Another Anniversary

Following closely in the footsteps of my wedding anniversary is the first anniversary of my Dad's death. His collapse actually occured on my anniversary, but it was Dec. 30 when the life support machines were turned off. I can't believe it's been a year already. I know my Mum, who is still staying with us here in Zurich, my sister Lindsay and one of my brothers, Martin, will be reliving that day in their minds: the hours in the hospital, the waiting, the eventual decision to turn off the machines... I was blissfully unaware of all that and of course I feel bad that I wasn't there with them, enduring it with them and saying goodbye to Dad.

It's weird, but the night that my Mum called to tell me Dad had had the heart attack, I was awake. It was just about 2 the morning and something had woken me up, before she even called. I like to think I knew something was happening. And then last night, I had a really hard time falling asleep and was really restless. At 2 AM again, something woke me. Dad's spirit perhaps? Mum and I have been doing lots of walking while she's been here and have both been sleeping like logs, but last night both of us couldn't sleep.

I'm going to go light the candle I have by my Dad's picture. I always have a scented candle there and we call it "Grandpa's candle." He's got a chocolate-scented one at the moment.

I miss you, Dad.

# 16

Congratulations to me and Andy for celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary today. Quite an accomplishment in today's world of high divorce rates, if you ask me!

A CHRISTMAS POEM BY WHY

A few days before Christmas and all through the house,
Yvette was a-cleaning with help from her spouse.
She dusted and vacuumed, her house sure looked fine,
She tidied and straightened, her windows did shine.
New curtains were up, new towels were hung
In the bathroom, all clean, her praises be sung!
The ironing is finished, the cookies are baked,
The guineas are clean, the yard is all raked.
For today is a special day, it's finally here,
My mummy is coming to spend the New Year!
And Christmas of course, we can't forget that,
In fact, at this moment, in a plane she is sat.
I can't wait to see her, I've missed her alot,
To live far apart is not easy, it's not.
I can barely sit still while I'm waiting to go
To the airport to get her, time moves too damn slow!
At five after one, her airplane is due
I hope all goes well, I'm sure she does too!


And that's the extent of my poetry skills at 7:30 in the morning. But I just had to share that my mother is coming to visit and spend the holidays with us. This will be the first Christmas she's spent away from home, the first Christmas my Dad is not with us, and the first time we've been together at Christmas since 1996. I'm really looking forward to having her here. She's had a rough year since my Dad died and I haven't been able to help, so I'm looking forward to taking care of her and spoiling her.

JUST TO MAKE YOU FEEL OLD

Here's today's bit of useless trivia: Happy Birthday to actor Don Johnson, who turns a whopping 57 today. FIFTY SEVEN! My guess he's not running around sockless in white "slacks" and a turquoise T-shirt. I think corduroy pants and a woolen vest would be more appropriate at his age. I've been thinking a lot lately about how the idols of our teenage years (please let me point out that Don Johnson was NEVER an idol of mine) are getting on in years. Yesterday I realised that the boys from Def Leppard (one of my all-time favourite bands) are all in their mid-40s. Scary.

The Snowflake Game

Continuing with the Christmas theme because really, what else is there to talk about in mid-December, here's some more holiday fun and games. Check out the following website, where you can make your own snowflakes. More fun than you can shake a stick at! Apparently, for every snowflake created, the company Popular Front will increase its donation to the Salvation Army (an organisation close to my heart. Or should I say "closetomyheart"). I don't know if it's actually true, but hey, it's a bit of fun! And fun is so hard to come by...

www.popularfront.com/snowdays

ADVENT WREATH

Last week I made an Advent wreath. Every year, some girlfriends and I get together and make them. Last year it fell on the day when Kolina had her accident and knocked her teeth out. This year there were only 4 of us doing it, so we didn't rent a hall. Instead we met at my friend Claudia's house and spent an enjoyable evening being creative. This is the result. You can see more detailed pictures on my Flickr page.

THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS: A QUIZ

As it's December 1st today, the meteorlogical start of winter and in my view, the beginning of the Christmas season, I brought down all my Christmas stuff from the attic. Got the Advent calendar up, the Advent wreath (made by moi and to be featured here soon) is ready to light on Sunday, my Christmas cards are addressed, etc, etc. I came across my book and DVD of The Grinch. You have to understand that these items were purchased for ME - I just love the Grinch! I was thrilled when I came across a Grinch quiz on the Internet. This deals with the Grinch TV movie, not that sorry excuse of a remake starring Jim Carrey.

I scored 90% with one wrong answer. How'd you do?