Light Posts and Panama Canal

We had an assortment of events and happenings this week. The power company is installing new posts and upgrades, Pam’s godson captained a yacht through the Panama Canal, and work was done in the upstairs guest bedroom. Federal and state taxes were completed and mailed.

Last week our power company, Alliant Energy, began replacing power poles along Main Street in Elma. New post had been laid out; then a truck, equipped with an auger and a hoist, drilled holes for the new posts, and lifted the poles into place.

The next step will be the moving of wires from the old pole to the new one. We have been advised to expect a break in service while this happens but have no time frame when this will happen.

Pam has completed painting the guest bedroom white, but I did not include photos of it as Pam is just beginning to add the ribbon trim where the walls meet the ceiling. I’ll have more in my next post.

As reported in a previous post, Nati had been moved into the guest bedroom. While I was in the room checking on Pam’s painting progress, Nati decided to jump into my lap and get some attention. I was pleased she seems to be a bit more animated and moving around more. Hair is beginning to re-grow under her neck.

One event this past week involved Pam’s godson, Zach Hayes. (Zach and Sakura visited us last summer.) Zach is a yacht captain and had the opportunity to pilot his ship through the Panama Canal. That must be something to check off your Bucket List!

Zach had let us know the approximate time he would be going into the lock from the Pacific end. He is heading to Florida, so the crossing would be from west to east. The western entrance is Miraflores Lock. Here is a screenshot of Zach’s craft; it’s the one closest to the open lock doors, in the approximate middle of the photo.

In this lock the water level has to be raised from the level of the Pacific to the level of the canal as it passes through to the Atlantic. The process takes several minutes. While waiting for Zach’s passage, we also saw the left-hand lock being used to lower a large ship down to the Pacific level. We have seen locks work before, but this was the first time we had looked at them in the Panama Canal.

There are a couple of medical updates. My physical therapy is ongoing and I am getting a bit more range of motion in my right shoulder. Pam is feeling better but still does not know if the kidney stone has passed or not. Another CT scan may be scheduled just to see what, if anything, has happened to the stone.

The summer road construction season is upon us. Beginning the first week in April, my trips for physical therapy will involve a detour as Highway 9, the main route to Cresco and the clinic where I get my therapy, will be closed for bridge replacement and road widening. The closure will last most of the year.

Three contractors responded to us this past week. 1) Bob the Builder confirmed his intent to do our upstairs bathroom remodel in the “next few weeks.” 2) A roofing contractor is scheduled to stop by the first week of April to look over/give us an estimate for the tower re-roofing and repair job. 3) The painter we contacted last year, who will be doing the “gable work” in the high peaks, confirmed we are on his 2023 job list.

We are anxious to get these projects completed this year. There are a few porch repairs to be made, including to some of the undereave areas where the plywood is deteriorating, and – of course – always painting to be done. I am hoping to have enough use of my shoulder to work on some of these tasks but it is by no means a given. We shall have to see.

As scheduled, we finished our Federal and state taxes this week. As in past years, since retirement, we tend to owe Iowa a bit of money and end up getting a small refund from the Feds. You couldn’t get a much simpler tax return than ours, but we still have to complete various worksheets, mostly State, to fill in the correct amounts. A tip for seniors out there: Look at Federal form 1040-SR, which is the 1040 form for seniors with limited income sources. This is our first year using this document. It is similar to the standard 1040 but includes the “Over 65” tax deduction tables.

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

Pam’s Penny

As if I don’t have enough home projects going/planned, I recently pondered the color scheme in the downstairs parlour bedroom + office, and it needs a refresh – already. Our first year at Heart House I transformed that room into “shades of pink” — mainly to counteract all the mustard yellow and hospital green paint schemes we found in the house when we moved in. Now I think I might be ready to moderate the “pink” concentration. I’ve ordered wallpaper samples with the intent of finding one that will look good on the lower half of the parlour walls. Maybe by next week’s post I’ll have the samples hung on the wall to “contemplate.”

I’ve been light-handed re: the use of wallpaper at Heart House. Generally wallpaper is a bear to remove, being so much more permanent than plain old paint. So far I’ve added a wallpaper border up the stairwell, and one wall of dog print wallpaper in the laundry room. This would be the third application of wallpaper, if I go that route.

Happy Trails.