TRIPS TO CALGARY, CRANBROOK, CRESTON

We went to Calgary for my brother’s eye surgery during Stampede week.  The surgery went well and we were able to bring him home with us to Grand Forks the day after the surgery.  He had to maintain a face down position for just over a week as he had a gas bubble inserted in the eye to maintain pressure on the retina.  It was challenging for him but he persevered.

Here are some photos from the Calgary trip.

WIND TURBINES NEAR PINCHER CREEK

CANOLA FIELDS

OUR ROOM IN CALGARY

ALONG HWY 22

CROWSNEST PASS

A week after the surgery, we had to take my brother to Cranbrook for a check up with his ophthalmologist.  It took just under 4 hours to get there and then we had to wait for over 2 hours for the appointment.  It was the last day before the doctor’s one month vacation so he was overbooked for the day.  Anyway, the check-up was good and no more face down positioning.  Whoo hoo!!  We originally thought we could drop my brother off in Creston after that check-up but he wasn’t far enough along in the healing process to be left on his own at home.  So we took him back to Grand Forks for a few more days.

All this driving and sitting around wreaked havoc on my knee so I was hobbling around again and wasn’t able to help out with household chores.  So there was poor Stuart, looking after 2 “gimps” as well as his own needs.  He was amazing!!

We returned my brother to Creston this past Wednesday and then spent the night at a hotel near Sandpoint, Idaho.  We’d stayed there before and it was nice to do some shopping and just hang around and relax in a nice room.  We drove to Spokane the next day, bought some groceries and headed home.  Even though the Canadian dollar is worth about 77 cents US, it was still economical to buy cheese, other dairy products and some meat.  There is still a ban on poultry and eggs at the border due to the avian flu in the US, so we only purchased pork products.  Fuel is still cheaper and worked out to CDN$1.04 per litre compared to our $1.29 here in town.

It was nice to get home on Thursday and get back into our own routine.  The garden is producing green and yellow beans, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchinis, hot peppers, herbs and carrots.  Stuart has been thinning the carrots and they are large enough to eat.  Time to stop buying produce at the grocery stores.

Our next trip is a day trip to Trail next week and then nothing for sure until September when we go back to Calgary for my brother’s surgery on the other eye.  Will be nice to get it all done.