Steve: Day Three

Friday flew by. I was up early to water before Steve got up. I also had a spa, and I took Her Highness for a short walk prior to his emergence from his room. I was hoping to see the state of her stool, but she didn’t seem to need to void all day. That can happen after days of diarrhea. I hope to see a sample today that suggests improvement in her digestion.

When Steve got up, he had enough time to load up on coffee before it was time for us to join my friends and their dogs for our Friday morning forest walk. We went for a good long walk, so Steve had lots of time to talk to my friends. When we were finished, we came home to feed the pets their lunch and then Steve and I went to The Surf for lunch on the lawn. It was heavenly to sit and relax.

When we came home, I took to chores around the house and yard while Steve took the car to go exploring, but he didn’t last long. He came home feeling tired despite his long sleep on Thursday night. He went to bed and I did some reading, but once he was back on his feet, Sheba and I went to walk the Elder Cedar trail while he lay in the sunshine on the recliner.

I fed all the pets their dinner and then Steve, Sheba and I went to the food truck in Silva Bay for dinner on a spectacular night. It was very quiet. There was a small crowd also there for dinner, but with so many picnic tables up, we enjoyed privacy while we ate. Then we came home for a movie and to retire early. Last night, comfortable in bed with Sheba beside me, I finished reading my book before turning out the lights.

Today, we go to the farmers’ market, and tonight we go to Eoin and François’ place for dinner. Again, no dishes! It’s Steve’s last day here. Tomorrow, I take him to the ferry and he takes the bus to Victoria to meet his partner, Tim, in Victoria where they will visit our friends Don and Fernando and then they go to Vancouver for a visit with many friends from his days of living with me so long ago.

We had the entire lawn to ourselves at lunch yesterday. You can
barely see me but you might see my yellow hoodie on my chair. 
We were back at The Surf for lunch.

Bullrushes grow alongside the beach in front of
The Surf. We walked the beach after lunch.

Chickory grows alongside the road by The Surf.

My favourite weed is Queen Anne's Lace.

 A glorious mess of colour at The Surf: Chickory, 
wild Sweet Peas, Queen Anne's Lace and Dandilions.

Himself with his addiction.

 STeve, and ahead of him are the rest of our dog
walking group on yesterday's walk.

A Great Day

Thursday began with a soak after an almost sleepless night. I slept on my bed, under nothing and with the ceiling fan on, and still I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I do not do well in heat.

I loved getting into the spa and feeling as though I was soaking away all the tension of the day before. I’d had three seizures on Wednesday. Steve was up early and shortly after 8:00, we went for a walk with Sheba and then to Nester’s to get all that I needed to feed Sheba a bland diet. And when I got home, I made a ton of chicken and rice for her. She’s to stay on the bland diet for 5 - 7 days. Also, I gave her two medicines. The one she gets orally from me in a big syringe, she absolutely hates. But I got it into her.

Then Steve took the car for the afternoon to explore things on the island, and I got busy with watering all the beds, and thoroughly! Surprisingly, I liked the watering. I was glad to be home and not in the car going here and there with Steve and Sheba. I was glad to be alone and tending to my floral buddies. Still, when I was done, I was thrilled!

It was an excellent plan to stay home while Steve went off exploring. I did not have a single seizure yesterday, whereas on Wednesday, I had three. This year’s visit is much shorter than in past years, plus I am doing no cooking, so it’s been easier on me this year. 

We’re getting along fine, but I get sick of his obsession with all things gay. He hasn’t asked me anything at all about my life, and if I mention something that interests me, he does not respond to what I’ve said. Instead, he talks about something else, often at length. Regardless, I love him and I love his visits. We are family.

I read on the chaise after all my duties were finished. Heaven! I read until Steve returned with lots of Basil that he’d bought at food stands he encountered while exploring the island. We both love pesto, so that’s what we had for dinner. Plus, Steve made a delicious salad. He makes the best salad dressing!

We watched a movie together and retired at a comfortable hour.

This morning it is a very mild 16°. Finally, we’re getting back to ideal Summer temperatures. The high today is predicted to be just 23° and Sunday and Monday, rain is predicted. This is wonderful news. 

I reckon today will be like yesterday. We may walk with our friends, but I will take Sheba for a short walk earlier than our group walk so that I can see the state of her stool. I believe we’re seeing some improvement in her condition. And Steve will likely take the car and go exploring again, leaving me here to do chores and water. Tonight we plant to go to the food truck for dinner. Tomorrow is our last day together.

Day One with Steve

My poor dear Sheba is in rough shape. She is suffering pain in her feet so I have upped her dosage of prednisone. She’s also dealing with diarrhea, so I collected a sample from her to take to the vet’s when Steve and I (with her) go to Nanaimo and then to Cedar for dinner at Mahle House, our favourite place to eat over here.

I was up early, of course, and I focused on watering all the garden beds so that Steve and I could enjoy our day together without me worrying about plants expiring in the heat. Showers are predicted for Thursday, but I doubt that is going to happen. It may happen on Saturday. I’m longing for a break from all the watering.

We walked Sheba and I got a stool sample, and I got an appointment at the new vets at 15:00, so we’ll be going there on our way to Mahle House where we’re having dinner. I love the restaurant, but I hate leaving Sheba alone for so long in the car. She’s still feeling irritation in her feet, so I must up the prednisone even more. Sigh.

We went into Giro because Steve loves going to second hand stores, and then we came home to chill before getting into the ferry lineup to go to Nanaimo. We had no trouble getting on the ferry, and when we arrived on the big island, we went directly to the sushi bar, got some food, and went to Bowen Park to eat in the shade and to give Sheba a walk.

Then we went to a specialty food store to get some supplies for a soup Steve is making to take to Eoin and François’ place on Saturday where we are going for dinner. Then, to the vet’s where we were given advice on changing Sheba’s diet, some medicine and probiotics, and now we await the results of lab testing of the stool sample we left.

Then we went to Mahle House which is always a wonderful experience. But poor Sheba was left in the car. Even though we parked in the shade and left the windows open, it was hot for her. And when I walked her, I noticed a lot of blood in her stool. That was new and I am phoning the vet’s this morning to report it.

We made the 19:30 ferry and so we were home by 20:00, and I pretty much went directly to bed to toss and turn. I had the ceiling fan on, and I went to bed uncovered, but I had a dreadful night of it. I do not like heat!

According to the weather forecast, it will be slightly cooler today and tomorrow, and then it may rain on Saturday and after than be back to temperatures in the low twenties. Hurrah!

Yesterday was a three-seizure day. Sadly, it's what happens when I have company. The worst was having one while we were seated at Mahle House.

Steve is in the House

I was, of course, up early. I’ve often told people that I’ve never in my life been awakened by a clock alarm. I have never needed one because I’ve always been an early riser, but now I’m awakened every morning by Fred jumping up onto the bed and howling his good mornings. 

I awoke prepared for a day of anticipation—a low demand day ending with a big bang. I had little on my agenda. I had to water, of course, especially after so hot an afternoon on Monday. And I had to make up Steve’s bed and do a little shopping. I was, of course, looking forward to his visit, but I was also a little worried about seizures. Last summer I had the worse seizure I’ve ever had when he was here.

It’s not about him. Company always causes me to seize. But he’s a very high energy fellow and that’s tough on my broken brain. However, plans were in place to make things easier on me this year. We went to the Surf for dinner last night, and tonight we go to Mahle House, Thursday we go to Burrow Rosa, Friday we get a pizza and Saturday we are going to Eoin and François’ place for dinner. I’m not cooking, and we’re not hosting anyone, so all should go well.

We went for a good morning walk while it was cool. When we got home, Her Highness kept me company while I increased the size of the anti-deer fence surrounding the front yard Apple tree. I’ve been wanting to do it for ages. Now it is done and it looks and works much better. Then it was time to water until it was lunchtime.

Then, back to watering, and then some vacuuming and cleaning of the cattery, making up Steve’s bed, and finally some shopping in the village. On the way home, we went for a short walk at Rollo Park and all I wanted was an ice bath. It was stinkin’ hot and humid. By then I’d done almost 9,700 steps and I was beat and my back was aching, but I was almost done all my chores.

I had to water the front bed, all the vines and raised beds in the edible garden, and all the fruit and decorative trees. And then, I stopped. We left here early so that I could walk Her Highness a little bit in the park area where near the dock where the float plane lands. Again, it was a short one. It was too hot for anything else. Finally, all my chores were done. Steve and I headed home.  

Her Highness was fed and I was sure that she’d be fine with sleeping while Steve and I went to the Surf for dinner. It was a beautiful night to be seaside in a restaurant I love and that I first ate in when I was about eight years old. Going out was a relaxing way to begin our holiday together.

The restaurant was absolutely packed. There was a pianist doing a pay-what-you-can performance that a lot of people wanted to hear. We were able to get a table with an umbrella on the lawn. The server was sorry that we’d not be able to hear the music, but we told her we were fine with that.

It was wonderful being warm and sitting outdoors right beside the sea having a dinner that we didn’t have to prepare, and no dishes. Service was slow because of the enormous amount of people there, but we were fine with that because it was so lovely just being there.

As we were finishing, a woman with a dog came near us asking people who likes dogs, so I raised my hand. She asked us to care for her dog while she went inside to see about getting served. She wound up sitting with us and it was just weird. She kept telling us how nice we were, and she took my contact information, but I have no desire at all to get to know her. I was happy when we departed. She was nice and very friendly, but I was very glad to be on my way home to Sheba.

Below are the rest of the photos that I took on my Monday night walkabout. I posted most of them yesterday. These are the last of them.

This is a patio that was once a fire pit. Oh, the clean up was awfujl, 
but now we eat there surrounded by plants.

One of my favourite Hydrageas. 

This Hydrangea is wonderfully fragrant and fills the yard 
with its sweet, sweet fragrance.

This is THE most gorgeous blue for a flower. I love this Hydrangea.

Campions are weeds here, but I love their colour and encourage
their growth. I have a small patch of them in the fruit tree area.

The brown ground is painfull to see. The chair is where I sometimes sit in
the mornings to catsh warm sunshine and warm up.

The friuit tree area is really looking good. I have a bench there now where
I can sit and water. I love my new little fountain bitd bath too.

The Butterbur is still a majoy attraction.

The entrance to my studio is lush now thanks to all the plantings in the
courtyard and on the trellis.

This magnificent Ocean Spray is wonderfully fragrant and it blocks ,y
view of David and Ursula's yard and I'm happy for that.

The backyard from my deck.

A favourite Fuchsia.

Another Fuchsia is about to burst into bloom.