Can you dig this?

If I am smiling the biggest smile today it's because I lucked into a jazz album I sure never expected to buy. Well, maybe that's not true because with ebay and amazon.com you can buy almost anything. But on Sunday I dropped into a record store that I rarely visit. I was actually looking for a movie DVD, but I dropped by the jazz section and found a fabulous CD by Miles Davis called Kind of Blue. It was recorded in 1959 by Columbia Records. Among some of those joining Miles was John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. I am a jazz fan, but I don't know enough to be a jazz snob. I'm working on it. Some people consider this not only Davis' best ever album, but the best jazz album ever produced. So I snuck out of the office today and I'm working from home with the stereo just sizzlin' with some of the best music I've ever enjoyed. Some of my friends know I have this silly rule "55 to 75" that basically says if the music wasn't produced between those years of 1955 to 1975, it's not really that good. Think about that!
Album Photo Copyright: PHOTOGRAPHER JAY MAISEL.

So what's up?

About time I dropped by here with an update. Had a quick chat with Jenn this week and she is doing great. The boys and Scott are great too. There's something about the arrival of nice summer weather that makes you feel good. I can't wait to go jump in the lake. I know a lot of people like pools. Some like swimming in the ocean. My preference is a nice cool, clear Northern Ontario lake with the sun rippling down to the rocks and sand on the bottom. I've a few friends who have nice lakeside cottages. One of my favourite memories is getting up early in the morning, sipping a hot coffee, having a quick sauna and jumping into the lake.
This week was busy but good. I covered the provincial mine rescue event this week and was at the dinner last night when it was announced that Timmins won the big competition. That was a nice thing.
Was up early this morning and got around to a bit of housework. Then today I was out shopping on picked up one of those Swiffer dusters. I saw it on a TV commercial so I will have to try it out. Woohoo... my life is fuh eh?
Speaking of TV, I hardly watch it, but I have been checking out some of the World Cup soccer games. It's not as much fun as hockey, but I can see why people get excited. I have to say that I find the noise of the spectator horns just too much to listen to, so i mute the volume and watch the action.
Well I spoiled myself again today. I dropped by Pick Of The Crop and picked up one of those marinated ribeye steaks. I usually buy strip loins, but a friend convinced me that ribeyes are better. Will be sure to let you know.

A frost warning... first week of June : )

What did I tell ya? I mentioned in the last post there is a saying in Timmins not to put plants or flowers in the ground until after the First Moon In June. So what happened? Today Environment Canada issued a Frost Warning for overnight for Timmins. Who would have believed it eh.
Summary
Frost over the regions for Tuesday morning This is a warning that at or near zero ground temperatures will cause frost in the parts of these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.
Details
A high pressure ridge combined with a cold air mass and light winds tonight create ideal conditions for the formation of frost overnight tonight into Tuesday morning.

Rain, plants and books

It's another nice Saturday morning in Timmins. The heat wave broke and we have had a bit of light rain for the past few days. That's nice. I think I might buy some flowers, or at least a flowering plant, for my balcony this week. There is a rule in Timmins -- Don't plant before the first moon in June. That will be next Saturday. But I think I might take a chance. The forest fire situation is very calm, thank goodness. As much as I like aircraft, I was getting annoyed by the constant noise of helicopters. My new entertainment/wall unit was delivered yesterday. It's bigger than I thought. It's huge. It takes up the whole wall. Oh well, at least now I can begin unpacking some of my books.

Bing Photo Contest - Mac in the fall

Bing Photo Contest - Mac in the fall
Go to the link and vote for my Photo! : )

My litte truck

I put my little Nitro to the test last week with some hill-climbing and narrow bush roads near Timmins while getting photos of a forest fire. The little Chevy Tracker I had before would go anywhere, rain, snow, mud, whatever. I am still not sure about the Nitro since it's a 1000 pounds heavier than the Tracker. It's built on a Jeep chassis with an excellent 4X4 package, but it doesn't seem as nimble. Although I was able to get over some big rocks without any trouble. Maybe I'm the one who is nervous, since the paint job is still so new eh.

Chatting with my brother

Had a great lonnnnnnng chat tonight with Ronald. It was good to hear his voice. He was a bit tired still from the jet lag from Afghanistan, but said he was glad to be home and relaxing. He is still active duty, but has built up some vacation time. We will be seeing each other in September and, for the record, he has a bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich for me. That should be a good thing.

Oh Doctor, what's that smell?

Sometimes we will go to unusual lengths to get a photo of people doing their jobs. So that’s what happened Friday afternoon when I followed some forest fire fighters into the thick bush to snap a couple of photos of them at work on what they call hotspots. After the main forest fire is contained, there are always little pockets of fire. The problem is that the bush was black and charred from Wednesday’s fire. And the bush in Northern Ontario is thick like a jungle. Anyone knows, except me of course, that a charred branch is like a pencil and leaves a mark. These fellows were wearing dark pants, long sleeves and special boots. I had dress shoes and light khaki dress pants, with a short sleeved shirt. When we came out of the bush, my clothes and arms were criss-crossed with black stripes and scuff marks. It looked liked somebody with a black magic-marker attacked me. I even had char marks on my bare arms. That’s wasn’t the worse part. I had a four o’clock doctor’s appointment to pick up a prescription and no time to run home to change or shower. So I went and sat in the doctor’s waiting room and for several minutes endured the stares or ordinary people who must have wondered what I was up to. To make it worse, I was a bit sweaty and when that mixed with the smoky fragrance of a burnt forest, I must have been a delight for the senses. I just enjoyed the moment because I had several snappy answers in the back of my mind in case anyone asked … like, “Oh they’re shooting a Tide commercial next door, I just dropped in here for a break. - Or – Isn’t this the internet dating office? I’m hoping to meet the outdoors type!
Oh well, it’s now Saturday morning. May Run time in Timmins and the coffee smells great.

This is what it's all about in Timmins, Ontario

There was a big mining show in Timmins this week. One of the more popular exhibits was sitting right out in the open. Well to be fully truthful, there were two armed cops nearby. This is a brick of gold from one of the local Goldcorp mines in Timmins. When this photo was taken Wednesday morning it was worth roughly $880,000. Of course the price of gold has gone up a few points since then. The brick is a bit dark, because there were some 'impurities' in the gold... several ounces of pure silver. To give you an idea of the size of the brick, I took of photo of it with a couple of the mine managers.

Grrrreat news!

I was going through the e-mails this morning when I noticed there was a comment left on Wednesday's entry in this blog. The comment was from RAG ... that means it was from my brother Ronald, who has been with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan for several months. He wrote " ...I am home. Safe and good to go."
Great news Bro! Welcome home!

A long, long news day

I wrote here a few weeks back that May is usually one of the busiest months for news. Oh yeahhhhh. Just got home after a lonnnnnng, lonnnng day. Timmins had not one, not two but THREE forest fires today. Big ones! I am tired also from the fact that at two oclock this morning, I was following the story of a young lady who took Timmins Police on a high speed pursuit, through town, out of town and then crashed her car on the highway and rolled it over. Luckily she is alive. She's in the hospital under police guard, but still alive.


So yep, a really busy news day and a long one. I am signing off now to have a frozen TV dinner from the microwave and a beer so cold it will make my teeth hurt.

It a good morning eh

Saturday morning and the coffee smells great today. I am drinking tea on the weekdays and coffee on the weekends now. Wow, I can understand why somebody wrote that phrase "Wake up and smell the coffee!" It's a good thing.
I covered the Ontario Mine Rescue dinner last night. It was nice to see the fellows from Goldcorp in Timmins win the competition for the second year in a row.
I was happy to see my brother in law Moe there. (click the photo at the right!) Moe is an outstanding mine rescue guy and I have to admit I felt some pride when it was announced he was one of a just a handful of guys who aced the written exam. Way to go Moe!
By the way, I think we're in for some interesting NHL hockey in the coming days. I notice there are a lot of fans out there for the Canadians ... there are still a few who are fans of the "Canadiens". Somebody the other day said, Jeez, there's a lot of Habs fans. I wouldn't call myself a Habs fan, but I do hope the Canadian team wins : )

Watch a wedding...

I will do something this week I've never done before. I will be watching friends get married. But I will be watching it online because they're in Las Vegas and I'm not. Oh how the world in changing. It's still kind of neat though. Jenn and Scott's sister (in law), Christine is marrying Demetrios on Wednesday at The Little Chapel, Chapel of the Flowers. You can go on the Internet Wednesday and peek in. (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 4:00 p.m. in Las Vegas) Here is the Link: https://plan.littlechapel.com/Guests/Default.aspx?PlanID=551850.
I hope to be right here by my computer. I have a handful of rice and a box of kleenex! Woohoo.

Changing reality

Going through some old photos, I have decided I want to make a few nice prints to get them framed. But I am struggling with the colour on my computer. I am trying to get the old "1950s postcard" look, with the moody washed out colours. I am not sure if I can do it, but I will keep trying. The first photo with the fall colours is the original. The second photo is the one where I am experimenting with the colour.


As always, click on the pics to see them larger.

An interesting day . .

It has been an interesting morning. I have been covering a visit by Governor General Michaelle Jean who visited the Goldcorp's Dome gold mine in Timmins, the longest running gold mine in Canada. I think even her security people were impressed with the level of security at a gold mine. I have seen tougher security in only one other place, the De Beers diamond mine.

It's May eh.

Saturday morning on the first day of May. The coffee is good. The sky is overcast. We had a bit of rain and it's about 10 degrees. That's not bad compared to this day last year, when we had SNOW! It's true, I checked the blog from last year. I am looking forward to this month. For some reason, May is one of the busiest news months of the year. On Monday and Tuesday, I will be covering Michaelle Jean, our governor general. That should be interesting.
Photo Credit:Patrick Boyle. CP

Happy Day Bud!

It's Friday afternoon in Timmins and we're finnaly getting a bit of rain. Nicely refreshing. It was at about this time of day 30 years ago that my favourite son was born. There was a bit of rain that day too. But it has been sunshine most of the time since then. Lucky me,eh! : )

Do I worry too much?

So a new credit card arrived in the mail today. After following the instructions, I activated the new card and then got the scissors to cut up the old card. But I worry about this thing about identify theft. So I cut the card into four pieces. I put one piece the kitchen garbage, another piece in the bathroom garbage and I will take the other two pieces to work and dispose them there. Do I worry too much?

Guilt tripping

It's that time of year. Girl Guides are selling their cookies. One of the moms at work managed to sell me three boxes of cookies for her daughter. I feel guilty. Between Friday and Saturday, I ate a whole box. I guess it was wrong to leave the box sitting out open on the kitchen counter.
Spring has finally arrived in Timmins. (Knock on wood!) I don't think and certainly don't hope we will get anymore snow. But we've had snow in July here, so I am never surprised after living in Northern Ontario all these years.
Now that I have booked my holidays, it seems that's all I can think about. It has been too many years since I first visited the west coast. When I was a high school student in North Bay, I remember when the summer of 1971 arrived. It was another boring Friday afternoon and I didn't have a summer job yet. North Bay is the crossroads for the two major highways in Northern Ontario, Highway 11 and Highway 17. A friend and I had seen dozens of other young people out on the highways. They were hitchhiking. That's when we decided we would do that too. It was a different time then and fun to be 17. I went home and told Mom and Dad I was going to Vancouver. So I packed some clothes and a sleeping bag and grabbed about $40 in cash and by midnight we were in Sault Ste. Marie. Six days later, and after riding a freight train through the Rockies, we made it to Vancouver.

Go west old man... : )

Wow, a whole week has gone by. Lots has happened. Jennifer and the family are doing fine. I have chatted with her about four times this past week. And I spoke with Neil too. I am planning a holiday. Neil has been living west of the Rockies for a few years now, so I figure it's time to visit his neck of the woods. Can't wait to show up at his place in Vancouver and have him buy the beer. It will be a few months yet, but I think it will be nice to get out of Timmins for awhile. Vancouver will be nice, and we'll also get a chance to drop over to Victoria. I might even get a chance to get to the airbase at Comox to see if any family members are home from Afghanistan. If I get time I plan to zip down to Seattle to see the aviation museum at the Boeing plant. It's considered one of the best in the world. Besides, I checked online for some hotels in Seattle and was very pleased to discover that persons over age 50 get a seniors discount! As I look at the sun shining out the window, I am hoping spring has arrived in Timmins. We had snow on Friday, and it didn't stay long, but it was annoying for mid-April. It has been a mild winter, but I think Mother Nature is playing tricks on us.

Pictures, pictures, pictures ...

I've been slowly converting old photos to a digital format. The way its going right now, I think it will take years. I have more than 10,000 slides and negatives to go through! Here are a few just for fun...

Happy Easter

Just got back into town after spending time with Jenn & Scott and the boys. What a treat it was to see them all again. It was a nice weekend even if we did have to watch the Leafs lose to the Bruins. Jenn continues to improve and looks great. I was super impressed to see the renovations that Scott and Don did to the house. I never realized how much work it took to install marble flooring, but it looks fabulous. I had fun with the boys and enjoyed spoiling them Saturday when we went out to lunch and had chocolate fundge sundaes as appetizers! It's fun to get silly every now and then.

Good Friday, busy Friday

It's good Friday morning, and I thought I wouldn't be busy, but I am. Already made two trips to Tim Hortons. News happens, even on holidays. (see my NEWS website on the right)
Well, I did get a note from little brother Ronald after all. He left a comment on the blog after I mentioned last week that I had a cold. His comments: "A cold, that is what happens when you get old. Happy Birthday Leonard. It is March 31 over here so this counts. Say Hi to Jennifer for me. Tell her "next year", us Leaf fans must stick together. RAG"
Just so you know, RAG is Ron's sign off - Ronald Adrian Gillis.

Happy Day

It's just after 11:00 p.m. and I am winding down with a glass of whiskey after a really nice day. I haven't enjoyed a whiskey in awhile since I had a cold and my sense of taste was gone ... not gonna waste it, if I can't taste it! But today is my birthday, so I poured a glass. I was so pleased today to get phone calls from my brother Gary, my sister Debra, son Neil and daughter Jennifer. Of course I also chatted with Tyler and Nathan. Victoria sent me a really nice e-mail. And I got dozens of nice notes on Facebook, including one from Christine, Ronald's daughter. She said my brother Ron is still is still "in the FOB right now" and not able to get to a phone. Ron is in Afghanistan and the FOB is a forward operating base, which means it's basically a few tents, a few tanks and a latrine. But I know he would call if he could. He always does. But it has been such a nice day. When I think of all the nice people I know, I realize I am blessed. : )

Comfort food.

I am fighting a cold this week. Yukkk! And I haven't had a glass of whiskey since St. Patty's Day... You just can't taste anything when you have a cold. I did have some comfort food today and it seems to work. Campbell's tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. It was good.

Vote for Timmins for Hockeyville!

There’s a lot of buzz in Timmins this weekend thanks to the Kraft Hockeyville competition. Timmins was named this week as a wildcard finalist in the top 12. That means we’ve got a shot at being in the top five, and maybe winning the competition. So of course everyone is going to the Hockeyville website and voting for Timmins. They’ve set up free internet voting stations all over the city, at the mall, at the library and in every city arena. Voting continues until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. You can vote too, as many times as you wish, no matter where you are. Click here for the Hockeyville website. It’s all about Timmins and the famous McIntyre Arena… home to a few well known hockey greats such as the Mahovlich brothers, Father Les Costello and Bill Barilko… Bill scored the winning Stanley Cup goal for the Leafs to win the series from the Habs in 1951. He’s nearly a saint in Timmins.

Jenn feeling better, looking great!

It was hard to describe seeing Jennifer for the first time since Christmas, when I visited her at the Alexander camp in Westree this weekend. She was standing up at the door to give me a hug. She had a walker of course, but she was standing and smiling. It was so great. Wow, what a difference from last August eh. She is still taking physio-therapy as an out-patient and is sure feeling better. Anyway, I snapped a couple of photos. Jenn wasn’t exactly pleased to see me with a camera. I guess she isn’t feeling glamourous. But now that her hair is growing back, I was pleased to tell her how great she looks. It was so nice to get a photo of her and the boys.
And what a nice weekend it was too. The weather was perfect. Denise and Don are always great hosts, but on Saturday night they outdid themselves. We enjoyed an amazing seafood feast with Newfoundland lobster, broiled scallops and fabulous cod fish cakes. It doesn’t get any better.

Boots dry, pants wet.

Sometimes I do dumb things … like put away the snowshoes too early. I was out in the bush today to grab photos of new work being done on the Sandy Falls dam. So I followed a few bush roads, hopped a fence and went for a hike. I should’ve known the moment I landed after coming off the fence, I sank up to my butt in soft wet snow. I figured once I got out in the open it would be better. Nope. Snow up to my knees all the way, about a kilometre in and then a kilometre back out. Those footprints run deep! Once I got to the river, there was some interesting ice formations on the water. The other nice thing is that the sun was shining all the way and the hike out is always easier than the hike in. My boots were dry, but my pants were soaked with slush. It was pretty warm out too. I took off my jacket and had short sleeves on. What a beautiful day in Northern Ontario.
I had a nice chat with Jennifer this morning. She says she and the boys will be heading off to camp with Don and Denise for March Break. Sounds like the perfect way to welcome spring. But before I let that thought go, everyone knows that were due for a good blizzard sometime between now and the May 24 weekend. That's reality in Northern Ontario.

Lots of interesting stuff!

Jennifer is home now. Home to stay! After six months of being in the hospital, my favourite daughter is now recovering at home. Jenn is sure happy about it. And so are the boys. Jenn gets to tuck them in at night and she’s there when they get up in the morning. How much we take for granted eh. She is still doing rehab to learn to walk, but it definitely looks like she is a survivor. Her blood platelets were low this week, but the latest check shows them coming back up, so that’s good news too.
NEIL CALLED!
Good news from Neil this week too. The restaurant Steamworks in downtown Vancouver is soooo busy. I got a text from Neil telling me that he met the president of Slovakia who was in the restaurant. That’s kinda cool. Neil says there are always famous people dropping by because Vancouver produces so many movies, but with the Olympics on, there has to be a lot more celebrities in town. The best part was as I was writing this on Saturday morning, Neil called! It was 9:00 a.m. in Timmins. I looked at the clock and said what are you doing up at 6:00 a.m.? He was just getting home after a 12 hour shift at the restaurant. “This town is totally rad” he said, but added he is getting tired of seeing so many drunken people in the streets. Neil said the inside scoop is that the Vancouver Olympics beer sales are more than Beijing and Salt Lake city combined. He said his restaurant, which is known for its local beer, is selling out on a regular basis. The other good thing is that he has a promotional budget, and with the restaurant packed to the rafters each night, he gets to go around buying free drinks for nice people.
Life is good in Timmins. It looks like we are losing our big copper smelter, but the newest gold mine in town, Lake Shore Gold, is going great and another mine, Goldcorp, just announced that they’re sinking a new shaft to go after even more gold.
PHOTOS FROM FRANCE
I have been busy converting old photos and old slides to digital. It’s moving at a snail’s pace because I am so busy with other things. But I found sound photos from the Royal Canadian Air Force base in Marville, France. There’s a pic of Dad with his police van, Mom and Ronald on the beach at La Havre (English Channel), some CF-86 Sabre fighter jets on the flight line, Gary's first communion and me with a couple of other kids… and I have no idea who they are!

Not a bad weekend despite the game.

It was something of a letdown tonight to watch Team Canada get dumped by Team USA in Hockey. U.S. Goaltender Ryan Miller is simply amazing. I called Jennifer because misery loves company. She said she stopped watching as soon as the Americans pulled ahead four goals to two. Other than the game, we all had a nice weekend, with nice balmy zero degree weather in Northern Ontario. Jenn said she was at the house for a couple of days and was pleased to be able to make bacon and eggs for the boys this morning. Now that she has a walker, she is able to stand up for short periods. How nice is that?

So what's new?

Jennifer and I chatted last night about the Olympics. I have to remember to call when a hockey game is NOT on. I could tell when she wasn’t listening. It was like talking to a teenager again. LOL. But we still had a good chat. Her physio-therapy is coming along nicely. Jenn uses a walker now along with her wheel chair. She says she can move across the room, but it leaves her pretty tired.
I have been slowly cataloguing many of the paper copies of photos that I have. I dread the thought of going through the negatives. I came across a few shots of my brother Ronald and myself from a few years ago where he was invited to do para-jumps at the North Bay Air Show. Knowing he was going to be in the Bay, he called me up and we spent some time together. At lunch you can see who is enjoying a beer and who is having iced tea. Ron then got me onto the plane so I could grab some photos at 13,000 feet over North Bay. Then he suited up in his gear and jumped out the plane! Good thing he paid the bill for lunch!

Neil was at opening ceremonies rehearsal...

I had a really nice chat with Jennifer today and we talked about Neil and the fact that he was at the rehearsal Monday for the Olympics opening ceremonies in Vancouver. We are both so jealous. But on the other hand, he will no doubt be super busy at work in the next two weeks as the world arrives in Vancouver.
Jennifer is still in the Intensive Rehab Unit at the Sudbury Hospital, but she has moved rooms … she is now in room 3-164. Anyone wanting to call and chat before 10:00 p.m. can call toll free at 1-866-469-0822.
Jennifer says she doesn’t expect to be in the hospital much longer. At some point within the next month, she expects she will become an outpatient. She says she is looking very forward to that day.

Old photos

Well I was able to find some old photos to put them on the scanner so I can have good digital images that will last. The paper copies of the photos are not going to last. I have a couple of “big hair” school pics of Jennifer and Neil from the 1980s and a couple of photos from Mom and Dad’s wedding. I am amazed at the quality of the 1950s photos which obviously used the big 5-inch negatives. The clarity is amazing. Oh well, something nice to look at. As I start sorting through all the papers I still have, I will begin digitizing the photos and posting a few. The colour slides will be a challenge. At last count, I have more than 9,000. Just click on the photos to see them in a larger size.

Just catching up eh

I have to learn to spent a bit more time here. Considering that I write for a living, one would think this wouldn't be a big chore. It's not. I get lazy. Well not THAT lazy. Actually I worked all weekend and took some time off Sunday afternoon to enjoy the football game, and a tall cold can of beer. I also found time to paint an old dresser. I was checking out one of the home decorating magazines and it mentioned that the "weather beaten" look is quite popular on old furniture. My painting skills are such that I tend to get the "weather beaten" look a lot. Actually it turned out okay, after some work with sandpaper and about four coats of paint. I had a quick chat with Jennifer on Saturday when the hockey game was on. I try not to call when the game is on, but Toronto had just scored it's fifth goal and I figured it was safe. Jenn is doing very well. She still has a long way to go in her physio-therapy, but what a nice turn around from this time six months ago. Oh, some other good news of sorts. My old photo scanner died out on me last year and I have been shopping around trying to find a nice half-decent scanner that can work with old slides and 35 mm negatives. No luck. On Sunday afternoon I dropped into Canadian Tire to get some sandpaper (for the painting) and on the way to the check out, I noticed they had a bit table marked CLEARANCE. There in the middle of the table, was a brand new Hewlett Packard model 4850 scanner, equipped to take slides and negatives. Cost $20. Perrrrfect. I had to stop at Staples and buy a new cable for it... $29. Normally it would cost about $200 for the whole rig. But it works beautifully. So in the next few months, I will be moving all my slides and negs to a digital format. Expect to see some interesting pictures here.

Cookies, whiskey and other stuff.

Jenn and I were like a couple of chatty little hens tonight when I called. It’s funny how we get talking and just go on and on and on. I forgot that I had put on water for tea and it was a good thing the burner was on low. After about 45 minutes of yakking, for some reason I remembered about the tea, so I jumped up and ran to the kitchen. All the water, except for about a teaspoon, had boiled off. So that was good for a laugh. But Jenn gave me hell for not being more careful. I will learn from it I am sure. Make the tea first then call Jenn. I decided that it was too late to make a fresh pot of tea, so as I signed off with Jenn I poured a nice glass of Jameson’s and because it was bedtime snack time, I added an oatmeal cookie. Well son of a gun, what a treat. Have your ever dipped a cookie into a glass of whiskey? It’s delicious. I should go into business… be like the Sham Wow guy, but just for whiskey and cookies. By the way, Jenn is doing very nicely with her physio therapy. She says she is now cramming in two sessions a day, but says some days she gets pretty tired. Maybe I should send her some cookies, and whiskey!

Happy Saturday eh.

Friday was a good day in many ways. Jenn and I chatted for quite a while last night. She was at home of course, because the med team gave her a weekend away from the hospital. She was quite proud to inform that in her physio-therapy on Friday she managed to walk a few steps on her own, without holding onto anything. Wow! She says there’s lots of work to do yet, because her knees lock up and she still has a pins and needles sensation in her feet. But she took a few solo steps and that’s what counts. I am so proud of her in so many ways.
I went out last night to a pub for the first time in about six months. It was nice. Enjoyed a glass of Jameson’s whiskey. The downside was to share a drink with a friend moving out of town to a new job.
The weather this winter is pretty wonky. We’ve had a few really nice and cold days, but too many mild days. I was hoping to get out in the bush for some snowshoeing, but the snow is too wet and squishy. Oh I guess I will get out soon anyway.
Monday should be interesting. The mayor and the Goldcorp mine manager say a big announcement will be made Monday morning. Timmins could some good news.

And so it goes...

There was good news from Jennifer this week. She has moved from the fourth floor cancer unit down to the Rehabilitation wing at the new Sudbury Regional Hospital. (I wrote down the room number, but it’s on my desk at work.) Jenn says she misses the med staff on the cancer floor but is sure she will enjoy the rehab floor just as much. She has a recreational therapist, a physio-therapist, an occupational therapist and a social worker. And of course Denise (Scott’s Mom) is her personal pal and all-round excellent helper. Jenn is confident she will learn to walk again. So that’s a good thing. I was chatting earlier this week and as we signed off, Jenn said she was heading out to Tim Horton’s. I asked her how she does that. She said she jumps in her wheel chair, grabs a book and zooms down to the second floor of the hospital where there is a Timmie’s beside the cafeteria. This morning we were chatting on the phone, but she had to sign off early since Nathan, Tyler and Scott are all playing hockey today and they had to head out to the arena. I am doing housework this morning. Busy as ever. And I had to do laundry too. It seems the laundry room in this building is something of a social centre. I met a little cutie there this week. Very interesting lady. We had a nice chat. Her name is Lina. She is 94.

Lady with the torch

It was c-c-c-cold in Timmins yesterday. The windchill was minus 35 and I was outside for a few hours with several thousand other Timmins folk to see the Olympic Torch Run. So there I was hanging around with my camera when this nice lady with a torch jumped in front of me and stood there so I could snap a photo. And so I did.Funny thing about the windchill. The wind stopped last night for several minutes and suddenly everyone felt refreshed ... it was only minus 25.

Entering year five ...

So now we begin another new year and another year of my Web Log, or 'blog" . This marks my entry into my fifth year of posting here. I went to the beginning to read some my original stuff. It was the same old boring stuff, but it was fun to read, for me anyway. Since then I have had ten thousand viewers! Yep!, well actually more than 10,000. So thank YOU for being here.
The best part was when Time Magazine named "me" Person Of The Year in 2006. Oh yeahhh! ... well it's an honour I had to share with a few million other people, but it was still pretty cool.


Here's the text of the Time story:
The "Great Man" theory of history is usually attributed to the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote that "the history of the world is but the biography of great men." He believed that it is the few, the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny as a species. That theory took a serious beating this year.
To be sure, there are individuals we could blame for the many painful and disturbing things that happened in 2006. The conflict in Iraq only got bloodier and more entrenched. A vicious skirmish erupted between Israel and Lebanon. A war dragged on in Sudan. A tin-pot dictator in North Korea got the Bomb, and the President of Iran wants to go nuclear too. Meanwhile nobody fixed global warming, and Sony didn't make enough PlayStation3s.
But look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.
The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. Not the Web that Tim Berners-Lee hacked together (15 years ago, according to Wikipedia) as a way for scientists to share research. It's not even the overhyped dotcom Web of the late 1990s. The new Web is a very different thing. It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it's really a revolution.
And we are so ready for it. We're ready to balance our diet of predigested news with raw feeds from Baghdad and Boston and Beijing. You can learn more about how Americans live just by looking at the backgrounds of YouTube videos—those rumpled bedrooms and toy-strewn basement rec rooms—than you could from 1,000 hours of network television.
And we didn't just watch, we also worked. Like crazy. We made Facebook profiles and Second Life avatars and reviewed books at Amazon and recorded podcasts. We blogged about our candidates losing and wrote songs about getting dumped. We camcordered bombing runs and built open-source software.
America loves its solitary geniuses—its Einsteins, its Edisons, its Jobses—but those lonely dreamers may have to learn to play with others. Car companies are running open design contests. Reuters is carrying blog postings alongside its regular news feed. Microsoft is working overtime to fend off user-created Linux. We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy.
Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?
The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.
Sure, it's a mistake to romanticize all this any more than is strictly necessary. Web 2.0 harnesses the stupidity of crowds as well as its wisdom. Some of the comments on YouTube make you weep for the future of humanity just for the spelling alone, never mind the obscenity and the naked hatred.
But that's what makes all this interesting. Web 2.0 is a massive social experiment, and like any experiment worth trying, it could fail. There's no road map for how an organism that's not a bacterium lives and works together on this planet in numbers in excess of 6 billion. But 2006 gave us some ideas. This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them. Go on. Tell us you're not just a little bit curious.

Happy new year to all

Wow, what a ride this year has been eh? If I have learned anything, I think I learned to appreciate the people in my life a little bit more than I may have previously. There are so many important people who influence how I feel, think and go about living my life and I don't take enough time to thank them for their goodness. When something like Jennifer's illness occurs, it suddenly makes us all forget about our ordinary everyday concerns and makes us all realize what is really important. We all manage to be a little nicer, more easygoing, more forgiving and more tolerant with one another. What a nice thing that is. No reason not to continue doing that in the New Year and beyond.
I also managed to get my hands on an official Olympic torch for a few moments this week. It was lighter than I expected... but the design reminded me of a snowmobile ski. Hmmm... no wonder, it was designed by Bombardier.
Couple of other things...
1 - Don't forget to toast the new year with a nice glass of whiskey. Anything else doesn't count.
2 - If you get a minute, drop a line and wish a happy new year my favourite little brother Ronald at ra.gillis@live.ca. He is with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and I am sure he would love to get a note.

All good things today.

Had a quick chat with Jennifer this morning and she was sounding happy and chipper. The Christmas weekend was fun for her and she enjoyed being at home more than she expected. Of course, going back in to the hospital is part of life these days, but Jenn knows the level of care she gets there is excellent. Her other good news is that she will be able to get a couple of days off for New Year’s and she and Scott will be enjoying each other’s company by going out for dinner. The boys are off to camp with Don and Denise and no doubt will have a fabulous time ringing in the New Year in Westree.
I have been busy as usual. I was at the McIntyre Arena this evening to cover the opening of the World Under-17 hockey tournament. It’s featuring some of the best young hockey players from around the world. While there, I noticed that Timmins lived up to its billing as having some of the best looking women anywhere. I’ve said that for years. I noticed another good looking woman in the stands at the hockey game tonight. Hello Shania. It’s kinda nice when the rich and famous come back home every now and then eh.

Merry Christmas, and happy Boxing Day!

Back home in Timmins tonight after spending Christmas with Jennifer and her family. It was such a nice visit because the good folks at Sudbury Regional Hospital sent Jenn home for a few days. So Scott and Tyler and Nathan were thrilled of course. I was also happy to spend a full day spoiling the boys, with things like breakfast at McDonalds and lunch at Laura Secord`s ice cream shop. Last night we sat down to a wonderful traditional Christmas dinner with Scott and Jenn and the boys, Don and Denise Alexander, and Christine, Demetrios and Victoria. It was excellent. Food and fabulous company was just too good. It was great the see Jenn scooting around the kitchen in her wheelchair and helping out, but she is determined that will not be a permanent thing. I had to head back North today… and I missed the family’s annual Boxing Day bash which was held at Line’s this year. I was also pleased to get a grrreat phone call from Neil on Christmas Day as he had to work for awhile and then was enjoying dinner with friends. Well I have to dig in on some leftovers and a a very full glass of wine right now… I will have some photos up soon.

Jenn's loves her three-day pass!

Jennifer doesn't waste an opportunity. The med team at the hospital gave her a three-day pass for the weekend to go home. So what does she do... Well, Friday she was out shopping. Today I called the house for a chat ... and where was Jenn? Oh, she was out at Nathan's hockey game! Good for her eh. Well I got another flu shot today. I had the H1N1 flu vaccine weeks ago. Today I got the seasonal flu shot. So far so good. I dropped by the mall to do some shopping today. It was crazzzzzyyyy! Thank goodness for 24-hour shopping. I think I will head out at about 5:00 a.m.

A good day for my fave daughter

I knew Jennifer was doing well this week. I didn't know how well until we chatted this morning. She was so pleased with herself because she has a weekend pass to spend a few days at home. And better than that, she and Denise were heading out to go shopping!!! I can't wait to get down south next week to spend some time with the gang in Sudbury. Jenn says I can bring the turkey ... Hmmm, gotta go find a shotgun!

New four by four...

I haven't talked to Jennifer in a couple of days now. I have been too busy with other things at work and settling in to my new digs. And as much as I liked my favourite bush truck, I have traded in the Tracker. I pick up the new truck on Friday. Well, it's not NEW ... but new enough. It's a Nitro, built on a Jeep Liberty chassis. Living in the North, I still went with a 4x4. Winter should be arriving soon in Timmins, so it will be interesting to see how well it runs.

The Cup

I am putting up a photo today because Jennifer asked to see it. "I am so jealous" she said today when I told her I saw the Stanley Cup. Scotiabank is sending the Cup on a cross Canada tour and so it arrived in Porcupine this morning, complete with the RCMP honour guard. I dropped by to snap photos of ordinary people with the cup and it was a hoot to see so many kids enjoying the excitement. Whole teams dropped by to get team photos taken with it. I had a quick chat with Mike Bolt, one of the "keepers of the cup" and he suggested I get a photo of myself with the cup, and so I handed him my camera and he snapped the photo. I am sure Tyler and Nathan will be pleased to see it too. In other news, Jennifer is quite pleased with what she says is the birthday gift she gave herself. She was able to move her legs Saturday without any help. She says she can't wait to show off for the physi-therapist on Monday. The other big part of the day for Jennifer of course is the fact the Leafs won last night, dumping on the Washington Capitals.

Hearing from the kids

Yesterday was a nice day. I was texting with Neil and spoke with Jennifer twice. Neil is the king of texting. It's a good way to stay in touch. In any case, I was pleased to hear from both of my children on the same day. The first time I spoke with Jenn, I was out shopping and needed to know somebody’s clothing size. It was just one of those very quick chats where you’re in public and don’t want to be a cellphone boor. The second time I called I was at home and able to sing a short verse of Happy Birthday. Jenn is NOT one of those people who makes a big deal about her birthday, but I could tell she was happy I called. Denise made her a fabulous cake and Jenn talked about it so much I was getting hungry. I had already eaten supper and didn’t want to overdo it on nutrition, so I had some fudge.
Jenn had to stay at the hospital for her birthday because her white blood counts were so low and her immunity is low. But I was amazed at how good she sounded. She was tired, but I could tell she was feeling much better than with previous bouts with chemo-therapy.
Jenni says she is confident she will be at home for Christmas. Things are definitely looking nice.
Well, we got a bit more snow in Timmins yesterday. Ha ha, who cares? I don’t have to shovel. I am learning to enjoy my apartment more and more. I did some laundry last night … and while I was in the laundry room, I got caught up on reading. I think next time I will bring my laptop. I really need a life eh… doing laundry on a Saturday night!

Jennifer is a survivor

I am always amazed at how well people respond to good treatments. Jennifer says her last treatment of chemo-therapy has left her feeling better than expected. At some point soon, in the next week or so, the med team at the Sudbury cancer centre will take another bone marrow sample and hopefully it will once again show no cancer cells and then Jenn’s leukemia will officially be in remission. After that, Jenn says she will be transferred off the cancer ward and over to the rehab wing of the hospital. Then begins the battle to learn how to walk again, hopefully. Anyway, as much as Jenn was worried about the last round of chemo-therapy, things seemed to have worked out nicely. For the first time, she had no fever when her blood counts dropped down. Also, she experienced only one day of nausea. What a change that is from her past encounters with the chemo-cocktail. It looks like my favourite girl will be at home with her boys for Christmas!
Meanwhile, back in Timmins, I am settling down to apartment life. We closed the deal on the house because the young couple that bought it wanted to get moved in before Christmas. I cannot disagree with that. My new apartment is very nice, but it is going to take me days to unpack.
Not all is well in Timmins these days. Yesterday, Xstrata, the Swiss based company that bought the Kidd Creek smelter a few years ago, announced that it will close the Timmins copper smelter and zinc refinery next May, putting 670 people out of work. It's a huge news story, but I feel terrible for the workers and their families. Who would have thought that would ever happen? Luckily Timmins is still a treasure chest of minerals. Thank goodness for all the gold and diamonds. Let's hope those industries continue to thrive.

Bone Marrow screening

Jenn told me about the bone marrow search system in Canada, which is run by the Canadian Blood Services. She is not sure if she will ever need a bone marrow transplant, but Jenn likes to be prepared. The screening procedure involves sending away for a free kit that arrives in the mail. To learn about it you can go to the www.blood.ca website.
To learn about whether you qualify for bone marrow screening, check out this page: Click Here.
I read into it and was all set to sign up ... but for some reason it says people over 50 cannot apply. Hmmm ... as if I never lied about my age! : )

She is determined eh.

Well, you have to know Jenn to know how determined she can be. She was taking physiotherapy Monday and wasn’t fully aware that her blood counts were low. Anyway, she was working away, working hard, when whoosh!~ she fainted, passed right out! So she was feeling absolutely pooched after that. But later last night, she seemed a bit more chipper about things in general. The final round of chemo-therapy is done … well it has been applied to Jennifer’s system. But it's not over yet. Now Jenn will endure several days of her immune system crashing and then rebuilding itself. She is pretty confident she will come out of this one stronger, but she knows she is going to have some rough days ahead. That being said, Jenn is convinced she is in remission because the med-team is pretty sure of that too. But with the billions of the cells in the human body, they're not taking any chances... they want to ensure that every cancer cell has been killed.

Another Saturday morning updater

They’ve started another session of chemo-therapy for Jennifer. She is back on the original double-dose that the med team gave her on her original session. So Jenn is confident it will be effective, just as the first one was, and it will be a tough experience for a few days this coming week, just like the first session. She sure sounded tired on the phone last night after supper, but she was having a nice visit from her guys, so that was good. She also had a hard week of physio-therapy, but Jenn says that’s a good thing.
SOLD THE HOUSE!
I am in for a busy week ahead. The offer on the house went through and the buyers are happy. The deal closes Monday December 7 so I will be packing this week. I can’t believe how much stuff I have accumulated over the years -- Stuff that I sure don’t need. But I will be holding onto important stuff and calling the St. Martin de Porres charity for things other people might use. There is a young couple buying the house, so I will be pleased to “donate” a lot of things to them. I am looking so forward to having a quiet little apartment. I will miss my neighbours a lot. I have been blessed over the years that wherever I lived, I always had amazing neighbours. But Timmins is small enough that I am sure I will see them often.
I am also going to be closing off my e-mail. Instead of lgillis@nt.net... I will be using my hotmail – lengillis@hotmail.com

Jenn's weekend

Jennifer had a very nice weekend, spending time with her hubby and her boys away from the hospital. Jenn says it was a bit more fun than she expected as she got out to a movie and even went out for dinner! ( They were celebrating Nate’s birthday.) Jenn also had a little surprise of her own. She and Denise dropped by the Daffodil Terrace Lodge which is run by the Cancer Society and they picked out a nice glamourous brunette wig that Jenn was able to borrow for the weekend. How cool is that? Jenn said she is thinking that when her hair grows back (it’s just peach fuzzies right now) she is going to grow it long and then cut it and donate the hair for a wig for somebody else. She said is learning to cope with being in a wheelchair in public places and she said it’s a whole new world of learning. For example, she was happy to go to the arena to see the boys playing hockey and while there was a place in the stands for her wheelchair, there was no heater nearby like in the regular stands. Hmmm… could be a newspaper story.
On a different front, Tyler Town moved out today. Tyler Town was the name of the model railway layout I had in the house for nearly ten years. I started building the layout shortly after he was born, and now that I am moving, it had to move as well. It had a lumber mill, a brewery, a general store, a church, a town hall and great train service. Over the years, the boys had some fun with it, especially making one train crash into the other. I am happy to report that a nice couple in South Porcupine will be setting up Tyler Town in their home for their grandchildren this coming Christmas.

Jennifer is feeling better

It’s going to be a good weekend in Sudbury. Jennifer will be enjoying a three-day pass away from the hospital. Her doctor wants Jenn to rebuild her strength for several days. I told Jenn the doctor likely believes that being in a good mood leads to better health. Jenn agrees because she is excited about spending another weekend at home and she says she is feeling stronger. So far so good. Jenn says she has mixed feelings about her next session of chemo-therapy. No firm word yet on exactly when that will happen, but Jenn says it will be soon. She is not looking forward to it, but she says she wants to get it done and over with so she can make plans to be home for Christmas. Hmmm… Christmas … just six weeks away.

A weekend pass ... and ladders.

It is an overcast Saturday in Timmins but I hear there's some blue skies down south ... in Sudbury. Jennifer is having a good day today. She has a weekend pass! Yup, she is able to spend a couple of days away from the hospital, at home with her family. So that's all good. She says her doctor will let her build up her strength for several days and then there will be another session of chemo-therapy.
I noticed people in Timmins today are putting up their Christmas lights already. I won't be doing that. For some reason I don't like ladders. I don't think I am afraid of heights... but I am not comfortable on ladders. I don't mind airplanes. I recall some years back when brother Ronald was taking part in the airshow in North Bay. He invited me down to meet him. Ron was sky-diving with the Canadian Forces Skyhawks and the US Army Golden Knights jump team, and he invited me on the jump-plane with him. I got a seat right beside the open door so I could shoot some nice photos. The guys strapped me in with two seat belts because my feet were dangling in the open air. The plane climbed to 13,000 feet and I was able to lean out and shoot photos straight down as the guys jumped from the plane. I felt quite comfortable. Good thing I didn't have to stand on a ladder eh.
Oh by the way, it was the first time I had flown at such a high altitude in an un-pressurized airplane. There was about two dozen people on the plane and Ronald explained to me the phenomenon of "fear-farts". That's a story for another day.

Things are nicer...

Jennifer has been having a great week so far. One of the nicest things was a visit by several of her aunts on the weekend who made the drive from Timmins. Jenn said she loved seeing them all and it really gave her a lift. Then on Monday, Jenn was moved to a new room in a newly renovated part of the cancer centre. She is now in room 4-600 and she is quite happy with it. Also this week, Jenn was so pleased to hear that her cousin Zach and Melanie are the happy new parents of tiny Noah Maltais. Hmmm… so that means that Uncle Mo is now Grandpa Mo! So congrats to Marie and Mo and Mel and Zach.
Some of the best news this week came from Jennifer’s oncologist Dr. Lopez who told Jenn for that for all intents and purposes it now appears she is in remission. That is such incredibly good news. (Isn’t it amazing what all those good thoughts and prayers from people can do?) But the doctor is not taking any chances. Jenn will be given several days to build up her strength and then there will be another session of chemo-therapy. She will also be getting more chemo-infusion shots, which are essentially needles of chemo-cocktail right into the spine, which apparently has had very good results for Jenn in the past. To make things even nicer, if everything goes according to plan, Jennifer will get to spend the whole weekend at home this week with her husband and her boys. I just know she is gonna cry some happy tears when she gets in the front door. Jenn says she is looking forward to all that. But she adds her hospital days are far from over. Indications are that when she eventually leaves the cancer centre, she will spend many, many more weeks in the hospital for rehabilitation and physio-therapy. Jenn said tonight that none of the med-team is discussing whether Jenn will ever get the ability to walk again, but she said “I believe I will.” And I learned such a long time ago not to argue with my little girl.

Hey Ronald ... you old %#*!!

This is a separate post for my fave "little brother" Ronald. Tomorrow is his birthday, but by this afternoon in Timmins it will already be "tomorrow" in Afghanistan. So Bro, I hear you're stuck in some hole-in-the-ground forward operating base in the Panjwai district, so take care, keep your head down and have a good day.

Things we take for granted

Had a great chat with Jennifer last night. Her back was a bit sore, but she says that was likely to due to the fact that she did so much physio-therapy this week. She said she did enough work that she was actually feeling tired. And she was happy with that. The other good news is that she is no longer “brown bagging”. The brown bag refers to the dark brown color of the bags for the IV solutions of nutrients. Jenn doesn’t need them anymore. The med-team is also stopping her anti-biotics. So that means for a little while anyway, Jennifer will be tube free. There will be no IV tubes anywhere. That will enable her to move around a bit more freely. --Just one of the little pleasures that most of us take for granted.

Things are good.

Jennifer seems to be hanging in there pretty nicely in the past few days. And she has been happy to see some visitors too, but they have to wear the masks, gloves and gowns. Just when Nate got over his sniffles, it looks like it is Tyler's turn to have a touch of flu. I sure hope most people are coping with the flu thing okay. It has been nine days since I got my shot... I guess I am okay by now, because the nurse said it would be eight to ten days before full immunization would take effect. I still go by the best advice from the public health people ... keep washing your hands and use plenty of tissues.

Jenn was enjoying another good post-chemo day today. She said today was the last day of the "helper drugs" the med team had been giving her to offset some of the nasty effects of the chemo-therapy. Jenn says overall she has been feeling pretty good, but she says its anyone's guess what will happen in the next few days now that the helper drugs have stopped. At some point soon, they will take another bone marrow sample to see if any new leukemia cells are still around in Jennifer`s system. If not it will be very good news indeed. Let's all keep positive thoughts. We ended the call on a nice note. Jenn was smiling. I could hear it in her voice... and oh by the way, the Leafs had just scored on TV.

Weekend update!

Had a nice visit with Jenn this weekend and was amazed at how good she looked. Still, no one was taking chances, so I had to wear gloves and a hospital gown for the visit. It was nice to just sit and chat as if we were in a living room … and for Jenn that’s what it’s getting to be like. As of November 1, she has been in the hospital for 66 days. It’s the “new normal” for her, and as much as she wants to get better, get out and get home; she knows that while she is in the hospital she is getting the best care possible, not only from the med-staff but from people like Denise who spend some much quality time looking after her. It looks like the hospital room is going to be Jenn’s home for several more weeks at least. Some good news from that is that she may get moved to a new section of the hospital as some point soon. As I looked out her hospital window this morning, I noticed that the Sudbury Super Stack was empty. No smoke. Inco has been on strike for several weeks now and unless things change dramatically, it’s going to be a long, long strike.
I remember covering the big strike of 1978-79. It went on for nearly nine months it made a lot of people unhappy and angry. I fear the same sort of thing could happen again.
Anyway, I got a kick out of spending part of Saturday night with Jenn watching the hockey game. Scott was out doing Halloween round with the boys, so I was with Jenn. As I was blabbing on, she shushed me because Toronto scored a goal. I had to laugh. A few minutes later, Jenn suddenly blurted “Oh shit!” when Montreal scored and tied up the game. I laughed at that because Jenn never swears in front of old Dad.
Overall, Jenn seems to be handling this second round of chemo-therapy better than the first. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It amazes me how strong she is mentally and emotionally.
As for the boys, it was grrreat to see them too. Of course they were all excited for Halloween and it was fun to watch them enjoying the candy. Nate was down with some flu symptoms for most of Saturday, but with lots of rest of a bit of medicine, he looked to be in fine shape on Sunday. I don’t doubt that Tyler will be next. The flu is making the rounds, but the boys are strong and healthy. So I am not too worried.