play you're cards right Malka & you never know. Anyway gossiping about you means they are leaving someone else alone.

ooh Malka, you Brazen Hussy

Ironing I do not do with a couple of exceptions. Steve has an expensive cotton shirt he wears for weddings and funerals, mentioning which we have B.I.L's funeral Wednesday and I have a pure cotton embroidery anglaise shirt blouse that I have to iron. They are the only two pieces when washed and carefully dried still require ironing. All my other sheets, pillowcases which are cotton mix provided I wash and hang them carefully and then fold them most carefully when dry then they need no ironing. I do have an expensive set of sheets etc which I do have to iron but then I only use them when I have overnight visitors and what a pain they are.

Malka, glad you got Pereg all vaccinated and legal, bless her.

When my visitors were here this morning the eldest boy, 8, after a recci of the house said "Auntie Jenny, Mummy says you are an old lady"
My Niece, looking mortified said "Adaaammmm, when did I say that?"
"When we were on holiday and I wanted to buy an owl ornament, you said no, only old ladys collect owls"
Hahaha I have a houseful of owls, china, wooden, glass, pictures...............

out of the mouths of babes.

MALKA YOU ARE NOT AN OLD CRONE!! Little bit of kissing on both cheeks is lovely,bet you went like this though
Its possible that wine could come in handy....little candlelight dinner perhaps

Well - everyone's gone now. And I'm in exactly the same mood I am always in when they leave. Took Jen at 10pm last night for our usual tearful farewell. I went to bed quite late and got up much earlier than I have for the past month with all the visitors here to get Bella out before the sun was too high in the sky. We had a good long walk, meeting lots and lots of her doggy pals and a new one too - nice little poodle type.

Upon my return I launched into a full scale apartment cleaning exercise and didn't stop until I was completely exhausted. Have worked so hard I can cancel Lucia for cleaning and just get the window cleaner in now. (I even cleaned one of those).

I find the quickest way to settle to well loved visitors being gone is to remove all traces of them asap. Works for me. And put my pad back as it is when I am here alone with muttley. So the little lego man left behind in my printer is gone - all Jen's hairclips, odds and sods (not to mention the actual hair from her unruly mop) have vanished. I've only got the spare room to sort out and already done some of it. The upstairs neighbours (holiday home for an Irish family) left yesterday too and the downstairs ones are not due until next month so it really is quite quiet here at the mo.

After another very short walk for Bella to pee at around 2pm I did my daily trip to the 'shady' ATM (am amassing thou's for 6 months rent in cash and on principle won't get it out over the counter as they CHARGE ME for doing that!) and then on to my favourite garden centre with Bella in tow to perform another ritual that always cheers me up - BUY SOME NEW PLANTS! No idea what the yellow flowery ones are but they are pretty.

I spent hours and hours cleaning the verandahs and turfing out and tidying up the pots and plants. Bella got totally exhausted 'skating' on the water being sloshed around and riding the mop. Then a shower for both of us and I defrosted one of my 'comfort food' stews which I ate about an hour ago with dumplings! That was my only meal today - been living on kawfee. Then applied myself to a job I've been putting off as it requires more concentration than most of the stuff I do. Multiple choice sizes and colours creating drop down groups etc. for boring wedding ribbons hundreds of 'em and uploading images onto them.

I took an hour out in between all this to lie on my bed and watch a DVD - Les Miserables the musical version.

Sent my boss a few update emails sent out all the info needed emails. Dug out all receipts needed for my own landlord who is over at the mo on the 3rd floor in another of his apartments (his daughter popped up to see us yesterday - she is pals with Jen)

Will take Bella out again in about an hour and then hopefully settle down for a good night's sleep tonight.

The Moneth issue is still partially 'ongoing' and I have the additional problem of Sabby not having paid his rent this month yet and me being unable to find him in. Early today I noticed he was there but to tell truth I just was NOT in the mood to deal with it today so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I've actually got so many 'outstanding issues' to deal with now - including getting my car aircon fixed and someone to look at my bedroom aircon too that I can keep myself as busy as I want to be over the next week.

Pleased to say I detected a perceptible 'cooling down' slightly today. I was able to function without using the aircon at all all day with just all windows open and fans on the go. I've got it on right now as I get hot just sat at the laptop but hopefully my lecky consumption will now start to drop. I am expecting an astronomical bill for August use. The last one worked out at 100 a month before I started using the aircon!

I want to Skype Martin but wanted to be sounding slightly more upbeat before doing that. I am slightly bothered about him as he has been particularly 'quiet' this past couple of weeks. Will do that right now in fact.

*will think about changing my screen name to Tangutica Domestica after today's blitz on the housework front!

Eileen - David has a very beautiful wife, anyhow what is a kiss on both cheeks between friends, huh?

Mind you, there was one time, but one time only, that I sort of fancied Vadim, the LA Vet, but that was more what he was doing than anything else.

And NO, he was NOT doing it to me. The dog catchers had been unable to catch two strays that were living under the house next door to my previous bungalow [the house was partly on stilts] even though they had been leaving food out etc for days on end.

The dogs, probably litter mates, were messing everywhere and were covered with ticks and fleas - and in the end Vadim had to come out and tranquilise them using a special rifle and darts. One of the guys then crawled under and gently brought the dogs out and Vadim sat in the road checking their vital signs before carefully lifting them into the van.

That sort of made my heart melt.