You're safe with us now

A packed day.  Taking advantage of the teenager free house RM and I were at Mother by 8.15 drinking coffee and eating yoghurt.  We are still on conference time I think.  Then RM went off to an appointment and I headed to Chester for coffee with a colleague, Em.

Em and I started the Chester coffee meetings post the pandemic as we came out of lockdown and were able to meet face to face again, and a few weeks ago we were talking about the fact we hadn't done it for a long while..."normal life" resumed of course and going back to the office took over. Cue a search through the diaries for a date when we could give it another go. Chester is full of great places to have coffee but for whatever reason we've always met at the Storyhouse which is itself a gorgeous space and today we were met by this beautiful arch of books (main) with the message on the floor "Welcome.  Come here.  Sit down.  You're safe with us now". How lovely.  I had thought I might be settling in for the day workign there but after Em had left and I'd finished an online meeting I couldn't get settled in the space - there was a lot of coming to ask if I was done with my drink and it didn't give me relaxed vibes, so I gave it up as a bad job and went home.

An afternoon of reviewing papers in the garden and a couple of reports written and some last minute phone calls about pressing matters, and then happily a hard stop when MsMoss came round for a cuppa ahead of book group.  We discussed 'Slanting towards the Sea'.  An interesting discussion ensued  - but more excitingly we were in the NEW bookshop which opened last weekend. It's big and beuatiful and oh so exciting to have this space in our patch. Future blips aplenty I am sure (but the book arch may not be there again and so that won out!)

Back at home we three enjoyed an excellent veggie chilli RM had cooked up and had a lovely catch up.  Then when MsMoss left and I was clearing up I, went to throw the left over rice out for the birds and look who I met in the garden (extra)!  I am SO excited. Our very own igelkott!!  As you can see, I rushed inside to find some of River's leftover cat food. I knew there was a reason I hadn't done anything about getting rid of it.  What a delightful end to the day.