Rosa and I are sitting on the back step, listening to jazz and drinking cider in the sunshine. Well, I'm drinking the cider, and she doesn't seem too fussed about the jazz either to be honest, but she's happily curled up by my feet sunbathing. I want every Friday to be like this...sunny, relaxed and creative.

Creativity today has included

• Rejecting every mother's day card in the shop as too cutesy and mother-as-definition focused for my mum - who is very much not defined by the fact she's my mother, although it is something she's very good at. I'm calling it a creative decision, as it'll mean I need to be creative about her gift/card.
• Making a HUGE pot of stew from freezer finds...if I don't recognise it and I don't remember putting in the freezer then it goes in the pot. Sh*tmix stew is usually a hit. It's not the focus of this evening's planned romantic dinner though. We're having steak (also from the freezer but don't tell hubster) with home made chips.
• Putting bread on in the bread machine - fingers crossed for the well past the best before date yeast.
• Creating piles of clean fresh laundry
• Discovering a more active, happier me by riding to town to get the things we need the bathroom
• Authoring a blog post from the lovely warm sunny washing filled garden

I have a query/pondernace about the apostrophe in Mother's day btw. Would you go for Mother's Day - a day for your mother, or Mothers' Day - a day for all mothers? (despite the fact that it is in fact the traditional day to return to your parish's mother church, and not originally anything to do with mothers, biological or otherwise). The card shop had a fascinating array of mother-in-law, mother-to-be, you're like a mother to me and 'from the cat/dog/hamster' type cards. My mind boggled. Though I did want to buy my mother a card from the dog, and my Mother-in-law a card from her cat - an animal which she tolerates and appears to enjoy bemoaning the effect he has on her house (hairs, scratching, being in it generally). Entertaining ironic humour or just plain mean?

Ongoing creativity plans for the rest of the day include at least one of the following (if I ever get off this step);

• painting the bathroom and sealing the bath
• stripping the wallpaper off the living room
• making some kind of cake or biscuit
• reading one of the many books on my 'to read' pile
• winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune from an unknown relative so I can always spend Fridays like this

Rosa's gone off to explore, so I'll just *have* to stay here for a while, since she's scared of being outside on her own (literally a scaredy cat). Oh well, think I can cope!