tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42199849177957588902024-02-19T06:25:29.209+00:00klahanieKlahanie Blog. Celebrating the all different, all equal diversity we share. Help each other, we help ourselves. Header photo: Penny roaming free in a field, with The Roaches, near Leek Staffordshire, in the background.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comBlogger641125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-31885579083560917462022-12-23T23:39:00.000+00:002022-12-23T23:39:47.744+00:00The Wee Folks Festive Message, 2022. <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Behold. After a two year absence, it is time for us, the wee folks, to bring to you, once again, the very essence of our positive ideals.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Greetings, tis I, Geoffrey the garden gnome. The loving husband of Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess and proud father of the boy child, Einahalk. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And the reason for our two year absence? We have been looking after our human friend, our human brother, in your big world. For Gary, over the last two and a half years, has had three major operations. Our human brother was diagnosed with cancer. He survived. Our human brother has had two other major operations that have left him frustrated, scared, desperate. In fact, since those other operations, he continues to be in extreme pain. The medical profession, in your big world, have told him there is nothing else they can do. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That's where us wee folks are playing a vital role in his determination to get better. For we immerse him in the wonder, the magic, the inspirational love, that we gladly bestow upon our fragile human brother. He understands. He willingly embraces our values of an all different, all equal reality. Despite such relentless pain, he will get better. For our human brother is truly inspired. From medical to magical. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Now, let us inspire you, our human friend in the big world. We know, since early in the big human year, 2020, that you have been going through a terrible time. A terrifying time that has seemed relentless. It might have felt like you were living in some sort of black and white horror film. The colours, the brilliant colours, may well have become a fleeting memory. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Come with me, come with us. We reach out to hold your hand. We hug you. No more black and white. No more gloomy, ominous clouds. Let the colours of the rainbow absorb into your heart, your soul. Believe. Yes, you can sense the dawning of your indisputable awakening. No more broken wings. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZxt1QwQka_FKXo86EqfEpU6GQVXNZ1ytU-SUsojLF9Ra-9FIRMVZTh0q0OHl0CTAT2RWBcHZjS6XhnQl4aVVO3LOBLXZcOzseD-YF5UsDGiyVv-kyMFa4l_rkcxyIpXFCbLMUlxTZsgmoCllzhNHbEIrU_-_AeIeyEj4vL8TasDYr46sdzIMjg/s5698/Back%20garden%2016%20July%202021.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3798" data-original-width="5698" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZxt1QwQka_FKXo86EqfEpU6GQVXNZ1ytU-SUsojLF9Ra-9FIRMVZTh0q0OHl0CTAT2RWBcHZjS6XhnQl4aVVO3LOBLXZcOzseD-YF5UsDGiyVv-kyMFa4l_rkcxyIpXFCbLMUlxTZsgmoCllzhNHbEIrU_-_AeIeyEj4vL8TasDYr46sdzIMjg/w640-h426/Back%20garden%2016%20July%202021.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Ah, a glorious July day in your human year, 2021. Gary and ourselves lived in a remote English village for a year and a half. The views are exhilarating. Note the splashes of colour. If you look real close, you will see us. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEICn4xunJsnXhVuPDC1G5-PYgjfO0G8sLyvWMTxp50E_vW1E0L0tu4Drlj6WryE7m41fK9e1dHgLK3DEbjsf7LQqwnudjZTYNpc82h3MOj_VPaAtQkHhLClcs4mXRXfNSLJGagBGkYSrWD3xWxpnKSl8OW9qa01BDdXux6VXJUhq9F0sV6QVIww/s4442/Flicker%20and%20Poppy%20May%2025%202021%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2960" data-original-width="4442" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEICn4xunJsnXhVuPDC1G5-PYgjfO0G8sLyvWMTxp50E_vW1E0L0tu4Drlj6WryE7m41fK9e1dHgLK3DEbjsf7LQqwnudjZTYNpc82h3MOj_VPaAtQkHhLClcs4mXRXfNSLJGagBGkYSrWD3xWxpnKSl8OW9qa01BDdXux6VXJUhq9F0sV6QVIww/w640-h426/Flicker%20and%20Poppy%20May%2025%202021%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Beyond the garden. Out in pastures green. Poppy, the talking horse, on the left and her friend, Flicker. We have a spiritual connection with horses. When you think about it, horses have a spiritual connection with humanity. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyHpwye4zrr3ZFDVKi2P5901nQalG2_c2RNgmH3R2JxYWBsxsTULX8jwJ8Gw52uVWpcgmY6NwXfBqI7iWCKe-S4CJ2QiThI8S_iU8bBH5AEBvmdmLArCw0S3Yt0nVoI5rfjWetBQbmAWTQWwqt5RO8PS_Bfd_XI2PV6-pxSJ_PTVaDg2kY-ZoFw/s1000/wee%20folks%20return%202022%20with%20rain.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyHpwye4zrr3ZFDVKi2P5901nQalG2_c2RNgmH3R2JxYWBsxsTULX8jwJ8Gw52uVWpcgmY6NwXfBqI7iWCKe-S4CJ2QiThI8S_iU8bBH5AEBvmdmLArCw0S3Yt0nVoI5rfjWetBQbmAWTQWwqt5RO8PS_Bfd_XI2PV6-pxSJ_PTVaDg2kY-ZoFw/w640-h426/wee%20folks%20return%202022%20with%20rain.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During gentle summer rains, we huddled together in happy contentment. The sound of rain. A soothing symphony. All part of nature's orchestra. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jfRvfG-acWIBuHrpdm2gX5ejRfP01aDhBTOyHoQFm9XfGVfp_cakx03FLRVak0TV93f9i9UayxJielou4hv5l617GTBJ3mUQ00wPXasio0YmRdipBjoXPw3_RSb8GKZssJvZd-zczHd39Lf4IEi6w1XSuDiMrqt9bqdUM5TWSQ0uTSoxz3X4dA/s5468/Wee%20folks%2017%20July%202021.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3646" data-original-width="5468" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jfRvfG-acWIBuHrpdm2gX5ejRfP01aDhBTOyHoQFm9XfGVfp_cakx03FLRVak0TV93f9i9UayxJielou4hv5l617GTBJ3mUQ00wPXasio0YmRdipBjoXPw3_RSb8GKZssJvZd-zczHd39Lf4IEi6w1XSuDiMrqt9bqdUM5TWSQ0uTSoxz3X4dA/w640-h426/Wee%20folks%2017%20July%202021.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And on a warm night in the summer of the big human year of 2021, we celebrated the simple joy of watching the glowing solar lamps. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Uo1D4SV3xHt_EHwpd479DUhdCSQhD3PJxJjwpQPzx8_XK1BNBFXL2wWqiwKlmekj1EGAgo5OO3IAv_hcbq9Xdihd5SKf0nLPcpXYQlFWsf5oLZvpfaPCBT2nY11GOPyWUgE7d41auCkl_SiBxQM9chnWXD8tgH3wlL321MNQGV2RWRAHp_Frg/s6000/Back%20garden%2017%20July%202021.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6Uo1D4SV3xHt_EHwpd479DUhdCSQhD3PJxJjwpQPzx8_XK1BNBFXL2wWqiwKlmekj1EGAgo5OO3IAv_hcbq9Xdihd5SKf0nLPcpXYQlFWsf5oLZvpfaPCBT2nY11GOPyWUgE7d41auCkl_SiBxQM9chnWXD8tgH3wlL321MNQGV2RWRAHp_Frg/w640-h426/Back%20garden%2017%20July%202021.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Soon, very soon, we would drift off to a gentle sleep. A gentle sleep under a blanket of scented, radiant flowers. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We now move on. Due to Gary's ongoing health situation, we packed up from the remote village of Whiston. Living in such a village, although a place of stunning beauty, we understood that our human brother must start anew. We all moved back to the quaint English town of Leek in your big human time of September, 2022. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi9cuVoPA8R8ER2aGQDWqrKqNgNoBK7_ikKH3O6yGG-ji4b6-pojK-mN2QhbmfFeJvzPW5KXH4hv6AEIOMk7nsswYQMqLRcA9SN7fZ8d6Fyrj_BUykc5Si1bW6VZtf4vjNk0lX36474NIkELo-gfiGnr-Xz8w6JlfEAKoOt9yYRiAEEOK6vUvLw/s4000/Wee%20folks%20indoors%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2859" data-original-width="4000" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi9cuVoPA8R8ER2aGQDWqrKqNgNoBK7_ikKH3O6yGG-ji4b6-pojK-mN2QhbmfFeJvzPW5KXH4hv6AEIOMk7nsswYQMqLRcA9SN7fZ8d6Fyrj_BUykc5Si1bW6VZtf4vjNk0lX36474NIkELo-gfiGnr-Xz8w6JlfEAKoOt9yYRiAEEOK6vUvLw/w640-h458/Wee%20folks%20indoors%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Here we are indoors. A gathering of joy, of hope, of love that transcends all boundaries. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidH4741hUefzJEz2LxC22U8heiLCprC1ufGhUcUKa0YzixlRm7SsbcGvnwKLvv-DoTWRrwE4SILkor8XWkBZ7cppg39EBxp1HPw62Cr7tIgzW3q9JS_OOCTBhDy1GxDuAfxBclXTQecoMQqxiO6CIoPxJwYBazsJloXZDUF_NwtG7fJci2sdotHA/s1600/The%20wee%20one.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidH4741hUefzJEz2LxC22U8heiLCprC1ufGhUcUKa0YzixlRm7SsbcGvnwKLvv-DoTWRrwE4SILkor8XWkBZ7cppg39EBxp1HPw62Cr7tIgzW3q9JS_OOCTBhDy1GxDuAfxBclXTQecoMQqxiO6CIoPxJwYBazsJloXZDUF_NwtG7fJci2sdotHA/w640-h482/The%20wee%20one.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I feel such unbridled joy in the knowledge that my boy child and my wife, love me as I love them. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGizEr7gbmIrLBRZwCX6KmKFTyUKY0FEBpY9_-5twUVOwsuoCaCG1LvMAtkrYZkTERXGYNASLS5TxNC9a7MwsOkSewcorZGqf1Gd3eN2gobQH-pomVP0fTglFPYO0if_ef2KHi6aKtz0E1k5JxR4Z41EA6WENcNxzlRGHRs9JCeK7oH_GPYZGhXw/s1000/wee%20folks%20return%20with%20snow%202022%201.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGizEr7gbmIrLBRZwCX6KmKFTyUKY0FEBpY9_-5twUVOwsuoCaCG1LvMAtkrYZkTERXGYNASLS5TxNC9a7MwsOkSewcorZGqf1Gd3eN2gobQH-pomVP0fTglFPYO0if_ef2KHi6aKtz0E1k5JxR4Z41EA6WENcNxzlRGHRs9JCeK7oH_GPYZGhXw/w640-h426/wee%20folks%20return%20with%20snow%202022%201.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">In our new home, in Gary's new home, back in Leek, we gathered around the beckoning fireplace. The festive season is upon us. Time to reflect. Time to continue to reach out and show our concern, our caring, our love for you. For you and all the folks in the big human world.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfptUGVpRZPXL8OYJVA4BpLsCIihkiRt9MmUqhDTtb2uFH-rcdTifU1-guZkp2YsrEGfRgoKsW5OwK41Hngjg_LFmqtMDo0Yox7kfriwPwcomQFb1nbOqEcyyG-s-SpA4nIHPYz_lHvYOWkr7EBv2rwKJ8v3DIiIdELLrT__3uVXQThIPWdU53IA/s4000/Penny%20and%20wee%20folks.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="4000" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfptUGVpRZPXL8OYJVA4BpLsCIihkiRt9MmUqhDTtb2uFH-rcdTifU1-guZkp2YsrEGfRgoKsW5OwK41Hngjg_LFmqtMDo0Yox7kfriwPwcomQFb1nbOqEcyyG-s-SpA4nIHPYz_lHvYOWkr7EBv2rwKJ8v3DIiIdELLrT__3uVXQThIPWdU53IA/w640-h236/Penny%20and%20wee%20folks.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>We miss Penny the Jack Russell dog. Yet, her spirit will forever live on. Gary and his son, Tristan, cherish her memory. Play, Penny Play. Play with your friends in the fields of freedom on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC6oAEpze-7nliLhNw66I-F6Vk2l6yIXvCMKQgjvIbQx1JjI_0UkBGwVQSO9Uql85GGPZiIx6wIhxDKKLCPk6ANhOPRxn_MNE3hjONDur1D3YL9i50N1RBeq_q4OytWIzRJhmbufXfH5W3zIKJbmnsZ-W8n4pyx6sZAvRAHE0nw4dmGeRvwW37Q/s4000/wee%20folks%20magical%20leek.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1675" data-original-width="4000" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC6oAEpze-7nliLhNw66I-F6Vk2l6yIXvCMKQgjvIbQx1JjI_0UkBGwVQSO9Uql85GGPZiIx6wIhxDKKLCPk6ANhOPRxn_MNE3hjONDur1D3YL9i50N1RBeq_q4OytWIzRJhmbufXfH5W3zIKJbmnsZ-W8n4pyx6sZAvRAHE0nw4dmGeRvwW37Q/w640-h268/wee%20folks%20magical%20leek.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sun sets on the sleepy little town of Leek. Our message to you is simple yet profound. Celebrate just how remarkable you are. Stay well clear of those who only look for the bad in you and ignore the good in you. Celebrate that all different, all equal world you wish to be so. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The interaction between our world and your world, grows with every passing moment. With every beat of our hearts, your heart. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The new beginning is on the horizon. A fresh, hopeful start. The big human year of 2023, has almost arrived. Indeed, together, in determined strength, in unity, we will make this a year of peaceful triumph. Sense it. The jubilation. The colours of the rainbow are returning. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCYXdnvIGrdMaD32i5Dywcu9QNewGdvE-V_JVxAjNMJ1Ab1xWS2h9U5O_C24bSpG09WbaZE3ixkSy80HcbpiQ-4_ofYU7j7ecu2Tg1P57bVFYpyZfT630siuHwLsaLbOBy1JMX79vgg5XRIKs4Hrrd7K1Px5HJj2YCion1w6PUF_7wbEHpd5Ayg/s400/The%20colours%20of%20the%20rainbow%20are%20returning%20for%202023.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCYXdnvIGrdMaD32i5Dywcu9QNewGdvE-V_JVxAjNMJ1Ab1xWS2h9U5O_C24bSpG09WbaZE3ixkSy80HcbpiQ-4_ofYU7j7ecu2Tg1P57bVFYpyZfT630siuHwLsaLbOBy1JMX79vgg5XRIKs4Hrrd7K1Px5HJj2YCion1w6PUF_7wbEHpd5Ayg/w640-h426/The%20colours%20of%20the%20rainbow%20are%20returning%20for%202023.gif" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-5602780909673620092020-12-23T22:47:00.000+00:002020-12-23T22:47:10.779+00:00Positive Distractions For Christmas 2020.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">It's been a year since I posted. I've missed the blogging community and the diverse interaction that I cherish. I've been overwhelmed with health issues. Two major surgeries in less than two months has taken its toll on me. I'm still experiencing a lot of pain. Yet, somehow, through the pain, I focus on the positive distractions that give me comfort. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">This has been the most awful of years. Compounded by the restrictions, the chaos and confusion that has dominated our lives in the year 2020.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Hello to you. I will now share some positive distractions that have helped me so much. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dG8bt8zEP8Y/X-OwVMqVPVI/AAAAAAAAI84/i5X_-JNaSVshOmt5MXLv4ZHWuTh2fi8hwCLcBGAsYHQ/s5882/Christmas%2B2020%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3921" data-original-width="5882" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dG8bt8zEP8Y/X-OwVMqVPVI/AAAAAAAAI84/i5X_-JNaSVshOmt5MXLv4ZHWuTh2fi8hwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Christmas%2B2020%2B1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichNgIbji0XI94DIq8R5Hbj7URwaytDlYdPAaYjQj4TrlgDaJTqHiVtfFDOQ1fOvr_UUZzQ8FZJEPSaX30k6N6rozH8xWEBLR7h7-nTk6P-92vaNHsKxIfVaLf_sYnlp4qUFP1Smcrcg/s5216/Christmas+2020+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5216" data-original-width="3477" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEichNgIbji0XI94DIq8R5Hbj7URwaytDlYdPAaYjQj4TrlgDaJTqHiVtfFDOQ1fOvr_UUZzQ8FZJEPSaX30k6N6rozH8xWEBLR7h7-nTk6P-92vaNHsKxIfVaLf_sYnlp4qUFP1Smcrcg/w266-h400/Christmas+2020+2.JPG" width="266" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXFHiPM_N-feKqoORQMCH6uQGVu9dPgOaB0pO2ZMiCwrqcxzMFM20yUyo8tqhbfau_b4SnRXDkkSRCfX2PjAVbw11iTfZ6bbbuUfQwz8DqDHz9X13MH-1uMbyZx345nBq7qFZYO1MUg/s5375/Christmas+2020+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3582" data-original-width="5375" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXFHiPM_N-feKqoORQMCH6uQGVu9dPgOaB0pO2ZMiCwrqcxzMFM20yUyo8tqhbfau_b4SnRXDkkSRCfX2PjAVbw11iTfZ6bbbuUfQwz8DqDHz9X13MH-1uMbyZx345nBq7qFZYO1MUg/w320-h239/Christmas+2020+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">And there we are. Christmas 2020. The positive distractions of a glowing fire, a Christmas tree, a couple of wee folks, a photo of my son when he was a young boy. Plus, of course, a photo reminder of the spirit of Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar.</span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCDuwC77GDQ/X-O2D4vlrfI/AAAAAAAAI9k/ndel4Gumw-QcZHu_WSlYxqQGH2JJocNkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1094/Peace%2Band%2Bjoy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1094" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCDuwC77GDQ/X-O2D4vlrfI/AAAAAAAAI9k/ndel4Gumw-QcZHu_WSlYxqQGH2JJocNkwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Peace%2Band%2Bjoy.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The peace and joy that I embrace. The wee folks have taught me many a lesson. About unconditional, non-judgemental love.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jMHBpNnmJl_tc6_mHV7ymUlX0y6hJi-mAVcvUwx2fN6qQ_bsWCoepeK0ZayFnVajNPomSHEJcEFyStlUu4usrUzw4Th8-OewV-PYbDZ8d-EJQkMFr1pbn5oHsv1OuHJmcq66bSp5jQ/s1239/Fidelina%252C+Geoffrey+and+Einahalk+001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jMHBpNnmJl_tc6_mHV7ymUlX0y6hJi-mAVcvUwx2fN6qQ_bsWCoepeK0ZayFnVajNPomSHEJcEFyStlUu4usrUzw4Th8-OewV-PYbDZ8d-EJQkMFr1pbn5oHsv1OuHJmcq66bSp5jQ/s320/Fidelina%252C+Geoffrey+and+Einahalk+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess, her husband, Geoffrey the garden gnome and their boychild, Einahalk, wish for you, for me, for all of us, a wondrous time now and into the future. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6IuaNdf0Js/X-O53cal8RI/AAAAAAAAI98/JspFs6x0TbUgREY4oU_sBGL2Vkt9QifUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1237/Coming%2Bsoon%2Bwee%2Bfolks%2BXmas%2Bspecial.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1237" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6IuaNdf0Js/X-O53cal8RI/AAAAAAAAI98/JspFs6x0TbUgREY4oU_sBGL2Vkt9QifUwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Coming%2Bsoon%2Bwee%2Bfolks%2BXmas%2Bspecial.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I fondly recall the gathering of the wee folks one wintry evening back at my old enchanted garden. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZUAI6yw3s8/X-O-P3F6ETI/AAAAAAAAI-U/Q5NzhWqTEFAQCKcTFzrJjwPn-a0MLKvlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s6000/Pigeons%2Band%2Bscaffolding%2BDecember%2B23%2B2020.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZUAI6yw3s8/X-O-P3F6ETI/AAAAAAAAI-U/Q5NzhWqTEFAQCKcTFzrJjwPn-a0MLKvlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Pigeons%2Band%2Bscaffolding%2BDecember%2B23%2B2020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I took this photo on the afternoon of December 23, 2020. Two pigeons perched on the scaffolding just outside my bedroom window. </span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G0oY4D3PWl4/X-PCMO2FPsI/AAAAAAAAI-o/4aTTo28S444ZE8QaoHR_9WEpbThEJRi7ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2740/wee%2Bfolks%2Bmagical%2Bleek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="2740" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G0oY4D3PWl4/X-PCMO2FPsI/AAAAAAAAI-o/4aTTo28S444ZE8QaoHR_9WEpbThEJRi7ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/wee%2Bfolks%2Bmagical%2Bleek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ah, the last remnants of the setting sun as darkness blankets the sleepy little town of Leek.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-umtCgQL1YAY/X-PDeL9aNjI/AAAAAAAAI-0/c0yvZbQ28jskW4Z8mojjAbVcxQvxljtgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2925/Penny%2Band%2Bwee%2Bfolks.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="2925" height="236" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-umtCgQL1YAY/X-PDeL9aNjI/AAAAAAAAI-0/c0yvZbQ28jskW4Z8mojjAbVcxQvxljtgwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h236/Penny%2Band%2Bwee%2Bfolks.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Bless the memory of Penny. So content with a trio of garden gnomes. Her spirit will keep me company as it's wise that I spend Christmas day on my own. On my own but grateful for all the positive distractions. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6zg9kl_DmAU/X-PEvEgr1sI/AAAAAAAAI_A/VeHg9K5dmak5MfklxSYwnogqfa8kUlioQCLcBGAsYHQ/s545/Penny%2Bin%2Ba%2Bfestive%2Bmood.%2BXmas%2B2017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="545" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6zg9kl_DmAU/X-PEvEgr1sI/AAAAAAAAI_A/VeHg9K5dmak5MfklxSYwnogqfa8kUlioQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h640/Penny%2Bin%2Ba%2Bfestive%2Bmood.%2BXmas%2B2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May you have a peaceful Christmas. Let us rejoice in all that is good and focus on our positive distractions. </span></div><p></p></div>klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-44793730902666258922019-12-24T16:31:00.000+00:002019-12-24T16:31:17.714+00:00A Peaceful, Positive Christmas, 2019.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess, her husband, Geoffrey the garden gnome and their boy child, Einahalk, along with rest of the wee folks and me, their human friend, wish you a peaceful, positive Christmas, 2019. </div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-55878241389167887872019-11-02T01:35:00.000+00:002019-11-02T01:35:30.120+00:00Rhododendron Bush.The night that our beloved Penny the Jack Russell passed away, is a night that will be forever etched in the hearts of my son and I. Her passing impacted on the both of us in ways that I believe has made us better human beings. Penny taught us lessons of pure love that shall always resonate.<br />
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When it came to the spreading of her ashes, my son wanted to be alone. Alone with his thoughts and the magic of Penny's spirit. I respected his decision. Tristan spread a portion of her ashes at the places that meant so much to the both of them. The date was April 6, 2019. Slightly over five months since she went to sleep.<br />
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He then brought over the remainder of her ashes for me to scatter. On April 9, 2019, I spread her ashes in the wind. I went to the places so symbolic of Penny's buoyant enthusiasm for the allurement of the great outdoors.<br />
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April 9, 2019, was a breezy day. Her ashes whirled and settled in the open field. A field so fitting for the inquisitive nature of a curious dog. I sensed her still playing, still running, in that open field.<br />
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I kept some of her ashes to scatter back at the gardens of the place I live. On the journey home, I wandered through the local park. I noted a rhododendron bush in full, magnificent bloom.<br />
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I felt compelled, felt an overwhelming desire to get closer to the rhododendron bush. I lovingly sprinkled, in a circular motion, some of Penny's ashes around the roots.<br />
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I showed the above photo to my son and told him of how I'd had this powerful, spiritual sensation that seemed to emanate from the rhododendron bush. My son recognised the bush. Until then, I had no idea that, three days earlier, part of his ceremonial journey had led him to the park. Tristan felt compelled, felt an overwhelming desire to get closer to the rhododendron bush. He lovingly sprinkled, in a circular motion, some of Penny's ashes around the roots.<br />
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Wednesday, October 23, 2019, marked one year since the passing of Penny. My son and I think about her lot. Yes, we both shed tears. Yet through those tears, there be joy for all the love she shared with us. There is no finality. Penny's love lives on forever. The sanctuary of the rhododendron bush is such a special place. A special place that makes us understand Penny's spirit, Penny's love, is watching over us.<br />
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Thank you, Penny. We love you.<br />
<br />klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-53375424670440794682019-10-16T00:17:00.000+00:002019-10-16T00:17:30.381+00:00I Left In An Ambulance And Came Back In A Police Car. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #000f1e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Way back when, as in May 12, 2019, I wrote a post that stated, "I shall be returning soon with what I believe will be the most powerful and spiritual post I ever wrote." </div>
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Then life and a whole series of ongoing challenges, got in the way. I'm battling with chronic fatigue. Yet, paradoxically, I'm struggling to get any semblance of a decent, uninterrupted sleep. Awake, when I should be asleep. Asleep, when I should be awake. A scheduling nightmare, as I constantly feel lethargic and nauseous, both physically and mentally. The frustration of being like this has overwhelmed every facet of my life.</div>
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Here's a typical night. I go to bed around one in the morning and at nine in the morning, I'm still awake. I have dude problems. An enlarged prostate that brings on the urge to frequently attempt to urinate. I lie in bed and five minutes later, I'm heading to the bathroom. I go back to bed and five minutes later, I'm heading to the bathroom. This continues all through the night and morning. Eventually, I manage to somehow get some fleeting sleep, even though the pain is ever-present.</div>
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The hospital has run a series of tests on me. And yet, it seems I'm going around in circles with the hospital. The consultant at the urology department will be seeing me again in early November. I dread to think that the results of the latest tests will mean that I have to have even more tests. I'm sure I need surgery. In the meantime, because I don't want to travel in such pain, I've had to delay my latest trip back to see in my friends and family in British Columbia.</div>
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I'm having a tough time coping with it all. I've tried exercising. I have a routine where I go out for a late night stroll around the retirement living apartment building that I live in.</div>
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The late night stroll gives me moments of peaceful reflection. Peaceful reflection until I head back into my apartment. </div>
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Just gone midnight, Saturday, August 17, 2019. I was out having my usual walkabout. I was on the sidewalk right near the apartment building. Good-natured banter ensued with a couple of care workers who were chatting to me from the apartment building's office window. It was a nice, pleasant conversation. </div>
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I realised that some young man was now very close to my personal space. He was very intoxicated. He started to become very aggressive and started pushing up against me. Despite that, I tried to maintain an air of pleasantness with the rather unsavoury character. </div>
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The two care workers who had noticed that the situation was turning for the worse, left the office and came outside. I told the young man that I was going back inside. He proceeded to punch me in the face. I swung back in self-defence. What happened immediately after that was just a blur. </div>
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It transpired, as I was told later, that my skull was cracked violently against the pavement. I was knocked out and one of the care workers was assaulted by that outrageous idiot. </div>
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At two in the morning, my senses came back to some level of normality. I noticed I was sitting in the office that the care workers had been chatting to me from. Before me sat two police officers. I was wondering why they were there because I had no recollection of being knocked out. The two gentleman police officers got statements from the two care workers. They said they would interview me on Saturday afternoon in my apartment.</div>
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The interview never happened because I was taken away in an ambulance around three in the morning. Upon being assessed, I was told I had a fractured skull and a small bleed on my brain. The hospital wanted to keep me in for observation for 48 hours. </div>
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After being at the hospital for about 12 hours, a very pleasant lady police officer came and interviewed me. I recalled the incident as best I could. While she was interviewing me, the head doctor came in and asked if it was okay to have me perform a number of tests. Tests that concluded that I was well enough to go home. However, I was told by the head doctor that if my symptoms took a turn for the worse, such as my mild headache, to immediately phone for an emergency ambulance. </div>
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With that and most conveniently, it turned out the lady police officer was going to my apartment building to check out the CCTV footage. This meant I got to go in her police car back to where I live. </div>
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It was and I know this might seem weird, a very humorous trip back to my place. She was brilliant and despite it all, we had a good laugh. That helped an awful lot. I'm grateful to her.</div>
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Unfortunately, the CCTV footage was inconclusive. However, there are several charges against that young guy. In fact, when he assaulted that care worker and me, he had just taken off from breaking and entering a house just up the road from the apartment building. The police were already looking for him when he attacked the two of us. He was arrested about ten minutes after he attacked us.</div>
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As of now, his day in court to give his plea, has been delayed. There were even more charges against him that have to be sorted out.</div>
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Thus, we wait. During this waiting time, I somehow mustered up enough energy to fill in a couple of forms that the police sent me. Forms I delayed filling in because they were a reminder of what happened. I have found that by not really thinking about it has been a good coping strategy. </div>
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I'm frustrated. The events that have been plaguing my life has been a severe challenge to my mental health. A severe challenge to my clinical depression. I've been jittery. I've been anxious. But, I'm proud. So very proud. I have refused to allow these events to completely sabotage my right to a peaceful, positive life. I am determined to to work through this. I visualise a much better life ahead. I still go out for my usual stroll. </div>
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I hope you will understand why I've been very much in the blogging background. Until I get better, just interacting with your good self, is something that feels daunting. Besides, I've been told by the hospital to limit the amount of time using my computer due to the eye strain that could impact upon my working through the fractured skull situation.</div>
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Thank you for reading, by my standards, a rather lengthy blog post.</div>
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The post I was going to do will now be published on October 23 of this year. I will be combining two ideals into the one post.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o5Gqo3b5x_Q/XaZYT440uYI/AAAAAAAAI20/u5iYWA8MqPsezaNiSqvXPaIct7lsrrBvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Rhododenron%2Bbush%2BApril%2B19%2B2019%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o5Gqo3b5x_Q/XaZYT440uYI/AAAAAAAAI20/u5iYWA8MqPsezaNiSqvXPaIct7lsrrBvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Rhododenron%2Bbush%2BApril%2B19%2B2019%2B4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJGAnyTRNuT3VUyfBuTr_awRz3v54D4aU1DK0jgsznsNjcUPNRUCqI74VNm74Dw_rcKL3pjlLaWgIEled1hMbItNI-iYHV6H3-Qy-Hizkhu1VsCBsXoBTwVUbUS_29wYs6q4zQtHYVw/s1600/Penny+pawndering+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJGAnyTRNuT3VUyfBuTr_awRz3v54D4aU1DK0jgsznsNjcUPNRUCqI74VNm74Dw_rcKL3pjlLaWgIEled1hMbItNI-iYHV6H3-Qy-Hizkhu1VsCBsXoBTwVUbUS_29wYs6q4zQtHYVw/s640/Penny+pawndering+1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-12573249970062116332019-05-12T00:44:00.000+00:002019-05-12T00:44:31.149+00:00One-Hip Wonder. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I published this post, <b><a href="http://klahanie.blogspot.com/2018/11/thank-you-penny.html">Thank You, Penny.</a> , </b>my son, Tristan, was deeply moved by the story of Penny's love of life and the pure, innocent love she willingly shared. However, my son mentioned to me that I'd overlooked one very notable time in her life.</div>
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Penny was only about two to three months old. A little puppy who loved to go on walking adventures. One evening, we realised that something was terribly wrong with her ability to walk. She was limping very badly.</div>
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The next day, we took Penny to the vets. He did an x-ray on her rear left leg. To the utter astonishment of Tristan and I, the x-ray revealed that she had shattered bone fragments down the entire leg. It was amazing she could even walk. She must of been in an awful amount of pain. The vet explained that small dogs, such as a Jack Russell, can be prone to degenerative bone disease.</div>
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The vet cancelled his lunch and operated on her immediately. The bone fragments and the hip bone in her left back leg were removed. We were informed that muscle would replace the hip bone. We were told that after a few months, we'd hardly even realise that she had her hip bone removed. That was mostly true, but sometimes, she would have a slight limp. </div>
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The vet placed her hip bone in a small container which Tristan has kept as a reflective keepsake. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hNXcK_lBU18/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNXcK_lBU18?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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And thus, as Tristan said to me recently, "Penny was a one-hip wonder." In the above video, you can notice her slight limp.</div>
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I shall be returning soon with what I believe will be the most powerful and spiritual post I ever wrote.</div>
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Thank you. In peace, Gary. </div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-53634333995362052322019-03-12T01:00:00.000+00:002019-03-12T01:00:21.571+00:00Breaking Through The Blogger Burnout.My friend, yes I know, my blog over the last couple of years has been bordering on non-existent. My lack of writing and interaction with you has been a most frustrating time.<br />
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These have been challenging moments. I'm still struggling to cope with the loss of our beloved Penny. Just like my son, I do my utmost to focus on all the positive love she brought to our lives. Thus, between the tears shed, I rejoice in knowing how blessed we both were. Blessed in having her share the pureness of her unconditional love. <br />
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I shall endeavour to return soon. Thank you, my friend. <br />
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July 18, 2006. My son, Tristan at 17 and Penny at 5 years old. Treasured, loving memories of a magical past embraced.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-35654035680509330892019-01-13T00:37:00.001+00:002019-01-13T00:40:12.007+00:00Moving Along The Pathway. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnteDsZ-4pOUU-HwfLOyZskUz7-GLY5O28C27846Jp0wvHash92gmxyrPTVRCkLXRAcB_yyZmmi5_xbWu40qhZ9qswcxW3cJvhMOybSCeIhXCSeMEjH7pWcbAzGu1B8bwbFgjR77m61A/s1600/Brough+park+pathway+enhanced.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1193" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnteDsZ-4pOUU-HwfLOyZskUz7-GLY5O28C27846Jp0wvHash92gmxyrPTVRCkLXRAcB_yyZmmi5_xbWu40qhZ9qswcxW3cJvhMOybSCeIhXCSeMEjH7pWcbAzGu1B8bwbFgjR77m61A/s640/Brough+park+pathway+enhanced.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Last year was a memorable year with so many emotional extremes. So much so that I'm still finding it difficult to formulate a tangible post.<br />
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Yet, as I move along the pathway that is life, I focus on all the positive moments that inspired me in 2018. I shall resonate with the pure love that Penny bestowed upon me. Her gift, a precious gift to be cherished. A gift that I will learn from.<br />
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Before me, the pathway of life in 2019. I shall embrace the year ahead with a renewed vigour. Any pothole along the way shall be considered an opportunity. The opportunity of transforming what might appear to be a negative into a triumphant positive. I shall stumble a bit and move on.<br />
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I truly hope that 2019 will be a wondrous year for you and your loved ones.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-37378460511020741692018-12-22T22:04:00.000+00:002018-12-22T22:04:57.764+00:00The Wee Folks Christmas Dedication, 2018.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Greetings, friend. This is Geoffrey the garden gnome. The husband of Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess and proud father of our boy child, Einahalk.</div>
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Our beloved boy child, Einahalk.</div>
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Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess. </div>
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And now, my friend, we shall soon be feeling the dawning of Christmas Day, 2018. This year, the wee folks dedicate our post to our loving, caring friend, Penny the Jack Russell dog. Penny crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. And yet, she is still very much here with us. She embraced and will forever embrace the ideals so close to our hearts.</div>
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The ideals of unconditional, non-judgemental love. The ideals that immerse our souls. Of cradling and rejoicing in the diversity of an all different, all equal world. Yes, Penny is still amongst us. She gently continues to show her magical presence to her human brother, Tristan and her human dad, Gary. Her love, like our love, an inspiration to truly make your world, our world, a better place, intertwined with hope. </div>
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Penny, a dog who never lost sight of her inner puppy and you must never lose sight of your inner child.</div>
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We are tuned in and listen very carefully to nature's orchestra. A natural balance that we respect. </div>
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Oh how we recall our gathering in the snow in our enchanted garden of yesteryear. </div>
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Penny watched over the proceedings. Ever on the alert in her desire to make sure we had a peaceful time. </div>
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And way back when. Way back before Fidelina and I had our boy child, we used to snuggle up with Penny. Ah, such contentment in a loving environment. </div>
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On behalf of Penny, we dedicate this post to you. A peaceful, positive and hopeful Christmas.</div>
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<img alt="Red Heart on Google Android 9.0" src="https://emojipedia-us.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/thumbs/120/google/146/heavy-black-heart_2764.png" /></div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-8027861916760780042018-11-27T02:37:00.000+00:002018-11-27T02:59:20.702+00:00Thank You, Penny. It was mid-November in the year 2000. I was about to take my son, Tristan, to a surprise, mystery location. He was intrigued as we made the short journey to a house on the other side of town. Upon entering the house, we were ushered into the living room. A living room full of people Tristan had never met before.<br />
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The lady of the house entered the living room. "Hello, you must be Tristan. Please come this way", she said. Tristan and I walked up the stairs. The sounds of one month old little puppies could be clearly heard through a closed bedroom door. "Buzzin'!", Tristan said, with all the boundless enthusiasm of a twelve year old boy.<br />
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The door was gently opened. Before us, a wonder to behold. Several Parsons Jack Russell pups were frolicking along the bedroom floor. "Tristan, you can choose one of the puppies", I stated, with a huge smile on my face. For I knew how much my son loved dogs. Now was his chance to have a one of those little puppies become a huge part of his life, of my life.<br />
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Tristan and this one particular puppy made eye contact. Penny, as she would be later named, chose my son as he chose her. Three weeks later, Penny came to live with us.<br />
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And their adventures began. They went everywhere together. A boy and his beloved dog, running free in open fields. Indeed, a love so profound that there was a time when my son was near the edge of a hill and Penny put her teeth in the bottom of his trousers to pull him back.<br />
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The years rolled by. The puppy became a fully grown dog. The young boy became a young man.<br />
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The visits to the vets increased. September, 2012, a vet checked out some lumps on her body and declared that she had some cancerous growths. The vet stated it was a high risk operation and she maybe had a year to live. The diagnosis didn't seem thorough enough and thus, we consulted with another vet. It transpired that Penny, after a biopsy, had some fatty tissues. The fatty tissues were removed and all was well with Penny.<br />
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September, 2017. Penny seemed a bit poorly. I took her to the vets that, after I moved home, was only a couple minutes walk away. Upon examining her, the vet informed me that Penny had a tumour on her womb and a heart murmur. She said that Penny, most likely, had just a few weeks to live. I was devastated. I walked her back home. The tears streamed down my face. I sobbed uncontrollably.<br />
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Yet, Penny lived on. Yes, at times, she seemed rather lethargic. Her eyesight was fading and walks with her were becoming more difficult. In between, were those wondrous, playful times where she seemed perfectly fine. I truly believe that her love for us and our love for her, made her determined to share as much time with us as she possibly could.<br />
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Tuesday evening, October 23, 2018. It was about seven in the evening. I took Penny out for a walk. Then, just like most nights, I headed off to the supermarket. Upon my return, about eight in the evening, I realised something was very wrong with Penny. I thought that taking her out for another walk might make her feel better. Oh, how wrong I was. I carried her back into my apartment. I phoned my son. I drove over to his place but noticed him waiting on a street corner. We drove back to my apartment.<br />
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Tristan could now see that Penny was really struggling. I phoned the veterinary clinic. I got put through to the emergency vet but there was a fault in the line and she couldn't hear me. My son phoned back and once again, the vet couldn't hear him either. Tristan picked up Penny and carried her in his arms as we took the short walk to the vets. Tristan banged on the front door of the closed veterinary clinic. I went around the back and thankfully, there was a gentleman who worked there at night. He managed to get through to the emergency vet.<br />
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The gentleman led us into a back room with a table for Penny to be placed on. We comforted her as best we could. Ten minutes later, the emergency vet arrived. She examined Penny. She looked at us, explained what had happened, which I wont detail here. "It's time", the vet gently said to us.<br />
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Tristan and I lovingly caressed her as she went to sleep. It was the suddenness of it all. Less than two hours had gone by since I first realised that something was so very wrong with our little angel.<br />
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Christmas, 2000. A twelve year old Tristan with a two month old Penny. đŸ’“</div>
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And a fully grown Penny with her human brother, now a young man. đŸ’“</div>
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Penny the puppy with her human dad. đŸ’“ </div>
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A fully grown Penny with her human dad. đŸ’“</div>
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It has taken me over a month before I could finally write this post. The waves of emotion have washed over me. Especially in those silent moments when I'm all alone. Yet, I truly know and Tristan truly knows, that during those silent moments, the love of Penny comes through in ways that touch our hearts and souls. She is always with us.</div>
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Penny was an ideal. She taught us the lessons of non-judgemental, unconditional love. I am humbled. I'm deeply moved by all she did for us. We both focus on all the sweet innocence she brought into our lives. The joy she brought has no boundaries. </div>
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In her passing, the bond between my son and I has never been stronger. Our shared love for Penny, a powerful tonic of positivity. She continues to weave her magic.</div>
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And now she has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Roaming and running in the fields of freedom.</div>
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Thank you, Penny. We love you, Penny. đŸ’“đŸ’“</div>
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October 10, 2000 to October 23, 2018. đŸ’“</div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com105tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-16747771487089433392018-09-19T00:09:00.000+00:002018-09-19T00:09:36.552+00:00Typing With Torn Tendons.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hi there! Yes, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! You may have pawhaps noticed that my human dad, Gary, has done very little blogging over the past several months. Well, it transpires that he has a very good reason for not doing much in the way of typing.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Yep, my human dad has finally found out that he has torn tendons in his left shoulder. His silly shoulder situation has been happening since the beginning of January. He was using his vibrator and noted he'd yanked something. Oops, I'll rephrase that. He was using a vibrating exercise machine and was a bit too enthusiastic with his exercise regime. He then realised that something wasn't right with his left shoulder.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>He had hoped that the pain would go away by itself. Alassie, sorry, alas, it obviously didn't. So, my human dad went and saw a doctor in early May. The doctor sent him for some physiotherapy. That didn't help. The doctor had him get an X-Ray. That didn't show any problems. The doctor had him get a blood test and the results came back normal. In fact, it took an ultrasound to reveal the torn tendons.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My human dad has now seen a consultant. The consultant got him to do a variety of poses. She even asked him to try and flex his biceps, "Just like Popeye!" My human dad, being a bit of a poser, was, no doubt, well into doing that. She informed him that it was best he continued to keep his left arm and shoulder as flexible as possible. He's told me that it might take about eighteen months before the tendons have fully healed. If the pain continues to be extreme, he has the option of a steroid injection.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Oh, I would also like to tell you that my human dad is going to have the surgical glove routine that relates to a certain dude-type problem. He told me he's okay with that until he found out that the doctor with the surgical glove is an ex-pawfessional basketball player, famed for his gigantic hands and fingers....</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Now then, I've observed that he hasn't been commenting on blogs very much. I'll do my best to come and visit your blog. Of course, I'll type one of my highly collectable comments that have been known to cause bidding wars on eBay. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Please note that the comments section is switched off. I mean, really, my human dad might struggle typing with torn tendons. However, imagine what it's like for me to type. It's kinda' like you trying to type whilst wearing mittens.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pawsitive wishes, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! </b></span><br />
<br />klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-48069291344689082082018-06-18T15:35:00.000+00:002018-06-18T15:35:58.324+00:00Twenty Years Ago.It was Thursday afternoon, June 18, 1998. I was slumped on the sofa in my usual drunken stupor. A frightened man barely clinging onto the last, fragile remnants of a shattered, battered and bruised dignity. A frightened man waiting to die a sad, lonely death.<br />
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I heard a knock at the front door. A sound so rare for I could go weeks without any human interaction. My only interaction, the sharing of such a desperate time with Mr. Alcohol, my best friend, my lover, my worst enemy.<br />
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I stumbled to the front door. A bedraggled mess of a man. A man, bloated and heavily jaundiced. I opened the door and there was my doctor.<br />
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He took one look at me and immediately phoned for an ambulance. For, before him, was the worrying sight of somebody who hadn't eaten for three weeks. The only nutrition, if you could call it that, was the consumption of three, two litre bottles of strong cider per day. Before the doctor, a man drowning in a sea of alcoholic despair. I was stretchered away. This would be my fourth alcohol-related stay at a hospital.<br />
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Near the end of the first week of what would be a five week stay, I had my ex wife and my nine year old son, Tristan, make a fleeting visit. For they were about to go to Canada with her boyfriend and their baby boy. Through tear-stained eyes, I hugged my son. A hug that I cherish to this day. A hug that saved my life.<br />
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After that, I had no visitors. No visitors to note that during the first week I nearly died. No visitors to be there for my birthday. And yet, despite it all, despite me watching others having visitors and listening to the laughter, listening to the crying, I had time to reflect, time to change, one last chance to live.<br />
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That one last chance, further enhanced when a nurse came over to my bed and stated that I had a phone call at the ward's reception. Very weak, oh, so very weak, I was taken in a wheelchair to the ward's reception. It was my mother phoning from Vancouver. Her words of comfort, resonate with love, twenty years on.<br />
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I could go into the harrowing details of how I ended up as a mere shadow of my former self. A paranoid character swigging back two litre bottle of cider down back alleys. But, that's in the past. A past that taught me lessons that through such a potential demise, I could become better, stronger, more compassionate.<br />
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I'd had a nervous breakdown twenty years ago. So much had happened and I tried to numb the relentless workplace bullying, the collapse of my marriage, compounded by the fact my wife had gotten pregnant by another man whilst still married to me. I couldn't cope. I was scared. I was going insane and the insanity was made all the worse with the insidious evil of the alcohol I consumed.<br />
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And twenty years on, I'm still fragile, still raw. I battle with debilitating depression and chronic fatigue. It impacts me so much that my blogging has been sporadic. It impacts me so much that I've hardly the energy to be involved with one of my vital lifelines, the vital lifeline that be the blogging community.<br />
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Twenty years on, I do know that the day I left hospital, I left as a free man. A man, most importantly, genuine in his conviction that alcohol would never again control his life.<br />
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I choose to live for my son, Tristan </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdxJGDLAMdc/WyWk3o3-vJI/AAAAAAAAIqg/MinHN4ix5SgWHDqQuxOtBiRGhwGDD_g3gCLcBGAs/s1600/Penny%2Bpawndering.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1224" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdxJGDLAMdc/WyWk3o3-vJI/AAAAAAAAIqg/MinHN4ix5SgWHDqQuxOtBiRGhwGDD_g3gCLcBGAs/s640/Penny%2Bpawndering.JPG" width="488" /></a></div>
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I choose to live for our beloved dog, Penny.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StJoYZRGtvg/WyWk_TK-k5I/AAAAAAAAIqk/lnnuWZHDCrAEGXmmk8EQpp8hgroJ8e1NgCLcBGAs/s1600/Penny%2Band%2BTristan%2BDecember%2B2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-StJoYZRGtvg/WyWk_TK-k5I/AAAAAAAAIqk/lnnuWZHDCrAEGXmmk8EQpp8hgroJ8e1NgCLcBGAs/s640/Penny%2Band%2BTristan%2BDecember%2B2000.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhHnTNdXSjg0JCvkFocYEwtv8FTmMCz6iJtlekF0Q06GFB9fCf-zCE3Vi6lnj99WkyjGfv8NOkWC1R1eOSRoDaj_NIcls8r1EgducTlmbW062M2Tt-tiubXHp0zMIgaxabrWe4-9ciA/s1600/Penny+and+Tristan+December+25+2015+picture+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1110" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhHnTNdXSjg0JCvkFocYEwtv8FTmMCz6iJtlekF0Q06GFB9fCf-zCE3Vi6lnj99WkyjGfv8NOkWC1R1eOSRoDaj_NIcls8r1EgducTlmbW062M2Tt-tiubXHp0zMIgaxabrWe4-9ciA/s640/Penny+and+Tristan+December+25+2015+picture+1.JPG" width="444" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXo4Th5g7mW7TKYxXYcHYQQDunGfqhO1Evm9G4qWSlXMmbyDcOBIRgRorNc9M-O0QYp1nwDHn-L5e7nJtfif2G4KFLF11Gdbw0Xm5WlfeEgm-1iAdTa07eNXsBlOkSQhvVVD_7v0bWpw/s1600/Mother+August+31+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXo4Th5g7mW7TKYxXYcHYQQDunGfqhO1Evm9G4qWSlXMmbyDcOBIRgRorNc9M-O0QYp1nwDHn-L5e7nJtfif2G4KFLF11Gdbw0Xm5WlfeEgm-1iAdTa07eNXsBlOkSQhvVVD_7v0bWpw/s640/Mother+August+31+2012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I choose to live for my mother, my family and friends in Canada. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpelYuzj4i5pHRopM_HnaVxEhV39eIrF6tDSX6nD7-POUVQmfE_W1fbHXtPLRXUNmziUXEvORqNZGF7UHpt5W8rbleIipRtvEVEdmcgWsuCATUNS6AXhyphenhyphenvgVs6FhIHcdh3ZpaC_wLyg/s1600/Gary+as+a+baby.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1427" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpelYuzj4i5pHRopM_HnaVxEhV39eIrF6tDSX6nD7-POUVQmfE_W1fbHXtPLRXUNmziUXEvORqNZGF7UHpt5W8rbleIipRtvEVEdmcgWsuCATUNS6AXhyphenhyphenvgVs6FhIHcdh3ZpaC_wLyg/s640/Gary+as+a+baby.JPG" width="570" /></a><br />
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And I choose to live for me. I listened to the wisdom of my inner child. </div>
<br />klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com89tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-88032300698485090442018-06-08T23:28:00.000+00:002018-06-08T23:28:43.581+00:00I Can See The Sky! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fUyPYtQjqM/WxsFSgdp-UI/AAAAAAAAIpo/Cs-J3lQ5BrUCNhOHAp7TZuOeNTi-h6H3QCLcBGAs/s1600/Scafffolding%2Bthat%2Bwas%2Bup%2Bfor%2B13%2Bmonths.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fUyPYtQjqM/WxsFSgdp-UI/AAAAAAAAIpo/Cs-J3lQ5BrUCNhOHAp7TZuOeNTi-h6H3QCLcBGAs/s640/Scafffolding%2Bthat%2Bwas%2Bup%2Bfor%2B13%2Bmonths.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Finally, at long last and then some, I can actually see the sky outside my apartment windows. I also noted just how filthy the exterior of my windows truly are. Then again, that makes sense considering the window cleaners haven't been able to get to my windows for over fourteen months. As of June 6, 2018, the scaffolding was removed. Thirteen months to the day that myself and the two neighbours below me, had to endure this most unfair, stressful farce.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CIy75WXlqvg/WxsJCeHhjVI/AAAAAAAAIp8/cmVGKF4LytAI49oaLgnb0Bj4sNMmQV7XACLcBGAs/s1600/A%2Bsky%2Bof%2Bplanks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CIy75WXlqvg/WxsJCeHhjVI/AAAAAAAAIp8/cmVGKF4LytAI49oaLgnb0Bj4sNMmQV7XACLcBGAs/s640/A%2Bsky%2Bof%2Bplanks.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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No more of this view, from my bedroom window with its sky full of planks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXBCsVFRPGy9B2aHuh-2dyw1gqdHAGffdYFYMCjCuzmPlOHGul10s9-2kQNGWfah4RFueP9GNVOOF_tcmxD_l9nudOlm4_1sfX2PFiCyzyiy10DqbYT6s5kbto7Ljhz1gi4ntQtkitw/s1600/Scaffold+stress+8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="320" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXBCsVFRPGy9B2aHuh-2dyw1gqdHAGffdYFYMCjCuzmPlOHGul10s9-2kQNGWfah4RFueP9GNVOOF_tcmxD_l9nudOlm4_1sfX2PFiCyzyiy10DqbYT6s5kbto7Ljhz1gi4ntQtkitw/s640/Scaffold+stress+8.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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No more feeling trapped in by this scaffolding monstrosity. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1bo-8EzQlgabLQD_7Ux6a_3E-HgDbgRszfJ28WztwklO2Py2K9nFcrSFuvUJ1GpXT0XPvhD0Ac5FvIRKfXy5MialOMIBVxGeQLyvycALV7UTBs5_1Urw18AlKdKhGClSKb8rgc4ZOg/s1600/Goodbye+scaffolding+June+6+2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1bo-8EzQlgabLQD_7Ux6a_3E-HgDbgRszfJ28WztwklO2Py2K9nFcrSFuvUJ1GpXT0XPvhD0Ac5FvIRKfXy5MialOMIBVxGeQLyvycALV7UTBs5_1Urw18AlKdKhGClSKb8rgc4ZOg/s640/Goodbye+scaffolding+June+6+2018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I can now look out the windows properly from my top floor apartment.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TFw2YKI3yMk/WxsKN1UxI3I/AAAAAAAAIqQ/EMXDz64oWaMlrPjeXeavsArbKnT4wPR-wCLcBGAs/s1600/I%2Bcan%2Bsee%2Bthe%2Bsky%2Bagain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TFw2YKI3yMk/WxsKN1UxI3I/AAAAAAAAIqQ/EMXDz64oWaMlrPjeXeavsArbKnT4wPR-wCLcBGAs/s640/I%2Bcan%2Bsee%2Bthe%2Bsky%2Bagain.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The view from my bedroom window has vastly improved.<br />
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The past thirteen months, feeling like I've been imprisoned by the scaffold monster, has taken considerable toll on my mental health well being. My apartment was constantly trapped in dark shadows and was very hot, very stuffy. The light has returned and the air is noticeably fresher. </div>
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I shall be seeking compensation and expect a full apology for treating me and my other two neighbours in such a deplorable fashion. All because of an insurance dispute as to who was responsible for the shoddy roof on an almost brand new building. </div>
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And yep, once again, I shall endeavour to visit other blogs. I'm certainly feeling better now that I can see the sky! If only my left shoulder would actually get better so I could type twice as fast......</div>
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klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-35593885189903248102018-05-11T23:38:00.000+00:002019-05-07T23:33:11.041+00:00Scaffolding! The One Year Anniversary. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzM_dtBo4wN4D_Up3k-rLhj_nZkG9myBuGt-uCeFyf1jY73KvKrmp8JVpPDDgt_6RuI6lhUMhKJA5hAYG1U2Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
As of May 8, 2018, the scaffolding outside my apartment window reached its one year anniversary. I'm up there in the top apartment. Instead of going on about how such a monstrosity structure has impacted on my mental health, has cloaked my apartment in continual darkness, has meant that the window cleaners have not been able to get to my exterior windows for more than a year, or that during stormy weather, the damned thing creaks and keeps me awake, I shall not bother to mention that, or that I'm feeling Seasonal Affective Disorder, or that it's making me feel claustrophobic in this heat-trapped apartment, nope, most certainly wont mention that, or the fact I've just done a run-on sentence.<br />
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Baffling beyond any adequate adjectives to describe how totally unamused I am that an almost brand new apartment building has issues with the roof. Yes, I have stains on the living room and bedroom ceilings. And no, I'm not bragging about the stains. The stains were caused by rain leaking in from the roof. Thankfully, well, hopefully, the leaks have stopped. In the meantime, I wait and wait and wait while they try to settle an insurance claim dispute.<br />
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Living in such dull surroundings made me try to get another place. Unbelievably, when I actually got to check out another place via my housing association, the place was left in an awful state. It would of taken me a few weeks and a whole load of cash to sort the place out. This was most unfair and I had to decline what should of been a good opportunity.<br />
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In other news, I've been experiencing the irony of physiotherapy. Yep, you go get some physio and the physiotherapist makes the pain even more excruciating. I've been told the extra pain is a good thing. I'm hoping this to be true because it's a nightmare to try and type. I've been told that by the start of June I should just about be okay. Which June of what year, I've no idea. I'm so looking forward to the day when my left shoulder actually allows my left arm to raise above my head without me screaming out like some spoiled diva.<br />
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I realise I'm getting repetitive but, once again, the comments section is switched off. I shall try my utmost to comment on other blogs.<br />
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In conclusion, despite the ongoing issues with my apartment, I do know how lucky I am. For yes, I have a roof over my head. Having worked with the homeless, the rough sleepers, I realise that my problems are minor compared to the plight of some very noble people.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-16450060187199239892018-05-02T00:10:00.000+00:002018-05-02T00:10:08.431+00:00Emergency Blogcast System. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aX26wvbbPus/WujplBuGjRI/AAAAAAAAIoU/F5UNN5yYYMsD5CCoFic-1lK4oegvJmYwACLcBGAs/s1600/BeFunky_1280px-SMPTE_Color_Bars.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aX26wvbbPus/WujplBuGjRI/AAAAAAAAIoU/F5UNN5yYYMsD5CCoFic-1lK4oegvJmYwACLcBGAs/s640/BeFunky_1280px-SMPTE_Color_Bars.jpg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hi there! Yes, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! You might have noticed that my human dad, Gary, has been rather absent from the blogging world. Actually, I've been rather absent from the dogging, oops, the blogging world.<br />
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The reason being is that I've been looking after Gary while he's been subjected to the pain that can be physiotherapy. Since he started going to physiotherapy, the pain in his left shoulder has actually gotten worse.<br />
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I paw this pawst whilst using the "Emergency Blogcast System."<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FaaShJON9Zo/WujptfyrtmI/AAAAAAAAIoY/CytElzF3XiEjBj31QRY3Kb9GN_xUKOf4ACLcBGAs/s1600/cartoon-color-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="494" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FaaShJON9Zo/WujptfyrtmI/AAAAAAAAIoY/CytElzF3XiEjBj31QRY3Kb9GN_xUKOf4ACLcBGAs/s640/cartoon-color-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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According to the "Blogger's Information Hotline", which after pawing the several options to actually get through to a real talking human, I've been informed that while Gary and I have been away, IWSG aka, "I Was Seeking Gary", aka, "Insecure Writer's Support Group", was up and running last month. I was also informed that the "Alphabutt Barrage, 2018", has reached its conclusion. We now wait for the dreaded reflection pawsts about reflecting back about writing about the Alphabutt. I reckon that might well take up the rest of May. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5qgnr_iLZ1Q/WujqF5yTT9I/AAAAAAAAIok/qVEki9v3zSIaXMXBf60jNQtY5SMxP6BzgCLcBGAs/s1600/Confused%2Bstare%2Bby%2BGare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5qgnr_iLZ1Q/WujqF5yTT9I/AAAAAAAAIok/qVEki9v3zSIaXMXBf60jNQtY5SMxP6BzgCLcBGAs/s400/Confused%2Bstare%2Bby%2BGare.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Hey Penny! Thanks for writing this article on my behalf!" </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tiqF2FwNAXk/Wujp5I0pgfI/AAAAAAAAIoc/ypu0N168nEwhu1QiYXMAhFkZZb3DQP5WwCLcBGAs/s1600/Penny%2Bpawndering%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tiqF2FwNAXk/Wujp5I0pgfI/AAAAAAAAIoc/ypu0N168nEwhu1QiYXMAhFkZZb3DQP5WwCLcBGAs/s400/Penny%2Bpawndering%2B1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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"You're very welcome, human dad! Soon, well hopefully soon, you can write about the scaffolding outside our apartment window that, as of May 6, 2018, will have been up for one year."<br />
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Once again, the comments are switched off. I hope you understand that, what with looking after my human dad, I would struggle to comment back.<br />
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Pawsitive wishes, your way, Penny and co-starring my human dad, Gary.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-38890561715982757672018-02-17T02:33:00.000+00:002018-02-17T02:33:49.002+00:00Off The Cuff.Hi there! Yes, it's actually me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar's human dad, Gary.<br />
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Before I attempt to type any further, I wish to thank Penny for having taken over the blog whilst I've been trying to sort out my latest physical issue. It's been an ongoing, frustrating time. Having recovered from the "tit" growing on my right elbow aka, bursitis, I'm now contending with an even more aggravating situation.<br />
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I believe my even more aggravating situation stems from getting into an exercise regime. I may well have been a bit too enthusiastic with the exercise regime which involved using a vibrator. I'll rephrase that. I may well have been a bit too enthusiastic with my exercise regime which involved using a vibrating machine.<br />
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For the last two months, my left shoulder has been putting me through agony. Just when I thought the pain had subsided, it would come back with a vengeance. Thus, last Monday I finally gave up thinking the pain would just magically go away. I went and saw a doctor. She told me, based on checking my left shoulder, it was very likely a dislocated rotator cuff.<br />
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I'm now waiting to see a physiotherapist. That's great because right now it takes about a week to put my coat on. A weird wriggling manoeuvre that involves me attempting to raise my left arm up and slithering said left arm in to what is hopefully the left arm on my coat. Thankfully, Penny waits patiently as I try to get my coat on so she can take me out for a walk.<br />
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Speaking of therapists, I recall when I started working for a mental health charity and I was introduced to the staff. I asked this one staff member what her job was. She told me she was a complimentary therapist. To which I responded, "Excellent! So pay me a compliment." Thought I'd chuck in this paragraph, what with this post being somewhat off the cuff and bordering on disjointed, rather like my left shoulder.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RCACmxFar5w/WoeIscEKtHI/AAAAAAAAIkc/Tb01NU94N-onaUX0jlZaGiUc1ctSxyCaACLcBGAs/s1600/One%2Bof%2Bmy%2Badoring%2Bfans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="525" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RCACmxFar5w/WoeIscEKtHI/AAAAAAAAIkc/Tb01NU94N-onaUX0jlZaGiUc1ctSxyCaACLcBGAs/s640/One%2Bof%2Bmy%2Badoring%2Bfans.jpg" width="524" /></a></div>
Of course, despite it all, I somehow know I'm going to be okay. I just focus on how grateful I am to have adoring fans. Here's one of my adoring fans in the above photo.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>It started with an elbow tit</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I must admit</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>It continued with a wrecked-up rotator cuff</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Aint that tough</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I've had enough</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I feel rough</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>From all this stuff</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Physiotherapy</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I shall see</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>If it works for me</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I should mention</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I've switched off the comment section</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I hope you understand</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hard to type using just my right hand.</b></span></div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-60504054641228377312018-02-04T02:38:00.000+00:002018-02-11T21:21:22.404+00:00I Took My Human Dad For A Walk.<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hi there! Yes, once again, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! Although my human dad, Gary, has just about recovered from the trapped nerve in his left shoulder, I told him, after he begged me, that I'd do another pawst. So, here it is.....</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>When I took my human dad for a walk yesterday morning, he ended up chatting to this lady who was out walking with her very young Dalmatian dog. I could spot her dog a mile away. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Gary", the lady stated, "I have some excellent news. Our furry friend is becoming very obedient. He can roll over, sit, stay, beg, shake a paw and the really great news is that he's no longer crapping on the carpets!" "That's wonderful", my human dad replied. "Enough about your boyfriend. How's the dog doing?" </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppGtGBP2HatLjTN236AtiLEmqwLYV-3i5j63l4sOPt6Iv6fZ7qu9nqFwVymV2F4x4SggcFbTU0CQ0B2HSYP6xq-XR44Vbphu2HXwqzpfkZVuVLbpUtIZBW3ZNLnOlAHrtvN8AbBcfw/s1600/PoserPenny1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1600" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpppGtGBP2HatLjTN236AtiLEmqwLYV-3i5j63l4sOPt6Iv6fZ7qu9nqFwVymV2F4x4SggcFbTU0CQ0B2HSYP6xq-XR44Vbphu2HXwqzpfkZVuVLbpUtIZBW3ZNLnOlAHrtvN8AbBcfw/s640/PoserPenny1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-45895377445887673412018-02-01T01:23:00.000+00:002018-02-01T01:23:16.783+00:00Inner Child Meets Inner Puppy.<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hi there! Yes, it's me again, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! While my human dad is still not quite recovered from the trapped nerve in his left shoulder, I've taken the liberty to put up another pawst. </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUVPLDT8kd6PPKjtyE5xvHke3xzCcYtNy3kTlpOFint4x3j7QILv0HOnxu-quBQxdPw8GIUppEJ7He-2ETHMOhsArGo3mfKfFD8zufXfV8b8s45v1SFTrmiRgqheptsIctyG9srcDdw/s1600/Penny+pawndering+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUVPLDT8kd6PPKjtyE5xvHke3xzCcYtNy3kTlpOFint4x3j7QILv0HOnxu-quBQxdPw8GIUppEJ7He-2ETHMOhsArGo3mfKfFD8zufXfV8b8s45v1SFTrmiRgqheptsIctyG9srcDdw/s640/Penny+pawndering+1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Keep listening to your inner child as I keep listening to my inner puppy.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My doggy heart beats with the hope that humans learn the lessons we animals try to share. The lessons that teach of non-judgemental, unconditional love. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pawsitive wishes,</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Penny </b></span>klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-74361017847137894542018-01-23T23:59:00.000+00:002018-01-24T00:01:47.401+00:00Oh Nos To Schmackos! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi there! Yes, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!<br />
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I asked my human dad, Gary, as to why he hasn't done another pawst this year. He replied, "Oh Penny! Please, please, please, would you be so kind as to do an article? I've got a trapped nerve in my left shoulder, Penny. It's starting to feel better after nearly two weeks of feeling like I have a toothache in my left shoulder! However, it's still difficult to type something."<br />
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Thus, my friend on the other side of the computer screen, here I be. I don't mind taking over the peeboard. Start again, I don't mind taking over the keyboard and pawblishing one of my must-read pawsts.<br />
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<a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="No automatic alt text available." border="0" height="425" src="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" width="640" /></a></div>
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About a month ago, Gary was sitting on the chair in the living room. He was munching away on some snacks. "Oh yuck! What the hell!?", Gary yelled. This was followed by him making a mad dash to the kitchen sink. I can vividly recall the ensuing puking type sound.</div>
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About five minutes before Gary freaked out, he had gone to an unlit kitchen and had grabbed a snack from the counter. He thought the salami tasted kinda' odd. Ah yes, human dad, Oh nos to Schmackos! </div>
<a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/23631935_10156841650178858_8407805319928881612_o.jpg?oh=a63f4f6e51e6f4d679508a30953f361c&oe=5ABFEF46" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-54263865582099343282018-01-11T01:40:00.000+00:002018-01-11T01:40:21.914+00:00A Sobering Thought. I sincerely hope that you are settling in nicely to the year that is Two Thousand and Eighteen. It has taken me eleven days to actually concentrate enough to do a posting.<br />
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This year is a milestone for me. Or, if you speak in metric, a kilometrestone for me, I suppose. For, as of June eighteen, it will be exactly twenty years since I last consumed alcohol. Twenty years since I got stretchered out of my home and rushed to hospital. But hey, who's keeping track.<br />
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On the actual date of my twentieth anniversary, I shall put up a harrowing yet uplifting post to mark an occasion that I hope may well give hope to those who think it's hopeless to even attempt to combat addiction and the underlying causes.<br />
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Even now, after all these years, I'm still raw with the pain I caused to others and to myself. To this very day, I'm an extreme combination of fragility and resilient strength. I've spent nearly twenty years trying to compensate, to prove to those that I love, to myself, that I could seek out and find the good man that had been hidden away during those frightening days of alcohol abuse. <br />
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If somebody had told me, as I lay in a hospital bed, on the verge of death, that twenty years later I'd be writing about how I defeated alcohol, I'd of never believed them.<br />
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When I left hospital, I had two choices. I could of chosen to continue drinking and die a painful, agonising death or choose the exhilarating freedom of being sober. I chose freedom.klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com90tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-2355378791257795842017-12-31T03:37:00.000+00:002017-12-31T03:37:32.531+00:00Another Chance. A New Beginning. And thus, 2017 is about to enter the history books. A year like no other. A year where if felt like we were all cast members in some strangely weird and rather worrying blockbuster movie. A year where real news and fake news blended into one surreal concoction of confusion, sprinkled with a large dose of political propaganda, led by the delusional, ego-maniac, bungling buffoon named Trump. Yep, what a horrible thought, things that go Trump in the night. <br />
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Now, you and I are on the dawn of the New Year of 2018. The personal journey you travelled over the past year may now indicate that the pathway has ended. You might decide to make a new pathway choice. Do you go left? Do you go right? Do you turn around and go back down the original pathway and reevaluate the experience? <br />
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I do know that, just like the beginning of every new year, I cling onto the dream of a world where, instead of humanity being in conflict, humanity celebrates the beautiful power of an all different, all equal planet. A place where no longer shall the most vulnerable in society pay for the mistakes of the incompetent fortunate. <br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z6ICKZDEjj4/WkZ5ILnTkLI/AAAAAAAAIig/Fwyt8cX7S6sB--vIoETD7YGWuAtizeJsgCLcBGAs/s1600/Penny%2Band%2BTristan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="370" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z6ICKZDEjj4/WkZ5ILnTkLI/AAAAAAAAIig/Fwyt8cX7S6sB--vIoETD7YGWuAtizeJsgCLcBGAs/s640/Penny%2Band%2BTristan.jpg" width="640" /></a>On behalf of Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar and my beloved son Tristan, we wish you a peaceful, positive 2018.<br />
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Another chance. A new beginning......klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-71840428651328664122017-12-22T02:29:00.000+00:002017-12-22T02:29:39.275+00:00Wee Folks Christmas Wish, 2017.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZmFmM1nzLuFcWApP_TJ3Yo0LiDPeKqaxwREFnMFP_664MssphA_QS8RBnH_L54MMvFOJPn-HDplsZATS7tVSf5kCnukzhaXlT-jzG-Cxmwk5Z_kYnEhAMzAy9l6TgcSuiP2kiodxAA/s1600/Wee+folks+Christmas+Special.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZmFmM1nzLuFcWApP_TJ3Yo0LiDPeKqaxwREFnMFP_664MssphA_QS8RBnH_L54MMvFOJPn-HDplsZATS7tVSf5kCnukzhaXlT-jzG-Cxmwk5Z_kYnEhAMzAy9l6TgcSuiP2kiodxAA/s640/Wee+folks+Christmas+Special.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Ah, the blessed wee folks. The celebration of life's little wonders are truly cherished by Fidelina, the beautiful fairy princess, her loving husband, Geoffrey the garden gnome and their boy child, Einahalk. Rejoice and treasure the precious gift that is life. </b></div>
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<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MLdMCDGBLHo/TQqih6oJ7xI/AAAAAAAABW0/z8ajV0pZQq4/s640/Venetia+and+Teagan.jpg" /></div>
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<b>Love doth bloom. A budding, ongoing romance is there right before our eyes. </b> </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MLdMCDGBLHo/TQqmiHBazhI/AAAAAAAABW4/nWrudCCeqD0/s1600/Wee+folks+Christmas+tinsel+monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MLdMCDGBLHo/TQqmiHBazhI/AAAAAAAABW4/nWrudCCeqD0/s640/Wee+folks+Christmas+tinsel+monkey.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Cheeky monkey in a group hug with a couple of gnome wee folks. </b></div>
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<b>I fondly recall the times the wee folks played, danced and sang in the magical, enchanted garden where once they did live.</b> </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eGgcmlLXwz8/VnS2mzyHikI/AAAAAAAAIA0/wRWYea0iojM/s1600/Wee%2Bfolks%2Bindoors%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eGgcmlLXwz8/VnS2mzyHikI/AAAAAAAAIA0/wRWYea0iojM/s640/Wee%2Bfolks%2Bindoors%2B5.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>These days, the wee folks congregate on the living room floor of my apartment. Their Christmas festivities captivate as I gazed into the magic of it all. </b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Mmrtp4Hr-8/WFXiQjyI7zI/AAAAAAAAIS0/tkUfodNdyCAQRi9YRQ26nrq1E9rmyWQBgCLcB/s1600/Penny%2Band%2Bwee%2Bfolks%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Mmrtp4Hr-8/WFXiQjyI7zI/AAAAAAAAIS0/tkUfodNdyCAQRi9YRQ26nrq1E9rmyWQBgCLcB/s640/Penny%2Band%2Bwee%2Bfolks%2B2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Here's Penny the Jack Russell dog. Penny, symbolic of the lessons about her approach to life of one of non-judgemental, unconditional love. Note her and three of the wee folks. How content they all look</b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yg022TAoTcw/WjmUspQ_4gI/AAAAAAAAIiI/k2U14oOrobE8ARRjgGEkgUVj6MGCvDMuwCLcBGAs/s1600/Fidelina%252C%2BGeoffrey%2Band%2BEinahalk%2B001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yg022TAoTcw/WjmUspQ_4gI/AAAAAAAAIiI/k2U14oOrobE8ARRjgGEkgUVj6MGCvDMuwCLcBGAs/s640/Fidelina%252C%2BGeoffrey%2Band%2BEinahalk%2B001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Indeed, Fidelina, the beautiful fairy Princess, Geoffrey the garden gnome and Einahalk, wish for you, for all of us, to learn to live in peace. To embrace and learn from each other in an all different, all equal, inspiring diversity </b></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eMXk2SEnNFE/WjmAPrHBTvI/AAAAAAAAIh4/cTAsesOnvm4a8jGWJSlLF9_NAsR2tk2UwCLcBGAs/s1600/Penny%2Bin%2Ba%2Bfestive%2Bmood.%2BXmas%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="545" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eMXk2SEnNFE/WjmAPrHBTvI/AAAAAAAAIh4/cTAsesOnvm4a8jGWJSlLF9_NAsR2tk2UwCLcBGAs/s640/Penny%2Bin%2Ba%2Bfestive%2Bmood.%2BXmas%2B2017.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>And Penny, beautiful, loving Penny, believes in you, believes in me. Believes that "humankind" will be just that. It must be our legacy for our children. </b></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e76BBoVYFo4/WjMd0aoVQQI/AAAAAAAAIho/rRJWUxbkC5YxKW5qQy8hX64fNbUQWobQgCLcBGAs/s1600/Snowy%2Bday%2Benhanced.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1230" height="424" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e76BBoVYFo4/WjMd0aoVQQI/AAAAAAAAIho/rRJWUxbkC5YxKW5qQy8hX64fNbUQWobQgCLcBGAs/s640/Snowy%2Bday%2Benhanced.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A snowy night</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A glistening delight</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Immerse yourself in this sight</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Time to make our world just right</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Humankind</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Intertwined</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>As we seek to find</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A love aligned</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The wee folks want us to comprehend</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>That, together we shall create a magical blend</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Foes become friends</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>As we make amends</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Help each other</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sister to sister and brother to brother</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The wee folks and Penny, wish you well</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>As you dwell</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>In contemplation</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A better world for the next generation</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Help each other, we help ourselves</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>As told to us by the fairies and the elves. </b></span></div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-48145989042729875762017-12-07T02:03:00.000+00:002017-12-07T02:03:20.238+00:00The Door Is Ajar.Finally, at long last, it appears that the door is a jar. Nope, try again, the door is ajar.<br />
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The door that had kept me closed in, trapped in my own anxiety, laced with a liberal dose of negative speculation, is now ever so slightly open. Through the ever so slightly opened door, I embrace that glimmer of a new hope in a new reality.<br />
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The past year and a half have tested my mental health well being to the wildest, scariest extremes of paranoid, panicky despair. Government bureaucracy, lack of communication, passport problems and the what feels like the never ending saga of staring at planks, at scaffolding......<br />
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The anxiety, oh the anxiety lingers. The past year and a half have impacted me profoundly. And yet, I've battled against the injustice that toyed with my right to a peaceful, positive life. Despite struggling with the overwhelming sense of being imprisoned in my own very personal world of impending insanity, I'm nearly back. I'm amazed at my resilience as I now have my benefit entitlements sorted. That is such a relief.<br />
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As for the scaffolding and the planks outside my apartment, I've been informed that they will start working on the roof in February, 2018. By the time it's all over, I will have been stuck staring at the wood and metal monstrosity for ten months! It transpires that there has been an insurance claim issue as to who is responsible for the cost of fixing the roof.<br />
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The recovery after such a tedious, tumultuous time will be one of gently taking care of myself. The mental and physical exhaustion makes typing every word one small yet significant triumph in my passionate desire to get on with my life.<br />
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For the next little while, my posts will still be sporadic at best. Although, the wee folks have assured me that they will be doing there annual Christmas wish posting.<br />
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I want to thank you for your understanding. I've been most frustrated that personal situations have made it virtually impossible to even contemplate writing a post. I'm truly sorry I've been very much lacking in interacting with other blogs. If the truth be known, I'm embarrassed to have the comments section switched on considering my lack of being proactive.<br />
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If it wasn't for the company and supportive advice of Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar, I may just have stayed under the duvet instead of noticing that the door is ajar.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Thank you, Penny and thank you, my friend on the other side of my computer screen.</span></div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-64665162864855209412017-11-02T00:29:00.000+00:002017-11-02T00:29:49.602+00:00Change Of Circumstances.Hi there, yes it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar's human dad!<br />
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I've absolutely no doubt that you've been thinking, to the point of an obsessive tendency "Hmmmm...I do wonder when Gary, aka klahanie, will finally put up another post. He's been way off the blogging radar...."<br />
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Well, I'm still mostly off the blogging radar. This year has been a momentous struggle that has left me emotionally and physically exhausted. It has been one farcical, stressful situation that, just as I thought I was about to see a resolution, baffling bureaucracy scuppered the obvious resolutions I visualised.<br />
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I've filled in a questionnaire that dredged up pain I wanted to move on from. I've been to a face to face assessment that deemed me, a man deeply traumatised from workplace bullying, fit to go back to paid work. Yep, back to work, a few months before my retirement age. And yep, I went and saw a "work coach" twice.<br />
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It has transpired, that in actuality, I didn't need to see a work coach. I have been subjected to needless, panic-inducing stress for no reason at all. Nobody in the government bothered to tell me, that based on my age, I didn't need to go through the past few months of total hell. Thank goodness I'd done some research.<br />
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I will, starting on November 6, be receiving the proper money I'm entitled to, without going through anymore crap from our government. Yes, I'm nearly back with the exception of one idiotic situation that should be rectified in the next few days.<br />
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Because I was about to have a change of circumstances, I knew I had to inform my local council of the changes. I phoned the council and asked if I could see someone in person in regards to the changes that needed to be reported. That's what you could do in the good old days.<br />
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The lady I spoke to told me I had to report everything online. I switched on my computer last Tuesday and proceeded to try and report everything online. Trouble is, the online form had some sort of software error. I tried several times on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday and on Friday. I finally gave up and phoned the local council, yet again. This was now late Friday afternoon.<br />
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Somewhat laughably, I got a message stating that all their operators were busy and it was quicker to go online, or if I wanted to wait to talk to somebody, then please stay on the line. You bet I stayed on the line!<br />
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Finally, after several minutes, I actually talked to a human. I told her that I couldn't report my changes online. Turns out that she was aware of this and asked me to bring in any evidence as soon as I had it.<br />
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This past Monday morning, I received a letter in the post in regards to my new benefit. On Monday afternoon, I took the letter to the council office. The lady at reception was also aware of the software error. She asked if I had my reference code with me that I'd been using on the online form that wouldn't work. I didn't but I did tell her I remembered the last three letters in the code were "FLU" and that the whole process had made me feel ill. I now wait a confirmation letter from the council stating that they realise I have a change of circumstance. And so it goes.<br />
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I've missed blogging. Should be back with a fresh outlook very soon. <b> Oh, for one more time, the comments are switched off. </b><br />
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Oh my, did I get sick of staring at this. </div>
klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4219984917795758890.post-12201872276286206822017-09-26T01:14:00.000+00:002017-09-26T01:14:17.858+00:00Work Coach. I'm having one hell of a battle with the evil symptoms of chronic fatigue. I'm asleep when I need to be awake. I'm awake when I really should be sleeping. It feels like I have permanent jet-lag. And yet, despite the times I've actually managed to find the energy to see a doctor, there has been no obvious cause as to why I feel awful all the time.<br />
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After yet, after another one of my erratic sleeps, I can barely get out of bed as the ensuing panic attack is terrifying.<br />
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2017 has been a year filled with one anxiety-heightened incident, followed by another anxiety-heightened incident. I'm still staring out at planks. My apartment has had no significant light since early May. The faulty fire alarms were changed and the new fire alarms are actually acting worse than the previous fire alarms. This means, not only am I being overwhelmed by claustrophobia, I'm now paranoid that the changed fire alarms will go off at any moment.<br />
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During some brief moments where the chronic fatigue was a little less pronounced, I managed to gather the energy to lodge a formal complaint about the scaffolding and planks that are starting to haunt me. That was back on September 6. I have not got a reply back. As for the new smoke alarms, evidently somebody is supposed to come and check out the latest fire alarm farce this coming Wednesday.<br />
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But wait, that's not all. Yes, 2017 has been a major shit storm. Way back in early February, I got a questionnaire from our government's benefit department. Yep, time to fill in another long-winded questionnaire that, just like all the other long-winded questionnaires, dredged up the pain of the past. A past dominated by workplace bullying that nearly destroyed all that was precious in my life.<br />
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Then came the nervous wait to see if I still qualified for the benefits that I wish I didn't need. Month after worrying month passed by. The post through the door was enough to send me into a state of panic. Then, in mid-July, a letter arrived, in the dreaded brown envelope. I had to go to face-to face assessment. An assessment, just like all those questionnaires, that would dredge up the painful past.<br />
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Friday, August 4, the day of my face-to-face assessment, with a healthcare professional. This would be 90 minutes of emotional torture. I told the man about some of the incidents of workplace bullying that has caused me to have a total breakdown. A total breakdown that cost me my marriage, my home, my life savings, my health, physical and mental and very nearly, the remaining shattered remnants of my dignity.<br />
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I told the man that the idea of being forced to go back to some sort of paid work terrified me. He briefly looked through the 43 pages of medical evidence I had brought along. The meeting ended and the next worrying wait began.<br />
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About three weeks later, the next brown envelope came through my letterbox. It was an appointment to see a "work coach". Based on my face-to-face assessment, the benefits department had determined that I was capable of getting back to paid work. I nearly fainted with the anxiety this caused.<br />
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On August 30, I headed off to my meeting with the work coach at the job centre in Stoke on Trent. Much to my surprise, I felt quite calm about going to the meeting. The reason being is that I knew that my attending such a meeting was more of a cruel joke than anything else.<br />
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You see and yes, I know, hard to believe, but I'm 64 and only a few months away from retirement age. Aha, a certain Beatles song will now start going through your head.<br />
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I arrived at the job centre. I encountered a group of folks looking rather disoriented as they waved cans of extra strong cider in front of me. Yep and that was just the office staff. Okay, in case someone from the benefits department reads this, I'm kidding.<br />
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Right then, I walked into the building. A confusing set-up where there was no obvious reception. I saw a lady standing by the stairs. I asked her where the reception was and she rather boringly pointed up the stairs. I went up the stairs and there was still no obvious reception desk. I saw a guy sitting at a desk that I guessed might be some sort of reception desk. I guessed correctly. I told him I had to see a work coach named, Louise. He pointed to me to go up the stairs. When I went up the next flight of stairs, I saw loads of desks. Mostly empty desks. Way off in the distance, beyond the mostly empty desks, was a desk with a sign that stated the name, "Louise". Yeah, finally, I had arrived at the destination.<br />
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After Louise finished chatting to two other people in a very open environment where I could hear every word, she finally summoned me. Upon realising my age, she noted that I was there because of what was most likely a computer generated letter based on my face-to-face assessment. What's required of me is that I come in and tell her how I'm doing. No pressure to go find a job so close to retirement age.<br />
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I mean, can you imagine. I go work for a company for about six months and then I get a gold watch upon retirement.<br />
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Yes, it's been harrowing but, thankfully, although my benefit money has been reduced, I'm still getting benefits. To make this even more bizarre, I'm going to seek some legal advice because it now transpires that I probably didn't need to go through all this stressful crap. I did some research when I had my money reduced and discovered, that based on my age, I could actually get what's called, "pension credit." Pension credit pays more than what I'm getting.<br />
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How the hell I managed to type this much, what with this ridiculous chronic fatigue, is beyond me. You might well have scrolled through this and checked out the best bits.<br />
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And yes indeed, I'm switching off the comments section. I want to get to your blog and do something weird like leave a comment on yours. Unless you've switched off your comments section.<br />
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I also want to thank Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar for taking over while I'm this exhausted. Planks a lot, Penny!<br />
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<br />klahaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08613505424843475639noreply@blogger.com