Grandparents in charge

Or something like that.

Gorgeous Babe is staying the night again – this is the night for which last time was a dry run and this time Mum and Dad are not returning till tomorrow lunchtime.  The little VIP has consumed a whole tin of baked beans, a whole packet of grapes, half a nectarine and a chocolate biscuit and has been pink and delicious in the bath and cuddly and warm afterwards and has gone to sleep without any protests at all.  Barney is cooking risotto and was amused, earlier, to see me with a bottle of vermouth in one hand and a pink plastic cup of milk in the other.  Such are the indicators of a house with a child in it.

And next morning she woke up with Granddad and chose an egg for breakfast and was generally delightful all morning until Mum and Dad appeared which seemed to please her quite a lot but not so much that GM and GD felt unwanted.  And when it was nearly time to go home, she was asked what was best about staying with us and she said “I like lemons”.  Which would have been very satisfactory if she’d had any lemons while she was staying but as it was, proved a complete non-sequiteur.  Now they’ve gone, we’ve both collapsed in heaps with books and cups of tea.  I feel as if I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards and look a bit like it too as I’ve had my hair done several times and now have an assortment of hair clips and bands and other stuff arranged in informal style all over my head.  We also had egg and spoon races round the dining room (rubber eggs for juggling, not real ones – though now I come to think of it there are two hard-boiled eggs in the fridge.)  It is quite amazing how the floor and table and chairs and sofa and bathroom all look quite empty now, when a few hours ago they all looked as though an army had moved in (a small pink army with lots of paper, pens and shoes).  Sorry, I was much too busy to take photos, what with the hair and the eggs and stories and trying to get CBeebies to work in hope of getting a ten minute break from the whole experience.   I simply can’t remember how I did it before when there were three of them.

Oh, I’d better put the keyboard away.   That used up all of ten minutes and we had a great time pressing all the buttons – she just liked pressing them and I was trying to remember what they did.  We had a great time boogieing to the preset rhythms.

Sunset from last month.  Leftover floods below and advance warning of snow above.

So that’s one weekend that has been well used.  And soon there will be another one.  I’ve daringly arranged a surprise for Barney’s birthday and I’m quite excited about it.  Several months ago I happened to be looking at  the Somerset Levels Steam Railway (I’ve no idea why) and noticed that one of the events they run, will be on his birthday.  A cautiously phrased inquiry revealed that he’s never been on this railway!  And the trip includes a visit to ‘Snowdrop Valley’ (ours are just coming out so they ought to be ready by the birthday).  Could have been designed just for us!  Of course it might rain which will make the snowdrops unapproachable but the Steam will be fun anyway.  All he knows is he can’t arrange anything else that weekend.  Don’t tell him anything!  Oh and I’ve just remembered there’s a canal down there somewhere too – I need to google it and see if we can at least cross it!

Oh and I’d better look for somewhere to eat!  We’ll be hungry by the time we get there!