tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933224156093432692024-03-17T20:02:08.506-07:00Bridge Coast to Coast SagaThis journal got its start back in 2005 when we started full-timing in a motorhome and traveling around the country, visiting with family and friends and seeing the sights of America. The focus has changed through the years as we became more stationary and no longer travel by motorhome and continues to evolve through the years. To view entries before June of 2013, go to <a href="http://archive.bridgeccs.com/">http://archive.bridgeccs.com</a>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comBlogger864125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-4027784969985218122024-03-13T07:27:00.005-07:002024-03-13T07:32:36.632-07:00Wednesday, March 13, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">It’s been another active week around here. Back on Sunday afternoon, I took a box of 50 Easter cards for Hospice to the grandkids for them to help assemble. It is a project that they like to do and they have fun putting their own little artistic embellishments on them and I think the volunteer effort is a good thing for them to do. I didn’t stick around for long, as they had chores and projects to work on but we did have a nice visit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I went to the Sportz Page for dinner on Monday with Elaine and Joann and it was nice to connect with them again. We probably haven’t hung out since January - not sure why but I guess we were all going in different directions.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a Service Coordinator meeting in my building yesterday and I don’t think I will go again. The same five grumpy complainers attended and they didn’t have a positive thing to say about anything. I’ve been avoiding them and I’ve said that I would distance myself but I like to stay informed. I guess I will speak with Maureen directly for information. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Deb and I went to Harrison Park and met up with our former Service Coordinator, Mary, who retired last November. We walked the trail and then found a picnic table and sat for a nice visit. It was good to see Mary again and to learn that she is enjoying her retirement - imagine that!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had to get up early this morning and scramble to my follow-up cardiology appointment. The echocardiogram that I had last week showed a 5% improvement in the pumping action (ejection function) of my heart - a result of the new medications that I am taking. It is now pretty close to the normal range and I don’t have to have it checked again for six months. The condition is called cardiomyopathy and if left untreated can result in heart failure. I’m feeling pretty good that a few little pills can keep it working and keep me living the lifestyle I want.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As I pulled into my parking spot at the clinic, I spotted a large flock of Tundra Swans flying northward. Woo Hoo! I also spotted a Red Wing Blackbird and heard a Robin off in the distance recently. Spring is just around the corner.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-67528183156618266202024-03-08T06:38:00.009-07:002024-03-08T08:08:46.539-07:00Friday, March 8, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Another busy week for me and I am ready for a slow down. I couldn’t even watch President Biden’s State of the Union address last night because I was too tired. How did our congressmen and women get to be so rude with the opposing party? The sneers, grimaces, and heckles really disturb me and it disgusts me that they can’t behave at a professional level and show respect for the president, regardless of their party. Anyway, I knew that I could get the information the next morning, so I went to bed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Norah and Camille had a sleepover with me last Sunday, as they didn’t have school on Monday. We made creamy pasta for dinner Sunday evening and then watched old episodes of Young Sheldon. It was Camille’s turn to sleep on the couch and we all read for a bit before drifting off to sleep.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had planned to take them to the Science or Children’s Museum on Monday, but all of the museums are closed on Mondays. Dang! So we headed to Mall of America (not my favorite place) and to the Aquarium. When we left there, we walked around the amusement park as they were trying to decide which ride they might want to go on and they spotted the climbing wall. That was an option that Ben had suggested and they were all up for it. It was a bit pricey but I knew that we would get our moneys worth by doing it and they stayed engaged and loved it for the full hour. Of course, everything is a competition with those two and it was either a race to the top or who could get to the bottom first. Funny girls.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7BUuOlVnNnm-xhl7V3vVz8sdR0Lcn7BpbAN-TdbsdN8wtjLlW6tBxlQYOkVAymGQn5okCeNdcPORaChPCfKKRhrPrLTmS_8KkIUQzebil1oEcMp38q6ylrxxaxHO2qatuKQJ4KfVjHeAlzr8AbehUV3bWAQJSdmaT9fgwmY_nxpFfAr-tKB59dfwLvE/s4032/IMG_1342.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7BUuOlVnNnm-xhl7V3vVz8sdR0Lcn7BpbAN-TdbsdN8wtjLlW6tBxlQYOkVAymGQn5okCeNdcPORaChPCfKKRhrPrLTmS_8KkIUQzebil1oEcMp38q6ylrxxaxHO2qatuKQJ4KfVjHeAlzr8AbehUV3bWAQJSdmaT9fgwmY_nxpFfAr-tKB59dfwLvE/w400-h300/IMG_1342.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfV7pJDpjJMr37pTKqh2jOyY3jPYuD5gD9bzIMJZavi63LtCFwhQ0w126QEiNrkGsk77u8wTDecVQFMnTxta-vpl69eXO1ZdgTRixI4GmrhMAzTeqj33QtGqoLxpkm-Ff_xZ5J0C2nnmy58PUhEEVXwFE_JYDSD0lN2EaYd-V72dG5whPiyoKoLhJ8Zw/s4032/IMG_1350.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfV7pJDpjJMr37pTKqh2jOyY3jPYuD5gD9bzIMJZavi63LtCFwhQ0w126QEiNrkGsk77u8wTDecVQFMnTxta-vpl69eXO1ZdgTRixI4GmrhMAzTeqj33QtGqoLxpkm-Ff_xZ5J0C2nnmy58PUhEEVXwFE_JYDSD0lN2EaYd-V72dG5whPiyoKoLhJ8Zw/w300-h400/IMG_1350.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IV9BXtHN1tGIvxX4sa41sI6lc-BlDJl8Z3BH8TqpsCoxMxvokjaGEeJEVEB7DutfnAfwWtILQX6C-KkxNPSkoTApk2MVMTzqlfJIDsAHKqBjZ77plLBqP0t8tIXt9w8MqzUPu2A_pVEORKXc5QBlmqmvV9M38dSUMJDw6P4UhBi_H1PbdayoItPEejA/s4032/IMG_1373.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IV9BXtHN1tGIvxX4sa41sI6lc-BlDJl8Z3BH8TqpsCoxMxvokjaGEeJEVEB7DutfnAfwWtILQX6C-KkxNPSkoTApk2MVMTzqlfJIDsAHKqBjZ77plLBqP0t8tIXt9w8MqzUPu2A_pVEORKXc5QBlmqmvV9M38dSUMJDw6P4UhBi_H1PbdayoItPEejA/w300-h400/IMG_1373.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Joey had a 6-month checkup on Tuesday morning and all looks good with him except that he is about 2 pounds overweight and I need to cut back on the people food and treats. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had art class with Genevieve that afternoon and we did an Easter needle felting project. Here is my outcome from that session.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6CJ_fS31mPJkZVNIOhTM-nX-tJXwxpl-3xkayvhBtpr1kQRQg9Af8JuuKzawzOUmJbxryo_g6Kwyh_uLqc68POGzen8Rpb_89pIBLEbSrcOfage4c94wNFH8fFxCj4I_MSZUJdzYryQOJql3GyQB1rKUM62rkGdw4MTKYrBG2NFwOxFBXLSoGuU8ZQY/s2358/IMG_2497.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2358" data-original-width="2061" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6CJ_fS31mPJkZVNIOhTM-nX-tJXwxpl-3xkayvhBtpr1kQRQg9Af8JuuKzawzOUmJbxryo_g6Kwyh_uLqc68POGzen8Rpb_89pIBLEbSrcOfage4c94wNFH8fFxCj4I_MSZUJdzYryQOJql3GyQB1rKUM62rkGdw4MTKYrBG2NFwOxFBXLSoGuU8ZQY/s320/IMG_2497.jpeg" width="280" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Last week when I stopped at one of my favorite thrift shops, Assistance League in Richfield, I purchased the little ceramic basket. When I was checking out, the gals admired it and I told them what I was doing with it. One of the gals, Kristy, told me that she had gotten into felting, purchased a lot of supplies and then didn’t like the craft because she poked her fingers too much. She asked if I would like her supplies - of course I would and I gave her my contact information. So I got a text from her this week and will head to the store to pick it up later this morning. I’m excited to see what she is passing on to me.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday was food shelf day and I did my volunteer duties in the morning and did some grocery shopping and food prep for Thursday lunch. I also took Joey to the hockey rink to play - my little fence gate worked well and we spent about a half hour running around, chasing the ball (not returning it) and playing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had to get up early yesterday morning to make it to a 8:00 Echocardiogram appointment (a follow up procedure after starting a new heart medication a couple of weeks ago. I will see the cardiologist again on the 13th.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Randy Sabien invited me to a show that he was doing at the Sidekick Theater and offered tickets. It was the same performers who did the Christmas show that I went to with the addition of a base player who looked a lot like Hank Williams Jr. So Deb and I went and sat in the balcony and enjoyed the show of great performers playing country music hits from before the 1980s. There was some real talent up on the stage and the show was fun to see. After the show, Randy followed us to my apartment and we had Spicy Baked Shrimp, beet salad, breadsticks and apple cranberry crumble for dessert while we chatted about lots of different topics. Feeding him lunch was the least I could do after he generously gave me tickets to the show.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPbjIhsxWc4AHBiffRbhMAsSUZ3scT5GRoOaZii10HyDACNQV7AQTfYy5XaaKrWAhHwdNzjQ7fm4-B-x25N70wjW7fYrXDp-4nAh4SSjlRF_NhQqDquCKKpnZmnLDJtk1bBytbD4uWUSjHP51m2QsCywdHkIsgP0xBIXI6zey9nPWqPS0yF2tTPyWMaA/s4032/IMG_1377.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPbjIhsxWc4AHBiffRbhMAsSUZ3scT5GRoOaZii10HyDACNQV7AQTfYy5XaaKrWAhHwdNzjQ7fm4-B-x25N70wjW7fYrXDp-4nAh4SSjlRF_NhQqDquCKKpnZmnLDJtk1bBytbD4uWUSjHP51m2QsCywdHkIsgP0xBIXI6zey9nPWqPS0yF2tTPyWMaA/w640-h480/IMG_1377.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> It was a very nice afternoon and I was tired and lazy the rest of the day. I didn't even stay up to watch the State of the Union address.</span><p></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-27402449372380289462024-03-03T06:15:00.006-07:002024-03-03T06:44:13.995-07:00Sunday, March 3, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">This last week has been full of birthdays - every day except Thursday and Friday. My dear friend Mary (76), </span><span style="font-size: medium;">cousin Jonnie (74), friend Tom (75), niece Olivia (14) and niece Stella (50). Happy Birthday to them all. I sang Happy Birthday to Jonnie and she told me not to quit my day job. Tom and I had a long </span><span style="font-size: medium;">2-hour conversation and text greetings were sent to others.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I cleaned at Ben and Jill’s house and anxiously awaited the news that Patty made it safely to the ground after her first ever tandem skydive in Arizona on Leap Day. What a brave and adventurous woman she is. All is good and she will be around for a while yet. Yay!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We had a little cold spell this week and it went from a record breaking 65° on Monday to 20° on Tuesday, then it shot back up to the mid 40s again on Wednesday. It has been so strange this winter with all but two days in February that were well above average temperatures. The silver maple trees are budding out quickly and the grass gets greener every day. It is 44° already this morning and they say we could see 70 today.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlotte had a swim meet this weekend and I went to watch her take first place in the 50 yard backstroke. She competes in the 50 yard freestyle today but I am going to watch the streaming video from home. It is a 30-minute drive there, parking lot is jammed full, and the spectator area is packed and it always seems like she swims in the farthest lane from where we watch - so the streaming video makes sense to me.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I have been pondering a way to block off the entrance to the hockey rink in the park near me so I can let Joey run free. I stopped at the hardware store and bought a length of 4-foot plastic fence and some wood garden stakes. I think it will work but I need to come up with a way to keep it upright on the existing fence that the city will not notice. So that challenge kept me from sleeping last night.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-60019214201528197612024-02-24T06:52:00.005-07:002024-02-24T16:05:20.238-07:00Saturday, February 24, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet niece, Brittany! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This has turned out to be a pretty busy week although there wasn’t much on the calendar when it started. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I met with the Stampin Up group on Monday afternoon and we always have such a fun time making a couple of cards and laughing and telling stories. They are a fun group of women to hang out with.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Deb invited me to Starbucks for a coffee on Tuesday morning, so we picked up coffees and headed to a sunny bench along the 9 Mile Creek and sat there and enjoyed a good chat, the warm (sort of) sunshine, and the beautiful sounds of the water flowing through the creek. There is still a bit of snow on the ground but it should all disappear this week.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I helped Elaine with her Renters Rebate form in the afternoon and we ended up chatting for over an hour. It’s been a while since we have hung out and will hopefully make it out for a dinner next week. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Wednesday started with </span><span>a follow-up visit to the Cardiologist and I was hoping to be released from their care. NOT! Apparently there is enough of a significant decline in the left heart muscle that is causing it to pump at a lower rate than the right side. For now, the treatment is another prescription medicine, a blood test next week followed by another echocardiogram and a follow-up visit. The goal is to get both sides of the heart pumping at the same rate. If this medicine doesn’t do it, there is another that I am pretty resistant to taking (has a long list of side effects and a very high copay) and the possibility of needing a pacemaker. This doesn’t really upset me as I feel like it is what it is, considering my age and that it hasn’t slowed me down at all - all I want is to be able to keep on keeping on and if this is what it takes, I’ll do it. I feel confident with the Cardiologist (she seems like just a kid), but she was thorough and patient and willing to answer questions in a way that I could understand. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I got back home just in time to help out with the Food Truck distribution and then the cleanup.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I helped three residents with their Renters Rebate form on Thursday morning and that is all who have signed up so far. Each time, it only takes about 20 minutes and I’m glad that I am able to help. I can’t believe how little income some people have to live on - they are sure fortunate to be here and have such a nice apartment. I feel good about my situation and I just love my living space.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Not much was going on Thursday and Friday. Today, I’m off to watch Camille and Norah play in a basketball tournament. Their games have become a lot more fun to watch as they gain skills and have become more aggressive, and the pace of the games has picked up. So I just got home and they ended up playing three games - they lost the first game by one basket, they won the 2nd game 14 to 12 in overtime (first a 2 minute game and then the first basket wins), and they lost the third game by 7 points. The sidelines were crazy today and they seemed to feed of the support. They all played well and hard. It was an exciting afternoon and I am tired and have a scratchy throat from all of the cheering.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Weatherwise - there are some 60° predictions in the forecast. Nice!</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-51606174601285686852024-02-18T06:58:00.002-07:002024-02-18T07:03:16.393-07:00Sunday, February 18, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The cold spell broke and the thermometer will be creeping upwards again. Joey and I didn’t do a lot of walking the last two days, as the wind was horrible, making it feel like 10°. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I made three trips to Chanhassen this week - to clean for Ben and Jill on Thursday, to celebrate Ben’s birthday on Friday, and to watch the twins play basketball yesterday. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I made lasagna and lemon poppyseed cake for his birthday and Lois and Dennis joined us - she made a yummy salad to go with the lasagna. We had a nice visit. Ben told me that he was asked just this week what his favorite cake was and he told them lemon with a light glaze. I guess I made a good call on the birthday cake.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Minnesota gives a renters rebate for lower income folks and our previous Service Coordinator would help those who had trouble filling out the forms. The current gal is unable to do it, so I volunteered to help out. It is a short form that takes about 15-20 minutes to fill out and then, come September a nice little deposit is made to your bank account (about $550 for me this year). I have done two so far and have another 4-5 signed up.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-49141516466947825152024-02-16T07:13:00.004-07:002024-02-16T07:29:33.053-07:00Friday, February 16, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Happy 47th Birthday to Ben! What a guy he has turned out to be! A wonderful, gentle, involved parent to their three beautiful girls, a loving and caring father, a good brother to Pat, and an attentive son to me. Mike and I did something right and it seems he has the best of our good qualities. I’m proud of him every day.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We finally had a taste of winter yesterday when the area was hit with about 6” of beautiful white snow. The view from my window is so pretty. It all happened during the night so when I went out in the morning the roads were already plowed and the parking lot at my building was cleared. The day was sunny so that made it look so pretty. They are forecasting a dip in temps to the 20s for a day and then heading back up to 30s and 40s. I’ll take this kind of spring-like winter any day.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkpIADZYNmp41mnBZVWFROPXP5UJIhdD7A8UafSiPH2_v3l_GS-fb0rzI6AEehnIfY86bQIM0SBvDZpdbXd7niobsrV8UYHftawjXHxrnU0rIIdBYFcChg98xx7icP_gCe9FdTJhNXF1ty_okqbh3dw0YwYkVecfluOWVQoxE4I3UrNKqL_PYrJeaMX4/s3264/IMG_2478.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkpIADZYNmp41mnBZVWFROPXP5UJIhdD7A8UafSiPH2_v3l_GS-fb0rzI6AEehnIfY86bQIM0SBvDZpdbXd7niobsrV8UYHftawjXHxrnU0rIIdBYFcChg98xx7icP_gCe9FdTJhNXF1ty_okqbh3dw0YwYkVecfluOWVQoxE4I3UrNKqL_PYrJeaMX4/w400-h300/IMG_2478.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had been hearing a strange noise coming from the front passenger side of my car and it got worse, so I took it to the garage so the mechanic could take a listen. He was going to ride with me but once I started it up, he just opened the hood and there it was - the water pump. While performing the inspection, they also found the serpentine belt to be worn, so that had to be replaced too - all to the tune of $1200. The good thing was they didn’t charge me for a loaner car. I was a little concerned about driving it to Ben’s for my cleaning job but I took the slow route and it handled very well on the snow covered back roads. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-27883949778691675922024-02-12T07:03:00.006-07:002024-02-12T07:17:43.042-07:00Monday, February 12, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">It was fun to spend some time with Charlotte on Saturday morning. After her swim practice, we went to Original House of Pancakes for breakfast and she loaded up on carbs with Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I ordered the Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry sauce - the only item I ever have from their menu because there are a very few restaurants that offer them. Our dear friend Tom Rinehart introduced us to Swedish pancakes way back in 1973 on our first camping trip to the land in Richland Center. After breakfast we strolled through the Minnetonka General Store that has so many interesting and fun things to see. Charlotte spotted a section with Taylor Swift (her favorite star these days) and got a coaster and a sticker.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had such a fun afternoon. My neighbor, Cathy, invited me to join her and some of her friends (Heidi, Karen, Susie, and Vince) to go to the Basilica of St Mary in downtown Minneapolis and see the Minnesota Sinfonia perform. The music was beautiful, with a guest peformer, Inna Faliks, a world renowned pianist. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">After the concert, we went to Wakame, an Asian Bistro and had a glass of wine and shared several items from the menu. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>This is the first cultural experience I have had in ages - and the first time in a church and the first classical concert in ages too. It sure felt nice</span><span> </span><span>to hang out with a group of gals (plus one guy) and have lots of good conversation. </span><span>I’m looking forward to getting to know them better and seeing them all again - many thanks to Cathy for inviting me.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhsVWfMiIpjeLH9S1CtPtmeEqWNXHoyCiPoMFuKC8IpsJyCYhcgnqkYLXUnQX7LvtDCqSRFFc6MhfmTOXtAuc33F3OiKuAdL5FWjgZN1ta89c27wPCm06QQOOnZ7ygBhUAPjhu03kv8AI6WLysvNtfQFQbLSsOoMiWP2nZU-og9MAk03afU2iEzSOEfY/s4032/IMG_1300.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhsVWfMiIpjeLH9S1CtPtmeEqWNXHoyCiPoMFuKC8IpsJyCYhcgnqkYLXUnQX7LvtDCqSRFFc6MhfmTOXtAuc33F3OiKuAdL5FWjgZN1ta89c27wPCm06QQOOnZ7ygBhUAPjhu03kv8AI6WLysvNtfQFQbLSsOoMiWP2nZU-og9MAk03afU2iEzSOEfY/w480-h640/IMG_1300.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And then I watched the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. So happy that the Chiefs won (their third) with a final score of 27-22, with their last touchdown in the last 5 seconds of the game during overtime.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-18223079951965706102024-02-10T06:19:00.002-07:002024-02-10T06:25:00.263-07:00Saturday, February 10, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">It has been a good week with plenty of time to be active and plenty of time to rest and relax, read, and do crafty stuff - just how I like to structure my life these days. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had a follow-up visit with my general practitioner and we went over my recent episode. She did say that I do have some plaque buildup in my arteries but there was not enough that a stent was necessary (75-90%) and that the pain could have been from inflammation in the area if the esophagus. The plan of action is to take an acid reducer to see if that makes a difference, so another medication gets added to the regimen. I have a follow up with the cardiologist and an echocardiogram later in the month and that should take care of follow-ups.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I dropped Joey off at doggy day care and then met Cathy at Kruse Markit for breakfast on Thursday. She had a gift card and invited me to share it. It was a nice place and it feels good to have another friend who likes to do that sort of thing. After that, I went to StevenBe to get some more colors of felting wool and did some thrift store shopping before picking Joey up again. She invited me to join her and some friends for an afternoon of culture at the Basilica to hear the Minnesota Chamber Orchestra and then have late lunch/early dinner at an Asian Bistro. Sounds like fun to me. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Weather - we have had lovely days on the 40s and 50s but have now turned to more winter-like temperatures in the 30s. We did get some much needed precipitation this week in the form of rain. The big news yesterday was that a tornado touched down near Stoughton (closer to Evansville) and did quite a bit of damage to trees and property. They had a 65° day, followed by the record breaking February storm that brought tornadoes to the area. Strange.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ben called yesterday morning to see if I wanted to meet him at Staring Lake for a morning walk. I can’t turn down an opportunity to hang out with him, so we had a nice hour long walk with the dogs and then stopped for a coffee at Smith 1877, a great historic home turned into coffee shop in Eden Prairie. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As soon as I finish my coffee here, I will take Joey out for a potty walk and then head over to watch Charlotte swim and then take her out to breakfast. I’m looking forward to seeing what she has been up to lately. </span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-23507453091187315762024-02-04T07:37:00.004-07:002024-02-04T14:46:01.373-07:00Sunday, February 4, 2024, MN<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The mild temperatures around here have gotten me outdoors a lot more this week and Joey and I have gotten some good walks in. He does so well on the leash when I use the Easy Walk halter but he does not like it one bit. If he sees me with it in my hand, he will hide under the couch, so I have to be sneaky about getting it on him. I don’t know if he knows that it restricts his want to tug on the leash or if he just doesn’t like having it out over his head. Who knows?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I saw the ophthalmologist this week for a follow-up to my extreme dry eye issue that has continued for the last couple of years - I have lived with pretty constant irritation, especially if there is any air movement whatsoever. His diagnosis - reduce screen time and try not taking antihistamines (been taking those daily for years too). So here I sit on my iPad - it’s going to be rough to cut my screen time in half. Or more. The last three days, I have done well with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I cleaned at Ben and Jill’s on Thursday and the strength exercises and stretches that I started a few weeks ago is sure helping with that. Advil also helps but I recovered more quickly this time - guess I better keep that up.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I took my car in for an oil change and battery replacement on Friday and also had them run a diagnostic test to see what was causing the noise I had been hearing. Nothing was found and my car got a clean bill of health - maybe the sound was always there and I hadn’t paid attention to it. Who knows? </span></p><p><br /></p><p>These are my latest felting projects - valentines. The hanging one is for Ben’s family and the frog for Pat and Tracey. I think he is adorable!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYaOtvFMAI_iw_1qgqaG_Aanan0vfbStHinjj1mbWE8rJ3V0DMH0Bj7bFm6yHOJtoWD-la4RzaPxNzJIWFr_XCaJ0GOoQtmwzv1bUsLt5yYtR1zJil82q5bRh-WPMdxdJGyexs1fPdnj-tb-dqt9RfeXygGgWX_KCtrRiURDKL9YGp8b92aazZ_CnJ54/s4032/IMG_1298.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="863" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYaOtvFMAI_iw_1qgqaG_Aanan0vfbStHinjj1mbWE8rJ3V0DMH0Bj7bFm6yHOJtoWD-la4RzaPxNzJIWFr_XCaJ0GOoQtmwzv1bUsLt5yYtR1zJil82q5bRh-WPMdxdJGyexs1fPdnj-tb-dqt9RfeXygGgWX_KCtrRiURDKL9YGp8b92aazZ_CnJ54/s320/IMG_1298.jpeg" width="68" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY_HfOsnR2cZqw-uIAs48ErH2BpEBv0V-VizCM2ieC4DzqW7bnmWiqRvl5IH2bSPdUkV6twraERXPJszK8NaUBe7eTwnL_BlGZ1llXsYO3Vg2ziPldE0eLP5d0rMrNqgjvwj3uGDuitew4DrF_lFKq6EqJlFzxf9SIzc0DWVBH8ENxVnDjxrUi0-wv6s/s2389/IMG_2466.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2092" data-original-width="2389" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPY_HfOsnR2cZqw-uIAs48ErH2BpEBv0V-VizCM2ieC4DzqW7bnmWiqRvl5IH2bSPdUkV6twraERXPJszK8NaUBe7eTwnL_BlGZ1llXsYO3Vg2ziPldE0eLP5d0rMrNqgjvwj3uGDuitew4DrF_lFKq6EqJlFzxf9SIzc0DWVBH8ENxVnDjxrUi0-wv6s/s320/IMG_2466.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The sun is shining and I couldn’t spend another hour in this apartment, so I headed out for a drive along the rural back roads , heading for Monticello to see if I could spot some Trumpeter Swans. I saw a few off in the distance at various lakes along the drive, three of them flew over my car, but there were none to be seen at Swan Park. I guess there are plenty of other resources for them with the mild winter we have had. Regardless, I enjoyed the drive and we got a nice walk in at a local park.</span></p><p><br /></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-8694784360260133522024-01-29T08:01:00.005-07:002024-02-04T07:49:18.170-07:00Monday, January 29, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The sun is shining for the first time in many days and it gave me a bright and happy feeling just as soon as I opened the blinds and sat down with my coffee. I’m looking forward to my morning walk once Joey drags himself out of bed. He usually stays in bed for quite a while after I get up and then he falls asleep next to me while I read the news, I really like that about him because I like the quiet morning solitude before getting moving.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The last three days have been recovery mode, I guess, as I was feeling exhausted from my ordeal on Wednesday. I feel like I did the right thing but also am confused as to what was really going on and it hasn’t shown its ugliness since then. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve been working on some needle felting projects and this is the latest. Guess I better make another bird to go with it. I’m also working on some valentines. I was running out of a few colors, so I drove to the StevenBe Yarn shop yesterday. That is an incredible store with absolutely beautiful materials for anything related to fiber. Genevieve told me about it and I’m thankful for that. It’s an experience just going through the two floors of the incredible colorful and friendly place. There is a large, ell stocked area of colorful wool for felting and it is sold by the ounce - so nice to know what you are getting rather than taking a chance on buying it online.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgL-mdGPJtvhFbBv0Ge8VTwQ6JOFQPHFaFyZwEnycCoTGN5L-29pxQFcsu8n91bOnX4ZmiqDTTylplm2h7nRzMHHxQb1nb5IJMtqFHLFnJWIdjwH_gB9NcKvepv11x-2BEHsq8zy8A6yuVTxEgiqaWkLKgP1dhPMePC6ROKYyZz2B5CeuGL9ZJEhcVrw/s4032/IMG_1294.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgL-mdGPJtvhFbBv0Ge8VTwQ6JOFQPHFaFyZwEnycCoTGN5L-29pxQFcsu8n91bOnX4ZmiqDTTylplm2h7nRzMHHxQb1nb5IJMtqFHLFnJWIdjwH_gB9NcKvepv11x-2BEHsq8zy8A6yuVTxEgiqaWkLKgP1dhPMePC6ROKYyZz2B5CeuGL9ZJEhcVrw/w300-h400/IMG_1294.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I got an email from Rudy this morning, thanking me for my empathy and letting me know that they put Sonja to rest on Friday. He says that he is fine, with lots of loving family and friends to help him through this and adjust to the emptiness. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_tGGi9X5aXlk5vLuAsBgrl6zo2Aq4VqhmV3xxFNEJp638MrttrVry3zP0RefVkDYbhiftdvJLloAQv5B5sEok2uypD321p4EQsayx8RXlOlb0bvZoYGOJ2wwZ9E0Mvr3E31v0zaYQbJZsC89gewnvtJGUmFROG8xtYCt5wKAN0GIMu_39Hi0t3XkHbE/s640/IMG_7815.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_tGGi9X5aXlk5vLuAsBgrl6zo2Aq4VqhmV3xxFNEJp638MrttrVry3zP0RefVkDYbhiftdvJLloAQv5B5sEok2uypD321p4EQsayx8RXlOlb0bvZoYGOJ2wwZ9E0Mvr3E31v0zaYQbJZsC89gewnvtJGUmFROG8xtYCt5wKAN0GIMu_39Hi0t3XkHbE/w400-h300/IMG_7815.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-90228621677289533612024-01-25T09:15:00.005-07:002024-01-25T10:55:57.759-07:00Thursday, January 25, 2024, MN<p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span>What a turn of events the last two days. I woke up at 3 am yesterday with a very uncomfortable pressure pain in my chest, especially when taking deep breaths, and also indigestion. I sat and contemplated what was going on for a few minutes and decided it might be something serious, so I called 911, grabbed my ‘to go’ bag, unlocked the door, put Joey in his crate and waited. I got a ride to Methodist Hospital ER in an ambulance where Ben met me and I spent the rest of the day getting poked and prodded and tested to figure out what was going on - symptoms were typical of blockage of arteries. I had chest X-ray, Covid, </span><span>RSV, and Flu tests, EKG, Ultrasound of heart, and angiogram, and several doses of nitroglycerin. A heart attack and blockage of arteries have been ruled out but I’m still confused about the pain with deep breaths and that it dissipated with nitroglycerin. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I was admitted for observation and crashed once I hit the bed in spite of the person in the next bed who was loud, needy, and her tv and lights were on all night long but I was able to sleep through most of it. She is an impatient, demanding, sometimes rude, and grumpy lady.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The cardiologist visit this morning informed me that the pumping action of the muscle of the left side of the heart is weakened (can be age related) and an additional medication should help that. Follow-ups are scheduled a few weeks out with cardiologist and general practitioner. The next step is to investigate the esophagus and intestine because the pressure pain from those areas is similar to that of heart attacks. Deep breaths are still painful. What a day!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-81012451777776730742024-01-22T08:41:00.002-07:002024-01-22T08:41:30.185-07:00Monday, January 22, 2024, MN<p><span style="font-size: large;">After all of the years that I have been a plant lover, have had a few Orchids, this is the first time I have ever had one rebloom. I keep it on the north facing windowsill and it never gets at direct sunlight, I fertilize it with my regular houseplant fertilizer, and it gets one ice cube every 3-4 days - but it must be happy there.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjj4x1hZ3vLCg8ww8vpGU7egbdbMs1Wwf99oRrjsVXM4PtOHwrLbSTD9gpiPhmRkEo7ZoBzTkQsqpLu1WfM8-C7oL9Nj5q1Imh7p6SXoNDnsl3Cd5DePYMae7y_SjnhvVY2uleYOfP7VVUq4NrwSZw4V-yreJb-OAflLXUETlVI-4d1hNFUBXfhN9S0s/s4032/IMG_1289.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjj4x1hZ3vLCg8ww8vpGU7egbdbMs1Wwf99oRrjsVXM4PtOHwrLbSTD9gpiPhmRkEo7ZoBzTkQsqpLu1WfM8-C7oL9Nj5q1Imh7p6SXoNDnsl3Cd5DePYMae7y_SjnhvVY2uleYOfP7VVUq4NrwSZw4V-yreJb-OAflLXUETlVI-4d1hNFUBXfhN9S0s/w300-h400/IMG_1289.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-30797239013736435792024-01-20T09:25:00.004-07:002024-01-21T10:34:24.218-07:00Saturday, January 20, 2023, MN<p> <span style="font-size: large;">It’s been a cold, cold week (lows between 0 and 10°) with very short walks with Joey. We’ve attempted to go around my building complex a few times but he ends up with cold feet and I have to carry him back inside. The forecast for next week is looking much better, heading back to the 30s. I’ve been sticking close to home with the exception of a haircut on Monday, Charlotte’s 6th Grade Choir concert on Tuesday, and volunteering for food truck on Wednesday. Yesterday, I had enough of feeling cooped up, so I dropped Joey off at doggy day care and did some shopping and stopped for a taco at Taco John’s.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This ad came up in my Facebook feed this morning and it brought back some memories. We had one of these back in the early 70s while living at Grandma Bridge’s house on Dayton </span><span style="font-size: large;">Street in Madison. One memory is of</span><span style="font-size: large;"> a trip to KC and we took my Dad along. On the way back home, we hauled a heavy wooden </span><span style="font-size: large;">antique hide-a-bed that Bob was storing for us, it was opened up in the back of van (where Pat and my Dad rode). The van overheated just past Dodgeville & my Dad plugged the leak in the hose with Pat’s gum and we made it back home safely. In those days, a trip to KC took us 10 hours to drive as there were </span><span style="font-size: large;">no interstate highways yet</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">.</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre1pwpwutugz0z8xQdMx1KUilcmyGVUCgqMTIuFTsuM9bpSERRMIBrfncWQouRgqwMJcgATqfilMkSfkHuWBhzjCLHEt5GrSyQAiwfPyYXqVsdLUWjn9GFOL_wO_8v-iKI8JbEAMOxc8P4O-RxBcBLAXArt4_izia1BzZFwUQONGSW-B_LULjXBfkR-Q/s2013/IMG_2440.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="2013" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre1pwpwutugz0z8xQdMx1KUilcmyGVUCgqMTIuFTsuM9bpSERRMIBrfncWQouRgqwMJcgATqfilMkSfkHuWBhzjCLHEt5GrSyQAiwfPyYXqVsdLUWjn9GFOL_wO_8v-iKI8JbEAMOxc8P4O-RxBcBLAXArt4_izia1BzZFwUQONGSW-B_LULjXBfkR-Q/w400-h243/IMG_2440.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">It was a chili kind of day, so after a little nap this afternoon, I made a pot of chili and invited Deb up to join me. We always have a good time chatting and find plenty of topics to cover.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-74696978360681296262024-01-13T17:35:00.009-07:002024-01-13T17:37:20.402-07:00Saturday, January 13, 2024, MN<p> Well, there has been a strange turn of events. Ramona, whose home I just cleaned on Thursday passed away today. She was in great shape on Thursday and I was looking forward to repeat visits and learning more about her and hearing her stories. Sad news. I guess you just never know.</p><p><br /></p><p>Winter is here. The forecast is for -25° chill factors for the next few days, so Joey and I will be taking short walks. He really needs some running, so this morning I took him to the library, shut the doors and played ball for a few minutes. He’s really good about returning the ball if I have a handful of treats or another ball to relay. I dug out his jacket and he doesn’t like it at all, thinks he’s being punished. Too bad.</p><p><br /></p><p>I went to want Norah and Camille play basketball this morning. They have really improved, and played hard and good defense, but they lost 32 to 12. Camille got two of the baskets. </p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-10278588770937692612024-01-11T13:25:00.004-07:002024-01-17T14:35:42.225-07:00Thursday, January 9, 2024, MN<p> As I was heading for my walk with Joey this morning, it was about 17° out but the sun was shining and that made a big difference. I heard some chirping, so glanced up into the crabapple tree next to the sidewalk and it was full of Cedar Waxwings. I was really surprised to see them this late into winter, as they usually pass through in the fall on their migration to warmer areas. I guess they are confused with the warm fall-like weather we have been having. I hope they make it to somewhere warm before long, as the weather is turning quickly.</p><p><br /></p><p>I started my new cleaning job for Ramona (the first Ramona I have ever met) and all went well. She is a sweet 93-year-old who is sharp mentally but has some physical challenges. A daughter lives with her but works full-time, so doesn’t keep up with the housework. Ramona also has personal care, nursing care, and another gal who does errands and other jobs around her house, so she is well cared for.</p><p><br /></p><p>I noticed this great carving on a tree stump on my way to Ramona’s house, so when I headed back home I had to stop and take a photo. I also spotted these two deer peeking through the trees at me - so nice to see this right here in the city of Bloomington.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElgk7K493ndbwiolDdGB9tNZ0iKdqVEvq0UhCG2W_uik9W5IpPtGtLbj_XdIM6Q5Accnn0xKSPKpfKDVrBncf1pz_HdCcCdw-k74qTrddk64Bqg7csEaUkPIb6-_4QE1LU5tapdN-TYfdCtdEWIdNUOmfaw0RDTl0jWdom4Z2oOeLhzpgalc4y1RvD4c/s4032/IMG_1235.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElgk7K493ndbwiolDdGB9tNZ0iKdqVEvq0UhCG2W_uik9W5IpPtGtLbj_XdIM6Q5Accnn0xKSPKpfKDVrBncf1pz_HdCcCdw-k74qTrddk64Bqg7csEaUkPIb6-_4QE1LU5tapdN-TYfdCtdEWIdNUOmfaw0RDTl0jWdom4Z2oOeLhzpgalc4y1RvD4c/w480-h640/IMG_1235.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA0fTUro8j00Z4ovOeGYfXzVdFLoMSpiydTaSTgHMR0JIrwRDnqBnwHlKlFnO63ODLZOe6jA6TeEav-rBPv4XnYLjTf3DRqDBqqlUKLRjZHG8Z-1YukeKDa6DzKh2ktNxoMOgW6g4puiLCNuttDd-vK00QrG4z3ufMoaNn__oo93DcQh1zSZrFossFRQ/s3028/IMG_1232.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3028" data-original-width="2271" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIA0fTUro8j00Z4ovOeGYfXzVdFLoMSpiydTaSTgHMR0JIrwRDnqBnwHlKlFnO63ODLZOe6jA6TeEav-rBPv4XnYLjTf3DRqDBqqlUKLRjZHG8Z-1YukeKDa6DzKh2ktNxoMOgW6g4puiLCNuttDd-vK00QrG4z3ufMoaNn__oo93DcQh1zSZrFossFRQ/w480-h640/IMG_1232.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-59441094175188120042024-01-08T07:05:00.008-07:002024-01-09T06:49:55.576-07:00Monday, January 8, 2024, MN<div style="text-align: left;"><span>One day a few weeks ago, as I was looking for something on a past blog post, I realized that instead of a photo, there was a blank square with a ? in its place. I did some research, sent a question to Google support, asked my son and still couldn’t figure out what was causing this. I looked back even farther and found that it all started in March of 2023. Finally, last week, I learned what the issue was - Google no longer supports the photo addition part of the app (BlogTouch) that I was using for my updates. I learned this because I actually got a reply to a follow-up message to Blogger support. What this all means is that I now have to write my posts on the actual Blogger website and not use the app. I also need to go back and manually upload all of the photos again and that will be a big job. It is how I used to do the posts, but since my laptop computer died, I use only my iPad and the app was easier to navigate. Enough of techie issues.</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Last week was pretty slow paced. I didn’t have a lot going on. I decided to give my bathroom a good cleaning, so took everything off the walls and started to scrub. I accidentally pulled the pull cord on the wall, immediately shut it off, expecting that it would cancel the call to the fire department. NOT. It wasn’t long and there was a loud knock on my door and I opened it to find 3 firemen there to check on me. I felt embarrassed and apologized - they said that it happens all of the time.</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span>I helped out with the food truck on Wednesday and the great thing that we got was frozen blueberries. They are big and beautiful and there were some leftover so I was able to get a couple of bags for Ben’s family. A few weeks ago, we got frozen apples and I didn’t know what to do with them, so I made some yummy applesauce. We also got frozen strawberries, big, beautiful strawberries, so I made jam from them yesterday. I didn’t realize how much sugar it took to make jam but it is equal amounts of sugar and fruit plus the pectin. I may have to find a low sugar method if I do it again.</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span> A gal who helps out one of my neighbors asked if I was interested in a house cleaning job for one of her clients, so I went to meet Ramona last week and I took on another house cleaning job starting on Thursday. I’m in good physical shape yet, so why not? She lives just a couple of miles from me, her house is already clean - needs a touch-up every two weeks and she seems like a very nice woman. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>I finished another needle felted bird project this week. These two are going to Randy. I’ve just got to have something to do with my hands in the evening, rather than sitting and playing games on my iPad, so this one is keeping my interest for now.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEqCI9dsgKCMKvYCtrRMfBr8yf6m3DIpwnI-ik9rUnk3HyWndtzBMONKDp9wFoGno-Z1wDQ9ITTJrF6wucG5oyOx0W4SVeDS_kK252IttHpJJRRi9h1cP3MmFIixPnf7PozA6YdIdop91784C0ZhYraoZIK6RzFpDR3oxpUenhRREDZh9aQHwXFc6ihY/s2232/IMG_2413.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2107" data-original-width="2232" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEqCI9dsgKCMKvYCtrRMfBr8yf6m3DIpwnI-ik9rUnk3HyWndtzBMONKDp9wFoGno-Z1wDQ9ITTJrF6wucG5oyOx0W4SVeDS_kK252IttHpJJRRi9h1cP3MmFIixPnf7PozA6YdIdop91784C0ZhYraoZIK6RzFpDR3oxpUenhRREDZh9aQHwXFc6ihY/s320/IMG_2413.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-16627768270006601452024-01-04T06:15:00.003-07:002024-01-07T17:07:49.929-07:00Thursday, January 4, 2024, MN<p><span style="font-size: medium;">This year started out slow and lazy and then I had a nice long walk with Joey in the morning. I took a one-hour nap in the afternoon and then stayed on the bed for another hour, reading and browsing the internet. Dinner was even lazy - leftovers from the night before.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I got my new crown on Tuesday and it is feeling very good and comfortable. I’m really happy with Dr. Brar and hope that my new insurance enables me to keep going there for my hygiene appointments.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The food truck came yesterday and I helped out with that. When I got back home, the new coat that I ordered from Land’s End arrived (I used the gift card that I got from Pat for Christmas) but it wasn’t the same as the one that I tried on at the store - it was below the knee and I didn’t need it to be that long). So I took it back to the store and got a different one. Good thing, as I apparently didn’t use the sale code and paid more for it than they were selling them for at the store, I think this is the nicest an warmest winter coat that I’ve ever had ad the price was right - marked down from $239 to $84. Amazing! And thanks to my dear son, Pat!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The last time the food truck was here, we got a large bag of frozen apples. I didn’t know what to do with them, but last night I cooked them down into applesauce. Boy, did that turn out nice and yummy.</span></p>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comBloomington, MN, USA44.840798 -93.298279923.144414876216427 -128.4545299 66.537181123783569 -58.1420299tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-30877055372506196492023-12-31T07:24:00.001-07:002024-01-01T08:15:15.283-07:00Sunday, December 31, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">This week has been sad, with the news of the loss of two good friends. Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I took one look at my iPad, noticed an email from Rudy and learned that Sonja had passed away. She was 93 and had been suffering from arthritis pain in her joints for years, but she kept busy and did all that she could do. We met in 2003, while living in Ocala, FL when Mike had his computer repair business going, he went to their home in Dunnellon to help Rudy with his computer. They hit it off and wanted to meet me, so they invited us to a lovely 7 course meal at their home and we drank and ate and talked and drank and ate and talked and became the best of friends. In 2006, they invited us to visit them in Switzerland and hosted us on our first trip to Europe and it couldn’t have been a better time. They arranged all of our transportation, hotels, and sightseeing within Switzerland, and trips by train to Paris, France, and Florence, Italy and to Titisee, Germany in the Black Forest. W</font><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">e met all of their lovely families. I’m feeling sad at her loss and will miss her, even though we have been separated by long distances.</span><div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">We were last together in 2016 when I met them at their timeshare in Pinetop, AZ. I had a trip scheduled to visit them in Florida in 2019 when Covid hit and had to cancel my plans. They sold their home in Dunnellon in 2021 and have not traveled to the US since then, as Rudy’s vision is deteriorating and Sonja has had difficulty with her hips and joints. I have many fond memories of our times together and appreciate the friendship that we had.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><img id="id_7cab_c4db_fc97_12f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYRJWmY9O3BaC3LBzwsQJHhj8p3QfT9evhaL3zTiOIV0lGyEYWff8ZRMuJn54Hx9CqXQ53dvzxv273qfagL6m-ybPnZheg" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">My friend Marta, from Bend, Oregon passed away on the 16th from dementia. She and I met while walking our dogs outside Marin Park when we babysat for Charlotte during her first six months of life. Marta was an avid hiker and knew of so many beautiful places in the north bay to hike and we always managed to have good conversation and have stayed in touch since then. She and Kerry stopped for a visit two years ago when they were passing through here. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">It has been a week of warm days and long walks because of it. One of the days was bright and sunny but most have been cloudy. We got about an inch of snow last night and the forecast is for more wintry weather. December turned out to be the warmest in history with above average temps all month long.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Camille reached out yesterday and asked if she could have a sleepover, so I met her and Ben at Staring Lake yesterday for a walk around the lake. I always enjoy my walks with Ben that give us a chance to talk. Camille came back home with me after our walk. Of course, a trip to my house usually means a stop at the dollar store where she was hoping to get some stick-on nails but they were out. We played Uno and still haven’t finished it, as it went on and on and on. It’s 8:30 am and she and Joey are still asleep.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-42658689058128525942023-12-26T07:13:00.001-07:002023-12-26T09:25:43.534-07:00Tuesday, December 26, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">Well, I survived another Christmas - not only survived but enjoyed. The holidays are so much more relaxing these days as the girls are getting older and this year, all of us adults noticed the difference. </font><div><font face="Times" size="5">After dinner on Christmas Eve, we played a dice game for our ugly sock exchange. It was fun and we all ended up with a unique pair of socks. During our gift exchange, the girls were more excited for all of us to see the gifts that they gave, rather than the focus being on them unwrapping. That came, but there was much more excitement over giving this year and they were more willing to wait while others were opening gifts. And the gifts they gave were thoughtful. There was much trying on and modeling of the clothes that they received. </font></div><div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="Times" size="5">Home from Christmas mass. Camille didn’t feel good so stayed home in her PJs.</font></div><div><img id="id_7db5_faad_3771_af96" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYS5aaVH5JCJrYwVGtlboFPJ52Yxf18HNg72n0dv41HSjD4-UpHaHcoQ8NQ6RlqMRDS4khITkNcAOwO2KpFCkGDbbga_" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">Sock exchange.</font></div><img id="id_97a0_69f4_8aab_b0aa" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYSbcXP947de_Nc5xKGETFxQoT5_uLeJn2x7NY5aymbSyVkuRay8iK3V5YyatFZePPDglq6_KWAjT7A7E6PySZ7mhukRAQ" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><br><br><img id="id_6117_81ca_aa29_97a3" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYQHOsXddHLEtUirr1EyOITZpGFLrcU943tnLogYP-ZLIkBAyOi5RPSZyB7HOmCfOViPDS420-VDM-EXpXQ-TfTZ2Msu" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">They liked the miniatures I made of the favorite stuffies, Bootsie & PupPup.</font></div><img id="id_902f_59f0_7227_87d5" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYT30e7nKdiv3FsI-OZCYWUCmHMPbH1-5jl9apx8yn3RIH8JrMx6MLFKu9-VYrfC-OD4iO6zLTRLTaX-JXDicu-b-fDf" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Christmas morning, they actually slept in until almost 7:30 and then quietly gathered to empty their stockings, sorted out the gifts under the tree from Santa and then waited for the adults to get up and get some coffee before opening - and then they drifted off to play with their stuff. </font><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">Charlotte’s PlayStation game of Minecraft and new controllers kept them occupied a good part of Christmas Day. We started a game of monopoly, then interest in that went away after having a snack and some of us played a few games of bowling on the PlayStation and others played board games. Dinner was ham, scalloped potatoes, roasted green beans and asparagus and topped off with my Cranberry Cake with Hot Butter Sauce.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">Christmas morning, waiting to open Santa’s gifts.</span></div><div><img id="id_4ace_9b46_7a10_9504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYS_Z3PEp2W_K2nh9J6jiwLmsJpjb4iLpmrjyFepapZkXzZVfznCsZah-cfM96qd2FMdq1aLD2XMAJ6bewHNCFIzYOlA0g" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 616px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">I didn’t get home until almost 9:00 and was ready for the quiet and comfort of my little apartment once again. </span></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-55527767148275109552023-12-23T07:03:00.001-07:002023-12-23T07:30:03.561-07:00Saturday, December 23, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">Another week in December with no snow and very comfortable above average temperatures. This morning, I’m looking out the window at a foggy start to the day. It is strange to think that we had at least a foot of snow on the ground last year and temps in the low 10s on Christmas - I will take this over that any day.</font><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">My Stampin Up group had our annual holiday luncheon on Monday in the great room at Pat’s apartment complex. It is one of the upscale senior housing complexes and a very beautiful facility. Nancy made a tasty chicken hot dish (Wisconsinites call them casseroles, but you will be corrected if you call them that here in Minnesota), and we had veggies, bread, a fruit salad, and dessert. We then proceeded do our monthly project and this time it was a cute Christmas ornament that was quite complex, took some review of a video, and turned out nice. It was a fun afternoon with a great group of gals.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="Times" size="5">I guess Ronnie & Diane were not aware of their photo being taken. Beautiful table though.</font></div><div><img id="id_73de_aa73_c520_9bbe" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYRgjjoQc_DPPgJUR-Yyx14E5n_8JuAn2iRYqmQV-ezA3CJ09_HUVo_5RXW9TuLI1YIeuV-4qy89Y32FJdi4cmb1jkUlUA" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">The angel on the right was a gift from one of the gals.</font></div><img id="id_28cc_dba8_a5f4_e717" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AEYmBYSG8Rud5r7BkkA7Acf_0XRMomW4zPs9bD5y9mOhicRW6xkMSN4R50ua1AIfaD34xvqwYlP6AW46zNmUPVgxtBPgYUf5" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><font face="Times" size="5">I cleaned at Ben’s house on Tuesday and thanks to Deb for keeping Joey, I was able to take a nap when I got back home. Unfortunately, although I was tired and ready for bed early, I couldn’t go to sleep for a long time.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I helped out with the food truck on Wednesday and just as we were getting ready, the EMT’s arrived and transported Betty (our most senior resident who is 98 year old) to the hospital. We learned on Thursday afternoon that she had passed away. She was a sweet, sharp minded lady who still managed to come to most of our functions and to get to church and bible study every week. She will be missed.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I finished up my shopping and wrapping on Thursday. I still need to make the packages pretty, but they are wrapped. I also got the fudge made that is always requested by the girls. My contribution to Christmas dinner will be my Cranberry Cake with Hot Butter Sauce, a tradition for us. I finally found a gluten free version that is just like the one I made years ago. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I offered to take interested residents for a ride to see the neighborhood Christmas lights on Wednesday evening and got eight people to sign up, so I made three trips that took about a half-hour each. I think I brought a few smiles to folks who don’t get out much any more and it made me feel good. There are some very beautiful light displays - my favorite is the yard with every evergreen tree dressed in red lights. It would be even more beautiful if the lights were reflected in snow. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"> </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I must have had some intestinal bug on Thursday night because stomach cramps kept me awake most of the night. The last time I was up was at 4:00, so needless to say, I was dragging butt yesterday. Norah wanted to come for a sleepover, so I picked her up in the morning and we made a stop at Trader Joe’s for a few groceries before coming home. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">We made these pretty paper stars, I took a nap, and Norah watched a show on my iPad. We walked to the park and let Joey run around in the pickle ball courts. Back home, we made pizza for dinner and then watched ‘Home Alone 3’. It was cute and gave us both some good laughs. Norah said that her throat was sore, so I gave her a little honey with lemon to soothe it and we were in bed and asleep shortly after 9:00. </font></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-90847249626414663642023-12-17T07:22:00.001-07:002024-01-20T08:49:23.658-07:00Sunday, December 16, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">It wasn’t much fun, but I got a new crown on Thursday. This was the first dental work that I have had done in over twenty years, so I asked the dentist to be gentle and there was very little discomfort both during and after the procedure. At first, my insurance denied coverage, so I sent a letter and when I heard back, they were going to cover all but the buildup portion, about $400, so I’m happy with that. Maybe I can go another twenty without needing any dental work. Fingers crossed.</font><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I got my Christmas cards written and mailed this week and had just a couple of packages to send out. A neighbor told me about the convenience of the post office at the nearby Bloomington Drug store - that made it really easy to do and I avoided the long lines at the post office. It seems like the staff at the post office is always grumpy, so this experience was quite nice. <br /></font><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I took Joey to the vet to have his nails trimmed on Friday and they were successful,but he screamed the whole time. The technician said that he didn’t fight, but he sure did yell. Now, if I could only get him to let me or Mary do it would be so nice. Since we managed to get that done, I took him to play ball at the dog park. Speaking of dog park - there is a note on the gate that said the city is considering discontinuing that location. I guess I need to send a message to the parks department or mayor.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Yesterday was cookie baking day at the Bridge’s house. Their kitchen is so big that six of us could be working comfortably and having the double oven was nice. Camille and I teamed up to make Butterballs, Charlotte and Granny made peanut butter balls and the kiss cookies, Jill and Norah worked on cutout cookies. We also rotated and helped each other out. I’m happy that the girls are still wearing the aprons that I made them a few years ago. They won’t fit for much longer.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_GsYT0kPQTpG7QDy042ir3BQovuIYD-91-mqhl_lnOXq2q-OVLxpxmySjF_NwXzW9JpoFJM-Wr4RrEqObRWz-B7oQ5_OTFSp3X6kKYHf69yaRTin_reqEcAH5Exnxi0D9hyWWLFvqd_ttXfU2lzcL_pscN22-pDUzFElyS0nsK68jd7HmCA9xzde8c0/s4032/IMG_1196.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_GsYT0kPQTpG7QDy042ir3BQovuIYD-91-mqhl_lnOXq2q-OVLxpxmySjF_NwXzW9JpoFJM-Wr4RrEqObRWz-B7oQ5_OTFSp3X6kKYHf69yaRTin_reqEcAH5Exnxi0D9hyWWLFvqd_ttXfU2lzcL_pscN22-pDUzFElyS0nsK68jd7HmCA9xzde8c0/w640-h480/IMG_1196.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPj0ihPE1SDjmeiPjgAqhVF5bcYdq8KaXaG0GRbZzwMBhZmXkgQxPj0xXxIJ-lhmXFmCAZ5urnDt9eApCUJQ_x5bAs8f24KQVugYyO3XM4pcCpsIwoK6YMdlNfpKFVm_FxyruzHKbDydEZ88xaBNQb0Hv8rlFhFPWisyVY47gDbr0eBh6mn4r2L3dfbRU/s4032/IMG_1199.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPj0ihPE1SDjmeiPjgAqhVF5bcYdq8KaXaG0GRbZzwMBhZmXkgQxPj0xXxIJ-lhmXFmCAZ5urnDt9eApCUJQ_x5bAs8f24KQVugYyO3XM4pcCpsIwoK6YMdlNfpKFVm_FxyruzHKbDydEZ88xaBNQb0Hv8rlFhFPWisyVY47gDbr0eBh6mn4r2L3dfbRU/w300-h400/IMG_1199.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><br /></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I’m feeling bad that Joey had to be home alone again, so since I’m going to be gone a good part of today (taking the girls to Circus Juventas in St Paul), Monday (Stampin Up holiday luncheon) and Tuesday (house cleaning for Ben & Jill) too, I enlisted Deb to hang out with him today and Tuesday. She is always willing and he knows her well, but I feel bad. </font></div></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">The Circus Juventas (youth) performances were excellent and captured the attention of all four of us. The girls were enthralled, trying to take it all in, as there was so much going on, it was hard to stay focused on any one activity. I would describe the show as a colorful, high energy performance of extreme gymnastics, ballet, and trapeze activities. The costumes were incredible. My understanding is that this is a place where children can get an education in circus acts. I really enjoyed it and I think the girls did too.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbS4oIfi9-QLug_BeJ-CIPhZWSmr4wNfn5pByu1VPr8DVKG_KhvXtos-eVYnruNaNpi8ZVL-BjwFn9qI5oJt8FjGvBxzahVl6eFXSd-uRqj_MbXY3lvQOzsx4ib7zxGb2SKl2bmAUJYjRtctC9WP_HVcuN3fgfpvGud10L30Di590EZ7bgL3TeyuDEPE/s4032/IMG_1203.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbS4oIfi9-QLug_BeJ-CIPhZWSmr4wNfn5pByu1VPr8DVKG_KhvXtos-eVYnruNaNpi8ZVL-BjwFn9qI5oJt8FjGvBxzahVl6eFXSd-uRqj_MbXY3lvQOzsx4ib7zxGb2SKl2bmAUJYjRtctC9WP_HVcuN3fgfpvGud10L30Di590EZ7bgL3TeyuDEPE/w400-h300/IMG_1203.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I watched Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration on CBS tonight and the lineup was absolutely excellent, bringing back memories of the many concerts that we went to, my favorite songs and many of my favorite musicians and singers. The hard part was getting through all of the ads nd I always have a problem with that. Willie did great and he brought tears to my eyes a few times. It will be a sad, sad day when he dies, but like he sings “I’m Gonna Live Forever” and another that never made it to the charts “Still is Still Moving to Me”- his music will live on forever. Yea Willie!</font></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-51646868264447716552023-12-13T20:06:00.001-07:002023-12-17T07:21:52.839-07:00Wednesday, December 13, 2023, MN<div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">I feel bad - poor little Joey is completely stressed right now. The Veterinary technician was here tonight and I restrained him while she tried to trim his nails. He was having absolutely nothing to do with it and cried out in agony and fought me every minute. She was able to get one foot done, but that was it. If any of my neighbors heard, they would think that is was torturing him. I don’t know what has happened to the poor guy in his past life, but he just can’t get past the trauma of the nail trim. He is patient with me as far as grooming, trimming the hair around his feet, and even letting me mess with them, but as soon as I try to restrain him and the clippers come out, that is the end of his tolerance. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;">It’s been a busy week with a haircut and some shopping on Monday, our community holiday party yesterday, and some shopping with Deb today. We also took a drive tonight after the pet nail trims were done. Our drive to see holiday lights wasn’t quite as nice as last year when we had over a foot of snow on the ground and the lights reflected off the snow was very pretty.</span></div><div><br></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">I also wanted to take a drive in hopes or spotting a shooting star, as it is the time of the Gemenid meteor showers. The sky wasn’t dark enough and we didn’t drive far enough away from the city to be able to see any. </font></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-41564098698621832822023-12-09T08:07:00.001-07:002023-12-09T08:21:17.355-07:00Saturday, December 9, 2023, MN<font size="5">It’s been a busy week with something going on every day. Me and two other residents that volunteer for the food shelf program met with our new Service Coordinator, Maureen, to walk through the process and then on Wednesday, she got to dive right in and help out. All went well, although she is concerned that we might not be meeting the needs of all residents, so I think she will be putting out some additional communications. It is a great program and if you only get milk and eggs every two weeks, it is well worth it.</font><div><font size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">On Tuesday, Mavis came to my apartment, Eileen joined us, and we had a nice brunch of broccoli cheddar quiche and fruit slices before heading over to the Masonic Sidekick Theater to see the Honky </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Tonk Holiday show that Randy Sabien is playing in. The show was colorful, lively, interactive, and fun. They performed several old familiar country Christmas tunes and a couple that Randy wrote - there was some real talent in the show and we all met Randy after the show to say hello. He sure is a nice guy.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Yesterday, my day started with an appointment to get my Covid booster and then I was off to the Verizon store with the intentions of upgrading my devices (they are running good deals) and switch to their home internet. I ended up with just the internet, as the devices may have been free, but the monthly cost was much more that what I currently pay, so I stuck with T-mobile for my phone and iPad. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">When I got back home from my errands, I met up with a few neighbors to assemble Cards for a Cause and we put together 137 Christmas cards for hospice patients. It is always an enjoyable and rewarding experience. </font></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-50973309304272474972023-12-03T08:59:00.001-07:002023-12-03T09:03:12.212-07:00Sunday, December 3, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">Last Thursday was cleaning day at Ben & Jill’s house and thanks to my good friend Deb, who took Joey for a nice walk, I was able to come home and take a short nap when I finished. I assembled the lasagna that I will be having for dinner tomorrow night when my good friends Carol and Richard arrive for a visit. I made the sauce on Wednesday. </font><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Carol and Richard arrived early Friday afternoon and we proceeded to catch up on the family news since the last time we were together, August of 2022 at their place in Michigan. Ben hadn’t seen them since Mike’s memorial and he and Norah and Camille joined us for dinner. The best compliment a cook can have is when people go for seconds and we cleaned up the pan - there is enough remaining for one meal for me. We had a great visit and they all left about 8:30 - I did the dishes and went straight to bed.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Yesterday, Deb kept Joey for me so I could spend the day with my friends. I met them at their hotel and we walked to Mall of America, doing the rounds of all three floors. The crowds increased as the time went on. We ended up spending about three hours there, stopping in a few shops, having a bite for lunch, and walking, walking, walking - about 13,000 steps worth of walking.</font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">In the evening, we went to Burnsville to meet their friend Jim for dinner and had a fun time. The waitress had an incredible funny sense of humor and we had lots of laughs and great conversation. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Just a few minutes ago, I got my dishes from Friday night put away - that doesn’t happen often in Rose’s world - but the busy weekend was so worth it. </font></div><div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br></font></div></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393322415609343269.post-39755414687147015662023-11-28T07:31:00.001-07:002024-01-20T08:44:09.791-07:00Tuesday, November 28, 2023, MN<font face="Times" size="5">Last week brought lots of calls and text messages from family and friends and several calls to family with birthday and Thanksgiving wishes. Since our family Thanksgiving was going to be on Saturday, I invited my neighbor, Beverly to join me. I made a yummy casserole with the leftover Turkey that I had, mashed potatoes, carrots - she was so thankful to have a home cooked meal and someone to share it with. </font><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5">Thanksgiving dinner with Ben and Jill’s family was on Saturday at Lois and Dennis’ house. It was so nice to see Dennis feeling better and able to join in with the family. He had some surgery on Wednesday to open his nasal passages to be able to breathe better and has been feeling better since. Dinner was delicious and it was fun hanging out with all of them. </font></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ORhNv-GTI7eY0KO3AwXgxC4WHv79cvCcmNwZ3ithWKFR90_FbgWrxDOsHNgU1yG9jc8euUhLnmWd4riLnZpHGIkHe0SGeFBCVB8hLsd6L1SMghq9Bp9w33lnMXubGESzlHbyF_i43oiYYTxERf0nVXQahNq1-fYf-pf-I_Lih6JzyZJuYn2ZTsNfJOo/s4032/IMG_6532.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ORhNv-GTI7eY0KO3AwXgxC4WHv79cvCcmNwZ3ithWKFR90_FbgWrxDOsHNgU1yG9jc8euUhLnmWd4riLnZpHGIkHe0SGeFBCVB8hLsd6L1SMghq9Bp9w33lnMXubGESzlHbyF_i43oiYYTxERf0nVXQahNq1-fYf-pf-I_Lih6JzyZJuYn2ZTsNfJOo/w640-h480/IMG_6532.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3O5tEicvw07NDuymsmFwyJq9VTzbG6HrfYHG1UdPzdjo85p05Z85_7gvbOtb6kN03QNLFMd-16o0o1tIva8uAUd7e9Ya3s1dyCOS_Y1qEnW06NuKELX9HE_bmqSCoUcqqMHKn9itjLC6nF1FmLUJbQLKiWaN1zcNEdXlwZQ3oyODhEGAjR2Nzz03clQ/s4032/IMG_6533.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3O5tEicvw07NDuymsmFwyJq9VTzbG6HrfYHG1UdPzdjo85p05Z85_7gvbOtb6kN03QNLFMd-16o0o1tIva8uAUd7e9Ya3s1dyCOS_Y1qEnW06NuKELX9HE_bmqSCoUcqqMHKn9itjLC6nF1FmLUJbQLKiWaN1zcNEdXlwZQ3oyODhEGAjR2Nzz03clQ/w640-h480/IMG_6533.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><font face="Times" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><div><font face="Times" size="5">We had a little bit of snow that day but barely a dusting. Camille requested a sleepover at my house and that ended up to be her and Charlotte. Norah spent the night with Granny and Papa. We did crafts and then watched a movie, “Leo” that Charlotte was glued to it but thought it was a little to kiddish for her. </font></div></div>Bridge Coast to Coast Sagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06861363727428432289noreply@blogger.com