s'No Problem

 

It was brief, and went as quick as it came, but it was here. Yes, snow has returned to Ottawa.

Normally, I would find that really upsetting, but not this year. 

I'm working from home until at least next May or June, probably, which means I won't have to worry about Para Transpo at all. I'm okay with this.

Back on the treadmill, get lots of books to pass the time, the occasional outing when it's nice, and positive thoughts for the next five months to go by quickly.

Cheers!

JS Awareness - The Food!

 

Juicy Lucy

Good topic for a fun Friday post, and also appropriate for JS Awareness Month: All the good food I've gotten to eat while attending conferences and board retreats.

 The States have a lot of food brands, restaurants, and regional delicacies that we don't here in Canada. Part of the fun of planning for the conferences over the years has been thinking about what new things I can eat, and where.

It all began in 2013 before going to Minneapolis. My family are fans of Food Network, so for about a month or so before leaving, my Dad and I kept an eye on Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives for anything good. We found out about Juicy Lucy's, burgers stuffed with melted cheese. The evening of the presentation I gave, we went out and had our fill! 

Two years later, the conference was in Chicago. That meant deep-dish pizza. This time, with the whole family! We also went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play while we were there. I don't like baseball and couldn't tell you a thing about the game that day, but I do remember the Chicago-style hotdog.

The Phoenix conference in 2017 was amazing for many reasons, including the food. The first night, we had take-out from In-N-Out Burger, recommended by my sister after a trip to California. On our way to the hotel, our Uber driver told us about Mexican Coke, made with brown sugar, and I knew I had to try it. A cold bottle was my first purchase during a trip to Old-town Scottsdale.

After the conference, my family and I stayed in Phoenix a few extra days to play tourist. We drove through the desert to Montezuma's Castle, where my mother bought prickly pear jam, a great addition to peanut butter sandwiches. The next day, our last in Arizona, we celebrated my Mom's birthday by having brunch at a place called Butters. Best breakfast ever! I went southwestern and got huevos rancheros, along with sweet tea and biscuits and gravy, two of my go-to's when going to the US. The last day of our vacation ended with eating burritos in a park, surrounded by cacti, at sunset!

Last summer in Baltimore, it was crab everything: crab pretzels, crab tater tots, crab burgers, and more! We drove there, and on our way we drove by Hershey, Pennsylvania. On the way home, we went there and stopped at Hershey's Chocolate World.

After a fun tour, we loaded up on goodies. I walked out with a basket-load of Payday bars (another US must-have) and Reese products!

Hoping to eventually be south of our border again, enjoying good friends and good grub.

Cheers!

My Halloween Plans

 

It looks like there'll be no Trick or Treaters at our house, or anywhere in Ottawa, this year. That just means more chocolate for me!

Last time I was at our neighbourhood pharmacy, I had my sites on these:

Of course I'll share, but only just a little bit.

The 31st falls on a Saturday too, which means that all those chocolates are going to go great with a horror movie marathon!

The last couple of days, I've been recording movies from AMC's Fearfest, which I have on every year at this time. Just one more film to wait for next week, and I'll have a whole night's worth of entertainment.

Cheers!

It's Not Like We're Werewolves

 

Some time ago, there was this meme going around with some guy complaining about disabled people and parking, and a woman replying about how we're not werewolves (meaning we can be out after dark.)

Since last week, I've read two separate articles related to people with disabilities and some kind of exclusion from services, one about the lack of COVID benefits for people with disabilities in Canada, and the other about a law in Texas that would allow social workers to turn away disabled individuals and, in both cases, I think the werewolf analogy still applies.

We don't bite. We don't have ticks, fleas, or cooties. So, why are people still so unwilling or terrified to give individuals with disabilities (or any minority, really) a hand? What's there to be afraid of?

It's the 21st century and we're in the middle of a global pandemic. Let's leave the monsters for Halloween, and start treating people like human beings.

Cheers

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Seems appropriate, but why would they include the eyes??

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. Our family just had our big meal and we're heading to the cabin tomorrow until Monday morning. (hope it's not too cold!)

In spite of everything, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. 

I'm thankful for iced coffee, comic books, and streaming services which have kept me sane the past months. I'm thankful for a job I can easily do from home. For family to help me out. And, probably for the first time ever, I'm thankful for my health!

Hoping next year, I can be thankful for many aspects of this mess being over.

Cheers!

COVID & Coffee

 

I always tended to roll my eyes whenever I'd see a friend on social media post a photo or meme about coffee.

That was before the pandemic.

In March/April, when everything shut down for the better part of a month, and I was too nervous to go in to any building that was open, the drive-thru of the Tim Horton's a block away from my house became a saving grace and, at the time, my "out." 

I've never liked hot coffee, but enjoy it iced, especially when it's flavoured. Now, Tim Horton's vanilla iced coffee has become a bit of a routine, with me getting one a few times a week, usually after work. 

It's probably not the best habit to have, but at least it's not the worst!

So, many apologies to my caffeinated friends. I now understand and am one of you.

Cheers!

Sanitizing Sensory Sliminess

 

I had my very first visit to a hospital in almost seven months this afternoon (Orthotics clinic to look for shoes), and as I was going through the now regular sanitization procedures, I came up with the idea for this post, which also fits well with Joubert Syndrome Awareness Month.

Tactile defense and sensory issues have always been an issue for me. My mother still talks about covering my legs in sand at the beach or walking me through grass barefoot when I was little (on doctor's orders) to get me used to things. 

I've never, ever, liked slimy things, and still don't. Gum, Jell-O, some soaps and lotions (though that's not as bad as it used to be), you name it. If it's the least bit gooey or oozy, I've probably disliked it at some point in my life. To this day, I've never even tried a piece of candy! 

So it shouldn't be surprising when I say that, six months ago, I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the proposed COVID safety measures. 

Hand-washing was fine after getting into a routine with it, but using sanitizer took some trial and error.

Purell felt too cold, too runny, and the smell still reminds me too much of an operating room. Other brands had similar issues, as did other methods. Like these places that use spray bottles. Too much, too fast, too cold!

Hand sanitizer from Bath and Bodyworks became the winner, with it coming out slower and having scents that masked the alcohol.

Still feels weird, but I'm used to it now.

Cheers!  

Meh

 

I think I'm in a bit of a slump.

I've got a bunch of writing ideas for the month and some of those are already drafts, but lately I've kind of been like "Why bother?"

With a second wave of COVID cases going around, as well as other things, it seems almost pointless writing posts about the latest thing I watched on Netflix or going for a burger.

I'm sure this will pas at some point, but just thought I'd write about it.

Cheers 

It's Real!

 

Yesterday, I went to share the post I wrote on social media and, like last year, added some hashtags hoping it might get the post a little more traffic. 

One of those I decided to add was Blogtober.

As I was typing the hashtag, it came up with some results, so I clicked on it, thinking I'd find my posts from last year.

Instead, I found many different posts that revealed that Blogtober is a real thing that people do! Just like Inktober, the art challenge I had originally patterned my writing month off of, Blogtober has groups, tags, and a lot of prompts and daily themes. Most of those look really random though, so I think I'll stick to my own ideas for the month. Maybe the odd Fall or Halloween-themed post just for fun.

Cheers!