Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Home again, home again, jiggity jig…

Home from vacation for over a week. I have been busy with re-orientation and catching up, while Beatrix has hit the ground running, and is flat-out busy already! For me, the big things were: a mountain of laundry to wash and hang to dry, and cutting the 6 inch grass on a lawn that seems to have expanded in my absence!

The other re-orientation was to a regular exercise program. We left that aside on vacation, because we were hiking uphill so regularly that I didn’t bother with a second walk each day. I’m back at street walking – now in the semi dark every morning. The difference is that Beatrix joins me for at least part of the walk, a big change for her. Up at 5:30 AM, to bed by 9 PM each night. It’s nice to have company, and I hope it continues into the winter.

I started back at the pool as well, with length swimming three mornings a week. The pool manager suggested I try swimming with flippers, to increase my speed, and allow me to get to the end of the pool with some breath still in me. It’s been a great help. I had no idea that this addition could make such a difference! One morning, I managed 12 lengths in the time I had. Of course, I have yet to swim two lengths consecutively. That will take some more time.

Only a week after we got home, our pool closed for three weeks for is annual cleaning and repair time. The end of September will see me starting all over again. I’ve also been hemming and hawing about restarting the upper body strengthening exercises my therapist gave me. Maybe today…

A nurse friend from the Centennial Centre (Psych hospital and brain injury program) has offered me the chance to have a special brain assessment from a whiz-bang neuro-psychiatrist at the centre. Preparing for this involves a long form filled with questions and required information. I still have information to gather from the Speech Pathology clinic I attended last year. Trying to get them to answer phone messages is tedious.

Had a spot of “excitement” yesterday. I was involved in a slight fender bender in the hospital parking lot. My fault. I was backing out of a slot, and bumped into a car that suddenly appeared behind me. Not a lot of damage, but it shook me. I haven’t been in an accident for decades, so it was a surprise. I had checked the rear-view mirror, but she arrived a split second later. She was likely going faster than really slow, as she was bringing her husband to the ER with a nosebleed. Lots of phone calls and talking with insurance companies. Assessment to be done sometime later this week. My $100 deductible will pay. And I’m sure my insurance rate will rise next year!

Discouraging weather…autumn weather. Rain, wind, and very cool temperatures. I suppose a good thing to mark the transition, but I was just getting used to 30° in Saskatchewan.


My afternoon chores loom: grocery shopping and cooking. I am a truly complete houseboy, apparently doing a satisfactory job…so far. Enough for today. Perhaps something more interesting the next time.

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