Giant Steps

Beth has been making great strides this week – literally. She started the week taking the occasional tentative step, generally followed by the realisation that she wasn’t holding anything and a startled collapse to the floor. Yesterday, though, I watched her take about ten steps walking from the table to a toy. I had to restrain myself, because exclamations of excitement always distract her and send her crashing to her bum, but it was a thrilling moment for me.

Frances, Simon and Maya are still enjoying their trip – they went down to Jervis Bay this morning and will be back on Friday. I hope the weather is OK for them, and that they manage to spot a whale or two. It was great to have the weekend with them and we managed to achieve a fair bit – next weekend is their last here, so it’s Coogee and the Bayswater Brasserie to round things off.

I have finally finished reading Little Dorrit; I started it weeks ago, and I’m normally through a book in a few days. Partly it was down to the length, but impenetrable plotting played a part in my dawdling. It’s probably the least enjoyable Dickens that I’ve read – woeful sentimentality, casual racism, a general sense of gloom – but some of the writing is brilliant, the critique of capitalism is startlingly relevant and, as always, the sense of place is wonderful.

Onto Invasion of the Body Snatchers now – the first of a long sequence of short books, I think.

I don’t think that I ask too much/
But maybe I’m just out of touch