My year 2012 in review

This year, 2012 was a strange year.  Started out like normal, but then shifted into some kinda fourth gear, and went helter skelter along, bringing with it, all kinds of unfortunate and unexpected incidents, but some were good as well.
January dealt me a double whammy with the death of my last two bow wows (Shaggy and Einstein) from my canine crew of six. I thought the tears would never stop.
 
Then Brownie came to live with me, and the depression that had crept up on me, went far away.

 Brownie my sanity saviour

My other canine friend Wilf the Pon also died this year....cried bucketfuls at his passing too.
My pc died and it had to be resuscitated with new memory, motherboard and hard drive, oh yes, and a new dvd  burner.
New pc did not like my old printer, so I had to purchase a new printer, which is the worse printer I have ever owned.
Despite all these incidents, I still continued to be thankful, for I knew I was still very fortunate, as there were many others in worse off situations...reminded me of the saying, "I was complaining that I had no shoes, but then I saw a man who had no feet."

I decided to start my first blog, and I found lots of new friends in Blogland,..... genuine, caring, loving folks, whom I have never met, or may never meet in person, but yet they crept into my world, and now they're like family, and I love all of them.

Lots of changes too:
My Shell gas station is now Sol

 My Texaco gas station is now Rubis.
"Is it the same gasoline" I asked the attendant, "Oh yes" came the reply."

Cultural changes too:
Old Years is being taken over by New Years Eve...why I don't understand. 

We have always had Old Years night, and now all of a sudden advertising has changed to New Year's Eve,.... this is an import from the US. Why we don't respect our own culture, I will never know.

Our road was resurfaced after many years of promises, and a new drainage system was put in place on the front road.

My tooth broke off, and I'm still laughing at the surgery repair cost.
 Had a hard fall on the wet and slippery walkway at the side of the house, and also caught the "nearly kill me dead" flu, both of which were experiences not encountered in many years, and which made me quite miserable.
Traveled to see my friends in the US, and explored new sights.
Mums, and one of my dear friends, and a neighbour passed away, and are now resting in peace, away from the cares of this world.

Some of my favourite singers passed away this year too, including singing divas Whitney Houston and Donna Summer.
Two of my girlfriends became grannys.

 Brazen monkey caused all manner of havoc from the beginning of the year until the end....maybe his world will end  soon.

Worked tirelessly trying to whip my Japanese inspired garden into shape.

Continued working on reducing my carbon footprint on the earth.

We had a fire started by some "damn foolios", which smouldered for days afterwards, even after the fire service had put it out......their quick response saved the neighbourhood from a potential disaster.

Both small and large businesses are closing every day, but some continue to hang on.

Roberts Manufacturing Company (makers of butter, spreads, and dog food)

With high unemployment, many more miscreants have surfaced.   This year I saw police command posts in high traffic areas, like in the supermarket car park.


Our government is not the best in the world, and it seems as if both parties are harbouring snollygosters in their midst. Elections are constitutionally due next year, so it's left to be seen what transpires.
The usual unexpected household and vehicle repairs, along with unusual weather patterns made for an interesting year.
This was the year that the world was supposed to come to an end (December 21st), but this prediction never phased me, since no one knows the appointed time.
I'm glad 2012 is over, and I hope that 2013 will bring more goodness, health, and new opportunities for us all. 
Happy New Year to all!!!