Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Oct 22 - Ted off to Jolly Olde...


Ted has gone to England for two weeks to visit with his 87-year-old mum who is still recovering from her two surgeries late last year. After losing 30 lbs, she was down to 6 stones (under 100 lbs) and has been struggling to regain the weight. After a hip replacement, she now walks with a cane but still lives alone in her two-story house at the top of a hill, so is doing well. Since coming here wasn't an option this year, Ted is spending a couple of weeks taking her out on daily jaunts, finding new gastro-pubs, catching up with both families and friends in and around London. A good break for him. He cleaned our whole house the day he left. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful caregiver.
Meantime, I am working hard at my recovery. My mouth is still a problem and eating is a challenge but another series of anti-fungal medication and upping my vitamin and mineral intake, esp. zinc, seems to be helping. I eat a lot of fish and seafood, easy to get down and minimal chewing involved. Soups, stews, oatmeal, smoothies - story of my life. As I don't look like Kate Moss yet, I am obviously winning this battle.
Friends have dropped by, call and send me daily cheery messages so I am well cared for in Ted's absence.
It has been a beautiful fall, today is going to be +21 although only +4 overnight. Our snowshoe hares in residence - a baby one in the back and adult one in our front yard - are beginning to turn white. Just the ear tips staying black now! So cute. Did you know the reason they can run around all winter is because their feet never touch the ground? They grow long hairs on the soles of their feet so they skim over the ground and therefore don't lose body heat. The back legs are enormous. They are putting on weight like crazy getting ready for the cold months. They sense safety in our residential neighborhood, although we hear coyotes in the park some nights, so danger is never far away. They can easily outrun any dogs here.

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