Sunday, January 26, 2025, MN

 It has been a much better week considering my activity level and finally getting over the last cold that I had. Our weather has warmed up a bit and Joey and I have been able to take a few walks other than just quick jaunts around the community grounds.  Poor guy - he now brings a toy over and bugs me to play when he gets bored.  We did manage a haircut this week and he is so good about it. I can finish the job in 1.5 to 2 hours now, but usually have some touch ups to do after I see him off the grooming table.

Our food shelf delivery scheduled for Wednesday was canceled as they didn’t have a truck that would start in this cold weather. It is rescheduled for next Tuesday. I had art class with Genevieve and we made some small clay dishes - my project was a set of salt & pepper bowls. I chose that project because I have been looking at them because I like the coarse ground salt & pepper and the holes in my shakers are too small.  We shall see if I like this method.

I had a very nice conversation with Rene this week and I’m so glad that she is feeling much better, is more active and gaining strength every day. She sent me this cute picture.

Elaine and I went to Willy McCoys for dinner Friday night and it sure felt good to get out, have some conversation, and a good fish fry.  We are both happy to have that nice option in the neighborhood.

Last night, Cathy was going to come over to watch a movie but just before she came, I got a call from Elaine, she was crying and wondering if she could come over and would I mix her a drink. She came right over, I mixed us an Old Fashioned and she told me that she had talked with Joann’s son and learned that she is getting weaker day by day, sleeps much of the day, and is taking lots of morphine for pain. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last summer and given about six months to live.  After that, she decided to move to Nebraska to be with her family.  While we were talking, Cathy joined us and we continued to talk and had another drink. When Elaine was ready to go home, Cathy walked her to her apartment and she didn’t come back and didn’t come back, so when I went check on them, they were giggling and laughing and having a good time. So I mixed us all another drink at Elaine’s apartment and we continued to talk and laugh and have a good time until Joey started to say that he needed to go out for a bedtime potty break.  Dang - 3 old fashioneds and I was able to sleep through the night and feel pretty good this morning. We never did get around to watching a movie.  

Saturday, January 18, 2025, MN

I guess it is the ‘winter of not a darned thing happening’ these days.  We had a two day cold spell last week that kept me inside but there have definitely been a lot more inside days in my world lately.  If there is no reason to go out, I don’t.  We did have a warm up with a few days in the mid-upper 30s this week, but we are headed for another three days of temps near zero but with chill factors way below that.

I have gotten out of the house a few times but mostly for errands.  I did go over to visit Mavis and we had some lunch at Qdoba ( a first for me but not bad for fast food). We had intended to go to this little neighborhood Mexican place that always had such good food but when I drove by there, a big sign on the door said it was under new ownership and under construction.  We still had a nice visit and it was good to see her.  She has been recovering from a knee injury that she got while walking her grand-dog (he cut in front of her and she went down). 

I’ve been spending a lot of time making cards and gift bags.  Now, what am I going to do with all of those? I also started to crochet a baby blanket for my niece, Ali, who is expecting her third child in March.  

It fills my days and I have learned some new techniques for cutting and stamping and inking that keep my brain engaged and learning new things.  

On these cold, cold days Joey and I haven’t been getting very good walks in, so I have taken to bringing the ball along and throwing it down the hallway so he gets some running in.  He will go after it but won’t bring it back to me and usually ends up at the door across the hall from us where Gizmo the cat used to live.  He has gotten really good at retrieving the ball and returning it when we play in the apartment, but that usually involves a few treats.  We’ve also been working on getting him to do the ‘go in a circle’ and he is catching on little by little. Once he gets it, he’s got it but he is stubborn and likes to do things his way.

I cleaned for Cassie and Tommy last week and was asked if I would be interested in letting their puppy, Goose, out every now and then if  Tommy was out of town. I went there this week and took Joey along.  After Goose got over the excitement of being out of the crate, had a drink of water, and pottied in the back yard, I took them for a walk.  Joey was a bully to him and ensured that Goose knew of his dominance, but after that the walk went well.  Goose is a Bernadoodle, a cross between poodle and Bernese Mountain dog and is cute as can be with one blue and one brown eye and two little white spots on his nose.

I’ve come down with another crappy cold over the last few days, feeling crummy on Wednesday but better on Thursday (good thing because it was cleaning at the Bridge’s house day) and then really crappy yesterday.  I stayed at Ben’s after cleaning, so I could take Norah and Camille to swim practice, as Jill is out of town and Ben was still working.  It was a really long day, but I made it.  When I got home and was taking things out of the car, I realized that one of the girls left their swim bag in the car and I would have to get that back to them as they had a meet on Friday. Ben met me at Staring Lake and we made the switch. 

I was rudely awakened at 4:20 this morning when the fire alarms went off in every apartment.  That is the big deal alarm that means ‘get out’, although that is real confusing as we have had alarm issues ever since lightening struck the building two years ago. Nobody knows what they are supposed to do and folks on my floor were all confused. I keep a bag of stuff packed for those situations (change of clothes, prescriptions, dog food), grabbed it and got some clothes on and got outdoors, thinking I could sit in my car with the heat on but realized I had grabbed only the apartment keys and not the car keys. I also realized that I need to get some different  items in that bag so it is more useful if the time should come to ‘get out’ again.  A project for later today.  

Sunday, January 5, 2024, MN

 Darn - over a week since I last posted an update.  I guess that means that there hasn't been a lot going on in my world these days.  The weather has changed from warmish, foggy days to cold and sunny days.  It was 0 when I took Joey out this morning and it’s a real challenge for him to get through his morning routine.  Yesterday we had to come inside to warm up and then make another trip out so he could take care of business. We have only gone for our 1-mile walk once this week but it looks like there are some 20s in the forecast and we can sure walk then.

New Year’s Eve was fun with Cathy and Elaine. I fixed steak and lobster and Cathy brought salad and twice baked potatoes and Elaine brought some good Prosecco wine. We talked and talked and had lots of laughs until about 10:15 and they went home and I got ready for bed.  I knew it was midnight when I awoke to several text messages and fireworks going off.  Happy New Year!

I got in one walk around Staring Lake with Ben and that is always such a good time to have one on one time with him.  We both had errands to run after so didn’t stop for a coffee this time.

How to stay busy on these cold, cold days?  Well, I’ve been making cards and needle felting.  I found a good deal on some pretty blue wool on marketplace so took a drive to Cottage Grove one day to pick it up.  I’ve been trying some different techniques on card making so it has been fun.

I had lunch with Mavis on Friday and it was nice to see her again.  She is recovering from knee surgery so isn’t getting around real good but was happy to get out and about.  We had planned to go to Morelos, this great little Mexican restaurant, but since I was early, I drove by there to make sure they were open and learned that it was closed for remodeling and under new ownership.  Dang - their food was delicious!

I learned yesterday that my sister Rene is in the hospital with pneumonia and I pray that she is strong enough to overcome it.  She is about 90 pounds and still a smoker and drinker, so it will have to be determination and good medicine that gets her through.  I guess she and Mike have been ill for a while but they haven’t reached out for any help.

The girls had a swim meet yesterday, each competing in at least four events and they all improved their previous times on every event.  I was going to go (groan!) but when Ben texted to say that it was standing room only, I decided to stay home and watch the live stream.  I don’t need to be packed into a crowded room these days with all of the crud going around - flu, Covid, colds, respiratory illnesses, etc.  Besides that, I really didn’t feel like going out in the cold.