Doing a whole lot of nothing

I have been doing a whole lot of nothing these past three weeks.  It will soon be a month since I had foot surgery to repair a very painful bunion.  Now I hobble around.  At first I used crutches, then a walker and now a cane.  I wear a "bunion boot" on my right foot which is designed with a wedge type heel so as not to allow any weight on the front of the foot.  On good days I just take off on my two feet and on bad days I use the cane or walker.  I haven't really had one whole good day but I know I will!

 

There is not much I can do about it.  Well.....I could have chosen not to have the surgery and then I would just be carrying on as usual.  I decided that wasn't an option since I was in a lot of pain and to top it all off my other foot is just as bad.  I am hoping to get the left foot fixed in the not so distant future.  I am looking forward to the day when my feet do not hurt!

 

If anything I could use it as an excuse for a grumpy and argumentative disposition; but I won't.  Well, maybe. 

 

All of this has given me a new outlook on some things.  I used to work for Home Care and I am glad that I have that knowledge to help me with basic every day ordinary things that we take for granted.  Each time I haul myself in and out of the bath tub I mutter a silent prayer.   I think about all the people I have assisted in their own homes and how I went about it.  Every time I take that long walk from one end of my house to the other I also say a word of thanks that I realized the dangers of scatter rugs, slippery floors and good shoes! 

 

We have two little dogs who leave their toys strewn about the living room floor and I pay a lot of attention to that whilst maneuvering around the house.  The dogs also tend to bring the snow indoors sometimes.  Snow melts and leaves puddles of water that can make life interesting while I am hopping around on one good foot.

 

So far I haven't tripped or slipped on anything.  I have ventured outside a couple of times.  Getting in and out of the truck is not easy with all the snow.  I have a patient husband who wants to help and who gets hollered at sometimes when he is not right there to offer assistance.  Sorry about that.  I have some friends left who inquire about my health both physical and mental, so life is not all that bad!

 

I am also very grateful for my basic good health and fitness level at this time.  Why do I say this?  Well for starters I vowed to lose at least five pounds before the surgery.  Thus the following quote from the Canadian Arthritis Society:   "Just 10 pounds of excess weight can put you at greater risk of developing osteoarthritis (OA) in your knees. Did you know that losing 10 pounds of excess weight decreases stress on your knees by 40 pounds? By increasing physical activity and exercise, you can make a difference to your joints and overall health."

 

That was enough for me and I thought that even a small weight loss would be better than nothing at all to relieve the stress on my feet.  Anyone who has had sore feet could appreciate what I am saying.  Mine were beyond sore, they were hell.  To top it all off I haven't worked since the end of June because of the herniated disc in my back.  I was scared that the back pain would prevent me from getting around at all once I had the foot surgery!  Oh my god......what has happened to me?

 

I found that it wasn't all that hard to shed a few pounds even though I haven't been all that active.  With the decline in physical activity came a diminished appetite.  I didn't lose ten pounds but I did lose five so that was 20 pounds less stress on the joints.  Mission accomplished.

 

Before the surgery and then just in the past few days I had a hellish stomach virus that totally incapacitated me as well.  There was no way I was going to eat anything after being so sick so that helped.  I wouldn't recommend it as a weight loss technique.

 

I am grateful for all the months of Boot Camp for the past two years.   Thank you Kendra!  I toughened myself up and believe me I am proud that at 59 years of age I can do an "almost" one leg squat.  It helps to get out of tough situations where I am sitting in a spot that is lower than I want to sit.  I am also proud that I forced myself to do all those push ups.  It sure helped when I found myself teetering and tottering on crutches in the middle of the night.  There is nothing like conditioning to get through the tough moments.

 

 

 

I meant to take a picture of my foot before surgery but I forgot.  So I took a picture of my left foot.  It is bad but not as bad as the one that is now fixed.  Then I took a series of pictures to show the progress of the right foot. 

 

 

So this was a week later after I got the stitches out.  It is healing nicely.  One of my friends said I had the ugliest feet she's ever seen.  When she saw my foot after the surgery she said, "That's better!"  LOL is all I can do.

Well that's probably enough about the feet.  What a topic.  It is my blog and I can blog about whatever I feel like and if you have read it - good for you!

I think I might practice saluting again

 
As Remembrance Day approaches it gives us time to reflect on ourselves as Canadians.  I think back to my childhood.

Gertie and Ira were a wonderful old couple who lived not far from us in the little town where I grew up. Gertie was my favourite babysitter; she was so much fun. They had no children of their own. Ira talked funny, in a strained whispery voice. My dad said he got "gassed" in the war and that's why he talked that way.

Being a child I had no clear understanding of what that meant.  I didn't ask many questions. I just remember it was something mysterious. I later found out that Ira enlisted in the 229 Canadian Infantry Battalion in 1916 and served in the Canadian Engineers, in France. He was one of the many Canadians soldiers who were gassed by the Germans at Ypres.

Ellen and Alex lived down the street from us. I didn't know too much about them.  Ellen was the "Avon Lady".  Alex sat in a dark living room in a wheel chair and chain smoked.. My mom told me that he lost his legs in the War. I don't ever remember seeing him in the light of day. Reflecting back, knowing what I know, he was probably suffering from depression related to his war time experiences.  Even now, thinking about the interior of that house makes me feel bad for him.

As a child my impressions of war were formed by my neighbours down the street and by what my parents told me. My mom talked about ration books, lack of nylon stockings and sending letters to her brother Lloyd who was in the Air Force "overseas". My dad tried to enlist and he did not pass the physical for one reason or another; he never talked about it. His brother John was in the army, serving most of his time as a prisoner of war.

Every November we had Remembrance Day services in our school. All the Veterans from the area went from school to school in those days, doing their duty. I remember looking at their medals and staring into their solemn faces. I was impressed with how they stood so tall and still, not moving while the "Last Post" was being played. I used to practice saluting in front of the mirror when I got home.

To this day I cannot recall one single word they said to us. I have only a picture in my mind of the uniforms, the medals, the rigid posture, the serious looks, the shaking hands and the tears in their eyes. Nobody ever smiled. Those impressions have stayed with me to this day. I now know why they never smiled on that day. I can now appreciate their solemn faces, their tears and their sacrifice.  I can only guess what they endured while defending our country, for me and for all of my little friends sitting so quiet and still in our little wooden desks in a crowded stuffy classroom.

As a child, it was hard to imagine having my friends by my side one minute and then dead on the ground the next. It was not in my realm of understanding, and I am sure my mind did not want to go there even if I had been told the true horrors.

As I got older I was a real rebel, even marched in a peace rally once. I was so sure that I was right, war was wrong. I never gave it much thought as to why I even had the right to march in a public place  in the first place.

Freedom, we sometimes take it for granted. We have the freedom to read and write and speak our minds, the freedom to roam about without fear. All of those rights were secured for us by my neighbours and relatives. They fought those wars and suffered great indignities only to suffer again as they remembered in November. 

As I grew and matured I became more sensitive to the circumstances that led to why I live in such a great country. I finally acknowledged that without the sacrifices of a great many people who fought to protect us from tyrants, dictators and injustices, I would be living a much different life.

As a Canadian I have never felt prouder than when we traveled coast to coast one summer.  My pride was on my sleeve as we showed off our country to the non-Canadians who were with us. We have a wonderful nation, with the freedom to express ourselves and the freedom to move about anywhere we want to go as long as we follow the rules.

As a Canadian I am proud to display my passport when I travel to other countries; secure in the knowledge that we are welcomed there because of our citizenship.  As a Canadian I am proud to wear a poppy to remember and to fly the Canadian flag year round.

Thank you Ira and Alex, thank you Uncle John and Uncle Lloyd. Thank you to everyone for your sacrifice.

I think I might practice saluting once again.

vacation

Life is good and we are still counting our blessings after the awful start to our holiday on October 14th.  Here is one of our biggest blessings.

Pam, Anita, Emma, Noah, B&B(aka Goofy)
Michael Nicholas and Leah

I insisted that we all stand together for this photo in Disneyland since the next day Michael and family were going home.  So often in the past we always said, oh we'll get one of everybody together the next time.....next time sometimes doesn't come.  So out came the cameras, we flagged down some Disney employees and here is one of the results.  Beautiful as usual!

We don't get together enough and we all laughed about how funny it was to have this little reunion in California.  I don't care where it is, we did it!

We had a great time with our son and daughter-in-law Nicholas and Pam, brother Michael and sister-in-law Anita and the kids Noah, Emma and Leah.  We love you all and we would not have missed this for the world.

We arrived on the 14th at Long Beach and stayed on the Queen Mary.  Nicholas and Pam got there on the 16th and joined us "on board".  Michael and family were in Anaheim really close to Disneyland.



In 1987 we took our boys to Disneyland and we took a tour of the Queen Mary.  We always thought it would be fun to stay on board.  Finally, 26 years later and that became a reality.  It is different to say the least.  We kept getting turned around since it is comprised of many decks, stairs and elevators. 


hot salt, hot fresh, cold fresh, cold salt
the salt water did not turn on I tried


 

Just like it was in the '30s



A real ship's toilet with the Shank's push off to the right

I know, who takes pictures of the toilet?  Me.

 

 

Long narrow hall from the main hall to our room



ouch

I just read a few hateful comments on stupid Facebook this morning and my first reaction was:  OUCH!  I use Facebook mainly to post my blogs which are my opinions or my life in general.  I have opinions on just about anything and anyone who doesn't agree or is offended can contact me:  I am in the book, I have messaging on Facebook, or a comment can be left at the end of the blog (although I have heard from some people that there is a problem with that - I haven't been able to fix it.) 

During my tenure as a Councillor I have made public comments and defended myself and sometimes it got out of hand.  I was also on the receiving end of a lot of rumor, innuendo and comment that was untrue.  Of course I defended myself the best I could since that is my nature.  I do not back down - maybe I should have.  I offered apologies that were not acknowledged; what can you do?

I am out of public office now; the people have spoken loud and clear.  It is what it is and I thank those who did have confidence in me.  I also apologize to those who were offended by any comments that were made intended or otherwise.  Sometimes things get dirty don't they? 

I have said it before and I will say it again:  while it is honorable to serve your community and it is a thankless job, you must also remember that it is not a volunteer position.  However large or small the compensation;  you are compensated. You are usually the first one people blame when things go wrong since you must be accountable to the citizens.  You will be judged.

Having said that I will get on with what I intended to do in the first place. 

The following is my opinion and anyone is welcome to comment:
..........................................................................................................................



We all show indignation towards others who bully children.  We are all outraged at the actions that hurt a child.  We have instructed our legislators to come forward with strong laws to combat bullying.  We have also lobbied for legislative change that would provide swift action against the perpetrators of bullying.

Most communities in this area have bylaws that address bullying, in the real or cyber world.  Cyber bullying is addressed in the Town of Coronation's attempt at addressing and enforcing bullying.  It is also addressed in other legislation in the area, the province and in the country.

When conducting a Google search of bullying one usually finds a lot of information that is mainly directed towards children.  There is not much out there to address bullying across the ages in terms of where an adult can go to receive support or information on laws that protect them.

It is a very real issue and especially so since the advent of social media sites. People can pump out comments at lightening speed with little regard for one another and hide behind their computer or other device. 

This is also done without the benefit of social media and the results are the same.

Hurtful untrue comments, the inability of some  to face the truth about their own actions, immature behavior, ostracism; it happens.  This usually comes from adults since the children are told that it is inappropriate and they will be punished.  We teach our children to stop their bad behavior before it hurts some one and to apologize whether they mean it or not since that is the right thing to do. 

At some level the cyber bullying has been recognized by the citizens themselves.  Yet every now and then it raises its ugly head.  For the most part it can be ignored but it is out there for all to see.  The world can be an ugly place.  When people weigh in on all kinds of things and leave their hurtful comments behind it is usually unbeknownst to the "victim" until they happen to come upon it or have someone else point it out to them.

The other type; the rumors, the hate, the hurt that is spread surreptitiously around a community is damaging as well and is classified as bullying. Most times the "victims" of such campaigning are not aware of it either.  Adult bullying is probably the worst because it is not perceived the same way as a child who is hurt by the actions of others.  In fact there is a perception that it is justified since they somehow deserved to be on the end of an unsubstantiated comment or rumor; in other words:  "they asked for it".

The results are not so nice and are not supported by legislation of any kind.  Really, do we need legislation?  As adults we need to make amends, move on and quit with the hidden agendas and try to set a better example for the younger generation.   If we need to get back at one another I think it has happened.  Some concern should also be raised about what children are thinking when the adult community goes to war with one another. 

The old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" does not apply in this day and age.  In fact we need to come up with a better one that would explain why a public flogging would be more appropriate than a public hate fest.

Any ideas on that? 

I'm back

It feels great to be home after a wonderful holiday last week.  We spent a week in Long Beach, CA enjoying all the sunshine.

Our holiday got off to a terrible start on October 14th.  I still cannot believe what happened.  I shall start with a picture.

I still get a little shaky looking at this.



 



We started off with a terrific bang about 6 o'clock that morning.  Of course it was dark and I kept commenting that we needed to keep a close watch for deer.  A few miles east of Clive we didn't have to worry anymore about deer since we ran into a wall of cattle standing on the highway.  There was a vehicle parked on the shoulder facing east but other than that there was absolutely no warning.  It was all over in a matter of seconds and it would have been over for me if I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt.

Someone told me this should be a commercial for the safety features of Toyota.

I can't say enough about all the help we got that morning.  We were on our way to Edmonton International to catch a flight at 10 a.m.  Once it was determined that neither one of us was hurt bad enough to cancel our travel plans we decided to do all we could to carry on.  The Clive Fire Department, Bashaw RCMP and Lacombe EMS all responded and did a great job.  AMA responded with a tow truck and rental car arrangements for Red Deer.  The last piece of the puzzle was a wonderful act of kindness from a complete stranger.  The first person on the scene was a local man who also happened to be on the Clive Fire Department.  He just hopped out of bed and drove there to help.  He insisted on driving us to Red Deer to the rental car place.  We were just going to hitch a ride with the tow truck driver.  This fellow would not hear of it.  He put us in his nice warm truck and got us to where we needed to go.  Just as quickly as he came into our lives he left with a smile and a wave! 

Thus began our holiday.......again!  We got a rental, drove on to Calgary and caught a noon flight to L.A.  We were in Long Beach and settled into our hotel by 4:30 p.m.  If not for the kindness of others and for the miracle of seatbelts and airbags the outcome would have been altered.

I had all week to recover from the stress and strain, not to mention the significant bruising.  I am still not very comfortable as a passenger in a vehicle.  I am also quite sure that unless it is an emergency I really do not want to drive around in the dark again.

All that said, we had a great time in California once we got there!  More on that later.

My campaign speech

I am sorry I couldn’t be here in person.  We are off on a much anticipated holiday that was planned a long time ago.  Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for hosting this Forum for the Candidates.

I decided to let my name stand for Council because I felt I owed it to myself to see if the voters in Coronation still trusted me to serve a third term.  It is a big commitment and I did think about it long and hard, mainly because it is a four year term.  I think I still have the energy, drive and sense of commitment to my community and that I still have what it takes to be a good Councillor.  I will put it in the hands of the people and let them decide if I would still be a good choice to represent them based on my experience and on my record.

I have some goals for the next four years and I would like to share them with you.

I believe we have to address the question of equitable and fair cost sharing with the County who serves about half of the people who call Coronation home; and are using and taking an active part in all of the recreational, social and general every-day life in town.  We are at a critical crossroads in our community mainly due to the fact that we have all of these services and supports that are available to all the people who chose to use them but mainly funded by the Town of Coronation taxpayer.  We are at the moment unfairly burdening our town taxpayers and we really need to have a discussion about this.  Without all of these good things in life we will not have much of a community, therefore, we need to come up with a better plan in order to keep providing for future generations.

We have already proven that we can forge mutually agreeable cost sharing initiatives, first with the formation of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee and then with the new Fire Agreement with the County.  It can be done, there is more work to do, with the right people it will happen.

 I believe that I have the skill set, the knowledge and the experience to initiate and move ahead with these discussions.  I am hopeful that we will all reach a better level of understanding and cooperation in this regard.

I would also like to see more frank and open discussion amongst our townspeople when it comes to the future of this community.  I want to see more community engagement and continued participation in our pursuit of a Wellness Centre, locally driven Economic Development plans, retention and recruitment of physicians and other health care professionals and affordable housing for our seniors and for those who need our help.

 I would also like to pursue more dialogue with our provincial government moving forward as a small community.  We need to take advantage of everything that we can and ask the provincial government to always consider us in their plans.

People have voiced their concerns over high taxes and high water bills.  I wish I had the magical solution to that.  I am sorry but I cannot promise that taxes will go down or that water bills will not rise.  It would be wrong for me to do that.  It would be my job to bring concerns forward to council and administration.  We need to work together to address these very real concerns.  The only source of revenue that we have comes from taxes.  We have to be able to make this community sustainable and attractive for those who live here and for those we hope will come here to make it their home.  We need to spend the money that we do have as wisely as we can and I have seen some areas where it could be spent in a different way.  We need to be talking more about cost sharing opportunities at a regional and provincial level in order to keep costs at a reasonable level for the people who live here.

I believe I am qualified for the role as Councillor for the Town of Coronation due to my past experience on council as well as by being involved in the community on a lot of fronts.  I have a good track record.  I go to my Council meetings and I go prepared.  I feel that I can continue to provide leadership for this community and I will continue to try and make decisions for the good of the entire community.

If elected I will be one of seven decision makers, one voice, and hopefully a good and proper voice.  Seven people will sit together for four years and seven people will have discussions and eventually make decisions and become the united voice for the Community.  I understand my role.  I am proud of and confident in our Town CAO.  I am secure in the knowledge that we will get the information that we need to make those decisions.  I believe I have been a good representative for Coronation and I would like to continue for one more term.

Good luck to all the candidates.  My name is Bonnie Danylyshen and I am asking for your vote on October 21^st.  Thank you.

Balancing Act

As the election campaigns are beginning to take hold in our town of Coronation I am pondering what to write next.

My last blog commented on what a ride it has been.....not only for the past week or two since the nomination papers went in but really just my life in general these past few years.

I guess what makes me wonder sometimes is what others can be thinking, but then I guess that's their business.

So, I will make some points based on my "promises" from 2010.

I have supported and will continue to support:

• Senior's Housing
• Doctor Recruitment and Retention
• Community Involvement
• Economic Development
• Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability
• Honesty, Openness and Common Sense
• Dependability, Trust and Respect

Point number one:  Senior's Housing

Well here is how it went for me.  I am still the Chair of our local Senior's Manors and Social Housing Board.  We have a very good manager who keeps us in the loop, collects the rent, does the bookkeeping, oversees the cleaning and maintenance contract and is the first one the people call when there is a problem.  We follow the policies and guidelines and we are in close contact with Alberta Housing.  We hold quarterly meetings.
I managed to stay on the Castor and District Housing Authority/Paintearth Lodge Board for a short while.  Let's just say that we are not getting much help from that little arrangement. We are required to send money every year to support this agreement.  Check your tax notices for further information.  You may also contact our CAO to find out the exact amount that is sent from the Town of Coronation.  It is in the 25 to 30 thousand dollar range.

I do not sit on the Supportive Living Board but I do know that we also support this facility with a yearly requisition that is based on equalized assessment.  Our portion is about 25 thousand, it could be more.  This is an Advisory Board and all agreements for payment from the other members are not mandated by a ministerial order or any such thing.  It is a mutually agreed upon arrangement.  This board now meets monthly.  During our tenure on council the board has hired a Coordinator to seek funding opportunities and partnerships in the hope of replacing this aging facility.

I will admit it is so frustrating to get anything done and I want it done yesterday!  The only thing that I can say is that we need to keep advocating for more and improved Senior's  and Affordable Housing in Coronation.  We have to move forward and find ways to get it done.  While appreciating what has gone before we cannot get mired in the past we have to look to the future and keep going.

Point number two: Physician Recruitment and Retention

I am currently one of two Councillors who sit on this board.  We are in a cost sharing agreement with the county.  The board is made up of two County Councillors, Two Town of Coronation Councillors, One member at large from town and one member at large from the county, one member at large from town/county.  Our town and county CAOs, the site manager from the hospital and our physicians all act in an advisory capacity.  In the past three years with this Board we have purchased two houses as rental accommodations for our physicians, use the town condo for locum accommodations, continue to fine tune our recruitment incentives and meet monthly and more often at the call of the Chair.  We have successfully recruited one physician and his family to Coronation.  We are in the process of recruiting again (and again and again).  I say that because you never stop recruiting.  I think that sometimes we forget about the retention part of what we do.  We always have to think of the critical role our physicians play in our community and never forget how much we appreciate them.  I would also like to say that we are very appreciative of all our health care professionals and everyone who works at our Hospital and Care Centre, Continuing Care and Supportive Living.  The largest employer in Coronation is our Health Care Facility and we need to support every aspect of recruitment and retention.

Point number three:  community involvement

I have and will continue to be involved in our community.  We have chosen to live here and we want to make the best of it.  Sometimes my idea of what constitutes community spirit and involvement and other people's perception are two different things.  I am not in favor of always doing things the same old way.  We have to move with the times and come up with new and exciting ways to do things.  I believe that by doing this we can engage more of our citizens in community endeavors.  We have several volunteer opportunities for people who want to get involved.  These are all great groups and I am sure they would welcome more helping hands. Young people especially have different ways of doing things and I think we should be mindful of that and try to embrace some of their unique perspective.  This is why we did the community survey for the Wellness Centre and why we decided to get the school age kids involved in the survey.  In other words:  instead of telling them how to do something ask how they think it should be done!  Kudos to all the people who get involved in the community life of Coronation.  I hope that you all feel welcome and that you count!

Point number four:  Economic Development

I went to a Travel Alberta one day session this spring and met a fellow who stood up and said:  Economic Development is a fancy phrase for Tourism.  I agree.  We need to promote our town every chance we get.  The idea behind tourism for our little community would be that we come up with some plans to attract people to town for one day and maybe they will come back next year and stay for two days.  We have several businesses in town who could put their collective heads together to not only market themselves but also help one another to keep people at home to shop, to eat, to enjoy their lives right here at home. 
We belong to PEPS which eats up a lot of our Councillor time and a lot of the taxpayer's money.
I would suggest that if you have questions perhaps you could ask some of the most recent new businesses in town if they have heard of PEPS.  Then ask them how PEPS encouraged and promoted for them.  Then ask some of the older businesses in town how they have benefited from the Paintearth Economic Partnership Society.  I am not going to speak for the businesses and I am not going to tell you what to think.  Ask.
Otherwise I am proud to say that our Town CAO  has done a very good job with Economic Development.  I am also proud to have been part of a proactive council that approved everything that needed to be done to develop our new Light Industrial Subdivision.  We can all thank good leadership for that one.

Point number five:  Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability
I think that by the changes we made to our administration that we can now show fiscal responsibility and accountability.  Now we need to move one step further and show the taxpayers that the same old ways of spending the money can be changed up a bit.  Sometimes the hard decisions have to be made and I believe they were made.  It is not really council's job to parse the money out; but council has to approve a budget that is balanced and responsible to the people.  To tell you the truth budget time gives me a headache.  I just want to thank our CAO for working so diligently the first year of this council's term. 

Points six and seven: 

Honesty, Openness and Common Sense

Dependability, Trust and Respect

If anything I am honest and open.  Sometimes it gets me in trouble since in my way I sometimes equate bluntness with honesty.  We have to follow the rules and that is what I meant by common sense.  It is not common sense to make up your own rules just because you think that would work better.  It is in the publics' best interests to have rules, policy and by-laws and it is in any councillor's best interests to exhibit common sense and follow these rules.  It works better for everyone.
On the last three lovely statements I am a dependable person and I hope that people trust and respect me not only for who I am but how I am.  I respect each and every person, group and organization in this community as well.  I am not in favor of disrespecting or showing favor to any one person or group over another.  I make no excuses if this was ever the case.  Being on a town council is a balancing act.

So there you have it - an explanation of how I think I did based on what I said I would do.