Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lords Rule In Favour of Purdy

Debra Purdy has won here case . Read about the decision here
and here .Read my post from yesterday for details.

Although I am happy for her, I hope Debra Purdy will choose to continue to live . I can't imagine what life must be like for her and I agree that we should be allowed to die with dignity. My concern is people will think that MS is unbearable and ends in death.
Yes we are all going to die, but MS is not a death sentence.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Purdy Decison Tomorrow

Tomorrow Britain's highest court will decide the assisted suicide case of Debra Purdy . Read about it here
Debra Purdy, who has MS, wants her husband to accompany her to Switzerland, were she intends to end her life through assissted suicide. She wants to make sure he will not be prosecuted for doing so. Currently the law isn't enforced, however you can face a prison sentence for aiding a person in this way.

I'll post an update tomorrow.

Day one of THC vapour. Trying to tell myself it doesn't work, only it does. I felt relaxed and had a better night's sleep , meaning I only woke up twice instead of the usual four times. Did it really lessen the tingling and burning sensation in my feet ? I will post an update on this too, later in the week. I want to see if the effect is consistent or was simply wishful thinking.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Count To Ten, Count To Ten

Today was the most frustrating of work days . Any and every thing, that could go wrong did. I was so annoyed, I flipped out and was ranting about the stupid bureaucracy, and the stupid old decrepit laptop, and stupid everything. Counting to ten doesn't work for me. At least I do settle down quickly after one of my rants. I justify them by saying they are therapeutic and pointing out how low my blood pressure is. Really though I am not happy when I freak out like that.

My son is buying me a vapourizer so I can try the THC vapour to see if that will help keep me calm . I'm also hoping it will lessen the anxiety attacks. I'm not a druggie and I've never smoked dope except to try it a couple of times when I was a teenager. I do think it's worth trying the THC, as it is supposed to work and I think it is easier on the system than other drugs I have tried. I'll post an update on how that goes.


At the harbour this evening. Couldn't get a photo of the swans with all their heads up. They were too busy eating to co operate. Anybody know if this is a woodchuck or a ground hog ? Ran into this cute little guy on my walk. Having good luck seeing critters this summer.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Now Where's That Pot of Gold ?





After a total blowout weekend of one storm after another I had had enough. Around 6:30 I decided to heck with it and went for a walk. Well what do you know?! The most beautiful thing happened. I looked up and saw a rainbow ! Ran back in the house to grab my camera and was able to get a few shots of it. My son says it's simply random forces of nature, but I think it's magic. Didn't find a pot of gold though.

Time for a movie. Tonight it's" Cell Block 2455, Death Row". Love these old black and white films with a message

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Yes America ! I Like My Healthcare

Here's an interesting poll I found at a U.S. news website .

I just have one thing to say to all you Senators, who are trying to scare people with horror stories of the Canadian health care system. How many Americans die because they have no access to health care? How many suffer for the same reason? How many wait and wait? Go bankrupt ?

OK, that's four things and questions, not answers, so I will say this to you: I am very happy with my health care, Thank You very much, I don't care for your system, even Obama's proposed new improved one. If I had to pay for all the services I have used in the past five years( most of it good and waiting times were reasonable) I would either be bankrupt or dead.

Oh Yes ! Let's not let the government get in the way of your health care choices. The insurance companies do it so much better.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Bunch of Little Things

We are having very odd weather for July. It's been cool and rainy this week so far, more like April.

Have to say I'm feeling like crap. I know I don't have big challenges like some people, who have to deal with being wheelchair or bed bound. For me it's a bunch of little things and when those little things pile up, it sucks.
If I could have one wish come true it would be to be able to go to bed, fall asleep, and stay asleep through the night. I'm not greedy, I'd settle for six hours straight. No wonder I'm so darn tired. How can I have energy with these fragmented sleep patterns night after night. I go to bed and the burning and tingling in my feet keep me awake. The crazy, high pitched, whooshing, in my ears drives me nuts . Pains that move around, come and go, disappear, and come back randomly. And headaches coming on more often , stronger, and last longer.
No none of it a big deal individually, but lumped together, well I just start crying because I get so fed up.

I'm also sick to death of being treated either like a delicate flower or mental defective . Worse, the ones who tell me how strong and brave I am. No I'm not, but I like having a roof over my head, good food to eat, and a clean bed to sleep in, so I get up and do my thing. Not as good as I use to, but good enough to get me through the day.

I found a "handy man" who's going to come over and do all those little annoying jobs that need to get done around here. He was recommended by a friend . Hope he works out I've had so many incompetents who have made things worse around here. I rather pay somebody than put up with the good Samaritans. Oh am I crabby today or what ?

Monday, July 20, 2009

Sickening

Wanted to update my blog, but after reading about the "Top Ten Medieval Torture Devices" I am sick. A few years ago I saw an exhibit at the Menonite church" 500 years of Persecution". which left me shaken for days. Are we really that awful, or have we improved ?

Friday, July 17, 2009

Correction

It's a Red Tailed Hawk not a Falcon.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Falcon Walk





Hey! Look what I saw on my walk this evening , a Peregrine Falcon. One of the youngsters that was born this past spring at the nest on the roof of the Sheraton Hotel. I thought they were gone for the season, so it was nice to see they are still hanging around.It's getting hot and muggy out there. By the time I got home from walking I felt like somebody was crushing my head. And Oh! I forgot how tired the heat makes me feel.

Had some rotten news at work this week. I will treat it for what it is , a rumour, and that's all. Why are people so mean, that they would tell me something they know would upset me ?

I really don't need things to start going badly again at work, after such a brief interlude of peace. Things have been going so well that I have already accumulated a week of paid sick time.How silly I was to think my last few years of work would be easy. It's Hell.The way people act I'm amazed we have made it this far as a species . Will we last longer that the dinosaurs ?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Many Long Walks






Here I am having a short break during today's trail walk. Happy to be able to get some long walks in these past few days, at least two hours each. The weather has been very mild and there's always a soft cool breeze when I go out in the early evening. Came across a deer yesterday. Poor thing looks so thin. I think it was around the same time last year we saw a deer on a different trail. Have to review past blogging to find that photo and post.

Not much else happening. Been having sleep problems due to tingling and that crazy feeling in my legs that an electric current is running through them. Never feel that during the day.
Tomorrow I have to show up at the office for training and again on Wednesday to meet another new boss. Let's see now that will be number six in two years. He's from another office so not part of the established clique. Maybe that will be a good thing.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this lovely weather will continue for awhile.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

July Art Crawl


Here is Scott Webster, construction worker by day, artist by, well anytime he's not working. Artistic and handy with tools. Now where has this man been all my life ?
You can see above, the ink drawing I bought from him . It really looks much better than this photo. It's a scene from a movie but he couldn't remember the name and I don't recognize it,
Look familiar to anybody out there ? I bought it because for some reason it reminds me of Mexican Day of the Dead.

Here's the new Canada Post box with a postal code montage. It's suppose to discourage graffiti.We'll just have to wait and see. I had to clear a pile of litter off the top of it before taking a picture. Why are people such slobs ?


Friday, July 10, 2009

July to July

Sitting here today thinking back to last year I can say that things are much better now. Not perfectly smooth sailing, life never is that way, at least not for me. It was last July that I started getting seriously harassed at work , and for months it was pure hell. I can't help but think what a terrible waste it was. The endless meetings ,the tiresome repetitive excuses , the stone walling. For what purpose ? To totally humiliate and demoralize a person, instead of allowing them to be productive ?

Employers , working with your employees benefits you as much as them. It also benefits the bottom line you claim to care so much about.

Going to the Art Crawl again this evening Hope to get some good pictures.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Send A Postcard Save A Life

Here is a project by a fellow Postcrossing member Trupti .

"A postcard challenge to receive one postcard from every country in the world. For each postcard I receive, I will donate $5 to my favorite charity, Nothing But Nets which distributes mosquito nets to prevent malaria transmission in Africa. Each family in need receives one mosquito net which costs only $10.
263 territories of the world. 263 postcards. $1180. 118 mosquito nets. 118 families saved."

Even if she has a postcard from your country, it wouldn't hurt to send another and it's for a good cause. I'll post a link to this site on my sidebar as soon as Blogger decides to cooperate

Here's the link if you are interested

MS Never Takes A Holiday




Here's a side trip I took on June 24th while I was on vacation . Lincoln New Mexico, is where Billy the Kid escaped from jail after killing two deputies . Later he would be shot and killed by Pat Garret. The lady at the post office was nice enough to let me use their bathroom, as I was having one of my "spells". Otherwise the trip was relatively pain free, except for the predictable nonsense at the airports . I don't know, but it seems to me if you are having financial problems you might try a little harder to provide good service .
I don't have any other photos I can use on here .My friends aren't too keen to be on a blog and all the shots with me in them look terrible.
Right now I am still recovering with typical, "vacation from my vacation" syndrome.

Lately I have had breathing problems. Nothing serious, just this feeling like the air isn't going in the way it should and when exhaling my lungs aren't emptying out. I don't feel out of breathe and am still able to do everything . It's been happening on and off for a couple of months. I'm not in the mood to tell the doctor as that will mean more tests and/or a prescription for a drug I won't take anyway. Difficult patient that I am. Now why can't I be a good girl and let them bombard me with drugs ? Why must I always question everything and always be skeptical ?

Regardless. I did have a good trip and it was nice to see my friend that I miss so much.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Canada Day 2009


It's Canada's 142nd birthday. I can't take credit for this photo. I found it here

I wanted something a little different and this picture reminds me of the lifeguard house at the eastern beach on Lake Ontario in Toronto. A place I spent so many summers as a kid. Back when you could swim and not worry about pollution warnings. Oh, does that ever age me !

Amazing days, when kids could take off to the beach, without adult supervision. Then they built the swimming pool and we went back and forth from the pool to the beach all day, no adults, except the lifeguards, who were mostly university students. I use to come home with some whopper sunburns. One so bad that I still have a white patch of scar tissue on the back of my neck from it.
I know I would never had allowed my ten year old to wander about like that with a five year old sibling in tow. And he would have been wearing a ton of sunblock, a hat, and sunglasses. Well those were different times .When people believed sun was good for you ( making a comeback ?) and you could trust people. It would never have occurred to my mother that somebody would abduct us, yet we were under strict orders to never, ever, speak to strangers.

Growing up some people admire police, others firefighters . Me, it use to be lifeguards. They were role models and I thought them to be the coolest people on earth. They use to sit up in their towers yelling out from mega phones "no running","walk, I said WALK !"
" CAN YOU HEAR ?"" I SAID WALK!!!" Then there were the guards who patrolled the pool edge making sure there was no pushing , no gum chewing, checking to see if you had a shower after using the bathroom and making sure you weren't bringing in any contraband, like food .

Any infractions and you got a warning. If you disobeyed it was a time out, or worse, expulsion. Everybody obeyed the rules, because getting kicked out would ruin the day. No place else to go except the park, which was too hot, or worse still, home ! Home meant having to "help around the house, since you have nothing else to do".

On the beach you had not only the lifeguards in even higher towers, their were ones in row boats who would go back and forth patrolling the various clusters of people swimming in the lake. The guard house was further east That's where they would check in . I use to think it a sweet job. That is until I saw them have to rescue drowning people and realized it really was a serious occupation. Never did become a lifeguard, although I did keep swimming. Still do.

Not much going on today except a barbecue later on . I still feel pretty crummy.

Everybody have great holiday !