A day which started at 5:20 a.m. (Jack was very excited about his birthday) and stayed just this side of totally frantic. Lift Chi Up, some urgent admin, downstairs to make the fifteen-shaped cake, got it in the oven just in time for it to be cooked before I had to leave for printmaking – except it is a different oven and I’ve never made it in 15-shaped tins before. A tense ten minutes when it ought to have been cooked but the skewer kept coming out dirty – then suddenly it was done with just enough time to walk very briskly to printmaking. Lino-cutting turned out to be easier and more fun than I expected and my design (of five strawberries) worked quite well. Sadly next week is the last class – it has been fun to do something completely different.

Sports day was postponed (what did I say about the organisational abilities of Katie’s teachers?) and is now re-scheduled for Thursday, by which time it will probably be raining. Took advantage of having my afternoon back to get lots of jobs done – last minute shopping and present wrapping for Jack’s birthday tomorrow, buying nice paper for my print-making workshop, collecting the moulds for the 15-shaped cake and having my toenails painted sky blue. Didn’t do any eye exercises (sfx guilty expression), but have good intentions for tomorrow.

Second day of vision training with Leo Angart. Way too hot to be stuck in an overcrowded training room but … Nick already needs to pick up some lower strength glasses and is confident of being able to do without completely within a couple of weeks. Noticeable improvement in my ability to read the computer menus from across the room and astigmatism completely gone after several repeats of the Tibetan Wheel exercise. Quite a knackering weekend though. I’m pleased I don’t have to work tomorrow – just attend Katie’s sports day (usually a shambles – Katie’s teachers not being known for their ability to organise their way out of a wet paper bag), wrap a big pile of presents, and make a 15-shaped cake for Jack’s birthday on Tuesday!

Started getting to grips with IQTell, took Katie to piano and walked Sherlock on the heath. Some watering and dead-heading in the evening. Bought Tracey Thorne’s Tinsel & Lights. Ordered a trampoline for the children. Looking forward to vision training with Leo Angart tomorrow!

The hybrid teas we planted at the end of winter are doing well.

Admin, doctor’s appointment, Selfridges, dinner at the Savoy, bargain tickets to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (with Robert Lindsay).

Decided to get a taxi from Selfridges to the Savoy as the traffic was really heavy and I didn’t think the bus would make it in time. The taxi driver asked if I’d had a good day and I thought about it for a moment and said ‘Well, in my book, any day that ends with me jumping in a cab and saying “Take me to the Savoy” is a pretty good one. This seemed to put him in a good mood and, in the end, he got me there so quickly I had time to pop into the Savoy Theatre and score tickets in the 5th row of the stalls for 1/4 of the normal price. Sadly my inadequate (non-existent) research had failed to reveal that this production of Scoundrels is a musical! It wasn’t terrible and Robert Lindsay is always worth watching but I’m pleased I didn’t pay full price.

Admin, gardening, playing with the dog, laundry, fruit loaf.

I put Sherlock’s profile on a canine dating site called Borrow My Doggy, which matches people with dogs with people who would like to have a dog in their life but can’t own one for some reason (no garden, landlord won’t allow pets etc) and he has already been favourited by several prospective dog borrowers. Very exciting.

I’m normally a bit unresponsive if the children come downstairs wanting attention after we’ve been through the agreed bedtime routine, but I took pity on Katie this evening as I had to admit that the smell of the fruit loaf baking was really mouth-watering. She came down just as it was getting cool enough to cut, scarfed down a couple of still-warm slices thickly buttered and toddled off back to bed as happy as a clam. My sisters will no doubt remember the smell of Mum’s fruit loaf cooking and agree that refusing Katie a slice would have amounted to cruel and unusual punishment!

Printmaking workshop – printed from our relief blocks and started designing our lino cuts.

Day 4: A very useful and enjoyable learning set meeting with Katelijn van Nes.