Thursday, October 17, 2024

Cold Coffee, Long Days

Government cuts have affected contractors' lives like a knife through butter. I don't understand how this benefits the citizens of Ottawa or why contractors are suddenly the enemy of the government.


Earlier this year, my husband and I signed contracts with separate government departments. Life was good—regular visits with our adult children, the occasional restaurant meal—nothing too elaborate, but the odd take-out pizza or weekend lunch at Kelsey's.


Now we are struggling.  Jim has been looking for work since May.  My contract was cancelled in August.  Cash is tight.  Shopping and going out are no longer options.  Surely if we can't afford to shop or go out how many other people are in our situation?


Now I spend hours at my laptop, sipping cold coffee hoping against hope that someone, somewhere will pick me and I will be able to get on with my life.  My husband too.


In the meantime for all of you out there - and I know you are - I am with you as we search hour after hour wondering how we will be able to become contributing workers and economic participants in this wonderful city.

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

I NEVER THOUGHT I'd HAVE TO PULL A FORK OUT OF MY CAT

 I was in the sweet spot Thursday night.  I had poured a glass of wine and was about to start watching Succession, when I heard the sounds of animal tomfoolery coming from the kitchen.

Usually my cat and two dogs get along,  but sometimes my younger dog gets a bit “wolfy” around food or bones . I heard the cat making low gutteral sounds and went into the kitchen.  He was on the edge of the sink, not moving.  I went to pick him up and realized he was impaled on a barbecue fork.  I picked up the cat, pulled out the fork, called the emergency vet to let them know I was coming then called my daughter.  She arrived with her boyfriend –they were in the middle of buying ice cream when she turned to Josh and said they had to help me as the cat had just been impaled.

 

We got Gizmo to the vet where he was stabilized and after a sleepover he came home wearing a cone, tube, and drainage bag attached to a four-inch incision held together with staples.  My cat, despite being able to weave his way through the endless clutter that is my house,  managed to land right on a fork without any major damage.  For four days he wore his cone and dragged his drainage bag behind him looking super pissed off.  It was removed yesterday now he is back to his regular self, half-shaved with staples in his side and the nickname “Frankencat”.

 

Stay safe and don’t leave forks on your kitchen counter.


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Monday, May 10, 2021

A Mother's Day Tale

 

Mother's day morning dawned.  My plans had been: prosecco, cheese, fancy crackers, and take-out combined with extreme loafing involving HBO and Crave.  Instead, I was notified by email I may have been exposed to COVID.

I woke up to a message from a friend I’ll call -Liz -who I had a social distanced visit a week ago.  She had recently had the Pfizer vaccine but was developing what she thought were cold symptoms.   She tested positive for COVID.   I leaped out of bed and found a walk-in testing centre at Brewer Park.

I felt sorry for myself.   I had just wanted a day of irresponsibility.

The facility at Brewer Park is a well-oiled machine.  I was greeted, had my identity confirmed three times,  the testing process and isolation requirements explained to me.  A lovely nurse named Nancy explained the swab test to me and suggested if I hummed it would be less uncomfortable.  I have never had a swab so high up my nose --pretty sure it touched the bottom of my eyeball. 

Nancy had come out of retirement to do this and I am sure she and all the staff at the clinic would have preferred to have been with their families on Mother’s Day.  Thanks to the team there I was in and out in less than an hour.

I got my results in the middle of the night – negative (I don’t think I am the only person having trouble sleeping these days).  I still have to quarantine until May 17, but at least I have a nice house to hang out in.

I am so grateful for all the health care workers who are going above and beyond the call of duty when I am sure they’d rather be relaxing on Mother’s day too.

Thank you thank you thank you to the staff at Brewer Park for an unconventional Mother’s day. Thank you health care workers in Ottawa and across the country.  And thanks for the quick turnaround with my results.  May 17 – let the hugs (at least in my household) begin!

Friday, December 18, 2020

GRATITUDE

When I turned 56, I was going to write down something I was grateful for every day.  My mother had died nine days before her 56th birthday so I promised myself years ago I would embrace getting older because my mother never had the chance.  

I started writing on little slips of paper the day after my birthday, but that resolve lasted a week.  Instead, I am going to write a list of ALL the people I am grateful for having in my life especially when I went through some challenging times in 2019.


The best girlfriends:


Frances and Laura, for longevity, wisdom, fun and good advice.

Colette, for getting me out to art class, going to movies and never telling me to stop talking.

Marion,  for her kindness and generosity towards everything and everyone.

Lee-Anne,  for her incredible resilience and generosity.  Also for pres-screening all the babysitters and pre-schools I used.

Debbie, for her intelligence, kindness and understanding

Lynne and Margo, for being there for me my whole life.

Jessica, despite living in another country, staying a close friend.  She is s talented, loving and hard working.

Family

Jim, for always thinking I can do anything even when I am full of doubt.

Clea,  her incredible success and sense of fun inspires me daily.

Tracy, for helping people for 30 years and ALWAYS insisting on family group shots and diner lunches

Suzanne,  forever kind, patient, loving and thoughtful

My children, Bridget and Juliana, for making my life perfect.

My family in England,  always so welcoming and hospitable.

Uncle Lorne, for helping my little sister when she really needed it, and for his continued kindness, intelligence and gentle spirit.

Special Mentions

Kristi, for allowing me to do what I love: write for her podcast "Canadian True Crime".  Contacting her was life-changing for me.

Larry, for setting up this blog for me, reminding me of my superpower and helping me find work during a difficult time.

Annemarie at Ibiska for getting me into Project Administration and finally, making decent money.


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Sunday, July 12, 2020

The Nanny State (AKA while I am in hospital may I PLEASE have some painkillers?)


The Nanny State

by Deirdre Bradley

I recently benefited from our wonderful health care system when I received a long needed knee replacement on June 18, 2020. After six years of excruciating pain and my efforts to reduce it (weight loss, massage therapy, acupuncture, cortisone), I was referred to the Joint Assessment and Rehabilitation Clinic at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. I was able to pick my surgery time frame (delayed, briefly by COVID-9) and my surgeon.

The pre-operation assessment is four hours long and thorough so the patient knows what to expect at every step. I was quizzed on lifestyle habits with an emphasis on making sure I was not an alcoholic or an illegal drug user.

With surgery comes pain. I am not afraid of pain – after having two babies, shutting my hand in the garage door was a “huh” moment. What I was not prepared for after my surgery was the difficulty in getting the pain medication I needed.

I had an epidural, a nerve block and a general anaesthetic. After two hours, I was awake with my new knee. I was admitted for a night because I could not stand when the physiotherapists arrived two hours after I woke up from surgery. You aren't allowed to leave until you can prove you can manage stairs with crutches or a walker.

I had to buzz for pain medication. I was not allowed to open my own blister pack. When all my freezing started coming off the day after my surgery I had to beg for pain medication – there was no way I was going to be able to do the crutch and stair routine without more. Thankfully, I received a pain injection and was able to “trot” off, do my physiotherapy then go home.

I had stashed chocolate in my bedroom drawer as an incentive for getting up the stairs. It worked. But the best part of coming home was having my medication at my finger tips.

My husband had the same experience after open heart surgery (aka CABG – Coronary arterial bypass graft). He had to beg his family doctor for more Tramadol a synthetic opiod that isn’t supposed to be addictive. Hospitals seems to think Tylenol is an adequate pain killer. After my babies were born I was told Tylenol with codeine would “constipate a horse” so I only got a little. Thankfully, baby number two was easier and ice and rest did the trick.

I have a medication I take for anxiety and panic attacks (neither of which have been bothering me lately) yet I can't renew that prescription ONE DAY early. It's exasperating.

I assume the reluctance to provide pain medication is a fear of creating addicts. I, like many others have read about the threat of oxycontin and fentanyl yet I don't know how an addict can be created in the hospital/post surgical environment when getting medication is like pulling teeth.

The problem is that post surgical patients are being caught up in new prescribing guidelines from the CDC and Health Canada intended to deal with incidents of addiction in those patients with chronic, as compared to short-term post-surgery or post-traumatic injury. The innocent suffer greatly because the CDC did not differentiate between chronic pain and acute pain management. It has since changed its tune.

“The authors of the 2016 guidelines — Dr. Deborah Dowell and Tamara Haegerich of the CDC, and Dr. Roger Chou of Oregon Health and Science University — said in their new essay the recommendations were not meant to be used to withhold drugs from people who need them, and outlined instances of their misapplication. “ (https://www.statnews.com/2019/04/24/cdc-opioid-prescribing-guidelines-misapplied/)

It has been two weeks since my surgery and I rarely need the “good” drug (my hydromorphone). I am grateful I can put weight on a leg that for the longest time felt like it was stuffed with razor blades and fire. Like most people I just want to get on with my life, not spend it stoned out of my mind.

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Sunday, May 31, 2020

A Murder in Barrhaven - 2005


The Murder of Jennifer Teague

by Deirdre Bradley

Barrhaven is a subdivision in the southwest corner of Ottawa, Ontario. It is the type of neighborhood where people feel safe raising their children. It is known by the nick names Farrhaven, Baby-haven and Barbecue Haven. Like many suburbs it has a mix of town houses, single family homes, strip malls and big box stores. Home to many families Barrhaven has a nursing home, a city run Sportsplex and numerous schools . Jan Harder, has been it's representative on City Council for 21 years.

While part of the city of Ottawa, Barrhaven is set apart from the main urban centre by a wide swath of undeveloped land, farm land and forests known collectively as the greenbelt. The greenbelt offers hiking trails, an off-leash dog park and an opportunity for people to experience nature only a short distance from their homes. Most greenbelt facilities are considered day-use and only the main roads have even minimal lighting.

Barrhaven Town Centre has the requisite grocery store, Shoppers Drug Mart and Bed Bath and Beyond. Wendy's is one of the fast food chains in that mall. Jennifer Teague worked there part-time.

Jennifer Teague was born to Ed and Jean Teague on June 30, 1987. She had two older brothers, Kevin and Carey. Her parents had moved to Ottawa the year before when Ed was posted there by the military.

Ed and Jean divorced. Jean, a civil servant, and their three children moved into a home she purchased a short walk from Barrhaven Town Centre. Ed remarried and lived nearby. Ed Teague remained close to his three children.

The kids squabbled among themselves like all kids,” Mrs. Teague told The Citizen in 2005, “but if someone did anything to any of them, the other two were right there for protection, including Jenny.”

Jennifer attended the Elizabeth Wyn Wood Alternative high school. She liked the smaller classes and flexible approach to education. There she joined an environmental group called “Earthcare” and travelled to local elementary schools to talk about conservation. The group later won a prize from the David Suzuki Foundation.

Jennifer held a series of part-time jobs. Like many teenagers she loved to shop and play video games. Her mother said they often would pick the same pair of shoes to try on at the local Winners then laugh about it. She played baseball and soccer and was working at the local Wendy’s, planning to use her next cheque to pay for shots for her kitten, Michael.

On September 7, 2005, Jennifer worked the late shift at Wendy's. She left shortly after midnight. One of her co-workers, Mark, walked her part-way home, then she met a friend, Alicia Blais, at the local Mac's Milk. At around 1:00 am, Alicia and Jennifer parted ways. Jennifer began the 10 minute walk home. Somewhere along the way, she vanished.

When Ottawa Police Detective Greg Brown took the call about Jennifer's disappearance, he had a bad feeling right from the start. Her cell phone had been turned off and there was no banking activity. The Ottawa Police service launched a massive search. A command post was set up in the parking lot of a local church and 120 officers plus volunteers conducted a grid to grid search over the three kilometre area near the disappearance. A nearby baseball diamond was used as a helicopter pad. Friends and family distributed missing person posters around the neighbourhood, Police divers scanned the Jock River and ditches were searched.

Residents were gripped with fear. Barrhaven had not experienced major criminal activity. Nothing like this had happened in the community

The police had two suspects. The first was her co-worker, Mark, who had walked Jennifer part-way home from Wendy's. They had been told that he had a “thing” for Jennifer. He also had scratches on his face.

Mark was read his rights and interrogated. He took and passed a polygraph. He was embarrassed by the scratches on his face which he said were due to a faulty razor, which he supplied to the police. After passing his polygraph, he was eliminated as a suspect.

The second suspect, Boris, was a young man who had driven past Jennifer and her friend while they were sitting outside the Mac's Milk parking lot. Jennifer had given him the finger and the police were wondering if he had retaliated. He was a boy from her high school who did not have a good reputation. They interviewed him and found out his ex girlfriend had a restraining order against him and that there was a broken window in his car. He took a polygraph and was also eliminated as a suspect.

Jennifer's family were also questioned and cleared of any involvement.

After six days the search was scaled back to seven officers. They had come to the end of their resources with no forensic evidence or sign of Jennifer.

The Lime Kiln trail is one of the many trails in the greenbelt maintained by
the National Capital Commission. It’s path leads to one of the few remaining examples of a 19th century Lime Kiln. It was restored in 1999 and has since become a popular hiking trail with 4 kilometres available for walkers and nature lovers. It is 8.4 kilometres from where Jennifer disappeared.

On September 18, 2005, ten days after Jennifer's disappearance, off duty police officer Kevin Wilcox, was jogging on the trail at Lime Kiln. He smelled something distinct – a human body decaying. He found Jennifer buried in the brush. The only piece of forensic evidence found was a silver earring she had been wearing the night she disappeared. Lead detective Brown was contacted. When he saw the body, he wept.

A forensics tent was set up but not near the exact location. Detective Brown did not want the media to report the exact location of the body.

Ed Teague wanted to identify his daughter but he was informed that she was so badly decomposed that her identity could not be confirmed visually. Her body was sent to the coroner in Toronto, Ontario.

On September 29, Jennifer's body was released from the crime lab after extensive testing. Time and cause of death could not be determined. On October 1, the funeral was held at Cedarview Alliance Church. Five hundred mourners attended.

The pressure from the community and the media was relentless. The police canvassed the sex offender’s registry and were in touch with police departments across Canada and the United States.

Police were concerned that there may be a serial killer at work as Jennifer resembled another young woman who had disappeared in Orleans, a subdivision in the east end of Ottawa, two years earlier.

On August 6, 2003, 27 year old Ardeth Wood, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, was visiting her parents in Orleans, a subdivision in the east end of Ottawa. Shortly after noon she told her mother she was going biking and would be home in a few hours. After failing to return her mother reported her missing. A massive search operation was mounted by the Ottawa Police Service and what would later lead to a Canada-wide two year man hunt.

Witness information lead to the Green Creek near the mouth of the Ottawa River where Ardeth had last been seen. On August 10, 2003, her submerged bicycle was found. On August 11, her body was found near the shoreline metres from where the bicycle was located. Her cause of death was drowning.

Police were informed there had been a male on the bike path between June and the time of Ardeth's murder who was approaching women.

Chris Myers was arrested on October 20, 2005 for her murder. Detective Brown's hopes were raised then dashed when it was discovered that he had been in North Bay, 356 kilometres away at the time of Jennifer's disappearance and was eliminated as a suspect. The Ottawa Police were back at square one with no suspect, forensics or witness to the abduction.

The Wendy's where Jennifer had worked offered a $50,000 award for any information on her disappearance. On April 10, 2006, the police doubled that amount.

On May 24, 2006, video images from the Mac's Milk surveillance camera from the night Jennifer disappeared were released. Police were doing every thing they could to keep the case in the forefront of peoples' minds, and, most of all, the killers who they assumed would be following the case.

Police conducted what is called a consent search to keep the story in the news. Officers went door to door to homes in Barrhaven to speak with residents and inspect their homes.

On June 9, 2006, days after the surveillance photos were published, 24 year old Kevin Davis stripped naked and ran onto Fallowfield Road, one of Barrhaven's major arterials, yelling that he had killed Jennifer Teague. Davis had consumed 10 grams of psilocybin – magic mushrooms. Detective Brown was anxious to speak with him but Davis was being treated for an overdose in an Ottawa hospital under the mental health act. A week later he recanted the confession claiming the constant information on the case and the drugs had caused him to make a false statement. He said the night Jennifer disappeared he was playing video games with a friend, Nick. This alibi could not be proven because Nick had recently been in a car accident and claimed amnesia from a head injury. Davis' mother said he was home when she went to bed the night of the disappearance and was home when she woke up the next morning.

The police kept up the pressure because Kevin's home was near Jennifer's and she would have walked past it on that fateful night.

On June 26, 2006 Davis left his Orr street home in Barrhaven and confessed to the murder a second time to an off duty police officer. “What if I told you something that could make you famous?”.

This time he was not hallucinating. He was taken to the police station where he was read his rights. He waived his right to see a lawyer saying he needed to get it off of his chest.

Detective Brown wanted to make the confession iron clad for court and asked Davis for proof. They did a re-enactment of the night of the crime, driving to the location where Davis had abducted Jennifer. He chose her because the street was poorly lit. He forced her into his car with a hunting knife then took her home. Davis said he had been looking for a girl to abduct for weeks. He felt that girls had hurt him in the past and he wanted to hurt one back.

Davis blindfolded Jennifer and tied her hands behind her back. Jennifer said she had to leave because her mother would be worried. Davis strangled her while his mother slept in the next room. She had sleep apnea and took sleeping medication. He wrapped her in his grandmother's quilt, put her in the trunk of his mother’s cars and drove to the Lime Kiln Trail.

Davis was able to identify exactly where the body had been discovered. He also knew the position she had been found in – face down. This was crucial as it had been information held back from the public because only the killer would know it. Detective Brown had his confession. He had spent many late nights working on this case which had taken time from his own family. His wife was pregnant during the investigation with a baby girl.

On June 27, 2006, Davis was arrested and charged with first degree murder. On November 28, 2007 he was ordered to stand trial for first degree murder. On January 8 2008, his lawyer said he would plead guilty to first degree murder. This is rare in the criminal justice system.

On January 25, 2008 the Teague family and friends faced Davis in court. He pled guilty to the first degree murder of Jennifer Teague. He described how he abducted her from Jockvale Road near the Via train tracks, took her home, strangled her, wrapped up her body then dumped her a few kilometres away on the trail. Jennifer's mother wept when she heard her daughters last words were that she needed to go home because her mother would worry. Everyone in the court room cried. Everyone, except Davis.

Mr. Teague kept eye contact with him the entire time trying to get some sense that Jennifer's killer felt any remorse for his crime. He did not. Mr. Davis did not have any prior offences just this one act of senseless rage and violence towards an innocent young woman. The only relief for the family was they were spared a lengthy trial.

Since the murder Jean Teague has difficulty enjoying the things she used to do like shopping, hockey pools and Christmas and birthday celebrations. Each Christmas the family buys an ornament for Jennifer for the tree. They are kept together to give to the first granddaughter. Her brothers miss their sister terribly and her friends have nightmares and difficulty sleeping.


Wendy's and other fast food chains now offers taxi fare to staff working the late shift.

Councillor Jan Harder said that people should be more aware of their neighbours.

Jennifer Teague - Jenny to her family, Jen to her friends would be 33 now. No one knows what she would have done with her life as all of her wonderful potential was never be realized due to the senseless act of a madman.

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References: Jennifer Teague, Wikipedia
The Detectives, Season 2, “The Walk Home”
The Ottawa Citizen

Very little is online about the killer. This was his only brush with the law.

.











Saturday, May 23, 2020

Lockdown Skills

The first few days of the lockdown were the most difficult.  I baked.  I stress ate. I cried in the shower.  After a few days I got a grip and started giving myself daily activities.  I started writing again.  A friend had set up a blog for me a few years ago and I started posting weely.  I cleaned things that hadn't been cleaned in years. 

I  taught myself ZOOM.  I  took an online course through Meetups - a great place to find information on ANYTHING.I

My husband needs weekly injections.  I grew up watching my sister take insulin shots every day so this new task didn't bother me.  I had been trained to give injections years ago when my mother was on the trial drug, interferon.  I can now, for the most part, give painless injections.


I had to stop baking with the exception of muffins.  My metabolism has slowed down and I just can't eat many treats any more.  Instead, I take daily six feet apart walks with one of my friends behind Bell High School in the west end of Ottawa.  We have parking lot lunches at the local Wendys and an independet Greek restaurant, Athens Grill.

Friday night has been designated Boston Pizza night.  They now make a thin crust pesto pizza with arugula that is really good for a chain!

My biggest indulgence is podcasts.  I am totally addicted.  I HATE housework but find once I plug my beloved bluetooth into my phone I can listen to:   Imagine Life, Even the Rich, We Regret to Inform You, Someone Knows something to name a few of my favourites while I scrub, clean and dust.  "Chasing Cosby" took me through an entire ensuite bathroom.  "The Prodfather" another.  I learn while I clean and my mind stays engaged. The best part of podcasts is people can still produce them during quarantine.  My family has started calling me the "Pod zombie" because once my blue tooth is on, I am in my own world.

There was some drama when one of my dogs went after the cat and his tooth got knocked out.  It turns out the cat's tooth was rotting anyways.  It was mostly fur and noise but he got checked out and animal peace rules again here.

I  have a long list of things I can't wait to do. First, of course, is get back to work (I may have a work at home job starting next week I am just waiting for details).  When we finally get released I want a haircut, pedicure, drinks on a patio, a trip to the movies and most of all HUGS from all the people I love/like.

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