Lazy Days

What a busy few days. The good news is that Hugo is much better, and I've been able to stop giving him the allegy pills which have made him sleepy and forced his visiting human siblings to rouse him again and again from his dozy state to interact with them. In typically obedient style he has managed to be all things to all people despite being drugged. We've crammed in a lot this weekend - swimming and beach sunbathing, long walks and lots of lovely food. On Saturday evening I was working at Snape, so how inconvenient then that a tree blew down in the gales and knocked off the electricity for 24 hours. With no possibility of cooking anything, and no transport once I had gone, the girls managed by ordering an Indian takeaway and getting a taxi to deliver it to them. I can home, hungry, to find lots of delicious leftovers. The house was lit by dozens of tiny nightlights, the bright pools and furtive shadows reflecting how it must have looked for many decades before I bought it. But why did I not think to turn off the iron having tried unsuccessfully to prepare a shirt for my evening duty? Of course it came on again with the power. I'll find out what that has cost me in due course.

And now my car has sprung another problem, this time the control box within the steering column that manages the seat belts and air bags. A nice fat bill that has landed me. Oh well, it's only money, as the rich say. But there were some great bonuses too. I now have an organised woodshed, the differently-aged logs arranged on wooden pallets, stacked neatly and securely. There are more to come, but that supply needs splitting first and I'm no mad axewoman. After the first daughter had gone back to Edinburgh to immerse herself in the festival, the remaining one set to in the heat with me, and together we moved mountains to get the job done. Very satisfying for us both it was. A real thrill.

There's lovely

The farmers have been charging around getting their end-of-summer jobs done which include spreading the shorn fields with some seriously foul-smelling muck. The harvests all seem to be in, the straw baled and gathered, the still golden ground waiting to be turned over. It's hot, and there's very little wind to disturb the air. The views out over the hills are stunning, peaceful and beautiful as a Constable painting. But it's too baking to work outside, and so I'll catch up on some homework while I can.