Pampered Chef Fundraiser for Turtle Gardens

Zoe, rescued by Turtle Gardens

We are holding a fundraiser for Turtle Gardens through Pampered Chef. We had planned to have a party but it was sidetracked by H1N1. We decided to go ahead and try and get orders for products. The more money we spend, the more money goes to Turtle Gardens!! What a great deal. So here is my shameless appeal! Pampered Chef has great, high quality products. You can place your order in time for Christmas still!

The picture above is of Zoe the newest member of the K-9 family here at The Swamp. Before she was rescued by Turtle Gardens, Zoe spent her life living outdoors and in a cage as a puppy mill dog. She had many litters of puppies and probably only received emergency medical care. When she came to Turtle Gardens she was spayed and screened for mammary cancer. Other dogs coming out of that puppy mill had mammary cancer – which is almost completely preventable if female dogs are spayed before 6 months of age. Unlike our Gemma, Zoe showed no signs of this invasive, deadly cancer.

Turtle Gardens is the only rescue for a large area in the North. They rescue dogs without questions as they live in an area of the province where the solution to dog over population is a ’shoot.’ One of the main goals of Turtle Gardens is a low-cost spay and neuter program as they try to reduce the number of puppies being born every year.

Turtle Gardens has pretty much no funding. They rely completely on donations. This year they did not receive their Gaming grant from the province of BC. It is looking like it is going to be a long, tough winter for Yvette, Bear and Dave up at Turtle Gardens. With almost 50 dogs in their care and no steady stream of income, they need all the help they can get to keep everyone fed and moved to their new homes in the South.

If you have a moment, have a look at the Turtle Gardens website. Read the blogs and get an idea of what life as a rescuer is all about in Northern BC. If you are able to help the fundraising efforts of Turtle Gardens order some great items from Heather at The Pampered Chef. You can email Heather directly at chasmundson@gmail.com. You do not have to live in Metro Vancouver to help out Turtle Gardens – your purchases can be shipped elsewhere.

Zoe and Gemma and all the other Turtle Gardens dogs say thank you!

Thank you!

 

 

 

Chairs

I know, most people don’t think much about chairs. However, if you are larger than normal, chairs can become an issue. I had to go into a bank today and sign some paper work. As the woman led me into her office, I started to scope out the chairs. I usually like to know in advance if the chair I am about to sit on is sturdy and I look for arms. The chair had arms and as soon as I sat down in it I felt the pain on either side of my legs. Crap! Welcome to yet another torture device. Luckily, I have learned over the years that numbness will set in fairly quickly and it will be ok.

Airplanes are also a nightmare for me. I know many ‘normal’ sized folks who have trouble fitting into airplane seats. If you are wider or taller than the norm you are guaranteed to be uncomfortable on a plane. I know why they make the seats so small but seriously the airlines’ pursuit for more and more profit means that I don’t fly as often as I might if they gave us a couple of more inches of room on those seats.

It is easy to figure out why airplane seats miniscule but what about chairs? Take this chair, for example:

 

Tiny Chair

We came across this chair at the EconoLodge in Canmore, AB. It is exactly 3 1/2 iPhones across, which translates into about 14 inches. Why would anyone want to sit in a chair that small? Clearly, the people who bought these chairs was not going to have to sit in them.

Then there are the seats at GM Place in Vancouver. Deb and I went there to see Billy Joel. Those seats were so freaking small I thought I was going to die. Again, I am sure the seats are so small so they can fit more seats in but really do they need to be that small? Movie theatre seats generally tend to be ok. Seats in other venues though not so much.

I think the worst chair I ever had to sit in was at a dermatologist’s office. I swear to god these chairs were made for tiny people. They even looked like toy chairs. After sitting in one of those chairs waiting for him for 1/2 an hour one day I decided I would sit on the exam table any time I had to see him.