Hear, hear!!

And hear some more!! At long last, our son is getting an FM system to use in his classroom - a year after the audiologist first recommended it. Last year, apparently, the powers that be didn't want to ante-up . . . but now, going into the final term of Grade 4 for our son, it has been determined that he will be "lost" in the classroom without some sort of assistance.

Duh. That's a no-brainer, if you ask me. But then, I'm his mother.

The school is responsible for the device - which is like a hearing aid, but is not a hearing aid. It fits in his ear in a similar manner, complete with a doodad behind his ear, but it goes in the hearing ear, not the deaf one. There's no hearing to aid in the deaf ear, so that would be pointless. The teacher will wear a little microphone. What it will do, is amplify the teacher's voice, so that he will be less distracted by the other classroom noises, and hopefully be better able to pay attention and get his work done.

He had a sound field system in Grade 1, and although it worked, it was a distraction for the rest of the class. Then we looked at getting him a BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid), which would pick up the sounds from the right side of his head, and send it, via his skull, to the left ear. That too, worked, after a fashion. But he found the robotic quality of the sound distracting, and it gave him a headache. Constantly.

For those of you who don't know, our son has profound unilateral hearing loss ~ his right ear is completely deaf, but his left is absolutely perfect! My mother had this too, and seemed to function well. Of course, she was born in 1946, so there wasn't a whole lot of support for deaf people back when she was a kid. Certainly not for someone with such a profound unilateral deafness.

He should get it sometime within the next month - he had the mold taken on Tuesday, so depending on how long it takes to make the device, he could have it in April or May. I'm guessing that Easter is throwing a monkey wrench in any plans to get him fitted for it in April.

I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks for reading!!

Canada ROCKS!!!

Yes, we do. The most gold medals, the most medals of any host country ever . . . even if we choke in the gold medal hockey game tomorrow (which I sincerely hope we DON'T), we are the Olympic champions.

And can you believe, all that was on the news two weeks ago, was the fact that we'd never won any gold at home. Crow, anyone?? Goes good with a little ice, a little rain and smattering of fog on top!

Today, and every day, I am so bloody proud to be a Canadian.

We ROCK!! Let's kick butt on Sunday, folks!!

Take THAT, writer's block!!

Yes, at long last, after much procrastination and a plethora of bad ideas . . . I have succeeded in busting writer's block. I've kicked that puppy to the curb - hopefully, to be seen no more, during the course of writing this novel.

In a word: Yahoo!!

So far, I've rewritten Chapter 2, and I'm either still working on it, or about to start Chapter 3. My people haven't told me exactly what I'm doing yet.

And this time, instead of trying to follow a detailed chapter outline - which worked marvellously for Cold Cuts - I'm just flying by the seat of my pants. Who is the killer? Who knows. I thought I knew, but I might be wrong. And that could be very cool. Very cool indeed.

Dead of Winter, is now, undead. Haha, pardon the pun.

Global warming . . . What??

So, as I write this, the leaders of the world are meeting in Copenhagen to discuss solutions for global warming etc. Yet here, today, we have matched the record low for December 14. This record was set in 1964 . . . -37.2C. Okay, Environment Canada says it's only -36C at the airport, but the thermometre at the Credit Union (a mere five blocks from my house) says it's -37C. I'm going with the closest temperature reading.

Certainly, it does seem that globally, temperatures have risen, and this summer was quite warm - when it wasn't raining - but every winter, when the temperature matches or exceeds previously set record lows, I have to wonder about this global warming. Because it defninitely doesn't seem warmer here!

Not that I'm complaining. I like winter. Its almost always sunny, when its incredibly cold. I don't even mind these frigid temperatures too much, providing I don't have to go out and about too much. Like yesterday, taking the girls to their recital. Worrying about their hair actually took a back-seat to worrying about whether to shut the truck off while we were at the Cultural Centre. In the end, because my truck is a 2003 and still has the original battery, coupled with the horrid screaming noise it made when I started it up (and yes, I'd had it plugged in for 2 days), I decided to leave it running. No way was I going to be stuck down there, 11 blocks from home, in below -40C temps with a windchill of God-only-knows how low, with 3 children. And no way to get home should my truck not start.

The truck was nice and toasty warm when we got back in it. We only stayed until the intermission. The girls were done, and I really didn't want to leave the truck running - plus, our Tiny Tot was pooped after her very first recital, and wanted to go home.

It's days like this, in December, that make me wonder if the global warming people really know what they're talking about. If it was January, and this cold . . . not a biggie. That's par for the course up here. December, hardly even the middle of December, seems just a bit early to me.

Or maybe, its just "local warming" we're not experiencing?

Never fear, by the end of the week, its supposed to warm up again. I heard -6C . . . good weather for skidooing! Just in time for the kids' Christmas vacation too - they can go outside and play if its going to be that warm. I hate holidays when they have to stay inside for 2 weeks because it's too cold to go out for more than 10 minutes. Everyone, not just the kids, go stir crazy when that happens.

Oh, for a little bit of global (or local) warming to stave off the cabin fever!

And again, we find rejection

Well, if this just doesn't stink.

Finally got a letter back from Second Story Press. Lovely rejection letter, as far as rejections go, and I've collected quite a few in the past 5 or so years. However, it's delivery was extremely unprofessional. And I'm not talking about our nice mail lady.

First of all, it's November now, right? Hmm, the letter is dated August 10. Secondly, it wasn't even sealed, and it's a freaking self-sealed envelope. All they had to do was peel and stick. Sheesh. But wait, I'm not done yet!! At one point, it was taped shut, and then opened?!! WTF is that all about???

Oh yeah, and it's not Canada Post's fault that it was over 3 months in transit . . . the post mark says it hit the post office in Toronto on Remembrance Day. Complete with blurb "Lest We Forget".

Okay, so you don't like my book. Fine. But for chrissake, be a little freaking professional in your rejections. Or at least mail them in a timely manner. You can't tell me someone didn't do a Timmy's run in the middle of August and couldn't have dropped it in a mailbox on the way!

Ricidulous.

And to top if off, due to SSP's lack of ability in finding a mailbox, I now cannot submit my m/s to the Unhanged Arthur, because submissions closed a couple of weeks ago.

ARGH!!!

I should really phone that chick up and give her a piece of my mind. Or not. Hmmmm . . .

For the love of coffee

Bonjour, je m’appelle Phoebe La Mange and I am the new guest columnist at the bRokEn TypEwriTeR.

After 40 years of eating and enjoying, or not, the food, I have found my true calling in praising the noteworthy culinary establishments around the city.

So, in true French fashion, I will begin with the analysis of coffee in our humble city.

For such a backward, redneck city, I find it refreshing that there are so many choices when it comes to finding a tasse du café. Clearly, it is not all about the beer here.

It was the talk of the town when Starbucks opened in the Safeway store, for years I have had to listen to people bemoaning the lack of a Starbucks in the city, and certainly, they make bon café. But how do you decide what to order? The list of choices is longer than my brother Henri’s prize-winning baguettes! I, myself, prefer the white chocolate café mocha, which is, as they say, to die for.

The other most-populaire coffee house, is also a member of a chain (the citizens are showing their redneck roots now, frequenting chains, not true cafés) – Tim Horton’s. There are two of these locations in the city, with a slightly shorter list of choices than Starbucks. More like Henri’s French bread, not the baguettes. The café is very similar to Starbucks, but I have noticed that many devoted Starbucks drinkers cannot stand Tim’s. Each to his own.

But whatever you do, do not take the deep breath when going up to the drive through window at Tim Horton’s!! Sacre bleu!! It is often like getting a blast of the parfum of dear old Pepe! The stink, it is horrible!

I have to say, my favorite café is Cosmic Grounds. Again, a list of choices comparable to Starbucks, but not part of a chain. It is a true café, with a pleasant atmosphere, homemade foods, if one is feeling a bit peckish, and above all, delightful, rich smelling, delicious café!

Bite the bullet

The Rednecks of Canada have triumphed! Yes, indeed, hunters and long gun collectors can soon breathe a sigh of relief. More than 10 years after the federal Liberals came up with the idea of a gun registry for rifles etc., the Conservatives, along with some of their more redneck-minded colleagues in other parties have succeeded in voting down the dreaded legislation.

At long last, we, the residents of the backwoods, the frozen North, can venture forth with our guns and plunder wildlife to stock our freezers for the long, cold winter. No more can the government, in its dubious wisdom, regulate our methods of procuring meat - except by issuing hunting licenses. No more will honest hunters and farmers have to live under a cloud of discrimination imposed upon us by big-city dwellers, who believe that criminals will, a) use rifles or shotguns more often than not; b) will actually register these weapons; and c) that anyone who owns, or wants to own, a gun must be a criminal.

So, to the hunters of Canada, I say: Grab your rifles and get you some tags . . . deer season opened on the weekend, and the freezer is empty!! Go forth, and hunt!!