Items for sale and a final family gathering

Our unwanted antique chair

 Our new fridge-freezer arrived on time yesterday. It's very smart, but heavy, and I admire the way the two guys carried it using shoulder harnesses to take all the weight so their hands could be used purely for guidance as they manoeuvred past the many obstructions in our hallway. Also yesterday, we continue our massive clear-out of the house and garage. We have posted pictures on Facebook of a dog cage and two nearly new mattresses, but no one wants them even for gratis. I have also posted a fine Victorian antique upholstered chair on Gumtree, but no one is interested. I guess they'll all end up at the charity shop. 

Matthew, Rosie and Arwen came down for a day on Sunday. They are about to leave King's Lynne for a chance to live in Middlesbrough, potentially a Hong Kong style boom town following the government's new initiative to turn it into a freeport. They are certainly looking forward to the prospect of moving and prospering as they prepare for the birth of a new child. Arwen already has a place booked in playschool to learn the skills of socialising after the year of isolation we have just been through. 

Ann and I amuse Arwen

She has probably not seen anyone outside the home except as face-masked anonymous figures, hiding any smile of greeting or look of approval from the eyes of a child keen to learn how her presence influences the world. We took them all for lunch to a new Lithuanian restaurant and enjoyed a first-class meal. Arwen remains a little resistant to a grandad fuss, even with her favourite toys and Grannie Ann trying to divert her. But she is definitely getting better with me: the tears are much slower to form and she is wriggling less. I just hope the distance following the great trek north will not cause a relapse in these recent grandad gains.

August has ended as much of summer, grey, drizzly, with a cold N-NE breeze. We hope for a brighter autumn. Today, Ann and I returned for a late lunch/early dinner and remained impressed with the décor, the service and the menu. I gave the waitress a good tip afterwards. She said, "are you sure?" so I said, "no, give it back!" Her look of astonishment surprised me, so I immediately tried to make up by saying of course I meant it, and I wouldn't have given it if I didn't. But Ann was not amused and said no one laughs at my humour. I must try to curtail it, but sometimes my tongue runs away with my common sense.