A lovely catch-up with friends.

We had thick fog again today, and a weather warning saying it would last until mid-morning. Unfortunately, it went on for much longer than that! I had a busy shift at work, sorting out emails and numerous orders so the time flew by. 

At 2pm, I sped off to the care home as I had a meeting with the manager about Mum and Dad's finances. They are getting very close to the minimum amount each and I needed to know what happened next. The manager, Sharmaine, was late because of an unexpectedly ill resident so I went up to see Mum and Dad for half an hour, something I'd been planning to do anyway. My Dad seemed slightly better after his course of antibiotics and we held a normal conversation if I don't include his comments on how much a drone would cost... nothing because you're not having one! He only wanted to fly it up and down the corridor!

In the meeting, Sharmaine assured me that Mum and Dad wouldn't have to leave the care home and that they would have a financial and a care assessment carried out. We sat and chatted for a while and she seemed genuinely interested in them and the lives they had before they moved into the care home.

Back home, I had a bath as tonight we were meeting Sarah and Liam at The Bulls Head at Clipston for a meal. Sophie came home and had a shower and then we set out in the thick fog into Leicestershire. The journey was a bit hairy as the last part of the road had no white lines until we got into the village! We arrived first and Sophie and I, after much discussion, chose a bottle of Malbec to share. Keith was happy with the choice of beers and we sat by the lovely log fire to enjoy our drinks.

When Sarah and Liam arrived we all moved to our table in the restaurant. The last time I'd been in here was when we went to a fabulous whisky tasting with Sarah and Liam, and my Mum and Dad years ago when the landlord stocked over 300 hundred whiskies! The pub was lovely and cosy and decked out with beautiful Christmas decorations.

We chose our main courses - pork in a delicious sauce for Liam, Sophie and me, and pies for Keith and Sarah. The food was lovely, the company excellent and we had a fantastic evening catching up and having a good laugh. It was much needed! Sarah, Sophie and me had desserts and another bottle of red wine was ordered by Liam (I didn't partake very much!). It was almost 11pm by the time we left, hugged our friends and headed off into the foggy gloom!