August 2004

August 31, 2004

Drove into Savonlinna this morning to do a bit of sightseeing. Stopped at the market first and picked up a few things: tomatoes, potatoes, peas, chanterelle mushrooms, and cloudberries, which look like yellow raspberries and are a Scandinavian delicacy. Bough Nova a little hand-knit toque and mittens from another stall, which she insisted on wearing, though it was actually quite hot.

Visited Olavinlinna castle next, which is apparently the best-preserved medieval in northern Europe, and home to Savonlinna’s annual opera festival. Built by the Swedes in 1475 to strengthen their borders with Russia, they inadvertently (?) built the castle on Russian soil, and the Russians soon seized it. It remained in Russian hands (along with the rest of Finland) until the early 20th century. We took a guided tour in English, which involved guiding Nova up and down a number of dark, twisting stone staircases, a task not made easier by her frigging mittens which she refused to remove. We were getting funny looks from the Finns, who (even though they firmly believe summer ends on August 15) wondered why we’d bundled up our daughter like an Eskimo when it was 25°C outside.

Ate lunch in a little coffee shop: three salty pastries — blue cheese & pineapple, ham & cheese, and hamburger; then three cakes — sachertorte (Nova), rhubarb-apple (me), and apple pie (Adam). Adam got into conversation with the girl behind the counter — who’d worked in Ireland and spoke good English — about how the Finns love their coffee. Apparently, customers often ask which brand of coffee the cafe serves before ordering a cup.

Stopped for yet more groceries on the way home: beer, milk, bread, herring, cough candies, and birch branches for thrashing each other in the sauna, which are conveniently sold in the frozen food section for 2 euros a bunch.

Took the motorboat out this evening, which was another comedy of errors, at least initially. We got the boat unhooked from the winch okay, but steering it out of the reeds to where we could start the motor was a challenge. This lake has quite a current at times, and we kept drifting back into the reeds, and when Adam did manage to get the engine going he’d end up stalling it. We figured it out eventually and spent twenty minutes or so spanking around the lake before Nova said she’d had enough.

I cooked some funny little fish fillets I’d bought called ahvens (I later discovered that ahven means perch). I layered them in a casserole, covered them with cream and dill, and baked them. I served them with mashed potato, peas (podded by Nova) and a big mass of sautéed chanterelle mushrooms.

We had an indoor sauna tonight, and as usual, Nova led us through a rousing string of Disney hits and nursery rhymes: Bear Necessities, Everybody Wants to Be a Cat, Twinkle Twinkle, and Oranges and Lemons always feature. The indoor sauna has these little mats hanging outside the door, which we’ve assumed are sort of bum placemats. They come in pink, yellow and blue, and each evening Nova assigns us out colour. She ponders the arrangement during the day: “I know! Mommy be yellow, daddy be blue, and Nova be pink. That could be better!”

August 30, 2004

Went for a run this morning, not that I felt much like it. I was a little late getting up, and it was already warmer than I like. My cold has migrated to my chest, and my lungs felt painful and tight at first. I ran to the main road, then down to another lakeside cabin, then home again — 4 or 5km. The woods are mainly birch around here, and with their narrow trunks you can see quite far into them, which is reassuring on the bear front. The air smelled strongly of mushrooms, and even running, I was able to pick out several different types.

Drove into the local town, Kerimaki, which happens to be home to the world’s largest wooden church. Kerimaki is a nondescript little town, more likely to be home of the world’s largest hockey stick than the world’s largest wooden church (if Duncan hadn’t already scooped that honour) but there is was, painted yellow and white and looming over the place. (There seem to be only two colours of house paint used in this part of Finland — mustard yellow and ketchup red.) The church was built to seat 3,000 (5,000 if all the standing room is used) because the local minister thought that half the local population of 6,000 should be attending service on any given Sunday. The vast, barn-like interior turned out to be impossible to heat, even with the eight stoves they’d installed, and a separate winter church was soon built.

Picked up some more groceries in the local store, and a flyswatter, then headed back for lunch. Spent the afternoon reading and playing with Nova. For dinner, we had… pork chops. I don’t know what possessed me to buy pork chops, probably the absence of the ingredients and seasons we normally use, combined with a bewildering array of Finnish ingredients and packaging. Perhaps they just looked familiar…

Anyway, I found myself standing in the kitchen holding a package of pork chops, with no idea of how to cook them. I seem to remember them emerging from the oven on baking sheets (but perhaps that was just to keep them warm — like pancakes — while mom fried another batch?) I opted for a belt and braces approach, browning them in the frypan, then baking them in the oven, and they were certainly well cooked in the end… All those veggie years have left me at a bit of a loss when faced with a piece of meat.

Tried out the smoke sauna this evening. This involved hauling buckets of water from the lake, chopping kindling, and lighting two fires in the inner and outer chambers, but it was all worth it. The smoke sauna is laid out like this:

The first wood stove in the washroom heats a large vat of water, and once it gets boiling hot the room becomes very steamy. You strip off outside, then enter the washroom, where you scrub thoroughly with brushes and soap, then rinse off with boiling water cooled with lake water you hauled earlier before entering the sauna. The sauna itself wasn’t as hot as the indoor (electric) one, but with the extra humidity it didn’t matter — we were soon sweating profusely. We didn’t do the post-sauna lake plunge this time, though we will…

The post-dinner saunas render Nova nice and sleepy, so I just rinsed her off with cool water and popped her into bed.

August 29, 2004

I woke up with Nova about 8am, and got her fed while Adam had a lie-in. Went for a bit of a morning dip, though the water was pretty damn cold. Spent the rest of the day hanging out, reading, drinking tea, eating, playing with Nova. I’ve pretty much lost my voice, so Adam took the lead on the story reading today. We took the rowboat out after lunch, and spent a hilarious hour flailing up and down in front of the cabin. I’m glad the nearest neighbours are 900m away — they would have wet themselves if they’d seen us.

Arya and Helle came by in the late afternoon. Helle brought some shoe-shaped savoury pastries, still warm from the oven. Our attempts at conversation revealed the filling to be made of (possibly) rice, butter and bread (flour?) and not cheese (though it sure smells like cheese to me). They’re pretty tasty at any rate…

Adam had told Arya I was training for the marathon, so she hopped in the car with us to show us some trails I could run on. She’s a funny woman — both friendly and brusque, and she has a way of gripping you arm when she speaks to that is both warm and kind of intimidating. We rattled around on the local backroads, passing the odd farmhouse with snarling Alsatian chained out front (or prominent “Beware of Dog” sign). At least they haven’t seen any bears this summer, or that’s what I think she said…

We dropped Arya at her house on the road to Kerimaki and went in for a glass of beer. She gave us a punnet of raspberries she’d picked, and got a laugh out of the way Nova demolished them. She gave us another one for the road, and a punnet of wild blueberries she’d picked in the woods round our cabin.

I cooked some rather strange sausages for dinner and made a sort of potato galette, with blueberries and yogurt for dessert. Once Nova was down, we watched the closing Olympic ceremony, which seemed to go on forever, as every minor Greek pop star had their moment on stage.

August 28, 2004

In spite of staying awake until 10pm, Nova was up by 5am this morning (3am London time). My cold is getting worse…On the road by 10am (after having to return to the hotel to retrieve Nova’s beaker, which she’d craftily stashed between the mattress and boxspring).

We’d just got onto the motorway when Nova started writhing about in her seat and whimpering that she needed to see the doctor. I couldn’t get a clear answer about what was upsetting her, and it was quite stressful and worrying. (I just hoped it was lack of sleep, head cold, or the fact she hasn’t pooped in four days…) Eventually she pulled her meggie over her head and drifted off to sleep.

She dozed for one and a half hours. When she woke up, we pulled off at the first place we could find, which turned out to be a strange little truck stop/cafe, frequented by some mighty rough-edged Finns. It was like a scene out of a Finnish Deliverance. One the up side, the coffee was good, and the proprietor was actually frying up the doughnuts he sold on a filthy little stove behind the counter.

Nova was much brighter and happier after her sleep, and was in a better humour for the rest of the trip, although she kept demanding I read her stories. It wasn’t too bad with the ones I have memorized (ie, most of them) but reading Make Way for Ducklings upside down while facing backwards made me so carsick I had to abandon the attempt, much to her annoyance.

Stopped for groceries in Savonlinna before driving on to our house. We got lost following the cryptic directions, and eventually called the owner, Arya, who came in a car to lead us to the house. As we pulled up beside a small cabin next to a lake, I thought, “Well, things always sound better in the brochure. It’s a bit smaller than I expected, and there’s no way that neighbour is 900m away.” As Arya started showing us around, I realised that what I thought was the cabin was actually the lakeside sauna. Our house was a massive log cabin and the third building was a combination carport/woodshed.

The house was so new you could still smell the wood and beautifully appointed. A half hour of explanations in Finnish ensued: dishwasher, wood stove, wood-fired bread oven, indoor sauna, outdoor smoke sauna, motorboat, rowboat, outdoor barbeque… After they headed off, I threw together a quick smoked salmon pasta, then we had a sauna en famille before settling Nova.

We watched about a half hour of Olympics — Finnish TV favours javelin throwing and wrestling over all other athletic pursuits — before heading up to our lovely sleeping loft.

August 27, 2004

I was up and down all night checking on Nova. She tossed and turned and called out for water in her sleep. When she woke up properly at 7:30am (5:30am London time) I felt like I’d slept about five minutes… Even worse, I seem to have picked up a bug on the plane. My head was pounding, my throat felt like it was lined with ground glass, and I have a sinus infection richocheting between my left ear and left nostril. Nova was restored to full health and bounced around the room like the Energizer Bunny.

Our room comes with complementary breakfast and morning sauna, so I took the opportunity for a visit before we went to eat. There was a terrific breakfast spread: cereals, yogurt, fruit, eggs, a big basket of lovely breads, meats, cheeses, salad, wieners, meatballs, pickled garlic… Fortunately, there was no repeat of Nova’s Exorcist moment…

Took the tram to the central market, or kauppatori. The stalls were piled high with seasonal produce: raspberries, blueberries, and several other types of berry I didn’t recognise, great mounds of chanterelles and another blue-black mushroom. There were a few traders selling reindeer pelts, carved wood and horn items, and fur hats. We bought Nova some lovely pink suede, beaded and fleece lined slippers. She was very taken with the traditional Lapp Barbie outfits, but they cost about £12…

Took a one and a half hour harbour cruise, with one of those multi-lingual taped guides. Aside from pointing out several examples of enlightened social housing, it also informed us that “once our cruise boat nearly collided with a family of elk swimming across the strait. Animals really love it here, just like people do,” and “there are two million saunas in Finland — you could say we are sauna-crazy.” The women sitting behind us were eating raspberries. When they saw Nova eying them up, the passed them over. Nova ended up polishing off the lot, much to their amusement.

After a crepe lunch in the kauppatori, we headed back to the hotel to rest and regroup. Our afternoon outing took us to the Church of the Rock, a church that has been literally hewn from the cliff side. It is almost like sitting in a cave, except for the copper roof ringed with slatted skylights. While we were sitting there taking in the space, a teenaged girl who was also visiting sat down at the piano at the front and began to play a Satie piece. She was a marvellous pianist and the acoustics were amazing. When she finished her piece, little Nova, who had been sitting so quietly, started to clap, the little sweetie…

Took a stroll round the grounds behind Finlandia, the Alvar Aalto designed concert hall, carrying a dozing Nova much of the way. Stopped for sandwiches and beer (Parma ham and mushroom was the only option) before heading back to the hotel. While I settled Nova, Adam went off to the airport to pick up our hire car. Once he returned, we spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics in bed and drinking vodka from the minibar.

August 26, 2004

It all went weirdly smoothly this morning. the rush hour traffic seemed to evaporate on the way to Heathrow. At the airport (which has headlined the news all week with stories of check-in chaos, cancelled flights and threatened strikes by BA baggage handlers), we checked in with in ten minutes, sauntered through customs, and were assigned to the closest gate (you can trek for miles at Heathrow). I was given an incredibly thorough pat down by the security woman (she covered every inch and even examined the soles of my shoes — “Both shoes, ma’am!”) but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

It was too good to last… Once they had us on the plane, there was a half hour delay in loading the baggage, then another hour waiting for a “tug” out of our berth, and a half hour queueing on the runway before we finally took off. The captain made no effort to hide his anger with BA management, and even provided passengers with the CEO’s email address in case we wanted to complain personally.

Nova was a little trouper through all this, and regular snacks and books were all that was needed to keep her sweet until we finally thumped down on Finnish soil two hours behind schedule.

Driving in from the airport, a worrying reason for not being able to find anyone — colleague or friend — who had ever holidayed in Finland presented itself. Never have I travelled anywhere in Europe that reminded me more of Prince George. The mix of birch interspersed with spruce and pine, and the rawness and newness of the development, the dilapidated barns…

If it wasn’t for road signs to places called Pohsohlankatan and Shell stations with Automattii, we could have been on the Yellowhead highway. No disrespect to Prince George, but it doesn’t top the holiday destination list for most people. Things improved as we drew into Helsinki. The grand tree-lined avenues, statuesque five-storey buildings and striking modern architecture gave an altogether more European feel.

Our hotel is nice, if a bit functional. Nova complained of being tired, so we decided to get a quick bite in the hotel restaurant then settle her. She was a bit listless and clingy, but I though she might perk up once the food arrived, as she hadn’t really eaten since she had half a ham sandwich for lunch on the plane. We she started doubling over and pulling faces, I thought perhaps it was finally time for a long overdue poop. I took her to the loos, but nothing was forthcoming. We’d just returned to the table, and I’d settled her on my lap, when she started vomiting. And vomiting. And vomiting. For someone who hadn’t eaten much, she had plenty to bring up.

I bundled her up and carried her out of the restaurant, past the startled diners, and up to our room. Gave her a good wipe down and got her into clean pyjamas. I lay down with her and stroked her back until she fell asleep. She didn’t seem to have a temperature, so I hope it’s just something that’s disagreed with her, or perhaps motion sickness. We had our dinners sent up (“We’ve decided to dine in our room” Adam told the waiter with a straight face) and sent our clothes out to be laundered at great expense. In bed by 9:30pm (7:30pm London time).

August 25, 2004

Went for a six mile run first thing, before Adam headed off to work… One of those stressful getting ready days, that make you wonder whether going on holiday is even worth it. Packing, cleaning, watering, bill paying, phoning, playing with Barbies, reading Maisie books, submitting to regular medical examinations… I’ll update again in ten days time when we’re back from Finland…

August 24, 2004

My last day in the office. I had a list of twelve essential things to do, but the list kept stretching, and a couple of extra meetings were shoehorned in when people realised I was going on leave. I got through the bulk of it by about 6:15pm, and jettisoned the rest.

Adam and Nova had spent the day at Kew Garden with Dave, and had a lovely day. Dave stuck around for dinner — pasta and chickpeas Nova was so well-behaved at the table, drinking her soup and eating her chickpeas without complaint. I think it’s good for her development to eat with guests. She was being so grown up, contributing nicely to the conversation. At one point, Dave asked me if I’d read a certain Thor Heyerdahl book. I said no, but Nova piped up, “I have!”

We got her down about 9pm, just in time to watch Perdita Felicien attempt to plow her way through the hurdles instead of taking the conventional route over the top…

August 23, 2004

Nova’s nursery is closed for the next two weeks, but Pasc agreed to look after her today so Adam and I could go to work. It sounds like she had a nice day — they went swimming. She was wearing one of Fay’s skirts when I picked her up, as she’d pooped her pants. It’s been weeks since she’s had an accident…

Cooked her favourite meal: sausages, corn and broccoli. Headed for the gym when Adam got home at 7:30. I pushed it pretty hard: four mile run, all my weights and abdominal exercises. Greek salad for dinner…

August 22, 2004

Went for a nine mile run this morning. I set off about 6:15am, which would have given me time to do a longer run before it got too warm, but my arch just wasn’t up for it. The new shoes felt pretty good though.Britain’s great white hope, Paula Radcliffe, didn’t fare so well in her marathon attempt this afternoon. The conditions were gruelling, sweltering heat and humidity and an uphill course, and she had to pull up 5 kilometres before the end.

August 21, 2004

I’d set the alarm for 5:30am so I could go for a long run, but snoozed right through it. It was 7:30am before we woke up… As compensation (or punishment) I got to watch the Canadian mens’ four get pipped for the gold by the British team.

Watching Olympics in a foreign country is a frustrating experience. If there’s a British athlete competing, they’ll show it, no matter how obscure the sport — yngling anyone? horse dancing? (or whatever it’s called) — at the expense of more universally appealing events.

Went for another sports massage. It was far less painful this time which was a plus, although apparently I’m now suffering from crepitude, which apparently are little bubbles of thick liquid that adhere to the muscle fibres. Better than decrepitude at any rate…

I joined Adam and Nova in the Ally Pally grounds. There was a little funfair set up behind the playground, and Nova had taken a spin on the merry-go-round and princess carriages, and Adam had managed to win her a stuffed crocodile.

We hired a pedalo for a half hour and took it for a spin around the little lake. There were lots of water fowl, but the most exciting sightings were a big Siamese cat lolling about on an overhanging branch, and a large turtle sunning itself on a rock.

Putting Nova down tonight, I said, “Shall I read Little Red Riding Hood?” “No,” she said, “Read Little Pink Riding Poop”, which she thought was hilariously funny. She’s really into her toilet humour…

August 20, 2004

I felt like death this morning… Likely a combination of lack of sleep, seven different wines, and less food than you’d normally eat when you drink that much… “Your eyes feel funny,” said Nova astutely when I gave her a kiss goodbye. I downed a couple of paracetamol, and some fizzing Vitamin C hangover tablets a solicitous colleague offered, but they didn’t make a dent.

I gave up on the idea of working at about 2:30pm. Headed home via the London Marathon shop, where I bought a pair of SuperNovas. I think the pair I tried on earlier were control shoes, because these felt great. I was worried they were going to make me run on their foot analysis machine, but it didn’t come to that…

Fed Mr Christmas for the last time on the way home. Collapsed on the couch as soon as I got in. Nova gave me the full doctor treatment, which is strangely efficacious, like her cups of tea. In bed by 11pm…

August 19, 2004

Worked at home today, writing my regular website review column for Health Development Today magazine. It’s an in-house publication, but it does have a circulation of 25,000+, and I get the occasional email from readers. At any rate, it took me from 7am to 1:30pm to get a reasonable draft together.

Drove to Brent Cross to buy a new pair of runners. There aren’t any speciality running shops there, but there are loads of sportwear outlets, and I thought since I knew exactly what I was looking for I wouldn’t need the expert input. None of them stocked SuperNovas however… Bought some clothes in H&M instead…

There is a good running store in Camden, but I was put off my the idea of driving there, and trying to find somewhere to park. Driving in London is such an ordeal for me. To have the equivalent driving experience in Canada, you would need to:

• quadruple the traffic
• slash the lane width by half and line both sides with parked cars
• put all the drivers on amphetamines
• include a healthy percentage of Turks, Greeks, Indians, Nigerians, and other citizens of more freeform driving nations
• festoon the streets with a bewildering array of traffic signs and road markings, half of which seem to contradict the other half
• put three or four traffic lights at each intersection
• change the rules of the road, so you can’t turn right (left over here) on a red light, but you can reverse around a corner (in fact I had to demonstrate an ability to do this on my driving test)
• scramble the street so you don’t know where anything is
• reverse your car so your steering wheel is on the right and you are shifting with your left

Had a quick workout at the gym, then swung by to pick up Nova from nursery on the way home. Got her fed and in bed, then Adam and I went out for dinner at Fifteen, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Shoreditch. It was kind of strange to be somewhere you were already familiar with from seeing it on telly. (A mini version of the feeling I had when we went to New York…) They’ve moved to a set taster menu, which takes the pressure out of ordering:

Scallop crudo/Jersey tomatoes and basil cress/crab and lobster crostini
speck (a kind of ham) with white peaches and mint
pasta with romanesca broccoli and anchovy
chanterelle risotto
grilled sea trout with white beans, artichoke and anchovy-rosemary sauce
grilled lamb with peperonata, spinach and salsa verde
vanilla and grappa pannacotta with berry compote

They served an accompanying half glass of wine with each course as well. The food was excellent, although there was less of a wow factor, likely because it was pretty similar to the way we cook at home. Home about 12:30am…

August 18, 2004

Nova wet the bed again last night… I’m thinking maybe we should hold off on the no nappy thing until after the Canada visit.

Stopped off to feed Mr Christmas (Pete and Pasc’s cat) on the way to work. We’ve been on feeding duty since last Friday, but I haven’t seen Mr C since Sunday night. The cat food is getting eaten, but there’s no guarantee he’s actually eating it. They have an ongoing problem with neighbourhood cats coming in through the cat flap and polishing off his food. I’m wondering about phoning Pasc, but there’s nothing they could do about it, and it would only cause them worry.

Nova’s taken to peering into her potty like a mini necromancer after her poops and pronouncing on the results — “It’s a rabbit!” or “It’s a wiggly worm!” No idea where this habit has come from… My favourites to date are the “snail” ( a surprisingly accurate description of that particular effort) and “a fish in a pond”.

August 17, 2004

Nova wet the bed again last night… we’re down to the last set of sheets…
After further discussion, we’ve decided to go ahead with the Finland plan. Adam made the bookings this morning while working at home. Apparently, the cross-country skiing trails can be used for running, and the people who own the cabin are happy to lend me their dog to run with if I’m concerned about bears. There’s an incentive for me (leaving aside the question of whether dogs repel or attract bears).

We’ve lined up a childminder to look after Nova three afternoons a week, when she starts school in November – Teresa, the woman we went to see last month. I feel a bit ambiguous about it. I’m half tempted to pack in my job, but with the inevitable redundancies from the merger looming it may be worth hanging in for a few more months, when I could well be out of a job anyway.

Skipped my run, partly to give my foot a bit more rest, but mostly out of laziness. I find the evening workouts difficult, and if I don’t get out of the house by 7:30pm, I find it really hard to make myself go.

August 16, 2004

Nova wet the bed last night, which meant she woke up a bit earlier than usual as well… I’m starting to recover from my sports massage, although the area still feels bruised when I touch it. Went to see a sports podiatrist at a clinic in Clapham after work. I had a half hour assessment, which was very good. She confirmed a number of things I suspected, and it was reassuring to have concrete advice on how to proceed. Basically:

• my feet are neutral, curved and high arched, and Adidas are the perfect shoe for me, although she rarely recommends them to people (ASICS would be second best for my foot)
• the Saucony control shoes I’ve been running in don’t support my arch enough, and my old Adidas are thrashed
• my right leg is slightly longer than my left (most people’s legs are slightly different length)
• I don’t need orthotics (in fact I have exceptionally well formed, structurally sound feet)
• I have plantar fasciitis in my right arch and should ideally take a week off to allow it to heal, support it with surgical tape until all pain is gone, and ice it daily
• although my general flexibility is very good, my calves are too tight and likely contributed to the arch problem — I should stretch them several times a day
• my sore left calf felt looser than the right, which is likely an effect of the sports massage — she recommends another massage suggestion for both calves, but avoid massaging the arch until the plantar fasciitis has healed

Had sardines for dinner. I’d thought we might barbeque them, but it was a bit drizzly out, so we cooked them under the grill instead and ate them with a tossed salad.

August 15, 2004

We were out of nappies, so I put Nova down without one last night. She woke up dry, which is promising… No run this morning — my leg’s too sore to walk without pain. At the family swim, I thought I’d do some laps once Adam had finished his workout, but it’s even too sore to swim with.

Went for lunch in Crouch End afterward, to a place Adam has been wanting to try. He ordered the fried breakfast, and I had poached eggs with spinach and rosti potatoes. When my plate arrived, I thought they’d brought me the wrong order. The entire plate was covered with a blanket of melted cheese. Cowering underneath was a mound of undercooked grated potato, overcooked spinach, and rubberised egg. I was expecting something like the eggs florentine at that Greek restaurant on Denman Street we used to eat brunch at.

The also committed my pet peeve of serving a Nova her milk in a tall, thin glass she didn’t have a hope in hell of drinking out of without help (and we all know how much three-year-olds love help). Oddly enough, they served Adam’s smoothie in a plastic glass with a bubble lid that would have been perfect for a child…

We made the Barbies a beach this afternoon, with a yellow meggie for the sand and a blue teatowel for the sea. I’m starting to remember what always bothered me about playing with Barbies — they never do anything. Nova and I spent lots of time getting them ready, arranging towels, doing their hair, sorting out their outfits, putting on their sunscreen and lipstick etc, then we took their picture with MovieStar Barbie’s camera, but after that we were stumped.

Watched quite a good film this evening. Parental Advisory is the true story of Tipper Gore’s efforts to censor the music industry, and starred Jason Priestley, Mariel Hemingway as Tipper, and Griffin Dunne as Frank Zappa. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister appeared as himself…

August 14, 2004

Ran ten miles this morning. Compared to last weekend’s four-hour effort, it felt like a short jog. Just goes to show how everything’s relative… Nova received a new Barbie in the post today — California Barbie (a belated birthday present from Wade and Gale). She comes loaded with accessories:

• four outfits: denim hotpants and haltertop; miniskirt and jacket; parachute pants and paisley blouse; denim skirt and adidas jacket
• two pairs of shoes: trainers and clogs
• surfboard, mask, snorkel and flippers
• a beach bag with: sunscreen, sun visor, compact, mobile phone, lipstick, and water bottle
• a wicker beach mat

That’s four Barbies she has now: two sporty ones (Rio Barbie and California Barbie) and two glam ones (Princess Barbie and MovieStar Barbie). We put a blanket on the back lawn and played with them all afternoon. I quite enjoy it, more than I used to I think.

Went for a sports massage at the gym while Adam and Nova went off to get groceries for a barbeque. The masseur concentrated mostly on my sore calf (which he diagnosed as an overuse injury, ruling out an achilles problem), although he spent some time on my sore arch as well. He was grinding away at my foot, when I started laughing. “Does that tickle?” he asked. “Christ, no!” I said, “I was just thinking how going for a massage is usually such a relaxing, enjoyable experience,” whereas he’d told me at the beginning that I would be uncomfortable (what a euphemism), but I should tell him if I couldn’t stand it.

Ran into Eytan and Dina on the way out. She’s looking very pregnant. Since our due dates were a week apart, that’s where I would have been with this latest pregnancy. I try not to think like that, but it’s difficult not to in this case…

Adam and Nova swung by to get me in the car. Adam said that when he told Nova they were going to pick up mommy, she looked worried and said, “We can’t! She’s too heavy!” Bless…

Had a barbeque supper with Rosalind: spicy Cypriot sausage/onion/zucchini kebabs; green salad; and a potato-artichoke salad in a lemony dressing. Apologised to her for the fight yesterday, which she claimed not to have noticed…

August 13, 2004

Adam and I had a stupid fight this morning. He was on the phone booking a holiday cottage in Finland, and I asked him to check if the cross-country trails near the cottage could be used for running in the summer. He managed to forget, and when he hung up and I asked what they’d said, he went off at me, saying I never do anything to help with our holidays, just bugger off to work etc.

Nova was getting upset by the arguing, so we went down to the laundry room to finish our “discussion”. We’d been going at in for about ten minutes, when the door to the flat opened, and Rosalind shot out, looking embarrassed. “See you!” she cried as she hurried out the front door. It brought things to an end at any rate, although the holiday is on hold for the moment…

Watched some the Olympics opening ceremony round at the Stillmans. Adam had been there for a while by the time I got home from work, and had sunk a few gin and tonics before I got there. They all seemed a few sheets to the wind actually, and the volume of the telly was so loud it actually interfered with understanding what they were saying.

We planned to watch the Canadian team pass by before taking Nova home to bed, but what with the Greek way of alphabetising, it was eight thirty before we finally got Nova down.

August 12, 2004

Happy birthday, Greg!
Went into the office today, after my impromptu “work at home” day on Tuesday. We’re looking at adding a streaming public health newsfeed on the website, so I had an enjoyable afternoon pottering about with asp pages and xml code.

I don’t have much opportunity for that sort of thing nowadays. It’s mostly strategies, and meetings, and drafting documents.Got the full Dr Nova treatment this afternoon. I had my temperature taken, sore toe bandaged, an injection for no specific purpose, ear checked (with her multi-purpose syringe), a stethoscope examination (Nova insists on sticking the ear pieces in her patient’s ears, which is a bit unorthodox), anaesthetic gas for my “operation”, my tonsils taken out, and a dose of medicine, before I was pronounced “all better now”.

(When she heard Adam and I discussing a persistent pain Beulah’s been experiencing in her side, Dr Nova was quick to diagnose — “Grandby has worms!” she announced confidently.)

Ran four miles at the gym this evening. I took it a bit easier, and kept on the right side of my calf injury — it was there, but didn’t interfere with the run or get any worse. I hadn’t expected marathon training to be like this. I thought the challenge would be sticking to the training schedule and putting in the distance. Instead, it’s about coping with chronic injury, and striking a balance between allowing recovery time and doing enough exercise not to lose fitness.

August 11, 2004

Happy birthday, Mary!
Nova likes to bring me a cup of tea in bed in the morning. She’ll walk carefully into our bedroom, with an empty plastic cup rattling on its little saucer. “Would you like a cup of TEA, mommy?” she’ll ask. “Yes, please!” I say, then make a big production of drinking my tea, sighing with satisfaction after the first gulp, “Aaaahhh, what delicious tea, Nova. Thank you!” The odd thing is, those imaginary cups of tea are practically as refreshing as a genuine cup would be. I put so much enthusiasm into drinking them, that it’s almost like the real experience.

August 10, 2004

Went for a run at the gym this morning. I did the first mile very gently, then picked up the pace for the second mile. Five minutes later, my calf muscle sort of twanged in an unpleasant way. “I don’t have to learn that lesson twice,” I thought to myself, and packed it in.

Nova was in a funny mood this morning, and we had trouble getting out the door for nursery. “Be gentle with me,” she said, as I went to get her down from the breakfast table. I imagine she’s referring to the incident on Sunday, where I unceremoniously wiped her off, removed her dinner and plonked her on the floor after she smacked a spoonful of food across the table…

It was pouring with rain, one of those monsoon-style downpours we’ve been having this summer. We drove Nova to nursery, then Adam dropped me at the tube. There was an inch of water on the station floor, and massive signal failures in Camden meant no trains running into town. It was raining so hard you could barely see bus queue stretching half way down the Archway Road. It was all a bit too much, and I headed home again… Work email seemed to be down, and I was unable to get a connection… This was all by 10am. I was starting to wonder if I should have got out of bed this morning…

Went to the cinema with Pasc this evening — Before Sunset, with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It’s a sequel to Before Sunrise, where two backpacking students met in Vienna and spent several hours together before going their separate ways.

Given how Adam and I met, it was a story that resonated with me. In this new film, they run into one another in Paris and spend the afternoon together before his flight home. It’s all about the relationship that never was, and how their lives have turned out. It was pretty good…

August 9, 2004

It seems a long time since I’ve been at work… Funny how quickly I’ve got used to the full-time schedule… My calf muscle is feeling a lot better today. At least it was until I tried to join Nova and Adam in a jumping game. I did one jump, and that was enough for me.

We had mushroom risotto for dinner, followed by an ironing marathon in front of the telly. Life in the fast lane, I tell you…

August 8, 2004

Took Nova for her weekly swim at the Laboratory, then for lunch in a cafe. She was so well-behaved (likely because my attention wasn’t divided between her and Adam). She ate up all her fishcake and chips, and downed a big glass of milk.

It was another burning hot day, and we chose a table indoors, next to the full-length open windows. The tables on the sidewalk were being tormented by wasps (it can’t have helped that they were all drinking cokes), and one woman got stung. She was terribly British about it, apologising profusely for troubling the waiter for a piece of ice, saying it was “nothing, really” while a grape-size welt rose on her arm.

Stopped at Woolworths on the way back to the car. I wanted to buy Nova a doctor’s kit, as she’s developed an interest lately, and her equipment is woefully inadequate — a Playmobil doll she’s ripped the stethoscope from, and a plastic sword she uses as her “auroscope”. I found the kind of thing I was after and a pink plastic lunchbox to store it in, which delighted her.

Adam got home before bedtime. Nova was all shy with him at first, but he did the bed routine, which gave her time to get used to having him around again…

August 7, 2004

Didn’t feel like getting up when the alarm went off at 5:30am, and it was almost 6:30 by the time I set off. It was already too hot, and the sky was a pitiless blue. I set off nice and slow, to see how my foot would react. I decided to double my walk breaks as well.

Actually Galloway recommends taking walk breaks every five minutes, but for some reason I’ve been taking them every ten. The easier pace mean that I kept my heart rate quite low, and it was more about muscular endurance than cardiovascular fitness.

I took a gel at the two hour mark. I was dreading it after my last gel experience, but PowerBar green apple wasn’t half as revolting as Squeezy orange. I drank a lot more water as well, which kept the stomach cramps to a minimum.

It was bloody hot by the time I finally dragged myself home at 10:30, but I was very satisfied at managing to last the distance. I had a quick shower, then drove over to the Garfunkels to pick up Nova before my legs got too stiff to drive. “I’m counting money!” Nova said happily. Beulah had her sorting the coins from her collection box. Grandby had done her nails as well, a perfect manicure, not like the quick slap of pink I usually give her.

Spent the afternoon at Jemima and Rob’s. The girls had a lovely time together, doing their ballet dancing, and playing in the pool. For some reason, they seem to play together much better at Ruby’s house.

Dropped in on the Stillmans for tea, then finally came home in time for Nova’s dinner. Got her to bed about 7:30 — she was completely wiped out. Didn’t bother eating dinner myself — it was just too hot. Watched a lame Reece Witherspoon movie about a fashion designer from NY who’s torn between her Alabama ex and her glamourous NY beau. Total chick flick…

August 6, 2004

It was a stinking hot day today. After breakfast, I coated Nova in sunscreen then headed out to the garden so she could have a splash in the paddling pool. Ruby and Jemima came round. The girls had fun for awhile, until Ruby wanted to wear Nova’s crown, and Nova didn’t want to share. Things deteriorated from there…

They were playing in Nova’s room, when she set up a terrible howl. Apparently Ruby hit her on the head, and gave Jemima a whack as well, when she tried to speak to her about it. They left unceremoniously, and Nova said she “needed a little lie down” in mommy’s bed to get over it.

We made bread in the afternoon. It was such a hot day, that I didn’t think heating the over would make a noticeable difference. I thought Nova would enjoy all the punching and kneading, but she kept picking up the bread dough and cuddling and kissing it. It turned out really nicely, so perhaps there’s something to it, like talking to your plants…;-)

We had bread and jam and a cup of tea together for an afternoon snack, then I made sausages, chips and corn — Nova’s favourite meal — for her dinner.

We headed over to the Garfunkels about 7pm. Nova played a bit, then I settled her upstairs and had dinner with Freddy and Beulah: smoked salmon, salad, Beulah’s excellent cheese soufflé, and the promised summer pudding. A couple of glasses of rosé as well, which I should likely have passed on.

Headed home about 10:30pm. It felt strange to be driving off without Nova, but I have a long run scheduled for tomorrow, and with Adam away, I needed someone to look after Nova while I do it.

August 5, 2004

Quite a rigamarole getting Nova ready for nursery this morning. By the time we’d set off I’d washed, dressed and fed two people, read several stories, and had an elaborate picnic… Got into the office about 10am…

Beulah phoned me at work to ask what I wanted for dessert tomorrow evening. She offered sticky toffee pudding, several homemade ice creams, and her fruit jelly. They were all pretty tempting, but I requested summer pudding. In case it hasn’t reached the Pacific Rim yet, here’s everything you need to know…

It was a muggy, oppressive weather, and by the time I left work I had a cracking headache. I picked up the car and drove to the nursery, and by the time we got home the rain was lashing down, and thunder and lightning was crashing and flashing.

Made Nova her favourite pesto pasta for dinner and bundled her off to bed. Rosalind had agreed to come home a bit early and babysit while I went for a run. If I hadn’t made the arrangement, I would have been pretty tempted to blow off the workout. Instead I ran 4 miles, still taking it a bit easier than I have been doing…

Ate dinner in bed while watching Wife Swap — the latest reality TV thing, where two wives swap families for two weeks. In this episode, a full-time working mom with one daughter swapped with a woman with six kids. Oddly enough, I identified more with the multi-kid mom…

August 4, 2004

Adam’s off for the next five days… He’s got a meeting in Germany with Adidas, then he’s joining some buddies for a long weekend in Amsterdam.

I picked up Nova from nursery, and delivered her straight to Jemima’s. She’s looking after her this evening while Dave and I go to see Lee Hazlewood at the Royal Festival Hall. Dave wasn’t interested in seeing the first act (Morcheeba) so we sat outside and had a few drinks instead. The show was very good, his voice is amazing, and he seems younger than his 77 years.

Pick up Nova about 11:30. Apparently the girls had a lovely time, but didn’t get to sleep until 9pm… Maybe she’ll sleep in tomorrow…

August 3, 2004

I spoke to the nursery staff about the hitting thing, but they didn’t know anything about it. They promised to look into it and get back to me…

Went to the gym when Adam got home, and ran four miles. I eased up on the pace, but my foot is still nagging at me. I’m a bit worried about how it will hold up on my long run this weekend…

August 2, 2004

Over dinner tonight Nova reported that a boy called Benjy had hit her twice in the face and made her cry. I was surprised that no one at nursery mentioned it to me. I know they can’t keep a close eye on all the kids all the time, but I don’t like to think they’d miss something like that…

Went over to Pete and Pasc’s for a little leaving drinks party for Paul and Jenny. Knocked back several bottles of cava and ate pizza in the garden, while the kids watched Shrek upstairs. We didn’t get Nova down until gone 9pm, but at least we didn’t need to make dinner afterward…

August 1, 2004

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I decided to go ahead with the 10K run I’d signed up for. I got up early, ate a light breakfast and set off about 8am. There were a few other runners waiting on the platform with me, and by the time we got to Leicester Square the train was full of runners, many with their race numbers already pinned to their teeshirts. I had no idea it was such a big event…

It was at least a kilometre’s walk from the bag drop-off area to Hyde Park Corner, and there were so many of us that it took me fifteen minutes to reach the starting line once the elite runners took off. I wasn’t too bothered — I just started my wrist stopwatch when I finally started running.

I tried to take it a bit easier than normal on account of the foot. It was very hot as well, and I didn’t know how I would cope with that. It was great running down the centre of those city streets — I always really enjoy that change in perspective.

Because I started quite near the back, I was faster than a lot of people around me, and spent most of the run passing people, which was quite satisfying. I ended up running the whole thing, aside from water breaks. A couple of memorable sites: the Sikh man running with his wife (or daughter) attached to his wrist with a 2″ strap; the woman with the most unusual ass I have ever seen — the cheeks seemed to be completely independent of the rest of her body, and actually swung out to the sides as she ran — I’ve never seen anything like it, it defied the laws of physics, and of anatomy…

I ended up doing the run in 1:04, which surprised me, as I thought I was going slower than that. My foot wasn’t all that happy with me, but it wasn’t anything like last weekend. I limped home, took an ibuprofen and spent half an hour icing it.

Went round Adam’s parents in the afternoon for tea and crumpets. We were a bit late getting Nova fed and to bed, especially as we’d promised her some bicycling on the parade ground after dinner. Made an awesome Thai yellow curry, with pumpkin and salmon and watched Double Indemnity on the telly.