September 29, 2008

I have a cold settling in my head that's making it difficult to think straight. Asked Adam to make me a hot lemon and took to my bed early...

September 28, 2008

Adam baked Margo muffins for breakfast, then we headed off it convoy for the zoo. Managed to see the aquarium, gorilla kingdom, bearded pigs, butterfly tunnel, pelicans (who've turned a startling pink from pinching the flamingos' food), meerkats, rainforest enclosure, warthogs and giraffes, which was pretty good going with four kids to shepherd, and the inevitable snack breaks, toilet breaks, bouncy castle sessions, and trip to the gift shop.

Poor Lyra had a massive blowout in her nappy. I ended up throwing away her vest -- I couldn't face packing that thing around -- and bought her some gift shop pyjamas so she had clean trousers to wear.

Ate lunch at Harry Morgan's, a London institution of a Jewish deli in St John's Wood. Eating out with kids can be so stressful that entire meals pass in a blur. I'm was scarcely aware of what I was stuffing in my mouth between feeding Lyra, distracting her, retrieving dropped items, trying to keep her from clambering out of her high chair, prising table knives and coffee cups from her grasp, mopping up spills, blowing on too-hot chips, fielding questions from Nova, etc...

...which was a shame, as the food was good. As always when we eat out with Jules and Mary, we ordered loads of it. The table was groaning under plates of chopped liver, chicken salad, tuna salad, chopped egg, rye bread, matzo, potato latkes with sour cream and apple sauce, gherkins, chicken soup, scrambled eggs and lox, bagels, chips...

"I feel I know you better after eating the food of your people," Jules joked to Adam. "We better not have dessert," said Nova, " we need to get rid of that apple cake before they go!" After brief debate, it was agreed that one cheese blintz shared among four didn't count...;-)

Back at the house, the apple cake was duly "got rid of" and they headed back to Suffolk. No dinner for me, though Adam and Nova opted for a late "lunchy dinner" as Nova calls it: cheese crackers, olives, cherry tomatoes etc...

September 27, 2008

Jules, Mary and kids are coming the weekend. They always ply us with wonderful food and drink whenever we visit, and I'd like to repay their hospitality. After breakfast, Adam headed off to give fistfulls of our hard-earned cash to Waitrose in exchange for far less food than it used to buy... I did some food prep while he was gone, baking a Dorset apple cake, making broccoli soup for lunch, and whipping up a batch of salsa verde.

They arrived mid-afternoon, bearing a nice bottle of white as they knew we were serving fish, and an even nicer claret in case of cheese... I hadn't planned a cheese course, but Mary and I remedied that with a trip to the Muswell Hill cheese shop while the dads took the kids to the park.

Served a kids' meal of mac'n'cheese (with chocolate brownies for dessert) that was well received. Once they were settled, I turned my attention to our dinner. Started with an endive, walnut, blue cheese and pear salad (there really should be a name for this salad -- it's such a classic). Next up was roast sea bass with fennel, red onion and lemon, served with potatoes, green beans and salsa verde. The cheese course that followed was our undoing... Dorset apple cake was out of the question. We waddled to the sofas and slumped in front of the football scores for the rest of the evening...

September 26, 2008

This week's family movie was The Ladykillers with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers. Nova quite liked it, and enjoyed the slapstick. Laurel and Hardy, Marx Brothers or Charlie Chaplin worth considering as future choices...

I have my own copy of the French Laundry cookbook at last! We'd just got Nova to bed when Freddy and Beulah came by with my birthday present. What a beautiful book it is! I feel like I should be wearing white gloves when handling it. I'm certainly not going to do a Carol Blymire and cook every recipe (no deveining fois gras or cutting the faces of soft-shell crabs for me!), but I will try some of the easier ones...

September 24, 2008

Tonight I made a soup from the Moosewood cookbook. It involved tofu and peanut butter, and was a bit of a hodge podge. I don't use their cookbook much anymore -- I think my cooking has moved on since the eighties. No doubt theirs has as well...

September 23, 2008

It is more emotional to read something aloud than to listen to it. When we were kids, we'd love to get dad to read The Little Match Girl, mainly to see how he choked up when her body is found frozen in the snow on Christmas morning with burnt matches scattered round her. "She was trying to warm herself, poor thing." It makes me teary just thinking about it, but I don't remember it bothering me much as a child...

Went out for birthday dinner with a few girlfriends (Pasc, Alicia, Trish, Jane) at St John: swordfish steak with chips, and three bottles of rosé and three desserts to share between five. Home about midnight, at little worse for wear...;-)

September 22, 2008

Had my first one-to-one with my new manager. She has the unsettling habit of saying "yeah, yeah, yeah" while you're speaking to her,which is somewhat offputting. I'm hoping it's a nervous tic that she'll relax out of...

I was late getting home, and thought I'd missed the baby. Agata had put her down, but lately she's taken to lying awake in her cot and calling out when she hears me coming up the stairs. I go in and give her a little cuddle, after which she generally seems content to settle. It's kind of sweet...

Agata has given notice. As we suspected, she's pregnant. She wrote us a very sweet letter about how much she enjoys working for us, and how she hopes she can continue to see the girls after she leaves etc. I'm disappointed it's turned out this way -- she's been an excellent nanny and the girls are very fond of her. And now I have all that rigamarole to go through again...

September 21, 2008

Followed the yoga with a run on the Heath. I haven't been running much lately, but felt surprisingly energetic, and decided to do a longer run than I'd planned. I have lost a few pounds, or perhaps a few week's rest has made a difference?

Adam took the girls to church this morning. We need to put in a year of semi-regular attendance to ensure Lyra gets her school place in 2011. We'll be applying at the end of 2009... Due to popular demand (ie, the number of one- and two-year-olds attending church services) they now hold a "child-focussed" service at the school. According to Adam, it is much less stressful than the ones we (mostly he) attended with baby Nova...

Celebrated Rosh Hashanah with the Garfunkel family this afternoon. Chicken soup, cold buffet, and sticky toffee pudding to eat, and no prayers to swallow (as we aren't celebrating on the actual day). Quite the family-focussed weekend...

September 20, 2008

Met the rest of the Garfunkel family at a Mothercare photo studio in Edmonton to have a family portrait taken. Lyra was a bit of a handful at times, though actually her behaviour was pretty good compared to Marni.

She flat out refused to sit for the group photo, sulking in a corner while Doron and Antonia pleaded with her and I attempted to keep Lyra in position. I don't think there was anything bothering her -- she was just enjoying the power of ruining it for everyone else. Doron and Antonia seemed pretty resigned to her behaviour. I can't imagine letting a child of mine get away with shit like that.

Stopped at McDonald's on the way home and bought the girls a happy meal for lunch. "This is my third happy meal this year!" Nova informed us. Have to keep an eye on that...

Back home, Nova headed straight over to Fay's house, and Adam and I took Lyra to the park. She was keen to take her dolly in its pushchair, and blitzed along the sidewalk oblivious to obstacles in her path. I was sure she was going to fall on her face, but we made it. I think "baby Grace" may have shaken baby syndrome after the rattling she sustained...;-)

September 19, 2008

Opted for a light breakfast, though Adam somehow found room for a "full English". (Seemed faintly sacreligious to be piling indifferently cooked eggs and toast on top of last night's dinner.

Drove straight to Finchley to pick up Lyra. She appeared completely content in her grandmother's care, and it sounds like everything went well. Here's to future nights away!

September 18, 2008

Took Lyra to the playground for a run-around. She's very keen on the slide, and enjoys climbing the stairs on her own. She has no patience for the swing whatsoever, and tries to clamber out within minutes.

In recognition of my birthday, I opted to do nothing while Lyra napped. Lay on the sofa, eating Greek salad with a glass of wine and read my book. This meant we had to rush around a bit when Adam got back. We've arranged a night away -- Nova is sleeping over at Fay's and Lyra is going to Freddy and Beulah's.

Raced around getting ready, not even taking time to make a packing list, which meant I ended up nearly forgetting things like underwear, dress shoes and contact lens solution. We dropped Lyra off at Beulah and Freddy's, where she'll have her first ever night away from us (Nova is spending the night at Fay's).

Arrived in Maidenhead with just enough time to check into the B&B, and change into our dress clothes before we were due at the Fat Duck. Adam's birthday treat for me was to arrange a meal for us at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant in Bray -- home of snail porridge, bacon and egg ice cream, and so much more... Previously ranked the best restaurant in the world, it is currently standing at number 2. The tasting menu seemed the only way to go, and after some hesitation we opted for the wine tasting menu as well.

The food that followed was dazzlingly presented and indescribably good. There are too many courses to describe them all fully, so I'll single out one -- the "sound of the sea". On a clear piece of glass overlying a bed of sand an edible tideline tableau was artfully arranged. Toasted tapioca acting as "sand", bits of seaweed, shellfish, a a savoury foam along the margin. Before tucking in we were given an iPod to put on so we could eat to the sound of rolling waves and seagulls. A bit over the top perhaps, but an amazing sensory experience.

It had gone midnight by the time we polished off the last petit four (a violet tartlette) and rolled out the door and into a cab, sensibly leaving the car behind.

September 17, 2008

September 16, 2008

Agata came to work today, though she's still not feeling well. We're pretty sure she's pregnant, which will mean looking for a new nanny soon. It's a shame, as she's been excellent...

Adam's got his friend/client Alison staying for a couple of days. She arrived from Geneva after I'd gone to bed last night. They worked all day on the WHO smoking website (taking a couple of hours off to go for a long run on the Heath), then joined us upstairs. Alison had a lovely way with the girls, and I could hear Nova nattering away happily while I cooked dinner (mushroom risotto and Eccles baked apples). Nova can be shy at first, but once she warms up she's a real chatterbox.

September 15, 2008

Went for coffee with a couple of school mums, then took Lyra to Waitrose. Kept her amused by chattering inanely and letting her hold various food items. At the checkout I discovered that she'd gnawed through the plastic packaging on the bag of arborio rice. The checkout lady gave me a discount on it, which I felt a bit guilty about...

September 14, 2008

Ate the promised cheese rolls in the garden, then set off after lunch. Pam and Roger were very kind to the girls, but they aren't used to children and I suspect they were relieved to see us go...

September 13, 2008

Drove down to West Sussex for a visit with Pam and Roger. Originally Pam suggested we come down for Sunday lunch. When she asked what the girls ate, I told her they eat pretty much anything. "We usually have a cheese roll on Sunday," she informed me. "Would that suit them?" I said that of course it would and rang off.

When I recounted the conversation to Adam later, he pointed out that we'd be subjecting ourselves to a possible six hours of driving for a two hour visit and a cheese sandwich. He called called them back and arranged it so that we arrived late Saturday afternoon, stayed to dinner, spent the night, and travelled home after the cheese roll on Sunday afternoon.

We got lucky with the weather, which was warm and dry for a change. After a cup of tea we went for a walk with Roger, to count their sheep. There were supposed to be 48 of them, but they moved around too much to be certain. Nova pined for the great indoors the whole time, and Lyra picked up every piece of sheep shit she could get her hands on.

"I hope the girls like ham," Pam said when we returned. "Ham's Nova's favourite," I replied. "No, it's not!" Nova said loudly. "Well, it certainly used to be," I said glaring at her. "Why are you giving me that mean look, mum?" Nova asked. "Because you answered Pam rudely and I didn't like that."

She looked pretty abashed, and made a great show of how much she loved the ham when it came time to eat. I can still remember the evil eye my mum used to fix me with when I acted up in public. She wouldn't never have said anything at the time (though she'd say plent on the car ride home, or after the guests had left). Of course, I would never have asked her...

September 12, 2008

This afternoon he came round with his guitar for my first lesson. We started with a couple of chords -- A minor and E -- and practiced picking out the melody line of the Pink Panther theme tune. Pretty good fun, although hell on the fingertips. The rest of the day, I kept thinking I'd burned them, but it was bruising from pushing on the steel strings.

The second series of The Restaurant started tonight. It's an Apprentice-style thing where ten couples who dream of opening a restaurant are given one by Raymond Blanc. Each week he sets them a new challenge and the worst performing team has their restaurant closed. The first week was about establishing their concept. Personally, I think the couple who are going for Welsh-Chinese fusion food are going to struggle...;-)

September 11, 2008

A full-on Lyra day, which I mostly enjoyed, though I got a little ratty at the end juggling meals, Nova's playdate, piano practice, bathtime etc. Once Nova was down, I headed out for a drink with Trish at the Red Lion and Sun, where a couple of glasses of pinotage restored my equilibrium...

September 10, 2008

Did a little school uniform shopping for Nova after work. She needs navy track bottoms, navy gym shorts, and a winter coat. John Lewis's stock had been decimated, and was a complete washout for anyone who's school child was under six feet tall.

Managed to find a pair of shorts for 9/10s at Debenhams, which I should be able to modify, and a reasonably tasteful pair of track bottoms at BHS. So much of the school uniform clothing available is nasty, cheap and polyester. It makes me itchy just to look at it. I don't see the logic of spending only £3 on a pair of trousers that your poor child is going to have to wear every day.

September 9, 2008

I checked out the usual suspects -- IKEA, John Lewis, Habitat -- and looked at bespoke solutions and high end "furniture as art" places as well. The main problem I encountered is that everybody makes bookshelves that are too deep. Nearly every book we own will fit on shelves that are 24cm deep, but nearly all the bookshelves being sold are 40cm. That's a lot of wasted space...

Finally came across a website that sells plain pine shelving in six different depths, seven widths, and eight heights. Not the most exciting looking shelves in the world, but once they're full of books I don't think that'll be a problem. Sent off for a catalogue and a free sample...

September 8, 2008

Part of the problem was that I was in the advance party, who wanted to show willing but not miss their usual train. The second wave was a bit livelier, ordering large glasses of red wine and pints, and lifting the atmosphere considerably.

September 7, 2008

Nova asked me what dimples were this evening. (She's come across them in Anne of Green Gables.) "Do I have dimples?" she asked hopefully. I told her that she didn't. "What about Lyra?" was the next question. "I'll be green as a string bean with envy if Lyra has dimples!"

September 6, 2008

"I think I get it," Nova said. "In the war, Germany was like the conductor and England was like the insulator." I told her than was an interesting analogy, and if it were the case then what was the electricity, which led to a conversation about Nazism. Pretty heavy fare for breakfast...

I've agreed to do fat club (renamed "neighbourly club") with Pasc again. Reported for my first weigh-in this morning. Turns out I'm at about the same weight I was when we ended our last fat club, while Pasc has gained pretty much all her weight back. Though since we're both aiming to lose about the same amount of weight, that just means that I'm that much fatter than she is...

Went round to Rob and Jemima's to return Ghostbusters, and ended up staying for a coffee. Rob showed my the portrait he's commissioned from some avant garde New York artist. It's an enormous browny-red splotch of his own blood mixed with salt on a thick white paper base. Kind of off-putting at first, but it kind of grew on me the more I looked at it...

September 5, 2008

The first half hour is a series of warm-up stretches, breathing exercises, and sun salutations. I used to find it frustrating if I didn't get through all the asanas, whereas now I'm quite happy just to work through the warm-up if that's all I have time for.

We've arranged Nova's swimming lesson so that it's possible for Adam to take Lyra in the baby pool at the same time, and today was the first time we tried it out. I gave her a scrambled egg first and made a snack for Nova. It sounds like it was a bit of a disaster... Lyra spent most of the time clambering out of the pool, and staggering around on the slippery deck picking up every object on the side, including old plasters, and lapping dirty water out of stagnant deck puddles.

Adam was pretty frazzled by the time he returned. It's a shame, as it's an opportunity for me to buzz around giving the (kid-free) house a clean before the weekend.

Tonight's movie night film was Ghostbusters, which Nova seemed to enjoy, although she wasn't always clear on the storyline...

September 4, 2008

For example, meetings that update people on how work is progressing could be more efficiently handled by email. It's struck me before now that meetings can be very expensive. An Institute-wide meeting that involves 200 people sitting in a room for a couple hours is going to run to thousands of pounds...

September 3, 2008

The two year-three teachers rattled through a list of information on classes and lunches and school trips, then dropped their bombshell. Starting this year, the school is trialling a new system for assigning homework. Instead of students bringing math and writing worksheets home each week, they will be set a half term project. They will be expected to work steadily on this each week, then bring it in and present it to the whole class.

The first assignment is a story box on ancient Egypt. The teachers struggled to convince parents how marking a storybox (essentially an art project) would reflect their progress in writing and maths. "For example, your child might produce furniture to scale in their storybox," Nova's teacher suggested weakly. There was a barrage of questions about whether seven-years are capable of such a research-driven project, the parental involvement required, and why they are trialling it school-wide.

I can just picture that bloody story box sitting barely started on the dining-room table for the next month and a half, and the flurry of activity the weekend before it's due...

September 2, 2008

Nova was a bit nervous about it, but is starting to look forward to it. There's a much better playground and sports field, and instead of having one teacher all day, they have special teachers for each subject. Parents of junior school kids don't deliver them to the classroom. Instead you drop them off and wait for them in the top playground. All little steps towards independence...

September 1, 2008

At least I got to go first, so wasn't intimated by having only eight slides to the next team's 30+. Managed to pick up on all the key issues, and even thought of a couple the others hadn't. Our new manager (who hasn't started yet) had come in specially for the meeting, and people were going all out trying to impress her.