The days before the 85th April, 2022 were topsy turvy to say the least!

A dog slept in a boy's bed. So then a boy had to sleep in a window. A granny's boots got swept away. Someone had to wade across a channel, minus trousers, to try to locate them. A dog was renamed. There was lots of laughter, and loadza biscuits were consumed.

If I just said that GrannyVal had a visit from Daughter2 plus Grandkid1 and Grandkid2, then that may help a bit?

Let me start at the beginning..... Hebe-the-dog knew the grandchildren were coming before they arrived with their mum, for a few days in the Easter holidays. Because after I'd made up the beds, she'd scooted their lengths and dived under the pillows - to plump them up, I'd supposed.

There was certainly an expectancy & excitement in the air!

Now, when it comes to my studio, we are in dispute as to who owns the desktop space. I intended it to be the area where I spread out my trays of pastels, when I work on ideas, whereas Hebe-the-dog has commissioned it as her lookout area for observing all outside activity, being that it is - handily- in front of the window with an uninterrupted view of the street, and is - delightfully - in sunshine, when the sun is out.

So this is where she took up residency to look out for our visitors' arrival. Anyway, I had given up on finishing my latest pic, given that it would soon be time to don my GrannyVal hat.

Hebe-the-dog's daily routine, now that she's turned two, includes plenty of naps and irregular playtimes. But all that was soon to change. Grandkid1 (10 years) + Grandkid2 (5 years) saw to that!

She calmly allowed herself to be cuddled and taken by the lead on morning walks to the park. But she was somewhat confused when she had to answer to Lily - the class pet, when we played schoolies.

She happily lay on Grandkid2's bed, when requested after his bedtime story. In fact, she slept soundly there until 8am the next morning - well-cosy - while Grandkid2 took himself off, in the middle of the night, to the upstairs oriel/observation window, and slept there instead. Apparently, he couldn't sleep because Hebe-the-dog was a lump in his bed and his legs didn't want to stay bent all night. Although both of them seemed to like the novelty of these new sleeping zones.

Then there was the walk to Embo Beach, at the end opposite Littleferry. I'd packed a picnic but had forgotten to check the tide times. So, alas, the promise of a long sandy beach became just a narrow sash of sand - because the tide was nearing its full height. Then faces fell.

That was until we had to wade barefoot through an incoming channel of seawater, to reach the remaining strip of beach! Luckily it was a warm sunny day.

We pitched camp around the corner, ate our provisions, paddled, or bulldozed holes like Hebe-the-dog. After a good while, Grandkid1 decided to check on the height of the channel we'd crossed.

She returned to report that it had become MUCH DEEPER!

We quickly packed up, chose a good spot to cross and held hands for stability on the journey across - a trick I'd learnt from my hillwalking days. Hebe-the-dog did her own thing.

We sat on the other side and dried our feet & legs in the warm sand. We played a bit more, ate the last of our provisions and decided to head back to the car.

Those without missing boots put on their footwear.

Just where were my boots? I couldn't believe I'd left them behind in favour of picking up an armful of towels, food and everyone's spare clothing, and my rucksack. No hillwalker would have dreamt of leaving their boots behind! I was reminded that I'd heard on an Alaskan survival programme that in the depths of winter, an unprepared, elderly or sick trapper would burn anything flammable in his cabin to stay warm. But, if all that was left was his boots and he burnt them, then that sealed his fate. He was a gonner. 'Cos he couldn't walk out.

However, one of our party said she'd take off her skinny jeans - 'cos she didn't want to get them wet - and wade back across in her pants to try to retrieve them. This highly amused both grandkids! But since the beach was deserted, I agreed.

After five minutes, we spotted her in the distance holding 2 items aloft. She'd located them! They were soggy but they still had my socks stuffed inside.

We returned to the car - amused by our adventure, thrilled by the river crossing, content, with full stomachs under a still-warm sun. Hebe-the-dog slept soundly on the way home. Days out with the grandkids were always eventful.

Me & Hebe-the-dog's excitement & stamina was ebbing as the days passed. So, by the time our visitors had packed up, hugged us and left for home, we'd totally lost our fizz.

The cottage, now, was so quiet and flat. But we were left with fun memories and other reminders - like the chalk hearts on the blackboard, and the date on my daily cube reminder that now displayed 85 April!

I laughed. I'd never seen that before. Time certainly flies when you're enjoying yourself!

Time to get back to work though. Time to reclaim my studio desk and get on with some work. Here's hoping there's some progress before the 99th of April, 2022!

: )