Just read it!

Today was so eventful that it needs a proper description! Let me make a list:
1. Before breakfast, I made a strap for the mandolin. I had started it yesterday, so this morning I just had to stitch it up, put on a few finishing touches, add a lace and then Nick attached it to the mandolin. It looks super and does the job.
2. After breakfast, I cut the boys’ hair, just back and sides. They both look so cute and neat now.
3. After my bath, I cut Nick’s hair which clogged the vacuum cleaner. I had to pull his neatly coiled hair out of the pipe which still didn’t get it all, but blowing into the other end of the hose shot out a 20cm pouffe of hair.
4. Put in a load of washing, did school at last. We read an interesting library book called “The Willow Pattern” or something like it, about the Chinese-style pattern which you find on those blue plates, all about two lovers and the father and an arranged marriage and running away and dying and becoming turtle-doves. Anyway, I got one of our blue plates out of the cupboard, and it was the exact design. Certainly made that library book a whole lot more interesting!
5. Just before 10, Emma came by with the microwave. They are leaving the island today and we have bought their microwave. Yippee, after a few months of ours being broken, we finally have one that works. Definitely makes left-overs less of a chore.
6. At 12, I popped out to town with the boys for bread. Simple enough task. Still no mayonnaise in the shops, and no fresh produce unpacked yet.
7. After lunch, I drew flames (tongues of fire essentially) for the boys to paint. This will be for the fireplace in their bedroom for Christmas. We painted them all together, using red, orange and yellow paints. I showed the boys how to cover the whole flame with paint, using the red in the centre. They didn’t quite turn out the same as the ones I painted, but their efforts were good anyway.
8. Had just finished off with those, when the door bell rang and it was George with some mail for us which he brought from Cape Town. I was so excited to get my hands on the first batch of photos I ordered on-line. So, after sorting the boys out with something to drink, I got busy and finished off a page which was mostly planned to completion.
9. Just before 4 pm, we started walking down to the docks to see some people off on the ship. Nick had been to the school for guitar lessons so had the car, but we didn’t mind walking downhill all the way. Embarkation was set for 4.30, so we got there in plenty of time. I chatted to Wilson for a while, and then Nick arrived, and we wandered off to find Emma and Guy. Found them at the coffee shop and said goodbye and took photos, fortunately not an emotional goodbye, but I will miss Emma. Walking back to the car, I remembered that I had agreed for Nick to take Jean home, so we drove back down for her and took her home. She gave us £10 despite our protestations, so we went out to Half Tree Hollow and got takeaways for supper – a slice of quiche for the boys, and pizza for Nick and me (ever had tuna, sweetcorn and chilli pizza?). We took that to Jacob’s Ladder and sat on the top steps eating, then when it got too cold and drizzly we walked a bit at the top to where we had a good view of the ship, and stayed until 6 pm to watch it actually sail away. I’ve never really seen it start a voyage, so this was fun. It had to first slowly turn around, and then picked up speed when it was pointing in the right direction.
10. Home, bath for the boys, then their bedtime.
11. I then made a strap for Nick’s banjo, although I must confess that it’s not quite as nice as the mandolin strap, despite being made from the same materials. While I was busy with that, Nick was having a bible study with Paul Stroud.