A Christmas Card

A hard picture to take, with Quinton running around like a mad fiend. We finally got him to pose with the huge dog bone and in the picture there is Lincoln with his tongue out trying for a taste.

Starting from Lincoln the dog, it's Elaine petting him and Quinton holding the bone, behind Quinton is Kevin and holding Quinton is Arlene, grouped around Mom & Dad is David - kneeling on the floor. The tallest guy there is John Keeling and to his right is Adam and his girlfriend Jen.

Christmas Rush

Too much work to do a real post. Too many meetings, minutes, group home business, end of month stuff, staffing, wrapping for the group home & family, last minute stuff, and brain filled with so much intricate details of the many items that must be done right away.


Merry Christmas
Karen

The Royal

We (the gang from the group home) went to the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair. We got there late in the evening and only had two hours to cram everything in, including the cows. We missed the Superdogs but saw plenty of animals. I took a lot of pictures and in some of the pictures there are orbs floating around. In one picture the orb is behind a bar in a sheep stall. I took lots of photo's in quick succession and not all of them show the orbs. Very strange indeed. The Royal was used during World War II as a training ground and later as a demobilization centre. The Royal began in 1922 and it is held at Exhibition Place which has the world's oldest annual fair which started in 1878. No wonder there are plenty of orbs around (that plus we went on the evening of November 10th, a day before Remembrance Day.

Halloween 2006

All went well for Halloween 2006, the night was warmish and no rain. Perfect night for everyone. I had lots of family help and I want to publicly thank all of them for generously helping put stuff up and later taking things down. The hardest part about it all is not being able to sit down and relax. The entire day is a blur of activity with carting out selected items, deciding what stays, what works with our theme and where to put what and the hardest part, doing the lighting. I decided on less gore and more strange this year. My newest addition, The Mummy (he would move his eyes back and forth and moan or scream when someone would walk by) had issues. When I tested him out in the living room, he would constantly perform but out in the porch it seemed rather hit or miss. I could be seen rubbing his belly to activate him more often than not. The fog machine had lots of fun blowing the mist out when you least expect it. Quinton really enjoyed fogging everyone and holds the record for non stop fog at one time. He had lots of energy since he found my Ice Cap in the fridge and finished a great deal of it in a an amazingly short time. The Group Home Gang wheeled in for a visit. I was a joy to see them all there. Thanks guys!
Already I have been asked, “What are you going to do next year?” Maybe I’ll have a contest for ideas for 2007. The prize could be a role as part of the Halloween theme or something of similar value.

Deers and the end of the Cottage Season

I am known for not seeing any wildlife, even after it is pointed out to me in the best of conditions. I rarely see deer grazing in the fields or any other wildlife. I do notice cranes and herons wading on shorelines but that's about it. So keeping this in mind it was a total shock to see a huge deer leaping across the road in front of our van. My ear piercing monkey scream filled the air as the deer hit the front passenger side headlight area of the van. We pulled over immediately and I only found five hairs near the headlight and absolutely no other damage. I think we only clipped its hind end and it did keep running towards the woods. I had to check the internet for insight on deer behaviour. The link above has some good deer tips and why it happens.
We've had the cottage since the sixties and other than hitting a bear (not cottage related but near by brother's farm) nothing like this has ever happened before to us. This accident happened near my brother's farm. This is the second animal bumping in the past year or so. My sister-in-law Elaine hit a deer a few years ago with major damage to the windshield, the deer was killed and all in all it was a very traumatic event.
We closed up the cottage and it is the end of the season again. We might be able to sneak one last time in but the weather is very tricky in the fall. As a side note, Lincoln in this picture is falling into the freezing water as he tried to balance on a pointy rock while looking at a loon that has just ducked under water.

Fog

A fall day on Redstone.
Trying to forget in the fog.
No busy work, no limits.
Just the mist and the quiet.

New Horse

Khan gave Clover a parting gift. Just born and not named as of yet a new little female horse.

I See Red Leaves

When I went to the cottage on Friday it was warm, sunny and I sat on the dock and dipped my feet into the water, then a storm passed through and the layering of clothes started. By Sunday there was a cool breeze but if you stayed out of the shade it was sort of warm. In the background the trees were changing colours. Birds are passing through going south. Still there is the hope of a bit more summer. One last weekend that expresses all the colours, smells and tastes of summer.

Clowns

I had to post this picture of a mural at the CNE. It was located in the kids section of the Exhibition and it caught my eye while I was waiting by one of the rides. Isn't that clown a bit too happy for what he is doing or does he have more of a sneaky look?

Shadows and Light, Chaos and Order Reflections

There are some staffing changes at the group home. Whether it is permanent or temporary is up in the air. I’ve been in this field for a gazillion years and yes I have seen lots of change but when it comes to a staff leaving or a new staff coming in, it is always very tiring. The rhythms of the group home will go on, people will slip into the tempo of the flow and sun will shine on the good things as well as the bad.
Remember sitting on the sidewalk on a hot summer day and staring at the waves of heat wafting upwards? How do you understand that? The waves distorted what you would see beyond them. You know that what you see is an illusion but what a strange but beautiful sight. A small gift that at the time you may not recognize. That is what change feels like.

Edge of Destruction

Just a quick post about the storm (tornado) that selectively touched down in cottage country on Wednesday.
We had a late supper and my brother David and his wife Elaine and their son Quinton were slowly packing up to go back to their farm. That entails a trip by boat as we do not road access at the cottage. As a side note we do not have hydro but we have a generator and solar panels. We also enjoy the convenience of having an outhouse. The outhouse does have water and lighting as a bonus but there are times when taking that long trek can be trying. The clouds were rolling in fast, there were flashes of lightning and the sound of thunder alerted the dogs that a storm was imminent. It didn't take long after that for the rain to start. After watching a curtain of rain roll in off the lake, we batten down the cottage for the storm. Still we had rain coming in, finding it’s way in through the doorframe and anywhere else that offered a path into the house. All the while we were watching Nurse Betty on DVD and putting out pots and pans to catch the leaks that were developing. The dogs were taking turns to lie in the safety of one of the corners. It seemed very surreal and calm even somewhat protected in the cottage. During this time two trees fell, one of which was twisted before it snapped and leaving a pile of sawdust around its base. We did not hear the felling of the trees’ as the wind was too strong. The wires to the outhouse were knocked down, the swing was tipped over and one branch was impaled into the ground. Looking out on the lake there were no lights from any of the cottages, only a lone generator could be heard breaking the silence. We came out of it almost unscathed compared to the nearby areas.

The Photo's Memory Continues

The gentleman that I wrote about a long time ago, the Blog entry about a family photo (The Photo’s Memory) has had a very trying time in the past two months. I cannot get into the details but his health took a bad turn and he had spent some time in the hospital. Here is that little boy, now a man facing issues that he has almost no control over, and sometimes no voice. There were issues that we had to struggle with that had far reaching tentacles. We had moral issues, long-term health issues, liability issues and good practices issues.
What we ran into head on was the moral issues versus the liability issues. Morals are defined as good or right, when judged by the standards of the average person or society at large and morals are based on what somebody’s conscience suggests is right or wrong rather than on what the law says should be done. Liability is defined as anything for which somebody is responsible, especially a debt and legal responsibility for something, especially costs or damages.
It was a horrible tense struggle to make sure we did right by our gentleman. The decisions had to include what would be best for him and not just a financial or easy solution. But those things had to figure into the decision, as they are part of the reality that we live in.
After all the debates our gentleman came home. He is recovering at an amazing pace and he is well on his way to becoming healthy once more. As a life lesson, it is a crappy way to learn for both our gentleman and the staff that work with him. Some of the issues still have to be explored and some kind of guidelines or help will have to exist in order for this not to play out the way that it did. There will be a next time and because of this experience we will be better prepared to do right by the people we serve.

The Swirl of Dogs

To see a herd of happy dogs doing dog things in a cottage setting is truly a summer treat. There is no real rhyme or reason, running because you can, who is chasing who and interacting with everything all at once. This is a dog's life.
Yes the picture is a tad blurry; I didn't try to fix it that is what it felt like being in the midst of purposeful dogs. In and out of the water, shaking the water off their coats and on to the driest person. Rolling in the dirt in-between trips to the lake. Everything was well sniffed and treats for all.
What a relaxing weekend.

Cottage Time

Finally. I did spend some time dipping my feet in the water while reading a book but I also took a bit of a walkabout. I remember walking on the old road (which in fact is just a carved out dirt road that was built in the 20's and has been mostly taken over by scrub brush) as a child and thinking that I was in the middle of nowhere and could get lost or eaten by bears. I still have a little of the same fears but now I know that there are ways and paths to safety. Nothing much has changed in the woods other than my perspective.

Lincoln had a real scary moment. He kept eating grass and trying to hork up something. Then I was being called frantically down to the water and there was Lincoln trying to put his head underwater and then trying to hork up something. He was putting his paws into his mouth, making his mouth bleed while coughing. It appeared he was choking and he was definitely panicking. We did the Heimlich maneuver but to no avail. I tried feeling around in his mouth but he would bite down, not to nip but as a defense mechanism. I did feel something on the roof of his mouth but could not grasp it, as Lincoln would clamp his jaws shut. John ordered his son Kevin to get the rawhide bone and when Lincoln was open mouthed trying to cough up what was hurting him we put the rawhide in and I was able to pull out a piece of wood that was caught in the roof of mouth. At this point Lincoln was shakey and very upset but with lots of reassurance he is back to his old self.
I have more dog stories from this weekend and more pictures that I will have to sit and sort through them all before doing another post.
It was warm, quiet and so peaceful there that even with the multitude of dogs, a 2 year old and various adults it still was a wonderful get away.

The Cottage

I am finally going to the cottage. I will post pictures when I get back and I will now have to refrain from being bitter about not going. I can hardly wait, my bag is packed, my camera is ready and my feet can not wait to be dipped into the water.

Nasty People

I could link this post with dozen's of websites that explain what to do about nasty co-workers but I won't bother. You know the type, the one that likes to stir the pot or stabs you in the back with the supervisor. Having just pulled the knife out of my own back and then gone on a rant of what I will do to this person in retaliation, I just can't go through with all my evil plans. I am not confident that turning the other cheek is the best solution or ignoring the goings on is either but somehow I will have deal with it before it festers with the co-worker or me.
Gossip, venting of emotions or just general griping of work seems so commonplace these days that it never appears to have any consequences. Not immediate ones at least. Work revolves around what is interesting. Someone has had liposuction, this person is always coming in late, their work is substandard, and whatever is the flavour of the day. Where does it end?
Apparently, some of it ends when you are explaining to your supervisor some trumped up accusation that on the surface is oh so damning but when explained it is just another work related issue.
Life goes on and there are more important concerns and more pressing issues to deal with than worrying about office politics but it doesn’t hurt to have a back up plan.

Comfort

Life was simpler way back in the day. I don't remember it being so hot and humid, cars only needed a 4 - 60 for air conditioning (4 windows open doing 60 miles an hour) and who needed a huge pool when all it took was someone with a tire pump or a good set of lungs a couple of buckets of water. Now I can't live without air conditioning. No big speeches here about global warming, environmental causes, energy uses and misuses, no watching earth in a gigantic hand basket going to heck while we all watch and wave, it's all about comfort. I conserve energy, I recycle, and I do my laundry late at night. I try to be a good conservator but when it feels like a sauna and the little window fan is circulating hot humid air it's time to turn on the AC. I thought I could hold out longer but I caved. This isn't about guilt it is about comfort and that's what I'm sticking to.

Puppies for Sale

Check out the new puppies for sale. There are new pictures up on the web site and boy are they a cute bunch, just click on the title and see for yourself. I can't say enough good things about Border Collies. Smart, loving, very expressive and loyal, what more can you want in a puppy. You can see the pictures and get information on the cuties on the web site. Lincoln, my big puppy is chomping on the bit to get up to the cottage. He has his to do list: Chase squirrels, mark territory, test out the water, poop in the woods, stay by the BBQ in case a stray burger jumps off the grill. He has his priorities.

Sharing

I am having a difficult time sharing. Where are the boundaries of sharing an object? Does it depend on the amount of attachment you have to that particular thing or is it dependent on need, yours versus theirs? At the group home we try to teach positive sharing and make sure that it does not violate a person's right of ownership.
The DVD's, magazines or other small sundries are something that the gang routinely shares amongst themselves. When does it cross the line, when someone now objects to the sharing? Even sharing amongst the group homes is a touchy subject. We all covet what we are allotted and tend to become defensive when we have to share a resource. You really miss it when it is out of your grasp and notice how much you really depend on it when it is gone.
I know that a resource enhances the quality of life of the people we serve no matter which group home they live in but I want that resource to be on hand for MY people first.

Quinton's Birthday

As promised here is a couple of pictures from Quin's second birthday party. The cake of course is topped off with trucks and his favourite gift is the chainsaw. He has been carrying it around everywhere and chopping anything made out of wood. He had a grand time his only frustration is waiting for the adults to take out the trucks from the cardboard boxes, untwist all the wire ties and cut any plastic clips that held the trucks to the cardboard. Now I know why people do stupid things, at one point I thought it would be easier to burn the cardboard box rather than to continue to slip into the abyss of the many types of restraining devices that was used to capture the truck.

Quinton had a bit of help blowing out his candle and he shared some of the icing with the dogs. He played with some of his gifts while we put together the others. We watched a video, ate pizza (apparently at Pizza Hut the type of crust that I preferred is called Original Crust and should not be called the greasy bottom pizza when ordering). All in all, a nice family celebration.

A click on the title link will bring you to the new puppies at the farm.

Parrots

This link is amazing. Who would figure that there are wild parrots living in Brooklyn? I have been meaning to post this link for quite a while. I have been obsessing over the TV show Angel and American Idol. This is the first time I have watched either show. I think it is the controversy of the voting that intrigues me the most. From what I have read the voting has been compared to the way wrestling is set up. I did notice how a popular contestant seems to be getting the short stick while others are kept on beyond their ability.
As for Angel, just like Stargate it is the sharp humour that draws me in.
I will be posting more later, but it will be my nephew’s birthday this weekend and I will post birthday pictures on Sunday.

Gems

When I was younger, I would collect quotes, paragraph parts, poetry and what ever else suited my mood or my circumstances at that moment in my life. I would write down the portion of words in either a scrape book or type it on a 2" by 12" roll of paper. Every once in a while I would find the papers and re-read the entire lot of them. I am impressed by original thoughts. It is a rare commodity. I was engaged in the usual chatter at work, making all the right comments that one would expect and I started to say something along the same vein but out of my mouth was a sentence that was thoughtful, original and insightful. This startled both me and my co-worker as it appeared to be a rare gem of words. There was a second of recognition of this and then a new flurry of an exchange of ideas. I'm sure that there are an infinite amount of original thoughts and ideas but it was nice to actually grasp one at the moment it was born.


To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e e cummings
US poet (1894 - 1962)

Helper Monkey R Us

For the last two days all I have felt about my job is “Helper Monkey”. I don’t know if I’m the helper monkey or that helper monkeys could replace me. It’s not the routine or daily sameness; it’s not the decisions that come from above that make you scratch your head. I can’t put my finger on just one cause.
One resident always hands me her used Kleenex, cup, plate or whatever needs to be put into the kitchen. Since she doesn’t have real good access to the kitchen someone has to help her out but lately it is always saved for me to do. Is she saying “Karen, I only trust you to do this most delicate job.” or “Here Helper Monkey Karen, do take my waste and place it in the garbage.”
We all do our job for something, either bananas or coin. Is it the thought that the menial work, which I want to slough off to someone else, will put that person in the same enslavement position that I was feeling? Would that person instead be grateful getting a pay cheque, and a good place to work? Is the work really menial or just how you view it at that moment?
I went to college received a degree in developmental services and I cannot remember when I used any real skills. (Apparently the real Helper Monkeys go to college also.) The bureaucracy, the enormous amount of paperwork, not including the computer work leaves precious little time and only the basic care of the individual is completed. When you have a staff that is happy to do the work, doesn’t need any hand holding for each step, you take advantage and do the paperwork or you spend some quality time with the residents.
I Googled helper monkey and it appears many people want these monkeys and here I feel like one. There is a great organization that trains monkeys for the disabled and I do not want to take anything away from the great work that the place and the monkeys accomplish. (See the link in the title)
I’m definitely not the top banana in the organization or head monkey gathering worldly goods? Nope-just one of the helper monkeys doing what needs to be done.

Congratulations

Twenty-one years ago I had my Drivers Learners’ Permit. I did learn how to drive somewhat. I don’t remember being nervous or intimidated by driving. Other drivers seemed in control and at that time road rage was not known. I went on a trip out west to Regina to visit relatives and I do remember taking turns driving. How can you go wrong driving on a long flat stretch of a road? Soon after that I had a job that didn’t pay well and a bus route that was the cheaper way to go. Being enthused with the accomplishments of the job, the shift work that got me home by 11:00 pm I found that driving was not a priority. I can’t pinpoint when I stopped caring about getting a car and getting my license. I couldn’t figure out how anyone could afford to own a car while working in this field. I let the “365” permit expire and I didn’t bother to renew it. I really wish I had gone out for the road test got my license and had been done with it.

Today (21 years later) I passed the written test for getting my license and with the new rules I will have to go through a graduated licensing process that will take about 20 months and 2 road tests to complete. Prices of cars, insurance and maintenance have gone up while my pay hasn’t gone up a whole lot since my last learners permit. And of course the car that I would like to own because of the cargo space and all the safety features cost a mint. Now I have to get up the nerve to get behind the wheel again and join all the crazy drivers I keep seeing on the road. Wish me luck.

Are we stuck in a rut? Are we just waiting to get old?

Old is just a state of mind. It’s all in the attitude. I have been hearing a lot of that lately. Unfortunately, all one has to do is look in the mirror and watch the wrinkles grow. Hence, less mirror gazing amazed that you look good for your age and an increase interest in age defying beauty products. Work becomes a chore rather than a joy when the sameness starts creeping in (just like those pesky wrinkles). At what point in your life do you become old? Is it when you start becoming more conservative – throw those punks in jail, or when your music is now classic or is in the Oldies category in itunes? Is it when you stop learning, very comfortable in what you know and are willing to coast?

I Googled the Stages of Grief, loss of youth and aging and I found many sites for grieving a real loss but not grieving getting old. Lots on aging but those seem to be about REAL OLD people and that’s not me because I’m not that old am I? Is it just fear, fear of missing out on everything? Or is it a February thing, yearning for spring?

Life Happens In Bunches

To be sure life happens in bunches. It’s not like I haven’t been inspired to write but I couldn’t figure out in what direction to proceed. At work one of the Resident’s father passed away. We have been counselling her and hopefully some it may have helped her. My Dad is still recovering from brain surgery and my Mom health is ok but this is still a very emotional time. My sister in law’s mother is undergoing chemotherapy but she seems to be getting a bit better. The staff at our group home went through a horrendous grumpy period where everyone was on edge. I can’t figure out why, I know what may have contributed to it but we’ve gone through tough times before without being so evil towards each other. Thankfully that seems to be over. It seems that no matter what happens we will stand up for each other when all is said and done. We heard by accident that our reputation at head office is still mud and no matter what good we do or how much time has passed we are still known as trouble makers. This I don’t mind as much because we stood up for our Resident’s and ourselves. It only bothers me because a comment was made implying that we didn’t deserve to go to an outside training session. Got to love paying over and over for standing up to your convictions. Got to love office politics.

My niece Trista planned a party this weekend for my parents. The get together was in appreciation for everything they have done for us as well as a happy occasion to perk up everyone’s spirits. It was not without it’s usual family drama but hey it will make a good story if I can put a humorous twist to it. Trista had a well-put together party and I am very proud of why she did it. Arlene did all the yummy salads and the desserts were quite good. I would be unbuckling my belt now if I had one. My new nephew is talking up a storm, this after being so unwordy for so long. Quinton is now repeating everything he hears. Thank goodness we are not a swear dependent family. He is seen here with a favourite toy car ready to drive the bug on some adventure.

Amazing what we go through and think nothing of it but we get stuck on the petty or small details and worry that to death.

Prelinger Archives

Prelinger Archives

A must see web site. This site contains a huge data base of videos. For example the instructional movie, Duck and Cover. It's a movie from 1951 on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. They even have an anti-pornography film produced by financier Charles Keating, linking pornography to the Communist conspiracy and the decline of Western civilization.

Below is a quote from the site explaining it’s purpose;
Prelinger Archives remains in existence, holding approximately 4,000 titles on videotape and a smaller collection of film materials acquired subsequent to the Library of Congress transaction. Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven't been collected elsewhere. Included are films produced by and for many hundreds of important US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions.

I have Cold!!! Misery to All

I have a cold. From what I have heard it is 3 days to develop a cold, 3 days to have it and 3 days to get rid of the cold. A whole 9 days of misery? Right now I am on day 2 of the cold, unless I was developing the cold and didn’t have major symptoms then I should be on day 4. Woo Hoo!!, only 5 more days. It’s the drippy nose and the mucus; I can suffer through the other stuff but not that. Very attractive. I did notice that I am not connecting thoughts as well as I should. The old Blank Chicken Stare can result in very funny situations. Soon if I actually get better I will write about that. Speaking of chickens, Lincoln (the Border Collie) is doing the midnight rubber chicken run again. I keep finding the rubber chicken in odd places. It was placed on the window bench last night and half hidden by the washroom door the night before. Real fun in my cold addled state to step on a squeaky toy and have Lincoln right there to try and grab it in play.

Sniffle and snuffling away.

Comic Book Covers

Now that giving up on being whiney about my job, I've been flying through web land and found an amazing site. It is must see for the slightly twisted. I am slowly going through all of the comic book covers and laughing out loud at all of them.

Searching the Net for Praise

"Praising someone is simply honoring a person for what they have done (their works)
and who they are (their character)."


We have some wonderful workers at this group home. They are caring, thoughtful and always open for what ever is thrown their way and sometimes it isn’t very pleasant. We had a serious plumbing problem where there was no hot water, little water pressure and therefore near impossible to do showers, laundry and everyone was on flood watch. The ingenuity of the staff working is truly amazing. No way did that stop them from caring for the gang. Ways were figured out to make sure people had their hygiene taken care of and all the other necessary tasks completed. Everyone who worked that waterless week are tireless good people and really care for the individuals who live here. I am glad to be reminded that of that camaraderie that exist here.