As a result of the Sage’s illness, I’ve cancelled a holiday I was due to take in the autumn, as I can’t rely on him being well enough to look after himself and all the animals.  It doesn’t matter, I’ll do it another time.

What it does give me is the money I was to have spent, so it’s going on the house … that is, mostly on the garden.  And I’ve lost patience with things being put away, or else just left out somewhere in the garden and so, not only are things going to get done, but I’m buying new tools as they’re needed and I’m taking charge of them.

This means, of course, that when something goes missing, it’ll be my fault.  Maybe I didn’t think this through…

Anyway, I’m fed up with having to pump up the wheelbarrow tyre every time I want to use it.  So I’ve bought three inner tubes, for the two barrows, and one has been fitted, the others to be done tomorrow (this is the sort of thing that never actually gets done around here, for no reason at all except that the Sage is a great one for procrastinating).  Also being fed up by the electric pump having been mislaid, I’ve bought another.  It’s worth £20 not to be fed up.  The new one will live in my car.

 I have chopped back nettles and thistles to make a path to where the battens and spare guttering were kept. The first leak in the roof has been mended, still one to go.  Flints that had been piled up (as they were dug up) where I want a flower bed to go have been shifted.  The new field gate has been ordered, with the post and the fencing to go alongside it.  I’ve cut back some long growths of climbing rose that were, sooner or later, sure to catch someone in the face.  I’ve made numerous cups of tea and glasses of squash.

Little Rupert will be here for the next couple of weeks, while his owners are on holiday.  The two dogs are tired out, having played together all evening.  Roo will sleep on my bed as usual, though I’m going to have to open a window in another room, it’s very warm and muggy.

Al, Dilly and the family called round this evening and the children are coming back tomorrow to spend the day with us.  I’m really looking forward to that, I don’t see as much of Squiffany and Pugsley as I’d like to, now that they’ve moved away.  And then Weeza phoned to suggest coming over with her two as well, so that’ll be lovely.  Ro is coming over for lunch on Saturday.

All in all, pretty good really.