THE PATTINSON TIMES CHRISTMAS 2024

 Merry Christmas to our friends and family around the globe.  We hope the citizens of our world can experience peace, nourishment and safety as we negotiate our way through 2025.

It's been a transitional year for Tony and I as we wound down our infertility practice and retired together in July.  Some may say that Tony is "faking retirement" having taken up assisting in L&D and doing IVF retrievals but the alternative is golfing every day and who would want that?  On the days when he isn't working/golfing, we are getting through the 30 year old honey-do list of household cleanup.  

There have been a few renovations of course, the first one following a break-in of our shed and destruction of the fence at the back of the yard.  The perps took the bikes but not the helmets (brain health isn't everyones priority) which answered the question "why didn't they just open the gate instead of axing down half the fence?"  They also couldn't figure out how to negotiate the chipper through the hole they made in the fence.  I think our educational system is failing young criminals these days.

Our second reno was modifying our master bath with the intention of aging in place.  Given my klutzy tendencies, our do-it-yourself habits and our insistence on pushing our joints to their capacity at the gym, its just a matter of time before we will need the assistance of a walker or wheelchair to access the facility.  Not so easy in the old bathroom.  We can now do twirls in a wheelchair, can have a total car wash experience in the shower and our bathroom now has a door which keeps the audience out.

I also had a repeat surgery trying to straighten my most important right third digit in August.  It was a more extensive operation this time with a longer recovery requiring tantrums about not getting to weight lift or garden for 6 weeks and an injury to my left hand from doing things I shouldn't have done with only one hand.  Started with a crooked finger, and I still have a crooked finger.  I guess I am not meant to elevate that particular digit.

The gardening season was superb this year as the bees had been creative in their pollination of my plants last season.  The seeds this year produced a number of tomatoes with purple or green stripes and a pretty intense flavour.  Now that we've retired from human fertilization, it would seem that the birds and bees are our new partners in species production, no IVF lab required.

  

Lily has had a great 2024 and is chronically happy despite working almost every day of her life out of a downtown Windsor ambulance base, and rarely getting to make, sit or have a meal aside from the candy she finds in her pockets.  She purchased a small home a block from us in July and we've enjoyed renovating it as we've run out of projects at our house.  She also adopted 2 kittens from the Humane Society who love their grandmother unconditionally and provide her with a little company when she finally gets to spend time at home.  Her yard has needed quite a lot of work, so Dad got a new truck and passed his old truck down to assist the effort.

Lil also took quite a bit of gold at the Masters Swim competitions earlier this year and then again at the Fire-Police-EMS games in July.  She's not been swimming much recently because of a non-existent work-life balance but I'm sure will get back to it when the time is right.  Despite her lack of caloric intake, Lil can still beat the compression pants off me at the gym making a 180 lb deadlift look easy.

Grace's behaviour has continued to be a challenge this year, and we're not sure whether she has a personality disorder or rabies.  She is incredibly bright and pulls off straight A's without much effort.  She fell out of favour with the science teacher last spring when she got a little adventurous with a bunsen burner in lab class and singed some eyebrows.  Her nickname is now Little A, unrelated to her academic success.  

Grace has managed to hang on to her job at our local Chinese Restaurant which is great as they feed her dinner and we get a break until 8 pm every night.  She has also been taking the lifeguard program and hopes to work for the city pools this summer.  She is a strong swimmer having medalled at provincials in March and will most likely save you if you are drowning depending on her mood and whether or not she likes you, 

Grace is thinking a little more seriously about a future in architecture or engineering given how mathematically gifted she is so we figure at the end of the day she will find her way.  If all else fails, she could consider politics.  

We have welcomed a new family member this year - a young man who is an international student at our university and also a trainer at our gym.  Hossain is completing his Masters in Engineering and competing in body building while working as a trainer full time.  His living conditions were suboptimal to say the least so we offered him Lily's old room for shelter and he has quickly become a family favourite.  He and Tony work out together regularly and he is training Grace in our home gym a few times a week.  He has also become the dogs favourite, especially when chicken is on the menu!

We've had some visitors this year - Annie (Mary's sister) and Stewart earlier in the year....

and Teri (Tony's sister) and Neil this summer...

 

We travelled to Utah for my nephew Nick and partner Stacia's baby shower...

And then celebrated the arrival of Kai Paul in December!

Although Stacia is new to our family, we knew she was a keeper when we realized she was a fighter pilot like Nick and more importantly had 2 miniature schnauzers!  And of course because she makes Nick incredibly happy!

Speaking of schnauzers, Jack and Ollie are bonded brothers now and if there is a hole to be dug or a rat//racoon/squirrel to be chased, they are the boys for the job.  They tear around the yard at warp speed and have been known to cut me off at the knees and knock me flat. That is followed up with them standing on me until I determine if I've fractured anything and whether getting vertical is an option.  

Sophie, (she who must be feared), keeps on trucking despite being 14, mostly blind, mostly deaf, arthritic, surviving surgery to remove a cyst and more recently developing seizures when exposed to fumes during our renovation..  Thanks to the magic of CBD, she is now back to fighting with Jack, seizure free, going on walks and begging for chicken with the best of them.  (I might have actually tried the magic tincture myself recently after a particularly brutal leg day)

We really have no plans to travel in the next year (3 dogs and a demonic teen at home) but are looking forward to staycationing for the next 52 weeks!  Having worked like crazy people for the last 48 years we thought it may be fun to visit our home where the bed is comfortable, the food is great, and the company is mostly entertaining.  Any of you are welcome to stop by to share in our wonderful crazy life, have a glass of wine, pick a tomato, play with a dog.  Life is good.  Wishing you all the same in 2025.