While the Cats Away

While the Cats Away
The Mice will Play
But a Lazy Day......
Not a Chance!

 

It was 6.55am when I woke up and flew out of bed, I’d overslept by half and hour…. Oh God I was going to be late for swimming. I rushed into the kitchen and put the kettle on, then on glancing at the calendar I saw that today was Sunday and not Monday. Today I had a little longer before leaving home for the Sunday run. I would be meeting my friend Birgit but not at the start of the run. She runs faster than I do and I start at 8.20 am and she would start at 8.30 am as was usual for our ‘Tortoise and Hare’ 10km run that we do most Sundays, meeting somewhere on the run depending of who is feeling on best form that day.

It was blissfully quite in the woods this morning, hardly a sole about after I had overtaken the two pairs of dog walkers at the start of my route. Being alone through the woods is sheer heaven. The only people I saw were a couple of mountain bikers and two separate horse and riders who passed the time of day; I mentioned that the wind was directly from the North this morning which is unusual and she replied that it probably meant winter was on its way. The sky was overcast and as I climbed toward the highest point there was a dark mist ahead and I couldn’t make up my mind if it was a foggy patch or very low cloud; I decided on the second idea. It was laying toward the South Downs Way and I hoped that it wouldn’t rain before I got back. Then not five minutes later I was the other side of the hill and running in sunshine where I saw a beautiful Red Kite just ahead of me and gliding quite low, the russet colour on the birds back glowing in the sun. We have had some very changeable days lately.

 

 

All the way, I had been looking behind me here and there to see if Birgit was catching he yet, but there was no sight of her at all and I was surprised to see her when I was nearly to the bottom of the gallops walking toward me. Once she spotted me she turned downhill the way we go to get back to our cars. Having been on a long trip away visiting her family in Germany and taking a break to show her Mother around Amsterdam visiting art galleries and museums galore, she seemed to have hit the wall and arrived later. We still went into Arundel to our favourite tea rooms and spent a pleasant half hour exchanging news. Poor Birgit was yawning fit to bust as we talked and I hoped that was because she was tired and not because I am a pain in the neck. I had brought my newest CD to lend her because I thought she would like to hear it since it is a new piece of music honouring the wonderful South Downs Way that we spend so much time running and walking on.

 

 

 

On my way home I called in the small local nursery just around the corner from my home and bought a big bag of potting compost and a two dozen winter pansies and promptly went home and planted out the pair of Art Deco style planters that we have placed in front of our newly repaired and painted front door and surround. Our cousin Sally and her husband gave Steve and I a little Bay tree for a present last year and I transplanted that into one of the new planters and a miniature fir tree that I have been growing in the back garden into the other. It is quite a transformation and the front of the house looks respectable once more.

 

I have started one of my mad embroidery projects and put a half a dozen threads into the pair of new jeans that I am giving a unique look to. The madness comes into the embroidery because I very often like to upgrade a plain denim or linen piece of clothing with a few stitches and I just choose a few colours and away I go. I think it is the needle that is magic because I don’t make any plan before I start; Stick the needle in and the stitches choose their own path!

 

 

 

After 45 minutes of that I noticed that the Grand Final of the ITU Triathlon Series women Elites race was on TV, so I downed my needle and threads and put the ironing board up and did battle with the ironing whilst watching the race. Well done Flora Duffy great race tactics kept Gwen Jorgenson from winning the race. Nobody can accuse me of laziness while the hubby is away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling pleased with a day well spent.