Category: Denise

(Tuesday, April 28, 2026) waxing gibbous moon Libra

Sunday, in Cindy’s final “Decoding” Zoom meeting, Pamela’s first short conversation honored indigenous history and culture (she moved from Florida to Omaha). I was curious, so I asked her if she has Native relatives. She does not. I mentioned my distant ancestor Chief Wapasha (Dakota–Ojibwe). John smiled and said a close member of his family (his wife’s father?) grew up in one of the Ojibwe reservations in Wisconsin. I don’t remember which of the seven locations, maybe Lac du Flambeau.

Cindy’s meeting was synchronous to the recent post I made about Mendota. But there is more! This morning, on my way to acupuncture, I was trying to decide which day next week to head down to Wabasha and visit my ancestors at the St. Felix Cemetery. After I had been needled by Dr. Yu, I overheard one of his other patients say he grew up in Wabasha. Most people want to head up to Minnesota’s north woods, he admitted, but he loves southeastern bluff country. He feels it is even more beautiful and I completely agree. My soul is very connected to the Mississippi river, the gentle hills and the sand prairie.

(Friday, April 24, 2026) first quarter moon Leo

In my dream this morning I am crying because my income is very diminished. This is true in waking life. I can’t afford to travel anymore. I can’t afford pretty clothes. I can’t afford to go out to eat. Life will be very sad until I am able to use our 401k.

(Saturday, April 25, 2026)

This dream takes place in my waking-life house. It begins on the upper floor. Left of my bedroom is the haunted, ancestral attic that often shows up in dreams. A younger man, a member of the house, has chores that he does in a different location, out-of-doors.

I am friendly and move back and forth from the house to his workspace. I am not sure what he is doing (I may have forgotten that dream element) but every time I visit him I say the same word that is wrong. My aphasia. He corrects me, over and over again. An older man is working near the younger man. They are silently irritated by my mistakes. I don’t blame them for that.

The young man is also frustrated by not having enough privacy and personal space at the big house. I try to console him. I realize that the ancestral attic, which is full of hundreds of pieces of furniture from over the centuries, has functioning kitchen equipment. I tell him we can easily make a kitchen for him. Really, anything can be created in that infinite space. Yes, there are spirits, but they are not evil ghosts.

Day notes:

I had a conversation with Chris this morning about making needed updates to the house for our family. At first he was his typical irritated dude, but after continuing the discussion he understood why construction is necessary. In ten years this house will be too big for us. If we end up in memory care we could get hit with a lien. It will save Cullan huge monthly expenses if he does not have to buy his own house again. Nearly every home in our neighborhood costs $700,000 to $1,000,000. Cullan and I talked about handing him the deed, and having him get a loan for some updates. There is also enough in Chris’ mother’s trust to help with construction.

I think the young man in the dream is Cullan, doing his computer work outdoors (he rides his bike to work every day, in Nordeast, the artists’ quarter). The older man might be his boss. Yes, my aphasia will become more and more irritating over time.

Deborah yesterday still doesn’t perceive my dementia. She thinks I am fine and aging normally. I don’t feel that way, but she is very sharp. Her ex has a doctorate in psychology and she has a couple of master’s degrees from the University of San Francisco.