Shuswap Rocker

SHE WAS GOING TO RETIRE

2009-10-04T12:32:00.003-07:00

My dear cousin-in-law, Donna Howe died in her sleep yesterday. We talked on the phone in the morning and she said she thought a flu bug had bitten her--she worked in a bar, so anything is possible. I was going to spend the weekend at her place and celebrate Thanksgiving as we've done several times over the years. She was married to my late cousin Glenn McCannon, who died very young in a car accident, leaving her with 2 infants--Lori, and Glenn Jr. We've stayed in touch over the years, and when Ron died she dropped everything and came to the service for me.

She planned to retire in July, and we were going on a road trip, maybe even driving to San Antonio in June. It's not fair, and frankly I've lost too damn many people already. I'll miss you my dear. R.I.P. you're leaving a big hole in a lot of lives.

ANOTHER FAREWELL

2009-09-16T06:04:00.002-07:00

The service for Hayden will be at 1 pm, Friday, Sept. 18th at Crossroads Church on Range Road in South Red Deer, Alberta. Heather & Tom, along with Hayden's sisters, aunts & uncles, and grandparents are doing the best they can to survive the loss of this sweet boy when we should be celebrating his 6th birthday.

I know his grandpa's and G.G. were there to greet him at the gates to the next plane, but I know they were sad for us too. It still feels unreal, and I fully expect him to be there when I open the door to his house.

The love and support has been awesome, and we all thank everyone for their kindness and love. I am grateful once again to my employers for their support in this horrible time.

NOT THIS ONE

2009-09-13T16:32:00.003-07:00

RIP Hayden Shadlock Sept. 25, 2003 to Sept 12, 2009

FLOORING

2009-09-12T21:53:00.008-07:00

Kitchen/Dining Room

Nathan's Room: (click on the image to enlarge the photo for a better view)

CATCH UP

2009-09-06T22:11:00.005-07:00

it has been ages since I've shared here, and a lot has happened this summer. First there was the trip to Nova Scotia. Plan was to fly there & back after a 10 day holiday touring with Ron and his family.

Sometimes to make God laugh I tell her my plans. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I didn't fly home--at least not on an airplane. We made excellent time driving across this vast country of ours, considering we could drive just 7 or 8 hours before Ron needed to be plugged into full flow oxygen. But it would have been nice if we'd had the ability to play tourist along the way. As I've also mentioned herein, we had less than a month home with Ron before we had to bid him that last farewell. I miss him terribly, but wouldn't wish him one more day of the pain and degradation he suffered. I'm just sayin'.

On the heels of Ron's diagnosis and rapid decline, my daughter Wendy and her family were forced to make a move. To cut a long story to size, they have moved into this house with me in a huge rush. The kids start school here on Tuesday, and we're pushing to have the basement suite ready for the family before Thanksgiving. So, it's a busy, lively household.

Today's adventure included two trips to the City for supplies with a side trip to the dump to reduce some of the over abundance of stuff! The flooring is done, and we await installation of the ceilings in the living area now. Yep, I'll be able to take advantage of that new home improvement tax credit this year! Woo hoo!

With all of this, the yard and garden are being sorely neglected. I MIGHT get to that work before the snow falls, but then again. . .

Meanwhile, the lightning and human carelessness have set the woods ablaze (see last post). We've had rain for the past 3 days and the stench of wet wood smoking lingers in the air. But, for the most part, the fires are being contained and controlled at last. Here's the smoke from south of Highway at Pritchard taken one morning on my way to work:

Sure hope the fall season is quieter. . .

THE HILLS ARE AFLAME

2009-08-27T21:39:00.004-07:00

Went to visit friends in Tappen. Came home after dark, and discovered there are THREE fires between Tappen and home--one near the intersection of Sunnybrae Road and Highway 1, the next in Notch Hill off Balmoral Road South, and the third just south of Sorrento. The smoke is so thick it burns. Then too, there is one West of Chase on the South side of the Highway between Harper Lake & Chase Creek. Plus the one North of Pritchard. Those are the ones that can be seen from Highway 1.

C'mon RAIN!

SERVICE

2009-08-10T19:25:00.001-07:00

The memorial service for Ron will be 3 pm Friday, Aug. 14th. For details email me or call someone from 100 Mile House

ANOTHER SAD DAY

2009-08-09T09:39:00.003-07:00

On the heels of Ron's passing, today is the 7th anniversary of the death of my first born. My son Glenn Van Breugel June 27, 1968 - August 9, 2002

HE'S GONE

2009-08-08T21:23:00.003-07:00

Ron Rankin April 18, 1944 - August 8, 2009

Ron passed away early this morning. His daughter called me at 6:15 a.m. I will go see how I can be of service to the family tomorrow and Monday, as they pick their lives up and try to move forward. This will leave a huge hole in the lives of so many people. I am going to miss him like crazy. RIP my love.

THE NEW WRINKLE

2009-07-25T23:42:00.003-07:00

I guess a diagnosis is improvement, but what a bitch of a diagnosis. After many months of missing the symptoms, testing for damn near everything but ALS, the doctor finally requested neurological testing be done. Ron has been diagnosed with ALS That's why his hands were growing weaker by the day. He also has lung disorder, so they kept chasing that trail to dead ends. Maybe he would be in worse shape if he hadn't been put on oxygen in April. Maybe they would have found it earlier if someone had listened to him. But whatever the missing pieces, this diagnosis is no picnic. At this point in time there is no cure, and it will cost him his life. He is in the hospital and they are trying to make arrangements for him to stay there till the end, which he was told would come quite quickly. The experts told him he will be incapacitated by Christmas if he's still alive then.

So, today I went up and took him out for lunch. Back to the hospital to medicate up, then out for dinner with his teenaged grandkids. I guess I'll have the highway memorized soon, as I plan to get up there as often as I can in the coming months before he is completely destroyed and the weather gets too miserable to travel.

A reminder again--never take life for granted, and never forget to tell the people who matter that they matter. At least this time I have that chance. But. . .

HOME AGAIN

2009-07-17T15:34:00.003-07:00

I never do anything without some drama accompaniment it seems! So, there I was, disembarking from a flight to Halifax with plans to drive part way home with Ron, when blammo, he reveals he's anxious to get home and we're driving like maniacs all the way back. Okay--6,377 kms in 9 days. We left Halifax July 7th; went to Sidney to visit a friend, then to PEI to visit another friend, then drove an average of 700 kms daily from there to Kamloops. We arrived here about 5:30 pm Thursday. He was going to spend a couple days resting then go home to 100 Mile House to see his doctor.

Oops, his daughter discussed his health with his doctor while she was at work yesterday, and the doc says he needs to be hospitalized. I'm hoping he's been admitted as I write this.

Since this spring, Ron lost 30 lbs and he wasn't overweight in the least. He's been on oxygen since April, which was supposed to "cure" his problems. He left here on June 2nd to drive back to Halifax to visit family. In the month before I arrived, he lost 10 of those 30 lbs! Furthermore, he was congested and could barely shuffle along for a few hundred yards before he could no longer participate in sightseeing. The trip home was the scariest thing I've experienced in a long long time. I often suspected he wouldn't wake up when we turned in for the night. What is happening to his body is not on the list of symptoms that fit his diagnosis so they've obviously missed something.

So, how does the medical system work in B.C. you ask? Like shit I say. He's been seeing doctors in 100 Mile House and Williams Lake for about 16 months. He's described his conditions and symptoms over and again but they failed to listen. All this while not being able to secure a family doctor. Every time he had the need to see a doctor it had to be at the clinic's convenience--which meant a new doctor every time. And that's probably just the start of the mess. Finally one doctor agreed to be his personal doctor--then he was put on oxygen, then the testing was done and results were actually read--but still there's something wrong. I don't know if he will recover, but if he doesn't it's the fault of this system and there can be no doubt about it.

GLENN PETER VAN BREUGEL

2009-06-27T13:30:00.002-07:00

On this day in 1968, I gave birth to a beautiful 7 lb 9 oz boy. We named him Glenn after my beloved cousin who was killed in a car accident when I was 18. August 2002 he lung cancer killed him--they said he was too young and didn't follow the symptoms from his sore back. Not a day goes by I don't think of him and miss him like crazy. R.I.P. my son.

CANCER RELAY KAMLOOPS

2009-06-14T13:32:00.004-07:00

Though we didn't raise tons of money, we doubled our goal, and submitted over $1100. to the Cancer Relay in Kamloops yesterday. Our team--the Victory Crew--did take home the trophy and prize bags for walking the most kms in the day. According to their calculations, we walked enough steps to take us to the East Coast and back to Manitoba! Not bad walking for 12 hours I say! ha.

PHEW HOT WORK

2009-05-31T18:38:00.006-07:00

The beginning of the transformation

Here is what the front yard looks like now

And the people on crew today:

Future photo's: The genius behind all this

AND LADYBUG IS HER NAME

2009-05-24T22:12:00.001-07:00

HOME AGAIN

2009-05-07T18:26:00.001-07:00

Courtenay and her mom went home this afternoon. She sat up straight most of the day and walked around a bit without any problems. She will have to take it easy for about 3 weeks, but at least they get to sleep in their own beds and that's gotta' be a good thing

COURTENAY'S VERY BAD DAY

2009-05-04T08:30:00.005-07:00

Saturday a horse named Sally spooked and threw Courtenay. She landed on her side. The instructor put her back on Sally, but she was obviously not well, so her Mom stopped it. After an inspection by the paramedics, Wendy sent her to Abbotsford Hospital, where the doctor determined there was internal damages and sent her to Children's in Vancouver.

There a CT scan revealed internal bleeding due to a rupture in her spleen. She is confined to bed rest for most of this week, and if all goes well she might go home Thursday.

Lucky for Nathan, the RCMP came by distributing stuffed toys.

UPDATE, WEDNESDAY
She won't be leaving Thursday, maybe Friday. She's eating anything she wants now (pizza last night, burger today Daddy), lipping off her Mom, rolling her eyes at the nurses, and ratting out her mom to me on the phone. She's MUCH better! Doc says on her feet tomorrow, but things are healing on their own and she appears to be out of the questionable stage now. Her mom needs her own bed so let's send lots of energy there to release them Friday!

A MONTH! CAN'T BE

2009-04-27T08:26:00.003-07:00

Holy smokes, just checked my blog and it's been a whole month since I last posted! Phew, have I really been that busy? No.

So, today, I need to get dirt to cover my lawn and re-seed grass. Then the truck goes in for oil change & stuff this afternoon, while I spread the stuff around. My neighbour removed the thatch from the lawn yesterday, and his wife & I raked up the old stuff. Next weekend it's the veggie garden that gets attention.

There's been absolutely no action on the house, and the contract with the realtor runs out at the end of May. I plan to remove it from the market then. Rather than have the listing go stale, and dropping the price, I'll stay here. If I sell it privately in the meantime, great. Otherwise, I will re-list at the end of the year or next spring.

So, off I go on the run again.

IT'S GONE

2009-03-28T06:24:00.001-07:00

Subjects were removed yesterday, and the new owners take over the cabin at Pine Lake April 8th.

SPRING IS HERE!

2009-03-20T19:54:00.002-07:00

Although there is still a bit of snow in the backyard, my flower bulbs are poking through the dirt! And a robin has been hanging around a lot. And the birds wake me up before 6 am now--WAIT A MINUTE. Oh, that part takes getting used to.

Last weekend the house was full. Kim, Cathy, Ron, Carol & Sandi were here for the weekend. Sunday we had turkey dinner, and our friends Mel & John Grant stopped on their way home to join us. Jim, Jennifer and Vi came out from Kamloops too. They left me just enough to make soup and a couple meals this week from turkey. Not too much so I get sick of it--it was great.

WHY? DON'T ASK WHY!

2009-03-04T18:31:00.002-08:00

Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, 2 workmen arrived to begin tearing out the bad drywall and replacing it. The plan was they would do that job, then tape & mud all the walls in the basement. The boss said they'd be all done by the following Tuesday. It's Wednesday. They're not done. The worker bee told me they HOPE to be cleaning up and done on Friday. They Hope! I need to have the rooms cleared out and clean the floors for a whack of company coming the following weekend. Why can they never attain the goal they give me? Why are they always over time? I reminded the worker bee I'm not paying more and no one has suggested it will cost more, so I'm not paying more than the quote. Not my fault it took longer! They lied.

ENDAKO BOUND

2009-02-23T07:44:00.003-08:00

Cleo has a new home. She's moving to Endako to live with Art & Joanne, my friends who left the city about the same time we did. The funny thing is I thought of asking them just a day or two before Jo offered.

She will share multi acres of land with their dog Xena, cats, chickens, moose, deer and cows. But mostly she'll have Xena. Cleo LOVES being with other dogs no matter what size, shape, gender, age, she's happiest playing with another dog. In fact it's about the only thing that can encourage her to ignore commands, or break loose from her yard.

Ric used to say he'd like to come back to life as one of their pets, so you can imagine the kind of home she will have.

SELL OUT

2009-02-18T06:58:00.005-08:00

After a lot of thought, reflection, and consultation with family and friends, I've listed the house for sale. It's time to downsize to a home where I don't have to shovel back breaking snow anymore. This winter might have been most unusual, but then again, it might be the sign of things to come. Shovelling 4" to 6" of heavy wet snow per incident several times in 3 months is killing me.

If that were the only thing requiring my attention after a day's work, it might be ok. But living alone in a house requires constant involvement. Especially one that isn't finished yet.

A down side to moving into a condo, is I have to find a new home for Cleo. She is definitely not an apartment dog--it would drive her and me crazy very quickly. So, if you hear of anyone seeking a family dog, she's the best.

Update: here's the listing

PROJECT COMPLETE

2009-02-02T14:48:00.002-08:00

Well almost. I need another set of hands to help me put it into place, but the work bench is done! I learned some things--never force threaded bolts thru metal holes. Single legs are not enough to sturdy up a bench. It's easier to screw things into place than bolt them, and better to screw or bolt than nail pieces together. But it's done, it's sturdy, and it has a lovely top. Except. I have to somehow cut off the ends of screws that poked thru the top. Then it's really done.

As usual, I never build with metal tools without sustaining an injury. Today, I congratulated myself on no injuries, so I ran my hand over the top. That's how I know the screws need to be cut off. Bleeding from the end of my left index finger like crazy. Am I weak from loss of blood, or just weak? Guess I'll find out. I need chocolate! When/if I find my camera I'll post a picture

WALK FOR MEMORIES

2009-01-25T21:04:00.005-08:00

Thank you to my friends and family for your donations to the cause. I walked today in Kamloops in the fund raiser co-sponsored by the Alzheimer's Society and Investor's Group. Our local "poster" man, Dave Eburne was there walking with his wife. He was diagnosed with Frontal Temporal Dementia 2 years ago at the age of 57. He was a teacher, an athlete, and a family man at the time. Since then his degeneration has taken his memory away and he struggles to keep his mind and body active in an effort to forestall rapid advancement. It was very moving listening to his wife speak about their daily routines and the devastation in such a personal way.

I wish I could support all the causes and efforts, but there is only so much time and energy to go around. I'm proud that you helped me support this one, and grateful I could walk with the throngs of people who showed up today.