Phils Funeral

Today KISA and I went to Phil's funeral. It started off rainy but fined up, which was a relief. It was held in an incredibly old church in the centre of town and over 600 people attended. They were standing up down the sides and to the back, even outside. Phil's son gave a very moving eulogy, and as far as funerals go, it was a good one. We travelled to the cemetery for the burial then a funeral tea was held at the local posh hotel. It was the biggest funeral and tea I have ever attended. KISA had helped his sister put together a photo montage DVD which was played on a loop at the tea. We hope Phil would have liked it.
The next day we visited his grave. Phil loved soccer. He was an excellent player in his youth and was a Manchester United supporter.

It is a very nice cemetery, lovely views and surrounded by oak, maple, birch and holly trees.

Phil

Passed away 4/9/10

A truly gentle man.

A true gentleman.

Stolen from those who loved him by that thief -

cancer.

We will miss you, Phil.

Nearly there

Well, after two and a half months we are nearly there. The blinds were fitted a couple of weeks ago, and they make a huge difference. I was actually getting used to the bare window look! The lounge chairs arrived the same week, and we sold the yellow one to one of KISA's work colleagues. Her family love it and they gave their whole lounge dining area a makeover.

Hot on the heels of the lounge, the spa was delivered. It was a very busy week! I will post a picture of it in action as soon as I get one.

The outdoor eating area, already been used several times.

The blinds are in all rooms except the bathrooms. So simple and very easy to clean.

Once closed they keep out most of the light as well. Despite being white!

Next up, we are going to hang up all the pictures, still in a box in the shed. Then we start planning the garden.

KISA and I are kind of doing everything back to front. We got married and had 3 kids straight up, two already in their teens, now we are on our own and setting up our first home together, instead of doing up my old home. It is fun, and it feels more like we are newlyweds now than it did 9 years ago!

A Major Goal Reached

Eighteen months ago, KISA became determined to lose some weight for the sake of his health. So he set himself a goal, which at the time, seemed almost impossible. Now, last Monday, that figure he chose appeared on the scale. He has done it, a monumental effort and I am so proud of him. He has bought himself many more years of life with all his hard work. The picture below was taken January 3 2009.

This one was taken in April, in fact he is a few kilos lighter now, but it is the nicest photo recently taken. Stats: 125kg to 79kg

Troosers: 44 to 32

Energy levels: sluggish to jumping out of his skin (phew!)

My turn to get my act together, he is my inspiration!

Happy 21st Birthday Marc! Happy 50th Donna!

Today is a double special birthday for Jdubya's son Marc and his Mum Donna. Marc is 21 today! On her 29th birthday, Donna had nothing special to do, so she decided to have a baby! Which makes her 50 today. A very happy birthday from us. Hope the hangovers have gone by now.
Because..on Friday, was a big birthday celebration at one of the local bowls clubs. The invite said dress as hippies was optional, so we were going for the optional, then at the last minute, literally, cast around for some hippifying icons to add to the outfits. This is the result, three half hearted hippies!

Or was that pirates? Not sure.... Great Uncle Jdubya meets his great nephew for the first time. What a sweetie!

This was the designated driver..so much fun being the designated driver...

Three half hearted hippies/pirates/fashionably challenged..you choose. We might take a vote later!

Marc and his Mum during the speeches...

Marc, his Mum, Dad and Nana. Marc, Nana and Jdubya.

Jdubya and son. There were rumours of dancing that may or may not have happened. I mean there were photos of the Loch Ness Monster too, but they never proved it definitely, did they?

Stamped!

We had the concrete stamped last Thursday. That is where it is painted to look like tiles. It makes a huge difference and looks great.
The guy acid washed the concrete a couple of days before.
Then he and his son/helper arrived early to begin preparing the area.
It took them ages to wrap everything up in butchers paper.
Then they laid the sticky tape down. (It isn't really sticky tape some special stuff...) Then he spayed on the spray on tiles, which is some kind of textured paint. It looked kind of blue at this stage which was a bit alarming as we wanted a kind of green.

I think it was just the light as it looked greener in other places. When I said he wrapped up everything, I meant everything! The house and windows were wrapped up to eye level. I couldn't see out to see what they were doing. Very frustrating for a sticky beak like me!

Then he threw black speckly stuff around. This really makes it look good.

The son/helper parked his sunglasses here. Thought they suited her!

After the paint dried, the sticky tape was peeled off and a couple of coats of sealant was applied. That stuff really stinks!

We are very very happy with the result. It will take four days to cure properly, then we can put the furniture back in place. We will have a BBQ on Monday to celebrate. Yayy! No more tracking concrete dust into the house!

Phew!

Only four hours and no swearing later. Well, not much...