Busy as a bee with a bum full of honey

I thought that after the fortnight that I have had, a weekend of relaxation , reading, sunshine & lazing in the spa pool would be in order right? Wrong . You see, I havent learnt. One has only to THINK the words,"Garage Sale" around here for hordes of well meaning relatives to descend raining boxes of goodies that they no longer have any use for. This creates an inescapable cycle of stuff accumulating that there isnt really any earthly use for. Eventually in a paroxym of self defence, one is grudgingly forced to mutter words along the lines of, "OK, we are having a garage sale this Saturday" & convert a useful & comfortable garage into something that resembles a cross between the local recycling center & a modern Egyptian Bazaar, or is that spelt bizaare.

Be that as it may, I had time on my hands on Wednesday to gently potter & get things organised. Herself was sent on a mission Thursday morning to lodge an advert in our local 3 minute silence, only to be told, "Sorry, the deadline for ads is 10 AM Wednesday." Who the hell has their excrement sufficiently assembled by THAT time to adequately predict their weekend? All was not lost however, as our local radio station has a free ad service for garage sales at 8 am Saturday morning. This coupled with some agressive marketing ploys,(handpainted signs either side of a power pole on the main road & a sign at the gate) ensured a steady dribble of customers, a nice sit in the sun, a catch up with old friends, & enough income to make spending a Saturday morning sitting in the sun well worth while . A few items cleverly presented on our Sunday morning garage sale on our local radio again, provided some more income.

This enabled yours truly to make a pilgrimage to our local discount timber place for the purchase of some garden edging. You see, herself has decided that she has had enough of the current savage price increases in vegetable prices & is going to extend our vegetable garden. I dont have a problem with this, as I rather enjoy eating produce that is still sunwarm & that you have grown yourself. Also in a sudden rush of blood to the head, I did a bit more work towards finishing my "Alice in Wonderland" rock garden. All that is left now is to obtain a trailor load of small rocks to spread & to assemble my Mad Hatters Tea Party. I sorta thought that a photo of our dinner table when the Grandkids are here would be enough , but reason prevailed & I guess I will do the little arrangement that I initially envisaged.

All this was followed by a trip to our local "Refuse & Recycling Center" Herself had assembled a nice little trailor load of organic waste to dispose of. We did , however, bring back more than we took as they process organic waste through a giant mulcher , convert it to compost & make it available at no cost to anyone who wants it. If they arent too busy, they will even load it for you as well. Damn good recycling I say.

Have had an email from my youngest son, Ian. He & his wife , Leasa, have quit their jobs just outside London, packed their belongings into a station wagon they have bought, & set of on the grand tour of Europe. They have done Paris, round all the sights, Arc De Triumphe, Eiffel Tower, River Seine by night, & the perverts paradise, the Moulin Rouge. Not saying he's a pervert mind, just that he has as healthy an interest in the naked or semi naked female form as his Dad. He has also done the obligatory pilgrimage to Jim Morrisons grave while there & a very reverential walk along the beaches of Dunkirk. Said it was an awesome experience. He is at present staying in a small cottage in the South of France courtesy of an acquaintance that he made at the pub that he worked at. Next stop is Valencia in Spain for the tomato throwing festival. From there , I think he is going to lose a few days in Amsterdam, & eventually drift on down to Munich in time for the Oktoberfest.

Listening to.. Whatever Hauraki serves up, at the moment an accoustic version of "Blue Lady" by Hello Sailor

Reading, The Painted House, by John Grisham. An awesome book. probably the best of his that I have read.

Looking forward to, A dip in the spa soon with herself & the release of Bob Dylan's new album