September

Carole King had a hit in 1962 with "It might as well rain until September" and, according to some people, it has. I can't say I share that view - I suppose we missed a lot of the wet weather when we were in USA in July - but it's not been too bad over the last month, I naively thought - that was until I heard the weather girl this morning say that Eskdalemuir has had its wettest August ever - mind you, that is the West of Scotland for you.

Anyway, now that it is actually September, let's hope for better things.

I did finish my book last night - very enjoyable - you can read a synopsis of it here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_22 - but it's a pretty heavy analysis and not exactly an advert for reading the book - but don't be put off if you fancy reading it.

Last night we were trawling Interval International's web site for possible holiday exchanges for next year. Jo fancied a seaside resort this time and we found one I've been trying to get for years - Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, just south of LA - http://www.marriott-vacations.com/vacation/resorts/marriott-newport-coast-villas/overview.html. Looks very nice and exchanges are currently available for the week 19th - 26th March, 2010 (when the boys are on Easter break) and then from April 24th through until May 23rd, with another week available from September 10th to 17th. The only potential problem is that the Interval site says "The resort is undergoing construction/renovation, which is a continuation of the resort's development." I don't think we should be too worried about that - Marriott are usually pretty careful about how they manage this, but Jo was a trifle concerned.

There was also the possibility of one in the Napa Valley - http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=291. This is available from April 30th all the way through the summer - pick your week.

No more thoughts for today - other than the fact that Jo's going to have her hands full getting the house back in a fit state for Kelly and Craig next week. Mmmm - on second thoughts, their standards are pretty low nowadays - "pikey" living, as Craig calls it.