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

It has been a grand couple of weeks. The weather has been fabulous even though Regis would like more heat and humid, those of us who have not come from tropical climates, love this. Cool nights, warmish days. Perfect summer weather. I can smell fall in the air! Yesterday, I took a trip down the Old Fort Road, across Nicollet County to Fairfax in Renville County. It goes through Klossner and St. George, both tiny and very rural towns. Klossner is a little dumpy but St. George looks like Lake Woebegone....every house freshly painted and it looks like they have decided to all mow their grass on Mondays. Every house has a Virgin Mary in the front yard and a pick-up in the driveway. I drove past two old cemeteries, one in St. George and one out in the middle of the corn fields. I love rural cemeteries...so much history, so many stories I will never know. The little grotto at the St. George cemetery was so sweet: screen door left unlocked, little benches in front of several st...

It's been a while since I've written. I think my last post, or close to the last, was the one where I had been sleeping about three hours a night and was goofy. The gray faced men were marching around my bed chanting all my unreasonable fears. I am better now. So many wonderful things have happened in the past couple weeks. Here is a pictorial run-down. Art class and Billy and Ron on the patio at Lone Star Flowers downtown Mankato Livestrong pals after the 5K. My inspiration. High fives all around! Dance walking across the finish line, of course. More music on the patio. Kit Kildahl and Steve Vanderhaar. Regis and Gus on the 5K Ella on the pontoon Emily and Ella Klobassa's eat on the dock Alex and Elliot at Madison Lake Lots of good chow! Pontoon parade! A rose from Nancy and a beautiful sunrise at TRAM $15,000 dollar bike. No shit. And the guy didn't have a lock ...

Edited in the light of day... I am writing this at 2 am. A time when my brain and my fingers don't always work well together...but I have things to say. I have been slacking on my blog the past few months because I was too, way too, conscious of my audience. I didn't start out that way...it started as a writer's notebook. My thoughts and observations... and too bad if you didn't appreciate them. Over the course of cancer, I turned inward and worried too much about what people thought. Was I too harsh? Too easy? Not empathetic enough? It immobilized me. Writing is therapy for me so if you don't like what I write, don't read it. I write for myself. In the course of being diagnosed and treated for cancer with a multitude of nasty toxic chemicals and radiation, I have experienced long-term side effects including cognitive problems ( I mean to do something but it takes a long time.), fatigue (three hour naps), lack of motivation, forgetfulness, problems with ...

 It occurred to me yesterday that planning the pontoon party on the 20th is going to take a mastermind. I'll be planning a party for 12 adults and 5 kids...all to take place in 20 square feet of space on a ship with no refrigeration and no running water.  Ella told me yesterday that it was two weeks away, so this morning I started looking at Pinterest and making a list. I went to Shopko and found some things on clearance that I can use. Here are some other ideas. I figure the adults will be happy cruising around the lake with a cold drink but the kids might need more entertainment. Here are my preliminary lists of things to bring We will bring: 1. Food (Build your own sandwiches, chips, vegetables, fruit, dessert) 2. Beverages (Mostly non-alcoholic but a few choice alcohol treats for the grown-ups. Not if you are driving.) 3. Supplies and condiments (Baskets, liners, napkins, paper towels...mustard, mayo, onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce, ...

Regis is always on the lookout for a great parking spot when we buy groceries. He was amazed this morning, as busy as it was, that he was able to get this space! Now here's something weird. Since my bariatric surgery five years ago, I have had to give myself a monthly injection of Vitamin B12. I got tiny bottles of it with a prescription and the syringes came with it. About a year ago, my insurance stopped paying for the syringes so I was charged 40 cents a piece for them. But I had to have a prescription because otherwise they wouldn't know if I was using the syringes for nefarious purposes. What? Last week, I picked up my prescription and I paid 12 dollars for three syringes. I found a medical supply place online and ordered a box of 100 for 15 dollars + five for shipping. No prescription needed. They wouldn't let me return the syringes but they did make a price adjustment...and I paid 40 cents each. I asked what I should ask for in the future and if I would sti...