My average monthly expense sheet is so often filled with entries like ‘Tea and Hula Hoops – £2.00‘, rather than (for example) the infinitely more grand ‘La Perla raw silk peignoir, £350′ (although the days when I could fit even one finger into anything from the aforementioned were gone by the time I turned nine) that I occasionally suspect that I may be not quite keeping to my side of the glamour bargain supposedly beloved of ladies of reasonable means. I have always thus been tempted to save myself the trouble and dump the small-change, finicky bits in the blue recycling bag along with the junk mail and empty tissue boxes, being as I am often unsure of quite when an engaging thriftiness becomes downright tightarse. Now I remember why I don’t. Yay!

Naturally I have celebrated by purchasing many new items, and am planning some more photographs in earnest – the bright weather will not last forever and the lovely natural light has always been my favourite key ingredient. The sunshine has still not let up in weeks, it seems and I have often been out and about enjoying the warmth and fresh air from beneath a carefully applied coating of coconut-scented Hawaiian Tropic Factor 50 – following the unholy pink colour and murderously stinging shoulders I acquired just strolling around Edinburgh on that first really hot weekend a couple of months ago, I have no intention of being caught out again and all excursions out of doors are being carefully prepared for (at home I am far more lackadaisical, being happy to stick to Factor 15 and just keep away from the windows).

This afternoon I am heading off on a leisurely Big(ish) Shop in preparation for what is beginning to look like a surprisingly busy week interspersed with more decorating and the World Cup final tomorrow night. Inspired by both the football and my Borough Market tapas last week I will be hoping to later create some Spanish-style delights myself (incidentally for a foolproof recipe that would make Popeye weep see here – I speak as a staunch and unrepentant carnivore) and am looking forward to wallowing hedonistically in an oily, garlicky, lemon scented and paprika-spiked utopia for much of the remainder of the day weekend.

I may also grudgingly buy some Edam, just in case.

Even my plump and lazy goldfish have been invigorated by the good weather, swimming about excitedly (if wonkily due to lack of practice) every time they are so much as waved at and I will not be following their enthusiastic example, instead spending the remainder of the week gently pottering about and catching up on the usual day to day tasks – unpacking, laundry and yet more decorating*, although the apartment is definitely taking real shape now and the now-legendary New Bathroom project is now almost complete barely a year in (although true to form, the grout still needs a tidy up). The heat has made all forms of physical activity bar the obvious particularly unappealing, and the thought of more ceiling-painting has been sending shudders up my spine, but I have so far managed to gamely battle on, aided by nakedness, a cheap desk fan and a family size box of choc ices.

I have also had chance whilst in London to meet the artist lady mentioned previously, and collect the first of my pair of newly embroidered artworks ‘Bug Balls’ – the second, ‘Moth Balls’, will follow it here in a year or so leaving me with a temporary dilemma of whether to hang its companion and where, solved for the moment by placing it securely on the mantlepiece for all to see (insect-phobic types had probably best avoid). All in all, one of my better weeks and only really let down by an eagerly-anticipated meeting with a lovely lady friend being called off due to car trouble, but fortunately no-one was stranded and we will hopefully be catching up with cake and gossip on my next visit.

To the coming week and I will be available-ish, although I have been planning some new outdoor photographs which may or may not be taken on Thursday or Friday – locations have been scouted and hopefully the popular ‘logpile’ set from a year ago will be updated soon. I am also running out of appointments on my Bristol trip in two weeks’ time – there are some gaps left on the Thursday daytime but availability is all but gone, and I am looking forward to my visit very much. In the meantime, business as usual and hopefully the occasional cool breeze – the visitors are starting to appear and the traffic is already horrendous at weekend-times, so drivers are advised to set off in good time (and it’ll get worse before it gets better) and be prepared for delays; I will be waiting with bottled water and a nice cold flannel if needed. Roll on December…

*Whilst we’re on the subject of decorating, the image below is detail from the extremely smart and tasteful wallpaper hanging in a certain hotel restaurant. Click on it and look closely.