Bowmanville Zoo

This past Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Bowmanville Zoo as they were offering free admission to all. The air was cool and all the animals were in fine form. I used to frequent this little gem of a zoo when the girls were younger. It was a great place to go for an afternoon picnic with an infant and toddler in tow. The girls were amused by "Side Step Sally" the mutant cow with a 5th leg growing right out of his back. Is this any indication that we live too close to Darlington Nuclear Plant.

Heres Looking At You

For the past few years I have begun to notice changes with my vision. I have been finding ways to cope. My kids read the subtitiles on movies for me and I read the nespapers and menus at close distance. So today I went for a optometrist appointment and now have a prescription for glasses. Can I tell you how much I love my optometrist. We totally clicked and she was so incredibly thorough doing a range of tests. She took some photographs of my

retinas and then reviewed them with me. I was so amazed and

happy when she told me everything looks perfect. She was amused by my enthusiasm and offered to send me the photos so now I can share them with you.

Thanksgiving Weekend

The weekend flew by. We spent time visiting 2 local farms. We took the kids to our farm favorite
to vist the animals and play around. We also decided to visit Archibalds
to pick our apples. They have the nicest gift shop and I bought one of the best apple pies I have ever tasted. It was nice to have my Parents over for Thanksgiving and the girls loved seeing their nana ham it up with one of Alleys wigs.

Full Moon

The moon outside looks incredible tonight. I just finished working 2 nightshifts at the psychiatric hospital and yes it is definately a full moon.

Green Bean Standoff

My parents sent me this clip this morning thinking I might find it amusing. The reason being is because there is nothing I detest more than green beans. I always have and always will. My father took this as a challenge of his and tried to prepare them in assorted ways. I've had them plain. I've had them steamed with butter. I've had them in casseroles. They try to camouflage them with tomatoes and parmesan cheese........but no matter how they're prepared they still taste like SH....!!!!! Sheila has tried to take me to the dark side and asked me "Why do you hate them so much?" Well for starters, the texture is disgusting. They have a fur on them. When I pointed this out she empathetically agreed. I think I might be able to make her join the anti green bean campaign. The other reason I dislike them is "Their Yucky!!!!!!!!"

The Days Of Wee

When We Were Wee........

I find it quite odd, but there are many parts of my childhood I don’t remember.
Maybe the experiences are still living somewhere within my mind and I just allow my consciousness to be filled with other things. Or maybe I just don’t stop enough and think, stop enough to cherish the beautiful memories that I do have of the days when the whole world, and I, were much smaller and much simpler. Lately I have been delving deep down into my memory so that I can remember this special part of my history......a world all my own
Memories of….
My brothers and I searching for tadpoles at the pond near my Grandpas farm…riding my bicycle effortlessly throughout or neighbourhoods.…swimming at the Quarry in Kingston…neighborhood games of Hide-and-Go-Seek…summer vacations to New Brunswick to visit relatives…Uphill walks in San Francisco......dancing to Jive Talkin by the "Bee Gees" with Lori Weller......Excelling at spelling bees……being dared to jump off the dock at Port Whitby (and thinking this was as daring as life got)…………eating banana splits for supper when my Mom didn't feel like cooking…reading to my stuffed animals…when summer seemed to last forever, and the days spread one into another.......Motorcycle rides with Dad........when making forts and secret hidaways was a full day's work....... dandelions were picked for wild wish making.... dreaming of all the movie stars we'd marry someday.. Red light, green light.....Mother may I ?..
When I was young I never doubted that I was enough.
I never wished to be someone else--someone more brilliant, more beautiful, more alive.
Hide-and-go-seek was nothing more than a game we played on rainy afternoons.
I knew how to play...and how to live.
When I was young........the simple act of being was enough.
Of it all, it’s the pictures that come to my mind most easily. Those moments that were captured in eternal memory by one snap of the camera. Pictures of a little girl smiling at the camera, at my parents, and at the world. How simple life was in those moments…in the days when we were wee!

Grade 4 Field Trip

Today I went with Brookes grade 4 class to Camp Samac to attend Durham Childrens Groundwater Festival. There were numerous learning centres throughout the camp that helped teach the importance of water conservation, protection, technology and ecology. I asked Brooke her favourite part of the day and she enjoyed listing to the native speaker who spoke about his relationship with nature and also exploring the creek with use of a sieve to catch little critters. We managed to catch two fish, a slug, a baby dragon fly(photo), a cricket(photo), and my favourite a water spider.

Picking Up The Kids From School Today Is Going To Be Fun

Mom, If you are reading this.......don't expect much from Brookes school picture this year when you get it at Christmas. The girls were sent home last week with reminders about photo day and like always I enter this kind of information on my calender. The odd thing about this year is that each of my girls had different days that they were going to have their picture taken. So last night after Gymnastics I suggested the girls have a bath. Miss Alley was fine with that, as tomorrow was her picture day and she had to look at her best. Brooke who is bath resistent said "No, I have picture day the next day so I will have a bath tomorrow." Choosing my battles, I thought that was reasonable. Alley and I then spent some time picking out a "pretty outift" for her big photo shoot.
As today was non picture day for Brooke she was left to pick out her own outfit. I have spent many hours sparring with Brooke and using all sorts of creative negotiating tactics when it comes to her fashion choices in the past years and we have reached a crossroads where I let her wear what she wants about 363 days a year and then the remaining 2 are mine...ha,ha,ha.
1.) Christmas......I want her to wear a nice dress, skirt, blouse when we visit relatives. Last year she wore the outfit we agreed to. At my parents she kept it on long enough to greet everyone and circulate the room (5 minutes) and then wore jeans and her AC/DC shirt the remainder of the day.
2.) First Day Of School........I want her to make a good first impression with her teacher. After that she can show her true colours :)

So here I am reviewing my calender and I note: Today is Brookes picture day and Alleys is tomorrow. Mom made a SNAFU!!!!
So lets recall..... Brooke is lucky if she ran a brush through her hair.
She is wearing a jean skirt, a turqoise and lime green striped shirt (that she has slept in) and a red leather blazer with black knee high boots. (What a kick ass outfit!)

Clarington Coverage Of Upcoming Municipal Election

As of September 12 Clarington now has six candidates for Mayor. Things are definately heating up with former Mayor Diane Hamre entering into the campaign arena.
This latest canidate has declared she is running in this election because she wants to get Council "back on track to the station called democracy." There is a perception of Clarington council that they do not provide a forum for residents to engage in open dialogue or debate issues with council. They are left feeling dismissed and often bullied. Another perception of our current council is that they are developer friendly and in the last election Mayor Mutton raised over $40,000 in campaign contributions. Approx. $1600 of it was from private individuals, and the rest was from mostly developers and contractors. It is nice to see that already a couple of new candidates have declared that they will NOT accept donations from the development industry or companies who do business with the municipality.
I am hopeful that an increase in interest by candidates will be reflected by an increase in voter interest/turnout.
I just learned that the salary for position of mayor, escalated in the last six years from about eighty thousand dollars to over one hundred and fifty thousand per year with travel expenses.In June of 2005, it was reported that the mayor's mileage allowance from $570 a month to $1,293. What does the mayor of Toronto make per year? I do believe it is considerably less, and for a much bigger population and area. No wonder there is six people running for this mayor’s seat here.

How Awesome Is That?

It has been 35 years since I had open heart surgery at this hospital and I can recall with clarity how the staff there always made opportunities for kids to simply be kids and have fun - to do the things that illness can often take away. The movies shown here will help restore the fun, laughter and joy that serious illness can take away.

WTF???

It's reported that the weapon used in yesterday's act of terror was legally registered. Why are semi-automatic guns legal? This issue needs to be seriously reviewed to prevent the sale and registration of weapons that are designed to kill anything but a deer or moose.

Profile Page Of Kimveer Gill

Yesterday afternoon as I was finishing a 3 day stretch at the Mental Health Centre where I work I received a phonecall from Sheila who told me to get to a TV and turn on the news. I watched the story unfold of another psychopath with a gun. Kimveer Gill was the name of the 25-year-old man who went on a rampage in Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, yesterday. He managed to traumatize the entire city of Montreal by injuring at least 20 people (6 are in critical condition), killing one, and ending up dead himself, shot by police who were on the scene almost immediately.
This is his journal page:
http://vampirefreaks.com/journal.php?u=fatality666

After reading entries on his profile and journal it is easy to see some diagnostic traits from the DSM:
http://www.allpsych.com/disorders/personality/index.html

Alot of my younger patients harbour a romanticization of death that I have difficulty relating to. After events like this I am always troubled that some of our youth think that the best or only option in life is to turn a gun on the world and then on themselves. What troubles me greater is that this can go undetected by parents and family, doctors and other health professionals, friends, teachers, neighbors, etc.

Back To School

My summer is officially over today - the girls have returned to school. They both are now full time students with Brooke in Grade 4 and Alley in Grade 1. Where did the time go? They were so excited this morning and so was I..... but I am also sad. I long for the years where we sat on the floor, assembling a puzzle, playing memory, studying flash-cards, playing other board games such as CandyLand, Trouble, Sorry, Kerplunk, Playdoh, etc. I try to treasure every minute I have with my family. It is hard. At times they argue and I can’t wait for the day they are back in school, and then they are so wonderful again and I want time to freeze. I have especially felt this way with Alley (my baby) as she was with me for part of her days last school year. What will I do with all my time? Today since getting the girls off to school, I have gone for a jog, gone grocery shopping, baked brownies, done 2 loads of laundry, chatted to a girlfriend and now I blog. Some things never change......

TV Finales......The Best Of Times/ The Worst Of Times

I received a sugestion from Dirty Sanchez to give some consideration to Season/Series Finales. This was a lot more difficult and I had to enter my memory vault of shows that were not so fresh in my mind. I'm sure there are others that are way more memorable......Any thoughts?

The Best:

Friends.......Predictable and pretty much what we anticipated. Ross and Rachael hook up - what a surprise. The last scene though, is what reallly choked me up. They were putting away their keys and the camera gets a shot of the apartment.

The O.C. Season 3 Finale....During Marissas' death scene while Imogen Heaps" version of Hallelujah played. I was compelled to sit there listening. It was quite moving.

Lost Season 2.......The season finale had more action than the entire first season.The writers left us on the edge of a number of huge issues that need to be revealed. The show has been teasing us with mysteries from the start.

The finale of Six Feet Under was a good one, showing how all of the show's main characters lived the remainder of their lives and at what age they died.

Newhart...at the end of the episode he is in bed and he says to his wife," I just had the wierdest dream that I was married to someone else.....blah,blah,blah..." and his wife rolls over and it is his wife from his first sitcom. I believe it is Suzanne Pleshette.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1992)......Late-night television hasn't been the same. During the finale it was simply Carson front and center, seated on a stool and introducing memorable moments -- and thanking regulars Ed McMahon and Doc Severinsen, as well as those who had watched for nearly 30 years.

Dawson's Creek........It wasnt the usual happy ending story. Jenn dies, Dawson and Joey aren't together as everyone thinks they should. It's Pacey and Joey that hook back up and move together to New York. That is the way it should be to me.

Sex and the City........I watched this fianle one slow night at work with some of the girls who were not die hard fans like me. The finale was perfect with full closure for each of the girls I had come to care for. I remember crying and they looked at me like......Whats wrong? How could I explain that I felt like I had just said goodbye to some friends. Cheesy, but true.

Differnt strokes ......We finally relized that this terrible show was coming to an end!!!!!



Worst Finales:

I hated the finale of Roseanne, in which we were told that the last two years or so of the show were all make believe and Dan had actually died.it was all just her stories in the end. Becky was really with David, Darlene was really with Mark and Jackie was really gay. Most importantly, Dan really DIED as a result of his heart attack.

Seinfeld...... The comedy resorted to a courtroom format to review its characters' histories and I was eagerly anticipating past characters testifying against them. Then they went to jail? What kind of an ending was that? It just wasnt as funny as it should have been.

Desperate Housewives.......... As much as I like these ladies, I am over Susan’s failed love-life, Gabrielle’s infidelity issues and Bree’s crazy boyfriends.

End Of Summer

School starts on Tuesday. Summer is officially over and I must admit I'm a little bit happy about it. This may come as a shock to most of you, since I love the summer. I love almost everything about summer, the long days that seem to go on forever, the warmth, not having to wear jackets, and hats, and boots, and gloves, and scarves, the outdoor barbeques, the swimming with friends and neighbours, the laid-back attitude of people during the season, the tan, the daytrips, the park. My reason for being happy that summer is ending is because my kids need to get back into a routine. They've had just about enough freedom, thank you very much. They need to go back to going to bed at 8:30 (instead of whenever). They have too much extra energy that just isn't getting used. The crispness in the air has already returned. It wakes me up! Summer makes me want to take a nap. All day. My brother and nephew were over the other night and it was with a certain degree of sadness that we watched one of the last sunsets during the evening. Things I love are on the horizen tho'.....fleece blankets and hot chocolate, leaves turning an array of colors, my favorite holiday(Thanksgiving), campfires, baking, my favorite sweaters, sweatshirts and jeans.

Bad Television

I watched Celebrity Duets, thanks to having friends agree to record the encore performance last night as I was already saturated with entertaining my brother and nephew, watching big brother and catching the MTV awards.
Well I must say I was disappointed with Celebrity Duets and only could watch 1/2 of it. It was cheese.........blue moldy cheese. Thank god that is not a show I will be following this fall. I am already being challanged for time management with the new Fall TV season.
As for the MTV awards.....I remember a time when I used to love these shows. Not so much anymore. They are all too predictable and boring. I guess I just expect a little more from an awards show on a network that was once synonymous with youthful rebellion. They try to shake it up by giving us a bunch of "Jackasses." The only high points for me were watching The Raconteurs as the house band. At one point they were joined by Lou Reed while singing, "White Light White Heat." The guys from OK Go were fantastic. I tuned out early as I couldn't stomach any more and I didn't want to the whole night to be a waste of time with shout outs to God from some talentless individual. I am beginning to realize that Award shows aren't good.