Back at It

Back home safe and sound.  It took 11 hours or so for the drive home from Abbotsford.  I am so lucky that the kids are such good travelers.  They always have been.  When we were going to go anywhere, Dawn and I would tell them about a week before we left that it was going to be a long trip.  They learned to deal with it and have just accepted that it takes time to get to places.  They now bring things to entertain themselves.  Others, like our oldest daughter, tend to entertain themselves……along with the rest of us after eating too much chocolate and candy.  Trust me….my 16 year old turns 6 when she has too much sugar.  It was very entertaining and I love that about her

We got home and it was colder than where we came from.  Weird and wacky spring so far.  At least there wasn’t any snow.

Dawn was extremely sick the past few days and she looked very ill when we got home.  She had great plans to do a bunch of things around here but the flu just wasn’t allowing her to get to it.  Not only did she feel sick, she also felt bad that she didn’t get done what she was hoping to do.  She even had a tour to do this morning and has two tomorrow.  She appears to be on the mend.  I can tell by the way she is moving and joking with the kids.

Today was the first day back at work.  It was basically a catchup day.  Tomorrow will be another catchup day.  Oh well….at least I have a place to go to work.

Now, the things that need to get done around here beckons me.  One of the first things is to gather wood before the under growth grows.  Then…..oh man…the list is long…..must be time for another holiday……

Back on the Mainland

Just an update on the holiday.  So far, even though the weather hasn’t been that warm, it still has been wonderful.  We got back to Abbotsford from Vancouver Island and it was pouring rain.  It was on the Island too so the Ferry ride was one where you stayed inside for the hour and a half ride.

We left home around 7:30am last Wednesday and went to Spruce Grove for gas and coffee….and breakfast for me.  The roads were patchy icy until near Hinton but mostly good.  The Jasper town site had just a skiff of snow.  Surprising since it is in the mountains.  Valemount was dry and Blue River had a ton of snow.  Kamloops had no snow but the Cocahala highway was mostly good but had some snowy parts.  By the time we got to Hope, it was dry and then on to Abbotsford it was cloudy and warmer than what we left at home.  The trip took 11 hours with few stops.

It was about -11°C when we left.  I know this trip description wont make much sense to most of you, but for people in Alberta and British Columbia, they will recognize all the places I mention as it is a main route to the west (wet?) coast.

The next morning we had breakfast and headed to the Tawassen ferry terminal.  $101 later, we boarded the ferry to Swartz Bay and took the short trip up the highway to Sidney.  We found where we were supposed to meet and waited for others to arrive.  They did and after everyone arrive, I went to get a motel and we just waited around until we had our Marine Ecology tour, which was very interesting.  After that was over we went for supper and then headed back to the marina.  T was extremely excited for this trip.  I hope he is having a great time.

The next day (Friday) the girls and I went to Victoria and did some sightseeing.  We went to the Butterfly Gardens, Craigdarroch castle and then the BC Museum.  The kids took a ton of pictures that I will post when I get back home.  When we were done those tours, we drove around the coastal road in Victoria and then headed to the main highway up the island to Comox where we stayed with a friends D & J from highschool.  We hadn’t seen them for close to 15 years.  It was an awesome time to catch up and enjoy some great hospitality.

On Saturday morning, I was sick.  Very sick.  I won’t go into details but I curled up in the fetal position until about noon.  I got up and was feeling shaky but much better.  I decided to go on the boat trip anyway and I am glad I did.  D has a boat and he took us out to Sandy Island.  There was a cool wind but it was so wonderful anyway.  We walked around the island and pretty much just sat in lawn chairs while the kids scoured the beach for treasures.  Eventually we had to come back and we did.  Makes one wish we had a boat…..

D & J made us a wonderful salmon dinner that night.  Our daughter J said she would just like to go there every night for suppers and they have fish quite a bit and J loves fish.  I don’t care that much for fish but this was very good.  I am starting to get a liking for fish the past couple of years.  Dawn has made some and it was pretty good.

Anyway, we are in Abbotsford just hanging out until we pick up T from the ferry terminal on Tuesday.  The weather isn’t that nice today….but it isn’t snowing and cold.  We’ll take it!!

So far the trip has been a nice diversion from life.  I now think I needed a break from reality and even though this is a short 1 week trip, and Dawn isn’t with us, it has been great so far.

Is This the End?

For all the blogging I have done lately, it might as well be the end.  With life getting busier around here, not getting access to a computer most nights, and a general feeling of ‘blah’,  I am letting you know that I won’t be blogging much for a while.  OK….I haven’t been blogging much for a while already.  Maybe one day we will increase the computer population in our household and I will get my chance again.  The Sirdar Computer Purchases Fund hasn’t exactly been a success so it looks like it will be a while before Dawn gets her laptop.

It looks like I am taking the kids on a holiday for a week starting Wednesday so I won’t be around on the computer.  I think the kids and Dawn are going away shortly after that for some activity and I will stay home.  If I manage to get some pictures I’ll post them.

We have had the longest storm in April for at least 20 years.  And it is still snowing!!  Lows between -10˚C and -15˚C.  Highs are around 0˚C and it is forecast to be about +4˚C on Thursday.

I hope to get my mojo back in the future and get back into blogging.  I probably will and when I do I will be catching up with you again.  Besides, you have Dawn to read and lets face it, she is a much better blogger than me.  I can’t do recipes like she can.  I can’t garden like she can.  I can’t do a lot of things she can.  Mind you, there are a lot of thing she can’t do that I can do…like….like….I can’t think of anything right now but trust me, there are things that I can do that she can’t do!!

So, I hope that you have a great spring.  Our should be starting sometime in June the way things are going……

Sort of Back…..

….but obviously not really.

Most evenings I don’t get the computer. And lately, when I do, I’m just tired. I read a LOT at work. I’m not complaining as it is part of my role. Read…interpret…..communicate the findings. Find information for people. Attend meetings. Arrange meetings. Do many tasks for boss. Again, not complaining.

But, it does seem to be “more” this spring. I can’t tell you why but it just has. In some ways I am glad it is busy like that. But the brain sometimes gets overloaded….especially mine Must be old age catching up to me.

On the other hand….I had my last water therapy for my neck on Monday. I still have to go to the pool to do some exercises, but I don’t have to go see the therapist unless something bad happens. However, I have no pain except for the odd twinge. I can live with that.

I have been stacking wood again for next winters heating. Oh man….do I have a lot of wood to get this spring. Needless to say, this will take a lot of my time after work. But, one must stay warm in the winter. And, it gives me the added bonus of a workout. At 46 years old, I need it.

As Dawn alluded to in one of her recent posts, we went to the Homeschool Conference this past weekend. I don’t do much at it as I visit with my friends there. There are 3 people that I went to high school living there. We stay with one of them. He was my best man at our wedding….it will be 21 years in July. It was great to see the friends again.

Anyway….must go eat supper now. Were off to a meeting to discuss the subdividing of our 14 acre park in our subdivision. Needless to say, we like that park to stay the way it is. It is such a nice quiet neighbourhood and I would not want to see it more busy. Selfish? Maybe. But, it was a draw for us when we moved in. The kids said they want us to stop the county from letting it be developed because then they would lose their toboggan hill. I guess we will see how the meeting goes.

Hope you are having a great spring or fall. It has been pretty nice here lately, but they are talking about below 0˚C highs this weekend with the possibility of snow

Update…and a Story

I must say that I am just about pain free now!! I still have the odd twinge, but nothing to get excited about. I went for my water therapy last night and she is very pleased with my progress. She gave me a bunch more things to do in the pool. If you want to know, the things we do are basically lane swimming with snorkel stuff on and a float belt to keep me upright. Then I do a bunch of movements with my neck and certain types of arm motions. I’m sure I look pretty odd in the pool…but quite frankly, I don’t care. I feel better and that is all that matters.

Thanks for all your support in the previous few posts.

I’ve just about caught up with everyone. I’m missing about 5 or 6 of you…and I’ll try and catch up tomorrow.

Now, I’m not 100% sure where this came from….but I wonder if this would be a typical Nekked Lizard Adventure

Numbers

Statistics are full of numbers. No numbers, no statistics. I used to hate statistics when I had to learn about them in school. The one thing that I did learn was that statistics can be made to support just about any agenda….with the help of the media.

How many times have you read a headline in a newspaper saying “1/3 of the people don’t support (insert issue here)”. Which of course means close to 3/4 of the people do….but the negative gets people reading and sells papers, not the positive. I actually think the official opposition in government are the publication houses….not the elected opposition. Why? Pretty much all headlines are what the opposition says….not what the government says. The articles are usually so one sided toward the negative of what is happening that the positive aspects are lost. You see, it isn’t what is said that is wrong, it is what isn’t said that causes the problems and influences peoples thoughts on matters. The readers don’t get the full picture to make an informed decision….until 3 days later when the government tells their side of the story.

So, it is refreshing to see someone in the media call BS when some of these statistics are published. I’m not going to bore you with the whole article but a couple of interesting things in it caught my eye.

First of all, out of the article there was this paragraph that I thought was spot on:

“Numbers tell the tale of our world. The illuminate trends and issues. They expose lies and spin. The establish the scale of things, big or small. And they provide context and meaning in a dumbed-down world.”

~ Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal

There has been a lot of talk recently in the news about Saskatchewan (a province in Canada) and how it is going to lead the country in growth this year. And good for them. Trust me, they need a good boost as people were leaving in droves for big jobs with big money, but are now returning to their roots because they can now get some of those big jobs with big money there now. It is mostly because of resources and their development, which the former governments didn’t allow. The new one does and the province gets richer for it. But, lets put it into perspective. Saskatchewan’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is $33 Billion. That is 25% of smaller that the economy of Greater Edmonton (the capital of Alberta). I say good for them for doing well…but bad on the media for headlines and articles trying to convince us that all the money is going to be in Saskatchewan and the rest of the county is going down hill in a hand basket.

There were more instances of how statistics were misleading but the one that hits home the most is the climate change/Oilsands debate. Trust me, this is a big topic in Eastern Canada….and here in the West too…but people are to busy making money they don’t feel as threatened.

In a recent front page article in the Globe and Mail (Canada’s self describe national newspaper) the Oilsands generate full 25% of Canada’s carbon emissions. And as Gary put it…”Except, well, it doesn’t.” In a subsequent correction, the Globe and Mail admitted the number was just 8%. Gary goes on to say that since Canada accounts for 2% of the global total (I’ve heard that number before but not sure where it comes from), that means the Oilsands generate between one and two tenths of 1% of the worldwide tally.

The way it is viewed in the Eastern Canadian newspapers is that Alberta is the catalyst that will ruin the earth. In Gary’s article there was a mention about China and how it accounts for 21% of the global emissions and every year adds about an Canada’s worth of emissions to that total. There is also a huge project going on to increase container traffic to send resources to China. It is called the Pacific Gateway project that is expanding capacity on local roads, bridges, and port facilities, ultimately tripling the amount of local truck traffic by 2031. So basically, we are going to help China become even bigger emissions spewers.

But a quick survey of the four Toronto newspapers linked the Pacific Gateway project and climate change to just 15 articles n the past 15 months. In the same span of time, 230 articles were written linking the Alberta Oilsands and climate change…a ratio of 46:1.

The numbers told Gary that the national media’s fixation with the Oilsands isn’t really about climate change, it is about something else. If you lived here in the early 80’s when the Liberal government introduced the National Energy Program which basically shut down development in Alberta to a standstill, you might get an idea as to why the Eastern Canada’s newspapers are trying to convince the voters over there that Alberta is the Evil Environmental Empire. Money. Were making it, they aren’t benefiting. Sounds a bit like the 80’s again….but this time they have statistics!!

Whoa!! I haven’t written a post like this for a loooong time. Sorry. If you are still with me here….what are your thoughts on what I said?

(PS: Sorry I haven’t been coming by to read you as much as I used to. Remember this article? You Got to Fight….For Your Right…to use the Computer.  It is still an issue and probably will be for a while. However, if you wish to donate to the “Sirdar Computer Purchases Fund”…… )

Spring is in the Air….

….Somewhere

Oh well….at least this won’t last that long and Spring will be here shortly. What do they say….April Showers bring May Flowers? I guess our showers are just a little whiter….

No Pain….No Gain?

I have to say that today I had the least amount of pain that I’ve had for close to a month.  I’ve only gone for two water therapy sessions and I can feel a difference.  I went on my own tonight to our local pool.  I was supposed to take a big exercise ball with me but the car was full of kids and I couldn’t get it into the trunk of the car without a lot of effort so I improvised.  I think the ball would work better.  I may have over did it a bit as I can feel just a bit more pain as I type but it still isn’t as bad as it was a week ago.  I am sure I still have a ways to go before the pain completely goes away, but it sure feels good knowing that it is getting better.

Therapy Can Be Good

I went for my first therapy session. No…not mental!! (Although I could probably use some of that too)

Physical therapy. Water therapy. It was more of an assessment session. She asked me many questions about my past injuries and about the pain I feel now. She had me do some range of motion tests. There is a difference from one side to the other, that is for sure. She had me in the pool walking with my arms down forward, backward, and sideways up and down the pool length to see how my body would react. I didn’t have too much pain so all was good.

It is a lane pool so the total depth is only about 4 feet deep. The pool is the one they used for the Commonwealth Games in 1978, the Universiad Games in 1983, the World Masters Games in 2005, and countless others that don’t come to mind right now.

Then, it was into the water. I’ve never snorkeled before so she had to teach me the proper way to use the flippers and how to “spit” into my mask to stop the mask from fogging up. It was all good. I wasn’t in the pool as long as I would have liked to be but she wanted to see how my body reacted to what she did. Based on that, she can determine a good program for me to use for strengthening my neck, shoulder, and core muscles. Next appointment….Monday.

I think that even after we are done with the therapy, I might consider going to the pool just to swim laps. I did that when I went to NAIT in 1989 and went from barely being able to do a lap to being able to swim for over 45 minutes without stopping. And it didn’t take long to get there either. I was really in the pool to help with my orthoscopic knee surgery at that time, but it felt good to do that swimming. Mind you, I was only 29 or 30 at the time…….

I’m Going Snorkeling!!

Yup….the temperatures are so nice now…+1˚C as I write this…that I think it is time to hit the water….once it thaws

I am going snorkeling…in a swimming pool. Its not that I am taking snorkeling lessons, I am doing it for therapy. Water therapy. You see, I’ve been in quite some discomfort for a little over a week now. It is a problem that I’ve had before…a pinched nerve in my neck.

The only good thing is that it isn’t as painful this time. I still have quite a bit of pain, but it isn’t as severe. I have lost quite a bit of strength in my right shoulder, arm, and hand. It is numb on the outside of the arm but my hand isn’t affected like it was last time. The neurosurgeon’s assistant recommended this lady therapist who has had some good success with my type of injury. She does something called “water therapy” and thus why she wanted me to get snorkeling gear.

Unlike last time, I can use a mouse and type. I can sleep this time too as I can lie down. Last time, it hurt worse when I lied down.

I see my doctor on Thursday to arrange for an MRI. I don’t need to go if it is better by the time that the MRI is scheduled. The neurosurgeon’s assistant said that they will do anything to avoid surgery, which is probably a good thing. Since this is only the second time, they won’t do anything unless they have to. If it happens again, then they will consider it…but again…only after all other options are exhausted.

How did this happen in the first place? Hockey…head first into the boards in 1986. The doctor just said that it would heal. My how times have changed. I’ve had many problems since that day. I used to get headaches like you wouldn’t believe. But, after many chiropractor appointments, they finally went away.

Anyway, I can still go to work so that is a good thing. My boss had something similar so he knows what I am going through. It will get better I am sure. But, first I need to learn to do some exercises under water. I’ll let you know how it works.