Do you think he really knows it's Christmas??

I was sitting at the computer and heard the thump of a toy hitting the floor.  This always signals that Duffy wants to play Hide and Seek with the chosen toy. I turned around and this is the toy he had chosen--Santa Dog.  It's the only Christmas toy he has, but he hasn't played with it since early in the year. We know collies are really smart and I know Duffy is especially smart!!  Do you think he knows it's Christmas Day and connected this toy to the day? I think so!!

Merry Christmas from Duffy!!

So this is my plan...

I'm going to pretend that this past week is just starting and that we are still 10 days away from Christmas.  That way I have plenty of time to do lots of baking, keep up with the snow shovelling, and enjoy the week.  There will be a tiny glitch in this plan though, because I will be expected to visit my dad on Tuesday--and we all remember how well that went last year!

Why this plan? Because last Sunday I started to cough, and by Monday I had a nasty, awful, debilitating influenza.  I guess it's the flu, because if this is a cold--yikes!!  The coughing has been horrible, almost non-stop at times, has given me sleepless night after sleepless night until a couple of nights ago, and has rendered me so exhausted I couldn't do a thing. The headache, the achy legs, and feeling of malaise are gone now.  But the cough carries on--deep rooted in the chest but causing the throat to be raw, because of all the coughing. I should have 6-pack abs by now from all that abdominal tightening from hacking up a lung and part of the stomach!! Hahaha!! I hear the cough sticks around for a least a month--oh goody! We can become very good friends!! I have lost another 5 pounds too--which is good. I'm getting down to where I want to be--but that's a topic for another post!!

Now if you think I've had it rough, let me tell you about Dave.  So he got some kind of cold, but was getting over that and then went to BC to help out his uncle while his aunt was in the hospital.  He came back with an intestinal bug--in fact it attacked him on the road.  Imagine stopping on the Trans Canada Highway and having to upchuck! Fun!! He got back the day before my birthday but stayed in Olds to get over that bug.  By the time he was feeling better, I'd come down with my bug and we missed his birthday!! Then he got hit with a problem which has been plaguing him on and off since he started getting Avastin shots in his eye--extreme fatigue, shortness of breath.  Many of his symptoms sound like COPD or Congestive Heart Failure.  I've nagged for months about him making an appointment with the Carpenters, but he never would.  He finally did last week and has one Monday morning at 9.  But we've been having snow for a couple of the days, the highway's not great, and with his fatigue, he may not be able to come. Now if he made an appointment months ago? Yeah, well, whatever! I think he needs to get detoxed from the Avastin. Here are some links to read about this delightful drug:
http://www.maculacenter.com/Procedures/Avastin.htm
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/advisories-avis/public/_2011/avastin_8_pc-cp-eng.php
He went to the hospital in Olds 2 days in a row but never got to see a doctor.  There are no more clinics in Olds, so anyone needing to see a doctor has to go to emergency at the hospital. The wait times are unreal. Dave is not the most patient (no pun intended) person in the world, so you can imagine his temper!

So now you can see why I'm having a re-do of last week and having Christmas whenever we can manage to finally have it--and our birthdays too!

I'll leave you with a couple of photos of Jacqueline and I.  It was just the best gift in the whole wide world that she came over for my birthday and I sure didn't want her to leave!! We saw The Hobbit on December 14 at the North Edmonton Cinemas (that's where we were Jane, while you were at South Edmonton Common!!) and I enjoyed it.  Now we have to wait a year for the next installment!!

Celebrating my birthday at a wonderful Persian restaurant called Sabzy Persian Grill. We always went out together for our birthdays--both birthdays often with the coldest temps and snow storms!!  It was so nice to be able to do this again--the dinner, not the cold and snow!!!! I can't wait to take Dave here for our combined birthday dinner!

At Jacqueline's in-law's house. Good color coordination with the sweaters eh??!!

Merry Christmas to all, and may your holiday season be filled with good cheer, good friends, family, and good dogs!!


 

Hey, turning 60 isn't so bad after all...

Especially if you have great friends. XOXO Not everyone could make it from the southern reaches of the province :(

Margaritas and another Diane.

 

A delicious meal of bison delicacies followed by an excellent chocolate cake.

A cute chef comes out to cut the cake for you.

And then comes back to take pictures with you.

You have lots of laughs (and some tears too).

But best of all is a best friend who flies all the way from Perth, Australia on a grueling flight with 2 lay-overs, leaving behind balmy temps of +37 and her 2 little kiddies, to help you celebrate your 60th birthday. Sometimes coming here in early December wouldn't be too bad, but this year we have a tremendous amount of snow and it keeps falling basically every day, and some rather cool temps too. Not fun to have a crash course in trying to adapt to cold weather in 2 weeks!

I am so thrilled and so, so happy that Jacqueline came--this is the most wonderful thing that anyone has ever done for me (except maybe my mother giving birth to me, especially with me being 5 1/2 weeks late!!) Words can't adequately express my feelings. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jacqueline. I love you ♥♥♥♥. I don't want you to leave, you know!

PS We are going to see The Hobbit on opening day here on Friday!! Whoo Hoo!