Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Just Like Our Dog! Is it all About the Weather? Doctor Visit, Surprise Drop-In


I woke for the first time on Tuesday, Aug. 21st at 6:15. That felt like a really great sleep! I turned over and dropped back off for another 45 minutes. When I woke, I noticed Bill was awake and then I could hear the rain. He informed me that it had rained a fair bit through the night but that he also had a pretty good sleep. We got up at 7 and I made our coffee. Sitting and reading blogs caught us up on what our friends were up to.

Don't read this too quickly or you will confuse the purpose of this
Airstream 
Bill and I checked our Samsung calendars and found a couple of discrepancies so got those synchronized. I think each summer just gets busier and eventually we’ll be saying “we need to slow down!” There is always something going on and we are currently welcoming them. I asked Bill if there was anything I need to do this morning and was pleased that I was not on a schedule for the time being. I could relax, make breakfast, wander, visit inside or just read.

A Tiffin coach in for some work
I took Clemson out for his business when he woke up at 8 and wandered inside to say hello to Wendy. She is the first person you see when you walk in and should be named Welcome Wendy. With her beautiful appearance and smile, I imagine everyone feels immediately at ease in her presence. Without fail she asks “How's Clemson?”, another avid dog lover. Bill and I chatted a bit with Caroline and Ross and might catch up with them before we leave for home on Thursday.

Driving to the doctor's, the weather changed 6 times
Back in the Suite, I fried up bacon and eggs and we cleaned up the dishes. When Bill went into the building, I sat and followed Jack Reacher’s new adventure. A power nap for each of us and then we took a walk. Wow, a very lazy day. I realized today that I am very much like Clemson. As long as I am 'home', I am content. I don't have to be busy all the time. Bill has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon at 3:15 so we are biding our time while still keeping an eye on it. You just never know how long it takes to cross this busy city so we’ll be sure to leave in plenty of time.


We had a yogourt at 1 and planned to have leftovers for supper. I sat at my laptop and downloaded 8 new Michael Connelly books from ebook.bike. We are sitting pretty with our WiFi usage this month so it was a good thing to do and a good time to do it. It was an off and on rainy day. 

The city of London is known for it's green bike tracks 
Strange Ontario weather again with black clouds dotting the sky at different times, heavy rain, some winds and then sun again. At 2 we got a downpour and at 2:30 we were out the door in partial sun. The bonus was the temperature. It was beautifully warm all day.

Strange picture, the drops are clear but the sky is a blur
The idea is to show you the indecision of the sky
Arriving on time at the doctor’s office on Wharncliffe Rd. gave us no surprises. Of course, it was under construction! With the big truck, we pretty much have to park at the very back of the lot and even still had to pay the minimum $3 fee. Sometimes we try and slip in next door at the little mall but Security was on site today so we couldn’t do that. Dr. Persaud was pleased with Bill’s efforts in changing certain things in his diet and encouraged him to avoid a couple of high sugar and carb foods.

Everyone wants your $$
Doctor's office
We left there and drove to Commissioners Rd. where there is an entrance to Parkwood Hospital. Our plan was to surprise our blogger friend, Stew aka Furry Gnome. Bill and I were fortunate enough to meet Stew and Maria last summer at the Ridge. Sometimes all you have to do is ask and they accepted our offer for an afternoon visit. Our turn to return the favour.

Hospital entrance
It wasn’t a tough decision to decide where he would be when the nurse said ‘he isn’t in his room. He is either in the cafeteria or in the garden’. We exchanged a glance and simultaneously said 'Garden'.


We found him way back in the loveliest hospital garden ever. The paved sidewalks wound their way from one ivy covered gazebo to the next, around flower gardens of greenery and flowering shrubs. When we received his smile from across the way, we knew he recognized us. He had no idea that we were coming and that was the plan.

Doesn't this look like the coziest spot for a tea ever?
I had brought him a couple of small garden items and hoped they would replace the traditional card. I moved in for a hug as we approached him. It has been a worrisome winter, thinking about him. Stew seemed happy with the garden goodies. He mentioned the large quantity of cards he has received and how special each one is with a personal message. We had a wonderful visit and if the opportunity doesn’t arise before he is home to visit again, we hope to see him in Meaford.


When we left the garden area, Stew followed and by the time we reached the truck, the rain had started lightly. I hope you made it back inside, F.G.! Now, I will understand better where you are when you write of your outside adventures. 

If some of you haven’t read his blog, check it out here. We drove back to the Suite and the sky was still acting crazy. Very indecisive indeed! Things and staff back at CanAm were being put away and packing up. The end of the day was nigh.

this apple tree is heavily laden with ripe fruit
Furry Gnome in the garden, now isn't that fitting?
The parking lot is mostly empty tonight and other than the highway traffic, which is noisy with windows open, the evening seems calm. There are warnings and threats of storms and serious weather surrounding South and Midwestern Ontario for 48 hours so we’re probably in a pretty good place to ride it out. 

This has been another quiet day with a couple of important things taken care of. I hope yours has been a good one too!
Furry Gnome and Patsy
Good night!
Thanks for stopping by. I love reading your comments if you choose to leave one.

34 comments:

  1. Oh Patsy, I have tears as I see you and Mr F.G. together in the gardens at Parkwood. A fab surprise, and he is looking great .I have been following his blog for some time now, and earlier this year, when the posts stopped, was so worried. Finally a message from Mrs F.G. and now Stew is managing to keep us up to date each day.That is a miracle all by itself. I hopped to you after Stew said he might be in a photo. Fond greetings to you too, from Jean, aka Nancy J at " All Points of the Compass" in New Zealand.

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    1. I'm so glad Stew allowed me to take his picture so everyone can see how absolutely wonderful he looks! Thank you for checking in to see his 'temporary home base'.
      thank you for the comment! I'll check you out at A.P.of the C. :)

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  2. That was nice you guys got down to Parkwood Hospital to see Stew. Good stuff:))

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    1. Thanks Al. It was a real treat to see Stew. A wonderful visit.

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  3. So nice of you to drop in on our Mr. Furry Gnome.

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  4. So nice that you dropped in to see Stew, sounds like a wonderful visit, So glad we met him and Mrs FG. at your place last summer. He is looking good.

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    1. We had a great visit with F.G. He seemed so peaceful and content.
      He is looking wonderful.

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  5. That is a beautiful garden. How nice of you to check on Stew. I never was real hot on the rain, but I pray for it every day now! Ha!!! It cools things off nicely and cleans the air.

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    1. The hospital understands that their patients need to get out in the fresh air and make it beautiful.
      The rain is a blessing indeed, we have prayed for it ourselves many times. :)

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  6. Glad to hear that Bill's doctor is pleased with his changes. Good going you two! Stew looks wonderful and I'm sure he really enjoyed your visit..very sweet! Cute pic of you and him!

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    1. Thank you Shirley. I got the doc to give one last piece of advice......Listen to your wife. :)
      It was a joy to visit Stew, such a pleasant guy!

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  7. Patsy and Bill, thanks so much for visiting, it meant more than you can appreciate. And thanks for posting some pictures of the garden, since I can't. Look forward to seeing you back home!

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    1. F.G. the pleasure was ours too. Such a delight to see you and I'm very grateful that you were outside. The perfect place for a visit! I'd hope you wouldn't mind me posting the garden pictures. :) Thanks for posing with me and we'll definitely see you back home!

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  8. Thanks for visiting FG and posting a picture. He looks pretty good! And "his" garden is wonderful.

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  9. The Weather this year has confused the Weather Guessers. It is also having them say that this could be the new Norm.
    Glad you were able to visit with Stew while he learns to cope with a new lifestyle.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. The weather is always a topic of conversation, isn't it? I doubt there is ever a Norm but I know what they mean.
      It was great to visit with F.G. he looks fantastic!

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  10. Such a wonderful surprise for Mr FG. How wonderful of you to give it to him. You are a very kind and giving person. I know that he is happy to have photos of his garden and him in your post.

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    1. Thank you Contessa. We are both so glad that the opportunity to visit F.G. came about. We've been planning it since the Suite got booked in, just waiting to see his condition. :)

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  11. What a lovely blog glad I found it. Well actually FG mentioned it on his and so I followed up. So good of you to visit FG at the hospital.
    MB

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    1. Well, thank you. It was nice of FG to mention my blog and I knew others would enjoy seeing how great he looks. "his" garden is lovely too! :)

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  12. how awesome that you got to visit my dear friend FG, i am so happy to see a picture of him!!!!

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    1. Great! I'm glad to be able to post what he currently is unable to. I'm sure he's wanted to share pictures and soon will. We look forward to it. He looks wonderful!

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  13. So pleased I was able to find your blog and see you with FG

    All the best Jan

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  14. Thank you for posting the photo of FG. He is looking good after such a tough year.

    I will visit your blog again!

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    1. Thank you Marie. It was my pleasure and I'd welcome your visits to my blog too! :)

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  15. This is my first visit to your blog. FG is the reason. So glad to see photos of him. Thanks for sharing. Safe travels.

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    1. thank you Janice for stopping in. FG is a special person and now you can see that he looks great after such a rough time. Welcome anytime to my blog.

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  16. Hello, I just came from FG's blog. He looks well, great photo of your too. It is wonderful to meet blogging friends in person. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your day!

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    1. Hello Eileen. Nice that you popped in and I'm glad you can see how great he looks. We really enjoyed meeting FG and Mrs. FG last summer and plan to continue the friendship.

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  17. How lovely for you to visit! I popped over from FN's blog. I'm sure it was wonderful seeing friends. When my hubby had cancer surgery, we had no one. Well done.

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    1. thank you. It was so good to see him, it eased our minds for sure. He is doing as great as can be expected. I'm so sad that you had no visitors for your hubby. That would be very difficult to deal with alone.

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