A decadent day

It's often the small things that bring you the most joy. I glimpsed the first camellia this week. It's always such a relief to see the garden start coming to life again. Mr D and I did some work in the garden this weekend, helped by our intrepid feathered friends scratching around in the fallen leaves searching for bugs and worms! There's a lot more needs to be done in the garden, but there's no hurry. For now, I will content myself with the odd hour or two spent outside and many hours spent curled up inside planning what and where to grow next year!

Today, I feel as if I have had a decadent day. Having completed my normal morning tasks of sweeping, a little tidying and sorting and a load of washing (The home made laundry liquid is doing well so far by the way!), I decided to allow myself the unadulterated pleasure of curling up on the settee with a rug over me and reading. I love reading, but don't often allow myself the time unless I am on holiday. What a treat then to spend hour upon hour cosy and warm with a good book! I have been invited to join a book club, but the next meeting is on today, so instead of having a month to read the book, I went to the library on Monday and read it today - 'The Shell Seekers' by Rosamunde Pilcher. I have read it before many years ago, but hadn't remembered much. I had thought the plot might come back to me, but unfortunately it didn't. I enjoyed it though and found it an interesting reflection on being a woman and moreover a mother. I'm glad I read it again and now I can really look forward to Friday evening, having something to add.

I'm now going to make up for being an 'absent mother' by baking some chocolate and macadamia brownies!