Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true in 2012 and may you all be blessed with happiness, love and health!

And here is one more thing I have to say to all the readers of this blog and to everyone I met online (twitter, facebook, email) or at the concerts:

Thank you!!

Thank you all so much for reading my blog! Starting this blog was a big thing for me, and it really turned my life around. And once again being a fan of George Michael had something to do with me doing things I'd never thought possible. It was partly to share my love for 25Live and later Symphonica and all things George with you that I started this blog.

You were all so incredibly nice to me, when I first started tweeting and later when I wrote my first reviews for this blog. Many of you were kind enough to tweet compliments about my reviews or re-tweet them. That felt great! Some of you came by to say hi at the concerts, and again you were so nice to me, even when I was stressed out with tweeting and all the other stuff I was so busy with.

When I first started my blog I was hurting so much. I am much better now thanks in no small part to you. I wrote some personal stuff about grieving for my mum on this blog, before the start of Symphonica. I want to thank all of you who sent me such kind and comforting messages through tweets, DM and email. You'll never know how much they meant to me, and how much you helped.

I don't know about you, but I certainly won't forget those weeks when George was in hospital in a hurry. Within days twitter became the biggest prayer circle I've ever been part of. The love and concern shown for George was really something special and it made me very proud to be part of the GM-family. Thank you all for the support, as I would have felt so alone in my fear for George without it. And even more scared.

And then there is George. I am so unbelievably happy that George Michael is still with us. So I say thank you to God, the doctors and nurses, his family and everyone else who kept him safe.

The last thank you is for George himself. I'm well aware he will never read this, but it wouldn't feel right ending this end-of-year blog post without thanking him. Thank you George for fighting so hard to stay alive. Thank you for giving that press conference, we could all see how much it cost you. And thank you so much for giving us the gift of Symphonica. I would love to see Symphonica return in 2012 but I will happily wait out a year if that ensures your full recovery. Thank you George and please be well.

Merry Christmas Everyone

No cats were harmed taking this photo;-)
She loved her new blanket and stayed like this for an hour!

Time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful time, with their families or their loved ones (not always the same group of people ...).
If you cooked a special Christmas dinner or go out to dinner like us, I hope it's a very good one. And if there are (or rather were) any presents lying under your Christmas tree, may they be fabulous ones.

I know that for most George Michael fans Christmas came early this year. They got their best Christmas present of 2011 a few days ago: George was released from hospital and got home just in time for Christmas. And, as we were all so forcefully reminded over the past month, health really is the biggest gift of all.

So my wife, our cat Faith (isn't she a beauty!) and I wish you all a Very Merry, Healthy Christmas.

Welcome back, George Michael

George Michael is out of hospital and back where he belongs - his home in North London - and I'm so glad. I'm happiest for George himself of course, at 48 he's much too young to leave for unknown shores. I'm very happy for George's family and friends who came so horribly and frighteningly close to losing him. We can only imagine what unspeakable hell they've been through in the past month. And I'm glad for all his fans, who care for him too - albeit from a distance. Because we not only love his music, we love him as well!

Once again I am so proud of George. What a fighter he proved himself to be. Fighting to stay alive for weeks when things were as he said "touch and go". Fighting to regain his strength in the 10 days since he woke up from his induced coma, and making unbelievable progress - he was walking all by himself. It was a hard-fought battle, and from the look of him I'd say it's not yet completely won. But I'm confident victory will be his in the end, and he will make a full recovery.

On Friday, George gave a press conference outside his home. Walking to a spot between Christmas trees in front of his house, he took a few minutes to answer questions from the press. Oversized glasses shielded his face from too intrusive looks and protected him from the worst of the flash photography. A scarf was carefully draped around his neck, hiding the scar of the tracheotomy from sight.

He was reduced to gasping for breath when, talking about his ordeal, his emotions got the better of him. It was heartbreaking, and just like thousands of fans across the world I just wanted to hug him and hold him tight for a very long time. He looked so frail and gaunt. But not sad. Very emotional yes, but not sad. Clearly, he was very grateful he survived. So are we, George! Welcome back, dear George, we missed you.

A light for George Michael

Some of George Michael's fans are lighting a candle every day as an act of prayer for him. I do this too, and have done it ever since the news came that he was very ill. Thank God that the news about George is quite good now and his doctors as well as his close friends tell us he is improving. Nevertheless he is in my thoughts and prayers every day. 

A simple light, a silent prayer.

Facebook here I come!

Four months ago I wrote my very first tweet and this week I wrote my first status update on Facebook. Thanks in no small part to George Michael I'm now officially a social media girl, having a blog, a twitter account and even a Facebook account!

Never, ever did I think I would end up with a Facebook account, all that friending and unfriending business looked ever so stressful to me. And Lord knows I don't need more stress. But then I never thought I would sign up for Twitter either. Once again being a George Michael fan changed my life in unexpected ways. If George hadn't taken up twittter, neither would I! And I would have missed out on a lot of fun.

This is my Facebook profile picture
Find me on Facebook at facebook.com/adaforshort

The love of my life

After all my blogposts from yesteryear about my wedding jitters I think it's time a write a little bit about Mary, my wife. This year we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. In 2005 we finally tied the knot after spending our weekends together in her house or mine for ten long years. Nobody can accuse us of rushing into marriage!

This is the picture we used for the wedding invitations