Dog days of winter

It has been a funny old day, with different combinations of us to-ing and fro-ing, and the Man slightly feeling that he's running an exceedingly cheap taxi service.

The kids were up early - the Boy's buddy had stayed overnight and was spending the day with us. I took the Girl for a skating practice first thing.  Then later in the morning I was called out to take my refugee friend and her son to the dentist.  After lunch the Girl needed a ride across the river to visit a friend, and the Man went on from there to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles for an eye-test to renew his licence ("Would you like to try reading the chart first without your glasses? Go back to the third blue floor tile and no cheating now!").

Soon after getting home from that he went out again to fetch the Girl and get her to her evening skating lesson, and himself to the YMCA for a run.  Then we all scarfed down some dinner before I set off to deliver the Girl to a sleepover (her first teenager's birthday party. Yikes.), calling in on the library on the way home to pay off my final fines of 2011.  And now the Man has gone back to the Y to take the Boy swimming...

The most restful presence in the house today has to be next-door's dog, who is with us again for another overnight stay.  He can hardly be bothered to go out, never mind take a ride in the car.