JJJ 20/1/26 - Unspoken

Today’s prompt is brought to us by Maggie. Thank you, Maggie! You can find her blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 20th, 2026 is “unspoken.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

And if you want to find out more about this challenge and see who else is taking part, our host the lovely Linda can be found HERE.

Well I'm using this post to jump on the bandwagon of looking back on where I was 10 years ago, i.e. 2016.

2015 hadn't been a great year.  It was the year I left my job and lots of things were left unspoken with regard to that.  But I was looking forward to 2016.  Turning over a new page etc.....

It seems a long time ago now but thankfully my blog helped me fill in some blanks.

We didn't have a great start to the year as my MIL fell while staying with us and broke her hip.  A hip replacement operation was done and although initially she seemed ok, unfortunately while in hospital she began to decline and unfortunately passed away on 22nd January at the age of 87.  It was a very sad time for the whole extended family.

We also had 2 new babies in the extended family by that time but one of them, Poppy, became very ill.  It was a worrying time but eventually she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition and gradually began to improve.  10 years on and most people wouldn't realise she has this lifelong condition although it does still affect what she can and can't eat but she is such a lovely bubbly girl.  A joy to be around.

In April I had what was defined as a minor surgical procedure but the recovery was a very painful few weeks. Thankfully by then I was doing a lot of blogging.  I'd signed up for the annual A-Z challenge which involved visiting lots of London stations.  I'd also started joining in with Susanne's Fridays Fave Five and I was blogging regularly about the weekly news.  Now I don't even want to watch the news!

Our youngest son and his wife moved in with us so that they could save for their own place.  I think they'd planned for a year but we had them for about 18 months in the end but they were easy to have around the house.

Hubby went from full time work to part time (3 days per week).  Having him around for an extra couple of days took some getting used to! (Not really, well maybe a little.)

Our daughter turned 30 in May and we celebrated with all of us going away for a weekend together which was lovely.  We had a chef come one evening to cook a meal for us and we tried out clay pigeon shooting which was actually fun.

Then in June the unthinkable happened - the UK voted to leave the European Union.  That was definitely a tricky time and we're still getting over the fallout from that decision.  Yes I voted to remain.

There were a couple of funerals during the year.  One was a long time friend who died at the age of 50 following a heart attack. That was a bit of a reminder of how life can be short and we have to make the most of it.  (And yet still my cup is usually half empty.)

Things looked up by the end of the year though - our eldest son got married in the August, meaning all 3 of our children were married and by Christmas we knew we were going to be grandparents in 2017.

We saw all of the kids on Christmas Day and we were definitely looking forward to 2017.

19 in 19 - 1st new Restaurant of the Year.

I'm off!  I have visited a new restaurant (5 more to go.)

Yesterday I met up with 3 former work colleagues at a restaurant called Asado which was not only new to me but also new to the area - it's only been open a month.

It's predominately a steak restaurant with meat coming from Argentina.  It's a short bus ride away from home so very convenient.  Being new everything was still clean and sparkly and although it's not huge it had a nice ambience.

We decided not to go for starters (I always like to try and save room for dessert) and went straight for the steaks.  I had a Churrasco Sirloin (marinated in garlic, oil and herbs) which was excellent.  I just about remembered to take a photo.

Between us we had various sides: chips, mushrooms, green beans, spinach & salad.  (The picture was taken when I was being polite and not overloading my plate but there was plenty of food.)  The steak looked big but was not that thick so there was room for a pancake with icecream & dulce de leche for dessert.  (Sadly no pic - it had almost disappeared by the time  I remembered.)  We had a nice bottle of red wine with our mains and finished with tea and coffees.

It wasn't a cheap night out but the food was really good and we couldn't fault the service.  My only concern is will it thrive?  Admittedly the Wednesday after New Year was always likely to be quiet but we had the place to ourselves for most of the evening.  Hopefully it has busier times and I notice from their website that they also do Takeaway.

I would definitely recommend it and will be planning on going back with hubby.