The Ottoman Empire

For the longest time now I've been wanting an ottoman, and now after a sleepy Sunday trip to Dunelm Mill I can now say I am a proud owner of one. Here's Rebecca posing with it as it adorns our living room:

And here's the treasure trove of gaming goodies I'll be keeping inside:

In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty  chuffed with it. We've already had some excellent use for it as a sofa foot rest as we spent the rest of the afternoon taking it easy and eating cottage pie.

To round off the evening Rebecca and I watched A Monster Calls which has a beautiful story which unfurls very gradually. It dealt with that very difficult subject of what to do when you know you have to say farewell to someone you love and that message is very tenderly told through Liam Neeson as a giant tree monster. Really good stuff which is just as meaningful to children as it is for adults.