So, Just Exactly Where Have You Been?

It would appear that I have lost my interest in blogging.

Why ~ I am not sure.

So much support and love across the miles came my way when I blogged my feelings through my fathers illness and ultimate death. During my knee and gall bladder surgeries I was overwhelmed by your concerns and good wishes.

So why, I wonder has my interest died. I have always enjoyed expressing myself through writing, painting, taking pictures, crafting, but all of these things have fallen by the wayside.

Well, part of the issue is that I am presently under construction to improve my health.

A few months ago, I decided to incorporate a Naturopathic doctor into my health management.

She discovered a great many problems in my blood chemistry, not the least of which was glucose at pre-diabetic levels. As well, I have acidosis which is a highly acidic body chemistry, high sodium levels, high potassium levels, too many liver enzymes, high cholesterol and anemia from very low iron.

She really put the "fear-of-God" into me by telling me that she felt within 5-6 years I would be a very sick woman if I did not make some big changes.

So, what am I doing?

First I am moving towards a vegan lifestyle. I have removed all red meat from my diet and am eating mostly oily fish (ie., salmon) as well as chicken and turkey. For the time being no more alcohol and I am following a 1600 calorie per day diet consisting mostly of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, eggs, yogurts and again only white meats and fish. Dark chocolate, olive oil and olives are also in diet daily.

To date I have lost 12 pounds and dropped a size. YAHOOOOO!!! The weight loss has been slow (in my opinion), but my chances of keeping it off are greater according to statistics if I lose approximately 1 pound a week, rather than rush things along with a faster weight loss.

As well on my last follow up visit, my bloodwork showed considerable improvements in all the areas that she was very concerned with.

On the recommendation of my naturopath, I have also undertaken a series of colonics hydrotherapy.

What is colonics you might ask ~ here is a short overview.

Colon hydrotherapy, or colonics, is a centuries-old therapy using filtered water to flush accumulated fecal waste, harmful bacteria, intestinal parasites, gas and mucus from the colon. It is a safe and gentle yet powerful way to cleanse the body, and to make all body systems and organs more efficient.

When waste matter is not efficiently eliminated from the colon, it becomes impacted and eventually putrefies and turns toxic. These toxins are absorbed into the bloodstream through the colon wall, where they travel throughout the body and eventually settle in various tissues. The stress created by these toxic deposits weakens the body, and can cause or aggravate a multitude of symptoms. Colon hydrotherapy cleanses the colon, helping to prevent the absorption of toxins into the bloodstream, and provides a clearing for the body to release trapped toxins so that these can be properly eliminated. Facilitating the optimal efficiency of practically all body processes, and thereby preventing the onset or degeneration of illness, is what makes colonics a useful part of virtually any treatment for virtually any condition.

The practice of using water to flush waste from the colon as a form of therapy dates as far back as 1300 B.C. An ancient Greek medical text called the Eber Papyrus (named after George Eber, a German professor who had the text translated in 1873) extols the virtues of cleansing the colon via the rectum. Early fathers of medicine Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) and Galen (129-210) were strong proponents of colon cleansing as a medicinal tool. Ambrosio Paré (1517-1590), a French physician, was the first to describe colon hydrotherapy (also known as colon irrigation or colonics) in detail and to differentiate it from an enema.

Into the 20th century, pioneering physicians including Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (of Kellogg's cereal fame), Dr. Norman Walker and Dr. Bernard Jensen stressed the importance of receiving regular colonics as part of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, until the 1930's, colon hydrotherapy was commonly practiced in many hospitals and doctors' offices, attesting to its legitimacy. Regrettably, the advent of pharmacology and the ensuing ubiquity of pharmaceuticals relegated colonics to virtual obsolescence for several decades.
Since the 1970's, however, there has been a grassroots resurgence of interest in the health benefits and healing potential of colon hydrotherapy.

Hectic schedules, high levels of stress, a growing dependence on nutrient-deficient processed and fast foods, artificial food additives and preservatives, sedentary lifestyles, alcohol consumption, smoking, recreational and prescription drug use, thousands of toxic chemicals in every day household and industrial products, environmental pollution, soil depletion - these are some of the common contributing factors to a general decline in people's health, producing conditions ranging from a vague feeling of malaise to more serious chronic and degenerative disease states. Ultimately, the body is burdened by toxic overload as it is not designed to cope with these hazards in the excessive quantity and frequency to which it has become exposed.

The consequences of these excesses have left many people searching for ways to regain their lost vitality. Drugs and surgery have become the interventions of choice in the field of medicine. However, although typically prescribed, drugs and surgery are limited in their effectiveness as a means of prevention. In fact, they are of little value until after the onset of illness. The use of drugs and surgery as a cure is also restricted. Because they tend to target a specific symptom rather than addressing the relationship between a symptom and the rest of the body, drugs and surgery generally do not address the underlying disturbances which caused illness to occur, leaving the door open for symptoms to recur or for new symptoms to develop. While modern medicine can be of invaluable service in certain critical circumstances, more and more people are seeking holistic health care alternatives to help alleviate illness before it reaches a critical stage.

As a holistic preventative and healing therapy, colon hydrotherapy is beyond comparison. It is widely practiced in the United Kingdom and in many European countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland. In North America, a growing number of people are experiencing the far-reaching benefits of colonics as word spreads about this unique therapy and as more holistic practitioners offer colonics as an integral part of health care.

I have also gone back to chiropractic adjustments which I firmly believe are important to prevention of illness. Unfortunately I have let it go over the past year, but have just started back again. Still going through the difficulties of flare up due to the adjustments, but this too shall pass.

Back in August of 2007, I wrote how much I love chiropractic care and why you should see a chiropractor. Here again are my reasons for seeing a chiropractor.

1. Relieve nerve irritation caused by narrowed openings of the spine due to degenerated discs.
2. Restore movement by stretching shortened ligaments resulting from chronic joint stiffness.
3. Restore joint movement by breaking down scar tissue from old injuries.
4. Help to "pump" in nourishment and lubricates the discs to avoid drying, cracking and rupturing of discs.
5. Calm muscle excitability to reduce tensions and spasm.
6. Can trigger specific pain-controlling nerve reflexes.
7. Can save you time and money in the long run by preventing chronic pain and future disability.
8. Correct underlying structural problem, rather than "cover up" your symptoms.
9. Pain relief without drugs or surgery.

Many, many people are nervous to see a chiropractor because of many horror stories of neck twisting, cracking, etc.... When you look for a chiro make sure that you and he/she understand your fears. Many do not employ twisting and cracking, but use a small tool called an activator.

It's most important to understand that chiropractic is not a treatment for disease. It's purpose is to reduce nerve system stress, a serious and often painless condition most adults and children have in their bodies. Nerve system stress interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system, can weaken internal organs and organ systems, lower resistance, reduce healing potential and set the stage for sickness and disorders of all kinds. When a chiropractor frees the nervous system from spinal stress, the healing power of the body is unleashed: the immune system works more efficiently, resistance to disease increases, and your body functions more efficiently. You can then respond to internal and external environmental stresses such as germs, changes in temperature, humidity, toxins, pollen and all the other stresses you may come in contact with more efficiently.

As well I have incorporated a small exercise program into my schedule. As I am sure you must all remember, exercise and me do not mix .... sort of like oil and water, but for the sake of my health it must be done.

So I went out and bought a good pair of walking shoes, a pedometer and started a walking program of 2-3 times per week. To date I have managed to walk 1 - 1 1/2 miles on each walk.

So, if you have wondered where I have been, now you know .... spending a great deal of time getting my health under control.

I want to continue to enjoy my grandchildren as they get older, not have to make excuses for why I cannot do .....

Gone But Never Forgotten

Very dear friends of our recently lost their beloved "Rikkers" to cancer.

As you can see she was a beauty of pooch. Many memories I have of sitting around their pool, while Rikkers would bring her frisbee for me to toss for her. This would go on until I got too tired ~ never her.

Their wonderful veterinarian helped them fight for an extra three months the Lymphoma and Leukemia that eventually took her life on Friday September 18th.


Here's a sweet picture Bev came across of our youngest grandson Zander (who is almost 6 now) enjoying a day of playing with Rikkers.


Rikkers August 2000-September 09


I Am Not There

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

Heat, Humidity & Flowers

I just had to share these "GORGEOUS" Hibiscus flowers that I woke up to yesterday.

I bought this plant three weeks ago. It was covered in buds, but had no flowers. I found it in the end of the season clearance isle for $4.99. A great deal I thought, so I bought it and hoped for the best.

Then the weather got really, really hot ~ outside thermometer showed 33 Celsius in the shade and that's not taking into account the heavy humidity we have had to contend with as well.

Well, I'm guessing that this little beauty loved the humidity because it started blooming yesterday morning and today there are four more plate size blooms.

I'm not an annual flower kind of the girl, my garden is mostly shrubbery and perennials, but I do have a few urns and cast iron plant holders that I fill up with annuals for shots of colour in the garden. This if the first time I have ever purchased a Hibiscus, usually I stick with Asters, Geraniums, Bacopa and Sweet Potato Vine, German Ivy and Vinca Vines for fillers.

My point and shoot camera doesn't take the best quality pictures, but I hope you can appreciate the beauty of these flowers ~ their size is spectacular, approximately 7" across and the fuchsia colour is breathtaking.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer and your gardens!!!

Forty is The Old Age of Youth ~ Fifty is The Youth of Old Age.

Last Saturday I threw a birthday party to celebrate Don's 50th birthday.

What a wonderful afternoon and such fun we had!

The party was planned with just family (or so he thought), so he was very surprised when friends started to arrive as well.

The little sweetheart in the middle ~ Lindsey was the first to arrive with her mom and dad.

I told her to go outside to say "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy.

He was so surprised, he couldn't for a moment figure out who she was.

That's what I call a good surprise!!

Then Mom and Dad followed along with other friends who arrived shortly after.


This is our oldest, beautiful niece Rebecca and also our newest niece Grace who just turned 7 weeks old.

A few of the party goers, son-in-law Mike, good friend Lesley who worked her buns off keeping the kitchen clean, providing drinks, cutlery, dishes and generally being a great hostess, Don's brothers ~ Paul & Peter.

Vanessa gets a ride from Uncle Glen.

Don has a few helpers to open his gifts, grandson Zander, niece Vanessa and nephew Jake who is working his way over to get in on the fun.

Don told me that he didn't want any fuss over this birthday and especially no presents brought.

Of course, since when do I do what I'm told .....

As you can see, presents were brought and he was thrilled to open up this gift from his brothers ~ a blu-ray player.

After he opened up the player, he turned to me and said, "Guess we better get some blu-ray disks now."

The perfect segue for his next gift. Because I knew he was getting the player I picked up his all time favourite movie ~ Top Gun.

Then probably the biggest surprise was this laptop from me, our children, my mom and one of our friends who contributed as well. Since I had given him a gold and diamond ring to mark this very special birthday, he wasn't expecting anything else from me, so this came as quite a surprise.

We had a wonderful day visiting with friends, family and enjoying the food I had prepared the day before ~marinated flank steak sliced thin and served cold, souvlaki, tiger shrimp, sushi (ordered in), pita bread with a variety of humus dips, quinoa salad (made by our daughter) and greek salad. This was the first time I had ever done flank steak. I marinated it for 3 days and then barbecued it on Friday afternoon, let it cool down and then sliced against the grain thinly. It was outstanding and I received many compliments on it.

Thanks to our daughter Sebrina, for taking all these absolutely beautiful pictures and portraits. We are quite proud of her for turning this amazing talent into a very successful photography business, which in the past few months has taken off like a rocket.

African Thunderstorms

A friend shared this video with me today. It's incredible!

Close your eyes as you pay special attention to beginning where they use their hands to simulate the thunderstorm. You'll feel like you're in a tropical forest.

You Don't Look Fifty

Today is a very BIG day for my hubby!


Shhhh don't tell anyone but it's birthday number 'fifty'.


So here is a little tribute to my sweetheart and a very big Happy Birthday with all my love.










The love of my life has a big day today
It’s birthday number ‘50’ so let’s say hoorah.

He’s a wonderful guy
Loves the girls in his life
His daughter, his granddaughter
And me ~ his wife.

He’s a really great dad and poppa to boot
These traits he owns
And there is no dispute.

His grandsons are great
But with them he cannot keep up
Not on the PlayStation III, the Nintendo or WII.

His nieces, they love him
Uncle Donald they say
“Can you come over and watch our ballet?”

He’s a terrific brother and wonderful son
Watching over his parents
Helping brothers when needed
But all the praise he receives goes unheeded.

He works very hard at his job in the city
Keeping customers happy ~ all systems up
After a hard day at work ~ his mood’s not too pretty.

His team ~ they are great
And they work very hard
To keep their boss happy
This I can’t overstate.

Today on this very significant day
Balloons and streamers in his office they draped
Too bad this wasn’t videotaped.

Well, his day’s nearly over
No dinner celebrations tonight
He’s training for a marathon
So he’ll have to eat light.

Finally!!

Finally, Chris and I have met.

As Don came home on Tuesday night, pulling into the garage, Chris, husband Alain and son Joel drove in within seconds directly behind him.

I stood at the door, waiting for what seemed an eternity and then there was Chris ~ coming up my walkway to my front door.

She came right into my arms as we shared a hug and yes it felt like I already knew her. Chris is warm, loving and has all the character traits that I cherish in a friend. You can see in her the love she radiates for her husband and children.

This woman is truly a treasure!!

Her friendship which I have treasured for years has now become a living breathing relationship.

I stretched out my hand to shake Joel and Alain's hands, but they just reached out to share a hug ~ they too already knew me through Chris. It was immediately so comfortable.

Joel made a interesting observation when he and I were chatting at breakfast the next morning. He commented that this was an easy transition as the trust has already been established and as well the knowledge of each other that takes so long when developing a friendship. We so easily slipped into comfortable talk and easy companionship.

This visit had seemed a little like Christmas day ~ so much excitment and buildup and then in a flash it was over.

But, what a wonderful time we had with her, Alain and Joel.

It seems a little surreal to me that she actually was here after all of our years of communicating through emails. It was so amazing to be sitting in the same room with Chris talking and sharing like we have for years on email.

My plan had been that we would sit outside in the garden and barbecue corn, homemade burgers, sausages and of course my Tuscan smashed potatoes. But, alas, it was not to be ~ about 1 1/2 hours before they arrived the skies opened and poured down rain for the rest of the evening ~ so I had to quickly change course. The corn was steamed on the stove. I put together a huge green salad and grilled seasoned chicken breasts which I quickly had to defrost. They brought a lovely bottle of Ontario red wine. By the time we polished that off (our second bottle) and then coffee and liquors ~ a shot or three of Rémy Martin, I was feeling quite tingly. After imbibbing that much, normally I would want to close my eyes and go to sleep, but the stimulation of our visit and conversation for the very first time kept me awake until after 1:30. Don had to get up at 6:00 for work, so I thought it best at that time if we all went to bed ~ I didn't want to keep him awake with our talking.

Sidenote ~ I didn't really sleep at all that night ~ too excited.

Now that they are gone ~ I wonder did it really happen? I must pinch myself awake.

Coincidentally her son Joel also was leaving our home to go to Minneapolis to meet a friend he too has known via email for years.

So now we are back to emails, but can we look forward to a visit to their home in the future? I hope so.

Now that we have finally meet, I would dearly love to keep this friendship alive with visits.

But thank goodness for the wonders of technology today, we can email or even talk using a webcam and Skype to stay in touch when we can't be together in person.

Edited to add: Joel is not in the picture because he was behind the camera!

One Year Ago

One year ago today, I lost my dad. The family sat in his bedroom surrounding him with love, as he took his last breath and left this world.

My dad and I did not have the closest relationship but the three weeks prior to his death made up for a lifetime of an absent dad.

He worked in the financial industry so spent most of his evenings and weekends on sales calls. I remember so many nights standing with my mom at the front window waiting for my dad to come home.

As well he was a very devoted born-again Christian and spent a great deal of time writing book after book, pastoring and teaching at the Bible seminary.

Most of my memories of my dad are of him holed up in his office downstairs tapping away on his typewriter. There are very few memories of him actually being a dad.

But when he got sick last year and knew he was dying, we shared so much. The love exchanged, the intimates words and talks we had during that period pushed all of the past away and replaced it with a loving father.

My mom continues to suffer his loss, but is doing the best she can to continue on without falling into a pit of despair. I am so proud of how well she is coping.

It is hard to believe that one year has gone by ~ in some ways it still seems surreal that he and my mom aren't still living together in their condominium, but then I go over to visit with mom at the retirement home where she is living and reality crashes in.

It would have been their 60th anniversary this August which my mom thought they would celebrate together. She talked about this the other day and was upset that he wasn't here to celebrate this day with her. I said she should still celebrate the day. Although dad isn't here physically he will alway remain in her heart and they are still together in her memories.

He wasn't a perfect father, but he taught me morals, taught me to love the arts and reading, taught me that nothing can stop me from achieving my dreams and taught me the value of hard work.

Five out of six children, twelve out of thirteen grandchildren and over twenty great grandchildren are his legacy. The over 250 books he wrote also remain as his legacy ~ George Bowman's words live on.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop ........

Just Beyond

I love doors .....

The thought of what might lie beyond that door ...

Who lives there?

Their decorating style? What do they like to do? Do they have children? Maybe a multi-generational family?

The possibilities are endless .........

Stumbling upon a beautiful door or a collection of doors in a quaint courtyard in Ireland ...

The old gentleman of the village lives behind the middle door surrounded by stacks of his beloved books. The shelves are so high there is a ladder to reach the uppermost shelf.

Next door to him on the left lives the old spinster who still lovingly tends to her wild flowers. Every now and again she brings a pot of stew to the old gentleman.

Now on the right ~ well there lives a young artist who brazenly splashed red on his door to wake up the community and let them know a wild and untamed soul lived here.


Or a door into a church ...

Does this door give a clue to what's inside ~ I think it belongs on the front of an old European catholic church, the padre old and wise wearing long robes gently moving about lighting candles (because there is no electricity in this church).

A door into a bistro.

The door says everything.

What is their cuisine? Do they use fresh ingredients?

Of course this door says French cuisine to me, how about you?





How about these doors?

Now you just know that gnomes live here .... Mibbiwick, Dwobrick and hmmm, let me see maybe Ninwicket.

I can see them scurrying about keeping their little homes spotless, of course a fire is always burning with a kettle of soup simmering above the fire just in case someone drops in.

Mibbiwick loves to sit by his fire reading a text or two and smoking his beloved pipe.

Dwobrick always has his chess game set up for a drop-in anytime to have a match.

Ninwicket of course is too busy for chess or sitting by the fire to read as he is always running about after his nine offspring while his wife keeps the house, cooks and sews their tiny little clothes.

Now this is an interesting door ... what do you suppose might be behind it?

I see this door as an entrance to a courtyard somewhere in Mexico.

Open these doors to a veritable cornucopia of earthly delights.

Handmade terracotta tiles cover the entire courtyard. Large terracotta pots filled to overflowing with tall feathery grasses, bromelaids, firecracker plants & butterfly vines, yellow asher and palms.

In the centre of the courtyard is a beautifully sculpted fountain with its' water spilling over the edges of not one, not two, but three separate bowls before it runs away into the ground to be recirculated up to take its' journey down once again.

Of course around the circumference of the courtyard are numerous wrought iron settees, chairs and tables with lanterns to light the evening. Draped over the arms of the settees and chairs are a few handwoven cotton throws just in case the air is cool tonight.

And this last door ~ this is definitely a door into an old warehouse that has been renovated into a home and business.

The owner ~ why an artist of course.

Large canvases cover the chalk white walls ~ their riot of colours creating a cacophony of sounds to the artistic mind.

In the corner stands a stately old cello that belonged to the owners grandmother ~ lovingly rubbed to a brilliant shine by the hands that played it daily.

The furniture is an eclectic collection of mismatched finds that have been picked up in consignment stores, antique stores, flea markets and the occasional curbside find.

I love doors ~ the excitement of what's behind it ~ allowing my imagination to run wild as I ponder the infinite possibilities.

What's behind your door?

How Could They???

I am so thoroughly disgusted by news my daughter shared with me last night.

The adoption agency which Gabriella came to us through have disappeared. And not only have they closed up shop, they have also defrauded many clients of their monies paid to this agency to secure a child.

After children have been selected, they are moved from the orphanage to a transition house. It is from this house that the new parents eventually pick up their child. The waiting parents have been told that the transition house has not been paid and will not to be able to keep these children for much longer.

So now the dilemma:

What will happen to these children for whom many parents are waiting here to complete the adoption? Will they go back to orphanages which are overflowing .... Will they be put out on the streets .....

What will happen to the three owners/partners of this adoption agency who have absconded with the funds of potential adoptive parents?

What will these parents do to safely retrieve their child?

Will these prospective parents be forced to travel to Ethiopia, Haiti, Ghana or Equador to complete these adoptions without the knowledge of the adoptive process?

This makes me so angry........

The owners/partners hid behind the face of Christianity claiming they were led by God to this lifelong work of bringing orphans and adoptive parents together. Their byline ~ a Christian faith-based non-profit organization. Read here an article from The Globe & Mail in Toronto about this.

Money can truly corrupt. The lure of riches for these people I guess outweighed their desire to do a good and moral work for these adoptive parents who in good faith handed over thousands of dollars to have their dream ~ a child.

Edited to add: This event has hit the national news. Apparently the agency has claimed bankruptcy, but still continued to take funds from prospective parents up until 2 weeks ago. Surely they knew they were in financial trouble and heading towards bankruptcy, so why would they still continue to ask for money from these unsuspecting people who would do and pay anything to have their dream fulfilled?

Just One Phone Call

We live on a ravine/greenbelt. It is not a natural ravine, but rather one man made, due to the small creek that runs through it which overflows its' banks during rainfalls.

(You can see the creek which overflowed its' banks and came right up to our fence during a rainfall the year we moved in).

When this neighborhood was designed, they left a ravine about the length of a couple of football fields between us and the homes on the other side. Protection from basement flooding.

When we first moved in, the grass in this area was kept manicured. Then a few years ago, the city informed us that they wanted to "naturalize" this area, so they came in and planted a few saplings. As part of this "naturalization" program they stopped mowing the grass, except for three feet behind the fences and three feet on either side of the walkway which rambles through this ravine/greenbelt.

Methinks the naturalization program was really a way to use our tax dollars somewhere else.

It didn't look great, due the overwhelming amount of weeds, but at least part of it was kept short. Then this year to my amazement they stopped mowing behind the fence. There are 10 homes on our street that back onto this "naturalized" area and all of us were very upset with this change in care not to mention fighting enormous weeds spreading seeds to our properties.

After watching the weeds grow to about 4' tall and share many thistle seeds with our lawn, I became fed up and decided to the call the city. I spoke with our councillor and said that this type of weedy mess would not be tolerated by the city if I left my property to grow to such proportions. He promised he would look into the problem and call me back.

Well, just that one phone call did the trick. I was called back by the supervisor of the crew that manages this piece of property and was told that it was a new foreman and crew and the 3' which was mowed last year should have been mowed this year. The new foreman did not know that it was to be cut behind the fences as well. That very day they came out and cleared the enormous weeds from behind our fences.

So the lesson to be learned here ~ make that phone call.

July 21, 2009

This date above holds a great deal of excitement for me.

On this date, I will be meeting (for the first time) my dear friend Chris.

We have been email and "bloggy" buddies for about six years.

The relationship started small and has blossomed into a deep and "dear-to-my heart" friendship.

I called her for the first time the other night and she emailed me back today. I quote from her email the feelings that we share.

"I was thinking about you yesterday and marveling how a person can feel so much love and feel so close to someone they have never met. I honestly feel like we have travelled to the depths of the earth and back together."

It's quite amazing how deep our friendship has become. I just know without a shadow of a doubt that the moment she walks through my door ~ I will know her.

When our darling boy, Jake was diagnosed with diabetes, our veterinarian told us to put him down.

It was very bad and he said that regulating the blood sugar in a dog was extremely difficult. And as well, he would have to be injected every 12 hours which meant that my life would revolve around Jake.

So I came home, called my husband at the office and then proceeded to cry for days.

Well Don, not one to admit defeat, started to research canine diabetes through the Internet. He happened upon a support site where he got an amazing amount of information and was told by a member that we should definately talk to this lady named Chris in Red Deer, Alberta. Her beautiful golden lab - Midas had Diabetes and Cushings and he was regulated and doing well. She had accumulated a great deal of knowledge so she became indispensable to us and a great sense of support.

Well, the very next day Don got an email from Chris. She said we should not even consider euthanasia for Jake and we should work to regulate his blood sugar.

I have Chris to thank for the almost two extra years of love and companionship I had with Jake.

Anyhow, Don and Chris just hit it off (she also loves hockey - score one for Chris in Don's books). She and I shared a few emails and our friendship slowly developed, but it was Don and she who shared most of the emails. They seemed to have much more in common.

So fast forward to last year. When my dad was ill and dying, she and I started to share very intimate feelings and thoughts throughout that time. It was so interesting as we opened up to each other how much alike we are. We share similar interests, share similar beliefs, thoughts, but I have to say ~ I STILL HATE HOCKEY! Sorry Chris.

She started to follow my blog and before I knew it, I developed a great love for this woman.

Now I can't even imagine a week or two going by without sharing an email.

So their vacation plans are confirmed and now I must wait for July 21st to arrive. In her email today, she informed me that they would be here between 3:00 and 4:00pm.

How exciting is this to finally meet someone I have known in my heart for years, but now will be able to wrap my arms around and give her the hugs that I have sent to her via email for so long.

We will only have the 21st and the morning of the 22nd to cram in a lot of visiting.

Hmmmm, I wonder if she and I will get to bed that night????

Perfect Purple

How perfectly purple and lush are these absolutely gorgeous lilacs that burst into bloom two days ago on the miniature lilac bush in the garden.

Have a marvelous weekend & a very Happy Father's Day to the wonderful men in my life who are father's, grandpa's, grandfather's and poppa's.

This is my first Father's Day without my dad. It hit me suddenly the other day when I went out to pick up cards and gifts. Suddenly while standing in front of the cards I realized, I only needed to pick up one card ~ for my father-in-law. This year there would be no morning phone call or the usual visit to see him, maybe take dinner over for my parents or just let him know I love him.

"Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you."

A very special Happy Father's Day to my brother-in-law Paul. He and his wife Sarah welcomed their first daughter ~ Grace yesterday morning into the world.

Happy 1st Father's Day Paul and welcome to our third niece ~ baby Grace (aka "Little Pea").

Taking a Break

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while.

As my health ~ both physically and emotionally has been precarious, I've decided to make recovery my focus.

On that note, I'm not going to be posting for a while. It's been difficult to keep up with my reading and posting while I've been going through this struggle.

Thank you to all my "bloggy" friends who have supported me throughout the past few months ~ your comments and loads of personal emails mean so much to me. I don't know sometimes how I would have gotten through without "my friends".

So thank you ~ I hope and trust I'll be back soon.

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Spring At Last

It is raining heavily outside, but between the lightening, thunder and heavy rains, I can almost see the buds opening on the trees and new life being born before my very eyes. If I stand quietly and listen, I believe I will hear the life coursing through the veins of the plantworld.

There is that wonderful earth wormy smell outside that screams of damp earth which is of course encouraging all the sleepy little things beneath the earth to spring up and drink in this beautiful spring rain.

Everything outside is surrounded by a green aura and vibrations of life.

It is mostly green outside, BUT how many words can I use to describe that green. Greens alive with splashes of citrus yellow in it, green deep and rich in its' freshness, green softened with tones of white and the new grass ~ green, but there are no words for this green ~ only lucious!

I digress here for a moment to say that these beautiful pictures were taken by my daughter, who recently started a photography business and I might add is realizing success after success.

So having said that, I just had to borrow some for the expression of spring colours in them.

Her pictures are so beautiful and artistic ~ they just plain make me happy.

This renewal of life inspires me to new heights ~ clean the house till it sparkles ~ get to work on finishing that darn exercise room in the basement ~ maybe get at some painting that has been hanging around annoying me for nearly 5 years ~ finish my quilt ~ get the pieces cut out for a lap quilt I am going to make for my mom for a Christmas present.

What is it about spring that renews a sense of hope ~ a sense that somehow everything will work out just the way it is supposed to ~ a sense of happiness?

Well, the sun just made its' third appearance today in between the thunderstorms, so I think I'll step into my Crocs and head on out to the garden heavy with raindrops ~ glittering in the sunshine like diamonds.

Just how much have the wee sprouts grown in the last hour?

"Everything is blooming most recklessly. If it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night" ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

My Little Secret

Okay, here I go ~ I'm a closet American Idol fan. I admit it. I love watching these kids start out and grow in their confidence and abilities throughout the season. I've watched this show since Season 1, have cheered on many of the contestants as they took on different genres of music.

This year, I'm finding that the talent is quite extraordinary.

We are down to the final four ~ Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen & Danny Gokey. These are four very talented young people. They have also had some pretty amazing mentors on this year. Last night they highlighted Slash who helped these four young people tune into classic rock.

Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta were right at home singing respectively Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby". Good, strong performances by these two.

I could imagine either of these songs on their Cd's.

Then Kris Allen sang the Beatles "Come Together". His voice lends itself beautifully to a softer ballad sound but I think that he did a great job on this song.

Danny Gokey (my favourite) sang Aerosmith's "Dream On". He took a lot of risks with this song hitting (hammering a fingernail) notes. This song is definitely out of his comfort zone, but he nailed it.

Then there were duets, Danny & Kris and Adam & Allison. I have to give kudos to Adam and Allison who sang "Slow Ride". It was professionally presented, well choreographed and beautifully sung. It was more like watching a concert than a competition. Well done by both of them.

So now you know my dirty little secret. I love "Idol." Must be the "cheering for the underdog" in me that makes me faithfully pursue these shows. I just love to see a contestant who starts out nervous but talented turn into a polished, confident singer.

We are down to the final two weeks after the elimination round tonight.

I will continue cheering for Danny Gokey. Although Adam Lambert is an amazing performer and singer, I think Danny has the audience drinking up his understated sweetness and charm.

The Sound of Music

This afternoon, I am taking my mom to see "The Sound of Music".

I watched this movie over and over again as a teenager, loving Maria played by Julie Andrews.

Maria, of course falls in love with Captain Georg von Trapp, but alas he has become engaged to Elsa out of a duty to provide a mother for his seven children.

Sensing that she would not be comfortable staying there after the marriage she returns to the abbey to take her monastic vows, but the Mother Abbess tells Maria she is running away from her feelings.

So many obstacles were overcome in this story for Maria and Georg to finally realize their love. Of course the rest of the story you know ~~~ they lived happily ever after.

Then there was the sweet love between Liesel and Rolf which of course gave me pause to dream of love for me as a young teenage girl.

This is one of my mother's favourite movies so I hope she enjoys the play.

In Toronto over the past few days a massive protest by the Tamils is blocking road traffic very near the theatre district, so I decided we would be better off to take public transportation downtown.

Tomorrow I'll post an update to let you know how the play was.

Dumb Animals???

This is a touching story.


These pictures made me think about how often I hear animals called "dumb animals".


The instinct shown here by Anjana ~ the surrogate chimp mother is astounding. She appears to love and nurture these tiger cubs as if they were her own babes.


When Hurricane Hannah separated two white tigers from their mother, Anjana came to the rescue.


Anjana, a chimp at TIGERS, in South Carolina, became their surrogate mother and playmate. She even helped with bottle feeding according to The Sun.


But here is the truly amazing part. This is something Anjana does all the time, having helped raise leopard and lion cubs on several occasions.

Olympic Gold

Whew !!!!!

Finally at 11:35pm last night I finished the baby blanket I set out to make on Friday.

Here is it in all its pinkness. I love the ruffled edge.

I stood in the rain working on this yesterday while watching my sister-in-law run across the finish line. (Don held an umbrella over my head).

I sat working on this while at her home celebrating with everyone else in Don's family.

I sat working on this while visiting with my girlfriend who had surgery on Wednesday.

I sat working on this through breakfasts, lunches and dinners this weekend. Don even brought dinner in last night so I could continue working.

Now why is my post titled ~ Olympic Gold? While sitting crocheting yesterday at my sister-in-laws home, Dons mom and my two other sisters-in-law wanted to know what I was making. Don answered them to tell them that I was doing my own marathon this weekend and was going for the Olympic Gold medal in crocheting. He even told them how many hours we calculated it would take to make this blanket. BTW ~ ended up taking 20.7 hours.

Don's a pretty quiet guy ~ doesn't show emotions (except for his daughter and grand babies), but this extreme show of pride in what I was doing really made me feel good. His family tends to accent sporting triumphs so Tammy's 29 minute run was a really big thing with everyone in the family coming to the race to cheer her on and meet her at the finish line. I have never felt a kinship with his family because my skills do not lie in physical fitness but in the creative world. His obvious pride in what I accomplished this weekend was very validating for me within this very fit, very athletic family where I am quite the misfit with my very obvious lack of physical prowess.

So now, all I want to know is ~ did I get the gold medal?

Did I break a record in crocheting this blanket in one weekend?

I can tell you one thing ~ I'll never do this again. It's going to take my right arm and fingers days to recuperate ~ they are still numb, tingling & throbbing this morning.

Edited to add: When Don arrived home last night, he told me that my blanket was a big hit and quite a few of the women at his office asked if I took orders.

Happy Birthday Ryan

I'm a little tardy in getting this birthday greeting onto my blog, but I have been attached to yarn and a crochet hook to complete this blanket all weekend and haven't taken time to do much of anything.

No cooking ~ no cleaning ~ no exercising, just crocheting where ever I happened to park my fanny.

I even watched my sister-in-law in a 5k run today while my fingers continued crocheting the blanket.

I'm now in the home stretch and blanket will be going into the office with Don tomorrow.

So although one day late, I am wishing Mammy's first love ~ Ryan a very happy 9th birthday.

It seems like only yesterday when I watched him make his entrance into this world and I can still feel his dear little body in my arms when I held him for the first time. Took me all the way back to when his mom was born.

We had fun at a birthday party last night, Sebrina made a delicious Oreo cake (devils food chocolate complete with butter cream icing ~ topped off with real Oreos), watched Mike put Ryans 251 piece Lego Star Wars ship together and then Ryan provided us with a fashion show of the clothes that we took him as part of his birthday present.

At this point I think I owe Mike an apology for the Lego gift.

So Happy Birthday my love ~ you make Mammy's heart sing and my eyes sparkle with love when we're together.

This Weekend

What do you have planned for this weekend?

We are going to be soooooooooooooo busy. First hoping to get to our grandson ~ Zander's gymnastics class tomorrow morning at 9:20.

Then it is Ryan ~ our oldest grandson's 9th birthday, so time will be devoted to the festivities.

Then on Sunday morning my sister-in-law is running in a 5K marathon, so we are going to surprise her and be at the finish line. She recently lost about 20-25 pounds and running has been part of her fitness routine. BTW ~ she looks marvelous!!!

Then after that we're heading up to see my girlfriend who recently had surgery. Just want to check her out for myself and make sure she's okay. Maybe I'll take her a bunch of "Springy" flowers.

Then back home and I have to make a baby blanket ~ yes you heard me right. One of Don's reports recently had his & his wife's second daughter, so I was recruited to make one of my famous crocheted baby blankets. I usually make these in yellow, green, white, because we don't always know what's coming, but since this baby was born last week and we know it's a girl, I get to make a pink one. Now, I sat last night and started the chain 131 chains, then 124 rows consisting of single and double crochet to create a bobble like effect. The picture below is what the blanket will look like when it's completed.

It took me 1 hour last night to complete 8 rows ~ so in working out the math, that means it will take me approximately 15 hours to finish this blanket and that's not including the picot edge. I managed to do 36 rows this afternoon, so I'm well on my way. Oh and by the way, that was after I was recruited to do the baby shopping, so I was out this morning filling a sweet little pink lacquered storage bin with a whole bunch of goodies as well as running around to quite a few stores looks for Beatrix Potter baby china only to find out that Wedgewood is having some kind of licensing issues so all the Beatrix Potter china is pulled off the shelves presently, so I had to settle for Bunnykins ~ not a terrible thing, but since I got Bunnykins when I was a baby, I find it a little ..... for lack of another word ~ yucky. The colour of the china looks dirty to me. I just love the white background of the Beatrix Potter china. Oh well, it will still be a nice keepsake for the new baby.

Stay tuned to see if the blanket is completed by Monday morning when all the gifts will be wrapped and delivered to the new daddy.

Have a great weekend all, enjoy the beautiful sunshine ~ think I just might sit outside to get my daily dose of vitamin d and do my crocheting in the sun.

More Girl Power

I have a friend who always tells me, "You're such a boy".

Well, I must admit, I love building things and I especially love power tools. I'd much rather spend time in Home Depot, Rona, Millwork, etc.... than clothing stores. Now don't get me wrong, I love clothes shopping but construction materials, my new Dewault 18V cordless drill or my compound mitre saw ~ now that really gets the creative juices flowing!

Here, so far are the results of my latest project. My boxed in venting in the basement which incidentally I am quite proud of. I made it by simply building ladders and hanging them in vertical and horizontal configurations. Easy peasy!

And here is the partition that I built to split the room in half. Oh by the way, I also levelled and hung the door myself. I used the cottage grade pine panelling, because we can't get a 4' x 8' sheet of drywall in our car, so this was my solution. I will paint it out to match the room. The door was one that was in a bathroom the previous owner installed in the basement, but didn't vent any of the drains, so we took it out and I found a good use for the door. It will be painted white like the rest of the trim in the basement.

My mom says, I should hang out a shingle and go into business. She tells me that I could probably build an entire house if I really wanted to. I got news for her ~ I don't.

As each project is completed, it becomes much more pleasant to exercise downstairs. Now I'm at the point where I am getting impatient for the carpet and ceiling to be finished.

Spooky!!!

Okay, the mysteries around here continue to grow.

This afternoon ~ believe it or not ~ I found my engagement ring. Remember this post about the "strange" occurrences around here.

Well, you are not going to believe where I found this ring.

I had to return something to a store this afternoon and went in my laundry room to get two large shopping bags ~ one was from Winners and the other was from Homsense. I always keep these bags folded in three and piled up in the space between my laundry tub and my dryer. First I pulled out the Winners bag to put one of the items I was returning in and then I grabbed the Homsense bag.

I must pause here for a moment to say that the Homsense bag was on the bottom of the pile with about four other bags folded and stacked on top, but it was the largest and I needed two large bags.

Okay, back to my story, I grabbed the Homsense bag and shook it open. Something sparkled and caught my eye as I shook it, so I shook the bag again and reach down to what I had seen in the bottom. In the very bottom corner was my diamond ring.

There is no possible explanation for how my ring got into the bottom of a bag that most probably came home from the store many, many weeks if not months ago. I just can't wrap my mind around how this happened.

Another one to chalk up to the strange and mysterious things that continue to happen around this house.

SSSSSSSPPPOOOOOOOKKKKKKYYYYY!

Special Day

Today is a special day for me.

It is the 35th anniversary of the day I gave birth to my first child.

After 29 hours of labour and fourth degree tears (ouch!), I delivered a healthy 9 pound baby boy at 5:27AM.

Today my son is 35.

The pictures are blurry, but after all they are 35 years old.

We faced quite a lot together through the years, but today he is a proud homeowner ~ is in a management position with a financial firm ~ and still brings his mom roses occasionally.

Happy Birthday Todd with all my love!

Camp Out

Last night our youngest grandson Zander came over for a sleepover. This is following on the heels of having Ryan (our oldest) a couple of weeks ago.

Zander decided (with a little help from Mammy) that he wanted to to have a camp out in the family room.

So off we went to Canadian Tire to purchase flashlights to use in the dark ~ air mattresses (sleeping on the floor doesn't cut it with me) along with other sundry camping paraphernalia.

When we got home we inflated the air mattress and I of course got to sleep (well lay all night) on the sofa. We turned out all the lights and used our flashlights and watched "Spongebob" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". What fun!

I decided a while ago that I would take one child at a time for special Mammy time. This works well for me and hopefully for the children too. They will get one on one time with Mammy and Poppa with no distractions from their siblings. And we get to plan special things just for us. I let them choose three movies to watch, I let them choose what they want for dinner (within reason) and then they get to choose one treat.

Now that they are older, it is so much fun to have them one at a time to spend an overnight with. It gives me more opportunity to really get to know them as individuals. When they are all together it is hard to see who they really are, so this is such a wonderful opportunity and I am so grateful that I am able to do this.

Zander is a very caring little individual. He could not stop running up and down to my mother's room to check on her, to offer her one of his mints, to see if she would like to come downstairs to watch a movie with us. And then when she wanted to rest, he kept asking when she was going to come back down. After we came back from an excursion out, he ran right upstairs to tell her he missed her.

So, all in all we have had a fun time ~ as I write this Zander is still having fun letting Chelsea chase the flashlight beam around the floor. (Sidenote ~ Chelsea thinks she's a cat and loves chasing any beams of light that might move).

One overnight seems to be just right for the boys ~ they miss each other and start showing boredom after one day, but it is still so much fun for me to have them all to myself just for one day.

Looking forward to my next visit with Jayden.

Still Here

I don't have much to say lately and find that I'm not feeling very bloggy.

Although I have determined to make this the year of "Barb", I continually turn around and find the same old issues biting me on the ass yet again. Why can I not just move forward and accept the things that I cannot change. I still exercise gratitude on a daily basis, but those nagging old issues creep in and infiltrate my mind wiping away all the good I have spent my time working on.

Recently a comment was made to my daughter that "this family is f---ed up". The only thought that comes to me on this comment is ~ what family? I have never witnessed such a lack of love as is evidenced in this family. Very few phone calls made to inquire about the well being of my mother ~ no calls to see if we could use a break. I never imagine caregiving for an aging parent would be so taxing. However, that is not what this post is about.

I just thought to check in and let you know why I don't seem to be doing much blogging lately. It seems that I have lost interest in most of the things that have always brought me so much joy in the past ~ my crafting ~ reading ~ my home ~ the blogs that I have followed so faithfully ~ writing. Other than my grand babies ~ it feels like someone has sucked the joy out of my life. Sleep has become quite elusive and I struggle with a good nights sleep waking usually around 3-4:00am and then staying awake the rest of the night. As well the surgery in June is weighing heavily on my mind. Although not continually experiencing the discomfort from a gall bladder that is non-functioning and causing biliary colic is a positive aspect to the surgery.

Then just to add insult to injury ~ I recently discovered that my engagement ring was missing. This has been a particularly heartbreaking episode to deal with, as when Don and I got married we put all our funds into buying our home, so there was no traditional engagement ring. Then after paying off our mortgage, he surprised me with a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas ten years ago. I remember it so clearly. He put it on the finger of a stuffed animal ~ our son-in-law was so excited and told Don to get on his knees and ask me to marry him.

It's funny, but I still keep feeling like it will show up. Then I wonder "Is it my resident prankster up to no good yet again? Remember all the strange occurrences I talked about in this post. Well strange things continue to happen around here.

A lovely old handmade satin wrap that my mother had since she was a girl and kept her mothers handkerchiefs in disappeared, however the hankies are still here. She had two links taken out of the bracelet on her watch and kept them in a small ziploc bag. The other day she went to look for them and they were nowhere to be found.

I am truly struggling with where my diamond ring may have gone to. I am very methodical about where I keep everything. In my home I always know where everything is kept ~ what cupboard ... what shelf ... even keep my clothing hung by colour. The same goes for my jewellery. I wear five rings whenever I go out ~ two pinkie rings, my wedding band, my engagement ring and an inherited diamond ring that belonged to my great aunt. I only wear them outside never at home, so they go on when I go out and come off the minute I come into my home. When I'm not wearing them they are in small dish in my kitchen. One day the rings were worn and the next morning when I went to put them on to go out, my engagement ring was gone.

I really wish whoever or whatever is pranking me would stop. This isn't amusing anymore.

Now on to a couple of knitting projects that I have completed from the "Debbie Bliss" spring & summer knitting book.

This lovely blanket is so soft and just the right weight for this transition time between winter and spring. I too knit it pure white.

I can't share the second project because it is a birthday present and I don't want the birthday girl to see it, but it too is soft and the perfect weight for a cool summer evening.

Hope she likes it!

We had fun on Good Friday deciding to do some gardening. We planted five cedar trees to provide a little bit of privacy from the ravine behind. Just when we were getting started, we had a surprise visit from our daughter and her family. Of course the boys wanted to help Poppa dig the holes, but once they got started, Ryan (our oldest grandson), sat on the ground and rescued all the worms that were turning up in the soil. It was a touching scene watching him pull out all these worms and gently placing them in another spot.

Then on Saturday we drove out to watch Zander (our youngest grandson) in his first gymnastics sessions. His enthusiasm and sheer joy was such fun to watch. Zander attacks everything with such energy and gives 200%. Then Sebrina cooked a wonderful Easter dinner ~ turkey, ham, fennel, asparagus, mashed potatoes, stuffing ~ delicious!

We took some Easter chocolate and gifts for the kids. Of course they knew that Easter was the next day so wondered how we were able to get early chocolate from the easter bunny. I told them I emailed and asked him to specially bring it early to our house for them. They were quite happy with that answer.

I just love treasuring this secret and hope that they believe all these wonderful childish ideals for many years to come.,

Happy East Monday and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

How Was Your Weekend

So, what did you do this weekend?

As you can see from this picture, Don was working on a roof. He helped his father build a shed in 1992, but unfortunately it sustained a little damage to the roof and was leaking. As the weather was gorgeous yesterday they decided to undertake this project.

Here's a picture of Don on the roof cutting out the damage so they can replace it. It took him and his brother from early morning until 6:30 last evening to complete the job.

He looked about 5" shorter when he got home, he was so sore.

We are both slowly coming to the conclusion that we are getting past the age of doing all these home projects.

As for me, I spent all day Saturday and yesterday morning hauling cedar shrubs, raking the garden, bagging the garden refuse for compost, turning over the soil, finishing the taping and plastering on the bulkhead in our basement, then applying two coats of Venetian plaster, removing and rehanging a door in a partition wall I built last week.

Then, after about 6 hours of work ~ my fibromyalgia (FM) hit full force and I seized. This is actually not such a bad thing. In the past I would never have been able to accomplish this much work, so I am quite pleased that I could finish as much as I did before the FM set in.

So today, I am taking Arnica (homeopathic remedy) and not moving too much ~ it even causes me pain to take a deep breath. It will probably take a day or two to recuperate.

The second part of my weekend was spent watching a movie probably because I couldn't do much else. So what did I chose to watch?

"The Secret Life of Bees".

Based on Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel which is set in South Carolina in 1964. "The Secret Life of Bees" tells the story of Lily Owens (played by Daykota Fanning), whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen (played by Jennifer Hudson), insults three of the town racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina ~ a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love ~ a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

This is one of my favourite books and I have been anxious to see the movie. Originally we were trying to set up a "girls night out" to watch this, but couldn't get everyone together, so I went ahead on my own.

May I say ~ What a delicious movie!

Now I know you're probably thinking, "but Barb, it didn't get very good reviews".

One reviewer said it has charm but is largely maudlin and sticky sweet. Another critic described it as sappy, syrupy, sentimental and sermonizing.

However, Roger Ebert said "I have great affection for this film because it honors a novel that many people loved for good reasons. It isn't superior, nor does it dumb it down. It sees what is good and honors it. The South was most likely not like this in 1964. That was the year the Civil Rights Act was passed, and a year before the Voting Rights Act became law. The Boatwright farm, as I said, is really a dream. But in those hard days, people needed dreams".

So, what do I say ~ watch this movie. If you love love, charity, looking beyond skin colour, feeling good and feel good movies ~ you really must see this.

Queen Latifah plays an amazing role. She is regal, majestic, loving, wise, fiercely protective of those she loves and a dreamer ~ I could go on but will stop with that. Daykota Fanning is simply marvelous as Lily. This child's breadth of acting knowledge and believability just continues to increase as she takes on more challenging acting parts. I see this young woman moving towards a fantastic adult actor. Roger Ebert has compared her to Jodie Foster ~ no small compliment.

So, all in all I will watch this movie again and try to set up another "girls night in" so we can get together to laugh, cry and feel good while enjoying this movie.

Removal

Well, it's official ~ I am to be parted with my pet gallstone which I posted about here as well.

After much testing, gastroscopies, biopsies, ultrasounds, blood tests ~ my internist and surgeon have through the process of elimination determined that due to the size of my gallstone ~ my gall bladder is non-functioning with a slightly thickened outer wall and irritated lining.

It amazes me though that the surgery is done via laparoscopic surgery (five little puncture wounds) and I will be in and out on the same day. When my grandmother had hers out many, many years ago, she was in the hospital for a week and very ill for over three weeks.

There are pros and cons for this surgery. There is a 60% chance that I will still experience symptoms after the cholecystectomy. So do I proceed with this procedure (which is booked) or do I carry on with the nausea, pain, bloating, diarrhea, heartburn, gnawing, etc...

If I can live with these symptoms indefinately, I can carry on with no further problems other than the ones I mentioned above, as the stone is very large, there is virtually no chance that it will ever move into and lodge in a duct.

Then the question ~ will dietary changes help?

Here is alist of foods I should try to avoid:

Eggs, pork, onion, fowl, milk, coffee, oranges, grapefruit, corn, beans, nuts, in that order.

Trans fats, hydrogenated, partially-hydrogenated oils, margarine, fried foods, saturated fats including coconut oil, red meats, dairy products, eggs (Research shows that eggs caused symptoms in up to 95% of patients).

Coffee, regular or decaf, chocolate, ice cream, black tea, alcohol (what no bloody caesar), beer, wine, liqueur, fruit juice, carbonated water, tap water, radishes and turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, colas and all sodas, oats (for some people), wheat, barley, rye (although the sour German rye's seem to be less troublesome). all legumes (beans) as they tend to increase the cholesterol in the bile.

Artificial sweeteners, sugar, preservatives, refined and bleached foods (like white flour)

Certainly doesn't leave me much of a choice to eat now does it????

So far, I have not been able to find any food that doesn't seem to cause problems except for Oatmeal. Very small meals also are much easier on the tummy, but it is a matter of changing the way I think.

So to this end, I think after giving this some thought, I am going to do three things.

One ~ Have the gall bladder removed.
Two ~ Change my way of thinking about the way I eat. Try to move towards a more vegetarian type of diet. And just as a little extra, I am going to do my utmost to lose 10 pounds before the surgery.
Three ~ Ask the surgeon to save my pet. I want to personally meet this little beggar who has caused me all this grief.

My Thought Today

How To Wear Colour

When it comes to the topic of colour, the most common question that is asked is: "How do I know what colours are good for me?"

You can get your 'colours' done professionally, but here are some simple tips to get started!

1. Make a list of the colours that instantly 'light up' your face when you put them (even when you are not wearing any make-up at all). Those colours are definitely colours that are 'good' for you; and you should have more of these colours in your closet. Colours that compliment your skin tone will make your complexion glow and make it appear clearer. Shadows under the eyes will become less pronounced.

2. Make a list of the colours that always get you compliments or those colours that friends tell you that you should wear more often.

3. Make a list of those colours that make you feel good when you are wearing them. When you feel good in something, you'll look great.

4. Keep in mind that it is the colour that is worn up near your face that matters most. So let's say you love khaki green, but khaki green really doesn't do that much for you - then wear khaki green in the lower torso (as a pant or skirt) and match it with a top that works well with your skin tone.

5. Finally a safe bet ~ navy blue and charcoal grey are colours that flatter just about everyone and are fabulous colour staples to have in your wardrobe.

Monochromatic Look

1. Any time you wear a single colour through the entire frame of your body you will look longer and leaner. (Great tip for those of us who wish to appear ~ ahem a little trimmer).

2. The colour you wear can be a light colour, a bright colour, a dark or dull colour - regardless of the colour you will get a lengthening effect through the body.

3. This illusion of length is created because you are providing the eye with a continuous line of colour without any colour breaks to stop the eye.

4. As a variation of the head to toe monochromatic look, you can also achieve this effect by wearing a pattern or a print head to toe, or by wearing subtle variations of the same colour.

5. To maintain the illusion of length but to add some interest to the outfit, add a contrasting coloured accessory or a contrasting patterned blouse to a matching blazer and skirt or pant.

Colour Breaks

1. When you are mixing two or more colours of different intensities, your eye will always be drawn to the lightest or brightest colour first versus the darker colour. Lighter colours appear to advance while darker colours appear to recede when they are mixed together.

2. Understanding this principle can help you make the most flattering colour combinations for your figure type.

3. For example, if you have a pear shaped body (fuller through the hip/thighs compared to shoulders) might want to try wearing darker colours in the lower torso (to de-emphasize this area) and brighter colours in the upper torso (to draw the eye upward and highlight this area).

4. Women who have an inverted triangle figure type (stronger shoulders in comparison to their hips) might want to try the reverse ~ darker colours in the upper torso and bright or lighter colours in the upper torso.

5. Also be aware that the eye will also focus on colour break points (the point where two colours meet), so be careful that your colour break points do not hit at your figure challenge area.

6. For example if you are wider through the hips or thighs be careful that the colour break point does not happen at your widest point. What you want to do is wear a jacket or top that ends either an inch or so above or below the widest point on your hips or thighs.

7. Use colour breakpoints to accent your figure assets as well. If you have a smaller waist line try wearing a top in a contrasting colour to your bottom piece and be sure to tuck it in. To further highlight your waist ~ wear a belt and do not wear a jacket to cover up that beautiful small waist.

Wearing Prints Or Patterns

1. When you mix prints with a solid colour ~ your eye will be drawn to the print or patterned piece first (as it is more visually interesting). For this reason a lot of women tend to avoid wearing prints or patterns on their lower torso.

2. If you want to wear a print on the lower torso, there is a way to soften the effect of the print or pattern. Make a list of all the colours in the print. Remember ~ the eye is drawn to lighter and brighter colours first, so select tops and jackets in the lightest or brightest colours in the print.

In the late 80's early 90's it was all the rage to "have your colours done". Although it is not as prevalent now as it was then, it is still a wise idea to match colours to your skin tone.

Skin tones were divided into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Once the season was established, you were then told the colours that would work best with your skin tones.

Hokey you may ask ~ no, I did succumb to having my colours done and there is a distinct difference in wearing a colour that work with your skin tone as opposed to wearing onees that do not.

Here is a breakdown of the four seasons ~

Summer

Summer is a cool tone and like winter complexions, the summers among us have blue or pink undertones. Skin is very pale and pink. Summer colouring usually occurs in natural blonds, and even pale-skinned brunettes with pale eyes. If you’re a trying to discriminate between winter and summer, winters are usually brunettes and summers are mostly natural blonds.

Summers have a low level of contrast between their hair, eye colour and skin tone. In order to look your best, choose soft neutrals and pastels, as well as muted colours with cool undertones.
Powder blue, dusty pink, mauve, lavender, plum, and pale yellow are all great colour choices.

The worst colours for summers to avoid are intense, vivid hues because they will look harsh. Don't wear earth tones either. Stay away from black and orange.

Autumn

Autumn is a warm tone and people with this complexion have golden undertones in their skin, like a pale peach, golden beige or golden brown. Many redheads and brunettes with golden brown eyes fall into this category. However, golden blond and black hair colouring can also fall into this range.

The best colours for Autumn are rich golden, spicy and earthy colours to accent your complexion. Therefore, look for a warm undertone when selecting a colour. You can wear both muted and rich warm colours that are seen in autumn leaves and spice colours, such as camel, beige, olive, orange, gold, and dark brown. You will also look great in a rich warm grey.

The worst colours for autumn to avoid are clear, bright colours and black and white, which will make your look tired and faded. Also steer clear of pastels and blue tones, which will look cold against your complexion and give you a pale appearance.

Winter

Winter is a cool tone. People with winter complexions have blue or pink or rosy undertones. Skin can be pale and porcelain white, yellowish-olive, or dark. Winters are generally brunettes with deeply coloured eyes. Many Asians and African Americans fall into this category. Natural white-blonds may also be winters.

The best colours for winters are colours that are sharp, stark and clear. You will look best in intense, rich colours, like black, navy blue, red, and hot pink. These powerful shades will compliment your colouring. For lighter colours, wear bright white or icy pastels, such as like cool blues, pinks and yellows.

The worst colours for winters to avoid are earthy tones and subdued colours like beige, orange and gold. They will make you look faded and ashen.

Spring

Spring is a warm tone. People of this complexion have subtle golden undertones and are usually creamy white or peach. Springs have extremely light, ivory skin colour. People of this colouring are usually natural golden blonds, auburn, or strawberry blond redheads. Springs also have very clear, light blue and green coloured eyes. Freckles and rosy cheeks are also characteristics of this group.

The best colours for springs are very pale, soft colours, such as peach, camel, golden yellow, golden brown, and aqua. You will also look fabulous in ivory, bright greens, true reds, clear blues and coral. Your colours may be particularly hard to find because they can never be too muted or too dark.

The worst colours for springs to avoid are black and white, which are too contrasting for you. Stay away from dark, dull colours.

The colour wheel is your best friend ~ buy one and keep it handy all the time. It really will help you are you work with colour placement in your home.

My living room has been monochromatic (shades of creams, custard, vanilla) for years, however this year I decided to inject a little colour into the room. I started by picking up a large bowl for my coffee table. It is clear with swirls of frosty white and a blue grey through it. Then I took the blue grey in the bowl and matched it to two cushions on the sofa in that same shade. Accessories on side tables in the same shade and then a large vase in a punchy tangerine (remember blue & orange are complementary colours) gave the living room a completely different appearance.

I have deliberately not posted any pictures in these last three posts on colour as I did not want to detract from the message on colour and how it affects our lives so strongly, however, if comments show interest I will post a picture of the living room before and after the colour injection so you can see the difference a little colour makes.

I apologize as well for the wordiness of these posts, but colour theory is a subject near and dear to my heart ~ a subject I had to study intently with my fine arts background and I pondered on the thought that my knowledge may be of some interest to some of you.

I hope you enjoyed the tips and tricks within these posts.

Well, Happy Weekend my friends, I hope these little primers on colour in your life will help you a little when you are adding more colour to your home ~ your wardrobe ~ your life.