Reba's Run!

Feeling So Behind

2012-01-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Just the other day I joined FLYlady so I can get some help with cleaning, decluttering, organizing my home. This is a very useful thing on the internet that has apparently helped many people, including my friend Anna who recommended this to me. So far I have not been able to read much of the information I need to read, never mind actually getting to doing the work. I'll chalk at least some of this down to being sick as it's as good an excuse as any I guess. I also have been reading about water Kafir grains on the internet. Again, so much to raed and so little time to read it, though I have been brewing some of the Kafir drink. This is good as it will rebuild the good bacteria in my digestive tract after the damage the antibiotics does is over. Something else I haven't gotten around to reading is about video conferencing from ActConferencing.com. I also have about 5 or 6 books on the go that I would love to finish reading. Hmmmm, maybe this is why my body has taken on the pneumonia, to give me time to relax and read. I "never" get colds or the flu, or at least haven't in many years, maybe 15 years, give or take a few, so have been somewhat confused as to why I would suddenly come down with something so serious as pneumonia and be coughing up blood. Yup, maybe I created this as a way to slow down and catch up. :o)

Grateful for Good Friends

2012-01-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

For the last 3 or 4 days now I've been having some difficulty with my breathing and as a result I go into coughing spasms and sometimes even cough up phlegm with blood in it. On Sunday I went to town to one of the walk-in clinics and saw a doctor there. He pulled out his stethoscope and requested I take some deep breaths. Ya right! Well, I gave it a try and ended up coughing uncontrollably again, and hacked up some more blood & phlegm. Ahhh, evidence to show the doctor... not that he really looked at it, though maybe a tiny glimpse. He prescribed 10 days of antibiotics and a chest x-ray. He said it's pneumonia, though on the x-ray requisition when I went for the x-ray yesterday, I noticed it said bronchitis, so who knows. Maybe I'll find out more when I go for the x-ray results in a couple days. Anyway, so here I sit sick.

I am very blessed to have good friends and I am very grateful for them. Yesterday I called for an appointment at the x-ray place and was told it would be Thursday, though if I wanted I could go in without the appointment and just sit and wait until I got in, however long that would take. I decided to do that. At first I planned to go in a couple hours, then decided to put it off "until tomorrow". Then Phil phoned to see how I was doing. After I told him he said I should just go and get it done, not put it off, and he volunteered to meet me there to keep me company while I waited. I really thought that was nice of him. I have always gone to things like this all alone and just sat there with a book to read. I've always done pretty much everything on my own. It was nice to have a friend keep me company. Later in the day, when I got home, my other friend Ray come out and packed in 6 bags of pellets, each 40#, for my stove. I had brought them home in my truck a few days earlier, then got sick. I did pack 2 bags in myself and was very grateful to Ray for being so thoughtful as to come by and pack the rest in. Now I have a stack beside my stove so I can feed them into the hopper and keep a warm fire going.

Ouch!!!

2012-01-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

On Monday, two days ago, I was doing my volunteer work at the local Food Bank. I had done a bit of portioning of ice tea and orange crystals when Anna came and asked me to do some filing. i was busily doing the filing when suddenly I felt an extremely sharp and nasty pain in my left wrist. I really hadn't done anything that should have caused this to happen, was just moving some hanging files in one of the filing cabinets. It took some time for the pain to dye down enough for me to continue my work. Since then, I have had a very sore wrist and pain up into the back of my hand. I'm not sure what damage has been done in there, but am sure something has happened. This is not normal.

This left wrist is the one that was damaged in a crash on September 10, 2010 when I was riding my trike and was hit by a car. The distal radius (bone at base of thumb, goes up to elbow) was shattered right into the joint line (very bad), and every bone in the wrist was dislocated. I also had several other injuries, but this one was by far the worst. I was taken to hospital by ambulance and the next morning had surgery to reconstruct the wrist, and they put a metal plate in with 9 screws to hold it all together. After the bones were healed, the metal was causing me problems, so on March 30, 2011, I had a second surgery to remove the metal. At that time the surgeon also fixed the trigger finger issue I was having since the crash. I've had physiotherapy done on the wrist until the therapist decided she had done all that could be done for it.

Since the wrist healed from the second surgery, for about the last 6 months or so, the wrist has been pretty good. It has days when it hurts more than usual, when there's some clunking going on in there, but for the most part it's been doing pretty well, all things considered.... until 2 days ago. Now I have to keep the wrist and hand wrapped for support and just live with the extra pain. If it doesn't improve over the next few days, I will be going to see a doctor about it, though I don't think they really can do much of anything to fix it at this point.

Nice Day

2012-01-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

The weather forecast for today, as of 11:00pm last night, was for a high of 2°C and 40% chance of wet flurries. You can imagine how happy I was when I woke to a clear, sunny day. About 11:00am I looked outside and saw my thermometer was showing 7°C!! Snow is melting like crazy, steady drips falling from the roof. As the day has progress, it's now nearing 1:30pm and there are lots of clouds moved in, though still lots of blue sky showing. There is a bit of wind, and with the temperature hanging steady still at 2°C, that will melt away the small amount of snow we have at this time. I don't mind that at all.

Quinoa Recipes

2012-01-25T02:12:00.000-08:00

I just thought that, before I head off to bed, I would share some links with you.... links to some healthy food!! Things like Quinoa Burgers and An Amazing Veggie Burger. Now that you can make the burgers, you want to make the bread/buns to go with them: Quinoa Bread and Quinoa Bread/Sandwich Buns. All of these recipes are from the same woman and all are Vegan. At the bottom of the pages, you will also find links to other wonderful recipes. So far I haven't tried making any of these, but they sound easy enough and rather yummy, so I will be trying them in the near future.

Music.... and Mewsic

2012-01-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

I admit that I am not very musically inclined, though I do love to listen to good music. For awhile I did sing and enjoyed playing around with drums. I was in Omak at the Stampede several times, and one year while there I bought a Native drum from a vendor in there Indian Encampment. I have maracas and other such small instruments, or in my hands, "noise makers". I did have these small musical instruments hanging on the wall in my living room and some of them fell down. Today I spent some time making little wire hangers so I can put them all back up where they are safe. I didn't get them put up yet, will do that tomorrow, but at least I got them ready to hang and just have to climb up and hang them. Now, with the hour being late I think I will head to bed and dream.... of all things good and wonderful... even children happily playing with a kids drum set as they dream of becoming a famous rock star.

I bid you a very good night as I go off to cuddle my wonderful cat, Mewsic, and drift off into dreamland.

My Health Journal

2012-01-25T01:45:00.000-08:00

To help me with my weight loss plans as well as with getting my cholesterol levels down and monitoring my blood glucose levels, I decided to start a "Health Journal". Starting January 1st of this year, I have been writing down everything I eat each day, how much water I drink, what exercise I get, what the results are to my daily blood glucose test. I also write about things that make me sad or things that make me happy as they both affect my health. I sometimes write goals for the next day. I write all of this in different ink colors: red = blood glucose reading; green = exercise; blue = water as well as weight/TOPS; black = food I eat and all other things. If I have an acid reflux attack I write it in black, then color it over with a red pencil crayon.

Yesterday I bought some new pens so I will have more colors to work with: pink, turquoise, purple. Today I found some other pens of various different colors that I had already bought some time ago and had in the house... and had forgotten about them. I want/need to clean up my home. It has gotten so far out of control and I am having a very hard time cleaning it up. Today I did some sorting of 'stuff' and will write in my Health Journal about what I accomplished and how it makes me feel. I will write it in the turquoise so it's bright and pretty and I can see at a quick glance where I have achieved something good and positive in this area.

I plan on this Journal being a very important tool in making positive changes in my life and in my health.

TV Commercials

2012-01-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting here watching TV this evening and as always, commercials are part of an evening of TV watching. There is currently an ad on for a certain brand of pickup truck.... now one for beer. I've watched ads for fiber bars, for rv repairs, for cookies, even for potato chips and other snack foods. I'm not one for enjoying the ads and often hit the mute button rather than listen to them, but I have to admit that I get a laugh out of the current Dairy Queen ad. The lips decide to control us, talking in a very hypnotic voice, saying "look into my eyeeeeeee I don't have eyes. Look into my uvula!" Well, maybe you have to watch it to see the humor... or maybe I just need to go to sleep, lol.

Onions are Healthy!!

2011-12-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

I've just been reading about the health benefits of Onions. Wow, I am going to make sure I eat more of this super food!! The one web page I've read so far summarizes the health benefits of onions in this way:

Onions, and other Allium species, are highly valued herbs possessing culinary and medicinal value. Some of their beneficial properties are seen after long-term usage. Onion may be a useful herb for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, especially since they diminish the risk of blood clots. Onion also protects against stomach and other cancers, as well as protecting against certain infections. Onion can improve lung function, especially in asthmatics. The more pungent varieties of onion appear to possess the greatest concentration of health-promoting phytochemicals.

For more interesting reading, go to their site and read the entire write up.

Quote

2011-12-28T00:10:00.000-08:00

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always
to try just one more time.

Thomas A. Edison

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-27T23:44:00.000-08:00

How was your Christmas this year?? Did you spend time with friends? With family? Both? Neither? What kind of gifts did you get... if any? Did you get a computer, cell phone, other electronic gadget, make-up, eyelash growth products, chocolate, money? Any of the above? None of the above? All of the above? LOL, okay, so I'm playing with you, it's always fun to laugh with people.

I had a really great Christmas for different reasons which include, but are not limited to the following:
- My sister M and her husband R are in California and Arizona for about 6 months this winter. About 3 or 4 days before Christmas, I got an email from M saying that R had to be rushed to the hospital with a burst appendices and undergo surgery to save his life. All went well and Christmas day M emailed that he had gotten released from hospital that morning, they spent a quiet day at their RV and with friends they travel with.
- My older brother T and his wife A were up from the lower mainland and I got to see them Christmas Day. On top of that, they gave me a pair of Vintage Motorcycle Saddlebags!!! T thinks they are off a 1945 Harley Davidson, though isn't positive about the year. This really shows their love for me and their support of my riding my own motorcycle (trike).
- Spending time with my niece, T's daughter, Becky is always cause for joy, and this Christmas I got to do just that, as well as give her my first spinning wheel. I bought this wheel many years ago at a local auction and after a year I found someone to teach me how to spin wool on it. It is a Traditional style spinning wheel, hand made by Jorgen Almas, a man who lived in Enderby, the town where Becky grew up. On the bottom of this wheel is his name and that this wheel, this 153rd, was made in August '77. Becky was born in February '76. Eventually I moved up to a more modern style of wheel and didn't use this one anymore, though still kept it as it meant a lot to me. Now Becky was thrilled to receive it as she and her mother want to learn to spin and to weave.
- Mom gave me $100 to put towards something I'd like. She was thinking maybe an MP3 Player. My friend Dan just came home for a couple days, he's working away for awhile, and gave me an MP3 Player, lol. So I will likely spend that $100 on something for my trike as I plan to do lots of work on it before summer.
- Dinner at my nephew Denny's (eldest sister's son) with him and his family as well as Mom.
- The entire day with Mom. This is my 56th Christmas and it's the 55th one I've spent with Mom.
- Open House at my brother T's mother-in-law's home, lots of friends and family as well as great food. This month has been hard on the diet!!

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas!!

Super Foods

2011-12-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the TOPS News (magazine put out by TOPS) article on The TOPS Ten Underappreciated SUPER Foods. As well as getting TOPS News in the post, members can also go to the TOPS website, sign in and read this magazine online. Mostly I like to curl up with the paper issue, though there are times when it's good to be able to read it on the computer. I was hoping I could copy/paste this article here for you to read, but no go, and I can't just give the link to the page as you have to sign in to get there... soooo, I will just tell you what the super foods are that they talk about.
- beans
- celery
- garlic
- onion
- peas
- black pepper
- bell pepper (all the colors)
- sunflower seeds
- sesame seeds
- canned tomatoes (I don't know why the specify 'canned'. Why not fresh? Personally, I believe fresh is always more healthy than anything canned, frozen, cooked, processed, etc.)

The article tells different reasons why these are all good for your health; things like antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, protein, help reduce cholesterol levels, help balance blood sugar, cancer fighting properties, etc etc. I eat a lot of beans, especially since I became a Vegan and it's winter time. I make different variations of multi bean soups so not only do I have a quick, easy to reheat meal in the fridge, but it's always very tasty and healthy. Among many other things in the current pot of soup, the super foods in it are: beans (an 18 bean mix of dried beans), celery, onion, black pepper (fresh ground), bell pepper (red and yellow), and a jar of home canned tomatoes that was given to me this fall. I made this huge pot of soup today and ate some this evening. Tomorrow I will put some of it into containers that will go into the freezer as there is just way too much of it for me to eat in the next few days. It will be great to have a bunch of it put away for other winter days.

I will make sure in future that I eat many more of the foods from this TOPS list. Some will go into my next batch of soup... and some will be eaten in other ways.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly

2011-12-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

For 2 years now I've been going to TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). In the first year I lost 20 pounds though in the second year I gained about 10 of them back. I think it is time I get serious!!! In my TOPS club there are several who have been going every week for a lot longer than I have and I think will be going for many years to come and stay around the same weight they are now. There also have been some who reached their weight loss goals and have become KOPS (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly). Every month TOPS puts out a magazine that each of us members receive in the mail. This magazine gives us information on weight loss as well as shares stories with us written by people who have lost a lot of weight. TOPS has helped many people to shed the extra pounds and become much more healthy, but TOPS can't do it for us. We have to do it for ourselves!! I have to do it for my self!!! I love eating and I don't like exercising and yet I have to find a way to eat less and move more. Oh Joy!! Maybe writing here can help me with this road I must go down.

Potato Leek Soup

2011-12-20T23:19:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from VegWeb.com a thought many might be interested in reading it and perhaps even making it. I plan to try it, though I will use less of the olive oil, perhaps half of what is recommended in the recipe and if that's not enough oil to saute the onions and leaks, I can add a bit of water. Olive oil is much healthier than most other fats, and yet it is still fat. Let me know what you think of this recipe.

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 medium onion, chopped finely
4 small leeks or 3 medium ones, chopped finely (use white parts mostly)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
3 cups water (the water should almost cover the ingredients)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add the olive oil and saute the onions and leeks for two minutes. For leeks, you may use the green part, but this will change the flavour of the soup; you can use the green foliage of the leeks in a stir fry. Add the potatoes to the pot, and also the water.

2. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until cooked (potatoes are soft) Remove the pot from heat. If you have a hand blender, let the soup cool and then blend until smooth. You may wish to reheat the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

3. If you do not have a hand blender, with a ladle, scoop up the chunky parts and process in a blender or food processor until smooth. You may need to do this in two parts, so have a bowl ready in which to transfer processed soup. Once all the soup is processed, mix it to the liquid left in the pot, and add pepper and salt.

Source of recipe: My recipe; learned how to make potato leek soup before I was vegan. This recipe is a simplified and vegan version.

Makes: 5-6 servings, Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cat on the Move

2011-12-20T23:05:00.001-08:00

My friend Cat has been looking for a small apartment or even a room that is "frbo". She recently separated from her husband and moved to a rental room in a house where she was very unhappy with the living situation, with the landlord, the other tenants and the rent going up a significant amount starting on the second month of living there... so she moved out and went to another rental room in someone else's home. Cat was so looking forward to the move, was so excited that she'd be in a good home and just a week or so after moving in she was told the house had just been sold and she would have to find another place to live. She had never even been told the place was for sale, so was very surprised and disappointed. She began to look around this area again, then found that her daughter and family were moving out of this area, so she decided to do that too. I'm not sure where her family is going, but Cat is headed to a mid size city further north of here where she has lots of biker friends. I am sad she's leaving... and wishing her the best. Wishing my friend a joyful life.

Veganism Explained

2011-12-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

I found a good write up on the internet of what Veganism is about. Put simply, it involves eating only plant based foods and nothing of or from animals. In more detail, here is what I found on the internet site Simple Vegan Recipes:

Veganism

Vegans eat all sorts of plant foods - fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds, fungi - and avoid foods made from dead or living animals - meat, eggs, milk, milk derivatives such as cheese and yogurt, or honey. Someone who has not encountered veganism before will ask, ‘Well, what DO you eat?’ The only non-animal foods a meat-eater tends to come across are the vegetables that accompany their meals. However, there is a wide variety of vegan foods with a diversity of flavours and textures. The important point to grasp is that going vegan is not just taking vegetarianism a step further. Going vegetarian tends to involve simply removing meat from the diet and abstaining from products that contain slaughterhouse products. Becoming a vegan, on the other hand, is a very different process where one adopts a whole new cuisine and which touches every area of life.

If you want to find out more about Veganism, visit the Vegan Society. They provide lots of information including the Animal Free Shopper, a comprehensive list of products sold in the UK that are vegan.

One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make the bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying himself with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle.
~ Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden and Civil Disobedience, 1817 - 1862)

A Healthy Choice

2011-12-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

About 3 months ago I started to eat Vegan. Oh, I'm not 100% yet, but in the mid 90% I'm sure. Well, less during December, yet still keeping in with it pretty well. Mostly, I eat Vegan though when I eat out at someone else's place or at a restaurant it does become a challenge. Still, I do manage to stick to the Vegan plan, though I am getting a bit tired of Veggie Burgers, haha. I love drinking tea with milk in it and at home I use Soy Beverage instead of cows milk. When I'm not home I end up using milk or cream, depending on where I am and what they have available. My Mom is trying to support me in this life style change for which I am very grateful, though I can see it is hard for her since she doesn't really understand what I can/will eat or not eat. I guess I need to give her some recipes that she can make, and in the meantime, I will take food for us to eat.

"It takes a little work to be a vegan, but now it's really possible to have tasty stuff and it's better for you. I say the best test is go as far as you can and see how you feel. Personally, I feel great."

~ Grace Slick

My Day... Good and not so much

2011-12-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to stay home for the first time in awhile, and the early part of today as well, then had to go to town to the final fitting of my new upper denture. While in town, I met with Wendy, a former friend, to return 2 movies and a book I had borrowed some time ago and had tried to return but we were unable to connect until today. I also stopped at a dollar store for some TV cable connectors, and candles as part of some gifts I'm putting together, and a grocery store for just a few things like cranberry sauce for tomorrow's pot luck luncheon.

At home, I've checked my emails, read a few posts on Facebook, read a bit about carpet cleaners durham nc, and looked up a few vegan recipes. I also made a nice hot cup of tea and sat down on my couch to drink it... only to spill the entire cupful all over my couch, coffee table and laminate flooring. I cleaned that up and moved furniture around a bit to get the tea that went under the couch and coffee table. Now my living room is all askew and needs to be put back together or finished being re-arranged. I think I'll move everything to different spots and wash the floor.

«There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow
through us and produce miraculous results.»
— Mahatma Gandhi —

My TV

2011-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

There is a list of things I've wanted for awhile and this year I was finally able to get myself a few of the things on that list. Sort of like getting myself early Christmas presents. One of the things on that list was one of those flat screen lcd tvs. Well, the one I got isn't an LCD, it's a plazma which my friend Dan says is not as good as the LCD... yet I am really enjoying sitting here in my living room watching my 51" flat screen TV!! I also picked up a good, used treadmill that I have in the living room so I can watch the TV while I walk on the treadmill. I am in the process of changing around some of the furniture in my home, so this evening I can't do the treadmill unless I want to look at the wall, but in the next day or two I will have the TV on the other wall and all will be good again. For now, my back is aching too much to walk on the treadmill anyway.

Got something accomplished here

2011-12-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Even though my back has been rather painful today and pain in the upper legs, I managed to get some work done in my house.... thanks to my friend Ray. I had mentioned to him one day a couple weeks ago that I wanted to move some furniture in my living room, so he came over today and we got some of it moved. I kind of wished he'd have picked a day when I had less pain, but once we got it done I sure was glad I didn't say "No, not today." I really appreciate the help, and it feels really good to have at least a small part of my home cleaner and more organized than it has been for awhile. It seems I take 2 steps forward and 3 or 4 steps back with trying to get this mess under control. Having physical and moral support from a friend really helps a lot and gives me hope that I will indeed eventually over come this monstrous problem!!

My day shopping

2011-11-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Being Thursday, I went to TOPS this morning (down 1/2#... not a lot but better than a gain), then for lunch with 'the ladies'. As often happens, I also went to the Bargain Bin (2nd hand store) with some of my TOPS friends. I've been staying away from there a lot lately as I am working at getting rid of stuff, and am not wanting to bring more home!! Anyway, I've been wanting a queen size duvet cover as I was given a duvet that didn't have a cover. So guess what I found at the Bargain Bin!! Yup, a queen size duvet cover... totally new and still in it's original package!!! Regular price $186.99.... It was priced $20.00 and since all the items in that area were 1/2 price today I got it for $10.00!!!! WoHOOO!!! I love a good deal!!! I also got a pair of short leather winter boots, 2 pairs of earrings, a set of 3 small canisters (very handy for various bulk foods), a blouse, a large bed sheet that appears to be nearly new, an eagle patch (Harley style, says "Ride Free" and "Motor Cycles") I'll give to a Harley friend at Christmas.... total cost $19.00!! Not bad!! Being as I am short and my cupboards are high, I was also looking for one of those 2 step stools, and will have to continue to look. I already have the duvet into it's cover and my bed looks great. Can hardly wait to slide into it tonight.

One of Life's Concerns

2011-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of mine has recently ended up going off work and onto disability. For now it's 'short term disability' though will likely become 'long term' as the problem will not likely be resolved by end of January. He has 4 bulging discs in his low back and thought that was why his legs, especially the left leg, has become very weak and his feet partially numb. However, when he saw a surgeon in September, he was told that the bulging discs are not the cause of the leg problems and he was referred to a neurologist. He was put on a long waiting list, then got really lucky when there was a cancellation and he was the only one available so got in in just a few weeks. The neurologist wants an MRI done, but there are several things my friend needs done before he can have an MRI because in summer of 1985 he was shot. He was standing outside a night club talking to a friend of his and they were both shot by some crazy guy with a shot gun that peppered both men with a lot of pellets. Luckily, they both survived, though still have a lot of pellets in their bodies. My friend has at least 2 pellets in his head and over 20 more in his right arm and leg. The doctors need to know where the pellets are and if they will be moved to vital organs with the magnetic pull of the MRI before they can proceed. My friend may need surgery to remove pellets before the MRI can be done, then once the cause of his leg problems is found he may have to have spinal laser surgery. With each test done he lets me know what is happening and what's up next as we wait to find out whether or not he will ever improve or just continue to deteriorate. Wish him luck!!

Blogging Goal

2011-11-13T00:48:00.001-08:00

I used to do a LOT of blogging. I wrote many posts and visited many other people's blogs. I also participated in writing challenges as well as photographic challenges. I very much enjoyed all of that, though found eventually my life changed and I no longer had the time for all those countless hours each day to be spent on the computer. Since then, I have largely gotten away from blogging. I find that this is a sad thing, and I desire to do more blogging again. Oh, not as much as I once did as I still have much to do in my 'real' life, though still I do want to blog a bit more again than what I have been doing this last while. So, I set a goal to do at least a small blog post each day, on each of my 2 blogs... and some days to do even larger posts.

It's November 12!!

2011-11-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today is November 12, 2o11 and with several Christmas ads already on TV, I have been thinking about gifts for people I care about.

I think I will be baking cookies to give to Phil... and to Ray, 2 friends of mine. Maybe I'll even give some cookies to another friend, Dan, though any time he's visiting if I offer him anything to eat he always refuses it. He loves candy so I could buy him a big bag of it, even though he is well able to buy them himself and always does. I think earrings for Joyce... not sure what I'll give to Cat as she's a new friend and I'm not yet sure what she'd like. Also there's Pat, Pauline and DJ to think about.

As for family... I gave a gift of homemade jam and Christmas motif Jam Knives all in a basket to my sister Marcy & husband Randy in October before they left to Arizona for the winter. My brother Terry & wife Alana will be up for a few days. I'm thinking of getting them some kind of dragonfly as when I was in their home in October I noticed a couple dragonfly ornaments, so I know they like this sort of thing. For Mom it's not easy to know what to give. Since she's 88 years of age, buying for her is a challenge... I guess since she's a great grandmother, it's sort of like needing grandma gift ideas, LOL. I bought Mom a nice rose broach that came with a story of the Christmas Rose. I think she'll really like that. I am thinking too that I will donate some money to the Food Bank in Mom's name and give her a copy of the receipt in a card. I've been thinking I could give one of my spinning wheels to my niece Rebecca as she just moved back to this area and into a new home. I know her mother spins, so think Becky might enjoy being able to spin too, or at least enjoy this beautiful, hand made traditional style spinning wheel as a decoration in her home. I'm not sure how many other family members will be around for Christmas. Apparently, Terry & his family will all be spending it at Alana's family's cabin in the woods. Mom doesn't want to go there as she feels it would be too hard on her to go on a rough road, even in my 4x4 and even though it's just a very short distance off the main road, so probably it will just be her and I for actual Christmas day since I can't go knowing Mom would be home alone on such a day. Someday all too soon I will be alone on Christmas day, for now I will enjoy each time I get to spend it with Mom before she 'moves on'.

My Day Today

2011-11-12T23:34:00.000-08:00

My day today:

Planned to do: 30 minutes on treadmill.... laundry... clean chinchilla & rabbit cages.

Actually did: did 3 loads of laundry - washed/dried/folded/put away... cleaned all 3 chinchilla cages and 1 rabbit cage, gave the chins their dust baths, topped up water bottles... talked on phone to George for 4 hours while I did the laundry, talked on phone for 1 hour to Ray, talked on Messenger with Dan for undetermined time twice, thought about Mark and wondered if he'll be coming over this way any time soon and if he has bought another truck yet. (I have one I will sell him, lol)

All that is on top of 'every day stuff' like feeding birds & cat (rabbit & chinchillas get food dishes filled every few days as needed). My dog, Indaway, is inside now and just finished eating his dinner or raw turkey. Oh ya, including feeding myself, haha.

Doing dishes was something I should have done and would have done, though didn't get to. They'll still be there tomorrow. I am disappointed that I didn't get on the treadmill today, just couldn't fit it in. Guess I could have done that while on the phone, if only I had thought to do so.

So... my 'To Do' list for tomorrow will start with 30 minutes on the treadmill and do the dishes. Fold more laundry tops the list too. Then work on cleaning the kitchen.

Sharing

2011-11-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent time with 2 different gal friends, then went to visit my Mom. They all live in a small town about 25 minutes north of where I am, so it's good to spend a whole day there and see different people. After Mom & I went for a drive and ate dinner out, we went back to her place to relax and play Tri Onimos, a game we both enjoy. While I was there, my great nephew Dustin phoned and after talking to Mom for awhile he and I had a nice phone visit. Dustin has just started a new job and was saying that this is currently a part time job and that he has also been offered a full time job at another company in another town. He has been putting resumes in at many different places in hopes of getting employment. We talked about the pros and cons of each of the jobs and how he can make the decision as to what he can do. We also talked about joining the military and I told him that if I was young again I would seriously consider joining the military so I could learn to fly a helicopter. I think it would be awesome to be a chopper pilot. It I had done that when I was young, I now would be retired with full military benefits and be working for a private company bringing in the big bucks. Another thing I would seriously consider if I had it all to do over again would be Veterinary Services Jobs. I love animals so think that working with them and helping them to be healthy would be a good career for me. I have lots of pets and often have wished I knew more thank I do about animal health care.

Polls

2011-10-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

On Facebook, I asked my friends:

Which way do you think my nick name looks better?? This is for putting onto my "nick patch" on my vest, for writing stuff, maybe even for painting on my trick or truck!!

The choices were:
- GypsyGirl
- Gypsygirl
- Gypsy Girl

So far there are 2 votes for GypsyGirl and 1 vote for Gypsy Girl. The latter is from a woman who IS a Gypsy, or at least a member of a Romani tribe, so it kind of means a bit more than the first 2 votes... sigh. I do seem to have the spirit of a Gypsy. I am the free and fun type person who can't stand people trying to control me. I love to have a good time, I love to be out and about, not sitting at home... well, for the most part anyway, though there are days when I do just want to stay home alone. Anyway....

Now I have a question for you. Which type of computer do you prefer??
- Acer laptop?
- hp desktops?
- Dell laptop?
- Mac desktop?

Leave your answer in the comments!

Share the wealth!!

2011-10-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

I'm just sitting here looking around at things in my living room. I have quite a few plants, as well as several cages of birds in here with me. I'm thinking that after I get back from Vancouver I could do some work on some of these plants. The Dieffenbachia sure could use with being cut down, it's stalk being cut up into pieces that would be planted to create new plants, and the base of the plants left in the ground to grow a new top or two. This will make the plants I choose to keep look better than they do now, being long and leggy like they are. It also will create lots of other plants. So what will I do with so many Dieffenbachia plants? When friends come to visit, I'll send plants home with them. Share the wealth!!

Getting A New Truck!!!

2011-10-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

Currently, I drive a 1992 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4... and I love it. I have been trying to remember just what year I bought this truck who I named Vaquero (Spanish for Cowboy), and I don't recall though it could be as much as 10 years ago now. When I got him, he looked great and he has always been a super dependable truck. Now, with over 320,000 kilometers on him, he is rusty so doesn't look so good anymore, yet still he is super dependable and still is a pleasure to drive. I took Vaquero off the road in June, switching the insurance over to my trike. All summer Vaquero sat in my yard waiting while I rode Phoenix. On October 1, I decided it was time... it was cold and rainy, not the type of weather I wanted to ride the trike in, so I changed insurance from Phoenix back to Vaquero (from trike back to truck). I went out and put the key into Vaquero's ignition, turned it and VROOOM, he fired right up, happy to be alive and running again!!! I totally love this truck!!!

As much as I love Vaquero, the time has come to replace him, so taking into consideration how much I've enjoyed our years together and how dependable he has been and still is, I decided to go with another Ford Ranger 4x4. This time it will be a 2008 XLT with power windows and the 4 door extended cab. He has all the features that I wanted... and already he has a name!! I was telling my friends on Facebook about my new truck and posted a photo of this Grabber Orange truck. (Grabber Orange is a rare color... only 618 of them were put out in 2008 and fewer in 2009). My friend Brooks referred to this truck as Orange Julius... so I've named him Julius!!

You may have noticed a theme here... I always have male vehicles, not female, and yes, I name them too.

And here he is.... Julius!!

This is the photo my brother took of Julius when he, Terry, went to test drive the truck for me. You see, I found it on Craigslist and it's in Vancouver. Terry lives in the lower mainland so was able to go check this out for me (a wonderful big brother, don't you think), and said I'm getting a really great truck. Tomorrow I will drive to my bank about 1/2 hour north of here in the small town where I once lived and my Mom still lives. I will get a bank draft to pay for the truck and have a short visit with Mom, if there's time. Then back home where friend Ray will pick me up and give me a ride to the Greyhound Bus depot where I will begin my 9 hour bus ride. Terry will pick me up at the Vancouver bus depot and we'll drive about 45 - 60 minutes to his & Alana's home where I'll spend the night. On Wednesday I will meet with Vic, "the seller" and get all the paper work done, the truck paid for and all that stuff... then off to insure the truck. I will then begin the drive back home. The trip home will take quite a bit less time than the bus ride down will take. Well, unless I stop along the way to visit some of my triker friends, lol.

More about Fall Jobs

2011-10-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

In the next couple days I have to clear out a room in my home that I've been working on for some time now and just need to do the last bits. I need to sort/bag all cans and bottles to take to the depot and sell. I need to clean a LOT of stuff out of the carport to make room for my trike to be put away for the winter, and for pellets to be stored so they can be used for heating my home. I have a lot of yard work to do as well, tho I know the chances of me getting that done are slim. The plums are nearly done. There are still loads of them in the trees, but with all the rain we've been having the plums have been splitting, so my jam plans are falling apart in front of my eyes. I want to make a lot so I can give a bunch away as Christmas gifts and have a good amount left for my own use. I also wanted to put plums in the freezer to use during the winter months. I guess I'll have to do what I can for now and do more next year.

Fall Jobs

2011-10-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've been working as much as possible over the last few days, getting read for winter. There is just so much to be done before the weather turns colder and my low back hurts so much that I'm having a real challenge with doing the work. Having deteriorated discs and arthritis is not fun... no, really, it's not fun. Anyway, I've managed to make some plum jam and pick enough plums to make another batch and even have some on the stove right now, cooking down so I can put them through the sieve to remove the pits. These are small plums so the pits either have to be removed this way or by using a cherry pitter tool to push the pits out. Yes, these plums are about the same size as cherries. I did a bunch of dishes and cleaned out the sink tht has been heaped with 'stuff' for months. This place is such a mess and I so need to get it cleaned up.... and I hurt... and I am overwhelmed. I need to be looking for a new vehicle as my old truck is getting... well.... old. He's rusty and has fairly high miles so needs to be replace. I don't want to have to install/uninstall snow tire chains every time I enter/leave my driveway, so will for sure be needing a 4 wheel drive. I'm looking at getting a nice truck. When I take breaks from working to rest my back and hopefully reduce the pain, I do some searching on the 'net for my "right and perfect" truck.

Damson Plum Jam

2011-09-30T18:08:00.001-07:00

Today one of the things I did was pick a bunch of my Damson Plums so I can make a bunch of jam. Every few years I make a bunch of this jam and it lasts me long enough that I only have to make it every few years, lol. This year I plan to give a jar of it to each of a few of my friends for Christmas. Hey, what else do you give men that have a lot more money than you do and already have about everything they need?? Give them something to eat... right? Maybe I'll even bake something for them, or give them crackers or something to put the jam on. Ah well, will think about that later. For now I have jam to make!! Then I'm going to come back to my computer and do some research. I love searching for things on the 'net. Tonight maybe I'll look up fluid tech, and for sure I want to look up information on the treadmill I just bought. Got a great deal on a good used treadmill that is now the 'main focal point' in my living room. Hopefully I will use it for what it is meant, rather than for gathering dust and "stuff". I need to get healthy!! After too many other thoughts over the years, I had forgotten just how much sugar to put per cup of plums in the jam, so I was able to look up recipes on the 'net and found that people use lemon juice in their plum jam, some also use a bit of cinnamon. I'll try these things this year as I make several batches of jam.

Seasonal Thoughts

2011-09-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Do you realize that today is September 21st?? That means that it is just 2 days until it is officially Fall or Autumn, and it also means that Christmas is just around the bend. Yes, just 3 months and 4 days from this moment the 'big day' will be over for all who celebrate that holiday. This also means that if you do celebrate Christmas, it's time to start thinking about Christmas Card lists as well as Gift lists. What will you get for those loved ones on your list?? Here are a few ideas just in case you need some help:
- car parts
- motorcycle accessories (big hint)
- maternity clothes (not for me please)
- scarves, mittens, hats (blah blah blah)
- jewelry
- poinsettia or Christmas Cactus
- iPod, iPad, iWish

If and when I think of more I'll let you know. I don't yet have a clue who I'll buy for or what I'll get them. I usually make my gifts and don't yet know what that could be this year.

Christmas is Coming

2011-09-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time I think of the upcoming Christmas season, of whom I should send Christmas Cards to, and whom I should be what gifts for. Unfortunately, I always end up thinking too long and not getting the cards written out so they can be put into the mail. Yes, I think about Christmas, yet I don't want it to actually happen, I'm not a big fan of winter. At this time of year I am still riding my motorcycle and wishing summer would come back so it would be nice warm riding weather for so much longer. Now it is getting chilly and I am forced to think about how I must soon put the trike away and put the truck back on the road... but not until after October 1st as that is the date of the next Santa Toy Run I plan to ride in.

Gardening

2011-09-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

My garden didn't do well this year. I think it's because of all the rain we got earlier in the summer and nothing at all was growing right. Out of all the plants I bought or grew from seed, not one vegetable was showing up on the vines or stalks, so I ended up just giving up and not bothering to water it any more. Oh, I wish now I had still gone to that part of the yard to water as there were other things like 3 kinds of mints growing in tires and a few other herbs in pots, but I didn't have anything much in my raised bed gardens. I had wanted for so long to have raised bed gardens so I could grow my own veggies and had no way of building my own, no one to help me, so I brought home some old bathtubs, rocks, soils I purchased and planted my gardens in them. The first year I got a bit to eat, but not much. I think a pedestal bathtub would look really good out there with food in it too, but I've decided that next year it will save me a lot of money to just go to the Farmer's Markets to buy my food rather than wasting all that money on seeds & bedding plants and water just to get nothing but disappointment.

Traveling Thoughts

2011-08-12T08:42:00.001-07:00

It's 8:42am as I start to type this post.... I didn't sleep much last night as I am excited to be heading to Omak to spend time with a friend of mine. I've never ridden my trike anywhere near this far before, so this will be a new adventure. From where I live it is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to the Canada/US border, then likely that much again to Omak. I've driven down there before but don't remember how long it took me to get there, and that was in my truck which is a lot different than riding a trike. Now all that I have on the road is the trike and it is so much easier on gas than the truck, so I'm off and riding. I will stop from time to time and take a break. I think I can ride non-stop for about 2 hours. By that time I will need to stop for gas in the trike and will take advantage of that to rest a bit. Before I go I am putting some padding on my hand grips to hopefully help my hands to not hurt so much. They've been very stiff and sore lately and my doctor suggested I try bigger hand grips, also suggested that vibration could be part of the problem. So for now I am putting water pipe insulation foam things on the existing hand grips to see if that helps and if it does I can buy new grips. This stuff should also help absorb vibration. Guess I'll see if it helps or not. Wish me luck, lol.

Riding Friends

2011-08-12T08:34:00.001-07:00

One evening this summer I was visiting friends from my motorcycle group, All Canadian Riders Club, and we were sitting around Shane's outdoor fire pit, talking and visiting not only with people from out club, but also friends of Shane's that aren't in the club. I really love getting to know new people, especially those that ride motorcycles. Since I quit going to church and started riding my own trike I have found a whole different world and that these people are more caring and supportive than the ones that I met through the church I belonged to for many years. When I was riding last year and got hit by a car no one from church came to visit... but some other friends did and riders were among them. Also, when the insurance company finished with my trike I was able to buy it back from them and bring it home.... some of my ACRC friends came with truck, trailer, strong men and brought the wreck home for me so I could use parts from it to build a new trike. Now that's friends.

Leaving for Omak

2011-08-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am heading to Omak WA today, going down for Stampede Weekend. I didn't go last year though for about 5 or 6 years before that I went all the time. Before I head out I have to make sure all of my animals have loads of food and water, way more than enough for the 3 days I'll be gone. Whenever I go like this I make sure I give them way more than they need.... just in case. I also have a 16 year old young man coming by to play with my dog while I'm gone. I don't want Indaway to be lonely so want someone to come visit him, though he too will have way more food and water than he actually needs for 3 days, and Brock will know where the water hose is to be able to give Indaway fresh water.

Another thing I will do before I go is to get travel health insurance, sort of like getting life insurance with no exam, just in case I get injured or killed riding my motorcycle in the US. Any time one crosses the border from Canada to the US it is a good idea to have travel insurance and though I never have gotten it before I will this time. This is the first time I'm going on my motorcycle and last year I found out just how easy it is to be hit by a car. Now I know that 80% of crashes involving motorcycles involves cars hitting the motorcycle. I don't like those odds and do my best to protect myself.

Men... and Women

2011-08-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

I read this somewhere and thought I would share it with you, lol.

---------------------Men---------------------------

--------------are like apples---------------------

----------on trees. The best ones-------------

--------are at the top of the tree.-------------

------Many ladies don't want to reach-------

-----for the good ones because they--------

---are afraid of falling and getting hurt.----

---Instead, they get the rotten apples-----

---from the ground that aren't as good,----

---but easy. So the apples up top think----

---something's wrong with them when in--

----reality they're amazing. They just-------

------have to wait for the right lady to------

------- come along. The one who's-----------

-------------- brave enough to-----------------

------------------climb all-------------------------

------------------the way-------------------------

-----------------to the top------------------------

----------------of the tree.-----------------------

P.S. I know where you can get a ladder??? :)

I think it also works in reverse... Women being the apple at the top of the tree and men being afraid to climb so high.

Online Auction

2011-08-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was checking out my Hotmail to see if anyone had sent me an email or anything and I clicked on an ad for an online auction place. Just out of curiosity, mind you. I went there to see what they had and what kind of prices things are going for. I would really love to get an iPad one day as I saw one a guy had and thought they are really cool and as my laptop gets older and needs replacing I think I'd rather get an iPad than another laptop. First though, I will do a bunch of research to make sure it really is what I want and that I get it for the best price I can. I see that an Apple iPad 32 GB Wi-Fi sold for $22.53. One catch though.... on top of what you pay for the item you also pay $0.60 per bid and this could add up pretty quickly if you have to bed a lot to get the item. During the last 10 seconds, if you bid a penny or more the timer resets to 10 seconds then ticks down and say it gets to 5 seconds remaining and someone else bids a penny, the timer resets to 10 seconds. This can go on for quite some time.

I can see where even people on social security disability might be able to get some nice stuff for low prices on this auction... and yet it could be a lot more pricy than it appears so I would be leery to bid there unless I had lots of money available.

Gear Up!

2011-08-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

I took this photo last evening, 8 motorcycles and there were 10 people including me. We were on our regular Monday evening All Canadian Riders Club ride. Shane, one of our riders, said that with it being so hot he didn't understand how I could fully gear up... chaps, jacket, gloves as well as my helmet. Most of the other riders wore only short sleeve shirts and jeans, only one other than me wore his leather jacket, but no chaps.

If you read my blog often, you know that 11 months ago, September 10, 2010, I was riding my trike (3 wheeled motorcycle) when I was hit by a car. All summer long I had ridden in muscle shirts, spaghetti strap sun tops, or bathing suits with my jeans. I loved the freedom of riding like that and the resulting sun tan, the best sun tan I'd ever had. Yes, I knew it was not a good idea to ride without protective gear, but hey, I ride a trike!! Far safer than 2 wheel motorcycles!! I still believe that 3 wheels are safer than 2... and I know that when a car hits you, you are 'going down' either way. The day I was hit I was wearing my leathers, thank God!! In fact, I had been given a pair of chaps about 1 1/2 hours before I was hit, so I was fully geared up proudly wearing my new chaps as well as my jacket and gloves... all leather. Yes, I was still fairly severely injured, yet I know that had I been wearing my usual summer attire, I would have been injured far worse!! The scrapes on my helmet show where my head would have been damaged if I wasn't wearing the helmet, and I know that my skin would have been off my body and all over the road if I had not been wearing leathers. So often I see people wearing shorts, tank tops/t-shirts/hip hop clothing/flip flop shoes/and other things that are not appropriate gear for riding motorcycles. I wish I could make people understand that you never know when someone will hit you or when you might hit loose gravel and go down, so you must always wear protective gear!!

My Triike

2011-07-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago I had some problems with my trike. While I was riding it, the frame broke!! There were 4 bars going from the motorcycle to the car axle and the metal on one of them broke while the welds on 2 others broke. I am so very grateful that the other bar held together. I did not want to take it back to the people who had built the trike for me since this was not the first problem I had with their work, so I took it to a fellow that does motor home repairs as well as lawn mowers and golf carts. He really seems to know his stuff and did a wonderful job not only repairing the breakage, but changing the frame somewhat to make it stronger and better so this does not happen again in future. He also did not like the way the back brakes were done, so he changed some on them too. So far I have no reason to complain about his work and every reason to be grateful he was available to do the job when I needed him. It's a good thing I am a member of some motorcycle groups, social riders getting together to enjoy their motorcycles, as that is how I met this man.

Indaway

2011-07-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get photos of Indaway, but that is proving to be a challenge. He refuses to stay still long enough and always wants to come too close to the camera. I thought maybe if I fed him, but he kept moving while he ate too. So here are the best of some really poor photos of my dog.

Eye Glasses

2011-07-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you will know, I ride a motorcycle with 3 wheels, also called a trike. I find it a great way to get around all summer long, though on rainy days like we are having this year, it's not quite so pleasant as it is on sunny days. In cooler months, I drive a pick-up truck which I love, though I find the trike is much easier on gas than the truck is, so that's a nice change for the summer as well as the trike being so much fun.

Recently I decided to get a new pair of eye glasses as it's been a number of years since I got the last pair and though the prescription hasn't changed much, the lenses were rather scratched so needed replacing. I must admit I would have loved to get a pair of prescription goggle glasses, they would be so great for riding the motorcycle and would protect my eyes from wind, bugs, etc. However, I really did need glasses for wearing all the time, not just for riding my bike. Maybe next time I can get both.

5 pounds gone

2011-07-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last week when I went to my TOPS meeting, I registered a 5 pound loss. WOW, was I happy!! It was over a 3 week period, mind you, but still it was wonderful as it's been some time since I had a good loss. No, I did not take diet pills, but have been using more fiber in my foods. I also am eating less. I know I must move more in order to wear off the excess body fat, and to lower my cholesterol levels, but I just don't seem to be able to push myself enough. Speaking of pushing myself, I really must get going as I have a chiropractor appointment this after noon and want to be on time for it. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a short walk in somewhere along the line.

Quote

2011-07-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our bodies need real, fresh food to maintain health.

~ Louise L. Hay

Indaway

2011-07-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

I love my new dog, Indaway... though have discovered that during the time I had no dog my life has changed more than I realized. I don't really have time for a dog anymore, or at least not during the summer months. I am, most days, off somewhere on my motorcycle rather than at home with a dog. I used to take Reba with me in the truck most everywhere I went year round, but now during the summer I no longer have the truck on the road, I change the insurance from the truck over to the trike (3 wheel motorcycle), so I can not take Indaway with me when I go. Also, some places I go do not allow dogs. For example, the end of this month I want to go to Rock Creek, BC to Boogie Bash, a motorcycle event where dogs and children are not allowed, just adult humans. I need a doggy sitter and the one I thought I had is no longer available to me. Sadly I may have to stay home that weekend instead of going off with friends to have a good time. Not only does this dog get in-da-way when I'm trying to do house or yard work, but it appears he also will get in-da-way of my life at times. As much as I do love Indaway, I am thinking about how wise it is to keep him.

Dreams

2011-07-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes we have strange dreams that we can't understand? Well, I don't often remember my dreams, but from time to time I do. Imagine waking up and realizing you've been dreaming about shopping in stores and on the internet, looking for good laptops for students. Hey, I don't even have children and not even one of my pets is going to school, though the dog might have to go this fall. Even if I decided to take Indaway to dog obedience school, he would not need a computer. So yes... a strange dream indeed. Since I got Indaway, about 3 weeks ago, I've worked with him just a little bit and he is doing very well considering I don't do as much as I should with him. He is now just turned 7 months, so did have some knowledge before he got here, but he is learning the little bits I try to impart to him. Unfortunately, he does have a tendency to run off to play with other dogs, even if I am calling him to come back... so he will never be loose in the yard again. He is either in his pen or on a lead attached to me, or a chain in the front yard if I'm out there doing yard work and too busy to keep hold of him. I live on a very fast, busy highway and I have already lost too many animals to it, not taking a chance with another. That would be a night mare!!

Passwords!

2011-07-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

I used a program to clean up my computer. It seems to have worked. It erased all my saved passwords and user IDs, so now I am having a real challenge getting back into many places. This is a challenge!! I had to reset my password to come here. Now it's done and I have to run off to town. I'm late!! Be Back later!!

Indaway

2011-06-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

If there was a trophies for the dog that got in the way the most, it would be won, hands down, by my new dog. Now I really understand why, even though they had named him Bear, they called him Indaway. This dog is always in the way whenever I try to do anything. If I want to get something done in the house or outside, he has to be locked up or chained up to keep him safe and out of my way. He got away the other day and very nearly got hit by a car on the highway out front of my home. I saw it happen and was so scared for him!!! Thank God they managed to avoid hitting him, and Thank God they were the kind of people to want to avoid hitting him. Believe it or not, I have seen people that would swerve to hit a dog rather than swerve or brake to miss one. Indaway is such a sweet heart. He is currently laying on the floor near my chair, chewing on a bone I gave him earlier. He has a lot to learn, and already he is a good dog... will get even better as he settles down and as he learns more.

Strange Weather Patterns

2011-06-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

This year the weather has been so unusually cold and rainy. It is getting frustrating and many people are experiencing problems with depression due to the lack of sunshine and warm temperatures. Many people are having to turn their heat on in June when we usually are using air conditioners around here. I wouldn't mind getting a small infrared heater to be able to take the chill off in my home without having to light my pellet stove. I can put on an extra bit of clothing and this helps a lot, but my birds are tropical and need to be fairly warm to stay healthy, so it is important to not let the temperature in my home drop too low.

While some of us are in unusually cold weather and flood conditions, others in the world are suffering from unusually hot, dry weather and praying for some rain and cooler days. The world is truly in upheaval.

A Wonderful Announcement

2011-06-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just want to tell you all that I have a new 'guy' in my life. A wonderful new dog!! His name is Indaway and he is 6 1/2 months of age. Indaway is 1/8 King Shepherd and 7/8 Rottweiler, so he looks like a Rottweiler but has longer, curly hair, and one little white spot on his chest that I didn't even know was there until today. He came to live with me 9 days ago and has already been acting like a guard dog, barking to let me know when someone is at the door, or stopped at the bottom of our driveway. He will be very protective of me and this is a great thing. He has a lot of growing to do yet and is already a fairly good sized dog, so will be a real big boy when he's at full size. I hope he is like Reba was in respect to knowing when to be nice and when to be protective. Reba loved everyone and was such a sweet, loving dog, yet if she sensed any danger she became very protective of me. I will soon take some photos of Indaway and post them.

Cel Phone Fiasco

2011-06-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

In February I decided to enter into a new 3 year contract so I could get a new cel phone. I looked at a few and actually wanted to get one of the blackberry phones, but when I was talking to the gal at the Telus booth, I was told that you HAVE to have internet with one of these phones and i didn't want to pay the extra for internet hook-up on my phone when I have 2 laptops on internet. It just doesn't fit into my budget at this time. I ended up getting a nice phone with a slide out querty keyboard and liked it a lot. Last week I went to wash my jacket, checked all the outside pockets and forgot to check the inside pockets. My cel was in one of those unchecked pockets and ended up in a sink full of water. As I hand washed the jacket I felt the phone. I got it out right away and put it into a bowl of rice to dry it out, but unfortunately that wasn't enough. My cel was dead!!! Thankfully, a friend has given me his old cel to use until I can afford to buy a new one again, or to pay to restart my contract and get another free phone. I will be more careful from now on and make sure I check all pockets before washing things. This jacket is the only one I have that has inside pockets.

Gardening Pleasures

2011-05-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

I am interested in different aspects of personal health care and tend to do a lot of reading and research along these lines. I also need to loose weight. Blood sugars and cholesterol levels are important for me to be aware of and to keep in good control, so I usually eat with these things in mind. Oh, I have the odd slip, like a hamburger for lunch yesterday, but I don't allow myself to do that very often. I haven't taken the time to research diet pills for women, but I read about better ways to garden and grow my own organic vegetables. I have been eating my own freshly grown spinach for about 2-3 weeks now, and lettuce and kale for the last week or so. I really enjoy growing, picking and eating my own food as it is so much fresher and healthier as well as flavorful than what we can buy in the stores. I am even thinking that it would be good to start growing my veggies in the house during the fall & winter months when I can't grow it outside.

Thinking About Cards

2011-05-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinki8ng that, being involved with 2 motorcycle riding clubs and the BC Interior chapter of Association for Injured Motorcyclists, it often would be good to have business cards. For example, when I see classic motorcycles parked somewhere it would be good to be able to leave a card on the bike, letting the owner know about the BC Classic Motorcycle Club. I have been thinking about designing my own cards, then either printing them on my own printer or looking into getting professional business card printing. I think likely the professionals would do a better job.

Gardening - Seeds

2011-05-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

I am pretty new at gardening. Last year I did grow a small garden that was fairly successful, more so than ever before, so I am encouraged to grow more this year. I planted lots of seeds in the house this winter and had far more success with then too than what I have had in past years. Usually after spending all that money on seeds & starting them in the house I still have to buy bedding plants as nothing I grew from seed was usable. This year I have lots of plant to move outside and will be doing so this coming week, though with this unusually cold weather I think I will cover them at night for awhile, just to be sure. I was just reading about saving my own seeds as I plan to cut down on the expense of buying them. At $2-4 per package for just a few seeds, I think it will be a good idea to harvest seeds. I just read about doing so for spinach seeds and see the plants have to be picked then hung in to dry. I have a small metal building in my back yard, near the garden, that will likely be a good place to hang the spinach plants when the time comes to do so. For now I am greatly enjoying the fresh spinach I pick for my salads or smoothies. I might freeze some later if I don't eat it all first. Today I picked a bunch of it to take to Mom when I go visit her shortly. She will use it in smoothies as well, and will cook some too as that is the way she enjoys it while I want mine raw. My kale & peas are coming nicely and the mixed lettuce that I planted is ready for me to dig into now. I love having my own fresh veggies and could/would only grow them in raised beds.

Feeling Really DOWN

2011-05-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

I have been working very hard at getting my trike on the road by this weekend and now I must accept that it won't happen. After my trike was destroyed in a crash I bought a new bike and used many parts off the old one to build another trike and it is all done and ready for the road except now there is a problem with the wiring so my lights are not working right and my trike can not be put on the road. I am so very sad it's incredible. I also was hoping a special friend of mine would make it over to visit for the weekend, though he has truck troubles so won't be coming. I am so sad that not even a nice everlon diamond knot would cheer me up and I really like sparkly jewelry. It's so sunny and warm, just the weather I have been wishing for and yet I now wish it would rain since I can't go for a ride on my trike now.

Firefox 4

2011-05-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Today I upgraded my computer to Firefox 4. It said it would be faster to load and easier to use. Well, so far I agree that it is loading faster, so that is good. However, it will take a while to get used to some of the changes. I like that the tabs are now on the very top, though keep going to find them where they used to be out of habit. It took me a terribly long time to find where they moved the Refresh button to, and now that I know I still keep looking where it used to be. Many things have changed in Firefox and it will take me a bit of time to catch on to it all, but know I will soon enough.

Spell Check

2011-05-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that computers have spell check as I'm not the greatest speller. I always did well in English class in school, though never that well in Spelling class. I find that the English language has a lot of strange glitches in the way they spell things and even the little verses that we learned in school only apply in some cases. For example: 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' works in lots of cases though there are acceptations to that rule. I also find it odd that words that sound alike aren't spelled alike (though ends with 'oh' sound.... go also ends with 'oh' sound as does snow). I find it irritating when people write things wrong due to lack of knowledge of grammar and such. For example: when someone writes 'I looked out and saw there car drive up'. It should be 'their', not there. There means 'over there' and their (notice the i is not before the e even though there is no c. See, broke that rule.) means belonging to a person or people. They're is another often misused word which is short form for 'they are'. Their/there/they're!! I think most people need more than spell check on their computer, some could really use a merriam collegiate dictionary!

Spring Cleaning

2011-05-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year to throw away the old and welcome in the new. I've been cleaning my home and my yard which is a huge job that is very necessary. Having been injured and sick for some time, I have let things go around here and it is feeling really great to be getting a few things done. I look forward to having a clean home and a pretty yard again. Being spring, it's also time for putting away winter clothes, donating what I don't want anymore, bringing out warm weather clothes and donating what doesn't fit any more. As well as clothing, shoes need to be checked over to see what is good and what needs to go. A good pair of shoes can cost what seems to be a lot, but will last longer than cheap ones and is better for your feet. As a diabetic, I know it is important to take good care of my feet. I also want new sandals for the upcoming summer. I've been wearing my old ones and they really need to be replaced this year.

Cholesterol

2011-04-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

I don't like taking medications for things unless absolutely necessary, and even then only for a short time. Unfortunately, I've been taking a mild dose of anti-depressant drugs for some years now and I would really like to get off of them. I believe that I may not be here now if I hadn't taken them, and yet I don't want to take them for the rest of my life. I now am faced with having high cholesterol and my doctor really wanting me to go on statin drugs to lower it. If I go on them I will likely never get off of them and this really bothers me. It has been 2 years or more that the doctor has been pressuring me to go on them and me refusing and wanting to get it down with diet and exercise but the numbers have gone up instead of down. I know I'm not doing enough with the diet & exercise thing and I must do more. As much as I don't like taking any kind of meds, I must admit that I am wondering about some kind of diet supplements because I know that getting my weight down would probably make at least some difference. The most important thing for me to do is get off my computer, get off my butt and get moving!!! Walk, swim, ride my exercise bike... any of these would be a really good thing, I just don't seem to be able to motivate myself right now.

STUCK in an ELEVATOR!!

2011-04-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well it's been an interesting day today. Among other things, I went to my Dr. appointment and the cel died just as I was going in. (Was only down 1 bar dang battery not good, only a month old). After the appointment I go to leave and the building decided to take me hostage!! Yup, going down 1 floor in elevator and it suddenly stops and nothing happens when I push any buttons. I said to myself "Self, I think we're stuck in the elevator" or something sort of like that. ;o) Thankfully the "Help" button worked and I got to talk to a guy and tell him what was happening and what city I was in, but not the address b'cuz I don't know it. I also told him my Dr.'s name and said to call there and get the address. Anyway, it took awhile but finally 2 repair guys turned up and broke me out of there. First time anything like that ever happened to me. After that I went and did a few hours volunteer work and am now home relaxing with a cat on my chest.

I'm not really sure how long it was... seemed like a long time but could only have been 30 - 45 minutes. Hey, could have been worse, there could have been some weird, smelly, freaky person in there with me. Haha. I sat down and read some ...of what I had been given (info on cholesterol) and then did some meditation, relaxation stuff. I have a mild issue with claustrophobia, but thankfully it didn't rear its ugly head today.

Thanks everyone!! I'm just really grateful this didn't happen to me a couple months ago, before I started 'doing the work' for the PTSD. I was so stressed out and coming apart at the seams that I might well have flipped right out. I was wondering why this happened to me, even when I was sitting there on the floor of the elevator I was wondering (I believe there is always a reason things happen, always something we are to learn) and finally I see what it well may be about. Maybe it's to show me just how far I've come in my healing, how I have returned to my 'pre-trauma' calm self. That makes it something to be grateful for.

Happy Easter Everyone

2011-04-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

May you and yours have a basket full of joy and prosperity!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Quotes

2011-04-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

~ Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is. ~

Gary Zukav

~ Loving ourselves is the miracle cure we are all looking for. ~

Louise Hay

My Want List

2011-03-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things I would like to have and some things I think I might like to try out. This list I am about to make will include both.

- a new trike
- work done on my truck
- a new laptop computer
- new furniture
- new kitchen cupboards
- to try using hgh
- to have a deck or patio built in my back yard
- a water feature in my garden/yard, with fish in it
- to travel to other countries
- to meet some of the people I have a Facebook friends
- have someone come in regularly to clean my home

Some of these things I will get and some not likely, but hey, first the dream must come before things actually show up in your life.

Surfing for Info

2011-03-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

As with everyone else, there are areas I know about and areas I know nothing about, so I like to do research on lots of different topics. I find that the internet is a really great resource for researching so many things. For example, I just researched the Parrot Plant, a most beautiful plant that I once had but don't now and would like to get another one. Some of the other things I have researched include: bird care, bird breeding, plants of various kinds, herbs to grow and herbs to plant in my garden. A few things I haven't looked into include: side effects of hydroxycut, how to make beer, building boats, to name just a few. I could go on and on about what I have researched, what I have not, and what I might look into in the future.

Laptops

2011-03-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

I currently Hewlett Packard Pavilion and acer aspire laptops. Each of these 2 computers has things I like and things I would change. I must admit that, over all, the one I paid the least for, the Acer Aspire, has been the better of the two. However, the last while I am almost constantly getting a message that the CPU is being over worked and the computer is just so very slow way too often. I guess this has to do with the fact that computers are out dated before they reach the store shelves to be sold to us. Add to this the fact that the programs we use are always being updated and needing more power to run than they did before, and I guess it causes this kind of problems. I would love to buy a nice new laptop, one with a really really big CPU and equally big Hard Drive & RAM, a computer that would last me for several years without problems. Yup, that would be great.

If Only...

2011-03-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I want to do, places I want to go. Wow, I sure could use a pocket or purse full of gold coins. I have been thinking about getting a small welder, electric not gas, and learn to weld so I would be able to create statues and other cool things for yard and garden. Not only could I decorate my own yard/garden, but could also possibly sell them and make a bit of money. I also could use some extra money to get my trike rebuilt and back on the road. I'm having troubles with my laptop and would like to get a new one. To do some traveling would be awesome, a water feature in my garden would be grand, new furniture almost a must have as mine is just junk. I could go on and on here... yet I won't just now.

Eagles

2011-03-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Rose phoned me and was telling me that she & her husband went for a drive today to do with his roofing business. They spotted 2 trees along the way that were full of bald eagles. I wish I had been there with my camera with its zoom lens, &/or a good set of bushnell binoculars. I love eagles and would love to get some good photos of a bunch together like that. It is so great to see more eagles around these days. For some time they were endangered but the numbers seem to be increasing again and for this I am very grateful. For now I will be happy to look at other peoples photos of this incredible bird.

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

2011-03-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

I have been diagnosed with this disorder... and it is, as much as I dislike labels, a relief to admit it and to know that I am not going crazy. After the crash in September, every time I closed my eyes I saw the blue car suddenly in front of me again and relived the moments of impact... the moment when the car and my trike impacted and the moment my body, having flown up from the trike, slammed into the car. In time, it passed so I could close my eyes and sleep again without this happening, though still it was something of a fight to keep that movie from replaying. Even now I can close my eyes and, if I allow it, I can see the details of the crash and the aftermath of it. I still wonder who the guy was that helped me...well, there were 2 very nice men that came and helped me until the paramedics and ambulance attendants arrived, and it would be nice to know who both of them were so I could say 'thank you'... and yet I would really like to know who the one was that was wearing a skullcap type helmet and an orange on black Harley jacket. Yes, there are a lot of things that were amazingly clear and stay that way in my mind.

One day in January, I was driving my truck down a street in town and a small blue car was driving towards me. Suddenly I saw this car cross the center line and enter into my lane!!! My heart flew into my throat, to say the least, and as I blinked I saw the car was back in it's own lane. I realized in that moment that it had never left it's correct lane, but I had just had a flash back to September 10 when there really was a little blue car that suddenly came into my lane making a left turn... and we collided.

There have been many times when I stressed really easy since the crash, even over not being able to figure out how to use a new cell phone. I really shocked my friend Dan when he saw me flip out over the phone. I am usually so calm and so able to figure almost anything out. He took the phone and figured it out then showed me how to use it. It was simple!! This is not a difficult phone to use, but I was on stress overload and just couldn't deal.

I have never doubted that I will ride my trike again starting this year, once the new one is built and I recover from the upcoming 2nd surgery on my wrist.... never that I would allow myself to think about anyway, until the last couple days. Now I know it may not be as easy as I want it to be and that stuffing the feeling down where I don't acknowledge it isn't going to help. I need to do something about it. I need to have counseling. I am looking forward to starting that counseling as soon as possible... and yet part of me is dreading it too. It would be easier to just take the drugs my doctor has offered to give me, easier but not the way I want to go. I don't like taking meds.

Birds

2011-02-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

A while ago this morning I heard one of my birds squawking and went to see what was up. Not that Charlie hadn't squawked before, but it just seemed I should go see what was up. I sure am glad I did. DW had gotten out of her cage, I had left it unlocked, and had climbed up to Charlies cage which sits on top of hers. Charlie is a Cockatiel and DW an Indian Ringneck Parrot, around twice the size of Charlie. She was sitting ever so innocently near his cage though not on it when I arrived in that room, and he was laying on the floor of his cage. I thought at first he may have had a heart attack or something as he is older and came to me recently from a home where there was often smoking... he is not as healthy as my other birds or as other cockatiels I've known that were twice his age. Anyway, I put DW back in her cage then looked closer at Charlie and saw blood on broken toes. He must have been on the cage wall and had his toes outside and available to DW and she bit a few of them. Poor little Charlie. I think he would have stayed on the floor and died had I not been there, but I reached in and picked him up. I got some very nasty bites before I finally 'woke up' and wrapped him in my nightgown so he couldn't bite me any more. I rushed him into the bathroom and got out the Kwik Stop powder which stopped any more bleeding, I had lots of blood on my hands and it was all his. I've given him water and he has been sitting on my shoulder for some time now. He seems okay and I am sure he will recover from this trauma. I will be a whole lot more careful in future about locking DW's cage. I love her, she is such an awesome bird, and yet she does have the nasty habit of hurting any other bird she comes in contact with.

I think I will go get something to eat now before I have to rush off to a birthday party this afternoon. I will put Charlie back in his cage and check the food and water of all my animals. I think I will grab the bag of mixed nuts (colon cleanser for me) and munch on some of them while I make Oatmeal and take care of my animals. I also must get dressed and drive to town so better run.

EFT

2011-02-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

From what I've read, the weight loss industry has become a billion dollar industry. Just the fact that the market is so very big shows that weight loss is an enormous problem for many and that people do have the desire to make changes. Many people make financial sacrifices to try loosing weight, yet as a nation, the percentage of obesity and overweight adults is still increasing.

People try everything imaginable in hopes of loosing the excess fat from their bodies, including though not limited to: Fad Diets; Diet pills that work fast; Weight Loss Clubs; Starvation/skipping meals. I have been going to TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) for 2 years now and I fully believe in this organization. It is a support group backed by a lot of good information. In the first year I dropped 20 ugly pounds. In the second year I gained back 10 of them. Is this because TOPS doesn't work? NO! It's because I haven't worked the program properly. I am now adding something to my weight loss venture that will hopefully help me succeed in reaching my goal in weight loss as well as other health and financial related things.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a process of tapping certain meridian points while speaking phrases that relate to the issue being worked on. I am about to start 'tapping' to a recorded program by Jessica Ortner "Releasing the Emotions That Keep You Stuck and Overweight". Nearly 2 years ago my friend Carole introduced me to EFT and she cured me of my Cola addiction in under 10 minutes by using EFT. I've never done anything with this 'tool' since until now. If this works half as well with weight loss as it did with curing me of that addiction, and I am sure it will, then I will soon be dropping the unwanted pounds from my body and feeling great!!!

Whichever road you choose to take towards weight loss, I wish you luck and good health!!!

Trike Update

2011-02-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

I got my 'new' bike home a couple weeks ago but didn't get the paperwork until this week, so went in on Wednesday and got it registered in my name. Al, the friend I bought it from also found the key for it which sure helps a lot, saves me using the ignition and gas tank from the 'old' bike. Both of them are 1983 Yamaha Maxim 650, though there are some differences between them. I am looking forward to the weather being warm enough to start the work of converting this new bike to a trike like I did with the first one. I will use many good parts off the wrecked one to build this one.

Being Lazy

2011-02-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Here I sit... and sit... and sit in my armchair, watching TV. I'm watching a movie called the Earthling, with William Holden, Ricky Schroder, Jack Thompson. (1980) A terminally ill man teaches a boy how to survive in the Australian bush. That's what the write up is on it. So far a young boy was with his parents in a motor home, he was outside while his parents were inside and I'm not really sure how it got started but the motor home was moving down the hill and 'dad' couldn't stop it so it went over a huge cliff. Now the kid is alone out there with snakes and all sorts of other scary creatures... now he's just found an older man sleeping and decided to steel his food but got scared off when the guy woke up.

I think I should get off this chair and onto my exercise bike, also known as my fat burner, haha. I need to peddle for at least 30 minutes... and I just don't really feel like doing it. The exercise also lowers my blood sugar levels and helps to lower my cholesterol levels too, so really is very important.

A Good Day

2011-02-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, the is the life. Here I sit in my big armchair with a fire burning in the stove so I am nice and toasty warm in my home though the temperature is -14°C outside and forecast to reach -17°C tonight. My cat, Mewsic is curled up beside me in my chair, my nice hot cup of tea is on the table beside me as are the 2 remote controls, one for the TV and one for the PVR.

I had a very nice day today. First I texted with a good friend of mine... then off to town to my physio therapy appointment for work on my wrists. After that I grabbed a very tasty Chicken Pesto Wrap at the health food store and took it with me to the Food Bank where I put in 2 hours doing volunteer work. Next I picked up some garlic crystals and mixed nuts and headed home. I had some things I had to do here. Now here I sit. During ads on TV I like to do other things like Sudoku or blog or surf the net and research things. Maybe I'll go read about adipex diet pills, or maybe I'll research a stone I was told about that I want to know more about, though I would have to get up and go find the paper where I wrote down the name. I could even grab the Sudoku book off the exercise bike beside my chair... hmmmm... maybe I'll even write another blog post. Life has so many options and I do love to explore them.

Dreaming... Again

2011-02-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

I have a fellow living in an RV trailer on my land, below my house. It's kind of nice to have someone else on the property, safer in this day and age, and it's also nice to have a few dollars rent from him each month. It helps me out a lot. I'm not sure if he has rv insurance on the trailer, but he is fairly safe as he heats the place with electric heaters rather than the gas furnace that may or may not work real well as it's an older RV. I don't know how anyone can live in such a small home, I know I couldn't, but he seems to be doing well there so this is a good thing. I have a whole big house and it's full of stuff, lots of it cages with pets living in them. We couldn't fit in a little trailer. I wouldn't mind having one of them for 'camping' in the summer. I think it would be awesome to go out to a lake in the bush where hardly anyone else goes and just live in nature for a good part of the summer. It would be hard to be without electricity and internet, but I think it would be good in many ways. Very stress free living and a great opportunity to get some reading & writing done, for sure. Anyway, I don't have one so this is just another dream. Maybe one day while I'm still young enough to drive it out there, set it up and live without the need of a nearby hospital.

A Great Day

2011-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day once again which is a real relief as I've been having some really bad days lately. I've had a non-stop headache for something like 2 weeks, as well as a stiff, sore neck, so it's been a bummer. Today, however, is the second day in a row that I haven't had a headache. I got up this morning and went to my TOPS group where we weigh in before the meeting. I am down 2 pounds since last week so this is a good thing. Last week I was down 1 pound. My goal is to drop 4 pounds per month, so that pretty much works out to a pound each week on average. It was a good meeting with lots accomplished, though I think that as Leader I maybe could have kept it a bit more organized and on track.

After the meeting, as always we as a group went out for lunch and then Pat, Pauline & I went to our favorite Secondhand Store. I always enjoy looking at all the various things people have donated: fabric, upholstery fabric, sewing notions, knitting needles, yarns, books, dishes, bedding, clothes and so much more. I pretty much always find lots of things to buy and haul home to my already over crowded home. I am going to have to stop it. Actually, for awhile I did stop going there, but it's just such a nice thing to do with my friends. I guess I have to start leaving my purse in the truck so I have no money on me when I'm there. Many of the things I buy really are useful to me though, and it's all very reasonably priced. Last week I bought a beautiful sweater for $1 and have already gotten lots of wear out of it... it's one of my favorites, looks real good on me.

After shopping we went to DQ for desert. I had a tea & a Buster Bar. I came home for a bit, maybe 1 1/2 hours to do some stuff here, then off to see the Dr. that had the results to the x-rays done on my neck yesterday. It shows a lot of disc deterioration, unfortunately, though I'm not surprised. My chiropractor had wanted me to get the x-rays done to see as this is what he thought was happening and he wants to be sure he's doing safe & proper treatment on me. I asked the Dr. if the neck problem would be the cause of the headaches I've been having lately. He said no. I told him that I'd been having a lot of them since I was in a motorcycle crash & he asked when that was so I told him September. He asked if I had been unconscious to which I said I had. He said the headaches are Post Concussion Syndrome. I've never heard of this before and I've had concussions before but don't remember if I had headaches afterward. Definitely not as bad as they've been this time, for sure. It was good to know though that it actually has a name, a reason for the headaches, and that they will pass. Maybe this is why I've been so tired lately too. I didn't think to ask the Dr. if this would have a bearing.

Next I went to my usual Thursday evening Wand Group, where we all use Amega Wands to wand each other. I always feel so much better after a good wanding, just incredible. So now I'm feeling better than I have in weeks and I've been doing a happy dance. It's awesome!!!

My Favorite Toy

2011-02-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

One of the best kind of toys in my opinion is a motorcycle... and I'm getting my 'new' one tomorrow. Yup, an early '80s Yamaha 650 Maxim very much like the one that was totaled off in the crash in September. Once it is home the conversion to a trike can begin. This bike doesn't run but should with a bit of work, maybe just needs the electric starter which can be taken off the 'old' bike and used on this one. If it needs more I have lots of good parts sitting in my carport. Since I have to have another surgery on my wrist I can only hope I will be able to ride my trike this summer... but I know it will be ready for me as soon as I am able.

Tired

2011-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but I've been very tired lately. Earlier this fall I was like this and figured it was due to the crash and resultant stress & healing of injuries. Finally it lifted and I felt much better, though still not 'top notch'. Now again I am 'deadly tired', and don't have a clue why. If someone offered me the best job in the world, but it working with animals, accounts executive jobs, or even getting paid to talk (dream job for me) I would have to pass as I'm just too tired to even blog for a few minutes. I keep making errors in typing and having to go back and re-do it. I can't think straight. Went to the Dr. today and fell asleep in the office while waiting for him. Then he came in and said hello. I nearly hit the roof, he scared me so bad. I will be going for blood tests, but was too late to go today and I was too tired anyway, so will go on Monday.

Health Stuff

2011-01-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

2.5 hours moderate to vigorous exercise per week.... that is what they just said on the TV News (Global BC) is what adults NEED to be healthy. I didn't catch what they said kids need. However, few people actually get the required amount. Sad.

45 minutes on my exercise bike x 3 evenings this week = 2.25 hours moderate exercise, with the odd spurts of more vigorous peddling... so I'm very nearly there this week. I know I will get more yet before the week is over. I know too that I need more than the 2.5 hours exercise if I want to loose the excess pounds... and I do.

Due to a headache I didn't do any exercise today, unless you can count house work which I don't think quite works ;o) It is good though that I got a fair bit of cleaning and reorganizing done in my bedroom... it's been way too long. There is still so much to do that has to wait until my wrist is a lot more healed than what it is now, but at least I can do some of the light basics. I've been taking some vitamins and supplements to help the bone heal and have been doing exercises and going to physio therapy to help get the use of the wrist/hand back. A slow process but well worth the effort.

Now I must go get ready for TOPS tomorrow morning. I am determined to get there on time, or even early this week for once, so will get everything ready tonight. I will even make sure all the animals are fed/watered enough so I don't have to do it in the morning.

Exercise

2011-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

Just joking around I call my recumbent exercise bike my "diet pill that actually works". I have been working at spending more time on it than before though I still need to spend more on it than I do. Last night I did 45 minutes on said exercise bike and I do plan to do another 30 - 45 minutes on it tonight so this is a good thing. Exercise helps to keep my blood sugars down, to get my cholesterol levels down, as well as to strengthen my cardiovascular system... and on top of all those great things that will help save & improve my life, exercise also burns calories so helps to get those nasty unwanted pounds off the body. Just sitting here with my feet up and my laptop on my lap does not wear off the calories I ate today, but that exercise bike will. I get to watch TV while I peddle off pounds. I watched Harry's Law & House while sitting here, now with Lie To Me coming on and Hawaii 5-0 I'll have good stuff to watch for the next 2 hours, 45 minutes of which will be spent on the bike, the rest in my arm chair.

Travel Dreams

2011-01-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

The more I think about it, the more I want to do some traveling once I receive my insurance payout for the crash I was in this past fall. Maybe I'll check out Outer Banks vacation rentals and such like that. I'm also thinking Central America. It will likely, of course, be 1-2 years yet, or more, before I get the settlement, but it's nice to dream and to plan. Today I was talking to my physio therapist about the extra pain I've been having up my arm, above where the wrist was broken. She thinks it could be that the metal plate in my arm is irritating my tendons and if this does turn out to be the problem the metal plate will likely have to be removed. A second surgery with a lot of healing time and more therapy. Nope, not good. This would set back my plans a lot as it would mean that I couldn't ride my trike by spring as planned. I've really been looking forward to riding it again and would be disappointed if I have to wait and extra month or two or three or.... well, you get the point. I see the Orthopedic Surgeon on Friday so will know more then. I get new x-rays done before seeing him and once he looks at them & reads the report from the physio therapist he'll tell me what he thinks it is all about.

Just a Thought

2011-01-16T17:58:00.001-08:00

Have a Fantastic day!
There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt...

Accidents Can Be Avoided

2011-01-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

We hear a lot about accidents lately, or at least if you watch or listen to the news you do. Offshore Accident, on shore accident, hundreds of miles away from the shore accident, they are all things I would prefer to miss out on. Dictionary.com says:

–noun

1. an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap: automobile accidents.

2. Law. such a happening resulting in injury that is in no way the fault of the injured person for which compensation or indemnity is legally sought.

3. any event that happens unexpectedly, without a deliberate plan or cause.

4. chance; fortune; luck: I was there by accident.

5. a fortuitous circumstance, quality, or characteristic: an accident of birth.

6. Philosophy. any entity or event contingent upon the existence of something else.

7. Geology. a surface irregularity, usually on a small scale, the reason for which is not apparent.

Having been the "injured person" in an "accident" which was " in no way the fault" of myself, just 4 months ago, I can certainly agree that it is "an undesirable or unfortunate happening". I believe that the woman in the car that hit me while I was riding my trike did indeed do it "unintentionally", though I feel that it was in no way unavoidable. If she had slowed down and given just a moments thought to her driving instead of whatever else she may have been thinking, this could have and I'm sure would have been avoided. As it was, she walked away without so much as a scratch while I may never get the full use of my hand/wrist back and will always have a 3.5 inch scar on my wrist and a bunch of metal inside it. I've been going through months of physical therapy and still have months more ahead of me. There was also 2 people in a second car that was hit by the same car as hit me and I know one of them was also taken to the hospital as she had a sore neck, likely whiplash.

Accidents are not fun, nor are they healthy for anyone or anything. Please think!! Avoid "accidents".

My Truck Needs a Tire

2011-01-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

This time of year people are shopping for hockey gear, wrestling gear, and other such sport stuff for their kids during the winter sports season. I sure am glad I don't have to worry about those kind of purchases. It's bad enough I have to buy a new tire for my truck. I need to replace one that was ruined when I had front end problems with the truck. I got that fixed and still have to replace the tire. I've had to use another wheel I had here from my truck which is an 'all season' tire and not good to run with 3 winter tires. I have now found a used winter in this size, not an easy thing to do, so must now run to town to buy it and get it onto the truck before someone else grabs it. So.... guess I better run now. Will be back later folks.

Reba's Welcome

2011-01-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

I just removed some words from Reba from the side bar. I can't bring myself to just delete them, so am posting them here instead. I so miss my Reba Jane Rottenweiler and some days, like today, still find myself thinking she's in the truck waiting for me to come out of a store. I guess in time this will pass... sigh.

Hi. Welcome to Reba's Run.

I am Reba Jane Rottenweiler, your hostess with the mostess. I'm real friendly so long as everyone is good and plays nice.

Just want to tell you.... all the pictures on this blog belong to my Mom 'Bean. Her name is Alice Price.

On the front door of our 'real home' my Mom 'Bean has a sign that says "Security by God. Always on the job. Assisted by Rottweiler". Rottweiler... that's me.

Arf, arf, arf.

- Rottweiler Central
- Bonehead Remarks
- In The Doghouse Now
- A Dog's Eye View of Life in our World
- Just generally a doggy bloggy.

Thoughts on Insurance

2011-01-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

I wish we had the option of choosing different insurance companies here, but we have no choice for auto insurance. We have to use the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), so when there is a crash both parties have the same insurance company and they don't fight for either side. I must say though that they are equal opportunity people there... they screw both parties without bias. For house insurance we have a choice of private insurance companies, and if we want to put extra insurance on our vehicles above what we get at ICBC, we can do that through private companies, but the basics must go through ICBC. In North Carolina, there is Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina and I'm sure there are many other companies throughout the US and Canada, even other countries. I hope they are all more fair with their payouts than ICBC is.

My Weight and Health

2010-12-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

I was just watching Ghost Whisperer on TV and could not help noticing what a nice figure Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has, such a small waist. I would love to have that kind of figure so I guess I better get on my exercise bike more and eat less. I know I have gained weight over the last week or two with all the Christmas dinners I ate and I have to get busy and get it off again. If I thought smoking cao cigars would take my mind off eating I would seriously consider it, even though I happen to be allergic to smoke. I guess lots of people like cigars and I used to like the smell of their smoke. I know however that only eating less and moving more will take the weight off. Well, not as much eating less as eating more wisely, more healthy, low cal foods rather than high cal or unhealthy foods. I must cut out the sugary food for my weight and for my blood sugars. Yesterday I did 30 minutes on my exercise bike and walked a kilometer, a good start. Today I did nothing. Guess I better get off my armchair and onto the bike. I have TOPS tomorrow and that will show how much I over did the food over Christmas as we weigh in before each meeting. See you later!

New Business

2010-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

I recently started a new business designed to help people reduce or eliminate pain and to get healthier. As well as purchasing business office supplies, I also have been purchasing some of the products for myself and so that I can demonstrate them to people that might be interested. I have a Black Tipped AMWand and have some bracelets on order. There was a great Christmas Special where they were selling 3 bracelets at a great price so I ordered them, 2 for me and 1 for a friend. I also have a Silver Tipped AMWand on order for another gal. I needed to order a certain number of dollars worth of product to become Platinum and start my business of with a bang, and I managed to do it, thanks to my upline, Bruce. He introduced me to the gal that wanted the Wand which I am giving her at my cost just to get what I needed to get the business off the ground in the way I wanted it to be, and he is taking the 3rd bracelet for his girlfriend. I have lots of things to read, videos to watch, etc to learn about the products well enough to be good at telling people about them... they really work.

Leathers

2010-12-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

When I started riding motorcycles again after many years of not, the only leathers I had were from riding horses, so I rode the iron horse in my equestrian apparel. At some point I think I put my chaps away, though I have no clue where. I have a terrible mess in my home and they could be anywhere in here... or they could be gone from my life. Over this past summer I did acquire motor cycle leathers. I bought a really good jacket at a second hand store for a very good price, and later was given a most wonderful pair of custom made chaps in black leather with some purple leather accents and lots of silver studs. I would like to get some purple accents added to the jacket as well as some silver studs so that the jacket and chaps match. I was very fortunate to be wearing the leathers and a good DOT helmet when I was hit by the car.

Merry Christmas To All

2010-12-25T00:28:00.000-08:00

I send you wishes for a most Merry Christmas and a 2011 filled with Joy, Peace and Love for you and your loved ones.

I also send a 'Christmas Gift'. It's a free download that could well help your 2011 be a lot more prosperous. I've downloaded it before but didn't get around to reading it... sigh, so just downloaded it again and am finding it very interesting whenever I find a few moments to read. I look forward to a quieter time soon, lol.

Well, I think I am about as ready for Christmas as I will be this year. Much of it is already over and much left to come. December 2nd was my TOPS group party... full turkey dinner for lunch, games to play, gift exchange where I was fortunate to get what I felt was the best gift, a hand quilted wall hanging of snowmen. December 18 was a turkey dinner at my sister Marcy's in Enderby including a gift exchange before M & her husband left for Whiterock, Las Vegas, & 4 months in Arizona/California. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, I go to Mom's in Enderby in the morning for gift exchange and to spend the day with her, we'll go to a church dinner later in the day. Monday is another family dinner at Mom's. My 2 brothers and their families will be there, one from Langley and one north of Edmonton. I'm making my 'famous' bread pudding for desert.

And now... off to dreamland or Santa won't stop by. Well, okay, so he refuses to stop here anyway ever since the crash... sigh. He tried to park on my roof which is metal and very steep. It was a nasty mess. Ah well, maybe some day Santa & the reindeer will get over it and stop in again. In the meantime, they drop my gifts at Mom's so I have to get there early to open them. Night night, and may your morning bring you lots of good stuff under the tree.
Merry Christmas and a Joy, Peace and Love filled 2011!!

My New Exciting Venture

2010-12-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

I am really excited to tell you that I have started my own business. It is one that will help a lot of people to reduce their pain, heal their bodies, and for some even improve their financial situation. Following is an email I sent to friends and family to let them know my exciting news:

I just wanted to tell you I have started a new business that I am very excited about. As many of you know, I was in an accident in September where, among a few other things, I got a badly broken wrist. A friend in one of my 'bike' groups offered to 'wand' it for me, then I have been getting together with people for wanding ever since. I have found that wanding reduces my pain as well as improves the movement in my wrist as it heals.

Having seen the improvements I was experiencing, my friend Joyce asked me to take her along to a wanding and of course I did. She had a very badly broken ankle in January 2006 which, like my wrist, required a metal plate and many screws to hold it together. Joyce has had a bad limp ever since, unable to walk without shoes, and unable to 'tap her toes' (move the foot up and down). Since her second wanding she has been walking without the limp and has been able to flex the foot & tap her toes. To say the least, she is thrilled! Tonight was her 4th wanding and she now can walk without her shoes on. Wednesday Joyce joined me at my physiotherapy treatment and while there, her former physiotherapist came out of a back room and said hi. When she showed him the movement in her ankle he was very impressed and said that whatever she's doing just keep doing it as it is working for her.

This morning my new wand arrived on my doorstep by courier, until now I was dependent on other people's wands and am thrilled to have my own to use daily. I later went out for lunch with my TOPS group at a restaurant in Armstrong & the owner, Marg, was in a lot of pain, you could see it in her face as well as the way she walked. She was over at our table and I asked her where she was hurting, she showed me the place on her back and I began to wand. No, the wand doesn't touch the person, though it can, it is usually held a couple inches out and always turned in a clockwise circle. In just minutes Marg was saying she felt like it was pulling the pain from her and that the area felt hot. It was not long before we all could see the change in her face and the way she held her body. She was no longer hurting!!

Check out the links below and watch the videos. Send this on to anyone you know that is in pain or just wants to improve their health.

This is my web site:http://www.eamega.com/wanderfullwell

You will find great information on this web site which belongs to a friend of mine. If you decide you would like to order something, please get in touch with me or go to my web site above.
http://www.wandtheworld.com/?go=AWAY-WITH-PAIN

Feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

Critter Stuff

2010-12-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say that my cat, Mewsic, sure does not need a sleep aid. All evening she has been snoozing here in my big arm chair. Each time I decide to come sit down here I have to gently move her over enough to get my butt onto the chair. She's totally 'out like a light'. She kind of wakes up some when I move her, but just cuddles up and goes back to sleep again. I guess it's the perfect life for a cat... warm home, full belly, no dog to disagree with. At this time of day, all the birds are sleeping too, safely tucked away in their cages for the night. I'm the only one still up and will be for some time yet. Much movie to watch and still more work to do.

Working at Home

2010-12-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some cleaning and rearranging in my living room, trying to declutter and make it all nice and ready for any company I might get through the coming weeks, not to mention nicer for me to live in. I'm tired of being crowded and cluttered, unable to find things I want or need at any given time. I've also been decorating for Christmas and need to clean and declutter in order to do this. I need a place free to put up my Santa Village and such. I need to stop frequently to rest so I don't get into too much pain, though I now have a lot less pain that before (will tell about it in a future post). During my rest periods, which are often longer than my work periods, I do things like Sudoku, surf the net, read emails, etc. Some of the surfing raised a question in my mind... how many women would be happy to receive cubic zirconia wedding rings for Christmas this year? I can see where this could be thought as wonderful... and where it could raise some problems... sigh. I've also been watching movies on TV while I work and while I rest. Santa Baby and now Santa Baby 2. The elves and the Claus's are playing poker... for candy. This just reminded me that Dan left some candy in the back room for me. I think I'll go see what there is there. Mmmmm.

My day

2010-11-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

I've had a great day today. It started with waking up to find Mewsic, my beloved car, curled up with me and of course my Indian Ringneck Parrot, DW, was in her cage near my bed. As I lay there deciding whether to get up or to roll over and go back to sleep the phone rang, a number I didn't recognize but I answered anyway. It was my long time, dear friend Wanda saying she was in the next town visiting her brother and would be over about 11 to visit me. While I waited I did a couple things around home, including design a Roll Call sheet for my TOPS and KOPs group. It was wonderful to visit Wanda and her boyfriend of about 10 months, so nice to see she is in a good and serious relationship after all these long years. It's been about 6 years since we saw each other so had lots to talk about, just too bad I had a 2pm appointment in town so we had to say good-bye for now.

I rushed into town to my physio appointment where Pam worked on both of my wrists, the right 'sprained' wrist as well as the left 'shattered' wrist. My first treatment on the left wrist was Wednesday and I've been doing exercises at home since then as well as having it 'wanded' (will tell about this eventually). Pam, the physio therapist, said she already sees some improvement in the range of motion.

I went to A&W as I had a little over an hour between appointments and I was hungry. I ate a Spicy Mama burger with 2 cups of tea as I visited with a fellow that was there whom I've known for many years.

Next was the Chiropractor appointment to have my neck and right wrist/hand worked on again.

I went to Dollarama and got a new pair of gloves as I can't seem to remember where I put the ones I had last winter and with the sudden sub zero temperatures and the snow arriving yesterday, I need gloves.

Over to Joyce & Paul's house for a visit for around an hour or so, then home. Ahhh, finally home. Now I am watching TV as I blog... my left wrist is shooting pains into my hand and up my arm as it is still a strain to type with this hand but type with it I must and I will. I am very tired and know I will not need sleeping pills tonight, nor will I be up half the night reading and waiting to fall asleep. I will be happy to crawl into my bed early tonight and to go straight into Dreamland.

Reminiscing

2010-11-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

I was reminiscing today with a good friend. I haven't seen Wanda for a long time, from what she said it's been 6 years since she was last in town so guess it's been that long since we got together. We had about a 3 1/2 hour visit today, Wanda, her 'new' boyfriend of 10 months, & I... way too short a time to catch up on what we've each been doing for the past 6 years. We of course also needed time to reminisce about our past crazy times together. We also talked about health related things I am doing these days to get back my health and to heal my broken bones and damaged ligaments and tendons, etc. I am into 'natural' health care things as much as and whenever possible. I remember when I raised show rabbits how I used to pick dandelions and feed them to my pregnant and nursing does because I knew that was a good way to how to product more breast milk for the does to raise healthy kits. I've done some very interesting things in my life time.

Busy Life

2010-11-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, my life is really wonderful... and really busy lately. I've had a full and busy life for some time and now on top of that I have Chiropractic treatments twice a week and Physio Therapy treatments twice a week. I have currently been moved up from Co-leader of my TOPS club to Leader and am President of my Toastmasters club... all on top of the rest of my life. I've sure glad that right now I don't have to worry about figuring out and dealing with business debt consolidation. Dealing with the insurance company about 1- the loss of property claim for my trike and 2- the injury claim for injuries sustained when I was hit, on my trike, by a car that was speeding and turned left across my lane, cutting me off. I so enjoy the odd day when I get to stay home and relax or do my house work, read, etc.

Weather

2010-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

It is pretty dark out right now from all the clouds in the sky and in about 2 hours it really will be dark. These short days really are not to my liking, nor is the dark, dingy weather. There was some sunshine today for awhile, a short while, and before that there was rain... I suspect there will be rain again before this day is done. The forecasts are for snow to arrive soon... yuck. I would really love to go on vacation somewhere that is not so effected by this time of year... maybe to Australia, or to Hawaii, or even to Outer Banks vacation rental. Keywords to where I want to go include: sea shore, lots of daylight hours, sun shine, warmth, handsome men, laughter, fun, motorcycle riding, and many more. I want to sit on a warm, sunny beach and read my books.

Healthy Weight

2010-11-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Today I went to my first physio therapy on my broken left wrist. For the next while I will be going there 2x per week as well as doing many exercises on the wrist on my own. I also will be having physio therapy on my right wrist that is sprained and on my neck for whiplash.

After physio I went to my doctor's office for my regular diabetic check up with the health nurse. Unfortunately I was 20 minutes late due to the physio taking longer than I had thought it would. When making the appointment with physio I did tell that I had an 11:00 appointment at the doctor so I thought they would give me enough time which they/she didn't. Anyway, I did get to see Jennifer the nurse for a short while and have an appointment to go again in January. My A1C blood test result is 6.2 which is very good, though Jennifer wants me to do regular blood tests and record food intake and exercise again. This is a good thing for my health and blood sugar/diabetes stuff, and also for my weight. I've been totally out of control with my eating lately and not exercising as much as I should. Now I have to write down all this stuff that should keep me accountable for what I eat/drink and how much I move as well as how these things effect my blood glucose levels. I knew I had gained a lot and was reading about Lipofuze yesterday. Now I am seeing it as a good thing that I have to do this journal type thing. Jennifer weighed me... down 1Kg = 2.2 pounds since our last meeting, but my waste measures over an inch more than it did.... With the broken wrist I have lost a LOT of muscle in my left arm while gaining fat around my waste... not good at all. I must get this back under control!!!

Dreaming

2010-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Do you dream while awake? Maybe you have dreams about your future career, or about a vehicle you would love to have, or that perfect romantic relationship. I dream about some of those kind of things and one of my biggest dreams is about renovations to my home. I want to build a big deck in the back yard, overlooking the lake and the lower part of my yard. I also want to re-do my entire kitchen with new cabinets, more counter tops, much more cupboard space, bins and drawers, a new sink, maybe Grohe faucets. I also want to have to walls done in drywall rather than the paneling and wall paper they have now. I want to put new siding on the outside with more insulation underneath the siding. Things like that would make my home very nice. Maybe I would even take out the living room window and put in French doors there. Yes, dreaming... and dreams are good.