I'm stuck at home again with feet too painful to stand on all day at work.  I can manage the plantar fasciitis when I'm at home with stretches, anti-inflammatories and ice but when I go to work the pain just increases.  I went to work this morning and was limping around;  then I took a patient upstairs and at one point it felt like a nail was pushing into my left heel and that pain didn't go away.

So I came home and I'm sitting on my ass with my foot on ice.  I made an appointment for physio tomorrow morning and I'm hoping they'll be able to reduce the pain.  Because I'm limping, my left ankle and right toes are increasinly painful too.  Sigh.  

On the weekend we missed Jack's swimming lesson because he fell asleep before the lesson, so I took him for a very slow walk at the dog park.  We took Heidi and wandered through the woods with Jack saying the whole time, "Dis way.  Dat way".  I walked like an old lady and we both got to enjoy the trees, the fresh air and the sunshine.  It was a lovely day, no mittens required.

I can hear a chickadee outside, chirping away.  The other morning I heard a chickadee mating call.  Spring must be coming.  The sun is shining through the windows and the cat had curled up on the counter for awhile until the sun moved.  I filled up my car with gas after I dropped the big guy off at work.  Life seems so normal, except it's not anymore.

Last night we watched the news until bedtime.  Yesterday morning while I was driving to the hardware store I listened to my Prime Minister talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and I was reminded of the Polish Invasion by the Germans.  My mum told me she had been on a boat with friends and the holiday was cut short.  When she got home her mum had already made and hung black out curtains for their house.  My mum was fourteen years old.

Today there are children in Kyiv, mothers, fathers, sisters, uncles, grandparents, all terrified of what will come.  Ukraine wanted to join NATO, Russia didn't want Ukraine to join Russia and now NATO won't help Ukraine because it's not part of NATO.  It is a catch 22.  

I understand that NATO countries are reluctant to escalate the situation.  I understand that we're talking about a pyschopath with access to nuclear weapons.  I understand the gravity of it all but if we stand by and watch this unfold, what does that make us?  Complicit?  

This is happening.

Lucy is getting old quickly.  She had a hard life before she came to us and now she has congestive heart failure (CHF).  I've taken care of many humans with CHF but never a dog.  She coughs a lot and she sleeps more than she used to.  She still enjoys her walks but sometimes she doesn't want to eat.  I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.  She is on medication for it but that doesn't fix anything, just makes it bearable.

I'm off for  most of this week, only have to work tomorrow and that's it, still burning holidays which is fine with me.  It gives my feet a rest.

I'm going to go visit my friend this afternoon, the one whose husband died suddenly at the end of January.  She has cancer so doesn't go out much and we haven't seen each other in quite awhile.  We talk on the phone but it's not the same.  I want to hug her.  I made some cinnamon buns to take to her;  she's not a baker or a cook.

I don't really feel like doing much today.  Russia seems to be on the brink of invading Ukraine, because why?  Some guy?  Why is one guy allowed to make decisions that affect so many people?  It's not so different in Alberta.  There's a guy here who apparently doesn't like science much and is hell bent on catering to the 10% of the population that like him.  He changes his mind more often that I change my underwear, whatever is politically expedient.  He doesn't respond to letters.  He does as he pleases it seems, although, I'm sure he would argue that and say that there is so much more right wing bullshit that he would like to implement but can't because he wants normal people to vote for him as well.  

I'm in a mood obviously:)

I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon.  The weather was warm and sunny but the ice was everywhere.  I'm very thankful for my ice cleats but man they're noisy.

The big guy and the little guy having a pillow fight, or the little guy's version of a pillow fight.  Just pile the pillows on top of poppa and then join poppa.

Miss Katie went out yesterday with one of her caregivers and they watched the swimmers.  She looks so grown up and happy.

I was trying to distract her with snap chat and she was having none of it.

In the news there are blockades at border crossings because some value personal freedoms more than the flip side of the coin, responisibilites.  We all live together.  We all need to take care of each other because none of us can do this on our own.