Is This Right?

Last night my saintly husband was surfing the net and he came across an article stating that the three major oil companies, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. had recently revealed their 1st quarter earnings for 2006. Combined, these three conglomerates have earned $15.7 billion, not bad considering the "shortage" we are facing. Isn't that the excuse they are using for the skyrocketing prices?

Supposedly, they are using these earnings to invest in projects that will increase supplies and lower prices. Riiiight..... and somewhere in Iraq are those weapons of mass destruction!! There is definitely something wrong with this picture, what do you think??

Meet Sally

As sad as this plant may look, we have been cultivating her in the same pot since we bought her as a "baby" in November and she still continues to provide us with tomatoes.

Meet Sally our trusty little tomato plant with great determination. Here, in Desert Hot Springs the weather now is hot, hot, hot and dry, dry, dry. Over the winter months the daily temperatures here hovered from the mid-60'sF to the low-80'sF during the day but often dipped to near freezing overnight. We never covered Sally, just watered her daily and she starting providing us with fruit in December. Now with spring well under way and the overnight lows and daytime highs warming, Sally continues to blossom. As lifeless as she may appear there is even evidence of new growth. Today we harvested three more ripe tomatoes and there are several more in the works.

She is certainly a fiesty little plant and was well worth the initial $10 investment. You go girl!

Sharing My Bed With A Cat

Well, last night I graduated to a real bed again at last and was it ever nice! For those of you following this Blog you'll know after recent abdominal surgery, I've been sleeping on 2/3 of the couch. Yesterday after having a post-op exam and some sutures removed I was given the greenlight to sleep stretched out again and I must say, it was nice. To be able to move around with complete freedom was such a nice change for all of us; me, my saintly husband and my cat. Seems no matter where I sleep, she is glued to my side and sharing a kingsize bed with her is nicer than sharing 2/3 of a couch.Even when I am napping she finds a way to cuddle into me. Unbeknownst to me Rick apparently took this photo of us a couple of days ago.

Save Darfur

Yesterday on our website I wrote about some atrocities that have been going on the other side of the globe. I wasn't specific about any one particular situation as there are several "hotspots". Today, here, I will address the genocide that has been currently occuring (since 2003) in a little-known region of Sudan, Darfur, where the government is doing little-to-nothing to stop the fighting, starvation and mass murders of innocent people. It seems rape is one of the most commonly used attacks on women and children when they are caught outside of their villages or camps risking their safety to gather food, wood and water to help their families survive. To further demoralize them, their injuries are often unreported because in their society they are often ostracized and banned from their community. Their options are either to risk their safety in order to feed their families, die of starvation and/or disease caused from malnourishment or die at the hands of rebels. Imagine how horrific these peoples lives are just for one minute. We can do something. Please go to the website above and do your part. This is one of many tragedies facing our world today and by being informed here or on our website you can no longer pretend you didn't know and do nothing. I urge you to be part of the solution... donate, educate others, lobby your govermment, whatever you can. Please help.

Vanity

Several months ago, I broke down and purchased the real proof of the fact that I am aging....a lighted magnifying mirror. I have blonde eyelashes and consequently, without mascara my eyes (which I think are my best feature) are not as noticable. This marvelous device (the mirror) allows me to actually see my eyelashes so that when I apply the mascara it actually gets on them instead of all the skin around them.

In my youth I could see my eyes easily (even without my glasses which I have worn since I was 13), but now thanks to the endless ticking of the proverbial clock, I need a magnifying mirror to complete this task. The negative thing about the mirror though, is that I can also see all the other features of my face up close up and personal too. Things like creases, wrinkles, lines, scars and other less than attractive features and proof of my aging process.

SO, because of my vanity, I've learned to use this fabulous(?) device very selectively...I only look at my eyelashes close up and for any other purposes, I use a regular mirror to see the rest of my face! That's pretty bad,huh?

The Life of a Fairy Tale

Well after ripping open my side stretching out on a bed, I am relegated back to my litte space on the couch, fetal position and all.

I've decided that it is my yucky wound that makes me feel so bad, just the sight of it weakens me and I wish it was out of my reach and vision so some other adult could be forced to attend to it. My saintly husband does help redress the damned thing but I still have to look at it to help him. Of course when I make the wrong move, even covered in a bandage, it nicely reminds me of it's existence and I get queesy and weak-kneed. It's a darned good thing I didn't decide to enter the medical field. Gosh I would have spent more time passed out on the floor than working on it.

Funny how as a young mother, I could change a crappy diaper without so much as a blink and kissing a scraped knee, or attending to a cut head was never a problem but as an adult attending to my own injury I am reduced to a pile of mush!!!! What the hell is wrong with me? It's my own body for gawds sake not some strangers!!! I've decided to ask my doctor to put me into a coma for a week or two until I'm all healed up and then I won't have to deal with it all. I'll just pretend I'm a sleeping beauty...........

Oprah, You Are Wrong

I watch Oprah and she says there is no such thing as luck. Here I am at 51 and I am officially "orphaned". For the very first time in my existence I no longer have a parent to phone, to be mad at or to love with all my heart. It has left me feeling very emotional and somewhat lost but am I so incredibly lucky.

I HAD two great parents for over 45 years who loved me very much. I HAVE the most amazing sister in the world who would do anything for me and likewise I would for her. And we love each other intensely. I have three marvelous children who love me deeply and I, them. My husband is a saint on earth. I am a Granni to one special little boy and his soon-to-be sibling.

I am lucky Oprah because there are millions of people who have never known their parents, have no siblings to share with, no children to love and no mate at all. Now my Mom and Dad are together again like they were for 58 years. This is how they looked when they were together here on earth and how I will always remember them.

There is definitely such a thing as luck, Oprah and you are absolutely wrong because I am living proof of it.

Emotions

My mother and I had a different mother/daughter relationship, sometimes as close as could be but more often at odds with each other. The past few months we mended our fences and became friends after 50 years of an on again, off again relationship.

As a young adult, once I moved away from home, every Sunday either I would call my parents or they would call me, just to check-in, to say hi and let each other know we were okay, no matter at what stage Mom and I were at in our relationship at the time.

When Dad got sick, we moved my folks into a little "granny flat" beside our house so I could look after him. Mom was pretty frail then and Dad was actually her primary care giver. I no longer needed to call them on Sundays because I saw them everyday.

After Dad died and Mom moved into the retirement home, I would still call her even once we were on the road. However, for the past eight months, Mom's hearing had deteriorated so much I could no longer call. She couldn't hear me. Today I realize just how much I miss that. It's crazy because I haven't been able to talk to her on the phone for months but just now I realize how much I wish I could....just one more time. Ow....I hurt.

Goodbye

My mother died today at the age of 82 and for that I am happy. Mom's spirit died almost 5 years ago when her beloved husband of 58 years, my Dad, succumbed to a massive stroke. Ever since his death Mom's spirit has been gone, she sent it with him and she missed him with every part of her being. He was her rock, her knight in shining armour and the love of her life. As much as she loved us, Christine, my sister, and me and our offspring, no one could replace Dad.
I am happy that she is finally at peace, she is painfree and she is back in the arms of the man she adored. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping Christine and I to become the people we are. You were the best and we love you both with all our hearts. We are happy you are one, together again and may you find the peace you were looking for here. You deserve it!

Get Over It

Okay, my pity party is officially over. How do I have the nerve to complain about a little discomfort? I look around me in this world and quickly realize that I am one of the luckiest folks on earth. I have my vision, my hearing, my senses; I have five heathy children, one wonderful grandson with another baby on it's way in July. I have a roof over my head, a warm bed to sleep in, an abundance of food at my convenience and a wonderful loving husband. What right do I have to feel sorry for myself even for a minute? What an overgrown baby am I!! If you ever catch me whining about a little pain again, I expect a proper scolding. The Big Guy in the Sky is doing a mighty fine job of looking after me and I owe nothing but a big fat apolgy for not realizing how lucky I truly am!!

Pity Party

Waa, waa, poor me. I am feeling very sorry for me right now. I can't have a proper shower, therefore can't wash my hair properly, something I NEED to do daily, My hubby does his very best with me hunched over the sink but afterwards I am exhausted.I can't stand up straight, I feel like the hunchback of Notre Dame and I get so tired if I try walking in my lovely hunched over stance for only 50 feet. TV watching requires too much concentration and besides the weather outside is beautiful, no one should be in if they don't have to be.

Waaa, poor me!

What a Good Night's Sleep Can Accomplish

Okay, last night I discovered some pain medication that does work and between it and the two sleeping pills, I slept like a baby, fetal position and all. The one and only pain drug I have ever taken with any modicum of success is Demerol, pretty potent stuff to the average joe. Of course I'm not average and it can sometimes have it's nasty little side-effect....barfing.

Well last night I took one gravol about a half hour before bed. Then I took 2-50mg. tablets of demerol and my 2 Flurazepam for sleeping and before Rick could clear the room, I was snoring like a chainsaw.

Stayed that way all night, waking up only once to pee, no barfing at all and other than the yucky drug taste in my mouth, I am feeling well rested for the first time in over a week. Life truly is grand today!

Like a Friggin' Fetus

I recently underwent not one, but two emergency abdominal surgeries, hence I have to remain in a crouched position or huddle in a chair for the next 10 days to two weeks in order for the mass of stitches to remain intact. No staples for this kid, I'm highly allergic to stainless steel.

At night we have devised a bed of sorts which relegates me into a friggin' fetal position for sleeping. I'd do better if I slept in a kitty litter box!!!

I am cranky, in pain and allergic to almost every beneficial drug on the market. Give me ACID, magic mushrooms , hashish or pot and I can get high endlessly but something useful like codeine, vicodin or penicillin and I puff up like the flippin Goodyear Blimp.
Oh yeh, life is grand!!!

Pinch Me

Okay.... I love certain professional people that I have become a good client of. I mean I genuinely love these people. My lawyer, Milton, is one of my dearest , most beloved advisors that I have ever met and even though I pay him with bonafide cash for his services, I adore him and I know it is a mutual admiration.

I love my accountant Ian Vasey. He has been my accountant since I first opened my very first business well over 20 years ago and we are like siblings. He knows my business inside and out and I trust him implicitly.

I love my dentist and even though I used to be a dental assisstant in a previous life, I hate all dentists....except Omar, my dentist.

I love Terry, my financial advisor, my dearest friend and the brother I never had. He is my life saver, my confident and one of the kindest people I am lucky to know.

Recently I have undergone some serious surgery and now I am seeing a plastic surgeon to fix the mess and I love my new surgeon. He is caring, to the point that he even makes house calls...two so far and I adore him.

Here I am again surrounded by wonderful people who just happen to be professionals who care about me, my life and my health. If I was any luckier I would be an angel!! Life is grand isn't it?

Easter Sunday

It's Easter Sunday Morning, the day that Christ was to have risen from the dead and in his name humanity has been reduced to barbarianism. How sad indeed.

What should have been a wake-up call to the world instead became an excuse to point fingers and lay blame. So sad, how wasteful. What a world we could be living in, a paradise where we can all get along as neighbours aware that we truly are connected, instead we allow overinflated egos to dictate their beliefs, their misguided interpretations of what they believe the world should be.

Sorry for my cynicism folks. I find myself in a world filled with pompous, hypicritical bible thumpers who know nothing of Gods word and it truly saddens me? Just what will it take to wake us all up?

Thanks To All The Men Who I Carry In My Heart

This weekend I want to acnowledge some men in my life who have affected me profoundly.

They have been my idols, my role models, my teachers and my friends and I am so very lucky to have had them in my life. With the exception of the first three, they come in no particular order but I love them all very dearly and it is through them that I am me.(The special women will have to wait for another occasion.)

First I was graced to have the most loving, kindest father, Richard Walton Ainsley, whom I adored with all my heart . His passing on May 18th, 2001 is still too raw to me that I still tear up on many occasions; a song on the radio, a plane flying overhead, a car driving. Second was my Granddad Albert Wadey, the gentlest, sweetest most proper gentleman that has ever graced this earth. Third is my sweet sweet husband Rick who is my earth angel.

Now the rest come in no particular order; they all share the same place - Jim Seabrook, Rick's predecessor, the late father of my three wonderful children, Jay Seabrook, my eldest son. Jamie Seabrook, my youngest son, Bill Hollingshead, my step son, (I use the term step loosely, he feels like my birth son) and last but far from least one of my very best friends Terry Windrem from Peterborough. My brother-in-law Fred Shaw and his son, my nephew, Mark Shaw are pretty high up there too.

Thank you all for touching my life in ways you will never know and I am honoured to be a part of your lives, too. I love you with all my heart and soul and cannot imagine my life without you. Have a Happy Easter!

Are They Even Related?

What do you do when your fingers and your brain become foreigners to each other and no longer communicate well together?

For the past several days my limbs feel like they have become detached and whatever thoughts cross my brain do not make their way to the paper I am writing on. Needless to say a five nimute blurb is taking ten minutes to write and twenty minutes to edit before it is worthy for print. Perhaps this Good Friday, my brain and my appendages are taking a holiday, and rightfully so! My Apologies if this makes little sense.

Have a good one folks.

Preparations

In a couple of weeks we will be on the road again, heading north like the rest of the winter snowbirds. We have enjoyed our time here in Desert Hot Springs; we have made several new friends and we have discovered some areas that we feel at home in. It has been a great winter, weatherwise as well, but like all deserts, it is starting to warm up telling us it is time to leave.

We'll miss the pool, the people and the beauty of Coachella Valley, but we will return in the fall. For the next few weeks we will prepare the motorhome, trailer, car and motorcycle for the trek, say our goodbyes and organize the stops along the way. Most importantly, we will relax and enjoy the peacefulness and what time we have left!

I Love Our Cat

Could I love our little Devon Rex cat anymore than I do?

The older she gets, the more affectionate she becomes, as if she is surrendering her independence. We went to Mexico for a week in February and a friend of ours here at Catalina Spa RV Park, cat-sat. Well she came in daily to visit Sam, clean her litter box and freshen her food and water. Ever since our return Sam wants us around her all the time and whenever we go out she is waiting at the door for our return. In the evening, she stays in the living room with us until we go to bed, a new behaviour for her. (She's always slept on my pillow in the bedroom in the past.)

At night she curls up beside me on the bed where she remains until dawn and then she goes out to the livingroom to watch the birds out the window.

Right now she is sitting beside me on the couch while I write and the only reason she is there is because I have a computer on my lap, where she would rather be.

Being Weak

I hate buffets. It's mainly because I have absolutely no willpower and I, like thousands of other North Americans, overeat when I go to one. For some reason we think we have to eat as much as we can to get "our money's worth", even if the cost of the buffet was really inexpensive to begin with.

Everytime I indulge at a buffet, I tell myself I will be sensible and not eat the crap, the unhealthy choices, but somehow I find a way to justify it and do anyway. My biggest weakness though is the dessert section but luckily lately, even though my head knows no better, my body is smarter. After I overeat, my trusty body rapidly rejects most of what I eat and the only after effects are feelings of discomfort.

Every time I go to a buffet, I tell myself that it is the last time I will ever go, but I know I am lying. I can only hope I am tempted no more. Wish me luck!

Trader Joes

I am not a shopper. Well, I should qualify that statement with I am not a typical female shopper. Sure I like looking at clothes and I have a deep affection for shoes but those aren't the things that get my adreniline pumping. I love grocery shopping.

Yes, that's right and particularly in cool stores. For instance, here in the Palm Springs area, I love Clarks, a local health food/grocery store where I can find anything from soup to nuts. My favourite store by far though, is Trader Joes, an American food store chain scattered across the nation. I love their house brand juices, cereals, breads and dried fruits and nuts. They have a great selection of wines to choose from which would serve me well, if I drank. Their cookies are to die for and many of their products are organic. Their frozen, wild fish are at prices that are hard to beat anywhere.

When we leave the states for Canada I am going to miss Trader Joes and will be looking froward to returning to them in fall.

When The Cat's Away...

Actually, it's more like when the security staff is greatly reduced the barking dog rule is broken...over and over again. Here at Catalina Spa RV Park there is a pretty strict rule about barking dogs; they must be kept under control and rightfully so. For the folks without dogs, it is most aggravating when someone leaves their dog(s) unattended and they bark incessantly all day long. When we are in regular season here with a full staff, the rule is enforced. If, dogs are yappy and noisy their owners get them under control or they must leave the park.

With just a minimal staff here now, the rule seems to be overlooked and today, we thought we were at a kennel. It seems we have negligent dog owners all around us and we were subjected to annoying barking all day.

Now please understand that I love dogs, I really do but I can never understand how the owners can be sitting right beside their noisy animals and be oblivious to the fact that they are yappy. Hopefully, the offenders are only here for the weekend and we will go back to peace and quiet tomorrow.

Like A Baby

Isn't it funny how we get used to certain things and find it difficult to change? My sweet husband and I changed which side of the bed we sleep on a year ago and he is still having difficulty adjusting to it. He tells me that whenever I am away, he returns back to sleeping on his old side, my new side. I, on the other hand, have adjusted quite well but I am feeling a little guilty about it.

One of the reasons we switched is because I have developed tendonitis in my right shoulder and habitually, I sleep on the edge of the mattress. Now that I am on the left side of the bed, I roll onto my left side and give no additional pain to my injured joint. I have tried to heal my shoulder to no avail so there is no other place for me on the bed.

The good news though is that even though my hubby isn't adjusting well to the change he doesn't complain and he still sleeps like a baby.

Metricated

My parents were both from England and after WW2, they immigrated to Canada where my dad joined the Canadian Armed Forces. Dad was a pilot and he requested postings in Europe so we lived in France, Belgium and Germany where we learned metric measurements. In the Canadian schools we were taught non-metric measurements until 1970 when Canada joined most of the rest of the world and became “metricated”. For my sister and me, it was an easy transition and to this day, I still think in both ways.

When I write on our website, I usually write temperatures in centigrade and distances and weights in miles and pounds. But since realizing that we have readers globally, I have started to show measurements in both “languages”. It would sure make my life easier if everyone went metric though!

Tax Time

In Canada, we have to have our taxes in by the end of this month, hence, yours truly, the great procrastinator, spent much of yesterday ripping my hair out. I hate working with numbers, never has been my thing, though I have spent much of my adult life being the "bookkeeper".

In my cleaning service I was the administrator/bookkeeper and at the resort, because I liked working with computers, the "books" became my responsibility again. In this nomadic lifestyle, my sweet husband actually records our expenses and maintains a spreadsheet, but at tax time I get to do the number crunching. Yikes!!

The good news is that I should have the information completely compiled by the end of today enough to send it off to our trusty accountant back home. Thank Gawd for email! I hate working with numbers enough and have such little faith in my abilities that I think it is well worth the cash to have an expert put it all together for Rev Canada.

Did I mention I hate working with numbers?

The 3 "C"'s

Yesterday, my day was consumed with the three C's. What are my three "C"s you ask? They are Cooking, Cleaning and Computing, something I actually enjoy doing. I have been cooking since I was of the ripe old age of 8, pulling together my first full meal when I was 9. To this day I remember it well; Oven-Baked chicken, scalloped potatoes and green beans. I was very proud of my production.

Cleaning is something I learned to do once I moved out of the house (as a teenager I was best at contributing to the mess) and it too brings me a sense of accomplishment, seeing the finished product... the fruits of my labour. For 14 years I owned a cleaning service and along with my 20-odd employees, we transformed some often really dirty houses into clean, sparkling homes. It felt good knowing that the owners would come home to their shiny abode.

The computing comes in many forms; I started using my first computer in 1984 when I owned my cleaning company... it was a way to make my administrative duties easier. Then computers became a necessity when we owned our mid-size family resort and now they are a source of education (the Internet) and entertainment. Here, I help other folks with their computer issues, teaching a class and resolving their problems.

It was a good day yesterday, the 3 C's gave me a sense of satisfaction and a balance to my day.

Kitty Insanity

My poor little cat is being driven mad!

It is springtime and all the birds in our neighbourhood are frantically looking for a mate. In their frenzy, they care little about who is watching and therefore they parade their techniques on branches in the shrubs surrounding our motorhome. My window ledges and counters are in a constant state of disarray from my tormented cat tearing from one vantage point to another trying to get as close to the action as she can. Of course, because she is an indoor kitty, she can never reach them which makes her even more insane.

The worst thing is that the birds start their thing at 5:00 AM but the good news is that the windows in the bedroom are covered with shades. She has to go into the livingroom to begin her fruitless adventure but does she ever sleep soundly at night! And that is especially good because she shares our bed with us!

Ragdolls

Yesterday, in an adventurous moment, my sweet husband and I decided to go for a motorcycle ride....to Las Vegas and back, roughly 900 km. What on earth were we thinking? The problem with aging is you forget that you are until you do something dumb...like ride on a motorcycle for 10+ hours.

We left for Vegas from here, Desert Hot Springs, at 8:30 AM and after stopping twice for fuel and once for a battery boost because we stalled it, we arrived there at almost 2:00 PM. After getting the bike fixed and walking around Vegas for 4 miles (yup we ARE insane) we returned home arriving at midnight.

I'll tell you, the pool and hot tub were much appreciated this morning and we both soaked in them forever. (The other problem with aging is your recovery rate is a whole lot longer than it used to be.) As I write this, we both feel like Ragdolls.

Time

Overnight, we lost an hour. Where did it go? I went to bed and everything seemed normal but when I woke up nothing was the same. It was still dark at 5:55AM and just yesterday, the sun was already shining by then. Oh, right...we just switched back from Daylight Savings Time so now we can enjoy longer afternoons and darker mornings. My body knew about the time change because I was awake at the same time as I always wake up (just around 6:00 AM) and surprisingly, my brain caught on pretty quickly, too. The sky is clear here so I will make the most of the extra light at the end of my day which will be a great one. Hope yours is too!!

Camping...Not This Woman!!

In my previous entry, I mentioned how we moved from 7000+ sq. feet into 300 sq. ft, from a solid, bricks and mortar (B&M) house into a moving,vehicular home on wheels. I learned the differences between need and want very quickly and what was important and what wasn't. My priorities changed drastically and I learned just how unimportant "stuff" really was. Granted, because I was used to the luxuries of a beautiful, well equipped home, I knew what sacrifices I was willing to make and what ones I refused to budge on.

My rolling home has a dishwasher (yes, an electric one by Fisher-Paykel), a one piece washer/dryer (it goes from being a washing machine to being a dryer) and in-motion satellite television. We have a Hydro-hot water heating system which gives us endless hot water in our full sized shower, a king sized bed and another satellite dish for Internet access. We ARE NOT roughing it whatsoever. We don't have yard work, we move when we are sick of our neighbours/scenery/weather and we visit family and friends all over the continent, sleeping in our own bed every night. Our lifestyle isn't for everyone (it would get crowded if it was) but for us, it is perfect and the thought of B&M home ownership isn't about to happen anytime soon.
Hey, baby this ain't camping!