26 December 08

Emily was very hot at times, and somewhat dopey and clingy, clearly fighting off a bad cold. As it happened, we had a hospital appointment lined up for the one year check up. It was stressful trying to sort out vaccination details while she was getting very upset sitting there in her nappy. I got the doctor to take her temperature and it was about 38.5, so not feverish but definitely high. Mind you, it was baking in there, which didn't help. Coming in from a vicious strong wind direct from Siberia it was welcome at first, but soon overpowering. Her measurements were encouraging: over 80cm puts her at the 99.9th centile for a one year old girl, and her 10.4kg weight was also fine, despite her continued picky eating.


Having cancelled our dinner reservation due to her illness, we then decided to go out as planned as we had no way of getting hold of Erna to postpone babysitting, and just hoped that Emily didn't wake up repeatedly like the previous evening. We didn't go far, trying the eel restaurant a few hundred feet from the apartment. It was good, if not plentiful, food, and the hot sake warmed our bones. The meal was all over within an hour, so we carried on up the road to try a tiny bar that Nick had spotted. It only had a few bar stools and couple of tables. Two customers were just leaving, so we were the only ones there. The lighting was very dim, but we made out the bar counter lined with many different bottles of beer: it was mainly lager beer, so we plumped for a can of Guinness each. A large TV in the corner was showing Premiership football, and the music was a good selection of UK Sixties (eg. Kinks). The bar owner told Nick he was a graphic designer who ran the bar as a hobby and didn't make a profit from it. Surprising, since the bill for two beers each and a handful of snacks we didn't even ask for was nearly 4,000 yen (£25). The guy seemed of indeterminate age - he was dressed straight out of Carnaby Street in a button-down shirt, cardigan and pork-pie hat, but had a young face. He and Nick chatted away, mainly about bands and football, while I sat more or less mute but perfectly happy to try to follow the gist with the few words I know. Anyway, we enjoyed our night out, and it won't break the bank if we don't repeat too regularly. We arrived home to find Erna zonked out on the sofa, having done the washing up and ironing first. She seemed a bit spaced out and reeled out into the freezing cold night with barely a word.