Potpourri

"If you only do what you know you can do, you never do very much." - Tom Krause

My days of solitude last week flew by quickly. My week was filled with work and I didn't get a chance to do all that I had planned to do in the days I was alone. Closet cleaning can wait a little longer. When not working, I enjoyed a couple of nights planning and creating new pieces from the lampwork beads I ordered from B.C. a few weeks ago. I absolutely love them and I had a lot of fun handling them and arranging them in various configurations.

The low point of my week came as for the rest of the world, with the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Like everyone, I feel helpless. I've watched very little of the news and read only a little bit in the newspapers. The horror is so great, I simply can't process it. One of the RNAs at my mom's nursing home has ten brothers and sisters living in Port au Prince. All are safe and have been accounted for with the exception of one sister whose whereabouts are still unknown. One of her nieces died in the earthquake. I can't even imagine. The worst thing is that she can't do anything to help them in these early days. There is no way to get anything to them, no way to help them directly. So many people are generously digging into their wallets to provide financial help. For now, I'm holding off. I think I'll wait until we know what is happening with Ellianne's family. I can live without a tax receipt. I'd rather put the money into her hands so she can help them with their needs.

Last night we celebrated Nancy's sixty-third birthday at a dinner party hosted by Marg and Bob. The dinner they made was magnificent and I ate far too much. Nancy seemed excited about the gift we gave her (a joint effort with Cath and Stan)of a new laptop. Unfortunately we could only provide her with the mouse and a picture of the laptop last night because the real thing isn't being delivered until tomorrow. Buying the laptop was Cath's idea as Nancy is still using my hand-me-down from 2002. Her new one is light weight, fast and really cute. Jacob chose the model and I chose the colour, a great shade of purple. Jacob also ordered a router which he will install the next time he is home from school. The router will allow Nancy to use the laptop wirelessly from any room in her apartment. And though she probably won't take the laptop out much, Jacob insisted that she needed a proper laptop bag so the purple bag she received last night was his gift to her.

Today's visit to my Mom had its challenges. Mom's unit is locked down due to an enteric outbreak at the nursing home. The rules limited us to one visitor at a time and confined Mom to her unit. Cath, however, managed to talk her way into taking Mom into the lounge outside the unit where we normally meet on Sundays and we were all able to join her there. Mom was quiet today but she is recovering from the respiratory infection she has been dealing with these past two weeks.

I expect the coming week to be busy with work and board activities. On Wednesday, my friend Gail and I are hoping to take a tea and tootsies break (pedicures followed by high tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel) before heading off to our Clinic board meeting. Saturday will be consumed with an all day strategic planning meeting for the Willow board which I'll take the lead on as head of the board's strategic planning committee. I need to spend at least two days this week on consulting activities in the office at Willow. And I have a considerable amount of prep work to do to get ready for Saturday. I'm also hoping Jacob will find a couple of hours in his calendar to allow for lunch or dinner, if not this week then perhaps on the weekend when Merv can also join us.

Wishing you a great week.