Just 22 days........!!!

To ever so slightly paraphrase the words of the Pointer Sisters......

I'm so excited

and I just can't hide it

I'm about to lose control and I think I like it

I'm so excited

and I just can't hide it

I know I know I know I know I know I want to see this, see this






It will be AWESOME!!!

WANTED......Ark

Just had another thunderstorm and torrential downpour, albeit brief.

Listening to reports on local radio station prompted me to visit our local online newspaper where I discovered that parts of Hastings have been five feet under water.

5 FEET!!!!

As the headline so succinctly puts it......FLOODY HELL!

Thankfully, we don't have to do a post office run today as this is the road we go past en route.......

Monsoon season.......

We had a drop or two of rain in the early hours of this morning.

Rain of biblical proportions.

Apparently.

Although I was vaguely aware of the thunder and the torrential downpour, it didn't fully rouse me from a very deep sleep, so it was left to PP to monitor the rising waters.

Despite the fact we live at the top of a steep hill, our garden also slopes steeply up from the house towards woodland. It was down this bone-dry slope that the rains cascaded, turning the steps into a waterfall of such ferocity it rivalled the Reichenbach Falls.

The rainwater cascaded down our shingle 'beach' area and flowed over the top of the retaining wall, adding to the volume of water already on the patio.

Within minutes the patio was beginning to flood, although thankfully it slopes away from the house so we were spared the misery of water pouring into the kitchen and lounge. The shed in the corner of the patio wasn't so lucky, and there is currently a small lake in there.

Unbelievably, the water has almost all gone from the patio now, although a 'tide mark' on the planters shows that it rose to 6 inches!!!

Upside is that at least the vegetable plants won't need to be watered by hand today.

Slightly damp steps which only hours before had resembled a waterfall in full spate!

Meh.................

I have so much work to do I don't know where to start.

So I'm just popping out to the model shop for some special paint and glue.

That should take up a good 40 minutes then I'll get stuck in when I get back.

Hopes cruelly dashed.............

I have all but given up hope.

Imagine my excitement and anticipation this morning when the following popped into my inbox, courtesy of my daily astrological forecast.....

"A sizable sum of money could come your way today, Sandra, probably as a total surprise. This is definitely a significant day in your life. The money will open up new doors for you, particularly where creativity is concerned, so the situation definitely calls for a celebration. One caution: do NOT gamble, or consider any kind of investment other than gold, land, or blue chip stocks or bonds for at least two months. Instead, treat yourself! You deserve it!"

I eagerly awaited the post delivery, sure that my premium bonds had finally borne fruit. But alas there was nothing.

Each time the phone has rung today, I've breathlessly swept it up, convinced that some long-lost relative had popped their clogs and bequeathed me all their worldly goods, so their lawyer would be on the other end with the sad/glad tidings.

However it is now 9pm and I am losing faith.

The prediction was so emphatic.

So clear and straightforward.

I had even put a bottle of bubbly (cheap Cava) in the fridge in anticipation of the revelation.

Well, never mind. We've drunk it now anyway.

*sigh*

Still, they say good things come to those who wait..............

Scorchier.........

Even hotter today.

Hotter than the fires of Hades.

I'm hot and sticky and longing for a cooling breeze.

Have spent ALL day today doing my most unfavourite thing in the history of ever but finally completed my tax return online, which necessitated only two phone calls to the helpline to find out why I kept getting red error messages.

Anyhoo, it's all done and dusted, except for a bit for which I have to complete a supplementary paper form as they don't have the relevant section available online yet.

Which makes a bit of a mockery of the whole thing really.

In other news, there is still a lingering odour of stinky dog, despite my having subjected Small Dog to a rigourous triple shampooing after her indiscretion this morning. Why she had to choose the hottest day of the year for smelly shenanigans I don't know. We can hardly breathe as it is.

Still, it's nearly 5 o'clock so I'm ready to down tools and declare early yardarm. Might even fire up the BBQ while we wait for the heat of the day to subside.

Sounds like a plan.........

Scorchio...........

Good grief it's hot outside today.

Really, really hot.

With no cooling breeze.

Which makes the cool of the workroom a positive sanctuary, despite the chaos created by my usual 'end of the month' tidy up/clearout.

So that's where I'm going to be through the shimmering heat of the noonday sun until it cools down late afternoon, when I might just mosey out onto the patio with a glass of something chilled.

Always assuming that by then the workroom is pristinely tidy and gleaming.

*ahem*

Now I have shamed myself into producing an 'after' photo which shows an improvement.

I may be gone some time..........