Windows!

Archie was playing with his toys this morning! Back to normal. Maybe he had a headache.

His new friend Maddie, an ex-colleague, came to take him up the Hill nice and early. It's by far the best place for borrowers, because he can be off the lead safely. She's a fast walker, but he kept up, and came back when called (she had his favourite treats). And he still managed plenty of doggie socialising.

I decided to make a start on the outside windiws using my special extendable ladder. They're getting into a bit of a state due to the hot sun relentlessly beating down on the paintwork... But they're certainly not as bad as those in many of the flats around.

I'm quite good at painting - I have a steady hand, in fact, two steady hands. But I'm not good at painting up ladders, and have been known to fall off a ladder with a full tin of paint. And that was when I was young and fit!

But I refuse to pay a man £380 to do them. The easiest window has been sanded and primed. And the bottom middle window. No accidents. Not even any paint on my clothes. I had my Bluetooth headphones on with a Spotify playlist from my phone inside the house. Brilliant.

Archie was worried - what a very strange thing for his silly old mum to do! I am relaxing now, but I must still have a whiff of eau de white spirit from cleaning my brush, because he jumped up to sit on my lap as usual, stopped in his tracks, then moved away to the other end of the sofa. Huh! He doesn't smell exactly fragrant himself...