Crocheting my way through Covid …

Well you’ld think a year of Covid isolation would have led to endless drivel from your tireless correspondent … but honestly what’s to say? Complaining about a plague of locusts just doesn’t help.

But the learning a new skill thing really has been a treat, and so while sparing you recipes despite this being a blog [there’s still time, ed.] here are some of my crochet creations.

Happy Monkey:

And the banana can be peeled …

Mr. Squiggles:

Dogs and Cats in hats:

Catnip Mice:

A Christmas Pickle, a tradition that was news to me!:

A Dozen Easter Eggs in a Basket Hat:

And my latest pride and joy, the vegetables, especially the avocado:

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Baby Yoda crochet brag!

Well what’s a blog without recipes and crochet patterns! I incorporated a few patterns from the web and did some intense staring at images to create this little cutie-pie so a little bragging seems appropriate.

And before assembly:

With a little (a lot) help from the interwebs, and some research into just how big those ears should be and what colour cloak, etc., a very satisfactory baby alien was born. And a hat to match for a human baby:

A new skill brought to you by Covid 19 quarantine!

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Just when you think you might get back in the saddle …

life goes predictably haywire. And then unpredictably haywire. Skipping over the homefront, where things are now almost peachy, who could have predicted Covid-19? Well it turns out a fair number of virologists have been trying to get bat viruses more attention for quite sometime. I have listened to a podcast way above my pay grade for years, called This Week in Evolution that has a sister podcast called This Week in Virology. Again, they get going about eucaryotes and all sorts of exciting tiny things I do not understand, but the broad picture they also paint is fascinating and informative. They understand numbers and testing and mutation and make much more sense than what one encounters on the news.

We lucked out and spent half of March and all of April and May in Penetanguishene where being quarantined on the shores of Georgian Bay felt pretty perfect.

Keeping my mum-in-law safe and fed and warm as she adjusted to life back at the cottage under most peculiar circumstances (not to mention how cold and windy it stayed) felt important and useful as we both chafed at the bit, missing home. And the birds! It was so quiet and at dawn the birds would get very excited:

But we left home so our son and his best pal could have the house while they quarantined after returning from Thailand as the country was closing its borders. And they have all been well, so knock on wood so far so good. And NFLD has had no new cases for a donkey’s age so while I cannot go there, the family that are there have some economic freedom and as people who know the inside story will know are thriving much to my joy. Which explains why I learned to crochet during the cottage vigil, with, if I do say so myself, some degree of success:

Just a catch up post to say how grateful I am to be home and safe and to see if I can get this ball rolling again!

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Two Years is quite the hiatus … but here we are!

Just greasing the wheels and seeing if I can get this old truck moving again. We have had a busy two years, with literally 4 weddings and a funeral. And an adventurous sail to the northern Abacos, while they were still there.

The trip to the Bahamas I have tried to boil down to 17 minutes, and it can be found here:

The weddings took us to Vancouver and then Toronto and then Miramichi and then St. John’s. My favourite was the one in Miramichi.

20180922-1752-IMG-15213. Image by Sean McGrath (http://www.seanmcgrath.ca).

And then sadly, but with great luck really, back to Penetang for the one funeral. We will miss Bobbi immensely.

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Norman Doidge, neuroplasticity, lasers and me …

Good Morning. And a very Happy Thanksgiving to my American pals, who deserve a day of rest and merriment. But enough about you.

One of the ostensible purposes of this blog has been to try to help anyone else out there who has been suffering from the unintended consequences of inguinal hernia surgery and chronic pain, and when I last left off I was pretty much at the end of my proverbial medical rope. But a light has truly been shone on my troubles and it seems somewhat miraculous.

Compounding my issues, as attentive readers [hahahahahaha, ed.] will remember, I broke my left femur in 2015, and the pain issues flared. Taking solace in audio books, I sat and listened to Norman Doidge’s The Brain’s Way of Healing, and couldn’t help but know I had to take on my pain problems in a different way. And I worked hard at my yoga, and it did help, but I also relied on narcotic pain medication, albeit a small dose, and had accepted my lot. My last contact with doctors had been pretty conclusive. You have tendinopathy and adhesions and a torn hip, a chunk of metal in your left leg and some mesh in your right side and we have repaired you as best we can and have little left in our kit bag other than cortisone shots in unmentionable places which I have had. Have some more tramacet, and let’s up your medical marijuana prescription. Now don’t get me wrong. I have had excellent medical care in a difficult and not obvious situation. Some unfortunate doctors along the way, but mostly really knowledgeable and compassionate people doing their utmost in an intractable situation.

And then here I was, two years after breaking my leg, thinking why didn’t I just go to Toronto to see if the lasers mentioned in chapter 4 of The Brain’s Way of Healing might be able to help the pains in my right groin. So I got on the web to have a glance at my options only to find that the specific laser therapy mentioned by Dr. Doidge, Bio-Flex Laser, has spread like wild-fire and was available at a number of locations here in Ottawa.

After 14 laser sessions focusing on my right groin, and 7 very helpful manipulations working on the inflexible muscles I had developed in my back through years of careful movement trying not to trigger pain but creating a world of problems of its own, I found myself thinking I didn’t really want to take my tramacet. Not a huge moment, just a sort of casual, humph, I don’t think I need it. And here we are, a week later, and though my body still sometimes seems to crave that relief, I am certainly in no more pain than when I started, and a significant medication down.

There are beginning to be solid medical studies showing the efficacy of lasers in all sorts of situations, and this one in particular caught my jaundiced eye:

Effects of low-level laser therapy on pain and scar formation after inguinal herniation surgery: a randomized controlled single-blind study.

And just in case you don’t feel like clicking on that exciting sounding link, here are the results and conclusion of the study:

G1 [who had the laser therapy] showed significantly better results in the VSS [Vancouver Scar Scale] totals (2.14 +/- 1.51) compared with G2 [no laser therapy] (4.85 +/- 1.87); in the thickness measurements (0.11 cm) compared with G2 (0.19 cm); and in the malleability (0.14) compared with G2 (1.07). The pain score was also around 50% higher in G2.

CONCLUSION:

Infra-red LLLT (830 nm) applied after inguinal-hernia surgery was effective in preventing the formation of keloids. In addition, LLLT resulted in better scar appearance and quality 6 mo postsurgery.

While I wish it had been an option earlier, like an oak tree that you didn’t plant twenty years ago, it can still be planted today. And so far so very good.

My list of things to cope with has expanded to the almost never mentioned Bell’s Palsy that has plagued me for 5 years, but which also just might respond to laser therapy, as these two studies suggest:

Efficacy of high and low level laser therapy in the treatment of Bell’s palsy: a randomized double blind placebo-controlled trial.

Role of low-level laser therapy added to facial expression exercises in patients with idiopathic facial (Bell’s) palsy.

So let’t hope the next time you see me I am not drooling and walking like peg leg Pete. I honestly haven’t felt there was hope in a long time, and really hope that others out there with chronic pain will do some research into lasers and healing and possibly get some relief as I have.

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Well, that really took the wind out of my sails …

but life marches on.

Pictures being worth a thousand words, here is (much of) my delightful family at the very happy occasion of our eldest offspring graduating from medical school, and becoming a surgeon, at one of the greatest Canadian universities, Memorial in Newfoundland.

Now that is a happier photo to wake up to!

And speaking of sails, we got new trampolines for the still [!!!, ed.] unnamed boat, and she looks marvellous:

I could go on and on about having ripped out all of the old head, linoleum, smelly pipes and all, but suffice it to say I took out my wrath against the universe by a work of terrific destruction, and we all felt better, and the composting toilet really is the bee’s knees. Or something much more smelly but also great. And I am sure you are all in breathtaking excitement waiting for the unveiling of my latest rug, which is almost done.

Apologies for the long hiatus – Mouse was a true friend and it has taken some time to heal. [Pun almost intended.] Hope all is as well as this universe allows, which is sometimes pretty magnificent:

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Sad to say, we lost our best Mouse …

It was quick, and very final. Lyme disease played a part, but something else must have been lurking. We had promised ourselves not to drag out another dog’s life, having done too much in the past, but this time there wasn’t even that chance, and Mouse checked out with speed and grace as she lived her life. I know everyone thinks they had the best dog …

.

 

but we did. Thanks Mouse.

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Maybe a flu shot would have been a good idea …

Well then, that was gnarly. Sorry for the hiatus.

However, a break from commentary seems like it was a good idea. Truth really is often stranger than fiction, and I am still reeling from all those pundits who had no idea what was going to happen now happily telling everybody what is going to happen.

But February is upon us, the sun is shining more strongly, the blood is flowing in my veins again, and the birds are chomping away at the suet. And if you are wondering what birds are chomping away at your suet, check out this excellent app from Cornell:

An App to ID Your Bird Photos

That’s right: our Merlin Bird ID app just got an upgrade that analyzes photos on your phone and offers bird ID suggestions. Just snap a photo or choose one from your photo library, answer a couple of questions, and Merlin will offer smart suggestions about what North American species it might be. Read more at eBird or download Merlin free for your iOS or Android device and try it out.

Can’t Get a Photo? Merlin still offers uncannily good ID advice from a simple bird description—now expanded to feature 650 bird species.

When I downloaded said app I accepted emails from them, and received this astonishing video, which I cannot embed, but is absolutely worth the click and  will brighten your winter day. Happy February.

Secret bird of paradise dating dance revealed

 

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Happy Birthday to me …

As my father-in-law once said, I never wanted to be 86 until I was 85. My brother was also succinct one year: think of the alternative …

Feeling it was a good year, as one’s expectations sink with each passing year, but no broken bones or dead parents seems like a rip-roaring success in comparison to much of my 2010’s, and capped by the engagement of our daughter, a classic ending for a comedy, we shall bank this one as comedy not tragedy.

                                 Xty 2015                                                             Xty 2016

          

I’ll take it!

Love and best wishes to all.

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Progressive? No thanks … or at least only if I’m at the helm …

The other day I had a somewhat depressing run in with our city councillor who mistook his election as a mandate when it was a strong rejection of the development mad woman whom he replaced. We discussed two recent neighbourhood changes: one, the ludicrous changes to the traffic light around the corner to dis-allow right turns on red and demarcate a bicycle waiting zone that never has any bicycles in it, but a long line of idling cars behind the green paint, waiting to turn; and two, the addition of signs reminding folks it is illegal to panhandle on the highway off-ramp nearby.

Now having explained that the no-right turn on red had increased both smog and the danger to the school kids crossing at the light because now cars can only turn when pedestrians can cross and those cars are now full of much more impatient and irritated drivers and those kids are more full of smog, he actually said that they were looking at it and intended to add to the beginning of the pedestrian crossing times a time when cars could not turn right as well. So his proposed solution would actually make both the issues we complained about even worse. Longer idling wait times and more anger from the drivers.  We have lived here for 25 years and the intersection was “improved” over the course of a couple of years and you can tell by the increased squealing tires and honking that the peculiar lane markings and cement island have really made it a pleasure to navigate. And yes, people have hit the added island and so has the snow plow of course.

Already distressed by the lack of logic this response demonstrated as well as a certain inability to actually listen to a constituent and be at least diplomatic, he somehow launched into apologizing for the do not pan-handle signs, which I have been pleased by. It is a really sad business, and I mean business, that runs these “homeless” men. They clearly are pimped out, share a bicycle and a cardboard sign, and have shifts, a sentiment the councillor readily agreed with. Both the Shepherd’s of Good Hope and the Mission here in Ottawa have asked people not to give them money. I have personally been wanting to paint “do not feed the bears” on the overpass. If you pay people to lurk on the off-ramp with a Tim Horton’s cup, you will get people lurking on the off-ramp. It is a pretty lucrative spot too, if you do the math on their hourly take. But there is no dignity or future in this. And these gentlemen have demonstrated an ability to stay on their feet for hours while almost working. Sell me a gall-darned pencil at least you nitwits! But back to the councillor. He apologized for those signs and started saying, “Progressives like us …” but I was retreating in horror.

Now it seems to me that the last thing a progressive would do is hand a beggar a dollar with no strings attached, and it would appear that not only am I right, a progressive would have probably wanted to sterilize them on the spot and have them slowly starve. But don’t take my word for it, as other people have said it much better:

 Thomas Leonard on Race, Eugenics, and Illiberal Reformers

EconTalk Episode with Thomas Leonard

Hosted by Russ Roberts

illiberal%20reformers.jpg

Were the first professional economists racists? Thomas Leonard of Princeton University and author of Illiberal Reformers talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book–a portrait of the progressive movement and its early advocates at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The economists of that time were eager to champion the power of the state and its ability to regulate capitalism successfully. Leonard exposes the racist origins of these ideas and the role eugenics played in the early days of professional economics. Woodrow Wilson takes a beating as well.

You knew it was bad, but maybe not this bad … but when you hear a self-proclaimed progressive wanting to raise the minimum wage, you just might want to think twice about what the initial intent of the policy was, and how it might even lead to beggars on the off-ramp.

So have a nice regressive day.

 

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