Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

I am currently drinking pink champagne because today is the fourth anniversary of my mastectomy and when I read the posts describing the initial diagnosis of breast cancer through to waking up from the mastectomy I can only think "HOW THE HELL DID I SURVIVE WITHOUT HAVING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN?!"

Breast cancer is bad enough but couple it with living in a rental house with small children while doing a major renovation on the house plus dealing with what became the contractor from hell and a husband who contracts pneumonia just when we have to move back into our house, which has NO kitchen and running water working one toilet, one shower and a sink in the basement, while starting a brand new job?

Well...like they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

But here is to four years and counting of good health!

Nothing spoils a lovely glass of wine more than having a stumbling, bumbling, slurring, can't string 5 words together, eyes rolling so far back they become stuck, drunk over.

I guess that was a bit harsh but please, it was a really nice bottle opened to enjoy with a good friend (not the person described above).

Yes the issues with the old roommate continue and this times he's making life more interesting by including prescription medication with his beer guzzling.

Such sadness when you watch someone you care about throw their life away and you can't think of what else to do when they don't want to change.

The unveiling.

I think it's done!

The painting for the United Way auction and also the image for the Christmas cards sent out by our Canadian offices is finished!

And this time it was relatively painless.

I will photograph and post the unveiling this weekend.

I think I will miss you most of all. I love you. Until next year my darlings.
xoxox

There is a fantastic retrospective at the ROM until January 2, 2011: El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You About Africa.

Definitely worth seeing, in fact one of the most inspiring and thoughtful shows I have seen in quite a long time. I have been back twice and plan on seeing it many times more (being down the street from my office and having a membership) before it leaves Toronto.

In fact I took Satchel yesterday after a painful "bring your surly 14 year old who knows more than everyone else in the world and deems most not worth talking to, to work!" experience. His initial reaction of "really Mom, do we really need to go to the museum?" quickly changed to awe as he walked around the installations and hanging works.

Here is a bit of a description pulled from the ROM site:

El Anatsui finds his inspiration in Ghanaian and Nigerian culture, plus global, local, and personal histories. His work ranges from large metallic tapestries and paintings to sculptures in wood, metal, and ceramic. When I Last Wrote to You... demonstrates the wide variety of materials favoured by Anatsui, such as mortars, discarded metal objects, vegetable graters, driftwood, ceramics and old printing plates. The exhibition allows visitors to chart the development of the artist's work over a 40-year period.

http://www.rom.on.ca/icc/events.php

And a couple of images to whet the appetite!



Akua's Surviving Children