Day 483 - Officially Nuts

Today I collected my nuts from CNF. I have enough nuts to keep many small, buck-teethed rodents happy for a very long time! I’m very excited to get to the ship & start making some raw cuisine!

It’s been a big challenge to try & determine how much of each nut I’ll need for 6 weeks. I don’t even know what I’ll have access to once I’m onboard or what is available once I start visiting the different islands. I’m not one to spend much time in the kitchen, either, so that doesn’t help the situation much.

I do know, however, that I should be earning frequent shopper points at CNF, as I’ve bought a ‘boatload’ of nuts, seeds & other elements necessary to make the raw thing a success.

Now the challenge comes to try & figure out how to take 24 lbs of nuts & seeds in my luggage to the ship. And still have some clothes to wear!

Speaking of which, I better get cracking. I’ve got plenty of lose ends yet to tie up… And bags to pack… And dogs to cuddle!

xxxxMaria

Day 481 - Dental Appointment & Hot Diggity Dog It's Cold Out!

I finally spoke with my husband this morning! Yay! The days are dwindling until I see him again! I can hardly wait! I have so much to do yet, but I will get there! I smell a few late nights in the near future!

I zipped off to Black Diamond for my check up. It was snowing nicely when I left. Yay. I had a great check up though! I love it when Dentists ask me if I've had braces. I haven't. My teeth are starting to crowd slightly, but nothing to panic about! He also said they were quite white. I was thinking about a whitening kit again, but perhaps I'll hold off.

I stopped at the pet shop & picked up a few weeks worth of dog food for the girls. I sure do miss them. My days don't seem complete without a cuddle & wag from both of them. Sigh.

I stopped in at Mom2's & picked up Jaco's papers to start his registration application. (finally) I dropped off the dog food & chatted with Jordan about being a vegan body builder. I'm going to work on him! He'll try a little here & there! Just you wait & see!

Oh nuts. Yes, nuts. I went to CNF next & spoke to the bulk department to see if I could order nuts in bags instead of the plastic tubs. I'll need about 12 kilos of various raw, organic nuts to get me through the next stage of my new life. I know it sounds crazy, but at least I can take my nuts with me. Can you take months worth of chicken & beef with you? (I'm actually pretty excited to make this stuff!)

It has turned bitterly cold again & I was happy to get home. I chatted with a few friends this evening & did my best to start getting organized for the big trip. I've got a long ways to go. I'm not even unpacked from Florida, let alone Saskatchewan, let alone packed for Jaco!

Wish me luck for a productive day tomorrow!

xxxxMaria & Valentina

Day 385 - Packing & Last Minute Things

Today sucked. Tomorrow he leaves. I'm not happy. I spent 5 hours in the city running around. Luckily Trisha called & forewarned me about the horrible accident on hwy 2 & I checked online. If I hadn't, I would have been stuck in a detour on hwy 8, as there was another horrible accident. What's going on? The weather is still good & people are still crashing? I'll be worried once things turn cold & snowy!

I picked up Jaco's pants from Lululemon that we dropped off for hemming, CNF for fruit, Wal-Mart for bins to pack away our things & then fuel, water & the last supper. It was rather frustrating to have to drive in on hwy 22, then all the way up McLeod Trail to Chinook, then all the way back down McLeod Trail to leave on hwy 22. Oh well. What can you do? At least I made it home safe & sound.

Jaco was nearly done packing by the time I arrived home at 2100. I helped him with a few things & did my best to tidy up the house, as I knew Mom would be coming home soon & spazzing about the state of the place. I went outside about 0100 to throw out the garbage & thought I might as well burn it, seeing as we would be up for awhile yet. When I got to the burning barrel, to my surprise, it was quite full. Mom must have put boxes in it & not lit them. I crammed my three bags of rubbish in on top of the cardboard boxes & proceed to light them on fire. I went back in the house & peeked outside every once in awhile to check on the flames & make sure I wasn't burning down the house. I checked out the window & to my surprise, the flames were raging quite high. I got a little nervous and sat & watched the flames for awhile. When I was confident I wasn't going to set K-Country on fire, I resumed cleaning/packing. About 10 minutes later, I looked out the window again. Oh dear. I think it's time for a new barrel. The flames had burned their way down the barrel. The barrel was FULL of holes. I don't know how the flames didn't escape. It was ridiculous. I could see more flames on the sides of the barrel than I could out the top of the barrel. See photo below.

Needless to say, I didn't go to sleep until all was dark & cool out back. I'm typing this from the bedroom, so the house is still standing. I'm telling you - if fire isn't in my demise, you can call me a liar!

Sweet dreams & enjoy the ones you love! I'm going to miss mine come tomorrow!!! xxxxMJV&O

And he was even underweight!

Day 382 - Jessica, Acupuncture & The Keg

This morning found me back at Jessica's. I haven't seen her for awhile, so it was great to be back. As always, she pegs my issues right from the get go. She gave me a clean billing for my health, I was happy about that. She did tell me, however, that I have some issues regarding patience & control. For those of you who believe that health issues can stem from emotional/psychological issues, you'll agree with me (her). For those of you who don't, well, I guess you won't! But I do. I guess that's my mission for these next 6 weeks of living with my Mom. Implementing patience when she doesn't hear me for the 4th time & letting her drive the way she wants (please Lord, let us arrive safe!).

I'll do my very best to make our LAST 6 weeks of living together as peaceful as possible. Wish me luck! I know I need the patience on my side & letting go of things I can't control is obviously a big help - resistance is futile, isn't that what they say?

After Jessica's appointment, I motored over to Centre St where I met a young man interested in buying my lens. I've had it listed on Kijiji since about May/June, so I was quite pleased when he said he would take it. We visited for awhile & then I had to boogie on over to my next appointment. I was going to see Dr. Zhao for another acupuncture appointment. Last time I had been so worked up about the police stopping us & all the other running around we had to do, I didn't get rid of much anxiety! (To say the least) Luckily, this time, I was able to fall asleep & woke up feeling much better about things! (Ready to take on the patience/control task!)

I stopped at CNF to pick up a few fruits for Jaco & then I boogied home. We were having dinner at the Keg with Mom & Ken & Mom2 & Greg. Initially is was just Jaco, myself, Mom & Ken. But then I thought we should invite Mom2 & Greg, seeing as we were running out of days to see them again. When I got home, Jaco informed me that he had spoken to Lawrence & invited him too. While I was at home waiting for Jaco to finish getting ready, Lawrence called & asked if Neil could come as well. So, we went from 4 to 8 in 24 hours. We had a great meal, but we didn't get a whole lot of visiting in, as it was a long rectangle table. I felt bad that Mom & Ken arrived late & were seated at the opposite end of the table from us. Oh well, it's not like we're never going to be in Canada again!

I had excruciating bone pain tonight. I thought my spine & hips were going to fly out of my body & stick into the walls around me. It was pretty rough. I couldn't get up to hug anyone hello at dinner & in the middle of the night I got up to use the loo & fell onto the bed the pain was so bad! Yuck!

Tomorrow is chemo, so I am assuming my WBC will be sky high from all this bone pain. Here's to a calm & clear round #9. Lekker slaap!

xxxxMJV&O

Mom2 & Greg - What a foxxy lookin' couple, eh? 

Neil, Mom, Ken & Lawrence 

Mrs & Doc

Day 368 - Acupuncture & AMA

Today was my first acupuncture treatment. I decided to give it a try after the last round's fiasco. Dr. Zhao was recommended to me by Andrea, the gal who had the same disease as I. The treatment was fantastic. I never dreamt that I could sleep with 20+ needles stuck in me! I woke myself up snoring a few times! Ha! I had needles in my feet, calves, wrists, forearms, chest, forehead, head... Crazy!

Unfortunately I managed to lock my keys in my car. I haven't done that for a long time! I was flustered parking in the underground parking, not knowing how to get aboveground & running late. Luckily I had AMA. However, when the fellow came to unlock my car, he asked for photo ID. I couldn't find my Driver's License. Where was it? I went through my purse, my wallet... Nowhere to be found! Luckily he took my Costco card as a form of ID. When he jimmy'd the door open, he commented that my car has been  broken into many times. Quite likely, as Contemplate is 20 years old.

I stopped at Community Natural Foods & picked up some groceries. Why, I don't know. I had picked out 5 recipes in my vegan cookbook & thought I'd experiment. Although tomorrow is chemo & I won't be cooking for a few days. In any case, I was feeling ambitious for once. I'll keep you posted on the cooking front.

My next stop was to Mom2's. She was going to re-henna my head. There wasn't much left to trace of Larissa's design after the shave, so we had to improvise a little. It turned out quite well! I'm happy to have another funky design for a week or so. It's a pity it doesn't last a little longer, as it is a lot of work! Mom2 had fun playing with my head & some henna, and I enjoy having the paste applied, so it was a win-win!

I arrived home around 2100 & got a few things ready for tomorrow's big treatment. Oh please let it go well. I'm having a Picc line put in... Wish me luck!

xxxxMJV&O

Day 215 - More Information

I met with Andrea today. She's going to think I'm a right idiot. I met with her last summer & pretty much asked the same questions as I did today. Last year I really didn't want to hear it & this summer, I NEED to hear it. 


Andrea had Hodgkin's Disease & was treated with ABVD. Her body didn't respond so well after the first bout of chemo, so they were talking to her about stem cell treatment. She didn't like the sound of that, so she did her own thing. It took her a good six months, but she's never had to go back for further treatments! 


She gave me all sorts of tips, hints & suggestions. It was a great evening for me, as I needed some reinforcement from someone who has walked in my shoes before me. I know we could respond very differently, but just knowing that she has been to the same hospitals & learning how the procedures worked for her... It was a big relief. 


I have some more homework to do & I realize my days are numbered, but I am anxious to do some more research & get crackin' on a plan! 


I left her house 1.5 hrs later & headed to CNF for some supplements. My friend, Zoe, was there & she's pregnant! I thought she was the last time I was in there, but I was too afraid to say something. (I made the mistake of once offering a belly shot to a woman who wasn't pregnant during my ship's Photographer career. It promptly ended any future belly shots!) She's due at the end of August... Phew! It will be a busy month! Krystle, Collet & Zoe! Krystle is having a boy, Zoe, a girl & Collet??? I think it's a girl! :o) Zoe is a sweetheart & I always have a quick chat & hug when I stop in for stuff.


My last stop was Greg & Madelaine's (Mom2). They were busy out front working in the flower beds & doing yard work. You wanna talk green thumbs... I think all Mom2's limbs are green! She always has an amazing yard & garden. Of course, we get to talking & before I know it, it's 2200! WAY past their bedtimes!! They both work around 0530-0630! Yikes! I boogied home & let them get their needed rest! Mom2 is coming to the head shaving par-tay & she is going to shave her head too! Whoo hoo! That takes the bald head count to 3! 


Tired & happy... sweet dreams.
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxx

Andrea & her gorgeous apple tree. She's quite the gal! Gorgeous & gifted! I stepped into her house & felt like I'd stepped into Scandinavia! Architecture & design are her specialties! 

Just the other day, Mom was telling me that Interior Designers ALWAYS work out of their homes. I snapped this on 17th ave.

Pretty little fairy garden!

Greg & Duke - what a handsome pair!