Thursday, February 25, 2021

Two days after my hard fall, I was starting to feel the sore muscles and have had a dull headache ever since. Last night in bed, turning from back to left side, I really noticed some discomfort on that side of my hip and down the outside of my thigh. I ended up taking Advil in the middle of the night it was so bad. Not much improvement this morning, but I’m sure it is just bruising as I’m able to move freely and do my morning stretching routine and aerobic fitness walk. I’m thankful that I do some exercise as it probably saved me from more serious injuries in that fall.

I got an appointment for my first COVID-19 vaccination and will be driving to Walgreens in Menomonie, WI tomorrow. An appointment is also secured for the 2nd vaccine on March 26. Whoopie!

After picking up the shelf units on Monday, I stopped and had a board cut to size at Lowe’s and proceeded to stain it to match the shelves.  It didn’t turn out quite as dark as I had hoped, but I proceeded with the project anyway.  My idea was to make a stand for my tv and I think it turned out great! I’m very pleased and think that it gave some added height on that wall and also a place to display a few pretties.

After writing this morning, I got a call from Jill asking if I wanted to get a Covid vaccine today and I jumped at the chance. Her friend in the medical field told her that Hennepin Health Center had extra vaccines, they put me on the list and I headed right over there and got my vaccine. I cancelled my appointment in Menomonie when I got home so some other eager person can get that one. I’m feeling happy!

Monday, February 22, 2021

My weekend was pretty uneventful, there were a couple of ‘maybes’ that didn’t work out. Ben invited me to come to Maple Grove to watch the girls participate in a racing/skiing event in the annual Kidarod. I decided not to go, as my chances of actually picking them out in groups of other kids, all wearing green hats, was pretty slim.  I did get a chance to see them in a news clip later in the evening. I normally watch CBS news but there was no newscast on Saturday night, so I tuned into ABC and happened to catch the coverage of the event in Maple Grove. When the 3 little girls on a sled came into view, it sure looked like Norah and Camille and their friend Maren. Check it out: Norah and Camille at Kidarod They are pictured early in the clip and it is very short.

I really wanted to make sure before I shared the clip with anyone and I wasn’t able to access it until Sunday morning. I compared the girls to a picture that Ben sent me and it just had to be them. I sent it off to Ben and got confirmation from him. That was so cool!

We also considered a meet up with the family on Sunday, but they took an opportunity to ski and their day filled up.  

I picked up an Amarylis bulb at an after Christmas sale and have been watching it get taller and taller for the last few weeks.  And the flower bud opened up on Saturday morning and it is so stunning!  I love the brilliant red and I’m glad that a 3rd bud is taking its time to open and will prolong the beauty for a while.

Temps got to the mid 20s and Frisco and I got a nice walk in, to the sports complex and back home.

I found a couple of shelving units on Facebook Marketplace and headed out to pick them up this morning. As I walked to the house, I slipped on a patch of ice (looked like melted ice) and went right down on my ass, my head bouncing on the wet ice and I slipped and slid and finally got up - wet and a bit shook up but no injuries. Damn, I am fortunate!

Today’s news was about remembering the 500,000 lives that the United States has lost to COVID-19. What a sad, sad thing. Vaccinations are still difficult to get. I got a notification saying that they were offering appointments at Hy-Vee this week. I checked immediately after getting the email and again when I woke up during the night. I came soooooo close - I found an available appointment slot for the first and second vaccines, selected it and while the photo of my insurance card was uploading, I lost the opportunity. Dang! I’ll keep on trying.

Friday, February 19, 2021

Such a strange thing I am seeing out my window this morning. If I stand close to the window and look slightly to the left or right, I see no snow. But if I look straight toward the sun, I see millions of tiny, flickering snow flakes that can only be seen in the rays of the sun. Amazingly beautiful, but my camera doesn’t do justice.

My youngest son, Ben, celebrated his 44th birthday this week. Dang that makes me feel old. We did not get together, as he was working but I was able to give him his gift and a nice hug when they stopped by last Sunday.

Sunday, February 14, 2021

A Polar Vortex has caused minus zero temperatures for the last week, the lowest that I saw was -14 this morning when I took Frisco out. He takes care of business quickly and we head back inside. I haven’t left the apartment in four days, other than brief potty breaks with Frisco.

I made it through the 8th anniversary of Mike’s passing and I can only describe it as being in mourning  - I am driven to look at photos and relive the events of his last 9 days. Some day, I will get past this and celebrate his life on his birthday instead of his dying.

I started out today by opening the two Valentines that I got from Tom and that started my day on a cheery note.  That was followed by a video from the girls, thanking me for the Valentines that I sent. Later in the afternoon, Tom and I had a duo chat and talked and talked and talked.  

During that conversation, I got a text from Ben asking if I was interested in a delivery of chili for my dinner. So the family saw my apartment for the first time and we had a nice visit followed by a tasty bowl of chili and 2 chocolate dipped strawberries that the girls helped to make.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

I have experienced true boredom these first ten days of February and have run out of projects and ideas for keeping busy. I continue to use up my stash of yarn making headbands, coasters, and dish. cloths - trying new patterns and stitches. I’ve brought out a puzzle that Lois gave me last winter but the box sits unopened on the table. I made some valentines to send to family, but didn’t feel like doing more once I had finished these, although I have lots of stitching card patterns.

The skies have been gray until yesterday and we are in the middle of an arctic blast of cold weather with temps around zero but hefty winds making for -15° at times.  It looks like this pattern will continue into next week. Brrrrrrr! Across the street from me is a building that has two wind socks on it, so I can get a good idea of the direction of the wind and go out the door of the building where I will be most protected.  Poor Frisco’s feet get cold and he starts to limp after just a few minutes, so our walks have been very limited. Most days I have done a fitness walk from a video that gives me at least a mile of walking and some upper body and aerobic exercise.

I made a huge pot of Cabbage Creole Soup and took half of it over to Ben’s family on Monday. It was a recipe from a gal that I met in Rockport, TX - she used to bring it to potluck dinners and I have always loved it, just haven’t made it in a while.  The girls are back in school in person, and I timed the delivery for when Ben and Jill could take a short break from their work. We had a short but nice visit without interruptions.

The girls have been taking cross country ski lessons and last week, Norah took first place in her class in a race (with almost a 3-minute delay between her and the rest of the group) and Charlotte came in third in her class of mostly boys. Camille was more interested in hanging with her friend, but she won a nice jacket in a drawing.

                       Norah

                                                      Camille

                          Charlotte

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Wow! January is ending with a soft snow falling from the sky, it was really pretty when I took Frisco out at about 7:30. That was after a full 9-hour sleep.  I don’t think I even rolled over and looked at the clock during the night and that is a rarity for me.

I watched the last episodes of Schitt’s Creek last night and I’m kind of sad that there are no more. The characters are just so outlandish that I found it to be very entertaining and would watch several episodes in an evening. Talking with Tom about the series, he didn’t like it as much as I did and had  to stop watching after a couple of episodes, as the characters were too outlandish. Funny!

Friday, January 29, 2020

I really don’t have much to write about, the days around here have been cold (low 20’s) and gray. I haven’t gotten outdoors for a good walk in over a week. I do manage to do a fitness walk most days and a few short walks with Frisco and I think he is bored with this routine too. So my days are filled with indoor activities like reading, crochet, phone calls with friends and family, some cooking and cleaning, and a good nap on most days.

I watched a good movie the other night, Radium Girls, a story about female factory workers in the early 1900’s, whose job was to paint the faces of clocks with luminous paints and most were poisoned from the radioactive paints.  They were all told that the paint was harmless, instructed to lick the brush to form a point, and then to hand paint the numbers on the clock face - “Lip, Dip, and Paint”. It was used because it glowed in the dark. Many got sick and died from the exposure to radiation but were told by the company doctors that they had Syphilis.  A few conscientious gals found a lawyer to represent them, took on the company, and sued for damages due to labor abuse and helped to establish industrial safety guidelines in this country.  The case was settled in favor of the Radium Girls. Future dial painters were provided with protective gear and instructions in proper safety standards. Radium continued to be used in clock faces until the 1960s.  It is said that a Geiger counter placed over the grave of a Radium girl would continue to detect radiation forever. 

Lily Tomlin was one of the directors and I thought the movie was very well done and accurately depicted the era.  Just another example of corporate greed and it’s all about the money.

I signed up for a craft night on Wednesday and actually got to meet a few women. It was a ‘distanced and masked’ activity but we were certainly not 6 feet apart. We made a paper valentine that turned out to be rather cute. I sat at a table with Linda and we got to talking about our reasons for being here - our kids and grandkids - and learned that her family are neighbors to my family and know each other. They live about a block apart. What a small world it is - I love those stories.

There were rumors going around that management and maintenance staff may be in quarantine due to COVID exposure - I’m glad that I haven’t had any contact with them. I really wish that this information would be disclosed to residents - some felt that it would cause panic, but I would rather be informed than be ignorant.