triumphgal

May 14, 2026

Work was a lot. Rotary was interesting as we learned a lot about our college volleyball teams

Met with Mom and discussed all her jewelry and treasures and I suggested she not wait to leave people things but give them while they can have them and enjoy her knowing they loved them. Also spoke with surgeon again and made a plan for next steps.

Trivia was… interesting. New host is very different. Brett, JD and I won by a landslide. We each took home $65 which pays for my poker finale on Saturday night.

Brett joined me at F&B to chat and see my Ducks get knocked out of playoffs on home ice BOO

May 13, 2026

I really hope that statement is true because if not, my leg is getting worse after getting treatments on it. Bad enough that I made an appointment with my family doctor for Tuesday morning before my next Physio so I have some oversight on all of what is happening. Compartment syndrome is no joke and if that is what I have I need to be sure that there’s no permanent damage already and that the right things are being done.

I worked most of the day with one of my clients auditors and then went up and spent a couple hours visiting with Mom. Greg hasn’t made it yet and she is anxious that he comes for a visit soon. It is complicated by the fact that he is awaiting surgery on his knee.



May 12, 2026

Today was a lot. I got to work and remember to try to make a Physio appointment as prescribed by Dr. Webber in Invermere. Turns out they had had a cancellation and I managed to get an 11 AM appointment with Cynthia.

Just as I was about to head out the door, I got a call from Mom’s assigned health person at the hospital. she wanted to let me know that they would be keeping an eye on things to see what level of care Mom needed next. She felt strongly that she would be able to go home with support.

As soon as I finish that call, I went to my Physio appointment and I didn’t take her long to say that I had compartment syndrome. I know this I’ve seen it before on people. She worked on my leg front and back and then had me lay with my knees over a pillow and had heat packs on. There are three small exercises. I am to do and soak in a hot tub or a hot tub every day, preferably with Epsom salt I am to see her again once a week for the next few weeks.

I had just made it back to the office when I got the call from the hospital doctor that’s been looking after Mom and it seems she has a 7 cm tumour in her larger intestine that is near the appendix irritating it causing her to have appendicitis. She said she would have the surgeon call me or meet with me later.

I had to push aside any thoughts about myself which was difficult because for some reason after the treatment, my lower back hurt a lot

I finished when I had to at the office then I stopped at the Fenwick and Bakerfor a single ounce of Oban, neat

I had a visit with mom once she woke up from her nap and it wasn’t too long before the surgeon arrived. She is a general surgeon serving in the hospital and will try to fit Mom in. She gave us all the steps carefully laid out first to let the antibiotics take care of the appendicitis , and then get Mom on her feet.

In order to find out what is really going on and what the options for treatment are she needs to do a colonoscopy, but Mom needs to be able to get out of bed for the pre-treatment portion

There are many details, but at this moment, what matters as we are taking it one step at a time and Greg is going to try to come up tomorrow to visit with her. I managed to get a spare set of keys from Joseph Creek and he has permission to stay there.

I went back for a last visit with Mom after going to get the spare keys for greg in case he arrived when I was not available as I have to deal with an audit tomorrow. She seems an OK spirit so I guess we’re probably in a similar space right now we both took in a lot of information today.

I stopped at clarity and purchased some CBD bath bombs and enhanced beverages. Then I went for the muscle special at F&B because it is my favourite meal there for Tuesday special

I was waved up to the bar to sit with the others when a seat cleared and had some interesting chats while I watched the start of the Ducks versus Knights game I had been decked out in my jersey today with my matching Capris

That’s how my day started joyfully thinking about the game tonight

I feel very supported by family, but seriously, I could use just a wee stretch of no stress at all. I may have to go on a little road trip soon.

May 11, 2026

Got an amber alert at 1:58 am. Startled awake and hard to get back to sleep.

A lot done today and then a visit with Mom. Her levels are off still. More tests being done.

I went to her place to clear out old food etc and while I was there she asked me to grab a bag from beside her chair that held all her jewelry. I may just go put it in my safe deposit box

Came home and filled out her census which made me laugh as she got the travel one. Figures.

May 10, 2026

No alarm was glorious. I did wake up at 7:16 and said, Nope. Woke up again two hours later.

Around 12:15 Rae and Roger dropped off Kael. He and I spent two hours working g in my yard. He cleaned up branches and weeded while I mowed and brought out the summer furniture. The transformation was awesome. There is still some work to do but I am thrilled. We went for sundaes at DQ after There were some interesting conversations about his life I. Brazil compared to here

I went for a visit with Mom. They are going to do an Xray as she is having some abdominal pain. There was no sparkle in her eyes today

Roger and the boys made a delicious meal for Rae, Deanne and I to enjoy.

After dinner we watched Swapped. I enjoyed the creatures and animation

Even my watch proves that my working holiday in Oct-Nov was better for my health

May 9, 2026

Today was a glorious long day of making kids and parents happy the green room and the hospitality tent were well used and they were very few snacks in the entire day. I am very very, very, very, very exhausted though.

May 8, 2026

I can’t really completely explain how amazing this day was because there were the super lows that were balanced by the super highs and all of the good things in between.

It is Is the 22nd anniversary of my father, crashing his plane and dying. It is the first day of the 40th anniversary of the Kootenay Children’s festival. It is Friday and I should probably be in my office and working.

I chose to spend the day at Rotary Park, setting up the festival with people who I love and love me.

It was the best choice ever, and I kicked into music fast, organizer mode, and set up a little village for performers and volunteers. I really do love being in charge of the hospitality. I feel like that is really in my wheelhouse from all the experience I had at music fest. It made my heart happy when Galen came in and mentioned that he loved the vibe the most ever in the green room.

I did take a break to run across the street to Fire Hall to get some protein in my system so I could perform at my best and was impressed with Paul and his bartender skills

Unfortunately, when I went to open a case of Gingerale, there was a sliced open canyon inside and I seriously cut my thumb. It is not painful. It just bled a lot.

It did start to rain and that may have scared a lot of people away, but Beckam Barr had a nice collection of family members there and a good audience and then Robin Layne & the Rhythm Makers arrived and entertained the small, but appreciative crowd.

I was so excited to see Robyn performing here as I have watched him grow over the years, become a father, etc., at Vancouver Island MusicFest. Imagine my complete surprise that Richard Brown was also there playing drums with him. We probably haven’t seen each other for a decade and it was such a great little reunion from those same days back at music fest when he ran back line and I was in charge of all the stages.

Will and Sawyer did a swing by on their way to dinner. My two youngest grandson are turning into such amazing humans.

When all had done for the day at the festival, I headed up to Rhiannon and Rogers as Roger had invited me for a scotch in honour of the dead dad‘s club. We sat around the table and had great conversations and debates, and tried several different scotches in honour of both our dads. It was poignant when Gene and Lukas joined us.

I was happy? When greg phoned me today to acknowledge the 22 years that dad is gone. 

May 7, 2026

I sang for her after breakfast. We had a laugh and I promised to stop by later. I then sent family and friends to visit over the course of the day. I did see her between work and a play and we had a couple laughs. Her cognition seems to be improving a bit.

At Rotary lunch, a guy who had been helping me with the decor of the gala, Jack Mara, came up with great enthusiasm and said that he wanted to tell me how great it was working with me and that he loved how my brain works. Leanne and I both had a good laugh at that. She said that’s not something you hear every day and I said no and I have witnesses lol

I was invited up to read the nominating letter and present the award from the district to Judy. She was very surprised and there were many good compliments to her and to me for nominating her. She is the only person I know that is older than me and I feel taller around her. She’s a powerhouse of a little woman.

I was somewhat regretting spending over $25 to get my single ticket to see a high school musical. But I got there in time and was three rows up centre stage. It was the perfect spot and wow what a great show. I’m still not a huge fan of musicals cause I find sometimes the songs just go on too long, but I have complained about the inappropriate con content in a bunch of the high school shows of late. This one was completely inappropriate was remarkably done. The characters were spot on and the choreography and costumes were a lot of fun. I was blown away by the boys tap dance number.

The actors who portrayed SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward were so good. They were also a couple of side characters that really nailed the essence of the cartoon. Jared, father of Squidward otherwise known as Navy Gross was sitting in front of me and we had a great catch up. He is hoping to be in Neverland this fall and I am auditioning for Blood Relations at CCT.

I left the Theatre happy and that is exactly what I needed. Thanks, Patrick.

May 6, 2026

Woke to a text that they couldn’t find the curb stop. I showered and headed two doors down. First logical place…

Dare I say ‘man eyes’ were searching

It was a good Rotary board meeting.

It was a good beginning to setup QBO for the strata and connect Chelsea.

It was good to get a lot of work done on a file and get everyone’s payroll remittances filed and paid

It was good to have a visit with Mom and show her the predictive text on her phone. Small thing that changed her life in a big way

It was good to pick up Chester’s chicken rather than cook

It is very good to be sitting in my chair watching my shows

Let’s hope I stay on the top of my Survivor pool this week

May 5, 2026

I managed to get a good seal of work done and had a call from Moms occupational therapist about her future and he agreed she should be on extended care list before supportive care is not enough. I did go have a visit with her after work and she is very…. Old. From there I headed to the arena as I had committed to selling 50/50 tonight for round three of the playoffs against defending champs, Brooks Bandits from Alberta.

It was continuous sales from 6- slightly after puck drop in third period. The total to share was $10055!

While I was selling I had to take any poppy to reply to messages from strata council about the trailer two doors down from me that has water spraying out. Our handyman had tried to turn it off at the curb stop today but it clearly had not worked. Our secretary suggested she could ask her brother who is a plumber what we needed to do. He agreed right away to send one of his guys in the morning to check it out….. and shortly after…. Won the 50/50!!! Instant karma!!

May 4, 2026

I woke up to this fabulous pic of my friend Nigel

I called Mom and arranged Rae to bring her a charger and her Sudoku. I had to head to Invermere for my next neurology appointment.

I was surprised to receive a call from Clayton, the concierge at the place mom lives in independent living. He calmly mentioned that she had not come down for dinner last night and was now missing. I calmly informed him that I was upset that no one was aware that she’d been taken out by ambulance 15 hours earlier.

My appointment went well although this time it was much more painful. We are looking at options going forward and he is referring me to Physio

I made it back to the office by 2 and got a payroll and some payments for clients done before heading to visit with Mom. By this time I had gotten her lab results and she has a high Creatinine level and an infection which they are treating. She is having physio twice a day. I did speak to her about getting her on a list to find a spot in extended care as close to us as possible. It was so hard for me to speak calmly and lovingly but firmly communicate the necessity. She did agree. After I left I dropped her walker for service and then sat in my car and called my brother and his wife to update them and ask for support so that I am not the bad guy when she hated having to move. It hurt my heart. They support completely and Kym did thank me for taking the load here. I told them I couldn’t do it without cousin Donna taking care of her shopping regularly.

I came home, had some soup and put my foot up. Now I’m off to bed, it’s been a lot in the last 6 weeks.

May 3, 2026

Morning was smooth, packing, breakfast, in memoriam video and goodbye hugs.

I made a stop at Walmart for a few things and when I went to pay I couldn’t find my CC! I paid with a different one and headed back to the hotel thinking I had left it in the sleeve with my key card. It was not there so I searched again and it was in my wallet. Argh I had wasted so much time.

I was pretty tired driving. I even pulled over and got a package of mentos out of my shopping to kick in a sugar rush.

Made it home just before three, thinking Beth’s funeral was at 3:30. I double checked and found it was actually at three so I got changed in a big hurry and headed to the Alliance church.

I made it to hear Caitlyn singing just before the eulogy by Dylan, one of the sons It was beautiful

I realized that I had forgotten my phone at home but decided I didn’t need it. I went to the celebration of life at the Royal Alexandra Hall.

I got home around 6:30 to find that mom had called. I called and she was in bad shape. Her door was locked and it took her a very long time to let me in. I had to put one arm in and help her to get turned around and sit on her walker so I could push her out of the way and open the door. I had called an ambulance. Her neighbour Gary had pushed his fall button to get someone to come with a key but no one came while I was waiting. That is disturbing

Up at the hospital they ran tests and did a chest X-ray. Finally just around d 10 a Dr came to say she hadn’t found anything wrong. She agreed that her swollen feet were extreme and they would admit her for a couple days. I begged my leave and chatted with Rae on the way home to ask her to check in tomorrow as I have to go to Invermere for treatment in the morning.

May 2, 2026

Up early and off for breakfast. It was tough to not go see the car show or the farmers market setting up on this gorgeous day! after some small group discussions our past president, Joe, was the speaker and unfortunately the room was too bright for his mostly video presentation. He did well though.

We walked over to the Panida Theatre for our business meeting and some presentations of awards. I was thrilled to go up and accept on behalf of someone who will be presented on Thursday at our meeting. We then all climbed in school buses to be driven up to a beautiful community forest where the Peace Pole was revealed. It is very interesting as it looks like two hands shaking or someone giving a hand up. I was blessed to visit with Marilyn on the bus. She is just darling and told me when I come through town to stop and get the family discount of 30% plus the 20% for Canadians!

After, we couldn’t find our Bay Trail group so Penny and I just walked down to the Red Bridge Mall and had a great time checking it out. I want to start a Build spot! We even stopped for a mimosa in a cool Hawaiian spot and chatted with other visitors before getting caught in a wee cloudburst on the way home.

After a short break, it was time to get dressed and head for the main dinner. It was a nice stroll away in a converted Catholic Church. The food was very good, as was the company. I found myself invited to sit with the Dockins and who should sit across from me but dear Marilyn! I introduced Debi to her and they had a mutual very dear deceased friend. There were awards and stories and I learned that Dad jokes are endemic. I was so happy that Ndago from our satellite club in Uganda was able to join us by zoom with a couple other members. It was 6 am there.

I did wonder how it went at the border… what’s under the tarp sir? Oh just an iron lung!

We all walked back to the hotel and I decided not to go looking for trouble but call it an early night. I enjoyed chatting with Leanne about Rotary, and our trip. It was nice to get all the compliments on the dress that I bought at Marilyn’s store.

May 2, 2026

How do I begin to explain the connection. I headed to Sandpoint and enjoyed the journey

I listened to Women Talking on my Audible. There was a certain point when I crossed the border that it became too real and I had to change stories.

I am going to complete all of this tomorrow because there has been too much whiskey lol

Good grief.. I’m back

Daughters of Dave Dalby. Susan and Marilyn. Marilyn was first Miss Schweitzer, Miss Sandpoint, and has owned Eves Leaves for 47 years

Originally a federal building with post office on main floor and then in late 60s became the library until late 90s. Susan was in high school and the students did a fire brigade to move the books one by one. When the library moved again the same thing was done to where it is today. Restored to a brewery by brothers Micky and Duffy Mahone. Original Catwalk with vents to look down on workers!

Stopped at Eves to buy an outfit that I saw in the window. I will be wearing it Saturday night. Next stop was Panida (said like Canada) Theatre for grand opening and keynote by our President, Rick Jensen. I loved the bell choir!!

President Rick

Got checked in. Sharing a room with Leanne. It is nice and super convenient to everything.

After dinner many of us had signed up for the pub crawl. The third one was the most fun & karaoke night

We chatted up and mingled with all the regulars in that very small space. I was given an American one to sign and staple up. Virgil sang for us and Roger impressed me with his bow tying skills. Made some friends and memories. That bar now knows how fun Rotarians are.

April 30, 2026

Rotary lunch began with Kenzie, our sponsored youth ambassador, giving the best ice breaker speech ever. She will go far, and I really like her parents, Stu and Lindsay as well.

The main speaker gave a very well presented and informative talk about dementia. Cheryl Savage was very engaging on the subject

Brett and I kicked it as the only duo tonight. Show me your T4s came in second by only 1.5 points! We had fun and ended the night at F&B watching the Ducks kick the Oilers out of the playoffs.

It was a good end to a very busy April.

April 29, 2026

I got a call first thing from Safeway floral. Had to go ask for a donation for Children’s Fest on the 9th and order trays so grabbed the gift while I was there. I was very spoiled by Mary Lynn.

Today I found myself very anxious. I don’t know why as I got all the things done that I needed to including making my first cheque for a strata contractor payment .

I did get home at a decent time and have just relaxed watching season 2 of Running Point. Ow it’s Survivor, then bed.

April 28, 2026

Today was a lot of different things including work, volunteerism and fun. I took time out of my day to go drop off all the tea cups and other items from the gala at the hospital auxiliary thrift store. It was great to see tony who I usually volunteer with at Key City. It’s hard to believe that a guy that is in his 90s is still volunteering in so many different places. I worked late enough that I wouldn’t be at the bar too early for dinner and games. Tonight both the Cranbrook Bucks and the Anaheim Fucks were playing in important games. It was a lot of fun being at the bar and hanging out with Rotary and Bar friends to see the Cranbrook Bucks win this level of the series and are moving on to the next and Anaheim lost to Edmonton, but they are still up 3 to 2 in the series.

April 27, 2026

I left the office to see big black smoke and a house fire a block away. I did stop to lookie-loo and was so sad for whomever lost a lot tonight. Rumour has it no lives were lost, but I am sure scars were left from the trauma.

April 26, 2026

I was so tired when my alarm went off but I made it to the hall by 9 and there were many hands to get the place cleared out. Mary Ann took care of the rental stuff and I managed organizing all the thrift store and storage stuff. The crew were amazing and we were done before noon

I napped for a few hours before doing some chores.

Lallah called to get me to draw the 59/50 number for the game as the internet was down there. We sold over $11k! And the winner was Jason Wheeldon, the emcee from last night. The Bucks won forcing game 7 in the series against Salmon Arm.

And the Ducks just beat Oilers in OT with a reviewed goal! what a weekend!