Friday, August 30th

Adam took Jeff to RVH this morning for the pre-chemo bloodwork. I had to bottle some second fermentation kombucha and I wanted to get to the gym.

I did aqua running nonstop for 25 minutes before my neck started to get tired then I went in the sauna and did my stretches and exercises there it sure feels good to get all stretches in.

When I got home, I started to get organized for the weekend in Toronto. We left home at 3:30 Of course we stopped at Pat and Merv for Pizza, chicken wings and canasta. We got to the condo around 9:30pm.

The pools at the Innisfil YMCA, The large one on the left is 25 metres long and about 15 metres wide. The one on the right is heated at about 90°with a childrens area in frint with a large fountain in the middle.

I bought this plant about 12 years ago from Costco, and when we moved, I dug it up and replaced it with another plant so that I could bring it with me. The following spring I almost had a fit! we were cleaning out the yard and I noticed that my plant was gone and a hole was there instead. I ran to the front where Jeff and Adam were loading the trash into a bin, and there was my poor plant! I snatched it up and replanted it and kept my fingers crossed, and the next year it came back good as new. 

The first photo came up in my memories today, it was of the plant in front of our house in Aurora taken in August 2011. The second photo was taken this morning - it is only just beginning to bud. 

Thursday August 29th

I was up early today, so I went down to the lake to catch the sunrise, but there was too much cloud cover. I was able to see the sun, but it was just like a faint red ball on the horizon before it disappeared.

We had a quiet day, Jeff seemed extra tired and was in and out of bed all day. It was quite lovely out, so I worked in the garden and filled one more bag for yard pick up day in September.

I got the newest book in ‘the girl with the dragon tattoo’ series from the library today. Such a shame the original author died young, but the new guy who has taken over the series is doing a good job.

In the evening I went to the Y for the Zumba class which was great!! then directly from there to the song circle at the library. There were 11 musicians tonight, lots of great songs.

Wednesday, August 28th

I really enjoyed aqua therapy today, it is just like doing yoga in the water, in fact it’s the same teacher for both classes. I especially like doing poses like ‘Dancing Queen’ which are impossible for me outside of the water.

I met a friend there and when I told her about my insomnia the night before, she said that if she ever goes to bed and is still wide awake after half an hour, she takes a sleeping pill. I hope I remember to take her advice. I do have some Lorazepam, but I never remember to take it.

Every summer Aurora has some excellent concerts in the town park which I love to go to, but this summer I missed them all. Today was the last concert – an ABBA tribute band –and I really wanted to go, so Jeff agreed to come with me and off we went. We got there ½hr early to get parking, and the place was PACKED. Every street around the park was clogged with cars parking on both sides. We got really lucky as a woman pulled out as we got to the far end of the park and we were able to park and walk in. The show was amazing. The lead singer was outstanding, what a voice!, and as a bonus we met an old friend from our Aurora church. I made sure to leave early to avoid the crowds at the end, and we got home with no trouble,

Today’s favourite memory was when Jeff and I visited Mont St.Michel. I had read loved the book “All the light we cannot see” which was set there and I had been wanting to visit it since. We were not disappointed, it is a magnificent abbey built on this tiny island, actually just large rock, just off the coast of France.

Mont St. Michel

Tuesday, August 27th

What a frustrating day. Not sure why, but I woke up after only 1½ hrs sleep and could not get back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. So all day I felt groggy but could not sleep.

The nurse was supposed to be here at noon, but didn’t show up until 1pm, just as I was getting ready to leave, and she parked in front of two garage doors, so I had to do some maneuvering to not hit her car.

Then I drove up Hwy 400 – in the pouring rain- for a 1:30 appointment at the physiotherapist only to be told they didn’t have it on their schedule – despite having sent me a reminder message yesterday confirming the appointment. I could have seen someone at 2pm, but the therapist I really wanted to see Wasn’t free until 3pm, so I had to drive back home.

I could feel my energy draining in the afternoon, so I made an early supper and was in bed shortly after 6pm and asleep by 6:30. Mind you I was awake again at 1am, but I was able to get back to sleep at 3am.

My favourite thing on the internet is probably the ‘Memories’ application on Facebook. Every day it shows you what you had posted on that date in previous years. It’s the first thing I check every morning. On this date 2 years ago we were in France and on a tour of the beaches of Normandy. Reading my entry for that day brings back memories of the impact it had on me, standing on Omaha beach where over 6,000 men were killed in battle, on that one day on that one beach.

Omaha beach, France, August 27th, 2017

Monday, August 26th

Jeff was back to RVH this morning to start his 7th chemotherapy treatment. Adam drove him up and 5 hours later I picked him up.

I went to the Y for the Monday morning Zumba class, and as usual, it was wonderful! Her ‘cool down’ song was ‘Despacito’ with Luis Fonsi which was popular a couple of years ago and is still one of my favourites, but I had not heard it for a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk

I started another batch of Kombucha when I got home then picked up Jeff and we stopped for lunch before coming home.

After dinner, some friends that we hadn’t seen for about a year dropped in on their way down from their cottage in Muskoka and it was so lovely to so see them. We had an enjoyable visit.

Sunday, August 25th

A very quiet day here in Innisfil. I woke up with a sharp pain right on my shoulder blades, Jeff thinks it’s from too much bicycle riding. It sucks that no matter what I do, I end up feeling the burn.

Needless to say I didn’t ride down to the lake today. Jeff worked in his office for a few hours and I worked on the weeds in the garden. Then after a light dinner, we went down to the lake for a little walk.

On the way home Jeff had a sweet craving so we stopped at the bakery in Sobeys and he bought some Chelsey buns. Tomorrow he is back at RVH for chemo treatment.

Saturday, August 24th

I was up early today, so I went down to the lake to catch the sunrise – only to have it disappear under some low-hanging clouds 8 minutes later. It started out quite cool at 10°C.

Some of my music friends were performing live outside the library after lunch, so I rode my bike there to watch them. It was quite hot in the sun, but also quite cool in the shade, so we kept moving in and out every few minutes.

I left early to make Jeff a sandwich, but he was gone when I got here. He went to visit his friend here in Innisfil who also has cancer. Jeff seems to be the only person who visits him, so he’s been keeping in touch by phone, but today he went over in person. I should add that his left hand is slowly coming along. When we played canasta yesterday, he was able to hold the cards in his left hand, which he had not been able to do in a long time.

Tonight I tried a shrimp dish I’ve tried before but wasn’t satisfied with it, so I tried again and this time it wasn’t too bad, I added sweet peppers and broccoli bits and served it on vermicelli. Still not as nicely seasoned as I would like, but Jeff is pretty easy to please in the kitchen, for which I’m thankful.

Friday, August 23rd

I’m not sure if it’s all the exercise I’ve been getting all week or that last night was the first really cool night we’ve had in a while, but I slept through the night for the first time in months! From 11:30pm to 6:45am. Of course I woke up feeling every day of my 70 years, so I took it easy on myself and went to Aqua therapy class which was lovely. Amazing how much more flexible my body is in the water than out of it.

Jeff has been doing a few hours of work at his desk every day this week, and he was there today when Clyde came over and they went over the road to Coffee Time for a coffee. I think he was glad for the break.

Our friends Pat and Merv have been so busy these past couple of weeks that we haven’t been able to get together for our canasta games, however we were able to get them to come up today for a BBQ and a game (2 actually) of Canasta. I thought we would have forgotten how to play, but the girls managed to win both games handily. I made my – and Pat’s – favourite watermelon, cucumber, feta and mint salad.

Thursday. August 22nd

We had to do some car juggling this morning because I had a yoga class at the gym that ended at 12:15pm and Jeff had an appointment at RVH for bloodwork at 12:30pm. So I arranged for Adam to bring Jeff to the Y at 12:10 and get him transferred to my car then I left the class a little bit early and got him up to the hospital on time.

The oncologist showed us the image of the CT scan, before and after and the very large mass that was in the right lung before has shrunk noticeably, only a little is still there. We didn’t see the stomach and he said that the lymph nodes are too small to see on a CT scan, but he is pleased with the results so far, especially as aside from some tiredness, Jeff has not had any serious side effects, he has barely even lost any hair, and he is now up to 100% of the treatment.

So Jeff has had 3 cycles so far, that’s 6 treatments and 3 off weeks, and he will continue for another 3 cycles which will take us to October 7th. Then they will do further scans. His bloodwork shows that his white cell count is down slightly, but they will still go forward with treatment on Monday. They will continue to monitor this. I asked him to look at the hernia on Jeff’s stomach again, as I’m sure it is getting bigger. He will arrange for Dr. Kruzyk, the surgeon, to see him, but he said that the big hernias are often not as dangerous as the small ones.

Later I couldn’t resist going back to the Y to do the Thursday night Zumba class and from there I drove directly to the library for the Thursday night Jam session, and it was amazing tonight. We usually have all guitars with me on the cajon, but tonight we had a keyboard, a mandolin, a harmonica, some bongos, and of course my cajon and it was so much fun.

Since moving to Innisfil, I found that our flowers bloom at least two weeks later than they used to bloom in Aurora, and they also stop two weeks earlier, my mallow and dahlias are still only tiny buds, by my yellow begonias are blooming beautifully.

Wednesday, August 21st

Well, it's that time of year again in Innisfil when the farmers are spreading fertilizer on their fields- you can't avoid the smell no matter where you go.

I went to my first Aqua run class today and it was a bit harder than I thought it would be. First of all it is all done in the deep end, so we have to wear these foam belts, and at first I felt like I would flip backward unto my back, but then I was told to engage my core and sure enough, that helped to keep me upright. An older lady who I had known from Tai-chi class was a big help showing me the basics. These ladies are amazing, they get in the pool around 9am, do the Aqua run class, then the Aqua fit class, then the Aqua therapy class before coming out. Of course there is a lot of laughing and socializing going on.

Great News, Jeff received an email from our Toronto doctor who has received a copy of the results of the CT scan from last week and he said that there is noticeable reduction in the cancer, however we have to wait until we see the oncologist tomorrow to get a more detailed report and learn what it means and next steps.

Highlight of our day – a long facetime chat with Bronwyn and Elya! Bronwyn also fed Elya while we watched and she is one good eater, She bangs her right hand on the tray between mouthfuls as if to say, ‘Bring it on Mom, I‘m hungry’ hahaha.

Tonight I had a nice bike ride down to the lake. Quite a few families were out, swimming, fishing, playing volleyball, and just enjoying the beautiful weather and the park.

I love how the net is wavy because someone had hit it.

Tuesday, August 20th

Today was my first ‘Gentle Yoga’ class, and I loved it. I thought it might be too gentle, but it was perfect. Lots of stretching and the same poses: chair, triangle, and of course my favourite – the warrior poses. The teacher also does aqua fit and aqua therapy tomorrow, so I think I’ll do that.

The nurse was still here when I got home, however Jeff said he didn’t need the hydration after all. When she left we had a most delicious bean soup, compliments of our friend Pat who is a great cook, then we drove up to the physiotherapists.

I had a different type of treatment today. She said that my neck and shoulders are too tight and not relaxing, so she asked if I would be interested in acupuncture. I agreed, but what she did was called ‘Dry needling’ or Intramuscular Stimulation. The needle is bigger than acupuncture needles, and she stuck the needle directly into the muscle and there was immediate but brief cramping, I feel that my head is able to turn more to the right than it did before, but it will probably take 24 hours for me to judge if it made a big difference. I also got another therapeutic band exercise to add to my repertoire. Jeff was at the hand therapist and she gave him a small brace or splint for his left hand. She wants him to bend only the top half of his fingers, so that will help.

After the physiotherapists, we had to stop at Music Pro to get new strings for my Baritone Ukulele. I broke the top string last week, and didn’t have extras. I hate to have to buy a whole set of strings when you only need one - especially as I only seem to break the top 2 strings.

Jeff stringing my uke.

Monday, August 19th

Boy Oh Boy, am I ever out of shape! Half an hour into my Zumba class this morning, my neck was hurting, my upper body was so stiff and I can no longer touch my toes! I was thinking of quitting the class when the teacher said “this next song is for Jackie”, and she played one of my many favourites: ‘La Pastillita’ by Sergio Vargas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVv9dbdlA-k

It perked me right up and I stayed to the end of the class. I had visions of maybe swimming after Zumba, but that one class was enough for me so I came home and had breakfast with Jeff. 

No relief yet from the diarrhea, so I went to Sobeys and bought Jeff one of those ‘sports drinks’ that are supposed to replenish your electrolytes, also we have a box of hydration stuff here from the nurses who come weekly, and tomorrow when the nurse comes to clean Jeff’s PICC line he is going to ask her to get him started on that.

Jeff has been receiving some beautiful cards from a group called ’Secret Angel Stitchers’ from all over the US: California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, and in each one is enclosed a tiny stitched angel and bible verses and/or notes. The little angels are so lovely, I took a photo to share with you. If anyone knows a Secret Angel stitcher, please thank them for us.

Tonight I went for a bike ride to see if I could catch the sunset, and I took a shortcut through the drive-through at the bank. It was closed, of course so I thought it would be safe, unfortunately someone in a car had the same idea and I tried to stop my bike but wasn’t successful and I fell on my dignity – and my elbow, so I came back home, no sunset today.

Sunday, August 18th

Sunday, August 18th Well, we’re back home in Innisfil now. We left the condo around 9:30am and stopped for Jeff’s favourite Eggs McMuffin at the MacDonald’s at Green Lane and Yonge – big mistake. They prioritize both the drive-through and Uber Eats, so the customers in the store have to wait forever. We waited 18 minutes for Jeff’s little order.

We also stopped at “Kernel Simpson's Sweet Corn” on Yonge Street. Their corn is amazing, and even more amazing is that they open for only about 8 weeks each year and that’s it!. As usual, when we get home, there is always lots to do. Cleaning, laundry, groceries, watering plants, and today I had to bottle a 1st fermentation batch of Kombucha and start the 2nd fermentation then start a new batch and sanitize some bottles.

Jeff has been having some diarrhea the last few days, it started Saturday morning, and we thought it was because of the unfamiliar food we ate on Friday night (it was ordered in from a restaurant), then on Saturday night we had some left-overs that was in the freezer before we went to the show, and we thought it might be the left-overs, but today all he had eaten was the 2 egg McMuffins and it has gotten worse. I called my girlfriend who has been my mentor through all this. Just last year she went through chemo treatment for pancreatic cancer, and her advice has been invaluable. She said that Jeff could get seriously dehydrated if this continues, so I gave him a pill for loose bowels. He didn’t like to take it before because he normally suffers from constipation, however, I can see where he can quickly become dehydrated if this continues. My friend also thinks that Jeff is at a stage now where his immune system is very vulnerable to catching infections. I’d like to put a hold on any further visits until we speak to the oncologist on Friday.

On a positive note, my new credit card finally arrived and I’ll be at the YMCA bright and early tomorrow morning – Zumba class starts at 9:15. I also heard that on Tuesdays and Thursdays there are easy yoga classes.

Today I had to pick up a few groceries at No Frills. The sun was shining brightly when I went in, and when I came out it was raining and there was a beautiful rainbow.

Saturday, August 17th

I was up very early today because Sarah had to catch a 6am bus on Dundas to the bus terminal and then on to Montreal. I walked with her to Dundas and the bus was just arriving. It was lovely seeing her for these few days.

At 8:30 we drove over to have breakfast with Bronwyn and Julien, and of course, little Elya. I love how she breaks out these big dimpled smiles all the time. It was good to see them and get caught up on their recent vacation in France.

Since the accident we have given away all our theatre tickets for May, June and July, but tonight was the very last show of the 2018/2019 season, and it was at the Mirvish theatre which is not far from here, so we decided to go. Our seats were not the best for Jeff, we had to climb one set of stairs to the mezzanine then about 8 more steps to our seats, but we just took it slowly. We were both somewhat underwhelmed with the show, the story was predictable and most of the songs quite forgettable, there were a few good laughs, and one of the characters was particularly funny. Nevertheless it was good to be out and about in Toronto again.

When our Uber arrived here, there was a group of young people standing outside our condo, and it turns out they were waiting for the same Uber that brought us here.

Friday, August 16th

This morning Sarah made us breakfast of brown organic eggs, a gift from our friend Teresa, Montreal bagels which she brought with her, and Spanish jamòn ibérico which her friend, a chef from Spain, had brought for her. What a bounty!

I read two articles this week about how, instead of introducing new, vegan burgers like the other chains are doing, Mac Donald’s has decided to work on improving the taste of their Big Mac, so today we went to test them out, and we were not impressed, however at a special price of $3.00 this week (normally $5.25), we’re not complaining.

I took Sarah downstairs to show her our community garden, which sadly we were not able to plant this year, and it is beautiful, very lush and bursting with tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, eggplant, squashes, and herbs. We had planted some garlic last fall, and I finally got around to harvesting them, but only 4 were there.

In the evening we took the Dundas St. bus to my brother Nigel’s home in Kensington Market where we met for a Pot luck dinner with my Nigel’s family as well as my other brothers Michael and Trevor. What a mix of food! Lots of vegetarian as my sister-in-law Bindra and her daughters Sandhyaa and Arya are all vegetarians, plus Pakistani curries, and a delicious vegetarian shepherds pie made by Kayla, my nephew Julian’s partner.

By 9pm Jeff was ready to hit the hay, so we took the bus back home.

Thursday, August 15th

I woke early today and was able to catch the sunrise on the lake. 

We left Innisfil around noon, stopped briefly  in Newmarket to see our friends Pat & Merv, then drove down to Toronto. My Niece Sarah is here for a few days before going to Callifornia for a year. Jeff wanted to have dinner at our favourite pub, The Dominion, on Queen st, so we walked there and it was delicious, Green thai curry for Jeff & me & a huge Cobb salad for Sarah.

On the walk home we saw a group of people in the courtyard of the building across from us and it turns out that a group were about to perform 'A Midsummers night dream' in a few minutes. Jeff wasn't interested, but Sarah & I went and it was really weird, set in modern day, with Shakespearean  language and set to music with lots of cell phones & Selfies. By the time the fairy queen falls in love with Bottom with the head of an ass, I had had enough and we left.

Jeff was sleeping when we got to the condo, so Sarah and I chatted until I had to hit the sack myself. 

Wednesday, August 14th

What an absolutely glorious day, temperatures in the mid 20s°C, and no humidity. As usual, it was a bit nippy, or as some would say 'fresh' when I left for my bicycle ride, but a very light windbreaker did the job and I was very comfortable. There were the usual folks at the park, walkers, dog walkers, joggers, bikers, and these four senior men who meet every single morning at the very same table at the park with their coffee cups and spend time chatting. Today I also saw a group of ladies doing Yoga by the lake, I believe this is a Wednesday morning class that is offered by the town.

We were invited to an early dinner at some good friends who live in Orillia. We left early so we could check out their 'New' one-year-old Costco before going to their home. They have a beautiful property and she is a fantastic gardener, so their backyard is a little piece of heaven. Over the past several years, he has been working on a path in the woods at the back of their property, and he has done an excellent job. We all went walking there and it was so peaceful. Both Jeff and I really enjoyed it.

After a truly outstanding meal, we drove home, and after helping Jeff inside, I drove over to the library to enjoy the music at the monthly Innisfil song circle. I was surprised to see a friend from the gym there whom I had not seen in months. I barely recognized her because she had lost her hair and a lot of weight as she had just completed treatment for breast cancer, but thankfully is in the clear now.

Tuesday, August 13th

Were any of you able to see the meteor shower early this morning? It was supposed to be around 3:30am, and I figured 'No Problem', since I wake up every couple of hours anyway, however, the first time I work up it was only 1:30 then the second time it was 4:15am! I went and sat on the deck looking up at the sky, but nary a meteor did I see in 20 minutes, as the Donald would say SAD! I'm reminded of once when we were living in Toronto, dragging Jeff out in the middle of the night - about 1am, to watch an eclipse of the moon. We walked to a nearby park and was surprised to see several other people had the same idea. Then a few years ago when we were living in Aurora, I had Jeff driving me all over one night trying to get away from street lights because there was supposed to be a showing of the Aurora Borealis. We never saw a thing. Guess I'll have to go to Iceland to see it.

Jeff and Adam went together to the men's breakfast at the Cove restaurant this morning (it starts at 7am), then in the afternoon, Adam also drove Jeff up to RVH at 4:30 for the scheduled CT scan. I'm anxious to hear the results, however next week is Jeff's 'off' week from chemo, so we won't know until we see the oncologist after Jeff's next pre-chemo bloodwork. 

 

 

Monday, August 12th

Adam drove Jeff up to RVH this morning for his chemo treatment and I got quite a bit of gardening (weeding) done, then I picked him up when he was finished around 2pm. When we came home we had some salmon then Jeff went to rest.

Still no new credit card from Capital One, so I haven't been back to  the gym, very disappointing. Hopefully it will come this week.

I had been hoping to get some nice sunset photos, so tonight I went searching for a good spot. These is a sunflower farm not far from here, but they want $10. to park your car in their field to take photos, and since the sky was not all that interesting, I took a pass. It turned out to be a disappointing night for sunsets, the most interesting one was taken when I got back home, as I thought the clouds looked like Niagara Falls.

Sunday, August 11th

It was a gorgeous day today, especially in the morning before it got too hot. After lunch, we had a great visit from my three brothers, Michael, Trevor and Nigel. Nigel bought Jeff's motorcycle, he plans to ship it to Guyana for using when he is there. They had quite a time fitting it into the back of Nigel's van, then Jeff BBQ'ed some hamburgers. I hadn't seen Trevor for a while, so it was especially nice getting caught up with him.

 

Saturday, August 11th

I did it! this morning I rode my bike all the way to the lake, rode around there from end to end and back home, without having to get off and push. The funny thing was that Jeff was still sleeping when I got home, so I had breakfast, and then went back to bed just as Jeff was getting up. By the time I got up again about an hour later, Jeff was ready to go back to bed. We were like ships passing in the night.

No rain today, but it was a lovely breezy day. I did a little bit of gardening - not that you can tell with all the weeds still there. At night I watched a French movie. It's interesting to see how many words I can understand without reading the subtitles.

Friday, August 10th

Jeff's buddy Clyde came early today and took him out for breakfast. Jeff had missed this week's Tuesday morning men's breakfast because his chemo treatment had been moved to Tuesday, so he really appreciated Clyde's thoughtfulness.

He had two different bloodwork requisitions, the usual pre-chemo for next week Monday, and another one. He thought he had to get the other one done at LifeLabs, so we went there first then up to the hospital for the other, only to find out that we could have had them both done at the hospital since the requisition was from one of their doctors.

On the way home we stopped for a sandwich then Jeff went straight to bed for a few hours. I had taken a steak out two days ago and he BBQ'd it himself for dinner later. He's getting pretty good doing different things with just the right hand, but I hope he will be able to use the left hand more soon.

I'm thankful that we've had some rain here for three days this past week - not a lot, but we appreciate any rain we can get, things have been so very dry. 

Thursday, August 8th

The nurse who usually comes to change Jeff’s PICC line after chemo did not come yesterday, so he called last night and she came this morning.

As usual on the second day after chemo treatment, Jeff seemed to be more tired and spent most of the day resting in bed. I’m glad he didn’t have any appointments today.

Biggest excitement today was a Facetime chat with Bronwyn and Elya who are in France right now. Elya was smiling all the time and just seeing her makes us smile. Thanks for the call Bronwyn.

I had a quiet day too, I watch a documentary/movie that was recommended by Jeff’s brother Huron called “The Great Hack” which tells how the tech media giants like Facebook and Google worked with Cambridge Analytica to influence elections not just in the US and Britain, but all over the world. It is a very sobering and frankly discouraging documentary, especially as I don’t see things changing or improving in the future.

Wednesday, August 7th

We had such an enjoyable visit today with my Brother Michael and his friend Yvonne. Michael lives in Florida so we don't often see him, but this trip he drove up in his Honda truck so he could get around as he is here for a few weeks. I had marinated some chicken thighs and I put Jeff to work doing the BBQing, and I have to say he did a perfect job. The BBQ needs some maintenance which I have not been attending to, so it needs some TLC and Jeff is just the person to do that.

After lunch, we went for a walk down at the lake while Jeff rested his back.  It was lovely there, so breezy and much cooler than even a few blocks away. Yvonne and I even helped a man launch his boat. He was alone and we offered to hold the lines while he went to park his car. The boat launch was surprisingly busy for a mid-week, but maybe that is normal in the summer.

Later Jeff and I watched the movie "Woman at War" which I mentioned earlier. It is about an environmental activist in Iceland trying to single-handedly stop a large aluminum plant that is poisoning the waters and land. It is really worth watching, My friend Sue recommended it, but she was perplexed by this small band of musicians who appeared everywhere during the movie as live background music. It reminded me of the fiddler in 'Fiddler on the Roof' who popped up every now and then, only these musicians were more conspicuous. I interpreted them as being the narrators of the story, playing Icelandic folk music. N.B. the movie is in Icelandic with English subtitles.

Tuesday, August 6th

Well we certainly had a busy day today. We were up very early and Jeff was showered, dressed and breakfasted by 7:30am when Adam drove him up to RVH for his 8:15 chemo appointment. Adam came home at about 9:30 and I left at 10:15 for a physiotherapy appointment.  My neck is really really tight, I can't turn it to the right at all, and all my exercises so far are focused on the neck and shoulders. Today she put my neck in traction for 10 minutes, and it felt great.  I'm actually working with two therapists, and the second one introduced me to two more exercises using the resistance bands to strengthen my back muscles without engaging my shoulders.

After my appointment I joined Jeff at RVH until his treatment was finished then drove him back to the physio for an appointment with the hand therapist for his left hand, then we went to Costco for gas and groceries and treated ourselves to one of our guilty pleasures - Costco polish sausages.

As you can imagine, Jeff went straight to bed when we got home. I did two loads of laundry and picked up a movie from the library that my friend Sue had recommended called 'Woman at War'.  I'll let you know what I think when we watch it.

Adam came up about an hour ago and made a pot of soup and he and Jeff had some together.

Monday, August 5th

Sometimes it's a challenge to finds things to journal every day since we don't seem to be doing anything most of the days, and Jeff seems to be spending more time sleeping - probably more out of boredom than anything. Then I get a phone call like the one today from my friend Debbie who lives in Trinidad and she says she looks forward to reading this blog every day, so it inspires me to keep on keeping on.

I went for a little bike ride today before it got too hot, just in the neighbourhood. Studied my French, and did some research on selling the Hyundai Santa Fe which only has 73,000km. Without the boat to pull, we don't need a big vehicle like that. We're going to buy another small car as I don't like driving the SUV and Jeff always drove the FIT because it is more economical on gas. Jeff thinks it's better to sell privately than to trade in.

We had a Facetime chat with Jeff's cousin Harriet who is now visiting Lonie and Bryan in Colorado. She recently attended the Smith family reunion which was held at her sister Janet's place in Wyoming this year and was well attended. We haven't seen the family for a while, and hopefully next year we will be able to attend.

After dinner we went down to the lake for a little walk and to watch the stragglers on the water. This one idiot was riding his ski-doo vertically! - I thought it would be fun if it flipped right over on him, but then I thought - 'that's not nice Jackie'. On the way home Jeff said he felt like eating Pizza, so we stopped at Pizzaville and got him a slice.

Sunday, August 4th

This morning I work up so early - at 5:30, that I had time to water the flowers on the deck and the garden before going down to the lake to catch the sunrise. When I came home I did some much-needed weeding and worked on my French exercises and by then I was ready to go back to sleep. 

In the afternoon we drove down to Schomberg to visit our friends Dennis and Sue. They have a gorgeous back yard that looks like a park, it even has a pond, but the pond is very low now with the lack of rain these past weeks.

On the way home we took all back roads. Jeff is brilliant at navigating without the help of a GPS. I can't tell you how many times I've ended up way out of where I was heading because I turned left when I should have turned right.

Saturday, August 3rd

We had a quiet day here, too quiet actually because Jeff seems to want to sleep all the time, all day and all night. We're not sure why because he hasn't had chemo for two weeks. I ran some errands then called Pat and Merv to see if they could join us for dinner. Their visits always perk Jeff up, especially as the boys won the first two games of canasta. around 5:30 He took a walk around the block. He is going to try that every day, it would be good to strengthen his legs. 

Friday, August 2nd

 ♪♫• I'm back in the saddle again... ♪♫• First thing this morning I went to the YMCA to re-activate my membership. They had a new system installed recently, so I needed to have my credit card- and that's when I realized that I didn't have it. I used it yesterday at Costco, so I called Capital One and it had not been used by anyone else, so it's likely just misplaced and not stolen, but now I have to wait for a week for a new card. Fortunately, she let me use the facilities today, so I joined the aquafit class, but I found it a bit boring, so I just did lane swim (mostly on my back and using more legs than arms. However after 30 mins my neck was hurting so I went to the therapeutic pool and then to the sauna which was lovely and hot! I did all my neck and shoulder exercises in there before showering. Now I have to see if they will let me go for free until I get my new credit card!. 

I forgot to mention something yesterday. At Cece's funeral on Wednesday, I was asked to do a reading from Ecclesiastes 3 1-8 and part of 11. It is the famous passage about 'A Time for Everything'. Well the next day (yesterday) when I arrived at the physiotherapist I had to use the washroom, and as soon as I stepped in, there was a large frame on the opposite wall with this exact passage.  I know it's a popular passage, but I was still taken aback to see it there.

This morning Jeff was asking if we should go to Toronto.  He thought maybe we could take the streetcar to Kensington market to visit Nigel and Bindra, but I discouraged him because it will likely be very crowded because it is Caribana weekend and someone could accidentally give him a little jostle and he could lose his balance. I can understand him feeling restless,  think it would be better to just visit friends than go out into crowds. We did go down to Newmarket to visit Pat and Merv and we had a delicious rib dinner and two great games of canasta. 

We can't figure it out, but despite resting most of the day, Jeff's back has been bothering him quite a bit. The oncologist said he will schedule a CT scan in 3 weeks, but I think I will contact our Toronto doctor to see if he has any thoughts on this. 

Thursday, August 1st White Rabbits!!

Yesterday when Adam and I went to the funeral, we left Innisfil at 9am because of the rush hour and we had to pick up my friend Alison who had driven in from Montreal and was staying with a friend at McCowan and Finch. Coming home from Toronto, we left the church just after 4pm and did not get home until 6:20, so Jeff was left alone for over 9 hours. Pat and Merv knew this, so they came by to visit him and brought a pizza, which was very thoughtful. As it happens, he had a stumble later in the evening and I had to go and get Adam to lift him up.  I'm just very glad this did not happen while we were both away.

Jeff had bloodwork at the hospital today in preparation for Chemo early next week. I had an appointment nearby with the occupational therapist so I took him to RVH first, and for the first time I did not have to get a wheelchair, he was able to walk in to the hospital by himself - albeit very slowly with his cane. Progress! The oncologist will increase his dose to 100% next week and he is going to schedule a CT-scan for 3 weeks from now. He also said that Jeff doesn't have to see him after bloodwork anymore unless we really need him, and that is wonderful news.

At my appointment with the occupational therapist, she wanted to know how I was coping as she said that there is something called 'care-giver burnout' or something like that, and she wanted to make sure that I was taking care of myself. I decided there and then to re-join the gym, even if I can't do as much as I was doing 4 months ago. I went there for tonight's Zumba class and had one of the easiest teachers and I knew all the songs, but I was relieved to get to the end of the class. I brought home a schedule and I will try to take in one class or one swim each day.

After Zumba I drove to the library to join in the Thursday night jam session. Always a fun time.