Without power!
On August 14, 2003, 50 million people in North America were plunged into the biggest blackout in modern history. To commemorate this day, our city suggested that on Sunday August 13, we turn off lights, air conditioners, and other electrical devices, and live without power for one day.

So we took the challenge.

The temperature here is very comfortable, so the lack of air conditioning was not a problem. I did leave the fridge and freezer plugged in. We have a gas BBQ, and it wasn’t a regular work day, so we were barely inconvenienced at all. I was surprised at the number of times I reflexively switched on the light in our windowless bathroom. My brain and hand were disengaged by years of conditioning.

The true definition of fasting is abstinence from food. However, it can also mean abstaining from normal daily life activities, in order to devote more prime time to reflection, meditation and relationships. Denying the body its accustomed pleasures and habits increases awareness of emotional and spiritual needs of us and others.

Turning off the electricity was a kind of fast. Our normally plugged-in lives had a new perspective for a few hours and we were challenged to look for different ways to do everyday things. It was like a mini vacation…a true day of rest.

Soccer
We visited Mexico during the FIFA World Cup this June. Canada is not a soccer country, but there was a fever-pitched enthusiasm for this game in Mexico. Green shirts were being worn by all fans, including 18 month old Daniel. Here he is in the cool of dusk outside my brother Estaban’s house, practicing to be a next generation soccer star.

Estaban has a local soccer team. We watched them practice their drills in a dusty field under the blazing sun. Over the years, Estaban has had many players on his team win university soccer scholarships that have allowed an otherwise impossible education.

My friend Parmjit, a psychology doctoral candidate, stopped by the hospital today. Her thesis research involves the testing of 50 players to determine the cognitive effect of concussions caused by head impact in soccer. She has found all her subjects, and I wish her all the best as she completes her study. I really hope that she discovers the benefits of the sport outweigh the risks.

Most of us go to our grave with our music still
inside of us. Anon
Musical Aunt spent many patient years giving me piano lessons. I did not inherit her brilliant talent, but making my own music gives me much pleasure.
I frequently play the piano at a seniors’ home. The residents love to come and sing three chord melodies that they grew up with. I have seen people with advanced dementias, who are unable to carry on a conversation, sing entire songs with gusto.
Music truly is hidden in the soul.
I recently read that singing is on the decline in North America. I remember Mom singing as she worked around the house. I am more likely to turn on some recorded music. Each person can easily plug into their own little genre in a very passive way.
The Becka listens to music I do not understand. I could never reproduce it on the piano.
I asked her what she was going to sing at her nursing home on music night.
So she drew me some pictures…
(click on pictures for enlarged view)

I did a home visit today to do therapy with an elderly man recovering from hip replacement surgery. His wife is dying of cancer and is receiving palliative care. She is a fanatical and obsessive housekeeper.
We all know she is going to die face down in the dish water.
During my visit she "hovered" to make sure neither her husband or I left a footprint or fingerprint in a disallowed place. He is not allowed to use a cane or walker upstairs lest he mark the rugs. He is relegated to a corner of the basement recreation room and uses a cane with a rag tied over the end. He cannot walk much as he may create dust.
They have three children who seldom visit (surprise!) and grandchildren who never darken the door. Nothing will change her skewed values now.
What a pity! Who will keep her house clean when she is gone?
My house keeping motto is "Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy."
Heaven forbid that my obituary should read, "She kept a perfect house."

Africa...past...present...? future
The Becka and I watched a library copy of The Flame Trees of Thika this weekend. Elspeth Huxley recounts her early childhood experiences in Kenya between 1912 and 1914. I was much the same age in this great picture taken by Grandma around 1960. These were the end days of British rule in South Africa. I remember the privileged status of being "European" as opposed to "Non European" under the apartheid system. The park benches, buses, neighbourhoods, schools, and beaches were respectively labeled. Recently I read Paul Theroux's book Dark Star Safari. He journeyed from Cairo to Capetown over a year, travelling as a non-tourist. His reflections are dark indeed. It is a story of poverty, despair, corruption, superstition, disease...and hope. Post colonial Africa has massive problems, the roots of which are difficult to divide.
On a lighter note, the book series by Alexander McCall Smith that begins with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency gives a delightful, optimistic picture of life in southern Africa. Precious Ramotswe is the fat, jolly Miss Marple of Botswana. If you have time for some great summer reading these books are highly recommended.

Stop and smell the roses… There is a beautiful rose garden at the back of the hospital. Patients will ask to have their therapy session in the rose garden and we comply as often as possible in the summertime. I walk in the back door each morning just so I can see and smell the roses before I start work.
One morning this week I saw Peter Rabbit relaxing comfortably in the garden while enjoying the view.

Dr. Edward Hallowell has a new book called Crazybusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Coping in a World Gone Add. He offers suggestions on how to “unsnarl frantic lives by teaching ourselves to move from the F-state–frenzied, flailing, fearful, forgetful, furious–to the C-state–cool, calm, clear, consistent, curious, courteous.” We see far too many people each day in the F-state...even ourselves.

One of Dad's favourite songs is In the Garden. Here is a picture I took "while the dew is still on the roses". Too bad I couldn't capture and share the scent as well.

Have a happy, C-state holiday weekend!

Durban , South Africa circa 1960
Sandland Brother has a post today about a sailing club on the Arabian Gulf. This photo shows Sandland and I as children playing in a tidal pool on the Indian Ocean. These types of early experiences really do influence you for a lifetime. This photo was taken by Grandma when she came to visit us in South Africa for six months. I am impressed with how the Kodachrome slides have stayed so colourful over the past 45 years. Dad has boxes of slides. I am begging him to give them to me so I can scan and share them!

Afternoon Tea

Ever since I learned to steep a pot in my seventh grade home economics class, tea has been my favourite beverage. I get up in the morning to have tea, and I come home from work to have tea. My tea is made strong with milk and no sugar. But in the hot weather, iced tea hits the spot. This is the best iced tea recipe from my friend, Elva.

Elva's Iced Tea
Put 9 teabags in a 6 cup teapot. Fill pot with boiling water and steep the tea overnight. In the morning add 16 cups of water, one tin (355 ml) of frozen lemonade concentrate, and one cup of sugar or Splenda to the tea. Makes a big batch that goes down quickly.