There was a little flurry of interest on some posts I wrote in 2011 recently, because a group of friends were chatting about somewhere we'd been on our cruise that year.  I searched out the post and shared a link, only discovering as I did so that I had not inserted any title photographs for that particular month.  When I updated my blog design last year, I found I needed to choose a photograph to show on the home page and began to do that retrospectively for a few months.  I guess we went on holiday or something (!) and after getting a couple of year's worth of posts done, I forgot about completing the task.

With half an hour to spare the other day then, I began to insert those photos for 2011 then, which involved going back and reading the blog entries so I could choose an appropriate picture to feature.

What a year it was.  Not only did we meet our dear friends Jane and Allan en route from Bangkok to Dubai, we began a trivia tradition that continues to this day!  So I began by reliving that amazing journey.

It was the year of the North Western Road trip which began in Seattle and ended in Portland, so after a few weeks at home, I enjoyed returning to the happy days on the road, too.

I'll admit to shedding a little tear when I remembered the amazing weekend of my Hero's 60th birthday!

I'd completely forgotten that I spent a happy week in New York that summer too, working on a digital printing course with my sweet friend Jordi at the International School of Photography.

That was the summer when a group of friends took on the Three Peaks Challenge with the support of my Hero and I.  what fun - and how amazing it was to relive those days!

So much fun, going to the circus: War and Peace that year, and quite a few ordinary days too, all there to read about and to remember.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses: I had some dental problems and sadly, Uncle Tobe died that summer as well.  So many events to remember and to think over.

But if ever I question why I sit here and tap away at my keyboard, take silly photographs of rather unremarkable things and write about the most ordinary days, then here is the answer.  Seven years later, when I read about it, I know immediately why it matters.

I notice that I've completed the title photographs as far as mid September and have just spotted the title of the next blog post...we were about to go off to LA!   'Scuse me then, if I just go on another little memory trip.   I'll be back in time for tea and there's no jet lag involved this afternoon.

I'll save that for next week.