The Blog: Spellbound by our own imperfect lives...

Seeing Grace, the spring dance recital, at Gustavus with Betsy and Cheryl. Volunteering at the gorilla run in Mankato with Tiffany on Saturday. Going to body pump at the YMCA on Sunday morning. Starting the new Livestrong class at the YMCA on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Working out with Lucas.  Going to yoga on Monday nights. RunStrong 8K on the 17th of May. A weekend with Elliot when his mom and dad take a trip. May Basket Day! Having a birthday lunch with Betty. Having coffee with Jill. Meeting Kris for coffee or lunch at the coop. Coffee with Joanne on Friday afternoon. Emails from Karen. Visiting Mom. Gardening! Can't wait to see the new hosta assortment. Wearing my new red boots. Cooking on the grill. Seeing Dr. Cockerill and Judy on the 20th. Outdoor walking. So much nicer than treadmill walking! Evenings on the patio with Regis. That's enough. Here's a selfie Regis took at the dog park. I love it. He looks like the happy wanderer. Maybe it...

These are tiny animals that watch over my garden. There's a bunny and a porcupine from my mom and a pair of bunnies from my friend, Kemmie. It's been a week since I wrote a blog post and when I checked my stats, I saw I had only written five in April. An all-time low. I wrote a gratitude list this morning and hadn't done that since April 5th. This morning, the salt lamp is lit, the aroma therapy is on, and my desk is clean. All good signs. The last month has been full of good and bad. I have said several times that I feel like the clouds are parting but this time I feel like it might really be true, for good. I know this is cryptic but as open as I can be about most things, I want to cloak this journey is some mystery. Just know the end is in sight and I feel healed. I have many things to write about: going to visit mom in Canby on a whim (I am not known for traveling on whims), going to the Grand Opening of Gilda's Club in Minneapolis, the start of grilling se...

I subbed a lot this week so had no access to the social media. I am behind...if the ordinary things I do everyday are of interest. Today I am hustling to get ready for the Easter dinner tomorrow. I think I worked harder and enjoyed it less when I was working full time. I used to make everything from scratch. Now I buy frozen pie, I ask people to bring things, I have Regis prepare the meat, and I use paper plates and plastic forks. Here are some pictures from the past week. Woodrow continues to relax well. It's his best talent. He is either on the dog bed on the floor or on the highest perch in his tree where he lounges with one leg and his tail hanging over the edge. It does appear that we may get some spring-like weather soon. The forecast is for 60+ tomorrow but I am cautiously optimistic about that. We woke up Thursday to snow on the ground again. It didn't linger long but it's still disappointing. It's the time of year when my neighbors only ...

Ella came over after school today and had an urgent need to shop. Somewhere in the midst of her busy day, she had developed the plan for shopping, worked on her Poppop on the way home, then came running in to ask me. For the past several years, we've gone shopping for Easter dresses in the spring. I was tired from a long walk in the sun and wind, but how could I say no? We had a fine time. She has a great sense of style and loves to combine colors. I love the socks. My friend Deb and I have been on a walking mission lately, doing 4-5 miles a day, 29 miles in the last week. Yesterday was perfect, today the wind got to me. It's good to be active, though. I wish I could say it helps me sleep better but that is not the case. I was awake for about three hours in the middle of the night. I got my best sleep from 4-6 am. Holy hell. Today I tackled a job I have been putting off for a long time. Regis likes to keep all his technology and paperwork right out on the top of his desk...

It's Sunday morning and my brain is tumbling around in a mixed up mess. I have projects all over the house in varying states of undone. Good ideas flit through my head repeatedly and don't even slow down. I'm sitting here thinking I should organize the week. I will be working thirteen days this month and that will take some serious planning. Groceries, cooking, exercise, a couple birthdays, a holiday. Oh, my. We went (very spontaneously) to dinner last night at Pappageorge in Mankato. We were seated next to a table of folks who were celebrating the 93rd birthday of their father. He was such a happy character that I had to go over and tell them how much I enjoyed listening to him. He was delighted with everything...his cold beer, the salad, his steak. I didn't hear him complain once. If the server suggested something, he was eager to try it. I'm going for a walk. I'd like to make my superhero costume today so I can wear it on Friday!

It's been a week already and it's only Wednesday. It started the first part of last week with sleepless nights and anxious days. Maybe a change in the weather? Forces in the universe? I slept great last night and feel better today. We're going to do taxes today, which for the most part, I enjoy. I wish it ended at 2 o'clock instead of 4 but I realize AARP doesn't make their schedules according to my whims. Too bad. Last night we did some of our post testing at the YMCA. I improved my balance by about 6 seconds and that still sucks but I improved my reach by several inches and my leg press by twenty pounds so I'm not complaining. We had a poignant group meeting, too. I'm going to miss those women. This is my third juicing experiment. I used less lemon, no apple, and added a carrot, mint, ginger, and kale. I liked it much better. I might look a little creepy but once you get past the pond scum aesthetic, it's very good. I read some place tha...

This first photo is not the best quality but it captures well Woodrow's complete state of bliss on the highest perch of his new cat house. I think they call these cat condos but being a house kind of person rather than a condo kind of person, I prefer cat house. He hangs over three sides, well maybe four, but he doesn't mind. He's right at eye level when he's up there which probably means he'll be reaching out to swat us on the head as we pass. Gus seemed to sense that this project would not benefit him so he was right underfoot, looking morose, the whole time. The instructions were in English and Chinese. It looks like he would prefer the Chinese. Now that I think about it, the English was much like Chinese. Being the kitty that he is, Woodrow preferred the box and the yellow packaging ties at first. He loves boxes and cardboard rolls much better than any of the cat toys we're purchased. Woodrow, curious cat that he is, cannot stay o...