Sunshine, flowers and books.

This has been a few weeks in which we've worked hard but filled our weekends to the brim, too. Half term (which feels like a very long time ago now I think about it) included a fair amount of revision (Bella) and report writing (me) but it also included many very lovely things. We squeezed every drop out of it. We ate out a couple of times - burgers, Wagamama, a pub lunch - as there were various things to celebrate, or spirits to be kept up.

We went bowling, a postponed birthday celebration for Angus. None of us were very accurate except John who is annoyingly good.

I bought some new books. 

At the end of May, my book group had its end of year meeting, in which we look back over the previous year and then decide the next twelve titles to read and discuss. The reason we start mid-year is because we began the group during the first Covid lockdown in June 2020. There are six of us, which works well, as we can choose two books each. We choose one we've read before and want to recommend, and one which is new to us. Then, all twelve titles are put in a random number generator to decide the order. Here is our selection for the coming year. I've just read These Days, a novel about a family set over a short period of time during the Belfast Blitz in 1941. It is very good.

We had a few little celebrations and gatherings which were very lovely. A family get-together for my Dad's birthday, for which I made this lemon cheesecake. 

We had friends round for pizza, and got out the pizza oven for the first time this year.

John celebrated his birthday. The sun shone so we went to a pub beer garden and had lunch outside, which was glorious. I made Oreo brownies and Bella made a very good card.

Walks have been local and short-ish as it has been very warm over the past few weeks, and dry.

This one has had her head buried in books and flashcards for months, so it was very good indeed to celebrate the end of her GCSEs last Friday. She gave herself a week off to relax - she has spent most of the time reading in the garden, I think  - and it now bored and job hunting. The day of her last exam was also the day I submitted by final (of thirty two in total) report so celebrations all round. 

The garden is doing nicely. Apart from a huge thunderstorm last Sunday night, we have had very little rain, so I am focusing on watering my pots and any new plants I bought this year. I am still rowing every morning and enjoying sitting outside with a glass of water before I get in the shower. It is a very calm way to start the day, and do a little garden inspection at the same time.

The redcurrants are ripening quickly, and in the last two weeks have gone from this....

...to this. I will be able to pick them soon then wonder what on earth to do with them. 

Annoyingly, I have very few blackcurrants this year. I am hoping that there are more hidden under the leaves. I need enough to make my favourite blackcurrant and liquorice ice cream. 

The climbing rose is blooming well. I am trying hard to remember to dead head frequently.

The rhododendrons have just finished their two-week long blaze of colour.

Always a pleasure.

I can't remember what we have cooked or eaten lately. More meals out than is usual, and lots of quick late-night, after work meals like baked potatoes or salad. Rushing around as usual. But I can tell you what I have been sewing. I am still working on my Iceland embroidery and used water-soluble cross-stich fabric to sew this traditional star shape, in a mossy shade of green.

I have been getting frustrated with this embroidery, and couldn't seem to balance the layout of shapes and colours. So I snipped bits from magazines in roughly the size I planned to sew and laid it out. It helped a lot - now, when I need to decide what to sew next, I look at my plan.

The most recent addition was these two snow-capped Icelandic houses, inspired by the ones we saw in Reykjavik. I looked back at my photos and noticed lots of mustard yellow, teal blue and rusty-red in the tones, so used some linen scraps to create a little applique.

It's coming together slowly.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the beautiful weather we have been gifted this summer - so far. I'm crossing everything that we don't get six weeks of rain in the school holidays.

Everywhere green

May was a glorious month. Busy and intense at work (SATs!), while equally busy and intense at home (GCSE revision for Bella) but so many highlights, not least the unrelenting blue skies and everything opening up and unfurling outside. I always think May starts off quite quietly, very definitely spring, but by the end of the month every leaf is the deepest shade of bright green, the garden has started to bloom and it feels almost summery.

Angus turned fourteen. My baby, fourteen. 

 

He requested a stack of doughnuts for his cake which I was more than happy to oblige, much less work all round. I was touched that he asked for Lego too (along with techy things, clothes and books) and he was so engrossed in building it, it reminded me of a younger Angus.

We attempted No Mow May in the front garden. I was torn between loving it and thinking it looked untidy. 

For a while, the verges outside our house were a riot of colour and wild flowers, it was really stunning, but then the council came along and mowed them.

We had some beautiful walks locally in woods filled with wild garlic, or ransoms. I noticed that I picked this about a month earlier last year, in April, but it was much later this year. 

I used this recipe but substituted the pine nuts for peanuts because that's what I had in the cupboard and omitted the garlic cloves because when I made this last year I found it too fiery. This batch was much more mellow and the wild garlic came through beautifully. I made the best sandwich I have ever eaten (from a fridge stocked with better than usual leftovers because we'd had friends round for dinner the night before) with the pesto, chicken, mozzarella and salad on toasted white bread. Heaven.

Leaving behind the teenagers, John and I had a lovely walk around Bosham and the first 99 ice cream of the year. 

The houses and gardens in Bosham are something else (and ridiculously expensive) but so pretty.

I've been getting up earlier than usual lately, as Bella wants to revise before school and likes me to wake her. Obviously she has an alarm clock and is more than capable of getting herself up, but I like that she wants to say good morning. She is so incredibly organised and self-sufficient, it's nice to feel needed. Anyway, I tell you this because coming down to the kitchen filled with morning sunlight is a joy.

Since I'm up, I go on the rowing machine in the garage as I much prefer exercising first thing rather than when I get in from work, then I wander round the garden with the watering can before having a shower. It's a really nice way to start the day.

It is now the time of year for after-work dog walks. How lovely it is to walk through fields of buttercups as the sun is dropping in the sky. A good way to decompress after a day in the classroom.

The garden finally has some colour.

The two enormous rhododendrons have flowered and the ferns are opening up. The alliums are just finished but there are buds on the climbing rose and poppies about to come up.

We spent the weekends in May giving the garden a bit of attention, scrubbing the decking and giving everything a bit of a tidy up.

It's amazing what a jet wash and a few new plants can do, as well as some sunshine.

The outdoor sofa continue to be one of our best purchases ever. It is in constant use, even by the dog, hence the blanket.

There has been a lot of cooking, and from new books too, so I have lots of photos for future book review posts. But I recently bought this book when I saw it half price and I have used it lots. Very practical, easy family food with some nice ideas. This was turkey tacos with an amazing coleslaw made with green apple.  

Chocolate flapjacks, always good for lunchboxes and after school snacks. 

And the most perfect weekend breakfast - poached egg and avocado on toast covered in Sriracha hot chilli sauce.

I am still working on my Iceland holiday embroidery. I have found it hard to find time and enthusiasm and did not enjoy sewing this Northern Lights section.

However, this little cross stitch star, using water-soluble fabric, was much more enjoyable and I have found my mojo with this project again. 

Which is just as well, as I would like to finish it before the memories fade too much.