Watershed Park

Met Pam at the Delta Watershed Park this morning.  We parked near the artesan well earthcache.  Filled up a jug to measure the flow and hid it until we returned.  It is now in the fridge.

We must have walked about 2 km to find some more hides that Pam already had.  At least the way back was downhill!  Failed to find one.

Had lunch at the Applewood Country Gifts, Tea Room & Bakery for lunch and then found a few more caches in Surrey.  A couple of others eluded us so we have watches on them to see if others find them.

Lots of dreaming and hard to wake up in the morning.  Side effects of new treatment?

New West

Headed to the Waffle House for lunch and then found 3 nearby caches.  Didn't find 2 others.  

Traffic was wicked on the way home so I used several loops around the trouble areas.  Glad to get home.

UBC Bushwacking

Met Pam and Lori at Pacific Spirit Park and we headed in for a couple of caches. Neither were near the posted coordinates. Part of it is the size of the trees. It took a while but we found them both. Loved the trails.

Found the wine from Sunday at Dunbar & 41st in the Village VQA Wines.

Stopped at London Drugs and Choices on the way home.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Stormy day

A good day to stay in.  Read and did some paperwork.  Caught up on new shows on PVR.

Really tired tonight.  Tamoxifen kicking in?

Awaken Your Senses

Drove Louise to Brew Creek today for a Callanish fundraiser.  We arrived right at 1:00.  Not too many familiar faces.  Many were those who donate time and money to the Society.

John Bishop served us this wonderful lunch.

We then went to one of their new buildings for a concert.

A wonderful day!  Makes me want to return for an Alumni Retreat soon.

Dropped off Louise and was home by 7:30.  There was very little rain while I was driving.  Even saw a large rainbow on the way up.

Day of rest

Got up at 9:30 and did nothing all day.  

Read the newspapers I'd missed and watched the Lions demolish Saskatchewan.  Then watched several shows on my PVR. 

Whidbey Island

Found some caches near Maple Falls and Deming.  Then headed for Whidbey Island to continue our quest.  Threw in a few earthcaches for good measure.  I counted 20 caches for the 2 days.

Stopped at the Front Street Grill in Coupeville for an excellent lunch and view.  The only bad part was a speeding ticket.  The speed changes so often it is hard to keep track.  I had just left the parking lot at Deception Pass and hadn't noticed any speed signs and hadn't looked at the indicator on my GPS.  Stupid! 

Home at 9 after 950 km in 2 days.

Thursday Mission

Picked up Lori and Pam, after an extra 30 minutes getting through the tunnel traffic, and we headed to Washington on a mission.  We were looking for caches placed in certain months and years and for specific combinations of terrain and difficulty to complete our charts.

Started near Blaine, then stopped in Bellingham, the Skagit Airport (good cafe), east of Seattle & Marysville.  We spent the night in Pam's trailer in The Glen at Maple Falls.  Great spot.  Felt like the Provincial campground in BC - each site surrounded by trees.  Slept almost 9 hours.

Packing

Thought it was a day off and then remembered the metastatic group.  Met from 10:30 to 12.  We decided that chemo brain and age is making us forget nouns and depend on adjectives.

Bought a new set of walking sticks at MEC.  Wanted a better grip for my sore right hand and found a pair that break down to about a foot long.  Stopped at London Drugs and Characters (for a cinnamon bun) on the way home.  Bought a better brace for my wrist and it seems to be helping.

Had to go back out for the GPS I ordered for Sadie - geomate.jr  Pickjed up some Chinese food on the way home.

Backroad Maps

Lori drove today as our caching trio set out on a quest.  We found a couple of caches in Whistler and then Pemberton.  Only 2 more pages of our mapbook to finish our challenge of 30 pages.  The next stop was in Joffre Provincial Park and a nice walk to the lake.  

The final, south of Pemberton, one was a doozy.  I was so glad that Lori was driving her SUV!  They had studied maps and were sure they knew the way.  My GPS was out of it's depth in the hills and didn't know the road we were on for some time.  Road?  It wasn't dirt or gravel, it was rocks!  With some large potholes!  Lori persevered and we finally found Mosquito Lake and the cache.  We asked some Forestry Service people in a pickup that had to edge past us if there was an easier way.  They said we couldn't get there from here.  We tried to explain we already had been there and were on the way out.  

Found a few more on the way back to North Van and then headed into the woods near the Dollarton Hwy.  They sent me back when the trail got tricky and darkness was falling.  I started walking up the wrong trail but realized it in time to get back to the car safely.  Our bear bells kept any bruins away.

New carpets

They ripped up the carpet in the hallways today and started laying a new one.  I had to let them in the doorway to do that bit.  The moulding will be put on when it is all done.

Went out for the noisy and dusty part.  Found a cache along the North dyke in Richmond and then had lunch at the Waffle House.

Met Louise at the Cactus Club and then we went to our group at the Cancer Agency.  The parking meter didn't register all my coins so I now have a ticket.  They are investigating to see if it is malfunctioning.

Getting colder

Woke up to rain and cold this morning.  Was still pretty tired and decided not to go to the garbage cleanup event on Point Grey beach.  Waited for the sun to come out and found a quick cache in Richmond.

Watched a movie then the Emmy's.

BCTLA Executive

Picked up a latte and made it to the BCTF building by 9 for our meeting.  Small group today and think that makes us more productive.  We walked up to Milestones for lunch.  Finished by 4 and I drove Lynne to the airport.

Found today's cache in Steveston and then stopped at M&M Meats and London Drugs.  Listened to the 1st half of the Lions on the radio and was home for the 2nd.  They keep winning!  Now they just need to figure out how to do that at the start of the season.

My right hand is painful enough that I've been wearing my brace during the day instead of just in bed.

Burns Bog

I met Pam & Lori near Burns Bog to find a couple of caches and we ended up with 12!  We walked around the boardwalks and went a fair way.  Had to be more than 2 km all together.  I was unsteady when we made it back to a Tim Horton's for lunch.

We then went to Lori's to plan our trip to the E.T. Highway in October.  Booked the flights and hotel rooms.  We are spending the last night in the old Tropicana on the Strip.

Had dinner with the VTLA Executive at Michelle's house at UBC.  Wonderful food and company.

A day of doing nothing

I love retirement.  I can just spend a whole day not getting dressed.  Watched a couple of movies and got GPS ready for tomorrow.

New plan

Saw Karen this morning.  She is pleased with the results of my last CT Scan.  It is obvious that she was expecting bad news, especially with all the shots of my head.  That part was normal but the tumour in my adrenal gland is growing.  There is also a new spot in the upper left lung.  It might not be cancer so they are going to watch it for a bit.  My tumour markers have finally stopped going up.  

We spent some time discussing options.  We finally decided that it wasn't time for the heavy chemo yet but it was time for change.  I am now on Tamoxifen again.  I took it from 1993 to 1998 as a preventative and the cancer was out of sight.  Who knows what it will do this time.

Dropped off the prescription at the Cancer Agency (at least this time it is paid for) and picked up Mae.  We had breakfast at Solly's and then I went back for the pills.

Met Pam and Lori at Cypress Bowl.  Actually walked nearly 700 metres up to one cache.  Wonderful view!  We stopped at the White Spot for lunch and finished up on the Baden Powell Trail near Capilano River.

The exercise felt good after a few stressful days.

Laundry Day

Did a couple of loads of laundry today.  That seemed like enough effort for one day.

Last market day

Had a good sleep so headed to the last Ladner Market of the year.  Found parking right at one end and took my shopping cart to avoid carrying too much.  Met 3 friends along the way.  Ate a bbq halibut burger with a mix of oranges, pineapple & melon on top.  Filled up the cart and headed straight home.

Spent most of the day watching 911 stuff on TV.  I remember how I was at the union office all that day without a TV and then worked the night at the Red Cross.  Went there after work for days.

I always thought life would be simplified after retirement.  Jane wants me to come for a visit after seeing my oncologist on Tuesday.  But there are other things I should do and I can't figure out how to juggle them:

Thursday: VTLA bbq, 

Friday: BCTLA Executive, 

Saturday: geocaching events in Stanley Park and Jericho Beach

Sunday: geocaching event in Arlington, WA

Monday: cancer support group

Wednesday: cancer support group

?: a trip around Whistler to Lillooet to get challenge caches

No point in making decisions until I see what Karen's new plan for me is.

Lions Roar

Up early and found a cache along the dike in Richmond.  Matt came by at 11:10 and carried the printer down the stairs.  I took it back to Staples for a refund.  It was too complicated and the online reviews right on the HP website said it was a terrible model.

Picked up Pru and we went to the last game the Lions are playing in Empire Field.  Picked the closest parking lot and they let us in after it was closed off.  The SPARC pass helps!  Not far to walk at all.  Our seats were right at midfield and in the shade on the East side.  Great game to be at.  The weather was perfect and we dominated every aspect of the play.

Met Moira at 7 in the White Spot.  Stayed for almost 2 hours.

Cancer Agency

Busy day today.  Picked up my prescription at Fairmont and then went to the Agency.  Started with bloodwork  on the 6th floor, then a CT-Scan on the 3rd.  The tech was a parent at Weir and recognized me.  It was a more comprehensive scan than usual and included several pictures of my head.  Didn't hear anyone saying "oh oh".  Then down to the 2nd floor for my shot.  I arrived really early in the hope they would just take me and it worked.  Once the nurse found my chart, she gave me the injection.  The orders didn't match the dosage in the prescription.  I've had that happen before and talked her into giving it to me anyway.  It will probably be the last time for this drug.

Just needed to get outside, so went to Steveston for fish & chips at Pajos.  Sat on the beach for a while and then found a nearby cache.

Fell asleep when I got home and am not staying up for all the news.

3,001 Caches

Picked up some geocaching supplies in Cloverdale and then met Pam & Lori.  We found some caches in Abbotsford and then went across the bridge to Mission.  After lunch at Mr. Mike's, we headed to Harrison.  

Lori swam around from buoy to buoy and then back a second time, looking for a cache that they found during a competition that would give me 5 for difficulty & 5 for terrain.  No sign of it after all that effort!  I'm wondering if the swimming area rope & floats aren't brought to shore for the winter.  Ice cream helped her recover.

We had to go back to one of the Abbotsford finds to replace a paper hint.  I was done in so stayed in the car while they did the walking.

Picked up chowder & caesar salad at the White Spot drive in on the way home.  Arrived after 8 - drove 330 km.

Queensborough

Went to the Metastatic Support Group this morning.  Picked up my latest tumour marker printout.  It has gone up to 130.  Not good.

Drove to Queensbourough.  After a good lunch at Boston Pizza, I walked along the river and found 5 caches.

Boundary Bay

Took Patience for a walk around the streets of the ghost town she lived in for a few months on 1947. It was a Signal Corps Wireless Station and Edna lived there while TJ lived with my grandparents and parents on Pacific St. It is a beautiful site with roads but no buildings and dozens of huge trees. We ate blackberries as we walked. Quickly found the new cache I wanted.

I drove Patience, Pru and Murray to Gastown to shop and then a quick drive by the convention centers and Chinatown. Stayed at Pru's for BBQ salmon.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Good deed

Went back to Port Coquitlam area to find some more caches today.  Rescued a woman who had already been walking with a flat tire on her bike for 1/2 an hour.  It was 27 and far to hot to keep going.  I convinced her to throw it in my back seat and I took her back to her car, saving her another hour of walking.

Had a good lunch at Applebee's - Bourbon Street Chicken & Shrimp (Cajun-seasoned chicken breast grilled and served on a sizzling skillet topped with blackened-seasoned shrimp, garlic and thyme. Served with crispy potatoes and sautéed onions and mushrooms.)

I was home by 5.  

Family time

Spent the day on Pru's porch. Sadie and Lily were the hit of the day. They even helped Jesse make the hamburgers.

Still feeling pretty tired. Don't have to do anything tomorrow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Exploring Coquitlam

Met Louise at Waves to pay her for a ticket to a Callanish event: “Awaken your Senses” at the home of the Callanish healing retreats, The Brew Creek Centre (chef John Bishop will present a 4-course Sunday lunch, for 40 people, accompanied by select B.C. wines. An intimate concert with musicians Ariel Barnes (cello), Heidi Krutzen (harp) and Maryliz Smith (piano) to follow).  


Wasn't feeling great and decided a day in the woods would lift me up.  Found 7 caches in Coquitlam.  Pretty sure I came across fresh bear droppings but no sign of the critters.

Ups and downs

The day started out well.  I found 5 caches in Queensborough.  Couldn't find the one under a dock as you had to scramble under.  Terrain not a 1.5 for me!  Pam suggested meeting in North Delta to log the final of a challenge cache.

Stopped at Staples on Marine Way to buy ink cartridges for my printer - again!  Saw some criticism of this model on the internet and the salesman agreed.  I was looking at a sale model but he convinced me to get a more expensive one.  They didn't have one in stock so I got an even better one at the cheaper one's price.  Now I hauled it up I have to measure to see if it fits and I am still not sure if it prints emails.  Tomorrow!

Lucas called and said to come to Pru's to watch the Lions & have dinner.  The game was nearly over when Judy arrived.  She was standing between me and the TV and telling a loud story.  I said I wanted to watch the game and she got out of the way but kept talking.  She then told me I could watch but didn't need to hear.  Instead of getting into a fight in front of her daughter I just left.  I was starving by the time I got some dinner.  Luckily I still had some salad in the fridge.  I try to deal with being sick by not getting involved with such drama.  I was tired, hungry and sore from getting the printer up the stairs.  Just too much!

Sjögren's syndrome

Saw Dr. Narvis, my GP, today for a renewal on my Sjögren's syndrome medication.  A lot in the news toay as Venus Williams announced she has it as well.  He said to start wearing a compression stocking to stop the leg swelling.  First sign of an old lady.

Picked up the pills and groceries at Safeway.

Point Roberts

Picked up a couple of packages at TSB Shipping in Point Roberts and filled up with gas ($1.12/litre).

Bought some groceries at Thrifty's and found a nearby cache. Home by 2.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad