Haircut

October 30, 2009 – Day 303

Jen came over to cut my hair this morning. It was my third haircut of the year and the third haircut she’s given me. It’s wonderful not to have to leave the house to get my hair done!

Park

October 29, 2009 – Day 302

I love the old sign that beckons drivers to park in this downtown lot. The letters of the sign flash off and on constantly but I was only able to get a maximum of two of them lit up at a time.

Slowly but Surely

October 28, 2009 – Day 301

Ken putters away on the basement as he has time on weekends and some evenings and that’s what he was busy doing tonight. He’s on the second coat of mudding.

H1N1

October 27, 2009 – Day 300

The H1N1 flu has been big in the news this year. Personally, I don’t understand why so much hype has been generated over this flu because we have flus every year and, sadly, some people die from those flus each year. I’ve never had a flu shot and I don’t plan to get one for the H1N1 virus but I’d like to know why this one is important enough for the government to feel compelled to educate the masses. Imagine the time, energy and money that went into printing and mailing this pamphlet alone that arrived in the mail today.

New Glasses

October 26, 2009 – Day 299

It’s been a few weeks since I ordered my new glasses but, until today, I hadn’t gotten around to taking a picture of them. I ordered them from Costco on September 13th. They came in a few days later but I didn’t start wearing them until I had a chance to get custom sunglass clips made (September 29th) and didn’t have to work or drive. It was October 3rd when I wore them for the first time. It only took a few days for my eyes to adjust to the new prescription but my last glasses were rimless so having a frame and thick arms was a big change and that took a while to get used to.

Leftovers

October 25, 2009 – Day 298

We had leftover burgers and potato salad for supper tonight and everything was just as yummy as it was last night.

BBQ

October 24, 2009 – Day 297

Ken and I have both been craving barbequed burgers so that’s what we had for supper tonight. They were delicious.

The Pumpkin Patch

October 23, 2009 – Day 296

I’ve read stories and have seen others’ scrapbook layouts in online digital scrapbook galleries about a visit to the “pumpkin patch” but this (the local grocery store) is the closest I’ve ever been to a pumpkin patch. I don’t even know if there is such a thing as a “real” pumpkin patch in Alberta. If there is, I’d love to visit one, even if only for the photo op.

Another Visit to the Vet

October 22, 2009 – Day 295

Last weekend we noticed that Little Bear was scratching his right ear; it was red inside, with spots of black residue. He had ear mites a few years ago and his ear looked the same as it had then so we assumed that was the problem. First thing Monday morning I went out and bought some Hexamite from the vet supply store and began treating his ears (I treated both as a precaution) as soon as I returned home with the drops. This morning was the fourth day of the treatment and Little Bear’s ear should have cleared up by now but it looked as bad if not worse than it had on the weekend. When I put the drops in this morning, Little Bear whimpered and after I put the drops in, he was scratching his ear and kept shaking his head.

Ken had already left for work and he was working “in the field” (away from the shop) today and we don’t have cell phones so I wasn’t able to get in touch with him to let him know that Little Bear had been scratching and shaking his head after the treatment this morning. I wanted to ask him to have the vet check Little Bear’s ears since he was already going to take Little Bear to the vet this afternoon to have his stitches removed. The only thing I could think to do was leave Ken a note - but I didn’t know for sure that he would see it before heading off to the vet.

I had to leave Little Bear at home with his cone on because he still had stitches - and I knew his ear was bothering him. I was super-stressed all day at work, worried about Little Bear and hoping Ken would find my note before heading off to the vet with him. The day seemed to drag.

Thankfully, Ken found my note and had the vet take a look at Little Bear’s ears. It turns out that it’s some kind of yeast infection. He needs treatment for 2 weeks and has to go back for a check up to make sure the infection is completely cleared up because if it isn’t, it can flare up again.

We didn’t have to pay to have Little Bear’s stitches removed today because post-op visits were included in the initial surgery bill two weeks ago – but the office call and medication for Little Bear’s ears was $183.05.

On a positive note, Little Bear's sutures came out and the tech told Ken everything is healing nicely. It's hard to imagine that his surgery was already two weeks ago today.

Typical Day at The Office

October 21, 2009 – Day 294

James (one of the lawyers I work for) loves his Timmy’s! I asked him if all these cups sitting on his desk this afternoon were from today. He had to think about it for a minute, but replied, “One was from yesterday”.

Foggy Morning View

October 20, 2009 – Day 293

Three of my coworkers thought I might be interested in considering the foggy morning view out the east or south windows of our floor for my picture of the day. Oh, they were so right! I would have remained oblivious had they not drawn my attention to this view because it wasn’t foggy out my north-facing window. It feels great when people take an interest in my project - and I love getting suggestions for photos. :-)

At least one coworker is going to do Project 365 with me next year and I’m really looking forward to that.

My New Printer

October 19, 2009 – Day 292

My Canon i9900 has been a great printer but I’ve been having trouble with it for a few months now. It has been leaving streaks of black ink on the edge of everything I print, which is okay for tutorials and things like that but not okay for pictures. I followed the maintenance and cleaning instructions several times but any improvements were minor and temporary. Ken even took it apart and cleaned the ink out of it with Q-Tips. Again, that helped, but only temporarily. I’ve been saving for a new printer and finally had enough money so I went out and bought one this morning.

One of my first projects is going to be to catch up on my Project 365 album. That’s going to take a while because I only got up to June 21st on the journalling and June 28th on the pictures before I was unable to print without streaks. I’ll have to get Ken to hook up my new printer when he gets home from work but I am very excited to try it out!

To Satisfy a Craving

October 18, 2009 – Day 291

My cousin Carol made stew a couple weeks ago; it was her Project 365 picture that day. It looked delicious and had me craving stew. Then my sister Cathy made a comment on Facebook about making stew a couple days ago and that made me crave it even more so I just had to make a pot of stew too!

Favourite Coffee

October 17, 2009 – Day 290

Adam worked a couple weekends ago and spent Thanksgiving with Christine’s family in Cold Lake last weekend so he hasn’t been by for coffee for a while. But he came by this morning, and brought me my favourite coffee – Caramel Coretto from Second Cup. It was delicious, and much appreciated, as always.

Banana Muffins...to Come

October 16, 2009 – Day 289

Ken and I usually eat about 14 bananas in a week (one each/day) but this week I don’t know that either of us ate a single banana! That means I have a bunch of ripe bananas to bake with tomorrow. It’s all good though because we’ve run out of muffins in the freezer and muffins are my favourite thing to have for breakfast because they’re quick and easy and they taste good too. If I have more than enough bananas for muffins, I’ll make a banana loaf or two as well. I took out the non-perishable ingredients tonight so I’ll be ready to start baking first thing tomorrow.

Geese

October 15, 2009 – Day 288

There were literally hundreds of geese flying overhead this afternoon, many more than I was able to capture in just one picture. I wondered if they were having a meeting to discuss when they’re going to fly south and perhaps also discuss formation because they would make small groups of “v”s but for the most part they were just flying around in large groups. More and more kept flying in – I couldn’t believe how many there were. I think they congregated at the nearby man-made lake, where I’m sure they had serious discussions about flying south for the winter!

Little Bear's Progress

October 14, 2009 – Day 287

Little Bear came home with a drainage tube after his surgery last Thursday. It’s been draining everyday and it’s messy so he’s been wearing some of Ken's old t-shirts (that need to be changed 2-3 times/day) and everywhere he lays, there’s a blanket beneath him. There’s been a lot of laundry this week.

Today Ken took Little Bear for his appointment to get his drainage tube out. It was a tech that removed the tube and the vet told us prior that if anything was "off" or "odd" about the incision or healing process, the tech would ask the vet to take a look but she didn't have to. She said everything looks good. That was a relief to hear. We thought the hole would be stitched up but it wasn’t, the tech said it will scab over and heal. If everything continues to go well, Little Bear will have his stitches removed a week from today.

This is Little Bear’s spot for bedtime until he recovers (on the floor beside our bed). We put his cone on him at night time so he doesn’t lick or chew on his stitches while we’re sleeping.

A Little Snow

October 13, 2009 – Day 286

We had our first snowfall on October 8th. I thought it would melt within a day or two but it’s been snowing off and on ever since. There was more snow on the ground the few days before I took this picture but I had other things that I wanted to take pictures of more than the view out the bonus room window on those days. It’s hard to believe that it’s supposed to be 20C on Saturday!

The neighbour straight across took down his Christmas decorations in June - and he put them back up a couple weeks ago.

Fun and Games

October 12, 2009 – Day 285

Michael, Kristy and I played Boggle before Michael and Kristy went out to visit my sister Cathy and her family early this afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

October 11, 2009 – Day 284

Our original plan for Thanksgiving was to go to Cold Lake and spend it with Christine and her family; however, those plans changed once we knew Little Bear’s surgery was scheduled for October 8th. Adam stuck to the plan and went to Cold Lake but Michael and Kristy were available to come and enjoy a casual turkey dinner with us. We watched a couple movies and they spent the night in the guest room rather than travel home on the slippery roads (it’s been snowing off and on since October 8th).

Healing

October 10, 2009 – Day 283

Ken took Little Bear’s bandages off last night and put a t-shirt on him for the night (that’s what the vet recommended - to absorb some of the ooze that seeps out of the drainage tube). I took this picture after Ken and I cleaned Little Bear’s wound this morning and before Ken put a clean t-shirt on him. I think the incision is looking clean and healing well. We still have to keep Little Bear as inactive as possible for another couple weeks though.

We have an appointment on Wednesday for a checkup and if all is going according to plan, they will remove the drainage tube at that time. If all continues to go according to plan after the drainage tube is removed, Little Bear’s stitches will come out in about 12 days.

Grandma

October 9, 2009 – Day 282

Michael and his fiance Kristy came by today. They did my weekly grocery shopping for me so I could stay home with Little Bear. They first stopped by the house to get my list and some money before going to the store. It was close to lunch time when they arrived and for each of us they brought A&W Teen burgers (a personal favourite) and coffee from Second Cup (Caramel Coretto for me, also a favourite of mine). They visited for a while before going out for the groceries and while we were visiting, Michael handed me a small’ish square box. My first thought was that it was another “Mother” cup. Since I’ve already received a new “Mother” or “Mom” cup from my four kids this year (as I’d requested from each of them early in the year), I thought Michael must have found another one that he liked enough to add to my collection, even though he’d already bought me one.

I opened the box and saw that, instead of “Mother”, the cup referred to “Grandma…”. My first thought was that Michael heard a comment I made about how nice it would be to also have “Grandma” cups from my grandchildren, so he decided to buy one on behalf of all of them, maybe just because he thought it was special and knew I would think so as well. But I wasn’t sure. I don’t remember my exact words, but I was genuinely puzzled and asked, “Grandma?”, “A Grandma cup?” “Why a Grandma cup from you Michael?” And then I began to realize why a Grandma cup from Michael – and Kristy! And, without thinking, the same words came out of my mouth again, but in a completely different tone (deeper and slower) and more of a rhetorical question this time, “Whyyyy a Grandma cup from you Michael”?!

I was kind of in shock and don’t exactly remember what Michael’s response was but whatever it was confirmed my thoughts of the previous few moments.

Considering this was the year I’d asked for a Mother cup from each of my kids, I think this was a creatively perfect way to find out that I’m going to be a Grandma again!

When Michael and Kristy returned from the grocery store, and I’d put away the food, the three of us spent a good part of the afternoon phoning and texting family and close friends to share the exciting news!

As an aside, we visited in the bonus room with the exits barricaded so Little Bear couldn’t go up or down the stairs. He slept quite a bit but every time he stirred, at least one of us rushed to his side to pet him or do whatever we could to try to make him more comfortable. He seemed to appreciate all the attention and affection. The vet’s office phoned this afternoon to check how he was doing today – gotta love an attentive vet like that and I guess that’s why we’ve never gone to any other vet since we first got Little Bear in December 1998.

Little Bear's Surgery

October 8, 2009 – Day 281

Dr. Person called me at work this afternoon to let me know that Little Bear’s surgery went well. He said the lump was a little bigger than a good size grapefruit but it was a clean extraction. It was pressed against Little Bear’s ribcage so he had to cut through muscle to get to it. He said it looks like a typical lipoma (benign fatty lump) but he can’t tell for sure without sending the lump for tests. And he thought Little Bear would be more comfortable at home with us rather than spending the night at the hospital!

Dr. Person said Little Bear would be coming home with a drainage tube. He wasn’t going to put a bandage over it but said he could put a temporary one on that could be removed when we got him home. Ken went to get Little Bear as soon as he got off work and in the instructions that he brought home, it said to leave the bandage on for 36 hours. I called to confirm whether to leave it on or take it off right away. The tech said they had some “trouble” with the bandage (didn’t ask what kind of trouble) so the Dr. wanted to leave it on for the 36 hours.

Little Bear came home with 2 pain killers and it’s very important that he stay as inactive as possible for the next two weeks. He was quite stoned all evening and slept quite a bit. Dr. Person said he could eat tonight, about half what he normally eats but he wasn’t interested in his dog food. I gave him a few cooked carrots and the meat off one small pork rib to get his pill down and he had a good long drink of water before bedtime. He has to wear a cone for a couple weeks but we took it off when we were in the same room as he was.

In this picture - I made Little Bear a pillow out of his blanket to try to make him as comfortable as possible. He had his head on it for a while but then ended up sleeping like this.

Good news about the bill. Our estimate was $2434.00 - $2904.00 but we only had to pay $1438.27! I think the fact that Little Bear didn’t have to stay overnight brought it down a lot.

Last Supper Before Surgery

October 7, 2009 – Day 280

Tomorrow is a day I dread. It’s the day Little Bear has to go for surgery to have the lump on his chest removed. Check in time is between 7:30 and 8:00 for him so Ken will take him in on his way to work. Since the estimate included up to two nights stay, I called the vet’s office this morning to ask if we should expect that Little Bear will be staying at least one night. The woman I spoke to said yes, that is what we can expect unless the surgeon thinks that Little Bear will be better off at home with us – or better off at the emergency animal hospital, where he will receive 24 hour care. Dr. Person is going to do the surgery in the morning (if I remember correctly, the appointment is booked for 9:00). They’ll monitor him all day but no staff members will be on site between 6:30 tomorrow night and 7:30 Friday morning. The woman assured me that Little Bear will have enough pain medication to last him through the night though, if he stays there. If he has to be moved to the emergency hospital, we’ll have to pick him up and take him there.

In preparation for surgery, Little Bear couldn’t eat anything after 6:00 tonight so I made his supper extra-special. I chopped up a few cooked carrots plus took the meat off a couple small pork ribs and mixed it in with his dog food. He loved it.

I’ve been nervous about tomorrow all day today and I’m sure I’ll be on pins and needles tomorrow and probably for the next few days, since I don’t fully know what to expect. When we took Little Bear for an assessment, the vet said it will take up to a month for him to recover fully.

A Special Package

October 6, 2009 – Day 279

I received an Express Post parcel in the mail from Travis today. It was a package of homemade moose meat jerky that he learned to make in a smoker he bought this summer. The jerky is delicious; Ken likes it so much that he wants a smoker now. :-)

There was a little note included that said, “We love you and miss you”, and something about sharing a few pieces with Adam... Now if only I could remember who Adam is. Just kidding Travis, we’ll save some to share.

Owen drew a little bird and a cross on the side of the package and either his mom or dad labelled them and added, “Owen’s picts to Grandma”. That makes the parcel packaging extra special to me – and I can’t bear to throw it away!

New Glasses

October 5, 2009 – Day 278

Ian had to come to the city today to be fitted for a custom brace that he will have to wear after his upcoming knee surgery. Christine and Austin came along so they could try to find Austin a pair of - glasses! Austin’s optometrist gave him a prescription recently but the selection for children’s glasses in Cold Lake was limited.

Ian and Christine were able to find Austin a pair that he liked, at Pearle Vision. He said he wanted rectangle glasses, not round or oval. Pearle Vision was able to have Austin’s glasses ready for him to start wearing today. Austin will turn five on the 27th of this month and he is the youngest of my grandchildren to have to start wearing glasses. Faith had to start wearing glasses last year, shortly after she turned eight.

Christine, Ian and Austin stopped by for supper and a short visit before heading home. It was so nice to see them again.

As Summer Fades

October 4, 2009 – Day 277

After having taken a break from designing over the summer, I am back to it and had a new release in the store today. http://store.scrapbook-elements.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=246&products_id=19005

Fall Cleanup

October 3, 2009 – Day 276

Ken spent a couple hours doing fall cleanup this morning. He took down the top of the gazebo, put away the lawn chairs, the patio table and chairs, tidied up the yard, etc. It was chilly today, the sky was a depressing white/gray all day and it felt like winter was knocking at the door. It was much better to be indoors – with the heat on.

At work last week, James told me that this is supposed to be an el nino year. He said winters in an el nino year often start out cold but actually turn around to end up being mild. I hope he’s right! Ken bought his annual pass to Rabbit Hill on Wednesday though so I know he’s not hoping for an el nino year but would rather have lots of snow for snowboarding.

RIP

October 2, 2009 – Day 275

It froze last night and the last of my flowers are now officially dead. My fuchsia and this row of vanilla marigolds were still looking beautiful just a couple days ago but no amount of tender loving care can help them now!

Poster Student

October 1, 2009 – Day 274

Tonight after work, I attended a poster presentation at NorQuest College with my sister Darlene and niece Cheryl. Darlene is in the Social Work program and was selected to be one of ten students whose photo and story are printed on a poster that will remain on the walls of the college for one year. A smaller framed poster was presented to each of the students who appear on the posters and a bit of information about each poster-student was shared with those in attendance. Dinner was served after the presentation.

Darlene’s poster says, “I quit school and had my first child at 15. I worked in low-paying jobs until I started working in a lounge at 18. For a lonely single parent, a job as a bartender with easy access to alcohol turned out to be a deadly combination.

I did not like who I had become and the choices available to me, which dwindled with every drink. Three and a half years ago, alcoholism put me in palliative care. During my recovery, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be able to give back the hope that was so freely given to me.

Full of fear, anxiety and self-doubt, I opened the doors to NorQuest College. Two years later, I wore a cap and gown after completing my academic upgrading. I am now completing my first year practicum in the Social Work program. It has not always been easy, yet today I believe that anything is possible; I am living my dream. NorQuest helped me push past my self-imposed limitations. Today I feel like I can, and will, accomplish my dream of obtaining a degree in Social Work.”

In September, Darlene began her second year of the Social Work program at NorQuest college.

Congratulations Darlene – you’ve come a long way in a short time and I am very proud of you!