Humbling yet hopeful....

Yes, it is humbling to be a part of a team in which you aren't able to fully participate.  And it is humbling, especially when your team members go to the limit of their kindness to help you to be as important a part of the team that you once were.

Our team captain, Val Nicholson, went to great trouble in acquiring a wheelchair so that I could be a part of the first lap around the track.  It was even decorated!!!  AND she pushed me...along with other members.  I felt like one of the team even though I didn't fulfill my responsibility as a team member.  Humbling....

I think Relay for Life was successful.  I haven't heard the results yet but I'm sure our team was up in the top bracket of raising the most cash.

But it was so very cold last night...dare I say frigid.  People wore toques, winter jackets, fleece jackets, mitts, turtle neck sweaters, long underwear and anything else they could get their hands on to keep themselves warm.  I hadn't planned on staying very long so I didn't bring mitts or gloves or a jacket, just a fleece and shirt under my "Studs and Peelers" T-shirt.  People gave me their mitts, jacket and fuzzy blanket while I was there...see what I mean about great team members!

I always appreciate the first lap around the track.  It involves all who are cancer survivors.  Seemed like hundreds of them.  From little children to seniors...all wearing their bright yellow shirts to indicate they have come through some very trying times.  Then of course, there were all the little white candles around the track in memory of those who didn't win the battle.  They most likely won many fights and skirmishes but in the end, cancer won out.  But many have survived this battle, and have been cancer-free for many years.  A great triumph!  So that first lap was in honor of them.

I was there for only a little over an hour but I managed to take a few pictures so you can get a feel for the evening.

 Captain "Peg Leg" Val along with Penny and April holding our illustrious banner!

 Some of the gear that would keep team members warm over the 

wee hours of the morning when it would dip to +1C...with a wind!

 Kayla, Alycia and Penny keeping warm.

 April holding her "Big Foot" candy...ready to munch!

 I think John took a video of me dancing to keep warm...it may

show up at some function or another:)

 Cynthia was beginning her layered look.

 Twila and son, Jarred.(I think I continue to spell his name wrong)

Team member, Marty and his cancer surviving wife, Treena.

 Our Team shirt with logo....very cool!

 This was my mode of transportation for the all-important first lap....I 

wouldn't have made it around the track otherwise.

 The "In Memorium" candles.

 My co-worker's parents, Pat and Elroy - cancer survivors.

 Twila with her mom and dad.

 The young team ahead of us wore neon!

 Folks did what was necessary to keep warm.

 Even blowing their warm breath on their children's little hands.

 Gumby seemed pleased with himself.

 The Forest Service "Studs and Peelers"  (I always want to say 

"Spuds and Steelers")

 The line was long as the survivors made their way around the track.

 Moms and Dads

 Young and old.

 Our team captain, Val with her hubby and son.

 The first Relay lap was headed up by members of  the local and armed forces.

Yes, there IS hope!

This year's team consisted of: Val Nicholson - captain, Andrea Atkinson, John Thompson, Cynthia Mamer, Twila Gola, Penny Herbert, Niska Hodgson, Marty Ferguson, April Goll, Alycia Evans, David Stevenson, Carole Stewart and me.

WCB....

Now that I've been on Workers Compensation with my banged up knee, I have learned ever-so-many things about...bureaucracy, human nature, and how to appreciate WCB information...which is most often helpful. 

There are times though when I come away from a WCB conversation wondering.

Today I came away wondering if my case worker knows more than my doctor and physiotherapist put together.  She seems to have all the right answers and makes assumptions about my knee according to WCB policy.  Very strange indeed.  Very helpful too, though.  Don't get me wrong.  She knows her stuff inside and out and I think even beyond.

I came away today feeling somewhat intimidated as she expressed the thought that this knee of mine should be so much better than it really is.  Not sure what that was about but I think I may have to have another discussion with her about what she was trying to say.

Anyway, the only person, besides the doctor, surgeon and physiotherapist that knows my knee is ME!  I know when it's sore and unmanageable.  I know when it starts to twitch inside and becomes painful and achy. I know that I simply can't do stairs or kneel down or squat much and when I attempt to do these things too much the knee just gets worse, not better.  I know me best!

We shall see how it comes along in the next weeks.  When I think of how far I have come, I should be quite pleased....so why am I not pleased?  I just felt intimidated today...guess that's why.  I'm trying so hard to get better but days like today leave me feeling like I'm not doing enough...or not doing my part.

I must stop those feelings before they take hold!

Quaint...with tea....

Our apartment balcony is pretty small, compared to most balconies these days.  But it has room for our BBQ, two deck chairs and a little table.  Small and serviceable.  We hitched a deck umbrella onto the railing too.  Sweet.  It was very quaint...and even moreso with a cup of tea:)

When I sat outside for a little while this afternoon, I took my camera and enjoyed my hanging petunias and geraniums while the bees flitted back and forth.  I was waiting for a humming bird but he didn't make an appearance in the duration.

This is what I enjoyed while I put my feet up...

So, if you happen by one day, I shall serve you tea on our deck and we can have a chat.  I'd like that.

Bouncy ball, bummer knee and birds....

Ever sit on one of those huge inflatable balls?  That was my workout at physio today.  I had to sit on the ball with my good left leg up and attempt to balance there with only my bad right leg.  Knee is now very sore!  But I did it!  Very wobbly but I managed to balance for about 15 seconds without holding on to anything.

Then I had to make like a drunken sailor and attempt to walk a straight line...one foot ahead of the other.  That was pretty funny...I had to laugh at myself with that one.  I found though that the faster I went, the better I could do it...until I nearly fell over, that is.

My physio man, Travis, said that if the knee was sore and aching tomorrow, that I should at least take my cane with me to work.  So, perhaps I shall do that.  I've been trying hard not to but I'm seeing that this is going to take so much longer than I ever thought, so I shall go at things gradually and that may mean using my cane for a bit longer yet.

A friend of ours joined Ken and I for supper tonight as he will be moving away to Edmonton this summer.  We enjoyed his visit as he spoke of "birding" and traveling and photography and what he hoped his life will look like in a few short months from now.  We are sorry that he is leaving.

We got talking about various types of birds and species and sub-species and color phases and characteristics of various types of birds.  All so interesting.

I like birds! (click on pics)

Birds really are beautiful!!!

The Silent Auction continues...

I suppose if I can get a minimum of $100. for my nine pictures of various sizes, I will have at least paid for the  frames and $100. is nothing to sneeze at for Relay for Life, that's for sure.  We shall see how it progresses throughout the week.  I'd love to give them all away...and I normally do, but being a fund raiser, well, giving them away would kind of defeat the purpose of it all.:)  The team I belong to, "The Studs and Peelers", are a very hard-working bunch of individuals and they have worked tirelessly over this past year and they take these efforts very seriously as a way to raise cash for cancer research.

I wouldn't make such a big deal of this fund raising thing, but just today we said farewell to our friend, Ernie Heit, who died of brain cancer last week.  So this silent auction fits in perfectly with my reason for having this auction at all.

Yes, "together, we can make a difference"!

Here are the pictures that are on the auction block:

 

Bottom left - 4 x 6 "Dusk Through a Barbed Fence" (color) - by Matt Kent

Next ones are mine: 
4 x 6  "Loon on a Lake" (black and white)
4 x 6  "Hoar Frost on the North Saskatchewan" (color)
8 x 10 "Manitoba Legislative Building" (black and white)
Top 8 x 10 "Frosty Prairie Morning" (color)
5 x 7 "The Rose" (color)
Bottom 8 x 10 "Dandelion Puff" (black and white)
8 x 10 "Peeking Daisies" (color - previously sold, but I can make another)
5 x 7 "Little Red Swinging Bridge" (black and white)

There you have it.  Really hope and pray this will be successful in every way!

Oh, and it was totally awesome to be back at work this morning...even for two hours.  I only had 720 emails!

How was your day?

I hope it went well for you.

Mine was filled up pretty much with church, followed by a discussion group, followed by lunch, followed by a rest, followed by a meeting, followed by setting up tables for the funeral, followed by a surprise home-made pizza supper and apple crisp dessert by Shannon.

Good thing in the midst of all of those happenings there were chairs to put up my leg...otherwise, I would have been done in.

But I made it and now it's getting into the back-to-work mode.  I'm excited to be seeing everyone again and meeting some new people who have shown up as employees since I left the place on January 20th!!!!

But working only two hours tomorrow, I'll barely get my feet wet.  Nevertheless, I shall be there...and happy to be there, I might add.  And I shall bring my framed pictures with me to see how much people will be willing to cough up....yet again....for Relay for Life.  It's a bad time to ask the same folks for more money as everyone in the building has been contributing at great length towards all the fund raising efforts thus far.  Mine will simply put more of a hardship on their poor already-empty wallets!!!

So, now that it's 7 PM, I had better get ready for bed...it's up at 6:30 AM in the morning and my poor aged body surely isn't used to that unsightly hour....and it hasn't been for four and a half months!!

 The Forest Centre....where (most) everybody knows your name....

 And who wouldn't want to get back working with such

a great looking bunch of gals...:)

 Dang...I missed out on the Chinese New Year celebration too!

 And our summer student, Alycia, is back!

 Like most families, we too, have a celebration board!

And here I once again shall sit....and say "good morning" to all who happen by:)

(and catch up on my 1200 emails or so)