The View From Here - Various thoughts and travels
Back to using the walker for now when I venture outside. Last Thursday it rained and then froze overnight. Trying to get around outside on crutches outdoors has been treacherous and there is no damn way I want to fall. Some months back I entertained thoughts of donating the walker as I thought I would no longer need it. Procrastination can turn out to be a good thing.
The last time I was at Prairie Circle Cemetery was in 2017. A few days ago I got a friend, Glen Bowe, to join me on a return trip. My prior visit was a short visit without a close look as there was a lot of tall grass and I did not want to step on and damage anything hidden in the grass. I thought a return visit at this time of year would be a great time as I would now be able to see everything. My plan partially worked. I did not expect snow on the ground. Since I am still on crutches I did not chance going down the ditch and attempting to check out the grounds. Asking my guest to pick me up if I fell might be too much of an imposition.
There is a hinged cover over a plaque showing there are at least twenty-eight burials here. There does not seem to be any past 1940. I could see a few more markers compared to my last visit but there are not many. The most common surname is Kary. There are references to Ensleigh, Fenner, and Zetland. The most I could find is that both areas might have had a post office or general store as those sometimes existed without anything else for miles around or was just an area name. Present day there is no evidence of either location. Glen was kind enough to allow me to use some of his photos.
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| Courtesy Glen Bowe |
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| Courtesy Glen Bowe |
Since starting this blog I used to do a blog anniversary post. I did one every year except last year. I was a mess after spending seven months in the hospital and getting home in September 2024. I was in daily pain, horribly depressed, using a wheelchair, and wondering what kind of life I was going to have.
This year is better. It has taken months, many months, to gain strength and flexibility. Pain has incrementally decreased over time. Fifteen months after the accident I replaced my car and started driving again in June. I did not want to but I had to get a car as there were issues with mom I had to deal with. It was painful getting in and out of a car however that has got easier with time. I tried to visit mom as much as I could before she passed in September. It has been an interesting year.
I have been taking tentative unsupported steps in my condo. From my bedroom past the kitchen to the bathroom is about thirty feet and I have been able to walk it without crutches a few times. I am only a step away from any support such as a wall, kitchen table, desk, deep freeze to place a hand to steady myself. It is painful and by now I am well acquainted with pain. I can feel the pain in my thighs, my knees, and my ankles. It will take time for my legs to get used to the full weight. One starts small and keeps building. Winter is here so I will have time. I figure if I do a good job and make significant progress I may reward myself with a motorcycle next May. My Suzuki Burgman is not in great shape so time to replace it. Currently I have three motorcycles, one can never have too many.
A year ago life was agony. Today things are better.
This is the car you'd take to the Drive-In for an all-nighter. Pretty nice! Don't forget to detach the speaker from the window before you head for home.
Remember "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers?
Spotted near Wayne, Alberta.
Michael Truman
A friend of mine had been wanting to go to the Bruce Hotel in Bruce, Alberta. A few weeks back I decided one can talk about doing something or you can do it. So I made a reservation and we were there yesterday. You definitely need a reservation. I had to book a few weeks in advance.
Bruce, Alberta is probably less than seventy people. The hotel was built in 1911. The hotel is only open Friday and Saturday nights. There is no menu, you go there to eat steak.
I did not know how this dinner operated. We got there a little before my booked reservation at five. The place opens at five. You are shown to your table. The waitress explained that everything is like a buffet. You are told when you can go up and get your salad. They ask how you want your steak and will deliver it later. We got up to get our salads and there are paper plates with metal cutlery. There were about seven different salads.
Your steak arrives on a styrofoam plate at your table and you go back to get your sides. There were baked potatoes with dill sauce on the side, fried mushrooms, shrimp, sausage, garlic bread, and baked beans. The steak was just how I like it - medium rare - and all the food was homemade and damn good. The owner comes around to all the tables and is serious that your steak is done the way you like it and that your are happy with it. The hotel was absolutely packed. I would bet they have a few hundred people a night.
Damn right I will be back.
I am having problems booking physiotherapy appointments as they are short-staffed at the moment. Yesterday at 5:00pm was the latest that I ever had a session and it went well. It seems that the legs and knees are getting a bit stronger. On the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill I did twenty minutes at forty-five percent body weight with a slight incline and did forty percent of a mile. Considering last year at this time I could do barely do five minutes at a snail’s pace and I needed help stepping on the treadmill. I still have to use crutches.
The next day I have some stiffness and a little pain. The good thing is the discomfort the next day is ever so slowly getting less and less as the months pass. There were days after in the past I would be in very bad pain the day following a physiotherapy session. Progress is being made.
My friend Glen Bowe came with me on this trip and I was glad to have him. From the range road you have to go through two separate gates on a path bordering a farmers field. According to a marker at the cemetery the Presbyterian Church applied for, and was granted, forty acres by Queen Victoria in 1895. The four acre cemetery was established in 1916. No mention of an church. About half the area is covered in trees and dense brush. There is not much here in the surrounding area. Someone likely had big plans for this area.
I had a routine follow up with my surgeon. My x-rays are great and nothing negative.
My mother had a RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund for those readers that are not Canadian). My sister and I are beneficiaries. I was sent forms to sign and return so the investment firm that administered the RRIF can send us the proceeds. I signed the forms and sent them back. They then advised me that the forms need my signature and my sister’s signature. It was suggested that she could be emailed the forms, sign them, scan them and email them back. Nice in theory except my sister is in the midst of a move and her stuff is in boxes. So I drove a little over two hours to meet her and get forms signed. As a bonus I stopped at a specialty store that sells soda and candy and loaded up on hard to get root beer. In the near future will have to drive down again as notarized signatures will be required on a final set of forms.
So why is my sister not able to drive up here? Some things with some people are just easier being done a certain way. Plus, if I drive down again I can get more root beer.About every three months I get to hear from the insurance companies. I believe my auto insurance company is resigned to paying me certain benefits up to February 2026 which will be the two year anniversary of the accident. In Alberta auto insurance no fault Accident Benefits coverage, or Section B of the policy, is only for two years from the date of loss. My group health insurer wants me to get a medical update from my surgeon. They have made veiled threats about having this done by a certain date or they will do something unspecified. So I will be meeting with my surgeon next week. Thankfully he is a great guy who is willing to help deal with bureaucracy. No, I do not feel like I am in condition to go back to work at this time.
In my last physiotherapy session I tackled the stationary bike which I had not been on in some time. Damn, the legs were moving in a nice fluid motion and it looked okay. I could not do it for long, about ten minutes, but it felt good. I remember vividly months ago when I could move the pedals back and forth unable to do a complete revolution. I have visions of trying a gym. The rehab specialist that I saw on October 8 said that was not a good idea. I have to be patient.
My lawyer contacted me regarded the suit I have against the other party that drove into me and caused my injuries. She asked if I was free for the second week of February 2026 for questioning with the other party’s lawyer. I responded that I did not need to check my calendar as I am sure I am free that day.
In the meantime I keep plodding along getting better in barely noticeable increments over months. I look forward to the day I can chuck the crutches.
In the past I would joke about dying creating paperwork. Well it does.
Being executor of my mother’s estate is not that big of a deal. There is not a huge amount of work involved. What is a problem is the incompetence I am encountering.
I got a lawyer to handle probate. It takes them two weeks to get back to me with a letter of engagement. They spell her name wrong.
She had an account with an investment firm. They spell my last name wrong in one of the first emails and the English is bad. In another email they got my last name spelled right but my first name was now spelled wrong. They emailed me forms to sign which I signed, scanned, and sent back. I was then informed later that the forms need my signature and my sister’s signature as well. So the forms need to be redone. Never mind that before sending the forms I asked for clear instructions as to what they needed beforehand. I complained about the misspelling and got a feeble apology.
Mom banked with two different banks. In the past tellers did a lot of tasks. Now you cannot open a bank account without making an appointment. One bank was fine to deal with, the other had to order a balance at time of death. That was on October 3. I am still waiting.
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