Day 26, Post-Op Staple Removal Follow Up Blues: Tuesday, October 11th!

Most men resemble great deserted palaces: the owner occupies only a few rooms and has closed off wings where he never ventures. -François Mauriac, writer, Nobel laureate (11 Oct 1885-1970)

Hello Card Sharks/Sharkettes! Lady Dar and I will be hosting bridge this evening, any time after 6:30 pm. I gather Spumoni and Josinta will be playing as most of rest of gang are out of town, as far as I know. Nevertheless, anyone available is more than welcome to compete for the simply unbelievable bridge prizes! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Grand-prize winners two weeks ago!

Good Morning OF'ies, Killian & I will lead a hike up Mount Conkle. Because this hike will be a little shorter for a change, 3-4 hours max, we will leave at 9:00AM in Summerland, allowing you to relax and drink your favourite beverage before taking off! We will meet at 9:00AM at the IGA in Summerland. Pentictonites can meet at 8:40AM at the Home Hardware in Penticton before driving to Summerland. Hope to see you there! Cheers, Kilian & Aart Missed this yesterday; but thanks for the latest news.....and pictures, everyone looks great. Happy yesterday....A & S Hi Jokester and Bridge Woman! Thanks for Thanksgiving wishes. Hello to  you both from The Burns Street Cat Woman! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Ariane! You sound even busier than ever, especially with your Nerium venture. Will you be on The Lives of the Rich and Famous soon? Glad to hear that Corben and Damien are  doing so well.

Just back from seeing my doctor and he was very pleased with how my incision has healed. He suggested I wait a couple of weeks before using stationary bicycle but I'm hoping that the physio at React will clear me for riding it. Still hoping to hear from the manager. Had thought there might be a message on our voice mail while we were out but nothing yet!

Having a table of bridge this evening, two friends from hiking group so looking forward to playing. Many of the group are out of town as sometimes we have had two tables. Before we left for doctor's office, Marian and Tim Dunn, (no relation), another couple in hiking group, dropped by to deliver us a huge rhubarb plant root. Lady Green Thumb will plant it in our raised garden bed tomorrow.

Friend, Peter, from Naramata, also gave us four or five large bulbs of his wonderful Russian garlic, a few weeks ago, so we'll plant those in garden in a week or two. We are gradually learning what vegetables and herbs we want to have, mainly as a result of what seemed to have done well over the course of the spring/summer. I'm really keen on green onions and chives. Would also like to try radishes next year.

Must away as I'm to shuck the corn we are having for dinner. Will be eating earlier than usual as we need to be ready for bridge by 6:30 pm. Etta and Duke are sunning themselves in late afternoon sunshine, on warm patio bricks. I gave them finely diced turkey, from the neck and giblets, we boiled especially for them, on Sunday, for breakfast this morning and they licked their bowls clean! Hello to Doug and fond regards to you both from The Burns Street Cat Emporium! Cheers, Patrizzio!
 

Pics: Lady Dar napping with her felines after returning from volunteer orientation session at Penticton Hospital, late this morning. Pepper plants now "wintering" in my office. Plan to remove remaining peppers and dehydrate them in my new dehydrator. Have done plums and apples, to date, and am very pleased with results!

Patrick, Thank you for the lovely card and good thoughts for Thanksgiving. The sheaf looks so simple but I am sure to have it turn out like the pictures is not as easy as it looks. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Mag’s son Kelly and wife Linda plus Linda’s extended family. It was a great evening with soooooo much food it was ridiculous. Mag’s is actually in Ireland so missed the evening. Jeff had 11 for turkey dinner and I think he was very proud of himself and his girlfriend did all the dishes so he was very happy about that.
 

Gerry is working these days. The golf course was short staffed for the month of October so Gerry volunteered to help out. It is quite a jolt to get up and be at work by 8 in the morning. He is very organized though as he makes a snack and a lunch the night before. The weather has been spectacular so there are still people coming out to golf. He is the only one there some days so not only does he do the golf section but also the kitchen and bar (not many customers thank goodness). I think he is enjoying it and a good way to help the golf course as it is run on a shoe string.
 

Stacee and Sean went to Edmonton to spend Thanksgiving with Sean’s family. They are very good to Stacee and she really enjoys them so that is a bonus. They were not too impressed with all the snow! We are having Christmas in Vancouver this year as Stacee and Sean are there. Maybe Jeff will want to cook another turkey!!! That’s about all our news for today. Give Corinne a hug from us and Chloe too if she is still there. No hugs for the cats though — sorry. Cheers, Dawn

Hello Feline-O-Phobe and Caddy Shack Man! Glad you enjoyed the card and very pleased that your Thanksgiving, as well as Jeff's and Stacee's, went so well. Tough life, indeed, when you find it difficult to have to get up in time to be at work by 8:00 am! When still working, I used to be up at 5:30 am to ride to UBC, swim for an hour and then nap at my desk, with office door closed, until coffee break! I thought Heraldo never went to bed when you owned Northern Drugs! Pay your dues now, my friend!!!Fond regards to you both from The Burns Street Cat Woman! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Dear Patrick Must confess I only read this email in it entirety over the weekend. You are a trooper--a hip replacement is not a quick fix. Take your rehab slow but be deliberate and well disciplined. I know you are and I sincerely hope that you don't have any set backs. You always remain so positive--I really admire that.

Please say hello to Corinne and Chloe. Love your cats!! Would love to see you but on Nov. 3 we will be in New York--then on to Washington DC and then to Princeton to see Eric. Hope you will keep in touch though.

Went to some VIFF films--Endless Poet, Marrying the Family, The Other Half, Mother, The Architect and Manchester By the Sea. It has been great to discover some parts of Vancouver that we so rarely go to--such as the area around Gastown and International Village.

Will go to hear our new president tonight at an event at Robson Square.
Gaz will be in town Oct. 13 to take part in a class with teacher candidates--a Living Inquiry session--lots of dialogue. I am hoping it will be right up his alley. Hard to know though. Take care and much love Jo-Anne and Colin Dear Patrick
Loved the Thanksgiving photos--you look like you have an amazing woodpile.

Colin has a horrible day to day--first oral surgery and then he goes to have his eye attended to this afternoon. The plan is to do an angiogram and then give him an injection in the eye to curtail the bleeding that is occurring behind his lense and in the vitreous--just ahead of the retina. Looks like he has no damage to the retina--which is indeed good news. Hope they can get this under control.

As for me I am good--just normal aches and pains--arthritis related. The joy of aging I guess. Needless to say happy to be able to walk around. I know how much you are looking forward to the stationary bike. It empowered me when I could use the bike after my fractures. Good news that your crutches, bench etc are no longer necessary. Here's to the best recovery possible!! Fondest regards
Jo-Anne

Love Department Q series!  Just watched the enjoyable mystery French miniseries "Witnesses" subtitled in English on Netflix and waiting for Homeland, Tyrant, and  Game of Thrones to come back on cable.   Of course I look forward every week to seeing Wentworth. If you get Netflix, Marcelle is another series worth watching as well as Shetland.... both in the mystery genre.

Hi Patrick, Thank you for hosting Bridge tonight. I will miss tonight. I fly home from NB tomorrow. Hope to see you next Tuesday😊 Pam

Hi Sarge! Just had this message  from Andrew Forshner of VWF:
Hi Patrick, I’m sorry that you are missing the Festival, but I’m glad that you are doing better. Cartwheels are only a few months off!

I completely understand if you aren’t able to volunteer on the Dram committee. A lot of what we do in prep is by e-mail and phone, so we thought Penticton would not be that much of a deterrent for some of the roles on the committee, but full appreciate your decision-making process.

Thank you for your thoughtful suggestions. I know that Paul is quite busy as a Board member, so he unfortunately does not have the time to help out the Dram, but Wayne would be a great addition to our committee. If you could extend an invite his way, that would be incredibly helpful. We have lots of roles and can use all the help we can get.Thanks again and good luck with a speedy recovery. Cheers, Andrew

So, if you are interested, please contact Andrew. Think it might be fun and you should be able to score some free tickets for me!!! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Andrew! Thank you for your best wishes on my recovery. Much appreciated. I have sent Wayne a message, including your email address, so I assume he will be in touch. Had a note from Paul and told him I'm green with envy knowing what Festival will be like this year. I'll take out my frustrations on stationary bike and while I cartwheel to wineries not far from our place! Cheers, Patrizzio!