Of this and that

In response to all the comments re: the latest marine emergency - thanks for thinking of us. I had a nice message from the Executive Director of the fishing association the shore captain is involved with saying "so tremendously glad to hear it turned out ok, I had called the catch monitoring office several times yesterday late and they had not hailed him in, was worried to say the least, I always get a huge knot in my stomach when I hear of boats not reporting in, in my own family, many years ago my then husband went missing from Georges Bank for over 48 hrs., their boat burned to the water's edge and 4 floated in a 3 man raft in thick fog, the second daughter was not a year old at the time" The message really took me back as I was working as Night Supervisor at our community hospital when the Coast Guard brought those boys in to be checked out. This wasn't unusual as we are located at the closest point to major fishing grounds and the rescue ships often dock there. I knew each of them from having gone through school together and they were pretty shaken up, it was an emotional time.

As the baby daughter commented "making quite a habit of it aren't they, that's the second time lately" well, yes, although the previous incident was more weather related. The prodigal son was telling me a few weeks ago that the Captain had commented that time he looked liked Spider Man as he had braced himself into the top bunk and with his long arms and legs was wedged between the beams, when the boat went down into a sea and he was left suspended apparently doing a great impression of the superhero. This second event as his oldest sister noted will give him even more material for yarns to entertain with. I worry a lot less about him on the water than land actually. But I do long for the days when life was simpler and the crisis was his father saying to him as I arrived home from work "show your mother your heyd" as his sister had biffed a rock at him after swimming lessons while waiting for the shore captain to pick them up, to see if he needed sutures. The girls version includes the disclaimer that he had initiated the rock chucking so it was one of those six of one, half a dozen of the other situations of course.

The work week was beyond belief (even by others in my work team) so that wasn't particularly reassuring. It involved amongst other things being booted out of my office before I got a chance to sit down one morning and having a new patient call system installed in my (and all the other offices in the wing I'm located on) so I'm guessing there are plans which I've not been privy to. Said installation also required the two technicians (boys who did not look as old as my son) and one of them wearing a red t-shirt emblazoned with the words MONSTER ATTITUDE, causing me to think 'you have no idea buddy how much I want to rip that off your back for myself' These two were also installing the system in the tub rooms aka storage closets at the end of the hall. This resulted in them rooting about to locate the panel, biffing everything into the hall and then ambling off for other targets. Speaking of tubs, my week also included a tub meeting with a rather persistent salesman and the District Environmental Services Mgr. neither of which I wanted to be in the room with let alone in a tub.

I'm pasting a story describing gender differences in handling the tough economic times we find ourselves in:

Women vs. men: Handling economic stress by Kiri Blakeley, Forbes.com

Last week's suicide of Chicago real estate auctions mogul Steven Good is the latest instance of what could be termed "econocide"—suicide due to the poor economy. While Good, who shot himself, did not leave a note indicating his motivation, his death comes a month after he made comments about the collapse of the real estate industry at a business conference.

Good's suicide follows that of Kirk Stephenson, a financier who jumped in front of a train in England after his private equity firm suffered losses; French financier Rene-Thierry Magnon de la Villehuchet, who slit his wrists after losing US$1 billion in the Bernard Madoff scheme; and German billionaire Adolf Merckle, who threw himself in front of a train after massive investment losses.

These tragic figures had something in common besides economic hard times: They were all men.

In 2005, the latest statistics offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25,907 men killed themselves, versus 6,730 women. A big part of this discrepancy is that men use much more successful methods of suicide. Each of the four moguls who took their lives did so in a decisive fashion. "Men take far more permanent measures," says Manhattan psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, who counsels many Wall Streeters and their families. "Women might make gestures that are not as strong, that are more a cry for help or attention."

The financial crisis offers serious and perhaps widespread motivations for male suicidal behaviour. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," says Dr. Leslie Seppinni, a Beverly Hills, Calif., clinical psychologist who counsels many millionaires, both male and female.

Seppinni notes this is the first time in her 18-year career that businessmen are calling her with suicidal impulses over their financial state. In the past three months, she has intervened in at least 14 cases of men seriously considering taking their lives. "There's been a rapid increase in the numbers," she says. Especially vulnerable are men over 50: "They've already built their empire one or two times, and they don't necessarily have the emotional energy to rebuild."

High net-worth individuals may be more susceptible to suicide in tough economic times, not only because they have more to lose from a financial standpoint but also because they tend to be haunted by the idea that they had a hand in their financial downfall. "They feel guilt and shame because they think they should have known what was coming with the market or they should have pulled out faster," says Seppinni.

Seppinni says her female clients, many of whom are chief executives, are more likely to "roll up their sleeves and become a cook somewhere or bake cookies and sell them—whatever needs to be done. She's not thinking her life is ruined; she just wants to put food on the table." Seppinni notes that not one female client has called her about feeling suicidal due to the downturn.

"Men traditionally are the breadwinners," says Alpert. "Particularly with big-name people, so much of their image, reputation and ego depend on financial success."

Which is why women, experts say, are more likely to take their lives when they've had long-term depression problems or suffer from mental illness, rather than over their financial condition. In Seppinni's opinion, "women do not kill themselves over finances."

For three million years, men have been the hunters and protectors, explains Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University. "Around the world, from the Zulus to Eskimos, women look for men who provide resources. When men lose that profoundly basic role and purpose, they get depressed."

Which isn't to say that women don't get stressed about the economy too. They are just more likely to manifest their stress in different ways.

Women, say experts, are more likely to take "healthy" approaches to dealing with stress. They work out, eat well, get plenty of sleep and look to family and friends for emotional support. Men, especially risk takers in the financial world, have a tendency to isolate themselves, clam up or "escape" through drugs, alcohol and sex.

Lynn Mayabb, senior adviser at Kansas City, Mo.-based BKD Wealth Advisors, which manages US$1.4 billion for wealthy individuals, has had her share of downturn-related stress—some clients have blamed her for their losses.

During times like these, Mayabb takes a deep breath, concentrates on what she can change rather than what she can't, and refocuses her clients on long-term financial goals. When one of her male clients broke down crying in her office, Mayabb chose to deal with his more cool-headed wife. "The men are a little too focused on 'What did I lose this quarter?' Women are more able to see the big picture," she says.

"I cannot picture one of the men I work with being able to handle the issues I've had to deal with," says Amy James, 41, CEO of sixThings, which monitors educational materials for compliance with federal regulations. Since September, James has personally fired 34 employees (70 per cent of her full-time workforce), relocated her company from New York City to Oklahoma City and been sued three times.

She notes that male friends suffering business malaise "disappear" from her social circle or refuse to talk about their travails, while James relies heavily on bonding sessions with her female friends. "They are the biggest stress relief I have."

Well for something a bit cheerier, I'm including a link to an artist profiled in the paper today:

http://www.lianevarnam.com

She apparently is in Red Deer so I'm thinking someone in family located there could maybe check it out, hint hint. If the work wasn't too wildly expensive it would be something that the shore captain would enjoy of his fur son. You know, the guy you have to lift with your knees not your back to pick up as he weighs 19.5 lbs now - you guessed it Gary. My personal fav was the one of the Count of Mouseychristo - you gotta check it out.

And although I don't want those of you who fly or fear it to be overly concerned but this story is about the investigation of the flight which landed in the Hudson River, just think of the science of it all:

WASHINGTON — Clues from the wreckage from US Airways Flight 1549, which crashed in the Hudson River, are going to the best investigators in the world: the black boxes to the National Transportation Safety Board, the engines to the manufacturer’s experts and a bird feather to a Smithsonian museum.

The National Museum of Natural History in Washington may not leap to mind when both engines on a high-tech plane quit at 1,000 metres. But around the corner from the stuffed African elephant that greets the visiting hordes of schoolchildren, down a back hall from the employee bike rack, a staff of four in the Feather Identification Lab took in samples from 4,600 bird-plane collisions, or bird strikes, last year. Arriving mostly in sealed plastic bags, these included birds’ feet, whole feathers or tiny bits of down, and pulverized bird guts, known as snarge.

Correctly identifying the species involved in a bird strike can be important, said Carla Dove, the lab’s director. "If people know the cause of a problem, they can do something about it," she said. "If you have cockroaches, you don’t call an ant exterminator."

One key to reducing bird strikes is to move the species causing the problem, she said. That might mean mowing a certain area, or filling in a pond frequented by a species of duck.

The feathers or other bird parts submitted are compared against a library of 620,000 bird samples, some gathered by Darwin and Audubon. Another contributor was Theodore Roosevelt, who collected birds around the family home in Oyster Bay, on Long Island, before he switched to hunting big game. And if the feathers do not make the case, the snarge goes to the DNA section, which has a huge database. Between the two, the success rate of identifying the type of bird involved is 99 per cent.

And for high-profile crashes, identification both by feather structure and by DNA will be performed. A bird strike over the Bronx reported by the pilot minutes after Flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport may have caused both engines to fail, forcing the emergency splash into the Hudson, which all 155 people on board survived. The feather was discovered attached to one of the plane’s wings.

Researchers at the Smithsonian would not discuss their role in the US Airways investigation, but did talk about their work in other cases.

On a lab table under colour-balanced lights, Dove opened a zip-top bag with some brown and white feathers from a recent bird strike involving an American military plane in Rota, Spain. In the field, investigators had identified the feathers as being from a long-eared owl, but putting one on the table, Dove saw that was not right. She reached for an eagle owl, a bigger bird of similar colouring. "See how nicely this matches," shesaid.

For forensic ornithologists, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Crash investigation is a relatively recent endeavour for the museum. "This collection started before there were even airplanes," said Marcy Heacker, one of the museum’s investigators, referring to the vast repository of birds. But ever since an October 1960 crash at Logan Airport in Boston, in which an Eastern Airlines Electra hit a flock of starlings, safety investigators have called on the Smithsonian for help.

Most of the bird samples come from the Air Force and the navy; the Pentagon wants every bird strike investigated. Military planes are more vulnerable to such strikes because they often fly at low altitudes and often in single-engine planes.

Often the military’s bird strikes occur in far-removed places like Afghanistan and Iraq, but the lab, which stores about 85 per cent of the world’s bird species, is prepared.

Major airlines also send samples from around the country, from airports large and small, Dove said.

Crashes caused by bird strikes are intermittent in small planes and rare among airliners. Government records show five strikes with scheduled airliners in this decade, not counting Flight 1549, that have produced significant damage.

Feathers that are intact can be matched against a sample. If fluff or down is all that survives, researchers using 100-power magnification will look at the pattern of nodes on the microscopic feather structures to identify them.

Turnaround time is usually very short, but sometimes the lab finds a problem. Faridah Dahlan, a geneticist, tested a sample a year ago that indicated it had come from a deer.

Airplanes do sometimes hit deer, but a phone call to the pilot confirmed that this strike was in the air, so more investigation was required.

Eventually, the lab used a tiny piece of feather to determine that the bird was a black vulture. The bird apparently had deer flesh in its belly.

Dahlan said getting DNA samples from small bits of bird flesh was not a challenge. In a previous job, she said, "I used to do ants."

And I leave you with this great quote: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
— Mahatma Gandhi:

Marine Mishaps

Well, lots of excitement going on here again but I'm pleased to report that the outcome has been okay. The predictor of a positive outcome in a marine emergency is remaining calm.

The man of the house was waiting for his boat which is winter fishing to come in this morning. The marine weather forecast had changed as soon as they left and he was unsure as to whether they'd stay until Thursday or be in a day early. Of course there's no way to reach them 'back of LaHave Bank' which is where they were fishing so you don't hear from them until they're a few hours from the wharf. Well, let me tell you that we had a real humdinger of a windstorm here yesterday evening and night and the shore captain has been a wreck After fielding calls from his mom, the son's girlfriend, secretary at the plant and his brother he spent the evening pacing and the night hitting redial, sighing, up to look out the window and then attempt to sleep for 10 minutes.

I finally gave it up at 6 a.m. this morning and got up for work as he was taking his third phone call since 5. As I told the gang at work "I talked him down off the ledge but only until he reaches the plant I'm sure" My day at work (thankfully) did not allow me to worry as it didn't even allow me a lunch break. When I came through the door, mister was on the phone in an animated conversation and looking slightly more settled.

It appears that the Captain had called the Coast Guard and a Search & Rescue helicopter out of Greenwood had dropped a pump to the boat this afternoon as they had 'water onboard' and they were slowly making their way in with an ETA of about midnight. Finally at 10 p.m. I heard a yell from the bedroom and appeared at the door saying "you bellowed?" to find the shore captain had reached the boat and received an update. There was not much wind offshore as it only blew about 30 knots and they had continued to haul gear, they had shifted position which put them behind and had about 30,000 pounds of fish onboard so couldn't make much speed. But the reason for the water in the lazaret (storage area in the stern under the deck) remains a mystery. Apparently the autopilot was acting up, then the stern looked lower in the water so the Captain explains that he 'got the boys up' and they go out on to take the deck hatch cover up and....there is a LOT of water sloshing around. In his usual understated style he says "I said oh sh*t" and called for help. The bilge alarm went off while they were awaiting the helicopter as the drain has released water to the bilge and they were able to use the pump which runs off the deck hose to pump most of the water out so didn't have to use the Coast Guard pump when it was lowered. As I type they're jogging in at about 4 knots so will arrive at the wharf 1 a.m. and the Coast Guard calls them every two hours to check in. Just another day at the office is the final assessment, although the shore captain notes this is the most animated he has heard the Captain in the three years he's been taking boats for him as there is a slight note of urgency in his voice.

So, more than enough excitement as is usual for us. As one of the neighbours - a rather burly guy whose bark is much worse than his bite - said as I walked the dog "is the boy on the boat?" referring to the prodigal son who had fished with his own son and when I nodded, he paused and said "but they're all okay aren't they?" I assured him they were, so he concludes with "well that's the only important thing then isn't it?" As usual - we both get it.

Personal mastery and more

Well, it has been a busy week (or thereabouts) since I posted last. Nasty drive for part of the way in today to work and a snowy, rainy, icy, freezing rain drive home tomorrow. Something to really look forward to eh? Dreams of Caribbean beaches sustain me, one of the benefits of waiting until the end of March, all winter to anticipate. For anyone even vaguely considering travel, this will be the year with the economy struggling, some of the best deals I've seen in years.

On the weekend I headed out to the first of the two part Personal Mastery course and it was excellent! Lead by a woman who is a great adult educator and an eclectic group of about 20 females of all ages and our male MLA who is sponsoring the program in part and participating. Did some visioning and was somewhat surprised at the results, amazing what will appear if you slow down long enough to consider it. Have some homework before the next session and looking forward to it. It was held in the former elementary school the two oldest daughters attended so that was sure a blast from the past. I learned about croning ceremonies (no - not crowning) just Google it or follow this book review which mentions it:

http://www.harbourpublishing.com/excerpt/OldandSmart/webonly/131

Croning holds some interest and I'm still researching the topic as well as stretching my brain with the new way of thinking so this has assisted in survival of this work week - is it only Tuesday yet? Speaking of work related new age thinking, I found an article about Dan Schawbel who is a 'personal branding' expert. You can check out his blog here:

http://personalbrandingblog.com/

I'm reminded of my mother's advice which stated "act and dress the way you want people to think about you" but I guess that wouldn't sell as well as his upcoming book entitled Me 2.0

I had a bit of look around to see if there were any Maritimes/New England cruises on the list for this fall and the pickins were slim. A couple of two week ventures which although a different cruise line are the same itinerary as last fall and the dates will interfere with a wedding I will not be missing and the visit of the first born daughter so... after briefly toying with the idea of a repositioning cruise from NY to Caribbean and return from Miami this thought was rejected in favor of waiting to see what patience will turn up. The repositioning jaunt involved five sea days in November on the eastern seaboard - not a good plan for the trial of a landlubber cruise travel mate and a lot more work for the presenter. Add to this only a reasonably interesting itinerary and two - one way air tickets and it became less exciting. Something much better will come up than trying to talk yourself into something.

Have been in Norway this week in my memories as I've been scrapping the Grand Princess photos. Since I'm heading into the third cruise within nine months, I should get my act together eh? Have about 20 pages completed and am only on the third port of call so this will be an epic record. The cats aren't pleased at having their space invaded as they've taken over the craft space but they'll get over it.

The oldest daughter is writing her mutual funds exam tomorrow evening so we shall all send positive thoughts (not that she'll need them as she's one smart chicky) out to Alberta. Those kind of big exams are always stressful of course. The second daughter is heavily into her BEd course work and the youngest is carrying a heavy course load and excitedly planning for her Sweden clinical. So all my young ladies are academically and stressfully engaged at the moment.

The prodigal son is fishing and it has been REALLY cold this week, plus a bit of wind as the weather forecast changed after they left so they're earning their money for sure. Hard way to make a living. Kind of weather that the dog gets permission to stay in the mud room for the night as the SPCA puts out warnings to bring your pets inside at night. Speaking of that, I made a promise of an early bedtime so I'm outta here.

Cruises and chickens

I had such a rotten day at work it would really ruin your read if I shared it so trust me when I say that tomorrow I shall be celebrating FF (as the newspaper called it today) Friday Fatigue in grand style. I used the excuse to read a TB test for Public Health on the way home to actually get home before midnight.

Suffice to say that by 10 a.m. I had figured out the day was a write off so decided to cheer myself up. I called up my good buddy from a former life and discussed running away on a cruise this fall. Needless to say there was no hesitation in the acceptance. Had already cleared it with the life partner as he said "you're not going to the same thing this fall are you?" when I attempted to discuss the Maritimes/New England route with him and so the decision was made that he is not the travel partner of choice for the autumn fun. One of these times I shall travel with daughters (as I can hear their groans as they read this) but this time around they are all occupied with work or studies. And the date parameters include a wedding we're really looking foward to with a home visit from the first born daughter so will have to be before then, likely mid-September. So the homework for the weekend is to do some itinerary searching. Yeehaw.

I have registered to do a two part course this Saturday afternoon and the next called Personal Mastery which is being sponsored by a local community group. Since I apparently have no personal mastery at all this should be an interesting activity. It involves drawing forth a personal vision. Hmm. I'll likely be in the slow class but I shall keep you posted as to how it goes.

Well I thought you'd like to see the update from the chicken whisperers which I found in my FaceBook inbox tonight. It reassured me that at least some of them had found their way to a sheltered coop after being so casually discarded and of course now you know how to catch them:

Hi..just an update on the chickens...a couple of nights ago Esnor and his brother went over and Johnny (brother) climbed a tree and caught them...guess you can catch them when it is dark...all that was there was 4...they also found a dead one so dont know if the others died or if someone else got them...hopefully someone got them...at least 4 are now safe and sound... Take care...

Positive thoughts

Well, have spent the day thinking of a loyal blog reader who had surgery today and am pleased to hear that all has gone well and now into the treatment phase. Positive thoughts to be generated by all reading this and sent Stateside.

Today I again headed to the district facility for meetings, and not unexpectedly came home with a major headache. Due only in part to trying to adjust to my new bifocals. I picked them up and spent at least 20 minutes while the debit machine at the optometrists didn't work, finally writing them a cheque. Apparently....the trick to actually seeing with bifocals is figuring out exactly where to look through the lens - this is going to fun! Taking literally the instruction that "the more you wear them the quicker you'll get used to them" from the clerk, I stuck them on my face and headed off in the car. I am pleased to report that I avoided any MVAs but I'm sure there was some sort of psychic intervention responsible as it quickly became apparent that the stipulation on my glasses requiring corrective lenses was one thing, bifocals are quite another. The edges are blurry, I'm slightly off kilter and I have a stiff neck from attempting to look up or down (usually the wrong space at the wrong distance) to focus. This too shall pass apparently.

I stopped at La Senza and managed after much hunting and foraging to locate one black bra that actually fit. Come on people, this is a lingerie store, you would think it wouldn't be too much to ask for a biege colored bra for crying out loud!

I headed over to Superstore to (again) print my photos for scrapbooking and as I said to the clerk after the resulting 'situation' and angst "you know I'm old enough to know better, what was I thinking?" When I got to the photo center the kiosks were full and so I headed to the first one (the scene of my previous problem) and proceeded to browse through my five CDs until...you guessed it. I was putting in the final disc and the message came up to reboot the system. The female teenager said "oh that one's really old, you should just try another one" gesturing at the others which were now empty. Since I had (slightly) more patience today, I started over, printed my receipt and took it to the counter. The clerk started filling out an envelope and....it struck me - I had selected the one hour feature!! So, now the photos await me on my next trip district trip. I am really not meant to scrapbook my next page which awaits these photos. The clerk very kindly rang in my three tops I'd found in the clearance bin as she said "I'm not supposed to but there's no one here" after taking one look at my face. Now that lady knows how to diffuse a situation.

I arrived home to find the man of the house had done two loads of laundry. This is quite a sentinel event as although he knows how to operate the Maytag stackable set, I honestly can't remember the last time he did except to wash his work clothes. However, he had done a student job - meaning he had jammed all the clothes he could find of any color, texture etc. into two tightly packed loads. You know, wash 50 lbs for $1.25. This resulted in fuzzy black dress slacks and questionable cleanliness of some articles so a selective rewash was clandestinely done. No point in complaining and ensuring that it never happens again is there? And there were no major disasters involving the unwanted transfer of color one to another as could have happened. No gift horses mouths looked into here.

I was surprised today to find a contest being sponsored by the phone company asking for a story about the worst Christmas gift received this year in order to win a prize. I'm thrilled to report that I am unable to enter as I (we) had wonderful, thoughtful, necessary presents so are not in the running. Now if the telecommunication companies would just put their energies into getting some high speed internet out into the rural areas I would be happy.

Change is good

Just to update you on the message I found in my inbox there has been an itinerary change for Sea Princess and it’s all-good. We’re leaving Barbados at 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m so more in keeping with the travel partner’s biorhythms and no conflict with the airfare. Instead of visiting Caracas (La Guaira) Venezuela we are visiting Izla de Margarita!!! This is a definite improvement, as I wasn’t looking forward to that destination due to poverty, crime and not much to visit and have always been interested in Margarita Island. The times were tweaked with two less hours in Montego Bay, and four more for Grenada. Things are unfolding the way I like.

There was also a pleading message with the entertainment agency in-house travel agent suggesting he could match the local agent’s airfare. I think not as it appears he has quoted in US funds and without tax, but if he wishes to make work for himself I have asked him to clarify. No need to turn a man down without all the facts. I think I need to take the advice of my very smart first-born daughter as she asked, “what were you doing messing around with the travel agent anyway? Why didn’t you just book your airfare yourself online?” That was a question I asked myself after the additional $40 each drop in price after we booked. There were different opinions on that with a co-worker saying “$40? Get over it” and another saying “that would make me mad too”. But the reason I was ticked was that the travel agent said, “oh, there’s nothing we can do now, you just have to forget about it and go and have a good time”. This is excellent advice of course, and especially as it wasn’t her money she was discussing.

The above emails were found at the culmination of a marathon dialup session where I searched for photos of Newfoundland fishing vessels for the shore captain (who has very limited computer skills) under the direction of his brother (who has high speed access and no concept of dialup at all) until persistence paid off and the group effort located his former vessel built the year the prodigal son was created in 1987 and sold to Newfoundland. So that accounts for not getting anything much else done this evening.

So considering that I dropped my purse on the doorstop on my way out this morning, this resulted in NOT being able to pick up my bifocals (I sense perhaps a subconscious negativity to that purchase) or the groceries or anything else on the list and made for a direct trip home. The list remains so of course will be waiting for after work tomorrow with the addition of a stop at the post office – likely the travel partner’s passport. So…we are gaining.

Another snowy Sunday

Well Happy Sunday! As I sit in my comfy (from Frenchy's) pjs with a cup of tea in front of the computer as the snow falls outside - life is cozy! Especially so as I neither battled my way to or fro work in the predicted 'flurries' which have materialized into at least 20 cm of snow!

Last evening a friend and I took in Seven Pounds with Will Smith and I have to say if that man doesn't win a armful of awards for his performance there is something seriously wrong. Excellent (if tough subject) movie and highly recommended by moi. We had begun with a proposed party of four to movie go and our numbers were thinned by mandatory overtime (the ordering in of one of our list) for a long night shift and the travel preparations of the other. Since the drive home was a truly challenging one I crept near the center of the road, except when meeting traffic moving just as slowly, then the navigator (riding shotgun) called out the margins of the 103 as I attempted to stay on the pavement. The visibility was about 3 ft, the highway was a base of ice and staying in the ruts of a previous vehicle was a real game. Quite pleased to wade into my house after providing chauffeur service. Ah yes, winter - got to love it - unless you travel in it! The temperatures are warming up to rain so tomorrow's journey to the district facility will hopefully not be as interesting.

Came home from Thursday's trip there to a man home from his meetings and supper on the table - doesn't get much better than that for this working girl. Friday wasa repeat classy meal and...he had also fixed the monitor power cord of the computer system in the man cave (on which I am communicating) and set it all up again. This has been a to-do project since the fall. He had as well stopped at the hardware store and picked up a new mailbox and stick on numbers (not nearly as nice as the lovely decal the kids had done but Canada Post insists no bare boxes) to install in place of the murdered predecessor. I am happy to report the new one has survived one night of plowing at least. As the shore captain states "those drivers are just being jerks about it now and trying to take out boxes, must have a contest on". I remain thrilled, though cautiously concerned as to what else is going on when I see such cooperation. Nontheless he earned himself chocolate chips cookies and brown bread baked in reward this weekend.

I had dropped into select my glasses while on my district trek and was astounded to find that they will cost $580 for the two pair (regular and sunglasses) and yes you have correctly surmised those are the aforementioned bifocals although without scratch coating and polarization - this due to my loss record did not seem a good investment. With the co-pay from my benefits I'm out $122 so that will sustain me in the dark work days as a positive. They will be ready on Monday and retrieved while on mileage to travel there - again memo to self. I was in Superstore while on my district trek, to print off some photos from the Norway trip and after spending at least 20 minutes selecting prints was just inserting the 5th of 5 CDs into the photo system when an error appeared saying to contact the clerk. When I queried the much pierced, bored with a permanent smirk on his face clerk - he gaily confirmed this meant I must remove my CD, he would restart the system and I would need to start over on what I was working on. As I retrieved the CD and fixed him with a direct gaze, I stated as calmly as I could manage "not today I won't" and exited quickly. Anger Management 101 - remove yourself from the stimulus. The meal awaiting was obviously the reward for my passing the class.

I was amused by the cleaning lady's shopping list of required products saying "we need ..." as if I was involved with their use. Well, I guess the purchase includes me in the process.

Yesterday the dog and I went for a long walk and she checked out all the ditches as they're frozen and clean enough to allow for that. We took a walk over to the summer neighbours to check on their places and discovered her tracks of romps of sheer joy when she had escaped and gone visiting a few days ago. Managed to fall in the crushed stone (not recommended) in front of the house on the return and am feeling the effects of right elbow, knee and hip and left ankle. What is this talk of it being healthy to get out and exercise eh?

I'm consoling myself with my library book Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman which is a look at environmental/political/economic global issues. He writes well but it's a tough read at times as the future implications are a bit scary.

Well, must sign off as the shore captain has returned from unloading fish and has fired up the 4-wheeler to plow. He will likely be seeking sustenance and warm drinks shortly. Hope all are remaining well and warm in these cold times.

To quote the wealthy Warren Buffet "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently." I'm sure those are words he truly understands with today's volatile markets.