New minister

Had our welcome service for our new minister at church this evening. We have been without a minister for just over a year which on the one hand has been good as it has really helped us to pull together as a church family and it has been quite interesting having a variety of preachers on a Sunday morning. Still, it will be good to finally have our own minister again. It’s also provided an incentive to get some of those publicity jobs done that I have been sitting on for a while (Jessica’s imminent arrival also providing another incentive!)

My wonderful chiropractor

Thank goodness my wonderful chiropractor managed to fit me in this morning – by the time I went to bed last night, I could hardly walk – made me realise just how disabling SPD can be when it really flares up. Thankfully a good night’s sleep eased things a little and my lovely chiropractor managed to work her magic so that walking has become reasonably comfortable again and I’m back to walking like Jemima Puddleduck, which is an improvement on the very uncomfortable shuffling that I was having to do before seeing her. Mental note – really must take things a bit easier!

Nesting

I suspect my nesting instinct has started to kick in as I was seized with an overwhelming urge to unpack half the boxes in the spare room, most of which have been there for nearly a year. The spare room looks much better but I think I have overdone things a bit as all that moving things about has really caused the SPD to flare up and walking has become quite painful as a result - I am walking like a little old lady! Must try and remember to take things easy, meanwhile think a trip to the chiropractor is needed!

Road Show

Went to see Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory with the in-laws last night. It was a really good show, very typical Sondheim with its complex ensemble numbers and clever lyrics. The cast were all excellent and scene changes were a delight to watch, everything was very slick and beautifully choreographed. I had been warned to bring a cushion though as the seating isn't very comfortable. Even with the cushion, I spent the last 20 minutes of this 95 minute one act show focusing more on trying to get comfortable rather than on the performances which was a shame.

Goodbye, Uncle John

It was my Uncle John’s funeral yesterday and so I travelled down to be with my family and say my goodbyes to him. Whilst it was a sad occasion, it was nice to be able to see so many of my cousins and some of my aunties and uncles whom I don’t see very often at all. It is just a shame that we rarely see each other except at these kind of occasions although given that there are so many of us (we worked out that there are thirty-eight of us first cousins in total), that isn’t too surprising.

Return of the SPD

I’ve been quite lucky with regards to the SPD throughout most of this pregnancy – considering it was diagnosed quite early on, I’ve really not had too many problems with it, probably thanks to giving up tap, seeing my chiropractor regularly and avoiding the things which are likely to exacerbate the problem – long walks tend to trigger it. It flared up a little recently but Monday’s trip to the chiropractor soon sorted it out. Unfortunately, I skidded on a greasy floor when out for Michael’s birthday meal which has really caused it to flare up again and makes walking particularly uncomfortable.

Introducing baby Scarlett

I have a new great-niece – baby Scarlett was born earlier today and looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos that I have seen and very much like my nephew! Many congratulations to my nephew Craig and his girlfriend Charlie on the arrival of their little girl. Scarlett’s arrival brings the total of great-nieces and great-nephews to ten (four great-nieces and six great-nephews). I’m not quite sure yet when I will get to meet the latest arrival to the family but would like to wish Craig and Charlie all the best for the coming weeks as they get to grips with parenthood.

Michael's birthday

It was Michael’s birthday yesterday and we ended up going out for a Chinese meal with friends. Considering that we left it to the last minute to organise (which is fairly typical for us!), there was a reasonable size group of us which was great. It was a lovely evening and I also made Michael a very chocolately birthday cake. Unfortunately Michael had to go off to work afterwards to prepare for an event that he’s working on today so didn’t get to relax quite as much as he would have liked, but he enjoyed spending the evening with friends.

The spider saga

I’m not a fan of spiders. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have a spider phobia, but I definitely don’t like some of the big spiders that we get in our house sometimes. Particularly the massive one that I discovered in the bath yesterday morning. I just could not pluck up the courage to catch it in a jar and take it outside. Which meant having to wash in the downstairs bathroom and use dry shampoo on my hair. The upstairs bathroom remained out of bounds until hubby finally arrived home and removed the spider for me.

A nice start to my maternity leave

Had a good start to my maternity leave. Michael is back from his work trip and home again and my sister Maxine and nephew Kieran came up to visit for the day. I tend to see family mostly when I go home to visit them but lately there have been more occasions when they have come up to visit me. Michael even managed to pop home for a while in the afternoon to catch up with them as well. Always good to be able to spend quality time with my family – just a shame they don’t live a bit nearer.