A rebel without a clue.

Strong coffee this morning. I forgot what French roast was like! There is no comparison between Illy and Aldi! Aldi is rough? Perhaps two heaped table spoons is too many in a cafetière? I recall Carte Noir being a more mellow French Roast. Back payment of Carer's Allowance hit my account this morning: mother and her knee! And I've managed to clear two debts that I wasn't going to clear until the end of summer, through dog sitting duties. Lola is by my side again.  From 4 she was in my bed, from 6 in her seat and at 6:35 crawling all over me for her breakfast. Now she's in her post breakfast snooze around 7. There was a breeze blowing this morning, but it appears to be dropping? We'll have a nice hour and then I will head back to Leeds to touch base with it. Maureen thought I looked a little distracted when she arrived and perhaps I was? Even in the short space of time I was in my mum's company on Sunday morning there was the usual conflict about something and no...

Final day with Ruby. She was out for the count again around 7. Flat out on her sofa and didn't budge until I came down at 6 and gave her her morning cuddle and wriggle. Super happy in that moment she is! Now she's gone upstairs to mummy's bed once more. This morning I am collecting Lola from mum's for a wander somewhere. For a couple of hours. I am thinking of the race course, but it's Carboot Sunday so too many human waste distractions... we've not been to Crowcroft Bank this week so perhaps down Watersole Lane to there and back up to Chestnut Avenue via the Wilderness carpark below Bridgefoot? Another morning without a hangover. Since I took over from Maureen and Tony I've not gone into the bottle. Except for the slightly hungover Saturday morning I feel fine. Wetherby had a funny aspect in Bar Three and The Mews so I didn't stay for more than a pint in either one. Which meant I slept soundly.  Heading off to mum's to collect Lola for an early walk...

Penultimate day with Ruby. Mo and Tony have returned to Dubrovnik for a final night before they return to Chestnut Avenue. I've Ruby alongside me. Yesterday she was pretty tired all day from Thursday adventure to Newton Kyme, Rudgate and Boston Spa - Lola was the same. Yesterday I managed to get to the allotment for a couple of hours to dig some potatoes: which I gave away to Andy, Jason and mum's neighbours. Also I collected some peapods and ate them with Ruby before I left her to pop to the Brewery to catch up with Jason, Nick and Adrian. Too many Abbey beers and the usual cheese and cake shoveling affair, but I slept pretty well until 5 and didn't come down until 6. Just finishing off the stove top coffee prior to making breakfast - I boiled some basmati rice in the liquor I'd reserved from the steamed Charlotte potatoes I'd had for lunch. The ones I gave away were Swift variety. At some point today I will put courgettes in the space I cleared. Ruby is very used ...

For some reason I wrote nothing this morning! Perhaps I was just far too busy to write trivial gibberish? It's raining nicely and Ruby is exhausted. Lola, her and I walked to Rudgate on the Boston Tadcaster road, into Boston Spa and then caught the number 7 to The Spinney up Spofforth Hill. We did around 12 miles with a little detour into the MOD munitions ruin on the edge of Thorp Arch Trading Estate. This rain is good... And tomorrow will be a lesser day? I washed my clothes and had a bath. The allotment calls tomorrow... ...good morning. Slept satisfactory last night and Ruby didn't budge from her chosen spot on the sofa last night. Around 11:30 I came to check on her because I was fairly surprised she didn't come up to mummy's bed. Must've been fairly shattered from Thursday's long one. The rainy evening continues into a spotty morning. The plants I watered didn't need it... But you never can tell at the moment? The weather seems to pass us by. Actually ...

Slightly better night's sleep in 14 Chestnut Avenue, the curtains are too light and the room is south-ish facing so sleeping beyond 5 is not possible with sunlight pouring in? Ruby joined me for a little fun and cuddle, came downstairs, did a toilet visit, sat next to me a while and, when I went out to water all the many pots and hanging baskets, shifted back up the wooden hill to mummy's bed. Now I am making a cheese topped, baked brushetta type thing with some of Sundays bacon and broad bean casserole (it's pretty dry), Fontana cheese and using the left over bread. Monday was a meat free day. From 11:30 to 1:30 I was on the allotment putting down covers on two areas to get them ready for later in the year: autumn growing. And I cleaned up around the tomatoes and French beans. Uncovering the corn next to the gate and using the net on the raspberries which are showing... Cropped all the broad beans and have been eating them with every meal; Jason came up to the ...

A string of intense dreams kept me in sleep much longer. At 6:35 the noise of traffic drifts up from the heavy A1 to distract from the solace. It rained during the night, lightly yet persistent, and I believe it causes a sound inversion. Ruby barked at around 11:30 to go out for a toilet break, then she went to mummy's bed and she's been quiet there since, just boiling her a couple of eggs. Lola was a little lethargic yesterday (and her collar broke as we set off) so I didn't go as far as I'd hoped. There still is no water anywhere: no puddles and it's a fair walk from 14  Chestnut Avenue to Crimple Beck near to Gospel Hill. Lola has a slight health concern: she's got what looks like a hernia around her backside. At first I thought she'd been bitten or had a bit of loose skin, she's passed 7 and has a few blemishes. A little bit of inner tissue looks to have broken through her outer layer. I touched it once and I could see she was in pain. At first I was...

Light filtering through the curtains at around 4 and for the second morning I was struggling back into Lalaland. Tonight I must put back my bed time with an hour's book reading. I've brought a copy of Don Quixote to try the second part of that tome. But it's a more modern translation than the previous one I'd read so I started at the beginning again. Ruby has just returned to mummy's bed. She's no bother at all. Just now she came outside for a visit and we had a little moment together before she returns there for a couple more hours. On Saturday I cropped all the broad beans I had had growing since Autumn and spent yesterday blanching and podding their secondary shells for the stew I conjured last night. Part of me wants to take Ruby and Lola out this morning on the bus, but I would prefer to do that when Lola stays here at Chestnut Avenue. Collecting her from mother's adds another 30 minutes to Ruby's walk... *** Is it a good ide...