Just a Short Note

Hello,

Just a short note to let you know that Leroy only worked about and hour and a half yesterday. Today he expects to stay the entire day. He is better, but not 100 %.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with surprises and new insights.

Paula

And

Leroy

Leroy Feeling Better

Hello,

Leroy stayed home from church. That is a hard thing for him to do, but he did not say too much that he wanted to go. He did have a slight fever when he woke up, but it was not there when I came home from church. It stayed away all day. He tells me that the pain has almost disappeared. Now he mostly feels weak.

His museum office Christmas party was this afternoon, and he very much wanted to go to that, but he finally called in the afternoon to let them know we would not be there. Because it is always a little more effort for me to go I was rather pleased. Leroy asked, “Do you want to go by yourself?”

I was somewhat taken aback by such an idea. It takes fortitude for me to go with Leroy and without him would take a whole arsenal of courage. These are nice people, but I do not really know them and that makes it hard for me.

Tomorrow is my office Christmas party. That is not at all work as I spend quite a bit of time with all but one of the staff members. We are inviting the city council and that is all ok because it will not be for so very long. I might even know some of these people as well. My comfort level is all about knowing people.

Finally I have finished all of the Christmas cards I am going to send. I even walked them about five blocks away so I could put them in a mailbox on the corner. One job done! I have now purchased all the presents that I am going to buy. Two jobs done! I will not wrap the things that we are taking to Brian’s house, but I have gathered bags for them. Three jobs done!

It is nice to have finished some tasks. I even listened to Christmas music this afternoon while working on cards. It was enjoyable.

Paula

Leroy is sick

Hello,

Leroy was complaining last evening of abdominal pain that struck and disappeared. Apparently it came intermittently thought the night as well disturbing his sleep. He did not have to work today so that was good. I left him with some bedding in the dryer and instructions to take care of it when done. He did that, but not a great deal more. This evening when I came home, I took his temperature and it was just a slight rise up to 99. He then took a “nap” if you would call it that late in the day. He now claims to feel a bit better. We will hope for health tomorrow. Certainly we are thinking he should be better when it is time for us to head to MN on Wednesday.

I worked today. There was a steady of stream of people. I thought the count would be high at the end of the day, but it must have been that they were nicely spaced. I did get some things off of my desk, but I am not sure that anyone else can tell. Most of my time was spent at the front desk. I even shelved some items because the cart was too full. It was fun to talk books with people. It is especially nice when I find people who agree with my idea of a good book.

I added a new movie to the collection, put it on the shelf, looked for it later to add it to the list of new titles, only to search and search for it and not find it. “Could someone have taken it?” I wondered. I looked in slightly less likely places to no avail. Just when I had given up, I decided to put away some DVDs on the cart and there it was in a lineup. Did I put it there and not remember? I am starting to wonder about my ability to keep track of things.

A friend gave me some of her delicious homemade bread. Leroy and I ate some for supper and declared it worthy of praise.

Paula

A Day Off

Hello,

Yesterday was my day off. One of my friends was moving and I had not quite committed to helping with that. I had asked if she had enough help and she said, “Yes” but somewhat hesitantly. Tuesday night I got a strong feeling that I should help. Calling after 9:30 in the evening is not something I usually do, but did it anyway. The relief in her voice could be felt over the airwaves when I told her I could come in the morning. Originally I planned to just be there in the morning, but it was not until 3:00 in the afternoon that I left when two high school boys came to help.

I was probably about the third most agile and strong of the people who were there when I was; consequently I climbed a lot of stairs. I did not move anything that I thought was too heavy and I set my limit a bit light. It seemed the wiser course to just keep going since there was plenty of lighter things to tote around.

Today my calf muscles are letting me know that they put in a big day yesterday.  It is especially noticeable when I have been sitting for a longer period of time and then move once more. My arms are a little tender however my back has no noticeable problems. I did try to remember to stand up straight with my shoulders back so my whole strength could be applied when lifting and carrying. Guess I just could not stay away from the moving process for too many years. I have to keep up my skills.

I have yet to wear my new coat, but it keeps getting a little colder so maybe soon I will have to get it on. Now for sure I have to find something that will make a nice gift for Leroy. I can think of some things, but I am not sure that I should pick them out as he knows more about some of them.

Paula

My Tummy

Hello,

This morning Leroy asked, “Why does your tummy stick out? You are not over weight.”

Well, I agree with the not overweight. I am perhaps more likely underweight. My reply went like this, “I am not standing as straight as I should, and my core is probably not as strong as it should be.” While making this response I straightened up, sucked in my stomach and looked in the mirror.

Then Leroy went on to add, “It seems many older women have protruding stomachs. Why would that be?” As if I am an expert on older women!

The mysteries of life, but do we really want to contemplate such things? I did not tell Leroy, but I suspect that everything is hanging down inside and it has to go somewhere once it all hits the non giving pelvic bones. The back bone I have does not let it go in that direction so out it must come.

I could not resist a little dig at Leroy and said, “Your stomach has been sticking out since I have known you. It looks better now than it used to. I have always felt that it is out because of poor posture and a weak core.”

Somehow this did not seem like a positive conversation so it was dropped by both participants. I have to confess that I am trying to sit up straighter today. If I were smart I would start doing more exercises that would strengthen my core. But that is just a thought. I am certainly not going to lose weight. I now weigh less than I did when I graduated from high school. I should perhaps build muscle. Not that sizes are the same, but I wear a much smaller size than I used to.

Paula

Sunday

Hello,

The Christmas letter is done enough that Leroy could proofread it. I call that progress. Leroy also found the last box of decorations. They have been displayed to their full advantage. It was so warm today I cannot imagine needing a down coat in the near future. Where are those cold days from just a few weeks ago?

This morning the church choir did their special presentation in honor of the Christmas season. It all sounded good, but I find I must be getting old as my mind wanders during a piece sometimes and I get caught wondering just what I should be singing. There are only five sopranos in the choir. Thank goodness one is young and she is on top of all of what is going on. The hard part is that we were split 1^st and 2^nd parts and then it means only two voices on one part and three on the other. All the other voices have more singers so we have to push to be heard sometimes.

In the bulletin this morning the prelude was attributed to Marty Haugen. I turned to the woman sitting next to me and said, “That is not Marty Haugen.”

First I have never heard of him composing an organ selection and second it did not sound anything like his other music that I am familiar with. Sure enough when I talked to the organist he said it was a misprint in the bulletin. I did not know that composer, but I am pleased that I could recognize who it was not.

I played the piano for a nursing home service this afternoon. At least this time the Christmas decorations did not interfere with opening the lid and putting music on the right spot. Any mistakes I made were just ordinary mistakes that I have to take the credit for. These people were not quite as active as the last group and they straggled in after Leroy had started to do his thing. Leroy is nicely flexible so it is not a big deal.

Paula

With Leroy Shopping

Hello,

Leroy and I did our little shopping trip this morning. It is so wonderful to check the times that stores open so we could plan our route. Grateful for the internet that provides that information. We even got home about an hour ahead of the time that Leroy stated was the end of all this “fun”.

We made a decision to use the wall clock that I had gotten as nothing else appealed to us. Then we got some molasses, of the blackstrap, organic, unfiltered type. Gingerbread will be made someday.

Unplanned, Leroy got me a birthday, Christmas present. I have a new down coat. Not that I was looking for a coat, but just happened to see it. I was not going to spend so much even with 40% off, plus another $15 because we spent over a certain amount, and an additional $5 subtracted because we are such great people. It was because we are great people, right? Anyway I always buy coats when they are on clearance and hopefully even less money would leave my hands. However there was only one coat on the rack that was my ideal size. I could have worn a small, but as usual the sleeves are a bit short for me and when it is cold that is not fun. Also I would have liked the blue but when she looked online the only one in medium was the same color as the one in front of me. She called it red, but it is really to the side of red. Somewhat like burgundy or some other color name that I cannot possibly extract from my brain. She did say they have been selling a lot of these coats. Last year I was unable to find a down coat that fit at the end of the season. So I got this coat. Leroy declared it a bargain and said, “It is your Christmas and Birthday presents together.”

That mollified my guilt a bit. On the way home I realized I did not put up the hood. “What if it does not adequately cover my head? That was the problem with my last down coat.”

Wonder of wonders, it fits beautifully. Now if global warming goes somewhere else, I will be all prepared for the cold or we might have to move north so I can justify this purchase.

That Leroy is such a decisive shopper. We now have two small gifts for each grandchild to open. What will I do when these kids get too old for the joy of small gifts? Maybe it has already happened with the oldest and I do not know it.

Paula