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"No room at the inn" could easily be the title of an article I would write, as a street nurse, about overcrowded homeless shelters and people forced to sleep outside in dangerous situations or in church basements across the country. "No room at the inn" could also be about the intentional withdrawal of government funding to life-saving social programs such as shelters or the federal government's non-funding of the upstream solution -- a national housing program.

"Old age is not for sissies," said Bette Davis. Indeed, it is not, but the images from our childhood of what it meant to be "old" have changed dramatically. Of course, as I enter my 60th year, my perspective on what it means to be "old," of necessity, shifts. As another popular aphorism, puts it "the hardest thing to decide is when middle age begins." Thanks to advances in health care and a focus on healthy living, Canadians are living longer. And today's senior has different issues and challenges than in our grandparents' day. I see it every day, as my riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands is one of those with the highest proportion of older citizens. While so much in the mass media sees only the negatives of this aging demographic, there is much to celebrate.

This past weekend, I met a man who is a jouster (sigh!). I had been invited to join a joust-training team years ago, but the commute was too far to make it work, and I had been PINING to do it ever since. I have always loved adventurous, physical things, and I do enjoy both sword fighting for stage and horse-back riding. So of course I want to joust, right? Doesn't matter that I am female, relatively small or just had a mid-forties birthday... oh crap, maybe that last one does matter.

Lately, Jane Fonda is everywhere on my pop culture radar. She posts frequently on Twitter and on her blog. These posts have focused on exercising and well-being, not surprising themes given Fonda's past. Fonda recently posted a TED talk.