Partying

We had a wonderful time at Nikky's party.  It was a bit of a milestone for me.  One month on my own and facing a long-dress "do"!  But with Dick we had planned the dress I wore and he was very keen for me to go.  Tom, bless him, stepped up to the plate and was my partner for the evening.  Ben was excused mother-duty as he is off to Spain on Monday with the kids from the Special school where he works.

It was a lovely evening - good weather, plenty of champagne and a pretty marquee for us to dine and dance in. We were all of a "certain age" so the music reflected the 70s and 80s and we danced until 2.30pm.  Nikky had organised for the food to be provided by a local curry restaurant and it was delicious.

The dress was from a Vogue Pattern No V8360 and the fabric is silk chiffon which we got from Hadsons in London on a previous trip.  Nikky made the whole thing as I was rather involved with caring for Dick and couldn't find the time to do it.  She made a wonderful job of it.

This week is a time for getting down to sorting myself and my life out.  I have lots of sorting to do of Dick's things and also want to get back into the routine of my life.  I want to make time for quilting and seeing friends so hopefully it will be a fulfilling time.  I'm sure there will be things I don't enjoy but I am hoping to make the most of it all.

Besides, I have a lovely holiday to look forward to.  I am off for a couple of weeks in November with my lovely friends to the Dominican Republic.  I shall really look forward to it. 

Drying out!

Well, it has been a very wet week and we have been a bit more housebound than we might have been!  All I can say is that there are a lot of hills at Longleat!!  We languished in the spa and did some silk painting - ooh I loved that! and finally we visited Bath to check out Country Threads, the lovely quilt shop there.  It was a marathon trip.  Someone decided to close the A36 but we fought through and managed to take an hour and a half to cover the half hour journey.

Of course you can't visit a quilt shop without a little purchase.  I bought a few items - two charm packs of Moda Posh fabric some backing fabric and sashing so there is the potential for another quilt there!  I have the  plan and the idea for who it will be for but it could be another Christmas present in the making!  Just need to get on with it as usual. 

While we were away I managed to get the first block of my quilt "Quilters Journey" finished.  I am very pleased with it and hope to be able to keep up with the routine of sewing and stitching regularly throughout the month.  The quilt is designed by Lianne Beasley - she of Couch Companion fame - and I just love the detail.  I'm hoping to have it has a wall hanging in my kitchen diner with the possibility of moving it to a craft room later if I get around to developing the garage!

Travelling and sorting

I am pleased to report that the dress is finished.  Well.............I think it is!  I left Nikky's yesterday with the hem and a hook and eye needed and she assured me that she would be finishing it last night so I expect it is done now.  What a labour of love!  She has made a wonderful job of it and I am hoping to show you photos next week of it.

Better still, her own dress was finished earlier in the week and is stunning - absolutely stunning.  She sure can sew, that woman!

We had a quick shop at Bicester Village on my way home.  It is a lovely place to shop.  Lots of lovely clothes and bargains.  I bought a belt (black suede with a little bit of silver trim) and two blouses (both white) from Anne Fontaine.  I love them to bits and know they will be staples in the wardrobe. I made it back to Winchester in time for my hair to be cut and sorted so now it looks a million times better than it did.  The condition of it is not great - a combination of doing the diet and recent events so it needs all the TLC it can get.

Tomorrow we are off for 4 days to Center Parcs.  My mum and I and Ben and Tom have taken an apartment there but unfortunately due to pressure of work, Tom will only be able to spend 2 days there.  But Ben is up for a week's chilling and my mum and I are booked into the spa.  Hooray!

I am taking some crafting stuff - a mixture of scrapbooking and quilting/stitching.  Who knows, with a bit of luck, I might be able to report on some craft work in a few days time.

Battling the banks!

It's been a strange few days.  Dealing with the bureaucracy that surrounds a death is mind-blowing.  Joint accounts have to be changed, credit cards cancelled and new ones ordered........etc, etc.

Because we are awaiting an inquest, there is currently no proper death certificate for Dick and so doing things like re-registering his car can't be done and at the moment I am trying to work out how to tax the darned thing as the lovely lady from the Veteran's Agency took the tax off the car because it was part of the Mobility Allowance that Dick received!!  All complicated but not insoluble.

I have had a lovely few days, spending them with friends.  Saturday saw me making my way up to Kent with Jules to attend a crop.  It was lovely to see everyone and chat but that is about all I did do........chat.  I managed one 6 x 12 page layout and that was it!  We stayed to have supper with Al (very nice it was too!) and then came home quite late.

Yesterday I spent the day with Nikky.  The purpose was to get my dress made for her party and it is going really well.  I shall got back up again on Friday and hopefully it will then be finished.  It is really pretty and I am thrilled with it.  I am glad to report that her dress is done too.  She is horrendous at leaving her own sewing to the last minute so at least that is one less thing to fret about.

I'm not quite sure how I will feel about the party.  I am so pleased to be going and it is a new departure to be attending on my own.  (Ben and Tom could come with me, but I think they have other commitments!)  It will not be as difficult as I think, I am sure, as I shall be among friends and it is Nikky's special day which we really want to celebrate.  So..........best foot forward, make-up on, get out there and hit the town!

A Day To Remember

I suppose it is odd to say that I enjoyed the Service of Thanksgiving which we held for Dick but that is the truth of the matter.  Dick organised it all and was very clear about the fact that he wanted it to be a celebration and joyous as much as these things can be.  I think we achieved it.

When I walked into the church and saw the number of people there, coupled with the beautiful flowers and lighting in the church I just KNEW that Dick would have loved it and been pleased and so I looked forward to it all working out as he had planned it.

The music and hymns were great - how lucky were we to have the whole worship band playing: guitars, keyboards, drums and singers - and everyone joined in with them even though they were unfamiliar to some.  The tributes hit just the right note - amusing, emotional and reflective but above all full of admiration for their friend who has gone.

John Groves, our pastor handled the whole service with gentleness and sensitivity and gave an uplifting and clear message to us all at the end.  He is a wonderful man and has been a tower of strength to us all, Dick included in the past few weeks.

But above all it was just fantastic to see so many faces there that belong to the life that Dick, the boys and I lived together: army colleagues, rugby friends, neighbours, Freemasons, mates, Scrapping Friends and the Lurvelies!  They have all figured large in our lives and there they all were.  One of the Lurvelies and her husband drove down from Newcastle, another friend came over from Calgary and yet more friends came from Suffolk, Somerset, Worcestershire and even Northern Ireland.

The service at the Crematorium was brief and very personal.  It was made even more personal in that the Funeral Director who led the arrangements was an old friend and it was lovely to see him walking Dick down to the chapel.

So now begins the rest of our lives.  We shall miss Dick dreadfully but with the love and support which we saw yesterday I am sure in the long-term we shall be OK.

Let's hope that sun shines again................soon!