I didn't realize just how much I relied on adrenaline to keep me going. I am far from a deadbeat, but I find that I am not as energetic as I once was. Call it age, blame it on Multiple Sclerosis, maybe it's a combination of the two, but I just can't seem to find my groove.
I have had a very stressful farm job over the past year in which this is not the farm life that I had envisioned that I would be a part of when I signed on. I do love farming but not the daily stress of just-get-the-job-done-asap type farming.
I wanted to be a part of the farm's growth but growth is slow to stagnant at the moment due to many factors, the main reason being their succession plan, or lack of participation by certain family members in a succession plan. I, as an employee, did not want to be a part of the daily "hatred" that exposed itself. I do not want to be a part of that type of family dynamic and I wish them all the best in their future endeavours without me.
Today, I am faced with ideas and opportunities that I look forward to but my body is not ready to face yet. I have a broken finger with a splint, a sore thumb that doesn't seem to be broken but also has a splint, a sprained ankle on one foot, a strained arch in the other foot, and general muscle aches that I wake up to every morning since I quit. I think it is just my body telling me to relax for a little bit. This aches and pains lifestyle is also giving my brain a rest and allowing me to move on to a healthy spirit. When I quit my job, I was so serene. I was almost proud that I had taken that leap and left the farm without spectacle but also that I had finally allowed myself to step away. To what, I had no idea but I was away from the negativity. That in itself was enough to lift my spirit.
Now, I just need to find a way to feed the adrenaline junkie....
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Bluenose weekend was a great success. A whole lotta fun with beautiful sunny and warm weather, a group of people that all have the same goal: enjoy a run and have a good time before and after the run.
The hotel issues were even minimal, just because we booked a room with 2 double beds and only got a double bed and a pull-out couch, we managed to overcome our discomfort and the cost of a less than ideal room and still enjoy the weekend.
So running as a family was the initial idea and we were going to run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute with Martha and Rachel, the oldest and youngest of our group. Well, that only lasted till the gun went off to start. There were so many people that were running and walking the 5km route that it was hard for seven people to stick together. We lost Martha in the first minute and shortly thereafter, Ronda was gone too. That left Debbie in the lead dodging the people and passing from behind, jumping up and onto the sidewalk and down on to the street, to the left of the street to the right of the street just to get ahead of the walkers and slow runners. Lindsey and Emma right on her heels, Rachel close behind and me keeping Rachel in my sights. Rachel had never run a race by herself so I kept my eye on her long blond ponytail, telling her pass left, follow closer behind Emma, dodge right.
There was absolutely no sign of Martha. Debbie wasn't concerned that my watch was beeping every 3 minutes to take a one minute walk break and Rachel seemed to be keeping up. I did know that she couldn't keep up this pace so after about 5 three minute beeps went by, I asked her if she wanted to take a walk break. Breathlessly, she shook her head, and we slowed our pace to a walk. I hollered ahead to Debbie that we were taking this break, giving her the option to slow down and run with her granddaughter in her inaugural 5k race, but Debbie glanced back with Lindsey and Emma hot on her heels and she gave me the nod and hollered back that I was ok to stay with Rachel? Yep.
Still no sign of Martha or Ronda. We came to a water stop and had a few sips and started again. I brought us down to a more manageable pace for Rachel and kept my eye out for Martha and Ronda. I gave Rachel a few pointers on her running posture and how to land on her feet which she quickly adapted her stride. A few seconds before we started to climb the hill to the Citadel, Ronda caught up to us, said hi, have we seen Martha, no, and was on her merry way.
As part of our route, we had to climb the hill to the top of Citadel Hill and follow around the historic route, passing soldiers in period dress, bagpipers in kilts, fans that were lining the route and down below in the street, the 10k and half marathoners were beginning to line up at their start line. It meant the world to me that the announcer made everyone in line turn and look uphill and cheer for the runners above. So cool. I had my iPhone in my hand and since we were at a more manageable pace and fewer people to maneuver past, I was taking pictures of Rachel and I running and Rachel passing the 3k mark and the people at the bottom of the hill. I was having a grand time as Rachel managed to run with somewhat ease. She'd have been happy to walk the rest of the way, I'm sure, but I wouldn't let her.
Down the hill we went and made a quick left and quick right and then another quick left. It was all downhill from here! Sort of. We did one more walk break and off we went again. I was telling Rachel that we just passed the 4 k mark, less than a kilometre to go. The watch beeped another three minutes that we had run and I asked if she wanted the one last one minute walk break. There was only 600 meters left, could she run it to the end? Sure she could. Onto the last street we went. The finish line was right there but it was a slight uphill. Keep up the good work, Rachel. Don't forget to breathe. Only 400 meters to go. Do you want to race to the finish? NO! Ok, keep your pace, almost there! Start smiling for the cameras! Are you smiling yet? Cameras are from here to the finish line! Look like you're having fun when you cross the line! Let's go!
I left her in my dust and when I crossed the finish line, I raised my arms and cheered in vistory like I had just won the race. Rachel was only 2 seconds behind me. When I turned to give her a two-handed high five, she clapped my hands and told me she was gonna be sick. I smiled again and tried to steer her to the garbage can along the sideline but she was going to be alright. We got water and tried to find the rest of the gang and wondered where Martha may have gotten to. We were pretty sure that she was probably sitting in the Metro Centre waiting for us to finish but just in case, we waited on the sidewalk. Shortly after, she came strolling up to us, arms swinging like dead weights, and cussed us for leaving her in the dust with no watch, no directions, nothing. I blamed Debbie but felt a little guilty because I had said that I would stay with her and Rachel the whole way. Too funny. Oh well, she'll get over it.
The hotel issues were even minimal, just because we booked a room with 2 double beds and only got a double bed and a pull-out couch, we managed to overcome our discomfort and the cost of a less than ideal room and still enjoy the weekend.
So running as a family was the initial idea and we were going to run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute with Martha and Rachel, the oldest and youngest of our group. Well, that only lasted till the gun went off to start. There were so many people that were running and walking the 5km route that it was hard for seven people to stick together. We lost Martha in the first minute and shortly thereafter, Ronda was gone too. That left Debbie in the lead dodging the people and passing from behind, jumping up and onto the sidewalk and down on to the street, to the left of the street to the right of the street just to get ahead of the walkers and slow runners. Lindsey and Emma right on her heels, Rachel close behind and me keeping Rachel in my sights. Rachel had never run a race by herself so I kept my eye on her long blond ponytail, telling her pass left, follow closer behind Emma, dodge right.
There was absolutely no sign of Martha. Debbie wasn't concerned that my watch was beeping every 3 minutes to take a one minute walk break and Rachel seemed to be keeping up. I did know that she couldn't keep up this pace so after about 5 three minute beeps went by, I asked her if she wanted to take a walk break. Breathlessly, she shook her head, and we slowed our pace to a walk. I hollered ahead to Debbie that we were taking this break, giving her the option to slow down and run with her granddaughter in her inaugural 5k race, but Debbie glanced back with Lindsey and Emma hot on her heels and she gave me the nod and hollered back that I was ok to stay with Rachel? Yep.
Still no sign of Martha or Ronda. We came to a water stop and had a few sips and started again. I brought us down to a more manageable pace for Rachel and kept my eye out for Martha and Ronda. I gave Rachel a few pointers on her running posture and how to land on her feet which she quickly adapted her stride. A few seconds before we started to climb the hill to the Citadel, Ronda caught up to us, said hi, have we seen Martha, no, and was on her merry way.
As part of our route, we had to climb the hill to the top of Citadel Hill and follow around the historic route, passing soldiers in period dress, bagpipers in kilts, fans that were lining the route and down below in the street, the 10k and half marathoners were beginning to line up at their start line. It meant the world to me that the announcer made everyone in line turn and look uphill and cheer for the runners above. So cool. I had my iPhone in my hand and since we were at a more manageable pace and fewer people to maneuver past, I was taking pictures of Rachel and I running and Rachel passing the 3k mark and the people at the bottom of the hill. I was having a grand time as Rachel managed to run with somewhat ease. She'd have been happy to walk the rest of the way, I'm sure, but I wouldn't let her.
Down the hill we went and made a quick left and quick right and then another quick left. It was all downhill from here! Sort of. We did one more walk break and off we went again. I was telling Rachel that we just passed the 4 k mark, less than a kilometre to go. The watch beeped another three minutes that we had run and I asked if she wanted the one last one minute walk break. There was only 600 meters left, could she run it to the end? Sure she could. Onto the last street we went. The finish line was right there but it was a slight uphill. Keep up the good work, Rachel. Don't forget to breathe. Only 400 meters to go. Do you want to race to the finish? NO! Ok, keep your pace, almost there! Start smiling for the cameras! Are you smiling yet? Cameras are from here to the finish line! Look like you're having fun when you cross the line! Let's go!
I left her in my dust and when I crossed the finish line, I raised my arms and cheered in vistory like I had just won the race. Rachel was only 2 seconds behind me. When I turned to give her a two-handed high five, she clapped my hands and told me she was gonna be sick. I smiled again and tried to steer her to the garbage can along the sideline but she was going to be alright. We got water and tried to find the rest of the gang and wondered where Martha may have gotten to. We were pretty sure that she was probably sitting in the Metro Centre waiting for us to finish but just in case, we waited on the sidewalk. Shortly after, she came strolling up to us, arms swinging like dead weights, and cussed us for leaving her in the dust with no watch, no directions, nothing. I blamed Debbie but felt a little guilty because I had said that I would stay with her and Rachel the whole way. Too funny. Oh well, she'll get over it.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Ever have one of those days? One where you just think that if I could have just built it myself, I wouldn't have to be wasting my time figuring out the hows and whys of how to fill in the blanks. I think I have spent more time trying figure out how to fill in the blanks of a website template that really isn't all that functional, glamorous, or useful than is quite necessary. My limited knowledge of website building from scratch has helped some because I have been able to read the code and fix it/change it so that the front pages suit.
The same goes for changing an advertisement in photoshop. Rather than start from scratch, I tried to re-build it and it took forever. There were layers upon layers of photos, some hidden photos, text that wasn't a layer, text that for some unknown reason was a layer. Very frustrating.
The work got finished but it has been frustrating and the lesson learned was that the customer is always right, no matter how right they actually are. Get 'er done.
The same goes for changing an advertisement in photoshop. Rather than start from scratch, I tried to re-build it and it took forever. There were layers upon layers of photos, some hidden photos, text that wasn't a layer, text that for some unknown reason was a layer. Very frustrating.
The work got finished but it has been frustrating and the lesson learned was that the customer is always right, no matter how right they actually are. Get 'er done.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Over your shoulder
Being a farmer these days is almost like being in the kitchen with your annoying know-it-all aunt looking over your shoulder as you cook...did you add the salt?...make sure you don't add too much garlic, I can't eat that stuff...a little less sage and maybe more rosemary...
You've been cooking for years and quite enjoy it and your family enjoys it but she doesn't trust you to do it right. Even though she's eaten your cooking several times before and she hasn't gotten sick.
I use this analogy because farmers these days have to farm like they are cooking with your aunt over their shoulder. The farmer has been producing the same healthy goodness for years and now Auntie is checking up on what they are doing, making sure they don't add anything that might make her uncomfortable.
There are no HORMONES in Canadian milk! Farmers don't beat their animals. Farmers don't spray herbicides and pesticides just because they feel like it...a) it's too expensive and b) they are just trying to save their crop from pests and disease so you don't eat bugs or molds in your fruit or vegetable.
There are many regulations within the agriculture food producing system to keep you safe that are strictly adhered to by farmers each and every day that coincide with their daily chores and management practices. To say that your food is safe and secure, that you don't have to lean over the farmer's shoulder like your know-it-all Auntie, is something that farmers are quite proud of. If you had a backyard garden and could provide carrots and potatoes for you family meals, you would feel the same pride that farmers feel when they are able to feed hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people from their fields and barns of produce and commodities.
You've been cooking for years and quite enjoy it and your family enjoys it but she doesn't trust you to do it right. Even though she's eaten your cooking several times before and she hasn't gotten sick.
I use this analogy because farmers these days have to farm like they are cooking with your aunt over their shoulder. The farmer has been producing the same healthy goodness for years and now Auntie is checking up on what they are doing, making sure they don't add anything that might make her uncomfortable.
There are no HORMONES in Canadian milk! Farmers don't beat their animals. Farmers don't spray herbicides and pesticides just because they feel like it...a) it's too expensive and b) they are just trying to save their crop from pests and disease so you don't eat bugs or molds in your fruit or vegetable.
There are many regulations within the agriculture food producing system to keep you safe that are strictly adhered to by farmers each and every day that coincide with their daily chores and management practices. To say that your food is safe and secure, that you don't have to lean over the farmer's shoulder like your know-it-all Auntie, is something that farmers are quite proud of. If you had a backyard garden and could provide carrots and potatoes for you family meals, you would feel the same pride that farmers feel when they are able to feed hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people from their fields and barns of produce and commodities.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
This is a link to a flash project that I put together for a web development course.
Lesson 6 of 6.
http://gwynabelle.freeiz.com/FB_GwynBellefontaine_ex6_CS3.swf
Lesson 6 of 6.
http://gwynabelle.freeiz.com/FB_GwynBellefontaine_ex6_CS3.swf
Friday, May 18, 2012
Bluenose weekend will be a family event
This weekend is the Bluenose Marathon Weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia and once again, I'm going to run something. This year, I am tapering for a marathon in Ottawa so for Bluenose I'm going to run the 5k race. I have two other sisters, Debbie and Ronda, and Ronda's daughter, Lindsey, that are also running Ottawa with me so they are running the 5k too as part of our taper program. Then I had the big idea to get my whole family involved. My oldest sister, Martha, had done the 5k walk a few years back so I knew I could get her involved again. Now just to get her to run, rather than walk. And Martha's daughter, Emma, will be around and I think she's planning to run.
Martha relunctantly said yes but that she is very busy, at which she is, but I said that we needed to get some of our nieces involved. Rachel, Debbie's granddaughter, has taken up the challenge. She is now 13 and she has participated in the Doctors Youth Run a few times so she's capable of 4k for sure. I don't know if they've ever done any training together but Martha has mentioned a couple of times that she's gotten out for a run once in awhile.
Debbie had emailed a bit ago and asked if we were all going to run together or run our own race (she's the competitive one of the bunch, especially when it comes to Martha beating her at something). Kidding, Debbie!! if you happen to read this. I responded that I would run with Martha..."I'm planning to run it with Martha so I'm expecting another PB if she's actually running this time. Her walking pace was crazy fast a couple years ago when we did it, so I'm expecting that since she's never run with us to pace herself, she's probably expecting to beat every old person, stroller-pusher, wheelchair, and whoever else might be in her sites. :)"
So here we are, a week before the race, hotels are booked, race registrations paid, pasta dinner tickets, check, now just to get there. I am headed over to the mainland from Prince Edward Island with Ronda. There are also a great group of women that I run with in PEI that are coming too. We call ourselves the Island Girls and we've got our new shirts and carpool schedule planned. There are even a few newbies that are going to be running their first 10k race, so the excitement is building. We have birthdays among our group to celebrate this weekend, so for those runners staying for the Molson Canadian 67 post-race party, lookout, it's going to be awesome.
I'm excited to be running with my three sisters, two nieces, and a grand-niece this year. Maybe I need to make some sort of SISTERS are SPECIAL signs for our shirts, or I'M WITHSTUPID SISTER with an arrow left and right so that when we cross the finish line, others will know that we did this as a family. Next year, I'll work harder at convincing our one and only brother and his twins to join us too.
Martha relunctantly said yes but that she is very busy, at which she is, but I said that we needed to get some of our nieces involved. Rachel, Debbie's granddaughter, has taken up the challenge. She is now 13 and she has participated in the Doctors Youth Run a few times so she's capable of 4k for sure. I don't know if they've ever done any training together but Martha has mentioned a couple of times that she's gotten out for a run once in awhile.
Debbie had emailed a bit ago and asked if we were all going to run together or run our own race (she's the competitive one of the bunch, especially when it comes to Martha beating her at something). Kidding, Debbie!! if you happen to read this. I responded that I would run with Martha..."I'm planning to run it with Martha so I'm expecting another PB if she's actually running this time. Her walking pace was crazy fast a couple years ago when we did it, so I'm expecting that since she's never run with us to pace herself, she's probably expecting to beat every old person, stroller-pusher, wheelchair, and whoever else might be in her sites. :)"
So here we are, a week before the race, hotels are booked, race registrations paid, pasta dinner tickets, check, now just to get there. I am headed over to the mainland from Prince Edward Island with Ronda. There are also a great group of women that I run with in PEI that are coming too. We call ourselves the Island Girls and we've got our new shirts and carpool schedule planned. There are even a few newbies that are going to be running their first 10k race, so the excitement is building. We have birthdays among our group to celebrate this weekend, so for those runners staying for the Molson Canadian 67 post-race party, lookout, it's going to be awesome.
I'm excited to be running with my three sisters, two nieces, and a grand-niece this year. Maybe I need to make some sort of SISTERS are SPECIAL signs for our shirts, or I'M WITH
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Strongest Bank in North America Looking for Growth in PEI
In June 2011, the National Bank of Canada was awarded the Number One Bank in North America for its financial strength by Bloomberg Markets magazine and they are setting their sights on agriculture in Prince Edward Island.
Located in Charlottetown and Summerside, the National Bank Financial Group’s branches have been concerned with their lack of visibility. To this point they have relied on word of mouth as their advertising platform and it has worked well so far. That is because it has been a positive message from Island farmers that have been dealing with National Bank.
National Bank Financial Group is one of the top six chartered banks in Canada, and the undisputed leader in Quebec. With more than $4.0 billion worth of approved credit to farms and agribusiness across Canada, the National Bank Financial Group has been involved for a long time in farming communities. The firm is proud to trace its roots back to 1859, attributing their success to customer service. Dallas Kelly, Manager of Agribusiness in the Charlottetown branch, admits that the cookie cutter approach to credit does not work for farming. “Every farm has their own cost of production based on many variables and that doesn’t work with fill-in-the-blanks credit applications.” Customer service for Mr. Kelly includes farm visits to get to know the farmer and to see the operation that the farmer is proud to own.
This week, National Bank is one of the many sponsors of the Dairy Cup of Golf, an annual event at Mill River Golf Club in support of PEI 4-H. They are sponsoring two teams to golf in the event, as well as two of the course holes. This will be the third year that National Bank has attended the golf tournament. Carl Arsenault, Branch Manager of the bank’s Charlottetown location, says, “Everyone enjoys a day of golf and when we can put our sponsorship money toward a great cause, such as 4-H, we are happy to participate.”
Dr. Gary Morgan of Veterinary Management Services in O’Leary has been organizing this event for twelve years. The monies raised at this event go directly to PEI 4-H Dairy Team to allay costs for participants headed to Toronto for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in November.
National Bank Financial Group is proud to support all commodities of agricultural business. Being awarded the Number One Bank in North America for financial strength and Number Three in the World suggests this is just one sign that National Bank has a commitment to grow this market. As well, a realignment of priorities to fit the agriculture model will help to focus on agriculture. A recent renovation at the Charlottetown Branch also shows the long term thinking behind the bank’s affirmation of support and success in Prince Edward Island.
Gwyn Bellefontaine
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