First, thanks to those of you who wished my mom and my family well as she went through surgery and the following treatment period. Surgery went well on Friday, only the second of its laparoscopically-guided robot-performed nature at that hospital, all amazingly done through such a small incision that mom was discharged the next day. What we’re waiting for now is to learn whether the cancer is in the muscle tissue, in which case follow-up chemo/radiation will be in order.
Meanwhile, in a pathetic fallacy of sorts, we’ve had day after day after day of thick, cold fog here. An inversion has us trapped shivering and damp and lightless while skiers not far away cavort in warm sunshine (rumoured temps of up to 20 degrees on a hill not far away). I came home from yesterday’s run with icicles clinging to my hair — the fog soaked my hair which the cold then added literal frosty tips to. Nice!
We’ve had a very different soundscape for days as well. The seaplanes which normally buzz by on their regular schedule to and from Vancouver have all been grounded. Pater had to work Saturday a.m. in Vanc’r and had booked the 20-minute flight home but instead had to take the much longer BC Ferries route. And instead of seaplanes, we’ve had constant foghorns sounding to signal the presence of freighters anchored just offshore or of the ferry to Gabriola shuttling back and forth. The fog itself seems to have a sound-dampening as well as hair-dampening effect which focuses the ear, oddly, on the nearby, quotidian sounds — the beach gravel being worked by the waves, the various birds, boat motors in the distance. I made a short sound-movie of this over the past couple of days, spending hours trying to upload it to Blogger from Windows Movie Maker, clipping it smaller and smaller while still keeping the content I wanted. To no avail. My technical skills are simply too limited.
But I went out this morning again into the mesmerizingly, ethereally beautiful fog just at sunrise and got a much shorter segment which I didn’t try to process and thus was easily able to upload it for you. Even better, I was able to edit out the cold! 11 seconds of serenity. You may want to come back here for another hit later when serenity becomes an improbably concept in your busy life. Enjoy!
Oooh, that is serene! Thank you for posting it!
Its been very foggy over here as well. Yesterday morning we went for a run along the seawall and it was like pea soup, but quite heavenly. We couldn’t even see the Cambie St Bridge until we were almost underneath it, but there was a lot of animal life around: ducks, geese, seals.
Wow, that is beautiful. I wish I could somehow record it in my mind’s eye to take out and play as needed. Glad your mum’s surgery went well. Patricia
I didn’t know about your mom. Glad it went well, and I hope she will be ok.
Jillian, you’re very welcome!
Miss R: Spanish Banks is another run that’s absolutely magical in the fog. . .
Patricia: I know — I tried to store up those sounds and sensations and I’ll be trying to see if I can retrieve them mid-week when I know I’ll need some inner quiet.
Julianne: Thanks
I could listen to that sound all day it is lovely, the image is very etheral too.
I am so glad your mothers surgery went well. These are difficult times as our parents age, they become higher maintenance and the whole guilt thing kicks in despite the spread in load amongst siblings. Distances for you seem far greater than here in England which must make it harder. I am finding my daughters are very useful at helping out, plus they come with less emotional baggage!
I love the sound of foghorns, also train whistles; living near the portlands of Toronto, I can hear both- but I’m not treated to this natural beauty.
I’m grateful the surgery was a success. Hoping you’ll share the next steps with us. Sounds like she has received excellent care.
It is not you who is limited, but blogger.
I wish you could do a 60 minute video of that view. I have had major difficulties uploading my videos to blogger. That is why I have ended uploading them to Google video and then embedding the videos into my blog.
I am so very happy your mother is doing well. I hope her healing is quick and easy.
alison: thanks — I’m lucky to have siblings to spread the care out among — had to chuckle at your sister’s e-mail in your recent post . . .
Thomas, LBR: it was soooo frustrating!