Learning and understanding

I got outside today for a little while — it was lovely, sunny and warm!  But it was great - no sweater, I wore flip flops and a summer dress.  All signs of warm weather becoming the order of the day more regularly.  I’m loving it.  Yes, I know, Canada isn’t the place for year-round warm weather, but then Trinidad doesn’t have Canada’s other benefits.  I’m happy to report that my pain has dropped back to where it was last week, and my medication level is equally lower.  Finally!  Since it’s the second day like this, I can be reasonably confident that things have regularized!  I hope that my return journey isn’t as traumatic as the one out, because 5 days of recovery just burns up my holidays and I don’t get to enjoy the things we plan.  My boys were doing pretty well today; although the building is doing work on the units opposite me.  They’ve set up a swing stage and will be removing and replacing their balconies over the next few weeks....

It’s warmed up to 15C today and beautifully sunny.  It began a little cool, but it was a lovely spring day.  There are even daffodils beginning to bloom in a corner of the garden.  I woke up this morning for the first time without pain since last Wednesday!  That felt remarkable.  I’m still pacing myself so I didn’t undertake a lot of high energy activities— in fact, I managed to take a nap this afternoon for a couple of hours.  I feel better, more rested and ready for tonight’s onslaught 😁  Don is clearly  missing me because he’s got mildly sick again (always happens when I travel) plus he’s been working on his melon list (“honeydew” 🤪) and every item there requires that I have to be home or in the car for them to be completed.  Almost all of them he’s been delaying — partly because of the weather — but now he’s got my time booked up when I get home.  No comment on that!  Jerry has ignored me during my calls today; he turned his ...

Happy Easter, everyone!  I wish you all the blessings and joy of this season, and hope that you have been able to spend time with loved ones.  It was a beautiful sunny day, still a bit cool, but it was pretty.  My back persists in hurting, and I’m getting really rather annoyed as it’s been 5 days since my trip and it’s my belief that by now I should have got some relief.  I was, though, able to reduce my pills by about half, so it’s closer to where it was when I left Ottawa.  My boys were all happy this morning, although Don complained again about overeating.  Jerry, of course, doesn’t approve of me being away and still is sulking at me over video calls. I was allowed to sleep for an extra bit this morning, until my niece peeped around my door and said, “It’s time to get up!”  Then they both climbed on my lap, carrying books, because the books can’t read themselves, and it’s apparently my routine on non-daycare mornings to read (repeatedly) a couple of...

Gotta love my friend L, who shared his haul of mangoes with me.  Fresh mangoes, direct from the Caribbean are one of life’s greatest pleasures.  These were picked 2 days ago, and we shared one last night and I greedily ate one today (it was a bit over-ripe, but I’m not the type to discard mangoes!) I shared photos with Don, and said that if  I happened to get more closer to when I return home, I’d be only too happy to share with him.  He agreed with me, and I’m thrilled at having them.  Don complained of having an upset tummy today, and I was worried, until he explained that it was from having 2 large servings of a turkey dinner very late last night.  Sympathy was a bit reduced then 😁  When I spoke to them today, Jerry was quiet, just guarding him and glaring at me on the phone.  He’s never pleased with this concept of me not being there with them, and he tries to knock the phone away when he can.  Funnily enough, when I called this morning,...

I’m still recovering from Wednesday’s train ride.  The pain is gradually reducing, but it’s persistent and I have had to increase my medication routine, as I have no relief otherwise.  Last night, I went to bed around 9pm, fell asleep almost immediately, and woke up every couple of hours throughout the night.  When I finally woke up this morning the pain had faded a lot, but it returned within 2 hours of getting up.  I’ve been taking my pain meds on a 6-hour rotation (I can take them as frequently as every 4 hours) and that seems to bring me some relief, although if I leave it too long it’s harder to manage.  I had a long video chat with Don, who had Jerry lying on his shoulder while we spoke.  Jerry also had his moments of sulking at me when I was on the phone… Don decided to cook a turkey for his Easter dinner (we had one in the freezer) along with some of the trimmings; not a full dinner, as he’s on his own, and by the time I get home… we won’t discuss t...

Yesterday was rough.  I’ll just give you the Cole’s notes:  I finally got to my end station at 10:30pm, some 4 hours later than expected, so we got home around 11, and I was in bed and fast asleep almost immediately.  The news today reports that there were trees downed on the rails, plus the power outages and signal issues resulting in the cancellation of about 6 trains and several hours delay for others.  The photo was taken from the carriage and the trees are heavily coated in ice and frost!  Today I’m still tired and in some pain; I spent the day just sitting and trying to recoup some energy.  I did call Don, who was doing the typical “man” thing… I told him that I’d put some hamburger patties in the freezer — I threw out the box, as there were only 3 patties, and put them in a ziplock bag on a shelf.  He called to ask where in the fridge were they?  I said “freezer” and he said he couldn’t find them.  So I video called him to see where he...

I woke up this morning to find the windows coated with ice… The promised ice rain did arrive during the night, and it was rattling hard when I was getting ready to head to the train.  Don suggested that we leave early as he wasn’t sure what the roads would be like, but it was easier than he expected, so I got to the station quickly, and he returned home without incident, so I was very relieved.  On the train, I’m warm and well-fed, but the weather is dreadful.  We had ice rain for a while, then thunderstorms, and it’s pouring rain with flashes of lightning still.  Add to that, there are power outages in the towns we’re passing, so the train signals aren’t working as well as expected, so we’ve stopped and slowed down a few times.  We’re running late, and I’ll update on our progress as we go.  I left behind an annoyed little puppy who let me know that he disapproved of my departure, and also left some treats for Don… although I just remembered that I forgot t...

The forecast is calling for a wintry, messy mix overnight and into tomorrow… They expect snow, freezing rain and ice rain starting around 2am and lasting most of the day.  Apparently places like Chicago were badly affected by this storm system and there are warnings everywhere.  I packed my things today; everything fit into a carry-on, very exactly! I’m debating transferring stuff to my larger bag, which will have more space for bringing back stuff, but it’s not likely that I’ll be doing a lot of shopping.  Honestly, if the weather were more consistent, I’d have more room, as I wouldn’t be packing a cardigan and a selection of sweaters!  Jerry was again in suspicious guard mode, where he’s been barking almost continuously this afternoon, never mind getting buzzed by his collar!  Don has been busy trying to sort out a problem with his email… he’s used an old, non-standard program for years; it’s unsupported by pretty much anyone, so every so often when an update ...

Someone sent me this photo of a sunset in Trinidad, and I thought it would be a lovely little image a break from the snow that I woke up to this morning, and the very chilly day that today has been.  I was quite surprised this morning when I opened my eyes and there was a whiteout… Jerry has been super suspicious today.  He refuses to leave either of us for very long, he’s been pacing and barking and seeming unsettled.  Don thinks it’s because he thinks that my support worker is due, but she’s not here today.  Don managed a good night’s sleep and has extra energy today.   I learnt last night that my godfather would be undergoing prostate surgery this morning.  I just got a text that the surgery went well and he’s now in recovering.  I’m asking for prayers for his full and complete recovery — another one in his 80s! Many thanks. I’ve got to sort out my packing tomorrow, as I leave on Wednesday at lunch, so not much time in the morning to do stuff. ...

It’s been a very cold, but sunny, Palm Sunday.  The temperature struggled, but never quite  made it above freezing, and it was even chillier with the wind, which was… brisk.  Jerry spent the night using my tummy as a combination trampoline and mattress, then decided to plunk himself on my lap and block my view of the TV before turning himself into a brick and refusing to be moved!  Until my support worker arrived, and then he gave me a death glare for trying to take him from her so we could do things!  Don made us some creamed potatoes for supper; he had burgers with his, and I just had the potatoes — my tummy is acting up just a bit!  Then there was baseball and hockey, so he’s been busy all afternoon! My process of de-accessioning (isn’t that a lovely word?  Sounds so posh!) started as I offered my support worker dibs on my closet.  She’s quite petite, and that’s not a word that could ever be applied to me (except that I have short legs, so my t...

Happy April Fools’ Day!  This was one of the several memes I received today, and I decided to use it because I was amused at the idea of a perfume based on a rum.  The weather also played some jokes on the forecasters.  It snowed heavily yesterday, and I woke up this morning to ice on the balcony, which rapidly melted by noon, and it’s been overcast all day.  They’d called for a wintry mix all weekend, but it seems like the weather had different ideas.  Jerry is in a mischievous mood, and stole my socks when I was taking them off… he hasn’t done that for a long time, so I’m not certain what triggered that.  I also don’t understand why he steals mine, and never Don’s.  Don has been feeling a little sluggish today, and dozed most of the afternoon.  He’s now watching hockey, because Saturday night is hockey night, or something like that LOL Many thanks to Lynne for a delicious sticky toffee pudding cake, which she delivered this evening.  It’s a...

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...