The Pitt

 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 27^th 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.

Sheba

Her Highness

The White Princess

 

Affection is limited to a tail-wag at quarter-to-half speed. There is no licking, and she barely tolerates my affection. She is head shy, so I can’t pat her on the head too much. If I show her affection when we are both standing, she will walk around to face me and then she will push herself through my legs and then she stops, offering me her rearend so I will scratch it. My affection becomes practical and self-serving. So, when I love her, she gives me her ass!

When we go to Rollo Park to play fetch, as we get close to the park, she always behaves the same way. She goes mad with excitement, whining with anticipation. It’s only when we go there, that she acts this way. But when it comes time to play, I throw the ball, and she becomes a greyhound, pounding on the turf like a racehorse. But she won’t bring the ball back to me, I must walk to her to fetch it and throw it again.

However, ….

When I leave her home, as I did the other night to go to dinner at Kris and Steve’s, she jumps up and turns around, and yips and pants, and she wags at full speed when I come home. And lately, when we get into the car to go somewhere, she walks up behind my seat—she has a four-foot by eight-foot raised bed in the back of my van—and she puts her head on my shoulder. Not only that, she makes a purring noise as I scratch and caress her head with my hands. I know that she loves it because it’s a regular habit that she initiated, and it thrills me.

When a car is coming by, if we are walking on the (curb-less) street, she comes to me and sits where I point when I call her and point at the ground. When I see people coming towards us along the trial, I’ll say ‘sit,’ and I’ll point, and she’ll sit on her mark. She’s a very quick learn, and she has quite a handy vocabulary.

I’ve come to love the feel of her falling against my back and then sliding down to sleep on the bed beside me when we go to bed. And I love how she runs ahead of me then stops, turns, pauses to seemingly check that we are still together, then turns and keeps on going when we are trail walking. 

Also, there are spontaneous fits of glee when we are in large open spaces. She gets the zoomies, but throughout her disposal of energy, she comes to me, full tail, sometimes barking, in full-on canine ecstasy, then she takes off and runs in circles before returning to me again. I’m always included in her bliss. Every six weeks, she goes to the groomer’s salon. She doesn’t like going; I must leash her to get her into the shop. And when I pick her up, I get the same welcome as when I come home to her, after having been out for a while.

We often walk the Ricki trail. When we park there, I park on the street beside a home with two golden retrievers. The retrievers go nuts when they see me because I love them and I always make a fuss with them. I never just walk past. Sheba hasn’t an ounce of enthusiasm for them or any other living things except, of course, for we who serve. Most of my friends come to be loved after an initial warning of loud barking when they arrive.

Hence her qualifier, her nickname. 

She was a surprise. I got a call one Sunday night and the friendly gentleman told me that he’d be coming to my house on Tuesday with my puppy, and he told me the puppy, Polar, was paid for. I was too embarrassed to say I had no idea what he was talking about. But a free puppy!

I’m sure I paid for all or part of the fee for the dog. I just don’t remember anything of the purchasing because I was still in full-on breakdown mode. I remember Dr. Shoja bringing up the subject of a dog. Her Highness was eight weeks old when she arrived. I slept on the floor in the living room on a big foamy for several months so that she could sleep with me. 

We’ve spent every day and night together for over eight years (except for when I had my heart attack). I have local fame. I have a fan base of six who will attest to my love of animals. All the local dog owners know that. The lunch I had with Sandi the other day came out of meeting her because she has an Airedale and I am smitten with all Airedales. When I was baptized, Connie chose Francis for my confirmation name after the saint who so famously loved animals.

I feel blessed to have a passion for animals. Aleck, a cat, was my first love. He was abandoned like I was. I bonded with a big, beautiful longhair, white, part-Persian cat. He was my first experience of feeling love. I was probably twelve years old at the time.

Through contacts of Don, I got access to the animals in the zoo in Stanley Park. I sometimes cared for animals needing round-the clock feeding, so I’d get to bring them home. And as a child, my favourite thing to do was to go to visit the farm animals on the UBC campus. Don would drive me.

Now that I know so much more about the psychology of child neglect from Dr. Shoja (whom I see today). I believe my passion for animals might have saved me, helped me get through life fully functional. Animals are my life force; I think the love I feel for them nourished me, holding off my breakdown until late in life. 

My behavioral name is Tarzan.

•

Today, snow flurries are predicted, but I am confident that we’ll not get any. Snow was predicted for Sunday and Monday and we got none. Hence my confidence that we won’t get any today, and there is no snow predicted in the coming week, so I’m very happy.

Slow Days (but not Snow Days)

I forgot to post yesterday. It was the second time last week that I forgot to post, and I think that is telling. I’m losing my ambition to post because my life is so dull that I have nothing to day.

saturday

Saturday was brilliantly sunny all day. We enjoyed two long forest walks (except I’m sick of my bone spurs). Other than our walks, all I did was read, doomscroll and some work for SPACE, but I can’t continue with my SPACE work until I chat with Aidan on Wednesday.

I have zero to say about the day, except that I loved every second of it. But there was nothing worth reporting on until I left to have dinner with my South End Posse (Kris, Steve, Stacy, Bryce and Nancy). I have such fun whenever I am with them. 

I arrived at six looking forward to the evening because Kris makes delicious food every time we go to her house. She is such a delightful host, as is Steve. And Stacy is a very dear friend. She’s went under the knife for a hip replacement at the end of January, so she was moving slowly. We had an amazing and fun time together.

I didn’t get home until 22:30. I’m not up that late often, so as soon as I got home, we all went to bed.

sunday

My Day was slow and easy. We walked the Ricki Ave. trail and every time I walk that trail, I am positively amazed at the east with which I climb the long slow hills. I have no compunction whatsoever to walk that trail now that my lungs are so much better thanks to Tezspire.

Because of my reaction to the luge event, I am wary of watching the Olympics, and I have finished my book, so yesterday was all about napping and puttering. It was another lovely sunny day and so we walked the Elder Cedar trail in the afternoon. I needed the slow day after being with six people at dinner on Saturday night.

The best thing about Sunday was getting back to controlled eating. Our Saturday night dinner was a feast and I participated with gusto, so it felt good to eat with restraint yesterday. I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t even remember what movie I watched, if I did watch a movie.

This morning is cloudy and dull. Today, tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday evening are predicted to be snowy or slushy. I’m, of course, hoping that the forecast proves to be wrong. I am desperate to experience a Winter without any snow. Today will be another slow and easy day. Hopefully, the six books by Kate Atkinson will arrive this week!

Lunch With Sandi

Friday was a cool 4° and overcast. I lit a bonfire to get the house warm, and I putzed around the house doing chores, writing my blog post and checking out the homework I had to do for SPACE on the weekend. And then, just past 9:00, I headed off to the Windecker trail to walk Sheba with our friends and their doggers.

The walk was fabulous because the forest was incredibly fragrant. There were many of us and we had a great time together. Denise brought us all biscotti. And when the walk was done, I went to Jay’s place to deliver the books I wanted to leave for Kelly, and I helped her lift a cabinet into the bathroom that she is renovating. Then we went shopping and after we came home and I fed the brood before leaving to pick up Sandi for our lunch at the Surf.

Sandi is a lovely neighbour. We always have a good laugh together as I talk to her over her fence, and I absolutely love her Airedale, Baxter. She proposed that we do something together, and I suggested a meal together. I left looking forward to learning a little more about her.

We had a great time, and she wants more ‘dates.’ And when I got home, the sun had come out, so Her Highness and I went for our afternoon walk, and I spent the remainder of the day in our nice warm home with my book and the pets. I am close to finishing my Martin Walker book, but I have six books by Kate Atkinson on their way.

I had a great chat with Dwight. He’s going to come for a visit. It’s been a couple of years since he was here, so I’m thrilled he’s coming. We talk at least once every week, but an in-person visit it so, so much more fun.

I felt flat all evening. Perhaps two meals with company at the Surf on two successive days is overdoing things. I kept falling asleep as I tried to watch The First Cow, an unusual and fascinating film on Kanopy. But although I was so tired, I rallied and stayed up later than I have in years (23:30).

Today has dawned bright and sunny. The snow predicted for tomorrow is no longer in the forecast, but snow, day and night, is predicted for the end of next week. I’m distraught at the thought of it. By raspberries are covered in new leaves, my daffs are about to bloom, and my hydrangeas and roses, everything is budding out. There are signs of Spring everywhere. I don’t want snow!

Tonight: Dinner and Kris and Steve’s with them and Stacy and Bryce (and probably, Nancy).