Sunday, November 5, 2017

October 29 to November 4, 2017

Sunday ;  post-operative day 30

Sunny and mild.

We took a long walk around the RV park late this morning, stopping to chat with neighbours as we walked.  I did a repair to the hose connecting our new large propane tank to the regulator on the house.  The hose is leaking, and will have to be replaced.

Joanne pulled out our tomato plants this afternoon, completing our fall yard work.  We combined her trip to the burn pile / compost pile to discard the tomato plant waste with my long afternoon walk.

Since my recent thoracentesis ( removal of fluid from around the lung ) I have been coughing a lot less, and am finally able to breathe while lying down.  I'm sleeping
better !

Monday ;  Sunny and cool.

I spent the morning making many phone calls.  This afternoon Joanne went to Penticton to run errands.  She wasn't back home until 7 PM.  I napped with the animals.  I went for a couple of long walks, the second one with Ozzie.

Tuesday ;  Hallowe'en ;
  Sunny and cool.

A couple of long walks.  A couple of long naps.  Some month end online work.

Wednesday ;  Cloudy and cool.

This morning we loaded two of the three "health aides" borrowed from the Penticton Red Cross into the minivan.  I haven't needed the raised toilet seat since a few days after returning home from the hospital, and I no longer need the shower seat.  Both can be returned to the Red Cross next time we go to Penticton.  I'm still using the bed rail to get in and out of bed, in order to protect my sternum.

The other day Joanne bought a "light kaleidoscope" as Christmas lighting on our home.  Today I mounted it on the edge of our picnic table.  Joanne went to the burn pile, then we both went to the woodworking shop, to scrounge some scrap material to use to build a barrier to prevent Ozzie from getting at Emma's litter box.

I took two long walks, first one longer than any previous.  That's my job !  Self-care and exercise to facilitate recuperation.  One month done, two more to go, to ( almost ) full recuperation.  If all goes well, and I work at it hard enough.  And I have been working hard at it !

I ordered tickets for a theatre play in Oliver on Saturday afternoon.  And I ordered tickets to a music concert in Oliver on Sunday evening.  I ordered two ( expensive ! ) replacement bulbs for my new / old therapy light.  We went into Keremeos at suppertime for our annual dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant.  It was my way of consoling myself for being here on the day that we would normally depart for the south.  I am extremely unhappy about being stuck here for the winter.

When we returned home after a wonderful dinner we watched Survivor, then
I reconciled our monthly bank statements.

Thursday ;  Sunny and cool in the morning, snow blizzard in the afternoon !

I have just finished ( at 6:15 PM ) reading my journal for this date last year.  We drove from Omak, Washington to Memaloose Rest Area along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.  < sigh >  Have I mentioned how disgusted I am with having to spend this winter here ? ! ?  Especially so after my afternoon walk of about an hour ago, in blizzard conditions !

My morning walk set a new record for distance.  I'm working hard and proud of myself for doing so.  My daily walking, five weeks after surgery, is at about the goal for twelve weeks after surgery.  After my morning walk Joanne helped me to fabricate a litter box barrier wall to prevent Ozzie from getting at Emma's litter box,  The "wall" has a small opening for Emma to pass through.  We were worried that she might be resistant to passing through the small "hole in the wall", but ... she's not.  Good girl, Emma.

Marcie and her son were at her home next door to us today to pick up some stuff.  Marcie came over to visit with Ozzie briefly.  Ozzie was happy to see her, but after a brief visit was more than happy to come back into our house.  He seems to clearly know where he lives now, and who his caregivers are now.  Marcie's son came over later to ask questions about winterizing the park model home.  I was napping and ... Joanne doesn't know the specifics of the process.  AND ... both of us are fed up with Marcie's and her son's manipulative style of getting other people to do their work for them.  Our generosity towards her / them has ended.  We are giving Ozzie a home and care for the rest of his life.  Marcie and her family are on their own for everything else ! ! !

By 9:30 PM there was a significant amount of snow on the ground !  < heavy sigh >

Friday ;  Post-operative 5 weeks

Cloudy and cold !  Very winter !

This afternoon the gas fitter we had hired to connect the new large propane tank to our home returned for his second attempt to get the job done properly.  Just because someone is certified to do a job, doesn't seem to mean that they are capable of doing that job.  After countless missed appointments ... < fume > ... and two attempts, the job is now finished ... I hope !  And it looks like it was done by a retarded eight year old ! ! !  What atrocious workmanship !  Trades people should be ashamed to do work that
badly !  And charge that much money !  And fail to show for that many appointments ! 
I agreed to pay for materials used today, but refused to pay for a second service call.

It was so cold today that I only walked once.  And it was not a long walk.  The roads in the park were icy today.  Joanne and I cleared all the snow and ice off the minivan.  HMPH !  Now that was a sound I had hoped to never hear again ; the sound of scraping ice off the car windows.  I also removed a small solar panel from the roof of the gazebo, to prevent it from being broken by the weight of snow build up.  As it has been in the past.

Saturday ;  Overcast and cold.

I cooked a ( beef ) bacon and eggs brunch, then shortly after noon we headed for Oliver.  East on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos, then north on Hwy. 97 to Oliver, about an hour and a quarter of driving time.  At 2 PM we attended a theater performance by South Okanagan Amateur Players, at the Frank Venables Theatre, a play entitled "The Games Afoot ... or ... Holmes For The Holidays".  It was a murder mystery comedy.  Joanne liked it.  I didn't.  But ... that may be more a function of my state of mind than whether or not the play was any good.  The play ended about 4:30 PM.  We were back home by 6 PM, just as it turned dark.

We had supper, then watched Saturday Night Live.

DSK



No comments:

Post a Comment