Greetings Folks,
First post of 2020 after a decent Christmas break. And what a great Christmas it was. Not a white one, but a bit wet and windy. Seems a long time ago now, especially after the tumultuous start to 2020. With so much happening, its hard to know where to begin. So, before I rush into 2020, lets have a quick catch up with what was happening in the Wannabe household over Christmas.
A Wannabe Christmas
As you might recall, I had to fly home early as Wifey was incapacitated with a dodgy shoulder. The day I arrived back, She had a consultation at Aberdeen’s Albyn hospital. This felt like deja vu. Perhaps a slightly colder and more Scottish deja vu than last time. Back in 2009, we went to hospital in Singapore because of a dodgy shoulder. On that occasion it was diagnosed as Calcific Tendonitis. No surprise when we got the same diagnosis this time.
Calcification Tendonitis. Nasty little calcium deposits in the tendons
Calcific Tendonitis is a terribly painful and debilitating condition. The name refers to a build-up of calcium in the rotator cuff . When calcium builds up in the tendon, it can cause pressure, as well as causing a chemical irritation. This leads to pain. Lots of extremely intense pain. Last time, poor old wifey could barely stand it despite being given the good stuff for pain relief. And she has an amazing pain tolerance. On that occasion the rotator cuff had been torn by the boney build up. It was not much better on this occasion and the outcome was going to be the same. Keyhole Surgery.
The Operation
I think I was more concerned than Wifey. I have never had a general anesthetic and I can’t say I am keen on the idea. She was totally un-phased and just wanted to get it over with. It required an overnight stay and I am pleased to say all went well. She is well on the way to being back to 100%. She now also has two interesting holes in her shoulder, after the surgery. I suggested a zipper as it seems to happen every ten years or so. Or she could pretend she had been shot. She did ask me why would she? Good question. Its probably a man thing.
She was also quite proud to be informed by the surgeon that she is special. I have always known this but it was good to get a second and professional opinion. He told us he had never seen a case like hers before, with what amounted to solid bone growing through her tendons. I suppose its nice to be special.
Christmas Preparations
Surprisingly, it turns out, I am not a great nurse and a rubbish housekeeper. Hence, Wifey ended up doing more than she probably should have in the Christmas preparations. This despite her pre-op pain and post-op recuperation. But what a good job she did. Between us, we also managed to swap out Small’s bedroom, erecting bunk beds in the process. She has a nice new girly bedroom, whilst her old bedroom has been transformed into an arts and crafts room. Oh, and study for me. We also cleaned the house from top to bottom and erected numerous Christmas trees and decorations. All in all, we converted the house into Santa’s grotto.
One of several Christmas trees
I do like it when the house is all Christmasified. Its a lot of work, but worth the effort, although I suspect Wifey would be quite happy with just a token tree. We had a house-full of visitors, which is my usual justification for going a bit overboard. I am not convinced she believes me and thinks its purely for my benefit. She may be right. I also suspect she prefers it when the house is back to normal. Removing the Christmas decorations takes several days of effort to complete and even I find this rather tedious. However, in the interim the house looked great and a good time was had by all.
A Catered Christmas
Christmas day itself was a triumph, thanks, in no small part to the wonderful Darren and Karina Bate of NLB Bespoke Catering who came and took care of Christmas Dinner for us.
Last year, whilst it was fun, Wifey and I must have spent the majority of Christmas day in the kitchen. Cooking and cleaning up. This year we were able to relax whilst Darren and Karina took care of the hard work. The food they prepared was delicious. the service was first class and afterwards they cleared everything and left us an amazing cheeseboard. Just in case we felt peckish after the mountain of food we got through. It took all the stress and effort out of what was a fantastic meal. It also allowed us all to relax and thoroughly enjoy the occasion. I am pleased to say all the guests enjoyed the day and were suitably stuffed. Better yet, we have already booked Darren for next year. Something to look forward to.
Generous Santa
I am also pleased to say Santa was as generous as usual. Sarah was delighted with her presents and was not a little spoiled – as usual. The rest of the offspring seemed to be equally pleased. Even Wifey and I got some wonderful gifts. Well we had been good all year. In my case, I was impressed by a bottle of 23yr old Glenfiddich Grand Cru. It has yet to be opened, but I sampled it in the local pub and its very good. A rather special bottle of Glenfarclas and another of Glenlivet, plus I got an amazing selection of craft beers. Do you see a pattern forming here?
The most unusual gift came from Finland courtesy of No. 2 Son and his girlfriend. I confess, I did a double take when I opened the package. Not going into details here, but feel free to check out the comprehensive assortment of male grooming products by the company, Dick Johnson . My particular item is an all natural, vegan product. Its for an, erm, personal and rather delicate part of a gents anatomy. See if the picture below gives you a clue. As I say, it was one of the more unusual gifts I have ever received and I have yet to try it out. Don’t expect a review.
New Year 2020
Annual Craigellachie New Year Fireworks
All too soon, Christmas gave way to new year and so to 2020. New years eve was a quiet affair after the excitement of Christmas. Just Wifey, Small and I. We dropped off No. 2 son in Aberdeen, took in a film, (Jemanji 2, which was quietly amusing) and wandered around the shops for a while, before heading home. We had forgotten to book a table for dinner, so dined at home and watched TV whilst waiting for the New Years fireworks display. For a tiny village, Craigellachie does do a really impressive fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. This courtesy of the Craigellachie Hotel.
With the firework display over it was off to bed and up relatively early for a long, family walk with Snuggles the wonderdog. It was a sunny, if cool new years day and I think the long walk was just the ticket. We did walk the poor dog’s legs off, but made up for it by lighting the fire at home and having a relaxed family chill day. Eating the remains of the Christmas sweeties and watching terrible TV. What better way to start a New Year.
Into 2020
All that seems like a long time ago as I am now back in Iraq. There has also been a lot happening. On the domestic front, a growing Royal crisis with Harry and Megan announcing their imminent departure from the Snr Royals. The Brexit Bill has finally been passed by the UK government after Boris’s landslide win. And the Northern Irish devolved Stormont assembly has finally returned, after collapsing some 3 years ago.
Internationally, the World came close to a war after the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani . This led to subsequent Iranian missile attacks on US bases in Iraq. (One of which is just a km or two from where I stay. And I managed to sleep through the whole thing.) Then there was the tragic downing of the Ukranian airliner by Iran and the ongoing repercussions.
So all in all an interesting if not necessarily a good start to 2020. I would say things can only get better, but whilst Mr Trump has been remarkably restrained, its early days yet. The middle east is still a powder keg and tensions remain high. And its still only early January.
What Next?
I suspect there will be more to come between the US and Iran and lots more for me to write about in the coming months. I pray its good news, especially with me stuck in the region for the time being. Time will tell.
In the meantime, let me wish you all a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and I will be back soon with my review of our new Tesla Model 3
All the best and Bliadhna Mhath Ur
Graham Wannabe 12th January 2020.
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