This has been a week of ups and downs.

It started with food poisoning on Sunday night - minor, minor - just enough to make me miserable and keep me up at night. This meant I started sleeping late in the morning, staying up later at night and getting into that summer holiday routine I was hoping to avoid. I've been loving the early morning paddles these past few weeks but since it's been raining and, more importantly, windless for several days in a row this week, I wouldn't say I really missed them.

Anyway, enough of the misery. On Tuesday night, Louise invited Carrie and me over for a barbecue. She and Mia were returning to Hong Kong on Thursday morning so I was really pleased to have a chance to see them. Oh my god, I haven't laughed so much in a long time. You know the kind of night, great food, good friends, comfortable surroundings. A scene from Sex & the City minus the designer shoes and couture fashion (although Carrie was wearing a really pretty dress she picked up at the grocery store! Joe, of course. ).

Mia is adorable. She's smart, articulate beyond her age and a total cutie. Louise hasn't changed at all - she looks fantastic (I've been told this could be attributed to pilates and tennis but I'm pretty sure that genetics come into play since Linz also looks great!) but I'm not going to lay it on too thick since Louise knows I know she reads this...you know?

It was a fun, fun night and we didn't leave until after midnight.

I guess it's just as well that I've been getting all this sleep.