A hardware sort of day.

Paddy had a bad night and so did I. I slept late this morning and didn't leave home until after ten. Just before I left I got a call from a courier company saying that they had my Dell and where was I. I gave them directions and left for work.

Despite my sore back, drippy nose and shivers, I had an OK day and when I did go home there was my new machine sitting in four boxes in the hall -- Monitor, CPU, Speakers, Printer/Scanner. My two fears -- that it wouldn't be the computer I ordered or that it would be defective in some way were groundless. Everything seems to be in order.

We also had an early christmas in that Sally's mum is going to stay with her sister over the holidays so she gave us all our presents today. Paddy thought that it was christmas and was ready to tear through all the other presents, but he was restrained. I got a shaving mirror on an extendable arm and a new cordless drill. I'm always borrowing hers and she took great pains to point out that this didn't mean 'stop borrowing mine'.

When I put him to bed he made me laugh by telling me made up bedtime stories about swordmen and princesses. And his own re-working of the three little pigs which involved Bob the Builder helping the pigs to build their houses and carry them somewhere picturesque.

So Sally is home from her last class of the term and I have only two days of work left before January 5th, so we're winding down nicely.

And that will have to do.