Not sure why I found this picture ...

 I don't know why I did it. I found this photo on Google maps, streetview.  I get comfort from the photo of this old house in Sydney, Nova Scotia.  This is the home where my maternal grandparents lived -- Tina and Archie Maclean.  128 Cornishtown Road. It's the home where my mom grew up. It's the house where I have some of my earliest memories as a child. Several of my aunts, uncles and cousins lived nearby. When we came back to Canada after living in France for a few years, it's the first place my parents drove to when we got off the ship in Quebec City. 

I remember Gary and I jumping around in the back seat of our family station wagon as we headed down the highway to Cape Breton. I wasn't sure why we were so excited, but Gary kept saying we were going to where we were both born.  I remember arriving here and seeing Grandma and Archie coming out the front door to greet us. Ronald was still a toddler but I am pretty sure he picked up on the excitement from Gary and myself. 

I have great memories of being in the house that summer. Archie would come home from work at the steel mill and he always had cookies left over in his lunchbox for me. Gary and I used to go picking blueberries and picking rhubarb. One of those trees on the right side of the house was a cherry tree. We would collect the fruit and Grandma would bake pies for us. Many times, I would find Archie sitting in his rocking chair in the front porch, smoking a pipe. If I wanted to go to the store down the street to buy candy, he would reach into his pocket and give me a penny. 

Life was good eh?

We are a nation of whiners

 I was pleased to cover the trucker's protest convoy at is rolled through parts of Northern Ontario on Friday. It was nice to see people demonstrating and getting some frustrations off their chest.  

I was concerned in reading some of the comments from people on social media who seem to think that they are living a terrible life in Canada because of the pandemic and all the inconveniences we have to endure. Yes it is frustrating and irritating at times.

So the truckers don't like mandates. Oh well. Good thing the restaurant cooks went to work so the truckers could get some food. Likewise for the grocery stores. Glad they stayed open. And kudos to the fuel station workers who managed to show up for work. That way people can still buy gasoline and diesel.  And for the thousands of protesters going to Ottawa, I see Facebook postings of them from their hotel rooms. Ohhh the hardship! 

So here we are as Canadians in 2022. It got me thinking back to the time of 1942 when there was a war on all around the world and people really had serious things to worry about. People today can't seem to remember that part of our history when Canadians had to really sacrifice personal liberties and go without a lot of creature comforts. 

We have become a nation of whiners.

Loving newer technology

 So I take a daily insulin shot now. My nurse practitioner said it would be best to wait until after Christmas to start the new program. I had to agree. She said a small daily dose of insulin would go a long way to stabilizing my blood-sugar count. At first I was nervous about the idea of giving myself a daily shot, but the days of using a full syringe to withdraw insulin from a vial are over. 

I now use an "injection pen" that puts a pre-measured dose of insulin into the needle. I jab myself in the belly and the dose goes in.  I have to use an alcohol swab and I change the needle tip every day with a new needle. Less pain than a finger jab to test my blood-sugar level. The needles are small and super sharp. I am amazed at the how the technology makes everything so easy now.

Everything changes ... eventually

Anyone who knows me well knows I am (was) a diehard fan of the BlackBerry phone. I have used BlackBerrys for about 15 years and they have been useful and served me nicely. Things change. BlackBerry announced this past week it is no longer supporting the operating system for its phones. In fact, BlackBerry no longer makes cellular phones -- interesting since it was BlackBerry that invented the smartphone.   

It was the same day I noticed my own phone was acting up. So after doing some research and speaking to a lot of people about their own phone choices, I went out Friday and purchased a new device. I have an iPhone 12 now. It seems to have far more bells and whistles than I will ever use, but I am impressed with the photography aspects.

Apple says the software and supporting programs are good for six to seven years. So we will see how it goes.