Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you all from our small corner of the world here in north central Iowa.  We are feeling, smelling, and seeing the haze from the forest fires as much of the country and Canada is.  It has been a challenging summer with violent storms, massive fires, flooding, and tornados across our country.  We have had some rain, but much of the Midwest and the West are in a severe drought.  Just like the turmoil in the world, in our country, so is the weather it seems.  BUT this too shall pass.  

Speaking of passing, our week with doggy guests is coming to an end today as their master, our son is driving up to pick them up and take them home.  We will miss their company, but I am thinking my hubby won't miss the individual walks he takes them on so they will do their business.  They don't like using our yard.....and they also are used to an early, I mean 4-5 am early wake up call.  So did that happen hear?  Nada.  We got them going at 6am and 9:30 pm their last walk........except.......Yesterday I started telling them they were going home tomorrow and I think they took that to heart!  They had Joel up at 4:30 am today.  Needless to say he went back to sleep but he has a bit of a drag in his step!  Haha. We have enjoyed our grand dogs very much but I know they are going to be ready to go back home to their people, and we will enjoy getting up at 7 am. again!  Joel has gotten his exercise walking them each separately 4x a day!  I did my part ~ kept the home fires burning so to speak.....??!? hehehe

Charlie reminds us of our Levi

Scout on his heart pillow and bed

This has been a week of Olympic TV.  I have enjoyed my favorite women's beach volleyball, a little women's softball, men and women's diving, and women's gymnastics.  A bit of the equestrian competition too and I took in one women's rugby game!  Wow, so aggressive and none stop running!  You may have noticed, I prefer women's events.  Of course we cannot bring up gymnastics without thinking of Simon Biles.  I have been impressed with how well her stepping out has been handled by announcers,  and how well she is expressing her challenges right now.  It must be difficult for her.  I have not read the negative comments or commentaries out there.  You can always find someone who is judging, criticizing, or condemning.  Sadly we all think our opinions matter about everything whether we know what we are talking about or not!

Speaking of gymnastics, yay for Sunisa Lee competing so well and winning a gold!  And her family in St. Paul, MN ~ so excited and proud.  In 1979 we lived in St. Paul not far from the Hmong communities.  A few times we picked up one family from their place and drove them to church where we attended.  It made for a very crowded car, but we were glad to help out "refugees" so new to our country.  Our neighbor was from the Philippines and we used to smell their cooking which would remind us so much of when we lived in the Philippine Islands.  Their cooking oils and mix of foods and spices have a distinct smell and taste.  It reminded us of the P.I. for sure!  We always thought we might go back there or to Africa as missionaries, but life intervened and God had other plans in store for us.  When we met we both had goals of mission work, and we talked about it for 20 years but it just did not work out.  The biggest deterrent for us was putting our kids in boarding schools 9 months of the year.  Just was not okay.  So we figured we would be going once the kids were gone....and life and illness changed that too.  So, Joel's ministry took place in Montana, Minnesota, and Iowa and we met and were blessed by many people in the six church parishes ad communities he served.  

So, today I am grateful for Charlie and Scout's week with us, for the prayers our families rely on with each other, walking, poop bags ( grin), the Olympics, the DNRS program, having more energy, getting through the antibiotics well, watermelon and blueberries, phone calls with a friend and sister, texting that keeps us all connected in our family, memories of St. Paul and the Philippines, and just plain waking up each morning to a new day!

Enjoy your weekend................

Saturday's Scribbles on Sunday

 

Good Saturday/Sunday to you from our corner of Iowa where the last week of July is coming in with heat and humidity....typical for Iowa this time of year.  Everything is green or blooming, and colorful!  We still need rain here, but so does much of the Midwest and the West especially.  

Speaking of the West, our oldest son and his family are heading out West for a week and we are granddog sitting here in our corner of the world.  Both Scout and Charlie (miniature Schnauzers) are doing well  considering they have never been here.  We are getting to know each other and as I write this they are both sleeping.   Joel is off to a retirement farewell and I am holding down the fort at home.  

Charlie and Scout dozing

We were able to spend time yesterday with our oldest son who will turn 50 soon.  Where has the time gone??  One of my favorite memories is of M. coming home from Kindergarten at noon and eating his usual Oscar Meyer boloney sandwich while watching Mr. Rogers.  It was his time to "decompress".  I am not sure he eats that anymore, but with his job I am sure he needs time to decompress!

My week has been busy with learning the Dynamic Neural Retraining System to retrain the limbic system of my brain ~ Oh, yeah.  Seeing three doctors in 24 hrs made things a bit more exciting.  No big issues, but definitely "stuff" to get taken care of.  The melanoma ck. was all good news.  Another chiropractor visit, and a trip to Quick Care has me taking meds for a UTI.  So fun  .........   A little housecleaning, baking a rhubarb pie for M. and his dad, dog sitting, shopping, and walking round things off.

Joel has been busy with "projects", dog sitting, shopping, colleague group, and biking~ although it is a bit hot for that right now! He manages an average of 14 miles when he rides.  His usual bike trail is torn up from maintenance being done in one area, but he manages.....gotta be flexible~  Does anyone else have to remind themselves of that..........I am amazed how set I have become in certain ways.  Life is cozy and mostly controlled and predictable~ and then........then something or two little living and breathing "somethings" come to visit and we realize how little our world is ever shaken up out of our usual routines.  SO good to shake things up!  Did I think we would ever get to this age of finding comfort in the predictable?  Hmmmmm  Nope.

Have you been watching the Olympics?  We watched much of the opening ceremonies.......I really enjoy seeing each country's athletes walk in....observing their manner of dress, attitudes, and men and women who represent their country.  There were a few countries that we did not even know existed~ so we would google them to see where they were located.  Mostly islands, and a few others who had changed names.  Our favorite display was when 1800 drones created the world as we see it with all the continents and bodies of water.  So beautiful!  For reasons beyond understanding one of the events I like to watch is womens beach volleyball.  It has not been disappointing, either.

So, this week I am grateful for being able to walk and Joel bike, have money for shopping whenever and for whatever, our granddogs visiting, DNRS, doctors who give good news, antibiotics, rhubarb pie, the Olympics, texts, phone calls, our son M.'s visit and 50th, and so much more...........

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you all from our corner of Iowa where rain has blessed us this past week again and again.  South of us tornados caused damage to crops and at least one home, but we experienced only heavy rain, thank goodness.  We were happy to get so much rain!

Speaking of happy, Joel picked up his hearing aids this week, and is doing very well adjusting to them.  He tells me the birds are awfully loud, and asked me how I put up with so much noise....and  if I was actually banging the plates on the countertops since it sounded so very loud.  So happy for him!

And continuing on the "happy" theme, on Monday I headed to the chiropractor and he "fixed" my back.  After a weekend on the sofa or walking with a cane, I was happy!  My retina appointment was "all good news" with things staying stable so another happy dance there.  I have been on the new medication and it is challenging at times, but I am happy to report that I have slept well 7 of the past 8 nights.   Ohhhh, happy day......or nights?

So, can you tell how low key my life is?  Ok.  Boring?!  Getting excited over conquering out of whack body challenges seems to be the theme..........and I am so over that! Seriously.  There has got to be more out there for two people in their mid seventies.  ALTHOUGH more often than not no one can believe that Joel is 75 years old....or is it young?  No one says that about me, but I'll hang on to his shirttails and maybe some of his endless energy will rub off on me! He able to do 4x what I can right now. He is keeping busy with outdoor house projects, biking, and yardwork. So grateful.

So I saw on our local news that more body remains have been found.  This time northeast of here around 30 minutes.  This is the third one in a year although the other two were close by where we live (six months apart). They immediately said they know it is not Jodi Huisentruit.  Jodi was a news anchor here where we live and went missing in June 1995, the year before we moved here,  Her body has never been found.  I just keep thinking about the remains ~ people who all had stories to tell, and the people who loved them and wonder where they are.  People who need closure.  I don't understand how some  can be so evil.  I think I need to quit watching Dateline!   "I hardly ever watch it" but once in awhile my curiosity gets the best of me.  I am always curious and like figuring out mysteries, but don't like learning about how broken and evil people can be.

Speaking of curiosity, I cannot help but think back on our middle daughter N. who always had questions.  When she was three we lived in Malta MT and our house was between the pastor's parsonage and the church itself.  Joel was doing his one year Internship and we lived in the "Internage".  N. would see Pastor Merv walking to the church and follow him, asking questions of him all the way!  He told us it delighted him to answer her many questions.  She has always been a curious person, seeking knowledge, searching and curious. As a teacher it is a blessing to always be learning, I would think.  Her dad is the same way.  Questions, seeking, searching for new info.  In his book he speaks about his confirmation pastor who took the time to answer all his questions.  That he learned more from him than at Bible College and Seminary!  Joel's  head is full of trivia and knowledge gathered from the Bible of course, and Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Woodsmith, and more.  I love to learn, too.  We are never too old to learn something new.  Reading the Bible over and over may sound repetitive, but the Bible is living and breathing, and we are always learning something new from the words found within it's pages.  

I just glanced up and saw this picture on our wall shaped and painted on tin and framed.  A birthday present this year from Joel.  I love country churches and we have worshiped in many across the country, but especially in Montana and Minnesota.  One year on our vacation we sought out country churches just to visit a few. Some people like to go to museums, we like to go to places of worship.  

Last Sunday was bike to church week so Joel rode his recumbent bike to worship outside.  I was home nursing a bad back.  Tomorrow is another opportunity to worship with other believers, one of the freedom's we have here in America to be grateful for.  Adding to that, I am grateful this week for walks outside, biking, sunshine and rain, good news, kids who ask questions, country churches, rain, hearing aids, the energizer bunny I live with, and two days of rain!  What is on your gratitude list this week?

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa where cooler temperatures and rain have blessed us this week.  What a relief to have the parched land nourished with water, and what a relief to leave the 90's and 73 dew points behind for now at least.  Weather, like life is unpredictable so we never know what is around the corner. 

Speaking of life around the corner, I headed back to the Oncologist this past week to let her know how the neuropathy symptoms were doing.  We ended up with a prescription for a different medication to replace the Arimidex aromotose inhibitor, at her suggestion and I will see a neurologist this fall (hard to get in with COVID back-ups).

Meanwhile we have been doing some detective work on our own....as we try to figure out WHY the neuropathy is at such a high consistent level after nine years.  Nights are the hardest, but I continue with benadryl for some relief.   My doctor suggested longer acting Claritin but it did nothing to help.   I am  going to be starting a program called Dynamic Neural Retraining for the limbic system of the brain.  It just makes sense to me and a number of things came together to lead me down this path.  One is the book, "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Dr. Caroline Leaf.  Another is a good friend who has used this retraining system for six months and seen improvement in her own journey to healing.  I would be remiss if I did not add in that God is guiding me in this direction.   I am certainly weary of how often symptoms control my daily life  and sleep patterns.  AND the neuropathy like symptoms are not okay.

What is okay was having my sister Kay and her hubby Dan here for strawberry shortcake on the afternoon of the Fourth.  We had a nice visit and it is just so great to have people in our living room again....and all the hugs!  We watched the fireworks Saturday evening from our living room and Joel went out the next morning and picked up a lot of debris from the rockets set off across the river around 3/4 mile  away. We Hope your Fourth was enjoyable too!

Speaking of the Fourth, Independence Day always reminds me of our eight years in the Air Force.  Living on a military base in a third world country in the 70's reminded us of how blessed we were/are to be an American. We, as Americans, felt obligated to take care of our country, celebrate the freedoms we had and appreciate all America offered.  Living in a country with Marshall Law, where Filipinos were to afraid to even whisper a complaint against their President?  We realized very quickly that there was no place like "home".

Speaking of home, we have been appreciating our home here so much lately.  Mostly our neighborhood.  We know we cannot live forever in a house with so many stairs and no way to have a bedroom on the main level.  A house that is too big for 2 people and unnecessary when our kids do not all visit here except once a year.  Just wasted space......we live mostly in only 1/2 of the house!  So blessed to have the views we do, the yard space, the peaceful porch, the great neighbors.  Yet it is looming.........the need to downsize and look down the road a few years.  We would love to live by one of our kids but that would take us farther away from the others.  It would make it harder for us to visit and keep some from coming to see us.  Such a dilemma and a discussion between Joel and I that comes up too often. 

Speaking of Joel, he has been busy with outdoor and garage projects and of course getting 10-20 miles in on his bike several days a week.  He got his broken "boom" on his bike fixed and just a few days later was greeted with a flat tire.  He is back on his wheels again, although he came home early today as a fine mist gave him a gentle "shower".  He has had his recumbent bike for a long time, long enough to have put 15,000 miles on it!  I only wish we lived closer to a variety of off road trails!  I had to smile as I watched him head out into the rain Friday to walk through the deep water at the end of our driveway, splashing and wading through it like a child!  On another day I would have joined him, as I love walking in the rain!

Splashing in the rain water

Here are a few flowers that are showing off their beauty in the front yard of our home.  Patriotic flowers that proclaim God's beauty in such bright colorful ways!  Our creator is in every detail of every living thing!

Loving all the red and white!

A few flags in the mix

So this weekend we are giving thanks for colorful flowers, the 4th of July, the freedoms as an American, God's beauty in creation, a fixed recumbent bike, splashing in the rain, and the much needed rain, our years in the Philippines, our years in the military, strawberry shortcake, new medications to try, cooler weather, texts, prayers and insights from friends, our grandson Noah's birthday, fireworks, family, and so much more.........

Enjoy your weekend!

  

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Fourth of July weekend to you from our corner of America!  Land of the free, home of the brave~!!  We are experiencing the heat and humidity usually forecast for August as we enter into the 4th tomorrow with temperatures in the 90's for the weekend.  The crops, trees and bushes and flowers are enjoying a bit of growth after we finally got 3 inches of rain this past weekend.  I'm sure the farmers are smiling too!

Tonight we will watch the fireworks from our living room window.  We see them through the trees, but they are still beautiful and it is nice to be indoors in our comfy chairs watching!  They are so close to us and if the wind is just right we get debris in our yard, so I expect Joel will go out and check the grass after they end.  Just in case a few sparks are still around..............

Last Saturday we drove north to one of our family's  homes for the weekend.  It was debatable whether I should tackle it since the neuropathy is still giving me a tough time, but I decided....in pain there or here, what's the difference.  The difference would be family to hug on!  Joel kept going on Sunday when he traveled 70 miles farther north to celebrate at a birthday party for his brother James who turned 80.  He had a good time visiting with everyone, seeing a few more than he did the weekend before.  I stayed behind and rested, keeping our granddog company while the family headed off to a grad party.  We never get to see all the people we want to when we head to MN, and this trip was just family.  

Speaking of neuropathy, I did some research and discovered that Benadryl can help with toning down nerve pain.  I started taking it at night and for six nights in a row I slept through the night with no real burning pain and the nerve pain in general was a bit less during the day.  Very interesting.  AND the relief was great.  It makes me sleepy the next day a bit, but worth it for now as we try to figure out what triggered the high pain.  As we discuss it, I often think of it as a chess board with us trying to move the pieces into the right places.  Complicated, just like life!

Speaking of life, this past Wednesday we celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary!  So grateful for so many years together.  That evening as we were looking for something to watch on TV I came across our granddaughter's high school softball team playing a rival.  There were two games that had been recorded from the night before and we enjoyed watching 3 hours of her.... and the team, of course.  What fun for us to watch from our comfy living room and a great way to celebrate our anniversary.

I am sitting on the porch looking at our garden while I type.  Our tiger lilies are in bloom and so beautiful!  It is so quiet where we live, in fact I think only one family on our cul-de-sac even has kids at home anymore.  There is a path at the end of our block, so we often get walkers coming by.  There are 12 houses on our long cul-de-sac and most of us know each other.  I like that.  In fact, as I have mentioned before, several of the families here go to the same Lutheran church in town!  Three are pastors!  I'm still thinking we need to rename our street "Lutherhaven"!

On this 4th of July weekend it seems more important than ever to remember that our country has much to be thankful for.  So many freedoms, to worship, to live as we wish, to work, to play.  So very much to be grateful for.  So much diversity, and in that diversity we have unity as a country.  Praying your celebration of the 4th is filled with all that brings you joy~

Today I am grateful for hugging on family, watching a granddaughter play softball from my living room, tiger lilies in bloom, America, another anniversary to celebrate, walking outside, porch sitting, playing cribbage with a grandson, laughing and loving with granddaughters, a daughter and son-in-laws welcoming arms and generous hearts, our quiet street, fireworks from our living room window, and so much more.........

Enjoy your weekend!