Our Post-transplant Journey: An Echo, Brotherly Bonding & Girls' Time Out!

12Jul

Up early and off to TGH for an Echo this morning. All the way there in the car Carman is chirping away about the day, the traffic, the dumb pedestrians trying to get themselves run over while texting...I finally said, “Honey, you should get up early every day...you’re so chipper!”...in our house, sometimes I wake up Grumpie and sometimes I let him sleep...but it appears I shouldn’t, because he isn’t Grumpie if he gets up early! ah-ha!

The Echo goes well, the tehnician doesn’t reveal too much, other than the pressures are good...so we’ll take that and run!...or in our case roll quickly down to Druxy’s for a coffee before we head home. We were planning a visit with Charlie & Suzanne this morning (they are on their way thru town to Ottawa) but had to cancel due to the Echo and hope to make a visit work next week instead.

Alex, Birdie & Carman

As planned, Alex and Birdie came for the afternoon, Alex to spend time with Carman; Birdie brought some hand stitiching to do on one of her many beautiful qulting projects and I am to fly the coop for a few hours and have some me time. This is bittersweet for me, because I love spending time with them, so I linger over a grazing lunch with them (yes, we finished off the weekend’s bounty of cheeses, meats, salads and breads) and then head out after giving full instructions on equipment settings, which masks to where when and what not to believe. Alex is not to take “No” for an answer and will take Carman for a walk to MLG Loblaws while Birdie enjoys some peace and quiet here and I’ll head...who knows where! This is very special to me, today is their 31st anniversary after all, and they are giving it to us!

The boys, do indeed, take a tour, posting some letters on the way to the MLG Loblaws, where Carman gives Alex the full tour of the store (which he’s never done with me, hmmph!). When I get home and they have left to head back to Peterborough, Carman claims he is tired. Soo...I’m forced to threaten to tell all the young (less able to breathe) chicks he hangs out with at Physio (yes, that’s you Jess, Shilpa & Hélène!) that he went for a walk and came home a whiny wimp. He promplty clammed up and headed inside...something about checking the inside of his eyelids for images before dinner...but he did go for the walk Dr. M!

Birdie asked if I had booked any appointments for myself this afternoon...and I didn’t. Partly becuase I wasn’t sure how the day would pan out and partly because I haven’t scoped out any places for me yet (I do miss my chiro and massage treatments, a subtle combination of lugging all this equipment around, carrying grocery bags of laundry detergent, jugs of juice, pounds of fruit and veggies, etc. and, well, (*^%#$) age! Instead I decide to really have free time - no appointed place to go, just strap on the camera, hop on the street car and see where it takes me!

Oh yes, and in case i forget later...Thank you, Alex and Birdie, for a wonderful afternoon!

The banner says it all.

Well, I found a bit of heaven here in the city, around Spadina and Baldwin Streets actually, otherwise know as China Town! I found an assortment of shoes in one store for $9.99, unfortunately I have North American sized feet, so these wouldn't work for me at all (not even for a photo shoot Jill).

In an Asian grocery I strolled up and down and down and up the aisles...found small size bottles, jars, and packages of hoisin & soy sauces, seasoned rice vinegar, vermicelli and coconut milk. I need these for a few recipes but didn’t want to by the regular grocery store sizes, as they can last a couple of years and I don’t plan for us to be here that long!

Here’s a mini-album of shots I took so today you too can visit vicariously thru me!