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.

As I type this, snowflakes are falling. We are expecting some accumulation on the grass but not on the streets. I am not ready for winter!

There is not much going on right now. It is the height of “leaf season” and I am cleaning parts of the lawn almost every day. Pam continues to cut back hostas and other plants as they reach the end of their life cycle.

The forecast has several below-freezing nights ahead which will kill off the remaining geraniums and still-green flower plants. I had hoped the fall would be mild and extended, but those hopes are now dashed.

Cold weather preparations are moving ahead. Pam put out a pair of heated water dishes and we set up the outside cat feeding station for the winter. I had been putting out cobs of corn for the last couple weeks and it may be time to set up the suet feeder as well. The large bird feeder is still in storage, however. I won’t be putting it up for a couple weeks yet.

Locally, most of the crops have been harvested. The crops are mostly corn and soybeans, with an oat field here and there. While a few fields remain unpicked, they are getting fewer and fewer. It is kind of sad to see them go as they replace once green vistas with dull brown acres.

The biggest excitement has been the decision to upgrade from the 2004 RAV-4 to something newer. A Kia Soul (used) may be in our future. Re-designed in 2020, we are looking for a 2020 or 2021 with a higher-level trim package that adds heated seats, remote entry, and some other comfort options. Our local used car dealer is checking the auction lots for something suitable and when the right unit comes along we will purchase it.

I had not considered this car before, but Pam was doing some research and found the reviews to be quite positive. Definitely not a luxury car, but much nicer than our RAV-4 and still utilitarian enough to haul groceries, cats, and dogs as the need arises. This is a “developing story” and I will provide updates as a purchase moves forward.

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

Pam’s Penny

Pam does not have a comment this week, other than it is depressing to look out at the falling snow.

Happy trails.

Our oak and maple trees are turning color and the long-range forecast indicates NE Iowa will have below freezing temps about 10 days from now. Fall weather is definitely approaching! Heart House greets the change of seasons with numerous pumpkins from Becky’s garden.

This week’s projects consisted mostly of maintenance tasks. Screen inserts were removed from the doors and the glass inserts were installed. The furnace filter was replaced. An oil and filter change, plus thorough inside cleaning, was the order of the day for the F-150 after my Colorado trip. Pam cut back many of the hostas and other flower bed plants, with more to do. The lawn was mowed, picking up quite a few fallen leaves. A trip to the compost dump was in order to dispose of the grass clippings, leaves, and other yard debris. I made a trip to the Walmart in Decorah to pick up prescription refills and do some miscellaneous shopping. Pam visited the life insurance agent in Cresco to update her policy. I had a health check-up, with a blood draw, here in Elma and met my new primary physician. (My first primary had left the practice.) The week was full of small tasks with both inside and outside work, but nothing particularly newsworthy.

We had an episode where our LG washer would not turn on. Thanks to the internet, I was able to do some basic troubleshooting of the electrical system. After removing the “noise filter” and cleaning the contacts the washer came back to life. (Good thing as I was running low on socks.)

If you wander through my web site you may notice I have begun to remove various Galleries and Videos, a project I had mentioned in an earlier post. Updating the remaining collections will continue as a fall / winter task. The Cats videos page remained unchanged, however.

Speaking of cats, here are a few photos taken this week.

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

Pam’s Penny

Item One — If we’re going to survive the winter with any furniture remaining, it appears I must break down and order one of those monolithic cat entertainment centers. Maybe my brother Craigie would like to build one; he’s said [more than once] if he housed cats he’d build them a climbing structure that would take up an entire wall. An entire wall is a bit much, but five young cats would certainly benefit from a “substantial interactive diversion.”

Item Two — It’s become clear to me that looking for this proposed replacement transport vehicle requires exposure to both an auto repair shop and used car sales facility. That combination is my idea of hell on earth.

Happy Trails.

Did you miss me? I recently returned from my fall trip to The Lot in Colorado. I have some video and several “fall color” photos to share this time around, plus a few “incident tales” to relate. Let’s get started!

I arrived at The Lot in the very late hours of a Tuesday. Wednesday was set-up day as I went to get water from the local hand pump (40 gallons) and drove to Fairplay to get groceries. The weather was sunny and mild.

Thursday and Friday were ATV days. Thursday saw me riding some new trails near Lake George. Part of this area is along the South Platte River.

Unfortunately, this trip was cut a bit short as I picked up a screw in one tire and had to find a repair shop before heading home.

Friday found me near Buena Vista, west of Fairplay, riding a number of trails. Some of these are width-restricted, with fenced openings which do not allow larger vehicles such as Jeeps and other 4×4 vehicles onto the trail.

Very colorful ground cover and some still-blooming flowers highlighted this area.

It was during this trip that I saw my first big animals, a group of juvenile mountain sheep. With their horns just beginning to grow, this group was taking it easy along a trail.

The video below is very shaky as I did not have time to set up the tripod and was shooting at almost full zoom. I hope you can still enjoy the images. Run time is 1:21.

Saturday and Sunday were work days at The Lot. (I really did not want to be on the roads and trails contending with weekend “leaf-peepers.”) I cut a few dead trees and started a new brush pile.

I had run into another problem in that my [recently-purchased used] portable generator turned out to be not powerful enough to run the pump I use to empty The Box’s holding tanks. Luckily, I was able to place the waste water tank lower on the driveway and let gravity empty the holding tanks through an extension of the drain hose. However, that left the problem of loading the waste water tank into the back of the truck. I was able to load the tank using my ATV ramps and the winch on the ATV.

The Elkhorn Ranches Owners Association maintains a waste water dump station a few miles from The Lot, and I have used it many times over the years to dispose of waste water.

The weather began to turn colder and some rain moved in, so for a few days I stayed pretty close to The Box. A few mornings saw frost on the truck and ATV, and one morning I had a few flakes of snow in the air. Surrounding mountain tops displayed a new coat of fresh white snow. The furnace ran frequently enough this trip to alert me to the need to replace the batteries for The Box’s heating system. That will be in the plans for next year.

One of my last ATV rides was near Black Mountain, west and a bit north of Fairplay. I had ridden this trail before and knew it would have some gorgeous fall color views and scenery. The trail did not disappoint!

While heading back to the truck I saw a bull moose. He was some distance away and I was not able to get videos of him, but did get a couple still (not sharp) shots.

On my final Saturday I closed down The Box and drove over the Divide to my old stomping grounds of Rifle, to attend an appreciation dinner (as a retired employee, I had been invited). Put on by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office (my previous employer), this is an annual event. I enjoyed the evening, and the rib-eye steak, then stayed with a friend in Rifle that night. Sunday I headed back to NE Iowa, a trip of 1,015 miles which took 16.5 hours of drive time.

I am going to close with a few random fall color photos from around The Lot and along trails I rode.

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

Pam’s Penny

Since Himself was away (and out of the way), I had set myself painting tasks during his absence, like touching up the exterior steps. G-a-a-h-h! The Universe had other ideas. First the temps were close to 90 degrees, then the wind blew oak leaves into/onto freshly-painted areas, then it rained, and finally there was a gnat re-hatch (making painting miserable). Finally, just before Himself arrived back in NE Iowa, I was able to accomplish some of the painting I’d planned.

Mostly, my “vacation” was care of kittens, cats, and dogs. Heart House currently resembles a combination of animal nursery and doggie old age home. All the animals establish their own routines and I, as “concierge,” adapt to them.

The RAV also started leaking fluid while I was here solo. Anyone who knows me knows car maintenance/repair is NOT in my wheelhouse. I basically just stopped driving, relying on the local “Elma Locker” store for grocery items as needed. Turns out the thermostat gasket needed replacement. We will begin looking for a different used car shortly – it’s time.

Happy Trails.

We had a couple of notable events this week, but our activity level is declining. Because of that, I will have an announcement later in the post.

The highlight of the week was a visit from our friend Kathy Powers. Visiting Iowa relatives, Kathy made the drive from western Colorado to spend some time in the Midwest. She visited us with an overnight stay, the second time she’s slept at Heart House. This time, the Quilt Room features new windows that actually open and allow fresh air to circulate while guests sleep. A HUGE improvement.

We enjoyed the visit and having company. It was interesting to catch up with Kathy and exchange stories and tales since our last visit in 2021. Much has happened at Heart House and in Colorado since then.

Several posts back I’d mentioned a visit from Sharon and David Stute, grandchildren of Frederick and Gertrude Stute who once live in Heart House. Sharon had asked us to do some follow-up on the cemetery where her grandfather and grandmother were buried, with an eye to doing some maintenance around the head stone. Sharon received permission for us to fill in the settling area around Grandpa Fred’s stone, and we did that work this week.

The cemetery had a few small piles of dirt at one end of the field that could be used for fill. Once I had the new dirt in place, Pam applied the grass seed and watered the area with two containers of water she had brought along. Watering the area for the next couple weeks will be necessary, until the new grass is well established. (Unfortunately, there is no water tap at the cemetery.)

Last night NE Iowa received some very welcome rain which should help the new grass seed and – perhaps – revive some of the extremely dry lawn around the house. More rain is in the forecast for tonight and continuing into tomorrow morning.

And now on to news about the blog and website. I’ve been blogging for almost 15 years, and have tried to do a weekly post during that time. However, I’m no longer as active as I once was, and the number of projects taken on is declining. I’ve decided to cut back on the frequency of blog posts, putting up new content only when something newsworthy happens.

Serving as newsletter, photo gallery, and diary, the blog has been a good way to let friends and family keep up with us over the years. That will continue. For example, I am heading to Colorado in a few days and will have something to say about the trip when I return. There will be one more “bucket lift” weekend to finish the house painting. After that, though, life will be mostly routine — lawn clean-up and snow removal, not exactly scintillating topics.

I will also be removing many of the Galleries that I have created over the years. Many are getting stale with no or few updates since they were created. A few will remain, including the Videos pages and possibly the Heart House gallery (which needs to be updated), but others will be removed from the web site. I will be able to view them from my Mac if and when I want to revisit them.

I will be leaving the Videos pages up for now as they get some hits and I occasionally add new material. Over time, though, I will be removing a few older and less-interesting clips as well.

I’ll post again after my return from my upcoming Colorado trip. I am looking forward to viewing the fall colors and, new this year, attending the annual Appreciation Dinner the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office puts on. This year the dinner coincides with my visit, and I am looking forward to attending the event.

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

Pam’s Penny

Mostly I seem to be entertaining kittens these days; the “Three Amigos” are very time consuming at three months of age. And, sadly, Heart House is not really set up for kitten fostering. <sigh>

Happy Trails.