February Blues Go Away

As we know February can be a very depressing month.  We overcome the letdown of Christmas during January but we are often faced with the Christmas bills, annual fees and so forth during January.  By February we are so depressed at paying out all our cash, we have exhausted ourselves with the financial stress so we’ve naturally ignored our health.  Struggling through February we forget to exercise, we have long since forgotten our New Year’s Resolutions that probably included eating healthy.  And worst of all we have hunkered down in the house and so have ignored our very important sunshine and Vitamin D.  Richard Simmons’ blog today is very informative, reminding us of what we already know but tend to forget during winter.

http://www.richardsimmons.com/site/daily-message?view=application

In light of recent tragedies as well as the new Health Report on Mental Health we should not only give ourselves a once over to ensure that we are in a good state of mind but we should check up on our loved ones and our friends.  It is so very easy to forget the important things in life because they are so simple.  Get out your calendar, your Outlook, your notepad and create your “Must Do List”, the one that will help you stay on track with your wellness.  Be sure to include plenty of activity and social contact so that you are stimulated.  As Richard says, Make Plans, Stay Active.

Even those of us who don’t struggle on a daily basis with depression will still have our slumps so it is very, very important to create a routine that includes activity, phone calls, getting outside.

Please, take care of yourself and your friends and family.  The next 10 days promise to be full of sunshine and hope, so get out there and enjoy!  And thank you Richard for a timely reminder.

The Invisible Woman

I received a giftcard for Netflix at Christmas time and eventually I got myself all hooked up (don’t ask).  I began watching “Grace & Frankie” which is an original Netflix series with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.  I was quite surprised by the premise of the show and the humour may be a little dark but the third episode had me in stitches.  Both Grace and Frankie were in crisis and decided they wanted to smoke a cigarette so they went to the store to buy a packet.  They stood at the counter, waiting and waiting to get attention but to no avail.  They ended up having a meltdown when they kept being ignored before they left the store.  And there in the car Frankie opened a pack of cigarettes and lit it.  Grace asks “what, did you steal them?” and Frankie’s response was priceless “well, if we are invisible they can’t catch us”.

My readers may remember that I had written a blog a couple of years ago about how middle aged women are invisible, certainly not an original thought but it is funny when you see it caught on film.  Which brings me to the “scandal” of Amy Schumer being accused of stealing material from other comedians.  I saw a couple of the clips and honestly I didn’t think it was stealing.   Those comments have been spoken by women since time indefinite (putting down men in one way or another).  Whether Amy did or not is neither here nor there for me; I just want to say that many of us will have similar thoughts (even word for word) on a wide range of topics.  It’s called the human experience because as you can tell from my blog there are only so many things we can talk about.

Of course, there are many subjects that I don’t write about because I don’t want to go to jail (okay, this is tongue in cheek, folks).  Also, while I have opinions on almost everything I know that I am not an expert on most of those topics so who am I to beak off about spanking or skeet shooting?  I think people need to lighten up because let’s face it, no one really sees or hears you until money is involved!

Sunshine, Summertime and Solace

June is my favorite time of year and not just because it’s my birthday, or that school ends and I can get a seat on the bus again.  June in Southern Alberta is when summer really begins.  This is when a person can go into a garden centre and forget everything by getting lost in the scents and sights of plants and trees.  Generally when I go shopping I like it to be an in-and-out procedure but I have yet to make a mad dash for the door when I enter a garden centre.

This year I purchased water plants for the first time and I must admit that I have no idea what I am doing.  I anxiously ran out early this morning to see if they survived the chill of last night but they looked fine, although huddled together at one end of the pond.  It will take some time to see them spread out and the big question is do they overwinter?  The answer is yes, but with extreme care and attention to what each variety likes.

Summertime has as many challenges as winter but somehow I seem to be able to cope with them with a lot more poise and sangfroid.  Wet bottom from sitting on the lawn tractor, no problem just change pants three times a day; mosquito bites, no worries, dab a little nail polish remover on the bite; heat stroke, no worries, crawl on hands and knees to kitchen, drink some water, splash more on face and arms and then lie in bed until the sensation of a world spinning recedes.  Explain to colleagues that you are a gardener and “please ignore all dirt under nails, they will be clean again in September”.  The difference between a sun worshipper and a gardener is that the gardener’s tan is uneven.  We may be tanned from hands up to mid arm, deep v at neck, ankles brown but knees white.  But we are as blissful in the sun as the worshipper but way more productive (we fondly believe).

A gardener can barely sit still long enough to drink her coffee or tea before she spots at least 10 different areas in the garden that need her Immediate, I repeat, Immediate attention.  If only she were a clone!  This is when she eyes her Henriettas with an impatient air, wondering when they will be old enough to come beyond the pen and start on dandelion patrol.  At the end of a long summer day the gardener can sit still long enough to admire a spot of colour somewhere in the jungle of green sprouting everywhere, give a sigh of satisfaction and say, “after all, tomorrow is another day”.

Rumour Mills and Mother Nature

Have you ever found yourself caught up in rumours without even being aware of it?  While this can happen in any social group the most common rumour mill happens at work.  The conversation can begin innocently enough with the words “have you heard” but very quickly the conversation can escalate to a lot of different types of speculations.  As you walk away you can feel very upset in the tummy and your head can be in a whirl.  On calmer reflection you can go back to the original statement and realize that everything that stemmed after it was at best speculation, at worst completely false.  After a few of these encounters (if the first experience wasn’t lesson enough) it certainly behooves one to steer clear of any conversation that begins with “have you heard”.

As soon as a person enters the world, leaving the sanctuary of the family home, one becomes vulnerable to all the uncertainties that others may throw at one.  These uncertainties come in all forms, sizes and ways that can be very confusing to the unsuspecting and inexperienced.  As a young girl of 19 I found myself wondering about my colleagues in my second full time job.  I was one of 8 women, the youngest of the lot but it didn’t take me more than a very few weeks to realize that I had landed in a poisonous situation.  The setup was rather unusual in that we were split into 2 groups of 4 for our coffee and lunch breaks but then every second week two of us would move into the other group.  I was very shocked to experience the hypocrisy of the women who would first gossip about the 4 absent ones, and then when the reshuffle happened, they would gossip about the 2 who were now in the other group.  Only one cycle of this was sufficient for me to realize that I was also a target of these Unmagnificent 7.  I found it extremely upsetting because I didn’t have the tools to handle a confrontation with these much older women (a couple of whom were well into their 50’s), a confrontation explaining that they were in the wrong to gossip.  How did a person approach such a topic?

My solution was to leave the office over the lunch hour and walk the street.  I was in the unfortunate location of having no shops or malls anywhere nearby to browse in so I simply walked along the sidewalk as a form of escape rather than exercise.  It still left me a victim during the coffee breaks though and within 4 months I resigned.  Since then I have learned to keep my distance from those types of personal conversations and in general avoid rumour mills.  But once in a while we can stumble upon it unawares and the reaction is the same, gut wrenching anxiety and upset.

For some, rumour mills are the spice of life, they seem to thrive on stirring up doubts in others whether they realize they are doing it or not.  But the consequences to a person’s health in living with doubts, uncertainty and anxiety can be very severe.  This winter we have seen in our city a growing level of uncertainty within our business sector and likewise we have seen an unusually high rise in absences and illnesses in the community.  The severe grey weather has not helped to make things easier so this is one person who is hoping that Mother Nature brings us an early spring.  We all desperately need that sunshine.

Pastiche

Personal blogging can become a collection of essays, articles and journal entries where lines become blurred; a confused mixture also known as pastiche.  Pastiche is the word of the day and appropriate to how I’m feeling about my blogging.  The good news is that with the winter almost over and the pain gone from my injury the little grey cells are clearing up and beginning to percolate again with interest outside of body and home.

The first two months of 2014 have certainly been interesting from a political perspective with tensions continuing to grow in Europe over the crisis in Crimea.  At home expense scandals continue, bullying of the common man continues so let’s just call home status quo.  Celebrities rise and fall whether in the Olympic arena or at the Oscars.  For the rest of us mortals, it is humdrum routine even as we have battled a winter of particular fierceness of almost global proportions.  We can only hope that spring is “just around the corner”.  As the economy makes another shift even those in Alberta now feel rattled and threatened.  Only the 1% feel cushioned in their cocoon of wealth while they continue to deny what is real to the rest of the world.

So yes, this muddled brain is a veritable pastiche; old, new, original, borrowed and utterly confused thoughts scramble about for attention and all to what purpose?  In the hopes that something might ring a bell for someone else, that perhaps someone wiser or more energetic can pick up the torch and make the world a better place.

And yet even as a write, even as I think and ponder, I recognize this in myself, I am happy.  And isn’t that nice?

A Sunny Life

I stumbled upon a book yesterday “How to Train your Brain to Be Happy” and thought “why not”?  Happily reading it this morning and so delighted to know that one can definitely retrain our thinking to move in a more positive direction.  Even if one is an optimist and is happy, there is never “too much happiness”.

Key, according to this book, is meditation.  Meditation is starting to become as big of a bugaboo to me as Goal Setting.  For some reason I cannot seem to settle down to actually study the art and then make a conscious effort to practice “mindful meditation”.  It seems to be one of those things that I will do “someday” even though I know that someday should be now.  If one is thinking  about a certain thing, if it is something that continues to hover over your shoulder, it’s time to recognize procrastination and get down to it.

So here goes, today I am going to study up on this vital part of a well rounded, happy person’s life and settle down to practice.

So what’s up with you today?

Can Older Women Find Romance?

I know you have all been dying to find out what I think about this topic so here goes.  Short answer, no.

       Did you feel like a bullet just went through your forehead?  My sisters say I can be pretty abrupt but my response is, I tell it to you straight.  If you don’t want honesty, don’t ask me.

       Now that you have stopped reeling, or stopped laughing (hoping for the latter) I will tell you what I really think.

       Unless you have the sex appeal (and looks, and figure) of a movie star once you hit your 40’s the game starts to slow down significantly.  Prior to this unmagical age you probably didn’t have to do any running or game playing but suddenly you are barely there.   By the time you enter your 50’s you are INVISIBLE.  That’s the first fact.

       Second fact, if you accept the above and realize that you are going to have to work at it, very hard indeed, you have to search for game.  This is not easy because the conventional areas are pretty sparse of the single species.  You will have to go into risky territory, like bars (forget it), or internet trolling (predators and liars), or start random conversations with prospects on the bus (risky).  So your victim is going to be very hard to find, bottom line.

       Third fact (bring out the Kleenex) if you manage to find a likely prospect chances are while you might find this specimen of some interest chances are great that if he shows a spark of interest it will be in your pocketbook rather than you.  That’s right ladies, you are now a target for someone who is either looking for a supplemental meal ticket or, worse, a nurse.  Oh, and watch out for any prenups at this stage of the game because he may exclude you from his “fortune” by giving it all to the kids while he is eating and sleeping out of your home. 

       Last fact, take a look at your life.  Right now you can buy a lipstick without having an old coot jammer at the cost.  Right now you can jet off to Timbuktu without anyone whining that you are spending his hard earned money.  Right now, Sister, you are way better off than with dubious Arm Candy.

       No, romance for a senior is pretty darn well NOT THERE.  I rest my case.

Kicking Back at the Beach

2013 Ontario

The first  thing I need to say is "what the heck is going on with the plane seats?"  Seriously my butt barely got in the seat and while I am not a teenager anymore my ass is NOT THAT BIG!"  The world is filled with middle-aged people who are NOT 120 lbs anymore.  The seats are designed for a 20 year old Chinese person.  Give us a break, the prices are going up, the "extras" are becoming absurdly priced and quite honestly it was all I could do not to say something but why ruin my day?  Having said that I had a reasonably good flight and made like a sardine, snuggling up to the not unattractive 28 year old dude with the ponytail beside me.  He was not comfortable but hey, let him do the complaining.

It's not new that I refused all pay options, no thank you I do not want to pay for stale submarine sandwiches (loath them) and no I will not pay for stupid movies.  Instead I took out my trusty Kindle and finished reading my Dorothy Sayers Omnibus. I can confirm that Agatha Christie was, is and always will be the Queen of Crime.  Sorry, Lord Peter Wimsey and his feeble detecting are no match for Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot.  His ridiculous deductions reminded me more of Sherlock Holmes and I have never been fond of him.  That being said I did enjoy reading the omnibus simply for the nostalgia ofthe1920s.

Once completed I flipped immediately to a new book written by an author who lives in High River, Martine Leavitt's "My Book of Life by Angel".  Marty used to ride on the HR commuter bus with me and she sat right across the aisle from me on many occasions.  She was always busy writing but it was years before any of us realized that she was a published author.  A very sweet, kind, quiet person.  I finished her book as well, it was quite deep for a youth book - about a teenage runaway caught up in the sex trade and based in the time of the Vancouver Eastend murders.  It took a few pages for me to get into it but then I became completely absorbed and finished it well before landing.  Satisfying read and I can now greet her with confidence when she speaks at our Lunch and Learn in October.

 

 

Monday Aug 26,2013  Sauble Beach

We woke up to the gentle pitter patter of rain which very quickly changed to Noah's Deluge with all the trimmings of Thunder & Lightening; this is Day 2 of our Cottage Country vacation. However, we know how to make lemonade out of rainwater so we proceeded with experimenting with our meditation (we both pronounced it a success).  Then we chatted and when the rain stopped we hopped in the car and drove to the next little beach town called South Hampton and just looked around the shops and enjoyed the area.  Driving back we stopped in at a wonderful little art shop in the village of Sauble Beach before the rain started again and we had to run for the car.

Back at the cottage and Nette is making a western omlette for our brunch.  So while I am typing away at this blog I notice the date on my computer which says August 27th; I ask Nette "is this Monday?" and she says yes.  Then I check the computer setting, but sure enough it is on Mountain Time so "what is up with my computer?"  I cannot understand why it is setting at a day ahead because we are both positive we have not lost a day! Weird, weird, weird!

Back to the cottage story, oh my goodness but we are living the Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous!  My sister secured this cottage from a colleague who rents it out and when I thought "cottage" I thought shoebox.  Not!  We have a spacious 4 bedroom bungalow with a newly renovated open living and dining room and a huge kitchen with a breakfast area.  We have lots of yard space, picnic bench and BBQ area, front stone patio and lovely flowerbeds.  It's gorgeous and not at all as though we feel like we are in a bed & breakfast style cottage (like last year at Bonnie Doone).  The colleague (Sandy) stopped by in the afternoon to enjoy wine on the patio and then her sister and brother-in-law stopped to pick her up and stayed for more wine.  Charming afternoon!

 

 

 

Who Knew About Hoodoos, Dinosaurs & Drumheller

I was leaving the house this morning with a high sense of expectation about a frolicking good time with 2 good friends to parts unknown (at least by me).  Even before leaving I got a smile out of watching Mother and Bambi roam about the back yard in search of nibblies.  Once they sensed my presence they posed beautifully for me so the pictures here are evidence of my need to hone my photographic skills not their stance.  I also got to laugh again at the gigantic mushrooms discovered in the back 40 yesterday.  I had a great deal of fun taking some creative pictures of them.  Indeed, I am building a wonderful portfolio of mushroom photos which take the place of my greater love, butterflies.  Sadly they simply won’t be still enough to snap!

       Now about the day . . . took my time driving on a Saturday morning which was rather nice since very few cars on the road.  Sat on the curb of the parking lot for a couple of minutes before friends arrived and then it was woot, woot and on our way northeast to Drumheller and the land of dinosaurs, hoodoos and eleven bridges.  I bet you didn’t know there is a one horse town called Wayne that has a population of 28 and eleven bridges.  Such a tourist trap!  But first we wove our way through Calgary’s construction zone, also known as Stoney Trail or 22X.  Then we segued through Langdon and out on Hwy 9.  Zippadeedodahday we skimmed past the ultra speeders who were held up by the RCMP and swung in to Horseshoe Canyon.  What a panaroma of desert like or moon like or space like landscape and very different from the prairie over our shoulders.

       The Royal Tyrell Museum is simply amazing.  To say that I was seriously impressed is an understatement so all I can say is that Alberta really went all out to make a world class museum of this truly historical, amazing area.  First of all, the price to get in is really reasonable (adults $11), and then to be greeted by a gynormous dinosaur on entry was just perfect.  There was nothing lame about the continual displays of dinosaur bones, recreations of skeletons, instructional tableaux, it was really wonderful.  I do recommend anyone who is a real buff to go on a weekday and perhaps best not in the summertime as it was extremely well attended (understatement).  It was so crowded when we were there that we felt pushed along through the museum and barely scratched the surface of the place and yet I was quite satisfied with what we saw.  Then we cruised along to look for a ferry crossing but our stomachs forced us to turn around and head for a restaurant.  We found Athena’s and enjoyed some great Greek food (where Clint Eastwood had eaten back when he filed Unforgiven), a little wine and some good conversation. 

Then it was on to the hoodoos and again I can only wonder why I had never taken this trip before.  It was like being on a Star Wars set and waiting for George Lucas to call “roll it”.  We were very lucky to have a good sunny day but it was still good to scramble back in the car and get cooled down with some air conditioning.  Just because, we had to drive to Wayne and over eleven bridges, which of course we counted along the way.  Wayne used to be one of the big boom time mining towns back around 1920 but progress kind of left it in the dust (in more ways than one, you might say).

A truly memorable day back into history.

Meditating on Life So Far

I have been having a very enjoyable summer despite unpredictable weather toiling away in the garden and contemplating my life so far.  One of the things I have been thinking about is how crossing the threshold of 60 has, in my mind at least, created a feeling of venerable-ness.  I say that with a smile but at the same time I find myself coming into the belief that I am entitled to respect, that I am entitled to deference, that perhaps I know a thing or two.  Sometimes I get those feelings in a spirit of resentfulness (as when I find myself standing up on the bus – how many times did I relinquish a seat for an “old lady” in my day?), or with a sense of impatience when “people” don’t seem to get it, but many times I simply meditate on what I am actually experiencing.

       Some of the observations I have noted while I water the flowers or lift up rocks as we build our waterfall revolve around how one ought to prevent oneself from thinking about “back in the day” or otherwise reminiscing in such a way as to feel that the past was the best.  At this stage of the game I really feel that while many things in my childhood were halcyon the present day is something of a wonder.  Despite my irritation with cellphones I must admit that they are wonderful inventions (when used appropriately).  I love microwaves, I love airplanes, I love all my kitchen appliances, I love television and videos, PVRs and all the “conveniences” of the 21^st century.  Of course I deplore the increasing violence but at the same time I wonder if one hundred years ago things weren’t even more violent than today.  Maybe it’s true that baby boomers had the best of any generation before or since from the perspective of 1960’s suburban life.

       What I know for sure today is that I am truly contented with where I am in my life mentally, physically and spiritually.  I feel as though I have put in a good deal of time and effort in creating the being that I am and now I am ready to fulfill the next phase of a really fantastic life.

       And that makes me feel pretty darn good.

ON THE EQUATOR

Know Your City

So here is my experience when travelling anywhere in the world - no one knows their own city.  Whenever I have had occasion to ask for directions, for a bus route, or something like that the sales clerks in the various stores never, ever, know what bus to take.  I believe this is also correct in Canada.  If you ask them what the population of their city is, rarely do they know.  They have never thought about it.  

As I observed folks getting on the city bus this morning I wondered if these were people on vacation, if they were "guests" and from their my thoughts morphed to "what is the meaning of life"?  People were stopping at the Pearl Harbour Memorial Centre but even more were stopping at the mall. There is so much at the mall and I wondered, why do we buy so much stuff? We decorate our homes, we buy toys of every kind, we buy clothes, we buy, buy, buy.  Is it really retail therapy, does buying make us feel good?  Do we go to the mall to avoid our real life? Our thoughts? Our relatives?

Just a little blip of wondering while I enjoyed my vacation.  Watching the boats in the bay outside our condo, wondering about the owners' lives - it must be amazing to live in Hawaii.

Vacation - it's wonderful.

Hawaiian Island Tour

Tours are always interesting but when you have a guide with a wonderful sense of humour your trip becomes golden.  Such was the trip we experienced today.  "Cousin James" was delightful and knowledgeable and to top it off he had a chuckle that was irresistible.  I read James Michener's novel "Hawaii" many, many years ago and found it very interesting but I must admit there is still a lot of the history of the island that is unfamiliar to me.  It's fascinating to say the least.

And let's not neglect that absolute gorgeousness of this island.  There are so many different kinds of trees that it boggles the mind.  Who knew there were so many different kinds of palm trees?  Who knew that pineapples are plants (and not grown on trees)?  Who knew that agriculture on Oahu has declined to the point of destroying the sugar cane industry?  Who knew an 8 foot cane of sugar produces only 1 tablespoon of sugar?  I learned so much in 8 hours that was interesting, amusing and fun.  

And we haven't even touched on the Hollywood aspect.  We saw the locations for Lost, 50 First Dates, Gilligan's Island, Magnum P.I., Hawaii 5-0, and Jurassic Park, to name a few.  Cool.  

And who knew that pineapple ice cream tasted so good?  

Have I mentioned how much I love tropical vacations?  Even when it rains, it's fun!

Straight from the Heart

I'm having trouble opening up Word this morning so I will write this directly into the blogspot - my readers will have to suffer through the typos and grammar faux pas!

What can I say about Hawaii except that it is similar to any tropical escape; one's cares seem to disappear for the time being.  We find ourselves questioning why we Westerners have so much anxiety and stress about feeling secure when in fact we have so much more than the "locals" (wherever we stay).  Perhaps because we come from northern climates where we must have food and fuel for the cold winter months we develop a cultural history of  "responsibility" or forethought of what may come.  Today we still worry about what may come even though there may be a social safety net to catch us (well, not really, but "in theory").  In any event, for the few days we are on vacation, particularly when it is a tropical escape, we lose our concern and relax.  It is wonderful.

Honolulu is, of course, a very commercial city; no different from NYC, San Francisco or any other American city.  Macy's, Tiffany's, Ralph Lauren - in fact all of Fifth Avenue is alive and well on this tropical isle.

The breezes are pleasant and fool us into thinking the sun is not so sharp; but still no sunburn.  Yet.  Just feeling strong and energetic.  Love that Vitamin D.

Honolulu and High Fashion

Second day on vacation and while I am thoroughly enjoying the tropics here are some observations.  There is no escaping shopping when you are in an American city.  Fifth Avenue is not just located in NYC, it's in San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Miami & Honolulu - to name a few of the cities that I've personally witnessed the moves!

There are also some observations about people living in paradise like conditions  - they appear to be very laid back and happy. Life has a very different pace when lived in perfect surroundings.  Even though people may be living on the economic edge as they likely are when they exist by working on a marketing booth they seem to simply be happy, welcoming and very polite. They have, in general, a very customer friendly attitude which is lacking in Canada.  I write this despite having an incident at the market that was quite disturbing.  I almost made the sales person cry.  She kept asking me how much I would offer and I was adamant that $25 was it.  She kept trying to push the price higher and I said no, that's okay so finally she wrapped it up and asked for The $25 but when I have her the money she wanted tax money and I said no, that 'snot the deal, it was $25 or we can cancel the deal  But tax, tax, tax and I said no, no, no. Finally I gave her an extra dollar and she said go, go, go.  And I still think I paid too much.

Its easier to shop at Macy's.

Hawaii Here I Come

Annette Funicello passed away last week but I still remember the Beach Blanket movies where I first was introduced to surfing.  Between Annette and Sandra Dee I followed the popular 60’s teenage trend to long for surfing.  I wanted to go to Hawaii or California and “catch a wave”.  Well, the years have rolled by and I must admit even if my body was up to catching a wave my psyche is not.

       In my 20’s I read James Michener’s epic “Hawaii” and a whole new fascination of the island began.  Living in the rather harsh and uninteresting climate of Canada I longed to see palm trees, jungle, surf and sand.  I was 55 before I saw my first tropical island, Cuba.  Since then I have been to Mexico and Ecuador but at long last I find myself counting down 4 more sleeps until I land in Honolulu.  I am thrilled at the thought of getting off the plane and receiving my lei and will actually be shattered if the custom no longer exists.

       The unknown is the exotic; the familiar becomes humdrum.

       Even as I anticipate I dread disappointment.   I remind myself, be open hearted, expect little and everything will surprise you.

Spring is in the Air

March 21^st comes around and we love to hear the words ‘spring is in the air’ and yet this winter seems to be hanging on with a vengeance.  Across the country we are suffering from snow or ice storms with nary a tulip anywhere.  For those of us who simply hang in there, staying in the country and enduring the weather, we may find ourselves getting down into the doldrums or even into a depression.  It is amazing how the weather can affect our sense of well being.  A bright sunny day will find us smiling and saying good morning to everyone we meet but a grey and miserable day will find us in much the same mood.  In my part of the country many people are also affected by our Chinook winds which can cause them terrible migraine headaches.  I’ve had a few of those myself.

       So what are some of the solutions we use to help cope with weather blues?  Closing the blinds and curling up with a good book?  Baking a cake and eating half of it before anyone else arrives to enjoy it?  Scrubbing the house clean from top to bottom?  Railing against fate?  Braving the elements and walking off the cobwebs of the mind?  One, none, or all of the above?  Most humans have an amazing coping system for whatever comes upon them and after it is all over we ask ourselves, how did I manage to get through that?

       This morning I am looking out my window and the sun is shining brightly, the wind has picked up and although it is balmy now the forecast is calling for a spring blizzard with 25 centimeters of snow.  In the middle of April.  That’s life in Canada but somehow I will manage to get through the depressing reality and only look wistfully once or twice at the optimistic lawn furniture being covered with snow.

       C’est la vie.

Fall Cleanup

There’s something gratifying about feeling that one has cleaned up in preparation for winter despite the aches and pains of shoulders, shins and other body parts one generally isn’t aware of owning.  There’s also something a little sad about saying goodbye to green leaves, cutting lawns and weeding out colourful flower beds.

       Then there is the sense of renewal, new beginnings which hale back from school days.  It’s time to pull out the exercise and weight loss programs, pull out Continuing Education pamphlets and pour over possibilities.  While September is a putting to bed of summer time fun and games it is also a time of regeneration.  September brings out the social aspect of life in a big way that ramps up to the finale of New Year’s Eve.  Let’s not think beyond that because that distant time can be a little grim.

       I’m looking at my critters and wondering if they feel the change in the coming season?  It seems to me they are more eager to come in at the end of the day than at the height of the summer.  I also notice that the smaller birds seem to be more busy in the trees as it becomes cooler.  I think they know “make hay while the sun shines”.

       And that’s what I’m doing too!

Fashions of the Day

When I was in Grade 6 I was eleven years old and while I was not conscious of the clothes I was wearing I was observant about the clothes of Barbie.  In those days when you bought an outfit for Barbie you got a little booklet that had illustrations of her other outfits.  I would pour over these booklets like I was a zealot reviewing the Bible.  The outfits always came with a pair of shoes, a darling little hat, and sometimes a bracelet or necklace.  It was circa 1965 and I well remember one outfit of a snug red dress with four round gold buttons on the bodice and a Jackie pillbox hat.  My girlfriend got this outfit for her doll and I simply drooled.

          That same year my grandmother sent my parents a calendar which happened to have the fashions of past centuries as the theme.  I poured over these pictures as well studying the change in gowns from the 12^th to the 20^th century.  I was fascinated by the 18^th century gowns with the quilted petticoat that showed down the front with draped curtains of lavish satin along the sides.  I laughed at the late 19^th century bustle and I sighed over the wimple of the 12^th century.  Those were the days.

          One day our teacher (my first male teacher) told us that he had met our future Home Economics teacher at a seminar and she asked the question of what he was doing to prepare his students for the class.  Well, he hadn’t been doing anything but now he had the brilliant idea of the boys building a log cabin (miniature of course) while we girls were to sew a Barbie gown from the 18^th century since we were studying that period of history.  I had barely held a sewing needle in my hand but I was inspired by my Barbie booklets, the calendar and my enthusiasm for fashion.  I went home to announce my “project” to my mother who helpfully gave me some scraps of fabric leftover from her own sewing projects.  I still remember a certain brown fabric with a little black print on it, just perfect size print for a gown.  The problem was that there wasn’t enough to create the full out fashion of the time but when I looked at the calendar there were two pictures, one slim gown and one full one.  Inspiration struck, I made two gowns.  The fuller gown was made of a corded royal blue fabric and I made this one fancy by adding a little pearl embellishment to the bodice and lace around the neckline.  Perfect, I thought.

          My teacher however questioned me on my two designs, saying they were quite different.  But I told him about my Danish calendar and that there were two styles for that century.  He was nonplussed but nevertheless only gave me a B.  I was upset because one of the girls in the class had made the quilted petticoat design, had powered her dolls hair but every item indicated that she had had help from her seamstress mother.  It cried out, cheat.  He gave her an A although he questioned her on the participation and she denied it.  Not a girl in the class believed her. 

Such is life.

Sunday Sunshine

We are promised another wonderful day of sunshine which it certainly looks to be happening.  Mom and I spent a marvelous day shopping in various towns and then having lunch at a farm along the highway.  Mom enjoyed visiting with the book club ladies but this morning she is lying in bed resting her ankles!

       We did have a trauma driving along the Deerfoot yesterday.  I made a wrong turn at Southland and had to double back onto the Deerfoot only to find myself unable to merge as the traffic was whizzing by at 100 km an hour and absolutely no chance of whipping in there.  Finally after 10 minutes of signalling and failing to see anyone slow down or move over I just stepped on the gas and shot out only to have the guy behind me honk his horn furiously.  It’s 8:45 on a Saturday morning, can you get a grip and let a person in?  Apparently that was not possible for this clod.  And people wonder why I continue to say that the Deerfoot should be reduced to 80 km!  Through the city the Deerfoot should not be treated as a highway- the speed limit is 100 km but people are travelling at 120 and even 130 km per hour.  It is absolutely insane.  And then when there is a chance that a person make a wrong turn, as I did yesterday, how do you merge off of a tiny road with only about 10 yards of merge length?  You literally cannot even on a Saturday morning with minimal traffic.

       However, the point is not so much the bad design and logic of the city as the utter selfishness of drivers.  Once again I need to vent about how the driving in this city (as elsewhere) indicates the self absorption of our society.  We saw a sports car fly out of a subdivision ramp and speed across three lines, no signalling mind you.  He was obviously a very Special Person, in his own mind.  We, the rest of the traffic, are watching him in awe as he shows off his masculinity in a dinky little blue sports car that tells us he is HOT STUFF.  Then there are the Ram trucks with the body jacked up at last a foot over the tires which shows that these good ole boys are lumberjacks, oh excuse me, they are daredevils who risk their lives in daily pursuit of . . .  what?  Oh, there unit can drive through mud.  Big wow.  And how old are you?  My brother got over playing in mud when he was 2.  Geez.

       When you get on the Deerfoot you are literally taking your life in your hands because you don’t know what nutbar is out there.  I’ll vote for the candidate that says he, or she, will reduce the speed limit on Deerfoot and vigilantly guard that limit.  Oh, and one last thing, after the police officer was killed because he pulled someone over on the Left Hand Shoulder – why do they still do that?  How completely stupid is that?  Do they not have a safety toolbox on the police force where they talk about these kinds of rules?

       Now I will stay in the safety of my yard today and catch me some rays.