Team Lorraine

If you can't see the slideshow above, you can see the photos on Flickr.

My friend Lorraine was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a rare and incurrable form of cancer, just days after giving birth to her third child. Quick access to experimental treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) combined with Lorraine's positive attitude has proven to all of us that incurrable does not mean terminal. Lorraine is in 'near complete remission'. This is great news, but we need to acclerate the search for a cure, not just for Lorraine and her three girls, but for all the other people living with the incurrable Multiple Myeloma.

From CBC radio's Fresh Air: They say it takes a village to raise a child. What happens when a village helps someone recover from a serious illness? Three months ago, Peterborough's Lorraine McCallum was unable to walk because of a rare cancer. Today she takes part in the Toronto Marathon. Lorraine and two of the people who rallied to her support---Corinne Smirle of Toronto and Ann Farlow of Peterborough---talked with Mary. You can learn more about what they and others are doing to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma at their website.

Listen to the interview. (mp3 - approx 10 min.)

In the news:

• "Mom walks for kids -- and hope," Toronto Sun, Friday October 16.


• "Too many reasons to fight," Peterborough Examiner, Tuesday October 13.

It is not too late to support Team Lorraine. Every dollar raised directly helps Lorraine and other myeloma patients through cutting edge research; and, every donation is tax deductible. Donations will be graciously accepted until December 31, 2009.

P.S. Here is a pic of me getting the team together in the dark and one of our Team Lorraine banner on the walk.

Super Mom the Electrician

With freshly painted walls, all those mismatching outlets and switches were bringing down the decor on Upper Montrose. So, I went up to show Dee how to rewire them with fresh new white decora outlets. Basically, you just need to turn off the power to the circuit, unfasten the two screws, pull out the outlet, loosen the terminal screws and remove the wires. Take note which wire was connected to which terminal. You will find that each outlet can be wired in a few different ways, so my non-professional advice is to rewire it exactly the way you found it. Then you need to gently push the outlet back into the box, making sure that none of the wires pop off a terminal. The only thing that makes this job difficult is that the wire is very rigid, so it can be hard to bend it and cram all the wires back into the box, without the wires coming off. But once it is in, you just just fasten the outlet to the box with the two screws, put on a fresh new cover plate and then turn the power back on to the circuit. Use a tester to make sure that the outlet works properly and celebrate!

I was very proud of Dee. She rolled up her sleeves and gave it all she had. Some of the screws were caked in paint or had been in place for decades, making them difficult to loosen. Sometimes it took two hands, but she completed her first outlet, just in time to feed the baby. Now that's tough work. She has to feed that little guy every two or three hours. On our first night on the job, we completed the living room outlets and got started on the master bedroom, until it got too dark. So, we called it a night and put little Skittles to bed.

How does this super mom juggle a baby with an electrician apprenticeship? Slowly, but with increasing skill. And she'll have the satisfaction of knowing that she was the one who rewired the outlets herself. Or maybe she'll become my personal shopper in exchange for some handy work around the house. It remains to be seen as neither of us in a huge rush. After all, it is summer!

If you want to rewire your own outlets and need some tips, check out this article or grab a book from the library. Be careful that the power is off and remember what I learned in my high voltage class in University: most people who get electrocuted die from the fall, not from the voltage itself. So just make sure that you're on the ground, or put some pillows around to break your fall.

Big Bad and Bloggable!

I have a friend who likes to go by the name, Big Bad. Sometimes he's Big Bad & Dangerous. Other times he's Big Bad and Hungry. It changes all the time. The unpredictability of his name is part of what makes him so fun!

He doesn't look that big or that bad, does he. But he does have red hair, so I like to call him Coppertop, yet he continues to call himself BB.

BB is not as excited about my new plumbing hobby. But he is happy that I got a new circular saw for my birthday this year. His door-to-headboard project relied on my powertools. I'm trying to be generous with my tool time.

BB is virtually an internet virgin. He has never really worked in an office, so he missed the internet explosion. I think that it may have been the virtual home tours on mls.ca that converted him. Either that or the free porn. A few years ago, we tried to get him using the email, but he'd never reply to it. He'd just pick up the phone and say, I got your email. But now he's an old pro with catchy subject lines and "hello kitty" wallpaper on his emails, and sometimes he even forwards. There are no limits now. He occassionally accuses me of being a witch, when I post photos on the web and other such shenanigans. Oh, but it is all part of his charm!

His hobbies include kayaking, mls.ca, country drives, craigslist, laundry, and bulking up at the JCC. But sorry fellas, he's not available. He's kinda seeing somebody.