Saturday, August 31, 2024, MN

 Well, it’s the last day and the last weekend of August and it is starting to feel like summer is near its end.  Here and there are trees that are turning red, the Sumac is also changing color, and the squirrels are busy gathering and burying nuts for the winter.  Now and then I see birds flocking together and flying overhead. 

We had two good storms come through here this week, both of them bringing high winds and heavy rains.  There is a lot of tree damage, many that just pulled out of the ground because it is so saturated from all of the rain we have had this summer.  On Monday night, just after the storm went past, I took Joey out and just happened to see a beautiful full rainbow right above our parking lot.  It was brilliant and it appeared to have a faint rainbow above and below it.  Guess what - no camera! I rarely leave the house without my phone but I did that night and missed a great opportunity.  

Ben called on Tuesday to see if I could take Norah and Camille to their dental hygiene appointment, as he had just tested positive for Covid. He said that his symptoms were fever, scratchy throat, fatigue and like a common cold.  He kept away from the rest of the family in hopes that they don’t get it. My fingers are crossed that I don’t get it, as I was with him on Saturday for dinner. I also took the twins to their swim lesson on Wednesday and Charlotte came along, so she and I had some nice one on one time. They were working on diving, as when regular practice season starts in a couple of weeks, they need to be able to dive off the block. Norah seems to be doing well and is confident but Camille is a little hesitant and needs more practice.  

Yesterday, I met Lois at Hyland Lake Reserve to walk the path around the lake together.  We got so involved in talking that we missed the path and ended up crossing the park and arriving at Bush Lake Park a ways to the East. It didn’t matter, as it was a beautiful morning and just nice to walk and talk together.  We stopped at West Side Perks for a Chai Latte after our walk.  

Saturday, August 24, 2024, MN

 I spent the week at Ben and Jill’s house, hanging out with Yoshi and taking my time doing the biweekly house cleaning.  They were off to the north shore to celebrate Jill’s 50th birthday with her parents (an annual event for them, as it is usually in memory of her brother Casey who shares a birthday with Mike on the 23rd).

 I invited Cathy to come over for the day on Wednesday and we relaxed, talked, enjoyed the big beautiful space, and walked the streets of Excelsior. We settled in for a bite to eat at the 318 Club and we’re taking our good old time enjoying the patio, a beer with our meal when we were told that they close at 3:00. Darn! Cathy had just ordered a 2nd beer so we split it, finished up and left.

On Thursday, the dogs and I got a good long walk through the neighborhood in the morning, I finished house cleaning, and for dinner I went to Bonsai for Korean food.  The owner, Nicole, offered me a complimentary dinner to thank me for helping her Mom (a neighbor) with her rental rebate form.  I had marinated beef (sweet & sour) with vegetables served over rice with Kimchi and pickled radish on the side. Yummy!

I just got off the phone with Pat and Tracey had a setback this week, she fell on Wednesday and they spent 9 hours in the ER and could find no cause.  She is also having bowel problems that are hard to deal with.  I don’t feel good about Pat as he is stressed to the max and not really equipped to deal with it all. He said today that this is the story of Tracey’s life - she does well, feels good about herself, takes good care of herself, and then has a major setback both physically and mentally, much like the rest of her family. Her Mom is in assisted living, her Dad not doing well, her sister is mean and not helpful, her daughter is a messed up Trans person who is no help and Pat is carrying the load.

Tuesday, August 20, 2024, MN

 Happy 55th Birthday to Patrick. Dang it’s hard to imagine how that could sneak up.  I sent him a bunch of photos and here are a few of my favorites.

Home from the hospital and shortly after that.

After a day of painting at our home in KC

                                                            Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy 16th Birthday!

Happy 30th Birthday

Also, Happy 50th birthday to Jill.  I took Norah to her gymnastics class last night so that gave me an opportunity to drop off Jill’s birthday gift.  She had advanced so much since the last time I watched. She is also in a better program and was the only person in class and was getting coached by two coaches, later on by four.  They had her doing a routine of cartwheel followed by 2 back flips, then a forward flip over a raised obstruction, some floor movements that I couldn’t see, on the the bars where she whirled around and around and then onto the beam where she was doing cartwheels and finishing off with a jump off the beam.  I think she is the most sports inclined of my granddaughters, but they are all strong and agile.

This morning, as I was walking Joey, my neighbor Sue was in her yard watering, so she invited me to see her back yard gardens. She is a true plant lover and nature lover and has a beautiful variety of unusual things in her garden.  A potted 6’ tall Norfolk Pine than goes indoor for the winter and becomes their Christmas tree and two potted 

Jade plants that were at least 4 feet tall - one of them had been her mother’s and has survived and flourished for many years also gets taken indoors.  She offered me cuttings from many house plants and I will take her up on it at some point. 

After that great start to the morning,I packed up and headed to Ben’s where I will hang out for the next few days while they are on a birthday trip to the north shore of Lake Superior.  Jill just sent me this picture - her birthday wish was to do some hiking and it looks like that is working out.

I  needed a couple of things at Costco so I went to check out the new store that just opened up a few weeks ago.  As I was looking for the coffee, I slipped on a grape and my right leg slid in front of me and I came down on my butt. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt too bad but two women helped me get up and covered the slippery mess with paper towels so nobody else would slip and I headed to find a manager to report.  I think I’m fine, but I’m sure feeling some stiffness in my hips and left wrist. Dang it! I  think I’ll have some wine to blur the hurt. This is my view from the deck.

Sunday, August 18, 2024, MN

 I have a lot of backtracking to do, so I’ll see how good my memory is.  It has been a pretty active week with a variety of things to keep me busy.  

Last weekend, Ben and Jill invited the grandparents over for dinner on Sunday and we had a nice visit and yummy fajitas for dinner - always good to hang out.  They were in the process of staining the deck railings and had just finished when we got there. Time for a beer! Cheers!

I had Stampin Up on Monday and I got to meet Carrie, our representative who lives in Portland, OR and was here to visit her Mom.  We had our annual picnic lunch with lots of yummy food and then Carrie taught us some new techniques for making cards using masks (I would call them stencils).  These are my two creations.

Tuesday afternoon was our monthly art class with Genevieve and we started out by assembling the garden totem that we have been working on for the last two months.  Each person made at least one giant bead to put on it - mine are numbers 6 and 8. After getting it together, we decided that it needed something on top, so Genevieve will do that in her studio. It was a fun project.  

                                Me, Ann, Genevieve, totem, Leslie, Kathy, and Judy

I spent Wednesday morning with the girls - took them to their tennis lesson and had originally planned to hang out during the afternoon but they were invited to go to a friend’s cabin for an afternoon of swimming and water sports.  Who can turn down an invite like that?  Ben and I went for a walk around the Excelsior Commons after they left and I always enjoy my time with them.

The weather was questionable and went from rain to sun but Deb and I decided to brave it and go to hear her friend Mike play drums with the Joe Flip band at the Midweek Market Music in the park.  Her daughter Chelsea joined us and we had a nice evening and a brief chat with Mike.  It always feels good to hear live music, especially when it is outdoors.  The rain held off until the show ended. 

Thursday was a lazy day except for walks around the neighborhood with Joey. I did some shopping on Friday and got some much needed groceries, spending $90 on meats at Von Hansen’s that filled up my freezer and will last me for a long time. I didn’t have anything going on yesterday, so I went and watched the girls at their private swim lessons.  Charlotte was learning a new kind of turn and perfected it after a few tries.  Camille was working on a 50 yard front crawl without stopping (she had to be coached that you keep on going, tired or not and its better to slow down and perfect the strokes but just don’t stop). Norah is a real strong and fast swimmer and her form is good but she doesn’t seem real interested in sticking with the swim and would rather pursue gymnastics.  Whatever they do, it is good to see them determined to keep on improving and enjoy what they are doing.

I just finished laundry and not sure what I will do for the rest of the day.  

Friday, August 9, 2024, MN

 It sure felt good to be back home last Saturday.  I just hug out and enjoyed my space and my little doggie roommate.  I ventured out and did some shopping on Tuesday, although it was just looking - I didn’t buy a thing. I did stop at Papa Murphy’s for a pizza and left messages with Elaine and Joann to join me but I never heard a word back from them.  I guess if you don’t check your phone messages, you don’t get to have pizza and a cocktail with me.

We had the food truck delivery on Wednesday and all went well with that.  There was so much left over after all residents had come through that I was able to fill a bag for Ben’s family and take it with me when I went there to clean yesterday. The job really got to me this time and I was really tired when I got back home and my lower back and knees were hurting.  I’m going to blame it on inactivity last week, although I continue to keep up with my daily stretching routine. Thanks to my friend Deb, I didn’t have to worry about walking Joey, as she took him for a long midday walk and he was content to have a nap with me.

I’m wondering what was going on last night when I took Joey out and watered the flower pots.  There was a row of about 5 unmarked cars across the street, some with their lights flashing, 8-10 guys wearing vests, guns and police gear strapped to their waists, some were searching through a silver Chevy SUV and they were talking amongst each other.  I was taking care of plants and then did my usual circle around the property with Joey and noticed the silver Chevy being loaded onto a flatbed tow truck.  A neighbor said that she saw two guys being searched and taken from there before I came out.  I wonder what was happening in my quiet little neighborhood.

We are experiencing unusually cool weather this week - nights are cooling down in the 50s and daytime temps in the low to mid 70s. I believe the average is 82°. The skies are a clear blue and it is very refreshing.  I hope we still have a lot of summery days.

Saturday, August 3, 2024, WI, MN

 I got back home this afternoon and it sure feels good to see Joey again and settle back in to my little box of an apartment.

Most days, I had coffee with Dawn in the morning and then headed over to hang out with Tracey and then for a few hours after Pat got home from work.  Tracey walked over a mile each day and we did some shopping, had breakfast at the Cozy Nuk, and walked the Yahara River path one day.  Amazing improvement.  

Me, Carolyn & Tracey at the River Trail

She has been struggling with sensations of wetness or sweating and feeling the need to change her clothes.  We also made some progress with that last week - Pat was upset and feeling discouraged because she changed her clothes and bedding several times over the weekend and then starting on Monday, she had the usual normal changes of jammies to day clothes and back into jammies the rest of the week.  She gets it that her brain plays tricks on her, but it also keeps her from remembering that.  We also worked on systems for getting dressed and we organized her closet one day.

Jonnie, Mary, Dawn, and I had breakfast together on Thursday morning and I met Susan and Judy for dinner at Viking Brew Pub that night.  It was good to see them all but that was the only connections that I made on this trip.

By yesterday, I was starting to feel ready to get back home and that being away for 10 days was more than enough. The drive back home today was uneventful, although there were some long areas of construction, especially all through Faribault, about 30 miles from home.