I managed to talk Scott into an eating adventure yesterday. We love raising and eating our own food, the joys of the one mile diet. We love that tremendous feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment of Real Food. But sometimes you just want take out. There are two big chain restaurants in town now, we’ve never eaten at either and it’s likely we never will. Just no interest in the food. There’s a local brit style fish & chip place in town, which is fine for a greasy fix, but brown food only gets ya so far. What we do miss living in the middle of nowhere are delicious indian curries, spicy thai, succulent sushi and ethiopian cuisine. And by interest I mean that I for one would do just about anything for some of that delicious foreign fare when I’ve gone without long enough.
So yesterday we drove to Hamilton. We stopped by Bosman’s in Teviotdale and after some “let’s make a deal” we put a deposit down on a play stucture for the kids. I’ve been eyeing up swingsets all summer and we’d been waiting for a good fall special to make one of these things anywhere near in the budget. We’ll have a couple of weeks to get around to prepping a spot for the thing before we pick it up. I’ve heard it’s good to use pea gravel, also that mulch is great, or mulch on top of pea gravel. Wondering if anyone has one of these things in their yard and what it’s sitting on.
After Teviotdale comes Guelph. I went to university there and Bob & Meeps actual aunt and uncle live there too. As we had given them no notice that we were coming by, they were out doing their neato dog adventure thing and were not home. We then drove to visit a friend of Scott’s at his fly fishing shop. The kids loved all the fur and feathers.
As we were leaving town we passed a sign that said Biltmore Factory Outlet. THE Biltmore hats?! Yes. THE Biltmore hat company. In our uninterrupted dorkiness we were thoroughly charged with anticipation and not let down. It’s where they manufacture their hats and the sign above that particular door read “Master Hatters Only”. (Scott says “good thing this isn’t the bait shop!“) Bob happened to be wearing his Biltmore hat (which we had gotten at a flea market for a song). Debbie, the very nice lady at the desk told us she had never actually seen the logo inside of his hat and thought it must be VERY old. (Which makes me worry about it’s mercury content, so I think we may shelve it for a bit until I can confirm otherwise). We checked out the historical hats and tried on a load of them. Scott got an amazing green hat that makes him look like a rugged Swedish mountain man and I got a beautiful lavendar cloche.
When we got out of the car to feed the meter in Hamilton there was a nice old man hanging out and we exchanged pleasantries. He immediately asks “you’re not from here are you?” What gave us away kind sir? Was it the wool or the wellingtons? We ate delicious food in Hamilton in good company. We also went to checkout out a warehouse full of used stuff that was approximately a squidgillion square feet of broken random scrap, with a definite Texas Chainsaw vibe. We love ourselves some junk, but this stuff was junk. And no prices on anything, they just eyeball the potential buyer and dole out a price. For once we were actually OVER dressed for something. If we ever go again I’m going to wear a sweatshirt with cat butts on the front, my rubber boots that are held together with duct tape and tuck a cigarette behind my ear; Scott will wear sweatpants with no underpants, ratty white socks with his farm Crocs and either one of those “No Fear” tee shirts or something from Molson.
Here’s Miss Maggie taking her first steps and enjoying a celebratory single malt.
She’s not been walking too much since, you have to trick her into it. But she will at least take a few steps before sitting down. Meeps has a bit of a funny gait: one leg goes forward and the other swings around from the hip a bit. She had some questionable hip clicks when she was just a newborn so I phoned my GP today to see if I could make an appointment just to get it checked out and have a little check-up. The next available appointment? MARCH 8th, 2010.
Thank you small town “health care”!
ohhhhhhhhhh I LOVE those hats! Amazing! Yay on the little miss walking, not cool having to wait SO damn long to see a GP. Its bad for some stuff like that here in Montreal though, I’m waiting on a test that I won’t get until 2011 but needed months ago. Here’s to hoping she’s OK though!
ashley! that hat rocks!!! what a find! glad you got to enjoy the city! (we haven’t ever visited the local food chains either.. grody!) and your kind sir comment … just too good! marlena had clicks in the hips when she was born too… but we all go to a chiropractor in port elgin (both girls since they were born)… she is amazing… but of course you have to believe! and we do! especially after craig’s 20ft fall to concrete…
I hope to one day see you wearing a cat butt shirt! oh I do love you blog!
Love the hat
Is it bad for my Canadian-ness to have never heard of Biltmore Hats? I’m curious though why you’d be worry about mercury in Bob’s if its vintage…was mercury used in hat making back in the day?
As for the playset, my sister and BIL have one for their girls. I believe they have a foot of pea gravel under it, no mulch. I want to say there’s is 6ft off the ground, I know depending on heights the amount recommended changes. I’ve heard of putting bark mulch under, but wood chips are too soft generally.
Wow, what’s up with your doctor, he/she must be a world famous genius or something. I just turn up at my doc’s when I need to see her and wait till her next free slot. Never had to wait more than an hour to see her before and she’s really good. I guess healthcare is different outside of Australia… but I thought Canada was ok! Even specialists, I’ve only ever had to wait days for an appointment. How weird!
so you are telling me you were in Guelph and did not pop by the shop to say hello? oh the sting of rejection, it burns
I love your hat! I’m trying to work more QE2-style hats into my wardrobe, because I don’t think it’s fair that only the Queen gets to rock sweet hats.
From a brief googling, it seems as though they stopped using mercury in hats in the 1940s, so maybe if you could date the logo you’d have an idea of whether it’s safe.
Joan – We tried to find parking but could not get around the flipping construction! Whatta mess!
Meaghan – It’s a very safe bet this hat is pre-40s unfortch. I never thought of it as Queen E, but that makes it so much cooler, haha. Love it.
Steph – 2011??? CRIMINAL.
Ginger&Pickle – I have a great chiro, I should take her. Thank you.
Carla – Yes, merc was used. Hence the term “Mad Hatter”, mad AS A hatter, as they all went nutso!
Jessica – no genius, just an old guy with lots of patients. We have a MAJOR doctor shortage here. Hubby doesn’t have a family doc and his wait is even longer than mine.
we put bark chips under our play structure. apparently you need 12 inches depth under swings, but we only did 6″.
love the hat!
sorry no, not bark chips. wood chips.
Hi,
I started reading your blog a few months ago (came across it by accident while looking for something else…). I was shocked that you cannot get a GP appointment before 2010, and was just writing to say that, as a physician myself, i really think you should try to get an appointment sooner, even if it means going to a different GP / pediatrician. I have seen several missed hip problems in young children, and if it goes undiagnosed for too long it can lead to huge problems… (ie major surgery). Maggie is still pretty young, so if there is a problem, you can still avoid surgery now, but if you wait until march it may be too late. She is probably fine… but it is better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, I just thought you may want to know…
That’s so lame! I have a few friends that just got their doctorification certificates and they can’t find work… maybe I should send them over if there’s a shortage!
March 8th, 2010? Sheesh. Can’t you just say she has a fever too? Then I am sure they will ask you to bring her in ASAP.
Thanks Rebecca!
Anon – there are no other GPs available here, our orphan clinic numbers are into the thousands. I would love to get a pediatrician, but I need a referral from my GP. There are not even any walk in clinics nearby and I’ve been told we aren’t supposed to use them if we are not from the same county. (I don’t know if this is true, I should look into it). The only way we can see a doctor here same day is if we go to the ER sadly. I managed to get a same week appointment for Meeps when she had pnuemonia this spring, but only because I essentially staged a sit in at the nurses station. My GP saw us on his lunch hour.
I will keep calling them to see if I can get a cancellation, as recommended by the nurse. The joke about that of course is that it almost always goes to voicemail. I had called almost two weeks ago to try to make the appt for her, they only just called me back yesterday. I appreciate your input, I’ll definitely try to get in sooner.
Jessica – all the small towns and even cities have mad incentives packages for doctors. They pay for some of their schooling, they buy them houses. If your friends want work tell them to come to Ontario. KINCARDINE Ontario specifically.
MK – they’d tell me to go to the ER then, where we would wait in triage hell with all the actual sick people for 4-8 hours or more.
Re: Bosmans – We have the picnic tower with a slide. It was originally on patio stones but as every thing settled it got a little uneven. I moved it off the stones and onto the dirt. No issues what so ever and that is with three kids make the best use of it.
Ha, will do! I’m seeing one of them tonight. (But I think he’s actually in the process of getting a job up in the Territory. An Aboriginal hospital there needs people).
Woot I live in Hamilton!
It seems to me that if you want a boob job or any kind of elective or cosmetic surgery you can get in to see a doctor pretty much whenever you want.
It is a sad state that beauty comes before health..
Hey Twwly… just stumbled across your website. Love what you and your family are doing! I was laid-off last Friday after 16 years with the same company and am seriously re-evaluating the things I thought were important in life. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into yours!
Wow! That is insane. I would totally avoid the ER at all costs.
Do you have a copy of “Where there are no doctors”?
I know its insane! There’s only one *English* specialist in a city with well over a million freaking people(you’d think that more hospitals would offer it) and she says to me well you should get this looked at now. I was thinking well gee thanks, I could die(worst case) waiting for this doppler/dvt scan thing unless my leg flares up again and I go the ER, criminal indeed! Otherwise I have to go to a private clinic & pay out the derriere for treatment. But to see a GP, that’s just insane! Such a LONG wait, my God! I’m from Ontario (Cambridge) and its bad there too… Good luck!
“If we ever go again I’m going to wear a sweatshirt with cat butts on the front, my rubber boots that are held together with duct tape and tuck a cigarette behind my ear; Scott will wear sweatpants with no underpants, ratty white socks with his farm Crocs and either one of those “No Fear” tee shirts or something from Molson.”
Aaahhhh east Hamilton. You’ll fit right in. Wear some tear-away pants for the full effect. Just make sure you call random strangers “buddy” and ask if they can spare a smoke.
Mr. Used was the place you went to I take it? Fun place to while away some time.
I was told that Scott stopped by my place, but alas I was out for a hike. I’m bummed that I didn’t see you folks. Give a heads up next time you visit our fair burg.
I’m so glad even though you are so far away that we get to watch Bob and Meeps grow up! I just stumbled over Bobs Birth Announcement in my saved email, I can’t believe he’s 3!! Much love to you and your Family!
[...] five months ago when I made an appointment with my doctor? Well, my appointment is today. The kids have a [...]