Mugged

 Another bright start to the day, and after my initial coffee, I went back to wash and dress and headed out for my morning walk. There seemed to be more dog walkers around and about this morning, but I was happy as I dodged them and listened to the last part of my audiobook. It isn't quite finished, but I suspect there are only 10 minutes or so left.

By the time I got back home, Di and Denise were sorting out their breakfast. I made my porridge and settled down with them as they planned the day. Denis had brought with her a kit which provides two white mugs and a set of paints that you can use to decorate them. Then, the decorated mugs are placed in the oven to bake the paint onto the surface.  This was clearly going to take a while, so while they pottered, got dressed, and prepared everything, I hid in the study and spent the morning coding and refining the photo library. (Most of the coding is finished, and now the main task is verifying that all the images are being reflected properly in the timeline.)

It was ominously quiet downstairs. Clearly, the levels of concentration required while painting were disrupting the usual chat pathways. Now and again, I heard the odd exclamation about how well something was working or how good a particular design was evolving.

I came down to check on progress and make use of the silence to get a word in edgeways! I grabbed some lunch and made them some tea, then retired to the Orangery with my Kindle, while they got on with the painting.

It was early afternoon before the mugs were ready for baking. They were placed in a cold oven; then, with the temperature set at 150 C, they were baked for 30 minutes and left to cool down in the oven.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting and gathering Denis's bits together. She left here at about 18:00 (though I didn't check the time) and texted a little while ago to say she had arrived home safely. It was lovely to have her here, and I hope she comes back to stay with us again soon.