3rd Dec day 50 sunshine and plans

It was overcast after breakfast so I went outside to do my readings and whilst I was out there the sun came out. The perfume from the jasmine in the garden was heavenly.

Simon had arranged for 2 architects to give their advice on his plans to completely renovate and extend the house and the first one had been out last night. As a result my head was buzzing with ideas which I wanted to get down on paper. He has an A4 book in which he has written down his dreams for the place, along with 2 different plans he has put together plus lots of coloured room photos Carol has added to give inspiration. Firstly I drew a slightly altered ground floor layout which took me ages and then I started working out costs, what he might be able to keep/reuse etc to keep down the price. 

He would like a 4 bed house eventually with a large open plan living area, plus media room and study - oh and a garage. If it's not ridicously expemsive I think it would be better to put the master bedroom and ensuite in the roof, so my plan was on that basis. It took me hours and I had forgotten I didn't have on any sunscreen, as a result the boiled lobster look was very much in vogue! 

One of the lovely things about being here is doing little jobs to help, it gives me great pleasure. When I came in FFfrom the garden I wrapped presents for a Latvian family Simon has supported for many years. They were on the Mercy Ship Anastasis which is where he and Philippa met them. Sadly they were not needed when the new replacement ship Africa Mercy was commissioned, so they returned home. Gunta, the Dad found it hard to get work and really struggled to adapt to life. Tragically he killed himself leaving Eva a widow with 2 children - Naomi now 17 and Martin 10. If you are able to, please pray for this family as life is really tough.

I then covered the full series of Narnia books because Simon is using them in school. He has just finished the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. The kids obviously had enjoyed it as I saw lots of their excellent work and drawings when I went into school. Next term he will do Prince Caspain.

I went into town to do the shopping to save Simon and Nicholas having to do it Friday after work. This picture shows one of the hundreds of parking meters around Hastings, they are free for an hour but you can't pay for longer. As a result people do shopping and move their cars, which means you can always park in the town centre - what a great idea some of our towns would do well to adopt it to help retailers.

After the second architect had been and Simon got back from his St Matthews Board meeting we shared pizza. I made meringues for his Board buffet on Sat night and then made him a laurel wreath headdress to go with his toga, its a Roman themed party - honestly the things you do for love (happily).