Snowy day

Today went from sunny to whiteout in what felt like the blink of an eye.  It also warmed up above -10C, which is a good thing for me, not so much for the winter bunnies who seem to enjoy having frozen faces!  I forgot to mention yesterday that it was the birthday of one of my closest friends, although he’s a twin and that apparently means that his birthday is 2 days 😝  Luckily for him (and me) his birthday present arrived late yesterday, so I was able to gift him today when he very kindly dropped off a tea and donut on his way home from an appointment.  Happy birthday Paul!  Jerry is curled into a ball resting up from an afternoon of schnoodle.  He unearthed another toy — I have no idea where he’s finding them — and is happily protecting it and chewing off the fabric.  Don was feeling somewhat more energetic today which I very much enjoy.  He was also happily watching several games where his team won after losing something like 5 in a row.  I may be faced with reruns for a while as he’s so happy they finally scored!  Quick question to my American friends — you do realize that there are other countries, right?  And that you’re the only one who plays your style of football?  So it’s rather ridiculous to claim that you have “the best quarterbacks in the world” don’t you think?  Technically true — like me being the kids’ favourite aunt in Ottawa — but pointless.

I fell asleep last night before 9:30pm (I heard 9:15 chime on the clock, but not the half hour) and woke up shortly after midnight feeling absolutely ravenous!  I got up, had something to eat, went back to bed around 1:30 and slept uninterrupted until 8am.  My nurse showed up earlier than expected, so I had to get up quickly… anyway, all is good, except that when she tried to measure my oxygen, pulse and temperature they all registered at 0!  They didn’t read her, either, so we concluded that they were too cold to work effectively, and it seems that I’m going to need to get an oximeter… my sphygmomanometer (HAH!  Howzat for learning correct terminology and spelling it right?  😆) was indoors, so it seemed to work ok.  I’m struggling to eat again; my appetite has declined and my tastebuds are not working.  I’ve been drinking Ensure again, and made some ramen (I’m not crazy about it) and trying to ensure that I get some protein in there somewhere.  

We were having a discussion today on measuring performance.  Not the office-style KPIs and related standards, but a discussion on what’s acceptable for athletes.  It came up as we were watching one of the reality TV court shows, and somehow our conversation went in that direction.  I was reminded that a long time ago, in my late teens, I had received elocution lessons from a professional speaker.  She was one of those women referred to as an “Iron Lady” or “Dragon Lady” and was incredibly strict but was also extremely kind and patient if she saw that you were trying (not so much if you were playing the fool)  One of the things she said has always stayed with me.  She said that if you were volunteering to participate in an activity, where you had to perform — speak, recite, sing, dance, etc — you were to be treated as a professional, and therefore you were not allowed to make mistakes.  I (being the inquisitive type) said that people were human, humans made mistakes, so how could she say that?  She said that by offering your talents you were indicating that you’re open to criticism and review, like any other professional, and while it was acceptable for young children to stammer while reciting a poem, as an adult, you had to be word perfect and couldn’t make any errors.  This extended to athletes, especially those paid large sums to win games.  If you, as a bowler, can’t manage to bowl out a batsman at least 25% of the time, you deserved to be tossed.  I still maintain this when I listen to poor readers or singers in church.  There was an unfortunate woman who sang flat (at best), voice cracking and slid off key like a kid going down a slide… she should not have been the soloist. And let’s not overlook the news reader who announced the Governor General’s “pubic” appearances!  Yes, I know, I’m a stickler for correct grammar, spelling, pronunciation and speaking… I don’t sing in public because I can only carry a tune in a bag, but I do my best to live up to Shirley’s maxim of not being allowed mistakes.  Is that unfair?  I am not sure.  Let me know, please if I should be less strict.

I may have some exciting news to share later this week; I’ll let you know once it’s confirmed, but meanwhile, I’m dropping a teaser here!  Having done this, I’m off to get something to eat, take my meds and drink some more (I feel a little dehydrated)  The puppy is warming my toes and stealing my blanket, so he’s happy.  Not sure what dinner will be, but we’ll see.  Good night!