After 4 months of meticulous care and attention, Lucy (our lemon tree) is showing the first signs of actual lemon fruit. We can barely contain our excitement.

Saturday morning, the sun is shining but we're lying in bed listening to the Test Match over the Internet. This summer's Ashes seems to be heading in the right direction.

This morning I found an ant colony who had moved in behind one of our living room curtains. The cheek! Animal rights activists will be appalled to hear that, armed with a spray bottle of kitchen cleaner, I attacked. I showed no mercy.

Needless to say, there are only humans living in our home again now. Phew. Crisis averted!

For the last two weeks, Ed and I have CYCLED to church! It takes about 40 minutes and is a beautiful route - right along the bay. The only snag is that we arrive at church slightly sweaty with our hair looking windswept... people are starting to shift away from us... but hey, it's fun to do! Yesterday I drove Ed mad by constantly calling for him to stop so that I could take a photo of some of the views along the way... in order to make that feel worth while, here they are!

Last week we met up with my Dad's God-daughter and her husband who are our here travelling for a few weeks. I had not seen Lydia since she was about 14 years old, so it was fun to meet up with this sophisticated lady and her lovely husband. I had to restrain myself from calling her by her childhood nickname (which I won't mention here just in case it would embarrass her!)

Apologies for the lack of recent blog updates... life is settling into more of a steady rhythm so that we have less interesting things to update you on!

However, this weekend we broke from the routine of Saturdays spent watching sport and sitting by the pool and instead, got in the car and travelled to San Gregorio beach - a beautiful stretch of sand backed by sandstone cliffs. The waves were crashing onto the sand and looked beautiful, although a brief toe-dip confirmed that we would NOT be venturing in!

After a picnic lunch and an hour or so of sunning ourselves, we got back in the car and travelled down the coast along Highway 1, all the way to Santa Cruz. The drive is breathtaking - beautiful hills to the left and the ocean to the right - Ed had to keep being reminded to keep his eyes on the road! At one point we passed a large forest fire (which has been on the news out here) - helicopters were emptying large containers of water onto it... which seems to have done the trick!

Santa Cruz is a weird place. Felt very disconnected. Lots of people trying very hard to be 'cool'. A real display of humanity in all it's vast diversity. Fun to visit... once!

The highlight was walking along the coast for a bit and being entertained by a seal frolicking in the water below us!

At about 6pm we headed for Saratoga where we had booked tickets to see 'Buddy Guy' in concert. For those of you who don't know, Buddy Guy is a legendary blues singer/guitar player. He is now 73 and still rocking! It was an outdoor venue and what with the stars above us and fantastic music to entertain us, it was a fitting end to a fun-filled day!

Today we cycled to church again and, given it was our only option, cycled back as well. And we again spent some time at the pool. We found a place that sells PIMM'S and what better way to while away a sunny Sunday afternoon than sipping on a glass of the stuff and reading a book? We've actually retreated in doors for a bit of shade. It has been a wonderfully lazy weekend. We've realised the importance of rest! Last weekend's trip to Napa for the release of the Silver Oak winery's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was great, but we thought that this weekend we'd stay close to home. I'm looking forward to maybe flying the kite Nicci got me for my birthday.

Next weekend we might venture out a little way, perhaps taking in some of the beaches on the Pacific Coast. And we have tickets next Saturday evening to go and see the great Blues guitarist, Buddy Guy, play live in Saratoga. My uncle gave me one of Buddy Guy's CDs years ago, and he looked pretty old in the inlay card back then, so we're half expecting him to be wheeled on stage. But musical genius is musical genius and we're really looking forward to it. Speaking of guitar, I've decided to try and teach myself to play the instrument. I'm going to try and do 15 minutes a day. Yesterday was the first day, and my fingers are sore but I understand that will pass.

So the latest Test Match wasn't much of a success. I see that our 3,4 and 5 only managed 15 runs between them in 2 innings. At least it makes the 5th and final test at the Oval in a couple of weeks that much more meaningful - but I'm not holding out too much hope of a victory.

I'm getting curry withdrawal symptoms. It's been far too long. I've searched for good ones on Yelp.com and I've targeted Saffron as the place to go. It's not far. Perhaps in the next week sometime we'll make a trip. I'll let you know!

I woke up this morning and decided to tune into Test Match Special to follow the Ashes. I wish I hadn't.

My loving wife has lovingly prepared sea bass for dinner tonight, together with a Rick Stein homemade fish sauce reduction. I just arrived home and the house stinks. We have several jossticks burning at various locations and all the windows are open. Given our location right by the Bay, I hope we don't attract any pelicans. I'm sure dinner will be delicious, but it might be that a smear of Vicks vaporub above the top lip before going to bed might be a wise option later...