Pictures Paint the Story…..

After a day or two blog-less, I thought I’d fill you in on a happy weekend. So here we go…..

On Saturday, we spent most of the day shoulder-high in Christmas presents, wrapping paper, labels and pretty ribbon. As always, I have the best intentions and think I’ll start the process of Christmas gift-wrapping early – only to find that actually, I haven’t bought half of the parcels that I need for wrapping…….hmmm, back to writing another long list….

The festive spirit was spreading like wildfire among all of the family as well though, because it was snowing! We were sending messages backwards and forwards to each other, with all the latest exciting bits of news on what was happening with the snowfall in our back gardens. The children, as you can imagine, were extremely excited and were rushing outside to play in it.

Freddie even went so far as to dress up as Santa, so excited was he!

William created a cool Snowman and was as pleased as punch with his efforts, as you can see. And maybe Daddy enjoyed the fun, too – he looks as pleased as punch as well!

Not to be outdone, Thomas got in on the act, sledging through the snow – now was it Mummy or Daddy having to do the hard work pulling him along, I wonder?

Sunday saw the snow lingering, so we hunkered down once more, sorting our supply of food, lighting the fire and settling in for a cosy day. Excitement mounted as the morning wore on, because Andrew was coming home. Fatted calf at the ready…..

We had a lovely day, thoroughly enjoying each others’ company and filling our bellies with fabulous food. I had a short walk out of the front door as dusk dimmed the day and, looking back, thought how wonderful our house looked, so I took a snapshot of ‘The House that Jack Built’. The ol’ man’s a clever boy, isn’t he?

Today was another full day, taking in a visit to Mum this morning with Andrew, a hop over to the Sutton Sleaths to drop a document in, and then a funeral this afternoon.

Mum was on top form again this morning and delighted to see us. She wasn’t sure who Andrew was, but she knew she felt comfortable with this young man and easily chatted away to him. Topics of conversation are limited however, so we resorted (as I often do) to looking through photo albums to enjoy the family pictures. She loves to do that and she particularly enjoyed looking at them with Andrew. The only person she was sure she knew? Herself, of course!! She made us laugh and we all enjoyed the visit enormously.

This afternoon, I went to a funeral to represent Mum. Her lifelong friend, Hazel, had died earlier in the year, and then a few weeks ago it was David, Hazel’s husband. Mum doesn’t remember the chain of events from one day to the next, but she still has all her fundamental feelings, so she was sad to hear the news, and sent her very good wishes to Hazel and David’s daughters. She still knows how to behave, bless her!

In between all the wonderful stuff going on, I am still looking at the COVID situation, so that we keep safe enough to keep contributing meaningfully to family life. It’s not over yet, folks, so those Lateral Flow Tests are getting thorough usage; we are keeping our distance as much as we can; we’re wearing masks when we’re out and about – only taking them off when we’re pretty sure it’s safe; and we’re opening windows for that through-draft. Anything else that we need to do, do you reckon?

One piece of advice from one of the scientists that I follow that I thought was salient, was to be ‘attentive to how many close contacts we have.’ And, I suppose, to be attentive to how we deal with those close contacts. I am no longer embarrassed to tell family and friends that I am doing a lateral flow test just before I see them, and to ask them if they will, too, please.

Today, then, 42,583 people tested positive for the virus – including several cases of Omicron; 35 people died in the community; 769 people were admitted to hospital; 11 people died in hospitals in the last 48 hours.

Take care everyone. May your God go with you – especially offering this prayer for everyone in our friendship group who is suffering with illness and facing a difficult time ahead:

May the Lord bless you and keep you. 
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. 
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.