My daughter will be 12 on November 1st and has been hinting for a new tent, a new backpack and a book reader. Much as we all love real books, they demand much shelf space which I haven't got to spare yet, until I make a room specially to hold all our books. Until then, almost all readables will have to be electronic downloadable.

Interesting, but my daughter revealed that phones contain far more space than e-book readers. I didn't know that. I dislike Kindles because they can slow down when indexing book titles or authors A- Z, and most only last a year if 18 months if one is lucky. But a phone, she says, is easier to use and in the long run far cheaper. Something to consider, then?

The Peli U140 backpack I bought in a sale is far too heavy for her. Empty it weighs 6 pounds and I didn't know that as it wasn't shown on the website. Load it up and it will weigh far more, so I'm keeping it for myself.

This leaves a lighter weight backpack to buy and she wants a lightweight tent. Admittedly I have no idea.

Laura suggested a nice pair of 3/4-length lace-up leather boots,. and a wax jacket. Good, I like that. What do you think? I like Barbour.

Daughter already has lots of CDs, teddy bears and a nice little laptop specifically for her home schooling. In addition she has a Lenovo laptop into which I put a Net Nanny and downloaded a subscribed VPN. I need her to be always safe when online. Her phone also has a VPN for wifi areas. And an RFID wallet. We all have RFID wallets to ward off data thieves. Our cyberworld has never been a safe place. And it never will.

There is only the three of us. Sadly, all our relatives have passed.

Does anyone have any new suggestions, please? As I return to work next week, we plan to celebrate my daughter's birthday this coming Saturday.

All suggestions welcome!