Exhausted but pleased!

The Macmillan coffee morning was a success - we raised about £180 and odd pence. There was a steady trickle of people coming and going all morning and the baking I had done went down very well. I'll have to make more lemon sponge next year as that all went first. There was a raffle and a tombola which were very keenly supported, and the stalls all did some business. With a cancer charity, most people's lives have been touched in one way or another, and so people are usually quite generous in their support, so I felt that for a small village, we had done well. I took the leftover chocolate traybake and some lemon buns to gymnastics last night and the mums soon made donations to take some home with them - and that raised a little more, although most of them were having to dredge their pockets for loose change as they had not known we would have cakes there, so had not all brought purses. It added another pound or two to the total.

This morning was gym again, and then a little shopping, then home to the garden. The YFG cut the back lawn and I did the front one, and the EFG and FH had already been clearing the veg plants out of the beds as most of them have finished producing now. The girls have both got friends round playing now, and one little girl is here to tea (same girl as last weekend!) and to sleepover tonight.

On the way home from gym today, we went on a back road for a change, and saw the most glorious sight - a field full of bright orange pumpkins! It was a beautiful sight, and I was so sorry that I hadn't got the camera in the car. I was similarly regretful that I hadn't got it when a beautiful hot air balloon skimmed the rooftops this afternoon - the children were on the trampoline with their friends and they were waving to the balloonist, who was waving back! The weather today has been typically autumnal: thick fog this morning giving way to bright blue skies, crisp sunshine and a fresh touch to the air.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I share it with some wonderful females whom I have met at various stages of my life - Becky who I sat next to in GCSE Maths classes, Zoe from A level Geography (both of them actually share the same birth date in the same year - and we were all born in the same city!) and Ailidh, who is much younger, but I was her childminder when she was small. We'll see if it brings any surprises - today already brought a card from my dad - the card encourages me to do all I can to stay young looking, because if I look young, my dad should too! Leaving it until you are 40 odd to have me was not a good plan for looking young when I am turning 36!!