Just a few quick words so that you know I have not forgotten you.
We have had a weekend jam-packed with activity.
I wonder why we say Jam Packed. I am not especially aware that jam is particularly tightly pressed into its container. You do not compress it in the least, but simply pour it into the clean jar, where you leave it to set, being careful not to get too much on the worktop as you are doing so, because it is a shocking nuisance to clean up once it has set.
I have got to make some jam in the very near future, but I will not be squishing it down hard, shoe-horning as much in as possible, the way you do with something like soap.
Soap-packed would be a better metaphor.
Anyway, we have had a busy weekend. We took Oliver to the airport, where we were briefly reunited with Lucy and my parents, who had very kindly supplied her with a parking space in their driveway and then provided specially zero-budget transport to the airport, hurrah for grandparents. We met up in a very glamorous-looking airport hotel for a cheery lunch, made the more cheery by some glamorous lunchtime cocktails.
Mark’s cocktail was smoked. We watched this closely because we are going to try to achieve this at home one day, we have got loads of bits of wood that could be used to make a drink taste middle-class. We will need an upturned demijohn with the top sawn off and a special wooden thing with a little fireplace in it to sit on the top. None of these things should be beyond a chap with Mark’s creative engineering skills, we have got hot water and hot radiators as well now.
Then Lucy and Oliver jammed (that word again) all of their collective luggage into a shared suitcase, giggled a great deal, and disappeared off into the clouded sunset to the land of lira, stout opera singers, budget wines and upmarket ice cream.
We waved them off and chugged home, where we went back to bed for the last hour before work.
This passed very quickly, and we were gritty-eyed and reluctant to continue with the day when the alarm went off.
Fortunately it was a quiet evening. I had forgotten to organise anything to eat, although equally fortunately we had discovered some flatbreads in the bottom of the bread bin. These were only a couple of weeks out of date, and were hardly mouldy at all, so we had those and some chocolate buttons. To my surprise this proved an entirely adequate diet for the evening, it is amazing what you can eat in emergencies.
Today has been a far gentler affair of ambling about wondering about the children and getting tidied up, because Number Two Daughter is arriving tomorrow. Mark mended a gap in the conservatory, and I ironed Oliver’s school uniform, and now we are at work.
We are trying to earn enough money to go shopping tomorrow, and so I think I am going to go away and concentrate on that.
Also I am making progress with my knitting and it is getting quite exciting now.
I will see you soon.
