My enthusiasm for maintaining this blog has been waning for a while. I’ve tired of writing about a life that is full of routine and stuck in a place in which I am bound by circumstance. I like finding and posting images, but I’ll limit my writing to times when there’s something worth writing about. I reckon there'll be more to write about and that I'll enjoy it more when I return to living outdoors when the good weather returns.
It hailed yesterday morning, and then we had some very light snow, and it was cold. I kept the fire roaring. I hate being cold, so I stayed in the shower for some extra time. And I had some welcome news in an email: the six books I ordered are arriving. At least I think it’s my books. We have a new carrier serving Gabriola, and they wrote to say they are about to arrive with ‘my order.’ I hope it is the books because I’ll have a good reading supply.
In the meantime, I filled my time yesterday doing SPACE work. It’s tedious work searching for Canadian speech language therapists to add to our SLP database. We want to build up our list of contacts, so I am finding as many SLPs as I can.
Stacey wrote to me. She’s on Gabe this week recovering from her hip surgery. She wrote to tell me that she was scammed in the same way that I was. These fuckers sicken me. I went to her place to fetch her, and we went into the village for coffee. Afterwards, I took her home and then returned to the village to shop for groceries and to order prescriptions. I take 11 prescriptions every day, but come Summer, I’m very hopeful that two of them will be stopped. Dr. Dorscheid thinks that he’ll be able to take me off my puffers because my lungs are responding so incredibly well to the Tezspire. Fingers are crossed!
When we left the village, we went walking in Rollo Park because our first morning walk was short so that I could get to Stacey’s on time. Then we headed for home. And man-oh-man was I was happy to get back to Pinecone Park. For one thing, there was not a speck of snow anywhere, plus the house was toasty warm. We had lunch and then I felt the call of the couch because I was pooped. I had SPACE work to do, but I decided to let it wait.
My nap was mere minutes, and when I opened my eyes, the sky was perfectly clear and blue, and when the sun shines, I am pulled outdoors. Her Highness and I went for a long walk along trails that I have never walked before. I love getting ‘lost’ in unfamiliar territory and discovering new trails. It was brisk but wonderfully uplifting to walk in glorious sunshine.
We got back at 15:30, and because I had some weakness on the hills, I took my Tezspire out of the fridge and then gave myself a shot an hour later, once it was room temperature. Today, I will have no problems with hills when we walk with our friends. And when I get home, I must get busy with SPACE work.
It’s the coldest it’s been all year this morning, but I reckon that this is the end of being so cold. As I write and post this morning, it is 7:00 and the fire has been going for two hours but the house is still chilly. I’m sitting at my desk wrapped in a blanket (non-electric).
It snowed heavily starting just before 8:00 yesterday morning. All I could do was hope that it would soon turn to rain, and I got my broom ready to keep the snow from building up on my prized Rhodo and the Fuchsias. I took comfort from the forecast for today and the rest of the week because there is no more snow predicted.
By 8:30, I was feeling better. The snow stopped, the sky brightened and the temperature started slowly rising. I went to meet Regina to walk the Ricki Ave. trail that is brighter and always dry. I was glad for her company and to be giving Her Highness a good morning walk; I knew that she’d be content to rest indoors during the day.
As I left to meet her, I was glad to see that the Japonica’s, Fuchsias and the Rhodo were unencumbered by the light snowfall. I went walking feeling more optimistic about the day’s weather. And I’m glad we walked, but then I always am happy once I get warmly dressed and find myself back in nature. But the best was yet to come. When we got home, there wasn’t a single snowflake left in our yard; all my broad-leafed plants were free to grow.
At 14:00. I Zoomed with Aidan. It’s always a joy to chat with him. I gained clarity on his objectives in creating a database of speech language therapists, and we went over SPACE’s membership bylaws in advance of a second Zoom meeting, this time with SPACE’s pro-bono lawyers to discuss changes to our bylaws so that we can grow our membership.
When that chat was done, Her Highness and I went walking together to bring an end to the business of our day. And then it was time for the couch. I could hardly wait to get back to The Pitt, but it got a little odd in the final episodes when the ER must deal with a crisis. A shooter has gone berserk at a concert and that is topical, but in this series, the hospital must deal with over a hundred people, very many of whom are shot. Talk about ‘overkill.’ It looked more like a 9/11 incident more than a shooter incident. Still, I’ll be watching season two.
Today is predicted to be the last day of this cold spell. It may snow, but if it does, it will be gone as the blessed rains return late tomorrow. I am happy to have SPACE homework to do today.
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| Tuesday's eclipse photographed close to the South Pole |
monday
Monday was a really great day. Because it was a holiday, I decided to have another Me Day. We began our day walking with our friends. We’d planned on a long walk, but when we assembled at our meeting place, it began raining and so we walked a shorter route. When we were back at our cars, Her Highness and I went into the village to do some grocery shopping.
When we got back home, we had lunch and then I passed the early part of the afternoon watching some of the Olympics and Grand Design episodes on YouTube. I was very happy to catch the Japanese ice dancing duo whose performance positively thrilled me. It was perfect. The fluidity they maintained throughout their performance was mind boggling.
Mid-afternoon, I treated myself to popcorn. I love having a snack while warm and cozy on the chaise and watching stimulating programs on TV. It was wonderful, and when I was finished my snack, Her Highness and I went for our afternoon walk, and then we came home for our regular evening routines.
I watched The Last Showgirl and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. And then I watched more Olympics and Bookish before hitting the sack.
tuesday
Tuesday began slowly. I was not rushed to meet our friends, so I took my time doing my post and puttering around the house, and then we went to walk at 9:30. As we arrived at trailhead #6, it started hailing. I like hail. It bounces off me and I don’t get wet, and Sheba can easily shake it off her back.
When we got back to the car to come home, the streets and rooftops were white with hail, but it wasn’t snow, and it started melting as soon as it stopped hailing. Come Friday, temperatures start rising, so I’ve only to keep my fingers crossed for today and tomorrow.
At 11:00, I Zoomed with Dr. Shoja and, as it always is, it was a great session. I learned more about my brain and its problems as we talked about my reaction to the luge competition on television. And when it was done, we all. had lunch and then I started watching The Pitt on Crave. I’d heard good things about it and so I thought I’d give it a try and it’s great. Noah Wylie is convincing and he’s got a heavy load to carry. He writes episodes, stars in the series, and is an executive producer. In the evening, I watched more episodes and I’m addicted now and I’m glad of it because I don’t have to spend ages choosing a film.
wednesday
My phone is telling me to expect snow in an hour, but if it comes, it won’t last. We’re heading into warmer wetter weather tomorrow. I’ll be Zooming with Aidan this afternoon and doing some SPACE work. But we’ll soon be trail walking with our friends.
I’m going to Vancouver. I have an appointment at St. Paul’s to see my HIV team on the 27th of the month, so I’ll spend the evening with John and Bunny and stay the night at their place. Thankfully, the trip is free because of my medical appointment.
