Growing older

... is no picnic, but my birthday began with a play-picnic presented to me by little Miss B. What an unexpected joy to spend the day with her - and, indeed, almost exclusively with her for the first few hours. (She'd woken several times in the night with teething.)

We had never seen ourselves still being houseguests at our daughter's this long, but such is the effect of lockdown. It's a strange existence, but nonetheless delightful to know we're being of help, as well as sharing the frequent magic moments of a one-year-old's development. (Yesterday, we were gobsmacked to see her combined, efficient use of a knife and fork - cutting her chicken, using her knife to put it on the back of her fork, and manoeuvre it to her mouth. She looked quite proud when she realised we were all watching her in admiration! Such little but significant achievements that we'd normally not have had the privilege of sharing!)

It's been a lovely birthday. Started with sunshine, which became misty enough for me to photograph the sun by our afternoon walk. It included a long video call with our son, and a delicious dinner cooked by Mr PP. And our daughter gave me a lovely present to play with (something I've fancied for a while, but never mentioned): a photography crystal ball. Time and opportunity may be slightly limited at the moment, but watch this space...! Fun awaits.