Food, friends and music

Famously said by Eeyore, "What are birthdays, after all? Here to day and gone tomorrow." True, but how lovely a day it is when it is here and it is marked with love by friends from far and near!

Mine yesterday (February 6th) marked 56 years. I know that 56 is the new 23 -- or whatever the current clever quip is. But, really: 56 puts me waaaaay closer to 60 than I've ever been before, and that seems worthy of pause because by 60 I'll be in a position to seriously consider retiring from the full-time work world. And that's exciting to contemplate. 

Until then, I'll continue to enjoy my work as a college instructor and my recently acquired duties as department coordinator. Those who know me well will know how much I love organizing and planning systems and structures; now I get to do that beyond just the classroom. I hope to have the chance to update teaching materials and expand our offerings to include the teaching of interpersonal communication skills (our current focus is written communication skills). 

So, life is grand and the future looks good. The snow is swirling outside, but all is cozy and warm within. 

Sending love and thanks to all who are part of my world. 

xxoo 

FOOD: Birthday cake, which we started eating on my Birthday Eve,
after a delicious supper of Val's famous Greek-style chicken. Yum all round! 

FRIENDS: Cards and flowers: Who needs more than this to mark a birthday? 

MUSIC: Val and I, with Mendel and Debbie, attended a fantastic concert by the Winnipeg Symphony yesterday evening. Guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen  led the orchestra in three pieces, including Sibelius's 5th Symphony -- it was out-of-this world fantastic. Chen is a superb artist whose energy positively leaps off the conductor's podium. Remember her name; this young woman (only 43!!) is going places. We're seriously thinking about going to Chicago to hear her conduct that city's symphony. See her here, guest conducting the Vancouver Symphony: Mei-Ann Chen and VSO

New parts: all good

Val's surgery was very successful. The brilliant Dr. Hedden replaced the old 24mm ball with a new and improved 36mm one, which will give Val much better stability. I think the cup lining was also replaced. I'll get the full details from Val - or better yet, get her to write a post herself!


Today is Saturday, and it's possible Val will be home tomorrow. So, for me, it's 'get ready' day: rent the various pieces of equipment we'll need around the house and generally tidy up so there are no impediments lying around to trip her up!


She has her iPhone with her, so texts and emails get to her. She would love to hear from you.


xo

Update on three fronts

1. Mum is in the hospital with double pneumonia. Making slow progress. The local 'village' of friends is rallying round superbly and providing visits and nourishment of both the food and the spirit variety. Thank you!

2. I passed that kidney stone of the last post. Phew. Don't need to experience that kind of pain again. No diagnosis yet from the lab of the make-up of the stone.

3. This morning (Thursday), Val dislocated her right hip (replacement surgery took place in 2001). She's landed in hospital where the surgeon will do a minor procedure (that's what he called it) to replace the cup that holds the ball (I think I have the anatomy right). Poor Val. She is miserable about this; not so much because it was painful but because it is yet another thing gone wrong with her body that will require her to restrict her activities.

The dislocation happened, as these things often do, in a mundane way: She was getting her jacket out of the hall closet to go to the morning cancer-patient yoga class at Yoga North, she twisted her foot under the hall carpet and somehow twisted the damn joint out of the socket.

The paramedics and the hospital emergency staff were excellent, and I am so grateful for that.

Please send positive vibes this way!
Love,
Amanda

And now for something completely different

Anne continues to settle satisfactorily into her new life in Rosedale.

Val continues to struggle with the anti-estrogen drug she is on, as it causes aches and pains throughout her body. We'll see where this goes. 

Amanda is the 'something completely different': I am experiencing the pain of a kidney stone. Yikes. Who would have thought such a small thing could cause such major discomfort! I left my Friday afternoon class half-way through as I couldn't pay attention to the students' presentations for one more minute. A kind colleague drove me home; the pain subsided over the afternoon but had returned by Saturday morning. A trip to our local 'urgent care' centre gave me the diagnosis, even though nothing showed up on Xray (95% of stones don't). I'll book a CT scan on Monday; maybe that will show the size of this unwelcome intruder. In the mean time, drugs are managing the pain while I wait for the stone to, literally, pass.

This time last year, Val was heading towards 16 radiation treatments. These are the aloe vera plants we bought from which she used the gel to ease the sting of the burns. They now sit and merely serve to enhance the west-facing kitchen windows. We've come a long way, baby, in some good respects. Phew!

Anne's move to Rosedale

Dad's memorial service was held on Saturday, Feb. 7th. The following Monday, Val and I started the task of packing up Willow Way and getting Mum ready to move to Rosedale, her new digs. It was hard work, it was fun and it was oh-so rewarding. 

Anne was a total trouper who made fast decisions about what to keep, what to toss and what to pass along. 

Val spent hours packing up books for the local library, and more hours packing up toys for the neighbours, and more  hours packing up donations for pick-up by the Cerebral Palsy association. The driveway was half-filled (just about) with the boxes for CP. 

In addition, friends and neighbours all stepped forward to claim their favourite table or sofa or piece of art. Between the whole community village, we winnowed down the possessions to a manageable quantity that the movers then trucked over to Rosedale. 

These pics give  you a sense of Mum's new apartment on the third floor; it faces north/north-west and is well situated to view life on the street. Val and I spent three nights there and, by the time we left on Sunday the 22nd, it was beginning to feel like home to Anne. Phew! 

This week, Katy is there with Mum getting her truly settled in. Putting pictures and paintings up on the wall is something that will happen next. 

The entry way; front door is right behind you (as it were). 

From the kitchen looking across the half-wall towards the living room. 

Bedroom, where that box in the right corner has now been replaced with a snazzy new desk from IKEA - see below. 

The apartment is just 631 sq feet, so each room has multiple functions; the bedroom will serve as a study/office, also. 

Mum reading the weekend paper; that red chair will be replaced by a new reclining arm chair come spring. 

Jennifer came for supper on Friday. The four of us easily fit into the living room for conversation before the meal. Jennie is sitting on the new sofa bed that Val and I bought for Mum from Sears in Winnipeg and which was shipped to Edmonton from their warehouse in Calgary! 

From the living room into the kitchen; it's a good size, so easy to get around with a walker. 

Colin's memorial service in pics

The memorial service for Colin was held in Edmonton on Saturday, February 7th, and it was a lovely afternoon. The three children spoke, as did family friends Craig and Barbara and Jane, and Al tied it all together by singing 'To everything there is a season' accompanied by his guitar. Stories were told, tears were shed, laughter was shared, and food was eaten. I'm pretty sure that Dad would have enjoyed it! 

Some of us then gathered at the house for more conversation and refreshments. These pics below capture, I think, the warmth of the event. 

Many thanks to everyone who was there in person and many thanks to those of you who ate a chocolate biscuit in Colin's honour that afternoon!

Amanda

Katy

Charles

Max and Sam, Charles and Lisa's sons, acting up with the calendars that Colin and Katy made together at Christmas for the last several years. All full of family pics and put together by Dad on his computer, with Katy assisting from a distance. 

Ann Tweddle, friend extraordinaire, with Anne Le Rougetel

Charles, Amanda and Katy

The three Le Rougetel kids with their partners and nephews: (from left) Val, Charles, Guy, Lisa. Val, Katy, Amanda, Sam. Max in front. 

The whole family, with Mum reigning as the matriarch in the chair. 

Moving on

Colin as a boy,
sketched by his mother, Molly,
who was an artist

Just a short post to let you know that we will mark Dad's death by celebrating his life on February 7th.

It will be a historic event in more ways than one, as it will be the first time since 1993 that the siblings have all three been together - with their partners and, in my brother's case, children, too. It will be a moment to be captured on camera!

The family house has been sold and Mum will be moved into her new senior's suite by mid-March. Val and I will help with the move, and Katy will follow along to tie up the loose ends.

New beginnings all round.

Think of Colin on the afternoon this coming Saturday, and enjoy a good chocolate biscuit in his memory. He loved to have one...well, just about any time, but certainly with afternoon tea.