Go to the Water

I am not a bird lover by any means. I am not entertained by watching the birds at the feeder or the cute little hummingbird drinking the red water. My Dad's family can be described as a walking talking bird book. I do not have the same passion. My choice of birds would be the big birds. For me, they are teachers and we can learn from them. I think we would all agree that the e agle is the most majestic bird there is. When an eagle is spotted it commands our attention, for some reason we feel a connection with them. It is rare to ever see more than one eagle at a time, because "Eagles Soar Alone".   An eagle presents as a fearless bird; nothing will hold them back. They are known as guardians of the sky, soaring high above keeping a watchful eye on the world. They are unique in that they are the only bird that loves a storm, they will fly fearlessly into it. Their wings are designed to allow them to ride the current, rising higher with very little effort. Once they get abo...

In March, while having lunch with a friend, a woman came to our table and announced she had backed into my vehicle. In her defense it was a tight parking lot, in my defense, my vehicle was the only one in the parking lot for her to maneuver around. She managed to get my back bumper; it was more like a scrape than anything, but it had to be fixed. That little repair process turned out to involve many appointments. First up was to make a claim. I was relieved I could have it done at my dealership; the adjustor actually did it while I got my oil changed. The next step was to return to the dealership to make sure they had all of the parts for the repairs. I decided to wait until September to get it fixed, I knew anything could happen over the summer, like hail, and why not wait. I guess I waited too long to make the appointment as they booked me in mid-October. I was told that it would take a week to a week and a half for the work to be done. That date had arrived and so the adventure bega...

The word "Pivot" can be referred to as a person or a thing. By adjusting a plan to improve the response to new circumstances a  pivot can make a significant change in direction, strategy or focus. A pivot  has crucial importance in the development of success of something else.  I think I am one of those people that can "Pivot" with ease. I believe it is because I am a self-proclaimed problem solver. I find that I look more to the solution than to the problem. I think, "how can this be fixed?". I am sure everyone has watched the "Friends" show where Ross is screaming "Pivot" as they are taking a couch upstairs in a stairwell that doesn't accommodate the couch. That little scene has imbedded the word, "pivot" into my mind.   When you are able to pivot you can get yourself out of a situation. I think my self-proclaimed ability is because I have gotten myself into and out of so many situations, it just comes naturally to me.  ...

Today is the Sunday of the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. The actual celebration of "Thanksgiving" is tomorrow, on Monday. It is a traditional holiday celebrated to give thanks for the harvest and blessings of the past year.  As with all holidays, Thanksgiving has an interesting origin. It has roots in the Indigenous traditions, in which they celebrated with communal feasts for the fall harvest long before European settlers arrived. It is officially recognized as a statutory holiday in most provinces reflecting Indigenous and European customs, emphasizing gratitude for the bounty of nature and the importance of community.  At one time Thanksgiving was celebrated on a Thursday in November. It was changed in 1957 to the second Monday in October. That way Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving didn't overlap. This year Thanksgiving has arrived before the harvest is done. I understand that the harvest yields are really good, which is amazing considering the interesting weather that...

I am well aware that I have had a lifelong issue with boredom. But it was the moment when I was making a word document on my computer, I only had two more things to add when boredom hit me, and I didn't want to finish. I was 2 minutes until done and I wanted to do something else. It was at that moment that I realized how often this happens to me. All too often, I have to be stern with myself and force myself to finish what I start. The only thing that will keep me focused to finish, is the fact I like things done, more than nearly done.    Boredom is defined as the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. For me I don't start out being weary and restless, I just end up that way.   Some nights I will say to myself at bedtime, "I am going to do nothing tomorrow". Then I get up in the morning and think doing nothing is a waste of my life.  Every day should hold something new and exciting. It is getting harder to lead a new and exciting life at my age,...

It is official, we are settled into "Autumn". Most people refer to this season as "Fall". I am not sure why only the Fall/Autumn season has two words to describe it, but it does. Centuries ago, Fall was defined as leaves tumbling from trees and changing colors. Autumn was described as the time between summer and winter.  I really like the word autumn; I just never use it. I think it is the prettiest season that we have. I was recently in a group of people, and they had to pick their favorite season. Most of them picked fall. Let's face it, Winter is cold and snowy, Summer is hot and windy, Spring is all about regrowth and rebirth. Fall seems to have a sense of peace and beauty about it.   I love to go for drives to see the fall colors. This year the colors were stunning, especially in the valleys. There was no September frost, so the trees have turned naturally. Sadly, the trees are done being pretty and are now starting to drop their leaves. Combining seems to ...

Here we are back at the tire saga. I think this is where I left off: I had purchased tires, they were ordered, and the appointment was made to have them put on at Canadian Tire. I picked CT because it was handy for me. The simple process of getting tires which is seamless for others is apparently not for me.  I arrived at my tire appointment at 7:00. The counter guy was already rolling. I dropped off my keys, and he said, "the tire technician wasn't in and that was odd because he is usually reliable". He took my keys anyway and I told him I was going to Tim Horton's for breakfast. As I walked across the parking lot, I was reminded of how dark it is at 7:00 in Manitoba. I got my coffee and had two bites out of my sandwich when my phone rang, it was 7:08. It was counter guy, the technician still hadn't arrived, and he wanted to reschedule for 11:30. No problem, I gathered up my coffee and back I went to get my vehicle. Counter guy and I had a conversation, and I que...

I worked in health care for 43 years and never had an injury. Not a single one, but I guess my good luck has run out. Not sure what happened with my shoulder, I want to say it crept up on me. Over the course of the last couple of months it went from discomfort to disrupting my sleep. Yes, disrupting sleep that was already disrupted. I had a discussion with a friend about my shoulder. She said, "have you considered physio?". I assured her physio was not on my list of things to do when I have an injury. There are a variety of reasons for this decision, the main one is physio isn't a quick fix. Physios also give homework assignment in the form of exercises, which I am very consistent in not doing. Lastly, it is a process, often longer than I want. Physio is interactive, and I just want someone else to make it better. In other words, just fix it for me with the least amount of effort on my part.  Someone close to me shared her story of how shockwave therapy helped her get rel...

When we were leaving the gym one Friday, our coach said to us, "you know this is not normal. People your age are not doing what you just did". She is right, there aren't a lot of senior groups over 55 doing the type of workout that we do. What is normal about us is that every class we show up early, and we are always ready when the class starts. We do what we are asked to do, and we always work as hard as we can. We make sure everything is back as we found it, and we simply admire each other's ability. That is a definition of normal senior behavior.    A well-known businessman in the community just competed at the World's CrossFit Competition in Columbus, Ohio. He made the top 10 in the world and was invited to compete in the 2025 Age-Group CrossFit Games. He finished fourth in his division, that means he is the fourth fittest over 70-year-old male in the world. To put the work and time into such an aggressive work out is not normal for someone that is over 70.  I...