Oh my, another year and I am again
late with my annual Christmas letter. In
fact, I just realized it was December and the calendar already says the 6th. What a year it has been!! I should have kept notes because I know it
was a whirlwind, and I am just trying to gather the highlights as to where to
start. Firstly, I hope that you and
yours are all well and that 2010 was a good year for you on all fronts.
I started the year off with goals. Fitness goals for sure, as I began 2010 with
stitches in my foot from surgery to remove bone spurs from my toes. After enduring foot pain for over 3 years
and inability to walk or jog for exercise, the procedure was indeed a gift. By the end of August I was able to compete in
a 5km race on Bowen, which I came first in my age group for islanders,
finishing in 30.23 minutes. Of course it
is now a dark and dreary December and I have admittedly fallen into the trap of
hibernation so I may be undoing all that hard work and training, which simply means
I start the new year of 2011 off with the same goal!! Ha, ha, my life story!
Chris had good news on the health
front with respect to his Padgets bone disease. He did not need a 3rd
blood infusion treatment this spring and seems to still be coasting along, so
perhaps he won’t need any more.
Unfortunately he sustained an injury late spring from a fall while
walking on a slippery plank. Upon x-ray
of his shoulder it proved to be a deeply ripped tendon, that took over 7 months
to heal. This limited his ability to
take on a lot of work which was very frustrating for him (and us). He had a
very big deck job late summer that took a couple of months, it was a
wrap-around log deck that was rotten and had to be fully replaced, and matched
with the log home. He is now suffering from a stress induced type of plantar
psoriasis on the heels of his feet which he has had for 4 months already, and
the specialists are giving him all kinds of cream to help. They say it will cure itself soon. He says I cause him the stress, but I am sure
it was the complexity of the deck. I do feel bad for him as every step he takes
is painful, and in this winter weather he can’t go barefoot, and the big shoes
and work boots don’t help.
Jake just turned 6 years and is already
sporting a few white hairs on his muzzle, the kitties - Smoke and Gypsy - are
now 4 and continue to keep Jake busy.
Smoke has now claimed Chris as his person, but Gypsy sticks with me.
No significant travels this year. The one trip we did book, a flight to England
in April, was cancelled when the Icelandic volcano blew. Our flight was 2 days after so we had no
choice but to cancel as it was the only time we could both get away. Chris managed a few small trips, first to
Campbell River in June for his grandson Dylan’s graduation, then went on his
annual fishing trip in July (again to Campbell River), but this time he somehow
never even got out on the water, but had a good break. He also went to Victoria
for his nephew’s 40th birthday, and on Thanksgiving he was again
back in Campbell River for his son
Mike’s wedding to Shae. As for me….
well I minded the animals and had a holiday gardening on the property.
The 2010 Olympics were held in
Vancouver/Whistler this year and were a huge fun part of late winter. Driving through town to and from work each
day I made a point of going the Olympic venue route and catching the spirit of
the games and more importantly the energy.
We didn’t attend any of the competitions but were glued to the TV. What a fun time for our city and our
province.
We have added a few more
accessories to the property; a covered boat shed out back, and another storage
shed in front of the workshop. The
latter was necessary because we bought a pool table to go in the workshop, which
meant Chris had to move a few tools out to make room. We now have darts and ping-pong as well as
the pool table – lots of fun!
Visitors were fun and frequent
this year – starting with my good friend Kelli from Dawson
Creek. She came
in April to house and pet sit while we were to be in England. She stayed on even though the flight was
cancelled and we had a great visit. My
nephew and his wife Cal and Carole and their son Brandon spent a weekend; my
friend Barb spent a night, Chris’s brother Richard, his wife Joanne and their
son RJ also made it over this summer, as did one of Chris’s nephews Jordan, my
sister Pat and her husband Terry, and my sister Florence came for a
pre-Christmas dinner/get-together. Our
friends Norine and James also joined us one weekend for steamed mussels and
pomme frittes, and came for a pre-new year’s dinner and night of pool! If your name is missing from this list.. it
means you are due for a visit.
My birthday was fun, we had a
sunny crisp day for mid-November, which I took off from work, and we invited
about 20 friends over in the afternoon for a bon-fire and h’ors deuves… by 7pm, the fire was almost out, it was pitch
black and we were freezing. 6 of us
remained and played pool for a few hours so it was a fun day!
Work continues to be a struggle
for me, partly the workload, pressures
and demands which result in zero job satisfaction because I am bogged down with
busy work and unable to get the important things done. This is compounded by my commuting, early
mornings and never enough sleep. I have
only just realized that the majority of my problems here are from not enough
sleep. Lack of sleep impacts everything
and certainly drains out your energy and leads to procrastination (at least on
my part) and in many cases anger. My new year goal is to make changes to ensure
my sleep is a priority in the new year.
Chris and I ended our new year
with Pat and Terry over for dinner, and more games of pool. Obviously the pool table was a good
investment. So here I am, still writing
this letter, and it is now January 2nd,
2011. See what I
mean??? Where does the time go. I am now on the ferry, on my way to Kelowna
to visit my friend Patti and her husband Jim for a few days. It is a crisp, -5 morning, the sun is coming
up over the mountains and it will be a beautiful drive!!!
It is now January 6th,
and I am back from Kelowna, and
finally finishing this letter. In
closing, I am wishing you a healthy and happy 2011!!! Love to you all, and may 2011 bring you
everything you need and wish for. May
you be at peace, and have wonderful sleeps!
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