Warm.

With warm south-westerly winds and hardly a cloud in the sky this was far too nice a day to be spent indoors. 

Underfoot everything was very wet giving little incentive to do any gardening should I be so inclined. Instead, once the usual routine work had been done and some washing found to put in the machine I settled down at the garden table to make a start on replacing the soles on my winter sheepskin slipper/boots. This was not out of thriftiness but simply because so far I've been unable to find a replacement pair. With my large and extra wide feet I would have to try on before buying which rules out the internet so I shall just have to keep on looking.   

Speedy is a very sociable cat and no sooner had I gone to get my camera than he was there to keep me company. We were both enjoying the sun, though by this time there was some high cloud making it less warm but still nice. From next door I could hear the sounds of youngsters enjoying a large bouncy castle (I think it was a birthday party). Then I could hear a group of very excited teenagers up at the workshops and much revving of an engine. I was hoping it was only Jack's trail bike and not some more potentially lethal bit of equipment they were playing with. Before I could get too concerned they found something else to do. A little while later I heard some youngsters up in the rough ground near the scree garden. It's not our land so I wasn't worried but then I heard the tinkling of broken glass and all went quiet. When I went up and checked the outbuilding I found a wet and muddy stone inside and broken glass from an old already broken door that had been leaning against the unfinished window opening. I wasn't too happy to say the least especially as the cats wander around up there and could have been injured by the shards of broken glass. Peter phoned our neighbour and not long after the boys came over. They started by saying it wasn't them but they would clean it up anyway. I went into full teacher mode and gave them a thorough telling off explaining that though I understood that things happen at times I was very cross that they hadn't come and owned up. I explained the possible consequences to the cats and by the time I had finished all they could do was to say sorry. Peter happened to be watching out of his study window and he said he had never seen such a dejected group of teenagers as they walked up the drive with their heads down. The pair of us simply could not stop laughing but the boys had to be told. 

After all that I only got one slipper done but I'm now wearing a pair of very cosy slipper socks that were a present last Christmas.  

Each evening we've been watching old episodes of Bake Off, sheer torture for somebody like me who loves cakes and desserts. Once we move and have a controllable oven both of us have plans for more ambitious baking. With cake on my mind I thought I would bake an apple cake this evening. I went up to collect some of the red apples from the tree to find only one half eaten apple wedged between two branches. I have a photo from less than a week ago showing the apples and I'm sure they were there even more recently. Was it a squirrel or could the jackdaws or rooks have taken them? They were too high up for the culprits to have been deer or even boys so it's a mystery. Instead I used apples from the other tree which are a different variety, smaller and more green.