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......

For all you MOM's out there.....here's wishing you a very happy day!!!

The week that never seemed to end.....

Gosh this week just flew by....what's up with that??. I've had a busy week. Monday and Tuesday I was in my program and on Wednesday I went into work for my first day of the gradual return to work. Well true to form my employer forgot I was coming in and the arrangements that we had made for orientation went out the window. So I took it upon myself to review current literature...check out what was new and do some housekeeping stuff. Needless to say I was not impressed. After I left work I rushed home packed my stuff and caught the ferry for the mainland. On Thursday my youngest daughter had her annual oncologist check up hence the purpose of my trip to the mainland...it all went well. After her appointment we went and did a little shopping. She is so much fun to buy for...being so petite everything looks smashing on her. After our shopping adventure off to my brothers we went for coffee. He then asked if I could take him somewhere which I did and then youngest daughter and I made our way to pick up her sisters who were joining us for a visit back to the Island. The ferry we wanted to catch was full...it left over 20mins late which then ended up putting it an hour behind schedule....it was 1030 at night by the time we finally got home. Hubby had made us something to eat...and then it was off to bed for me as I had to be up early to go into work on Friday. After work I washed my truck and then middle daughter and I cut the lawn and trimmed the hedges.

Phew....I am out of breath.....today I am just going to chill...well maybe do a few chores but nothing big...the girls and I are going to get out and about....maybe the four of us will go for a run...and then find an adventure.

Well not much more to share.....I will leave you with photos of some visitors we had yesterday evening.......I think if you click on the photos you can get a closer look....in looking closer at this photo I see there are two Purple Finch in the photo.....can you find the other one?

American Gold Finch, Purple Finch male(that's the reddish one) and the Pine Siskin

American Gold Finch(males) top picture, Pine Siskin (striped wing and yellow) and Purple Finch

The Great Outdoors.........

By now most of you know how much I love being outdoors...and how much I enjoy birding. I still consider myself an amateur birder but maybe I am not as amateur as I thought. The other day hubby and I went to an open house at a fish hatchery not far from us. There were booths set up and one of the booth was from the Naturalists society in our area. We walked over and were checking out some of the nests they had on display and bird information, anyhow, I started chatting with one of the ladies who was tending the booth and described a bird I had observed in the tree the other day...I told her about it's plumage, where I spotted it and it's call....I think she was impressed with my description...she then went on to give examples of birds she thought it might be...but when she started saying their names...I was able to say...oh no it wasn't that I have seen that...and so on....it got me thinking....maybe I know a little more than I give myself credit. I still haven't determined what the bird was...even after looking in my bird books with one of those being Sibley's the bible on birding.

Anyhow, this lead us to a lovely discussion about birds and one common bird the Stellar Jay...our provincial bird. She and a few of the ladies around her were saying that they haven't seen hardly any this year...I told them they needed to come to my property....we have a high bird count sometimes as high as 14...but generally around 4. They were happy to hear that, as they say that they can be migratory and move out of the area.

I am learning to keep the camera close at hand, and now my binoculars so I can get a close up view of some of the birds that have been showing up around my place. Apparently, this has been an incredibly good year for small birds. I commented that I have been pleasantly surprised at the variation of birds and the increase in numbers. Yesterday was no expectation.... While preparing dinner I looked out at the bird feeder and here is what I saw....

Golden Crown Sparrow...notice the yellow stripe on the head...very distinct for this bird..along with the grey breast and the speckled wings.

As most of you know I live in a rural area....one of the things that comes along with that is you often see things that you just wouldn't see in the city. The other day hubby was coming home and just on the side of the road he observed these......

Can you see them? On a closer look.....

Aren't they just gorgeous.....they do have a home...but I guess they just decided they needed to get out for a stroll.

Where I've been

Another week has begun....my gosh how time flies....it seems like just yesterday I was rushing off to catch the ferry to the mainland...and here we are another week has passed and a new one just waiting to happen.

I have completed yet another week of the rehab program for my shoulder, as I have said in previous posts what doesn't kill you surely must cure you....that's certainly how I feel about this program.

I did a work site assessments with one of the kinesiologist's from the program and then we met with my employer and had a meeting to discuss my return to work. I am looking foward to getting back to work and some normalcy to my life...if you can call shift work being normal.

I am feeling stronger and healthier, all very good signs.

It was my mother in laws birthday the other week and we all went out for dinner....hubbies sister who has been down in California for the past 6 months was there so it was an extra special dinner. I know mother in law was very pleased and happy to have her daughter there.

I gather most of you have noticed that I have not been posting regularly. I thought it was that I was in a slump...but I think it is more than that. I will try to expand on what I mean.

My brother and wife are in Wales on a teacher exchange for a year. In this my brother chose to reignite his blog. He first started out sharing his travels and adventures...and then started to mix in he thoughts on the healing process from losing two of his children. He is an extremely powerful writer. Something I never knew. I am in awe of his writing, his emotions, his command of the English language. I am amazed at what he is able to share...and the way in which he does it. He has this innate ability to draw the reader into his writings, you his feel the pain, it's like you are experiencing life along with him. His Christmas in Ireland, his time in Prague..and his recent travels to Egypt which took him scuba diving in the Nile I think you would really enjoy reading a few of his adventures and journey through dealing with grief...if so you can find him at John's Blog I am sure you won't be disappointed.

So what does this have to do with my frequency of posts? Everything, in reading his posts I realized that my posts lacked substance. I had nothing to say and have often lived by the adage that just don't post for the sake of posting...post when you have something you want or feel you need to share...and as it has been of late I felt I haven't had anything terribly note worthy and as a result I felt that my writing skills would not have the luster and finesse to be post worthy.

I started this post last week, and in reviewing what I wrote I am glad I didn't post it then.

I still feel as I did last week with regards to posting, but after reflection I realized that I will never be able to write like my brother I am me and he is who he is...that is what makes each of us unique and special. So I continue to post.

I start my return to work this week. The pain in my shoulder has not fully receded but it is considerably better, it is my left shoulder I worry about. It really flared up last week, I think I have resolved myself to the fact that is just how it is going to be.

Life has been busy and full, lots to chat about....but I will save that for another day along with photos. Thanks to those of you who sent me emails your thoughtfulness brightened my day!