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| A dogsled run ahhhh |
I read an article about successful retirement and the gist was....you're not ready if you still receive a sense of purpose from your work. I've made the modification from community health nurse to public health (perhaps homecare...haven't ruled it out) which removes the on call, long nights waiting for the medevac team, need to keep current with SO many different focuses and...just generally more responsibility. When public health nursing in a pandemic sounds better than community health nurse....you know you're past it. So....I have given availability for November 1 to December 14 for a PHN contract in Baffin region and settled on Sanirajak (previously called Hall Beach). I have never been, but have only heard good things about it. And now I'm doing a bit of research I see that it's a wildlife viewing bonanza so getting excited. Today while grocery shopping in Yarmouth I encountered an RCMP wife/LPN who I worked with in Pond Inlet when they were posted there and I did Homecare a few springs ago. She is working casual in ER/Ambulatory Care in the hospital I trained in and we lamented the deterioration of the healthcare system and compared notes on northern nursing. It was a great catchup and as I said to her....I feel like I have to excuse my working still at my age and she said I'd much rather work with someone with decades of experience versus months. Made this old nurses' day.
So as last minute prep for the first girls vacation is underway. We are Bermuda bound on the Norwegian Getaway out of New York City this week. What can I say? It was a sale to entice people to cruise again and....it worked. We got a minisuite with balcony for less than the cost of an inside cabin previously. We fly Wed, embark Thurs, sea day Fri (likely rough post Hurricane Fiona but neither of us are prone to sea sickness) and Bermuda Sat/Sun, sea day Mon and back to New York on Tues with supper booked at an Italian restaurant and tickets to Wicked on Broadway that night, fly home Wed. Have a long list of possibilities - neither of us having been to Bermuda - which we likely will only tick a few off the list. My travel partner has not been to New York so we have plans to explore there pre and post cruise and add to the experience. It's a first cruise for my gf as well so lots of fun to be had. We have to do covid tests to enter Bermuda so Tuesday we have booked a 4 p.m. appointment at the local drug store for the rapid test certified by the pharmacist which is within the 48 hrs of embarkation requirement. Found my passport, have all the insurance and cruise documents printed, the proof of vaccination ready to upload to the ArriveCan app and we're getting excited. When you're biggest issue is fitting in appointments for hair cut, spa day and covid test....it's all first world problems. Those 11 days at home before heading out on the next trip with another gf are going to be busy...stay tuned for the UK next.
I was running my errands Friday morning as I picked up my glasses from the optician. Not much of a prescription change but....I lost my glasses somewhere here on the property and they have disappeared into a Bermuda Triangle apparently. My spare glasses were heavy, two prescriptions ago and lacked sunglasses to clip on as I had separate bifocal sunglasses (which I managed to lose the arm off in the arctic this spring) so I was jamming a pair of sunglasses someone left in my house over the top like some kind of post eye surgery patient. I'm pleased with my lightweight progressive bifocal lenses and clip on shades. Took a bit of getting used to with the slight change in strength as I figured out just which way to tilt my head for clearest vision. I'd gotten the new prescription last fall but delayed filling it until sorting out the 'pre glaucoma' exams/treatment with the ophthalmologist. I've settled into the eye drops and one side effect is thicker longer eye lashes so no longer have to invest in mascara. Have been pleased the drops lowered my intraocular pressure and it's not much of a lifestyle change to put them in nightly....thankfully it was only the first few weeks in January they caused red irritated eyes and made me look like a stoner.
I made a journey to the Hyundai car dealership where I've ordered my next vehicle....a 2023 Kona EV (electric vehicle). Originally it looked like an 18 month wait as there are supply chain issues worldwide but...when I visited end of June I was pleased to discover they would be receiving orders the end of July so quickly put a deposit and have been waiting since with various possible arrival dates given each time I've called. The car is coming from Korea via ship to Vancouver and across Canada to the compound in Saint John, NB. I am unclear of exactly where it is at present but it does have a VIN # so at least isn't still in Asia. Today I made an in person visit to the Sales Manager and stated I wouldn't be leaving until an approximate date could be given. The good news is the timing is now being measured in weeks vs months. There is no urgency as my present car (2013 Dodge Dart) is perfectly fine but I do need to plan with my busy social calendar. I have ordered a charging station for the house and so the brother-in-law electrician will need to install a 220 plug for it....the greatest challenge being arranging for the wire to exit our thick concrete walls so likely another overhead crawl in the attic for one of the son-in-laws to run the wire. The overnight charging is a nice feature for someone living 25+ minutes from a gas station and the charging can be set on a timer to the off peak rate time of day we are set up for. The range of the Kona is 400+ km per charge so manageable even with the emerging infrastructure in NS. The various programs for the car (including remote starter) are through a program in your smartphone. The salesman told me that as long as I had a wi-fi signal I could start the car from Nunavut if I wished. Not gonna happen I assured him. I will be on a steep learning curve for heated steering wheel etc. Looking forward to being more environmentally accountable.
I managed to get some summer road trips in with the two oldest grandchildren as I'd promised the grandson a trip to Fortress Louisbourg to celebrate his graduation from elementary school...still can't believe that he's in Jr High. We also enjoyed the Glace Bay Miners Museum tour and Two Rivers Wildlife Park, two of my girlfriends squeezed in a visit with us, hotel swimming pool, junkfood and eating out were a real treat especially for the six year old granddaughter. We stopped at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton to break up the return home and it's a great spot for kids. They're both great little travellers and we had so much fun we planned an end of summer trip as well. We started out in Bridgewater/Lunenburg with an overnight stay for swimming/water slide and supper at Swiss Chalet then I headed out to my rheumatologist appointment in the a.m. and their grandfather took the kids to the Fisheries Museum. We switched booster seat, Grawmp exited home and we headed off to New Brunswick. Made it to Fredericton for a late supper, swim and in to bed. The next morning we headed out to Florenceville/Bristol, toured Potato World, had a great lunch then visited with friends. Back to the city in time to do a little shopping at Chapters (Pat le Chat for missy and a wrestling magazine for mister) and various best sellers for me...I mean when you can't decide, just buy both with your Plum rewards credit. Swimming again and a good sleep. The next day we were at Kings Landing when they opened the gates and they closed them behind us as we left. I had visited in 1985 but a lot of expansion has been done. It's a wonderfully interactive spot with great interpreters and the kids had a fantastic day. We finished up by meeting a girlfriend for supper at a local restaurant and a good catchup visit then back for a final swim. It was a long travel day home but we stopped for a picnic lunch and photo op at the 'big blueberry' in Oxford and then to drop the two junior travellers off. Big plans to take the train to Quebec City next summer.....we'll see.
Summer visits to several friends in the valley, a local retired nurses luncheon and then my Class of 76 get together in Digby were all great chances to reconnect. I 'did lunch' with a friend at a new eatery in town called the Emerald Light which is a lovely spot. Lots of warm afternoons spent by the pool (or in it with the grandkids) as we've had a warm, dry summer. The shore captain completed a gazebo enclosure (using the windows he salvaged from a reno he assisted his sister with a few years back) around the hot tub I found when I returned home in June. It's lovely but the cool ocean breeze when you emerge from the 105f soak needed some buffering. I think we now have a three season room and I've put a padded lawn chair in the corner to make it a reading room with the chill being taken off by the automatic heater. Some 'summer list' items didn't get completed....I'd love to do a pasta making class in Granville Ferry, have some more friend visits to do and never made it to Tatamagouche for a get together with a northern friend home on a visit. I have been dealing with lots of produce from the gentleman farmer and have made pickled beets and beans, zucchini pickles, salsa and lots of fresh veggies for various recipes such as fresh tomato soup, pizza sauce, and lots and lots of tomato sandwiches - who knew that a grilled cheese sandwich with embedded tomato slice was so tasty?. Ahhh
The RN daughter has returned to her nursing job after an extended maternity leave and is working 50% (although any working mother can tell you that is the outside the house job only) meaning six shifts per month with the very busy 15 month old Violet managing well. She is a smiley, easy going, very independent toddler who loves to chase the cats, dance and eats constantly. Petite like her mother was (is) Violet spent the weekend here as the weather (of course) was originally good for halibut fishing (which her hubby is on a steep learning curve for) and hoped to make a test trip, but changed at the last minute. The usual nurse/fisherman challenges of weekend and night shift childcare have not eased in the decades since we navigated those challenges. In fact, likely worse as there do not appear to be as many teenagers babysitting nowadays. I'm getting my days in that I can now as my social/work schedule will not allow for much assistance this fall what with cruise this month, two weeks in England (London and southwest) for two weeks, exploring London with tea at the Ritz, west end theatre and plans to show my gf (who has never been across the pond) the best of London then hitting all the highlights from Stonehenge to Canterbury while we stay in Chichester. The only requirement to be my travel partner is the no checked bags rule which resulted in my gf making a pilgrimage to MEC for a backpack and LLBean for travel packing cubes....ahhh we got this.
