2016 – And So It Begins …

The new year arrived quietly and without any excitement. Neither Nat nor myself get excited about the celebration. We leave that to the younger ones now. We’ve had our days in the past of celebrating with friends and family, especially Nat, but it’s come full circle now and our bodies can only endure the “midnight kiss” if we can stay awake that long!

Once 2016 was upon us, we continued on with our same old routine. I’m trying desperately to get back to my usual exercising routine before I took a few days off for the holidays. A few days obviously turned into more than a week and with that, the old body was starting to become stagnant and lazy. I had to find some discipline somewhere. I’m now hopefully back on track.

Nat’s birthday celebration was spread over a couple of days. The kids all came over on New Year’s Day for brunch – roast chicken, cold cuts, kaisers, pasta and green salad, with cookies and tea afterward. It was really nice to have everyone in the same room at one time, which does not happen often anymore. The grandkids all have jobs now and working out schedules have become nightmarish. Lucas was the only grandchild that couldn’t make it to Papa Nat’s birthday because he had to work. At least Nat enjoyed the day which was my No. 1 priority. As for his usual birthday dinner, we made reservations at a new place we discovered, Queen Charlottes’ Tea Room, on Main Street in Niagara Falls. A small two-storey home with a few tables spread throughout the main floor. They serve High Tea, lunches and suppers and everything is homemade on the premises. The menu was authentic British food – Bangers & Mash, Shepherd’s Pie, Steak Pie, Blood Pudding, Chips (hand-cut and humongous wedges) along with fresh Scones and a variety of sandwiches served up with an assortment of teas from around the world and a few British “sweets” imported directly from the Mother Land. We both agreed we would return. It was a lovely, quiet evening.

Our next adventure was Nat’s appointment – after a 9 month wait – to see a Back Specialist at The Trillium Centre in Mississauga. With our dumb luck the appointment was for 8:15 AM – an ungodly hour at least for me. We both had to be up, dressed and on the road by 6:30 AM in order to make the drive along with every other “commuter” in the area.  We relied on GPS to get us there and  once we arrived and saw the Doc (which only took about 10 minutes) we were back on the road by 8:30 AM. So much activity for such an ungodly time of day!! We were home around 10:00 AM and couldn’t believe we still had the rest of the day to fulfill. Hell, what were we going to do with all that time!!!! I know! Let’s just sit and relax after such a tense ordeal driving the Queen Elizabeth Highway with it’s erratic truck drivers, speeding youngsters in their up-scale fast cars, commercial vans, regular commuters and older folks trying to maneauver around all that turmoil. Nat’s hands never moved once from the steering wheel until we drove into our garage!

A few days later, it would be my turn. The cyst under my arm decided to flare up again. It had been sitting in wait since May of 2014 and I guess it got pissed off about something as the same God awful purply lump flared up and I knew I’d have to have it drained. Thinking I would go through the same thing as 2014 (having my Doc drain and bandage it) I made the appointment but was surprised when she felt the lump wasn’t as big this time as last. She advised I should go home, apply hot compresses and antibiotic cream four times a day until this “alien” (as I call it) deflates and clears up. I would then return for another assessment and discuss the possibility of actually having the cyst surgically removed for all time. Sounded good to me!

As I write this posting, my little alien friend has deflated to the point where it’s flat but still a bit bloody and sore. The skin broke from the hot compresses and my loving, reliable hubby has been tending to my arm for the past couple of days. We’re nearing the end, thank God. For the hot compress, I filled a tube sock full of kidney beans so Nat could soak it in Epson Salts and water, heat it up and apply to the lump. However, that bloody sock (no pun intended) is starting to get a little stinky from those beans being heated up so often. With each application I can smell the beans (which I abhor). So, naturally, having Nat just apply the antibiotic cream and a dressing is a refreshing change. At least I’m in the home stretch now. As usual, I’m anxious to get back to a normal routine. I’m thinking if the cyst is surgically removed my arm I will be “laid up” for a day or two.

For the most part 2016 has been coming in with just a small gust of wind,  instead of 2015 where a storm brewed for six months. Let’s hope this small gust of wind will keep any storm clouds from moving in the rest of the year.