Happy Friday, peeps!

We've been battling to make teddy bears - and not teddy mice. It's been a challenge, but we're getting there.

This was the outlook across the dining room table yesterday afternoon as the sunlight filtered in through the half-open shutters.  Emi was writing an essay about three birds in a nest, and battling to get the punctuation right, whilst I persevered with my teddies, battling to get the eyes sufficiently far apart. A nice bottle of red beckoned with the necessary promise to get me through until dinner.

The weather has been balmy and benign here on the Costa Brava ... so benign that no one could sail in the bay yesterday. There really wasn't a breath of air. They went paddle boarding instead, which seemed to go down a treat.

We're taking it easy ... really easy ... for the last few days of the half-term holidays. At night we light the fire and cosy up on the sofa to watch movies. Last night we watched Lenny Abrahamson's Room. Have you seen it? It's a really up-lifting, life-affirming tale about a mother's struggle to survive and carve out a life for herself and her son in the most challenging of circumstances. It starts off feeling pretty claustrophobic and bleak. The mother has been kidnapped, abused and held prisoner against her will in a shed; the child is the result of her abuse, but Brie Larson lights up the screen with her heart-warming performance. You have to see it. The child actor, Jacob Tremblay, who plays the son is sensational. And he's only 10, bless him.

The WonderDog has had a haircut, and is looking svelte and gorgeous. He came home yesterday afternoon smelling strongly of bubblegum-scented shampoo, which the boys were not impressed with. I don't think the WonderDog was mad about it either. He'd much rather smell of dog!

There are a collection of kitties who live in the grooming parlour that he patronises, who are about twice his size. I think the owner must have crossed normal moggies with lions to produce such statuesque cats. And they totally rule the roost. When I went to collect him at the end of his treatment, they were lording it over him, a fully grown German Shepherd, a squeaky Jack Russel and an impeccably behaved Springer Spaniel. There was no question about who was in control.

All the best now, and have a great weekend!

Bonny x