Since starting this blog and have started writing daily, it seems I simply cannot stop, and my personal writing goals are growing, and my days are mostly spent with my trust little pc. The words that spring forth are not often academic or even very intellectual, but I try for honesty and openness. Occasionally on my private and personal blogs, I write about my deeper torments, and sometimes I spend time trying to write on fiction stories. I’m trying to put together my life story, but as my memory recall is somewhat challenged, I am doing it as stories around events, rather than a chronological story bank. I’m also starting to work on my book about living with younger onset dementia, but haven’t had time to follow up yet with the people I have connected with around the world who have shown an interest in contributing. It’s still on the drawing board though. And then, I’m trying to write for my uni degree about dementia, which is harder than I had imagined due to having dementia, and although I have promised myself I’ll get it completed this year, there are moments when I wonder how on earth I’ll get there. I’ll keep plodding on, and setting the small stepping stone goals that some days feel like I am climbing Mt Everest. Hopefully I’ll get it completed in time to write for the NaNoWriMo challenge in November.

Finding the travel log below has been slightly annoying as the Subject line suggests I may not remember my travels, and of course I am having trouble recalling most of what we got up to. It is however, great to have found this filed away on my computer. I’m having trouble getting around the pc today, as well as with a spreadsheet mail out, but in the process of roaming around the files looking for other things, I found the email below, which I’ve added to my blog as it has become my journal or diary, or a travel or experience log. On Monday night I ran a workshop, and one of the participants talked about finding diaries between her mother and father after the last parent died, and that although some of the information was mundane, like ‘I hung out the washing today’ much of it was really interesting and incredibly insightful. She said she learned many things about both her parents and wished she’d spent more time getting to know them as adults, and as a couple, and has started a memory book about her life, for her family. We love to hear about our friends romances and relationships, but rarely get to see inside the real ups and downs, or the intensity of their love for each other as we are more focused on the love from and for them as parents. I recently found a travel diary for some of my time in New Zealand in 1989, an interesting read with so much detail, and the friendliness of the people then had not changed when I visited it this year. Perhaps I should try to write more of a diary or daily log, although think I’d get rather bored!! Whatever direction my writing takes, I will keep writing for as long as I can work out how to use the keys.

Sent: Wednesday, 25 August 2010 3:35 AM
Subject: Farewelling London and our travel log … in case I forget what we’ve been up to!!! haha

Well, it is our last night in London before we catch the Eurostar to Belgium early tomorrow.

Seeing Charles has been great for us, and him. Our ‘cooking up a storm’ for his hostel family went well on Sunday night. He was really excited to have us there, and to be cooking together again. I had no idea how much he has missed it. We arrived there at 5.30, and then had to go shopping as nothing had been organised!! They were at the pub in the afternoon farewelling one of the residents! And then, the more we chopped and stirred, the more his friends gave him rum and orange juice, so by the time the lasagne was cooked, the salad and garlic bread ready, he was rather merry! I am very pleased to say my reputation is intact! Tonight he is taking us out for dinner with some of his hostel family.

The next 2 days we drove up to Northampton, staying at an amazing place called Rushton Hall – worth googling. It is an enormous home which made Beaumont House look like a pauper’s cottage, and only £80/night. It seemed a bit haunted coming in late at night, but really beautiful set on 30 acres. We met up with Pete’s Mums sister, which was a bit sad for both of them. She looks a lot like June, and has the same ‘spark’ about life. Also, we had not seen her since June died. Then we met up with Pete’s Aunt on his Dad’s side, but our age, so we met cousins the same age as Charles and Matt. We found the house Pete and his family had lived in, and by luck, there were renovators working on it, so we managed to get in and have a look around. Also a bit emotional for Pete,  but great to see. I saw his school, the Church where June & Peter were married, and a hundred other memory lane places, which was lovely. The countryside around there is gorgeous. We also made the trip out to Althorpe, but not able to go in as we didn’t have time to stay until it opened. I would have loved to have seen Princess Diana’s childhood home and place of rest so will just have to come back.

Ps. We went back to visit Princess Diana’s home earlier this year, but once again, it was closed. Maybe we’ll have to go back and make it third time lucky!!??