Cloquet, MN – August 25-31, 2014

This week was rather quiet on the home front, as we’re staying at my mom’s home in Cloquet. Our camper is parked on the street in front of her house. We’ve had quite a bit of rain and drizzle and cool temperatures—quite a contrast from earlier this summer!

If you remember, earlier this year we had to transition Mom to Interfaith Care Center in Carlton, Minnesota, and full-time care due to her inability to get around by herself at home. We’ve visited with Mom at the care center almost daily, which I’m sure makes her happy while we’re there. However, she probably doesn’t remember that we visited within minutes after we leave. Sad to see her there, but this is what’s best for her.

There’s a garden at Interfaith, where we’ve been taking her to get a little fresh air and sunshine. She really enjoys that!

Here are some photos of her new digs.

Entrance to Interfaith Care Center, Carlton, MN

Reception Area

This and the next 2 photos are of Mom's room. We added
photos and personal touches to make it more homey.

The garden view from Mom's room. There are hundreds of
perennials planted, with a walkway around the perimeter.
My brother, Rich, built the pergola.

My 93 year old Mom. She's still feisty!

Dick and Mom on one of the "walk abouts"
around the garden.

My cousin-in-law Susan (also the HR director at Interfaith),
Mom and me.

Mom with Dick and me enjoying the garden and sunshine.

At the end of the hallway on her floor is an aviary with a dozen or more birds, including Blue Capped Waxbills, Diamond Doves, Yellow Canaries, Social Finches, Star Finches, and Zebra Finches. It draws more than just a little attention!

Tuesday we attended niece Mackenzie’s Jr. Varsity soccer game here in Cloquet, as they played against the Jr. Varsity team from Esko, Minnesota, a tough rival. Unfortunately, MacKenzie was injured in the middle of the first half; it was an injury to her left ankle that she has injured in the past. She can’t put weight on it for at least a week so she’s on crutches. Luckily MacKenzie doesn’t have a game until Tuesday, but don’t know yet if she’ll be recovered enough to play by then. And…the game was tied at 0:0. Guess the team really needed MacKenzie!

Friday, when we visited Mom, we showed her a little slide show I put together of highlights of places we’ve been to since June. She seemed to enjoy it—especially those photos of the animals we saw during our visit to the Tetons and Yellowstone. Love to see a smile on her face!

A couple months ago I mentioned that we removed the slide cover over the dining area of the camper when it started to unroll during the drive from Pahrump, Nevada to Carson City. Well, Sunday afternoon Dick and I reinstalled it. Yeah! And, it works! Hope it stays that way when we get on the road again!

Well, that’s it for this week. Next week we’ll share more exciting news from Cloquet! We plan to leave here, heading for Texas, the week of September 22.

Hugs ‘n’ love,

RJ and Gail