I am back

This post is for all the people who haven’t given up on my blog yet.  With best intentions I had started the blog to document all our travels and other interesting happenings in our lives but as it turns out, sometimes I don’t write about them at all.  So, here is a little recap why I have been to quiet since my last post.

While most of our fellow RVers where getting ready to head south, we were just saying goodbye to the last couple of pups from our Dachshund litter.  Meanwhile Benno had been busy finishing up his new shed and moving his equipment. That little shed turned into a neat little workshop and I will have Benno post some pictures with explanations of it for all the guys out there that might be interested to see it pretty soon.  We had been discussing if we were ready to also head south with our travel trailer or if we wanted to stay put for another month or so.  But a phone call we received put all RV travel plans on hold. My Dad had suffered another stroke and had been involved in an accident.

You might recall that in the early summer of this year I had flown to Germany to help out after my Dad got out of rehab after his first stroke. Back then we had made some changes and one of them was that I was instrumental in arranging the sale of his car because my Dad had purchased a scooter to get around the village and didn’t need the car any longer.  It was not long after I had returned to Canada that my parents told me that they had purchased another car. 

So one morning in November, while my parents were on their way to a doctor’s appointment for my Mom, Dad suffered a stroke while driving.  They had been on a country road with no speed limits (yes, in Germany there are stretches of roads that have no speed limits between towns) when their car veered off the lane, crossed over to the opposite side of the road and down a ravine where it impacted at a large tree and became wedged between other trees and bushes.  Miraculously there had been no oncoming traffic that moment and my parents were alive. The car, however, was a write-off.  The German firemen had to rescue my parents through the trunk of the car and then transport them separately into two different hospitals.  Other than a few bruises and of course being shook up, my Mom was ok and was discharged later on in the day. Dad went into surgery because of his stroke and stayed in intensive care for a few days.  After several days in the hospital he then was sent off straight to a Rehabilitation Clinic in another city.

My sister Christina flew first to Germany to assist our Mom, help with the packing of clothing for Dad’s travel and to take her several times to the Rehab Clinic to visit our Dad. While all of this was going on, we pretty much kept in constant phone contact.  After my sister’s return to Canada I flew out to Germany to resume the support.  Dad got released from the Rehab Clinic and now tries to fall back into his old routine and get back on track (without a car). 

While I was in Germany it also coincided with my Mom’s 90ist birthday and Dad (93) was very happy to be home again to celebrate with her.  On the big day the mayor of the town came to congratulate her as well as the pastor from the town’s church.  Neighbors and friends brought flowers; we drank Champagne and indulged with scrumptious birthday cakes.

Then it was time for me to head back home. I am glad that the weather held during my travels because now there are icy roads in Germany and cancelled flights because of severe weather in London England, where my flight to Canada connected.

So please forgive me, for letting you all down and not do an update on this blog during this time.  

Following a few pictures of Mom on her birthday and some of the lovely flower bouquets.

Mom, Dad and the Mayor