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See-also: http://www.wmc.care4free.net/diary/.
Bright moon overnight, & I seem to see a lot of it. Possibly because I'm recovering & slept too much in the day.
Feel somewhat better but will take today off. M has trapped D & herself 'put your clothes on! No! Come down when they are on' is a summary. So D spends all morning in his room & misses pgp.
Post-lunch M takes de to Lammas land though it is a v windy day. I read lotr.
[This section until thurs 21st written from memory when palm failed]
Thurs 7th
To Bracknell for Beowulf meeting. A good exchange of ideas etc, lead by Brian L. But there has been no follow up since...
Fri 8th
Finally get tired of eating my moustache and trim it somewhat.
Sun 10th
Play in the loft somewhat. Take "before" pictures and start measuring up. The exact details are now lost, but between now and the 21st I slowly and painfully learn about construction with big bits of timber and stick the frame in place.
3pm: to Lucys party, just me and D; M is feeling tired. We all have fun (as John observed, no tears at all). In the end, as one of the last, D watches maisy put on for Rosie, and only comes away when I turn it off.
Wed 13th Soir: folks round for panckaes, a tradition now as S observed.
Thurs 14th
Fri 15th
Sat 16th
pm: take D to Warner Village (boo...) for Monsters, Inc. I quite liked it, though its not a classic, but the fur-animation is splendid. But after 1 1/4 h D said he needed a wee, and then didn't want to go back in: too scary. The yellow folks in the decontamination suits, apparently. I guess D has not been brought up on the wham-bam slam-action of modern cartoons - there were lots of jumps and fast-pull-ins.
But after that to W/S, where he happily watched the end of Chicken Run, which he has refused to do before.
Sun 17th
pm: take D out for a cycle/walk. Go along the bridleway towards the road-to-Comberton. Stop in the wood, and walk around there. Take various piccies for GP leaflet, possibly. Explore the wood with D, go down to the bottom, cross road, and follow the drainage ditch up, me on the bank and him 6 feet down in the water. Eventually he hands get cold and its time to go home, which we do, and have warm drinks and toast in front of the fire.
Mon 18th
Ratcatcher turns up. Tunnels look somewhat old but he leaves a bait box anyway. Good.
This week is half term. Makes little difference to monday.
Tues 19th
Instead of going to town, go to the alloment. Dig then rotovate then plant onions for about 2 hours, brave me. Meanwhile Joel has come round to play with D and apart from messing up upstairs, all seems well when I get back.
BG a bit.
Try to get D out to town for a swim in the afternoon but he won't go, so stay in. Quite relaxing.
Wed 20th
Sort-of expecting Naomi pm, but no: perhaps because it is half term.
Soir: bg!
Thurs 21st
This written directly to computer since my palm is dead! Well not quite. It had gone completely blank, probably because the battery was drained by one button sticking... it had done that once before... but this time recharging did not restore it. Finally tried a soft reset, that brought it back, but empty, oh dear, so I shall have to get a new one. But which? Probably a m505. But for now, I don't think I'll trust the old one.
So: today: D up well before me, quietly playing downstairs, a bad sign, yes, a wet bed :-(
Work: tidy up doc for yaauf/g. Good. But then fail on timestepping.
Yoga. Then home, intending to allot. But it starts raining so BG a bit... gets worse, oh dear. Well, finish Watchers Keep, anyway. Then into the loft. Finish off screws etc, reassemble and put in all bolts and screws. Hurrah. Cut old beam 2" (of 5) through, and leave to see how it goes. Quite windy: a good test. Tomorrow I'll cut another inch.
Fri 22nd
pm: D decides he'd like some more plastic meccano, so he is persuaded into town. At his request we cycle - he is mercurial. But its not a bad day. Stop and look at concrete on the rec: first signs of new kit, the net.
First to RS to buy him a new sheet: he chooses "pink" that is called "brick" and is a good match for his curtains - I thought. M says it clashes... hey ho. Then to Toy Dept, look at stuff. They don't have the mecanno he wants (not much at all, in fact) but there is playmobil, lego, and duplo. End up with BtB "scoop and muck" set, after which he is on fire to return home. But its starts raining, hard, it feels like its being thrust down. So to w/s briefy, then back home into a sunset.
D plays enthusiastically till bedtime (briefly called away to dinner; honey and yoghurt for him; my pots+sos for us).
Soir: just for once, not BG, but the even more evil demon known as the PUM. Finally track down the bit-cf bug: GC_ISUM doesn't work! Argh. Replace it with a RSUM and all is sweetness and light, or rather dark, because its midnight by the time I finish argh (are you reading this JT?).
Sat 23rd
So I'm a bit sleepy when D bounces in early and snuggles down with us: E is in already feeding. Since E is moving onto some "solids" (mashed: carrot; baby rice; sweet potatoes; that kind of stuff (not all at once)) she's been a bit less regular and M has done some getting up at 2:30. Argh for her.
Anyway, its sunny. Persuaded down with D, take E to chaanage and entertain, since she has had her breakfast. Sleepy: D has to keep prodding me.
M takes over at 8:30 and I sleep by the fire in the sun. 9:30 - wake enough for breakfast. Some BG, then I intend to allot. But! A hail-then-snow storem swirls in, very impressive, the garden is briefly white and D goes out to taste it. But by 11:30 its sunny again so off I go. Just dig this time: clear more by the ex-asparagus patch, then remove some hawthorn stumps in the middle, then extend at the back, where there is some good soil under the nettles. At last turn to planting in some garlic in the front, and as I'm doing it another hailstorm swirls in and it hurts to face the wind. Get in 2 rows and stop, then cycle home in the blizzard. Home: 1pm: Med off to the Orchard. I shower to dry off (?) and relax.
pm: Med back about 2:45. D decides he really wants the Lofty to go with Muck and Scoop and, well, why not, so off to town. Learning from yesterday, we are going to buy the toy last, and D is happy to agree - he knows that as soon as he has it he will be on fire to get back, but until he has it he can control himself... So: Jessops to drool over Sony 120 and IP7; health food shop for biobiz; Oxfam to browse - D gets a Topsy and Tim go on the train; W/s for drink (D has *2* iced-tea-with-blackcurrant at £1.75 a time...) then read a few Mr Men and WinnietW. And so onto RS; browse a bit; D finds a TTTE version of the 3-dumpers-with-balls toy Helen had; but I disuade him.
Home on P+R at dusk. Home, D all excited, and rips into it, building Lofty.
I get very near the end of BGii: Melisan has betrayed Bhaal but I'm into the Abysal plane...
M cooks: sweet potatoes, peas (ugh) and eggs.
20:30 - I am delighted to say I have a life again. With M looking over my shoulder, I finish BGii - and it is more a matter of finishing than winning. I try the two obvious options at the end - it makes little difference - but I like the ending where I become a god. There is a third option 2 - perhaps the one where I become evil.
Sunday 24th
What shall I do with my new-found life? Sadly the PUM still swallows me up, level draining me like a vampire... but is it protected from magical weapons, and do I have any? Sadly no.
Up with D, who again comes into our bed and then goes downstairs ahead of me. Playing with Lofty et al. M up earlyish for a sunday. Head off to allot quite early too, and get some decent digging and stoatavating in before rain and exhaustion stop play. This year, things are well under control: all I need to do now is remember to actually plant stuff at the right time! Hammer back some of the planks on the shed at the back, and fix one door. as I'm leaving, Dot shows some people the next door allot: to have that cultivated would be nice.
Back. Med are out at their threatened visit to Scotsdales, so I get a bath in peace (E C Tubb: Jack of Swords).
Med back 2 ish. M goes into town for a sit in a bookshop and a bit of peace. E sleeps (err... after quite a long bit of screaming, for which she got moved into the passageway to save D's ears) and D and I play. D is somewhat tired. We read most of the "Greek Myths" book together and lie down for a while. But he won't be still for long, unlike me, who can lie lazily for quite some time if given the chance. Sometimes, D asks me to play "the fighting game" (ie BG; as distinct from the rocket game (asteroids) or the ball game (jezzball); he quite likes to watch). But I explain that its finished.
D has bought some seeds (or rather little tubers): Anemones. We go get some soil and plant 4 in a pot.
M back 5, as E is being "aired" after a change.
Soir: PUM again, sigh. Still fails at dah89j0 (or rather just after) with -ve theta. Sigh. At end: discovery: the single-proc version behaves differently, and continues. Odd. But may be the explanation.
M feeds E, who then sleeps, snuffling gently like a hedgehog and with little eye movements. Does she dream?
Monday 25th
Soir: work on model, with some effect, but coupled meaning eludes me... acumps. acumps? I remember it...
M skips her yoga: E keeps her late feeding.
Tuesday 26th
To town, for once. no swim: as M says, I am swum out. To carphone warehouse, who tell me that I can get Orrange to courier a new one. Aha, can I? To SC, where I officialy register as Gp agent for SC. To Cb1, where I see Bernard is in, so to Arjuna to buy lunch and dinner. B is going as I return, good. read mail etc, then read some of the Hobbit - good too. Stop off at Heffers and get the silmarillion.
Back - wind (which was loud in the night) is strong and against me returning.
Ma is there, having come earlier to pick up D. So we all have lunch - bread and cheese mostly.
D has brought back a "car" from plagroup - which is to say an unadorned block of wood. They are in the process of sticking on wheels, etc. So I say "well I could make that better" and (despite M, who feels that D should do as the others do and not show out) I cut in a profile with the scroll saw and make wheels that turn.
pm: coffee. I go dig over a plot in the back for D to plant in - he wants some garden (he also wants a rabbit or a hamster - some kind if pet - but he probably won't get one). Then cut all through the beam in the loft - M thought she heard tearing in the night, and I thought I heard creaking, but in fact the beam was 4/5 cut and not moved. D watches.
Sit some more. At 4 off to allot; just about last chance to stoatavate. But in fact I just dig... in one of the difficulat bits, just behind the blackcurrants, where grass has to be removed and dealt with somehow. Finish at 6 by planting some more garlic: I have quite a decent set of rows in at the front now.
Home. Ma is feeding E (who notes my entrance); MD are off swimming as per routine. I shower. Then its time to start cooking: pots, onions, aubergine, sos. Md back: M had forgotten her money hence didn't swim... silly her.
Eat. D has his current favourite: honey and yoghurt.
I read mail/PUM. D plays lego. Ma washes up somewhat. M does E. Then E, D bed. We talk a while, ma brings out Provence sweets that were for Christmas but forgotten, and we chomp those. Ma off 9-ish.
Wed 27th
pm: back at 2 (or rather, as usual, just after). Windy again. D is on the couch, unconsolable: M accidentally scrumpled up his beautiful just-finished picture and put it in the bin. Though to be fair it was just a splodge on a bit of newspaper, hmm, am I allowed to say that?
M takes D off to waitrose, leaving E asleep with me. This is not brilliant, as D is due to be collected by Nicola to play with N. Hmmm... anyway, apologise to N when she arrives and have a peaceful time. But then M brings D back as he wouldn't go straight but wanted to read his new comic... so I read it to him for a bit, *then* manage to prise him away by bike. Talk to N re Bennys, and her track. leave D; home. Go talk to GK re bennys. He says talk to Dot re quotes... but Dot is out.
Peace for a while. My portege scares me by having fsck trouble after failing to apm -s properly, but it all comes right in the end. DO A BACKUP.
So I'm late to pick up D, but its OK because he's watching Maisie with N and Nelson and P. Talk more bennys with N. Take D away from a all-on-Nelson pillow fight, he being 6 could stuff them all but is being good and restrained. D has been to play on the just-installed climbing-net; but not on the slide (which ROSPA insist must *not* face south; they are out of control, these rospa folk).
Home. M is cooking mashed pots and peas for D (a current favourite since having it a Sophies some time ago) and Kippers; and a w/rose pizza between us. E gets her (non-milk) dinner early.
Thurs 28th
Work; Yoga. Apologise to Janet for missing her book launch Sat, but when I get home and phone M+J to arrange the w/end they point out its *next* week. Hmm.
Go dahn the allotment for a while, under the impression that its the last use of the rotovator I'll get, and don't actually use it.
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