5C's Que Pasa

Well,  photoshop work for Colin and more work and finally I went and had a nap.  A bit different than 26 years ago or even last July 18th when we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  By the way we never did do anything special for our 25th last year and now because of my recent surgery ( three weeks yesterday ) we still aren’t.  But I think building a new home and getting a new hip in the last 11 months is enough.

A variety of cards have found their way here as of late. Get well cards and of course sympathy cards but most special an anniversary card from both Mom and Dad sent a few days before she passed.

Colin's family sent this lovely condolence arrangement. Actually this is only half the flowers as many died within days of delivery.

Being my fathers daughter I decided to call the florist to ask if it was normal to have so many flowers die in such a short period of time. They promised to send out a few filler flowers but instead sent this arrangement yesterday. Very kind indeed.

...we also have some very special neighbors who brought flowers and cards.

We are surrounded by love.

We chose to stay in last night, I really don’t have the energy to deal with a restaurant but we did treat ourselves.  For the first time in over a year we did a spanakopita take out dinner from the local Greek House Restaurant and it was delicious.  We had the roasted potatoes, double greek salad, a huge spinach pie and of course pita bread and tzatziki.  I said to heck with my gluten diet and just went for it.  That was my way to let loose and have a celebration.  Best of all, so far no reaction at all. Back to gluten free today though.  Maybe it was the coffee I was reacting to.

Tags: celebrations

Do you practice safe BBQ techniques?

This 52 unit complex was been destroyed on Tuesday due to a propane BBQ started on a 2nd floor balcony.

The building was only five years old ( Colin had done photos for the developer ) and the flames quickly went up the outside of the building to the roof which quickly burnt and caved in onto the 4th floor condos.  It has been one of Kelowna’s most horrific fires.  We suspect that the BBQ tank was leaking and that the propane was just floating in the air ready to combust.  Our fire pit developed a leak last January in Mazatlan and we stopped using the tank as soon as we smelt the propane.  We now place a fire extinguisher near the fire pit when in use and now we will do the same with our propane BBQ here at home.

Yesterday was mostly miserable with showers then the sun came out. Just as we were about to leave  late afternoon, Colin came running in to get his camera.

The sky was very very strange looking and then the heavens burst open.

We were on our way to my first official physio appointment at the hospital so we just had to take the girls along.  There was no way we could leave them alone with the thunder and lightening.

Dan basically reviewed my mobility and flexibility and how I did my exercises.

Yes it did hurt somewhat, see my expression. Pulling that left hip to the side is not fun.

So now I have a new program to work on at home and an outdoor walking program.  I am allowed to use crutches in the house and even outside once I am comfortable.  Not yet.  Today, I did walk once around the block with my walker and then had to have a wee lay down.  I had seen Dan ( my physio guy ) a few years back but only 2 or 3 times.  One of the first things he said to me yesterday was “have you lost weight”?  What a perfect question to ask a lady. He was impressed with my 36 lb loss and explained that my recovery would be much easier because of it.  Good news indeed. Once my hematoma heals I can start doing pool therapy.

I am going to be walking that Isla beach come November!

Tags: health, Isla de la Piedra, Mazatlan, medical, safety

Colin flew from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM on Monday.  Two planes at different times due to lighting conditions and a helicopter at midday for 3.5 hours.  Colin took close to two thousand shots.  He said it was the clearest sky he has seen in the Vancouver area for years and years.  He was lucky.  When we lived in Vancouver it was much easier to judge the weather on our own and coordinate everything but it all came together for Monday despite living in Kelowna.  Tuesday was a bonus full day job that just happened to come up while he was in the area.

This was one of the key shots he took. He took many angles of course. You have likely seen his past shots on billboards, magazines and other advertising material the Port of Vancouver puts out.

This angle has always been one of my favorites showing the downtown core and the breadth of Stanley Park.

Colin does love his job and so does the pilot Who flies in a helicopter from 6ooo feet to 100 feet and gets paid to do it.

They were coming in from Richmond when the Vancouver Tower asked them to drop down to 100 feet over the water.  So they skimmed over the water, throughRichmond, along past the airport, along the University of B.C. and over to English Bay.  That was a thrill as passenger jets were taking off over them.

UBC with the nude beach on the right.

We lived and worked in the Vancouver area for years and yet the City of Vancouver, The Port of Vancouver and the GVRD ( General Vancouver Regional District ) and Associated Engineering call colin back to do their work.

Colin got back about 10:30PM last night and we were as happy to see him as he was to see us and to be home.

Tags: CJPS, Vancouver aerial

I have been managing fairly well without Colin but I am exhausted.  Little things like opening and closing windows, shutting blinds to keep the house cool take more energy than you know.  I am 2.5 weeks post op and have started using crutches to get around the house and of course using the tip to push windows open or to mop the floor.  Using my hand gripper I have been able to feed the dogs but I did break a bowl today, then had to wet a paper towel and throw that on the floor to pick up the pieces of ceramic.  It is amazing how many things need to be done by bending over and when you can’t bend you are stuck.

The girls have been getting mini walks as they are not willing to walk with anyone but Colin.  Heck I can’t remember the last time I walked the girls.  Poor Colin ends up doing all the work.  Not having him home for over 48 hours makes me appreciate even more all that he does.  Bernadine has come three times so far and will come again once tonight about 6PM.  Basically the girls are just sleeping the day away.

They really don't walk to walk....she managed to get them to then end and back.

I do have a few naps a day also.  I have not been sleeping so well at night, lots of weird dreams right now.  Yesterday Colin completed all the aerial work with no problem and today is doing interiors and exteriors of a new project called the Cottages at Cultas Lake, about 3 – 4 hours West of here and close to Vancouver.  We should see him by 11PM tonight.

Before he left Colin went to Bulk Barn and bought bags of various nuts, seeds and chocolate covered raisins and nuts.  He than mixed them altogether and parcelled them out in mini packages, perfect for keeping his energy levels up while on the job.  Well, I have been having chocolate cravings these past few days and can’t get out of the house and knew that he had to have stashed his snacks somewhere.  I always tell him to hide them as I don’t want to eat chocolate.  I found the stash!!  My gripper just barely reached a bag.  Score!  So Sunday night I ate all of the chocolate covered things and all of the cashews.  Everything else is still in the bag.  Then last night I got that chocolate craving and snagged one more bag and once again cleaned out the chocolate and cashews.  I think the craving has been satisfied 🙂

Spoke with Dad last night and found out that Mom had cashed in all her RRSP’s to finance the legal battle she fought to win long term disability for all.  She was a fighter and I am proud of her.

Found a discarded photo on my desktop taken while I was in Emergency last week.

This is how the clean the floors. A mini zamboni.

Tags: CJPS, health, The girls

Very slowly things are getting back to routine.  Things will never ever be the same but there can still be routine.  Dad is very sad but keeping busy with the inevitable paperwork that comes with death.  He is very inspired with the comments being made on the obituary website guest book especially those made by Mom’s students.  Thanks for your comment Elaine, it means a lot to me.  Again many thanks to all who have emailed me and made comments here on the blog.

Still no proper stairs.  A new fellow came by last Thursday but with the wrong posts.  The bases have to be redone.  When the original measurements were done end of April that person never took into account how the posts would be attached to the existing stairs. The new person suggested we rebuild the stairs!!!!!!!  Like that is an option, not.  Colin spent over an hour with him suggesting possibilities.  I would not have been so patient.  So now we wait and see what the new compromise will be.

A while back, Colin had purchased tickets to a musical performance here at the local Creekside Theatre on Saturday evening,  just 10 minutes from home.  It was a toss up whether to go or not but I needed a change of pace and a change in my thinking so we went on the basis that we could leave early if need be.  We were seated in the handicap section but the seats were plastic and difficult for me.  A person just across the aisle arranged fro me to sit in the 3rd row in a plush theatre chair which helped a great deal.  Colin remained in the plastic chair across from me so we were not really together.  The first half hour was a poor comedian which made me want to leave but we stayed and hoped for the best.

The show called ‘The One Hit Wonders’  is “the ultimate tribute to those wonderful and memorable songs that you forgot you LOVE! The show features hits from that magical period of time between the mid 60s to the mid 70s when bands and songwriters felt free to express themselves, both musically and idealistically.  The songs in this show are all considered to be “One Hit Wonders,” which means they were the single BIG hit for each band or artist, or the song they are primarily known for. Due to the popularity of these hits back then, many of these songs were subsequently covered by major artists such as Glenn Campbell, Tom Jones, and even Elvis.”  

Rann Berry was superb as was his eight piece band complete with go go dancers.

They played for 1 3/4 hours non stop and were a huge hit with the audience.

If you are interested more info can be found on Rann Berry’s website.  I didn’t know all of the songs but enough to make the evening special until they played Seasons in the Sun.  I just started to sob.  Colin turned his head as  he suspected I would react and came to sit on the step beside me to hold my hand.  A very emotional song along with the photos of caskets, flowers, birds etc all being shown on the big screen behind the band.

Home for some much needed wine and bed.  Sunday was a busy day getting ready.  Ready for Colin to leave for Vancouver about 6:45PM and ready for me to be alone till late Tuesday PM with the girls.  Things like dog food and bowls out on the counter, stuff I can’t reach, arrangements with neighbors to walk the girls and another to water the plants.  I haven’t heard from Colin yet today but he has 9 hours of flying scheduled with both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.  Thank goodness the weather is perfect blue sky there.

Tags: CJPS, health, The girls