Archive: September 2006

This morning I went to bed around 12:30, played a few games of Solitaire on my PDA, and went to sleep.

A little after 1PM I woke up with a very dry nose and the thought of a nosebleed. What made it worse was that with Cecile in Toronto, what would I do all by myself?

After lubing the nose and turning the humidifier on, I could not shake the thought of having to knock on neighbours' doors in the middle of the night to find help.

Waking frequently and getting up at 7AM, I hope to sleep better tonight. Got the humidifier filled up and the lube ready.

Goodnight, all. 

On a very serious health show the comment was made that "breasts are quite titillating". Were they making a play on words? What was their target audience?

I find it interesting that in these days of being "politically correct" these comments are still made and pass scrutiny.

What is this society coming to?

A perfect day. Sun, 28°C (high 80's F), the laptop in the backyard, a glass (or two) of port, birds visiting the feeder (3-4 feet away).

When you see chickadees close-up, they look so tiny. Imagine them without their feathers. They are very tame. A bird feeder with me sitting 3-4 ft away does not bother them at all.

Perfect also, are the lily pods ripening. To tell the truth, I don't know what to do with over 40 pods of potential seedlengs.

Remembering 9/11 is a painful experience, even for a Canadian. I remember watching the morning news five years ago with astonishment and disbelief. I was in shock most of that day.

In the days that followed, I cried on many occasions, for the helplessness I felt, and out of frustration that this could happen in the first place. My heart went out to those who lost family and friends.

Five years have passed, and how are things different? Osama is still out there, and we have seen a variety of terrorist actions during this period. The Bush administration is still here, for better or worse.

Has anything changed? Have these people died in vain?

I don't enjoy dwelling on this, as a matter of fact, I turned programs off this past week because I still felt the pain.

Yet I get ticked off thinking there was no progress... 

Received my bulb order from The Lily Nook yesterday. I only ordered 3 bulbs: Olina, Orange Art, and Pup Art. I found Pup Art locally after placing my order, but Pup Art is such a great lily, I decided not to change my order.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the large size of the bulbs. Well done, Nigel and crew.

Went for my blood test last week Friday and saw the family doctor today, and all is good. The level was at 0.6 where 2.0 or higher is cause for concern. 0.6 is pretty much where it has been the last few tests

Two more test, in December 2006 and March 2007 and then I'm done.

While at the doctor for my cancer checkup, we also discussed the results of the stress test last month. The cardiologist at the time suggested that my blood pressure was high and that my medication might have to be increased.

My family doctor isn't quite ready to change the meds. He wants me to take some bp/heart rate readings over the next 4 weeks and then we will review those readings. 

During lunch hour, I went to buy a blood pressure monitor at London Drugs on doctor's recommendation. On the way home and back to work, I witnessed a fire truck, an ambulance, a funeral procession, a woman dumping a cup of water (or who knows what???) on pedestrians below, a bus shelter's glass all over the place, and from a neighbour heard that two homes in our complex were broken into.

This has got to be one of the craziest lunch hours in a long time...

Over the weekend I learned of Fred who seemingly is undergoing the same treatment I had. He just finished his first week of chemo/radiation. I can't divulge personal details without Fred's permission, but if you, the reader, are a praying person, please pray for Fred and his wife, who is also a former cancer patient.

We had our first frost of the season. The trees has already started to turn colour, but now it's for real: winter is on it's way...

Cecile took me out for dinner to La Boheme for our 36th wedding anniversary. While pricey, La Boheme continues to be one of my favourite places to eat, despite the fact that Ernst Eder no longer owns it.

Started with a nice dish of mussels, followed by a perfect filet mignon, complemented by a nice white wine from the Alsace area.

Cecile had a rack of lamb which she found tasty.