Christmas over

It's been a while, I know, since I was last here but over Christmas life just go so busy and a bit complicated.

I went to stay with a cousin for a few days following her hip replacement, which meant I had to be super efficient (!) and get everything ready for Christmas that needed to be got ready.   Cards were written, envelopes labelled and stamped and then posted, together with the gifts that needed to be posted.

Brian and I went away to a hotel for Christmas - the first time we have done this. The drive down to Bournemouth, on the south coast, was a bit scary.  The rain was so heavy and the wind was blowing the car sideways, but we got there in one piece.  The hotel was nice, and they did their very best to instil a sense of festivity, but it was not the same for me.  I enjoyed the walks along the front, and it all made a great change.   I missed the children and grandchildren, although we did make up for it the following weekend when we went for lunch with them and exchanged our gifts then.  This all made for a long Christmas.

Since New Year, I have been very busy with memberships coming in for the Society that I am membership Secretary of  (www.thepags.org.uk).  A lot of memberships are paid by PayPal, but a lot by cheques in the post.  And now we are using Direct Debits, so that is another thing I have had to learn and administer.

Yesterday I  drove to the other side of London to visit an old school friend of mine - we have known each other since we were six years old.  She is not well now, suffers with MS and has just had a mastectomy. ut I found her cheerful and getting on with life.  She had her sewing machine out and had been altering her bedspread to fit her new bed.     She is an inspiration..