Be relentless - for Daniel

I'm not a person who appreciates those tear-jerker appeals asking people to send heaps of greeting cards to a cancer-stricken child who is trying to break a world record. (That particular world record has been retired, by the way.) I'm not heartless, but I will admit to being somewhat jaded and skeptical. Anyhow, this is not one of those appeals.

I was shocked to learn that my friend's three-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia last week. Daniel is currently undergoing his first round of chemotherapy and so far he is responding well. I only speak to Daniel's mom once or twice a year, and briefly at that, but she reached out to a lot of old and now-distant friends when she e-mailed us her scary news. Since we're not close, I was struggling to think of what I could do for her beyond sending a message of support.

I have decided to purchase some "Relentless Red" wristbands to support leukemia and lymphoma research, and I'll be asking friends to wear them with Daniel in mind. The wristbands are sold through The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is "the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families." Sounds like a worthwhile cause, doesn't it?

Pet pics

The writing's on the wall

They're demolishing one of the washrooms at Scott's workplace.

Some wise guy (Scott) thought he'd better write a note on the wall.

Scatalogical Saturday

Not me

What the -- ? Guys! Who did this?

Of course no one has any idea whatsoever.

I'm so needy

I've taken this meme from Heather's blog. The instructions are to Google your name and the word "needs" (e.g., "Jenni needs") and then to list the first ten results. I was so tickled to see a plethora of Jenni-with-an-i's that I decided to list twenty results.

1. Jenni needs to dress, groom, bathe, toilet, eat, plan meals, manage finances, shop for essentials, do homemaking tasks, use the telephone and computer, get around in the community. (Keeps me out of trouble.)

2. Jenni needs a hug. (Always appreciated from the right person.)

3. Jenni needs to learn to be more alluring. (Scott would probably agree.)

4. Jenni needs help in Mobile, AL. (Yes, help figuring out why I'm there.)

5. Jenni needs a Valentine. (I've got one, and he's a keeper.)

6. Jenni needs bigger mouth and nose holes. (Okaaaay...)

7. Jenni needs as many as she can get for a 2-hour meeting. (Must be referring to caffeine tablets.)

8. Jenni needs to have your booking and payment by the 12th September 2006. (You're late!)

9. Jenni needs a movie buddy. (First I need a worthwhile movie to see.)

10. Jenni needs weed. (I just say no.)

11. Jenni needs a helmet. (I can't argue with that.)

12. Jenni needs to get a life. (Hey!)

13. Jenni needs her toenails trimmed. (This was in reference to a pregnant alpaca.)

14. Jenni needs a second chance at living her own life. (Until now I've been living the life of a pregnant alpaca.)

15. Jenni needs to obtain archival supply catalogs. (Excellent bedtime reading.)

16. Jenni needs prayers. (Grandma, are you typing from heaven?)

17. Jenni needs a better support system. (I'm quite pleased with my current system.)

18. Jenni needs no kudos for her tiara or dress, since she knows that they're awesome. (Aren't all tiaras awesome?)

19. Jenni needs new sunglasses after losing them on day one. (What else is new?)

20. Jenni needs to know. (The suspense is killing me.)

Expectant Jenni

Stating the obvious

Me to We

If you don't know about this fellow's mission, you should. Craig Kielburger is the founder of Free The Children. I had the opportunity to hear him speak this afternoon and it was truly inspirational. I encourage you to click on the link above as well as Me to We and Me to We style to find your own inspiration.

If you laugh...

If you laugh at this, you are a bad person:

If you laugh at this, you are a Canadian:

And somehow you figured out that that's baby-Scott's head on Casey's body.

(Don't blame me, it's my brother who is the PhotoShop whiz.)

What third-graders can do...

...Toronto City Councillors cannot.

(Of course you could say the same thing about our floor-hockey team, but let's not.)

Putting the "back" in "back to school"

It has been a decade since I was a student, and although my brain is atrophying from lack of use, I wouldn't go back to school for anything. Times have changed and so have schools. Standardized testing, disillusioned educators, an epidemic of bullying, even gang activity and - perish the thought - a ban on junk food all combine to create a frightening and overwhelming atmosphere for today's youth. Those are just a few of the reasons I am glad to have completed my formal education long ago. Here is another one:

Timidity is defeat

"To think a thing impossible is to make it so. Courage is victory; timidity is defeat."

You know what else is defeat? Getting trounced 13 - 0 by the last-place team.

Great opportunities?

Vonnegut's got the right idea

In one of his silkscreen pieces, Kurt Vonnegut has articulated perfectly how I feel about driving:

More importantly, the famous author, artist and humanist knows a thing or two about the world we're handing our descendants:

Café au naturel

I often find myself wondering the very same thing.

Seven dwarves

Our small front yard is surrounded by 21 adorable little cedar trees. I think of them as three sets of the seven dwarves. You can see four of them in the photo below, taken in much nicer weather.

Let's call those four Gaspy, Scaredy, Fainty and Screamy, because the poor things must have been terrified today when, after a twenty-minute driving session, I pulled into the driveway and ran into them with our car.



















I've never quite gotten the hang of parking.

Weather watch

I like to check the weather forecast each morning to decide how much I need to bundle up for my walk to the bus stop. I was perplexed by today's report:

How does one dress for "furries"? Does that mean it will be raining cats and dogs?