Don't Block the Aisles

 I'm not handicapped, but this week I learned a little about how difficult it can be to get around if you have to rely on an assistive device....especially at this time of year.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm having mobility problems due to a suddenly bad knee.  I have been relying on crutches or a cane to get around in my home, and had not been able to get out Christmas shopping at all.  A friend thought I might do better with a walker, and lent me hers.  It took a lot of pressure off the bad knee, while likely strengthening my arm muscles at the same time.  Thankfully it also has a seat so I could sit to rest from time to time.

My dear hubby would drop me as close to the store door as he could, and bring the walker in with him once he was parked.  Some places like Walmart and some  Sears stores, provide benches where I could sit and wait.  Getting around inside the stores though, was where the challenge came in.  Many merchants put extra displays in the center of the aisles that you then have to maneuver around.  Frequently I found the remaining space too narrow to navigate and would have to find another route.  This meant I had to walk even further in my incapacitated condition.  I can tell you that if I couldn't get through those spaces with a walker, someone in a wheelchair would have had to wheel backwards, as there was likely no room to turn around.

 People  were another problem.  It's not that the stores were crowded.  Online shopping has solved that problem the past couple of years.  People stand in the narrowest part of an aisle and stare at the shelf.  I found I could come right up to them and apparently remain invisible.  If there was any room to pass I would excuse myself as I attempted to get by without running over them, and that would get them to move.  If there was no such space, it seems it wouldn't have mattered if I stood there all day.  I always had to find another route.

I found store clerks to be friendly and helpful though sometimes, in their eagerness to show me where to find something, they dashed off ahead of me at a speed that was impossible to keep up with. Luckily for me, my hubby could follow them while I tried to keep an eye on where they went without knocking things over while struggling to join them.

 I discovered that elevators exist in hidden corners, and are safer to use than escalators when operating wheeled devices.  On the two occasions I rode one I was lucky enough to get on first.  I'd move into the far corner and get turned around towards the front, to be ready to exit.  Then families with a stroller would join me in the suddenly too small space.  I was thankful there were not numerous floors or everyone might have had to get off first just so I could get out of there when it was my turn to exit.

In the crowded food court we finally found a table that a lady in a wheelchair, and her companion, were about to vacate.  The regular chair had been moved partially into the aisle on one side of the table while the lady had pulled her wheelchair in as close as she could at the other end.  while that narrowed two rows, it didn't totally block either. That gave me some idea of how to proceed.  The walker folds easily so I pulled it up beside me as I sat on a regular chair.  I narrowed only one aisle slightly, and made sure it was the one less traveled.

 It's all been a learning experience.   I will have much more empathy for the handicapped in the future, I'm sure.  Hopefully you will too now that I've pointed out a few things that we, as able bodied people, generally do with little or no thought.  If the merchants and the general public would at least keep the aisles passable, that would be a great help. Just sayin.....

Be Careful With Your Christmas Wishes

I'm the original Christmas Grinch.  Every year I grumble about how much work Christmas is, and often suggest we just forget the whole thing.  As the family matriarch, I feel the responsibility to make everyone else's Christmas merry and bright falls squarely on my shoulders.

Each year I send cards, do the shopping, the wrapping, the decorating, the baking, the cooking, the entertaining and the cleaning, both before and after the big event. It's often overwhelming.

It doesn't help that everyone on my Christmas list is male.  I can't go out and find guys some pretty, or frivolous thing they would never buy for themselves, but would be delighted to find under the tree.  That only works for females.  Guys are much harder to buy for.  If they do want, or need something, they will often go out and buy it themselves, even if it's just a week or two before Christmas. No wonder I cry "Bah Humbug" and wish to cancel Christmas most years.

This year I have a bad knee.  I've seen the doctor a couple of times, had the knee x-rayed, rested it, iced it and elevated it, but it continues to get worse.  It has effectively immobilized me at the busiest time of the year.  I have not been able to shop, bake, clean or decorate.  You would think my wish to cancel Christmas has finally been granted. The thing is, I have young grandchildren who will be here for Christmas this year....not just for presents and a meal, but overnight when Santa is supposed to visit.  I am going to have to depend on their Dad and Grandpa to buy things that will thrill them and make their Christmas happy.  I have been removed from the process and am feeling rather helpless.

Amazingly, not being able to do all the things I normally complain about is certainly not lessening the stress of Christmas for me.  This year there is nothing I want more than to be able to perform my usual duties and try to make the holiday special for everyone.  Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. As they say, Christmas will come, ready or not. I do hope it will miraculously be a merry one for everybody.  In the future I will try very hard never to grumble about Christmas again and always remember the year I got my wish not to have to be bothered with it.

Give Kids the Gift of Imagination

When we were kids we made up games, constructed toys out of other things, created fantasy worlds, and sometimes we even had imaginary friends. Today's kids are so scheduled with such things as daycare, school, after school sports and other supervised activities that they have very little, or no time for creative play. When not being directed by adult in how to do something, they are often parked in front of some screen.

There is currently a Duracell Star Wars commercial in which their batteries are powering light sabers. A boy is fighting off storm troopers to save his sister.  Together they continue the fight. Storm troopers bite the dust ...or snow...as the kids take their light sabers to an inflatable snowman in the front yard.

During this commercial, of what I would see as normal childhood play, a message appears on the screen informing viewers that certain scenes are nothing more than a Fantasy Sequence.  Well, Duh!  Has it really become necessary to remind people that this is the natural way for children to play?  If so, I suggest everyone step back and leave the kids a few hours a day to just explore their world and rediscover their imaginations.  Without it we will have a whole generation incapable of inventing anything.  In a country where great minds have produced such things at insulin and electron microscopes, snow blowers and snowmobiles, electric ovens, electric wheelchairs and car heaters, Pablum , cardiac pacemakers and of course Canadarm, that would be devastating to our future growth.  Can you imagine how you would get along in the world today without the things others have invented through the years?

Child play produces creative children who learn how to solve problems. Creative children invent their world, and things to play with.  And sometimes, as adults, they invent useful things for the rest of us too. Duracell has just pointed out that perhaps some of today's adult population has forgotten that it's perfectly normal for children to enact fantasy sequences, and feels it necessary to label them as such. Surely we can tell the difference. Or perhaps the labels are meant for the children because they no longer have much experience with fantasy, and need to be told what is real and what isn't. Either way, I find that sad.

If you are wondering what to get your kids for Christmas this year, perhaps you should skip the electronics department. Find something they have to find a way to play with....even if you have to get down on the floor and do it with them. For instance, put together a train track with your boys, or have a tea party with your girls. Maybe you could get them books you could read to them, so their imagination fills in the blanks.  Put away your own electronics, and just play with the kids, even if you have to resort to old fashioned board games. They will love you for the time you spend with them, and someday they will remember the year you gave them their imagination for Christmas.

Art School Fair

This past weekend I attended the first ever Art School Fair in Ottawa. It was an art materials trade show, but it was great fun.  The vendors were from the manufacturers themselves, so they all knew their products well. They were able to demonstrate and answer questions, and in many cases you had the opportunity to try the products before making the decision to buy.  Some of the vendors even handed out samples.  What they were really good at was getting you inspired to try new things.

The admission price was just five dollars, which was waived if you signed up for one of the many courses available.  I didn't do that this year, mainly because the ones I was most interested in were fully booked by the time I found out about the show.  The event was a great success though, so I hope I can get in on at least one of the classes next year.

As this is the first year for the Art School Fair and because it went so well, hopefully they will find ways to expand it in coming years. I am very sure they will do it again, and I am also sure I will attend.

I certainly came home with more than my entrance fee in samples.  I got a PITT Artist Pen, some watercolour dip dots from Daniel Smith, a nice little bag with 6 products from Golden, plus a beautiful t-shirt I will be proud to wear. I also purchased a new journal in support of the Ottawa Art School for another $5.  It is divided into right brain and left brain sections. A quiz inside tells me I'm definitely Left Brained, which kind of confirms my theory that I'm not all that creative.

Did this trade show do it's job? Yes, indeed. I came out of there knowing about products I had never heard of before, and plans to try them.  I want a water soluble graphite pencil. More than that, I want some Daniel Smith Watercolours. They have granules in them that create interesting textural effects and I'm already dreaming up ways to use them.  I also am very interested in the Mixed Media products by Pébéo.  Yes, I'll go again next year, and every other chance I get.  Great show!

Witch Crash

 Wishing you all a happy Halloween season. 

 

Please watch out for excited children on the roads.

An Unintentional Collection

Recently our New Horizons group held what amounts to a Show and Tell. They asked the members to bring in samples of any collection they might have.  At first I didn't think I could take part in this event.  I don't collect anything.  At least, I didn't think I did.

As I looked around the house, I discovered that I have an unintentional collection.   I have gathered a few samples here to show you. These are not in their normal positions.

There are birds everywhere, but I never set out to collect them. I guess they just sort of followed me home. They are nesting on all manner of flat surfaces, and there are even some now on the walls and in my cupboards.

I guess it all started with one of those Blue Mountain swans. I got it as a retirement gift over 40 years ago.  I know that some of the others were things I picked up on vacations, as souvenirs.  I liked the look of them, and brought them home.

I even bought a corn husk duck at a  major craft show as a present for my hubby one year.  He had really liked it when he saw it, so I managed to sneak it home.





When the surfaces were full, a few birds even landed on my wall.

 I inherited my grandmother's milk glass chicken, and that started a new trend. When I was

learning to paint, I painted a chicken on a plate

for my kitchen wall. 

Then I thought a group of three would look nice above the window.  Other chickens began to roost in my kitchen, until now

I have a flock of ten.  A couple of them have even managed to invade my cupboard.

I told the group all this, an that I don't actually collect birds. Some of them later tried to tell me that I do.  But doesn't a collector actively search out and collect?  I'm certainly not searching for birds. I didn't actually even realize they were collecting here.  I have no intention of actually buying any more birds.

Oops.  Last weekend we went to the Westport Fall Colours Studio Tour.  Sharon Benson is a  Paverpol artist. That means she crafts sculptures using wire and tin foil, which she covers with t-shirts, and/or other material dipped in a stiffening agent (Paverpol) to create figures with realistic folds in their clothing. In the past I've mainly seen just people sculptures done in this way, but Sharon also does birds. There were cranes out in the front yard, that she says will withstand the weather all year round. It was the little bird inside the house that I found fascinating. She had used a lacy doily to craft it's wings. I had never seen that done before, and I thought it was a really clever idea. The price was very reasonable, and it was the only one there. I knew if I went home without it, I'd kick myself. So, I have added a new bird to my flock.  That's what I have you know.  It's a flock, not a collection.

Be Cool about Cold Calls

I often hear people complaining about telemarketers. They don't want the product, but for some reason listen to the spiel.  Then they seem to try to justify why it is that they don't want to buy whatever is being offered at this time. That's two mistakes right off the bat.

In my youth was once a door to door sales person for a short time. Before being put on the street to deal with the public, I was trained in how not to take no for an answer. If you had an excuse for why you didn't want what I was offering you, you were just giving me more to work with.  I was not a scam artist, but apparently the company I was working for at the time was not a legitimate one. They cleaned out their offices and disappeared before I was able to collect my pay.

Telemarketers are today's door to door sales people. They get to call on a lot more people in less time because they never have to leave their chair.

There are a few things I'd like you to remember, when dealing with the telemarketers. Firstly, please remember, these are just people doing a job so they can eat.  I think you have to really need a job to accept one at a call centre. Where else could you work where you would be submitted to such abuse?

Secondly, since they always identify themselves, right off the bat, you know from that moment on whether you are interested in the product or  not. If you are not interested, just say so and hang up. These people are likely paid according to how many calls they complete, and like I said, they need the money. There is no need to be abusive, but there is also no need to listen to what they have to say when you don't want to.  I simply say, "I'm not interested, thanks," and then I hang up. I do not engage them in conversation, or offer any excuse as to why I don't want their product. If the same company calls more than once, ask to be taken off the call list.  By law. they must comply.

Thirdly, just remember that the phone is there for your convenience. If a call isn't convenient to you, don't bother answering it. If you do answer it, to make the darn thing stop ringing, quickly state that you aren't interested, and hang up!  There is no need to frustrate either yourself or the person on the other end. It's much easier to put a receiver down on it's cradle than it is to shut a door, especially if a salesperson has his foot in the doorway.

If  you must amuse yourself, ask a question. It's sometimes fun to throw them off their spiel, just to see if they know anything about the product other than what they are reading.  But really, there is no reason to be rude.  We all need to eat, and at least these people are doing their best to earn a living. For that, you should be grateful.