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Alzheimer's.....the thief of memories.....

8/14/2013

4 Comments

 
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There’s nothing funny about Alzheimer's although I hear the jokes all the time. You get to make new friends every day and a recent one, you can hide your own Easter eggs.  We joke because  the truth of the matter is too cruel to comprehend and humour helps lighten the load. But for those of you who have tended to a person suffering from this disease there is nothing to laugh about.  

So far  my family and friends have been lucky, but my nursing home stint saw the devastation first hand.  What a mean spirited disease, stealing your loved one twice.  The theft of the mind, and then the physical body. 
 
We used to call the patients hall dusters in the home. Drifters going up and down the halls running their hand across the railing or wall. Back and forth, all day long,  no idea they are even on the planet or at least that's how it seems to the observer...who knows what is really going on in the depth of the mind.  The sadness that impacted me is something I will never forget.   I hope my loved ones and dear friends never have to experience this devastation first or second hand.   I can’t imagine being diagnosed and handed down that kind of death sentence. Knowing I will loose all comprehension, being a stranger to my son and husband is sad beyond words, but ironically...it might be easier than watching it happen to either of them.  As in the little picture above, being able to forget might be a blessing as this disease slowly engulfs your memories, it's your loved ones that will have to learn to carry on with the shell that remains.   


About a month ago, an old school chum dropped by with her mother. I was taken by how childlike the mother was, sitting on the trunk playing with my dogs.  She seemed to remember me, looked around and said........"I walk by here everyday but never knew you had this store."    My heart sank, for she had been in the shop several times and bought a piece of my jewellery.  Out of ear shot, my friend told me that her mother was suffering from dementia.  So sad.  But, I was taken by her jovial, almost giddy personality. I'm not familiar with this stage of dementia.  Most of the people in the nursing home were beyond this and some were quite depressed needing medication to quiet the anger.   My heart bled for my  friend as her journey will be long on a very rough road. 

The other evening we were watching a show on PBS and they were talking about who will and who won’t contract this illness.  They talked about social circles, the wider it expands the less chance of becoming ill.  If you stay at home and wander out infrequently, not much farther than for provision shopping, it's a  precursor to Alzheimer's.   If you work and your social circle encompasses the job place and friends from that, then the chances decrease slightly.  Exercise is also a factor in the longevity of neuroplasticity.  The more you do and the larger your social circle the less likely you will succumb to dementia. 
 
I’m one of those people who love to be in their home and although I go out to work I don’t venture much farther than that.  I exercise my jaw more than my body and have a limited circle of good friends.  If all these factors are true,  I’m the poster child for the disease.  The mileage on our car annually is around 8000 km, the average person puts on 20,000 so that tells you I don't go very far...mostly to the airport to pick up or deliver hubby.   Being told your social circle influences the chance of getting Alzheimer’s wasn’t the kind of news I wanted to hear and I turned to hubby and spouted…."Oh my god…..I’m going to die of Alzheimer's!" 

Apparently the more your brain is stimulated with relationships and adventures the more likely you are to escape the grips of memory loss. They did go on to say that creativity improves your chances so that might balance out my love of home mentality so I'll come out in a better place, otherwise I’m screwed.  People who travel do well, experience the world and all its wonder. People with a large social circle, having a lot of friends and are active within groups do well so rug hooking can help keep our mind muscles flexing.  
 
Now I know this isn’t carved in stone, just statistically we appear to fit into a certain mold and it was scary to hear.  Whatever happened to the aluminum cause?...that was easy to avoid...I can't avoid my home, nor do I want too.  So I felt inclined to spread awareness and say, get out of your homes people, go to parties, exercise, have fun, take up rug hooking or bingo or maybe line dancing, whatever it takes to get you out and active to stimulate body and brain to optimum health......apparently it's use it or loose it!  


I suppose now I’ll have to make an effort to friend up a few more people and up my chances of keeping the grey cells intact. Guess I shouldn’t have turned down that dinner invite for Friday evening because during Chester Race week all the sailors and  wives gather to break bread and catch up on news.  I’m just tired this week and figured by Friday I’d be zonked so I begged off but if it will save my brain, maybe I should go…….

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4 Comments

Dr. Oz 3 day cleanse...

3/8/2013

1 Comment

 
While off sick I watched Dr. Oz show. This seem like a great three day cleanse to eliminate harmful toxins, restore your system, and reset your body.  All you need is 3 days, a blender and $16 a day!   Take the shopping list to the store to stock up on the super foods you will need.   All items are easily found at your local supermarket. 

I've detoxed over the years and they are usually more involved and for longer durations.  I think three days would be a breeze.  Most of the woman who tried this also lost an average of 5 lbs and inches off the waste. 
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1 Comment

The Great Wall Of Wool!

11/24/2012

1 Comment

 
Well, I finally decorated the shop window just in the nick for the Festival and now I can relax a bit...not!  My to-do list is looking shorter but it's still lengthy....fingers crossed by the end of this coming week I should be ahead of the eight ball. 

We had to rearrange the shop to accommodate the extra wool rack we added to the existing three, so there is now an entire wall of wool.  So delicious to see, all those wonderful colours, a feast for the eye!  We had to shift the large bookshelf to another area but it’s all working; it’s amazing what you can fit into an already crammed space.  All that's left is the ceiling and don't think I haven't considered it...gravity is the only thing stopping me!  Shane has been dyeing up a storm and we have recently taken shipment of dozens of new plaids, some so beautiful I grabbed an armload for my own stash; ownerships should have some perks right? 


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The  Great Wall of Wool!  One of the seven wonders of the hooking world! 

 Another new addition to the shop is our coloured burlap and also something called linen/burlap. 
Lots of exciting colours, seasonal reds and greens, charcoal, soft pink, periwinkle blue and a very light sea foam blue that reminds me of a cottage on the beach. There is a black and even a white; a very nautical gold and navy; the orange and rust are perfect for next fall’s projects and would look great sporting a hooked pumpkin in the center and made in to a pillow.  Sue was in the states recently and said people are sewing pillows out of burlap and appliqueing a design in the center but we could hook one! 


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I'll take pictures of the other colours later today.

I taught a class today and got to know two very nice women.  They weren’t newbies, just wanted to make sure they were on the right track.   They came bearing a gift, a Bundt carrot cake and it was a plate licker!   I’m a diabetic so I really shouldn’t but I could never look a gift cake in the mouth and turn it down.  I make a joke, when I cheat, that it’s so good it’s worth losing a toe over and I sometimes wonder what people must think.  Of course I’m kidding and someday if one falls off I’ll kick myself, or maybe not….  The other catch phrase I’ve been known to use over a particularily delicious morsel is “It’s better than sex” but I don’t really mean that either..…at least not all the time.  (Yes, I fully understand diabetes is serious…I’m just kidding around!)

For me, eating dessert means a few extra jumps on my indoor trampoline.   If you want to lower your blood sugar quickly that’s the way to fly.  A couple of dozen hard pumps and running on the spot and you knock your score to normal.  Too bad you couldn’t carry the thing around in your purse and whip it out every time you fall prey to a craving.   

I first heard about the benefits of the trampoline a few years ago while watching the Shopping Channel and figured I'd give it a whirl...what the heck? If it didn’t work, I’d just squeeze it into the closet with all other pieces of exercise equipment I’ve wasted money on over the years. 
Good intentions and all, I wonder how much money we spend on home fitness equipment that we fall out of love with, ban it to the basement, garage or closest and then doom it to the yard sale for a fraction of the price.  Carrying it out to the yard is probably the most exercise it's provided!

So the trampoline is the only piece of gear I’ve stuck with and it has plenty of merit.  First of all it gets your blood pumping to every part of your body, even the tiniest vessels in your feet, making you all pink and tingly!  Supposedly it firms up the chest area, that’s a claim the jury is still out on, at my age how would you even tell? And of course the main reason I use it, there is very low
impact on my bad knee.  But all that aside, it’s just pure fun with added benefits.   It always reminds me of jumping on the bed when I was a child.  I bought it around the time I realized
my pancreas wasn’t working so efficiently and it keeps my blood sugar in check after eating too large a meal or if I’ve cheated.  Oh and yes, another great benefit, it tightens up the Kegel muscles very quickly, because you have to keep squeezing to prevent wetting your pants.  The first couple of times you use it, I recommend you pee first and maybe wear a pad but after that, no problem.  Hmm...I wonder if any men are reading this post?  Well, on that note I’m off to bed!  
 
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    Christine Little has been ranked #5​ out of the 60 top rug hooking bloggers by Rug Hooking Magazine!

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    Max Anderson, Australia, recipient of my Nova Scotia Treasures rug.  An award of excellence for promoting Canada through his writing.  
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