Heading home

 After almost 6 weeks on Salt Spring, we expect to be heading home in a few days. It has been great spending time with old friends in an old familiar area.

Robbie and Ranger (house sit dog) are getting along but Robbie is just being polite... he clearly isn't interested in knowing the first thing about Ranger but he tolerates him.

While we were here we decided to go on a strict reduced calorie diet and we have both lost just over 10 lb so far (3 weeks-ish). Once we get home we have full physicals booked (arranged before we left) and once that is over and bloodwork complete we will be switching to a Keto diet. 

I've been doing a ton of research about it and it seems to make sense to me... other people have been doing Keto for many years and are in fine health because of it. We will be giving it a try. 3 months to start and then we will regroup and make the decision on whether or not to make it a lifestyle choice. Also, after 3 months you are able to re-introduce some extra carbs, because by that time your body will be trained to eat fat not sugar. Anyway, we're giving it a go.

Excited to get home to our friends and our home, Xmas is around the corner and the tree must go up. Dec 1st as some may recall is the day I put our tree up every year. Also, remember to change your smoke alarm batteries.

I have to say, I'll be glad to get home to the Alberta mindset too!

Oct 24 Salt Spring Island

 It was my birthday yesterday.... 55, let's not talk about that! LOL

Meanwhile, we wanted to spend some time visiting friends at our old island of Salt Spring so we found a house sitting job here for a few weeks.

Last night we went to Moby's for supper to celebrate my old age and then over to our friends (and former employers) Ian & Sandy's for a catch up and a drink.

I've been playing pickleball here with my old club as you might expect.

Not sure if I mentioned that I started a pickleball club in our new hometown as they didn't have one and that can't be allowed...

Anyway, its been fun playing with my old crew the last few days.

Today we are off to Gabriola to see Stacey and Ike for the day. Likely have supper at Woodfire but we'll see how the day progresses.

Ranger, we are looking after at our house sit.

Birthday girl

Brad

As you know Robbie thinks he's a human and has little time for dogs, especially 2 year old huskies. But the two of them are getting along fabulously and ride great together in the truck so things are going well so far.

Garden Results

 Here is a picture of what we got out of all our garden building efforts this year.....

Okay that picture is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much... we got:

Enough garlic to fill a 750ml Jar with honey

10 tomatoes

15 potatoes

1 small cucumber

tons of herbs and flowers

So if your wondering why I haven't been posting, its because there just wasn't anything to talk about. Our winter stock of teas, herbs, flowers is set but I had to purchase a few items from the Hutterites (Amish) in order to get 12 jars of vegetables fermented for winter. 

Our Elderberry plants ( 2 of them) survived and seem to be doing well. Both blueberry plants, the strawberry plant and the cherry tree are all doing well also.

I guess this year will just be chalked up to preparation for coming years. Our infrastructure of raised beds, herb and flower gardens etc are all in place. Our intention for next year is to build a greenhouse 10 x 26 in the area where our in-ground garden and shed (shed has been dismantled and removed already) are currently. A new shed will be built on the north side of our house.

We are going back to Salt Spring Island very soon to visit friends and extend the fall season before coming home to a settled winter. For any new readers, we lived on Salt Spring 2018 - 2020.

Gardening, Salt Spring and online market

With all these seeds growing, I needed more starter pods whatsits and a local shop close to Brad's massage had them on sale 50 for $5 -- so I stopped and picked up 500 of them. While I was there I noticed an apple peel/core/slicer on the shelf... $52.99!!! I paid $4 at GIRO

Yikes, not cheap!

After getting about 3 inches of snow over the weekend by Tuesday when we went for Brad's massage after the long weekend it was +11C (52F)

While getting the seed pods I also saw these Peanuts so grabbed one of those also. I Planted 6 of them.

The ferries are coming, the ferries are coming...

Yay! BC Ferries has a bunch of new ferries coming online and we (our island) gets 2 of them. Instead of having 1 ferry running every hour we will have 2 ferries crossing each other giving us a run every half hour which will make a massive difference to life here.

A massive ship heading into Nanaimo area, I made sure to include the neighbours house for size comparison. Turned out to be the 'Sunshine Ace'.

Brad made more lasagna, delicious.

'Sunshine Ace' loading in Nanaimo

We went to Salt Spring Island yesterday (Saturday) because our friends who are now running the campground we used to run have quit and are leaving in a week or so. We went down to see them one last time before they move to the Sunshine Coast. While there I sold 10 pkgs of Strawberries to another friend and picked up the remainder of items from the online market there because I decided to pull out of it, as it is just too hard to keep up with from here - being a 4 ferry round trip.

Specialist appt

Had my appointment with the specialist on Friday and all is well. He does not want to change my dosage as it seems our family doctor got the dosage right the first time which is highly unusual and he was very impressed with my doctor.

He is sending me for more bloodwork which we will do Tuesday when I go for my in person appointment with the family doctor. This bloodwork is just precautionary since I told him about the other issues I have been having and he didn't want to deal with 'probably nothing', so he wants to make sure and obviously -- I'm good with that.

The specialist did say my TSH being 3.2 is great as it should be between .5 and 5, and while he could adjust it to bring it down to 1 -  I'll live longer at 3 so he wanted to leave it alone.

This makes me very happy as it will allow me more time to torment my wonderful husband. :D

Ending a chapter

A few days ago, we went for a drive, just around the island for a change of scenery...

Crofton paper mill just off center there...

Booth Bay

What a looker! Barely able to walk 100 yards after what I just put my body through, but still cute!

Since we're moving.... oh yeah I haven't given details of that yet.... next post probably..... we went to see some friends - socially distanced of course.

Wonderous sights you get without being under trees...

Robin & Sylvia built this fabulous tiny home a couple of years ago

Back at home, Robbie was hot in our little sliver of sunshine so I propped some shade over him - spoiled rotten.

1 of my 2 good sons... obviously this one takes after his mother... Proud Mama.

Okay so being in the trees is a bad idea for so many reasons.... not the least of which being....

Before, but after being swept off... just 6 months worth.

What an absolute state it was...

All cleaned...

That was a lot of work and we shan't be parking under trees ever again!

Editor's Note: All the roof patches are due to the RV dealership installing the solar panels in all the wrong places. Do Not have a dealership install solar -- its worth the extra $$ to get it done right.

Express yourself

I check the webcams every morning for an idea of the weather as we're in the trees here and can't always tell if the sun is shining out there...

Imagine my surprise when I checked the downtown webcam the other morning and found someone was dancing in the firehall parking lot...

I was in a trance as I watched them prancing and twirling around for several minutes before realizing I was doing it....

What a great way to express yourself during this isolation lockdown.

Big thanks to whoever that was - it put a smile on my face, and still does.

Thyroid update

Okay so we heard from our family Dr, he had spoken with the specialist and sent my prescription down to the pharmacy.

It will be about 2 weeks before the medication takes a good hold and my blood work will be re-checked in 3 months at which time they will adjust my dosage dependent on the results and my weight at that time.

He hopes to have me sorted good and proper by the end of the year.

Yikes... I think I should have seen a Dr much sooner.... I keep telling you I'm blonde, cute but definitely blonde.

The specialist rang up and I have a virtual appt scheduled for April 28 with him.

I have just taken my 3rd dosage of this pill now and already I'm feeling better, the mind is a powerful thing I suppose...

Anyway, it will be a long road to normal (a 2020 rule apparently) but I am on it at least.

Our family Dr was dumbstruck that this escalated the way it did so rapidly although he said it does happen in rare cases,

So ladies over 50 be mindful and visit your Dr like a normal person - 50 is NOT the new 20 - unfortunate as that is.

Brad had good news though, since he stopped his morning yogurt breakfast he is no longer pre-diabetic and the Dr said his blood work looks 'beautiful' now. Typical man!!!

What's right with Katie? Not much as it happens.

So its been eventful around here....

As you know I've been struggling with something but didn't know what... well now I do.

So in January it began with Constipation

February brought Chills, Droopy Eye Bags and a sensation of a Tingle under MY right side of the nose, Charlie horse cramping in hands, feet, legs, arms, and back.

By mid-March it added Lethargy, Fatigue, Weight gain, Dry skin, Heavy limbs, Walking stability problems, Depression, Evening low oxygen breaths, Stress and finally a Numb tongue causing slurred speech (this one since just Sunday).

Brad rubbed my feet Sunday night before bed and I noted in the night that one leg felt normal while the other (he spent less time on) was still 'fat'.. so he massaged most of my body Monday and I was going to the bathroom like crazy.

A quick Google on our Dr recommended WebMD and seems the likely problem is Hypothyroid.

Monday night Brad managed to convince me to go to ER because the results of severe Hypothyroid is irreversible coma. So I went, feeling like a complete heel for dragging this poor Dr down to ER when it could have waited... she sent me home with a requisition for bloodwork to be done yesterday.

Brad also had a requisition for bloodwork he hadn't done yet so together we braved the hospital environment once again with masks on (they make you wash hands so gloves are a no go) before 8am to beat the rush (not so much - 8 people in front of us).

Once home I called our Dr as per instructions from ER Dr and arranged a phone call appointment for 1130am this (Wednesday) morning... yes, today.

After supper last night I got a call from the Director of Medical Biochemical something something from the Lab...

He asked if I was aware my thyroid had been checked -- I was.
He asked if I was under treatment for hypothyroid -- I wasn't.
Had I ever been -- no never.
He wanted me to go to ER -- but I have a phone consult tomorrow, I said...
He was clearly surprised to be having this conversation because he had not expected me to be coherant.
He wanted me to ring Dr first thing and get my phone call bumped up to asap. Okay.
He then gave me my numbers, in case the Dr couldn't access the lab work.

My FT4 which should be between 7 and 15 was at 3.
My TSH which should be between 2 and 5 was 124.

I've no idea what these numbers are or what they mean, though the meaning is clearly that I'm out of wack... my thyroid is on the fritz.

Check my pulse he says, it should be between 50-60, if it falls below 50 go to ER immediately....

Um...

So I pass this info on to Brad and he immediately insists we go to ER, I argued that the guy seemed to think I'd probably be okay until my phone call since I was still coherant.... but Brad would have none of it.... of course.... as this Director clearly thought I should be in a coma with these numbers...

So a quick grab of PJs and the iPad/charger so we could communicate since he was not allowed in to the hospital (Covid - 19 rules) and off we went, Brad waited outside in the Jeep.

Wasn't in there but half an hour.

Nurse Sam was fantastic as was Nurse Jazzy the night before. Sam called our Doctor who happened to be the one on call last night -- and he read the report online -- left instructions to give me a 125mcg dose of Levothyroxine (synthroid) and I was cleared to go home. Yay!

Doc will consult with said Director this am prior to his consult with us (he wants to go over Brad's results too) which his office already scheduled.

Biggest surprise of yesterday was that on Monday I was weighed in ER and by Tuesday (22 hours later) having drunk 6 cups of water over and above my morning French Vanilla -- I had lost 5 pounds!! All clearly water weight... Yikes but still a ways to go. Good news though is that this 5 lbs puts me in the realm of my 'normal' winter weight gain levels... Whew.

And I'm still coherant! Go Me!!

I will know more in a few hours once I speak to Doc but for now, I am relieved to be on the radar and receiving treatment... the nurse last night advised that it will be about 2 weeks of medication before everything is working properly once again and Brad claims (yesterday anyway ;) ) that I will do nothing until it is sorted...

Take note: I do require nagging -- back in 2002 I had a stroke and it took 3 days for me to acknowledge there was a problem... I don't like to bother Drs... and to be fair, if it wasn't for the Pandemic, I would have been to the Dr before this... just didn't want to risk the Covid unnecessarily.

I'm clearly going to need to take better notes and visit my Dr more often than my once yearly (at best) visit... fine, I'm getting old -- I get it already... don't rub it in.

At the end of the day, I'm still cute so to hell with it! :D

Keyhole Kaibosh

After my personal struggle of just physically trying to sort out the garden, and yesterday I was unable to secure some items that I require to put the garden together without breaking quarantine...

Also with posts on local FaceBook pages from island farmers who are unsure what they will be doing with all their products come selling season given that Salt Spring Island's world famous Saturday market has been cancelled indefinitely... and no tourists can be expected at this point...

I have decided not to finish the garden.

We have joined both an island vegetable and a meat CSA to provide us what we will need for the season.

Now I just need the rain to stop so that I can dismantle the cardboard mess I have created on the landlord's property...

I will do a proper keyhole garden some other time assuming the pandemic will end at some point....

Wreckers and more gardening

Quiet day today, Brad and Robbie took the new truck for a test spin to Nanaimo. Brad wanted to look for a new rear bumper at the wreckers, not necessary but he needed to put some kilometers on it as we need to change a filter at the 500km mark... apparently he's only half way there now but closer than he was this morning, so... and he bought a new bumper... and a new grill... neither of which was needed per se. 

Shop door to the main working garage from inside the office

Bathroom at the wreckers, pretty unique

While they were out gallivanting, I called up a girlfriend (Dana, the new campground manager) and we went for lunch. After which I stopped to grab the mail and another gadget Brad bought for the truck was in. Arriving home I was advised that the fender covers had been delivered to the campground so I drove up quickly and grabbed them before starting the laundry and cleaning the bathroom.

Time to plant some garden goodies:

10 each of Red, Yellow, Orange Bell Peppers and 20 Green

Labelled them too

Remember the carrots? this was 2 days ago

Lots of little nobbies have popped up so they are rolling along

Garlic and Romaine 2 days ago

Garlic and Romaine yesterday.

I planted the ginger yesterday and today its time to plant the garlic according to all those who know about these things... I know I'm waaay ahead of the curve on this but I want to give them a good start before they go outside, especially the slow growing Peppers, they will take awhile and let's face it - it will be March here tomorrow.... March last year was almost like July in Saskatchewan, so I'm not worried. 

What I am worried about and have to figure out is how to get some potatoes to sprout in short order... suggestions?.... anyone?... I bought 3 potatoe bags with the flappy thingy but forgot to set some spuds up to sprout... I'll be researching the fastest way to do that today. I also have to open and peek at the lemon seeds and see if they are sprouting yet as I have no idea how long that will take in soak.

Walkies and Garden start and Covid 19

I've been sleeping in lately -- like until almost 9 some days... I hate that,  it makes me lazy so I decided to change it. Time to walk to town. As most know, Brad has his morning coffee at home and then later in the morning goes to town for his 2nd cup. This gave me a great opportunity to walk to town and get a ride back up... turns out its 3 miles - one way. I called Brad just as I was about to enter the downtown area to make his way in and then my phone died. So my AllTrails track of my walk stopped at the spot just shy of downtown - where I called him from. I still logged 3 miles in 58 min though, with stops totaling 3 min. So its an hours brisk walk to town. I fully anticipate having to pay for that Wednesday walk on Friday...

A house along the main road on Salt Spring has a wooden Stonehenge so I stopped to get a decent photo of it.

Decending the hill to downtown about 5 min before my phone died.

I began my planting preparations, according to a whatsit I saw on Pinterest, this is the best way to grow without seeds so I thought I'd give it a try. All of these are organic (which is our preference) and so will regrow as opposed to the cheap stuff which cannot be grown from the seeds in them -- if they even have seeds in them. On that note, I purchased a bag of organic lemons and a bag of limes - the lemons have seeds in them but the limes do not leading me to believe they are in fact, not organic.

Soak carrots in 1/4" water to sprout then plant

Romaine, soak in water - 2 days growth there already - then plant.

Ginger, soak 1 day then plant

Garlic, soak 3 days then plant

Here I have Dill, Thyme, Basil, Parsley and 2 rows of Sweet Peas

Lemons, soak in wet paper towel until sprout, then plant

I'll keep you posted on how they progress.

Apparently, 'they' are now saying that Coronavirus (Co-vid 19) is uncontainable now and will have to run its course through the population... so today I think we'll be making a plan for this eventuality. Sure hope it doesn't mess up our travel plans but time will tell.

I can't help but note that for several months -mostly in the US, the kids (grown kids and the most likely to survive an issue) were dying from a breathing related illness caused (apparently) by vaping. We had no such troubles -- I stopped vaping mid December and remain free of smoking and vaping but Brad struggled with the no vaping and has returned to it at 2mg/L -- extremely low dose. 

Anyway, a few months ago the vaping problem faded out and now this Coronavirus breathing related illness thing has developed in China where they are -coincidentally I'm sure- slowly taking over from the US economically.  It just makes me wonder.... is all. Surely I'm not the only one to make that connection.

Sand dollars and truck update

A friend, Rhonda, invited me to go sand dollar picking, she uses them in her crafts which she then sells on the island in the summer

I found our first one that day

As anyone who knows me knows, I was first in and first out.... I get cold so damn quick... we had to wait over an hour for the tide to go out enough or I'd have had a better time of it but it was so cold and the water wasn't any better obviously... I'll go again when things warm  up. It was +10C (50F) yesterday so we're getting there.

The engine coolant doohickey has been installed and we cleaned the compartment too

No point cleaning the engine and leaving the hood dirty, so.... 

We are still waiting for 1 part to be delivered and then the last bit can go on and she's done.

Trip gadgets and dinner with friends

Some of you have no doubt heard me say that I am a gadget Queen... this post is about just that...

Today I ordered this USB multi 12V adapter for the truck. This baby will allow me to charge up to 6 of my gadgets at a time and it will show me the truck battery level while it does that. Also, should it be necessary we can even plug the CPAP into it too.

Gadget #1: Charger

I also ordered some new sticky bits for the multitude of Nite Ize magnet balls we have all over everything already so that I can move them around to where we need them now. As an example there are 2 of these balls on our RV dash but until we move the RV, we don't need them on the dash but you can't just move them this VHB tape is not meant for that, so new stickies are required. 

I have secured the space in the truck which will house the above adapter gadget and I have configured the best way to run the wiring to the gadgets without obstructing the dash in any way. Brad loves it when I fit out a vehicle for my gadgets... hahaha.

Gadget #2: iPhone

Gadget #3: Traffic camera

Gadget #4: GPS

Gadget #5: Digital camera

Gadget #6: iPad

Gadget #7: eReader

Gadget #8: Headlamp

This will be handy for breakdowns in the dark as well as if we stay in the truck for some nights (unlikely but.... undecided as yet).

Naturally, I will also be taking this laptop on which I am writing this post but it will be in the luggage not in the truck cab.

In any event the point being that the truck will be wired for sound and satellite imagery in the event we get lost driving the Trans Canada Highway.

Went out for dinner with Jan & Steve tonight as they are abandoning us, er,  I mean leaving Salt Spring for Victoria enroute to Ontario for the Spring. We hope to see them in Ontario during our trip either going or coming or both.  These two were a great gain to us during our campground managing experience and I'm sure we'll be friends for many years to come.

Jan & Steve

Campers extraordinaire

We will be particularly sad to lose Steve's warped sense of humour. However, Jan will always have the iron in the fire, I'm sure.... (private joke)

They were kind enough to take pics of us also since we've obtained only 3 or 4 in our 15 years together. This one Steve took.

Jan took this one.

Daffodil growing outside the local Inn where we had supper tonight. 

First one I've seen this season, although I've been seeing tons of flower pics on FaceBook for weeks already.