ABCs of 2023
This has always been kind of a frivolous list of things that happened during the year, but it wasn't really a frivolous year. Still, it's a tradition that I like to keep.
A - Anesthesia - I had general anesthesia for the first time in my life and spent a long time afterwards reading up on it to figure out what they did. I learned two things: The mask they put over my nose an mouth was most likely oxygen to increase the levels in my blood so they have more time to intubate. I would have been awake in the OR after the surgery even though I don't remember that.
B - Blood tests - I had a monthly visit with the lab to check my iron and B12 levels. They seem to have stabilized in a health zone.
C - Chamber Music Festival - One of my favourite summer music festival returned after taking a bit of a COVID hiatus. (The video isn't from the festival, but is of Amy Hillis who was playing at it.)
D - Dad - My dad passed away on November 10 at the age of 86. While he had slowed down in recent months, he was at home and healthy until two weeks before. Given his age and medical history, it wasn't a complete surprise, but I certainly wasn't ready. I miss him all the time.
E - Es Devlin - Thanks to the NARM program I have through the Mackenzie Art Gallery, I found myself at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (which is in the Carnegie Mansion). They had a retrospective of the works of Es Devlin who I hadn't heard of before but is responsible for set designs for numerous operas, theatre productions, and bands. The exhibit itself had an amazing entry way that used the tricks of set design to create an immersive experience like nothing I had seen in a museum before.
F - Fridge - The fridge that came with my house finally (after over 20 years of service) gave out. Replacing it was a bit of an adventure. The model I originally selected wouldn't fit through my kitchen doorway even with the doors off and probably wouldn't have fit under the shelves anyway. That meant ordering in a model that would fit but would only arrive a month later so I lived out of a bar fridge and an electric chiller for quite a while.
G - Gall bladder - In January, while I was brushing my teeth after eating breakfast, I felt a short sharp pain in my upper right abdomen. It felt like I got a splinter only in my digestive tract. Right away, I suspected what it was, but hoped that it would go away. The pain did ease off but then got worse after I ate lunch and worse still after supper at which point I got my mom to take me to the hospital. A night at the ER, an ultrasound, and a trip to the Pasqua for an endoscopy confirmed that I had pancreatitis caused by gallstones. I was checked into the surgical ward at the General and after quite a wait, had my gall bladder removed.
H - Hallmark movie moment - It was a rainy evening in New York and I had just sat down in my seat at Lincoln Center to watch the Nutcracker. A beautiful woman in a green shimmery dress sits down next to me. Her name is Noelle and we chatted before the show, at intermission, and after the show. We even traded numbers. I chuckled all the way back to my hotel room. Sadly, it didn't work out like the movies. I texted her a few times, but she never texted back. My best guess is that it is because I wasn't wearing plaid.
I - Ice - There was some spectacular hoar frost or rime ice earlier this year.
J - Just the neighbors cat - My previous neighbours had an indoor cat who every once in a while would escape and explore my yard. One day this spring, he wandered into my garage and I caught this photo of him hiding between the red watering can and the flowers.
K - Kate Wesler - I got to say hi to one of my favourite Broadway actresses.
L - Limited shows - I took it easy on the local music/arts scene this year. I think I averaged less than one show a week.
M - Memorial - My dad's memorial was held at Christ the King on November 22. It's the first time I've been to a Catholic mass in a lot of years which felt strange. It was very well attended by friends and family.
N - New York - My first trip since the pandemic was back to New York. I saw "I Need That" with Danny DeVito, "Some Like It Hot", "Harmony" (to see Kate Wesler), "Shucked", "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular", "Dancing With Glass" (where Philip Glass was actually in attendance), "Appropriate" with Sarah Paulson and Elle Fanning, "Merrily We Roll Along" with Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter), and "The Nutcracker". There were also numerous art galleries, museums, bakeries, and restaurants and of course Central Park.
O - One small hole in my lawn - The city dug a whole in my lawn to check the state of my water service connection. (Their side is lead, my side is copper.)
P - Paperwork - I learned that there's a lot of paperwork involved when someone dies. It's gone reasonably smoothly so far, but tax season is still ahead.
Q - Quit twitter - Well, mostly anyway. I used a tool called redact to remove all my posts and likes, deleted the app from my phone. I still occasionally check it for city hall news, but haven't really missed it.
R - Roof - I got new shingles.
S - Sewer Stack - When the shingles were being done, there was a lot of shaking and pounding and that was enough to crack one of my old cast iron sewer stacks. I had a plumber come in and after a full day of fighting, I got it replaced with a brand new ABS one. Parts of the old cast iron stack looked like they were made of more hair than metal, so it's just as well that this got done.
T - Tired - I haven't been sleeping particularly well recently.
U - Unusually warm - This December has been so amazingly warm. I don't remember another year quite like it. I do remember another brown Christmas, but that year was still cold.
V - Very bright aurora - Back in March the aurora was so bright you could see it in the middle of the city.
W - Washer - My incredibly old washing machine (manufactured in the 1970s I think) stopped functioning properly. It still did all the things, but the mechanism to advance between cycles stopped working. I replace it and the dryer (and did a pile of laundry at my mom's house while waiting for them to arrive.)
X - Explosion - I was just about to head to bed in late May and heard a Fwoom! I went to investigate and my neighbour's shed had exploded. By the time I called, the fire department was already on their way. The fire was probably an arson but the explosion was caused by propane tanks that were stored there. The remains of the shed are gone, but the repairs haven't happened yet.
Y - Yard project - Built a small border/path between my grass and the haskap berries which finished off the replacement of my deck. There's always more work to be done in the yard, but I don't think there are any major yard projects in the near term.
Z - Zoo - Saw a deer at work and beavers, muskrats, mice, hares, a coyote, and all sorts of birds around the lake and by the creek but the craziest thing was the squirrel who somehow got into my house. It may have dropped down the chimney, but I'm not really sure. At first I freaked out and chased it around with some idea of trapping it in a basket or under a blanket which resulted in it jumping onto window sills and generally causing problems. Eventually I just opened the front door and it ran out.
