Home Sweet Home

We are home again safely, thank goodness. Dave and I were really worried about putting Olga through that journey, given her unexpected infirmity during the week. But she stood up to it (or lay down, as the case may be) like a trooper. We had a bit of confusion when the Uber Pet showed up at our beach cabin and it turned out not to be an Uber Pet at all -- the guy said he couldn't take the dog. But we showed him the booking, which made it plain we needed a dog-friendly car, and he saw it through -- thank goodness, because we had a train to catch.

On the train people fawned over Olga as usual. The guy sitting across from us -- who cracked open a big can of beer at 10 a.m. -- was especially friendly. He did return my hat when I dropped it getting off the train, so I owe him for that.

The picture above was taken in a black cab on the way to our flat from Victoria Station. Olga pawed at her rolled-up bed until I opened it up so she could lie down. Dave and I both agreed that this is it for Olga and traveling. From now on, she stays home. I suspect she's fine with that.

As you can see, she was thrilled to get back to the garden and to her routines.

The garden fared pretty well during our absence. There was some wilting, which was to be expected given the very warm and dry week, and I think we may have lost a hanging basket of petunias. But the dahlias all seemed fine after a drink, as did Dave's tomato plant, which looked positively dessicated when we first saw it. A few hours and a long drink later it was back to normal.

After Dave watered all the potted plants, I mowed the grass, which as you can see above was looking pretty seedy and shaggy.

Here's some of what bloomed in our absence:

The Penstemon...

...the Inula...

...and the day lilies.

Dave belatedly realized that he left his noise-cancelling headphones plugged in and charging on the kitchen counter of the beach cabin, so now we have to try to get those back. It's always something. But still, a successful trip overall and thank goodness we're home sweet home.