Happy New Year!

It`s really quiet today so I thought I`d post a late entry. It`s been bitterly cold here as I know it`s been for most of Britain AND its forecast to get even colder. After the last two mild and wet winters I don`t think we expected this but I`m sure we`ll survive...lol!

Talking of cold weather, Kerry and family flew to Russia early this morning to spend New Year with Slava`s family. They flew to Zurich first and then on to St.Petersburg and arrived there late this morning. Kerry rang Jim and he told me he could hear Roman playing happily in the background and making himself very much at home with his grandparents. It`s snowing heavily there and its very cold, much colder than here but that`s only to be expected as St.Petersburg is in the northerly part of the country, not that far from the Arctic Circle really, it doesn`t get more northerly than that!

Did all of you have a good Christmas? From reading journals I see that most of you did and ours was very much the same. It was a lovely family day but very, very tiring though it was worth it once I climbed into bed that evening and fell into a well-deserved sleep...lol! Roman had so many presents you couldn`t move for them all, he loved the bike we bought, I mean Santa bought him and he told Kerry yesterday that he was very lucky to have so many presents and couldn`t believe it when I told him that Christmas comes round every year...lol! I have tried to explain why we celebrate Christmas but he was a bit confused and asked if the baby Jesus had presents on his birthday. I`ll tell him again next year. Jim bought me TWO pairs of nice leather boots. There is a good reason why there are two pairs but it would take too long to explain it here. he also bought me two book, both autobiographies. One was Julie Walters and the other Sheila Hancock and I`m looking forward to reading them both. He also bought me

the new CD by Jonathan Ansell the young classical singer, he knew I wanted it and Kerry bought me the latest one by Bette Midler, one of my favourite female singers. Danny and Salina bought me a gorgeous designer watch. It`s really lovely but I know it cost a lot of money and I`m worried that I might lose it or damage it, I can be really clumsy at times.

It`s such a shame Christmas is over but we all have a new year to look forward to. Kerry`s baby is due in April and I have a feeling it`s going to be a big one. She is only six months but she is much bigger than she was with Roman, in fact she looks a good seven months and counting so it`ll be interesting to see what she weighs. All the babies on my side of the family are fairly large and in my mother`s and grandmother`s case and in mine, the second baby has always been about two pounds heavier at birth than the first. My uncle weighed almost 2lbs heavier than my mother. I weighed 8lbs 1oz, my brother was 9lbs. 13ozs. Kerry weighed 7lbs. 8 1/4ozs and Danny was 9lbs. 8ozs.....watch this space to see if Kerry follows the family tradition...lol!

New Years Eve is going to be a quiet affair here. We are not going out and on New Years Day we are having a nice meal with only Danny eating with us. I don`t mind either, as much as I love to see all the family it`s lovely to have a nice quiet house with just Jim and I doing our own thing and tripping over holdalls and toys etc. There was a time I thought I`d never come to terms with being an `empty nester` but I thrive on it now. The baby birds have long flown the nest and are living their own happy and fulfilling lives. Oh yes, life is good and I for one am happy.

Right then, all I have to do is to wish a very Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year to each and every one of you and thanks for reading my journal, I really appreciate it. Night Night. :o)