S - L - O - W

Saturday was a no pressure day. I was on top of watering at Pinecone Park and at Ali and Pete’s place, so there was no rushing to water or do anything at all. We went for our morning walk at 8:30. It had warmed up from 12° to 15° and it was a bright and sunny day. Once back home, I tried to do a bit of my SPACE homework to ensure that I didn’t forget all that Aidan had taught me about the software I was to begin using. And then we went into the village to go to the big Saturday morning Farmers’ Market. I hadn’t been all year.

It was busy at the market. I didn’t buy anything; we just walked around and then we came home for lunch. After lunch, I got myself onto the recliner in sunshine to warm up. I think I had a wee nap, and when I opened my eyes, the sky had completely clouded over.

The afternoon was spent reading and doing domestic chores as the cloud cover thickened. We went for our afternoon walk and encountered a lovely group of four women cyclists with whom I had a really lovely visit. Then we came home and I lit the fire to offset the gloominess of a dark and cool Summer day.

I went to bed very early. I was very tired, and just before turning off the lights I heard rain falling on the roof. It was a brief and gentle rain, but it was rain and I was thrilled because today, My Day, is a watering day at Pete and Ali’s and here at home. But I’m Zooming with John and Bunny this morning, and I’m meeting Eoin and François for fish tacos at Silva Bay at 11:00.

Back to Work for SPACE

I woke up running. I knew what to do: I checked the hall and sure enough, Sheba had left a deposit in the night. I fell into high gear. I got the steam cleaner out and fired it up to sterilize the area I cleaned up first with paper towels. I’m tempted to get her a muzzle so that she can’t eat poop she finds on our walks.

That job got me into thorough cleaning mode. I cleaned all the counter tops and the stove with a cleanser that contains bleach, and then I washed all the wood floors with it mixed in warm water after had vacuumed everywhere. Later in the afternoon I tackled window cleaning.

I’m so on top of watering that I don’t feel any urgency to water before walking with Sheba. These cloudy mornings allow me to have a far more casual approach to watering. After eight years of watering, I’ve really got a system worked out. I water heavily in the mornings, and in the late afternoons, I spot water the plants that need the most water—hydrangeas and plants growing over a density of tree roots.

We walked for an hour and a half with our friends beginning at 9:30, and when we got home it was time for lunch before I headed out to water. I had to water all my beds, plus the beds at Ali and Pete’s. When I was done, I had just enough time to walk in the 707 with Her Highness before Zooming with Aidan.

I love working with Aidan. I love working with SPACE and on stuttering advocacy. I’m all set to begin working on banking accessibility for dysfluent people. Aidan’s given me his okay to take some initial steps. I am going to work to find other Canadian dysfluent people who have had their bank accounts flagged as potentially fraudulent as happened to me. If I can speak for many people instead of just myself when I file my complaint with the Ombudsman of Banking Services and Investments.

Aidan’s given me homework that I am keen to do. I am learning how to use the software he uses for SPACE’s mailing list and for communications. That will enable me to better assist him with memberships when we start building up our membership list.

Last evening, after dinner, I took a walkabout. In the past, I did one every evening without rain. I do it until late September. This year, I’ve not been out there every night, but when I came in from my ‘the master tours his estate’ walkabout, I will be doing it more often.

The most expansive housing of my life in Vancouver, was a house on the west side of the city. Steve and I lucked out. We sold my one-bedroom condo in Kitsilano for $126,000, then we rented for a year to give is time to think about what we want to do. It was Steve’s idea. During that year, real estate prices crashed, to at the end of it, we were able to buy a two-bed, one-both home in a great part of the city. For $130,000. That was back in 1983.

I have no idea what the size of our lot was. Our house and a three-car garage took up most of the space. We had a good-sized front yard where we had a nice bed that got lots of light. The backyard was small and not at all welcoming. It had a laneway on two sides, adding to its lack of alure.

I was thirty-three. Steve and I had been together for three years. It was very close to forest trails on the university campus, and beaches. Bèla (after Bartock; we didn’t name him), a Puli, and Kitty, a black cat (foreshadowing). I got there in modest salaries, working in the arts, but once I became an administrator and small-time producer, I was able to buy the house and only pay a modest monthly mortgage payment. I was the only person in my social circle who got to owning real estate without any family financial help.

But now, I have half-a-fucking-acre! The other day I was going to count how many trees are on my property. I meant Douglas Fir, not including my decorative trees and fruit trees. My guess is that there might be thirty of them. One day, I’ll count them.

When I came in from my walk, it still amazed me that I now have such a huge yard, properly transformed, and a cozy life with my beloveds. And I love Gabtiola, but it’s not home. I miss a Vancouver that isn’t there anymore.

Gay hurricane Steve arrives in ten days. Last time I had the worst seizure that I have ever had when he was here. He’s a tornado of energy, but he’s my brother.

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Today has dawned bright and sunny and cool (12°). We’ll walk, and in the afternoon, I’ll spot water and we’ll have another walk. Otherwise, I have no idea what I’ll do today. But I know it’ll be a good day. This morning, a Barred Owl came to visit. It perched on my trellis and gave me a thrill.

Slow Lazy Daze

Thursday was a calm, slow day. I rose at 4:30 and it was very, very dark, so I knew we had overcast sky. It was good news because it meant that my watering yesterday would be light. It was incredibly warm because the clouds came in early in the evening to insulate us. It’s the same this morning. It’s cloudy and 18°.

Her Highness and I went for our morning walk at 8:30. The air was still, so it felt warmer than it had for the previous several days when the temperature was the same, but we had a constant gentle wind. Our walk was quiet and wonderful. I love getting up early. I feel like I have the world to myself.

The rest of the day, I was very lazy. I napped a couple of time and did some reading. There were chores to do, but I didn’t feel like doing yard work. My responsibilities were limited to spot watering. The highlight of my day was eating blueberries while I was watering. I have a modest crop this year—every second year I get a huge crop, and the years between are slight.

I didn’t watch a movie last night. That was a first in a long, long time. I read a lot and kept taking Her Highness outside because she has the runs, probably from eating poop on our morning walk. Sigh.

This morning began on a very sour note. Her Highness had an accident in the hallway. There’s nothing like rising to an unpleasant smell in the air and having to do serious cleaning up at 4:00 am. 

I Zoom with Aidan today. He has homework for me to do. And I will water all the garden beds. I must also water at Pete and Ali’s. I have watering duties there for the coming ten days. 

These endless days of solitude keep me stable. I enjoy not hearing myself speak poorly and I rarely have a seizure, but it’s beginning to get to me a little being alone all the time. I don’t feel bored, and I don’t know what it feels like to be lonely. I don’t think I’m lonely because I have my beloved pets. I think the routine nature of my life is getting to me.

Steve is due here in twelve days. That will bring a dramatic change to my life at Pinecone Park. We go to Mahle House the day after he arrives. That will be a blast. It’s what we do every year together.

Slow Times at P. P.

I was out at 6:30 to water my garden beds. It took exactly two hours. I was inside, back at my desk at 8:30, and I’m delighted that I have found a way to water that makes it easy and a joy. I love watering in the early morning. I have the entire day free this way. Yesterday, I did some transplanting that I’ve long wanted to do, and some pruning of my ferns.

At 9:30, we met our friends to walk a trail I like very much. I am loving our weather. It is sunny every day but not hot. There are some clouds in the sky that give the garden short reprieves from the intense heat of the sun. But we have been getting gentle breezes every day that help keep the temperatures in the mid-twenties. 

We had a wonderfully mild and dry Winter. We had no snow and I only wore my rain gear twice all through Fall, Winter and Spring, and now we’re enjoying a wonderfully mild Summer. The District of Nanaimo has just released a report saying that our local aquifer is down 49% from last year. 

Mid-day, my watch started vibrating. It was an incoming phone call, and I was able to talk to Dr. Dorscheid from my watch. I had forgotten our Zoom appointment, so I chatted with him with difficulty on my watch as I moved indoors to switch to a video chat with him.

I am stopping one of my puffers, but I will have a prescription that enables me to get Spiriva if I feel that I need it. Dr. D. wants to be safe. He feels I should stay on the Symbicort for another year, just to be safe, and I’m fine with that. 

I had some hammock time and I read after lunch. I went over to Pete and Ali’s to chat with Pete about what I’m to do while they are away for ten days, but he wasn’t home. Instead, Her Highness and I went to the Elder Cedar grove to walk that trail. Then we came home for me to have a spa while Sheba joined the cats in the bedroom to sleep.

Our evening was the usual.

It’s thickly overcast this morning, but there is no rain in the forecast. We’ll walk a couple of times today, and I’ll read. It’ll be just another dull (but safe) day for us at Pinecone Park.