Barbara Thompson

Thursday, June 25, 2026 The backyard visits that started during COVID as a way to connect at a distance still continue. I am so lucky to have met new friends at this point in life – such intelligent, educated, experienced people! This is a small sampling of the whole population, but these are all special

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 My new glasses came in the mail from the internet yesterday. Since my eye surgery fixed my eye, it sees better than before the retina detachment. Apparently, my other eye has gotten worse. My glasses were realllllllly not cutting it. I put these on yesterday and everything was clear. And sort

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 I do Duolingo every day. Most of the time I do German. I did a little Spanish, but that petered out. I tried Welsh and French, but, oh no. Not for me. I did a lot of math, but when I got to calculus I was lost. I did music! My

Monday, June 21, 2026 We took the boat ride today with Mark and Sue. It was just a stunningly beautiful day. They had never been down to Harriet Island/Paddleford boats and it was a great introduction. Pig’s Eye is St. Paul’s original name. I learned that the first time I boated around these parts. It

Sunday, June 21, 2026 We drove back from Iowa in time to get to a concert at 2:00. It was uneven and weird. We should have slept in.

Saturday, June 20, 2026 Keith is not in any groups playing at Wurst Brass Fest here in Amana, Iowa, this year, but he is subbing in three. He started the day playing soprano with Northwinds Brass Band. Two bands later, he was with Sheldon Theatre Brass Band playing flugelhorn. There was a pole in the

Friday, June 19, 2026 We stopped in Clear Lake, Iowa, to visit the Surf Ballroom – the place Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played the night before their fatal plane crash. The day the music died. They recently built a museum building with displays and an interactive visual presentation. We started there

Thursday, June 18, 2026 We had to go to Stillwater today, so I suggested we go to Nelson’s for lunch. Keith laughed at me. I said if I had other lunch, I would not be able to eat my ice cream. To say they are generous at Nelson’s would be a grave understatement. We had

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 Keith is subbing on flugelhorn with the Sheldon Theater brass band through this weekend when we go to Iowa for Wurst Fest. They had a concert in the park scheduled for tonight, but rain moved it indoors. One of the churches adjacent to the park kindly offered their sanctuary as a

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Keith went to wait at Alexander’s for the new laser to be delivered between noon and 4:00. It arrived before 1:00, so that was nice. The shipping guy said it weighed 400 pounds as he forklifted it to the door. The internet said it weighed 240 pounds unboxed. That was a