R Is For Bunny

My mom spent a little time when I was younger doing cross-stich (this is before she discovered traditional rug hooking) and one of the things she made me was this alphabet (see image on right.) She used to say the marks on it was blood from pricking her finger with the needle, but then recently mentioned it was just from the age if it, so I don't know what is true.

I was showing it to Maya today, while Jason was holding it up, and she said, "A is for apple, B is for stuffy" and I was so confused until I saw that it was a teddy 'B'ear image. She is very young and not strong with letters or reading yet. She also pointed and said, "R is for bunny." 

Baby Face?

Went for an ultrasound today to check on the status of my low lying placenta. Tomorrow I will be 28 weeks and officially in the final trimester of this pregnancy, so I guess right now is the last day of the second trimester. 

According to the various charts and sites on the internet, the baby is the size of a plate of pancakes, eggplant, head of lettuce, butternut squash, Kraft Dinner Mac and Cheese box, and the list goes on, all being slightly different shapes and sizes, making it really hard to understand how big she is. However, the tech asked if I wanted to know the baby's approximate weight - which is exciting data! So apparently she is currently 2.4 lbs (or 1.08 kg).

While showing Jason over the phone at the end of the scan the tech was able to get the front of her face - Jason let out a little squeal! I asked if we could get print outs and the tech was very excited about how 'cute' the face was, with its 'chubby cheeks.' I have included the images but made them small since I think they are super creepy and look ghost-like, click the picture to see larger. Jason claims that when it showed up over the phone it looked a lot better (it depends what 'slice' the images are as to what they really look like.) It was the first time he had seen something that "maps directly to a real face, a real human thing."

A Door By Any Other Name

There was a very heavy windstorm right before we left for our road trip. It broke the glass on one side of our porch door. Once we got back, Jason and I discussed what to do about it and decided that we would replace all three screen doors using the people we got to do (most of) our windows in 2018. Since Jason had been the main person to deal with that, he reached out to get a quote for the doors. 

We have an enclosed porched at Casa Verde, so there is a screen door into that space (which has the broken window from the wind) then once you are in the porch there is a screen door in front of the main wood front door. Then in the back there is a screen door before the wood back door. Basically all of these are broken in some way, usually the spring and cylinder closer part. Also we are slowly switching from white doors and windows to black ones as we update things so this is a chance to do that for the doors.

Anyway, Jason got the quote and wanted me to look over the fine details with him, "starting with the fact that they said they were for storm doors," which had him very confused and concerned. I explained that 'storm door' is actually the more accurate and contractor-used term for a 'screen door.' He wanted to know what the wooden front door types where called, my guess was 'exterior door' but I wasn't as positive on that term. It is going to take some time for them to be ready and installed but I will post the before and after shots when they get put in.

JBR - Beer Was Beer, Fish Was Fish

Beer: Lakeside Kolsh, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co, Kenora 

Name: Lakeside is one of Kenora’s first neighbourhoods with many of its homes situated on the shores of Lake of the Woods, spattered with small beaches, boathouses & docks. 

Details: Brewed using an old-world technique which produces a crisp, clean ale with lager characteristics. It is a delicate & subtle beer with a hint of malt & fruit in the nose. 

Fancy Numbers: 5% ABV, 6 IBU, 3 SRM

Date Tried: Thursday October 22, 2020 

Location: The Cornerstone Restaurant, Kenora, Ontario 

Meal: Good dinner but too much food! I had the local fish, Lake of the Woods Walleye - it tasted like fish.
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Not great, just like any other beer. Tastes a bit like Molson, which is not a compliment" 

Editor's note: Huge glass though, he was pretty tipsy by the end of it (I drove us back to the hotel after.)

Avery And Maya

We did not get to see my brother and his family for long enough - the trouble with driving is that it takes so long to get out to Alberta (and so long to get back) that is doesn't leave much time for actually visiting. The kids were awesome and hilarious, I can't believe we haven't seen them since Palm Springs this past November. Here is my favourite quote from this visit...

Avery: Maya hates me.
Me: No, that can't be true. You're her brother, she loves you.

Avery: Uh-uh, she doesn't like me.

Maya: I like you!

Avery: No, Maya wouldn't like me if I ate her.

Me: Umm, I guess that is true?

Maya: Yeah, if Avery eats me, I will kill him.

Jason: confused I don't think you can kill him if he has eaten you.

Me: confused that Jason is trying to add logic into any of this

Happy Easter

K sent us this image with a message that said "Looking forward to the day I can hang out with my peeps again"

Me, Maria, Matty, Teri, Monica 

as Peeps! for Easter 2020 done by K

Super cute! Don't know why she picked a photo where Monica has her eyes closed but the rest of us look good. I don't think I have ever had a Peep, don't they have coconut on them, or is that something else? And I agree with her statement, this self-isolation for Covid-19 is really lonely.

Kaylee Is Such A Good Girl

Visiting Steph and Dave (both before and after doing Christmas with my family) so I finally got to see their new puppy!!

Meeting Kaylee - December 30, 2019

Quick snapshot with my phone

The funniest thing is that she doesn't like Jason at all!! Normally dogs are obsessed with Jason and love him so much, so her dislike of him was pretty refreshing for me. She wasn't super in love with me either but she didn't bark at me like she did at him. 

Also, she was a puppy in the summer and she is much larger now. I am sad to have missed seeing her when she was tiny tiny. Steph said she woke up one day and all of a sudden she was a dog. However, she is still super playful and very soft.

He Knows Me Well

A while ago we were at a games night playing Codenames and Jason made a comment that showed just how well he knows me - and how my mind works (or doesn't work.) Every time we play the game I remember the moment and it makes me smile.

The game involves a layout of 25 words, which a single player trying to communicate to their team, using a single word only, which words are assigned to the teams colour. It the goal is always to have your team guess correctly multiple words in a single turn. It is surprisingly hard to tie together a series of vastly different words using a single word hint, followed by a number for how many fit that hint.

Here is what happened:
Looking at the layout, as the player giving the hints, I said: Animals, three.
This means that my team members, Jason and Teri, needed to look at the words in the layout and guess three that fit with the word Animal. They choose: "Giraffe" and "Dog"
Then they started to struggle, as there were no more obvious animal words.
So Jason adds for their third guess: And, "Papyrus"
Everyone was confused: What? For animals? Papyrus?
Jason continued: Yes, because she probably thinks it says "Platypus"
And, he was right, I totally did!! I have a Masters in English.

Long Ago Insult Comes Back

Hanging out on the couch in Palm Springs: Mom has her laptop out and is working on her blog, I'm on my phone, Avery is beside me on his iPad. He looks over and notices that Mom is scrolling through a lot of photos. 
Avery: Nana, why did you taken so many pictures?
Me: Actually Avery, the past tense is "took." So you should say, "Why did you took so many pictures?" Wait, nope, that isn't right. Okay, I don't know what it should have been but there was something messed up with your tense there.
Avery: You have four eyes.
He proceeds to count my eyes and the lenses on my glasses. It didn't seem like an insult at the time, just a well timed observation, that I totally deserved. 

JBR - Trainwreck Amber Ale

Beer: Trainwreck Amber Ale
Details: Flagship beer for The Pearl Street Brewery, an amber ale made using German-stye malts & hops. Its complex malt aroma evoke sweet bread, chocolate and dry-roasted nuts all balanced by a slight spiciness from the hops
Fancy Numbers: 4.7% ABV, 19 IBU, 16 SRM, FG 1.016
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "I had it last night, remember?"
Editor's note: Having visited a gin distillery first and tasted quite a few different types of gin and enjoyed a cocktail or two, I had not remembered that this was the beer he liked from the 5 tasted at the brewery we went to after the distillery.
Date Tried: Sunday October 13, 2019 (but first on Saturday October 12 apparently)
Location: Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo, New York (and the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery also in Buffalo, New York)

WALK, Bike, Swim In Budapest

We really filled up Friday! The hotel Jason found for us had amazing breakfast brought to our room each morning, so we enjoyed that in bed. (brie and bacon on a bagel, which ended up having cream cheese, fig jam, and micro greens to, plus macaroons, croissants, lattes, freshly squeezed orange juice and more - you pick from a menu the day before.)

A small group of us went to the large church near by to catch a free walking tour. Now that I think of it, since I am writing this a few days later while in Romania, I had wanted to return to the church to see inside but never got to. Oh well, next time I am in Budapest I will need to remember to visit  St. Stephen's Basilica and check out the thousand-year-old mummified hand they have on display (supposed to have belonged to Saint Stephen I of Hungary and is an important religious relic.)

The walking tour was great, I love those free ones where you tip at the end. Though Teri accidentally told them when we went to check in that we had more people added into our group and they charged us in advance instead. However, the 'cost' was still less then we probably would have tipped.

Our guide took us through the Jewish Quarter, main square, to the river, over The Chain Bridge to the Castle District, then up the hill passed the Royal Palace and President's House, over to the Matthias Church. So the tour was book-ended but the cities two famous churches. Matthias Church, or Church of Our Lady of Buda is very impressive and very old. It is hard to wrap my head around the age of things hear - it is an issue every time I visit Europe but things seem even older here than usual.

After the tour we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, Jason tried Goulash soup and I got Foie Gras:
Hungary is the world's second-largest foie gras producer and the largest exporter. France is the principal market for Hungarian foie gras – mainly exported raw. Approximately 30,000 Hungarian goose farmers are dependent on the foie gras industry. French food companies spice, process, and cook the foie gras so it may be sold as a French product in its domestic and export markets. - Wikipedia
I did find the Hungarian version to be different than the French, they don't add spices, it is much smoother, creamier, and apparently cooked in it's own fat (instead of in a dish or pan). The Hungarian cuisine is, according to our walking tour guide, "not friendly to vegetarians, very heavy with many meats." I have been loving it!!

The group split apart soon after lunch, as Jason and I went to the Buda Castle Labyrinth to walk through the complex of caves and cellars underneath Castle Hill. Apparently there is over 10km of pathways, though only about 1.5km is open to the public. It is a really strange attraction, a combination or incredible history, urban legends, tacky exhibits, and confusing maze. It was dark (scary) and cool (nice in this heat). The caves themselves are obviously millions of years old and over the centuries parts have been reinforced with stone, brick and concrete. In the Middle Ages as a shelter, a prison and even as Turkish harem in the 16th century. The underground tunnel system also served as a hospital during the WWII. And despite some claims, while it was a prison at some points, it never housed Vlad the Impaler.

Trying to make our way south from the Castle District to visit the Gellert baths, on the far side of Gellert hill, led us to explore some of the castle walls and grounds. Lots of walking, lots of beautiful buildings and interesting history.

JBR - Cherry Beer

Beer: Nem vagyok én Apáca

Details: A fruit, specifically cherry beer, made at the Hungarian micro brewery - Kapucinus Sörfőzde
Date Tried: Thursday August 15, 2019
Location: BB'z, a ruin bar in Budapest Hungary
Comment after first sip: "Oh yes, this is great, tastes like Dr. Pepper"
Comment after a few more sips: "Nope."
Editor's note: Jason did not drink more than a quarter of the bottle after much initial excitement he stopped liking it pretty quickly.

JBR - First Craft IPA

Beer: First Craft IPA
Details: Hungarian Craft Beer
Date Tried: Thursday August 15, 2019
Location: Mazel Tov restaurant, Budapest, Hungary
General thoughts from Jason: "It is fine, no bad aftertaste."
Editor's note: Choosing this beer took a long time. There was much research and subsequent disappointment after discovering that many Hungarian brands were owned by Coors and other large beer companies.

JBR - Jason's Beer Review - Coming Soon

I am going to launch a new feature of Always Standing, Beer Reviews! This will be written by me involving quotes and the occasional grade/rating as provided by Jason. I still feel like he can't really tell the difference if he couldn't see the label and I will continue to host blind beer tasting contests to prove this.

However, especially when we travel, Jason takes trying local beer very seriously. So I might as well document it a bit because whenever content creation is easy it is best to take advantage. So stay tuned, first stop Hungary!

Quotes From Alberta

As I mentioned before, Jason and I went to Alberta this weekend. We flew out Friday evening and came back overnight Monday to Tuesday. It was a quick visit but I got to see my GeoConnection girls, their spouses, Mike, Aimee and the babies. Here are some quotes from the trip that I found amusing:

----

Pointing out the car windshield...
Jason: Oh God! How cold is Edmonton? Is that a penguin?!?
Me: Huh? What?
Jason: That black and white bird that is waddling.
Me: Oh! That is a magpie, they are like my favourite! I don't understand how everywhere has them except Ontario.

----

(Said at various different times) Coming out from the changes rooms at the resort spa, wearing the hooded plaid bathrobes provided:
ERin: Ooo, I feel like I am at Hogwarts
Matt: Totally lookin' like a boxer here
Anne: Reminds me of Dementors
Sutik: Is this some sort of Illuminati thing?

----

Me: Are you just the cutest thing ever?!
Maya: I'm Maya!

TB - September 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

SEPTEMBER 2007

Settling into a full-time job, at GeoConnections, and going to school in the evenings (I am going to meet Erin AH and Jenn soon ... pretty sure they are both in the class I mention attending.) Looks like I signed up to help Kristen at The Charlatan and that I quit Subway, did I end up going back to Subway later? I have a hard time leaving that chain.

There is a quote from my dad! I don't exactly remember where or when or the context in which he was saying it but totally sounds like something he would say. Probably was on the phone. Sadly, I can no longer hear how his voice sounds in my head, it left quickly and I hate that it is gone. 

Noted Post: The I Can See!! post describes one of my favourite personal anecdotes, I remember it happening and I still laugh about it to this day.

Just Like Us

Driving home today, yesterday we visited Harvard and MIT campuses in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston. (We also went kayaking on that river and had a picnic lunch in Harvard Yard.)

Harvard Students - They are just like us!
Seen on campus: 
Student with an armful of obviously stolen toilet paper.
Overheard:
"Yo, if a girl matches you on Tindr means she is go to go!"

MIT Students - Less like us
Seen on campus: 
A juggling club practicing in a hallway with a variety of materials.
Overheard: 
"When you amplify the sample size, you decrease the error rate."

My Babies!

As I mentioned, my mom has been in Edmonton visiting My Babies. This is why she wasn't at The Cottage for the long weekend. It feels like it has been forever since I got a chance to see Mike, Aimee, Avery, and Maya. I think the last time was summer last year, so we are edging towards a year. That is a long time, babies become different people sometimes in days. It is great to see photos when mom goes, which she always puts on her blog. Here are the posts from her recent trip out west to see her grandkids:
- Intro Post, tons of photos, tons of smiles
- Out and About, lots more pictures, you can see how mobile they are now
- Duck Photos, short post, great shot of Maya
- Final Posts, photos really show how much Maya has grown, and Mike (probably Aimee) shows me up by remembering Mom's birthday and getting her a cake.

I may not see them often, and I worry that my niblings don't know or remember who I am, but Mike makes sure she has them say 'Hi' to me whenever I call. We don't talk on the phone often but when we do there is usually a point where Mike is getting the kids to, 'Say Hi to Aunty Chris' which is always adorable because it isn't easy to pronounce. (When we were little Mike called me 'teen' because he couldn't say 'Christine'.) I think 'Ch' part is hard for babies. I miss them so much, it is always adorable to hear them try. Then there was this recent phone exchange with Mike:
Me: Ok, I gotta go. I love you.
Mike: Ok, talk to you later.
Me: Hey! Tell me you love me. (This is a normal thing I do at the end of a call with him, he usually relents and does it. I take my forced affection when I can get it.)
Mike: ...
Me: Tell me you love me.
Mike: (Away from the phone) HEY, KIDS, come here. Tell Aunty Chris she's stinky.
Chorus of two little voices: Aunty Tiss your stinkyyyy.
Me: Ok, fine, that works. I love you. Bye. (I guess I will take forced insults from my babies when I can get it too.)

Motherhood - Epidural

Excerpts from New York Times article 'Get the Epidural' by Jessi Klein

No one ever asks a man if he’s having a “natural root canal.” No one ever asks if a man is having a “natural vasectomy.”

“What are you trying to win?” What was I trying to win? I thought about it and realized — nothing. There’s nothing to win.

“There is science showing all the risks of an epidural!” Well, again, I am not a doctor, but I do have the internet.

There are so many debates in this life in which there is some evidence of one thing and also some evidence of the other. At such a point, you just have to decide to believe in and do what is best for you. So here’s a radical idea: Why not do the thing that makes you happy?

There is so much pressure on women around birth and labor and mothering to do it this way or that way. It’s so easy to believe the notion that having a baby demands complete and total self-abnegation, and anything short of that is not enough.

If you’re worried that skipping the pain of childbirth means you’re somehow cheating your baby, or yourself, you’re not. Because the truth is, life offers more than enough pain that you will not be able to skip. 

Yup, give me the epidural! There has never been any question in my mind, if I am ever giving birth I will be getting the epidural and any other pain killers/drugs they can throw my way. I like modern medicine - I like making pain go away.

I have heard the positives from the other side, friends and acquaintances that wanted/tried/had a drug-less birth or some variation. For the most part their reasons made sense. Rarely are these people conspiracy-theory hippies, or self-flagellating mommy-martyrs, though sometimes. For the vast majority they made (or tired/planned to make) a personal choice based on what was important to them.

What is great from all my conversations on the topic is that this seems to be very much a personal choice and an understanding that there are reasons to make the decision either way. Some pregnancy or parenting subjects have strong reactions, judgement, and opinions about right/wrong, unlike what the article suggests, I don't get the feeling that the choice to get an epidural is one of those.

Those who have been through it: Please share in the comments if leading up to birth, during, or afterwards friends, family or event strangers were sharing strong hurtful opinions about your choice to have or decline an epidural?

I am inclined to say, and have said, to someone planning on forgoing an epidural, "Are you crazy? What about the pain? I would totally get all the drugs!" Which I hope isn't viewed as hurtful, it is the same response I would give someone who is suffering through a headache and not taking an Advil. It is an expression of awe at someone else' pain tolerance and not a judgement about the choice they are making for their body.

In my experience, the most common reason against getting an epidural has been the ability to walk afterwards instead of waiting until the drugs wear off, and with that a faster departure from the hospital. Personally I love hospitals so that reason doesn't apply to me. Also I just absolutely hate pain, I used to take Tylenao 3s (from my high-school wisdom teeth removal) to get my legs waxed. Hit me up with the drugs! But you do you.

Doctor Numbers

Flying home today and I still keep thinking about the intercom call for a doctor that happened on our flight down. It seems like such a strange policy. And for sure it is some type of policy because airlines have procedures for everything. I decided I wanted to look at the numbers:

Cooling My Feminist Jets
So, I had been very happy/surprised that it was a female doctor answering the call. Turns out, not that rare. There is probably still a wage gap, and possibly still a 'senior position' gap, but the gender gap for Canadian doctors has shrunk considerably. 41% are female; 59% are male. Two thirds (64%) of family physicians under age 35 are female.

What About Specialists
Almost half of the over 83,000 Canadian doctors are specialists of other disciples, instead of Family Medicine. Students in medical school in Canada will experience many fields of medicine and decide on their specialty during 3rd or 4th year. After that choice, residency training can be anywhere from 2 years (Family Medicine) to 6 years (Neurosurgery). Most specialties are a 5 year program. So they have the medical base, but a specialist can really be pretty specialized, and there are 37 specialties available in Canada. Would a urologist be that much help to someone who fainted in a plane?

Seems Like A Long Shot
Based on the total population of Canada there is only about 1 doctor for every 500 people. The plane we were in seats 100. That is a 0.2% chance there would be a doctor on board. When looking at people who fly, mainly those who can afford to fly, than doctors would be more likely to be on board a plane while the general population less so - this increases the chance. Often planes would be larger than the jet we were one, increasing the passengers to maybe 200. Huge planes can have more than 600 seats (in a two-tiered class configuration. Actually 800 in single-class, but I have never seen that.) I still don't like the odds, or many I don't like the fact that they are relying on odds.

Improve Your Odds
If they had asked "Is there a doctor or nurse on board" that would really improve the chances of a generally trained health care professional. There are lots of different types of nurses, including those in advance nursing practice, like nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. There are 4 times as many nurses as doctors in Canada.

Source information:
Look at me citing things like a good girl who went to university and grad school!
- Canadian Institute For Health Information
- The Canadian Medical Association
- University of British Columbia Medical School
- AirBus Corporate Site, Aviation Blogs

Further Reading:
I am like my own Wikipedia article here. If you found this as fascinating as me, the likelihood of that might be small, then these are some interesting international articles on the same topic:
- July 2017 - ABC News (Australia) - Is there a doctor on board? What happens during a mid-air medical emergency
- March 2017 - The Telegraph (UK) - What really happens during a medical emergency at 35,000 feet
- January 2017 - Singapore Medical Journal - What to do during inflight medical emergencies? Practice pointers from a medical ethicist and an aviation medicine specialist
- April 2013 - Quartz (USA) - What it’s like to be the “doctor on board”, and why airlines shouldn’t be relying on them