J&B SHARRATT: December 2017

Well, I have been a little remiss in keeping up my blog in the last six months! I hope I haven't lost too many followers! Since June, life has been so much easier for us and we are just enjoying every day with normal every day activities. Brian has been feeling very good and almost back to normal. He still has a bit of an ache and tingling in his feet and legs at times if he does too much, but overall feels very good. He has weaned himself off of all medication including the Lyrica for his legs but he is going to assess whether he may need to still take that to mask the pain/tingling from the peripheral neuropathy. He still goes for his monthly pamidronate injections (bone strengthener) and our oncologist is now stretching out Brian's visits with her to every three months. So these are all great signs and we hope for a very very long remission now.

In other news, I finally decided to retire in July and resigned from the transcription company I was working for. I still do a bit of work for Breanne, just about 5 to 6 hours over a week, more if she gets behind on her work or has other commitments and I just fill in. It works out well for both of us and I enjoy still being able to dabble a bit with transcription. It was a career I totally enjoyed and worked hard at over 40 years, and it is nice just to do a bit without the stress! Since Brian is better, I have been able to pursue some things that I enjoy, one being finally able to go to exercise classes on a regular basis. I now attend a Jazzercise class about 3 to 5 times a week and am totally enjoying it. I used to go to Jazzercise 30 years ago when the kids were young, and it was Breanne who found out that the same instructor I had 30 years ago was still teaching the classes for adults at Annika's dance school. I totally enjoy the classes, the ladies in the class range from 40 up to 79, and we have a lot of fun and I am starting to feel a little more fit as time goes on! I love the energy that I have now and hope to stick with this for a long time. Some of the ladies in the group have been going for many many years, so I'm happy to feel motivated to do so as well.

I must admit that I love not having my work dictate on what I can and can't do. My work always came first and everything else I worked around it, now I can just do what I want, when I want, even sleep in some mornings without guilt! Brian and I are trying to declutter the house somewhat, still have lots of things we don't need, so now spending the time trying to get rid of it all. I have created a new work space for my "crafts/sewing" and I have purged all my work "junk". It has been a great feeling starting to feel more organized. I am hoping in the new year that I might learn how to quilt, so now with my workspace organized, I feel I can now spend some time trying to make new things. I also have got into doing puzzles (thanks to my dad doing the same thing!). Dad will only do 500 piece puzzles, but I have been borrowing some 1000 piece puzzles from dad's place and doing them at home. I find them very relaxing and I multitask by listening to audio-books at the same time. The local library has a great selection of audiobooks that I just download onto one of my devices. The time passes quickly though, I sometimes can sit for hours at a puzzle and totally forgetting about the time. Love to know that that is okay though, with no other commitments I have to worry about. Isn't that what retirement is all about?!?!

We also had a great visit from my cousin Lizzie and her partner, Christine, from Australia. They came in September and we spent a whirlwind 2 weeks showing them around our little part of the world, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ottawa area and of course a bit of Guelph. Christine even participated in the Pace for the Donkeys fund raiser where we walked/jogged 5K. The weather for the entire two weeks was absolutely beautiful, no rain whatsoever. It was so much fun catching up with Lizzie as it had been at least 30 years since we had seen each other. Now, we have to try to get to Australia one day!

We also took the grandkids (Annika and Selena) for a 3 day getaway to Blue Mountain and had a great time with them as well. There are a lot of things to do there and the girls were just great, they even made their beds every morning! I told them when they are with Nana, beds have to be made and teeth brushed morning and night and I didn't even have to remind them. They were very well behaved and we totally enjoyed doing things with them. They climbed rock climbing walls and ropes, swam in the pools and they absolutely loved the Ridge Runner going down the mountain. It was great fun for the four of us.

Little Levi is doing great. He just turned 3 years old (where has the time gone!). He had a bout with pneumonia a month or so ago which seems to be par for the course because of day care, but after a couple of rounds of antibiotics, he finally got over it. Hopefully, he stays well now for the rest of the winter, fingers crossed, and just gets mild colds and runny noses! David and Jenn are doing well as are James and Breanne.

My dad too is still going strong with no major issues. He is one amazing man for being 95 years of age, going on 96 in February!

I will include a few pictures below of things we have been up to, and I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2018! I will try not to leave my blog so long next time! We are heading to Hilton Head for the month of February, and we are both looking forward to getting away and out of the snow! Love to all! Janet and Brian