Loads of Laughs

As most of you are aware, Dawn aka Longbottom, flew in to Glasgow a week ago Monday to spend a few weeks with us here in the UK.

We started off her trip by staying a night with my dear friend Val and her lovely children in Glasgow City. As per usual, you do not spend a night with Val et al. and remember going to bed the previous night. Dawn has since come to realize this as well.

We enjoyed a memorable time with Val and her children in her huge jacuzzi tub in their new home. The fact that five of us managed to squeeze in still amazes me today.

Since then, we have managed the odd meal out, a visit to Nottingham on the weekend to see the Dali Lama (which I found very fulfilling, since I had never followed his teachings prior to Saturday),and of course Ali and Scott. On Saturday night we all went bowling despite the fact Dawn and I didn't have socks. Thank goodness for Molly's poo bags, as we were NOT going to put our bare feet in rented shoes!

On Sunday night Andy, LB and I met up with the gang from work and spent an amusing evening doing the pub quiz - boys against the girls. Needless to say, the girls kicked ass. This might be due in part to the fact that Sharon's man Steve had trouble figuring out how many stone tablets the 10 Commandments had been written on. The boys should never have abandoned him to go to the bar, leaving him to the wiles of the women!

I'm enjoying having my mate with me, as are the boys. It's been nice to have someone to plan meals with, walk the dog with and just hang out with. Connor has been spending as much time with us as he can, and on Wednesday will be coming to stay until Sunday night. We all want to see as much as Dawn as we can... it'll will be another year until we all meet up again. Its great to know that my English family have come to love her as much as I do.

Us girls are excitedly looking forward to the release of 'Sex and the City' tomorrow evening and will dress the part to attend this long awaited flick. Hopefully we will be able to score tickets. If not though, there will always be another evening. I'm just so thrilled that one of my nearest and dearest is here to see it with me in girlie fashion so that I need not feel envious of those back in Nova Scotia.

On Thursday we head up to the north to hopefully take the boys canoeing in the Lake District, then back to Warrington for an evening with my beloved, who will then take us on a Waterfall Hike Friday. We then come back to Grimsby for the weekend celebrations, as Longbottom turns 34 whilst she is here with us. (I'm not telling you what the plans are for her birthday as she will have to wait and find out :)

I will leave you with a funny episode that happened at lunch last Thursday with Beryl and Wendy:

We were looking at the menu board prior to placing our order when two little 'oldish' women pushed in beside us.

One kept asking the other what she wanted. The other kept replying 'I don't know, I can't see the board at this angle' as she kept trying to push further in front of us.

The third time we heard the comment, 'I don't KNOW I can't see from this angle' Dawn let out a 'Jesus Christ' and stepped back. It was not like we really had much choice.

We decided it was best to just get in the queue to pay for our food. We'd decide what we wanted along the way. As we were paying, I leaned in to Dawn and whispered, knowing full well the obnoxious toads were behind us, 'those ladies behind us are some damn cranky eh?'

Her reply: 'I don't know, I can't HEAR you at this angle'.

Did they hear? Who knows, but they sure heard us roar with laughter.