Nothing is small out here

I always buy small eggs, but you can't find them here. Eggs are large, extra large or jumbo. Rifling through the shelves, all I can get my hands on are medium and there are precious few of them. (Weirdly, it takes longer to boil an egg, I'm told because of the altitude.) Same with things like corn meal. A small bag would last me a year, but all you can find out here are cowboy-sized bags.

Food is more expensive here -- especially sea food. And it's usually frozen because, of course, there are no oceans and such around these here parts. Ten feet from our house, beef cattle graze innocently before their slaughter, but tenderloin is probably more expensive than in Ontario. All very mysterious.

Everything is vast here. The fields, the hills, the roads, the beautiful mountains glistening in the distance. I still love Alberta and Calgary.

Remember I ranted about trying to lose weight? Well, low and behold I finally am! The efficient young female doctor I found sent me for a bunch of "baseline" tests -- tests my 80-year-old male doctor back in Ottawa never ordered. His philosophy was, "I just want to get you old enough to see a few grandchildren, then you can die." Seriously, that's what he used to say to me. I used to feel I would be wasting scarce health-care resources if I had the nerve to have a mamogram. What Albertans are complaining about when it comes to health care, I have no idea? Try getting good health care in Ontario! You can't anymore.

By the way, a word about this young doctor. She is very charming and we sit and talk about jewellry, Valentine's Day, flowers and skiing when I visit -- a far cry from visits to my Ontario guy who wanted to know all about our kids.

Not this young doctor. She sent me for a mamogram (now I know why I haven't had one in 20 years, yikes!), a bone-density test and blood tests. "Mrs. Marley-Clarke, this is Dr. F's office. The doctor would like you to come in to discuss the results of your blood tests. But the good news is, everything else is normal."

God, what could that mean? Too much scotch, wine? Ugh. It's amazing how slowly the days pass when you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. But when I saw her she astounded me with news that I had an under-active thyroid and probably had had for years. Oh! So that's the problem. I know you're all laughing up your sleeves because everyone who needs to lose a few attributes it to a thyroid problem. But I actually have one. So, I am now on pills and I am losing weight! Oh joy, oh joy. I now work harder in the pool, thanks to a new eating regime, this motivation and the new more taxing swim set my daughter has assigned me.

Girls, get your thyroid checked fast.