May 10, 2008

• The smells continue

  This time, the drains in the back garden have blocked.  Dynarod has been called, and should be here after lunch.  I do hope so: the top layer (if water can be said to have layers) is quite definitely the water that drained out of the washing machine during the post-Brownies-towel-wash last night.  We'd done fingerprints and names with the Brownies, and decided that it would be more politic to dry their hands on towels that I didn't care about than covering the hall's towels in red, and blue, and green, and yellow, and grey finger prints.  Bless the Brownies.  Apart from a brief moment of total bedlam, when one needed help reading, one misread 'figs' as 'pigs' and didn't like that her name meant 'garden of pigs' (can you blame her?), one looked as though she was about to be sick, one had the fourth nosebleed of the day (she was picking her nose later, so that would explain why she'd managed to get up to four nosebleeds in one day) all in the space of 30 seconds, they were very good.  Less so the Guides, who degenerated into chaos after one girl arrived late: I gather she'd been to see the 15 year old boyfriend (she is 12 or 13) and was not in the mood to behave.  Shame, as it was lovely before she'd arrived. And then - total chaos and revolt for the rest of the meeting.  Nearly burst into tears, which I ascribe to being knackered and on the hormonal side.  Held it all in, went home, drank gin, knitted, and admired my books:

  

   

  This is my haul from Thursday night.  Less than impressive photograph, particuarly since the hardbacks don't tend to have pretty pictures on the front.  Or even titles.  it would also help if I'd managed to lay them out more prettily.  Maybe I'll try the bathroom floor next time.  If it's dry.

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

  I love the pictures in 'The Bad Child's Book of Beasts'.  My apologies to the Kurds.  I am sure that they are not all grumpy, it's just the one in the picture who probably had to deal with a batch of Guides or similar group of recalcitrant children.

   

   

   

   

   

  H Rider Haggard 'She' - such a beautiful copy, aind in beautiful nick, considering its age.

  Worth the price - the rest were only £1 each. 

  The brown book is 'Some Experiences of an Irish RM', the red is 'Silas Marner' (I do like the Dent 'King's Treasures of Literature Series', almost as much as I love the old, old Everyman editions), the grey is Conrad's 'Secret Agent'.  I had a copy of the Little Wooden Horse when I was younger, but it's gone awol.  And I probably should read 'The Common Reader' before I embark on 'The Uncommon Reader'.  I do like books.  The book about Osborne house is for my Mum, who is something of a Victoria-phile.

  List:

  • Update Inter-Club website
  • Brownies Accounts
  • Pack Holiday Admin (not much, thank heavens) Just to put them into sixes, and also to work out taxis.
  • Brownies Admin (got a new Brownie!).  Phone up and enquire whether one of them is ever going to come back, since she has homework club before Brownies and is evidently too knackered to come along any week at all.  Going to leave it another day, am wimp.
  • Write up new Guides onto record sheets
  • Eye Test
  • Go out to Kidlington to dance spot at ceilidh.
  • Buy chocolate for Uncle Steve who's giving me a lift from Oxford. (n.b. check bus times - need to allow 100 mins for bus, so total of two hours to allow for getting to bus at Baker St.)
  • Buy sticky pad things as smoke detector has fallen down in stairwell
  • Burn CD of Paddington to laptop for iPod
  • Packed Supper.
  • Shelve books
  • Take bag to secondhand shop.  Try to find some more clothes to go into it, and possibly a few books to make space for the ones I bought Still not quite found enough.  I need a major clear out.
  • Knit.  Photograph my Vinca sock (it's Primavera, in violet Lorna's Laces, and it reminds me of Vinca in Le Blé en Herbe - which I should re-read but can't face sitting down with dictionary, and it isn't the same in translation).  I'm on the verge of the heel, having cast on en route to Hastings on Monday.  Very speedy to knit, and just the right level of interest.
  • Actually catch up on Dr Who on iPlayer....

  xxx

  • 7:28 am
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