I struggled with sleep last night as the only somewhat comfortable position was on my back. Every time I rolled over in my sleep I woke from pain. I look forward to this stage being over
I went in to the office and ran all the necessary payroll before picking up some yogurt to counter the effects all these antibiotics may have on my system.
Once home I have tried to rest but I am antsy. I’ve watched a number of documentary shows and the entire season of The Hawk. I don’t usually like Will Ferrell but it was amusing and there were many familiar faces in it.
I am trying to decide if I feel good enough to sit in a chair at the table and do crafts, a puzzle, or some Lego. I can hear the sounds of ball being played at the nearby diamond but it is too hot and smoky today
Oh well, I have three more days to rest what with it being the BC Day Long weekend.
I started feeling quite at odds around 10 pm last night and was try g to sleep by 10:30. I was in n pain as well if a band were tightening around my chest at armpit level. I tossed and turned and it got so bad that I got up, dressed and headed to the hospital. I’m not sure I should have been driving. By the time I spoke with triage nurse I couldn’t even carry my own purse and it was described as ‘crushing chest pain’. Instantly I had three nurses and a Dr looking me over, running ecg and bloodwork. I was given a shot of Toradol into a butterfly in my arm. The strong anti inflammatory was because the Dr suspected I’d had a muscle spasm.
I was eventually told that my heart was healthier than his and I would stay until I could have a chest X-ray in the morning. I did remember to tell him that in 2011 when they thought I was having a heart attack, it was walking pneumonia. I wanted to call Mom and tell her that it had happened again, to find comfort, but all I got were sobs which taught me that crying uses a lot of lung power and hurt too much.
To be fair there are heart issues on both sides of my family but for all the food, booze and inhalants, I have a very strong heart and lungs. Even with pneumonia my O2 level was 97%
The X-rays confirmed pneumonia in my upper right lung which was where the pain had radiated. When i arrived there though it was all encompassing and hard to pinpoint.
The night had been long as the nurses and Dr told travel tales and stories right outside my curtain and the blood pressure cuff woke me up even if I did manage to dose.
I was given pills and two prescriptions for antibiotics. Once a day for 5 days and the other 3 times new a day for 7 😦
The good thing about that is I will not drink so those pills can do what they need to do I’ve had a sore neck and upper back all day
I dropped off some thrift stuff which the guys kindly got out of my car and bought cat food.
I did do the unthinkable for me and cancelled out of 3 of the 4 things I was supposed to do today. I know I disappointed some folks but it took all I had in me just to pick up Will and his cat, Leia to go to the vet. She had been favouring her back room got leg and hissed when picked up. Turns out she did not have a fracture but rather an abscess at her right hip from a puncture wound, likely the stray cat that managed to get in their home. she is such a calm kitty.
Will and I went to ABC restaurant while they worked on her and I was happy to have no pain swallowing tomato soup.
We picked her up and it was 624.99! I know Will was very relieved.
After dropping them off I stopped at Safeway to pick up all my prescriptions including Naltrexone to take the urge to drink away. Pretty sure this cheat thing will help with not smoking so just need to eat healthy and not replace with snacks.
There was a wee fawn on my way home and I hope it finds its family as I saw none around
I took a hot soak to n the tub and then dosed off and on in my chair. I am now watching Project Hail Mary for the second time. If I fall asleep it won’t matter as much
I am at odds without pressure. I keep busy, or do nothing at all but watch movies.
I finished my watering job today and did find it was good for my soul. Met with a client and moved mountains on his file. Went to the dentist for a cleaning and booked getting a post and crown Sept 2nd.
It’s still too hot to work in the yard when I get home.
The harder part of the day was discussing the marker for Mom’s grave and sending the info to have it made. It will be just under $2k!!
It seems I have a lot of available time in July due to the lack of MusicFest. I should probably plan vacation for next July. Oh right, I am going in June so I’ll be busy in July when I return
The last of my inheritance came through today and I paid off a great many things including the government. The only thing I bought myself was a new Quip toothbrush.
I got home and went through my bathroom vanity and sorted and got rid of expired items, arranged things in drawers etc for more practical use. I had bought toothpaste while grocery shopping only to find I had four tubes of the stuff I actually like. oh and I need never buy another bath bomb
Next, after dinner, I sorted another tote of memories and have a bunch for recycling and shredding. The best thing was finding a letter from Mrs B with a copy of her will from after Dad died. I will scan it to Greg tomorrow.
I was at my Dr appointment at 9:30 and opened up about my addictive behaviour. He agreed there is a very real underlying issue, grief and stress, but it is ok to treat the symptoms. He did suggest reaching out to EK Addictions for help if I like. In the meanwhile I am starting a new drug soon which is supposed to kill the buzz, thus the cravings. We are hoping it will work for me for all the things, not just alcohol. I would like to quit smoking and binge snacking as well
I watered and then put in a few hours at the office before heading to see Minh and get my nails done before he is away for a month. He even glued my cut which was snagging
The sky is clear and it is such a relief
I came home and made a delicious dinner and lunch for tomorrow, honey garlic ribs and double stuffed baked potato. Mmmm
I had a little bit of a sleep in and then I got a bunch of chores done and then I went and watered my friends place and took my recyclables and picked up some beverages and groceries so many groceries it’s been a while and then filled up my lawnmower Jerry can and came home and that was enough because it was too hot and I have just been relaxing and watching traitors.
Today was a very good day starting with talking to my son Jake on his birthday
I went to the tiny heritage Anglican Church for Kevin and BArb‘s 40th anniversary vow renewal service it was lovely and a good time was had afterwards for some finger, food and beverages. My outfit matched the decor lol
I took my leave to head up to the Prinn household where a celebration of Dave’s 70th birthday and his retirement was underway. I had some great visits with Theatre, people and music, friends and even a past client. At one point, I went to go in and get some more ice for my beverage. I opened the door and then reached behind me to pull it closed and there was a piece of the ring around the bolt sticking out and it just sliced my right ring finger as if it were a sharp knife. And boy, a boy do fingers bleed a lot. I left my mark on their pavement and then someone said hold it over the plant which I did and well I hope the plant survives I definitely left a lot of my DNA behind. 
After a bit more visiting, I headed down to Rotary Park to rejoin the renewal party and did a little dancing to T3 and the Sonics it was lovely, but by that point I was a bit peopled out 
I sat and had a nice visit with Tracey in her yard as the sun was setting, and there is a great sigh of relief that the evacuation alert was rescinded for Kimberley
I am not had a small amount of work today so after a lovely lunch with Rae-Anne at Family Thai, I stopped at the city to report my issue with the parking meter. I was given contact info and will follow up on Monday
I then came home and as I watched Traitors Canada I sorted through 3 totes of ‘stuff’. I managed to sort a lot to thrift and recycle. I found that I have a lot of framed pictures to make a memory wall with. Now if I only had a wall..
Today was such a roller coaster, good and bad getting and giving, all of the things
Before going to work, I did take a good soak in the hot tub trying not to be bothered by the smoky air, which is even worse today
On my way to Rotary lunch I stopped at Joseph Creek Village to pick up mom‘s mail which I had been promised would be held for me and I now know that everything is being forwarded so it was just the things that arrived there in the first two weeks of July to pick up. I admit to being instantly angry to find out that rather than call me that there was a stack of mail. They marked, returned to sender on all of it and sent it back to the post office.
The lunch was really great as it was part two of a talk on dementia given by Cheryl Savage. I also sat with Heidi who told me that her friend was struggling with some pretty bad complaints about Joseph Creek as well and it turns out that that is the same person. The funeral Director was going to connect me with. I feel that we have a story for the newspaper about the expectations and disappointments of elder care in our community by a for-profit organization.
By the end of the meeting, I was calm down enough to go to the post office. I walked in and the post he who came out from the back, recognize me, and I explained what had happened and she went and checked to find a stack of Mom‘s mail. Thank goodness as it was her bank statement, credit card statement and forms to fill out for her investments. I know that she probably wasn’t supposed to just give it to me, but she knew who I was and she knew that the forward had already been put on the mail so it was a blessing of being known in a small city.
By 3 o’clock, I was pretty much done with any work, so Brett and I headed off to the Heid-out for happy hour and a good debrief. From there, our intention was to meet at Rotary Park where Jill and the girls were supposed to be but Brett got a call out to go to the Curling club and help set up the evacuation center. As I didn’t have rehearsal until 630 I headed over to join and help out. It felt good to be doing something proactive that hopefully will not be needed but is ready in case the city of Kimberley with its 8000 people needs to evacuate. I helped get the trailer unloaded and then took off for rehearsal. There was a nice group of people there and apparently it didn’t take them much longer to get it all done.
Rehearsal went very well as we read through the script again, recording it to put into the linelearner app. I am trying to be very careful not to direct, but I was put in my place quite sharply at one point. I did not react, even though my insides were on fire, I simply said acknowledged. It was nice to walk out with Nikki as we are both excited to be working together.
One of the odder things of the day was when I parked downtown and saw the amount a twoonie would buy only to put it in and only get an hour. Do better Cranbrook
A lovely part of the day was getting a message that I should run for Mayor, lol. It’s nice that someone sees that potential in me but my shoot from the hip personality is not made for politics
In spite of not the greatest sleep, I woke up, feeling rather on the upside of things. I had a productive day, including going and paying for the internment and watering at my friends, which was fortuitous timing as the mail lady arrived for me to sign for a passport. I had good meetings in office with two different clients.
And yet in the evening, almost on schedule now I experienced what must be some kind of panic attack. I find myself struggling for breath and obsessively thinking that I need to talk to someone, but I don’t want to talk to anyone. It’s a horrible tight rope. Unfortunately at the moment the thing that solves it, the easiest is alcohol. And snacking has become almost obsessive. I tried to buy apples and fruit, and I eat through them and then want to make popcorn or eat chips. It’s just a constant need to be ingesting something
I want to refrain from an overuse of alcohol, quit smoking again, and get rein on the weight gain it all seems just impossible right now, but I have to remind myself that it has still been less than a month since I lost my mom’s.
It was nice today to receive part of the inheritance and be able to pay off some high interest debt that I have been carrying
The smoke is thick, changing the colour of the air. My yard lit up in red as the sun burns through.
I laughed when I turned the corner to go to bed last night as I may have caught Missy in a yoga session.
My sleep was disjointed still which left me sluggish in the morning. I am glad though as I took a call from my brother who said I should inter mom any time if I was worried about the wildfire evacuation alert in Kimberley. I did appreciate that and will make a decision should it be necessary.
I then stopped to water Monica and Galen’s plants before heading to the office.
I did have a nice day and made sure to get all the reports ready for the strata meeting.
I stopped at F&B for mussels and a visit with Bejea and Elicia. Bejea had made us a gift using the black sand from Greece
Next it was off to a very successful Strata council meeting and then a pop in to Roger’s 43 birthday. Jeff made delicious trifle! We enjoyed a very expensive sip of scotch as well
It was not my best sleep night but it was lovely to sit in the morning light reading my book and listening to the others wake up. Jeff made a delicious breakfast. I instigated a conversation about Joe Rogan. It was interesting and I wish we could have had more real conversation but I think there is too big of a gap. I don’t mean to come across judging, I just want to understand.
We all got ready to go and I stayed a bit to help lock up Ashes trailer and clear out the place. I caught up with Jeff and Dee pulling their trailer out which was convenient as Jeff did gate duty. Once home I did a little bit around the house, laundry and garbage before relaxing into my chair with my annoying ankle resting up
I watched the rest of the final Season of The Bear (sad to see it go), Avatar 3 (very long) and am currently watching The One I Love ( thought it was a comedy but more of a Psychological thriller)
I did go through the car wash which always makes me feel good
I was at odds today as I await info from all my remaining work to do this month. I spent a good amount of time getting the strata books online and awaiting info to bring it all up to date
I reached out to Monica. She messaged when she was done her day and I went over to play crib, drink wine, and learn how to water her gardens while they are away. It was a really great visit
Earlier in the day I had stopped at Safeway to pick up my prescription and had a lovely interaction with the pharmacy lady who asked if I had written the obituary and told me she thought it was beautiful and that I had been a very devoted daughter. That was special
I also picked up chips and watermelon to bring out to the cabin. They were all 15.99 so I spotted a big one and when I knocked on it it sounded good. I went to pick it up and was stunned. Turns out it was over 17 pounds!!
The money from Joseph Creek hit my mom’s account and it was 15 days short of the months rent. I intend to fight it.
I was unaware that I had not watched the last season of The Bear. I am now binging it
I was low level energy for a lot of the day but I got a lot of errands done, enjoyed Jolene’s presentation about her experience at RYLA, knocked a few more things off my work list and had a good talk with my brother finally. He’s just arrived home from his knee surgery back east and promised to put the life insurance into a trust account so we can pay taxes at year end for the estate.
I met with a contractor at our park to discuss getting a quote for replacing the pavement where needed.
After working on the strata books for a bit, I headed to the Stage Door for a first read through of Blood Relations. I only knew two of the 4 other actors. It is an odd play but I look forward to finding the nuances in portraying Mrs Abigail Borden. I like Amy’s vision for it and it is nice to see her partner Rory producing it. We still need a stage manager though.
It is 5:30 am and I am wide awake stewing about the news I left out of last night’s update.
I called Joseph Creek Village yesterday to find out why I had not received the refund of Mom‘s rent for July and her damage deposit yet. I received a call back a couple hours later that they would be e-transferring the money either today or tomorrow. I asked for a breakdown of what was coming back to ensure why I was getting what amounts in order to keep track of all the funds as the executor. After hanging up, I realized that her email no longer exists and they needed to send it to mine so I phoned and left a message to call me back, which they did not. I did, however, receive a spreadsheet by email showing that she was getting the damaged deposit back less the amount for the cleaning of the carpet which was nearly the same amount as the interest earned on the damaged deposit so that was a wash and I knew that ahead of time. The part that makes me so angry is that they are only giving back 16 days of the rent for July that they pulled out of her account. I had withdrawn the funds from her account so there would be nothing there and it would bounce not realizing she had a $5000 overdraft.
The fact that for 2 full months, she was not in her apartment, not needing any meals nor cleaning or care should more than make up for the fact that I did not give a full 30 days notice.
I was completely out of the apartment by the 27 June, the day she died. As a matter of fact, I spent the last day of her life dealing with getting it empty so that they could rent it out for 1 July.
I was given bad advice that previous tenants had given notice and were told they had three days to get out. I was cautious to let them know ahead of time for two reasons; that advice and the fact that until we knew for sure that she wasn’t going home, I couldn’t bring myself to deflate her more about her diagnosis. For most of the time that she was in the hospital at least until she went into palliative, the goal had been to get her home so that she could be put on the list to get into long-term care. The way the system works it is nearly impossible to move to long-term from a hospital.
if I had known, this would have been the result, I would not have spent the precious time left with her away from her side. Yes it has been easier for me that that is done, but not at that cost.
Apparently, I can’t sleep because I’m mulling over where to take it from here. I did reply to the email asking who to speak to about this issue and so far I have not received an answer. Let’s see what today brings.
Missy was so engaged with a mouse she was toying with in the yarn that she refused to come in at midnight so I let her stay out and locked the door.
I had a sort of good sleep and was up fairly early. Work was work.
I took time to sort the garbage bag of pictures, cards and letters recovered from Moms. Most went into the shred bin at work. Some of it was sweetly nostalgic
By just after 3 I’d had enough and invited Brett and Jill to meet me at Heidout. We had a good visit on the patio and after they left I headed down the street to wing night. I had a great visit with Mike, Cody and a new acquaintance, Bernie
It was a lovely way to celebrate being in Cranbrook for 10 years today! I love that Rae keeps it on her calendar!
triumphgal 