Beautiful day. The best of the year so far by some margin. We were able to get out in the garden where the first frog spawn appeared yesterday. I got a run completed 5.21 miles in just over 9 min miles and loved the warmth from the sun. Lovely dog walk this afternoon - nuthatch, treecreeper, blue and great tits, redwing, chaffinch and rooks amongst the birds seen.

Maria had no gymnastics this morning and she loved the frogs - was playing them harmonica and croaking along with them.

Half term

Maria has completed her grade one in acro this morning and we await the outcome ahead of the hours and hours of practise ahead of the Easter show at the Pavillions. Add gymnastics, and it is evident she has a lot of hard work to do over the next weeks.

Got a three mile run done this morning plus a 5 mile bike ride as I went down to Verwood to get some gardening jobs done for Joy. Fixed shed door, garage lights, mended a vase, replaced the bottom of a bird box and checked the arbour.

This afternoon saw a chilly dog walk followed by cooking - lnetil soup, aubergine curry and lentil dahl in readiness for tomorrow. Saves a job.

Bere Alston Holiday

We have had a fantastic break at Camellia Cottage in Bere Alston during the Feb half term. We had a lovely location and managed to get out for a number of walks including Plymbridge, Tamar Valley, Cotehele National Trust, Princetown and the prison museum, Denham Bridge. We also visited Plymouth and watched the second Lego movie.

Dentist, running, cooking and reading

It's a strange time with Maria at home following sickness Sunday night which could be linked to her squeamishness regarding a very wobbly tooth, as well as Alison being very busy dealing with the arrangements for Robin's funeral. That is scheduled for Feb 13th and it is going to be a difficult day for everyone.

Took Maria to the dentist and she was very tearful, extremely apprehensive but he was very good in giving her some cotton wool to bite down on which really meant getting the tooth stuck on a gum  like substance and having the tooth pulled out as a consequence. Worked a treat, as it had been hanging on by a thread. However, Maria did have a little cry still. She is very sensitive and probably needs a little toughening up.

Got my fourth 5 mile plus run in a row completed today, making it 23.5 miles in the 5 days of Feb so far. Slower average time than last month but I am running further on a daily basis. On the other hand, I am feeling more tired, so the pace is dropping due to that. Maybe need to allow some recovery time or just accept the pace will only improve slowly.

Cooking tea was fun. Two recipes using vegan yogurt and they were both successful. Roasted butternut squash with a herby yogurt dressing and pasta with garlic, lemon and yogurt sauce. Mmmmm. Tasty.

Close to finishing Clash biography - Passion is a Fashion The Real Story of The Clash. Learning a lot about what was going on well beyond what I already knew. Saddened by a good deal of it too. There is always a grown up reality to everything not just the myth, which I loved. 

It has been very cold over the past few days and there's been enough snow to get some sledging done. Lovely to play in the cold.It has been great seeing so many birds in the garden including pied wagtail, male and female bullfinch, several chaffinches, long tailed tits and song thrush.