Yeah, I've got my tooth on. Teresa, that was an immensely helpful comment -- if it happens again, I will know what to do (anchor it with toothpaste), and, better yet, I am encouraged by what you say to believe that the permanent crown, when it eventually arrives, will be more, well, permanent.

Some old friends came to tea yesterday and I was able to smile uninhibitedly.

So that's the state of the current travel sock. I got quite a lot done -- I was only about 3/4's of the way down the leg when we set out on Monday. I think the change of yarn for the toe looks well. It is the expedient of necessity, because I had only two balls of the main yarn, but I now wish that I had bought only two balls more often, once my sock-yarn-oddball-bag began to bulk out. I would have preferred a more flamboyant change-of-colour, but my husband, for whom the socks are destined, preferred sober.

And the Communion Veil is moving ahead nicely here. There's enough that I think it will be worth photographing tomorrow.

The neighbour with the baby with the cleft palate is finding life tough. The baby had a good birth weight, and is throwing himself into the struggle with vigour, but it is, his father says, like trying to suck with your mouth open and both parents are pretty worn down. A nurse comes in every day to weigh the baby and see how things are progressing. I also learn that the Baby Surprise is coming apart at the shoulder. I'll get it back tomorrow for repairs.

And tomorrow evening James and his five-year-old daughter Kirsty, currently in Beijing, will turn up on the doorstep here, insh'Allah.