Flowers and Thunderstorms

Fantastic afternoon at the flower festival. All the beautiful irises and peonies made me feel like I had stepped into an impressionist painting. Lots of really gorgeous hostas too. I may go back later this week as the peonies still had loads of buds waiting to pop.

And Oh! the thunderstorms today. We got caught in the rain twice, luckily though we got back home before the real whopper storm began . It was crazy, with black skies and strong winds bending the trees in half. I just hope it didn't do too much damage.
Now I'm exhausted, at least it's for a good reason.
Read an article in the paper this morning about declining SUV sales. Can you believe that oil was only $9 a barrel in the 1990's ?

Deer and Hummers

An early evening walk , this time on the South Shore Trail. It's great to walk there because most of the sun is blocked by the tall trees ,yet there's enough light for it to not feel spooky.
Hey ! we saw a deer.

Last night I read an article about the possible end of the Hummer. I never knew we have Governor Schwarzenegger, to thank for that gas guzzling monstrosity . I say good riddance to
a vehicle that was so good at wasting finite resources .

I decided not to turn on the air conditioning yet and it's not because I'm cheap. I hate not being able to have a window open or use the screen door. Once you turn the air on that's it, it's on steady for 3 months. I love it but I hate too. So perhaps I'll lingerwith the ceiling fans for another day.

Had lots of bad pains last night which kept me awake. As usual, they're gone now without the benefit of pain killers. Freaky phantom pains ?

That's it for me I'm having a nice cool shower now. Tomorrow we might go to the Iris and Peony festival for awhile.

Mental Illness in the Movies

First let's start with a dramatic change in the weather. It went from being cold and grey all week to suddenly, after a huge thunderstorm last night, up to 40C . A real steam bath.


Interesting article in the Las Cruces Sun about mental illness and movie myths. How movies, including "The Fisher King" and" As Good as it Gets" perpetrate misconceptions about mental illness .
Read it here

The two movies that I dislike that do this are "Good Will Hunting" and "The Prince of Tides". The idea that all you have to do is bare your soul to a shrink and everything will turn out peachy.
If only it were that simple. These movies do a great disservice to people who struggle with mental illness.
The article was very timely considering what happened to me this week.

On Thursday I had lunch with some friends . One friend telling me how her neighbour, who is schizophrenic, has been stalking her and her daughter. She has requested that a restraining order be issued against him. When I said that although I agreed it was a good idea, I didn't think it would stop the guy . My other friend got annoyed with me when I explained that schizophrenics can't control themselves . She said "Oh a schizophrenic can understand what a restraining order is", I said yes, maybe, but that won't stop the compulsive behaviour. She insisted that this guy could control himself if he really wanted to. I let it drop because I just couldn't be bothered to get into an arguement . It bugged me though that here was an intelligent woman who believed the myths. That mental illness is the fault of the person .

I told my other friend to please be careful.

The weather has me worried because it's supposed to stay hot like this for the rest of June. I'll have to plan any trips out for late afternoon, early evening, to avoid the heat.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have a good summer with no flare ups.

8 Things. Do You Do Them ?

Here's an article from the Independent about 8 things Britons don't do any more.

I do some and have pretty good excuses for not doing others.

1. Peeling- Orange sales are down because people don't like peeling them.

During the winter I eat lots of oranges but I don't peel them. I cut them into quarters and add a light sprinkle of salt, a taste I picked up from my Dad. He says it's an Italian thing , but I don't know any other Italians who do it although they are very partial to salt, citrus , and bitter tastes, which I love too. Nothing like a salad of dark greens, lemon dressing , salt and pepper.
I can have salt thanks to my low blood pressure.

2. Lunching

People don't relax and go out for lunch, instead they grab a quick bite at their desk and carry on working.

I have a quick lunch at my desk so I can use my break time to go for a walk. At least that's a healthy reason.

3. Car Washing . Most people use the drive through car wash (what a waste of water and energy) instead of doing it themselves.

I don't have a car . I do remember my Dad enjoying washing his car by hand and polishing it.

4. Writing. Everybody uses Email and IM, rarely writing a snail mail letter.

I don't write letters by hand as my writing is so horrible. I will type a letter in a fancy font and put it in a card.

5. Shaving .
I think modern shavers are better and safer soI don't think giving up the old fashion shave is a great loss.

6. Reading
Is it true people read less ? I don't know because my family and friends are all big readers.

7. Strolling
Nobody has time to go for a leisurely walk.
I walk everyday(no car remember) , strolling ? well depends how much time I have

8. Tea Making

Britons don't have time to make tea ? What is the world coming to ?
I love tea and take the time everyday to make it in a proper tea pot . I like to try different kinds of flavoured black teas and green teas. No bag in a cup for me.

Other than that I think it's redundant for me to mention my MS.

Right now I'm stuffing my face with candy from Finland. One of the side benefits of my post card hobby.

Sheela Basrur

Yesterday, Sheela Basrur, died at the age of 51 from a rare form of cancer. She was Ontario's chief medical officer during the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Those were scary days and she was truly the voice of reason during that time. 44 people died in Toronto from SARS.
Read more about her life and why she became a public health officer.

Love That Greenery

A beautiful day out there with blue skies and a light breeze. Great beginning to June.

You can see from the photo above how quickly the trail has become a lush green. This is the Chedoake , which is an all access trail to allow for bikes, joggers, wheel chairs , baby strollers
dogs, and so on. It hooks up to the Bruce, which is the rugged trail I have mentioned in an earlier post. The only thing you have to look out for walking here is the golfers! Part of the trail cuts through the fairway of a golf course. Look out for the stray golf balls ! Otherwise it's a pleasant walk . For awhile you can pretend your not in the city and yet it's close enough to home to get back to the urban life quickly, not too quickly .

I went out and bought some plants to make a small herb garden. Mmm, the rosemary smells fantastic . I love to put a few sprigs of it in the spaghetti sauce.

Now I have to sort out all the half empty paint cans in the basement and try and figure out how to use up all this paint.

I'm adding a link to the blog of a fellow Postcrossing member Leonard
I don't understand Romanian, but he has lots of great photos.
I also want to thank occam at double barrel ranch for a link to this blog in Nepal. More great photos.

The Pit of Doom

At least Zits is funny and oh so true.
Everything started out fine , weather gradually improving , a nice peaceful Sunday.
Then at dinner my son asked me about work Was I managing with less money ? Was it worth taking the time off ? etc. etc. Friendly questions , no big deal. I felt funny, started sinking , down, down. Thought about work, all the crap I've been through and will have to face again. Thought about how MS has turned my life up side down. Started worrying about money. Started worrying about the decisions I make Are they rational ? Am I doing, have I done, the right things ?
I read somewhere that MS symptoms include, lack of judgment poor judgment, impairment of judgment . Perhaps everything I'm doing is a mistake and once again it's stupid MS running my life, not me.

I don't know what I'm doing anymore

I jut read of the passing of Ives St Laurent

""I've known fear and terrible solitude," he said. "Tranquilizers and drugs, those phony friends. The prison of depression and hospitals. I've emerged from all this, dazzled but sober."

So fame, money, celebrity, can't protect you from depression.