Goodbye 2013. A look back.

Welcome to January.  A month named for the Roman God Janus, ruler of beginnings and transitions.  He is usually depicted as having two faces, giving him the ability to look to the future and the past at the same time.  In the same spirit, I am writing a two part post, one looking back at 2013, the other forward to 2014.  Looking back and remembering is not something I frequently attempt, but with the help of Facebook and last year's calendar, I will grease up my brain and give it a try.

January

• We rang out the old year with our good friends Rob and Liana at a buffet dinner and dance at Markham Hilton Suites.
• Bruce started taking classes every Saturday for 6 weeks to prep for writing the PMP exam.
• I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, based on a CT exam I had in December. I started taking 5ASA to reduce inflammation.
• Allyson, Eric and Hannah came from Ottawa for a visit.  We met them at Jason and Sherry's house and had a really great evening.
• I finished my first crocheted teddy bear.
• We celebrated my Mom's birthday at Boston Pizza.  (We gave her the bear.)
• We celebrated our nephew Danny's birthday at Scott and Christiane's place, with the Gasson clan in attendance.

February

• We went to Varadero, Cuba for a week!  My parents, Auntie Ruth, Sarah and I spent a week at Breezes Bella Costa, an all inclusive resort.  Sadly, Bruce could not come with us.  He was still working on those PMP classes, and he would have had to miss 2 out of the 6 classes. 
• I saw live pelicans!
• We went snorkeling and Sarah got sick from swallowing too much salt water.
• I missed spending Valentine's Day with Bruce.  I was in Cuba and he was at home.  I did leave him a surprise gift hidden in the filing cabinet, though.  I texted him the location on the 14th.  We texted a lot during that trip!
• Back at home, later in the month, it was a busy time in Girl Guides for Sarah and me.  We had Thinking Day, International Night and the "Sing, Ontario, Sing" challenge all in the same week.

March

• Sarah and I went to see the Wizard of Oz stage adaptation with the folks from my work.  We also brought her friend Bea.  The girls each got a stuffed Toto to take home.
• During March Break, we had our Guides meeting at the swimming pool!
• We went to an Ostara ritual at our new friends Karen and Evan's house.
• I had a baseline MRI to determine how badly inflammed my ileum actually was, and to be able to compare with in the future.
• We spent Easter Sunday with Bruce's family, after a special clue-trail egg hunt at home.
• The BIG news for March was Bruce's new job as a Business Analyst for TD!!  His first day was March 18th, almost a year after starting at TD in the loss prevention call centre.  I was (and am) so proud of him!

April

• Our Guide unit went to Great Wolf Lodge for the weekend.
• They also had a sleepover at the ROM.
• My in-laws, Al and Sandy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 20th.  They rented a hall and all their family and friends turned out to wish them well and witness them renewing their vows!
• More Guide doings: spring cookie sales at Sears and tree planting in the Rouge Valley.  Busy, busy Guides!

May

• In May, I did a 30 day Paleo challenge.
• We did the annual MS Walk with my Mom and Dad.
• We celebrated our nephew Alex's birthday at Scott and Christiane's. 
• I started seeing a Holistic Nutritionist,  hoping to be able to heal my gut without needing to go on immunosuppresant therapy.
• Our Guide unit participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.  Sarah found the bench from a picnic table!  We also picked up a big bag of cigarette butts.  Yuck!
• We started a short-lived attempt at taking karate.
• I went to an end of the year Guider dinner and met some great ladies.
• Bruce bought a chainsaw and played lumberjack, chopping down a dead apple tree beside our driveway.  I stood by with the phone, dialling 9-1.
• Sarah's school had a fun fair and barbecue.
• We took my Dad (and Mom) out to Swiss Chalet to celebrate his birthday.
• On the last day of the month, Bruce took his PMP exam.  And passed!  The first time! 

June

• Our CSA farm shares started this month and came every week until just past Thanksgiving.  It was a challenge to use up all the veggies, and I didn't always succeed, but we definitely will do this again next year.
• Sunnybrook sent me to Vancouver for the annual Society of Nuclear Medicine conference.  I extended my stay and Bruce and Sarah flew out for a whirlwind vacation.  We saw Capilano Suspension Bridge, Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain.  Sarah really liked the lumberjacks!
• At the end of June, we went to a family barbecue for Bruce's Mom's side of the family.  Sarah yelled a very bad word (or two) at her cousin in front of all the great Aunts and Uncles!
• On the same day, Liana and Rob were hosting a Canada Day party at their new house.  We got there a bit late but in time for the backyard fireworks display!

July

• My Guider friend Karen introduced me to Stampin' Up, a great new hobby for me to spend lots of money on.  Thanks, Karen.
• Sarah and I went to a "mom and me" Girl Guide camp at Wyoka for three days.
• Sarah stayed on at Wyoka for another week, then flew (unaccompanied) to Winnipeg to spend the rest of the month at the lake with her grandparents.
• I attempted to ferment my own sauerkraut.   After a few weeks it got mouldy, and I was too afraid to try eating any.  So I threw it out.   
• Lorraine and I made blackcurrant jelly from the blackcurrants in her backyard.  It was much more successful than the saurkraut!
• We celebrated Lammas with Karen and Evan.

August

• We went camping for a week at Bon Echo Provincial Park.  We went with Lorraine and her boys Ryan and Jake.  Ally, Eric and Hannah were also able to come, but only for a few days.  We bought a huge 3 room tent, thinking Connor was coming, but he had to work.
• The appliances went on strike.  The dishwasher, fridge and air conditioning all broke within a week of one another.  We had to get a new fridge.
• Sarah went to sleep-away horse camp for a week.
• Bruce started a wine kit for December.
• My boss, Yasmin had everyone from work, plus spouses and kids over to her house for a pool party.
• Karen and I went on a singalong cruise around Toronto Harbour with a bunch of other Guiders.

September

• Sarah started grade 6.  She got red highlights framing her face for the first day back.
• I started taking Imuran, an immunosuppressant, despite my efforts at healing through diet alone.
• A small but ongoing leak from the upstairs bathroom caused the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom to collapse.  Not covered by our insurance.
• Celebrated Mabon with Karen and Evan.
• Sarah's Guide Unit did the Shoreline Cleanup again.

October

• I entered some of my crochet projects in the Markham Fair.  I won 2nd place in the baby blanket class, as well as 4th place for my fingerless gloves and chemo cap.
• We celebrated two Thanksgivings, once with the Gassons and once with the Jamiesons.  I cooked a turkey from the farm where we get our CSA shares.
• My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Gordon came for a visit from Calgary.  We went for dinner at Boston Pizza.  It wss great to have a visit!
• Sarah had her 11th birthday party at Forsythe Farms.
• Karen and Bea took Sarah to Canada' s Wonderland as a birthday treat.

November

• Bruce and I went to "Reversed Polarity", a three day convention celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.
• I hosted a Stampin' Up party of my own.  I am officially hooked. 
• Bruce's Mom, Scott, Christiane and the boys came up to Markham to watch our version of the Santa Claus Parade.

December

• We threw a birthday party for me!
• The Sunnybrook Snowball was at the Palais Royale.
• Sarah's school did a winter concert.  Her class performed "Twas the night avant Noel", in a mixture of french and english.
• We went to Rob and Liana's Christmas party.
• We took Al and Sandy out for dinner to celebrate her birthday.
• We celebrated Yule at Karen and Evan's and participated in a Norse ritual involving mead,  wine, toasting, boasting, and making oaths for the year to come.
• Icemaggedon 2013.

Wow.  I really thought we didn't do too much last year!  Amazing what memories can be prompted just from old entries in a calendar.  There is probably a lot more that we did that never made it into the calendar, too.  This took me all day to write, and now I realize that, despite the dips in the road here and there, 2013 was a great year!

Goodbye, 2013!  I am so looking forward to what the next year holds in store!