Day 9

Wow, I can't believe that it's already Day 9 of the new year.
Now that the Christmas season is officially over, I've realised that there are still some happenings that have been left out.
Christmas Eve night was a cold and windy night but I still attended the midnight mass service at my church.  It's something about that night time atmosphere that brings the manger scene and the birth of Christ so much closer for me.
Christmas Day itself was spent with my "family of friends" where I enjoyed the meal and the friendship and the joy of the season.  Daughter Dear was not feeling the best so she stayed at home but don't worry she enjoyed a large plate of goodies afterwards.

 

 There was lots of food and drink and my pink velvet cupcakes and apple cobbler were a big hit along with the quinoa veggie medley. 

With Carl missing from the celebrations, I made a special video for him to show him what he was missing. 
One of his sisters kept on eyeing me and insisting that she was sure that Carl was going to make an appearance because she knew that I was always involved in his surprises, but I told her not this time....sorry Diana.
Boxing Day is the day that I take flowers to the graves of my loved ones.
Daughter Dear was still not herself and so I set out on my own, little did I know that it would be a very upsetting journey.
My visit to "Mums" was fine, but as it was a Bank Holiday here, the public cemetery (Westbury) was closed so I could not visit with Steve.....annoyance number one. (I did take his flowers the following day.)
Off to the Military Cemetery to lay the flowers on my brother's grave, I was greatly disturbed to find that his headstone along with two others had been removed and placed to one side along a wall.....annoyance number two.

I could not fathom why this would have been done because I knew that once buried in the Military Cemetery the grave plot was yours for life.
I placed the flowers on the headstone and made a mental note to call the office first thing Monday morning.
The long drive to visit my Mum's grave was filled with all kinds of uneasy thoughts and I was really shaken up.
When I arrived at my Mum's grave what did I see....there had been a recent interment and I could not find my mother's grave marker at all.....annoyance number three.
I placed her flowers in the approximate area and made mental note number two to call the office on Monday morning.
It's bad enough having to deal with grief without having to go through all of this, I was rather upset, and I relayed my feelings to Daughter Dear when I arrived home.  With her calm reassuring wisdom she told me,"Just call on Monday and find out what's going on Mum."
So said so done.  On Monday morning bright and early I spoke with Mr. Boyce at The Main Guard responsible for the Military Cemetery and he explained that there had been a funeral at the cemetery and it had been necessary to remove the headstones for the funeral procession to take place.  He was under the impression that the headstones had been replaced and that he was very sorry.  He assured me that my brother's headstone would be replaced that day.
My next call to Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens was answered by a nice young lady who assured me that she would send someone out to my mother's grave site right away and rectify the problem, she apologised profusely. 
I hung up feeling so much better.
New Year's Day I was invited to lunch with my friends who live on the south coast and I had a lovely time.
I attended the last performance of the "The Singing Christmas Tree 2015 The Great I Am" on January 3rd.

The programme was filled with lots of new music with the Hallelujah Chorus as the finale.
Since I had a guest with me the usher thought she would move us further up for our seats.  Even though closer to the stage there was so much foot traffic and the angle for viewing was not as good as our previous seats, but I still enjoyed the show and to be honest it was even more inspiring for me.

Yes the season has ended but here are a few more photos of the season that I captured.

 

 

 

 

 We are in a new year, and it's day 9 and I haven't started any of my proposed projects for 2016 as yet, nor have I made any resolutions, but mark my word there is a lot to be done, and Brownie still has his job as Overseer, so hang on for another ride on the wild adventure of So Very Very Thankful!

Happy New Year to all!!

Update(01/12/2016): The headstone on my brother's grave has been replaced.