I was up at the hospital again this morning. This is the first time Dad hasn't been sleeping when I've been there. I would normally just type "Dad was awake" but it's not really like that. His eyes are mostly open but there's no focus or recognition or response to my voice. He did respond to a cup of juice being put up to his lips but wouldn't open his mouth for some food - a spoonful of yogurt.
The doctor says he has two bacterial infections and indicates that his organs are shutting down. He has a collapsed lung, his skin breakdown is continuous anywhere there's an ulcer (several places) and, since they believe he's in almost continuous pain, are providing some relief from that. The doctor at one point suggested we stop providing him with food to allow him to "give up the ghost" but we declined on that for the most obvious reasons; we have no interest in starving our parent to death and also because taste seems to be the only sense left to him. Two weeks was the timeframe given last Wednesday. We've been hearing these sorts of proclamations for the past 3 or 4 years but this time, I think they may be right.

I was able to move a bookcase to the basement, the stacking shelves with glass covers, and start filling it up with books and my antique camera collection. I might finally be starting to get a handle on the overflow of furniture in my house. My problem is I'm too sentimental. I have boxes of old photos, my grandmother's rocking chair, assorted antique dressers and mirrors, not to mention my own furniture discarded and relegated to the garage in favour of newer stuff. Anyway, I hope some day to get over these attachments (why do I keep buying books and why do I have to keep every book ever read?), put it all up on Craig's list and make a fortune!

I cut the grass in the backyard. Okay, I say I cut the grass but it was mostly dandelions and wild rhubarb. anyway, from the second floor it looks like a nicely manicured lawn and that's the best I can expect for now.

I'm so glad I have my outrigger. It's a beautiful sunny day out there, just 15 degrees but that's nice for a paddle. I headed down to the club and ran into Eric Sziraki who was just putting his boat on the car. He's been visiting from his new home in Brisbane for the past month. Actually, I recognized the boat first as Kris' old one before realizing the guy using it was his brother. We chatted for a bit, their mom is doing pretty well. She recently had a couple of procedures to remove fluid from her lungs but things sounded very positive.

So happy I was able to fix my Garmin! It just stopped working one day for no apparent reason. I thought the battery was dead (dead-dead) but I've only had it for a year so did a quick search of the Garmin site and found a way to soft boot the unit and reconfigure the software. The first three times it worked fine as long as it was connected to the USB port but failed if I disconnected it. It just wouldn't power on. I decided to power it on while connected to the usb before I left the house so I could at least do the workout.

Fortunately, Chris A. showed up for practice or I wouldn't have gotten into the club. The lake was a little rough but mostly from boat traffic - I'd forgotten how many people get out on the lake on weekends! I stayed out for an hour and then headed back into the dock. I really didn't want to come in but frankly, I was just bored. I'd done a workout and didn't feel like just paddling around the river. My Garmin seems to be working fine now after doing a full recharge and workout.

Now I'm going to get a glass of wine and an apple and finish reading Russell Brand's autobiography. (I've a bit of a crush.)