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Wednesday 30th April 2003

Two more people have died of SARS in Toronto, bringing total to 23. One was a man of only 39. He was normally fit. The other was a man of 72. They did not say whether he had any immune deficiency.

We are expected to have some rain tonight and possibly tomorrow. The temperature is in the low teens.

Today every household in Ontario will be receiving an information booklet about West Nile Virus: how to recognize it, how to avoid it.

Monday 28th April 2003

Yesterday the 21st person died of SARS in Toronto.

Another beautiful day. Usual long walks, swimming, gardening, etc. Decided to finish a couple of my paintings and put them on this page. These are digital photographs. As you can see, they are rather washed out compared with the direct scan further down this page:

"View from my cottage on Half-Moon-Cay, Caribbean". This is an oil painting. It is very messy to work with and has been sitting for about five days - still not dry.

"View from my country cottage rear deck: Fields of sunflowers and mustard". This is a water-colour, with accents in Caran d'Ache.

Sunday 27th April 2003

Yesterday the 20th person died of SARS in Toronto.

It was a beautiful day again today. After a long walk and some gardening, I needed a rest and took off to the cinema for an hour or so. This week I had seen the movies I had heard about, so it fell to the manager to make a decision for me. She thought that "Bulletproof Monk" was good, lots of action, walking up walls, flying through the air etc. Some humour. I really enjoyed it. .. and if there were parts I knew I wouldn't care for I just closed my eyes!

Saturday 26th April 2003

The authorities say that the outbreak of SARS has slowed. The nineteenth person died yesterday.

The weather here is perfect now. Bright, sunny days and not too hot: about 14ºC.

My friend is having his front garden borders, one path and the steps refinished by True Cut Landscaping of Guelph. I take great interest in this because my garden also needs some major re-structuring. Here are some "Before" pictures. When the work has been done I will put the "After" pictures alongside; so you can see how it looks. He was thinking about having red interlocking brick put into the pathway, to match the house. Then he decided to use grey. It made sense, as the steps will be grey and the foundation of his house is grey.

In June I finally took the "after" pictures. As you can see, he changed his mind again and now has the red interlocking brick in the pathway. Like you, I prefer to take before and after pictures .. just to reinforce a decision - that spending a lot of money on a project is worth while. This has justified my friends' decision to have this work done - after years of thinking about it.

BEFORE	AFTER
BEFORE	AFTER
BEFORE	BEFORE	AFTER

Wednesday 23rd April 2003

Toronto has now an outbreak of SARS (Severe and Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Why are they calling it a syndrome when they know what the cause is I cannot think. Anyway, unless you have been living on a desert isle for the past few weeks you will know all this. The USA and World Health Organization have issued warnings about care to be taken when visiting Toronto and places in the Orient. Toronto is second only to the Orient in the world. There the fourteenth or fifteenth person died yesterday. Specialists from the States flew to Toronto yesterday to inspect the hospitals. They cannot understand why health care workers are becoming infected, when they are taking all the recommended precautions. Only a couple of days ago, it was reported on the news that a nurse had become infected and had travelled back and forth on the "Go Train" system.

On top of this piece of bad news, we shall have the mosquito season beginning very shortly. Then the infections will begin with the West Nile Virus. The health authorities are anticipating that medical care facilities will be overwhelmed. Oh the joys of living in Canada! Well, one very good thing could come from all this: With all the precautions being taken world wide, the horrible "Common Cold" could be stamped out. The Common Cold virus has been a "thorn in the side" for long enough: costs the economies billions every year, causing death by other opportunistic bacteria and has not been taken seriously. For me it is always more than a case of the sniffles. I always get bronchitis, ear, lung, sinus infections and have to spend hundreds fighting off the subsidiary infections. I really hate to meet people in shops and offices who spread their disgusting colds.

Monday 21st April 2003

This is my acrylic painting from last week's class. It is "View from my cabin in the Caribbean". The little "triffid" in the right foreground is a coconut which is beginning to sprout. I had to make the picture rather small because it was originally 23 megabytes .. more than all my pages together.

Sunday 20th April 2003

Lovely day. About 18ºC. Cool breeze. My movie this afternoon was "Holes". Surprising interesting delightful story. Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn feel about it. Two innocent boys fulfill their destiny and live through the two separate 100 year-old curses put upon their great-grandfathers. Really enjoyed it. The reviews I saw were good too.

Last week I saw "Anger Management". This too was an interesting story. It was supposed to be a comedy, but I thought the treatment dealt out by the "psychiatrist" was very harsh. Anyway: the unfortunate patient had developed a severe passive aggressive attitude. The audience could only see the situation from his point of view. He seemed a very quiet, tolerant person, in spite of great provocation. However, inwardly he was seething and boiling. Quite understandable considering his appalling job and dishonest employer. We see how, with devilish humour and a lot of help, the "psychiatrist" brings the anger out, before the patient bursts with rage.

Tuesday 15th April 2003

The weather is really pleasant here today. The ice blocks are melting and I was surprised to see the snowdrops still standing as tho' nothing had happened. Interesting such a delicate plant should be so resilient.

I have started a new art class. This time it's mainly landscapes and using oil paints. I couldn't get my oil paints open (not surprising after 45 years! - although the tubes are still soft). Anyway, I decided to use acrylics. These are much better. They do not smell, can be easily cleaned with water, dry very quickly. At the same time, they do have some texture and resemble oils.

This picture is an exercise in tone management. Instructors seem to begin with the colour wheel and this kind of exercise. Simply drawing a few lines across the page and then painting areas from dark to light produces an interesting picture.

Saturday 2nd April 2003

Well, I didn't manage to get out yesterday. This morning I forced my little snow blower through the great heaps of snow and ice at the entrance of my driveway (which the town snow plows had left). Then I took the top of the six inches of snow and ice pellets off the driveway. This enabled the car to at least run over the top of it all. It will still be a problem when it begins to melt - because it will go through the house foundation. I can't do anything about that. The woman who ploughs out my driveway (when I am really ill or desperate) is unable to help. The ice is so thick that even her snow blade cannot move it.

Oh NOT to be in Canada now that spring is here!

Just the same, the grocery stores are well stocked with produce. It always amazes me .. the brave souls who drive the great trucks and risk their lives on our terrible roads to get produce up here. God bless them. After the storms the roads are littered with such trucks, jack-knifed and on their sides, along with many small cars, upside-down in the ditches.

Friday 4th April 2003

Here April usually has a last blast - but this is particularly bad. Yesterday I was at the gym and barely made it home in the ice-storm. I promised myself that I would never drive on ice. It's just too risky. This storm is supposed to be followed by another.

This morning I could only open my house doors wide enough to squeeze through - and have just been hacking the ice away with a shovel. Hot work. My neighbour's daughter turned into her driveway and became stuck out on the pavement. Fortunately there were two gentlemen sliding by, so I pointed out her problem and they gave her a push. .. Anyway .. apart from that, I'm ok. Hope that by this afternoon they will have done enough sanding and I'll be able to get out for some shopping. At least we still have power. In Toronto many people have lost their hydro. That is so bad for those in apartments, without heat, light or cooking facilities.

Tuesday 1st April 2003

Still quite cold, about -2. Last night we had about an inch of snow. Today it is supposed to get up to seven above, so I hope I will not have to shovel.

Visit a site for many photographs of North American Birds and animals.

Rhona Raskin Home Page at http://www.rhona.com.