Complaining

It's a cool wet day today but I'm not complaining about that - I'm happy that I don't have to water the flowers today and the Weather Network says the sun is going to come out a bit later and it will warm up to about 20c. I can handle that after a week of +30c. No complaints here!

Beach volleyball is still on but we won't have to wear socks today to protect our feet from the boiling hot sand - so no complaints there!

Lily got her jaw around an entire chipmunk on Saturday!!! But when she dropped it the chipmunk ran under the fence to freedom - so no complaining about that! Thank goodness! (Do chipmunks play dead when caught by a predator?)

aka Killer!

I rode my bike to the annual Gathering on the Green where my brother sets up a booth to sell his unique birdhouses. Humidity was high even though the day was cooler than usual and I was a puddle of sweat by the time I arrived. But I'm not complaining as I met up with friends, explored what was for sale, bought a gift for my sister-in-law's upcoming 70th birthday! Also went and had a nice lunch on a nearby patio with my friend Jules who purchased the creature below :)

Zombie Doll - Cynthia Rose

"Hey Cynthia Rose - get your slimy lips offa my beer!!"

Ran into a former work colleague who retired two years after I did. I asked him how it felt to be retired and he said it feels like his natural state of being. I understand what he means - it feels the way life should feel - waking up when the body is ready to wake up, eating when hungry and not because the clock says a certain time, exploring new interests, developing old ones more fully...retirement is fantastic!! Really...I can't complain!

Had a nice jog and then walked on the trails at Kilally Meadows yesterday. Ran into a friend who is a weather radar-watching freak and he told me a thunderstorm was going to hit at 2pm. But I'm not complaining - I timed my walk and made it back to my car just is time. He was dead on with his prediction! At precisely 2pm the heavens opened...though I don't think I heard any thunder or saw any lightning - SO NOT COMPLAINING!

The rain is on its way!

Kilally Meadows!

So...I guess what it all boils down to is this: I'm complaining about the fact that I have nothing to complain about! 

It's a tough life I lead!

What the Heck Day is it Today?

I just love waking up with a migraine:(  I've completed Round One of my migraine cure but will have to follow up with Round Two shortly as although it's a bit improved it's not gone. And if it's not gone it will get worse. Bleh...

Part of my headache I'm sure was caused by my "fun times" at the Bell store and Apple store yesterday as I tried to figure out the best option to replace my caffeinated iPhone. Apparently it can handle being rained on all night in the parking lot but draws the line at hot coffee topped with hot soy milk foam! I'm very disappointed.

To make a very long story short the cheapest way to move forward was to purchase the same OLDer model iPhone I had been using (and am used to) and maintain my current contract so that I can get a free iPhone upgrade next year. The Bell guy tried to sell me on the latest iPhone (better camera blah blah blah) but when he topped off his spiel by saying "and then you probably won't need to upgrade next year (thereby saving Bell several hundreds of dollars) I thought I'd go see what Apple could do for me.

They sold me on "recycling" my java phone and replacing it with the same much cheaper and older model which I'd been using for a whole 10 months. Personally I liked the fact that I'd have the same phone which I knew mostly how to use rather than getting a newer one with more bells and whistles that I'd somehow have to integrate with my current level of expertise. It was a no-brainer! Instead of shelling out $800 I spent under $400 which I hope to recoup in next week's yard sale - I am now very motivated to sell sell sell!!

Yesterday was spent reloading all my apps etc and after 48 hours life continues on as before.

Oh yes, it's Foto Friday! Let's see what was going on one year ago...

I caught Lily watching me from the stairs.

I made my healthy version of nachos on a bed of romaine and asparagus.

It was Gathering on the Green  and my brother, Gord,
was selling his birdhouses. (He's the bearded guy
wearing a hat and shades.

The dunk tank was popular!

Musical entertainment

Learning tai chi!

Free and supervised parking for bikes - yup,
mine's there! Look at that sky!

My friend Julie worked with kids
creating crafts :)

Happy weekend my friends - don't drink and text!!

Bliggedy Bliggedy Blog

I had such a nice moment yesterday. It was the annual "Gathering on the Green" where craft vendors gather, kids play at a number of free activities, social groups set up tables letting folks know what's going on in their communities, green thumb gardeners sell plants and so on. I was volunteering at the Council of Canadians table - the group I do activism (rallies, sit-ins etc) with when a woman came over to talk to me.

She wanted to tell me that she recognized me from reading my blog - that she had followed my retirement countdown and all the other aspects of my life over the past few years. I was so touched! She couldn't remember exactly how she had landed on my blog but she continued to follow my journey. If you're reading this today I want to say a big THANK YOU!! I'm glad you stopped to let me know - that was very thoughtful and I'm grateful to know I have a friend out there!

When something like that happens it really gives the whole "blog thing" meaning. I mean, here we sit, day after day, year after year, sending our words out into the blogosphere and not really knowing those who quietly read what we write. Many folks read without commenting but follow our stories for years. Fascinating, isn't it? I mean, I'm not exactly J.K. Rowling or Kim Kardashian (thank goodness)!!

My ride yesterday was to the Gathering on the Green and back home for about 23km I think. I'm at 111km pedalled out of my 400km goal for June. Today we've had some thunderstorms and I'll probably ride my stationary bike instead of going out. That way I can also get my laundry done :) I was up and out before 9am today to get a newspaper and some groceries and then I baked when I got home. Some days you just have to stay put and get a few things done. Very few days, thankfully!

Last night I went downtown for another annual event - Nuit Blanche! This is a fairly new event for London (4 or 5 years?) but I love it! All sorts of art projects going on in various locations throughout the downtown area - bands, jugglers, visual arts, performance arts, sleight of hand and so on. Unfortunately it did rain off and on but my friend and I got to experience a few things:

Drama, poetry, painting, dancing about WATER!

A band was playing to the left of the lights.

Pyrotechnics & music 

Not easy to get a photo of flames!

This young lady was rolling a ball all over the place -
she was very good!

Checking in...

Hello my dears...my lovelies as Lena used to say...(has anyone heard from Lena lately? I really miss her though I know she has her hands full right now...)

I write you from my position of laying on the floor. I've been having a lot of flareups over the past week and only get relief for my lower back if I lay on the floor with my legs on a chair....

So. Much. Fun.

One week from today I have another doctor's app't with the Big Cheese. So far I've only been seeing a resident and she doesn't seem to be listening to me the way I'd like her to so I'm going over her head. I'm going to ask once again for an MRI. The resident said I didn't have enough of the "red markers" that would indicate an MRI is needed and her advice to me wouldn't be any different no matter the outcome of the MRI. Hmmmm...so if I had a bulging disc or a compressed sciatic nerve she'd still send me to Hot Yoga? I just think I need a second opinion. And my counsellor, who works in the same clinic, is going to speak to the doctor the day before I see her to let her know how the pain is affecting my mood; ie depression and anxiety.

I apologize for not having something exciting to talk about - when you're in pain most of the time it sort of limits one's adventures. I've been sticking pretty close to home - going out for short walks, doing as much as I can around the house, doing errands and so on.

Oh I did go to an event last Saturday - "The Gathering on the Green" and rode my bike there and back which resulted in a major flareup on Sunday and which has yet to calm down. Grrrrrrr...

Here's a few pics from that event:

 My brother's booth - he makes and sells birdhouses. He's under the blue awning wearing a straw hat.

 There he is again...

Lots and lots of plants for sale...

 A dunk tank...

 Music...

Tai chi...

A free and guarded space for all of the bicycles that people rode to this eco-friendly event...

 Some members of London's Symphony Orchestra added music...

 and people sat and had a lovely tea party while listening to the orchestra...

 All around the green were booths filled with jewelry, crafts, homemade jams etc etc...

Oh to be young again...

My friend Julie participated by helping kids make beaded bracelets in the Museum London booth...

I participated by eating a hot dog!!  I don't usually eat processed meat but it smelled so good! One won't kill me :)

Kitty Cuteness: Kazi has become Luna's human and I have become Lily's.  Here's Lily hiding in the myrtle just waiting for the right moment to pounce on Luna.

This is Lily's favourite spot in the house - she can keep her eye on most goings on from this vantage point on the stairs. She'll also reach out with her paw and bop me on the head as I walk by.

Whatcha cooking Gramma?

Hey...is that a bug?

Finally, they both love my bedroom windows as they look out onto the crabapple tree where there is usually a squirrel, or in this case a robin, making a racket!