Go to the Water

The official 2024 summer is long gone. As a senior I feel the need to reflect on the weather. It was an interesting summer regarding the weather. The first part of July was cold, filled with lots of rain and of course, wind. O nce it settled down there were nice summer temperatures. The weather finished strong, September was one of the hottest on record in Manitoba and most of Canada. Reality has now set in for me when I look at the heavy frost in the mornings, no more summer. It was many years ago, a friend told me that her and her husband didn't do anything during the summer months. She decided that every day she would do one summer activity to make it memorable. I liked that idea and for some time now, I have embraced her concept. I made it a focus to do a summer activity nearly every day. Often it was a visit to the pool, coffee in the park or at the river, just something simple. Other times it was a much bigger event. The take-away here is, it is the little things that we do f

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in eight women will receive the diagnosis of breast cancer in their lifetime. That is a staggering statistic.  The gals from the "Waves of Hope" have just exploded with activity. Awareness is what "Waves" is about. First up was the "Run for the Cure". The way these women go for it, it was of no surprise that they were the top fund-raising group at the event.  Three days later several members were special guests at the Manitoba Legislation. They were witness to the discussion of a Bill, regarding the self-referral age for mammograms. This Bill had been discussed many times and plans were to lower the age to 45 years by 2025. The Waves group had gathered signatures on petitions. They were added to an overwhelming number of petitions presented to Legislation to consider. The petitions indicated that the people wanted a better result for women than what was proposed. Following a discussion, Bill 221 was passed late

The story of the white buffalo at Sioux Valley Dakota Nation began in 2009. The community was gifted a white and brown buffalo from the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The calves were born the year before at the zoo. Several First Nations communities were considered to receive the young buffalos, but it was Sioux Valley that was selected. The gift of two buffalos, one being white was a gesture of friendship, recognizing the significance of the animal to the First Nations people.    A white buffalo is rare and are born one in one million. They are also sacred. The white buffalo is rooted in the spiritual beliefs of many Native American communities. They are considered a symbol of hope, peace, purity, and abundance. It is believed they have great spiritual power, in that the white buffalo is connected to the Creator and the natural world.  It took six years before the community welcomed the first white buffalo. This calf was the third white buffalo in Manitoba. A white buffalo is born tan, with wh

I have written posts about books before, and here I am again. Quite odd for someone that rarely reads a book. I think when it comes to reading there are two questions: "do you like to read" and "do you read". The answer for me would be, I like to read but I don't read. I would never be one of those people that has a book on the go all of the time, or maybe even more than one book. There are a variety of reasons that I do not class myself as a reader. I am not a sitter; you have to be able to relax in order to remember what you are reading. When I do read, I deeply immerse myself into a book. I have such a vivid imagination, I become the person I am reading about. I have to be in the right space to read.    When I say to people, "do you read?", people know exactly what I mean. It is like a universal language. I always question them on what they read. The answers are interesting. Many people say, "I read anything", others say, "I like book

I am never sure if I like making rules for myself, or I feel more focused following the rules that I make for myself. I find if I am ready to follow my rules, it works better to make them. I got a beautiful journal from my cousin, and I have been keeping it for a special occasion. That came on October 1. Summer is over and I just had an Aunt Joan talk with myself and decided, I needed to grab onto some focus. My focus can be wild and uncontrollable from time to time, so making it mind is a task in itself. I felt the need to name the activity, and I came up with "October Objectives".  My objectives come under the titles of daily, weekly and within the month. I know winter is the next season to arrive. I want to establish a good routine before the snow is everywhere. It is a fact that you have to do something 22 times before it becomes a habit.  Daily:  1. Take supplements. I don't take any prescription medications, but I do have a cupboard full of supplements. I know I nee

Every Wednesday afternoon when I volunteer, I get to organize an activity. This idea came from one of the clients. She suggested to give everyone a blank canvas and to start by painting something on it. We then passed it to the next person, and they added something, and it would continue on around the table. This is my canvas that came back to me. What a simple, yet powerful message that I knew was what I needed to receive.    I will never be one of those people that needs to gain weight. I can't even understand the concept, but many have this struggle. I do know what it feels like to judge myself because of my weight. It is very easy to sit in judgment of how we look. To look in a mirror and say, "you look good girl, you got this", is something we need to say more. I have come to realize that if I am wearing something I love, I create more self-love. I just bought a $10 dress at Giant Tiger. I love that dress; I loved how I looked in it and I loved myself in it. It gave