Category: General (Page 12 of 59)

It has been just over two years since I retired, and what a span it has been! I’ll review the last two years in brief, then move on to activities of the last week.

I retired in Colorado during February of 2020, then joined Pam in Iowa. In the intervening two years, much has happened. Pam had her gallbladder removed, COVID-19 hit, much work was done on Heart House, and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The garage addition was built, we acquired Elmo the Cat, and Pam’s sister Becky moved in with us during her house hunt. My mother passed away. And those were just the major events!

I must say retirement is not what I expected it to be. While I anticipated the work on Heart House, I also expected we would be traveling more to visit family, friends, and take in local events. I envisioned concerts in the park and trips to antique stores. Instead I got vaccination cards and KN95 face masks. Yes, this retirement is not what I expected when I was making my plans more than two years ago. I can only hope it gets better as COVID-19 and its variants decline from this point forward.

Moving on, this past week saw well above-average temperatures that led us to begin outside activities, such as lawn clean-up and removing mulch from flower beds. It is not full spring yet; it was below freezing this morning and there is a good chance of accumulating snow one day next week. It was very satisfying, though, to sit on the porch in the sunshine wearing only a light coat this past Wednesday.

Pam had mentioned to her Florida friend, Julie, that tulips are beginning to pop up in the Mary Lynn Memorial flower bed. Julie requested a photo of the spring growth, so here it is:

Pam has not removed all the mulch; she knows from experience below-freezing temps are still a pretty good possibility. Once NE Iowa is safely above freezing weather, the remaining mulch will be removed. While snow is gone from the yard, a few stubborn ice patches remain in shady areas near the dog run and north side of the house.

Pam moved ahead on the bathroom project, doing more stencil painting and putting up a few “whimsey” items (such as this sign over the shower):

Another sign was added to the laundry room, referencing our dogs and cats:

Speaking of cats, I have not included an update on our youngest troublemaker, Elmo, for a while. Here he is during a nap on a seat cushion.

Elmo has more energy – and curiosity – than the other cats (combined!) and continues to find ways of getting into trouble. Most recently he has decided to remove the decorative tacks that Pam added to secure the stairwell ribbon. Possessed of endless patience, he will work on a ‘project’ until it is completed to his satisfaction. This feline project activity usually occurs at night, when “correction” is not an issue for him.

I spent quite a few hours working on my newest project, converting VHS tapes into a digital format. While the work is not difficult, it is time consuming. Here are the steps involved:

1. Digitize the VHS tape using “Video Capture” from a company called Roxio.
2. Edit the tape using iMovie on my Mac. (Mostly this is adding transitions and a titles.)
3. By default, the edited tape is in Apple’s .mov format. I have to convert this to formats of .mp4 and .webM so the video can be viewed on other operating systems. The conversion can take hours as the converting program, called Prism, is pretty slow. It can take over an hour to convert 10 minutes of video into the .webM format, less time to create the .mp4 version.
4. Create an HTML page that will play the videos and includes background information. Web browsers all read HTML code making the videos playable on almost all common operating systems. These pages are patterned after my gallery web pages so I don’t have to build the new pages from scratch, but it still takes some time.

Below is a photo of my set-up. The TV (at right) is not required but is useful for previewing the tapes. Center screen is running the Video Capture program while the screen at the left is running the Prism conversion software. On the table in the right foreground is the VHS deck.

I have converted a few tapes so far which include Felicity’s 4th birthday party, Toby’s baptism, and a 1987 Halloween party. It is a real trip back in time to view these tapes again! I don’t plan to put these up on my web site; I will put them on thumb (flash) drives and send them to the kids. They may (or may not) view the videos but at least I will have converted the now-obsolete VHS footage into a more modern format. I have another 25+ “family” tapes yet to convert and will be kept busy for many weeks (years?) before I’m finished.

Photo Archive

Waterfalls and mountain scenes make up this week’s archive.

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

Pam’s Penny

Tulips! Robins! (Daffodils still underground.)

Himself contacted a Charles City painter re: exterior house completion. Painter is already scheduled into 2023. Crap. The couple running the local Elma building materials center are retiring April 1. New management taking over. Ga-a-a-a! Then, of course, Bob the Builder is still recovering from heart surgery.

To date, the Universe is not cooperating re: Heart House projects for the year.

Happy Trails.

As the title suggests, last week’s weather was another up-and-down spring week. We had temperatures ranging from 50 to zero. Along the way we worked on a few more projects and the updates are below.

Pam continued to move ahead with the bathroom upgrade. The new mirror was hung as was the new storage unit.

There is more to the mirror than meets the eye. Originally a green tint, Pam repainted to get a bluish color, then used sandpaper to give the frame a slightly “distressed” look. The process took a few hours to complete over the space of a couple days. However, Pam is satisfied with the result. The size and location of the new mirror is a big improvement over the previous rectangle. The newly-installed wall mount soap dish declutters the pedestal sink, as well.

The bathroom storage unit project was more straightforward. A shelf was installed first, to distribute the weight of the unit along the wall and (more importantly) into secure points behind the sheetrock. Screws in the keyhole back of the unit keep it from tipping forward. Pam likes the additional storage as supplies are now clearly visible and not hidden behind other items.

Between the new mirror and this unit the bathroom upgrade progresses. More painting is on the docket — as are new floor tiles — so this is still a work-in-progress.

I began listing a few small items for sale on eBay, including some 1990’s era “Thomas The Tank Engine” VHS tapes. The first one sold and was shipped this morning. There is not much money in these but it gives me another project to work on and will lead to clearing out some of the stuff we no longer want or need.

Becky’s search for a new home took a step forward this week when she and her brother Larry viewed a couple homes in and near Fountain City, Wisconsin. While the visit did not yield a suitable place, the outing was informative and a rapport was established with a local realtor.

In conclusion, projects moved ahead on several fronts. The upcoming week promises to be warmer and I may be able to begin some spring clean-up of the yard. There are plenty of small branches that dropped during the winter and some leaves were built up along fence lines that need to be cleaned out. As for new projects, I ordered a VHS-to-DVD converter and that should arrive shortly; I will begin the task of converting our old family VHS tapes into a digitalized form that can be turned into DVDs or just viewed on a computer. That should be a learning experience.

Photo Archive

Various critters make up this week’s archive.

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

Pam’s Penny

Time for all the sleeping schedules and dog feeding routines to be screwed up tomorrow, due to Daylight Savings Time. Why do we go through this twice a year anyway…

Happy Trails.

The past week’s weather has been a roller-coaster experience. While we had no below-zero temperatures, highs and lows ranged from single digits to the low 50 degree range. It is warm today, windy, with thunderstorms expected, however, the forecast for tomorrow morning (Sunday) is for snow flurries as we get the “back side” of the storm system now passing through. Much of our snow has melted, leaving puddles all over the place as the still-frozen ground won’t let the water seep in.

Around the house, several projects were completed or moved ahead. Becky finished the 2,000 piece puzzle that has occupied quite a few hours over the last few weeks.

Pam painted more of the downstairs bathroom and moved that project along a bit. She is changing the color of the new mirror frame so it fits in more with the planned decor. Both the mirror and new storage unit should be mounted this coming week. Eventually, new floor tiles will be laid. Nothing is square in that bathroom, so Pam will need to do some custom fitting to make everything fit and look aligned.

I did some work on the faucet destined for the job sink in the laundry room, as we changed ideas on how to wall-mount it. Originally we had planned to use a couple of cast-iron brackets but decided to use those to mount a shelf elsewhere instead. The faucet backing is now equipped with a “cleat” that will mount it to the wall, similar to the system used to mount kitchen cabinets.

If you recall, the job sink project started last October. I stopped in at the plumbing shop a few weeks ago and found that the parts they needed to order had arrived and that “they were planning installation schedules now” and “we would be called a day in advance” to get the job finished. No sign of them yet. It gets old. We really need to get that job sink into action.

I will take a moment to comment on the Ukraine situation:

The number of birds at the feeders and squirrels at the corn cob feeder have been greatly reduced these past few days. With more open fields and grassy areas I suspect they are finding food elsewhere now. I will probably take the feeders down by the end of March, unless the weather changes again and they return to feed.

I ordered a new set of Salomom Quest 4 hiking boots ($230.00 plus tax) to replace my old Danners. I need traction when working on the hillsides of The Lot and the old boots are worn smooth and into the soles at some places. They served me well, but Danner no longer makes the model I have. Not surprising since they are about a decade old. I think the price is high and had trouble placing the order and hope these new boots last a decade or so. I don’t buy shoes often.

Photo Archive

Some family photos from the 1990s.

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

Pam’s Penny

I perked up to hear a welcome sound the other morning; it was V’s of geese honking while flying north for the season. And in the twilight some evenings, owls now hoot to each other across the neighborhood. Soon the cardinals will begin their distinctive mating call: “wheet-who, wheet-who, who-weet, who-weet, who-weet.” Spring and bird song just seems to go together. When the first robin arrives, it will probably be the distinctive “chirrup” I hear first, before I see the bird.

But I did need to have a “discussion” with the bulbs slumbering in the Mary Lynn bed, as well the bulbs planted around the light post. “Too early, don’t start poking sprouts up just yet.” Much as I am looking forward to the Spring tulip and daffodil display…

Still — can the first visit to the Mennonite greenhouse be too far away? I think not.

Happy Trails.

This week saw a bit of everything going on, including the puzzle, weather, painting, a trip to the Mayo Clinic, etc. None were major but in combination the week was more interesting than some recently.

Becky took a break from puzzling to do some sewing. We now have a new and unique clothespin holder for the laundry room. Becky reports this project included learning some new techniques of stitching and working with ribbon. I think the bag turned out great.

Pam began adding details to the downstairs bath by painting stencils and hearts above the door. While the project is still in infancy, details like this give a hint as to what the final product will look like.

Pam completed another decorating task by adding a banner over the entry to the library — it ties in with the library theme.

I contributed a bit to Heart House decor by putting up one of my “aspen tree” photos in the stairwell. This 16″ x 20″ is printed on canvas. The tree photo was taken at the end of Handcart Gulch near Breckenridge, Colorado.

All of us continued to work on the 2,000 piece puzzle. Pam and Becky most of all; I add only a piece or two now and then. Here is the puzzle as it currently stands.

We finished our taxes, both Federal and Iowa, and mailed in the forms. Finishing taxes is always a great relief for us. We had to pay Iowa, as we expected, but chose to put our Federal refund toward next year’s total so we will not get any cash back this year.

My Mayo excursion on Thursday, a six month checkup, included three appointments and took most of the day. First was a blood draw, followed by a doctor consult, followed by my hormone infusion. The first was at 11:00 AM and the last at 3:45 PM. Adding in the 90 minute commute each way, it made for a full day. The evening commute was accomplished in a light snowstorm.

Between the first and second appointments I visited a Walmart store to pick up a few supplies and groceries. While I found almost everything on my list, it looks like supply chain issues still have a way to go before shopping returns to normal.

A couple of our favorite noodle brands are “No Yolk” and “Barilla” and both were almost non-existent on the shelves. Here is a photo of the Walmart pasta aisle:

I left without finding the spaghetti and broad noodles on the shopping list. Other shelves also had bare spots.

The Mayo appointments themselves were pretty routine. My PSA level is still undetectable; this is what the doctor wanted. My blood sugar levels are high, which I expected, which tells me I do need to get more waking/exercise done. With better weather I will begin my longer routine walks again, which will help with my ongoing diabetes.

Back in Elma, there were chores to get done on Friday. After a light snow had fallen, I took out the John Deere LX176 and blade to clear the sidewalks.

One item I had purchased at Wal-World was a pair of short LED lights that I plan to mount over my garage work spaces. Here is one of them mounted near my drill press and vise.

The weather is gradually improving but we still had a couple below-zero nights last week. None are in the 10-day forecast so we hope we are over the worst of the winter weather. The local weatherman mentioned that we are about 12 inches below normal for snow for the season but there are several weeks of winter to go.

You might think small town Iowa is immune from police activity. Apparently not. One of our neighbors is in trouble with the law. We witnessed several county sheriff’s cars at the house to our immediate south on 7th street, across the alley from us. A one-car garage was opened and the vehicle inside was trucked away. The Mr. was taken away in handcuffs. I did not recognize the car’s brand but it appeared to be a foreign vehicle. With no idea of what circumstances triggered this action, I assume the car is either 1. Evidence. 2. Stolen or 3. Repossessed. I doubt if they would have arrested the guy if the action was a repossession. Anyway, I’ll continue to watch from afar to see if there are any new developments. Maybe they’ll have some info at the local lumber yard…

Projects were begun and completed, others continue. Life goes on.

Photo Archive

I have several “artsy” shots to showcase this week.

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

Pam’s Penny

The winter storm this past week featured thunder snow, lighting, and ice pellets. Wow. Glare ice was so intense I had to rig up some fabric on the catio ramp so the cats could climb up and down for access. A person almost needed a spotter to walk on the sidewalks. Not a fan.

Happy Trails.

The past week saw us tackling a few projects: rug cleaning and continued work on the 2,000 piece puzzle. Becky has been the prime worker on the 2,000 piece puzzle I mentioned in my last post. Pam has put in a few hours and I have contributed a minimal amount of time. Right now the puzzle is about 60 percent done. Here is a photo, taken by Becky, of Pam and I working the puzzle in its initial stage:

It will be another week (or more) before the job is completed. I’ll include a photo of the finished work (or work-in-progress) in my next blog post.

Another activity that took up several hours was the rental of a rug cleaner and cleaning a couple rooms — the parlor and the media room. Both room cleanings required the removal or re-arranging of furniture and “decoration stuff.” The first photo is of what came out of the parlor bedroom and found a temporary resting place in the library.

Becky piloted the cleaning machine around the parlor and I did the upstairs media room.

The cleaning machine came from the Ace Hardware store in New Hampton. We had been in town to drop JoJo at the groomers and rented the machine after dropping JoJo off. We returned the machine on the trip, later in the day, to pick up JoJo.

Seeing as we would be in New Hampton already, we took the travel opportunity to order take-out from the Chinese restaurant in town. The restaurant is named “The Lucky Bamboo” and the food turned out to be very tasty. It has been a long time since we’ve enjoyed Chinese. The restaurant is take-out only, so we waited outside until the order was filled. It was hard to drive all the way home with the smell of hot food in the car! (The dogs thought so too.) We will be ordering from The Lucky Bamboo again.

That was one busy day for retired people!

The following day, it was time to drive Bru and Blondie to the vet for their checkups. The examinations went pretty well for dogs of 12 and 13 years of age. Turns out only Blondie has a current issue – a mild infection/irritation in one ear requiring drops for treatment.

The rest of the week, I worked on making a DVD on a flash drive, and my trial effort seems to work OK. (I used some existing clips to make the DVD.) The next step is to buy the VHS to digital movie software and hardware and start converting our old family VHS tapes.

I continue to scan slides from my collection. I had made a mistake, though, in not marking the early slides once I had scanned them. Now I put a small “s” in a corner of the slides I have processed to indicate they have been scanned. To date I have scanned about 320 slides. The other thing I need to do is sort through the slides in a big way as I have images of the same topic taken at different times. One sample of this is the Lead King Basin and town of Marble. I visited this area several times and images from the trips are scattered through different 3-ring binders where I keep them. That, however, would be a major project and require a lot of room to spread out sheets of slide holders. Not sure when I will take that on. At least once I have them scanned I can put related photos in their own folder.

The upcoming week holds a few tasks to be completed. We will be going through both our tax forms to finalize them. Federal will be filed first, as it appears we are due a small refund. Iowa taxes won’t be filed until near the deadline, as we will own them a few hundred dollars. It’s always excellent to get that task finished and out the door.

For me, the big event will be another trip to the Mayo Clinic for my 6-month check up and my second-to-last hormone injection. I hope there are no surprises and the treatment is progressing normally. Critical will be my PSA level, which was undetectable at my last visit, a condition that I hope continues.

“Significant snow” is in the forecast for the upcoming week. So far the weather forecasters have not put a number on how many inches NE Iowa could get, but it appears several inches is possible over a couple of days. It looks to be a slow moving cold air mass interacting with moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, so there is potential for a good-sized snowfall. We’ll follow the usual “wait and see” forecast cycle.

Photo Archive

Family photos from the early 2000s:

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

Pam’s Penny

I’m trying to work up the enthusiasm to continue painting in the downstairs bathroom. It’s more entertaining to watch the Olympics, although my attention span for ski events is pretty short.

We’re surviving February. I’m pretty well “over” winter myself.

Happy Trails.

I spent a great deal of the week fighting a head cold, but Pam moved ahead with the bathroom update and that is the story of the week. We also started preparing taxes, always a pain in the neck, and cracked open a 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Pam put a 2nd coat of [white] paint on several of the bathroom walls and ordered a few upgrade items. These included a replacement mirror with an interesting shape and a wall-hanging storage unit.

So, the bathroom project continues. One wall is waiting for new paint but most of the “fussy” walls are done. Once painting is completed we can hang the new mirror and storage unit.

Since we have been doing jigsaw puzzles this winter (mostly 1,000 pieces each) I thought we would move up to a larger puzzle– a 2,000 piece challenge. It was unboxed this week.

This one may take a while to finish and it spreads out onto quite a large surface, but it’s a good way to spend several cold winter’s days. IF we can keep the puzzle pieces away from Elmo…

Tax prep has made it onto the radar. Our taxes this year are not as complex as last year (since we don’t have a two-state income and moving expenses to deal with). Still, both Federal and state forms have their challenges. I really dislike going down the forms and discovering a new schedule needs to be viewed or completed before one can move forward. Per our initial numbers, we should get a refund from the Feds but will have to pay the State of Iowa. We expected this given the withholdings (or lack thereof) on our retirement income. Still, preparing taxes is an exercise in frustration.

Pam is really looking forward to spring this year; she ordered this lamb statue (named Gretel) to be placed in in the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden after the snow is gone. (Mary and Jeff raised sheep for a while on their farm – Gretel was one of Mary’s favorite sheep.) A list of seeds and plantings for the upcoming year has been compiled as well and will be ordered a bit later this month.

I am debating about moving away from scanning slides to converting a bunch of old VHS tapes, taken when the kids were young, to a more modern format including DVD. Pam pointed out the kids have a good selection of photos in scrapbooks she kept for them over the years. And while it is true they have not seen many of the slides I have scanned, these may not substantially change their memories.

The VHS tapes may be a different story. There were no photos made from these and it’s always fun to see things in motion. I began looking into how to create DVDs and the hardware / software needed to convert the tapes into a digital format. Good thing we still own a VHS player! I have not yet purchased the items I will need to take this on but will probably do so in the next month or so. I do plan to keep scanning some of my slides for the Photo Archive but my focus will change. Besides, it’s always fun to learn how to do new things.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and it will take place in near-record heat – THERE. But HERE in NE Iowa it was -2 degrees last night and will be colder than that tonight, down to about -4 degrees. Below zero temps are forecast for a few nights next week in the 10-day forecast. I know I’ve had my fill of sub-zero days for the winter.

Photo Archive

A few more mine sites from the Savage Basin Road near Telluride, Colorado.

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

Pam’s Penny

I know folks out there are saying, “They still do their own taxes?” It’s a matter of principle. We have simple retirement income. No investment income. No itemization, a very straightforward 1040. If we can’t do our own taxes, who can? And yet, preparing tax forms is NOT an easy exercise and — let’s just say — does not enhance marital quality.

The bathroom re-do is not actually very far along. The white base coat is only step one. I plan to re-use the Art Deco fan stencil [from the library] in the bathroom. Stenciling is always a fussy decorative painting project. Plus tiles will be installed on the floor, then wall edges and floor transitions need wood molding. A lo-o-o-ong way to go. (Luckily I only need to use a two-step ladder to reach the ceiling. I don’t think there’s enough space in that bathroom for a full stepladder.)

Himself is correct, milder spring-like weather cannot arrive soon enough. Bless the variety of birds (even the squirrels) plus puzzles for keeping us occupied during these cold and nasty winter days.

Happy Trails.

Life goes on at a slow pace this time of year. However, we did have three (!) trips taken during the week. Here are the details.

On Tuesday Pam and I went to the dentist. For Pam this was an annual routine check-up and cleaning, but for me it was a “first visit” to a new dentist. Although I had the earlier appointment, Pam was done long before me. I had the full range of X-rays taken and records to fill out before getting my teeth cleaned.

During my exam a small cavity was discovered near the base of one of my crowns. This led to trip #2 on Wednesday to have this cavity filled. On the way home I picked up a menu for a Chinese carry out place. While a bit far from home (25 – 30 minutes) we may give it a try in the near future as we have not had Chinese cooking since we moved to Iowa. It would be an interesting change from pork…

The third trip took place on Thursday; a visit to the nearest Wal-world was in order as I had to pick up a refill of my Type-2 diabetes medication. Walmart (in Decorah) is now kind of a “Big Deal” as Walmart offers [many] items we cannot buy locally. Some of these items include McVitie’s biscuits, large boxes of Twinings’s English Breakfast Tea, Tetley tea, flounder and haddock frozen fish, and numerous other small items. We keep an ongoing list of Wal-world items to look for on the next monthly visit, and it was a pretty long list this time.

Given that the nearest Wal-world is about an hour away, a trip becomes almost an all-day event, figuring in the commute. Upon arriving home there are bags to empty and overstock to find room for. (Three boxes of McVitties, for example when only one fits on the shelf.) Below is a photo of three of the many items we get on such trips: Mrs. Myers Clean Day in Honeysuckle, Madhava agave in a 64 oz container, McVitie’s Digestive Biscuits.

In other project news, Pam has begun painting the downstairs bathroom as the first step in the upgrade. Valspar “standard white” is covering the medium-yellow existing paint. This change makes the room brighter and sets the background for further work. (I have had a small part in this, removing towel holders and miscellaneous other brackets and re-installing them when the painting has been completed.) To complicate matters, this is the main bathroom with the only shower; it has to be kept functional during the upgrade.

The other day I got ambitious and dug the F-150 out from snow along the garage. I had not had to run the truck for quite a while – so – I plugged it in. After the warm up, I drove around town a bit just to keep the truck’s systems in good shape.

Weather has been up and down again, with a few milder days punctuated by sub-zero days. Doing some research, I found this part of Iowa has, on average, about 30 days that record below-zero temperatures. We are now over twenty for the season. (What I could not find was exactly how many degrees below-zero the recorded days measured.) Average low for this time of year is around 6 degrees above zero.

I have been keeping my garage kerosene heater going in hopes of keeping the garage items above zero. So far this has worked and the garage stays about 20 – 30 degrees above the outside temps, depending on wind conditions. I had installed a new wick last year and the heater is performing well. While the garage is still below freezing, you can really tell the difference as soon as you walk through the door.

We continue to enjoy watching the birds and squirrels that come to the feeders. One surprise is that the squirrels also appear to like suet, or at least the grains molded into it. They can get into the darnedest positions trying to get at the feeder, which is suspended a few inches away from the tree trunk.

That’s about it. Nothing exciting! We fill the time with doing jigsaw puzzles, working on indoor projects, watching the birds, and catching some of the opening Olympic venues. That’s our “retired” life this winter.

Photo Archive

Family photos from 1989 and 1990

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

Pam’s Penny

One of the seed catalogs arrived in the mail this week. Gurney’s. I had a spring moment. It was lovely.

January and February in NE Iowa are to be survived. Rarely enjoyed. But there were a dozen cardinals at the bird feeder yesterday – a moment of rare enjoyment.

Happy Trails.

Low temps limited activity at Heart House this past week. However, I worked on small projects, kept the bird feeder full, watched squirrels devouring corn on the cob from their feeder, and identified a few new birds at the suet feeder. I made some changes to my web site pages. Here is what went down last week.

Our outdoor bird feeders had a banner week. We spotted a new finch, identifiable by a pale red breast and small body. We know there are finches in the area but had seen mostly the yellow variety during the spring and summer months. Good to know there are other varieties around and we hope to attract more.

The squirrels go through a cob of corn a day – my limit, not theirs. Much ends up on the ground but some of that gets picked up by other squirrels when not on the perch. I had to laugh; one day a squirrel pulled the cob off the feeder and hauled it up into the tree. I guess I need to screw the cobs further onto the holder so they stay put!

The suet feeder has attracted a red-headed woodpecker, several downy woodpeckers, and a pair of nuthatches. We enjoy watching their antics, viewed through the kitchen window. As with the northern cardinals at the regular feeder, the varied colors of the suet-feeding birds add a bit of cheer to the day.

Weather played a factor in limiting the week’s activities. Temperatures have been on a roller coaster, first with highs slightly above average (about 22 degrees F) for a day or two then dropping into the single digits or below zero the remaining days. Night time temps (normally about 6 degrees F) dropped into the -20 range. Below is a screen shot of the past week’s forecast. (From my iPhone’s Weather application.)

I worked on making a few changes to my web pages. Those with blocks of text, such as the Kids, Cats, Dogs, and others, now have first-line indents. This makes them read more like a book and improves their appearance. I am experimenting with having linked pictures open in an overlapping window instead of opening in a new tab. So far the only page modified this way is the Cats page.

The overlapping window is accomplished using a programming language called Javascript. I had used this only once; a Javascript code provides the navigation links at the top and the footer at the bottom of each page. I had some learning to do. After I had the images opening and close correctly, Pam’s sister Becky helped me turn the images into the clickable link that made the Javascript code execute. Thanks to Becky for that help!

One other change was accomplished as well. Many websites use “Tables” to display data, but I had not had to use them on Appleattic.net. However, one page, in my Motorcycle Trailer gallery, lent itself to conversion to a table. I had used tables before at my previous job but had not revisited the code for a number of years. I pulled out my reference books and went to work.

The Costs page now looks better, is easier to read, and requires less code now that it is in table form. Creation of this table included additions to my web page’s style sheet, also known as a CSS sheet. I don’t think I will be converting other pages to a table-style layout, but it was fun to convert this one.

Other web pages were cleaned up, deleting old code and replacing with newer code, and other maintenance was accomplished. Some of these pages, such as the motorcycle trailer build pages, go back to the earliest days of my web site. It seems like a good idea to revisit these page and update them. Many changes are to the background code that makes them work, not necessarily visual changes. Its all good.

Pam keeps busy with her projects. Out came the sewing machine and various clothing repairs were made. A plan was established to start updating the downstairs bathroom. (I picked up new paint for it today.) She hasn’t done much to this room; the revamp of the small bathroom will make a good indoor project going forward.

Becky is helping take over meal preparation and has come up with several fine-tasting meals. She continues her search for a new home, possible in conjunction with her brother Larry. The two have communicated re: combining resources in a home purchase; we’ll see if this becomes a reality. It would be a good way for them both to leave renting behind and enjoy their own space(s). Hope it can happen.

So that’s about it. All of us spend time on our computers or watching some TV. I’ve even taken to watching old CDs; Red Dwarf season 1 and 2 (BBC, late 1980s) have occupied a few of my hours between working on web pages and scanning slides. All of us can’t wait for better weather to arrive!

Photo Archive

Here is a blast from the past.

More “Fall Color” shots.

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

Pam’s Penny

Local lumber store staff informs me the line of Valspar paint we’ve been using to paint the house (interior and exterior) is now – and will continue to be – hard to order. The reason: the manufacturer can’t get the raw materials through the supply chain to make the paint. Really? Just when we’re working our way around the house, repairing and painting, and talking about finding a painter to (finally) accomplish the ombre effect in the gables, just then the paint supply chain goes wonkers? Murphy’s Law at work.

There are many things about the pandemic that changed life as we knew it. Supply chain shortages in home repair (lumber, windows/doors) and now paint have so far been a pain, but manageable. Empty shelves at the grocery store and higher prices for staple groceries have been a pain, but manageable. Waiting for plumbing and construction workers to fit us into their schedules has been a pain, but manageable. Wearing masks when we’re in public has been a pain, but manageable. It does become tiresome, however.

I suspect we may have been spoiled previously as to the variety of choices (across the board) we’ve enjoyed.

The painting we did complete in 2021 – particularly the red on Heart House’s first floor exterior – contrasts beautifully against the snow. The colors are vibrant and cheerful all around. We left the red heart rope lights on two windows and the garden fence (until Valentine’s Day) and turn them on at night, a distinctive glow in the dark of midwinter.

I take my cheer where I can find it at twenty below.

Happy Trails.

We are in the dead of winter at Heart House. Life continues pretty much in the routine we have established: some projects, some fun, watching the birds and squirrels at the feeders, and passing the winter hours. Here is what occupied our time this past week.

Much of the activity is based around outside temperatures, which saw roller coaster-like changes. A few days were above freezing but then arctic air moved in. We had lows approaching -20 degrees, and the windchill was near forty below. Other than filling the bird feeder and putting out corn cobs for the squirrels, not a lot of my time was spent outdoors! I did hang a suet feeder, a first for us. I managed one quick shot of a nuthatch using it and hope to get more (and better) photos in the upcoming days.

Inside Pam and Becky are working on a puzzle (the second of two) – a good way to spend some time.

We have learned Becky is a pretty good cook and our menus have been more varied than in the past. It’s an interesting change and opens up different culinary experiences for us. Becky has learned some of Pam’s tricks in return; between them dinners are pretty good.

My contributions are very limited, mostly doing the grocery shopping and an occasional pancake night.

I did take in a Vintage Snowmobile Show which was held in nearby Cresco. This year the show featured John Deere snowmobiles and a couple of rare machines were on hand. One model was one of only 126 produced and another was one of 250 produced. I walked around a bit, spoke to a couple of the owners, and enjoyed my visit. However, the temperature was 8 degrees above and a strong wind was blowing across the open display area so I did not stay overly long. Here are a couple photos of the event.

Snow is in the forecast for the next couple days and it looks like NE Iowa can look forward to around 4 inches of the white stuff, not a major storm but enough to shovel. Temperatures will then plunge well into the minus range below zero. I have been running my kerosene heater in the garage on these cold nights in an attempt to keep the temperatures above zero. So far this has worked but I have gone through 10 gallons of kerosene so far and will undoubtedly go through more in the near future. Last year, in comparison, I used only about 5 gallons for the whole season. It seems we are running almost 20 degrees colder than average. I could do without the sub-zero days.

I’ve been monitoring the temperatures in Fairplay, Colorado, the town closest to our lot. Fairplay, located at an elevation of 9,953 feet, has been warmer than NE Iowa! A look at Park County webcams reveals that Colorado and Iowa have about the same amount of snow, maybe more in Iowa than is present around our mountain property. We expected cold winters when we planned our move to the Midwest, but this borders on the ridiculous.

On the brighter side, there haven’t been any frozen pipes as we had during the winters of 2019 and 2020. The relocation of the upstairs water lines was a success in this regard. We are still waiting on the plumbing company to finish the laundry room drain line and hook up the job sink. When finished, and the wash machine moves to it’s new location, we will eliminate the heating taped pipes that currently run to the washer. The pipes don’t freeze with the heating tapes operating, but the new location is along an inside wall where the tapes will not be necessary.

That about wraps up this week’s news.

Photo Archive

From spring of 1990 — these photos of visits to parks in the Pacific NW.

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

Pam’s Penny

Keeping the internal temp of the catio around 32 degrees is a real challenge in January and February. I feel bad for the outside cats in frigid NE Iowa temps, even with the heated inside space. A little fiddling with heated water bowls was necessary to have drinkable water available. I frequently see two of “our” neighborhood-wandering feral cats (Melody and Stardust) visiting the winter water and feeder locations. At present I monitor three permanent cat residents inside the catio.

This time of year, the electrical and propane bills for Heart House are truly monumental. The house thermostat is set at 66 degrees, but still the furnace runs pretty much constantly the first two months of the year. Knowing we have instituted what energy savings measures we can afford (and that make sense), I pay the bills and try not to ponder the cost. It’s an old house, so be it.

Two pairs of cardinals show up at the 7th Street feeder frequently, usually mornings and evenings. Their red plumage against the snow cover is a welcome, cheery sight.

Happy Trails.

It seemed to be quiet this past week. Still, the kitchen was re-arranged. Pam and Becky started working on a 1000 piece puzzle, and I cleared our most recent snowfall. The bird feeder was visited by a couple hawks, much to our chagrin, and a couple local squirrels have discovered our corn-cob feeder. Such are details of life in a NE Iowa winter!

The biggest item of the week was a re-arrangement of the kitchen. We had a rescued cabinet under the pot rack that held our bulk water dispenser. This was not ideal as it made changing water bottles difficult and hanging pots partially blocked a cabinet. The rescued cabinet is now relocated to the garage and the water dispenser is sitting on a plant stand (which was purchased at an antique store in Leadville, Colorado decades ago). Pots have been moved to the back hangers of the pot rack and access to the kitchen cabinet is much better. The changes have improved the work flow in the kitchen. The cats and dogs were a little put out as these changes required a relocation of their water dishes, now just around the corner in the library. They got over it quickly.

An occupation for sunny daytime hours is the assembly of a 1000 piece puzzle. Becky is the primary worker on this task, but I have contributed a few fitted pieces as well. The puzzle is a difficult one and will take some time to complete. It has been nice to have the three of us gathered around the table, fitting the occasional piece, carrying on conversations and just talking to each other. Add some fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies to the mix and you have a pleasant way to spend a snowy afternoon or two.

We received around 5 inches of snow within the last 24 hours. I did my usual bit of cleaning our sidewalks and alley access for the garage. Included in my routine is the cleaning out around two sets of mail boxes, even though we get mail at only one set. I am sure the carrier and people that drive up to the boxes to pick up their mail appreciate the snow removal. The downside is that the work leaves me very tired, as I am still not up to my pre-prostate cancer levels of energy.

Earlier in the week I put up a corn-cob feeder for our local squirrels. Squirrels have been sighted under the bird feeder, cleaning up corn kernels that fall to the ground, so I decided to put up a dedicated feeder for them. It’s fun to watch the grey squirrels running up and down the tree and sitting on the feeder to grab the corn off the cob. The feeder is located where we can see it out the kitchen window.

In a less-desirable development, a Cooper’s hawk (we think) has come by the feeder a couple times, scaring the birds off before grabbing one for a snack. We try to keep an eye out for it and scare it off with crow calls and noise when it appears, letting the hawk know it is not welcome around our place. I know that small birds are among the Cooper’s diet, but it can find them somewhere other than in our yard. We had not sighted any hawks last year so this is new for 2022.

Yes, it has been a “quiet” week!

Photo Archive

This week features more “mechanical” items. I had not realized I had so many old machinery photos! Most of these were taken at antique tractor shows.

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

Pam’s Penny

It was disappointing to find out this week that “Bob the Builder” is having major heart issues. He’s already had stents put in since we last saw him in October; now he needs even more medical intervention. Bob is quite a local character. He’s a slight, suntanned independent contractor who, in his 63 years, has constructed or renovated numerous homes in Elma. Bob was supposed to work on our second floor bathroom this winter, but that project’s been put on hold now.

We were hoping to convince Bob to replace [quite a bit of] siding on the east side of the house this summer. Much of that siding — at the second floor level — is in need of attention; if it’s not replaced with cement board, “somebody” is going to need to scrape and caulk it before it can be painted. Scraping and repair needs to be accomplished before we can convince painters to bid on what remains of the exterior paint job. (Left to paint is a major portion of the second floor and ombre-toned gable details.)

Bob was also contracted to replace another window set on the west side of the house, and repair an eave off the laundry room addition. I’m mentally rearranging renovation projects for 2022…

Happy Trails.