Sailing, cleaning and sunshine

I don't know what I've been doing for the past week, but blogging hasn't been part of it. I complain that there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything; after yesterday I've decided the answer is to sleep a lot less.

Yesterday, B and I got up early, at 5 o'clock. I dropped him off at a local jetty so he could join a friend on a trip down the coast from Lake Macquarie to Port Hacking. There was a strong wind warning and I was a little anxious for him - he's never sailed down the coast before. As I stood on the deck of our friend's boat I wished it was me that was heading out. Feeling that familiar motion of a yacht on the water brought back so many memories for me. But I waved them off and took the dogs for a walk along the waterfront. I needed to kill some time before the petrol station opened - my car was just about out of fuel! I stopped for a cup of tea with some friends who are living nearby and watched the day brighten, the sky becoming clear and blue, and the pelicans paddling just off the shore. It was very pleasant sitting on their balcony, and not yet even 7 am.

Here are the dogs back in the car: there's my two Cavalier King Charles spaniels (Bozo and Penny) , and B's red kelpie (Blue) looking his usual imperious self.

Back home, I decided it was time to capture the current state of some of my plants: baby lemons;

Parlsey gone monstrously to seed! and

the beatifully perfumed trumpet flower. It only releases its perfume in the evening; when I step outside the house onto my terrace after dark the air is rich with scent.

At this point it is still only 8 am, and after a quick bite I decide the day is far too nice to spend inside catching up on paperwork and housework, so I clean the boat. That takes me most of the day. I also get sunburnt. At day's end I am so so tired, and quite sore - muscles as well as sunburnt skin! but my wee boat is halfway decent and I feel really satisfied. And today it is raining again, so I am catching up on the inside stuff.

B, by the way, had a really good trip down the coast. They motored all the way since there was not enough wind to sail well.