Wave

One of the oddities, but nice oddities, about where I live is the so-called Island Wave - best done in a casual, flip of the wrist kind of way. There are so few cars on the roads that one waves at everyone.

Now, the problem is, it's the sort of thing you become so used to doing that I can be driving downtown Toronto and forget that the people on the sidewalk are not going to be waving back to me.

Dark

This is one of the roads I take on my long trek home. The countryside is so dark and quiet, it takes some getting used to.

I Take My Lumps

So one night, I'm chatting online with my cousin and my right hand goes to scratch an itch close to the middle of my chest and I gasp in horror. There's a lump. I write to cousin: OMG. But that's all I can muster.

I take a deep breath and tentatively touch that spot again. Yes, sure enough, there is a hard lump. I write to cousin: OMG.

I wait a few more seconds and then reach down my top for a better assessment of what surely is my fate. I am relieved to find that it's a peanut that has fallen down my shirt and lodged in my bra. So I pull it out and eat it.

The next night, out with friends, I recount this tale, reveling in my new lease on life and was quite put out when Ron said: D, you are the only person I know who could go from zero to palliative care in 60 seconds.

Second Cup

Second Cup is actually my favourite source for coffee and hot chocolate (and not Tim's).

I go to this one after my chiropractor's appointment but before work. We haven't had snow in over a month, this was in January.

Kingston Brew Pub

Found a great place while in Kingston one day - the Kingston Brew Pub. Had a local beer and some wings - yummy !!

Outta Gas

This picture typifies my life. These are our propane and oil tanks (with the Doug Well in the background shadow, at the right of the photo). The propane tank fuels our gas fireplace, and the oil tank fuels our furnace.

Thing is, our oil tank is full of oil but our furnace broke a few months ago; the propane fireplace works but the tank is empty of gas and because of our location, the gas company won't be coming by to fill the tank for another 10 days.

So we are heating with little rads from the hardware store.

Wholesome?

I'm not sure if it's an urban myth, but this Big Apple on the 401 Highway looks wholesome and does advertise apple pies, but I hear that there's a significant selection of uhhh racy accessories inside. Could be just a hoax.

(added later: so my cousin writes to me after reading this post, "hard core or soft core?" LOL)

Hope

There's a town called Hope - more or less - on my long, monstrous and oft-complained-about commute. I think it's funny because yes indeed, each week I *hope* that they've moved the town about 2 hours closer to my destination and that reaching the outskirts means I'm nearly home.

Bed Partner

Nothing to say about this other than, 2 months ago I'd have been horrified that I'd be sleeping with a cat - and quite happily, too.

No Description Necessary

I have a terrible commute. I whinge about it all the time (as you know by now). And while I whinge, I like to sing, and this is a current fave.

Sick Bed

Well, the worst came to pass and I eventually did get really sick. Ironic since, 2 days earlier I'd patted myself on the back for having escaped a real flu this year.

At first I was worried it was Tuberculosis, then Meningitis, but it may just be a wicked flu. I posted that I was sick on my FaceBook account and got no sympathy (and my sister asking for my car if I didn't pull through), and then went on to read on the news that Megan Joy, a contestant in American Idol, performed with this flu and got the sympathy vote.

Worst thing is, my husband hates when I get sick, so there's not one iota of sympathy there, either. My mom was the same when I was a kid. Maybe I need (more) therapy.

Hate To Say I Told You So...

I warned him. My husband came in to town to visit me (sort of - not really, he was working in a neighbouring town) and he spent the night at his parents' house (where I've been house-sitting for the winter) and he was a bit tired and a bit grumpy and he was getting ready for bed and put his glass of water on the side table and I said, um, you really shouldn't do that, the Agent of Terror Cat will drink from that. And he ignored me...

Not Dead Yet Wood

I have a wonderful cousin who has periodically sent me shoes that she no longer wears. In this case, it's a pair of wooden clogs that I absolutely love. I also happen to have a dog that loves to chew shoes and loves to chew wood. These clogs have presented him with an irresistible combination.

Boo Tim's

So here in Canada we have an institution called Tim Horton's Coffee Shop. Every once in a while, Tim's runs a Roll Up The Rim To Win contest. I don't know if it's just me but in the old days, I'd win a free donut or free coffee all the time, and in the past few years, my winnings have been far and few between. It sucks.

Turbines

Wind turbines on Wolfe Island, at the very eastern end of Lake Ontario. Taken from the shore.

Very controversial issue out here. Eye-catching, nonetheless.

(taken with real camera and not iPhone because of the distance)

Dog Takes Flight

Our dog's favourite hobby is "leafing" - chasing dead leaves. This is Max leafing on the shores of Lake Ontario.
(disclosure - taken with another camera because I forgot my iPhone! This, yesterday's and tomorrow's are all cheats)

Glass

The ice has pretty much melted on the Lake and a windstorm the other day blew the shards of what look like glass, ashore, where they piled in to the coolest patterns. Really pretty on a sunny day.

Night Ferry

Ferry crossing at night. Some industrious people, spouse included, read. Day or night, I put the seat back and snooze.

Confection

This confection of a building is a prison. And in this particular town that I was driving through, there a tons of 'em.

My New Car

This is a picture of my "new" car. It's a 2006 Saab 92x Linear that isn't. Which makes it sort of like me. It's really a Subaru Impreza and because of that oddity, it's often called a Saabaru. Sometimes called a Snaabaru but in my case, it's a Slaabaru (or as my spouse and beloved cousin say less delicately, Slob-aru). Within two days, my new little old car was filled to the brim with stuff. And it's been that way since. And honestly, there's no point in promising that the situation will change.

The Picture I've Been Dying To Post

Here it is, the picture I know everyone's been waiting for: the cat-inflicted deep and nearly-mortal wound. This is from the attack last week. I'm so excited to be posting this today because I know that finally I'll be eliciting the empathetic reaction I've been deserving during these 8 weeks of looking after this Agent of Terror cat.

Here is my history of house-sitting this cat (who I now willing sleep with, to be honest):

Cat Post 1
Cat Post 2
Cat Post 3
Cat Post 4
Cat Post 5

It's a Cluster F-F-F-Fly on the Wall

Here's another thing that I discovered when I moved to an old farmhouse in rural Canada (why is it that other people discover gold or stock certificates in the walls): Cluster flies. So called because well, I don't really know. These things breed like no species I've ever encountered (I guess I should not say that - who knows what else I'll discover in the coming months).

There are so many in our attic that the floor has a half inch of dead ones at any given time (twice a year, when they hatch). They lay eggs in the walls - but now that we know what's up, those suckers are done for - I've got a plan. Cluster Busters. Fingers crossed.

Fifty

Today is my husband's fiftieth birthday. This is extraordinary because only three and a half months ago he was 22.

A Drive On The Wild Side (and, not by me)

Great Excitement in Northern Ontario when a poor local soul put his truck through the river ice. People there drive on the ice - it's been done for a long time (I was going to say centuries, and maybe it has but not in Chevy trucks) (or maybe it has, GM's not doing that great after all, and if they've not changed their model in centuries, that could be an issue).

Anyway, this poor dude was doing what people do but unfortunately hit a pressure crack and fell through. I asked him, when did you know you were in trouble (thinking he may have heard or felt something) (and thinking, how fun, I'd like to be able to drive to the beer store sometime) and he responded, when he was in the water. No laughing matter: thank heavens he was close to shore.

He managed to save his carton of beer, but lost his package of smokes. And sadly, he'd just paid the truck off last month.

Over the course of a few hours, while extracting the vehicle (no easy feat), the truck was demolished. Some of the locals were worried that others will scoff but to me, this was a there-but-for-the-grace of God thing and nothing to scoff at.

My Train Passing Me on the Right

This was a weird sight for me as I was driving down that infamous road (yes, that one): my train overtaking me and I wasn't on it.

Parking

This is one of those oddities that catch my eye (daily, it seems)...I was zooming along Canada's Long And Winding Road (aka the 401) and in the middle of nowhere - seriously - N O w h e r e - and there was a parking sign on the side of the road. One of those places for car-pool-participants. Not only did I wonder who on earth would join this but I also wondered, how do they get back to their cars at the end of the day? There were no exits around that I could see. Would they have to overshoot by 50 miles and then double-back? What's the point of that?

Anyway, this important issue kept my brain occupied for a few minutes and helped to pass the time.

Cellar

I love living in a house with a cellar. I've only been in it once - but I love having a cellar. I'll go in it again soon.

Walk-In Clinic

This was a miserable afternoon - staring at the horribly stained carpet in a walk-in clinic where I waited to see a physician for my eye infection. Thing is, I'll be lucky not to have caught tuberculosis, ebola, or worse. This was a festering, musty, stale-air, gruesome, yucky way to spend a few hours. There were sick people in this doctors' office. And lots of them.

It was awful (I'm a bit of a hyperchondriac to be honest)(or would that be hypochondriac?). Anyway, I can't tell you how difficult it was, trying not to breathe for two hours or to touch anything.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for the fact that I'm in Canada and any sick person can drag themselves in to a clinic and get medical care without mortgaging their house. If they are able to ....

My Dog on Crack

My dog is an addict. I have enrolled him in a 12-step program but he just wont adhere to it. I think he's not ready - proof that interventions don't always work.

His drug of choice is The Wellington Boot. And there's a local woman here, we call her Auntie Ida, who feeds our dog's addiction by bringing him Wellington Boots. She brought him this one, in fact.

Like any addict on a mind-blowing high, our dog will drool and need attended to - spouse claims that Dog is forever driving himself nuts as bits of rubber boot become lodged in between Dog's teeth and spouse has to reach in to do the extraction (of the boot bit - not of Dog's teeth).

House Sitters

So, more about the temporary abode: There's the Agent of Terror cat, but what I've not written about is the temporarily-apartment-less nephew and girlfriend who are co-house-sitting with me while the inlaws are away. It's as though I've got two wives - they actually enjoy cooking and this photo is a picture of a night they roasted potatoes and vegetables for fun.

They eat vegetables because they had decided to become vegetarians - on the exact day that my husband came in to town and joined us all for dinner at ... Swiss Chalet. Not a very vegetarian-friendly restaurant, but they stuck to their guns and ordered vegetables.

A few weeks later nephew says to me, so girlfriend and I are thinking of cooking a TurDuckHen - a Cornish Hen stuffed inside a Duck and then stuffed inside a Turkey (good thing the turkey's dead, that's gotta hurt) and I responded that I didn't think that sounds like a typical vegetarian meal. Nephew said earnestly, nooooo, we are "meat reducers".

I can say that I'm a reducer, too - I've been a vegetable-reducer since I was two.

Another Sign

Here's another funny sign that I saw - this time, in an airport in Mexico. I think I was the only one in the crowd of thousands who was bent over double laughing.