We all have tough days, sometimes tough weeks. And sometimes you start to wonder if you're loosing your grip, maybe just a bit. But it's reassuring to know that you can always look to our friend Mr Mugabe and be reassured of your sanity.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7271611.stm

Spending spree continues?

I woke up this morning and thought... I need to get a blackberry. I feel like I'm so behind on all my church/family history commitments and projects. I have some time at home in the evenings to work on things, but often by the time I get home I'm tired and just want to chat to my roommates or go to bed. With a blackberry, I can work on things on the go. Check my email. Keep a calendar that I have access to at all times. Have a full list of contacts with me. I checked it out online and it would be affordable to buy from my wireless network. I just need to make sure it wouldn't mean a shocking increase in my monthly subscription. If that's OK, then I think I might just get it!

By they way, I love the TV, the furniture and everything else I've acquired recently so no regrets.

J and Grannie in NYC

Jonathan and Grannie just had a New York City adventure! They arrived - sans Grandpa unfortunately - on Friday and jetted off to Salt Lake City this morning. The weekend went something like this:

Friday
J and Grannie fly from London to New York. They are met at JFK by the limo service and are whisked into Manhattan, arriving at the hotel just as Genevieve comes barrelling out of the subway. Grannie and J are introduced to all Genevieve's roommates. They make a great impression. J succombs to jetlag and falls asleep on the giant lovesac at 7pm.

Saturday
J wakes up at 2.30 am announcing that in England it's time to get up. Auntie Genevieve has been sleeping for three hours and has no intention of getting up. They get a drink of water, and Genevieve lies down on Jonathan's little camp bed on the floor, so he is forced to get into her far more comfortable bed. This does the trick, Jonathan falls asleep and Auntie Genevieve doesn't die. J wakes again at 6.45 and Genevieve accepts her fate. They play Top Trumps - Wonders of the World and watch Top Gear Italian Supercar Challenge.

J, Grannie and Jonathan go to brunch in Tribeca with Genevieve's roommates, Rich Call and Dr. Steve (the dishy doc from Peru). Genevieve is served a frightening mound of pancakes and Jonathan half-heartedly picks at his eggs Benedict. Only Grannie knows what became of her breakfast, as it disappeared in a flash!

On the way to breakfast, Jonathan takes his first ride on the subway, and after breakfast he makes his first trip in a NYC yellow taxi cab. They head to the World Trade Center to meet engineer and part time tour guide Jason Robertson for a tour of his offices in Tower 7.

Jonathan knows all about skyscrapers, so Jason shows him all the models and drawings and plans for the new towers. Then from the 10th floor vantage point, he points out the construction on the Freedom Tower, going on below.

After the tour, they meet up with Joanne and Drew who have popped over from Jersey to meet the folks. Downtown is woefully short of decent eateries, so the brief, but enjoyable visit involves eating deli sandwiches on laps in the living room. They did manage to squeeze in a quick trip to the roof. This is then followed by a trip up to Old Navy on 34th Street to get J some trousers for church in the morning. It's a fruitful trip. Suitable trousers are purchased and J gets a glimpse of the Empire State Building.

Sunday
The Bovees attend church. J and Grannie are introduced to dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of Genevieve's friends during the meetings and after church. How kind of them to conveniently schedule a linger longer to coincide with their visit. J eats several heart shaped cookies drowning in pink and red hundreds and thousands. In the afternoon, the roommates cook up taco salad for 12 and after dinner several more friends drop by to meet the folks, the Mulcocks, the Sparhawks (fresh from their honeymoon), Mindy Booth and many others.

Monday
It's Dead President's Day and Genevieve is off work. Jet lag, for the most part, has been overcome, and it's time to see the sights. They rush off early to catch the 9.30 ferry to Liberty Island.

J and Genevieve walk around the island and J poses with Lady Liberty.

Then it's on to Ellis Island, but not before J gets to help the ferryboatman with the ropes. J and Genevieve don't have any ancestors who came through EI, but it's a fun place to explore nonetheless. J enjoys all the exhibits on the ground floor with the giant 3-D graphs and computers. They all dine on tasty sandwiches and chicken tenders and then it's back on the ferry to the big island. Huge dark clouds are rolling in over Manhattan and they jump into a taxi just as the raindrops begin to fall.

It's on to the American Museum of Natural History - no.1 on J's must do list. He has been looking forward to this for weeks, "I want to go to the museum where they filmed Night at the Museum". They look at African and Asian mammals, the sea life exhibits and J takes dozens of pictures of dinosaur bones, including the T-Rex from the film. He's not in the entrance, but upstairs on the fourth floor. Either way, they're glad they won't be around after closing time when he comes to life and starts chasing the guards!

At home that night there is a birthday party for Genevieve's roommate Libby. J revels in all the excitement and attention, but by 9 o'clock, it's all been too much.

Tuesday
Genevieve is back at work, but she escapes at lunch time to meet J and Grannie for a trip up to the Top of the Rock.

It's a beautiful late Art Deco building and the views are far better than from the Empire State Building. If for no other reason, than you get a wonderful view of the Empire State Building!

J and Grannie spend the afternoon on the NYC tour bus, seeing all the downtown sights they've missed. After work, it's back home to Genevieve's house to eat dinner and watch what else but Top Gear.

There are lots more pictures to see.

I just spent a terrific weekend in Washington, D.C. with Kelly, my roommate who recently took a job down there. Kelly is one of my oldest friends from New York, and, having lived together for 3 years, probably knows me best. It's really nice to visit friends when you know each other so well. There's so much to talk about, nothing has to be explained, they just understand. It was good to see Kelly's new digs. She moved just over a month ago and seems to be settling in well.

We spent a lovely afternoon at Mount Vernon, George Washington's beautiful plantation home overlooking the Potomac River in Northern Virginia. The weather was chilly but clear and sunny and we toured the house and grounds and stopped to sit in the chairs on the veranda. We had fun in the shop. I bought my first Christmas presents for 2008 - I bet I even got a jump on Lucy! Then we went to Ikea so Kelly could look at beds. Although I was the one who walked out of there with a bag full of purchases, including two bedspreads and a bright red colander. And it was actually I who knew the way there, having been to the Ikea at Potomac Mills several years ago when I was at university. We topped off the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant just steps away from Kelly's house (she is VERY happy about that) and the first two episodes of Spooks series 5. That really is the best show being made and Kelly and I love watching it together.

I haven't been back to Virginia/Washington since graduation so it was kind of exciting to be in the neighborhood again. It doesn't seem like all that long ago.

I was just talking to a friend at work and I realised, well, remembered, that my parents are two of the least selfish people alive. I'm so lucky to have them.