I wish I were on a trip! No.. just batlling the winter blahs. Everytime I think I've caught up with my energy MS knocks me on my butt and I'm back to square one weak and so fatigued. lol could be worse but it's disheartening none the less. (I'm 24! I shouldnt NEED to go to bed at 9:30 on a friday night. or a saturday.. or stay in all weekend resting) ah well

I did join the Relay for Life committee up here.. it's an all night fundraising event for the cdn cancer society so preparing for the event next month is taking up my evenings. I'm still alive. hope everyone is taking care.

HIYA VAL ~ it's nice to hear from you; sorry, to hear the winter is giving you grief. Believe me, DH and I really understand how you feel. We had lovely sunshine today, so we went out driving this afternoon just to get out of the house. The roads were busy today so I think many here decided to do the same thing. We went out to our lot again, as we are measuring the snow to see how much they get out there and it was down quite a bit in just one week since we were last there. We could see the top of our brick pile which was totally buried just last week.

So ... even though this was a very snow-heavy year, it is melting pretty fast out in the country. Here in town, the piles are still too high. Last year, in the country there were mountains, but the snow was all gone in April; so I think we'll be good for an early April thaw, as long as we don't get too many heavy snowfalls yet. We had some light fluffy stuff yesterday that was mostly melted by today.

I know what you mean when you say 'at 24, you shouldn't have to be resting so much'. I was feeling like that today too. I have an injury in my left foot; all I did was trip over DH's leg as he had it sticking out when we were doing the dishes together last night. And I twisted it again; I had injured it many time before by tripping over things like NIKO, a rug, and DH's boots; and man, does that hurt. Feet and ankles weren't meant to turn under ... ya know?

ANYHOW, I will live; but this is an injury I could have lived without. I had to take a low pain pill so I could walk today, becuz I just didn't want to miss going out for a drive. DH says this has been a long winter for many; and I thought it went by fast, but we are sure glad it's almost over. I'm afraid the cold is bothering us much more than in the past.

HI MEOWEE ~ Oh, that's great that you can use your sunroom all year round; gee, I would really like a four-season room like that myself, but I think it will have to be on the south-west corner as that's the only place there is room; but I think that would work out OK too!

HEY PURPLE ~ I have mentioned to DH many times that I would love to have an electric scooter, but they are really expensive here. A good heavy duty one is about $3000.00 here; way beyond us I'm afraid -- maybe we could find a second-hand one somewhere for a better price. I think that would be so handy, so I could get out and about more often when my legs and feet hurt too much.

It's interesting that your Father's Day is the same as ours, but you Mother's Day is on a different day. Ours is on May 10th this year (which is one of my brother's birthday), but it is usually on May 11th. One of my grammie's passed away on May 11th, so that was a reminder to us; and she was a terrific mother and grandmother too! It seems they are changing the dates for many celebrations lately; not sure why though ...

Anyone here can access the handicap washrooms and I'm glad for that; most places keep them in really good shape and esp in the ladies rooms, most don't use them unless they need to. That's one thing I do like about women: they do keep the public washrooms clean and neat here. As I used to work as a professional cleaner, I have a fetish about this and always wipe the toilet seat before I use it and afterwards too (with paper towels). I know that must sound crazy, but I look at it as a public service.

Now, don't get me started on the 'GERM' topics; that is one of my pet peeves and fetishes for sure! That's why I do that; and I wash my hands many times a day too. Oh well, I guess we all have to have our idiosyncracies, and that's just one of my thangs!

Actually, I'm sorry to hear that the physically challenged are being screened so heavily, because we have been through that here so much already. Sometimes, workers are over-diligent in this respect, and have hurt people with their rudeness. Like VAL says, it's hard enough to live with these conditions; and it is stressful to boot, but some get too curt in the way they talk to and about the disabled.

It's sad to me that anyone would be jealous of a disabled person; but we do hear this by a certain element. But we know from previous experience that most companies do not want to hire a disabled or physically challenged person because it makes them feel guilty to be using a disabled person to make money; and I've heard bosses say this!

When our government dumped the 'hire a disabled minority voluntary law' about 10 years ago (in Ontario), disabled people were let go in droves (fired or laid off)! So, people just have to make up their minds, if you don't want to hire them or share your job with them, then you will just have to support them. You can't have it both ways. We have really strict rules here: they have tightened things up quite a bit, and we already use the 'Who and What is SEVERELY DISABLED criteria now.'

Our programs are now called 'SUPPORTS', not pensions anymore. I think some people will always be paranoid that a handful of folks are ripping the system off, but if the system has the right safeguards in place, and is working correctly, then that number should be negligible.

The biggest problem is that we have a combination of mental, intellectual, learning, developmental, physical, emotional, and psychological challenges or limitations to evaluate; and many people have more than one issue, so it can get very complicated ...

Boy, did I get off on a rant or what? Anyways, enuff of that! We had a gorgeous day, and had a fantastic drive; and then we picked up some chicken for dinner too. We had a good day all-in-all; and I hope you all did too! HI to BEVERLYJOY, and RONNIE, and NUMPSTER ...

Take good care, my friends and have A MARVELLOUS MONDAY!!! ROSEBUD

Hello, Everyone! Glad to hear of nicer weather in places, but sorry about falls, twisted joints, tiredness, and overdoing-it issues. I'm wondering if it's the long dragging on of winter that's causing part of it-well, ok, obviously, the winter's responsible for some of the falls and joint injuries-duh! I've been feeling very tired lately too, falling asleep on the couch during some of my favorite evening shows, long before bedtime! I know I shouldn't try to blame everything that I feel on the MS, but I've also been having mystery pains in feet, hands, and hips, as well as facial numbness and a twitch in my right eyelid that's lasted over 3 weeks. It just seems to wear me out at times. I don't know of anything I could have done to injure my foot or hand, either, especially since the foot pain is on the top of the foot and the hand pain is on top between the thumb and first finger-just weird

Rosebud-your wildlife's antics are very funny! We sometimes see birds chasing each other, as well as chasing off squirrels, and we have a short-tailed squirrel who's the absolute loudest creature we've ever had living in our yard-he yells at us constantly! Don't know how he lost his tail, but he's not the only one we've seen in the area with only a stub. DH put a little perch in an awning outside my kitchen window, because last year we had a pair of house finches that kept coming and looking in on me. He's hoping they'll actually set up nest there this year.

Purple-it does sound like your gov't takes better care of the disabled. Our new pres claims that he's got all the answers for the problems here, but I just don't think he knows as much as he says he does, since we all know that the money's got to come from somewhere and it looks like it'll be people like my family paying for all his programs (climbing down,now!) Hope you enjoyed your Mothering Sunday!

Meowee-your sunroom sounds wonderful! I'd love to have something like that if we ever get a new house. A nice comfy chair and a good book-that sound like heaven to me!

Val- Yes, you are way too young to be feeling so tired. It just doesn't seem fair, does it, but hopefully, the fatigue will soon pass and you'll be able to do more. Getting involved in the Relay for life is sure to boost your spirits and maybe energy levels as well. Remember that you're not alone-it's so nice to be part of this group where we all have similar issues and can find support

Well, I really hope everyone heals up quickly from the bumps, falls, bruises, twists, and fatigue! Take care and have a nice day!

Brace yourselves for a weather whine -- it's snowing and the infamous "they" are predicting 10 to 12 inches of the stuff by tomorrow morning. I have to go to the doctor this afternoon and to the dentist first thing in the morning and since I'm having problems that I need to deal with now in both medical and dental areas, I definitely don't want to cancel. Luckily I don't have far to drive for either one because this wet Spring snow can make for really treacherous roads.

See you later . . .

HI LADIES ~ we had beautiful sunshine all day long; which was nice becuz it is a bit colder today. DH went out for a couple of short bike rides though and he said it wasn't too bad. He is trying to get some more exercise after not having much to do over the winter, but he has to work his way up; don't we all? I'll have to do the same thing with my walking come spring too!

HEY PURPLE ~ We used to have many companies that hired the disabled, but as I mentioned that changed about 10 years ago. After that, many challenged people started up their own businesses in the bigger cities and work together as a group hiring other disabled or challenged persons, which I think was clever. There are a few places that will hire someone for maintenance (floor sweepers); or as a Girl-Fridays or Mail-Boys, but it is very limited in numbers and to places like hospitals and such.

We also had homemade soup for the last couple of days for our lunch with some leftover chicken along with that today. Tonight, we just had bangers on a w/w bun, as we had our lunch a bit late today.

MEOWEE ~ our forecasters here are predicting snow for the rest of the week, but they were wrong about today, so maybe it won't be as bad as they are saying. Hope you make it to and from your appointments OK tomorrow.

HI RONNI ~ Your squirrel is chattering at you becuz he wants you to give him some food. It is possible that someone who lived there before you, was putting food out and he may be wondering why they stopped. I'd bet that is what he is complaining about. Squirrels love peanuts and sunflower seeds the most. We have a bag that is mixed that we put out that has both in it, plus some grain & plant seeds that the finches like too; we just put out a small can of this each day.

And the fact that some finches come and gape into your window is a second sign to me that someone in the past was feeding them at that house, becuz they will return for years to the same place looking for food, and finches are very brave and friendly towards people and will come right up to your house and windows to let you know that they are back.

TIP: We are finding now that if we put the food in a few different places that lessens the scrapping between them all, but DH swears that they are just bored and enjoy the excitement, becuz as soon as the competition leaves, they leave also.

Well, the temps rose to -5c today, and it is supposed to be even warmer this week with those ****, so we'll see what happens.

HI to VAL, and BEVERYLYJOY, and NUMPSTER ... Hope you all have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY tomorrow as well!!!

ROSEBUD

Hi . . .

Ugly, ugly day outside -- it is snowing and blowing like mad. I made it to the doctor yesterday but have definitely cancelled the dentist for today. I am going nowhere. It's beginning to look like the predicted foot of snow may be even more. Apparently, my section of the Province is definitely getting the worst of this storm.

Doctor appointment yesterday was a big fizzle -- my chest noises were nice and quiet while he was listening (maybe I should invite over to listen to me when I try to get to sleep at night ). So he put me on a Flovent inhaler (usually used to control asthma) and scheduled me for a chest x-ray on the 16th followed by a return appointment with him on the 30th. We'll see.

PURPLE . . . we have a similar system here. You get a special blue card to stick in your window to allow parking in special areas. Unfortunately ours do not include a picture and they are definitely misused a lot -- since the card usually stays with the car, people tend to park in the special areas even when the person to whom the card was originally issued is not among the travellers. Of course, it can be difficult to tell sometimes because not everyone who is entitled to a card has outwardly visible signs of any disability. For example, one of my nephews has a sun allergy (no, he does not have any other vampire-like tendancies) and consequently has a disabled-parking-permit. Picture ID would definitely help to control the abuse.

ROSEBUD . . . I sincerely hope your snow stays away -- although I would like some company in my misery, I don't wish this stuff on anybody at this time of year.

Well, better go do the puffer thing. Hope I get better with it because I seem to get more on my tongue than into my lungs.

Hope everybody else has decent weather on the go and some sunshine. See you later .

Meowee-just wanted to make a quick note here, as I have to run to town soon. Did your doc give you an extender for your inhaler? Both DS3 and I have asthma and were given extenders that are about 6" long to put at the end of the inhaler, so the medicine has more distance to vaporize and you can inhale it easier without getting so much stuck in your mouth (icky and wasted, too). Here, they are free at the pharmacy when we refill our prescriptions, but can be washed over and over, because they just a simple, flexible, plastic tube.

Well, gotta run! Hope you are all having a great day, even though it sounds like the weather is against all of us

Thanks RONNI . . . I will ask my pharmacist for one -- the next time I can get out of the house.

HI LADIES ~ Well, the sun tried to shine through some clouds today, but we didn't actually get any snow. The winds were strong in the morning, but calmed down and the temps rose to +7 C or 50-something F. The afternoon clouds looked like rain clouds but nothing fell. DH was actually hoping for rain to melt some of the snow we already have, but didn't happen.

MEOWEE ~ isn't that always the way; you feel unwell and have symptoms, but as soon as you get to the docs office, they mysteriously go away; supernaturally healed even! This happens to my DH a lot. He says by the time he finally gets an appointment, he's already recovered! I hope your puffer helps you, and you are feeling better real soon.

HI RONNI ~ Hope you had a good day shopping today or errands, etc. I hope you and your family are keeping warm without a furnace; maybe a small heater might help until the warmer temps show up, which should be soon in your area (only one more week and April will be here).

HEY PURPLE ~ yes, like MEOWEE says we have disabled cards and I do have one of those. On really bad days, Dh drops me off at the door, but I don't have as far to walk to the car coming back out. Most places only have 1 or 2 spots, but we've managed OK so far.

I'm not sure if they entitle me to free parking, but they certainly are closer than the other side of a huge parking lot on a busy day when you are tired and sore. I have good days and rougher days; sometimes, I just send DH to do errands and pickups like today.

That's a good idea for a game for your RIZZIE: hiding biscuits or treats all over the house for him to find. We had a pair of woodpeckers here together today: one male and one female; becuz we have three suets out, each one could have one of their own. Normally, when one is here, the other leaves or is chased away; according to who is bolder or less timid. Now we have one on the roof of the large feeder and the Starlings like it (easy to access); one hanging on the side (the female likes that one), and one hanging in the tree which the males seem to like better.

The Starlings try to mimic (copy) the woodpeckers and jump on the suet bags but always end up falling off, so it is very funny to watch. The woodpeckers have special talons on their feet so they can hang on to anything and climb easily as well; the Starlings don't have that bonus on their feet, so they slip, but they sure get an 'A' for effort. They say that is why there are so many Starlings now; becuz they are so flexible and learn from all the other birds around them ... they are very clever birds!

Speaking of foxes, we often see them here; especially along the sideroads in the country; and last year, DH and I saw a bunch of four, which like you said, are likely a litter that are hanging around together. They live together and hunt together too; sometimes mom is with them and sometimes she isn't. I think they wander onto the roads sometimes, while mom is out hunting for some dinner!

Well, we had a nice dinner of lean pork centers (boneless) with broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, onions, and rice with a mushroom sauce poured over them for dinner tonight. This is done like a casserole and baked in the oven until the meat is tender and the rice is creamy like a risotto.

Well, that's all the news from here; not much going on right now. Winter not quite over and spring not here yet; yukky in between time. HI to our other friends here; hope all is well for you and yours; take good care ... ROSEBUD

Rosebud-hi and to let you know that the people we're buying the new furnace from loaned us a used fan for our existing unit until the new one comes in (apparently they're back-ordered right now-probably due to so much flooding last year in our area and so many people in the midst of replacing the ones that were ruined), so we have good heat and have been doing ok in that area anyway.


Didn't get too much done today (yesterday at this point, I guess), but was totally exhausted by 9:30, so we went to bed early, but then I couldn't sleep and DH started snoring so loudly that I decided to just get up and come downstairs for a bit (and check out the 3fc site). I get to thinking when I can't sleep and now have plans in my head for painting the bathroom and hallway Got our taxes finished earlier and we will actually get a few $ back, but not much due to the local school tax (in Iowa we can't get any of that back, even though we homeschool, unlike other states). Oh, well, at least it's done for this year!

Well, I think I'll go see if the snore storm has passed and try to get a few winks! Talk to you all later!

Well what can I say . . . the "people in charge of measuring snowfall" have officially spoken (although I don't know how they can measure sideways snow). Anyway, we did not get the 12" that had been forecast. We got 16" (that's right, you read it right, sixteen inches) of the lovely white stuff. It's still windy and cold, but at least it has stopped snowing.

So far no trip to the drug store for an extender for the puffer, but I discovered I can hold my tongue down with a fork while I puff and now think the stuff is actually getting into the lungs. So far nothing good to report, but I do imagine it will take a few days at least.

Along with the bad weather I had two days of definitely off-plan eating -- way too heavy on the fat and carbs -- today, I have my act together again and hope to stay that way for the balance of the month.

Have a good afternoon, gang and I hope it is full of warmth and sunshine because I n eed to live vicariously through the rest of you.

HI LADIES ~ Well, we had a bit of a dreary day with clouds and drizzle all day long; the winds were cold and I ended up feeling quite chilled until I put the oven on for dinner and that warmed things up quite a bit, along with the furnace.

RONNI ~ I am quite glad to hear that you have heat again; and you probably already told us this, and I likely just forgot. This old memory doesn't work as good as it used too I'm afraid! Nice to get those taxes done and out of the way; it's even nicer, if you get something back!

SORRY, MEOWEE ~ that you got all that ****, but we only had a peek of sunshine today, then rain the rest of the day; but at least, we didn't get the ****that they had predicted.

PURPLE ~ hope you are feeling OK today after your treatment yesterday. DH and I tried that search game with NIKO, and I'm afraid it will take him a few times to get the knack of if; he did managed to find a few by himself, but the rest DH had to kinda give him a hint where they were. He is a pretty smart boy, so in time, he should figure it all out.

Speaking of NIKO, he just came barrelling into the house, and has gone completely rangy; DH left him out in the rain a bit too long for his liking, and he was stuck on some frozen bricks which he really dislikes; so needless to say, he was upset that DH didn't come and rescue him right away! He really hates getting wet and this is surely the source of his angst. He's been running around the house like a cuckoo-bird for the last 5+ minutes, so DH took him into the other room to put on some music which seems to calm him down quite a bit. He loves to listen to music and just lays right down and goes to sleep.

HIYA to VAL, and BEVERLYJOY, and NUMPSTER ~ hope you all are having a great week too. Take good care and I hope everyone has a TRANQUIL THURSDAY!!! ROSEBUD

Good Morning . . .

The sun is shining and we are supposed to get a degree or two above the freezing mark by this afternoon. Hopefully, things will start melting. Longer term forecast is calling for warmer and warmer over the weekend and rain. That will wipe out a lot of this mess.

In the meantime, I ache all over; I still sound like my coffee maker; and my blood sugar is staying relatively stable, but, unfortunately a bit too high for my liking. Things could definitely be better -- but -- things could definitely be worse.

Hope you all have a great day dawning . . .