my moms birthday/weekend in wolves

i went back to wolverhampton over the weekend for my mom's 54th birthday.rather than going up on the train,i was driven there,which was nice!my mom and twin brother,and his girlfriend(who drove),came to see where i live for the first time.they seemed to like the place,which was good as i was up at 8am mopping the floor and cleaning!we didn't actually end up doing an awful lot,we just had something to eat and i showed them albany road,where there's around 8 charity shops!it is amazing i can tell you!i didn't get lucky except for john carpenter's "vampires" on video,though i did get mikee the louis theroux video boxset.you gotta love louis:)the weather turned pretty foul,and we drove back to wolverhampton just after 5pm.

(the vegan spinach,sweet potato and chickpea curry i had for dinner,nom)
i had a good time with my dad and joan on saturday evening,just having a drink and a chat.despite having picked up an injured bird when we dropped my mom at home!(i left the little sweetheart in my moms cat cage in joan's car,he seemed comfortable enough)the night ended nicely with me eating my favourite orange(battered) chips and potato fritter!who doesn't love potatoes?!i made the little bird as comfy as possible in his cage,left him a little bread and water,and said night night.

(me and my dad,i look weird)

joan and i (i look like a sweaty beast,yuck.i like to think i don't normally look this bad....hmmmm)

(i know,i'm lame)


(it seems customary for me to take photos of myself when staying in the spare room at my dad's)
unfortunately he passed away in the night:( it was very sad,but i'm just glad he died in comfortable surroundings and not in the street.bless his little furry self.

(rip beautiful birdy)
i spent a lot of the day with my dad,seeing my brothers and my niece jasmine.it is an absolute pleasure to be around jasmine,she is such a confident and sweet little girl.she's amazing.i didn't take many photos this time,i'm not sure why.i guess once you take photos of your family,unless it's a different location or occasion,they can end up looking the same!plus as a family on the whole,we don't really take photos of each other much!when i do it's usually when they don't realise i'm doing it!sunday evening was spent at my mom's so i would be there for her waking up on her birthday.she seemed to like her present and flowers:)we went out for a while and had something to eat.and then we came back and had a nap.i like naps,i really do!:)


(happy birfday mom)

(my plate of veg at the carvery,why would you even WANT meat?!!!)

(my mom enjoying a birthday pint!)

(i don't like this picture...AT ALL)
before going making my way back to cardiff my dad picked me up and we spent a few hours with my nan.on the way he let me know that one of my two black moor fish had died (my dad had them when i moved to cardiff),the orange one called bronze(i didn't name him).he had lived a few years which i think is good for a fish,but i was so sad nevertheless.once we arrived at my nans,she seemed fine,but her condition is rapidly getting worse,and it's sad to see such a strong woman having to be encouraged to eat and drink as if she were a young child.my heart is with her at this time.
so monday at 8.43pm(late!i really wasn't in the mood to be travelling back at that time!)i left to go back to cardiff.unfortunately just before my dad drove me to the station i had a very sad call from my manager at work.one of my work colleagues,one of the most sweetest and kindest women i have ever met,drowned on holiday in spain last week.she was only about 50.she came from the ukraine to live with her welsh husband,and i presume to improve her life situation.she had recently passed her accountancy exam (she was our rather new finance worker,having only worked here a few months) and was such a hard worker.she didn't know much english but was learning,and i really enjoyed seeing her everyday.she leaves behind two daughters,who she used to send money over to.i still can't quite believe it,what a tragic event.her name was iryna,and she will be sadly missed.
so sitting on the train until midnight,i had a lot of time to think about life.and it made me even more determined to live as well as i possibly can,and to help my loved ones to have the best life they can.three deaths over the weekend,from a stray bird,to my goldfish,to a work friend.all touched my heart,rest in peace.