Purple Dragon

I have just sat and read thru the Wikipedia entries for pigeon and funnel chests and scared myself half to death.

I can cope if she has to wear a chest brace, but I think I shall have a breakdown if she has to have surgery to insert metal bars into her chest.

Jesus. She's only tiny.

The Good

We think we might have found a care home about 6 miles away from me that would be good for my sister. If we have, then we can either get on the waiting list or maybe even get a placement (not really likely, I know!) and then we can have Sue moved up here. I can visit her practically every day (which is not something I can do more than once a year just now), which will take a lot of pressure off my Mum and perhaps even be good for Sue. If she gets regular visitors, family, then it might bring her out of herself a wee bit. I am going to visit there tomorrow and check it out.

My hopes are high.

The Bad

Rachel had to go to the Dr this morning. She has a strange shaped chest, but it has never really been anything interesting, but of late it has been noticable and she won't let me touch it. She winces and pulls away, but denies that it hurts her. Perhaps it just feels weird. The Dr says he has never seen anything like it before. Apparently she has a pigeon chest at the top and a funnel chest below it. He's never seen the two together, and he has never seen either occurence in someone so young. She is being referred to a Paediatric Surgeon to get looked at. He doesn't think it is a problem, but it is better, apparently, to get it seen.

The Ugly

Head lice have reared their ugly heads here again. Nice. So we are all sitting here this evening with sticky heads, smelling horrid. The only good bit about it is that we can get the gunk to kill the wee beasties for nothing on the Minor Ailments Scheme.

I know everyone is expecting me to write about our walk today, so I am going to take a leaf out of my daughter's book and be bloody contrary, and write about something else. I will tell you about the walk tomorrow. There is a man in leather and pink bra and panties involved.

Has anyone else seen the whole petrol strike thing? I drove to Aberdeen today. There is no diesel in Turriff which is our nearest town, and I have been told there is also none in Inverurie which is pretty much the next closest for decent price fuel.

Well, you'd think there would be some in Aberdeen! Although I had half a tank, I generally top up in Aberdeen because it can be anything up to 3p a litre cheaper than locally. So I figured I would do the same today.

Think again!

I went to Sainsbury, then to Asda, then to a little private garage and finally to BP. The first three had unleaded, but no diesel. The BP garage had no unleaded and only Ultimate Diesel (at 132.9p / litre!!!) so I figured I better top up, even at that price.

I have heard that there are tankers coming in from Europe, but being in the north east of Scotland, I reckon the south will get theirs first.

Aberdeen was like a bloody ghost town today. I don't think I have ever seen so few cars on the road, except in bad weather or on Xmas Day.

When I was filling up at BP, cars drove in slowly as their owners cruised the pumps looking for their fuel, and then driving off, forlorn and worried. It was a bit scary, actually.

It make me think about when we finally start feeling the effects of Peak Oil, and fuel will not be had by anyone, for any money.

Our children will sit and tell our grandchildren of 'the old days' when we used to drive to towns and cities in polluting metal machines to buy our groceries that had been flown in from other countries, instead of just buying locally grown, seasonal foods. The grandchildren won't believe them, of course - who could be so stupid?

Sit back for a few minutes and think about it. No cars. No buses. No planes. What will we use? Steam? Will we go back to horses and carriages? What will the world be like without oil pollution? How soon before the roads start to deteriorate without the traffic on them, but also without the upkeep?

Today is the Wee Scottish Walk.

I don't think I have seen this time on a Sunday morning since, oh - last Sunday actually! LOL

Everyone pray to the Sun Gods to keep the rain away! I don't fancy walking in the pouring rain

Happy birthday to you
Happy Birthday to YOU
Happy Birthday dear Faffa
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!

Have a fab day, sweetie

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

In ten days, 155,000 people worldwide signed an Avaaz petition urging South Africa's Thabo Mbeki to press for democracy in Zimbabwe--and then flew a massive banner over the United Nations headquarters. The flight grabbed the attention of world media, from South African radio, newspapers, and TV to CNN and the BBC... and the next day, South Africa shifted its position.

Even as the Zimbabwe crisis worsens, an extraordinary solidarity movement has taken hold across Southern Africa--sparked by a South African dock workers' union that refused to unload a Chinese shipment of Zimbabwe-bound weapons.

Their refusal to facilitate Zimbabwe's crackdown has ignited a wildfire that is spreading across the continent. Now, as pressure builds, China is publicly wavering--and might decide to bring the arms home.[2] Click below to sign a petition to keep arms away from Zimbabwe. The petition will publicly unveiled before the end of this week, and used to lobby key leaders until the crisis ends. Join the call now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_arms_for_zimbabwe/9.php

Three weeks on, the results of the March 29 elections have still not been released, and Zimbabwe's crisis is getting worse. Mugabe's government has unleashed a brutal campaign to retain power. The opposition says that ten have died, and hundreds have been injured; now, a "human wave" of refugees is fleeing to South Africa and other neighbouring countries.

But even as the political emergency deepens, an African-led upswell of resistance has begun to turn the tide. In the last ten days:

More than 150,000 Avaaz members worldwide signed the petition for democracy in Zimbabwe, including citizens of 53 of Africa's 54 countries. The goal: prod South Africa's president Mbeki to pressure Mugabe. To make sure the message got through, Avaaz hired a small plane to fly a 280 square metre (3000 sq ft) banner over the United Nations. The next day, amidst pressure from other governments and worldwide media coverage of the Avaaz stunt, South Africa finally shifted its position on Zimbabwe.

Last week, a Chinese ship carrying 77 tonnes of Zimbabwe-bound weapons and ammunition docked in Durban, South Africa--but, refusing to aid Mugabe's crackdown, the dockworkers refused to unload it. Unions, churches, and legal groups throughout Southern Africa quickly mobilized; the ship was forced to leave the harbour, and other ports in the region are vowing to block the weapons as well.

As the grassroots outcry has grown, political officials have begun to press their case. Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa urged other African leaders not to allow the weapons to reach Zimbabwe. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and former UNSG Kofi Annan have called for democracy. And more and more other leaders in Africa and worldwide are joining in.

The Chinese arms ship is now sailing up the Western coast of Africa. Union officials tell Avaaz that it could stop in Namibia to refuel, but is probably headed towards Angola. Time is short. A strong international outcry now can help support the groups in both countries--dockworkers, NGOs, and church leaders--who are working to block the weapons and support Zimbabwean human rights.

There is more at stake here than the weapons in this ship. Together, we can build a consensus that Zimbabwe should not be sold ANY weapons in this time of crisis--and in the longer term, we can build momentum for a strong international Arms Trade Treaty. Moreover, stopping the flow of weapons provides a concrete, immediate step that leaders in the region can take on Zimbabwe--paving the way for stronger actions in coming days and weeks.

Add your name to the petition, and then send this link to friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_arms_for_zimbabwe/9.php

The situation in Zimbabwe is dire. But because of people power--the courage of ordinary workers and community members, standing on principle--the political currents are shifting, and hope is emerging for change. And in the global media, a new strain can be heard amidst the grinding stories of brutality and chaos.

This crisis has many layers, and raises issues that range from the legacy of colonialism to the uncontrolled international arms trade. At the heart of it is the simple idea that every human life is equally precious, and that every person has rights. The people of Zimbabwe took their stand in the voting booth. The dockworkers of South Africa took their stand at the harbour. Now, even if we can only offer a click, it is time to do our part as well.

With hope,

Ben, Ricken, Graziela, Galit, Paul, Iain, Pascal, and Veronique--the Avaaz.org team

Sources:

Business Day: "South Africa: Unions Bid to Halt Zimbabwe Arms Ship." http://allafrica.com/stories/200804220109.html
New York Times: "China Says Shipment of Arms for Zimbabwe May Turn Back." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/africa/23zimbabwe.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
New York Times: "Human Wave Flees Violence in Zimbabwe." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/world/africa/21zimbabwe.html?ex=1366516800&en=0378560da461b30a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
SW Radio Africa: "Mbeki put under pressure at the UN over Zimbabwe" http://www.swradioafrica.com/news170408/mbekipressure170408.htm
Globe and Mail: "South African leader forced to speak up after long keeping quiet on Mugabe." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080418.ZIMBABWEANALYSIS18/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa
Associated Press: "Zimbabwe's neighbors unite to block arms shipment" http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i4kT7pJlnuzY_vpKdTACcQYIPcvQD9077G780
Reuters: "Zambia asks African states to bar Chinese ship" http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnBAN223066.html
Ibid.
See http://controlarms.org.
________

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Isn't this weather bonkers. I love this time of year because of the promise of growth and nice weather, but I also dislike it because you never know what the day will bring. Do you layer up with a couple of t-shirts and a sweater; or forego the multiple t's and spend the day getting progressively chillier.

It is also frustrating for me because of this whole Tietze thing. As I mentioned before, I spent most of Monday digging the garden and then the rest of the week loitering about in the chair, exhausted and in pain. I am so used to mucking in, getting my hands dirty and generally hoifing stuff about that, to not be able to do it, is bloody annoying to say the least!

Took the dog for a walk in the park in Turriff last night because the boy had gymnastics and the girls get dead fed up sitting for an hour. It was nice coz my pal Pamela came along. I have known her for a few years, but I hadn't taken the time to get to know her, which I regret because she is nice. Archie saw another dog, lunged off to go say Hi, and snapped the flippin lead. Monster mutt.

Tonight we are taking Angus to the woods with Debbie and her lot.

Did I tell you the saga of Lala's hearing appointments?

She's had problems with her hearing for a while. After nagging my GP for some time, we finally got an appointment thru (last December) for a hearing test, which she failed. He said her hearing was okay but she had fluid build up which was what was causing the problems. She was to go back in 3 months.

Fast forward three months. No appointment. I phoned the hospital to see what was happening. To cut a long story short, I must have phoned 6 or 7 times over a couple of weeks and then quit. Phoned the GP office and asked them to chase it up as I was getting nowhere. They also got the runaround and after a couple of weeks finally discovered they were calling the wrong place. Phoned the right place and got an appointment for today.

Went along at midday and she did badly again. The audiologist had to increase the sound levels 5-10 decibels in order for her to register the sounds. They also had this wee machine that tests the reverberation of the eardrum. When they do whatever it is they had to do, the machine should show a spike, but hers only had a flat line, which means that there is little or no reverberation of the ear drum. This is because of the fluid build up in the ear canal.

So, we now have to wait another 2 months for an appointment to see the ENT bloke, get another hearing test, and then take it from there. I know another kid of mine that will be getting grommets, methinks.

Hi,

I just signed an urgent petition calling on the Chinese government to respect human rights in Tibet and dialogue with the Dalai Lama. This is really important, and I thought you might want to take action:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

After decades of repression, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. Unrest is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial choice between escalating repression or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that "Made in China" exports and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support of the world's people only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below to sign the petition--in just 7 days, the campaign is over half way to the goal of 2 million signatures!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Thank you so much for your help - forward this to friends!

What a cracking day!

Woke up this morning with the intention of going to the gym. Took one look out the window and decided to spend the day in the garden instead.

My wee fenced garden is a mess. I did hardly anything in there last year because I concentrated on the chicks, and then come autumn I wasn't really well enough to do anything about it. Thankfully the winter put paid to the weed growth and I have managed to get out there before Spring has put too much spring into the roots of said weeds.

First off, I collected the stuff I had pulled last week that the dogs had kindly scattered over the whole area, and then chucked it all in the brazier and put a match to it. Man, I stink now! Actually, there was a lot of rosemary cuttings in there so the smoke smelled quite lovely. My rosemary had self seeded all over the flippin place, so I ripped a lot of it up.

Next I started digging. I wanted to dig up a lot of weeds and grass, which unfortunately is most of the beds area. The dogs have ripped up most of the ground cover plants I had out there, which was a shame because I wanted to cultivate that. Bloody vandals. Anyway, I dug an area of about 3' x 15' and I got to the point where I couldn't actually straighten up again after digging the fork in. I still have absolutely masses of digging left to do.

I gave up about 2pm and got changed, then walked down to the village to collect the kids from school.

Sauna, tonight, methinks

Well, breaking with the current set of postings I have made of late, I am going to post something cheerful!

Yes, this is still Purple Dragon - she of the miserable pity party posts.

Anyway, I have booked myself on a course. Reiki I. It is a two day course in Aberdeen (3rd and 4th May), learning about Reiki and getting my first attunement. I visited the website of the woman who does the training and attunements, and I felt very comfortable with her - almost like I know her. Actually I probably do if she FreeCycles LOL

I shall do my Reiki I and then start working towards my Reiki II and also the Metamorphic training.

I'm very excited about the whole thing, and think about it quite a bit.

Anyone else here have their Reiki?

I asked my man what he thought I should do, when I was thinking about booking myself on and he said "Let the Force guide you". Cheeky sod.

Here's a little reminder that Downshifting Week is about to start tomorrow (Saturday 19th to Friday 25th).

I'm sure you're already doing a lot to downshift and simplify your life, but it's always good to have a reminder!

http://www.downshiftingweek.com/

I have decided that I cannot eat another living thing, so my alternative is to go vegetarian.

My experience of veggies are peas, carrots, and mushrooms and the ever faithful potato. Naturally, a diet of this would soon make me magnificently nutritionally deficient!

Does anyone have any ideas for learning about this, and going in the right direction? I need recipes and nutritional advice.

Do you ever stop and think about death?

I have been thinking about that moment between life and death. That split second between possibility and infinity. One moment, there is life, a heart beat, breath, thought, animation. All the chemical responses and electrical impulses that go to make up a living, breathing creature.

Then, suddenly, between one heart beat and the next, that all stops. Life is irrevocable. Gone. Ended. You can't grab it back. You can't pull someone back from the brink.

Where does the energy go? Physicists have us believe that no energy can be destroyed. Is that the part we call the soul?

How can someone murder someone else? How can they bring themselves to extinguish that fragility?

Just read this :

Labor Pain Comes From The Cervix (April 15, 2008) -- Childbirth is painful, yet scientists are still somewhat in the dark about what actually causes the pain. A new doctoral thesis now shows where this pain comes from and opens the way to the development of improved methods of pain relief.

About what actually causes the pain??
Have scientists actually viewed childbirth?
Experienced it?
Have they seen the size of the birth canal?
Have they seen the size of a baby's head?

And they are wasting spending money on finding out what causes the pain? They should have given me the funds, and I would have told them straight away.

Fact of the Day

On 16th April in 1746, the Jacobite rebels led by Charles Edward Stewart were defeated at the Battle of Culloden in their last engagement with the British Army. The defeat finally ended the Jacobite uprising.

There have been two firsts these last two days.

The second first is more important, so I am putting it above the first first.

The second first? Rachel had her very first swimming lesson this morning! They phoned me the day before yesterday and offered me two lessons slots. One, she was in playgroup and the other one was when the Boy was coming out of school, so neither were any good. They phoned again yesterday and said they had decided to put on an extra pre-school lesson on a Saturday morning, and was I interested. Well, naturally I jumped at the chance. Rachel has been nipping my head to get lessons because the other two go, and she was SO excited! She wanted to go to bed at 5pm last night, because she knew she was going directly after breakfast. When she went in, she went directly to the pool and jumped in (fortunately the instructor was already in there and sorted her out!), and she jumped off the side another twice. She also put her whole head under twice as well, which is a damn site better than I could! She can't wait till next week

The first first was taking Angus down to the school yesterday to meet Lala. He hasn't walked on a lead before - he's never actually been for a proper walk before - and he did amazingly well! Because we got him quite late his jags were late, so he was quite a bit older than a normal puppy would be going outside. Then, of course, we got Oscar, and he isn't allowed out in public yet, AND my car isn't back on the road just yet, so I don't have a car I can fit all three mutts into anyway... blah blah.

Anyway, he did really well. I had to drag him out of the gate. He was like "I'm not allowed out the gate" and then he was very subdued going down the hill. He didn't even sniff anything, just stayed glued to my leg and walked really well on the lead. Then, on the way up, he had forgotten he was scared because he got so excited seeing Lala come out of school, so he got a bit more confidence and had some sniffs. He still didn't pull on the lead. He went forward a couple of times, got strangled, and decided it wasn't a good idea to pull and so he stopped.

I think he will enjoy his walkies

I nicked this off Gilraen but I see some other folk have done it as well, so I don't know who started it.

Where is your mobile phone? pocket
Significant other? driving
Your hair? frizzy
Your favourite thing? biscuits
Your dream last night? prophetic
Your favorite drink? tea
Your dream/goal? peace
The room you're in? lounge
Your ex? vicious
Your fear? spiders
Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? patient
One of your wish list items? serenity
Where you grew up? England
The last thing you did? laundry
What are you wearing? jeans
Your TV? annoying
Your pets? numerous
Your computer? laptop
Your life? hectic
Your mood? tranquil
Your car? naff
Something you're not wearing? lipstick
Favourite Store? mystical
Your summer? gardening
Like someone? loads
Your favourite colour? purple
Last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? last week

I'm still here.

I'm still reading.

Sorry if I haven't commented - but I am reading.

I have 5 hens. Hens are supposed to lay one egg apiece, each day, when in lay. Sometimes they miss a day.

The day before yesterday, I lifted 5 eggs.

Yesterday, the children brought in 10.

Today, I brought in another 10, and later on, the kids brought in another 4, making a total of 14 eggs today.

From 5 hens.

I reckon someone is sneaking into my coop and planting eggs.

I have a sick son, who (the Dr tells me) is 'highly contagious' so I am AWOL just now.

Hence reading and rarely commenting. Sorry if you have posted and I have said nothing - I'm not ignoring you, just paying more attention to my son and watching out for signs of illness from the other sprogs.

Last night, I chilled out in the sauna. It's the first time I've been in there since it was fixed, and I just totally loved it. So relaxing. Himself keeps it on 6, so I never really go in there much, but yesterday I put mine on 2, and it was the perfect temperature. The kids came in for a short while as well, but they can't take the heat and only stay in there for a short while.

However, the bad news is, today I spent 5 hours ironing. It was my own fault - I usually only iron for an hour at a time, and I generally keep on top of it, but I've been skiving over the holidays, and today I paid the price. I don't usually iron for so long, and now my chest is absolutely killing me. I carried the ironing upstairs to sort it out, and thought I was going pass out from the pain.

So. Good stuff, bad stuff. I guess the Universe is in balance

Well, they say the art of romance is dead. I'm here to tell you - not in MY house!

Last week, when my man came home from work, he was met with a present - I bought him a Black & Decker Workmate.

This week - he got yet another present - a cement mixer

Don't tell me I don't know how to spoil my man!

When I was at secondary school, I sat next to a girl in math called Charlotte.

Charlotte and I became firm friends, and over the years have continued to be friends. I am godmother ot her first born child. Not a very good one, but that's me - I'm rubbish at stuff like that. She is 14 now - the same age her mother and I were when we met! They now stay on the south coast of England.

A couple of days ago, her brother was in my area dropping off a car, and he was going to be literally about 500 yards away from my house, so I offered him a bed for the night.

Now, I've not seen this lad since my son was 2 months old - so 8 years. Man, he's lived those years. We sat up yapping till 1.15 (which is unheard of for me!) talking about what we did way back when, and what we have been doing since then.

I don't negate the worth of the last 8 years. I have been thru a lot. I have birthed and half raised three children. I have upped sticks and moved away from all my family and pals, and made new pals.

But seeing him again made me realise that I don't make the most of every minute. I dither too much. I don't wring every last drop out of every last minute. And it has got to stop!

It is so easy to become complacent and think we will live forever, but we won't and every minute lost is lost forever.

This is a cracking song.

A few years ago, a pal of mine's man needed a heart and lung transplant. He didn't get one in time, and she lost him. He wasn't 30 yet.

This was their song, and she had it played at his funeral. I've never been able to listen to it without breaking down ever since. I still listen to it though.