Author: admin (Page 8 of 62)

This week I will cover several items, including a visit from son Toby and his girlfriend, Sarah. I have a short video of Elmo in packing paper, photos of deer in the neighborhood, and an update on my turntable. Life with an arm in a sling is developing into a routine with a few adaptations. Take a look!

The highlight of the week was a visit from son Toby and his girlfriend, Sarah. Toby listed his home in South Bend, Indiana, and has moved to Las Vegas. This was the last trip, moving the few items he had left at his home, and he wanted to drive through the Colorado Rockies on the way home to show Sarah the mountains.

We enjoyed meeting Sarah and wish Toby luck in finding a new job and selling his South Bend home.

We had noticed deer tracks around our yard, and the other day I was able to get a photo of deer in the neighborhood. This one was across the road from us, eating corn the neighbors had put out.

Our local library has moved into a new location, and we decided it was time for a field trip to get our library cards. (It was also a chance for me to get out of the house.) Not very large or sophisticated, the library is clean and neat and offers a little of everything. I found a few books by my favorite author, Clive Cussler, and Pam found a book as well.

The book check-out brought a trip down memory lane as the library cards are simple and books are still stamped with the due date on a little pocket inside the cover.

Pam had received a box that included some packing paper. Elmo and the kittens had to check it out. I had hoped for more action, but the cats seems satisfied just to sniff and examine this unusual material.

I am going to take a moment and talk a little about the turntable I am using in my LP to digital project. The Bang & Olufsen Beogram TX is one of a number of linear (or tangential) tracking turntables produced by various manufacturers during the ’80s and early ’90’s. Linear tracking keeps the needle at a right angle to the record grooves, mimicking the way the record was pressed. There is no “skating” to the center of the record.

The TX was B&O’s “consumer” level turntable, and B&O produced ‘audiophile’ tables as well, most notably the 8000 series. I am very pleased to have the TX which was given to me by our good friend from DeBeque, Cindy Farris. Cindy reads the blog from time to time and I just wanted to say “thank you” and let her know the table is still running and in use.

Life with arm in a sling is developing into a routine. A few small accommodations have helped, things one may not normally consider. For example, I have to take a few meds twice a day. Previously I would put these in my left hand and raise my water bottle with my right. No can do now, so I snagged a couple of those little pill cups frequently used in clinics.

I put the pills in the cup and use my left hand to take the pills then raise my water bottle. Additionally, I have found that a small slit at the top of a banana makes it much easier to peel. One does what one can to make one-handed life easier.

The upcoming week has few planned activities. Pam will continue to work in the guest room and I will continue with my LP to digital project, but right now life is slow without self-imposed deadlines.

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

Pam’s Penny

I opened the door to the back (south) porch yesterday and found an injured cat looking up at me. I had my eye on this little black youngster [when looking at the outdoor feeder] earlier in the day – something seemed off. Appears to be the end result of a cat fight with facial injuries. I scooped the animal into a cat carrier.

It was Friday afternoon and (predictably) zero helpful response from the vet. Time to go to the basement and pull up one of the metal pens, haul it out to the catio. Set up bedding/food/catbox. Mix up amoxicillin (from powder on hand) and squirt some into the cat’s mouth. Transfer cat into pen. Wait and watch. All weekend.

There is a responsibility assumed when putting out food for neighborhood cats; I accept that. And, generally, rescue is perceived to be a good thing. But, as a rescuer, it sucks. Anxiety, sadness, expense predominate. My experience in Iowa is that vets don’t seem to “get” rescue, an added layer. Time will tell if “Nat the cat” makes it through the weekend to a vet appointment next week.

On a positive note, it was lovely to meet Sarah and talk to Toby face-to-face about his relocation plans. The detour to NE Iowa did lengthen their return drive west, making the overnight visit doubly appreciated.

Happy trails, Toby and Sarah.

It has been just over a week since my rotator cuff surgery. I am doing OK and driving Pam a little nuts. Adapting to doing tasks one-handed has been frustrating. Sleeping is an issue as I am normally a side sleeper and that will not work when your arm is in a sling. (Excuse me, “mobility restraint.”) Most of this post will focus on my Mayo experience and the few mementos I picked up and brought home.

Over all, the Mayo experience went well and I was well taken care of. My biggest complaint is that I had to call in after 8:15 PM on Wednesday night to get a check-in time for the Thursday surgery. Turns out I had to report at 6:30 AM. Pam and I left the house at about 4: 45 AM to meet this deadline, an ungodly hour for a couple of retirees.

Other than that, the process went smoothly. This type of surgery is routine for the Mayo Clinic who has three full-time surgeons who do nothing other than shoulder work, including replacement of the entire joint.

I found out why I was kept overnight. Mayo doctors use a pain blocker, a specific injection, administered after I was knocked out by the anesthesia. The injection was administered in my neck just above the shoulder. It takes around 18 hours for it to wear off and the Clinic does not want to send anyone home until then.

To find the best place for the pain blocker to go in, a tech crew used what looked like a modified ultrasound to locate the nerve cluster in my neck. The same crew marked my shoulder with the doctor’s initials just to make sure the correct shoulder was identified. At almost every step the staff asked me to verify my name and date of birth, either to confirm they had the right patient or to confirm I was cognizant of my surroundings and coherent.

So, I checked in and was prepped. Pam stayed through this part of the process, but left for head home once I was rolled down to pre-op where I went under and received the pain blocker.

The surgery took about an hour and Pam was kept in the loop through e-mails and a call from the doc once the procedure was completed. Pam appreciated this communication and the chance to speak directly to the surgeon. At this point she had more information than I did since I was still sedated.

I was moved into my recovery room and “woke up” around 1:00 PM, early afternoon. With the pain blocker still in effect I did not feel too bad. A therapist came in later with my sling and a second (shower) sling and fitted them both. I was hooked up to an oxygen monitor and still had a port open on my left hand for injections of other pain controls as needed.

Still groggy, I dozed and spoke to the staff as needed. Later in the day I was asked if I wanted to order dinner. Expecting some generic hospital food, I was surprised to see a very complete Food Service menu. Many restaurants don’t have anywhere near the choices the Mayo offered. I had turkey with Herb Jus topping, mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, hot tea, steamed carrots, and Italian Ice (cherry) for desert. Below are a couple of photos of the menu.

Click on the menu above and have it open in an enlarged view. The offerings are quite extensive!

The pain blockers had worn off by Friday morning and I was on Tylenol and another drug, name not recalled, for pain control. I ordered a breakfast of pancakes, apple juice, and a blueberry muffin, all of which tasted great.

After that the therapist came in and we discussed the exercise (I am to do only 1) and other restrictions on using the arm. I was up and out of bed to demonstrate I could walk under my own power and use the bathroom. Dressed again in my regular clothes, and with my overnight bag packed, I had a check-out interview through an in-room virtual nurse and was pronounced OK to be moved (by wheelchair) to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription oxicondon. A nurse arrived to wheel me downstairs to the pharmacy and then to an area near the entry doors that served as a pick-up spot.

Meanwhile, Pam and Becky were enroute through a nasty snowstorm with wind that created white-out conditions and drifts across the roads. Very poor driving conditions! I read a paperback I had brought along until they arrived. The trip home was not as bad, thankfully.

Now I am trying to get used to doing tasks with my left hand or one-handed, not an easy thing to do. The overall pain level has decreased and I have not had to use the oxicondon prescription. I alternated Tylenol with 600mg Ibuprofen tablets instead. Now I am just taking Tylenol with the Ibuprofen as a backup if needed.

I will have in-house therapy for the next 5 weeks then will begin physical therapy at the Howard County Regional Health Services in Cresco, visiting them 3 times a week.

The biggest problem for me has been the lack of physical activity. I can no longer do chores such as shoveling snow, grocery shopping, filling the bird feeder, taking a daily walk, and even driving (the RAV-4 is a stick shift) and this has left me a bit at a loss. It is even hard to read when you can’t hold the book in both hands to turn pages. Sleeping has been affected as I don’t feel tired at the end of the day and, with one sleeping position, I don’t fall asleep easily. Still, these are relatively minor problems and I feel that I am doing well.

Today I received a “thank you” card from the Mayo Clinic team that looked over me after the surgery. I’ll add it to the “sipper cup” I brought home as mementos of this event.

I completed digitizing a few more albums. My new record cleaner system just arrived so I will have to give it a go and see if it does a better job than the pad I have been using.

I managed to get this 1:01 video of Stirling grooming himself. There is no audio in the clip as I did not want to interrupt Stirling during his grooming routine.

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

Pam’s Penny

Himself surprises me in his pain tolerance and the things he actually can do for himself with one hand. This pleases me, as I am not now and have never been a candidate for Home Health Aide.

Kitten update: Vienna and Stirling are pretty much young adults. Shredding and chewing needs frequent discouragement – nothing new there, based on our many past cats. The two are very loving and talkative with me, maintaining a bit more distance with Himself.

One of Vienna’s and Stirling’s favorite toys is pictured below — Mr. Spring. Simple, inexpensive, effective. Right up there with Ms. Cardboard Box.

Happy Trails.

Pam has already updated some friends and family about the status of my rotator cuff surgery, but I thought I would add a few notes. We did a few other things during the week as well.

First, a big shout-out to Becky who drove up to the Mayo Clinic, with Pam, through a snowstorm to pick me up. Becky’s car is quite a bit more comfortable than our old RAV-4 and gave a comfortable ride home. I appreciated the gesture!

My right arm is currently in a sling and will be for many weeks and months. I did get through the night with a few hours of sleep using only Ibuprofen and Tylenol for pain control. (I am trying to avoid using the oxycodone prescription I received.) I slept in the recliner in the Media Room. Pam and Becky added an extension to the recliner’s handle making it possible for me to recline using my left hand. That was thoughtful and is working well.

Getting used to doing tasks left-handed, or with only one hand, will continue to be a challenge. For example, my water bottles have screw on caps and I have had to come up with novel ways to hold them in order to unscrew the tops.

The therapist gave me only one exercise to do three times daily for the next six weeks, then physical therapy will begin. For the short term, I am to avoid putting any stress on the arm.

The procedure itself went pretty well. In addition to repairing two tears in the rotator cuff, the surgeon repaired a number of tendons. At least 5 of these were on the front side of the joint. As a result of this additional work, I am looking at a 6 – 8 month long period for a full recovery. That will certainly inhibit my summer activities!

I will have more on the entire event going forward, but let us turn to other events of the week.

Pam had previously mentioned a plan to replace our existing kitchen cabinet hardware – knobs – with handle pulls I had received from my brother Jon. This project was completed and it changed the appearance of the kitchen. For us, the new handles are easier to use than the old knobs and feel much more solid in use.

In the photo below, look at the new hardware at the top-left cabinets. The old pulls can be seen behind me on the lower cabinet doors.

We had light snow a couple of days which required shoveling and are expecting to get 4 – 6 inches later today. Pam will have to take over snow removal and plans to do the minimum required for us to get around to the garage, mail box, and dumpster pick up spot. I will miss this, as snow removal gave me the chance to play with my “big boy” toys and provided outside activity.

Work progressed in the guest bedroom. Pam continued to put spackle where needed to repair wall damage and got some detail work painted. I replaced a small crumbling section of sheetrock with some wood. It looks like the old window had leaked on one corner and caused the damage. With a light coat of spackle and paint the repair will not be obvious.

I managed to convert a few more LPs to digital files. Those of us “of a certain age” will remember Carole King (Wrap Around Joy,) Cat Stevens (Greatest Hits) and Air Supply (Greatest Hits.) While the $25.00 cleaning kit I ordered does a good job, it does not remove crud deep in the record grooves. I have ordered a slightly larger kit that consists of a tub with brushes mounted on both sides which is designed to do a more thorough cleaning job. I will have to see how that goes.

With my arm in a sling and restrictions on what I can do I suspect the next several weeks will be slow in the project work arena. I will try to put up a post or two, but there may not be a lot to report. As Rachel Maddow says, “Watch this space.”

Photo Archive

Just a few miscellaneous photos.

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

Pam’s Penny

Murphy’s Law at work. Somehow I knew the week of Jer’s scheduled surgery there would be snow, blowing snow, white-out conditions, the works. Bingo. (Becky and I do NOT want to repeat another one of those journeys.)

Also Murphy’s Law. This is the third day in a row of snow. Himself is incapacitated and I’m on snow shovel duty. Predictable.

Blondie, in a new sweater that she absolutely hates, looks like I feel. This again?

Happy Trails.

New projects were begun this week, including Pam’s painting of the guest bedroom and my attempts to convert LP records into digital files. There are two new video clips as well, so keep on reading!

Pam began work in the guest bedroom by removing old shelving, then outlet and switch covers. The next step was to begin spackling the holes left from the shelf bracket screws, followed by starting to paint around the edges of the moldings and walls. This project will take some time to complete – Pam works on the room every other day or so. The overcast conditions of mid-winter don’t help, as lighting in that room is not good for detailed work.

As noted last week, I had ordered 3 packs of negative sleeves so I could put a bunch of 35mm color negatives into 3-ring binders. The sleeves arrived and I was able to complete this task. No more envelopes with negatives in them lying around in the bottom of a box!

The other project I began was the conversion of LP records into digital files. Boy, what a learning experience.

Once you make a lot of mistakes and get the hang of the software, the process will yield pretty good results. Much depends on the condition of the records. While cleaning will help, you will get some “pops” and static in the converted file. I do not have the funds to buy a professional cleaning system, roughly $3,000.00, so I use a more modest cleaning kit of about $35.00.

I have a second turntable that I brought with us from Colorado. That unit is hooked up to the iMic device and used for the conversion. This also had a learning curve, as I found a 60 mhz “hum” in some of my early attempts. I had not grounded the turntable. In a normal set-up the turntable is grounded to a post on the back of the receiver or amplifier. In this case I added a clip to the table’s ground wire and attached it to a metal outlet strip located under my computer desk. This removed the hum, but I had to re-record a few songs. This was typical of the learning curve required.

Here are a couple photos of my conversion set-up:

Note that not all songs on all albums have been converted as I am picking and choosing the tracks I want. A few notable exceptions are the Anne Murray: Greatest Hits and Crosby, Stills and Nash: So Far albums. This is a project I will work on the rest of the winter.

Speaking of the rest of the winter, I am going in for my rotator cuff surgery this Thursday. Depending on how I feel after the operation, I may not have a weekly blog post for a while, depending on how much mobility I have in my right arm.

I was busy with my video camera this week. Pam’s friend Nick requested kitten videos, so here is one of Pam trying to get the kittens (and Elmo) to play with a cat toy around a Chewy box. Run time: 2:22. (Yes, I know I misspelled “Chewy” in the title. Too late now.)

A couple weeks ago we instituted a new acorn feeder for the squirrels. Pam had kept an old silverware rack from a previous dishwasher. I lined this rack with wire mesh to keep acorns from falling out the sides and bottom. The rack has proven to be a hit with local squirrels. Next year we will have to save more nuts when we rake the yard! Run time: 1:51. (“Revenue” in soundtrack should have been “retinue.”)

I’ll finish my part of this post with a photo I took this morning at a vintage snowmobile show held in Cresco, about 25 miles from Elma. These were only some of the sleds present. Brought back a lot of memories from my high school days when our family owned a Skiroule SX 300 that I rode a lot.

Until next time, thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Oldest child Felicity recognizes a significant mid-life birthday next weekend by scheduling a visit to the Pacific NW. She will be housesitting in Portland, OR for one of her Northwest Harmony chorus friends.

Second child Toby will be driving east (between snowstorms), after his vacation in Vegas, this coming week. He has begun the process of relocating from the Midwest (Indiana) to the West (Vegas).

The upcoming week will see us driving back-and-forth to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. A somewhat less exciting route than either of the other two.

Happy Trails, all.

A quiet week was punctuated with only a few items of note. Both occured on Friday. The first was an outing to Decorah and the second was a power outage. Those details (and more) are outlined below.

A trip to Decorah always includes a trip to Walmart, generally to pick up a prescription and do some general shopping. We get items not available in our “normal” grocery stores such as larger bottles of agave sweetener, McVitties digestive biscuits, office/paper supplies, and other miscellaneous items. I won’t say I enjoy Wally World, but we do get resupplied with a number of items which are nice to have around.

This trip included a side stop at the Howard County Regional Health Center, located along the Decorah route, in Cresco. The Mayo Clinic had sent me a blood draw kit with instructions to have a draw done locally, hence the stop at the Center. This task did not take very long, and the tech who did the draw indicated they get these kits from Mayo and other facilities fairly often.

Along the lines of preparing for my rotator cuff surgery, we began making other changes. I took a few extensions out of the bird feeder pole, lowering the feeder tube assembly to the point where it can be filled without the use of a ladder. The birds don’t seem to mind.

Other preparations include the acquisition of sweat pants for me as I will have trouble using my suspenders while in an arm sling. I’ve started to line up button-front shirts that I can drape over my shoulder. And, to keep me occupied, I have begun preparing a few projects that I think I can handle.

One of these is photo related. While going through boxes in the storage room Pam found several envelopes of 35mm color negatives (family photos) that were never filed. New sleeves are on order and a couple 3-ring binders purchased to complete this project.

Luckily, most of the envelopes are dated so I can put them in chronological order when arranged in the new binders. I may even scan some of them, as they date from the late ’90s into the early 2000s.

A second project is audio related. I have several old cassettes and quite a few LP records that I would like to convert into digital files that can be played on my computer. The RAV-4’s after market stereo system can accept a flash drive with songs on it. We have been using this method to provide us with driving tunes since we bought the car. I hope to expand the flash drive’s selections with some of my older tunes.

The biggest part of this project involved getting an external input device since my Mac has no stereo input capabilities. An old Griffin iMic took care of this as it adds a stereo input through a USB port. (Also works on Windows PCs.) Software is included but will have a learning curve. It may be a few days until I get the hang of converting cassettes and LPs to digital files.

I am waiting on an extension cord needed to go between the stereo system receiver and this device. It should arrive this week. I’ve ordered record cleaning kit to treat the LPs before trying to convert them. Should be a fun project!

A localized power outage kept us in the dark for about 90 minutes, not bad. Apparently there was a problem with a transformer about half a block to the west of us that serviced a few houses. Our supplier is Alliant Energy, and according to their web site, only 8 outages had been reported, one of them ours. I suspect there were more than 8 affected homes as the outage happened during the afternoon when many people are not home. The weather was mild and we suffered no ill effects; the furnace did start running as soon as power was restored.

Several mornings featured frozen fog on trees in our neighborhood. This effect is called rime ice. Here are a few photos taken of the after effects.

While I was taking outside photos, I took this shot of Heart House, mostly for documentary reasons. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, then look at the second pole on the right-hand side you will see the transformer that was the source of our power outage.

In most respects it was a quiet week. We did get a contractor to come out and look over the “tower project” which involves removing the old cedar shingles and wood trim, then installing architectural shingles. This work requires a lift or a bucket truck. Additional work, such as repair or replacement of damaged siding and painting, may also be bid out as a separate project. We shall have to see if the contractor comes through with reasonable quote(s).

The contractor indicated he already had 5 other jobs lined up, including some big ones. Even if we get acceptable quotes it may be months until the work could be completed. We are hoping to get the tower done this year, so maybe additional inquiries will be needed to find another roofer/company.

Photo Archive

Family photos from ’90 and ’91

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

Pam’s Penny

Figures – Heart House experienced a power outage the very week I wrote a check for the highest one-month electric bill I have paid (for any property) in my entire life. The previous month, with brutal cold/windy weather and holiday lighting, was painfully expensive. In addition to our actual usage, the “Regional Transportation Fee” is $60 a month and increases every six months. Another penalty for living in the rural area of NE Iowa. (I didn’t hear our newly-re-elected governor planning any energy relief to those of us in the hinterlands – how about some Federal grants or state matching funds, Kim?)

Jerry’s brother recently gave Himself a pile of metal door pull hardware [in an older style]. I’m considering having Himself’s next project to be installation of these metal pulls on the kitchen cupboards. It will be “like putting lipstick on a pig” because the white-laminate-over-composite doors are pretty cheap and the pulls are constantly loose and wobbly. I’m hoping the “overall look” with the metal will resemble “old hardware store?”

A Solstice (kitten) update – after two weeks with us and no welcome from the current inhabitant of the catio, Solstice kitten departed into the neighborhood. Hopefully she went back to her previous family.

Happy Trails, Solstice.

The past week was pretty routine for this time of year, with only a few projects occupying our time. Pam took on a detail painting project and I did updates and housekeeping on the web site. The details are below.

Pam decided to improve the looks of the kitchen by adding some artwork to the splash panel behind the sink. The row of hearts adds detail and interest to this area. Additionally, the semi-gloss-painted hearts serve to keep splashing food particles from staining the white paint.

Another of Pam’s projects included maintenance on JoJo’s feet. We had rain, snow, and ice over the past week and JoJo’s feet are like mops with all the hair growing around her toes. Pam unpacked the dog grooming kit [she received as a birthday gift] and began trimming. As a result, JoJo’s feet are much tidier and she tracks in far less material from her outside excursions. Pam reports the cordless clippers in the kit performed well and will be used again when the other dogs, particularly Bru, need to be groomed.

Speaking of Bru, she has a habit of occasionally licking the air around her. This looks very reptilian in nature. I was able to video her a couple days ago when she was “at it” again.

The appliance repair guy showed up on Thursday and installed a new “igniter” in the oven. (We have not yet received a bill for the work.) The job took about 40 minutes and looked to be fairly simple, but having the correct parts and tools was the key element. It’s great to have the oven back in working order.

Per usual, I was occupied by some outside work; I shoveled light snow from the sidewalks. The new “evaporative pad” for the furnace humidifier was received and installed. However, most of my time was spent updating the web site.

Most of my computer updates are “under the hood” and aren’t that visible. However, should you be interested, I added a few photos to the Heart House and Cats galleries. The video of Bru licking the air was added to a revised Dog Videos page. Squirrel videos were collected and a new Squirrel Videos page was created. Even the Birds Video page was modified with the addition of the Birds at Feeder video. A few typos were corrected and other maintenance performed.

The next time you view this blog, start at the top image and – slowly – scroll down. The block that has “AppleAttic Blog” will turn opaque and allow you to view the image underneath, just about the time the letters hit the top of your screen. I did not have anything to do with this as it is a feature built into the software but I do think it is cool. The image, by the way, is one of mine as the background image can be changed from the default. I will be using other background in the future.

And that is about it for this week. Dog grooming, painting, snow shoveling, and web site maintenance were the top activities that took up our time and energy. I suspect next week will be equally quiet.

Photo Archive

Columbine is the state flower of Colorado and I have taken many photos of them over the years.

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

Pam’s Penny

I feel accomplished — the holiday decor has been sorted, reorganized and stowed away. One of these days I will move furniture and start spackling the walls of the quilt room/guest bedroom in prep for painting. One of these days…

Happy Trails.

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.