I (almost) have my pass stamped for my first hike of the year. Hopefully I should be hitting the wilds somewhere in Britain around the 10th of February for a few nights of getting battered by the elements in some remote glen. I have full confidence in my gear and experience, but given the current weather conditions perhaps one of these might be advisable...

 

Making the planning sweeter is that I'm injury-free at the moment. The last eight-weeks have seen one back injury, a shoulder strain and two sprained fingers - all now healed. Not a bad count considering the amount of booze I put away over Christmas. A brief touch of norovirus also put paid to my festive weight gain, so things are really looking good.

 

I wish I could say the same about my latest book. My total contribution to the world of bad literature in the last week is two words 'Chapter Three'. Not exactly the stuff publishing contracts are made of.

 

My youngest is currently settling in at nursery - which means she'll soon have lots of nice new friends and I'll be even poorer. Still, she's cute and the bank's understanding (at the moment). She's also used Christmas to expand her vocabulary, so at eleven months she has, amongst other words:

 

Mama

Dada

Cat

Bye-bye

Good girl

Thank you (well, 'oo', but she knows what she means)

Hello ('lo)

 

For some reason she still calls her sister Ga instead of Josie. Which reminds me, if this blog is still around in ten years here's a message for prospective boyfriends looking to date my eldest:

 

She eats her bogies and really, really enjoys them.

 

Told you I'd get you back, Josie.