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.

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!

The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Quilt Project

Hello again! I am back. I've taken a good chunk of 2017 off due to illness and most recently the loss of someone very dear to me. Today seemed like a good day to jump back in and share a new project with you.

Back in late May/early June, Tal Fitzpatrick & Stephanie Dunlap put a call out for an international collaborative craftivism project aimed at highlighting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and bringing awareness to the ways in which it is being violated around the world today.

I knew immediately I wanted to participate in this endeavour. It's not the first time I have taken up needle and thread and created something to share with the world like this. 15 years ago, I participated in the United in Memory Quilt Project to memorialise those lost on 9/11 and it changed my life.

It took me about 3 weeks to complete my block for the UDHR project. I knew it would be challenging stitching with hands I can't feel (imagine stitching with a pair of oven mitts on and you'll have some idea what it's like) but I didn't realise the impact my vision would also have. Let's just say this piece is likely my last stitchery project and given the level of difficulty, a true labour of love.

I chose to work on Article 25. This is how it reads:

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themself and of their family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

*Note: On my block, part 2 of the article is in French to reflect Canada's two official languages. The text reads as follows: "La maternité et l'enfance ont droit à une aide et à une assistance spéciales. Tous les enfants, qu'ils soient nés dans le mariage ou hors mariage, jouissent de la même protection sociale."

This is the story behind my block, which will help you to understand why I chose Article 25 and the inspiration behind the design.

"Like all Canadians, with the exception of the First Nations People of our country, I am descended from immigrants. My people came to this country I imagine, for a better life for themselves and their children. As I read the words of Article 25, I couldn’t help but think of my great grandfather, Einar Nowell and his life-long struggle with his health, which in turn led to struggling to support his family.

Grandpa Nowell was a baker by trade. He worked for the Pauline Chambers Company, one of Winnipeg’s largest suppliers of baked goods. Unfortunately, over time, he developed a severe allergy to wheat. The more he worked, the sicker he became until he had to stop working. This left him with no means to support his wife and 6 children, save for going on what was then referred to as “relief”, which is now known as public assistance or welfare. After being away from the allergy inducing environment of the bakery for a few months, he would start to recover. Once he was well enough, he would return to work until he became too ill from his allergy to continue and the cycle would start all over again.

My grandmother, who was the eldest child told me stories about how desperately poor her family was. A small can of Libby’s spaghetti was expected to feed her entire family of 8. When she was in school, her lunch consisted of a lard sandwich-which is exactly what it sounds like-two pieces of bread with lard slathered on it. Once I asked her what presents she got for Xmas growing up. The only gift she ever remembers getting was a pencil and a hanky.

Eventually it became impossible for Grandpa Nowell to continue on at the bakery. Around this time, the government was giving farm land to people who were on relief, with the idea that they could work the land and provide for their families. Grandpa Nowell moved the family to Anola, Manitoba, 24 km east of Winnipeg. He worked the farm for years. When my grandmother was 17, she moved to Winnipeg for a job at the grain exchange and sent most of money she earned home to her parents help support the family.

On the morning of Feb 15, 1971, Grandpa Nowell told Granny that he had a feeling that the kids were going to come home that day, so he was going to go plow the drive to clear the snow. About an hour after he’d gone out, Granny looked out the window and saw him leaning over on the tractor. She went to see what was wrong and discovered he’d died of a heart attack. His premonition turned out to be correct; his children did come home that day. He left this world 5 weeks before I came into it, missing the birth of his first great grandchild whom he was so excited to meet. I am named in memory of him.

The artwork on my block is in honour of Great Grandpa Nowell. The photograph is of him and my Great Granny and four of their six children.( My Grandmother, Verna is the tallest one in the middle of the back row.) The button is for my Great Granny, who was a seamstress and the piece of measuring tape is from the 1940’s and belonged to my Grandmother Verna. The scrap of paper underneath the photo reads in part “removes of ill-health”, which I thought was fitting. The house is made from a scrap of cardboard, to represent poverty.

In many countries around the world, there is absolutely NO social safety net and for those that do have one, it’s often woefully inadequate. The simple truth is that poverty kills and no country is immune."

***

There are going to be 4 quilts, each containing all 30 of the Articles. Each block has been designed and created by one of 120+ artists from over 23 countries around the globe who have a story to tell. This is mine.

It's been very comforting, especially given the current political climate to know that there are so many artists who care about what's happening in the world and are doing what they do best to help raise awareness and bring healing. I am especially touched by my fellow artists who live with chronic illness and disability who are participating. There is strength in numbers and I feel the love and solidarity in everyone's work. I know the completed quilts will be incredible.

To learn more about the UDHR Quilt Project, please visit Tal Fitzpartick's website here. You can see many of the blocks in progress and also those that have been completed on Instagram by searching #UDHRquiltproject & #UDHRquilt 

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. 

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.

Tending My Life

The View From Here

Hello!  I realise it's been awhile since I last posted. This has been the longest hiatus I've ever taken from my personal blog since it's inception 11 1/2 years ago. By way of explanation, I've been busy tending my life. Sometimes you just have to step away from the computer. It wasn't planned-it just sort of happened and obviously, I needed a break.

The Clinical & Population Health Committee 2016

So what have I been up to? Well three weeks ago, I flew out to Toronto to do medical grant reviews for the MS Society of Canada. I was assigned to the Clinical and Population Health committee. You can read more about that here and here. The work, as always was deeply satisfying and I am a bit sad to have it come to an end. (Community Reps can only serve for a maximum of 2 terms.) I learned so much about MS research and the grant review process. It was a gift to have the opportunity to serve in this way and I am grateful.

Selfie!

It was -14C (not taking into account the wind chill factor) the whole time I was there, so it was pretty freakin' cold. That didn't stop me from wandering the city in search of graffiti on my last morning there though. I had a great time just wandering the streets on my own and photographing as I went. It's one of my most favourite things to do in any city. I was thrilled to discover the TORONTO sign from the 2015 PanAm and ParaPanAm Games was just a block from my hotel. Of course I had to go do a selfie there!

Vivienne posing so we can practice shooting people.

Since I've been home from Toronto, I took a class (Which I won! YAY!) with Vivienne McMaster at Camp Tech on taking better photos using your iPhone. It was a great class-I met some really nice people and I felt like I instantly improved my skills.

Here are a couple shots I was especially happy with:

I also won a spot in an online class with Tara Leaver called Practical Intuition: Make Your Own Oracle Cards. 

This is the deck I have been working on so far. I made cards from my Gelli prints. I cut 48 cards so far, no two alike. Now I just have to decide my next move. It's been interesting seeing everyone's decks as they progress.

Aside from all that, I have been busy with the Health Mentors program. I am in the middle of my 4th cohort now. I am also getting ready to head to LA for NMO Patient Day in early March. I look forward to hearing what's new in the world of NMO research and connecting with my fellow NMO peeps. 

So...I think that about catches things up for now!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Happy Autumn everyone!! My most beloved season is finally here!! YAY!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous-cooler, but beautifully sunny. It makes me so happy to watch the turning of the leaves and the changing of the light.

It's been a busy time in the last week or so. I met with my new cohort, my 4th for the UBC Interprofessional Health Mentors Program on Monday night. This time my students are from medicine, nursing, OT and kinesiology. They are a lovely group of young women and I am excited to be working with them. My 3rd cohort has two more session and then they are done. Hard to believe we're at that point already!

We have been sticking pretty close to home as my husband is still recovering but we've managed to take Indy for a dip in the lake from time to time. He is never so happy as when he is swimming and retrieving. Now that the summer drought is over and we've had a decent amount of rain, the lake has been fairly high which makes for better swimming for him.

Thanksgiving is next weekend. I am going to be baking pies this weekend in preparation. Turkey is my favourite meal, so I am looking forward to it. Our best friends and our son will be joining us. This year has been really rough, but we still have plenty to be thankful for-we are all still alive and together and before the month is up, we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. That's a pretty big deal. 

In case you missed it, there are zines available in my Etsy store-issues #3 & #4 of Manual Dexterity. Issue #3 is Hallowe'en/Autumn themed and includes my secret recipe for THE BEST pumpkin pie! You can find them here.

Happy Fall Y'all!