My red, white and blue arrangement 

The altar arrangement 

We enjoyed arranging the flowers for church this week - based on a red, white and blue theme. I am still very much in a learning phase but at least I don't panic quite as much as I did. It is a bit like learning to paint but your early attempts are all on show! I can see what it should look like but is much harder to achieve that with flowers that have their own thoughts on the matter! The alter arrangement was done by a much more experienced arranger. I am enjoying the challenge of learning a new skill though.

Today - cake making  for the Jubilee Fete at Barkham where I am helping with refreshments. Thankfully it looks like it will be dry which will make for a much more pleasant afternoon.

Chloe has left for France - where the weather is going to be .... you guessed - raining! She arrived home on Thursday and got out the sewing machine and made her own luggage! She has made a large bag to take on holiday that is the right size for hand luggage. It is beautiful and I am very impressed! Then on Friday morning she decided to make a passport holder. She has the sewing bug!!!!

Ben is off camping today - which will be lovely until 10.00 tomorrow morning when rain is forecast.

Next week is Josh's last week at work. They have begun to look at areas to live in London. Very exciting!

Next week is full of business - helping with tea for the elderly, coffee with friends, lunch with a school friend, afternoon tea with another friend in her new flat, house group, helping a friend sort her study, tutoring, bible study, flowers, Kitty coming to stay and Vincent and Flavia from Strictly in Southampton on Saturday, with a bit of football watching thrown in and maybe coffee at school. Wow! Written down like that makes me realise how busy my life has become and how much better I must be to be able to do it all. I am really looking forward to Saturday as we are having a girlie day in Southampton - Kit, Joy, Chloe, Talia and myself. Lunch at the theatre followed by Vincent and Flavia from Strictly dancing in Midnight Tango.

11 years today my mum died and 9 months before that my dad died. It was a very tough time and yet I was so aware of heaven being just a breath away. This poem helped me to see that although we said goodbye to mum here, she was just a breathe away being greeted by my dad and more amazingly by Jesus.
I am so thankful for many happy memories of a childhood filled with love.

What is dying?

A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says, "She's gone". Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her...

The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her, and just at that moment when someone at my side says "she is gone", there are others who are watching her coming, and other voices take up a glad shout, "there she comes!" ... and that is dying.

Bishop Brent.

Yesterday I went to the most wonderful place - a flower shop to buy cut flowers for our church flowers this weekend. It was great fun choosing the flowers from so many, wishing we had a very different budget!!!! How lovely it must be to do flowers for a cathedral. I wish I had taken photos - next time!

This is a photo of me taken by Ben - my hair is looking like real hair now! It seems to have a style of its own. Yes Ben's wall is covered with train tickets - left over from an art project. The gaps are where they have fallen off!

Today I am flower arranging and spending some time with Chloe before she leaves for her holiday in France. Life is back to its new business after a weekend of Jubilee watching. I am SO thankful for a more normal new life. I still look for and find joy in each day. (I hope I never lose this). My life is full of good things and wonderful people to share it with. I do have moments when fear creeps in and taps me on the shoulder whispering that it will be over soon. But I have learnt to pack those thoughts away knowing that all things are in His hands - the creator of the universe. He is trustworthy and dependable - whatever the future holds.

My lovely son and beautiful daughter-in-law

Covent Garden ready for the Jubilee weekend. 

A quiet moment before the ballet begins

The best view Paul got of the Queen - a saluting officer! 

Returning to barracks 

God of time and eternity,
whose Son reigns as servant, not master;
we give you thanks and praise
that you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and Territories
with ELIZABETH,
our beloved and glorious Queen.
In this year of Jubilee,
grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace
as she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God,
and in devoted service to her lands and peoples,
and those of the Commonwealth,
now and all the days of her life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen

What a great 4 days of celebration. I have loved seeing all the different aspects of the diamond jubilee ending today with the wonderful service from St Pauls and the carriage procession and fly past of the planes. I feel very proud to be British. We do pomp and circumstance well - even in the rain. Paul is in London today and although he didn't see her he did see her carriage, marching bands and the planes fly past. A little bit of history in the making. I have enjoyed it all from the comfort of my warm and dry house! We watched the concert last night with Joy, Matt and Talia - along with strawberry, cream,Victoria sandwich and Pimms. I must say that is a great combination!
My thoughts are with all those people who now have to struggle home in the pouring rain.

My lovely red nails for the Jubilee weekend 

I loved the Jubilee pageant yesterday. We watched from the cosy place that is my bedroom! I was exhausted after Saturday. It was a great British day - including the rain! We had nibbles and Pimms - perfect.

My Jubilee display - cosy place to watch the pageant 

Today I had planned house work and ironing plus a bit of sewing but Chloe had other plans! She has lost her passport and goes to France on Saturday. In the meantime she is cycling with Ed along the south coast. So I will be having an unplanned tidy of her bedroom to look for the passport. I do hope its there. Otherwise she will be having a rushed trip to London at the end of the week.

Enjoy your bank holiday!

Beautiful Butterfly 

Butterfly dies while her puppet son Sorrow stands by - very sad 

Madam Butterfly was so very beautiful. The costumes, lighting, puppets and setting make it very beautiful. The music is stunning but just misses something - I am not sure what it is. The sung dialogue and the songs seem to merge into each other. The amazing puppetry of the little boy Sorrow is so clever but maybe not as shocking as using a real child. However it was a lovely performance and my favourite opera so far. I will look forward to seeing it sung in Italian next time - maybe that is the answer.

It was really lovely to be in London for the Jubilee weekend. We saw some of the little boats making their way to moorings ready for today's pageant. London looks beautiful - decked out in union jacks and sparkling clean. What a shame it is raining today. Although in true British spirit I am sure no one will let it spoil the day.

We also went to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. I loved it. Such a diverse mix of art - 1,200 pieces of art. Some were wonderful and some were - mmmmmmm. I certainly wouldn't have quite a lot of the pieces in my home. But I did love some of them and I fell in love with Feather Child by Lucy Glendinning. It made me want to cry  and pick it up to cuddle it and protect it.

We also had a lovely lunch in a French Bistro!

All in all another perfect day. The last of my London days for a while.

I also bought bunting which I now have festooned in my bedroom where I will watch the 1,000 boats going down the river today. Perfect!

This is my lovely friend Phoebe who is going to run in the Race for Life for me on 16th June. Please will you sponsor her  
http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/phoebeturner

She is raising money for cancer research which is making such a difference to the treatment of many types of cancer. It is wonderful to hear regularly of new treatments that are becoming available to either treat or to prolong the lives of cancer patients.

1 year ago today I had my last chemo treatment. Looking back now I can remember how poorly I felt then and can see how much better I am now. I am SO grateful for the quality of life I have now - even if it isn't like my old self it is at least a good new normal!

Today I have ladies bible study and a celebration tea - Ben finishes his exams today. Yippee! Tomorrow Paul and I are off to London to see Madame Butterfly and the Summer Art Exhibition at the Royal Academy.  It will be lovely to be in London over the Jubilee weekend. We did consider going up on Sunday to watch the boats but decided that after Saturday it would be too much so we will watch it on the television. Chloe is going back to Southampton today to celebrate the end of Eds exams. They are then going on a little cycling holiday followed by a week in Anecy.

I hope you all have lovely Jubilee plans. Enjoy whatever you are up to - remember to make forever memories.