Long Time No See
It's 2011 and we've been back in Minnesota for almost two years. The first several months were hard. We missed our California friends and work was still scarce.
A few months after our return, our COBRA ran out and we had to buy health insurance on the open market...which isn't open if you have a "medical history." And if you are over 50, you ARE a medical history. We bought into Minnesota's High Risk Pool, and for $600 a month we get the privilege of paying the first $20,000 in medical expenses out of pocket each year.
The good news is that in the last year, work has steadily increased for both Gauss and me, to the point where we are both really busy and our income is up. And at the two-year point after Gauss's surgery, he remains cancer free. His doc here says he won't need to come back for a PSA test for another year, and according to our life insurance salesman, the insurance companies consider a clear PSA a year after cancer to be the same risk as not having had it.
Upon our return from California, Luca scheduled a trip to the Boundary Waters with his new girlfriend, Toni. We had chilly, drippy weather the first two days, and the portages were the worst Gauss and I had experienced in our 30+ years of canoeing in the BWCA. Mud on the portages was knee deep in places. Toni took it all in stride and even laughed about it. We were shocked to find out that she had never been wilderness camping before (and therefore doubly impressed by her good nature.)
On December 26, six months after their first date, Luca proposed to Toni. I passed along a ring that Luisa had given to me containing the diamond Aldo had given to her when they were engaged. Luca and Toni had it restyled, and on June 26, 2010 they were married in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis.
Last fall, Luca and Toni became adoptive parents to Lily, a six year old rescue bulldog.
All for now, I need to get to work, but I'll post more updates soon.
A few months after our return, our COBRA ran out and we had to buy health insurance on the open market...which isn't open if you have a "medical history." And if you are over 50, you ARE a medical history. We bought into Minnesota's High Risk Pool, and for $600 a month we get the privilege of paying the first $20,000 in medical expenses out of pocket each year.
The good news is that in the last year, work has steadily increased for both Gauss and me, to the point where we are both really busy and our income is up. And at the two-year point after Gauss's surgery, he remains cancer free. His doc here says he won't need to come back for a PSA test for another year, and according to our life insurance salesman, the insurance companies consider a clear PSA a year after cancer to be the same risk as not having had it.
Upon our return from California, Luca scheduled a trip to the Boundary Waters with his new girlfriend, Toni. We had chilly, drippy weather the first two days, and the portages were the worst Gauss and I had experienced in our 30+ years of canoeing in the BWCA. Mud on the portages was knee deep in places. Toni took it all in stride and even laughed about it. We were shocked to find out that she had never been wilderness camping before (and therefore doubly impressed by her good nature.)
On December 26, six months after their first date, Luca proposed to Toni. I passed along a ring that Luisa had given to me containing the diamond Aldo had given to her when they were engaged. Luca and Toni had it restyled, and on June 26, 2010 they were married in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis.
Last fall, Luca and Toni became adoptive parents to Lily, a six year old rescue bulldog.
All for now, I need to get to work, but I'll post more updates soon.
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