8th January 2023

This is not my photograph - I wish it was!  

It is a photograph made up of twelve shots taken from the same place at the same date and time to show the passage of the sun throughout the course of the year.  It is a breathtakingly simple idea which has produced a breathtaking series of photographs.  Someone on the island has done this, and I think it is amazing.

So today is Sunday.  Mum is going to stop driving when her insurance is due for renewal so she has a few weeks yet when she can still drive although she has decided to only do so when she needs to so.  I know that she is worried that she will not come up to Droushia in the future but we will go and pick her up and bring her to spend time with us and then take her back to Emba.

It is a period of time and adjustment for us all but this was always going to happen at some point.  The good thing is that Mum is happy with her decision and approaching it positively and in return we are making sure that we are giving her things to look forward to so that she doesn't feel isolated when she can no longer just open the garage and jump in the car.  Some how she seems almost relieved.

Today our meal was a bit of Christmas Leftovers - we were having a St Stephen's Pie which is a sort of cottage pie but with turkey and gammon under mashed potato although in this case it was turkey and gammon and apple, leek and onion.  This was served with carrot and peas.  We had three empty plates which was so pleasing for me.  Pudding was a Bailey's Bread and Butter Pudding made with the bottle which Ellen had kindly given to us - I made her and Richard one as a thankyou.  Mum enjoyed both and was happy to be offered to take home a portion of each which she can have for supper on another day.  Normally she moans about having her photograph taken but today she was more than happy.  We sat and chatted in the conservatory which was nice and warm until the weather changed and we could see it was as black as your hat over towards Kathikas.  Mum decided she would leave shortly after 3.00pm in the hopes she would avoid the rain but she had it all the way home from Kathikas.  We didn't get any rain in Droushia although we could actually do with some!

We have some remnants of Christmas still around.  In the conservatory I have two poinsettia - the red one my sister gave me last year and I managed to keep it going through the year.  When it lost all its leaves I cut it back and chucked it in the garden watering it occasionally and it rewarded me by growing back.  It isn't anything like as luscious as those you get from the garden centre but I don't care!

The white one my sister gave me this year.  It didn't settle well indoors initially but seems to be happier now that I have moved it into the conservatory.  I shall do the same with this one as I did with the red one and cut it back and put it outside.

It has been FA Cup weekend so that was our viewing for the weekend.  Mum has been watching too - the games that are on BBC or ITV although this evening she will probably be tuned into the Masters Snooker!

We had a lovely snuggly evening.  John has got the woodburner down to a fine art and the cats come in and stay with us - the only problem is that both Minnie and Boris want to sit on his lap.  They never want to sit on me - not that I am complaining because I generally find that too hot.  I shall leave you with a picture of John - Minnie was staging a protest because she wasn't able to sit on his lap when she wanted to!!!