Christmas is coming!

Well I know, you know its coming but ....its coming!  the Marbardis are coming up to play with us and we might have a house full here as a central place to host folk but we are still working out the arrangements. 

Bluey  is going to work right up to Christmas Eve but I'm off now until late in January!  I've started doing things for the holidays like I've finished my christmas baking..... that's going to the stores buying stuff and putting them into  tupper ware in nice groupings and dropping them in the frezzer only to be discovered in March of next year. Oh I do a Christmas cake... Step One: take the local fundraising cake, this years its the Lions cake, soak a cloth in rum and wrap it up in the cloth and then plastic wrap. Step two: open it up every few days, add more rum and mavel at what genius you are, rewrap. Then when the season is upon us serve up delicious cake that no one around here likes but I find totally delish! And I get lots of it.  What is it about Christmas cake that people really love it or really hate it?

Did I tell you I played Santa at the Neighborhood Centre Volunteers party last Monday and got asked to come back to the Limited Hours Child Care Centre on Wednesday. The Child care is the gig that started the santa business in the first place, but I haven't done it due to health and then they wanted a less confronting image for the little kids so have they have had an Elf do it the past couple of years. I was an old bushy santa with my red and green hawaii loud shirt. my red shorts pulled up to my arm pits with this big black belt across my big belly (no padding needed unfortunately) and black slaps on my feet.  So the director of the center though it might be less confronting.   I had the whole beard hair and hat going as well. I only terrified one child and  a couple others stayed back but some were pretty cool and came right up. Its way fun.  

At the volunteers party I had the same dress but they didn't really have anything for me to do so I greeted folk and had this big empty bag so I sort of did Prednisone Santa and went around collecting purses  and the crackers off tables.  "every year its give give give but this year its all about santa getting something." I thought I was hilarious and some others thought so too but some were still trying to fathom a Santa Clown figure.

We are off to the "The Correct central Queensland city" (Wright-McKay's) for breakfast, then we are all going to see AUSTRALIA the movie at 9:30

Why am I up at 6:00 am blogging? because Floydd was up for his walk at 5:00! I'm getting some good walking and lots of time in the mornings to do things, but I'm beat at night.

more later

Chris

I have new news

We went to Brisbane overnight last Thursday and stayed with Jo at a conference then drove into my doc appointment on Friday and came home that night. 

Two steps forward one step back.

I'm starting to ramp down the prednisone (the one that makes me make Bluey crazy) it will take four weeks to go to zero. And he took me off the lasics (the one that makes me into a fire hose) unless I am retaining water so two pills off ...but one new pill!  Another type of immunosuprression so i'm on three for a few weeks then back down to two kinds.  This new one is to help my body get off the prednisone and I'm guessing I will get weaned off that later, I hope.

So prednisone boy is going away. I'm not unhappy about that it is nice to have lots of extra energy but it puts my body in fight or flight mode all the time and that's not good. The prednisone also messes with my blood sugar (makes it high) and it increases appetite so I'm doubly screwed. 

I met a lad in the clinic this time that seemed to be a teen but has Downs. His name is Ben and I expect that it really sucks being at day 35 of his BMT. I at least understand some of the reasons for all this stuff that goes on but he just knows he has to do these things and that he feels bad. He liked my loud shirt.... it's the 'skeleton'. The nurses got me to model it for him because he asked about it from a distance. So I showed him and then gave him the shirt. 

This could be my new thing. Buy the way Chip at this web site

has great loud shirts by mambo. And you can see the skeleton shirt here.

Anyway Chip is making me a deal on two new shirts so its like Christmas. I'm off at the end of this coming week and plan lots of blogging. Yes I know you've heard  that before. .....We'll see!

more later 

Chris

Hello, another rainy day day in paradise

yes it is thundering a bit but it is very hot with very high humidity. yesterday we had a nice wind that kept things cool a bit but not today.

Its Saturday Bluey is on her computer doing Uni work. I'm down loading new updates and talking to you.

Okay I just found out that my messing around adding the subscribe thingy to the foront of this blog caused my download to crash so its starting again...oh well.

Doc Shoozenboots called me today. he was due to talk to me last Friday (not yesterday) but when he didn't call I presumed that things were find with my interim blood test. But he called today to say my test was fine but that I was to drink more water. This was a scream as I was on my way in to Joyce's work to pick her up and GET A DRINK OF WATER!  Weird eh?

Anyway I seem to have settled a bit with the Prednisone and am still hyper but am trying real hard not to succumb to the irritability part. I even had a very streesful day on Thursday and kept it together very well.

I haave been organizing the school annual used computer sale and this time we had 8 laptops going out at 100.00 each, yes that is a good price and no you can't get one. I had heard from several people that they were going to line up earlier than the 8:oo amm start time so came and hour early only to find 20 people in line. Apparently the line started at 4:30 am!  I had prepared cards with numbers one to eight so that I could relieve people as to the outcome once the sale started. We all looked at each other and I thought it would be okay to start the sale since anyone coming later would not be getting a laptop any way. So in 40 minutes I had sold 8 laptops and 15 desktops! We had achieved our goal of unloading the old out of warranty units with a minimum of labour! Wildly successful. But..... its not just about being fair it about being seen to be fair! I copped a bit stick by starting early but when I got a chance to explain that the OUTCOME of the sale was determined by all those people lined up early and not any thing I did  everyone seemed cool.  In fact one mother of a disappointed daughter challenged us to work out a way to reduce the angst even more, meet our requirement of being easy, make it totally transparent, and even see if we could get some of the computers into the hands of parents and kids that may have trouble even getting the 50.00 or 100.00 we were charging.  She even offered to kick in for one next year. 

Watch this space for future developments on 'Comps for Kids' the foundation!!!!

I'm pretty pumped about this idea but that could just be the chemical talking ;-)

more later

Chris

Hello, hello...... is this thing on?

Yes I know I have used that old joke before but sometimes I just can't help myself.

Yep its been months and months since my last entry. Sorry life got in the way. It is still in the way but I've been feeling like I need to blog so here  goes.

It is full on summer here now. Its hot and lately very sultry with storms in the late afternoon evening. Today, Sunday, it was a bit cooler then the last few days and nice and sunny and dry with a great wind that was just refreshing.

Bluey and I and Chilli and....Floydd went down to hear Gene play at a small Music In the Park gig. It was an activity for community members that don't get out that often organized by a staff member of Joyce's. 

Gene was great but Floydd was over taken by the joy of it all and the fact that I haven't learned his language yet and he peed all over the foot of a friend that was sitting beside me visiting while we listened to the music. I was mortified. She's such a great lady she just laughed but how bad is that. We don't blame Floydd at all we just kept him close on the leash for too long. Lesson really learned. 

Floydd is a rescue dog from the firing squad at Gayndah he is very charming and polite and very well trained . He is smart smart smart. We don't get why he wasn't snapped up but a connection to Jo took him even though she knew she couldn't keep him ( She all ready has 2 dogs, three cats, five kids.... you do the math) so Jo got him and she knows I've wanted a border collie for a long time.  He's been here two weeks but he just passed probation, Chilli was given veto power and it took her a little time to welcome him in but she has now so he's here to stay. 

Bluey is getting cranked up with fundraising to finish off the building fund it looks positive  for a construction start this coming year and maybe even finish before the end of 2009 or early 2010! i'm helping with campaign as well.

I'm dong a shave campaign again but I plan on shoving my two newest recruits Tamika and Erin to the fore. They are two student leaders in the community that both had mentioned to a Community worker that they wanted to shave this year and they are both excited about helping with the campaign and maybe taking it over for the following year. We are all working very hard to get a number of smaller satellite  shave/color events going in the schools this year and we are identifying students in each school already. Stay tuned.

I'm doing Lighting consultation on a Production of Wizard of Oz at the Brolga and just got invited to do the Lighting Design for hamlet at the local  little theatre, Z-PAC. They have got some new equipment and the play is a challenge but its one that could allow a great deal of creativity in the design. More on that later. 

I've been meaning to do some classes for young folk on lighting and sound and I may see about combining this show with that idea. More on that later.

So its probably a good thing that I'm on a new drug the side effects, of which, include increased hyper activity! Yep  I'm on Prednisone (oh you have to google this one).

I just had a look back at my blog because I thought I had told a story about Prednisone way back then. I can't find it but the story is that the main Hospital Registra was concerned about my weird behavior over Neutripeno Man.  You know where I dressed with my undies over my pj pants and my dressing gown as a cape......you know the super hero that is saving the world one neutrapenic at a time beacuse due to an industrial chemo acident he has way, way too many Neutriphils himself .... yes that what the Registra was worried about,.... was there a drug reaction to explain this hyper activity?... and aparently Shoeszenboots said "No that's just Chris, but God help us if we have to put him on to prednisone. 

Ta Da ...He's back!  That smooth talkin. jive walking energy junkie with the wakefulness and a word about everything. Its the newly created Prednisone Boy. 

Anyway I'm already feeling hungry and having to watch my food, I'm way too in tune with the cosmos and although Joyce sees it differently, I only remember getting irritable when Joyce talks about shooting Prednisone Boy - to get her man back. Apparently it has mild personality altering effects. What?.......uhuh.....uhuh........uhuh ... got it. It has huge spiked personality effects mostly to do with the areas of  getting along with humans that I am cohabiting with.   I wish we could pick and choose our symptoms but ....! Bluey has to be fair on this though, I have made her laugh so hard she has shorted a couple of times. 

Okay, why am I on this new drug? Because my fat ankles were not responding to laysics to get the water out. I have a mild form of GVHD in the skin of my ankles that leaves them spongy so I'm starting big and then I get weaned down until they still control the GVHD but reduce the sideeffects. 

My friend Jerry  with the heart transplant is only on 7 mg a day, the husband of my PhysioTherapist is down to 10 mg this go round for his kidney transplant and I'm on 25 mg a day. Perhaps Bluey has a point.

Anyway in two weeks I get to see what's what at the doctors. 

I've been writing for a while here so I'm going to sign off and recollect on stuff I saw in the old blog' s

a link to lists..... Principles/parables of my life - a list! March first 2007

PS you can check out Neutripeno Man in blog on FRiday March 23 entry.

A new look for a new time

Well I have been very very slack lately.

I've thought about why that might be...Partly its because I was pretty tired after "A Close Shave" and then we travelled to Canada. I have increased my hours at work and we are moving forward with the house plans so I guess when I look at it, I understand it. But...

I do want to keep in touch with friends that have been quite supportive to me and so I have revamped this blog and will try to make more timely entries.

News: We are going to Canada in August. John and Marlene Chorny are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary on the 23rd and we want to be their.  Jo and Gene are going as well. We are also going to spend more time at John's farm helping them with their house.  We have a few other things in the "what if" planning stages but more on that later.

I'm back to the subject of food.  I know and you know that fish is good for you and tastes good too. Some fish, shellfish in fact is really good in the taste department like lobster in butter sauce, prawns in garlic sauce, scallops on the half shell with creamy garlic and creme cheese potatoes.   You may see where I'm going with this thread?..... Not yet?  Well the things that go with some fish is the part that tastes good but in reality that part is bad for us, yes dear reader a half pound of butter melted to dip lobster in pretty much negates the good in the basic fish!  So I have been trying to come up with recipes for fish, plain good eating fillets of regular fish, that taste as good as the battered deep fried cousin that is so bad for us. help Bluey and I get over this hurdle in our good eating campaign. 

Health: Yep I'm eating pretty much anything except buffets but that's as much snobbery as safety.  I'm back on shell fish, and leftovers if they are really fresh and I know the history. I'm back on take out from special places. I'm still not looking at moldy things and soft cheeses. I actually do like vegetables and  I have been doing a lot of the cooking again.  I am trying to stay away form fancy sauces but this brings me back to the appeal above. Help me with recipes.

We got around to asking Doc Schoozenbootzen about my one  year test results and he said. "the scarring and fibrosis in your bone marrow has completely resolved". "Sounds good" says I "but what does it mean." "You are in total remission!" And my liver levels are down to near normal levels so that good too.  I'm still on immune suppression drugs but that's okay I guess. 

House: We have our plans into the Certifier and after fixing little issues...

the soil type didn't match the foundation so we had the foundation reengineered

the prices of steel has gone up 5 times since we paid our deposit on the kit homes

and  a bunch of other little things we are at the final stage and we may have an announcement next ......

More later

Chris

Just a birthday wish for my Bluey

Hey its Joyce's Birthday on May 26

I just reread what we were doing last year at this time and though I would repost this little excerpt

"I'm so lucky that Joyce is able to be here to help me through this. She is so good at her job they had no second thoughts giving her 5 months off to care for me. She is strong about making me take meds I don't like including water every ten minutes. She can drive like the wind and get me to the clinic in record time while I'm raving with a temp of 40 degrees and not panic or be anything but totoally calm and reassuring. She can wait and wait and (wait for it)...................wait with me at the doctors offices all the while inventing new ways to amuse me. Have I told you latelly how great Joyce is? Thanks Joyce, I love youlots and lots more laterChris"

Hope you Calgarians can help us celebrate her BD

On the road again

Well I have been totally absorbed by life in Hervey Bay and have not blogged in eons. But you, gentle readers have been busy too.

Arleen Hobbs has an exhibition of her watercolors up in Calgary (that we are going to see). Decidely Jazz Danceworks are doing a show in Calgary (that we are going to see). Cole and Emily Evans are taking art classes (and we are going to see their work) Mark has been busy getting well AND cleaning the garage (which are going to check on ourselves) Kathy has been opening businesses and closing businesses and goodness knows what else. (We don't get to see that but we are going to get to see her and Cory and Devon). Regan and Travis are getting more more in love and are tying their abundant love in knots (which we are honoured to be witnessing). John and Marleen and Nicole are close to having their home finished (which we get to see)

Mike and Gayla are doing stuff (which we get to share in) Derrek is going to tell us what he's been doing (to our face)

I'm tapping this up in the China Airlines lounge in Taipei on the way to Canada. Woooohooo
much more later
Chris

Oh and on a sad note, the owner of the little fruit stand near our house, Jimmy Barlow has very recently passed on and will be buried beside his wife under the angel he erected on their hill. He will be missed.

the rest of the pics

Well we are waiting for our plane back to the bay. its been a very busy 9 days. We tasted wine and beer and cheeze and been in caves, and atop a bell tower. 

This picture was an art shot done while we were at lunch at a beautiful wine estate Leeuwin.  We had lunch at Vasse Felix, Leeuwin. Laureance, Wills Domaine and Amberley. We tasted wine at 18 cellar doors. 

We started seeing caves in the morning before the cellar doors opened. the first was Mamoth Cave and well we were there we heard

about the other caves but until we ran into Jules at Xanadu and he was so passionate about Lake cave and how it was  living cave, we hadn't set on it. 

the next morning before the tastings of the day we went down down down into it. It was beautiful. here's a shot of the light show in the cave. very special.  Here are the long thin "straws" hanging from the roof they grow about one inch every 25 years. 

Newbie  in the stocks at the round house goal in Freemantle. It was the first prison but only 8 cells. Right on the harbour. 

This is the Swan Bells tower we lucked out and arrived just ast they started and hour of ringing all sorts of different changes. I was very cool. It had been purpose built to allow visitors to see the ringers and the bells on different levels. they even have closed ciruit TV so if you are on the bell level you can see the ringers and vice versa. way cool. They had a deck above all that had great veiws and you can see that there was a open, glass sided gantry around the bell tower side (facing us in the picture) and Guess what the whole building moved with the wight of the bells swinging. It was very un-nerving but really fun.

more late Chris

Margaret River, WA

Well ...we're at Margaret River in Western Australia for a week and we have been tasting wine and eating like a house on fire. Since I'm not drinking so much still, I get to be the DD and Bluey and Newbie are the Designated Drinkers and they are taking their job seriously. So for two days I've been getting "Its only 20 mins to 5:00 pm we can fit another one in before they close". I exaggerate for effect of course but we are having fun discovering little out of the way small wineries and other points of interest

We are going to move to another little boutique hotel tomorrow and then into Perth, Freemantle actually, for the weekend and then back home to HB. It’s School Holidays and that's how I can get away.

I have been having a great time back at work. The school has more students then ever and a lot of stuff got built, added and improved in the year I was away. They still like me, I don't get as much time with individual students as I like. It’s more administration now but that's okay too. I'm getting to be a serious multitasker! I do love it though, especially when I get to work with the kids.

I've been having some time off for tests lately. I went down over Easter and had my annual bone marrow aspiration on Good Friday! There I am spread eagled in a loose toga with the doc poking me with a sword in the side. I thought I was in an Easter pageant! I won't get my results for a few weeks but the doc said my blood tests that morning were "excellent". I also had all the other tests the following Tuesday so we stayed in Brisbane for the week end and did tourist stuff. Those test results are not in yet but the lung test guy showed me the results and they were up to my usual best and a tiny bit higher then when I started out over a year ago. I was stoked.

All this means that our plans for a trip to Canada are going ahead and we have booked tickets!

We leave on the 23rd of May and get back on June 13th. I haven't worked out the exact internal stuff but we are going straight to Calgary and stopping in Victoria on the way back. We also have plans for the 31st of May in Calgary Regan's wedding and the 26th of May in Calgary ...we want to celebrate JC's Birthday! Any suggestions? Other than that we are still filling in the blanks.

Anyway that is our big news.

More later
Chris

Reflections on Easter

At the very least, Easter is a time for contemplation.

The first thing to contemplate is that: in Australia its the beginning of Autumn whereas in the northern hemisphere its spring. So its a time of renewal but that's not what's up here. Yet here I am thinking about renewal. huh?

It’s very pope like or Royal to make pronouncements on Easter but the ritual is about renewal and since my anniversary date falls very close to this full moon perhaps it is a good to be making pronouncements.

Its not so much pronouncements anyway,  just some random thoughts that were off shoots of conversations held over the past few days. By the by, if I drift off topic a little,  that’s because the Mac Store is across the street and I can hear the Airbook calling.

http://www.apple.com/retail/macbookair/

So Bluey, Newbie and Bevenator were at Mass Sunday morning and came back and were waxing philosophic about the meanings of the day and Newbie had a really neat concept that I have to relate. That the Supreme being exists out of time or at least exists in all times such that you gain (have prayers answered) wisdom/strengths in advance of when you may need them. With this concept I guess you have to allow for gaining the necessary wisdom after the fact too. That works for me as how many times have we talked about learning from our mistakes. I should mention that we saw Sinead O’Connor Saturdayt night and she’s touring in support of her Theology album so we have had many references to faith over the past few days. It was very interesting listening to Newbie and Bevenator chat the other day.

Bevenator thinks I need to use this “pulpit” to present various cases; the most recent in her mind is “testifiying” that my treatment was all the better because we had the option, my consultant and me, to choose to go ahead now with my BMT while I was strong. In other health systems, that choice may not have existed. So I should make sure that this option exists for any of you gentle readers. The “sermon” today is: buy private insurance, and see your doctor regularly. I guess the rest of it is that we need to work in our various circles to insure that we have a health system that allows people to have these options.

More sermons later on such topics as getting the Leukaemia Associations in Canada and the US to adopt "World's Greatest Shave" as a fundraiser in March so that we have heads shaved around the world.  Also coming is getting face book to ban the 20 friends thing!

We also talked about matriarchs in families that are diaryists and recording the events of their lives and that, in examples put forward, were consulted by younger family members as to when things happened. They acted like the older societie's story teller might have. They are the holder of the oral history..... except they are written. 

I was reminded of a painting on a buffalo skin that I saw in the Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump interpretative centre outside Fort Mcleod. 

-----Warning art content coming.

This paining was a history of the tribe over many years. It was a swirl of pictograms starting in the centre and spiralling out. Each pictogram was painted as a representation of the most unusual event in the previous year. So this painting with hundreds of these little symbols represented several generations of the tribes' life. There may have been a heavy snowfall that year or a big flood or little meat to hunt or a sickness but each year the painter would pick only one thing from the year. Imagine limiting your life to one image? This is my image for last year.

So why don't you send me images from your last year and I'll start up a multistrand collage thingy.

Just use photo bucket or email them direct to

chrisolin22@hotmail.com

If you want, give me multiple parts to an image idea you have, and tell me about it, and I'll cobble them together in photo studio; like I did this one.

A collective art project.

------Oh this will look good.

Shut up, it will turn out just fine.

-------You know they say the camel was designed by committee. It was intended to be a horse!

No, this is going to be good 'cause it includes just enough purpose to get it started but leaves everything open for serendipity!

-------- Does it bother anybody else that he is now talking with two voices?

more later

Chris

How long is a piece of string?

Often used as answer for when there is no answer; usually like .... "when will you take the junk in basement, to the dump?"  How many times will George Bush mispronounce words?  So when Doc Schoozenbootzen said in response to my good news about the Shave....(he was clapping by the way) " that's good now your next assignment is the 30,000 Steps for Autism", it posed a question in my head.

How many steps in a kilometer? 

The Doc wants me walking an additional 6 km a day and that will burn off 1kg of Fat in a month. he thinks that will be good training. I walk between 3000 and 8000 steps at work a day. These are the facts. Now to the pieces of string.

Newbie says a person should be walking 10,000 steps a day just to maintain a good fitness. My friend the Science teacher rekons that the average person, when walking will travel .4 to .7 of a meter per step; for me he thinks .6 m/step. Now the Doc, yesterday, added that the organizers of the 30k step deally think its about 27K  It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1. I'm screwed

2. I better get started now to get into shape by July.

3. I'm screwed

4. it doesn't matter how long my stride is because...

5. I'm screwed

How do I get myself into this things?

So I had better close as I have to spend the day looking for really long peices of string.

More later

Chris

One year tests this week

I started my One year tests this weekend. I know its Good Friday but the clinic was open and I was booked for an intragam and had the Bone Marrow Aspiration at the same time we were in and out in only a few hours and I didn't feel a thing.... that I remember. I get sedation now and don't remember anything but I was saying it hurt it hurt or so says Joyce. I prefer to think of myself as the stoic type just grinding my teeth and being quiet but who cares as I'd don't remember a thing. 

Doc Schoozenbootz said my blood tests that morning were excellent! So that's good and I have been working on my diet and have cut way down on sweets, and for those of you that have ever stood between me and dark chocolate can attest to, that's something hard for me to do. Remember I'm the guy that postulated the dessert pocket theory.  Anyway I have diabetes that has been brought on (they think) by genes and by weight so I have to get a grip on this or start losing toes!

Anyway the Newbie, Bluey and I are in a new swanky hotel in Brisbane CBD chilling this morning bloging, reading the paper and waiting for the Bevenator to call and give us our plan for the day. We have tix to Sianead O'Connor tonight and bluey and Newbie are going to a dance show Sunday don't yet know what else we are doing but on Tuesday I finish most of my tests. Lung function, chest xray, ECG, 19 tubes of blood, skin tests etc.  and then Newbie gets on a plane to Cairns on Wednesday and we drive back to HB. 

More later 

Chris

Well its done!

The event was amazing there were about 125 people there and there was entertainment from the fabulous women's Choir and from the Rock On Social Club, It was the all singing, all dancing, all shaving extravaganza! There were some amazing stories about people giving.

Today after some sleep we counted money for hours and I even got a call to go to a ladies house and pick up another 100 dollars.   No not that way! She just donated the change she takes out of her purse over the year. Cool eh!  Anyway here's the totals. My campaign to date ... 6587.00 the group raised 10,397.00!! both over the goals of 5600.00 and 10,000!!!!!!!!!

The final leg

Well I actually have two legs so this may not be my FINAL leg, but you get the idea.

5 days to the shave event. A Close Shave looks like it might be a big party! We have members of the fabulous women's Choir coming and they are going to do a song I understand. The Rock On social club are going to do a demo of good old rock and roll partner dancing. Bronco Jensen from Tun-a-fun is going to DJ and MC and I'm going to get rid of this mop of hair. at this time last year I was worring about losing my hair and this year I can't wait.  

I'm a little concerned that I'M STILL UNDER 50%  to the goal with only 5 days to go but the event looks big and I think there may still be a couple of larger donors swimming around  yet. I hope so. 

bluey and Newbie and the Neighbors went to Fraser island for three days of relaxing and as it turned out eating gourmet meals and drinking good wine. We took way to much food but had a great time. We did a picnic to Eli Creek, drive on the big beach, reading, a trip to Lake McKenzie and a dip in the spa. We are a bit tired today as we got up early to catch the barge back and its still only 11 am. 

more later

 Chris

Shave, Shave Shave Shave

Wow I've been working on the show Oklahoma for the local community production. I did the lighting design and helped with giving my two cents worth in other areas as requested. I have just finished the first week of 'production week'. I focused last Thursday, set levels on Friday, Tech runs on Saturday and into Sunday, tried a stagger through with the orchestra but didn't get finished. We did focus and level notes on Monday afternoon and finished the music stagger through on Tuesday  and did a full tech dress on Wednesday. Two days off and we did a big, full dress on Saturday and that went pretty well, I thought, with no stopping just some notes after. I'm not there today, for another full dress, as I met Bluey at the plane. She and Newbie went to Tassie for the week last week; see newbie's blog  for details. Anyway Bluey is glad to be back and is resting and blogging and just enjoying me and our dog.

I've been trying to nail down prizes for the shave event and we have a wonderful piece of jewelry for Studio Jewelworks to raffle, thanks to our pal Andrew Maddern. The Madderns have been big supporters of our projects this year. Anne and daughter Bec stopped by several times in Brisbane, brother Andrew has been our 'go to' guy for jewelry design since he returned to the bay from the big smoke a few years ago.  He started his goldsmithing with courses at the TAFE taught by Jo. Big thanks to Andrew. 

We are looking like we may have a bit of a crowd on March 15th and I'm starting to work out job descriptions for the volunteers, any helpers out there?  We need folk on the door taking gold coin donations, a person to 'gatekeep' the raffle prizes, raffle sellers, door prize gatkeeper, etc etc

Communications Director, Newbie has got me doing a daily update on the shave page to let you all know how its going and it is a bit nerve racking. We are under two weeks away and still have 2/3 of the money to raise. Keep a look out.... at the very least it will be good theatre!

I'm now looking for any last minute shavers or colorers to register at the shave site  and to let me know that they want to do it at A Close Shave. When you register choose "part of an existing team" and put in A Close Shave .  You still get your individual page but your tally is included in the team tally. We have 10 of us registered and I know about another 10 to 15 are getting colors and shaves without registering. 

Any raffle prizes out there? We are looking for anything at all we can join things together into packages if we need to. We will let our donors put out cards and brochures and thank them in the blog, shave page and a final ad in the paper.

Thanks so far to ET's, Foxy Furs Pet Grooming, Toast, Coffee Club (HB), Amcal Chemists in Pialba Place, Joan Stefaniuk, Meleah's Hair, and Hervey Bay Face and Body Therapy for helping to collect money.

Thanks to HB Face and Body Therapy for shaving their own heads, waxing others and generally being great supporters. Thanks to RnR Hair and Taylor Hair for doing shaves and colors. Thanks to Hervey Bay hotel for letting us invade. And Bronco Jensen for Tun-a-Fun music and MC ing the event.

This space could be for you to be thanked for raffle prizes or other support

Can't you just see your name there?

Thanks to all my OS supporters; I have money from Canada, England and the US. Wow. 

So keep checking back here for news and the shave page for the tally.

Oh and there is a small matter of  a challenge: that for a price I may have to offer up a Brazilian. At great personal risk to my friendship, I have sought confirmation that Hervey Bay Face and Body Therapy would be able to do the necessary 'work' .  But I still need  to confirm what price I may put on it. If you missed it see the comments  on the prior posting. What's your comment.

Thanks

more later Chris

Friends helping my Shave campaign

My wife's friend, Brenda, is visiting from Canada. She took a little trip to Adelaide, up to the centre, on to Darwin and back here last week. At the Sydney Airport she was walking along a busy concourse and looked down and found a fifty dollar bill. No one seemed inclined to have lost it so she thought that will go to Chris's Shave campaign. On on a sand dune in the dessert she was taking photos and looked down to find a five dollar bill! That will go to Chris's campaign as well! Then at the Darwin airport she got a bit cocky and started looking for lost money but only found a ten cent piece. She reckons God wanted to make a contribution but wasn't sure of the post code. So we have another $55.10 for the Leukemia Foundation.


My Friend Joan Stephaniuk is helping to raise funds for the Leukemia Foundation. Every week Joan takes her collection tin to Belly Dancing classes. She Crochets feet decorations for her Belly Dance class mates to "buy" for a donation; she plans to make 100 pairs of them and has done 20 pairs so far. Joan plans on going to to a few clubs to see if she can pass her collection can. She is a Legend.

Media release this week:
As part of the world’s greatest shave in support of the Leukaemia Foundation, A Close Shave at the Hervey Bay Hotel, is firming up. March 15th at 7:00pm will see over 20 people, so far, shaving their hair off or coloring their hair at the event. Organizer Chris Olin said “We even have one guy who is going to have someone wax his legs”. All these participants are out raising sponsorship to do the ‘shave’ with all proceeds going to the Leukaemia Foundation. The Foundation provides accommodation, support, information and counselling for patients and families battling blood cancers. Olin said “ This is important because it allows the patient to stop worrying and concentrate on getting well”

Mr. Olin had a Bone Marrow Transplant last March so on the anniversary of his transplant he is going to shave his hair off. He said “Everyone is close to someone with cancer maybe even a blood cancer, I had a close shave last year so this year I’m having another one, and calling it A Close Shave. I’ve been amazed at the support I have received so far I’m 25% of my way toward my goal of $5600.00. But more than that businesses have gotten on board in a big way. The folks at the Hervey Bay Hotel are being fantastic.”

Also providing services or equipment are RnR Hair Design, Taylor Made Hair and Beauty, Hervey Bay Face and Beauty, Rock On Social Club and Tun-a-fun Karaoke & Entertainment.
In addition the following are helping with collecting donations, The Coffee Club, Amcal Chemists, Bendigo Bank, and ET’s Dry Cleaners. Olin said “Edith and Trevor have been great at ET’s. They have had a donation can for only two weeks but it filled up and we had to open it. Their customers have been generous to the tune of $204.00 …in small change!”

How can you help? Come to the event on March 15th to cheer on your pals; Make a donation at the above businesses or online; or volunteer to ‘be Brave and shave’ just go to the web site www.worldsgreatestshave.com and register. While there you might look through the gallery for your friends that are already registered.

For more information or to join A Close Shave call Chris Olin on 0418 182 205. Or go to www.worldsgreatestshave.com/profile.php?id=384364


more later
Chris

Rain, Recipes, regular communication...warning rant coming on.

What a day! What a day of mental changes!

It started out with me blogging for two hours and then losing the website because the rain cut our microwave link. Then it got better..ish
Anyway lets start with the two hours I lost then on with the new news. I’m writing this on Word as the rain has dropped a bucket again and we are not connecting. So..

Rain. Its great the first time in a season and good the second through to the fifth time but I’m over it now. Although we have been in drought for the past few years (some rain but never very much and way below average) this rain is welcome but… When the almanacers started skiting about this being a wet summer we were all asking questions. “will it fill our property dam?” “Will it fill Lentahal’s Dam? And will the council drop water restrictions?” “ Will it be green?” What we didn’t ask was “will my toes get athlete’s foot?” “ Will the water ruts in the driveway swallow the car?” “Will my hair ever get dry again?” All these questions have been answered: Yes; Yes up to 80% but only cut back to level one restrictions; Way yes; No but they itch; No but all wheel drive will take on new importance; Guess not yet.

Its been bucketing today, It rained on Saturday at Eumundi Markets, it rained last week and the week before but not on Australia day. The good news is that its a “wet heat” and not a “dry cold” its been up to 30 most days and down to a pleasant 24 or so on cool days. Sorry I know you are in deep freeze in the Canadian West. Anyway the rain could stop anytime now. We have been teasing the Newbie about her bringing the rain but she’s on her way to the desert tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.

Anyway enough about my rain problems….. lets talk about my recipe problems!

Rant two: I have had two recipe cards (you know those written down pieces of folklore that you pass around to friends and relatives?) these two particular cards on peach lined paper one for Hamburger Stroganoff and the other for Crustless Carrot Quiche (both look absolutely delicious BTW) were, I thought from my sister when we opened a lovely packages she sent with Brenda. I thought they were a continuation of an idea my Mom had in 1978.

Mom keep getting calls from adult and almost adult children along the line…”Hi mom, no time to talk, but how do you make your …… dish”. So the Chirtmas of 1978 all the four kids got a little 3x5 ring binder with recipe cards. Hand written. They were her and our favourites. I still cherish and use mine. Prticularily because I get to see what my sibs though was the best, I get to remember my mom’s cooking, but mostly because I get to remember my Mom and the effort she made. There must be 50 recipes in mains, desserts and household tips. And remember there were four books done. All hand written. It would have taken weeks.

Anyway I though what a nice thing to do I’ll just write some of my latest inventions out for my sibs and pass them on. But…

Rant three: I can’t find my notebook/folder of my creations.

When I was a kid my Mom could find anything I was looking for usually right where I had just looked! It drove me mad. She could just walk into my room an pick up the whatever and say in this best snarky voice “Is this what you are looking for?” She could find it in seconds. Stuff I looked for, for …… well minutes anyway. Guess what I can Vhannel my mom and it now drives Bluey Mad. She can’t lose anything that I can’t find sooner or later. I just can’t do it for myself sometimes. So I’m stoming around looking for my folder that I had out of the recipe book shelf ‘cause I was going to put a recipe in it last week and it’s gone. Just Gone.

Bluey being a bear of much bigger brain then I found out why I wanted the folder ans said “ those cards aren’t from Melissa anyway” what?.....

Rant Four: Why can’t I remember stuff anymore? Whose cards are they? And while we are at it whose gave us this nice recipe card on cemercial recipe card stock that says “RECIPE” in big scrolley letters with pictures of baking on the bottom? We can’t remember. I was sure the peach colored ones were Melissa’s handwriting and the other one could be Colleen Gibson but hey. We’ll wait for any information that may be forth coming.

Oh and the kicker….. tha cards Bluey thinks fell out of the folder when I had it out last week!!!!!!

Rest comfortably dear reader the 1978 ring binder is safe in my kitchen library.

All this comes to mind I guess ‘cause Jean Olin’s Birthday is Feb 6th.


Health Report

Last visit saw Doc Schoozenbootz well pleased with me. Liver levels down but no I couldn’t reduce the immuno-supression. Cholesterol levels down and Yes I got my Lipitor cut in half. He wants me to walk 6 kms a day! To drop weight and to train for my next fundraising activity but more on that later. I had used a pedometer 18 months ago and found I walked between 8000 and 12,000 steps a day at work so at a 1000 steps a kilometre I’m definitely good for 6 kms a day.

I started work last week and that’s good but I reinjured my right knee cartiledge on the last trip to the docs and then pounded on it to setup the Australia Day Party so I’m way twisted when I walk. I’m on the mend but I have an appointment with the Physio to get me walking smoothly again.

My regular GP is concerned about my blood sugars and had me tested and they don’t look to good. Hands up all those that have seen me down desserts and sweets and thought to themselves this could be a problem someday? All across the world right now people in offices, internet cafes, homes and libraries are asking …Why does that person have their hand up? Oh and those of you ectamorphs can just stop waving and shaking or arms…no you don’t get extra points. Its just to cruel a fate especially for the inventor of the Dessert Pocket Theory.

The Dessert Pocket Theory by Christopher Linton Olin BFA

I believe that inside my tummy is a secret pocket that operates thusly. When a meal of deliciousness has taken my tummy by storm and no more morsel can fit in, the sound of the dessert trolley going by or the waitperson’s question “Dessert anyone” triggers the dessert pocket to open thereby creating just that bit of extra room to allow the consuming of ‘just a bite of something sweet”. Room for a bit more.

Well no more. I guess I will be cut off shortly. But I have an appointment with Doc Blueberry this week to see.

Bluey’s good but we are unhappy to say that her sister has been quite sick and may have Ross River Fever. She sees the Blueberry tomorrow so we’ll know then.

Hey the rain stopped!

It’s night time now and we had a good afternoon in town, lunch out and many chores done to get the Newbie ready for the desert. So that good and..

The Shave Report: I talked to some people at the school and we probably can get something going there. I have to replace a full donations can at the Dry Cleaners. I just found out that Alicia has scored counter space for a can at the Pharmacy. I figured out an idea to take a “blood talk” to primary school kids while in the bath getting my muscles to release. An idea and a relax too!

Editors note: my friend and one of the queens of the language, Merilee, has written to me... "Don't talk to primary school kids while they're in the bath. Wait until they get to school." Which leads me to believe that she has spotted the dreaded misplaced modifier. So the above probably should have been something like "I figured out and idea, while in the bath, about taking a blah blah etc etc."

Oh and I know that Marlene and Susan both spotted this as well. thanks for keeping my on my toes. I love the feed back. 

I need to crank up my Close Shave campaign. We have three of us shaving and almost 10 coloring but the pledges and donations are only at $1000.00. Okay I know that that’s good in fact, but there are 30,000 Australians living and battling with a blood cancer this year. They need your support.

So please give something.

 Give your time to campaign, shave or color. Give your donation to my website or to me by calling me on 0418182205; I make house calls. Or just talk to someone about the Worlds Greatest Shave.

So its now 7:30 in the evening and all in all the day’s been fantastic.

More later
Chris

Saturday night and here we are blogging

&tIt Saturday on the east coast of Australia. 7:50pm and that's around 2:am in Victoria & Seattle, 3 am in Calgary and later and later on the other side of North America That's Well evenign on Saturday for us and early mornign saturday for the NA folks anybody else just has to email me and I'll setup another clock widget in my dashboard for your timezone.

Well I have been busy the past weeks. I have started practising my drum, my bodhran and doing my music theory books, I've been setting up my 'shave' campaign, doing preliminary things to help the production of Oklahoma, getting mentally ready and practising getting up early for school and  finding time to play with bluey and Chilli.

I've got to do a glucose tolerance test as my local GP doesn't like my sugar levels but Doc Schoozenbootz didn't seem to worry but I'm going in on tuesday to keep doc blueberry happy. Other then that I'm doing really well. 

;div>

I dropped in the Red Cross the other day as i had business next door and on the spur of the moment went it to the brand new shiny collection centre just to say Hi and 

thanks. I told them I was an end user of their product and wanted to see where it came from. a nice Nurse named oops just about forgot.....gracious nurse showed me around to every room and nook intorduced me to all the staff and the volunteers I got to meet and cheer on a young lad giving his first bag. He was type O so I may get his blood products in two weeks so I really Thanked him! 

I did an interview with the local paper and it's in today. Its a launch of the World's greatest Shave its here at photobucket if you want to see it. 

I've made a pitch to a local Hotel to do the shave event there on Saturday the 15th and I think they are going to go for it. so My hair comes off then.  I'm putting up posters around town to encourage others to join in to shave or color or perhaps for guys to wax their legs. So far bluey is coloring along with a few friends.  Our pal Louise who runs a local beauty salon and her offsider Kirsty are shaving. We have two hairdressers on board to help out and they are even up for a package deal. Like a beauty treatment, hair cut ans dinner out for a price thats gets money into each of the sponsors and to the foundation.   I'm getting excited. we are planning on using a team name  'Close Shave"

More later

Chris

The new year

This image is just under 14 months from left to right what a year its been!

I thought of doing a Christmas/Newyear letter but my blogg has been that kind of chronical all year long ...want to know what went on?..... just dig through the archives.  To hit a few highlights....... 

look at March 17th for the report on my actual transplant on March 16th and March 30 for the report on my return from the land of the Neutrapenic. It was reall interesting reading back a bit! I had some much help through that time. I am really blessed. 

We usually take down chrisy decos on Ephiany... Jan 6th.. but I've just this minute decided that I'm going to change the Blog today.  There hows that?...Maybe a bit busy but I'm going to let it go for a bit to see if it grows on me.

I had a signing lesson yesterday! Well I got Lisa to coach me to learn a song that we want to introduce to the Acoustic nights (first sunday each month at Z-Pac. Our neighbors Doug and Christine told us about it and we went at the beginning of December and loved it so are going back this Sunday. Gene performed first visit! he's a very accomplished guitarist now.  Anyway Bluey and I are going to get more involved and she's learning the concertina.  I'm learning the bodhran and the ukelele. This song I wanted to learn is a closing song from the Calgary Folk Club and we thought this local group might like it. You can google it and learn it as well then we can all have a good sing. its Called Let Union Be.

Bluey is at work all day, sigh. Its a little quiet around here when she's away. 

Lynn & Peg Sykped us from two dog ridge this morning and gave us a video tour of the lounge room. We saw snow out the window and that just fine. We like it 12,000 miles away!

count down to Brenda coming!!!!! She gets here on Australia Day jan 26th. those of you within  driving distance should think about joining us on the hill for the 4th or 5th annual Party. its a very eclectic affair but we think we are moving it into the afternoon evening this year as everyone stays all day anyway. More details to follow. 

more later

Chris