On Thursday morning, Deb picked up Joey as she will be watching him for the next two days as I am off to Wisconsin and Ben will be picking him up from her on Saturday when he returns from his work trip to Las Vegas. I was packed and had the car loaded and was on the road by 8:00. This is my first road trip since last October, so it's going to feel good to connect with family and friends again.
I was just cruising along I-94 and I noticed the tire pressure warning light come on, so I made a stop in Baldwin to have the air pressure checked. I had just had that done a few weeks ago when I had tires rotated, so I wasn't too worried unless there was a puncture or something. They topped them off and I headed down the road again. I think it is my spare that has a slow leak.
Back on the road with a stop for a stretch break near Eau Claire and then again in Portage where I met my sister-in-law Sharon for lunch at the Hitching Post. It's always good to see family and I got an update on what's been going on with everyone.
I arrived at Dawn's, got settled, and we were walking around her yard, checking out her gardens when Pat came around the corner and we chatted for a bit before I walked over to his house for dinner and hugs with him and Tracey. I brought his birthday lasagna for dinner, so he didn't have to cook anything.
Since Tracey's stroke two years ago, he has become quite the caretaker as she has many limitations. She has now lost about 50 pounds and will be able to do more in the line of physical therapy and will be starting more therapy to improve the use of her left arm and hand. I sure noticed a positive difference since the last time I saw her about a year ago.
Pat had the day off on Friday, so after coffee and breakfast, he and I went to see Tom and Karen. Tom's health is not very good and he is very crippled up - I started to cry when I saw him - damned emotions that come out my eyes. Most of our conversation was about health issues and their rescue dog issues. After an hour or so visit, we left and then stopped at Fraboni's Italian grocery for pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and salami for Pat's yummy homemade pizza for dinner.
I drove around Stoughton looking at apartment options and I'm sticking to my plan to stay on the list for Greenspire. The grounds are very nice and the apartments have been remodeled, including solar and covered parking.
I went back to Dawn's for a nap, and got a text from Doug to see if our 3:00 time was still going to work out. I had forgotten and he said he was available any time, so I headed to Deak's Bar and Grill for a beer and a chat with him. It was good to see him and learn that no news was good news from our classmates.
I went back to Pat's but begged off and didn't hang out for long and left early as I was exhausted.
I walked over and had coffee and breakfast with Pat and Tracey and then Pat and I got her outside for a two block walk. She did just fine - her balance is good and her steps are steady. She just needs to do it more often.
I needed to move, so I did some garden cleanup and trimmed the rose bushes back a bit, then headed back to Dawn's to rest a bit, take a shower and get ready for Roger's 80th birthday party. What a screwup that was! I messed up on the time - the party started at 1:00 and I had it in my mind that it started at 4:00. When Patty texted at 2:00 to see if I was ok, I headed there but a lot of people that I wanted to see had already left. Dang it!
It was an early night - I felt just beat.
Tracey had a party to go to on Sunday, so I got to hang out with Pat one on one, but we ended up having visits from Bill (Tracey's Dad), Diane (her Aunt), and Pat helped his neighbor Rose with a repair project.
I had dinner that night with Dawn and she made zucchini stuffed with chicken, cheese, and orzo - boy was that good. Jonnie came over and we sat on the porch and talked but called it a night early as we were meeting up with more cousins the next morning at 8:00.
