triumphgal

May 24, 2026

Sawyer and I met my friend Bear in Rotary Park to supervise a visit with his two youngest. Divorce is ugly but Coda and Milo were sure happy to see their Dad. They are good little guys and Sawyer played well with them. It was longer than we thought it was going to be so we didn’t have a lot of time to play Little Big Planet after eating lunch and finishing packing up the Lego.

He is such a gentle soul and I enjoy having him visit. I dropped him at home and headed for The Stage Door for the matinee of Deathtrap. It was very well cast with a good balance of talent. A most enjoyable way to spend an afternoon and I really enjoyed having g a beverage with Dave and Trudy Prinn after. He was in the show and we hadn’t had a visit since they went to the Ecuador.

I stopped for a good visit with Mom. She is clearly still processing everything and is surprised that neither Dr believes she is up to having surgery.

I drove thru Arby’s for a chicken burger and came home to watch the Boroughs, an amusing new series on Netflix. I shall be going to bed soon, although I may pop into the hot tub for a bit first.

May 23, 2026

Sawyer was dropped off and we sorted Lego into his new bins until it was time for his swim lesson.

From there we stopped to pick up bananas and Hawkins Cheezies for him to bring to GG. We had a short but lovely visit and then hit the big three box stores checking for a shelter for my hot tub. Finally went back to Canadian Tire for the one we found there. Back at the house we spent the rest of the afternoon building it. There was a break for dinner which was Sawyer’s choice. He loves when I make Mac and Cheese with tuna and peas and we began watching Despicable Me 4 as we ate.

After dinner we finished the build and Tracy stopped over just as we needed her to put the cover on.

We decorated and were finally ready to climb in and watch another hour of the movie while we soaked.

May 22, 2026

I hadn’t been at work very long when I got a message that there was a problem with a trailer four dollars down for me and their water again. I connected with the owner who is out of town and then headed over to meet with the plumber. He had called who was dealing with the issues under the trailer. The city had shown up and dug a hole down to the valve at the bottom of the curb stop because they couldn’t get it to turn off. They then realized they weren’t supposed to be working on it as it is our Strata private property and left. That turned out to be a huge blessing as Bob and I were able to solve the problem. He called in the parts and I went up to Emco to get them.We work together to put the new curb stop in, and I will coordinate with Jim to backfill it in the near future. In the meantime the trailer has water again. It was very satisfying. I miss construction world.

I went back to the office and worked until nearly 430 when I headed up to see mom. She had received beautiful flowers and chocolates from Rosie, Uncle Bryan & Auntie Lynne. we had a good visit and I was able to step her through her options and impress on her how risky surgery could be.

I left the hospital and headed up to visit with Judy who needed help registering the Rotary group for the participaction day. We had charcuterie and white organic wine and a lovely lovely visit.

Once again, it was an all over the place day but was pretty good and I have arranged for Sawyer to come hang out with me tomorrow and overnight

May 21, 2026

Found a nice surprise when I got to the office. Rae is sweet

It’s official. tests will be done to see if there is spread to lungs and brain. I got the call while I was at Rotary lunch and went and spent a couple hours with her. the speaker was interesting, all about the ambulance service

After work I met Brett at BP for food before the movie. I used my app to get my free birthday dessert to bring home

I enjoyed The Mandalorian and Grogu.

May 20, 2026

Today was full of interactions.

Work

Strata council

Mom visit (she’s a little more with it)

Gala debrief: Was wonderful to learn we netted 112k for our senior’s residence project. I pitched my 80’s Under the Sea Prom idea for next year

I wore my compression socks and had a lot less fidget and pain today.

Am still up late watching Survivor Finale to see if I won the pool. two of the three finalists are on my team so highly likely 🙂

May 19, 2026

I started the morning at my doctors office, discussing all the things that could be wrong with my ankle and the treatment and the options for dealing with chronic pain. He encouraged me to continue doing what I’m doing and start taking gabapentin again.

From there, I went to the office and got a bunch of work done before going to my Physio appointment. Cynthia massaged the ankle and lower leg and then applied heat before sending me on my way. We discussed the compartment syndrome and that we would continue to work on getting it flexible and resolved.

From there, it was off to see mom who had come out of the colonoscopy, bewildered that she had to have it. It made me worry about her cognitive when she thought the only thing she had to do was have the prep was surprised to go down for it. Her surgeon for me to say that it definitely looks like cancer, but they don’t know what kind until the biopsy results come back later this week or early next week. Had a good long visit with Mom, but she definitely was off in weird ways. Hopefully they will do a baseline on her cognitive soon.

I came home and even though it was cold and windy outside, I climbed into the hot tub that was measuring 105° before I took the lid off. I stayed in for a good half an hour or more and it felt great just really cold to get out of. I’m very happy with it. It’s also nice and big and will be good if Emmy or Sawyer are here to visit. A friend suggested I get a canopy for over it and use pretty shower curtains to give some privacy. I think canopy with bug screens would be a good start for the summer and it would also keep the leaves, etc. out. I could hang pretty lights and make it a special place. I still have some tapestries and hangings from when I had my Airbnb that I could use.

May 18, 2026

Today was fairly well rounded and relaxed.

I did deep clean chores, built my two Lego botanical sets for my pottery vase, visited with Mom, and went to the office for a few hours to run payroll and work on a file as well as prep for two meetings on Wednesday

May 17, 2026

I’m mowed my lawn and scabbed together a fence to hold my raspberries back.

Rae encouraged me to enquire about the new inflatable hot tub on Marketplace. I had said it couldn’t afford it right now but she sent me the cash and I picked it up. I got chemicals and insulated underlay at Home Depot and after a nice visit with Mom came home and got to the task of creating a level spot. I used the pavers I had, some left over flooring, the insulated layer, and then the thin ground sheet included. I got it filled and this currently heating.

It was comfort food when I was done, perogi casserole.

I am achy so it is time for a hot bath before bed. I have been spoiled

May 17, 2026

This morning started with a decent sleep in. I watched a press release on the news with Dr. Bonnie Henry talking about the Hantavirus outbreak on a small cruise ship that has involved for people in BC. She is assuring all that is nothing like a pandemic very difficult to get but one of the people in quarantine has tested positive.

Sometime just afternoon it started to hail. Great big stones. It left a lot of fresh snow on the mountains, which is good for when it melts and protects us for the summer.

I went a little bit early to the heritage so I could read my Rotary magazine and enjoy a lunch before the mosaic lamp making session. I took pictures of the pieces that I already have so that I could make something similar to match

I really enjoyed doing it and it was lovely to visit with Christi, Erin and Dee-Anne two of the other three ladies at our table were very nice. The third one just ran down Cranbrook and even told us that she tells people not to come here. I tried to point out to her that it was mostly her experience specifically with her neighbour that she was talking about that made her not like it here, but she has been here two years and really doesn’t like it. The funny thing was that she talked about needing to make friends, but she wasn’t making any at our table.

The next step for my lamp is to let it dry for a couple days and then do the grouting before assembling it together and hanging it

I went for a nice visit with Mom. I enjoy our chats much more when her mind is back.

I stopped at Save-on and picked up a few things before putting together what I called my 1970s charcuterie tray, complete with toothpicks and Ritz crackers. it was a hit at Poker league finale night at Landon’s house. There were 20 of us to start and I managed to play all the way to 10th position before going out on only $20. It was nice to see some of the faces that I haven’t seen in a while and I even took the time to have a discussion with Landon about what happened with Mom as he is in management of the company who owns where she lives. I told him I was still concerned about whether the emergency buttons worked properly and easily. He assured me he was going to look into it.

May 15, 2026

I was lucky to get a nail appointment for 1 pm when I called this morning. It has been well over a month. Minh did an awesome job as usual. I love that he doesn’t put pressure on me to decide what I want. He knows me well enough to just be creative and it’s one less decision I have to make.

I did stop at Warehouse One in the mall as they are closing out and they got two pairs of jeans for $100. I am down to one pair so I am considering this a win

I saw weird lights reflecting in my computer screen and there was a dump truck backing up and unloading a pike of gravel outside my window

I stopped for a short visit with Mom to confirm her understanding that she will have a colonoscopy on Tuesday as her surgeon called me today. I am relieved that it will happen that soon. She still can’t get out of bed on her own.

I made my way out to Jon Bissets place in Meadowbrook. It was lovely to drive through Kimberley as it’s been a while. It was the annual Lobsterfest and meeting of musical friends. For $30 I got a fresh flown in from NL lobster, melted butter and a selection of salads and desserts. I sat with Doug and Patti and Wally. Had great chats with Percy Davis, and a few others. There were many great hugs but my leg was bothering me the colder it got so I decided to leave around 9.

I decided to turn left instead of right at the highway to see if I could see Brian Taggarts new home build from the road. As far was passing back along his road to head out due to being unsure which driveway, he pulled out and saw me. I followed him and had a lovely long visit and tour of the house. It is so lovely and I am so happy for him and the family. We talked about how bittersweet it is as he wished his mom, Jeanne, had lived to see it done.

The saying around here is you plant your garden May long or when the snow is gone off the ski hill… crappy dash photo but that is still some snow on the hill

I got home and made a CBD/THC bath bomb bath and watched Younger. It made my ankle move better.

May 14, 2026

Work was a lot. Rotary was interesting as we learned a lot about our college volleyball teams

Met with Mom and discussed all her jewelry and treasures and I suggested she not wait to leave people things but give them while they can have them and enjoy her knowing they loved them. Also spoke with surgeon again and made a plan for next steps.

Trivia was… interesting. New host is very different. Brett, JD and I won by a landslide. We each took home $65 which pays for my poker finale on Saturday night.

Brett joined me at F&B to chat and see my Ducks get knocked out of playoffs on home ice BOO

May 13, 2026

I really hope that statement is true because if not, my leg is getting worse after getting treatments on it. Bad enough that I made an appointment with my family doctor for Tuesday morning before my next Physio so I have some oversight on all of what is happening. Compartment syndrome is no joke and if that is what I have I need to be sure that there’s no permanent damage already and that the right things are being done.

I worked most of the day with one of my clients auditors and then went up and spent a couple hours visiting with Mom. Greg hasn’t made it yet and she is anxious that he comes for a visit soon. It is complicated by the fact that he is awaiting surgery on his knee.



May 12, 2026

Today was a lot. I got to work and remember to try to make a Physio appointment as prescribed by Dr. Webber in Invermere. Turns out they had had a cancellation and I managed to get an 11 AM appointment with Cynthia.

Just as I was about to head out the door, I got a call from Mom’s assigned health person at the hospital. she wanted to let me know that they would be keeping an eye on things to see what level of care Mom needed next. She felt strongly that she would be able to go home with support.

As soon as I finish that call, I went to my Physio appointment and I didn’t take her long to say that I had compartment syndrome. I know this I’ve seen it before on people. She worked on my leg front and back and then had me lay with my knees over a pillow and had heat packs on. There are three small exercises. I am to do and soak in a hot tub or a hot tub every day, preferably with Epsom salt I am to see her again once a week for the next few weeks.

I had just made it back to the office when I got the call from the hospital doctor that’s been looking after Mom and it seems she has a 7 cm tumour in her larger intestine that is near the appendix irritating it causing her to have appendicitis. She said she would have the surgeon call me or meet with me later.

I had to push aside any thoughts about myself which was difficult because for some reason after the treatment, my lower back hurt a lot

I finished when I had to at the office then I stopped at the Fenwick and Bakerfor a single ounce of Oban, neat

I had a visit with mom once she woke up from her nap and it wasn’t too long before the surgeon arrived. She is a general surgeon serving in the hospital and will try to fit Mom in. She gave us all the steps carefully laid out first to let the antibiotics take care of the appendicitis , and then get Mom on her feet.

In order to find out what is really going on and what the options for treatment are she needs to do a colonoscopy, but Mom needs to be able to get out of bed for the pre-treatment portion

There are many details, but at this moment, what matters as we are taking it one step at a time and Greg is going to try to come up tomorrow to visit with her. I managed to get a spare set of keys from Joseph Creek and he has permission to stay there.

I went back for a last visit with Mom after going to get the spare keys for greg in case he arrived when I was not available as I have to deal with an audit tomorrow. She seems an OK spirit so I guess we’re probably in a similar space right now we both took in a lot of information today.

I stopped at clarity and purchased some CBD bath bombs and enhanced beverages. Then I went for the muscle special at F&B because it is my favourite meal there for Tuesday special

I was waved up to the bar to sit with the others when a seat cleared and had some interesting chats while I watched the start of the Ducks versus Knights game I had been decked out in my jersey today with my matching Capris

That’s how my day started joyfully thinking about the game tonight

I feel very supported by family, but seriously, I could use just a wee stretch of no stress at all. I may have to go on a little road trip soon.

May 11, 2026

Got an amber alert at 1:58 am. Startled awake and hard to get back to sleep.

A lot done today and then a visit with Mom. Her levels are off still. More tests being done.

I went to her place to clear out old food etc and while I was there she asked me to grab a bag from beside her chair that held all her jewelry. I may just go put it in my safe deposit box

Came home and filled out her census which made me laugh as she got the travel one. Figures.

May 10, 2026

No alarm was glorious. I did wake up at 7:16 and said, Nope. Woke up again two hours later.

Around 12:15 Rae and Roger dropped off Kael. He and I spent two hours working g in my yard. He cleaned up branches and weeded while I mowed and brought out the summer furniture. The transformation was awesome. There is still some work to do but I am thrilled. We went for sundaes at DQ after There were some interesting conversations about his life I. Brazil compared to here

I went for a visit with Mom. They are going to do an Xray as she is having some abdominal pain. There was no sparkle in her eyes today

Roger and the boys made a delicious meal for Rae, Deanne and I to enjoy.

After dinner we watched Swapped. I enjoyed the creatures and animation

Even my watch proves that my working holiday in Oct-Nov was better for my health

May 9, 2026

Today was a glorious long day of making kids and parents happy the green room and the hospitality tent were well used and they were very few snacks in the entire day. I am very very, very, very, very exhausted though.

May 8, 2026

I can’t really completely explain how amazing this day was because there were the super lows that were balanced by the super highs and all of the good things in between.

It is Is the 22nd anniversary of my father, crashing his plane and dying. It is the first day of the 40th anniversary of the Kootenay Children’s festival. It is Friday and I should probably be in my office and working.

I chose to spend the day at Rotary Park, setting up the festival with people who I love and love me.

It was the best choice ever, and I kicked into music fast, organizer mode, and set up a little village for performers and volunteers. I really do love being in charge of the hospitality. I feel like that is really in my wheelhouse from all the experience I had at music fest. It made my heart happy when Galen came in and mentioned that he loved the vibe the most ever in the green room.

I did take a break to run across the street to Fire Hall to get some protein in my system so I could perform at my best and was impressed with Paul and his bartender skills

Unfortunately, when I went to open a case of Gingerale, there was a sliced open canyon inside and I seriously cut my thumb. It is not painful. It just bled a lot.

It did start to rain and that may have scared a lot of people away, but Beckam Barr had a nice collection of family members there and a good audience and then Robin Layne & the Rhythm Makers arrived and entertained the small, but appreciative crowd.

I was so excited to see Robyn performing here as I have watched him grow over the years, become a father, etc., at Vancouver Island MusicFest. Imagine my complete surprise that Richard Brown was also there playing drums with him. We probably haven’t seen each other for a decade and it was such a great little reunion from those same days back at music fest when he ran back line and I was in charge of all the stages.

Will and Sawyer did a swing by on their way to dinner. My two youngest grandson are turning into such amazing humans.

When all had done for the day at the festival, I headed up to Rhiannon and Rogers as Roger had invited me for a scotch in honour of the dead dad‘s club. We sat around the table and had great conversations and debates, and tried several different scotches in honour of both our dads. It was poignant when Gene and Lukas joined us.

I was happy? When greg phoned me today to acknowledge the 22 years that dad is gone. 

May 7, 2026

I sang for her after breakfast. We had a laugh and I promised to stop by later. I then sent family and friends to visit over the course of the day. I did see her between work and a play and we had a couple laughs. Her cognition seems to be improving a bit.

At Rotary lunch, a guy who had been helping me with the decor of the gala, Jack Mara, came up with great enthusiasm and said that he wanted to tell me how great it was working with me and that he loved how my brain works. Leanne and I both had a good laugh at that. She said that’s not something you hear every day and I said no and I have witnesses lol

I was invited up to read the nominating letter and present the award from the district to Judy. She was very surprised and there were many good compliments to her and to me for nominating her. She is the only person I know that is older than me and I feel taller around her. She’s a powerhouse of a little woman.

I was somewhat regretting spending over $25 to get my single ticket to see a high school musical. But I got there in time and was three rows up centre stage. It was the perfect spot and wow what a great show. I’m still not a huge fan of musicals cause I find sometimes the songs just go on too long, but I have complained about the inappropriate con content in a bunch of the high school shows of late. This one was completely inappropriate was remarkably done. The characters were spot on and the choreography and costumes were a lot of fun. I was blown away by the boys tap dance number.

The actors who portrayed SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward were so good. They were also a couple of side characters that really nailed the essence of the cartoon. Jared, father of Squidward otherwise known as Navy Gross was sitting in front of me and we had a great catch up. He is hoping to be in Neverland this fall and I am auditioning for Blood Relations at CCT.

I left the Theatre happy and that is exactly what I needed. Thanks, Patrick.

May 6, 2026

Woke to a text that they couldn’t find the curb stop. I showered and headed two doors down. First logical place…

Dare I say ‘man eyes’ were searching

It was a good Rotary board meeting.

It was a good beginning to setup QBO for the strata and connect Chelsea.

It was good to get a lot of work done on a file and get everyone’s payroll remittances filed and paid

It was good to have a visit with Mom and show her the predictive text on her phone. Small thing that changed her life in a big way

It was good to pick up Chester’s chicken rather than cook

It is very good to be sitting in my chair watching my shows

Let’s hope I stay on the top of my Survivor pool this week