Today

Unfinished projects,
a neverending to-do list,
important calls to make.

Five minutes out,
a strong cup of coffee,
a stroll in the garden.

New blooms,
new buildings,
a new edge to the air.

The weekend

What a brilliant weekend. We are absolutely exhausted. It started with dinner in our local with Mr M's best mate, Mr H, his wife and Mr H's folks who swung via ours for a Hampton Court debrief. Bless them - the heavens had opened whilst they were there and so all were decked out in appropriate wellies and waterproofs.

On Saturday we didn't quite wake up at the crack of crows as intended, but made a darn good stab at it and were on the road by 7:30. We had a lovely run down, nipping through lovely little villages and towns like Midhurst, Singleton and Cocking. Oo-er! Our destination? Goodwood Festival of Speed. Like bees to a honeypot, or rather petrolheads to a petrol can...? Mr M got tickets for his b'day from my folks and it was fantastic. You get to walk around the paddocks and get really close to the cars and teams. Watching the F1 cars do the hill climb was deafening and the new Airbus did a fly-by which was pretty surreal. Didn't spot that many celebs, other than Fifth Gear filming around the supercars and Bond car exhibition. All in all, rather a classy affair - organic burgers and lager - so much better than the Grand Prix!

After a good night's sleep, we were ready to face the crowds at Hampton Court. We hopped on the £1 ferry to cross the river from Harts Boatyard and marched to the Palace. Once we were in, it was Mr M's turn to be in seventh heaven for the second time in 48 hours. Having slow shuffled our way around the show gardens and signed Mr M up for an RHS membership, we made our way to the veg exhibition and stumbled across the Franchi seed stand. I love those guys. Their packaging is so wonderfully retro. I've only ever found them in Borough Market. We picked up two lots of lettuce, yellow beans and borlotti beans. We then made our way to the Long Water to see the Thai floating market.

By that point we were getting rather hot and a little snippy - so we hurried to the beer and sausage stand and sat by the water devouring lunch and waiting for our feet to stop throbbing. We pottered around the rest of the flower show - naturally taking in the food tent and stocking up on some scrummy wine from here and oodles of sausages from here. And then we decided it really was time to go - everyone was starting to get a little twitchy and pointy elbows were being sharpened for the big plant sale was about to begin. So as we made our way out, dodging said elbows and those awful trolleys that people insist on buying, we were rather decadent and put an order in for the most amazing bench ever. We've been looking for one for a while and saw this demonstrated earlier in the day. Having ummed and ahhed about it all day, we went for it. It was discounted - so that helped - and is being delivered in the next couple of weeks. Can't wait! The day ended with us getting the £1 ferry back to The Albany and trudging our sorry little selves back to the flat. We had enough time to cool down, before our friends popped round for dinner. Bangers and mash - naturally!

Fresh, fresh air (and some gluttony)

It was such a joy to open the curtains this morning to clear blue sky and piercing shards of sunlight. Up went the sash windows and in poured the fresh air. I can't even begin to tell you how rare this is - our ground floor flat is tiny and can be very dark at certain points in the day, even in the height of summer. Weather like this can't be sniffed at, particularly in winter, and could mean only one thing - a route march to Hampton Court Palace. And the prize for this 6 mile stomp? Lunch at a super gastro pub, The Albany in Thames Ditton.

Now, I have a confession to make. Despite living here for two years we have never fully explored Hampton Court Palace, its gardens or the park. In fact we've only been there once and that was for the annual RHS flower show and that was in 2006. On that occasion we hopped on the super little ferry at Harts Boatyard (£1 each) that merrily deposited us on the opposite river bank and off we walked along the tow path and into the palace.

This time, with good company and walking boots, we walked into Kingston, crossed the bridge and meandered along the river path. We then nipped into Hampton Court Park, having stopped to ogle briefly at a beautiful house, and came to the Rick Pond. It was so quiet and serene, and amongst the flock of white swans was the most beautiful black swan. I've always loved black swans as you so rarely see them - so magical. I spent a huge amount of my childhood mucking about on the river with my grandparents and it was always such a treat to see one.

Having been hissed at by his fellow white swans we made a swift exit onto the rather exclusive golf course and followed the curve of the river towards the palace. After a little bit of a trek, and with our destination in sight, we came across a huge herd of deer. Bambi eat your heart out!

The walk up to the palace was stunning and almost like a fairytale but with golfers. To enter the gardens you have to go through the most ornate gate - very french. The rear of the palace reminded me of the Schonbrun Palace in Vienna. The gardens are breathtaking and were created by Capability Brown (we had the name on the tip of our tongue, and eventually gave up and found someone to ask!). Having spent half an hour trying to get out of the grounds, we were eventually pointed in the right direction and our mission to the pub resumed in earnest.

After a few wrong turns (my fault), we eventually rocked up to The Albany and were shown to a table. We naturally ordered with our eyes and ate a ridiculous pile of food. Baked camembert, tapas, roast chicken and a hot chocolate pud, eased down with a couple of beers. We could not move. Or speak. Or see. The food broke us. We eventually got the bill and finally made our way home. We will definitely be going back to The Albany to sample more of their delightful menu (sensible ordering required) and I can't wait to go back to Hampton Court to explore, draw and absorb the architecture and structural forms of the formal gardens.

And so, the second week of January begins with a full tum, an evening spent slumped on the sofa (albeit with knitting needles in my hands) and the gluttony resolution in tatters. Lettuce and water for the next couple of days and renewed efforts to get to the gym I think!