Return of Rinaldo, Return to Sendero Blues: Thursday, August 30th!

The mind of a bigot to the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour on it, the more it contracts. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (29 Aug 1809-1894)

Hi Patrick Thanks for mail and photos. Nice shots! Our ocean swim went well. I enjoyed it and even won the gemal race on 4.2kms. Only 6 men ahead of me. Me friend Lene, team mate 1970s, won 6.2kms distance. See attached pictures. Hans did 4.2kms, too. In fact he is responsible for a lot of our training this summer, always keen on going out swimming!
 

Wishing you a fine bash on September 15. One reason for not being able to join is, that we are going to cadaques north of Barcelona to do another ocean swim! 14 of us from masters swim team, Hans included. XO FROM MARGARETA 😘 oops sorry for spelling, gemal means female of course.
Margareta
 

Hello Dearest Steel Magnolia! Trust you and The Lads, (all three!), are well. I do apologize for being such a tardy correspondent. Loved the pictures of your swim with Hans and congratulations to you both! Must have been your fabulous coach in Portland so many years ago! Fondestos from Lady Dar, to you, Maggie, the boys and Hans. Stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: Have you ever heard from Simon Rothenbühler in Copenhagen?

Hi Patrick, No need to apologize. We have had a hectic time with family and friends from out of town, too. We are also attending our granddaughter's performance tonight at Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance - a summer musical theatre camp at the Norman Rothstein theatre near Oakridge. It will be a late night but we hope to be on the road by 10 am tomorrow.

Enjoyed your pics of the renovation - the house looks spectacular. The kitchen is beautiful - is that a giant wine keeper by the fridge? Coincidentally, we were hoping to get to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and had heard of the Front Street Brasserie. Don't know if we'll be able to squeeze that in, but we'll have to try it since you obviously enjoyed your dinner there.

It's perfectly understandable your not having a cell phone. Wayne only has one because I gave him my old one and he only texts when there's free wifi! He never takes it out of town. I'll call Corinne first when we get into town. If there's no answer, I'll text Ayn and Chloe. So that they know it's not a telemarketer or scammer, here is my cell number is. See you tomorrow. Cheers, Dana

Hi, All. This is quick update on Julia. As you likely know, Julia required extensive surgery to treat melanoma recently discovered on the sole of her left foot. That surgery occurred today/30th. She was admitted to VGH at 05:45 and went into surgery at around 8:00 am. The plastic surgeon called me in the afternoon to report that the surgery went well, although due to some difficulties with ‘uncooperative’ blood vessels (my term) the surgery took longer than expected – over 7 hours. 

I visited Julia in the hospital some time after the surgery. She was still in the Post Anesthetic Care Unit (PACU) where they monitor patients recovering from anesthesia. She was awake, comfortable (has an epidural) and in reasonably good spirits, although drowsy and suffering from unquenchable thirst (she cannot drink for several (24?) hours after surgery, and can only have her mouth swabbed with a small wet sponge.) She was receiving one-on-one care while there. The nurse was hoping to have Julia out of the PACU by 9:30 pm. 

Julia will be in the hospital for 7-10 days, while the transplant in her foot is carefully monitored. She will be in a ‘hot room’, to assure good circulation, but which I gather to be unenviable given that the health care workers roll their eyes sympathetically when mentioning it. All seems good for now. Big kudos to the very professional health care workers taking such good care of Julia!

I’ll report again late tomorrow. Many thanks for your kind thoughts and expressions of care. -Ross ps: attached is a pic of Julia in pre-op looking deceptively relaxed (she was anything but), pointing to the Lululemon advice she noticed on her carry bag. 

Patriçio, Well, I was at the hospital today and signed the necessary paperwork. My Dad will be put into an appropriate care facility as soon as one comes up. He can then be put on a waiting list for somewhere closer, ie, Blenheim Lodge would be ideal - close, easy to get to. Of course he will still (initially) be located “locally”.

I am more than happy to attend your Blues Bash, and trilled that accommodation is available. I may not make it until Saturday, as I have a med appt. (heart follow-up monitoring) The Wednesday - Thursday, so couldn’t leave before Friday. As you may know, one does *not* go for Hwy 1 East of from Vancouver, anywhere close to rush hour! Don’t worry, no pooch. I was actually referring to the possibility I might have a dog, but that’s still on hold until everything else gets sorted out. 
 

Would like to hang around a few days … if the air quality allows, I may bring my bike. Try another run for the “Little Tunnel" When you speak of firewood, Are you going to collect more? Seems to me there was quite a bit piled up! If so, I can bring the super-truck. Have considered getting one of those “kid” wagons? A 4 wheel device would be easier to handle on that slope. Oh, if your brakes do not have a quick release, you may have to let the air out of the tire to squeeze it between the pads. Sometimes the release is on the brake lever (handlebars). Talk soon //bjp Branko

Hi Patrick, No need to apologize. We have had a hectic time with family and friends from out of town, too. We are also attending our granddaughter's performance tonight at Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance - a summer musical theatre camp at the Norman Rothstein theatre near Oakridge. It will be a late night but we hope to be on the road by 10 am tomorrow.
 

Enjoyed your pics of the renovation - the house looks spectacular. The kitchen is beautiful - is that a giant wine keeper by the fridge? Coincidentally, we were hoping to get to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and had heard of the Front Street Brasserie. Don't know if we'll be able to squeeze that in, but we'll have to try it since you obviously enjoyed your dinner there.It's perfectly understandable your not having a cell phone. Wayne only has one because I gave him my old one and he only texts when there's free wifi! He never takes it out of town. I'll call Corinne first when we get into town. If there's no answer, I'll text Ayn and Chloe. So that they know it's not a telemarketer or scammer, here is my cell number! See you tomorrow. Cheers, Dana 

Greetings to all: If you don’t get Karl’s updates from a more reliable source, read on. More good news. ALL of his tubes were removed, so he can freely walk without dragging this comet’s tail of hardware behind him. The only medication he is still receiving is some antibiotic to clear some residual infection. Another big news is that he can eat some real food, albeit blended. He claims that it beats his intravenous drip nutrition by a long shot.

I did not get to see him yesterday, and today I noticed that he has made a substantial improvement. Is that why? By extension, if I stay out of his way for several days, will he get completely cured? I should ask him. A final great news: his day of discharge has been tentatively set for next Mo, or Tue. The end of today’s news. Cheers, Al PS. Karl was in good mood and cheerful spirit.