Heater Work!!!

Hello, On a sunny, but cool 20-degree day we headed home. We were almost out of the city when I said, “The heat should be there now, I am getting a bit cool. Please try the heater.” This car does not have auto temp and I do not like to have the cold air blasting me before the heat comes up. I also like to drive without a coat on. I did have on a hat, gloves, and a warm scarf. Leroy commented, “The heater is not working. The fan is not blowing.” He tried turning it off and on again. No luck. Course then we both started to feel colder. Leroy grabbed his coat from the back and slipped one arm inside. He did not want to unbuckle with the fast traffic so he wrapped it around himself. “When we get out of the city, would you get my coat and stick it carefully between me and the door.” I asked or commanded. It felt a little better when that was done. The temperature, according to the car thermometer had inched up to 21 degrees only to go back to 19 degrees F. The sun coming in the window was a welcome help. Our upper bodies were almost ok. Our feet, however were another issue. I was happy that I had cruise control so I could, from time to time stamp my feet to try to warm them up. Leroy looked in the car manual to learn that there were two fuses. He was hoping that was the issue and that he would be able to replace them if we were to go to some place that might sell them. About an hour and a half later we stopped at a truck stop. We needed fuel and we both needed to go to the restroom and spend some time inside just warming up. Leroy got gas, turned the car back on and moved it closer to the building. Miracle of miracle the heater now worked. What a blessing. We turned it on high with all of the force aimed at our feet. Sometimes we forget to be grateful for all the luxuries in our lives. The rest of trip was without incident. I did remember as we got home that this car has heated seats, but neither of us thought to access that heat. Guess that was so I could relate how miserable we both were, but how grateful when it worked. Paula

Learning From Grandchildren

Hello, It is quite fine to “babysit” for children who know how to do many things and can get themselves to school without prompting from us. Yesterday, Logan gave us a bit of concern. He was to go to school on the bus instead of walking because it was -4 degrees F. Leroy was out shoveling the driveway. After a bit he noticed that Logan was no longer out there with him. He asked the neighbor kid if he knew where he was; the answer was no. We did know that when it is nicer Logan likes to walk. Brian told us that when it is colder than 20 degrees Logan is to ride the bus. When the bus came, Logan did not appear. We did not panic, but hoped he had walked since it was such a sunny day. The school did not call and report his absence. We went about our day and figured he would ride the bus home even though it was a bit warmer at maybe 10 degrees. The bus came home and Logan did not get off. By this time his older sister was home so we asked her what she thought. She figured that he had walked. Perhaps ten minutes Logan came home. We told him that we were scared when he just disappeared in the morning and did not come home on the bus. Today it was -5 degrees when he got on the bus and 11 degrees when he came home on the bus. The kids tell us how to operate the oven, stove top, and dish washer in the kitchen. They also know how to use the TV and the washer and dryer. Yesterday at noon, I had wanted to scramble some eggs, but could not figure out how to turn on the stove top. The microwave was in our skill set so I used that. Both Logan and Sophia are already cooking and using the kitchen fairly efficiently. Paula

Why Minnesota in the Winter?

Hello, Brian and Jen are out of town for a couple days, so Leroy and I are here to “drive kids around”. These grands are old enough and responsible enough to do almost everything by themselves, except the driving. On Monday, we heard more about the approaching Tuesday storms so we panicked, changed plans, and started a day early. We thought the freezing rain in our area was not to come until midnight which I suppose was true as we left ahead of that. However, we did not miss it totally because leaving Spring Valley, MN after a pit stop, the warning light came on in the car which told us there was poor traction. I was now driving, so I dropped the speed significantly. That light stayed on for a good long time. We finally called Brian asking him to check where we would leave this behind. If not, we were planning to look for a motel even though we had not slipped at all. It was a bit better around Rochester as they had put that liquid on the road. Finally, the light went off for a short time. This drizzle was so weird. We could barely see it until it was frozen on the windshield. The windshield wipers were unable to remove it so we had to turn on the heat full blast and we both sweat up a storm. From time to time, we would turn down the heat only to have it build up again. When we would go past a light by a ramp I would tell Leroy, “Look up at the light and see if that stuff is still coming down.” By this time the temperature was as 27 degrees F. Much too cold to be still a liquid coming down, but it was. Brian called to let us know that it should be better after Pine Island, MN which was not so terribly far. We elected to keep going. At Pine Island the temp was down to 22. Surely now it would change to snow, but it did not for another ten miles. When the warning light in the car went away, I did not put it on cruise, but stayed with manual control and at times sped more than I have in recent years. I wanted to put on some distance. Oops, that light was back on and I had to slow down for a while before going faster again. Even after we saw a sign proclaiming that it was only 25 miles to St. Paul, the light came on, the temperature was now 18 degrees F. It was still like rain coming down. The heating system was not getting the window clear enough. Just as we drove out of it, we chose a spot to pull over. Leroy got out the scrapper and cleared the window as well as the lights he said, “They were caked with ice, too.” Grateful that we made it safely. Grateful for that light coming on in the car, because frequently I could not see that much on the pavement. We did go past one car that had spun out so it was not all good. Paula

Stamps and Leroy

Stamps and Leroy February 18, 2022 Hello, Leroy went to the museum this morning to work on the stamp collection with two volunteers from the stamp club. He was there from 9:00-1:00. He is also volunteering, but he is the one who knows where things are at the museum. He also commented that they made plans to come back again tomorrow morning. He was pleased that they did not have to put things away, but could leave them in the classroom and lock the door. That will save them quite a bit of time. He also commented they need a stamp catalog for stamp identification. I gather this is a bit expensive, but there is a source of money for this type of thing. Monday he will go back, but this time it is for safety training. He has taken that bit of work before, but he feels he could use a refresher course. We have had a small amount of safety training at my work. I, at least, know where the flashlights are and where to if inclement weather comes. Not quite sure what I would do if someone came in and was threatening. Leroy has his stamp things out on the table in the computer room, but now he probably does not have the time or inclination to tend to his own collection. We could use some more stamps to mail letters. I will try to get Leroy to go since he knows what he wants in addition to the ones I want. Sometimes I try to guess what he has or needs. That is not always successful. Paula

Working, Thinking Retirement

Hello, I have said I would retire after my birthday next winter. It must be the right decision as I am starting to look forward to that time. It will be nice to stay home instead of thinking of driving in snow and ice. I am still grappling with the idea that I might still do yoga and tai chi as a library volunteer. Just now I realize that I would need to have a key to the meeting room. There was a light mix of snow and rain last night coming down as I was driving home. At that point it was not really an issue. This morning I found it more noticeable as there seemed to be a frozen coating on the less used roads. This morning, a car was parked in the alley at the end I usually use. I had to use the other direction and chose a smaller street to get on the thoroughfare. At the stop sign the car slipped a bit which put me on alert. Surely just driving in town to an appointment would be so much easier. Leroy told me he is going to going back to work for some time on Friday and Monday, days when we usually have off together. Although I will also be working in the morning on Monday. I like some alone time and it is not so easy to find in the apartment. Certainly, that will be an adjustment when we both retire. Can we/I handle all that together time? It seems we have managed for a bit over 50 years so we will probably figure it out. One of the violets is blooming well and the other seems to need to be repotted. I like to repot outside so that will happen sometime in the future. Our amaryllis, that is from last year is now blooming beautifully. The pink cactus has six buds on it. One of those seed pods is still on. I must pick it because the other two pods disappeared. The white cactus has only three buds, but I am happy to see those when they bloom. Paula

Random Act of Kindness

Hello, On the radio they were talking about the benefits of random acts of kindness. There were positive outcomes. I resolved that I will try to focus on doing one a day or even more. I am not planning to do big things, but small things. For instance, this morning I went to the Hy-Vee store close to me and saw a gold cab on the unloading truck. I know that this driver has driven 1,000,000 safe, accident free, miles for the company. I decided I should complement him for that. I got done with my tasks and looked in the back to see if he were around, “Shoot, the door was closed,” but I talked to a store worker about that. He seemed never to have heard of such a thing as a gold cab on the delivery trucks. As I went out the door, I noticed the truck was still there, the driver pulled away from the unloading door and walked back to shut the rig’s doors. I walked fast and waved to him when I got close, “I noticed your gold cab, thank you for safe driving for the million miles.” His face broke into a big grin. We chatted a bit more and I learned that he was from Chariton. “Are you going for the black, two million mile cab? I wondered. “Maybe, but you never know what is going to happen,” he reflected. I wished him luck, congratulated him once more, wished him a good day and went on my way home, happy to have elicited a genuine smile from a stranger. Paula

No Super Bowl for us

Hello, Leroy and I are not watching “the game” or the half time show or the ads. We sometimes do not fit in the culture. Someone asked Leroy about the game this morning and Leroy asked, “Who is playing?” I have known there was such a game as I heard about it in college. I could not imagine people being so interested in it. What do I know? We did walk to church this morning. Ahead of walking time, Leroy cleared the side walk in front of the house. Because of hidden ice under this coating, we decided that it was best to walk in the street, except on the busiest street. When we came home, we went out to clear the area in back of the garage. It added some steps, but we were still short by 2 or 3 thousand. Leroy has now reached his goal, but I need 700 more. Neither of us wanted to walk outside again because of the wind and low temperature, it was quite uncomfortable. I finished watching a movie, even though I am not sure that I really liked it. I kept expecting it to make more sense or get better. Leroy is now watching a program or movie that I do not want to see. We have a hard time on occasion finding something we both want to watch. Tonight, we will watch, on PBS, around the world in 80 days. We have both enjoyed it. I had thought I might have read the book, but so far nothing is anything I remember. Yesterday I finished reading, A serial killer’s daughter. I found it quite interesting. That would certainly be a tough experience to learn that your father was a serial killer. Paula