A Joyful and Peaceful Time

Hi folks and I hope you are all enjoying a happy and healthy festive time. As I feared, I didn't get to post an update again before Christmas Day despite my best intentions. It has been a hectic few days...hectic but fabulous.

On Tuesday 22nd I went and picked up 3 of the grandchildren and brought them to our house to stay overnight. On the way to ours we dropped in to the local garden centre and went through the Christmas walkway there which all of the children loved so much that we did it twice. We also enjoyed seeing the reindeer, the goats, the pigs and the donkeys. There was much amusement for the children when one of the pigs decided to have a wee in front of them. Grandson was mesmerised!

On our return home it was time for tea and a mess around with Grandad, the dogs and auntie and uncle before settling down to watch Home Alone which is a bit of a family tradition and which we all loved.

It was the usual routine at bedtime...I went to bed with them until they settled and then I crept out after a few bedtime stories and went to sleep on the sofa bed downstairs. I use the word 'sleep' but in truth there was little sleep has by me. However, the children were good as gold and the following morning, after breakfast, they were allowed to open our Christmas presents to them as we wouldn't be seeing them again for a while. Much excitement ensued as Paw Patrol goodies, Disney mini clip things and My Little Pony Equestria merchandise were discovered. Smiles all round.

Then is was time to gather up all of their clutter and take them home again and we sang 'When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney' all the way there.

Then I drove to pick up my eldest daughter to take her to a growth scan of the twins she is expecting. She is now 33 weeks pregnant and doing brilliantly although tiredness and discomfort are becoming the norm and sleep is an ever elusive experience. We were at the hospital for hours but all appears to be going quite well. There will now be scans every two weeks to check on the growth of the babies and to monitor the health of them and their mummy. A steroid injection was thrown into the mix which took my daughter by surprise and which was very painful according to reports and then it was home again via her Dad's house to drop off a few bits and pieces and show him the latest scan pictures, one of which is a wonderful shot of the twins with their heads together.

Before I knew where I was it was Christmas Eve. We were expecting a houseful of family for the annual Christmas Eve quiz. Shopping had been done and we had plenty of food and drink to last. Gradually everyone arrived and we settled in for the evening.

We had a lovely evening eating and drinking, chatting and laughing. We all wore Christmas jumpers...even hubby who had declined to join in the jumper tradition until this year. Unfortunately, he had woken with a sore throat in the morning and has spent most of the last few days feeling poorly. While the sore throat has gone, he now has the cold and cough. Our youngest daughter has had a sore throat for 24 hours but everyone else seems to be ok at the moment. Let's hope everyone is better soon and no one else gets the lurgy.

Our quiz was a success. I even did a round for the first time too. We played a game that we saw on TFI Friday involving Malteasers and a tape measure which was fun. I also provide a prize for each round of the quiz and one of the prizes was a Guess The Tune game which went down very well.

By about 11.30pm we were all ready for bed. None of the nonsense of last year when some of us drank far too much and didn't/couldn't face getting out of bed the next day let alone eating a dinner.

Christmas morning was the usual present opening scene. We have always opened all of our presents before breakfast and don't save any for later in the day. There were lots of lovely gifts unwrapped including presents for the dogs which were a success. 

Hubby was really feeling rough but walked the dogs before driving sone and partner back home. I prepared lunch which took longer than I expected but which turned out well. We even had bread sauce to spare which is a first. Our plates were piled with food. I tried to make the plates attractive but there was so much food!

Later in the evening we played card games and then watched 'Uncle Buck'- a film that I had recorded and which is a firm family favourite. People started drifting off to bed and I tried to set up my Fitbit with little success. I'm pleased to report that is it now working well and I intend to use it as an aid to my triathlon training and general fitness regime which needs to be implemented imminently.

Over the course of the last few days I have been reminded many times of the impact that my in laws have had on my family. We used to spend time with them every Christmas and the things that they used to do when the children were small, like playing Chase the Ace, are still things that we do each Christmas even now that our children are in their 20's. Lots of our decorations are from Grandad's flat and we have the tree that was in Grandma's room at the nursing home along with her candle stick holders and their nativity scene which is now minus a baby and one of the wise men has had his head broken off. I really must replace them. Christmas for us is all about family and despite the fact that they are no longer with us, my in laws were with us in spirit that is for sure and it was lovely.

Today has been a quiet affair. All of our visitors have gone home and I have gone back to doing the laundry and all the normal things that you do every day without thinking about it.

This Christmas has been really good for us this year. Having our family with us is really all that we need and hubby and I love it that they still want to come to us. I hope it remains that way for many years to come but somehow I doubt it.

Xxxxx

Christmas Is Coming

Morning all.

I'm typing this from the luxury of my bed and I have a cup of tea and a bowl of Ready Brek for company. The Ready Brek has the added bonus of a dollop of cream on it which will either set me up for the day or make me for sick for the next hour!

I've had a busy but lovely week which has seen me attend a carol service held by a pond in the dark, drinking mulled wine in a church, travelling to see hubby's family 'up North' and driving to London to pick up a cat. I've visited friends who I only really see at Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed The Apprentice final. I haven't yet seen the Strictly final. I was away but I know the result. I need to catch up with it later if I get a chance.

Today will see the dogs returning from their first joint stay in kennels and me returning from the dreaded Christmas food shop where I am determined to not go overboard but probably will anyway. There are presents to wrap, there is food to cook, visits to be made and house cleaning to be done. Got to love Christmas🎄😊

On Saturday hubby and I made the fairly lengthy car journey to York where we had been invited to his cousin's 60th birthday. I had booked us in to a hotel overlooking the racecourse and had upgraded to a nice room. We had a really enjoyable trip up. We chatted and laughed and generally enjoyed each other's company. We stopped for a burger enroute (obviously!) and made fairly good time. 

After a rest and a shower, we went down to the bar and enjoyed a couple of drinks before jumping into  our booked taxi and made our way to the venue.

It was good to see hubby's cousins. Hubby thinks that he hadn't seen the birthday boy himself for the best part of 35 years or so so it was worth the trip just for that. We had a nice evening chatting and catching up with everyone.

We had made the decision to book a taxi to pick us up at 10.30 pm and that proved a good idea. It saved us from ourselves and meant that we slept well, could face breakfast and felt bright and alert on the following morning. Many is the time that we have partied way too much and woken the next day feeling dreadful and with a long journey home to face. I guess we are getting older and finally learning from our mistakes!

We woke refreshed and headed into York to find the church that my in laws married in over 50 years ago. We went before breakfast because we knew that parking would be at a premium if we went later. The church, The Holy Trinity in Micklegate, was easy to find. Unfortunately, the gates to it were locked and the first service wasn't until 11am and we were there before 9am. Sign of the times I'm afraid. The place that is supposed to welcome all actually has to be locked up overnight to deter thieves and vandalism and so on.

We did manage to get a few photos through the gates and then we headed back to the hotel to enjoy a full English breakfast.

Another of hubby's cousins came to see us after breakfast. She had a gift for me that she had had for sometime. I had no idea what it was and all she would say was that she saw it and thought of me immediately. I was intrigued but had no idea what it could be. Well, this is what she gave me...

..... a cushion featuring a poppy motif. I absolutely love it and I'm still incredibly touched that she thought of me. What a wonderful gesture😊

Before we started our, what turned out to be, very, very long journey home we had a quick walk to see the racecourse. It was a beautiful sunny morning and there were lots of people walking their dogs on the course and enjoying the springlike weather.

There was one more thing to do before we left for home and that was to visit hubby's auntie and sister of my mother in law. She is a lovely lady and someone that we love very much. She is so welcoming and friendly and it's always a joy to see her. It is often a little disconcerting when we meet up because she looks and sounds so much like my late mother in law but hubby finds it reassuring in a strange way. Well, I am here to report that Auntie looks more like my mother in law than ever from the  tips of her white hair to the slippers that she was wearing. She gave us huge hugs when she greeted us,  made us coffee and we had homemade sausage rolls and flapjacks. There was much chatter about cricket and football and she put her bets on using her betting account via her laptop. She's in her 80's! Brilliant! 

We really enjoyed seeing our extended family and so I send much love to any of you guys who may be reading this and thank you for making us feel so welcome.

I will sign off by saying that spending time with my hubby, just the two of us....no kids, no dogs...was lovely. During our car journey we chatted and laughed, we sang songs loudly and we just enjoyed each other's company. We both said that we felt happy and content and it was a really lovely feeling. After all of these years together...next year it will be 30 years of cohabiting... it's quite amazing to me that we can still make each other laugh. Don't get me wrong, it's not always a laugh a minute and it can be really hard work, but feeling so at ease with my hubby and feeling so calm inside has made me very happy.

Enjoy the next few pre Christmas days everyone. I hope to blog again before the big day.

Xxxxx

Mulled Wine and Carol Singing.....and lots more too!

Hi all.
I'm typing this after 3 glasses of mulled wine and I wouldn't usually blog after drinking alcohol because I would very likely type something I shouldn't or something that I would regret. However, today, in fact, this weekend, has been so wonderful that I'm going to go ahead anyway.
Yesterday, as has become a family tradition, the vast majority of my family travelled from all over the place to converge on my sister's house and had a pre Christmas meet up. We don't get together as often as we should do really. We all have commitments and busy lives but it is always great when everyone makes the effort once a year to catch up and exchange cards and gifts - and to stand incredulously looking at the growing number of children that there are and how much they have all grown since the last catch up!
My sister and her husband are always generous and welcoming hosts and make all of us feel so welcome and I know that we all really appreciate the fact that they open up their home to an increasing number of us year after year.
In the morning I had been to an antenatal class with my daughter and her husband which I really enjoyed and which I think they both found informative and reassuring and then, once the class had finished, we drove the short distance to my sister's house and stayed there for a few hours before driving home again.
I love seeing my family and seeing all of us together makes me feel really happy and proud that we all get on and that we all care about each other. I know that our Mum and Dad would be proud of us too.
Once home, it was soon time for Strictly and the semi finals. Saturday nights don't get much better TV wise as far as I'm concerned and I loved every minute of it. I also cheat and find out who loses the dance off and leaves the competition on the Saturday night by going to a spoiler site! I don't know why the BBC insist on making us wait 24 hours before the results are announced and I'm too  impatient to wait. Once the result was through I went off to bed and prepared for today.

Today has been fabulous ! First of all I went off with my youngest daughter to attend one of the local churches - the one where she and her fiancé have decided to get married in. It really is a lovely church. It is set in a small village and is set by a pond. The vicar and the congregation were extremely welcoming and I really enjoyed the service. I can already picture my daughter walking down the aisle of the church in a beautiful dress surrounded by family and friends, beaming with joy, to marry her man. So, yes, I approve of the choice of church and am looking forward to going to the carol service held by the pond on Thursday!
After the service we went to see the venue for the wedding reception. There had been a wedding there yesterday and the family were clearing up after the event. We hadn't expected to be able to get into place but the people clearing up were happy for us to go in and have a look around which was an unexpected bonus. It,s a wonderful venue. Yes, I approve of the reception venue too. Hooray!
Then it was time to go and buy our Christmas tree. For the first time in 8 years we had decided to have a real tree. Ever since my Mum died we have had the same artificial tree and I used to love real ones...needles or no needles. My daughter and I went to the local country park and chose our tree , had it wrapped and went home. Before the drive home we popped  into the shop and cafe at the park where a brass band was playing carols. We had mulled wine and a mince pie and then had a look around the shop where Santa was also greeting visitors to his grotto. There was a great selection of goods to choose from and even a mini theatre which was showing 'Frozen' to a captive audience...for free.
When we got home I unwrapped the cast iron Christmas themed tree holder that hasn't been used for years and we set about putting the tree up....and it looks great. I love the fact that we have a real tree again. It just seems right. We put lights on it, decided against tinsel, and added the baubles. I had also thrown together some mulled wine so we had a cup of that each and had seasonal songs playing in the background.
Soon it was 5.45pm and time to head to the local pup which was holding a carol concert with mulled wine and mince pies available. The pub was packed when we arrived but we found a table, got our wine and a song sheet and waited for the choir from the local church to start singing which they did promptly at 6pm and they, and us, sang along to the traditional carols for an hour. I also bumped into an ex colleague from about 12 years ago who has recently moved to the road just around the corner from us. Small world, eh?
After the concert we went home again and decided to put the old artificial tree up in the conservatory. We decorated it with silver tinsel and baubles and some white lights and it looks good.

I'm not so sure that I can remember having such a different but fabulous weekend. I loved going to church and I loved seeing my family. My daughter's wedding seems more real....and the dog hasn't been sick for 24 hours. I'd say that was a result!

Have a great week everyone and take care.

Xxxxxx

Joyful Chats and Wedding Choices

Hi everyone.

Happy Sunday to one and all. I have had a day at home, writing Christmas cards, wrapping a few presents and cooking a roast dinner. Hubby has walked the dogs today which is always nice and I had a  good lay in this morning after a few bad nights of little sleep.I have started to take a 'one a night' over the counter sleep aid again in a bid to help me with my sleepless nights and I have to say that they seem to be working which is fabulous. I have more energy in the day and I certainly feel better after a good night of more than 3 hours unbroken sleep!

I have had another good week. Anxiety continues to be something that only occurs to me when I think about it which is rarely these days. When I look back at the posts I have made previously on this blog  relating to the subject of anxiety and surrounding issues I am amazed at how much better I feel. I am certain that not working in the field of care is good for me...indeed, not working at all come to that! I can now really appreciate just how stressed I became with my work....not the work itself but because I gave all of my jobs my absolute all. I have always got so absorbed in my various working environments. If it was a private job I would  give my all to my client and to their family and friends, if it was in an institution I would feel that I was always ultimately responsible for whatever happened whether good or bad. I lived on my nerves, always alert for danger and possible problems. People told me that I cared too much - I'm afraid that I still don't believe that that is possible - and that i should just turn up, do the hours and walk away but you can't possibly do that if you are a carer of any kind.

Anyway, this week I rang the husband of one of my clients from years and years ago. My old client was a wonderful, wonderful lady who passed away almost 2 years ago. Ever since I left their employ - probably the best part of 20 years ago -I have always gone to visit them just before Christmas when we enjoy a cup of tea and a lot of chat! I wasn't sure how the husband ( who is 88 now) would be faring without his wife of about 50 years. He had  not been in the best of health himself at our last meeting. Anyway, I rang him and he answered. He recognised my voice immediately and we had a lovely chat for a good 10 minutes before I arranged to go and visit him in the next week or so as I would always have done when his wife was alive.
I was elated when I finished the call. It was joyful to have an upbeat and lively conversation with an elderly man and he was totally honest and open with me about how much strength he has got from his religious beliefs. Just thinking about our conversation now is making me smile.

I know that the world is currently a scary place. Religion is being blamed for much of what is going wrong. There have been shootings, bombings and stabbings allegedly in the name of one God or another and yet there I was being totally uplifted by a gentle, softly spoken man whose faith in his God has given him more strength at one of the lowest points of his life than he feels deserving of. I truly felt inspired by my conversation with him and that feeling hasn't really left me and I'm not sure why.

On a similar theme, my youngest daughter has a date for her wedding and a venue for the reception and has today been to the church that she hopes to get married in. She has asked me to go to the Sunday service with her next week and I am delighted that she has asked and I am really looking forward to going. I do enjoy going to church and yet I have never found a church that I want to go to regularly. I find churches so peaceful and calming. I can sit for a long time in a church, a cathedral or similar just soaking up the stillness. I can gather my thoughts and just breathe. I also love singing hymns and, at this time of years, carol singing is high on my agenda. We have already pencilled in 3 carol concerts in the coming 10 days that I hope to go to and I am hopeful of at least one of the family coming along with me. We shall see!

Well, that's it for now I think on the day that my Mummy would have celebrated her birthday. I can't believe that it has been 8 years since she died, 8 years since we heard her voice, 8 years since we were able to hold her hand. I don't suppose any of us ever get over the deaths of our parents, we just learn to live with it apparently. My step dad and my brothers and sisters have done incredibly well since Mum died and I absolutely know that Mum would be thrilled and delighted with how we all are. She would adore her grandchildren and great grandchildren and she would be so very proud of her children. I'm sure that I speak for all of us when I say that we love you and we miss you Mum.

Have a good week everyone. Enjoy your Crimbo preparations!

xxxxxx