A heart filled year

Blog updates are turning into an annual recap, and this year is no exception.  I still refer to KinleyTravels to fact check, remember, and to ensure life events don't get lost!

When we returned from Idaho a year ago, Roger began having tests ordered by a new cardiologist he had been referred to.  Results showed damage from the heart attack in 2016 was creating problems, and the Heart Function Clinic in Nanaimo became an important part of our lives.  

Roger has always operated at a speed most men his age wouldn't even aspire to achieve, so to hear he wasn't Superman was a shock to me, and many others.  He was started on some medications which our wonderful pharmacist said was an excellent regime and we waited for more tests, and more results.  But we didn't wait by the phone - we continued on with life and added more things to the list of things we wanted to do.

We love camping in the Fall, and so we headed to Tofino, one of our favourite spots
where we stayed at a campground just a short walk to the beach. 
Bottle of wine, sitting on the beach, and watching the sun set.....

On cue....a surfer walks by

A happy coincidence enabled us to spend a wonderful afternoon with Andre Wickenheiser (Anette's brother) and his fun loving partner, Sam Hindle.

Telegraph Cove near Port Hardy should be a movie set. The century old buildings, the pristine bay, whales swimming by the Inlet -- it's spectacular.
We spent 3 days camping here, vowing to return!

We finished up the boating season with a grand day at
Great Central with friends, Bev and Stu Shaw.  The drive
back to the marina was a little chilly!

I started volunteering at a long term care centre across from our apartment in September until an outbreak of Covid in early November freaked me out as I didn't want to risk Roger getting sick.  We had dodged the Covid bullet and wanted to keep it that way.  It's not like we lived in a bubble, and we've always been fully vaccinated, but this just made me feel uncomfortable.  

I dressed up for Hallowe'en as someone having a shower!  
The residents got a kick out of it --- thank goodness for the Dollar Store and Pinterest!

During my first tour of the centre, the Recreation Manager mentioned she would love to have resident histories with their photo at the front door of each room.  Something that would help prompt conversations between residents and staff, visitors and volunteers.  Since I still wanted to help, I offered to write the histories from my home -- and they happily provided me with some information that I used to write about where the residents were raised, what they did for a career, their hobbies and interests, and what they like to do now.  It was a really interesting project to understand what these people were like before they needed care.  Everyone had a story.

I learned about a resident (who I always thought had quite a swagger and presence about him) who was an actor in movies, and on TV westerns like Gunsmoke, the Virginian and more!  There is also a lady who ran a motel with her husband in Port Alberni and was there in the 60s when a tsunami hit the town. Fortunately they were on high ground so were safe.  Another travelled through Europe with his wife who worked for the UN during the Cold War.  So many stories, and I've heard the posters have been well received. After writing more than 100 histories -- mission accomplished.

In November the decision was made to go to the Cardiac Centre in Victoria, where Roger had another angioplasty with 2 more stents put in.  Brad came up from Seattle, and we appreciated so much having him there with us.  It was just a day procedure, but we stayed an extra day in case there were any complications.  Fortunately, Roger breezed through the procedure.

Since Brad and I couldn't be in the room with Roger,
he sent us pictures and texts to keep us updated.

The day after the procedure, the three of us feasted on oysters
at the beautiful Empress Hotel, and then sadly said goodbye to Brad as 
we headed north, and he headed south. 

Over the last couple of years, I joined the Qualicum Curling Centre, and under the very patient guidance of our good friend, Stu Shaw, learned how to play Stick Curling.  I'm hooked!  It's such a welcoming club to belong to, and stick curling is a rapidly growing sport.  Just 2 people to a team, you get to throw lots of rocks, don't do a lot of sweeping, and spend half the game being the skip.  Try it!

For the first time in my 66 years on the planet - I joined a team,
and Stu and I actually won our Fall Stick Curling League!

We embraced the rainy December weather, and on a wet and chilly day went for a drive and nature walk with good friends, Randy and Kerry Findlay.  We topped it off with a fabulous lunch at Locals in Courtenay.

In December we celebrated our 44th anniversary at a favourite restaurant by the water.  

By December, the cardiologist chatted with Roger and said he wanted to wait a few more months before deciding if he needed to have a defibrillator implanted as he wanted to give the angioplasty and meds the best chance to do their work, and he would re-do all the tests in the spring.  In the meantime, he felt we should stay in Canada, and so we cancelled our plans to winter in California.  

Vancouver Island is a pretty amazing place any time of the year, and so we just decided to keep busy and have fun.  I continued curling, and Roger was my favourite cheerleader.  What a switch --- I've always been on the sidelines cheering Roger on and now the shoe was on the other foot.  I loved it.

Since Roger couldn't travel south, in January Brad, Anette and Magnus met us in Vancouver where we stayed at a beautiful AirBnb in Deep Bay and spent 3 days hanging out and having fun.

Roger aka RaRa and Magnus fooling around

We all went to the dinosaur exhibit at the Science Centre.

When we got back, I googled "fun things to do on Vancouver Island" and found the BC Ale Trail.  It's a great app that showcases breweries and cideries throughout BC.  You collect points (not really sure what we get with them!) but more than anything, it brought us to terrific brew pubs around the Island. Some of our favourites were the Rusted Rake, Dog Mountain Brewing, Fern & Cedar, and many more!

Our wonderful friends, John and Shelagh Slater came and stayed for a few weeks which was a hoot.  They rented a house from our friends who go south for the winter, and it's just minutes away from us.  I call it our "Guest House".  It was non-stop fun, and they also enjoyed being able to cycle during the winter -- something they can't do in Alberta.

We went to Tofino for a couple of nights and loved walking on the beach and seeing surfers brave the cold weather.  

We also went on a day long boat ride down the Alberni Inlet all the way to Bamfield aboard the MV Frances Barkley.  It's a working boat that also takes tourists.  It was an amazing day.  We saw lumber be off loaded for two men on a floating dock that met the ship in a bay, we saw sea lions and eagles, and toured Bamfield which is on the furthest tip of the west coast.  

Bamfield is a quaint, tiny village with a Marine Sciences Centre run by several universities.

Shelagh joined me on the ice for some stick curling!

We made a quick trip to Calgary to visit Roger's parents,
and to have a visit with Colin who was also visiting.

Friends since high school, Mark and Betty Belanger came out for a few days and we picked up where we left off a few years ago.  

We went to the beautiful seaside town, Chemainus, to see a play which gave us a lot of laughs. 

In May, we went to Victoria to check a few more things off our "To Do" list.  We stayed at a campground on the harbour where we've always wanted to stay, went whale watching on a Zodiac (didn't see any, but we get a free trip anytime we want to go again) and also saw the play "Come From Away" which made me even more proud to be a Canadian.

The whales were hiding that morning, but we had a great 3 hour ride around the 
islands and Haro Strait.

Come from Away was absolutely top notch.  A highlight was the Gander mayor
and several residents and travelers that were there during those
frightening few days were also at the play and came out
on stage as it ended its run in Victoria.

Brad and the family are in their final stage of getting the coveted Green Card, and therefore can't travel to Canada until it's been granted.  So, basically Obi (their dog) and I were the only ones able to cross the border!  I popped down to pick Obi up when they went to Hawaii on their annual Valve trip, and loved being able to visit with them, although we all missed not having Roger with us.  I also got to see Magnus turn 10.  What a neat kid he is.  He's thoughtful, a ton of fun, has a steel trap memory, and has so many interests.  

Magnus has a thousand faces....😃

Double digits for Magnus!

I always encourage Brad and Anette to have a date
night when we visit so we can have 1:1 time with Magnus.
What a terrific couple they are.

Celebrating the birthday boy!

We've become good friends with a wonderful couple, Ed and Connie Lewis who live in Qualicum Beach, and share the joy of camping, great food, and lots of laughs.  

On a beautiful, warm June day, we took them to Great Central Lake and we had a great day and BBQ on the boat.  As we were heading back to the marina, we noticed the wildfire that had been burning between Parksville and Port Alberni was getting bigger.  That was the last day that Highway 4 (that is the only main highway from the east coast of the Island to Tofino on the west coast) would be totally open for almost 3 months.  The wildfires caused erosion problems with the trees which caused rock slides so remediation and netting had to be installed along the highway.  It was a nightmare for those living west of Parksville as they lived with alternating highway closures as well as full closures for the whole summer.  The only other access was a forestry road that was a four hour detour.  As of the Labour Day weekend the highway is finally opened.

In mid-June, we met Ed and Connie at Cluxewe Resort near Port McNeil which is on the northern part of the Island and spent a wonderful 3 days there.

DD Oyster shells??

The 4 of us on the beach 

One of the things we wanted to do, and the Lewis' were game, was to go fishing.  We met a guide, Roy Graham, on our trip to Telegraph Cove in the Fall, and so we booked Roy to take us out.  He's been a guide for around 30 years, and is a wonderful gentleman.

Though we didn't catch any big ones, we did catch enough fish to cook for dinner.  Roy said he was taking us to feed eagles at our last stop -- little did I know it would be one of the greatest wildlife encounters of my life and is right up there with any of the safaris we've been lucky enough to experience.

We cruised into a little bay, and saw a large eagle about 100 yards away perched on the tip of a huge tree.  Roy took the smallest of our fish, waved it in the air, and then threw it in the water a few feet from the boat.  Before we knew it, the eagle swooped down and attempted to pick it up.  We could hear and even feel the whoosh of it's wings (which can have a 6' wingspan).  It was breathtaking.  

Failing to pick up the fish, it flew off and circled the boat, and was joined by another eagle.  Eventually it flew down and caught the fish in it's talons.  It stayed in the water a few minutes --- we all felt it was trying to figure out how to lift the fish out of the water since it was so big.  Roy said he's seen eagles swim with fish in their mouths.  A moment later, the eagle took off like an over weighted plane trying for lift off.  But off it flew.  

Look at the talons ready to pick up the fish!!

We have lift off!

It was so exciting I said, "Give it another one --- we've got lots of fish!"  Everyone on the boat looked at me like I was crazy, but they all nodded ok when I assured them there was enough for dinner.  We got another great show, and memories that will last a lifetime.

In July, I met Anette and Magnus in Blaine, Washington for the "prisoner exchange" as Brad put it --- where I  brought Obi back to them after having her for a couple of weeks while they had a great road trip to Napa.  

After lunch Magnus and I had a round of mini golf, and then he went on the go carts with Anette while I looked after Obi.  It was so much fun, Magnus said he wanted me to get a go cart and race around with him.  I said "Sure", but I wanted him to drive me!  He looked incredulous, and said, "Really, Nana?"  Absolutely!  It was such a thrill for me to have Magnus drive me around.  He asked the attendant to help me with my seatbelt, then chastised me when I tried to take a selfie of us before taking off, pointing to the list of posted rules that said no pictures were to be taken.  Magnus was a terrific driver and even evaded a car that had a tire twist off in the middle of the track.  When we finished our time on the track he said, "I drove extra carefully, Nana, because I was driving you."  Oh Magnus, what a thrilling milestone this was and I will never forget it.

Magnus and Anette took to the track first

Saying goodbye again -- Magnus is the best hugger EVER!

Meanwhile in our medical world, in July Roger and I met with a cardiac electrophysiologist in Victoria as the latest MRI result was on the cusp of Roger needing the defibrillator.  It's not something they just routinely put in, so the doctor said he wanted to do a MUGA scan to be sure what the course of action would be. 

In late August, our long time friends, Annette and Dwayne Majcher came from Calgary and again stayed at our "guest house" (if you want a place to stay in Parksville, it will be available this winter!).  We had a great few days and ended up in Victoria for a fabulous lunch at the Boom & Batten (one of our new favourite restaurants there).  

One thing Roger and I have missed is having a cruiser style boat where we could explore the West Coast of BC and Washington.  We sold our 30' Bayliner six years ago, and tried a fishing boat, then an open bow boat, as well as owning an RV trailer.  While we loved camping, and having the ski boat, we made the decision to sell the ski boat and trailer, and buy a cruiser.  

It's an older 26' Bayliner that's in great shape, and Roger has been busy checking it out from bow to stern and installed a tricked out GPS and windlass to make anchoring out easier.  We've taken it out 3 times in the last couple of weeks and love it.  Being in the midst of the Gulf Islands is something to be cherished.  

Having coffee in the morning while being on an anchor is a beautiful bay, catching crabs, being moored at a marina and having a beer and nachos in a pub, and falling asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat are all things we remembered loving to do --- and we have experienced it all again and love it just as much.

Moored at Thetis Island Resort

We named the boat Magnus after our grandson and his
great-grandfather who was a fisherman in Norway.

Moored at Poet's Cove Marina on Pender Island.
Proving again, that you can't ever win the game of who has the bigger boat. 
The big boat beside us was dwarfed by many others!

A Gin and Tonic on a boat is a recipe for a wonderful afternoon.

Roger caught 30 crabs one evening while we were anchored, but threw back
all but one that was well over the minimum size needed.  It was just
a sampling, but the fun was pulling up the net to see what was there!

Sunset at anchor at Bedwell Harbour

As we were tied up at Thetis Island yesterday, Roger heard from the cardiologist in Victoria and was told he is officially "stable" and cleared for travel to the U.S.  Within moments of us telling Brad and Anette the news, Brad was saying to come on down as soon as you can!  We will be heading down for a few days on Sept 22nd and can't wait. 

We will eat wonderful food, drink excellent wine, and just hang out.  I don't care if we ever leave their living room.  The five of us will be together, and that's all we need.

So -- it's been quite a year.  Lots of worrying, wondering and waiting but we got tremendous support from our family and friends who made it easier to take.

Despite everything, we never worried about the care Roger received.  He's had a number of cardiac MRIs, echocardiograms, EKGs, calls with the Heart Function Clinic and meetings with the cardiologists and their teams in Nanaimo and Victoria.  Everyone has been working towards getting Roger's heart to work at it's optimal capability and there were reasons for the timing of everything.  

They've all found out about Roger, what I've known all along.  That he is a remarkable man who takes things in stride, and lives life to the fullest.  None of the experts could believe he is able to do what he does - but they are believers now.

Will I ever stop worrying about Roger?  Not a chance.

Will we lay low "just to be safe"?  Not a chance in hell.

"Forever is composed of nows."

                                 

                                    Emily Dickenson