Tom and I have enjoyed being in Apsley. This is the first year Tom has been home a full year; does that make him retired? I don't know. If next summer someone offers him a job for a few months in Labrador or some other corner of the world; I think he'd take them up on it. He is a geologist; and though our forest here fills the need to get out and wander, I'm sure he misses exploring new ground for mineral prospects. Right now he's contented to be spending time here with me. Working on fixing up the house, bringing in the logs for our heat, ( he actually enjoys splitting all those cords of wood by hand), working in the garden and all the various and sundry things that always seem to need doing. There always seems to be something that needs his expertise as he does so many things well. I haven't been able to get him interested in the computer other than a few games and once in awhile checking out a stock he is wondering about. This year we've added a new mini satellite TV dish, so we are able to have some choice in what we watch. He is having a great time catching up on movies and programs since it's arrival.

       As for me "Sharon"; well I'm not too sure where I'm to at the moment. I also am enjoying the freedom of my days. Gardening and working on outside projects in the summer. Painting and inside projects in the winter. There are numerous changes that are and will take place as time passes. Here at the time of writing, mid February, I have sent out most of our seed orders.
Next in line is tidying up the plant area in the studio and setting up the light unit to start seedlings for spring. I have a painting half finished on my easel, another one lined up ready to start. Tom always has my picture frames made before I'm done painting; so it too is waiting to get stained. I do not miss the long hours that were involved with  owning and running a garden centre as I had done for the fifteen years prior to coming here. It is great gardening for myself again and trying out crazy experiments like my "straw Bales". Our next project after the studio is finished hopefully will be a greenhouse and screened porch. When things get done or deemed finally not really necessary.. perhaps then I will have come up with "something else" I want to do.. who knows. Finding things to do has never been a problem for me.

        We enjoy each others company; something to be said about being fortunate enough to be married to your best friend and soul mate. We have worked together in the wilds of Labrador; living in a small tent from June to September and still came home "talking" and "enjoying" each other. We thoroughly enjoy our large family/friend get togethers.. we are equally as happy to wave good-bye and settle into our quiet routine. We regularly hear from  all of our six children; (some more often then others) which are scattered hither and yon.. (one in Moscow; one in the states and the rest in Ontario); they are all coming along well with their worlds and seem to be carving out happy lives for themselves.
At the moment we have two grandchildren; and we have two more expected by the end of summer. Tom and I really enjoy this grandchild mode.

        I really have been giving this final page some thought, so far haven't quite come up with the answer how to attack the concept of "about us". Check back in awhile and I'll get a few photos in here.. and hopefully have come up with a great way to tell you all about "us" with out it sounding too egotistical. We do hope you have enjoyed your visit to Apsley Acers. If you want any further info on anything we do.. drop me a line and I'll answer as soon as possible. As we progress with the greenhouse I'll set up a page off the "gardening page" to show you how we go about dealing with a greenhouse in a zone 4 climate. Thanks for visiting!

Write me: Sharon
 

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One of our largest problems which we deal with on a daily basis is my MCS; Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.  It is a hard task master and every  thing we do, experience and enjoy is effected by it. Over the years we have down played the degree that it effects my world, so a great number of our friends and family really have no clue about what I go through. It seems to get worse and not better.  The time has come to start really dealing with where we go, what we purchase etc. I now realize it is not going to go away, we need to rethink all the facets of our life and even though we are well on the way in some areas; with growing our organic food; Apsley Acers fresh air, clean water etc. the time has come to deal with all the other areas. If I wish to lead a long fruitful life. Having an immune system that doesn't deal with so many pieces of today's world is a difficult way to live. It is very hard for someone who has no clue about the all encompassing scope of what effects me to understand. People visit with their perfumes and dedoderants for a weekend and I have to spend three weeks down to get back to having enough energy to start detoxifying. So  hopefully I will be able to educate them all; so our visits together; which Tom and I dearly love; will become easier for me. I feel that giving them  a bit of education on MCS; hopefully I to will not loose the joy of having family gatherings, as I have lost too many things already.
The following sites are worth visiting on this subject.  The number of people that are effected is growing rapidly. Unfortunately here in Canada we are too far behind with facilities which can help. We have "ONE" in Nova Scotia.

http://wwws.us.ohio-state.edu/~steen/allergy/living_with_mcs.html
http://wwws.us.ohio-state.edu/~steen/allergy/mcs.html

http://www.supernet.net/~jackibar/mcs.html
http://www.supernet.net/~jackibar/nontoxic.html
 
 

There are many more wonderful information site on the web.
If you would like their URLS write me: Sharon

If any of you have similar experiences this is an excellant book:

Staying Well in a Toxic World
by Lynn Lawson
Lynnword Press, 1994, 480 pages, $16

Dr. Sherry Rogers, MD, have published several books about the subject, including Tired or Toxic and the short 40-pagebooklet Chemical Sensitivity (available in some health-food stores). She explains why MCS is such a difficult condition topin down. All patients have different symptoms, and symptoms on each patient are dependent on many causes, which makes it hard to make reproduce in clinical studies. She describes the mechanism by which our bodies break down toxins,by using various vitamins and minerals, causing us to deplete them. However, simply eating vitamins may not help, as a balance is needed.

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