Too busy

I am now on my sixth Airbnb guest. Totally knackered. I keep finding filth all over the house and cleaning desperately, to little effect. I also go around touching up paintwork and marks on the walls. And buying house plants. And pots and pans to replace my tatty old ones. I managed to do a sketch of the fireplace about a week ago, but have not picked up a pen or pencil since. Oldie literary lunch today. Kooky brought in a tiny fledgling this morning. I think its wing was broken but had no idea what to do about it. I decided to put it into the pagoda bird feeder where it could not be attacked further, with a capful of water, but I think it is too young and will die, but I can't bear to kill it. Oh dear. I think it may have fallen out of a nest to the ground but can't find a nest. The weather is warmer, but rather dull today. The garden is slowly improving and Pete has put up the wall lamps for me. I did not realise that the old lamps had left a thick plaster line on the walls. I tried to knock and sand it off but failed so did a rather botched job of just painting over this. Tomorrow I have to babysit the gallery. Del has removed two of my paintings and is very keen to have my drawings. I am rather reluctant to sell these but she has agreed to put in framed prints instead, which will make them very cheap indeed. At least the prints are limited to 20 per image only. My last guest has very kindly given me a sketchbook with a cover she made from quilted materials, which is very American and pretty. So kind. She also took me out to dinner on the last night. We were due to try the Greek place, but it was covered in scaffolding and completely empty so we went to Brasserie Toulouse-Lautrec instead, which proved an excellent decision. Made some more orange cake for David which I gave him when we met for coffee yesterday. Romy is in Spain and surrounded by her Spanish wild cats again. She sent me a very pretty picture of one on the terrace. Another relative, Andrew, my cousin, has popped up out of the blue on my Facebook. I am not certain we ever met before, but he used to come and stay with the parents, probably when I was living overseas. He has been in a relationship for over 30 years and winters in Las Palmas, returning to the Isle of Wight for the summer. It seems that my uncle Michael is 88 and still going strong there, and my aunt Kim is 90, still driving around and volunteering at Osborne House. Amazing. Nibby now wants to rush to the Isle of Wight and see them but I have bookings all through the summer. Funnily enough, had I been working I may have gone in July since the punters are going on holiday there and I could have met up with the long losts, but such is life.