ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 17TH OF 2024

 Good afternoon, I'm late today but never mind at least it is still Friday 

Last Friday we decided to have a mooch to Sheffield to see the Phlegm Pandemic diaries exhibition, it is rather surreal to see these days as the pandemic and the impact of the same just feels rather alien.  There were sculptures from the Mausoleum of the Giants exhibition from a few years ago

I loved the household hug piece

and the bird heads

remembering the social distancing

We then went over the road to Graves gallery and had a wander, loved this art piece. 

On Saturday we went to Chatsworth for our first visit of the season and blogger has seen fit to put photos in the wrong order.  

Selfie from the garden walk 

We admired a piece of art that had been stolen and recovered

The veiled lady 

The Chinese bedroom

the light fixing

My favourite view

Sunday we had people over for a late birthday gathering and engagement get together which was lovely.

Hubby went into hospital on Tuesday for his thyroid operation, it was a long operation which in turn was very stressful, but he was back up on the ward later in the afternoon and we visited in the evening and he returned home the following day and is now recovering for which I'm eternally grateful. 

Hope you've had a good week. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 16TH OF 2024

 Morning all hopefully this is Friday and I'm posting on the right day

Well first up on the silver linings is that we managed a bar meal out as a belated birthday celebration for said daughter in law, we had to dash from one pub where we had booked (due to a very limited menu and singer who was far too loud), to another pub not far away who were able to provide us with a table. 

On Sunday morning, hubby dragged me out to YSP, knowing I genuinely needed some fresh air and a walk as I'd been sat for most of the week fighting with work, it was definitely good for the soul, before I returned to the year end documents. 

We found the bluebells were in full bloom

admired the horoscope heads created by Ai Wei Wei, as they are due to move on soon.

and embraced the spring colours and blooms, I adore cherry blossom

it is so utterly beautiful

so we had to grab a selfie. 

I also enjoyed how bright and white this blossom was

and how dark and deep this blossom was.

I sent a message to a cousin who had checked in to see how I was doing, which was really sweet, and conversed by email with a couple of volunteers I used to work with about the close of my work chapter, it proved good for my soul and for that I'm grateful. 

Hubby on supporting me dropping things off to close chapters and helping start to sort the upstairs rooms back to crafting and creating and away from working.  

Thursday was our wedding anniversary, 26 year's since we got married time really does fly, I shared a different photo this year, this one has my Mum and my step-Dad in the photo. 

Me and my sister and hubby, spent some time sorting through some of my Mum's craft items,  we actually did quite well given that we only spent just over 3 hours.  Now to try and absorb it into my craft space upstairs, thankfully because I've had a sort out I had an idea of where everything is which definitely helps, although I haven't finished yet. 

In the evening, we went for pre-theatre dining and off to watch Oliver, which was extremely good.  

and that my lovely people is my week that was, hope you've had a good week too. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 15TH OF 2024

         Tis Tuesday and I'm exceptionally late for my Rocking post, but determined to do it nonetheless.

Well it was an exceptionally busy week last week, I was technically finishing my job of 10 years on Thursday, but having had the passing of my Mum recently and taking some bereavement leave, I was behind on closing the year end down, something that I genuinely wanted to do before leaving.

 

Therefore I set to working around the clock, occasionally stopping for tea, the process is something I normally start in January and drip feed documents into the file as I go, alas that wasn't to be this year, so I quite literally started the process last Monday, my first day back in work after my Mum had passed. 

I worked solidly all week and by the time I finished on Monday morning this week at around 10am, I had completed 77 hours of work and the file was done.  I'd tidied up emails, said fond farewells by email to people I will genuinely miss and then dropped my files off, lots of post it notes, handed keys to one of the workers and left before most people had arrived.  Not a fanfare on leaving, I simply sauntered away, glad to close a chapter of my work life if truth be told and move on to pastures new.  

I now have a little time to decompress and in all honestly, start to grieve properly, something I thought I'd started to do, but don't think I actually have. 

So why have I included this on my rocking post leaving a job I obviously no longer love but feel saddened to leave you may ask, because it represents freedom and change and moving forward rather than being stuck.  

On Wednesday last week my best friend from school popped to see me, I say popped she was visiting family in the neighbourhood which is a good job as she lives over 400 miles away.  It was good for the soul to meet up and chat and talk about what had happened, talk about loved ones that have left us, talk about how sad it leaves us and that the hole of grief in our lives never changes, but our life around that grief does, this is when I started to realise I'm only just starting to process things properly and I genuinely adored the meet up despite the half box of tissues I used crying during the evening, the talk was most definitely good for my soul. 

I also had a board member at work check in on me and hubby last week which was a blessing and a volunteer who gave his condolences and a hug when I needed it most, I feel very blessed to have such lovely people in my life. 

And that my lovely people is it for that week a line drawn as it were, but one that I feel was most definitely needed. 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 14TH OF 2024

 Morning all tis Friday time for

As I continue to process my Mum passing away, it has been fairly essential to get out and about to stop me four walling life at the moment.  

We had an evening out to Cast in Doncaster to watch Frankenstein interpreted by Imitating the Dog, it was unusual that has to be said and we all enjoyed it, we even dragged my sister with us to get her out of her four walls. 

We had a jaunt out to see the Snooks in York last weekend, designed to raise money for a York Hospice we had great fun wandering the city in search of them.  There were 21 in total 19 within walking distance of the city centre and obviously that meant we found all 19. 

This one celebrating the Yorkshire pudding wrap was all gilded

One of our favourites the one documenting the book Dracula

We even grabbed a selfie with him

Daffodils by the city walls

I thought this one was strange, painting a woman on the Snook itself, not sure I was that keen

and this was one of my favourites, I loved the colour and the glasses!

This was the first one we found next to Clifford's Tower and will definitely be appearing on a scrapbook due to the colour co-ordination. 

Our weather has been decidedly changeable and so we've had to make the most of dry days. 

Sunday was relatively dry so we headed to YSP, there was some new artwork in the upper space in the main visitors centre, we've seen this artist before. 

These were seriously tiny, all the artwork made from a single block of wood. 

The Chapel also has a new exhibition from an artist who was in residence last year who upcycled lots of items and was a nod back to her own heritage, the artwork was amazing. 

We enjoyed the walk, although the circular route down past the boat house is still currently closed. 

The rest of the week has tripped along, we've been and sorted some of my Mum's items out for my step-Dad to try and make the house a bit easier to manage.  My Mum was a crafter like me so we expect this to take some time if truth be told, but we've made headway. 

As for the youngsters they've been enjoying a break away, including my niece and her other half who have announced their engagement whilst away, which has genuinely raised a smile.

Before my Mum passed away my niece's fiance asked her permission to marry her grand daughter and said 23 year old captured this on video, now they are engaged I've watched the video back and to say it raised a tear is an understatement, but is definitely something to cherish.  

I've also retrieved my Mum's Christmas journal from the Christmas just gone, she'd made little headway into it, but had made a few notes and between the notes, Facebook, Whatsapp and Messenger I've managed to pull together things relevant to Christmas and complete the book as best I can, whilst it makes me sad currently I know it is something I will wholly cherish moving forward and for that I am truly grateful. 

And that my lovely people is it for this week, hope yours has been grand. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 13TH OF 2024

 Morning all tis Friday and Good Friday at that time for 

Well it has been the hardest of weeks as Tuesday was my Mum's funeral, but I'm determined to still find the silver linings in amongst the week. 

The first has to be meeting the Celebrant that conducted my Mum's service, he was genuinely lovely, spent time listening to our stories and took what I'd written and used it as the main element of the service on Tuesday.  I'm proud of my brother, son, sister and niece's partner for carrying my Mum into the crematorium, I'm pleased that the service was ultimately the most personal of occasions and I think relayed some of the stories of my Mum.

I'm pleased that myself and my sister managed to deliver our part of the service even if to a degree I had to be on an auto-pilot mode to ensure I could deliver the speech, but so many people afterwards said that it really made the service and I think that my Mum would have approved, it felt like the last thing I could do for her writing the speeches for her service and co-delivering one of them. 

Afterwards we all congregated and caught up, well a lot of us did.  It was nice to reminisce see people even if it was an immensely sad occasion and enjoy time together and to celebrate my Mum's amazing life. 

I've continued to receive sympathy cards throughout the week, which have meant a lot, two of my Aunties gave me cards indicating they'd had masses said for my Mum which was lovely and my best friend from school sent me a letter to say she was having 10 trees planted in my Mum's memory in Scotland as part of their rewilding scheme, it is something my Mum would genuinely love and it really did bring a real tear to my eye, she said she knew that my Mum always loved Scotland and she thought it was apt. 

I'm also grateful for the little nudges this week which seem to be reminding me that my Mum is still about.  The first is the pairs of magpies I have seen, since my Dad passed away when I was 16 I've always felt he was close when I saw a solitary magpie, so I've decided when I see a pair now it is my Mum and Dad.  

Also the day after my Mum's funeral, we got in the car and the radio came on with Cat Stevens singing Morning has Broken, which was the track we had played in the middle of my Mum's service, I have genuinely never heard the Cat Stevens version until Monday night this week, so for it to be playing the day after my Mum's funeral seemed like a nod to let me know she is OK, I know it sounds mad but once people have gone finding little things to hold on to really does help. 

Also Wednesday evening, I'd booked tickets for hubby at Christmas to see Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace,  hubby has always been a fan of Led Zeppelin and I had a feeling he wouldn't book tickets himself so it seemed sensible for me to buy them for us to go and see him.  Whilst it was only the day after Mum's funeral, it still seemed the right thing to do and we were treated to an intimate evening listening to some beautiful music, much of which spoke of people passing away and he played a song called Angel Dance, again seemed to give me a nod to what I've been going through this week. 

Thursday morning and me and hubby were back at the hospital for his pre-assessment for his upcoming operation, I'm grateful that they appear to be dealing with this relatively quickly, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers over this next few weeks.

I came home and managed to finish some crafting I'd started, it feels good to be creative again, if that makes sense. 

 

I hope you've had a good week and enjoy the bank holiday weekend. 

Much love

xxx

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 12TH OF 2024

 Afternoon all I'm a wee bit late, just forgive my tardiness, time for 

Well it has been something of a difficult week following the loss of my Mum last week as I'm sure you will appreciate but in amongst all of that there are still positive moments and silver linings if I'm honest. 

There is the number of messages and phone calls and texts that I've received offering words of sympathy and condolence which have meant the world, the hugs I've received when I've met with people and the memories I am relying on to keep me remember the good times. 

There is a plethora of cards that have slowly descended onto my door mat this week. 

The stunning flowers I received from a friend, genuinely they made me cry and they smell utterly beautiful and I absolutely know that my Mum would love them.  They are in the window just out of full sun and I keep getting a bee outside getting rather cross that he can't get them, bless him. 

I was brave after the first day and swapped them into a vase and they are doing really well. 

The theatre which really was the last thing I wanted this week but genuinely made me smile, it was a local theatre groups version of 'Allo Allo' and was fun to watch. 

Hubby keeping me on an even keel helping me write the chronology of my Mum's life and the anecdotal tales that we've come up with. 

Family for remembering some of the fun things that my Mum did and raising a smile when we are all feeling a little deflated.  Praise from the celebrant for my writing, maybe I will push myself and try writing some stories moving forward. 

Getting things sorted for my step-Dad and a few others stepping up to help including my sister and hubby to get bills and accounts sorted out. 

And that my lovely people is going to be my lot this week, I hope your week has been good.