Neanderthals roam the earth

If you believe that Neanderthals are extinct, let me assure you that they're not. In fact they're alive and roaming around right here in this city.

They're tricky to spot because they look and dress like modern man, but just one cat call from their mouths is a sure sign that their brains haven't yet evolved.

I'm sure any woman who, while going about her own business and has experienced this unwanted attention, like I was on my cycle to work this morning, would attest to it. I thought this lame behaviour died off at least a decade ago, but sadly, no.

So in reaction to this I take the high road and ignore it. But what I'm thinking is - Dude. Seriously? This is 2010, catch up already. Go educate yourself or something. I should hand out books to these poor souls and explain in language they might understand. "Book. Read. Learn you. Good." But that would take too much of my time.

What might be even more effective is to simply throw books at their heads. Maybe that would knock some sense into them.

HVAC

Got a message from the HVAC company about booking an appointment for our annual furnace cleaning.

I always look forward to this appointment. I think because of all the seasonal home maintenance tasks we should do, we only ever get around to some, but this is the one that we never let slide. 

While we were house hunting we saw first hand what happens to a neglected furnace. Aside from not heating the house properly, it needs more energy (and in turn more money) to run, and decreases the value of the house. All in all it's just not good.

So this week we'll book our appointment and be toasty warm again for another season.

The tummy speaks again

It's routine on weekend mornings for Lauren to call out from her bedroom to let C and I know that she's awake. This morning after I lifted her from her bed her stomach let out a little gurgle.

In response to the gurgle Lauren said, "My tummy said, 'Hi, I  am hungry and  I want Cheerios'". "Oh!", I replied. "Ok, let's go to my bedroom first for a bit then we'll go downstairs for breakfast."

This isn't the first time the tummy has spoken, and I'm not sure why she sometimes refers to it in the 3rd person, but it's pretty darn cute.

C and I are always still groggy when Lauren wakes up, but we can usually squeeze in a light snooze while she flops around on our bed for a while or reads her books. If we're lucky she'll fall asleep again. This morning we weren't so lucky and I was coerced into a game of -"The lion is coming we have to hide under the blanket!"

So we spent several minutes hiding from the lion and were having a jolly old time when Lauren suddenly declared loudly, "I AM HUNGRY!! I WANT CHEERIOS!!"

Oops. Grogginess got the better of me and I forgot that the tummy had very politely asked for Cheerios a while ago. Experience has taught me that when Lauren is hungry it's best to get some food in her fast otherwise a meltdown is sure to follow. And that really ain't so cute, especially on a Sunday morning.

My husband. My hero.

Today marks the 4 year wedding anniversary of my husband and I. At least as documented by the province of Ontario. We prefer to celebrate the anniversary of when we first got together - May 12, 1999. That was 11 years ago, and add to that the year we spent getting acquainted as friends, makes 12 years of togetherness.

12 years is a long time to know a guy, but this guy still knows how to keep the fun and excitement alive. Take last night for example. It was late and I was shuffling around upstairs getting ready for bed when I heard him call for help. The tone in his voice told me right away that something wasn't right.

"I saw it again", he said as he met me at the foot of the stairs handing me my shoes to put on. He had mentioned earlier that day that he thought he saw something small scamper across the kitchen floor. It was too small and too fast to identify but, it could have been anything. We live in a really old house in the city, so it's not unheard-of for tiny outdoor critters to sometimes find their way indoors.

The rational part of my brain was telling me that anything so small is probably way more afraid of me than I should be of it. But still, the best I could do to help was stand very still feeling squeamish.

One of us had to do something, so without hesitation this husband of mine jumped into action. Imagine if you will, a thirty-something year old man bounding around the kitchen at 11 o'clock at night shoving appliances aside, with a large metal BBQ spatula (for squashing) in one hand and a plastic waste basket in another. "This is to trap it", he said, waving the basket at me.

By the end of the night nothing was trapped or squashed, but the sentiment was there. My husband was ready and willing to go head to head against the thing so that I wouldn't have to. My hero.

So husband, here's to you and me on our fruit & flower/ linen, silk, nylon/ appliances anniversary. May our happy old home be rid of creepy crawlies and unidentified critters,  and may the excitement continue for many, many more years to come.

xo

Leaky pipe

C discovered a slow leak in the seam of one of the pipes beneath the kitchen sink. It really is a sloooow leak, but a leak none the less.

Zut alors!

When the contractor finished the reno job back in March he did mention that we could call for up to a year if any issues came up. So, C gave him a call this evening and fell on voice-mail. I'm really hoping he'll phone back tomorrow, or at least sometime before the weekend. I would really love to get this pinhole patched up before it turns into a gusher.

Hot Smoothee?

I'm not a coffee drinker, but every once in a while I need an afternoon boost and tea just doesn't cut it.

This summer I've been slightly hooked on Tim Hortons' Iced Cappuccino.  Again, I'm not a coffee drinker, but add a lot of milk, a bit or chocolate and whip it together in a big blending machine and I'm all over it. Bonus if it comes with whipped cream on top. On the Tim's site it's described as a "cool treat" which is really what it is. Or in my case, it's an after lunch get me through the next few hours before I go home, dessert.

Earlier this week I needed a boost, so headed off to the nearest Tim's with Iced Capp in mind. Only it was chilly that afternoon so when I got to the store I browsed the menu for something hot.

Me: What's a Hot Smoothee?

Counter Person: I don't really know

Me: Is there coffee in it?

Counter Person: Actually it's the only beverage that doesn't have coffee in it. Sorry!

Me: Is there fruit in it?

Counter Person: No

Just as I'm starting to think that this isn't a useful conversation, the counter person walks away and  comes back with a small piping hot cup of frothy looking milk for me to sample.

Counter Person: It's a kind of milky powdered base that you can add flavour to.

This sample tasted like piping hot milk with hazelnut flavour, maybe?

Me: Thanks. I'll take a small café mocha please.

I'm a huge smoothie fan (the cool, thick fruit packed variety) and there should be no confusing it with this hot smoothee drink. I think Tim's should change the name of it to "Flavoured Steamed Milk Drink" or "FSMD", or something. Not quite as catchy, but way more accurate.

When all else fails, eat cheese

On the lunch menu today at daycare were egg sandwiches. I'm told that Lauren took 2 bites then refused the rest. I'm not surprised. Actually I'm surprised she even tried it at all.

Her disdain for egg goes back a long way. One day when she was just old enough to eat egg yolk I carefully separated it from the white and mashed it up into a paste and fed it to her. She spat it out. On the next try I mixed it with one of her favourite purees. She spat it out. On the next try I simply crumbled the yolk so she could finger it and feed herself.  She mashed it into the feeding tray.

I gave egg a rest for a while, but one day thought that scrambled might be more appealing. She looked at it as if it was some nasty alien concoction then turned her head away.

Nowadays when I'm home and making lunch she'll ask, "We're not having egg?", which is her roundabout way of telling me that she really doesn't approve. Similar to, "We're not washing my hair?" Or, "I'm not going to bed?" Frankly, sometimes I think she's a little paranoid that the eggs are out to get her.

So today for lunch, Lauren did not eat her egg sandwich. BUT, she did eat a lot of cheese and some mango and strawberry. Hurray for little victories!