*a weekend in pictures*

...well, not really a representation of the whole weekend, just selected parts thereof!! And, as usual, I've realised that I've forgotten to upload my photos to flickr, so bear with me a sec whilst I faff about doing that...see, almost imperceptible, wasn't it!!

The girlies went off to a birthday party in Malvern yesterday afternoon, and just as they were getting ready to go, I decided to take a few snaps as the sun was out, and it seemed silly not to. Caught this one of them just before they gave each other a real smacker on the lips (which I missed!):



And since I was out in the garden with the camera, I snapped a couple of photos of my chrysanthemums, which over the past week have really opened beautifully:



My free afternoon was filled mostly with boring old housework, necessitated by having friends for lunch today. I did, however, take a whole hour and a half out, somewhat guiltily, to watch 'Letter to Brezhnev', which came free with yesterday's Guardian. I hadn't watched it for years, and it didn't disappoint. I don't think I've seen it since before I went to university in Liverpool, and it took me right back to my student days, although it's a fairly bleak portrayal of life in Liverpool, and, six years on from when the film was made, when I started at university, the City was already experiencing something of a rejuvenation. I loved my three years in Liverpool, and I am delighted that it has been chosen to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008 - I will certainly be paying a return visit.

We had a fairly leisurely start to the day this morning; the children were up before us, and it was only their plaintive cries of "we're hungry!" that forced Ed and I to roll out of our pit. Roll on the time when they can bring us breakfast in bed. I'm just kidding...sort of...

Our guests arrived extremely promptly at 12.30; now, I don't mind guests arriving on time, but I am guaranteed still to be getting ready five seconds before their arrival, so I generally prefer it if they're maybe five or ten minutes late!! As it happens, I was just tweaking my fringe into place as they crunched onto the drive, and by the time they'd unloaded themselves, their two children, plus all the paraphernalia that a travelling baby requires these days, I was ready, smiling at the door to greet them, trying to calm two overexcited blondies.

Lunch was a culinary triumph. Actually, lunch was just about passable...the parsnips were roasted almost to a cinder, the peas were still slightly chilly, and the crackling stubbornly refused to crackle. So it wasn't so much crackling as soggling. The dog enjoyed it.

After lunch, there was much cuddling of babies, and playing in the garden. A, on the swing, her attire reminiscent of someone auditioning for a place in a 1970's glam rock group:


Observant viewers will note the wellies on the wrong feet...


The younger blondie and I enjoying a book together...


F, taking the job of baby minding very seriously...


A, watching the t.v. whilst baby minding...

Hope everyone has had a peaceful weekend. Wishing you all a good week ahead.