Thanks to my many hard working fund raisers and generous friends and aquaintances, the Lung Association to date has received over $10,000.. in just over a month...enough for me to have the confidence to secure an apartment near the Toronto hospital and begin to pack my bags for my BIG ADVENTURE. I am hoping to leave Friday the 13th July...might as well take fate by the horns! My lovely friend Andree LaPare will accompany me and stay long enough to try out the guest bed and help me get over my fright about living on the 30th floor....it is going to be some change from home-home-on-the-range here at Wilcox...but I am up for the adventure. And I thank everyone so much for helping me out the door.

YARD SALE A SMASHING SUCCESS! and it's just the beginning....

Some of Us got a little silly..but it sold the stuff..Lots of fun...Look at that Lady go with the Lamp

The Team!

There were very cute dogs that visited...they say woof woof to Kansas!


The CROWD

On Saturday, June 16th many of Sandra Winter's friends gathered together to have a giant yard sale-with all the funds going to Sandra, of course. Despite the rain, we had crowds and crowds. It was a fun day and so many people were so supportive and bought lots and lots and lots of stuff. Many too, bought tickets on Jamie Pratt's beautiful wall quilt. They send their prayers and best wishes to Sandra-everyone cares a great deal! Although the formal tally for the yard sale and the raffle is still being counted, we can safely say we raised approximately $1500....not bad for an afternoon. Thank you to everyone for helping out, donating stuff and to Barbara, for loaning her drive-way, her basement, mint tea...Barb rocks! OH yeah, almost forgot,a local paper came by to talk to us and find out about Sandra and CTV was there filming all the buying action. Enjoy some of these fun pictures from the Yard Sale!

Feel free to do that too or simply make a monetary donation directy to the Lung Association in trust for Sandra Winter (address at top of this blog!!) Tax Receipts are available. See our growing number of online auction items at http://sandrawintersonlineauction.blogspot.com/

Where's Waldo?

This post is a bit of a WHERE'S WALDO...or Barb, or Pat, Maureen or Ann, Adrianna or Marsha, or ...you. I know that fundraising is going on all around me. I only hear snippets because people are trying not to wear me out. But it would be support to me and support to one another if the various pockets of fundraising projects were posted here to expand the picture of what is being or could be done. Contact me or leave a message in comments and I'll give you the 'key' to the site so you can upload your idea, pictures of your event, or your own smiling face. The notion that there is a human 'family' out there who are rooting for me is as much the support I need as to pay for those @#&%@#*$ drugs. Here are a very few of the people I know of who are beavering away at fundraising.

Support comes in many forms. None is more significant in this process that those offering peace of mind. My lovely neighbour Buddy provides this for me in spades. Along with checking in with me at least once a day, he keeps my gardens in tip top order....lets me feel joy and not frustration when I see them from my window and can't get out to work in them. Kansas loves him too. We all should have (and be!) such a great neighbour!

The most important of the many things I was able to do with my first set of new lungs was to finish raising my lovely son Gaelen Andrew. He was only 16 when we had to pick up and move to Toronto where he became the sole support person for me, carrying a beeper and on call 24 hours a day. Too big a job for a teenager but accomplished even while continuing his high school education at Contact, a wonderful alternative school which happened to be in the same building as we lived. He is now 26 and as fine a man as I could wish. He has been working for 6 years at Fireside Restaurant in Halifax as a cook, which he finds very fun. Yes, I got to finish raising my son with the first set of lungs. Dare I hope that with the second I'll have a chance to have time with grandbabies? Sandra