ASL for DeafBlind Community

I have been advocating the use of ASL for everyone. Deaf babies, those who have been CI'ed and especially for the DeafBlind community. I hope you will enjoy this vlog I made and understand why I am very passionate for my beliefs.

Been MIA for quite a while..

Dear friends,

I've been away from blogging for quite a while. Good friends would follow up with me and ask if I was okay, etc. I appreciated those words of encouragement from those special people. Dealing with depression isn't easy especially when it is a daily basis. I am just blessed to have a wonderful husband who understands and supports me rather than tell me to "take a pill and go lay down". He listens to me and gives supportive rapport.

I am also very blessed to have three overly-affectionate furkids (my little bums) I call them. They just make their place on me or besides me. Currently, Mosey is snuggling besides me under my blanket and Lil'Bit is under the pillow that's supporting the laptop. Hannah is all curled up in her little carrier (minus the door) and she snoozes there when she wants to be quiet.



In this picture, Mosey is curled up on the corner of the couch, LilBit is tucked in a circle on the pillow and wee Hannah just loves to be cradled on my chest. She will walk across the laptop to snooze on the laptop for the heat or sit on the laptop and expect me to pick her up to be cradled like a baby. Yes, they're my little bums as I love spoiling them & they love/demand to be spoilt. It works out just perfectly!

Lil'Bit has a Maman, he loves her so much and will follow her everywhere. Maman is my sweet and close friend named Christina.

A reason for my being MIA is my Sjogren's as it really does hinder my physical abilities to walk and be active.

Sjögren's syndrome (pronounced show-grins) is an incurable, autoimmune disease that affects between 200,000 and 400,000 Canadians. Nine out of 10 people are women - typically over the age of 50 years.

In Sjögren's, the body's immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands. Lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) then attack and destroy these glands causing painfully dry eyes and mouth. Sjögren's can also cause dryness of the skin, nose and vagina. It can affect organs such as the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, lung, liver, pancreas and central nervous system. It is an all invasive disease. 

Sjogren's website - source 

Sjogren's has been debilitating my physical well-being as it is very painful to move around about. I am blessed to have understanding friends who will do alternative plans so we all are included in having an enjoyable evening. Bless their hearts!




Christmas is around the corner and today was the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto, ON.

 "Parades are set for this evening in Ottawa, Barrie, Orangeville, Bradford, Kingston and Cambridge."

Bundle up dear ones, it's going to be a chilly one today and afterwards as Winter is arriving!!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Pictures of my life

Hi dear friends,

As you all know I've been using this blog as an outlet to express my feelings. There are times I will pour my feelings into this blog and there are times when I leave very little entries.

Lately, I've been through emotional highs and downs known as depression. It's hit me very hard like a sledgehammer. I find it very hard to pick myself up in the morning unless I set myself up for a strict schedule. I'm at the library and I'm enjoying the beautiful view I see. The trees are dancing with the wind and the clouds are drifting ever so slowly. I love this part of the summer; Indian summer to be exact.

I can just get lost in those "dreamy days" and I love those dreamy days because it helps me recollect my feelings.

I want to share something that I've struggled with growing up. Depression. It was very hard dealing with depression and the only easiest way to cope with depression was to self-comfort myself by over-eating. I'd eat sweets and hide the wrappers out of guilt.

A close friend caught me by finding a bag filled with empty wrappers, naturally she was shocked and worried about me. Out of natural defense, I denied doing this which made things worse. I could have easily admitted doing it but I just couldn't do it.

A nervous breakdown resulted after a series of self-sabotage acts and a marital breakdown. This stirred up the dark demons which unleashed a lot of words that I regret saying and do wish I could take them back.

This has awakened me to another side of me that I didn't realise existed within me. This also made me realise I truly needed pyschological counselling. I did have pyschological counselling which I really benefitted from and will need to go back to it. I benefitted from pyschological counselling on so many lengths & I was so proud of my healing.

I healed within and outside; emotionally. Socially I was aware of how my negative actions ostracized myself from my peers and mentally I gained coping methods which enabled me in so many ways. I matured as an adult and the inner child within me had closure.

I have the gift of the present moment and I do not need to look back in the past because the future is important.

For this I dedicate the pictures of my life to my families and my friends who have impacted my life in so many ways, I love you all.

Patty oxox

An insight into my life

Been away for a while...

Hi dear ones!

How are you all doing?

I am doing good and have been away from my blog for a while. I've had no internet at home & we chose to cut off our internet as finances are quite rough for us at the moment. It was either the internet bill or the groceries. We need to eat so it's the internet that had to go.

The summer rolled around with quite an unexpected twist of venegance; the hot-hazy and humid days arrived! I was so sick with several days of vomiting and diarrhea, hubby was so worried and we had to get an air conditioner so I could cope with the heat wave. It's been over 3 weeks now with the heat wave Toronto's been having now. I've improved from the vomiting/diarrhea thankfully from hubby's tender loving care. I truly thank him for being there for me. *bows to hubby*

I am at the library at the moment and will leave a longer journal entry the next day or two. My apologies.

I want to leave a shout-out to Sherry at Word Salads for her words of encouragement! Thanks girl!!

Tactile love to all!
Patty OXOX

Beautiful therapy

I'm sick at the moment; bronchitis. Meh!

I'm very lucky to have beautiful therapy! Mosey, Hannah and Lil'Bit just heals me with their love.

I have a quilt on top of me and they all just gather around me.

These are my babies.

Lil'Bit

Hannah

Mosey 

Take care dear friends!

Hugs,
Patty oxox

He's here.. The Deaf Pianist!!

A Purveyor of Pleasingly Pianistic Pyrotechnics of Ragtime Music….and of life, too.

All of my life I have been active in and doing many things such as sports, music, enjoying the great outdoors, camping and just having fun in doing the things I love. Of course there is a certain pride and feeling of accomplishments to be on a winning team. Who wouldn’t? Like being on a little league baseball team where we won a championship game, for example. Or be on a soccer team where we won two state championships in a row in Washington State. I did well in wrestling by winning 2^nd place in a wrestling tourney. Other sports I’ve done well include basketball and baseball during my elementary and middle school years.  Soon my enthusiasm in sports took on the form of weightlifting where I began in my sophomore year in high school.  This continued on for 27 years culminating at the peak of my form by winning 3^rd place in the under 200lb category my first ever strongman event in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the May of 2006. Who knew I’d get to the point of flipping 500lb and 800lb tires, and pull a 12,000lb truck? (see http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-first-strongman-competition.html). I’ll certainly have something to tell to my grandkids someday. And during my college days as a graduate student and afterwards I spent several years training in the Japanese martial art of Aikido which is an exceptionally hard art to master. I have been thrown into walls breaking them, attained numerous injuries, including a 7 stitches knife cut in my right hand in one of my rare moments of slip-up in a self-defense exercise (for experienced students only) but we all had a good time laughing over it at the emergency room with my Sensei (instructor) and advanced students. We all pretty much experienced similar injuries. It goes with the territory on learning this hard art of Aikido. I don’t mind trying out in certain sports for fun like one time at Gallaudet University did I try out for the baseball team did I make it for the 2^nd base and short-stop positions but turned it down. I just wanted to see if I could make the cut.  Education was priority number one at the time. Though I took great delight in beating out my (accomplished) racquetball instructor during one semester of racquetball class I took while I was a student at Gallaudet. I believe I was the first student to do ever have done that though I never played racquetball before. After signing up for the racquetball course did I find out later how derisive the teacher was. I soon had the goal in mind hopefully wipe that smile off his face and the teacher’s attitude towards his students. I succeeded at that after a racquetball final exam by beating him at his own game….racquetball. After all that, I have pretty much retired my sporting days to focus on my new career which began at the age of 7.

My music began at the age of 7 when my fingers first touched the black and white keys on our first piano in my parents’ house. I begged my Mom and Dad to get a piano because I wanted to learn how to play the piano thinking it was cool to have a piano. Of the three of us siblings, my younger sister and older brother, I was the only one who continued to practice on our piano. Over the years I had fun performing at piano recitals though many did not realize that I was deaf/hh. In my early teens I discovered ragtime though when younger my first piece was a simplified version of “The Entertainer” - a widely popular and recognizable Scott Joplin ragtime piece. My love for ragtime stayed with me even while as I was absent from ever touching a piano during my college days and while raising a family that took away much of my time the opportunity to even play on piano on a regular basis. But that didn’t stop me from reading books and collect information, ragtime sheets and more. The internet over the last several years has made it easier to learn about ragtime, the people (new and old), the history and the music. My time finally came in December 2008 when I bought myself a piano.  I decided upon a goal to get back into ragtime with fervor and become the first known deaf/hh ragtime pianist. It will take some time, gradually and slowly for sure. I am already capable to make this happen.

When I have a goal, I set my mind to it. It won’t be easy to be an accomplished ragtime pianist. This will indeed take some time since I started my long hours of practicing last year starting January 2009. I’ve been absent from my piano much too long. My fingers and hands would require getting used to playing the piano on a constant basis. Just like when it comes to sports or exercising, one has to build up to it until so you can practice for hours and not have your fingers get tired. At first I was sore and felt clumsy playing it, my coordination was a bit off but with gradual practicing and finger exercises I was finally able to get to the point of practicing 4 or 5 hours a day if I wanted to. Though my normal, ideal, amount of time is about 2 to 3 hours a day. It takes time to get the proper hand/eye coordination in place, have your brain adapt more fluidly to reading piano music sheets, getting the dynamics down correctly, knowing where to place your fingers and hands without looking, learning to listen to the notes and make sure they sound right, get the timing down, using the right amount of application, getting the right melody, and so on…..done automatically. For me, it takes even more practice to get it down right while others are a pure natural at playing the piano. I may be a “natural” in some sense but it sure doesn’t feel like it...yet. There is a 25 year gap I’ve got to catch up on. Though my sight reading on new music sheet pieces are becoming easier nowadays though by no means I can whiz right though them.  There are thousands of ragtime songs out there, many of them available over the internet.  I collect them for my growing ragtime portfolio. My goal is to play as many of these songs as possible, even memorizing them. I’ll eventually move into more early Jazz pieces (e.g. Jelly Roll Morton) and stride piano (e.g. Fats Waller) someday soon. For now, it’s all ragtime and lot of catching up to do.

I already have a ragtime blog called “Ragtime Piano!” which can be found at: http://ragtimepiano.blogspot.com. You can follow me there. I’m always keeping an eye open for any deaf/hh pianists out there, too. So far, I already have a company that will sponsor my trip to Missouri to attend the week long Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri (seehttp://ragtimepiano.blogspot.com/2010/04/raggin-my-way-to-scott-joplin-ragtime.html ). I have performed in front of an audience in Portland that takes place once a month. Since I am a member of the Portland Ragtime Society, I plan to continue with this since it will help my performance skills in front of a live audience. So, don’t get surprised if you hear my name mentioned someday as a deaf ragtime pianist.

I have many accomplishments in life, sports, education, music and such; I continue to move forward looking for new things to tackle. Accomplishments and goals are what keep life interesting and challenging. Instead of making excuses, think of a goal you want to try and accomplish. Don’t set your sights too high but make your goal a manageable one. Once you’ve succeeded in accomplishing your goal set another target and go after it. And make it a fun and challenging one while you’re at it, too.

*I am so honoured to have Mike McConnell as a guest blogger and want to really thank him for writing this entry. *

Deaf Pianist to attend Ragtime Festival

It's a rarity. A juxtaposition. An oxymoron. An unique hobby and for someone to be quite skilled at this one too as well; I admire this.

A Deaf Pianist will be attending the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival amongst 6,000 visitors and many other wonderful ragtime pianists.

Kokonut, of Kokonut Pundit as well of Ragtime Piano is the next guest blogger I would like to have ask to do us the honour of sharing his life experiences. He has an amazing life story to share and I feel it is his story to share.

Smile,
Patty

Guest Blogger - Sherry from Word Salads

I am so proud to have my very first guest blogger today and she is Sherry from Word Salads. 


This is her entry today.

First I’d like to thank Patty for asking me to be a guest blogger. I am honored to be here!

I will talk about what has shaped me the most and it will probably make most of you uncomfortable but it is my hope that some of you will learn something from this post.

My 34 year old daughter Nicole passed away on June 10, 2009 while I held her hand and prayed it wasn’t really happening, that it was a bad dream and she would wake up and say “I am fine, Mom.”  Instead I saw her take her last breath on earth.  It was a nightmare that came true for me in ways you cannot imagine.

That singular act profoundly changed my life forever. It changed my view on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It changed the way I sleep, the way I eat, and altered my trust and distrust of people. It fractured what was left of my family and my friends vanished into the night.  If it could happen to me, it might happen to their own children.  It is normal, that fear. Death is not contagious but the fear of one’s child dying is.  It is a lonely place to be but I will not chase them and plead my case.

Whenever I start to fall deeply into despair I remember what Alex, my boyfriend told me. “You can visit the past but you cannot dwell there”.  On those days I put Nicole in a mental, escape-proof drawer and lock her up. I refuse to think of her because it is too painful. One must regulate this sort of pain, so many milligrams every 4 hours or you will overdose and fall into a hole you might not climb back out of.

I lost a lot of family in a very short time. It was like watching a stack of human/canine/feline dominoes fall down dead. That analogy came from a nightmare I had not long ago.  All my relatives and pets were lined up like dominoes and down they went, one by one.  That nightmare was my reality and I miss my family and pets. They will not return.  Shuttered up in mental lockboxes I have them. I only take them out momentarily and think of them when I feel strong.

But you cannot fold up your wings and refuse to fly again.  They say time heals all wounds but when it comes to losing a child, not so true. What really happens is you learn to breathe again without feeling like you will scream.  That is not any kind of healing…that is living with the loss. If you became blind due to a virus and recovered from the virus, you would not think you had healed.  You would feel changed due to the vision loss. A loss of a child is sort of like that. You are forever changed and never will be the same. I am not comparing the two experiences however,  I am talking about healing versus living with a loss.

The death of a child is the greatest loss one can endure.

When I go to sleep I always worry about her. It does not take long for my sleeping medications to kick my brain to the curb so my worrying lasts only a few minutes every night.  My thoughts start up like clockwork…Is she okay?  Is she around? Can my dad, uncles and aunts see her?  Were they surprised?  Are they together?  Will I see her again in a form that will make me happy?  I really want answers.  I don’t want to share her with a million other souls, she is my daughter not theirs. I didn’t want to give her back at the age of 34, she was not returnable in my opinion while I was still living.  Then medications quiet my brain and all is well until morning.  At first light Nicole enters my mind and I say a silent prayer for her.  “Please keep her safe”, I pray.  I have always worried over her. I still do.

The ghosts of Nicole haunt me all during the day so I have had to change my routine. I seek solace in simple things in order to find happiness. Freshly roasted coffee.  No more Folger’s.  Alex shows me the barn cat trying to play with the deer. I see the fox run across the front yard. No matter what, I get that hug from Alex. I count on it. Gini the daschie always knows I am crying, she runs from the other room where she is sunning and leaps in my lap to lick off my tears.  It makes me laugh.  I do not cry long because it hurts too much.   

What I would like for readers to take from this post are three things:

       Appreciate life.  That says it all.

When someone loses a child, be there for the parent. Of course you are “sorry” but go beyond that. Be a friend. You have gone on with your lives but the parent is suffering horribly still even 10 months later.  Time stops for the parent.  Be pro-active, even months later. 

Love your children. And while you’re at it, take lots of photos. You will not be sorry.

In closing I hope as soon as you finish reading this you hug and kiss all your loved ones because it is a blessing that you can do that. Again, thank you Patty for letting me be a guest blogger. I hope everyone will appreciate life more. 

Sherry from Word Salads

Hi dear ones

I am going to invite several friends I know quite well and a few of them I admire for their tenacity, their beliefs and as well as their perseverance.

Some of the friends I am going to invite to be guest writers on my blog because quite a few of my friends have gone through similar life paths as I have.

I would like to invite Sherry from Word Salads to be my first guest writer because I look up to her and her amazing tenacity to be strong. She has gone through so much in a short period of time. Sherry has grace, compassion and best of all, a beautiful heart.

Sherry does several blogs and I don't want to go any further because I want her to share her own personal information at her own discretion.

HUGS!
~me

Sunshine - where are you?

"Sunshine, where are you?

Hiding away from me,

what can I do?

A cat and mouse game

so cute and vain

Sunshine, I need you

My skin and eyes,

they burn in your presence.

A love and hate relationship

but I ache for you.

I look up for you and you hide

when I need you the most.

Sunshine, where are you?

The cute and vain 

cat and mouse game.

Burn my skin and eyes,

I need you and welcome you 

like a long-lost toy."

~me

まるの - Maru

まるの is Maru, a beautiful Scottish fold cat that has attracted international attention. I watch まるの everyday because he brings a smile to my face with his antics. 

まるの's blog can be found at this link.

Laughter is the best medicine & it's free!

~me

For fellow Christians

With His love

~me 

Hoppy Easter!

Hoppy Easter to you and your dear ones, my sweet friends! 

"Sweet bunny, furry and soft

come to my loft

Sweet bunny all doffed

with a cute pink bow 

just for the Crofts

Sweet bunny, furry and soft"

~me 

Tranquility with love

To be tranquil with oneself is to accept one's faults and allow room for mistakes.

To allow one to have tranquility is to share love and acceptance. 

Tranquility is beautiful; share it with a loved one. 

~ me ♥

Entertainment and the core value of it.

Entertainment and what's the core value of it sickens me these days. I turn the TV on; we don't have cable, thank heavens for this. We borrow our movies from the libraries and we get our entertainment news from TMZ and/or PerezHilton  as well.

There's a couple that I feel should really get together because they both have an innate need for attention.



Tiger Woods and Gloria Allred just seem to be magnets for negative attention. Those two I can do without when I go on TMZ/PerezHilton or watch the news.

What's even worse, there's a pr0n movie called "Tiger's Wood" with both spoof characters inside this. Eww!

En Fleur Lavender (Lavender in Bloom)

Hi dear ones!

How are you all doing? I am doing good, very relaxed. It is 2:38 am. Yes I am wide awake at this very early hour as I woke up to two very sweet faces nudging me; one was head-butting me and the other was giving me the all-too familiar "shivers".

We know who gives me the "shivers" as my dear friend Tam calls this, my little girl Koi does this. I call her mine until she perks in and says "No no my PiC, she's mine!!" (PiC is Partner in Crime) Tam is a sweet friend of mine who has gone through so much and still maintains her positivity; she doesn't know this but she's a constant source of inspiration for me.

I've fed the sweet one who gives me the "shivers" and that would be Lil'Bit and the gentle head-butting is Hannah. I love how she really means each head-butt and head rubs. She'll rub her head against mine and say "I messed up your hair with... l.o.v.e!" *purrrs!* THAT is just Hannah, *sighs*

Mosey is right in your face, he will just plop himself right in your arms even when I am typing on the laptop and he will help himself to kneading. He shows his emotions right away after having a quarrel with either Hannah or Lil'Bit. It's either instantly to me to knead to comfort himself or he'll go to the food  dish to eat to comfort himself. Mosey is the human me, 100%.  If I'm cross with Mosey, he will meow pitifully for hours and make sure I know his wrath. He will not come to me and will only favour Chris (hubby) & this tortures me. Very rarely does this happen because I'm usually broken down to tears when this happens.

As I type this, a particular lavender I use all the time and it's dangerously low in stock at the moment!! I use my good friend J9 's lavender and her lavender products as well. J9 is an abbreviation for Janine Tucker and she owns En Fleur Lavender. If you recall from previous posts, I made a lot of sachets as well as a personalised pillow insert with her lavender; her lavender is potent. They last an amazingly long time. I use the lavender on a "must-daily" basis for both migraines and relaxation purposes.

Lavender has many incredible uses -

Lavender has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy, and does indeed appear to have antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsive, and last but certainly not least - anti-depressant properties. 

Lavender I use comes in two forms - the essential oil which is quite costly and the alcohol form as well as the buds. I am very fortunate to have been spoiled by the best lavender grower who takes pride in her product as well. Janine made lavender jelly and let me tell you this; they are heavenly! They're perfect for Afternoon Tea, baby/bridal showers and so on. You can have an assortment of fancy jellies and different teas; oh can you imagine how it would be like to have Afternoon Tea? I guess I inherited my Gma's love for fancy teacups whereas I drink those beakers, eh?

I encourage you all to check out this wonderful site - En Fleur Lavender and you will not be disappointed! I wish this site had scent-o-meter as this flat is very aromatic at the moment with soft lavender. The great thing about warming up lavender, it helps lull me back to sleep which is what I am doing after this.

Take care dear ones,
Love,
Patty oxox

Accessibility found at Kokonut Pundit

Kokonut Pundit shares something in common with me that we both take very seriously; accessibility.

A snippet of Kokonut Pundit's blog entry -

Accessibility refers to the extent to which a product or service can be used by as many people as possible. In this context,accessibility means designing applications so that people with disabilities or impairments can use the applications on a BlackBerry® device. 

When you design your BlackBerry device application, consider the following users: 

• blind people

• visually impaired people

• colorblind people

• deaf people

• hearing impaired people

• speech impaired people

• people with motor impairments

• people with cognitive or learning disabilities

Like any other group of users, people with disabilities or impairments have needs, wants, and expectations about the behavior of applications. Some of the reasons to make your applications accessible to as many users as possible include the following possible benefits:

• Social responsibility: Making it easier for people with disabilities or impairments to benefit from the functionality that your application provides can promote equality and is the right thing to do.

• Market share: Ensuring that your application can be used by people with disabilities or impairments increases the number of people who can purchase and benefit from your application.

• Compliance: Addressing the applicable guidelines and regulatory requirements (such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the United States) that dictate that your application must be accessible by people with disabilities or impairments can allow you to enter certain markets.

source- Kokonut Pundit 

Kokonut Pundit's headline consists of this quote;

Don't use deafness as your crutch. We all face adversity in our life and don't let it become an obstacle but a challenge! Kokonut Pundit, a nationally known professional patriotic purveyor of highly entertaining and informative blogging.

Granted Kokonut Pundit is a controversial blogger and he has his strong opinions as well. Everyone has their opinions and I do respect Kokonut Pundit because we both mutually agree on something; accessibility is everyone's right. 


Hop on over to Kokonut Pundit's blog and hang on to your hat, white cane, hearing aid and/or CI .. whathaveyou! (SMILING!) Yes, I am teasing!!

"Accessibility is your right. Deaf, hearing, blind and/or sighted." ~Patty Keen

Easter and the true meaning of sacrifice.

Easter and the very true meaning of "sacrifice"-


"We live and die; Christ died and lived!"  ~John Stott


"And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him.  For He departed, and behold, He is here."  ~St Augustine


"Ye sleeping buds, break
Open your green cerements, and wake
To fragrant blossoming for His sweet sake."  ~Margaret French Patton


"The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise."  ~Carl Knudsen


"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."
~ Pope John Paul II


"In the bonds of Death He lay 
Who for our offence was slain; 
But the Lord is risen to-day, 
Christ hath brought us life again, 
Wherefore let us all rejoice, 
Singing loud, with cheerful voice, 
Hallelujah!"
~ Martin Luther


Nowadays I see a lot of candies, trinkets, toys replacing religious value during Easter time and it is as if religion is "taboo" to discuss. It saddens me because the discussion of descension and ascension of Jesus Christ was always brought up each Easter. 


Easter was never complete without watching "The Ten Commandments" portrayed by Charlton Heston and to this day, I still get moved by the movie.  


It is unfortunate that advertising has taken over our sacred holidays to the point where we have to fight back and point out the merits of leaving our religious holidays alone for the future generations. We wouldn't want our future generations to be raised solely without religion. 
Happy Easter to you my dear ones.
Much love and sending His prayers to you all,
Patty oxox

A new addition to our ever-growing family!

We have a new addition to our ever-growing family and he's a sweet lit'bit! Get it! His name is Lil'Bit and yes, he is actually a little thing!!

He is just so cute and a real gentleman, I just love  ♥  this sweet creature!! 

Mosey and Hannah, at first, they didn't want anything to do with a feisty little dog who had a sassy mouth but Mosey took a liking to Lil'Bit. Now Mosey loves Lil'Bit and Hannah just runs to Lil'Bit side when the boys starts to have an argument. It's sweet seeing the boys cuddle up together. 


Here's a video of the whole gang together, it's just so cute I tell you! 





The beautiful spring weather is finally here and I am just excited! I cannot wait to go outside and just bask in the sunny weather and especially go for long walks without worrying about slipping on a patch of ice anymore. Come on out everyone and absorb all the healthy Vitamin D!! Be sure to slather on the sunblock though! It's just NOT sexy to be burning yourself to look tan! 


Your natural colour is the sexiest colour, believe me!! I don't plan on roasting myself, I definitely will be slathering myself with the SPF 50 and keeping my natural colour plus the wrinkles - the laugh lines, let's call them that. 


Take care and take care of your eyes and hands!
Tactile smile,
Patty OXOX

I am proud of myself!

"I am proud of myself!"




It's not often I can sign this about myself. Growing up I have struggled with a very low self esteem; I have finally learned that I do love myself and I really do like love myself as a person, a sister, a daughter, a wife and especially a friend.


It has taken me almost 37 years to arrive at this and it's a beautiful insight into my life. I am able to enjoy my own POVs, debate with others without having to say "We're okay?" Hubby and I have an amazing marriage and what helps this is that we were actually very good friends before we dated. Hubby and I have been married 4+ years now & been together 6+ years as well.


Just recently I left the ALIP program for several personal reasons; I know I will go back to the ALIP program at George Brown College. GBC will be there and so will the ALIP program.


I am proud of myself for accomplishing my life-long goal and dream; to go to college.


Hubby and I are working on accomplishing another one of my life-long dream and that's to be a skin-Mom. I'm already a Mommy; you see, I've been a furMommy to several babies. 


My first was to beloved Misty. My Mosey was my first boy. Beautiful Ashy (A piece of my heart went with you my baby girl, you left me a year ago and I still cry for you. You knew Mommy couldn't see at the right and you were my shadow.) My Wooky, the sweet yet feisty rabbit that witnessed Ashy's death. I had to return Wooky back to her furfamily because I wasn't able to deal with Ashy's death. My Wooky was my first rabbit outside of my family; my sisters and I were raised with rabbits as well as my father was.


My sweet Hannah, our first special needs cat, taught me a lot about patience and understanding her need for space. Hannah taught me a lot by scratching my face. She'd bite me, bite my head and most of the time, her claws would get stuck in my nose. Oh it was always painful but I had to stay calm. I knew Hannah was nervous and scared.


Hannah was originally from Niagara Falls and she was found in Hamilton. Toronto Rescue Society, where Mosey and Ashy were from, rescued Hannah. TRS is a no-kill rescue group. 


Hannah taught me when it was okay to approach her and it was her decision to come to me for cuddling. Right now, Hannah is a Mommy's girl *bigtime* she is jealous of the new addition to the family- very jealous!


Lil-Bit, a very sweet gentleman, came from a Deaf family that moved to a retirement condo community and they weren't able to take their little boy with them. They were heartbroken because their Lil-Bit was their boy since he's 4 years old. I can imagine their pain as Lil-Bit is so sweet and affectionate. My parents took in Lil-Bit and their Daisy can be a bit too much for Lil-Bit. Daisy can add stress to Lil-Bit because she is anti-social and has anxiety tendencies; it does rub off on Lil-Bit.


I brought Lil-Bit with us to our home and he's getting on along quite well with Mosey and Hannah. Lil-Bit has been by my side since we arrived yesterday but I'm proud of myself as normally I would have gone over my way to make sure he was comfortable. This cute boy is something!!


Tactile love,
Patty oxox

Just me and my cane..

Just me and my cane

Just me and my cane,
tapping left and right
feeling the wall with my left hand
and the right eye darting in between places.

Just me and my cane,
Feeling the intricate fabric of scarves,
touching the beautiful jewellery,
the saleslady asking if I need assistance.

Just me and my cane,
I motion to my ear,
shake my head and gesture to my eyes
"Just looking, thanks."

Just me and my cane,
my partner in life,
my reassurance, my independence,
Always dependable and always there.

Just me and my cane,
a part of me and a part of who I am.
My eyes, my ears and my voice,
please don't kick my cane.

Just me and my cane,
I am complete with my cane,
complete with full vision
my cane and I.

Just me and my cane,
tall, thin, white with a splash of red,
Fondly called as Dottie by her handler,
Trusty sidekick for life.

Just me and my cane.