Month: February 2024

Although a quiet two weeks since my last post, there are a few “happenings” to report on this time. These include a hint of spring around the yard, a few medical notes, and some socializing.

Lent has begun, and the nearby community of Alta Vista held their annual community fish fry. This is a fund-raiser with proceeds benefiting the town. I drove over and picked up a pair of carry-out fish dinners and mingled with community members, some of whom I recognized from our local bank and the City of Elma.

The event was held in the Alta Vista’s community hall, and was well attended.

The line of people at the back of the photo was incoming traffic, waiting to get their meals and deserts. Two lines were established, one for dine-in meals and the other for take-outs. The cost was not cheap at $15.00 per head but the fish was plentiful, prepared very well, and the deserts were tasty. We enjoyed our meals.

Federal and state taxes were finalized and sent in to their respective processing centers. Due to changes in tax laws, this year we are getting refunds from both governments, the first time that has happened since our move to Iowa. The refunds are not large but at least we do not have to budget a payment this year. That is a nice change.

Two small medical notes, both applying to me. My second blood test results, targeting testosterone levels, came back and were good. Kept low by medication until last August, my levels have slowly begun to recover; I am now low on the “normal” scale after being below it on my last test. As long as this level continues to rise and the PSA stays low, all is well.

A recent trip to the dentist revealed that one of my ceramic crowns (an old one — ceramic is no longer used by the dental industry) had chipped, leaving a rough spot that my tongue would not leave alone. Irritating. The dentist was able to polish out the chip but I may need to replace the crown some time in the future. While pleased the fix was simple, this leaves another potential dental problem that may need to be addressed in the future. Oh well.

The weather continues to be mild(er), although yesterday and last night featured single-digit temperatures and wind chills well below zero. Another warming trend is in the forecast so this spell will last only a couple days, not bad. We did get another propane drop of around 320 gallons and hopefully this lasts through the end of March, ending our fuel contract period with the local supplier. Our contract is for 900 gallons but we won’t use that much, maybe around 700 – 750. The plan is to have our tank topped off at the end of March, which will last us through August, and start a new contract on September 1st. That is the way it works in this part of the country. Our contract price was $1.42 per gallon, down from the 2022 – 2023 price of near $1.90 per gallon, so between the lower useage and lower price we did OK this year.

A few plants have begun to “green up” due to the mild weather, including bulb plants hyacinths and tulips, as well as phlox. Pam hopes growth isn’t premature or everything may freeze later this spring.

I continue to scan some of my archive 35mm negatives and slides. Here are a few photos taken in our “early years” of the mid and late 1970s.

Our early transportation was a Honda 450 motorcycle. This photo shows us wearing the high visibility jumpsuits Pam made for us in preparation for a trip to Colorado in 1977. We’re holding our cats Captain and Houdini. Pam’s siblings will recognize Bootsie (the dog) in the lower-right. Photo was taken outside of Pam’s childhood home at 903 North 4th Street in Onalaska.

(Funny story about the jumpsuit — a kiddo at one of our rest stops on the ’77 CO trip hailed me as “Ronald McDonald.” Orange jumpsuit and white helmet. Go figure.)

Shortly after we moved to Colorado we visited the old mining town of Victor, where we took more photos, and here is one of them.

We did a lot of traveling around Colorado and I will have a few more of these early photos in upcoming posts.

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

Pam’s Penny

Cats are totally into NE Iowa sunshine, a rare commodity in the winter even when the outside temps are above normal. I’ve been outside soaking in a few rays from time to time myself. When the wind isn’t blowing.

Happy Trails.

The weather kept up its roller-coaster changes in temperatures. From wind chills of down to -45 to record highs for the date, the last two weeks demonstrated how variable winter weather in the Midwest can be!

We participated in an online auction for one of the neighborhood estate sales. The lady of the house had died in 2022 and we had never met her due to Covid, but she lived just across the alley from us. A few items were purchased. Read on for the details of warm temps and auction finds!

As noted, NE Iowa is experiencing an extended stretch of warm weather. Thermometer readings are ranging from 51 degree highs to upper 20 degree lows, melting most of the snow. We even had some rain, mixed in with heavy (at times) fog, and [the usual] overcast days.

One problem with this is that our Main Street drainage is not good and water pools up at the end of our sidewalks. I took the John Deere rider, with blade, and cleared snow back to the curb so water could drain away from the walks. The Main Street snow ended up around the corner on 7th Street where it is now (mostly) melted. This task ended the water pooling issue, making it much easier for us to walk down the sidewalk and out to the mailbox. The warm spell is forecast to continue for many more days, with highs of 50 at the end of next week, along with a chance of more rain.

Last Monday we visited a house across the alley from us to examine items that were coming up on an online auction. We had never met the widow, Arlene, who lived there during our residence. Her husband, Christian, was the Elma vet for 38 years before his retirement and death in the late 1990s. Arlene had passed away in March of 2022.

I had been observing activity around the house when I worked in the garage; my assumption was the children and grandchildren were settling the estate. Eventually an auction company trailer arrived and the employees began setting up the lots that would make up the listings. This took weeks. The estate auction was advertised in the local shopper recently, and began early this week.

There were a few things we bid on but most went for more than we wanted to spend. Two lots were purchased, though. The first was a lot consisting of old cameras and accessories. The second was a collection of bird houses. Total for both lots came to $16.10.

First lot: Cameras and accessories to be added to my small collection of vintage camera gear.

The second lot is for Pam’s sister Becky, and consisted of several birdhouses.

The one at the upper left appears to be the most detailed and fancy, but all are in pretty good shape. Becky will use them around her home (“Bird Song Cottage”) in Greene.

The other news of the week is medical-related. I had a blood draw taken and sent to the Mayo Clinic. (This was a routine follow-up for my prostate cancer treatment.) The test was to monitor my PSA level and make sure it was not increasing, as high PSA levels can indicate the return of prostate cancer. I am pleased to say the result was the same as the previous 3 such tests at < = 0.10. Normal levels are < = 6.4 so I am well within the range. Good news for me!

We began doing our taxes, not a fun job. Usually we get a refund on Federal taxes but pay something in State taxes. I hope to finish both this weekend and get them out of the way.

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

Pam’s Penny

Walking through someone else’s home and poking through their collections made me kinda sad. Just sayin’…

Those squirrels are packing it in. I’m now filling the feeder from the last bushel of acorns collected under our oak trees this fall. When those acorns are gone – sorry squirrels – you’ll have to eat just corn.

AJ (the kitten) spay was uneventful. All good, and it didn’t slow her down much. The three very active kittens remind me of triplet toddlers; they are into everything.

Happy Trails.