Before and after...

Well, I’ve certainly taken Black Friday seriously this year. I succumbed to the temptation of a better exercise bike. Having tried Janet's bike yesterday, and realising it wasn’t as expensive as I’d thought, with free delivery, it's much smoother, easier to get on, comfier seat, and more functions. I look on my free rubbish bin bike as a trial run, to establish that I would use it daily. I shall donate it to the next lucky person on the street (once I’ve assembled the new one).

The other vast amount of money I’ve committed to today is my new iPhone X. Yes! It has arrived in the Apple shop and I pick it up tomorrow! An expensive toy, really, but I won’t be upgrading again for a few years (famous last words). Besides, it's 0% interest. And I could should sell my camera and lenses. I don’t use them much - I took them on safari and really didn’t need them at all.

Took Archie up the hill while JR made a cake. We met a huge Newfoundland dog. She was like a bear. Archie wasn’t sure what he was looking at, from a safe distance. We did the 'fetch the ball' trick over the steep hill for ages. In fact, I had ten (tiny) pieces of cheese, and so we did it ten times. Every time he dropped the ball too near the edge, it would roll back down again. He was a very slow learner, and did it four times in a row. The final time it rolled into a rabbit hole, which caused a lot of frustrated barking and digging (extra). So his beard is actually muddier than usual.

I don’t normally take photos of him when he's grotty, but this just illustrated why he needs a daily leg and beard wash with a proper bath about once a week.

I arrived home in time to assist JR clearing up - the cake mix bowl was waiting for me to lick! Yum.