Well, it’s finally decided to snow around here and it’s lovely. I love the snow. It makes everything look so pretty. It dulls sounds so that all is peaceful. And, well, it’s just gorgeous. The only thing I don’t like is driving in it…I won’t do it if it’s heavy and there’s snow and ice on the road. Uh-huh, not me. Had too many slides and near misses over the years to even think about risking it.

*sigh of happiness as I watch the flakes drifting gently to the ground

Anyway, how are you? How was your week? I’ve been really busy. I decided that I really needed to lose weight and get fitter (plus I have those aforementioned triathlon events coming up) so I joined our local swimming and triathlon club. I went along to a local swimming pool on Tuesday night and joined…and loved it. It was nice because there were a couple of girls I knew from the village there, so I had a chat plus everyone I met was really welcoming and friendly. I went along to another swim session on Thursday night and again loved it. Am wondering now why I didn’t join something like this before.

Hubby and I went to Braehead Shopping Centre to celebrate him taking his last chemo tablet (fingers crossed and all that!). God love him, but he was shattered within about five minutes. He’s really still very weakened by the treatment so he walks slowly and needs lots of rest (Braehead has lots of benches dotted around which were a Godsend). He’s also still very breathless and is as thin as a rake (am trying to encourage him to eat more).  We weren’t there very long, but it was enough for hubby to feel a bit normal and less stir crazy. We were there because he wanted to go to Marks to buy another hat (he really feels the cold at the moment).

We dropped into a lovely little café in Govan for a bite to eat en route home. Café 13 sells a great range of delicious food and is a real gem. I had falafel in a wrap, hubby had home-made soup. Delicious!! If you’re south of the river, I would recommend it. The café is attached to Govan and Linthouse Parish Church on Govan Road.

What else have I been up to? Popped in for tea and cakes on my friend Tracy who is just back from climbing Kilimanjaro with her family. Just wanted to give them all a mention and say well done again! Am proud of the lot of you, particularly her 11-year-old daughter and 10-year-old friend who also did it. It was great to catch up with her and hear all about her adventures. Tracy is an excellent orator and always tells her stories in a way that is entertaining and often very funny. Also there was my friend Jane who is equally as funny so we had a good old belly laugh. We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas so it was fun.

On Friday afternoon my step kids came down for a visit, it was great to see them. We haven’t seen them for a wee while for various reasons and it was good to catch up. Today, I had a jammies morning (watching the snow falling) and then my parents came over for a visit in the afternoon. I was worried they wouldn’t get here because of the snow, but they managed it and arrived bearing pansies (I love flowers) in a pot and sweets and way too much pocket money for the kids. They left around 3pm when it was still light, which is just as well because the snow was falling really heavily and they live nearly an hour’s drive away.

Talking of the snow, the kids have been out all afternoon playing in it. They had a ball and there are little snow creatures dotted right through our estate. I watched my boy creating snow angels in the front garden earlier and he had a huge grin on his face. See, it is the simple things that matter the most and there’s no simpler pleasure than playing in the snow!

If hubby is feeling up to going out, we hope to do a family visit to our local cinema to see the new Star Wars. We’ve all been desperate to see the new film – all being fans – but we didn’t want to go without hubby who has been very unwell over the past few weeks due to his treatment. He’s a bit better, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to go see it soon.

Right, I will finish up here with a sneak peak at the cover of my new book Writing Fiction for Kids which is due out soon. It’s already available on Amazon as a Kindle, but I’m not going to do any kind of launch until the printed book is available, which I hope will be very soon. Just waiting for proofs from the printers, then I can sign it off and make it available.

This book is great for kids and adults who want to write for children. It’s full of tips and info about how to plan and write your book. Plus there’s lots of exercises for you to try that will get you started.

Okay, am aff. Got stuff to do. No rest for the wicked and all that. Til next time!

 

Dawn xxx