Our Canada Day Weekend

I haven't done much but sit with my leg up with an ice pack on it for the last two weekends. When I was at the family reunion my left leg, my good leg was aching and after I got home it started to swell from the top of my toes to my knee. I got quite concerned about it, thinking maybe a blood clot. I went to the doctor last Thursday, and he said it wasn't that, but he called it an infection of the cells of skin and wanted to see me on Saturday. On Saturday he wanted to referr me to the Foot & Ulcer clinic, he thinks it might be an ulcer. From the top of my toes to the knee it is very swellen and very very red, and itchy as HE double toothpick!!! I also have very dry skin in the summer time, but it is more to it than that. So I am waiting for an urgent appointment - now I have waited since Saturday - which is only four days to get a referral. I called the clinic this morning and they told me I was going through truage (is that how you spell it) and they would call me when they had an appointment. BA-HUMBUG I want to see a doctor urgently!!! So we have just rested and rested and done nothing for the whole weekend. It is felling a bit better tonight but still feels like my skin is going to burst. The doctor has me on an anti-inflammatory and a water pill, and an antibiotic and they are not helping. It is so itchy I could scream. We will get it looked after though. Dr. Ardell said so. He is so concerned. He called me today and told me I should go to the hospital with it. I told him that would take longer than waiting for the referral.

I must tell you my saga about my flat tire on the way home from the reunion. When I left Gerry and Gwen's on Sunday, June 22nd, my low tire pressure indicator came on. I had look at my front tire when I left Bashaw in the morning and thought it looked low, but the light had not come on yet so I went on to Gwen & Gerry's. When I came out of their place the light came on, so I thought I could make it to Lacombe and get air put into it. When I got to Lacombe, it was POIRING rain, so I thought ok it is only 24 kms to Red Deer. I will stop there and get it looked at. Whn I drove into the Gasline Alley and stopped at the Shell/MacDonald's it was flat as a pancake, but just on one side of the tire - he hehehehe. So I called AMA and they sent a tow truck and the guy changed the tire and threw the flat in the back of the van. I didn't really watch him cause it was pouring rain and I just sat inside MacDonald's. So he had me come out when he was done, and I looked at the spare and it was low. So I backed up to the air hose at the Shell and it was out of order. So I drove to the next Esso Station and was going to put air in it there. It cost $.50 and I had to have 2 quarters, which I could not fine one quarter to save my soul. So I asked a guy stopped there for gas with a fifth wheel trailer if he might have a compressor. He said sure he had one and gladly would pump up the tire. So he gets his compressor out of the trailer, and tried to start his generator. It would not keep running, so he put some gas in it. Finally he got it running long enough to pump up my tire and I got back on the road again to home. Got home about 5:30 pm, when I should have been home by 2 pm at the latest.

So the next Monday morning I took the flat tire to Kal Tire to get fixed and they fixed it for free. They told me to come back in 100 kms and get it torqued, so this past Monday I took it back in to get torqued and I asked them to put the spare back under the van in the carrier. The girl said she had done the job the last Monday and she couldn't get the carrier to come down to mount the tire. So she gets a guy with the power wrench to try to get it down. Then another guy gets under the van pulling it down, while the olter guy is using the power wrench on it. They couldn't get it to come down. So I said, "well what do I do now?" They said I would have to take it to Toyota and get a whole new carrier installed, it was jammed. So I called Stampede Toyota and the part costs $265.00 plus labour. So I called the AMA back and they are going to pay the bill.
And that is my story and I am sticking to it. Now I have to take it to Stampede Toyota and get the job done next Monday. So much for my stampedeing this year.

L.A. I received some pictures from Bonnie. She needs a picture of the Hyde family. She says she didn't get one - she didn't know how that happened but it did. Maybe we can share one with her. If you have some to share with me, please send them to me.

I hope the rest of you had a good Canada Day. I watched some of the celebrations in Ottawa on TV.

Shirley