I don't seem to have any spare time at the moment, I can barely keep up with stuff like laundry.

Yesterday though, Faye being here, it was time for an expedition. It was a toss-up between the Borders and the Highlands and Faye had no preference, so I plumped for the Highlands, a spin up round the Trossachs and back via Loch Lomondside. En route, however, after lunch in Callender, I changed my mind and we pushed on to do the Glen Coe loop. It was raining, and Glen Coe is fantastic whatever the weather.

Bertie enjoyed his romp in the glen -- he enjoyed the whole trip, despite the rain and despite spending so much time in the car. On the last leg -- in heavy rain, against the clock because of the fireworks concert -- he slept like a dead dog. When we arrived back home he leapt out of the car wagging his tail, thinking he was in yet another exciting new place. It was funny watching the realisation dawn: hey, that fence looks familiar ... and that bush ... HUH!

We were in time to catch the train to Edinburgh for the concert. It was drizzling a bit, but we had a good view -- no music, but them's the breaks. We left the house in such a rush I forgot the radio (the music is played by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in the Princes St Gardens, and broadcast on a local station). We watched from Waverley Bridge, right outside the station, and afterwards we just had to turn round and head back down. Long queue, long wait, but eventually we made it home.

This morning there was a gorgeous answering machine message from Cathy and Leighanne, calling from "far, far away": "We're looking for our mother. We heard she was at your house playing. Tell her to come home, because we miss her." Faye phoned them back: "Will you kids just leave me alone? I can't leave the country for FIVE MINUTES without you pestering me!" Shucks, they're so sweet you could eat them with a spoon.

Today's adventure was a trip to the continental farmers' market in town. It was a three-day affair, started on Friday. It was a reasonable facsimile of a continental market, complete with genuine foreigners, but smaller. The market, not the foreigners. Some of them were quite large. I bought a bag of plums, big plump delicious plums the like of which I've not seen in Britain. Faye bought bread and some Dutch ginger cake, and then we had crepes. Faye had a chorizo and cheese one, I had chocolate. We were eating them when I felt something on my hand. I looked down and there was sticky chocolate sauce all down my clean white shirt, all down my clean jeans and even spattered on my clean feet and clean sandals. Faye came to the rescue with a couple of (clean) hankies, but we had to roar back home in a hurry so I could change. She bought more chorizo at the supermarket and we had the bread with it for lunch, followed by ginger cake.

Now I'm at work, which was blissfully peaceful tonight. Friday night nearly did my head in, it was so stressful. I've got a few days off at the end of this week, and I'm determined to use them to get myself organised. Hah.