Home

 We were supposed to be away until Friday but have come back early - not through anything drastic.  The cottage (wing of a farmhouse) was lovely, weather was just about perfect, location was fab - both the farm itself (so peaceful) and the proximity to all the places we wanted to go.  However, being an old cottage the stairs were steep with narrow treads and the bathroom and loo were both upstairs - not ideal but we managed, although I certainly wouldn't want to live there with that setup.  The main reason for coming home early though was Betty - dogs weren't allowed upstairs, the owners were very strict about that and insisted we close the stairgate at all times to keep the dog downstairs.  Well, Betty, understandably, didn't like that at all.....she's even more clingy and anxious now and doesn't like being separated from me, she whined at the bottom of the stairs every time I even went up to go to the loo.  I knew she wouldn't settle if she was left downstairs on her own overnight, so I slept downstairs on the sofa for 3 nights, with husband reluctantly agreeing to do it twice.  The sofa wasn't very comfortable to sleep on, even lying on a thick duvet....it was ok for me (well, I was prepared to put up with the discomfort) but husband predictably moaned like hell, you'd think he was the only person to ever suffer with backache.  For the last two days though, Betty was quite unsettled and off her food, so I took the decision to come home, husband agreed with alacrity.  

The positives - we went everywhere we had wanted to go, I bought the saucepan set I wanted from the ProCook shop at Clarks Village (where my last pan set came from about 10 years ago) and got the showerproof jacket I wanted from the M&S outlet, husband bought another pair of his favourite Skechers shoes.  We went to Wells, my favourite little town with the lovely cathedral.  Had a drive through the village where we used to live, it doesn't appear to have changed at all since we moved from there in 2012.  I loved sitting in the cottage conservatory doing lots of reading and crochet, not a sound to be heard apart from birds in the trees and the chickens gently clucking in their run at the bottom of the cottage garden.  The first time Betty and the chickens saw each other, they made each other jump, very funny.....after that Betty kept her distance.  Husband spent his time as he does at home, dozing in front of the TV - not that I minded, I was happy reading in the conservatory with Betty lying at my feet.  So we had busy mornings out and about, and restful quiet afternoons.  And I did hardly any cooking - just cold meals, or something & chips, a Ploughmans one day, a really surprisingly nice Taste the Difference fish pie with - shock, horror - bought ready prepared green veggies another day.  

So here we are back home, Betty now seems fine and happy to be home, she quickly settled back down.  Although we've enjoyed it, it's nice to be home, there's nothing like your own bed.