Settling in . . .

Where to start, I really don't know. I think I'll save the camping post until I have the photos on-line. We all used my Brother's new camera so I have to wait for him, or more likely his wife, to send me the pics.  I will just say it was freakishly good weather for North Wales. Three days of sunshine with one session of heavy wind and rain during the night on Sunday. Yes, I'll do a holiday post when the photos come through.
We were back quite late last night but I sat up till one am to catch up on all your posts, I didn't get time to comment and was a little too tired and irritable anyway.

For most of my life, visits to North Wales have been over-shadowed by too many bad memories. In the last year I've felt much more at peace with it all and can now appreciate the beauty of the place. It really does take some beating and I think coming home to this town with neither sea or mountains got me down a bit. Also seeing my Dad in the latter stages of Parkinson's disease is very sad. Heart-breaking. They've prescribed him more drugs to calm his anxiety attacks and he is very quiet and lost. He is frail, incontinent and in a wheelchair. It's hard to see the strong man I knew as Dad in this way. I gave him a hug as we left and told him properly that I loved him, he cried like a small boy. His wife is an angel. She is only fifty-six, he is eighty-six. She has loved him since she was twenty-one, truly loved him. He is her first love and might even be her last. Who knows.

Stropster has been signed off work onto the pittance that is "sick pay" due to a hernia, he is just a tad more stroppy than his usual stroppy self . . . He's bored at home, without money, having to rest . . . . O dear, just when I thought I would get some time at home, alone, in peace. My Brother said we should be grateful for our trials as well as our blessings. I said nothing for now. I'll keep that one up my sleeve for another day.

Hamper G started school this morning, just mornings for the first week . . . . she loves it! How good is that? I was worried when I went to collect her at lunch time that I might find a tear stained little face but there was no need, she was fine. More than fine, she was excited about it all and looking forward to going back tomorrow. It's a huge relief that she settled in so quickly.

I had some very strange dreams last night but I won't go into all that just now. I think once I've completed Higgins part three and moved on to France part one (Lost in Nice) those dreams will stop. They'll no doubt be replaced by others but a change of "scenery" will be more than welcome.

I'll get back into my fitness routine this week with an extra four mile daily walk thrown in. I pretty much stuck to my eating plan whilst we were away but I didn't do my daily work out or weights . . . I'll allow myself a week to catch up, then weigh-in and up-date.

It's past midnight and I need to be up at seven, so I better get to bed. I've been very tired and a bit flat since we got back, I reckon I'll be settled in by the weekend and find my enthusiasm again for my Springtime purge!

Meantime, I hope you're all doing well in whatever you want to be doing. I'm looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of it all. Sweet dreams and thoughts to all. Thanks, as always, for reading.