I miss my fireplace and its cosy warmth. This old place had five fireplaces when we moved in, including one in the kitchen which had a big grate with flat spaces at the side to stand pots on. We only ever used an open fire for a short time and have since had coke heaters and a wonderful slow combustion stove from norway with foxes, pine trees and slab huts on it. We now run gas heating in the lounge/dining area and I use a small blow heater in my study. I know fires are dirty, polluting and all that, but our slow combustion heater ran 24 hours a day all winter and the place really warmed up. We only turn on the gas when we are in the room and it's nowhere near as cosy.

Weight loss is supposedly helped in winter by not putting on as much warm clothing as could be worn and by doing extra exercise to keep warm. That's OK if all conditions are right for exercise, but who has time to be walking several times a day. I spend a lot of time at the computer and I can get quite cold. At 4:00pm this morning I was sitting here with a blanket around me. I'm sure my husband would not have appreciated my disturbing him by getting dressed at that hour of the morning.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. We are having baked chicken and baked vegetables which I spray with oil. Haven't had baked chook for ages. We went shopping last night to stock up on vegetables which had suddenly all disappeared. My husband was at checkout and I went to get something else. I returned to register to see "snow peas" flash up and $6.99 ring up. I had looked at them and decided the quality wa poor. I protested and girl said she was sure I had bought snowpeas. Finally she pulled them out of the bag. Guess what! They were a few Brussels sprouts which I had bought for my husband and price was about a third that of the snow peas! When I told her what they were, she started to look in the section for alfalfa, mung beans, radish sprouts etc.

I thought I had better pay attention after that. She could recognise potatoes and carrots, wasn't too sure about the capsicum. I bought a swede to put in vegetable soup and some parsnip for me because I love it. She didn't know either of those. Butternut pumpkin was also unknown. Even my husband pointed out that this was basic, old-fashioned vegetables, nothing exotic like buk choy (supposedly. I use a lot of Asian vegetables in stir fry.) I forgot to get celery,so don't know how that would have gone.

I suggested that perhaps she should try her hand at cooking. I gather she would find it hard to boil water from what she said. I think this is a shame. Everybody should have an opportunity to learn basic stuff about cooking. You never know when it might be needed. I taught all my boys to cook and every holidays each of them took a day in whiuch they were responsible for feeding the family. Sometimes I used to think it was more trouble than it was worth. They look back on those times with nostalgia and are all good, fairly adventurous cooks now. I remember having to hide my amusement when one announced that now he knew why Mum was always so tired at the end of the day. All the preparation and then the struggle to have everything cooked properly at the same time was too much for him. And I hadn't asked them to change the sheets, wash the floor, vacuum etc as well! Just the cooking.

I've just added a recipe for risotto to the recipe page. Easy to make, good for winter nights and quite reasonable in points depending on what you put in it. I think I will try to add a couple of recipes each week.

Actually, I'm looking forward to not having to leave home at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Bec has started a new job and I don't have to be there till just after nine o'clock. That's a big change from being there before 7:30. It will be light when I leave here. Maybe, just maybe, I will get a decent sleep instead of constantly waking to see if it is time to get up. I hate alarms and still wake to see if it is time for them to go off. Stupid I know, but I have always been like it.

Queen's birthday weekend this coming Monday which is a public holiday. I think I will try to arrange a picnic if it is a nice day. It would be nice to be out of the place for a while.

I have made a chicken curry tonight with leftover baked chicken. I have taken the easy way out today and used curry powder instead of my own mixing of spices. Not quite as nice perhaps, but easier when pushed for time and still reasonable. It took me ages this morning to do an online grocery order. It's quite a while since we had a big shop for staple items and I am right out of some things that I almost always have. There is a delivery fee with the service I use, but others with no fee, factor their prices to take that into account. I find online shopping wonderful. I pay by mobile eftpos so my details are not on the net, and I can specify the time I want the delivery, upto 2230 at night. Not that I think I would be getting a delivery then! I find that by shopping monthly, I am actually saving money on what we used to spend when my husband came shopping with me fortnightly and filled the trolley with things he chose. I'm not spending twice that amount at all. He hasn't complained about missing items, so I daresay he hasn't missed them. My orders are saved, so I can work through a past order if I want to and adjust quantities. Otherwise, I can browse the aisles and make my selection. Quality has been good and very few mistakes made. Well worth the delivery fee in my opinion.

Had a big lunch today with Bec and Mya. Mya still has a nasty cough and runny nose a month weeks after the cold she caught from me. Bec took her to the doctor and she has a decongestant medicine to take. She brought fresh rolls and ham for lunch. Just as well too,as I was right out of that sort of thing. I had two rolls, although they were not large. Then I spoilt it by eating a chocolate biscuit after that!

A friend found these scales and sent them to me. I think they are great. I think I have actually seen joke scales which say things like "Ouch! Get Off!" She found them at this site. The site looks great and has obviously had someone spend quite a bit of time and effort on it. Unfortunately, it has not been updated for over a year. I find this sort of thing a lot and it is a real disappointment to me when someone obviously makes a great start to their weight loss, sets up a site with good content and then it all just stops. Now, I'm not being personal here. Last time I said something like this, a few friends thought I was having a go at them. I'm not, in fact I can't think of any of my friends or weightloss acquaintances who haven't updated. Actually, my old site would appear to be the same way. The journal I ran on Tripod was affected by a site update they did and for several months I have been unable to get into it to update. If I go there, into sitebuilder, everything is there except the text and I cannot actually get into it. All functions appear on screen but nothing works. I have had several communications with them and eventually just gave up and started this site. However, that site is listed in a lot of links and on several search engines and shows up with nothing there.

I had a great morning shopping today in Burwood. Millers had a sale on so I went to see if I could get any more trackpants for everyday winter wear. I bought a great pair for $10. Then I went downstairs and found Katies also had a sale and 1626 as well. They are all part of the Millers group. I bought a navy cotton jumper, another top, a shirt, and another pair of pants. All up I spent $55 and when I added the original price tags, found that the total came to almost $170.

Not so good was my time in Angus and Robertsons. I went there to look for a book on making prints for Sarah's birthday. Walked over to the shelves marked ART only to find they were part of an enormous section of crime novels. I asked the assistant where the art section was. She could hardly bear to get off the phone and told me brusquely that the books were downstairs. When I pointed out the ART label, she replied in a surprised manner,"Oh, it's been like that for quite a while," and went back to the phone. As if that explained everything! Downstairs I went into what looked liked a church jumble sale. Books were everywhere. On the floor, piled on tables, falling off tables, under tables. I eventually found the art books in what was called the cooking section. They had nothing I was looking for. Now I remember why I like shopping for books at Borders. I suppose I should have tried Dymocks upstairs, but didn't think about it.

I'm going to make fresh bread and have vegetable soup. I have a wide selection of veges and have already made the stock for the soup. I just have to skim the fat off the top.

Has anyone seen the fridge packs of fruit put out by Goulburn Valley? Really good idea. It is a 1 kg pack of fruit in a plastic, screwtop jar. Packed in juice, not syrup and with no added sugar. It comes in yummy peaches, two fruits and fruit salad. I'd like apricots as well. My husband likes fruit on his cereal and has been decanting large tins of fruit into smaller plastic containers to put in fridge. However, he has also been spilling the juice on the floor and bench and making a sticky mess. Hopefully, this will solve that problem and he can put nails, screws etc in the jar when it is finished. About $3 in Coles. Dearer than the big tins, but they aren't 1kg.

Lots to say today, but then it has been a few days.

Beautiful morning this morning. Clear, clean and crisp. I think everyone must be having a sleep-in because of the public holiday, although I was busy early and had washing on the line before 8:30. It's very quiet around here and there's hardly any traffic on what is normally a busy road outside my house. Just the right sort of a day for a BBQ type picnic in the mountains.

Unfortunately, that's not what I will be doing today. I have several talks to prepare for a conference in a few week's time. I was the main speaker at this last year, and hadn't planned on doing it again this time. However, things didn't work out that way, so I have to knuckle down and do some serious preparation in a much shorter time than I allowed myself last year.

I feel somewhat like a shorn sheep today. Bec and Tim came for lunch yesterday and Bec cut my hair. It was much longer than I had realised and I feel how short it is now. It looks great. She always does a good job, but I can feel the cold around my ears. LOL

She also cut MIL's hair. I hope MIL is satisfied now, as she has been moaning about it for a long time since she discovered that Bec was a hairdresser and that I did not pay her to cut my hair. Share and share, I mind Mya and she cuts my hair.

Mya was so funny yesterday that I could not help laughing at her. MIL is of the opinion that if she hurries, she will get to her destination before she falls over. Fairly twisted logic leads her to lurch around inside without her walking stick. She lurched down our hall yesterday to the kitchen so Bec could cut her hair. She had her arms out touching the walls to support her from falling. Unknown to her, Miss 22 months was about a metre behind her, copying her every move. She too lurched from side to side. Because she is tiny, she could not touch the walls, so had to run diagonally to reach them. She wasn't being cheeky, just copying what she could see that was different to what she usually sees. She looked very funny. Poor Bec was horrified when I told her later. She thought that Mya was perhaps being rude. I'm sure she was just learning by copying.

Because it was cool this morning, I made porridge for my breakfast. I used .5 cup of skim milk when I made it, because I have not had much dairy food lately. I used to drink decaf instant coffee through the day, but somehow my tastes have changed and I no longer enjoy it. I now just have my small plunger of good coffee in the morning and then drink herb teas through the day. Result? Much less milk. The porridge was good, nice and hot on a cool morning and creamy from the milk. I don't add milk when I eat it, or sugar either.

I'm conscious at my age of the need to prevent osteoporosis. I take a calcium supplement, but prefer to have that as a supplement, not the main source of calcium. I also walk a lot if at all possible as weightbearing exercise develops strong bones.

It's now morning tea time and I have had porridge made with milk, (2 points) and have just had a crunchy Gala apple. (1 point) I'm planning on a low fat bagel with smoked salmon and salad for lunch. (3.5points) And a ladyfinger banana (1.5). Dinner will be chicken (3), a little rice and a stirfry of vegetables. Possibly another 4 points depending on sauce. A couple of glasses of wine and I think I will also try to make a dessert because I have the points free. Low fat ice cream and peaches in juice? Haven't quite thought that one out yet.

Must be disciplined and get down to work!

Later...I need to revise my points. Both good things and bad choices have been made. I did get up from the computer in the middle of the day and go for a walk to freshen up the old brain cells. So that was 2 bonus points earned. On the other hand, I had some cheese and biscuits at afternoon tea time. I have revised my evening meal, so will see how everything works out.

So there you have it. 21.5/22 and I did walk. I have also had well over my allowance of water today, so that was a good thing. I decided to write down everything just for a change. I don't intend to do it everyday.

I find late afternoon very hard some days. Husband is out even though it's a holiday. He's over at his mother's doing some carpentry. Even when he's at work, he's not home early. I used to have rice thins about 5:00 o'clock but have become tired of them. Perhaps I could have an apple or something. I don't always think I'm hungry then. I just want to eat. Now it is getting dark quite early, I feel as if it is a meal time. I think I need to find something constructive to do so I don't fill my hands with food.

Another lovely day except for the wind which is irritating my nose and sinuses. It looks lovely here looking onto the bushy valley with the trees blowing wildly, but I'm glad I'm inside. Very sunny, but very windy.

I am still looking for solutions to the late afternoon munchies problem. Yesterday, I saved a banana till that time and counted it. It was part of my fruit for the day, but somehow, it just didn't seem right at that time. It filled me up, but wasn't what I was looking for. I usually have fruit for breakfast and lunch, not late afternoon. The day itself possibly had something to do with it. I found it very cold and grey all day. The maximum at my place just managed to get to 15 degrees. Not encouraging for eating fruit.

I did have a good laugh at the expense of one of my cats. Late morning, I had taken the kitchen broom from where it lives in the cupboard underneath the stairs. George must have taken the opportunity to explore and then found himself shut in. Some hours later, Bec went to the cupboard to get teh vacuum cleaner to do her car while she waited for Tim. As she opened the door, she was attacked by a flying mass of black and white fur. He was not impressed in the slightest and sat outside for the rest of the afternoon. His back was turned to us in a most expressive way and his tail twitched for ages. That cupboard needs a good cleanout as it is full of bits and oieces. There was hardly anywhere he copuld have sat comfortably. It was obviously not his day, as later that night, he was sitting on the bed waiting for me to get into bed. I moved something unexpectedly and he fell off. I received several dirty looks from him. All appears forgiven this morning, since I gave them fresh food in the feeder.

I'm starving. I've been awake a long time and had an early breakfast. Think I'll investigate what I can have for lunch. Mya has been in bed for half an hour now, so I should get a bit of time to myself, I hope.

It's early for me to be up, particularly on Sunday, but it's very mild here at the moment and I was too hot. I also kept dreaming of babies being born, so I'm wondering about DIl, SAm. Too early to ring them in case they are all still at home. I am sure I will get a call as soon as anything happens. Probably just preying on my mind.

I have been struggling with the late afternoon munchies and a friend suggested having some soup. I tried fruit and while it filled me up, it didn't actually satisfy me. Soup sounds much better. I'm a big fan of soup and wonder why I didn't think of it before. She was making potato/leek soup which I love. However, I had a lot of pumpkin so have made a decent amount of pumpkin/leek soup. I will have it for lunch today as it is easy to heat when we get home from church. Hopefully, there will be enough for me to have some in the afternoon for a couple of days and then I can try something else. It's lower in points than the potato would have been, although most soup is fairly low anyhow.

I am not obsessing about counting points, but rather using them as a guide for healthy eating. I know I still have to be vareful with this as it is very easy to say"this is an exception." If I have not had many I try to eat a bit more and conversely, keep an eye on what I eat at night if they seem to be getting too high. Last night's meal waas great. Two small fish pieces baked, homemade wedges for 1 point, broccoli, carrots, peas. Very yummy and easy to prepare.

Comedy of errors at the Hornsby house the other night. DIL had a TAFE assignment to do for the Small Business Class she is doing. Spent most of the day doing it, or so I thought. Actually doing research on the net for a much higher standard than she really needed, so assignment wasn't ready for Peter to help her with graphs. Back to her Uni. Honours sort of thing. Assignment was due, along with a presentation on Friday. She HAD to go to hockey training as there was something special on. Went to go, late as usual and car wouldn't start. They are minding a Daimler/Jaguar for a friend. Their own car was being serviced. Peter got it going and she was about to leave and a cab pulled up. Her mother had fallen at work and had come there instead of going home. DIL got out of Daimler to help her mum and shut the door while the car was still going. Doors locked automatically after a couple of minutes with the only set of keys in ignition. Brand new mobile/hand held computer and wallet on front seat. Mild panic to say the least.

After investigating several options, Peter, who was very cranky by now, decided that they all cost nearly $200 and that she could wait till the next day to have anything done. The car kept going till midnight but when it ran out of petrol, the ignition and lights were still on, so the battery was flat the next morning. Not happy! Tim and Pete searched the car clubs on the net and found various ways to open the car, but they were all for different models and wouldn't work. Locksmith took 5 minutes and $75 to open the car.

She had stayed up all night to finish assignment and had to get a cab to TAFE to give presentation. Peter had important meetings and also had to get cab to work. Jean, her mum, in the midst of the evening's mess was taken by a friend to the Casualty Dept at Hornsby Hospital. She has bad soft tissue damage to the left elbow and forearm, and a broken bone in her right foot. As my friend said, only Sarah could have all this happen without actually planning it.

It's nearly 10:00am and I just checked the temperature on MSN. My suburb isn't listed, but Canterbury, very close is 9.3 degrees. It's perhaps not all that cold to some, but quite cold enough for me. There is a very strong southerly wind blowing, which feels as if it might be coming off snow somewhere. Good weather for staying inside,although I should do some walking.

Not only is it cold and blowy, but we have a tradesman here sanding the bedroom floor. Unfortunately, he regularly goes out to his van to get more putty, sandpaper etc. The job is supposed to take today and tomorrow, but I don't think someone will actually be here for all of that time. Finish needs to dry between coats and there are to be three of them. This is the bedroom renovation which we started at Christmas. We were held up by the discovery of termites and then we had the whole mess with husband's mother, hospital, moving her, getting her house ready to rent etc.etc.

I think the real reason we are finally making some progress on the room is that my husband needs to be able to get at some winter clothes. All his stuff is hard to get at and squashed into a spare room along with old wardrobes etc. We are currently sleeping in a much smaller room and I am living out of a couple of clothes baskets next to the bed. If I get up at night, I have to be very careful about where I step, or I will fall over. He actually put sealer and undercoat on the new ceiling last night. We won't be able to walk on new sanding for a couple of days, so hopefully the ceiling will be finished at the weekend. Then there are just the walls. Nothing happens in a hurry around here. Home and renovations are well down his priorities.

Had a really substantial meal for low points last night. I bought a tray of lamb fillets. there were six in the pack at an average of two points each. I browned them quickly in a very little oil and then cooked them for a few minutes. Put aside and kept warm. Into the pan went one finely chopped leek, some mushrooms and a lot of black pepper. I covered it and cooked till leek was soft and mushrooms done. Served over the lamb. I had one piece and I gave Norm two, so have leftovers. Served with mashed potato with parsnip, carrots, broccoli and brussels sprouts. Along with the pumpkin soup from lunch, that made nine serves of vegetables for the day. Very filling meal - all up I counted five points, although I think it would be more like four.

Today's lunch will be pumpkin soup and a grain roll. I think I will put a bit of cheese on it and heat in oven. It's that sort of a day.

Later....

It's still absolutely freezing in the wind, but I think I will have to rug up and go for a walk. The floor has had nails banged down, holes filled and been sanded and vacuumed several times. One coat of the stain and finish has been put on and it absolutely stinks. I have an awful headache from it. I'm sensitive to smells like that. Even some perfumes can give me a major migraine. This isn't that far yet but well on the way. Other than the stink, the floor looks great and will be good when finished. We won't be able to walk on it for several days when it is finished, but that's no problem. I've hardly been in the room for weeks anyhow.

I decided to just have my hot cheesy roll and a couple of mandarines for my lunch. 4 points. I will save the soup which is 0 points for a late afternoon snack as we probably won't be eating till at least 7:30 or even later.

Mid winter, theoretically. While the days may be starting to get a bit longer, our coldest weather is still to come. Not that it is very warm here today. It is sunny but windy, and I am sitting in my study freezing. The heater's on, but it's only a small one and the room is draughty. It's nearly the end of June, so I need to start looking for a background for next month's page.

Still no sign of the latest grandchild. She'll arrive in her own good time, I know. However, since we have known she's a girl, there seems to be more urgency about seeing her. Sam is actually due next Tuesday but has been having major contractions for a long time now. I suppose all of us who have had children can relate to this last bit of waiting! She's very uncomfortable as she is reasonably short and there's not a great deal of space for the baby.

I'm doing quite well today. I had intended to wake up early for a walk. However, babysitting makes me tired and I slept in this morning, despite going to bed at 9:30 last night. Had an egg on a muffin with some vegemite for breakfast, an apple for morning tea, and I've just had a cup of pumpkin soup for an early lunch. I put a bit of milk in it to cool it down, so will count one point for milk today. Usually have less than .5 cup a day. I've decided to space out my food in this cold weather so I don't get too hungry. Later this afternoon I will have a bread roll with some cheese. That leaves me with plenty of points for dinner which is already cooked. Made a veal casserole with a tomatoey sort of sauce. Still need to do pasta, rice or potatoes. Sounds like enough points spare for a glass of red or perhaps I might put them to a steamed pudding instead. Just the night for it.

We ate Indian the other night at Hornsby. I had a piece of chicken tikka and didn't get all of that. Mya kept asking for some of mine. She'd eat mine but not any from anyone else's plate. Some rice and a small amount of a few other dishes. I would guess about 7 points in all. We had a dish with ricotta cheese in a sauce. It was in cubes like tofu and the sauce was yummy. A vegetable korma - I had a little bit, butter chicken which was yummy and a beef dish. When served in those stainless steel dishes Indian restaurants use, there is not a great deal with four adults and Miss Mya who loves it too. The waiter was clearing away the dirty plates and took the rice dish which still had a bit left on it. "More," she said to his amazement. She had three bowls of rice with sauces on it, some chicken tikka and two big poppadums which are done in the microwave, not fried. Actually, we took the remains of our food home for Sarah who was finishing a Small Business Course that night. So the meal really did 5 adults and Mya.

I was reading a list of sayings on a forum the other day. One which struck me was

We lie the loudest, when we lie to ourselves.

I'm not talking here about having some small occasional treat as a reward for reaching a goal, or even having a treat so as not to feel deprived. I guess I am trying to look at the thoughts in our heads. It's really easy to kid ourselves as to how we are going, and I know that I too fall into this trap. Worth more thought.

On the other hand, I know that if I am totally strict with myself 100% of the time, then I also set myself up for failure. Sooner or later, there will be a blowout. There's a very delicate line of balance here, I find. And I fall off the tightrope too many times one way or another.

We lie the loudest, when we lie to ourselves.

One day till the baby is due. DIL feels "off" today so perhaps it is the start of something. Not that babies are known for paying atention to due dates etc! I may have to spend some time there as the person who was going to mind Andrew has been given an urgent job to finish by Friday. We shall see.

It's a lovely day here today so far, although there is some thin high cloud around. I have done a load of washing and have another load in the machine. I really need to do some vacuuming and the bathroom needs a good scrub instead of the quick clean it has had the last couple of weeks. I also have heaps of computer work to do. Busy day ahead.

I would like to go for a walk. If I do some work and really don't waste any time, I may reward myself with a walk at lunchtime. I have already planned lunch - some mushrooms on a muffin, no butter. Breakfast was porridge and dinner is chicken curry with vegetables and rice. Probably about 7 points by the time I add the points for rice. Throw in some fruit and a snack and there's my day for food.

Mya and I went for a good walk last week. Unfortunately, she can obviously not walk anywhere near as fast as I do. Although she's two next month, she is quite small. Her mum is short and she obviously will take after her, not her dad who is 6'5". We must have walked 2 km and she asked me to pick her up a couple of times. I distracted her and she walked the whole way. Down to the road, then up the lane behind the house, through the shortcut in the bush to the rifle range at the back of Mt Wilga Hospital. Then out to the road and down the hill. She walked along the cement foundation of the fence by the hospital. Balanced well, although I held her hand. Then down the VERY steep hill and up the next to home. Took us an hour and then she slept for over three hours and gave me a break.

I've had a mixed weekend. Saturday went really well until an altercation and drama with husband who informed me he was going out for dinner to the city. This with an hour's notice and he knew I had a meal prepared. I was not impressed and let him know how I felt. I ate some biscuits and had what was only a "sort of OK dinner." If he had been home, I would have had what I had made, but put it in the freezer for another night. I am not normally an emotional eater, but didn't realise what I had done till too late. Yesterday had a lunch of about seven points, but then had no point mushroom soup and some turkish bread for dinner.

This sort of thing has been happening far too often lately. It's not good on so many fronts that I don't want to think about them. However, I will have to work out some way of coping. I can put up with being left alone at home. That doesn't bother me, and I have got to the point of quite liking it. Seeing the hypocracy involved and the outside face put on is more upsetting than staying by myself. However, I still react to the lack of cosideration shown and the selfish behaviour where he does just what he wants to regardless of anyone else's feelings. It wouldn't have mattered if it had been a family birthday or another important occasion.

Stocked up yesterday with a lot of fresh vegetables, so should have no excuse for poor eating. I love veges, always have, but was just about reduced to frozen peas which I keep as a last resort. MIL came into the fruit market with us and made comments as I put things in the trolley. "I wouldn't pay that much for ..." I finally remarked that I wouldn't live on nothing but crumpets and sweet cake and suffer osteoporosis and diabetes and... She was quiet then. She hasn't been shopping for food for so long she has no idea of how expensive good stuff really is.

Tuesday 25th June

Not much time today. I have spent most of the day with my friend working on the talks and studies for the conference I will be speaking at in three weeks time. We went to lunch at the local Vietnamese shop where I had my favourite, prawn dumpling soup. I had forgotten how nice it is. The stock is clear, without a trace of fat and tastes great. A few wide rice noodles, some steamed Asian green veges and six or seven prawns wrapped in wonton wrappers and steamed. Lowpoint, tasty and healthy.

Slept with the phone beside the bed last night. DIL is due today for baby girl. Her babysitting arrangements for this time fell apart and so good old grandma had to step in. My husband asked, "and if the phone rings, what do you want me to do?" I suggested that he would need to run me out there if it was the middle of the night. He hadn't considered this possibility at all, I could tell. He looked quite amazed. Sometimes I really wonder what he thinks about. I wonder if he really considers family matters at all. Different if it were something for one of his pet concerns.

The phone didn't ring and he had his night's sleep after all! However DIL had raised blood pressure this morning and they kept her in to check. Finally let her go home this afternoon on the proviso that she have another check Thursday and she will have an induction if baby has not come by next Tuesday. So we do have a final date. Anything can happen between now and then, so we will have phone by bed tonight and every night till we know it is not needed.

Must go. Have to prepare mushrooms, beans and pasta to go with the veal casserole I have made.

Sunday, 30th June.

Here's a burst of fireworks in honour of little Victoria Claire who was born early yesterday afternoon after a relatively short labour. She weighed 3.2 kg and is 50.5 cm long. It is such a relief to see her and count all her fingers etc and to find she is a healthy baby, after the eventful nine months of pregnancy. Sam is fine but relieved. I know all the scans etc said she was OK, but there was always a niggling doubt in my mind. Little Andrew, who is now a big brother, sat on the bed in the hospital and held her for several minutes with a shy little smile on his face.

I had been at his place since about 5:30 that morning when it became obvious that this was indeed the day. He was very good, but found it hard to understand why both his parents weren't there when he woke up. After Mark rang with the news, I showed him his baby photos again as he thought his sister would be able to play with him. Victoria is very similar to him as a baby. However, he had almost no hair, while she has quite a lot of spiky very dark, almost black hair.

I really haven't paid a lot of attention to what I ate in the last few days. It's difficult in someone else's house to be too fussy. Not that they eat unhealthy food at all. It's just that their choices aren't always what I would eat myself. My eldest son has a terrible cough which ties him up in knots. He's had it for several weeks and finally went to the docotr on Friday. We were stunned with the news. He possibly has whooping cough! Now Pete had all his immunisations, and it's also something you hardly ever hear of. However, what we are not told, is that the immunisation for whooping cough wears off at a reasonably early age. He's 31. Doctors do not know how to diagnose it, so it gets missed. He has had tests done but won't know till Tuesday what they say. If it is not that, then he has a very severe respiratory infection. He's on heavy duty antibiotics, but ahs been told that he would have been at his most infectious two weeks ago. Doctor gave him a certificate for 8 days! Peter is a contractor so this really does not apply to him and he can do his work from home, but it does show how seriously the doctor regarded the matter.

He's been stopping inside. The wind has been frightful and the temperature well down. Picked MIL up today to go to church, to find her dressed in a very summery dress with a polar fleece jacket over the top. I left her warm clothes, but I think this is a way of getting back at us for giving her no choice about moving to supervised care. Unfortunately, this sort of behaviour reinforces our belief that she really does need supervision. She is just being stubborn as last year she complained of the cold all the time. Everyone was cold at church today as the heaters weren't working, but she said she was hot. Wouldn't give us the satisfaction of being right I suppose. She also complained that she had no cardigans to wear. I pointed out that I had left her at least four or five in different colours and weights, and that she brought one from Concord hospital as well. She won't believe me, so I can't do more about it. If I showed them to her, she would find some excuse about how they suddenly turned up in her wardrobe.

Looking forward to an early night tonight. It's been an eventful few days and even today has been full with a lengthy meeting this afternoon.

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