Drama I am your scone twin in every particular :)
Cake sorry you're having a stressful day, I hope things have improved as the day has gone on. Don't fret about the biscuits - time and a place for everything, and it sounded like today was the time and the place for biscuits.
Willow you have been busy today - I am the opposite of nifty with a paint brush. In fact, my efforts to paint what was once our family room one weekend when Mark was away led to a new kitchen - long story, but worth it in the end :)
Squirrels how did you feel about picking up the ashes? I did offer Mark's siblings and his best friend some of Mark's but nobody wanted any. Apart from the very small amount that will be used up in our tattoos, and the similarly small amount to mix in with his roses, I'm going to keep them with me. A friend of mine has a lovely silver tear drop shaped container (bit like a salt or pepper container) which he has some of his parents' ashes in - he doesn't wear jewellery but wanted to be able to take them with him on his frequent travels so put them in there. When he's not travelling he keeps them by his bed, and the container just looks like a pretty silver ornament.
I've had another mixed sort of a day. Met an old and lovely friend this morning who had bought me an assortment of candle holders and tealights which I thought was so kind of her. We went and had coffee and a heart to heart. Then I went to my friend's house - the very self absorbed one. She is a single parent and is having a lot of trouble with hr 17yr old dh, and I really feel for her. You can't fault her as a parent, she has always looked after her children physically and emotionally wonderfully, but for some reason the 17yr old has really gone off the rails. She has reached out and accessed all available help, both for herself in terms of parenting courses, and for him in terms of counsellors, schools/college support, council drug support teams, young offenders teams, police etc. Today she was upset because she finally threw him out after he became verbally and physically aggressive towards her, his sister and their house. She is without doubt having an awful time, and while I was with her, I tried to support her in any way I could, and I felt busy and useful.
But then I came home and got hit by a "there but for the grace of god" feeling because my ds2 has been difficult - nothing at all on that level, but I'm pretty sure if Mark hadn't been around things would have been worse. Now he's wonderful (well, perhaps 'wonderful' is over selling it a bit, but he's a good lad, about to do his A levels, with an apprenticeship lined up for August, very into health and fitness etc). Of course, I still have 12 yr old ds3 to steer through the choppy waters of teendom, and 12 is such a bad time (not that there's ever a good time) to lose your Dad. I hope and pray he will be ok though - he's currently a calm, eager to please, loving boy who has his three elder siblings to guide him, plus dd's boyfriend who he loves.
I'm sorry - I feel I've gone on and on, but long story short is, that I'm feeling a bit melancholy again tonight, and missing Mark :(