Just Another Day

I raised the temperature of the water in the spa. It felt so, so good this morning to slip into the lovely warm water after our walk in the forest. Then I did domestic chores until it was time for me to go into the village to see if my Ramipril prescription renewal was accomplished between the pharmacy and my nurse practitioner.

It was a warm day but overcast. There was no rain, so people were back at work on their gardens, yard, home or outbuildings. People were outside everywhere after the big wonderful welcome rainfall. But it darkened in the afternoon, and everyone disappeared. Her Highness and I went to the park to play ball in the late afternoon, but our game lasts not very long at all anymore due to this fatigue I feel

I wrote to my Respirologist about my problem. I told her about eliminating asthma as the cause because I blew 600 ono the respirometer, but I said that I wondered if the meter is not a diagnostic panacea. I wondered if some unmeasurable cause of asthma might be causing me problems with breathing. I see Dr. Shoja on Tuesday next, so soon I should be finished all my due diligence. Either it will yield something—so far, it hasn’t—or I will go to my nurse practitioner for help, and I’ll give her a report of all I have done to date.

I Zoom with my HIV doctor this afternoon. And I hope to move some rocks and continue with cleaning up the yard where I built the new bed. I’m enjoying these days alone, silently working in the garden. It’s private and peaceful. We may have sunshine in the afternoon, and if we do, I will take a half hour to sit in the sunshine on my recliner to get toasty warm. The house is quite cool, and I love heat.

This is real available wall paper!

Still Damp

We went to Rollo Park to play fetch. It flattened me. All I do is throw the ball for Her Highness, and then I walk to her and the ball to do it again. She doesn’t return to me with the ball, and I have always liked that because that way, we both get exercise. But today, walking the width of the field was almost impossible, so after a couple of throws, I had to lie down on the bleachers to recover. I see Dr. Shoja next week, so this fatigue/weakness will be a big part of the discussion.

Although it had rained like a Monsoon on Sunday night, yesterday was dry until late in the afternoon when the rain returned. But it was cloudy all day and all I did was idle the day away. The Olympics are not engaging me as they have in the past, and I’m disappointed because that has me searching like mad for something to watch on TV in the evening.

Today is cloudy again and there may be showers. I’ve more rocks to move today, and I must go into the village to see about renewing a prescription of one of my heart medications. Also, I’m hoping to hear from my respirologist today. I wrote to her about my sudden and dramatic loss of energy to see what she has to say. Next, I ask Dr. Shoja next week, and if I am still unclear as to what is wrong, I will go to my nurse practitioner.

Regina, so aptly named, is dropping out of our walking group. Her Doodle, Molly, is dying of cancer and we are all bereft. Molly is such a dear, and Regina is our Queen. She is kid of our leader, and I am very close to her. I am going to visit her and Molly at her place at least once a week instead of walking with the group. Sigh.

Life is good, regardless of by strength and poor Molly’s condition. I remain a very contented person thanks to my garden, the birds, my kitties and Her Highness.

Rain!

saturday

Saturday got off to a slow start. I slept in until 7:00, and then I was at my computer for over and hour. Then Her Highness and I went for a walk. It was a beautiful morning. When we got back, I trimmed dead material from several plants and vines until lunchtime. After lunch, we went to Eoin and François’ place to fetch some rocks.

Eoin and François have rented 6 goats to eat all the vegetation on a large section of their land. When I got there, all the goats were lying down together. And oh! I was in heaven. I spent time with each one. They are all incredibly friendly and gentle. Eoin and François are now considering getting a couple of goats, and I hope they do. I love being with them; they are wonderful animals.

I got the rocks and was home at 3:00. I did not feel up to unloading all the rocks yesterday, so I left them in the car. I plan to move them today. I’m excited about creating a new bed that will circle a large tree in my yard. I’ll fill it with plants I already have scattered about. It’s going to be a real asset for the property.

The evening was spent, as usual, in front of the telly. I really miss reading, but I don’t have the time for it. I’m either doing chores, or recovering from doing chores, and I just want to vegetate when I am in my recovery mode. It was a lovely evening.

One thing I did last night was call Dwight. We had a great call. It was great, at least to me, because I had two things I wanted to say to him about his brother, and he promised to do the one suggestion I had, I my other point really hit home with him. We were both teary. His brother’s in trouble. He’s lost his job and he’s abusing alcohol, and badly, and Dwight doesn’t know what to do. I think my suggestions were very well received. And that is great because for once, I am the giver, and he is the receiver. It always seems to be the other way around.

sunday

We walked and then I got busy with moving the rocks from the car to the yard and then building up a wall to support a new garden bed surrounding a large tree that once was surrounded by big, beautiful bushes of Salal, all of which died last Winter. I was lifting rocks, toting them in the barrow to where I was working, and then building a retaining wall with them. Plus, I was digging up plants in the yard to transplant into the new bed. And all on Sunday, my day, when I am normally at rest the entire day.

But I loved doing the work. I wasn’t rushed. I took lots of breaks, but they were short because I was so chuffed to be doing the work and the results of my effort were very pleasing. The yard looks pretty rough where I dug things up to transplant, and I tossed all the Boxwood that Steve and Dan gave me except one plant that looks beautiful and healthy.

Midday, I got an email from François and Eoin proposing dinner last night on the new deck at Woodfire Restaurant, and so we met there for dinner at 5:30. (That’s dinner time on Gabe for all us oldsters.) And the big story of the night was Jay’s. He’s sold his big home and bought a new one. He’s still going to be a Gabe resident and I’m very happy about that.

I stayed busy with yard work right up until I had my quick shower before leaving to meet the boys for dinner. Man, I was bushed. It was spectacular to be served dinner and not have to do any prep for myself—and no dishes! Plus, Jay brought a guest, Rives, a retired judge from Portland, Oregon, and I really liked him. We had a great evening together.

I got home just past 7:00 and I was so beat, I quickly went to bed and slept soundly until 6:00 this morning! I heard rain in the night, and sure enough, my empty rain barrel is full to the brim and my Hydrangeas are almost flat on the ground. I was out early this morning in my PJs and gumboots, rescuing them and my Raspberries. 

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Doug and his granddaughter have cancelled their visit. Doug’s daughter and son-in-law have separated and so fitting into their sharing schedule of the daughter has proven too difficult to plan a visit right now. 

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This morning, I lit a fire. I’ve been cold in the house for weeks because the logs keep it so cool. So, finally I am toasty warm in my house. I won’t keep the fire going, it’s just a morning fire to heat up the logs so that I have a warm and cozy day indoors today.

Great Party!

The Regional District of Nanaimo sent an animal bylaw officer to my door a couple of years ago. She came with a ticket ordering me to pay a $457 for letting my “out of control” and “highly aggressive” dog frighten and harass a local woman. Besides her complaint about Sheba, the complainant claimed I had also abused her, shouting very nasty things at her.

I could barely speak to the officer when she knocked on my door and showed me the letter containing the information about the fine. I wrote notes and struggled to speak with her. After a bit, I asked her: “Given that you have heard me trying to speak, do you believe that I could have yelled these things she claims I said?” The bylaw officer admitted that it seemed unlikely, and I was not fined. However, the complaint stayed on file, and she advised me that should there be another such complaint, Sheba would be euthanized.

Well…. Yesterday I got a letter delivered by courier from another bylaw officer telling me that a complaint had been received about my roosters, and honestly, I am appalled by this complain process whereby the complainant is believed without investigation. I have been assumed to be guilty twice now, and I’ve had to prove my innocence. This is a flawed system. And try to reach someone about this, but it’s impossible. I’m pissed!

However, the day ended brilliantly because Grey, Sara, Ursula and Dave came for a barbeque dinner, and I loved every second of it. It was so wonderful to have such lovely, fun and friendly people over for dinner in my garden. It was a spectacular night of no noise, no wind, and no wasps. It was one of the nicest evenings at Pinecone Park that I can remember—largely because it was outside and we bad burgers on the barby!

I’m swamped, so no photos today. I’ve been cleaning up from last night, watering, and soon I must go to Eoin and François’ place to fetch some rocks and to meet their new goats. I can hardly wait.

Jillian Visits

This is an improvisation. This kid is a genius.

Thursday began under thick cloud. I checked all the garden beds first thing after feeding the brood, and it was clear that I had no need to get busy watering the beds. Instead, I got busy cleaning the house because Jillian was coming for tea. 

When I was done inside, it was time to walk Her Highness and as we departed, the sky cleared quickly, and we walked in glorious sunshine and wonderful fragrances. I felt so, so good and I was full of love for this life I lead on this paradise of an island. Right now, there are tourists everywhere, and they make me feel so lucky to be a full-time resident of this sublime island. I am lucky to feel so happy on my own.

I saw Dave, could barely speak to him (which is very odd), and we talked together about having a barbeque at Pinecone Park tonight. It will be nice to have a chat and chew with him, Ursula, their daughter Sara, and Sara’s husband, Grey.

I did chores in the yard until lunchtime, fed the brood, and then went back to yard work. One thing I wanted to do was move a potted plant to my deck from the yard. (See above.) It’s about a foot in diameter and about 15 inches tall. I wanted to move it perhaps 15 meters. It was extremely hard to do on one go, but I did it, but I was panting like made, and I went to bed to have a nap and recover. I am very weak still. 

This is one of the little fellows that populate my yard. This one is sitting on the edge of my fountain. When Jillian came, I went to show her the frog, but it was gone. She did see, however, a Western Tanager, and she was really thrilled to see her first one. She was very complimentary of my gardens. While I got things ready, she took herself on a tour of the yard. It felt good to hear her compliments.

We had cookies and drinks, and we chatted. Her son in on the autism spectrum, so she is very accepting of my speech and jerking. She left saying she’d be keen to meet again. That felt good too.

Yesterday was a difficult day. I found out when I tried to speak with Dave. I always speak well with him because I love the guy. He is warm and welcoming every day. I had a lot of physical symptoms with Jillian as well as several blocks. On my own, I feel like I might explode. I feel ‘the beast’ inside. Pressure. I suppose it’s anxiety. That’d be my guess based on what I’ve learned from Dr. Shoja. I just woke up this way this morning.

I love going to bed. I love being warm and cosy under the duvet, surrounded by silent darkness. I also love that Sheba is there, and I can hope for a better day today.

Almost Normal

I have been loving these days of endless sunshine and not too much heat. Of course, I am giddy about how cool my house keeps, even in the hottest weather. What I love is how routine every day is. 

The mornings are mine. I get up early and I read news items, do my blog posting, feed the brood and I do domestic duties such as washing dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc., and then I walk Her Highness. After that comes watering the backyard beds.  I water everything in the same order every day. Then comes lunch and a rest, followed by a thorough watering of the edible garden beds, and then I am done for a while.

Once the edible garden is done, which is usually around 2:00 in the afternoon, I have a watering break to rest, go into the village to shop, or to do yard work before I return to watering around 4:00. That’s when I do the front bed and the front yard trees. That’s my pattern for every day. It’s not overwhelming, in fact, it’s a pleasant duty. I look at every plant in my garden every day. That has me on top of any problems. Then, the evening is mine., and oh how I love the relaxing evenings knowing that all the plants are watered.

I’ve decided to talk to Dr. Shoja about Clonazepam, but I am inclined to not bother with stopping the drug. I’ve had only one seizure since I started on this drug, and my speech is much better with those with whom it was difficult to speak. I remain mute with strangers (except trail walkers). I feel fine, and I can work on easy chores. Soon, I’ll be going to Eoin and François’ place to fetch rocks and then I plan to build a shallow wall with them. The work will test my endurance and strength somewhat, and that experience will inform my upcoming talk with Dr. S.

Very acceptable speech, here on the island, and only one seizure in the past six weeks, this has me feeling as good as I have ever felt since the onset of C-PTSD and FND. Yes, I still have a noticeable speech problem, but it’s occasional and not all the time. It’s hard to believe that this is all due to .25 mgs of a drug.

I’ll water today and do a little yard work in anticipation of building a new bed this weekend when I get the rocks from Eoin and François. But what I’m really looking forward to is Jillian, an incredible actor and lovely friend whom I’ve known for years, coming to visit this afternoon. I’m so excited about catching up with her and talking theatre. And soon, Bill and Marsha. My theatre gene is vibrating like mad.