OK...it is hot today! Foxtrot by Bill Amend

Cartography

There is a very interesting site on Blogger called Cartography . It is the weblog of the Canadian Cartographic Association and it has many varied and interesting maps. Last week the Map of the Happy Planet was posted. Canada ranks 10th in happiness according to their polls, the USA 23rd. Denmark was 1st. Click on the interactive map to look at the ranking of other nations
On July 26th, the (Un)Happy Planet Map was posted. It measures life expectancy which is multiplied by life satisfaction. The result is divided by the ecological footprint for that country. Canada ranks 111th on this map, as we do leave a large ecological footprint. You can take a survey on the site to calculate your own happiness index.

...he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. Proverbs 14:21

View from our deck and sandstorms...

Sandland Brother has a post today about the extreme heat and sandstorms in his part of the world. In case he forgets the colour green, this is the view from my deck this morning.
People here are complaining about the heat. Yesterday was 30C with a humidex of 40C....positively frosty by other standards in the world.
Jaspenelle said yesterday, "I hear so many people complain about the heat - in fact they are the same people who complained about the cold, and the rain and the wind."

How true!

Family Collage
My paternal grandfather came to Canada from Holland after World War 1. He had four children. The family has grown to 45 blood descendants.
My aunt just sent me a number of family photos of cousins I have not seen for a long time. Their families have grown. I put this collage together with the help of The Becka. It shows the family with my grandparents in the middle.
All 45 family members are here. Thank you to my Family Historian Aunt for sending the last 4 photos when she was busy packing and to Musical Aunt who submitted the last correction. If anyone has an improved photo, or wants something removed, let me know.
I know spouses are vital, but they are not on this family portrait.
Aug 5/06- Completely revised new collage with different grandparent photo as well other changes. Click image to enlarge.

Hunters and gatherers….
Raspberries are my favourite berry. Six years ago I planted 6 canes and they have slowly spread into a nice patch in the backyard.

It is satisfying to gather your own food, whether you cut a sprig of parsley from a pot in the window, grow some sprouts in a jar, or have a large market garden.

My husband is passionate about fishing and loves a shore lunch or some fish he prepared in the smoker. Fresh caught pickerel makes the best breakfast!

El Granjero, (my brother after Sandland) has a hobby farm in western Mexico. There are well over 100 fruit trees planted on his property, including the little mango tree below. In spite of the work, he finds it a relaxing and rewarding pastime.
Grow a food plant...

visit a pick-your-own farm...

buy fresh fish from a fisher...

shop at a farmer’s market...

nothing will taste better.

Link: Slow Food Movement

I was telling one of my patients that the doctor wanted to keep him in hospital for a few more days. They had discovered he had an abnormal heart rhythm and was at risk for a stroke if he did not take blood thinners. This widower is in his late eighties. He has had some recent medical problems and has had to give up his home, but still wants to get out on the golf course this season. He is cheerful and pleasant.

His response to me was…. "So what is so bad about having a stroke?"

The first thoughts in my mind were to explain to him that a stroke doesn’t always kill you, but can leave you alive and disabled.

But I kept quiet, because I knew what he was saying.

We try hard to keep a timely death at bay. It is hard to talk about death, or accept that it is inevitable. My one daughter is a nurse and she cannot understand why coronary artery bypasses are done on some elderly people with dementia. The families of these people push for medical interventions that are no longer important to quality of life.

I heard on the news yesterday that Ariel Sharon had been taken to the intensive care unit for dialysis. Why? The Russians have kept Lenin’s dead body in state for decades. Do the Israelis want to keep Sharon in a vegetative state for the same length of time?

So I told my patient, "I understand what you are saying. But let us get on with this one day and live it the best way we know how."

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

I have mentioned Grandma a couple of times in my entries....here is more about her life.



Both of my maternal grandparents were medical doctors. My grandmother was one of the first women to graduate in medicine from the University of Toronto. I never knew my grandfather as he died prematurely when my mother was 16 years old. Grandma was one of the most influential people in my life. I enjoyed her wisdom and wit until she died in 1990, just before her 94th birthday. She loved life, traveled widely, made friends easily, and encouraged us to do the same. She used to take me to a local nursing home to help her serve ice cream in the tuck shop. I learned to be comfortable around older people. I think of her often and remember her advice when I work with my older patients.



I remember doing dissections in anatomy class, but I don’t remember having fun!

SCRABBLE
Grandma loved a game of Scrabble after dinner. I could never beat her. She had a well thumbed Scrabble dictionary that she had memorized. The only time she needed it was to prove to me that her play was really a word.
I have installed Scrabble on my computer, but it is not the same as a game played on the kitchen table.



We played an interesting game of Scrabble in Mexico with my 11 year old sobrino. The game had Spanish letter tiles, and we played in SpanFrenglish. Sobrino cleaned up with high scores as he was far more multi-lingual than we were….and very liberal with the rules!

The other picture above shows a game well played on the kitchen table in Canada…. English only.