October 22 to 28, 2026 ; Winnipeg, Manitoba

 Thursday ; Mostly sunny, mild, very brief, heavy rain mid-afternoon.

For the first day in two months I didn’t awake to the pressure of having to try to wrangle a deposit refund from the Mexican rental condo American grifter owner. AHHHH ... like a breath of fresh air ! Good riddance, Jennifer !

We have started fall pre-departure preparations in earnest.

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

This evening we went to Joanne’s sister’s home for dinner. In addition to Lorraine’s partner Grant, her eldest daughter Madeleine was also there for dinner. It was our opportunity to express our condolences for the recent passing of their cat Mushroom.

In a very strange incident of “small world”, as Joanne and I told Lorraine and Grant about the recent passing of our neighbour Jim, followed five days later by the death of his wife Debby, Lorraine realized that we were talking about the Debby that she worked with at Prairie Theatre Exchange many decades ago, who later hired Lorraine to be her assistant at Alzheimers Manitoba, where Lorraine eventually replaced Debby, and subsequently worked for decades, until her recent retirement.

Saturday ; Sunny and cold.

Most of the day was spent on preparations for departure on November 1. I did some automotive preventive maintenance this afternoon. Joanne worked on packing. I did some annual preventive maintenance in our suite. And did monthly computer backups.

Sunday ; Sunny and cold.

Pre-departure preparations continue. Our neighbour Vicki visited us this afternoon, for a cup of tea, and to pick up our apartment and mailbox keys. Vicki will collect our mail this winter.

I downloaded, reconciled, and paid our MasterCard billing this afternoon. That included quite a bit of time on the phone with their security department. There were two fraudulent charges on our MasterCard this month, both on the same day, both from a “hospitality” (bar or restaurant ?) business in Wilmington, Delaware. The security agent asked a lot of (necessary) questions before removing the charges from my MasterCard billing, cancelling my MasterCard, and will be issuing me a new MasterCard with new number.

After adjusting the car’s tire pressures yesterday, today I took the car for a (7 km.!) drive to reset the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The many computerized features of our new (to us) Volvo are ... sort of weird but wonderful. We’ve had vehicles with TPMS before, but none have had to be “reset” after changing tires or adjusting pressures.

Monday ; Sunny and cold, -2 C right now at 9 PM, on its way to -4 C overnight.

More fall pre-departure preparations. Washing, selecting, packing clothing, outerwear, shoes (and winter boots for the drive in both directions, westbound next week, eastbound in April).

Had multiple phone calls with the pharmacist at nearby Superstore, to get his assistance in “attaching” the Superstore pharmacy to our Optimum / PC Health online account, to enable me to manage Joanne’s and my prescriptions. Have previously attached Shoppers Drug Mart and Superstore pharmacies in Steinbach, Winnipeg, and Victoria to our online account without problem, but ... this time, with the local Superstore ... much drama ! Wasted a lot of my time and his. I appreciate his assistance.

Tuesday ; Cloudy and cold, light rain briefly in the afternoon.

More fall pre-departure preparations. Mostly selection and packing of clothes. Mostly done by Joanne.

Our building’s water was turned off today to permit the replacement of one of the three large water heaters that supply hot water to the entire building. I got up early to shower etc. before the 9 AM shut off time, and I filled a five gallon water jug and three gallon pail for use throughout the day if needed for flushing or whatever.

Wednesday ; Low cloud overcast, cold.

Busy afternoon today. While Joanne went to have lunch with her sister at an upscale Lebanese restaurant Joanne wanted to try, I had lunch at home then spent about 2½ hours on my monthly Zoom meeting with a University of Manitoba Computer Science Master’s degree student and his professor, participating in his Master’s degree thesis Digital Legacy focus group. Yeah ... it’s a long story.

When my Zoom meeting was over around 3:30 PM, Joanne was back home and we went out together to run errands. First stop was the veterinarian to pick up a prescription order for Apollo. Next was Superstore where we had to pick up six prescriptions for me and four for Joanne. And we presented Apollo’s prescription order and waited for it to be filled. OK ... everybody’s got their prescriptions filled for the next six months. One huge item crossed off the fall pre-departure checklist. On our way back home we made one last stop, at Shaftesbury High School, to vote in Winnipeg’s municipal election.

While having dinner we watched tonight’s episode of Survivor.

DSK

October 15 to 21, 2026 ; Winnipeg, Manitoba

 Thursday ; Cloudy, windy, cold.

At noon we headed to nearby Superstore to have flu and Covid vaccinations. We are beginning to feel the effects of that this evening (now 9:30 PM). Apollo’s anti-seizure / anti-sundowning medication is working well. Hopefully the new antibiotic will also bring improvement.

Friday ; Sunny and mild.

Joanne spent the afternoon running errands. I stayed home and took care of chores. Of course, that includes napping with the dog. I cooked pickerel for dinner, then watched the (Winnipeg Blue) Bomber game. Not an encouraging result !

Saturday ; Sunny and chilly.

This afternoon we gave Apollo a haircut. That was so stressful for him that after we finished and he “escaped” he had a persistent series of small seizures, culminating in what we believe was a stroke. For awhile, his body was twisted to the right, his tail was twisted to the right, and he staggered around in clockwise circles, looking scared.

<exhaling deeply> I placed him in his dog bed, wrapped myself around him, and spoke softly to him for a few minutes until the episode ended, his body relaxed, and he went to sleep. He slept for awhile, and was fine when he woke. Scary, close call !

Tomorrow is bath day for him. We’ll bathe him slowly and gently, trying not to allow his stress level to rise as much as it did while getting a haircut today. Wish us luck.

On his recent visit to the veterinarian, she suggested that his recent onset of seizures may be due to the development of brain tumours, a somewhat common occurrence in very old dogs. <sigh> At this late stage in his life, we choose not to subject him to even the diagnostic procedures necessary, let alone the dubious treatments available.

Sunday ; Sunny and mild, a nice fall day.

This afternoon we gave Apollo a bath. Slowly and gently. It still stressed him out, he hates getting bathed. But there were no seizures (or worse !) today.

Monday ; Sunny and mild, another nice fall day, despite an early temperature of 0° C. at 8:30 AM when I walked Apollo.

Today was the last of his three regular grooming days. Today was nail trimming. Yes, yes, he was stressed about that, as always, but his medication seems to be working as it should to calm him enough that he no longer suffers evening “sundowning”, and no seizures or stroke as a result of nail trimming.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm !

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm. Again !

We send our deepest condolences to Joanne’s sister Lorraine and her partner Grant. Today they fulfilled the most difficult obligation that pet owners have, and helped their family cat cross the Rainbow Bridge. Godspeed, Mushroom, you shall be ill no more.

After 58 days of much more time and effort than was warranted, we (jointly) succeeded in wrestling a refund of our US$2000 deposit for the rental condo in Mexico from the American owner / grifter. Her parting volley was a lengthy rant, including references to God <rolling my eyes>, her assessment that we must lack intelligence and be “poor class”, and most impactful ... “my bank is bigger than your bank”.

Have a nice American day, Jennifer ! It’s been such a pleasure doing business with you. <sarcasm>

And we are SO pleased that our winter condo rental budget of CA$15,000 will NOT be going into an American’s pockets !

WOO-HOO ! We applaud the bold and courageous move on tonight’s episode of Survivor by Kilby the Canadian !

DSK

October 8 to 14, 20026 ; Winnipeg, Manitoba (home)

Thursday ; Sunny and mild.

Well ... Apollo is still alive, although not “and well”. Today was a veterinarian visit day. As he approaches and we prepare for his “end of life”.

On January 1 of this year, when I was booking a rental condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for next winter, we expected that Apollo would not survive beyond Thanksgiving this year. Well, it now seems as if we were wrong. And regardless of that, we decided near the end of August (remember the “walk away from the trade deal”) that it was unacceptable to us to pump $15,000 for winter accommodations in Mexico into the pockets of the pair of American owners of the rental condo in Mexico. Our “elbows up” values have grown into “elbows up, gloves off, over the boards” !

The Mexico rental condo has been cancelled, and I’ve rented a (legal) “granny suite” in Langford, a suburb of Victoria, BC. We’re leaving on November 1 for Vancouver Island for the winter ... for the third time.

Apollo’s health continues to deteriorate, as he approaches his 15^th birthday. He is deaf. His vision has deteriorated to the point where he seems unable to focus clearly beyond about five feet. His right hip is very arthritic / stiff and painful. His left shoulder is moderately arthritic / stiff and painful. His cognitive decline manifests mostly as moderate to severe “sundowning” each evening. He has begun to have minor seizures.

So ... today we took him to the vet for a physical examination, blood and urine testing, and diagnosis and treatment plan for the minor seizures and not so minor sundowning. She prescribed a new medication which we administered for the first time tonight at 6 PM.

Friday ; Sunny and mild.

YIKES ! From 8 PM last night until 8 PM tonight Apollo was “stoned” ! HMMM ... dosage too high ? ! ? We did not administer his medication tonight at 6 PM. Tomorrow at 6 PM we’ll administer a half dose, and assess results.

Our “health goals” for him now are just to keep him comfortable, with an acceptable “quality of life”. Seizure free, minimal to no sundowning, calm, comfortable. He walks in slow motion. We help him ascend the pet steps onto and off of our bed. We use a lot of “sign language” to guide him. Every time he falls asleep ... many times per day ... we cover him with his blue blankie and put his pink pillow under his head. We lift him into and out of the car when he accompanies us going “drivey”. He sleeps a lot, and that’s wonderful. His end of life is likely not far off. <sigh> Not our first rodeo ! But experience doesn’t make it any easier !

Joanne treated me to a superb lunch at Jane’s Restaurant, in celebration of my birthday tomorrow. Jane’s is an upscale, very fine dining restaurant, in an exquisite location in a grand old bank / heritage building in The Exchange district downtown, beside Winnipeg City Hall. It is operated by Red River College. It’s a training facility for their culinary arts program. They are open to the public for fine dining only rarely, and Joanne carefully watched for an opportunity for us to dine there near the date of my birthday.

Thank you, my dear. It was a great experience. Excellent food, ambience, and service. Huge open kitchen allowing patrons to watch. Many students “doing”, many instructors teaching and supervising cooks, service staff, and beverage staff. In a huge space, three storey high ceilings, marble columns holding the place up, a main bank building built in 1906 !

After we were finished lunch, before leaving the building, we wandered over to their café, open to the public at lunch, where students are taught and learn other food services. <blink> WOW ! Trays of eight elaborate canapés being sold for two bucks. Bought two ! Ciabatta loaves for a buck and a half. Bought two !

Saturday ; Daniel’s 72^nd birthday ; HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !

Sunny and warm. Beautiful fall weather. My favourite season.

Thanks to faithful high school friend / Joanne’s Maid of Honour Shirley for (always) remembering birthday and anniversary dates.

After a very early dinner at home we drove downtown to attend a performance of Cyrano de Bergerac at Manitoba Theatre Centre, my birthday gift to myself. It was a powerful play, with a very powerful final scene.

A home made birthday cake, with candles, was waiting for me upon our return home at 11 PM.

Sunday ; Gloomy ! Windy ! Cold !

Last night we administered a half dose of Apollo’s new medication. That seemed to work a lot better.

Monday ; our 52^nd wedding anniversary & (Canadian) Thanksgiving ; HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US !

Gloomy, COLD, windy, COLD, raining ! Did I mention ... COLD ? Today ... Thanksgiving ... not even mid-October yet ... Winnipeg was much colder than Victoria (on Vancouver Island) in January and February ! ! !

Walking Apollo repeatedly today was an ordeal. For him and us ! He is not healthy enough to endure winter weather. And neither of us wants to have to walk a dog in Winnipeg winter weather ! So ... he will likely survive until we reach Victoria, but is unlikely to be alive when we return to Winnipeg next spring. And he will be our last dog.

Joanne prepared an exquisite leg of lamb Thanksgiving / anniversary dinner tonight. Waldorf salad to start. Roasted lamb with sautéed Brussells sprouts and mushrooms, lightly smashed baby potatoes drenched with fresh homemade kefir, Dijon mustard on the lamb slices. WHEW ... <swoon> !

Tuesday ; Sunny & chilly.

A week ago our neighbour Jim died at home. While we didn’t get to know him well in the year that we have lived here, we have become friends with his wife Debbie. They were high school sweethearts married for 58 years. Jim’s funeral was to be tomorrow. But today we learned that it will be a double service, because ... <cough> ... two days ago ... <sputter> ... Debbie died !

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.

This afternoon we attended the joint funeral service of our neighbours Jim and Debbie. It was our first Jewish funeral. In my opinion, it made more sense than other funeral services we have attended in our lives. Rest in peace, Jim and Debbie.

At 6 PM we had a phone meeting with Apollo’s veterinarian. Somewhat surprisingly, his blood and urine tests all indicated excellent results. Tonight we will begin administering an antibiotic to him for the next ten days.

At 7 PM we attended our condominium’s annual general meeting. It was the most ineptly conducted AGM I have ever attended. And we’ve attended about three dozen AGM’s in our lifetime !

DSK