January is still not over… it feels like it has been going on forever but February is just around the corner and everyday, the bulbs in our garden poke through a little more so spring is definitely on the way despite the storms this week – hurray!

Pete’s been feeling a bit up and down over the past few days – not ill, just knackered… sometimes full of energy and other times, exhausted… but then we have been quite busy getting the fireplace in the front room sorted and, even though we have not done the work ourselves, there’s still the room to clear and cleaning up to be done which is tiring for me let alone him!

Although we still have plastering & decorating to be done, and despite some apprehension following a poor experience in Whitley Head when the builder made a right mess of the house (😡), we are really pleased with the work done by Michael & Kevin of MK1 Stoves and the care they took of our property whilst they got the job done… you should be able to click on the first pic below to open up the gallery & see our fireplace transformation over the past 5 months!

Last week we found a new wood to explore not too far from where we live just outside of Canonbie. We had a lovely walk through Byreburn Wood despite the grey, overcast day… taking in Fairy Loup waterfall & Gilnockie Castle next to the Gilnockie Bridge at Hollows… Three miles in all & probably one of the longest we have managed in a while!

We also enjoyed our first Burns night in our Scottish home with haggis, neeps & tatties… the only thing lacking was a wee dram but I don’t drink & Pete hasn’t mentioned having an alcoholic beverage (except the white wine & soda he had the other weekend) in months!

I also went to visit Mum on Tuesday… yeh, the day of storm Chandra which made for an interesting drive there! 😆 Especially the Shap Summit part when there was so much surface water I had to make a very wide berth of every lorry I passed; a driving blizzard and strong winds buffeting the car… I was glad to make it down hill a bit to the relative shelter of the Howgills! Fortunately, the weather improved the closer I got to Yorkshire and, although my concern for a possible difficult journey home in the dark cut my planned visit short by about half-hour, it was great to spend 3 hours or so with Mum. As it turned out, the journey back, completed mostly in daylight, wasn’t as bad as the journey there – phew – although I was still glad to get home that evening!

I am not sure how much Mum remembered me – it could be to her that I was just a nice person, holding her hand, feeding her homemade cake & spending some time with her… maybe one of the staff? We certainly seemed to spend a big chunk of my visit in the loo! 😆 We looked at one of those photo books I had printed for her as one of her Christmas presents – filled with pictures of her, Dad, my brothers and I, along with the Grandkids etc – when asked, she couldn’t really name anyone except to say “that’s Nan” to most, which I take as some recognition & that she just cannot form the right word in her head… When I asked her what my name was and whether she couldn’t remember the names of her children, she struggled… I thought I would help her out by starting with a reminder that Andy was the first… the conversation went a bit like this…

• ME: You have 4 children Mum…
• MUM: Yes, that’s right…
• ME: Can you remember their names?
• MUM: What?
• ME: The names of your children, can you remember them?
• MUM: {Looking a bit perplexed at the suggestion she has children, let alone 4 of them… 😆}
• ME: There’s Andy…
• MUM: That’s right, Andy… where is Andy?
• ME: I think he’s in Romania at the moment… with his family… so, there’s Andy, and then? What are the names of your other children? There’s Andy…
• MUM: {Ruminating over her answer, I am hopeful she is going to come up with the 2nd eldest name of Chris next…}
• ME: Can you remember Mum? There’s Andy and then…
• MUM: Yes, Andy… {Mum pauses… I leave her to think it over for perhaps 10-15 seconds and, just as I am going to ask again she says…} and then there’s Munchy…

Well, sad as it may be that she cannot remember all our names or perhaps that she ever gave birth to any of us (unless “Munchy” is a secret nickname she has for one of us??? 😆), I nearly fell off my chair laughing which made Mum laugh out loud too! Oh, God love her – she may not know it, but she has always brought light, love and laughter to this world!Love you Mum ❤️❤️❤️

So that’s all this week… we’re off to Carlisle to get some decorating supplies today so we can hopefully get the front room looking a little better before Louise, Lee & the kids come in February!

Oh, and next week we are off to Edinburgh to see Pete’s oncologist… I hope it is good news 🤞❤️