I’M LATE, I’M LATE….

I’m late, I’m late, in keeping this  up to date!!! But, it’s summertime and the living is easy and I’m just a little bit lazy also. Beside’s…I just had this blog finished and was just about to publish it to the web, and I clicked myself right out of the net by mistake, and now, I’m doing the whole thing a second time!! Is that what is called STUPID?

Tom is still suffering from what they THINK is kidney stones, although none of the tests so far have revealed any stones. We had the latest ultrasound last week and this coming week have an appointment FINALLY with a Urologist. When they did the ultrasound, they just said that they got some really good and clear pictures, so I’m hoping they find SOMETHING, and can then get on with a cure!

Being so close on the heels of his bi-pass, this has really set him back in walking and getting back to normal again. I was hoping by now, we’d be back to our walking and swimming and heading out here and there, but…..not so! So, I’ve become lazy too and don’t get out like I should. Does anyone have a big boot they’d like to land on my rear end..I need a good swift kick!

Not much else is new here. We’ve been back to our favorite haunt, the good old Library a few times, but it’s a great place to hang with comfy seats, coffee and treats at hand and all that knowledge surrounding us….wow….how can you beat it!!

This is the wonderful little alcove you can take your reading material and your coffee and sit and enjoy Mother Nature and the singing of the birds. I love it out here, but sure wish they had cushions for those hard but roomy chairs.

I think I like it so much, because I’m down on ground level instead of looking down from a 7th floor balcony. It brings back fond memories of home, where I could go out and read on a hot day, and wiggle my toes in the grass.

So pretty!

News has it that the bee’s are slowly disappearing and scientist don’t know why. But this very beautifully fragrant tree that I sat under was buzzing with bee’s.

I’m always trying to get a good picture of a bee in the flower, but too dumb to remember to set my camera for a higher speed to catch them. They buzz around too fast!!

 

Today, Martin and Joan (my step son and his wife, who calls me the evil step mother) are leaving about 5:30 today on a much envied cruise to Alaska. Whenever we know family is sailing past, they phone us on their cells and we run out with a big white towel and wave it at them to say our Bon Voyage. The neighbours much think we are surrendering from something, or signaling for help. So far, nobody has sent the guys with the funny suits to get us!!

Tomorrow we are off for another wee adventure, so will take some more pictures and try to get at it to write more regular.

Byeee for now.

The STONE AGE

The saga continues and so do the kidney stones….no relief for Tom yet!! He’s still writhering in pain and biting down on a silver bullet at times.

Yesterday, we ended up at the doctor’s office AGAIN! The poor man was in agony!! I more or less demanded we see a urologist ASAP.

These day’s when the doctor’s are so terribly busy, and you throw vacation time into the mix, you really have to do a little demanding to get a much need medical visit.

Granted, I was groveling, and practically down on my knees begging, but happy to say, we got the appointment for next week with a urologist, but only if we could get an ultrasound done BEFORE the appointment. I had a requisition for the ultrasound, so thought….ahh, no problem. Called down to the lab, and again, because of vacation and short staff, they are booking into September!!! I couldn’t break through the medical secretaries, hard shell, to get Tom in, no matter how, hard I begged. She said, try the hospital. So, I called them, and got the same answer, nothing open before late August!! I explained the situation again and this secretary had a little more heart, and said….tomorrow!!!! Oh joy!! How happy we are that maybe we will finally get to the bottom of this horrible problem.  Even after a CT scan, it’s not confirmed that it is indeed stones!! But, now we will get to what is causing this excruciating pain and find a cure.

Thanks for all letters from friends with their experience with kidney stones and their cures. I heard of another one today of making corn silk tea! So, I bought two ears of corn which we will have for supper, and I’ll steep the corn silk for Tom to drink.

However, nothing so far is working, but, just knowing we have an appointment with a specialist, gives us hope, and hopefully, Tom can make it to next week without too much more pain. Of course Murphy’s Law, is such that, now that we have an appointment, the pain will disappear! That also would be wonderful, but we will still want to find out WHY, and HOW TO PREVENT it from happening again.

If these stones are pretty, maybe I’ll make jewelry out of them too!! What a new hobby…”Kidney Stone Jewelry!”  “Gall Stone Rings”. Hey, I might be onto something. Doubt if I’ll get Tom to agree to produce though!

The sun continues to shine here, my tomato’s are slowly growing and more are appearing on my one and only plant, but my planter is a pedestal type, and it’s beginning to cave in at the bottom. It’s a race against time now, if I’ll have edible tomato’s or will I go out one morning and there will be a pile of mud on the deck.

I do miss my little garden in Ontario at times. But, I hear the weather there hasn’t been the greatest either this year so I guess….Grocery Store, here I come for tomato’s!!

So, that’s life in our household on this July 15, 2009

Byeeeee

THIS KIND OF A DAY

Things feel grim! Tom is still having problems with passing kidney stones and not feeling very well. This has been going on for over a week now and we’ve been to the hospital, then the doctor’s office, and no relief yet, from the medications he received. We’ve searched the internet for cures, have tried friends advice, and still no relief! After going through the quadruple bi-pass, May 15th, and recovering from that, he’s just jumped from the pan into the fire with something else. We had such high hope’s that life for him would be better and he’d be more like his usual fun self, but not so! It’s terribly depressing!

I got out yesterday and wandered down to the waterfront, just as the cruise ships began their journey to Alaska. One following the other very closely, and likely they would meet the cruise ships that are coming down from Alaska to Vancouver. I’m not sure how many go back and forth on the weekends and through the week.

This is the first one, and I never got the name of it, but wondered if it was going to clear the bridge. Not much room eh?

Look at all those happy people on board….Wish I was one of them! The second one is “Serenade of the Sea’s”, and right behind it comes the Holland America ship with the famous blue hull.

The Serenade of the Seas also looks like a “Sail Away Party” going on at the top deck, and here comes Holland America.

It’s Holland America “Zuiderdam”, where Martin and Joan will be celebrating their 45th anniversary next weekend!! I think they have the next thing to the Penthouse! Hot tub in the room and menu of pillows, and every luxury you can imagine!!! Way to Go!! Have Fun!!

 

There they go….all three of the cruise ships. I shot this picture, looking right into the sun, and wasn’t sure if I’d even get a picture!

Can you imagine a little town of Ketchikan in Alaska when these three ships arrive at once! Mayhem!!! Plus there will be also ships arriving from Seattle there as well. However….what fun and luxury!!

 

Then, following that, came this ship and no cargo!! They come in to Vancouver from likely China, loaded with containers and JUNK, coming to Canada, and when it goes out, it’s empty. Make’s ya kinda think about it eh??/

Just a picture through the trees where I sat in the shade. It was VERY hot yesterday.

Now, I’m going back to what I was doing before the blog! See ya!