AppleAttic Blog

There were no major events occuring over the last couple of weeks, just a series of smaller things the arrival of spring made possible. Although the upcoming forecast has a couple of below-freezing nights, we are in spring mode. Here are a few of our activities of the past week or so.

Pam put a new coat of stain on the decorative garden bridge that spans an area under a pair of our oak trees. The bridge was elevated to about knee height for easier stain application. She also planted some new seedlings that arrived in the mail. It will soon be time to visit a greenhouse to pick out this year’s annuals.

One new yard addition will be a flower pot hanger I picked up at a local antique store. With bends that resemble a heart, the hanger will occupy a spot near the front steps. I will have another photo of this in a later post once the hanger, with flowers, is in place.

Daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips began to bloom on the east side flower bed. Hostas are beginning to poke up out of the ground and trees are sprouting tiny green leaves. Hoses were taken out of storage and put in place on the west and east sides of the house. Spring has arrived!

I cleaned out the curb and gutter on the Main Street side of the house as part of a larger spring lawn cleaning. (The city does not clean streets or curbs.) Using the lawn vacuum with the hose attachment, I was able to clear fence lines and flower beds of leaves that had blown in over the winter and during some spring storms. A new home-made handle on the hose made this task much easier by eliminating the need to bend down to the ground as much.

The lawn vac needed some repairs as one of the wheel brackets had been cracking over the last few years. I had ordered a new spool of welding wire for my small wire-feed welder and stitched up the crack, then ground down the repair and added coat of red spray paint. It is an ugly repair as I am not a practiced welder but the bracket will not break, which is all I wanted.

Previously I had mentioned an issue with the equipment trailer suspension. During the warm spell I was able to remove a pair of old (loose) shackles and replace them with new ones. In this photo, the old hangers are at the top. Note the “spacers” made of old and mismatched nuts. One new hanger is at the bottom for comparison.

Installing a new wiring pigtail for one of the lights completed the trailer repairs and it is now road-worthy again.

A national story last week was the eclipse. It was cloudy here and we were not able to see any of the action. Pam did, however, come across this cartoon:

Anyone with more than one cat will understand…

I am going to wrap up this post with another home video. This one is titled “Winter in Colorado” and features footage of us in late 1979 (I think). We took a trip on the Gold Camp Road, an old railroad grade that runs between Victor and Colorado Springs. Another outing was to get our Christmas Tree using a National Forest permit which allowed us to cut or top any tree that seemed appropriate. I hope you enjoy it. Run time is 4:45.

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

Pam’s Penny

Almost Mennonite greenhouse time! I really look forward to that first visit. A blast of color, fragrance and humidity will do my spirit a world of good.

Happy Trails

I left a couple of loose ends in my last post. I will try to tidy up with a few more details this time around, and have a video of our East Coast trip. Have at it!

First, going through a couple of old journals, I found the Datsun truck was a 1971 model. If you view the video later in this post you will see it as it was in 1976.

Second, I went through my converted Super-8 files and found the east coast trip footage. I did a new re-mix, adding more subtitles and editing out some of the poorer sections. Run time is 4:19 with the Bromley Alpine Slide coming on at about 3:30.

A couple other notes are in order. Some of the video “jitters” are from the conversion process, as the old film occasionally jumped a bit when feeding through the conversion projector. Also, there is something a bit surreal about watching a large vessel floating across the plains of upstate New York, hence the footage of the Old Welland Canal. The water wheel and covered bridge were on the grounds of Old Sturbridge Village.

At the end of my last post I mentioned hose cart races. Man-pulled hose carts were common fire-fighting systems used in many early towns before the advent of steam, and later, gas-powered fire trucks. Men would pull a hose cart to a fire, unroll the hose, attach it to a hydrant, add a nozzle, and spray the fire in an attempt to put it out.

Idaho Springs, west of Denver, hosted an annual Fire-Fighter’s Day which featured hose cart races. We drove into the mountains one August to watch the festivities. Several teams competed in this timed event; it was an enjoyable outing, visiting this Colorado town. Run time is 0:34.

I have other videos, mostly of interest to family and friends. Some of the events captured include a day at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, riding the Cripple Creek and Victor Railroad, Pam and her mother feeding chipmunks on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, a trip to Yellowstone, and other events dating to our “before children” days in Colorado. I will include a few of these clips in future posts.

In family news, daughter Felicity and partner Peter are in the process of buying a fixer-upper home in central New York. Located between Rochester and Watkins Glen (Finger Lakes area of upstate New York), the 1,600 square foot home, on about 2 acres of land with a small stream on one border, appears to be in a good location. I have seen the listing photos and the place needs a lot of work (bathroom not functional at this point) but the price is reasonable at around $83K. Property includes an old (small) barn and shed, both in need of repair, but are something to get started.

My hope is that Felicity and Peter are up to the difficult and several-year project of turning the home into a comfortable, attractive, and energy efficient abode. Chances are pretty high that I will be helping them move and possibly adding some labor to help get the place into functioning order. Here is an aerial view of the property from the listing:

Felicity and Peter have long talked about living in New York and having a place where they can develop their homesteading skills and crafts. I hope they can make their dream a reality.

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

Pam’s Penny

I wonder if I’d have been susceptible to “old house renovation disease” if I hadn’t spent my adolescence in a < 900 square foot, ugly, rectangular builder box house, squished into tiny rooms with five other family members. Of course tall ceilings, spacious rooms and big porches would seem to be an amazing step up in the housing world after that experience. And, although her childhood was not spent in such confined spaces as mine was, I think Felicity is also susceptible to “old house renovation disease.” (Toby seems to be immune — maybe it’s passed along genetically on the female line.)

Felicity can look forward to: the cat playing with a bat on the floor at 2:00 a.m., a mouse springing out of the silverware drawer, the ladder [she’s standing on] plunging through rotten floor boards while she’s hanging those attractive holiday items on the porch. And so much more. There will be tons and tons of cleaning and painting, and visits to the lumber and hardware stores. Cold drafty winters and hot humid summers – indoors as well as out. Enjoy!

Happy Trails.

A winter mix returned over the last few days. We had accumulating snow, wind, and rain, then days where the high temps were below freezing. Several days have been cloudy and grey, not exactly conducive to spring activities. However, the upcoming forecast is much better with mild temps returning and a small chance of rain. Spring may finally arive!

The main focus of this post is a follow-up to comments Pam and I made regarding our “early years” and a trip we took to the east coast with the Datsun truck. I have a few scanned photos and commentary about that 1976 trip, so let’s get into it.

Yes, we did sleep in the bed of the truck many times. Every few nights we booked a motel room to enjoy a shower and a more comfortable bed, but our budget did not allow us to do that the entire trip. Here is a photo of the truck set for camping, with a tarp over the bed and a mattress pad to sleep on.

Pam does not look very thrilled with this arrangement, but we managed OK.

Typically we parked in mall lots to have access to public bathrooms and minimal security provided by the parking lot lights. The white material you see was a mesh; we could drop the tailgate and mesh to get air into the sleeping area.

We created many memories on this trip. I ate lobster for the first time at Cape Cod; I remember picking a live lobster from a tank to be cooked for my meal. Getting the hang of cracking the shell was a bit difficult at first. Another memory was our visit to Boston, where I had a hard time understanding the New England accents (hah-ahrd vowels), and the visit to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

One notable stop was Old Plymouth Plantation, a replica 1700s pilgrim town. This was my first experience with “living history” actors playing the parts of different pilgrims. For the purpose of this post I am including only photos of us, although I took many of various tasks being performed. (We have an entire photo album dedicated to this trip.)

Here I am, sandals and all, about to enter an early pilgrim house:

One of my favorite photos from this stop, and the entire trip, is this one of Pam near the replica mill on the grounds of the village.

Another strong memory was created in Bromley, Vermont, home of America’s first Alpine Slide. Here are a couple of internet screen shots of the modern track (there are now three offering various skill levels) and a sled used to ride down the track.

You sit on the sled and pull back the handle to slow down or push forward to speed up. This ride was a hoot, and we returned a second time to repeat the experience before heading home.

We didn’t have a camp stove at the time and relied on fast food places for meals. We got so sick of fast food cooking odors that we began to stop at grocery stores to pick up meat, cheese, and breads for a few meals. No cooler and no space, so whatever we bought had to be eaten quickly.

Other stops on this trip included the Whaling Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, and Quincy (including the Adams Home) all in Massachusetts, and Basketville in Vermont plus the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Detroit. Lots of stops, lots of memories.

While not taken on this trip, I do have this 56 second clip of the Alpine Slide at Breckenridge, Co, which dates from the late ’70s. It features Pam, Becky, and myself. Again, quality is not the greatest but I hope you enjoy it. (There is no audio on this Super 8 film clip.)

I have a few other photos from around this same time, including this one of us just after getting the Honda CB-450 motorcycle.

To stay alert as we rode, we often brought Pringles with us to chew on, and I carried Jolly Rancher hard candy that I could tuck up between tooth and gum. Every now and then, at the end of a long day, I would feel Pam’s helmet hitting the back of my helmet and know that she was falling asleep on the back of the bike. While we never had an incident, I was always concerned her feet would slip off the footpegs as she tired.

You may have noticed a container on the rear luggage rack in this and other photos that include the Honda. We always carried spare clothing in Colorado as changes in elevation, and resulting temperature changes, required heavier gear at higher altitudes and cooler clothing on the plains. We put a lot of miles on the bike during those early trips.

One such trip was to the top of Pikes Peak, a “must” visit for any Colorado resident and most tourists.

I recall getting rained on during this outing, but the rain quit and we were dried out before returning home to Boulder. The road to the top had not yet been paved and riding the motorcycle up (and down) the gravel and twisting road was a real challenge!

Here is another shot taken in Victor during a fall visit. In those days, railroad artifacts, like this old rail car, were common and one could walk right up to them. I doubt this is the case today.

Finally, a photo that brings back some real nostalgia, as this place no longer exists. When we were first in Colorado, and drove to the top of Mt. Evans, we stopped at the summit and visited this gift shop / restaurant to buy soda, snacks, and souvenirs.

Sadly, several years later the building burned down and the Forest Service decided not to rebuild. You can still drive to the top but this building is now long gone.

So much for going down memory lane in this post. I plan to scan more old negatives and include a few in future posts. There are those hose cart races in Idaho Springs…

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

Pam’s Penny

Ah, the early days of marriage. We were so poor — both of us working plus attending college part-time, occasionally on food stamps — and definitely “vehicle challenged.” The Datsun truck was a step up in the transportation game, even though we had to sleep in it to take the East Coast trip.

These slides certainly reflect travel high points; day-to-day living back then was not so exciting in my memories.

A person might wonder how I could manage to fall asleep on a motorcycle. Since childhood [as I was plagued with motion sickness] I trained myself to fall asleep while traveling so I wasn’t sick to my stomach. Add in the reduced oxygen content at higher elevations, and you can see where falling asleep might occur.

Happy Trails.

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.