Last week I took the boys with me to Saskatoon for a medical appointment for Emil. It was a "swallowing test," which I watched from behind a window. Two technicians handed him spoonsful of banana, muffin, and various foods. They gave him a milkshake to drink with a straw. The path of his consumption could be observed, as could his teeth, tongue, and spine, xray style. I wished Everett had come into the room with us, to see it. Turns out that Emil does not always get his food and drink directly down to his belly; instead it sometimes moves forward and sits in his throat, causing him to cough while eating.

What can be done? He can pay more attention to what he's doing, and he can swallow twice. Woo hoo. Now we know. High tech.

The next day I took Emil to Bud's on Broadway, which is a bar/restaurant that features live music. On Saturday afternoons there is always a jam, and Jeff, one of Emil's "dear ones" (people he admires and wants to spend time with), had suggested we meet there. We had also contacted a young lady that Emil met several years ago at Camp Easter Seal, and invited her to come down. She did, and Emil was thrilled to pieces. He insisted on hugging her before we left, and that's the photo you see above.

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Yesterday afternoon I decided to spend five minutes tidying up the office. It was the only way I could bring myself to start, for the idea of how long doing the job completely would actually take was too daunting. I did not want to spend the entire day at it.

I stayed at it for over five hours. The office is now clean and organized for the first time since the basement flood in early April. I'd show you a picture -- oh yes, I'm proud of myself -- but Scott was transferring photos to the new computer this morning when I got out of bed, and now I can't find the one I took of my new, improved workspace. Ah well! It wouldn't be half as exciting for you as it is to me.