Announcing #ChronicJourneys: My New Talk Show
Getting to know others and hearing their stories is one of my favourite things, ever. There are so many fascinating people who have found ways to live with and around rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other types of chronic illness and I want to talk to all of them! About how they manage their condition, but…
New Release: The Ultimate Makeup Journal
Do you use makeup? I bet you have more than you technically need (I know I do). Maybe several of one particular kind — say lipstick, eyeshadow — plus a few rattling around in a drawer that you just can’t let go of. Maybe because of the way one brings out the light in your…
A Hotel That Heals: Le Germain Maple Leaf Square Review
The first hint that we weren’t in real life anymore was the name of the toilet. OK, so I’m sure it was the name of the brand of this kind of toilet (total? Really?), but it set the tone. I got kicked out of house and home the last week while a big part of…
Birthday Week: Waves, Geeks, A Few Atrocities, and an Unexpected Gift
Photo by DavidG It was the last week of what was supposed to have been a working month’s vacation. The month saw very little work — that bone crushing fatigue I experienced early in the year came back with a vengeance. I finally clued in that fighting it every day, trying to push through, and…
The 30-Day Lipstick Adventure and What I Learned
I learned a number of things during the 30-Day Lipstick Adventure. One was understanding why a lot of female YouTubers have long hair. Because when you shoot out of sequence several weeks apart, having short hair makes it very obvious what you are doing. Especially if you get a haircut somewhere in the process….
The Seated View, Shiny and New
Isn’t it purdy?? I am pleased as punch to introduce you to my new website! The Seated View now has its own custom URL, as well as a bespoke design. Which I just adore. I love the simplicity and the peace in the design — it’s a perfect background for my posts and photos. Take…
Photo Friday: Penguins and Pandas and Bears, Oh My…
I used to live out by the Toronto Zoo — well, not around the corner, but a fairly short drive away. We’d go a fair bit and I was even a member for a few years. Then I moved downtown and my focus changed. It would be a long drive out there, anyway, and there…
Bookend Fandom: A Letter of Gratitude to Johnny Clegg
It was Scatterlings that hooked me. I was in first year university at the U of T Scarborough campus, moving from one class to another, when I first heard the unmistakable joyful beat of a Johnny Clegg song, this one from his first group Juluka. Fairly soon after that, I bought the album Campus radio…
The Master of My Fate: Invictus Games Wheelchair Rugby
It matters not how strait the gate,How charged with punishments the scroll,I am the master of my fate,I am the captain of my soul. – From Invictus by William Ernest Henley There is something uniquely moving about watching your country play for gold in a sports event. I was privileged to do so a couple…
A Different Way to Look at a Wheelchair
“You sound really chipper,” The Boy said. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard you like this.” He was right. I hadn’t felt that good about life and myself for a long time. And all it took was a long walk. Well, to be fair it was a bit more complicated than that. A brief…
A Duck and Some Lumberjacks: Canada 150 in Toronto
One of my favourite things about summer is Canada Day and the Redpath Waterfront Festival. And really, is there anything better than long weekends in the summer? Well, Christmas arguably, but it requires wearing more clothes. And no, I’m not tromping about naked, but there are no socks and no sweaters. Back to the Canada…
Hästens: The Best Sleep I’ve Ever Had
I have a new bed. I have never slept this well and it has reduced my chronic pain levels significantly. It is a blue checked Hästens bed. Earlier this year, I wrote about my quest for a new bed. To recap: every bed I found was too high, too hot, too smelly, or contained latex…