Progress Report

The hexodont has now learned to clap hands, and to heave himself into a standing position while clutching someone's leg or the bars of his den. He has not yet learned that it would be nicer/wiser to eat everything that is presented to him, rather than distractedly catapulting it on to the kitchen floor, but we persevere.

I have now finished reading Diane Duane's Wizardry trilogy [*see comments], and thought it rather good. In fact, it was so enjoyable and thought-provoking that it made some of the Diana Wynne Jones I have also read recently seem a bit trivial. I'm not sure I shall seek to acquire any more of Duane's books, as reading some more Madeleine L'Engle and Russell Hoban is a higher priority (so many authors, so little time...), but I'm very glad to have tried these.

But as next week's family gathering is in Exmoor, I feel I ought to take Lorna Doone as my holiday reading.

Return of the Bug

Not since I got food poisoning from the canapes at an office reception have I had such a violent disturbance of the gut as the Squirmle's bug gave me last night: at least it was a short, sharp shock. Between 8 p.m. and midnight I made 6 visits as my lower intestine expelled its contents wetly, then at 1.30 a.m., after visit no. 7, I had a stupendous chunder, and in a few moments felt much better. I know: you really didn't need to know that, but I just had to mark the occasion for posterity.

A friend consoles me with the thought that, once your immune system has been hardened up by all the nursery bugs, you may hope for a couple of illness-free years before school starts the process again.

Bugs, books, and babies

Recovering from the last bug brought home by the Squirmle, we are now confronted with the prospect of another. He deposited a deeply-coloured blueberry residue across his cot at some point last night. Hoping that this was an isolated and cough-related incident, we packed him off to nursery, but they phoned late in the morning to say that he had been sick, and brought up his entire breakfast. Oh joy! We shall have to treat him as infectious for at least 24 hours, which means no Toddlers Club tomorrow.

Our ranking in the LT Largest Libraries Zeitgeist has slipped from peak position of No. 353, as other users have been beavering away. The list of similar libraries has been curiously fluid, presumably because adding even a dozen books subtly changes the statistics.