Things I am Digging Right Now

This gorgeous custom made ring my husband gave me for Xmas. It’s the work of the very talented Lana of Lana Betty. I fell in love with the stone which is a rutile quartz. Lots of drama! I love the rain drop cut-it’s so very west coast. 

Dogs with Wings, an organisation out of Alberta that trains future service dogs is being supported by Naked Ape from January-March. For every bracelet sold from their special collection during this campaign, they will be donating a percentage to Dogs With Wings. I ordered this Amazonite mala and they are going to add their dog charm to it for me. It reminds me of Indy. Always happy to support service dogs! 

 

I happened to spot these adorable boots on Instagram. When I followed the link to the online store, Shoes For the Soul, I discovered that the brick and mortar store was located in Nelson, BC, an area I am quite familiar with. I decided on the spot to order myself a pair. These are so, so comfy-they’re European made and are a boot that wears like a shoe. I am wearing the h*ck out of them. My feet are so cozy. My experience with European made shoes is that the quality is excellent, so the shoes last forever. I live in El Naturalista clogs from Spain most of the year and these will be my go-to footwear in the colder, rainy seasons. 

 

I also came across these fun leggings from Leg Art and had to order myself a pair. I’ve never owned leggings before and I mainly wanted these for wearing at home. They arrived in record time and are super soft. We’ve had some warmer weather lately, so I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet, but soon!  I just ordered a grey tunic from them last night as well. It's already on its way!

I downloaded this app called One Second Everyday. I wanted to do a daily art practice of some sort but didn’t want it to become a chore. I am liking this so far because all I have to do is shoot a super short video (usually no more than 10 seconds) and then load it into the app and clip it down to 1 second. It takes hardly any time at all. The other option is to use a photo. I’ve been using a combination of videos and photos and so far have 2 weeks worth collected. At the end of the year, I will have a 365 second video of my entire year.

The app allows you to see the video you’ve compiled as you go too, which is fun. It’s a lovely way to document daily life and all the little things you might otherwise forget. The app has a paid version, but I’ve been using the free version so far. I may buy a year membership which is $35 and allows for longer clips and music, etc. I’m still thinking about it.

I saw some lovely art supplies online and called my local source to pre-order them. I have some Xmas money still and figured this would be a really nice treat. Above is a book full of art papers that looked delicious. I liked it so much I've ordered two copies.

Some stencils and masks to play with on my gellie plate. Cannot wait for these!

And some washi tapes. I haven't bought any new ones in over a year (I own about 140+ different rolls!) but these called to me, so I figured why not?

When I was out at a medical appointment the other day, I popped into Micheal's to see what was new and came away with this little packet of Jane Davenport washi tape. They are marketing it as washi tape, which is weird because as you can see, it's not on a roll like tape nor is it actually tape-it's printed sticker sheets. They are 3 inches long and the height of each one varies. There are 5 different sheets in the packet. Still, they were interesting and pretty, so I got them to use in my journal. 

And in my eternal quest to find a white pen that can write over mixed media, I finally found a Sharpie white paint pen. I really wanted a finer tip, but I'll test drive this one and if it does what I want it to do, then I will track down a smaller tip version. I can't tell you how many pens I have purchased over the years, only to have it be a huge disappointment. Gel pens, sigma pens, etc. I am hopeful this one will be what I want because it's water based paint. They also had an oil based paint pen in white, but I don't think I want to expose myself to the smell-I don't need the migraine I would get from it. If you have a white pen that writes really well over mixed media pages, please tell me about it. I would appreciate the info!

And just in case you're wondering, this post is in no way a sponsored post-it's just things I have purchased and loved and wanted to share with you. I'm not being paid by anyone to say nice things-all opinions are my own. 

Begin Again

Hello & Happy New Year! Some of you are probably wondering why I've been MIA. There's a very good reason: 2018 was rough. I struggled with my health all year. By struggled, I mean I spent NINETY TWO out of 365 days at medical appointments. (I'm not kidding.) I'm not going to get into all that though because living through it once was more than enough. Let's just say I was spending what little energy I had surviving. It left nothing in the tank for blogging. Life happens!

We also lost three family members to cancer; one in February, one on Solstice and one on Xmas Eve. To say 2018 was brutal is an understatement. I am glad it's over. I am hoping 2019 is a kinder, gentler year.

Despite feeling terrible, I was still busy behind the scenes. I wrote a couple blogs for The Rick Hansen Foundation. They invited me to write about invisible disability for them. I shared what it's like to have a hearing impairment and after a lifetime of struggling, to finally be fitted with hearing aids. You can read all about it here. In case you missed it, my first blog post about how invisible disability affects my life, can be found here.

I wrapped up my 5th cohort of UBC Health Mentors students in November (I am really going to miss them! They were hilarious and made me laugh.) and began working with my 6th cohort in September. The work continues to be rewarding-I learn as much as my students do and my new students are lovely young women.

I worked with the UBC physiotherapy program in October, helping students get their patient interviewing skills. I've done this twice before and they are a lovely bunch of people to work with. I am going to be working with the program again in a few weeks. This time I'll be helping students learn about assessing patients with rheumatoid arthritis. I did this twice last year and enjoyed the experience, so I signed on again.

I also volunteered to speak with 1st year UBC Pharmacy students about the impact pharmacists can have on people's lives. I figured it was the perfect opportunity for me-I have so many drug allergies, plus I'm complicated and my pharmacists have been invaluable in helping me manage the medication end of things. It was a great experience and it sounds like the students loved it so the program will be expanding next year. I hope to be able to do it again.

Next week I have a phone interview. I've been short listed as a potential patient adviser for a committee that is looking to making improvements to medical imaging. I am hoping to be selected, as I have a wealth of personal experience with this branch of diagnostics and there are some aspects that I feel definitely need some work. I'd be happy to be a part of that process. I want to make things better for everyone. *fingers crossed*

I started a project, using the 1 Second Everyday app. Essentially you do a 1 second video clip every day for a year. It's 1 second out of my day so I am pretty sure I can manage to stick with it and it will be cool to see the video at the end of the year. Anyone want to join me? Let me know if you take this on!

Right before the holidays, I started printing a bunch of the graffiti photos I've taken using my HP Sprocket printer my son gave me for Xmas last year. My plan is to make a book with the prints. I have a fat stack to work with. It's a work in progress.

I treated myself to a couple new stencils from Stencil Girl that I've wanted forever. One is called Tall Reeds and the other is Circles Circles. They got here lightening fast-I wasn't expecting them to arrive so quickly, but I'm thrilled they did. I can't wait to play with them!

Okay, this is a good start. It feels good to begin to get back in the groove. I'll be back soon with  more to share.

Hello Summer!

Hello again! I had planned to post much sooner, but life has a way of upending even the best laid plans. I caught an awful bug and was in bed for several days feeling absolutely terrible. I am over it now I think and hoping that I can avoid catching anything else through the end of the year. I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired! 

As you can see, I have new glasses. The ones I got a year ago were no longer doing the job since I had optic neuritis, so I had to upgrade. I chose red frames, even though I really wanted purple. The general consensus is that these were a good choice, so that's something.

Here's some of what I've been up to:

Creating

Believe it or not, I've been doing a lot of writing in the last little while. I just completed my artist statement and bio for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Quilt Project which I wrote about here. Tal will be creating zines for each of the four quilts featuring each artist in the quilt using this information. I am really looking forward to reading the inspiration behind each artists' work. As things get uglier in the world, this project and its message seems more timely than ever and I am proud to be a part of it. 

I have also been working on my second article for the Rick Hansen Foundation blog, which will be posted in mid-August. The first one, if you missed it, is here. I am trying to keep ahead of the game because August is going to be a busy month.

Watching

The 5th season of Alone premiered last Thursday. Previous seasons have been in British Columbia (three seasons) and Patagonia. This season is taking place in Mongolia and it's all participants from previous seasons who tapped out for various reasons. I loved the seasons shot in BC-it was highly amusing to hear people railing about the weather. It somehow came as a surprise to all of them that a temperate rain forest actually gets a lot of rain. I guess none of them did any research on the area they were going to be going to. 

My friend Greta and I are rooting for Nicole who has MS. She is amazingly comfortable in the wilds-in her previous season in BC, she was sharing her beach with huge black bears and seemed entirely unfazed. She was respectful of the bears, but wasn't the least bit afraid of them. She also has an impressive knowledge of plants and was able to source from her environment things to help keep herself healthy. We hope she wins this time!

The 6th season of Wentworth premiered this week. It's an Australian series about a women's prison that is dark and delicious. I love it! Previous seasons are on Netflix.

Reading

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Demaline who is a Metis author. This was recently loaned to me by my friend Sue's husband. He was telling me about it at Sue's birthday party and when I read the cover, it gave me the shivers, so I knew I had to read it. It's been a bit slow going because I am still having eye issues, but I'm enjoying it. Here's the summary:

"In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing "factories.""

Anticipating

I have been waiting (im)patiently to hear back from a medical conference I've applied for a scholarship to attend as a patient partner. I should be getting news one way or the other next week. I am pretty sure com-petition is fierce, but if you don't apply, you'll never get a yes. I also applied for a scholarship for another one taking place in October but I won't hear back on that one till mid-August. I am *the worst* at waiting. It drives me batty.

Other than that, we've been enjoying dinners out on the patio almost every night. It's a nice way to reconnect at the end of the day and enjoy the peace and quiet. I've also been taking my laptop out there and writing while enjoying the fresh air. It's nice to finally have the space to be able to do that. Once I get my article completed, I can think about what projects I want to tackle over the summer. I need to make a list!

Well Hello 2018!

So...my plan to be more present here was all shot to hell by a number of things. That saying "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans." about sums it up.

It started out with my father in law being diagnosed with terminal cancer just after New Year's. We lost him a few weeks later and things snowballed from there. I have been dealing with a whole slew of health stuff, not the least of which was the worst NMO attack I've ever had. It landed me in the hospital for 12 days, where, I promptly caught flu. I have never had flu in my life and had to go to a hospital to get it. Putting someone who is triple immunosupressed anywhere but in a private room is sheer stupidity. Let's just say it was a hellish 12 days and they sent me home sicker than when I arrived. I am still struggling to recover. So far, 2018 has been rough.

On a more positive note, I was contacted by The Rick Hansen Foundation just before Xmas, asking if I would be interested in writing for them about invisible disability. I was very surprised. I didn't even know I was on their radar. Apparently once you've been a Difference Maker, you are a part of the family. I am pleased to share that my first article was published on March 4th, while I was still in hospital. You can find it here. Rick Hansen, for those who aren't familiar is a Canadian icon and one of my personal heros. You can learn more about him here. I am humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to share my story and experiences as someone living with invisible disability, rare disease and chronic illness. 

I have been keeping busy working with my UBC Health Mentor students. In my current cohort, (my fifth!) I have two women and two men. The women are a student in speech & language pathology and a medical student. The men are a nursing student and occupational therapy student. It's the first time I've had male students and I've been enjoying the new dynamic. My students are so great to work with. We laugh a lot and I am really enjoying spending time with them. I am going to miss them over the summer. (After April's symposium, we don't meet till October and our last meeting for this cohort will be in November. The time always whips by so quickly.)

I also volunteered to work with the UBC Physiotherapy program in early February to help their students learn about assessing Rheumatoid arthritis patients. It was really good timing for the students to assess me because I am having a big flare and so they got to see and feel first hand what that looks like. I've worked with the PT program twice before helping students get their patient interviewing skills but this was new to me. I enjoyed learning too. The students in the PT program are such lovely people. I always enjoy working with them. I will be doing more of this type of volunteering in a couple of weeks through the same program, but this time at the local hospital's arthritis clinic. 

Since I've been home from the hospital and still dealing with some serious health issues and having treatment, I've been forced to stick pretty close to home and take things easy. My best friend gave me Rae Massigman's Pocket Journal class for my birthday, so I have slowly been working on my little journal. It's been fun playing with paint. 

My mother in law sent me a cheque for my birthday and I treated myself to some new art supplies yesterday-two stencils, a set of stamps and some cool paper. I haven't bought art supplies in ages-in fact I had recently gone through my stash and purged a big chunk of it. I donated the excess to a friend who teaches art to kids. I know she will put it to good use. I am not a hoarder of supplies. I like to use what I have and there was so much stuff I've had sitting around, taking up space that it seemed like a good time to pare down and reorganize. I am really glad I did it. I have all my paints, stencils and water soluable oil pastels in one of those Ikea rolling carts. Best thing ever! I can roll it right up to my desk and have everything I need right there. I can also roll it out onto my patio in the summer and spend the day creating outside. My plan is to get a nice patio set (small table & comfy chairs) so I can have an outdoor studio by day and a nice place to have dinner al fresco by night. Indy likes to spend most of his time outside on the patio when the weather is warm and I think I would like that too. My patio has a big shade tree in front, so it stays nice and cool out there. I am on the hunt for the right furniture to make this happen.

My best friend and I went to see Isle of Dogs last weekend. I wanted to see it for the art. It's a Wes Anderson stop motion animation film. I wouldn't say it's for kids-I think they'd quickly be bored. It's aimed more at fans of the genre. Lots of big names in this one. What surprised me was that it was about 2 hrs long. Usually with animation, the films are much shorter, so well done Wes Anderson! The are billing it as a comedy, but while it had some funny moments, I didn't think it was, really. My favourite line in this film was "Fear had been mongered." I enjoyed it and if you like this sort of thing, you'd better go see it before it's out of the theatres. 

So that's the Cliff Notes update of where I've been and what I've been up to. I am going to make a concerted effort to get back into regular blogging. Back soon!

Farewell 2017!

It's been a tough year in many ways, which is why I let blogging fall by the wayside. I've been struggling with my health (again...still...) and I lost someone very dear to me, which broke my heart. I just felt I didn't have much to say that was useful and maybe that's a good thing. Sometimes it's better to just embrace the quiet. Introspection can be good self-care.

The last hours of 2017 are winding down. I'm off to dinner with my love to celebrate the 28th anniversary of our first date. I am grateful for whatever impulse grabbed me 28 years ago when I was home sick with a bad cold to say yes when he asked if I'd like to go with him to a hockey game which was starting in less than an hour. I took 5 minutes to throw some warm clothes on (I'd answered the door in my PJ's) and drag a brush through my hair and somehow we managed to make it in time. Four months later, we were engaged and six months after that, we were married. Our life together has never been boring and while life has had it's ups and downs, we have been happily rock solid through it all. This seems worthy of celebrating. We're headed to our favourite Chinese place.

I am still waiting for a word to pop into my head for 2018, but I've had a concept floating around in the back of my mind. I just have to figure out how I want to express it. I'll have to chew on it some more. I know I will figure it out.

January is shaping up to be a busy month. I just sat down to get everything on the calendar today and it's clear I'm going to hit the ground running. Tomorrow will be one last day of savouring the holidays though, before I need to dive in. We've planned a quiet day of home relaxing and that suits me just fine.

So..if you are reading this, thanks for popping by. My intention is to resume blogging in 2018. I wish you Bonne Annee! Happy New Year! wherever you are in the world. My hope is that 2018 is a kinder, gentler year for us all. May it be so.

In Memory

One of the finest men I have ever known is being laid to rest today.

The world will be less without him.

Carlos Daniel Ledee

August 11, 1934-June 12, 2017

You do not go alone; a piece of my heart goes with you.

Simplifying 2017

So in my last post, I mentioned that I'd chosen the word simplify as my word for 2017. I thought I would share a bit about why.

Almost 2 years ago, we moved, downsizing from a three bedroom house to a one bedroom condo. We cut our living space by about two thirds. Before we moved, I went through each room and purged things we no longer needed-some was sold off at a garage sale, a ton was donated to charity, some was re-homed with our son and then there was a small bit that was actual garbage. The idea was to not move anything that we didn't need or want.

Even though I eliminated a ton of stuff, once we moved, there was still a considerable amount of things that ended up in our small in-suite storage room (which is essentially just a small narrow closet with a few shelves) and in the two double closets in our bedroom and the front hall. After a year, I decided to go through the boxes in the storage room because I hadn't opened a single one the entire year and I was beginning to question if we did in fact need anything in those boxes badly enough to keep storing them. In that purge, I managed to eliminate 6 additional boxes of random stuff.

So here I am, two years later and still feeling like I could free myself of more stuff. And let me tell you, it really is freedom. I have less stuff to dust and take care of. My home is neater and more organised. I spend less time looking for the things I need because almost everything is where it needs to be. That said, there are still boxes in all the closets, most of which I think I can now let go of.

It's been an interesting process. I am certainly far more mindful of bringing anything new into my home and when I do, I make sure that if it's replacing something, that I remove the old item immediately. I don't have a ton of nick knacks now either-I hated dusting them all when we lived in the house but I didn't have a choice because I have allergies. That's not to say I don't have a few, but I am far more selective about it. This has allowed space to display actual art that either I've created or have been given to me by artist friends, which I love.

Another thing that I worked on over the fall was creating a capsule wardrobe. Essentially it's a small collection of clothes that mix and match and serve your life better. I always hated opening my closet and having to sift through clothes I didn't like for whatever reason, clothes that needed repair or that didn't go with anything else. It took me awhile, but my capsule wardrobe is almost complete for the colder seasons. I will have some work to do in the summer, but it should be minimal. I might sound a bit of an odd exercise, but doing this has gotten rid of the daily stress of thinking I don't have anything to wear. I can reach in and pull out an outfit immediately, without having to give it much thought. I'm a busy person, so this is a win in my book. 

My capsule wardrobe isn't expensive or fancy-I built it around what works for my life. Here's a quick run down:

-Jeans (blue, black)

-Dress pants (black)

-yoga pants

-capris (black, grey)

-T-shirts (in a variety of colours, mostly v-neck, short, 3/4 & long sleeved)

-Tank tops (for summer)

-Dress shirts (a couple for wearing over t-shirts & tank tops)

-Cardigans (one dressy, one casual)

-Runners (2 pair, in 2 colours)

-Clogs

-hiking shoes

-rain boots

-winter boots

-winter coat

-rain coat

-polar fleece jacket

-hoodie

-Scarves (The accessorising kind!)

That's it! As I said, I will have to add a few things in the summer, but not much. I don't have dresses or high heels because I would never wear them. At some point, I do want to add a blazer, but I haven't found one I like yet. If you're interested in the idea of a capsule wardrobe, do a search on Pinterest-there are tons of articles about them. I recommend thinking about what your day to day life really looks like and choosing pieces based on what you know you'll wear. Go through your closet before you shop and get rid of clothes that are worn out, stained, badly out of style, (like say a neon crop top-if you have that hiding in your closet, BURN IT!! The 80's are gone and no one ever looked good in that anyway!) and things that just don't fit and don't make you feel good when you wear them. Once you've done that, you will be able to see where the holes are in your wardrobe and can shop accordingly. It's helpful to make a list of what you have and what you need.

I am also working on purging my studio. I did a big purge last spring, but I still feel like I need to weed out a bit more. My biggest weakness is ephemera. I confess I am a paper hoarder. I have several small boxes of ephemera and while those boxes are small, do I really need several? I want to make a concerted effort to use up some of the contents of those boxes in the near future and then limit myself to a single large box. If I'm going to do that, then I will need to make a bunch of journals! I'd better get my sewing machine set up!

Recently, I downloaded an app called "Any List" to my phone and I love it! I am a list maker from way back and it's helping me keep track of my grocery list, but you can use it to make (and share!) lists for just about anything. It remembers the grocery items I've entered before, so once a list is populated, you can call it up and just cross of anything you don't need each week. As I am shopping, I can tap on each item I put in my cart and it disappears from my list. Super helpful!

So there are just a few ways I am simplifying my life in 2017. I've been looking at the things that are challenging or stressful and figuring out how I can make them less so. Like anything, it's a work in progress, but for me, minimalism is really my way of practising self-care. 

Did you choose a word for 2017? I'd love to hear all about it!

2016: Year In Review

Hello to those of you who have hung in, waiting patiently for my return to blogging. It's been a tough year for me physically, so that's why the extended absence. Anyway, not being one to dwell, here's what 2016 looked like:

January:

-My friend Sam Bradd spoke about life as a graphic recorder at Creative Mornings Vancouver.

-I returned to Toronto to do my second term as the Community Representative for BC. This time I was doing grant reviews for Community and Population Health for the MS Society of Canada. I got to have dinner with my NMO sister, Jenna, which was a bonus.

-I won a class with Vivienne McMaster on iPhoneography. I took this shot, which she like so much she used it to promote the class since.

-Inspired by that class, I dove back into photography. I took this shot shortly after and I love the odd perspective.

February:

-I won a class with Tara Leaver called Oracle Cards and made a deck of mindfulness cards from gelli prints I made.

-I won tickets to the premier of Race about Jesse Owens from the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

-I got new ink-my campersand tattoo which was an Xmas gift from my son. Every time I look down and see it, it makes me so happy.

-Husband and I enjoyed the warmer temps with a trip to Granville Island. (The tree was decked out for Chinese New Year.)

March:

-I flew to LA for 3 days for the NMO Patient Day. I had a great time connecting with my community. I also tried Uber for the first time.

-I screened for a clinical trial. After jumping through extensive hoops, I was excluded from the trial, which was very frustrating.

-For my birthday, I took an online class with Roxanne Coble called Creatures. Playing with paint is always so much fun.

-My husband and I celebrated with surf and turf at the Keg.

April:

-My friend Isabel treated me to an evening at the VSO featuring Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield. This goes down as one of the best musical experiences of my life. I am still listening to Holst's The Planets: Jupiter.

-We started taking Indy up to the lake-it was finally warm enough.

-We went to a belated birthday dinner for me at Storm Crow Alehouse. Love Han Solo in carbonite!!

-My Health Mentors students and I did the annual symposium.

May:

-I spoke at UBC at the Operation Med School about the work the MS Society of Canada does and about NMO. I did an interactive piece where students could experience some of the symptoms people living with MS and NMO deal with on a daily basis which was a huge hit.

-I also gave a short speech to Port Coquitlam City Council and accepted a proclamation from the Mayor on behalf of the MS Society. My husband came along and this was the first time he's heard me do public speaking. Afterwards, he said "I could never do that!" It gave him a quick glimpse into some of the advocacy work I do all year long.

-I started a lettuce and herb farm on my patio.

-I took this wheelchair photo on False Creek, which is one of my most favourites this year. I call it "Gone Paddling". It speaks to ability.

June & July:

(Lumped together, because by this point, I was very unwell.)

-Another most favourite photograph of Indy up at the lake. I love that it's partly out of frame and shows him wildly swinging his water Kong and his teeth. He is in utter bliss retrieving and swimming.

-Vivienne gave a talk on self-love at Creative Mornings Vancouver. Even though I was feeling terrible, I wanted to go to support her.

-I won a class with Bella Civoric, Holy Hush. This was the kit that went with the class.

-We made a few quick trips to the Farmer's Market to get fresh veggies. I always love supporting our local farmers.

August:

-After suffering with brutal tendinitis in my right arm for 8 months (at this point) the brilliant arm surgeon decided I just needed a custom moulded brace. *sigh* Here it is now the last days of December and I am still in pain. *SO* not helpful.

-Spending 14 weeks in bed over the late spring and entire summer had one bright spot-the Olympics & Paralympics were on. It cheered me greatly to watch our women's footie & rugby 7's win bronze medals and to watch WC Rugby.

-At the tail end of August, I started on Rituxan infusion to treat both my RA and NMO. Making the shift in treatment was weird.

-I actually managed to eek out a wee bit of art during this time, inspired by Mandy Stewart.

September & October:

-Husband and I went on a date to a new local bakery, Gabi & Jules who do amazing pies. They sell at our local Farmer's Market and just opened their brick and mortar store. It's great to have such a nice place to have tea and pie when the mood strikes.

-I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC for free and to take a tour that talked about activism and art through the Creative Mornings Vancouver Field Trip program. I have had a visit to MOA on my life list forever and this seemed like the perfect time to do it. I left feeling super inspired by everything I saw. It's the kind of place you can return to again and again and see something new or see something in a different light each and every time.

-Autumn weather finally arrived and with it, cooler temps, which I was grateful for.

-We celebrated my husband's 60th birthday, which given the last few years of very serious health issues, is a milestone that at times I didn't think we'd see. A week later, we celebrated our 26th anniversary.

November:

-I started off the month with a few days in Seattle with my best friend, who was having cornea transplant surgery. It was interesting to see how the US health care system works. One tiny bottle of eye drops cost over $200 down there. It would have been $35 at home. *boggles*

-I volunteered at the Women Against MS (WAMS) annual luncheon and got to meet Canadian soccer two time Olympic bronze medallist, Christine Sinclair. I am a huge fan of women's footie! Loved crossing that off my life list!

-The MS Ambassadors had their annual forum at UBC. It was a great day connecting with fellow ambassadors, learning about the changes being made to how the MS Society operates and to hear about some current research being done.

-UBC NMO Patient Day was also held in November.

December:

-The first week of December I flew back to Toronto because I was invited to attend both HEARMS Day and the ENDMS conference. It was an incredible opportunity to connect and learn with researchers from across Canada and from around the world. It goes down as one of the best experiences of my life. I will be writing more about it in the new year. 

-I finally got a chance to meet my fellow SomeoneLikeMe.ca blogger, Juan Garrido. We've been writing for the blog for together for over 4 years, so it was really wonderful to finally spend some time with him. 

-I also reconnected with Dr. Sam Davis, who is a professor of neurology and neurosurgery, as well as a researcher at McGill University. Sam was the Chair of the first grants review committee I served on (Personnel) and is such a kind and lovely man. We caught up over breakfast. 

-I also got to catch up with the fabulous Dr. Karen Lee, Vice President of Research for the MS Society of Canada. She's expecting her first baby in the spring and I'm so excited for her!!

The rest of my December was snow, (which is unusual for Vancouver and the surrounds. It started the day I left for Toronto and pretty much has continued ever since. We are more than ready for it to be gone.) baking & celebrating. 

New Year's Eve will mark 27 years since our first date. (A hockey game-what else? We are after all, Canadian.) It seems crazy to think it's been that many years.

 All in all, it's been a challenging and very full year.

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to 2017 being kinder, gentler.

Long Time, No Post!

It's been ages since I've update and you're probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth. Almost. I am hanging on by a thread. I became quite ill just over 9 weeks ago and have been either in bed or off having specialist's appointments, MRIs and blood tests ever since. This week alone I had 6 appointments in 3 days. It's still up in the air what exactly is wrong and how it's going to be treated and no one is more anxious to get this figured out than me, so I can recover and get my life back. This is the worst attack I've ever had, whatever it is and it's been brutal.

 As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans."

Let's talk about other things, shall we?

Okay so here are the things that are rocking my world right now:

Listening To:

Spotify! First of all, why didn't anyone tell me about this!?! You guys have been holding out on me! I am late to the party, but I am loving it. It replaces what was Pandora for Canadians. (I had Pandora years ago till some bright light decided to block it in Canada. We still don't have access.)

My go-to play lists include the wonderful Mandolin Orange. Worth checking out if you enjoy mandolins and folk music. (I love both.)

Little Words

 Rounder

Jump Mountain Blues

 Of Which There Is No Like

Wake Me

 Clover Tune

Haste Make

 Bird of a Feather

Daylight

Little Worlds

I will be adding more of their music when I get a spare minute because honestly, it's all wonderful. Great tunes to make art to. I listen on an endless loop and never get tired of it.

I also love acoustic guitar and there just happens to be a play list called "Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals" that I've subscribed to. That one is also really good for getting into my creative groove. When my husband heard one of my other play lists that I compiled myself he said "You were meant to be born in the 60's." I laughed. He's right. 60's & 70's music is what I tend to listen to the most. Probably not too surprising, since I was named for a Donovan song.

Artsy Inspiration:

I've known about Brian Andreas' art for some time now, but lately, I've rediscovered it through Instagram. He's been posting such beautiful, uplifting work in the face of all the ugliness that's we've been bombarded with as the world seemingly goes off the rails. If you need a break from all that, I recommend following his feed.  (@brainandreas) It will make you feel better. We need more people like Brain in the world. Love needs to be louder. Let's get LOUDER people!!

Brian posted about this project he's started where you order a print of Help Wanted and he will also send you small packet of 3x3 mini prints to give away, as a way to put some love and inspiration out into the world. When I saw the print, it spoke to me so strongly. It was the perfect way to commemorate my 40th year of volunteering. I totally understand what this magic is he's talking about-when you open up your heart and say "YES!" to the ways in which you can serve, the universe will keep presenting you with amazing opportunities. It's the law of attraction. I have experienced this over and over throughout my life. Volunteering has both enriched and informed my life in countless ways.

Yesterday, I covertly gifted my first mini print to one of my specialists who has been working really hard to advocate for me. I put it on her desk and then just tucked it under a bit of her paperwork so she wouldn't find it till after I was gone. I want to leave one for her receptionist who has been very kind to me too, but I didn't get the chance to leave it secretly yet. Next time, hopefully!

I need to see if I can get my hands on some of Brian's books. I'll have to see if our library system has any of them.

Dawn DeVries Sokol has a new instructor video out via Creativebug. I watched it the other day and I just loved how she not only talked about, but showed all the colours, shapes and textures she encounters in her every day life that inspires what she creates as an artist. The video is so infused with colour and I thought it was a really smart way to share what she does.

Later that day, I had time between appointments, so I popped into the big book store downtown and came across three of Dawn's books on the shelves. I always like to try and get photos of friend's books in the wild. I know if I had a book out there in the world, (someday!) I'd love to see it on shelves in cities far away. I also "face" the books, if they are spine out on the shelf so others will notice them. (Shh! Don't tell! I volunteered in the library growing up, so old habits die hard.) It was nice seeing they had a copy of Artists' Journal Pages, which I have work published in.

I had a $20 gift card which was was a thank you gift for consulting on a study UBC is doing about patients who have participated in the medical grant review process. I didn't expect a thank you, so it was a very nice surprise. After seeing Dawn's video, I was inspired, I treated myself to Year of the Doodle. It's got a sort of zine-like vibe and I think it would be a good thing to keep in my bag to help pass the time when I am sitting in the waiting room for medical appointments. All I need is a pen of some sort and I'm good to go. I'm just going to jump in at this point in the year and carry on. It cost me a whopping 94c after the gift card. That's a deal any way you slice it!

Watching:

Since I have been stuck in bed for weeks, I've watched a lot of good stuff on my iPad. The list is long...here goes:

Game of Thrones-The last two episodes were jaw dropping. It was more like watching a movie than a tv show and it deserves all kinds of awards. It was absolutely epic. The music, the story lines, the multiple moments of shock. WOW! Tyrion made me cry. He is my absolute favourite because he just tries so hard and there is always that sense of him feeling "less than". The vulnerability of that character played so beautifully by Peter Dinklage tears at my heart. If George R.R. Martin ever kills him off, I'm DONE.

Orange is the New Black-I watched the newest season, but somehow I can't remember parts of the previous season, so I need to go back and review. A few of the story lines had me confused about what came before. The snoring girl cracked me up and all the references to current TV programs were killing me. They made a comment about Monopoly that had me in stitches.

Wentworth-It's like an Aussie version of OITNB, but not funny-it's very dark in the most delicious way. That's all I'm going to say about it. Watch and see.

Wayward Pines-This is a post-apocolyptic series that is filmed right here in Coquitlam and also out in the Fraser Valley. One of the places they film at, Riverview Hospital is a place I drive by regularly. It's a decommissioned mental hospital, which is used in all kinds of TV and movie filming.The driver of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary medal bearer van, (whose blog I started following back then and then eventually met) is a driver (teamster) on Wayward Pines. He's been blogging about the series here. (There's a bunch of posts.) The premise of this show is interesting, especially in season one where they have you wondering what's really going on. M. Knight Shyamalan is the producer.

Alone: Seasons 1&2 were filmed on the northwest end of Vancouver Island. The premise is they drop 10 people off, each on an isolated beach with film equipment and they have to survive and film at the same time. There are bears, cougars and wolves. There is also weather. Weather is always a factor in Canadal The last one wins half a million dollars. Season 1 was hilarious-the whole time people are complaining about the rain. People! You are in a temperate rain forest in the late fall. Of course it rains. I guess no one told them. They really should have named it "BC Weather Kicks Butt"! 

The Last Alaskans-This is filmed up in the northeastern corner of Alaska on a wildlife reserve where there are only a handfull of families whose cabins have been grandfathered in until the current owners last child dies. The people are really interesting.

Port Protection-Another Alaska series about a remote port where the community members rely on one another. 

Bering Sea Gold-Mostly guys and one woman prospecting for gold on the sea out of Nome, Alaska. I watch to see how someone is almost going to kill themselves every episode. It's pretty silly.

Life Below Zero-Yet another Alaskan series set in Northern Alaska. (Are you sensing a theme here?) Everyone lives off the grid and subsistence hunts. There is an Inuit family on the show and I enjoy seeing how they are passing down their traditions to their children. The girls are all learning how to hunt and trap. It's really cool that this young girls will have survival skills most of us will never have. 

The Amazing Race Canada-Because I love TAR and the Canadian version is just as good. Plus it's hosted by Jon Montgomery, 2010 Olympic Gold medallist in Skeleton and a fellow Manitoban.

Master Chef (US version)-Because Gordon Ramsey amuses me and I've watched every season since it started. I am glad the grumpy chef isn't on there anymore. 

 I haven't watched too many movies in the last while-I just don't have the energy to stay awake for them at the moment, but I did see Concussion which was unbelievably good. I will never watch football or any contact sport the same way again. It explains a lot about how much brain damage athletes are suffering and many of them don't even know it. It sure opened my eyes. Well worth watching. (I rented it via iTunes.) I have rent The Witch and I need to watch that one in the next couple of days. A couple friends have seen it and enjoyed it. I love creepy movies!

Tomorrow my best friend and I are going to see a new Viggo Mortenson movie, Captain Fantastic. It will be good to get out for a bit for sanity's sake, hang out with my bestie and of course eat popcorn! It looks like a really great movie. 

Reading:

Reading has been tough. I am having both blurry and double vision from side effects of the medications I am on, so most of the time, it's pretty impossible. I have small windows of time where I can manage. Right now in the queue on my bedside table are Robert Dugoni's In the Clearing and Linda Castillio's Among the Wicked. I am hoping to be able to make my way through both of them before they are due back at the library. The last pile I had, I had to return unread. I've put them back on my Goodreads "want to read" list so I don't forget about them. 

A number of people have suggested audio books, which I am authorized for at my local library, but to me, reading is an active, not a passive thing. My brain likes to read, not to be read to. I did try it out the last time this happened and I find sometimes the person narrating can be really annoying, which is distracting. In a perfect world, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, John Corbett, Jeffery Dean Morgan would narrate books for me. (Harrison Ford would always be my first choice!)

Okay, I think that's it for now. I have art to share-yes, I've actually been working on some art when I've felt up to it and doing some photography in my travels.
I'll save that for my next post. 

A Major Milestone

I had planned to write a post about National Volunteer Week on Monday, but ironically, I was busy volunteering that day. Really! I spent the day out at UBC having my 6th blood draw for the CIRCLES study for NMO and having a brain MRI for a study on NMO and cognition. I do these things because they are important and relatively easy ways that I can help researchers and clinicians learn more about NMO and hopefully find a cure for this devastating disease.

I wanted to post about National Volunteer Week because this year marks an important milestone in my life:

I have officially been volunteering for 40 years! 

Yes, you read that right. When I was just 5 years old, I began volunteering by visit a fragile senior in my neighbourhood. She was living with angina which had made her both house bound and bedridden. She and her husband were lovely people. I visited her a couple times a week for 10 years until I moved to the west coast. We bonded over our love of art, (she was a gifted artist) writing, reading and poetry. She introduced me to The Group of Seven and thanks to her, I fell in love with the work of Emily Carr. I learned at a very young age that I was happiest and my best self when I was helping others and so my life evolved into one of continual service. When you find what makes you happiest, you want to keep on doing it.

My volunteer resume is extensive and diverse. I have given of my time to all kinds of causes and events that I felt passionate about. Through all my varied experiences, I have developed skills I wouldn't otherwise have and learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of, often surprising myself. For example, who knew I could effectively manage a fleet of 30 vehicles and drivers for VIP transportation for major sporting events? I didn't! I walked in the door, sat down and BOOM! I was in charge. I just did it and because I am really good at multitasking and organising, things ran smoothly. I walked away from that experience pretty proud of myself and then went on to run dispatch for three more events. I loved the challenge.

Over the years, volunteering has given me the opportunity to interact with a huge cross section of society. I've worked with children, seniors, people with physical and developmental disabilities, people in crisis, future health care providers, various boards and advisory committees, city council, politicians, tourists, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, professional sports figures, festival and events committees, medical researchers and clinicians, radio and television hosts and so on. I have learned something from every single person I have crossed paths with in the last 40 years. I've made some of my closest friends through volunteering. My best friend Lisa and I met through the crisis line. When we first met, we took an instant dislike to one another, which, in her words meant "We were destined to become friends." We were both elected as Volunteer Representatives and as we worked together, we got to know and respect one another. We've been best friends ever since.

I have always believed that volunteering is the rent we pay as citizens of this planet. The beautiful thing about giving is that the more you give, the more you get to keep for yourself-my life has been blessed and informed in countless ways through service. Rick Hansen gave some great advice about volunteering. I am paraphrasing, but essentially he said we should find the thing we are passionate about and then do it with all our might. I couldn't agree more! Choose opportunities to do the things you love, because then you will be giving from a place of happiness and joy. I promise you, it will change your life. 

Things I Am Diggin'

Gratuitous photo of a palm tree from my trip to LA. 

I am kinda diggin' shooting trees on this funky angle.

Other things I am diggin':

-I'm signing up this morning to take Roxanne's class as a birthday gift to me. If you're not familiar with her work, you seriously need to check it out. It reminds me of NYC graffiti, which is probably why I like it so much. I am intrigued by her use of black and I'm looking forward to adding to my mixed media layer-making knowledge. Playing with paint makes me happy. Signup begins at 8 am PST. Can't wait!

-Tim Horton's frozen lemonade. It's the perfect blend of cold and tart.

-Starbuck's almond croissants. YUM! They did away with the almond tart, which was my favourite, so this is the next best thing.

-My new Onyx stainless steel bento box from Delish General Store. The container actually holds (for me) enough food for both a lunch and a snack. I love how compact it is and it's a great way to practise self-care on days when I am having to spend a lot of time at the hospital. It saves me sugar crashing and getting a whopper of a headache.

-The new Atom Egoyan movie, Remember starring the brilliant Christoper Plummer. So, so good. (You can rent it for $5 via iTunes.)

-This song, Say Something by Great Big World & Christina Aguilera.

-Jonathan Kellerman's latest novel, Breakdown, which I just finished. He's far and away my favourite writer. I started reading his Alex Delaware series back in 1997. It's a crime serial and if you've never read any of his books, I recommend starting from the beginning- there are 31 books in the series and they are *so* worth it!

-Star magnolias! They are blooming here in now and they are my favourite thing about spring in western Canada...well that and all the cherry trees that are also blossoming. Vancouver is so pretty in the spring.