Its only 6.00pm and I have been up for half an hour and awake for so much longer. When I did sleep, it was fretful and I had very disturbed dreams. I have been sleeping really well of late and think perhaps that having Matt at home has unsettled me. I'm delighted that he is here, but I am anxious about him!
Well its going to be a long day ahead, even with sleep there is a lot to fit in. Shopping for Fridays supper with Annie, Christo and Phil. I'm not brilliant at entertaining, I just don't do 'fancy' stuff. i have opted for a Shepherd's pie, it sounds really boring, but this one is made with using meat from a slow roasted leg of lamb, marinated in honey, sweet sherry and Worcestershire sauce, the mash has butter and creme fraishe, so a bit indulgent. I like to do things ahead of time, so this will be followed by baked peaches with amaretto cream! I will be off to Waitrose for opening time at 8.30 and back before the prodigal is even awake.
The rest of the days itinerary is to take Matt and his Grandmother out for lunch, God knows what she will say about the piercing!! I have a dental appointment at 3, rainbows at 4.30, Home for 6. Matt has requested his favorite stew and dumplings for dinner and I like to please my kids, but I'm not sure when I'm going to fit this in! it will be back to work tomorrow for a rest.

Matt is home for a few days, hooray. He is looking really well, despite having had a piercing in an eyebrow, ouch! I have to try and keep my opinions to myself, not just on the metal but also about his future plans or lack of them. If I do so much as mention a career path, I will be accussed of nagging! How I wish that this bright intelligent son of mine had focus. It is only because I love him that i want him to reach his potential!!

Six days on the Costa Brava. We had a great time staying in a wonderful villa in Sierra Brava. Elaine and Brian had invited us to join them along with Stuart and Jan. All are new friends, made when we joined the sailing club in 2004, who would have thought that the decision to move south would have given us the opportunity to make new friends who have in a short time enriched our lives! Our days were spent visiting pretty little towns, Cathedrals, beaches and markets. The evenings were spent, some eating in restaurants and the rest in the villa. We cooked together, drank plenty and laughed more than I can remember laughing in a very long time! Each evening we played cards or 'articulate', each evening the competition became fiercer, the guys just didn't like to be beaten and they were, spectacularly!
Its back to work tomorrow and in the evening Matt is arriving home for a few days and I'm feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Were off to Sunny Spain.......la lala Espana!

Second instalment today? I have just spent a very lazy afternoon watching television for nearly 4 hours. TCM show some really old films and today it was 'Gone With The Wind'. I had never seen this epic before. What an amazing novel written by Margaret Mitchell in 1929 and made into the film in 1939, I enjoyed every minute of it and no apologies for not doing something more industrious with my time. "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn".

Another week has just flown by and although the shops are telling me Christmas is on its way, I find it hard to believe. Yes! its getting colder, but the autumn sunshine is warm. The shops are full of Christmas stuff, but I'm packing for a holiday in the late Spanish sunshine. Yes another holiday, for many reasons I feel guilty at taking a second holiday in a month. I'm not sure why and friends and family say there is no need. I think feeling guilty is a deep rooted thing in my personality
On Friday I went over to see Annie and we sat in her little conservatory with the sun streaming in. It was an enjoyable couple of hours spent chatting, talking about issues that affect us both and wider ones. I called in on my Mother on the way home and once again I am made to feel guilty. Mum cannot understand Annie's need to know her family or why I am building a relationship with my sister. I firmly believe that had Dad had been alive he would have been pleased. There has been an issue with Denise, who does not want anything to do with Annie, but then she doesn't do anything to maintain a relationship with her twin sister. Denise had said she didn't want her children to know of this other strand to their family! Annie felt really strongly that they should have the information and after a lot of thought we decided that the best way to approach this was to ask Ian to help. Ian agreed readily that at sometime he would speak to Jonathan. Ian would undoubtedly deliver such news with sensitivity
Ian had spoken to his Grandmother and he said that she was unhappy with his view on the family situation, but he said that it wouldn't stop him talking to Jonathan at sometime. Well when I saw my Mother she informed me that she herself had initiated a conversation with Johnathan last week, but he'd said he had already known for a long time!!!!
It was a busy week at work, my appraisal should have happened on Thursday but my line manager went off sick, so it will now wait until after my holiday.
Last night was the AGM at the sailing club. This was another political minefield which exploded nicely after the vote. If you have ever been involved in a committee you will know how difficult it is to get people to volunteer. Well last night the club was in an enviable position of having ten people put them selves forward, when the Constitution states that the management committee should be made up of the officers of the club plus eight others. Oh dear, so we had to have a vote. A ballot was held and when all the papers counted the successful members names were read out! Two people were disappointed, one of them a very elderly lady who had been a committee member for years and the second a lady who's husband had been elected to serve a second term on the sailing committee. Well the latter's not so better half took umbrage that his wife had been thwarted and duly resigned from the sailing committee. Personally, I think any club is better off without people like this, though I did vote her.

Another weekend over and unusually mine isn't extended as I have to work tomorrow and attend an 'away day'. It's a day away from our usual base, no phones to answer and clients to see. Instead we will be busy working on policies and team matters, sounds exciting!
Tomorrow I would certainly benefit from a day off. Yesterday it was the day of the 'Rainbow 'Sleepover'! Along with the other adult helpers I arrived at midday to get the scout hut ready for the onslaught of the very excited 5-7 year old girls. We decorated for the theme of 'under the sea', put together little camp beds and made the hall home from home!
My responsibility was that of first aider, so I checked the first aid box out, made up the sick bed, perused my St John's manual and prayed that there wouldn't be any more than a scratched knee to tend too. Yes, I have a first aid certificate, but suddenly my skills may be called on at any time during the next 24 hours and I doubt my ability.
The girls arrived at 2.00pm and right away into a frenzied timetabled craft activities which Sunflower and Primrose had arranged between them. A few little girls who for various reasons had chosen not to 'sleep', arrived at 3.00pm for activities and tea. It was an extremely busy afternoon with girls moving on from one themed activity to another. We had visitors who arrived and watched, some joining in, one staying for tea. They were trainers, and testers and county presidents. All very important people who we had to impress for Bluebell who was under scrutiny. Karen aka Bluebell passed her tests with flying colours and is now qualified to take members of the Guiding movement on more sleepovers or pack holidays.
Our cooks were two very experienced Guiders: Bizzie Lizzie who I had only met twice before and on both occasions she'd frightened me to death!!! Her cooking went down well and I was very impressed how the girls tucked into her pasta, chicken and salad. At bedtime BL's other talent came to light, that of a wonderful story teller. I think undoubtedly she missed her vocation and should be in pantomime!
The Rainbows were very excited at the prospect of going to bed and couldn't wait to don their pj's and climb into their assortment of multi coloured sleeping bags. At 8.30 the lights were lowered and then the fun began, excited chatter could be heard from the attached room, torch lights shone and little girls giggled. It was 11.30 before the last little girl had fallen asleep, most of them making endless trips to the loo. Us adults had sat playing cards and taking turns to check the children. We eventually donned our own bed wear and climbed into bed. I inserted my ear plugs and despite my bed being closest to the door I didn't hear a thing until 7.30 when the rainbows began to waken. It wasn't so quiet a night for two of my colleagues who had been woken twice in the early hours by a Rainbow who'd had a little accident!!!!

Today it has been a glorious autumn day, a little chilly to start, but blossoming into a day of beautiful sunshine. As I attended a course on Monday today I had a day off. I started by changing the bed and getting the washing out on the line. Jane picked me up a little after 10.00am and we headed to one of the many garden centres. We wandered around and shopped a bit, before having coffee outside on terrace. Jane bought three fish for her outside pond, taking pity on a large (sort of) gold fish who was deformed with a large ulcer on its head!
After returning home I decided to go into Gosport to see if I could get Steve's sailing trophies engraved, a bit late really as its only a week until they go back. Well no luck as everywhere I tried gave me the same negative answer, because of the size and shape. Steve is a bit disappointed but I have one more place to try in Fareham.

Gosh what a busy day. After doing a few chores around the house and returning home after a walk to the High Street I returned home to tackle some 'work' stuff. What is it? It's the preparation for my appraisal next week. Its supposed to take a couple of hours to complete! Hmm! the three hours spent on the computer today, added to a couple of hours the other evening and I'm still not finished. Is it that I am so slow or is it a very complicated system. Well, I had to spend time trawling through a large tome, matching the job I do with level indicators and then giving evidence to back up the level that I say I'm working too. It doesn't matter that I am working for somethings at a higher level than my job is matched too. It won't make any difference, I won't get a pay rise for working hard! I think its a very complicated system , but then I do work for the NHS.

It was rainbows tonight and as I have missed three meetings, I really wanted to be there. This Saturday will be the 'sleep over', that I know is a complete fallacy as I know these fifteen little girls won't be sleeping much. I am not looking forward to it, but I know the Rainbows are really exited.

This evening Steve has been down loading photos from my Mother's photo album. I have sent Annie a couple of photo's of Dad, but as he was usually behind the camera there aren't many of him in isolation. I have also sent an e mail to My sister Denise asking if she would like to receive them via e- mail or CD

Yesterday turned into a very pleasant autumn day, although we didn't do much with it. Steve did tidy the garage in order to fit the car back in before the winter sets in. Ian had man flu, so he and I spent the afternoong playing scrabble, he thrashed me in both games, but never mind, there will always be another match!
Ian's grandmother came for dinner and we all enjoyed roast pork and apple sauce followed by rhubarb custard.

Its Sunday morning heading for 10.00am, I have been up for a couple of hours, Steve and Ian are both in bed. I have been listening to radio 2 as I prepared the veg for dinner this evening. As Ian is home I'm planning a roast and have invited my Mother to join us. I'm not sure what we will do today, its just nice to have a son at home and however he wants to spend his day is fine.
Yesterday evening I received my RYA level 1 certificate at the prize giving. Steve received an esteemed trophy for his efforts as an instructor and it was truly deserved, although i had to collect it on his behalf as he had popped out to pick Ian up from the Gosport Ferry.

Ian home on a flying visit and he has just shown me how to publish a picture, so here it is from our Greek holiday.

I have had two days back at work with a day off in between and would you believe that I'm absolutely shattered, really strange since I have just had a two week holiday:). Its been nice getting back into the swing of things at work, in fact its hard to believe that I have ever been away. It doesn't take very long at all before one is back into routine.
Late yesterday afternoon Steve and I eventually got to take our balloon flight. It was the 8th attempt and it was well worth the wait. We began our flight at West Meon and finished in a field on the outskirts of a village north of Petersfield. There were fifteen passengers and the pilot aboard. The pilot was very skillful and he handled the balloon with expertise, taking us higher or lower as was needed. At times it was very noisy with the burners lit and very peaceful when they were turned off and we travelled along silently through the air. As landing approached we all took up our landing positions and waited with trepidation for the bump. It was a little bumpy and yes the basket did tip over, but we were all safely down. We all helped to pack the balloon away and finished with a glass of Champagne!

Its the 1st October, its raining and the leaves are beginning to turn into their autumnal shades and leave the trees. I am up early and am in the midst of the mountain of washing which came back from Greece with us. Steve is up and getting ready for work, which I don't have until tomorrow.
Our holiday was an enjoyable experience, sailing the boat was fun, though tremendously hard physical work. I have humongous bruises which were probably gained when moving about the boat, getting fenders in and out and mooring ropes ready as we we came into port. It took a few days for Steve and I to get the hang of things, he expected me to be able to do things at a drop of a hat. I'm not a 'natural' sailor and Steve found this hard, but after a few altercations we worked things out and I was given plenty of clear instructions, with plenty of time to carry out the task!
There were twelve boats in our flotilla and a lead crew boat. Our skipper was a 26 year old New Zealander named 'Clarkie'. This guy worked his socks off, was calm and encouraging, he was there to help us into the bay at the end of the evening, he checked lines and anchors and on the odd stormy night he would be out of bed making sure all our boats were secure. Clarkie is returning at the end of the season to work on his family sheep farm having spent a few years working for sailing holidays. I'm sure Mr & Mrs Clarke are aware of there sons immense talents and I'm sure are very proud of him and they jolly well should be. Dan the young engineer was always cheerful, also worked very hard and even harder if the "All Blacks" were playing and he wanted to get to a bar and watch the match, another thoroughly nice young New Zealander. The third member of the crew was also from New Zealand. Jules, was the hostie, a very energetic young lady whose job it was to keep us happy, inform of us of the amenities or lack of them at each port! It wasn't the girls fault when the sanitation was primitive or the only super market had closed its doors early for the season . Poor Jules took the stick when Olga the proprietress of the tavern with showers in our last bay threw a 'hissy fit' and wouldn't allow us to use her showers! Well, we had showers on the back of our boats, so out came the shower gel and we showered alfresco. A few of our fellow sailors were disappointed that there wasn't enough social events organised, speaking for myself the three group meals that were organised were very nice indeed. I didn't want anymore activities as I didn't want a holiday camp culture!
We'd gone on the holiday with Sandy and Paul. They had one boat and we had another. Paul being a qualified yacht master was a real asset, his expertise helped us along the way. We went free sailing with them and his knowledge, confidence and patience was really appreciated. Most days we anchored in quiet little bays, had lunch and swam off the boat. I discovered at nearly fifty that I can swim more than the 25yards that a certificate gained at the age of 11 says I can. For the first time ever I swam in deep water, jumped in from the boat and attempted to snorkel. I suddenly gained confidence in water which I'd never had before! There were other firsts including swimming naked, which felt very liberating.
We got along well with everyone in the flotilla, especially Mary and Chris a lovely Irish couple who live in Oxford. We spent most evenings eating in Taverna's, Chris and Mary's great company really enriched our holiday. I do hope that we get to see them again sometime.