Diana is commissioned, and I join a launch team..........

It has been an exciting week around here. I will tell you about the launch team in a second -  but first, the best part was Diana being commissioned today in her new role in the church. There were 3 bishops and an archbishop in attendance, and the archbishop joked that he may as well make her a bishop for children - she was relieved when he resisted the temptation! So she is officially in her post, and already hard at work. Last week saw a trip to the South Island as well. Now, finding a car and an apartment are top of the list. And her boxes are on the move, and hopefully heading south. When last she tracked them, they were in Hamburg. This is a little alarming, as Hamburg is north. Oh well. They are obviously on the scenic route.......

We live in hope. 

So, apart from a total meltdown this morning re an incomprehensible phone bill, which necessitated a conversation with the sub continent which did not go swimmingly, and a renewed disabled badge issued for 9 months instead of 3 years, which means more and ever more debilitating forms, and dwelling on the tough parts of being me, not to mention paying the same for 9 months as I would for 3 years - life is bumbling on. 

That is a ridiculously long sentence.

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on Facebook, or was it her blog, by Jen Hatmaker, asking for anyone interested in being in a launch team for her new book, to apply. So I did. I have so enjoyed her books, 7 and Interrupted, and I thought, oh well, who knows. Maybe? 

5000 applied, and 500 were chosen. Including me. I think I am the oldest on the team, but that is absolutely fine.  Grannies rule, after all. I have just made 499 instant friends. Jen decided not to have celebrity endorsements this time, but instead to use members of her "tribe" - us, the ordinary people. I was going to say women, only there are 3 men with us as well!

So, the private Facebook feed exploded with 500 excited people and the digital version of the book was downloaded and we all read and discussed and chatted, and spilled our stories, and came alongside, and ordered mugs, and talked of launch parties and .....

That may be a little complicated for the 5 or so of us who are not in the US. But you never know. It is entirely possible that the 5 or so of us were a mistake. I refuse to consider that. We are there and there we will stay!

The hard copies of the book are arriving at addresses all over the place - I have no idea when I may get mine. It will come. And I will read it again. There is SO MUCH in it to share, but not yet. We have to wait until later in the year. Launch date is August. 

I have never been involved in anything like this before. Let me tell you, it is great fun. The group will remain after launch as well. 

Sigh. 

Life throws some fascinating twists into our paths at times. The scenic route, to repeat the analogy above. 

So, what with quilt assembly, eye appointments for Mum and assorted appointments for me, aquazumba - the water was PERISHINGLY cold on Monday - {{shudder}} - and falling asleep whenever I sit down anywhere, the days pass quickly. I even used my birthday garden centre vouchers from last year and bought tiny plug plants for the troughs and baskets, which are adorning the windowsills. They have been planted on once, so far. 

I have decided not to invest my entire life in the garden this year, but to do a minimum, so that I can actually have a life, and leave it for weeks without being riddled with guilt about all the watering and will it die, and I need to stake the plants etc etc. I want to go places, and do things. I want to get away from the village for a while. I am even looking, very seriously, at visiting the US this autumn. Starting on the American adventure, seeing both country and meeting up with friends as well. 

It is about time. 

Right. The sewing machine calls. I will be back. 

Definitely Spring......

It definitely feels like Spring around here - the sun is shining and the skies are blue, and the seedlings on the windowsill are growing and I am going to go and get some compost this afternoon. 

Well, it is Senior's Day - Wednesday - at the DIY store, and 10% off sounds good to me. 

The house is as Spring as it will be getting this year, apart from the Easter tree which I will do in a week or so. Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday comes first, and that is this Sunday. I had to double check, because it is usually Mother's Day when the clocks leap forward, successfully making a mockery of the long lie in on Mother's Day. However, that is at the end of the month. Everything is early this year, it seems. Me? I am still in January. 

(About the apostrophe - I am speaking of Mother's Day in the singular - mine. All The Mothers = Mothers' Day.)

So here we go with a few Spring like house changes. I have to grin, because I have had  some visitors who have popped in to check if I have changed yet. In fact, one came around before I had packed away the reds and was a little disappointed, I think! 

This is the simple year of change. The boxes are largely unopened. Just the real daffodils and the greens and yellows. Love it. Fresh. Sunny. 

It is now early evening, and the day has flown by. Mum and I managed to get to the DIY store to get some compost for the garden, but it is in the car and will stay there and wait for David to remove it. It weighs a ton. I need to repot seedlings soon, and I am also thinking of starting some of the vegetables now as well. 

Garden time is beginning, people, and mine needs to be cleared before I get into Spring mode out there. This weekend. The chicken is roasting. The house is tidy. Time for a rest. I will be beck with a more interesting post tomorrow. After aquazumba. 

A blur.....

The last few weeks have flashed by in a blur. Diana came home from Switzerland and had 8 or 9 days of doctors, physio, a trip to London to say goodbye to her friends, and then family all gathered here, and more goodbyes. Our friends came down from Scotland as well, and up from Kent, and as I said, it was all a blur. 

There was also packing and re-packing and packing the shipping stuff, and repacking the shipping stuff, and papers to fill in, and ...... a blur.

And then, last Wednesday, complete with a raging ear infection, she was off. We will not discuss the less than stellar treatment Heathrow Terminal Two displayed towards someone who had clearly booked Special Assistance and was then told she had to stand (with orthopaedic boot and crutches) for approaching an hour in a queue to check in. 

Heathrow Terminal Two and I have since had discussions. I am awaiting their explanation. 

So, my daughter has arrived at her destination. Never mind the jet lag, she now has infected throat, eye and ears. Just the perfect way to leap into a new job, feeling like the pits, in pain, and in desperate need of sleep. At least I know that she will be a great deal better once she heals. 

Ann, Andrew and Missy came up for that last weekend at home, and just check out this amazing hair do that Ann did for Missy! Fantastic! It was wonderful to have everyone here again - it will be a while before that happens again, I suspect. 

Since Diana left, I am not sure what I have been doing now I come to think about it. Well, I organised the sewing room, and then changed to Spring here, and then saw the shipment safely out the door to the shippers, and managed to tweak the back a little. Creaking is not good. Somehow, Mum also managed to tweak her back. The whole place is clearly falling apart. 

Our last Sunday in church also happened this last weekend - we are out of the church until the end of the year, for it to be renovated and changed into space more usable for the 21st Century. We will meet as a body once or twice a month, and then the rest of the time will be in smaller groups or out in the community, so it will be a time of huge change and growth. Interesting times. 

Then there was the trip to see Mum's old friend who used to be her neighbour on the spur of the moment yesterday. Isobel is almost 98. They had a great time together remembering things. The sun shone all the way there, and there was a blizzard on the way home. Bizarre. So today we are doing very little. 

Paperwork. Sorting out water tariffs and car insurance and STUFF. 

The sun is shining today again, and I had a cursory glance at the garden and retreated back indoors. It is cold. The garden needs to be sorted, and I will get out there when I can muster the will. 

So, I can see my sewing room. The house is quiet. There is an empty space here. 

I miss her.