6th Sense or if you dont wanna know when you are going to die, dont invite Oscar

The New England Journal of Medicine has documented the habits of an extraordinary cat named Oscar. Oscar was adopted as a kitten and grew up on the third-floor dementia unit, of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence which treats patients with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. Dr. David Dosa, has detailed the story of Oscar a two-year-old cat who has become a telltale sign of death at the nursing home. So far Oscar has been correct in 25 cases.
As nursing home residents face their final hours, Oscar seems to sense they are dying and curls up beside them. Now whenever Oscar is seen to be lying purring beside a patient the nursing staff phone the next of kin so they can arrive in time to say their goodbyes. Some family members take comfort from the fact that Oscar provides a solace and comfort for their dying loved ones.
Other families ask that Oscar be taken outside while they say goodbye to a loved one, when this occurs Oscar is said to pace up and down outside meowing in protest. Although not generally known as a friendly cat, Oscar appears to understand the events that are occurring and wants to be involved at the patient's hour of death.
Is this cat psychic or is there a biochemical explanation as a doctor who treats patients at the home believes?
Glenni

Another Trip

Only two more sleeps until Jamie and I wend our way across Australia to Melbourne. I'm wondering why we are going to a snow covered state and leaving Perth where it was 23 degrees celcius today. Jamie keeps reminding me that Victoria is a place of culture, theatre and excellent shopping outlets. And since there is never ever snow near Perth it is a good opportunity to go. So we are going.
The whole point of this blog really is to say that I wont be online for a week or two, but please keep coming back. I don't you want you to miss anything :0)
Glenni

A Big Country

Last month we went on the Ghan Train across the Australian Desert and Red Centre into the Northern Territory and finished in Darwin. We caught the Gold Service because there was an offer, one price for two people. On the Gold Service we were waited on, had our own sleeping compartment and had lovely meals in the Dining Car and when it was time to alight we were transported to our hotel and our luggage followed us. On the Red Kangaroo people sat up all night, had buffet meals which they paid for on the train and had to collect their own luggage. Darwin is an amazing place, extremely multicultural, lots to eat and if you don't think about imminent Cyclones its a very enjoyable place.Two hours before we were to leave to go home we met by accident with a married couple living in Darwin who were brought up in the same town as I was. It also turns out that I work with the wife's sister. It seemed amazimg to Jamie and I that of all the people living in the Norhtern Territory we should meet up with someone who has shared some of my own history. Stay tuned for more of our travels through this wide brown land.
Glenni

Mondayitis gone mad

Apparently in Tokyo Japan last Monday a man was found lying by the roadside bound and gagged. The police initially assumed he had been tied up and robbed. Upon questioning him they discovered he had feigned a robbery and tied himself up because he didn't want to go to work on a Monday. This seems to be a great length to go to, simply to avoid Monday and set me to wondering how do we avoid Monday blues which seems to be a world wide epidemic.

Sometime ago in Western Australia people voted in a referendum on whether to permit Sunday trading by retailers. The answer was a resounding NO. Now if Sunday became a trading day similar to Saturday then maybe Monday would become a Sunday, would it then be easier to go to work on Monday? Or should we drop Saturday and Sunday altogether and work for seven days? then there would be no more week end and therefore no Monday as first day of the working week to dread.

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald (2003) noted that most Aussies are fortunate enough to fall ill on a Friday after pay day or a Monday. I wonder does it hurt as much to go to work on a Tuesday as on Monday.

Mondayitis is so prevalent now that there are songs written about it. Perhaps we could change the name to happy day, or even drop Monday and start the working week at Tuesday. I like that idea. Any other thoughts?

glenni,

Success

Last year I attended a weight loss clinic called Sure Slim. The clinic is committed to helping clients achieve success. It believes that 'working together will help to ensure success in reaching set goals' I found this to be true. By checking in each week and meeting with friendly encouraging staff and sticking to my goal of losing weight I was able to reach that goal.
They even had a lifestyle programme for when I acheived my weight loss goals.
I now have a 'sense of well-being, renewed energy and vigour' as I continue on the path they have set for me.
Oh and the compliments I received, they make it all worthwhile. Its a great programme and I highly recommend it.
Did I mention the compliments.
Glen
its never too late to be the you, you might have been (George Eliot)

Is Road Kill Legal

Apparently there is new legislation via the EU requiring Scots to prove the sporran they are wearing was legally killed. This rule is to prevent endangered species being unnecessarily harmed or killed.
Anyone found wearing a sporran is expected to be able to prove that the animal was killed legally. I wonder if a sporran wearer can be nabbed at the airport and if they don't have a 'licence to kill' (apologies to James Bond), will the sporran be instantly seized from one's person?
Is the sporran there to accentuate part of the anatomy or are they meant to be purses where he can hide his keys and such?
Does road kill count? I mean if a poor Scotsman accidentally runs over a badger, is he then expected to write out a death certificate? Does that somehow make it legal?
Glen

A fishy story

Yesterday I was listening to the BBC radio reporting on the very popular Doctor Fish spa in Japan. Patrons dangle their feet in tanks of water filled with doctor fish which nibble the dead flaky skin and leave them clean and looking shiny new.
Wikipedia states, 'the term doctor fish is the name given to two species of fish which live and breed in outdoor pools of some Turkish spas where they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis. The fish are like combfishes in that, they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow'.
Personally I think I would rather use my foot bath which gives my feet a massage or spa depending on which button I press. It is not as ticklish as these 'nibble fish' apparently are, also I would be continually on the look out for other fresh water fish such as piranah, now that would really clean the skin off my bones.

A mother's instinct

Nathan my son went on his first ever trip overseas to Bali. As his mother I felt it was my duty to give him some good advice. I told him (a) hold your hand over your glass of drink at all times. (b) don’t take a boogie board with you, (an Australian girl did this and is now in jail in Bali. Apparently drugs were found in her boogie board). (c) no child of mine is allowed to die before me. Of course he agreed with all I said, as a good son should.We have kept in touch by messaging on the mobile. Everything was well with me until today. I had a particularly long session with a client and during the session my phone rang twice and I let it go to message bank, then I had a message on my mobile phone. Thirdly I heard a garbled phone message from Reception saying there was a message in my pigeon hole at the front desk.‘Oh I thought someone is trying hard to get hold of me. My blood ran cold, well that could be a bit of an exaggeration, but I certainly had some odd thoughts. Something has happened to my son. Mothers know these things you know.“Nath has phoned to tell me they have bombed Bali again!’ ‘He is in jail for some reason’. In an extremely stressed state I ended the counselling session, I could hardly wait to get out of the room. My poor client, I only hope she didn’t think I’d gone mad or was rejecting her in some way.Finally, legs shaking, breath coming faster, I raced down to the reception area to find out what the terrible news was.‘Oh said the Receptionist, I was letting you know the lunch you ordered was in your pigeon hole.The message left on my mobile was indeed from Nath. He had messaged me to say he was in a lovely village in the Bali country attending a traditional Balinese wedding and how peaceful and serene it was.Peaceful and serene, rather ironic I thought, when I had never felt less so in my whole life.

Its the little things that count

It’s the little things that count


Last week I was home sick with the flu. Everything always seems to be such an effort when I’m ill. I tried my hand at writing but that seemed too much effort, reading a book hurt my eyes, really all I wanted to do was lie on the couch and feel sorry for myself.
This week I’m feeling much more alive again and my mind has turned to all those healthy ideas you find in the magazines. The glossy pictures of fit healthy slim people seem to be saying ‘get out of your slothful ways, you too can look like us.’

Sometimes it seems difficult to set a regime to look after our health and well being, to exercise, to diet, to be consistent in daily devotions. I almost want to have a lie down again.
Yet really, we only have to make small changes to our normal routine and it wont be long before we notice we are healthier, fitter and ready to take on the world. The following steps may be useful for you too.

Step One, Have a plan, break it down into tasks and don't stress if at first you don't succeed.
Step Two, set your alarm to the music of your choice and wake up to something other than that horrid alarm clock. Also, setting your alarm 5 minutes before you need to get out of bed gives you time to adjust to the morning but not enough time to go back to sleep. Get up 10 minutes earlier and try some deep breathing exercises and some bending and stretching.
Step Three, Eat healthy. Include lots of fruit and dark green leafy vegetables which contain magnesium and will improve memory. Careful of the flatulence when you change your diet too drastically all at once though.
Step Four, avoid that coffee pot and try some Green Tea with your breakfast of fruit and whole grains.
Step Five, Start walking each day for 15 minutes and extend the time as you begin to feel fitter. Walking is fantastic for lowering stress, sleeping better and it is also cost effective. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes.
Some ideas for incorporating walking into your every day activities are:-
Park your car on the outskirts of the shopping centre so that you have to walk further.
Walk up the stairs instead of using the lift.
Put on some lively music when you are doing the housework and move and sing in time to the music. You might want to lock your door and close the windows if you have a voice like mine.
Step Six, Enjoy life, try something creative and new that you haven’t tried before.
Step Seven, Tell yourself its ok to say NO to some requests. Often we think we have to do something we don’t want to do and this leaves us feeling stressed.
Step Eight, Remember FAT (feelings, action, thought). Our feelings guide our thoughts and actions. Be on the look out for negative or unhelpful thoughts and change them into a positive.
Step Nine, If you fall off the wagon simply get back on and start over.
Step Ten, Spending time alone with God is the pivot that everything else in life depends on.

And remember, its never too late to be what you might have been. (George Eliot)

Healthy Parenting

A Healthy Start to Life

‘There is powerful new evidence from neuroscience that the early years of development from conception to age six, set the base for competence and coping skills that will affect learning behaviour and health throughout life.’
(McCain and Mustard 1999, The Early Report: Reversing the Real Brain Drain, Ontario)
Since this report was published there is now a growing body of research which shows the importance of early brain development. How children are nurtured and stimulated in their first years of life is critical to how they perform at school and the path they take in life.
Research from The Australian Early Development Index is looking at the range of risk and protective factors that affect mental health and behaviour. More importantly, they are developing strategies and information programs to reduce these risk factors and support families and communities, for example, initiatives such as Positive Parenting Programs, Teenage Parenting Programs, Post Natal Depression programs, Community Health programs etc.,

The most important place, however, for children to be nurtured and loved during these early years of development is in the home. As parents, watching our children at play, we can see how they put in every ounce of concentration and energy. Play is work for children, through which they learn more about themselves and the world around them. They also learn life skills which help them throughout their lives.

Squeezing and manipulating toys, for example, will help develop their fine motor skills. Playing, hopping, skipping and running builds muscles and dexterity and generally promotes their physical development.
Play develops the brain as children work out more difficult problems and develop their problem solving skills.
Parents can use practice situations to show children how to behave. For example playing shops or sitting on chairs and pretending to be on a bus etc.
Playing games with other children teaches them social skills:- how to share, build self control and shows them how to cooperate in play situations so they are able to grow up to be respectful and independent adults.
Children love to play with their parents and this can be a fun way for both children and parents to learn from each other. By learning the language of our children’s play we gain a portal to their world and how they think. We thus know what is important to them and can give them the opportunity to learn values and beliefs through this context.


Our children are a gift from God. What greater role can parents have than to nurture and teach their children in a safe, loving and secure environment. In this way parents will offer their children the opportunity to reach their full potential and become the people God intends them to be.