Friday, April 2, 2010 - Clear Lake, IA

It was cooler and not very sunny this morning. We spent some time taking care of business on the computers and by 11 am we were ready to get Lucy out for her promised walk. About a block away from home, it began to rain so we quickly retreated and made another plan. Today was Gale’s mom’s birthday and Gale’s brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Judy, had arranged to have a nice lunch sent to his parent’s house from Starboard Market, a great deli in Clear Lake. After our meal of hot soup, fresh sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit and cake, Gale and Maureen headed over to Apple Valley to pick up Pat (Maureen’s mother) and take her to Mason City for a doctor appointment.

After our trip to Mason, we dropped Pat off at Apple Valley and were back home by 3 pm. At 4 pm, we were finally able to do our walk and let Lucy run, sniff and play. Our neighbors, Tom and Kathy Langlas, had invited us over to their condo for wine and cheese at 5:30 and we enjoyed visiting with them and sharing a few laughs and a lot of stories. Back home at 7:30 pm, we popped a frozen pizza in the oven and watched the movie “2012.”

Thurs, April 1, 2010 - Clear Lake, IA

Today is Maureen’s birthday! We started the day very early by driving to Mason City. Maureen had an appointment at the eye doctor at 8 am and Gale needed to pick up the Ford Escort at Tires Plus. We each ran our errands and worked on our moving tasks. Gale was expecting someone from Des Moines to stop by and look at the jet ski around lunchtime, but that person never showed up.

After a little nap, we drove over to Mason City to pick out new eyeglass frames for Maureen. Back in Clear Lake at 3:30 pm, we stopped at Gale’s parents’ home to pick up their car and clean it up. At 5 pm, we picked up Maureen’s mother, Pat, and drove to Gale’s parents home for a joint birthday celebration for Maureen and Mary (Gale’s mom). Mary’s birthday is tomorrow.