A quiet day on the Ocean

GG and I had agreed to go for a walk. I'd texted her to suggest the morning (this when we usually walk) and she'd texted back to say she'd pick me up at noon, after shed been out for eakfast! I replied that noon is not morning, and I had plans for the afternoon. She then rang me to suggest 10.30 am. I agreed, and found a walk that was about 3.5 miles long.

GG duly turned up and we drove to Stonehouse, but it wasn't long before she was looking at her watch and saying we'd got to be back at the car park by 12.30 so that she could drive back to meet someone for lunch!

I really do resent being asked to find interesting walks for someone who walks incredibly slowly, only to be squeezed in between her many social engagements! Retired people are supposed to have more free time than workers, I thought. Maybe I'll suggest coffee next time, and go for walks on my own.

The short of it is that we didn't walk far, but ended up at the wider area called the Ocean which was the terminus of the canal for many years. The canal is now being extended and rejoined to the national network at Saul junction. This involves reconstructing the 'missing mile' which was built over when the M5 motorway was created.

We had an early lunch picnic on a bench, overlooking this tranquil scene. People were paddle boarding, rambling and dog walking. The sun warmed our heads and our bare arms.

All too soon we had to drive back GG dropped me off and I sat in th garden, trying to repair a cushion for a garden lounger chair. The more I tried to fix it, the more the foam chips kept spewing out of yet another rip in the fabric! I finally gave up and stuffed it in a bin bag. Steve came down, and we embarked on a major tidy-up-the-cabin exercise.

After about four hours, it was all looking better, and now of course there's a pile of bits of old kitchen units to take to the tip. I stretched out on the sofa and read my book for an hour, whilst admiring the clean floor and sparkling windows. Then got up and made supper (pea and ham risotto).

What a gorgeous day to be outside and indulging in moderate exercise! I feel grateful, knowing that so many are enduring terrible rain and flooding at the moment.