Dilly is cheeky

The family came over for that barbecue and the weather obligingly followed the forecast and was warm and dry. Zerlina was sporting a black eye. "What happened" "She was rattling the stair gate as usual and then there was a thud" said her mother gloomily. Little z seemed quite unbothered by it, anyway. I'd asked Weeza to pick up some lager on the way over - the 15 large cans cost a fiver. "They were on offer, £5 if you spent £35" she explained. "Supermarkets doing their bit to curb the sale of cheap alcohol," observed Ro drily.

I don't think I mentioned, Zerlina stayed overnight with Dilly and family on Thursday. Weeza had an appointment near here and they were going to babysit, and then they suggested keeping her for the night. Weeza was dubious, and finally decided to stay with us so that she'd be on hand if z woke up very early and was upset. In addition, it saved driving home and back here the next day. Everyone had a wonderful time. Zerlina adores her cousins and Weeza was able to relax and chat and enjoy being cooked for. She said it felt like a holiday, especially since z was so happy and entertained. The Sage didn't have any cousins and nor did I, not that I saw anyway, and my children's cousins are quite a bit older than they are, so we've never known much of the enjoyment for children of an extended family.

Dilly's dad's put his back out and was hobbling painfully along using a walking pole when they came over here yesterday. He's very uncomfortable and can't sit or lie down without a good deal of pain. I remember dishing my back some years ago - I had to sleep on the floor for two nights as even a firmish bed wasn't flat enough for me. It was very tiring as I couldn't rest or relax and only standing up straight was relatively pain-free, and I was so tired that was the last thing I wanted; so I can sympathise with him. Dilly went to a car boot sale today and came home with various goodies. "I nearly bought a zimmer frame for you or dad to use when you're here" she said pertly. "It was quite a bargain price." Little rascal.