Raining

The children are sitting outside under the striped awning while patches of blue sky form around the fairweather clouds around them. It's been touch and go here with the weather. It's rained for two days and yesterday we went to Asgardstrand in our foul weather gear and posed outside Munch's house like good tourists, forgetting of course that it was Monday and most museums are shut on Mondays. But now they are eating toast with thin slices of the sweet brown goat's cheese, and the cardamom buns with raisins, and creamy apricot yogurt. The tablecloth is coated in plastic and covered with cheerful red and white gingham and gay wild strawberries. I have eggs boiling just in case the weather is all right for a picnic. I can hear them rattling in the pan. I've made ten for five of us which is rather excessive but we all seem to become gluttonous when we're out at sea and there are hard boiled eggs and cod's roe kaviar on hand. Underneath the silver birch tree I can see swathes of blue and we shall hold our breath in the hope that this fairweather stays.

I have read many books:
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Grace by Linn Ullmann
The Descendants by Kaui Hemmings Hart

and I am half way into two books:
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger

Believe me when it's raining, and there is no television or npr or internet, it's quite stunning how many books you can get through. I love the Descendants. I've given it to Jum to read to see if he shares my excitement. Grace is very depressing and I think she tries too hard to write like Hamsun and Hamsun-lite isn't particularly interesting. The dust jacket is full of elaborate praise, however, so maybe I wasn't in empathy mode. Actually, it was pretentious as hell.

I have cleaned the shower and done two loads of laundry and lain sheets and pillowcases and knickers and tshirts on every free surface that doesn't contain a wetsuit or a life jacket.

We shall go to an island even if it means bringing sou'westers. More later.