Monday, March 29, 2010

Monday's Musings

Dear Reader

Due to work committments, slight lack of time and a real lack of creativity, there will be no Monday Musing today.  Or tomorrow.  Um, not Wednesday either, but Thursday is a possibility.

Cheers,

FF

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Monday's Musings...on Tuesday.

Good Afternoon, Dear Reader

So last week just didn't work out for writing.  It was a fairly busy week.  This week is busy as well, but I have about an hour and a half to try put something coherent here.  There is not much new going on right now.  Dianne and I did go to a concert the other night...we went to see the Soweto Gospel Choir perform at the Winspear here in Edmonton.  Dear reader, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend seeing this group perform live.  Listening to the music off a cd is wonderful, but their performance, their dance and their wonderful interaction with the audience is worth every penny.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and I will definitely go see them again!!

Wondering how the RC helicopter hobby is taking off?  (Groan, that was horrible!!!)  Well, I believe that last time we talked, I had been flying the little Falcon 3 channel chopper, and I had ordered the Lama V4 4-channel chopper.  It turns out that the Lama is an absolute blast to fly, but it is not suitable for flying in my house.  So, I fly it at work in the loading bay.  I have since purchased an E-Flight Blade MSR, which is a little chopper (less that 8 inches long) that is perfect for flying in the house.  It is a squirlly little thing, and is an absolute blast.  It is very durable, as it should be.  It goes a million miles per hour until it hits a wall, after which it will merrily fly along again with no damage usually.  It is a much different flying experience than the Lama...the Lama is a coaxial chopper, while the MSR is a fixed pitch.  Now I can't wait to get home tonight to fly.  I'll post pics of the choppers on http://www.fifafan.ca/ (works best of Firefox or Safari).

Health wise, there is not much new to report.  My diabetes is being managed by pills, diet and (alleged) excercise. And Dianne continues to go for treatments and tests.  Both kids are healthy.  All is well then, right?  Right. 

Renovations on our house are continuing.  We have decided to get the house sided with vinyl siding, which will just go over top the existing stucco, with an inch of insulation between.  The company, Ultimate Renovations (no I don't get a discount for the free advertising), started the job on Friday, and we are hoping they'll be done this week.  I'll post pictures on http://www.fifafan.ca/ once it's done. 

And that, dear reader, is about all I've got.  I could go on a rant about the stupid drivers in Edmonton, but as I believe I've mentioned before, that will be an entire post on its own.  So, until next time.....farewell.

FF

Monday, March 8, 2010

Monday's Musings

Good afternoon, dear Reader.

I have decided today that the greatest way to spend a lunch hour at work is to go into the loading bay, and fly my gyrocopter.  I was down there with 3 other guys today, flying away.  What a blast!!  Now, my 'copter is not as powerful as theirs, but the fun factor was way up there.  If you're not sure what my gyrocopter looks like, here's a pic:
It is not as big as it looks.  But it is twice as much fun as it looks.  I bought this one at the TV Showcase shop in Londonderry mall.  The first few hours I flew it, I crashed and burned several times.  It is very easy to hit the panic button when you lose control of the 'copter.  But now, with a few more hours of flying under my belt, I am much better at NOT panicing, and I am more able to recover from a bad situation.  Of course, some situations are just not recoverable from...and then the crash is ugly.  So far, I haven't broken anything on the 'copter, or in the house...although my wife's ivy plant just about bit the dust.  That, dear reader, did not go over well.  I am hoping that within the next 5-7 days, my big 'copter will show up.  The big 'copter is an ESky LLama V4.  I bought mine out of Hong Kong, mostly because it is about a $100 cheaper than here....the only drawback is that I have to wait for 7-10 days for it to arrive.  Patience is a virtue. 

Dear reader, I really don't have anything more to muse about today.  Just a little more than an hour to go before I can go home and fly my bird around the house.  Tonight is a meeting at the church, so flight time will be somewhat restricted. 

And now, my brain is done.  Thus I bid you adieu.

FF

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Dianne's Update

'Allo Dear Reader
As promised, here is the latest on my dear wife. If you recall, Dianne has been receiving a drug called Herceptin. This drug is an antibody that fights against HER2+ disease (which is what made her cancer so aggressive). With this drug comes some inherent risks....mainly heart problems. So, she has been going for heart tests every 3 months.  Around 6 weeks ago, she went in for her regularly scheduled heart test....and the results were that the numbers dropped by a factor of 10.  What this means I don't have a clue.  But what we do know is that the doctors immediately stopped the Herceptin treatments.  It is policy that if the numbers (what they mean I still don't have a clue) drop by 10 or more, the treatment is cancelled for at least one month, and resumption of the treatment is subject to a) another heart test and b) the doctors whim.
 
So, where does this leave us, dear reader?  Well, Dianne did go for the follow up heart test, and the 'numbers' did not improve.  And by 'did not improve' I mean they went up by a factor of 1...basically very little.  And here is where the fun begins. 
 
Dianne's oncologist has decided that he wants her to continue with the Herceptin, even with the 'numbers' of her heart.  However, instead of going for a heart test every three months, she is going to be watched very closely by the heart specialists at the University Hospital.  Apparently, it might even be the head honcho who will be watching and testing her heart very closely. 
 
What are they worried about?  One of the side effects of Herceptin is heart disease / failure.  Before you freak out, dear reader, let me explain.  The doctor is NOT worried about Dianne suffering from heart failure.  But he is erring on the side of caution.  She is young and healthy, and thus is not a likely candidate for heart failure.  But, as he says, why take a chance?  It also allows the medical community to study the effects of Herceptin...thus they are using Dianne for research purposes.  And we are good with that....if they can learn something that will help someone else down the road, then all of this is well worth it.
 
Dear reader, all of this means that Dianne will have oodles of appointments coming up.  Heart tests, echocardiograms, consultations, blood work, more heart tests etc etc.  Just when we thought the constant barrage of appointments was coming to an end, they start up again.  We are not complaining about it, of course...we could not be more pleased with how the medical community has taken care of Dianne in the past 14 months.  Alberta Health Services has come through big time, and they continue to come through.
 
And that, dear reader, brings you up to date.  Based on all this information, you can correctly assume that much more will be written in the upcoming weeks and months.  Use the RSS feed to keep up to date, or bookmark the site and check back regularly.  Thanks again for all the ongoing support.  And please, in your prayers, remember Evelyn Peters....she's battling this awful disease right now.  We wish her the Lord's strength, and also to Marvin and the family. 
 
Until next time...cheers.
 
FF

Monday, March 1, 2010

Monday Musings

Good afternoon, Dear Reader

Well, I've managed to do it.  I have successfully managed to muse once again on a Monday, something I wasn't sure I would be able to do.  Hmm, this could be habit forming.  One would hope not, though....my musings aren't really all that interesting.  But I've said it before and I'll say it again...I write for me for the most part.  Important stuff like health updates I write for you, but the rest is fluff.  And, once again, in today's edition I have some very important health updates.  Actually I think I'll put that in a separate post.  That way I can get the color scheme correct...and since I'm all about fashion and design, it only makes sense.

So, how about those Olympics, huh?  I firmly believe that every single one of our athletes did our country proud.  Personally, I am extremely proud to be a citizen of this great country...I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  For Emma in Oklahoma, all I have to say is this:  Canadian Womens Hockey: GOLD.  USA Womens Hockey: silver.  Canadian Mens Hockey: GOLD!!!!  USA Mens Hockey: silver

ner ner ner ner ner ner

I have finally been putting in some effort on my 'toast to the groom' speech.  Yes, I have to give one of these at my nephews wedding.  Once in a while I will write for it whilst at work....and I laugh out loud.  My co-workers think I'm nuts, but that's nothing new.  No, I am not giving anything away as to the content.  Now, about the whole wedding thing....Jessica, you can trust me.  LOL.  She'll know what that's all about.  And yes, I get to choose my own socks (really, Jess....you can trust me).  Understandably I have no say in the tux (apparently neither does Keith LMAO)....but I can choose my own socks.  And I'm very pleased about that.

Let's talk hobbies.  I need to make a choice.  Do I want to give up on my model railroad hobby (lack of space in my house) and move into remote control stuff (planes, helicopters and really fast cars)?  Both hobbies are expensive, and I can only afford one.  I would finish off the layout I'm presently building, but I would not expand after that and proceed into remote control.  *sigh*  I will continue to ponder this, and make a decision.  Any thoughts, dear reader?

Today's entry was a lot of nothing, wasn't it?  Can you tell I'm not horribly inspired?  I promise I'll try harder next time.  Watch closely though...there will be an important update coming soon (tomorrow?  tonight?)  regarding my dear wife.

Until then, dear reader.......cheers.

FF