Sunday, August 26, 2018

August 19 to 25, 2018

Sunday ;  Princeton

< cough cough >  Extremely thick smoke all the way to ground level, zero visibility, cool and windy in the morning, warm in the afternoon.

This morning we wondered if the second and last day of the Princeton Traditional Music Festival was going to be cancelled due to the thick smoke.  There was really no way to check, so ... off to Princeton we went.  We left home around 11 AM and arrived at the music festival at noon.  It was not cancelled, and ... we were glad that we went.  We had an enjoyable day.

We left Princeton about 5:30 PM and were home by 6:30 PM.  We walked Ozzie, then made supper.  I barbecued very thick, juicy, marinated steaks for supper.  Take that, you coronary artery bypass grafts.  HA HA HA !

My wasp stung lower lip was still swollen and sore this morning, but the swelling and pain were gone by late afternoon, about twenty-four hours after being stung.

Monday ;  Penticton

Wildfire smoke diminishing a bit, warm.

We left home around 11 AM this morning headed to Penticton in the minivan.  Just before noon I picked up the truck at Westech Automotive.  The owner / mechanic there identified the cause of the truck's exhaust growl under the hood.  We drove both our vehicles to Mobil and refilled the minivan with fuel, then I took the truck for a wash while Joanne headed to Cherry Lane Shopping Mall.  I met her there and we had lunch together in the food court.

After lunch Joanne went her own way to run some shopping errands.  I drove to the Cardiac Rehabilitation fitness centre to consult with one of the physiotherapists.  My new family doctor recommended that I seek the advice of a physiotherapist to get some knee strengthening exercises.  So ... that I did.

Once back at home I napped with the animals until Joanne returned home, then she and I went to the swimming pool for a cardiac exercise session.  While I was
checking / tightening the last piece of the truck's valve extender components that
I recently installed ... I broke it !  Yes, yes ... I am my father's son !  Keep tightening it until you break it.  Yup ... a little less than that was the correct tightness ! ! ! < sigh >

Tuesday ;  Smoky, warm.

This morning I had a lengthy discussion with a doctor at my travel medical insurer.  The discussion is not over, and will resume after I clarify an issue with my cardiologist.

This afternoon I did a plumbing modification underneath our house.  I had been dreading doing this job, but it went well.

In the evening I ordered more valve adaptor / extender hardware from Amazon.  And we watched Amazing Race Canada.

Wednesday ;  Thick smoke, becoming extremely thick with heavy ash falling by suppertime, warm.

I had planned to go fishing today.  But ... the air quality was so poor, I decided it would be unhealthy to go hiking upstream to my fishing spot.  And we missed doing cardiac exercises today because ... well ... I guess I was just too lazy.

Joanne went into town today to run some errands.  I napped.  HA HA HA !  We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine, to return a book of hers, and to trim her little dog Charlie's nails.

Thursday ;
  Smoky, warm, windy.

This morning our priority was loading the camper onto the truck, in anticipation of leaving on an adventure trip to Bella Coola in a couple of days.  As we were backing the truck underneath the camper ... the gear shift cable broke.  Crippled truck !  I called our emergency roadside service provider and they dispatched a tow truck.  When the tow truck arrived, the driver knew exactly where the gear shift cable was likely broken.  And he was correct.  He crawled underneath the truck and was able to temporarily reattach the cable, allowing me to drive the truck into town, instead of having it towed.  He followed me in the tow truck, just in case.  I left the truck at Performance Automotive to be repaired / have the gear shift cable replaced.  Joanne came into town with the minivan a few minutes later and drove me back home.

As we were driving back home my cardiologist phoned for our 2:30 PM telephone appointment.  I asked him about the medication that our travel medical insurer is concerned about, and he advised me that it is no longer necessary, I should discontinue it.  That will satisfy the travel medical insurer.  He also advised me that my recent echocardiogram indicated "extremely good" heart function.  I really appreciate his flexibility / willingness to have a simple medication consultation by telephone, saving me time and a trip to Penticton.  Thank you, Dr. Kincade.

After an extremely late lunch we gave Ozzie a short haircut.  And discovered a second ruptured cyst / abscess on him.  I have already made a veterinarian appointment for the first large ruptured cyst / abscess that refuses to heal.  It scabs over, the scab falls off in ten days or two weeks, the abscess underneath the scab oozes more blood and pus, a scab forms, and the two week cycle starts over.  That first cyst / abscess has persisted for a couple of months already.  Poor Ozzie.  But ... he seems to appreciate the short haircut.  I'm of the opinion that dogs with allergies ( like Ozzie ) benefit from short haircuts, allowing their skin to be exposed to sunlight and fresh air.

With the truck needing repairs it seems likely that our Saturday departure on vacation will be delayed.

Friday ;
  Smoky, warm.

I phoned our travel medical insurer this morning, and resolved issues with their doctor.  I trimmed my beard outside at our picnic table.  And while I did  that, I was stung again by a wasp.  It crawled up my pant leg and stung me in the shin.

Joanne did laundry.  And took an inordinately long time to compose an e-mail to her sister.  And needed my help repeatedly to bail her out of the difficulties she
encountered / created for herself by dragging her fingers as she typed, an ongoing and extremely irritating ( to me ) problem when she uses the computer ... < gritting my
teeth >.

In the afternoon we went to our RV park's orchard and picked plums.  Late in the afternoon we drove into town to pick up the repaired truck.  But ... after a discussion with the mechanic I decided to leave it for a few more days to repair two other problems that I was going to have repaired in a few weeks after we return from vacation.  So ... instead of leaving for vacation tomorrow we will probably leave next Wednesday.

In the evening ... < sigh > ... I downloaded, reconciled, and paid our monthly MasterCard statement.  And watched five rerun episodes of Schitt's Creek.  HA HA HA !

Congratulations to Ozzie who reached his goal weight of twenty-two pounds today, down eleven pounds in the eleven months that we have had him.  Well done, Joanne !

Saturday ;
  Cloudy, chilly, smoky.

The chilly temperature today signals that summer's heat is over, for sure !  We had a few drops of rain in the afternoon, but ... we need a lot of rain to help the wildfire situation.  I did some loading of stuff into the camper for our upcoming trip to Bella Coola.  We gave Ozzie a bath.  Well ... Joanne gave Ozzie a bath, and I provided a bit of assistance.  Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did cardiac exercises.  And soaked in the hut tub !

DSK

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