It's been a relatively mild winter here on the Island with only three sizeable dumps of the white stuff, the last of which is hanging on for dear life in the shade of the bushes and on roadsides. We feel lucky however that we aren't in Calgary right now where they have experienced an unbelievably cold winter for much longer than is usual. and having to cope with -35°C to - 40°C temperatures plus the windchill added on top of that.
December was relatively quiet, but we did enjoy Christmas Dinner with some friends of ours from Cochrane, Alberta who decided to purchase a home in our district here in Crown Isle, Courtenay.
We are delighted they are or will become our neighbours once they actually make the move here full time. We can walk to their home from ours which is an added bonus.
We also look forward to many fishing trips for Halibut, salmon and Ling Cod as our friends have a boat which is really fun to go out in.
Prior to Christmas, I got the notification that the date for my right hip to be replaced was Nov 27th. Two days before that was Donna's birthday which we celebrated at a local restaurant in Courtenay having a very leisurely lunch together.
We are lucky to have the brand new Comox Valley hospital just one block from our home. On the given day, I checked in for hip surgery. Donna stayed with me while we waited for the surgeons to prepare the operating room. Then, away I was wheeled into the theatre. I had opted for a ceramic hip on a very strong polyethene or UHMWPE as they call it, similar to a very robust plastic.
Lesson One: Listen to your wife, especially if she has been through a total knee replacement as Donna had. She told me to "keep ahead of the pain and ask for relief when you need it but way before the pain becomes too great to bear". Well,, it's a man thing, typically we don't listen, read maps or read instructions right? So, I didn't follow through with that advice and when the pain hit, it came with a vengeance and took about 12 hours to get the pain under control. Once I had mastered that, everything fell into place. I was in the hospital for three nights then discharged.
Donna took over the driving as It was my right hip so I could not put any pressure on the accelerator in the truck and I was not allowed to drive for about five weeks because of the pain medication drugs. The recovery period flew by and by week ten I am almost back to normal (not completely but close). I did manage almost 1.9 km walk today but I was aching at the end of it.
The cabinets were sanded, sprayed with two undercoats, re-sanded and then two coats of sprayed Lacquer over the top. They look and feel like a million bucks.
BEFORE WE STARTED
PREPARATION TIME - DOORS AND DRAWERS OFF AND TAKEN AWAY
THE TAPING AND MASKING TOOK A WHOLE DAY 
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
THE TRANSFORMATION
THEN CAME THE HARDWOOD
We decided to have the carpet replaced in the great room, dining room and hallway with Hickory hardwood. One fellow and his wife did all the work, even taking up the tile in the entry and eliminating the fireplace hearth.
We must admit, it's good to get everything put back together and in its place. We have rid ourselves of lots of items we either never use or don't need anymore. Most of it we gave away to those who could make use of it.
The 6-inch wide hardwood looks great. We are very pleased. We opted for a low sheen look in the hickory - the hardest of the hardwood for floors. The low sheen doesn't show the dust either which is nice.
Then, it was Surgery Time Again.
Just as we were contemplating the hardwood, we received a call from the hospital for me (Ken). They had a cancellation and have brought forward my surgery for the two kidney stones I have been carrying around for months.
Feb 19, I had the surgery, a Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (that's evidently what they call it in the medical world) It sounds gross but it's done under a general anaesthetic. I remained in hospital overnight and was discharged by ten the following morning without hardly any residual pain.
Then It's Time To Head South
We will be looking forward to a break shortly after I am given the OK to travel. We plan to catch the ferry to the mainland April 7th. We have chosen that date as Cady (Tina and Daryl's daughter) and Laura (Jeff and Jamie-Anne's daughter) are funnily enough both in the same Sea to Sky North American Cheerleading competition in Vancouver so we will go over to support them. Funny as they live almost 800 km apart, yet they are in the same competition.
April 8th will see us at the US border and take the Coastal 101 route south to California through Washington and Oregan. While there we will visit the Giant Redwood Forests where Star Wars was originally filmed and, see the Giant Sequoias.
Son Jason will remember that journey as I did with him and his friend Carl when they came over from England while they were both at the same Private School.
We plan to go to San Francisco and visit China Town - one of my most favourite places then onto Pasadena if we have time. Pasadena is a place we both fell in love with some years ago. Then, we will head out across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas, Nevada.
We will be there for about ten days as friends of ours who were neighbours in Mesquite have two houses and have offered us the use of the one in Henderson, just outside Las Vegas.
Then we will head North on our way back up into Canada via Mesquite for seven or eight nights to visit with all our friends there before heading back up North.
We will spend Easter with friends in Mesquite then, head to Monument Valley located on the Navajo Indian Reserve, Arches National Park and Yellowstone National Park on the way back home which should take up a few more days.
Once we reach Canada, we are going to check in with relatives and friends in Calgary for a week or ten days, and hunker down at Kath and Roddy's place before taking a leisurely drive back to Vancouver Island.
We have a couple coming out from Scotland in just over a week. They contacted us off a flyer I made up and posted in Facebook. They asked to rent our Casita for four days while they take time to see some sights and go salmon fishing out on the Strait of Georgia. That's before we leave for the US.
While we are away, the owner of the company who did our kitchen cabinets asked if we would be open to his relatives renting the Casita in late April. Well, heck, why not?
That's about all for our update. We will be on the road in less than four weeks and gone for roughly six weeks so we can take our time on a well-deserved vacation. Hopefully, we will have some photos of our trip to share with you the next time we post our blog.
We have been in full retirement now for five and a half years and we both agree, it has been well worth it for us. More things to do together, no rushing around here and there, no appointments to keep, just enjoying what life we have left while we have the health to do it.
Our bucket list still includes a trip to Australia if we could rent out our home here and go for six months, we would do that, but time marches on and distractions come thick and fast. Sometimes it is difficult to coordinate the things we want to do as time marches on. Hopefully, we will get that opportunity to see the other side of the world........ One day!
Best wishes to you all.
Ken and Donna
