triumphgal

March 31, 2021

Today was truly beautiful. The sun shone, the wind was calm, lovely moments occurred . It lived up to the saying that March comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb. It was very pleasant at the office and I really enjoyed short visits with people as they called, texted and emailed for assistance or stopped in for cheques and mail. I always prefer to have the eye contact and presence of people I care about. At one point I had to call CRA about a demand letter and reached a very charming lady in Newfoundland. We had a great chat and she gave the necessary extension so I could get the client caught up and filed. I have always felt that that one should not run away from these things. All you have to do is be honest and ask for assistance. Ignoring the problem never makes it go away.

It seems it was bring a kid to work day… my Ashlée’s photos were all there just waiting to be hung, Sean showed up with Zoë and Layla dragged in Connor. It was a thrill to see him walk by and I have enjoyed chatting hockey with him. His mom says she is shocked he talks to me at all! Kids and pets like me, sometimes I even like them 😉

I got a call this afternoon that they would like to come install my furnace tomorrow so I had to come home and uninstall my bathroom vanity. Because I don’t want to have it stick into the hall I will have to take a little more room out of the bathroom. As I am doing a full renovation of the bathroom to rip out the shower and fix the floor back to flat this is the beginning. Rae said they can use it at their house and I will be looking for the perfect smaller one.

Before coming home I had to stop and stock up at the grocery store. I noted a couple sales tags with very confusing price messages. This one shows 3 prices and it was the middle one that is the actual. I mentioned it to a supervisor and all she did was have them pull the tags. I should have gotten the lowest advertised price but I didn’t want to argue. No one could explain the price though.

There was a new (to me) product that I will just leave here. I did not purchase it….

Not only March went out like a lamb. Today should have been my cousin Kelly’s 59th birthday. My sister died when I was only three months old and the closest related person to me for most of my life who filled that position was Kelly. In August of 2017 she was slain like a lamb on the alter of addiction by her husband. I along with her remaining 4 siblings raised a glass in her honour today. Her picture hangs in my family frame in my office and I think of her often and miss her deeply. I loved you Kelly and I am grateful to have had you in my life and that your siblings are mine, cousins united in love and grief.

March 30, 2021

There was a great deal of frustration in this day as I had agreed to take on part of a portfolio for a client so as to relieve the burden temporarily for their new bookkeeper. The problem was that they were using Quickbooks desktop Pro 2020 and I have Premier 2021. I need to send them their file back to restore when I was done. It is over $800 for the accountant version and I don’t use it enough to justify it. After 3 different client service agents I finally received a solution. I used their license on a downloaded copy and was able to work on the file and even sent a test backup that they were able to restore. It took too long and I hate wasting time but I am now able to move forward. Slowly I have moved over from Sage loyalty to Quickbooks as they meet the needs of this digital world. I have migrated most of my clients to Quickbooks online and love the convenience of it. The final guy who assisted and sent me links to use was Ernie who is named after his Grandfather Ernesto and my grandfather was Ernest. He was in the Philippines and I could hear the chickens and roosters as it was just after 4 in the morning there. That was a nice connection with a stranger so many ti zones away. But enough about work.

In the morning a photographer brought her work to hang at the GroundFloor and I reminded Ashlée that she was supposed to bring hers. She showed up with a lot of beautiful canvases and we figured out where to hang them on the wall across from my office. I will take a picture once they are hung and am looking forward to the view. It is a lovely idea to let artists showcase and sell their art and they only get charged $10 or sale to cover banking fees.

Ashlée noticed that my spider plant has ombre colouring. I love that about it. There are cute items in the plant in the hall. All these things make a day more enjoyable. Ash came to the office after hours and I got her taxes ready to file, just have to confirm one income amount.

OKAY that is enough about work! I guess when you spend 11 hours there that is all you have to talk about.

Came home and continued working on the painful puzzle I started last night. It isn’t terribly difficult, it’s just that the pieces can fit in more than one spot so you have to be extra aware.

March 29, 2021

I arrived at work to find there was only one person in my wing and he is the guy who usually works with his lights out. The hall lights were off and his were on. The other three offices were empty. It felt eerie. It is week two of Spring Break. I sat at my desk and began to process the order of events for the day. I reached for a pen to find I had a ready pile of highlighters and opening devices. Must be reconciling and scanning time of year.

I received an email from an acquaintance that was super weird. This is a new level of hacking. At the end of the day I got a text saying I had been gifted with points on Current! Some steam unlimited music link. Didn’t click it and then got a text from Ashlée that her sister, Dad and wife all got it. More weirdness.

I was sad to have to make a decision along with the Board to postpone the Play. The new Provincial Health Order came down today and we are restricted even more. All bars and restaurants must close completely if they cannot serve full meals on a patio properly spaced or sell take-out. Adult health classes and church services indoors are cancelled. No non-essential anything, a continuance of the immediate household bubble only and the most disconcerting request that we all prepare to work from home. This led to the decision that for the greater good we must referais from doing anything indoors together.

I called Jake to see about his plan to come from Vancouver to see Emmy this weekend. He and I are both going to limit all exposure this week and I will next week as well. The get together for Easter/Emmy’s bday will be strictly immediate family and outside. I am preparing to hibernate again.

I went to bed to snow flurries and awoke to and icy quilt of it on my yard and quilt. We were so fortunate as Fernie got dumped on!! Let’s see what herring weather brings tomorrow.

The only nasty part of today is that I made nachos when I got home with only chips, cheese, and bacon bits. I added chopped cucumber and sour cream when it was warm and melty. It was so delicious, I just had a dinner plate size single layer and all evening I have been suffering terribly from heartburn. My pill hasn’t seemed to put a dent in it and I am nervous to lay in bed this way. I can only think it was the grated parmesan cheese mixed with the cheddar as it is the only thing I rarely have. I guess I shall go take some tums, prop up the pillow and give it a try. Hey I can’t go a whole day without whining.

Eek I just saw a news clip of a woman my age having a baby! Good for her, but no thank you.

March 28, 2021

I spent the morning watching The Stand until it was done and over lunch I made it to this point in my puzzle I picked up at the craft store the other day. It is so beautiful and fun to do.

I messaged Rae to come over and change my bandage on my back for me and check my stitches. She really is lovely and I enjoy talking with her so much. She is reaching out in her life to find her passion I support this one hundred percent.

Everything looked good with my two or three stitches and after she was gone I continued cleaning and prepping for Jake to come next weekend to see Emmy. Once I got all my chores done I settled in to complete the puzzle, attempt to ignore the crazy wind shaking the world and watch The Leftovers which Rae had recommended. It is an interesting premise but may not have been the one to watch right after The Stand as the story lines were blurring at one point.

It sounds dangerous outside right now. I shall go to slap and ignore it all.

March 28, 2021

I spent my day off enjoying some of the solo things I like about life. I slept as long as I could which wasn’t too long and then I made coffee, let the cat out and climbed back into bed to watch my lineup. First it was the last of the series Love Death and Robots which I really enjoyed. Then it was time to watch Episode 2 of Falcon and the Winter Soldier followed by the Easter egg videos on YouTube. I am not enjoying it as much as Wanda Vision so far. I went into work for a while to make up some time spent at Drs and dentists this week. I was finished just in time to go for a dinner and have my one and only burger for Cranbrook Burger Month. $20 for a burger and half goes to charity. I enjoyed mine at Fire & Oak. The Raspberry Mule was the best part though. I haven’t been there before and it was very nicely renovated. I came home and finished off my puzzle as I watched the Prime Video series of The Stand which is one of my favourite Steven King books. It’s pretty well done but it was so long ago since I read the book that I don’t know how close it is to the story. It stands on it’s own so far.

March 27, 2021

The highlight of my day was my Dr appointment. I feel quite blessed that when I moved back to Cranbrook I was able to become a patient of Dr. Alisa Sanregret. She is an amazing woman who cares and seeks a holistic view when necessary. I went in to have an angry mole removed and discuss results and next step. That took part of it and then the rest of the time, while she was doing the wee surgery and leaving me with 2 stitches, we chatted about Chantal Krevasiuk, her favourite artist and our shared love of books, our parents getting their shots and all things to give me a little peek into her world. I am happy the cysts are simple and we will redo the ultrasound in 6 months to watch for growth. Show is referring me to the sleep clinic to see if the problem may be the CPAP machine. I still have to have the colonoscopy whenever I get to the top of that referral list to as a follow up on the one 5 years ago and see if there is anything that contributed to my hospital stay. I feel well taken care of.

From there I dropped into our health food store and picked up Potassium which I know I was low of and a lack of it contributes to fatigue, muscle aches and hair loss which I have been experiencing so it is worth a try. They also gave me the number of the naturopath who may be able to help me with my gut issues. Picked up a fill pastry wrapped salmon dinner while I was there.

Popped into the Craft Store next door and am very impressed with the stock. I picked up a puzzle and some crafty llamas.

Met Rae at the office to get all their tax paperwork and we ended up standing in the parking lot for an hour talking. Hope to go for a burger tomorrow.

The salmon and rice was delicious and there is enough for tomorrow as well. Sat and watched my shows and puzzled all evening.

Between getting up and down to let my cat in and out that is. She really is driving me crazy. In the morning and middle of the night all she wants is petting and attention. But when I get home and want to pet her, or any other time I want to she avoids me like the plague. And it is in and out and in and out and in and… ah well. She’s mine now.

March 25, 2021

What a strangely wonderful day! On Tuesday, Patrick, the manager of the Granville Street Fluevog store put my shoes in the mail and I arrived to them already at the office this morning!! What a perfect day to get to wear my new Dr Henry shoes as I had a hospital and Dr appointment. Of course I had not planned clothes to wear with them and that didn’t matter, as it happened I was wearing my flamingo scarf and mask! He’s even gifted me with some fun swag!

I really do believe I was supposed to have these and am glad the other ones didn’t fit after all.

Off I went to the hospital to the respiratory department where the amazing Neal and Pam spent a good amount of time and tenderness testing my breathing, sharing their knowledge and experience and giving me options to what may be going on with my ability to breath. The test triggered coughing like a seal, tears and that drowning feeling and shakiness. They proved beyond doubt it has nothing to do with my lungs which overwhelmed me with gratitude as I was very afraid of COPD. They felt there may be a cause for the bile and inflammation if my CPAP machine is not adjusted just right for me. They thought I should continue taking my acid reducer twice a day and get referred to the sleep clinic here. Apparently an improperly functioning machine can cause a suction effect which draws bile up through the hiatus hernia. It can also cause me to swallow air and cause excessive bloating. I will definitely be talking to my Dr about it. I also got my report from the Ultrasound and there is not 1 but 2 cysts of some sort that are fairly substantial in size. I can’t wait to talk to Dr Sanregret about it all but she was called into Emergency to deliver babies today so my appointment was changed to tomorrow late afternoon. A few minutes later my dentist called to see if I wouldn’t mind changing my appointment from mid afternoon tomorrow to today so that all worked perfectly. I went for my cleaning and the hygienist was very grateful as I was his only appointment tomorrow so now he can go skiing, lol. It was another perfect moment when my dentist did a check of my mouth and the x-rays and there was nothing at all wrong for the first time in a long time. Glad I got all the crowns taken care of last year.

I had deposits to do at two different banks for two different societies and I was so glad when Maureen kindly offered to take care of both of them for me. I got back to the office and filed some more tax returns before deciding I needed to get busy on my own books and filings. I was shocked when it was 8 pm as it was so light out still. I didn’t get it all done but it a good start on it. My contractor who is supposed to come on Saturday so we can re and re the bathroom fixtures is now unable to and the following weekend is Easter so that is stalled once again but I am ok with it. I will get more done on my own. And maybe get outside as well. And I can always work on my books so I feel that pressure is gone.

March 24, 2021

Cool things happened today. I recruited Sean to help me take a sample of each of the lights we have for sale from the theatre to the most popular second hand store in Cranbrook, Twice Is Nice. Brad put them on consignment and I hope to clear them out and make a little for the theatre and them as they have regularly loaned us furniture and decor for our shows. It amused me when he noticed my shoes and commented on my ‘fancy blue suede shoes’. I was wearing my newest Fluevogs. I hope to fall for a man who notices my shoes.

There was a press release today that I was unaware of until Keri came and told me and then it was so funny as my son sent me a text from Vancouver. I must say I am so happy to get this grant that I can handle my chubby self being all over the news! Even my son, living in Vancouver texted me he had seen it!

https://www.e-know.ca/regions/cranbrook/trust-funding-widens-cranbrooks-door-to-the-world/

It is an exciting time for our theatre as we have super applicants, Maureen and Peter who apply for grants and we make sure we have our wish lists ready. I have mine, as the Tech Director and they came through!!

There are things like pizza night and ‘arguing’ over details, to clear the air that ensure you are really friends. One of the things anyone in my life knows is that if we are to continue in relationship, I need to be heard. That is as simple as it is, just hear me out. If I feel heard, I can let it go. It is important to understand that I will not waste my breath on something if it is truly done. If we are ‘in relationship in any way I will be my true self and you won’t always like that but we will always be true.

I ordered from Amazon as I needed bar soap and my mind remembered how much I used to love wandering through China Town in Victoria and purchase Sandlewood soap. For a period of time I was even able to buy it on Salt Spring. I had to buy an expensive case of 12 and that was a sting but the second I opened it and had a whiff, all the memories flowed and I was so grateful!!

This morning on the treadmill I discovered and began watching my new fave! Love Death Robot is a must see on Netfix! It really moves between CGI, regular and video game style graphics. And freaking great in the wit and references. Listen carefully!

March 23, 2021

Hi, I hope you are doing well. I have been thinking about you today. This is such a one sided relationship. You know so much about me, well, at least the amount I let you see. I know nothing about you. All I know is what you show me… fess up, the curiosity to follow may involve what the fuck will she say next. For you who are in my circle at any part of the orb, I wonder how much you follow to see if I will say something about you. I try to write without a filter, much like the way I share my pictures. I sometimes pull my punches or deliberately leave things out but some times I just want to let it all go. The “problem’ is I was brought up with the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sometimes that is freaking hard!!!! Thanks Mom.

I spoke to her today and am happy to hear she is getting her first jab this week. I look forward to seeing her again. I wish she could be here for Emmy’s birthday at Easter but it is too soon.

Before i accepted the invite to a family outdoor get together Easter weekend, this was what my schedule looked like.

I enjoyed a delicious leftover lunch of the sausages my client gave me from their ranch.

I was very thrilled to get an email from the Fluevologist I have been dealing with to tell me my shoes had arrived returned and my credit was available to apply to my Dr. Henry’s he had set aside. He said to call which I did and he must have been on lunch. A while later I received an incoming call that I nearly missed as I was taking a screen shot that I was getting a phone call from my favourite shoe designer. I answered Hi Patrick and had a lovely conversation resulting in my order for the shoes I really wanted in the first place. Part of the sale price of the shoe that commemorates our wonderful Dr. Bonnie Henry will go to Covid relief. I can’t wait to try them on!!

I went at 5 and put down a batch of Pomegranate Wild Berry wine. It was my fave of the three batches I made for the kids at Christmas. After that I was back at my desk and completed a whole bunch of tax returns I had prepped today before the CCT Board meeting at 7. We got a lot done. It was a meeting that made all the stress getting ready worth while.

March 22, 2021

It is the first day of Spring and the first day of a new year of blogging about life during a Pandemic. It didn’t start all that well as I was annoyed by the fact there were vandals in our community green space play ground. The new swings were undone from one holder, damaging the bird spikes and tied in knots. It’s a pretty easy fix but just such a waste of time and it is the first weekend of spring break. I feel like I should leave my front lights on and keep an eye out but.. I won’t. I did send a picture to Maggie on the council as I know she wouldn’t see it over here.

Got a lot done today and met with Kevin who is Danny, my contractor’s boss, to get another quote on my expensive furnace replacement. He seems like a good , earnest guy. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with. I signed a quote on January 19th I believe it was worth another company who told me it would be two weeks to installation, and here we are…

I feel good about meeting all my obligations at the moment and had a good chat with Ashley, the partner at the firm I used to work for. They are very busy as usual and I am grateful for the boundaries I have set to protect my couch time. I think I am still pretty great as multipurpose Marnée but it wears me out sooner now. By the time I get home, I just want to catch up on my big screen shows, do puzzles and mostly ignore the small screens. I know this can frustrate some people but I am ok with it. It is saving my sanity, literally.

There is a third wave of Covid happening in BC right now and I want to pull back again. I can’t have had this complicated last year to lose stride at this point. I need to keep safe for Jake and Emmy to stay here in two weeks. I also need to have more tests done and don’t want to have any symptoms that will conflict. When I was in the hospital I was consistently low in Potassium. When I noticed I was losing more hair again, I looked up the symptoms of being low. Surprise, surprise, most of the ones I am experiencing. Maybe that is why I feel so much better after being on IV and getting a boost. Time to find the right multivitamin as I am only currently taking B12 and Salmon Oil.

Long day tomorrow with the Theatre Board meeting so I’d best get rest. I can’t stop thinking about a friend from the past who shared their struggles with suicidal thoughts lately. I messaged my number and told them to call or text or message any time, period. Do not struggle alone. I promised I would do the same. It is good to know you have a buddy who will understand.

March 21, 2021

On March 22 2020 I packed up my office at the Firm on a Sunday afternoon and moved home so as to feel safer about the Pandemic we had all heard of. My life has been on its own trajectory of change since. I thought today that before I wrote the 365th blog in a row, I would read about the year and process what I had written along the way. The day had other plans for me though and I have no regrets. I still plan to do that, read my own crazy, but not on this Sunday that involved connecting with two people who are part of my bucket list brainscars and make my heart happy to see their faces and hear their voices. In my life there have been places I would like to see, three I would like to see and two I must see. Little did I know that the same two people I met in Peru would become the ones to enable the fulfillment of my second on the list, visiting London and a bonus to Paris. There is hope that they will want to visit (or have not already visited) Belize, The Galapagos and Easter Island. Those trips would complete the top of my lists and the rest would be gravy. They are very active people so I don’t think a cruise of the Mediterranean with stops in Italy and Greece would be on their list and we all have fear of ships now.. but a girl has to have a dream.

After a lovely FaceTime visit with Linda and Nigel, I headed to Twice Is Nice looking for coat hook ideas and a musical jewelry box for Emmy who turns 4 in a couple weeks. I took a long time wandering through all three floors. It was the closest thing to travelling I can imagine. So many things reminded me of other people and places. I managed to find a board with coat hooks that had just arrived and a pair of walking poles just my mini size and it all cost only 16.50! I also spoke with the owner and he is interested in my bringing in the stage lights we are selling for the theatre on consignment. I made a date to bring them for him to see on Wednesday.

From there I headed into the office and spent several hours working on the books and reports for the community Theatre board meeting on Tuesday night. Having two titles is a lot of work. I will see how long I can keep setting boundaries while meeting my commitments. I would love to direct and or be in a show but I fear I will not be able to do it all.

I made the decision to be fiscally responsible and advertise a pair of my Fluevogs for sale. They are the most I have ever spent on something to wear including wedding dresses. I hope to get a reasonable amount of the cost back. They are beautiful and if you are interested, please reach out… I am asking $300 Cdn pls shipping, but will take offers.

I may regret that I came home so late from the office as I had to clean George’s tank, have some dinner, do some chores and then my puzzle got the best of me. I should be in bed, the 21st is nearly done and my year under the umbrella of Covid-19 is complete. What a year it has been.

March 21, 2021

I had set an alarm just in case but as it happens, there was no need. I was up and showered and ready for our monthly ABC’s zoom gaggle. Not everyone was able to make it this time … oh my Lord, just as I was about to type here that The Hearnden’s missed knowing we had a time change and couldn’t make the session, my Google Home out of no where started playing a funky version of the Winnie the Poo song . They are the ones who took me to the 100 Acre Wood in the UK. It was honestly one of my best days, but I really didn’t need Google to start reading my mind now!

The Zoom was great as always. Poor Colleen shared pictures of the newly lowered shrubbery in her yard after I inquired about the final results of the terrible winter storm they were hit with in Oregon. Such devastation. We spoke of jabs or lack of them, Ruth’s Hyperbaric Chamber appointments, Carol-Anne and my similar jobs doing mystery shopping, Lynda’s non-cancerous nose, the soon to be closed New Mexico senate (?) and North Vietnam. There is such a wealth of experience in this group that there is always something interesting to share or hear about. I like this monthly check in, honestly never thought I would but I do.

Yesterday I had asked the Campbell’s to come for dinner as they are in the middle of a major kitchen renovation and we hadn’t all gotten together in a long time. I took meat out of the freezer and got busy finishing the kitchen, just ready to have Danny do the trim. The wallpaper turned out better than I had hoped. It is so sturdy and stuck well. I am pretty pleased with it and decided to accept all the beautiful compliments Diane gave when they got here.

Sean, Diane and Zoë came for dinner. I really deked out by preparing frozen Macaroni and cheese, chicken thighs and beef sausages in the oven. We enjoyed a good framily meal together and then Diane and I played a game of Patchwork while Sean and Zoë watched Futurama. Diane won as usual!

After that we played three handed crib for a couple games before it was time for them to go home to make beds ready. Was fun to hang together again. I settled into sorting for a new puzzle and watching Crazy, Not Insane on Crave. It is an interesting documentary about serial killers. It amazes me that the woman the movie is about has been able to stomach all of the details she has dealt with.

March 19, 2021

Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing that went wrong with this day. It was simply made up of too many hats, too many plates in the air and too many people with questions. I appreciate that they all need me and I want to please them all. When all cheques are signed, data entered, the last email and phone message responded to, when that 3 hour and 3 minute call to CRA and the 2 hour streaming course on streaming is completed, when you have made sure the money is in the bank, all you can do is…

..take on a mystery shop at a Cannabis store!

It was interesting and I was earnestly able to ask about the different products. A wee purchase later and I was in the Dairy Queen drive through before heading home.

I have placed no more expectations on myself for this week. I am plain and simply done. I don’t want to do anything at all tonight except sit here and watch my shows. I want to take a respite from the whole world, but instead I will allow myself this moment. (I know , I take them regularly)

March 18, 2021

I returned my Johanne Fluevogs today as the right foot was too tight in an unusual way and Patrick said I could. Once they reach Toronto I will be given a credit as they were sale items and in Vancouver at the first store on Granville where I bought my first two pairs decades ago is a gorgeous hot pink pair of Dr. Henry’s set aside in my size. They should arrive in time for my birthday in the middle of the pandemic still.. perfection!

I was in a good mood hen I got home and had the doors open, letting the fresh air in as I ripped off all of the faux tile I had installed in the kitchen. My guess that the ones I bought from the neighbour across the street may not have been stored properly was likely true as the section of ones I purchased were the hardest to remove and many others were already curled and released. I am so thankful I found this amazing mildew resistant washable wallpaper from England and was able to order it through Wayfair. I got the paste and brush through Amazon and Keri lent me a smoother. I have never used paper that wasn’t needing to be soaked in water and applied. This was so much easier and the paper is such good quality that I am thrilled how it went. I used the panel door with the original damage as a work station. Upside down it worked perfectly. I made it two thirds of the way round before it was time to relax. I love it so much. When I first put up the tile I was happy with it but when I sat on the couch all I could see was the imperfections. Now I look over and am quite chuffed. It is very 60s which I love and matches my light and colours perfectly. I will finish the rest this weekend and Danny will be here to do the trim work next weekend. He also suggested I get a furnace quote from the place he works as the $7K I was quoted seemed high to him. I also approached the other company before Christmas and still no furnace.

While I was busy removing the tile, Danika messaged to see if I wanted to meet her and Emmy at the park. I did and we all had a great visit. That was also how I found out Jake is coming for Emmy’s 4th birthday Easter Monday. I called him and he will stay here, yay!

Brett brought his new daughter to work today and it is always interesting to see all the Moms get Googly over a baby. I think I am not that way as a rule because I have sensed ‘issues’ in peoples kids before and it is awkward. When I do have a child in my arms though I am usually the baby whisperer. It’s quite the conundrum.

Jamie, the past and acting president of the Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society came by the office today and we had a great discussion about the bookkeeping and all other things Treasurer related. I went and paid for a Post Office Box so that things don’t go to his rural address any more. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the easily overlooked ones. I am glad to serve. I look forward to us presenting music again soon.

March 17, 2021

Yesterday I was grateful that someone I had been in contact let me know that they woke up with a fever and had taken a Covid test. I tried hard to not stress about it but I was very concerned for two reasons.. they have a chronic condition and I was scheduled for a long awaited ultrasound today. Fortunately for both of us, later this evening I was informed the test came back negative. I was able to honestly tell them at the hospital that I have not been in contact with a confirmed case and get my test. The radiologist (?) was lovely and made it comfortable to go through. He also answered any questions I had but I didn’t ask if there was anything scary. It was a bit unnerving when he moved up from the mass behind my bladder to check both my kidneys and then decided he needed to do an internal ultrasound. I got ready while he called in another professional so there were not just two of us in the room. I must say the full internal tour today was pretty cool and also amazing to me that they can see anything and diagnose from it. All in all it took over a half an hour and it will take a couple days for results I was told. Once again I will try to stay off the anxiety wagon and hope I hear something before the weekend. The woman called in, Candace, had a good laugh with me when I was offered to put the wand in myself but I said it would feel much more clinical if he did it. In times of physical vulnerability, I always default to random jokes. I am grateful to our medical system though.

March 16, 2021

Struggling today, even hit snooze for an hour and didn’t get on my treadmill for the first workday since Feb first. During the day I became so overwhelmingly tired that I sat in my chair and snoozed for ten minutes. I ate three meals and drank water and got work done but I am having a day. I strangely had no emotional response to getting a message that someone I had contact with recently has a fever today and went for a swab. I have a promise to be kept in the loop and I have not been close to anyone since seeing them. That is all fine as long as I wasn’t a carrier. I would be horrified if I shared something bad. I will continue to distance, as always use my mask and hand sanitizer and be as always, locked away in my office, car and home. I was going to have the carpenter come this week but will wait until I hear the results.

Ever have one of those days when you just want to press pause and not experience anything at all for a while?

On the up side I claimed over 24K in subsidies today so, there’s that

March 15, 2021

So often I worry how much I should be worried about the weight on my chest. Today I have been struggling. I worked and got as much done as I could, came home and made dinner, cleaned up my cat’s vomit of undigested food and have been sitting on the couch gurgling. I am going to take an antihistamine and go to bed.

the great part of today was that I was still pretty zen and relaxed after my lovely weekend away. I really do wish they would test somehow to see if I had something that caused this. I know the struggle grinds down my state of mind. And like this time last year, I could barely keep my eyes open at work. If it is seasonal, I’d like to know what the cause is.

These ladies at the workspace do manage to amuse me though, when their loud crazy personalities don’t distract and annoy me that is! Ha-ha!

March 14, 2021

Had a delicious sleep in the ultimate guest room. Awoke refreshed and ready to get on with the day. Of course Pam made a full spread breakfast following The best coffee thanks to Al! They also introduced me to hash browns in a carton from Costco and sent me home with a case. So easy and sooooo delicious! It was hard to say good bye but off I went with a plan to to Trail via Nance Greene Provincial Park and Rossland to use more gas along the way. I remember always being so thrilled to drive through Rossland on the way to Kimberley as a kid because they used to have cross country skis crossed on the streetlamp poles. I though it was soooo cool.

Did my gas stop review in Waneta, on the outskirts of Trail. The lady there was so happy when I told her she was the first one to do all the right things. I love making people happy! From there I had only a short drive into Fruitvale to my client’s house where I stopped to trade paperwork. It was lovely to see his home and meet his wife and one of his children.

Next was Salmo where I was fortunate to have enough room to purchase the requisite fuel. When I was done I went to the attached Subway and got lunch. The young man there was lovely and we talked about how to lose weight when our work lives seem to fight against it. It is possible to make small connections if we look for them.

I worried the whole time driving to Creston that I had no room to put first 10 and then 5 dollars of gas in my tank. I pulled up to the pump and a woman pulled up on the other side. There was a rather awkward moment as I asked if I could but her $10 of gas, no strings, pay it forward if she felt like it. I don’t think she believed me but I went in and paid for her and when I came out she said I made her day. that was all it took.. ten dollars… I may just do that more often.

As I drove I kept asking Siri to make list to remind me of my thoughts. I randomly stopped and took pictures and all of that is randomly below..

Part of the fun was paying attention to signs for interesting, clever and or amusing business names such as.. Sleep is for Sissies Café, A Man and His Dolly Moving Company, 2 Scoop Steve’s and 2 Pump Paul’s.

I once again listened to my own music collection all day and I am still blown away by the variety and the breath of genres and levels of popularity and greatness. Music just makes me so happy and touches so many memories.

Interestingly, I noted in a few places the last three days that behind the roadside row of trees there was what looked like a Christmas tree farm all properly laid out. I realize now it was probably clear cut and then deforested by tree planters. Beautiful in its own way.

I passed through so many beautiful little towns on this three day loop. Many of them I would be interested in living in. If I knew I could make a circle os support and friends I would live anywhere this gorgeous province has to offer. I have always thought we were being a bit pretentious saying we are the most beautiful place on earth.. but maybe we are pretty close.

Animals, I didn’t see many but when I did! The first was a herd of Turkeys along Kootenay Lake. Oh I know it is a rafter or a flock but these were so big they were definitely a herd. Unfortunately there was no place to pull over to take a picture that first day on the road. Today as I was pacing Moyie bluffs I spotted a herd of Elk. I did pull over to take a couple pictures but was baffled that there were no antlers so I reached out to my hunter kids to ask. Seems they lose their antlers each year! Fancy that.

Finally made it home, before dark.. thanks to the time change. The weird part is last night going to bed to tonight settling at home there is a two hour difference due to the time zone change and the Spring Ahead part. Not sure if I am tired or not! Watching the Grammies and winding down as I wait for my cat to come in. She was seemingly happy to see me, came in and ate, had a snuggle and then cried to to go out and hasn’t come back in yet.

As I reflect on the weekend I once again have to be grateful that somewhere along the way I have been the kind of friend to earn the kind of friends I have. To live my life mostly as an open book and to have people who hold their privacy as sacrosanct share delightful memories and photos, stories of their pasts and welcome me into their inner circle is something I will always hold dear and respect and be grateful for.

Today I saw a Facebook post alluding to another death on Salt Spring Island. I started receiving personal messages from various people letting me know who it was. This kind and wonderful soul, Thomas Brainerd is no longer with us. I believe he is just turned 40. Far too young and leaving a young family behind, such a sad sad loss.

March 13, 2021

The day began in intervals during the night and ultimately I may have gotten 3 hours sleep. I forgot a piece of my CPAP machin ta home and couldn’t use it… sigh. Tonight in Slocan Valley however, Alan has engineered the perfect fix…

My friend made me waffles this morning and we played “you play me yours and I’ll play you mine. Dueling playlists between smart items. After I was ready to leave we played and completed a section of our most played game. I love the laughter and the jumping around upon winning (the characters that is) It was hard to say see you soon when you don’t know when that will be again. Good friends are good at that though.

There was so much beauty and so little traffic today that I was able to make quick stops and get some awesome pictures. There is nothing but gorgeous driving through the Kootenays so you can only feast it in and I am so grateful for the Change of scenery, literally.

I love when I experience synchronicity and today it happened as Small Glories song Johnson Slide came up in my playlist and just as there was reference to Kaslo, I see ahead a road sign with it’s name on it!

As always I have had lots of thoughts this trip and I plan to share them soon but for now I am wafting on the joy of the incredible hospitality at the Layard’s. An amazing Sunday roast with Yorkies on a Saturday, complete with cherry cheesecake, delicious red wine and just the right amount of fun and conversation around the backyard fire pit nicely distanced. I truly am blessed to pick up these side jobs that allow me to see friends that I haven’t seen since their daughters wedding in May 2019. And now to sleep, perchance Not to dream