Overcast.

It's been a bit of a gloomy day with occasional showers for good measure. But I didn't mind as I had given myself the day off. Highlight of the day was meeting up with my friends for coffee and a lot of chat at the garden centre cafe. Only 6 of us this time but we were still quite a rowdy crowd with all our laughter. 

I took the back roads to the garden centre as usual. I was enjoying the steep winding lane up from Muddiford and reflecting on the way the high hedges grew straight up from the edge of the road which is only a few feet wider than my car when a little rabbit ran out on to the road. I swerved over as much as possible and when I looked back in the rear view mirror the rabbit was still hopping along the road. One day, when it isn't raining I'll take some photos along that road. The villages are pretty too with lots of old houses some with thatched roofs. One house had most of its thatched roof recently replaced and up on the ridge the thatcher had made the figure of a galloping horse. I've seen doves made out of the thatch before but that was the first time I've seen a horse.

After a lovely time with my friends I drove to collect our prescriptions form the doctor's. As the pharmacy there closes at lunchtime! I dropped into town first to visit the library and the health food shop. I also went into Primark to get a pair of pj bottoms that I could cut down to make pj shorts. The shorts you can buy are a little too skimpy for my taste and my last year's shorts are a bit too big. I tried on the pjs for size and was thrilled to find that I needed to buy the size 10-12 ones (US 8 -10). I don't recall being that small around the hips even when I was a teenager and I felt like telling everyone in the shop what size I needed (I resisted that urge). I did follow my teacher's instincts a little later when I saw a young crying boy, about 5 years old, in the shopping centre. I watched him for a few minutes before going up to him and yes he had lost his mum and the rest of his family. A security man was walking by and he was just putting out a call on the tannoy system when the worried mum turned up.

The only 'work' I have done at home was to put the china I am keeping back into the pine cupboard. There is still a big pile of stuff on the kitchen table from the corner cupboard but I'm hoping that a good sort out will result in a much tidier kitchen. I had a quick walk around the garden and a chat with Boris who gave both my hands a thorough licking.