There's something comforting about a routine.  When you've lived happily with someone for over 25 years the odds are you've both developed some routines that work. A fair division of effort and labour makes most tasks a lot more enjoyable and, I would contend, more efficient for the task and better for the relationship.

Sarah and I have our routines.  Even when we don't know more than 24 hours in advance where we're going, some things flow on as usual.  For us, one of those things is how we go about preparing dinner.  Sarah plans and prepares the meal and I cook and clean up afterwards. It works. Always. So it is difficult to explain how Sarah ended up flipping the salmon steaks when they needed finishing off on the bbq hot plate. I still don't know how she did it, but she flipped the first steak straight off the grill into the grit and ash below.  I have a question for anyone reading this. What would you do now, bearing in mind that we have clean water, paper towels and pretty much anything you would find in a well stocked kitchen?  Answer later…..

We bought a (mini) drone and it's brilliant.  It pretty much removes a lot of user error. It automatically stays horizontal and you can fly it around until you get the shot you want, with your phone acting as the viewscreen for the shot you'll get.  Leroy seems to think it's something that needs attacking. He just missed it the first time after I sent it urgently higher immediately after take-off. The next time it came out I asked Sarah to make sure she had Leroy on a tight leash before it took off. Unfortunately as it lifted off, Leroy leapt after it with Sarah in tow. My fault for having it take off too close to Sarah and Leroy. Sarah's fault for not being heavy enough. Anyway, he bashed it with his nose and it crashed back to earth, fortunately none too worse for wear and far enough away from Leroy for me to stand between the dog and the machine, preventing further mishap.

We spent a few fabulous days in Kalbarri where the sun shone, the beaches were long, sandy and deserted and the local national park was majestic. We spent a morning kayaking in a gorge on the Murchison river, about 3km downstream and 3km back. The river was much fuller than usual, causing it to have a fairly muddy colour.  As per standard protocol, the heavier (me) and more proficient (me again - this is my blog) paddler goes at the back and the lighter one goes at the front.  You need to see the accompanying video before reading on. I also need to provide the narrative that goes with the video (in case the soundtrack is indistinct, or you're reading this at work and have turned off the volume). Basically, the only thing that can be heard above the bird sounds and the gentle lapping of the water and soft splash of the paddles is Sarah saying "I'm really not cut out for this sport". Ok - got all that? Anyway, watch the video again, especially the vigour with which Sarah paddles, and then marvel as a couple of days later she announces proudly "amazing, I'm not at all sore from all that kayaking".

Kalbarri provided a relaxing break for the three of us. There are so many restrictions on dogs in Australia that it was a welcome relief to have a long sandy beach where dogs are welcome to run around off the lead. The surf was a bit too wild for Leroy to venture in very far, but he got plenty of exercise sprinting up and down the beach and into the tail end of the surf. We left Kalbarri with fond memories of a warm and welcoming community in a lovely part of the world.

Back to the salmon steaks. One of the things I've always admired about Sarah is her ability to think quickly outside the box. Most people would look in dismay at the spoiled salmon steak and probably wash it off, towel it dry and put it back on the hot plate to finish it off.  Not so Sarah. Quick as a flash she realised no one is going to want to eat the dropped steak. Her quick and simple solution, guaranteed to avoid any arguments about who got which steak, was to immediately flip the other steak into the ash, and say "Oops! Just letting you know, the steaks might be a bit gritty!"