Bubble bubble, toil and trouble

The boiler's bubbling again, and refusing to light. Presumably there's a buildup of sediment in the outflow pipes which needs to be cleaned away. Dammit.

I really, really wanted a shower.

Still, at least I've been given ten minutes for a cup of coffee.

I fixed the heat and I liked it

It's all warm now. I R Genius. The children are warm and I've cooked them breakfast and lunch, done a load of laundry and a load in the dishwasher, added the meat and hot water to the slow-cooker full of veg Rob prepped last night, et cetera et cetera et cetera. I even tidied the kids' room, which will just show you how motivating heat can be.

I'm still trying to decide whether to call the bank and change our mortgage to reduce the payment and extend the term. We did get it with the specific backup plan of extending the term if we ever needed to; I can't decide whether now is that time.

My diamond shoes are still too tight

I'm not remotely close to being poor but some things make me FEEL poor. Having an empty pantry when we got back from holiday was one of those, and having the boiler stop working was another - that happened again this morning though I fixed it. Hunger, cold. Big things for me.

You can tell I'm not poor because I had the resources available to sort both problems out easily and painlessly. If only I could convince the little panicked voices in the back of my head that that's true, I'd be laughing.

I've just realised I can check Ebay for a coat for Linnea.

... but sometimes I think it's important to catch them at it

Linnea: Good dog!
Ailbhe: Have you got that around Emer's neck?!
Linnea: No! [leans offstage to where Emer is, pulls at something]
Ailbhe: [dashed over, gets the curtain tie-back from around Emer's neck] You must never put anything around her neck, never. It's very serious.
Linnea: But she was a dog! she's not hurt
Ailbhe: [Tears running down her face] I know you didn't want to hurt her and she was having fun being a dog but it's very important - very important - never ever to put anything around someone's neck.
Linnea: OK. [pause] I will remember that.
Ailbhe: Thank you. [has a proper cry]

Then Linnea gave me lots of hugs and asked for squeezes and made me so much better. I didn't ask her to - I make a point of never asking them to - but she did.

And I believe her, too.

(We sorted out that guide dogs have harnesses which are not around their necks so in future Emer can have that kind of harness).

Day 7: Good things

(59)We had hot porridge for breakfast, which was great, because the boiler was broken. After getting dressed in my (60) wool Laura Ashley skirt (all three of which fit again) and three long-sleeved tops, I poured boiling water on the last tiny smidge of exposed pipework outside and carefully ran a few well-spaced resets to allow it to drain properly. Then I called Rob to tell him about it (so he (61) went into the attic as soon as he got home and got the spare pipe insulation and fitted it) and cooked lunch. We had a teeny weeny post-lunch Incident which was more about error than naughtiness, and (62) both children were very good about it when the severity was explained to them. Also, (63) I did not get angry, so clearly I am getting better.

Just before we went out I realised that although the slow cooker had been fully loaded that mornign it wasn't actually plugged in, so I turned it on and (64) dinner was done enough to finish in a saucepan. It was an experimental chicken and leek thing, which would be better with seasoning but Rob and I each thought the other did that part. We'll season the leftovers before we make them into soup. (65) Organic-grown food means you don't miss seasoning as much anyway. After dinner (66) Rob made his first Madeira cake - if it holds icing well it might be our standard birthday cake from now on as the usual one is a pain to ice - and we conditioned Emer's hair as it's all fine and collar-length and prone to hideous tangling.

And after Emer's first night-time waking (67) I stitched the pocket back onto the front of my bag and (68) Rob and I had tea and cake together and talked about future house layouts When We Get Around To All The DIY.