Happy New Year!

I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect what this year has brought to them, or taken away. This has been a very hard year for us. Not only health wise, but everything seemed to go straight to hell after Gord's incident. It was stressful. And stress is the last thing he needed. But, we got through it. Pheww. But, I'm touching wood, because we still have a few more hours to go. We have all our eggs in their baskets, and next year should start off fine. I will touch wood one more time.

As a blogger many of you have touched my life. Most of all was my dear blogger friend Ellen. She did not live to see the new year, and I miss her dearly. Also there is Leslie, I still don't know the status of her health, I worry about her every day now that she is not blogging at all. I sense something tragic has happened.

I am so grateful I got to meet Ellen before she died, even though it was hard to see her that way. She probably didn't want to meet me when she wasn't feeling well, but I'm glad she did. I could still see who she was before cancer claimed her life. Curtis, was her rock, and he did a fine job of seeing she was taken care of until the end. So, Ellen, Ellen Bo Bellen...I'm hoping God's got a partee going on in heaven today...say hi to my folks, you know.. they are in Mennonite section eating farmer sausage and perogies. And, if there is an Italian guy hitting on you...that would be my Uncle Frank ..Luigi.. He loved blonde's. Then if you hear a woman yelling "FRANK" that would be my Auntie Betty. Get the hell out of her way! Take cover under another Angels wings.

I'm so glad to wind this year down. I guess we will just have see what is planned for us next year. I just hope it involves a lot of wine. Speaking of wine, I will launch my new Balonie Cooks with Wine...or it might be Balonie Drinks and Cooks with Wine, I haven't decided....I'm going back and forth with that one. But it's not going to be pretty. It's probably going to be a .. what not to do in the kitchen. So, don't expect any good recipes unless you like eating crap.

My very best!!

Joan