Still Kicking & Canada Day

I thought this would be a good day to check in and let you all know I have not fallen off the side of the earth yet, despite my lack of posting that might indicate otherwise.

Today is July 1 - Canada Day - in my part of the world. This holiday takes on even more significance for Canadians in the current political climate. In the face of annexation threats and heavy tariffs against us by Trump & Co., Canadians have come together to stop buying American products as much as possible. Oh, and - against all odds - to elect another Liberal federal government because the Conservative party has turned into a mini-Trump party. Enough Canadians abhorred that scenario, thank goodness, and we have a steady hand on the country's tiller for now at least.

Meanwhile, I've gone back to working days to fill in for a co-worker who left to take another job. It was supposed to be for May only, but the new person hired for the position left after a week so I am still there. I am enjoying being around my co-workers again, instead of working in the evenings when I am usually alone, and the ability to help out at this busy time of year is satisfying. I'm also happy for the extra income, as both my washer and dryer have given up the ghost over the past two months. (Don't tell my stove, but it - the stove - is the last remaining appliance in the house from the original fridge-stove-washer-dryer we bought when we moved into our first house after getting married forty-five years ago. It doesn't hurt that it gets little use these days, but I'm sure the second it knows I can replace it then it will give a sigh of relief and slip away to a better place.)

Also, to update you on my mom, she is deeply unhappy at the nursing home and this troubles me. It is not a homey place and there is high staff turnover, and I agree with her assessment that it's not a home, it's just a place to "make do". She still longs to go back to her own house, where she had some illusion of independence and definitely had more privacy and peace and quiet. I am still looking for solutions, including a private care home forty minutes away from me. It is a risky move to consider. If it doesn't work out, I don't know what the alternatives are or how long it could take to implement them. I do know that I can't take on her care myself. It drove me to the brink, mentally, when I was responsible for her before. Her needs are greater now, and in order to look after her I would have to stop working. Work has been a great help in regaining and maintaining my mental health, and I don't want to lose that. Even when my current position is filled and I go back to evenings, I know now that I need something to do where I can interact with people most days. That may be volunteer work or it may be something else, but I am well aware that it can't be as caretaker for my mom, no matter how selfish that sounds or feels.

I've had some physical health challenges over the last six months, but I am trying to deal with them one by one. I'm also renewing my attempts to move more and eat less, which my job has also helped. I am not naturally a high-energy, "busy" person; even as a child my favourite activities weren't actually activities but very quiet pastimes that I enjoy to this day: reading, handcrafts, writing and thinking. It is difficult to integrate exercise into that framework, especially as I get older and creakier.

So that's the update on this warm, windy day in Donkey Land. I'm off to do some chores that will make life easier for future me. Laundry needs washing so it can air-dry (see above re dead dryer). Housework needs doing. I still have a boatload of stuff here from my mom's house to be cleaned and donated. There is no shortage of things to keep me busy.

Please enjoy some memes before you go.

And finally, for all my fellow vertically-challenged peeps out there:

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That's it for now. Later, my friends.