It’s 10am, Thursday, May 23, and it feels as if it’s about
2pm. I got up at 5:30 to drive to
the Kelowna airport to pick up Barbara who is having a nap now because she woke
at 4am in Calgary in order to catch a plan here at 6am Mountain time. I bought a Tim Horton’s coffee in the
airport to drink while I waited for her plane to arrive and then had more
coffee and breakfast with her once we got home. The caffeine combined with the excitement of seeing Barb and
sharing some stories has me too wired to sleep even though it’s a grey day,
perfect for an afternoon nap, but then it is only 10am.
The cedars, roses, irises and new plum and hazelnut trees in
the garden are sucking up the heavy rains we’ve had over the last 2 days. I’m happy for that, but wish the
weather were better for showing Barb the countryside.
I think that I’m leveling off after ‘the thrill of the new’
when it comes to living in Vernon.
The twice lately that I’ve come back after being away, I’ve felt at
home, but also a tad flat. I’m
used to living alone in my little home, but now I face the continuation of this
life without the stimulation of adjusting to change and novelty. In my continuing discovery of myself,
I’m increasingly realizing that I’m more of a sprinter than a distance runner. I’m fast out of the gate but not good
in the long stretch. Or maybe it’s
just that the wee routine I had developed was broken by about 6 weeks away, and
if I get back to it I will feel less restless. I’ve seen my good buddies, Mo and John and gone on a couple
of hikes since I’ve been back, and I’ve finally got back to classes with a
couple of my Korean students again.
Yesterday, I went to the Rec. Centre to meet Lucia for the first time in
weeks. The swimming was really
good for my arm. I’ve been doing
the physiotherapy religiously morning and evening to keep the right shoulder
from freezing, but until the axillary nerve grows back, which I hope it will, I
have no deltoid muscle so I can’t lift the arm at all by itself. However, in the water I was able to do
the breaststroke and a back- stroke that I made up to accommodate my gimpy
arm. I did them with no real
strength but well enough to complete some slow lengths. This swimming combined with a sauna and
steam bath made me feel much better than I had when I dragged myself out of bed
at 7 and forced myself to drive to the Rec. Centre. Lucia and I always go to Starbucks for coffee and a chat/
language class afterwards. By the
end of all that, I was in top shape.
I think I’m becoming a coffaholic.
Now I have Barb visiting for a few days. How much stimulation do I need?
Jay sent me this picture. He added the comment, "Let's hope mid September is not peak season."
Eunjung, when she was over for dinner on Wednesday, using the magnetic words that Barb and Terry gave me to write comments on Jay's picture on my fridge.
An early poppy in my garden
Sharing the first gin and tonic of the season with Mo on her deck.
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