Well it looks like I didn’t get a chance to post my good wishes for Christmas this year. I’ve been a bit busy!  Since our gorgeous trip to Greece, I finally got a diagnosis for my ever-advancing leg and foot problems and had surgery to remove a tumour in my spinal cord. It’s amazing what a small piece of misplaced tissue can do to literally stop you in your tracks. I have been effectively loosing the use of my lower body over the past 4 yrs.

Well, not to worry, it’s all done now and things are gradually returning to normal as I heal.  I am looking forward to being active again and really enjoying my retirement.

In the weeks leading up to the surgery, I kept myself very busy with renovating an apartment Leon owns. We scrubbed and painted just about every surface, changed flooring and countertops, put in a new bathroom and updated all the light fixtures. The apartment is virtually new. It is going up for sale presently.  And it was a fine distraction from my health concerns.

Of course the Christmas season is our current preoccupation. On the Solstice, we invited Leon’s children to come bake cookies for our Danish Christmas Eve dinner. It was a fun day and dinner that I hope will become a yearly event.

On December 24, we entertained 17 family members with a dinner of turkey and ham along with all the accompaniments. Of course, I mostly supervised as I am supposed to be resting and not lifting much for a few more weeks. Lifting a 14 lb turkey out of the oven just wouldn’t do!

Christmas Day was spent very quietly working on a 2000 piece puzzle while sipping bubbly before a dinner of leftovers for just the two of us.  We took a nice long walk in the afternoon and enjoyed the sunshine and snow covered mountains. And mostly, I just enjoyed walking comfortably again.

Looking forward, my daughter and her fiancé are coming for a visit on January 4. I will be happy for some girl time as I haven’t seen her since August. We have a small trip planned to the island to visit some relatives. And you know how much I love ferry rides.

In a few weeks, I hope to get the ok so we can hop into Roadie and make our way south to the Gulf of Mexico. I’d like to visit  the gulf shores from Mexico to Florida as I haven’t seen many of those states. And of course, there will be many opportunities to walk long stretches of beach.

Here’s wishing you all the very best in the upcoming year!

Making Danish hearts as I sat under the blanket recovering last week.