Little Sister's Birthday

I found this picture of "Little Sister" all dressed up with her birthday cake. (I think her 5th birthday.)  She is behind the house we lived in when we were young.    Very cute.

Happy birthday today Little Sister.  I sent her an e-card yesterday but thought I would also post this picture for her birthday. 

Picnicking in the Rain

Last evening was our annual spring picnic for the post-polio group that Elaine and I have been involved with.  Fortunately we were able to have it indoors because we had thunder storms and heavy rain.   When I told  Maryanne we had our picnic indoors she said "If it is indoors how is it different than a regular meal?  So when we have supper tonight I will call it a picnic."   OK fine Maryanne but we still called it our annual spring picnic.

We had a very nice time visiting with the group.   Some people were there that have not been out to the meetings for a while due to health problems so it was very nice to see them and catch up on how they are doing.   I had lengthy visits with two men I knew from work and had retired many years ago.    One man particularly had been a very active outgoing person and in charge of public relations and communicating with the media.  In recent years it has been hard to see him withdrawing from talking much due to onset of alzheimer's.   But last night I had a very good on-on-one conversation with him.  He remembered many stories and people from the past at work (and we shared the same opinion of the former president who forced him out.)  However as typical he asked me the same question many time due to his short term memory.  I told his wife afterward that I had a good visit with him and she was very glad.

All in all we have a very nice evening with a friendly group of people.

Weekend Travels

We were away for the weekend visiting Elaine's parents and other (numerous) relatives and neighbours.   We went up Friday and came home Monday so it was a nice long weekend.  The weather was beautiful.   In fact it was a very warm weekend and up to about 28C on Monday when travelling home. (The only downside was that our air conditioning quit on the van making for a hot tiring trip home.)    I was looking for our camera last night to find some pictures to post from our trip.   But it seems we left it behind at Elaine's parents' place.

On Saturday morning we were visiting at the farm and watching the activities vaccinating cattle and branding and dehorning the calves.   Then Saturday afternoon we were off on a mission to visit little "Baby V"  and related adults.   We met a couple there visiting from Norway.  I was amused that people referred to visiting this couple as "we are going to visit the Norwegians,"  when most of them are Norwegian themselves.    It is an amazing farming district where you can drive into anybodies yard and be invited in for a lunch, even if they already have company.

Then on Sunday morning we went to church.  Several were away but it was still about 60 people young and old, and in fact it seems like the majority are young families with children.   When the large group of children go up to the front to say their verses most are the 4th generation of the original families in the area.   I love the children so that is always a highlight of the service for me.   At the service I mentioned how my grandma used to sing The Ninety and Nine when we were children.  Some knew it and had the music so a group sang it which I very much enjoyed.

Sunday afternoon we visited Elaine's parents and  her brother and his family, and then an uncle and aunt came over as well.  Sunday evening went out for a drive with Elaine's parents in their van.  The first stop was to see Shannon and her two lively boys.   Then we were off to see Laurel and her two little girls.  We thought we were going to see a new filly there but it was not close to home.   While visiting there the girls sat at the table with me and showed me all the pictures they made.   I had a good time.    Then later in the evening we went over to see an aunt since  Elaine's uncle had recently passed away.   She had just got home 10 minutes before we arrived, but within minutes she had coffee, tea  and a lunch on the table for us.    We  were very glad to have a nice visit with her.  

When we we getting ready to go home Monday morning I asked Elaine if she got to do everything she wanted to do on this trip. She said that she did.  It was  a wonderful weekend.    
 

Mothers Day Memories

For Mothers Day I am posting this picture of my Mother taken in the spring of 2006.  She is in her comfortable recliner chair in her room at our house where she stayed with us from July 2005 until January 2007 when  she passed away.    We had a lot of her pictures up on the wall to try to make her feel at home. 

Retirement Countdown

I added a retirement countdown to May 31, 2011 on the side of my blog. One more year as of the end of this month.

Custom Office Chair

In 2005 I had an ergonomic assessment by an occupational therapist at my office where I work.  Ergonomics means the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. As an office worker up to 70% or more of my time is spent at my desk using a computer. The occupational therapist examined how my body size and shape fit the chair and desk while using the computer keyboard and mouse, and the viewing angle for looking at the computer screen. As a result of this assessment she provided a report with several recommendations.

After having polio at about 18 months in 1955 I developed kyphoscoliosis of my back starting at about age 7 and progressing as I grew. The kyphoscoliosis is an outward curvature of the right side of my back in addition to a double S-shaped lateral curvature. I am thankful that over the years I have not had as much back pain as many people with back conditions. However in about 2004 I started to have a lot of pain in my lower and upper back and right shoulder. I tried unsuccessfully to use additional cushions with my chair. But a standard chair does not fit my body shape or provide proper support. In the ergonomic assessment the occupational therapist recommended that I get a chair that is more adjustable than the standard office chair and investigate getting a custom made back cushion to fit my back.

I researched available chairs, visited office furniture dealers, and tried out three different ergonomic office chairs available at that time; Herman Miller Aeron, Teknion Contessa, and Steelcase Leap. The recommended features from the ergonomic assessment included: seat adjustable depth, back material either customized, or somewhat flexible material, adjustable seat and back height with back height to support shoulder blades, height adjustable armrests, with 5 prong swivel pedestal base. I evaluated a Steelcase Leap chair for a week in my office and concluded it was the most suitable for my particular needs.

I was referred to an assessment by a team including a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and seating technician. They concluded it would be feasible to customize a seat back cushion to fit and support my back, and install it on the ergonomic office chair. At a later appointment they had fitted a plastic bag arrangement on a modified chair back frame. As I sat in the chair, the seating technician poured liquid foam material into the plastic bag to fill the area around and behind my back. This then solidified into a cushion the shape of my back. They later upholstered the moulded chair back cushion to match the seating material. The finished chair is shown in my office in the pictures, where I have been using it for the last 5 years.

There were number of other recommendations in the ergonomic assessment in 2005 that were implemented and quite helpful.   I got a flat screen monitor that could be moved farther back and lowered down to give a better viewing angle.  A  keyboard shelf was made for my desk to give the right height.  And I switched to using the mouse with my left hand as seen in the picture.  I am right handed but using the mouse was aggravating the pain in my right shoulder.  Switching to the left hand also allows the mouse to be closer to the keyboard since the numeric keypad is on the right.  For 5 years now I have been using the mouse with my left hand at work and my right hand at home.   It came quite naturally and I do it now without thinking about it.

I am now writing an article about the ergonomic assessment and my custom office chair for a newsletter of the polio organization I am involved in.  So last week I took some pictures of the chair and someone took pictures of me sitting in it.   It is pretty unique and I hope it will be of interest to others.