Today and Tomorrows

Feeling Better

2018-02-28T14:40:00.000-04:00

Time seems to have slipped through my fingers. I had my last Chemo treatment on Dec 2 and my body is slowly getting back to normal, well as normal as it will ever be. I did ask if there was another Chemo drug that I could have but was told that the one I was receiving was the only one that would be appropriate. So I cancelled all treatments. I have lost the feeling in one side of my right foot, my eyesight and my hearing have been damaged by the Chemo and I still get tired very quickly. But I am feeling so much better than I was so that is a very good thing and it reassures me that I have made the right decision.

Thanks to everyone who sent encouraging messages, gifts and support. I really do appreciate it.

Welcome 2018

2018-01-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a while since I have visited this site. December was not a good month, more reactions to the chemo and these were much more severe than during the previous cycle. Fortunately I was feeling a bit better by Christmas so we had our traditional Christmas dinner, turkey and all the trimmings. We had our meal cooked by mid afternoon so we ate when the food was ready. Just as well as the power went our for 12 hours at 4:30 p.m. And then we didn't have phone for four days and we were also without Internet for five days. Everything was restored and working well when another storm blew through in early Jan and we lost power again for another 12 hours or so. No damage done to either our place or the neighbours so all we suffered was a little inconvenience.

I have a doctor's appointment (I have no idea who it is with) on Tuesday and after that I will know more about what the future holds. I will post an update with the results/decisions that come out of that appointment.

Thank you to everyone for your support and concern, I do appreciate the warm wishes and the encouragement.

Second Chemo Treatment and Various Other Things

2017-12-08T13:14:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, Dec. 6 was my second Chemo treatment. It was another long day from 8:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. During the treatment I added two more health care providers to my team, bringing to total now to 21. That is way too many people for me to keep straight, especially since I have never been very good at remembering names. I am starting to see some patterns that are reoccurring during the treatment cycles. For example, the nights immediately following the treatments I get very little sleep, which is one of the side effects. The anti-nausea pills that I have been given are not as effective this time, the nausea has already started and this is only Friday. Well maybe that means it will end quicker. Fingers crossed on that one.

I was feeling a bit at a loss about who to turn to with questions, there are so many who want to give me answers and information, but I have only seen some of them for five or ten minutes and I can’t remember their names. The best solution seemed to be to make an appointment with Renate Bennett, the Nurse Practitioner in North Queens Medical Centre. She was the principal care giver that I went to when I started down this medical journey and she was understanding, supportive and she treated me like a person and she is a familiar face AND I can remember her name. What more recommendation did she need? My appointment was on Thursday, Dec. 7 and that may have been the smartest thing I have done so far to help myself through this. She listened, she answered questions and she asked if I would like to have a monthly meeting with her while this whole mess is going on. She got me a copy of my pathology report and she explained some of the scarier facts about the report. She is a keeper.

I am not ready to share much info about the report at this point, but I will say that the cancer cells that have invaded my body are aggressive and they have been there for a while. Enough said on that.

My hair is getting very thin so when I go out in public I am wearing either a hat or one of my stylish wigs. Frank and I are meeting a very good friend for lunch next week, I wonder if she will recognize me. Well, Frank is just as good-looking as ever, so I guess she will find us okay.

I think this is enough from me for today. But please stay tuned I will be back in the next couple of days with my thoughts on what not to say to someone who says they have cancer. My thoughts only as each of us is different and we all handle things differently and we all expect different things.

New Looks Revealed

2017-12-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, here are the pictures, before my haircut, after the haircut with what hair I have left and two with my new locks/looks. These pictures may turn out to be your giggle for today.

One of my new looks. Not something that I would have chosen without some help from the hairdresser at the Journey Room.

The other new look. Funny though the wigs don't make the double chins or the turkey neck go away.

After my haircut. Short. And it looks like I don't have any grey hair but oh yeah they are still there.

The old original before all this started.

My Hair Hurts

2017-12-02T14:55:00.002-04:00

My Hair Hurts

Several decades ago when I was in my early teens my tonsils would become inflamed and I would have a fever and be generally miserable for three or four days, recover, and then my tonsils would make themselves known again. During this time I remember that even my scalp was sensitive and tender and it did feel like my hair hurt.

Well my hair hurt earlier this week. It was getting long (for me) and when I brushed it, it hurt. Not only that but it was falling out, not in large clumps but several strands at a time and certainly more than normal. I decided to be proactive and get my hair cut very short and see about alternate head coverings for the upcoming chilly months. My surgeon told me that I would definitely lose my hair and I believed him so I was mentally ready.

Frieda, a volunteer at the Journey Room at the South Shore Regional Hospital, is a hairdresser who volunteers her time to help cancer patients cope with this particular aspect of their Chemo treatments. She quickly snipped my hair to about an inch in length. She recommended leaving it at that length and as it continued to fall out I could consider a head shaving if I wanted to. She then (very patiently) showed me a selection of wigs that I could borrow for the duration of my baldness. She also had turbans, scarves and toques in a variety of colours that were available on loan. She had a lot of patience and was very compassionate without being sappy and emotional, just the right balance for someone dealing with people who are acting and reacting in a very challenging situation.

I came home with two wigs that I never would have thought of wearing without her gentle encouragement. And I am happy with my selections and with my new looks for the upcoming months. Today I bought several cheap toques in colours that normally I wouldn't wear because they are too flashy or too goofy looking. I am not upset about losing my hair, there is more at stake here.

You know it felt good to take control and get my hair cut and to select my head coverings for the next few months. For someone who is a control freak the lose of control over my body and this whole process has been one of the hardest things for me to cope with so for me reasserting myself in this way feels good.

Over the next few days look for some pictures of me in my new locks. I'm interested in what you think of my new dos.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out via messages and emails. I appreciate the encouragement and support.

2017-11-29T11:38:00.000-04:00

The Process

A visit to my Nurse Practitioner, tests, referrals and finally the results...I needed to have a hysterectomy. A surprise when I was feeling just fine, thank you very much. No pain or discomfort, just a discharge that wasn't normal.

On October 4, 2017 I was gutted like a fish and stapled back together and sent home to recover and to wait for the results of the pathology report which would take approximately three weeks. By late October I received a phone call from my surgeon telling me he was arranging a face-to-face with me to discuss the results and the next steps which would include Chemo and Radiation. Up until that point I kept hoping that this was all a mistake, that my records had been mixed up with someone else's, that I would wake up and by some magic this would all go away.

During the time from mid July when the craziness started and Nov. 16 when my first cycle of Chemo started I was on an emotional roller coaster. I avoided talking to people and told maybe a dozen people in total what was happening. Three of them were safely out of province so I wouldn't see them or have to talk to them face-to-face. I found that I started crying at the most insignificant things and that most of the people I had told had no idea of what to say or do. I have come to realize that I needed to provide them with some idea of what I needed from them, but then I have always had trouble asking for help. Hell, I can't even accept help when it is offered.

So far in this journey I have a health care team of 19 people which includes doctors, my nurse practitioner, nurses, residents, and administrative support people who will direct inquiries and probably make sure that information is flowing as needed. I have at least 2 1/2 inches of paper on the effects and side effects of Chemo and radiation, each piece of information more overwhelming and scary.

Since the Chemo started I have settled down emotionally, in fact yesterday I realized that my husband and I were actually laughing out loud at some silliness. Laughter hasn't been heard much in our little house for the last several months.

I am going to continue to write about, and share my experiences, because hopefully my ramblings will help someone else. I hope a few people will read my posts and share this journey with me. And please if you know someone who may be going through their own personal hell maybe share this with them.

More summer

2012-08-22T11:02:00.000-03:00

Our last two weeks haven't been as planned or organized but they have been fun. Last week for the first time in years we went to a movie in Bridgewater. We enjoyed our night out, and since we had a gift card we had a free evening of entertainment. We have revisited a couple of our favourite drives along the shore both east and west. Yesterday we had a day trip to the Noel shore in NS. We saw a couple of lighthouses that we didn't know were there, Walton and Burncoat Head. We are really enjoying our visits to the many lighthouses in the province. Who knows how long some of them will be able to survive now that the federal government has announced they will no longer maintain them. Another piece of history lost.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Cheverie and my little camera got a few pictures which I will share below.

In addition to our staycations we have also done a little bit of work at home...emphasize little. We replaced a few of the board in our deck which had some rot in them, and we have started piling the dreaded wood for the winter. There is still a lot to do but all work and no play does spoil life.

Card Lake Provincial Park on Hwy 14 Beautiful spot

Card Lake

Lookoff at Cheverie. The land in the far distance is across Cobequid Bay towards Parrsboro

Taken at Cheverie

Lighthouse in Walton


Lighthouse in Burncoat Head.

2012-08-05T13:14:00.001-03:00

Well another week, and another month gone. I am really finding that the time is going by very quickly. We did have a few out and abouts this week, last Sunday was a family reunion, then a trip to Lockport to see the wharf, the old houses build by descendants of Locke, another jaunt into Lunenburg and area, this time to see the Bounty and finally a trip to Digby and home via Yarmouth and the South Shore. Not much wonder my housework isn't getting done.

I have become fascinated with ships, fishing boats and wharves. I love the colours and the textures and I am enjoying my amateur attempts at photography. The pictures that turn out well are my skill, the ones that are blurry and have sloping horizons are the fault of my cheap digital camera, either way I have it covered. Although the best pictures are the ones that Frank takes with that same cheap camera.

The following information was taken from the Bounty website at http://www.tallshipbounty.org.

The HMS Bounty is one of the most famous ships in the world. Known for the storied mutiny that took place in Tahiti in 1789 on board the British transport vessel, the current Bounty, a replica, has survived to tell the tale. Built for the 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” with Marlon Brando, HMS Bounty sails the country offering dockside tours in which one can learn about the history and details of sailing vessels from a lost and romanticized time in maritime history. Since her debut in “Mutiny on the Bounty”, HMS Bounty has appeared in many documentaries and featured films such as the Edinburgh Trader in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest with Johnny Depp.

HMS Bounty ~ World Traveler! In 2010 Bounty sailed through all 5 Great Lakes as part of the Tall Ships America Challenge. During the winter months Bounty was docked in Old San Juan Puerto Rico and for our 2011 sailing season we visited Europe. In 2012 we are back on the U.S. East Coast.

The replica of the original Bounty was built in Lunenburg NS. How great is that? And she is in port this week in Lunenburg, leaving later today or tomorrow.

Below are a few pictures from this week's staycations.

Love water scenes, this one on the road to Blue Rocks

Looking for supper? This was taken on the Second Peninsula Road

Digby...Beautiful town on a hot summer day

Love the colours of summer, this was taken at the wharf in Digby

Gilber Cove lighthouse, didn't know there was a lighthouse there.

Another lighthouse...second peninsula road

The Bounty visiting Lunenburg, tied at the Museum wharf. Didn't see her in full sail but this is pretty neat.

Is volunteering a staycation?

2012-07-27T17:56:00.000-03:00

On July 25th and 26th Lunenburg hosted eight of the tall ships that are visiting Nova Scotia. When I heard they were looking for volunteers to help during the two day visit I thought it would be a great idea if my husband and I volunteered...in fact I volunteered us both. What a great experience. We only worked for half of the day until 1:00 pm. The skies were blue and the crowds were wonderful. People from all over North America and a few from Europe were there enjoying the moment. And Lunenburg rolled out the welcome mat as they do so very well. The town is a tourist destination and it boasts a very high reputation for ship building for the past 250 years. Put all of that together with the crews from the eight ships visiting the area for the first time and you have everything needed for a very successful festival.

I'm not sure if others would call this a staycation, but I certainly do. I had fun, I learned a lot, I enjoyed meeting new people and I got to share a little bit of the South Shore with others. What more could you ask for? My husband had a similar experience. He was working with the security folks for most of day one and he was assisting at one of the gates on day two. He got to meet new people and learn about their reasons for visiting and their expectation...he also helped to make those expectations reality.

Below are a few pictures that will give you a small hint of the atmosphere. Enjoy. If you are in Nova Scotia and have not yet seen any of the tall ships, they are in Shelburne on the 28th and 29th. There are also tall ships in Pugwash and Pictou on July 28th and 29th.

Two of the visiting tall ships

Welcome to the visitors

A visitor to the wharf and the tall ships

Another visitor

More of the Tall Ships tied at the wharf

Good will ambassador to answer questions and help the visitors.

StayCation July 21, 2012

2012-07-21T19:43:00.000-03:00

Wow I am really liking this trial retirement...it may become permanent...time will tell. Today was another one day staycation trip, this time to Wolfville, Windsor and some places in between.

We left home at about 8:00 am and took our trusty dog with us. That meant that we wouldn't be leaving him for very long in the car by himself...minutes only. That dictates where and how long we visit.

Our first stop in the valley was the Wolfville Farmers' Market. They have over 70 vendors, although I didn't take the time to count them. There was everything there, veggies of course, fish chowder, artisans, wine, art, honey, candles, and live music. Most of the vendors are inside but there are a few outside tents. I visited the market while my husband and our dog went for a walk around the surrounding area. I have a few pictures of the market and the hustle and bustle. If anyone is a farmers'market fan, this is definitely a must see and do. They are open on Wednesday evenings and on Saturday mornings, and they are a year round market. Pretty impressive for a small community like Wolfville,

Our next stop was a wonderful fabric shop in Avondale. I always like to pick up a "few things" when I am there. Quilting supplies and patterns, and they also carry knitting supplies and other fabric art/craft supplies. Another must see if you are into fabric arts.

On to Windsor. We had picked two or three things we wanted to do and decided to return another day for more fun stuff. In Windsor at Kings/Edgehill there was a British car display as well as a cricket match and other "British" related activities. It was the cars that drew us and we were really surprised at the number of cars on display, one from Washington State, some from Ontario and of course all of the Maritime provinces.

We then backtracked to Blomidon lookoff and then to Halls Harbour. Both of these are beautiful and allowed us to walk freely with our dog. He always was a perfect gentleman as he visited all those beautiful cars in Windsor.

We decided that we had had a great day, filled with both the unexpected and the expected and neither disappointed. We learned that there was also a "Big Rig" display at the Windsor Exhibition grounds. While this wasn't something that we were particularly interested in, it looked to be of interest to several people, at least as we drove past to the highway.

Another great day. July has been a beautiful month so far, great experiences and fun, and a great dinner at the Galley restaurant for our anniversary.

Blomidon Lookoff

Car Show in Windsor

Halls Harbour

Statue of Howard Dill in Windsor

Anniversary Dinner

2012-07-20T12:51:00.000-03:00

Frank and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary yesterday. Wow. For our anniversary dinner we chose the Galley Restaurant and Lounge at the boat club just west of Chester, NS. The food was fantastic. My cup of Galley Chowder was thick and rich, full of lobster, scallops, haddock, clams and potatoes and leeks and the list goes on. Delicious! I chose the Buttermilk Baked Haddock with curry sauce for my main course. And if possible it was even better than the chowder. Frank chose the Pan Seared Fresh Tuna which he thoroughly enjoyed. Relaxing atmosphere, beautiful view, great service and wonderful food...what more can you ask for?

For the details of hours of operation and menus visit http://galleyrestaurant.ca/

A couple of the pictures of the great view.

Warm Summer day on the South Shore of NS

2012-07-12T18:26:00.000-03:00

Beautiful warm summer day on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. A few of the beautiful beaches were almost empty, what a great chance for beach lovers. A few of our pictures from today's drive along the shore line, a stop at Medway River Lighthouse, pictures of Beach Meadows, and a few pictures of wild flowers in full bloom.

Wild Roses at Port Medway Lighthouse

Port Medway Lighthouse

Wharf at Port Medway

Picnic Shelter at Port Medway

Beach Meadows in Queens County

Beautiful beach at Beach Meadows

Hardly any visitors to this beautiful beach on a hot sunny July day

Staycation or Nearcation

2012-07-08T13:53:00.000-03:00

This summer my husband and I are planning to explore our own province, Nova Scotia, and maybe visit our neighbours, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. I have recently learned that a staycation is often a day trip and a nearcation is an overnighter or longer but still within your own province. I'm not sure if this definition is correct but I am going to use it as my guide as I post through the summer months about our adventures near our home.

We have just returned from a nearcation trip to Cape Breton Island. The first night was spent in New Glasgow visiting with a friend and planning our next couple of days in CB. We have "done" the Cabot Trail several times, so this trip was going to be a bit different. We would travel up the shoreline to Port Hood, Mabou and then turn inland to Baddeck and then on to Sydney. We would visit gift shops and local tourist attractions on our way and if we saw something interesting we would stop.

One gem that we discovered was the little day park in Port Hood. Easy access, great signage and a well maintained boardwalk, sandy beach (practically deserted) picnic tables and a beautiful view of the water. A wonderful breather, a peaceful place to stop and stretch your legs.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Glenora Distillery while listening to genuine Cape Breton music provided by a musical duo, one planning the guitar and the other the fiddle.I highly recommend the Maritime Seafood Chowder on the Distillery's lunch time menu, a generous sized serving with a flaky homemade biscuit. Scallops, fish and potatoes all hot and flavourful.

And of course the charming community of Baddeck and the surrounding area also is a delight for the senses. The skies were overcast for most of the second and third day and we only had a couple of heavy rain showers...one when we were inside a restaurant looking out and another on our way into the hotel.

We were a little disappointed about a couple of our planned stops, we couldn't find them. They may have gone out of business or maybe the problem was poor signage. Just a note to anyone trying to sell things, if people can't find you...

The following pictures are a few of our memories of the trip. Hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the experiences.

Ship loading at the quarry at the Causeway

Port Hood Day Park, a nice surprise

Port Hood Day Park, tables and broadwalk

Port Hood Day Park, great chance for a long walk

We arrived in time for a very tasty lunch and the early afternoon music. Tours are available. Beautiful grounds and friendly people.

Just outside Baddeck

Although a cloudy day, the rain held off

From the top of the mountain looking down to where we will be crossing. Winding road...good brakes are a must.

Orangedale museum

Inside the dormer train depot at Orangedale

Orangedale Museum. A must see for railway buffs.

Approaching the causeway on our way home. Fog hugging the mountain tops.

Professional Opportunity - Art Historian

2012-03-11T20:51:00.000-03:00

Professional Opportunities

Mount Allison University (Sackville, NB): Art Historian, Deadline March 30

The Department of Fine Arts at Mount Allison University invites applications for a full-time nine-month position for an art historian. The Fine Arts Department offers a studio based BFA degree and a BA degree with a major or minor in studio arts and art history. Teaching responsibilities will include a Survey of World Art from the First Peoples to the Present (FINH 2001 and 2011), Nineteenth Century Art (FINH 3141 and 3241), Advanced Seminar in Art History (FINH 4091), and Independent Studies in Art History.

The successful applicant should have or be nearing completion of a Ph.D. in art history and have a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching and research. Teaching experience at the undergraduate level, an informed awareness of critical theory, and an ability to incorporate theory into art history are essential. The appointment will commence 1 August 2012 at the rank of Lecturer or Assistant Professor, subject to budgetary approval. The appointment end-date is 30 April 2013.

Applications should include: a letter of application; a curriculum vitae; a teaching dossier; three letters of reference forwarded by the referees, a short sample of research, and other appropriate material. To ensure full consideration, complete applications, including letters of reference, should be submitted by Friday, March 30, 2012 to:

Professor Thaddeus Holownia
Chair of the Search Committee
Department of Fine Arts
Mount Allison University
53 York Street
Sackville, NB E4L 1C9
e-mail: holownia@mta.ca

For further information see our website: http://www.mta.ca/finearts

Mount Allison is a highly respected small (2500 students) undergraduate institution which aims at excellence in undergraduate education. The Department of Fine Arts, with 11 full- and part-time faculty and technical staff and approximately 148 students, offers courses in drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, open media and art history. The Owens Art Gallery, with a program of contemporary and historical exhibitions and visiting artists' presentations, provides important support for the Department.

Mount Allison University welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified women and men, including aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Canadian and permanent residents should indicate their citizenship status in their application.

Grant Deadlines - Canada Council for the Arts

2012-03-10T12:24:00.000-04:00

The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.

Deadlines

1 April, 1 June, 1 September, 1 November and 1 February
If any of these dates fall on a weekend or statutory holiday, that deadline moves to the next business day. Your completed application form and all required support material must be postmarked on or before the deadline date.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.

Program Description

The Travel Grants to Professionals in the Visual Arts program provides assistance to professional visual and fine craft artists, independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals. The grants are for travel to attend or participate in activities related to their practice, whether in Canada or abroad.
Visual and fine craft artists may apply for either travel for exhibition OR travel to artists’ residency.
Independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals may apply for either travel for presentation OR travel for research.

Applicant Eligibility

Note that meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.

General Eligibility Criteria

To apply to the Canada Council for the Arts, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.
Only individuals can apply to this program. If you are travelling as part of a group or collaboration, each member must apply separately.
You must meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, defined as someone who:

has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition), and
is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially

Visual and fine craft artists, independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals must also have:

produced an independent body of work, and
maintained an independent professional practice for at least three years following the completion of specialized training in the field.

Specific Eligibility Criteria

In addition to meeting the general eligibility criteria outlined above, you must have a history of public presentation or publication. This is defined as follows:

Visual and fine craft artists

You must have had at least three exhibitions of your work in a professional visual arts or fine craft context, over a three-year period.

Independent critics and curators

Critics: You must have had at least three independent critical texts or reviews published in a professional context, over a three-year period.
Curators: You must have created at least three independent public exhibition/presentations and have had three independent critical texts or reviews published in a professional context, over a three-year period.

Architecture professionals

Practitioners of architecture (architect, landscape architect, or architectural or urban designer): You must have had at least three published articles, publications, exhibitions or other public presentations of your works of architecture in a professional context.
Critics and curators of architecture: You must have had at least three published articles, publications, exhibitions, or other public presentations on works of architecture in a professional context.

Project Eligibility

This program covers the following types of travel:

Visual and fine craft artists

Travel for exhibition: Travel to attend an exhibition of your artworks. Travel must be in response to an invitation by a professional visual arts or fine craft organization, or in another context where your work is recognized by a professional curator, gallery director or art dealer.

Travel to artists’ residency: Travel to participate in a professional artists’ residency. Participants must be chosen through a selection process. The host organization must offer support in the form of a confirmed grant or honorarium, or contribution towards accommodations.

Independent critics and curators, and architecture professionals

Travel for presentation: Travel to attend a public presentation of your work at a professional venue or to present at a conference or symposium. The travel must be in response to an invitation from a professional organization.

Travel for research: Travel to undertake professional activities, such as studio visits or site visits related to a specific research project.

Grant Amount

Grants are available in fixed amounts ($500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500). The amounts of $2,000 and $2,500 are usually reserved for travel to or from Northern or remote parts of Canada, or international destinations other than the United States and Europe.

Further Information

Program Officers
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
visualarts.travelgrants@canadacouncil.ca
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, and the appropriate extension number.

1 April: Jim Logan, ext. 5266
1 June: Geneviève Landreville, ext. 5109
1 September: Pao Quang Yeh, ext. 5094
1 November: François Dion, ext. 5268
1 February: Brigitte Desrochers,ext. 5270
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
Fax: 613-566-4332

Are you an Lacavore?

2012-03-01T16:48:00.001-04:00

An article from the United Church Observer

On Saturday mornings, I regularly walk to a farmers market at an abandoned brickyard in Toronto. I buy cabbages and garlic from a young fellow who tells me he got up at 3 a.m. to represent the Quinte Organic Co-op, a collective of eight farmers near Belleville, Ont., who produce vegetables and beef. Further along, I pick up beets from a friendly woman from north of the city who has two toddlers bundled into strollers. Then apples from Niagara, Ont. When I do all this and march happily home, I am being a locavore. “Locavore” is a word coined in San Francisco (where else?) in

2005 to describe a burgeoning consciousness around food gathering and consumption. A bit of a catch-all, locavorism implies a combination of buying and eating what is produced near at hand, what is produced organically (usually), as well as ethically and sustainably. In 2007, the Oxford American Dictionary designated “locavore” word of the year.

I could have shopped elsewhere. Had I gone to the produce department of Walmart, the ginormous chain where far more people gather than at farmers markets, I would have discovered that while I paid $2 for a bulb of garlic grown in soil by the Bay of Quinte and lovingly harvested by the young man who sold it to me, there I could get an entire pound for 97 cents. The beef from a happy Bay of Quinte beast that cost $6 would have been available for $4.50. Where did the Walmart garlic come from? China. The beef: a feedlot halfway across the continent. That is the conundrum: for reasons that seem to defy logic, eating locally and “responsibly” is also almost always more expensive and so likewise excludes (or at least puts a tough choice in front of) people trying to live on budgets. This dilemma has caused critics to label locavores as privileged elites, even food snobs. The gnawing sense is that the movement, while alerting us to the ethics of food production and consumption, is not yet democratic; like wine connoisseurship, buying organic beef from my Bay of Quinte friend’s grass-fed highland cattle or enjoying sheep cheese from a boutique creamery is the luxury of the moderately well off.

Sarah Elton’s interest in food sources was piqued when her daughter brought home a cellophane-wrapped cookie. Reading the small print, Elton, a Toronto food columnist with CBC Radio, discovered the sweet had been baked in China. The realization that a journey of several thousand kilometres was undertaken to deliver something as basic as a cookie “profoundly changed my relationship to food,” Elton writes in her 2010 book Locavore: From Farmers’ Fields to Rooftop Gardens. She started looking more closely at supermarket offerings: not only the bagged salad from California or the New Zealand lamb, but the fact that China has become a huge exporter of food (along with everything else). Meanwhile, carrots from the Holland Marsh, the rich farmland north of Toronto, are shipped as far away as Venezuela. The carbon footprint attached to our fetish for flying apples from South Africa and trucking lettuce from Mexico is huge. Massive inputs of oil are required to fuel cultivation and produce fertilizers and pesticides, and then more oil is used for transportation and refrigeration. Elton cites a calculation by David Pimentel, professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University, that it takes 1,514 litres of oil a year to feed the average North American adult.

Yet those industrially produced, globally sourced foods are almost always less expensive than local produce. How is this possible? It could be, as many farmers have long argued, that local food is not overpriced; rather, the global and industrial options are priced artificially — unsustainably — low. Our government-endorsed cheap food policies are built on inexpensive energy (mostly oil) that fails to reflect the cost of its environmental damage. Not to mention exploited labour, soil degradation and animal misery, all matters emphasized by Lori Stahlbrand, head of Local Food Plus, a non-profit organization striving to bring farmers and consumers together to build regional food economies across Canada. “Food in Canada is the cheapest in the world,” Stahlbrand says, making up “only 10 percent of most family budgets. And this is all at the expense of farmers and the environment, with most imports being cheap because people are paid slave wages.”

The creation of such a production system came about fairly recently (pretty much in my lifetime) and can be summarized as a shift from family-based or cottage-industry agriculture to not only an industrial model but a global corporate one. These new models are predicated on what business schools tell us are “efficiencies” of size and scale. But they are also highly dependent on technologies like fertilizers and pesticides, growth hormones for animals and heavy use of antibiotics. Vast transportation and storage systems not only bring us food from afar but gather together far-flung ingredients to make much of that food. “The processed foods in our modern supermarket,” Elton writes, “are an amalgam of ingredients sourced on the global marketplace.”

Industrial farming, with its monoculture crops and vast efficiencies — none of which my father employed a generation ago — has reduced the per-unit costs of food items. But factory farms where chickens or pigs or cows are crammed body to body and nourished by force-feeding and steroids raise ethical and health concerns given voice by everybody from animal rights advocates to nutritionists. On top of this is the constant squeeze on small producers both in Canada and abroad. My friend Lloyd, a retired farmer from Listowel, Ont., who worked to make his dairy operation organic, visited El Salvador in 2002 on a mission trip with his United Church men’s group. There, he learned that producers who were paid $150 per hundred pounds of coffee beans in 2000 were getting only $40 two years later, $20 less than the actual cost of production. He wonders whether the impending demise of the Canadian Wheat Board will have the same effect on Canadian grain farmers.

This is the real food crisis, Stahlbrand says: not the high price of local food, but farmers being forced off their land by ever-shrinking profit margins as grocery chains like Walmart lead a rush to the bottom. At the same time, not everyone can afford to pay $2 a bulb for ethically grown garlic. For consumers on stringent budgets, Stahlbrand rejects the idea of improving access to local food by lowering prices. Cheap food, “with all its accompanying downsides,” is not the answer, she says. “We need to address poverty through a proper safety net.”

One of the bridges might be provided by food co-operatives, member-run organizations that are alert to ethical and sustainability issues while trying to keep food affordable. In Toronto’s economically diverse Parkdale neighbourhood, the West End Food Co-op is getting ready to open a grocery store later this year. “While the co-op is committed to selling its food at prices that are fair to farmers and workers, it will be partnering with community organizations to ensure access to healthy food for those on lower incomes,” observes member Emily Van Halem. The store has plans for a “co-op bucks” program that will benefit those in need without “the stigma that can come with using food banks.”

Co-ops, however, even though growing in popularity — Ontario has 13 new ones in development, and in the Maritimes, food co-ops account for 12 percent of the grocery market — are not about to put Walmart out of business any time soon and only partially address the issue. The conundrum remains: is ethically produced food destined to be always more costly, while its problem-laden counterpart slides by as the temptingly cheaper alternative? I do feel smug carrying home my sack of sustainably produced vegetables, but the ethics of economics need to be sorted out so that instead of being part of a growing divide between rich and poor, locavorism becomes part of the solution.

Seven health risks that could lead to Alzheimer’s

2011-07-20T11:51:00.000-03:00

Half of Alzheimer’s cases worldwide can be traced to seven common risk factors, a new study shows.
The findings also suggest that by tackling those underlying issues – which range from lack of education to obesity – the rising tide of dementia could be slowed considerably.
“We are assuming that when you change the risk factor, then you change the risk,” said Deborah Barnes, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study. “What we need to do now is figure out whether that assumption is correct.”

To read the full article please visit

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/seven-health-risks-that-could-lead-to-alzheimers/article2102783/

My Canada Day 2011

2011-07-02T10:59:00.000-03:00

This year we decided to take in a few of the many events that were happening on the south shore of Nova Scotia. We started the day in Caledonia with a pancake strawberry brunch...delicious. The strawberries are starting to appear at markets and they are sooo good. While in Caledonia, we visited a little shop that I find facinating...so full of so many things. Not organized, just there. We found a couple of little treasures that we added to the outside table.


The turtle came from Mahone Bay and the other items came from Caledonia

Our next stop was Liverpool to visit the farmer's market. And that is where we bought some strawberries to bring home for later. The community of Liverpool is in the midst of Privateer days but not much was happening at 11:00 am when we were there, but the market was alive and well and worth a visit.

Farmer's Market in Liverpool

Beautiful Day mid 20's and sunny


Bought a stained glass butterfly for the dinning room window at the market, also a hugh piece of banana bread to share and of course the strawberries.

Then on to Bridgewater. I wanted to take in some of the Canada Day celebrations in Bridgewater...but we didn't time things very well, we were too late for the cake cutting and got there to find a street closed. So we crossed the river and took a couple of pictures from the other side of the river. Music, food and fun.

We then took a leisurely drive to Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and arrived at the Whirly Gig store in Western Shore. And yes we made a few purchases.

Interesting shop, several made on site and others mass produced in far away lands. But colourful and interesting.

The little butterfly followed us home...okay we bought it.

The eagle flaps his wings and creates movement and interest.


The only colour in this bed is the little spinner we bought at the whirly gig shop. Hopefully the phlox will be beautiful in the future.

We called it a day and headed home. Passed on the fireworks although a neighbour did have a few that we saw from our living room window as we watched the display on parliament hill. A great day.

Grilled Halibut with Strawberry Salsa - Splenda Recipe

2011-06-30T12:16:00.001-03:00

Grilled Halibut with Strawberry Salsa

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

Salsa:
• 2 cups (500 mL) diced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped green onion
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) chopped fresh tarragon

Halibut:
• 5 oz (140 g) halibut fillet portions
• 1 1/2 tbsp (23 mL) olive oil for brushing
•Salt & pepper

Directions

Salsa:
• Toss all ingredients together and chill until ready to serve.

Halibut:
• Preheat grill on medium high and heat a fish grill (mesh).
• Brush halibut fillets with oil and season lightly.
• Place halibut fillets on grill. Close lid on BBQ and let cook for 8 minutes.
• Lift lid and turn halibut 90 degrees and close lid.
• Cook fish 8 more minutes, until it flakes easily when touched with a fork.
•Remove halibut and serve with salsa.

Glen Campbell - Alzheimer's

2011-06-30T12:02:00.000-03:00

Glen Campbell reveals he has Alzheimer's, plans "final" album and tour

Story by Rob Evans

SoundSpike Editor

Published June 22, 2011 12:23 PM

Country legend Glen Campbell has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and that he plans to say goodbye to fans with one last album and tour.
Campbell, 75, and his wife, Kim, said in an interview with People that he wanted fans to be aware of his condition before he embarks on a fall tour, which is in the works.
"Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer," Kim told People. "But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused on stage, I wouldn't want people to think, 'What's the matter with him? Is he drunk?'"

The Arkansas-born singer/guitarist -- said to be in the early stages of the disease -- will release his final studio album, titled "Ghost on the Canvas," on Aug. 30 via Surfdog Records, according to a press release.
Songwriters who contributed to the album include Paul Westerberg (who wrote the title track, which first appeared on Westerberg's self-released 2009 EP "PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys"), Jakob Dylan, Robert Pollard and Teddy Thompson.
Julian Raymond, who also co-wrote a number of new songs with Campbell, produced the set.
The itinerary for "The Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour" is in the works, and will be revealed soon, according to a press release.
"I still love making music," Campbell told People. "And I still love performing for my fans. I'd like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin."
Campbell first gained widespread notice as a guitarist in the Wrecking Crew, a storied group of session players that recorded in the '60s with artists including Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Simon & Garfunkel, Nat King Cole and Elvis Presley. The Wrecking Crew was best known for helping producer Phil Spector to create his "Wall of Sound" style.
Campbell broke out as a solo artist with his 1967 smash "Gentle on My Mind," which he followed later that year with "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," written by Jimmy Webb. Campbell also had hits with the Webb-penned songs "Wichita Lineman," "Where's The Playground, Susie" and "Galveston." He crossed over to top the pop charts in the mid-'70s with "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights."
Campbell also had a television hit as the host and namesake of CBS' "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" variety show from 1969-1972.

A lot of Sadness

2011-05-15T14:34:00.001-03:00

The past several months have been an emotional rollercoaster. While there has been laughter and fun, there has also been sadness and bad news. Several illnesses and deaths for friends, neighbours and family have occurred, some unexpected and others lacking the element of surprise. A good friend of mine is coping with a painful separation. The end of "happy ever after" is never easy to acknowledge let alone deal with.

I have attended more funerals and celebrations of life in the past six months than in the previous six years. Maybe because I am more willing to try and offer support and help or more likely it is because there have been more deaths that have touched me. One of the grim reminders that I am getting older perhaps.

To many the death of a pet may seem insignificant, but to us it was a spirit retching experience. And I don't for a moment suggest that our loss compares to the loss of a loved mate or companion, it is nevertheless sadness that lingers and ingrates itself into our daily lives.

My hope for the balance of 2011 and for 2012 is health and HAPPINESS for everyone reading this blog. I wish you the easing of pain, the brightness of a new and sun filled day and the peace that comes from contentment. I also wish for the joy of anticipation, that excitement that comes from the imagining and the planning and then the pleasure of achieving.

The Only Response I Received

2011-04-25T10:05:00.001-03:00

The Alzheimer's Society had a series of questions to ask federal candidates. I sent the questions to the four candidates running in my riding and here are the only questions I received. The Liberal candidate acknowledged receiving the questions but to date hasn't answered them and Gerald Keddy, the conservative candidate responded saying they do not respond to surveys.'Thank you to Mr Earle's team for responding. Below are the questions and the answers I received.

Question 1

Canada lags behind our international partners in the development of a national brain

strategy to address the growing dementia crisis. Australia, S. Korea, UK and other

Countries in Europe already have plans in place; we need leadership at the national

level. If your party forms the next government would you commit to meeting the

needs of the 500,000 Canadians with dementia with a national brain strategy within

the first 90 days of the next parliament?

Answer

The New Democratic Party of Canada strongly believes in supporting those who

have built Canada and are now in their later years. A key element is this is caring

for Canadians suffering from dementia. To effectively provide this care it will be

vital to have a comprehensive strategy. A New Democratic government would

commit to working with stakeholders like the Alzheimer Society of Canada to

develop a national brain strategy early in our mandate.

Question 2

In 2008, Canadian families and friends spent approximately 231 million

hours providing care for people with dementia. This number is expected to

more than triple by 2038, reaching 756 million hours. The financial and

social burden on informal caregivers will be unsustainable. If your party

forms the next government would you commit to a comprehensive and

universal package of support programs for family caregivers during the

next session of parliament?

Answer

The New Democratic Party of Canada lays out a strategy for supporting

caregivers in our platform. We commit to:

providing a more flexible and generous Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit to permit family members to take up to six months leave from work to tend to relatives near the end of their lives, up from the current six weeks;
introducing a new Caregiver Benefit, modelled after the Child Tax Benefit, to assist low and middle-income families in tackling the costs of everyday needs while caring for elderly or dependant family members. Eligible family members will include children, spouses, parents and other family members, and will be able to receive up to $1,500 per year;
introducing an Inter-generational Home Forgivable Loan Program, modeled on a Manitoba Government initiative, to help up to 200,000 families a year retrofit their homes to create self-contained secondary residences for senior family members. Families will be eligible for a forgivable loan to cover 50 per cent of the costs of a renovation up to a maximum of $35,000;
establishing a new designated federal home care transfer to guarantee a basic level of home care services to all Canadians wherever they live, and
implementing a new designated federal long-term care transfer to provide community-based, high quality round-the-clock care.

Question 3

Budget 2011 contained important measures for dementia research,

caregiver support, and improved health care delivery. Despite promising

recent leads, the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

remain unknown and there are no effective treatments. Canadian

researchers rank among the best in the world, but they need more funding

to follow the many clues that will lead us to the breakthroughs we will need

to conquer this disease.

If your party forms the next government would you support these

investments and commit to the $100 Million contained in the Budget for

brain disease research as a first step towards a comprehensive permanent

federal research program?

Answer

Yes, we will commit ourselves to following through on the budget measures for

dementia research and improved health care delivery and to the expenditure of

$100 million for brain disease research.. As pointed out above, our proposals for

care-giving go well beyond those in Budget 2011.The New Democratic Party of

Canada strongly supports the need for increased medical research in Canada

particularly when it comes to care for the elderly.

Thank you for your interest in the policies of the New Democratic Party of

Canada. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with more questions.

Sincerely,

Gordon Earle

NDP Candidate in South Shore-St.Margaret’s

Federal Election and Health Issues

2011-04-21T14:07:00.000-03:00

One thing I would like to see all of the federal candidates commit to is a Dementia Strategy for Canada. Canada is one of several countries that does not have a strategy to deal with upcoming health issue. Several countries, including Korea, have developed a strategy and are working on the implementation. Why doesn't Canada give the emphasis to this growing epidemic that is required?

Where does your candidate stand on this issue? What is s/he going to do to help families and sufferers of Alzehemiers or other forms of Dementia? The tide is coming, we don't have a lot of time.

Canada’s dementia crisis

2011-04-07T11:33:00.001-03:00

The following article was recently posted by the Alzheimer Society of Canada on their website. What are the candidates prepared to do to help patients and their families?

Canada’s dementia crisis

Right now, over 500,000 Canadians have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. That number is expected to double by 2038. We are asking the Canadian government to create a plan to respond to the dementia crisis.
You can help. Tell your candidate that Canada needs a plan today for the growing dementia crisis.
Because Alzheimer’s disease is everybody’s business.
Alzheimer’s disease is not an illness we can ignore. It has an overwhelming impact on the people who develop it, and the families who care for them.
In 2010 the Alzheimer Society released Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society. The study alerted the Canadian public and federal, provincial and territorial politicians of the need for policies and approaches to address the looming dementia crisis.
The report concluded with five recommendations to government, developed through comprehensive consultations with subject experts and stakeholders. The underlying message is that we must act now and that change is possible.
The five recommendations, which make up a national call to action, are

An accelerated investment in all areas of dementia research
A clear recognition of the important role played by family caregivers
An increased recognition of the importance of prevention and early intervention
Greater integration of care and increased use of chronic disease prevention and management
A strengthening of Canada’s dementia workforce

Brain Centre Brings Hope

2011-04-04T11:58:00.000-03:00

In a recent edition of the Chronicle Herald there was an interesting article about a soon-to-open Brain Repair Centre. The centre will bring together experts working on the workings of the human brain. The Life Sciences Research Institute, will be a partnership between the Capital district health authority, the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University. The planned opening is this summer.

Innovacorp has signed a long term lease for part of the building.