Some Good News and Some Sad

Greetings, on the last day of 2008. Hope all is going well for my readers.

First, the good news. My baby brother Donald (3 years younger than me) had a major surgery on December 29th to repair a very badly torn rotator cuff. According to his wife's email, he is doing well, but I'm going to call him later today or perhaps tomorrow... our schedule today is a bit tight. He was lucky to get this surgery done as in the Canadian system, there is often a long back up for these procedures. Fortunately, he got some great assistance in this matter through his neighbor, who happens to be an orthpedic surgeon. I'm hoping Donald's recovery is fast and that they will get the opportunity to be Snow Birds in a warm climate soon, as they had planned.

The sad news... I just learned this morning when I opened up my email that my Nova Scotia cousin Anna's husband Bep passed away on December 29th. I was so sad to read this. He was a wonderful gentleman, and clever and humorous as well. I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet him on my two trips to Nova Scotia over the past six years. In fact, on the first visit, I was a guest in his house for the whole time. I send my deepest condolences to my cousin Anna, and all of my Nova Scotia relatives who all knew him.

Meanwhile, I got such a kick out of finding out from one of my Garry cousins who reads this blog that her mother, my aunt, prepared the same dessert that I did for Christmas. Sex In A Pan! I made mine in a large pie pan rather than the 13 x 9 pan as instructed, and it turned out very well. It is layers of stuff like cream cheese, whipped cream, chocolate, vanilla, all in a nutty crust. I know I'm going to make it again!

I had a medical exam yesterday, because I want to get another life insurance policy, and I think all went very well. A nurse in my own home did an EKG, drew blood, took urine samples, blood pressure and even dragged out a scale for me to weigh on. That last bit is probably the only thing that was higher than normal! Because I have a pacemaker and Parkinson's, I had been told that it was not possible for me to get more life insurance, but my agent checked, and that information is incorrect. We'll see if the price they charge is worth it or not..

Today I think we are going to be taking Emily's kids to see Bolt while she is working but that has not been decided for sure. Since our house cleaner, Mike, will be here, it will be easier for him if we leave the house, so that's why we might do it.

Tonight, we may join some other friends for dinner at McCormick and Whatever (lol) but we were a little late deciding this, so we might not be able to add ourselves to the group. We'll find out when management comes in later this morning!

The time is flying by rapidly as my second knee replacement approaches. Yes, I am nervous, but not as much as I was the first time. Hopefully!

See you all in 2009.