Saturday, April 25, 2026

 I had my monthly Stampin Up meeting on Monday afternoon and we made 3 cards - 1 was very easy and the other 2 were difficult techniques that none of us had used before.  I managed to get one of them done, but saved the other to take up some time at home.  Pat brought a chocolate cake for us to share and we enjoyed some conversation.  Tom did some shopping while I was gone, getting prepared for leaving for Arizona on April 28.

I had an appointment for a PT consult on Wednesday morning and it turns out that my left knee to hip just need some specific exercise to get them stronger and feeling better. He gave me 3 exercises to do over the next few weeks to see if it gets better.  

We walked the path around Girard Lake and then did some grocery shopping that afternoon.

We went to an IHOP for breakfast on Thursday morning - neither of us have been to one for many years and the breakfast was typical but very tasty - everything done to perfection.  After that, we headed for Costco where I needed to pick up a few grocery items and then a stop at Walmart to replace the portable fan that I had that was worn out.

The weather has been very comfortable this week - a couple of days with temps near 80º but it has since cooled down and we are getting some rain.

Sunday, April 19, 20026

 We were up early on Tuesday morning and had the car loaded and were ready to take off for Mass City, MI by about 8:40am.  The worst part of the drive was getting through the city, but the rest was decent, heading to the northeast through many small towns in Wisconsin and arriving at Richard and Carol's getaway by about 4:00pm.  We sat around and chatted for a bit and then Carol served up a delicious homemade pizza and salad and I brought Apple Crisp for dessert.  And then we talked and talked and talked until almost 11:00.

Richard bought this house as a base for snowmobiling where he and his friends have easy access to the trails - he can leave his yard and access trails without having to tow it somewhere on a trailer. Mass City alone is known for getting an average of 170" of snow each winter and not far north where you get the lake affect from Lake Superior, it can be over 300". He has made many upgrades to the house, a complete modern kitchen, comfy furniture, big screen TV, and the upstairs bedrooms can sleep about 8 people plus a sofa bed in the living room.

On Wednesday, after a tasty breakfast of sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches on English muffins, we headed north to see Lake Superior.  It wasn't long and we could see that the woods were still covered in snow.  Many of the small towns are still closed up for the season - they have two - snowmobile and summer - so we weren't able to stop along the way for lunch - all restaurants were closed - perhaps they are open on the weekend.

Again, Carol made a delicious dinner of good old Sheboygan bratwurst, burgers, hard rolls, potato salad, and beans for dinner. And we sat around and talked and talked and talked.

On Thursday morning, we had breakfast, packed up, loaded up, and headed out - working our way toward Wausau, WI where we spent the night at a La Quinta motel.  We found a little city park to walk around and then back to the hotel.  I was getting a bit crabby because it was a much longer walk than I expected due to getting across busy streets.

We went for a nice dinner at Oliva's at Gulliver's Landing and had a delicious meal.  I had a brandy old fashioned - the first in many, many months and it sure tasted good.  It also had a strong effect, as I was feeling pretty tipsy when it was time to leave, so Tom did the driving back to the motel. 

 Tom arrived safe and sound on Thursday, the 2nd and we had a pleasant first night together, enjoying the enchiladas that I made for dinner.  It has been cool and cloudy but we managed to get walks in a couple of times each day, mostly short ones to the bus stop or up to Pleasant View Road.  

Easter Sunday turned out to be a very nice day with temps up in the 70s and we took the dogs to Minnetonka Regional Park and to Carver County Park to walk the paved trails.  It sure did feel good to get outdoors and see the sunshine without a wintry jacket on. I had brought left over spaghetti and meatballs, so we had that for dinner and not a traditional ham dinner.

On Monday, we started to gather our gear together to go back to my apartment and did laundry and some house cleaning so we leave the house in good shape for the vacationers.  Their flight wasn't landing until almost midnight.  We waited until we were sure that they had taken off on their return trip, let Yoshi out one more time, and then headed back to my apartment, getting there about 10:30 pm.  We unpacked and went to bed, hoping to sleep in the next morning.

The days have been cool and gray this week but we saw a little bit of sunshine on Tuesday.  We have mostly taken walks around the neighborhood, but did the trail by the Bloomington Ice Garden yesterday - almost a mile.

A very strange thing happened at around 5am on Thursday morning when I woke up crying out "Help me, help me, please" and crying from a nightmare.  What I can remember is that someone, I think Mike was asking for help and I was unable to get to him.  I was able to go back to sleep after settling down, but it was quite scary.

Wednesday, April 2, 2026

 Last week was a busy one - on Monday, I went to Stampin Up for the first time in two months due to snow storms and also my trip to Arizona.  It was nice to see the gals and we assembled 119 card for people in the Hospice center and also several for the volunteers that help them all out each and every day.

We had art class with Genevieve on Wednesday and it was so nice to see her.  Our project was needle felted Easter eggs - everyone had an original design and it was fun to do and we had some good conversation.

A couple of near 70° days made it easy to go for some good walks, although my leg strength and energy level sure leave a bit to be desired.

I saw the opthamologist on Friday to talk about options for treating my extreme dry eye problem. It doesn't matter the conditions - warm or cold, windy or not, bright or cloudy, drops or not, always watering and I wanted to get another opinion.  In the past, I have been advised to use wetting drops many times a day and moisturize with Vaseline. This guy's approach was completely different. He said that my eyes are producing too much quantity and enough good quality tears - the oil ducts that produce the good quality tears appear to be blocked - his recommended treatment is to apply hot compresses twice a day for two weeks and then let him know.  He also used a small tool to open up a part of the eyelid that secretes moisture.  Already, my eyes are not watering nearly as much except when I go outdoors nd even that is an improvement. 

Saturday morning was the third 'No Kings' rally in the US, in protest of Donald Trump and an estimate of 3 million people showed up in many locations through the country.  I had planned to go with Leslie to a small location in Bloomington, but she wasn't feeling up to it and I couldn't find anyone else to go. I taped my signs to my car and went past the rally, honking my horn and waving the peace sign. 

After driving past the rally, I met Ben and Charlotte for coffee and then later on, went to their house for dinner.  I hadn't seen them all since mid-February, so it was good to reunite again.  We also had some things to talk about before they head out on their vacation next week and I house and dog sit for Yoshi.  

After getting settled in at Ben and Jill's house this afternoon, I watched the launch of the Artemis Spaceship that will be the first space mission to circle the moon and will be in space for ten days. It has a crew of four astronauts, one being the first woman to go to the moon.  It went off without a hitch and I just felt chills all over as I watched. It is incredible technology that humans are capable of.   I will be spending the next week here and Tom will join me tomorrow evening, as he has spent the last 3 days traveling from AZ

Sunday, March 22, 2026

My dad, Robert Sabbatto Ursino was born on this day 113 years ago in Brooklyn, NY in 1913.  

It was a beautiful week here, warming up steadily each day until we saw a record high of  80° yesterday, not seen since 1936.  That will change and we will be having more normal temps over the next few weeks more like mid-40s to 50s.  I kept busy with chores around the house and getting some nice walks in around the neighborhood.  I also did Income tax refunds for a few people.

We had to have our cars out of the parking lot by 10:00 am on Thursday for a complete snow removal (it would have melted in 2 days), so I arranged to meet up with Ben for lunch at 12:15.  Before that, I went to Costco to talk to them about new tires and would have had to make a future appointment, so I went down the road to Discount Tires and ended up leaving there with all new tires, sensors, and windshield wipers - slightly over budget as I was hoping to use the best existing tire for a spare but they were all badly worn and/or cracked. My ride felt good when I left and I will feel a lot safer on the roads now - should be good for a few years.

Ben and I had a nice visit and lunch at Hope Breakfast Bar in Chanhassen.  

Yesterday morning, I looked out my windows and just couldn't stand the grime that had built up over the winter.  I have this magnetic tool with cleaning pads on it - the outside is narrow and fits flat against the window and has a string that attaches to your wrist in case it falls and the inside part has a handle on it. You put the cleaning solution on the pads and position the pieces inside and outside the windows and a strong magnet holds them together so you can clean both sides at the same time. It was a little problematic and I had to move very slowly but I got them clean and feel so much better.

As Joey and I were leaving the building to run some errands, going through the lobby toward the front door - Diane and and her nasty dog Leo were in the community room. Leo gets away from her and comes charging toward us ready to attack Joey. When Joey goes behind me, he attacks me, biting me on the leg just below the knee - very small tooth marks and a bruise but it was intentional, he was growling and snapping the entire time.  I kicked at him and yelled some obscenities and all she did was say "Sorry and Stop, Leo".  I get so tired of having to deal with Joey's anxiety whenever we come into the building because she is in the community room with him a lot and even if he can't see us, he knows it's us and starts to bark. She has no control. When she first moved in here, we tried to get them to meet up and it didn't work out from the very first encounter.

I went and sat on Tom and Sue's deck in the afternoon, had a nice chat and watched the many different birds coming to her feeders and flitting around the trees. They are such nice people and we always find lots to talk about and Joey gets to run around the yard and explore.

Monday, March 16, 2026

 It started snowing Saturday night and it continued snowing all day Sunday and we ended up with about 15-17".  I had invited the family for family dinner but those plans were cancelled due to the weather.  I had already thawed out the meat for Birrea bowls, so I cooked it in the slow cooker all day and invited Deb to join me for dinner.  The rest went into the freezer for our nest opportunity. 

Since I had my 3rd Rituxan infusion scheduled for today, I went out to clear the snow off my car and make sure I could get to the doors.  The snow came up to almost my knee when I took my first step to access the brush and shovel in the back seat. It was heavy and the process beat me up.  Fortunately, I was parked into the wind and didn't have any additional cleanup to do.  

I was a bit leary about driving but the road were mostly cleared except at the edges and intersections. I allowed an hour to get to the clinic and I walked in there 25 minutes later.  They took my vitals, dosed me with antihistamine and Tylenol and then hooked up the IV for the Rituxan infusion.  I was seated in a comfy reclining chair that had a heated seat and vibration and nice, warm blankets. It took 4.5 hours this time and I had no side effects  other than feeling real tired.

Sunday, March 8, 2026

I discovered that I am unable to upload photos to my blog and haven't figured out why.  It will have to wait until I see Ben again to have him take a look.  

I got back home a week ago, on the 3rd and Ben picked me up at the airport.  I couldn't believe how few people were there - I went straight to the restroom and then headed to baggage claim and there was my bag. I texted Ben at the phone lot and he picked me up within 5 minutes.  We stopped at Andale Taqueria  and had some time to catch up on the last two weeks, their trip to Steamboat Springs and mine to AZ.

I made sure to give Joey lots of love when I walked into the apartment, he was jumping for joy.  I got unpacked and spent the rest of the night just loving on Joey who didn't want to leave me out of his sight for an instant.

I woke up the next morning feeling crappy again - now it seemed like my allergies were turning into a cold or sinus infection.  I caught up on my laundry (two huge loads) and laid around the rest of the day - matter of fact, for the next 2-3 days.

I had an appointment for an oil change on Monday and all was good except that they recommended shocks and struts as they were showing signs of wear and appeared to be the originals (my car is 20 years old) to the tune of $1700.  I sent the estimate to Tom to look over and he didn't totally agree - his feeling was that if the steering wheel didn't pull in one direction or the other and didn't behave strangely while driving, and based on the photos in the estimate, he wouldn't do the repair until definitely needed. I then remembered that at some point since I owned the car that they had been replaced.  Sure enough - 10 years ago there was a recall and they were both replaced so that disproves the 'appears to be original' and I will take Tom's advice and keep on driving it the way it is.  I do need to have my tires checked out and may be due for new ones - again there is a lot of warranty left on them but the time allowed may have expired.

Yesterday I had my annual checkup with my dermatologist and was told that my alopecia is under control and I don't need to come back unless I have a problem.  I did learn that I have Rosacea on my face and he ordered a prescription to take care of that.