After many requests (one) I've committed to a post. I hope this message finds you all well. I myself am mildly hungover, and probably on the cusp of hypothermia having waited in the rain for nearly an hour for a taxi last night.
We've not been up to much. Working, mainly. The weather's been exceptional (which makes last nights rain even more galling) and we've spent a fair bit of time outside. I even weeded the garden. There's a patio out there. Who knew?
Penny's been great. We think she's suffering a bit with hay fever, and has been particularly snotty these last few weeks. She's also got a wicked cough, and is very slobbery, so it's entirely possibly it's just the last of her teeth coming through. We've had issues getting her to sleep of an evening, mainly because her room is like a furnace. It's a delicate balance of fans being on or off, and doors being open a jar or closed tight. Generally speaking once she's asleep though, she's asleep.
That will all change tonight, I'm sure, as I'm today converting her cot into a bed. She's 2 in a few weeks. How fucked up's that? Even more terrifying : she starts playgroup next Friday. Uniform and all.
She's been talking loads. Some of it even makes sense. Random words that form pidgin sentences. Everything seems to either be an exclamation of shock. "birdy!" "airplane!" or a demand of some sort. "swing!" "milk!" "Peppa pig!"
My parents visited yesterday. We sat in the garden and Penny and her cousin Amelia painted. Everything. Amelia at one point thought Penny needed green and blue streaks in her hair. They both decided the patio wasn't green and blue enough. Likewise the conservatory and the bird table. After they'd both exhausted themselves Aunty Vicky took Amelia home and Melissa chucked Penny in the shower, and then into bed. Me, my mum and dad were besieged by flying ants, which disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared and then we four sat in the garden chatting.
Penny woke up shortly after they'd left, and we all got ready to go out. I headed into Liverpool for my mate Tom's surprise 30th birthday party and Melissa went to her mum and dads with Penny for a bbq.
Once I left the station a female crackhead (crackette?) approached me "ahh mate, you haven't got some change you could spare have you?" not wanting to be a complete dickhead I felt that lying was the best direction in which to go and said "Aww, no, I've no money at all, I'm looking for a cash machine myself". That ought to do it. No? "aww there's one up there, just turn left at the lights" and then, apropos of nothing she said "I'm from Manchester meself". I looked at her and said "thanks" again and started to walk in the direction of the cash machine, to make my lie seem more believable. "aww, you couldn't like, if I come with you, get some money out, then go to the shop, buy something and give me some spare change?". I was incredulous at this point and said, somewhat rudely, probably, "errr... no". She said "aww please can you spare a couple of quid?" I said "how much?!" she said "a couple of quid". I think I laughed in her face and said "no! If I had 20p or 30p then perhaps..." but she stormed off and said "oh fuckin' forget it", so I put my headphones back in and walked off, fearing at every turn for my life.
We all had a cracking night in town, and I walked to the station, in the rain, and then stood outside Ormskirk station for about 45 minutes waiting for a taxi. In the end I just got in one that randomly turned up. A couple and another man asked if they could jump in too, they were going my way. I agreed, because I'm not that much of a dickhead (despite what you might just have read about crackheads), and they each gave me a fiver, meaning my taxi home only cost a fiver too. Sorted.
I shall, if I get a second, this evening post a selection of photos from our holiday.
Hope you're all well. I'll be back on or around Penny's birthday.
