Learning and understanding

It’s not usual to have brunch on a Friday, is it?  But my friend came and picked me up this morning and we headed off to a new place where we had “high tea” in the brunch time.  It’s an absolutely lovely place, with loads of flowers on the walls, and some great, fresh food.  It was a lovely mid-morning break, where I got to catch up with someone who I haven’t seen for a while (Bad Covid!!) and we had a nice meal.  I’m resting up, because I know that my body will protest tomorrow if I push too hard.  Jerry was very upset that I went out this morning without him, and when I returned, he greeted me at the door with some very  annoyed barks!  I brought Don some of the leftovers, which I think he enjoyed… at any rate, they’re gone!  So everyone had a snack, and I had some lovely hot tea!  I’m starting to get a little peckish now, so I’ll go figure out something to eat in a few minutes.  It’s currently snowing heavily, and has been for a coupl...

It was a sunny, chilly day today.  I had some difficulty waking up this morning, thankfully I got texts from a friend which made me get up so I could do what I needed to do.  I had a rather “lazy cat” day — it seems that as much fun as I have getting out and seeing people, I need a recharge day.  I didn’t feel exceptionally tired or in pain yesterday, but apparently my body has different ideas!  I had ambitious plans (anyone who’s surprised, please raise your hand!) which all fell by the wayside as I instead lost myself in reading.  Most of the day I had a little black dog rolled into a ball on my lap, and he had no plans of moving or letting me get up.  He’s switched slaves and is now lying next to Don with his little legs up in the air and demanding attention.  Today is apparently baseball 🥱 opening day, so Don is busy “watching” — but the tiny dictator is arranging himself to block the screen as much as possible 😁. No, I did not train him to do th...

This is what I woke up to this morning… a London-style pea soup fog!  I took a couple of moments to realize that the world outside my window was white, and that wasn’t a normal colour!  This was at 7am, and I fell asleep again until almost 9 when it was sunnier.  Jerry looked out the window and curled up against my legs and began to snore… He was more agitated later in the day when my support worker arrived; he greeted her at the door with a volley of barks and his little tail nub wagging hard enough to lift his legs!  Don lost his watch and spent most of the day searching for it.  It’s one he’s had for years, but it’s not super expensive or anything.  I’ve run out of possible location for it, and he’s turned pretty much everything upside down in his hunt.  After a reasonably mild afternoon, it’s turned into driving sleet with high winds and dropping temperatures.  I’m going in search of cozy socks and a new blanket, because it’s a lot more chilly...

What a lovely, sunshiny spring afternoon.  It was pleasant, but cool. The snow is melting 😁 and soon there will be grass, flowers and birds again!  I had my follow up today with my oncologist, and we’re going to do my next scan before we decide on any future treatments.  I’m off next week to spend Easter with my sister and the small people, and they’ve been reminded to not bring home any illnesses for the next few weeks.  Don decided that we’re celebrating the arrival of spring, so we’ve ordered Chinese for tonight’s supper.  Jerry is in suspicious guard dog mode, and spent all afternoon on my lap to and from the appointment and has been glued to me since we got home.  I threw him off twice, and he just bounced right back up into his spot.  He reluctantly moved to sit on Don, who was wearing his cap, which Jerry interprets as a sign that we’re going out.  So he’s now guarding Don just to be sure that we can’t leave without the dog, and I’m under ...

Today started off a bit chilly, then warmed up to warm sweater and light blanket weather.  I had my lay minister, nurse and a pharmacy delivery all within a couple of hours, and I’m waiting for the grocery delivery now.  Don muttered that it felt like we had a revolving door, and the phone didn’t stop ringing.  That’s the result of him not sleeping well last night and unfortunately just as he dropped off, the phone would ring to allow someone in.  Jerry doesn’t like visitors as he has to be shut in the other room, and then he comes out to do a sweep of the unfamiliar scents.  He then jumps on my lap and assumes a guard position so I can’t slip away from him.  They’re both on the sofa now, dozing.  I’ll leave them alone for a while; there’s a hockey game on later, so I’ll leave him to nap to the relaxing sound of game commentary! I’m slightly torn between being sad and relieved.  A few people have reached out to me to ask about the best way to deal...

The snow eater passed overnight… at least, the pile that was there when I went to bed had cleared up when I woke today.  I thought you’d like to see how I spent a couple of hours this afternoon, in my role of “dog bed” — a recurring, daily role, which apparently gets some rave reviews.  My niece (evil child) laughed her head off at me getting the phone batted out of my hand by the small monster.  He’s grudgingly moved off my lap so I can write, and it warming my toes.  Don is fine; he was “watching” car racing this afternoon — honestly, that puts me instantly into a trance as it’s one of the most boring things to watch… cars driving in a line around a track.  🥱  As much as I enjoyed playing with our Scalextric track as a child, it was more fun setting up the track in some impossible configurations than running the cars in an endless loop.   The news was gushing about the dinner between our Prime Minister and the US President, and how it featured Alber...

Here we are, the first weekend of spring, and in the middle of a snowstorm.  I got “kidnapped” this morning for a couple of hours, and went driving with my “captor” to get a tea and snack and a long chat.  It was good, as we haven’t seen each other for a while, so today was fun.  We managed to get home just as the first ice pellets started to fall, so she avoided slippery roads and we were tucked up and warm quite quickly.  Jerry, as you see, was examining the snow and playing for a bit; he’s now shaking the remains of one of his toys and settling in to play for a while.  Don was busy “watching” hockey today and is now sorting out some wings for dinner for us. I’m pleased to report that I haven’t needed to take my sleep aids for almost a full week now, and I’m able to sleep pretty well.  I’m managing about 5 hours, which is a little less than I’d like, but is reasonable.  I still have to deal with my personal issue of not sleeping in the day — Auntie M...

My friend, who does floral arrangements, has been at work on spring wreaths and is tormenting me with photos of his work!!  You can see more on his IG profile here , and you may even order.  It’s really spring-like weather — started out below freezing, warmed up to about 4C but it’s quite chilly.  A friend of mine dropped over today and we swapped out my bed frame, so I’ve got a newer one that’s a little higher than the old one.  Jerry isn’t sure about this, as he has to adjust his leap and will be letting me know what his views are tonight after we go to bed.  Don is good, and was up to some mischief today, so I’m not concerned about him today 😆 We watched the visit of the US President to Parliament on TV and watched the security aircraft circling overhead.  The benefits of living near the “seat of power”  The motorcades roared past this morning, and streets remain closed.  There’s a helicopter hovering overhead at the moment, although I think t...

To all those celebrating, a blessed Ramadan.  I really enjoy the overlap of all these celebrations that are happening at this time of year.  It’s all the more delightful as I’m inside, keeping warm while spring is busy being changeable (we’ve got freezing rain and fog today.)  Quick update, I woke up early this morning to attend to my ablutions (isn’t that a fun word?) and went back to bed, where I slept happily for a few hours and managed to miss the water outage.  Don also slept through it, so there was no inconvenience or disruption to the day.  Jerry is in high energy mode again, and is agitating to get up on my lap for petting — I will report that he spent all afternoon on my lap in a rather (to me) awkward position, and would pull my hand back to pet him.  He’s got a strong personality, and is clear in communicating his demands!  There’s a hockey game on, and I’m being ignored LOL Every Lent, as Christians know, we try fasting, Catholics perhaps ...

Happy Navratri to everyone celebrating.  Got to love a celebration of 9 goddesses in all their incarnations, from young girl, to wife, to warrior, to benefactor and sage.  It’s also Nowruz, the Persian new year, and we’ve just celebrated Phagwa (Holi) and the spring equinox (in the northern hemisphere)  Lots of celebrations, which is always a good thing!   I had a day with lots of calls; my support worker, social worker and dietitian all called in a row today.  I’m thankful that I have these services, as they provide a lot of necessary support, which is helpful to me.  I woke up in a panic this morning, and raced out of bed… to realize that today is Wednesday.  We have a planned water outage tomorrow morning, and I thought today was Thursday… I thought yesterday was Monday and only realized in the afternoon that I was wrong.  It’s irritating that I’m confusing my days like this, although I haven’t missed any appointments or any such issues.  ...

Today would have been my 24th work anniversary as a public servant.  It’s one of the dates that has stuck in my mind.  I remember that there was a wet snowfall that morning, and I went to the office for the first time where I knew exactly 3 people in the city.  Life is very different now, in which I’ve made my home here and have a large circle of friends — plus an awesome medical team.  I’m a little tired today, no discernible rationale, and I’ll be heading in for an early night.  Jerry is in one of his moods, where he’s pretending to eat at me (he does this thing where he takes a mouthful of his dry food, walks over to me and chews it loudly, stares at me for a moment, then gets the next mouthful.)  Don had a much better night last night, and got a good sleep.  That’s a relief to me. I’ve booked my first trip, where I’ll be heading out of town over Easter.  That took all of 10 minutes by phone, and the agent found me a 20% discount and discovered...

My life as a dog bed… complete with the bossy dictator whose paw directs my actions!  It’s now spring — since 5:24pm today, anyway — and there are currently flurries.  We were reminded that the weather will be “changeable” for the next little while ranging from below freezing to mild, and with assorted precipitation all week long.  I was (mostly) good today, and my back has calmed a bit, plus I had 2 actual meals!  It feels good to have an appetite and to want to eat.  Food still tastes not quite as it should — I pick up some flavours that shouldn’t be so prominent (like acid in tomato sauce) and still can’t quite manage spices.  Even the smell of a scotch bonnet makes my stomach curdle, so that better correct itself soonest!  Don didn’t sleep at all well last night, and is catching up now.  I had him up today as my support worker was here and we had some things for him to do, so after she left he “watched” baseball, but halfway through that inter...

Today marks St Joseph’s day, which is traditionally the halfway point in Lent.  I mention this because when we were at school, today was always a day off as our nuns were the order of St Joseph of Cluny.  A few years ago, I saw the list of his titles and was deeply amused to find that among them were “ Guardian of virgins ” and “ Terror of demons ” — I’m not exactly sure which of them applied better to a school of almost 800 teenage girls!  I’ll leave it to you to decide 😜  The weather today started off as a very windy and brisk -15C, warming up to -5C, with sun but occasional flurries, so it seems that winter is kicking up at the thought of spring’s arrival tomorrow.  The forecast is for a cooler than average, slightly damp spring, which is fine when you consider that there is a lower risk of massive floods when the thaw is slower.  Jerry has been moving from one lap to another, and intermittently throwing his toy at us to play catch.  He had a jag o...

My pain is fading slowly, happy day!  I’m still not fully myself, but it’s getting closer.  Another day of being quiet should restore my equanimity, and I will make extra efforts in future to listen when my body speaks, so I don’t push past the point of endurance just for my pride.  Jerry is taking a rest from a busy day of schnoodle… he was getting into all kind of mischief a few minutes ago, and I’m not one to look gift horses (or quiet puppies) in the mouth!  Don is showing more energy than he has for a few days, which is good, and probably partly attributable to the lemon poppyseed cake I bought as a treat.  (He said that he wasn’t crazy about it, but it’s already more than half gone after a day, so… no comments!) 😁 My flight search to the Caribbean remains fruitless.  The least expensive flight that I can find is over $1000, and that means routing through the US with 3 changes and a travel time estimated at 30 hours.  Where do they think I’m goin...

Beannachtai na failte Padraig.  Go mbeannai Dia duit.  Sláinte chuig na fír, agus go mairfidh na mna go deo.  (Happy St Patrick's day.  May God Bless you.  Health to the men, and may the women live forever) 🤗😀. An authentic Irish toast, given in Irish Gælic on a day when it seems that everyone goes Irish!   Today the pain continued, although it’s slowly fading.  I had to take my breakthrough medication to let me move fairly comfortably.  It’ll be better by the end of the weekend, I’m sure, so that’s something to anticipate.  Jerry has a new admirer — my neighbour down the hall dropped by this afternoon, and Jerry began by sounding intimidating, then curled up on his feet and snuggled up!  Vicious brute he ain’t!  Don muttered that the weather was causing him some aches, but he’s feeling better now, and has managed to demolish about half a cake… so that’s all to the good! Since everyone is Irish today, I was thinking back to my fir...

I am in some blistering pain this evening.  I’ve already had my friend lecture me about doing too much today, and I admit that I deserved that.  I walked for over an hour, although I paused frequently to catch my breath, but at the end of that, I found that I was aching.  By the time I got home and into a chair I couldn’t move… Jerry objects strenuously to this, and has been trying to get me to bend and throw things, in which effort he’s been very disappointed!  I would like to play, but ouch.  Don is fine, and spent a happy time watching baseball spring training, which he enjoys but I find dull.  It’s all fair, and I’m sure I manage to bore him with some of the stuff I watch…  I’m enjoying seniors’ discounts.  The pharmacy has a program where Thursday is “seniors’ day” and seniors get 20% off their purchases.  I didn’t expect to qualify yet, since I’m not yet at the age, but it seems that it starts in January of your qualifying year!  I...

This morning started off feeling like mid-January, with a biting wind.  Jerry was not happy at all to feel that, and returned “at a high rate of speed” to let me know that his fur was cold and he needed a hug.  I had a lot of difficulty sleeping last night, for no reason that I could identify I woke up every hour on the hour until I gave up and got up.  Don has been playing with the tiny monster today, and they are both wound up at the moment.  One is jumping around, shaking his toy, and the other is throwing the toy and playing tricks.  Guess which is which LOL.    Good news!  My cousin’s husband was discharged today after his latest tests showed that he was stable and in a fit state to continue his recovery at home.  We actually spoke briefly this morning, and he’s\in good spirits.  I reminded him that he’s still got to be careful and there’s a period of recovery ahead.  It’s good that he’s home and my cousin is relieved to have h...