TRANQUIL TUESDAY

'You got a haircut' exclaimed Cinnamon as she entered the car this afternoon. Saffron and Sage noticed as well and were soon letting me know how nice I looked. They know when my hair is straightened with a flat iron and is no longer pulled back with a clip or into a ponytail that something is different.

The reaction from my boyfriend to my new hair was also nice but the words he uttered as he first saw me on Skype were nothing I can print here. I was glad he liked it. It had been a while since I last saw my regular hairdresser, having gone to another salon the past three times, but I was happy to return to her.

For two and a half hours I sat there in the one-person salon and caught up with the latest news with her. I remember her from the large salon I used to frequent not far from my previous house. Somehow the feel of a smaller place is more personal and inviting. It took so long because she decided the first lighter hair colour did not take as well so she put on a darker brown colour to cover the several shades of red from previous colourings. A new look was long overdue and just in time for summer.

The weather was agreeable today with the temperature reaching a high of 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit). I was happy to see the children spend some time outdoors in the unmowed yard to work off some of their energy. Once inside, the children surprised me by taking to reading and cleaning their rooms all without my having asked them to clean up.

Sage was particularly proud of the way he cleaned up his room. He showed me the row of folded clothes in the closet, the cleaned up bookcase, and lineup of his the different parts of his newly constructed Lego set he got for his birthday.

Cinnamon took to reading again as it is something she greatly enjoys whilst Saffron let me know she finished reading the third Anna & Elsa book and could not wait for the fourth book. Both girls now look forward to new books each time they arrive at my place as the television and iDevices they have at their father's house to keep them occupied are not available at my place.

The afternoon found me taking a short nap whilst waiting to hear back from my boyfriend who was also tired and fell asleep before he got a chance to return to Skype. I worried when I did not hear back from him for several hours but was glad when he finally awoke to let me know he was fine. Being apart for so long has not been easy for either of us and we both look forward to the day we will be together again.