Well, it was a good week at work, and some good results from my acupuncture. I go Tuesdays and Fridays, and I can tell there is a noticeable lack of pain, thank goodness! Our weather has been rather changeable of late, what with there being colder evenings, then warm days, but the weekend brought a major change. More on that later.

On Wednesday I met up with Bruce Corrie at the Red Lion for a couple of pints. He was telling me all about his and Sally's celebration of her birthday/Valentine's Day, since she was born on Valentines Day. They certainly had a good time. After a couple we headed home.

On Friday after acupuncture, I walked over to Plunkets Restaurant, just in the shadow of the Minster, to meet Sally Corrie, Isobel McCoy and her mother, Pauline at 7:30pm. Pauline and I have never met, although we have talked several times on the phone. Well, we hit it off like two peas in a pod! Sally turned to Isobel at one point and said, "We might as well not be here, those two are like Laurel and Hardy!" We laughed, joked, and jabbered until after 11pm. What a good time! Plunkets serves some very decent Mexican food, and I had their beef and chicken burritos (no, not fried!) and Spanish rice. Naturally, I asked them to please bring me some Jalapeño peppers, and a nice sized bowl was added. Perfect! Isobel had a quesadilla, which is her favorite thing there, but of course, not hot! We really had a good time, and then we all piled in Isobel's car, and the ladies dropped me off at my building.

Saturday I awoke to rather cold weather, and it was predicted to get even colder, with snow coming on Monday. I was peeling tiger prawns to take to Thormanby to the home of Pam Powell and Dana Dennis, where I was going to prepare a good American meal of fried shrimp, baked potato with sour cream, cheese, chives, bacon bits and butter, as well as a big salad. Well, nothing do but Dana said she would help. She makes one of the best REAL American salads you will find in these parts. Well, she's from California, so why not? I also had brownies baking in the oven filled with some of those wonderful Texas pecans I'd brought back.

As I was cleaning the shrimp, the plumber, Simon, called to say he and the joiner could come by to have a look at the kitchen. Yes, after all the problems with the bath, now I am tackling the kitchen, but I do think I have a good crew this time! They gave me some great ideas and places to look. Finally, I set off for Thormanby, and it was much colder! I got there, and we had a good visit, threw the potatoes in the oven, and then walked across the street and up the road to visit Peter Gibson and Gareth Dadd who had friends visiting from Birmingham who'd purchased a second home in Palm Springs. They had pictures to show, etc. and are very excited. They were off to the theatre, and so off we went. The wind had picked up, and it was nice to get back to the fires and warmth of the house. Dana set to work on the salad, and I got the shrimp going. We were all totally sated when we finished, and there was no room for dessert at that time! Oh, so good!! We watched TV and chatted, and finally, Pam and I couldn't stand it any longer and had small pieces, and after a bit, it was time for bed.

This morning, we arose to SNOW!! Not just a dusting as before, but about 5-6 inches! The cars were covered, the ground, etc. Just beautiful, and while we were eating a delicious breakfast Dana had cooked, it started snowing again! About 11:30am I left for York, and before I had gone far down the road, there was no snow! Boo hoo! I stopped by Liz and Richard's, and they said there had been some, but it was gone by shortly after 8. Now, we shall see what this week brings, as we are to get more snow, so the weatherman says.

Next week's journal will be late, as I am off to Sweden on Thursday to visit some friends I've not seen in many, many years. In fact, they have a 19 year old son whom I've NEVER seen; so that gives you some idea! Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Denny