Sun and Cloud, In and Out

Oh, you lot are so lovely! Thank you so much for your generous comments and for your votes, I really appreciate it.

We continue to meander our way through the school holidays in a generally happy fashion. I am always cheered (maybe that's not the right word - bolstered? encouraged?) to read that other blogging and Instagram friends have their parenting peaks and troughs as I do, that it's not just me shouting and exasperated. But generally it's been a good couple of weeks and our days, spent at home and out and about, manage to retain a slow, relaxed pace. Last Friday I met some friends down in Southsea for the morning with our children. Southsea is a fun, buzzy, slightly touristy area and just the kind of place you want to be on a sunny day. The sea was so calm and the air really still and warm. Beautiful. As I drove down there I had a little moment of excitement and I thought "we really do live by the sea now!" I sometimes forget, despite the incessant squawking of the seagulls.

The weather continued to cooperate all weekend thank goodness, and on Sunday afternoon we hosted a family barbecue to celebrate my parents' ruby wedding anniversary. We are so at the mercy of the weather in this country, and it's a blessing when it works out how you hoped, and it was a lovely, carefree, easy afternoon with lots of delicious food and noisy children running around the house and garden. A while ago, remembering one I had from my childhood, I bought the kids a space hopper. Do you remember them? For some reason they love to use it on the trampoline - for double bounce action, I guess - or else they play a game where they hit each other with it really hard then do an exaggerated fall and roll, while laughing so hard they can barely stand. I like to watch them. I also noticed the children in their school using a LoLo ball recently. I used to love my LoLo ball so much! I must've been about Bella's age when I had mine and I was so good on it, I could bounce everywhere. My pelvic floor and vertigo mean I tend to give all bouncy things a miss these days, but hey ho, it's nice to watch the children having fun.

John and I had a night away in a hotel on Monday. A whole 24 hours without responsibility, space hoppers or children! I feared I might have built it up too much in my head but it was just as I'd hoped. 

We stayed on the banks of the Thames and it was very pretty, despite the constant drizzle and white skies.

At home, I've been busy with the paintbrush. My parents were getting rid of this garden bench and, scrounger that I am, I kindly offered to take it off their hands. I'm helpful like that.

A few hours of sanding, priming and painting later we have this beauty. John muttered about the bright pink metal work but I think it's fabulous and a big improvement.

I had a really lovely morning shopping with Bella a couple of days ago. When did this happen, that my daughter and I would do these things together? We had lunch out and everything. She's good at shopping, no surprise there. I found really nice skirt on the Cath Kidston sale and decided to splurge and buy it. Even half price (£80 reduced to £40) I thought it was pretty expensive, but I'm glad I bought it.

It will be good for work and in the summer I can wear it with a t-shirt and sandals, and I think the darker colours would make it wearable for winter too, with some tights and a cardigan maybe. But look at those ric rac stripes! So pleasingly wiggly!

I also treated myself to a new cookery book, A Modern Way to Eat. I've been dithering over this one for months but when I stayed with my friend Abigail recently I pretty much read her copy cover to cover and decided to just buy my own. 

I've been reading it in bed (armed with a pad of post it notes, as is my habit) and I think that this book might be a really good investment. Although all I've baked from it is cake so far. Today I made the Super Raw Brownies above (not really like brownies, more of a refrigerator cake but very good) and the Salted Caramel Brownies below (like real brownies and pretty amazing too.)

As well as the brownies, I also baked Abigail's Tea Loaf and a batch of biscotti.

I know, that's a lot of cake for one day, but there are two reasons. One, it rained (and thundered) solidly for most of the day and baking is how I help shift the inevitable low mood which bad weather so often brings me, and two, we are about to go on holiday and we must have cake. With John's parents, we'll be staying in Derbyshire for a week, near Matlock. I've bought new magazines, borrowed books, chosen my crochet and embroidery projects...I am ready! Please let it not rain every day...

Has anyone else noticed that it suddenly seems to get dark so much earlier? Angus commented on it tonight and Bella asked earlier if autumn was "nearly coming". Despite the deliberate slowness and pottering-like nature, of our days, I can't help but notice that we are slowly and inexorably moving from mid to late summer. Apples are on the trees, blackberries are in the bushes, and it's dark by 8.30 pm now. It doesn't matter that I'm still in full summer holiday mode, whether I like it or not autumn isn't that far off.