Home again.

It was a wonderful week away but I've just caught up with Chillside and Walled Garden and am aware that the only photos I have are multiples of a dribbling baby, a choc-smeared toddler and a very cheeky looking eleven year old. No amazing sunflowers (doesn't the wind ever blow in Suffolk?) or even garden flowers (haven't done any gardenning this year and the weeds are less photogenic) and certainly no enviable scenes of French baguettes and bicyclettes.

The weather around Ballater was good enough for everyone to get out for walks round lochs one half of the day then retire to the 'Leisure Facilities' in the afternoon for swimming, sauna, tennis, table tennis or squash. Very civilised. I stayed in the Lodge mostly with heavy asthma but it did leave enough incoming oxygen to enjoy the shops briefly in the mornings. The pickings there are much better than in Forres I have to say. I bet some of the bread we ate was as good as anything going in France, though it sounds like sacrilege to make such a claim! It was Victoria Week so there were lots of activities in the squares with a Parade and Games on Thursday. We mostly ignored it all but I enjoyed the buzz. I prepared meals, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher and basked in the appreciation! I read the latest Rankin (enjoyably less dour without Rebus) and did crosswords.

My stomach is now used to two proper meals a day, lots of salad and interesting pickled fish, charcuterie and so on lunch time, hot in the evening. It's in for a big shock today.

It was good to get home to some cash in the tin brought in by the esteemed Tom who opened the shop when his own asthma and other problems permitted. Comparing notes with my bookshop-owning friends in Ballater theirs is a much better town for passing tourist trade of the well-heeled variety and what they take in one week this time of year is more I took in a whole month here even when the going was good. Better too than the Other Shop up the road which is much bigger than both of us stock-wise and in square footage. They really flog themselves to do it though so I'm not envious.
On the Friday we treated C&G to a pre-wedding anniversary night in an out-of-town hotel with dinner & wine and Chloë & I, ably assisted by Sanders, took charge of the infants. Bath & bedtime was a bit hairy but once they settled the night was easy - except that I was nervous about it not being so slept in the room with them and was joined by Sandy who doesn't like to sleep alone. Every time someone woke (usually the V.small Theo grubbing about for his bottle and/or dummy and/or object he has to hold in the left hand, I stayed awake for hours listening to them all snoring and snuffling around me. It was rather nice to be honest - All My Own Work in a sort of way!