Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

 

FRIDAY, May 16th, 2025
3 Estate Lane, Nova Scotia
16*C/60*F 
Cloudy, scattered rain showers expected

Dear Neighbor,

I've already been out this morning to the Emergency Department of the hospital in town. I was there before 7:30. It opens at 7:30. There was a ton of people waiting, so I came home. I have a problem in my right armpit which is spreading. Like boils. Quite painful and of course I am unable to shave.  I will just have to try to get in to see my doctor instead. I will call when his office opens. I think I need antibiotics for it. As they say, it's always something!  Not life threatening I don't think.  I am a bit worried they might go septic however, so I do want them seen to.  Started with one. Now I am up to three and I can see another one starting.

Speaking of skin conditions.  Cinnamon. You know the Vet never did call me back. I did go to the Pet Store to get some wipes, but I have only used one of them. They said on the box to avoid the mucus membranes and not to let them ingest any of it.  After I used the one, she was licking, and I got afraid she would ingest some of it so I spent ages chasing her around trying to catch her so that I could wipe her lips with a facecloth just in case. She was not impressed.  I have not used it again, just in case. It is very difficult to do without some kind of help. I need someone to hold her so that I can wipe the spot. Hopefully it will go away on its own.

 

(source)

It was a gorgeous day yesterday for our trip up to Kentville and back. The sun was shining the whole way and it was really quite warm.  Cindy got through her stress test alright. I am supposed to have one also at some point. I have heard nothing as of yet. On the way back we stopped at the Cambridge Convenience store. Cindy had ordered some organic multi-seeded bread, so we needed to pick that up.  You should have seen the flies in the place.  There were literally hundreds and hundreds. I don't know how the cashier managed to work with them all over the place like that.  And all small ones.  I was a customer, and I found them annoying for the short time we were in there, I cannot imagine being the cashier.  There must be a farm nearby for there to be so many.

When I had my coffee shop in Borden I had that problem one year.  There was a riding club nearby. It really was horrific. I spent most of my day when I wasn't serving customers, killing flies.  It was disgusting.

I really hate flies, if you couldn't tell already. They are dirty and vile.

 

(source)

The apple blossoms were starting to bloom all up the valley. Another week they will be totally out.  Such a pretty site.  This is a major apple growing area in Canada.  The Annapolis Valley. My oldest son was born during Apple Blossom Weekend.  The Apple Blossom Festival was always a big deal here every year. I am not sure it is as big a deal now as it was way back when. There used to be parades and Princesses, a big ball at the end of the week and a Queen of the festival was crowned.  The old ways seem to be disappearing in a lot of places. Middleton where I live has always had a Heart of the Valley Days, but they are not even having that this year. I forget why.

I think Community spirit is declining everywhere. I could be wrong, but that is the feeling I get. It is quite sad to think about really. If it is like that in these small rural communities, I dread to think what it might be like in the larger cities.

 

(source)

I picked up some fresh rhubarb and new potatoes on my journeys yesterday.  I have been craving potato salad, and this is the best time of the year for rhubarb delights.  I had wanted to get some asparagus but I think I might have missed the local asparagus.  The only asparagus I saw was really quite large.  Almost too big. I was afraid it might be woody.   I really wanted smaller stalks for what I had planned.  We checked in several farm markets as well.  Only one had any and, as I said, far too large. 

We are coming into fresh vegetable season now.  Won't be long before we are harvesting and enjoying fresh berries, beans, etc.

Speaking of Beans I got a large jar of bean salad at the Convenience store. I have not opened it. I will wait until my brother is here. It has onion, chickpeas, kidney beans and green beans in it. I hope it tastes good!  You never can tell!  Homemade anything is always better I know.

 

(source)

I watched the film Nonna's on Netflix earlier this week. (Thanks for the suggestion Monique!)  I really enjoyed it.  I don't watch a lot of films in one go these days. I usually break them up over a couple of days, but I managed to watch that one all the way through.  Now I am watching a series on Disney called The Stolen Girl. It is British, produced by the BBC, and very good. I may be a bit biased, but I do believe that British television is the best in the world.  

Speaking of British my neighbor from across the way brought me over a scone last evening.  (I had it for breakfast this morning.)  She had been into Halifax to the British store and brought some back.  It was very good. That was a very thoughtful thing for her to do.  Next time I bake something I will have to split it between her and Sheila as a thank you! So very kind.

 

(source)

 I will have to get started on the back bedroom in preparation for my brother's impending arrival.  He gets here on the 22nd. which is next Thursday. I am way behind what I wanted to be before he got here. It takes me a long time to do stuff like that because of my knee and hip.  Yesterday I actually wrenched my left knee, not once but twice. I was sitting with a heating pad on it last night and then iced it with some of that icy liniment when I went to bed to try to calm down the pain.  It is as bad, or maybe even worse at the moment than it was when I went to Scotland back in 2018. 

Whoever said "getting old isn't for sissies" was right about that!

On a side note, I just called and was able to get an appointment to see a Nurse Practitioner at 1 PM today about my underarm condition.  I am grateful for that.

We may complain a lot about Health Care in this country, but I think compared to many places, we are lucky. Its available and its free. I know many, many people used to complain about the NHS in the U.K. but it was even better than it is here in Canada.  They, and we, really have nothing to complain about in my honest opinion.

 

(source)

I have my front door open to the screen door this morning, in an effort to let in some cooler fresher air as my heat pump is still not operating.  The cats are enjoying it.  They were both laying on the carpet in front of it not so long ago. I can hear some birds cheeping.  Not sure what kind.  I used to be able to tell you once upon a time, but I can't anymore. Mr. Chippie is sitting on the veranda railing waiting for some peanuts.  I need to keep a close watch as I wouldn't want the cats to rip open the screen in an attempt to get at him. That would be horrible. Nature is very cruel at times, but I do not ever like being a witness to the cruelty of it all.  That, I would say, is the one thing I don't like about nature shows.  I do like to see animals in their natural habitat, etc. but I hate to see lions, etc. hunting. I know it is natural, but I don't want to see it.

 

(source)

I did end up going out for supper with Dad and Hazel the other day.  I wasn't going to go, but Dad called me on his phone from Tim Hortons and he couldn't hear me talking to him. He was asking was I going to go. I finally gave up trying to explain why I wasn't and ended up shouting "yes" into the phone.  Then Hazel messaged me several times as well.  I did tell them at the restaurant however that it was going to be the last time for a while that I went. Not only can I not really afford it, but the food is really not that great, and I cannot really afford to eat the carbs and calories. When I went to the Doctor the other day he said if I can lose some weight over the next six months, he will put me on Ozempic for my diabetes, etc. I need to show that I am serious about it.  When I checked my blood sugars the next morning after eating out, (I had a cheeseburger and chips) I had a score of 7 which was in the high range. I am never in the high range, well hardly ever anyways. I put it down to the carbs.  Anyways, the doctor thinks I would be a good candidate for it and even if I only lost 20 pounds, I would be happy. It would put a lot less pressure on my joints as well.

And with that I best finish this off and get on with the rest of my day!  I hope this finds you well, happy and content.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.Spread love everywhere you go.

Let no one ever come to you

without leaving happier.

~Mother Theresa  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In the English Kitchen today  . . .  Easy Beef Brisket.  This is a very easy and simple recipe for Brisket which basically cooks itself. You create a bit of a dry rub for the meat, which gets rubbed all over. It is then covered with onions and a special sauce mixture of salsa beer and brown sugar, and slow roasted in the oven until it is fall apart, melt-in the mouth tender.

Delicious!

I hope that you have a beautiful day. May it be filled with light and with love.  Whatever you get up to never forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!!