Thurs 28 Feb

Had a really nice time with Michael and Taylor here last night. Taylor made her specialty Mexican cornbread for our dinner and they brought all the ingredients, including a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio and some Mexican Modelo beer with limes. They are also going to come along with us to the Mardi Gras buffet next Tuesday at Michele's. Taylor helped me look over the clothes I have tentatively set out for Paris and decide what things to take and what to leave home. Food: 7:50 am Gibassier pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 2 scrambled eggs, slice cranberry oat toast w/butter, med pear

Wed 27 Feb

Snow fell all night, but doesn't appear that too much accumulated. Bob said the plow just went through and clogged up the driveway some, but he may be able to clear it right away. Taylor is coming over this evening to make us Mexican cornbread for dinner and they will join us for the meal as a way of thanking Bob for clearing away their snow so they didn't have to do it after spending an entire day clearing up even more snow in Ironwood. A little more tired than usual in Body Pump, had to take a couple of breaks in some of the routines. Looks like we need to buy a new washing machine. Oh, joy! Food: 7:50 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:20 am Lg slice cranberry oat bread, 71 g roast pork, med pear Exercise: 9:10-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 26 Feb

No snow yet today, supposedly it will start around noon and could get 1-3. I won't complain if it misses us completely. I should be able to see the reading kids today, and possibly attend a LIFE seminar on the health care system this afternoon. Food: 7:50 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 25 Feb

Bitter cold again this morning, but at least no new plow snow at the end of the driveway. Doesn't look like any impediments to driving, so should be able to go to the gym as usual. There's some sort of Health Fair at the Holiday Inn from 3-7 this evening; have to see if I feel like checking it out. Food: 6:50 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Large slice cranberry oat bread, 2 tbl Jif, 115 g blueberries 5:00 pm Med banana Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:05-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 24 Feb

Whole lotta, lotta snow! It's still coming and winds are due to pick up later to blizzard levels. Wow! Food: 8:10 am Apricot danish, 100 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 23 Feb

Wow, David made the brioche rolls with chocolate and nuts that he demoed on Monday for market today. They are as fabulous as ever. I shall message him on Facebook to express my thanks. We bought a loaf of his cranberry bread to express appreciation. Snow last night appears to have missed us. I will not mind if the additional storms bypass us as well. I have enough snow to be getting on with. Food: 8:40 am Brioche cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:10 pm 31 g black forest ham, 15 g Jarlsberg, cranberry oat bread, cara cara orange 5:40 pm Chili, small slice bread & butter, sm wedge gouda, 2 sm slices cheese Exercise: 5:10-5:30 pm Walk to church for chili supper 6:00-6:20 pm Walk home

Fri 22 Feb

The month marches on. Today is still supposed to be fairly mild, but tomorrow a wintry mess of weather is headed our way. Probably puts a damper on doing anything much on the weekend. Food: 6:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm 2 scrambled eggs, toasted Thomas English muffin w/butter, 101 g blueberries Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 21 Feb

Had some trouble getting on to the internet this morning, but fortunately Bob hadn't left yet. He was just outside snowplowing the driveway. When he came in, he was able to unplug and restart the router which seems to have done the trick. Nice to have the Internet available when you want it. Really nice LIFE presentation on Bhutan by a woman who had traveled there on a World Adventure tour. Fascinating place. Food: 8:10 am Palmier, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:10 pm Sloppy Joe on wheat bun, sm banana Exercise: 9:35-9:55 am Walk to UWSP 11:40-12:00 pm Walk home 1:50-2:25 pm Walk to library and back

Wed 20 Feb

Again the snow falls, with a possible 3-5 coming today. I'm more concerned about the weekend, as Saturday is supposed to be rain/ice/snow all day followed by more snow on Sunday. It will be what it will be. Regular Wednesday with gym and Bootstrap today. Food: 7:40 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:35 pm 2 scrambled eggs, chocolate breakfast bread w/butter Exercise: 9:00-9:30 am Tone class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 19 Feb

I should be able to read with my kids this morning, something which has become a rare occurrence with snow/cold days and my eye appointment. Hopefully I can motivate to start setting my Paris itinerary as I have been reading the guidebook again more and would be happier with a schedule to follow. Food: 7:50 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:20-9:30 am Walk to Jefferson 10:35-10:45 am Walk home

Mon 18 Feb

Today is David's brioche class! I'm excited. Very nice time at Girolamo's party last night, visiting with a variety of nice folks. Off to Zumba this morning. Food: 6:45 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 17 Feb

Had a simply wonderful day yesterday, between planning for Paris with Bob, having dinner at the church Valentine supper, and dancing to the UWSP Swing band in the Laird room. Unfortunately, didn't have the best dreams last night, but I'd far prefer a good day of real memories since dreams go away when you wake up. Food: 8:40 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:45 pm 2 scrambled eggs, 3 TJ's cinnamon grahams 2:15 pm Stroopwaffel Exercise: 9:40-10:00 am Walk to church 11:10-11:30 am Walk home

Sat 16 Feb

Bob said he had to talk Michael through restarting his furnace up north in spite of bad phone reception. Fortunately they were successful. Food:

Fri 15 Feb

Suicide Prevention meeting this morning at 9 am at Goodwill so I can go to Barre at 8 and then head over. At least I'll get a little gym in today. Had a nice Valentine dinner at Watchman last night. Saw several folks we knew also partaking there, including Joan and Jack. Food: 6:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice chocolate breakfast toast w/butter 4:45 pm 1/2 large homemade pasty (from Taylor) Exercise: 8:00-8:30 am Barre class

Thurs 14 Feb

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope to take some time today to do some Paris planning. I have the actual address now, so if the landlord doesn't offer suggestions on the way from the airport, perhaps Google maps can help. I'd like to rough out an itinerary of walks, museums, possibly schedule a walking and/or food tour. And I need to walk to the clinic to pick up my contact lens which has come in. Finally motivated myself to do a Pilates mat and it feels wonderful! Sometimes amazes me that the body finds its way back to familiar muscle alignment so easily. Food: 7:50 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 10:10-11:00 am Pilates mat

Wed 13 Feb

We got a lotta snow yesterday, but none more significant in the forecast for the foreseeable future. It's okay, we have enough to be getting on with. Temps are predicted to be in the teens and twenties, so it's not likely to be going anywhere soon. Hopefully the kids are done with snow days for a long while, and everyone's schedule will pretty much return to normal. Food: 7:45 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm Leftover pad thai 6:00 pm Spinach cheese ravioli w/tomato basil sauce & parmesan, beets Exercise: 9:00-9:30 am Tone class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 12 Feb

Today we're getting a "Wow!" snow that makes me feel like a little kid again. Cool to see the huge piles and thick snow continuing to fall. Needless to say, school is canceled again (even UWSP!) so no tutoring again. Another day to stay inside and appreciate the warmth of home. Food: 8:10 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 2 scrambled eggs, Costco cinnamon roll, cara cara orange 6:00 pm 2 crab cakes w/remoulade, 1/2 c edamame, 1/2 c brown rice Exercise: 9:30-10:30 am Richard Simmons' DVD 2:00-2:15 pm A little snow shoveling

Mon 11 Feb

A Monday: Zumba with treadmill/Body Pump to start the day, should get to the library to pick up holds. This weekend was quite busy starting on Friday with lunch out and the Garden Expo, Saturday with the Farmshed event and Mr. Rogers in the evening, then Sunday with choir and cantoring. 11,500 steps already coming home from gym this morning. Not bad. Food: 6:50 am Snail pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:35 pm 2 fried eggs, Costco cinnamon roll 5:35 pm Roast pork, sweet potatoes, carrots Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:05-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 3:05-3:35 pm Walk to library and back

Sun 10 Feb

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Would have been 103 today. I will cantor at 10 am for Natasha (who has sung 6/7 weeks and is a little burned out). Cried through the Mr. Rogers special last night, and was already feeling sentimental from the book I'm reading about a woman dying of cancer and her husband with Alzheimer's who "escaped" their doctors and children to take a last road trip from Detroit to Disneyland in their little RV. I may look up the movie after I finish the book. It's a kind of scary look ahead to what might be, but I have to keep reminding myself that the main characters are in their eighties. Food: 8:05 am Berry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am 2 slices French toast w/cinnamon, 1/2 c scrambled eggs, 1/3 c applesauce, bread pudding w/caramel sauce, coffee Exercise: 9:10-9:30 am Walk to church 12:10-12:30 pm Walk home

Sat 9 Feb

Very nice day yesterday. We had lunch at Tokyo Steak House with Bill and Paddy, Elaine and David Wrone. Bill and Paddy insisted on picking up the tab for all. Discussion was lively and a wide variety of topics. Delightful time. Bob and I then drove down to Madison with the heater making the car comfy against the extreme cold. We went directly to the Alliant Center for the Garden Expo and wandered around for a couple of hours, looking at booths with live rosemary, primroses and succulents, gardening tools, info on parks and arboretums and other commercial products. We talked to a young Polish man who put expensive cream on our eyes and my frown lines that appeared to diminish the lines almost immediately. Unfortunately he wanted $200 (initially $250) for the set of creams. No sale. Then we watched a cookware demo from a man who wanted to sell us a $300 pot to cook our vegetables so as to retain nutrients. He insisted that we were destroying our veggies by microwaving them. Sorry, also no sale. Next stop, Costco where I had no sooner said to Bob what a shame that they never seem to have those good cinnamon rolls, then there they were on the last table in the bakery section. Am enjoying one as I write. We tried to go to Lombardino's but would have had to wait up to an hour for a place to sit and it was already 7:30. Tried La Brioche but it was dark, so we ate at Sa Bai Thong in the same complex and enjoyed pad thai with leftovers to take home. Food: 8:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:00 am Many samples at Farmshed 12:55 pm Cherry danish

Fri 8 Feb

Nice time last night at Evening of Chocolate Decadence, but again came home feeling way over-sugared. And thanks to the girl at our table who brought Ziploc bags, I now have two quart bags filled with chocolate on top of the six boxes of two chocolates each from the raffle. Bob won a duffle bag from the Epilepsy Assoc filled with water bottles, cooling towels and a sweatshirt. Planning to meet Bill and Paddy, Elaine and DR at Tokyo Steak House for lunch today, then drive down to Madison for the Garden Expo. Alex Reichl gave Bob tickets so we'll go check it out and hit Costco while we're in town. Food: 6:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 7 Feb

Schools closed, LIFE classes canceled, the city braced for a big snow, and nothing falling. Now it's predicted to start this afternoon, but maybe it will miss us altogether. Another, bigger snow is predicted for next week. Always best to wait and see. Evening of Chocolate Decadence tonight (that is, if we don't actually get so much snow that they cancel as well). Food: 7:55 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 9:10-9:45 am Jessica Smith Warm Up and first 2 miles DVD

Wed 6 Feb

Didn't get much snow last night, but more is supposedly on the way. Ordered one contact yesterday. Learned that I have cataracts developing; he said on a 1-4 scale, they were about a 2 already. Asked if I could wait about a year and a half (until Medicare) to tend to them without suffering from ill vision and he seemed to think it likely not a problem. I haven't noticed any effects as yet, but I will monitor. Once I get the cataracts repaired, the procedure is similar to Lasik in that they implant lenses in the eyes that eliminate the need for glasses or contacts. He said they can do monovision as I'm doing with my contacts so I can read with my left eye and the right eye will be corrected for distance. Food: 7:50 am Chocolate-drizzled palmier, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:15 am 3/4 c potato salad, 1/2 c whole milk Greek yogurt, 1/2 c blueberries Exercise: 9:00-9:30 am Tone class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 5 Feb

Happy Chinese New Year! I have an eye doctor appointment this morning to check for macular degeneration signs and to get my prescription updated so I can order a new contact or two following the breakage of the last one I was using. I'm very grateful that it didn't break in my eye this time. Having lunch with Taylor today at the little Mexican place on Hwy 10. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 4 Feb

Wow, February is already marching on. The Evening of Chocolate Decadence is this Thursday. I need to get cracking on the plans for Paris or it will be upon me before I know it. I should call Sharon Flugaur today as well as schedule an eye appointment so I can replace my contact(s). Food: 6:50 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:10 pm 2 fried eggs, chocolate breakfast bread w/butter, 100 g blueberries 2:00 pm 2 Lindt truffles 6:20 pm Whole wheat spaghetti w/meat sauce w/onions & peppers, 1/2 c shelled edamame Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:10-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 3 Feb

Nice to wake up and the house is at 62° before the heat or the fireplace even kick in. It wasn't supposed to go below freezing (or just barely) even overnight for about 48 hours from yesterday afternoon. There's a spooky fog outside - looks like Sherlockian London. The freezing fog actually improved the footing as it froze in dots on the surface and provided traction. The only dangerous footing was, surprisingly, the people who had salted heavily as it didn't allow for the fog to freeze but left a layer of melted water over a thin layer of ice. Almost went down outside of Shuda's but the good Lord was there to help me catch myself. Food: 6:40 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 7:10-7:30 am Walk to church 9:15-9:35 am Walk home

Sat 2 Feb

Had this idea during my morning routine, sort of inspired by Laura's 365 days of handstand selfies, that it would be cool to just do 365 days of photos in a variety of settings to document a year in my life. That seemed to self-indulgent, so I thought perhaps I should take a photo every day for a year of Bob and capture his life over 365. I took one this morning just sitting at his computer, the usual morning routine, but I will try to remember to take them in a variety of settings where I am there to record it. We'll see how far I get with remembering.

Fri 1 Feb

February begins. A little warmer than the frigid end of January, thankfully. It is predicted to get to 12° above zero today which should feel almost balmy after the several days of deep freeze we've just endured. The Aldi chocolate breakfast bread is delicious - not too sweet but rich chocolate flavor. Delicious toasted with just a touch of butter. Food: 6:55 am Slice chocolate breakfast bread, butter, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:45 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, butter, 1.2 oz cheddar, cara cara orange Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class