Write about your approach to budgeting.

Always put some away from each cheque, and if you can’t pay with cash, you don’t buy it. It’s been great advice that has left me debt free for most of my nearly 60 years.

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

Not really. Im proud of my country when it’s deserved and disappointed in it when deserved. Patriotism leads to the us vs. them mentality, in reality, we should be teaming together, not against each other. We should be border free and understand that marking territory is nonsense. The First Nations people are closer to the cooperation that is necessary for us as a species to survive and thrive. We waste our time fighting one another when we should be helping each other. After all, the earth is OUR planet, and we should be taking care of it because it’s the only one we have. If we all band together with our focus on bringing the planet back to health, imagine what we can accomplish. Leave our egos and our pride behind us, and stop living like parasites trying to kill our host and each other.

Have you ever broken the law and didn’t get caught, if so how?

If you’re thinking that I’m stupid enough to tell you about it, you’re very wrong.

If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?

Because I’ve come close to the life I’ve wanted so many times without realizing it wasn’t what I needed. And when death came so very close 10 years ago I was able to say, “close enough. ”

What were your parents doing at your age?

My parents were already retired and about to embark upon a decade worth of travel mostly to New Zealand, where they would eventually spend their winters .

This is the year I turn 60, and unlike my parents, the year I realize that plane travel is not likely to happen again . There will be no cruises as I have horrible motion sickness. The most I can hope for is a car trip or two, and it’s hard to get excited about that . I’m very lucky to live where I do, but I’ve always had wanderlust that will now have to go unsated. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see all of the places I wanted to before becoming disabled, and that’s just another disappointment I will have to deal with.

The reality is that I’m more disabled than I think I am, and while I’m still seeing small improvements, they aren’t things that change how much energy I can expend daily without becoming exhausted. Even a trip to Vancouver needs a full day of recovery before we get out in the city.  The 90-minute ferry ride over takes that much out of me.

So I’m just going to have to learn to enjoy seeing the occasional show,having dinners out from time to time,and a car trip to places I’ve seen too many times already.

The good news is that I can focus on writing, one of the only joys that my stroke didn’t take from me.  Because if I’m not living in the solution, I’m not living.

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

I live in Canada, and the one thing I would change is how violent criminals are punished. For example, if you assault someone, you get assaulted. If you rape someone, you get raped. If you torture someone, you get tortured, and if you kill someone, you get killed in the exact same way. We need to stop coddling violent offenders.

Write about your next home.

I changed the prompt today because I would rather tell you about the next home in which my husband and I will be living .

Once my husband is not able to physically take care of me, we have no choice but to move into an assisted living facility, so I can get the care required and he won’t have to cook or clean, or even do laundry again. Luckily, we will be able to afford a very nice one, not far from our current place. It has chef prepared meals and a hair salon. It’s 2 blocks away from the ocean with gorgeous grounds and an underground pool. Among the activities are a plethora of classes, a gym, movies and a library full of books.

We will very likely be the youngest couple there, but it’s close to the pub that my husband frequents and it would mean that I can be safe if he decides to spend some time visiting his friends for a few days.

So, you see, I don’t want to talk about a dream home because we won’t be able to afford the full-time staff required. After all, we’re not getting younger. Let’s be honest when you’re sixty plus and permanently paralyzed, the most you can hope for is a very nice assisted living facility with an ocean view.

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

I tell my husband. If, by chance, he’s not home, I simultaneously text both the hubby and my mom.

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

While I’ve not lost interest, nor have I outgrown cherished activities, they were taken from me when I became paralyzed nearly 10 years ago. The activities I miss most are dancing and driving. Thankfully, I can still blog because writing is my therapy .

Let this post serve as a reminder to have your heart fully checked, including an echocardiogram . If I had done so, I wouldn’t be paralyzed today.

What’s your favorite candy?

I don’t eat much candy. Instead, I prefer cookies freshly baked or cake for my sweet tooth. I had to think about Halloween candy in order to come up with 3 candy bars that I like . It should be noted that I only eat them in the mini size and only in late October.

In third place is the Cadbury Caramilk bar. It’s the perfect combination of milk chocolate and caramel.

Spot number two belongs to Reeces peanut butter cups because they’re delicious.

Finally, the winner is the Wunderbar . The best concoction of chunky peanut butter,covered in thick caramel , with a milk chocolate coating. It’s smooth but has a bit of crunch, and it’s delectable.