OH NO – I’m going blind

Posted on June 4, 2021 by campbellkat

A week ago I woke up with a new friend. I don’t really need a new friend to be honest. I already have a friend called “tinnitus” – woke up with her 8 years ago. She’s really annoying. My new friend is like a one-eyed-smiley-face “floater” in my eye. She’s super annoying. Follows me everywhere I look. Right. Left. Up. Down. She moves quick. If she was a fast car I’ld be impressed with her speed. But she’s not and I’m not!

I’ve seen an ophthalmologist and nothing horrible is going on with my new friend. I have a follow up next week as well. And then today happened.. I put my contact lens in, dash to the grocery store for some stuff, get into all those brightly lit aisles with colorful tins and packages and they are all a bit blurry. Finish my shopping. Get home. Start baking and realize I can’t really read the recipe card all that well. Close my left eye. That looks better!

Open my left eye. BLURRY! Not just a little blurry, but BIG BLURRY!! OH NO – I’m going blind! My friend is causing me grief. OH NO!! This is horrible. I already can’t hear and now I’m going blind in one eye.

Might as well take my contact lens out I say to myself… I take it out and everything is peachy keen. Wait!! What?? What is that? Seriously?? I look down in the palm of my hand and I have 2 contact lenses there.

Turns out that 2 contacts in one eye does not result in double perfect vision.

The good news is I’m not going blind today!

The bad news is I’ve apparently forgotten how to count and separate my right from my left 😎

Neglect

Featured

Posted on June 29, 2020 by campbellkat

What have you been neglecting the last 4 Covid months?

Family texts or phone calls?

Keeping in touch with your friends?

Personal grooming? It seems pointless to wear a bra if you aren’t going out anywhere. And that messy hair? No one’s going to see me looking scruffy today or tomorrow even. And a shower every other day is probably sufficient, I’m not doing anything but sitting on the couch watching NetFlix or playing Ipad puzzles and games. I do wander in to the kitchen lots, (does that count as exercise?).

Housework? Dusting and vacuuming? You remember you didn’t do those chores before Covid because you were too busy having a life and they could always wait? Now you realize that they didn’t get done because they are boring to do and watching NetFlix, playing with your IPad and opening the fridge door just takes up so much of your spare time now.

Laughing? Has the joy gone out of your soul? It’s pretty hard to be amused when we are surrounded by so much fear, doom and gloom. If and when we take the time to watch network tv or read news articles, you wonder if there is any happiness in the world right now!

Hobbies? Can you still participate and pursue your hobby?

Sports? That’s a slippery slope right now. Team sports are complicated for sure.

ME? I’ve been phoning my family and friends and more than I was a few months ago. I have a cousin who has phoned me a couple of times and we haven’t been in contact for a few years. I will admit that some days I don’t get out of my pj’s until noon and showering days can alternate. I’ve done a good job of not eating my way thru the pandemic. Funny enough the housework and dusting is still a neglected chore. I have been able to pursue my photography hobby. I have been out a few times. I’m learning new skills thru online tutorials and applying those to my photo’s. I find it very creative and satisfying. I really really really miss watching professional sports competition. Hockey in particular. I wish and hope that there is some way to bring the game back safely. Time will tell.

I have been neglecting my blog. Maybe today will be the start of more regular posts? I’m glad I don’t have to write daily for a living. That would be a tough gig.

Gotta run now, my phone is ringing!!

No Hockey – Day 2

Posted on March 14, 2020 by campbellkat

283

Phew! Survived Day2!!

How did I manage? Am I some kind of super hero? Nope I’m not.

I channeled my inner Doris Domestic and did laundry. Yup, it was special and so so rewarding! I didn’t watch Big Brother, Survivor or The Bachelor. I didn’t watch shows about cooking, or house reno’s. I didn’t watch Discovery, Nat Geo or History Channel. I didn’t break out a 1000 piece puzzle, learn to play bridge, or make a quilt.

Funny enough the world did not come to an end… I managed to survive ok. Well alright, I admit it, I watched yesterdays Tim and Sid on PVR and while I was at it I PVR’d today’s episode.

I visited with other Canadian friends who are here in Arizona with us and we lamented the demise of hockey AND all the other sports that we follow. But then our conversation turned to the serious topic of Covid19. We discussed how to distance ourselves from crowds and how to stay safe and healthy. Are we safe from it? Can we stay healthy by self-isolating ourselves and avoiding crowds and crowded areas? We can certainly avoid movie theatres, casino’s, bus trips, any gatherings and that type of thing. Will it be enough? Sounds like it should. We will do just that. We will keep to ourselves here in the Arizona sunshine until we head home in a couple of weeks. We can only take it one day at a time!

See you soon Canada!

No Hockey – Day1

Posted on March 12, 2020 by campbellkat

Image result for vancouver canuck logo

So now what? If you are a huge hockey fan like myself you may have asked yourself this today. So now what?

No hockey. No hockey of any kind. I would normally fill my tv watching time with Sportsnet, TSN, Tim and Sid, Hockey Central.. you get the idea. I’m either watching hockey or listening about yesterday’s hockey or today’s hockey or tomorrow’s hockey. This is my favorite time of year for hockey. Playoffs looming. The perfect time of year to “hockey”. Now it’s gone for a few weeks? or months? or all summer? I guess we have to wait and see. No football, baseball, golf, car racing, rugby, soccer, basketball (notice these are in the order of my preference of viewing).

What will I do with my time? No sports of any kind.

I can always catch up on my dusting – that’s special and so rewarding.
I can watch Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelor – that’s also special and so rewarding.
I can watch shows about cooking and house reno’s – that’s special and so rewarding.
I can tune to Discovery, Nat Geo and History – that’s special and so rewarding but would improve my overall knowledge of the world.
I can break out a 1000 piece puzzle. Learn to play bridge. Make a quilt. – All hobbies and games that are special and rewarding.

Although the above things may be special and rewarding – I’m not prepared to launch into action just yet. I can: Read. Bake. Take Pictures. Sit in the Sun. Watch the world go by. All these things ARE special AND rewarding to me. If that fails I will go to plan B and plan C.

B – Booze

C – Camera

Mom always said: “no one likes a smart ass!”

Posted on January 8, 2020 by campbellkat

Image result for smart ass clip art

Today I’m heading to the laundry room at the resort we are staying at in Arizona and a guy pulls up in a golf cart with a bucket of laundry in the back of his cart. He stops, but the cart keeps rolling back down the incline to the street. He pulls forward again and says “do you know anything about golf carts?”.

‘Not much’, I say, ‘What’s the problem?’.

“Do these things have brakes” he asks.

I show him the brake and he says “well as you can see I don’t know much about golf carts”.

I say: ‘ do you know much about laundry?’.

He says: “a little”.

I say: ‘well you’re a keeper then!’.

He says: ‘ well my wife showed me how to do it and she just died’.

D.E.A.D.S.I.L.E.N.C.E

Then:

I apologized.

He kind of laughed.

His name is Dan.

I introduced myself and even used my real name!

Image result for smart ass clip art

as my mom told us many times… “no one likes a smart ass”…..

Hot Dogs and Strawberry Shortcake

Posted on July 16, 2019 by campbellkat

hot dog

Why is it that we have to be reminded that life is short?

Why is it that we have to be reminded that life is fragile?

Why is it that we have to be reminded to live our lives every day like today might be our last?

We have a family member who has terminal cancer. It reminds us that although we may be healthy today, that our health could change for any of us tomorrow. Not just because of cancer, it can be any number of things.

We live our lives and somehow we forget that tomorrow is not guaranteed. We make plans for next month, next year or “in the future”.

Today we threw our diets out the window. We weren’t counting calories, or pounds, or cholesterol or blood pressure.

Today we ate Hot Dogs for dinner, and a big cereal bowl filled with home made shortcake biscuits, strawberries, and freshly whipped cream piled inside and on top of the shortcake.

It was over the top,

it was fabulous,

it was necessary!

Image result for free clip art of strawberry

Plants and Sourdough

Posted on June 3, 2019 by campbellkat

Growing up we always had a garden and a house full of plants. We grew our own vegetables which required all the weeding and watering that you have to do if you want your fresh veggies to make it to your plate. Mom had house plants of every variety and they hung, sat or stood where there was space. Most of my family have green thumbs as a result. Me? Not so much. I’ve tried to maintain house plants. I had a terrarium at one time (I grew a delicious looking mold in there) and subsequently my plants all died. Over the years I’ve either taught my plants to swim or I’ve taught them desert survival tactics.. I’ve seen horror on the faces of the staff at all the plant stores when I walk in. When they ask if they can help me, I say “yes you can, I’m here to buy new victims for my house”. The last plant I had lasted 6 months on our road trip across Canada and the USA. Ironically it wasn’t too much or too little water that killed it..

It was pepper..

Yup, I dropped the pepper shaker on it and broke it in half and that was the end of the poor thing.

Have you ever wanted to make sourdough bread? I have! I make normal bread all the time, but I have never had the opportunity to get the “starter” that you need to make sourdough bread. A couple of days ago I was given a starter. It came in a cute little glass jar. I was told I should feed it and if I wasn’t going to use it right away it could go in the fridge until I was ready to bake. Sounds easy! Ok. First step is to “feed it”. I carefully measure water and flour, stir it in vigorously as per the instructions, place it in a bigger jar and I’m good to go. I wake up in the morning and no surprise. My starter is DEAD. I think I just set a killing record.

Did I over water it? Did I under water it as per my pre-established history? But I was being so careful! I followed the instructions precisely! How is it possible to kill it in less than 24 hours?

I am so confused..

How can I admit to my friend that I killed her gift?

Overnight?

What is wrong with me?

I peer in to the jar to make sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. Yup, it’s flat as the Saskatchewan Prairies. Wait a minute. What is that smell? Sniff sniff… that smells like pickles..

I guess using a freshly washed pickle jar wasn’t the best choice I could have made for a new sterile environment for my sourdough starter. Poor thing!.

There is J0Y in the world.. and that is good!

Posted on June 2, 2019 by campbellkat

I stopped at a crosswalk the other day to let a herd of kids and the 2 adults that were with them to cross the street. The kids were probably 5 years old…

they marched..

they hopped..

they skipped..

they danced..

they waved their arms..

they touched the lines..

they didn’t touch the cracks..

they hurried to keep up with their mates..

they dawdled along knowing they wouldn’t get left behind..

One little girl jubilantly waved at me with all her being, with the biggest widest smile.

The joy, the innocence, the happiness!

I totally needed to see that, I needed to be reminded there is joy in this world!

Randoms: April 30 – 2019

Posted on April 30, 2019 by campbellkat

I haven’t been very diligent about updating my blog. Here’s what I’ve been up to. We’ve been back in Canada for 3 weeks now. We’ve cleaned out the RV, got caught up on all the laundry that needed doing, reconnected all the electronic doodads, hung our clothes in closets and dresser drawers. I’ve got over the sticker shock of buying gas, vegetables and beer… (not necessarily in that order)…my my my!!

That’s not the hard part though – the hard part is it’s cold here. Not “Canadian Cold”, but “We’ve been in Arizona too long cold”. I’m happy to say that after 3 weeks I’ve kind of stopped being a “weather whiner”.

I’ve reconnected with some of my friends and attended my first camera club meeting since last fall. I drove away from the meeting re-inspired. What a talented group of photographers we have. So many styles and ideas to try out. Here’s a few photo’s that I’ve worked on this week.

Tree K75_8508IN

I called this shot: And behind this tree stands the sun.

Branches K75_8518IN This is a photograph shot up and thru the canopy of the trees.

Branches K75_8519IN

This years new growth!

Grass K75_8533IN

And finally I’m laying in the weeds for this shot!

One Year

Posted on April 21, 2019 by campbellkat

You passed away one year ago today. That’s one year of sadness, loss, pain, sorrow and regret. We’ve tried really hard to not be super sad. You would tell us to ‘get over it’. You would tell us ‘it is what it is’. We don’t get to hear your blunt matter of fact voice that held more than a tich of sarcasm most days. We can’t phone you up whenever we want to tell you how are lives are going, or discuss the things we found funny, ridiculous or interesting this week. You’re not here to share what you know about family recipes, family history and family stories. You can’t try to explain how to fix things or drag out your sewing machine and miraculously repair a broken zipper or torn seam. There are these reasons and a 1,000 more why we have spent the last year with sadness, loss, pain, sorrow and regret.

BUT, (there’s always a but), it has also been a year that our family has worked together, supported each other and got each other to today. We’ve had a long year! We’ve laughed. Worked. Moved. Vacationed. Travelled. Lived. Survived.

Becky sat us all out in the sunshine in your yard and dyed bits and pieces of our hair teal blue. We drank more than a few adult beverages and told funny stories about you. We had our family reunion in July and all those faces, noses and feet that remind us we are related, celebrated our family ties. They came from everywhere across Canada and gathered to laugh and have a good time and talk about their lives and remember those we’ve lost. Your son has started a new career on the rails with CN. He works lots, but he’s home more than he was before. You would like that. Your daughter has managed to juggle looking after your house, working from home, and spending time with her friends. You would like that. Your brother and sister and I met in Vegas and spent a few days hanging out buying $$ drinks and laughing at how ridiculous things are priced in Sin City. You would have liked that. Your Powell River family really miss you. Your friends miss you, but they remember you with a laugh, and they all have shared stories with us.

All our stories and memories that show what a character you were, how you always said what you were thinking, even when you might have been better off to have sugar coated it. OH WAIT.. THAT was SUGAR COATED!! haha. Your face gave you away anyway, so no worries, we all knew what you were thinking.

I’m going to start this next year remembering and reminding myself that you lived, not that you died. I’m going to remember the good times and not the bad. The laughter and not the sad. You would like that!