Learning and understanding

Enjoying this cooler weather, even with the high humidity.  Still hard to breathe in some cases, but it’s nice not to be melting!  Jerry seems to be enjoying the weather; he’s got a lot more energy and is bouncing around happily rolling on his blanket (technically Don’s, since Jerry’s is on the floor next to my chair) and catching attacks of “zoomies” around the house!  It’s hilarious to watch.  The boys are happily teasing each other with Don winding up Jerry, and Jerry trying to nip Don!  I’m trying not to make eye contacts, as I’ll become the next target if I look over there! My appetite is decent today; I will need to cook soon because everything is almost finished 😆 I’m also not feeling any after effects from yesterday being out with Jerry.  I’ll try to get him out fairly regularly so I get back a level of comfort being out with him (and hopefully I can keep up with him when we’re out walking!)   Auntie is apparently supposed to be crocheting ful...

Such a lovely day!  It was cooler than it was all of last week, with a gentle breeze that was almost chilly!  That’s not a complaint, let’s be 100% clear, but it’s such a reprieve after the stifling, suffocating sauna that was last week!  Both of the boys are now curled up on the sofa, but it’s been the first day in a while that Don has been able to breathe comfortably, and me too!  Jerry is more active today, too, I suppose because he feels cooler.  That change in temperature is really amazing, as are the effects of a cooler day!  Don has been asking me to repeat what I say all the time, but can hear when I mutter, “you need to get your hearing checked.”  I’m wondering how much of the repetition is “man hearing” vs some loss? I took Jerry out for a short walk this afternoon; we were out for maybe 15 minutes.  That was a lot for me; I was out of breath and in some pain by the time we got back inside.  He pulled and tugged a few times, which u...

Ahh… much cooler today than it was this week!  We started off at 17C, and it’s now about 24C, which is a major  improvement over yesterday!  It rained off and on for a while today, which is also helpful.  Apparently last night there was a rain delay in the game, although I think that was more because of lightning than otherwise, and there were reports of power outages in a few areas due to storm damage.  We’re unaffected, thankfully.  Jerry spent most of the day on my lap, which meant that I couldn’t do several of the things I was planning on, because he was too comfortable lying there waving his paw in the air!  Don spoils the dog, badly! 😉  He’s right now being cuddled like a teddy bear by Don, but is watching me closely.  Don, of course, is glued to sports this afternoon, and is on his second game of the day.  I watched Key Largo  (well, part of it, anyway) on the classic movie channel, and I was rather surprised at it.  I’...

I feel like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz… a feeling I’ve had too often this summer!  You know the scene where she shouts, “I’m melting… melting!”  That is I.  Our humidity level crossed 40C today, and it was like breathing in a sauna!  Then we had our weekly tornado warning — 3 alerts in the space of just over an hour — and a small one touched down about a kilometre from here.  Minimal damage, as it was mostly over the river, but still!  Jerry is exhausted from the heat, and spent as much time as he could on my lap, lying on his back, sucking up breeze and waving an imperious paw to have his tummy rubbed NOW!  Every time I moved my hand, up came the paw, followed by a little schnauzer side-eye!  Don was limply spread on the sofa most of the day because of the heat.  After the second thunderstorm it’s cooled down quite a bit so it’s now almost comfortable, and I’m enjoying a moment on my balcony. I didn’t want to eat much today; it’s...

Another hot, sticky day, and according to the weather service, this is the hottest July on record globally.  It’s awful; I sincerely hope that there will be a break in the heat soon that lasts for more than an hour or so because it’s just so hot.  If I were a millionaire, I’d probably have moved to my lakefront/beachfront chalet until the heat eases off!  Jerry is being extra affectionate today, I have no idea why, but I’ve told him that he’s a tiny heat generator and to please get off my lap and go sit on his cushion like a big boy, but he seems to prefer lying on me and sticking his paws in my face… he does this little stretch where his arms just go straight up and hit me in the face and I’m supposed to pet him.  Don’s been glued to watching a documentary today — a mini series of 4 hour long episodes — and I watched part of it and we’re in the middle of a disagreement on the court case it covered.  I support the verdict, he disagrees… it’s rather like that ver...

So yesterday it seemed to be a cooler day but after about 5 minutes outside, it was almost impossible to breathe!  This morning, similarly — according to the thermometer it was 25, but it felt like 36.  That’s another difficult to breathe type of day!  I had ambitions of taking the little dog out around the block, but just a minute on my balcony and I had to rush back in to sit by the fan and use my inhaler.  I’d really like it if the humidity was lower!  Jerry was sitting on high alert, as my support worker was due, and he can tell the time, it seems.  He gets some of her days confused, but today he was guarding me from half an hour before her scheduled time, and was really impatient when she arrived!  He leapt off me, leaving a long, red scratch mark and raced over to her, not even giving her the time to put down her purse!  Don’s grumbling about the heat, but is settled in to watch one of those interminable baseball games.  He’s teasing me...

Ah, summer time, and the days are muggy.  We’re currently having a downpour and a thunderstorm which is making things more comfortable.  I know that I’m in the minority, but I do tend to prefer when we’ve got rain as it helps keep things a little cooler.  I know others are less keen on the rain, especially my friends who deal with arthritis, migraines and other conditions that are affected by the weather.  For myself, it’s harder to breathe when it’s very humid and muggy, but the rain makes it better.  It would be nicer if we could all have ideal weather and not have problems.  Jerry was a little agitated today with the monthly fire alarm testing; the alarm upsets him, and he tends to sing along when they go off, while he sits on my or Don’s lap until they stop.  Don’s up to no good… at least, from what I can tell.  He’s been locked out of the Amazon account for a few days now, and I’ve been getting all the alerts that someone is trying to access ...

I had a supremely lazy day yesterday, and apart from having a series of phone/video calls and an early nap, did very little.  It was a bit cooler than it has been, but it’s still quite sticky.  Today was similar, in that it was a bit humid although cooler than earlier in the week.  Jerry was too funny yesterday; my support worker comes around 4pm on the days she’s here (Saturday is not one of her days) but at 3:45 yesterday he was perched on my lap, fully alert, waiting for her.  He stayed like that until shortly after 4, and I told him several times that she wasn’t coming!  She came at 3 today, so caught him off guard, but as soon as he heard the door he was off my lap and jumping on her for his cuddles!  It’s so funny to watch!  Don is again watching sports, but it’s so warm that he’s wandering around shirtless… I was teasing him about flexing his muscles for the young girls, and he just gave his trademark giggle, eyeroll and went about his affairs, ...

It started off as quite cool this morning; it apparently had thundered overnight, but I heard nothing.  It got hot and muggy later, but it’s currently raining heavily, which I rather enjoy.  Jerry was bouncing around and I’m trying to calm him down, as when he gets very excited after eating he throws up, and I don’t really want to be cleaning up after him tonight.  Don is happily watching sports, although “his” team doesn’t play until later, but that doesn’t seem to interfere with the habit of sports watching.  He’s not following the Women’s World Cup, but he intends to watch Canada play some of their games.  He argues that football is boring, and I point out that what he calls “football” doesn’t actually involve players using their feet… they seem to gather for a group hug, run around, hump each other, and pat each other on the butt and carry the ball in their hands.  In retaliation for mocking his game, he’s making me watch it tonight. So this is bizarre....

It was overcast for most of the day today, without any rain, though it felt humid throughout.  One of those types of days where you think of taking an umbrella if you’re going out, but you feel remarkably silly for carrying one.  Apparently there’s a rumour of upcoming storms, and my sister sent a text showing that there’s a tornado warning in their area, which is different this summer, as we’ve had a couple of tornadoes already and they’ve been spared.  Jerry was a remarkably good boy last night, and settled down to sleep almost as soon as he jumped into bed, and he didn’t move until I got out of bed this morning.  He’s been splitting his time fairly evenly between us today, except that he was vocally upset when I had to answer the door when the pharmacy made a delivery, then when our meal arrived and when my friend dropped off the ice cream cake that I’d ordered.  He was extremely annoyed that people were coming to his door, and worse, that there were more cal...

Another summer’s day, complete with all the heat and humidity that it can amass!  The rain last night was lovely; the air felt so cool and fresh after!  But then this morning, it was like breathing in a plastic bag… just suffocating!  It’s tiring when it does that, and I then don’t have a lot of motivation to do stuff.  My “things to do” list is just growing at a distressing rate!  Jerry wanted to play last night long  after we went to bed, and tried to bury himself under me to sleep.  That’s quite uncomfortable, so I kept moving him, and he just came crawling back… finally he climbed onto my tummy, flipped on his back, and moved my hand to his tummy.  He was finally happy, I wasn’t, but the sleeping dog wins any argument about placement!  Don was having a busy day repairing his printer, and then shamefacedly confessed that he’d been trying to put the colour cartridge in the slot for the black ink… it took a while before it clicked that he wa...

I was half joking with a friend today that I spend half of summer grumbling about the heat, and half of winter grumbling about the cold.  She said, well, you’re consistent! And I asked, you mean I’m consistent at complaining?  I was naughty enough to enjoy watching her trying to backpedal… It’s the dog days, although the dog doesn’t approve of this kind of weather where his little feet get overheated on the sidewalk — he’s also stubborn enough to refuse to wear boots of any kind!  I’ll get one on, and he’ll have it off before I even get the second one on!  He’s been evicted from my lap a few times today, because I was trying to read and he would jump up and push my book or iPad out of my hand, stretch out, stick his little arms up and just take up space.  He’s adorable and such a sweetheart but he just radiates HOT!  Don found an absolutely dreadful thriller that he insisted that I watch with him… except that he fell asleep about 30 minutes in, but would wa...

The heat and smog are back, along with wildfire smoke, so outdoors is not somewhere to be today.  We’ve been hiding out and avoiding the heat and humidity, which are really stifling!  Jerry has been a bit sluggish during the day, and spent a lot of time dozing and arranging himself to maximize getting breeze from the fan, which he rather enjoys.  Every so often he comes over, jumps on my lap, rolls on his back in front of the fan, and sticks his paws up in the air so I can rub his tummy.  Don was woken up around 4 this morning by a text from one of his friends to say that another friend had a fall and was being taken to the hospital, and he stayed awake to find out what happened.  I sleep with earplugs, so I knew nothing until I got up this morning, and he’s been catching up on his sleep during today. I apologize for my silence on the last few days.  I had a dreadful tummy issue, which left me weak, shaken, unable to eat, and needing to sleep for hours on e...

It’s a lovely summer day, with fairly moderate temperatures and some humidity, but not as bad as last week.  It’s lovely to be able to breathe and not have to be using my inhaler.  Don is also happier to be able to breathe more easily, although he’s having difficulty walking comfortably.  The walk to the garage, he says, has got longer.  The forecast is for more heat and humidity in the next few days, so we’ll have to see how things go.  Jerry was a little hyper today when we went to my doctor’s appointment, not wanting to sit quietly and using my tummy as his personal bouncy castle!  I keep explaining that it hurts, but he just wags his stump and climbs back on me!  It’s peak construction season, and the highway is closed, as are several other main roads in my area, as they replace a highway bridge.  We had to navigate around that, and it was fine on the way to the hospital, with just about 10 minutes of gridlock; but that expanded to almost 30 o...

It was a very cool 16C this morning; the kind of weather to break out a cozy sweater, have a cup of hot chocolate and lose yourself in a good book!  Then this afternoon is poured rain, the sky was very dark, and there was a tornado warning for most of the afternoon.  We heard that there was a tornado in south Ottawa, with some damage, and the forecast calls for more rain upcoming.  It was so cool and lazy that I fell asleep for about half an hour this afternoon, and I had a dog firmly attached to my lap for quite a while.  I was on the phone, and he jumped on my lap, refused to budge, and sat with his back to me.  He dozed off when I did, but still refused to get off my lap.  He finally traded my lap for Don’s and he’s just watching me from the sofa.  Don was shopping during Amazon Prime day; I only found out when I saw the email saying “Your Amazon order is being prepared.”  He then realized that if he has to surprise me, he can’t use the (joint)...

It was a “normal, seasonal” day today; warm but not muggy, with a pleasant breeze and mostly comfortable.  After last night’s thunderstorm, it was cool and refreshing, but it didn’t last loo long.  It was quite comfortable sitting outside last night after the storm, where we enjoyed breathing in the rain smell.  The little monster was happy to guard our feet on the balcony until we came in, and then he settled in to pet my tummy when we finally went to bed.  He just stretches out on me, an will use his paw to pat me.  It’s so hilarious to watch, it’s as if he thinks I need to be settled down.  Sometimes my tummy makes noises, which startles him, but then he pats me again.  He’s been stuck to me since I had that off day on Monday, and spends less time with Don in general.  He’s adjusted this afternoon, and he’s lying on Don’s legs now.  He was running around with his toy for us to throw, then he got bored and settled in for a cuddle.  Don...

Woo… summer.  We wait all year for it, and then spend most of it moaning about the heat.  There’s a happy midpoint, where it’s not the temperature of hell’s fireplace nor that of the dark side of Mercury.  I really appreciate now the warnings about people with chronic illnesses and heat exposure, although I really wish that I didn’t have to be so cautious!  I mean, born and raised in the tropics, Brer Fox, so heat should be my natural environment, right?  Sadly, nope.  Jerry spent most of the day looking after me and stretched out on my lap.  He rarely moved over to Don, just staring at him from my chair, and following me to the kitchen or bathroom.  Don was feeling fairly energetic today, and was up to some mischief… I’m happier when he does, because it means that he’s feeling better.  I don’t like it when he’s feeling limp from the weather or is struggling with his breath.  Apparently this week is a break from the endless round of spor...

It was slightly cooler this morning than all week, although that didn’t last too long.  It’s again hot and muggy and very summery weather.  It’s rather uncomfortable, but it’s manageable.  Jerry was very excited as my support worker was here, and he jumped up for his cuddles and then barked to complain when he and Don were sent to the other room while I got my shower and so on.  When we were done, and he got let out, he let out a series of barks to get attention, and was very excited to have her play with him.  We both told Don how much we like him without his beard, and he looks so much cuter now we can see his smile.  He blushed a little, which is a definite “aww” moment!   I set the timer again so I’d eat something every 2 hours.  I managed 3 small meals, and a bowl of ice cream, and I’ll probably manage one more before bed tonight.  I weighed myself this morning, mostly in anticipation of my dietitian’s call this week, and found that I’ve...

Another sunny summer day, where the heat has dropped slightly but it’s still quite warm.  I saw a number of people heading to Bluesfest, and many of them already looked like boiled lobsters, so what they’ll look like after, I have no idea!  I confess to hiding indoors to avoid the worst of it.  I really should push myself to do a bit more instead of retreating from the heat.  My (feeble) excuse is that it gets difficult to breathe and I’m not a fan of gasping for air and reminding myself to breathe!  Jerry objected to me being on the phone to the family and a couple friends, and would jump on my lap and try to nose the phone out of my hand.  When that didn’t work, he stretched across my lap and would hit my face with his paw.  Don dozed through the hot part of the day, and Jerry decided to leave him alone until he moved, and has since been there pretending to be a teddy bear.  It’s summer, so there’s a seemingly endless parade of sports — first ba...