5am and up I got. I'm getting used to these early mornings; maybe I'll keep having them. I go upstairs to make a cup of tea and then I settle down to reading the BBC news, dealing with birthdays on Facebook, reading messages and emails and replying. It's a good system but it leaves me wondering what I'm meant to do for the rest of the day. We now have Stephan working here from Monday to Friday. He stays until lunch time and does all the work, cooking, cleaning etc. I take care of Saturday's big meal and on Sunday the family always eats outside, so my duties have really been reduced.
Today was my first day on the road. I left in my car after breakfast to do a variety of jobs and my first stop was a supermarket to buy some nuts and a bottle of cherry juice. I learned that I was really back in Canada when I got a bill for $26. Then I went to the accountant to pay him for completing my income tax form - that cost me another $300+. I'm too depressed to mention how much I owe the government. I went to see the doctor for my annual check up. I was first of all weighed and was told I was 68.7kg. The lady asked me if I wanted the figure in pounds but I told her I was metric. Then I was measured and thankfully I haven't shrunk since last year. I am now 161cms which, for those of you who are still Imperial, is around 5'4". Great things come in little packages, my Dad always said.
I was taken to a room and told to strip to my underwear. I thought, "No thank you; it's freezing here." I did remove my shoes and undid my shirt buttons just in case something drastic was going to happen. When Darcy arrived, ten minutes early which really impressed me, I told him I wasn't going to undress and he agreed with me completely. My blood pressure is perfect and my ticker seemed to be behaving itself. I have that "white coat syndrome" and so my blood pressure is usually sky high as soon as I see a doctor, but this time I was talking and having a laugh so things worked out all right. Last year, when I mentioned my blood pressure would be high, Darcy left the room and came back wearing a white coat. I was sent off to the hospital to donate some blood so they can check on my kidneys. There was a notice on the wall about not showing various violent activities towards the hospital staff. I asked the nurse if it happened and she said it did.
After lunch I went on my daily walk. I'd already got 6,000 steps wandering around town doing the various jobs so I felt my Fitbit buzz as I was half way round the walk. It really is quite boring because there's nothing to see, just fields and more fields; no animals, no grain and only a couple of ducks today. Even the frogs weren't performing; maybe they didn't like the cold and wind either. It really is so different to a walk in Phnom Penh where I'm bombarded with so many things - people, traffic, smells, noise, trees in the way, dodging vehicles as I have to walk on the road. Here, at the moment, it's just a one hour plod around the farm, coming back with my shoes covered with sticky mud.
My car has gone in for an oil change. I get so confused nowadays with all the conflicting stories about when we should change the oil. I'm not taking it back to the Honda dealership which is where I've been going since I bought the car in 1998. Along with other people, I feel they've been taking advantage of us and telling us to change the oil much sooner than necessary.
I read a fascinating article on the BBC news about a man who had no mind's eye. As I read his story I realised I fitted into the same category. When I visited the doctor this morning I said, "If I asked you to imagine a sunset could you do it?" He said, "I'm imagining it while you are speaking." I said, "Can you actually see the sunset," and he said he could. I find this absolutely fascinating because I can't. The article said that we have all the information, just like a computer, but we don't have a screen on which to project the information. I wonder if anyone else has heard of this; it's recently been given a name - Aphantasia. I first of all thought it reminded me of those dumpy elephants doing the Sugar Plum Fairy dance in a Disney movie.
It's amazing that I've had this condition for 81 years and never knew about it. When I was in the north I taught Quentin, who was about 11, to spell. He couldn't spell to save his life but I had him spelling "Saskatchewan" not only forwards but just as fast backwards. That's because he was able to create an imaginary friend in his head and he would give the words to this friend. Quentin could actually see the words. I tried myself but could never put a friend in my head. I can spell words backwards but I have my own technique. Another teacher said she put a blackboard in her head and wrote on it, and could see what she wrote. For me, that's amazing. A while back I was at a workshop that discussed "Healing the inner child". The idea is that many of our adult actions and reactions come about because of childhood trauma. We were supposed to imagine ourselves as a child and then the child would write to the adult explaining childhood problems. I couldn't get a picture of myself as a child in my head so I gave up.
I find it interesting because I can describe my Mother, I can talk about how she looked and what she wore, how she talked, but I can't put a picture of her in my head. Apparently, one in fifty have this particular condition so do let me know if you have it. I've asked the farm folk and they have imaginations so that leaves me still as the one in fifty. I'm now in touch with a lecturer at Exeter University who studies this "thing" so it's going to be interesting.
I'm glad I didn't know about this when I was a teenager because I think I'd be devastated not having what others have but at my age I just find it interesting and something new to learn about. So I shall close my eyes tonight, think about you, and just see black. I hope people aren't jealous of my being different.
