This post covers a variety of topics and information. I saw the first flowers of spring, record temps have been set yet again, and more negatives (from 1975) have been scanned. These photos and other stories make up this post.

While walking the other day I saw these flowers blooming, the first in this area.

Temperatures have been warm, with every day in March above average so far, and many new highs-for-the-date set. While appreciating the decline of winter, the area is very dry. Raking the lawn raised dust! There was some rain on Thursday, which will help the lawn immensely, but NE Iowa is still in a severe drought. Cooler weather, in the upper 30s and low 40s, is in the forecast for the next week or so.

Speaking of weather, we had a power outage last week that lasted for just under two hours. The outage was attributed to high wind damage to power lines. The mild temps led to no inconvenience as it was during the day and we didn’t even need lights. I didn’t power up my standby generator, as I might have had to do if the weather had been colder or the outage had been during darkness.

During the week I did some lawn clean up. Pam scheduled herself to paint some galvanized planter frames in the garden. The shade of green she chose will help the planters blend in with the lawn. It feels good to be doing outside tasks again.

I found a problem with my equipment trailer suspension, a worn / loose set of u-bolts that hold the rear axle to the springs. New hangers have been ordered and will be here shortly. I will install them after the weather warms up again.

My last post, with the story of our motorcycle trip over Rollins Pass, generated some interest so I have decided to continue posting more photos and telling stories from our “early days” of marriage. This batch is from 1975 and includes several threads of commentary, including family, friends, and events from that time. I hope you find these stories interesting.

I will note, again, that some of these negatives have suffered damage over time so the quality is not the best. My camera then was my father’s 1940s (?) vintage Argus 35mm (which I still have), and the optics were not up to today’s standards. After we moved to Colorado I purchased a “modern” Pentax MX and the quality of photos went up somewhat.

This first photo is included for Pam’s brother Craig. I was rebuilding the engine in the 1946 Plymouth featured in an earlier post and Craig lent me his Honda CB500-4 motorcycle to use during that time. The 500 is for the size of the engine in CCs and the 4 indicated a 4-cylinder engine. (I didn’t buy my Honda CB-450 featured in the last post until later, although I did buy it in Wisconsin.) Years later, in Arizona, I briefly owned a CB550-4, a bike similar to Craig’s 500-4.

After I rebuilt the ’46 Plymouth I sold it and bought our next vehicle, an old Datsun pickup. (Datsun later became Nissan.) It was a “back row beauty” from a dealership in Eau Claire and needed some TLC. I don’t remember the year of the truck, but think it dated from the mid-60’s.

There are many stories related to this vehicle. We owned it for many years and moved to Colorado with it. Many times on our travels, including a trip to the east coast, we threw a tarp over the back and slept in the bed. Once we were in Colorado, Pam’s mom helped us finance a replacement used engine, swapped in for the worn-out original. The used motor was from a Datsun sports car, a 240Z, which made driving the old truck more fun. Eventually I sold it to a co-worker and we bought a Ford Pinto station wagon. More on that in future posts.

Shortly after the purchase of the Datsun, Pam made door panel covers that dressed up the inside of the cab. I pulled the original seats and replaced them with a bench seat out of an old Ford Thunderbird, which took some doing, but resulted in a more comfortable ride. The rear bumper was painted, along with the white stripe around the top of the bed. With installation of new carpet we had the nicest old Datsun truck around.

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in 1975. Some college friends who were at our wedding the previous year (Stout State University in Menomonie, Wisconsin) invited us on an inner-tubing adventure down the Apple River. I took the camera along.

We have good memories of this trip and the friends that shared our 1st wedding anniversary with us. Amazing to contemplate we are approaching our 50th…

Menomonie is located on Lake Menomin and the college had an “outdoor sports” facility that rented canoes and related gear. One weekend Pam and I rented a canoe, paddles, and life jackets and went out for a trip around the lake.

This outing is particularly unique as Pam is not a fan of water sports, and perhaps her siblings will be quite surprised to see her out on the water.

Here is what we looked like that fall. Man, we were skinny then! (I didn’t start growing a beard until 1991.)

We moved to Colorado in 1977 and future posts will document more of our early Colorado days. Here is a sample photo from one of these trips.

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

Pam’s Penny

Well, what do you know, I have bikini photo evidence of how thin I used to be. (NOT the image I see in the mirror now.) I barely recognize that girl!

I well remember sleeping in the bed of the Datsun truck on that [infamous] trip to the east coast. It wasn’t glamping, that’s for sure. Himself has promised additional images of that vacation in a future post. Ah, yes, we were young once…

Happy Trails.

A few small projects received my attention this week. The first was construction of a dog ramp, followed by scanning of old color negatives. The results of each can be seen below!

The dogs are getting older, and are beginning to have problems negotiating the back steps when Pam takes them out, particularly Blondie, the oldest of the three (15.5 years old). Pam recently asked me to build a ramp that might ease doggie access in the south porch area. While not done yet – it’s been too cold to paint and I need to add another hand rail – the ramp is now serviceable.

Getting the dogs to use the ramp is another thing. Blondie, Bru, and JoJo have had four years of going up and down the steps and are reluctant to embrace a new technique. They will go down the ramp, but the idea of walking back up seems foreign to them, much to Pam’s frustration. She hopes they eventually take to this new, and easier, approach to getting in and out the back door.

The weather has been on another roller coaster swing, with record highs on Monday, followed by single-digit lows on Wednesday, accompanied by -15 degree wind chills. More moderate conditions are in the forecast, getting into the 60s by Sunday.

There was an annoying problem with our internet service — our cable modem developed intermittent outages. Faced with an almost two-week delay before a Mediacom tech could make it out to our rural location, I drove over to Mason City’s Mediacom office and swapped modems. This trip combined a visit to Mediacom, a Walmart stop, and a haircut at Great Clips so several tasks were completed during the outing. The new modem, an Arris brand, appears to be working as it should. I’m now looking into buying my own modem to eliminate the $14.00 per month rental fee Mediacom charges us.

I spent some time during the cold snap scanning a few more old color negatives. The photos included here are from a 1978 trip over the old Moffat Road trail, which used to be the main rail line over the mountains into western Colorado. The Moffat Tunnel, shown on the sign as double-dashed lines and still in use today, made the line over the mountains obsolete.

The Honda 450 was our main transportation while our Datsun pickup needed repairs. I wore the green helmet and Pam’s white Bell helmet is hanging on a hook below the luggage rack.

I have always had a soft spot for waterfalls and many are featured in these shots. Here is Pam along one of the many streams we stopped to view.

The trip included a tunnel, named Needle’s Eye, which was later “daylighted” by the forest service as it kept shucking rocks onto the roadway. It is now an open cut, but at the time we visited it was still intact. Note the snow still present, although it is late June when this photo was taken.

The high point on the trip is Rollins Pass, where the railroad had a station complete with a snow shed, barracks for workers, and a restaurant for summer visitors. The – now – ghost town of Arrowhead was just down the west side of the pass. The line continued into Winter Park and met the mainline at Dotsero. We made the trip to the top of the pass a few times over the next several years.

We took many such trips in our “early days” in Colorado, including to Mt. Evans, Pike’s Peak, the Great Sand Dunes, and visits to mountain mining towns. I will have more archive photos and descriptions of these trips in future posts. I am responding to a comment by daughter Felicity to the effect that we never talked about our early days to our children, so these reminiscence may help fill in that omission.

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

Pam’s Penny

A question I’ve been asking myself for some time: Do we really need another construction and painting project (plus clutter) on the south steps – just for aging dogs to access the dog enclosure? Ugh. To avoid this, I’ve been physically carrying Blondie down the four porch steps all winter. Holding a 27-pound [wiggling] dog under one arm while using the handrail with the other arm kinda/sorta worked — until — Blondie accidentally edged off the landing at the top of the steps last week and took “a header” to the bottom. Luckily nothing was broken, but the old girl did whack her face pretty hard.

So, time for a ramp. Reluctantly. Teaching old dogs new tricks is not going to be easy; treats may be involved. (Cheeto, the neighborhood cat, already finds the ramp an attractive sunbathing location. A problem – keeping Cheeto off the ramp when I’m trying to send the dogs down.) These animals…frequently frustrating.

Happy Trails.

Although a quiet two weeks since my last post, there are a few “happenings” to report on this time. These include a hint of spring around the yard, a few medical notes, and some socializing.

Lent has begun, and the nearby community of Alta Vista held their annual community fish fry. This is a fund-raiser with proceeds benefiting the town. I drove over and picked up a pair of carry-out fish dinners and mingled with community members, some of whom I recognized from our local bank and the City of Elma.

The event was held in the Alta Vista’s community hall, and was well attended.

The line of people at the back of the photo was incoming traffic, waiting to get their meals and deserts. Two lines were established, one for dine-in meals and the other for take-outs. The cost was not cheap at $15.00 per head but the fish was plentiful, prepared very well, and the deserts were tasty. We enjoyed our meals.

Federal and state taxes were finalized and sent in to their respective processing centers. Due to changes in tax laws, this year we are getting refunds from both governments, the first time that has happened since our move to Iowa. The refunds are not large but at least we do not have to budget a payment this year. That is a nice change.

Two small medical notes, both applying to me. My second blood test results, targeting testosterone levels, came back and were good. Kept low by medication until last August, my levels have slowly begun to recover; I am now low on the “normal” scale after being below it on my last test. As long as this level continues to rise and the PSA stays low, all is well.

A recent trip to the dentist revealed that one of my ceramic crowns (an old one — ceramic is no longer used by the dental industry) had chipped, leaving a rough spot that my tongue would not leave alone. Irritating. The dentist was able to polish out the chip but I may need to replace the crown some time in the future. While pleased the fix was simple, this leaves another potential dental problem that may need to be addressed in the future. Oh well.

The weather continues to be mild(er), although yesterday and last night featured single-digit temperatures and wind chills well below zero. Another warming trend is in the forecast so this spell will last only a couple days, not bad. We did get another propane drop of around 320 gallons and hopefully this lasts through the end of March, ending our fuel contract period with the local supplier. Our contract is for 900 gallons but we won’t use that much, maybe around 700 – 750. The plan is to have our tank topped off at the end of March, which will last us through August, and start a new contract on September 1st. That is the way it works in this part of the country. Our contract price was $1.42 per gallon, down from the 2022 – 2023 price of near $1.90 per gallon, so between the lower useage and lower price we did OK this year.

A few plants have begun to “green up” due to the mild weather, including bulb plants hyacinths and tulips, as well as phlox. Pam hopes growth isn’t premature or everything may freeze later this spring.

I continue to scan some of my archive 35mm negatives and slides. Here are a few photos taken in our “early years” of the mid and late 1970s.

Our early transportation was a Honda 450 motorcycle. This photo shows us wearing the high visibility jumpsuits Pam made for us in preparation for a trip to Colorado in 1977. We’re holding our cats Captain and Houdini. Pam’s siblings will recognize Bootsie (the dog) in the lower-right. Photo was taken outside of Pam’s childhood home at 903 North 4th Street in Onalaska.

(Funny story about the jumpsuit — a kiddo at one of our rest stops on the ’77 CO trip hailed me as “Ronald McDonald.” Orange jumpsuit and white helmet. Go figure.)

Shortly after we moved to Colorado we visited the old mining town of Victor, where we took more photos, and here is one of them.

We did a lot of traveling around Colorado and I will have a few more of these early photos in upcoming posts.

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

Pam’s Penny

Cats are totally into NE Iowa sunshine, a rare commodity in the winter even when the outside temps are above normal. I’ve been outside soaking in a few rays from time to time myself. When the wind isn’t blowing.

Happy Trails.

The weather kept up its roller-coaster changes in temperatures. From wind chills of down to -45 to record highs for the date, the last two weeks demonstrated how variable winter weather in the Midwest can be!

We participated in an online auction for one of the neighborhood estate sales. The lady of the house had died in 2022 and we had never met her due to Covid, but she lived just across the alley from us. A few items were purchased. Read on for the details of warm temps and auction finds!

As noted, NE Iowa is experiencing an extended stretch of warm weather. Thermometer readings are ranging from 51 degree highs to upper 20 degree lows, melting most of the snow. We even had some rain, mixed in with heavy (at times) fog, and [the usual] overcast days.

One problem with this is that our Main Street drainage is not good and water pools up at the end of our sidewalks. I took the John Deere rider, with blade, and cleared snow back to the curb so water could drain away from the walks. The Main Street snow ended up around the corner on 7th Street where it is now (mostly) melted. This task ended the water pooling issue, making it much easier for us to walk down the sidewalk and out to the mailbox. The warm spell is forecast to continue for many more days, with highs of 50 at the end of next week, along with a chance of more rain.

Last Monday we visited a house across the alley from us to examine items that were coming up on an online auction. We had never met the widow, Arlene, who lived there during our residence. Her husband, Christian, was the Elma vet for 38 years before his retirement and death in the late 1990s. Arlene had passed away in March of 2022.

I had been observing activity around the house when I worked in the garage; my assumption was the children and grandchildren were settling the estate. Eventually an auction company trailer arrived and the employees began setting up the lots that would make up the listings. This took weeks. The estate auction was advertised in the local shopper recently, and began early this week.

There were a few things we bid on but most went for more than we wanted to spend. Two lots were purchased, though. The first was a lot consisting of old cameras and accessories. The second was a collection of bird houses. Total for both lots came to $16.10.

First lot: Cameras and accessories to be added to my small collection of vintage camera gear.

The second lot is for Pam’s sister Becky, and consisted of several birdhouses.

The one at the upper left appears to be the most detailed and fancy, but all are in pretty good shape. Becky will use them around her home (“Bird Song Cottage”) in Greene.

The other news of the week is medical-related. I had a blood draw taken and sent to the Mayo Clinic. (This was a routine follow-up for my prostate cancer treatment.) The test was to monitor my PSA level and make sure it was not increasing, as high PSA levels can indicate the return of prostate cancer. I am pleased to say the result was the same as the previous 3 such tests at < = 0.10. Normal levels are < = 6.4 so I am well within the range. Good news for me!

We began doing our taxes, not a fun job. Usually we get a refund on Federal taxes but pay something in State taxes. I hope to finish both this weekend and get them out of the way.

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

Pam’s Penny

Walking through someone else’s home and poking through their collections made me kinda sad. Just sayin’…

Those squirrels are packing it in. I’m now filling the feeder from the last bushel of acorns collected under our oak trees this fall. When those acorns are gone – sorry squirrels – you’ll have to eat just corn.

AJ (the kitten) spay was uneventful. All good, and it didn’t slow her down much. The three very active kittens remind me of triplet toddlers; they are into everything.

Happy Trails.

In this post: The coldest stretch of the winter so far, a truck breakdown outside our house, a new photo from friends, and a few new scans of old negatives. Moving on…

NE Iowa is making up for a mild December with a cold, cold January. With temperatures reaching -17, the National Weather Service had issued wind chill advisories (-10 to -35) and wind chill warnings (down to -45) this past week. Needless to say, we are going through propane (furnace) at a fairly good clip. The good news is temps are expected to moderate this week, beginning tomorrow.

Both of us grew up in Wisconsin, so we knew what we were in for when we moved to Iowa. Schools closed (or had delayed starts and early release) and events were canceled due to the cold conditions. Since we no longer have to commute, the weather has less of an effect on us than it might have had in the past. The dogs sure don’t like it, though.

Friends: We received a photo of our good friend Hank from his grandson Martin and his wife Monica. This was taken last Thanksgiving, and Hank is now 96!

I should mention that Felicity and Toby have middle names of Elinor and Henry, named after Hank and his (deceased) wife Ellie, so their names live on in our children.

Excitement @ Heart House: Friday is garbage pickup day for us, and we were surprised when the truck pulled up outside our place and stopped. After several minutes of non-movement, I walked out to see what was going on. The driver informed me the alternator had quit and the truck was dead. He had “someone coming.” He was later picked up so did not spend a lot of cold time in the truck’s cab.

The truck sat for several hours until a heavy wrecker arrived. The wrecker driver hooked up to the garbage truck and hauled it away. The sanitary service is based out of Charles City, about 25 miles away, and that was the truck’s destination.

Passing the time: Since we are mostly indoors, I decided to scan a few old negatives. This one is from 1974, just after Pam and I were married.

We were living in our “Cathedral ceiling” single-wide in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and driving the 1946 Plymouth I had left over from my high school days. Note Pam waving from the door’s entrance platform.

These negatives have suffered over the years from poor storage conditions, frequently in hot attics. I do have them sleeved in negative holders, but time, heat, and humidity have taken their toll.

Moving ahead quite a few years, here is Pam at work in March of 1990. That is a photo of Felicity and Toby under the calendar at left. We were living near Madison, Wisconsin at the time.

And, finally, an “artsy” shot of a bullfrog taken in the late ’70s.

So the time passes with small tasks and projects. Scattered in are trips to the vet and grocery shopping. Snow removal (two storms this past week, one minor, the other dropping about 4 inches of white stuff) gave me outside exercise. Winter life is slower than summer life!

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

Pam’s Penny

Cat news: Snickers was successfully spayed this past week. AJ has a spay appointment this coming Thursday. Once AJ recovers, I can finally retire the “condo” cat pen that’s been in the house for six months.

Dog news: All three dogs are continually picking up ice particulates in their paws when outside, causing them to limp back to the door. Blondie has to be assisted up the steps and into the house. It’s just too darn cold.

Squirrels and birds: Keeping the bird feeder topped and the ice off the heated water bowl outside is a constant effort. It’s the deep midwinter — as a song describes it, “…earth as hard as iron, water like a stone.”

Happy Trails.

It has been a quiet stretch since New Year’s Day. Here are a couple of notes on recent activities.

The biggest news is weather-related. NE Iowa received the first measurable snow of the season, followed a few days later by our current storm. While the snow depths are not great, the wind and arctic air following (forecast highs are below zero) are making it feel like the depths of winter.

I cleared our sidewalks and the alley access for the garage. In addition, I cleared out around two sets of mailboxes, so our carrier has an easy approach and departure without having to drive through deep snow. I spent around 3 hours at moving snow this morning. Here is a photo of part of the sidewalks I cleared:

Tools used included shovels, brooms, the snow blower, and blade on the John Deere LX 176. It is looking very “wintery” as of this writing!

Sister-in-law Becky asked me to help pick up a piece of furniture she bought on Facebook Marketplace. It was located in Byron, just north-west of Rochester, where we drove on Thursday. We had a good chat on the way there and back. Currently the sideboard is still in the back of the truck as Becky is about to start a bathroom remodel where the piece will be used. Keeping it here will make it less cluttered and out of the way while the work is being done on her room.

Pam decided to try out a scone recipe and scone baking pan. The results tasted good but where a little more bread-like than expected.

Another recent baking experiment involved raisin-oatmeal cookies. Not knowing the difference, the last time out I bought “steel-cut” oatmeal. While the taste is the same as regular oatmeal flakes, the texture is a bit different; the cookies don’t hold together as well. Still tasted good, though, particularly with a cup of hot tea in the morning.

All remaining Christmas decorations have been taken down, packed, and stored in the under-eave cubicle that is accessed from the upstairs bathroom. This pretty much closed out the holidays for us.

There was a bit of family news. Felicity started a new job in the book publishing section of a homestead magazine company that recently merged with a few other, and similar, magazines. She seems to be excited about her new online job and meeting her new co-workers.

Toby has moved to a new address, still in Las Vegas, as his married friends [with whom he had been renting] are moving to the east coast to care for an aging parent. Toby’s new digs are also shared, but he will end up paying a bit less in rent and have a nicer house to call home.

At this time of the year not much Heart House renovation activity is planned. Pam is ordering a few decorative items to refresh the walls in the previously-painted (pink!) parlour. Completion of painting in the second floor bathroom will be pushed forward until there is more warmth and light on exterior walls up there.

So, while I’m not looking forward to the arctic air and below-zero high temps that are in the forecast for the next week or so, we did enjoy a very mild winter up to this point so I shouldn’t complain all that much.

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

Pam’s Penny

Old dogs don’t enjoy frigid outside temps any more than old people do. I think Blondie has decided she will just pee and poop in the [warm] house and take the consequences. Which means Blondie is now confined to the laundry room and kitchen only. Pocket doors make this possible.

Much of my day involves cleaning + feeding + animal support services (animal concierge). Indoors — for geriatric dogs and often-destructive young cats. Outdoors — for cats in catio, feral cat food and water stations, squirrel acorn feeder. Staying warm is the main concern for all.

Happy Trails.

This will be a short post, covering a few small tasks, such as taking down holiday decorations and some maintenance items. That’s about it. I do have one new purchase, though.

Given the continuing mild conditions, Pam and I decided to take down our Christmas decorations a few days earlier than normal. Yesterday (Friday) temps approached 40 with little wind, so it was a good day to “un-decorate.”

Frost after rain storms had deposited moisture on the lights, wreaths, and garlands so I set up a drying station in the garage. Once these items are dry, they can be packed away for another year.

Inside Christmas decor is also being packed away for another year. The trees are still up but are largely undecorated. We’ll finish packing things this week. Although it’s sad to see decorations go, I’ve noticed the days getting a bit longer which boosts the spirit.

My new purchase is a used generator. Followers of this blog will remember that I purchased a unit last year that proved to be too small to run the “honey wagon” pump (1/3 hp) used to empty holding tanks of The Box on The Lot in Colorado. This new purchase, found on Facebook Marketplace, has a higher output, 2,200 watts compared to the smaller generator’s 1,600 watts. I hope this new generator does the trick.

The Kia Soul received a front license plate mount and new wiper blades. The lawn chipper / vac received new (used) rear tires to replace one that had self-destructed due to age.

Quaker has recalled several products that had a chance of contamination, so I had to go on-line and file a claim (including this photo of the boxes of granola we had in our pantry). As this particular cereal is hard to find in NE Iowa, we tend to buy multiples when it can be located. Figures – our stock was high when the recall hit.

I received a message saying my claim would be “looked at” but nothing since. This is a story in progress.

It was time to order a propane refill this week; 318 gallons were pumped into our tank. This amount is about 1/3 of the 900 gallons we contracted for last fall. Our hope is mild weather that will continue into spring, but undoubtedly January-February will have cold spells along the way. Right now this December is well on the way to being the warmest one on record for this part of the country, with an average temperature of just above freezing. So far we have received only a trace of snow. The local average is over 13 inches by Christmas Day. Very atypical weather, for sure!

If anyone reading this rides ATVs, I created a new gallery of my rides around Fairplay, Colorado. The Heart House gallery was updated with a few new photos as well.

And that is about it for this last post of 2023. The upcoming week promises to be very quiet, as we don’t “celebrate” the new year. Other than finishing the packing away of decorations, not much else is on tap.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

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

Pam’s Penny

Interesting week between December 25 and January 1. Not a time to start major projects, just end one year and anticipate the next. Looking ahead, 2024 will be a doozy. The local advertising for the GOP caucuses in January is getting pretty mean already; the general election is likely to be even more so. And then, there’s always the drama surrounding the do-nothing House of Representatives — will leadership get their act together, or will they shut down the government in February and cut off our Social Security checks? Drama we can do without in the new year.

Happy Trails.

While a bit early, we celebrated our Christmas on Thursday (Winter Solstice). We wanted to have Becky join us; one of her daughters, Caitlin, will be visiting Becky near Christmas so early timing works for all. Another event was the sale of the RAV4. Details and photos below!

Becky joined us for gift opening. Gifts for all were specially selected items, from the shirts and socks to the markers and seed packets — and everything in between.

Earlier I had posted a video of our outside lights but had not included any still shots. Here is Heart House outside holiday lighting.

I had listed the Toyota RAV4 on Facebook Marketplace and had a buyer within 24 hours. Facebook reported 547 “clicks” on the listing during that time. Priced in the lower part of the price range for a 2004 with 217K miles, it proved to be a good value for the buyer who came up from Des Moines to pick it up.

NE Iowa experienced a couple of very windy days this past week that blew quite a large number of leaves onto our lawn, so I took advantage of the mild weather to do yet another lawn pickup. One of the neighbor ladies, who was walking by as I was finishing, stopped to compliment me on the appearance of the house and yard. I try to keep the place clean and tidy and it is good to know the neighbors do notice.

If the mild weather holds, and new “high temps for the date” are expected this weekend, we should have good conditions to take down the holiday lights after the first of the year. It would be good if the lights, wreaths, and other decorations were dry and fingers would not get frostbitten taking them down. We shall see!

The next few weeks will end one year and start another. There are projects to work on, such as updating my Galleries. A second coat of paint in the upstairs bathroom is on the agenda, as well as moldings up there I need to complete. Pam has plans for some paint changes in the downstairs parlour, to be accomplished during winter months. It will be excellent to enjoy a bit more daylight every day, now that the Winter Solstice has been celebrated.

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

Pam’s Penny

The little catio female stray, Storm, was spayed this week. Mild weather aided in keeping the catio interior warm during the 24 hours after her operation. (I plug in heaters out there as needed, one bed heater and one space heater.) With Reese and Storm altered, two down and two to go (AJ and Snickers).

Cards: I’m catching up with folks via the annual holiday card news exchange. Must be our age group — more than usual [negative] health updates. Interesting I settled on a snowman theme for our card when NE Iowa is experiencing a “brown” Christmas. Actually, the romance of snow is long past for me…

Happy Trails.

We finished decorating the two Christmas trees in the house. One, the live tree we cut, is in the Media Room and the other, an artificial tree, is in the guest bedroom. Additionally, Pam put up a few decorations where the cats could not get at them. Take a look at the photos!

This is the artificial tree in the guest bedroom. Pam still plans to add some decorations to the tree, now that she is done with the cards. A tree in this window adds some festive lighting to the west side of the house, as seen from the front sidewalk.

The “main” tree (fresh cut) is in the media room. Many of its decorations are hand made, including the gingerbread men (with cloves inside – smell great after decades of storage) and the British felt figures. For some reason I ended up with a potpourri of colored lights available after decorating Heart House’s exterior.

Elsewhere in the house, Pam tried something new this year: adding “12 Days of Christmas” heart decorations above doorways.

With that, holiday decorations are about completed. While NE Iowa has no snow, the long-range forecast is to have flurries on Christmas Day. (Currently it is above freezing and light rain is falling.) I must be honest, though — I don’t really mind the mild conditions we have enjoyed up to this point!

The past week was relatively quiet. Greeting cards were finished and mailed. I was able to perform one last leaf pickup and trip to the compost site. We continue to watch the birds at the bird and suet feeders, and the squirrels have been busy at the corn cob and acorn feeders. The local park has the town’s holiday lights lit up every night. I have yet to convert the John Deere rider from mowing operations to snow plowing, a task I will take on this coming week.

One of the kittens, Reese, went to the vet for his neuter operation this week. He recovered quickly and is back to [pretty much] his old self. Reese picked up some “sniffles” along the way, but no “cone of shame” was required.

We’ve taken the Kia Soul on a few trips and are getting used to more of its modern electronics, such as the blind spot monitoring system and backup camera. While I still don’t fully know how everything works, the car is getting more familiar. I even received an incoming phone call via the media center!

One of the reasons for deciding on a Soul is the distinctive rear hatch, easy to pick out in parking lots.

I’ve begun preparing the RAV-4 for sale, including cleaning our stuff out of the door pockets, glove compartment, and storage cubbies, and I reinstalled the rear seats. The car looks a bit odd to us with the rear seats installed, as we had pulled them early on to have more cargo space.

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

Pam’s Penny

Kitten spay/neuter will continue in the weeks ahead. The little female stray, Storm, who showed up in our catio in October, is scheduled for a spay next week. Reese’s sisters, AJ and Snickers, will be scheduled for their spay operations in January (weather permitting).

Having worked in animal rescue for a long time, I have experienced many vet surgery days. I wish familiarity with vet procedures and processes would grant me ease of mind on kitten surgery days. But not so much. Altering animals — necessary, must-do, but not comfortable (for them or me).

Happy Trails.

Last week I had to use the Illinois Tollway on my trip to St. Charles to pick up our Kia Soul. I had not driven in Illinois for decades and the “new” tollway system was a surprise to me.

I was used to the old toll booths where you tossed money into a bin and received a green light to continue. I had assumed that I would have to go through a “manual” booth as I was pulling my twin-axle trailer. Boy, was I behind the times!

There are no more toll booths. Instead, license plate readers take a photo of your car as you go through each toll plaza. At the end of your trip you log into the Illinois Tollway website (illinoistollway.com) and pay your tolls on-line.

I used the “Pay by Plate” function, but you can also create an account where the fee will be billed automatically to a credit card.

To pay, I had to: 1. Create an account. 2: log in. 3: Add a vehicle, including year, make, model, and license plate. 4: Search for an invoice.

A message popped up stating I had an unpaid invoice and advised that I review and pay the same. The invoice contained a record of every plaza I had passed through and a charge for each segment between the plazas. Since I had used the tollway two days, having stayed overnight at my sister’s place in Elmhurst, the charges were also broken out by date.

You have 14 days from the time of your trip to pay the invoice, or my sister says the authority will send you a very nasty note demanding payment, along with a penalty amount.

I must say I do not like having all the information required to be entered into an on-line database. On the plus side, this system makes the tollway more convenient as there are no stops in traffic at toll plazas. That is the trade-off.

My two day toll was $27.80. Considering I traveled a few hundred miles, pulling a large trailer, this did not seem to be too bad a fee. Here is my e-mail confirmation of payment from the tollway system:

Payment for Violation Confirmation
Thank You For Your Payment

Payment Confirmation Number: 02025A
Payment Submitted on: 12/01/2023

Below is a summary of your payment.

Cardholder’s Name
Gerald G Fields

Total Charge to Credit Card
$27.8

My take-away: If you have to use the Illinois Tollway, create an account before your trip and pay immediately when you return home.

In holiday news, we drove to Wapsi Pines Tree Farm and cut our live tree for this year. Here it is, shaken and wrapped, in the back of the RAV-4. Probably the last utility trip for the RAV. It has been a mighty handy vehicle for things like annual tree transport.

Once home I set up the tree. Next come lights. Then ornaments. That will pretty much finish my holiday decorating; Pam affixed a number of wreaths on the porches and gates this week. There are a few items Pam hangs inside the house too. (Out of reach of cats.)

Friday we drove to New Hampton (in the Kia!) for routine dental cleanings. On the way home we tried a new restaurant, styling itself as a pub. The food was fine but not exceptional. As we don’t eat out much these days, a restaurant stop is a highlight for us. However, having been to pubs in the UK, this one wasn’t quite that caliber.

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

Pam’s Penny

There were 8 neighborhood cats at the outside feeder this morning. Roaming cats are going through cat food like crazy. Cold weather has apparently cut down on the number of rodents available to satisfy their hunger. Plus, I always try to maintain fresh drinking water for the cats, squirrels, and the occasional bird.

Card notes are being completed; some cards are already in the custody of the USPS. Will be interesting to see if their sorting machines totally mutilate this year’s greeting.

Happy Trails.