Thursday,January 29, 2026

For the first time in a long time, I slept through the night last night without even a potty break. I did have the help of an Advil and melatonin, but it is still worth celebrating. 

We are getting a little closer to seeing warmer temperatures around here - supposed to get up in the 20s by the weekend.

I scheduled appointments for helping residents with the MN Renters Refund forms (each takes about 25 minutes) and did five on Tuesday in my building and five on Wednesday in the other building. Folks are so appreciative of the help and many are quite generous - I made $75 this week.

I hadn't started my car in at least five days, so I headed out to run some errands and it started right up.  It really need a good washing but it is still too cold for that.  I let Joey ride along, knowing that I wouldn't be leaving him in the car for long and he should stay warm.  I parked in a sunny spot at both places and he was just fine. 

The big news from Ben today was that Charlotte got a job as a swim instructor for little kids.  She saw the position posted, got an application, got references from a teacher and her swim coach and she landed the job. She will work after school one night a week and on Sundays.  You go girl, is what I have to say about that!

They also toured the high school last week and were really impressed with the options of classes offered, especially advanced classes that of help them to be ready for college. 

Sunday, January 25, 2026

 This week has been the coldest of the winter, walking up to -17° or close to it the last few days and next week is predicted to be a little warmer but still not much above 10°.  I've been walking the halls, doing my stretches and exercise routines to try to keep moving and playing fetch with Joey so he gets a bit of exercise too.  He is getting really good at catching the ball but still expects a treat when he returns it.

I helped out with food shelf on Wednesday and we got a lot of extra stuff this time from Target so those who shopped took advantage.

I saw an ENT specialist on Thursday - a follow-up to the ear infection that I had last November and I learned that I have mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears but my ears themselves are normal and healthy. The doctor said that hearing aids might make a difference now but I also have the option to wait and be retested in a year or two - that's what I plan to do. 

Cathy invited me over for a Tom & Jerry Friday night and we had a nice chat. When I got back to my apartment, Tom called and we had a nice chat. I'm really looking forward to going to visit him in three more weeks and getting out of this miserable winter weather.

Yesterday, another innocent man was shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.  He was apparently directing traffic to help a woman who had fallen in an area of protests, when the agents threw him to the ground, beating him in the face, and when the discovered a gun tucked in his belt, they shot him. He had a legal permit for the gun.  Our MAGA government representatives immediate said that he was breaking the law and deserved to be shot.  Also, the feds are not allowing MN to be involved in investigations, and their biases are plain to see.  It is so sad to see this going on in the community where I live and in our country. 

Monday, January 19, 2026

 I haven't written much about it, but the streets of Minneapolis have been filled with protestors on one side and ICE federal agents on the other, after a woman was shot in her car about two weeks ago as she was trying to leave the scene.  They are targeting illegal immigrants and also Somali's who have been involved in some fraudulent acts. In many cases, they are not asking for credentials, just dragging people from their jobs, their homes, their schools, and even hospitals, Currently, there are 2,800 federal agents in the city.  Many of the protests have been peaceful vigils in memory of those injured, but things usually get stirred up if just one angry person screams or throws something at an officer.  It is just so sad and I wish they would come up with other solutions.  My take is that Donald Trump hates our democratic state and our governor so much that he is taking up arms.

We have been in a polar vortex for two days now, the temps are in and around zero degrees with snow followed by cold and high winds. Joey and I were back to  wry short potty breaks yesterday and when I looked at the temp for this morning, it was -7°.  Grrr! Or is it Brrrr!?

I took Ben to his colonoscopy appointment today and that all turned out well, he is healthy and needs no follow-up for ten years.

When I got back home, I got a message from an unfamiliar phone number in the same area code (San Francisco)  as mine. Elaine left a message asking if I was the same person who lived and worked at SF RV Resort back around 2008 and was I still alive and kicking. I called her back and we had a nice chat - she is 90 years old now, her husband Gail passed away five years ago, she has a similar living situation as I do, near her daughter but closer to San Diego. We agreed that we should talk now and then, as she is lonely and sometimes I just need someone to talk to too. 

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

 Last Friday, the 9th was a rough, emotional day - the birth and death day of Ben and Jill's first child, Owen Quinn.  It is hard to relive that time without feeling the intense sadness and loss.  When I talked with Ben that afternoon, he was truly sounding depressed too, so I made sure to give him another call before I went to bed to make sure he was doing ok.  He said he was feeling much better after having a good conversation and receiving more emotional support from Patrick.

I started the next reduction of my prednisone - reducing the dose to 5.0 mg/day and will see how that goes.

I to make spaghetti and meatballs for the family on Sunday but since Jill and her mom were just getting home from a weekend roadtrip to Iowa for a family wedding, we decided to put it off until next weekend.  Since that wasn't going to work out, Ben invited me to join them for dinner and he made a delicious Indian Butter Chicken recipe - chicken in a curry sauce, served over rice. He is such a good cook!]

Back to the prednisone - I have felt extremely tired and sluggish the last few days and have even had some aching in my joints. According to what I have read, those are common symptoms of withdrawal from the crap and also similar to what I experienced with the first reduction.

The local police department came to our building today, brought Dunnkin the support dog with them (he looks just like Yoshi but is twice the size).  They did a presentation on safety - out on the streets and parking lots, and talked a lot about fraud that comes through emails, texts, and phone call - I guess seniors are a very vulnerable population - guess I should know about that since I fell for a scam back in May.

I have actually been able to get a few decent outdoor walks in lately when the temps have been above the mid-30s and even a couple days above 40.  The sidewalks are still in awful condition, but I have walked the street.  Today, I walked to the park and spotted Deb as she was heading back home, so we were able to have a nice chat on the way back home.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Happy Birthday to my sweet brother Randy, who turned 69 years of age yesterday and I am so thankful that he is still with us after his recent health scare.  The doctors that treated him said that the plaque buildup in his arteries was bad and he was so fortunate that it was caught in time.

Again, the weather has been lousy - either too cold, too icy, or terrible driving/walking conditions, so I have spent a lot of time indoors again.   Joey and I got out for a nice walk today when it was 44 degrees, although part of the walk was on slippery, icy sidewalk.

He had his 6-month checkup today and everything checked out with the exception of learning that I have been feeding him a few too many treats and he is up a pound more than he should be.  I also learned that his left hind leg has a kneecap that pops off and that could cause him some discomfort now and then.  She said that it should pop back in place.

Thursday, January 1, 2026

 Happy New Year!  I'm glad to have 2025 behind me and also glad that I made it through ok.

I dug out the old DVD player and photo discs the other day and spent the afternoon looking at old photos that dated back to 2000 and up to 2008.  Mike and I sure had some good adventures and lots of great family and friends to spend time with.  After that, photos were backed up from iPhone storage and I have no idea how to get them - maybe my iCloud account.  Will have to check on that.

I talked to Ben yesterday and learned that his neighbors still have their dog - he was running around off leash when Ben went to talk with them. He has decided that the responsible thing to do is to report the incident to the Sheriff's department, mostly so there is a record. And something needs to be done about that dog. Yoshi is getting better by the day but still has the drainage tube in the worst of his wounds. 

Penelope had a New Year's Eve luncheon for us yesterday and served Jersey Mike's subs, chips, cookies, and soda. It was also our maintenance man's last day of work as he is retiring after 23 years of working here.

Deb came up for an NA beer and I had a wine in the afternoon and we had a nice chat.  After that, I fixed myself a nice salad and lobster tail for dinner. 

Tom called at 7pm and we yakked for 2 hours - not a bad way to finish off 2025. I was in bed by 10:30 and laid there listening to fireworks going off in the neighborhood. 

Monday, December 29,2025

 The weather has turned once again and we are getting another full on snowstorm that started with rain and drizzle, followed by heavy, wet snow and then changing to a light snow that is accumulating to about 6". Temps are to drop near zero with wind chills in the -20° range. Yuck!

I had a really nice conversation with Pat yesterday morning and just as we were ready to say goodbye, another topic came to mind.  I love it! Pat recommended a Netflix move, "Train Dreams" and I watched it this afternoon - just down my alley with love and romance, adventure, history, and some tear jerking.

I was just off the phone with him when Ben called to tell me about their terrifying afternoon.  Since the roads were so bad, they decided not to take Yoshi to the dog park, but invited the neighbor dogs over to play - Cliff is a retriever and Kevin is a pit bull mix and they are together quite a bit.  Things started getting rough and Yoshi backed off and was barking at the other two when Kevin turned and attacked him.  Ben was kicking Kevin and fighting to get them apart, broke his collar, held him down, and Jill even ran into the house to get a kitchen knife in case it came to that. Fortunately, it came to an end before he had to use the knife but they ended up having to make a trip to the emergency pet hospital where Yoshi had several deep cuts and got lots of stitches. 

The neighbors immediately returned home with Kevin and surrendered him to the place where they got him - they have 2 little toddlers and I question why they ever chose that kind of dog in the first place.  On Christmas Day when we were out for a walk, we met up with them at the end of Ben's driveway and Ben intervened so I could get past them with Joey - the owner had no control and he is a very big dog.

Today is my brother Ron's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ronnie!