CRANKY RANT & A GREAT RESPONSE

I posted this on my Facebook page this morning after hearing someone wishing us a Happy Sunday on the morning news.

It is not Happy Sunday, or Happy Monday or Happy Tuesday or......you get the picture. It is not Happy Day Off or Happy Water Your Lawn Day.
It is Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday....

Please stop using Happy as a greeting for every single thing we do, especially if you are a newscaster or weather person. Gah!
Now you have a nice day.

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And now for the response from Lynne @ It’s A July Thing : “Happy I Can Bitch If I Want To Day!!!”

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Now that is a day I can get behind.

JOSH JENKINS–LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER PART 1

I came across the work of a local photographer and wanted to share some of his work, and what he also refers to as his passion, with you. This is with his permission of course.
I love how he showcases Beautiful British Columbia with his photos, from the center of a flower to the majestic mountains we live so close to. He also has beautiful images from around the world.
Enjoy his work here and also on his web page Josh Jenkins Photography.  As often happens when I feature an artist they ask me which images I would like to use. I can never choose because it would be like choosing a favourite child and we all know you can’t do that….most days.
Stay tuned for part 2 and make sure you let Josh know how wonderful his work is by commenting here and/or visiting his site. I am sure you have a wall in your home or office that would be thrilled to hold some of his work. 
The photos are as follows: 1. Mount Cheam 2. Hick's Lake 3. Tulip-Rosedale 4. Vedder River 5. Chilliwack

A VISIT TO PARADISE

I managed to get enough days off in a row to go and visit one of my sisters on Vancouver Island.
They have a beautiful home there and a spectacular garden. My brother in law is the ultimate caretaker and there is not a weed to be found anywhere. No spent flower is around for long before his clippers get them.
The birds love the garden and many visit in the trees and many sip from the flowers. What a banquet they have to choose from.
Enough words. I know you will enjoy it as much as I always do.
I am linking to:
Outdoor Wednesday

YOU OLD PRUNE

Another new study out there for us to be happy about.

Studies have shown that post menopausal women who eat dried plums, also known as prunes, have considerably lower risk of developing osteoporosis or fractures in comparison to women of the same age who don’t eat them.

Though all fruits and vegetables have a good effect on our bodies the consumption of the prune/plums are far above the others in increasing bone density.

A team from Florida State and Oklahoma State Universities tested two groups of women, 90 in total for one year.

Group 1 (55 women)consumed 100 grams of dried plums, equivalent to about 10 prunes per day along with 500 mgs. of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D daily.

The control group (34 women) consumed 100 grams of apples per day plus the same calcium and vitamin D as the first group.

The first group had considerably greater bone mineral density in the ulna and spine compared to group 2.

This is a really good thing because if you are eating that many prunes in a day you had better be able to get up those stairs the bathroom in a hurry.

JUNK ART

This stuff is amazing. Some people are so creative.
Junk Auto Parts~Art

ALZHEIMERS IS A BEOTCH.

 This is a repost from Jan. 2010 for Sunday Favorites. Check in with Chari @ Happy to Design to see all the oldies but goodies we have posted before. 
***Note that I don't know if Jen is still donating from her card sales so check with her for that information.

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I went to a funeral on December 23. It was expected but still very sad. The funeral was for my friend Anne. She was one of my coffee buddies but had been in a care home for a few years now. Anne had early onset Alzheimers disease. Anne was only 67 when she passed away.
I spoke at her funeral and would like to share some of the story of Anne here. I like that it will be written down and remembered. Anne will be remembered even though she couldn't remember any of us.

What could be more appropriate to make us think about those with Alzheimer's than these Forget Me Nots.

This beautiful art card was created by Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams. You can have a look at her gallery by clicking on the mosaic on her site. Jen generously donates money for Alzheimer's research from every set of these Forget Me Not cards. Have a look at all of her cards though. You will find several that will be your favorites.

ANNE:

Anne’s Alzheimer’s had already started to affect her when I first met her but it wasn’t that obvious at first for if you know our coffee group we thrive on silliness and humour and we all joked about our memories being terrible.

Anne knew she had it though and as it progressed we all started seeing more evidence of its grasp on her. The one part of Anne that wasn’t fading away was her sense of humour. She kept us laughing.

Anne had some favourite sayings and due to the memory lapses we would hear them repeatedly throughout the morning.
We all knew “not to let the door hit us on the way out” and that “the door is not an a-hole, it won’t shut itself”.

She would order a plate of waffles with a mound of whipped cream on top most mornings. Then she would say she didn’t know why they brought it to her because she didn’t even like them. As she lost track of time she would start showing up to the coffee shop hours before us and then wonder why we were all so late.

Almost every day she would cross the street to pick up some things at the grocery store before going home. And every day the thing she seemed to need the most was a carton of ice cream. I don’t know what she did with it all but I suspect if she hadn’t walked so much she would have been as big as a house.

My favourite “Anne” moment came one morning while I was driving her home after coffee. We saw our coffee buddy Jim walking home with his dog. Anne asked me to put the window down so she could whistle at him which I quickly did. As we got closer Anne blew hard through her lips a couple times with only spit coming out when she turned to me and said “I forgot how to whistle” . I thought I would drive off the road I was laughing so hard.

Anne had a thing for sirens. Not an emergency vehicle could get by that coffee shop without Anne checking on which way it was going. She would go all the way out to the highway to track its direction for us and come back with a report.
But the most important thing about Anne is that no dog ever went un-petted while Anne was around. Even the ones who would bite any one else who went near them. She truly loved all the dogs and they knew it.

And we all know that dogs are the best judges of character.

I am sure you all know someone who suffers from the effects of Alzheimers. I know that there are walks and fundraisers in every community. I know it is a sad thing for families to deal with the loss of the parts of a person,  long before their eventual death. I know. I know.

SOCIAL MEDIA AT ITS BEST

So not that I needed another time suck in my life but I have managed to find one.

I joined a Facebook group for people who grew up in East Vancouver to share memories.

There has since been nonstop postings from people mostly the same age group as me.

It has been hysterical. We have been reminiscing about the old restaurants, bars, clubs, parties, clothes, playgrounds, park gangs, all the crazy stuff we have gone through.

I am so amazed that I have seen people on there who have my nephew’s wife as a Facebook friend. Turns out she lives across the street from her mother. Small world.

Many of the people went to school with and are Facebook friends with a woman I worked with 27 years ago and who is also on my friends list.

One woman is friends with an old friend of mine and although we have met years ago I have not seen her in years. We shared her baby’s clothes for my first born. Thanks again Jenny!

Tonight I had someone mention me directly in a comment and I was puzzled by the name. A quick check of her page showed me the connection. She was married to my brother in law years ago. She has been by the blog…Hi Donnie!!!! I bet she is waving, wave back.

Every posting reminds someone of something else and the comments fly. I highly suggest those of you who use Facebook start a group for your childhood/teenage area and see what happens. It spreads like wildfire and is so much fun.

Just get your laundry done, fill the fridge with groceries and walk the dog because I assure you that you will have a hard time tearing yourself away from it once it starts going.

!!!! Make sure you tell people to turn off the email responses on the page or you will be getting hundreds of emails … one for every comment people make on any of the posts. !!!!