Cathi’s Comments for December 31, 2016

This has been such a roller coaster year, with a wonderful high of my daughter’s wedding to the deep low of the loss of Jim’s mother.  In between I very nearly lost my own mother and by some miracle she was able to be present at her granddaughter’s wedding.  We travelled this year for specific reasons:  first an urgent trip to Ottawa to see my mother for what I thought would be the last time, and to come home and turn around and leave for a memorial for Jim’s mother in Connecticut.  Then in late August, back to Ottawa for a truly lovely wedding.

Being such a busy year with sudden changes – not just at home but a work too – there just wasn’t the time to do everything I had planned.  I started sketching out the illustrations for my Troll of Barondale story but am nowhere near finished; I have the canvases for 3 paintings I’ve been planning to do and they still aren’t sketched out; I got as far as the title of a chapter for Nanowrimo which of course meant that the book I was going to finish wasn’t; the pallet garden swing didn’t even have the pallets moved from the wall they are leaning against.  I’ll stop now before I get sad thinking about it.

I did start, and then stop for a bit doing the elliptical but I’ll be back on it again in the new year.  Our dog had a torn leg tendon and sore hips that had us worried we were going to lose him at age 9; instead we found a good new vet and began walking him 15 minutes a day.  Between walks, fish oil and glucosamine he’s almost his regular self.

So what did I learn this year?  Well, that after 15 years I felt the need to once again defend the legal reasons for using my own name which quite frankly burns my butt that I have ever had to do that at all. I think I’m tired of fighting over stuff that shouldn’t even be questioned. I still wonder whether it was wise going back to work, my soul sings when I write and paint and do my thing; I find myself spinning my wheels knowing I have things to offer but not quite fitting the bill so where am I more valuable?  I wish I had the luxury of answering that honestly; I have bills to pay and food to put on the table.  So for now I tread water holding my breath, waiting for who knows what.

The good news:  daughter’s wedding of course!  Son’s grade 12 diploma.  Jim and I got a family doctor, and tests show that I am a low risk of heart disease.  Good to know.  Seeing my mom again after 3 years of no time and money to travel back to Ottawa and even though she lives in shadows mentally, brief minutes of lovely clarity brought her back to me.

Where do we go from here?  For now, our little deer visited home in the outskirts of Fredericton is our place.  I am basically thankful 2016 wasn’t worse than it was for us – it’s been such a bad year for so many people.  I look forward to continuing things I put aside and I hope finally moving forward on new works.

What I have to say now to everyone is:  believe in yourself, treat others with respect and kindness, do something that matters, show heart in what you do.  We the human race need to face up to the fact that we cannot continue living our existence in division and hate.  There has to be room in everyone’s heart for acceptance and understanding even if you personally don’t like someone’s viewpoint or lifestyle please look past that to the person underneath.  If we continue on the path of hatred that is being spewed our world in serious trouble.  Most of all, please have compassion for others, it’s what the world needs most.

À la prochaine,

Cathi

Predictions for 2017

Predictions are something I’ve done for many years for fun and this is my 2017 edition. I decided to put them up a day earlier than I usually do because I love listening to predictions on shows like Coast to Coast so I thought it would be best to get mine up before the shows happen.

If you want to know how I do this please read my 2016 entry; also, you can read that and see if I was right at all 🙂

Here we go:

1. Prince Charles has a heart attack mid-summer. He may not make it, not sure.
2. Doesn’t look good for the Queen and Prince Philip either. Old age takes its toll – also may not be visible by the end of 2017; not sure if they are gone or if they are just not going out anymore due to ill health. I see a big funeral in England but I can’t place who it is, just that it is someone special.
3. The Church. Major changes are coming starting with the Catholic Church but it doesn’t just apply to that, it’s many religions. Many won’t be the same by the end of 2017.
4. The many high profile deaths of 2016 unfortunately hasn’t ended, there will be more and 2017 will have more younger souls than 2016 did. Changing energy?
5. Trump is in danger but I don’t think that’s news to anybody. I’m a little concerned about February and June. I see the White House on fire but I don’t know if that is figurative or literal. The fire feels like it is around May.
6. Last year was all about fire – 2017 is ground shaking. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the big events and will be taking place in some unusual locations with dormant volcanoes waking up. Pacific region both sides of the ocean. Ash clouds causing air problems in Pacific northwest of North America.
7. Marine life continues to die off. Methane from cracks in the ocean floor and poisoned water from oil spills on the bottom along with the poisonous surfactants main reasons. There are active volcanoes under the ocean too.
8. Health is a bright area. A breakthrough with ALS/MS that can actually be given to patients and help them will be available in mid-fall. There’s also a cancer breakthrough with liver or pancreatic cancer (that area of the body) – it has something to do with a virus and I think the new crspr technology. There’s also an implant for eyes that will help blind people who have pressure regulation problems.
9. I don’t see our Canadian politics having anything too challenging – the conservative leader election will be a safe choice, not Trump-style rebellion. Canadians aren’t thinking that way. It looks like it is a woman this time.
10. Hate crime will unfortunately continue to increase around the world and Canada is no safe place either. Dark forces unfortunately feeding paranoia to susceptible people. These dark force people won’t prevail. There is a sense of overall rejection by the common people of all forms of extremism. There will be riots and protests but it will be the middle class, workers, women, people who just want to live their lives and feel caught between the know-it-all-wealthy and the bring-back-the-good-bad-old-days people. This divide will end when the majority is finally speaking up and finally being heard. Will continue into 2020 at least.
11. Young people getting scared of the future are becoming political. This is a good thing – the current teen/twenty-something generation will be this century’s “greatest generation”. They know what is important and while they like their toys they also love each other and are very sharing and caring. That’s why they will put society into something more enlightened than our current selfish society is.
12. North Korea has a surprise. Not sure what this is but I think their way of life is changing sooner rather than later. Someone there is a quiet shining star who will bring about some change.
13. Banks, credit rating companies, collection agencies are going to be in the spotlight. The current rating system is going to be dismantled in favour of something fairer to consumers. There is something about collusion between banks and collection agencies that is part of the ending of the current system. This starts sometime around now for a few years (mid 2020?).
14. A baby boom is coming! We’re going to be seeing an increase in births in Western nations beginning in 2018. Not sure why but it might be a subconscious reaction to the many deaths of 2016 and 2017 and also part of the fear of nations becoming over-run by refugees around the world – they don’t want to be outnumbered? Bit of a crazy reason to have more babies but also plays into the (thankfully) temporary racist sentiments that are more in the open. Mostly, it’s all about a subconscious need for renewal around the world.