Yikes! I'm going back to work on Thursday!

It's nearly 10 months since I last did any paid work. But like it or not, retirement is not an option just yet. So I am launching into private practice again. Mixed feelings: I do like the work and it feels really worthwhile, but on the other hand I could live without the extra stress. Over the last month or so, together with colleague and friend Fay, I have set up a new practice. Here's the shop front with its new signage. Fay and I will work two days each per week and we share with a solicitor who works the fifth day.

Inside there is a small waiting room, leading to a reasonably pleasant consultation room. Hopefully it should work well - we'll see how it all functions on Thursday when I see my first patients. Just the small matter, between now and then of finding and setting up some accounting software on my new laptop! Worry, worry, worry.

Deep breaths. Calming thoughts.

Easter has been full and fun. Peter and Elaine, together with Linda and Phil have been staying. lat night Kirstin and Nate came too. Peter made hot cross buns on Good Friday. We decided they were more teacher style "x's" than religious type crosses. Peter made me a special one with a question mark.

Peter, Linda and David convened the Diamond Beach art commune and all have made starts on promising looking paintings. There was a general weakness in the resolve department with respect to their original plan to enter the Manning Art Prize. Theme: "Naked and Nude" A certain unwillingness on the part of spouses to do the modelling may have been a contributing factor.  Although Elaine did famously proclaim, on the first evening, that she would "permit anything", a remark which will haunt her for some time to come.

Akinyi had given us a chocolate Scrabble set for Christmas, so we put it to good use. The gold medal went to the crafty P and E team, with the D and S team snapping at their heels. The ranking was in age order, which just goes to show that age and treachery win out out over youth and inexperience every time.

A visit to Nabiac markets brought us a fine gramma, some plants and a few gifts. Here's the gramma getting ahead of itself with Nathan

 and Kirstin

 and Peter

The weather has been gorgeously mild, good for long beach walks. (Above) At the northern end of Diamond Beach there is a spectacular section of ochre coloured sandstone. Or is it still sand? Hard to say.

Kirstin and Linda

Nate surfing at North Diamond beach

Grungy holiday feet

The gramma was turned into a pie by Linda. Yum! We had pesto with our own basil tonight and tomorrow will use the finger lime crop (one finger). Soon I'm making my first ever batch of rosella jam. Don't panic, everyone. Rosellas can be a kind of fruit as well as a bird. Our bush is loaded.

This morning's beach shot with Turner-esque lighting effects. There was a trawler on the horizon going like the clappers south towards Forster. But the spectacular storm didn't really eventuate. It has been really pleasant weather. Lots of swimming, walking and empty handed fishing. Tomorrow we welcome Marg and Keir to stay. Maybe they will be able to influence the fish to stop messing about and start taking the bait.