Spring fever…

It’s December 23rd and for me, it feels like the Christmas holiday is over and done with. This year, we celebrated Winter Solstice instead.

Number 2 Son Mike was here for a week on his way back to Ottawa after his 3 month stint in Cambridge Bay in the Arctic. He left on Sunday, Solstice Day and we decided that since he was here we would celebrate early. We had our usual Christmas Eve bubbly and nibble buffet the night before the night before Solstice, present opening the morning of the day before, and the roast feast the night before (not turkey). Following that? All that to say, by the 21st, stuffed and lazy, it felt totally like Boxing Day, like everything was over, so much so that when I went out to the grocery store, I was surprised to see the pre-Christmas crowds. Continue reading →

Yesterday morning, really early, well before dawn, we drove through heavy winds and torrential rains – ferry cancelling weather – to an appointment in Nanaimo on the operating table at the oral surgery clinic. Talk about adding stress to stress. This day had been a long time coming – since that time back in September when I bit down on a seed in a piece of multigrain bread and shattered 1-4 below the gum line. The fix – no less than extraction and implant.

As I read the post-op instructions, it seems there’s a list of don’t’s – no smoking (check), no alcohol (oh), only food no harder than the consistency of scrambled eggs for the next week, no chewing on the right side of the mouth for 3 months (a little problematic as I have chronic jaw pain on the left side). The timing is also problematic – after all t’is the season with neighborhood parties to attend beginning Friday and Number 2 Son arriving on Saturday on his way back from his 3 month sojourn in the Arctic. Not for me the treats and delights this year. (Shall I switch gears and consider it a silver lining? That would be too much to ask.)

So here I am, ensconced on the couch, swallowing antibiotics and pain killers, sipping smoothies, surfing and planning the Christmas menu. Mashed potatoes and gravy…