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Ever have something that you swear you could not live without, and it changed your life? The ever fast paced world of technology changing and updating is making my life easier. Yes, easier. You can have a love - hate relationship with new technology. I choose to love it, even though I do not understand all of it, but I do understand it has been part of my life since 1967. I bet you are wondering, what technology was there in 1967 that could be life changing. Imagine being parents of a 2 year old child telling them that your child is intellectually challenged and must be put in an institute. That can be devastating news, but my parents believed otherwise. So after a year of many trips to Vancouver for testings, a doctor finally came up with a diagnosis that my parents could accept. I was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. In 1967, I was fitted with a hearing aid. My first reaction (and I still remember this) to the hearing aid was I pulled it out of my ear and threw it. I did not like it at first. It took a long time to adjust and while I was learning to adjust, my parents (along with several others) advocated to have the School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Then I was being taught sign language and learning to speak, my parents enrolled in a correspondence course from the John Tracey Clinic, a school in Los Angeles, California (Actor, Spencer Tracy’s son was deaf and this inspired the actor to start a clinic to help parents teach their deaf children to lip read/speak). It was a busy time for my mother, devoting many hours a day teaching me to speak, sound out words, and reading. Techn0logy was working and I was mainstreamed into regular classes in school shortly thereafter. Thirteen years later another diagnosis once again devasted my parents, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (Usher syndrome - progressive vision loss and hearing loss). At the age of 16, RP has not affected me at the time, that came much later in life when I noticed the tunnel in my vision. I then realized, I was going blind. It wasn’t until 2011 that new digital aids changed my hearing world, it was a life altering experience. I could hear rain for the first time, it was a beautiful sound. Walking into a BOSE store, we were listening to music, and again, for the first time I could hear a flute playing amongst the symphony. I was never able to hear those things before. It is the little things that can make such an impact. Running with the #RunGoApp and #AppleWatch is another example of life changing technology. It may be a small change for some, but for me, it has given me my confidence back and keeps me running. It is a passion of mine: running and technology - a perfect catalyst for adaptation. Because of these wearable technology, it has given me new lease on maintaining an active life. Though I live with Usher syndrome (progressive vision loss/hearing), I do not fear it, for I have technology to help me along the way. I have many apps on my #iphone and #ipad that adapts to what I need to do in order to keep writing, reading and creating. I believe in the very near future technology will be so advanced that I will be able to maintain my running even with total vision loss. Imagine a world without technology - I would have been institutionalized, perhaps not able to communicate, to hear, to read or do any things that I love to do today. So yes, I choose to love technology. I have much gratitude to those who work tirelessly to improve our everyday life through technology. Curious minds creates innovative ideas that can have an impact in our lives, as it did for me. Check out the video below from RunGoApp .
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After a couple days stay at the Comfort Inn (Dartmouth, NS), we pack up our car once again. Dudley is always the first to be in, it is ritual that he carries his own leash into the car. He sits and waits patiently as we load up. I had noticed the night before my Zagg keyboard was wonky, Chris and I tried to fix it a couple times and realised it is beyond fixable. We had decided to go to the nearest Best Buy and get a new one. Chris bought me this fantastic Logi keyboard that instantly pairs with the iPad and needs no charging...ever! We are still traveling with no real plans, weather was also continues to be in our favour and that morning Chris says, “Lets go to Prince Edward Island!” So while we are driving, I check for accommodations on my #iPhone - we booked into a cottage near Charlottetown for 3 nights. Our host looked like a 70 year old Anne of Green Gables…I’m not kidding, she had fading red hair, freckles with straight cut bangs, wearing a pale green gingham shirt. All she needed was braids, straw hat and a pinafore. It was nice to be in a kitchen again, cooking our own meals. We prefer home cooked meals and it is hard to find decent accommodations with a kitchen that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. So we made Spicy Bean wraps enough for 2 nights. A big challenge with this trip is eating healthily and avoiding as much take-outs and restaurants as possible. Our first PEI adventure was a drive to Rustico Beach where did some beachcombing, looking for beach glass. Dudley was busy looking for people to play with, while we hunt for glass. A man came up to me and asked, “Have you ever seen petrified wood?” I looked up and said, “not for a very long time.” He showed me a piece he found on the beach, of course I was fascinated by it. He then asked me if I was looking for beach glass. I was surprised by this, especially after saying yes, he gave me his findings in a coffee cup. It was full of different coloured glass. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Now, there was a lot of people doing the very same thing as us, and of all the people on the beach, he chose me. I am flabbergasted by the kindness and friendliness wherever we go, especially in Atlantic Canada. The next day we drove to Anne of Green Gables, because you just have to when you visit PEI. We had a lot of fun there, walking in the trails, eating ice-cream and checking out the story inspired place Anne of Green Gables was written. Lush green hills bordered with vibrant coloured flowers and monarch butterflies fluttering from flower to flower. A serene place to be. We drove along some beautiful country roads nearly all over the island and made a few vista stops along the way. We had beautiful weather during our whole stay on the island. As per usual, Dudley was the first in the car ready for our next adventure. Our next destination was Cape Breton Island, we booked into a decent motel in Whycocomagh. We were neighbours to a couple from Waterloo, ON and sat on our outside porch and chatted about our adventures over a glass of wine. They mentioned about moving to Moncton when they retire because they loved the location (especially the Bay of Fundy/Hopewell area). We planned our couple days stay, first the Cabot Trail, then the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and Inverness (and a few side trips along the way). The Cabot Trail was incredible, we did a little hike for about an hour and half. While we happily trekked along at a leisurely pace, a big black bear was spotted on the trail. We talked loudly to scare the bear away, and luckily it went off into the woods and was not seen again. That was a bit exciting. We spent the whole day driving around Cabot Trail; to our surprised it was all on roads, not wooded trails. After the Cape Breton adventure, we headed to the beautiful Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. We saw the famous Flower Pots. Though I have seen pictures of it many times, it is never quite the same when you see it with your very own eyes. The natural sculptured red sandstones stood before us at such magnificent heights, while the evergreens on top happily bask in the glorious sunshine. I can see why they called it the flower pots, but you can also see something else. When you see the pictures (below) you just might see the mama bear and the cub wading in the ocean. This has inspired me to draw and I couldn’t wait to start. Back in Halifax again, this time we contacted a real estate agent so we booked an Airbnb for 4 nights at Charlotte Lake. Our room was actually an old motel from the 50’s decorated in 80’s decor. I am not going to bore you with the details but I will say this, “Do not stay here!” Our search for a new home seems to be fruitless in Halifax, out of those five days we saw 5 houses, none of which we really liked except one out on Porter Lake, drawback was no outlook and no yard. We knew it was time to move on, so we went back to New Brunswick, this time we stayed in Fredericton (Capital of NB). It was a pretty town, a lot smaller than I expected for a capital city. Airbnb has proved to be a great way to save money on accommodations and to meet people. We were only here for two days and spent our time here walking the trails along the St. John river and relaxing on the deck sketching, writing and actually cooking meals in our little basement suite. After our little break, we head headed to Quebec and stayed a night in Riviere du Loup. Very picturesque little town, a lot of well maintained old homes with rolling hills, old farmhouses and grazing cows. Chris and I went for dinner in a wonderful little Italian restaurant (Le Patrice) and enjoyed a bottle of Chianti, baked brie and pasta. After much discussion, we decided to go back to Moncton to look for a home. This has been trying times for both of us, being on the road had taken a toll us, especially Chris, he is driving long hours and being uncomfortable most times. It is frustrating to no end that I can not drive - I would love to drive. I think I would share the love of driving like my Dad did. It was not uncommon for him to drive to Mt. Baker (US) to ski the next day and drive back, or drive to Oregon to visit a friend for the weekend. He loved the drive to Ucluelet because of the winding steep roads all with a leaded foot. I envision that is how I would drive too. Back in Moncton, we connected online to a real estate agent and booked our stay for 5 nights with AirBnB. We were set out to look for our next home. We wanted a house big enough to have family and friends to stay with us when visiting...or possibly become AirBnB hosts ourselves. Why not? It would be fun to meet people from all over the world. This is our second stay at the same AirBnB host, we formed a friendship, exchanged contact details and cooked dinner for her and her friend using all fresh vegetables from her garden. Making friends here in Moncton is easy and I think we would fit nicely here. We will soon find out...Hi ho, hi ho, happy house hunting we go! VIP TIP: Ask for brighter light bulbs at the hotel or bring a package of 100watts energy saving bulbs. (Which I forget to do every time). AND carry a flashlight with you all the time. It sure comes in handy for those lurking dark corners searching for your things when packing up or for simple things like making coffee. |
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January 2018
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