1. Alec pops out another word -- "Mummy!" Sometimes he gets it muddled and it comes out as "Mee-moo". He uses it lovingly on me, and on my possessions (my handkerchief, my apron hanging on the door and my slippers), as if they are a part of me that I have carelessly left lying around. He has been saying "Dad-dad" for about two months now, and I've been waiting for my own word. I've read that it takes two years for a child to understand that his mother is a separate person. Giving me a name must be a step in this direction, though he doesn't use it to call me yet, and a wicked part of me finds it very sad.
2. "It's a railway cottage," he tells me over the phone about his (newish) home. "There's the railway line at the bottom of the garden... in fact, listen!" and far off there's the rumble and squeal of a train going by.
3. The news makes Nick and me very happy. It makes us recall our own engagement, and we tell the story (polished smooth with wear) once again to each other.
Shower, sparrow and night before bin day.
1. The rain comes down in rushing spate, drowning downpipes and running in fans over the asphalt. Next time I look up, the sun is out, water...
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1. Stirring the brewing coffee to break the floating crust and bring up the crema. 2. We have donuts to give the children at teatime. 3. Th...
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1. An enormous fat bumble bee at work. She is so bulky that she can knock dead blossoms out of the way as she gets right in to the new jasmi...
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1. The shortest night and the longest day. I was up at Wellington Rocks with Anna, Paul and Jason. We couldn't see the sun through the m...