Halfway through pottery

I can't believe I'm almost on week 6 of pottery. Where has all the time gone!? I have spent the last two weeks glazing, this week I'll be able to start making new stuff again. I got back a ton of pieces last week and had to worry about dropping them all on the bus. I really like how everything turned out.

Waiting for the kiln..

Everything from the first 4 weeks!

Thank you letter

One thing I've been putting off doing since my transplant is write a letter to the donor family. It's a completely optional service that the Triiliam Gift of Life Network provides for the donor and donor family.

According to the pamphlet I was given, the Human Tissue Gift Act requires that everything remain confidential so I can't include my name or any identifying qualifications, nor will I receive any identifiers if the family wishes to contact me.

The letter is suggested as a way to thank the family but every time I've started to write something, I get tripped up. A thank you note seems insufficient. Plus, isn't it weird that I'm thanking them for having someone in their family die? I know it's meant more to thank them for their decision, but I struggle with that as well because in my head I'm screaming "Of course they choose that their loved one would be a donor because that's what should have to happen!!!!"

On the non-selfish side of me that isn't trying to get out of writing the letter, I'm sure the family would enjoy hearing that their decision has changed my life for the better. If I was in their place, I think I would like to know. I'm just struggling to know where to start. "Dear family, I'm doing great. Thanks." seems so impersonal but if I start writing too much, when will I stop?

How do I express how completely overwhelmed I sometimes feel by everything that's happened? That I was able to cycle for 40 km on Thursday or that I could walk up a hill without having a coughing attack? Or that I no longer have to sleep on a stack of pillows to avoid waking up in the middle of the night coughing or struggling to breath? The changes that have happened are endless that my letter could ramble on and on. Of course it hasn't yet because I'm struggling to write anything more than "thank you."

I've really put this off long enough and need to get on it. Although the pamphlet does say it's encouraged to do it within the first year so maybe I can put this off and in 6 months I'll know exactly what to say.

High Park

I know, I've been slacking a bit with the blog. The weather has just been so wonderful and the terrace is now open so I've been spending a lot of time outside. Yesterday, Isaiah and I visited High Park to look at the cherry blossoms. I've been adamantly checking the tracking website to see when they would be at 'peak bloom' and while yesterday the website claimed it was still a day away, everything looked in bloom to me. 

We went super early (because I can't sleep in anymore), which was good because even on a cloudy Tuesday morning, a day or two before 'peak bloom,' it was crazy busy by the time we left. This weekend will be chaos. Stay away or go early!

We also hiked around a bit in the non-blossom areas and visited the little zoo again. The peacocks were definitely feeling spring love and competing for the affection of the peahen who seemed to have zero interest. The turkey in their enclosure seemed slightly confused.

Cherry blossoms!

A swam that seemed annoyed by all. It probably had a nest nearby.

More blossoms.

Llamas look funny with haircuts.

The Highland calves are still adorable.

One peacock that needs some love.

One last look at the cherry trees.

The painters have descended on the park!

Toronto Islands

I finally made it for an excursion to the Toronto Islands. It's somewhere I've wanted to visit since moving to Toronto but pre-transplant I was nervous I would get the call and be stuck (or panicked) on the island. So we finally made it out this weekend, on Isaiah's birthday!

We first stopped at the market first to meet up with a friend and grab some breakfast before wandering down to the ferry. It was a gorgeous day which I thought would be perfect for relaxing on the beach or grass with our books.

Obligatory picture from ferry.

Things never quite turn out the way they were planned. We walked around the mini-amusement park and petting zoo (all the rides looked like miniature versions of real rides), had a quick lunch by the beach, walked around by the school, and said good-bye to my friend before renting bikes for an hour (she had somewhere to be, we didn't just ditch her randomly).

The lamb was chasing the peacock around, it was adorable.

After exploring the east side of the islands with our bikes, we then explored the west side by foot. By the time we reached the end, it was time to hop on the other ferry back to the mainland. All in all, we walked over 8km and I read zero pages of my book.

Along the bike ride!

We found the raccoon that was missing from the zoo!

Proof we were on the actual islands.

1269 KM to Halifax. Soon enough.

Did you know the Toronto Island airport is located at the site of the original baseball field of the Toronto Maple Leafs (yes baseball team) and is where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run? Now you do!

Best park sign ever.

Needless to say, we were both exhausted when we finally made it home and tried the new(er) cafe that opened in the adjacent building instead of cooking. Turns out their crepes are quite delicious (or we were really hungry) as are their fancy coffees. I think I may be in trouble having this place a one minute walk away.

Exercising!

It's been almost two weeks of my self-motivated exercise program and I must say that it's going quite well. I think that the last year and half of exercising most Monday-Wednesday-Fridays has conditioned me to expect to exercise at least three times a week. The fact that the weather has been nice the last two weeks has also helped so I can get outside more on the bike or just walking.

To motivate myself, I wrote up a exercise plan much like I had at the physio room at the hospital and have learned how to use most of the weight machines at the gym. I have to always remove all the weights after the ridiculously-large chested men have used them but I find I have a bit more control than the dumbbells for muscles I haven't worked in a long time. The other downside with the dumbbells is that the gym only has one set of 5lb, 8lb, and 10lb, as they always seem to be in use. Side note: Is a 80lb dumbbell really necessary at a condo gym? If you're that intense, you need to be at a gym that serves protein shakes and steroids.

Apart from last week when I accidentally crippled myself by doing too many weights without enough stretching, everything continues to progress at a slow but steady rate. After barely being able to walk on Thursday due to my thighs being on fire, I'm sticking to the 'increase no more than 10% at a time' mantra that they used at physiotherapy. I guess I was being a little too ambitious last Wednesday. Oops!

This week has gone much smoother. Tuesday was a big walking day with the zoo, Thursday I went on a big bike ride out to a park that turned out to be closed on weekdays (so random), and today Isaiah convinced me to walk home from the market. I've managed to reach my 150 minutes of aerobic exercise and weights three times both weeks which is excellent.

I still have yet to figure out a behavioral reinforcement system for myself. As cheesy as it sounds, I'm just so excited that I can do all this stuff again that being able to bike 10km without much struggle is rewarding on its own. I get up in the morning and I want to go to the gym or out for a walk simply because I can and I love the feeling of how much stronger my body is getting. I also love that my jeans are no longer falling off me as my legs strengthen. I'm sure eventually I'll hit a wall and won't see as much progress which will probably become discouraging but I'll enjoy the self-motivation while I have it.

A water break stop along my bike ride yesterday, I was really tempted to stay and read my book instead of continuing.