Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Carols, Canadian Medical News, Trump's Walls, Weather, Ants.

Well, well, well. For years I have been irritated by the carol We Three Kings as sung in North America because the final word of the chorus was, from what I was taught, incorrect. Today I decided to check it. Now I find that I was taught incorrectly and the North American words are right.  The difference being the last line of the chorus as I was taught was "Guide us by thy ancient light". Now I have discovered that "Guide us to thy perfect light" is the correct wording. I checked Wikipedia and then I decided to check a carol book I have had forever - since 1953 - and blow me, that is the wording in my Oxford Book of Carols. Now I wonder where I got a different version. I was in the school choir once upon a time, so maybe the music teacher gave us that version. I might say I love real Carols. A lot of the Christmas songs irritate me, but a good, old fashioned carol I always enjoy. I often wish I had heard Matt sing as a boy, he was one of the top boy choristers in England and at Christmastime he used to go from door to door singing. He also used to sing at weddings for the local dockyard and the naval officers. As well as singing in their church. Once upon a time, he made a record, but he doesn't know what happened to it. Such a shame.

Had to go to our doctor's today for Matt to get a refill. She wasn't as busy as usual and had time to talk to us a bit. She had mentioned something before, but today explained that the Liberal government have, I think, passed an act creating an oversight committee in the Health Ministry. The members of this committee are able to visit any doctor and ask to see the patient's files. Basically the intention is to ensure the doctor is following correct procedures and practices, but it means that there will be no confidentiality any more and the doctor/patient relationship will be seriously damaged. From what she was telling us, patients tell their doctors all kinds of things they would not want known elsewhere and their right to privacy would be infringed. This is only a concern of Canadians of course. I was horrified though. Not that I give a hoot if anyone sees our files, but I can imagine many cases where the patients would be really upset. The doctor mentioned things like sexually transmitted diseases, infidelities, mental problems and so on, none of which would people want others to know. I emailed everyone I could think of and also published it on Facebook. I think we need to really protest.

Trump built a wall in Scotland and expected the residents to pay for it. This is actually old news, but there is a newer article in the NY Times showing a huge berm Trump has built in front of someone's home in Scotland because they would not sell him their house.

I might say it is very cold here at the moment, there is a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the doctor's office and I froze in the wind. A lazy one, it went through you instead of round you. We also have plenty of snow which I do hope will hang around til Christmas. We have been spoilt having so much warm weather for so long.

Don't think I have mentioned we have ants, seen them in Matt's bathroom, the kitchen and my computer desk. Didn't occur to me to mention it but happened to go collect mail and the new supers were there as well as the Building Manager. I mentioned ants and was told to put in a work order which I did straight away and there is a pest control guy coming tomorrow. However, typically, I haven't seen an ant since.

I love Sweet Potatoes, unfortunately, Matt does not so I probably will never get to try these.

Chile-Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Give ordinary roasted sweet potatoes a big flavor boost with this quick, Asian-inspired seasoning
mix.

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed (and peeled, if desired), cut into 1-inch wedges or pieces
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
1 Tbs chile-garlic sauce (see Note)
1 Tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp ground white pepper

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.

2. Combine oil, chile-garlic sauce, soy sauce and white pepper in a large bowl. Add sweet potatoes; toss to coat with the seasoning mixture.

3. Spread the potatoes evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.

4. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are tender and browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

Servings: 4

Tips
Chile-garlic sauce (also labeled chili-garlic sauce, or paste) is a blend of ground chiles, garlic and vinegar. It can be found in the Asian section of large supermarkets and will keep for up to 1 year in the refrigerator.

Source: WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Have a great day
 

24 comments:

  1. Medical files should be sacrosanct. I'm astonished that any government would think that's appropriate.

    Those sweet potatoes sound delish. I'll be trying them.

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  2. Hi Jo ... Trump - I read an article - this one
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/donald-trump-scotland-wall.html?_r=0 a recent update ...

    It's appalling anyone can behave like this ... bullies all.

    Good luck with the ants - put out honey and they'll come running for the pest man ... also bicarb and sugar will kill them ... but after pest man has been ...

    Sweet potatoes sound good ... cheers for now - H

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    1. Will check that article later Hilary, thanks. He is certainly a bully.

      I hope the pest man will remove them for good.

      Delete
  3. I have heard professional recordings of songs that had the wrong lyric. I was never sure if the singer forgot the right one or was just trying to be clever.

    We have patient confidentiality laws here. They are so strict and folks get so scared about mentioning anything that I was chastised at a Board meeting for mentioning that a staff member was on maternity leave. Hey, she had a baby and you could pretty much tell she had been pregnant.

    As for the Donald, I think I blogged about that video 'You've Been Trumped' of him building the golf course in Scotland and they show the berm and tell what he did to those families - like cut off the water. He is disgusting.
    I haven't seen ants this season, but last year I read that you can spray with Windex and keep them out. I tried it and it worked. This year I have drain flies so I really need to go pour bleach down all the drains. I think it is because the summer was so warm.

    Love sweet potatoes. I'd make them and tell Matt to just skip that part of the meal.

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    Replies
    1. Turns out I was wrong in this particular instance Denise.

      We have such laws here but they seem to be breaking them with this new idea.

      I must have missed your blog in that case. He is disgusting, you're right. And you've got him for 4 years.

      Windex?? If they come back I will try that.

      Delete
    2. You commented when I posted the video last March, but you, perhaps, wisely put it out of your mind. It was rather disgusting. Oh, gee, I use that word a lot when I talk about him.

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    3. Maybe I did Denise, but it was brought to my attention by a friend who had a NY Times article on Monday. Not surprised you use that word. I can think of worse ones.

      Delete
  4. Your liberal government is playing big brother.
    Maybe the threat of extermination scared away the ants?
    Bummer about that record.

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    1. Don't think they are playing Alex!!

      I think so, still haven't seen any. Yes, it is a pity about the record.

      Delete
  5. Now I have We Three Kings stuck in my head. I have a beautiful version done accapella by a choir and love to play it during the holidays. When it comes to Christmas music, I really prefer classical/choir and 1940s swing. :)

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  6. "but it means that there will be no confidentiality any more and the doctor/patient relationship will be seriously damaged."

    Yikes!

    Yikes on the ants as well. We get them each spring, come the little ones and then in the summer, the real big boys come out. Ack.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, bad isn't it Ivy?

      The ants are teeny tiny, but I am sure they were having a family reunion in the kitchen the other day.

      Delete
    2. Family reunion, lololol.

      Yes, horrible. More and more privacy issues continue. Now when Tim goes to the doctor, he must sign in with his finger print.

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    3. Grin.

      Fingerprint? Never heard of that one before Ivy.

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    4. Yep and if he didn't do it, they weren't going to see him.

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    5. As bad as being a criminal.

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    6. Nutso, this world. Each day, more and more, nutso.

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  7. I think you're right about protecting your privacy. I would think they could provide oversight based on patient responses. If patients don't feel like they're being treated properly, they could file a complaint and then the oversight people could step in.

    We had ants in our first house. We used this liquid ant bait that eliminated them faster than Orkin.

    BTW, A lazy one, it went through you instead of round you...I'm still smiling. Love that description!!

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    Replies
    1. Good idea Liz, a friend would certainly qualify with her doc.

      Interesting we have little bobbles of a clear stuff all over the place so we will see what happens.

      Glad you liked my description of a lazy wind.

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  8. I didn't know this about our medical records. Why do they want to sniff around there now?? Trump is a bully and my hubby and I watched a great show about the making of his golf course in Scotland and how he bullied this one lady. He does very dirty tactics and I just can't stand the S.O.B.

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    1. Oh...I love carols too. I can't stand the wailing of these so called Christmas songs that are played on the radio. They often sound like cats in heat.

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    2. Mainly oversight on doctors Birgit, but they only way they can do that is by looking at patient files - they say. You're right, he is an S.O.B. You are also right about some of the Christmas songs they play.

      Delete