Sunday, 28 December, 2014

This week was a good week and a sad week............again.  Dad and I spent a lot of time baking this week.  Robyn has her family with her and we wanted to be able to give them some treats while they are here.  I knew that three of Robyn's children who were there all week would take care of the food, but we thought it would be  nice if they didn't have to worry about making dessert - especially for Robyn's grandkids.

We were supposed to spend Christmas Day with Robyn and Geoff - we were going to have cold meats and salads down by the beach together.  Since Robyn's family were all here for Christmas Day, Dad and I decided to spend the day on our own.  There was an opportunity to go to the chapel and eat our meal with other members, but we really didn't feel much like socializing with others on that day.  We spent the whole day baking and listening to Christmas music.  It actually turned out to be a good way for us to spend the day.  We did think about Geoff and Robyn - the baking was for the memorial service for Geoff which was yesterday - and it kept us busy as well so we didn't dwell on the sadness of it all day.

Our Christmas dinner - ham with salads (garden, potato, macaroni and greek)

lemon bars

raspberry jam rounds with lemon icing

banana bread

buttermilk banana blueberry bread

lemon dimples

chocolate brownie bars

As I mentioned, the memorial service for Geoff was yesterday at our chapel.  Robyn's children were so supportive of their mom and organized everything.  There are five children and four of them participated in the program: Michaela did the eulogy, Mark talked about Geoff as a dad, Sandra talked about Geoff as a grandpa and Jackie said the closing prayer.  I'm not sure why Kent (the youngest) didn't participate other than it seemed to really hit him harder.  He is much younger than the other four children - he is only 31.  Other people spoke at the service as well: Geoff's brothers, the bishop, one of Geoff's inlaws and a member of the police association (that was Geoff's career).  Dad and I shed a lot of tears during the service, but it was also nice to hear so many positive things about Geoff and what others thought of him.  The chapel was full to overflowing - it was nice for Robyn to see how respected and loved Geoff was.  After the service, food was provided (the family provided  subs and the members of the ward provided treats) and I kept myself busy with making sure that the food trays were replenished.  I don't like mingling with people after a funeral - I haven't been to many funerals, but I have never liked to do that.  Dad is the same and so he came and helped in the kitchen as well.  Dad and I shed some more tears at home - we are really going to miss Geoff a lot.

The program cover for Geoff's memorial service

Remembering Geoff