I am going to start this post with a few follow-up comments about our current activities and projects

Medical: Pam is doing very well. She has now finished with three of the four weeks restriction on lifting ten pounds or less and is looking forward to finishing the final week.

Her “painted-on” incision bandages have fallen off, just as the doctors said they would after a few weeks. Pam is glad to be rid of them for psychological reasons as well as physical ones. The healing process is moving along just as it should.

Pam continues the bedroom painting project:

Pam concentrates on detail painting.

She works on this project every few days and allows her shoulder to recover in the off-time.

Yard work: I have finished edging the Main Street sidewalk, the last bit to do in that project. Very few people in Elma maintain their sidewalks so the neighbors probably think I am a bit crazy, but I do think having neatly trimmed and edged walks show that someone cares about their property and neat walks add to the curbside appeal.

Main Street sidewalk goes off to the left.

I was able to get some more lawn raking done and move forward with the lawn clean-up. While below-freezing temperatures are still in the forecast, the daytime temps are gradually warming up. I hope to have the initial lawn work finished in a couple of weeks, depending on weather conditions.

Home repairs: New this week is a quote for getting the foundation sealed. A local company does this work, and the owner stopped by to examine the job site and give us an estimate of $3,300.00. We told him to put us on his work schedule. We are hoping for completion by early summer.

Project begun: Moving boxes from our rented storage unit to put in the attic of the garage. I have been frustrated in my quest to find tools and odd items such as screws, nails, and shelf brackets so I decided to bring most boxes out of the storage unit. I will have better access that way and can go through boxes at my leisure when I need to find something.

This will be a multi-week task in parallel with lawn work when the weather justifies the outside activity. (Today we have a mix of rain and snow in the air so neither project gets any attention.) There is another side benefit; the “big boy” toys fit much better in the storage unit and allows easier access to the remaining boxes.

Moving boxes out of storage unit.

Social: While still not fully “mid-westernized” we are getting there. One local shopper runs this weekly ad:

Ad in local shopper

We have not tuned in yet. 🙂

Pet update: The cats and dogs have adopted the house and appear to be quite comfortable. Here are 4 of the cats and JoJo sleeping around one of the main floor heating vents.

Cats and dog at rest.

Pam has opened the catio so the ferrel cats can start getting some outside time. We had half-expected them to run off but they seem to be fine coming back to the cat shed for food, water, and heated sleeping beds.

Catio open for departures.

Finally, a new feature for my posts: Jerry’s Archive. I will, from time to time, include a photo or two dating back in time. I have started to go through older photos taken over the years and will put a few in these posts as a reminder of past places, people, and things we have known or experienced. I hope you enjoy them.

January 2010 in Oregon with Pam and Blondie.
Pendleton, Oregon in 2010.

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

Pam’s Penny:

Nothing new to report. Sheltering in place seems a lot like surviving winter in Iowa.

Happy (future) Trails.