New year, new life, new hope.

The gifts are given and recieved, the food and drink consumed - Christmas has come and gone, and a new year has been seen in.

I wasn't sorry to see the end of 2009, because for us it's been a pretty bad year. It began promisingly enough in the US of A. After celebrating my birthday in Las Vegas, visiting the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, celebrating Christmas in true American /Norwegian / English style, we came back to frozen Norway and got on with our lives. However, in May Reidar was diagnosed with bowel cancer, and the rest of the year just dribbled away with hospitals, doctors and treatments. We had a long weekend in Edinburgh in May, and a trip to the Norwegian revue festival in Nord-Trøndelag in June (both of which were lots of fun) but no proper summer holiday, and no trip to England to visit my family. Reidar's mum (89) had major heart surgery, with major complications, in November, and has pulled through surprisingly well

Now I plan to look to the future, and not look over my shoulder. The one good thing about 2009 happened the day Reidar started his first chemotherapy treatment. Tamsin and Nick rang to hear how he'd got on, and changed our rather subdued mood by announcing that we are to be grandparents! That was a turning point for me -February 16th shines like a beacon, giving us somthing special to look forward to. We plan to visit the little family in April - Reidar's treatment allowing.

So, onwards and upwards! Let 2010 be a year to remember - full of happy memories.