Thursday, February 4, 2021

This year the Palm Springs International Film Festival is being held “virtually”/online. A few days ago I bought an annual membership to the Palm Springs International Film Festival and yesterday we saw our first screening of the season. Tonight we saw our second screening.

Yesterday’s movie was “HUMAN FACTOR”, a documentary covering the United States’ failed attempts to mediate “peace in the middle east”, mostly attempting to broker a deal between Israel and Palestine, from 1991 to 2001, mostly during Bill Clinton’s administration. In addition to brokering a deal between Israel and Palestine, there were also failed attempts to broker deals between Israel and Syria. Also … <sigh> … Israel and Jordan, Israel and Lebanon … < sigh >. What a cluster**** !

Tonight’s movie was “Truffle Hunters”, a documentary about the elderly, secretive truffle hunters in the Piedmont region of Italy. Very interesting ! Makes me want to experience Eggs Benedict with shaved truffle on top. HA HA HA … not very likely !

Both movies were excellent. We’re looking forward to a few more screenings next week. It reinforces for us our opinion that there is SOOOOO much more to film making than < snort> Hollywood !

Also … tonight we participated in a ZOOM meeting regarding the seniors’ housing condominium development project in Lorette, Manitoba that we have been interested in for a couple of years already. The project has been stalled due to financial hurdles, but may soon get back on track. We hope ! Lots of people hope ! But people need to do more than just hope. Now people need to put their money where their mouths are. We’re ready !

DSK

 Thursday, January 28, 2021 ; Joanne’s 67th birthday

Happy Birthday, my love.

Joanne had a lengthy, pleasant, birthday chat on ZOOM with her sister.

For the first time in exactly one year, we went out for dinner to a restaurant. We left home at 6 PM and drove to Penticton, arriving at La Casa Ouzeria at our reservation time of 7 PM. It’s an upscale Greek restaurant that we have been to before.

They had the appropriate Covid protocols posted outside the entrance to the restaurant. Their dining room tables were appropriately spaced. Their staff were appropriately masked. Their cleaning protocols seemed adequate. The only problems were … many of their customers are assholes ! Before the hostess was even able to meet us at the entrance foyer and escort us to our table I had a confrontation with an unmasked “Karen” standing too close behind us, already in violation of the posted “must be masked” regulation. The multitude of problem customers in the restaurant all seemed to be in the 25 to 40 year old age range. Not surprisingly, the men were all enjoying their fine dining experience while wearing their grubby black baseball caps ! ! ! Older customers were masked, and behaving appropriately and carefully.

The meal was excellent. But … I’m not willing to resume/continue dining in restaurants until the risks are lower !

Self-centred assholes ! ! !

December 27, 2020

We scattered Emma’s ashes today.

Today was the fourth anniversary of the day we met Emma, in the Humane Society of Yuma cat adoption wing. It was our first volunteer shift after Christmas 2016. Emma had come into the Humane Society as an “owner give up” on Christmas Eve.

That year we went to Palm Springs to celebrate New Year’s Eve, attending a New Year’s Eve buffet dinner and concert party at a casino with live music by Huey Lewis & The News. We discussed Emma while on that trip and decided that upon our return to Yuma we would offer to the Humane Society that we provide “foster” (temporary) care to Emma in our home. I believed that we would be providing her with palliative/hospice care, as her health at that time was so poor … and getting worse … that it seemed likely that she would soon die.

After our early walk and before having lunch today we scattered her ashes from the deck off our living room, standing on the corner of the deck where Emma loved to sit, watching the world go by. We scattered her ashes onto our vegetable garden, and strawberry garden, and the sloped rock garden that is our “front yard”. We have no snow yet, which facilitated the process.

Farewell, Emma. We loved you dearly !

Christmas Eve 2020

 Well ... here it is ... Christmas Eve. The 25th anniversary of the death of my father. Our beloved cat Emma died two weeks ago. Merry fucking Christmas ! It's obvious I'm losing my annual struggles with Christmas season depression and negativity. BAH ! HUMBUG !

EMMA'S FINAL JOURNEY

Saturday, December 5, 2020 ; <sigh> On Thursday Emma had her first two Grand Mal seizures, many hours apart. It was scary as hell to witness them ! When we were awakened in the middle of the night (Thursday to Friday) by her third Grand Mal seizure, Joanne declared “it’s time !”. Emma’s journey “over the Rainbow Bridge” had begun !

My first priority yesterday/Friday morning was to phone the veterinarian’s office for an appointment to complete Emma’s journey ! I’m crying (again !) as I type that. Her appointment for euthanasia is Monday afternoon.

For the last couple of weeks she has been cycling through a repetitive cycle of constipation and diarrhea. For the last few days she has been experiencing urinary incontinence. And now she is having Grand Mal seizures every few hours.

One or both of us is with her most of the time. She seems aware that she is dying. We believe that domesticated animals know when their death is imminent. And for the most part they don’t fight/resist it, but do appreciate the comfort of their people’s attention while they die. We have discovered that we can “stop” her seizures as soon as they begin, with voice and touch stimuli. We talk to her loudly, and stroke her vigorously, as quickly as we become aware of the onset of another seizure, and we succeed in “nipping it in the bud”.

When her seizures begin, her head throws back and she moans loudly. Her spine arches, her legs extend and stiffen, then convulsions begin. At first they lasted about five seconds. Now they continue for ten seconds or more. It seems like an eternity ! ! !

I can’t type any more. My eyes are flooded with tears. My heart is breaking.

< going for our early afternoon long walk >

Monday, December 7, 2020 ; Emma’s suffering ended at 3:40 PM today, about an hour and a half ago. We have just returned from Penticton.

Rest in peace, my little darling.

The last few days have been long and difficult. Emma’s seizures increased in frequency until yesterday when she was having a seizure about every ten or fifteen minutes. Inexplicably, the seizures stopped very early this morning, between 6 AM and 7 AM. At that time her fever diminished, and she resumed drinking water. From early morning she seemed serene … apparently waiting for death.

At 3:30 PM, while we waited in our car, her veterinarian in Penticton took Emma inside and examined her prior to euthanasia. She (the vet) came back to our car with a grim diagnosis/prognosis. There was no hope she could give us for Emma. Emma’s heart was barely beating, her intestines were likely afflicted with cancer, and that cancer had likely metastasized to her brain, contributing to the seizures. That was much worse than we had expected, which was simply that Emma was dying of old age.

Much to our great surprise, the veterinarian invited us into the clinic to be with Emma as she died. We had been steeled for the requirement to wait in the car while Emma was euthanized.

Emma died quickly and peacefully.

December 2, 2020

Sunny and cold, temperature just above freezing, normal for here at this time of year.

Today was the first anniversary of Ozzie’s death. We still miss him, and remember him frequently. His ashes are scattered in the dog park here in our community. Today on our early walk we stopped by the dog park to remember and honour him.

And … while we did not expect, at the time of his death, that Emma would live for another year … here we are ! However … she continues to deteriorate significantly. I surmise that she is now likely in the final month of life.

After a two week closure, in accordance with provincial coronavirus regulations, our community’s swimming pool reopened today. We did a late afternoon aquatics exercise session for the first time in a couple of weeks. AHHHHH … it was a pleasant change from our daily two walks ritual.

November 27, 2020

Gloomy, cool, temperature barely above freezing, no snow on the ground.

OOOOO … risky business ! In accordance with British Columbia’s “stay home” order, we gave each other haircuts today ! Turned out okay, I guess. While the haircut Joanne gave me is not the best I’ve had, neither is it the worst. It’s certainly better than a haircut I got in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, in 2015. HA HA HA !