Today is Thanksgiving but today became a sad day for me.  My little guinea pig, Rocky died.  While I know that I have much to be thankful for, my heart is heavy from the loss of this little guy.  He was only 4 years old, middle aged, not elderly in gp years.   He came into my life when I was in great despair and in great disrepair and I am grateful for his time with me, short though it was.  He made me feel like I was capable of giving love and deserving of receiving it.  




.

"Dream A Dream, That Lasts Longer Than A Lifetime"

The Honourable John Gilbert "Jack" Layton (July 18, 1950 - August 22, 2011)

Jack's inspirational letter to Canadians, which was written 2 days prior to his death last Monday:

Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we've done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let's continue to move forward. Let's demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada's Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one - a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world's environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.
And we'll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton

A Belated Thank you

To Erin;   Yard Sale Snoop

   We live in the same city, almost in the same neighbourhood but we don't know each other.  Your blog however, has been a source of entertainment, information and inspiration to me.  One day, I commented on one of your posts and you responded to it and encouraged me to start a blog.   It took a while to find my voice but like the proverbial child who finally learns to speak, I now cannot shut up!   : )
   Thank you, Erin.   I am enjoying every minute of this.......

The Tobacco Heiress

   I read a post this morning from Six Balloons Vintage Delights about her tobacco tin find, which prompted memories of my maternal grandmother, Irene, who used to create her own cigarettes.  She used this amazing cutting machine, long rolling papers and loose tobacco (stored in tins).  She'd rise early in the am, smoke, drink coffee, roll & cut her daily allotment of cigarettes and then write letters to her friends, family and international penpals.  I really must find who inherited the cigarette roller/cutter and feature it in a later post.

  I remember seeing the different types of tobacco tins at Grandma's place.  There was "Black Cat" and I thought the pic of the black cat on the tin was Grandma's cat, Tinker.  One time, I saw a pack of "Muriel" cigars (maybe "El Producto" brand?) and I thought the petite, dark haired, dark eyed flamenco dancer on the package was my.own petite, dark haired, dark eyed mom, Muriel.  The "Players"  logo was the head and shoulders of a sailor who looked just like my uncle, who was in the Canadian Navy.  Any wonder, with all these associations to smoking in my deluded child's mind, that I thought my family had a tobacco empire?

Re: Heroes: Part 2

   A couple of days ago, I was watching the same noon newscast when they gave an update about last Friday's ice rescue of a man and his dog. The newschannel's helicopter had come across the man attempting to rescue his dog prior to the arrival of the Markham Fire Dept.and filmed him doing it.  The news station also played the 911 call placed by the man.  
   I may have inadvertantly implied in my previous post, that this man's actions were stupid, but that was not my intent at all.  The man's desperation to save his beloved pet was palpable and I was frantic during the original "live" broadcast last Friday and then again, while watching the recap of the rescue on Wednesday, even though I knew the man and his dog had been saved.  Pets are family.  Events and incidents happen that we just can"t foresee for whatever reason and stupid or not, I would risk my life to save my beloved "children".  So, while I praise the wonderful Markham Fire Dept.;  the brave man who crawled on thin ice to save his trapped pooch deserves some compassion and kudos too.

Re: Heroes: Markham, ON Firemen

I just watched an amazing rescue operation on the noon news.  A man was walking his dog in Milne Park.  His dog ran onto the icy pond and fell through the ice; the man attempted to rescue his pooch and fell through also.
  The newscast went live to the pond and within a few nerve wracking minutes, the Firefighters of the Markham Fire Dept. crawled onto the ice (and fell into the water) and saved the man and his dog.

   All of our emergency personnel in the Greater Toronto area are awesome, but the Fire Departments deserve special mention!  These brave people are usually the first responders to emergency situations, thus exposing themselves to many types of danger, yet they manage to maintain their humour, compassion and generosity towards thier fellow man.  I really don't know how they don't become jaded, because they see firsthand, the wreckage from mankind's collective and individual colossal stupidity.  Firefighters are simply amazing!

Guess what I am trying to do?

Well it looks like I've finally succeeded in placing a player on my blog.  It's just not in the right place  : )

 hee hee, a work in progress.