Experimenting and a little exercise

1. More fun with my bass today: I was playing at church this morning, then spent a little while with YouTube this afternoon learning a couple of well-known riffs (Come Together & Peaches). I think I've found a good website for tutorials so now it's just a case of putting in the practice... the first test is whether I remember anything tomorrow.

2. It's still very hot (at least 25C) so I felt very warm after going for a walk around the village. I enjoyed seeing the flowers by the roadside, hearing the children playing in the beck, and smelling the barbecues.

3. Yesterday's chicken, pepper and tomato sauce tasted even better after a day in the fridge. A yummy experiment where I threw in whatever spices I felt like (cumin, coriander, fenugreek, chilli, ginger, oregano - I think!)

Hot, sunny day

Too hot for me for fell-walking (around 25-30C!) but we still got lots done...

- grass cut: front, back and lane
- the clothes (and bedding) mountain washed and dried on the line
- bathroom cleaned
- unwanted purchases returned to shop
- A's latest eBay purchase picked up from sorting office
- watched the Monaco qualifying sessions
- bass practice, using YouTube to find tutorials. I think I've found a series that looks promising, and started on a Beatles song (Come Together) before we went shopping
- about another 20 rows of my Clapotis

...and I finished the day watching Eurovision. How did we ever do it before fb and Twitter?
(I've even been retweeted!)

Sunshine, sunset and special cards

1. I didn't get away quite so promptly today, but it was before 10 past, so not too bad. And the sun had cleared away the cold mist.

2. The deep red sun above the horizon as I drove home from housegroup caught my attention.

3. Two handmade birthday cards for Andrew from our godsons. One even had a (labelled) picture of Andrew and D in a car, and a drawing inside of A with a big smile.

Mist, a near-miss and the end's in sight

1. The mist was swirling around the house as I Ieft this morning, and was still there in the evening. Very atmospheric.

2. The phone rang at 5 to 5, just as I'd switched off my computer. I answered it... and only needed to take a message. I clocked out just before 5 :o)

3. I've almost reached the end of the straight section on my Clapotis scarf.  I'm pleased that it's grown so quickly (scarves usually take ridiculous amounts of time for what they are) and I'm looking forward to wearing it.

A good day...

- I've set myself the challenge of making sure I finish work on time this week. So I powered through my To Do list, ticked off a few bits and bobs, and clocked out at 5pm. I enjoyed feeling organised today.

- The sun is still shining - what a boost!

- I made it to Pilates after missing the last 2 weeks. I managed to do more than I expected and can see definite progress in what I can achieve since the start of this year. Maybe the time off was a good thing...

- My prayer triplet were all able to meet together as well; it seems ages since all 3 were around at once so it was good to catch up.

- and I drove home in almost daylight. I love the long evenings when it's still light at 10pm.

Good news and a sunny evening

1. She's been checked out at the hospital and there are no underlying concerns to explain feeling ill.

2. A beautiful sunny day today, so we enjoyed our evening meal in the garden.

3. We caught up on a couple of programmes from last week with the iPlayer.

A day for surprises

Two surprise 50th birthday dos today... We joined one group for a walk during the afternoon, then went to an evening event for someone else. Both birthday people seemed quite shell-shocked, but enjoyed themselves too.

We're looking forward to a quieter day tomorrow, just ourselves. I think we've both been a bit frazzled at times today so it will be good to chill out a bit. The weather forecast's good too...

Surprises and catching up

1. I showed some people around the mill today - I love seeing the surprise at how big the machine is and how fast we run. I don't think anyone really knows what to expect when they see a papermachine for the first time.

2. Just me at Jenny's tonight for knit & natter, so we had a chance to catch up and admire each other's handiwork.

3. When I got home I noticed the lawn was covered in yellow flowers... maybe we'll have a wildflower garden after all.

Another long day

One of our customers brought some of their customers to see the mill. I helped out in the afternoon, where we gave them a chance to make their own piece of paper to take away. I think it's the first time we've done something like this so I'm glad it went well.

We held a whisky tasting for our visitors before dinner. A wee bit tricky on an empty(ish) stomach, but I enjoyed them all! Aberlour 12 year old, Auchentoshan, Bowmore Surf, Glenrothes, Old Pulteney WK499.

I got home at 11:30 and need to be out again by about 8am tomorrow, so now it's time for bed!

Visible progress

1. The satisfaction of a job well done, as we finished one audit, then another task ticked off the to-do list

2. A 2nd birthday tea with a glass of wine.

3. A rare(ish) evening at home. My ironing pile is done, and I've added another 2-3" to the Clapotis scarf.

Birthday tea

Birthday tea for Andrew with his family - fish & chips, and I ate too much!

Work changes & a special performance

1. The first day of parking (officially at least) in the new car park at work, and it didn't rain. I'm looking forward to the extra half mile or so of exercise each day (honest!)

2. It was surprisingly enjoyable to sit in on the external quality auditing. I'm looking after the auditor for the next 2 days, and I'm enjoying the break from my usual routines.

3. We popped in to give Julie her birthday present, and were treated to a DVD-viewing of Emily's school assembly. She played the witch in Rapunzel and we were very impressed at how well all the children performed - aged between 5 & 7 - there are some stars in the making!

Girly weekend

Andrew was away visiting his brother, so I've enjoyed a girly weekend:

Friday:
- a yummy meal with my prayer triplet.  I headed home fairly early to try to get a good night's sleep, but it was lovely to catch up with them both at last.

Saturday:
- I played my bass guitar for a short worship time at the ladies' quiet day for church.  I wasn't sure how well it would work just having me on bass and Becca on acoustic, but actually it sounded pretty good!  I feel self-conscious that I can only do very basic playing but it was enough.  I definitely need to make time for practising more though...
- The sun shone, and Camerton Hall was the perfect venue.  We were able to explore the grounds and sit outside during our quiet times.  Lunch was delicious too!
- I left after lunch to go birthday present shopping and found just what I needed.
- I've had Andrew's car this weekend and enjoyed the chance to drive around with the hood down all day.  Lovely summer weather!
- Once back home I relaxed with sitcoms and a rom-com (The Proposal - virtually a remake of While you were sleeping and fun to watch).
- I added almost 2" to the Clapotis scarf

Sunday:
- Unusual not to be at church around 9am; 10:30 was quite a treat!
- Caroline invited me back to their new house for lunch.  They've found a great house: it needs work but knowing what they've done before it's going to be stunning.
- I enjoyed simply relaxing with a friend and catching up.
- When Andrew & Gary got back we headed out to see the Scarecrow festival at Dean.  There were some fab scarecrows to be seen and it just amazes me how much effort and imagination has gone into the creations.
- and finally we caught up on the highlights from today's F1 race - I'm so pleased that Williams have finally won a race!

Working from home

I needed to be home so the boiler could get its annual service, so today was a mix of day off and catching up on emails...
- eyes tested and new sunglasses ordered (the old ones are about 12 years old...)
- 2 loads washed and dried outside (the sun was shining!)
- I was working facing the back yard, so I was able to watch the birds feeding, preening, flapping about and lining up on the garden wall

Really must get back to blogging again...

...I'm sure it's good for my state of mind

1. After feeling very run down over the last few days/weeks I felt quite a lot better today. A reasonable night's sleep helped, and a much less hectic day at work. Feeling chilled :-)
2. I've had time to make a to-do list at work. I've also managed to actually do a couple of things but it feels so much better just to have an idea of what's needing done.
3. I met Penny for a drink after Pilates this evening, and enjoyed being able to relax and catch up with each other at last.