It's been a pretty busy few days. The Tour has now finished, and it's been wonderful, one of the most interesting and surprising I can remember for a long time. I've really enjoyed every stage, and the suspense carried on right into the third week and into the last couple of stages. Last Wednesday, I went on a trip organised by Busy Bees, over to the American Museum near Bath at Claverton Manor. The manor is a beautiful old 18th Century mansion, set on Claverton Down, in gorgeous rolling countryside and was converted into a museum after the war. It focuses on the decorative arts and in particular shows how American rooms in the 18th and 19th Centuries would have been furnished, decorated and so on. I can heartily recommend it as a great day out anyway, but of particular interest is their very fine collection of quilts. I had seen these before but at the moment they are having an exhibiton which is showcasing some of the rarer quilts that are not normally on display, so it was great to see them. My friend Margaret was due to come on the trip but unfortunately she had trouble with her car's clutch the day before so couldn't make it. Anyway, we all trundled off on the bus, had a great journey, and on arrival were met by a lovely guide and then ushered in for a beautiful lunch. After that it was time for a leisurely browse round the exhibition and to marvel at the beautiful exhibits. Eventually it was time to head back on the bus around 4.30 but I liked the fact we had enough time to browse the exhibits and spend a bit of time wandering around the lovely gardens and grounds as well. It was a glorious day, with lots of fluffy clouds in a deep blue sky, bright sunshine and a cool breeze - wonderful.

On Saturday the quilting theme continued over at Busy Bees when they had the launch of their annual programme of classes (both one day and series) plus an exhibition of customers work in the Community Centre. Lots of lovely quilts, and I picked up a programme which is full of tempting classes.

The other main news is that I have now launched my microchipping website - www.houndmistress.co.uk - please take a look if you have a few minutes. I've been pretty busy compiling content for it, and just as much, doing lots of FOI requests to Welsh Councils for info to put on the site. Of course, the site will grow and develop over time but I'd be delighted to get any feedback, or suggestions for links for it. It's been very satisfying seeing something which started as just a quick question about strays develop into a whole big chunk of information needing to be sorted and organised. I'm sure I'll be writing more about it in the future.

Well, not a huge amount to post, as of course it's been the Tour. This year has been a corker, and hats off to the race organisers for ensuring a real mix of stages. Last year, they crammed a lot of the climbing into the final week so there was a bit of a hiatus in the middle but nobody could say this year's race has been uneventful, what with headbutting sprinters, the duel between Contador and Schleck, Lance Armstrong's crunching out of the GC competition, the fabulous scenery and in general the awesome racing. Most days I get to watch the afternoon stage live and usually watch the Highlights as well. I thank goodness for Sky+ as this means I can zip through the adverts, and in the evening, the Highlight show usually includes some interviews and new material with the day's stage winners, so I can focus on them and zoom through the bits already seen. Of course, sometimes the action is so good you want to see it again. I'll certainly remember the infamous sprint finish with the flailing elbows and sideways headbutt, yesterday's stage when Vino did one of his mad breakaways that so nearly succeeded and today when off he went again. What was also fabulous was the mountain stage when Contador and Schleck did their duel, dancing on the pedals up the mountain, leaving a stream of cracked and broken riders behind them. The weather for the racers has been so hot, the road has been melting under their tyres. I wish the Tour was more widely appreciated in the UK as a sporting event - I think it has everything, awesome scenery, complex rivalries, team and individual competitions, Byzantine politics, superb spectacle, a real risk of dangerous crashes on every stage, great technology and the constant and amazing way the race throws up curveballs that surprise even seasoned veterans, whether they are accidents, punctures, fitness issues, and just straightforward cussedness (Vino being a good example of a rider who doesn't follow the script). The race attracts its own travelling circus of characters, with the best known probably being the "Devil" who has followed the race for years, and can usually be seen capering at the side of the race at some point, waving his trident, cloak blazing in the sun.

I'll stop there as it's time for a gin, and to feed the woofs.

Apologies to all for the hiatus in posting. A number of reasons, the first and most important being that our elderly PC finally turned up its toes and went to the great memory cloud in the sky. We'd been aware for a while that we were going to need to replace it, but of course as is usual it was working on its own timetable. It was about five and a half years old so it had lasted well.

The new one seems super fast by comparison although we are still struggling with slow broadband speeds due to our distance from the exchange. Or the pixies who power it haven't taken their vitamins, or something. The main difference is that we now have a lovely big screen - the monitor is a 24" one which allows masses of space for tiling documents when working so I'm delighted. There's also some great speakers for when I am listening to Spotify or iTunes.

The other delay in posting is of course due to the commencement of the Tour which means for three weeks I am glued to the TV and am utterly absorbed in the glorious spectacle and intricacies of this peerless display of athleticism.

Since I last wrote, we went to the Millennium Centre to see Wagner's Die Meistersingers auf Nuremberg with Bryn Terfel. It was a completely full house and it was amazing. I really couldn't get into the first act, but the second act improved hugely and the third act was astounding with a glorious choral finale that completely blew me away. Staging was excellent, being intelligent without being too clever, with gorgeous, sumptuous costumes, great lighting and sets. BT is made for Wagner - we've been lucky enough to see him sing now a number of times and I am always impressed by his voice and by his sheer physical presence - he is very tall and broad, and effortlessly dominates the space on stage. Like most Wagner operas you come out the other side feeling that both audience and cast have shared something very wonderful and memorable. We were very fortunate in that Andrew's parents kindly agreed to come and dog sit for us while we were at the theatre (the production ran from 4 pm to about 10.30 pm with two intervals).

Today we've been busy setting up the new PC, doing all the boring and necessary things like sorting out anti virus software and so on but it's pretty much there now. After a few days without the computer, it's surprising how much I had come to depend on it for all sorts of things, from music while doing the ironing to checking on news headlines and of course keeping in touch with people. It's good to be back.