MERRY CHRISTMAS !

December 17 to 23, 2017

Sunday ;  Snowing !  Ozzie enjoys long walks in fresh snow.

At lunch time our neighbour / friend Jeanine came over with her little dog so I could examine and clean Charlie's ears.  No problems !  Well ... except for his bulging little eyes.  I think Charlie may have glaucoma.  This afternoon Joanne did laundry.  I did a bit of routine maintenance on the minivan.  In the evening ... < sigh > ... I wrapped Christmas gifts.

Monday ;  Cloudy.

With Joanne as my coach and cheerleader, I went to our RV park's fitness room to walk on the treadmill for half an hour, then use other fitness equipment to substitute for my cardiac rehabilitation fitness session.  The cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program is closed for the next two and a half weeks, so I will do some exercising here at home to try to "keep up the good work", so to speak.

After exercising, and a late lunch, I had a long nap.  We picked up our mail while walking Ozzie late in the afternoon.  I received a "get well' card from our winter home at Kofa Ko-op RV Park in Yuma, Arizona.  The card was signed by many of our neighbours and friends down there.

Tuesday ;  Cloudy and windy.

We drove into town this morning to refill our five gallon water jug, using the truck for the first time since September 22.  Back at home I exercised our little generator, and we took Ozzie for a walk in the fresh snow.  He loves romping in fresh snow.  In the evening Joanne baked Christmas sugar cookies.  I was the decorator, with little coloured sprinkles, and chocolate sprinkles, and little icing Christmas trees.

Wednesday ;  Mostly cloudy, partially sunny, very cold.  As we approach the winter solstice, the sun rises above the mountain across the road at 9:30 AM, and sets behind the mountain across the river at 12:30 PM.  < sigh >

This afternoon we went for the second time ( of seven ) to our RV park's fitness centre for my "substitute" cardiac rehab fitness session.  It seems to be getting more difficult rather than easier.  Thank you again to Joanne for being my "coach" and "cheerleader".

< mumbling under my breath > whip cracking Nazi bitch !

HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

In the evening we watched the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ;  Cloudy.  Cold.

The roadway behind our home has become icy and treacherous.  Today I sent a letter of complaint to our Board of Directors, but it seems to have been ignored.

We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears today.  Same as always, it seems.  One ear remains perfectly fine, one ear is about 98% okay, but slight traces of fungal infection remain.  When we went for our afternoon walk, after checking our mailbox, I went to the park's library in the clubhouse to look for books to read, while Joanne continued walking Ozzie.

Joanne tried a new recipe tonight, a Chicken Mole ( pronounced "molay" ) dish.  Mole is a Mexican recipe for a savoury chocolate based sauce.  Sounds weird, but it works.

Friday ;  post operative 12 weeks

Mostly cloudy, cold.

Joanne was up early this morning preparing for her 8 AM departure with Ozzie, heading for Penticton, and Ozzie's 9 AM appointment with the veterinarian for dental cleaning and extractions.  After dropping Ozzie off at the veterinarian Joanne spent the day in Penticton, shopping and running errands, and waiting for Ozzie's 4 PM pick up time.

< sigh >  The veterinarian did $3500 worth of work on Ozzie's teeth, cleaning ten teeth and extracting twenty five teeth !  Poor little dog !  Two and a half hours of oral surgery.  His teeth were atrocious.  With lots of infection in the gums and down to the roots of the teeth.  Since the estimate was for ( only ! ) $1200 worth of work, and / or perhaps because Ozzie was the veterinarian's last patient before Christmas, and / or perhaps because Ozzie was the veterinarian's last patient before maternity leave, she reduced the bill by 50% !  With an examination and blood tests two weeks ago, his "dental work" cost over $2000 ! ! ! ! !  I surely hope his quality of life will be improved as a result.

Showing brilliant time management, after Joanne left at 8 AM I went back to sleep with Emma.  And ... < sputter > ... we slept until noon !  This afternoon I went to our RV park's fitness room and did the third ( of seven ) substitute cardiac rehab fitness sessions.  I was a little bit afraid to do a fitness regimen alone, with no one there to help me if a medical emergency arose.  And I was a little bit afraid to walk alone to the pool building and back on this park's treacherous icy roads.  I used my walking stick with the little spike on the bottom.  The one I use to walk in the river when I go fly fishing.

Joanne and Ozzie arrived back home shortly after 5 PM.  Ozzie was groggy from anaesthetic, and obviously in pain.  The veterinarian provided three days worth of analgesic for us to administer to him.  And ... his dry kibble days are over !  Hope you like canned food, Ozzie !

After supper we watched ... HA HA HA ... the season finale of "The Guest Book".

Saturday ;  Penticton

Sunny !  Finally !  But cold.

We left home around 12:30 PM heading for Penticton, and an afternoon matinee performance by the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.  The Christmas concert, entitled "Ringing In The Season" was the full symphony orchestra performing with the Okanagan Handbell Chorus and special guest, a harmonica virtuoso from Hong Kong.  Seated a couple of seats over from us were neighbours from Riverside RV Park Resort.

It was an interesting and enjoyable concert of Christmas music.  It reminded me that
I miss attending symphony orchestra concerts.  Joanne enjoyed the concert.  Which is unusual, she's not a fan of most symphony orchestra performances.  At her urging,
I purchased an expensive raffle ticket for the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra's fund raiser spring raffle.

After the concert we went to London Drugs to buy an item I needed.  And ... feeling a bit guilty about spending that much money on a raffle ticket to raise funds for a symphony orchestra ... providing expensive entertainment for affluent people ... I decided to be generous to the Salvation Army's bell ringer outside the London Drugs store.  Merry Christmas !  The Salvation Army does great work !

We were back home about 6 PM.  Ozzie is doing okay.  His pain level seems to be not too much of a problem for him.  Or ... he's very stoic, which he has proven to be, so maybe the pain is worse than he lets on.  In any case, by tonight his appetite was returning, so I guess that's a very good sign.

DSK