Month: December 2022

The past week was a busy one for us, not in major projects but many small ones. Christmas Day was celebrated at Heart House with Pam’s sister Becky. A new kitten showed up in the catio. Follow along as I review the past week.

The high point of the week was Christmas Day. Becky came over from Greene to help us celebrate. In addition to opening presents, Pam made an excellent meal and we all enjoyed the afternoon. Here are a few photos of the event.

A few other Christmas photos were taken during the week. These represent gifts we ordered for ourselves. (Brother Craigie will no doubt appreciate the Crocs. The kittens enjoy the snowflake jibbits.)

All in all, a good Christmas day for us. I hope yours was equally good!

Normally we leave the holiday decorations up until after the new year begins, but we decided to take advantage of the mild weather, with temps in the mid-30s, to take them down. One never knows when the next polar vortex will arrive.

The last decoration to come down will be the tree in the Media Room. That will happen in the next few days and the holidays will be over for this year.

Tasks completed this week: Monday was a snow shoveling day, having received about 3 inches overnight. Tuesday was grocery shopping day. Wednesday I installed the new lockset in the back door. This went easier than I had expected, as we decided not to modify the door jamb to accept the lockset’s deadbolt. (There is a separate deadbolt installed on the door that we have been using when we lock up.) Only a small modification to the door was needed to accomodate the slightly longer face plate.

Other small jobs included servicing the humidifier that is part of the furnace. The overflow drain hose was plugged and had to be replaced. A trip to the local hardware store yielded a new hose. An “evaporative pad” is on order. The furnace filter was changed out as well.

The John Deere had developed a tire that kept going flat so a trip to the tire shop was in order. While the tire was being repaired I rebuilt the tire chain on that side. It had caught on something and had torn two of the cross links. The tractor is now ready to work the next snowfall.

I’m going to take a minute and talk about the cats that roam our Elma neighborhood. We have Cloudy Day, an old cat brought with us from Colorado, who keeps to the catio when the weather is bad. We consider Cloudy “our cat.” However, other cats come and go and they consume a fair bit of food. These include black cat Nat (named after Nat King Cole), King (a siamese mix named after the King of Siam), Autumn (full name: Autumn Calico, named after her coloring), Punky (full name: Pumpkin Pie, named after his coloring), and Melly (short for Melody.) This week a new kitten showed up. More on that in Pam’s Penny.

The upcoming week looks to be pretty quiet on the weather front. No major storms are in the forecast. Thursday an appliance repairman from Cresco will be in-house to look at the Kenmore stove, because just after holiday cookie baking the oven element stopped working. The trip fee and hourly fee for the repairman is substantial, then add parts; hopefully the remedy involves appliance repair and not replacement.

Photo Archive

I am including a few miscellaneous photos taken over the years.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Do we need another outdoor cat? Nope. However, when providing food and water for roaming cats, it’s just a matter of time before the odd kitten (and occasional pregnant cat) will show up. I named this little tabby female Solstice in honor of her seasonal arrival. Her general coloration suggests Solstice might be from the same genetic pool as Elmo. (Elmo showed up at Heart House one summer evening several years ago at much the same age – approx. 5 months. )

What is Solstice’s back story? She’s tame, friendly. A Christmas present someone didn’t want? Nobody ever comes looking for these strays. Guess she’s ours. I’m hoping Solstice and Cloudy come to some arrangement re: sharing the catio, cause I’m not currently interested in another indoor kitten.

Happy Trails.

I am writing this on Christmas Eve, 2022. It has been quite the year. Much happened over the last 12 months.

Pam and I worked on the house, getting the north and west walls painted and two windows replaced. I traveled to Colorado, worked on The Lot, and took a few ATV rides. Pam acquired two new kittens, Vienna and Stirling. Both of our children visited us, along with a few other friends. Pam’s sister, Becky, bought a home in Greene, Iowa, and moved out of our guest bedroom. Regular readers will recognize all these themes (and several more) and, perhaps, will remember the posts detailing them. (Or, you can scroll back and read my previous posts.)

I would like to say a “Thank You” to everyone who contributed to my 70th birthday, particularly Jim Brassfield and Tim Rhodes, who drove up to The Lot to visit and bring me a birthday cake. (Pam had a hand in all of this.) It made the day outstanding.

Speaking of people that get a Thank You, this one goes out to Zach and Sakura Hayes for the “singing” Christmas card they sent us. We enjoy getting all holiday cards, but this one is over-the-top. Thanks.

Pam decorated the sugar cookies she baked for Christmas.

If you would like to see part of this process you can view this short video.

A quick update: Parts arrived for the John Deere arrived, and were installed and tested, just in time to work the latest snowfall. The new lockset for the back door arrived but I am waiting for warmer weather, forecast for this upcoming week, to install it as I have to have the door open to do the work. “Warmer” is relative, but at least the temps will be above freezing (a couple days) instead of the below-zero high temps of the past week. The new lockset is close, but not identical to, the old set and I will have to modify the door jamb to make it work.

As 2022 comes to an end, what will 2023 hold for us? A few things are planned, including my rotator cuff surgery in January. We asked a painter to get us on his job list to get the gingerbreading in the peaks painted. We would like to get the upstairs bathroom upgraded, including a shower already purchased. A search is on for a contractor who will redo the “tower” which needs to be stripped, repaired, and covered with new shingles. And, of course, more painting and siding repairs. Some projects we can do, others will be farmed out to contractors. It will be a busy year.

Looking back, in 2020 I wrote a variation of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “The Night Before Christmas.”) COVID-19 was peaking and was causing much disruption in our lives, including holiday activities. I thought I would publish it here, set to “Abide the Winter” by William Ackerman.

We send our heartfelt “Best Wishes for Christmas” to all our friends, family, and people who take the time to read this blog.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Apparently we have relocated to Antarctica…who knew.

Happy Trails.

This week saw two failures, one affecting the house and the other my John Deere LX176. Just when things were going well…

I had been using the John Deere LX 176 to clean out the end of our alley after last week’s snow. Our garage access is off the alley and I wanted to have a clear approach.

I was about finished when I started to smell a burning belt and heard “chunking” noises from under the tractor. Earlier in the year I had ordered a replacement belt, as I knew the old belt had little life left in it, but I had hoped to get through the winter before changing it.

I did get back to the garage and took a look underneath. (It is getting colder and I had to fire up my torpedo-style kerosene heater to warm up the garage a bit so I could work in relative comfort.) The belt was definitely shot, so I started to remove it. I found more than I bargained for as two pulleys that route-and-tension the belt had failed. This probably caused the belt to self-destruct.

The flat-back pulley looked OK but, while spinning it, I discovered the bearings were bad and the unit did not spin without abnormal resistance and noise.

This meant I had to order parts, which are still available for this John Deere model from the 1980s. Coming in at about $35.00 for the pair, it is not an expensive repair but the work is still a pain. As I write this, one pulley has arrived and I am waiting on the second. I could have used the tractor after this last snow, but used the snow blower to clean up the sidewalks and around the mailboxes. This is slower and more work. Hopefully the second pulley will arrive soon and I will have the rig back in service — before the next snow fall!

Wednesday night Pam called me to look at the south (back) door. This one gets the most use as it is the door we use to get to the garage, catio, and let the dogs out for their runs. The antique door would not open, no matter how hard one tried to twist the knobs.

I ended up taking the door off its hinges, not an easy task on a 120-year-old solid door. However, eventually I was able to remove the antique mortise lockset.

I had worked on this lockset shortly after we moved in, replacing the spring that closes the bolt.

The activating shaft goes through the square hole at the upper right, and over the years the side plates have worn to the point where the shaft wobbles in the assembly.

Just in case you are curious about what is inside the mechanism, here is a photo with the side plate removed. You can clearly see the spring I replaced 3 years ago. (I brought this mechanism to the local Mennonite hardware store, and the young gentleman at the counter said, “What’s that?” Not an auspicious beginning to looking for replacement parts.)

You can see that rust, corrosion, and wear have taken their toll. It is a simple mechanism, but was mass produced to meet a price point. We never did have a key that fit this lock. Due to the difficulty in finding and maintaining antique parts, a new lockset is on order and should be in early next week. I expect I will need to “tweak” the door to get the new lockset to fit, but that should be a minor issue. I hope.

This morning’s task was to do a final clean-up of the snow we had received on Thursday and Friday. It was not a heavy snow but still managed to cover us with 3 – 4 inches of the white stuff.

In the winter we cut a path from the east porch to 7th street as delivery people (UPS, FedEx, and Post Office) prefer this approach to the house. That path is what I am working on in the above photo.

Switching to other topics, I need to include a kitten update. Below is a photo Pam took of Vienna and Stirling taking a nap together.

We continue to enjoy the kitten’s activities and antics. They’re getting used to the house; we’re even seeing them more often in the laundry room, which is where the dog beds are located. So far we have had no dog – cat incidents.

Photo Archive

This week’s selection has a definite water / nautical theme. The photo below features Mt. Hood, Oregon, as a backdrop to loading docks on the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon.

The above photo was taken at Astoria, Oregon, where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Thoughts on cookie cutters.

When opening a little-used box of cookie cutters for holiday baking, I suppose it’s inevitable memories come flooding back by association. I have an accumulation of cookie cutters: from childhood (my mother’s contribution), a few miscellaneous cutters from pet treat baking kits, hearts purchased recently. (One of the heart cutters was stamped into new cement here at Heart House a few years ago.)

The childhood memories are strong surrounding cookie cutters. Interesting, these childhood memories. They are more frequent in my older years and with my Midwest location. Go figure.

Cookie baking at “903” in Onalaska highlighted everything that was right (and wrong) about that house. Right in the sense that Mom seemed to be actually happy during holiday baking. I remember Mom singing carols, and singing harmony along with her, while mixing ingredients. And oh yes, exotic ingredients like dates and maraschino cherries made their appearance. Sugar cookies, date-filled Trilby’s, thumbprint cookies, even homemade peanut brittle (and much more) came out of that holiday kitchen.

The kitchen itself [in that dumpy and tiny tract house] exemplified the “wrong” part in this childhood memory. The square footage was small, and into this area was stuffed an eat-in table for six, a refrigerator, oven and washing machine (!). Father MOP frequently said a house was just for eating and sleeping — no worries the bedrooms were the size of walk-in closets, the bathroom shared space with the furnace, and the kitchen was totally inadequate.

Cookie cutters sure do take me back. Bittersweet.

Happy Trails (and happy holiday baking).

Addendum: Becky mentioned the reindeer and angel cutters in her comment. Pam still has those cutters! Here is a photo of them:

This week was tree time. We took a jaunt to a tree farm and cut our live tree, put it in the Media Room, and decorated it. Pam assembled our Balsam Hills tree and put it in the window of the guest bedroom and decorated it. We set up Pam’s new phone, complete with an e-mail account, and shoveled snow. For us, a busy week!

We visited the Wapsie Pines Tree Farm for the third time; it is getting to be a tradition.

We cut a fir and brought it home. Set up in the media room, it looks good in its Christmas regalia.

Tree decorations are largely hand made; they mix well with some purchased ornaments featuring a British theme.

The second tree is in the guest room. (The tree is visible from the west side of the house.) Pam decorated it with clip-on candle lights and heart ornaments, and added a few characters at the base.

Pam finished the last of the Solstice cards and all have been mailed. Between that and the tree decorating we are about set for Christmas.

A few other tasks occupied our time as well. Pam’s new phone arrived and we went through the process of setting it up. (The old phone had never been set up for e-mail.) The biggest hassle was finding the Mediacom server information needed for processing Pam’s incoming and outgoing messages. An internet search turned up the info we needed and now Pam can send and receive e-mail on her phone. Along with a new unlimited data plan, this has made it easier and simpler for her to send and receive photos in text and e-mails.

Other settings, such as screen lock time, are being finalized as Pam gets more familiar with the phone. The old phone has not yet been deactivated; Pam found some accounts need to send a code to the phone number on file before allowing changes to the user profile, such as changing the phone number. I did download all the photos from the old unit.

Other news this week involved the weather. A late-week snow started off as freezing rain before transitioning to snow.

We received between 3 – 4 inches of snow and I used the snow blower to clean our walks and the John Deere (with snow blade) to clean our garage entrances and mail box stand. That was on Friday. We are getting more light snow this morning (Saturday) and I did shovel the walks again. Temps are forecast to get above freezing the next few days and I hope that is enough to keep the walks clear for a while. Since we are on a corner lot, we have quite a bit of sidewalk to shovel.

I took quite a few critter photos this week. Stirling is turning darker as he heads toward maturity, particularly on his face, ears, and other characteristic Siamese dark areas.

Vienna is also filling out but, as a black cat, has not changed color much. (She does have a tiny bit of white on her belly.)

Elmo continues to forget his “pride in species” by sleeping with the dogs on occasion. Here he is with JoJo.

Squirrels continue to use the new outside heated water bowl.

Pam provided me with this photo after I used the term “Puttering” in last week’s post.

I received a packet of documents from Mayo Clinic regarding my upcoming rotator cuff surgery. Now scheduled for January 26th, I have a series of pre-op exams on January 25th. The doctor wants me to stay in the hospital overnight so I will be home on the 27th. Unfortunately, at this point, the time of the surgery on the 26th has not been established and release time on the 27th is an open question, to be determined by the hospital staff. I am not looking forward to this event but it is necessary for my long-term health. I’m advised by someone who has gone through the surgery that pain management and physical therapy are the keys to success.

Photo Archive

Starting with a trip I took to Washington, D.C. in the mid-’80s; here are a couple photos of the Lincoln Memorial.

Here is a “sunset photo” that is just a bit different from my regular takes as there is no sun in it.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

With the completion of my cut-and-paste card project, I pretty much turn off the Christmas machine. I’m beginning to contemplate work on the quilt room/guest bedroom re-do in January. And, of course, reviewing accommodations which will be needed in January/February while Himself is in a sling and recuperating from rotator cuff surgery.

NE Iowa already appears ready for Hibernation Season — overcast days, drifting snowflakes, sunset at 4:35 p.m. Local farmers do seem to be spreading more liquid manure on the fields than usual this year…

Happy Trails.

With the colder weather and snow heralding winter, the “Big Event” was Elma’s Holiday Lights parade which goes right past our house on Main Street. I have a few photos to share this time around, so take a look.

In preparation for the big parade and holiday season we had put up outside lights, and some in-window lights as well.

You may notice the lack of snow. Although NE Iowa had received some, a day or two of warmer weather melted it.

Here is the parade approaching the house from the west.

The upcoming week promises to be cold with a chance of snow. Regardless, it’s time to cut a live tree at a tree farm we’ve visited the last few years. The tree will go into the Media Room, being one of our last Christmas decorating activities.

Most of our other activities were inside the house. Pam continues to work on the Solstice cards and I “puttered” with my computer. One medical note: I had a routine blood draw and my A1C has fallen from a high of 8.8 to 7.1. The trend is in the right direction and is partly due to the Lupron, from the prostate cancer treatments, working out of my system. I would like to get back to my pre-treatment levels of 6.5 – 6.7. I feel much better with the lower numbers coming in.

We have some sad news, though, as another of our outside cats has walked over the Rainbow Bridge. Ink (one of the outside catio cats) had been failing for some time and we had taken him to the vet a couple weeks ago and scheduled a return visit for this week. The vet concluded Ink had a tumor in his throat. While treatment was possible it would be very invasive and would require frequent visits to the vet. Pam made the difficult decision that Ink’s time was up, not wanting to put him through the pain and trauma of the treatment at his age. Ink was about 12 years old and started as a feral outside cat in DeBeque. Over the years he became more friendly and lived in our DeBeque garage, so we brought him with us when we moved to Iowa. Ink was my favorite outside cat and I will miss him.

I don’t have a really good photo of Ink, but here he is (in center) with a couple of his garage buddies from DeBeque. They are sitting on the warm hood of of our old Honda.

While on the subject of cats, I caught Elmo while he was settling in for a nap.

I don’t have any new news (or photos) re: the kittens, but they are learning new tricks from Elmo, such as opening the drawer under the kitchen prep table. This requires standing on the step stool and pushing the drawer from behind. Pam keeps a few cat toys in this drawer which draws the attention of the cats. While amusing, it’s also slightly irritating as one now has to check the drawer’s position to avoid bumping into it when walking through the kitchen.

Of note, Pam is in the process of changing phones and phone carriers. She will soon have a new number and the old one will be shut down. (I do not want to put the new number in a public post.) Pam will be contacting people with the new information, but for now the best way to contact her is by e-mail.

Her old Android, a Jitterbug 2, mostly died this past week. I was able to remove some files and get the phone partially working, but -in any case – she knew it was time to upgrade to something newer and better. An iPhone 12 will soon be put in service and we hope it takes care of her phone needs for some time to come.

I have a few technical notes to pass on. Those of you who view these posts from a desktop unit will observe two changes. First, the blog title is now in mixed case rather than all uppercase. Second, links from the menu now open in new tabs. The first change was done by changing the page’s underlying code. (I have yet to find the code that controls this in the mobile version, but I am working on it.) The second change was provided by a WordPress guru in response to a question I had posted in a support forum. I am pleased to have these changes in effect.

Another tech note involves our network connection speed. Last November we had received an e-mail indicating our internet speeds would be increasing along with an extra $10.00 per month charge. I ran a speed test on my Mac and found we were not getting the speeds promised and already billed for. In fact, we were getting less than a third (94Mbps vs 300Mbps) of the download speeds promised. (I requested and we were promised a bit of a rebate on the price increase for the past two months due to equipment issues. Let’s see if the carrier delivers.)

I called in a repair order and a few days a later a tech arrived to check our cables and modem. He found the modem was the problem and replaced it with a new one. (We rent the modem.) This cured the download problem, and now web pages and content appear to load much faster. We hope this will eliminate a situation we had been having with our streaming video where the signal would occasionally “lock up” and freeze the TV screen. The work-around was to change channels, usually by hitting the “Back” button, and forcing the streaming box to re-load. So far this has not happened with the new modem installed.

While puttering with my Mac I came across some video clips that had been saved in an unusual place that I had not noticed before. Taken on Grand Mesa, Colorado, this 1:51 clip is titled “A Fall Day Out.”

Except for getting our Christmas tree, the upcoming week promises to be quiet and cold. No visits or visitors are on the agenda. Holiday cards will be completed in the next day or two. I was able to get the snow blower running after replacing a leaking fuel valve, but major snow is not in the 10-day forecast so the blower will sit unused in the garage. I hope.

Photo Archive

This is a mixed bag of photos taken in Colorado after we moved [back] there in 2003.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Today, let’s consider happiness. I’ve been pondering happiness. Is it possible to achieve a state where happiness can enter, given the level of ongoing stress in daily life? Or does one need to go to a remote location to tune out the negative? I kinda thought retirement would be an entry point to happiness. Not necessarily, as it turns out.

This week’s negatives: cell phone dying (I’m a Luddite, mostly non-tech, I hate dealing with this), heart-wrenching euthanization decision to be made for ailing cat [yet again], the usual [bad] news reports on climate-hate-gun violence, hog manure smell wafting into Heart House carried by 15-20 mph [frigid] wind. Ugh.

A personal oasis in the stress is my current “happy place” – working on the Solstice cards, with my kittens keeping me company. For those of you on the card list, know I intentionally develop a design that utilizes cut-and-paste and hand printing. Sure, I could learn how to set the whole card up on a computer program and print it. Why? I want the card to look – and be – mostly handmade. I think my ideal occupation would be working on miniature dioramas…maybe that’s my long-term happy place.

Happy Trails.