Dan started the day by running to Superstore for a few essential groceries to get us through his next round of shifts.
On the way home he stopped at the Co-op home centre and picked up a new yard elephant. I think Kat likes it. 😍Then we went to Canadian Tire for a few more bedding plants. Dan found facemasks from the reno we did a couple of years ago so I wore one. I don’t know how much they help keep one healthy, but they do keep people out of my face so I felt better for having one on!On our way home, Dan ran in to our temporary pharmacy to pick up our prescriptions for the month.
Finally we ran into the Dollar Store. I am not sure what their social distancing plan is. They have arrows pointing down the aisles one direction and footprints pointing down the (same) aisles in the opposite direction. People were stumbling all over the place. I was glad I had my facemask on. 😊
I picked up the cutest little Buddha statue.And I filled my candy jars 🙄
Now it is time to get outside and get some work done. It isn’t terribly warm but at least it is nicer than it has been this week. 🌞
Dan and I took another little drive this afternoon. We picked up a few bedding plants from my favourite nursery, then we took a short drive. We came across a lot of road construction and street cleaning. I took a few photos to share.
Regina City HallKnox United Church. We went to a lot of Christmas Carol evenings there when my kids and then our grandkids were in their school choirs.Main Branch Library elephant front view.Same elephant side view.And another view. It is a cool elephant but it is hard to find because it hides rediculously well in those scrawny trees.Buffalo Bones Sculpture – I know, they are big shiny pieces of metal. Regina was originally named ‘Pile of Bones’ because it was founded beside a huge pile of buffalo bones. Now we have this wierd sculpture because there is not a real buffalo bone left to be found. On our way to the ‘Regina International Airport’ I finished my outting by taking Kat for a walk when we got home. We were attacked by two dogs. They came out of nowhere and were all over Kat. I think they were just licking her because her fur was wet but not bloody. A bit wierd but no real harm done. The owners came right away and dragged the dogs off. They were very apologetic. I brought Kat home and gave her a Beggin’ Strip to make her feel better.
The sun has finally reappeared for a couple of days. Dan is on shift but Kat and I spent as much time outside as we could today. I wasn’t up to doing a whole lot, but I did a bit of straightening up and of course we took our walk – and I took a few shots around the yard.
Grass is Turning GreenerChives are SproutingLadybugsElephantsElephantsAnother Elephant Heading Outside for the SeasonFrogsMagicFaith, Hope & LoveGnomesBeesAnd last but not least – another 🐞
When the the first reports came out about Covid-19, I was amazed by the massive hospitals that were being built in China.
Part of my fascination with these hospitals came from my career in the construction industry. In 2019, we opened a new children’s hospital in Saskatchewan. It took twenty five years to ‘plan’, design and build the facility. If we were going to require a new Covid-19 hospital, it would not be built in ten days.
The other part of my fascination was the number of doctors, health professionals, and support staff who would work in these massive hospitals. I wondered who was taking care of all of the people who would typically require health services. In most countries, certainly in Canada, there is not an overabundance of medical personnel. I wondered who could possibly be taking care of all the ‘regular’ patients.
My husband and I are fortunate in that we do not need medical intervention on a regular basis. We both have health issues which are generally controlled by our regular prescription drugs. I could be magnanimous in worrying about ‘others’.
I did think it was prudent to self isolate for the duration. I have asthma and I had pneumonia in February. At my post pneumonia check-up, I had been diagnosed with COPD. It made sense to to avoid a respiratory virus, even though I was feeling okay. A few days of warm sunny weather in April and I felt really good!
In the latter part of April, our monsoon season arrived. Suddenly, I was struggling with the humidity. I checked out the website for our health clinic and it seemed to be business as usual. (We have had few documented cases of Covid -19 in our province). Still, I was hesitant to call for an appointment as I balanced the risk of contracting the virus versus the struggle to breathe.
When I did call, I found that the clinic was booking phone consultations. That made sense. It kept the doctors safe so they could continue to help their patients and it kept vulnerable patients safe. I requested a consultation and my doctor called a few minutes later. After a lengthy chat, he prescribed a new inhaler. He also made a call to a respiratory therapist to see if he could set up an in-person appointment for me. Unfortunately, therapists were on the long list of health providers who were not seeing patients. I tried the new inhaler and it helped a little, but it was not a great fix. On my follow up call to my doctor, he sent me for blood tests to rule out heart and/or kidney issues. The tests came back fine. He called the respiratory therapist again. They are to start seeing patients later in May and they will no doubt have a lengthy list of established clients to see. In the meantime, I wait.
I know, this condition will not be fatal. (- at least not any time soon.) I know getting stressed will just make breathing more difficult, so I focus on relaxing. I take short walks with Kat when it is not raining. I continue to do what I can – cooking, cleaning and laundry. I know it could be worse, but this is not fun. Every breath is a challenge – no effort is small. A short walk, a few stairs, lifting anything – and my heart is racing as I fight to breathe. I sit down and there is a weight on my chest. It feels like I am suffocating. It is exhausting.
I am grateful that I have access to my doctor. Grateful for the support and care he has provided despite his limitations. I feel for anyone who is waiting for appointments, tests, procedures, treatments, operations, and therapy. It is unavoidable right now but it is still difficult. I know.
I hope the worst of this pandemic will soon be behind us. I hope that we can soon be on the path to a new normal where people can send their kids back to school, get back to work, and once again have access to the services we rely on. Life will never be the same after Covid-19, but I look forward to the day when it is functional.
Dan and I worked in the yard on Saturday. (Dan did most of the work but I am pretty sure that as his spouse I am entitled to half the credit.) Anyway, we decided to take a drive yesterday as a reward for all of ‘our’ effort.
Regina Pocket Park. The twisted green metal with the red stripe is a memorial to the Regina tornado of 1912. Fyi the ‘park’ does not look appreciably better in the summer.Multi-million dollar bus terminal that our government built right before they closed down STC – our provincial bus line. The building is supposed to be turned into a new city police station at some point.Saskatchewan legislative buildingSide view of the Saskatchewan legislative buildingAt this point, Dan headed out of the city.We drove past a church in the middle of nowhere.This is almost the middle of nowhere.Here it is! On a gravel road no less. 🙄Driving past the RCMP barracks as we headed back into the city.
We made it home to have a slice of the most amazing salted caramel cake. Dan went shopping on Saturday morning and he drove ten blocks out of his way to go to the Co-op to get it for me. It was so worth it!
We had a couple of warmish days and a few spring showers. If we do not blow away today, we could be feeling like spring in no time!
Bedding PlantsEven our ground cedar needs a haircutAnother year with our poor old barbecue – we have been looking for a replacement for years but can’t find one with a rotisserie burner like this one and Dan loves it🤷Greenish Grass and Dan’s ‘Tree of Enchantment’. Almost all of our BIG Tree😉
It is cold and miserable today but I am glad to see the rain. I cannot wait for the grass to turn green, the leaves to cover the trees and mostly the dust and snow mould to be washed away.
For my second Christmas, my parents gave me a fluffy stuffed elephant. They may have been trying to insinuate something. I was a bit fluffy myself in those days.
My first elephant.
Forty years later, I started to seriously accumulate elephants. It began when my father-in-law passed away and I inherited my late mother-in-law’s elephants.
One of my mother-in-law’s favourite elephants. She received it from an artisan she met when on a cruise. She watched him make it and was so amazed by his talent that he gave it to her when it was finished.I started buying elephants as souvenirs when we travelled. I bought this little guy for myself on our way home from my Mother’s funeral.
My husband, children and grandchildren started buying me elephants.
Dan bought me this elephant (piggy) bank when our granddaughter Maddy was about nine months old. She would come in and go straight to the bookshelf to feed the elephant toonies. My son Mark picked up this ‘Ganesh’ statuette when he went to British Columbia with Erin and their son Dominic.Gabby, Lucas and Cason picked up this cutie when my son Dan and Amanda took a family trip to California last summer.This “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” trio of elephants was a birthday gift from my daughter Jennifer and family.This bridge of elephants was a present from my sister Denise and her husband Ray. We went to visit them in White Rock, BC a few years ago and were able to celebrate our anniversary with them while we were there.
I have another seventy or so elephants right now. I have garden elephants, stuffed elephants, stone elephants – even a crystal elephant. I will share more pictures of my elephant friends in future posts.
I had no idea how detrimental my job had gotten to be to my health. Between the stress and the dust, it just wore me down gradually to the point where I had no idea how miserable I felt.
Due to concerns regarding Covid-19, I took sick leave on March 20th. It has been just a few days over a month. Fortunately, I have dodged the virus while I built up my immunity and my health in general.
The weather has been sunny and warm the last few days. I have spent a lot of time puttering around the yard, walking Kat, and generally relaxing.
I have also spent considerable time catching up on housework. I always did the basics but I just did not have the time or energy to tackle the deep clean projects. So far, I have cleaned all of the kitchen and porch cupboards, defrosted the freezer and fridge, wiped down the livingroom walls, cleaned the ceiling fans and scrubbed the floors.
Today while Dan was at work, I took down the window blinds in our bedroom, washed them in the bathtub, took them outside to dry and wiped down the bedroom walls. When I was done, I scrubbed the bathtub, took Kat for a walk, came home to make her a big batch of food and made our supper. I cannot believe I was able to do all that in one afternoon! A month ago, there is no way I would have had the strength to take the blinds down much less anything else.
Needless to say, I am pumped that I have come this far! It is so great not to have to struggle for every breath. It is so nice not to feel exhausted. I haven’t felt this well for years.😊
