Gratitude

Owl, as you can see, is 99% back to her old self, and Wolf is enjoying having his sister back to play with in the snow. As I look forward to beginning 2012 in a few short hours, I'm hoping that this year I can keep most of the drama on the page. However, I've also come to realize that a challenging year like this past one can help you realize what's important  -- starting with my two K-9 companions. Thanks to Dr. Higgins, Owl's neurologist and all the great folks at www.canadawestvets.com for diagnosing and correcting her degenerative disc, and for providing great directions to off-leash walks for Wolfie and me as we waited. Thanks to all my amazingly supportive group of friends and family (just click on my friends on FB to see my shortlist) and to Gurbeen for suggesting, and Christina for implementing the donate page to help with Owl's costs at: http://freshhorses.ca/Owl.html

Thanks also for all the opportunities I've had to pursue my passion for writing and photography. Thanks to all my amazing editors, Kevin Drews at the former westcoaster.ca, Nora Abercrombie at West Word: Alberta Writers' Guild Magazine, and Elaine Corden at Yukon North of Ordinary, as well as publishers Greg and Krystal Karais. 

I'm grateful to be in the MFA program for creative writing online through UBC - thanks again to all my referees including Myra Kostash!

This year I have lived in some pretty spectacular places from Vancouver Island (thanks Dawn!) to the Sunshine Coast - (thanks especially to Milan Jr. for K-9 company) and back to the north (thanks Anne, Frank, and everyone at www.muktuk.com)

There's something to be said for having a roof over your head, a woodstove to keep you cozy with extreme minus temps outside, and the chance to walk at night across snowy fields under a gigantic open sky filled with stars. In 2012, I'm also looking forward to a more permanent northern home in March  on 20 acres with trails leading into the mountains and surrounded by gorgeous glacial lakes. (Thanks Hamilton family for hooking me up!)

Thanks to all my supportive writer buddies who patiently read, encouraged and kept me going on the page and elsewhere especially Emilia, Dave, Lenora, Diane, Gord, Chris, Lorna, Greg et al, Jessica, and Anna. 

Thanks too to all my amazing clients who brought me such interesting work - Donna and Gord at cynamoka.ca, Oyster Jim, Marny Saunders, Bob McAlpine and Blair Randle. A special thanks to Judy for introducing me to Babe, my biography subject, and to Babe herself for providing such a wonderful role model.

Thanks to Margo for being an inspiration after Doug's death and for ensuring his book Nokomis had a life of its own, and to the hospice staff in Ucluelet for helping me come to try and come to terms with his loss.

Long as this list is (I'm pretty sure I'll edit it several times), it doesn't begin to cover all the people I'm grateful for, or all the things. 

A few things I'm working on in 2012 - getting full mobility back after last year's car accident so I can surf again; Creative goals - getting Babe's book out to a publisher, shepherding a 5 minute-segment of my screenplay through Nakai's Homegrown Festival,  and enrolling next fall in advanced screen and TV writing courses through the MFA. Things I'm hoping for - a successful Canada Council application to help finish writing The Surf Cure - a story of learning to celebrate life after loss - this year we survived a car accident, a tsunami warning and a canine surgery --- and a story about saving a certain much-beloved dog named Owl. One you all helped me craft.

Happy New Year! May you all get all your hearts' desires in 2012.