The drive to and from work over the last couple of days has been brightened by seeing wild rabbits, both on the local roundabout, and on the verges of the motorway. One of them was a tiny, shiny black one – everso cute.

And this evening, whilst I wandered round the garden I was delighted to see that my favourite rose, a birthday present from my hubby (he didn’t know it at the time!) had flowered. It’s a beautiful, velvety red climber with a gorgeous heady scent. Lovely and cheering....

And started my first day back by having a cat fall on my face at 6:30 this morning.

Still, could have been worse. The worst scratches are on the right side of my forehead, next to my eye. It could have actually been my eye, so I have to see the positives.

Apart from the aborted start to my holiday, the rest of last week was beautiful. Our location was stunning, the weather hot and sunny, but not too hot for the kids. I did some writing, took lots of pictures, and actually...

Vol.2 of the Empire Dance is proceeding apace - but I've had to make the decision (not easy) that after this I will need to put the project on the back-burner for a while so that the Curse does not suffer. Getting my head out of space-opera mode and back into epic fantasyland will be a bit of a wrench.

But, on the plus side, I'm rather happy with the way ED has been developing, both in my head and on (virtual) paper. When I first resurrected the idea and decided to break it into manageable,...

The cases are packed, well mostly, the kids and husband are asleep, and the cab is booked to arrive at 4:15 in the morning. By this time tomorrow I will be sitting by my swimming pool, drinking a well-deserved glass of something deliciously alcoholic, while the soft murmer of mediterranian waves from the nearby beach sooth my frazzled nerves.

I am under no illusion that travelling with 2 kids under 5 on a 4 hour flight is going to be an easy or pleasent experience. I have got colouring...

Another lovely day has been spent working from home - well, the garden actually. This time I've been far more productive workwise, but nature is providing many wonderful distractions.

The crab spider of a couple of days ago (see below - from the Photos of the Day thread) was still lurking in his flower this morning, having caught a caterpillar. The remains of said caterpillar was later dropped onto the leaf below. One half has been sucked dry, and now looks brown and desiccated, while...