Well has much happened in the three weeks since I last wrote? Personally life carries on pretty quietly, easily and enjoyably! Family life with just the two of us is good! I don't think I will ever get used to the boys not being around, sometimes I miss them terribly and can't wait for them to be in touch. Matt seems to live life at great speed and communication with parents seems to get in the way of the rest of his life. I leave messages, on phones, by text, messenger and e mail and why is it when the time he calls and I'm just on my way out to an appointment do I feel guilty! Ian on the other hand communicates well, as I speak we are on MSN, he wants to organise a party for his brothers 21st, looks like it will have to be in July as Matt has summer commitments with the RN and Ian has a trip to fit into in the Gambia! Ian seems happy with his work and next week he has to go to London to speak at a conference. Ian isn't so happy with his house mates as he hates the way they all leave the kitchen in a disgusting state. I bet in Matts house it is he who never does any washing up!
Extended family seem all to be doing there thing. My sister is making plans to move, it seem like it will eventually happen for her in June/July, I hope it works out well for her. I know my Mother is quite worried about her and how sh will fare in far off Leeds!. Steve's s sis is keeping well, although as an older mother she had to go have a 'nuchal fold' scan, which can determine if it is necessary to have a amniocentesis, All seems well and she doesn't have to put the baby at risk of the invasive test, though she has to have a further scan in a couple of weeks as the heartbeat is a little fast!

Last weekend a friend Linda, from Bedford came to stay and we did some of the touristy things: We spent Saturday in the Dockyard and I especially enjoyed the Mary Rose Museum, I'm always fascinated by the artefact's that are so like the things we used to day. It's amazing how they lay preserved in the ship wreck for nearly five hundred years!
On Sunday we ventured further afield and travelled in land to a small Hampshire village called Chawton, to the home of Jane Austen. It was actually only her home for the last eight years of her life, but she did a lot of her writing there. I found out that JA and I share our birthday:).

Work is pretty hectic and on Friday I went to a conference in Birmingham. It was a very interesting day, though it had been a bit stressful leading up to the day! My colleague who I was going with, had arranged for us to stay in a hotel overnight! This was OK until I realised that we would have to share a room!!!!! This very nice lady has a condition known as sleep apnea and has to be connected to a machine to keep her breathing throughout the night! I made my excuses and said that I was unable to share a room with anyone but Steve:) This then left me to offer to drive there and back in one day! As the time got nearer and nearer I realised that the drive would be too difficult in one day. I persuaded my reluctant boss to relinquish some of her budget to pay for our train fare, she agreed and the cost of the ticket was a wapping £90 each for a two hour train ride from Southampton airport! At this point I have to praise the man at BR in Winchester who went out of his way to find us a cheaper alternative and sold us a chap day return from Southampton Airport to Banbury and another cheap day return from banbury to Birmingham International, well done to the ticket clerk, he saved us or rather the NHS £48.00 for each ticket! I need now to trawl through all the stuff I carrried all the way back and probably throw half of it in the bin, oh dear all those trees, just so companies can advertise their wares to people who aren't allowed to inform their clients of the things they have seen exhibited! The speakers at the conference were pretty good and the subjects interesting, so back to work later on in the week to pass on the info to my colleagues! Not a husy working week as I have until Wednesday at home!