Fear Of Pain

 Birthday greetings today to my  niece, Lynn McIntosh.  Hope that you had a good day Lynnie!

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The past few days have been interesting, and a bit frustrating.

On Friday I headed to an Oakville Clinic for Carpal Tunnel surgery on my right hand.  Interestingly, the doctor spent the first few minutes seemingly trying to get me to cancel the operation.

He warned of several days of pain, the first two severe.

I don't fear pain (after all, I have dealt with Mardi being a pain you know where for twenty-two years 😬.But, I have a feeling that I may feel some real pain tonight😣.)

The doc was right about the pain and that has limited me for the past three days.  All I've been able to do is watch Blue Jays games.  And quite a run it has been!  I even managed to stay up until 3 a.m. this morning for their 18 inning loss.

They won again tonight to even up the series and guarantee at least one game back in Toronto to finish the World Series.  What a team!

Stay well.

Vision - Physical and Creative

 I had my Dr. Armogan appointment this morning and the retina is still attached.  My vision should continue to improve over the next few months.

And I managed to read the top line of the eye chart with each eye this time.  But the message was a bit concerning.

Maybe I should keep my fingers crossed for a while longer!

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We watched Carney's pre-budget speech tonight.  There is no question that Canada is in for some major changes.  I'm glad that Carney is the guy in charge - he just may be able to pull this vision off.

I just can't visualize Poilievre being able to accomplish anything more than shout and sputter.  We'd be doomed if he was in charge.  Just  my thoughts.

Stay well.

Divot Divas and Birdie Babes

 First of all, we have three birthdays to celebrate today.  The biggest is Calvin's mother, Bessie Lee Wong, who is now 105!  Say hi to your mom for us Calvin!

Mardi's niece, Rhianna, and Jill's and Gary's son Jason complete the list.  All the best to all three.

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Mardi's eye infection is slowly receding and, after being basically laid up for a few weeks, she decided that today was the day to get back into action.  It was the final golf day for her league, with a "Neon" theme.

Quite a group!

Monica also sent me the following:

I have absolutely no idea how to comment on that picture!  But it appears that they were having some fun and I'm glad that Mardi was able to shake off her doldrums for the occasion.

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That makes my eye news pretty pedestrian.  My left eye is now pretty clear, but distorted.  No straight lines and images appear quite a bit smaller than in the right eye.

Hopefully, this will improve.  I have another appointment with Dr. Armogan tomorrow which might shed some light on that possibility. 

But, if this is as good as it gets, I can live with it.  I now have a full field of vision and the right eye is still dominant.

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And how about those Blue Jays!  As a fan, I was pretty concerned when they dropped the first two games of the Division Championship at home, and then when they were behind in the 7th inning in game seven.  But the comeback kids did it in amazing fashion, with Springer's Dinger now joining Joe Carter's as a historical highlight.

The tears they shed in the celebration afterwards demonstrated their relief after dealing with a lot of pressure during the game.

Four more wins to go.

Stay well.

Getting Better

I returned to OCC today to have the bandage removed and my eye checked out.  Things have definitely improved.

Let's start six months ago when I was pretty well blind in my left eye.  Following surgery I could see, but it was like looking through a  sheet of gray greenhouse plastic.  Shapes and colours, but no detail.

My vision improved every day, in microscopic amounts, to the point that I could almost read the two  letters at the top of an eye chart.

Now that the oil has been removed, and water injected (which my body will absorb over time) much more detail has been revealed.  I've still got a long way to go but each day should continue to provide improvement.

The doctor advised that the next two weeks are critical - that's when the retina is most likely to detach again.  So no physical activity, just take it easy.  I'll keep my fingers crossed!  Thanks for your thoughts!

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Blue Jays "blue" it in the 8th inning tonight.  Brought in the wrong pitcher, Brendon Little.  Now they have to win both games in Toronto to stay alive.

Stay well.

The Eye Has It

 Our friend Jo-Anne Kempe generously offered to drive Mardi and me to my operation appointment this morning.

And here is my before picture - with a target on my head...........

..........and after.

They missed the target and hit my eye!

The bandage stays on until tomorrow morning when Kathryn drives me to my next visit.  In the meantime, no coffee, tea or alcohol.  What a test - will I make it?

The results are not guaranteed.  Could range from blind to almost perfect, depending on whether the retina is happy and in the exact right place.  And it may take a couple of months before the final result is known.  But at least the clock is running now - it's been a frustrating six months.

This evening Pat drove Mardi to the pharmacy to pick up my pain medication.  We do have good friends!

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Managed to stay awake long enough to watch the Blue Jays tie up the series with their second win in Seattle.  One more game in Seattle and then the series returns to Toronto.  Looking good.

Stay well.

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Rubber Ducks?

 

The pool at the condo closed on Monday, and the Rubber Ducky did the deed.  That's Mardi in the back row between the two gentlemen (at least I hope they are gentlemen😟).

Mardi has had good fun exercising with her friends most mornings.  She will now have to find another outlet for her energy, although the past few days have sapped that energy as she is fighting off an infection in her left eye, a result of the cataract surgery.

Things seem to be slowly improving now.

And I will have to find an outlet for my energy as well.  I just found out that my eye operation has been moved forward to tomorrow.  So my activity at the greenhouse will be paused for a few weeks.

Managed to cut the lawns today so hopefully that will do the trick until I can get back in harness.  Riding a mower isn't physical exercise is it?

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The speakers at our Optimist meeting tonight were from New Hope, which is a group that teaches school children to ride bikes.  A lot of poor families, and just about all immigrant families, don't have a bike riding history.  

New Hope coordinates with local schools, grades 4 to 6, and provides training, safety advice, etc in a full day program.  The program is meant to give the kids confidence and mobility freedom.

Mardi and I have bikes that haven't been used for a few years.  They will be given to the organization.

The Optimist Club will consider covering the cost of one of the one day programs at the next Board meeting.  Which reminds me, our annual Turkey Roll is coming up next month and I will be appealing for your support in helping us care for our community.

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Blue Jays came back to life tonight and trounced the Seattle Mariners.  Maybe we won't have to give up on them after all.

Stay well.

Happy Thanksgiving

 Birthday greetings go out to Pat today.  All the best to our good friend!

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And speaking of good friends, the folks who use the foodbank have Mardi as a friend.  It's that time of year when they need toques to keep warm and during the year she has knit enough for 35 warm heads.  Good job my love!  Especially lately with your vision issues!

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Fall is the time of year when we Trompers would get-together for a hike, bike or canoe trip.  Lots of fun and fellowship to celebrate each year.  Unfortunately, the aches and pains of old age have somewhat stifled that activity.  But thankfully, the next generation will be taking up the challenge.

I did it with my grandkids and now Doc is making that happen with grandson Auston.  Well done Doc!

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Kathryn has been helping me with the weeding at the greenhouse and so it seemed appropriate (not to mention fatherly) to invite her to share dinner with us at the Banana Leaf.

Thank you Kathryn!

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Blue Jays lost.  Tough game!

Stay well.

 I'm sure that some of you have wondered how and why I still have approval to drive with  my cloudy left eye.  It all boils down to dominant eye, nature's way of dealing with such problems.

If I close my left eye, my right eye covers about 90% of my field of vision.  When I open my left eye, the other 10% appears, but cloudy.  If a car was in that corner I would see it, just not be able to tell you make and model.  And what I see in the other 90% is what the right eye is seeing.

I just have a couple of problems with my vision.  One is the loss of depth perception.  That results in me pulling into a parking space and ending up about two feet short of where I think I am.  A good problem because it causes me to leave a bit more space.

My biggest problem is with my golf game (which has problems unrelated to my vision).  Keeping my head down until the shot has been made means that the ball is on its way before I turn to look at it.  And my cloudy left eye is the first to "see" the ball.  I end up only picking up about helf of my shots, particularly when I don't hit them straight.  So I need seeing eye friends to watch my game.

Golf has not been much of a pleasure for the past six months.  It's just for the camaraderie that I show up.

But, I played my last game of 2025 yesterday.  Gary suggested that we have a two man competition to determine who would buy the drinks after the game.  Then, he suggested that he and Calvin (who can hit the ball about 75 yards farther than the rest of us) should be partners.  Sounds fair right?  Nice guy!

Calvin walks the course, but for a moment he showed off by riding with Gary and moving his cart ahead by remote control.

Couldn't keep it on the path though so he did walk the rest of the way.

It was sunny but cool, a nice day for Gary and I to finish our season.  And Matt and I gladly bought the stacked team a drink.

Just wait until next year when I can see what I'm doing!

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Tonight, Mardi and I headed to Theatre Aquarius to see The Time Capsule.  Supposed to have been a comedy, but I didn't laugh once during the first half, Mardi chuckled twice.  But a woman behind us was cackling at every word.  Hard to take, so we walked out during intermission. What a waste!

However, it did give us a chance to watch most of the Seattle - Detroit game, which wasn't decided until the 15th inning at 1 a.m. EST.

They'll be travelling east tonight or tomorrow and facing a rested Jays team on Sunday.  And when the series returns to Seattle, the stands will have lots of Jays fans from B.C.  Can't wait.

Stay well.

Wheels, Meals and ..........

 Hope you had a good day Steve.

As predicted, we didn't work outside today due to the rain, which was just as well because the wagon had a problem.

I started the process, but had to call on Sean for help.  We replaced the whole wheel assembly.  And all of the bolts on this one, as well as those on the parts cart that we took the replacement assembly from were totally rusted and would not budge.

So a lot of grinding was required.

Sean had other important stuff to attend to, but he stayed and helped the old guy out.  Thanks boss!

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Mardi and I were invited to dinner by Maureen and Matt.  A very nice evening, capped by two hands of Skip-Bo.  The boys and girls split the two games, but I have to admit that they won their game by more points than Matt and I won ours.  Next time!

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Then it was home to watch the Blue Jays.  We're not talking about that.  They blew the game defensively. We'll be seeing them again tomorrow (sorry, I couldn't come up with something that rhymes with wheels and  meals).

Stay well.

My Golf Family

 My golf buddies had a get-together today, arranged by Al Knapp.  There are six of us who regularly golf together.  Obviously we add others to fill out two foursomes, and today those were two of my favourite ladies, Maureen and Jill.

 We golfed at MontHill..........

..........and then headed to the Erie Beach Hotel for dinner.

I've known David since 1960 😄, Al and Gary since the 1970's, Matt and Calvin since the early 2000's.  Special people who would do anything for each other if asked.  And an important part of my life.

We were later joined by my three daughters (at the far end of the table).  

Barbara and Jo-Ann are returning to Ottawa tomorrow. so it was nice to see them before they leave.

Thanks for putting it all together Al!

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OK, so now the story about the gift that Malcolm gave me last night.

My Uncle Tom Brown (his birth name was Gallaugher, but his mother died when he was young and his wicked stepmother was abusive and burned the only picture that he had of his mother.  So he left home and took the name of the Brown family that took him in.) was married to my mom's sister Ann.

My dad had abusive parents as well - a stern Scottish father and an abusive mother who had been a "home girl" and taken from her father as a young teenager and sent to Canada where she was abused as well.  Not surprising I guess that she was not so nice to her son.  Dad moved out as a teenager and lived with a favourite uncle and aunt.

Dad and Tom worked together at the York Trading Company and I assume their similar growing experiences drew them together.  They were very close friends and married sisters.

When my dad died, Tom made sure that I got to go on a fishing trip each year, and when I was old enough to drink he shared his Teacher's Highland Cream (and 7-Up) with me on each trip.

So, when we went to Scotland earlier this year, those memories resurfaced and I looked for Teacher's in each bar we visited, without success.

Malcolm was aware of my failed quest, so when we all got home he headed to the LCBO and bought me a bottle.............

....................and I was able to bring back those fond memories..........

.........sans the 7-Up of course!

Thanks Malcolm for your special thought!

Once again, family was special.

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It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so if nothing exciting happens I won't likely post.  In that event, I'm wishing Mardi's brother Steve a happy birthday.  All the best!

And stay well everyone.

Family Is Everything

 Spent some time at the greenhouse this morning being a sodbuster once again.  This is the area that is now being worked on.

When the contractor was installing this drain line he backfilled with heavy red clay.  Even the weeds don't like it!  So it will be (slowly) fixed.  So far I've repaired about ten feet of the project.

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Then it was time to watch the Blue Jays play their second ALDS game.  They were leading 7 - 0 when it was time to head to Sue and David's and we listened to the rest of the game on the radio (and watched the taped game when we got home).  Awesome game pitched by the rookie Yesavage, and the score was 12 - 0 when he left the game, but the relievers made it a bit tense, ending 13-7.  Nevertheless, the Jays just have to win one of their next three games to move on to the American League Championship.

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We had a really nice afternoon with family.  Here is a picture of a few of them........

....................and a picture of two of my favourite young ladies.

My coworker, Alex (who happens to be Sean's favourite too) and my great granddaughter Rowan.

I was given a special treat by Malcolm at the party, but I didn't sample it because I was driving and David had already asked me to try the Collingwood Distillery Rye that had been recommended to him.  So my story about Malcolm's gift will have to wait until our next issue.

Stay well.

Greats, Gardens and Games

 Three birthdays to celebrate today - Ron King, Al Addis and Jo-Anne VanStone.  Best wishes to all!

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Mardi and I took a personal day off yesterday.  We headed to the Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne to see "Memories of the Rat Pack". a musical with dialogue.  Three excellent singer/actors, with a great orchestra behind them, did a fabulous job of invoking those memories.

There was some audience "participation"........

.............and they stuck around after the show.  Here is "Frank Sinatra" showing disbelief at Mardi's 50/50 draw win of $237.

That more than paid for the show, plus our Indonesian dinner at the Smokin' Buddha.  Wonderful memories.  Great day!

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My operation is scheduled for October 20, after which golf and gardening are ruled out for 4 to 6 weeks.  That ends the golf season and, depending upon when the ground freezes, perhaps the gardening.  Lawn mowing may be OK - depends on recovery rate.

So, I've decided that next week will end my golf season.  I have a list of projects to complete at the greenhouse so I'll concentrate on those while I can.

Today, I fixed a problem that I had previously created.  When I redefined the garden under the sign I made it too big at the corners, so I had to remove sod from an area that will become a garden along the tree line.......

...................and use it to fix the corners of this one.

The problem that I was fixing was that I had cut the corner back so far that the mower wouldn't fit between the two gardens.  On to other projects next time.

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The Tiger-Cats soundly defeated the Argos today.  Fun to watch.

And, our Blue Jays trounced the Yankees 10 - 1.  Great start to their American League Division Series.  Just two more wins to go before they move on.  Yeah!

Tomorrow I'm gardening in the morning, watching the Jays game that starts at 3, and then heading to Grimsby for a family dinner at Sue's and David's.

Stay well.