Rambling Rosie

Thank you for the kind comments on my last post; sorry I took so long to respond.

We are still busy but it is manageable and we have been able to carve out some 'us' time. In theory, Harry works a four-day week but something usually comes up to put the mockers on that and Fridays become just another working day. Since the beginning of last month, though, he has been scrupulous in taking his day off and we have been enjoying lazy mornings, with no alarm going off at 5.45am. He has also reinstated 'Happy Weekend' meetings on Fridays. Those are mostly fun but a paddle usually makes an appearance at some point, for good measure.

At the beginning of May, we took my 90-year-old mother for a long weekend in the West Country, where we were joined by our elder daughter and her partner. We stayed in a swish hotel, perched above a beautiful beach that had been one of our favourites in the surfing years. Nowadays, it's our daughter and her partner who surf, whilst Harry looks on admiringly. The weather was glorious.

The week leading up to the break had been hectic and, as we had an early start to our getaway, Harry decided I needed a dose of his sleep-inducing medicine to ensure an uninterrupted slumber the night before. Yes, I slept like a baby. Having only been spanked a few hours ago, I was surprised to see him sitting on the side of the bed with a paddle beside him when I came out of the bathroom the next morning. Apparently, I needed a reminder to keep calm over the next few days. Despite that reminder, I somehow managed to annoy Harry with some sassy remarks on the second night of our stay. He didn't say anything, just clapped his hands. I was pretty slow realising he was conducting a noise test but he was really fast bending me over the end of the bed, delivering a hard and fast flurry of swats. He doesn't usually spank in hotels.

Since then, life has been uneventful and that's the way I like it. We took two weekend trips to our daughter's and her partner's cottage for more renovation work. It is nearly finished now and bears little resemblance to the near-wreck they took on. As usual, I accompanied our daughter on dog walking duties. The hedgerows and coastal areas are bursting with colour, as Mother Nature delivers her summer bounty. Not far from where this photo was taken is a small cove where seals come to bask on the rocks. We only saw one that morning, bobbing up and down in the shallows; the sun hadn't quite reached the rocks at that point.

Harry has to work a few hours today but I can't complain, after last week's five days off in a row. He'll be back late afternoon for the Happy Weekend meeting...

Rosie