Sunday ; Penticton
Mostly cloudy, cold.
Around noon we headed to Penticton. We stopped at Staples and bought a new office chair, and printer ink cartridge, then drove to the Shatford Centre, a performing arts facility. We attended the 2:30 PM afternoon Christmas concert of the Penticton
Tune-Agers, a choir that our neighbour / friend Jeanine is a member of, along with two other residents of our RV park. After the afternoon concert of Christmas music, we stayed to partake of the choir's Christmas fund raiser dinner at 4:30 PM. We had a pleasant Christmas turkey dinner with all the fixin's, then ... < sigh > ... the Christmas carol sing-along. Jeanine was at our eight person dinner table and accepted our offer of a ride home.
We arrived home about 8:15 PM. Yes, yes ... Ozzie had peed in the kitchen by then ! At least he is considerate enough to go in the room with vinyl flooring, and not on carpet.
Monday ; Penticton
Partially sunny, cold, windy. BRRRRR !
We left home about noon, heading for Penticton. First stop was Home Hardware where I bought a couple of advertised specials. Then Canadian Tire, for canned cat food on sale, some sidewalk sand, and a couple of drill bits. Then ... I went to the first of my thirty sessions at the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program. Joanne went grocery shopping at Superstore while I was at the supervised fitness program from 2 PM to
4 PM. This being my first day, I was there longer than I will be on future trips.
A physiotherapist guided me through thirty minutes on a treadmill followed by work on each of a dozen fitness machines, along with warm up exercises, cool down exercises, stretching exercises, and ... frequent blood pressure checks. As expected, I found no joy in this program. I will grind through the thirty sessions because of the cardiac rehabilitation health benefit they will bring, but ... I don't have to like it !
Joanne picked me up at 4 PM and we were back home around 5 PM. In the evening
I assembled my office chair. Good thing ... because Joanne completely broke the old chair while talking on the phone to her sister tonight.
Tuesday ; Gloomy. Cold. Again ! Still !
All my muscles from the chest upwards hurt today. The pectoral muscles in my upper chest, my shoulders, my biceps. I guess I have not used my upper body muscles since surgery over ten weeks ago. Until yesterday !
Long walk, nap, short walk. Bought tickets to a Christmas concert by the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. Despite having lived here for more than ten years, we have never seen the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra perform. All of their concerts are performed three times ; once in Vernon, once in Kelowna, once in Penticton. The upcoming Christmas concert features the Okanagan Handbell Ringers.
< sigh > < whispering > I miss the National Arts Centre in Ottawa !
Wednesday ; Penticton
Snow overnight. < sigh >
I started my day by knocking over a large glass of orange juice. < sigh > Juice went everywhere ! Including through the split in the middle of the table and into the "expansion" mechanism underneath that allows the table to be expanded and a leaf put in. And onto the chairs and chair cushions. And all over the floor. And the Christmas placemats on the table. And the Christmas basket on the table. And the drill and box of drill bits and other tools that were on the table awaiting return to the shed. < deep sigh >
Around lunch time we left for Penticton. I went to my second ( of thirty ) cardiac rehabilitation session, from 2 PM to 3:45 PM. Joanne went shopping at Wal-Mart. When she returned to pick me up, we went to BG Fuels and refilled the minivan's fuel tank, then I dropped her off at Superstore to do some grocery shopping while I went to do some Christmas gift shopping. When I was finished I picked Joanne up at Superstore and we returned home, arriving back home around 6 PM.
Joanne prepared an artichoke as an appetizer, then pizza for supper which we ate while watching Survivor. Gee ... artichokes sold here are certainly different ... < cough cough > ... than artichokes we buy in Yuma, where we buy them at the farmer's market within a day of them being picked.
After two cardiac rehabilitation sessions ... I ache all over !
Thursday ; Gloomy, cold, a bit windy.
Short walk, nap, shorter walk. On cold, windy days I'm not inclined to take long walks. And I'm not inclined to take long walks on the days following my cardiac rehabilitation sessions, when I'm nursing sore muscles. But ... after only two sessions I can already feel improvement in my breathing ability.
Friday ; post operative 11 weeks ; Penticton
Light snow falling all day, temperature warm enough to melt the falling snow enough to make the roads "greasy". And windows and headlights filthy. YUCK !
We left home at 11 AM heading for Penticton. I had an appointment at noon at Health Source Specialty Medical Supplies to be fit with a new compression sleeve for my left arm. The arm from which the radial artery was harvested to be used as a coronary artery bypass graft. When finished there we went to Value Village and I bought a couple of pairs of exercise pants to be worn during my cardiac rehabilitation sessions. The first two sessions I attended wearing pyjama sweat pants.
We went to McDonald's for a quick, light lunch before I had to be at my 2 PM cardiac rehabilitation fitness class. At McDonald's we shared a hamburger and a muffin. While I was at the gym from 2 PM until 3:45 PM Joanne went shopping to three "Dollar" stores. She picked me up at the gym when I was finished and we were back home around 5 PM. Most of the drive home was in darkness !
As much as I hate these cardiac rehabilitation fitness sessions I must admit ... after only three sessions ... there is improvement ! My breathing is improved, some cut / damaged and "dead" nerves in my upper chest are regaining feeling, and my upper body strength is beginning to recover.
Saturday ; Gloomy. Warm enough to melt most of Wednesday's and yesterday's snow.
When we took Ozzie for our regular late morning walk we bumped into our neighbour / friend Jeanine on her way to the laundromat ( in our RV park's swimming pool
building ). She invited us into her home to have a cup of tea. This afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck and minivan. Joanne baked shortbread cookies.
I paid some bills online.
Late in the afternoon, while sitting at my desk ... I sneezed. Oh my goodness ! My sternum made a "click" sound, as the sawn apart two halves pulled apart and came back together. OUCH ! I guess I still need to "splint" it ( press my hands against it ) more heavily when I sneeze or cough !
DSK
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