A holiday at home

Pete and I have a few days off. Unashamedly, we allowed Bernard to go to his childminders today; and then we spent the entire day doing Adult Things that you can’t do with a toddler in tow.

First of all, we drove to a carpet shop in Winnersh, which was closed; and we raided their skip for dead carpet. We’ve been told that they don’t mind this. Then we took our haul down to the allotment and spent an hour weeding and carpeting. I also sowed optimistic rows of carrot-and-rocket, beetroot, and kohl rabi, and covered them with horticultural fleece. Then I harvested my borlotti beans, which look very pretty but may not be that impressive once podded – we shall see. I was deeply awed by what we managed to achieve in an unhurried and pleasant hour.

I then walked into town on Nappy Lady business, while Pete pottered around doing his Pete Stuff at home; and then we met up at a pub that doesn’t accommodate pushchairs, which I don’t think we’ve visited in over two years, and had a Tower of Tapas and a glass of wine/beer. Stopped off at Waitrose on the way home for various necessaries and some chocolate cake, and found ourselves with a couple of hours to spare.

The bedside alarm went off half an hour before we were due to pick Bernard up, and Pete made one of his special cups of tea. Have I ever told you about the tea that Pete makes? He makes the best tea. It’s a bit on the milky side, but I like that; and it’s always just the right temperature and strength, and it’s always in my favourite mug. And it’s always perfectly timed, when my batteries are really low and the one thing I need to get going again is a nice cup of tea. He makes a fine cafe latte, too.

So we picked up the boy, and on the way home Pete was inspired by the sight of a place he knows you can steal blackberries. So we got on our bikes and went out again, and spent the rest of our afternoon wading through brambles with one eye on what Bernard was picking and eating. He has no discernment when it comes to berries, and needs to be advised that the disgusting looking ones will also taste bad. He had a very red chin and fingers by the time we had picked 900g of blackberries.

Home for tea and a bath and an age to get to sleep. For the rest of the week we have planned a family-oriented blogmeet at The Lookout in Bracknell, a day of caring for Stan and Buttercup while their parents go to a wedding, a La Leche League picnic, another Adult Day, and a friend-oriented blogmeet in a Londonly direction. That still leaves loads of spare time for other interesting activities, and possibly the odd nap. If only.