Here Comes the Sun

The warmth of the past couple of weeks has caused the snow to melt here in Winnipeg. The grass is getting greener and there are birds returning and bunnies hopping all over the place. Spring has finally reached Manitoba!

The sun is peeking out intermittently today and my daughter decided that she would take a break from her work and take the dog out to play in our backyard. She said getting dressed, putting on her shoes and leaving the house to get some sun made her feel happier and a lot more ready to get to focus on work again. I teased her when she came back in by playing  Here Comes the Sun by The Beetles.

I love that song. To me, it says to hang on, it has been a long difficult period but that this too shall pass.

The first online handle I had was the nickname  Rainy Gal because it seemed like every time I went camping it rained. I first got dial-up internet around 1998. Things were very innocent back then and I became part of an online "web design and shared learning group" where we linked webpages in our private websites to form a "mouse village".  Yes, really a bunch of adults. There were people there with varied knowledge and info and I learned about initial set up of pages, graphic design, animation, and HTML and even learned some javascript skills.

Together we designed graphics and animations and had our mice do little activities like telling stories and creating new digital furniture and clothes for them and had them do magic tricks. They even got to go camping. We had little digital prizes and certificates for our mice and our fellow creators. We really learned a lot from and about each other.

One of the big online things back then was to program webpages to automatically open with little music clips. This was all before YouTube existed. I had about 20 mousey pages all with different rain or cloud themed songs that I coordinated with the graphics and page content.  One of my favourite pages had the song Here Comes the Sun playing and I placed a sun animation and added my little mice family creations, all animated to jump up and down in the sunshine.

 It was a happy time.

Perhaps this fairly recent Abby Road release will get this hopeful song stuck in your head.

Here comes the Sun

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun

And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

Update Time

It has been a fairly stressful nine days since I last wrote, but I didn't want to go much longer without an update. I kind of left things with a cliff hanger last time I posted. 

I know there are lots of people facing much worse challenges, and I am trying to just keep calm. I am painting for relaxation, I am doing mindful meditation, trying to keep to a regular routine. I am trying to leave home at home and being positive and happy at work for the residents and then go home and leave my work concerns at work.

My middle (adult) daughter is doing much better now after her respiratory infection, but there were some ups and downs. She had seemed better from last Friday, or so and then she started getting even shorter of breath again and coughing increased. She was sitting at her desk studying when she felt dizzy and passed out, hitting her head and found herself wondering how she wound up on the floor. We immediately called her doctor for an over the phone appointment. Her head wasn't hurt badly, but passing out is never a good sign.

 It looks like she developed a secondary infection. She may have bronchitis or pneumonia, so she was put her on an antibiotic, a different kind of inhaler, and she was given strict instructions to watch that she isn't getting dehydrated and to have frequent small meals. She seemed much better now and is continuing to improve. 

In the middle of all this, I got a call that workplace health and safety were waiving the rest of my 14-day quarantine, so I am back at work. I usually only work 26 hours biweekly, but I will be picking up a couple of extra shifts now.

My daughter that lives in Regina called about 5 days ago... to tell us that she had to take her beloved German Sheppard, Oliver, into the emergency vet clinic. He had to have immediate surgery with a very poor expectation of success. It was touch and go from hour to hour. The operation took more than twice as long as expected, and they removed a section of his colon and straightened out his intestines. He made it through surgery, and the next couple of days was constant slow recovery at home, but he is still not out of the woods. It is just "wait and see" for another day. She is having a little quality time with him cuddling. I wish I was there to cuddle her.

There have been a few other tension creating situations this week. You don't really want to read about how my washing machine leaked all over the floor and has now given up on us, do you?

I went to work yesterday evening for a few hours, and it was not easy, but I know that I am making a difference. It was hard to change gears for work at first, but the problems of my day went away once I focused on being present for my residents and bringing them comfort.

.

I plan to Keep Calm, Wash my Hands and hopefully we will soon find a way to get a new washing machine so I can wash my clothes too.

It Got Stressful at My Home

We are all concerned about COVID 19 and what it means to each of us. 

Indeed you should be concerned because this is changing how we work and play, how we raise our children, our cleaning habits, our health, economics and relationships.

This past week, one of our adult children that live with us became very sick with a respiratory illness. We don't know for sure what is wrong because she doesn't fall under the guidelines for testing. She would need to show that she had travelled recently, that she was around someone else with COVID 19 in the past couple of weeks, attended a large event, or is a health care worker. She was directed to get to the hospital if she became unable to catch her breath or speak in sentences.

Now, this was a good set of questions when our city had no cases or when we were early on and could track every contact that one affected person had, but we are long past that, and now people are picking up the virus through community contacts. It reflects the shortage of testing kits in the city and not necessarily the need to be tested. How would she know if she was in contact with someone with COVID 19? It's not like anyone else has been tested that she might have bumped into at her physio appointment or at the Grocery store because those people probably weren't on a plane either.

I am worried about my daughter. I was in a crazy cleaning and bleaching frenzy all while trying to pull off a fun and meaningful Easter weekend, because what else was there to do? No medication to administer for this disease, no sitting around cuddling my sick and potentially contagious daughter. I was watching to see if her breathing was getting more difficult and prepared to rush to the hospital.

She is on day 8 now, and she did not reach a point where we were scared enough to try and get her to the emergency department. Some of her symptoms have let up, but she still is not breathing well and is lethargic, but one positive sign is that she is starting to cheer up a bit and act more like herself.

I work as a front line health care worker, so I was told by the health department that because a household member is sick with a respiratory illness, I could not go to work for 14 days. I do agree with this quarantine because I would never want to risk the health of our residents or my coworkers. I don't know if my daughter has a cold, flu, or COVID 19. I do know that I don't want to risk bringing any serious illnesses to work.

I have mainly been feeling upset because of how helpless and powerless I feel. 

I know a lot about different aspects of this kind of crisis through my work as a Microbiologist and my years of working for the Department of Infectious Diseases at our University Medical College. I am not in a position to use my knowledge right now. I moved on to a different kind of job that I take great joy in, but it doesn't mean my interest or knowledge of my previous field went away.

I feel helpless at home, trying to protect my family.

I feel helpless watching groups of kids saunter by my house with those essential Slurpees in their hands.

I feel helpless when I see people gathered in parking lots, chatting before lining up to going inside and get groceries. 

I feel helpless when I see my coworkers learning how to wear protective garments and adjusting to how their work has changed.

I feel helpless when I watch politicians making risky decisions that I might not agree with.

I feel helpless watching family members who are students struggling with the changing online learning method that is not really the best fit for them.

I feel helpless knowing there are so many lonely people living with depression, anxiety and fear.

I think, for the most part, I am an optimist and rather on the practical side. I am realistic about what a significant impact this pandemic will have on us as individuals and upon our world. 

I keep thinking about the Serenity Prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."

 I will try to make a plan and then carry on; however, if my plan isn't working, I will have to accept that and adjust to our changing circumstances. I have to find the courage and do the work I need to do and help when I can. I need to care for my family when they need care and I will accept help gratefully should I need it. I need the wisdom to know what my limits are and believe me, that can be extra challenging for me some days.

I am going to keep cleaning and disinfecting my house and even my groceries, and I'm staying in place when possible and I will try to make sure everyone is eating nutritious food. I'm working on projects that make me happy, and some that might even help my family and others. There are a ton of online group activities and even credit courses that I am participating in online, and of course, there is facetime chatting with friends. Most of all, I will treasure this extra time with my family.

Basically, I am still doing the best I can to be Leading a Healthy Life.

photo credit Pixabay

There is Muffin Batter in my Fridge!

I worked this past weekend, and when I came home on Sunday night, I basically retreated to my room immediately after dinner because I was feeling completely drained and pretty stiff and sore. I had no energy left for anything. That night my daughter, Emily, made up the 6 Week Refrigerator Muffin batter, and I never even realized that she was doing it. Monday morning, I woke up to the wonderful smell of baking drifting down the hall. I was so surprised and happy that she made them for us, and it lifted my spirits. It was such a thoughtful, and yummy breakfast served along with some juice.

Years ago, when my kids were babies, I used to make a lot of basic food like yogurt, bread, ice cream and jams. One of our most useful and favourite recipes was the one for 6 Week Refrigerator Muffins. It is a pretty basic muffin recipe but made easier by using raisin bran cereal and buttermilk. The muffin batter fits in a plastic ice cream pail, and you can simply scoop out as much as you need for fresh hot muffins when you have a guest or just want a treat. I was a little suspicious back then that it wouldn't be good for 6 whole weeks, and I still can't answer that question because the stuff never lasts that long in our fridge without getting baked! 

During this period of social (physical) distancing, many of us have more time to bake and learn new skills. Still, we are finding that stress and uncertainty kind of sneak up on us, and focusing and being productive can become challenging from time to time. We want to make things fun, we want to eat healthily, but that can be hard to coordinate when shopping is challenging, and our family's daily routine is so disrupted. No one should feel bad about having off days when you just don't care if the dinner plan suddenly turns into a sandwich. Nor should they worry about trying to keep up with the elaborate activities friends are sharing on Instagram. 

(yes grin - I absolutely plan to put this pic of Jasper Dog looking lovingly at muffins on Instagram)

This batter has been a shortcut for me. It is a way of doing something one day to have something special and easy to use on another day when maybe life isn't going as planned.
It doesn't have to be my muffin recipe (though I bet you really would like it) It might be a frozen meal that someone else can pop in the microwave. Perhaps it could be forgetting about the dirty dishes and cuddling up and watching a feel-good movie with someone you love.

Just let go. Have some nice surprises ready for when you really need them and most of all, be kind to yourself.

Here ya go. The muffin recipe.

6-Week Raisin Bran Refrigerator Muffins

 Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sugar 
• 4 cups buttermilk
• 6 cups bran flake cereal 

• 5 cup all-purpose flour 
• 5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup oil

Method:

• Beat the sugar and eggs in your very large mixing bowl 
• stir in buttermilk, cereal flour, baking soda, salt and oil and mix  
• put in a storage container with a lid and keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks

•  to bake anytime:pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees 
• put scoops of the batter into greased muffin 
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of your muffin or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. 

Notes:

It is essential to use the buttermilk, soda and sugar and oil as directed in order for it to last in your fridge.

The traditional cereal is a raisin bran style cereal, but there are now a lot of other bran flake style cereals out there with goodies like dried strawberries or almonds that I think would be a delicious option.

Plants, Projects and Stress During Social Isolation

It has been a long hard Winter for some of my houseplants.

Winnipeg still has snow on the ground, and we are stuck at home during "Social Distancing," but that doesn't stop the local Garden centers from sending out tempting ads. I want to grow more plants!  In sad times like this, we feel such an urge to surround ourselves with living, growing things. It gives us hope.

I love doing lots of little plant and garden-based projects, such as wreaths, cute plant pots, pressed flowers, and especially photographing plants and nature. This time of year, every container that I really should throw into recycling is getting scrutinized to decide if maybe a plant or seeds would love to have it as a new home. I start looking for any seeds left over from last year and can't walk or scroll past seed displays without looking to see what is new.

Gardening is a stress reliever,

• The physical activity of gardening is a good exercise for your body and great for your mental health.
• You can grow healthy vegetables that are nutritious and yummy
• Sunshine, while working in a garden, can provide us with all the vitamin D our body needs.
• Working with plants promotes mindfulness and encourages mental focus.
• You can find the enjoyment of personal creativity in a garden.
• You can relax and find pleasure with the beauty of your plants.

 The truth is that I am not a great gardener, but I don't give up easily, so I learn by trial and error and with a little help from my friends and Pinterest. Plants seem to have a way of surviving despite my tendency to overwater and then underwater them. My home is filled with indoor plants, and the yard has at least a few successes each year. We are fortunate to have a cottage surrounded by an abundance of beautiful plants and flowers and creatures growing naturally around us.


 Last week my husband Bob and I decided that some of the houseplants had reached the point where we needed to give them new soil and bigger pots or they wouldn't survive. One particular stumbling block has been the Christmas Cactuses. I have four that have been around for a long time and not grown very much, and two were still in the same growers' pots we got them in three years ago. We had fertilized them and watered sparingly but never given them
new real soil.  In February, the little ones both produced 1 flower each. I kind of thought it was one last attempt to get our attention. Finally, I looked it up and found the recommended soil was a cactus blend that had been kicking around our garage for a year. Once we got started, we had a great time. We found two larger pots out in our garage and mover the largest plants over, thereby freeing up their pots for the two little ones. Yes, I made a mess and had mud everywhere, but we got it done, and I keep smiling at the plants.


I also really enjoy running group programs with plants.

 I think the first organized plant program I ever did was with a group of 5-year-old Girl Guides a long time ago. We planted marigold seeds in some styrofoam cups that the girls had decorated with markers. It was going to be a surprise for Mother's Day. There was potting soil everywhere. The girls loved it and were so gentle, tucking their little seeds into the soil and giving them a drink of water. I then started to pray that it would really grow for the girls Sure enough, in the next couple of weeks, we had baby plants. During the meeting before Mother Day, we took colourful squares of tissue paper and the girls placed their little cups in the center. We pulled the tissue up and tied it with a piece of yarn so it would be a surprise. That was the power of living things; exploration and art and gift-giving all tied up in one fantastic package and held by smiling little 5 year old girls in pink shirts.

If you are lucky enough to be out in your garden this spring or like myself, you have a houseplant or two that need some love, I hope you take the time to focus, breathe and enjoy the moment.

Comfort Foods and Carrot Cakes

What is your favourite comfort food? 

 "Our Favorite Foods" has been a topic with my family and friends lately.
What foods trigger your happy memories?  Did your grandma make a special treat just for you? What kind of things did you first learn to cook? Have you shared meals that were special dates with your partner? Did you have a favourite restaurant? Our sense of smell and taste connect to our memories in very special and sometimes emotional ways.

My husband and I started dating very young; in fact, I was still in high school. The convenient place to go was a little 10 table restaurant about a 10-minute walk from my house at the end of my street. We almost always got a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. I don't remember how we originally came to make that pizza choice, but it was a decade later before we realized that neither of us really loved that type of pizza and we were just ordering it to make the other happy. That pizza is now a comfort food for both of us because it was part of a happy, loving and secure time with a full future ahead of us.


In difficult times like we are experiencing now, people are looking for comfort and security as they try to deal with the emotional and physical stress around them. Food is one thing we need to deal with each day, so it is natural to try and make choices that give us comfort.

People are currently challenged by problems obtaining food from stores. We are concerned about making our food healthy and nutritious and as the true economic impact is becoming apparent we also want to look at getting the most for our money. More people are finding time to cook while sheltering in place, and we are trying to use what we already have in our homes.  I keep thinking of the families before us that survived the great depression and the shortages and rationing that occurred during the war years.  They found amazing ways to work with what they had and working together rose to the challenge of getting through those difficult times.

A month ago, on a cold Manitoba day, my coworker and I made homemade vegetable soup at work with our seniors. It was an enjoyable experience getting a 10 out of 10 from participants. The warm smell of soup in the hallway was enticing to everyone going past. We had leftover uncooked carrots, and that generated a whole discussion about what we should do with those carrots. Make more soup? Stew? Then someone said Carrot Cake and the rest was history. There was a massive agreement that the best thing to do with carrots was to make a cake! That followed with a discussion about what is the best way to make a carrot cake. Will it be raisins or walnuts, cinnamon or nutmeg, and how about icing?

I have a lot of carrots in my home right now, so I dug out my own favourite simple carrot cake recipe. The house smells Yummy. Give it a try, use what you have and change it up to make it your own. I like to make it as a loaf or as cupcake/muffins for extra easy snacks. This recipe freezes very well too.

The Coopers' Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup canola oil 
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 1  1/3 cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1  1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 2 cups grated carrots

Method
Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180° C

• Beat the sugar and oil in your mixing bowl 
• Continue beating and add the eggs one at a time
• Add vanilla
• Add in the next 6 dry ingredients
• Stir to mix
• Add in the grated carrots
  
• Pour your batter into a greased 9 by 13 cake pan. 
• Cook for about 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. 
  
• Let cool and then frost if desired.

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 8 oz brick of softened cream cheese  
• 1/4 cup of butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 2 cups icing sugar

Method

• Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla  in your mixing bowl
• Add icing sugar and beat until it is fluffy 
• Frost your cake. 

Note that you can add other flavourings to your frosting, and you can stir in other items at the end. One of my favorites is to substitute coconut flavouring for the vanilla, and beat in some shredded coconut  to make a cute Easter cupcake treat, especially if you add mini chocolate eggs on top.

Carrot image courtesy of Pixsabay

Spring is Challenging this Year

Spring is officially here but this year we, along with the rest of our world, are facing a great many challenges.

We are starting a period with some common challenges to those faced during winter isolation and we need to try and take care of ourselves. I live in Manitoba where our northern winters often lead to a lot more time spent indoors as well as increased isolation. Cabin fever is real. People start to stay home more because of the weather, and some of us do not respond well to the lack of light, and as a result, we stay home even more. People might even show signs of Seasonal Affective disorder and Depression or other health-related issues.


Social distancing, self-isolation and actual quarantine are necessary and are occurring all around the world right now. Fear of illness and loss and financial loss are real issues. People are concerned and afraid that they might not have the necessities of life such as milk for their kids, prescriptions and even toilet paper. How this will all evolve with time is unknown and a lot about what is ahead for us as individuals are genuinely outside our control. All this adds up to massive stress and many concerns for us personally and for our world. Things have rapidly changed.

What we need to look at now is what we CAN do. How can we address our physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellness? We need to think positively and plan actions for what we can do for our families, our communities and ourselves.

I want to use this blog to start sharing ideas for Leading A Healthy Life during challenging times. I also plan to share more simple projects and ideas suitable for individuals and families, children, people with special needs. I also want to give support to all those fantastic people, like my co-workers, who work with older adults.

I am huge on personal goal setting! I think it is more critical than ever right now, and it is also essential to set up a routine. It might be quite a flexible plan, but still, a reason to get up and do the activities that keep you and your loved ones healthy and keep your mood elevated. 

What I want you to focus on is creating two different lists. 

Get yourself out two pieces of paper and label them:

1. TODAY (no matter what time of day it is right now)
2.  THE NEXT 5 DAYS

On the today sheet

• Just make some decisions about what YOU need to do.. and check them off as you do them. Heck, give yourself stickers if you want to. Decide what is for dinner, if that is your responsibility today, and when you want to serve it. When are you taking your medications, when are you taking time to meditate or do yoga? Decide if, for today, it is okay to watch TV programs as a marathon. Decide on bedtimes. Decide what time to set your alarm clock for tomorrow. What else is on your mind?

On the 5-day sheet 

• Consider reaching needs outside your home. Do you need to order anything? Do you need to go to work? Do you need to contact people and cancel any commitments? Do you have plans to help others in your community during this crisis?

• Consider the people who live with you. Do your kids need home study supplies, do they need to practice their instruments, or perhaps want to take up a new hobby. Do you need to set up an online meeting for anyone? Do you need to review your plans for your Kids TV and online time? Do you need to set aside quiet time with a loved one just to be together? How about having a family meeting about how you might handle your meals and snacks with the current changes in living, Decide who gets to feed the cat or walk the dog and when?

• Consider your own needs. What do you need to happen in the next five days, JUST FOR YOU! It might be an exercise plan; it might be daily phone chats to keep in touch with your friends? Do you, like my youngest daughter, find baking relaxing and want to look for new challenges in your cookbooks? How about some tea time, or time for music, or relaxing in a bubble bath?

I am going to go now and work on my new hobby, watercolour painting. It helps keep me calm and happy.

Take good care of yourself!

pictures in this post courtesy of Pixabay