Blogging again

I can't believe that I haven't blogged for months & months. Goodness, so much has happened since my last post in April.  Birthdays, fun, sadness, holidays, laughter and tears. In fact, I wouldn't know where to start to recall everything so I'm simply going to start from today.
It's not been too bad weather wise today. We were very lucky to escape the "Jude" storm and It's so sad to read how some people have suffered. My thoughts are with the families that are mourning friends and relatives.
Neil & I visited Auntie Joan this afternoon and she does seem a little brighter. I don't know where she gets her fighting spirit from but I'm so glad it's surfaced again. When I visited with my brother at the weekend we thought that all of her strength had disappeared. Her heartbeat dropped dramatically as had her blood pressure and she had no idea we were even there. Today Auntie Joan walked with her frame & the physiotherapist, along the corridor & back to her room. I had quite a shock as I hadn't expected it at all. I had better explain that my Aunt is now 90 years old and for the last few weeks, has been very poorly. After about 10 days in hospital, she is now in an intermediate care centre as the next step before being able to go home.  I just hope that day isn't too far away.
We have the builders in at the moment & it's now week 5. I have to admit that I'm ready to gave my house back now as the dust everywhere is horrendous. The garage is being converted & the downstairs toilet totally refurbished. I can't wait to be able to tidy up & decorate. When finished, I will have a fantastic craft room, & a new utility. It's so exciting. I've got all sorts of ideas running through my mind & can't help checking out Pinterest for more.
Neil & I have just had a lovely weeks holiday to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary so look out for some photos over the next few days. We had such a great time & fabulous weather.
Well, I'm off to sign up for Fat Mum Slims gift exchange before it's too late. I promise to blog more often so please pop back soon.

Glimpse of a new home.

As planned, we travelled to Portsmouth on Sunday, in the hope of finding out a little more about Sarah and Matts new home. Two and a half hours later we arrived to find an empty house, which was exactly what we hoped for. At least there would be a chance to look through windows and see what the back garden is like. Even luckier for Sarah, the neighbours invited her to see inside their house to give more of an idea of what she was moving to. The house looks much the same as the one they live in now except its 3 bedrooms instead of four. Very old fashioned again but a driveway and garage and a better garden for Dillan. It needs some work to make sure he can't get out, but its a much more manageable size. The down side for Sarah is the fact that it isn't a patch where the other wives are, so she is unsure about settling again. After having such a hard time previously, everyone hoped that this posting would be so much better for them both. Neil and myself have tried to point out all the good points and now we just have to sit back, wait and hope.
After looking around the area and finding out what was in the area, we went for a pub lunch ( of course I had a Sunday lunch because of my diet) and decided to go to Gun Wharf Quays.
The car park was amazing! Yes the car park. Each parking bay has a red or green light above so that you can see from a distance which bay is free. As you drive around arrows and signs show you how many bays are available down each aisle and constantly change as the lights are activated by sensors. Brilliant idea. Gun Wharf will be somewhere we visit quite often I would imagine. It's full of outlet shops, bars,restaurants bowling and the cinema. It's lovely. Unfortunately we couldn't stay too long as it was another long drive home, but all in all an enjoyable day. The photos below show Sarahs garden, lights in the car park and Gun Wharf Quays.

Curtains!!

Like so many people, I am now really fed up with our very long winter. I don't think we've had a particularly bad and severe winter but its gone on for such a long time. I cant wait for some sunshine, it always makes me feel better.
We were lucky on our visit to Catterick. Although extremely cold with some odd snow here and there, I managed to get the outside jobs done that were necessary. I had to layer up but after an hour or so of weeding and digging it was surprising how warm I was. It was also good to get some fresh air. Sarah made a start on cleaning her cooker. Neil came on Thursday as it was Easter Holidays and between the three of us we got quite a few jobs finished for Sarah. The worst being washing and ironing curtains. I hate ironing and there were 12 pairs of curtains that needed to be washed ironed and hung ready for the next family. Of course that means that another 12 pairs which are Sarah and Matts own, also need to be washed and ironed for Sarahs next house!!
Since Easter it's been another mixture of weather. Snow, rain and even a little sun all rolled into one week. It's not been a week any different to any others, with the normal household chores and jobs for myself and Auntie Joan. In fact, I would go as far as to say, pretty boring really!
Nicholas has been away to Tenby with friends this week. They all went last year and stayed in a caravan. Each of them enjoyed it except for the cold weather. This time they've pushed the boat out and paid extra for heating. I'm sure it will have been worth every penny! I look forward to him coming home and telling me about his week, even though it always comes out in dribs and drabs over at least another week.
Yesterday, Friday, after telephone call and emails, Sarah recieved news of her and Matts next house. The only details they get is an address, so google maps and street view come in useful. It must be hard not knowing what your home is going to be like until the day your furniture arrives, you're handed the keys and you actually move in, but that's exactly what happens. There's not much Neil and I can do to help settle any of Sarahs worries except take her the three hours to get a glimpse of the house from the outside. So, that's exactly what we are doing tomorrow. Neil of course will drive and I will try to point out the benefits of living in the area, and all of the good points the house has to offer. It's hard when you know nothing about the town let alone the area and you can't go inside the house, but we need to alleviate all of her fears and help to put her mind at rest. After all that's what Mums and Dads are for.

Simply the best.

Monday came around too quickly. The garden still has some snow lying around and it's still freezing!
Nicholas phoned this morning as he had hit a pothole and his windscreen now has a very large crack in it! After a quick visit to Morrisons, Sarah and I had to stop and take some photos of the potholes for him because its always dark when he comes home. It was embarrasing standing in the middle of the road as people drove past, obviously wondering what on earth I was doing! The things I do for my children.
Afternoon jobs consisted of packing Sarah and Matts clothes and christmas presents ready to take to Catterick. There are boxes and boxes and with only 5 weeks until Matt gets home we really need to get everything taken to their home. I've no idea how its all going to fit into the cars as there is so much.
On to Tuesday. While Neil took Riley to the vets for his chemotherapy injection and check up on his paw, Sarah and I went to Auntie Joan's to do her cleaning. Next was a very quick trip to town for some shopping for my Dad and money for Auntie Joan. It was extremely cold again and I certainly didn't want to be outside for too long so we raced about to keep warm and get home as soon as we could.
After Lunch I had a visit from Cheryl, another of Neil's cousins who I try to catch up with as much as possible. Unfortunately it isn't often enough as we are both busy and as we all know, time just passes us by. However it was good to have a chat and catch up with each others news.
Our local vet is pleased with Riley's progress and has spoken to Caves in Taunton to discuss the next step. The good news is that we can start to reduce his mediction. From today we are cutting out more tablets and cutting others down. It's great news, although I know I will worry as we wean him off more and more. I didn't think we would would ever reach this stage or that Riley would even recover. I know he can relapse but for now its the best news possible.

Hotel in the Cotswolds!

Friday 22nd March saw Neil and I, Heather and Rob setting off for a hotel in the Cotswolds. We had been planning a couple of nights away for some time and decided on the Cotwolds as we didnt want to travel too far away. We just felt in need of a break. The hotel looked lovely online and was advertised as a Luxury Cotswold Hotel. I was a little surprised when it was about 3 miles away from Gloucester centre so "Cotswolds" was stretching the point! Anyway our weekend started at 5.30pm on Friday evening, when we picked up our travelling companions. Heather is Neil's cousin and we go away as much as possible for days, weekends and even our fortnight holidays. We are guaranteed lots of laughs as the four of us get on so well. Oh the fourth member is Rob, Heathers partner.
Our rooms at the hotel were very clean and tidy. After a quick change ( after all, we had been travelling for about an hour, haha! ), we met for a drink in the bar while ordering our dinner. Everyone enjoyed their meal and our waitress Elsie was a real character. Slightly forgetful and reminding me of Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques, she added a little something to the restaurant and the evening. After retiring to the bar for hot chocolate and cookies ( which I'm afraid were dreadful), it was time for bed.
Unfortunately Heather spent most of Saturday in bed so we visited Nicholas at work in Gloucester then spent about an hour at Swindon outlet. By the time we returned, Heather was feeling much better and ready for afternoon tea. This turned out to be a scone with cream and jam, over which we recounted the most appalling breakfast any of us had ever had! Never mind, if Saturday nights dinner was as good as last nights then all would be forgiven.
Oh dear, carrot and ginger soup which had too much ginger added. No one could eat it and I'm sure no one in the kitchen had tasted it before serving. The blood in my lamb ran all over the plate, which for me is a total NO! Dinner turned out to be another disaster.
After another dreadful breakfast and more undrinkable coffee (we hadn't had a coffee that was palatable since we arrived) it was time to pay the bill and visit some cotswold towns.
The hotel had been a hotel of two halves. Excellent and appalling food. Lovely hot chocolate but awful coffee. Some very pleasant staff but some very rude. All in all strange but we still had a good time.
We drove through Bourton on the Water,Stow on the Wold, Moreton in the Marsh and Broadway and then had a fantastic meal at the Red Hart in Kington Worcestershire. Gorgeous.It was a shame the snow and freezing temperature had stopped us from exploring as we usually would, but the weekend had still been a success. I hadn't laughed so much for a very long time. I did say we were guaranteed lots of laughs.

A Trip Down Memory Lane.

Sunday 17th March didn't get off to a particularly good start. I woke up feeling pretty awful. Only a cold, but awful none the less. I suppose it was obvious that it had to come my way as Sarah has been feeling poorly all week. It seems that no matter how hygienic you try to be, germs like to spread themselves everywhere. As I spend so much time with Sarah at the moment her germs were always going to spread my way. I did bring her up to share though so its not totally her fault.

A few weeks ago Dad recieved an invitation from his younger brother, my Uncle Alfie, to his 60th wedding anniversary celebrations. I used to love visiting Uncle Alfie and Auntie Phyls house when I was growing up, but don't see them at all nowadays. In fact the last time was at Mums funeral 10 years ago. The same goes for my cousin Jill and Dads three sisters, Olive, Sylvia and Rene. There are also a whole group of cousins and other relations that I haven't seen for much much longer. 60 years of marriage is a great accomplishment and we promised to take Dad to see everyone, so with Nicholas and Sarah, we all set off to Monmouth. I enjoyed the few hours we spent with everyone, catching up with cousins and cousins children, meeting partners for the first time and generally going over the "old days"! Jill and Lorna had pinned up some photos of Auntie Phyl and Uncle Alfie's 60 years together. They were fantastic to see ( if you knew me you would know just how much I love photographs) but one in particular jumped put at me as soon as I saw the display. It showed my Nana and Grandad celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. My Mum had a party for them and the family at our house all those years ago and although I don't remember the day too clearly, I do have some recollection. I was quite taken back when I saw the photo, as I haven't any of them together, and this was exactly how I remember them. It was fairly difficult to keep the tears away. Jill has said that she will send me a copy. It will be amazing if she does. I will be waiting for the postman every day just in case and if I do recieve a copy it will make an appearance on my blog, but for now, here's some of the long lost family.

Feeling a little flat.

The weather has been a very mixed bag this week and to be honest that's how I would sum up my time since last Sunday. It was lovely to see some sun streaming into the conservatory and I just wanted to sit in there with my coffee for hours, if only I had had the time. The conservatory is my favourite room in our house but during the winter we have to move back into the living room as its just too cold for comfort in there. I think that although we haven't had a hard winter it seems to have been such a long winter and I will really be glad when its over. No sooner than the sun was shining it was absolutely pouring down and so cold. Then, to my total dismay, it was snowing and actually quite blizzardous. The weather seemed to settle a little more by the end of the week until last night when, yes that's right, more snow! Thankfully it hasnt stuck and by today although it was cold, the sun had managed to put in another appearance.
My week as you will see was just as mixed. On Monday I decided to make a start on sorting out my wardrobe and drawers in the bedroom. Our bedroom needs decorating so a good spring clean is also in order. I've been quite ruthless (in Sarahs words) with my clothes and at last I can actually see what's in my wardrobe. A visit to the charity shop is now on the list for this week to drop off several bags of clothes that are no longer required.
Tuesday brought yet another trip with Riley to Caves Vetinerary Clinic in Taunton. Riley was due a check up and at our last visit it was suggested that we would have a plan of Riley's future medication and that he would be discharged. We had to wait for blood test results before they would administer Riley's cyterabine injection as sadly he now has a nasty infection in his toe. After the great news that his operation had all gone well and after about 8 weeks he no longer had to wear a bandage, it was so sad. Poor little thing has had enough troubles since December and I really thought it was all coming to an end. How wrong I was. It seems that the meningitis and other problems are under control but now his foot is slowing up a full recovery. We came home from Taunton feeling totally deflated, very flat! At the moment we don't know if we've got to back again as it all depends how the infection looks tomorrow.
The next three days were spent sorting more cupboards and drawers, cleaning at Auntie Joan's and food shopping.
Yesterday Neil took Sarah and I to Cheltenham. We had a visit to The Range, Next Home and BHS Home, which was great. I love looking at the home shops and departments but usually find so many things I would love or so many ideas of things that I would like to do in my own home. It would possibly be much better to stay at home, or at least Neil would think so. We also called into a store which was new to us, Wholefoods Market. It was amazing. The fruit and vegetables looked fantastic, so fresh and very colourful. They are stacked very carefully and sprayed with water every few minutes. The spices smelled gorgeous, the beans and pulses looked great and the choice of coffee beans left me not knowing which to choose. Every department and aisle in the store was clean colourful and very well displayed. It was a superb shop. Everything fresh and wholesome. We will certainly visit again.
I'm very behind with my photo a day, which I'm not at all happy about, so maybe I need to spend next week catching up. Somehow.
A few photos follow, mostly from our visit to the Wholefoods Market and I will be back tomorrow to tell you about my trip down memory lane. It was lovely to see family this afternoon, that I haven't seen for at least ten years and many that I probably haven't seen for maybe! Anyway that's a story for tomorrow.

Mothers Day.

I've been thinking of my own Mum even more than usual today. I suppose its only to be expected, but today it seems to have been harder than other years, all except for the first Mothers Day without her. I don't understand why this year should be worse than others and I wish someone could explain. Im not very good at not understanding. There is a reason for everything and if I understood, then maybe it would help.
I am though, extremely blessed to have two fantastic children who remembered me today. I was brought coffee and toast in bed this morning by Sarah, and a lovely gift of a rosette die for my craft and the most lovely red vase for my kitchen. Beautiful. Nicholas visited a couple of times during the day, at meal times of course, bringing some coffee beans and lovely flowers as my real present hasn't yet arrived. To my great surprise I also recieved a message from someone else this evening, hoping that I have had a good day. I am sure he would be horrified if I mentioned him by name in my blog, but if he ever reads this (although no one actually knows I have a blog! so there's not much chance) he will know how thrilled I was. It was such a lovely thing to do and yes I did have a little cry! If you knew me that wouldn't surprise you at all. In fact my son, having been asked to describe me in three words, once said that I was,Clean..Weepy...and Nice. I'm still not quite sure how to take his description.
Well that's it for today. Some photos of my cards and presents follow as well as an update on Myfanwy. I'm not totally convinced on how she looks but for now....

Myfanwy.

I was looking forward to our old and very tired pine Welsh dresser being returned to us this morning. Myfanwy, as it is known in our household, has been stored away for several years and was a little worse for wear. I must admit we had pine furniture everywhere but as tastes and trends change, I was particularly fed up with it, although still really loved the Welsh dresser. Not wanting to keep it in any room in its pine state, but not wanting to send it to a sale or charity shop, poor Myfanwy was stored in a garage. I had thought that one day I might work on it, sanding and painting but it never happened. A fortnight go we sent it to a local company to be updated and today Myfanwy came home. I am so pleased. It's amazing. A total transformation. I can't wait to arrange ornaments trinkets and nik naks tomorrow. I haven't a clue what to put on but it's going to be fun finding out and am sure that the display will be constantly changing. I will post a photo when the display is done but for now, this is my wonderful new dresser.

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe that I haven't blogged for almost 3 weeks. I have no idea where the time has gone, or what has made it go so quickly but here we are well into the month of March!
I really don't like this time of year and am always very grateful when April is over and this year has been no different to any other. I'm a big believer in the condition SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and am sure that I have suffered from it for many years. That coupled with loosing my fantastic Mum, ten years ago has made me dislike the months after Christmas even more. Mum was just 63 years old when she died in April 2003. February was her birthday month, March was Mum and Dads anniversary and is Mother's Day, then in April she became ill and died within 2 weeks. It's Mother's Day this coming weekend and I find that an especially hard time even though I am blessed with two wonderful children who never let the day pass without a card and present. Every year I tell them not to bother as its not Mother's Day without my Mum, but am told that as I am their Mum things must go on. I suppose they are right and am so lucky that they care enough for me to want to make me happy. Well I hope you understand why I don't like the first quarter of each year, but that still leaves the SAD. I get more and more convinced about the condition when we get the odd sunny day during the horrible dull winter months. This week we had a couple of beautiful days which changed my mood and gave me the ability to accomplish much more than usual. Total spring cleaning to be precise.
I spring clean to some extent every year but this year it was always going to be a little different. Sarah, my daughter, as you know is living at home for 7 months. With only a couple of months left she has lots to do and even more that she would like to do before her husband gets home. Then she will be moving to another part of the country and doesn't want to move things that she doesn't need anymore, just to get rid of them there. Makes sense, so, bring on the sorting cleaning and a large Charity Shop van. Sarah and I spent last week sorting every drawer, cupboard and wardrobe in each room of her house. It was very tiring and hard work with all the lifting and carrying, but so rewarding. I have never thought of her as a hoarder and still don't, she takes great pride in keeping her home clean and tidy so where did everything come from? Sarah says she felt " liberated", I felt shattered and the men that came to pick up everything for a charity shop felt very happy. They were really pleased with everything they took away and it was almost a full van! The photos show the mess we made while sorting everything out and the furniture and bags that were stacked ready to be picked up. Such a worthwhile job and one that I have started at home this week.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow as I have a Welsh dresser being delivered. It was bought at least 18 years ago for the breakfast room, when we lived in Hull. I am sure you know the type of dresser I mean. I always loved it and we still fondly call it Myfanwy when talking about it. Silly I know but it's just a family thing. Over the years I fell out of love with pine and it has been stored for the last five in a dry garage because I just couldn't bear to let it go. A fortnight ago it was taken away to be sanded painted waxed and refurbished. Tomorrow Myfanwy comes home and I can't wait to see it. Hopefully I can post some photos tomorrow.

Perfect

It's been just over a week since my last blog. I have no excuse, it's just because I feel so tired. When I have had time to sit with a coffee or watch anything on the television I could have been blogging, after all that's what I would normally do, but not this week. Instead I have had to try really hard to keep myself awake! I don't know what's wrong with me. Oh well I am sure normal service will resumed soon. Whatever normal is.
Once again not an awful lot has happened to actually write about. My normal routine of household chores has taken up most of my time, along with that of Auntie Joan's. I need to find the time to tidy up my craft room as it is very untidy and needs some organisation. Hopefully that will be done at some point this week. Sarah and I also need to do some decorating, as I would really like to get the house up to scratch before the weather starts to get a little better and the garden needs attention. I suppose if I was honest, the garden already needs attention but I'm more of a fair weather gardener, I hate to be cold.
I am enjoying my photo a day challenge more and more. Even the family ask what the word or phrase of the day is and try to help with ideas. Some days this week have been quite straight forward, or maybe it's because I have taken them to literally and not tried to think outside the box. Inside the fridge for instance or where you had lunch. Simple, at the kitchen table! Not very exciting is it? Saturdays though, that was a different matter. The subject was "perfect" . Once again I couldn't think of a way to interpret this differently or with a real meaning. Until we took Riley and Dillan for a walk. On Tuesday Riley had been back to Taunton for another chemo injection and a check up. We had noticed that each day since, he has picked up a little more and started to do little things that he hadn't done for about two months or more. Our walk on Saturday turned into the best walk yet. In fact Riley just wanted to run. He was very upbeat and with a wagging tail there was no mistaking the fact hat he was enjoying being out in the fresh air on a lovely sunny day. It was such a perfect moment. By the time we got home Riley was shattered but I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
We've sorted out the garage at the office so hopefully we will find a charity to collect some furniture this week. At least someone may be able to make some money from it as its far too good to throw away.
Tomorrow is Monday, the start of a new working week. What will it bring? Who knows, but its not long until we all find out.

Crew.... We all did rather well

It's been a very ordinary week for me this week after our February Christmas celebrations. Most of the time has been spent putting away the Christmas decorations and generally trying to keep up with the cleaning, washing and ironing. I've also done the chores at my Aunts. At eighty nine, she can't manage many of the everyday things that at my age I suppose I take for granted. With her house fresh and clean, not that it ever looks untidy or dusty in any way, there were a few jobs that needed to be done in town and, her shopping. This is all part of my routine every week. Sometimes I have to admit to not really wanting to go and do the cleaning etc. I would love to spend the time in my craft room instead. Then I remember all of the things that she and my Uncle did for me when I was growing up. I'm sure everyone has their favourite Aunt and Uncle and I am no exception. I was very lucky though as my favourite Aunt and Uncle came as a couple. That may sound strange, but I have friends that have a favourite Aunt from one part of the family and Uncle from another. Not so with Auntie Joan and Uncle Alf, they were perfect and such a massive part of my life. Now here I am doing her cleaning, shopping and all the jobs that she just can't do anymore. I know she hates the fact that I do it, as I'm often told so, but my Mum did all these things before me and since she died, almost ten years ago, I feel it's up to me. I wouldn't have it any other way. Isn't that what families are for? Actually apart from her mobility,Auntie Joan is amazing for her age. I love to hear her laughing when she relaxes and stops worrying about other things. Without doubt you will hear much more about her in the future.
Sarah and Matt haven't had chance to do much this week as Sarah has pleurisy! It's such a shame as Matt was only home for a fortnight, which means that he leaves later tonight. I think Sarah will find it  even harder than when he first went away in October. After all now she knows what the following months will really be like as previously it was all guesswork. I feel so sorry for them both.
Neil had a couple of days in London with work so that also added to the strange feeling this week has had. I have managed to keep up with this weeks 365 photos. It  certainly gives me something to think about each day and makes me look at the world around me in a different way. Some days my photos aren't good at all and some of the prompts I find quite tricky but as long as I keep trying and end up with some kind of record of 2013, I will be happy.
We did visit Cheltenham Racecourse for a Crew warehouse sale on Friday. Everyone came home with a little something, or should I say....... we all did rather well!

Christmas Day on February 2nd !!

Presents wrapped, stocking hung and food and vegetables all prepared. Friday night was Christmas Eve and we all seemed just a little excited.
Our real Christmas Day started at about 8.30 on Saturday morning. Opening presents was over quicker than usual as only one of us had a sack of presents to open, although we had all had a few in our stockings. It was lovely to see Sarah and Matt together and it was actually feeling like Christmas Day.
Neil cooked the lunch for us all and as usual it was excellent. The champagne flowed, most of it my way!, and then a fierce competition started. "Pudding Off" as Charlotte has named it. Although Sarah win, everyone's entries were gorgeous. During the afternoon we played Twister which I haven't played for years. I have to admit to finding it very difficult to bend and stretch but I suppose I have to realise that this is due to getting older. Something most of us forget until we look into a mirror. More presents, more games and a mountain of dirty dishes meant that this did feel like Christmas. I for one had a lovely day.

Christmas Day.

It's Christmas Day Tomorrow!

It's true. Christmas Day falls on the same date very year. Every year that is except 2013, when we have an extra celebration. Our son in law is home for a couple of weeks and as he wasn't about for the real Christmas, we decided to have another full family Christmas, tomorrow! I decorated the tree on Thursday and put up some other decorations just like we did in December. It seems very strange, but it is important that everything is done just the same. As today is Christmas Eve, the vegetables have been prepared, puddings are made and the table has been laid. Thirteen of us trying to fit into our dining room, but somehow we will manage and it will all add to the fun. Of course Matt has his presents to open (I hope he likes them) but there is at least one for everyone else so that the day seems quite the same. Stockings in the morning and games in the afternoon....who knows, maybe we will even have snow.
This week has been a real mixture. The weather ha seen very changeable. Quite a lot of lovely sunny spells along with very blustery periods and lots and lots of rain! Neil and myself picked up Riley from Taunton on Tuesday evening. He had been staying at the vets there since Saturday. Poor little thing seems to spend more time there than at home with us. I still don't know if he will ever get over the meningitis and other problems he has but I hope and pray that he does. He deserves to be a happy lively puppy again very soon.
I have been keeping up with my photo a day challenge and have completed every day for January. I am trying to add them to a 365 calendar so if it works I will post the complete month. For now, my favourite, day 29 Grow is on today's blog.
Well, that's it for today. I need to get some sleep so that I'm ready for the busy day ahead and even hang up my stocking. Oh and I would also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Nothing Useful then Taunton again!

Snow, snow and more snow! That's how it has felt this week, although we've had far worse weather in past years. Sarah and I have bought newspapers, bread , milk and the essentials for the older members of the family who certainly couldn't have got out, and delivered it on foot. It's not far to my Dads or Aunts but of course it always takes longer to walk in wellies in the snow. It has been good to get out in the fresh air though. I hate being stuck indoors for too long. Neil wasn't able to get his car out of the Avenue until Thursday and only when he used a snow shovel to make two tracks right to the top of the road! I must admit to thinking it was hilarious and I'm sure any neighbours will have thought the same, but it was a case of having to get out. Riley had an operation on a paw and couldn't walk home from the vets. We were going to carry him but hat would have been even more difficult in the snow.
I have cleaned and tidied, kept up with the ironing (which I hate with a passion) and at last started to sort out my craft room again. It's been in an awful mess since Christmas when it was full of everyone's presents and basically everything that hadn't got a real home while the decorations etc were about.
I've been taking photos for my photo a day challenge and added a few to this post. A word or phrase each day is given as a prompt and from there it's a matter of using your imagination. That's sometimes a little tricky for me. I look at the results from other people and am amazed. Technically far superior to my own and some of their ideas are fantastic. If I keep up with the challenge maybe I will also have a good record of 2013 and some wonderful photos.
Poor Riley is at the specialist vet in Taunton again. On Friday evening after our evening meal, he suddenly took a turn for the worse and then spent the night at our local vets. On Saturday morning Neil and Sarah had to take him back to Caves, where they started more treatment straight away. His meningitis is turning out to be much worse than I ever expected, although all of the vets say he can get through it or it can be successfully managed. I hope and pray they are right. The news on Riley this morning was that he had chewed through two drips so far and was barking with frustration so he must be feeling better. Hopefully he should be home again within the next couple of days.
The prompts for the photos shown were...Shadow.....Delicious......and Two Things. I hope you like them.

A Snowy Weekend.

It's 8.40pm on Sunday evening but in my mind ( and the way my body is feeling) it must be at least midnight and I should have been fast asleep in bed a couple of ours ago! I'm not really sure why, as this weekend hasn't been the busiest of times. It has though, been a snowy time. On Friday, 18th January, we had our first snowfall of 2013. By evening we had quite a covering. 2-3 inches I would say, which looked absolutely beautiful. I love to look out onto fresh snow that hasn't been walked on, driven over or marked in any way. Once we have all gone about our daily routines and the snow has frozen over then turned to the dirty black slush..... I hate it.
Sarah spent the day with her old school friend on Saturday. Clair has asked her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding in September and Sarah's first duty was wedding dress shopping! A special day for Clair and lovely for Sarah to be included. Neil and I had the day on our own, but as we couldn't even get a car out of the Avenue onto a main road, we couldn't actually go anywhere. Instead we took Dillan (Sarah and Matts dog) and Riley for their first walk in the snow. Riley managed to walk around the block, albeit very slowly and carefully, for the first time in weeks. He even seemed to have a spring in his step. I spent the rest of the day tidying up the house and looking through my new Stampin up catalogue, dreaming of the things that I would like to buy. Neil caught up on some television whilst resting, which he needs to do otherwise he just won't relax.
Sunday was also,a restful day. Walking the dogs and pottering around the house with not much else thrown in. I love the way that the snow lets me take a step back from rushing about and allows me to "not have to bother" unless I want to.
Riley seems to have made an improvement this weekend. He has a little more life in him although he's still not interested in his toys or playing with his brother Dillan at all! It's a shame because all Dillan wants is to play, and he tries his hardest to encourage Riley to do the same. Hopefully it won't be long until they are chasing each other around the garden again. That's when I will know that Riley is well on the road to recovery.

It wasn't a very good start!!

A blog to record my day to day life and to make new friends. That was how it was all meant to happen. As you will all now have seen..... It didn't turn out anything like that at all. Goodness it all seems doom and gloom in my first blogs and since then things have got even worse, so a very quick update on the last 3 MONTHS ! and then onto a new blog start and hopefully brighter, happier and healthier 2013.
Since October, things have been very stressful and not really very happy at all. Life seems to have been an uphill struggle. Not just for me, but for all of the family. To summarise briefly. Sarah has been missing Matt so much. She has up days and down days, waiting for messages, phone calls or contact of any kind. Nicholas has been getting used to life at his house on his own, but thankfully seems to be coping very well nowadays. Neil, my husband, has been ill since I last blogged but is now back at work as and when he can. He is such a strong person and never ill so its been very hard seeing him suffer both mentally and physically. Christmas wasn't our usual celebration. We usually have a large family gathering but this year for so many reasons that didn't happen. Sarah's 2nd wedding anniversary was on New Years Eve but without Matt that was never going to be much of a celebration. Riley, our cockerpoo puppy has been in and out of our local vets and a specialist vet 2 hours away from home, for over a month now. In fact I could count on one hand how many nights he has actually been at home during that time. As I write this, its medication time, again. Poor little thing. I am praying he actually does get better but at the moment I just don't know what is ahead for him. He is such a character and had brought so much happiness back into our lives since "Scamp and Lucy"

2013.
It's been a couple of weeks since we left 2012 behind. A New Year. A New Start. I hope to have some time for myself, doing the unimportant things that I love to do. I am going to set some goals for the year, projects that I would like to be involved in and, I would love to loose some weight!!! I don't think I will be on my own with the weight loss wish. I wonder how many people in the world make that a resolution each new year.
Tomorrow, is a new beginning. I don't suppose I will post on here each day but will try for a couple of times a week. Is that too ambitious? Well, lets see how it goes. It's snowing here today for the first time this winter so maybe some photos would be ahold starting point.