Simple summer pleasures

 

I am short on words and time and energy but it appears I have a lot of photos. Here are some of the good, simple things that have been happening lately in amongst the hubbub of busy family life which I want to record and celebrate.

:: My school held an Enterprise Fair in which children made and sold items. I commissioned a bracelet.

:: A beautiful afternoon out with my sisters at Pavilion Tearooms. We live near each other but all lead busy lives so don't get together just the three of us very often at all. We had tea and cake and chatted - it was really lovely. Hello also to the nice reader who complimented me on my crochet top! 

The tea rooms are set in the walled garden at Standsted House and the grounds were looking really gorgeous.

:: I have grown some sweet peas and picking them is a constant joy. Every year the strength of their scent surprises me.

:: Bella is learning to drive. She is paying for all her driving lessons herself with the money she earns at her weekend job. I am very proud of her, even if she moans constantly that she has no money.

:: She let me take a photo.

:: New nails, which match the bracelet above rather beautifully.

:: Sunday morning walks with John after we have dropped Bella at work. I always try to take a selfie of us. This time together feels really nice - a break in a usually hectic weekend in which we are able to chat properly and catch up with each other.

:: Farm shops. There is one by the tea rooms and I have been there quite a few times lately and always love a browse.

I bought this bottle for the packaging and luckily it is delicious. I had it on top of courgette fritters.

:: Bottomless brunch (or middle class daytime drinking as John calls it) to celebrate a friend's birthday. This was a very good margarita (my favourite cocktail, closely followed by a negroni).

:: Dinner in the garden. This was a traybake of chicken, lots of vegetables and harissa paste. We served it with yogurt, mint and couscous.

:: In amongst the mostly grey and windy weather we've had this summer, we have had odd days that have been really warm. Usually when I'm at work. The only place Ziggy could settle in the evening was here, on the outdoor sofa.

:: Clouds that look like feathers.

:: A very enjoyable and easy read for book club. It's nice to read a book in which women grow stronger as they age, rather than becoming invisible. 

:: An evening stroll in Portsmouth one night. We had to pick up Bella from a gig so decided we might as well make the most of it.

:: Hedge trimmings looking pretty in a vase.

:: Coming downstairs to a sunny kitchen. This always makes me happy. I love watching the shadows on the kitchen wall while I make my morning cup of tea.

:: Garden growth. These redcurrants will go in the freezer with the kilogram I picked last year and maybe this year I will do something with them.

:: I am picking the blackcurrants every week and adding them to the bag in the freezer. I don't want to waste a single one. This year I might make jam.

:: You may remember the crochet bag I made and showed you in my last post. Well, I got round to lining it with a vintage sheet.

I still had two balls of yarn leftover though, so I made some bunting for the back garden - just simple semi-circles.

But there was still lots left, so I made two hanging baskets for the bathroom (pattern here).

:: Then, I still had a tiny bit left so I made a little plant pot. 

I think I used every last bit of that yarn which was very satisfying indeed. 

So there we have it, lots of everyday good things from the last month of so. Bella and Angus have already broken up for the summer but I finish on Tuesday. Not long left, but a huge amount to do at school in that time so I cannot relax just yet - soon though.

Rare pockets of sunshine

 

May brought us flowers, a birthday, lots of days out and some very unpredictable weather. I am choosing to focus on the sunshine, the couple of weekends when it was warm and sunny enough to sit outside and - whisper it - maybe get the pizza oven out. It is really summer for me when it's so warm that I need to pull the blinds in the rooms at the front of the house to keep the sun out in the afternoon. That makes me happy, I don't know why.

When the washing dries quickly and you can potter round the garden in your flip flops.

When the garden becomes an extension of the house.

And it's warm enough for iced coffee.

We made pizzas in the oven then sat on the sofa outside under blankets as it cooled down, it was lovely.

Angus turned fifteen and we had everyone round for cake. I made two of Nigella's coca cola cake and put them one on top of the other with some chocolate buttercream in the middle. They came out really well. 

The birthday boy wanted steak so we went out one sunny Sunday evening to Chichester for dinner.

Other lovely moments included a warm bank holiday weekend in which we went to Brighton for the day with our friends who had come to stay.

The weather was perfect. 

We wandered through the lanes and to the seafront and basically felt like we were on holiday.

Equally lovely was a visit to the Bishop's Palace Gardens in Chichester, with everything in bloom.

Those moments aside, the rest of May has been a slog at times. High workload, horrible weather, a never ending to do list, money going out left, right and centre. Small pleasures have kept me going at times and I celebrate each and every one of them. They are the fabric of life. 

Winding a skein of yarn into a ball and thinking up possible projects.

Watching a bunch of peonies slowly open.

A well-risen loaf of bread.

Newly-sanded and mended garden furniture.

Rhododendron trimmings in a jug outside.

A neon manicure.

Fish and chips on the beach.

Making burger tacos with Angus.

Mantel faffing.

Walks in the woods.

All small but all very much needed and appreciated.

I've been busy with the crochet. I found five balls of this paintbox ribbon yarn which I think I bought during lockdown. I decided it was high time I used them.

I crocheted myself this large messenger-style bag and bought a strap from Oliver Bonas to go with it.

It just needs lining then it's good to go.

Talking of lining, I used a vintage pillowcase to line this crochet bag I made last summer. Things like pens and lip balm always poked out the holes of the granny squares.

It's much more practical now.

So as you can see, crochet and small pleasures are keeping me sane, as they have always done really. 

The weather is horribly cool for the time of year here at the moment, with cold breezes that feel more like April than June. I am really hoping for more weekends - days, even - of weahter warm enough to sit outside, wear shorts and cook pizzas in the oven. I would just like it to be like summer really.