Our Journey

 At the end of August 2023, my husband found out he has a type of leukemia.  They called it 'pre' leukemia.  It meant traveling to the city for blood tests and treatments.  Fortunately, he was able to drive himself and I did not have to be there for every treatment. Some weeks he had to go every day.  

Wednesday, they called to have him come in Thursday afternoon to get the results of the Tuesday bone marrow test.  We met his new doctor and nurse practitioner.  They are both very nice.

We were told he has leukemia.  They wanted to admit him on Friday to start his new treatment.  He had planned to golf Friday morning but he cancelled that and we waited for the phone call which would tell us when to come to the hospital.  It was supposed to happen by 10 but it was noon.  (He could have gone golfing.)

We drove to the hospital and he was admitted.  The hospital is about 40 minutes from home.

The doctor came in and we learned that they couldn't start the treatment just yet because the pill they wanted to use had to be paid for somehow.  Our provincial plan doesn't cover it.  Much of the weekend (these things always seem to happen on weekends) was spent contacting people to find coverage.  On Tuesday (June 18) we got word that the money was there.  They started treatment as soon as that was confirmed.

Sunday was Father's Day.  He got a pass for a couple hours and our son picked him up from the hospital so he could enjoy some time with family.  Daughter had come home for the day and we took our little dog, Wiggles, with us so she could spend some time with her dad.  She had a great time.  Our son's dog is the same age (14) and size and they had met before.  I think both dogs liked seeing another animal the same size as they are.

Our grandson drove him back to the hospital.  Everyone was pleased with how nice the afternoon was.

I have been driving into the city every day to spend time with my husband.  Yesterday, I asked him if I could have a day off.  I have been getting more tired every day.  With cell phones, we have the ability to talk whenever we want to.  This morning when the nurse practitioner came to check on him, we had his phone on speaker could I could hear too.  Anyway, I stayed home.  I planned to get caught up with things that have been slipping but I ended up doing nothing and sleeping when I could.  

My purpose for sharing this is to help me remember.  I have read blogs about others who are experiencing different issues.  Already things are getting confused in my brain.  If you are a person who prays, we appreciate prayers.  

Eclipse

 I am back at home.  I arrived around 7 p.m. Sunday night.  I decided not to wait until Monday because I knew traffic might be busy on Monday.  

I was quite busy all morning.  I had been away for two weeks and there are things that got neglected while I was away.

This afternoon my second son called to say that he was bringing his youngest daughter and her son here to watch the eclipse.  I think we had a very good spot to watch - our backyard.

We all had the special glasses and the baby was safe under the gazebo so he couldn't look up accidently.

It was interesting how the afternoon proceeded.  We noticed it starting to get cooler and as the sun disappeared, I had to go into the house for a sweater.  Son did an experiment with the binoculars to get an image on the ground.  As the darkness was taking over, I noticed that one of my solar lights had started to shine.  Later, in the darkness, they were all glowing.

And then it was dark.  I didn't attempt to take a picture because I knew I would be disappointed and I figured there will be lots of pictures from people who know what they are doing.

And then the light started to return.  The birds started to sing again and sounded like they do in the morning when the day is beginning.  The solar lights went off again and we just talked about what we had seen.

I expect there will be lots of conversations in the days ahead about where we were and our reactions to what we saw.  

This is a picture a friend of mine (who is usually taking pictures of birds) took.

Prominences
The solar flares visible during totality.

Thursday Afternoon in Aylmer

 I can't believe it is two years since I made an entry in this blog.  It seems I am in the same spot as I was when I last wrote - my daughter's.  I am dog-sitting two labs and a cat.  I have known for a few weeks that I would spend the week here while they are in Florida golfing and celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary.  In the original plan, I was coming on March 30 and staying for a week.  What actually happened is that my husband saw a bike on Market-place that he wanted to check and so we came to Aylmer on March 22 - for the weekend.

After deciding he liked the bike and having the seller deliver it to daughter's, he also decided it might be a good idea for me to stay when he went home which he did on the Sunday.  The problem is that I packed for a weekend and by the time I am home again, I will have been away two weeks.  (Daughter brought me some new underwear. 😁)

Husband came back on Thursday to get the bike and leave me the car.  He had a nap and then drove the bike back home.  (We live about 2 1/2 hours away.)  It was a bit cooler than he likes but he was dressed for cold and made the trip successfully.  As it turned out, he chose the best day of the week for a bike ride.

If I had known how things were going to work out, I would have packed my sewing machine and some fabric so I could have been working on a quilt all week.  Instead, I did three jigsaw puzzles, read my book and checked websites on my laptop.  I am thankful I brought my book and laptop.

Daughter and son-in-law got up about 4 Sunday morning to drive to the airport for their 6 a.m. flight.  Everything went well.  I know they have been golfing a couple times but it is possible they have done more.  They do enjoy golf.  They will come home Sunday.  I think it will be 2-ish when they get here if all goes according to plan.  I haven't decided if I will head home after they get here or wait to leave Monday morning.

Now I am wondering if I will remember that I have this blog and could write more often.