Happy Thanksgiving. I am writing this on Wed. I don't expect to have time on Thursday. This will be short as I am preparing my house for this celebration. Greg is the chief cook but I am his side kick. I also wash the many dishes generated from food prep. All my kids will be here and one of my granddaughters - Rosa. Sophia will be with her father. I hope the weather improves for them as they are headed for Iowa I believe.

It is snowing now. The first time the snow has accumulated. As Greg said it even looks like snow. It is pretty. The ground is warm and it won't amount to much here I don't think. They say the bridge decks are a bit slippery. Emma loves snow so she won't mind the start of the snowy winters of MN. She will love it.

We found one of her toys that was missing. She must have put it in the corner of my office and I didn't see it. She was so excited. It is called a flying squirel and perfect for in the snow for it is bright orange (like hunters wear) and blue. It flies kind of like a frisbee but its shape resembles I suppose a flying squirrel.

We had two medical appointments today. I am getting some changes in my medications to see if it helps me feel better. We napped also. so I do have a few more things to do. I talked to my son though and they will put the leaf in the table and move chairs to that room when they arrive. The kids are also bringing pies, vegetable, fruit, and things to help with the meals. I hear my girls and one of their friends who is joining us are having a fun time making pies together at her apartment.

I am trying not to overly stress out here over what I need to do to be ready. Greg insisted I take a nap despite things to do. I want to feel okay for tomorrow.

Emma is enjoying the smells of food preparation. Also was inquisitive as Greg cleaned the refrigerator. He needed more room for food we are making today so he decided to clean it out. I woke up to him cleaning it out thoroughly. All the shelves and drawers out. Every rack wiped down. So now I have a sparkling clean refrigerator. Also we find now that it is just the two of us here some items were past there peak and ready to be tossed. Now there is room. But he always does some big thing when you have a million things to do. Last year all the spices (and he has a lot as such a good cook) got sorted, the cupboard cleaned thoroughly and old ones tossed. If he had the time and energy to do that all the time my house would be immaculate but no it is not. It has the comfy lived in look to it.

Enough resting I have a few more things to do. Don't worry Emma and I do a bit, rest or sit, do a bit, rest and sit. That's the only way I can manage. Bummer I am more dizzy today than I have been for awhile. So that means more sitting till things settle down. When Greg went to work tonight he warned me to be careful - he doesn't want to come home to me lying on the ground due to dizziness. Sometimes the vertigo is so bad it is hard to walk even. It is better at the moment yeah.

I have so much to be thankful for. Of course my husband, children, siblings, grandchildren and my wonderful Emma.

Hoping you have a wonderful day and many things to be thankful for in your life.

Mary and Emma

Every day Emma helps me cope. I caught up on paperwork and laundry today. The paperwork was time consuming as I sorted what to file, shred, etc. Oh I let that go too long. I also did take time to exercise on a stationary bike. I am slowly building up my endurance. Emma just gave me the funniest looks as she watched me. She made me laugh! She is such a dear.

We slept very late till almost 11. My husband got up with her and fed her of course. We got outside too and the day went by oh so quickly. It was gray and very foggy this morning. A dreary day.

I am very excited for Thanksgiving. We will eat early at noon so Mike and Tia and Rosa can go to Tia's side of the family later in the afternoon. That means we will do preparation the day before. We also plan to go to an special Thanksgiving Prayer Service Wed night where Greg works. So we have to do some planning on how all will be accomplished. I also have two medical appointments on Wed.

We babysit tomorrow if all goes as planned. I hope to relax tonight and finish my book for book club.

Three more days till Thanksgiving - yeah time with family.

Love Mary and Emma

Emma went with me to the hospital to visit my friend who had a stroke. It helped me to see her. I am very tired and will write more tomorrow. Had trouble with my asthma today so did not do anything else but that. emma was good company. More tomorrow.

Today Emma and I went to the MN Chapter MS Society Annual Convention. We helped at the Helping Paws booth and we also heard various speakers. I was able to visit with a lot of people I know from camp or other MS Society events. I also was able to chat with many of the MS Society Staff members. It was fun.

It was at the Mpls. Hyatt Regency Downtown. I brought a cane. I should have brought a walker or a scooter. I got so tired walking from room to room for the sessions. Emma and I came home and crashed - we were both ready for a long nap. It was worth it though to gain new information and to see people I know. It was very interesting and enjoyable.

I talked to several people at the Helping Paws Booth. It turned out that several people with dogs were there in the morning. We helped till lunchtime at noon. It is always a joy to share how Emma helps me out daily. Emma was very cooperative. At lunch she even rested comfortably next to Kona (or was it Koda I forget) under the table. Emma is very good at waiting.

I know Emma is glad to be home as am I. We are going to watch a movie with Greg and head to bed. I still feel tired.

Hope your Sunday is a good one.

Mary and Emma

Emma and I were home during the day. We had fun outdoors, the sun was shining. She was so enthusiastic to be outside. Tonight Greg had to go into work and Emma loved it. They have lots of leaves and like I have said before, this dog loves rolling and plowing through leaves. She looked like she wanted to say "Life is so Good". Also since it was after hours and no other employees were there she got to roam around a bit with me. She was very inquisitive. It was a pleasure to let her sniff and explore a bit as Greg worked. Then she settled right down as I used the extra computer.

We treated ourselves and went out to dinner. Emma was so good. Once again the wait staff were so surprised when we got up to leave. "There was a dog under there? I can't believe it!"
There were some children at this restaurant and oh they liked to dog also. I delight in their enthusiasm as they proclaim "Mommy, look a doggy!".

Part of the day I worked on sorting my photos. I have a digital camera. I have over 2,000 pictures on the computer. I am trying to organize them into albums. some need to be deleted. I tend to take several photos of the same thing (yeah for digital cameras) and then decide which is the best to save. With my beautiful granddaughters - the problem is I delete very few. this project is going to take awhile. I also need to back up my pictures in case my computer crashes. There also some I want to print. An interesting project.

Looking at the pictures makes me really grateful for my family, friends and Emma. I am blessed. I live from paycheck to paycheck with medical bills adding to the burden - but I am very rich in the blessings of family. I recognize that. I am so thrilled to have them for Thanksgiving though I will miss Sophia.

Greg worked outdoors today. He installed a new gutter over the garage. He needed my help. Part of what he wanted was for me to tell him when it looked level. Amusing to ask this of someone who gets dizzy especially when looking up. He figured it all out and at least I was company to talk to. He also finished the new lights on the house. Now with the new paint job it looks darn nice. We are pleased with it.

I am doing my homework for the therapy that is trying to help me deal with vertigo. I guess you might call it eye exercises. I am also trying to exercise on the stationary bike. My trick it every time I let Emma out before or after I do some biking. Once a day (except the days I do water exercise) I try to exercise longer. Due to leg weakness and the asthma I am barely up to 12 minutes but I am working on it. My goal is 30 minutes. Emma watches me with such a curious expression. It will be awhile till I reach my goal. I wonder with the weakness in my legs if I ever will reach it but I guess it is something to strive for. I have a MS friend who succeeded in that. Another MS friend who just did 15 min a day twice a day. I will see what works for me. I use music to help pass the time.

I am already listening to Christmas music. Emma does not complain. I think she likes when I play music though I am of course just guessing. It lifts my mood and I need that for sure.

Tomorrow we are going to the MN Chapter Annual MS Convention. Emma and I will help staff the Helping Paws booth some of the time. I think it will be interesting. We better get rest so we can get up early.

I have not heard more about m friend today. I am still praying it goes well for her.

Have a good weekend.
Mary and Emma