August 20, 2916

I admit to being distracted.  The Olympics have consumed much of our evenings since they started, and the ones you really want to see (track, 100m, 200m & the relays) are always at the end of the evening.   It has also seemed that the chatting and advertising take up too much of the time.  I suppose that some discussion is necessary and the ads pay for a lot of things, but I wonder how many minutes each hour are actually showing a picture of Olympic games in progress.  My guess is not more than a quarter.  It must still be fascinating as we spend a lot of time in front f the TV.

Not much has changed with Parkinson’s.  I get to meet a new doctor next week.  My regular has just had a child and is off for probably a year.

We have been doing outside work in the garden between some really heavy rains – which we needed.  Sunny with a breeze today – really quite nice.

Although my health seems generally quite good and my blood pressure is in the 120s over 60s, I have felt a little woozy/ unsteady occasionally when I get up suddenly.  It seems as though this can be a sign of low blood pressure.  I will ask the doctor about this next week.

Hooray for the medals we have won at Rio and sorry for those that missed a medal when they count times in thousands of a second.

August 13, 2016

It seems as though my blog is usually a weather report.  The weather also plays a big influence on how I feel.  We have had a number of very hot days, and we are praying for more rain and things to be a little cooler.  (There have been a few brief showers, but we need much more.)  When the weather is warm and it isn’t wet I do a lot more outside – the deck, rock walls, shovelling dirt and other work in the garden.  Unfortunately, either due to my age or my medical conditions, this extra activity makes me exhausted and this catches up with me in the evenings.

Part of the problem is that internally, I don’t feel old and I think I can do as much as I ever did.  It doesn’t seem possible that the excessive weariness and old-age are connected.  Jan believes my theory is not correct.

We have had more visitors this past week, although they stayed at my daughter Heather’s home.  My grandson Howard and his family arrived from Edmonton and at last I got to meet his wife and two great-granddaughters (4 & 7, I think).  It has been years since seeing him and we had never met his family.  Great visit.

This week I ran out of sleeping pills – you would think I didn’t need them with my complaints about being tired.  I will get a renewal of my prescription on Monday, but in the interval I tried Melatonin, with what I think are mixed results.  I went to sleep better, but in the morning I have been more unsteady and feeling a bit “spaced out”.  (Like after a few drinks.)  A pharmacist was consulted, and apparently it is a natural product, but I warn caution.  In part, I don’t like to think of the balance of my life being on drug support, and wanted to see if anything else might work.

My dentures are still a problem, at least the bottom plate.  I’m back to the dentist on Monday to try and improve the fit.  The loose plate affects both my speech and my eating.  I hope I can report an improvement with my next entry.

There is a “walk for Parkinson’s" coming up so I had better get registered.  My walking isn’t great, but the organization can use the financial contributions.

Good health to all – or at least better health.