HELLO Monday

I've not played along with this one before but have seen so many people doing it on their blogs and enjoyed them that I thought I'd try and play along today too.

HELLO to two weeks of school holidays.

HELLO to not having to get up at 6am each morning.

HELLO to adjusting to the clocks having gone forward.

HELLO to trying to be more conscious of taking photos this week.

HELLO to trying to start eating more healthily and to doing some exercise.

HELLO to a trip to The O2 tomorrow (Tuesday), taking Emily and her friend to see One Direction.

HELLO to a return visit to the Dr on Wednesday to get the rest of my blood test results.

HELLO to spending time with Claire and the girls on Wednesday.

HELLO to a quieter day on Thursday (?)

HELLO to catching up with a good friend over coffee on Friday.

HELLO to (hopefully) making a start on decorating what will be Norma's room over the weekend, ready for her arrival in three weeks time :)

xx

Deb and Carrie come for lunch

On Friday Deb and Carrie (who were here from Arizona) came down to East Grinstead to visit us and have lunch. Claire and Carrie have got to "know" each other through blogs and Facebook and I know Claire was really excited to get to meet both Carrie and Deb in person. Emily knows them through their blogs and also from hearing us talk about them. So, great excitement when Friday finally arrived!

Deb and me

Deb had mentioned before that she liked the look of our town so after Emily and I picked them up from the station we headed into town for a quick sight seeing trip. Our town isn't that big ;) and with the weather as cold as it was, we weren't going to be out for long.

 We walked through St Swithun's church yard where they were able to see the old graveyard and the tomb stones for the East Grinstead martyrs who were burnt at the stake in the market place.

 The High Street in East Grinstead is made up of Tudor properties (some of which can be seen in this photo) which are full of history. If I remember correctly, East Grinstead was the stopping point (about half way) for people travelling from London to the coast in times past.

Our little tour over and we headed to Claire's house and then back here for lunch.

 Our girls 

(Emily, Megan, Claire and Carrie)

 Alice took a shine to Carrie and came to be in the photo too

 Carrie, me and Deb

And one last one to finish (love that wink!)

The afternoon went way too quickly but was great fun. It felt like good friends coming over for lunch and not only the second time we'd met. What a pity we live so far apart but I certainly hope we'll meet again in person one day. 

xx

Unexpected

On Monday morning I had an appointment to have a fasting blood test after visiting the Doctor last week. I asked to have my cholesterol checked and it was decided he would run a few tests at the same time. I had an appointment booked to see him again next Wednesday so I was surprised when I got a phone call yesterday to say he had my results back. It seems I have hypo thyroidism and he asked that I pick up a prescription later in the day. With hind sight I can now see that this makes sense as I tick a lot of the boxes - hopefully taking the tablets will make me feel "normal" again. I'll also be interested to talk to the Dr at next week's appointment to find out more.

And for a cuter photo, this one of Alice was taken when I popped round on Monday. I couldn't get over how long her hair has got or how cute it looks in a pony tail :)

xx

Meeting Blog Friends

This past Sunday, a group of bloggers - some I knew and some I didn't - met up in London for lunch and to meet Deb and Carrie who are over from Arizona. 

As there was engineering work on the line out of East Grinstead, I drove to Haywards Heath and caught the train from there to Victoria Station.  At Victoria I met Jacky and we travelled by tube to High Street, Kensington.

The meal was held at Maggie Jones and when we got there Deb, Carrie, Alison were quick to greet us and it felt like the most natural thing to be there with them. Deb and Carrie are just as I thought they would be - warm and welcoming and wonderful :)  Alison's accent was a surprise as I knew she now lives in Spain but I didn't expect the Scottish accent!

Carrie and Deb

It wasn't too long before the others started arriving and there were 11 ladies in all. What a wonderful afternoon spent chatting and meeting in person.

Alison, Carrie, Deb and Ruth

Alison and Ruth

It was so good to finally get to meet Ruth too. Seems so silly that we live only an hour or so apart and haven't met before. We hope to rectify that by meeting up again soon for a coffee or lunch.

After a good three hours at the table, we finally made our way outside for a few photos before some went on to coffee and others made their way home (myself included).

Ruth, Deb, Alison, Carrie, Jacky, Becky, Denise, Karen, Mel and Helena

What a wonderful place the blog world is that brings together people with similar interests.  I think the thing that got me most is that there were no awkward moments, it was just like meeting old friends (but this time in person).  Thank you to all the ladies for a most enjoyable afternoon :)

Deb and Carrie, looking forward to seeing you both on Friday :) 

xx