Weather Attitude

We all know it and yet we find ourselves helpless to combat how the weather can affect our wellbeing and mental attitude. It has been grey, damp, cold and just plain “September” and so Mom and I have been hibernating in our PJs, lolling on the sofa and watching the old “Poirot” episodes. It’s hard to get motivated when one is still in their pajamas. Its one thing to have a “comfy, cozy” sort of day but it’s another thing to be constantly in the pajamas and doing nothing but vegging out!

Normally we both make the effort to get dressed every morning, even when we have had a crappy night but just lately we have been wallowing and today I said “enough is enough”. Back to the grind, the computer, the blog, to anything but this pitifulness!

Poor Cherie has been wailing and moaning because he, for one, has definitely felt that we were being no fun at all and he wants to go out to play. Well, off you go!

And here’s a little side note; Erik and Mom were really impressed when we were sitting on the deck the other day and I said “here comes John”. I can tell when he is turning the corner and when it is someone else. Most of the other vehicles take the corner at high speed but John takes it slow and easy and so there is a certain hum to his motor that sounds different from the other trucks swinging by. It’s a gift, what can I say?

American Justice

I have been following the Ivy League / Celebrity Scandal or whatever you want to call it. So Felicity Huffman thinks one month in jail for bribing an Ivy League college to get her daughter into is “too much” because “they aren’t those kind of criminals”? On “the view” they were mentioning that a poor homeless woman went to jail for five years because she lied about where her son was living so he could go to KINDERGARTEN (any kindergarten).

Now this is American Justice (and ironically wasn’t that the name of one of the TV shows Huffman appeared in?) and while I find it difficult to accept that “white collar crime” is punished by jail sentencing that happens to be the way it is in the United States so all I have to say to you, missy, is “suck it up buttercup”. Take it on the chin and all that sort of rot.

You may be wondering what I would personally endorse for the “crime” of both Huffman and the poor homeless woman? In the first instance I think honest to goodness community service (not attending red carpet events) would be better service – say in a soup kitchen for the next year so she can see how “those people” survive. In the case of the homeless woman I would suggest giving her a helping hand to get on her feet would be much more appropriate because you are talking about two human beings here, her son as well as herself. Jail time is not going to help her situation – or his. Punitive measures are not always the answer when people have done something wrong.

However “the greatest country in the world” enjoys punishing their people, the more down on their luck they are the more they enjoy grinding their heels into them. All I can say is that I thank the Good Lord every day that I was born Danish and that I live in Canada where people are given compassionate care more often than not. I don’t say Canada is perfect, but we are doing a whole lot better than the USA.

Thank you Canada and thank you Mom and Dad for raising us here.

Dark Place

The last two weeks have been especially horrific for me because I have found myself in a state of almost constant nausea which included the inevitable. This has been my fifth (or is it sixth) cycle of the chemo medicine and it is only now that it (apparently) has caught up with me. It has taken me a while to figure out why I was having gagging and vomiting episodes because it didn’t seem to happen at any one particular moment but I have realized that it MUST be because of the chemo along with the sometimes excruciating pain I have been experiencing. Don’t get me wrong, it is not the cancer per se that is causing the pain but rather the walking. Something is setting off a sort of grinding in my hip socket which may be caused by nerve pain although it doesn’t seem likely (to me anyway).

I don’t want to be a whiner but I have to say that last week was especially difficult for me. Thankfully I finished the chemo pills on Friday and almost immediately I felt better. I haven’t had an episode (well, I should say that I had a slight bit of gagging at noon yesterday but I think it was because I was really hungry – LOL).

I am anxious to see my oncologist next Tuesday with the hope that he may have some solution other than pain medicine because I do not believe that the morphine is helping at all with the particular walking pain I am having. In fact, I believe the Robaxacet that I took early this morning has helped much better because it relaxed my muscles which I think have tensed up considerably over the last few weeks. Unfortunately I don’t think the chiropractor helped at all with that bit.

And that’s enough about that. Onwards and upwards!

Binge Watching

Generally speaking I am not much of a binge watcher since I rather like structure in my life which means I like to watch a show week to week rather than a ton of episodes all at once. However in the past few years there have been very few shows that keep me entertained week to week. I think the only one that I watch regularly is Law & Order SVU and of course, Dancing with the Stars (though it has been on a long sabbatical this past year).

As a result I have been buying older shows on DVD (I cannot get Netflix in the countryside without losing my mind – that’s a tale for another time) as well as buying the Game of Throne series because I was not buying HBO for just one show so I would wait patiently for the latest season to come out and then watch the show, usually one episode per night. Now having the whole collection except for the final season (not yet out) I confess, I have done some binge watching! But even that was mild compared to what Mom and I have now been doing – we are again watching Prison Break and oh my goodness, our hearts are palpitating so much that Mom came in one night and said “my heart is still beating so fast from the show”! We haven’t watched the show since it first appeared some 10 years ago so we forget a lot of the intricate details of the story and even though we know they escape we get so tense at every little twist that it is awesomely exciting!

Yes once in a while a truly great innovative story will appear on television but they are so far apart that it is really a shame. In the past decade I can think of Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones as true standouts. John also has really enjoyed Poldark but since I missed out from the beginning I can’t get into it at all which is rather a pity because I do enjoy period pieces. He also watches Victoria but I loathe historical dramas that are not accurate and the snippets I have watched portray a very different Victoria from her true self (she was really not a very nice person at all). A show I am watching now (in its final, third season) is Jamestown which is pretty good entertainment.

I really miss the great miniseries of yore, Rich Man Poor Man, Roots, Captain & the Kings, Testimony of Two Men and Centennial. Now those were really great serials!

My Cancer, My Pain

My readers know that I have not written very much about my cancer or my situation, merely alluding to it once in a while but today I want to write a little bit more.

A little over two years ago I received the shock of my life when I was told that I had Stage Four Cancer, “that I was terminal”. With true Scandinavian phlegm I held the strap tight and carried on. I have taken all the various treatments they have advocated and have managed to survive the side effects (thankfully they have for the most part been fairly mild, barring the neuropathy). I haven’t complained and have been rather stoic about what is happening inside my body. I even managed to be heroic when they performed the ileostomy and within a few days I was handling the change of the bag myself because I took the philosophy that I had to do it sooner or later. My sisters were staggered but proud of me because they know that of the three of us I have had the reputation of being the “medical wimp”. I don’t like to know, hear or see anything horrid but now I was having it happen to me and I took it like a man. (here you are supposed to laugh since we all know what babies men are when it comes to a splinter much less an illness).

Yes, I have taken it all “with a grain of salt”. I have been tough, resilient and not terribly modest about it (evidently).

Last September I started to get a pain in my side and I was told that the tumour had grown and was pushing on my pelvis. I have not had my CT scan yet (another couple of weeks) but the pain I am now experiencing is becoming progressively worse and I very much fear that it could be the tumour. My blood work has shown that my cancer marker has gone down in my body and I have been so hopeful that the medicine has been working and that maybe, miracle of miracles, I could even be in remission. But last night I was close to tears and terribly distraught because even lying down I was feeling such pain along my back and leg that I had doubts I could carry on.

Today the sun is shining and while sitting here in my big leather chair typing away I feel pretty good, pain free even. What a difference a few hours make. I am back to feeling optimistic and thinking that the pain is really just a pinched nerve in my back and that maybe I should see the chiropractor and have an adjustment.

“One can always hope.”

Crying as Therapy

My family are not criers; I am not a crier. Once when I was at work a person upset me so much that when I ran into a good, kind colleague a few minutes later I actually began crying and then apologized “for losing my composure”. I did the same thing when I was in the hospital two years ago when I suddenly lost my Scandinavia phlegm and began crying because of more negative news about my condition and then I apologized to the nurse who was so kindly holding my hand. She condoled with me, telling me that I had every right to cry.

I am not a crier about myself or my plight. I will, however, sob unashamedly over a movie, even a commercial can bring tears to my eyes but that isn’t real “crying”, in my view.

Last night my mother came into my room and hugged me and held my hand and choked out her words to me because I had to lie down in order for her to give me my blood thinner shot. I have been in so much pain the last two weeks whenever I stand or walk for only a minute or so and it is becoming almost too much to bear. She said she wished she could do something to help me. Then she began to cry.

“Oh Mummy, don’t cry. I am alright. I will be alright. Don’t cry Mummy, you do everything for me. You are the best mother in the world.” I condoled with her but I know she went back in her room and cried some more.

We are not a family of criers but in our hearts, we cry just like everyone else.

Good Bones, a poem

Coincidentally the PBS program “Story in the Public Square” last Saturday did an interview with Maggie Smith, the poet whose most famous poem is “Good Bones”. It was published three days after the Orlando shooting and the poem was shared on Facebook and Twitter in response. Ms. Smith said that every time there is a tragedy the poem goes viral again. How very strange that only a few hours after watching this interview 2 more mass shootings occurred in America and one can assume that the poem is again being shared even as I am now doing.

I had never heard of MotionPoems before but here is a link to this one. It will make you appreciate the poem so much more, particularly if you are not given to poetry reading usually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6tokL583A8

Good Bones  By Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.

Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine

in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,

a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways

I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least

fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative

estimate, though I keep this from my children.

For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.

For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,

sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world

is at least half terrible, and for every kind

stranger, there is one who would break you,

though I keep this from my children. I am trying

to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,

walking you through a real shithole, chirps on

about good bones: This place could be beautiful,

right? You could make this place beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Agnotology

Agnotology is the study of culturally induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data.

I thought I would use this title for my subject rather than one that would cause too much angst in the initial viewing. The subject is capital punishment and how it is used by Americans in answer to this weekend’s mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso. I could use words such as moronic, ignorant, and capitalistic or a string of other negative words to describe some of the emotions I feel every time I hear about another tragedy in America but what does that do?

The truth is that the bottom line of what I feel is complete and utter bafflement that the American people are more enamoured of their “God given right to own guns” than of the logic in NOT owning guns, period. What is the use of bewailing the shootings and holding candlelight vigils AFTER THE FACT? What is the point of talking about capital punishment AFTER THE FACT?

Many people, many times, have spoken about what ought to be done but as I have said before “you can’t fix stupid”. One can point out the action of New Zealand immediately after their first and only mass killing (passing a law banning the sale of assault rifles). One can point to Europe’s stance on gun ownership but does any of that make a dent in the collective heads of Americans? Apparently not.

I am sorry America but I am not mourning with you. I am berating you for being so damn ignorant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotology

A Miraculous Journey

The 21 day meditation of Deepak & Oprah which is now in week 3 is all about the Miracle that is You. For a while during the meditations I felt that it was a bit too much of the same, that there was nothing new to be told, that I knew it all, in effect. How wrong I was!

As I let my mind start accepting again the wisdom of the ages, opening myself up to the inner message of ME I began to appreciate that there can never be too much repetition when it comes to knowing ourselves and appreciating our uniqueness in the universe. At the same time I also learn that we are all connected, over and over again.

Some part of me instinctively seems to know how to connect to people while another part keeps me in reserve. There is always more to learn in letting down that barrier and accepting that the barrier is not a good thing but blocks the path to accepting others for who they are. There should be no judgment, no irritation but only acceptance that they are as divine as myself.

I say that in all humbleness, not with ego. Yes, I am getting there – slowly but surely.

Namaste.

Staying Calm

Now I will make you laugh by telling you that I wrote the last two blogs after I had done my Oprah/Deepak meditation. The current 21 day theme is Miraculous Relationships and as always we are supposed to find our inner self which is “pure joy and love”. Irony to write that our premier is an asshole and that I am spitting mad?

But I wrote it out of pure love, my dear readers, pure love for my fellow man and the civilization that I envision for us. Do not be like Jon Snow who flipped out on Daenerys in the finale as she explained her vision of a whole world of peace and freedom.

It is possible to have a country that not only aspires to high values and social justice but achieves these things. Our political system allows corporations to have too much influence over politicians by the amount of contributions they are able to make to campaigns thus putting the government and politicians under extreme obligation. Case in point, SNC Lavalin and our current prime minister. No country is perfect but some work harder at it than others. I would like Canada to walk the talk and not just be a pretty face attempting to fool the world into believing the heart is there. Trudeau has thrown too many good people under the bus when political interests took precedence over principle.  I will never get over it.

Why I am Concerned

Many years ago I would have discussions with my boss about what the state of the project was in and if there was a particular area that I had concerns about I would say “I am worried . . . “.  Dave would correct me and say “don’t say worried, say concerned”. It was his job to worry! 

Yesterday I wrote a heartfelt blog about the things that concern me. To be more specific, I am concerned that individuals focus on what is good for them and ignore the rest of the “debris” around them. Those who continue to advocate the oil sands and put out Facebook and Instagram messages denying that there are concerns really annoy me (to say the least). On the other hand, those environmentalists who bash the oil sands unequivocally also irritate me. What I would like to see is a balance wherein folks can continue to work in the oil sands BUT at the same time I would like to see more vocal indications from the companies that they are also working towards developing more sustainable energy avenues. As well, I would like to get a semi-annual statement from the industry on how many new trees are being planted as part of recovery plans for the area and what other recovery initiatives are being done.

That is just an example of a hot button issue here in Alberta.

I am afraid I cannot speak of our current premier with anything like civility as I think he is a F’ing asshole who is simply working at self-aggrandizement. Not one single act of his has in any way been motivated to help the PEOPLE of this province. He has catered to business, first, last and always. Have you seen a company go to the polling booth? He has reduced corporate taxes, he has revoked Labour Standards laws (reducing minimum wage, taking away overtime pay, lowering minimum age for workers – hey, let’s bring back child labour). He has revoked Workers’ Compensation for farm workers because why should farmers have to insure their employees to the same level as other businesses? Once again a Conservative government is trying to break unions because why should a nurse, teacher, civil servant, police officer, fireman or EMS worker have to have the same benefits as lying, cheating, thieving politicians who can’t keep their dicks in their pants?

Next time you vote you should do your homework and see if you actual ARE better off with a conservative rather than a “socialist” government. And for crying out loud DO NOT embarrass yourself by making the same mistake as a flipping American who equates socialism with communism. Elementary history lesson in high school should have taught you that and if that isn’t good enough check out a Scandinavian country and contrast it with China. 

Yes, I get spitting mad sometimes but you know what – it does get the old juices flowing!

Look Away

If you are uncomfortable talking, listening or thinking about politics – look away.

If you feel you are not directly impacted by shutting down Gay-Straight alliances – look away.

If you think climate change is not affecting your life – look away.

If you think that “sticks and stones don’t break any bones” – look away.

If you think that what happens elsewhere does not affect you – look away.

If you think a moral compass is not important in those who govern – look away.

If your child isn’t bullied and you don’t need to be concerned about Johnny next door – look away.

If the only thing that matters is your own cosy life – look away.

That’s what the German population did in the 1920’s and surprise, surprise, the world could not long look away, but only after millions of people (Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political dissidents) were exterminated. Every single citizen’s actions and voice matters no matter how uncomfortable you may feel. A citizen should be informed about every aspect of daily life, not just YOUR life, but of those all around you; in your home, your community, your province, country and the world. Perhaps we cannot always see that what we are doing makes a difference, but being silent, or looking away, is not a good response.

I’m just saying.

Gratitude

I will begin today by giving an update to my condition. I am in a very healthful frame of mind due in great part to another excellent check-up with my treatment specialist. I am still down in my cancer marker and he repeated what he told me last month; that I am the only one of his patients on this treatment who is responding to it. It is great news and we are going forward with the medication.

I forgot to mention to him that along with the medication I am taking a daily dose of vitamins in conjunction with alkaline water which my brother-in-law is providing to me. I truly believe that this added part of the regimen has escalated my “recovery” because prior to adding them to my schedule my check-ups were somewhat discouraging.

Finally but perhaps most important of all, since May I have been outdoors almost every single day for at least a couple of hours and often up to  8 hours. The sunshine and the therapy of gardening and making my surroundings pleasant has soothed my nerves and what little anxiety I may have had. Now you may wonder at my staying “little anxiety” but the truth is that I have never in the 2 years since my diagnosis ever asked “why me” or lamented over my so-called fate.  I have wondered how it is that with all my check-ups that I was not diagnosed until I was at Stage Four but I have never been bitter, resentful, angry or had any other negative emotion. I honestly believe having this positive frame of mind has kept me going through all the various treatments, ups and downs and so on.

In the beginning Mom and I had two emotional moments where we wept a little and once in the hospital I did start to cry when, once again, the nurse practitioner gave me some bad news. I apologized to the nurse that was holding my hand, saying “I am sorry I lost my composure”. She was kind and said I had every right to feel anything I wanted to feel.

So I say with the most heartfelt gratitude, thank you Lord for giving me the personality that has allowed me to go through this with dignity and a true heart.

My cup runneth over.

Blushing Repetition

Despite my so-called sabbatical I will admit that my themes certainly hit the same targets (am I mixing metaphors)!

A little while ago I used the phrase “there is nothing new under the sun” and my sister immediately jumped to refute it. The quote originates in Ecclesiastes 1:9 which says

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

I have discussed before the concept of infinity, the universe, spirituality and how all questions seem to have been addressed from the earliest days of recorded human history. Yes we have new inventions all the time but my understanding is that anything the human mind conceives is somehow paralleled in the natural universe (I may be wrong, but I don’t think so, quoting Mr. Monk). When people come up with ideas, fantastic ideas, it is great. But one can argue that others may have thought of these ideas anytime, anywhere but because they aren’t famous who knows about them?

What I was trying to get across at the time, and today as my excuse for repeating myself, is that there are recurring themes in philosophy or in discussions (in any realm). When one reads a lot it isn’t long before “there is nothing new under the sun”.  One can refer to an analysis of fiction that posits the idea that there are only 7 basic plots.

The bottom line, for this mea culpa moment is that I am going to repeat myself!

https://www.cairn.info/revue-journal-of-innovation-economics-2014-3-page-11.htm#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots

Sabbatical - Part Two

These last two months have also brought quite a few rainy days so in between the rain showers I have been using my mental powers with a lot of education programs and reading. There have been a few shows that had a sort of synchronicity for me; stories about longevity, retirement and continual education. Subjects that are in my wheel house; what satisfaction to have my thoughts endorsed and expanded upon. Listening to various experts and researchers spurred me into mental action and here is some of what I came up with.

Globally humans are living longer lives but society has not kept up with that reality. We are still being educated in the style of the 1880’s where we go to school, finish high school, some going on to college but once we are finally graduated the vast majority of people stop learning. Many (and embarrassingly more than there ought to be) never even open a book again! Initially when we go out into the work force we may get a little training in the job we are set to but after a few years the majority of employees are almost robotic in their style of work, regardless of being in an office environment, factory or in the ditches (so to speak). Even professional workers often get only minimal upgrades in their training or they simply go through the motions of reading the materials sent by their profession. I speak generally, of course.

Currently the model of life is based on three phases; childhood, working career and retirement at 65. Retirement used to mean that one had perhaps 10 good years left to enjoy retirement. Today many of us live to 85, 90 or beyond. So unless you have a good retirement income where one may travel or indulge in various pleasures and hobbies the retiree will be living a hand to mouth existence who may hve the option to become a Walmart greeter? Society is neglecting a whole group of people who are experienced, vital and still able and willing to contribute to society.

Society needs to make a shift in educating us from our childhood to embrace lifelong learning as part of our culture. Continual learning will prepare us for a longer life as well as the increasing risks of being put out to pasture earlier in our careers. A good example is the state of Alberta today where a large number of our workforce lived in the expectancy that oil would be king forever and jobs in that field (and its knock-off jobs that supported that industry) would be lucrative and plenty. Along came 2012 when the EU addressed energy efficiency and Oil Sands took their first major hit the following year; by 2015 with the Paris Accord things only got worse.

Looking back at yesteryear is good from a historical perspective but for a politician to hearken back to the good old days of industry (whatever it may be) is regressive. One needs to keep pace with the reality of the world and attempting to turn back the clock on things which are now proven to be poor for the earth is not a good approach. Politicians, journalists, educators and employers all need to be on board with The Future since the vast majority of The Public already believe in climate change and a changing world. 

https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en 

https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/more-volatility-for-oil-sands-in-2013

https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/oil-sands-bust/

 

 

Sabbatical - Part One

I am back after a well-earned “sabbatical”.  I was feeling spent and had nothing more to give or observe!  Oh dear, is that even possible for me to admit?

Without having an editor to admonish, advise, encourage or prompt one it is easier for a writer to fall into bad habits. In particular there is a habit of coming across as too know-it-all and from there one can become repetitive in a rather unpleasant sort of way. At least, that is how I was beginning to feel about my various blogs. All this mea culpa excusing is one way of me justifying two months of nothing!

I have, however, been recharging my batteries both physically and mentally and to some extent even spiritually. Since ending my writing in May I have spent almost every day out in my garden attempting to make it ever beautiful. I have written many times before about the therapeutic effects of gardening but I cannot stress it enough that for those who enjoy the outdoors working in the flower or vegetable beds is rewarding in many ways. First of all you have the health of being outdoors in sunshine and fresh air. You have the pleasure of listening to the birds, bees and other critters making their songs and noises. There is the delight in placing the plants in a pattern that pleases you. The sensation of the earth and the plant in your hands as you work with them.

Finally there is the nature silence that can bring one into a meditative state where you simply become one with all that surrounds you.  That sounds a little peculiar, I know, but when I am digging my holes for my plants I often am not even thinking about the plant but simply experiencing the experience.

When it is done for the day there is the final pleasure of sitting on the deck and looking around you and feeling the satisfaction of work well done as well as resting the eyes on beauty.

That is part of what these two months have been about.  More tomorrow.

Abortion

Today I saw Dr. David Eisenberg on Amanpour & Co. and he spoke about woman’s right to control her body in the most articulate way I have ever, ever heard. What an impressive and articulate man. The discussion was spurred by the increasing number of states who are passing onerous anti-abortion laws something that completely baffles me. Why are these laws being passed now after nearly 50 years since abortion has been legalized all over the western world? What primitive mentality has crept back into man’s brain so that he desires to go back to the cave where he can clout the woman on the head?

What baffles me even more are the women who are of the same anti Pro-Choice option. I do not understand their desire to push their own personal / Christian views on to another person.

And that last word is the crux of the whole discussion I believe. Women still have to fight to be recognized as a PERSON. We are not appendages of men, we are individuals who ought to have equal rights in every conceivable aspect of rights under the law.

I have never felt anything less than equal to my brothers, father or any other man and that is thanks to my father telling me at the tender age of 7 that I was equal in brains and ability to any boy (and future man). My potential and horizons were limitless and that is how I have always lived my life regardless of whether I actually achieved my ambitions or not. It will be a cold day in hell before any man can tell me no and get away with it. Not now, not ever.

I would like every woman on earth to have the same unshakeable belief in herself. You deserve it.

Gardening is Worth It

Some folks may ask if it is worthwhile to garden when it comes to the price of tomatoes. Well, yes, it is worth it if only for the therapeutic factor. However a strong second motivation is that you know how your vegetables and fruit are being grown with healthy nutrients and good water. I actually use a lot of rainwater on my plants once the barrel fills up with the spring rains and I believe it has a lot of benefits rather than the well water I use at other times of the year.  I use Miracle Gro on my plants as well although I am looking for alternatives.

Composting has not been a great success with me, in fact quite the reverse. I think it is mostly me not doing it correctly but I find it is a real challenge to keep the weeds out despite coverings. If the coverings are in the stuff doesn’t get enough moisture, if I leave it uncovered wild seeds tend to find their way into the stuff. So while it would be perfect for nourishing my plants I haven’t been able to do anything with my mess. I am thinking of going smaller with a small compost pot to see how that works out but thinking and action are not the same thing!

I am hopeful that this week will see a turnaround in the miserable weather we have been experiencing. I have just been out sitting on the lido deck and then I took a wander around the yard and the ground feels promising so I plan to finish drinking my water and then going out to do a little raking. I may even discover that the rhubarb is starting to come up. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Ageism - Are you Too Old?

It is very curious to hear someone tell you “you are too old”. First of all I thought it was against the law for a potential employer to use those words to an interviewee but even more amazing to me is that anyone would have the crass to say that to someone right to their face! Someone I know recently had that experience and I was absolutely incredulous. 
Here are some reasons why older people are amazing.

·         They have life experience as well as work experience that is varied. These people have lived and worked through an evolution of change not experienced since the industrial age began some 100 years ago.

·         They were raised in a time when work ethic was drilled into their heads which means they are punctual, work oriented, disciplined and loyal

·         They were also raised with values and principles which are lacking in many of the next generation

·         This is the generation that saw women enter, and stay, in the work force while raising a family

·         This is also the generation known as the “sandwich generation” where they are caring for their parents at the same time as they are caring for their adult children. They are keeping their families together.

Now some of these items may seem to be a negative but the fact is that they are towing a huge responsibility without complaining (much) and getting very little credit for it. Furthermore this is a generation that has inherited a lot of baggage from the previous generations and now they, along with their children, are the ones who are going to have to shoulder the responsibility to fix our planet in myriad ways. While many may have been ignorantly complicit in continuing pollution many also were the ones who quietly began recycling programs, reducing driving by taking buses, walking or bicycling, using reusable bags for groceries and other environmentally friendly initiatives.

Older people aren’t perfect but they sure are amazing and I for one have long been an advocate for hiring more mature people in the work place.

Pacing Myself

Actually I am not sure that “pacing myself” is an accurate description of how I pace my days. The truth is that I waste a lot of time playing solitaire on my iPad and watch way too much television even if it is “educational”. I have found that keeping myself organized and writing down what I have been doing on a given day makes me much more accountable to myself. At least I feel that I have accomplished some things during the day which makes me feel better about myself.

I realize that I am in a difficult situation with my illness but I don’t want it to be an excuse for being downright lazy since there are plenty of things that I am still capable of even if I do have to, quite literally, pace myself. As long as I can sit on a stool or chair I am able to do a lot of re-potting of my seedlings. I do have to stand and walk to do the watering but if I take it slow and steady I am able to do that without any problem at all.

I am extremely comfortable in my executive chair as I sit at my computer and write my blogs, go through my emails and even check my genealogy charts. Since sitting is very good for my condition (rather than lying down) it is a good place for me to be, here in the office. I just wish I had more exciting things to write about than my “journaling” but I know many of my followers aren’t so keen when I write my political rants and of course politics is so very interesting (and frustrating) these days.

Now I am having all these struggles with time management, trying not to let myself lose the quality of that time and I know that while my illness may serve as an excuse I do wonder if I would be better at this if I was healthy. I hope so since I certainly feel that I was very good at squeezing a lot of things into my day before my diagnosis. So here’s a question for my readers, do you analyze your time? Is it well spent with socializing, engaging your brain and exercising both your body and mind? I really hope so. While you should always cut yourself some slack when you aren’t feeling great it is important to be able to differentiate between feeling low and being lazy. I think one of the best ways of figuring it out is whether or not you are capable of giving yourself a push to take a walk around the block.

Now wouldn’t it be great if this infernal weather would take a permanent turn towards decent summertime weather???????????????

Disasters in the Kitchen

I don’t do a lot of cooking since my mother moved in some 6 years ago but once upon a time I was pretty handy around the kitchen. Lately when I have had to be the chef I have had varied success even when it comes to my baking. I’ve lost my groove. Last night I put a frozen “chicken wellington” in the oven, following the instructions and was terribly disappointed with the result. First of all it was burnt but worse yet the inside was as dry as cement. It was ghastly and I am appalled that I have 3 more of those suckers to cook. I’ve decided to lower the heat, reduce the cooking time and also wrap it in tinfoil when next I venture on making one of them. And hey, that was a pre-made meal!

I have never been very good at frying any kind of meat and Mom isn’t very good at it either so we usually get John to fry a steak (not that we have that often as Mom and I are not very fond of steak either). When it comes to chicken I prefer to grill them which usually turns out well. The only meat I actually do really well is roasting a chicken or roast beef. I also make a very good salmon.

I am starting to sound an awful lot like my mother; I have little appetite for big meals and even less for meat. I’m what you might call a picaterian!

Henrietta-Penguina

When hens get egg bound (that means an eggs has become stuck going through her system) they will begin to waddle and also they will tilt so that they walk more like a penguin than a hen. In the past I had tried to save them by bathing them in Epsom salts but I never saved a single one. Then I had a year or two where my hens were doing well and didn’t have the problem but now I have had 6 or 7 hens die one after another due to this egg bound problem.

I got on the computer again to see if there was anything new that might make a difference and I found a video where the lady bathed the hen for several days but in conjunction with that she gave the hen crushed calcium pills on the food. Suddenly I realized that my hens were lacking calcium so John went out to buy oyster shells (something that I used to have on hand but hadn’t been using in recent years). I have one little Penguina who is being kept apart while I nurse her with the new formula. She is really quite adorable, she peeps all the time as though she is trying to tell me what her situation is. She is pretty docile and doesn’t fight with me so I am feeling hopeful that maybe, just maybe, this time I may save a dear little Henrietta!

I will keep you posted.

Discontent

I pondered on what to use for the title of this blog because I don’t want red flags waving inappropriately as I talk about things like white supremacy, racism, gun violence and other civil unrest. News programs “discuss” this regularly and the solution, “they” seem to believe, starts with awareness. Awareness? Are you kidding me; I think we all are aware that children are being shot in schools, synagogues, mosques and churches have all been assaulted. I think we are all AWARE.

Yes, I get a little incensed at the shallowness of analysis but that doesn’t mean that I have the answer. Or rather, I didn’t feel that I had an answer (as my last blog noted). But I began to recall a conversation I had with a fellow NDP’er back in 1993 when I was a candidate and the lightbulb turned on for me, again. When it comes to people’s discontent we have to look at the true source of that discontent and the answer – whether they realize it or not – is poverty. Poverty can take many forms, it isn’t just a case of a person being homeless or starving. It can be a case of under-employment, of working several jobs and still not having enough money to pay the rent and buy food. It can be a middle class person who has a decent job but still cannot afford to send their children to college. It can be college graduates who are loaded down with debt and they also are under-employed despite that expensive education. It can be feeling insecure about how long you may have your job and then when “refugees” come into the country you fear that you will lose your job to cheap labour.

Business and government need to address the employment gap in a new way which includes fair wages, benefits and good hours. There are huge opportunities to build jobs while tackling some of the major issues of our day such as renewable energy (to combat climate change) and infrastructure to protect vulnerable areas from flooding. Another huge issue is how to deal with the incredible amount of garbage that results from packaging. I was absolutely staggered a few years ago when I learned that Canada had been “exporting” garbage to China, the Philippines and other areas for decades! Recently I learned that it wasn’t just garbage but our recycling was also being exported. What is the point of everyone recycling when we are creating an even larger footprint but shipping this stuff overseas (and let’s not kid ourselves, all that plastic in the ocean is NOT coming from tourists throwing straws overboard but dumping of said garbage)?

Another little factoid that should rile people up is how much taxpayer dollars is used for various types of research as well as developing infrastructure only to then have the benefits turned over to private corporations who reap billions of dollars (and don’t pay taxes, just to add insult to injury).

There are a lot of areas that need fixing but first of all we need to be AWARE.

Did I just say that?

What is Normal Thinking?

Here she goes again! I know you are groaning but today I am actually going to ask a profound question. How do you make people intelligent? Forget DNA and IQs, what I am asking is how do you boost the average person from being average to informed?

Is it a question of education only or does example play a role? Does exposure to experiences need to be added? How do you teach one to analyze what is being taught, shown or experienced? What tools are needed and how do they get them? Mental tools, educational tools, experiential tools where do they come from.

In other words, is it even possible to make an average person MORE?

Now why am I asking this question? It is really very simple, when one feels that she is the lone voice in a wilderness it can be very worrying. One questions her own thoughts, ideas, values and principles only to shake her head and say “no, I am sure I am on the right path so why aren’t others with me?” That leads one to ask the next question “what is normal thinking”? Who sets the benchmark for what is “normal” and “acceptable”? We can pose this question on anything from politics, social issues or science issues (yes, I am thinking about climate change).

Lastly, is it important to have everyone “on side”? To this question I do have an answer; while it is nice to have everyone on board it would be dull if we didn’t have varying opinions on certain topics. However, on certain issues I do think that we humans should be of one mind because it is my unwavering belief that we humans are capable of so much more than what we currently are. In that regard I believe that our parenting and our education system are letting us down. We should not be looking for “achievement” as the goal for our children; rather we should be helping them to build their character, their values, their principles to a level aspired to in the societies and philosophies of yore.

It’s not important to get into Yale, it’s important to understand the true meaning of Life.

Beautiful People

So People magazine came out with their annual “beautiful people” issue and once again I felt I should weigh in with my opinion (despite not having read this particular issue). I am thinking that with the tremendous shift in “hot topics” beauty and glamour should be passé and Character should be front and centre.

My choice is clear – David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg.

Attenborough has been bringing nature to us for countless decades (after all he is 92 years old and as sharp as ever). I recently watched an absolutely horrifying clip from his latest Netflix series that showed walruses literally falling off cliffs and dying on the rocks below which still has been in shock. Our natural world has passed the brink of crisis and if we don’t act NOW to stop climate change we are going to lose a lot more animals and plants to extinction. It will be catastrophic as well as tragic.

Sixteen year old Greta Thunberg has rallied a global demand for political and economic action to fight climate change. She began a solitary school strike outside the Swedish parliament in August of 2018 but soon attracted media attention that has led to 1.4 million students around the globe joining her in the school strikes, demanding that politicians “and adults” do something about the threat to our planet.

In their own very different ways and with decades between them in age these are two world heroes in standing up for this planet we call Earth. I salute you and call you Beautiful People from the inside out.

Pets and Girlfriends

Yesterday I talked about music and how important it is for the soul. Today I am sitting here in the office and Thumper is curled up in the secretary’s chair while Cherie sits in the doorway contemplating my every mood. Over the last week I have had visits and phone calls from girlfriends and I can gratefully say “my cup runneth over”.

My two boys (that would be Thumper and Cherie) sleep with me every night. Before I tell them to go down to my “footsies” they have the privilege of laying up close to my face while I pet the two little peas in the pod and speak inanities to them. They naturally believe the words are pearls of wisdom from their mama and as I stroke about their ears, neck and chin they purr their contentment. While I may be giving them pleasure and happiness my own soul is filled with peace and its own happiness in their companionship.

Then I think about the nice visit I had with one girlfriend and the pleasant conversations I had with a couple of other friends and I smile in even more happiness. A person can be content with their own company and for those who find that impossible I have a great deal of sympathy however I have come to realize with every year that passes that friendships are incredibly important to our well being. Being the oldest of six when I was young I always felt that I could never get enough of solitude since it was such a scarce commodity in our house! Different circumstances and different phases of our lives means alteration in our needs.

Stay tuned to what your soul is thirsting for and find ways to assuage it. A word from the wise (she chuckles).

Snow?

Looks like the prediction for snow all week has come to fruition but I will not let it put a damper on my spirits. As I sit here writing the last sentence I find myself in awe at the power of a positive attitude. I feel strong and happy with a lot of things ruminating in the brain as “projects” to complete in the next few months. When I consider how downtrodden I had been feeling the past two weeks my heart is overwhelmed with compassion for those people who live with constant depression and also those who, while not chronically depressed, have a less than happy outlook on life most of the time. You poor things, I wish I could bottle happiness and you could uncork it, take a whiff and bounce around like the Ever-ready Rabbit!

Yesterday while driving to the garbage dump with my weekly load of garbage they were playing Moni, Moni which has such an amazing beat that I was singing along, bobbing about all the way there. On the homeward drive they played the “here for a good time, not a long time” (I am so terrible at remembering song titles – always have been) which has a nice beat and a philosophy equivalent to carpe diem. I realize what I have been missing for a while and that is the music which I used to play all the time. I had to stop playing it because Mom is not a fan of the new music and now I cannot find my CD player! Sabotage or what?

I never realized how much music can mean in keeping one’s mood in good order so “put the record on” and forget about the snow. J