Getting a grip

It's been unusually hot for September and I can't do energetic things in the heat, so there's been a bit of sitting in the garden, which still has a reasonable amount of colour. 

On Wednesday we had our longest-standing friends over from the west and we went to Lauriston Castle and wandered around, admiring the views through the gaps in the hedges.

And today was Daughter 1's birthday, so we went up to Swanston and had lunch with her and her family.

The sky is bright so the foreground looks dark, but it wasn't. It was warm and muggy. 

I really must do more next week but apart from the heat, I'm still suffering from post-Daughter-2's- departure blues. However, inactivity is not cheering. It's even been too hot to do much hand quilting - sitting with a quilt draped over one is not a cooling pastime. Still, this will not do. Stiffen the sinews, grit the teeth, get a grip.