Old Year reflections

SWMBO and I reverted to our traditional date night in for New Years Eve. I get the privilege of cooking, and we reminisce the year past. My speciality this time was weeping lamb with boulangere potatoes with French onion soup to start, and it was all yummy.

So what did we see as the years highs and lows?

Starting on the family front, we were blessed with our fifth grandchild, Alexander, who has now maintained the continuity of the Weathers line, blending a bit of Bulgarian into the Irish and English gene pool. A welcome surprise on Monday was the news that my cousin Mike and his long suffering partner Valerie, has finally tied the knot and were officially Mr and Mrs Weathers. SWMBO's mum also got over a major health scare which we were all delighted about.
SWMBO and I both lost relations towards the end of the year. SWMBO's Uncle Kevin died after a troubled few years, in his early sixties, and my Auntie Betty passed away on Christmas Day morning after a short illness. She was 92 so had had a fair old innings.

Domestically, the years highlight was the redesign and construction of a new bedroom for SWMBO, in less than two weeks while she was in Tanzania. We had a good family barbeque and both Tim and Kieran moved into new homes in the later part of the year. Kieran's move left us rattling around on our own in Chateau Weathers. Maxine survived a full year without working!

It was good to be involved in Wally's stag 'do' in Portugal and to be visited by friends and family from London, on a regular basis, but an acrimonious holiday in Turkey meant we have lost Lou, one of SWMBO's long term work colleagues, as a friend.  They say love is blind, and in her case she is the only one to be able to see any good in her new partner, Martin. Pity.

On the sporting front, I was delighted to break 80 on the golf course for the first time. I also fired a 82 around Southport and Ainsdale which was pretty special, and I am chuffed to be Chairman elect of the Seniors section at Wallasey next year.

We saw the year as routine when we started discussing it, but as you can see a lot happened.

So now we are into 2015 and I have 23 blog entries to try to beat to allow me to reversze the downward publishing trend. what can you look forward to then?

We are off to the States for a month in March going from Las Vegas to Hawaii and back to New York. There are two trips to Ireland, one for the Causeway Classic golf festival and one to coincide with the rugby world cup. I will be attending some of the world cup games too.

I end the blog as I started, with news of grandchild number six which should arrive sometime in February. So do stay tuned it will be another exciting year.