What Might Have Been

What can one say? How close can you come to beating the world champions but not actually do it? This would have been a famous victory, if two out of three missed penalties had gone over, or if one of those other efforts had given a try. But you get used to the might-have-beens as a fan of Scottish Rugby. Does make the games more exciting though. It must be boring being an All Black and expecting to win all the time.

Marnie certainly enjoyed the match, getting thrown about when Nathan Hines finally scored. Probably a good thing for her Scotland didn't win!

She's taken to growling and ARRRing like an octogenarian pirate, though it's a little pitiful at the moment as she's starting another cold which is taking her voice. So instead of her usual range of dulcet tones, there's a barrage of effort accompanied by a collection of grunts and squeaks like a church organ with a bad attack of field mice. And a flashing smile and occasional single tear for effect.

The roof appears to be holding well, the rooms are drying out nicely, and we're now on the hunt for a plasterer who will actually tum up to look at the walls and tell us what needs doing. Then Marnie can get on with sleeping in the fantastic cot / bed / sofa Dad made her. The fact that it's not in our room has nothing to do with it!

On a final note, if you've a fan of clever, pun driven comedy, I highly recommend Another Case of Milton Jones, which is back on BBC Radio 4 on Monday. Not sure if the downloads work outside the UK, but give it a try. It's some of the most entertaining stuff I've heard in a long time - but people tell me I have an odd sense of humour...

I'd also recommend Fags, Mags and Bags. Corner shop as found nowhere else but Glasgow. Ah, it takes me back... "Do you want your Tiger Tokens?"

About Time Too...

Apologies for the interruption to our (ir)regular service. It's been one thing after another for the last few months - holidays, visitors, roofs, cars, building work, with Marnie growing and changing (and deploying her Time Absorption Field* amongst all of it.

I won't make this a long post, but thought I'd better get something up to let you know we're all OK, just finding there's only 24 hours in a day when you need about 37.

Marnie's started Day Care since Christine went back to work in September. She's absolutely loving it - painting and making pictures, babbling and playing so much she doesn't sleep too much! In fact she's seems to be enjoying herself there so much we suspect she's a bit bored at home - I'm sure she'd mark our report card must try harder.

We were warned, and it did happen, that when she started at Day Care she'd pick up colds and sniffles for a few weeks, and true enough, she's had a terriffic cold / cough for quite a few weeks, which thankfully seems to be clearing. But trooper that she is, she never let it get in the way of finding fun, just sleep. So she'll crash out at night only to start coughing hard from about 02:00... As she's still sleeping in our room, that doesn't do much for our sleep patterns, and I think we're both just a bit run down.

And she's still sleeping in our room 'cos hers has a damp problem. But we've now had part of the roof rebuilt, so hopefully the multiple problems built in to our roof and the gulley to next door by bad workmanship have been rectified and we can start drying out what will be the nursery and the living room. Redecoration activities should take up most free time in the run up to Christmas.

On happier notes, Marnie is now sitting up quite happily and steadily, babbling like mad, dribbling like Rooney on a plumber's course, communicating fairly clearly (whining like a little puppy when she's not happy, smiling and laughing most of the time), trying to stand, performing vanishing tricks on bottles of milk (I bet she'd give you a run for your money over a timed pint, Neil, although I'm not sure what beer would taste like from a baby's bottle...) and bowls of real foods and scarily quickly figuring out how all her toys work.

Not much apart from the home stuff to report, except I am keenly following the US election, and yes, I probably will be up late on Tuesday. I have to admit to finding these a little strange, but definately skillful. Oh yes, and going with Chantal to see the Cardiff Blues defeat Gloucester in the Millenium Stadium was quite something, especially as a victory wasn't expected. Couldn't speak clearly for a few days afterwards. The Stewart Voice does come in handy when trying to fill the Stadium...

I'll post some more pictures on Flickr soon, and we'll get back to posting more regularly. Plenty more news to pass on, but must go and do the housekeeping. Those nappies don't wash themselves. Unfortunately.

(*Time Absorption Field - I'm sure it's not unique to Marnie, but she seems to have come equipped with a Field Within Which Time Disappears. Proximity doesn't seem to be important, nor activity - you don't have to be doing anything with her or near her for time to just evaporate. Given most parents lament about how the time just flies past, and wish they'd done more while the kids were young, I guess children come with this as a common 'feature'.)