YEAR IN REVIEW

This is my yearly review letter. I do one each year to send with my xmas cards...as they have all now been recieved I am sharing on my blog...Happy New Year!


Another year has flown by. I hope this letter finds you all well and ready for the next one. As for us, things are good. We have enjoyed our new home for over a year now. That's enough time to know we love it and it's also far from perfect. Takes a year to figure out what needed fixing and where ones priorities should be. I will concede that a spa ISN'T a priority, spending a $1000 repairing the existing irrigation system IS...although I could still enjoy a spa and water the lawn from said spa using a bucket, but that's just me. I am thinking the spa idea may float back to the surface in a few years....shhhhh. There is an existing list of improvements to deal with until then. Thankfuly, only cosmetic in nature. As I'm thinking of it, I have started an adjacent list for cosmetic improvements on myself, a wish list of sorts...I wonder if spackle comes in skin tone? Now that would be a 2 for 1 deal if I ever saw one!

Just like a GPS can unexpectedly take you to a warehouse full of prostitutes and drug dealers, life has a way of throwing us curve balls. I recently got one of those myself but the ball was thrown directly at my sternum. I had major chest & back pains. Found myself rushing to hospital in an ambulance. If I wasn't in so much pain, it would have been a lot of fun. Suffice to say that after ruling out the worst it was figured out that my gallbladder has been making its own gem stones. Now, under normal circumstances I could actually appreciate this, as I love making jewellery but some warning would have been nice. Kind of scary thinking our bodies can have symbiotic reactions to ones hobbies...remind me never to take up Shot-put!

Over the year I got on the workout wagon. Yes that wagon has heavy duty chucks. I was very consistent and actually developed some good muscle tone. Lost a few inches here and there but my weight hardly budged. My fat cells are hanging on for dear life. Frustrating to say the least, especially as month after month, I hated every minute of it more and more. Those who say they started to love it are all on drugs. In the past month, since my gallbladder episode my workouts have gone on hiatus. My body is in negotiations with my brain to get me back for another season with promises of better scheduling, less work, and a big raise in results. My brain still isn't buying it. My get up and go, got up and left. I think its sitting on a beach in the south of France somewhere. Thankfully I'm not worried, it will eventually makes its way back to make sure I get back on that wagon.

In other news, Mahault, Chris' daughter is living with us and in her 2nd yr of college doing very well. Cleo has graduated college (CJEP Lionel Groux) in arts. One of her art projects was chosen to take part in a province wide contest/exhibition. Having been chosen, the school payed for her to take part in the weekend long exhibition and workshops in central Quebec. She didn't win but had a terrific time. More for the partying aspect then educational of course! Put college students from all over in one place for a weekend and see what happens! I can just be thankful she made it back in once piece!

At the end of her college yr, she was also chosen with 5 other artist to display many of her works in an Art Gallery in St Therese the city that's home to her college. She then applied to UQAM (University de Quebec A Montreal) and Concordia University in Sceneography which is a 3 yr bachelors program that covers everything in arts/theatre from designing costumes, sets and graphics to building, sewing and producing everything. They only choose 20 students per year out of hundreds from all over. We were thrilled when Cleo was chosen by both schools, giving her a choice. She started at UQAM this fall. With the workload at school, her job and having to work on productions till all hours, a big change is near. She has been commuting with the public trans system. It's not cutting it so we are looking into finding her a small apartment in Montreal. It will be a new adventure for her and very different for me. The sprouting of wings! The big step! The transition into responsibility! The realization that my baby will be leaving her crap all over floors, doorknobs and counters SOMEWHERE ELSE! It's emotionally overwhelming just thinking about it. Needless to say, we are proud of her and hope to get her nicely set up before the next term starts in January.

Living near Montreal means that most people commute for work. Montreal is an island so traffic always backs up at all the bridges. So even though Montreal is only aprox 30 mins away, someone who needs to be at work at 9:00 am would have to leave by 6:30 am. Yes, it's ridiculous. Chris worked in Montrealfor the past 6 yrs, it took him 45 mins to get there. He applied and got a new job just 10 mins away! We are thrilled! He’s still a supervisor in a chemistry field but no longer in pharmaceuticals. It's such a gift to be so close to home for so many reasons. I don't have to wait an hour for milk, or bread or if I need him to open a jar for me, after I got it lose first (you know how that works). Not forgetting the savings in gas and wear and tear on the car. OH! and Chris being home a lot earlier of course! To top that off, Chris has gone back to University 3 nights a week! He wants his Industrial Project Management certificate so the deal was no keggers or bringing home pretty young students to do homework! So far my smart ass has top marks in both classes. Good thing his ego is brought back to reality when he gets home to his wife LOL!

We still have our three clients living with us. Luc, Jean-Pierre and Raymond. All doing well, regardless of their handicaps. I think it's far more challenging dealing with two college/university students then three mentally & physically handicapped adults! Granted Luc is blind, wears diapers, moans and manages to move his chair and the kitchen table across the room most days. J-P is almost blind, likes to hum out loud while wearing his radio headphones, not a pretty sound let me assure you, I think a couple of cats in heat on top of a broken violin would be preferable. Raymond has to be reminded that he can let the snow actually land on the ground before shovelling it all up! He’s the same with the rake in fall...the leaves don't have the time to hit the grass, he has them in the bag before you know it! Life can be called interesting in our house to say the least!

So there you have it. Another year in review from our house to yours. We wish you all a terrific Christmas and New Year’s season. Thinking of you all as we look forward to a new year, new adventures and new experiences.