35 years

 It seems like I've fallen into a black hole of inspiration… my brain has taken a vacation from thinking about writing or even thinking and experiencing my days as they pass. I HAD the habit of noticing what I was doing and feeling, and noticing the wonders around me, but alas! Time to turn that around and be more mindful!

What started off as a bit of hermit like behaviour has morphed into super social days. If I go way back in time, Jo Ellen & Don came for supper a few Sundays ago - we ate inside as rain was threatening but we did manage a bit of time outside :-)  A few days after that we had Trudie & Leo over for supper… stir fried bok choy again - it's become our favourite dish for company. Then one night we had supper at Trudie's.

We spent another night at the trailer getting more maintenance work done. Shawn joined us for supper :-)

Last Wednesday dear highschool friends came with their spouses for a rainy day lunch. It was fun to catch up and it seems that we all have the same problems that we did last time we got together! It's actually pretty funny how little we have changed over the years. Makes me wonder about nature or nuture! June spent the night here and we dropped her off at the bus in the morning, then I got a Costco fix! (linen shorts size small!).

Tina and Bruce came for an afternoon of swimming and supper on Saturday. It was another scorcher so we put up the shade - first time this summer! I’d forgotten how lovely it is out there. We've known T&B for years and years… Carm and Bruce went to uni together 😱 Lots of laughter and good conversations made the day pass at lightning speed. Again, I made bok choy…

Then yesterday, at the last minute, Deirdre came for a swim and light supper! We hadn't seen her for several years so it was great to catch up. She's experiencing the joys of retirement now too :-)

Shoehorned in all those days I had an appointment with the medical oncologist. He was very positive and encouraging - we caught it early and it is very treatable. He started me on hormone therapy but stressed if the side effects are too bad we can revisit it as the meds are only giving a few percentage points in my favour.

So, side effects: I wasn't expecting to have so much muscle stiffness… I started it Thursday night and on Friday after my workout I could barely walk. My muscles were like rubber and felt like they had a lactic acid build up. I didn't even feel well enough to get into the pool all day :-( I started a chart to track progress for my discussion with Dr. Hilton in a month…

I've continued with walking but feel unable to do the other exercises that I've been doing, and even the treadmill intensity has downgraded significantly 😞 I'm not thrilled with this as I was starting to feel strong and fit - I'd started adding squats to build up those muscles for all the stairs we'll do on the cruise but I can't do any at the moment. My fervent hope is that this side effect will ease as my body adapts to less estrogen so I can get back to it…

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary! It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that so many years have passed and how old we must be now! Just for fun I dragged out my wedding dress and released it from its preservation box… I thought I'd try it on and then send it to the thrift store… of course it doesn't fit (I'm probably 10 pounds away from that if I'd ever even be in the same shape) but having seen it again, I'm not sure that I'll thrift it! But I have no idea why I'd keep it. It's not like I could wear it again even if I did lose more weight! And it's so dated that I can't imagine anyone wanting to wear it themselves!

I do however, fit the veil and slip 🤣, maybe even my wedding ring if I unearth that from the depths - I haven't worn it for decades (oh my gosh, it is actually decades and not years!).

(a bit of sequin for fun!)

We didn't have plans so we hijacked Peter & Julie's anniversary dinner at the Keg tonight. They got married on the same day just 30 minutes before us - what are the odds! The waiter was gobsmacked that we'd been married for 35 years - probably 10 more years than he'd been alive!

I haven't done another fast yet but plan to next week especially as the last week has been filled with meaty eating… and we all know that the Keg isn't known for its plant-based options! I feel that my cells need rejuvenation.

Awesome!

“so many friends together!”

“35 years of wedded bliss and we are still going strong”

“lazy afternoons on the deck”