Grace and Ted's excellent houseboat

This caravan on top of a rusty old boat is under the Taw Bridge in Barnstaple, right on the edge of the estuary on one side and the Tarka Trail on the other side.
It's massively zoomed, so a little bit blurred.

This morning we had an electrician round to replace some dud old kitchen lights and put up some motion sensitive lights outside. He was also supposed to replace the fan element in the cooker but he couldn't because I was supposed to order 2... Whoops.
We had a slow start while all that was going on and it gave Richard a chance to phone the council and ask about our Small Business Rate Relief. We're getting it next week - Yip yip! That'll help with the tax bill. Such a relief! ("relief" << get it?! ... )

<pregnant pause>


Then Richard and I popped out to get some cheap reading glasses.

After that I made us beans on toast and then I forced Richard and Joel to join me for a bike ride along the Tarka Trail. It was a lovely day but for the hour we were cycling it was not lovely. The sun didn't come out until we were nearly home. Clever.

I took the dog up the hill for a hike when we got back but my legs were a bit confused. They thought I should be resting or cycling, not moving with a completely different action. I was quite wobbly.

Mostly fun with kitchen cupboards was had after that. I had to wash and put back everything that had been moved to replace the lights. I ordered the extra fan element and then it was time to take the dog out again!

I enjoyed walking this evening. It's much more fun when it doesn't get dark at 4pm.

I had ideas for writing all day today. I wonder if/when I'll find a way to get back into it. I feel like crying when I know I've let ideas go.

It's often (not always) women who find they put off or give up things they love because of guilt and/or sense of duty.
It's often (not always) men who feel they deserve or have the right to continue doing what makes them feel alive.
There seems to be some unwritten rule that women are supposed to be easy-going about what their partners want to do, and yet not be too demanding for themselves. I guess that's because most women don't actually want to be too demanding - on the whole we have appeasing natures This is not a judgement on anyone I know, nor am I saying all men don't feel guilty - it's just a general observation.
In my case I think it's because I always feel what I do should serve some purpose. A day spent only writing means no one else but me would benefit from it and would mean nothing else gets done.

I'd better stop there! It's probably a bit late for this discussion!

(Richard's asleep on the sofa and there's nothing on TV)