Malawi & More

 I woke up a little worse for wear and although the kittens were a good hangover cure, the banging next door (they are doing a massive conversion and have boshed through our wall in 2 places!) Did not help.  I vowed that that would be my last big night of drinking until I'm recovered from surgery. For the next few days I intend to get myself as healthy as possible. Reduced caffeine intake and lots of fiber. And under the orders of my mother lots of marmite. I'll aim for the walks each night too. I will of course have to consider the balance of drink and the festivities of Christmas.  A and I were planning on going to get necessary cat supplies but I wanted to double check the loft. I didn't find anything but did get another couple of boxes down. One with warm weather stuff and some old clothes that don't fit me but look incredible on A. Photos too. The happy memories and the joy of recalling it all. A and I got the cat stuff and finished off the Christmas presen...

 The weekend was really lovely. Off to the park run - I still walked it with my girls followed by croissants and a tidy. BigA went out to meet friends and the girls headed out to get their nails done. And I waited in for my - cousin is the best fit - Suzanne from Germany. Her dad was my grandad's brother. We talked easily and happily, she met the girls when they got back and then went to the café in the park - the hub for lunch. I hadn't been back in there properly since we got back and I was flooded with memories of plays, parties, BigA working (too hard) me serving and all sorts of other times we sat, A's art class and magic lessons. I'd forgotten just what a big part of our lives it had hosted.  That afternoon the girls got ready for M's birthday party and once the guests had arrived I set off to meet up with BigA, Debbie and Dan for Vietnamese food. Then off to the pub, again one with plenty of happy memories. The girls had a lovely evening, less eventful than t...

  The cold got worse as the day went on which meant I didn't help in the garden.  BigA  and Margaret managed to do a lot, and although it's hard to see some of the plan, each time I can see the vision of a very beautiful garden. Next big thing will be trying to get rid of the annoying white wall that creates an artificial barrier into the garden. So, despite the work done I was only really up for an early night and a plodding weekend. I did a bit of my NPQH and that's about it.  Despite the lingering cold I went into work and frankly was quite bored. Better to be bored than angry. I also got another day off - this time because I had a pre operation assessment which I was pleased about. One step closer to an operation and a day off I very much like 4 day weeks. But no date and no real sense of if it's likely to be a week or more to wait. My new school are being very kind about it, but it isn't the flying start I wanted. My current school ...

This dance What I do, who I share it with Solo or group choreography It's so hard to remember all the moves, each time, someone changed the music on me. So it's never quite the same. But I've no choice. My mum wants a song at her funeral and it has the line If you get the chance to sit it out or dance Dance But I don't always want to dance, I sometimes like to watch and see others living that life.  I love dancing in private and with my girl. I love that.  But this merry dance, I'd much rather sit this one out. 

The drive up to Norfolk was stress free, eventually getting the Bluetooth thing sorted so we could listen to A's play list. We had a lovely day, seeing Teresa and then heading over to my niece Jessie. A meal out and then I watched my second ever full episode of Strictly Come Dancing.  Mass on Sunday was rather cold and amusing - it would seem the people responsible for getting everything ready, well, hadn't and so there were people dashing about to sort things out. It was a little funny, if it hadn't made things take longer and I'd been warm. We got back, got tea and croissants followed by mum opening her gifts. Then a meal out before the drive back to London. My first standstill on the M11 since we returned and although there's always that horrible feeling that it usually means someone is badly hurt, A and I did our best to sit it out and entertain each other. I'm glad I wasn't alone.  The week before we had reached out to the daughter of our old Malawi nei...

 The weekend was really lovely. Off to the park run - I still walked it with my girls followed by croissants and a tidy. BigA went out to meet friends and the girls headed out to get their nails done. And I waited in for my - cousin is the best fit - Suzanne from Germany. Her dad was my grandad's brother. We talked easily and happily, she met the girls when they got back and then went to the cafe in the park - the hub for lunch. I hadn't been back in there properly since we got back and I was flooded with memories of plays, parties, BigA working (too hard) me serving and all sorts of other times we sat, A's art class and magic lessons. I'd forgotten just what a big part of our lives it had hosted.  That afternoon the girls got ready for M's birthday party and once the guests had arrived I set off to meet up with BigA, Debbie and Dan for Vietnamese food. Then off to the pub, again one with plenty of happy memories. The girls had a lovely evening, less eventful than t...