Bývali sme pod hradom which translates as we lived under the castle. Would you believe that I even remembered this phrase, but I checked the translator for sure? I will be happy to have this picture out where I can look at it.

At least we do have the money to pay for this and we are not taking it from some other concern.

Last night we visited with one of our neighbors who has garden strips in her front lawn. She is Asian, but I could not tell from what country, but her accent was strong and English limited. She is growing interesting things.

Paula

My Posture

Hello,

Recently, I have been noticing a tingling in my back. I assumed that meant something was not in quite the right place. Usually more and varied yoga is my method of cure. For some reason I cannot make myself stick to a program. However the other day at work I happened to look at myself in the mirror and realize that my shoulders are no longer straight across, also the lower shoulder seems to be drifting forward.

“Holy cats!” I thought I really must get that yoga a regular part of my day. I want to be standing up straight for more years to come. Well, yesterday I did some yoga, but not today. So much for wonderful resolutions, New Year’s or otherwise. It seems that neither discomfort nor vanity is a powerful motivator.

Just anytime in the day I am trying to hold my shoulders back, hips tilted under, and stomach in. That lasts for a total of five minutes before I forget about it and sag back into whatever seems comfortable at the moment.

And to think I have hounded Leroy from years because of his posture. He does have slight scoliosis that has been inherited by our daughters. So he is not totally to blame his muscles but some blame is squarely on his genes. However the one time that he lifted weights for about a year his posture improved leading one to believe that there is a certain amount that can be changed. Now if I could just find the fortitude to do it I would be happy.

Paula

Fruit Fly Attack

Hello,

I love fruit and so do fruit flies. I am not sure how they know I have fruit, but they come in swarms. Leroy thinks they have laid their eggs on the surface of the fruit so it is a hatch rather than moving in. I like to eat my fruit at room temperature creating a good environment for them. They have never complained so they must like it instead they seem to invite their friends. They are generous unlike people who often hoard the good things in life.

Because I am not burying my vegetation debris, it sits in the open wastebasket giving rise to its own colony of fruit flies. The only good things I can say about these flies is they do not sting or bite, they do not even sit on me, they are not creepy to look at and they disappear when there is no food for them. Even though those are a lot of rather negative good things I still do not like to have them in my house.

Leroy kept saying that I should buy a covered wastebasket for the kitchen. Somehow it never got on my shopping list and I never thought of it when out. After these guests had out stayed their welcome, I thought of another solution. I am a consistent bag saver. I realized that I could take the frozen veggie bags that seemed to have no purpose, but to put our fruit refuse in and tie it shut with the twist ties that I no longer use. Since starting this new practice we have not seen a fruit fly around the garbage.

I also read somewhere that it is good method of killing harmful bacteria to wash fruit with a bit of white vinegar in the water. I have been doing that and miraculously I have seen no fruit flies in the house. Apparently they do not like or survive the vinegar either.

I am happy to say good bye to these mysteriously useful visitors, surely they have a use. Plus I have been reusing two things, the bags and the twist ties, that would have only had one use in the past.

In the near future I am going to ask our landlord if we could start a compost bin or bury our garbage around the property thus returning it to the earth.

We have eaten our first home grown tomato. Lovely, Lovely!

Paula

More Adventures

Hello,

I thought I would have snacks to eat, provided by the museum and or food to buy at the food tent. Because I was working in that spot I knew my options were not as good as they were the day before when I had brought my own food and there was much fruit, chips, and cookies for volunteers. I did not eat a cookie, had a few chips, and enjoyed a nectarine as well as an orange. These complimented my granola bar and nuts that I had armed myself with from home.

Later I learned from Leroy that they had a more complete meal and not just meat at the food tent on Saturday. There were even green beans, potato salad, and decent bread that would have been good.

Yesterday however the emphasis was on meat with brats, hot dogs, and pulled pork as the stars. I had brought no food and ridden the bike. It seemed important to eat something before I headed home even if it was only a little over three miles. So I asked at the ticket tent if I could just purchase some of the baked beans instead of the sandwich. This person then had to ask the caterer. I did not hear the conversation, but it took some time. She said ok when she came back. I was given one scoop of beans and offered a bag of chips that I declined, however I helped myself to some sauerkraut.

I was glad that I had purchased that as the only food left in the building was two red delicious apples which are not my favorite, but I ate one any way. Leroy had some nuts in his office and I snatched a small handful of them before I headed out into the heat over the hot pavement.

I was a bit over a mile from home when I ran into a small innocent looking hole, heard a pop, and saw my front tire deflate. At that point I was almost sorry that I had not eaten that sandwich, but now there was no going back. At least I had consumed some food and quite a bit of water. I walked home, seeking shade every where I could find it and being grateful for the wonderful old spreading trees. I was also pleased that this flat occurred so close to home and not on the other end of my trip. Leroy had also ridden his bike and he could not have helped me get home. I did have my tire pump, but figured that it was not worth trying because of the pop I had heard.

Paula

Just in case you are wondering, Saturday night Leroy rode his bike home after 11:00. Then yesterday he came home some time after 6:00 in the evening. It was amazing how pumped he was but he fell asleep at 8:30 after those long days with no naps.