Wednesday, September 23, 2026

 Moving day is getting closer and closer and I am feeling the pressure and anxiety that comes along with it.  I am checking things off the list and my apartment is filling with boxes.

I spent Sunday afternoon with Ben and the family.  I gave Charlotte her sweater but then forgot to take any photos. She wore it until the time came for her to model her Homecoming dress and I didn't get a photo of that either.  I'm sure Ben will share photos when the day comes.

We played a silly card game called "Exploding Kittens" and it took a while to figure it out, but once we got it, it was fun.  We didn't play to the end because Ben had dinner ready. We sat down to a delicious meal of Bun Cha (grilled pork meatballs served on a bed of rice noodles and complimented with lettuce leaves, mint, and basil and topped off with a yummy sauce and a spicy sauce too). I went way out of the way and stopped at Kowalski's for GF Rice Krispie bars for dessert.  It was a fun day.

Chelsey did my apartment inspection and I passed with flying colors, so no worries there as far as getting my deposit back.

I heard from Peg at the company that manages Greenspire, my new home, and we went through her questionnaire and she gave me a list of documentation that would be needed to calculate my rent and determine my deposit amount.  

Our Stampin Up group had our annual summer luncheon and everyone brought salads. I got several nice going away cards from them and also a gift card for Hobby Lobby. Even though I only see them once a month, they have become such good friends and we always have interesting conversations and do fun, creative things with paper.

I spent a good part of yesterday gathering up proof of my income, bank account balances, medical, dental, and Joey expenses - all will be considered in the calculations to determine how much my rent will be. Needless to say, this caused some stress and I was unable to go to sleep last night. After laying there for over an hour, I just got up and got to work to get the info to Peg. I learned that I can scan a document and share it as a pdf file through my email account. That was a huge time saver (as long as it worked ok), rather than having to go somewhere to have a 30-page document faxed.  

I finally got back to bed around midnight and slept until 5:30 this morning and tossed and turned for a couple of hours before finally dragging my butt out of bed.

When I came in from my morning walk, I checked the mail and there was a card from my friend, Leslie. Her sentiment was so sweet and enclosed was a gift card for $250. Dang - I have nice friends and Leslie and I go back to the early 80s, as our husbands were great friends.

My neighbor, Ted invited me over for a glass of wine last night and to wish me well.  He also might be going through some relocation changes in the near future. 

A going-away gathering is planned for this afternoon.

Saturday, September 19, 2026

 There was a meet and greet on Thursday with our new manager, Branden and the guy appears to have a lot on the ball. He is experienced, a good communicator, and has an interest in making things right here at Penelope.  I won't be here to see it, but I'm happy for the residents to finally have a manager on site who seems to care (5 managers in 5 years). 

Art class was also scheduled for Thursday but Genevieve had to cancel due to an unexpected trip out of town.  I feel bad that I will be unable to say goodbye in person.

I finally got a good night of sleep and woke up feeling rested yesterday. That led to a pretty productive day. 

For a long time now, I have considered getting rid of my giant microwave oven and replacing it with something smaller. I gave it to my neighbor and then went shopping at Best Buy Outlet (they had junk) and Walmart for a new one.  I also dropped off a bunch of items to donate to the PROP thrift store.  

I packed up the small appliances in my kitchen that won't be used between now and moving day.  If I get 1-2 boxes packed each day, it seems like I will be ready. 

We finally got much needed rain - all day on Friday and Joey and I didn't have very long walks throughout the day.  The grass is getting greener - just in time for the leaves to start to fall soon and cover it up again. 

I invited Deb up for a beer and we had a nice chat. Cathy stopped by later in the eventing and brought me a gift - a pretty, soft blanket for my sofa. So sweet of her! 

I finally finished the crochet part of Charlotte's sweater - I now have to block it and then pass it on.  It was a fun project with quite a bit of detail and some techniques that I had to learn by watching You Tube videos.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

 I had my 4th Truxima infusion today at the Burnsville Health Partners Specialty Center.  My nurse was Jessica and she tried two locations on my right arm but couldn't get the IV set up correctly, so she called in Emily for assistance and it took a bit of a warm compress and some massage to get it set up but the medication finally started flowing through at about 9:30. Since I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, I thought I would be able to rest but I couldn't get comfortable. I did rest, but didn't sleep.  I was finally finished at 1:00.

As I was heading out of the clinic, I passed the TRIA Orthopedic Urgent Care Clinic and stopped to see how long it would take to have my sore wrist checked out.  I was told there was only one person ahead of me, so I got in right away. They took X-rays and I spoke with a doctor who showed me the results and I learned that the joints are full of Arthritis. Imagine that!  I was prescribed Voltaren over the counter topical rub, a brace, and a series of exercises to do.  My range of motion is good, so they think the exercises will help.  

I was really hungry, so I stopped at Pizza Hut - dang, it was $23 for a medium Supreme pizza that I will be eating for the next 4 days.  I guess I need to pay more attention to what I am ordering in the future. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

I don't think I have said how much I will NOT miss the heavy traffic sounds that I hear on Old Shakopee Road every day - the big heavy semi trucks and trailers and the multiple sirens every day. It is my only complaint of living in this place. Other than that I have loved looking out my windows at the nicely wooded yard, the fence with beautiful perennial gardens, walking through this neighborhood, and meeting up with the many friends I have made over the last six years.  

Today is the anniversary of my engagement to Mike - waaaaay back in 1967.  For years I have remembered it as the 23rd of September but reading my old diary the other day corrected that memory. He left for active duty in Long Beach the next week. 

My car is getting an oil change today whether it needs it or not (I couldn't find the little sticker from the auto shop).

Sunday, October 13, 2026

 Ben texted me this morning and wanted to get together, and since I had just gotten up (finally got a full night's sleep), I suggested that he come here and we would walk to Perk-Up Kitchen for a coffee and pastry. The bees were buzzing around our outside table so we asked for take-out boxes, finished our coffee and headed back to my place. Ben went through a box of stuff that belonged to Mike and some of Grandpa Bridge's toys from his childhood.  He ended up taking a box home, but I still have lots of stuff that my boys will have to go through at some point. I guess that's what happens when you were a collector of many things and also when you had a house that was big enough to store lots of stuff.

It sure was nice to hang out with Ben and we plan to get together the next couple of weekends too. 

I packed up the glass shelves for my TV stand, my plant pots and most of my fancy glassware. I'm making progress and feel comfortable that I will be ready for the big move on the 30th.  

Saturday, September 12, 2026

 My days have been filled with walks, phone calls to change/cancel accounts, reading Doug's book, working on Charlotte's sweater, and packing and organizing.  

I have learned a lot from reading (and editing) Doug's book and was not aware of the role that his ship the USS Valley Forge played in Vietnam back in 1967.  Most of my comments have been regarding acronyms and terminology used that I don't understand, nor would other novice readers.  I also went on You Tube to watch a video and that gave me a better understanding of what was going on.  I feel bad for what those guys went through - no wonder many of them have and still are suffering.

I met Mavis for lunch at the Yankee Tavern on Wednesday and it was nice to see her again.  She wants to take a bus to Madison to come and visit some time in the future, once I get settled in.  We had a really nice visit and I learned that she will be having knee surgery in November and will turn  89 next week. I can only hope that I am as mentally sharp and active as she is if and when my time comes.

I sure haven't been sleeping well lately. My body is either restless or my mind is going with moving plans and coming up with things that I need to get done before I move.  Dawn sent me a walk thru video of my new apartment and I really feel like I am going to be comfortable there. I was asked if I was up to a 'farewell' gathering here at Penelope and that will be on the 23rd from 2-3:00 pm.

Tom and I had a nice phone conversation on Thursday and we reminisced about some of the travels we have had in the past. Looking back, we covered some ground together.

Yesterday was busy - I had to get Joey in to the vet for his annual checkup, so I dropped him off at 9:30. He has been licking his paws a lot the last few weeks and has refused to jump up on the bed lately, so I asked them to check that out, in addition to nail trims and anal gland expression.  He was prescribed some pills to help with the itching and also some prescription shampoo that I need to use on his feet at least once a week.  All of this to the tune of $175 that I wasn't counting on.  Oh well, anything for the little guy that keeps me company and keeps me moving every day. 

Monday. September 7, 2026

 The week has been busy with fitting in a bit of packing here and there and, of course, everything that comes off a top shelf or cabinet needs cleaning because it hasn't been done in a couple of years.

Deb came over got the things off the top of my cabinets and in the shelves that were hard for me to reach. What a great friend! I proceeded to wash and pack. I'm the 'handle it once' kind of gal, so things are getting done.

I received the book "Boredom to Bedlam" that my friend Doug just finished, about his experience in Vietnam.  I offered to edit it for him and so have started working on that.  I've also been working on getting Charlotte's birthday gift finished - have one sleeve almost done and the other to finish and that should be it.  It's going to be so cute! 

This morning, I met Ben at the Neill Lake Walking Trail in Eden Prairie, a 1.75 mile trail around a nice, clear lake.  One side of the lake was covered in native flowers and were full of butterflies - they must be getting ready for their big migration. We also saw two beautiful swans and a couple of Egret.  It's a very nice trail and it was great hanging out with Ben for a couple of hours.  We were looking for a place to have a coffee and pastry but most of the places were closed.