Nippy Flight

I’m so glad the weather stayed nice enough today for me to take off from work early and go for a flight.  I left work around 12:30 and was off the ground within an hour.  I was quite glad to have my heated vest on, since it was bitter out.  It’s through Gerbing – they have everything from heated jackets to pants to gloves, etc.  Despite my mechanic fixing my little heat issue with my plane, it’s obviously still a bit cold in the freezing temps like today.  I was kicking myself for not bringing my extra pants – my legs were freezing. Oh well. 

I headed out to the southwest, toward Dunnville.  I eventually made it over to Turkey Point. Then I noticed a bunch of dark specks out on the ice near Long Point.  I made my way over and was quite surprised to see well over a hundred ice-fishing-shack-thingies.

There was a cute little home just off the shoreline:

I flew over to Long Point and despite the name, I was shocked over how long it was!

When I headed back, I saw where you could rent a fishing hut/shack thing:

I flew over Port Dover on the way back.  I love the zoom lens on my camera:

Here are a couple shots of the factory in Nanticoke – they look like they are from totally different times of the day, but I took them just minutes apart:

As I flew south of Hamilton, I could see the snow was a’coming.  There was a white wall along the Lake Ontario shoreline.  Thus, I was quite happy to be heading home:

It looks like a big storm is on its way toward Niagara, so no more flights for moi for a few days.  At least I had an amazing two hours today.

Today’s symptoms:  Much more energy that I had this weekend.  My headache was gone as well.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/31/2011 8:06 PM

Plethora of Kitties

We’ve been trying to get the new kitties integrated with Mya and Abby.  Right now, Pinky is in her carrier with Mya sitting a foot away, staring.  So far, only a few growls and hisses, but no other signs of aggression.  I visited their previous mother today.  She gave me some treats for all of the girls.  For some reason, Sphynx cats don’t seem into catnip.  Not surprisingly, crazy little Abby is an exception to the rule.  I think one of the toys she gave us has catnip in it.  Here is a few pictures of Abby and her new friend, Homer:

Mya is clearly amused in this picture:

Put your little tongue away, Abby:

Things went quite well.  Mya sat there for a few more minutes, then got bored and walked away.

Abby is back to drooling over poor little Homer, who is now very soggy!

The weather might be decent enough for a flight tomorrow.  I’m hoping so since I haven’t flown in a few weeks.  I have about 35 hours of vacation leave to use up (we can only carry over a certain amount) so bring on the clear skies!

Today’s symptoms:  A little bit weak today and a fairly bad headache, but a pleasant day anyway!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/30/2011 8:10 PM

I’m Normal!!!

I had a pretty good day today!  I found out that we will be doing our Marcel Dionne and Walk for MS event again this year!  I am SO excited and yet again, extremely appreciative of Marcel!  It looks like it may be on April 14th at Marcel’s store at 4424 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls.  It was a blast last year.  I am still in shock over Marcel’s store – it’s HUGE!  I will keep everyone up to date of the event on my website and in my blogs.  The Walk for MS is on April 17th this year.  Hopefully the weather will be good enough for me to fly over all three Niagara Walk sites, as I did for the last three years.  Hey, it beats walking!  Tee Hee!  Needless to say, finding out this news about Marcel put me in an amazing mood today.  This was not what I was expecting as I had my first Tysabri IV infusion today.  I was a little nervous and also not looking forward to the drive to Burlington, which is where I had it done.  Tysabri is a drug used to prevent MS flare-ups from being as frequent and severe.  It also may help to shrink the big ol’ lesion dudes on my brain. 

 

My mother came to my office for around 11:45 today.  She picked me up and we drove over to the apartment to change vehicles.  Why would we want to drive to Burlington in a Mercedes when we could drive in a Toyota Corolla!  Hello!  The drive was only about 45 minutes.  Mind you, we had to sit in the parking lot for about five minutes while I phoned the Tysabri care-worker folks.  I could not find the unit for the infusion clinic.  She said we had the right address.  I told her my GPS was showing the address at the middle of the intersection just diagonal to the building we were at.  I figured the middle of the road in the cold wasn’t going to be conducive to our health and safety, so I figured the GPS may have been off a little.  I went into one of the units in the building and she said she didn’t know what we were talking about.  We left all dejected and decided to walk down a few more doors.  There was a small sign on one of the doors that said “Unit 4″, so we wandered on in.  Another couple was there at the same time.  We were greeted by a nurse at the door, who was kind enough to allow us in out of the cold.  The clinic was really nice inside!  The other woman before us was hooked up to her IV, as she had a 1:00 appointment and our wasn’t until 1:30.  I tried to convince the nurse that it was my mother who was getting the IV, but she didn’t buy it.  I hunkered down in the comfy chair while she hooked me up.  It was one of the best IV’s I’ve ever had!  Piece of cake!  Speaking of which, I requested a piece of cake during my infusion (it was clearly listed on my chart, but unfortunately, the nurse missed it.)  No cake for me!  Anyway, my little mother and I snacked on some Cadbury mini eggs during the drive there, so I had my chocolate fix.  Here’s a pic of me in the chair:

Yes, I look like a total dork with my bra strap hanging out and my massive boots on my spindly legs.  Oh well!  The infusion lasted an hour and was no problem at all.  I offered to partake in a study, which consisted of a short survey.  My answers looked as dorky as I did, as I completed the survey with my left hand.  I was a little shocked at one question, which asked if I had any problems getting and/or maintaining my erections.  Fortunately, I realized that section said “for males” and the “female” section was below.  I breathed a sigh of relief as I skipped the rest of the section.

Jan and I were able to watch TV while we waited an hour to leave after the infusion (to make sure I didn’t spontaneously combust from any allergic reactions to the medication).  The nurse there was SO nice and made the entire process most quite enjoyable!  She actually told me I was “normal” at one point, but I’m pretty sure she was just referring to my veins, and not me as a person.  I was a complete, talkative whack-o during the whole two hours, so surely she didn’t mean I was personally normal.  I really hope she’s my nurse for my infusion next month too.  At least I kept her amused!

Today’s symptoms:  I really didn’t start to get tired until after we got home.  I still have a bit of a headache, which started earlier this morning.  Other than that, it’s been a decent day symptom-wise.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/28/2011 5:03 PM

Spooky Sink

Everyone will be thrilled to know that my tattoo has almost completely healed.  It didn’t even take a full week.  My mother hates it.  I make sure that whenever I’m around her, I “accidentally” lift my shirt at the back and bend over so she can admire it – you’re welcome, Jan!  Tee hee!

I wasn’t able to fly this weekend due to the poop-o-la weather.  Looks like it’s going to be that way for the rest of the week.  Regardless, I still had a great weekend.  I got tons of administrative stuff done for the Recreational Aircraft Association.  I also started a bit of “Spring cleaning” around the apartments.  My mother came over today and we went to the Fairview Mall, then to Costco.  I finally replaced my wireless mouse with a more modern version.  I think when I got my first one, it’s when they first entered the market.  Sure, the mouse itself was nice, but the antenna thing was larger than the mouse and was attached to a two foot long cord!   I feel so special with my new one.  I also picked up a pack of CD jewel cases.  Get this, you can get a pack of 30 for $10.99 or a pack of 50 for $25.99.  Let’s see, I can get 60 for less than 50 – they really did a great job pricing those bad boys out!  Anyway, I also replenished my clumping cat litter supply at Costco.  I bought two huge boxes, which were so big and heavy, we drove home with only my back wheels touching the ground.  I guess I shouldn’t have put the litter in the trunk.

Little Mya almost scared me to death a couple nights ago.  I walked into the washroom to pi-diddle, when I noticed something out of place in the sink (just as I reached to turn on the light):

She was just sitting there like a little furless dork.  Afterwords, I had to wash my hands in the bathtub, because she was a little reluctant to move.  Weird.

Today’s symptoms:  Nothing much to report!  I was a little drained after our shopping trip, but not too much else!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/23/2011 7:05 PM

Exorcism

What a joyous weekend.  Actually, it started when I took some vacation leave on Friday to go for a flight.  The skies were quite clear:

I was shocked to see Pac-Man during my travels.  I had no idea he was in the Niagara Region:

I wasn’t able to fly this weekend, as the weather was yuck-o.  However, I did see my plane….sort of.  I got a tattoo of a maple leaf when I was 18 and in the Army.  I’ve always wanted another one, and Saturday afternoon, I got it!  I decided to get one of my plane.  Here’s a shot of me getting it done:

I must say, the outline was VERY painful.  I don’t remember my first one being that bad.  Mind you, it was much smaller than the one I got yesterday.  Fortunately, once he started doing the shading, the pain was far less.  More discomfort than anything.  It took a little over two hours.  I am so happy with the result!  It spans most of my lower back:

I visited my mother today.  We just went out for a coffee then headed over to the Seaway Mall.  After I got home, I went into the other apartment to visit the new kitties.  Boo is really weird – most cats would just crawl under the pillow case or a blanket.  This cat crawls under the whole pillow:

I told her she was weird.  She crawled out from under the pillow and began what I assume was an exorcism.  It went a little something like this:

Her sister wandered around the apartment while the evil spirits escaped:

Mya and Abby had no idea what I was dealing with in the other apartment.  For this, I am thankful:

Today’s symptoms:  Had decent energy today and no major complaints (other than a sore lower back!) with any other symptoms.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/16/2011 7:36 PM

New Additions

I am very happy to say that we have two new additions to our family.  A girl I met a few years ago was looking into adopting Sphynx kitties.  It turns out she was allergic to them, and the allergies grew worse over the last couple years.  I ran into her again about a week ago.  She told me about her allergies and said she was considering giving her two Sphynx cats up for adoption.  I felt so bad that she had to even consider this.  I told her I would certainly take them into my home if she needed to let them go.  I received an email from her the next day asking if I was still willing to take on two more Sphynx kitties.  I told her I certainly would, and noted that they would be cherished as much as my other naked girls.  She sent me a picture which I admired multiple times a day for the last week.  We made arrangements to have the girls dropped off at my apartment last night.  I even asked my Team Leader for the day off today, so I could spend more time with them.  I asked him if I could take it as either adoption leave or family related, but he didn’t go for it.  I guess he remembered the time that I tried to put my car’s windshield replacement through our drug plan, under eyeglasses.

 

Anyway, the little angels have arrived and they are absolutely adorable!  They are currently in our other apartment across the hall, in order to have a slow and less traumatic integration into their new home with their new siblings.  I did lock Mya and Abby in the bedroom today while I brought the other kitties over to explore their new digs.

They wandered around for a bit, then I took them back to the other apartment.  I decided to bring them over again a couple hours later.  This time they both hid under the couch.  Almost two hours later, I decided I better let Mya and Abby out of the bedroom in case they had to go to the bathroom or eat.  They both knew something was up.  Mya soon spotted the two visitors under the couch:

Abby, on the other hand, just sat on top of the cable box, being her typical, googly self:

I had to eventually put Mya and Abby back in the bedroom while I lifted the couch to remove the other kids.  Back to the other apartment they went – that was enough excitement for one day!  They are just resting now.  I’ll go visit them every commercial or so….

I may take more vacation time tomorrow to be with my new girls.  I may try a more “formal” introduction to the other kitties tomorrow.

Today’s symptoms:  Feeling pretty good.  I had more energy today than I’ve had in a few weeks, but I’m still experiencing frequent body aches and pains.  I started exercising again last night.  I did 30 minutes on my recumbent bike yesterday and 60 today – yea!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/13/2011 8:08 PM

Relaxing Weekend

I woke up Saturday morning to find my two little kitties bug hunting.  I don’t think they ever caught it – and quite frankly, I don’t think they even tried.  But they were both staring for over five minutes:

“Where’s the bug, Abby?”

I wasn’t able to go flying this weekend as little Vyctor is having his annual inspection done.  I did have to visit him Saturday morning to drop off his log books for my mechanic.  It was sad to see Vyctor so exposed.  He must have felt so vulnerable:

He was way at the back of the hangar, so it was like going through a plane maze to get to him.  Hopefully the inspection will go smoothly, with no major repairs to be made.  Blah!

I wish I had something grand to share with everyone, but it was kinda an uneventful weekend!

Today’s symptoms:  Had decent energy, but had those darn body aches and pains all over the place, starting from the time I woke up!  Geesh!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/9/2011 8:55 PM

Back In The Sky

I had an appointment with my neurologist at the McMaster MS Clinic yesterday.  My mother joined me and we headed out to Hamilton around 1:45.  Nothing exciting happened on the drive to the hospital, until we actually got there.  We drove down the ramp into the parking garage, and waited for the van in front of us to take his ticket.  He stopped so far away from the machine that he had to open his door and partially step out to reach it.  It took a few attempts, but he finally got it.  Hello!  We would like to get inside and park sometime today!  Well, it didn’t end there.  He just got through the gate when he stopped again.  At this point, I had already pulled up (within arms length of the machine – duh!) and took my ticket.  I started to pull through, thinking this guy is going to keep going, but he didn’t.  I had to stop and thought the mechanical arm was going to come down on my trunk!  The arm came down within inches of my car.  He still sat there and a string of cars were behind me at that point.  I had no where to go as I was inches from him and the gate arm.  He got out of his van and looked up at the top of his vehicle.  It was then that I realized the rack on his roof had actually hit the pipes on the ceiling.  Duh again!  He hit the first one and the next one was a few feet ahead.  They were through the entire parking garage.  We sat there for a few minutes while he scratched his head and looked at the pipes.  I was getting really annoyed, as I’m sure the people behind me were, so Jan got out and checked the space behind me.  I had just enough room to make a 27 point turn (tee hee!) and head down the next aisle.  Ugh!  Fortunately, we found a perfect spot in the area of the MS clinic.  Despite the fiasco, we were still quite early for my appointment.  We had a coffee and perused the gift shop.  After checking in upstairs at the clinic, I was taken in within minutes of arriving.  My appointment was over in about 20 minutes.  Since Jan and I were meeting up with my friend for 5:00, we decided to head down to the blood lab to get the blood work done that I needed for the new med I’m going on.  We were the only ones there so I was called in before we even sat down.  After that, Jan and I just killed some time in the Fortinos grocery store outside of the restaurant, before meeting my friend.  It was such a nice visit.  We speak via email every day but haven’t actually seen each other in about two years.

I decided to take the day off today and yet again enjoy the nice weather.  After my friend stopped by for lunch, I headed out to the airport.  I took off around 2:30 and flew around Niagara for about an hour.

It was a little dull out, but still a nice flight.  This time I was able to fly out to the Lake Erie shoreline to the South.

I snapped a picture of the big line up on the Fort Erie Peace Bridge:

I also took a picture of a cute little lone tree.  Why, you ask?  I don’t know:

I have tomorrow off as well, but I don’t think the weather is going to be decent enough for another flight.

Today’s symptoms:  I actually felt pretty good today!  I was totally wiped out yesterday so I was surprised that I had as much energy as I did today.  I’m pooped now, but I always am after a flight.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/5/2011 6:08 PM

Finally!!!

I woke up just before 7:30 this morning, looked out the window and was thrilled to see mostly clear skies!  At 8:00, I phoned the Flying Club and asked them to plug in my plane (to heat the oil).  I headed over to the airport around 10:15.  I did not fly at all during the month of December – how depressing!  It was a tad windy, but certainly flyable weather. 

I first flew over my mother’s house to make sure everything was in order.  I called her and she came outside to wave at me.  The neighbour’s asked her who she was waving at and little Jan said that I was flying around up there:

After visiting Jan, I headed toward the South.

I was going to hit the Lake Erie shoreline, but the weather was really pooping out.  The clouds looked yucky and it appeared to be snowing lightly.  I decided to scrap the Lake Erie plan:

I had visited the Flight Service folks in the tower prior to hitting the skies.  I brought them some Christmas goodies – better late than never!  I asked them to look away when I called in that I was going to land.  It’s been over a month and my landing may be a little rusty.  After flying around for almost 50 minutes, I decided to head back to the airport.  On my way, I decided to instead to head over to the Grimsby Airport to do some touch and go’s to practice my landings and not make a dork of myself in front of the wonderful people of the Niagara District Airport.  I ended up doing three landings and take-offs (touch and go’s) then felt confident enough to attempt an impressive landing in St. Catharines.  Here’s a shot of Grimsby on my way out:

On the way back to CYSN, I snapped another picture of the new hospital being built.  I’ve already posted two pictures during previous blogs, so you can see the progress:

I was shocked as I approached the St. Catharines airport – there were four other planes already in the circuit.  I guess everyone was taking advantage of the nice weather.  I’ve never followed that many planes around the circuit to land.  I had at least two behind me too!  Fortunately, my landing was decent and there was no serious heckling from the tower.  Here’s a pic of little Vyctor, all ready to be put back in the hangar:

What a perfect day!  I’m totally wiped out now, but it was well worth it!

There was a little (although typical) incident with the kitties when I got home.  I was sitting on the bed, reading my emails, and little Abby crawled under the pillow sham next to me.  She was there for about fifteen minutes, nicely warming up the spot.  As usual, Mya came over and bullied her out of her comfy, warm and cozy sleeping place!  She’s so mean, but so cute!  Little Abby walked behind my computer and got back into her sleeping position.  There she was, totally exposed, soon to be shivering from the cool air.  I walked around the bed, told her how sorry I was that her sister was a bully, then tucked her in with the blanket.  The look she gave me while I was covering her just about melted my heart!  It was like she was thanking me with her eyes.  I wish I got a video.  Regardless, I was happy to see her sound asleep shortly after:

Today’s symptoms:  I had a decent amount of energy today – worked out well with the nice weather!  I would have been so bummed to have a good flying day but not feel well enough to go!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 1/3/2011 8:27 PM