Val Kilmer

Sunday became sunny and truly lovely—as in not too hot. I felt great for so many reasons: Sheba is so healthy again, the weather was ideal, and I got a lovely surprise at the dog walk. When I arrived to join my friends at the newly renewed Sunday morning dog walk, several people immediately came over and gave me a warm, welcoming hug. They’d all heard about my heart attack, I guess. It was a wonderful experience. Such kindness does wonders for my self-esteem. I live on a fabulous island.

In the afternoon, I Zoomed with long-time friends, all of us retired thespians. It was oodles of fun.

•

Yowza! I watched the documentary about Val Kilmer on Amazon Prime and was wowed by it. I was captivated for so many reasons—its rawness, honesty, very creative editing and writing.  Who knew what a good writer is Mr. Kilmer. And what insight he provides into the acting profession. And … the powerful subplot of his relationship with his son in the making of the movie, makes the telling of this particular story very, very moving. 

•

Sheba is physically recovered, as I recently celebrated here on Saturday’s post. But her recovery has come at a price. She is not the Sheba I used to know; she’s now Sheba on Drugs. In a week, her dosage is halved for the second time. I’m hoping the reduction brings her a little more back to life. I am interacting with her a lot and guiltlessly giving her treats until the reduction. Sheba on Drugs makes me sad. I miss my old chum. I’m at the mercy of my vet’s advice.

•

Today, I walk with my small walking group, my regulars, and then I come home. Darrell will be building the new fence today. It’s an exciting day at Pinecone Park. 

Petrified Opal Wood

Dull, Dull, Dull.

Yesterday was cloudy almost all day, but there were brief periods of sunshine. Today has dawned to reveal another day like yesterday. However, sunshine and hot temperatures return tomorrow, and so does Darrell to build the fence.

My life is dull, dull, dull. We walk, I read, and the animals play and sleep. But my incision is looking fully healed and the swelling of my arm is gone, so I feel I can get back to some gardening tomorrow while Darrell is working.

I’m going on the big community dog walk this morning, and this afternoon I’m Zooming with friends. Like I said: Dull, dull, dull (but happy). 

Back to Normal

Sheba is asleep peacefully on the cool floor. Once the cone was off yesterday, she’s been walking, jumping, and humping my leg just like the old days. This morning, we’re going to go for one of our favourite walks and tomorrow we’re going on the community walk. I feel so much lighter—we both do, I reckon.

Martin, the vet, was amazed at how quickly and how well her feet had healed. To him, it proved his diagnosis of an immune disorder; he attributed the quick recovery to the prednisone. I’m so, so glad to not only have a healthy dog again, but also that we may have no further problems because the plan is to keep her on a mild dose of prednisone.

We took the cone off at the vet’s place. Since then, I’ve been obsessively monitoring her. So far, I haven’t seen any inclination on her part to chew her feet. Now starts the very slow wean off prednisone. Ultimately, she will stay on half a pill every second day—and thank God for that, because every second night I will be able to sleep through. Prednisone makes her drink and pee constantly.

•

Last night we had rain, and it’s only 15° outside this morning! We didn’t get much rain, but this morning the air smells so fresh and I don’t have to water the gardens today. Both today and tomorrow may see some more light showers before we return to another stretch of sunshine and high temperatures.

•

Today will be a reading and walking day. It’s a nice cool day to stay indoors and to chill. 

Veterinarian Day!

Day 46 without rain, and there’s no sign of rain in the immediate future. But it’s going to be refreshingly cooler until the middle of next week, then it’s predicted to get hot again. At least, today there are lots of clouds in the sky giving all living things at Pinecone Park a bit of a break from the relentless heat and burning sunshine.

Yesterday was a much better day than Wednesday. Sheba was much perkier, and she was willing to go for a walk in the cool of the morning on the soft grass of Rollo Park. And when I got home, Stacy called and invited me to dinner.

Stacy doesn’t live here full time. She’s a doctor at Vancouver General Hospital, but she has a lovely home on the water here and we really enjoy each other’s company. I was very happy to have the invitation to join her last night. Sheba came as well and sniffed everything around with Otis, Stacy’s dog.

And Darrell came by to look at the site where I want him to complete the fence and build a gate. He’s the fellow who did all the work here when I first moved here. He’s a great guy and I was glad to see him again. He’ll be back on Monday to build the fence. Woo hoo!

Today, I’ll be watering (of course), reading and at 2:00 I take Sheba back to the vet. I hope the cone can come off, but I’m worried that without it she’ll start chewing her foot again. My God, I hope she’s over her self-mutilation. I assume it’s possible because she is walking well now; if the cause has healed, I can be optimistic.

Every minute seems like an hour as we wait to see the vet.