Hot and Healthy

Hi everyone,

Finally we have summer. It has been HOT for three days in a row! We can almost hear our cucumbers growing. The tomatoes are turning red on the vine, and we're only a couple of days away from eating some home-grown corn on the cob. Everything cries out for water, so the hose has been put to use every evening.

Lew had another MRI a couple of weeks ago, and a follow-up visit with the oncologist on Monday. Everything is good, and we felt that the Doctor was very pleased with the outcome. Lew's thyroid problem has been corrected, and he is now looking and feeling healthy once again. It has been a long year of medical nonsense, but the end result seems to be what we were hoping for.

I have had some problems with my hands, particularly with fingers "locking up". We happened to have dinner about a month ago with my cousin who is a local plastic surgeon. I took my opportunity to complain to him about my hands, and he said he would be glad to give me some steroid injections to make them feel better. So I had that done yesterday. Although one wouldn't expect instant results, I can already tell that things are going to be better.

The next thing on the agenda is a trip to Calgary next week for me to attend the Canadian Sleep Institute to determine why I am doing such a lousy job of sleeping. By coincidence, we will be bunking at George and Janet's, and they are expecting Betty to arrive on Thursday. So we hope to have a good visit with all of them.

A picture recently received from Kathy shows Aunt Merle out in the sun with Betty. She is looking really, really, good. Can't keep an old dog down!

The past few weeks we have been picking wild berries and cooking and canning. Attached is a picture of the production line.

We were lucky to find several apple trees in a vacant lot nearby where we picked a wash basket full. Six pies and four apple crisps are tucked in the freezer. After an afternoon of chokecherry picking, we have 15 jars of choke/apple syrup and a garbage can full of chokecherry wine brewing. Also made some apple jelly and apple cider. This all happened at the same time as the prune plums and pears came into the stores, so of course we had to get a case of each of those and can them too! If there is a war, we have our bomb shelter stocked!

Lew plans to head to the cabin on the 13th since hunting season for elk is on. He'll likely spend ten days out there. Has to be back on the 28th for a Bridge Tournament that lasts till October 4. By then I hope to have the garden all cleaned up and packed away so that we can leave home without any tag ends.

Looking forward to our week in Victoria over the Thanksgiving weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we won't hit the rainy season. But if we do, so what? We have good people to visit with and won't have any trouble being indoors with them if that's all we can do. And after all, Value Village is indoors, isn't it Carolyn?

That's all for this post.