Hi ho, Hi ho...it's off to ( update at 5am!)

Paris they go...... at 4am in the morning. I will run them to the local airport and come back here to spend some time with my big girl who I have missed, because she hasn't been here and we will have a girls night in. It might kill me because she talks, a lot, without taking breath. She also likes girlie stuff. I am so disinterested in all that jazz that really my name should be Barry, or Troy or something very ungirlie. But tomorrow, because when I sort of casually mentioned it might be nice if she came home, to me, for a day or 3, she leapt with excitement and has called twice to see what time she should be here to begin our girls night in. Tomorrow I shall buy face packs and hair colours and stuff like that and I might even let her wax my upper lip if I am feeling very brave.
I only have one girl child and she's pretty much a woman child now. She was a hard work and bit insane teeny girl child and it was all I could do to not sell her to the gypsies or petition for the re-opening of the workhouse when she was growing up.
As a preteen I would actually have given her to the gypsies and thrown in a year's supply of valium.
Her early teens are a blur of breath holding and praying for guidance, patience, tolerance, endurance, and several other 'ances'. Where I strongly considered leaving home to join the gypsies myself leaving her to live my life because darn it if she obviously had all the answers that I lacked.
She hit 17 and dear, sweet life if she didn't sort of become a bit nice overnight. She will never be calm, or demure, she has a gob on her like a fog horn but she is really the dearest girl. I am eternally grateful that I had her and even more grateful that she is the only girl. I am still holding my breath because she IS 17, not 27 and happily and securely married to a kind and gentle man with slight hearing loss and infinite patience.
I can do one evening of fluff and preening, listen to the details of her life because in this day and age it could be considered a miracle that she wants to tell me. People all around me smile at her because she is so open and honest when she could be sneaky and underhand. She is an open book and one that has you turning the pages at a breathtaking speed, with one eye shut because you're a bit afraid of what you're about to read.
So, no visitors, no husband but a Sophie....balance about right then. 3 days until the travellers return. I wonder if I can get anywhere close to sorting this house out in that time.
Grandpa is a hoarder, my kitchen is filled with sachets of ketchup, mustard, sugar, sweeteners. There are various bags of things all over the side in there....cakes and scones and more cakes and cookies that no-one will eat but he keeps buying. I try to syphon things away but its like the magic porridge pot, as fast as I get rid of it, it gets replaced.
There is drama with Jose and lovely Kara but that's not my tale to tell. Suffice to say that a pony kicked Jose yesterday, hard enough to leave it's hoof print on his knee...I am wishing it's aim had been a bit higher. Does that say enough?
Seth is a bit of a monster having had an overload of attention, sugar and activity. I am looking forward to some calm time over the next few days.
Isaac is Isaac whatever happens, whoever is here, I really like that.
Elijah is hysterical and more and more showing his personality.
At Widecombe yesterday he was a stinker, jumped in the bowls of water left for dogs to drink..when questioned on the correctness of such an action he said
" oh, never mind" thumbed towards a random passer by and then " that man let me off" !!!
Seth is into teasing, he will say to Isaac
" Isaac hates Spiderman" and Isaac will howl and protest " I DON'T I DON'T!!!"
Seth said to Eli ( in that sing song voice that teasers and taunters adopt)
"Eli hates lions" ( which he loves, with a passion)
Eli replied ( in matching sing songy voice)
" Seff hates dobermans" ( Seth's passion is dogs at the moment and if Eli had only managed to say Beagle in place of doberman he would have caused an uproar)
Gobsmacked silence, then guffaws from all grown ups and even a begrudging smirk from Seth. You've met your match Sethmeister, watch out boy!

I didn't take any pictures today, except for a few of the black swans at Dawlish. I took them with my cell phone because I am almost bored of taking pictures and so left my camera at home. I ad forgotten about them until right now, so they aren't downloaded. Sorry. ( actually I'm not, but it seemed polite to say I am)
I may take pictures tomorrow, who can tell. If I do, you will get to see them, you can bank on that.

I just came back from the airport....3 of the happy travellers are on their way to Paris, the 4th, Jose is still here, he didn't go...poor Kara. He is going home today.