Thursday 22 May 2008

ENGAGEMENT, WEDDING, 21ST

We have a lot of “stuff” going on at the moment -.

LIKE - our lovely granddaughter and her sporty partner have decided to get married before he goes into the army. So - it’s all excitement and planning for a small family wedding at the local hotel on 11th July. The schedule for that all kicks off this weekend with an engagement BBQ. Hope the weather behaves.

I think her sporty partner’s proposal was so romantic. First he asked the two girls (our great-granddaughters) if they minded him marrying their mummy. He told them that he wanted to ask her to marry him while they were on holiday in Turkey and swore them to secrecy. Now I ask you, how can two excited litle girls keep a secret like that. They immediately started telling everyone that their mummy was going to get married while they were on holiday. Oh how we all laughed. Why they would think such a silly thing as that?

Before they went on holiday he told OG and me of his intentions, asked if it was OK with us and showed us the ring that he had bought. Ahhh! Naturally we said we had no objections. It’s just so good to see them both so happy.

On holiday he went for a walk with our youngest great-granddaughter looking for the perfect spot to propose. They decided on a small island. He then asked a local boatman to take them over later in the day and that is where the deed was done. On one knee, in the overjoyed presence of two excited little girls. How wonderful is that?

LIKE - the building work that is still ongoing after 1 year. But we are making progress! It seems like a lifetime ago that we sealed off one side of the house for extensive renovations to include a kitchen/family room with cathedral ceiling and the addition of my “Hollywood Bedroom/ensuite/dressingroom” http://www.retiredandcrazy.com/2008/03/house-progresses-some.html

The new extension has now been rendered and any day now the scaffold will be coming down. Hurrah! The kitchen is being fitted out. Hurrah! The en-suite bathroom is being tiled. Hurrah! The walls have all been plastered and most have been decorated. Hurrah! Still to be done is the construction of a new glass and steel staircase and elevated walkway across the cathedral family room, the under-floor heating, fitting the kitchen units, tiling the kitchen and the finishing off of the bathroom. Anticipating the glorious move I am now shopping for carpets, curtains etc.

From the start everyone asked how long it would take. I said about 1 year and so it has, give or take. Hopefully we should be able to move over within the next couple of months.

Then we start renovating the part of the house that we are holed up in at the minute. How long will that take? About 6 months from start to finish? So my best guess is that the house should be finished by Christmas

LIKE - waiting for chemo to start. By this morning we still hadn’t had a date and I was getting a little aggitated about the delay so I decided, by hook or by crook, to get to the bottom of it. I randg the Health Care at Home service and spoke to a very nice young man called Graham. He said that Dr Kulkarni’s nurse Charlotte would call at the house for a pre-chemo visit on Tuesday and the treatment would start on Wednesday. I said “who’s Dr Kulkarni” “he’s your husband’s consultant isn’t he?” “no” “oh! I’ll have to get back to you then”. Here we blood go again! But we did get there eventually, a nurse called Janet will do the pre-chemo visit on Tuesday and start treatment on Thursday. Hopefully!!

Plus one of my grandsons will be 21 in a couple of weeks, and another is moving back from France this weekend to resume his education at the local grammar school because, amazingly enough, he says the standard of education is better here than it is at his private International School there! Now there's a surprise. Maybe this country ain't so bad after all.

So, as I said, we have a lot of "stuff" going on.

11 comments:

Lin said...

You DO have a lot going on and I'm glad the chemo will soon start as the sooner it starts, the sooner it's over and the OG can get down to the serious business of enjoying life again.

And a wedding! YAY!

Lin said...

You DO have a lot going on and I'm glad the chemo will soon start as the sooner it starts, the sooner it's over and the OG can get down to the serious business of enjoying life again.

And a wedding! YAY!

Maggie May said...

That is quite romantic, your grand daughter's romance!

You will no doubt be glad when the chemo starts & get it over with.
Son in law starts radio therapy next week & then after 5 sessions starts chemo.
Hope your grandson has a happy 21st. Its all happening with you!

Grit said...

that's a busy life! and what a lovely romantic story of a wedding to brighten the days!

Anonymous said...

You're right about a lot going on. How do you cope!! That was extremely romantic for your future grand-son-in-law. And how thoughtful of him to include the children too. The most important part of the family.

CJ xx

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

Yes, I do have quite a lot going on Lin, but I like to claim that it keeps me young.

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

I can't even begin to tell you how much this granddaughter deserves such happiness Maggie, she and the two girls have had a really, really tough time. But she said "nan, I know that if I keep doing the right thing, things will work out for us". That made me cry because I used to say that to myself when my two girls were young and we were having a tough time. I did a lot of praying for them and along came Prince Charming.

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

My life pales into insignificance on the "busy" front comparted to yours grit.

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

We also believe that the children should be at the centre of the family too Crystal and are so relieved that that is where the two little girls are. Safe and secure.

Anonymous said...

Retired & Crazy,
My son [Robin] got a 2/1 MSci (Cantab) in Nat Sci yesterday!

I agree with your 'grammmar school' comment as both of mine benefited from a King Edwards grammar school in Birmingham: he = 7 years (Cambridge), she = 2 years (Bristol); "onwards and upwards"?
Martin/anonymous

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

Congratulations Robin son of Martin. We can only hope that this government doesn't destroy the grammar school system as they are currently threatening to do.