Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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I think I married Ned Flanders from the Simpsons – Help!

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Ok that does it. From this day forward my husband, Chris, is no longer allowed out in the neighborhood!

The problem? I’m married to Ned Flanders! (Simpsons) Really … I am.

There is simply no neighbor that he won’t stop and talk to. For hours at at times! I’d swear I’ve even heard him greet a few of our neighbors with “A hi diddly ho neighbor!”. Seriously, Chris is Ned Flanders.

Earlier today, while I was upstairs having a shower, Chris must have taken the dog outside for a walk. Just as I was getting out of the shower I heard Chris come in the front door and he yelled up “Are you done with your shower” and I said just about – still wanting to do some after shower stuff like dry my hair etc. He told me that the parking people and police were on the street next to us – where we’d temporarily parked our car to allow some new neighbors to get their appliances into the house next store. So he was going to find out what was happening and move the car. (As it turned out a van was blocking the drive way of some other new neighbors who were trying to move into their new house.)

He had just let the dog in without putting her in her crate so I hurriedly dried myself off and came downstairs to watch the dog for a few minutes until Chris came back. Midnights a good dog, but she can quickly get her self into trouble if she’s not watched!

He didn’t come back for over an hour. Maybe an hour and a half. In that time while I was waiting for him (and my hair was air drying itself) I saw him outside talking to our next door neighbor (the one putting in new appliances) and later when I poked my head outside to try to find him (and froze!) I could hear him around the corner talking loudly to some other new neighbors that were just moving in.

At that point I was ready to tell him to bring the cell phone with him from now on whenever he went outside for just “a minute”. I mean, this has been going on for years! I forgot to suggest it though.

So we get to this evening. I’m not feeling so hot and Chris suggested we get some take out food for dinner so I wouldn’t have to cook. (see he’s not all bad! LOL) He even took the cell phone with him when he went to take the dog for a short walk and then was going to take her with him when he went to the restaurant to pick up our food.

Well … that short dog walk was about 45 minutes! Yep, he was talking to neighbors again. He did manage to find one with a new puppy so at least Midnight got to play with another dog while he yakked. He had the cell phone with him but he didn’t turn it on! I tried calling to tell him what takeout food I wanted as I’d changed my mind, but that was a no go.

When he finally came back to start up the car and drive to the restaurant he discovered that the car had about half an inch of frost INSIDE it! Probably his hot breath condensing on the glass from when he moved the car earlier.

So now the dog is inside with me keeping warm and he’s finally off to the restaurant to pick up our take out food.

Now keep in mind that it’s absolutely freezing outside today. This is a guy that can stand outside talking with people for over two full hours today at -13 Celsius (8.6 F), but really -20 Celsius (-4 F) with the windchill! Now that’s cold. Think of how much time he spends outside talking on nice days?

Anyone else married to a “Howdy Neighbor” talkity talk kind of person that you always seem to be waiting for? Or do you have a friendly talkative neighbor who might be quite a bit like my Chris?

Don’t get me wrong. Chris is a great guy and everyone he meets seems to really like him, but it’s kind of frustrating on my end when I’m waiting for him to come back so I can serve dinner, go out shopping or simply dry my hair after being asked to quickly leave the shower! Arghhh!





Doctors creating movies and cellphones dialing on their own

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Chris was home from work again today. His back is a lot better today, thankfully, so he’ll be returning to work tomorrow. Finally I’ll have some peace around here, even if it’s only for one day.

The hospital has a policy that if you are off work for three days in a row you can’t return unless you have a doctors note, so earlier today Chris made a call to our family doctors office and he managed to get an early morning appointment. As it happens I was supposed to have an appointment next week, just to get a shot of a medication that I have to have every two or three months, so I tagged along and horned in on his appointment so I could get my needle.

If I hadn’t gone to the doctors today with Chris I would have had to take the subway to the office next week and I hate taking the subway these days. It takes me over an hour to get there and well … if you’ve ever been on a subway you know they are crowded, smell and you often encounter some pretty strange people! I should tell you some of my subway stories sometime.

I think that we finally figured out what’s been distracting our doctor the last two times we’ve seen her. I was starting to dread my appointments with her because she’d forget things we talked about the last time I’d seen her and just wasn’t her cheery self. I actually started to think that I might need to get a new family doctor! Well it seems that she’s been busy with a huge project and I’m assuming that was the cause of her distracted behavior! She made a movie!

She wrote and produced a movie that’s going to be called “A Touch of Grey”. I guess they are in post production now, but she talked about how they might submit the film to Cannes and the Toronto Film Festival.

I had no idea that she was interested in film making. Usually when Chris or I visit with her we talk about her family, her sons band, music and things like that, but it sounds like she’s been interested in acting and writing for some time. It will be interesting to see what happens with her movie when it comes out.

Ha … one funny thing happened while I was in the doctors office. I was sitting there with my purse in my lap and I leaned on it. Do you know what happens when you have an unlocked phone in your purse? It starts dialing people! LOL

I didn’t realize that the phone was on, let alone unlocked until I started hearing “Hello … hello” from coming from my purse! That was weird. It just so happens that I was in the crowded waiting room at the time too. Boy did my face turn red.

Have you ever had your cell phone start dialing people on it’s own and possibly create an embarrassing position for you?

What a week

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I’ve been having an interesting week …

My husband came home from work last Friday complaining that his back was really sore. This was on the heal of having a bad cold for two or three days. We thought that maybe the cold virus had affected his back, so he took it easy that night and his back felt a bit better, but it was still sore on Saturday.

By Sunday his back was really bad and the way he was describing the pain (BTW he’s the worst at describing symptoms and being a nurse I’ve heard some very poor symptom descriptions) it was starting to sound like he might have a kidney stone, so we spent a while that day trying to figure out exactly what the problem was, but in the end it really was just his back.

He’s an OR attendant at the hospital and he helps move people onto beds and pushes stretchers loaded with patients to hospital rooms which of course can be hard on a good back and much worse on a bad back. He has Monday’s off, so he was able to get three full days to pamper his back, but when his back still wasn’t any better on Monday he decided to call in sick on Tuesday. It still wasn’t much better today either so he didn’t go to work today and he’s called in sick for tomorrow as well. He really needs to be sure that his back is better before he goes back to a job that is so hard on the back.

So … I’ve been stuck at home with a sick husband!

I’m sure the men reading this will admit that they aren’t at their best when they are sick and the ladies … well, I’ll bet most of you would say your husbands or boyfriends become little boys when they are sick. My husband is no different.

My back goes out every now and then so I know how painful it can be, but I still somehow manage to get a few things done around the house, like cooking dinner (or at least heating up an easy meal) and other basics, but whenever my husband gets sick all he does is lie around and act like it’s the worst thing in the world! LOL

So I’m not having the best week … plus with him around and me waiting on him hand and foot I can’t get much of my own work done!

I did manage to get out today to see my pain doctor though. She’s pretty cool. A little ditsy in some of her advice, but overall she’s a good doctor and she’s good to talk to as well. Only part of my visit was spent discussing my Crohn’s disease and how we are managing the pain I’m in … the rest was spent talking about her cold, family, my dog, my sick husband and her latest purchase – a very comfortable looking pair of Dansko shoes.

The very best part of the visit is the fact that I don’t have to see her again until the middle of December. Pretty much since January 2006 I’ve been seeing her once a month, only when she’s gone on vacation have I had longer periods between my appointments. This was the first time she actually asked to see me in two months without saying it was because she was going on vacation. Maybe from now on I won’t have to see her so much. Like I said she’s a nice doctor, but yeah … I don’t think I need to see her every single month.

So I’m taken care of for a while – at least pain medication wise (not health wise – I need a magic wand for that!). Now all I need is for my husbands back to get better and for him to get back to work so life can get back to what passes for normal around here.

Ladies – don’t you dread it when your husband is home sick? How do you cope?

Practice makes perfect

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I don’t know if any of you happen to also read my husbands blog “Guitar Licks“, but if you have been reading it lately you probably already know that my husband is about to try out as the guitar player for a progressive rock band.

Chris and Sofie
Chris and our neighbor Sofie

This is a big thing for him. He started playing guitar when he was 9 years old and in no time he became quite well known in his home town for his talent. He even played with a few bands in his teens that toured across North America, but by the time he reached his 20’s he knew he didn’t really want that “rock n’ roll” lifestyle, so he just started playing to entertain friends and went to college for a non-music related career.

When Chris and I first met he was playing guitar every day and he was GOOD! Really good. I kept encouraging him to join a band at least part time, like a garage band, just so that he wouldn’t have any regrets later in life. I mean, when you have that much talent (he plays 13 instruments and plays them well) you shouldn’t just let it die, right?

Well, he never did find a band that he was interested in playing with, until earlier this month anyway! Remember I said we went to the Nuance progressive rock festival a couple of weekends ago? Well Chris talked to all the bands, but he really clicked with this one band and it just so happens that they are looking for a guitar player. So Chris is going to meet with them next Thursday for a jam session and I guess perhaps an audition.

I know that the band won’t be disappointed in his playing. He’s a little rusty since he doesn’t play every day or even every week anymore, but he put his equiptment together this morning and he spent oh … about 6 hours going over the bands music and I expect that he’ll do the same tomorrow and Monday (his day off work), so he’ll be ready for them on Thursday.

Practice makes perfect doesn’t it? I hope it does in Chris’ case since he’s a perfectionist!

Along with the sound of guitar playing filling the house all day I’ve also had to listen to Chris list off all this equiptment that he’d like to get if he starts playing with the band regularly … Oh my … I’m going to have to work 24 hours a day on my sites to make enough money to pay for this stuff! LOL Along with a new amp, wah-wah pedal, and a digital voice chorus pedal he’s also mentioned that he’d like to get one of those talking watches (to help remind him when to practice and to remind him of other things – like eating!). I think we’d better start looking on Ebay for some of these items because I know we can’t afford to buy all of them brand new right now.

Anyway … We’ll see how this goes. As I said, Chris is extremely talented so I think the band will give him a try. I’m just happy to see him playing again and trying out for band. I’d hate for him never to try playing with a band again and then have him regret it when he’s too old to really get out and do it.

Do any of you play musical instruments or sing? Do you practice or play with a band?

Paying for a night out on the town

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Wow, I’m starting to slow down in my posting quite a bit aren’t I? It hasn’t been the best week for me. My Crohn’s has been acting up – the worst of the symptoms … bleh …

I think I might be feeling so bad this week because Chris and I went out on Wednesday night. His sister was in Toronto for a quick Government related course and then she was going back home on Thursday after a test for the course and then well .. as I said in my last post she and her husband were moving to a new house on Friday (with Chris’ help).

Anyway … when Chris came home on Wednesday we drove off to meet his sister at her hotel in the lovely section of Toronto called North York. Uh huh … she was staying in a Novotel and she was waiting for us in the bar.

That wasn’t the best idea! She’d already had 5 Cosmopolitans while she waited for us! Once we got there she talked me into having a Cosmo and Chris tried out a new beer. Chris and I were both hungry and while we tried to talk his sister into going down the street to the Baton Rouge restaurant for a meal we were snacking on some kind of pretzel/ beer nut/ cracker mix.

In the end I had three Cosmos and my sister in laws tally came to 8 cosmos all while sitting on these weird modern furniture style bar stools at the bar.

By the time we got to the restaurant my sister in law was of course too drunk to eat. She ordered appetizers but only had a nibble. I wonder how she felt the next day? LOL I guess I’ll have to give her a call and find out.

I wasn’t feeling so good even by the time we got home. I don’t drink much anymore, so three pretty much pure alcohol drinks were enough to make me pretty tipsy, but unlike my sister in law I did at least eat half my dinner before getting the rest packed up into a doggy bag.

The drinks, the snacks that I ate and probably the dinner that I had all combined to make my Crohn’s act up worse than it has been for a while. Yes I should have known better, but you can’t be good all the time. Even people on a diet cheat every once in a while right?

Hopefully I’ll be feeling a little better in a few days. Maybe not though. My Crohn’s just seems to be getting worse and worse as each week goes by … maybe Wednesday night isn’t even what caused this latest flare … who knows.

BTW it’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

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