My appointment with the physiotherapist at the hospital has been cancelled. I got a letter today with a copy of the appointment, and a handwritten note that the appointment had been scheduled in error. I have no idea at all what that is about. The note also said that I would be hearing from the office of an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the hospital. This is a different Orthopaedic Surgeon than the one whose office called the country house and left a message. What a muddle! They have my name though, it will be just a matter of time before they sort themselves out and get around to telling me what is going on.
My knee is holding steady, no pain unless I stand for more than ten minutes, or try to walk about for more than five minutes. My daily walks are still on hold.
We had a mini-blizzard last night, here at the little house in the city. It highlighted just why I like it so much in this neighbourhood. Last night, after the snow abated a bit, I heard a noise outside, and peeked out the curtains to see my neighbour across the street using his snowblower to clear our driveway. Then this morning, the plough went by and left a two foot high, four foot deep, snow bank across the end of the driveway. I had my breakfast, then headed out the door with the snow shovel. I was making a bit of progress, when I stopped to say hello to the new neighbours next door. They are a young couple, and were out shovelling their driveway together. The next thing I knew they were both in my driveway helping me! The fellow quickly took care of the snowbank across the end of the driveway, and they both worked to clear the entire drive, including the snow that came off Tank! He even shovelled a path to the front door!
People here are friendly, and help each other when they can. Such a contrast between here, and the neighbourhood at the country house. We have one good neighbour at the country house, he will clear the end of the driveway for Attila after a snow storm, with his little tractor, so that Attila can get off the road when he comes home for lunch. The other neighbours, permanent and seasonal, well…
When Attila was getting ready to drive down on his last visit, a group of young men knocked on the door. This is pretty shocking, because I think we have only had about four people knock on our door in the last ten years. Anyway, they had come to the cottage across the street, for the weekend, and since the driveway was covered with six feet of packed snow, they had parked in an open area in front of one of the other unoccupied cottages. I guess our second permanent neighbour on our street took offence, and approached them aggressively, so much so that there was almost a fist fight. The upshot was that they knocked on our door, and asked Attila if they could park in our driveway. Attila told them that since he was leaving, they were quite welcome to park there for the weekend, which they did. The conflict they had with our second permanent neighbour is just one of many he has initiated with seasonal people. The permanent neighbour’s obvious intolerance for seasonal property owners is a natural reaction, it comes from so many seasonal people being rude, aggressive, and inconsiderate to the local population.
So, here we are, approaching the end of January! Two more months of full-on winter at the country house. We don’t expect to see any serious signs of snow melting or the arrival of spring there, until well into April. It will be interesting to see how early spring arrives here at the little house in the city!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
The Little House in the City
-10°C (14F)
Date: 3:00 PM EST Friday 30 January 2015
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 102.1 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -9.8°C
Dewpoint: -16.8°C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: NNW 27 km/h
Wind Chill: -19 (-2.2F)
The Country House
-14°C (-6.8F)
Date: 3:00 PM EST Friday 30 January 2015
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Visibility: 15 km
Temperature: -14.4°C
Dewpoint: -21.0°C
Humidity: 58%
Wind: NW 24 gust 35 km/h
Wind Chill: -24 (-11.2F)
Quote
“We don’t know a millionth of one percent about anything.”
Thomas A. Edison
1847 – 1931
Well you’re warmer than we are, today. Right now we’re at -13C (9F) with a windchill of -23C (-9F). We had several inches of snow last night, though nothing approaching blizzard conditions.
Six feet of snowpack?! Holy smoke! No, I honestly will never be hardy enough to handle that. My hat’s off to Attila. The man is either a saint or a yeti. 😉
I should say though that at one time I did make it through 6 feet of snowpack. I lived in the Ohio snowbelt at the time. That would be in the late 70s. Just like here, as long as you didn’t have to leave the house, it was okay. 😉 They did have a lot of gray days there, though. No sunshine for months on end.
But as I get older I’m much less willing to sacrifice my comfort. If I have to, well then I have to. But if not, I’m going to start reaching for comfort now, even if it costs a bit more.
Teri, I think maybe Attila *is* a yeti–and the summer equivalent as well, in the best possible way, of course. He and Bex’s Paul just seem to have endless supplies of energy for hard work.
Maggie, you seem so much better this winter, despite being apart from Attila. I think a little bit of society suits you very well. Bless all those neighbors!
I wonder if the physiotherapy was cancelled because someone else looked at your images and decided that there was too much risk of more injury and that you’ll soon be hearing from a surgeon’s office.
Teri, our country house is located in one of the snowiest areas of Ontario. We are about 10 km from Georgian Bay, as the crow flies, and we get a lot of heavy snow as the winds hit land after loading up as they cross the lake. However, the people living closer to Georgian Bay get more snow than we do. There have been times when the snow shovelled onto either side of the driveway was above Attila’s head, but that is only during high snowfall winters. This winter is not so bad, yet!
I too am less willing to rough it as I grow older. Part of it is that my body is not able to adjust to extreme conditions, so I suffer in a way that I did not during my youth to late middle age. As the years go by I feel the discomforts more keenly, and so seek a more comfortable environment.
Wendy, I have no idea how Attila does what he does! He works outdoors in the -30C, windy weather. Then he comes home, and has to shovel snow, and chop wood. He hasn’t much energy left after all that for focusing on being good company. If it was me I’d be in a coma by the end of the day, lol. He is always cheerful, and he is always so tired that if he stops moving, he falls asleep.
I am much happier here in the south of Ontario, living in such a nice neighbourhood. Now, all I need is Attila and Mist!
Maybe you are right Wendy, I might hear from the surgeon’s office soon. I certainly hope so!
What a medical maze! Ten minutes tolerance isn’t very long. *sigh* I’m impressed you even attempted to shovel – made me wince. We have yet to get any measurable snow. It’s been a sunless winter, though. As I’ve mentioned before, the lack of sunshine doesn’t affect me as much as some people because my primary view during the day is a wall of art – and I don’t go outdoors. The last time I left the house was January 9th. The next time I leave the house will be February 13th – That’s when it will probably snow!
You are right about ten minutes not being very long Reenie. I would have done it, shovelled that snow, but it would have taken me three or four hours to do it. I lean on the shovel quite a bit, and stop to rest frequently. It isn’t just my knee either, I don’t want to have a heart attack from sudden intense activity beyond my capability. So I take it slow. I have to admit though, I was very relieved when the neighbours came over to help me!!
It has been a cloudy winter here as well, but I hardly notice, as I am so happy to be at the little house! Your art is a wonder Reenie, so many characters speaking in so many visual languages!