A year in books - 2006

Books I enjoyed in 2006, in no particular order:

• Gone with the Windsors by Laurie Graham
• Love Rules by Freya North
• Where or When by Anita Shreve
• A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
• The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
• The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn
• The A to Z of Us by Jim Keeble (sadly, not as good as the brilliant My Fat Brother)
• Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
• The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth by Kaz Cooke
• Your Pregnancy Bible by Anne Deans
• Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult (but now I'm done - one Jodi Picoult is quite enough for any one year)
• The Chronicles of Llyr (again) by Lloyd Alexander
• The Magician's Guild trilogy by Trudi Canavan

Best book of 2006:

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Worst book finished in 2006:

• Some dire thing that Sue left behind (in disgust, I believe - and I've now inflicted it on someone else through the CancerResearch shop on Kilburn High Rd) involving a little girl being 'kidnapped' by her father during a marriage meltdown

Books started and abandoned:

• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (just could not go on after page 3)
• Birds without Wings by Louis de Bernieres (actually this is really interesting but too big for handbag and reading on tube - will come back to it)
• Perfume by Patrick Suskind - really oddly written and fascinating but too dark for my mood at New Year - will come back to it)

Books written to second draft: 0.4 as at end of 2005, no progress in 2006 (a secondary project for 2007!)

As if we didn't know we have too many stairs...

Yesterday I missed the last step before the roof terrace, and in an effort not to fall on Bump, I did myself an injury instead. Turns out to be just a badly sprained ankle, but I spent a fun hour and a half at A & E being prodded and x-rayed, and worrying about how I would manage to give birth with a fractured metatarsal.

The most worrying bit was when I overheard the charge nurse saying to a junior: 'Go up to the first floor and see if they've got any crutches. We haven't got any left, and if we get any broken legs tonight we'll just have to discharge them at this rate.' Very reassuring.

Still, I did eventually get a nice leaflet about what to do about a sprained ankle and I got a taxi called for me to go home in, so I can't complain too much. Admittedly I had to hop along to the lifts and go up to the ground floor where the guy who calls taxis is as the A & E reception desk staff wouldn't call one themselves but hey...

Anyway, one packet of frozen corn and a restful evening ordering Jules about from the couch later, it is much improved. Had to sleep downstairs last night but managed the stairs this morning to loll in the sun on our bed.

It's forecast to be 18 degrees this weekend and the sun is streaming in. We've cancelled our house hunting trip to south-east London and we're enjoying the novelty of a free Saturday.

Snow on the roof terrace

Snow on the roof terrace, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Out to dinner after my work leaving do

Jules and Rac at the Thai Pot, originally uploaded by Racmol.

I'm the one with the big grin...a free woman! Long may it last...

Friday Squirrel Blogging

Squirrel, Kilburn Grange, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Global warming?

Snowdrop, 17 January, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Wikipedia says a snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring - but since when is 17 January spring?

This blog's title, Spicy Basil and other fine things from Thailand

Some people may be wondering what 'SAHM SAHM but different' actually means.

"Same same" is an English saying that Thai people use, and it's used like this.

'So...zucchinis and courgettes - are they different?'

'No, same same.'

'OK... what about oranges and mandarins?'

'Ah...same same - but different.'

And of course SAHM stands for Stay At Home Mum.

Last night we went to Thai on the River for Jules's birthday, which was pleasant enough except that I had to ask three times for more water before any arrived. This affected my enjoyment a LOT as I was in the middle of a very hot curry at the time!

The whole experience made us appreciate our local thai place, Spicy Basil, even more than we already do. For a start, they make everything fresh in front of you, mains cost £4.20 and they're happy to do a pad thai without peanuts on request. And the food is just so good - far and away better than Thai on the River, which is a lot more expensive and doesn't provide as quick and friendly service.

So yay for Spicy Basil, the Queen of Kilburn High Road!

Conclusive proof - we're having a cat!

Our baby, like its mother, is clearly a cat person. I know this because, while I was waiting for Jules to have his hair cut on Saturday, the hairdresser's spaniel jumped up on the couch and sat on my lap.

Maybe this panicked Bump, maybe s/he was just in a playful mood, but the next thing the spaniel was rearing up, having received a sharp kick in the ribs! I thought it best to transfer the dog to the floor at this point - but I was very proud!

Sunrise from our kitchen window

Sunrise 2, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Bump's first outfit...

Bump's first outfit, originally uploaded by Racmol.

...plus some scary pregnancy photos are up on flickr to celebrate the 32 week mark. Not long now!

Antenatal classes - good clean fun

We had our first antenatal class last night and it was very entertaining and not at all scary.

I didn't get off to the best start, squashing one of the realistic newborn baby dolls as I sat down on the couch! Then I temporarily forgot one of the three things I was meant to know about the person I was introducing to the group, but at least everyone laughed.

Each couple (everyone was part of a couple) were given a baby doll at the start of the class and told we had to treat it like a real baby while we were in class, (i.e. support the head, in particular) for the rest of the course.

Our baby is the freaky-looking one, with its hands stretched out zombie-style, but at least we didn't get the crying one that you have to comfort to make the noise stop.

The funniest thing was the tea break. J had the baby so I got the drinks. He asked for a black tea, so I thought I'd better have cold water - which was fine, as I don't like caffeine at night anyway. There may have been decaf tea on offer, I'm not sure.

I came back to J and the guy he was talking to with a water, a black tea and two jaffa cakes. I put the tea down on the kitchen bench and gave J the jaffa cake. Then I put my drink down too and took the baby so he could drink his tea.

To pick up my drink, I had to wedge my jaffa cake between two fingers of the baby-holding hand. So I put the water down again and carefully transferred the jaffa cake to the other hand, trying hard not to get melted chocolate on the baby's suit.

Other guy: You did that very skillfully - and I like how you prioritised the safety of the jaffa cake!

Our leader is really nice and not at all Thou Shalt Do It This Way. There were no scary videos - but from now on we'll watch one 'normal' birth a week - water birth, caesarean, home birth etc.

I've got one of the latest due dates in the class. Some people are due before the last class and noone is having a home birth. So weekend homework is packing our hospital bag...

Henry the historic horse struggles under an uneven load

Jules and Isla on the historic merrygoround, Jardin des Tuileries, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Give the people what they want - that's my motto. When I blogged Jules falling off a tiny plastic chair and nearly giving a cyclo driver a hernia in Vietnam, the comments flooded in from all over the place.

So here's another girth-related story, complete with illustration. The sign above the historic merry-go-round at Jardin des Tuileries said children under seven must be accompanied by an adult - but I don't think it meant on the same horse! Poor Henry probably hadn't carried such an uneven load in all his 135 years. I particularly like his startled expression and the way his front legs are rearing up and his back legs nearly dragging on the floor...

The Teacups, Disneyland Paris

The Teacups, Disneyland Paris, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Isla turns FOUR

Isla turns 4, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Ice skating at Somerset house

Ice skating at Somerset house, originally uploaded by Racmol.

At lunchtime, after Trafalgar Square and before the Tower of London. Yesterday they took in Big Ben, the London Eye, the changing of the guard, Downing Street and Westminster Abbey.

Did someone say it's impossible to see anything if you've got kids with you?

Full house

Four Heath-Dyers, one sheep and one panda present and correct - and asleep upstairs. Apparently it's been a very long Wednesday...

Six months pregnant

Bump 1, originally uploaded by Racmol.

...looks a lot like this. More detail on flickr for anyone who desperately wants to know.

Pheasant, potato and artichoke dauphinois and braised cabbage with pancetta

Jules has been badgering me all afternoon to post his culinary efforts of yesterday, so here they are. The dauphinois and the cabbage concoction were delicious, even though the pheasant dried out a bit while waiting for its accompaniments...

PS - a photo of the replacement ring is now up on flickr.

Friday Wombat Blogging

Wombat, originally uploaded by Racmol.

Some people have complained about the silence, so here's an update on our very exciting November.

We've been looking for a house. We nearly bought a flat in Queen's Park, after seeing it on a fabulous sunny Sunday morning with the doors flung open from the living room into the garden - but then we went back at night and came to our senses. Something about the way the resident cat picked her way carefully between the furniture made my fantasy of a small child gambolling across the living room evaporate.

So now we're going to explore the wilds of South London, where we can afford more than 60m2 which - let's face it - is just not enough.

Jules thinks the baby can recognise the sound of a violin now - mainly because it woke up and starting waving its limbs about during an episode of Grey's Anatomy, which featured a long violin solo while a professional violinist was having heart surgery.

We went to see Arsenal thump Liverpool a week or two back, which was excellent.

We are in intensive testing and fixing of the new content management system at work. So far I've checked about 100 web pages in the new system and I've ticked the 'page ok' box 12 times, so I think it's safe to say the launch date of 11 December is looking unlikely.

I picked up my new engagement ring last week, designed by me to the value of the 3 rings I lost when we were burgled and paid for by the insurance company. It's impressively sparkly - and has to be listed separately on the house insurance. The band is a bit thicker than my wedding ring, but apparently upgrading your wedding ring is frowned upon for some reason so I will just have to hope everyone is so dazzled by the sparkle they don't notice...

Looking a bit more like a person...

Ultrasound - 21 weeks 5 days, originally uploaded by Racmol.