BACK IN WASHINGTON FOR A LITTLE WHILE

 POST # 576

Travelling south on Amtrak at this time of the year, offers plenty of seats for the individual.  I took advantage of the situation, and boarded the train to visit Mary and Dora-dog in La Conner WA.  Part of the reason for the empty train was no doubt the fact that my day of travel was American Thanksgiving, and the vast majority of travellers had probably already arrived at their destinations the day prior to November, 23rd.

Of course, I wasn't settled in very long, before Dora-dog wanted to play, and of course I had to oblige.

This past Saturday, Mary's friends had asked if we could spend the day at their house, and take care of their two lovely boneheads, as they were going to be away for the day.  We were happy to spend the day there with Benson and Sully*** (Benson on the left and Sully on the right), and Dora-dog enjoyed her time with them as well.

After a quick walk, treats were in order, and all three were more than happy to stand and wait, while Mary handed out the yummy snacks.

Mary's neighbours have a nice location overlooking the water, with their boat "Sound Venture" in the foreground.  If one looks closely, you can see the moon rise just above the bridge on the left of the photo.

With our house/pet duties completed, we headed back home.  Benson and Sully's owners would  be back home soon, so it was time to go.

We can now give all of our attention to Dora-dog, and she's happy about that.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

*** I spent a day with Benson and Sully back in April, 2021. Here is the link.

https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2021/04/sully-and-benson-day.html

Today's sunset.

MY MORNING WAKE UP CALL

 POST # 575

On most mornings, the first sound that I hear, is Shadow meowing from the hallway.  It's my morning wake up call and his way of telling me that it's time to get up and feed him.  But on some days, like today, he skipped the meowing part, and silently jumped up onto the bed.  I happened to be awake, and I was lying down on my side.  No problem for Shadow.  He just climbed up on top of me, and settled in.  I guess that he was still happy to sleep somewhat longer, and wait for his breakfast.

This went on for some time, and then I gently rolled over onto my back.  Shadow cooperated, and he was now upon my chest.  This is his favourite position.  From here he can now lick my face,  or any exposed skin with his sandpaper-like tongue, or bite gently upon my beard.  This goes on for as long as I can put up with it, and eventually I pull back the covers, Shadow jumps from the bed, and heads straight for the laundry room, which is where his food dishes are.  Breakfast time for Shadow has finally arrived.

Moments later, I am finally out of bed and doing my duty, attending to his needs.  This feeding process takes place three times per day, but the other two are easy in comparison, as I am already up and moving around.  

He's a pretty laid back furball,  and spending time with him is time well spent.  I'd like to think that maybe he feels the same about the house sitter.  After more than a decade of caring for him, each November,  he knows and can trust me.  It's a good match.

But in a couple of days, our journey together will once again come to a close, as the owners arrive home this Thursday, and I will be on my way.

From that point on, it will be their turn to feed and care for Shadow.  No doubt he will be happy to see them, and just like that, The Thoughtful Wanderer will just become a distant memory for him, at least until this time next year, and with a bit of luck, we will once again have the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks together.

Thanks Shadow.  As always, it's been a great pleasure to spend some precious time with you.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

TAKING A STAND FOR MY BACK

 POST # 574

Just four short days ago, while Shadow was relaxing in this chair, he inspired me to do the same, so I  settled down on the couch for a bit of relaxing as well.  I wasn't there for more than a half hour, but when I went to get up, my back told me that it wasn't happy about that decision.  Up to that point, my back was absolutely fine.  In fact, for about the past thirty*** years, with the exception of just once, (see here-https://wherespaulnow.blogspot.com/2021/01/damaged-goods.html ) in January 2021, I haven't had any problems at all with my back.  That all changed on November 10th, when I arose from the couch.  

Since that time, I have been struggling to get through each day.  It's not so much that I am in pain, which I certainly am, but it's the fact that I struggle to do just the simplest of activities.  Like for instance, putting on my socks and shoes, or numerous other things that we all do each and every day without thinking twice.  

In fact, any other time in the past when I have had an injury to my back, I felt pain, but usually had the ability to function through the pain.  Not so, this time around.  It's a challenge to get through the day at the moment.

Lying down hurts,  and sitting hurts even more.  Bending over is impossible right now.  So that leaves me with standing, hence the title for today's post.  Standing, also includes walking, so I have been able to go out for a short walk each day, and that helps to take my mind off of my back pain.  And who knows just what I may encounter on my daily walk?  Like this character yesterday.  It seemed to be posing for me, so I took its photo.

Also during yesterday's walk, I took a photo looking back at the condo that I am currently staying at.  It's the large green structure in the photo.  I've been Shadow sitting here  every November since 2012, so it's a very familiar location for me.  

After returning from yesterday's walk, I took one more photo, looking out of my front window.  It's been beautiful weather the past few days, but unfortunately, I have been holed up for the most part, standing, and staring out the window.  At least, I have the ability to go outside if I want to, unlike the time a few years ago when I was locked up in quarantine jail for two weeks. In spite of my pain, I'm sure that I prefer this over that.

So I will continue to stand for most of the day, try and get a few restless hours of sleep each night, and maybe things will improve sooner rather than later.  That would be a blessing.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

*** Thirty years ago, I was living in Melbourne, Australia, and I had a similar incident with my back.  Fortunately for me at that time, I was introduced to a guy who worked out of his garage.  He fixed my back, and showed me some back exercises to do as well.  So far this time, the exercises haven't been as beneficial, but I will keep doing them, and perhaps things will improve soon. 

I'VE GOT TEN MORE YEARS

 POST # 573

                    

                           TEN MORE YEARS

It's now official.  I've got 10 more years.  To be even more precise,  as of today, I have only 9 years and 347 days left to go.  Now wait just one minute.  How could I, or anyone else for that matter, be so absolutely sure that that is the amount of time that I have left?  Before I answer that question, I must emphasize that this number is OFFICIAL.  There is absolutely NO speculation in this regard.  None other than the Canadian government has made this declaration, and in spite of the fact that I have had a few run-ins with said government in recent years, which leaves me questioning its honesty, on this topic, they are absolutely correct.  How on earth could my own government be so very sure about the time that I have left?  The answer is quite simple.  The following photo will give you a hint.

Yes, that's right.  I now have a brand new passport in my possession.  It doesn't expire until October, 20th, 2033.

Out with the old,

and in with the new.

That date seems to be a long way off,  as I survey my life and the world around me at the moment.  Nothing would make me happier, than to be able to walk into a passport office in the year 2033, and once again renew my passport.  At that time, if I lived that long, I would be 78 years old.  It seems like an impossible dream at this point, but one never knows for sure.  All I can really do, is take things a day at a time, count my blessings,  and in the meanwhile, I will continue to be...

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer