Annabelle came for an over-nighter last Saturday and, as always, we had a lot of fun. Nick and Lucy had a gazillion things to accomplish over the weekend which undoubtedly would be easier to achieve without the attentions of a four year old. So, having discussed arrangements with Nick & Lucy, Pen sent her a letter inviting her for a sleep-over. It was a very excited granddaughter who telephoned on Wednesday evening to convey her appreciation for and acceptance of the invitation. Unfortunately, Pen was out at gym when she phoned so she had to put up with me.
“I’m coming for a sleep-over!” she announced excitedly. As you might guess, I replied, “Oh No! Who said so?”
“Grandma sent me a letter inviting me to come and sleep over,” I was told. Since I learned long ago (although occasionally, I have to confess, I forget) never to argue with Grandma I had to concede that it would be a pleasure to see her.
The weekend was grand and happily the weather was fine – sunny and warm. We read stories, played games and had a splendid time playing in some sand with Uncle Adam’s model railway buildings and scenery. I don’t know who had more fun, Bubble or Grandma. We also had an excellent picnic in the garden at a site chosen, after careful consideration, by Annabelle with just the right amount of shade to keep the mid-day sun from frying us.
As always, she was good as gold, went to sleep and slept through without any bother awakening us with a bound and a leap into our bed at a very respectable hour of the morning. Can’t believe she starts (proper) school in a couple of weeks’ time – where does the time go?
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We made a visit to another natural floor supplier during the week, this time to a shop a bit closer to home in Northampton. We spoke with a very, very knowledgeable chap who was even more helpful than the helpful lady in Bristol. He explained the advantages and disadvantages of sisal and other natural carpets and outlined some of the issues we would face in our attempts to find something suitable for the lounge. As the room is six metres by about five and a half (it’s a big ass room) there would have to be a join in the carpet. This means that several variations are out of the question due to the difficulty of lining up any sort of pattern and avoiding those which would fray at the edges. It gave us plenty to think about but I’ve no doubt we’ll find something suitable.
I’m putting this together on Friday as tomorrow/yesterday (Saturday) we have a grand festivity planned. It’s Penny’s sister J’s birthday and Ms Playchute has organised a surprise gathering in her honour. J is off staying with their father for a few days while Penelope bakes and cooks and makes preparations. Pen has told J that she will pick her up at about noon on Saturday and take her out somewhere for a birthday treat. Of course, they will pitch up here for the grand surprise to be greeted by the whole fam damily.
The only real difficulty Pen has is in trying to work out how to tell her father that there is a surprise party for J without him spilling the beans. It’s not that he can’t be trusted with a secret – he’s simply so forgetful that he would be asking J to remind him why they were going over to Penny & Greg’s on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather is not looking great – the showers are expected right about lunchtime which may put the kibosh on the plans to have the party out in the orchard. If we have to have it indoors I’m not sure I will survive – two of Annabelle’s second cousins, both of whom are just about her age, operate at a decibel level approaching Concorde at take-off and seemingly do not have an on/off switch. Nor do they ever seem to run out of batteries.
Assuming I make it through, I’ll fill you in next week but, in the meantime, don’t tell J!
Finally, the following showed up in my Facebook feed yesterday. I’m always intrigued and sometimes amused by the posts Facebook resurrects to remind me of those memories I’ve forgotten. I was especially pleased to be reminded of this memory, the last time my father and I trekked to the top of Black Mountain three years ago.
Much love to you all,
Greg