X-RAY Done!

The trip to Nanaimo went very smoothly. I know my way around so much better now and I also know how to best care for Sheba when on a run to Nanaimo. We went to the x-ray place, which is usually very, very busy, and there were only four people waiting. I only had to wait about 15 minutes and then it was my turn. I was out of there quickly. Only one image was required.

Then we went to the locksmith’s store. What a blessing it was to have Nancy direct me to them. To replace my fob through the dealer costs between $475 and $525 (with programming). The locksmith directed me to Amazon to buy two similar fobs. I did so as soon as I got home. They cost 30 bucks, and for 75 bucks, the locksmith will program both new fobs. I’m chuffed and very, very grateful to Nancy.

Once back home, I went to bed. It always wears me out to go off island. But before I lay down, I had the delicious sushi lunch I bought while in the city. It was such a treat. Yes, I am still dieting, but I am not obsessive about it for every meal of every day. The odd reward for doing things like completing two important errands in Nanaimo is okay with me.

It’s such a beautiful time of year. On the way home from the ferry I passed a roadside Pear tree just covered in ripening pears. It’s an emotional time of year. The heat is like Summer, but the vegetation tells me it’s Fall. It feels wonderful to be outside. I harvested a lot of tomatoes that didn’t get blossom rot. Hooray! And I cut down the dead tangle of Clematis beside my deck. It’s going to start again from scratch next year. I also did some weed whacking on the courtyard.

Just a little work made Pinecone Park look so much better. The entrance to the backyard is much more inviting and the courtyard looks fabulous. But I was too tired to do much work. Going to Nanaimo exhausts me, but I’m getting used to be an elderly man with a slow, slow gait.  All that matters is that I am blissful again about my life and my home.

I enjoy doing light work. Rests, of course, are essential. But what I do adds up over time, and I have nothing to do for the next few days. I’m getting the entire backyard raked, and I may even try to do some toting. I’m keen to have Pinecone Park looking as good as I can get it for Paula’s visit.

What excited me about today was my overall experience in Nanaimo. I went to get the x-ray where I had to answer a lot of questions, and the same thing happened at the locksmith’s store. In both locations I was served by people who quickly realized that I was mute, and they adapted. It really moved me to find people so accepting and adaptive. I did the right thing returning my equipment.

What thrills me is being able to communicate while maintaining eye contact with the person I am communicating with. That’s part of it. The other part is that they are looking at me. They are not reading a note from me and then often re-visiting my text. These people made me feel comfortable, and that will help me feel more confident in the future.

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It's another gorgeous day. I must do a lot of watering, but what I really want to do is prune the Campions that are everywhere, and to continue the raking and toting that needs doing. Slow is how I go. I’ve only today and tomorrow to do the work for on Sunday the rains come, and they come to stay. Today may be the last of my endless watering.

Tough Session With Dr. S.

My session with Dr. Shoja was intense! But she said things that really helped me understand the process we are in. It was a particularly good session. Way back in time, I quit going to see her for a while. I thought that was the objective: to learn to function without help. But I was wrong. She wants to keep seeing me ‘forever,’ and I now understand the value of that.

She said that my mind locked my bad memories away. They were removed from my conscious memory to protect me as a child from despair. Now, she says, I am going through a process of integrating these sad memories into my consciousness, and it’s very painful. That word, ‘integration,’ immediately resonated with me, and that’s how it’s been through my years of working with Dr. S. (Whom I adore unconditionally.)

Singel words—anxiety, neglect, isolation—words that she uses, suddenly give me great understanding to complex concepts and explanations. Perhaps because I was a technical writer for decades, always wanting to use exactly the right word.

She also told me not to take Lorazepam when I have guests. It can have a reverse effect when taken for days in a row. So, it looks like will have to tough it out when I have guests. Seizures are the price I will have to pay for enjoyment of hosting friends at Pinecone Park.

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It was a beautiful sunny day, but we didn’t walk. Her foot is still aggravating her, so we just hung out in a large grassy field while the oil was changed in the car. I took a bone for her to chew on, and I took a book and a beach chair, and it was lovely, gentle, warm and slow, and when the car was done, we came home so that I could water the backyard plants.

I’ll water the front yard plants this morning before I leave for Nanaimo to get the x-ray of my foot. It’s going to be really hot again today. Our high will be in the low thirties. I’m going to Nanaimo early to avoid crowded ferries and to be on the road in the cool of morning. I’ll be home for the afternoon.

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Whoa, it’s going to rain next week. Hooray! Sadly, though, it’s when Paula is due to come and visit. But we have a plan for what to do if it rain was falling when she is here. Meanwhile, today is predicted to be hit again, so I am off to water the edible garden, trees and front beds before heading off to Nanaimo to get my foot x-rayed. 

Trump is Fun to Ridicule

Monday began cooler than it’s been in a long time. When I got into the spa yesterday morning, it was 14° outside. I proposed an adventure to our walking group, and they were up for it. But when I called Sheba from the backyard to go for our walk, she was limping badly. We drove to meet our friends to tell them we were unable to walk, bid them adieu and came home.

I’m happy to have a week of relatively low demand. I learned a lot about myself from my week of Hell. The pacing of my activities is essential, and I must take Lorazepam when things get rough. Yesterday was free of any commitments, so we had a good day just puttering around the house and yard.

I made a small Greek salad for lunch and had a nap in the sunshine as breaks from watering all the beds. But I enjoyed watering yesterday because I had nothing else pressing. Sheba did not want to walk all day, so we just hung out together all day in Pinecone Park.

I did some yard work. Just some raking, but I get terribly exhausted. When I rake now, I rake into piles that someone I hire can load into the wheelbarrow and tote to the back forty. I’ll likely do more yard work today because I doubt that I’ll need to do much watering because water is not evaporating very quickly now that it’s much cooler in the nights and mornings. 

I went to Kris and Steve’s at 17:00, and what a great, great night we had. We were our hosts plus Stacy (Kris’s sister), Bryce, her partner, Nancy, a dear and wonderful woman friend who, like me, is always invited to these fabulous sisters’ homes. And oh, the food! Kris is a spectacular cook. I had a ball going off diet for a night, and we broke up early, at 20:30, and I went right to bed when I got home.

Today I see Dr. Shoja and shortly after I go to Twin Cedars mall to have the oil in my car changed while Sheba and I hang out waiting, then home to chill because tomorrow I go to Nanaimo and I want to be rested so that my symptoms stay dormant.

My Day Was A Good Day!

Sunday, My Day, began with a spa, and as I sat so warm and peaceful in the silence of the early morning, I breathed in air that smelled like line-dried sheets. And as I scanned the backyard, I noticed no plants were showing signs of stress from lack of water even though I didn’t water on sunny Saturday. That meant that my watering duties yesterday would not be onerous. And then, at 9:00, it clouded over, giving me even greater assurance minimal watering would be required. It was going to be a mixed weather day.

I have new routines: eating carefully, charging my watch and phone every night, and carrying my phone around with whenever I leave the house. And because I carry it, I always have a camera with me so there’ll be more photos by me on this blog. Plus, I like, and like using, my new chaise—the one I hated until Nancy found that the headrest could be raised. And because Saturday was so wonderfully peaceful, I felt good yesterday.

We went for an hour walk in the 707 on a trail that I like. I had to stop several times to catch my breath. I’m still really weak, but I feel good. And I’m back to feeling happy. I was positively euphoric on our walk. I was blissed out by the quiet, seeing no one, and being with Sheba in such beautiful surroundings.

When I got home, I went to bed. It’s My Day remember! When I rose, it was to spot water in the gardens. It took minutes instead of the usual two hours. She did not want to walk in the afternoon because she’s having auto-immune issues with one foot, so we went food shopping.

Yesterday was the end of the season for the wonderful Firetruck Grill in Silva Bay. I craved their fish tacos today, but my conscious eating had me have a hard-boiled egg and … and … my first small apple off one of my trees. It was bloody delicious. And then our day was done. All that remained for me to do was relax and enjoy the evening movie and dinner with my beloveds.

Her Highness wasn’t having it when we went for out afternoon walk. I discovered she has damaged a foot, so this morning I upped the amount of Prednisone I gave her. We came home to chill for a while before dinner and a movie, but then an even greater show started outside. We had thunder and lightning last night, even a short shower.

Today is going to be sunny all day and very comfortable. The entire week ahead will be the same: temperatures in the low twenties. I will water extensively today, and tonight I got to Steve and Kris’ for dinner with them and Stacy, Bryce and Nancy—a great, great group of friends.