Weekend Pics

Last weekend we took our first trip to London to visit my friend Dan who moved there in the spring. Don, Dan, and Dan's friend James went to the Michigan vs. Wisconsin, College football game on Saturday and Summer, Bradley and I had fun at the park. We were joined in the afternoon by my friends AnnMarie and Mike - and we hit the mall. Summer had a few moments with the Mall Santa - at a safe distance, and we did a little shopping too.

We also had some time visiting with Dan's other two boys Robert and Matthew between their activities of hockey and tennis. They are quite the athletic family!

Bradley & Summer at the park


Don and James - Tail-Gating



Heading Home on Sunday Morning

We stopped in Bolton for lunch with Barb & Laurie - it was great, and Summer enjoyed the break from the ride. Luckily we made it home before they closed the highway for freezing rain.


George was glad to have us back home

Busy Bees

I popped on to the blog during my lunch to give a quick update on Summer's Botox follow-up appointment that is now 4 days old news...

And I realized that I have done two posts in November... and we are over half way done the month. My friend Julie said she loves the blog, but is wondering what I am up to, since it is mostly all Summer info with the family anecdotes.

So, in a nutshell, November has been nuts. I rarely complain about being too busy, overwhelmed, run off my feet etc. and I rarely share my To Do list - how boring... however in a rare circumstance, this is what is happening in our life.

Our community is highly anticipating the opening of our new hospital. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to be a part of this amazing experience. I have been working with the Hospital foundation for 6.5 years, and much of my work has been securing donations for medical equipment and stewarding donor who helped build our hospital and are filling it with leading edge equipment.

There is a plethora of donor related activities, from signage to dedication events,and on December 3rd we have our donor night followed by a community open house on the 4th.

The Foundation moved into our new offices at the hospital, leaving our downtown location. It has been a lot better being on site to accomplish much of the work that needs to be done for the events. The anxiety of not being able to find things after the move is now being replaced by a sense of organization.

Along with all of this exciting stuff, we are also in a campaign to raise significant funds for a major capital expense for Diagnostic Imaging...

Right, and for Summer... On Monday we drove to Orillia for Summer's Botox follow up appointment. Yes, we drive 2 hours for a 20 minute appointment... sigh. However, the Dr. was super pleased with her. Summer demonstrated some great fine-ish motor activity with her right hand. We decided that she will receive botox injections in her calf and bicep but will not receive any in her forearm or thumb, as she does not want to compromise any strength she needs to practice her skills.

So far, again, we have avoided casting her right leg for heel cord lengthing,,, but I have a feeling she may require it in the future.

We head back to Orillia on December 22nd, when she will receive her sedation and injections.

Writing Therapy

I've been posting on this blog for about 6 months now. It is a great way to keep our family connected to what is happening in our lives, Summer's progress, etc.

So, at the moment, I am multi-tasking - of course - Summer is on the couch, eating her toast with jam... leather is wipeable... what the heck... I am on hold with Airmiles trying to book a flight to Edmonton for Spring Break and their website isn't allowing me to pay... fine,, so instead of taking my money on line,,, I am on hold for 30 minutes... I have caught up on the Trousdell Five blog, checked my work email, fed Summer... etc - lol.

So, back to the title of today's. There are the obvious benefits of cathartically writing about ones experiences... but sometimes when stuff is happening in our lives, moments happen, and I use "blogable moments" as a benchmark of how bent I should get about certain situations. Or, I actually try to find the humour in everyday life, so that I share those moments with our family and friends through this medium.

I am a naturally optimistic person, I would not say I am super high anxiety, though I have my moments, but knowing I have this outlet to vent, measure up, and share, sometimes reminds me to not sweat the small stuff.

Pitter patter paws

This week we decided to take the plunge and adopt a pet for Summer. Carl, our beloved rottweiler passed away from old age (12.5) 2 years ago and our cat Sneakers, passed away over 4.5 years ago - and our life has become so busy, it was hard to fathom making room for a pet.

That said, we knew a dog is not yet in the cards for us. Too much time away from the house, too many long days, etc. So we thought it could be time to adopt a cat.

I mentioned it to Don on Tuesday. As we were leaving the house in the morning, Summer was having a conversation with her stuffed cat Gilvert. It was just the cutest thing... and I thought - I think Summer is ready for a real cat.

Don, who has not been really keen on the idea of a cat, kind of rolled his eyes. But then that evening, checked out the Humane Society website and had a cat picked out. LOL

Come Wednesday morning, he had visited the humane society, filled out the paper work and we were ready to pick up our Cat on Friday afternoon.

Welcome George - a beige tabby - surrendered by his elderly owner who is moving into a home. He is a mellow two year old who is settling in just fine to his new surroundings - once he decided to come out from under the bed :-)