Last week of December

The last week of December...off today but worked on collating the Fitness Tax Credit for Wings for most of the day. I do go into work on Wednesday for the New Years Eve Bash but besides that I am spending the week trying to organize a few things for the new year. I am not going to make resolutions because more often than not, they always lead to frustration. I do know that there are a number of key things that need to change and in order to accomplish goals there has to be some plan put into action. I am going to give some thought on how I need to prioritize my 2009 objectives.
Yesterday, we spent a few hours with Sharon and family. Tino had Giovanna over and it was nice to visit with her. When Sharon's dad came in, it was heart-breaking to see how desolate and lost he appeared. He drank two glasses of beer and it didn't really seem to change anything... well, how can it? The service is set for Saturday since Karen is flying in on Friday. The older cousins will rally together and get alot of the arrangements taken care of. Stacey is organizing a Team Francine for Jan 25 - Walk for Memories and I got Darcy and I registered for that. I will try and let people at work know that I am doing the walk for Sharon's mum and if they feel they want to support it, it's a good way of doing so. Anyway, on the outside, Sharon seems fine but Tino told me that she hasn't had her meltdown yet and he is sure it will be coming. She has a ton of support and she is very fortunate for that.
This afternoon, I finally took the opportunity to stop by and visit Kari. Always worried if she is not feeling well or sleeping...just took a chance and called to say I would come by in an hour. I stopped at this little florist owned by a petite chinese lady and got a simple bunch of flowers...well I liked the pink stargazer lillies and carnations and cedar in it anyway. Ray was busy cooking dinner. We had a couple of drinks and it was great to see her...she really had quite a harrowing experience and luckily everything worked out...it could have been fatally bad. She is a very lucky girl! We didn't stay too long so that she could eat and rest.
So, its a very chilly night...oops here's Chrissy...she drove her car today for the first time in weeks and now she is back saying that its treacherous out there and if Darcy can drive her to work at 6am tomorrow morning...he has been her driver for the past 2 weeks it seems! Glad that she knows when its dangerous to be on the road!!!

Messy slush

Caiti got the last seat on the 1:00 p.m. bus back to Kelowna this afternoon...her suitcase weighed a ton. She has to work at midnight tonight so she had to get back. It was nice having her home for this very strange Christmas that we had. Chrissy and Sheldon skytrained it to Metrotown and probably wished they had not since it was crazy busy. Darcy and I were craving something different to eat like a Moderne Burger on Broadway...Darcy just wanted to drive around in the slush I think. The burger and fries were very good and hit the spot after having had turkey etc.
The roads were a mess with huge puddles everywhere. But the worst was just coming into our complex. We were stuck for 15 minutes just trying to get in. We would make sure we go as far to the side and hoped everyone would cooperate and take turns but of course not everyone was so obliging so it caused a bit of a mexican stand-off ahead of us. With the 4-wheel drive we were going up the snow banks to accomodate everyone. After that frustration, we came home to find out that Speedo had an accident so I was on clean up duty..YUCK!!! Sheldon and Chrissy are trying to dig out her car from under all the piles of snow. So, here goes another day of my vacation....another quiet TV evening I think for us.

Boxing Day

The snow returned today but only until the heavy rains descend upon us causing flooding I am sure. Sharon phoned me yesterday to give us the sad news that her mum had passed away at 5:27 p.m on Christmas day afternoon. We all know that it is a blessing since she was really suffering and the quality of her life had deteriorated so rapidly. Alzheimer's is a very encroaching disease and truly you feel that the person you know slowly slips away in front of your eyes. Sharon is such an incredibly strong person even in her grief she was already thinking ahead.
Chrissy had to work today so we dropped her off because the snow is back and her car is still buried deep. My glasses were ready so we had no choice but to head to the insanity of the mall to pick them up.
WOW...can I ever see clearly. It did not take me much time to adjust to the progressive lenses and since I do so much reading it was wonderful to be able to read so well. It did cost a fortune. I am back to the eye specialist in February for more testing on my early signs of glaucoma due to abnormally high ocular pressure....however, its a good thing that the optometrist caught on early enough for maybe something to be done about it.
We had T & T boxed lunch this afternoon which was a nice change from the turkey and the other seasonal type of food. Caiti has to go home to Kelowna tomorrow as her work schedule beckons. A few more days off for me but just not motivated to get much done. My thoughts with Sharon at the moment...and hopefully something I can do for her...although I have not seen her or spoken to her in such a long time as she spent every possible moment the past few months with her mum in the hospital. Dinner...hmmm...what shall we have tonight?

Merry Christmas

We made a change in tradition...cooked the turkey dinner yesterday...so today was a hassle-free day for me anyway. Time for us to make some changes. Being a very frugal year, Santa only had a few items in stockings and no presents under the tree for this year. We had leftover turkey for brunch and this afternoon spent it at the movies...we all love the movies so it was a perfect family activity and we usually always do a Christmas movie but this time on Christmas day...it worked like a charm. We went to see Marley and Me...I loved the book by John Grogan. We enjoyed it because we are a dog family and we love our dogs. There was not a dry eye amongst us...more than anything this movie was about life and how life happens whether you have a "plan" or not and you never know what unexpected things occur but you always have the love of your dogs and your family.

So now we are home settling in a for a quiet night at home...having chicken wings and caesars and chocolates.

Christmas Vacation

It is still snowing...Christmas is a very quiet time at the community centre as everyone is spending time with family so I am off now until Dec 31 when I go back for our New Year's Eve bash counting down to Athens time. It is still snowing this Christmas Eve. James drove back to Kelowna only to find out his flight was cancelled and so he is enroute on his way back down hoping to catch his connecting flight back to Ottawa for Christmas.

We went to Helga's last night as we have done for the past 10 years this time on Dec 23 as she is off to White Rock with her Grandkids for Christmas Eve. Dave brought me my "blue" drink in my pineapple as tradition dictates.
Thank goodness Kari is home for Christmas...just got word this morning...so her ordeal in hospital and her cruise vacation cut short, at least she she home now welcomed by the snowy weather.
Planning to cook my turkey tonight as opposed to tomorrow so that we can do nothing tomorrow! We had plan to go see Marley & Me since its opens tomorrow switching our traditional Christmas Eve movie to Christmas Day hence the switch in dinner plans.

Snowy Sunday afternoon

Yes..it is begining to look alot like Christmas! Snow is falling and its so pretty and I simply love the snow! Caiti and James surprised us by coming home a day earlier. I was at the festive line dance at work and did the entire event on my own which was busy busy! Tonight a whole crew will be coming over...we have a prime rib roast to celebrate Sheldon's birthday. I have sort of tidied the house somewhat but in such a small space and so many people for Christmas its a little challenging to have it perfect!!

Santa photos for the woggies

Here's Speedo, Sheba and Ben having their photo with Santa at Christina's work. It was quite a challenge getting all three to cooperate but they did it. Hopefully the photos from the actual photographer will look better than my quick stolen attempt.

They are such a funny bunch of doggies and they have taken over the whole house and we are quite the doghouse!
For years we wanted to have a dog and we waited until we moved out of the condo so that we could and within 5 years we ended up with 3 of them. They are the best pets and they provide so much love and though they can be a lot of work and sometimes they restrict our freedom to go places but they are part of the family.

The freeze

We were supposed to get snow yesterday but there were just a few flakes and nothing really stuck except on the local mountains that look beautiful. I love the chill in the air as there is something very fresh and crisp but when you have blowing winds as well...its maybe a little too cold for words. We took the dogs to the off-leash and in less than half and hour we were pretty frozen. Well...its two weeks to Christmas and we are still in our holding pattern with no plans to do much except keeping things simple. Chrissy is having a difficult time with a very loopy store manager who is behaving badly towards all the staff at the store so she is contemplating looking for a new job elsewhere. She still has the choice of going to Douglas in Jan but more and more she is looking to take advantage of the free upgrades to better marks. She is taking Biology 12 again to improve the grade she graduated with and thinks she will take chemisty and the difficult math as well because she is leaning towards a career in the medical sciences area like Caiti. The time off from school has been a great thoughtful process and I would tell other parents that taking the time to contemplate and make choices after high school is not a bad idea if they don't really know what career path to take. With the cost of education so high, it is a wise move so parents don't need to feel that post-secondary is totally out of the picture should the decision to take some time off be considered.
Caiti wrote her last exam but will work as much as she can before she heads home next week for Christmas and then back to work after Boxing Day.
Work has been a little stressful with some very tense times with the situation at hand. I do not envy Helga having to deal with things. My anniversary of moving down to Glen Pine is also coming up on Dec 24...how this entire year has flown by.

Mammogram madness

Every year for the past 4 years or so, Joanne books an annual mammogram appointment for us...me and Lori. She tries to bribe us with a sushi lunch after. So today was the day we all went to the screening clinic and one by one we got our mammaries squished and tortured through the machine. Discomfort and pain is only temporary and its all for good so we should actual thank Joanne for keeping us "abreast" of our health. We didn't have a great deal of time to spend on lunch but still it was a nice perk!
It is December, already hitting mid-December and still nothing to celebrate as yet for Darcy ...it would be the best Christmas gift ever to be back on track but who knows. It will be a very quiet time for us...no conspicuous consumption, no splurges and festive frenzy. With the economic downturn, everyone is cutting back I would think.
So...a few special events at work and then time off to relax at home and do nothing. Caiti should be home on the 21st and at least we will all be together for a week or so. The Christmas lights are up outside and we still are in debate mode about a tree...we shall see.