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.

We found and bought a 2020 Kia Soul with the EX trim package. The car was purchased from a dealer in St. Charles, Illinois. Here is the story and a few dealer photos of the car.

I found the car on AutoTrader.com and it had the option package I was looking for. After a few calls and e-mails, the salesman and I arrived at an acceptable price and I prepared a wire transfer to pay for it.

The price included [an unwanted] $374.26 charge from the State of Illinois, as the dealers do not issue titles; only the state does. All paperwork is sent in and the state will issue a title in my name. Right now the car has an Illinois temp tag on the back. I can’t license through Iowa without the Illinois documentation.

This was the listing photo from the dealer, St. Charles Motorcars:

The color is Platinum Gold under a Clear White top. This combo was only available in 2020; it was gone in the 2021 and later models.

These are a few more dealer photos from the listing:

I drove the F-150 and trailer over to St. Charles on Wednesday and took the car for a short test drive. This Soul is a major upgrade from out 2004 RAV-4! Once I had the car loaded on the trailer I drove about another 30 miles to my sister’s apartment in Elmhurst. Kitt (and Matt) and I had a very pleasant evening with an excellent meal (prepared by Matt) and lots of conversation.

Thursday morning I headed west to Iowa. The round trip was about 700 miles, but worth it for the savings on the vehicle. Here are a couple on-the-road photos:

Everything went well and the weather was good. The truck and trailer handled the load with no problems. Gas prices were about $3.00 in Iowa and $3.30 – $3.50 in Illinois.

Once home I unloaded the car, contacted the insurance agent to get coverage, and began reading the Owner’s Manuals. (The Infotainment system has a dedicated manual of its own.) It will take some time to get used to the features we will use most, and knowledge of other features, such as the navigation system, will come over time.

I hope this is a good purchase for us. Now I need to sell the RAV-4, as we really don’t need a 3rd vehicle here in Iowa. Craigslist and FaceBook Marketplace will soon see a listing for it. If anyone reading this needs a 5-speed all wheel drive vehicle in fairly good shape for around $1,200.00 let me know!

Moving on to holiday news…

Elma staged its annual Parade of Holiday Lights last Sunday. The parade lasted all of 3:52 minutes and you can see the entire parade below. (Short parade in bitter cold temps.)

Parade of Lights 2023

The Heart House outside lights were very “showy” by parade time, having been installed during the mild weather. I decided to take some video; the resulting clip has a run time of 4:21.

Heart House Lights 2023 The upcoming week should see us returning to our [mostly calm] schedule. A trip to the tree farm to cut our live tree is on the agenda; it’s not a major drive. Weather should turn a bit milder for the tree farm trip next week, although NE Iowa is expecting some snow tonight. I would like to get one more leaf cleanup finished before winter sets in for good, but we shall see.

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

Pam’s Penny

While Himself was on his auto purchase adventure, I enjoyed a quiet evening with my steak and kidney pie – plus tea, of course.

Heart House holiday decorations will soon be unpacked and selectively distributed in various rooms, subject to the destructive antics of the resident kittens. The season is upon us.

Happy Trails.

Update:

Fray Bentos’ Steak and Kidney Pie is a dish Pam encountered in Great Britain in the early ’70s. During the ’80s and ’90s, mad cow disease led to bans on importing this dish into the US for many years. (Some bans, worldwide, lasted until 2019.) I had ordered a couple of Fray Bentos as a gift for for Pam’s November birthday.

Now you know!

There were a few things going on this past week, the largest being Thanksgiving. I continued my search for a newer car. Outside lights and decorations were put up. Suet feeders and the large bird feeder were stocked and set out. Leaf pickup continued. Details below!

The big event was Thanksgiving. Pam and Becky had decided who would prepare what dishes. Pam cooked the turkey roast and pies and Becky brought a 7-layer salad, mashed potatoes, and squash. We had a very tasty and relaxed meal – everything was delicious.

Prior to Thanksgiving we put up our outside decorations while the weather was still mild. This year we put out a few more strings of lights and a special twinkling horse and sleigh display. I will have night shots in a later post, but for now here are a few daylight shots.

Also new this year is a second suet feeder. I built a couple new holders out of scrap “plastic wood” and the results should serve us well.

Pam composed a pair of intertwined hearts using red rope lights and they are installed on the garden fence. The Black Hills spruce, near the garden, received big-bulb lights for the first time this year. I will have photos of them lit up in my next post.

It was a busy week. In addition to the tasks mentioned above, I did another couple leaf pick-ups. Unfortunately, one rear tire on the lawn vac just fell apart. It was of solid rubber construction and could not be saved. The vac is at least 25 years old and new parts are no longer available, so I ordered a couple new generic wheels and will have to modify them to fit the old machine.

The search for a newer vehicle continues. We are looking for a Kia Soul with the EX trim package and these are not thick on the ground. I do have a lead on one in northern Illinois and will be speaking with the dealer this week. I will see if a deal can be made.

Snow flurries are in the forecast for late today and into Sunday. Otherwise, daytime temps are about freezing or just above, and nights are slipping into the teens. There is no snow on the ground at this time; I’m still hoping for a mild winter. One of my upcoming tasks, though, is getting the snow blower out of storage and making sure it’s in running condition. Soon I’ll need it, I am sure!

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

Pam’s Penny

My cousin Karen [pretty much every year] sends the first Christmas card everyone on her list receives. Which means Karen has cards in the mail way too early, delivered the day after Thanksgiving.

The Elma holiday lights parade is tomorrow. Heart House is on the Main Street parade route. Which means (as a gift to the town) we have lights wrapping Heart House porches. But – it’s way too early to be illuminating porches nightly [yet].

Designing/preparing/sending annual holiday cards has always been a time consuming task, spanning months. When I was gainfully employed, getting cards out the door was stressful. Which is why I now take my time with the cards, as the design evolves. Cut-and-paste activities generally put me in my happy place. (Card prep + Hallmark movie + cup of tea or hot chocolate = happy place.)

When the last card is in the mail, any holiday “frenzy” is totally over for me. I enjoy the card journey…and I don’t mail Heart House cards way too early.

Happy Trails.

Pam celebrated a significant birthday this week. It was the highlight of an otherwise normal fall week. Leaf pickup and a few small pre-winter prep tasks took up some time as well.

Pam’s November birthday was celebrated over the course of two days. Day One we ordered Chinese take-out from The Lucky Bamboo restaurant in New Hampton, a treat for us. The next day Becky brought a few gifts and a cake to contribute to a second day of celebration.

Gifts included clothing, McVitties digestive biscuits, books, and a commemorative blanket from my sister Kitt. The steak and kidney pies I ordered were delayed in shipment and are still to be received. (I suspect they have to come all the way from England and may take a while to get here.) Pam enjoyed the cards, gifts and phone calls.

A few other tasks took up some of my time. While our oak trees are pretty leafless now, the neighboring maple trees are at the height of dropping their leaves, which blow onto our yard. A layer of leaves gets deposited every time the wind blows. Between the lawn vacuum and the John Deere rider with bagger, I took 4 trailer loads of leaves to the compost site this week. Leaf pickup will continue until snow’s on the ground (preferably no snow til late December!).

Pam has begun work on her Winter Solstice cards, creating a theme and getting artwork off the web. I help by resizing graphic files and creating print-outs of the selected artwork. There is a lot of detail involved in creating these cards. The deadline for getting them in the mail approaches quickly; Pam is putting in many hours of work on this project.

We continue looking for a replacement vehicle — in person at a dealership, online auto sites and via auction. The front runner at present is the [EX trim level] Kia Soul, as it adds many of the features I want, particularly heated seats. Pam thinks the adjustability of the power seats and steering wheel will be helpful; they can be moved up and and down and forward and back, tailoring a very comfortable seating position for her shorter height.

By the way, the “IVT” in the above titles stands for “Intelligent Variable Transmission,” which is a type of CVT automatic transmission. A CVT delivers seamless acceleration without interruption for gear shifts. Instead of fixed gears, it uses a pair of variable-width pulleys connected by a flexible belt. One pulley is attached to the engine and the other to the axle shafts.

Another small project took up a bit of my time, building a couple suet feeder hangers. NE Iowa should experience a mild spell this coming week, with temps topping out near 60 degrees. Too warm to put out suet or bird seed yet. Hopefully this mild weather will stick around until we decorate Heart House for the annual holiday parade three weeks from now.

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

Pam’s Penny

A significant birthday ending in “0” is now in the rear view mirror. Pondering the next decade; the last decade was action-packed with retirement, social security/ Medicare, relocation and home renovation. Looking forward — ???

Seems strange not having a list of outdoor activities and projects to do. With the digging in of tulip bulbs and construction of anti-deer enclosures for new trees, yard work is a wrap for the year. Ah well, plenty of activity keeping the “kitten nursery plus dog nursing home” going indoors.

As noted above, holiday cards have moved from design to implementation. All ordered supplies have been received. Time for me to get into my cut-and-paste happy place.

Happy Trails.