Numbers

Now it's raining properly, at last.  Showers were forecast yesterday - I went to London with a waterproof jacket and sunglasses in my bag, though only needed the sunspecs, because it was dry all day and sunny for an appreciable part of it.  It was lovely at 7.30 this morning when I first went out, not a cloud in the sky.

We had lunch with Weeza and co.  Zerlina does enjoy food.  She ate the sausage first, then the carrot and asked for more.  She cleared her plate (chicken, roast potato, chipolata, carrot, asparagus), picking up the asparagus neatly with her fingers, although eating the stalk first rather than the tip.  Then she ate ice cream.  After that, she wanted to have a go on her swing, so I pushed her for rather a long time.  Swings are rather more fun when you're swinging than when you're pushing.  Please read each part of that sentence entirely in its context, btw.  She is a tall and slender little girl with a lot of energy, but she also needs plenty of sleep.  Her mother ensures that she still has an afternoon nap, which is quite unusual in a child of her age (Weeza herself was impossible to keep in bed for a nap after 18 months or so) but I'm sure that it's good for her.

I took a present for each of them; Adnam's bitter for Phil, grape juice for Weeza and a book for Zerlina.  It is a book written by my friend Charlotte, who stayed with us a few months ago.  She only wrote and illustrated three books, as she had bad RSI and couldn't draw any more; we bought the first one when Ro was young and we still have it, but the others were for younger children and I didn't get it at the time.

I haven't yet given any thought to the Sage's birthday present.  He is terribly difficult to buy for.

I noticed, the other day, that I've driven 16,000 miles in my car since I bought it, 32 months ago.  How neat.  I still do not particularly warm to it, but it has to be said that Mercedes make good cars, or they did 13 years ago, anyway.  Well over 100,000 miles and it's (regrettably) still going strong and I have no excuse to trade it in.  The Sage is working on his old Rover at present, almost everything is wrong with it.  He and his friend Mike (the *other* Mike and Ann, if you came to the party) spent all day on it, and got it working in the end.  It didn't help that a mouse had made its home there.  The electrics are still to be done, but the plan is to have it on the road for August in time for its 83rd birthday.