Christmas
2012
Dear Friends,
It’s
Christmas Eve and again this procrastinator is just now getting around to
writing the Christmas letter. So I’m not late, yet. Here’s this year’s update.
My health has been good this
year. All of my cancer follow-up screenings have yielded good results. I never
tire of those good reports. My ankle has healed well after 2011’s little oopsie
that resulted in screws and plates. The
only health SNAFU is that due to some complications, I had to have surgery in
October to convert my ostomy from temporary to permanent, which though not
unexpected, was earlier than I had planned. Surgery went very well but it has
taken a good six to eight weeks to recover and I’m still not 100%. The upside
is that I’ve lost almost 15 pounds. It’s not the recommended weight loss method
but hey, I’ll take it.
The kittens—Eeyore, Tigger, and Roo—have
grown up into cats. They’re still skittish and won’t dare show their faces
whenever anyone comes to visit, but they are quite cute when it’s just us. I’m
enjoying having little buddies at home to greet me and keep me company. And I
sometimes see little glimpses of Kelly and WOC in their behavior.
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| Roo |
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| Eeyore |
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| Tigger |
I continued
to volunteer and fundraise this year with the Fuller Center. I decided to try
again and rode as part of the Fuller Center Bike Adventure and cycled from
Daytona Beach to Key West during the last week in June. This ride was certainly
flatter than last year’s ride from Columbus to DC but we were pummeled by
Tropical Storm Debby for the first three days. But the ride through the Keys
was really a lot of fun and I spent a couple of days after the ride was over to
explore Key West. The money I raised through the ride was used in this year’s
Legacy Build in La Florida, Peru. I spent a week in Peru in September building
masonry houses. I was able to sponsor two of the ten homes built and one of
those two was made possible through the Bike Adventure funds. It was a
wonderful week spent with great friends, old and new, and at the end, ten very
deserving families had new, simple, safe, decent, affordable homes to call
their own. And I got to make friends with my little buddy, Difreth. If I could
have taken him home with me, I would have, but luckily he has a wonderful,
loving family in Peru.
Hope all of you are doing well. Best wishes for Christmas,
Hanukkah, and the New Year.
Karen,
Eeyore, Tigger, and Roo
