THIS AND THAT

POST # 36


Another week of housesitting has breezed right on by and the time goes so fast these days, I do wonder where it goes?

I guess that I have gotten into a very comfortable routine with Jackson and Peach which is to be expected as I have done this gig a few times now and they know me and I think I know them, but every once and a while they surprise me with something new. At the moment they are both watching me sitting here at the computer while I enter this blog. No doubt they are wondering about when the next walk will be forthcoming, but in the meantime they wait while I write. Peach is curled up on top of the cushions on the chair and Jackson is in his little dog bed on the floor. The other day Jackson was in the same bed and I made some noise which woke him up. He must have been in a pretty deep sleep though, because he looked over my way with only one eye open and his little tongue sticking half way out of his mouth. He looked like a drunken sailor that has just been aroused after a big night out. We both stared at each other and I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his appearance. Jackson and Peach provide me with laughs on a daily basis, but this particular moment was over the top funny, well at least it was for me.

I have been out riding my bike every day this week as well. Now that wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary before my accident as it is my preferred mode of transport, but now it has also become part of my recuperation process. Each day I try to go a little further, and this week I did a trip around the seawall at Stanley Park which in hindsight might not have been the best choice, what with all the tourists who rent bikes and then get let loose on the seawall. At times it's a bit like dodg'em cars at an amusement park, and one has to be very aware about what everyone else is doing. And just to make things even more interesting, we now have cyclists "text messaging" while they ride. YIKES!!!!!
I think until I am fully recovered, I might give the seawall a miss.
My biggest journey so far was a ride out to the airport and back to visit a friend who was in transit on her way to Dawson, from Toronto. We almost didn't get to visit, because an Air Canada employee bus swerved to miss hitting me as I rode the final stretch to the terminal. Maybe the driver was "text messaging" and not watching the road. Anyhow, no harm done, and I enjoyed my visit with my friend Nancy.

Cycling is easier than walking at the moment, but Jackson and Peach help me with the walking part every day. In addition to the dog walks I do try to get as much walking in as I can without them. I have been working on getting from A to B without the use of any cane and I can do it now, but not for long and not very fast. Here is where patience comes in. I have been only putting weight back on my leg now for just over 6 weeks but considering it was over 14 weeks of not putting any weight on it, I guess I have to be happy with my progress so far. The real trick is to work at trying to walk normally, because otherwise other things like hips start to go out of wack. So I tell myself to "walk normal Paul" every now and again in order to try and keep things on an even keel. But overall, I think I am making progress, and that's good news. As long as I don't have to make any quick getaways for the next little while I should be ok.

If I had still been working at Aquabus and if my legs were normal, that is where I would be tonight, as it's one of the summer fireworks nights down at the beach. Piloting an Aquabus on False Creek after the fireworks are over could only be described as control amongst chaos especially going back and forth in a north south direction from the Hornby street dock to the Granville Island dock and back, across an armada of boats coming into False Creek heading east, all at the same time. Weaving in and out through a sea of red and green navigation lights made for some interesting and exciting times and thinking about it now brings back some fun memories. But tonight, I think I will stay far away from there. And besides, Jackson and Peach might need some moral support when all the banging takes place. So I will be here to comfort them if they need it.

It's looking like another great biking day, so I'll have a late breakfast and then go out for another roll. Where to today? Not sure, but it's not the destination that matters, it's ALWAYS the JOURNEY that makes it worthwhile. Just like life, really.

See you in August.

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT TODAY?

POST # 35

It's a grey overcast morning here in Vancouver as I sit at the computer and contemplate what I could write about today.
J & P aka Jackson and Peach are looking at JP aka me from their perches on the two chairs in the living room with a look of...???? Sometimes it's difficult to know what thoughts lurk behind those cute little faces. I don't think they are currently thinking about food, because breakfast is out of the way by now. But speaking of breakfast, it's always entertaining to watch them as I get the food ready. It's the same thing every day, twice a day, but you would think by their reaction that it was the very best cuisine that any dog could hope for. I wonder how long a human would put up with the same food everyday? In fact I know from personal experience. Many years ago I was onboard a freighter heading from the Indonesian island of Ambon to Java, and the food on the ship was plain boiled rice and dried salted fish, three times a day. Already by day two, my travelling companion and I were well over the excitement of the menu. So you have to give these dogs credit for their consistent contentment with such a simple fare. My guess is that they would have handled the freighter cuisine just fine for as long as the trip lasted.

Another thing that they might have been thinking about is our walk last night. Just as we were returning to the house via the alley way I spied no less than three cats all hanging around the back gate. The cats saw us, and I saw the cats, but for whatever reason, Jackson and Peach were sniffing away at other things and were totally oblivious to the three felines. Finally, just a few steps from the gate, two of the cats moved on, but the last one stayed sitting in front of one of the garage doors. A couple of barks from J and P convinced the last cat to move on, albeit reluctantly. What amazed me was how close we got before the dogs were aware of the cats. Here in the living room, the two of them can be sleeping in their little dog beds, and then all of a sudden they are up at the front window barking. And at what, I think? Then in a moment or two a person will walk past the house with a dog. They have the ability to sense a dog approaching from their living room beds, but were totally unaware of three cats within metres of them last night. Weird!!!!

The daily dog walks have been good exercise for my leg and I am grateful to have that opportunity. Without the dogs, it would be easy to say to myself that I'll go for a walk later, but with them both staring up at me with that "let's go for a walk" look in their eyes, it's hard to resist.

Cycling has also become a daily routine again which I am so very happy about. There are enough side streets and bike paths around here that I can enjoy my rides without having to worry about taking any evasive action along the way which makes for an almost stress free ride. On Thursday I rode over to Kits beach and made my first effort at walking in the sand which I was advised would be good therapy for my leg. Maybe so, but I found it a bit difficult at least this first time around, but I will have to give it another try soon. I would have liked to walk in the water, however Thursday was rather windy, which caused the water to be quite churned up and murky. The last thing I needed would have been to step on something sharp in the water and lose my balance. That will have to wait for another day. After Kits, I headed over to Granville island for a while and I was amazed at just how quiet it was, considering it's summer holiday time and the weather was so nice. A sign of the times for sure.

Yesterday, July 20th aside from being the anniversary of landing on the moon in 1969, also marked the 1st anniversary of being a member of housecarers.com which has provided me with many new housesit opportunities as a result. And for that I am grateful. I immediately renewed my membership for another year as I look forward to continuing on in this role as house/pet sitter for the foreseeable future.

Well, back here at the house, the morning is rapidly disappearing and the clouds outside are beginning to break up, with the occasional ray of sunshine poking through. Jackson and Peach are giving me the "walk" look and this is as good a time as any to get my legs moving, so I'll now stop exercising my fingers, and go and exercise my toes for a while.

Bye for now,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

BACK WITH JACKSON AND PEACH FOR A WHILE

POST # 34


Jackson and Peach are racing around the house this morning as I write these words and putting on an entertaining show for the housesitter who has just returned from the prairies and the previous housesit in Calgary. But before long they are both tuckered out and are now snoozing away, Jackson on the floor and Peach up on the pillow on one of the chairs in the living room. Blissfull thoughts of dog treats later from the housesitter dance through their little heads.

Today begins day one back at one of my regular housesits here in Vancouver with my dog buddies mentioned above. I have arrived a week earlier than originally planned as the owners have decided to have a four week vacation this year, which is great from my point of view, as I really have come to love these little dogs over the years that I have been taking care of them which is at least three but maybe more.

I arrived yesterday afternoon here at the house which must have been somewhat confusing for Jackson and Peach. Normally they don't see me until after the owners have left so yesterday even though they knew something was up they weren't quite sure what it was. Maybe they were thinking that they had hit the jackpot and they would now have three humans to take care of them for the rest of their lives and for a short time at least, that was the case. But as of this morning, it's just the three of us now, and so it will be for the next four weeks.

The previous 36 hours or so are a bit of a blur as I left Edmonton on Thursday evening on the Greyhound bus bound for Vancouver, a journey of around 17 hours. The bus has become my preferred form of transport at the moment and for the most part I find it enjoyable however while my leg is still not 100% it does make the longer journeys somewhat more of a challenge. For most of the trips I have been on, the bus has only been about 25% full and yesterday was no exception until we got to Chilliwack and then it was a packed house all the way from there to Vancouver. I had been given a complementary seat reservation in Edmonton for the back row of the bus which has three seats abreast, and I was glad that I had that little bit of paper with me to show others, as it allowed me to stretch out and enjoy the extra space that the last row provides. The only drawbacks are the fragrance emanating from the onboard washroom and the noise of the engine. But the extra space makes it a good tradeoff for the longer journeys. The one major stop along the way this time was at Kamloops and I had the chance to catch up with a friend who now lives there, for about an hour which was great.

So now I am settled back in here in Vancouver with Jackson and Peach and they don't realize it yet, however they will be seeing a lot more of me this time than on previous housesits. With my limited mobility at the moment, it's easier to just stay at home and I am quite sure that they will be ok with that arrangement. I did take them out for a walk last night, just to test out my leg and even though we moved along at a slower pace than normal, it all seemed to go pretty well. In fact from a dog's nose point of view, it was a tremendous success, as the slower pace allowed those two little noses to sniff up a storm all along the way. Jackson and Peach will be happy about that, and I am grateful for the chance to use each walk to help rehabilitate my right leg.

So from where I sit at the moment, things are looking pretty good for the next four weeks. I've got my dog buddies to keep me company and help me exercise my leg, and they have me to spoil them with attention for the next little while so it should be a good match. As I come to the end of this rather short blog, Peach is still curled up on the pillow dreaming of dog treats and Jackson is currently licking my toes which is something he seems to do rather well. He is particularly focussed on my right foot, so maybe this is his way of helping with my rehab. Or more likely it's the wonderful fragrance left over from my running shoe, that only a dog could appreciate. Whatever it is, it's nice to have the both of them around and I am very much looking forward to the next four weeks with my dog buddies Jackson and Peach.

Until next week then.
Happy Trails

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

CANE AND ABLE and BIKE RIDES

POST # 33


Earlier this week my sister Gerry and her husband Bill came down from Edmonton for a visit. Now before any of my readers think that the theme of this blog is going to be a religious one, please take note of the title one more time. It's Cane and Able, not Cain and Abel. One of the purposes of their visit was to collect a trunk that had various items that had been stored at my mom's house. In that trunk were two canes and I asked Ger to bring them to me so that I could try and divorce myself from the crutches which have been my mode of transport for quite some time now. So since Monday I have been ever more able on my cane(s) hence the title. Although I began the week with both canes, I have now for the most part managed with just the one. But it certainly is another learning curve to go through. But nowadays learning is pretty easy. If you want to know the easy way to peel a banana, just google it, and if you want to know how to walk with a cane, just google it. In fact I only got as far as typing in "how to" and google did the rest with a list of things that I may want to try which included how to walk with a cane.

As the week progressed my cane technique has gotten better, but I still have to remind myself to "walk normal Paul" every now and again otherwise I tend to lean towards the cane side which then puts my hip out of wack, but the learning continues.

Also, in the last few days I have branched out from the stationary bike here in the house, to actually hopping on another bike and going for ever more adventurous rides around the suburbs here. The trick with the bike riding is to make sure that when I come to a stop, to put my left foot down, not my right foot. After years of riding, this is a lot more difficult then I had imagined, so again I find myself talking to myself and this time the words are "left foot first Paul". So far, I have only made the mistake of landing on my right foot once, and the resulting pain helped to reinforce the left foot procedure for the future.

Yesterday I actually went on two rides both lasting about 40 minutes. The first ride took me to a new shopping centre which is close to here as I needed to pick up some fruit. Now "close" is a relative term. If I would have had to walk it on canes or even crutches, I would have not even tried, however with the freedom the bicycle provides, it was an easy ride. While still at the store, there was a huge cloudburst which dropped tons of rain down in a matter of about 30 minutes or so. When the sun came back out I ventured outside and sat down on a bench while I waited for my bicycle seat to dry off. It was interesting to just observe my location. Here I was sitting in a huge shopping centre complex with probably a hundred or so shops and a parking lot with anywhere between 500 and 1000 cars and the whole time I sat there, I was wondering about the feasibility of this arrangement as we head towards the future. This has become the norm now in North America. First, build sprawling new suburbs, and then put in a central shopping point that all the members of the new community have to drive to in order to feed themselves. Even if we weren't heading towards an energy starved future, which I happen to believe that we are, this type of set up certainly doesn't lend itself to a feeling of community. Everyone arrives in their little home on wheels, does their thing at the shopping centre and then heads back to their palace in suburbia, without hardly interacting with anyone along the way. One is almost forced to use a car to shop these days and that is one of the big problems as far as I can see. I can't help but think that this is a very weak link and that at some point down the track, that link will break and then who knows how the suburbanites will react.

With the sun doing its job of drying out my bike seat, I proceeded to peddle back home, and then later in the evening I went on yet another ride, as it was just such a beautiful night, and it seemed a shame to not get out and enjoy it and watch the sunset over the Rockies.

My friends will be back this coming Monday, and then I will be on the road again, first to Edmonton for a visit and then eventually back to Vancouver for my next housesit. Leaving this little piece of country in the city will be difficult, but such is the life of a wandering housesitter.

I arrived here on crutches but I will be leaving on a cane and I am much more able as a result.

That's all for now,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer