More mucky pups.

Another whirlwind of a day gone, though all we did was some messy stuff at home. This morning the elder two made these volcanoes out of playdough and then very half-heartedly added some bits of bark and leaves to make them more realistic. They enjoyed moulding the playdough but were then more keen to get onto the exploding bit! I left them with the bicarbonate of soda, food colouring and vinegar and left them to get on with it to 'til it was all gone.

Meanwhile the baby who was due to have her morning nap was very contentedly crawling about exploring the mud and bark chips. She was happy doing this for a long time so again, I let her get on with it. She was very good at obeying the 'not-in-your-mouth' command! After that, I brought her into the kitchen and laid a towel and bowl of soapy water on the floor and she very happily played with that while I prepared an egg salad for lunch.

Other business included hiding from the Jehovas Witnesses (which didn't work 'cos the kids were playing in the garden and gave the game away), a trip into town to the bank with Honor (it was nice to just be with her for a little while) and then I took all three to the park where they found some other children to play with.

Just waiting for my turkey leg to cook now.

Great Jehova!

I'm still sitting here waiting for the dishwasher man to arrive. Just now there was a tap on the door. "That'll be him!"

NO! It was the Jehovas Witnesses. Bless 'em. They are lovely ladies but they do scare me. I listened to their bible reading about the Kingdom of Heaven and how God's government is coming soon. (Watch out Gordon). I don't mind them coming as long as they are clear I'm not converting. I think most people are very wary of the Jehovas. They have a reputation for being pushy and their very extreme interpretations of the Word are not for everyone. But is it Christian to shut the door in their faces and turn them away? I wonder what advice the Priest would give. Must remember to ask him. Anyway, I did a little preaching myself... on the virtues of Little House on the Prairie. I think they were impressed!!!

Things that make you go hmmmm.

Hubby is now off, scot free, one could say. As I write, relaxing in an hotel room in Johannesburg, though I'm sure, after a hard days work and a very long night of travelling. I didn't sleep too well myself. Little doubts and worries kept on popping into my head like 'can I smell smoke... is the smoke alarm working?' 'What if I die in the night? Will anyone find us in time to save the baby?'

Yes, I do worry and hubby complains that I tend to be pessimistic in general. But something always goes wrong when he goes away and so today, yes things did start to go wrong. Just a few days before he left the dishwasher broke down. That's not so bad. I can live without that. Last time he went, it was the washing machine. And to top it all Henry had spent the night vomiting over every bit of bedlinen I had. The next morning I was chucking all the vomit soaked bedclothes out into the yard when the Jehova's Witnesses turned up asking me if I'd thought about Armaggedon. Well, yes, though I think it's just happened! Anyway, today I kept finding mysterious puddles of water in the middle of the kitchen floor. After clearing them up I worked out that the water seems to be leaking from the dishwasher. Also. The sink appears to be blocked and therefore the water is taking a really long time to drain away. I went out and got some Mr Muscle, but it hasn't helped. So, for now, I've stuffed a load of kitchen towel under the dishwasher while I see what happens and think what to do next.

I got my shopping delivered today. I had ordered a packet of mature grated cheese but this had been substituted for medium. Then the delivery man asked why couldn't I just get a normal packet and grate it myself. So I found myself having to defend these little shortcuts I make in order to make life a bit easier. For goodness sake. Now I've got white goods to fix, 3 kids to look after, a christmas cake to make (I started soaking the fruit in the brandy last night - mmmm)... I don't HAVE TIME to grate cheese! And I don't know what I've done to change the text here. (I did, however, get time for a little walk along the creek and take a couple of nice photos including one of a boat called 'Henry').

Anyway. Tomorrow I have some friends coming round for coffee. Hopefully this lot will turn up!