Happy Father's Day!

Happy Sunday! I want to wish all the dads out there a wonderful Father's Day! I hope your day is filled with love all around. Although we do not have kids, we are still celebrating....after all, Russell is the perfect dad for Cooper & Spicy. They love him to pieces and he loves them to pieces in return. This day is also special for us as we are both thinking about our respective fathers. Mine left us five months ago and Russell's dad has been gone for 17 years. We miss them both and will love them always.

Today, we had my brother, sister, our nephews Sean and James and Sean's girlfriend Sandrine over for lunch. As always, it was a nice family gathering. We ate outside, although at times the heat was a little oppressive. Cooper & Spicy decided that they were cooler inside so they spent most of their time in the house. Thanks to my brother for making his famous Spanakopitas and to my sister for her mini cheesecakes with chocolate chips.  Yum!

This past week was good although it didn't quite pan out the way I had envisioned it. On Tuesday morning, at 6 am, I turned over in bed and my jaw went into a closed lock. My jaw has locked in the past but I have always been able to "get it back into position".  Not this time. Needless to say that I was a tad freaked out.  No matter what I did, the jaw didn't budge. I was able to open my mouth wide enough to brush my teeth, with great effort and pain. Needless to say that I called the dentist and got to see him at 10:30.  There is really not much he could do, other than poke my jaw and reassure me that it will get better with time. Oh, he also said to take Advil every 6 hours for one week. I am not a pill popper so I was not happy about that but if it meant for my jaw to return to normal, then I was prepared to do it. Well, the Advil didn't make a difference after two days so I stopped taking them.

I started doing some research about the best way to "unlock a jaw".... and discovered that an osteopath can do wonders with jaw and TMJ issues. I found one that was able to see me on Thursday. After one treatment, I could feel some relief. The treatment itself seems simple but it's all about releasing the tension that has built up in the canals connected to the jaw....those canals are in the head, ears, neck, you name it. The underlying cause of a closed lock jaw is usually a build up of emotional stress. I guess I've had my share of it lately but never thought it would manifest itself that way.

Today, five days later, I see an improvement although the pain is still there. My mouth opening has gotten bigger. I have graduated from eating soup and very soft food to being able to eat flaky food such as salmon.  I can now put a teaspoon in my mouth with no problem!  All kidding aside, it is not a pleasant experience and I will be glad when all is back to normal. I will see the osteopath weekly until we go to Italy, which is just a little over four weeks time. Imagine having this problem while in Europe....wouldn't be fun although it wouldn't stop me from being able to sip Prosecco, even if I had to use a straw.

So, this was my week in a nutshell. Other than that, things are pretty good.

I leave you with some photos that Russell took of our Peonies. Too bad they don't last long. Have a great week everyone!

Pink peony in full bloom....wonderfully fragrant on the
side of the house.

White peony in our backyard.

Red peony about to go into full bloom...
wonderful but short lived.

Me and my Dad on Father's Day 2017...miss you, love
you and remember you always.

Spicy and Cooper in prime position on the back deck,
 to get a 'licking' as the plank salmon cooks on the BBQ, last night.

Cooper and Spicy set up a road block so that nothing
and no one can get past them...always on treat alert.