New house

The house sale closed today. We got the keys in the late afternoon. Carpet cleaners and handyman are running through it now. 

We are both very excited about her new home

Two days ago, on our walk-through, the house was in a mess. The previous owner had not cleaned or repaired the walls after taking down a lot art. It was a little frustrating to see our new house and such and unkempt state. But, elbow grease and good cleaners solve a lot of problems.

BD passed away yesterday. Last fall BD was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He went through chemo, but it was not successful.

The husband has been doing well. His gut has been behaving normally for over week.

We have sold our townhouse. We priced it right. It was a fast sale... open house last Saturday. We accepted a full price offer on Saturday night.

We close on our new house on Monday.

So much is happening now. We are buying a new house and selling our old. For some time we've been working with a real-estate agent to find a new house. We had a long list of criteria for the new house, so most months we wouldn't hear from him.

Then we did. It's a nice house in our neighborhood. It's about a ten minute walk away from where we currently live.

The husband is still off work. He's been using his time to prep our existing townhouse for sale. Because of this he hasn't been able to rest as much as he needs. He's not healing as fast as I'd hope.

Or maybe, his return to full health would be a long slog anyways. He has good days, and bad days. Good hours and bad hours.

My worry for him has increased. A month ago he was nicely recovering. Then he plateaued. He'd be fine for a few days. Then he'd experience a setback.

He continues to work with the doctors. 

I was in Nairobi Kenya for work, visiting our Nairobi office. I've also done a bit of site seeing...

Nairobi national park is right next to the city.

I've been to India a few times, so I'm used to the modern 3rd world experience. The international hotels in India, and our hotel in Nairobi were very similar. They both offer a 1st world bubble within their respective cities.

I was driving with a Nairobian coworker. We got into a small fender bender while merging in slow congested traffic. This happened right in front of a police officer. The first thing the policeman asked was "How much money do you have?" My coworker and the policeman negotiated a price.

Afterwards, the driver of the car that we hit gave my coworker the feedback that he should have negotiated harder with the police. Police corruption and bribery is just an expected thing.

The team at the office is great. Very young, but very eager to learn. I'm finding it hard to have long engaging conversations with the Kenyans. They are naturally quiet.

The weather is gorgeous this weekend. Cherries are blooming. Everyone is out sunning

The husband has had a bit of a set back. He now has a C. Diff. infection. He will be OK, but we are currently going through toilet paper by the crate. 

For now, we are out enjoying the sun.

All is well here. The husband is still at home, but will return to work soon. His energy is improving everyday.

The husband will leave the hospital later today. 

More of the story.

The husband developed a fever and cramps the night before we flew back from our vacation. We first thought it was the flu or food poisoning. The pain kept growing, so after we returned to Seattle, the husband immediately went to the hospital.

Quickly the doctors diagnosed the problem as diverticulitis. Diverticulitis is a condition where pouches develop in your lower intestine or colon and then these pouches get infected. It can be caused due to genetics (His mother also has it) It can also be caused by poor diet and lack of exercise. 

Saturday, they hooked the husband up to an antibiotic drip. Pain killers were kept to a minimum since many of them cause constipation. He was like this for three days. Constant fever and pain. Regular antibiotics.

Wednesday one of the diverticulitis pouches ruptured. The doctors decided to install two drains in him. Basically he now has two tubes exiting his stomach. Each tube has a vacuum bulb that slowly sucks out the infection. They are called JP drains if you want to check them out. 

The husband lovingly calls these two drains Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Within a day of the drain installation, the husband started getting better. His fever was gone within 24 hours. The pain subsided. He would still get a few cramps. They became bearable. 

By Saturday his sense of humor returned. He is also much more spiritual about the whole situation. 

Just today he had his first sold food in over a week.

Earlier I mentioned that the husband calls his drains Thing 1 and Thing 2. He talks about them as if they are pets on a leash. His movements must now be very intentional. Thing 1 and Thing 2 must not get caught on anything, or trapped, or squeezed when he sits, stands or moves around.  

He will leave the hospital later today. We are still learning about long term care. For some time he will rest at home. He will be responsible for administering his own antibiotics, and cleaning Thing 1 and Thing 2. 

A friend is staying with for a while, so the husband won't be alone while I work.

The husband is in the hospital. Diverticulitis. I think he is doing OK. He sounds OK. They are running many tests on him, and probably won't let him out till Wednesday,

The husband, our friend Bailey and I spent a few days in Park City Utah, enjoying the mountains, skiing and snowboarding. The city its self is a nice place to hang.

We had 3 perfect days of weather.

It's almost back to normal here. There is still plenty of snow on the ground. The rain has cleared the roads. Outside there is constant trickling and dripping as the snow melts away. It sounds as if its raining, even if it isn't.

The husband has been away for a week at a national sales meeting. He, and his team have one a few awards. He is very excited by this. Congratulations sweetie!

The next snow storm is starting now. The weatherman got the timing right. Snow starting at 4pm. First a few flurries. Now getting thicker by the minute. 

We still have plenty of food. The grocery stores continue to run low, but not out. Seattle is having a luxury crisis. No one is dieing. We are looking after our neighbors. We sit and watch the snow with a nice cup of hot coco.

There is a winter storm watch starting this afternoon Even more snow is in the forecast for next week. Everyone is hunkering down. Some grocery stores are reporting shortages of the staples, though this is not wide spread.

The husband and I have plenty of food for us and the pets. We'll be OK for a few days though we may have to eat vegetarian if this lasts too long.

It wouldn't hurt us to eat vegetarian for a few days.

Work continues to be half staffed. Many schools and day cares are only open for a half day today. Parents are working from home.

Here in Seattle, we are having snow days. The schools have shut down. Work is half staffed.

In truth, there isn't that much snow. If Seattle were a city with real winter experience, then everything would be open. As it stands Seattle doesn't have the proper number of snow plows. Most cars don't have all season radial tires. And so, everyone is stuck at home.

At work, the Norwegians and Canadians are laughing at the state of affairs.

The husband's birthday approaches. This stresses him out. There are a few other things going on his life that don't help-- he isn't getting along with his new boss, he has a job interview on Monday. Such is life.

We both of a habit of over stuffing our lives. Between work, work travel, vacation travel, dinner parties and nights out, our time goes quickly.

A few nights off may be just want the Dr. orders.

We had a very social weekend.

Fried Chicken dinner with friends on Friday.

Saturday was a Birthday party for Yo at a nearby Casino. Their steakhouse is awesome.

Sunday was dinner with Clem & Bates. Catching up with them, their activities, their travels. They are not a couple that sits still. If they are not traveling, working or hosting a dinner party, then it's Lyft or Uber. Or music practice. So much activity.

We have been back in town for a few days. Today I'm back at work. and the husband's starts training for his new role at his employer.

We celebrated the 30 year work anniversary for a guy on my team.

Then today, my intern from last summer, joined my team as a full timer.

And so work for 2019 begins...

Yesterday we drove up to Kitchener/Waterloo. This is where I went to University. I also have some relatives there.

It was good to see the relatives. We had a nice chat about family, travel and the future.

We also walked around my old university. It's greatly grown since I attended. Many new high rise office and condos are now around it. 

A professor at the university won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. Banners celebrating this were all over campus.  

Currently, we are travelling back home.

This is our first vacation in a while where I've really enjoyed myself, and where I'm looking forward to returning home at the end. We had much fun in Toronto.

Toronto really embraces its winter. I guess it has to. Otherwise it would be a city filled with millions of depressed people. Every day Torontonians are out in the cold, skating, shopping, sledding, exploring. Wonderful.

Not that I'm ready to return to Toronto. I love Seattle and will stay there for many years to come. 

We are now in the lounge at the airport. Checkin and customs was the usual amount of frustration. Now we wait and travel and wait and travel.

We are at my friends G&J today for their  a New Years Day extravaganza. It's a large all day party. Food is served nonstop from breakfast till dusk.

Its been good to catch up with many of my friends here.

Many parents come with their kids. Some of the kids dislike hugging goodbye. Instead, a few of us have taken to saying "Firm Handshake" while giving the goodbye hug. 

I've been reaching out to old high school friends and having lunches with them. We've had a great time catching up. I haven't seen some of them in over 20 years. So many stories.

We are now in Toronto staying with friends. The husband and I have been exploring the city and socializing.