Mike's musings

39 today!

Yes, it's my birthday today, and I'm 39 years old. I woke up too late to make it to the 8 o'clock service, and decided that spending time with family was more important that the canon law requirement to receive Communion every Sunday. So, we headed off for brunch (I'd had pirate cake for breakfast, and had a knickerbocker glory. We then headed off to Freeport where I bought more shirts and a pair of trousers for work. The girls started to lose it, and Miri slept all the way home, and for 20-30 minutes even after we got back.

And then, a birthday party. It turns ot that one of Jojo's pre-school friends, Amber, shares my birthday, so we went there for a children's party. I took the pirate cake (I'd just have ended up eating it all over the week), and everyone had a great time. However, towards the end, Miri put her elbow out again. It was pretty obvious, and _this_ time, I managed to put it back in, which was an enormous relief.

The girls just about managed to stay awake until bedtime, and then Moo and I did more Wii Fit work. It's really impressive, I have to say, and I'm really getting into it. I did some ironing as Moo did her work-out, and then barbecued some lovely steak with a lovely bottle of red wine from James and Ruth (thanks!).

Tomorrow, I start my first day in the new job on a customer site - in Huntingdon, as it happens. Exciting, with some trepidation. It'll be good, I think.

I've had a good birthday, even if Moo's not finished knitting my present (a pair of lovely socks)...

Labels: birthday, drink, food, knitting, party, work

Moo's birthday

(backposting) So we went out for lunch to the White Hart in Great Yeldham. We had a good meal and I discussed my health whilst browsing wikipedia on my phone, looking for illnesses from which I may be suffering. Now that the gout has started to subside, my most serious complaint is a dangerous and acute form of masculine hypochondria. This debilitating condition could have derailed the important time we spent together on Moo's birthday - special time for her - but luckily she's able to laugh at me. Not just able, it seems, but more than willing to do so. She'll soon learn better if my condition worsens, I can tell you.

Labels: birthday, illness, Moo

Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaarty time!

(backposting) Jo's birthday and party today. The big package of party things which Moo ordered over a week ago hadn't arrived by the time I got Jo back from ballet (I'd had Miri, too, to allow Moo to do baking in quiet), and so I had to make an emergency trip to Sainsbury's (again with both girls). Let's not start on how cross Moo will be on the phone on Monday with the people who didn't ship stuff in time, but we got the party started (just about) on time. It was close getting everything set up, but we had a real blast. Tosha came and painted lots of faces, Nik came and got lots of kids very excited and tired by running around a lot. I organised party games: bobbing apples and face paints don't mix...; sleeping lions (to "Oh so quiet" by Björk); dancing ("Timewarp" and "Shake your tailfeather", which went down very well with the kids) and general fun.

How tired were the girls afterwards...? Very, very tired.

Labels: birthday, Jo, party

A grumpy (start to a) birthday

(backposting) I had a terrible night last night. And when I got up at 0600 or so with Miri, I was a little - no really QUITE - grumpy. And we couldn't go out, even when everyone was up, because of the weather, but most of all because Moo and I visited RSPCA Danaher in Wethersfield at lunch yesterday, and chose two kittens, but were told we couldn't pick them up until today, and that they'd call us (RSPCA Danaher, that is, rather than the kittens). Luckily, we managed not to murder either child (well, it was mainly Jo) before we went to pick up Danny and Zucco. Moo's blog - Blue Cow Moo gives some explanation, but it's generally to do with Grease. And yes, we're aware that "Zucco" is not how the film spells it, but we didn't have a clue when we had to write it down, but tough.

Anyway - after lunch, Moo took the girls out for a trip to Freeport/sleep. And I slept for an hour. And after that, everything went a lot better. We spent a lot of time with the cats. They're lovely.

The girls gave me Endless Ocean, a scuba game. It's lovely, but made me a bit sad. Just because it makes me want to dive again.

Oh, oh. I meant to say. Moo went to the optician's yesterday. Her eyesight has got better: she's slightly myopic, but slightly less so than she was before. This is rather weird: until the optician said to her "sometimes you start getting long-sighted as you approach 40". She was scandalised by this, particularly as it was my birthday today, I'm turning 38, and she's 3 and a half years younger than me. Ha! On the slightly dodgy side, her astygmatism (previously slight and probably with correct spelling) is now more severe (and probably with incorrect spelling).

Labels: birthday, danny, Moo, zucco

Miri's 1st birthday

Lots of presents, and Jo even managed to let her open some of them herself. Well, when I say "some of them", what I actually mean is "she allowed Miri to assist in the opening of some of them".

At 0930 I took my last "coffee and worship" service/discussion at Little Yeldham. 13 people, including a few from Great Yeldham, which was a good turn-out. We talked about "vocation", the various forms it can take, and the various ways in which it can come.

After that, zoo. Some tears from Jo. Not helped by the fact that she managed to bite her tongue very badly over lunch. We fed the elephants, which was good: Jo even managed to do it herself. Just about to bottle out when the elephant decided that _she_ was committed to the process. Still, she enjoyed having "elephant snot" on her hands.

Miri seemed to have a good day, except for the teething. Enjoyed the books she got given (quite a few). And she does love her sister so much. Walking, talking, playing, crawling, hugging, kissing, she's a proper person and knows what she likes. Which is often food.

Labels: birthday, miri, zoo

Jo's 3rd birthday

Up at 0550, a few presents, some time to play with them. Moo and I had both taken the day off

Mel turned up a little earlier than usual, so we could go off to Witham, where we caught the train. Jo very excited: although she's been on a train before, she was only a few months old, and can't remember it at all. The journey was a little longer than she would have liked, and she got a little too excited for a fairly busy train. Got to Liverpool Street, took the tube to South Kensington. This also a little long...

Jo loved the Science Museum, and after a couple of hours there, we headed off to the V & A and had some lunch. Good food, and not too expensive for London, I thought (beat £2.95 for a piece of cake at the Science Museum!). Then did the textiles section, which she loved.

And then she did the "trying to get away, pulling on her arm, and twisting it" thing which she's done before, and pulled the ligament out of alignment. Which she's done before. We went to the first aid room (the staff were very helpful), and tried to fix it. We failed, so caught at taxi to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. Paeds A&E were very good, and a staff nurse fixed it, so that was good. We got on bus (Jo was already asleep, but woke up briefly), on the tube (she hardly ever stirred), bought some muffins and a doughnut, and got on the train home. She woke up at Liverpool Street station, and had a good (though still sleepy) trip to Witham. In the car, then home.

A few more presents, and then a fish and chip supper with Mel. Bath, and then bed.

So, we'll all remember the unscheduled trip to A & E, but she had a lovely birthday, I think, and has a story to tell.

Women and the CofE

I'll blog soon about the news that the General Synod of the Church of England isn't expected even to vote on whether we should have woman bishops until 2010. I'm incensed, obviously.

Labels: birthday, Jo, London

Prime birthday

No, I'm not 41. Or 31. Somewhere between that, which should give you all the clues you need.

I've asked for money from people to allow me to buy a cassock, which I really am beginning to need. Poll and Lee gave me a nice top, and Moo and the girls also gave me a random Wii game which has been annoying me throughout the day! (Which is kind of the point).

I was a bit grumpy to begin with, as I woke up rather early without enough sleep. Got a bit happier when my main machine broke: seems like a motherboard (Mobo) issue, which will require a new box, though I can use lots of bits from my old one. This made me happier because it's quite an old box.

Got a bit more grumpy when I had a look at our finances, which aren't really in a position to be buying a new box right now, after our recent holiday.

Had a good lunch with Ian, though. He gave me some good feedback on my evensong last Sunday:

• don't saunter when processing! Maybe OK when on my own in a small parish church, and he wouldn't want me not to be me, but... Entirely fair!
• at times, when I made announcements to the congregation, I didn't face them. Also entirely fair, though Ian did take my point that more than half of the people in the church were actually in the choir: in the other direction!
• I intoned the responses in a very formal way. Not how he does it, but no problem. Just good to know the style that I used by default. It was pretty intentional, actually, and it's such a lovely acoustic that I loved singing like that there.

Made a lovely, lovely cake, which really helped. Then a fantastic walk with Miri and Buster. It's been quite a while since we walked, and I was careful to show that I was in control.

A small supper, as I had a good lunch and lots of cake.

Labels: birthday, family, services, singing, walk, wii