Tuesday, November 28, 2023, MN

Last week brought lots of calls and text messages from family and friends and several calls to family with birthday and Thanksgiving wishes.  Since our family Thanksgiving was going to be on Saturday, I invited my neighbor, Beverly to join me.  I made a yummy casserole with the leftover Turkey that I had, mashed potatoes, carrots - she was so thankful to have a home cooked meal and someone to share it with.   

Thanksgiving dinner with Ben and Jill’s family was on Saturday at Lois and Dennis’ house.  It was so nice to see Dennis feeling better and able to join in with the family.  He had some surgery on Wednesday to open his nasal passages to be able to breathe better and has been feeling better since.  Dinner was delicious and it was fun hanging out with all of them.  

We had a little bit of snow that day but barely a dusting.  Camille requested a sleepover at my house and that ended up to be her and Charlotte. Norah spent the night with Granny and Papa.  We did crafts and then watched a movie, “Leo” that Charlotte was glued to it but thought it was a little to kiddish for her.  

Thursday, November 23, 2023, MN

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this blog.  It turned into kind of a rant, but I couldn’t find places to break it up into paragraphs. There are so many things in this life that I’m thankful for - especially that I have lived for 75 years, a mostly healthy life surrounded by people I love and who love me back.  I’m sorry for the loss of so many loved ones, especially mother, who made a huge impression on the first 16 years of my life and my husband of 44 years - but I’m thankful for the life we had together and the two sons we raised and watched grow into wonderful men and the families that they have shared with me.  I’m thankful for my siblings and their families, cousins galore and so many friends that I rarely travel anywhere that I can’t connect with someone who means a lot to me.  Experiences! Way too many to write about, but a descent education, the love of reading good books, travels throughout the US and one memorial trip to Europe, endless walks in beautiful and not so beautiful places.  The many pets that have been part of my life - dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, lizards, fish - for someone who grew up terrified of dogs, I learned that there was nothing to fear and only the companionship and joy that they bring.  I value that I am a creative, caring and giving person - I feel great when I can give small tokens and share with others.  Nature - I’m so thankful to have been able to visit so many beautiful places; mountains, deserts, beaches, forests, countries, states and cities - main streets and country road.  The many lovely homes that I’ve had in many different towns. The joys of getting a glimpse of wildlife every now and then, even if it’s just a squirrel or bird perched on a branch outside my window. Speaking of windows, I’m thankful to have a comfortable and safe place to live with a lovely view out my windows. And the joys of food and the comfort it brings and even the expanded waistline that I have because of the food that I love. I’m thankful that I haven’t had a lot of suffering on my life, although there has been tragedy, I have been able to cope and move on - the good in my life far outweighs the bad.

Sunday, November 19, 2023, MN

The week was pretty uneventful but I did have art class on Tuesday and we did a real fun project - felted wool birds.  One gal made a cute owl, a couple did a Christmas bird that was white with red berries, Genevieve finished a cardinal that she had started and I did a little Chickadee.  I enjoy those classes a lot and really appreciate being able to learn new things.  I started another little felting project again yesterday.

The weather has been beautiful, up in the 60s this week except for Thursday when it dipped down into the low 40s with high winds.  It’s back up there the last couple of days and I’ve really enjoyed my morning walks. Of course, it will become more wintry this next week but we still have no snow in the forecast.

I went to Willy McCoy’s for dinner with Elaine and Joann on Thursday night and came home and had a nice long phone conversation with Tom.

Judy and I went to the annual Christmas bazaar at the Masonic hall on Friday and then to an estate sale in Lakeville and a stop at Hobby Lobby before heading back home.  

I started a felting project yesterday afternoon and when I broke my needle, I had to go to get some more.  I ended up with the last one that was on the shelf at JoAnn’s so I could continue my project.  I stopped at the dog park with Joey on the way home and he got to run and play with a really nice Lab mix.  He was careful not to trample my little guy and even let Joey grab the ball a few times.  He really needs to burn off energy every now and then and this converted hockey rink is a good place for it.

Since it was such a beautiful day yesterday, Joann and I decided to fill the urns at the front of the building with winter stuff.  She volunteers to collect and cash in the aluminum cans at our building, so she offered to use some of that money for artificial greens.  I had picked up a bunch of red twig dogwood branches and some berries and Judy had some birch logs that we could use.  The planters turned out very nice and I’ve gotten several compliments from residents. The pumpkins that were in the planters got donated to the wildlife that visit the pond on the property.

Last summer, Pat gave me a sheepskin that he got from his boss who raises sheep.  I had told him I might want one for the seat in my car for the winter.  The hair was really matted and stained, so I took it in and had it cleaned at a rug cleaning company.  They did a beautiful job, so when I got it back last week, it was clean but was still very matted and you could see grass and stick particles near the skin.  I started to brush it and it took a lot of work to get down to the skin and remove the debris, but it was looking pretty good so I kept on brushing a little bit each day until I had it all brushed.  The hair was about 4” long. So this morning, I decided to give it a haircut.  I started cutting with a scissors, tried the hair clipper that I use on Joey but it didn’t work, so I went back to using the scissors.  Cutting, brushing, and keeping it up until it was done - I’m happy with the result and have it next to the bed as a rug for now.  My efforts made a difference, although I’m not sure that I will be using it in my car.  

Tuesday, November 14, 2023, MN

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Patty! It’s been a long time since we have chatted and to call her is on my list of things to do today.

The last time the food truck came to our building, we got turkeys.  I couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving, so I cooked it on Saturday and invited Ben and family to join me for dinner on Sunday.  I cooked the dessert, maple dilled carrots, and mashed potatoes and gravy on Sunday and had everything in the oven, ready for dinner when they got here.  It was crowded but I was able to get all six of us at the dinner table and it all worked out well.  I can’t believe that it has taken me two years of living here before having them over for dinner.  It was so appreciated by Ben and Jill that they didn’t have one more night of food preparation and just trying to come up with ideas for a meal.  The girls were great - they hung out on my bed and played with the few Barbie dolls that I have.  Cleanup was easy because Ben did the dishes for me.  It was a great afternoon!

Friday, November 10, 2023, MN

Last night was a  very restless night for sleep.  My mind just wouldn’t relax and rest.  It’s a good thing that I have nothing going on today, so I can get a nap.  One thing I kept thinking of was Jill’s dad.  I was able to talk with her yesterday when I was there for my cleaning job.  He got back home on Wednesday but started to bleed and they couldn’t stop it, so he had to go back to the hospital.  She said that his nose is badly broken and that his entire face is black & purple, all of the way down his neck and much of the bleeding is inside his nose.  In addition to that, his skin bruises terribly with just a slight bump due to the medications that he takes and the chemotherapy for his bone cancer.  I just couldn’t get the images of his hurt face out of my mind - I sure hope his body can fight this horrible attack.

Good news this week is that my niece, Ali’s husband James has returned home from ten months of duty in Africa with the National Guard.  I was able to watch the troops get off the plane at the airport and then there was a video of him going to Jax’s school to surprise him.  That sure brought tears to my eyes. I’m so happy that they are reunited and can get back to normal family living.

Monday, November 6, 2023, MN

I guess there hasn’t been a lot to write about in the last week.  The pace was pretty slow for me. I helped out with the food truck on Wednesday and took Mary, the vet tech to several apartments where people had signed up to have their pet’s nails trimmed.  They are all so tolerant, nothing like little terror Joey who fights like crazy.  She was able to clip all but about 4 claws and I said I would try to get them.  Last night, he was so relaxed and I reached over to the bin and grabbed the nail clipper and he immediately went into defense mode.  I keep messing with his feel and nails, but he knows exactly what the clipper is for.

Jill’s dad, Dennis, had a bad fall in the shower on Friday when he started to feel dizzy and tried to get to a safe place. He fell flat on his face, broke his nose, and they had a hard time getting the bleeding to stop, as he is on many medications and having problems with extreme bruising.  

On Saturday, I took Norah to gymnastics (Camille is wearing a boot for a toe injury and couldn’t participate) on Saturday, then to her friends house for a play date and then I met Ben at the Edina middle school aquatics center where Charlotte is competing in a swim meet.  We watched her first heat (50 meter freestyle) where she took 3rd place and improved her time by about 30 seconds.  After that, there was a long break between heats, so Ben and I went and had a coffee.  It was nice to spend some time with him and to help with carting kids around so Jill could go be with her dad. I was able to see the rest of her events on YouTube, as they were streaming them live.  She took another 3rd, a 4th, and came in last on a couple of 200 meter events that she had never done before - a respectable outcome in my mind, but she probably wasn’t real happy with her performance.

Yesterday, Deb, Judy, Ann, and I went to the VFW to hear some music and to see Deb’s friend Mike the drummer. It was a blues jam and the music was great - it felt good to go out, listen to good music and have a beer with friends.

I also learned yesterday that my cousin Carole had a heart attack, got a couple of stents, and is doing well with her recovery.  She is 80 years old and remembered that her Dad had a heart attack at 80 too.