We awoke to truly awful weather this morning, but at least we were warned about it! We had a lazyish start to the day before contacting the florist who had been recommended by the funeral directors. I liked the idea of a flower aeroplane for Dad, but they suggested we take over one of the model planes and see if they could incorporate it into the flowers. We went out to the garage, and Keith managed to get my Dad's planes down from the eaves where we'd stored them five years ago. Most of them were without wings, and just the fuselage, but we found one which was intact. It was filthy, but I cleaned it up, and we said we'd take it to the florist this afternoon.
Outside, the weather grew worse with torrential rain, and Mooney came in soaked to the skin! He loves it when we dry him with a towel! Sophie and I had showers, and just before 12pm, we drove to Walgrave to the pub to see if we could hold the wake there. Unfortunately, they couldn't do the 11th as they were so busy with Christmas lunches, so we provisionally booked the 18th, which meant we'd have to change the funeral date at the crematorium. The landlord gave us two buffet menu options, and Sophie and I had half a Guinness each.
We sat down, and we were all a bit surprised at the cost of the buffet. The cheaper of the two was £15.50 a head, while the other was £19.50... We have no idea who will come, but with thirty people, the total will be quite hefty! I was glad we hadn't booked the room properly! While we were sitting, we discussed what to do, and we decided to hold the wake at home. The only issue will be the parking, but it will be a weekday afternoon, and I'm sure we won't inconvenience too many people.
We returned home for a lunch of cold meats and potatoes, and then drove to the florist in Kettering. Magnolia was a gorgeous shop selling flowers, arrangements, candles and knick-knacks. On the way over, I realised that maybe the woman in the florist's thought the plane was going to be small, so I wasn't surprised to see her face when we walked in with a huge model aeroplane! She said she would do her best, but I have a feeling we'll resort to Plan A!
From Kettering, we drove to Market Harborough and visited Majestic for wine and the hire of glasses. We picked out six bottles of red Porta 6 from Portugal and six bottles of a white South African Viognier. They will deliver on the 10th, which was a bonus!
We called to see Mum, and she was asleep when we arrived. Sophie sorted out some photos from her albums, and it was lovely to reminisce about their holidays and their lives together.
As we drove home, the rain had cleared away, leaving the sky a beautiful shade of indigo blue. The trees looked gorgeous, outlined against the sky. Back at home, we played Scrabble and Sophie made us cocktails with raspberry syrup, vodka, lime and cranberry juice and egg whites. Our game was neck and neck, and I narrowly won!
Sophie made a delicious pasta bake for dinner, and we enjoyed a bottle of Duncan's Merlot du Donjon with the meal and afterwards while we relaxed. Our viewing choice tonight was A Haunting in Venice, which Keith and Sophie didn't care for, but I loved!
A photo of Moon Bums:
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