A normal weekend....

Saturday 22nd March

Song of the day: Le Freak C'est Chic - Chic

The weekend....nice! I had been thinking about the length of my hair all week and decided that I need to cut the bottom off, so that there was less pressure on my follicles. Perhaps a little too late but nevertheless it felt like the right time. Daniel had emailed Stephan to let him know the reason for the visit. 

Before the haircut though, it was a reunion with the Achilli's for brunch at Tried & True. Daniel had bought Luca a gift...some Gino D'Acampo everyday oil....Luca hates Gino so it was a tongue in cheek gesture....Luca in turn had brought a gift with him...5 litres of Italia's finest olive oil! Bizarre we'd both ended up bringing oil as gifts! It was wonderful for the four of us to finally be together and catch up. Particularly important for the boys as they have an intrinsic bond, which neither Moira or I can fathom or be a part of! After a excellent brunch we headed down to Chez Stephan for the chop.....Daniel planned to stay with me and did for the initial phase but I was feeling comfortable with Benoit, so he headed off to get food for that evening. Doing a dry cut must be difficult for any hairdresser and also I didn't want to have a blow-dry so it was doubly difficult but I was really pleased with the results...see below.

Photo no.60 - haircut - argh my hair!!!

Photo no.61 - the results with the wonderful Benoit @ Chez Stephan

Feeling really good we then went to Casa Achilli to pick up the 5 litres of olive oil. At which point we got to meet for the first time the very smiley and happy Greta Achilli. Bellissimo! It was nap time in the Achilli household, so we headed off. We took a detour and drove through Richmond Park, wonderful even on a rainy Saturday.

Back at home, we had some well needed sofa time before we headed a couple of doors down to the Regans for calzone night! Oh yep, a new spin on pizza night. Glenn had impressively made the dough, Rachel the tomato sauce, so all we needed to do was assemble them with our preferred toppings....simple?!! Daniel stood back to observe as the three of us assembled our own...so you'd think he would have been the don of calzone making...I don't think the situation was helped with potentially the base being stuck to the work surface to begin with but here are some photos for you to appreciate the perseverance of 2 guys and a calzone..

Photo no.62 - we will get this onto the tray...

Photo no.63 - nearly.....

Photo no.64 - keep going!

Photo no.65 - one man and his 'calzone'.

Photo no.66 - I can't judge...mine ended up looking a burrito! Delicious regardless!

Photo no.67 - no trip to the Regans would be complete without some Maddie therapy.

We returned home full of good food and laughter. A great night as always. It was at this late hour though that I noticed some pubic hairs coming out...I promised to stay true and report the whole journey, so I have to write this as this signalled the start of hair loss. I pulled a few more and quickly realised that the whole lot would come out...best leave alone. The positive, no bikini waxes required...the negative...it's started. Breathe. There's nothing you can do. Go to bed and sleep. So that's what I did.

Sunday 23rd March

Mr Homer sent a killer tune this day - You do something to me - Paul Weller. I adore this song but couldn't bring myself to listen to it...listen to it if you haven't before. It's beautiful.

Photo no.68 - beautiful pear tree blossom, spring is definitely here.

Sunday consisted of bimbling around the house and getting loads of chores done. It's nice to do this once in a while...getting all the niggles you have around the house being done. It's boring but therapeutic and there's a good sense of satisfaction. Daniel wasn't feeling great today, so I left him to the sofa. I think he's exhausted from the constant-ness (can't think of a better word), perhaps incessant nature of our current situation. It must be hard to keep going at work and home. Still, as someone mentioned to me today, the number of chemo sessions can be counted on one hand...that's good. Really good...roll on 23rd June and the final session (fingers crossed, touch wood).

Needing some fresh air, we drove over to Hurley for a walk along the river. It was quiet as we got there around 5pm, so it was a beautiful walk along the Thames. Spring is a time of hope and you could feel it in the air.

Photo no.69 - chubby cheeks!

Returning home, I started to prepare dinner. Daniel and I have a ritual of Sunday night dinners. Don't bother asking to see us (unless it's an emergency!)....this is our time. Good food (my weekly pressure!!!), good wine (red only at the moment for me) and the two of us. Perfect. 

A snuggle on the sofa later and another week done. Well done D&V W!xxx