A Balmy Autumn Day

Today has been wonderful, but then it is a Monday. The day started with the laughter of children under my bedroom window, chirpy little voices bright in the white morning haze as they went to school. We can see the school from our upstairs French windows and the children always sound so happy and full of energy.

The day has been a mellow and gentle day; the weather kind enough to allow our old cat to sit out for a while before the damp set off his rheumatism and he staggered back to the warmth of the rayburn. Even the rayburn is running well, without the insane heat fluctuations that we can cause at the beginning of a season because we're out of practice at running it. Today, it behaved perfectly, but then I did clean it out the other day, up to my shoulder in dust and ashes. If I ever want to change my name, I shall pick Cinderella as my new one!

We have decided to get the roof of the garage fixed, as the mastic seals between the large concrete slabs have started to leak. Had we owned a garage door, it would have the makings of an excellent swimming pool, the way it is now. So, earlier, we had someone around to clean the top, so it's all bright and sparkly, and our trusty roofer comes around on Friday to fix the leaks. I have to say that I'm being a bit calculating and selfish in mending the garage now.

On the 20th, I take delivery of my new car and I want somewhere nice and dry to keep it. Until now, I have always let Kim have the garage for his car - it's not old but there's a bit of a design fault and it only needs to get slightly damp before the infernal thing won't start. But now, I think I shall grab the garage back and leave him and his design fault to the elements! This is what I chose in the end:



An izmir blue Freelander 2 - it has cream leather inside and is just a treat to drive. Oddly, it's almost the same colour as my old BMW - and I had fully intended to go for something a bit different. The main thing was to get a car that could cope with the mud deluges we get in the village when it rains heavily, as well as the deep puddles that used to come above the bottom of my MR2's doors! This was not meant to turn into another jabber about cars, I'm just excited.

The day has been satisfying in so many ways. I got the chance to talk to a friend in Texas who I don't hear from all that often, and she's such a delightful person that talking to her would have lit up my day without any of the other good things. Then something really excellent happened with work, and it looks like a whole new area is opening up for me, so that lit up my day. Even smelly old Mr Cat didn't do anything nasty. Just to cap it all off, friends sent us their pictures of the Handfasting and they're really great, so that was another reason to smile.

Thank you Goddess for such an amazing day, thank you for being surrounded by such lovely people, thank you that I can make the magic of my life weave such gentle happiness.