Oh, wait. No, we didn't.
Ontario apparently has been in an uproar about Jill Anzarut, a 35 year old mom of 2 who was diagnosed with breast cancer, but was denied access to a medication her doctor prescribed by Cancer Care Ontario. I suggest you read the linked column in defense of CCO's position, and Ms. Anzarut's comments (about 3rd from the top) in response to the columnist in the column's comments section that follows.
It was a really interesting conversation about supposedly universal health care in Canada. Provinces make their own decisions, so this woman's case would have been handled differently in B.C., for example, instead of Ontario. It's obviously a loaded and emotionally-fueled conversation about a mom with little ones. There was also a lot of suprisingly rational conversation about how much should a country pay for, and what is reasonable to pay for, in a universal health care situation. When the health care debate was going on in the U.S., there was a lot of debate about "health care rationing," but insurance companies already make these decisions, and there is similar conversation here about how it is inevitable in any large scale insurance program. This decision is on a macro level and has been taken public, which is what makes it more interesting.
We apply for our Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) cards soon. It will be an experience to use them. We were able to get in to see a doctor for our introductory appointment at the end of April. That was the earliest they had an intro appointment available. An ominous start?
This post is dedicated to FdP, who helped me pick out J's espresso machine. I will make him wince in the next sentence.
Does it make me more Canadian to have gone to Tim Horton's twice in one day?
Canadian's love them some Tim's. J and I would poke fun at our realtor, who would stop there regularly for coffee, tea, chocolate milk, or other beverages. We would openly worry about the state of his kidneys, since he seemed to finish his day with beer, and there was no water to be found in his day.
Um, yeah. I've since become one of those people in the drive thru line that is throwing out my old Tim's cup to make space for my new one.
Last Saturday, E, S and I were on our way to a children's theatre, to see some Robert Munsch stories performed. For those of you not familiar with Robert Munsch, he is the author of those lovely stories like I Love You Forever and the less lovely but incredibly hilarious ones like I Have To Go Pee (very appropriate for this post, I think). He is Canadian, of course, and an excellent verbal storyteller so he is very fun to listen to in the car on long car trips. H had a tape of his when she was little, and E and S have one that we listen to as well sometimes.
In any case, it was a cold, rainy morning, and we stopped to get some coffee for me, and donuts and milk for the kids. With sprinkles. On Leafs game days, the sprinkles are blue and white.
The TTC bus driver in our lane has gotten out to look at his bus, so the four cars in front of me turned right into the street prior to Tim's in a quest to get their coffee more quickly. There were at least ten cars in line before the turn into the actual drive thru access line, so cars begin peeling out of line and parking to get out and run into the building. The line had not dissipated by the time I ordered my large triple-triple. This scene is not unusual across the city.
Triple-triple, you ask? Tim's coffee is ordered by the amount of sugar and cream you want in it. (FdP just winced again, but then again I'm not sure he's tried Tim's coffee.) Standard is considered the double-double, though I've also heard people just ask for double cream or double milk. According the the link, even just regular coffee has milk and sugar in it at Tim's. Of course, I don't really like Tim's coffee, because it tastes pretty bad (it is just convenient and hot), so a triple-triple works well for me.
My favorite coffee chain is actually Second Cup. It is a competitor to Starbucks and actually has delicious coffee, and we've purchased their beans to brew at home. Their coffee has a nutty flavor, and they have Tuesday latte specials. But to drink it at home, J actually has to make it before he leaves for work. He's stopped doing that since the coffee improved at work, and I'm busy getting kids out the door, so more often than not it's Tim's for me.
We have a lot of independent coffee and espresso places in the city, and they are also delicious. We've found a local place to buy fancy espresso beans for J and a local place to buy supplies for his fancy machine, so we're all set here at First Cup at home. We enjoy our weekend or evening drinks.
I didn't think hurtling down a mountain on two waxed sticks of wood would ever really be my idea of a good time, let alone romantic.
I heard this on CBC Radio 2 this morning:
