Wishing my Canadian readers a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  Winter is on its way.  Our nighttime temperatures hover around -1C.  Most days this past week we turned on our furnace.  The changeable weather in September was a nightmare for arthritis sufferers.  Hopefully, as winter weather approaches the temperatures will stabilize and the high humidity will disappear.

My brother Gary passed away on September 28th.  He had a massive heart attack and nothing could be done.  He will be missed.  Gary was a prospector looking for precious metals in the mountains around Lillooet, British Columbia.  The landscape in and around Lillooet is beautiful.  At times the mountains can look menacing.  The picture below was taken near Lillooet in 1993 shortly after we met for the first time.

After almost three weeks of an awful cough, I went to the local hospital emergency on September 26.  The doctor was very thorough.  She ordered blood work and a chest x-ray.  When the results were back she returned to my room and asked me what I thought was a strange question.  She wanted to know if my ankles were swollen.  I said no and after she checked them she agreed with me.  She gave me a prescription for Lasix and told me to see my family doctor.  My family doctor called me the following day to schedule an appointment for October 6.  The news he gave me on the 6th was not what I was expecting.  Apparently, the doctor at the local hospital emergency had diagnosed me with congestive heart failure.  My doctor did a quick ultrasound of my chest and the fluid had decreased but he was not comfortable with the amount still in my lungs.  He will be sending my test results to my cardiologist.  My husband and I are so lucky.  Our family doctor is a gem.  He does not hesitate to refer either of us to a specialist.  He also stays in touch with the specialist so they can determine the best treatment.

Years ago my mom and her friends set up a club called the 21 Club.  Membership was open to women in and around the local area who were born in 1921.  My friend Carol and  I decided we would set up Club 48 which would be open to women who lived in and around the area and who were born in 1948.  We had our first meeting on October 4th.  The meet-up was a success with 20 women in attendance.

It is time to say goodbye for now.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, the kind that leaves you with many memories to cherish.