Shingles

That's right, shingles, and not the roof type either.

Here I thought I would blog about our wonderful little adventure to Vancouver Island with Werner and Frieda, but, that was not meant to be.

Oh, we had a great first day sailing on calm waters, talking, coffeeing, and doing a bit of shopping on the ship--it is a great place for buying earrings--hadn't done that in a very long time. 

And when "something" says, "Buy me, buy me," what is a person to do?

ARRIVAL TIME: 3:30 P.M.

http://rosewoodinn.ivictoria.com/

We arrived at our B&B for high tea half an hour late, but that didn't seem to be a problem. We were kindly served by a young girl. 

Each couple was served a large plate, to be shared, of fruit and baked goodies-very delicious.

I did not take a photo, I thought I had tomorrow and the next day for that. 

Afternoon tea may well have been started by the French in the 17th century. 

 "What a wonderful tradition..."

After tea, we found our own rooms, and settled down for a little afternoon siesta.

That evening, we watched news, played games, and ate crackers, cheese, yogurt, and whatever else we had brought from home--we were still full from "high tea."

Next day...

SYMPTOMS

I woke up feeling too sick for anything. 

Missed out on having a good time with friends--who totally understood how I felt and were very sympathetic--and a great breakfast!

Something was not right. This felt worse than the chemo I had been going through.

Stabs of pain in my head and my right red blotchy eye was closing up on me. It felt like glass was cutting it.

My guess was...shingles!

When you are on chemo, your immune system is low, and therefore much more susceptible to shingles, etc. 

Looking back to mid-October, I had had sharp pains in my head. Deep inside I had the thought, that perhaps I had a brain tumor. Not a nice thought!

I just wanted to go home and be in my own bed.

And, as they say in Low German, "Eine Striep noh Hues!" (literally, one fast way to home)

But as you can imagine, things did not go fast. 

With the sailing home, stopping at the doctor's office and finding out that they were way too full to take me, and then waiting at emergency, which took two hours before I got to see a doctor (in the past I have waited up to 6 hours), and picking up the prescription, yes, for shingles, all took time.

We made it home 

by 7:30 p.m.

PRESCRIPTION

•PMS-VALACYCLOVIR 500MG

-Pills to be taken twice daily

•VIROPTIC

-Two drops twice daily for ten days, and...

Thankfully, I am up and around. 

  I slept for four days--not sure what was in those pills--and couldn't eat for three; Saturday I started eating a bit. Not a very nice way to lose 6 pounds. Had to be careful that I didn't touch the right side of my face and then touch my left side with the same hand--didn't want my good side to get infected as well, so I used a lot of tissue if something irritated me on my face. 

I also needed total darkness--light hurt my eye even more. 

Anyway, I am on the mend, and that is a good thing!

But, get this: 

First they tell me to cut back on salt--my blood pressure is a bit on the high side--and a couple of days before a CT scan, they tell me to load up on salt!

"Some 'things' in life don't make much sense. Do they...?"

So, here I am, watching Cityline, and eating a chicken sandwich with pickles, chips...did I say chips!? TOSTITOS here we come! and...apple sauce made by my new chef whose name just happens to be Peter (:

Spanish Dancer

 "Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain". Unknown

Hilda

PS--Just got a phone call from the Vancouver Cancer AGCY, reminding me of my appointment on Thursday, and, to drink lots of water. "No, you don't have to eat salty things, as long as you drink lots. Salt makes you thirsty."

Well, what do you know. They could have told me that before!

Music from Argentina and Paraguay

PEDEGOest is fast asleep and looking a little dusty. It does not like the rain nor the cold, therefore, we are taking a bit of a break.

But, let me show you our back yard, because we like to see autumn colours...

...and, let me show you our guitar, because we like to hear music.

The other night, we had dinner out with our friends, Alf and Sandee Krause, owners of Krause Berry Farms. I was asked what I was keeping busy with, since I wasn't painting--what was taking it's place. Well, I had to let the cat out of the bag: I have been strumming the guitar two hours a day from Monday to Friday. I love the sound of a guitar--perhaps because I heard a lot of it on the radio while growing up in Argentina.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaa7QOUwKsY

Another stringed instrument is the Paraguayan harp. 

                   Wikipedia

I have been to Paraguay twice. The first time was with my mother, in 1954, when I was 4 years old...

Katja (my mother), Hilda, my Tante Erna Janzen Federau (94 years now) and her children--Arturo, Annemarie, Werner and Alfred. 
...and in 2007 with Peter and our son, Michael. 

Visitors from Paraguay

My cousin,Walter (maternal Janzen) Siemens and Elsi with their children Henriette (Henny), daughter-in-law Karin and son Berthalt, who came for a visit in 2011 after their Alaskan cruise. 

Saturday, I received a lovely email from my Elsi, and Elsi, I hope it is okay with you that I am sharing your email on my blog; it is worth sharing.

Elsi writes about attending a Paraguayan concert this year--the 420 Paraguayan harps that made it into the World Guinness Record. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6990r0JHZ9Y

She also writes about the weather they have been having and the importance of taking time for friends. One Saturday morning coffee time with a lonely friend, who had lost her husband, became 11 years of Saturday Kaffeeklatches. Yes, I too would love to sit down for coffee with her. 
Elsi is an amazing person with lots of stamina and a heart of gold. She walks every day, and plays volley ball twice a week-- I wish she could pass some of her energy on to me. She enjoys fishing, and baking cakes in a big way when it comes to birthdays and family gatherings. And, I am sure she does many more things. Oh, I almost forgot, she is a hairdresser. Her husband, Walter, is my maternal cousin. I call him the "ice man" because he provides the Chaco with ice.
Okay, here is her letter. Use the translator if you need to.

Hallo, liebe Hilda!!! Moechte mich mal wieder recht herzlich bedanken fuer die Fotoserie.

            Mein Computer war laengere Zeit beim "Doktor." Er ist ja auch bereits 6 Jahre alt und Henny meint, fuer einen Computer ist das ein hohes Alter und muss gewechselt werden, aber wenn er doch jetzt wieder seine Arbeit erledigt, warum unnoetig Geld ausgeben, ich brauche ihn ja nur zum Hobby und das darf doch nicht zu teuer sein??? Ha, ha!!!

    Wir waren kuerzlich 5 Tage in Asuncion. Unsere Kinder wollten eine Freundin vom Flughaben abholen und so verbanden wir mehrere Sachen. Die Maenner hatten Geschaefte zu bestreiten und wir Frauen gehen dann shoppen.

      Da schon laengere Zeit die Propaganda ging von einem Harfenkonzert, versuchten wir es auch gleich mit zu geniessen. Die Spieler wollten damit ins Ginnis-Buch der Recorde eingetragen werden und versuchten so viel Harfen und Harfenspieler zusammen zu trommeln, wie eben moeglich. Und o Wunder, es wurden 420. Somit haben sie dann auch Rekord geschlagen und es ins Ginnis- Buch geschafft.

    Die ganze Aufmachung sollte eigentlich am Flussufer stattfinden, das wegen der Ueberschwemmung aufgeschuettet wurde und im nachhinein wunderbar ausgebaut worden ist. Aber leider war Regen angesagt und das vertragen die Instrumente nicht. Der wunderbare Klang der paraguayischen Musik mit so vielen Harfen waere ein richtiger Ohrenschmaus gewesen.

   Nun wurde das Ganze in eine Sporthalle verlegt. Es war dort auch schoen, aber wie die Paraguayer so sind, die muessen ja schon von Anfang an klatschen, weil es ihnen so gefaellt, anstatt sich erstmal die wunderbaren Klaenge anzuhoern und dann es mit  Applaus ausklingen lassen. Immerhin, die vielen Harfen schafften es trotzdem, doch noch ab und zu das Geklatsche zu uebertoenen. Du kannst es Dir anhoeren, wenn Du anklickst :

        Concierto Paraguaya 420 Arpas. Ich fand es in Google.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6990r0JHZ9Y

    Nun, wir haben eine sehr trockene Zeit hinter uns. Es regnete schon einmal ueber hundert mm. Jetzt war es bereits wieder ziemlich trocken und staubig und heute regnet es wieder. Kaum zu glauben, wie schnell sich die Natur verwandeln kann. Vor dem vorigen Regen schien so ziemlich alles vertrocknet zu sein und siehe da, in drei Tagen waren Straeucher und Baeume und Graeser, die man schon abegeschrieben hatte, gruen. So passieren immer noch Wunder.

    Habe mich richtig ergoetzt an den Fotos, Schoen, wenn auch mal wieder liebe Verwandte darauf zu sehen sind. Wenn Ihr uns dann alle so freundlich anlacht, scheint alles in Ordnung zu sein, aber wie Du schreibst, ist immer wieder ein Wermutstropfen mitgemischt. Hoffe, Du ueberstehst Deine Chemos mit Erfolg. Ich werde Dich wieder mit meinen Gebeten begleiten. Das ist mindestens etwas, das auch Meere und Laender nicht stoppen und uns voneinander trennen kann.

     Ich wuerde gerne mal mit Dir in Deinem wunderschoenen Garten kommen Kaffee trinken. Ich weiss nicht, ob es jetzt noch moeglich ist, oder es bei Euch schon zu kuehl wird. Bei uns ist es endlich Sommer geworden, hat in diesem Jahr seeeeehr lange gedauert. Ich wuerde fuer die Kaelte nicht zu gebrauchen sein.

    Ich fahre bald zu meiner Freundin Kaffee trinken. Ich weiss nicht, ob ich Dir mal geschrieben hatte, dass wir das jeden Samstag am Vormittag machen. Als ihr Mann starb, war sie so einsam, dass ich ihr anbot, wir koennten mal am Samstag Kaffee trinken. Als es ein Jahr wurde, fragte ich sie, ob wir es nun schon aufhoeren koennten, da meinte sie: "Und warum wohl???" Und so sind es inzwischen 11 Jahre geworden und es geht uns noch immer gut. Wir machen abwechselnd den Imbiss dazu fertig und nachher knobeln wir noch etwas, so dass es meistens so bei 2 Stunden nimmt. Irgendetwas muss ja man schon geniessen in unserem Alter ----.

   Nun  muss ich los. Besuche oefters noch meine Schwester vorher, die im Pflegeheim ist, und so ist der Vormittag total ausgefuellt. Wenn Du willst, kannst auch mal kommen. Ich gehe dann mit Dir zu Kaethe, die wohnt nur einige Meter weiter auf demselben Hof. Bei ihr trinke ich meistens am Samstag Nachmittag Kaffe, aber nicht so oft wie hier. Nun, alles Gute fuer Dich und Deine Familie. Gruess mir auch die anderen Lieben alle. So bekommen wir auch Viktors neue Frau mal zu sehen und Tony hat so nette Toechter.

               Viele liebe Gruesse von Walter und Elsi.

"I still find each day to be too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see."

John Burroughs

and all the places I want to travel to--Hilda

Enjoy each day to the fullest...

Hilda

http://www.hildamgoertzen.blogspot.ca

The Cycle of Life...of Fish

 A lovely sunny Saturday morning... a phone call from my nephew, Tony Klassen, and...

a much appreciated invitation to

 Weaver Creek Spawning Channel          

                            

Emma, Leah, Julia

Peter, Susan & Victor Klassen, Tony, Emma, Leah, Linda & Julia

 Location

So many jumping fish and only a half an hour drive from our place.

Near Harrison Mills in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia.

Hours of Operation

And, if you want to see them hard at work, you have till Nov. 1

Open from 8:00 am until dark.

There is no admission charge.

"Look at all those fish!" "But what is that smell!!!???"

Sockeye, some chums and...

pink salmon--the prettiest and the tastiest of them all.

Cycle of Salmon Life

  A meandering stream 2,932 meters long for fish to follow.

 Gravel to lay their eggs in.

 We walk beside the stream...and wait for our picture to be taken. 

 A place to kick up your heels...and be yourself (:

Go, Susan, go!

 Look how determined this fish is. All of them are very anxious to get to the spawning channels.

 Ooops, wrong way...

YouTube by Jessi Loerch:

    

Victor and Susan Klassen, Hilda, Tony Klassen and his gang--Emma, Leah, Julia and Linda 

You know how it goes once you have a song in your head...

Do you remember this one from way back when? 

I will make you fishers of men

Fishers of men

Fishers of men

I will make you fishers of men
 If you follow me

And then it was time to go home for Faspa...

Hilda

Change Will Happen...That’s Life

PEDEGOest I will go...and you may as well come too.

As we all know, change will happen as we get older. Some are good, and some are not. One of the changes--I won’t mention any of the other ones--is our vision. We tend to need more light for all the activities that we do, like reading, writing, cooking, knitting, gaming, driving at night, working with tools, etc. 

But one thing that does not change...is our need to want to see changes. We get tired of the "same old." 

 We need changes because life is about change. 

It makes us feel good when we see something new, or have made a change.

It inspires us... 

It gives us hope.

And since our weather has been so fabulous, I have been out in our garden "making changes" by digging out the old strawberry plants by the side of our house.

They didn't do as well as they should've, 
so...they had to go.

Here is the before picture taken in the spring. 

This spot has been so nice and sunny; a perfect place for strategically placing a bench here...and a table with comfortable chairs there.

And, as you can see, we still need to do some more work here. 

But, all in all...it's a sunny spot in the autumn afternoon for sharing a cup of coffee with the neighbours.

“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One 

moment at a time.”
― Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

Love to you,

Hilda

Leavenworth, WA, USA, etc.

PEDEGOest I will go...and we are off to Leavenworth with our trailer. Our 8th and last camping trip for the year. 

Wed. Oct. 2 to Mon. Oct. 7, 2013. 

Hadn't been here in many years...

They were celebrating the "Festival of the Leaves."

 We found ourselves a lovely spot in the woods by a river three miles out of town...

 ...by the Icicle River

 What would life be without colour...?

 

...or friends...? 

Mel and Anita Penner from Abbotsford, BC.

They told us about the MCC relief sale in Ritzville.  And so Saturday...

 ...on our way to Ritzville...

 ...we saw fields of corn and acres and acres of apple trees, pear trees and vineyards. 

Our aim was to attend the MCC sale in Ritzville...a 2.5 hour drive.

 Follow the sign, and you will get to...

 ...the Menno Mennonite Church.

www.menno.wa.us.mennonite.net

 Drive until the pavement ends...

 ...find a parking spot in a farmers field...

 ...and enjoy some Swiss Mennonite Food.

The quilts were in a tent, and the quilters were busy quilting outdoors. 

The auctioneer did a fantastic job...

...and...some people found themselves the perfect spot... 

Peter and Mel. 

Mel and Anita have attended and volunteered many times.

After an enjoyable day, it was time to drive back to our camping spot at Leavenworth.

Interesting landscape...

Sunday we drove to Lake Chelan, and as we walked thorough the lovely town on Chelan...would you believe I found PEDEGO'S sister!--or brother...

Looks very good in red as well...Blue PEDEGO, don't get jealous now...

Time to eat again...we found a lovely spot for lunch...

...with a view of Lake Chelan.

And then a walk in the park

Boat races on Lake Chelan

And now...something else caught our attention... 

...it was time for coffee, but...

...in order to cross the busy street, we had to walk across holding up this green flag as a warning sign.

Ahhhhhhhh, so good!

And then it was off to the Ohme Gardens

http://ohmegardens.com/

A much needed rest after climbing stone steps.

There goes Peter...never enough!

And...I'm still resting while Peter climbed some more steps...

Our drive home was lovely...

I just couldn't get enough of those autumn colours.

So ended our little trip to Leavenworth, WA. USA 

"It's been a slice."

But...tomorrow... it's back to reality: Round #6. After that I get a two month break before I start on a two year maintenance program. Which means that every two months I go into Vancouver for chemo, and one overnighter instead of two.

We have had a wonderful Thanksgiving...and I hope you did too.

Hilda