Canadian Remembrance Day 2010

During the 11th month, on the 11th day of the 11th hour, Canadians take a moment to reflect and remember the sacrafice our war heros made over the years since WWI. It is a very special time for us Canadians, as we take our moment of silence in prayer so generations present and to come, do not forget the great wars and how Canadians served with dedication and loyality for the cause. Right up to the present conflict in Afghanistan, Canadians serve with honour to bring peace to future generations as they are called to duty to serve in war torn lands. One special thing Canadians have done is built "Honour House" in British Columbia, which is now a refuge for injured soldiers coming home from the Afghanistan conflict. The house was opened in time for Remembrance Day 2010 and houses 10 suites. There are plans to build the same type of complex in each Province in Canada. Lest we forget.

I Have Gained Weight With Working Out Since Off The Court Ordered Injections

Since I have been off the Court ordered injections and do not have extra paramidal side effects, I have been leading a more functional life. Between eating a more stable diet and forfilling my day more productively, which part have been pumping my weights again, I gained back the weight I had lost. The Court ordered injections were really hard on me, I was not eating right for one. It was hard to do anything with the extra paramidal side effects hampering my life they way they were. It was like I was strickened to my bed to make the EPSE go away, and I continually lost weight. Since I have been back on the pills, I have had no EPSE and leading a complete and wholesome day. Part of my daily routine is to watch the News on TV, and quite often I will sit in a hard desk chair infront of the TV set and pump my weights, working out the upper body. I will also go out side infront of the building where I life and do a few twists of the skipping rope to get the heart pumping and lungs working harder to try and compensate for my cigarette smoking. An added advantage of working out my arms and upper body, I find that I can play bar chords on my guitar better. The added strenght to my hands and fingers from using the squeeges, seem to give me the added strenght to apply the strings of the guitar on to the frets when doing bar chords. Over my life span I always worked out doing calisthenics based on my Canadian Coast Guard College physical training experience, working the weights has been very much apart of it. With feeling better physically and mentally with working out, I have been attending the music and art group at the hospital to help forfill my day during the week. It is also comman for me to walk the mountain up to the hospital programs to give my legs the work out, along with going to see the Doctor every two weeks.

With being on the pills I have also been eating a whole lot better, once again thanks to not having the EPSE. I enjoy cooking in the kitchen, and it does help getting the sweets from Mum's baking expertise. It will be coming up a month that I have been on the pills again and I have gained about 15 lbs. I have another 10 lbs to gain to get up to my Coast Guard College graduation weight of 145lbs, I never could get up to that weight when I lost some of it working and being in psychiatry, but I intend to. I got to start doing my sit ups again too, I usaully hook my toes under the over hang of the kitchen cabnets at the kitchen sink. It has been a while and my belly shows the worse for it, but it does not take me long to whip it into shape doing my sit ups. I also pull off some push ups while on the kitchen floor as well, doing different styles of push ups to exercise the various muscles of the upper body, thus maintaining my physic and shape. I find that with doing the physical work outs, it also helps to maintain the natural grace of movement, which is an added bonus while playing guitar or other instruments that I play. When I work out I can really eat up the food and I am lucky that I am a competant cook in the kitchen and know how to get the best value for my money to feed myself. Working out is for everyone no matter what the age to maintain your body shape. Mum at 81 still goes to the Church's work out class to do her exercises along with doing a healthy amount of walking. I do a fair bit of walking myself and often take an evening stroll with Mum when we get out after supper before I head home after visiting her for supper and helping her out around her apartment with a few things. So maintain a good diet and do some physical work out in the run of each week and lead a healthy prosperous life like my Mum is pulling off with her old age of 81.

Little Big Note: Anti-semitism is in the News, I still got to live with a swastika carved into the paint on my apartment door, and my building manager does nothing about it!!! Hitler did try and do in people with schizophrenia along with the Jewish folk! It is like I am a marked man by Neo-Nazis, to get done in or something. One day I will make my Exodus from poverty and move to a better neighborhood!

Happy Halloween 2010

It was a rather simple Halloween for me with having no children, it was just Mum and I. I got up after sleeping in for a bit and had my cup of tea or two with a bagel then headed for my shit, shower and shave. As I was getting ready to head over to Mum's I did not think much of it being Halloween, it never even fazed me. After Mum got back from church she gave me a call that she was finally home and I headed over and got my welcoming bowl of hot soup. Afterwards Mum and I headed out to do her heavy shopping list with her little cart. We took the bus down the street to Super C grocery store and we went in to semi fill the shopping cart. It was the 11 lb bag of baking flour she wanted but the store was sold out. Mum enjoys shopping at Super C so we puttered around the store getting what Mum wanted. We then walked back to Mum's apartment with me trailing her shopping cart behind me. I must say even in Mum's old age, Mum is quite the thrifty shopper, always comparing size and weight to price for the true sale over all. When Mum and I arrived at her place we unpacked the cart and Mum made coffee to warm the bones for it was a day in Montreal where it was trying to snow. After coffee Mum and I sat down so I could give her practice at her cribbage game. Mum plays cribbage at the church every Tuesday and likes to have her practice with me for she sometimes misses out on points when counting her hand. After a game and a half of cribbage Mum's new recipe of chicken rice casorole was popped in the oven to warm up for supper. I suggested it be a TV diner with the News at 1800 hrs and Mum was OK for that with her knowing that I am a News buff. After the fine scoff of food for the main course, I made the tea in one of Mum's favorite tea pots, and served up what was left of Mum's apple pie. By the time the tea was finished the hour News broadcast was over and it was the dishes to tackle together. After the dishes I handled some of Mum's problems with Mum's jewlery, she wanted clasps changed about for the jewlery that she wears most often. As I was doing the little task for Mum she packed me my take home bag of left overs from supper. By just after eight o'clock I was heading home with my Halloween left overs from Mum's kitchen. When I got home I called Mum like usaul to let her know I was in the door and home safely. After putting my Halloween supper left overs in the fridge I got on the computer and cleaned up my email account for a fair bit of time, I still had a lot of junk in it from when I was hospitalized last January. As I checked the clock it was soon time to buy my evening beer as a night cap while getting the late night news on TV. When coming home I thought I would write about my Halloween this year, quiet with me and my Mum then my computer and I. The mask I am wearing in this posting is a Shaman mask I made for an art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Montreal when working under their guidance to produce art. The mask is made from plastacine being put on a hemp worked frame, the roots of the hemp plant are used to fill the face covering, while a crow's feather dangles from one side , with the holding handle being tied with soaked dryed hemp cut into tieing strips. A bit of bead work is added to the mask and it is a preserved hornet's nest in the forhead of the mask. Green hemp seeds make for the teeth in the mouth of the mask. At the museum art show in the community hall, I named the mask "Shaman mask a la Canadienne" Here it is just after midnight as I wind down typing up my blog posting for Halloween 2010 and I hope all went well for you as to my simple Halloween with my beloved Mum, God knows what I would without her, I would really have no one, that is hauntingly enough for me.