Squished

When I saw this toothpaste tube run over in the road yesterday I felt an instant sense of empathy. There's been a series of events which have knocked the stuffing out of me; I'm also struggling with several claims upon my time and energy, leaving me with a deficit of both. Much of that is self-inflicted, I know, because I have a chronic inability to rest, relax or be idle.

Now the month of August looms. It's probably my least favourite of the year. Although both my sons were born in it, it also has some painful associations. That apart, it's the month when summer seems to have shot its bolt but autumn has not yet taken hold; there's a sense that the stream of life has reached a point where the current slows and swirls before finding its way onward. Here in West Wales the villages and beaches swell with holiday-makers and it's all hands to the money-making pump before the usual leisurely pace resumes at the beginning of September.

So I've decided to have an August blip break. I've switched off comments today because I know that kind and generous blippers will attempt to persuade me to carry on regardless and to assure me that it doesn't matter if I can't respond to their comments or look at their blips - but where's the fun in that? The exchange of thoughts and the interaction of ideas are what makes this site, for me, the engrossing place it is. In the meantime I will attempt to keep up with my subscribers/subscribed as best I can and I will be back, I hope in better shape, in September.

I'm really grateful for the recipe suggestions yesterday. There were some excellent ideas there that I think will definitely be put into practice.
Thanks too for the wonderful response to the ducklings. They were of course all called Wally!