Friday, August 22, 2025
Wondering
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Symptoms of What
Believe it or not, I was back in the ER yesterday. If it hadn't been for the previous episode on Sunday night, I don't think I would have bothered. But my doc wasn't in, so I thought that I should err on the side of prudence.
When I had been playing my usual Sudoku early in the morning, I found myself missing a few squares and activating nearby ones. Hmm . . . I then realized that the tips of the fingers on my right hand were feeling a bit numb, for want of a better word. I did carry on with the game and was certainly able to activate the correct squares, but it felt like it required concentration.
Also, during the night I had sat upon the commode on one occasion rather than standing because I was feeling a little . . . perhaps woozy is the word or at least close to it. It had been just a hint of wooziness, but after the previous episode, I was being cautious.
Later, as I sat waiting in the ER, I also felt as though I had a band around my head. It didn't hurt but also felt numb. Once again, I fail to find good descriptors, for I don't know if a head can truly feel numb.
The young ER doc saw me reasonably promptly and put me though all of my paces, touching this and that and gripping the other thing, and even having me prove that my brain was still working by answering a few questions. Of course, they also had the results from the previous recent visit.
After they sent me on my way, it seemed like a good day to have a coffee in the park.
We carried on with our day by picking up groceries at two different locations, but I still feel a sort of band around my head, just over the ears and around and above. I get the weirdest symptoms, don't I? I just don't know what they are symptoms of, and no one else seems to either.
I think these episodes have been harder on Sue because all that she can do is to worry, which is something that she does quite well.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
High Efficiency with not the Best Outcome
Yesterday was the follow-up to my June 09 prostate surgery. The Civic is a city hospital without a ton of parking. Shauna takes time off work to get us there so that I don't have to navigate the traffic and then search for elusive parking. We go by expressway, but it does get quite busy the farther we drive into Ottawa. With the dearth of parking, she drops us and heads to the mall.
This was to be a flow test. I was instructed to come with a full bladder and to bring water with me. Timing a full bladder isn't easy, so I began consuming water in the car. I left it that long because I didn't want to drink too early and arrive in dire straits. As it turned out, they took me right in, but I only had a small dribble. Back in the waiting room, I drank the container that I had brought with me and filled it twice more. About a half hour later, I was ready to try again, and a nurse came to escort me to urinate into the cone-shaped device that metered my output.
I certainly flowed this time: more copiously than usual and at what seemed to me to be at a greater rate.
I was then taken to a nearby, small and very cool, as in cold, room where they administered an ultrasound to determine how much water I had retained after urinating. The nurse seemed to think that was quite a bit, but the doctor later opined that was quite good.
Exit nurse. Enter doctor: not my surgeon but an urologist in training. She asked questions and noted my answers, all with her back turned while banging away on the computer. She asked the usual, such as how many times I got up at night. I replied, perhaps cheekily, that it depends on how long I slept. Lest she think me too impertinent, I hastily added that it was roughly every two hours on average, sometimes only an hour and sometimes three. I told her about my UTI and 'fainting' spell. possibly brought about by straining,. She didn't comment but kept typing.
Out she went and returned minutes later with the surgeon, who said that my flow rate was not great. I replied that it had seemed to me to be one of my more impressive flows. There wasn't much more jabber before he said that he needed to get in there to see what was going on. "No, not today, we'll let you know." Sigh, I will have to do this somewhat major excursion again.
If you haven't picked up on my situation, it is this. After my 4th prostate surgery in June, I had high hopes, but by only 6 weeks, I had regressed to something resembling my previous, sad state.
Things got better at the restaurant for an early supper. Shauna ordered a a barbequed chicken salad sandwich with sweet potato fries. Sue and I opted for a twofer: one appetizer, one desert, and two entrees for one price. Being charitable people, we shared the appetizer with Shauna. I assure you that all was very yummy.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Likes and Things
I came across this meme not too long ago and parked it for a rainy day because I had many posts in the queue at the time, but I do get to the end of my thoughts sometimes, and here we are. Feel free to use and post.
Before we get to it, however, I would like to thank you for your comments and concern yesterday after the weird episode of the previous night. Although we don't know each other in person, your comments did mean something to me. I did have a good 7-hour sleep last night after just 2 hours on the wild night
It is odd synchronicity that I have a previously scheduled appointment with my urologist today. Aside from the regular agenda, perhaps he will have something to say about my UTI and about the episode in general and whether it might be related to my difficulty in urinating. It's always an issue, but that was a more difficult occasion than usual, and perhaps it could have triggered what happened to me. I don't know the answer, but perhaps he will.
Onto the meme. Feel free to also pick it up for a post if and when you need one.- Steak or Seafood: Steak but we don’t indulge often. We are a lowly chicken and burger couple.
- Italian or Chinese: Italian because it’s easier to cook, but I appreciate Chinese.
- Favourite soda: Diet Coke (and it's pop not soda)
- Chocolate or Vanilla: Duh. Chocolate.
- How many tattoos: 0
- Ever hit a deer: Yes, near home about 6 years ago.
- Favourite season: Autumn
- Broken bones: 0
- Beach or mountains: Mountains, but both
- Dogs or cats: Cats but dogs are okay.
- Early morning person: Yes, in later life. But I was more of a nighthawk when I was younger.
- Surgeries: 6 — tonsillectomy, hernia, 4 prostate surgeries which should have been 1, but they haven't worked well
- Favourite color: Red
- Have you ever flown in a plane? Yes, both big and small, but not often.
- Mild or hot salsa: Mild
- Waffles or pancakes: Pancakes, but I would usually order a more eggy breakfast. preferably with bacon if I were out.
- Favourite holiday: Christmas
- Smooth or crunchy peanut butter: Crunchy but the ‘just peanuts’ natural type
- Large or small curd cottage cheese: Um … no.
- Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip: Mayo
- Country or Rock: Country, but roots or folk mostly, and much gospel music lingers in my head from my churchy youth.
- Favourite Sport: Hockey to watch in winter. Tennis during Wimbledon and US Open.
- Like to dance: I enjoyed line dancing once upon a time.
- Have you been on a cruise: No
- Fear of heights: Yes, in my older years especially but always to some degree.
Monday, August 18, 2025
Quite a NIght
Good Morning.
It’s 5:40am, and here I am, calm in my chair after a weird and scary night.
The night involved falling, calling paramedics, taking an ambulance to the hospital, and some time in ER.
I got up ~2:30 to unowat. I was blazing hot on a very cold night. Then, I couldn’t get myself back to the bed. After falling onto the bathroom counter more than once, I somehow made it out the bathroom door and to the bedroom door. At that point, I was hanging on the wall, knowing that I couldn’t go any farther without falling.
I woke Sue, and when she tried to put a chair behind me, I fell over. I lay on the floor, knowing that it would be futile to try to get up.
Sue called 911. They came. BP and all was fine. I was coherent and able to answer all of their questions. I was able to eventually get downstairs to the ambulance for the very short ride to the hospital.
The tested me: BP, heart rate, EKG and so on and so forth. All was good.
The doctor said this kind of episode does happen. People get up in the night, perhaps strain to uriinate, blood pressure drops, and they keel over
So all was well, but they decided to check my urine before sending me home. It turns out that I have a urinary infection. They started me on meds and gave me a prescription to fill later this morning.
I was just in my pjs, so I can tell you that my teeth were almost chattering on the ride home as a result of the temperature going down to 7C/45F. The hot spell had just ended, and a cold front had rolled in.
I was home not much longer 2 hours after it all began. I plopped myself in my chair, and here I remain.
Sue brought me toast, and I am doing well enough, but I still don’t feel rock solid.
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Two Walkies
We're still getting our walks in early in the day — at least early for us. In cooler weather, we tend to walk before noon, but it's been getting very hot lately, so we try to walk early. It went up to 33C/91F here on Saturday, and since it's is always a humid heat, we really feel it.
On Friday it was coffee and selfies on a bench in the park before we strolled to the other edge of the park and back. After taking our usual selfie angle, which shows the setting looking upriver, we took a different angle. The advantage of the second is that it shows us on close to the same plane and keeps our proportions better without one of us looking tiny in the background.
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Caturday 86: Lacey Becomes HarlyPoo
Oh Lacey! What odious vehicle of human torture hath pulled onto your street‽
Surely your kind and beloved humans would not foist bath, brushing, and shaving upon your exalted body.
Alas! They did.
![]() |
Washed and brushed with her hindmost quarters shaved. |
The Effrontery
Did you see that Senator Martin of the Maine legislature has posted a four page letter expressing the opinion that the four western provinces of Canada should join the USA? Why a senator of an eastern state would particularly invite our western provinces, I know not. I wonder what he has against the rest of us. If you are interested, you can find his letter within this reply post in Facebook by a Canadian politician.
What ignorance, arrogance and effrontery! Talk about not being able to read the room. He seems to have missed the news from the past eight months that we are not interested. Frankly, we have it better here, and most of us are refusing to even cross the border to visit these days, never mind actually becoming one with the US.
There have been various response. Predictably, Charlie Angus has something to say.
We’re Canadian. Proud of it. Not confused. Not for sale. And not going anywhere.You see, we don’t measure freedom by the number of firearms owned (but we do own a few) or how loud we can shout without consequence. We measure it by how we care for one another—how we build strong public institutions that ensure our kids are educated, our seniors are looked after, and no one goes bankrupt because they broke a leg or needed chemotherapy.. . . this letter—framed as an invitation—lands more as a manifesto of arrogance. The idea that Western Canada must “abandon Canadian legal codes,” “discard Canadian political loyalty,” and “salute your flag, not ours” is not unity—it’s erasure.
You say you want us “free, armed, self-governing, and accountable.” We already are. We just don’t define those words through the same lens:
•Freedom means your health card works better than your credit card.•Accountability means a leader who answers to Parliament, not the cable news pundits.•Self-government means working with Indigenous Peoples, not stepping over them.
We believe a rising tide should raise all ships, not just megayachts.Your letter is a perfect example of what many Canadians find so deeply troubling about the American worldview—assuming that what works for you must be the solution for everyone else . . . We know who we are. We know what we have. We see the chaos, division, and deep inequalities that plague your system, and we’ve chosen a different path. Not because we’re blind to our flaws—but because we believe in fixing them our way.
Friday, August 15, 2025
It Began on Drummond Street
Unfortunately, I may require one more post to conclude these ramblings, but tomorrow is Caturday, so expect an interruption to this riveting narrative. :)
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Evangel Temple
To continue my reminiscing from the previous Ruby Foo’s post, I reiterate that the trip to and from church was a rather long one on the buses. It took us two buses to get there, and I am thinking that it probably a 40 minute trip each way. But Evangel was really the only Pentecostal church in Montreal, or at least the largest one and also the only one that we could feasibly get to. For its time, it was a pretty noteworthy edifice for a lowly Pentecostal congregation.
Evangel Temple still sits in a prime real estate location in Montreal. |
This is what the interior of the church looked like in the 1950s. There was usually a fairly large orchestra on the commodious platform. I have added a red ellipsis approximately where our little family would sit. It is quite likely that I would be in the picture if it were taken on a Sunday morning.
Taken from the balcony at the back. |
Although it was a longish bus ride, the family had begun attending Evangel back in the day when they lived within walking distance, so we kept on going for the next five years after we moved to the suburbs.
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Remembering The Foo
Ruby Foo's was a popular restaurant in Montreal during the 1950s, known for its lively atmosphere and a menu that blended Chinese, American, and French cuisine. It was a stylish spot frequented by politicians, celebrities, and the city's elite. The restaurant was particularly famous for its egg rolls, chicken almond guy ding, and club sandwiches.
A typical Montreal bus if that era with Ruby Foo's in the background. |
For six years, I would wonder about Ruby Foo's when we passed by. What was it like in there? It smacked of a kind of prosperity not enjoyed by my poor, little family, and now my grandkids were staying at a semi posh hotel in the same location and bearing the same name. I really have no connection other than those sightings and the kids staying there, but the name and place still evoked memories.
Lavish furs and cars on a New Year's Eve |
Piazza Tommaso in Montreal during the 1950s was a popular restaurant and nightclub, particularly known for its upscale ambiance and celebrity clientele. It was a notable entertainment spot in the city during that era.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Sue's Flipping Experiment
Sue is given some odd photo assignments from her group, but they can prove interesting. Last week, she was instructed to take the camera down to ground level and take a photo. She was then to turn the camera upside down and take another. I don't think the object was to get a great photo but to see the world differently.
She took this one before turning the camera over. The second flip shot was quite unfulfilling because the lens was right at ground level and stuck in the grass, so I shan't bother showing it.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Code Red
It’s dry here. The last bit of rain fell on July 19-20. I don’t know how much fell, but I think I remember it being very light. Prior to that it last rained on July 9. So, we've only had trace amounts of precipitation in a whole month — a hot month at that.
The river is running very low. I peeked over the foliage at the edge of the park and saw exposed green where I have never seen it before.
Along the trail, the bog is dry where we saw the turtles during spring. One wonders how the turtles cope.
Lawns are looking parched for the most part. This is a section of ours beside the garden. No one has needed to mow for a long time.
The town is in Code Red with regards to water usage. Sue and I are complying by watering plants from the can (mostly) or nozzle (a little bit), but not all people comply. On a recent morning walk, one resident was happily sprinkling the lawn. Granted, it was probably out of ignorance because not every message filters through to every person. Still, it rankled a bit.
I don’t think we have to worry about ever running out of water in this town, but, while we often need to moderate our usage at some point during the summer, the situation is a little more concerning than usual this summer.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Sturgeon Moon
When I awoke to visit the facilities at 5:17 this morning, I grabbed the phone from the bedside table and shot the moon. It was the full, Sturgeon Moon, hanging there right in the middle of the window. It pleased me to see it and to capture this unexpected photo
Saturday, August 09, 2025
Caturday 85: TFW
Friday, August 08, 2025
Funny Names on Funny Friday
I'll list a few sans citations, but there are more if you follow the link that I have now provided three times. Meanwhile, have a Funny Friday.
SlutsendAntoine BonercainerJohn SlicksoupWillie BonercampDr Joyce Ivy Bonerberger-BroughCatalina UrinalSukey ShitlerHarry Fillmore UriningAssole VictorDuncan McSpermAda BadgerAlice Fartkamp
Thursday, August 07, 2025
Foto Fun
Daughter and granddaughter invited me on a daytrip to visit my former brother-in-law deep in the boonies. I didn't feel as though I wanted to travel 2.5 hours each way on one day, so I demurred. However, it was Brian's birthday weekend, so I decided to acknowledge the occasion by sending along a fun sort of gag gift.
I have been known to like both coke and chips — coke in Diet form — and Brian always seemed to appreciate liberating the occasional can of coke from me although he never seemed to get around to purchasing his own. So, for fun, I decided to send a few cokes and a bag of chips along with Shauna.
But, something else was needed, and so I decided to make a fun card. I found this old photo of Brian and his daughter-in-law, shucking corn at a family reunion.
I cropped Mary out of the picture and then got rid of the firepit and corn that he was holding. I replaced the corn with a can of Diet Coke and added a bag of chips in the crook of his arm. Then, using AI, I added chips as though they were falling. Finally, I added the bible verse. We both have very evangelical no bliblical backgrounds, and since we haven't seen each other for seven years, I thought it was an appropriate final but funny touch.
Wednesday, August 06, 2025
Monday Walkie
Monday was our August holiday. It is called by various names, depending on where in Canada you live.
In Canada, the first Monday of August is commonly known as the Civic Holiday. However, it is also referred to by different names in various regions and municipalities. Some common alternative names include British Columbia Day (BC), Saskatchewan Day (SK), New Brunswick Day (NB), Heritage Day (AB), Natal Day (NS), and Terry Fox Day (MB). In Toronto, it's often called Simcoe Day, while Ottawa recognizes it as Colonel By Day. (Google AI)
It really made no difference to us; we would have taken the same route regardless. However, we did choose the Tims-Junction walk. We park by the Wool Shop, walk over to Tims to get our coffee, before we mosey over to The Junction where we sit and watch the kids play while we finish our drinks. But let us begin at the beginning: at the Wool Shop where I thought that the bright yellow flowers by the window might result in a good photo. It wasn't that good, but here it is. (All phone photos today.)
![]() |
Sue's hat is too grand to allow much room for moi. |
You can take a selfie+scene in the Messenger app. To do so, activate the comment box, click the camera icon at the side, and just select the DUAL option when the app opens up. Once you are done with Messenger, be sure to also save it to your phone.