She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket. ~Raymond Chandler

Ah, Raymond Chandler I want to talk like you write.....

Ok, I'm up and somewhat about after 2 hours at the dentist today. This is my 4th visit since the huge fiasco two months back (July 9th precisely)when I snapped off my front incisor and had to make an emergency visit to the dentist up in Tofino or appear on stage to receive my Diane Farris Juror's Award with duct tape across my mouth. Now, for many of us, and I include myself here, trips to the dentist are not the high point of anything.....we tremble, we sweat, we anxiously sit in the waiting room blindly immersed in outdated magazines, etc. etc. etc. I've a long and mainly poor relationship with dentists over the last 44 years, starting in the early 60's when the dentistry practised left A LOT to be desired. That was when gas masks - smelly rubber gas masks were in vogue. From there we graduated to horrific needle jabbers and wrenching tooth pullers and one remarkable dentist that tore open my gum and lip with an over exuberant drill (true story) The last 15 years I'd basically ignored my teeth and just not gone. I blamed (ie: justified) this on being a 'poor' artist.

I have really bad teeth - being brought up with a mother who was Dutch and gave me chocolate sandwiches from an early age, well, not truly conducive to good dental hygiene.

So when that tooth snapped I was in pretty sad shape. I had had 3 molars pulled, (joke being that I was almost able to wear a bridle) 1 lost crown, obvious tooth decay, stained, cracked enamel and the Rolling Stones line from a song running through my head: "....toothless biddy hag..." , something I was certain loomed on my horizon.

Well, folks, I'm here to say that I have found the absolute answer to my dental prayers with my Dentist up in Tofino. Not only does he give the most unbelievably 'ouch' free needles, have the BEST dentist-chair manner, and calming demeanor; he has taken what was a shameful mouth and given me back a great smile. I LOVE my new 'teefs'!

Thanks Dr. Jamieson - more than you know.

The engraving is " A Visit to the Dentist" by Lucas Van Leyden, 1593 (!) And catch the 'assistant' there in the background......someone Kim is WAY better than!