Out to Pasture

Put to work cutting grass in preparation for my niece's wedding
Last weekend was my niece Laura's wedding. It was held at my brother Peter's house, with the ceremony on the front steps and the reception in a huge tent in the yard. Deborah and I flew to Dorchester for it, and went a couple of days early to help out with the preparations. For the 120 guests, we put our cocktail-making experience to good use and made a mojito punch that we served right after the ceremony was finished. It took two 60-ounce bottles of rum, 72 limes, a case of Perrier, almost all of a one-kilogram bag of sugar and a basketful of mint from my mom's garden. The punch turned out really well, and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Peter also put me to work in the yard. With 120 guests there were a lot of cars expected, and I used his zero-turn lawnmower to cut the grass where people would be walking after parking. Peter and my brother-in-law Marty lifted me in, and the mower uses all hand controls so it was no problem to drive - although it did take some getting used to for sure. The ride was pretty bumpy, and you can see here we strapped my legs together so they wouldn't go too far on their own.

Deborah and I were both pretty worn out after the trip, but the wedding was a huge success and we had a great time. And we get to do it all again next year when my nephew Adam gets married!

Vancouver Island

Genoa Bay Marina on Vancouver Island
Deborah and I recently went for a short holiday to Vancouver Island, it was the first time for both of us to visit the Island. We had signed Deborah up for a two-day course at The Raptors to learn more about birds of prey - including flying falcons and hawks! - and stayed on for a couple of days in Victoria. While Deborah was at her course, I was determined to be adventurous on my own and go exploring. On the first day I started by going to the BC Forest Discovery Centre, which details some of the logging history of BC and has some interesting old equipment and trains. Then I drove out to the coast at Genoa Bay and along to the Genoa Bay Marina - that is where I took the picture - and had lunch at the Marina Cafe.

The morning was a lot of transfers in and out of the car and a lot of wheeling around, so I spent the rest of the day relaxing at another marina and reading. I was a bit worn out for the second day, but spent most of it exploring around Lake Cowichan, which is more in the interior. We had a great day after that in Victoria looking around, and will definitely be heading back to see more of the Island. You can see some of our pictures from the trip on my Facebook page here: Vancouver Island 2013. (You don't need a Facebook account to see the pictures)

Adidas MiCoach

MiCoach GPS route overlaid on Google Maps
Recently I started using the Adidas MiCoach application on my Blackberry. The app is actually intended for runners to keep track of their progress over time by tracking each workout using the Blackberry's GPS. The data can be uploaded to the MiCoach website, and you see all the details - speed, distance, elevation, and even steps and heart rate can be monitored and tracked. All this data can be overlaid on a route map, as I've shown above for one of my trips into the village.

There are other similar apps for the Blackberry, iPhone and Android phones, and I will be trying some of them in the future. I am pretty happy with the MiCoach application though, it is easy to use and shows all the information I need. What's ironic in me using it, though, is that the premise of the application is to keep track of the mileage and wear on your shoes. That hasn't been much of a problem for me lately though, no matter how much I wheel...

Margaret Trevitt

Our visit to the bird sanctuary with my mother last year
I am very sad to say that my mom passed away last month, on March 22nd. She had been in the hospital for several months with complications after a scheduled heart surgery; after a long, hard battle she made it home for a few days but couldn't overcome a Clostridium Difficile (C. diff) infection. Deborah and I were not able to make it to London in time to be with her, but the rest of the family was there and they said it was very peaceful. We did make the visitation and funeral services, which were well attended and very nice; my mom was very well known in the community and had many friends.

The full obituary is online here: www.yourlifemoments.ca. Included is a very appropriate poem:

God looked around his garden and found an empty place
He looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face
He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest
God's garden must be beautiful, he always takes the best

Also very appropriate, my mom had asked that the song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" be sung at the funeral. If you knew my mother at all you will get a good chuckle out of hearing the song - which I think is exactly what she wanted.

New Wheelchair Tires

Wheels and new tires ready to go
Yesterday my friend Kirby and I changed the tires on my wheelchair. The original tires had finally worn out, with bits of the inside carcass peeking out from what little bit of tread was left. When I took part in the wheeling study last year (part 1, part 2), the researchers said I would notice a difference if I switched from the solid-insert tires to tube-type, as the lighter weight would make it easier to roll. With that in mind, I decided to use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. My friend Eric set me up with the tires, tubes, some tire irons and rim tape - everything necessary to make the swap.

It was much easier than we were expecting to change the tires. Kirby and I cut the old tires off, removed the inserts and had the new tires on in less than an hour. Luckily I have a second set of wheels for my chair so I could help at least a little bit, rather than being stuck on a couch or on the floor somewhere! Fixing a flat should be fairly easy, and I have put a spare tube, the irons and a small pump in my backpack. The Marathon Plus tires are thick to reduce the chance of a puncture, and we used heavy-duty tubes, so hopefully I won't have to fix a flat anytime soon.

The new tires have made a big change to how my wheelchair rolls. It's about the same on carpet, but on wood or concrete it is way easier to push. As well, the pneumatic tires are quite a bit smoother over bumps and cracks in the pavement. The heavy-duty tires and tubes didn't seem to be that much lighter than the original tires and inserts, but evidently it doesn't take much to make a difference. I have some regular tubes, which are quite a bit lighter than the heavy-duty tubes, and plan to try them at some point.

The FDA and Stem Cell Therapy

Last week on NPR's All Things Considered, the topic was stem cells and how the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) is forcing some labs and clinics to close. Some companies are conducting their research in the United States but moving their clinics out of the country to keep them open. It was a very interesting segment, and gives some insight into why people are willing to pay a lot of money and go to these clinics for therapies that aren't fully tested or approved in the United States. You can listen to the segment, or read the transcript, on the NPR website: FDA Challenges Stem Cell Companies As Patients Run Out Of Time.

Even More Wheeling

The dyke trail at Deas Island Park
Deborah and I continue to find some great hiking and strolling spots. The latest one is right across the river at Deas Island Park. Deas Island is just east of us on the river, and has 10 kilometers (6 miles) of trails. There is also an old Victorian house, a one-room schoolhouse and the Delta Agricultural Hall; otherwise, there is not much there and it was pretty quiet even on a Saturday afternoon. As I've mentioned before, there are tons of eagles just south of the river, and there were two right in the parking lot as we pulled in. The hard-packed gravel trails were fairly easy to wheel on but there were some sandy patches that Deborah had to give me some help through - pretty typical of most other dyke trails in the area. We have been in Vancouver for more than a year now and I had never heard of the park, but a couple of weeks ago we were out looking for some eagles and happened to drive by the entrance. We will definitely be back again as there is plenty more to see there.