Brunch with Roslyn and a New Skirt

On the 5th of March I went to Fox Valley to meet my friend Roslyn. We often go there as it's halfway between our houses, roughly, and it's accessible for both of us. We planned to go in The Lounge that's there, so when I arrived first I went in. But there was a huge queue and our wait would have been forty-five minutes. So instead I headed to McGilveray's which is just opposite. I've looked at their menu before but their vegetarian main course choices are really limited. But their breakfast menu had plenty of veggie choices so I decided it would be fine for us. 

I had a coffee while I waited for Roslyn, and then we both ordered the meat free breakfast. Roslyn is also a vegetarian so that's good. We then both had a slice of chocolate cake too, which was really nice and homemade and just enough for pudding. We walked to Holland & Barrett where I bought some snacks. We said goodbye after that and I drove home. 

I was wearing this skirt for the first time. It used to be a dress  from Lindy Bop and it belonged to my friend Gemma. She passed it on to me, and I knew that the bodice wouldn't fit me, but the skirt would. So I asked my mum to alter it. It was a bit of a challenge because it had a zip down one side and pockets, the first of which had to be removed and the second of which had to be preserved. But she likes a challenge! Promise. The lining is a bit wonky but otherwise it's good. I love the print on it and I'm really glad I can wear it now!

I wore it with my Pits & Perverts: Lesbians and Gay Men Support the Miners t-shirt which I really like. I also had on these pale green Snag tights, I think my aunt bought me them for my birthday last year but I hadn't yet worn them. But I knew they'd go with this skirt so I pulled them out. I have been wearing my Dr Marten boots that came from Vinted almost every day since I got them at Christmas. I swear when it's a bit less cold I'll wear some other shoes, but these are so comfortable and I just love them!

Veggie breakfast

Chocolate cake! So good!

T shirt and new-to-me skirt

Green tights and boots

Finally, I refound this necklace in my jewellery stuff recently and pulled it out to wear, it's so nice!

New Lizzo T Shirt

At the beginning March Lee and I had to go to Ossett to pick up the pottery that Sam and Jac and I had painted a few weeks previously. We then decided to go to the Food Warehouse in Wakefield as we 'd run out of freezer stuff and we like the range there. Then after a conversation with my mum we decided to go have lunch there - I wanted to get some Indian stuff from one of the petrol stations but even though I only went a few weeks ago it seems like it's not there anymore, which is a shame. Instead Lee got KFC and I got Burger King and we got Cinnabon for all of us. It was nice to see my mum and stepdad. Lee was playing a gig in Sheffield in the evening so we didn't stay too long as Lee wanted to relax before he went out. But it was a nice morning out. 

The pottery looks really good, I'm really happy with my three pieces, especially the cat. I would do it again, I found it relaxing. 

I had decided earlier in the week to buy a Lizzo t-shirt. I'm not that familiar with her music but I like her and I wanted a fat woman on a t-shirt, too. I decided to go for this one in grey. It arrived so I wore it straight away with my skirt that used to be a dress and star tights. A good outfit for the morning!

Love this outfit for me!

My plate and Jac's teabag holder, I think the holder is my favourite things (it's Stede Bonnet)

Sam's bowl and cup

My cat and bauble and Jac's Belle. I love the bauble too, it's not perfect but I like it

World Book Day 2023

My book club decided to have a social get together on World Book Day, which we've never done before but would like to make into an annual event! Lynn very generously offered to have us all over to her house. She said she would buy bread and if we could all bring a salad we would have a faith supper. I at first had a prior engagement but then my friend had to cancel, so I could make it to the social! I decided to take mozzarella salad with cucumber and tomatoes, and some pesto to go along side. I didn't put the pesto on as I know not everyone likes it. 

I got to Lynn's about 7pm and was actually the first there although others were very close behind me. Everyone brought something delicious and the vast majority of it was vegetarian which was very exciting for me. Even the quiches were both veggie! Someone also brought some 'nozeco', some alcohol free prosecco, so I had some of that. We helped ourselves to food and sat round Lynn's table to eat. It was so lovely! We had sunken rhubarb cake for pudding with sour cream.

Lynn had also suggested that we each take some books to swap. I am always getting rid of books so I took a bag full. I managed to only come home with one in return, which was a loan from Paula anyway. Go me! We chatted and had coffee. I didn't leave until around 10.30pm! It was so nice to get together and not talk about books! 

All of us at the table before dessert, the picture was taken by Lynn's husband

Look at this beautiful spread! It was so good, I love a faith supper

And here's the rhubarb cake which I wasn't sure about but ended up really enjoying

Films of the Month - February

I only watched THREE films in February. THREE. That is seriously the lowest number since I started keeping records, which is probably about ten years ago at this point, maybe longer. I am disappointed in myself. I know that one of the reasons is that February is a prime time for new dramas to come out, so I was watching some of those. I enjoyed the new season of Vera, and then the new - and final - series of Endeavour started. I enjoyed Dancing on Ice and a couple of similar shows. I watched a couple of series on Netflix where sometimes I might choose a film there instead.

But another reason why I didn't watch many films is that February was just really difficult for me. January had not been great either, what with dental surgery and then my grandma dying at the end of the month, and then my mum having to have her cat put to sleep in February. My grandma's funeral didn't happen until the 21st of February, nearly four weeks later, which is just so long to wait. I spent a lot of February anxious and upset. When I'm like that I find it really hard to have the mental werewithal to watch films. 

I feel like I had a bad start to 2023. It didn't go at all how I wanted. As well as my own things, I feel like a lot of my friends were going through really crap stuff too. Someone lost his wife, someone discovered her husband has Stage IV cancer, someone else was in A&E... that's just three of the people who have had some kind of suffering in January or February. I really hope things improve for me and everyone else soon. 

Anyway here's the three films I did see:

I hadn't seen The Virgin Suicides in absolutely forever, and I remember really liking it, so I thought I would watch it again. It is a really ethereal film and I like that

East Is East is one of my favourite films ever, I basically know all the words. That kind of film is perfect for when I'm feeling low

Finally, Stand By Me was on Netflix so I watched it. It's a brilliant film, I love the short story it's based on too 

Funeral Chic

Tuesday the 21st of February was my grandma's funeral, almost four whole weeks since the day she died. I don't know why funerals take so long these days, because it really prolongs the agony for everyone and is just really annoying. However, the day finally came. We had a short committal service at the crematorium and then a service of Thanksgiving at the church I work for, where my grandma had attended with my mum and stepdad over the past ten years. We then had the funeral tea at the church straight after which people said was good as it meant we didn't have to go elsewhere. 

I wanted to speak at the funeral, and ended up writing and delivering the whole eulogy! I'm not entirely sure that I volunteered for all of that! I was quite anxious about it but it went well and I managed to keep it together. The hymns and readings were nice. As the ending music we had chosen Aled Jones singing How Great Thou Art and as it happened, everyone stayed in the nave singing along to it. It was a really thing that we hadn't intended but which just happened! 

We left the church after the buffet around 2.30pm and then my mum, Lee, my cousin and I went to my dad's grave as Lee wanted to. We took some of the flowers from my grandma's coffin to put on my dad's grave so that he can have them for a while. We had also had primroses - my grandma's favourite flower - in the church for people to take home, so I've got a few of those. We went back to my mum's and sorted through some of my grandma's jewellery with my cousins and their wives. I've inherited a really beautiful sapphire ring which I need to get made smaller. 

Neil made pancakes for everyone for tea as it was Shrove Tuesday. It was nice for us all to be together after the funeral. I think my grandma would have liked it, I think we did her okay. 

I was wearing this burgundy Scarlett and Jo dress that I've had for ages but don't wear too often. I don't have a plain black dress so thought this was fine. It has sheer sleeves but as it wasn't too warm I put on my Yours shrug and ended up keeping that on all day. I wore footless Snag tights underneath and my DM boots. I took this photo just before we left the house, so my hair was still wet so that's why it looks odd!

Lunch Out with Lee

We waited such a long time between my grandma's death and her funeral, and I found it really stressful and overwhelming and wasn't sleeping very well. I was also really sad about my mum's cat having to be put to sleep, and upset for my mum. I did go to a gig and saw my friend Amy, and the gig left me in so much pain that I had to relax for a couple of days after. But on Sunday the 19th, I was going a bit stir crazy so said to Lee that we should go out for lunch. We decided to go into Barnsley to the Market Kitchen, where there are quite a few places you can get food from. They weren't all open as it was Sunday, but Lee got a chicken shish from the Turkish place, and I went for Thai food. I also ordered a Bramble cocktail which was really gorgeous. For food I had sweetcorn fritters and Massaman curry, I also have Massaman curry cos I love it so much. I went for plain noodles instead of rice which was a mistake, but no matter! I enjoyed the food anyway.

We then walked over to where a new dessert place has opened also in the Glass Works complex. We decided to go in even though we hadn't planned. I had cookie dough with strawberries, chocolate, and whipepd cream. It was so good! An unexpected treat! We went into TKMaxx where I smelt every scented candle they had. I bought a pack of three in the end, for a tenner. I still have birthday money to spend, so I could treat myself. I always have a scented candle or a wax melt burning as it makes me feel happy. 

We popped into Morrisons before coming home, where I bought myself some brandy because it turns out I like it. We got some other cat food too as our two had turned their noses up at the one in gravy Lee had bought - bloody cats. I was wearing my Be Gay Solve Crimes t shirt, which is a reference to Robin Stevens' Murder Most Unladylike series of books, and my pink and black Scarlett and Jo skirt that used to be a dress. You can't see but I was wearing my bright pink footless tights from Snag, too, I thought they added some much needed colour to life!

Lee and I in Market Kitchen. It was quite empty but I'm glad we went! I look horrendously tired here

Bramble cocktail which was so nice

Massaman curry, it was hot and delicious!

Sweetcorn fritters and chilli sauce

Our desserts! Look at them! Oh my goodness. I will have to go back there

Finally my outfit when we got home

RIP Ruben

On Valentine's Day I went off to work as usual. My friend Jane had been staying with us for a couple of nights; she left just after me. I had loads of work to do and got loads done, but I had been awake in the night and was reslly tired when I came home. Lee and I had decided to not go out for Valentine's Day but decided to order curry. I really wanted Thai food but no one in Barnsley would deliver that, so we ordered curry instead. We gave each other a record each that we had bought in Leeds just the week before - I'm very excited to have Billie Holiday on vinyl! 

However, just before Lee was going to go out to collect the curry, my mum rang in floods of tears and asked if we could take her and my stepdad to have their cat Ruben put to sleep. They had been out for lunch and both had a drink so couldn't drive. So we quickly got dressed (we had been in pyjamas) and set off for my mum's, picking up our curry on the way.

Ruben and Millie, my mum's cats, were actually born on the day my dad died in 2008 and came to live with her twelve weeks later. Millie is black with a tiny white smudge, like my Jasmine. Ruben was mostly white with black markings - really cute markings. While my mum was by herself they were constant companions for her and were absolutely spoilt rotten. They would sit on the table with her while she ate tea, a habit that they never grew out of! Ruben was one of the most friendly and amenable cats you could ever wish to meet. They have both been really healthy cats their entire lives. A few months ago Ruben started losing weight and wasn't eating properly. He had been put on different food but it didn't make much of a difference. In late January he got all jaundiced - the skin on the tips of his ears had gone all yellow. 

My mum knew she would probably have to make a difficult decision quite soon, and just before Valentine's Day Ruben was having trouble walking so she said to me it would probably be soon. Then on the Tuesday he couldn't walk at all, so my mum called it. We all went into the vets. The vet was lovely and the whole thing was peaceful. Ruben was very brave, bless him. He will be so missed! My mum brought him home to bury him near his favourite bush. Please give your pet an extra hug from us - I made sure Poppy and Jasmine were covered in kisses and hugs 

Billie Holiday and Public Enemy

A picture of Ruben taken about four years ago I think, wasn't he the most handsome boy?