In An Email

Cleaning Poem

I asked the Lord to tell me

Why my house is such a mess.

He asked if I'd been

'computering',

And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny,

And tidy up the house.

And so I started cleaning up...

The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.

That really did the trick....

I was just admiring my good work.

I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops - I

found

A real absorbing site

That I got SO way into it -

I was into it all night.

Nothing's changed except my

mouse.

It's very, very shiny.

I guess my house will stay a

mess.....

While I sit here on my hiney.

(Me... Have a problem? Oh no.... not ME>>>)

Light Mail

Daily Inspiration: That which is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Today’s Affirmation: I see beyond this physical world and give my love into the heart of every moment.

Today's Spiritual Contemplation: Good and evil are simply measures in a physical world of our sense of alignment with it. By their nature they cannot move beyond its dimensions being a human measure of those limitations. All love operates and springs forth from the realm of Spirit; love plays in this world, continually bringing forth healing where it is recognized while forever remaining free of earthly limitations.

Light Mail is put out by Rev. Dale Jukes of the Okanagan Centre For Spiritual Living.

A Most Beautiful & Long Day

Last night I got about 4 hours sleep, then got up this morning & went for a day trip with Dan in his little car. He wanted to go to his buddy Mike's home in OK Falls to check on it for Mike who lives in the lower mainland and has this as a summer place... as well as a place in Arizona, and a Motorhome. Poor guy. On the way down, we stopped at a butcher shop about half an hour south of here. They sell a mixture of different ground meats for dogs ($1.19/# under 100#, and $1.00/# for 100# and up). I bought 101# of it plus a couple packages of ground buffalo, just over 1#/ package.

We went to Mike's house and all looked good. We turned up the heat & hot water, then went out lunch at a local cafe. We walked a few blocks to the cafe, then back again. It was such a beautiful, warm, sunshiny day with blue sky all over the place. Couldn't ask for a nicer day for making such a trip. Back at Mike's Dan ran me a bath. He knows I used to love soaking in the tub but only get to shower now due to a too small bathtub, so today I got to have a nice soak in a big comfy tub. Then I made myself a cup of tea, refilling my travel mug, and we were off north again.

We stopped in Kelowna to fill my water jugs. Where I live there are a few places where you can fill your jugs with Reverse Osmosis filtered water for $2/5 gal. jug. There is a place where you can buy Spring Water for $8/5 gal. jug. However, in Kelowna, about an hour drive from here, there is Spring Water for $3/5 gal. jug. To make a trip down just for water does cost for the gas, so I prefer to not go too often, though usually so far I've been able to combine the trip with something else. For instance, when going to Omak Stampede I took my jugs, and another trip I made down there I did that too. I have made a trip just for water, though, I think. So today, to get all my jugs filled on the way through was great. I have 6 jugs now, so that adds up.... well, it should have been $18, but the owner of the place showed me how to get it a bit cheaper. Instead of paying for 5 gal. 6 times ($3 x 6), you can pay for $20 gal. ($10) and hit the pause button to change jugs. I thought that was very nice of him to show us that and save me $2. He also told Dan some stuff about Spring Water as he had no clue, and after telling us that the water is filtered 5 times before we get it, he got us a cup of non-filtered water and it was great. So clean & pure & tasty even before the filtration.

Once we got to my place, Dan carried in the 101# of dog meat (which Reba will share with Mewsic), the 6 jugs of water (approx. 50# each = 300# of water), then offered to bring in the bag of dog kibble I had in the truck 18kg, so about 40#, then he also brought me in a bag of pellets for the stove (40#) after which he said good night and went on his way. I sure appreciated all that help... that's a lot of carrying and, like he said, I'd be in terrible pain before I even got it all done.

I spent the evening playing with animals, watching TV, blogging, FaceBooking, looking at crochet patterns on the internet, etc. and now.... at nearly midnight, I am about to do the last 'critter chores' for the night (make sure chinchillas have food/water, put Reba out for a few minutes), turn the stove down, get me ready and off to bed.

I am grateful to Dan for taking me along for the ride today
I am grateful to Dan for buying me lunch and running me the bath
I am grateful to for the awesome sunshiny day
I am grateful I was out enjoying the weather today (forecast is for totally different tomorrow)
I am grateful to have all the meat for Reba & Mewsic
I am grateful to have a fresh bag of kibble each for Reba & Mewsic
I am grateful to know that I have enough food to last these two for at least 3 months
I am grateful to have enough water to last for at least 3 months
I am grateful that I can co-ordinate the trip to get water & meat in future
I am grateful to have some buffalo meat for me to eat
I am grateful I have enough rabbit food to last the rabbit & chinchillas minimum 6 months
I am grateful I have enough Spring Water to last 3 months or more if I use it for drinking, tea & some cooking... or longer if I use tap water to boil for tea.
I am grateful to live in a country where there is so much beauty as I saw today. I am usually driving that road so enjoyed being a passenger for once and being able to look around. I just wish I could have stopped to take pictures every time I saw something I wanted to share with you.
I am grateful for the peace & quiet of my home as I sit here in comfort
I am grateful for all the great free crochet pattern (snowflakes) that I found on the net.
I am grateful that it is now just after midnight and I am off to my bed. I am tired and looking forward to a good sleep tonight. I am not even going to dream about short circuiting in circuit city. In fact, I'm sure I will dream and not remember any of what I dreamed. I rarely remember even dreaming, never mind what I dreamed about.

Reading Material

Do you prefer reading books, or ebooks on your netbooks? (Or whatever kind of computer you have). Or do you like to read at all? Maybe you prefer reading magazines or ________? I love curling up with a good book, and I have a stack of great books sitting waiting for me to read them. I keep buying more great books to add to the stack. Some people do drugs, some drink alcohol, some smoke cigarettes, I used to drink copious amounts of Coca Cola. Now, I buy books that will help me to learn & to grow as a person as well as spiritually.

I also read information off the internet. For example, I am currently researching raw foods for cats & dogs. I've done this kind of research before and know there is still much to learn. The other day I was talking to a gal at the dog park who said that dogs can't digest raw vegetables. I've never heard that before so am searching for information to either confirm on blow that theory out of the water. I occasionally give Reba a raw carrot and she loves to chew it up and eat it. I have given Reba raw meat whenever possible in the past and have decided to feed her raw on a more regular basis, while still feeding some kibble, so I want to 'do the research' so I can do the best for her. I also plan to feed partial raw diet to Mewsic. I figure if Reba & I do any traveling together, especially if we go to the US, it will be best to have her still eating at least partial kibble diet because it's easier to carry along than raw meet that has to stay frozen until time to serve it... and can't take meat across the border.

I also want to find patterns I can print out to make crochet Christmas ornaments &/or snow flakes.

I started nodding off earlier, sitting here in my chair reading about raw dog/cat diets, so had to get up and move around, feed Reba her dinner, get a hot tea. Now, as I watch TV programs I taped Tuesday evening while I was out, I am blogging and reading these web pages... and working at staying awake until it is a suitable time to go to bed.

Three Word Thursday

Over at Quilly's, I enjoyed her fabulous & funny posts about US Thanksgiving. It sounds like they had a great day. Then I noticed another, must smaller post. This one told us that Three Word Thursday will next be held on December 3rd (it was postponed this week due to those Americans stuffing their faces with Turkey and all the trimmings.... even pies!!!). The three obscure words that we will be using then are: aquabib; ficulnean; brochity. I had thought maybe I would tell the story behind my bathroom tile flooring job, though have decided that none of these words will work with that story, so guess it's "back to the old drawing board". Not to worry, a great idea will find it's way to me in time.

My Bed

Before I head off to bed, thought I'd just tell you about that bed. I used to have a queen size water bed and I loved it! Then, Mom & Dad asked if I'd like to have their bedroom set as they were getting a new one. This was an antique set that they'd gotten second hand and had used for many years, so yes, I did want it. At first I set the bed up out in the addition, back when there was only the small addition on this home, so I could sleep in it for awhile to be sure, before I took the water bed down, that I could be comfortable in it. I had slept in the water bed for so many years and it was so comfortable that I had to be sure. I found it to be okay, so took down the water bed & moved this double bed into my bedroom. It gave me a lot more space in the room, being a smaller bed, and I needed that extra space as it came with the matching highboy & vanity with stool (minus the mirror which had been broken during a move years earlier). To take the place of the heat of the water bed, a friend gave me an electric blanket, though eventually it wore out. I love lots of blankets on my bed so was okay with heaping a few extras on in cold of winter.

The master bedroom is at the south end of my home and while I heated the home with the natural gas furnace it was warm at that end while being cool to cold at the north end where the kitchen & living room are. A few years ago I got my pellet stove & put it into the addition I had built on here in 1997, so it is at the north end and it keeps the house nice & toasty warm, though in cold weather it doesn't quite keep the bedroom warm unless I cook the rest of the house by turning the stove up really high, and use fans to move the heat down there. This fall I decided to move to the '2nd bedroom' which is in the 'new' addition, in the next room to the stove. Now my bedroom is warm & I close the door to the master bedroom. My walk-in closet is still back there in the master bedroom, but that's okay, I can walk that far when I need to. So far I've only needed 1 comforter & a bedspread and I find this plenty warm, even with the window open a crack to let in fresh air.

I recently bought myself a comfy new pillow... it's so nice. Yup, I think I'll go lay my head on it now... well, not now exactly. First I have to put DW 'to bed' (I think she's sleeping on the back of my chair), feed chinchillas, put Reba outside for one last potty break before bed... then I'll lay my head on my pillow.

Sweet dreams all!!

PS. I sometime think of the water bed & wish I had it now... I do miss it. Though I wouldn't want to part with my antique bedroom set, and don't have room for both.

An "Up & Down & Up" Day

I had an interesting day, to say the least. It started with getting up early and heading off to TOPS, got there on time so this was good. The weekly weigh in showed I dropped another 1/2 pound, bringing my total to 18 pounds gone since my first weigh in on January 15/09. Nearly a year and I hope to get another 2 pounds off by Christmas... or my birthday just 2 weeks later, in plenty of time to claim a 20# weight drop in my first year. I say 'drop' or 'shed' or whatever I can think of rather than 'lost' or 'loss' because when we loose things we often find them again eventually, and I do not want to find any of this again... ever.

After our meeting I stopped at one of the thrift stores to donate a big bag of clothes. Last week I donated an even bigger bag. I'm hoping to do a donation every week for awhile as I really do need to declutter this place. I then went to the restaurant that the other ladies from TOPS had gone to, joining them for lunch. Next, Pat, Paulene & I went to the Bargain Bin, our weekly thrift store shopping trip. While there I discovered a very unsettling health problem, just a wee bit too personal to state here though I am tempted, haha. I called my Dr.'s office & found they had no openings today, not that I thought there was much chance anyway, but had to try. Before making the 20-25 minute drive to the nearest walk-in clinic, I went for tea & an ice cream cone with Pat. I had planned to go to my Aqua Therapy class today, then when I found this problem I decided that it was best to skip that for today and see a Dr. instead.

The clinic I went to is upstairs at the Canadian Superstore, a huge grocery & loads of other stuff store with a gym & this clinic upstairs. The Dr. I saw has no clue at all why what is happening is happening, though agrees with me that it should not be happening!! So, he took a scraping to send to the lab and see if they come up with anything. I just pray it's nothing serious.

When I was getting ready to go in I must have taken the keys out of the ignition & had them on my lap as I dug out some reading material to take in with me (I have so many things I want to read that I prefer to read them rather than thumbing through magazines while waiting), then got out of the truck, locking the door without thinking about the keys. They were laying on the driver's seat, my spare keys were in the bag I carry with 'extras' that I don't want to carry in my purse but want in the truck... sitting on the floor on passenger's side. My coat was on the passenger seat. After a few phone calls & some text messaging, trying to find some help, my cell phone battery died. I got a wire coat hanger & tried to open it to no avail, just got dirty hands & broken nails as well as cold & frustrated. I went back into the store & used their phone, called a tow truck company... it would cost me $70 to get them to open the door. NOT!!! I eventually found a friend who could drive me out here to get a spare key I was more than 90% sure I had (good thing I had a spare house key hidden outside). When I looked & found the key hanging where I thought it was I was totally elated!! YES!!! The joy did not last long.... I realized that it was for the ignition and I needed a door key. Back to the old drawing board. I came back into the house and got some tools, then we headed back into town.

A few minutes inside the canopy on my truck with the wrench and I was able to slide the canopy back a few feet, then Bill helped me up into the box in front of the canopy. You see, I have a sliding back window in the truck... and a solid front window in the canopy, so to get to the slider .... Using a small screw driver Bill had, I was able to open the sliding window and I didn't even break the catch!!! YES!!! I then took the wire coat hanger that was now just a long wire, and tried to hook the keys several times (I couldn't see them from where I was, but I could hear when the connection was made), then I tried hooking the inside handle on the passenger door & that worked after a few tries. FINALLY the door was open!!!! Put the canopy back in place in no time, once I had the keys in my filthy dirty hands.

I gave Bill $10 for gas, & big Hug & a Thank You, then drove home.

When I got into the house I saw the fire had gone out, so brought in a bag of pellets & restarted the fire. The house is now warm and I am happy!!!

I am grateful to be a member of my TOPS group
I am grateful to have such wonderful 'fellow members' that have become friends
I am grateful that I've shed 18# and am on my way to even higher numbers (which is actually lower numbers on the scale) :o)
I am grateful to Bill for coming & helping me get into my truck
I am grateful to have gotten into my truck!! (Yes, I plan to hide at least a door key somewhere on the outside of my truck)
I am grateful to be warm again (too warm now, actually)
I am grateful I didn't end up having to pay $70 to get in
I am grateful I don't have to pay any rv insurance
I am grateful DW (female parrot) is cuddled up to the back of my head (though she should be in her cage sound asleep at this hour)
I am grateful to have such wonderful critters sharing my life & my home
I am grateful I have a comfortable bed waiting for me, and I choose to go to it now.

Happy Thanksgiving USA

HAPPY THANKGIVING
to all my friends in the USA


Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October.

Here in my home & my heart, Thanksgiving is Everyday!!

I am grateful for the many rolls the Centre for Spiritual Living plays in my life.
I am grateful Lorraine comes each Wednesday to help me with the Sunday Programs. Not only does this lighten my work load, but makes things more fun.
I am grateful for the Sunshine in my life... even when the sky is cloudy.
I am grateful my friend in Washington state called again today. Always nice to talk to him.
I am grateful I found my bank card today. I knew it had to be in my purse, just wasn't sure where.
I am grateful for the groceries I bought today for myself & 2 of my critters (Reba & Mewsic).
I am grateful for the feed I bought recently for my rabbit & chinchillas.
I am grateful I don't need to buy bird feed for awhile yet.
I am grateful Len decided to continue living on my property.
I am grateful for all money that comes into my life.
I am grateful Tuggy is building me a Trike!!
I am grateful for the new books I bought today: Power vs Force, Paying It Forward,
I am grateful Mewsic is on my bed with me as I type this (you can tell Reba is outside).
I am grateful Mom called this evening.
I am grateful my scale says I've shed a bit more weight (in the morning we'll see if the TOPS scale agrees... it's the official one)
I am grateful that, as I put down my laptop tonight, I will pick up a great new book and start reading it. (Hmmm, or will I pick up one of the ones I'm already reading? Decisions, decisions. Too many books, not enough time. Naaaa... no such thing as too many good books.)

Preparing for Christmas

I think I had better do some preparations for the 'big day'. I think I will put some poetry I've written onto some photos I've taken and get them printed at 8x10, then mat them... or maybe I'll give books this year. Today at the Centre, I bought some new books: Paying It Forward, as well as one on making Veggie Burgers (it's in the other room or would tell the name of it), a deck of "Money & The Law Of Attraction Cards"... as well as paid for a book I got a short time ago, Power vs Force. I do love books, haha. I am thinking of giving copies of Paying It Forward as it's a great story with a lot of meaning. Guess I better decide soon as the books will have to be ordered in/the photos & poems chosen, put together, printed, then put into the mats which have to be chosen & purchased. The books would be easier, though perhaps the photos/poems would be more meaningful.


Gonna make me a list
And I'll check it twice
Who wants Mopar performance parts?
And who wants pet mice?
Should I rush to the store
To get a gift card?
Mom likes baking pies,
I could buy her some lard!
I haven't a clue,
What to give Dan
Hmmmm.... I'll promise a motorcylce ride,
Now, there is a plan!!
For Tuggy there'll be
No silly Yule Log,
But something more 'him',
Maybe to go with his 'Hog'.
I want to give Bev
A nice gift this year,
Just what it shall be
I know will come clear.
Then there's my sisters
What should they get?
Thank God it's November,
And not Christmas yet.
Should I buy for my brothers?
Could something I plot?
The chance they'll give to me
Is pretty much 'not'!!
As I compile my list
I think of who's loving & nice,
My animals will get gifts.
I don't have to think twice!

'tis The Season.... for shopping

I must confess that Reba & I didn't get our walk today. The darkness beat us to the Dog Park. It get dark so early now that it can be annoying as all get out. I so look forward to the longer days returning.

Instead of going walking, I went to Liquidation World to check out the "big sale" they have starting tomorrow and found that they don't even have all of the things they are advertising, not all are sent to all stores apparently. They don't have what I wanted, so now I know I don't have to try being at 2 places at the same time tomorrow, so this is good. Unfortunately, my meter ran out before I got back and I got a ticket. :o( I could have used that $5 for something more suitable. Oh well. Then I went to the bank, got some $$ out and went to the Superstore to do some grocery shopping. Just wanted a few things.... ya right. $85.26 later I left the store. Dog food is up in price again, got cat food, cheese, milk, things like that so it doesn't take many items to send the bill through the roof. I don't know what people do when they have 2 or 3 growing kids to feed, the bills must be near $1000 a month just for food alone.

All over the store there are things for Christmas. An artificial christmas treedisplay off all the different trees they want to sell you, a display of lighted reindeer to decorate your yard, the list goes on and on. Today is November 25th... only 30 days left until Christmas. The 'crunch' is on.

Giving Feels GREAT!

I'm sitting at the Centre for Spiritual Living, having just finished my volunteer job for Wednesday. Sitting in the book store, looking out the window, I see Reba watching me from the back of the truck (head stuck out the canopy window). Across the street is the First Nations Friendship Centre as well as the Downtown Primary Care Centre Medical Clinic. I recently heard that this new clinic is where drug addicts go for their methadone prescriptions. Not exactly a drug rehab, but as close as it gets in our city.

I just finished doing the programs for the Sunday Service. I do the computer work and print them out, then my friend Lorraine cuts & assembles them all. This week I had to print out more covers as well as more sheets of labels for the donation envelopes. I also updated the Membership List as we are currently doing our annual Membership Drive where people renew their membership, or become members for the first time. Since I am the Membership Director on our Board, this is part of that job. Another job I enjoy taking on at this time of the year is adopting a family in need. I contact the Youth & Family Services Society and they hook us up with a family, then we collect non-perishable foods, toys, clothes, whatever will help this family out. We never are told who the family is, just how many, ages, sizes, males/females... that kind of thing. It sure feels awesome to help people that need it. Today I brought some Christmas wrapping paper from home & wrapped a box for people to put their donations into. One lady already brought several food items so the box has already been 'fed', now it's looking pretty too.

Now, before it gets too dark, I'll pack up my laptop, take my tea, & be off to walk with Reba at our favorite Dog Park. See you all later. Have a great day.

November 24

I had planned to go to my Aqua Therapy class again today, quite looked forward to it even... then Tuggy called and wanted me to drive out to his place. He said he found a rear end for my trike and wanted me to take the money out to give to the guy. I said I could do it later, after my appointment in town, but he wanted me to go right away or it would be too dark to do what we needed to do if I went later. So I went. Dan was here at the time & he drove me out in his little car. Tuggy was outside with my bike running when we got there. It runs really nice. When warmed up it starts really well too, though he said it's a bit difficult when cold, though nothing to worry about. He had it hooked up to his car with jumper cables and said he has a new battery that will fit it, and is saving that for later, for now the old battery with jumpers will do. He told Dan that this bike, now that he's played with it and heard it run, would sell for $1000 to $1500, so I 'stole it'... paid $350. I think I'll have to buy Bev dinner or lunch one time, she's the friend that sold this bike to me. Guess she didn't know what it was worth. When I went to give him the $50 for the rear end, he said no, keep it for now cuz he wants me to give it directly to Gary or Jerry or whatever the guy's name is that we'll get the rear end from in a few days. So now I don't know the real reason he wanted me to make the 1/2 hour or so drive out there. Sheeeesh! Men. I'll never understand them. Haha.

By the time I got back, it was too late to go to Aqua Therapy :o( Not happy about that. So went into town with Dan, he was going to the bank & I went along for the ride. Came home and played on the computer a bit (play PathWords on FaceBook and got a 900 score tonight). At 6:45pm my cell beeped to remind me it was time to go to Toastmasters. YIKES, somehow I had managed to totally forget about that, or that it was Tuesday most likely. So I had to change clothes and head out really fast to drive there and be on time, just 40 minutes later. It was a great evening as it usually is. I gave the Inspiration ( "Limitations are merely opportunities to grow. I use them as stepping-stones to success." - Louise L. Hay) and evaluated a speech (involving organizing a panel of speakers) on protecting yourself from H1N1, one panelist talked about the flu shots and the other one talked about the holistic alternatives. Unfortunately, the third panelist was ill so couldn't be there, she has a lot of education in this area and would have spoken about scientific stuff. The other speech tonight was great too, about working as a Boarder Guard between Canada & the US. This gal used to work alone on the Canadian side, though in view of the US Boarder Guard, and was taken hostage at one time. She's a great speaker. (Maybe one time I'll do a speech about pros & cons of self checkout vs going through the regular checkout... and using the barcode scanner).

When I got home, I left all the lights on, working only with the light from the outside light and that from the fire in the pellet stove, I got my computer & a few other things, fed the chinchillas and came to bed. Most nights the birds don't get proper sleep due to me having lights & TV on, even when I cover the cages they seem to be awake too much (I can tell by the noise they make), so I decided to come work in here tonight. One of the many benefits of having a laptop computer.


I am grateful Bev told me she wanted to sell her bike
I am grateful that when I told this to Tuggy he said he wanted to go see it, that it might be better for me than the Honda he had planned to use
I am grateful I got such a good deal on such a good bike
I am grateful I am having it make into a trike and will be able to take Reba with me on it once I learn to ride it well
I am grateful to Dan for driving me out to Tuggy's
I am grateful for Aqua Therapy (even when I miss it)
I am grateful I had my cell phone programed to remind me of Toastmasters. I had nearly taken that off recently as I'm usually on my way long before it goes off
I am grateful I got to Toastmasters on time tonight
I am grateful for the great meeting and enjoyable speeches
I am grateful the snack was mostly healthy food tonight
I am grateful for all the fun & laughter we always having at our Toastmasters club
I am grateful my birds are getting a good nights sleep tonight
I am grateful for the fire burning in my pellet stove
I am grateful I have a laptop computer & wireless internet so I can change rooms with it

Catch Up

It's been a busy week so far. Not that I really remember just now all of what I did, though there are some things I do remember.

Sunday as always I went to the Centre for Spiritual Living. After that I went to the dog park with Reba. I ended up standing around talking while giving her the chance to play with other dogs. If we had walked it would have been by our selves, so I decided to give her the opportunity to play instead. Just standing around got pretty cold after a bit though, so would prefer to walk next time, and I need exercise so can't just stand there too often. However, I think it was good for Reba and she had a great time.

Monday I was home for the morning, then went to the Rec. Centre to my Aqua Therapy class. I actually rather enjoy this class as it is gentle exercises in the pool and feels good for my body and my mind. Afterward I sit in the hot tub for awhile, then shower & leave. After the pool I went to a dollar store & got some batteries I needed, then met Wendy for tea at McDonalds in WalMart. Long visit. We talked about everything from soup to nuts, including motorcycles (she rides a Harley), renting houses, owning houses, home insurance, jobs, passions in life, etc. etc. etc. She thinks I'd be good working as an operator at an answering service, also that I should do more with my writing & photography skills. So I'm going to look into taking some classes in writing, and apply for a part time job at the answering service in town where Wendy's daughter works.

Friday November 20

Yesterday, Thursday November 19th, was a very long & full day. Having gotten to sleep shortly after 2am, I had to get up before 9am, so got around 6 1/2 hours sleep... max. After feeding birds and doing other morning chores, I got myself ready and off to TOPS in time for the weigh in before the weekly meeting. I 'turtled', in other words, I neither lost nor gained any weight since my last weigh in. Better turtle than gain any day.

After the meeting I stopped at one of the thrift stores and donated a big recycle bag full of clothes and other things. Then went to join the other ladies from our group for our Thursday lunch. Had a bowl of soup, dry multi grain toast, then put some peanut butter & apple jelly on some of the toast. Also had tea.

Next I filled the gas tank of my truck, bought some rabbit feed for my 1 rabbit & 4 chinchillas, then off to the next town to visit Mom. We drove over to yet the next town where we went to Telus Mobility to straighten out problems we were both having with cell phone &/or bills for said phones. Once that was done, we went to Mom's and had dinner. She wanted me to add my older brother's email address to her computer as it's different than what we both had. Apparently he uses his Hotmail more than his Shaw... or at least at the moment as he's currently in Japan. He goes there periodically in regards to his karate stuff. He also goes to Hawaii fairly frequently and will be doing so after Japan. He'll be in Honolulu for more karate stuff, some big wig guy is doing something there. Terry is a 4th Dan Black Belt and a teacher, so still does a lot of training/learning/socializing for all that.

After I left Mom's I went back to the town where I do TOPS & Toastmasters. The hardware store had "Ladies Night" on, lots of goodies and 15% off your purchases, so several of my friends were going to be there. It was kind of fun. I bought 6 shelf brackets, 2 8' long 1x8 boards so I can make shelves in my kitchen, and a horseshoe with 2 horse heads and 3 hooks. I'll put it up in my bedroom to hang stuff on. I already have a horseshoe key hanger, and these are heavier hooks, so will hold some clothes.

I ate way too much of the goodies they had there. I know better, not only because of the weight thing, but also the blood sugars and cholesterol levels. I'm like a drug addict, eat one and can't seem to stop, brain goes into neutral and I just keep stuffing it in. I love sweets way too much. I think I'm going to have to not even have one. I've heard the saying that for an alcoholic, 1 drink is too many and 100 aren't enough. I think it's that way with me and sweets. I don't even want to think about the number of calories and amounts of fats/sugars I ingested. It's enough to know that I really abused my body and therefor myself. I must stop this self abuse!!

So... today I didn't feel good all day. I was so tired I couldn't think straight, my eyelids were badly swollen when I first got up. I ended up going back to bed twice. If it wasn't for the phone I may not have gotten out of bed at all... well, okay, I guess I would have had to or my bladder would have burst. After sleeping much of the day away I do feel much better... now to get back to bed and sleep before the night is half gone... it's already well on it's way... 12:50am. I had a very nice chat on the phone tonight with my friend/hair dresser, Harold, as well as earlier with Tuggy. Ahhhh, it's good to have friends.

Lots of clouds & rain today.... very dark, gray day.


I am grateful to be able to spend the day sleeping when I need to
I am grateful for my bed
I am grateful I'm feeling better
I am grateful for the cold slaw I ate today
I am grateful for wonderful friends
I am grateful that what fell from the sky today does not need to be shoveled
I am grateful I have loads of things to be grateful for and I am grateful I don't have to write them all down just now or I'd be up for many hours yet.

Time to brush teeth, bring Reba in, give chinchillas a treat, feed rabbit and go to bed.

Wednesday November 18

It was a beautiful, sunshiny day today!! I love the days when the sun wins out over clouds and I get to revel in the glory of the bright blue sky.

I didn't feel like going to the Centre to do my volunteer work today, so went to town later than usual on Wednesdays. I went to my 3 month check up (diabetes). The Dr. & health nurse were both thrilled with my check up again. My blood sugar levels were fairly high when I was diagnosed with Type 2 in February 2009. I thought they were 13, though Della, the nurse, has 11.4 on her chart, though she said it might have been higher before she came onto my case, but I think I've only had 2 more of these 3 month A1C blood tests... anyway, the last 2 have been 6.3 and anything under 7 is good. Since I joined TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) in January, I've dropped 17.5 pounds, so this is very much in my favor for my health. Dr. P. & Della are concerned about my cholesterol and he wanted to put me on meds... I said 'no', so I've been doing it with watching what I eat and being more active. Now, the "bad" is down... a bit, the "good" is up... a bit, and the risk ratio is looking somewhat better... still have to work on this though. My Blood Pressure is also down, from 130/80 to 118/70, so this is a great thing. Every time I've been in for these visits, they've been really happy with what I'm doing as I've been constantly improving. Amazing what a little education and some motivation can do. Not only am I looking better, I'm healthier too.

I also went to my Chiropractor today for a treatment. He was happy when I told him how my check up went... and with how my adjustment went. Now, if all goes well, I won't have to go in for about another 5 weeks, which I will stretch a bit so I don't go in again until early next year, haha.

I went to the Centre after that and worked on the programs for Sunday. Lorraine is away for a few days, so I didn't have to go early today as I usually do. However, this means I do the whole job by myself. I got them printed and cut, except for the prayer/treatment which I was having problems with as it's done in CorelDRAW which wasn't cooperating at all today... and I had forgotten to take something to eat with me, so was rather hungry and felt my blood sugar dropping to where I was starting to get shaky and I know this is dangerous... so I left Rev. Dale a note and left, bringing the programs home to assemble here. I will have to put the prayer/treatment sheets in later as well as envelopes as I didn't have enough of them ready and I didn't want to print out sheets of labels to bring home... I needed food NOW!!

I drove to the nearest place I could get food... Little Ceasars, and got a ready made medium Hawaiian Pizza (ham & pineapple). I love pizza, though don't eat it anymore as a rule, because I know it's high fat, high calories... not good for my cholesterol or my weight loss goals. However, today it was more important to balance the blood sugars than to worry about these other things. I soon felt much better... and I learned a lesson. I MUST be more careful to take along something to eat to keep things in balance properly.

The last few nights I've been up very late... 5am, 3am, hours like that. Tonight I am going to bed early... very soon in fact. I have to be up early to go to TOPS and to visit Mom. I'm not sure how soon I'll get to sleep being used to being up late, though I know it will be much sooner if I'm laying there reading than it will be if I'm sitting here working/playing on the computer.

I am grateful for the education & the support I have and am being given in regards to my health
I am grateful my health is so markedly improving
I am grateful for the joy I feel in my life. It hasn't always been like this, and being filled with joy sure beats being in deep depressions.
I am grateful for all the Centre for Spiritual Living has done for me, helping me to see my value and to find my joy. Yes, I did the work... and I would not have known the work to do without this help.
I am grateful for the awesome books I have been blessed to have in my life, filled with wonderful information that has also helped me to find love & joy in myself.
I am grateful for the support I get here, from all of you that visit me and leave me comments.

It was very windy last night, calm today, and now the wind is back again. Last night it blew the clouds away so we could have this sunny day, if the forecast is correct this wind will be blowing the clouds back again.

Tuesday November 17th

Today I read the speech I had written yesterday, working at memorizing the beginning and getting at least some of the body of it into my head. I re-wrote bits of it, as usual, making it a better speech. Wishing I had more time to work on the speech and do house cleaning, I went off to town to my Aqua Therapy group. I really enjoy doing this and my goal is to get there more often... 2 to 3 times a week, and on time. So far I have really been hit & miss, always seem to be too busy with other things and don't quite get there. Now, with outside things almost done and snow soon to start covering the ground, I hope to have more time. I know I have to start putting this type of thing at the top of my To Do List, not somewhere in the lower half.

I had planned to get the photos printed to take to Toastmasters this evening (see last post), and realized I had forgotten to put them onto the flash drive & take them along, so I had to drive out to my place and do this, then drive back into town to get them printed at WalMart, then drive out to the town north of here, to where I go to Toastmasters. I thought I was actually on time, and was surprised to find out I was late & the meeting had just started.

I was the Table Topics Master for the evening and it was about 6pm when I remembered I hadn't prepared the questions for this.... so I quickly came up with some, typed & printed them out, then off I dashed.

The entire evening went very well, a great meeting with 4 guests, including the Area Governor for our Toastmaster area.

I am tired of DW killing plants & throwing their dirt all over the place, so I grabbed her out of a plant today, put her little green parrot butt into her cage & locked the door behind her. She's not happy about being locked in, though she will just have to live with it for now. I am planning to move things around in the near future (as soon as I can fit it in), moving the chinchilla cages away from the window, which includes moving the plants onto something harder for the birds to climb up onto. DW & Paco both like to climb up onto the chin cages & chew on, dig in the plants, though DW is the worst offender. There is dirt all over my living room now & I have to move things to get to it all to clean it up, so it has to wait.

Well, I'm off to bed now. No 3am bedtime for this gal tonight. I have to get up in the morning & into town to do my volunteer work, then an appointment with the health nurse who I see every 3 months in regards to Type 2 diabetes.


I am grateful I am good at throwing speeches together on short notice (just found out Sunday night that I was giving a speech tonight)
I am grateful I am good at throwing speeches together at the last minute when I just don't get it done sooner
I am grateful I had a great story to tell to fulfill a project in my Storyteller manual
I am grateful I had time to run into town again to get the photos developed
I am grateful the questions I needed for Table Topics came to me in time
I am grateful Mewsic is cuddled up with me in my chair
I am grateful I went to Aqua Therapy today
I am grateful I get to go to Aqua Therapy as it's very good for my body
I am grateful the health nurse I see gives me a free pass to the pool so I can swim & take Aqua Therapy
I am grateful to be a Toastmaster, improving not only my speaking skills, but also my listening skills and leadership skills.
I am grateful for the great feedback I got on my speech this evening
I am grateful that the snow that was trying to fall when I leaf Toastmasters didn't succeed.

Toastmaster Speech

I did another speech at Toastmasters this evening. This is the third speech towards my Advanced Communicator Gold award. This is the speech I wrote, though I never give them word for word... just come fairly close. I passed around photos I took while on the ride so people could get a visual.

Speech Manual: Storytelling

Project: #2 – Let’s Get Personal

Title: It’s In My Blood!

Time: 6 – 8 minutes (I went overtime, unfortunately... spoke for 9:21. I am usually really good at keeping within the time)

It’s In My Blood!

Over the years, I loved riding the back of motorcycles, or as my late friend Gill used to call it, “Holding down the back wheel”. I rode on the back of Import bikes, Harleys and BMWs. The last time I rode was with Gill on his BMer... too many years ago to mention.

Having horses to ride helped me to refrain from missing motorcycles too much, and I decided I was much more into horses than Harleys anyway. Now, no longer having horses in my life, I have really been missing them ... terribly.... and that is another story.

Madame Area Governor, Madame Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters and Guests.

November 13, 2008, Wendy’s husband Gord passed away suddenly. This spring, Wendy decided to hold a Memorial Ride for Gord who had not only ridden bikes most of his life, but also, as a welder/fabricator build some. I created some posters for Wendy to put up and, being friends, we both wanted me to go along on this ride. I had no one to “pack” me, & Wendy said she’d find me a ride with someone who showed up... so early morning of May 31^st I showed up at the North End Tim Horton’s, ready to ride.

“Alice, I found you a ride and everyone’s ready to go.” Wendy said as I was buying my XL cup of tea. I rushed outside where she said, “Alice... Tuggy.” He handed me a helmet saying, “Hi. Put this on.” I took the shiny chrome, German style helmet, strapped it onto my head, and climbed aboard the big red & wine color, Harley Davidson factory built TRIKE. This was my first time ever on a 3 wheeler! We pulled out and flew down the highway with me drinking my tea, sitting comfy & cosy in the big armchair type leather seat.

Putting the empty paper cup into my jacket pocket, I took out my trusty camera and had a great time taking photos as we went along. As much as I enjoyed riding this trike, there was still a part of me that wished I could be riding with one of those good looking, younger men instead of this old guy with the long, scraggly white hair. I came later to be quite grateful I had the ride I did.

First stop was Falkland Pub. I didn’t see my chauffeur for the most part as we both walked around talking to different people. I saw several people I hadn’t seen in many years, and met others for the first time. There were 40+ motorcycles in our group when we arrived, and a few less when we left, headed to the next of Gord’s “Favourite Watering Holes”, the Hideaway Pub in Salmon Arm. We rode back towards Vernon as far as Schweps Bridge, taking the Salmon Valley Road. I always loved riding this road behind Gill and this day was no different. With its many curves & bends it is a wonderful road to ride... though very different on a trike than a bike as you don’t lean the trike. As Tuggy says, you “ride” a bike and “drive” a trike... in 50 years of riding he has a lot of experience on both.

As the beautiful, fairly hot, sunshiny day progressed, we rode to Doc’s Pub in Canoe & The Burner in Malaqwa. From the time we left The Burner I was feeling a deep sadness inside me, battling with the glorious feel of the ‘natural high’ I had savoured all day... we were on the way home.

By the time we arrived at The Branding Iron Pub in Armstrong, I was slightly sunburned and wishing we had a long way to go yet. I was relieved to note once again that Tug was sober where many others weren’t. I was far safer with him than I would have been with any of those good looking younger men I mentioned earlier.

The last leg of the ride took us to my truck where I had left it in Vernon. Tuggy had had enough for the day so was headed home while I was going to Army Navy Air Force$ Club... joining the small group that was still riding. 8 hours, and 246k after I met him, I thanked Tuggy profusely for “packing” me, he said he was happy to and that he’d take me riding again. He was good to his word & took me out 2 or 3 more times over the course of the summer. Not anywhere near enough for me!! All summer I heard bikes flying past my place and my heart went riding with each of them, while my body stayed home, aching to be “in the wind”.

Yes, riding is in my blood, be it on motorcycle or horseback.... and that is why I bought myself a motorcycle this fall. Through the course of the winter, my friend Tuggy will be working on it... converting it to a trike... special built just for me.

Now maybe I will finally miss the horses just a little bit less.

Madame Toastmaster

I got a really good evaluation on this speech, and several people commented later that it was really a great speech. The tips for improvement that the evaluator gave were: 1- share fewer photos, 2- tip on better hand gestures.