This is a needlepoint that was done by a lady in New Zealand. I believe it is a copy of one of Joni Mitchell's self-portrait paintings. Here is a snippet of one of her songs:

We all come and go unknown
Each so deep and superficial
Between the forceps and the stone
Well I looked at the granite markers
Those tributes to finality - to eternity
And then I looked at myself here
Chicken scratching for my immortality

On the last day of February, my friend Joe passed away after a short illness. He and his wife Helen were our neighbours when we lived in Legal, Alberta. We'd only been there a couple days when they came strolling down the alley behind our back yard, greeted us warmly, and a friendship was begun.

I'll be writing more about that later. But right now, I am just angry about the high incidence of cancer. Just ... angry. One out of every two people now get cancer, apparently. That's too damn high.

On CBC television's excellent consumer awareness program, Marketplace, airing this Sunday night at 7:00, the journalist Wendy Mesley is looking for some answers. She's just had a bout with breast cancer herself and survived.

More information about the show, here.