Wow, where did the time go? This year is just racing past.


It is nice to see that March is finally here, though. And no, that isn't a typo. Victoria has had the worst spring in 70 years. Cold, wet, rainy, and cloudy. It really has sucked.


We've been busy, though. The shop has a new floor that will make it easier to move things around. Paul helped to revamp my dust collection system. I've been doing a bunch of planing, both for the china cabinet and for some tool cabinets. Any nice day has seen us out in the garden. We finally have most of the irrigation system done, which will be good for when we go on holidays. And, our neighbors' friend did a bunch of trimming on the fir trees behind the house. That has really opened up the patio.


The trimming of the fir trees was a full day's work, though. Putting the branches into our neighbor's truck was a hard job. Ele and I were both dead by the end of it.


I have good news on the health front. It looks like I will be getting the deep brain stimulator to control the tremors on my right side. I finally had the meeting with the surgeon, and was approved on the spot. Ele and I were shocked. The surgeon was a little surprised as well, as he doesn't often recommend MS patients. It turns out that my ataxia, which the operation doesn't help, is minor enough that the operation will help my tremors significantly. So we should see a very big approved soon. I have an appointment at the end of June, and then we will schedule the operation for when I come back after our holidays in Europe. This is all coming just in time. My left hand tremors continue to get worse, and controlling the mouse on the computer is extremely difficult now. The operation will only help one side, but we are targeting my dominant right side.


In a little over a month, Ele and I will be in Europe. We are really looking forward to this holiday. I've never actually been to the continent. Ele's brother-in-law Jim has worked hard to plan this all for us. It sounds a little like he has become a self-appointed tour guide. I just hope he hasn't worked too hard at it. I'm sure Ele and I will enjoy whatever happens. I think I could be happy just sitting inside and drinking wine all day.


Rainer

wow, I can't believe it's been that long since I blogged here. Those of you that don't get my mass e-mails must be wondering if I'm still alive.I am, but my last few updates have been by e-mail. My apologies for that.
While it has been a long, wet, and cold winter, spring is finally here. The weather is still fairly unsettled, but it looks to be getting nicer each day.
When you go into town, all of the plum and cherry trees are in full bloom. Our plum here is just starting. Ele and I went for a walk along Cuthbert – Holmes trail today, and the Indian plum and bitter cherry are in full bloom.the bitter cherry is a tree, and the crowns of all of them are pure white. They actually look a little magical. Unfortunately, the daffodils don't look like they're doing much of anything. We think it was just way too wet a spring for them.
Meanwhile, after several delays, the china cabinet is slowly coming together. We are waiting for the wood for the shelves of the base unit to try. Then we will glue and cut those up, and install them. Then we can worry about the top piece of oak, and the doors.
Since the weather is still unsettled, we will work on this during wet days. The dry days will be spent outside finishing up the irrigation. The latter has to get done before we leave for Europe in July.
My best friend Gary was just here for a day and a half. He managed a quick tour of the island before he leaves for Nepal. He has spent the last three months getting fit for a hike up to the Everest base camp. As usual, he's doing the hardest adventure first.compared to this, his next trips will be a breeze.
So, there is a quick update on where we are at. I will try to make the next update a little more timely. Who knows, maybe I'll have an update next time about how far Gary has managed to hike.
Rainer