Well, last Friday was the first time that I have missed writing a Happy Friday post since I began this blog just over six months ago, and I did have a good excuse – I was down in Kent for a lovely family wedding, so didn’t have a computer with me. But I’m back!

So, here are a few of the highlights of the past couple of weeks:

1. My niece’s wedding has to be my number one – obviously! It was all lovely – from the amazing sunny weather to the beautiful bride and bridesmaids, the men in their uniforms, the food, the amazing little touches like the welcome champagne slushy (a huge hit!), popcorn, candyfloss and the ice cream van. Not to mention that fact that my sister gave a fabulous mother-of-the-bride speech! It really was a lovely day.

2. G and I had a lovely girly trip down to Kent for the wedding, as D had to go up to collect B from school for the weekend. We had a great morning before the big event, wandering around Deal, along the pier and on the beach. It’s not an area of the country that I know well at all, and I was blown away by how beautiful it is.

3. The bed and breakfast we stayed in the night before was also a highlight. We had a lovely room, beautifully decorated, and the owner was very friendly and welcoming. And of course, there are few better ways to start the day than with a great B&B cooked breakfast – delicious!

4. It was then lovely to get back home to spend the weekend with B – so nice to all be back together again.

5. One of the things that B is loving about his new school is doing Food Technology, so he came home brimming with enthusiasm to demonstrate his new skills and recipes. He made sweet and sour chicken for Saturday lunch, followed by lasagne on Sunday. Not only were the meals absolutely yummy, as soon as he had finished cooking them, he then washed and dried everything he had used, put them away, cleaned all the surfaces and polished the sink! I could get used to this!

6. I have had a stinking cough and cold this week, so I have been indulging in plenty of comfort food, with the absolute ultimate being meat and potato pasties, made according to my mum’s recipe. It is so long since I have had these but they tasted so good.

7. Despite the dreaded lurgy, I have had quite a productive week at home, getting on top of all our home filing one evening, and then eventually organising the photos I took of doors in France (almost three years ago!) into a collage, which I have ordered in poster form, so that I can then frame it. I get there in the end!

8. Maybe in another nod to creature comforts, I have started knitting a blanket this week. I am not a great knitter – scarves and squares have been my only specialities in the past – as I really need to keep it simple. I decided that a blanket can be very simple, and I have nice, thick, chunky wool so it grows quite quickly which is satisfying, but it is going to take a while to be big enough for a blanket. A nice project though, hopefully with a luxurious result.

9. I made a decision this week that has also made me happy – I am going to try to volunteer at a nearby hospice. Ever since my mum spent her final days in one almost ten years ago, I have wanted to do this, but the time has never been right, with the children, home and work to deal with. However, there was a piece in the news earlier this week about how we are the best in the world at providing end-of-life care, which made me realise that now is actually a really good time for me to eventually be able to do this. I have contacted the hospice, and hopefully will be able to sign up for their training programme starting in January, so that I will then be able to volunteer once a week there.

10. A light-hearted one to end with! Whenever we come back through the back gate from a walk, Lottie plonks herself down in the low variegated bush just inside the garden. This has become a real habit – not sure why she does it, but how cute does she look?

So we are off to Norfolk this weekend, which I’m really looking forward to, as we haven’t been for about 7 weeks. As D has been away all week, it will be really nice to spend a lovely relaxing weekend together – although also poignant, as it will be our first trip there without B.

I hope that you all have a fabulous weekend