day 142

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I spent mine with my parents and cousin Lorraine. We all enjoyed a delicious meal but we missed Joe at the table.

sparkling pear juice, water and lemon cello (the good stuff from italy)

I also tried something new this year, I added champage to the cranberries and it was excellent. It might have been because I used our good french champage for it. Oh well.

Yummy cranberries

We also had soup instead of salad this year - it was a fennel soup.

The Bird

For dessert pine nut pie! it was good.

day 135

It is always the little things that make you happy. I'm so excited about my new track lighting. My other ugly track lighting was so old that they don't make bulbs for it any more. I found these lights that have glass shades and fit into my track! How pretty are they.

This is in my hall way upstairs so there is really no other options that would work but track lighting.

OOOHHH AHHHH

beautiful and all the shades are different because it is hand made glass shades.

day 134

I just book a weekend getaway in January and the painter might be done today.

Things are looking up.

day 132 & 133

Here is the slightly finished guest room. There is no before because beofore we went to Belgium Joe redid the room and I just repainted it white. I want you to feel like you are in a big fluffy cloud when you look at the ceiling.

Ceiling

all ready for my guest this week

bonus post

Congratulations to Herman Van Rompuy. Who is he you ask. He is the first president of the EU. He is the former PM of Belgium. It is good for the EU and I think it is bad for Belgium because it is very difficult to find a PM that wants to run that crazy little country. He hasn't even been PM for a year.

Before the EU had a president it rotated every so many month to a different prime minister in the EU. I also thought that was crazy.

Just wanted to discuss this with you all because I just can't have this conversation with Joe face to face.

day 131

First I would like to let you all know that I successful did my Tracy Anderson exercises dvd from start to finish. This has never happened be fore not even close and yesterday I did it all with out even a break when she does the killer arm movements. For those of you who don't know who she is she is the trainer Madonna and Gweneth Paltrew (spelling) work with. It isn't an easy DVD workout and I haven't worked out in a long time so I'm very excited I got through it.

Also Thursday night I went to my first Grief share group here in Mpls. It is a totally different one than that crazy one I attended in LA. This on just might be normal and after the meeting the "popular group" invited me out to dinner afterwards. I thought what the heck I'm here cause I wanted to meet people so I went and had a good time. Well as good as time as you can have anyway.

We discussed a bunch of things and one that I thought was interesting...what do you do this year for Christmas cards. I never shared that we do a photo every year I just listened to most of them say they are not up to doing cards...I'm still on the fence this year as to what I want to do, I just know what ever I decided will be right for me and that is all that counts.

day 130

Painter update since every one keeps asking. He has moved into the bathroom and will be here this afternoon. I'm thinking he might be done Monday that includes the bathroom and all the spots I'm marking on the wall the need to be gone over again. He wants to help me hang my pictures which I might take him up on since I want some hung in the stair way and I'm not sure how I would get up there and he has a tall latter. However this means that they might not get hung till May at the rate he is going.

Today the comcast people come to fix my Internet problem that I have been living with for about a month.

Tomorrow the carpet guys come to give me a quote on getting a new runner on my stairs. I have been carrying foxy up and down the stairs. If some of you remember the old runner was southwest pattern which never went with our house and we just learned to deal with it.

My chandeliers that we got in Europe are ready, they needed to be rewired so I can use them here. I can't wait to put the crystal one up in the dressing room. I wonder what it will be like to have a light in there instead of just a ceiling fan.

Lastly thanks to everyone who called or I called wondering how yesterday went. There is still unfinished business and that is all I will say.

day 129

Here is a photo of my shoe closet. My shoes are very happy.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday night or Sunday morning about 2:00 two cars got into an accident outside of my house. It was so loud it woke Foxy up! I'm pretty sure drinking was some how involved.

day 128

Sorry for the late post...i did how ever get a lot accomplished today.

Wish me luck tomorrow (wednesday) I have to go to the bank and meet Joe's dad to get some things straightened out and hopefully that will be the last interaction I will have to have with his family till telling the updates about the trial. I'm crossing my fingers they don't go to LA for it. That is another story for another day. (they just suck all the life and energy out of me and replace it with anger which is sad cause I'm not even angry about the guy who hit Joe just his parents)

As you all have figured out my life is anything but normal and dealing with everything concerning Joe's death is anything but normal too. There are to many issues to share with you all, I'm thankful this thanksgiving for having friends, family and a great sense of humor to get me though this all.

day 126 & 127

It was a semi productive weekend. My closets as you know got put in and I spent most of the weekend getting them organized.

I also went to the movie Radio Pirates which was actually really good, but then again I have strange taste in movies. I also watched the documentary Valentino about the fashion designer and that I also enjoyed but then it again it was all about fashion and they were in cities in Europe that I love.

Hopefully the painter will start in the bathroom today...this weekend I successfully painted my window open and when I went out the back door the door knob came off. Fun stuff in my house.

day 125

The light isn't the greatest because I took them at night with no light just for you guys who can't wait to see them.

This is the dressing room and one closet that just got done today. My clothes are not even in them.

The first photo is two put together just so you can get the just of what it looks like on one wall.

Hanging on one side with drawer and shelves on the other.

Laundry hamper

Inside the closet with shelves and hanging what you can't see is double hanging rod on the inside.

day 124

I'm just wondering when I can run away from everything and be by myself for a while. I really can't wait till this happens. I'm think that I should go to belgium and close my account there and that might help a little.

day 123

I'm working on the list Joe and I talked about doing to the house when we moved back here. Today they start on my closets! I'm so excited. Next is carpet for the stairs or runner I should type then the boiler need to be replaced. I really need the runner though I'm getting tired of carrying Foxy up and down the stairs.

Yesterday the painter finished the big jobs the touch up spots and the bathroom are left and of course I don't know when he will be back. I have painted the trim in all the closets and the baseboards in my bedroom today I might tackle the the window frame in the bathroom.

berlin wall

here is a videos to show the celebrations yesterday.

day 121

I meant to write this on the blog yesterday but time got away from me. Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down in Berlin. I actually found a channel here that is world news (which I really miss) I what watch is at 6:30 am 1/2 hour of french news 1/2 russian news 1/2 Aljazzera and 1/2 of Euro News which is the news I watched in Brussels. You really get a good picture and a different side of what is really going on in the world.

It was kind of a sad day because I didn't get to chat with Joe and revisit all our crazy stories from when we were in Berlin. Even a new story from the day when the CNN international guy (the evening Anchor from London that we watched daily in Brussels) was at the Berlin Wall and they showed a interview of him there 0 years ago and he has changed so much.

Everyone always ask me what is you favorite place you visited. It really is a hard question to answer because everywhere we went we loved in it's own special way.

Berlin for example was our favorite city for the history because it was so recent that we both remembered the event happening. The museums were fascinating for both us and the city was amazing but still has a cold war feeling. The people were actually the nicest in Berlin than anywhere else we have been. We even told people we were Americans, a thing we rarely did.

Here is link to my other blog with our Berlin tales I would like to share again with you.

Click here

day 119 & 120

Friday I sat down and finished putting my European photos in albums. I still have some trips that need to be printed and that is where this blog is going today.

I went to get some disks to burn photos on and the guy told me that now everyone is putting their photos on USB flash drives things. I tried a usb thing before when Joe's work put all his emails and contacts on one for me. I have never gotten it to work and now have no idea where it is - may be Amy or Jaime has it.

Anyway I bought the stupid usb thing and it doesn't work, the little light on the stick doesn't even light up. I'm thinking that they are not compatible with a mac or something like that.

So I never got my other photos printed this weekend and most of all I never got all my shoe photos printed that I need to put on my shoe boxes!

I did however get the trim in my shoe closet painted, with out to much of a mess. Joe would have never let me paint - one time I flew to Chicago to paint Karen's deck on the back of her condo and thought we were nuts. I must say I think I did a very job on her deck.

day 117

This is a photo of my closet. I use to have 3 rod across and walk through my clothes to get to my other clothes. I know some of you guys are thinking why don't you get rid of some clothes. Not an option boys, besides I said my closet Joe had the other 2.

Now this closet is going to be my shoe sanctuary. They are even taking a before and after shots of my closet construction for their ads. So last night I took photos of my shoes -the new ones that I don't have photos of so I can put them on the front of the box and it will look better in the ad then half the boxes with photos and the other's with out. This is no more crazier then Joe having a room just for his bikes in the house.

day 116

Today it is been 1 month since I have been back in minnesota. Between the cold and the mess in the house I can't say I love it yet.

day 115

The renters that we had in the house ripped the orginal paper that was covering the windows.

My friendly painter gave me a brand new roll of grass cloth. So I decided to us it to cover up the windows again. looks good don't you think?

day 114

The Painter showed up!!!!!!!

day 112 & 113

No painter all last week, we will see if he shows up this week. In the mean time this is the only room he has done. For those of you that have been in my house the wall that is striped us to be where the armoires where. I'm not sure why Joe never wanted the bed in this area.

Enjoy!