Today has been a full day and it’s far from over. I still have to get my act together and wrap my head around the new curriculum for the first aid course I’m teaching tomorrow. I’ve had two panic attacks associated with it already and likely will have some more before I’m through. The first melt down came when I thought the materials had been shipped to the Hillside Diner (Bridgewater) rather than Scotia Lunch (Shelburne) as there was confusion between the supplier and the bus lines. But not to worry, there was the parcel yesterday at the correct bus stop. Today I opened the box to make sure of the order… face masks - check, box of gloves - check, first aid manuals - check, AED (automatic external defibrillator) simulator - check. The fun began when I plugged the gizmo in to make sure I could operate it. There was no instruction book with it (a man packed it - enough said) but it seemed pretty straight forward with pictograms for all the functions. It has a voice prompt (loud enough to scare cats and annoy spouses) but as I tried my best (and even enlisted the aid of someone under 18 as in daughter # 3 and a man, figuring he wouldn’t read a manual either) I could NOT get past the ‘apply pads to chest wall’ prompt. I finally gave up and phoned one of the paramedics who is an instructor trainer - nope, he didn’t have any by Zoll and didn’t know how it worked, but he did give me the toll free number for the supplier and he says “just press the picture of the pads on the remote“. To think that one little step as simple as this could’ve ruined my whole day. What a relief.
I’ve spent the past few minutes trying to edit a close up photo by erasing a man’s head who was sitting behind me on the American Eagle flight to LaGuardia from the background. I need this picture to post on the First Aid Training website. The things I do for fame and fortune.
There has been no physical evidence of the phantom son but several sightings - in Yarmouth on Friday evening by daughter # 3s boyfriend who states “he was accompanied by two hickish friends” so I phoned the most likely to fit that description but no one had seen him. Then finally a phone tip off today as to his whereabouts at ‘camp’. This is not the least bit helpful to his (former) Captain who has finally given up on him. And although I love this boy dearly, despite the fact that he drives me nuts, I cannot blame the man for calling in the chips - this is not the first chance that boy has been given. If I live long enough to see him grow up, it is all that I ask for - to be 104 years old from the sounds. Sigh.
Today as it was milder (10c and sunny periods) I invested some energy in cleaning up the yard and throwing out some junk from the old house which our filthy renters had left. The lawn is greening up so will soon need mowing and the daffodils are sprouting on the edge of the ditch with tulips near the driveway. Hopefully it will look inviting enough for someone to check it out and make an offer.
The daffodils which were a gift from my summer neighbour have bloomed in front of the new house with a 50% success rate - not bad considering the winter we had and the sandy soil - they're on the left below. I also found some dwarf daffodils which I planted near th
e driveway, they’re like their larger counterparts but abou
t ¼ size, kinda cute - they're on the right next to their NS Duck Tolling Retriever guard. The squilla are blooming and I summoned courage to check on my ‘saved’ plants being held in nursery beds on the hill to find that the primrose and lung wort are in bloom with a nice assortment of perennials to replant if the mulch ever makes it to the front of the house. I haven’t seen any ticks yet but their reputation precedes them as they’ve been found in the area.I’m off to review those first aid standards - wish me luck for tomorrow.
