September 28, 2013

This post is being written from the verandah in our cabin on board the Ryndham. We made it with about an hour to spare. Unfortunately, one suitcase is at JFK and the other one is in Amsterdam. Since tomorrow is a sea day, we are stuck with what we are wearing until the marines (in the form of our suitcases) arrive on Monday. To top it all off – tomorrow night is the first formal night and while Graham rented a tux which arrived safely, I have nothing to wear.

Unfortunately, this means that you will have to wait until we return to the ship on Monday for any pictures – the download cord is in the luggage.

For today this will be a very short post – both Graham and I ended up in seats that would not recline on our 8 hour flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, so neither one of us has had any sleep in over 27 hours and we are beat!!

September 27,2013

As I write this, the first post about our “trip of a lifetime”, I am sitting at a gate in Amsterdam. We are not supposed to be anywhere near Amsterdam!!!!!!

We left home just before 8:00 this morning and headed for Detroit. Everything went really well until we were aboard our aircraft and the door was closed. Someone fortunately noticed that somewhere on our plane’s trip in to Detroit, it managed to hit a bird…….so much for that plane. By the time they decided what to do, we were going to miss our connecting flight in JFK. The best that they could do for us at the gate would have had us landing in Athens at 5:40 Saturday afternoon – one hour after our ship sailed.

Panic–stricken (at least I was) we went looking for a Delta agent and ran into an amazing lady named Janine. This lady managed to get us from Detroit to Amsterdam and in about an hour and a half, we will be flying from Amsterdam to Athens arriving at 12:45 – enough time to make the 1 ½ hour trip from the airport to the cruise ship terminal and make it to the ship on time. Our only question is – will our luggage make it to Athens with us?????

Nascar

WOW!!!!!!

The weekend of June 14 - 17, my sister, Linda, her husband, Ted, Graham & I spent the weekend in Michigan......most of it at the Michigan International Speedway. What an adventure!!!!

We did this through a company called MyRaceTravel - pretty sure that we won't ever use a company again. Drove down Friday and got settled into our hotel.....The Sheraton at the Detroit Airport. While a beautiful hotel with large, comfortable rooms, however, this hotel was more than an hour from the racetrack.

On Saturday we had to leave the hotel at 8:00 am to accommodate those people who had pit passes - 2 buses, but apparently they both had to leave at the same time. We arrived at the racetrack at about 9:30 (for a 2:00 Nationwide race). After soaking in the atmosphere of the place for a while we headed for our seats - I think that we climbed Mt Everest. Once we reached our seats, I was quite determined that I wasn't going back down until the race was over.We were able to see the final practice for the Sprint Cup race on Saturday.

The Nationwide race was exciting, however, the Sprint Cup race was absolutely amazing. Since Michigan is the fastest track on the Nascar circuit, we were watching cars go over 200 mph on the straightaways. A 2 mile track and it seemed that they were always right in front of us.

After spending the afternoon in the sun on Saturday, we returned on Sunday for more of the same (only this time we had to leave the hotel at 7:00). Despite our best attempts to avoid it, we ended up getting badly burned on our arms.

Despite the challenges we had an amazing time. Unfortunately, Denny came in 32nd or 33rd and Linda's driver, Jeff Gordon didn't even make it through turn 2 on the first lap.

My Baby Girl's Wedding

My baby girl got married this August – wow, time sure flies!!!! It seems like only yesterday that I was fretting over my age at being pregnant and was very conflicted about whether or not to have an amniocentesis. Just look at her now!!!!

It was a very busy weekend, but a beautiful outdoor wedding on a beautiful day.

Here is what I had to say at her wedding

“Jamie, I am so proud of you for many reasons.
I am proud of the love and loyalty you have for your family and friends.
I am proud of the way you have always treated those less fortunate with dignity and respect.
Proud of your ability and willingness to forgive.
Proud of your independence, your education, and the career choices you have made.
I am so proud to say that my daughter makes a difference in the lives of animals who have been abandoned or abused

I am proud that you have dreams and are willing to reach for the stars and follow them.
I am proud of YOU, the wonderful, beautiful woman you have become.

We are proud of the man you have chosen to marry.    Scott, I could tell you were special just by how much my daughter adored you and by how much you seemed to care about her and her feelings. You're going to be a great son-in-law. You have conquered Jamie’s heart, and mine, I am proud to call you my son-in-law. Not only do you love our daughter, but it is obvious that you truly adore her. What more could I ask for.

A little advice. Always say I love you when you say goodbye. Stay loyal and honest, and stand by each other’s side. If you do so, nothing can come between you.”

Please enjoy the slide show and by the way, Jamie’s older sister, Krista made the wedding cake and decorated it and she decorated the slab cake.

Cataract Surgery

Give me back surgery any day and I'll deal with it. Threaten to come at my eye with a scalpel and I'm a total wuss. When my optometrist told me that I had a cataract and that he was pretty sure that it was a very aggressive one, I hoped against hope that he was wrong. He wasn't. The cataract was first diagnosed in July 2011 and I had to have it out on June 26 (happy birthday to me)! The very thought of this surgery made my stomach tie itself up in knots. Graham kept assuring me that I would be "too happy" to care what was happening. He was wrong too.

As it turns out, I was very relaxed, not happy, but relaxed. Jamie and I walked into the hospital at 8:00 am and we walked out at 9:30 am!!!!. The surgery took about 10 minutes and the only thinhs that I was aware of was the water that was constantly bathing my eye throughout the procedure and the occassional feeling of pressure.

Now, if I could only get rid of these damn eye drops.....they just seem to go on forever. Still 3 more weeks of them!!!!!

The Christmas Quilt

I am a terrible Nana. Last October I decided to make a Disney Princess quilt for Alexandra for Christmas. The cross-stitch part was quickly finished, but as I was starting to put the quilt together, mom asked that I come to Florida to see her. She was in the hospital and was feeling very poorly.

Anyway, we did come home from Florida and celebrated a belated Christmas with the family. Feeling terribly guilty, I gave Alex the picture of the finished quilt as her gift. Surprisingly, for a 3 year old she did not appear to be upset. She took the picture home and hung it over her bed.

By the time we were sorted out from Christmas, I received a very long awaited phone call and went in for my back surgery. To make a long story short, Alex finally received her finished quilt on May 27!! She loves it, but, I truly regret making her wait so long.

Check out the slide show.  (photos courtesy of Deb).

My Piano

I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 and I took them until I was 17. I was never very good at playing, however, I worked my way through the Royal Conservatory program passing my Grade 8 Piano and my Grade 2 Theory. This was at a time when achieving these 2 milestones actually gave me a Grade 13 credit. My lessons were taken on my grandfather's piano....a Hammond, I think in a solid oak body. That piano weighs a ton!!! 

Since I can remember, I have been told that the piano would be mine someday.
As we moved around when I was young, I recall the piano having to be taken apart in order to move it. My sister reminded me of a story the other day. We were moving from 1 house in Erindale to another. The piano was in the basement in the house that we were moving out of and it had to be dismantled to be moved (I was devastated to see "my" piano in a million pieces). When we got to the new house, the mover carefully laid all the pieces out on the floor, looked at me (Knowing how upset I was) and said "I hope that you know how to put this puzzle back together because I'm not sure that I do". Needless to say, I burst into tears and my sister, Linda (who was paying close attention) burst into gales of laughter.

Today that piano is being moved again. It is indeed now mine and I am sitting here waiting for it to arrive. Linda texted me at 8:30 this morning to let me know that the piano was on the truck and the truck was pulling out of the driveway. It is, at most a 4 hour drive between my mother's house (it is still hers until the end of May) and mine.......it is now 2:30 and .....no piano.
I know that it will arrive, safe and sound, however, I have visions of my sister having asked the movers to stop and dismantle the piano on the way just for my reaction. Linda, I would burst into tears again, then I would kill you.

Come on piano, I can't wait to have you in my house. 

How Death Can Heal

Since my mother died in February, it is amazing what has changed in my life for the better. First and most important, my sister Linda and I have reconnected. While we haven't been exactly estranged, we certainly had drifted very far apart. It feels great to talk to and/or text her almost every day (I still hate texting on my Blackberry by the way). This is a relationship that I have really missed and am extremely glad that we have come together again.
Secondly, I have reconnected with 2 good friends that I allowed to slip away from my life. Boy have I missed the 2 of you Lynne and Sylvia.
I intend to make sure that I nurture these relationships for the remainder of my life. I cannot imagine my life without these people in it anymore. Thank you to all 3 of you for being a very special part of my life.

Mom

On Valentine's Day, as I wrote previously, mom was air ambulanced back to Ontario. She spoke to the customs agent when the plane landed in Orillia. Somewhere between the airplane and the hospital (knowing that she was back on Canadian soil), mom peacefully stopped breathing. 

Mom was 83 years old and she's been ready to die since before Christmas, so, as much as I will miss her, she is at peace and she is no longer fighting the illnesses that have plagued her since she arrived in Florida.

I'm so glad that we were able to get her back to Canada where she wanted to be and where she wanted to die. 

Rest In Peace, mom - we will all miss you.

Our Mother

Mom left early for Florida this year - she left before Christmas. Somehow I think that she knew that this would be her final year in the "Sunshine State". Since her arrival she has been in hospital 4 times (and she headed south this year and apparently the last 4 years without and health insurance!!!!)

Last week we made the decision to try and get mom strong enough to bring her home on a commercial flight with a medical escort - I feel like I have spent almost all my time in the past week on the phone. Our intent was to bring mom back to a retirement home and we were able to find a lovely, brand new one in Richmond Hill. No, it is not particularly close to any of her children, however, it is central to everyone - children and grandchildren. Best of all as far as I was concerned is the fact that my mother's best friend since she was a very young girl lives there. Can you imagine being able to ,make this difficult transition with your best friend!!

Unfortunately, yesterday mom's health started to slide backwards and we made the decision to air ambulance her back to Ontario. As I write this, she is in the air, on her way. She will be admitted to Soldier's Memorial Hospital in Orillia for a medical assessment (we are all hoping that this will be a short-lived hospitalization). Again, hopefully we will be able to transfer her to the Retirement Home and let her get on with her life.

I Survived

A week and a half ago I had my second back surgery and what a difference from the first. This time I actually remember my time in the PACU (Recovery Unit), although that may have something to do with the fact that I was there for almost 7 hours! Unfortunately, my BP was a constant issue throughout my admission. I routinely have low blood pressure - my normal BP is around 90/60. When you would think that someone's BP should be going through the roof - serious pain for instance, my goes lower - as low as 60/40. No wonder they worry. Despite my BP, I survived. Hated my entire hospitalization though - my roommates were quite inconsiderate (they included a screamer and a lady who liked her visitors 20 at a time).

I had my surgery Friday afternoon and I was home by noon on Monday. Quick you might say, however, you truly do heal faster at home. Now I am able to wander the main floor at will. I am able to make my self simple meals. I am able to stand for longer and longer. Sitting - not so much!. Graham will be heading back to work this Sunday and I think that I will be okay - I have a couple of friends who are retired and have offered to help me out any time. I have other friends, who still work, but have offered to help out inany way they can - I'll be fine.

The best part of all of this - I'll be back at work by the time I originally expected to have my surgery

My Back

For 11 months now, I have been in a lot of pain. Since my last back surgery in 2007, my degenerative disc disease has been creeping up my spine to the point where my next 2 vertebrae (L3, L4) no longer had any cushion between them - I had bone rubbing on bone (no wonder it hurt!!)

I had to wait until this past October to see Dr. Bailey, my orthopaedic surgeon (aren't I lucky that I was already 1 of his patients - new patients at the time were having to wait until next summer to get an appointment). Silly man asked if I wanted him to fix the problem - a no brainer as far as I was concerned. The dear man told me that his wait for surgery was about 1 year, however, because He hadf operated on me previously, I would only have to wait about 6 months. On top of that, we would only receive 2 - 4 weeks notice prior to my surgery.

So...... here I am thinking that I probably have 3 - 4 months left to wait for my surgery when my phone rings this past Monday morning. It is Dr. Bailey's office. They have had a cancellation - would I like it. I didn't care when it was, the answer was YES!!! Imagine my surprise - the date is this Friday - 27 January.

So, I am madly scrambling to get everything in order before Friday. Graham was only able to give his company a few days notice (and because of that only feels that he can take 1 week off). I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage the second week after surgery - hope that I'm mobile enough to be on my own!! But, the bottom line here - I should be back at work by the time that I originally expected my surgery.