Thursday, March 15: Father Patrick, mentor to Mary's college group known as "The Farmers" died Tuesday evening. I decided to attend the funeral activities a St. John's Abbey in Collegeville Minnesota. Patrick was very, very special to Mary and I feel compelled to be there.
Father Patrick is in the plaid shirt at the top of the stairs to the right in this 2006 picture taken at Cape Cod.
Arrived Thursday afternoon and checked into the Hotel Minneapolis and it is wonderful. Its in an old bank building and they left the lobby area in place so you can see the granite columns, decorated walls and ceilings but it is now a hotel, not a bank. It is a Marriott property and really focused on customer service and satisfaction. The room was very nicely done and appeared very clean. Down everything on the bed. Nice, but--
I think I might have problems with down. Woke up in not the best of shape with clogged nasal passages and throat as well. When I woke up my head was on the mattress without any pillow support. I had pushed it away while sleeping which is totally unlike me. Thus, my suspicion of a mild down allergy. At home, my new duvet insert is down. I think I will try the synthetic queen comforter I already own and see if it makes a difference. Mary had a really big down allergy so she never bought down items. It makes an easy test using an old comforter.
Dinner Thursday was with my sister, Sister Maureen, at a sports bar near her apartment on West 7th street. She needs knee surgery and is planning on it this summer. That triggers another item for her, the possible move into the new Corondolet Village (CV) built as a joint project by the Order and by Presbyterian Homes. It is a progressive care retirement center for the nuns and general population. Getting in is a challenge but it may be that Maureen can move in soon.
My sister is afraid of the move, not because of the new digs, they are great. Rather, she has a rather large collection of 'stuff' from any number of sources and the thought of moving scares her--especially given the knee surgery that will knock her out for 6-8 weeks. The CV has many types of rooms: 1BR, 1BR+Office, 2BR with 1 or 2 baths. My sister is a PC/Mac software guru for the Order so at a minimum she will need the 1BR, Bath and Office. The office for her computer setup. Maureen is 9 years older than I am so getting set up now for the next part of life is the right thing to do.
A possible solution I came up with is that I rent a storage place for her. She then only has to decide what goes directly into CV vs what goes into storage. I then offered to come up for a couple weeks at a time to help her clear out the storage room. Why would I do this? Because she has a lot of stuff from my Mom and Dad. I may or may not want certain items. She'll get an update on Monday as to availability of an apartment that works for her.
Back to my wonderful space at the Hotel Minneapolis!
Ciao
P
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