Today, we are planning a road trip. Sarah is antsy to get her mobility back after giving birth to Lucy. She is using our visit as an excuse to try out some day trips. We are planning to go to a weaving site which Eileen and Sarah have scoped out a bit. Eileen has only limited interest in it because it seems to be mostly retail sales of stuff woven by machine not by hand. However, it’s only about ten minutes out of our way. So it would be a practical add on to our excursion.

The main destination is William Morris’s Kelmscott Manor. Sarah has limited interest in Morris designs having dealt with commercial sales of them via her past employment. I’m hoping that despite this she will find Morris’s house a worthwhile destination. At any rate, it will get her out of the house with Lucy on a field trip which is the main goal.
Matthew is still learning to balance Dad duties and his job, both of which take place in his and Sarah’s home. Our trip away today will give him a chance to catch up on work and possibly even nap a bit.

He had a productive day trip yesterday. He took a bus to Aylesbury. From there he took a train to his Dad’s home. While visiting his Dad he was able to sort out several tasks (like changing his Wifi server and helping his Dad get oriented to his new fangled portable oxygen tank). He seemed exhausted but satisfied when he returned last night.

It was fun helping Eileen with Lucy while Sarah slept yesterday. Baby stuff comes back quickly. Plus Eileen did the lion’s share, I mostly helped out but did get to hold the baby quite a bit during this time. It is fascinating to see a four month old’s perceptions and behavior. Lucy will be a bright one. That’s obvious.

I even strummed the guitar and sang later after Sarah awoke. Lucy was sleeping soundly wrapped in the baby contraption (sling?) in Eileen’s arms while Sarah made supper. We all agreed that the singing was largely for Sarah. Hot tunes included “Froggie went acourtin” and “Obla di Obla da.”

This is the first time I have picked up a guitar in ages. I used Sarah’s nylon string which needs new strings of course since it doesn’t get too much use.

I don’t think I’m going to lose weight on this trip. Sooprise sooprise. I have a check-up after I return. I will probably weigh distressingly higher. It’s worth it to see Sarah, Matthew, Lucy, and England.

I’m working off line again. Sarah suggested I try to tether in to the phone from the living room. I attempted this, but the phone insists on going off wifi in order to tether. This makes that particular maneuver impossible. I’ll put this online after Eileen wakes. We said we would leave in about an hour or so with lots of flexibility in getting started today.