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Currently living the dream of moving to Toronto for 12 months for a Firefighter Exchange!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Santa Claus Parade & my tough husband

We woke on Sunday morning to see snow lightly falling outside.  Now you may be all thinking, "oh how lovely on a lazy Sunday morning!"  Well, if we could stay inside with warm coffees, leisurely reading the newspaper and watching DVD's all day we would also agree.  However, the annual Santa Claus Parade was taking place downtown at midday.  So after taking an hour to actually get adequately dressed to go outside, we cross the road to take the bus to the subway station and then off we go downtown. 

Now before I go on, I need to paint the picture for all those Aussies who don't really know what it's like to live in a cold climate.  Firstly, the key to keeping warm is layers of clothing.   After a week of 'layering' each day, I was fed up with the amount of washing I had to do.  My brain was automatically programmed from living in a hot climate that you do not re-use your clothing.  I then realised that you can get more than one wear out of some of the layers.  If you are wearing five layers, you can reuse layers 2,3,4. Needless to say, my washing volume has decreased significantly. 

Also, it takes AGES to get out the door.  Literally!  In Townsville, you just chuck on a pair of thongs and off you go.  In a cold climate, you have to layer, layer, layer, coat, beanie (they call them toques here), mittens/gloves, scarf, socks, socks again, boots...you get the picture.  So we have to factor that in whenever we go anywhere.  
Another thing is something I will be saying in my sleep before too long, "where are your mittens?.....put your beanie back on.....no you cannot take your boots off"  sheesh. 

It is hard to imagine that it gets colder here.  It is so so so so so cold when you stand still in one spot for a period of time.  The key is to keep on moving.

Anyhow, off we go to the Santa Claus Parade.  It is HUGE and takes hours and hours for all the floats to go by.  It was certainly a sight to see - the amount of detail in the floats were amazing.  The marching bands were great as well.  Unfortunately, we could not outlast the cold and had to call it a day before the big man showed up.  Jack was not upset about missing out on seeing Santa, so that goes to show how cold he was.  We came home and Troy had the chills.  I had asked him when we were leaving for the parade if he wanted to wear the ski jacket and he scoffed...instead he wore a windcheater type jacket.  When do men learn that their wives know best???  After five minutes in the house, this is where I found him:

He was laying on top of one of the heating vents in the house and barricaded himself in and under a blanket as well!   So he is definitely not as tough as he may seem.  Yes he plays football and hockey etc but here is the proof that deep down he is soft!  

Troy has been battling a sore wrist now for weeks.  He hurt it a while ago playing footy and it has just never really improved.  I asked him if he wants to get it x-rayed and he said that it would probably be a good idea as it is likely broken or had been broken.  I told him that if he gets it x-rayed, it means that he needs to realise that IF it is broken that will mean it will need to be set in plaster.  A look of horror on his face....I then explained that there is no point in getting it x-rayed if he was not prepared to have it treated IF it was broken.  His look of horror then turned into a look of concentration and pondering.  After a moment, he asked if they could put a cast on it that he would sometimes take off to play sport?  WHAT??!!!???   For such an intelligent person, he really says some stupid things sometimes!   Result:  No x-ray.   Untreated broken wrist to go with is untreated broken nose.  Canada certainly kicks butt.  When he is eighty years old and battling his osteo-arthritis in his wrist and nose, he can fondly remember his Canadian Adventure.

Everyday is a new day here and we are still seeing and living new and different things.  We are so lucky to be living a completely different lifestyle in such a beautiful place.  Things are certainly different to what we are used to, but we love that our life has been turned upside down and we get to try something new!  Living in a cold climate is actually quite nice - warm snug fires, hot drinks, DVD nights, crisp air!   Although Troy nearly had an aneurysm last week when it was about four degrees and he was cold....he realised I had one of the windows open a bit to let some fresh air in!  ha ha.  I can't help it, a girl needs a bit of fresh air when she lives with two boys.

Take care everyone and we miss you all xxxxx

2 comments:

  1. Layering is good - laundry is bad. Pretty soon it will be cold enough that you won’t have to wash layer 1 – you won’t be sweating.

    You will get faster getting out the door. The trick is to take off layers 2, 3, 4, and 5 all together so that when it’s time to use them again you can put them back on in one fell swoop.

    Sleeping on the heating vent inside your home is okay – no one will see you and call you a wussy. However, make sure he doesn’t do that on the heating grates out on the streets. People will think your homeless.

    Get the sore wrist x-rayed. If he needs a cast he can get a “playing cast” (no joke, there is such a thing) and still continue with the hockey.

    Friendly advice time – DO NOT stick your tongue on anything made of steel from now until the end of April.

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  2. ha ha thanks Linda! What would we do without you?
    A playing cast?!!!! That would have definitely been invented by a man.

    We'll keep you posted on the wrist

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