A beautiful weekend

Life is full of ups and downs, and I've learned to appreciate the ups. This weekend definitely falls into that category - it's been productive, entertaining and played out to a backdrop of beautiful September sunshine. Is there anything better than an Indian summer?

The tone was set by my determination to apply a second coat of paint to the roof repairs Toni's dad had done on Wednesday. It looks like the roof is in better condition than I thought, so hopefully a fresh coat of paint next spring will see it last for another five years. I can see why next door were reluctant to consider a complete replacement, but it's all about living and learning. Having watched Don in action I now feel more confident about tackling future repairs myself. Painting's not exactly rocket science, so it went smoothly.

We then visited Audley End with Toni's cousin and her family - a lovely day out, despite the lack of directions within Saffron Walden itself. The icing on the cake was listening to Blues beat Cardiff 2-1 to put to bed last week's bad result, put us five points clear of the play-off places and leave us in the enviable position of having played eight, won six, drawn one and lost one. Not bad for a club being run on a shoestring by its increasingly parsimonious owners (and a lot of credit should go to Alex McLeish for our good start - despite grumblings from some quarters, he's performing miracles with one arm tied behind his back).

Today saw Toni get some time in her workshop while I entertained Harriet Rose. She's not been 100 per cent lately, but things have definitely improved in the past 24 hours and to cap it off she's started crawling (well, more like dragging herself, but it has the same net result!) forwards, which means we had to quickly order a playpen on eBay... She's also now capable of sitting herself up from a prone position, so things are developing fast!

I then spent the afternoon in the early autumn/late summer sun, harvesting a bounty from the allotment (artichokes, 10 squashes and some of our carrots) and our own raised beds (courgette and another courgette which has ballooned into a marrow). The courgette and some of the carrots tasted delicious in our evening meal. I also mowed the lawn and finally managed to get the top off the mower to clean out its innards).

So a boring weekend, perhaps, but a pleasant and relaxing one all the same. And one I hope to remember for a long time to come...