Category: General (Page 7 of 60)

This week includes a potpourri of news. Major progress was made in the upstairs bath, the yard is looking good, and a few miscellaneous projects received attention. Photos of all are in the narrative below.

The upstairs bath is the major source of news this week. A bit more painting was done, but the big news was the finishing of the electrical circuits. The bath now has a functioning vent fan, light above the sink, and working outlets. While finishing touches are still needed, the bath is now fully functional.

I am VERY pleased to have the bath working. I really appreciate the convenience of a shower on the upper floor. The bath was one of the projects we had discussed [almost four] years ago when we first looked at the place, and is the last of the major improvements we plan for the interior of Heart House.

Moving outside, the yard is looking good. Pam put a flat of pansies in the front flower bed. Our butterfly bush is in full bloom. The south side yard, between the house and garage, is at full spring green.

Staying with the ‘yard’ theme, here are a couple photos of the house decked out in Memorial Day bunting.

I have a couple miscellaneous photos. First, while the electricians were here Pam had them put a decorative disc under the kitchen light fixture. It was originally a pie crust cutter. As you can see, it features a heart motif, just what Heart House needs!

Second, here is a photo Pam took of me while I was using my “flame thrower,” a weed and grass torch I use to kill weeds growing in the cracks of the sidewalk.

Pam can now continue putting the upstairs guest bedroom back in order. That room served as a storage and staging area during the bathroom work; it became dirty and disorganized. Pam assembled dowels and curtains to serve as coverings for the steel storage racks in the room and moved them to the back wall. This room needs a lot of cleaning and organizing yet. Pam has plans to go through existing containers on the storage racks and “edit” what’s being kept.

And finally, our daughter Felicity sings with a Sweet Adeline group called Northwest Harmony, and they recently had a competition in the state of Washington. Below is a photo of Felicity in stage makeup, plus another photo of her choir on stage at the competition. (Felicity is in the back row, 3rd from left, in the group photo.) Photographer(s) are unknown. The chorus placed 6th in a field of 19 during the first regional competition since COVID.

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

Pam’s Penny

I’m busy trying to teach old dogs – and young cats – new tricks.

Happy Trails.

As spring progresses, the lilacs and lily of the valley are popping open. The carpenter finished his sheetrock work in the bathroom and the plumbers piped in the clawfoot tub and sink. I have a lot of photos for this post, so let’s get started.

I’m going to begin with the yard updates mentioned above. As I look out the Media Room’s north bay window, this is what I see below me.

Centered is the honey locust tree with its gold spring foliage. It is flanked on both sides by different colors of lilacs. The effect is both visual and sensory and I enjoy both aspects.

Recently opened, lily of the valley bloom for a short time every spring. (These were on the property when we bought it.) Pam tells me they have a light fragrance, but I have not bent low enough to check.

Last year we planted an oak tree that was sprouting from an acorn. It didn’t do very well, but this year it seems to have found its footing. (Maybe because the baby oak was covered for the winter and deer didn’t chew it to the ground.)

One more trip to the greenhouse resulted in a couple more hollyhock plants and a flat of pansies. That should about do it for this season. The hollyhocks may not flower this year, but I hope they settle in and bloom next year.

The main news of the week revolved around the continuing upstairs bathroom work. Most of the finish work was done by service people, but I did some too, such as sanding the last drywall joints, and painting. Pam found a pair of short drapes to temporarily hang over the main window, and I began moving in some fittings. The bathroom is starting to be functional again.

Below are several photos relating to the plumber’s effort to complete the drains and water supply lines. Be sure to read the captions. Working in an 1894 home has it challenges!

Here are a few photos of the bath as of May 20th.

I hope the electrician shows up this week! There are details I can do, including putting on another coat of paint and installing baseboards and trim, but with the vent fan working I could begin using the shower. I’m looking forward to that.

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

Pam’s Penny

I refer to the crawl space above the kitchen ceiling as “Mouseville.”

Hey, let’s not only hear from: 1) the electrician. What about 2) the gable painter? Or maybe, did 3) the roofer review our counter proposal? Trades people. Ugh.

Happy Trails.

Spring means flowers. The Mary Lynn bed tulips and daffodils are nearing the end of their blooming cycles, but other flowers are beginning to open. A trip to a greenhouse yielded some perennial and annual flowers which were planted over a few days this past week. Some work was done in the upstairs bath. Screen inserts replaced the winter inserts in three doors. Outdoor work took up much of our energy this past week.

I get a kick out of the smaller flowers that made appearances this week. Bleeding hearts, grape hyacinths, and white lilacs all popped open. Here are photos of plants newly blooming around the yard.

Only a few inside-the-house projects received attention this week. Screen inserts replaced the winter storm inserts in three doors leading to porches. The front screen insert needed new mesh before it was installed. Luckily our local lumber yard had a piece of the metal mesh left; most places now stock only the black fabric screening material which the cats would claw through in short order. Allowing the doors to be open allowed much-appreciated fresh air into the house.

Progress is VERY slow in the upstairs bath. The guy doing the sheetrock work, taping the joints and “mudding” them, showed up for just a few hours during the entire [past] week and is not done yet. This work needs to be completed before I can move on with painting, trim work, finishing the electrical, and getting the plumbers back to finish their job. This is getting a little frustrating and I will be doing some work to advance this project this weekend. I was able to cut and install a few tiles at the front of the shower, getting that bit of work completed. Project is taking much longer than I anticipated.

Other activities were part of the summer routine. Lawn mowing a couple times led to a trip to the city’s organic dump. Elma has no street sweeper so I took it on myself to clean our curb and gutter, the first time since we moved in. There was much sand and gravel removed and hauled to the dump along with grass clippings. (The result improved the curb appeal of the house and was worth the effort, but I bet the neighbors thought I was crazy.)

I spread some dandelion killer on parts of the lawn where the dandelions are most profuse and am waiting to see if the stuff has any effect. Other parts of the yard get the ‘manual’ treatment where I dig out the dandelions with a small digger tool. The yard looks good at the moment but keeping up is always a chore this time of year. The neighbors are not as diligent; I’m digging up most of their seeded dandelions, I think.

I enjoy spring; it’s interesting to watch annual and perennial flowers and plants appear. Opening the house to get in fresh air and planning summer activities are enjoyable pursuits. The smell of fresh-cut grass hangs in the air in the evenings. Until bugs arrive, I can sit out on a porch chair and relax after the day’s activities.

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

Pam’s Penny

The Mennonite greenhouse was a pleasure, as always. The first spring visit, the bright plants neatly aligned over aisles and aisles, that earthy humidity – ah. (I keep the greenhouse image in my personal memory bank, to retrieve mid-winter as needed.) Digging annuals into the beds surrounding Heart House, seeing how they augment the perennials breaking through — always a pleasure to see the result.

I am totally OVER that second floor bathroom project, however. It drags on and on and on and on. Speaking of dragging, the cats enjoy dragging garbage, plaster dust etc. downstairs from the mess upstairs. The door is off the bathroom and there is no way to keep construction debris in that room. (The workmen in the trades are not the most tidy people to begin with.) Additionally, “parts” from the bathroom are being stored in the quilt room/guest room; work I was planning to do in there has been disrupted. Pretty much a pain in the ass all ’round.

Mainly I am so OVER painting. And there is still so much painting to do…

Happy Trails.

Spring has arrived and flowers are coming into their own. Work progressed on the upstairs bathroom. Seeds were planted. This week, days went by quickly.

Topping the list of activities was the continuing work on the upstairs bathroom. The plumbers arrived and installed the shower, complete with drain and water lines. Plumbing was begun for the sink. Best of all, the toilet was re-installed and is functioning again. (I was getting tired of all those trips up and down the stairs to get to the bathroom at night.)

Still to be done – in one trip, I hope – is to plumb in the bathtub and finish the sink plumbing and install it. Here is a photo of the work in progress as of Friday, May 5th. Sheetrock is being installed around the shower stall.

The bathroom needs: sheetrock finishing, painting, putting in the remaining floor tiles, and getting the base trim cut/stained/installed. After that, I call the electricians back to finish the wiring and then the plumbers to finish the tub and sink installation. Keeping three trades working in rotation is interesting. There’s still a lot to get through before the job is complete!

Outside, spring is finally here, with the last of the below-freezing temperatures behind us. Our tulips and daffodils are adding color to the Mary Lynn memorial flower bed.

Grass seeds were spread in a few bare spots of the lawn, using a “shade” seed that hopefully will grow in these locations. Pam planted hollyhock seeds, gourd seeds, and Indian corn in and around the garden. It would be great if all seeds do well this year.

The cats offered a few amusing poses this week. For anyone who thinks cats sleep only curled up I offer this photo of a stretched-out Elmo. He measures a full 36″ when extended!

Here is a photo of the other three house cats, KitKat, Stirling, and Vienna, enjoying some morning sun that comes through the east bay window.

Nothing of real note is planned for the upcoming week other than my twice-weekly physical therapy. Hopefully we will have “visits” from the various trades people working on the bathroom; someone needs to stay close to home for those. It should be a quiet(er) week but who knows?

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

Pam’s Penny

When they aren’t napping, the Terrible Two have become interior decor critics. This week Stirling and Vienna stripped wallpaper in the library. Because — it was there? they were bored? everyone needs a challenge? they don’t like old timey cars? I will be painting these blocks under the windows a dark brown to give the windows more “weight” in the room. However, this was not a project I intended to work on now. Thanks so much, kitten kiddos.

The quote from the roofers arrived for the tower re-do. Sticker shock! Considering the house itself was purchased in the low $60,000 range, no way I can justify paying a little under $14,000 to re-do a decorative tower that basically needs incidental repair and updating. I have visions of 70-year-old people once again hanging from the side of the second story in a bucket lift, this time attempting to roof and repair. (More like a nightmare than a vision.)

I do believe I deserve a plant run to the Mennonite greenhouse this coming week…

Happy Trails.

It seemed like a busy week. There were some up events and a few downs as well. The bathroom floor went in (mostly), one of our outside cats crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I attended a major swap meet. Photos and dialog are below.

Our last outside cat, Cloudy Day, was not doing well so Pam took her to the vet on Friday. After tests indicated Cloudy’s heart was strong and there were no kidney problems, Pam decided to go ahead with surgery to remove a growth on Cloudy’s mammary gland. We brought Cloudy home and thought she was doing OK post operatively. However, the morning after surgery, Pam went to the catio to check on Cloudy, and she had passed. Cloudy was not one of Pam’s favorite cats, growing progressively grumpier as she aged. She was one of the garage cats transported from Colorado when we moved.

There now remain two “Colorado” cats, KitKat and Melody (Melly.) KitKat is part of the current indoor cat group. Melly was intended to be a house cat, but escaped into the neighborhood soon after we moved to Iowa. Melly comes daily to eat at the outside feeding station, but otherwise does not hang around.

It is a sad occasion to lose an animal; this is cat #11 buried since our arrival in Iowa. Cloudy has been ‘planted’ in the garden next to her buddy, Ink, who passed last fall. We suspect the loss of Ink’s companionship may have been a contributing factor in Cloudy’s general decline.

Moving indoors, not as much work has been done in the upstairs bathroom as I had hoped. I’m still waiting on a return visit from the plumbers to install water and drain lines. While waiting, floor tiles were installed. A small gap exists around the shower frame as I don’t know how much room the plumbers will need to do their work, but the major floor is in. Wall painting is also underway; it’s easier to tile and paint while the tub/sink/stool are not in the room.

The flooring took some time and effort, as the tiles around the edges of the floor needed to be individually cut to fit as — surprise — the room is not square. This meant a lot of trips up and down the stairs, as I was using the table saw in the garage to cut the tiles.

The next step will be repainting the baseboards and installing them around the perimeter of the room and finishing the wall painting. It would be really nice if this project would wrap up in the next week or two! All three contactors still have to make appearances for plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock work, but at this point I would be happy just to have a working sink and toilet before all the finish work is done.

The highlight of the week, for me, was a trip to a large swap meet in Le Sueur, Minnesota. I had heard of this event before as it has been going on for decades but I had never attended. This year that changed. Le Sueur is about a 3 hour drive from Elma. The weather was a little iffy and it was not very warm, but I did not get rained on, plus the cooler temps made walking throughout the venue more comfortable.

I will mention, at the outset, that this meet is mostly mechanical. There are not a lot of home goods on the vendor’s tables and trailers but there are some. Among the farm equipment offerings you can find a smattering of power tools, chain saws, hit-and-miss engines (A lot!) old snowmobile parts, old outboard motors, and other collectibles.

I walked for nearly 3 hours up and down the rows of vendors and did not get to them all. I did not take a lot of photos, but here are a few that I found most interesting.

I must say the event was really well organized. Porta-potties were numerous, food vendors served the crowds, and equipment was available to move large items from vendor stalls to your truck or trailer. People who attend this regularly have it down pat; they bring their golf carts to the grounds to get around or, as I found out later, you can rent one in advance. Hundreds of people were in attendance with cars filling the parking lots and lining up on the roads around the venue.

I enjoyed the visit and looking over the vendor trailers and tables. The range of stuff for sale was amazing. Some of it was, in my opinion, junk, but maybe to someone else it was a treasure. I took only pictures and did not bring anything else home.

That was the week: Some ups, some downs. At least (it appears) the Elma area is done with below-freezing nights and spring will finally make an appearance. (For those watching the news, there is no spring flooding in NE Iowa near Elma this year.)

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

Pam’s Penny

No good [rescue] deed goes unpunished. I tried to give Cloudy Day more months/years by going forward with an operation rather than euthanizing her; I only succeeded in putting that poor cat through pain/discomfort and ultimate death anyway. Years of rescue experience does not, unfortunately, improve my odds of success in making these life-or-death decisions. Depressing, that.

Happy Trails.

It was a very busy week. Renovations and upgrades to the upstairs bathroom were begun – lots of photos of that – and a new light fixture was added to the kitchen. A roofer actually showed up to look over the Tower. The main event, though, was the upstairs bath.

I have been anticipating the addition of a shower to the upstairs bath for over a year. I knew this would be a major project, as there are three separate areas that need work: carpentry to level the floor and build the frame for the shower, electrical to install a vent fan + move the lights + outlets, and finally plumbing to install the water feed lines and drains. Relocating the sink and clawfoot tub are also part of the plan.

Bob the Builder (Bob’s Building Service) arrived on Tuesday to begin the task of leveling the floor. As the old floor had sagged quite a bit and was way out of level, a new floor had to be constructed, This involved cutting “tapers” to lay over the old floor and make a level surface for the new one.

To gain work room, the tub and toilet had to be removed. They are in the guest bedroom at the moment.

New plywood was installed over the tapers to give a level and solid floor to work on.

The next step was done by a combination of the the carpenter and the electrician. A frame was built for the shower stall by Bob the Builder and the electrician began wiring. The existing ceiling light had to be moved and a vent fan installed. New outlets are planned for both sides of the sink location and two switches, one for the vent and another for a light over the sink, had to have wiring installed.

There was a fairly major problem, as access to the above-ceiling area in the bath has been removed or plastered over. There was no attic access. The solution was to empty my closet, which backs up to the bath, and cut a new access through the closet ceiling. This created quite a mess as the attic is filled with loose blown-in insulation. None-the-less, it was done and access was achieved. Bob will return and create a more formal hatch in the closet ceiling; right now a cardboard box has been flattened and is in service to close the hole.

The electricians got right to work. This also created a mess as cutting a hole for the vent fan dropped a lot of loose insulation on the floor. Loose insulation got tracked through the house and required plenty of cleaning after the crew left.

The new vent required going up through the roof to install the outside portion. This was done without incident, although Pat the Electrician told me the roof is steeper than it looks from the ground.

The next step will be a return trip from Zach the Plumber. The toilet needs to be reinstalled, water supply runs for the shower, sink, and tub need to be installed, and drains for all three connected. After that, Bob the Builder will be back to put down underlayment for the floor covering we want to put in. He will complete the afore-mentioned hatch and put up drywall on the shower walls. The electrician will need to make a return trip once the drywall is in place to finish the wiring by adding all the switches, outlets, and other necessary hardware. Finally, Pam and I will put down the new flooring and – eventually – finish painting the room. (That may be a winter project.)

We have chosen to try an unusual flooring material, snap together garage tiles. These should hold up to the weight of the tub and daily use of the room. Two colors will be put down in a pattern to add some interest to the floor.

This is how the room appears as I write this blog. I will use it as a comparison photo as the project moves along.

As if the bath was not exciting enough, two other projects moved forward. Pam had requested a light fixture change in the kitchen (having purchased a new light last year). The electricians were able to make the swap. Here are before and after photos.

There is some additional work to be done on the light; Pam wants a ceiling hook installed to move the chain and fixture a little closer to the sink. This would add light over the food prep area. A decorative hook will be purchased on one of our next outings.

Another bit of excitement occurred when a roofing company actually showed up to examine the Tower. I will insert one photo of the guys examining the potential job. Pam has an additional comment below.

It was an interesting week and I am very pleased to be moving ahead with these projects!

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

Pam’s Penny

I had to simplify the tower shingle design. A variety of colors are hard to find/no longer manufactured. So, alright, shades of gray it is. In the same ombre effect as the blue-painted-gingerbreading in the gables. Moving on to the $$ astronomical quote $$ stage (not yet received, can hardly wait).

Monday’s icy road trip to Decorah for additional medical tests resulted in the urologist saying my kidney stone “appears” to have passed. I’m off the meds; surgery previously scheduled for May 1 has been cancelled.

Happy Trails.

With a bit of rain and lots of warm weather, early flowers are beginning to bloom and the lawn is turning green. Easter came and went. Most of the week’s work was routine; I have a photo or two to share. There is a new cat video this time around, featuring Elmo, with appearances by Stirling and Vienna.

Midwest temperatures were well above normal this week and a few flowers began to pop. Hyacinths bloomed in the east flower bed near Glory the goat. The annual [unidentified] small blue flowers popped up in the oak tree bed.

We started early season yard work. Pam raked all the flower beds and I cleaned around all the fence lines. A load of yard debris, mostly consisting of leaves and small twigs but including our old Christmas tree, was taken to the dump as the first load of the year. The yard is looking pretty tidy right now.

Pam put out a few of our outdoor decorations, including the Board Buddies at the front of the catio. I removed the wind screen tarps from the west fenceline, and uncovered the AC unit for the season.

Celebration of Easter passed without a lot of fanfare for us. Pam made a tasty pork chop meal for Easter Sunday and hand-decorated a few hard boiled eggs.

I picked up a used air compressor which I found on Facebook Marketplace. While it is an older unit, it seems to work fine. My old compressor is just a motor and pump from an old Chevy air conditioning system. I have a portable tank which I had been using to check tire pressures and such but the old system did not put out much volume to run my other air tools such as impact wrenches. (I use these to remove tires for brake jobs and other tasks.)

Last year, when I went out to The Lot, I had to borrow a compressor to pump up the tractor’s tires and add air to The Box’s tires. It was just luck our neighbor was up on his lot and had a small compressor I could use. This year I will take my old compressor to Colorado and leave it there for use when I need it, hence the desire to have another compressor at home.

Contractors, contractors — what a pain. The roofer who said he would be here, first on the 3rd then again on the 10th, failed to show both times. I made overtures to a different roofer and I’m waiting to see if/when he, or his son, can arrive and give us a quote. This is frustrating; an option going forward is putting a “Help Wanted-Roofer” sign in the yard. Below is one of the photos I sent to the “new” roofer to give him some idea of the tower we want re-shingled.

That covers the news of the past week. It was an active time for us and we enjoyed time spent outdoors in the improving weather. We have to pace ourselves, though. Factoring in rest periods, after a long winter, is part of the dynamic.

As promised in the opening, here is a new cat video. This one features mostly Elmo but there are appearances by Stirling and Vienna. As per my regular tactics, there is no audio track as I did not want to disturb the action. Run time is 3:57.

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

Pam’s Penny

A week of domestic pets: 1) JoJo had a gimpy leg and was “limping on three” this week. Doggie ibuprofen for arthritis seemed to do the trick. 2) Bru has about 2/3 of her [warm weather] grooming completed. I can only keep her on the table for an hour at a time, and I hand cut as well as shave her coat. The process takes days. Once Bru is trimmed, it will be JoJo’s turn. 3) Elmo visited the vet for his “age three” shots, and actually behaved himself. Unexpected. 4) The Terrible Two are now working on stripping wallpaper in the library. I guess that means I will put off wallpapering in the parlour until Vienna and Stirling grow out of this phase.

Farm animals: The detour from Elma to Cresco (Cresco being the location of Elmo’s vet as well as Himself’s physical therapy) features 8-10 massive hog operations. The “aroma” on that route is already truly indescribable, and the seasonal heat has just begun.

Happy Trails.

Warmer weather is here! The change in temperature has enabled us to take on a few outdoor tasks. Nati [the cat] was taken to Becky’s house in Greene. Guest room painting and decoration advanced. Animals were being cute. Physical therapy continued. Let’s look at the week’s activities.

I am going to start with outside activities. Pam grabbed our edger and went around the oak tree flower bed. It was time to do this as the day lilies are beginning to turn green. (The bridge came out from under protected cover on the north porch about a week ago.)

I was active, completing several projects. One of them was getting the pressure washer out and giving the car a good outside cleaning. (Look at me, balancing the pressure wand with my right arm!)

Converting the John Deere LX-176 from winter use to summer mowing was next. With Pam’s occasional assistance I was able to remove the snow blade, tire chains, and extra weights and re-mount the mower deck and bagger. I took a quick spin around the yard, hoping to pick up many of the leaves that had blown in and wintered on the lawn. That went pretty well, although I need to get out the lawn vac and clean up around the fence lines yet. That will be a task for later today.

The garden hose was retrieved from the garage attic and water for the outside faucets was turned on. The bird feeder was taken down and cleaned, ready for use next fall. I raked a portion of the lawn under the oak trees as this area had a lot of small branches and twigs that would not be picked up with the LX-176. There is a limited time I can rake before my shoulder starts to complain, but the yard looks much better after this clean up.

Pam is about 65% done with details in the guest bedroom. She is adding ribbon border that defines the walls from the ceiling, plus she added decals to the light switch. The room is looking quite a bit fresher with new white paint, the new windows from last year, and continuing updates.

Our outing this week took us to Becky’s home in Greene. We transferred Nati to Becky’s care per Becky’s request. Becky reports Nati is settling in well and appears to be developing affection for Becky, jumping into Becky’s lap and even going to sleep there. We hope the transition goes well, but Becky has another cat, Vanna, and a lot of plants around her house. So far Nati has been confined to a bedroom; the real test will be when the two cats come face to face and Nati is – eventually – given more space to explore. If this does not work out, there will be a Plan B to take Nati back, but we hope for the best.

My twice-a-week physical therapy continued, as it will for many weeks yet. I am making progress and can reach a few more things than I could in the past. Still, it is occasionally frustrating that I can’t use the arm freely. Below is a photo of the sign in my rehab center.

On the down side, our good friend Henry (Hank) Tourtillott, who lives in Arizona, is having a tough time as of late. Hank is 96 and has been living with his daughter, Pat, for several years. Pat was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and is no longer able to take care of herself and Hank. To make matters worse, Hank recently had an accident and broke his tailbone. Pat’s son, Marty, is there and helping but long-range plans are mostly on hold. We offer encouragement and positive thoughts; I wish there was more we could do for them. Age and distance reduces our options to assist.

I am going to close this post with a couple of animal photos taken this past week. Our animals do a lot of sleeping, particularly the older ones.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in! Happy Easter to everyone!

Pam’s Penny

The coming week may be just warm enough to break out the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden plaque and put Gretel the lamb (statue) in the planting bed with the tulip and daffodil starts. The Mennonite greenhouses will be opening in a few weeks– yes! I do wish my lifelong friend Mary was alive to enjoy this most magical season as it arrives once again. Bittersweet.

Happy Easter.

It has been a quiet week here at Heart House. Routine tasks with only a few side projects were the norm.

I continued my twice-weekly physical therapy and my range of motion is improving, but I still have a long way to go. However, since I am in Cresco twice weekly for therapy, I stop at the Fareway grocery store and pick up any needed supplies. The last time home I took the new detour; it will add at least 10 minutes to the commute and is about 5 miles longer than the regular route. The detour is on gravel roads which means the car will get pretty dirty with spring rains in the forecast. I start driving the detour regularly next week.

Medically, Pam is doing OK with follow-ups on her kidney stone condition. The doctor wants her to stay on meds into April, then go in for an X-ray to see if the stone is still in place or if it has passed through. If still in place, non-emergency surgery is scheduled for May 1.

Pam has been working on a plan to remodel the parlour and has received wallpaper samples she ordered. (See below.) Also, as an addition to sleeping capacity in the guest bedroom, I spotted a twin bed frame on Facebook Marketplace last weekend. After a successful negotiation, we took a field trip to Stewartville, MN on Monday to pick it up. So, several home projects are in the mix.

Yesterday’s forceful Spring storm left us with a trace of snow this morning, but before that we had thunderstorms and some hail. Happy April Fool’s Day to us!

The past week reinforces the rural character of our NE Iowa setting. We received the last of our contracted-for propane, 202.2 gallons. We hope this takes us through the summer, as a “summer fill” [usually in August] is always the lowest price of the season. I did not take a photo of our delivery but here’s a typical sample from the internet.

I went to a garage sale in the country near Elma, and was surprised to see numerous Mennonite carriages parked on the road and drive. I didn’t think to take photos of this (my bad), as a visual would have made this post more interesting. However, here is a photo of a carriage going past our home on Main Street back in 2021.

My garage sale spend was $2.00 for a non-working Makita battery-powered craft saw and charger. New batteries are on order and I hope the saw works OK once they arrive. Pam would like to try using it for some summer craft projects she has in mind.

So, aside from PT in Cresco, propane delivery, yard sale, and some work on the guest bedroom and other project planning, it was a relaxed retirement week. The coming week may be somewhat more exciting, as we are expecting a roofing contractor to be here on Monday, looking over the tower and – hopefully – giving us an estimate once he has seen the scale of the work.

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

Pam’s Penny

Well, the samples arrived and left me more confused than before on the way forward with the wallpaper. The first sample (on left in green) is an art deco print with a HUGE scale, so that’s out. The second (middle) sample is a Victorian print that is anything but restful – probably too much. The final sample has a better scale, but may not be dramatic enough – too little? The jury is still out. Pondering. (No rush.)

Happy Trails.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pam’s Penny

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

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

Happy Trails.