We finished the first Safe Ride Home Sudbury campaign after 4:00 AM this morning. Overall traffic was down a bit from the last Operation Red Nose season, but we still got a lot of local people home safely without any mishaps. The re-branding has been a success. Now we need to look at the details and identify areas where we can do even better next year.
Christmas was quiet. We picked Jan up from Extendicare and brought her to the house for the day. Sandy and I don't exchange gifts, finding the practice counter productive when we can get the exact things we want at any time. It was a pleasant day.
Sandy and Jan looking at family photos
Heather flew up with Jasper and Fiona after Christmas. Tom had to work and came up on the weekend. We took the kids to Science North but not out much more due to unseasonably cold weather. They left for home this morning.
Breakfast at Tutti Frutti
Tunnel entrance to Science North
Grandma Sandy and Fiona at Science North
Fiona likes housekeeping
Looking back at 2017, it was a good year. We had our usual springtime in North Carolina and Fall in Arkansas. There was another trip to Solvang, California with a stop in Wisconsin for the Boscobel Rally. Riding in eastern Missouri proved to be better than I expected. And we finally checked the Outer Banks off our bucket list.
Health wise, Sandy was stable. I managed to bring my A1C (measure of blood sugar) down throughout the year by being careful what I ate, but that all went out the window when we started Safe Ride Home in November. The free sandwiches and pizza, coupled with the irregular hours, resulted in my consuming way more carbs than I expected. Daily glucose readings were up to 15 (270 on the scale used in the USA). Although my eyes tested fine again, I need to get this under control before I start having real and permanent problems. My aortic valve stenosis has been steady for several years, remaining at the bottom end of acceptable. That is monitored with annual echo cardiograms. The important thing is that it is all stable, the key question when obtaining medical insurance for traveling to the US.
We have plans for 2018. Smoky Mountains again in May. Eureka Springs, Arkansas in September. Williams, Arizona and Topaz Lake, Nevada in June. And I need to get out on the golf course more when I am home. It looks like it is going to be a good year.
