February 2014

February 28, 2014

Today was all about birthday preparations once I got the essential paid work out of the way. Made a quick trip to Waitrose, fashioned an iCarly-based card in Photoshop, and baked cupcakes for tomorrow’s party before heading off to a belated Christmas get-together with my Kings Fund people.It was at Nicholas’ club this time. (These gentlemen and their clubs!) A very grand place on Pall Mall next to St James’ Palace. I arrived just as we were going in to dinner. It was on e of those set-ups where only the member sees the prices on the menu, which adds an element of risk to the proceedings…

I opted for the crab and avocado salad, followed by the bream with roasted fennel and the cheese plate. Nicholas took charge of the wines, which were all delicious. Very gratifed to get three separate compliments on my outfit and sense of personal style…;-)

Got home about midnight to discover Adam wasn’t back yet. We’d also had tickets to see Alan Davies at Jackson’s Lane, so he took Sarah instead. Did the wrapping, arranged all the gifts and collapsed into bed…

February 27, 2014

Went on my personal shopping day today, which was very exciting. After a bit of thought, I opted not to make a special effort dressing up or anything, deciding it was better for her to see how I really am…We met at the Apostrophe in Christopher Place, where I took her advice to fortify myself with a morning snack before we hit the shops. Spent most of our time in John Lewis, which has an extensive fashion floor with lots of franchises I like: Jigsaw, Whistles, Mint Velvet etc. Not that I ever bother to shop there myself…

We walked the floor first, looking at things and discussing which key pieces to focus on. Decided that a great pair of jeans, a jacket, white shirt and smart trousers were the essentials.

I retreated to the change room and Hayley brought me things to try on. She tended to choose a smaller size than I would have, but often the things fitted fine. It was interesting to get her perspective on things, but I stood my ground when I didn’t agree. In addition to the essentials, I also bought a soft pink motorcycle jacket style cardigan that I wouldn’t have tried on in a million years.

Next stop, shoes. I was looking for something other than trainers to wear as my everyday shoes. Hayley was very keen on these Ash trainers, but they were a bit too much for my (already blown) budget. Picked up a pair of gray shoes at Clarks that I’m very keen on for less than half the price…

Finished up at Cos — a shop that has always bewildered me. Once again, Hayley installed me in a dressing room and returned with armloads of stuff. To my surprise, I went for both a boxy, blue, stiff elbow length top that looked like nothing on the hanger and fabulous on, and a primrose yellow singlet.

Modelled it all to Adam when I got home, who was very complementary. Such a thoughtful gift for him to buy me — to be honest, I was a little intimidated by the idea at first, but it was really good fun and a learning experience as well…

February 26, 2014

Repeated the 6×800 workout that I did on Christmas Eve, and showed a gratifying improvement in my pace. I’ve discovered that I can build my own workouts in RunKeeper, which is a nice plus. It can be a lot easier to pick up the pace when a discombobulated robot voice tells you to, as opposed to finding the motivation on your own.Took advantage of a neighbour’s tree work to get some cedar branches that have been hanging around since last summer chipped. The new people in the Baker’s place are taking down two trees, including a lovely eucalyptus that glows like it has been painted silver after it rains…

Had to tackle the backlog of housework before setting down to my work. Some days there’s just no way around it…

In the evening, Adam and I went to the Phoenix to catch a film. We wanted to see The Dallas Buyers Club, but they’d changed the programme early, and were showing The Book Thief instead. While I didn’t love that book as much as most people, it has been turned into a visually stunning and very moving piece of cinema.

February 25, 2014

This morning’s call with India has been postponed, which meant cancelling the childcare workaround Adam had just put in place. I spent much of the day working on the architecture website for a private client, which is starting to come together. At least I’ll feel less guilty if he gets in touch, now that I actually something to show…Picked up Lyra from school, and got all the way home before I realised I’d forgotten to sign up for parent-teacher evening…:-( I left her on her own for ten minutes and dashed back up there. Still feels a little weird doing that, though of course she was perfectly fine…

An unknown mum approached me in the playground because she had to tell me how much she loved my performance as the stewardess. That’s just keeps running and running… She actually wanted to know if I really was a stewardess, because I was just so realistic(?!!) Made me wonder what kind of airlines she flies with…;-)

Lyra and I made pesto together for dinner, which we ate when Nova returned from her music lessons. Adam passed through briefly on his way to a governor’s meeting, and Nova had swim training, so Lyra and I hung out together.

She’s currently obsessed with a cartoon called Ever After High, about a high school where all the children of fairytale characters go. It’s not a bad idea, but I hate the animation style. She persuaded me to watch a few of those with her before we did her bedtime.

Worked until about 10pm, then watched some telly with Adam before calling it a night…

February 24, 2014

Went for a six-mile run first thing, to make up for my complete sluggishness yesterday. Felt like I ran pretty slowly but still came in at under 10:45/mile.Had my meeting with Alliance India about developing the content for their new website. Everyone seems happy enough with what I’ve done, which is a relief. I was feeling quite anxious about it, especially as it can be difficult to contribute effectively to meetings where you are dangling off the end of a phone line and everyone else is in the same room. It helped that we were able to do it on Skype…

Baked my second batch of sourdough with the new starter. Man, is it awesome! Used two-thirds white flour and one-third wholewheat. The dough rose a lot more, and has that lovely toothsome, slightly stretchy quality that great bread has. Very, very pleased…

Made a batch of cauliflower soup to go with it, and ate another slice with jam for dessert. A meal fit for a king. Adam wasn’t fit for much after his all-nighter. He dozed in the bath while I did the evening routine, then attempted to join me for a bit of telly, but couldn’t stay awake.

I was weirdly alert, and after watching an episode of Montalbano, I switched over to the Graham Norton show. Always good value, though the one we saw last week with Bill Murray, Matt Damon and Lord Grantham will take some beating…

I’m knitting a scarf for Lyra. I was going to do it in brioche stitch, but the wool is too thick and fuzzy, and it just wasn’t working. Switched to a straight 2x rib instead…

February 23, 2014

I’ve decided against doing the half-marathon today. When I looked at the website for the event, it’s apparent that Richmond Park is now pretty much a lake. This has necessitated changes to the route, which now involves two flights of stairs and a narrow footbridge. Also swaying my decision was the fact that the event clashes with the men’s hockey final…;-)Made sourdough pancakes for breakfast, using some of the excess starter sponge, and adding eggs, oil and a bit of baking soda just before frying. Deliciousness on a plate — and I don’t even like pancakes…

Worked a bit in the morning, then settled down in front of the telly for the big match. It wasn’t as exciting as the US v Canada match — or as tense. Of course, it’s much more important to beat the Americans than it is to beat the Swedes. I was surprised to discover that the team Canada goalie comes from Anaheim Lake.

Once the game ended, I spent the rest of the day working. I’m pulling together these content development tools, to be used on a project starting next week. I’m not entirely sure how to tackle it, and the whole thing is giving me anxiety…

Dinner was lemon chicken with rice and broccoli. Nice enough, but don’t think the recipe delivered the flavour it should have. Not sure about using boneless, skinless chicken thighs — maybe I’ll try it again with proper pieces of chicken.

Worked until after midnight, and now feel somewhat better about the state of the project now… Adam, who didn’t manage to work much today, opted to work all night instead. The crazy beggar…;-)

February 22, 2014

Did a four mile run this morning — and at a pretty good clip if I say so myself. It’s nice to do shorter distances, plus it doesn’t bite such a chunk out of time out of your day.Nova’s friend Sarah came round for lunch, after which the pair of them headed off to Brent Cross on the bus. An exciting new option for them…

Spent a couple of hours thoroughly cleaning the flat, as we have a guy moving in for a couple of weeks, then tried to do some work. Difficult with a disgruntled Lyra at loose ends…

Dinner was seabass stuffed with rosemary, which I served with roasted sweet potatoes and mange tout. Not the most child-friendly of dinners, but they munched their way through it with minimal complaint.

Afterwards, we watched Despicable Me 2 — a pretty funny film. Lyra has seen it a few times already, so the spoilers were coming thick and fast, but still enjoyable for everyone…

February 21, 2014

Sounds like we missed a doozy of a women’s hockey final last night. Not that they were likely to have televised it here anyway. No doubt, we’d have been treated to reruns of that British woman winning the skeleton they’ve been showing repeatedly for days.I’m sure all countries do the same, but frustrating to be a Canadian subjected to coverage of British mediocrity while Canadians are winning medals. I remember when we were in Finland for the summer Olympics, how the only events they covered were shotput and weightlifting…

I actually found a live feed of the Sweden-Finland hockey semi-final, and had on in the background while I worked. Bits of strange terminology kept intruding: “the puck’s on the mutual ice” (neutral zone),” “Haglund was slammed into the wall” (boards), it’s the last minute of the first session” (period).

I suppose things might have changed since I watched hockey on a regular basis, but I seriously doubt any of those terms are being used in the NHL…

February 20, 2014

Adam headed out first thing. I got Lyra sorted for her sports club and took her up there for 9am on my way to do a run. It was silent as a library in the flat. “What if one of the parents comes when there is nobody home?” Lyra asked, “They’ll think you’re a terrible mum.” I reassured her that they probably think that already…;-)Ran three miles slow, followed by a few strides. Running fast just feels so good… Nova and co were up and fed when I got back, and her friends headed off shortly after, and we restored the flat from a state of chaos. They were up until 2am apparently, just chatting. Didn’t bother me, so “whatevs” as Nova would say…

Another day of head-down, full-on working. How did I ever maintain a regular diet of this stuff? Chipped away at my daily to-do list as well, all those unsung things that I do pretty much every day. I’m developing a system for tracking and marking when I complete them, based on bullet journalling.

Worked right up to the minute our babysitter arrived. We’re trying out Lynne’s son Findlay, who appears to have grown into a responsible young fifteen-year-old. Lyra wasn’t overly keen, as she has a definite preference for girl sitters, but we’ll see how it goes.

Headed into town to a Spanish tapas bar in Goodge Street for a belated Valentine’s dinner. It’s never a good idea to go out on the actual evening, when every restaurant is doing a special menu and determined to inject “romance” into your evening…

Grabbed a frozen yogurt from Yog for dessert, then caught a bus home to stretch things out a bit. Got in just after 10pm. I still had some work to do, as did Adam. Except heimmediately fell asleep in front of Shell corporate videos. And who could blame him…;-)

February 19, 2014

Did a three-mile, slow run this morning. I still haven’t decided whether to run the half marathon this weekend. Richmond is quite a pain in the ass for us to get to, but not like it’s moved or anything. I knew it was in Richmond when when I set my sights on this event. We’ll see…Work is steadily piling up in an slightly overwhelming, slow-motion car crash kind of way… I managed to put in 4.5 hours of steady work, which seems like a lot of time for me to find in my day now.

I’d told Nova could invite Jess and Shira to sleep over this evening, so had four girls to cook dinner for. Adam out all day, popped in only briefly before going to an Arsenal match, so I ate with the kids. Chinese chicken, gyoza, steamed rice and edamame, which went down well.

For dessert, I’d baked a pumpkin-cranberry loaf using the last of the Christmas cranberries. Had no idea what it would be like — always a bit wary of putting fresh cranberries into baking, but it was absolutely delicious. The tart cranberries balanced out the soft sweetness of the pumpkin very nicely.

Nova and her friends retreated back to the flat immediately after being fed, leaving me the challenge of keeping Lyra from hanging about too much. It’s understandably pretty exciting for her to have glamorous older girls in the house, but not fair to Nova to have to include her little sister the whole time…

February 18, 2014

No internet this morning, which made it a good opportunity to take Nova to Brent Cross. She needed new jeans — having finally outgrown her favourite old pair. (Which that cheeky Lyra is already wearing!) I picked her up a new teeshirt and cropped jumper as well, making a nice new spring outfit. With school uniforms, the girls just don’t need that many clothes, but as Nova says, “Getting new clothes makes you happy!”Got a new teeshirt and some vests for Lyra so she wouldn’t feel left out, and did a bit of additional birthday shopping too. When we got back, Adam and Karen were busily stuffing envelopes with the annual report for the school that they’ve pulled together. Karen stayed for lunch afterwards, after which we finally got down to some work.

Made cottage pie for dinner, with help from Lyra — she loves feeding the roast through the grinder and did the potato ricing as well. She shows an interest in cooking that goes beyond nibbling at ingredients and licking bowls. I want to encourage that even though it can be easier just to get on and do the job myself…

Spent far too much time this evening on the Food 52 website — good recipes, interesting articles, and nearly midnight by the time I pulled myself away…

February 17, 2014

Went for yesterday’s scheduled eight-mile run this morning, on the premise that I will do the half marathon this weekend. Deliberately kept it slow, which worked out over the whole run to be about eleven minutes per mile. Hard to see how that is going to translate into the thirteen 10:20s I need to put together to achieve my target time, but we’ll see I guess. There’s no doubt that I’m fitter, better prepared and a good fifteen pounds lighter than my last effort in September, which has got to count for something…The girls are off school for half-term this week, although Lyra was keen to do the multi-sport club at the school, which is keeping her busy every day between 9 and 3. Nova’s mooching around the house, doing a mix of homework, personal grooming, and music practice under duress.

Adam and I are trying to work as usual. Managed to get some adidas editing done, but I’m not getting anywhere near the amount of work done that I should be. There just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day…:-(

February 16, 2014

The little girls were in our room by 8am, wanting us to get up and make their pancakes. I was already awake, but poor Adam was assaulted with pillows to rouse him.Baked my sourdough loaves this morning, and am very happy with the way it turned out. I love the shape and pattern from proofing them in the rattan bannetons. The bread is light and sort of chewy with a very crisp crust. This batch was all wholewheat, as that was what I had, but I’ll experiment with a mix of flours next time. Served it with bowls of veggie soup for lunch, and it went down a treat with everybody.

Beautiful weather for this first time in ages, so I took the opportunity to venture out in the garden. Things were looking pretty neglected — there was a lot of cedar bits blown about in the storm covering everything. I tidied up my garden beds and cut out last year’s raspberry canes, tying in the new ones in their place.

Roast beef and roast potatoes for dinner. Our Belgian crime series, Salamander is going the direction we predicted, with a secret society emerging. Being Belgium, you automatically think pedophilia, but the society include quite an elderly woman, so maybe not. Also, just because the rest of the world thinks Belgium and pedophilia go hand in hand, I don’t imagine the Belgians themselves are keen to reinforce that stereotype…

February 15, 2014

Crazy wind last night. It was howling round the house like a pack of wolves, and so loud it was difficult to sleep. The enormous cedar tree in the back garden was visibly swaying. The thought of that coming down doesn’t bear thinking about…Heard on the radio that the storm killed two people last night: an elderly man on a cruise ship in the Channel when a wave crashed into his cabin, and a woman crushed in her car in Holborn when part of a building collapsed.

The worst of the weather seemed to have passed, and I was keen to go for a run, so I laced up my shoes and set off. There was still a pretty stiff wind blowing — which was much nicer when it was pushing me forward than blasting me in the face. Actually, the worst thing was when it came at me sideways and affected my balance.

Started making my first batch of sourdough with the new starter culture I ordered online. I followed his process to the tee, which was quite precise about weighing everything. Proofed the dough in my new rattan bannetons, which was exciting and scary in equal measure. I floured them well, but it’s all too easy to picture the dough sticking like glue when it’s time to turn them out…

Lyra’s friend Lucia came round for a sleepover. The two girls don’t play together that often, but when they do it’s always rollicking good fun. They both love singing pop songs and dressing up, and we were treated to a little fashion show/concert with a different outfit for each song they performed: summer wear for “Call Me Maybe”, pyjamas for “Lazy Song”, and cool chicks in sunglasses for “Troublemaker”.

Adam and I headed out around 8pm for dinner at Lynne and Duncan’s when Suzanne arrived to babysit. I wouldn’t normally arrange a sleepover for an evening we were out, but Lucia’s mum was working all night and needed the favour. When I realised I wouldn’t have time to bake the bread before we left, I stuck the bannetons in the downstairs fridge for a slow rise. Apparently, some breadmakers prefer that approach, and the longer rise produces a sourer taste…

February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! The festivities started early around here. By 7am we were sitting down to our traditional Valentine’s breakfast — heart-shaped toast, juice and coffee, plus a couple of chocolates each. There was a card and present for everyone: an Emily Feather book for Lyra, an anthology of Jarvis Cocker lyrics for Adam, handknitted socks for Nova, and a new adidas running top and bodycon dress for me!The rest of the day was my usual mix of paid work and household drudgery… Adam was out for the afternoon, so I ate with the girls before taking Nova to her swim training in Tufnell Park.

The south coast is getting battered by yet another storm this afternoon and rubbish bags kept blowing off the sidewalk into the traffic. Two of them hit the car on our fifteen minute drive.

Back home again, we watched an episode of Sherlock — an updated version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, which we all really enjoyed. It’s great when we find shows and films that work for the whole family…

February 13, 2014

Very tired again this morning… I’m finding it strangely hard to get out of bed in the morning, and was groggy and thick headed for a good hour after I woke…Lyra informs me that she sang a solo in front of the whole school yesterday — which was a complete surprise to me. I didn’t know she had any inclination to do that sort of thing. Apparently, she did such a good job that she was added to the “Brilliant Book”.

For the first time in ages, I didn’t do a run from my training plan, and took the opportunity to explore a new route. Ran down to Golders Hill Park then up to Whitestone Pond before joining my usual route, which basically added a mile. I was going to go a little longer, but my ileotibial band started twanging so I stopped at six miles.

Spent the day doing adidas revisions. I was pleased to see there were very few changes to the stories I’d worked on. Made a nice soup for dinner, followed by apple crumble. As Adam was out, I did maths with Mova, piano with Lyra, and the bedtime routine.

After getting things ready for Valentines Day, I relaxed in front of an episode of The Good Wife. My drunken husband back about 11pm from making rather merry with the school governors and teachers…

             Lyra and Barnaby Bear at the Taylor Swift concert

February 12, 2014

According to the weather forecast this morning, we can expect the normal amount of rainfall for the month of February to fall in the next four hours. Oh, and apparently there will be hundred mile an hour winds as well…”And in the late afternoon, there will be a plague of locusts in the southeast,” the weather man continued. It fitted so seamlessly with the rest of the forecast, it took me a moment to realise that he was joking. The Met Office has issued a red weather alert, which almost never happens. Basically, it means that today’s weather will kill people…

Laundry insanity continues… It doesn’t help that I had to strip all the beds and do the towels after the nit combing… Veronika popped in for a coffee before school pick-up, which was nice.

Adam and I went to the Arsenal Man U match this evening. I wasn’t that keen to venture out in this weather, but it was okay. Wore long johns under my trousers, and several layers on top, plus toque and gloves. My fingers and nose were still cold, but I was otherwise okay.

It was a good enough game, if lacking in pace. Both sides seemed a bit cautious, and afraid to lose. Had a beer at half time, which was a mistake. Should have opted for something hot to sustain me on the long, slow, cold journey home… Had a hot bath to thaw out, then hopped straight into bed…

February 11, 2014

First run in about nine days. At least I’ve given my foot a chance to heel. Sadly, I missed the only two days of sunshine we’ve had in about a month nursing that mother of all hangovers…Went, cold, windy… normal weather service has resumed. I didn’t pay much attention to time or distance, and ended up doing five miles in a 10:30 pace, which felt pretty easy.

I have to decide if I’m in a good place for the event I was planning to run on the 23rd of February. I was hoping to get my half-marathon time under 2:15, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t manage it…

I put in a reasonable day’s work then sorted out dinner for the family. Not having anything planned, we ended up eating sausages and chips — like a big family playdate. Delicious they were too!

Adam took the girls to see Taylor Swift at the O2 this evening. Santa brought us only three tickets, so there was some back and forth about which adult would go. Adam’s busier than I am, but also has more enthusiasm and stamina for evening events. Also, we’re already planning to go to the ManU v Arsenal game tomorrow night — two nights out in a row… Too much excitement for me…;-)

February 10, 2014

Feeling much better this morning fortunately, as I was scheduled to do some reading with Lyra’s class… When I got home, I spent an hour clearing away all evidence of the panto and tackling the Himalayan-size laundry range in the bathroom.The nit situation in Lyra’s class has gone insane. Even the boys have them now — it’s a proper epidemic when that happens… I nitcombed Lyra as soon as we got home and applied a treatment. I did Nova after dinner and me as well. The most important thing is for every family to do it — otherwise they keep reinfesting one another…

Adam was out much of the evening so I ate with the girls — a weird hybrid chicken-puttanesca pasta thing. Spent the rest of the evening catching up on school work and music practice with Lyra — easing back into the old routines.

When Adam finally got home we started watching Salamander — a Belgian crime thing about political corruption. The depths the politicians are sinking to seems implausible to me, but according to Adam, Belgium is famously corrupt…

February 9, 2014

I felt like absolute death a few hours later when it was time to go pick up the girls… I’m pretty sure we were both still a bit drunk to be driving…:-(The girls were very happy to see us. They’d had a good time with their grandparents, but were keen to get back home. For the rest of the day, I spent as much time as I possible sitting motionless on the sofa, trying not to recall any of the nonsense I was spouting last night…

I did manage to roast a chicken and some potatoes for dinner, but there was no way I could eat any of it… Staggered through the bedtime routine and getting organised for tomorrow, and headed to bed at the same time as Nova…

February 8, 2014

Two performances today… For breakfast, Adam made muffins. I made veggie soup for lunch and planned a dinner Nova would be able to prepare. Headed up to the school about 1pm.It’s always feels weird doing the panto in the daytime. The atmosphere is very different, and you can actually see the audience. The audience is different too — a lot more little kids (who respond differently to the material) and the grown-ups are sipping tea instead of wine. I made sure to watch the drinking myself — a little bit of wine for courage, but that’s it…

Actually, it went well for a matinee. The audience were quite enthusiastic and noisy for sober people. I also think that having such a ropy Thursday performance has prevented complacency from setting in…

I had about 45 minutes between performances. I downed a quick bowl of the ramen soup Nova prepared then headed back up to do Chinese make-up for the second time. There was a really good atmosphere backstage. Everyone was in high spirits, and the show went very well. We got a great laugh for the final stewardess scene — I’m going to miss that role…;-)

Saw the kids briefly before their grandparents took them home for a sleepover. Did a bit of clearing up then headed for the Wrestlers, where I proceeded to get completely lashed.

When they eventually kicked us out at 2am, Adam and I had the “brainwave” of inviting everybody back to our place… And they all came… And drank… And stayed… It was well into morning by the time the last guy eventually left…

February 7, 2014

We’re both feeling pretty exhausted this morning, and will be wiped out by Saturday evening. At least I’ve decided not to run this week — I just don’t have the time or energy, and want my foot to hold out…Received a number of smiles from parents I don’t know at drop off this morning. Clearly people who’d seen the panto last night. That stewardess part is a bit of a show stealer…

Tonight’s performance went much more smoothly, thank god. We totally nailed the dance, and the stewardess thing got a great response. A couple of quick Coronas at the Wrestlers afterwards, then home to bed. I’ve made the mistake before of staying too long at the pub after the Friday night performance, and it wasn’t pretty…

Lyra learned a new song at Alice’s house yesterday:

February 6, 2014

I was not amused when Adam woke me before 6am to see if I fancied a cuddle… No need to include my response to that one. Unable to get back to sleep, I at least got more work done on my paper, until it was time to dash to the Whittington for my physio.It turns out I haven’t been doing one of the exercises correctly. The physio expressed amazement at the apparent weakness of my neck muscles.I told him they had managed to support my head for almost fifty years so they couldn’t be that bad…

Overall, the appointment was encouraging. The lump of bone seems to be reducing, and he now thinks it might be correctable through strengthening and postural improvements. Regardless of how I’ve been doing the exercises, I am no longer in constant discomfort, which is a big improvement.

I was pretty wiped out all day, but didn’t manage to find the nap gap I hoped for. We had Nova’s parent-teacher afternoon at her school. The student books five minute appointments with each teacher in advance, and then we go around for a series of little conversations. Nova hadn’t managed to make all that many appointments, but were there early enough that it all worked out.

After a quick supper of eggs and toast, I headed up to the school to do my make-up. Opening night and a full house… The audience seemed enthusiastic, and things started promisingly. I felt anxious about wearing a radio mike to solo some of the opening vocals as I hadn’t practiced with it, but it seemed to go ok.

There were a fair number of technical glitches throughout the performance: props missing in key scenes, microphones and music failing… Our dance was a bit of a car crash. We were meant to be dancing along to the Princess Snowdrop’s singing, but her mic wasn’t working, and she couldn’t hear the music at all, so the timing was pretty random…

Of course, the audience doesn’t necessarily realise just how bad it is. And I like to think the mishaps add to the humour and charm of the thing…

Nervous about my stewardess scene, I drank more wine than I should have. I was anxious about dropping lines in my speech, but I nailed it in the end. We got huge laughs, and surprisingly the magic carpet thing came off without a hitch…

The dads’ dance to “9,000,000 Bicycles in Beijing” was terrific. It just gets better and better, which is true of the whole show actually…

February 5, 2014

Crazy busy day… All my work seems to be converging on the week of maximum panto commitments. I had meetings about three separate projects, and some activity on a private website I’m developing as well. At least with the tendon problem in my foot, I’m giving the running a rest for a few days.In between all that, I managed to fit in some housework and Waitrose shop to see us through the weekend, and stocked up on wine for the dressing room as well…;-)

It was our week to have Alex, so I raced up to school in time to collect them. On the way home, I noticed Margot with her nanny and little brotherwalking ahead of us. She was wearing multicoloured tights, but when I asked if she’d worn them to school, the girls informed me that she’d been kept home today because she has nits. Wow — if every child with nits was kept home from school they’d have to close the place down…;-)

Had yet another phone meeting then cooked the girls’ tea — tonkatsu cutlets, Japanese rice, edamame, shredded cabbage and pickled ginger. Lyra devoured everything, and especially loved the hot ginger. Alex was much more cautious — it looked a bit strange to her I think…

Adam made it home in time to eat and take the girls to the pool, which gave me a bit of space to focus on dress rehearsal preparations. Gathered all my makeup, wipes, pins, three costumes with accessories — it’s a lot to remember, but I guess that’s one thing dress rehearsal are for.

Arrived in good time to change into my Chinese lady costume. The dress zipper is jammed, so I have to shimmy into the thing, which is a bit awkward. I have nice spacing between my scenes this year, with a comfortable amount of time to get into my tartan miniskirt and punk up the make up. Let my hair down and backcombed it a bit for this look:

Our dance went okay, although they never seem to run the music at the same speed, which is an unneeded additional challenge. My foot was fine until I swapped my trainers for stewardess high heels. The stewardess scene outfit a big hit, especially with the dads. There were lots of “lucky Adam” style comments, and women asking where they could get one…

The scene itself went well, except that the magic carpet wasn’t ready when it was time to draw the tabs. Initially they tried using a stack of air beds. Tonight’s carpet was a building palette on scaffolding poles, which male cast members lifted and rocked from behind the curtains.

Once I was done, I headed out front to watch the rest of the show. It’s the first time I’ve seen Adam’s group do their dance in costume. It was very funny and very effective, and Adam looks particularly fetching in his maroon cheongsam.

I was all for going home once I’d helped tidy the classroom/dressing room, but Adam was keen to go to the pub. “Just one pint” he said. I agreed as long as he helped my get my content outline back to India after we got home. “Yeah, yeah,” he agreed. Two pints later, we headed back to the house. Ten minutes after that he was snoring like a grizzly, while I was up until 2am kicking it into shape…

February 4, 2014

Nova’s school had an inset day, which had Lyra howling at the injustice. Apparently, “one of the best parts of an inset day is watching the other person get ready for school,” Lyra explained, “but Nova leaves so early that I don’t get to enjoy that.” I promised to wake her up extra early on her next inset day so she can see Nova head off.No running as I’m giving my foot a chance to settle down. I’ll adjust my training schedule once the panto is over, maybe go back a week or two in the training or aim for a later half marathon race. Or just stick to plan A…?

Spent the day working on adidas editing — I’m finally breaking the back of that mountain of content.

Had Maggie back to play after school, which didn’t go that well. She seems to be an extremely bright little girl, but a bit too keen to make sure everyone knows it. She kept correcting Lyra’s grammar, professed not to understand my accent, lied about how far she’d advanced in piano when it was clear Lyra was further along than her, and broke Lyra’s big glass snowglobe. On the plus side, she wasn’t a fussy eater, which is always worth a few marks in my book.

Tech two rehearsal this evening. I went up half an hour later than my call time, and still had a good 45 minutes hanging about before I got to do my stewardess thing. It’s coming together, but hard to believe we’ll be performing to a paying audience in 48 hours…;-)

February 3, 2014

Adam headed off first thing to deliver a workshop in town. Once I got the girls off to school, I started some editing work until it occurred to me that with a two-day tube strike looming I needed to get my panto make-up sorted.Headed into town, hitting Primark first for school tights, leggings etc, then across the street to Boots for ivory foundation, a thick eyeliner pen and black lipstick. Home in good time to pick up Lyra sort her out with a snack before drama.

A quick bowl of bibimbap for dinner then up to the school for the Act 1 tech rehearsal. My foot is still a limiting factor…:-( I’m just going to have to toss my hair and put out more attitude to make up for the lack of mobility.

I was knackered by the time I got home. Found just enough energy to edit one last adidas story for Adam then called it a night…

Oh, Adam shaved off his beard on the weekend. The one he grew six years ago to look ridiculous for a 1960s costume party and has sported ever since. I think he looks great clean shaven, but he’s not convinced. It makes him look five years younger, which is no bad thing now he’s well into his forties…;-)

February 2, 2014

Beautiful sunny day this morning. “The sky looks strange,” said Lyra on looking out the window, “it’s all blue!”My right foot was bothering me yesterday. I noticed it particularly whenever I’d come out of a crouching position to stand up. (It occurs to me lots of people my age possibly don’t crouch at all — I’m going to have to observe that…)

I’m concerned that my foot carries me through next week’s panto madness, and decided that instead of my long run, I’d do something short and see how it performed. I was fine for the first few miles, It felt a bit unstable on looser ground, but would settle down again when I was on a trail.

I was going along a nice flat bit at almost four miles when it started feeling “wrong”, so I played it safe and pulled up. Called Adam, who kindly came to get me in the car.

Spent most of the day at the school, rehearsing the opening villager scene. There was some mention of me having a microphone and soloing the open lines of the song — I sincerely hope that idea gets lost before next rehearsal…

When it was time for our dance routine, I discovered where my foot injury has come from. It’s the twisting swiping movement we do as we pivot 180°…:-( And all that jumping can’t help either… I’ll just do the best I can, and consider taping it for the performances if it’s still dodgy.

Adam came up to do his dance later on, and it had gone 8pm by the time we got home again. Ordered pizzas from a new place in Tufnell Park. Thin crust pizzas never travel well, so I gave them ten minutes in a hot over. Adam ordered far too much — we had four when we could have managed with two. Lots of leftovers, which may come in handy as long as I don’t end up eating it all…

February 1, 2014

Had a reasonably good weigh in this morning — down another pound…
What with making muffins and repairing the dishwasher, it was almost noon by the time we set off for the Chinese supermarket on the Edgware Road, collecting Nova from drama on the way.The Chinese dragon arrived just as we pulled in, so we were treated to an excellent performance. This one could stand about eight feet tall, and made a great production of eating lettuce and flinging the pieces everywhere.

Bought lots of tasty supplies for our meal this evening. Briefly entertained the idea of eating lunch in one of the restaurants there, but they were all crazy busy. Also I didn’t really like the idea of eating Chinese food for lunch before I went to the trouble of preparing a special meal. Picked up mcmuffin supplies instead…

It emerged over lunch that Nova has managed two lose two more coats…:-(
Besides the one she left at Heathrow, she has also lost her black trench coat and the nice replacement jacket I bought her in Berlin. The situation ended into a huge argument with tears, threats and shouting…

Once the dust settled from all that drama, I turned my attention to dinner preparations. Tonight’s menu involved a number of courses but overall I kept it pretty simple:

Prawn crackers, 1,000 year eggs, edamame
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Steamed dumplings with dipping sauce
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Crispy duck with pancakes, cucumber, scallions and hoisin
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Noodles with barbeque pork and vegetables
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Mochi, White Rabbit candies, Pocky, fortune cookies
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Lychees and nashi pears
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Chinese tea

We also had our homemade fortune cookies, with each person contributing two messages, and then picking at random from the bowl. Everyone wore there best Chinese outfits, I put the Chinese cinema music CD on repeat, and we had a lot of fun…

Afterwards, the girls went downstairs to watch a Harry Potter movie, and Adam and I settled down in front of The Bridge finale. Gripping stuff, and there’s a Belgian crime series coming next…

When I went downstairs to check on the girls, I found the two of them snuggled up together in an armchair fast asleep. Bless…