All hell breaks loose. Ogilvy calls, and Janet is on the phone all day, both talking and mailing. She has to go to NY the next day for a week. Our vacation is cut short. We cry, pack and get ready for the hasty retreat from paradise.

It rains all day, but the place is still stunning. Jack comes over is his boat and has lunch with us. What a pleasure it always is to see him. He is so happy, and so way cool. We make tentative plans to get a tour of the lake the next day. This is before we realise that we have to leave. We have to call him to cancel. Sad.

I am feeling great. Almost back to normal. Still cannot eat a lot, but figure the stomach has shrunk. That will soon be fixed.

We are lying in bed, and Janet is poking me, having fun at being able to see my ribs since I have lost so much weight. She discovers a growth in my sternum. How long has this been there? How should I know? Not like I go poking myself very often, or ever.  So there it is. Looks like another rib is trying to attach itself. An area that should be soft is very hard, and it hurts a bit when you press on it. One more thing to mention to the good doctor.

Janet is very excited. The stuff she is writing is coming together with great ease. A lot better than she had expected. She has invited Ignacio and Martin for dinner. Should be a fun evening. But it means we have to go shopping. Spend the morning at the market, and the afternoon cooking. Janet does just about all of it. I clean the Bar-B-Que getting it ready for later. Still pacing myself to make sure I have enough energy for the guests.

Dinner was amazing. Martin thinks fish taste like you are eating fur. We had to discuss his choice of diet. Janet made skate which is quite delicious. She also made pork for Martin so he would not have to eat fur. A very pleasant evening. Lovely conversation and company. Great food. They have to leave a bit early since we are 1.5 hours out of Montreal. Just means I get to go to bed at 10.

Janet has do write some stuff for work. It is so peaceful here. No phones ringing, or cars driving by, or anything. We sit on the back deck and she writes. I read.

Drive to Montreal to see Fetneh. She is full of advice and opinions. Have not seen her in quite a while. We have lunch (eggs) and go shopping. Wait, Janet goes shopping, at Simon, where else, while Fetneh and I have a cup of tea and talk. It is nice, reassuring, the way it is supposed to be.

Nice breakfast. More reading. Packing and getting ready for the 6 hour drive to Ste Agathe. Janet is an amazing navigator, and I blindly follow her directions. We had MapQuested the directions. Looks complicated as we are avoiding the highways, tracing a route through the countryside. What an amazing drive it is. The country is so beautiful. The drive very peaceful. I am not speeding which takes Janet a bit by surprise. Too many cops hiding in the bushes. We arrive in Ste Agathe at around 8PM.

A flood of memories engulf us as we approach the Elder cottage. We have not been here in about 15 years. Time seems to have stood still. It is exactly as we had remembered it. The only glaring difference is that Judy is not here to greet us. We settle in, have a bite to eat. Daryl had kindly offered us the left overs from the previous evening. It was perfect.

We ate. Read a bit, and had to go to bed. I was way too tired from the drive. Funny how I suddenly get engulfed with the tiredness. Other than that, I am feeling pretty good. Have been off the anti-biotics since the day of the CT Scan, and the body appears to making a recovery from that onslaught.

Spending the weekend at Daryl’s cottage in Peterborough. 2.5 hour drive. Should be OK. Weather sucks, but I hardly have the energy to care. Drive was fine and leisurely. We talked a bit about the new diet requirements and staying positive about the CT Scan.

Arrived at the cottage, had lunch, rested. Read a LOT. Crummy weather means no time on the lake. All inside. Doesn’t matter. Too tired to care. Hardly talking. Whatever.

The challenge is to make meals that I can eat that are also appetising for Daryl and Janet. A challenge. Pasta comes to the rescue.

The CT Scan is arranged for the morning. Janet insists on coming with me. What a strange experience. You lie on a table and are passed through a doughnut that talks to you. A bit like going through the Stargate Atlantis portal, except you are lying down. Results will be out when they are. Radiologist [...]

Life is getting back to some sense of normalcy. I have limited appetite but am always hungry. Eating a lot of eggs, pasta and salads with beans or other stuff. All a bit confusing trying to determine what will and will not work in what is turning out to be a fragile body. Will go [...]

Went to see an herbalist. Life deals strange hands. Nancy was talking with her boyfriend Steve. They were on the phone while she was riding in a cab and was telling Steve about my Diverticulitis. When the conversation ended, the cab driver handed her a card for this herbalist. Turns out he also had Diverticulitis [...]

The CT Scan is arranged for the morning. Janet insists on coming with me. What a strange experience. You lie on a table and are passed through a doughnut that talks to you. A bit like going through the Stargate Atlantis portal, except you are lying down. Results will be out when they are. Radiologist [...]

I am feeling really well. On the road to recovery. I am considering cancelling the doctor’s appointment. Temperature gone, so obviously is the infection, whatever it was, appetite is slowly returning as is the amount I am eating. Except for the “whatever it was” and the almost 10lb loss of weight which keep nagging at [...]