April 2020 Newsletter Edition
With my physical disability and chronic pain I never know how I am going to be feeling. All things considered the month of April has been very positive. I try to make some progress on the goals I have each day. Looking back on the month I am quite pleased.
I am very close to an aunt. While this aunt was working in her garden she tripped on a tomato cage and fell. Her wrist broke. I was thinking of how I could support her. I used some heavy duty canvas material to sew her a pair of hanging garden bags. I've seen tomato plants growing from bags. I used the button hole feature on my sewing machine so various branches of a tomato could grow from these holes. My idea is that my aunt could still engage in gardening in a modified fashion as she receives treatment for the broken wrist. We are in the thick of covid. Many businesses are presently closed. Instead of going to a postal counter I used the Canada Post website to calculate the cost to ship these. I applied the equivalent in postage stamps and taped a brief note with my phone number for the postal employees to know my intentions with the parcel. This easily fit into the curb side mail boxes. One of the regional Canada Post postmasters called me to say they received my parcel and will get it to my aunt. This was the one extra thing I wasn't expecting but so grateful for. It was wonderful to send some encouragement to my aunt.
This year Easter Sunday was on April 12th. One of my friends typically has me over for a meal with his family. His children have had common colds this week. With the lingering doubt that it could have been covid we did the next best thing: He brought me a meal. I am glad I was able to have a short visit with him. Things like this go a long way to boosting morale. I try to be content in life. The unexpected things and also when someone has gone out of their way to help me really means so much to me. Even though this wasn't a typical Easter I have to conclude it was a good Easter none the less.
I am trying to focus some of my energy into getting my laser engraver setup. What remains is addressing the ventilation this requires. I've decided to use a computer monitor articulating arm to support the ventilation exhaust fans. Some of the parts have arrived and I am getting this setup. Most flat screen computer monitors have a VESA pattern for wall mounting. I have used my drill press to make a bracket that the ventilation exhaust fans attach to but also with holes to attach to the articulating arm. I am making progress. I am wanting to use my laser engraver to etch photos onto wood and sell these to raise money for uninsured services I am requiring to manage the needs of my physical disability. The real question is if nothing demands my attention and I am able to finish the setup of my laser engraver in May or if this will need to wait while my efforts are occupied with something else.
To go with the laser engraver setup I took a chance. I studied and passed my based drone operators exam. I now have a based drone pilot certificate for Canada. This allows me to fly up to 50 pound drones. I anticipate getting some amazing photos. I think this will nicely tie into the laser engraver. But if we forget the laser engraver for a minute simply flying the drone is a quality of life activity. It is a distraction from my physical disability. I contacted Transport Canada to ask if my physical disability precludes me from the exam I have passed. It doesn't. Things are looking up. I have a rough pathway forward for my life. This is especially important to me because I haven't pursued medical treatment for my physical disability to have medical treatment become my life. It is good to have some fun activities to be engaged in.