aye, its a been a bit wild, wet and woolly the last few days!

So what have i been up to? Well after packing Foxy up first thing, Monday was of course a 'dead' day ahead of my journey back to Brizz late afternoon. Im always a bit sad to leave everything/one i hold dear but this time perhaps more so, its been a good time, maybe some stuff didn't happen as planned/hoped but i didn't injure myself (recent xmas periods hace seen me mursing a sore arm, twisting my knee, hobbling with a bruised hip and recovering from an ice aided bike flying experiment!). No, my melancholy was larfely a result od the fact that this may have been my Dad's last Christmas, he isn't well and needs a pharmacy just to get through each day, which was behind the extended stay to be with him at New Year. Of course, death is as unavoidable as the passing of days, it comes to us all however much we try to avoid it, i just have a feeling that for Dad the sands are running out more quickly than we'd like.

Where was i? So anyway, o travelled back to Cabotville, the bus ran to time and i was indoors by eight, the rest of the evening spent unpacking and getting settled back in after being away for three whole weeks.

Tuesday i travelled down with Aunty Bev to visit Angharad of Bike fame, we'd planned on meeting in Bristol before Christmas but stuff got in the way. The weather was wet and windy all day but we had a nice fry up for lunch and talked rubbish as friends do before it was time for the return journey.

And so to today, my plan was to get some lunch at the Swedish store, plans that were thwarted by huge queues in the restaurant, i dom't mind a short wait but the line stretched halfway around the eatery so i ended up not eating, what i saved there i spent on some food shopping on the return journey - i could do with losing a kilo or two anyhow!

I promised you a few trip pics today so here we go;

Big Wheel in Sheffield

Krakauer on the Sheffield Weiknachtsmarkt

Christmas morning walk above the Rhein after breakfast

Strudel in Cochem Boxing Day

Bratwurst & Kirschgluhwein at Wiesdbaden

Wiesdbaden had a big wheel too

a last gluhwein back in Sheffield

steep hills north of Sheffield New Years Eve

tea and a bun before heading back to Sheffield

A busy coach for the journey south

Of course today i bring you more Gaby too, Gaby Book 1 - The Anime Days Chapter *37* End of Term brings things closer to the first German shennanigins!

I'll finish today with some sort of writing plan for the coming months;

1. start Gaby Book 28
2. finish Trixiebell Book 3 which is already half written
3. write the final part of Olivia's trilogy
4. put to keyboard some of the short stories that are floating in my head

So nothing too onerous, all being well you should start to see the fruits of my labours later this month.

Well i think thats it for today, i smell sausages and mash in my near future so i'll leave you with this thought, '...........................................'

Tschussie,
Madeline Anafrid