Catching Up (2)

I feared this might happen. I need to put some structure into my routine. I am already playing catch up. I will write about my birthday celebrations and then try and keep up with events as they happen.

Barbara had “made plans” while I was away on my last voyage. Obviously, the Valentine Meal meant that I couldn’t celebrate on the actual day so Sunday the 18th was the next best alternative. My family is quite small and was further reduced by the fact that my brother Derek and his children, Danielle and Duncan, were away playing in the snow. So there were only 10 people available to join Barbara and me at the Mill House Restaurant in Skidby for Sunday lunch.

Not much time to stay in bed tho’ as we had some chopping and baking to do for the other event Barbara had planned, an Open House that evening. I thought it might prove to be too much but everything turned out fine.

First arrivals were Paul my nephew and my Mum. We haven’t seen Paul for a while so it was nice he was able to come and bring Mum across from Pudsey. Next were Phil, our son, and Amanda his wife with Rowan and Kirsten our grandchildren over from East Leeds. Finally, Lisa, our dottir, and Alan her husband came from just round the corner. Barbara and I got a lift with Lisa and Alan once they’d cleared the back seat! And off we went. We met Pauline, Barbara’s sister and Alan her husband at the restaurant at 12.30.

Our family lunch gatherings don’t have a very good record but this time everything went very well indeed. The food was excellent as was the service. The grandchildren behaved impeccably even though we all went through the menu! They chose sausage, chips and the “orange beans not the green ones” for their meal and ate it all up. The sitting finally got to Kirsten but she’s only three and the waitresses managed to body swerve her!

We all returned to our house and the ladies made final preparations for the Open House. That was set for 5pm onwards so we had an hour or so to recover and prepare. Once 5pm came, we had a steady stream of visitors. I should have said no gifts but I suppose most people would still have brought a bottle. Brian and Chris brought a bird call clock. The jury is still out. It is light sensitive so stops during the night but makes me jump when the tawny owl screeches at noon!

The only fault I could find with the Open House concept is that you miss some people. We have two rooms and, of necessity, had to seat people in both. Barbara and I split between the sitting room and dining room and, although we did swap about, occasionally missed people who went the other way for the buffet. Still I greeted most arrivals and said farewell to most departures. However, it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly without Lisa who acted as the hostess with the mostest and made sure everyone had a drink and had their glasses replenished.

Our final guest departed around midnight and we were cleared away and in bed by 1am. A great start to retired life.