Yes,

this is where we live.

We actually live here (well... 10 minutes up the road). We really do. Actually properly.

Sometimes I can't quite believe it.

We don't often go on holiday. Not a lot of point really, is there?

(We can't take time off in kids' school holidays to go away anyway, because that is when the shop is its most busy, and it's almost impossible to take children out of school in term time these days... and we haven't got any money and we hate flying and the kids are impossible to organise around at their ages, and I have anxiety and get easily fatigued and I love my own bed, and I'd miss my garden... blah de blah de blah.... etc etc etc )

We bought our anniversary presents to ourselves today. Our anniversary isn't until 28th but I fell in love with a garden chair in B&Q the other day so we went back and bought 2 today. It made sense to get them while the weather is still so brill.
As it turns out the line has been discontinued and there was only one left in stock, so we bought that and the shop display one. If we'd waited they would have been gone and it would have been rubbish weather.

It was so warm, I had to wear a dress today. I never wear dresses!

This evening Richard took Tess surfing and I tried to do some gardening in the heat and didn't really achieve much. Then we ALL had tea together in the garden. I made a one-pot wonder with home-grown courgettes, onions, broad beans herbs and some other stuff. Everyone ate it.
Everybody. Yup.
Then Gemma and Joel washed up reasonably well and Richard and I lorded it up on our new chairs in the sun with a glass of wine.
Perfection.
I was quietly the happiest, proudest person in the family. It's all my secret dream and so simple in theory, but so rare in practice. I feel as if I spend my life trying to stage this and never/hardly ever manage to achieve it.
Life is like herding kittens and today they all got in their basket . Eventually.