Friday, October 2, 2026

 The move is complete with the exception of a few boxes left to unpack. What an adventure.

Monday and Tuesday leading up to moving day were filled with last minute things like getting a haircut and returning the Xfinity router (not available in Stoughton). Deb invited me for pizza and a beer on Tuesday night and Chelsey joined us. She will be missed. 

I got busy with the last minute packing on Wednesday morning and Ben showed up and helped disassemble the bed, cover the mattress and box spring, remove the shower curtain, load up my car and then helped with the loading of the trailer once Richard and Carol arrived around noon.  Dustin and his wife (Go2 Movers) arrived at one and they trudged everything down the stairs to the trailer. It took one hour and fifteen minutes to load up. Several neighbors stopped by for hugs.

We headed for Stoughton at about 2:00 and made it by 7:30. Getting through the construction on the west side of Stoughton was a challenge. What a mess. A quick run through Culver's was our dinner.

I met up with the assistant manager to do a final signing of lease and got the keys to the new place just in time for Carol and Richard's arrival with the trailer. Just when the moving team was scheduled to arrive, I got a text saying they were delayed by two hours. Richard had already started to unload things, so when then texted again to say they could have movers here in 15 minutes, I checked with Richard and he said to cancel and request a refund of my deposit.  The three of us proceeded to empty my car and trailer and were done in two hours. I'm really feeling it though.  They headed back home shortly after that. 

I got busy getting organized and got most of the kitchen boxes emptied. The only item that I haven't found is the shower curtain hangers. I know I had my hands on them at one time, but they did a disappearing act. 

Sunday, September 27, 2026

 I've been packing and cleaning out cupboards and closets and now have the kitchen done except for a few things I will need and a few things to eat. Today, I got the stove and refrigerator cleaned. I also sold my dresser to a lady in my building and will replace it with something that better matches my other furniture once I get settled.

I spent the afternoon with Ben and the family again. He made bbq ribs, Jill made potato salad, I made baked beans, Camille made chocolate cupcakes, and Lois made a pumpkin dessert.  I gave Norah and Camille their 13th birthday gifts a little bit early - hug rings (a large hand and a small hand that meet) and are engraved "Always With You". They really liked them and said they will treasure them. Charlotte is wearing the sweater that I made for her.

Charlotte participated in the Homecoming events at her school this week and went to the dance last night.  What a beauty she is and has the personality to go along with it.

It was sure hard to say goodbye - we shared lots of hugs and they all gathered in the driveway and threw kisses and waved as I drove off.  I was bawling until I figured I'd better get focused on getting myself home safely.

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. It was a very nice turnout with lots of desserts, hugs, and good wishes.

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.