Despite all that positively expert-level avoidance, I have managed to get some work done on The Flowers of Time. I am still reading She-Merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen by Katie Hickman, about British women in pre-Raj India. It's absolutely fascinating and has lots of excellent background I can use. I also recommend her Daughters of Britannia, about women who went out in to the Empire with their administrator husbands.

I've been cracking along with Inheritance of Shadows. This month, Matty and Rob are investigating the strange goings-on of the previous night and searching for anything at all that will help them work out what's happening in Arthur's collection of books. Also there might be bedroom activities. Maybe. You can find an up to date copy here on Bookfunnel.

Morris is in disgrace this week. He has found a hole in the garden fence - it's quite a big garden - and arrived home with a very dead rabbit on Sunday morning. He proceeded to present it to Mr AL, who was still in bed, asleep. Whilst we were still recovering from that, he was so chuffed by his success that he went off again and Talking Child had to recover him from a nearby field, thankfully before he decided to try and play with the neighbour's sheep. 

Fence mending and dog-training are on our schedule for quite large amounts of time at the moment. I have enlisted the help of the local Dachshund Lady, who has put me in touch with someone who specializes in wayward Hounds. His recall has already improved by swapping out the dog-treats for actual bits of ham, so I think it's going to work out.

Here he is, helping Mr AL and Talking Child with their work by sleeping on the table. He tried sleeping with his nose on the keyboard, but it wasn't very convenient for anyone else.

By the time you read this, the Lester Family will be on our holidays! We have been gifted a week in Devon by the Torbay Holiday Helpers, a group of business-people who help families with poorly children. I'm hoping I'm going to be able to carve some writing time out, as well as lots of cool family stuff.