The parched earth...

Things were a little tense between Sophie and me this morning! She was working from home, so she stationed herself in the kitchen until Keith and I pulled out the fridge to clean behind it. Before we pulled it out, I took everything out and cleaned all the shelves. This disturbed Sophie, so she moved into the conservatory, and I don't think she was very happy about it!

We had to do this job this morning, though, as Keith was going shopping tomorrow, and I wanted the fridge to be clean and tidy. When we pulled the fridge out, I gasped with horror; there was a sticky black stain on the floor, loads of broken bits of glass and pottery, and the cats' toy balls. Keith poured some very hot water and detergent into a bucket while I hoovered and got rid of the cobwebs. It badly needed doing!

When I'd culled all the old jars and Keith had washed them out, we were all done, and it looked so much better! I also swept and mopped our little laundry cupboard, so I felt like I'd made a difference this morning!

At lunchtime, Sophie went for a walk with the cats and took some photographs. Both cats seemed to love posing!

Gomez

Mooney

Mooney

Gomes of the Gomezes

Moonbums

Things between us had thawed out a bit, and when she showed me the photos, I couldn't believe how dry and parched the grass was. We now have a hosepipe ban in place (since the 11th of July), and there is still no sign of rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future. I am avidly watching the Tour de France, and the fields there are the same. We all need a few days of sustained rainfall to bring the grass back to life.

I had an appointment with Gabriel in the afternoon, my penultimate session of shockwave therapy, and he really hurt me today. I said that my foot was feeling better, especially after walking for a little while, so it must be doing some good! He had another physio with him, and they both thought it was highly funny when I groaned my way through the treatment!

Back home, Sophie had suggested we go to the pub for a drink, and this turned out to be an impromptu evening meal as well. Keith hadn't fancied our dinner for tonight - chicken stroganoff - so we indulged in pie and chips (Sophie and me) and fish and chips (Keith). I drank, and enjoyed very much, a couple of Guinness zero alcohol beers, so I might buy myself a couple in the shopping to enjoy during the week.

The food was good, and the pub gradually grew busier as people arrived to watch the England-Argentina game. Sophie and I enjoyed a dessert each (mousse and crème brûlée), and we paid the bill. Keith wanted to be home to watch the game, and Sophie and I went upstairs and decided to catch up with a couple of episodes of Simon Reeves in Scandinavia. We thoroughly enjoyed the two programmes we watched and learnt a lot about Norway, Finland and Iceland! While we watched, we indulged in a tiny glass of Berliner Luft... delicious!