Had a little incident the other day that’s making it a tad hard to type this post.  I was reaching under my kitchen sink to grab a bag for garbage.  The bottom of the counter is particle board.  I had my hand too close to it and ended up scraping my fingers along the bottom of the counter.  Two big splinters sliced under my middle fingernail.  They went about half way down my nail.  I quickly pulled them out but the tips broke off of both and are still under my nail.  The pain was intense – I honestly couldn’t believe how bad it was.  No wonder a torture technique used to be wedging wood under people’s nails.  I’m really glad I’m on a low dose daily antibiotic, so that’s a little comforting with regards to is getting infected.  However, the pain into the night and all of yesterday (this happened two days ago) was incredible.  It was throbbing down my finger, into my hand down to my wrist.  My little mother looked up some ways to fix this issue and said to try soaking my finger in epsom salts.  Did that for about two hours last night and I must admit the pain is a bit better today.  The swelling is down a bit too.  Yup, I’m a klutz.

On a bright note, did have a pretty good day yesterday.  It was Mike’s birthday and I’ve been looking forward to giving him his present for weeks now.  I’m taking him to St. Jacob’s this Friday and we’re staying over until Saturday.  We’ll do the town on Friday, then to the Stone Crock Restaurant for suppies.  Then the market on Saturday.  In addition to this joyous trip I’ve blessed him with, I gave him these charming pillows:

Almost as cute as my hairless cats, I would like to share with you a pic of Mike’s new niece.  Piper MacKenzie born on March 15th:

Can’t wait to meet the new little goober.  Speaker of goobers, Boo joined Mike and I last night while we were watching a movie.  I think she was trying out her Statue of Liberty impression:

Ok, the finger is a-throbbin’ so I’m going to keep this one short.

Today’s symptoms: Felt kinda yucky.  Going through another stint of insomnia, and the lack of sleep is doing a number.  quite weak today and feeling general yucky MS symptoms such as aches and pains and a headache. 

Had another great weekend.  Mike and I both had Friday off and we spent it in Toronto.  We headed north just after lunch:

We checked in at the Hyatt in downtown Toronto.  Really nice hotel and a great view:

We decided when we booked the hotel that we would hit the Wayne Gretzky restaurant, which was just a block away:

Mike was trusting enough to let me order for him.  I figured I would play it safe and order him his favourite meal, a big honkin burger:

I got a steak – really great food there and I would certainly recommend them.

After dinner, we headed over to the CBC studio to see The Rick Mercer Report.  Very nice, small studio so every seat was great.  We were there for about an hour and a half.  As usual, Rick was great – so funny.  Between a couple segments, he was talking to the crowd.  I yelled out to him and said that I offered him a flight over the Falls (on Facebook).  I mentioned that I offered it to Jann Arden too but she wussed out.  He said he may take me up on my offer.  I would love to see if he would do a segment on MS and go for a flight with me.

After the awesome show, we headed back to the room:

Everything was great about the stay except for the 3:30 am wake up call.  The fire alarm went off.  We got ready to head out when someone came over the loud speaker saying to stay put and they were investigating the alarm on the 14th floor.  We were on the 15th:

We never had to leave, so that was a bit of a relief.  I had a hard time getting back to sleep though.  We were planning on going to the Ripley’s Aquarium the next day, but I was feeling so nauseous.  That seems to happen a lot when I get a really bad sinus headache plus not a good night’s sleep.  Oh well, we’ll go back in the Spring.

A couple months ago, we watched an episode of Marketplace and learned about a type of tourist tax.  I had never heard of it before but apparently many touristy-type cities put it on your bill (around 3%).  The interesting thing is that it’s a voluntary fee – you can simply say you want it removed from your bill and they have to take it off.  I checked the hotel bill and there it was.  I asked to have it removed and was told it’s mandatory.  I argued that it wasn’t and even brought up articles through CBC and the Toronto Star.  Eventually, it was removed.  I kinda did it out of principle, as it seems like a rather sneaky charge.  No fault of the hotel, as it’s brought down through the Ministry of Tourism on restaurants, museums, hotels, etc.  Check your bills for DMF (Destination Marketing Fee) or TIFF (Tourism Infrastructure Funding Fee) and if you don’t want to pay it, ask for it to be removed.  Don’t let them try to convince you that it’s mandatory because it’s not.

Back home, I was met by a pile of kittahs (minus a Pinky, who was in the bedroom):

Did you miss me, Abby?

Ok, not really.

Today’s symptoms: Felt much better today than yesterday, as I was experiencing quite a bit of pain and constant spasms/clenching in my calves.  Ouch!  It seems to have subsided a bit today.  Tomorrow it will be even better – right?  Right!

Went to yet another awesome Jann Arden concert last week – my fourth.  Mike got us tickets to see her at Brock U.  She was amazing and funny.  Unfortunately, my pics of her didn’t turn out too well. Bummer:

Guess I should have checked the settings on my camera.

The weekend prior to seeing her, Mike and I went to Niagara Falls to visit my Army buddy from Hamilton.  He and his girlfriend came down for the weekend to hit a show at the casino plus do a little gambling.  We met up for breakfast at iHop then put in about an hour at the casino.  We were both almost through the $20 we put in our machines when it finally paid out:

Yea!  Came out with $150.  That covered our breakfast, the $40 we spent in the machines, then the rest went toward aviation fuel for our flight the following weekend.  We ended up flying to Brantford for breakfast on a perfect weather day.

Yummy!

On the way back, I flew us over to Long Point (where we go camping twice a year) to see the ice fishermen.  I fly over them each year and this was Mike’s first time.

We flew along the Lake Erie shoreline on the way back.  The lake was pretty much totally frozen and looked amazing:

Before heading back to St. Catharines, we flew over the rather chilly looking Niagara Falls:

Perfect flight!  On the way home, we stopped at Timmies for some more coffee.  Mike wanted a sour cream glazed donut, but the only had sour cream unglazed.  The nice dude said he would go glaze one for him.  How awesome is that?  Quite a nice little treat for when we got home:

All the little goobers were just thrilled to have us back home, especially smiley little Peanut:

He still has a little scrape on his schnoz from when he jumped into the screen on top of the cage, face first.  Not too swift.  He was a little less destructive while perched on Abby’s head:

It’s been a fun and interesting couple weeks.   I have been having a bit of an issue with crushing pain in my hands and arms over the last few weeks.  Doesn’t seem to be getting much better.  I guess it’s just a normal MS thing.  Hopefully it doesn’t last too much longer.

Today’s symptoms: Lots of pain and very fatigued due to lack of sleep last night.  I just feel generally blah today.  Tomorrow will be better.

Wow, it is so cold out.  Apparently, this is the coldest day of the year. I think it’s around -17C right now, and the winds are really picking up.  I walked home from work (as I always do!) but was quite snuggly with my heated vest and warm winter coat.  It’s been super cold for too long now.  The other day, I woke up to frozen windows:

I have the heat up quite high today, for the four hairless freaks.  One of said freaks, Abby, had to go to the vet yesterday.  She’s my youngest and has been sick for most of her life.  She has inflammatory bowel disease so has been on meds for many years.  The vet at Court Animal Hospital in St. Catharines is amazing.  She spent almost an hour with us.  They have done so much research on Abby’s condition and we’ve tried so many things to help her.  The next step is to change her food again and up her meds a tad.  I was surprised that her blood work was excellent and the vet thought she looked pretty good.  Mind you, I think Abby’s overwhelming cuteness was a bit of a distraction:

She was such a good girl during the blood work and having her blood pressure taken, which was also fine.  I go pick up her new food soon, which needs to be ordered along with her specialty meds.

Mike and I both had Tuesday off so we decided to head to Niagara-On-The-Lake to wander around.  Our first stop is usually the tea room at the Irish Design shop, but they were closed to the end of the month.  Their coffee and noms are amazing so it was a bit of a let down.  Fortunately, there was an open restaurant nearby, so we stopped in for some breakkie:

I think it’s just for the winter, but many of the shops there were closed on Monday’s and Tuesday’s.  We went into the open ones, then headed out to Costco.  That place is always so busy – it’s as busy on weekdays now as it used to be just on the weekends.  Crazy.  We went in just for some vitamins but came out with about $130 worth of stuff.  Oops!  At least we didn’t spend too much in Niagara-On-The-Lake, due to many stores being closed.  We did hit Greaves jams though and brought home a few treats:

Very good jam – once you try it, you’ll never go back to regular store-bought stuff.

Back home, there weren’t too many parking spots left underground, but I was able to find a rather tight one next to the wall.  You’re welcome, Mike!

Upstairs, Abby and Mya were being exceptionally cute while warming their little paws on the heater:

Meanwhile, Peanut curled his paws backwards while eating his awesome new food I bought him:

If you even need food for a very picky gecko, try Pangea, which can be ordered from Reptiles R Us.  This is a Canadian site out of Toronto.  Peanut only seems to like crickets but he really loves this new food I originally bought at the reptile expo I went to last month.  Slurp.

Today’s symptoms: Felt pretty good energy-wise.  Still having bad crushing pains in my hands.  I’ve been through this before but it usually only last a couple days to a week or so.  This time it’s been going on for months.  Stupid MS.  Other than that, life is good!

Mike was a dork the other day and took a pic of me sleeping then put the pic on my phone as my lockscreen.  I did something equally as disturbing and changed his lockscreen a couple times.  I don’t know which is worse – the pic of my face while I’m sleeping or these lovely images:

I love revenge.

Something equally as disturbing was this episode on Judge Judy.  This dude looked fairly calm in the beginning:

Then this happened:

Geesh!  Kinda looks like Peanut:

The weather today was total poopola.  I was supposed to go to Hamilton for a meeting but the roads were too bad.  It would have taken about two hours to get there.  Bummer – I was looking forward to it.  I’m supposed to go tomorrow, but we’ll see how the weather is.  Had to cancel our Recreational Aircraft Association meeting tonight as well.

Back to the awesome animals.  Mya and Abby were spooning on the couch the other day.  How cute is this:

The cuteness continues:

Afterwards, proud little Abby posed for the camera:

Meanwhile, Pinky was chillin with Donkay:

Mike and I were planning on flying somewhere for breakfast this weekend, but the weather sucked then too.  We decided to head over to Walden Galleria in Niagara Falls, NY to look for clothes.  We both needed pants.  Despite the horrible exchange rate on the dollar, I think we still scored pretty big.  I got two pair of jeans for $35 and he got three pair of cargo pants for $65.  Not bad!  Due to the weather and exchange rate, the bridge into the States was pretty bare:

The weekend continued with awesomeness when we went to Cora’s for breakfast on Sunday.  Man, they’re food is so good:

We just chilled with the kittahs and watched movies in the afternoon.  Boo was looking particularly cute that day:

Abby informed us she was cold so we quickly remedied it:

On a final note, how lazy is our society becoming?  Now we don’t even have to drain tuna:

Today’s symptoms: Felt ok energy-wise but had a really bad sinus headache.  Lots of crushing pains in my hands.  Blah.

Wow, I just realized I’ve posted 500 blog posts over the years!  Crazy!

Had a really great week.  Earlier in the week, I was off one afternoon so I went for a flight.  Headed around Niagara for a bit, first over the Welland Canal:

I was surprised to see ice-fisher folks out there.

I headed down the canal all the way to Port Colborne, snapping pics along the way:

Then back up through Welland on my way over to Niagara Falls:

There didn’t seem to be any helicopter traffic while I was flying over the Falls.  Kinda surprising as it was a fairly clear and calm day:

Once back over the St. Catharines Airport, I did a few aerobatics, then headed in for a landing.

Mike and I both took this past Thursday afternoon off and headed to the Falls.  He had never been to the IMAX theatre there, so we bought tickets for the Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic show.  It was my tenth time seeing it, and it still gave me goosebumps.  Very good show.  Afterwards, we toured around the Daredevil Museum.  It’s so hard to believe people went over the Falls in these things:

This guy didn’t make it – not the most stable and solid contraption:

We had parked at the Casino, which was conveniently right across the street from the IMAX:

We headed into the Casino and played the slots for about an hour.  I played $40 and came out with $42.

After the Casino, we walked over to the Fallsview Keg for our 4:00 reservation.  I love the view – I never get sick of it:

Perfect view whilst enjoying perfect noms:

Mike and I planned to go to the Reptile Expo in Toronto today, but he wasn’t feeling well.  I headed there myself for a little bit:

It was at the Downsview Park.  I wanted to look for some new food for my Gecko, Peanut:

Had many cute little critters there:

The Crested Gecko is what Peanut is, who still likes to sit on Abby’s head:

I left the show with some food for picky Geckos and I accidentally bought “Big Peanut”

It was a good time.  I just hope little fussy-scales likes his new food!

Today’s symptoms: Actually felt pretty good, for a change.  I had a really busy few days so had to just chill out yesterday and recover – totally worth it though. 

We weren’t able to go for a flight this weekend as the weather wasn’t too cooperative, but Mike and I did fly to Tillsonburg last weekend for breakfast.  It was actually a pretty decent day – we were so surprised there weren’t more people flying.  On the way there, I let Mike fly Vyctor.  I decided to take this time to clean a couple panels in my cockpit with Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  I was a little shocked at the yuckiness:

I had most of the interior panels replaced a few years ago.  I guess I really need to scrub down the remaining original panels.  Oops.

Once, in Tillsonburg, we sat down for a rather tasty breakkie.  Mike had a breakfast burrito.  Everything was great, especially the coffee.

It was an equally nice flight on the way home, with very little traffic heard around Hamilton or St. Catharines.

Since we weren’t able to fly this weekend, we had to think of other things to do, such as shop, watch movies and play with the creatures.  Except Boo, she was too comfy and sleepy:

Then little Peanut had a visit with Abby:

Then I had a new little visitor.  A hawk perched on my bathroom window sill.  He was actually there for two days.  I didn’t want to scare him while showering, so both nights I had to sit in the tub to shower.  The things I do for nature!

Another exciting scene was when the intersection next to my apartment was closed off most of the day.  There were so many cops around with police tape everywhere, we figured a pretty big crime had been committed.  Most of the cops were around the opposite side of this white building:

Later that evening, the suspense and curiosity was killing me, so we wandered down to investigate.  We were a tad shocked to see this:

There were two people in that room he drove into – both taken to the hospital. The intersection was closed off for around eight hours for the investigation.

So that’s been the excitement around here lately.  We have a fun afternoon planned this Thursday in Niagara Falls.  Hopefully I’ll have some good bloggage to share afterwards.

Today’s symptoms: Feeling pretty decent.  Been having some pretty bad MS pains in my hands for the last couple weeks, but I think that just goes with the glorious disease.  Nothing else too noteworthy to report, other than the usual fatigue, muscle spasms and headaches.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  I sure did.  My mother came over Christmas Eve and stayed a couple nights.  We had a great time opening each others pressies.  Good times – sad that it’s over.

I’ve been dealing with more stinkin’ bladder infections.  It’s been over a year now.  My doctor put me on a long term, low dose antibiotic.  Paws crossed it works.  These infections are really doing a number on me – completely wipe me out, along with the MS fatigue.

As of today, I have a new family member.  My friend gave me the family gecko, little Peanut.  He’s a real cutie.  Met all of the kittahs today too:

Tee hee!  I think Pinky cared the least.  She never moved when he crawled on her.  Dork.  She was a little snippy earlier when we tried to put a sweater on her.  All the other kitties just LOVED the experience:

It’s funny that they really don’t care for wearing the little sweaters.  You would think little hairless freaks that are always seeking heat, would love the clothes.  Oh well.  Still entertaining.

I’m hoping the weather is nice (or at least decent) tomorrow morning so Mike and I can fly somewhere for breakkie.  Wings crossed!

Today’s symptoms: For the first time in weeks, I’m feeling pretty darn good.  Right now I’m on a high dose antibiotic for my bladder infection, which seems to be working.  I just hope the new low dose, long term one holds off the infections.  Twelve in a year is more than enough – I don’t want to play anymore!

I honestly don’t know why I haven’t done a blog in so long.  I’ve been really down lately and feeling like yuck due to constant bladder infections and crappola MS symptoms.  I seriously hope I don’t lapse like this again.  Please forgiveth me.  ***lowers head in shame***

So, what’s been going on lately you ask?  Let me show you – from awesome flights to my amazing daughters….ahem, kittahs:

Awesome flight for breakfast at Brantford Airport:

Look at how cute Vyctor looks!

And here are some awesome kittahs (albeit a tad naughty):

Pinky looking not as mean as she usually does:

Boo trying to show me that she likes that I served in the Army for eleven years and attempting a salute:

Mya trying to figure out the paw growing out of my bed (notice the Ken doll dressed in a dress in the background):

Just checking Pinky’s tonsils:

Abby being her totally googly self:

Mike and I very happily celebrated out two year anniversary last month.  Here’s the awesome necklace he bought me:

Love it!  Looks like a googly Abby fish.  The server at the restaurant we went to (Cafe Amore) provided this awesome dessert for us:

How cute is that?

Jan and I had our amazing annual trip to Rochester for shopping.  Even though I’m mostly a girl, I absolutely hate buying shoes,  I wore out my last pair to the point that there were dangly bits and holes, so I had to cave and buy a new pair.  I sent Mike a pic of me showing the great new shoesies I was forced to purchase (then tossed the old ones as per my mother demand….errrr….request:

They look kinda granny-frickerish in this pic, but somewhat stylish (or at least tolerable) on my paws.

I was off today and drove to Hamilton for my bi-annual neurologist appointment.  I was just about to pull onto the street of his office when I noticed this amazing parking spot with a “free two hour parking” notice.  I was totally focused on the Canada’s Worst Driver show at that moment – thinking how proud host Andrew Younghusband would be of me.  I did the mostly amazing parallel parking job ever.  I first signaled to the guy behind me that I wasn’t actually turning right at the intersection, but parallel parking at the spot just before it.  I nailed it – mainly out of fear and angst.  Check out the nicely parked Lola Corolla:

Right across the street was my neurologist’s office plus free parking.  My life is perfect (minus the MS and other stuff).

My appointment went well.  On the way home, I went to Antipastos to get Jan’s and my Christmas dinner.  I saw this and realized that Mike’s life wasn’t totally complete.  Once this is purchased, I think it will be:

That would last him at least a month.

So, sorry again I’ve been such a slacker.  Life is still good.  I hope the weather is clear this weekend so I can go up in Vyctor and do some aerobatics – don’t want to get stale.  Plus Vyctor needs his oil shaken, not stirred.

Today’s symptoms: I’m finally starting to feel good after beginning a long-term antibiotic for my constant bladder infection (treated for at least eight since January).  MS symptoms are fairly stable.  This new med I’m on is clearly helping.  Did I mention life is awesome?!

My mother and aunt went shopping at the Mall of America in Minnesota over the past week.  Last year, Mike and I put up her Christmas tree in the middle of her bedroom while she was gone:

This year we did a Halloween theme:

And our favourite:

She phoned me when she got home today, laughed about her room and then called me a few choice names.  Tee hee!

The day after we fixed up her room, we went for a flight.  I let Mike fly most of the time:

It was a really nice, clear day.

After we left the airport, we headed over to his parent’s place for din-dins.  As usual, Coco stared at me while I was sitting on the couch:

On Saturday night, we saw our first Ice Dogs game at the new Meridian Centre.  It’s so convenient as like the old arena, the new one is also within walking distance of our homes.  The arena is SO nice!  Unfortunately, as with the three games we went to last year, our Doggies lost.

Kinda funny where that kid is pointing in that pic.

Today’s symptoms:  I actually felt pretty good.  I had the day off and was determined to stay in a clean and sort.  Got tons done.  Quite pooped now but it was worth it – very productive day.

Yup, I’m a big slacker.  Like I mentioned in my last blog entry, I’ve felt pretty lousy lately, which has got me a bit down, which has caused me to lose interest in things.  I’m glad to say I’m feeling better – my kidney infection seems to be totally gone.  I’m still a bit weaker than normal but it’s getting better every day.

I also mentioned in my last blog that my little Mya may have to go back to have another tooth remove, as her lower canine was going through her cheek after her upper canine was removed a week earlier.  It was so hard to bring her back to the vet and put her through that surgery again, but there was no way she could live like that.  I was quite stressed all day and was so relieved when they called and said everything went well.  I was allowed to go to the vet’s office and be with Mya while she was in recovery.  It was really hard to see her so drugged:

She couldn’t even lift her adorable tiny head up and her front legs were completely spread.  I basically had my head resting next to her for about an hour as she came to.  Once home, she started to get very agitated and ran around non-stop, falling over occasionally.  I decided she would be safest locked in the bedroom, so there was less for her to jump up on and possibly fall.  It was Friday and Mike and I normally get fish and chips from the Legion less than a block away.  He ran over and got the noms, and we both ate on the floor in the bedroom while Mya continued to run around.  She even walked through my food at one point:

Fortunately, she is fully recovered now and back to her normal, adorable self.  Mya is back to eating normally (both wet and dry food) – I’m kinda hoping she gains a little weight.

On a sad note, my little fishy, McCordelia, took her own life a couple weeks ago.  There is a very small hole in tank where I put the feed through.  She managed to jump out that little hole and onto the floor.  RIP.  The next day, I rescued another betta fish from those little cups in the pet store.  Please meet McOthello:

Back to good news – my plane Vyctor had his annual medical inspection and everything is good.  I saw him out on the ramp (without his pants) via the Flying Club camera:

It’s always so weird to see his spindle-struts once my mechanic removes his wheel pants for the winter. This is done so if I land on snow, it doesn’t go up into the pants and mess with the brakes.

On a final note, there was a fly on the ceiling in my bedroom while all of my cats were there.  The resulting pics are rather amusing:

As usual, Abby was the one that caught it.  Kinda glad I got it away from her before she ate it.  Yuckaroos.

Today’s symptoms: A little weary but definitely feeling better than I have over the last few weeks, so no complaints!  So glad that things are improving and my mood is picking up. 

Yet again, I’m all behind on my blogging.  I haven’t been feeling well lately and have lost interest in things.  I guess I’m getting a tad down.  My bladder infection is back again (I think this is number 9 since February) and with the lower back pain this one is causing, it may have spread to my kidneys.  It seems with each infection I get, the more weak I become and the longer it lasts.  Not too sure what to do anymore.  I see my urologist next week and I’m really hoping he can help me.

I’m happy to report that little Mya is healing well from her tooth extraction surgery.

The only part that is worrying me is that her little fluffy cheek is getting caught on her bottom tooth:

She’s looking a tad snarly now.  I was hoping it was just due to the swelling, but it still seems to be happening since the swelling went down.  I’ll have to see what the vet says tomorrow.  Paws crossed.

A week after her surgery, she was allowed to have dry food again.  All four of the goobers were thrilled when that food came back out:

The two speckled kitties, Boo and Abby, had quite the sleep after their noms.  Not too sure why Boo put her paw on Abby’s head:

Last weekend was the Grape and Wine Festival in St. Catharines.  Mike and I wandered downtown for breakkie then watched a little bit of the parade.  One of the first items in the parade was this cute little remote controlled ambulance.  Since my mother is tiny, Mike and I decided it should be called a Janbulance.

The winning float in the parade was for Brock University’s 50th anniversary:

I used to be in the E.L. Crossley Marching Band in high school as a drummer.  I’m surprised how much smaller the parades are now than back when I was in them.

I started my new MS treatment medication last week.  Gilenya is a once a day pill.  For the first dose, I had to stay in a clinic for monitoring for at least six hours.  The nurse had to take my blood pressure every thirty minutes then an ECG at the end of the six hours.  Here goes the first dose:

The nurse was really nice and we chatted a good portion of the time I was there.  I also brought the log books for my airplane and got those all up to date.  The time went by fairly quickly with no major side effects.  I think one of the best parts was when the nurse gave me an awesome cuppy cake:

Slurp!

I’ve been a little nervous about this weekend.  For my mother’s birthday, I got her a seat on the CAA bus tour to St. Jacobs.  Mike hadn’t been there before and he joined us.  The reason I was nervous was because the bladder infection made me so weak over the last few days.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it a full day, walking around the market and town.  It was a little rough, especially going into the afternoon, but I made it.

Our first stop was at the market.  We hit the outlet mall across the street and sat down for a coffee and some treats.  We toasted our trip with some zucchini bread:

We were a little rushed through the market, but did end up making a few purchases.  At 11:15, we got on the bus to head over to the town.  We spent a couple hours touring around the shops, then went to the amazing Stone Crock for a late lunch.  It is hands down the best buffet I’ve ever been to.  Their food is incredible:

We were surprised that there wasn’t too much time left to go to the rest of the stores in the town.  We actually missed quite a few of them.  It was still a great trip.

Today’s symptoms: Feeling really lousy.  My bladder infection is a bit worse and I’m quite wiped out and weak from the long but awesome day yesterday (St. Jacobs).  I really feel run down and all of my usual MS symptoms (sharp pains all over, sensitive skin, headache, etc.) are quite a bit worse.  Blah.

Last week I took Mike to his first ever concert.  We went to see the awesome Jann Arden at Hamilton Place.  I’ve seen her there twice before.  We had great seats, about ten rows from the stage.  A friend from work was there as well, so we were texting and waving at each other prior to the show starting.  At one point, Jann came out into the audience to perform a song.  She was just a few rows behind us:

She sounded amazing, as usual, as did the rest of her band, including the awesome Allison Cornell:

We both had a great time at the concert.  I would certainly go back to see her for a fourth time!

The next day (Friday), Mike and I left for camping again at Long Point.  We were able to borrow his uncle’s trailer again, which was so nice.  As the last two times we were there, we picked the same camp site.  We were actually surprised to see how many people were there camping that weekend, especially since the weather was getting so much cooler.  Still, it was quite quiet and the weather wasn’t too bad, minus the wind, which was great for kite flying:

The first night, we cooked up some weenies (mine was trying to nom his):

And coconut marshmallows:

On Monday, we went into the town of Port Rowan on the way home.  We visited our favourite restaurant, the Sunrise Cafe.  Mike got his usual hamburger with egg and bacon:

And I got the BBQ chicken sandwich.  We split a large order of poutine:

SO good, as was the whole trip.  Really looking forward to going back in May!

On Tuesday, I had to take little Mya to the vet for some pre-surgery blood work.  The vet determined last week that she needed at least two more teeth pulled (eleven were removed a few years ago).  She wasn’t too happy with the blood work, but we got through it.  Here she is once we got home.  Fortunately, I was able to remove the bandage soon after leaving the vet’s office:

Her surgery was today and needless to say, I was a nervous wreck all day.  I was very relieved when I called after 2:30 and heard she was out of surgery and doing well.  I had to remove another bandage after getting her home:

Since being home, she has hardly stopped moving.  I’ve been chasing her everywhere as her balance is off due to the meds.  I don’t want her to jump up on anything and fall over.  She’s finally starting to settle down a bit.  I’m so hopeful she sleeps well tonight.  I know this surgery is going to make her feel so much better in a few days.

Today’s symptoms: Not feeling too well at all today.  I’ve been dealing with much worse than “normal” fatigue over the last few days.  It’s almost as if I’ve picked up a bug or something because I feel so run down.  I hope Mya and I feel much better soon!

Had an amazing weekend.  I was asked to help out with the COPA Flight For Kids today up in Lindsay (North East of Toronto).  Mike and I headed to the St. Catharines Airport for 8:00 this morning.  We then headed out on our very nice, calm flight to Kawartha Lakes Airport.  As always, we really enjoyed the flight through Toronto:

The CN Tower, looking awesome as usual:

You can see the Edge Walkers in red, dangling off the right side of the platform.  I did the walk a couple years ago.  Quite fun!

We breezed through Toronto then up to Lindsay.  We joined the circuit and followed another plane in, with two on my tail:

Very nice flight in and there was quite the crowd of kids, waiting to go for a flight.

Soon after landing, I had my pilot briefing.  It was technically at 8:00 for the pilots, but we had over an hour flight to get there (of all the pilots, we had the furthest flight).  So, they were very accommodating and gave me a personal briefing plus got us a couple flights before lunch.

Before going up, the Orang Medical helicopter landed to transport a patient to an awaiting ambulance.  Before heading out again, I chatted with one of the pilots and he said we could go over and check out their chopper.  I was kinda excited to touch it:

Mike stayed on the ground and chatted with folks while I did two flights:

I had two great kids fly with me today.  Both really seemed to enjoy the flight.  I think there were 104 kids that went up for flights.  Sweet!

Heading back, we had to watch for quite a bit of traffic going through Toronto.  Had to descend and ascend as instructed by the tower folks, to avoid other planes and a helicopter.

Great flight back – perfect day.  I’m still smiling!

Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the day, as we were both quite pooped.  The kittahs were certainly very energetic and ready to play.  Little Abby got a little possessive of the one toy Mike was tossing at her.  She wasn’t giving it over to Pinky, no matter how hard she stared:

Abby’s face was quite determined, and very cute!

Life is good!

Today’s symptoms: Had a great day symptom-wise today.  Only a slight headache, which is very rare, plus my energy was higher than it’s been in a while!

Last weekend, Mike and I were supposed to fly up to Markham to take one of his relatives for a surprise birthday flight.  Unfortunately, the weather was horrible (clouds below 500 feet) so we were unable to go.  The next day we were supposed to go to Exeter for a corn roast, but yet again, bad weather.  Geesh!  I’m kinda making up for it this week though.  I took someone up for a flight yesterday, which was planned about a month ago. We did some aerobatics, then flew over the Falls:

I then let her take control of the plane and fly over to Port Colborne.  Then back home for a landing at St. Catharines.  Great flight – she seemed to really enjoy it!  I believe her father wants to go for a flight next.

On the way home, I stopped off at my vet to donate some bed sheets and order Abby’s medication.  There was the most adorable kitten there.  Check out this little cutie:

I tried to sneak him out the door but failed.  I guess I’ll just have to be happy with the four naked ladies I already have.  I mean, who wouldn’t be happy with this?

Or this sleeping angel:

Or Pinky looking sorta miserable:

And of course, tiny and pancakey Mya:

I flew again today.  I took up someone who has been up with me twice before.  The weather was perfect today (for a passenger.  I prefer it windy and bumpy when I’m up by myself!) so it was another great flight. 

I was thinking I had a lot more to report, since it’s been a while since my last blog.  Hmmmm…..  I’ll ponder and perhaps do another post over this long weekend.  Until then, enjoy these cute pics:

Today’s symptoms: Felt quite good today, which is nice since I wasn’t feeling to great during the first part of the week.  Just a bad headache today and the normal MS aches and pains. 

The weather wasn’t too great this weekend but Airport Fest was still on.  It was really windy Saturday morning and raining on and off.  There were supposed to be about five or six planes flying in from other airports to display their planes, but had to cancel due to the forecast storms in the afternoon. Mike and I headed to the St. Catharines airport around 10:30 and taxied my plane over to the display area on the ramp.  Despite the weather, there was a good turn out.  Just about every kid there said “There’s Dusty Crophopper!” (from the Disney Planes movie) when they saw my plane.  They were really excited to sit in it too:

They also liked the rubber chicken hanging off my pitot static tube:

Also on display were a couple of our Recreational Aircraft Association member’s airplanes, a couple Harvards and two Trojans, which did a nice fly by:

There was also a photographer from Snap magazine wandering around.  He “snapped” this pic of Vyctor and I:

Unfortunately, the heavy rain came in around 2:30 and we had to end the outdoor portion of Airport Fest.  It was supposed to go until 5:00.  Oh well, at least we had a few good hours.

Due to the airport commitment, we missed the birthday party for Mike’s niece Rowan.  We went to their home last Wednesday to bring her pressies and also see their one son’s last t-ball game.  Here she is opening our gifty:

You can see the other pressie on the table – an educational airplane.  We also got her the cutest shirt ever.  I really wish they had it in my size too:

I would so wear that!

What we did miss by not being at the party was her mother’s amazing Alice in Wonderland cakes.  Here’s the before pic:

And here’s the after:

Tee hee!

On Sunday morning, I had to go to the walk-in clinic yet again for my eighth bladder infection since January.  Ugh!  I was feeling quite weak that day so Mike and I just chilled at my place.  We got out the laser pointer for the kittahs:

Then Mike caught an Abby with one of their toys:

Then we watched a movie with all four of them on us:

At home from work yesterday (still feeling very weak from the infection), I heard a short screech of brakes then heard a metal crunching slam.  I ran out to the balcony and saw the aftermath of an accident.  I got on the phone and called 911.  It didn’t look like anyone was hurt, plus there were quite a few people running over to the folks in the cars.  The speed of the emergency folks was pretty impressive  They were all there within minutes of my call (and I’m sure there were at least a few other calls):

Within twenty minutes of the actual crash, they had the vehicle off the road and the emergency folks (minus one cop) were all gone.  Very efficient!

Today’s symptoms: Still feeling very weak and all around blah from this infection.  The doctor said that I should go get an ultrasound of my bladder.  I told him I’ve had two plus two cystoscopes in the last few months.  I also take on a daily basis cranberry juice (also known in Lizzyland as Bladder Sauce), D-Mannose, garlic pills, acidophilus, apple cider vinegar, vitamin C and vitamin D.  Pretty much everything I know of to reduce the frequency of bladder infections.  Not working for me though!  Going to start feeling better tomorrow – looking forward to it!

 

I took some vacation last Thursday and met up with some friends from work (two retired) for lunch at Bistro 61 in Niagara-On-The-Lake.  Had a bit of a hard time finding parking, which HAD to be free.  After driving around the block, I think I found the last free spot in the area.  Mind you, people probably didn’t want to park there because of the post.  Wusses:

Great restaurant – my first time there.  We had a nice visit and were able to get caught up on everything:

Got home and let the four naked ladies out on the balcony for a little sun:

Glad they were all happy.  I wish I could have said the same about my little Betta fish, McMortimer.  He was starting to go downhill for a few days.  He finally passed away.  Just like my previous Bettas (Guido, McGuildenstern, McRosenkrantz) he was buried in my mother’s garden.  I wrapped him up neatly and kept him in the freezer until I met up with Jan:

The next day, I “rescued” a new Betta.  I’ve only had males in the past but decided to get a female this time.  I usually get the one that isn’t the most eye-catching, just out of pity.  So, without further adieu, please meet McCordelia:

The cats knew right away that it was a new fish:

Ok guys, move over – it’s my turn to look:

As for the weekend, it was quite good.  Mike and I were going to fly up to Edenvale on Saturday, but I wasn’t feeling quite well enough to go that far.  We decided to fly to Tillsonburg for breakfast instead.  Part way through the flight, Mike decided to play a game on his iPhone:

  

Nothing like enjoying the view!

We had a great meal at the restaurant in the terminal building of the airport:

Back safe and sound in CYSN:

Unfortunately for kitties when we got back, it was bath time:

All four had a cleaning this time including little princess Mya:

They were not amused but quickly got over it.  Mind you, Abby may have become possessed during her bath.  Not sure what pose this is supposed to be:

For dinner that night, Mike got us some tasty noms from Wendy’s.  I set the straw for his pop on the table while we got things ready in the kitchen.  We came out and the straw was gone.  I just figured that I didn’t actually put it out, so I got him another one.  After dinner, I put some stuff in the recycling bin on the balcony and voila!  There’s Mike’s straw

Boo’s so naughty.  I don’t know how many things she’s dropped down the space on the floor by the railing, down to the 9th floor.  Geesh.

I was able to go for another flight last night.  We had our monthly RAA meeting at the Welland Airport.  Like a true classy lady, I climbed up on Vyctor to check the fuel before we left:

The weather wasn’t the greatest but it was certainly flyable.  Hoping it’s nice on Saturday for Airport Fest at the St. Catharines Airport!

Today’s symptoms: Feeling rather fatigued but I’m still dealing with a bladder infection.  What else is new?!  I’ve had a pretty bad headache for going on the last week as well.  Other than that, things are pretty much status quo.

Well it happened again – little Pinky got quite sick.  Last time she was ill, the vet wanted me to get a urine sample.  The next morning, I woke up around 5:00am to use the washroom.  Pinky got up too and went into the spare room with the litter boxes.  I actually waited with her for over two hours, both of us locked in the room, until she finally peed!  Mike drove me to emergency vet clinic to drop off the sample.  Pinky actually did much better that day and wasn’t sick once.  The vet called later in the day to say the results were normal.  Fortunately, she hasn’t been sick since, and she’s back to her cute little pink self:

It’s been a good long weekend.  Mike and I went to iHop for breakfast/lunch today.  Since we were going flying later, Donkay joined me as he usually does for flights. 

The waitress came by and yelled “It’s DONKAY!”  It was so funny – really quiet in the restaurant at the time too.  It was kinda nice that she called him by the right name, as usually people say Eeyore or just donkey. 

After the great noms, we headed to the airport.  I wanted to fly us over the Lake Erie shoreline to check out all the folks on the beach.

We also saw this interesting scene – there’s a massive iPhone submerged just off the shore, as you can see in the bottom left of this pic:

Yet another amazing natural formation in Niagara!

We also saw this awesome boat:

We also flew over the new outlet mall in Niagara-On-The-Lake.  We were just there the day before but it was just a tad busier today:

Great flight, perfect weekend!

Today’s symptoms: Feeling pretty good today but had a really bad headache.  A few more aches and pains all over than “normal” and feeling a tad nauseous this evening.

Yesterday was the annual Fred Legg Memorial Golf Tournament for MS at the Whisky Run Golf course in Port Colborne.  It was quite overcast but the weather was good enough to fly over the start of the tourney.  Everything timing-wise worked out perfectly and I was able to do some aerobatics for everyone as soon as I got over the golf course.  Then I got some decent pics of folks heading out:

The flight went really well.  Got to see lots of people looking up and waving at me before I headed back to St. Catharines.

That evening, Mike and I drove out to the golf course and had an awesome dinner with everyone:

I met up with a friend from work who volunteered that day.  She had to leave early so she gave me her tickets from the penny sale.  She won a lot!

It was quite the struggle to get everything up into my apartment:

She owes me!  Tee hee.

I turned the bed down that evening, which the kitties took full advantage of:

They’re so cute.  Check out this little interaction between Mya and Abby:

Isn’t it wonderful when everyone gets along?  It’s like the beautiful friendship between Lil Jan and Donkay:

I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean the things she said to me when I posed him there.

Today’s symptoms: Very fatigued today.  It’s been a busy few days and I think it took its toll.  Worth it though.  As usual with the fatigue, my aches and pains are typically worse too.

Yesterday was my cute, little mother’s birthday.  Mike and I headed down to her place to take her out for dinner at the Lazy Loon in Fonthill.  Jan and I have been dining there for many years – their food is so good.  They recently renovated and the restaurant looked amazing.  After our nomtacular meals, we split their perfect bread pudding and a gingerbread and caramel dish:

After that, Jan decided to finish her drink with a spoon:

She’s a little weird.  Might be where I get some of it from.

I paid the bill, after making a slight correction:

Back at Jan’s, she opened her pressies from Mike and I.  One is a trip to St. Jacob’s in October on the CAA bus tour.  We’ve been quite a few times in the past and always have a great time. 

Back at my place, Boo heard that it was grandma’s birthday so she dressed up for her and asked me to send the picture:

Charming!

I was quite happy about the perfect weather today.  I took a friend up for a flight over to Brockport, NY.  We didn’t have to worry about customs or anything as we didn’t land there.

Over Fort Niagara on the US side:

Back home, I gave three of the four kittahs a bath (princess Mya rarely needs one).  They really dislike baths, especially the drying part at the end:

I distracted Boo (so easy to do!) with a ribbon just before taking her to the sink of doom:

Afterwards, little Abby slept out on the chair on the balcony.  Fortunately, under a blanket so she didn’t get sun burned:

Life is good!

Today’s symptoms: Feeling pretty good today.  My bladder infection seems to be gone and I’m getting more energy back.