More Random Notes

Edited to add just one more random note.

Municipal Politics

This morning we got a phone call with an automated message from Robert Munsch, the children's author, urging us to vote in the upcoming municipal election. You're preaching to the zealous new converts, Mr. Munsch.

In a related story, our lawn sign supporting our chosen mayoral candidate has disappeared from our yard, along with most of our neighbours'. I strongly suspect the old couple on the corner who still have their sign up for the conservative incumbent.

Neighbours

Speaking of neighbours, I am a total nosey parker. Sugar Daddy hates going for walks with me at dusk because I always take advantage of that time after people have turned on their lights but before they've closed their curtains to check out their wall colours and light fixtures, and whatever else I can see. It's terrible. I've nearly run into lamp posts I'm such a rubber necker.

Anyways this morning a neighbour I haven't seen before came outside to shake a small rug, and he had the one of the biggest mullets I've seen since Billy Ray Cyrus, although he couldn't hold a candle to Michael Bolton. God, I'm such a raging snob.

In other neighbourly news, our next door neighbour just bought a Toyota Matrix. And then there were three. We bought a Toyota Matrix in April when we discovered that Swee'pea would grow into a bigger, still rear facing seat, which would not fit in our poor little 20-year-old Jetta. Also, because our poor little 20-year-old Jetta, which I always meant to give a name but never did, was not very reliable. So we bought a Matrix, mostly because it's Sugar Daddy's favourite movie and we didn't discover any annoying little tics when we rented one for a weekend out of town when the PLTYOJ broke down. Our neighbours across the street bought a Matrix just over a year ago when their other car got totalled. Here a Matrix, there a Matrix, Everywhere a Matrix Matrix.

Our other next-door-neighbours are not as nice as the one with the Matrix. They have two very angry teenagers, who bellow at their parents and honk their horns on Sunday mornings. I know teenagers are angry by their very nature, but these two are Angry; the rage emanates from them like radioactivity and, yes, it scares me a little. And I'm not generally scared by teenagers. Anyways, they have a little Jack Russell and sometimes I see them when we're out for walks. And since Swee'pea was born they're much chattier. So yesterday I saw the woman and her dog while walking, and she exclaimed over how big Swee'pea is getting, and how cute he is, yadda yadda yadda. Then she tilts her head and looks coyly at me: "So, any plans for another one?" Wink wink nudge nudge.

Now, I don't have a lot of boundaries or issues with privacy, but I don't care to discuss this subject with peopple I'm barely acquainted with and don't particularly like. So I evaded the question, figuring she'd get the hint, and said, "Well, we'll just have to see..." And she looked all confused... but it was actually a very honest answer, because we haven't decided yet.

Don't Eat and Blog

I just flipped my fork and got pumpkin cheesecake square goodness all over the keyboard. I had to take a minute to lick up the big bits. I got the square at our local whole grain, organic, make-every-delicious-thing-they-sell-from-scratch-and-onsite bakery, which was crazy busy. They have new menu items every day, which they post on blackboards. It used to be when an item sold out, they just wiped it out. But now they've started putting a sold sticker on the item, which doesn't obscure the description at all, so I spent considerable time grieving for what yummy goodness was not going to meet my tummy today. Wah. But they had the pumpkin cheesecake squares still so it was all good.

Google Searches

When you find out what searches have brought people to your blog, do you ever want to reach out across the Internet and give them a hug or point them to information that might help? Over the last day or two, two searches have made me feel like doing this. Yesterday, someone came to my blog searching for "no amniotic fluid left." Obviously since the woman (I assume it's a woman 'cause Sugar Daddy has never done any research related to pregnancy or birth online... well, or at the library) has time to google, she's not in surgery, which is where I was when we discovered there was no fluid left. I don't think it's a good thing at all to discover when you're pregnant. So, I'll send her good baby wellness thoughts and hope for the best.

The other search was a couple of days ago. Her (again with the assumptions; see above) search was Help! I'm GBS positive. This was an issue that tormented me in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. So in case she searches again here's my experience and some of what I found out online. I won't go into the elementary stuff can you get that from a regular google search. But I discovered quite a bit of research that suggests that IV antibiotics in labour for GBS positive women wasn't alwas the best option. Though GBS infections went down in those cases, sometimes other life-threatening antibiotic-resistant infections went up. Also, there was some anecdotal evidence that the midwives' favourite induction technique, stretch and sweeps, seemed to increase neonatal infections. In the end, I decided not to do the stretch and sweep; I had my massage therapist massage some pressure point around my ankles and I went into labour with 12 hours. We decided to take the iv antibiotics. I had always been clear that if my water broke first, or I had any other risk factors, I would take the antibiotics. And not only did my water break very early in labour but I had meconium in it, another risk factor. And since I ended up with a fever during labour, and then a c-section, I was glad I got the antibiotics so early. And I never got a yeast infection, and neither did Swee'pea.

And a few people have found my blog looking for stuff about Al Purdy. This makes me happy. Happy that people are still looking for stuff about him, and happy that they can read the article that never got published.

It even partly makes up for the '"armpit rash" tight clothes' search that I'm in the top 10 results for.

Mr. Darcy Spammer

This is for Bubandpie... the other day we got spam from one Jamal Marin with the following text:

"i do, i do like him," she replied, with tears in her eyes, "i love him. indeed he has no improperdarcy mentioned his letter. "did it," said he, "did it soon make you think better of me? did you,

I keep wondering with spam like this, what purpose does it serve?!? There are no links to click on, no invitations to buy stock or confirm our banking/credit details...