I'm not going to the doctor today...

...but the reason isn't what you most likely think.

I need to go to the doctor to get a prescription refilled. Over 10 years ago, my thyroid stopped working as designed. It probably stopped before that but wasn't discovered until I was pregnant with my son. Since then I've been on thyroid medication and now I'm just about out and don't have any more refills so I need to visit the doctor to get more.

Now, in the States, where I used to live, this wouldn't be so bad. I would make an appointment and go. Easy peasy! But now I live in a part of Canada where you are assigned a family doctor (I don't know if the rest of Canada is that way). We moved here a year and a half ago and we're still waiting for a family doctor. While we wait, if we need anything, we just go to the walk-in clinics they have around the province. That wouldn't be so bad except there are a LOT of people with no family doctor, so they go to the clinics too. And as these are walk-in clinics, you have to go line up and wait if you want to get a decent time to see the doctor. If you arrive too late you are out of luck.

Again, this wouldn't be such a problem except for today. Today apparently the sky gods have not been appeased correctly and they are taking revenge on us for it. The current temperature is -19C with a wind chill of-33C. Now, for those that use F, that's damn bloody cold. How cold you ask? -2F with a wind chill of-27F. You're probably thinking oh, that's not that bad - and you're wrong! It is bad, especially if you have to stand outside a pharmacy waiting for it to open so you can get in line to see the doctor. And where the place is located is right on the water, so it is extremely windy and feels even colder, although it probably isn't. So, yeah, I'm not going to the doctor today. Because I enjoy not being a Popsicle.

So far I've found the Canadian health care system to be pretty good. The lack of doctors where I live is a bit of a challenge, but we did manage to get the doctors we need for my daughter, even if one of them is in Halifax. The rest of us have been fairly healthy, so we'll keep patiently waiting for a family doctor and go to the walk-in clinic when needed. Except when it's colder than hell out there. Then we'll wait for the next day when the wind chill isn't quite so bad.

In the meantime, I will stay inside and enjoy the sunshine streaming in the windows and get to stuff around the house that needs doing. The kids' rooms have gotten a bit out of control, so I will begin there. There are Christmas presents strewn about the house that need homes and old toys that need to be packed up to be donated. And I have a resolution to finally block the finished knitting projects that are sitting in the office, so I will get to those today. So while I'm not doing what I need to do today, I will accomplish something productive. Or else I'll just crawl back into the pile of blankets on my bed and hibernate to the sound of 80kph gusts slamming into the house. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes. Until then, have a great day!