Autumn

Whoa. Too long since I’ve blogged and too much going on to make excuses. Will just try and do a quick catch up instead.

Just back from Montreal, where my two sisters and I got together (one of whom lives there). Love the city and it was wonderful and colder than Toronto and has me all geared up now for Winter. My sister’s in-laws are Hungarian and between the amazing meals we came up with and their contribution to incredible dinners, it’s surprising I haven’t exploded. Great food, great company and a great time. Terrific to check out the city and get some photos in, which I’ll post soon.

Current life is completely consumed with the conference my friend and colleague, Sarah, and I are doing. Even though limited to only Ontario, and with a cap attendance that we never in a million years thought we’d achieve, we’re totally at maximum registration and have a waiting list. Yikes! Anyway, it’s fun, has brought the people we work with together in amazing ways and is teaching me quite a lot. Is in three more weekends (oh my God!). We have a great dinner planned post-conference and it is so exciting that, for the first time in this province, our profession is coming together, both professionally and socially. We’ve had interest expressed from other groups out of province and in the U.S. - suspect that we’ll be doing this on a larger scale in the future.

Still doing yoga daily. It is what keeps me grounded (and definitely what keeps me in shape). Am completely into photography. Each day there are new and wonderful things to capture. I am always aware of how the experience of disease and recognition of personal mortality have allowed me the opportunity to glimpse the beauty of life. I am so grateful.

Music continues to colour my world, but I’ve been so obsessed with other things that there hasn’t been much chance to follow what’s new. Looking forward to after the conference when there will be more time to focus on music. My niece and I are going to see Death Cab for Cutie at Massey Hall on Halloween, which I’m really looking forward to.

Meanwhile, the leaves have all changed and the cold air is here. Another Winter approaches. How quickly the years slide by now…
Sue

Summer Daze

Hot, hazy summer days. Really hot. Hottest I can recall in Toronto, with the temperature up in the high 30s lately, over 40 with the humidity. No complaints – these are the days I dream about in the gray winter cold. Love the warmth and the sun on my face.

We’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time during June and July up at the cottage (hence all the cottage pics). Back to reality now; work and the city for the rest of the summer. Perhaps we’ll have a chance to get out to Western Ontario to visit friends for a weekend at the end of August. Am hopeful.

Work busy: no “summer slow down” at the hospital. It seems that with every surgeon’s vacation, another is booked in for o.r. time immediately. Space/time is at such a premium everywhere. Have had some very interesting cases lately, with much detail and complexity. Transfer out to one of our satellite sites for the next two weeks, and then to another for the end two weeks of the month. Love the variety of the work. Am hoping to get the conference that my colleague from another hospital and I have planned more organized over the next month, so that we can pull it all together for the late fall.

Kids are good. James working like crazy and making plans for school at least part-time in September. Phillip completed his summer school courses and is waiting to start work until he must return for grade 11 in September.

City is busy and fun! Caribana, the huge Caribbean street festival is this weekend (http://www.caribana.com/), with over a million extra people in town for the festivities! Caught some of the costumes yesterday – spectacular! It’s a long weekend (yay!), so I’ll try and get out and about to do some city walking and photography.

Purchased the new camera with the plethora of gift certificates for Henry’s that everyone was so kind to give me for birthday prezzies. Canon SD700 IS. Totally rocks! Haven’t played with half the things it will do yet, but love what I’ve discovered so far. Am really enjoying the online photo site Flickr – an opportunity to see some really great photography and connect with people globally.

Only current down side is that my youngest sister, Sally, has herniated a disc = psychedelic pain and almost total immobility. Pretty awful for someone who is normally extremely active. She’s been like this for over a month now, with no improvement and, in fact, some worsening of her symptoms. Back to the surgeon again next week for another consult. Am trying to get up there as much as possible to help out. Thankfully, her daughter is at home from university for the summer and is able to provide huge assistance.

I was in for the “one year post treatment follow-up” appointment. Had blood tests and the annual ultrasound. All looking good – have a little pancreatic cyst that we’ll keep an eye on, but nothing crazy going on. Sadly, the fabulous curly hair that I’d developed post-chemo seems to have this week decided to depart – now straight again. Darn!!! Was really liking those curls. Ah well, one thing I’ve gained from all of this is to appreciate what ever good things come along, for however long they last, and that each day brings new opportunities. Nothing is static.

Sue

Holiday Mindset

Well, we’re back from the wilds of Muskoka Ontario. Had eleven lovely days up North, with pretty good weather – mostly sunny, with rain occurring generally at night. Lots of time on the dock and in the lake, going for walks down country roads, doing yoga in the boathouse looking out at the lake while listening to Ravi Shankar, or Kiran Aluhwalia, or Mogwai, or Rachid Taha, or Gregorian chants, or…

Had a great time with my sisters. One lives here in Toronto – waaaay up in the North end requiring a relatively long subway journey from downtown to get to. The other lives in Montreal (second best city in Canada!), and I see her only a couple of times a year. We three get along soooo well and I laughed more than I have in months, just hanging out with them.

The kids, now all becoming pretty grown up, spent most of their time avoiding us. The guys built picnic tables for my father’s birthday, which we all signed and then varnished. He loved them. We celebrate multiple summer birthdays while we’re there on vacation, including mine (!), and I received multiple gift certificates for a new camera purchase. Brother in law Peter from Montreal, who is a graphic artist and avid photographer, has been incredibly helpful with the selection process. Am pretty sold on the Canon SD700. My other sister’s partner brought up his new Nikon D50, which was absolutely awesome. So although my cottage pics are now posted, they pale in comparison to what others have been taking, but I’m hopeful that fabulous images are coming up soon. The current camera has been wonderful to start playing around with digital, but I want more. It’s obvious how this can develop into a mega$$ hobby!

So the city is hot and steamy (and smoggy, and smelly), but it is alive in a BIG way with World Cup soccer. When driving in yesterday, Italy had just won against Germany – we live in the part of Toronto called “Little Italy” – say no more. Was party central. Second largest neighbourhood population is Portuguese, so every eye around here is right now tuned to the France/Portugal game in progress. If Portugal wins, the party will be on again tonight. The final game next weekend will be insane. Is all great fun!

I still have several days of vacation left before returning to work next Tuesday. Have a shiatsu booked for tomorrow afternoon. Did some market shopping today and think we might head down to the lakeshore on the weekend. Still moving with the slow, out-of-city pace, but things will speed up soon. It’s okay – it’s all good. Off to do yoga on the back deck before making dinner, bye!

Sue

Change in photo plan

Okay - had to dump my camera so that there's room for vacation shots. Thus, a new "Toronto" collage. Will likely switch several times over next month....
Sue

June 17, 2006 - Summer Time

(and the living is easy….)

Starbucks coffee, without pastry. Somehow, have lost the pastry connection now that the chemo is well behind me and it seems like a distant dream. Coffee, however, continues to please and the venti Starbucks mild is fine.

Have lost a few other things post-treatment. For one, straight hair – hair is now grown in and curly, as in ringlets. Have to colour now too, as is completely white/gray. There was a real slowing down of life and temperament that the treatment necessitated. Although I try to cling to some of that, at least in terms of meditation and focus and inner peace, the pace really is fast again and the days slip by like streams of water running down towards the sea. The fast is fun. There’s so much to see, do and learn, and not nearly enough time.

Work busy, crazy and great. Have had a chance to do more neuro, which is so interesting. Transfer out to one of the satellite sites next week, the busiest one, so anticipate an even faster pace. But only for a week and then it’s time for the annual, wonderful vacation at the cottage.

We opened the cottage the May long weekend and it was so cold that it snowed. We froze. The cottage, built in the 1930s, is wood, not winterized, not even insulated. There is a huge fireplace, plus a wood stove and we have a propane heater (sadly, we had no propane….). Was fun, but awfully chilly. Ron and I have been up with the kids since. We’ve also had my best friend Barb and her family up. My sister Sally and I were up last weekend, just the two of us. It managed to go down to 2 degrees Celsius at night last weekend, so we were doing the fireplace/stove/heater thing again. Am completely convinced that Summer time has now arrived – all future cottage trips will be warm and balmy. Mosquitoes and black flies will ignore us, the lake will be warm, the stars will be incredible and the universe will be in harmony. It’s all arranged!

Pictures this month, therefore, are of the cottage and surrounding area. Taken from the May long weekend on, with updates posted until the next month’s blog. These are possibly the last group of photos from my HP, as I plan to purchase a new Canon digital next month (am extremely excited).

Had flare of the ankylosing spondylitis which lasted a couple of weeks = very painful. Had to really cut back on a lot of physical activity – most frustrating. Didn’t take any pain medication and am quite determined to stay away from nsaids. Sally recommended O24, a natural product that contains camphor, which really helped with the muscle pain. Used a lot of ice, stretched out where possible and went for some extra shiatsu. Doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the flare. The previous one that occurred was right after stopping the interferon/ribavirin, which I thought might have set it off. Can find nothing notable to attribute this last flare to. Ah well, feeling great now and planning to take full advantage of it! It’s warm enough to do morning yoga on our deck, so much nicer than inside. Another week and it’ll be yoga on the dock.

James finished up his first term at the University of Toronto and did very well. He’s got the summer off school, but continues to work at the Hospital. Phil’s in the midst of final exams and has completed grade 10. He’s taking one course this summer and will also be working with a friend doing some heavy-duty physical labour for a summer job. He’s going to contribute some of his earnings towards his school’s Europe trip next year, so he’ll be traveling again, this time to France and Spain.

Ron bought a moped. Is incredibly cute. Ron on the moped is incredibly cute! Makes total sense for getting around the city. I continue to walk everywhere, camera in hand. Is endlessly amazing how even the same route can have new and wonderful things each day. That being said, I vary the route, lately with a preference for Dundas and Chinatown. Summer in the city… even though I’m looking forward to our cottage time, this is the city at its best. Little Italy festival in our neighbourhood this weekend, all craziness in the streets with world cup soccer games, pride week coming up, harbourfront, jazz festival, fireworks, warmth, activity, hustle and bustle – Toronto is fabulous in the Summer!
Sue

May 7, 2006 - Busy, busy, busy

Really busy. It’s been a fast month. Somewhere in the process, Spring has sprung and everything is turning green, flowers are blooming and the sun is trying to lend warmth to the world. Have noticed buds and even leaves on all of the trees, robins on the grass, have traded in the warm winter jacket for the Spring model and am delighting in the greenness of it all. So much life.

Went to the business conference in New England last weekend. Flew down in an 18-seater plane – very fun. Pilots looked about 15 years old (a good indicator that I’m aging). Flights were great, car was good, getting around was a breeze, hotel was fine. Scenery was beautiful, not unlike Ontario and Quebec (actually very close to Quebec), but hillier. We had lovely weather. Conference presentations were quite good. Highlight was meeting so many other people employed in the same profession. It’s really nice to share common ground. Managed to get out to a few malls and take advantage of those fantastic U.S. stores, with our currently better than in about 20 years exchange rate – purchased new white jeans for Summer, plus 2 pairs of shoes, as one can never have enough shoes: blue summer wedge sandals and a pair of black round toes, with little kitten heels (to add to the approximately 40 pairs of black shoes currently in my closet…).

Sarah and I are now inspired. We’re planning on arranging a conference here in Toronto, probably sometime next Autumn/Winter. Workplace is most supportive, so we’re excited. Have also decided to write the US exams. Other than being slightly horrified at having to study (and study and study), at this age and stage, am really very positive about the concept and work, supportive again, has said that they will contribute to the overall cost, which is high. So, it’s the next big project, not the least of which is accumulating the required millions of examples of my work. Trying to get started on it all.

My yoga has suffered with all of this recent activity and although I’ve been keeping up fairly well with home practice, it’s been a while since I’ve made it to a class. Am really looking forward to going to a class this coming week. Had wonderful Shiatsu massage yesterday. My Shiatsu therapist, Allison, has left the place where she was and opened her own practice, which is doing very well. It’s still within walking distance for me and I’m very happy for her independence and success.

Music continues to fill my world and discman. Recent listens have been Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lamb, Death Cab for Cutie, Kiran Ahluwalia and just can’t get enough of Mogwai’s Mr. Beast. James, constant provider of great tunes, just burned me a Feist concert in Chicago and it’s great! Toronto photos continue (new batch posted). There is so much beauty around us, particularly now that the sun is shining on my lens. Welcome to the warmth - Beltane greetings to all.
Sue

April 1/06 - Welcome Spring

Starbucks coffee, of course, with white chocolate blueberry scone. Back to blogging bedlam. Had worried a little that without the “disease” focus, I’d be at a loss for words. However, it seems verbosity is not my weak point and blogging continues to feel comfortable.

The last month has flown by and has been so busy, it’s difficult to pull it all together. Phil went on his school Europe trip for eleven days. Returned the same young man, but with some new perspective. He told me of how in Delphi, Greece, he sat on a rock in front of the Temple of Apollo while people moved around him, and was so overwhelmed by how immense and how old it was, how different it was from anything he’s ever experienced, how “awesome” it was. Trip worth every penny spent, if just for that moment.

Ostara, the equinox, was a little cold here in Toronto, but that weekend we went down to the city harbourfront for the No Ruz Iranian New Year festival. It was lovely, with examples of traditions associated with the celebration, including the set table. Many artists from the Toronto Iranian community had exhibits of their work, and there were imported wares on display and examples of cultural cuisine. Very fun and interesting. Ron, Sally and I walked down to the harbour from our home, about a 45 minute walk, through the centre of the city. We went to the festival and then walked along the harbourfront, checking out the skating rink and going over to the high end touristy shops, before heading home on the subway. It’s been a few months since I’ve been down to the lake and I’m floored by the development there – there are a lot of new condos. This city is becoming condoland. It will be a very changed lakefront soon. Now that the weather is warming, we’ll be down there more frequently and I’m determined to get over to the Toronto islands at least a few times this summer.

Work has been, as usual, an insanely busy, but incredibly satisfying place. There are more and more developments I’d like to become involved with and zero time to dedicate to them. Very frustrating! I am going, with a colleague from another hospital, to a conference down in New England at the end of the month. I’ve only briefly been through that part of the North Eastern U.S., quite a long time ago, and am looking forward to it. Hopefully, the weather will be quite nice by then. Hysterical – the travel agent phoned me after booking my flight online to verify that it was, indeed, Manchester, New Hampshire, I really wanted to fly to and not the location in Britain. Sadly yes. The conference does sound very good, work is funding me and the woman I’m traveling with is terrific. We’re going to rent a convertible, put the top down, wear scarves and large dark sunglasses and hit the New England highways. Am confident we’ll have a great time and expect to have some good info to bring back from the conference.

The music world has been pumping out lots of new alternative cds and I’ve been spending tons of time listening to new tunes. Each week there’s different music. This week listening to: Mogwai – Mr. Beast; Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones; Raising the Fawn – The Maginot Line (another good Canadian band!); The Orb – Okie Dokie It’s the Orb on Kompact; The Knife – Silent Shout; and Nightmares on Wax – In a Space Outta Sound.

Pictures this month are Toronto, very local for me, from College to the Lake north-south and Yonge to Bathurst east-west. Mostly detail and pattern focused, small details have been catching my attention, shadows on walls, patterning within the visual events around us.
Sue