My sister reminded me that my blog does actually exist and wasn't it time I wrote something? I'd actually forgotten all about it so, yes, it definitely was time. Thank you, Annette!

I need to do something about my profile where it mentions my 'daily blog'. I think I must change that to 'monthly' - far more realistic!

Since last writing, we have hosted the marriage of our lovely daughter Tasha to the wonderful Reece. They've been away on their camping week in Weymouth and are home again. We still have the odd thing about the house to remind us of the wedding, which was the most beautiful day, but it is now, of course, a wonderful memory. That's the thing about weddings. You just want to do them over again and savour the moments that seemed to rush past. There are so many people to thank, for coming and being part of the celebrations, for helping set it all up in our garden, and dismantling it all the next day. The young people were a joy and it was fantastic to see family and friends from near and far.

Eventually, after 12 loads of washing (many people slept here for a week and more), life returned to normal and I got down to some writing. I, oddly, ended up writing a sci-fi story, which is very unusual for me. It finished at 3,500 words - not much use for the mags I write for, regardless of the genre - so I'm thinking perhaps I will save it for a competition, or maybe use it at at some point for a kindle book of short stories. I also had a serial proposal rejected because it was not quite the right tone for PF. I'm toying with the idea of writing that anyway, in a one-er, because if I did make a book of short stories, they could be any length and any genre, really. There's another story I started too, around the novel Rebecca. If I had no limit on word count for that, it could work.

Something to think about, but I need to get my new thumb joint first. I was accepted for the procedure, went for the blood test, and then received a letter saying they can't go ahead until my potassium levels have been elevated. They are too low to be safe, apparently. Nothing from the doctor about this so I've just gone ahead and ordered some high strength potassium tablets. I'll have to contact the doctor at some point about how long I will have to wait until I'm retested. Arrrgggh. I thought the letter, when it arrived, was the op date!

I also had to delay my dental procedure to have my crown fitted due to out of control hayfever/allergies. Frustrating, but I suppose at least, now, that delay won't impact upon my joint operation as a certain amount of time must elapse between each due to possible infection from the dental work.

Lately, I have been in a reading mood and am now reading 'The Remains of the Day'. It has been on my shelf for decades and, finally, I got around to it. What an unusual book! I am really excited about the ending because I know he is an unreliable narrator and can't wait to find out the truth. I will also, then, watch the film starring Anthony Hopkins (when we get back from our cruise).

So, my books are packed for our holiday and I am so looking forward to reading uninterrupted! I've also downloaded some onto my kindle, so I won't run out. I'm just not sure how I'm going to decide what to read after I've finished this one.

I need a quote. Here's Zachary Petit, former Writers' Digest managing editor...

'...don’t ever really give up. Writers write. It’s what we do. It’s what we have to do. Sure, we can all say over a half-empty bottle of wine that we’re going to throw the towel in this time, but let’s be honest: Very few of us ever do. And none of us are ever really all that surprised when we find ourselves back at our computers, tapping away, and waiting for that electric, amazing moment when the pebble of a story shakes loose and begins to skitter down that great hill …'