NOTHING...

... much to report this lunchtime.
The puppies eventually roused themselves sufficiently to do a spot of lead training in the back garden, but it didn't go well today. They certainly had their own agenda, so we called a halt and came back inside. All they really wanted to do was to get into all the nooks and crannies in the garden and all I wanted was for them to do as they were told. Not a good session then.
They're having lunch at the moment. I've put them back on turkey and rice kibble, but dry this time, and they seem to be really enjoying it after having a break for a few days. There's lots of very loud crunching going on in the kitchen right now.
No sign of any drain men - somehow that doesn't altogether surprise me.
No sign either of my car being ready - looks like it may be the beginning of next week now.
James is happy today because we've ordered two tickets for the Stereophonics gig as part of his birthday/Christmas present. (We've only got them so early because they went on sale today - don't imagine we're doing our Christmas shopping yet!) He now has to forget about the tickets and act all surprised on Christmas Day (which is also his birthday, for anyone who doesn't know!)
Yes, I didn't plan that one well did I? Although having said that, having a baby on Christmas Day WAS really wonderful, especially as Christina was allowed to play on the bed up until the last few minutes, and even then she saw her little brother before his cord had been cut. James was delivered by a fairy and a bumble bee - I kid you not - and NO I wasn't hallucinating because of too much pain relief! Actually I was the very first person to use the TENS machine for pain relief at Ashington Hospital. Can you believe that? Unfortunately, Christina, who was only four at the time, thought it was great fun to turn the dial up to 'high' and watch her Mum doing a sort of vertical lift off off the bed! I could still feel the sensation from the pads weeks after he was born!!! Anyway, the biggest drawback for ME of having a Christmas Day baby was that I missed my Christmas lunch. Charles and Christina had theirs in the canteen, and very nice it was too, apparently. Meanwhile I , having expended all that energy, had a measly piece of toast! Well, Happy Christmas to you too! However, we all went home on Boxing Day and I managed to cook a full Christmas dinner then - tough old stick, me!!!
Just as a matter of interest, on both occasions when his offspring have been born Charles has a) passed out with the excitement and b) had an unpleasant experience in a lift. As far as the passing out bit is concerned, I should have had an inkling that this was a likely outcome as he turned green when the cat had kittens just before Christina was born. From what I can remember it went something like this, 'Just one last push Sue and can someone clear Mr Ellis up off the floor?!' As for the lift, I can't remember all the details, but the first time in the John Radcliffe in Oxford, he pressed the wrong button and ended up in the service corridor and got hopelessly lost (which is unlike Charles as his sense of direction is usually amazing - but he was probably still in shock!) and the second time it was actually Christina who had hared off into the lift, pressed the button and disappeared leaving her still queasy father chasing the lift down the stairs to try and catch her before she disappeared down some corridor never to be seen again.
And while all this was going on I was totally oblivious, probably because I was watching what the midwife was about to do with a couple of metres of cat gut!!
( I must add that James was the BEST Christmas present EVER though, nothing could top that!)
How on earth did I get started on that topic? Oh yes - Stereophonics tickets. What do you reckon James - birthday or Christmas?