Happy Hallowe'en!

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You get winded from knocking on the door.

9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.

8. You ask for high fiber candy only.

7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.

6. People say: "Great Boris Karloff Mask,"
And you're not wearing a mask.

5. When the door opens you yell, "Trick or ."
And can't remember the rest.


4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.

3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.


2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

And the number one reason Seniors should not go Trick Or Treating...
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1. You keep having to go home to pee.


No matter, have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN anyway.

Get Outta Town

It's been a wet, miserable week and I am sooooooooooo looking forward to a week's vacation. I love taking short vacations every few months and I especially love going to the beach.

This past week I had a few reminders of how blessed I am. I hope I never take things for granted. I am so thankful for good health and God's blessings on my life. I have had my challenges in the past and have learned from them.

Friday night I picked up a bus load of Hallowe'en dancers - full of excitement still buzzing from the fun they'd had at their dance. I know this group well and have driven them home many times. One of them, S. is a social butterfly and always fills me in on the latest scoop around town in the land of people with disabilities. She's also told me she doesn't have seizures anymore and has repeated that to me many times.

Friday night S. was on my bus with her friends and had a seizure. I felt so bad for her but was so impressed with her friends on the bus who all encouraged her. I was thankful for the training I've had working with people who have seizures, it came in handy.

I love working with people who give you directions to their home like "my house is the one with all the trees in front" or "you know where I live right?" When I tell them I do they tell me "that's good because I don't".

Have a good week, peace out cub scout.

Hawaii

Just made reservations for our next trip to Hawaii. My mom and I are going for a week the end of November, can I hear an Aloooooooohaaaaaaa?????????????????
Yippee!!! Looking forward to drinking Blue Hawaiians, eating coconut shrimp and listening to some slack key guitar at my fave place on the beach, The Shore bird.

Hopefully we'll have great weather this time. Here's to good times and great memories!

Joke of the Week

----- The Psychiatrist and Proctologist...

Two doctors, a psychiatrist and a proctologist, opened an office in a small town and put up a sign reading: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Hysterias and Posteriors." The town council was not happy with the sign, so the doctors changed it to read, "Schizoids and Hemorrhoids."

This was not acceptable either, so in an effort to satisfy the council, they changed the sign to "Catatonics and High Colonics." No go.

Next, they tried "Manic Depressives and Anal Retentives." Thumbs down again.

Then came "Minds and Behinds." Still no good.

Another attempt resulted in "Lost Souls and Butt Holes." Unacceptable again!

So they tried "Analysis and Anal Cysts." Not a chance. "Nuts and Butts?" No way. "Freaks and Cheeks?" Still no go. "Loons and Moons?" Forget it.

Almost at their wit's end, the doctors finally came up with: "Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones, Odds and Ends."

Everyone loved it.

Have A Happy Fall!

Being a good person is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all of the yucky stuff -- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a bright new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Hawaii No Ka Oi

This week has been full of thunder storms, rain and lots of cloudy weather mixed with a little bit of sunshine. It's weeks like these I miss living in the tropics. Although the last trip my mom and I took in Feb'06 it rained continuously on Oahu we still have hopes of going back and trying one more time.

My mom is losing her eyesight and she'd really like to SEE Hawaii one more time. Who knows....another trip might happen this winter. Because of my step-father being in a care facility and my mom taking care of him daily it's hard to plan anything. He may get moved to a place closer to his own family and then my mom will be on her own again. We may just get to Hawaii again.

This weekend is my College/Church Reunion of my Hawaii days at International College and Church. I went to a similar reunion in October '05. I didn't feel the same call to go to this one, it's held in New Mexico. A lot cheaper than Hawaii and easier to get to for most of the folks attending. My thoughts are with them.

I guess it's a time of reminiscing and reflecting on days gone by. I love Hawaii and the island lifestyle. I love watching "Dog the Bounty Hunter" because it shows real life in Hawaii. Yet the years go by and my life is good.

It's a Guy Thang

We're off to the cottage for the weekend...........lots of deer along the way. Maybe an elk?

Seeya next week!

Good Times

Friday night we went to a fancy dancy restaurant and celebrated our friend Diana's birthday. It was a great night of wonderful food, good wine, and great friends.

Every course was brought out to us and explained because quite frankly, we wouldn't know what the heck we were getting otherwise.

Only in Canada can you go to a French Restaurant, be served by a Chinese server with a strong accent (I didn't get half of what he said) and get strong Dutch coffee with your dessert.

Like Chris always says...."Canada cuisine is 'fusion fare'. No, people, it's POT LUCK!!!" (You have to hear it in person to get the full impact).

I hope this next year is much better for Diana...she had a horrible fall last year crushing her right wrist/arm and still needs a lot of healing.
Here's to you Diana,
Cheers!

Life Without a Blinker

We have a dog named Maggie. Maggie came into our home in January '05. We got her from the SPCA and little did we know what we were in store for. She came with baggage. Not the matching set kind you buy at the Mall but true human like baggage. Emotional issues. She has them GALORE.

When we first got her we thought some of her behaviour could be cured by spending lots of money and taking her to Obedience School. The instructor told us after 2 sets of 6 weeks apiece that our dog could probably use some counselling. hmmm...a support group for dogs? I don't think so!

We took her to our vet and she spent some time on the phone with our Obedience trainer and Chris wrote up a detailed report on Maggie and some of her strange behaviour. Together we worked on a plan that Maggie did in fact know all the commands she learned at school but she chose not to listen to them because they just didn't work for her. She has her own agenda.

Maggie has settled down a lot in the last 2 and a half years. She's on medication for a recurring acute sinus problem she has, that costs $90/month to control and she has a leaky bladder so the estrogen pills she takes for that cost another $30/month but she's worth it.

Maggie has several issues, some are easier to deal with than others. Her biggest one is probably her fear of being put on a leash. A normal dog loves to see a leash come their way because it means they're going for a walk, yippee!!! Not our dog, she fears the collar, and the leash even more. When she's on a leash, she howls like someone's trying to kill her, jumps around and cries, sits down, does what ever she can to get out of the hold it has on her. So we drive her to the park and play ball and drive home even though it's just around the corner. It saves a lot on all of our collective nerves.

Another issue is the blinker of the car. Right. The blinker. It adds stress to Maggie's day to hear the blinker so we try to not use it as much as possible when we're driving with her.

So, in a nutshell, there's life with Maggie, a beautiful whippet/lab X. She's great. Maybe life without a blinker isn't so bad. It could be a lesson for all of us. If we trust God with our lives we can trust Him to make us turn one way or the other and just follow Him. In the long run, it's not such a bad idea.

Thanks Maggie, you're the best.

The Roof!!!

It came to our attention earlier this year that we wouldn't be able to put off the inevitable, a new roof for our cottage. So, after a lot of hemming and hawing (that is so a word) we ordered the supplies.
We had hoped to hire some help to do the work but that idea went south with The Boss so Chris and I put on our big girl panties and went and did the task ourselves.

We all got involved in the project. Some of us more than others.

We have 24 more sheets to go but we've installed 40 plus laid a new plywood floor for the addition. The old rotten one had to be removed first and a new one laid. Yikes! But it's looking good and we're happy with the results.

Birthday Boy

My friend WD came for a visit last night. WD is a resident of the first group home I ever worked at way back when. Because of his keyworker Jennifer we've been able to stay in touch. WD is blind, has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal.

He also is the sweetest kindest man. He was abandoned as a baby and nobody has ever been able to trace any of his family. WD just celebrated his 60th birthday so he came for a visit and shared a little aloha with me. We just happened to be having little Blue Hawaiians so he sipped on a little and enjoyed it immensely.

The thing about WD is when he likes something he shows it by a big grin across his face and reaching out for more. Happy Birthday WD! I love you!

Chuckle for Today

Miss Beatrice, the church organist, was in her eighties and had never been married.

She was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all.

One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room.

She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea.

As he sat facing her old Hammond organ, the young minister noticed a cut-glass bowl sitting on top of it.

The bowl was filled with water, and in the water floated, of all things, a condom!

When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat.

The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer resist.

"Miss Beatrice", he said, "I wonder if you would tell me about this?" pointing to the bowl.

"Oh, yes," she replied, "Isn't it wonderful? I was walking through the Park a few months ago and I found this little package on the ground.

The directions said to place it on the organ, keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease.

Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter."

Cottage Update

When we bought the cottage 3 years ago it was chock full of 70's cabinets and orange shag carpet. Not only did the carpet smell but so did everything else. Through the process of time and hard work we're so happy with the results. We now have beautifully hand-crafted pine cabinets.

All In A Day's Work

I don't know, what do you think? I'm hoping to combine exercise with work that needs to be done around here. A good use of time for sure. Around here the only way the lawn mowing people will mow our little itty bitty patch of grass is if every single little itty bitty piece of dog doo doo has been picked up. When it's not they keep going on to the next house and leave ours. Then Chris comes home from work and pulls out her own little mower and mows it herself and harumphs and carries on about incompetence and the like.

All in a day's work.

Losers

We have taken a survey in our home and have decided that all of us around here need to lose a little weight. A couple of years ago we did make a valiant effort and lost quite a bit but somehow it has crept back into our lives while we were sleeping. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the snacks at movies and eating out and picking up junk food for road trips. Absolutely nothing. Even the dog needs to lose some poundage.

In the next little while we are going to try again...in light of the fact that some big birthdays are looming next spring.

Oregon 2007

For several years I took a trip by myself to see my friend Cindy in Springfield, Oregon and then would head to the coast and drive up to Seaside. It's an absolutely beautiful trip and I looked forward to it every year. Not just to visit with an old friend but to see the beauty of the ocean and miles and miles of beach that the coast has to offer.

It has been a few years since I've done the trip and this year I was determined to make the effort and go for it. I wasn't disappointed. Cindy's now moved into a house of her and her kids are grown up but we continued our friendship right where we left off. It's always been a comfortable kind of friendship...years ago we were roommates at College in Hawaii. Then she stayed and married a couple of times and had some kids and I moved on but we stayed in touch and we still are the best of friends.

The coast as always is spectacular and I love spending time in Seaside. It's growing and has a lot of new construction and full of people on holidays. A wonderful place just to sit by the ocean and enjoy the view.

The Confessional

The new priest is nervous about hearing confessions, so he asks the older priest to sit in on his sessions. The new priest hears a couple confessions, then the old priest asks him to step out of the confessional for a few suggestions.

The old priest suggests," Cross your arms over your chest, and rub your chin with one hand.... and try saying things like, 'I see', 'yes', 'go on', and 'I understand'."

The new priest crosses his arms, rubs his chin with one hand and repeats all the suggested remarks to the old priest.

The old priest says,"Now, don't you think that's a little better than slapping your knee and saying, "No shit?.... what happened next?"

Demolition Time

and I've got the photos to prove it. Christine and I took down the last remaining cabinet standing in our dining room. It's of the 70's era, you know, fake dark panelled look with glossy mirrors on the wall, spindles, the works. Once the fashion statement of every rumpus room in the 70's it's now in the trash!

AND I took out the little wall separating it from the living room. I am woman! Christine helped a lot as well her prissy little whippet Moses.Speaking of Moses, the little darling jumped in his Mom's lap when the thunder started on Saturday evening. My big fierce warrior princess of a dog just rolled over and wanted me to scratch her stomach because that's what she does.

We had a great weekend, the weather was lousy for some of it and sunny for some of it so we went to the lake and Maggie got to swim in the lake with her friend Deka while Moses (the wimp) held up one paw and said, "I don't have to go in the water, I have a note" Besides that he's a whippet. Enough said.

Off to Big Country

I'm taking off for a few days up to...you guess it, AGAIN!!! This time with my friend Christine, her dog Moses and my dog Maggie. Moses has been there several times but his mom hasn't so this weekend is her turn. Maggie's pretty excited about the whole thing. We've got some demolition work to do in the dining room so the final stage of the new cupboards can be installed. It's all coming along. So much to do but looking at the photos of when we bought the place it's amazing to see how much has already been done.

All In A Day's Work

Since I spend about 8 hours of my day just driving around, well that and waiting in Hospital lobbies, and stopping here, there and every where, I thought I'd bring a camera along and photograph some of the interesting sights I see in a day. Stay tuned for more updates. The world's a crazy place. And that's not even talking about some of my clients.