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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 6h

Year 15: day 55: very long caption so in pics 2 and 3. Pic 4 (blank) is just so I could provide all the alt text

Two pictures side by side, one of Clare with Trudy dog sat smiling, and the second, a close up of a sunflower

Year 15: day 55:
A twofer of two seemingly unrelated pictures but there is logic
I have lived with chronic conditions for most of my adult life. At 21/22 years old when my joints started falling apart, I let it affect me mentally too.
Soon after (in the span of my lifetime but like a couple of years), I learnt to find the joy in the little things, to carry a huge optimism with me, & not get bogged down by the things that 1’m unable to control. It has served me well. I think my picture of the day is testament to that. Also, my health psychologist has complimented many times on my well developed coping skills.
Today, however, has been a HUGE challenge to that mindset. As some of my followers know, I have a very unstable shoulder which is awaiting surgery. Dislocations are an every day fact of life, & I have got pretty good at carrying on (in a very limited amount to what |i’m able) with everyday life whilst also using a pulley system to self-reduce / relocate dislocations. My life is much smaller, I can't currently work/drive/travel/exercise/cook (lots of things that most people take for granted) but I have still managed to find the joy in the little things.
Today, however, was a serious challenge to that mindset. My shoulder dislocated in a slightly unusual way last night, making it extra unstable. When I tried to sleep, it dislocated on average once an hour, making sleep really non-existent, & an already chronically tired Clare, over the top, tired. When I tried to do things like feed me & my animal family members, the frequency of dislocations dramatically increased to much swearing by me. When you are so tired, & constantly bombarded by health things, it's hard to maintain that positive attitude, & cracks really began to show, especially when I decided that I needed to cancel my evening plans with good friends.
By about midday I realized that my only achievements for the day would be the necessary (providing of sustenance and basic personal care such as toileting

taking Trudy dog (with help) for a walk, my Duolingo, & picture of the day. I was not really looking forward to my picture of the day as being (mainly) confined to the same environment all the time, inspiration can be hard to come by (and it already can be a challenge ways to keep it fresh when you're in the fifteenth year of a daily project). So, I had got Trudy dog ready for the agreed upon time that my bestie, Cynthia, would walk her with me. With Bill being away, Trudy is slightly unsure of the routine, and doesn't seem to take for granted that she will get a walk. So, once I put her lead on and she realized, it was true, she was getting a walkie, she became quite impatient inside the house. I decided for both our sakes that it was better to go sit outside on the doorstep. Trudy was still a bit inpatient but her face changed to pure joy when she saw Cynthia coming down the street and she realized what we were waiting for. So while it's more of a snap than a typical picture of the day, I wanted to include because of what it meant. Both me and Trudy happy that Cynthia was coming to help us (and that I got to spend some extra time with my bestie).
With Cynthia in charge of Trudy's lead, I was free to see and photographed things as we walked, which was purely joyful (even if I was doing it with a dislocated shoulder as my shoulder support had failed to keep it in joint). The sunflower, which is clearly a happy flower, represents those moments of joy.

As I reflect on the day while writing this, if I totted up all the negative stuff today versus all the positive stuff, purely in hours and minutes, the negative would far outweigh the positive. But I am not actually sitting here teeling sad. I am very, very, very fired and sore (my buprenorphine is not cutting it today with all the dislocations) but I am super grateful to have a bestie so willing to help, a bestie who I am spending time with the conversation flows freely and I am taken away (if even for only a couple of minutes) the reality of my situation. I am grateful to have a dog, who loves me loads and who I love loads in return, to provide love and daftness every day. Things will undoubtedly be way, way, way better once my shoulder has been mended but, I am proud that I have built a resilience and positive attitude that I can enjoy the little good things on even the shittiest of days. Once this is posted, only Duolingo left to do, and then I will have achieved all my tasks for the day.

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Year 15: day 54: oh hey, Julius, long time no see

Chalk board next to shop showing Julius the Paul Frank Monkey. Behind it can be seen a patio with umbrellas and people sitting outside. The whole scene is in black and white except for the blue chalk board

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Year 15: day 53: Autumnal vibes

Toonized photo of leaves on a tree turning golden brown

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Year 15: day 52: pretending that I am in the Mediterranean not 104 st and Whyte Ave 😂

Hanging basket of pink flowers on patio next to road

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Year 15: day 51: intimate bits of a poppy

Close up of red poppy focussed on the center

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Year 15: day 50: A short story about Trudy Dog waiting for Esme Cat to finish her food

A strip of 6 photos showing Trudy (smooth collie) dog staring intently, howling and then looking happy

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Year 15: day 49: Sunflowers are the best flowers

Toonized photo of flowers (including sunflowers) outside florists

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

what we can do going forward to honour and support Indigenous peoples who cared for this land for centuries before it was Canada. (T-shirt by River City Rustic)

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Year 15: day 48: In honour of Truth & Reconciliation Day. I encourage you to do the work. Learn about the atrocities that occurred to Indigenous peoples as result of residential schools and 1/2

Orange Evert Child Matters tshirt with 2 Lego daffodils sitting on top of it

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Year 15: day 46: Discarded beauty

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Got a new Ehlers Danlos themed t-shirt. So going to wear it to my upcoming medical appointments 🤣🤩

Clare wearing tshirt which depict a zebra wearing a yellow shirt, striped tie, jacket and hello sunglasses standing next to the caption which reads “my joints go out more than I do”

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Year 15: day 45: it seems like my shoes went for a walk without me during the night…

Pink sneakers propped on top of one another by the front door

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Year 15: day 44: vinyl-tastic!

Side on view of stack of records. In a black frame

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Year 15: day 43: “Bad Pants Open and Bash” curated by Fred Singer, as seen in the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. The thing is though, I would like and wear most of those pants

5 pairs of brightly coloured pants (orange and yellow diamond, pink and blue floral, blue stripes, multicoloured patchwork, and blue and purple checked) hanging on a line. The border of the picture is a close-up of the purple and blue floral

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Year 15: day 42: I love, love, love that there is so much art in my ‘hood

Colour splash photo looking down street car tracks. To the right are abstract coloured bolsters. Further down to the left is a building with two murals on. The picture is in black and white except for the bolsters and the furthest away mural

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Like many people with chronic illnesses and pain, I downplay my pain. When presented with a pain scale, I have never said more than 8 out of 10, because I always imagine there could be a worse pain. But if anyone asked me tonight, I would say 9.25

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Year 15: day 41: Brutally honest pic of the day post coming your way (long post so in 2nd picture)

Clare laying in bed with tens machine on and cuddling a venonat plushie

Year 15: day 41: Brutally honest pic of the day post coming your way. When you take opioids every day, after a while you stop noticing the spacey feeling and the only overwhelming feeling, aside from a bit of pain relief, is tiredness. I dislocated my shoulder in a way today that I couldn’t self-relocate with the winch 420 and Bill was also struggling to relocate with the normal techniques. It had been a few hours, and trying to avoid the need for the emergency room, we added more and more painkillers. Acetaminophen and Buprenorphine is my baseline. Quite often tramadol is added, but today we added codeine phosphate on top. I felt pretty chill and little floaty which helps the shoulder relocation process and, eventually, in a 3 step process, the lovely Bill was able to relocate my shoulder. I still felt floaty but the chillness quickly dissipated as my body screamed in pain. No more painkillers could be taken for a couple of hours, I was at my max, so the only thing left to do was hook up my tens machine and hug Valerie the Venonat, while have a little cry. Valerie arrived today as a wonderful surprise gift from Bill. The venonat, with its happy bobbing, is my absolute favourite Pokemon and I think much underrated by most people hence the difficulty in finding venonat memorabilia. But Bill did it and I love her. Most importantly, I love him, he is the brightness on even the darkest of the days

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Year 15: day 40: (long caption so in second image)

Front and back of medal from S.O.F.A Film Festival. The front shoes their name and numerous animals standing on a film reel. The back says “Best Tails Overall 2025: Cycling for Sanctuaries”

Year 15: day 40: This week had me seriously questioning whether there is any point of still trying to have a career whilst living with 3 chronic, and often unpredictable, conditions. It (and the events that led to the thought) were the topics of discussion with my health psychologist this afternoon where I am cried a lot. Then I got home, and this was waiting for me in the mailbox. It was not timely, insomuch as it was from a film festival last year, but very timely as it was just what I needed. Now I am carrying the medal round the house like a fool to remind me that some people think my work is worthwhile

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Year 15: day 39: Lady Josephine who I was lucky enough to spend some time with after a morning full of medical tests

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Year 15: day 38: the weather this year has been so all over the place, that our wild flower border is finally coming into full bloom late September

Toonized photos of all colours of wildflowers growing in a border next to a fence

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Year 16: day 37: long caption so in 2nd pic

Model sitting on dashboard of car. Through the windscreen can be seen out of focus, trees, traffic lights and road signs. The model is of a fox wearing sunglasses, a police outfit and sitting in a police car

Year 16: day 37: Story time: so we went to the mall for the Staraptor Pokemon Go event and I again admired the fox from zootopia in the window of MiniSo. Bill bought me the unknown character boxes with the hope of getting the fox. We then carried on pokemoning till I randomly puked it (a common ailment in people living with Ehlers Danlos syndrome which necessitated a new top because my pikachu one which I wore to the mall was covered in vomit). So, as I got to the car, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. I got the box out of the bag and opened and yay! it was the fox. Happy Clare! Takes more than a bit of pain and public vomiting to keep me down

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Year 16: day 36: when Bill’s embarrassed text face makes it look like I’m the one who’s embarrassed 😳😮😂

Colour splash photo of Clare’s Apple Watch on her wrist. When Bill is texting her, it usually displays Clare and Bill with a monkey. However, Bill had texted a 😳 which is sitting perfectly over Clare’s face

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

like water droplets that escaped after a plant was watered in a restaurant, but it seems to mean a lot more at the moment 2/2

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Year 15: day 35: as I wait for surgery, and living with three chronic conditions, my life is currently a lot smaller and quieter than it used to be. I think I would have always noticed the little details 1/2

Water droplets in wooden shelf in between two terracotta pots

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Year 15: day 33: If Mondrian went to Leading Edge Physiotherapy for some expert Occupational Therapist led splint-making

Abstract white, pink, grey and black pattern frame in black and white frame

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Year 15: day 32: Reflected light

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Year 15: day 31: Space-tastic!

Street art of female astronaut with red hair, cat eyes and pink gloves

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Year 15: day 30: I have no idea why playing with your food is allegedly bad, it just makes the eating process more fun! I

Plate depicting lion cub wearing a red university jumper, earbuds and glasses. Red apple is arranged on the plate to give him a bigger smile and a spiky haircut

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Year 15: day 28: drink in the peaceful vibes

Inside of a coffee shop. Some fresh yellow flowers and a sign about bottle and can recycling are in the foreground, behind is seating and blue sky as seen through the large windows

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Year 15: day 27: found in Venta’s garden

Yellow and orange dahlia filling right half of screen. The rest of the photo of the garden is in black and white

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Year 15: day 26: Evidence of sunrise

Early morning sunlight reflected on buildings’ concrete wall, door frame and glass panels creating an orange hue. There is a shadow of Clare on the concrete wall which is still looking it’s regular grey hue

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Year 15: day 25: Trudy had a poorly tum in the night and consequently was extra tired / cute today

Toonized photo of Trudy (smooth collie) dog (head, shoulders and front paws only visible in frame) asleep on brown leather couch with her head resting on a heart graffiti cushion

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Year 15: day 24: Jeffrey monkey told us that if we going to spend the day at the mall that he would like a lazy day in bed, please

Toonized photo of large plushie monkey tucked up in bed under a white and purple floral duvet

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Year 15: day 23: Had a blast at Edmonton Mural Festival Secret Walls. All the art was amazing but I am glad Josh’s team (Led by Graffiti Salad and with Ashley Rosenow) won as it seemed like more of one cohesive piece of artwork than the other team’s (and in general I am big fan of Josh‘s work)

2 men standing up ladders working o. A black and white mural that includes q goose and its crown

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Year 15: day 22: it’s so nice to have various flowers growing along our fence, it helps provide picture of the day options

Colour splashed and Toonized photo of pink lavetera flowers growing in amongst other flowers and grasses. All is decoloured expect for the 2 large pink flowers. The decoloured section has a purple hue

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Year 15: day 21: holding an insulated cup of coffee like a true Canadian

Mural of a beaver holding an insulated cup with a maple leaf (Canadian flag) on it

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Year 15: day 20: today’s Klydoclock soothes my soul

Clock face showing drawing of purple and green flowers

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Year 15: day 19: The amazing album that started the trip down a jazzy vinyl rabbit hole

Black and white photo of the album “Kind of Grunge” by Ulysses Jr and Generation Y, propped on a record player with funky, abstract wallpaper behind

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Year 15: day 18: I like to imagine that the magpie is admiring the sunflower

Toonized photo of magpie sitting on chain link fence at the front of a garden looking towards a sunflower in full bloom

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Year 15: day 17: Doing photo-of-the-day everyday, is a hoot!

Circular sticker stuck on lamppost which says “POLE”. The sticker has a ink drawing of an owl’s face

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Year 15: day 16: Happy Birthday Bitch, Nathan Zelyas

Blue heart shaped cake which says “happy birthday, bitch”

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Year 15: day 15: long caption so in 2nd photo

Pale blue iridescent record playing in player. The central label is brown and features a bird

Year 15: day 15: So last week I fell down a rabbit hole cos I kept getting advertised “Kind of Grunge”, a limited edition record of 12 90s grunge songs re-imagined as contemporary jazz. I LOVE jazz especially randomly weird stuff like that. I listened to it on Apple Music and it was amazing, so I decided that I should be one of the 999 people who own the limited edition of the record (which will be signed early September and then dispatched to their new owners). But then I was like, “why is contemporary jazz only being released on vinyl (other than streaming)?” So I read up why various people think that vinyl is the best format for recoded jazz. So I bought that album and an open box record player (making it half the price). The record player was arriving today and “Kind of Grunge” probably not for a couple of weeks, so yesterday I took myself to Blackbird records to buy myself a couple of records, Jeff Goldblum’s Night Blooms being one. It had the honour of being the first thing that I played. I have loved jazz since I was about 16, but I finally think I can be a real collector with a vinyl player. I was so excited/ happy / overwhelmed that when we got it set up, I had a little cry but that might be the sleep deprivation and opioid usage!

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Good morning to Year 15: day 14

Sunrise, trees, telegraph poles and traffic with headlights on

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Year 15: day 13: I do love me a bicycle shadow

Black and white picture of a bicycle laying down and the shadow underneath it

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Clare Gibson @cgcreative.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Year 15: day 12: Trudy had an unusual evening walk which included the grocery store so we could acquire more dog food. She was a good girl and waited patiently under the table while her dad, Bill, went into the store

Toonized photo of Trudy (smooth collie) dog sitting under black metal table and staring towards the door

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