gothams3rdrobin | (no subject)

We're having a nice quiet day today; Rowan's got his trainset out and we're watching High School Musical again. He's really taken to the movie - I think it's even surpassed Yellow Submarine as his favourite.

*grins as he sings along to 'The Start of Something New'*

Saturday was a very hectic day. We headed out in the car at quarter past seven and got to Sarah's house in Dawlish at about ten thirty. Poor Jessica's fracture is just above her knee, so her cast goes way up her thigh. She is allowed to walk on it, but at the moment she remembers the pain too clearly to be persuaded - though she's shuffling around, which is a good start. By late afternoon she'd gotten used to having us around again and was pretty much following Rowan everywhere.

We went for a walk down by the beach before Sarah had to go to work, and fed the ducks at the river leading down to the sea. They weren't very hungry though, so it was a bit of a wash. The wierdest thing about Dawlish's seafront is that the railway line runs right along the break-wall. Apparently when there's a storm during high-tide, the waves crash right over the tracks - I wouldn't want to be on the train at the time!

We left at about five or so, and Mam started fussing that the car was making strange noises while we were on the motorway through Somerset. It was only my third trip in the car, so I didn't have a clue. However, once we were over the Severn Bridge and almost to Newport, even I could hear something wasn't right. So we pulled over onto the hard shoulder to investigate - which wasn't easy as it was half past seven and the sun was going down - and spotted a hole in one of the pipes the air flows through (don't ask me which one as I'm clueless). We covered it up with a sock and some string, hoping that would see us home, but we'd only gone a few more meters before Mam decided she wasn't happy and called out the recovery service. We only had to wait half an hour, thankfully, and while we were waiting one of the Gwent police pulled up behind us to check we were okay. We're supposed to get out of the car and wait on the verge, but he understood that wasn't practical when you've a tired five-year old.

The recovery guy didn't think the air pipe was the problem, as he's seen cars travel around with that completely shot to hell, but he couldn't fix it at the roadside so he towed the car home. We had to go sit in the cab - which was exciting for Rowan, but since there was only room for two passengers we had to be a little illegal and wrap my seatbelt around both myself and him.

After stopping for a cuppa at Mam and Dad's, it was almost ten o'clock before we got home. I put Rowan to bed and checked to see if my VCR had taped Doctor Who and Any Dream Will Do for me that evening. Turns out my VCR was somehow tuned to the auxilary channel, so you can imagine my annoyance when I found I'd got three hours of blue screen! Thankfully, NTL/Virgin had already uploaded Who to the On Demand video library, so I've managed to see it *relief* I was well impressed - it's one of the best new companion episodes I think I've ever seen. Martha Jones is very likeable, so I don't think I'm going to miss Rose too much.

And as a local aside - very amusing to see a hospital (apparently Swansea's Morriston Hospital) where I'd expect to see City Hall. And what is it about The Friary, the street alongside my office, that they like filming down there so much? *grins*

Spent most of Sunday afternoon cleaning; my bathroom and kitchen look so much better now. Didn't do much with my living room before I lost the will to live, though *laughs* I so hate housework. I'm hoping I can get some sort of decorating done over my fortnight off work, though. Rowan's had several invites to play over the last few months, and I haven't returned a single one of them 'cause I'm just so ashamed of the state of the place. I could easily shove the stuff piled on the table into my room for the duration, but the flat's also only half decorated; Mam broke off wallpapering the living room when we moved in, 'cause the carpets came, but then we've never had time to finish the job. Then the builders left my bathroom and kitchen walls in a state after the refit. Plus Rowan's been pulling the paper off his bedroom wall. *sigh* It's a mess.

But I've got some paint for the bathrooms, and hopefully B&Q stock the wallpaper I need *crosses fingers* Now, if I can just get my arse in gear and actually do the work?

Heh, we'll see....