Fading tree hydrangea

Our tree hydrangea was looking fabulous in the autumn sunshine this afternoon.

I felt more and more 'myself' as my cold further receded over the course of the day. The other good news is that our Christmas cakes are now made. There's one for us, and one for Paddy and Caitlin and their Christmas visitors. I also had enough energy to tackle the pile-up of leaves in the yarden.

Melissa told the book group members about the Everything is alive podcast this morning. I listened to several episodes of interviews with inanimate objects while working outside this afternoon: a can of own brand Coke, a lamppost, a pillow, a bar of soap, a lift, a tooth, and a grain of sand. What a find!

This evening our 18 year-old upstairs neighbour popped down for dinner and a game of Catan. Sophia is a very talkative, enthusiastic undergraduate studying Italian and the History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, and absolutely delightful company. She's keen to visit again, as are we to host her too.

Exercise today: a bit of yardening.