The girls were here for a visit......

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be woken up at dark o' clock by a little girl saying "Wake up, Moreglanny, please can you make me some bleakfast?" 6am. Give me strength. I muttered something about counting to 30, knowing full well that she couldn't count that far. So I counted. And tried to get 30seconds more sleep. 

It didn't work, so up we got, put on the clothes and came downstairs to make breakfast, (and coffee) and play. And we both did out make-up, of course. Missy always wants to join in, and she also joined in the cooking as well. "Can I help?" "Of course, sweetie. Up you get." 

 The sun shone yesterday for a while, and, after doing some shopping for Ann, we ventured into the garden to blow bubbles. And a great time was had by all. Just seeing her in the garden in summer was a delight. She is more beautiful than anything growing out there, and so observant too. She knew that roses have thorns, she watched the bees buzzing about.

 And the fun continued inside too. At lunch time, I had an aqua class, so Ann, Missy and Uncle David went up to the Rec for some fun on the swings and slides, and by the time I got home, they were ready for another adventure into town for a little more shopping.

And then home to play again. I have no idea where 3 year olds get the energy. But what a delightful age this is. I remember so well how my own children were so totally fascinating at 3. You could literally see their minds stretching and growing in front of your eyes. The imagination is just amazing.

 And so is the daring to do stuff. Yes, you can do it, Missy - jump, little one! Jump! Climb, swing, leap......

Oh, how I love her.

So this morning, I watched her playing with the old F P little people, with the hospital, the wild west town, an aeroplane, a bus, a helicopter and other bits like the swing set and roundabout from the old school. And there was a trip in an aeroplane to "Swizzerland", then the bus to the house, and then playing on the swings. One fell out, needed a helicopter trip to the hospital, x-rays and an operation, up in the lift to the bed and Moregranny was just fascinated. And let me tell you, FP made the biggest mistake of their lives when they made the Little People so huge and the sets so enormous. Gone are all the fine motor co-ordination opportunities, and everything is scaled down in imaginary play too.

I wrote all this above on Wednesday, just after they set off home. It seems ages ago now. I just loved having the girls to visit, and now that Ann has made the journey and survived, hopefully there will be many more visits too.

While they were here, Ann tried on my wedding dress. Doesn't she look stunning in it? I am considerably taller, and it was too long, but it still looks wonderful.

So, where are we now....Friday, and the weekend is hours away. Don't forget there is a blue moon tonight, and the next opportunity to see one will be in 2015, according to National Geographic. I hope the clouds get out of the way. Last night had a definite autumnal air to it. the temps plummeted and we were not warm. I went to aquazumba early and then David and I ventured into town to try to sort out new phones, bank accounts etc etc blah blah. The phone was a doddle. The bank accounts a nightmare of computer generated ridiculous-ness, and forgive the new word I just invented. It was all sorted by this morning, but I arrived home at 3 yesterday and fell asleep in the rocker and woke after 8pm to find my son had gone to badminton and I have no idea what he had for supper. However, he is, and was, quite capable of sorting himself out while his aged mother snoozes. All that was missing from the aged mother thing was the sleeping cat. Which we don't have.

Cats? I think my brain has gone into meltdown..

The Paralympics started with a bang on Wednesday night, and the nation is back in Olympic euphoria. Our papers are full of comments about the abysmal lack of coverage in the USA, and, given that there are 216 amazing US Paralympians, it is a disgrace. We are lucky here and get to see hundreds of hours, and everyone is watching, talking about it and cheering them on. This is the best attended Paralympics in history, and virtually every ticket has been sold. That just shows how wonderful the whole Paralympics ideal is. I wish you could all watch too. The heats are even more exciting, and when you watch people with disabilities rise to levels we could only reach in our dreams, it is the most fantastic example to set for generations to come. If they can do it, so can I....

So I spent half the opening ceremony going through the different sports to see what I could enter next time in Rio. Seriously - some of the people in the shooting are in their 60s..... I would need a wheelchair to take part in the parade though, and, sigh, I refuse to go in a wheelchair right now. Except to catch planes. Flights of fancy. So the past few days have meant TV on at dawn to watch as much as possible and then there are more options on line too. I just LOVE it.

Glynis is there at Olympic Park as I speak - they were in the stadium this morning to watch the athletics. Fantastic.

I had better get this posted, my friends, or it will sit here for another 4 days. My friend popped in for coffee, we had a discussion re American politics, candidates and presidents among many other things, which you do not want to know about, and now I must watch cycling. I will be back.