Our weather has begun to brighten!  We had rain and freezing to near freezing temperatures the start of the week, but by the end of the week, it does appear as though spring has arrived, at last.  The days are definitely longer, the weather is inching it's way up, and flowers and shrubs are beginning to show themselves. 
 
Work continues, and on Thursday we celebrated Lil Sutton's birthday at work, then she went home after work, not feeling so good, and went to the doctor to find out she has shingles!  Poor dear!  Some good news, though, in that Teri Rhodes' mother, Bess, who had been admitted to hospital was found to have a collapsed lung rather than a large tumor.  She was back home on Friday and with her lung at 40%, but was doing much better.  I met Maria McMurray, Ellen Douglas and Nicky Laube for lunch at the Rose and Crown, and then after work, I was off to Lawton Henry's for my haircut by Adam.
 
Friday was a lovely day that turned grey and rainy, but a number of people had decided to go out, and a few of us were going to dinner. Prior to dinner, I went with Vicky McQuade, Karen and Jason Sinnott, Tracey Riby and Nick Northropto the Spread Eagle Pub for a couple where we met up with Adam and Natalie from Lawton Henry's, then around 8pm I wandered down Walmgate to Fossgate where Fellini's Italian Restaurant is. We were meeting here for dinner, and I was the first to arrive. Shortly after my arrival, in came Peter Gibson, Liz Kirby and Gill Barker, and we had a fun evening catching up with each other and enjoying ourselves.  Around 11pm, Peter and I walked back to my place, where he'd parked his car, and Liz and Gill were headed on into town to meet her husband, Richard, who was with mates in a pub.  A good evening.
 
Saturday brought a lovely day, and I was out to buy flowers to take to Bess Rhodes.  I drove to her home in Sutton-on-the-Forest, a suburb of York, and she was so happy to see me and appreciative of the flowers and that I'd come over.  We had a nice visit, and it was good to know that her lung was inflating, and the pain was lessening. She looked so good!  I was glad I'd gone by. 

I came home, had a quick lunch, and then I was off into town.  I stopped by the Rhodes' stall in Newgate Market to tell Teri and her father I'd been by to see Bess, but only Teri was there. She looked so happy, and she is so pleased to have her mum back home, of course.  I journeyed on to City Screens where I met Pam Peterson and Dana Dennis. We were off to see Transamerica, which was a very good film.  It was raining when we came out, but we walked to Fiesta Mehicana for dinner. They normally have very good food, but that night, things seemed a bit off. They did have a large number of trainees, but that was mostly wait staff.  However, our chicken enchiladas were dry, the pork carnitas were dry, and even the refried beans were dry!  Oh well, you live and learn...  We said good bye, and I scurried around the corner in the rain to get a taxi and home.
 
Today was the first official day of Daylight Saving Time (OH how I don't like that!), and I'd forgotten to set my clocks forward.  I got up and made a casserole to take to Lil in Selby, and when it was cool, I set off on the drive there.  It was a lovely day, which made the drive all the nicer.  We had a very nice visit, and she was glad for the company, as her husband was working today. After a couple of hours, I came back home, and straightened up the mess I had made.  So that's all sorted, and I'm now ready for another week.  This week saw the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and what games they have been!  Scotland has done extremely well, as has England, and the Australian women's swimming team left the Aussie men in the dust!  They were great fun to watch. Amazing when you stop and realize that 72 nations were represented, and that wasn't even all the nations that this small island once ruled.  Yes, once upon a time, the sun never set on the British Empire.

Have a great week, folks!

Love,