Birds, Bones and dinner

Had a lovely long lie-in today. Felt I deserved it, but still felt guilty I wasn't up and doing stuff. Ye gods, but I have to learn how to relax. I really need to take lessons in it or something. I rubbed my special Clarins relax oil on my shoulders this morning, but I think it might be fighting a losing battle. Though it's a lovely smell of course.

For most of the day, Lord H and I have been wandering around Thursley Common spotting birds and working out which direction we should be going in. It's a fantastic place - bleak and black and gold and strange. All at the same time too. Almost like a landscape from another world. New birds spotted today - siskins, hurrah! Also great swathes of woodpeckers in all shapes and sizes, something that looked like a cross between a chaffinch and a greenfinch (can they interbreed??) and a jay or two. Actually, I'm becoming rather fond of jays - they look as if they've had a bad-hair day and they don't really fit in with anything else. I feel an essential affinity with them.

I've also managed to post my collection of envelopes for this month's poetry competition submissions. A ridiculous time to send them out, I know, but the thought of having them lurking in the flat over the holiday season was setting my teeth on edge. And talking of teeth, thank you to all you wonderful people out there who have posted suggestions as to how to save my jawline - I'm very grateful indeed. Lord H and I have brushed with great concentration today and are showing off our teeth at every opportunity. Hmm, no wonder the three sets of dogs we met in Thursley all went for us. Perhaps they were blinded by the sparkle?

Back home, I have attempted to add a few more sentences to The Bones of Summer, but really time is running out. I must have a bath and watch "Strictly Come Dancing" in my glad rags - as we're out at Liz & John's tonight for a posh dinner, and will have to go immediately after the show finishes. I'm looking forward to going (quite rare for me then!), as there won't be too many people, I know them all and Liz cooks like an angel and is the perfect hostess. Come 10pm, we'll all be rude and raucous, hurrah! What more could one want?

Oh, and I've opened the mince pies. Well, Lord H was looking longingly at the packet and I've promised I will be a nice, normal wife for 11 days (or is it 10 now?), so it was the least I could do. Not sure how long I'll be able to keep that resolution then. And, I suspect, neither is he ...

Today's nice things:

1. Birds
2. TV
3. Dinner with friends.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers