Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Today is the 58th anniversary of my engagement to Mike - he proposed to me in the driveway of the Starr School - how romantical (I think that is how he would say it).

I was up early Sunday morning, walked Joey, had my egg and cheese sandwich and was ready when Ben and Charlotte arrived at 8:00. I was taking him to the Theodore Wirth Trailhead in N Minneapolis for the annual Utepils Trail Run and he was doing the 10K.  The unpaved trail winds through the woods, lakes, and hills of the park so we were unable to see him during the run and I messed up getting his photo at the start.

Parking was a real challenge when we got to the brewery but we made it in time to see him cross the finish line and then some big guy moved in front of him. Grrrr!  He did great and came real close to his goal of 1-hour.

Sunday afternoon there was a knock on my door and Ted handed me $20 - I had won the half-time score on the weekly MN Vikings Football pool. It's funny - I could care less about the football, but I sure don't mind the $$.

This is the week that I get ready and prepped for my Wisconsin trip, as I head out on Thursday morning.  I've gotten in touch with a few people that I want to connect with and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Pat and Tracey

Friday, September 19, 2025

 It's been another busy week, starting with our Stampin Up group's annual indoor picnic on Monday. I made the Corn and Bean Salad that Ben made recently and it was well received - it is so flavorful and colorful. We also had chicken wings and dummies, croissants, a broccoli and apple salad and a yummy apple cake with cinnamon ice cream for dessert.  After we ate, we assembled about 60 cards that Judy had prepared for a local hospice group - they were fall themed all occasion cards. 

That afternoon I prepared the filling for a chicken pot pie that I was making for dinner with Carol and Richard who came for a visit on Tuesday. 

Most of Tuesday was preparing for my guests - cleaning house, finishing the pot pie and other dinner items.  They arrived around 4:30 and we proceeded to eat and talk the rest of the evening.  My friendship with Carol goes back to about 1969 or 70, as her ex-husband Mike and my Mike were friends from the Navy and we got together every now and then. Their kids were close in age to ours and kind of grew up being friends too.  They divorced and Carol and Richard have been together for about 35 years now.

We spent a good part of the day on Wednesday at Mall of America and ended up walking 6.6 miles that day.  I was kind of dreading it - not really fond of the big shopping extravaganza but it was a nice time and we had a nice lunch at Cowboy Jacks.  I came back home and we all had a rest and they picked up pizza on their way to my place and we had pizza and watched the movie "Wolf" with Brad Pitt and George Clooney. It kept our interest and was pretty good.

We hugged and said goodbye and they were heading back home to Wisconsin the next morning.

I had to be at the clinic for a blood draw on Thursday morning, as my doctor is following up on some symptoms I've been having lately - a tingly sensation that I notice when I am napping or sleeping - concentrated in the shoulder and right side of head area.  I'm not sure that they are seizures but just in case, I reached out to him.  He isn't concerned about any of the blood results but wants me to now have a 24-hour portable EEG that is scheduled for October 14-15.  I will have to go in on the 14th and have the electrodes and a cap put on and then back on the 15th to have it removed.  Guess I will be in recluse mode that day.

I also wanted to get my flu shot that day and they couldn't fit me in for an hour and a half so I went shopping at Kohls and picked up a couple of t-shirts and light weight sweat pants.

This morning, Friday, Ben and I met at Staring Lake for a walk around the lake loop trail.  It's been quite a while since we have been able to fit a walk in - he has been working on a challenging project for his job - finished it yesterday and got some good recognition for a job well done.  I could tell in his voice yesterday that he was feeling pretty good about it.

We were about 2/3 of the way into the walk when it started to rain lightly, then got heavier and heavier and it wasn't long and we were drenched. Both of us had water resistant jackets but definitely not enough protection for that kind of downpour.  It certainly added some interest to our walk.

I stopped at Costco to get gas on the way home and when I came in the apartment, I couldn't find my Costco Credit card.  I looked and looked, went down to the car to see if it fell out of my pocket or purse - but no.  As I came up the stairs, I slipped and came down kind of twisted and landed on my left hand and knee - now I hope I don't have any issues from that.  I got back to the apartment, checked my purse again and there it was in the first pocket that I checked.  Boy, sometimes I wonder about myself

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.