0077 Cannot Be Stopped!

 Well …

Talk about stress! I was tested.

My plan was to catch the 11:15 ferry. I thought I’d leave here at 10:00. If I’d done that, I would have missed my appointment at Nanaimo Hospital. However, my pals were choosing where to walk their dogs on email this morning, and Di mentioned in her email that the ferry lineup was hours long, so I moved quickly to get us out of here.

I got everything I wanted to take, but I forgot her water, and I put H.H. in the car and got in myself, but I saw that the fence was open, so I got out of the car and closed the gate. When I returned to the car, I was locked out and the car was running, and Sheba was in the car.

I panicked. I came in and called the local tow truck. Busy. I called the RCMP. Leave a message. I had visions of breaking a window. When I went back out to the car, heart racing about missing the meeting, I noticed that the back window was open. The opening was three inches wide.

I went into the shed and fetched my pincers. I have a pincher on a tick with which I can pick up fir cones without bending over. I thought I might be able to get the key out of the ignition, and if I could push the button, it would open the door. Slim chance of success, though.

I noticed a button on the inside of the back door on the other side of the car, so I used the pincers to try to hit the button. I couldn’t do it, so I got a deckchair and stood on it to get a better angle to the switch. And it worked. It opened the window. But it is a safety window, so it won’t completely open. I could write a whole article about how hard it was to get my old, inflexible body through that hole.

But I got in and drove like mad to the ferry line up and got on the 10:30 ferry, grateful for a cloudy day so that Sheba was comfortable in the car when I was getting my test, grateful that the technician called me in early and grateful that the three tests took only about 40 minutes. 

It’s Summer, so there was a long line up at the ferry, but things moved quickly because our two ferries were out of synch; two were here, one soon after the other. It felt good to be home and see no plants wilting thanks to Tuesday night’s rain and yesterday’s cloudy skies, but there is a shitload of raspberries ready for picking.

My sense of things from the technician was good. I sensed I did okay on the tests. I’m glad that’s behind me. 

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Sharon: This is the only way I know of to respond to you. Thank you for your comments about my blog and photos, and for all you wrote about how you handle edema. I ordered compression socks from Amazon yesterday and I may pick up more if they are not good enough. Cheers and thanks again for your comments!

Here Come the Blueberries!

 

And so, it begins! Here come the blueberries. I couldn’t resist picking these first few that have matured. The coming week is predicted to be dry and hot after (hopefully) rain tonight and tomorrow, so I should be getting a large daily harvest later this week and on the weekend.

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Tuesday began with a full morning agenda. First, I stripped my bed and got all my bedding washed and out onto the line. I had to get this done early because rain is predicted for mid-afternoon. Then I left for the lab at 7:20 and when I got there, expecting to be the only person waiting to get in, there were three people there already waiting and it didn’t open until 8:00! But I got all my tests done and I was out of there at 9:20.

Afterwards, I went shopping and then came home for my session with Dr. Shoja. I had done my homework, so I had things to say, and the session was, as always, exhausting but uplifting at the same time. And once done, I went outside to join Peter who’d come over to sand parts of my deck where there is paint peeling.

Pete was here until 3:30. I paid him with a dark chocolate bar, and then it was time to chill. I’d had a busy day and my sessions with Dr. S. are always draining; I was ready for the couch.

It clouded over gradually over the course of the day. There were a couple of short light showers before I went to bed to ‘pray’ for rain. And it wasn’t hot, still my feet were wide enough to allow me to start selling advertising on them. I Googled compression socks, but you must make an appointment to buy them, and it also means going back to Nanaimo twice—once for the fitting and then to fetch them.

Achievement of the day: Borrowing Ali’s hair dryer and using it to fix the gasket on my freezer. I had an air leak and frost was building up. This morning, I checked my work: better but still slightly leaking air into the freezer. Damn. But it’s better and I’ll have another go with the drier next week.

It rained overnight. Hooray!! And it’s still overcast and there may be more showers. We are off to Nanaimo with no worries about fading plants or Sheba being too hot in the car. I’m dreading these breathing tests I’m in for. They are going to have me inhale deeply and then push all the air out of my lungs, and that makes me cough like mad. There are several tests, but that one is the worst. I’m very happy to be getting these tests before my appointment with Dr. Dorscheid on the 23^rd. Now, all I need is to hear from Julie that it’s time for my Tezspire training.

Medical Day for H.H. and Me

Monday began with me doing chores around the house. I was killing time, waiting for 9:00 o’clock to go to the vet’s office. Karen was great. She gave me an appointment at 10:45 to see Thomas, the lovely vet who cares for Sheba.

While I waited for the appointed time, I quickly went to the clinic to see if I should see a doctor about my feet and they gave me an appointment for 3:15. I came home and watered the edible and front garden beds, and then we went to see Thomas. I’m glad I went. He agreed with my reduced dose of prednisone for Her Highness, and he thinks the problem with her foot is the same old thing.

Then it was back home for lunch and watering the back gardens. Then I went to Sandi’s place to tour her garden. She’s the horticulturist neighbour (with a wonderful Airedale) who will come to Pinecone Park on Thursday, and I’ll get to ask her questions about some of the problems I am having with the garden.

I loved my visit with Sandi. She’s a great woman and her garden is full of delights. I think she really enjoyed having someone come to admire her garden, and I think I’ll feel the same way when she comes here. When I was done with the tour, I came home to check on Sheba as she is often at her foot. I decided to take her with me to the clinic. She was distracted by the people and the comings and goings, and she left her foot alone while I was inside.

When I got home, there was a message for me on my phone. I have an appointment at the Nanaimo Hospital tomorrow for the breathing tests Dr. Dorscheid ordered. So, another trip to the big island; my third in eight days!

What a non-stop day. When I finished the call to confirm acceptance of my appointment, I could have applied myself to raking and toting but I was done for the day. It was chill time for me. Besides, I had to do some homework before my session with Dr. Shoja this morning on Zoom.

Major Day of Work

Saturday was, at times, a challenge. Sheba has one very painful foot, and I don’t think it’s the autoimmune problem. I’m afraid that she’s sprained or broken her foot. Her clear discomfort triggers me. I feel helpless and desperate, and then there’s my feet as well. I felt overwhelmed at one point yesterday and so I went to bed to escape into sleep.

When I woke up, I felt better. I got some yard work and lots of watering done. Late in the afternoon, I invited Sarah, David’s daughter, Sarah, who’s visiting from Costa Rica where she lives, to come over and pick some raspberries. She and her hubby, Grey, and Dave and Ursula all came over and they picked a nice big batch of berries.

This week, the blueberries will start to need harvesting, and there are still more blossoms on the raspberries. So, productivity is high at Pinecone Park right now. Come August, it’ll be tomatoes and apples that I’ll be enjoying from the garden. Sadly, there were no plumbs. The tree is too young, but maybe next year.

Yesterday was a glorious day. I did a lot more yard work, and I finished the watering I didn’t do yesterday. We didn’t walk, of course, so I got a fair amount of work done. Work right now being raking and toting as I continue to try to tidy up the weed fields before Steve’s arrival in three weeks.

We’re now in that time of year where I am obligated to water all the beds every day. It’s tedious work, but the rewards are worth every minute of it. All I must. do is look at the magnificence of my gorgeous pale blue hydrangea, or the stunning pink or shocking pink ones, or the fuchsias that are exploding with colour.

I finished working at 3:30. I had a more productive day yesterday than I’ve had since last year. I was out watering before 7:30, and I kept at it with only a few short breaks until I quit. I had a full eight-hour working day, and I expect to do more work today. However, I must go to the vet as soon as it opens, and this afternoon, I go to Sandi’s to tour her garden at 2:00 pm. She comes here on Thursday.

I’m chuffed by all I did today. My evening walkabout was a tremendous source of pride and pleasure. Now, the weed fields look clean and tidy. I’ve still got the courtyard, the driveway, the edible garden and the front yard to go. I’ll be busy when I’m not doing essential errands or on my dates with Sandi.

I’m going to the clinic today about my feet. I just want to ensure that the incredible swelling of my feet is not a sign of some kind of problem, and I’d like to know if compression socks are the answer.

I’m hoping to hear from Julie about Tezspire this week. It’s been almost two months since it was prescribed for me by Dr. Dorscheid. 

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For Beth: I really liked the movie Past Lives. It’s on Netflix.

The storyline is very simple.  Lifelong childhood friends in Seoul, Korea are forced apart by circumstances when the girl's family emigrates to Canada.  About 12 years later they re-connect via the internet, but he is stuck in Korea, and she has career commitments in Canada and the U.S.  So, they agree to stop corresponding and Zooming online and pay attention to their real lives.  Another 12 years pass, and he is invited to meet her and her husband in New York City.  They meet, talk, and ponder.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  The three actors are excellent, and the dialogue with its hesitations and pauses is utterly realistic - which I value highly in movies that are dialogue-driven.  Regarding the overall tone of the movie, one of the reviews I read used the term "pitch-perfect", which is exactly what I thought.  This movie is not overly sentimental or overly analytical - and it's not a "rom com" because there is no comedy.  It is a serious contemplation of destinies, alternative possibilities and stark choices that echo Frost's The Road Not Taken.