I've got a new toy

Adam downloaded firefox performancing for me which possibly means I can enter links to other pages very easily. I wouldn't swear to this until I've tried it though.
Having Adam around is exciting and stressful and challenging. He does things fast.
Having Fran around is easy and cosy and cheerful. When she is here I get my back straightened on a regular basis. Which reminds me, when the girls were both about the same height as me, their hugs exactly fitted the bit of my back which aches most often so hugs were therapeutic on several levels. Ruth is now tall and willowy but Fran is still the perfect height...I so miss those hugs!
The day after tomorrow we are having the annual bardsley new year bash. I don't seem to be quite ready for it. How unusual!

this may not look like anything much. It's Barney's chopping block. I rushed into town yesterday, cursing the fact that I hadn't got time to take pics of various wonderful things and then overcompensated a bit in the garden later. Thus upside down puddings and chopping blocks.
Tomorrow you may get fungus. Actually that sounds almost biblical but don't worry, I'm not prophesying :)

Upside down snail pudding

For thrushes.

I've just made a very silly comment on my last post

I think it may have something to do with the very small bottle of fizzy white that Santa left in my stocking. Now I am wishing that Santa had been less thoughtful towards Barney and had left him fizzy white too (Barney doesn't like fizzy white so he got dry red).
Oh Well. It was nice while it lasted. I bet they've all gone now from Sainsbury's and I don't really want to contemplate opening a full size bottle just for me. Although me and my sister in law have proved that the teaspoon in the top of the bottle actually works. Anyone know the physics of that?
Anyway me and (Great) Grandad are on our own tonight as Barney has gone to a football match.
I make no comment on this as there are people, I know, who think it's fun to go to football matches on a freezing January night, leaving others to drink nice things and eat nice casseroles in front of a warm fire while possibly watching or possibly sleeping in front of a warm (new) telly. We think we are now DVD capable...or do I mean compatible. we aren't sure though because we're still finding it a bit complicated just playing a DVD never mind recording one.
One day I'm sure there will be enough fullness of time for us to find out what we are capable of.

Another good day really

I left Barney a message last night saying I would have sleep instead of breakfast please this morning...so he did one of his splendid breakfasts for everyone else and I got to sleep an extra hour. Nice. had my own quiet little breakfast later. Barney does a wonderful breakfast and at this time of year he's in his element, he loves feeding hordes!
Fran and Andy wandered in and out and Gorgeous Babe and her mum appeared at random times also. sometimes we fed them. Andy lost his wallet (hidden behind a Christmas card ) and then his keys ( hidden in a pocket he didn't know he had, in his new jacket)
Barney tidied up half his workshop in preparation for the NYE party and also found places all over the house (*^!^*) for the bits of wood he'd lovingly sawn up with his new bandsaw. These will one day be used for wood turning and will probably become pepper mills and bud vases. Meanwhile they fill up places I've just tidied.
I had a quick look at my new digital photography book. Don't hold your breath though, I won't be producing pro class photos yet awhile. My nice new indoor water feature gurgled. (If everyone holds their breath you can hear it).
Gorgeous Babe told us her alien came out of "a egg" and also performed several stirring renditions of Rudolph the red nosed etc, who had sometimes a black nose, sometimes a shiny nose and occasionally a big nose. Uncle Andy was flavour of the day and she was quite sad when it was time for Fran and Andy to go.
Oh and I took this photo. I was convinced that it was a strange, large bird perched on the fence down the road. this was nothing to do with alcohol but may have been because I'd mislaid my glasses. As you can see this was a mistake anyone could have made.

I just had a quick blogwander

Oh, about an hour and a half. Oh well.
and I ended up with one about life's simple pleasures.
Just wanted to say that one of my life's simple pleasures is just when you exchange a bit of chat and cheerfulness with someone. anyone, doesn't have to be a friend or even someone you know. The person in the queue next to you or the local butcher or someone who phones a wrong number. Even a comment on a blog :) Especially a comment on a blog!
Technically, it's called stroking.
Stroke someone today! It's good for you both. Keeps babies alive and keeps depression at bay and combats all the shit in the world we live in.
Go for it!

Promises made good

Fran and I just came back from seeing Narnia. We like to take me to see a good film this time of year. We loved it (she'd already seen it but she wanted to take me. Sweetheart)
It was just like the book and I loved the evil Queen. she was great. Really cold and casually cruel. Dead eyes. Brilliant. Understated.
The children were pretty good too and not too desperately sentimental (given that CS Lewis was a pretty sentimental writer IMHO). Oh well maybe they were pretty soppy. I just enjoyed it.
And I loved the graphics. I am not an enthusiastic film goer but I really enjoy the modern films with graphics and animation and all that stuff. I loved The Matrix... sort of SF ballet/special effects.
Which reminds me, my mum liked westerns...not for the stories. she loved the bar room fights! I think she would have loved this stuff too.

It's only 01.15

I am wearing a purple sparkly woollie scarf, a pink an purple bracelet with dark turquoise and bronze coloured dangly bits, pale turquiose earrings and pink and blue woollie socks. (other stuff too, obviously).
I've just realised we didn't phone my half of the family at all.
The house is as tidy as it ever is when children are at home and they are all now tucked up sleeping the sleep of the well fed and earlier-than-me to rise.
Barney cooked a fantastic goose and gorgeous babe and her mum dropped in to share bits of dinner and pudding and for GB to entertain the crowds magnificently. (Her best line when passing nuts round and being told Great Grandad would like one too was "you'll get yours when it's your turn" delivered reprovingly as to a demandng child).
Adam and Jude rang and they'd had a good day. They ate nut roast and steak (she being veggie and he not being).
I spent a peaceful hour or three washing, tidying and generally making the house visible again. while others did whatever they did.
Fran and Andy and Great grandad were there and were great fun as always.
Peter brought lovely wine and was good company.
the spelling isn't bad considering the quantity of very nice wine I've drunk today (Somebody took a rather blurry pic of me asleep with my head on the table some time this afternoon). Presumably thias is why I'm awake now.
Only the empty glass is mine.

I know other people aren't all having joyous and peaceful christmases and now I've got a little time alone I think of them. Did during the day once or twice.

I wish so much there could be one time when everyone could have a day off from sadness and trouble but that's fairytale stuff.
I wish all the same.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

I've been ever so good and done lots so I thought, just a very quick look at blogs. then I started thinking about comments. Then I thought nonono, stop now, I still have to wrap presents, tidy kitchen, take the dog out, put the rest of the shopping away, make a huge list for tomorrow and etc etc. (No I'm not quite ready for Christmas yet).
Have a wonderful time every one as much as possible.
xx all

Late as usual

Everyone's already done their 'Blackpool comes to (insert street name/town here)' pics.
Here's Bradfield South End.

Do I get points for squeezing five houses into one picture? It took me ages.

Ok you've all cheered me up

and from having been rrrrrracked with guilt in Sainsbury's yesterday I have settled for a sense of impending doom.
Just assume a very very ordinary situation involving 2 separate parents and one single child and no supporting partner for either of the parents.
All trying hard to be good.
All very trying.
I think the rrrrracking came simply from being a parent of one of the parents and being unable (or at times unwilling )to offer all the support which may be required.
And good heavens Frangelita, of course I'm a mystery mig. But not the fortune teller of a very similar if not identical name who used to grace (pollute?) the pages of some well known newspaper or other.
Meanwhile, I came home tonight to find the kitchen invaded by the biggest stock pot you ever saw. Well the biggest my kitchen ever saw anyway. So full of noxious looking simmering stuff I hastily balanced the lid back on top of it and watched it bulging ever so slightly over the edges at each faint glob.
Hmm. Barney must be making stock again. Just as well I haven't tidied the kitchen yet (or anywhere else for that matter).
Yesterday we went with gorgeous babe and her mum to look at the lights in Bradfield. I gather there's a lot of it about these days.
I may post a picture later but due to pre-explosion simmering I haven't looked at them yet. They may be unacceptably blurred.

We have a bit of a family crisis

suddenly exploding. Worst possible but quite predictable timing really. I wish I'd paid more attention to names and things when I set up this blog since now I feel I can't write openly about the situation. Not my own situation so I'll have to keep my big mouth shut!
Anyway, haven't got the heart to babble just now.
Back soon.

Been looking through old pictures

Thinking, as they're all on CD I could tidy up a bit. Very hard to delete even when you're absolutely sure you've saved stuff somewhere.

Dancing days

Gorgeous babe is staying the night again.
I just went to check that no cats had invaded her room and tucked her in.
There is nothing like a small warm sleeping person.

The Bardsley household

went out to look at the moon tonight because it's very high. won't be this high again for 18 years. Unfortunately it was hidden by low clouds too.

I'm not doing too well with the plan for this week.
I have been to work and I have practiced the fiddle every day.
I haven't got up at 8am nor did I turn quite into what was needed. And I didn't quite make the 1am bed-deadline.
I did worm the wildlife but I didn't deflea them yet.
I did collect the hoover and order the rubber band (and it came) but the cards, the presents and the junk remain as they were, unwritten, unposted and all over the house.
the sun was behind clouds at 1 pm every day this week and the house is still untidy.
What the hell have i been doing all week????
I need to be in bed in 2 minutes. Perhaps I'll do everything tomorrow?

The law may be an Ass

But I really enjoyed this Ass.
More than one way to skin a criminal!
Sorry, the link stopped working.
try copying this
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16463421&method=
full&siteid=66633&headline=the-law-is-an-ass--name_page.html
That still seems to work.

speaking very quietly

Er, anyone out there?
It's gone awfully quiet here.

Bad smell good news day

Yesterdday I got up to find the dog had been sick (this doesn't actually smell so bad, it's just the idea).
Later I went into a charity shop and got trapped while an ancient, decrepit and unbelievably smelly man hobbled very very slowly out. This smell was really over the top....we're not just talking unwashed. Festering horrors. As soon as he was out, I fled, gulping, into the fresh air only to find I had to overtake him in the street. Honestly the miasma spread fifteeen feet or more. I had time to notice that he seemed to be wearing bandages instead of socks and slippers instead of shoes before rushing away to plunge into the perfume section of Camps in the hope of drowning the nostrils.
Smell clung to nostrils as I passed pasty shop, pork butchers (cooking sausage rolls) and Starbucks.
I may not be able to go near any of them for a long time.
Later still we went out for dinner (the office party as we jokingly all it, three thatchers and their wives) and I had to be resolute in not remembering the afternoon.
Later still I woke up in the middle of the night with the sudden thought that the smell might not have been shit at all but gangrene from whatever was hidden under the bandages. (there had been a whiff of nasty antiseptic involved). Nose revolted all over again and guilt added itself to horrific images of poor hobbling gangrenous old man.
Ooof. I shouldn't have mentioned it...drank enough last night that stomach is now complaining I'm thinking too loudly.

But there is good news, possibly the best. We heard last night that Barney's Dad has had his 3 month check and his cancer has almost vanished...he had such a heavy dose of radiation therapy that he won't be able to have any more so we were afraid it would just start creeping back and there wouldn't be anything they could do. Didn't he do well:)

3 steps each way.

Went to work, spent afternoon clearing up confusions left by last week's breakdown.
Tidied dining room, untidied it again.
Cleaned up kitchen, got blocked pipe under sink.


three pictures to compensate.
Will now crawl away and fall into bed.

Gaah!

I will learn to love mornings.

Here is a morning on the Mon and Brec Canal.
I need to finish getting up now as TNT should be coming to collect a damaged article. No not me, I am merely partially functional (well I made a cup of tea). Barney bought a bent Band-saw.

Christmas panic has taken over

My mind skitters from house to shops work to presents and back. Then trips over notes left to myself that now mean nothing.
So far I have done none of the things on my list (Oh i practiced th fiddle for 10 minutes this morning and I have 10 minutes before I turn into a pumpkin and roll backwards. No, bedwards.
#ooh yes and I ordered Ruth's hoover's rubber band.
Well alright, I went to work.

Sinking Island of Sanity.

This week I will

Turn into a pumpkin at midnight every day and start rolling bedwards.
Turn back into a whatever I need to be and get up at 8.00.
Then (but not every day):
write 145 christmas cards.
post cards and presents.
tidy house (all of it).
throw out junk.
work .
worm and deflea the wildlife.
practice fiddle every day.
take photos of last autumn leaves up the hill at 1.00 pm (the sun's just right then).
collect our hoover from Ruth and order her a rubber band for hers.
find out what Summer wants for Christmas.
trek around looking for things for people whose tastes I do not share or who don't want anything .
trek around looking for things for people whose tastes I probably do share but can't remember.

Am I joking or what!
Did I mention blogging? Hmm.
I may be intermittant this week.
Oh I seem to be a bit late!

Had my ear bent

At the second drinks and mince pies session. Came home hoping to recover with a quick blog and found Barney (the family dinosaur) glued to Ebay stamp auctions.
The moon was out.
I had no choice.

Too late for titles

That is to say I'm too knackered to think of one.
We had a customers christmas drinks/mince pies session at the work shop tonight and I met a really nice lutanist. I am now going to have to read The Time travellers Wife (which I'd half decided to anyway) and she is going to get An Equal Music for her dad for Christmas.
It's really odd to meet people and think Oh I know you...when actually what I know is what instruments they've bought recently, how much they paid and whether they buy for themselves or their children.
I also met a very nice man whos wife plays the violin but doesn't himself. Also doesn't want a computer. Doesn't collect stamps. Blow me if I can remember what he does do/like. Which is pretty poor of me but that was early on in the evening.
I stunned at least two people by admitting that I fall asleep in live music performances. (quite discreetly) I don't know why I do it because I'm enjoying the music (usually) and even paying attention to it. Then I find I'm dreaming about it.
When I got home one of my boots trod on the cat's paw. (They are a size six to allow for sideways bunps and lumps...I always forget my feet are a size longer than they should be).
The cat was noisily offended. They never realise that my feet can't see them as well as they can see my feet. Leads to a lot of intersting moments for all of us.

I think I will fall asleep now.
Bettter go up to bed first :)

THE GHOSTS OF LOVE

They do hover behind unspoken thoughts and when
We are together they gain a kind of substance
Wandering into the mind with longing, not
The tearing pain of immediate loss nor the indulgence of nostalgia
More a sudden intensity and the idea
She would have loved this, these people, this day
These pleasures, these delights
These people would have loved her.

Lucky to have ghosts
Blessed to remember
Gifted as we have been by their love
To be able to continue loving each other

The balm of summer evenings
A fresh whisper of moving air
The presence of those who are not here.



I read that somebody's mum died a day or two ago. Reading about it opened up memories I don't want to lose.

After fish pie

Taking one quick look (and a suitably blurry photo), I slunk away to the computer and read soothing blogs for a little while. When I felt soothed, I read some more blogs.
Later I returned to the scene of culinary carnage and now only the oyster shells remain.

Oh I'm so embarrassed

The computer's doing that thing again. Sorry anyone, I'm really not trying to get twice as much attention by posting comments twice.

A fabulous advent calendar

on Vanillasky's blog

Extremely Bad Words *insert name and address here*

I don't usually do this from work but Hah! the computer broke.
No problem, we borrowed another one and I got on with it while waiting for Support Eddy to phone back and talk me through repairs/re-setup.
Eddy didn't so I backed up and re-arranged all the cables and stuff in readiness for his call and chased him up and finally he rang.
But then it transpired the thing wasn't quite connected up enough. Where has the power cable gone????
Ok, I find it (downstairs in the workshop...Why?) and phone Eddy back. He's on the phone. No doubt talking another helpless user through disaster.
So I can't enter anything new, I can't even check up paper work. I am wasting my time here! This happens often enough in small doses but I've spent a WHOLE AFTERNOON wasting it.

Highlights of the rest of the afternoon.
1. the computer didn't do what Eddy expected it to do.
2. We didn't always understand each other (me, Eddy or the computer).
3. The computer didn't do the next thing Eddy expected
4. Eddy thought we had bought a programme from somewhere else and were using his free support services to get it going again.
5. Eddy promised to send us an invoice for this phone call.
6. I spent several muffled minutes trying to read a serial number on top of the CPU, underneath the desk with my head sideways, and then sat on my glasses. (No, due to the cramped and crowded nature of the office it wasn't possible to move the CPU without disconnecting at least one vital part. In fact it wasn't easy to move me without disconnecting something fairly vital!)
7. the glasses survived.
8. The serial number was wrong so Markus had to come and read it for me. (His eyesight is fine)
8. Eddy realised we weren't working on a programme bought from a rival. He didn't, however, promise not to invoice us after all.
9. Phil popped in to say he had to go now. I said Aaargh!
10.Windows reappeared and gave me a happy commentary on it's many features while it finally did most of the things Eddy thought it ought to have been doing from the start. This took a long time.

Sometimes I think violins don't go with money and computers.

It looks as though blogger's co-operating today

Last night every time I tried to upload a picture it said !alert. there is no data in the document. I hate it when the computer tells me nonsense which I know to be untrue.
I also hate it when it tells me nonsense which I already knew to be true.

Yesterday I actually got up quite early and instead of doing lots of useful things I rushed out with the camera to take frosty morning pics. Proof that I saw the morning!

I thought today, after twenty five odd years the children are no longer getting on my back, in my hair, under my feet and up my nose. So that's why I remember to worry about them. But also to wonder at how nice and friendly and clever they all are. How on earth did they do that?

I'm feeling twitchy.
My attempt to re-order my life by going to bed before it's practically time to get up again is not quite working.
I'm supposed to be playing in a concert on Sat week and I keep blogging instead of practicing.
I have to clean the house before everyone arrives and makes a mess of it at christmas.
Christmas is definately coming, I can read the signs. (car park always full, shops going all glittery, envelopes addressed to both of us arriving nearly every day, Turkeys).
I can't remember where I hid all the presents I got for Barney.
I don't seem to have caught up with the end of November accounts at work and where am I going to fit in the end of December?
The dog wants to go out.
There are suddenly a lot of not so happy blog posts around and after visiting Patroclus today I think I'm getting a touch of paranoia.
My stomach is uneasy..I think it's complaining about something I gave it to eat.

And dammit, it's 1 oclock...again.

I've been blogwandering again

And my wits got left behind somewhere.
Visited some good blogs and will add some links in a minute if I can remember them.
Discovered that I'm a multicellular micro-organism on TTLB. Ooh! (I think).
Meanwhile had a conversation with eldest child who is recovering from getting his eye bashed in by someone from a fight he was passing by...well I think he stopped to see if he ought to do anything.
Ridiculous, the two older children are grown up settled and happy and Oh my god 3 and 5 hours away and if anything happened to them I wouldn't know until they or partners had time to phone. And if anything happened to youngest (who only lives a couple of miles away) there wouldn't be anyone to do the phoning.
Ever since I followed a fire engine all the way to our house (six miles), thinking idly "it seems to be heading our way" (it turned out Barney had set fire to the chimney) I tremble at the sight of an ambulance going from town along the road that heads towards our house and youngest's house. It makes me feel as if it could be us this time.
Enough. Middle one got home safely from weekend visit and Eldest is fine (he says) after having had his cheek bone put back where it belonged, yesterday.
I spoke to Youngest this morning? saw her last night. Gorgeous babe was fine yesterday. We at home seem to be as normal.
Ridiculous. I didn't worry nearly as much when they were all younger and lived here and came back broken from mountain biking or vanished for whole weekends without warning (only once and to be fair on that occasion I worried more than ever before in my life)and spent nights with boyfriends and started getting drunk.
Not to mention Barney occasionally ringing me from A&E having fallen off ladders and broken something.
In fact in those days it made me rather cross that they were so careless and broke themselves! Why on earth do I have to start worrying now dammit! It was a waste of time then and it's even more so now.
I shall cease and desist.
My grandmother who was dutch used to say "it's darker at night than outside". This makes no sense at all but I like it.

Our gate guardian

As long as he doesn't fall down on us.






We love this tree in spite of the fact that he drops branches on the car and scatters the lawn with leaves and twigs and sows acorns all over the garden in innapropriate places.
Though we do wonder just how old and sound he is when it's very windy.

When I was very young, we had an elm tree like this and I used to climb it and terrify my Mum. Fortunately for my nerves the oak has no low branches to get a small person started.

I like things to have places.

As my Dad and countless other people from that generation put it, "a place for everything". (Yes I know there was more to it but I never quite mastered the second bit).
So I've just spent a happy half hour creating places for visitors to my blog, blogs I have visited but who haven't visited me and while I was 'managing' (was I? really? ooh how clever) bookmarks, I tidied away a whole lot of random web pages into places I'd made earlier. And a new place called 'random places'
Also have found a small blue and white striped china teapot in which to make ginger and lemongrass tea. and a place to put it.
Places often seem to amount to useless pieces of storage equipment, like the earring caddy from lakeland plastics which is too small although a life size one would be very useful (probably) and a box full of smaller boxes into which are crammed even smaller boxes. These will undoubtedly one day be very useful places to put things. In the meantime I have to find a place to put them which is difficult as they keep falling out of the box.
The ginger jar is a very good place to put ginger only not quite big enough when I've just stocked up on ginger (so I have to have a place to put the rest of the ginger until there's room in the ginger jar. This really iritates me.). Oh I've just realised I now need a place to put lemon grass as I will be getting lots of it until I get bored with L&GT.
The only room in the house where things are mostly in their places is my music room...and my computer desk I suppose though that tends to get merged with the dining room. The trouble with the music room is as it generally looks emptier and tidier than anywhere else, things with no places tend to go there while I'm trying to find places for them. Also people who are extra to bedroom space. Like when Grandad and Summer are both here, they both have to have a room to themselves on the first floor and apart from ours, there's only one. So Grandad has to go in the music room.
Every so often I get annoyed by the slow inevitable growth of placeless things and go out and buy a piece of furniture specifically to fit some of them in. (And first, of course, I have to find a place for it) This can be a challenging business.
Also I sometimes buy things from charity shops, which I feel sure will one day be really excellent places to put things.
I have too many clothes as well.
We bought our first house from an elderly couple (Tom and Doris) whos house was stacked and piled and heaped with well, stuff. Knicknacks and gew-gaws (possibly) and junk and china and pictures. the sitting room was arranged with the sofa in the middle and a path round it. Against every wall mountains of stuff rose to the ceiling. stuff was heaped against the sofa on all sides, leaving just enough room for two pairs of legs to reach the floor (Actually, only one and a half pairs, as Doris only had one leg). The path threaded its way as if along the bottom of a canyon of junk.
I am haunted by the fear that one day our house will look like Tom and Doris's.

lemongrass and ginger

Fran and I went to the Yellow River Cafe yesterday and as well as having some nice soup, we discovered lemongrass and ginger tea. It's heavenly, delicately scented, slightly bitter and hugely refreshing.
I may have to add it to my morning routine. (that's routine as in panic, rush about, drop things but never forget tea first thing and coffee before I leave even if I have to gulp it and choke while calling disobedient dog back inside)
We found you can make it at home, just pour boiling water over a few slivers of green ginger and fresh lemongrass and infuse for a few minutes.
I'm sure you could sweeten it and the strength and flavour of the brew can be adjusted. I can't decide if I like it more lemony or more gingery. Might be nice with a dip of Earl grey bag.
Barney had some bits of tree lying around. So he made us a garden bench. He's a big lad so didn't realise how big the bench would look till it was installed. But sort of sculptural I think.
He needs some more large tree trunk to make a giant table to go with it.

I was going to have a quick look around all the blogs

and then go to bed early. I'm slightly overdone from too much shopping and not enough christmas presents bought. (Got my books though).
Naturally I had to post comments here there and everywhere except the wv went funny. smenita it said. so I said it too and it just sat and looked blankly at me. I said it again. same result.
Odd, I thought and went on visiting. The damned *word* followed me around.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Is this blog-language for 'Uh uh. You don't get to comment today'
Weird.

Tomorrow I shall take my booktokens to town

and buy the whole Neal Stephenson baroque cycle trilogy. Then I can read The System of the World. I borrowed it from the library but someone requested it while I was still reading several other things so I only read the first couple of chapters. and then I can look forward to reading all three again some time when I need lots of book to read.
Today, Fran took me shopping for a present and we got me a really nice pair of wool trousers from East. Usually I only wander around places like East and Monsoon feeling things. Mmmm.
We also went to the next village to buy sausages (very good butcher there) and on the way home, a tree was down across the road. which reminds me I really must get a phone which doesn't rely on the power supply. Before we need one in a power cut! Perhaps tomorrow.

Speaking of wild and storminess

Spring evening
I think we may get a power cut soon. We usually do when the weather gets lively. So I may vanish into the aether for a while.
Make the most of it. Barring World wide or National disasters, I will be back.

Autumn morning

Birthday! dinner! wow!

Today I had a birthday...I wonder if blog settings automatically update.
Anyway I am now definately 55 years old, slightly pissed (UK) and totally stuffed (with food).
Great.
Especially as we went to a restaurant booked for us by lovely daughter (in the trade) and got special treatment....about four mini courses of special treatment ( an oyster each with champagne jelly and caviar??!!, smoked ham with celeriac and foie gras which we sent back because we don't do that one)and Happy Birthday Mig written in chocolate on our pudding plate (we'd both run out of space by then but we managed to do it justice (Bitter chocolate sorbet, pistachio and something fudge and toffee banana). All washed down and maybe stirred up a bit with a very nice perfumy Pinotage.
Also today I bought boots. Very stupidly wore them immediately all round town. (the rain was pouring in through the tops of my trainers) Had to wear them out to dinner also as you can't really got to a smart restaurant in a silk skirt and either trainers or (this time of year) sandals.
No problem...as soon as we got home, my feet exploded out of them and are now cooling down and spreading out nicely. By tomorrow morning I shold be able to gather up the bits and squeeze them back into some sort of footwear.It's really stormy and wet tonight...I shouldn't be surprised if the oak tree loses all its leaves by morning so took a quick last picture yesterday in the sun.