Happy New Year!

The exclamation mark in the title is there for my great and gorgeous friend Nicky with whom I spent a brilliant day yesterday. Bought fab furry lined brown boots in the Brent Cross sale - completely thrilled that I could actually do them up. It was only when I got to the till I realised that they were labelled Gabor 'Comfort' which evidently translates as big girl boots. Still I have searched high and low for such a useful item to add to my meagre wardrobe so am very happy. Also stocked up on clothes for the kids having spent an hour fighting with Luc on boxing day about his outfit and realising that he only had one (dirty) pair of trousers and one (ankle flapping) pair of tracky bottoms to choose from. All his tops had short sleeves and had become navel grazers over the autumn. Emily has turned into a child who no longer wears socks so I tried to get her a few items to keep her top half warm. She seems to think that the ideal outfit for sub zero temperatures is a pair of shorts over leggings worn with canvas pumps and a skimpy t-shirt.

My week of rest and relaxation has gone by in a flash. New Year's Eve was fantastic - and I can honestly say one of my best ever. Ate, danced, drank and sung until 3am - and survived - a bit like the old days - maybe better. Seeing Nicky was lovely - with no kids (her four farmed out to various kind friends) we came back home, ate yummy thai curry (cooked by Nicky) and watched Little Miss Sunshine (so funny) and chatted until the small hours. Again - a bit like old times.

Apart from a quick blood test this morning to ascertain whether my bloods are good enough for surgery on Tuesday - spent the rest of the day sorting out heaps of toys and junk from Luc's room and putting them neatly back into his new wardrobes which look fantastic. Francois commented that if Ikea sold these things ready made they would not be enjoying the same success. He is in the Ikea afterglow right now having built something with his bare hands -clearly a crucial part of their marketing plan.

Kids are having a great week in Shropshire - entertained largely by my sister Helen and brother in law Mark who've been carting them around the countryside - including a trip to Wolverhampton to see Dick Whittington starring the Crankys and Dirty Den (sorry guys - would loved to have joined you for that...) Emily stayed up for New Year's Eve for the first time and told me that all the adults were drunk and started jiving - some things are the same everywhere.

So just a few more days of freedom before next week when hopefully my op will go ahead as planned - it will be hard to get back into the treatment reality - but the break has been more than welcome.

Happy and healthy new year to you all - and thanks so much for everyone who has sponsored James so far. The Haven are thrilled! (Just one more for you Nic...)

In case you missed out on December's blog - here's James' web page link again - please do have a look at what he will be doing in 2 weeks...http://www.justgiving.com/jamesglasson