Sunday

The tapping bird is back! I heard it this morning as I was finishing my shower and I hurried to get dressed so I could go out and take a photograph of it, but it was long gone by the time I got there. Ah well, maybe next weekend.

The Skype call with Tr was plagued with technical difficulties again this morning and I have suggested that we try another service - Tango - which N at the Markets mentioned the other week. I haven't had a chance to try it with anyone yet, but I'll send the details through to Tr and we'll seen how we go next week. Unfortunately, the best I can say is that it can't be any worse (and even that is wishful thinking).

The Markets was good again today. N (with V having jetted off to Germany yesterday) was the first one there - I was lonely, he told us - S and I were second, followed by F and Mi (who came bearing burek ... yum), then M and A (who said it was cold and they didn't want to be the first ones there, waiting for everyone - and who came carrying cake - double yum), and not long after that E and B. It may just have been the wind (chill factor) where we were sitting - but anyone passing may have suspected we were feeling the cold - from the wind blowing through our hair; my four layers; Mi's two layers - both of them thermals; and that M (usually of the t-shirt and shorts) was wearing a jacket and long pants! And the first lot of coffees weren't even that hot so we couldn't wrap our hands around them to leach whatever warmth we could out of them either. So, next week we may be moving from under cover out into the sun (presupposing, of course, that it isn't raining). We will need to get a place partly in the shade of course, and we are all under instruction to bring caps! I hope Mi remembers because it will be her last Markets for a while since she's off to Europe the following week. And it looks like F may be off to the States in a few weeks - Lu has an interview for his music scholarship so F is planning to go over with him, possibly basing themselves in New York, where F has family, so he can introduce Lu to his cousins. They'll either train it or hire a car to go to Boston.

The denuded hedge doesn't look any better today - and S even commented that it looks like something out a scary fairy tale - where all the brambles and thickets (without leaves) grow as a barrier between the sleeping princess and the outside world. I wonder if it was this reference that had me re-watching Shrek 4 this afternoon, although a Dragon's Keep isn't quite the same thing. The film is still fun and I love the sequence where Shrek is "on the top of the world" (with a little help from The Carpenters).

Dolly trotted over to the fence this afternoon when S and I took Pearl for her walk down to B's. She was very friendly and kept asking for a pat which S was more than happy to give her. I gave her one too, and was a bit surprised when she used her top lip to tickle my hand. If I knew "horse" better, I would know what this meant because I am thinking it's a little more significant than an itchy lip. We kept Pearl on the lead for most of the walk - only because Ebony was yappier than usual. While the electric fence may be keeping her from charging over, it certainly isn't making her any quieter. And once Pearl joins in, and us, telling Pearl to quiet down, and L, telling Ebony to be quiet, it can, and does, get quite loud in the valley.

The MasterChefers are in Italy this week, and they were in Rome tonight for a 5-team challenge. I left S to watch as I worked on my tax (only a few things missing so that's not bad for the start of July!) ... and then trawling through job sites to see what else is on offer out there in the big wide world (not much) and which agents were handling the types of jobs I want. The good news is that I'd already spent some time last week revamping my CV and finding my other employment information (selection criteria response wording, Unique Selling Points etc etc) so I am good to go! The quest, of course, is a new job - where I can make better use of my skills and feel as though I am making a contribution which is valued.