After all the hoohah of last week, it was good to settle into a kind of easy routine at home.  With Mary here for added fun and jollity, a morning in Cirencester fortified by the best breakfast you can imagine at Bobs.  Pottering around the shops without any of the pressure of “real” shopping was fun.

 

 

On Saturday night we had tickets to hear Johnny Coppin, having had to miss it last year due to the snow.  No such problems this time around and we spent a happy evening listening to seasonal music and watching the most marvellous images by Martin Fry.  A super, gentle, easy night out.

 

 

Our usual Daylesford jaunt left us feeling rather differently this time.  Mary has been an all time admirer of this exquisite emporium which can’t really be described as a “farm shop” at all.  Whether it was the dreary weather – drizzle and low cloud all day - the current economic climate deep in our subconscious  or the £1145 price ticket on a sweater, we both left feeling that the lavish abundance of luxurious extravagance was, on this occasion, bordering on the obscene.  Still lovely, impeccably designed and beautifully displayed but ultimately just one notch over the top when there is such a general tightening of belts.

 

 

Much more fun then, to wander around Bath, window shopping again but this time enjoying the smaller, less extravagant displays including this beautiful shop

 

 

Of course, one never knows who might be lurking on a street corner, too.

 

 

With excitement building, we spent the rest of Mary’s stay gently pottering about, having fun in her company and using her presence as a great excuse to ditch any idea of housework or chores and simply relax.

 

 

After all, she has a project, inspired by Hendrik Kerstens!

 

 

But sadly, on the darkest day of the year, a call came to hasten her return home and today we keep our dear friend and her family in our mind as we wait for news of her 93 year old mother.  As I’m writing shopping lists this morning and heading out to the dentist, I’m wondering how things are in California and hoping all will be well.