Heading out of town for the weekend......

Well hubby and I are catching the first ferry in the morning to the Mainland.

Once on the mainland we will be picking up youngest daughter and leaving town and travelling to Kamloops for a little R&R and to visit with my friend that I haven't seen in four years! It's 0200 and I should be sleeping as I have the alarm set for 0400 so we can make the 0630 ferry, but the excitement, allergies and my head being active thinking about whether I got things all organized is keeping me awake.

I don't know about you, but when I go away it is more than just packing a suitcase. It means that the house has to be dusted, vacuumed the bathrooms are clean and the laundry is up to date folded and put away.

When the girls were little it was really a chore. Not only was it the cleaning but it was the packing for the five of us. I would always try and anticipate scenarios and hoped that I had packed for them(I guess that is the nurse in me coming out). First aid kits, loaded with antiseptic creams, band aids, antihistamines,calamine,bug spray you name it I had it. Or at least I hoped I had it. Before they started putting DVD players in vehicles you use to have to pack your own form of entertainment for the children in the vehicle. In my day it was just our voices and sing songs. When my girls were little, I packed individual care package for each of them. I would fill each bag with little snacks, colouring books,crayons and some sort of game so they would have something to eat and do in the car other than fight with each other. I also would pack their favourite blanket and stuffed animal, no matter what their age...it was a tradition. The funny thing was, that they were all terrible travellers, they use to get car sick. So after a few trips of cleaning up vomit I opted to give them all a dose of "Gravol" before we left the house. By the time we were in Chilliwack the girls would be sound asleep and often wouldn't wake up until we were half way into the trip. But it was the last portion of the trip, when their father and I would be getting tired, that they would start nagging about "Are we there yet!" We always made stops so they could stretch their legs and burn off some energy, but sometimes even that wasn't enough, and those travel bags full of goodies often were found on the floor of the vehicle all squished into the upholstery. Ah yes travelling with children isn't it fun!!

Now days, it's just hubby and I that have to get ready, but I still do the whole house cleaning thing and now it seems that because I don't have to worry about packing for the girls I added the need to make sure the yard is in order. This time of year the grass and weeds seem to grow like wild fire. So yesterday afternoon their we were out cutting the lawn, trimming the grass and watering the plants. Yup I am a bit of a nut bar when it comes to things that I "think" need to be done before I go away. Do you think I might suffer from "OC?" LOL.....

Anyhow, I should put this weary head on my pillow it is going to be a long travel day today.....so I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I will catch up with you when we get back!!!

Humour Thursday.......

Well here we are another Thursday.....guess that means it's time for a little humour....

Well my friends, I hope some of these put a smile on your face...here's wishing you a fantastic Thursday.....I leave you with this thougth for the day.....

"I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else. " ~Dolly Parton~

The Happier side of our weekend......

The fire of Saturday night kinda out shone the other adventures that hubby and I had that day. On Saturday morning we decided that we were going to head up Island to go watch the Highland games. It was a glorious day the sun was shining and nice breeze was in the air, a perfect day to go watch the games. This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have always watched in amazement how they toss these stones, anvils and of course the Caber.

When we arrived there was activity all around us.....pipers on one side of the park, drummers on the other....highland dancers in the middle and off to what is normally the ball diamond was where the heavy sports were taking place.

They had two sports going on at the same time...one was the kettle toss...it's kinda of like high jump....but they attempt to toss this kettle which weights 4 stones(56 lbs) over their heads and backwards, attempting to have this object clear the bar...oh and did I mention they do this wearing kilts.....

There certainly is a technique in tossing this thing....do you see the bald guy in the red t-shirt...he won the competition, he tossed the kettle 14 feet!!!

Then there was the hammer toss...again another interesting sport...it reminded me of the modern day hammer toss but they wear the specially designed metal toed shoes that have spikes in them in order to keep them connected to the ground...if they didn't they would possibly go flying with the hammer.....this hammer weights 16lbs(which is just a little over a stone) and the winner of this competition tossed the hammer 35 meters.

The next sport we watch was the Stone toss...in this competition the competitors picked their own stones from the river....some games use a Braemar stone which is a heavier stone and it has to be put from standing position no run...the stones in this competition weighted 16-22 lbs for men and 8 -12lbs for the women...and yes there were some women competing in these events.

The last sport we watched was another weight toss...this one the weight was attached to a chain

Getting ready......

spinning before the release......

and finally the release......

Well the day wouldn't have been complete with out observing some highland dancing.....these little tykes were just so adorable......

I wanted to stay longer but my back and shoulders started to hurt....we hadn't brought our chairs and forgot the blanket in the truck....so we decided that we would go pick something up at the grocery store and go for a picnic.....we found a spot on the beach on our way home.....it was just glorious to be by the water.....but turns out we weren't the only ones who enjoys being by the water.....

He decides to take flight as do we as we make our way home....it was a lovely long weekend.....

Not so sleepy in Sleepy Hollow........

Here we are the May long weekend full of traditions. It's the unofficial time for the camping season to begin, bar-b-ques in the back yard or on the beach are abundant, and tourist season begins. The weather this weekend is finally cooperating...temperatures 25-30 degrees celsius for those north of us that would be in the low 80's to mid 90's!!!

Well my little village of sleepy hollow was not so sleepy last evening....actually it was all a bustle and became rather scary at a few points.

For me it started around 6:00 pm last evening....I was over at my in laws on their deck, when I noticed a big cloud of smoke coming southeast towards us. I thought it odd, who would be burning right now, especially as the Qualicum winds had picked up and were blowing a good 20 - 30 km/hr. I watched and then went home....I went about my business watering my plants and puttering around, when I heard the sound of a helicopter. Now helicopters are rather frequent in these areas as grow ops are rather abundant and they frequently do aerial searches of the properties looking for sites. Last night was something different.....they flew over..and rather low I might add....then they came back..... the whirling of the rotor blades on the helicopter stirred up the smoke even more....so that and the winds started to make for a bit of a mess...and gave grounds for concern. Hubby went into the truck to go have a look.

Twenty minutes had passed and he hadn't returned....I started to make my way up the drive...as I was walking down the road one of the neighbours came driving by...he told me that the property above us was on fire. While he was telling me this hubby came flying by us like a bat out of hell....what's up? You see the gates to get to the property were locked and hubby had the number of the owner of the property...or so he thought....he couldn't find it....we needed to notify him that his property was on fire.

It was all a little unsettling as this property is only approximately 600 meters from us....with the winds blowing the fire was moving rapidly and the fear was that is would make it's way to the power lines, and if it did that it would have been a catastrophe. The helicopters flew over dropping buckets of water, but this took time, they were flying to a lake near by to pick up the water...in the absence of the helicopter the local volunteer fire department were there, and finally the forestry fire fighters showed up.

We were on alert, I went up there with hubby to see what it was all about....my chin dropped...I was shocked, scared and saddened. The forestry fire fighters were there by this time. They were so calm and professional....it's amazing how they worked their way through the fire switching back and forth bringing in hoses and maneuvering their way around....They are an amazing group of people. Hubby and I stayed up there till about 10:00 pm and then made our way home....I prayed the wind would die down and give them a better chance of getting things under control. The smoke around here was bountiful last evening and through out the night.

Well we didn't get a knock on our door last evening so I had to assume that was all good news and that they got things under control.

I went for my run this morning and went up to the sight. The fire made it all the ways to the hydro lane...that is where the power lines are...the piles of trees and brush were still smoldering...there were plenty of hot spots...there was a truck still there watching the site....fire hoses were still laid out....what devastation....but if it hadn't been for the professional and hard work of those firefighters it could have been so much worse....those folks have my admiration ten fold!!!!

Here are some photos and a short video.......

This is a google map...the area in green is where the fire was....the right is where I live..it's approximately 800 meters...2400 sq. feet.

We were told that the fire started as a result of burning that was done about 2 1/2 weeks ago...the ground was still very hot and when the winds picked up last night it ignited the fire.

The video is a little longer than I thought....

Humour Thursday.....

I haven't done this in awhile.....so here you go.....

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Handle every stressful situation like a dog.......

Piss on it and walk away!!!

The eccentric person in all of us.......

Just one of those days.....

I hope you all have a fantastic Thursday.....smile ...you never know who's watching.....cheers!

Health care and access for all......

Equal access for all. Gosh I wish that were true. Our provincial government keeps touting that they are providing equal access to health care for all British Columbians. Well I guess it all depends on your interpretation of access now doesn't it?

If you live in metropolitan Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna or even in the Fraser Valley, health care is readily accessible. Now move out of those areas and it becomes a whole different ball game. Here on the island it is certainly the case. I am not talking about access to services like MRI's CT scans, Angio's or cancer treatments....that's a whole different topic. What I am referring to is access to a medical doctor.

At the end of April I had the misfortune of losing my doctor. He passed away unexpectedly and I am sadden by his loss. Not only was he my doctor but he was my employer when I did the flu clinic at his office and he was my friend, when he purchased his motorcycle he was so excited he had me come out to the parking lot to look at it. His passing has not only left a void in my personal life but also from a medical stand point. You see with his passing there is no one to replace him. That leaves all of his patients looking for a new doctor. That's right, we were told that one of the doctor's who is semi retired would see patients on an emergency basis only and that if you needed a doctor that you had to go to the after hours clinic in the next town. That's not very good if you ask me, especially in my community that is primarily seniors who have difficulties enough getting to the doctor. Then have to find a new doctor and find a way to get to the next community. We don't have buses or taxis where I live, so if you don't have your own form of transportation you are out of luck. Sure there are volunteer organizations that if you call a week ahead of time you MIGHT be able to get transportation from them, but that is not for certain, so how can you book an appointment if you don't know how you are going to get there?

So now I am faced with the task of trying to find a new doctor. There are no doctors to be had in my town and in researching the College of Surgeons and Physicians for listings of doctors accepting new patients there are four listed in the next town, but when you call the office they say they are not accepting new patients, when you ask them if they know who is they say they don't know. I found a doctor up island in the community in which I work, when I called I was told she was only accepting maternity patients... I explained that I was long past that stage in my life but that I really needed to find a doctor as mine recently became deceased, she told me to call back later that week. When I called back she told me that the doctor hadn't been in that she was on holidays but that I should call later this week. So here I am another week gone by and I still haven't been able to find a doctor. You would think that working in the field I would have easier access, that certainly is not the case.

When I was at work yesterday one of the specialist mentioned that he didn't want to discharge a patient because the patient didn't have a regular GP. He then went on to say that as a specialist he can't be taking on new patients just because they didn't have a doctor that was not his role as a specialist. As it turned out the patient because she was admitted under the "doctor of the day" she became his patient. But again, here is another example. This patient lives on the outskirts of town, she was discharged from the hospital but has to come in twice a day for shots and bloodwork. She doesn't drive, she tries to organize things around her daughters schedule but that isn't always possible as was the case when she left the hospital today. I could go on about the accessibility to services but as I said that is a whole post in itself.

So it would appear that health care is not equally accessible to all.

The joy of it all......

Here we are at the start of another week. Today, I actually started doing some hands on nursing. Although I have been feeling disjointed, scattered and scared it did feel really good to be getting back to work after being off for such a long time. I was starting to feel like my brain was going to mush. Not a very good feeling.

I started talking to two of my colleagues today about how I was feeling...one of them told me how she felt when she had come back after maternity leave and that the biggest decision she had to make for the day when she was off was whether or not to mash or chop the banana for the kids. Then all of a sudden you come back to work and you change hats and put yourself in life saving situations....calculating drips, adjusting lines, medications, change dressings, follow protocols and be ready to run for a code if someone goes into cardiac arrest. Yes it is all a little unsettling, but with the help and support of my colleagues I am sure I will get my feet wet pretty quick.

Ok you men out there reading this...at this point you might want to plug your ears and go la la la......or better yet, maybe you might want to listen. The above discussion about returning to work and life adjustment brought the conversation around to how we are feeling about our lives in general. My colleague and I discussed about how we felt we were floundering with our lives...unsettled, an emotional mess ready to cry or scream at a drop of a hat, or how we felt like sometimes we were in a fog and just waiting for it to pass, but it never seems to lift. I said to my colleague that sometimes it's like if I could just take of my glasses I would see clearer, but that doesn't seem to help. My colleague told me that it has been bothering her so much that she actually has sought the help of a professional. She told me that after explaining how she was feeling to this person they said "welcome to menopause". Is that what it is? Is that why I feel like such a mess? I know there have been physical changes happening like the fight that is going on with the bed linens on again off again....but it is the mood thing...sometimes I feel so rational and other times I feel like a crazed person being deprived of something they so desperately want but really don't need. Oh the joys of it all...if this is the early signs of menopause can I send it back? Please!!!!! I don't mind getting old...but why does it have to come with all the hormonal stuff and hit you so hard when you least expect it? I don't know why I am so surprised I am ...uhhhhmmm.......46! After looking up menopause it would appear that I actually fall into the category of perimenopause....oh joy....the bad stuff isn't suppose to happen until I turn 51....oh even more joy

I am learning to accept that I am not in my 30's anymore that I don't rebound from injuries like I use to. I am also learning to accept that it takes me at least twice as long to lose 5 lbs as it did when I was in my 30's, that piece of cake that I use to be able to eat and then just run it off..not anymore...that piece of cake just finds itself nicely on my hips and takes up permanent residency...just not fare at all, but hey, as I have been told so many times...."life isn't fare!!!" so I guess I just have to get over it right? NOT....I don't want to accept that I have to be miserable and just accept that I am going to be moody, sweaty and oh yeah someone told me about the hair thing....no I just am not going to accept that. Call me stubborn, my mom use to say that about me, I use to challenge things all the time and well maybe if I just looked at menopause as a challenge I might be able to deal with it better. I certainly don't want to go on HRT so if black cohosh, ginger teas and evening primrose will do the trick that is what I shall do.

I know some of you are most probably saying oh just accept it, it's inevitable we all go through it...yes I guess we do...some are just able to manage it better or don't seem to get as affected by it as others. I've always been a fighter so why not take this on. I wonder what Maxine would say in a case like this......