Putting away the laundry

I have been trying hard to give intangibles this cycle - time, patience, love. That sort of stuff. I actually would find it easier just to go out and buy things, but this is what I need to do. So last week my husband took the kids up to London. We had a complicated day - I had to go to Exeter, our nearest city, for radiotherapy in the morning, and he was working. So my friend Ann picked up me and the kids, dropped the kids at my mum's, husband picked them up, drove an hour to the railway station and then took them up to London on the train.

All complicated enough, but of course my angel babies managed to add to the complications. When we woke up it was hailing and they wanted to go out and see the hail. Fair enough. I love that they want to experience all kinds of weather. Then they came back in and had breakfast, got dressed in their nice clean going to London outfits - and then disappeared off again. I was distracted by clearing up, and then went out after them to find them down at our neighbour's cowshed helping to feed the calves - covered in mud and cow food.

Had to change the boy, and worse, had to wash my daughter's only thick fleecy by hand and spin it and take it over to my Mum's to be dried. I was annoyed at the time, but it's quite a funny story now.

Anyhow, I was thinking about all of this, about how much they had enjoyed seeing the hail, and feeling the hailstones - so cold, so wet - and how much they had enjoyed being with the calves, and how easy it would have been (so much easier!) for me to say "no, stay in, sit down, keep clean" and they would have missed all that experience. I gave them that.

Did a really nice give this weekend. I bought a recipe book called "Bake" by a woman called Rachel Allen. I don't know if she's reached anywhere outside of England/Ireland, but she does great recipe books. I bought 2 copies because they were on special offer and I was planning to give one to one of my sister's in law for Christmas. The big debate was which one - I have 6. We had some friends to stay for the weekend - Mark and Sarah - and I realised Sarah would love this book. She loves to bake and we often fantasise about spending a day together just baking. It was great to be able to fish it out and hand it to her. She was delighted.

The husband of my friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer rang tonight and mentioned how much she had appreciated the cards I sent her.

Gave 2 thank you cards today - one to a friend who organised a produce sale at her place of work, so that different local organisations could raise money, and one to a friend's 18 year old son who drove me to my radiotherapy last week. I enclosed some money for petrol for him, too.