The world according to IdRatherBeSkiing
- Thread starter IdRatherBeSkiing
- Start date
Just went out to eat at a restaurant tonight for the second time since February. We ate outdoors. We wore masks when walking through the restaurant indoors to get to their patio area. Most people around here (Concord NH) are wearing masks when they should. I was at a car dealership getting my car worked on and only two people (a couple) didn't wear masks walking through the waiting area, everyone else did.
Some updates.
My cooking adventures continue. Tried to make steak on the stove top (BBQs not allowed on patio) tonight. Worked out ok. Thought I cooked them medium-well but wound up being medium-rare. Think that means that the grill was too hot. Will try turning it down next time.
On another note, My wife's latest MRI came back with 0 growth which is good. She did have another visit to ER as she caught an infection of some sort. She is off the cancer pill while she is on the anti-biotics.
My cooking adventures continue. Tried to make steak on the stove top (BBQs not allowed on patio) tonight. Worked out ok. Thought I cooked them medium-well but wound up being medium-rare. Think that means that the grill was too hot. Will try turning it down next time.
On another note, My wife's latest MRI came back with 0 growth which is good. She did have another visit to ER as she caught an infection of some sort. She is off the cancer pill while she is on the anti-biotics.
I'm glad Mrs. Skiing is doing OK. I hope things keep going the right direction.
As for cooking your steaks, and any other meat, get a good instant read thermometer.
The Mrs. did some research and got me one of these from Thermoworks.
Thermapen Mk4 Instant-read Thermometer for meat & more
The thing is amazing. It completely takes the guesswork out of cooking.
I can cook myself proper medium-rare, and her a medium-well very consistently.
It's great for chicken, pork chops, and pretty much everything else.
They aren't cheap, but pay for themselves in no time.
As for cooking your steaks, and any other meat, get a good instant read thermometer.
The Mrs. did some research and got me one of these from Thermoworks.
Thermapen Mk4 Instant-read Thermometer for meat & more
The thing is amazing. It completely takes the guesswork out of cooking.
I can cook myself proper medium-rare, and her a medium-well very consistently.
It's great for chicken, pork chops, and pretty much everything else.
They aren't cheap, but pay for themselves in no time.
Some updates.
My wife is unable to take the cancer pill. It is too big and she can't swallow it without it inducing vomiting. The pill can't be cut up or dissolved and is not made any other size. So we are just monitoring. She will get MRIs every 3 months. This type of cancer never goes into permanent remission but the window is unknown. Months to 10 years. If it does grow, there are some options to slow it down. She is recovering still from the chemo and that can take up to 6 more months.
As such we have decided to commit to going to Sandals Royal Barbados as planned this January. Since Canada is a medium risk country, we will have to have a negative covid test within 72 hours of departure. The flights I bought are fully refundable and carry complimentary covid insurance (airline promo to get people to fly again). Our stay is also insured.
I am also going in 2 weeks for 10 days to visit my dad in Saskatoon. He has spent the whole summer almost at the cabin something he hasn't done in 10 years. My sister says he looks great -- has lost weight (all the golfing). I was originally planning on visiting him while my sister was there in August but with my wife's health I was unable to. It is hard to believe that this year started with my mom's death. It will be odd being there without her. But my dad and I have had much better phone chats this year and have gotten a lot closer. So sometimes things work out in different ways than you expect.
In pet news, we lost one of our cats. We had to put her down as she developed some sort of condition that would have required surgery we were unable to afford. Our oldest schnauzer is now in month 5 of his max 6 month to live sentence he got in April. Some sort of growth near his bladder. It is fatal and inoperable. He is doing remarkably well. He is showing signs of age but no pain or blockage of urine which we are watching for. He is on some medication which helps keep it at bay for as long as possible. I am hoping he beats the odds. Our other schnauzer and cat are doing fine.
They replaced all the windows in our apartment. Its kind of nice to see out the windows now as the old ones had never been cleaned in the 20 years we have been here. We had to take all our curtains down and found they had not really survived as much as we thought over the 20 years either. Sun had rotted the colours off the backs. We have each decided to keep the windows open so we wound up pitching all the curtains.
And it looks like I will be working from home until at least next April. We are the last stage in return to work and they haven't moved past the first one yet. It is expected that when we do go back we will return to an open office concept in the new office towers they just built likely 2 days / week with the remaining 3 from home. I have really enjoyed working from home saving 3+ hours of commute per day. The only thing I miss from the commute is the time listening to my music. But I do it while I cook and clean now so it makes up for some of it.
My wife is unable to take the cancer pill. It is too big and she can't swallow it without it inducing vomiting. The pill can't be cut up or dissolved and is not made any other size. So we are just monitoring. She will get MRIs every 3 months. This type of cancer never goes into permanent remission but the window is unknown. Months to 10 years. If it does grow, there are some options to slow it down. She is recovering still from the chemo and that can take up to 6 more months.
As such we have decided to commit to going to Sandals Royal Barbados as planned this January. Since Canada is a medium risk country, we will have to have a negative covid test within 72 hours of departure. The flights I bought are fully refundable and carry complimentary covid insurance (airline promo to get people to fly again). Our stay is also insured.
I am also going in 2 weeks for 10 days to visit my dad in Saskatoon. He has spent the whole summer almost at the cabin something he hasn't done in 10 years. My sister says he looks great -- has lost weight (all the golfing). I was originally planning on visiting him while my sister was there in August but with my wife's health I was unable to. It is hard to believe that this year started with my mom's death. It will be odd being there without her. But my dad and I have had much better phone chats this year and have gotten a lot closer. So sometimes things work out in different ways than you expect.
In pet news, we lost one of our cats. We had to put her down as she developed some sort of condition that would have required surgery we were unable to afford. Our oldest schnauzer is now in month 5 of his max 6 month to live sentence he got in April. Some sort of growth near his bladder. It is fatal and inoperable. He is doing remarkably well. He is showing signs of age but no pain or blockage of urine which we are watching for. He is on some medication which helps keep it at bay for as long as possible. I am hoping he beats the odds. Our other schnauzer and cat are doing fine.
They replaced all the windows in our apartment. Its kind of nice to see out the windows now as the old ones had never been cleaned in the 20 years we have been here. We had to take all our curtains down and found they had not really survived as much as we thought over the 20 years either. Sun had rotted the colours off the backs. We have each decided to keep the windows open so we wound up pitching all the curtains.
And it looks like I will be working from home until at least next April. We are the last stage in return to work and they haven't moved past the first one yet. It is expected that when we do go back we will return to an open office concept in the new office towers they just built likely 2 days / week with the remaining 3 from home. I have really enjoyed working from home saving 3+ hours of commute per day. The only thing I miss from the commute is the time listening to my music. But I do it while I cook and clean now so it makes up for some of it.
Hoping the best for your wife's health!
Dang that's a long commute. More than my 2 hours a day. Working from home has been great. You live or work in Toronto? Just curious, don't say if you don't want.
Dang that's a long commute. More than my 2 hours a day. Working from home has been great. You live or work in Toronto? Just curious, don't say if you don't want.
Good luck with it all IRBS! Hopefully things smooth out for you guys.
My office was in downtown Toronto. My home is in east Scarborough. Its about a 30 min drive downtown in no traffic. So usually an hour each morning if I drive. But I usually take bus/subway which is longer.
That's quite the mixed bag of good and not so good news. Hope all goes well with your vacation and it will be nice to see your dad I'm sure.
I am now safely in Saskatoon. Flight was interesting. Packed. Everybody masked except when drinking. They just give you a can of coke and a glass now. No handing or pouring. They deposit it on your tray table. Temperature check coming in. Airline employees unusually helpful. Lots of hand sanitation stations.
Some updates.
My oldest schnauzer keeps on trucking. My only conclusion is that their diagnosis was incorrect. No complaints.
My dad was doing great. I had a great visit.
My wife is officially in "remission". This means at this time they cannot detect any active cancer in her brain. This is good but don't know how long it will last. The doctor did distinguish what they mean between remission and cured. I have been a part of a brain tumor caregiver support group which has helped me keep things in perspective.
Our plans are still a go for Barbados. Canada is now a high risk country (like the USA) but requirements remain the same. Canada does have a caveat clause for the test in case the results are not available on time. They will allow you to test at airport and quarantine. This is likely due to the government run testing here in Canada. I can't go for a private test.
I mentioned some time back that my wife was involved in a car accident in 2017. Well the mediation session (mandatory before any court date can be scheduled) was today. It went surprisingly well and we reached a settlement. It was more than we were expecting given the rigged system up here in favour of the insurance companies. Less than we may have got in court (but not by that much). And if we were awarded less than their offer by a jury of people who didn't want to be there and wanted to just get it over with, we would have had to pay the legal fees of the insurance company. This is a huge relief to us as that part of the claim is no longer outstanding. Still the Accident Benefits part of the claim open. That part will not wind up in court. But the lawyer will continue to help us with that. That was the deal. He gets a cut of the settlement + expenses and he helps with the AB half even though that doesn't make him money.
I'm glad that things are looking up for you and the Mrs!
Continued good health to her.
Good news about the car too. It sounds like the little bit of cash that was left on the table was worth the time and especially the hassle you saved.
Continued good health to her.
Good news about the car too. It sounds like the little bit of cash that was left on the table was worth the time and especially the hassle you saved.
My nephew and his live in girlfriend (a nurse) have covid. My sister and niece are in quarantine. For some reason my brother-in-law is not (no direct contact but living with my sister. Quarantine rules are weird). They are both young so they should make it through.
Today we helped our Pepper cross the rainbow bridge. He was going downhill fast. It was the right decision. But I miss him dearly.
Sorry man. That's always tough. But it seems like you got more time with him than it looked like a while back.