Cancer Selfies

Remission List old

Up until I woke up from HIPEC surgery, I had kept a mental list that, depending on if I was talking about going to a place or seeing an old friend, I called either the Remission List or the Reunion Tour. Now its a list of things I want to do and weird whims I've had.

I will not complete everything on this list. The point was never to complete everything on the list. I believe you always depart the world of the living with mounds of things you'd like to have done. The point is to do as many meaningful things as I can, and to do as many of them as possible with the people that matter.

I believe in the concept of capital R regrets and small r regrets. This is a list of small r regrets, things I'd have gotten to if time allowed, but that I've never lost a moment worrying about. I don't think I have any capital R regrets left at this point.

The List Formally Known as the Remission List

Suggestions from the Blog

The List

  • Listen to the Peace Tower Carrolion

    An early cancer fixation of mine was Carrolions, had the traffic of southern Ontario not been so intimidating to my recovering self I'd have been able to listen to some of them. As it stands, they are a category of interest that got sidetracked for my adventures in weird stuff in small towns, which is probably a better fit for me.

  • Carillion: Eglise St. Jean Baptiste (Ottawa)

  • Carillion: Soldier's Tower, University of Toronto

  • Carillion: Exhibition Place, Toronto

  • Carillion: Metropolitian United Church, Toronto

  • Carillion: Cathedral of Christ the King, Hamilton

  • Carillion: St George Anglican, Guelph

  • Carillion: Rainbow Bridge, Niagra Falls

  • Carillion: Norfolk Country War Memorial

  • Carillion: St Joseph's Oritory of Mt. Royal, Montreal

  • Carillion - Netherlands Centenial Carillion, Victoria

  • Visit all the stops on the Trent-Severn Waterway

    Sitting on the couch during my surgical recovery period, I spent a lot of time watching live cameras of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence seaway. I never made it to any of those locks, but I did become enamoured with the locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Throughout my fall adventures I let the locks guide my way. I'd have never visited the lovely Fennelyn Falls or Bobcaygeon otherwise. The desire to see odd locks eventually lead me to Huntsville, and its wonderful Group of Seven murals.

  • Toronto Zoo (2023-08-16)

  • Toronto aquarium

  • Royal Ontario Museum

  • Art Gallary of Ontario

  • National Art Gallary

  • McMichael Canadian Art Collection

    Home to many of the works of Tom Thompson, Emily Carr, the Group of Seven and Benjamin Chee Chee (the artist who painted the three goose design that I have on everything). I broke a tooth and got what will be my only speeding ticket on this trip, and it still remains a highlight of my cancer eon.

  • Thornbury Antiques

    So many trips with Lilly, a truly excellent antique/junk store with the right mix of weird trash, collectables and weird art.

  • Sandford and Son Emporium, Barrie (2023/09/02)

    With Lilly, with Joe, Sandford and Son was the most special of these places, in possession of the best stuff, with pathways that seemed to change every time you visit. If there is magic to be found anywhere in the world, it is here, in Lilly and my green room, where the selfie light is alwayse perfect, yet strange.

  • 400 Marktet and Roadshow Antiques

    A warehouse of the most beautiful junk, but perhaps too organized for the deeply chaotic minds Lilly and I possess to properly enjoy. Still, though, home to the most beautiful telephones I've ever seen, and, friends, you know I keep track of these things.

  • Highway 11 Antiques (2023/09/15)

  • Southworks Antiques, Cambridge

    I don't even know if this place still exists, but it was my first antiquing love and a place spent with countless afternoons with Leslie back in our university days

  • Big Chute Marine Railway, Port Severt, Ontario (2023-08-13)

  • Science North, Sudbury (2023/08/06)

  • Science North Imax

  • Big Nickle, Sudbury The oldest and best of the giant Ontario coins.

  • Wawa, Ontario, geese statues

    I've seen these countless times, and was supposed to again on my trip to Alberta. I'll miss them, but, if there's an afterlife, they'll be worth a final visit.

  • Big Apple, Colborne, Ontario

  • Echo Bay big loonie

    The final stop on the final adventure trip I'll ever take. Its not much to look at, but it marks something important for me

  • Elliot Lake, Ontario, big atom (2023/08/06) - by magnification number, this is the largest item on the list

  • Big Joe Mufferaw, Mattawa, Ontario

    • See how many of his friends you can find

  • National Art Gallary spider, Ottawa

  • Cape North Lighthouse, Ottawa

  • Rolphton, Ontario, Atom Statue

  • 3 Cow Statues, Sault St. Marrie - I can no longer find my source on these, but potentially impossible items are fun

  • Jumbo Statue, St. Thomas, Ontario

  • Putt all seven courses at Dinosaur Valley mini putt Sudbury

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  • Giant Gold Coin, Virginiatown

  • The Big Toonie, Cambellford

  • Royal Botanical Gardins, Toronto

  • Elliot Lake Lookout (2023/08/06)

    The lookout holds an extremely special place in my heart. You can see Georgian Bay, my home for nearly a decade, you can see the mighty rock of the Canadian Shield. You can see lakes. You can see my home. If you're a spiritual person, when this is over, you could do a lot worse than to look for me here.

  • French River Trading Post (2023/08/06)

    Touristy, but lots of trinkets and mocasins. Attached to a decent diner style restuaurnt

  • North West Trading Company, Espanola (2023/08/05)

    Extremely touristy, lots and lots of fun junk, plus ice cream

  • Elliot Lake Trading Post

  • Serpent River Trading Post

    This is the one you want to go to. Its got the art, its got the crafts, its got the gifts, its got the art prints. Easily my favourite non food stop on highway 17 (they have food, I've just never eaten there)

  • Play Lotto 649 - I lost, it wasn't particularly fun, lotteries are a scam and a tax on the mathematically illeterate (06 23 27 31 34 43, my unlucky numbers)

  • Meet an opposum

    I think I saw dead ones twice, but that doesn't count. I took so many twilight drives on Balm Beach Road, from Wasaga Beach to Lafontaine, in Tiny, Township, accompanied by my favourite podcasts, trying to make this one a reaity. I saw many a critter, mostly pets, but never my oppossum. Please be kind to them.

  • See a raccoon (raccoon stakeout) - With Joe in Elliot Lake (2024-09-12)

  • See two raccoons at once (casing a joint) With Joe in Elliot Lake, (2024-09-11)

  • See three raccoons at once (looking to start something) Mother and two babies at Balm Beach house, spriong 2024

  • See four racccoons at once(heist imminent)

  • See four raccoons at once (raccoon crime underway)

  • Pet a raccoon (that wants to be pet)

  • See a coyote - With Joe in Elliot Lake (2024-09-12)

  • See a porcupine

    With Joe in Elliot Lake (2024-09-12) - Took us three passes to scare the poor creature off the road, where it was 100% camoflaged against the tarmac. We saved a life that night, and we were happy that it was in service of such a marvelous creature, and one neither of us had any inclinging of even seeing.

  • Meet a corgi

    My mother put this one together. She reached out to the larger community and arranged for someone to bring a corgi to the hospital for me to pet and play with. And then it became so much more. The corgi came with a band, and I got to have a little concert, just for me, on a nice shaded spot outside the hospital. I did not know I was the kind of person who would like that sort of attention, but my mother knows me very well and made sure I stuck around to enjoy it. The whole experience is one of the most special I've ever experienced, and its memory is a powerful mental token I can use to get through the darkest parts of the night.

    Later, I met Minnow the corgi. My cup overflowth with corgwen, and I could not be more delighted

  • Meet a dalmation

  • See a moose

  • See a bull moose in autumn

  • See a black bear

    I saw a baby black bear in spring, 2024. It was the size of Bessie and extremely adorable <3

    Saw another yearling with Joe on 2024-09-12 outside of the Circle K just after we had gotten back in the CR-V with our snacks. Both sides were equally surprised by the encounter, the bear slowly fled back into the wilderness while we bumbled the car after it. Imagine a goofy brass section joyously playing us along, because that was the feel of the situation.

  • See a lynx - It was probably just a feral house cat way out in the boonies, but on the very off chance I got very lucky I am noting here

  • See a fox with a particularly fluffy tail On the way back from the Manitoulin Island adventure

  • destroy the cricket that lives in my apartment 2023 (2023/08/20)

  • destroy the cricket that lives in my apartment 2023 - again (2023/09/08)

  • visit Coldwater museum (so many haunted dolls) (2023/08/13)

  • Locate a profound nonconformity (geology) (2023/08/09)

  • Visit Collingwood Millenium Overlook(2023/08/29)

  • visit Simcoe Country museum

  • Look at the two bridges and fish ladder in Thornburry (2023/08/29)

  • Kirkfield lift lock (2023/08/23)

  • Meet Wiarton Willie

    Traveled with Claire the week before his big day. It was a great outing, althouhg Willie was mostly just a sleepy ball of fluff.

  • Meet Wiarton Willie (statue)

  • Meet Wiarton Willie (other statue)

  • Find a trilobite

  • Visit Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site (2023/08/17)

  • Visit Wye Marsh

  • Visit Saint Marrie Amoung the Hurons

  • Visit Midland museum

  • Visit Tom Thompson Gallary

  • Visit a lighthouse on Lake Huron -Kincardine

  • Visit a lighthouse on Georgian Bay - Victoria Harbour

  • Visit a lighthouse on Lake Superior

  • Visit a lighthouse on Manitoulin Island Little Current

  • Visit Kemble Women's Institute Lookout - With Claire, on Wiarton Willie trip day

  • Visit Irish Mountain scenic lookout

  • Visit a cave and go underground

  • Haliburton Sculpture Forest (2023/09/18)

  • Haliburton Museum

  • Espanola glacial carved bedrock

  • Spanish River rest stop

  • 11 minutes north of the Miner's Memorial, Elliot Lake

    A dark place, where I regularly traveled to see the Northern Lights (failing every time, I had high hopes for the winter that never came from me

  • Bootlegger's Bay Lookout

  • Blind River Visitor Information Centre - See the horrible taxidermy (singular)

  • Mississagi River Picnic Grounds

  • Tally-Ho-Park Iron Bridge, Ontario

  • Round Barn, Sowerby, ON

  • Little Rapids General Store Legendary in the family for their cheese, and worth the trip to me

  • Thessalon Municipal Marina - A fantastic lookout into the big water of Georgian Bay

  • Miner's Cove, Bruce Mines - A small but fantastic little junk store. Made me miss my junk store crew, especially when appraising the haunted dolls.

  • Black Bear Cafe, St. Joseph's Island

    Simply the best lemon square I've ever had the pleasure of eating. In my current state, where everything I eat has to be pumped out, and a two hour drive might very well kill me, this lemon square is so unbelievably good that its worth the risk. Simply how baked goods should be. The butter tarts were as great, but that day in May was all about lemon.

  • Fort St. Joseph National Historic Sight - I really wanted to fire a musket

  • Canadian Bushplane Heritage Museum, Sault St. Marrie

  • Roberta Bondar Statue, Sault St. Marrie

  • Sault St. Marrie Canal National Historic Site

  • Halfway Point of the Trans-Canada Highway

  • Winnie the Poo Memmorial, White River, ON

  • Manitouadge Town Information Stop

  • Terrace Bay lighthouse

  • Terry Fox Maraton of Hope End Mile

    I did not understand the importance of this monument until I made plans to visit it. I thought it was the sort of place a Canadian should visit because Terry Fox is a great Canadian. Its so much more than that. To me, it is a physical representation of the place from which I draw the strength needed to live with cancer every day. When my friends and family complement my strength, wonder where the drive and determination come from, its places like the End Mile.

    When I forced myself out of bed to visit the chemo centre every two weeks, when I swallowed my abject terror, smiled, and climbed onto the operating table, it was in no small part because of places like this. Truely sacred places. While visiting, listen to the wind, if you're lucky you can hear the peel of a bell marking the end of our treatment. Some are lucky enough to be done, some people will need to draw further from this well of strength. And people like me, we join Terry.

  • Goderich Beach

    At the recomendation of a friend, Al, experience a sunset on Ontario's west coast. I missed the sunset, but the daytime view was still worth it.

  • Goderich Circle Square

    Downtown Goderich is worth a look on aerial photographs, and also worth a proper visit if you're in the area.

  • Kincardine lighthouse and museum = the museum was closed, but I got my Lake Huron lighthouse

  • Visit a casino - I visited the Playtime Casino in Hanover because of the restruant was recomended to me (I pass on the recomendation, the BBQ Chicken pizza was quite good). I didn't play and small R regret it.

  • Visit a racetrack The Playtime Casino has a horse race track, and it would have been neat to see a race. I'm still counting it, though, as there were horses doing horse things on the field.

  • Meet a friend at Fordwich Diner

    This one is kind of a cheat, its clear I wrote it after the fact and was not a pre-planned thing. But this lunch was special, a catch up with someone I hadn't seen for a long while and, unintentionally, a trial run on forever goodbyes. A skill I didn't expect to need so soon, but I'm glad for the practice.

    Fordwich Diner is nothing special itself, its just a spot on Google Maps, chosen because it was near enough where my friend lived and far enough from me that the drive would really clear my head. The burgers were good, but nothing to rave about. The fries were fine. I wholeheartedly recomended places like this, they're one of the places where the magic still lives in the world, even if the food is only okay.

  • Check if Mt. Forest is still "High, Happy, Healthy"

    In 2007, I helped organize a scavenger hunt for the University of Waterloo Engineering Society, which included a field trip to the town of Mt. Forest entirely because of their motto of "High Happy Healthy." Sadly, its now "Simply Explore," which is much more boring.

  • Visit Big Bruce the Cow

  • Visit Sauble Beach

  • Visit Owen Sound Maratime and Rail Museumq

  • Visit the Che Chemon in its winter home

  • Visit Rockford Fleemarket, Owen Sound

  • Visit Tobermory

  • Visit Tobermory Big Tub Lighthouse

  • Take the Che Chemon ferry

  • Visit Hogg's Falls in the Beaver Valley

  • Visit Eugina Falls in the Beaver Valley - Eugina Falls is truly spectacular and a must for anyone visiting the area

  • Visit the John Muir lookout

  • Visit the Fredric Banting homestead in Aliston, Ontario You have to book ahead to visit the homestead and museum, but I'm counting it

  • Visit Cookstown Antiques - Another antique trip with Lilly. Cookstown has a nice selection, but is a bit too upscale and pricy for my tastes. I droped drop in every time I'm in the area, though.

  • Enjoy a scotch with the family - A tradition perhaps accidentally started by my grandfather but still maintained to mark important points in time. We enjoyed a Glenlivit 15.

  • Visit the Elliot Lake Miner's Memorial

  • Enjoy every sunset

    Every evening I do my best to stand by the sun facing windows that overlook Elliot Lake (the lake, not the city) with something desirable to drink and watch the sun disappear behind the hills beyond the lake, usually casting the hospice room into firey reds and oranges. On days like today, it gets the crows excited, and there is musical accompaniment.

  • Wade into Elliot Lake

    When my PICC was replaced by a Port-o-Cath, I was supposed to be able to go swimming. And I wanted to go swimming. But my health failed too early, and now I have at least four access points that would need protection from the elements. Wading is the best that was available to me, and it was sensational.

  • Swim in Elliot Lake at Spruce Beach In my present condition, waiding is the best I can do and I am counting it, damnit

  • Swim in Elliot Lake at Spine Beach

  • Swim in Georgian Bay

  • Swim in Lake Huron (main channel)

  • Swim in Lake Superior

  • Swim in Lake Erie

  • Swim in Lake Michigan

  • Swim in lake Ontario

  • Swim at Healey

  • Swim at Nichelson

  • Wade into water at Chapleau Waterfront

  • Buy self flowers - I found a lovely bouquet of pink flowers at the grocery store during an adventure and picked them up for myself. They truly brighten up the room.

  • Watch the leaves turn in Elliot Lake

  • Drive the 108-639-546-17 loop - AKA the Deer Trail Route, popular with tourists. Took the trip with Alicia on August 21s, 2024

  • Visit The Family Tree on Garden River First Nation

  • Visit Gros Cap Bluffs

  • View Gros Cap Reef light station

  • Visit The Trading Post on the north end of Sault St. Marie

  • Visit Terry Fox National Historic Person Plaque

  • Visit Terry Fox Monument and Status

  • Visit Thunder Bay tourist pagoda

  • Visit Kakabeka Falls, near Thunder Bay

  • Photo op at Eastern/Central time zone marker

  • Visit the man eating mosquito at Upsala

  • Stop at the rest stop west of Ignace

  • Visit Max the Moose in Dryden

  • Visit the Lake of the Woods Museum

  • Photo op with Husky the Musky in Kenora

  • Visit the Centre of Canada Park in Manitoba

  • Visit the Riel House National Historic Site

  • Visit the Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park

  • Visit the Cement Cemetery in Winnipeg

  • See Canada's Largest Great Grey Owl in Southport, MB

  • Visit the World's largest Coke can in Southport, MB

  • Look at the east bound halfway tree

  • Visit Seton Provincial Park rest area

  • Visit Discovery Well Monument in Virden, MB

  • Visit the Manitoba visitor centre in Kirkella

  • Photo op at welcome to Saskatchewan sign on Highway 17

  • Rest stop near Broadview, SK.

  • Visit the world's largest red paperclip in Kipling

  • Visit the mini grain elevator in Grenfell

  • Visit Canada's oldest grain elevator

  • Photo op with Mac the Moose of Moosejaw

  • Visit Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum

  • Visit Reed Lake Scenic Lookout

  • Photograph the helicopter weathervane

  • Pay respects at Swift Current Broncos Memorial Site

  • Visit Swift Current lookout

  • Stop at Welcome to Alberta sign

  • Visit Battrum grain elevator

  • Multiple photo ops at Leader, SK, tourist information

  • Visit Buffalo rubbing stone (not sure if this is a unique thing or not)

  • visit The Brooks & District Museum

  • visit Carolside Mosasaur

  • visit Dorothy Grain Elevator

  • visit Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site

  • visit Jewel Mine Historical Site

  • photo op at Drumheller Welcome Sign

  • visit the world's largest dinosaur in Drumheller

  • spend at least a day at the Royal Tyrell Museum

  • eat at the Last Chance Saloon in Wayne, AB

  • visit Horse Thief canyon

  • visit and get lots of pictures from the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum

  • Visit House of Targ in Ottoawa for retro Arcade and loaded peiorogi

  • Order bacon cheeseburger + the works (if the works is your thing) from Lucky's Snack Bar in Spanish, Ontario (they use chicken gravy for their poutine, and its real good, but not traditional, so not required)

  • Visit the Hungry Hustler in Wyebridge, Ontario on Highway 93. The bacon cheeseburer is always a winner, but so is the poutine (beef gravy this time) and the loaoded Newfiew (poutine with boxed turkey stuffing). Fish and chips are also great.

  • Climb to Willisville Peak near Espanola 2012

  • Eat in Little Current

  • Watch the swing bridge swing

  • Visit Little Current Light House

  • Visit 10 Mile Point Trail for souvineers and gifts 2024/09/01

  • Swim in lake Manitou

    The largest fresh water lake on the largest freshwater island in the largest freshwater lake in the world. I dipped my toes in, which counts enough for me

  • Visit Chapleau

  • Visit the Watershead sign / height of land

  • Visit Peace Park in Chapleau

  • Visit the revitalized waterfront

  • Eat at Chapleau Hub - Cafe and Bar

  • Take a selfie overlooking the abandoned (at time of writing) Marmoraton Mine on Highway 7. Look in the rock dumps nearby for cool minerals. Bring a geology enthusiast for best results.

  • Visit the Bankroft rock and mineral museum. Its tiny but has an extremely good collection with everything well described. Geology friend helpful, not required.

  • Visit old CN rock dump to look for nephaline (also available at pay to play sites around, which are a better use of your time, but not how I did my final visit)

  • Visit the Eagle's Nest lookout, pay attention to how rough the land is at the human scale, but at the scale of the horizon is extremely flat. This is the work of glacial action

  • Visit furnace falls on Highway 503, its a pretty little falls with a pleasant picnic spot but ultimately there are hundreds like it along the highways of Ontario, so also find your own spot

  • Visit downtown Bobcaygeon, I ate at Just for the Halibut Taphouse (I got the halibut) and was not disapointed

  • Visit the Kawartha Setter's Villiage

    This was the largest, best kept museum of this type I had the pleasure of visiting. I visited off summer hours, and I expect it would be much more interesting if you avoided that mistake. Better examples might exist, but I happened into this one and they aren't really my thing so I never looked for a better one.

  • Walk the strip in Fenelon Falls. I ended up eating at Lotus Indian Bistro and have nothing but good things to say about it

  • Visit one of Canada's proported smallest jails (mine is in Coboconk)

  • Visit the OPP museum in the horror moviest shirt you own

  • Bring me pictures of the Bog Beast of Bala slams fists J. Jonah Jameson style

  • Take a close look at the photocolage wall in Port Carling

  • Visit the Lion's Lookout in Huntsville

  • Find an amthyst in the wilds of Lake Superior

  • Visit Bannock Point Petroforms in Manitoba

  • Windmill at the Menonnite Heritage Villiage Museum

  • Visit the cememt cemetary

  • Photo op with the Winnipeg the Bear Statue (at the zoo)

  • Visit Louis Reil's gravestone

  • The Eiffel Tower of Montmartre

  • Visit Paperclip Cottage Cafe (Largest red paperclip)

  • Junk metal T-Rex in Saskatoon

  • Cochin Lighthouse

  • Visit Vulcan, see the Enterprise

  • Try a pumpkin spice late - I didn't like coffee until a month ago, but these are damn good

  • Try ice capachino - Also extremely goood

  • find a dark spot for stargazing My spot is near where King's Highway 108 ends at 639

  • Observe the Northern Lights

  • Observe shooting stars Saw many, two extremely clearly, 2024-09-10 with Joe

  • Giant mouth bass at Martin River

  • Try all of James's favourite BeaverTail flavours (not all at once)

    • Killaloe Sunrise (lemon sugar, this is the favourite, the best one, the way a beaver tail should be)

    • Hazel Amour

    • Apple Pie

    • Mehpel

    • Strawberry Cheesecake

  • Try Skyline Chilli (Cincinnati specialty)

  • Have a favourite fatround (Can be real, fictional, a specific animal [ie/ beaver, Jigglypuff, Tika the husky]

  • Visit the lumberjack statue in Iroquois Falls before its too late

  • Martin River Motel Giant Fish

  • Deep river atom statue

  • Schoolhouse Museum on Highway 17 near Deep River (count the haunted dools)

  • Visit a cat cafe