Wed 30 Nov

Chilly and windy today. Skies continue to be grey as they were all day yesterday. Will venture out for Body Pump, but then will likely hunker down indoors. Food: 7:55 am Sticky bun, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 29 Nov

Restarted my Fitbit and it says "no data will be lost", but when it restarted, I only had 8 steps for the day instead of my usal 750 or so at this time of day. At least I didn't lose the steps in the late part of the day when most had already been logged. Food: 8:10 am Sticky bun, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 28 Nov

Had a really hard time getting out of bed this morning. Not much deep sleep and indeed, times when I didn't feel too sleepy during the night, but felt like falling deeply into sleep when it was time to get up. Still trying to shake it off. Food: 8:00 am Panera cinnamon roll, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 27 Nov

Had a good day yesterday. Hiked to the top of Rib, but passed on the tower as it was quite windy at the summit. Needed several brief rest stops to normalize heart rate and breathing, but made it! Drove up to Panera in Wausau to pick up some breakfast pastries, hoping unsuccessfully for one of their yummy coffee cakes, but decided to have a nice light dinner there. Nearby was a County Market and cheap gas, so we bought caramel rolls and turnovers at the grocery store to supplement a couple of pastries from Panera. Food: 8:00 am Panera pecan braid, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 26 Nov

Lovely warm, sunny morning with minimal breezes. Nice walk to the Farmer's Market, but no David's pastries today. We had brunch of bagel sandwiches instead. Planning a hike to the top of Rib this afternoon to get in shape for mountain climbing this summer. Food: 8:45 am Lox and bagel sandwich w/cream cheese and sliced tomato, coffee

Fri 25 Nov

My brother Mark would have been 71 today. Happy Birthday, bro! Delicious food and great times at Michael and Taylor's for Thanksgiving yesterday, however my stomach did not react well in the aftermath. I suspect it was way more fiber than my body was accustomed to, so my stomach gurgled and passed gas regularly throughout most of the night, making sleep somewhat elusive. My stomach still feels slightly unsettled. Food: 7:55 am Honey bear, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 24 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving! First time in adult memory that we will go to someone else's house for the holiday celebration! Taylor and Michael are preparing the entire meal, vegan, at their house. We're just bringing beverages for dinner and socializing. Bottles are sitting outdoors in bags to cool this morning, using nature's refrigerator. Food: 8:00 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 23 Nov

Time seems to have hit its speeded-up phase for the holiday season. Can't believe tomorrow's Thanksgiving already. We're home this weekend, but then on fun little jaunts for the following two weekends so Christimas will be here before we know it. Need to get going on figuring out gifts for the kids. Food: 7:50 am Kouign amann, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 22 Nov

Tuesday before Thanksgiving and not a whole lot on my plate. Taylor has planned the entire menu and is hosting at their house. We were assigned beverages, and we went out last night and purchased several juices and mixers for some mocktails to get us through the afternoon before wine for dinner. Food: 8:00 am Bear claw, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 21 Nov

Sunshine this morning and temps already mid-20s. A bit of wind, but not too much. Going to research mocktails for Thanksgiving and see if there's something I can make in bulk in a pitcher. If we're gathering at noon and eating our main meal for dinner, I can't handle drinking wine or other alcohol all afternoon, and neither can anyone else I suspect. I can mull some cider, but the apple juice has digestive effects on Bob and probably eventually on the rest of us, too. Food: 8:00 am Apricot danish, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 20 Nov

Had a nice spontaneous trip to Madison yesterday afternoon after singing at Marlene's funeral. We stopped at Michele's for the Chef's Association bake sale and bought some treats and a banana cream pie, had a quick lunch, and headed down to Costco. After shopping, we headed over to Lombardino's for a delicious dinner with Aperol spritzes, gnocchi in sherry mushroom sauce for me and spaghetti bolognese for Bob, and a shared pumpkin caramel budino for dessert. Safe drive home in spite of the gusty wind and intermittent snow squalls that had been going on all day. House was soooo cold when we got home after the fireplace being off since lunch. Bob gave in and turned on the heat this morning so we are comfortable again. Food: 7:55 am Blueberry danish, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 19 Nov

More light fresh snow this morning to make the walking in need of care. At least I get more steps that way. We will also walk over to St Joe's for Marlene's funeral in about an hour. No time to hit the bake sale at Michele's unless I decide to go after the funeral. Food: 9:00 am Cherry danish, 93 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 18 Nov

Wow! The aftermath of this Co-Vid vaccine really wiped me out yesterday afternoon. Felt so bad that Bootstrap was incredibly busy and I had to leave at 3 pm because I could no longer function. Also had to back out of the Zoom training with Kurt and promise to watch the recording at another time because I couldn't even function mentally. I took a nap when I got home, did Duo and got the last 1500 steps, sent Bob out for Rockys and ate a piece while finishing my book, laid down on the couch again for half an hour, then gave up and went to bed at 7:30. Slept pretty well all night and feel human again today. Food: 7:55 am Honey bear, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 17 Nov

Light snow falling this morning and a little on the ground again. It's beginning to look a lot like winter. Rehearsed with the St Joe's "choir" for Marlene's funeral last night; they are a very informal group of singers, no harmonies or parts. Our little "choir remnant" group will do the Ave Verum, probably a cappella due to a very out-of-tune piano, possibly during the visitation. Leo is going to check with Gerry as to his preferences. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 16 Nov

Rehearsal tonight for Marlene's funeral on Saturday; we'll be singing with the St Joe's choir. Means we can't go to hear the man from Iran who will be speaking at Holy Spirit about being a refugee. Guess I'll have to buy his book instead. Food: 7:55 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 15 Nov

Halfway through November already. Snow on the ground and falling, might get up to 2 inches. Massage this afternoon. Food: 7:55 am Cheese danish, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 14 Nov

It's beginning to feel a lot like winter. May have to break down and turn on the heat soon; the fireplace has to work most of the day to heat up the house to a comfortable temp. I left the fan at 3 today to hasten the process. Food: 7:50 am Bear claw, 104 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 13 Nov

What a nice day we had yesterday. A brisk walk to the Farmer's Market in the morning, rewarded by a week's supply of our good pastries. A nice drive down to Devil's Lake amid snow flurries, a walk along the Tumbled Rocks trail watching a snow squall move in and falling among us til we turned around and returned, forgoing the climb up the bluff in the snow. Our first wine tasting since the pandemic, and a lovely dinner and cocktail at the Driftless Glen sitting next to a window overlooking snow falling on the river. And a safe drive home! Food: 7:55 am Blueberry danish, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 12 Nov

A chilly wind blew in our faces as we walked to the Boys/Girls Club Farmer's Market, but thankfully it was at our back on the walk home. Saw the Clifford family including Mandy and her toddler at David's bakery booth. Are very much enjoying the return of David's pastries to our morning menu after a 3-week hiatus. Also the trout booth is back! And it was manned today by the daughter who made the morning buns. I asked her to make them again and she was definitely in favor of the idea, so we may get more goodies soon. Food: 9:15 am Cherry danish, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 11 Nov

Veterans Day. In my early days at PCHHS, this was a paid holiday for us, and we didn't get the day after Thanksgiving off. After several years, the county decided to switch the holidays so they could keep the utilities in the buildings off for the long weekend after Thanksgiving and save some money. Pretty much nobody else besides the post office and maybe Social Security took off on Veterans Day anyway so it was a little inconvenient for business. Food: 7:50 am Gluten free zucchini cranberry muffin, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 10 Nov

63°this morning on the 10th of November! Who'd a'thunk it? Unfortunately, it's the last warm day for awhile, as it's supposed to go below freezing tonight and stay down with highs in the 30s for the foreseeable future. Oh well, seasonable temperatures are to be expected, but the little respite has been much appreciated by everyone I've talked to. Food: 8:00 am Costco frosted pumpkin bread, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 9 Nov

Warmer morning with two days of warmer temps on the docket before it gets more seasonally chilly. Body Pump today after guiltily skipping it on Friday. Food: 7:50 am Gluten free zucchini cranberry nut muffin, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 8 Nov

Today is election day; let's hope everyone gets out and votes if they haven't already done so. By tomorrow morning we should know the results, for better or worse. Can't hide that I'm a little scared of the results, but we've done our part to try to make it better, so we just have to wait it out. Food: 8:00 am Costco frosted pumpkin bread, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 7 Nov

Back to chilly mornings at 31°. Nice sunshine. Bob's back is still wonky; he hopes to get into the chiropractor today. Food: 7:55 am Costco frosted pumpkin bread, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 6 Nov

Bob's back is a little the worse today. We did go to Madison in spite of his back issue, but he probably wouldn't have been any better staying home. He has a chiropractor appointment on Monday. He felt fine while driving in the car, and needed to get up and move a little anyway. It was so nice to lunch with Laura at Monty's. She is stressed because they have a lot more students this semester, and though they hired a new lecturer, he's not carrying his weight so Laura and the other prof are doing heavy duty. She estimates she's working 60-70 hours a week. She did seem to relax a little as we visited which was nice to see. Food: 8:00 am Costco frosted pumpkin loaf, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 5 Nov

A rainy Saturday morning. Took the car to the newly opened winter Farmer's Market at the Boys & Girls Club, so steps may be hard to get today. It's supposed to stop raining this afternoon in Madison, so maybe we can get some steps there. We'll probably miss hours on the way down if it continues to rain all the way. Food: 8:30 am Chocolate chip muffin, 100 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 4 Nov

Quite warm morning at 61° though temps will likely fall all day now, with rain likely at some point. Social Justice committee meeting went well, if long. Turns out I know almost everyone on the committee which makes it more comfortable. It's a little weird to be doing things out of the house in the evenings again, even if it's only a few times a month. Food: 7:50 am 2 pumpkin donuts, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 3 Nov

Balmy 53° morning, the last really nice day of this streak as it's supposed to rain for the next two days. Yesterday was near perfect with sunshine and mid- to upper-70s, and today is predicted to be similar. Yay! Food: 7:55 am Apple turnover, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 2 Nov

Got a good night's sleep last night, very welcome. The busy schedule should be done for awhile, back to normal. I'm ready for a little quiet times. We do go down on Saturday to visit Laura, but that's always fun. Food: 7:50 am Apple turnover, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 1 Nov

Hard to believe it's already November! The year marches on. Oil change on the Prius this morning, dentist appointments this afternoon, and Holy Day Mass that I cantor tonight. Food: 7:55 am 2 pumpkin donuts, 104 g blackberries, coffee