Doing well... in Rambling sane thoughts of the terminally me

So, over the weekend I went back to Penrith to see my family. This was the major challenge in the "No I'm not drinking" thing. This was not just meeting up with my parents. This was the entire family on my mothers side descending on my home town for a night out to meet my mothers cousin Penny from Australia.

Dan and I went back friday night. Straight out of work and back across to Penrith. I am not a massive fan of the quick motorway route so we went via Consett and then across the back roads via Alston. There's some wonderful driving to be had across those roads as it's usually dead and you can just cruise through gorgeous country side with a little music on. Which is precisely what I did.

We got home and met the folks up at my sisters house which gave me an ideal opportunity to see the nieces and the bump. My sister looks like she's swallowed a planet. Understandably so as she's only 7 weeks off the expected date and she doesn't pop out small sprogs.

It was lovely to see the nieces but unfortunately I didn't get to spend as much time with them this visit as I usually do. Generally because I was pretty busy.

After Emmas we went home and then headed out for Tapas. Tapas is one of my favourite ever foods but one I don't usually risk because it sets off my IBS. This time, however, I took the chance and managed to not have an attack to boot. Awesome sauce! This meant I got to cram my face with all my favourite grub. The parents had a few drinks but I managed to resist temptation and stuck to orange juice.

On saturday I went to see my best friend, Leon. I've known this guy since forever and am the best man at his wedding next year (which I'm looking forward to). It was great to hang out with him and we spent the day ambling around Penrith and talking. It was just like old times. He had to go in the afternoon to help his future mother-in-law find a flat so I headed home just in time to be asked to go and pick up Nan'.

My Nan' is 97 or there about and, sadly, it's starting to show. A year ago she was still sharp as a nail but she's now becoming a bit more diffused, intellectually. She has a hard time concentrating and tends to drift subjects. Unfortunately, she also had a pretty hefty fall a few months back and it's knocked her confidence into the ground. She doesn't feel comfortable doing much any more so she tends to get lifts everywhere and just sit when she's there. Which, at 97, is fair. Nan wasn't joining us for our night out but did stick around for a few hours which was long enough for the clan to turn up. After we'd dropped her off home we went to our intended target, a restaurant called Foundry 34. It's full of deliciousness. I had a surf and turf.

It was great to see the entire clan in one place and I got to catch up with my cousin Ricky who I do not see anywhere near enough any more. Plans were made for me to go down and see him in Sheffield in the next few months.

Oh, and I managed to avoid having any alcohol again.

Sunday I had to come back, which I was sorry to do, but Danny and I did stop off at the Hexham market on the way back over and picked up an original Xbox to add to the gaming collection. This is required for exactly one game. The original "Hunter: The Reckoning" game which was BAD ASS to the max. Possibly it was also Grody. Or radical. Maybe even tubular.

So, that was my weekend. I'm in week 3 of not drinking. It's going well. Still detoxing and feeling the benefit, although the absence of caffeine is definitely starting to affect my sleep patterns. It's a small price to pay for feeling so good!

Hugs kiddies and till next time Ramblerambleramble!