Catching Up and Possibly Helping Someone

 I can't believe it is November 21st already. I know that my American friends are gearing up for Thanksgiving, which is always baffling to me, as we had ours way back in October. I feel like I'm gearing up for Christmas, and couldn't imagine also having to juggle Thanksgiving in the midst! 

I have not had too many teaching days (Covid causing me to essentially cancel a week's worth, and my procedure also meaning I couldn't book anything around this time). I just got notification that two days running at a lovely school that I hardly ever get into have been cancelled. That made me sad, as I was quite looking forward to making connections at that school.

I have started a wee bit of Christmas shopping already. I have been a bit anxious about that because this year I need to have some gifts purchased earlier (and have some baking done earlier, and some decorating done earlier) because my daughter and her fiance (I can say that now!) are going to his grandparents' and other relatives way up in Thunder Bay (Ontario) for the holidays. So we will have a little gathering and gift exchange prior to that (I'm thinking December 16th). It will be very odd when the actual Christmas rolls around to not have them here, but I know we have been very fortunate to have both of our kids close by and here for holidays up until now! Not everyone can say that.  My one brother has a twin daughter living in British Columbia, and my sister has a daughter living in New York, so yes, we are very fortunate. 

On the weekend, the weather was cooperating, so I went around the property with clippers in hand and gathered evergreen boughs to put into our two big iron urns on the little front porch. I went for a little walk past our property along a seasonal stream where I used to be able to gather armloads of red dogwood branches, but this year I barely found any. It was enough to create some colour in the middle of the urns, though. Later today, I shall drive into town to our local Dollerama and purchase some cheap and cheerful large sprigs of bright red berries to finish the project. Son helped me string the lights along our rail fence on Sunday so all that needs doing is for husband to round up the extension cords and nifty mechanism for the remote to turn the lights on and off when desired. 

Husband is still fighting the Covid effects. He is testing negative (as we all are), but his fatigue and cough remain. He is usually the much better healer of us two, but this time around, he's having a hard time shaking it, and is extremely frustrated as he has a big list of things he was wanting to take care of right now. Oh well, they shall have to wait. 

So now comes the part where I may assist someone. I am always a person who is quite fearful leading up to medical procedures, so I thought I would allay the fears of anyone who is like me and has to have the "dreaded colonoscopy". Don't dread it. I just had mine yesterday. First of all the prep for me was different than silly videos I watched on TikTok. I did not have huge jugs of foul tasting solution that I had to consume. Instead I had a little package of orange flavoured powder that I mixed with water which I had to consume, along with six to eight glasses of water, spaced about 15 minutes apart. I did that twice. Due to when my procedure was to take place, I had to waken at 5:00 a.m. for the second round of the orange solution. The day before the procedure, I could drink clear juice (I had apple), Gatorade or similar sports drink (not red or purple colours), broth ( I had chicken, warmed up, and it was nice), black coffee or tea, and jello (again, no red or purple, so I made lemon, lime and orange and only ate the lemon and a tiny bit of lime). I did not feel starving or deprived at all. The morning of was only water (and the orange concoction). In terms of what it did to my digestive tract, it was very manageable and not terrible and I was able to get some sleep at night, as well. 

The day of the procedure (which was yesterday), husband dropped me off at the small hospital in which it was to take place. I went to day surgery and sat around for a while. Then I went to a little room off of the day surgery waiting room where I dressed in the ubiquitous hospital gown and robe and was given an i.v. (that honestly was the worst part as the nurse had a heck of a time getting it in a vein and a second nurse had to step in, but maybe if you have nice hefty veins it won't be a problem). I waited around some more, then I was walked down to the room where I was to have the procedure done. There were lovely nurses and the doctor who chatted casually with me, I was even able to leave my socks on, and then ... nothing. I remember nothing after that. I woke up in a different area feeling like I had just had the most lovely sleep ever. I was in no pain whatsoever. I felt like I just wanted to cuddle down and sleep some more. I was given a nice little glass of ice water that felt like heaven, the doctor reassured me that he saw nothing that looked like cancer and that he took some little biopsies and that we would have an appointment again in a few weeks, and then I was given back my clothes and dressed in a different area. Someone called my husband to come pick me up and away I went. I was still a little drowsy and a little unsteady for a bit and fell asleep on the couch for a while (until the cat woke me up, thanks Murph). 

This morning, the morning after, I have zero pain, zero issues. I can eat whatever and it doesn't bother me. I'm glad to have a day not teaching, just because I feel like I'm still catching up on a bit of sleep, but all in all, it is nothing to be feared (just hope for a talented i.v. nurse) and the "sleep" is delightful. Hope that helps someone. 

Tomorrow the vehicle (I drive an older model Toyota Rav 4 and love it) has to be taken in for an undercoating and hopefully the guys can have a look at it and determine why it is making an annoying squeaky sound (husband has some theories, but obviously right now can't really be fixing it himself). Fingers crossed that it isn't ridiculously expensive, but honestly, that vehicle has been very good, with just general maintenance required over the years.

 'Tis windy, cold, rainy today with a possible high of 6 degrees (that's 42 in fahrenheit - which means nothing to me). What's funny is husband and I are two years apart. Celsius and various other metric teachings in school started when I was in the younger grades. Husband had already had imperial measurements firmly embedded in his brain by then. He is still very comfortable thinking in miles per hour and fahrenheit temperatures (even sets our thermometer for our heat in the house in fahrenheit), but it is meaningless to me. 

It shall be a quiche night tonight in an effort to use some eggs! Have a lovely day, everyone.