Month: April 2023

It seemed like a busy week. There were some up events and a few downs as well. The bathroom floor went in (mostly), one of our outside cats crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I attended a major swap meet. Photos and dialog are below.

Our last outside cat, Cloudy Day, was not doing well so Pam took her to the vet on Friday. After tests indicated Cloudy’s heart was strong and there were no kidney problems, Pam decided to go ahead with surgery to remove a growth on Cloudy’s mammary gland. We brought Cloudy home and thought she was doing OK post operatively. However, the morning after surgery, Pam went to the catio to check on Cloudy, and she had passed. Cloudy was not one of Pam’s favorite cats, growing progressively grumpier as she aged. She was one of the garage cats transported from Colorado when we moved.

There now remain two “Colorado” cats, KitKat and Melody (Melly.) KitKat is part of the current indoor cat group. Melly was intended to be a house cat, but escaped into the neighborhood soon after we moved to Iowa. Melly comes daily to eat at the outside feeding station, but otherwise does not hang around.

It is a sad occasion to lose an animal; this is cat #11 buried since our arrival in Iowa. Cloudy has been ‘planted’ in the garden next to her buddy, Ink, who passed last fall. We suspect the loss of Ink’s companionship may have been a contributing factor in Cloudy’s general decline.

Moving indoors, not as much work has been done in the upstairs bathroom as I had hoped. I’m still waiting on a return visit from the plumbers to install water and drain lines. While waiting, floor tiles were installed. A small gap exists around the shower frame as I don’t know how much room the plumbers will need to do their work, but the major floor is in. Wall painting is also underway; it’s easier to tile and paint while the tub/sink/stool are not in the room.

The flooring took some time and effort, as the tiles around the edges of the floor needed to be individually cut to fit as — surprise — the room is not square. This meant a lot of trips up and down the stairs, as I was using the table saw in the garage to cut the tiles.

The next step will be repainting the baseboards and installing them around the perimeter of the room and finishing the wall painting. It would be really nice if this project would wrap up in the next week or two! All three contactors still have to make appearances for plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock work, but at this point I would be happy just to have a working sink and toilet before all the finish work is done.

The highlight of the week, for me, was a trip to a large swap meet in Le Sueur, Minnesota. I had heard of this event before as it has been going on for decades but I had never attended. This year that changed. Le Sueur is about a 3 hour drive from Elma. The weather was a little iffy and it was not very warm, but I did not get rained on, plus the cooler temps made walking throughout the venue more comfortable.

I will mention, at the outset, that this meet is mostly mechanical. There are not a lot of home goods on the vendor’s tables and trailers but there are some. Among the farm equipment offerings you can find a smattering of power tools, chain saws, hit-and-miss engines (A lot!) old snowmobile parts, old outboard motors, and other collectibles.

I walked for nearly 3 hours up and down the rows of vendors and did not get to them all. I did not take a lot of photos, but here are a few that I found most interesting.

I must say the event was really well organized. Porta-potties were numerous, food vendors served the crowds, and equipment was available to move large items from vendor stalls to your truck or trailer. People who attend this regularly have it down pat; they bring their golf carts to the grounds to get around or, as I found out later, you can rent one in advance. Hundreds of people were in attendance with cars filling the parking lots and lining up on the roads around the venue.

I enjoyed the visit and looking over the vendor trailers and tables. The range of stuff for sale was amazing. Some of it was, in my opinion, junk, but maybe to someone else it was a treasure. I took only pictures and did not bring anything else home.

That was the week: Some ups, some downs. At least (it appears) the Elma area is done with below-freezing nights and spring will finally make an appearance. (For those watching the news, there is no spring flooding in NE Iowa near Elma this year.)

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

Pam’s Penny

No good [rescue] deed goes unpunished. I tried to give Cloudy Day more months/years by going forward with an operation rather than euthanizing her; I only succeeded in putting that poor cat through pain/discomfort and ultimate death anyway. Years of rescue experience does not, unfortunately, improve my odds of success in making these life-or-death decisions. Depressing, that.

Happy Trails.

It was a very busy week. Renovations and upgrades to the upstairs bathroom were begun – lots of photos of that – and a new light fixture was added to the kitchen. A roofer actually showed up to look over the Tower. The main event, though, was the upstairs bath.

I have been anticipating the addition of a shower to the upstairs bath for over a year. I knew this would be a major project, as there are three separate areas that need work: carpentry to level the floor and build the frame for the shower, electrical to install a vent fan + move the lights + outlets, and finally plumbing to install the water feed lines and drains. Relocating the sink and clawfoot tub are also part of the plan.

Bob the Builder (Bob’s Building Service) arrived on Tuesday to begin the task of leveling the floor. As the old floor had sagged quite a bit and was way out of level, a new floor had to be constructed, This involved cutting “tapers” to lay over the old floor and make a level surface for the new one.

To gain work room, the tub and toilet had to be removed. They are in the guest bedroom at the moment.

New plywood was installed over the tapers to give a level and solid floor to work on.

The next step was done by a combination of the the carpenter and the electrician. A frame was built for the shower stall by Bob the Builder and the electrician began wiring. The existing ceiling light had to be moved and a vent fan installed. New outlets are planned for both sides of the sink location and two switches, one for the vent and another for a light over the sink, had to have wiring installed.

There was a fairly major problem, as access to the above-ceiling area in the bath has been removed or plastered over. There was no attic access. The solution was to empty my closet, which backs up to the bath, and cut a new access through the closet ceiling. This created quite a mess as the attic is filled with loose blown-in insulation. None-the-less, it was done and access was achieved. Bob will return and create a more formal hatch in the closet ceiling; right now a cardboard box has been flattened and is in service to close the hole.

The electricians got right to work. This also created a mess as cutting a hole for the vent fan dropped a lot of loose insulation on the floor. Loose insulation got tracked through the house and required plenty of cleaning after the crew left.

The new vent required going up through the roof to install the outside portion. This was done without incident, although Pat the Electrician told me the roof is steeper than it looks from the ground.

The next step will be a return trip from Zach the Plumber. The toilet needs to be reinstalled, water supply runs for the shower, sink, and tub need to be installed, and drains for all three connected. After that, Bob the Builder will be back to put down underlayment for the floor covering we want to put in. He will complete the afore-mentioned hatch and put up drywall on the shower walls. The electrician will need to make a return trip once the drywall is in place to finish the wiring by adding all the switches, outlets, and other necessary hardware. Finally, Pam and I will put down the new flooring and – eventually – finish painting the room. (That may be a winter project.)

We have chosen to try an unusual flooring material, snap together garage tiles. These should hold up to the weight of the tub and daily use of the room. Two colors will be put down in a pattern to add some interest to the floor.

This is how the room appears as I write this blog. I will use it as a comparison photo as the project moves along.

As if the bath was not exciting enough, two other projects moved forward. Pam had requested a light fixture change in the kitchen (having purchased a new light last year). The electricians were able to make the swap. Here are before and after photos.

There is some additional work to be done on the light; Pam wants a ceiling hook installed to move the chain and fixture a little closer to the sink. This would add light over the food prep area. A decorative hook will be purchased on one of our next outings.

Another bit of excitement occurred when a roofing company actually showed up to examine the Tower. I will insert one photo of the guys examining the potential job. Pam has an additional comment below.

It was an interesting week and I am very pleased to be moving ahead with these projects!

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

Pam’s Penny

I had to simplify the tower shingle design. A variety of colors are hard to find/no longer manufactured. So, alright, shades of gray it is. In the same ombre effect as the blue-painted-gingerbreading in the gables. Moving on to the $$ astronomical quote $$ stage (not yet received, can hardly wait).

Monday’s icy road trip to Decorah for additional medical tests resulted in the urologist saying my kidney stone “appears” to have passed. I’m off the meds; surgery previously scheduled for May 1 has been cancelled.

Happy Trails.

With a bit of rain and lots of warm weather, early flowers are beginning to bloom and the lawn is turning green. Easter came and went. Most of the week’s work was routine; I have a photo or two to share. There is a new cat video this time around, featuring Elmo, with appearances by Stirling and Vienna.

Midwest temperatures were well above normal this week and a few flowers began to pop. Hyacinths bloomed in the east flower bed near Glory the goat. The annual [unidentified] small blue flowers popped up in the oak tree bed.

We started early season yard work. Pam raked all the flower beds and I cleaned around all the fence lines. A load of yard debris, mostly consisting of leaves and small twigs but including our old Christmas tree, was taken to the dump as the first load of the year. The yard is looking pretty tidy right now.

Pam put out a few of our outdoor decorations, including the Board Buddies at the front of the catio. I removed the wind screen tarps from the west fenceline, and uncovered the AC unit for the season.

Celebration of Easter passed without a lot of fanfare for us. Pam made a tasty pork chop meal for Easter Sunday and hand-decorated a few hard boiled eggs.

I picked up a used air compressor which I found on Facebook Marketplace. While it is an older unit, it seems to work fine. My old compressor is just a motor and pump from an old Chevy air conditioning system. I have a portable tank which I had been using to check tire pressures and such but the old system did not put out much volume to run my other air tools such as impact wrenches. (I use these to remove tires for brake jobs and other tasks.)

Last year, when I went out to The Lot, I had to borrow a compressor to pump up the tractor’s tires and add air to The Box’s tires. It was just luck our neighbor was up on his lot and had a small compressor I could use. This year I will take my old compressor to Colorado and leave it there for use when I need it, hence the desire to have another compressor at home.

Contractors, contractors — what a pain. The roofer who said he would be here, first on the 3rd then again on the 10th, failed to show both times. I made overtures to a different roofer and I’m waiting to see if/when he, or his son, can arrive and give us a quote. This is frustrating; an option going forward is putting a “Help Wanted-Roofer” sign in the yard. Below is one of the photos I sent to the “new” roofer to give him some idea of the tower we want re-shingled.

That covers the news of the past week. It was an active time for us and we enjoyed time spent outdoors in the improving weather. We have to pace ourselves, though. Factoring in rest periods, after a long winter, is part of the dynamic.

As promised in the opening, here is a new cat video. This one features mostly Elmo but there are appearances by Stirling and Vienna. As per my regular tactics, there is no audio track as I did not want to disturb the action. Run time is 3:57.

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

Pam’s Penny

A week of domestic pets: 1) JoJo had a gimpy leg and was “limping on three” this week. Doggie ibuprofen for arthritis seemed to do the trick. 2) Bru has about 2/3 of her [warm weather] grooming completed. I can only keep her on the table for an hour at a time, and I hand cut as well as shave her coat. The process takes days. Once Bru is trimmed, it will be JoJo’s turn. 3) Elmo visited the vet for his “age three” shots, and actually behaved himself. Unexpected. 4) The Terrible Two are now working on stripping wallpaper in the library. I guess that means I will put off wallpapering in the parlour until Vienna and Stirling grow out of this phase.

Farm animals: The detour from Elma to Cresco (Cresco being the location of Elmo’s vet as well as Himself’s physical therapy) features 8-10 massive hog operations. The “aroma” on that route is already truly indescribable, and the seasonal heat has just begun.

Happy Trails.

Warmer weather is here! The change in temperature has enabled us to take on a few outdoor tasks. Nati [the cat] was taken to Becky’s house in Greene. Guest room painting and decoration advanced. Animals were being cute. Physical therapy continued. Let’s look at the week’s activities.

I am going to start with outside activities. Pam grabbed our edger and went around the oak tree flower bed. It was time to do this as the day lilies are beginning to turn green. (The bridge came out from under protected cover on the north porch about a week ago.)

I was active, completing several projects. One of them was getting the pressure washer out and giving the car a good outside cleaning. (Look at me, balancing the pressure wand with my right arm!)

Converting the John Deere LX-176 from winter use to summer mowing was next. With Pam’s occasional assistance I was able to remove the snow blade, tire chains, and extra weights and re-mount the mower deck and bagger. I took a quick spin around the yard, hoping to pick up many of the leaves that had blown in and wintered on the lawn. That went pretty well, although I need to get out the lawn vac and clean up around the fence lines yet. That will be a task for later today.

The garden hose was retrieved from the garage attic and water for the outside faucets was turned on. The bird feeder was taken down and cleaned, ready for use next fall. I raked a portion of the lawn under the oak trees as this area had a lot of small branches and twigs that would not be picked up with the LX-176. There is a limited time I can rake before my shoulder starts to complain, but the yard looks much better after this clean up.

Pam is about 65% done with details in the guest bedroom. She is adding ribbon border that defines the walls from the ceiling, plus she added decals to the light switch. The room is looking quite a bit fresher with new white paint, the new windows from last year, and continuing updates.

Our outing this week took us to Becky’s home in Greene. We transferred Nati to Becky’s care per Becky’s request. Becky reports Nati is settling in well and appears to be developing affection for Becky, jumping into Becky’s lap and even going to sleep there. We hope the transition goes well, but Becky has another cat, Vanna, and a lot of plants around her house. So far Nati has been confined to a bedroom; the real test will be when the two cats come face to face and Nati is – eventually – given more space to explore. If this does not work out, there will be a Plan B to take Nati back, but we hope for the best.

My twice-a-week physical therapy continued, as it will for many weeks yet. I am making progress and can reach a few more things than I could in the past. Still, it is occasionally frustrating that I can’t use the arm freely. Below is a photo of the sign in my rehab center.

On the down side, our good friend Henry (Hank) Tourtillott, who lives in Arizona, is having a tough time as of late. Hank is 96 and has been living with his daughter, Pat, for several years. Pat was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and is no longer able to take care of herself and Hank. To make matters worse, Hank recently had an accident and broke his tailbone. Pat’s son, Marty, is there and helping but long-range plans are mostly on hold. We offer encouragement and positive thoughts; I wish there was more we could do for them. Age and distance reduces our options to assist.

I am going to close this post with a couple of animal photos taken this past week. Our animals do a lot of sleeping, particularly the older ones.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in! Happy Easter to everyone!

Pam’s Penny

The coming week may be just warm enough to break out the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden plaque and put Gretel the lamb (statue) in the planting bed with the tulip and daffodil starts. The Mennonite greenhouses will be opening in a few weeks– yes! I do wish my lifelong friend Mary was alive to enjoy this most magical season as it arrives once again. Bittersweet.

Happy Easter.

It has been a quiet week here at Heart House. Routine tasks with only a few side projects were the norm.

I continued my twice-weekly physical therapy and my range of motion is improving, but I still have a long way to go. However, since I am in Cresco twice weekly for therapy, I stop at the Fareway grocery store and pick up any needed supplies. The last time home I took the new detour; it will add at least 10 minutes to the commute and is about 5 miles longer than the regular route. The detour is on gravel roads which means the car will get pretty dirty with spring rains in the forecast. I start driving the detour regularly next week.

Medically, Pam is doing OK with follow-ups on her kidney stone condition. The doctor wants her to stay on meds into April, then go in for an X-ray to see if the stone is still in place or if it has passed through. If still in place, non-emergency surgery is scheduled for May 1.

Pam has been working on a plan to remodel the parlour and has received wallpaper samples she ordered. (See below.) Also, as an addition to sleeping capacity in the guest bedroom, I spotted a twin bed frame on Facebook Marketplace last weekend. After a successful negotiation, we took a field trip to Stewartville, MN on Monday to pick it up. So, several home projects are in the mix.

Yesterday’s forceful Spring storm left us with a trace of snow this morning, but before that we had thunderstorms and some hail. Happy April Fool’s Day to us!

The past week reinforces the rural character of our NE Iowa setting. We received the last of our contracted-for propane, 202.2 gallons. We hope this takes us through the summer, as a “summer fill” [usually in August] is always the lowest price of the season. I did not take a photo of our delivery but here’s a typical sample from the internet.

I went to a garage sale in the country near Elma, and was surprised to see numerous Mennonite carriages parked on the road and drive. I didn’t think to take photos of this (my bad), as a visual would have made this post more interesting. However, here is a photo of a carriage going past our home on Main Street back in 2021.

My garage sale spend was $2.00 for a non-working Makita battery-powered craft saw and charger. New batteries are on order and I hope the saw works OK once they arrive. Pam would like to try using it for some summer craft projects she has in mind.

So, aside from PT in Cresco, propane delivery, yard sale, and some work on the guest bedroom and other project planning, it was a relaxed retirement week. The coming week may be somewhat more exciting, as we are expecting a roofing contractor to be here on Monday, looking over the tower and – hopefully – giving us an estimate once he has seen the scale of the work.

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

Pam’s Penny

Well, the samples arrived and left me more confused than before on the way forward with the wallpaper. The first sample (on left in green) is an art deco print with a HUGE scale, so that’s out. The second (middle) sample is a Victorian print that is anything but restful – probably too much. The final sample has a better scale, but may not be dramatic enough – too little? The jury is still out. Pondering. (No rush.)

Happy Trails.