I Was List-Less, and It Felt Great

October 25, 2012

My intentions were good.  I’d made a list. It was a long list of what I wanted to accomplish over the five days I recently spent in Mexico.  There was the planned shopping excursion to a charming village, a trip to see the nearby ruins, daily yoga, journaling, catching up on my online reading and [...]

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What Do You Get When You Mix Business and Leisure? Mexico!

October 18, 2012

This is a short post, since I’m leaving tomorrow on a trip to Cancun. My best college pal is going to a conference and I’m tagging along — flying on the cheap and camping out in my friend’s suite. Today, I’ve been packing like a mad woman and going through a huge stack of books [...]

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Caregiving: Not Just for Women Anymore

October 16, 2012

When I conjure an image of a caregiver, I picture a woman.  I know I’m being sexist but I always think female.  Why? First, I don’t personally know many male caregivers.  In fact, I can only think of one or two.  Also, in my family, the women did all the traditional “female roles” of running [...]

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Cocktails With Charlie

October 12, 2012

This past summer, I frequently had cocktails with Charlie.  The next morning, we’d enjoy coffee together.  My sister joined us for both the drinks and the caffeine. Yes, I’m smitten with Charlie, but I’m not totally sure how he feels about me.  One day he is super friendly and will sit close to me on [...]

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Mike and The Rambler

October 8, 2012

Mike is now my main man. Let me explain. Early last summer, when it was warm and lovely and the warm weather seemed as though it would never end, I decided to buy a home.  I found a rambler (what is commonly called a ranch home in many areas of the country) in the twin [...]

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Achoo!! No, I Am Not a Freak. It’s Hereditary.

September 18, 2012

I’ve always called it “The Big Sneeze.”  But actually it’s a series of three sneezes that overtake me suddenly when I’m first exposed to sunlight. I’m not talking small, delicate sneezes.  No, these are huge, wet, debilitating outbursts — intense and uncontrollable.  They are huge, often pants-wetting sneezes that make strangers stop in their tracks [...]

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Read About How Caregiving Can Shorten Your Life

September 4, 2012

Evelyn, one of my dad’s sisters, was truly a world-class complainer. Long before I was born, someone in the family bestowed on her the unlikely nickname, “Auntie Honey,” and somehow the name stuck. Growing up, I remember Auntie Honey harping constantly about almost everything.  Her most bitter comments were about her mother — my grandmother [...]

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September is World Alzheimer’s Month

September 4, 2012

Dementia doesn’t discriminate.  It doesn’t give a rats ass who you are, what you have accomplished in life or how much money you have accumulated. You could be a homemaker, a file clerk, a dentist, a teacher or even a former President of the United States.  Dementia could still find you.  In fact, if you [...]

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If the Shirt Fits.

August 16, 2012

I bought a house!  It feels good to write these words, but at the same time I’m experiencing the heaviness of responsibility. With home ownership comes movers, chimney sweepers, pest wranglers, plumbers, air conditioning experts and too many other workpeople to name.  The last few weeks have been a steady stream of men. Sadly, all [...]

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Helen Girly/Gurley Brown Dies at Age 90

August 13, 2012

As a kid growing up in rural Minnesota, I remember watching Helen Gurley Brown on “The Tonight Show.”  An insomniac, I’d probably tossed and turned for a long time before finally slipping out of bed and padding down the hall to find my mother sitting in our darkened living room.  A poor sleeper herself, mom [...]

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California Dreamin’

July 16, 2012

I am in California, land of the ubiquitous toilet seat protectors.  I’ve been away for almost nine months and it’s good to be back, even though I won’t be staying.  California certainly isn’t perfect but there is much that I miss about my adopted home of 30 plus years. Topping the list, of course, has to [...]

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Vocabulario Viernes, the Hubby Post

July 13, 2012

Hubby.  It’s an awful word, and not just because I don’t have one.  I don’t want one.  Really.  I DO NOT WANT A HUBBY.  A new and improved husband, perhaps, but a hubby?  Never. My dislike of this slang word for a male spouse runs so deep that it is the sole subject of my [...]

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Hey Roger Ebert, We Saw “Ted” and We Want Our Money Back

July 5, 2012

Roger Ebert, I may sue you.  Last night my sister, brother-in-law and I went to a movie based upon your recommendation and it was the worst.  No, it was the worst of the worst.  It was horrid. Not only did I lose 45 minutes of my life (and, since I am in my mid-50s, every [...]

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Finding the Funny in Small Town Life

June 28, 2012

Adjusting to life in a very small, rural town is an ongoing process.  Sure, I was born and raised in this little Minnesota hamlet, but I moved away just after high school graduation and only came back for short visits thereafter. During my time away, I moved to Los Angeles where I lived in a [...]

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The Little Book That Could Save Your Life

June 26, 2012

Knowing how much I love garden gnomes, my daughter gave me a book about them for Mother’s Day.  I’ve already read it twice.  It’s a thin volume, heavy on colorful pictures and a bit light on the copy.  Yet, it might just save my life one day. Let me explain. Written by Chuck Sambuchino, How [...]

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Dementia: When the Book and Its Cover Do Not Match

June 19, 2012

Looks can be deceiving.  Mary, a slight, sweet woman, moved into my mother’s independent living home about six months ago.  Mummy can’t remember her name and instead calls her “the little young gal.” Mary’s actually 83, so while she is no spring chicken, she might be considered young by many of the residents. Mary is [...]

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Watergate at 40: What Will it Mean in 2072?

June 10, 2012

Watergate.  Has it really been 40 years?  I was just a small-town teenager in the summer of 1972, but I remember being fascinated as the break-in and protracted cover-up unfolded.  It was a drama like none other.  When it was over, lives and careers had been ruined, 40 men went to jail, a U.S. president [...]

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It’s Summer, Baby. Winter Was Just a Bad Dream.

June 6, 2012

Summer is here in central Minnesota.  My sister and her husband have returned from their winter home in Florida and we are all living (albeit a bit snugly) in The Little House on the Prairie. My sister loves yard work, so I have been helping her weed, lay down mulch, clean out dead branches and [...]

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Tell me: Is Blogging Really Dead?

May 30, 2012

It seems as though I’m always late to the party.  In September 2010, I launched Dating Dementia when there were already close to 150 million blogs in existence.  Now, just as I begin to hit my stride, I learn blogs have probably had their day in the sun and now are on the way out. [...]

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Alike on the Inside: Post Redux

May 25, 2012
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Sometimes life becomes a little overwhelming and a break is needed.  I’ve been on one of these little time-outs for the past few weeks, but I’m feeling better and will be blogging original material very soon.  In the meantime, here is a post from 2010 — when I first began blogging — that I wrote [...]

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Best Mother’s Day Gift? Maybe Not, But Close.

May 9, 2012

As you read this post, I’m getting ready to drive to Minneapolis to pick up my darling daughter at the airport.  She just finished her freshman year in Boston and is headed back to Southern California for the summer.  However, she’s stopping in Minnesota to spend a week with me at Little House on the [...]

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Dementia Sucks. My New Mantra.

May 7, 2012

Dementia Sucks.  This is my new mantra. I say those two words out loud when I’m alone.  On a really bad day, I might even scream them in the car.  Online, I discuss dementia with people I’ve never met and I write about it endlessly.  I talk to my sister by phone and we sometimes [...]

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What the Birds Don’t Know

May 2, 2012

News from Little House on the Prairie: Nature is noisy. Yesterday was my day to sleep in.  But just as the sun was coming up over the Minnesota horizon, I  was awakened by a cacophony of noise. I’d left the window open the night before, since it was extremely hot and muggy after a big [...]

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Life in Suburbia: Don’t Forget to Look Up

April 26, 2012

People think that living in the suburbs can be boring, but I disagree.  Honestly, if you keep your eyes open, you never know what unusual experiences will come your way. Like the fall evening a few years back, when I was grilling turkey burgers for dinner.  Standing on my patio, I remember enjoying the crisp [...]

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What Twitter Taught Me in 11 Months, Three Weeks and Six Days

April 24, 2012

A year ago, I became a somewhat reluctant Twitter convert. Launched in 2006, Twitter already had 300 million users when I joined. Was I simply too late to the party? I’d long been a Facebook fan. Yet, after spending close to a year on Twitter, I now view Facebook as a family reunion, while Twitter [...]

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Scrub a Dub Dub, There’s an Ex in My Tub

April 18, 2012

Divorce brings up all sorts of emotions, and sometimes people find themselves acting  a little crazy.  Those who have ended marriages have their own personal divorce story — some are sad, some are scary and some are just plain funny. My somewhat twisted divorce tale starts when I had been separated for about a year. [...]

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The Train of Life Keeps Moving Forward

April 17, 2012

When I was a kid we rarely went to the doctor.  Something had to be broken or one of us knocked unconscious – for a prolonged period – before my mother would toss the afflicted party into the back seat of the car and speed off to the only clinic in town. That’s right, there was one medical [...]

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The Birds Return

April 12, 2012

They are back.  Returning one-by-one, in small groups and in huge formations that cover the sky.  They fly, squawk, chirp, sing, soar, float on lakes, make family nests, occasionally fight and poop everywhere. They are the Minnesota birds.  And, the ducks.  And, the geese.  And, the loons.  They are everywhere. Yesterday, I came upon two [...]

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Thanks to My Readers and Social Media Connections

April 4, 2012

The feedback on my recent post about dementia, What Makes Me Angry? Dementia., was truly heartwarming.  Quite a few of my friends called and emailed, while others posted on my Facebook page or retweeted the story to their followers.  Thanks to LinkedIn and a few other social media sites, hundreds of new readers visited Dating [...]

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Candy and the Dairy Queen Caper

April 2, 2012
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Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day.  My Mom and I went to lunch and then we played two games of cards.  Next, I suggested a drive and the two of us toured around town and then out in the country.  There were cows, plowed fields, clusters of trees, more fields and cows, and a lake [...]

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What Makes Me Angry? Dementia.

March 28, 2012

I first noticed signs of my mother’s dementia during a trip home to Minnesota about four years ago.  I remember feeling panicked.  You see, my dad had Alzheimer’s disease and needed full-time care for years.  That long, awful journey took a terrible toll on him as well as my mom, who was his primary care [...]

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