Week in Review

Thank you for your kind words and advice. My arthritis pain is getting a little better each day, and I have found a couple of ways to deal with the pain. The weather has been also getting better each day which does so much to help a body! Here are the highs from my week:

• The yummiest, gluten-free banana bread! It's made with oat flour (which you zip up yourself in the food processor). I added 1/2 cup of chopped mixed nuts and seeds as well as a few chopped chocolate chunks.  It has a light banana flavor with a slight crumbly/nutty texture. It's sweetened with maple syrup (& honey), so is not overly sweet. Perfect!   

     

• Fresh, local, greenhouse kale and chard. I steam my chard and have it with a sprinkle of vinegar and lashings of butter! Yum. And look at those gorgeous multi-color/multi-size eggs! They have brightest yellow yokes and are so tasty!

• 
  Yubuchobap (Korean) or Inari sushi (Japanese). These are sweet, chewy tofu pockets that you fill with rice that's been mixed with a sweet vinegar and dried vegetables. I picked up the package from the freezer section; and it's one of my favorite, very addictive snacks. Thank goodness it's kinda healthy! 

• 
  Free7 Mix - a carbonated pineapple/coconut flavoured drink that I bought from the international foods section of my local supermarket. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be mixed with alcohol; but as I don't imbibe much these days, I drank it as is and icy cold. It was delicious! Kind of like an alcohol-free, fizzy Pina Colada. They also had a strawberry flavor that was nice as well. 

But the biggest highlight of my week was being able to walk in the woods again. Sunday was my daughter's birthday, so we enjoyed a sunny but cool meander through the forest. 

We had a snack by the brookside and just soaked in the sound of the stream and the birdsong. We scooched under fallen trees, held branches away from each other's face, and warned each other to step around evidence of last fall's visiting moose.

Forest bathing or Shinrin-yoku! 

Sure is good for the spirit and the soul. 

It was a good week. I hope yours was too.

Namaste y'all!

Managing Pain

Spring has finally come to western Newfoundland! The snow has melted around town and is slowly leaving the forest and mountains. With any luck, I can actually walk my favorite brookside path today. The other morning, I bundled up and sat outside with my coffee, and I had some new visitors from a nearby house. (One must now be more careful where one walks!)

For the past two weeks, I've been dealing with debilitating arthritis pain in my right hand, arm and shoulder. (It seems as if now that I've retired, my body thinks it should break down and point out all my ailments immediately! Scheesch!) My doctor just yesterday prescribed Tylenol 3 (which I will take sparingly) and sent me for an x-ray on my hand so we can be sure that it is arthritis and perhaps determine what kind. 

In the meantime, I'll keep to my own pain routine: I'm still trying to eat an anti-inflammatory diet at least 80% of the time, and I'm a huge proponent of cannabis which is, thank goodness, legal in Canada. With my sensitivity to prescription drugs, it is the only thing I've found that will alleviate most of the pain and has no side effects.  Finding CBD only (no psychoactive effects) is difficult here; I do have CBD gummies and I use an infused cream. But CBD alone has not as effective as weed with THC. Moderation in everything has always been one of my personal tenets! But aging is a new adventure that I find I must take on a daily basis: some days will be better than others, I guess, and I must adjust accordingly.  

Any suggestions you might have on dealing with arthritis pain would be more than welcome.

• Drinking green tea? 
• Applying an onion poltice? 
• Dancing (not naked) round my fire pot at midnight?

 I'll try it all! In the meantime, the sun is coming out ...... and I can hear the forest calling. 

Namaste y'all!

Sunny Weekend Wanderings

Although I haven't posted for a long time, I'm alive and finally well again. I had a terrible head cold and a minor family emergency that kept me away from the keyboard, but I'm back with a spring in my step! But that's also because the sun is shining.

The weather has been quite cold, and we've had a lot of rain. Central NL had 30 cm of snow last Wednesday; and we're not out of the woods weather-wise yet! That's what happens when you're this far north and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. It had been 2 weeks since I'd last walked in the sunshine, and my body spoke loud and clear:  my mood changed; my sleep patterns went off-course again; and I had more aches. 

Yesterday both health and weather were aligned; so I took a walk around Glenmill Inn Pond Trail with my youngest and her 2 dogs. Jack and Olive. 

Jack is 5 years old; he loves to walk and will happily move to the side and trot ahead of you. Olive is not quite a year old, so she was zig zagging in front of our legs (as she feels the need to physically touch her brother Jack from time to time), stopping to look up at us with love and gratitude, and bounding at the rustle of every bush. She also needs to explore every nook and cranny and is positively beside herself when she meets a new friend. The 3 km return trip had the puppies panting, tired and very happy at the end. Great! Now we can go sit outside with delicious foamy lattes while the puppies happily cuddle at our feet, right?

We brought our drinks to the table and took the dogs out of the car; but settle, they did not! Jack was determined to go inside the cafe. (He's a glutton for attention!) And Olive was overwhelmed with all the traffic noise, chattering people walking by and skateboarders. She bolted out of Libby's arms AND her harness and lead into the street! Thank goodness there was nothing coming and we were able to get her back to safety. Poor little mite was afraid.

When I took the dirty cups back inside, I indulged Jack and took him with me where he was met with lots of petting and chucks on the head. He was a happy dachshund! And I was an equally happy woman! 

(PS - Heavy rain and possibility of snow has been forcast for the next couple of days. Egad! You'll find me under the heat lamp thinking sunny thoughts.)

Spring has Sprung ..... Finally!

I knew that spring has sprung for sure here when I began hearing birdsong a couple of weeks ago. But those surprise snow storms made me scratch my head, especially last Friday nights fall. Although the roads may have been clear, it added to the huge mounds along every street and parking area. 

I'm happy to report that those mounds are almost entirely melted! We've had warming temperatures this week and a day of rain. Hurrah! I can actually walk up to the scrubs and trees and see the buds. It's ever so exciting.

I've one of those backs that goes out every now and then (without even asking permission). It happened last week; I've been nursing it with extra rest, but because I sit at a computer all day long, it takes longer to heal. I've not been walking, but thankfully I think I can resume this weekend. I become giddy with the thought of walks along the Bay in the sunshine!

But I also become giddy at the thought of spring cleaning, washing my windows and changing out the sofa pillows and throw with more spring-like colors and patterns. I look around my little abode and think "What can I do to bring in the light? Where can I move this piece of furniture? What color can I incorporate in my decor?" It's all part of my celebration of spring.

But it's been such a long, harsh winter, I feel quite justified in my giddiness!

Weekend Wanderings

Although spring is very slow coming to western Newfoundland, the snow is melting. Friday night, my sister and I had one of our sleepovers -- a wonderful bonding experience that involves reminiscing, a few brewskies, lots of laughing and, if I'm lucky, a little girl-dancing. 

Imagine our surprise when several hours after our evening began we noticed this scene outside! Yes, that's a brand new blanket of white on trees and ground! It was very pretty but thankfully was gone again by mid morning Saturday. That's when Linda and I set off for an adventure day!

We drove to nearby Deer Lake and visited their wonderful Sally Ann. I found a really cute pair of black polka dotted pants ($4) and a  green depression glass plate ($2). (Not sure of the pattern though. Help!) We window shopped at a couple of other small shops; and then she took me out for supper before heading home again. 

Sunday was a bit of a cold day; so after making chicken veg soup and moose meatballs for this week's dinner, I spent the late afternoon reacquainting myself with "Westworld" because that evening was the season premier. It's an intriguing program!

And I had another day off yesterday because it was St. George's Day? (I don't argue with my ED when she says we have obscure days off.) The sun was shining and it was all of 11 deg C (51 F); so I headed uptown to another one of my favorite shops, the Bulk Food Store. 

Living alone means I use smaller amounts of everything. Instead of using the bags above the bins, I love using the wee spice bags and filling them with spoonfuls of chopped pecans, dried cranberries and the like. I hadn't been there for a while, so I had lots of fun walking up and down aisles and looking at new stuff. Look at these adorable colored bow-tie pasta! And yes, I eat a LOT of rolled oats. 

I was home by 3 pm; and at that time of day, the sun is around the side of my house and streams into my kitchen and living areas. I get rainbows on my floor and lovely shadows on my walls. After cooking, I lit the tea light under my patchouli scented oil and it was so tranquil and serene. 

Ahhhhhh! T'was a good weekend. Hope yours was as well.

Shelia carried a HUGE brush this year!

We were hit with a huge winter storm this weekend. Two feet of snow fell overnight Sunday and all day Monday. We had a dilly of a blizzard, just like the ones when I was a kid: snowing constantly, blowing, blizzard conditions, the sound of the wind whistling through any crack or cranny it could find. It was wonderful to be indoors and listen/watch what Mother Nature was doing outside. She's not a lady to be messed with.

In Newfoundland, we expect to have a visit from Shelia's Brush*.  But gol darn it, Shelia! That warn't no brush: it were a bloody big broom!

* Sheila's Brush is an idiom used in Newfoundland and it refers to the last big storm of the winter season, a storm that occurs around St. Patrick's Day. The term comes from an Irish legend which says that Sheila was the saint's wife (or sister or mother) and that the snow is a result of her sweeping away the old season. 

I was quite content to sit indoors with my blessed electricity and cook, clean and chillax. 

I made soup, of course -- a red lentil with delicious bits of bacon, carrots and a touch of lemon juice at the end. Yum! Then I baked a delicious batch of Partridgeberry Streusel Muffins. 

(Partridgeberries are like a tart cranberry and Newfoundlanders love them. The jam is divine on a slice of freshly baked bread and topped with a wee spread of thick cream liked canned Fussels or Nestles. OMG!) 

There was lots of housecleaning, some rearranging of furniture and plenty of Netflix. I discovered a really good sci-fi series last weekend called Sense 8. Besides the sci-fi portion of the storyline, it takes place in several locations around the world with  characters from different ethnicities, beliefs, social/financial backgrounds and sexual preferences with a large emphasis on LGBTQ+ issues. This makes for a deeply compelling and eye-opening show. I like to be challenged, especially in my thinking, so I'm really enjoying it. Sadly, now that I'm almost at the end of Season 2 and am completely hooked, I find out that there will be no Season 3!

I can take the extra snow, Shelia! 

But no Season 3!!! 

Whatever shall I do!

Spring IS here, ya know!

I felt spring arriving last week. Even though the world looked both brown and white, even though the temperatures were more than a bit chilly, even though there was no sign of anything green emerging from the still frozen soil, I felt spring arrive in that deep, deep place inside me where secrets are shared.

And then we had snow this weekend; and our balmy 1 degree Celcius temperatures were replaced with minus 4 and minus 6 and even minus 12 this morning. 

And the Newfoundland naysayers all rushed to the forefront of my tiny life to say:

"Oh my God! I'm some friggin tired of winter, my dear!"

or

"Wah's all dat white stuff fallin' from da sky? I'm pye-zenned (poisoned) wit it all, Maid!" 

Well, I try not to let anyone rain on my parade. So, even though we had a surprise snow day Friday and the sound of snow ploughs and snow-blowers was heard throughout the land all day Saturday, I was not defeated. I opened up Instagram and FB, and I shared 

THE GOOD NEWS with the world.

.

It doesn't matter what they say.

I KNOW spring is here!

The Moon in June is a big Balloon ....

Happy June everybody. For me, June is just that much closer to sunshine and warmth and outdoor living. Newfoundland can be challenging in regards to sunshine and warmth; but slowly, oh so slowly, it's happening.

Life on The Rock has not been an easy transition for me. Not the weather though: I can take the weather because although the lack of sunshine sometimes affects my mood, my outlook on life is NOT determined by Mother Nature. However, my Norman Rockwell vision of family life is far from true; my family is probably the largest challenge in my life. (Their picture is in the dictionary under the word "disfunctional"! Hahaha!) Sign! It was so much easier to love them all when I was thousands of miles away. 

As well, returning as a 62 yr old single female is socially challenging. I've not had a lot of luck meeting new friends, most of the old ones are busy with their families and routines, and you don't get invited to a lot of events when you don't have a mate. However, my bestie has been wonderful and inviting and supportative; my relationship with my sister is growing wonderfully, and my youngest daughter tries to meet up with me weekly. (Her working long shifts and my willingness to dog sit her dachshund Jack has also helped.)

But challenges aside, this is where I've chosen to be; and I shall persevere and continue to seek (and find) alternative sources of enjoyment. It helps that I like my own company. (And thank you for your blogs.)

Man in the Mountain

Weather permitting, I'll be heading out with a new hiking group tomorrow; beginning with an easy hike, they work up to the more rigorous ones such as the Man in the Mountain trail which overlooks Corner Brook and the Bay of Islands. 



But the "piece de resistance" and a long time dream of mine is to hike Gros Morne Mountain, a day-long return hike and very challenging trail. At the top, you look down over Western Brook Pond and the fjord and further out into Gros Morne National Park.

The west coast of Newfoundland has so many beautiful trails and fantastic vistas. And you're almost always bound to see some sort of wildlife. Just last Sat as my sister and I were drinking along the bay to my dad's house, we stopped and joined a huge group of people watching a Mama and baby whale feeding and flipping in the bay! It's amazing here!

There'll be lots of good food, laughter,
walking and catching up.

But my biggest excitement lately is my upcoming trip to Toronto and then Halifax next week to visit my other two daughters. It's so satisfying to know that they are looking forward to seeing me as much as I'm looking forward to seeing them. I'm also excited for Toronto's much warmer temperatures. Corner Brook is extremely limited when it comes to ethnic foods, so that's high on the agenda. And an extra special treat for me is going to my Korean daughter's graduation from college: she lived with me for 3 years: I taught her acceptance and confidence, and she taught me to love Korean food ..... and zombies! I just adore her. 

Today I'm fortunate:  I'm off in an hour, there's sunshine and Grandma has to take the grand-doggie for a walk. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring is slower and colder in western Newfoundland (NL) than it is in Nova Scotia (NS). Not by a lot; but when you've gone through a long, cold NL winter, you want spring and you want it NOW! I can walk in sneakers again which is awesome. But I still need a winter coat, hat, scarf and mittens. Baby steps, Sandy. Baby steps.

I've been approved for a community garden plot in the city -- 4' x 14' which is a great size! Last weekend, I started indoor seedlings, hopefully not too late because this is NL.  I planted tomatoes, cukes, green and yellow beans and swiss chard. I'll leave the lettuce and spinach seeds for direct planting. Yesterday I saw my first shoots from the tomatoes and swiss chard. My mouth is watering already and harvest won't be until September. Fresh produce is so expensive here because it has to cross the gulf and be trucked such long distances. It also spoils so quickly once you do buy it. So, I am ever optimistic that I'll be able to subsidize my food budget with homegrown. 

And I've been quite lucky lately with my local Salvation Army purchases. I was able to bring home a new pair of shoes, dress capris and a pretty spring blouse. The brand new strawberry socks are a gift for my middle daughter. I also picked up a few gifts for others: a pizza stone for my BFF (Her hubby makes the best pizza and tops it with honey! OMG!); a pirate puzzle for my grandson, and an aqua candlestick for my baby daughter. And all this was under $20. 

Moving home has brought me so much quiet and alone time; I'm loving it. But I'm also running out of chores to keep me busy while Mother Nature sorts herself out here on The Rock. My spare bedroom has become my "Family Room" as it's the place I've hung all my pictures of the people who are dearest to me. I've not only left behind my NS home and friends, but I've left behind a lifestyle -- one that included loving, caring for and having fun with my international children. So this room provides me with a little NS comfort. (Okay. I admit it. Sometimes I sit and cry in there because my heart aches so. But change is always hard.)

The sun is shining outside my window here at work. It's cold, but each day, the snowbanks are smaller and the run off muddier. Bring on the mud! I'm ready for it!

 March has said farewell and April has arrived. In spite of this being the month of showers (and today is no exception to that rule), I tend to like April. I like the gradual release of winter, the slightly warmer temperatures, the washing away of the dirty snow. It rains so much in April that I feel the earth is saying "I'm serious about this spring stuff! Let's get growing!". And down from the heavens comes the rain; and up from the ground come all the little green sprouts. 

Today is a gentle, warm rain. I long to go outside and rake all of last fall's protective leaf covering off my flower beds. All sorts of things are coming up and growing straight through the dead leaves.But as the weather forecaster is calling for this warm, gentle rain to possibly turn to snow later, I think I'll "leaf" well enough alone.

The training at my new job has so far been evenings and night shifts; very intense, busy shifts where I come home exhausted and too buzzed to sleep for a couple of hours. I find that it takes a couple of days to recouperate. Housework and chores get done, an occasional long walk; but not much else. That's okay; renewing my energy is the most important thing. I have 2 weeks of days ahead of me -- early mornings to mid afternoons. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm trying to strengthen my back and lessen the chronic pain. I walk to work but had to get rid of my backpack and opt for a small cross-body purse and lunch bag. I've been trying to get in a little yoga in each day because I sit so much. And in my recently thrifted yoga magazines, I found a number of articles on these:

Possibly the most ugly shoes in
      the universe, n'est pas?

I have hammer toes as well as bunions on both big toes. I totally blame these afflections for my lack of a passionate, caring partner because other than that, I'm like totally hot!  Both are supposed to aleviate foot pain and possibly correct these conditions. So, I began searching and researching in the hope that I can once again bare my feet in public without children running in terror and the weak collapsing in a faint.

Mine are electric blue too!

I found cheaper, generic yoga toes online at Amazon, and the squishy toe gellies arrived last week. It's difficult to walk with them on (DUH) and not recommended. So I wear them while watching TV and can keep them on for an hour plus before my feet say uncle!

"Why Toe Shoes?"

However, so far I'm unable to find the Smurf feet in any shoe store in Nova Scotia! The online shoes are too expensive for me to spend big bucks to try out; and I've heard some people say they couldn't wear them because they rubbed and irritated. I have, however, found a 2nd hand pair on Kijiji for $50.

But before I buy anything, I'm wondering if anyone in blogland has experience with toe separator shoes? Are they really worth $100-$200? Do they fix ogre feet?  (Or at least make me more socially acceptable.)

No pressure people,
but my future happiness may depend on your answer!