How Rubbish Have I Been?!

Goodness me - my blogging year has not got off to a good start! I really want to keep this up as it is such a good record of my life... nothing gives me greater pleasure than looking back at the minutiae of my life two or three years hence!

So... what has been going on? Not an awful lot really... Last weekend was the anniversary of Mark's Mum's death (can it really be a year?). I feel like I focus on that alot, but it has really had a huge affect on our lives in the last year. Hopefully though we got a little bit of closure at the weekend. We finally laid a gravestone and interred the ashes... giving us all somewhere to go and reflect, and lay flowers at appropriate junctures. I think that that is going to be a really positive experience for us all - in particular for the members of the family that find it hard to vocalise their grief or show it in ways that are understood by others. Amusing in a really macabre and depressing way was the arrival of the ashes on Friday in something resembling a green shoebox. Honestly... we were expecting a cask or something at least vaguely 'respectful'. On Saturday I undertook the sorry task of trying to 'pep' the box up, and so took it to a rather dismayed florist in the village and asked her to wrap it for me... poor woman. She actually did a rather god job (it did look a little like a rather extravagant birthday gift when she had finished), but it was an improvement on said shoe box effect (which made it look like we were burying a pet hamster). I did lots of cooking for the family party we were having on Sunday in Haslingfield - not least a rather delicious "Banana and Walnut Loaf", and (even better) an "Apple Muffin Cake With Pecan Streusal Topping"... good old Delia ;-)

The rest of the year has got off to a good start though. I have started back at pottery classes (my little window of sanity on a Wednesday evening), and went to see Australia at the cinema with Lynn last week. Absolutely fabulous film (Jen, it made me miss you more than ever!). I am a new Hugh Jackman fan... my God, that man is beautiful!!! And the shots of him having a shower on camp will live with me for a very long time! ;-)

We also booked a 'family' holiday in Cornwall in July... this will be Mark and Myself, Mum and Dad, Tracy and the boys - and joined partway through the week by Mark's Dad. I am REALLY looking forward to it! We are staying in the same caravan park as last year in Harlyn, so am looking forward to more BBQs on the beach, and teaching Henry to surf once again (provided I am not mistaken for a beached whale!).

Anyway my lovelies... I promise a few more updates than of late! Be prepared to be bored stiff...
Hayls
xxxx