Yesterday Lynne and I went to Portland. We walked around a bit at Marden's, and I admit, I was  shaky at first, but as I walked more, my leg seemed to get stronger. Then we went to the Christmas tree shop, but I was winded from Marden's, so I stayed in the car and watched people. I wished I could get up and walk effortlessly like they did, and something in me said, well, you can if you work at it.

Then we had lunch at Sea Dog with Katie, Lynne's daughter. She told us about the Gelato Fiasco and Five Guys restaurant. I didn't even know there was a Five Guys in Portland. I used to go to a clothing show in Marlboro that was next to a shopping center where Five Guys was, and it was the highlight of my trip. Five Guys makes the best hamburgers ever, while you watch, and their french fries are wonderful. The Gelato Fiasco is right next to Five Guys, so my two favorite things are conveniently placed! I had some tiramisu gelato that was very good. 

We went to Trader Joe's next. Yesterday was the first time I was in a grocery store of any size since my stroke. It was very slow going, but it was wonderful. I walked all over the place, found two kinds of tea, some coconut oil, some almond butter, some bars of chocolate. Then the long walk back out to the car, but I found that my leg was improving with every step. When we got back to the car I was winded, but happy. 

So that's a lot if information about a little thing, but a simple trip to Portland to you is a lot to me. Walking into a grocery store, buying groceries, checking out, getting back to the car -- it's a big deal, to me. It was a fun day!