As we head into fall, (yes we are, don’t try to fight it). I can tell we are because the morning air is decidedly cooler, the school zone speeds are back and some people are already changing over their closets to sweaters and jeans.
O.K. one of those people is me. I can’t help it. After summer I’m ready for a weather rest, some home-made soup and fall programs. This autumn I’m going to be making another change. I have signed up for a healthy eating/exercise program, it’s been too long since I felt really good about myself, and I’m a proponent of self-esteem for women. Too many of us doubt we’re good enough, thin enough, sexy enough etc. etc. It’s hard to accept that I’m not at my best health wise. There has been some self-exploration going on and while I encourage that for everyone woman I meet here at work, it’s been a tough go.
Not being happy with the way your life is going can affect so many other aspects. If you are broke, and driving a 5th hand beater, it’s hard to feel strong about your ability to teach, if you’re living in a tense and/or dangerous marriage it’s difficult to see how brilliant your art work is. We need a catalyst sometimes, something to break up the perpetual grey clouds we’re under. For me it’s losing weight, getting a healthier cholesterol number and maybe break the pattern of kidney stone occurrence with a better diet. What can you do? Do you need help to move beyond the brick wall? There are programs, counsellors and activities galore in Powell River. Whatever it takes, remember to take care of you.
Tonight is the Blackberry Days Street Festival; the night where you walk from Alberni to Duncan seeing and talking to people you literally haven’t seen since last year at this time. Tasting all types of food, listening to music, watching the belly dancers and chatting with friends. It’s generally a good time and a celebration of our home town. 
Does this picture cool you down a bit? If so, you’re welcome. I added it because of the blog post title. The ‘Deep Freeze’ actually refers to cleaning the ones here at work, but it served a dual purpose to me.
There was an announcement recently that the newly elected NDP are raising the income assistance rates by $100 per month to $710, and the disability pension will go to $1,133 per month. At the same time, many landlords have raised the cost of rent by, you guessed it $100 per month. I understand that those folks that have rental properties need to ensure their costs are covered. I see the bills that come into our place. I know how much hydro, natural gas and cable set us back. The costs are climbing just where you live. This doesn’t cover the price of food, transportation, or entertainment. 
There is a nasty trend out there at the moment. Other transition house societies will agree that it’s been on the rise all over Canada, and our agency has had training in it as well. What is it? 
An early warning sign of relationship abuse can change depending on the abuser. Sometimes you know what to look for, sometimes it occurs to you afterwards. In the workbook for victim service workers called ‘helping an abused woman-101 things to KNOW, SAY and DO’ I found a list of signs and decided to share them here.
In my prior career there was a man named Joe* (not his real name). He was fascinated by keys, sets of keys were even better. We surmised that it stemmed from his time spent in an institution and his understanding that ‘he who had the keys had all the power.’ Joe was right.
One of the things I like to do is converse with people, to find out through gentle probing what their life is like, their history, family connections etc. I don’t know if that’s the writer in me, an occupational hazard, or am I just a busy body? It’s my considered opinion though, that the majority of humankind like to talk about themselves. Whether it’s in a lounge, bar, coffee shop, hairdresser’s chair, or supermarket you can always hear someone using at least one ‘I’ statement. 
Instead of writing yet another mawkish Mother’s Day post, I have decided to focus on some of the traits I inherited from my own, (mother that is). She is patient, and wise, funny and driven, a caregiver and open-hearted. She has been hurt, stung by sarcasm, and seen some real rough personalities. She has lost many people to illness and death but keeps bouncing back. She has shown toughness and tenderness in the same half hour period, she forgives quickly but she doesn’t always forget! Don’t assume that her silence is agreement; she has learned that you can’t change a person’s mind with arguments. She knows the difference between classy and a fake but treats them the same anyway. There are a few real no-no’s in her mind; hurting her family is #1! 
I was talking to an acquaintance recently and she was bemoaning all the ‘stuff’ happening to her and in the world generally. I empathized with her, but relayed my favourite mental exercise in response. I hope this makes sense to you.
Depending on your spending habits, ability to pay debts and attitude towards owing money, the credit card picture above could either scare you, make you anxious a little or render you speechless. It’s hard to believe how much power these little pieces of plastic have over us. I personally think it’s irresponsible of the credit card companies to hand them out like candy to potential diabetics. This is a spending world and credit cards give you the illusion that you can keep up to the Jones’. If the Jones’ are rich, no kids, and own their own house (complete with maid) this may be a step too far for the rest of us peons. 
March always reminds me of daffodils; (It 
