Sari Time

My step mother died suddenly on Saturday morning, very peacefully, thankfully my father was able to get to her bedside in time to be with her. Sadly she has been in hospital for the last few weeks since a fall at home and Dad has been stranded in the nursing home since 17th Feb. so they've not been together for a while. My middle sister was down at the weekend and was with them at the hospital, along with Hilda's daughter in law and grandson. Little sis did a great job in supporting Dad and Hilda, What a star. The support that the three of us have for each other and Dad is just amazing. Maybe something to do with losing Mum when we were comparatively young, or maybe we're just lucky to be so close in our hearts if not in miles! Dad and Hilda were married for over 23 years both of them having been widowed before they married in 1985, for a second time each. Not a bad tally these days, two happy marriages each.
My fund raising Bridge day on Saturday went well although hearing about Hilda just before the start was rather distracting. We raised around £750 on the day through tickets, raffle and donations which is fantastic.
Thanks to all those who helped either on the day or in advance.
Read the most recent Marian Keyes over the last few days, a great chance just to disappear from the world without having to think too much about what I was reading although it was written in 4 different voices which takes a while to get used to! It has an insight into violence against women in relationships and the strange way these relationships continue in spite of this.

It must be almost Spring as the clocks go forward on Saturday night / Sunday morning. Funny how it's OK in the Winter when they go back but horrid in the Spring when they go forward!
I can't believe it is almost the end of March already! I've been flying solo in school this week as the VP and P are in Sweden. How come I got to go to Bradford last week and they get to go to Orebro, not fair! Still it's snowing in Orebro and it was 17 degrees in Bradford.
Mother's Day last Sunday, C took me overnight to the Orocco in South Queensferry. Very nice, a fabulous meal so I can highly recommend it. It looks like a traditional pub from the front, but they have put huge windows at the back and the view across the Forth taking in both bridges is amazing.
I'm running a fund-raising Bridge afternoon next Saturday in aid of the Trust. Lots of folks helping in so many ways so thank you. Folks putting out tables, baking, making sandwiches, serving food and tea, selling raffle tickets then clearing it all up again at the end. thanks to you all I really appreciate your support. I'm off out to India again in the Summer and will be taking £1000 as a donation. Fingers crossed I have a house too. Dr Prem who found my last one, has come up trumps again we think! A large house on the main road between the bus stand (Palay) and the railway gate which means I still won't be held up by the level crossing Yo! The railway was out of use for the entire 6 months of my stay and even when I went back out in August was still out of use so no inconvenience at all to me. Trains in India are both very slow and very, very, very long so it can take 15 minutes for one to go past.

Happy Dewi Sant (St Davids Day)everyone, I'm half Welsh so Mum always remembered it in our house.
It seemed for a while today as if Spring was actually arriving, it was warm enough to have the back door open and I even hung out the washing! Then I had to run and bring it back in as the hail came down half an hour later. Thought it was the first of April when jokes were played! Still the daffs will be out by the end of this week, so we may have turned the corner.
The last couple of weeks have continued to be difficult, my father is still in the nursing home having had his stay extended by a week. Today my stepmother fell and has fractured
her pubic bone. We will here tomorrow what the plan is for her recovery, they seem to be suggesting that she go home. I would have thought it was the ideal opportunity to have an enforced rest in hospital. I spent time this evening phoning the hospital then the nursing home then the hospital again to coordinate getting her to a phone and a phone to dad so they could speak to each other. Being 500 miles away makes it all so much more complicated.
My aunt died last week, she was my dad's brother's widow, so he was upset not to make the funeral. These two pictures of her wedding have my dad as an usher in one and he and my mum, who were going out at that time in the other, she looks so quiet and shy, not like herself as I knew her at all! I reckon she was about 21 at the time!

I got some odds and ends of jobs done at home this weekend which I have been putting off for ages like replacing the back door handles... which had begun to seize up... before I got home one day and found I couldn't get into the house! I carefully removed the old handles, fixed the door so I didn't get shut out! Took the old handle down to homebase and matched it up with a suitable replacement, making sure the holes were the same distance apart and the handle mounting was the same length etc, got it home and discovered that although all the relationshops etc were the same, the entire thing was set 1/2 an inch lower so ended up having to redrill everything anyway... why change something which is a standard size! That all meant out with the woodfiller and repainting half the door. I had not anticipated that however it is done. Next job was fishing some of the minute green duckweed out of the pond which had magically appeared there within an hour of the pond being filled with water, don't know who told it there was a pond there but the word must have got out really quickly. I know it is good for the pond, but I don't want it to completely cover the surface, so out I went with Ali's old fishing net! I went looking for a water lily for the pond yesterday but apparently they are not available till next month. Have to be patient then! I don't want to transfer the fish till there is some shelter for them from passing moggies and herons.