Saturday, September 13, 2025

 This week on Wednesday I had my second Truxima infusion and all went well with that other than feeling a bit fatigued afterward.  It only took 4 hours this time. Deb kept Joey again and had him walked and worn out by the time I got home so I could take a nap.

Thursday was my follow-up appointment with the Nephrology (kidney) specialist. My sodium levels are in an acceptable range and I need to continue to restrict my water consumption to 32 oz per day maximum.  Again, he expressed how rare this condition is -   I am one of two patients that he has seen this year. 

I decided to do go to an estate sale on Friday and the route took me past the Annunciation Catholic Elementary School where two children were killed last week and 20+ students were injured by a gunman who shot into the school.  For blocks along the roadway, there were green and blue ribbons hanging from poles, signs, and buildings and as I approached the school flowers lined the walkway.  What a sad world we are living in these days when someone targets innocent children.  The news is full of stories like this these days.

I didn't make a lot of purchases other than a couple of books.

This morning, Saturday, I went to the Farmer's Market with Leslie and stocked up on ingredients for a couple of events that I have to make food for this week.  It was a beautiful morning, warming up after the cool spell we had last week. 

Monday, September 8, 2025

I helped with the food shelf on Wednesday morning and then Tom came over when that was done.  He has been having problems with the GPS on his phone, so had to make some calls to try to resolve his issues - I don't think he solved the problem.  

We took Joey to the dog park in the afternoon and he had lots of fun running around with the other dogs. That wore him out, so he was ready for a nap when we got back home.  I think Tom and I were too.

Mary came for her monthly pet nail trim clinic in the evening and we tried to do Joey's nails again but he wasn't having it - he fought tooth and nail.  We went door to door and she did three cats while she was here.

Tom and I went to Green Mill for dinner and neither were impressed.  He kind of wanted to check it out, as it is close to his hotel but I think he said he wouldn't be going back there again.

We spent Thursday going for a good walk in along the Minnesota River, taking naps, reading, and watching a few more episodes of "Shrinking".  I would definitely recommend that Apple TV series as it is funny, sad, and a lot crazy.

Our activity for Friday was to take a drive to Stillwater.  The weather has turned cold around here, so it wasn't a very pleasant day weather wise but we only have a few days left.  We had a very nice lunch at Harpers on Main Street and then walked along Main St to check out a few shops.  

From there, we walked to the lift bridge that crosses the St Croix River.  It is one of the few lift bridges that are still operating in the US and was the only way to get from Hudson, WI to Stillwater, MN until the new bridge was completed in 2017.  It is no longer open to car traffic, only bicycles and pedestrians.

Papa Murphy's Pizzas was our choice for dinner.

Saturday was another busy day, starting with the Farmer's Market.  Once again, I hoped there would be more food trucks, especially the local egg one that is highly rated, but they weren't there so we ended up with egg rolls instead for breakfast.  

Not far from there was the St Bonaventure Festival that included a car show.  We probably spent an hour and a half walking through there, both of us having stories to tell about memories of this or that.  It was fun and we were both glad that we decided to do that.

When we got back home, I cooked up a batch of spaghetti sauce and let it simmer on the stove for a couple of hours while we had our afternoon naps and reading time.

Dang, Sunday has arrived and it is our last day together.  We drove to Staring Lake and walked the Loop Trail around the lake - I think it was 2.3 miles - and the day was beautiful.  

We made a quick stop at the grocery store, so Tom could have some thing to snack on for his drive back to Colorado.  We hung out, hat the rest of the Papa Murphy's Pizza for dinner and he left early for his hotel so he could get plenty of rest before his long drive.  His destination for today is York, NE, about the halfway point between here and Peyton, AZ where he plans to arrive tomorrow evening.  

When we were talking before he came here, neither of us were sure about how it would go, but like I said, we got right back in our old routines, feeling comfortable with each other, talking, laughing, sharing experiences, and enjoying each other.  Hopefully the gaps between seeing other won't be nearly as long in the future. 

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

 Tom got to my apartment about 6:00 on Saturday evening and we had a nice dinner of roasted chicken with vegetables and picked up right where we had left off since the last time we saw each other in February of 2022. And we never run out of things to talk about.  It is very good to see him again.

After getting home from a morning walk on Sunday, I learned from Ben that they were going to celebrate Charlotte's 14th birthday with the family that afternoon. Papa  Quinn would not to be able to join us as he is back in the hospital.  Ben and Jill made Bun Cha (Charlotte's request) Japanese noodles, Asian meatballs, parsley, mint, and a mild or hot sauce.  Camille made a chocolate cake and we had that with ice cream after dinner.

Yesterday was a day to hang out around my apartment after a nice morning walk around Girard Lake Park.  Tom took apart my room fan, cleaned and oiled it and it is running quiet and much more efficient.  He also helped me flip my mattress, a job I sure can't manage by myself anymore.  We just hung around the rest of the afternoon and had leftover potatoes and chicken made into quesadillas for dinner.

We have been watching the series "Shrinking" in the evenings - what a crazy bunch of characters that are giving us lots of laughs.  

Saturday, August 30, 2025

 Thursday morning started early as I had to be at the Infusion Center by 7:30 am.  Ben met me there but we learned that he wasn't able to be with me, so they sent him packing. I will definitely put a comment on their website to make it clear that support people are not allowed. They got me prepped, took my temp, put in the IV, did a saline flush, and started the infusion by 8:30 -  gradually increasing the dose until I was finished around 1:00 pm.  I had no side affects and felt just fine, was allowed to eat a snack and read, use iPad, and nap.  I was told that the next one should take a little less time.

When I got back home, I got a call from the Neurologist's nurse with an update on a prescription and she said that she could get my recommended EEG and MRI scheduled for me.  They just happened to have an appointment open that afternoon for the MRI, so I jumped on it and got that behind.  It was also convenient that an EEG appointment was available the next day and that is now behind me too.  I don't have any more appointments until my next infusion on the 10th of  September.  Woo Hoo!

I am now waiting for Tom's arrival - he should get here late afternoon, early evening and he plans to spend about a week. 

Thursday, August 28, 2025

 It is 6 am and I woke up early in anticipation of my first Truxima infusion today.  Back on Monday, I saw Dr Pati, a seizure specialist, for a second opinion on the infusion treatment recommended by my neurologist.  Ben joined me at the appointment and I was so impressed. He is professional and very knowledgeable, answering all of our questions and clearly explaining what is going on.  

The purpose of the infusions is to reduce the activity of my immune system, as it is overactive and attacking healthy cells.  With auto-immune disorders, your immune system does the opposite job that it is supposed to do and rather than keep your cells healthy, it destroys them and in my case, caused the seizures that badly damaged the right temporal lobe of my brain.  The good thing about that is that my right side is not my dominant side, so now the left side of my brain is doing all of the work and needs to be protected.  He also told me that this very rare type of auto-immune disease may affect 1-9 people out of 100,000 and I am at risk of having repeated seizures.   Needless to say, I am proceeding with the recommended infusion therapy, with monitoring with EEGs and MRIs to make sure it's working.  It was an emotional day, to say the least.

Bob and Penny arrived for a 3-day visit that evening and I had prepared a dinner of chicken pot pie, caprese salad, breadsticks and ice cream.  I always like to feed my visitors when then have spent a long day on the road.  Dinner was well received and I will definitely umake that recipe again. It sure was good seeing them and I so appreciate them coming for a visit. 

I had a dermatology appointment Tuesday morning, so I just stopped by their hotel and we went and walked the path that goes around Girard Lake Park and then to Shantytown Bar & Grill for walleye lunch. Their goals were to visit with me, to eat walleye, preferably at a restaurant near the water, and walk a path around a lake - things they don't get to do in KC. After our walk, I went home and they went back to their hotel for naps before heading over to Ben's for pizza and a visit with the family in the evening.

Wednesday was another fun and busy day, starting with a walk around Hyland Lake Park that was about 2 miles. I took Joey back home, took a little rest, then they picked me up and we went in search of a restaurant on the water that served walleye and ended up at Dangerfield's in Shakopee. We were all impressed with the restaurant and food, sat out on the screen covered deck overlooking the Minnesota River and had walleye again. 

After another little break, naps and rest, they picked me up and we headed to the  Midweek Market at the civic center to listen to music by the band 'Six to Midnight' for a while. Normally there is a good size farmers market on Wednesday night but that must be done for the season as there were only a few food trucks but nothing that really appealed to us. So guess what we did - we went and ate walleye at Willy McCoys.

We hugged and said our goodbyes and they head back home to KC today. 

Sunday, August 24, 2025

 I know it has been a busy week when I miss out on afternoon naps and that happened twice this week.  I'm not complaining as it has been a fun one.

I met up with my former neighbor (The Winslow Apts) and friend, Mavis,  at the Yankee Tavern.  We had a lot of catching up to do, as it has been a long time since we have seen each other. Various spent some time healing from a broken kneecap and I spent some time dealing with health issues too.  Maybe we are past that and can meet up more frequently now. Mary, another friend that we hung out with was unable to join us. 

Thursday was a chill kind of day, although I went to some garage sales in the morning and took Joey to the dog park for a run.  

Genevieve, the art teacher that comes to my community called to ask if I wanted to join her and a couple of other ladies for a beading class at her home on Friday. Of course, I  accepted as she is such a fun person to be around.  I met Barbara and Emily and the three of those ladies do this intricate bead weaving and I can't even come close to that kind of skill. I made a string of beads for each of my granddaughters that they can hang in their windows.    

Genevieve's home is gorgeous and she had a nice lunch set out and each of us brought something to share.  It was a fun afternoon.

I also had a nice conversation with Tom that afternoon and we talked a bit about his plans for a visit coming up around the 30th of August.  It will be nice to see him again - its been a while.

Ben called Saturday morning to see if I was available for a picnic at Minnewashta Park to celebrate Jill's 50th birthday that was on Wednesday. These things come about last minute because of the kid's schedules and also how Dennis is feeling that day.  We also celebrated Mike's birthday - it would be his 78th and Jill's brother Casey's - he would be 48. Casey passed away in 2011 at the age of 34 from a brain tumor.  It was the first cool day that we have had most of the summer and we were all bundled up in hoodies and blankets, but it was nice to hang out with family.         

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Happy 56th Birthday to my oldest son, Pat, today.  Dang, it is hard to imagine that he could be that age already - it seems like yesterday when I held that little 5 pound, 11 ounce boy in my arms for the first time.  I am fortunate that both of my boys grew up to be good people and I am proud of who they are.

Looks like I have several visitors coming in the near future - Bob & Penny on the 25th of this month for 3 days, Tom on the 29th for a week or so, and Carol and Richard on the 19th of September for a couple of days.  Yay!  And then I hope that I am ready to make a trip to Stoughton the end of September for Roger's big 80th birthday party.

Cathy's friends, Sandy and Tillie stopped by to see her this week and she invited me for coffee and pastries.  We had some great conversation and Cathy brought up a couple of events that I had gone to with her - Christmas at Heidi's house, and a picnic at Karen's house.  I had absolutely no memory of either event, so she sent me photos - and yes, I had been to both.  Just an example of the damage the damned seizures did to my brain.  Guess I had better keep up with the exercises that the Occupational Therapist gave me.

Speaking of OT, I am doing one of them right now - typing.  Ben gave me a bluetooth keyboard and it is so much easier than typing on my iPad.

Another side effect of the Prednisone and seizure medications is weight gain and I have put on 5 pounds since I got out of the hospital and that has to stop.  This week, I am committed to not snacking between meals, tracking my calories and staying under the daily allowance - I eat mostly healthy food but way too much of everything.  I also need to get plenty of exercise.  I started with a 40-minute Silver Sneakers workout yesterday that I plan to do every other day and will extend my morning walks a little bit each day.  Hopefully, this plan will get me back on track.

This picture of me and my Mom and I showed up on Facebook today - I probably had posted it in the past. I think we look a lot alike - eyes, cheeks, mouth.  I think it was taken when we lived on Lake Kegonsa (it appears to be a lake in the background) across from the golf course.  I remember one time Rocco and I got spanked because Mom caught us at the golf course collecting golf balls and we were forbidden to go there.

I went over to Tom and  Sue's house tonight and hung out with Sue on the patio while Joey made Tom happy by being willing to sit on his lap and be loved.  Sue and I were watched for hummingbirds as she said she had  been seeing a few around.  A female came up and hovered on the flowers next to me, so I slowly stood up and she moved right in front of my face and was facing me about a foot away from my nose and then she flew off.  How exciting is that!  We hoped that she would come back but I guess she had enough of me.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

 My big, sad news today is that my brother-in-law Mike Moore passed away this afternoon.  Rene, his twin daughters Angie and Kristin, Randy and a couple of friends were there with them.  He had been suffering from COPD for years and recently was needing oxygen and was restricted to a recliner and the dining room table.  

They all gathered at the boat dock (a favorite hangout) and had a 'watch the sunset' memorial for him last night.  Both Michael Owen Bridge and Michael Owen Moore died from the same disease and on the 13th of the month - kind of a coincidence.

I don't know what arrangements are being made or even if there will be some type of funeral service, but I sure would like to be there for Rene.

I took Joey to the dog park on Tuesday morning and we were way up on top of the hill when a guy and his little dachsund came in. That little dog name Chica game running toward us at high speed and the two ran and played for the next half-hour. That's what I hope for when I go there. Joey slept for about three hours after that.

Today was busy - starting with a Silver Sneakers workout - my first.  I had a hard time following the dance moves but will keep trying as it seems kind of fun.  I really need to work at taking off a few pounds that I have gained from the danged Prednisone and seizure meds and my awful eating habits. I am hungry all of the time and have not been making good choices - pizza, bread, and just too much and too often.  

I had a nice facetime call with Jim Bucko, a trip to Costco to have my tires rotated, I then got the news about Mike and was texting back and forth with siblings.  

I also had a phone conversation with my long-lost brother, Russell, the youngest - to give him the news.  His choices in life have not been good and he lives a miserable homeless life in Madison.  It has been a long time since we talked and he cried, misses family, and said his life sucks but blames nobody but himself.  He described the shelter as 300 beds packed into a large building with filthy bathrooms and the noise of that many people in the same situation as him.  My parting words, just before he ran out of minutes was that I loved him and he could choose to take the drastic route and go to detox and rehab - probably the only way he will ever find a home.

I also had a very nice, long conversation with Tom.  Its been a while so we had lots to talk about - mostly updates on my danged health issues. We agreed that it would be nice to see each other again and will try to come up with a plan to make that work.

Sunday, August 10, 2025

 I took Joey to the dog  park on Tuesday afternoon and there was only one other dog there and it wasn't too interested in playing, although they did run around a bit.  I think it is good for him to get out and be around other dogs - he is becoming much more playful with me at home, getting a toy when he feels like playing and he is really good at fetching the ball, as long as there are some treats involved.

I helped out with food shelf on Wednesday morning but had to leave early for an Occupational Therapy assessment with Meghan.  We talked about my concerns and she did an assessment on my driving risk and found that to be of low risk.  I do need to work on the brain to nerve connectings and the shakiness, so she gave me several suggesstions for apps and websites with exercises for that.  I have found some of them to be very challenging.

I had my second and final Hepatitis B vaccine on Thursday and have no other prep for my infusion on the 28th.  I do have an appointment with a seizure specialist on the 25th for a 2nd opinion to make sure that is the right route to take.

I spent the afternoon with Ben yesterday and Jill and the girls were gone for a couple of hours doing back to school shopping.  We had a lovely dinner - Ben smoked a turkey breast that turned out to be tender and very flavorful, he roasted potatoes, and I made Garlic Butter Green Beans that were a huge hit with everyone.  I will definitely make that recipe again.

Monday, August 5, 2025

 Happy Birthday to my nephew Ryan yesterday and to my BFF Patty today!  

Leslie invited me to go to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and I stocked up on potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, Shitake mushrooms, cukes and onions - always yummy stuff.

Joey got his first professional haircut yesterday and the groomer said he was a challenge. I knew that would be the case, because it has been a challenge for me and he hates to have his feet messed with, but thought with her experience that it might be easier.  I’m not sure if I will do that again or if regular visits might just become easier for him to tolerate.  

I had very nice surprise when I got a call from Patty on Sunday night saying they would be in my area on Monday and we could meet up if I was available.  It turns out that the only thing that I had going on was Joey’s grooming.  They showed up at my house about 10:30 and he was done at 11:30. We picked him up and he and their new dog, Chloe were immediately in attack mode, so we headed to the dog park. They ran and played and were the best of friends after that.  We had a very nice visit, we all took short naps, then walked to Willy McCoy’s for a late lunch, early dinner.  They were headed to St. Cloud and left after dinner. What a nice way to spend the day!

Saturday, August 2, 2025

 The week started with a trip to Eric’s Auto Repair to check on the status of the oil leaks. He put dye in the engine a couple of weeks ago and this visit was to see where they were coming from.  Great news! The timing cover appears to be starting to leak and it is something that can be watched over time. It is due for an oil change in the not too distant future.

Weather around here has finally settled and cooled but the haze and poor air quality from Canadian wildfires continues. My eyes burn when I am outdoors and I have had to use my inhaler a few times. 

We had a Meet and Greet with Richard, our new Service Coordinator this week and he seems like a nice guy and very knowledgeable about the benefits offered for seniors. I might just sit down and have a chat with him one of these days to see if I can economize in any way.  

I finally slept a 5-hour plus a 3-hour stretch last night.  I don’t remember the last time that happened. I guess it helps to stop drinking water after 6:30 pm.

Saturday, July 26, 2025

 Last Sunday, I helped one of my neighbors with his MN state renters return forms that we had originally done back in April. He got a letter from the state telling him that he owed them money rather than getting a refund. It was a very simple solution, resulting from an omission that he made on the forms that I did for him and he ended up getting almost twice as much back as what they were saying that he owed.  

He is not the first who came to me for help after not following instructions or not including the correct forms.  I thought I was helping people out but have decided that I will not offer my services next year. It has been a bit of a pain.

I met with the Stampin Up group on Monday and that was a pleasant afternoon. We made a couple of pretty complicated cards - one even has a magnetic opening.  Diane was hostess and brought a yummy lemon pie.  I will have to come up with an idea for next month, as I will be hostess then. 

My problem with these crafts these days is the jitteriness that I am having from the meds that I am taking.  It is difficult to do intricate and fine movements.  I keep trying to write my signature to get it looking more normal, and sometimes it’s not bad but most of the time it’s very difficult to make out.

I bought two new houseplants this week and I think they are so cute - I even drove about 20 miles each to get them.  On the left is String of Turtles and the right is String of Pearls. I now need to get some nice pots and keep them alive.

I hadn’t seen the girls for a while, so I went over there yesterday to hang out and took them to Wendy’s for a Frosty.  Their idea of hanging out is going to a mall, a pool, or Scheel’s to climb on the climbing wall.  And then if you do go to the mall, they want very expensive stuff, so I’m not doing that - especially Mall of America.  It’s not my thing. Instead, we did a painting project . 

A few hours is enough, as there is a lot of sibling rivalry going on with them, always someone saying something mean or hitting or causing problems of some kind.  I never thought I would see that in my little ‘angels’ but like my Mom used to say ‘kids are kids’ or they are ‘angels with black wings’.  I feel kind of bad for Ben and he is at home working (or trying to work) and dealing with this too.

Saturday, July 19, 2025

 Ben and I went to the World Street Kitchen for dinner and then to the Uptown VFW to see Dale Watson on Thursday night and the show was good but not as good as those I have seen in the past.  My impression was that he was drinking too much, telling too many stories, and not playing as much music.  He does this thing during his show with a little lick and and an advertisement for Lone Star Beer and that leads to someone buying the band a round of tequila. There were several of those plus who knows what before the show.  Regardless, I was glad that Ben was willing to go with me.

Thursday, July 17, 2025

 Monday this week was a kind of chill day, although I did get some nice walks in - in between the rain.  We have sure been getting some good soakers around here lately. Deb and I had a nice walk that evening and I had a nice chat with Elaine in the afternoon.

Jill’s Dad is in a care center adjacent to the hospital after having a T-cell treatment for his cancer. I had planned to go visit them on Tuesday and thought maybe Charlotte would be interested in joining me. Yay - she was! So I went and picked her up and I couldn't believe how much she had grown since I last saw her - seems like at least 2". We drove to the University of MN Medical Center downtown Minneapolis - talk about some crazy construction and traffic conditions and finding the parking lot to that place.  Since Charlotte has been to various camps over the previous three weeks, it had been some time since she had seen Granny and Papa and we had a really nice visit and heard all about her experience at the Boundary Waters and previous camp (?).  She is such a good sport! I heard her say "love you, Grandma" many times while we were together and she always has plenty of hugs for me. 

When Dennis got tired, we left and headed to my place and stopped for a DQ blizzard along the way and then Ben came to pick her up when he got off work.  I was exhausted by then, but I’m so glad that Charlotte was willing to hang out with me. We didn’t get any photos - darn!

Yesterday started with dropping my car off at the repair shop. It has some small engine leaks, so had to have the oil drained, engine cleaned, oil with dye put in and then I drive it for 100 miles and take it back so they can see where the leaks are coming from.  Fingers crossed that it isn’t anything too serious and costly.

Back home, I helped out with food shelf and we ended up having lots of volunteers this time and a pretty good selection of foods. 

It poured and poured most of the day - 3 of our 4 walks were wet ones and even the last one, we walked in some drizzle.  Some areas nearby got up to 3".  There have been rivers and streams flooding for weeks. The Guadalupe River near Kerrville, TX flooded and has killed 134 people.

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Every day gets a little better with how I am feeling, gaining back strength, and getting good sleep.  I had to get two HEP-B vaccines this week and a Covid vaccine last week before I can start my infusion therapy that is now scheduled for August 28.  I will have another a second infusion on September 10 and then every 6 months after that. I sure hope it keeps my immune system healthy.

I also had an appointment with the speech therapist and learned that my brain and memory are working in the normal range for a gal with my education and my age.  Now, to get working on the occupational a bit more - hand/eye coordination, writing, steadiness, etc.

My brother Randy and I were reminiscing about our brothers who have passed on this week and I couldn’t help but chuckle when I spotted this at the grocery store.  I’m glad they keep sending us little reminders.

Talk about tomatoes, the fresh fruits and vegetables that are available to us right now are so yummy.  I had mouth-watering sweet corn, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, onions, potato, and green beans this week.  I’ve been eating as much as I can and can’t seem to get enough.  I guess my body is telling me that I need all of those good vitamins.

We have had some real stormy weather this week. My friend Deb, who usually walks about the time that the sun comes up sent me this photo the other morning.

 

Saturday, July 5, 2025

 I’ve been doing some driving each day, after a nap to be sure I am rested and alert. I drove to the airport on Monday night to pick up Pat & AJ and he drove back to my place, they spent the night and then I took them to the Amtrak station the next morning.  

I did get involved with helping with food shelf on Wednesday and that went well.  One of our residents passed away that morning, a friendly guy named Tim who always had a smile on his face and the thing I will remember about him most is the sign on his walker that said "I’m Fine"  That’s what we have to look forward to, folks.  

There is a Vietnamese lady named Haung who lives here and is always very friendly to me.  I wish I could understand her better but I did understand that she was telling me that she was cooking on the weekend and she wanted to share some food with me. I just finished an egg roll that she delivered and it was delicious. 

4th of July was not a big deal to me this year, mostly because of what is going on with our government.  DT signed his ‘Big Beautiful Bill" that is going to benefit the rich and take away from the poor, once again.  They are adding to the wall between the US and Mexico that was started during his previous administration and building huge holding facilities for immigrants that look like prisons.  I just don’t understand how anyone could vote for some bratty privileged child still acts like one and couldn’t come close to understanding how the majority of Americans grew up.

I did have a nice conversation with my friend Leslie, we celebrated  the 4th of July together for many years out at ‘The Land" in Richland Center. It was always tent city with lots of adults and kids and dogs running around everywhere, chicken and corn roasts, beer, chats around the fire pit and fireworks.  Lots of good memories.

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

I can finally write that I am feeling a bit better each day. Last week on Wednesday, it was starting to look like a very busy week when I made the call to do nothing but rest/sleep every chance I got and that is exactly what has happened ne the best thing that I could have done.  I have gotten told sleep and felt more rested the last three days, to the point of feeling like doing my stretching routine and getting decent walks in.

Deb and I did some driving (she's out of practice too), made a stop at the store and then I drove to a spot that she recommended where we parked the car and had a beautiful view of the Minnesota River valley, chatted and just enjoyed the countryside view and quiet. 

On Sunday, Cathy and I took a drive, did a bit of shopping (I had to replace my toaster/oven that died) and I got a little more practice doing that and am feeling comfortable driving as long as I'm feel rested and alert.  

I spent the last two days working on Joey's haircut - I take a lot of breaks nd he is pretty good about it - NOT about the feet and legs though.  Just looking at him now, I have quite a bit of touching up to do.  Back when we had our Standard Poodle Belle, I gave her a haircut using scissors only. She was such a good girl, would stand patiently on the picnic table and let me do the trimming.  

I took all of these photos on my 30-40 minute walk yesterday - the flowers are lush this year.

Sunday, June 24, 2025, MN

Since I haven't been sleeping well at night, I have been trying to get as much rest during the day as possible, napping every chance I get, so not a lot is happening in my world these days. I have never been a good sleeper but this is really not good.

Camille played a role in a 4th & 5th grade play called "Cats" on Sunday and it was so cute and fun to go to.  I had intended to go to both shows but it worked out better to come home after her first performance. She was one of many gel cats and they had her hair all frizzed out so it was a little hard to pick her out. They did a great performance and the stage design was very professional - a Broadway musical right here at the Minnetonka Art Center.

Ben and I had a meeting with the neurologist yesterday, got an answer on what happened and idea of a care plan. Of course, it is complicated because the diagnosis was of an unusual condition called LGI-1 encephalitis that caused the seizures and is considered to cause  in the brain. The good news is that there is little risk for relapse and chances are good for full remission. I've always known I was kind of an odd ball, but this proves the point. Ha! Ha!

Friday, June 20, 2025

 It was another night of little and poor quality sleep. I placed a call to the nurse line, mostly to see if there was anything that I could do to improve my sleep and learned that I need to keep taking two of the most important medications, prednisone (I believe that drops to the lowest dose this week) and sodium - probably the ones that are having the most affect on sleep. She didn’t make any other changes other than suggest melatonin might help a little bit.

I had couple of fun conversations on the phone, one with my sister-in-law Karen and one with my long time friend Leslie who is the wife of Mike’s friend and coworker. Those two guys met at Madison Kipp - a factory in Madison where they both as for life drivers right when they got out of college.

Denny was able to go home from the hospital.

This brought me joy today.

Thursday, June 18, 2025

Ben came to pick me up for a neurology appointment and I intended to drive but didn’t feel comfortable doing it, mostly  because I don’t feel alert and rested due to lack of sleep lately. We both agreed that we had a good and productive appointment, the cognitive testing resulted in a score of 27/30 - considered to be in the ‘Normal’ range. My friend Deb says that ‘normal’ is a setting on the dryer - ha, ha!

I also learned today that my sister Rita is sitting in the ICU with her husband Denny who went in for a simple heart ablation procedure and they ended up nicking the wall of his heart, causing it to bleed, and then having to pump all of the excess blood from there. 

One of my longest and dearest friends, Patty & her son AJ are coming to spend the night with me, as they are on their "Then & Now" adventure - a exact repeat of a hiking and fishing trip taken seven years ago in Alaska.  Their travels were filled with delays and at the last minute, I was unable to pick them up at the Amtrak station,due to the neurologist suggesting that I might not be quite ready for driving just yet. 

It was chaotic when they arrived - just the excitement of seeing each other again, their pile of stuff in the living room, serving dinner (of course I had all good, healthy beef, chicken, & Ben’s slow-cooked pork and all of the condiments for tacos.  We visited for a while and then hit the sack about midnight as Cathy was giving them a ride to the airport at 7:00 the next morning.

 

June 18 2025, MN

Happy Father’s Day to all you guys who have been a part of my life, especially my Dad, and Dad Bridge, and the great one that I chose (I guess we chose each other) and had for my life partner.

America and many parts of the world are experiencing unrest and this morning, as I was just sitting here reading a post from Hillary Clinton that showed side-by-side news images from Trump’s parade of military might and American’s Power birthday bash and the millions of Americans gathered in huge groups that showed up for peaceful No King’s Day protests. I started to bawl - overcome with deep, achy heavy-hearted tears rolling down my cheeks that even drew Joey’s attention and he came over to comfort me.  What a world - full of turmoil, possibilities of war and yet, you go to the store and all seems normal (like my friend says, "a setting on the dryer".

I had a nice conversation with Tom this morning and I’m glad that we have kept our friendship going. He is a good guy and we had lots of fun adventures for a few years.

While Ben and I organizing my medications for the week and were working on some technical issues, we had a good chuckle. The background is that way back when I was a kid, my brother gave the the nickname of Schosher (maybe instead of Roser?) and that is what he always called me.  This is what gave Ben and I the chuckle.

Later on when headed to their house for dinner with the family it was with me behind the wheel. It was a bit stressful but Ben said, he didn’t have to react by slamming on the ‘fake’ brakes. The guy is so good at putting a positive spin on things.

The Quinns and Bridges had a lovely visit,  hung out on the deck, ate a yummy dinner and then Ben and I came home again and agreed that I was competent to drive.