What a month

We are so glad that today is the last day of November & the month is finally over.
It has been probably one of the hardest months we have shared together as a family, I guess it really started in October with my Mum being rushed into hospital and having major bowel surgery & being in hospital for nearly three weeks & the battle that followed to get a home care package in place was totally draining.
At the end of October we managed three days away out of the week we had planned, we came home on the third day as Paul's uncle had passed away very suddenly, Whilst not the closest of family members in later life this had a profound effect on Paul who at 49 years old was now the oldest Male in the family. So a few more round trips back to Bracknell for the funeral, one good thing too come out of Dereks passing was Louise's visit from Australia, so Paul got to meet his cousin who was so funny & such a spirited lady on her first trip outside her own country & flying solo, the kids all thought she was cool & she much enjoyed her first trip overseas.
November also saw the birth of our 7th grandchild a baby girl called Caitlyne Angel , but it was tinged with sadness as she only lived for 9 hours, so we were all very sad & with another funeral, probably the most beautiful service we have ever attended, but something I hope that we never have to do again.
So you can see it was a tough 6 weeks, so if anyone thought we were crazy putting all of the Christmas decorations up last weekend you can see that we needed something to look forward too. So here's to a happy December & an even happier new year.

My guilty pleasure

As many of you know our family life has been something of a rollercoaster for the last few weeks, but during that time I have found a couple of guilty pleasures to keep a smile on my face.
The first is Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but they are not available locally & they dont do mail order so I am going to start a campaign to get a Krispy kreme doughnut outlet in Norwich, so when i am off down south tomorrow I will pop into Tesco at Royston and pick up a dozen or two!!

The second is Starbucks eggnog Latte............Anyone that knows me will be surprised at the second as i haven't drunk coffee for about 6 years, but I heard Jane talking about it at the crop on Saturday & gave it a try whilst having a comfort break from Christmas shopping on Sunday & am now totally hooked.
I suppose it's just as well that the Eggnog latte is a seasonal special & will go back under the counter on New years eve, for another year. The downside is I work in the city & there are 4 Starbucks that i pass on my way too & from work so i could need a large dose of will power over the next 36 days.



Maybe as my wedding anniversary is New years eve I should celebrate with a double or two.

Spotlight on Christmas

Well I have eventually had some time at home to have a play with some time at home to have a play with some of my new stampin' Up sets & punches.

Without really thinking abot it I have gone for the same colour ways as many of the previous Christmas samples, I am working on autopilot at the moment & although I love the colour combination it wasn't a consious decision.



The cards & decorations are made using a a variety of Stampin' Up punches & products please contact me if you would like further information about any of them.

Where did October Go?

Where did October go?

October thankfully has gone & we hope for a better November with more highs & less lows. Its always a hard month for us as a family as we have the anniversary of both my dad & Pauls dad. Then Pauls Birthday he turned 50 this year and we went out for a lovely family meal to one of our favourite restaurants mambo Jambo's.

Earlier in the month was a definate high when I did a day retreat with Dawn and made some lovely projects.
Then we had the low of my Mum being rushed into hospital, she had been in hospital for 4 days before anyone contacted me so you can imagine how I felt & only when she had to sign the consent form for major surgery did she tell them I was her next of kin. So a trip to Reading to see her & try & get to the bottom of what was happening, all of this was just 2 days before the anniversary of my Dad, so the train journey was filled with apprehension. Thankfully she is now hme from Hospital & is recovering as expected, hopefully the battles with social services over her care are now sorted & she will continue to make progress.

Then we did manage a few days away at Hopton but sadly during our few days away we had the news that Pauls uncle had died, this affected Paul badly as he is now the oldest male member of the family at 49, so we came home from holiday early.



Half term was lovely as we had Abi's Boyfriend Jakee visiting & Pauls 50th Birthday. On the Saturday after half term Jake went off to make his first run on the drag strip in the Camaro, he said it was an amazing experience & once Abi had spoken to him she stopped fretting.


Twins




Last Sunday we went back to Bracknell to visit my Mum & try to sort out her care package. Whilst we were there we had a lovely family lunch with James, kerry & the boys & pauls cousin Louise who had come all the way from Australia for the funeral.



Wednesday saw us back to Bracknell again for the funeral which thankfully went without a hitch & gave us a chance to catch up with family & friends.




So all i can say is I am glad it's now November & hopefully back to somewhere near normal. You never know maybe the next post may actually contain a craft project or two, I think I will need a map to get to my craft room.

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