Sunday 4th December 2005
Great Minds Think Alike

It sounds a cliche, but Ian and I had the sort of relationship where we often thought the same thing at the same time or we knew what the other was thinking. A few months ago we watched a film. The next day, we were travelling up the escalators at Weston Favell, and a guy went past us going down, who looked rather like a guy who had been in the film! Ian said in my ear, "he looks like......" just at the same time as I was thinking it! I said, "I was just thinking that!"
We also used to sometimes draw a picture story on a postcard instead of writing. One time we each sent a postcard to each other on the SAME DAY with the same pictures / story drawn on them and they crossed in the post! Spooky or what?!
 

Tuesday 6th December 2005
Christmas Lights

Ian loved other peoples' "over the top" Christmas Lights on the fronts of their houses. He would laugh his socks off at some of the elaborate displays. One Christmas we went out one evening, and I drove around to all the best houses I could think of, and Ian took photos. Last Christmas, he did the same thing with Kirsty and Tim one evening, while I was out at a meeting.

Cowboy Stew

I found a recipe I wanted to try one weekend and it was called Cowboy Stew. It was similar to a Chilli but with minced pork. Ian had already made up his mind he wasn't going to like it. I was telling him all about it in the garden, and he said it was far too hot to eat stew. I said well I had bought all the ingredients by then and Tim and Kirsty were coming round for dinner that evening and so that's what we were having. I continued to say that we still eat curry even in the warm weather, but he had an answer for that one as well, saying they eat curry in hot countries! I said but Cowboys live in a hot country too! Ian said yes but when they are sat around a camp fire at night it is probably cold so they need the Cowboy Stew! Anyway, I cooked the recipe, and Tim and Kirsty were round for dinner as planned. The recipe suggested serving the stew in a bowl on a plate with potato wedges to it, which I did. Tim and Kirsty said they liked it, and I thought it was nice, but I'll never forget Ian dismissively saying, "Well I don't think we'll be having that again, will we!"
 

Thursday 8th December 2005
"Is This The Way To Amarillo?"

Ian loved this re-released song by Tony Christie and Peter Kay. He loved to watch the music video every time it came on the TV, and he would even do the dance to it in the middle of our lounge!

A Valentine's Day Message

This evening on my computer I came across a lovely Valentine's Message that Ian sent to me, in February 2002. I am happy to share this with you, but I have placed it on a separate page in case others prefer not to read it as it is of a personal nature. If you would like to read it in its entirety, please click here.
 

Saturday 10th December 2005
Mexican Cooking

One of Ian's Christmas presents to me last year was a really nice Mexican Recipe book. However, his remarks to me as I opened it were a bit cheeky! He said, "Well I thought I would get you that as I thought you only know how to make fajitas!"
 

Cherry Bakewells

Ian liked to have Cherry Bakewells as well as Mince Pies at Christmas.
 

Sunday 25th December, Christmas Day
"Too Happy"

I am reading a book called "Embracing Uncertainty". During the last two weeks I have not remembered anything new, only revisiting memories already here. But from the pages of this enlightening and uplifting book, came a new memory of Ian. The book talks about finding Heroes, those people in your life who you can look up to, who get on with life despite any adversity, and still manage to be happy. The author suggests some of her heroes, one of whom suffered a stroke, and whose doctors said to him, "you're far too happy for what's wrong with you." I was reminded of the time when Ian changed doctors to our G.P. down the road, and they said exactly the same thing to him. Therefore, Ian is one of my Heroes.
 

Monday 26th December 2005
The End of the Rainbow

Ian liked rainbows. He would often photograph them. Today, Ian has sent me the most beautiful, vivid rainbow, and I can see the end of it! How cool is that?! Never in my life have I seen the end of the rainbow. I can see where it meets the ground, in a field some distance away, and the trees are different colours at that point. (Yes, OK, I know that if I went to that point, the rainbow would have moved, but I have never been able to SEE the end of it!) I took a photo of it. 

Ian on.....films

The first ever film Ian and I watched together was Close Encounters, at Conduit, the Star Trek Convention where we met. The night we finally started going out together, after being "just good friends" for about two years, we saw 1492 - Conquest of Paradise, in Bury, Manchester. Ian watched a lot of films and knew a lot about them and the movie / television business in general. He would tell me I had seen a film when I didn't remember having seen it! Occasionally he was right, but more often than not (I reckon, anyway) he had either watched it with a friend (and NOT with me) e.g. Naj or Tim, or watched a video or DVD of it while I was at work.

Ian's cooking

Ian cooked Monday - Thursday and I cooked Friday - Sunday. He cooked some great sausage casseroles. He made a few chicken casseroles and shepherd's pies too. One day I came home and he proudly showed me an apple pie he had made. He said he had "kneaded the pastry for ages!" We did eat it, but I did gently explain to him that pastry has to be handled gently, while bread has to be kneaded!
 

Wednesday 28th December 2005
The SKIP

One night Ian decided to arrange a skip. He found a number in yellow pages and he decided to ring them up at 10 o'clock at night! I said to him surely it's too late to be ringing them at this time of night, but he said it was bound to be an answering machine, "I'll leave a message", he said. To Ian's obvious surprise, a man answered, and Ian said simply, "Can I order a skip, please?" The man said, "At 10 o'clock at night? Can't you call back in the morning?!"
 

Thursday 29th December 2005
Defrosting the fridge...

One day I got a frantic phone call at work, from Ian. He said he had broken the fridge! He had phoned his friend Carl, who used to be a fridge engineer, and Carl had told him to open all the windows and do not stay in the room! And what had Ian been doing? He then owned up to trying to defrost the fridge...with, wait for it, a SCREWDRIVER!
 

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