The Seated View

Have you ever wondered how people who are colour deficient* see the world? And what happens if they try colour correcting glasses ? I didn't know about colour correcting glasses until I had the opportunity to talk to a scientist whose research led to the development of this technology. And then I got to interview two completely charming teens who are red-gree colour deficient: "Ryan and Garrett Allardyce are 16-year-old identical twins who live in Toronto. They are active teens involved in drama and baseball — and Garrett has his own YouTube channel . They are both colorblind, or as it is more accurately known, red-green color vision deficient (CVD) . In explaining the condition, their optometrist said to think of their eyes as having paint cans where some of the cans aren’t quite full, Andrew Allardyce, the twins’ father told me. Although this is not a technical description, it explains how they don’t experience t

I’ve loved Advent calendar since I was a little girl. Opening a small gift every day for the month of December is such a wonderful way to build anticipation while temporarily calming down the excitement  so you don’t explode by the time Christmas arrives. It’s one of the reasons I wrote Chronic Christmas: Surviving the Holidays with a Chronic Illness as Advent calendar, sharing a daily tip for how you can make the holidays manageable and how those who love you can lend a helping hand. So when I started thinking about ways to help you enjoy the holidays without overdoing it, an Advent calendar was foremost in my mind. And then, to wildly paraphrase a certain green gentleman who shows up around this time of year, I got an idea. An amazing, wonderful idea. For the next month, I’ll be hosting weekly giveaways with helpful and cool prizes! In the tradition of Advent calendars, I’m not going to tell you what they are. You'll just have to come back to “unwrap” them.

As I know first-hand, being immunosuppressed can make it a real challenge to fight back against infection and illness. Vaccines can protect you . With the arrival of flu season, this is even more important: "As another flu season approaches, those of us who take immunosuppressant drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) start getting twitchy. One of the most unnerving things about taking these types of medications is being vulnerable to infection. Experts are looking at the just-past flu season in Australia and predicting a humdinger on this side of the world. There were “more cases of influenza than ever reported, so we could have a really bad flu season this year, but it’s unpredictable. So you’ve got to be prepared for it,” says Dr. Charles Gerba , professor of microbiology and environmental sciences at the University of Arizona. But there is no need to move into a bubble — vaccinations can help protect your health."

I did a Facebook Live earlier this afternoon talking about how to do less, so you can enjoy the holidays more. And only a few of the funny moments were inadvertent... :)

I'm really excited about the calendars this year. Not only do I have my usual's — The Seated View calendar , the Bird calendar and of course the Ships — but I've added some new ones . The Seated View 2018 Calendar by TheSeatedView In fact, it's possible that I may have binged just a little. Can you binged with making calendars? Nevermind. You see, as I was going through the year's photos, it became obvious that I had some great shots that didn't fit exactly in any of the ones I had. The Seated View 2018 Bird Calendar by TheSeatedView So I expanded and that brings me to the surprise. I am proud to present the first calendar dedicated solely to Miss Lucy ! She was of the opinion that since she has her own Instagram account , she ought to have a dedicated calendar, as well.   Lucy the Doofus Cat 2018 Calendar by TheSeatedView   With that face, how could I refuse? I love photographing birds and anything