My Excellent Day

Sunday was divine. I had the greatest day, and all I did was read, clean and tidy. I was full of energy when I got up. The overcast sky and the dullness of the day inspired me to clean up and tidy up the house. I loved bringing order back to our home. It makes me feel relaxed and comfortable to see everything in its place and looking good.

As I sat on the chaise reading, I revelled in the privilege of retirement. I felt sublime knowing I could do whatever I wanted, and because it was My Day, I could not do whatever I didn’t want to do.

Early in the morning, I lit a fire. I love a fire on a dull day. I thought to go to Silva Bay for fish tacos, but I knew Sheba wanted to be home and resting all day. She is, however, showing signs of improvement. I have her two front feet bandaged; the bandages help her walk. What gave me hope, was taking her out in the afternoon and seeing her interested in smells and in her friend, Sosa’s, yard.

I’m loving Angle of Repose as much as I did the first time. Wallace Stegman is a masterful writer; he makes characters shine and I can feel the dryness of New Almaden, the mining town where the novel is set. What I did not know when I first read the book, is that the letters, reportedly written by Susan Ward, the novel’s central figure, were actual letters written by Mary Hallock Foote, so now I’m learning about her—and what a woman she is!

Mid-afternoon, I had a lovely long soak, and while quietly floating in the wonderfully warm water, I listened to birds I don’t remember hearing before. Their song was delightful. There were two of these birds making music together, and I loved it.

And then there were none. Suddenly, there was no bird song and no birds on my fountain. All day, there had been five-to-ten of them bathing and drinking, but when I came back to my desk after drying myself and dressing after the spa, nada. There was nothing. Well, there was one: a Cooper’s Hawk. He was walking around the yard and then sitting on the fence awaiting dinner, but no birds came to the fountain. 

What a majestic beastie he is. Birds of prey are truly beautiful creatures. He has a grey coat and stunning long striated tail feathers, and he is sleek like a bullet. His chest and the feathers on the inside of his wings are also striated. He is truly a work of art—a deadly work of art for small birds.

Last night, on Pete and Ali’s recommendation, I watched a bio pic of Robbie Williams in which Robbie’s character is played by a CGI chimpanzee. I was surprised to find myself really enjoying it. It’s called Better Man.

Today, we’re back to sunshine. I shall be watering, and I hope to find Sheba willing to go for a modest walk today.

A Fabulous Brunch with Friends

I reckon that the parents of children who die of measles should be charged with murder for they ignored science and caused the death of their child.

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Saturday, I was outside at 6:30 watering. It felt good to know that all my floral children were well fed. I wanted to get the watering done early because I had a Zoom call with John and Bunny booked for 8:30. (John chose the time!) 

We talked for an hour and a half, and when I was done I had a spa and missed a call from Dwight, so I called him when I was changed. He’s coming to visit on Thursday, staying until Saturday. I’m terribly excited! By the time we finished talking, there wasn’t time to go to the farmers’ market, so I just idled here until it was time to go to Pete and Ali’s to join them and some other neighbours for a pot-luck brunch in their garden gazebo. Sheba came with me.

It was a wonderful brunch! I felt blessed to have such fabulous neighbours, and it was terrific to be together in the shade of Pete and Ali’s gazebo eating delicious food. Nancy, Ron, Pete, Ali, Wendy and me. What a great afternoon!

When I got home, it was mid-afternoon and so Sheba, and I went to Rollo Park where she could walk on the soft grass. It’s her favourite place to walk, and she did okay. When we came home, she slept and I read until dinnertime. We all ate and I watched things on YouTube rather than watch a movie. I couldn’t get into a film last night.

Today dawned overcast. It felt gloomy and unlike Summer. I lit a small fire to warm up the house and to help dry laundry that I hang in my curtain rails to dry. (I never use my dryer except for sheets in during the cold and wet months.) It will be a lovely slow day at Pinecone Park today.

Sheba is Ill

Every Friday morning, I look forward to watching my two Dutch ‘friends’ vlog. Bram, Simon, and their daughter, Nox, a Simon’s parents bought a large derelict farm in the south of France. First they renovated the spaces they are living in, and now they are passionate gardeners, growing most all their food, and they are renovating a huge barn into three apartments that they will rent out or rent as a B&B. I love their vlogs.

I had a lovely soak in the morning after I watched their vlog, and then Her Highness and I went to meet our friends to walk, but she was not having it. She made it very clear that she was not feeling well, so we went shopping for supplies to make a curried rice salad to take to Pete and Ali’s this afternoon for our luncheon with some other neighbours.

Once all were fed lunch and the salad was in the fridge, we went for a mid-day walk at Rollo Park where she usually will always be willing to walk. By then, the clouds had rolled in, but it was still a comfortably warm 19°. Regardless, however, she did not want to walk.

When we got home, she rested and I doomscrolled until it was time to Zoom with Aidan. It’s always a pleasure talking with him. Yesterday we talked about an event happening in Vancouver and organized by SPACE. He’s asked me to ‘perform’ at it, and I said that I would, so last night I wrote out what I would do and say and sent my proposal to him.

It means going to Vancouver. John and Bunny will, I’m sure, put me up. What I’m going to do with Sheba is not clear. She’s definitely coming with me; she’ll have to wait in the car while I do my bit. I can’t quite believe that I’m going to be on a stage again, and ‘performing’ with my stutter. I think what I’ve written is going to work. Still, I’m nervous/excited about doing it.

Today, I Zoom with John early in the morning, and lunch is with some of my neighbours at Pete and Ali’s place. I love Pete and Ali, so I’m looking forward to being together. And there’ll be watering, but there’ll be no walking. Poor Sheba is barely walking. She is in poor shape. I shall be monitoring her all day to decide if we need to see the vet. 

Recovery!

When I woke up on Thursday, the sky was clear and full of twinkling stars. It was beautiful! I thought I’d feed the pets and tidy up and then have an early morning spa in the dark. But no. Within half an hour, the sky had filled with clouds and rain—real rain—began falling.

I lit a small fire to make the house cozy on a dark and wet day. When the rain turned to light rain, Her Highness and I went for our morning walk. Then, just past noon when the sun returned, we went for another walk. When we got home, I did some yard work and then I got onto the chaise and into my book, Angle of Repose. In the evening, I watched The Devil Wears Prada 2 because it was free. I hated it. 

For a long time now, I have been stable. My speech has not changed at all since February. I’ve been using the phone on rare occasions; it’s a huge step forward for me to be able to make non-video calls. I stutter rather badly when I use the phone, but I can succeed, and that thrills me.

Even better, I rarely seize. When Steve was here, I seized three times on the first day he was here, but never again during his stay, and I didn’t have a single seizure when Beth came to stay. Recovery is so incredibly slow, I don’t notice it until recently when I found myself able to try using the phone.

I’m still mute when I go off island, but it’s so incredibly rare that I leave here, it doesn’t bother me to be mute/ When I went for my bone scan, they knew about my speech and my visit went very smoothly. On Wednesday, I go to the pacemaker clinic at Nanaimo General Hospital (NGH), and I’ll be mute there as well, but notes on my iPhone work excellently. What I don’t like at the NGH, is how often the clerks don’t look up when I am checking in. They are looking at their screen while I am trying to show them a note, and sometimes the clerks are rude because I am not answering.

Today, we will walk with our friends, I will Zoom with Aidan, and I will make a curried rice salad because tomorrow, I go to Pete and Ali’s for a luncheon with them and other neighbours.