A Pretty Perfect Weekend

Ah, this weekend...it was just what I needed. Slow and steady with that elusive balance of activity and rest, time alone and time with people. Last week was busier than usual; Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I attended a First Aid at Work course* and on Thursday and Friday I had my usual days at work and tried to cram in everything I usually do at home on the other days. Then after lessons on Friday our school held it's summer fair, a completely lovely event which the children thoroughtly enjoyed. John was able to attend and he took the kids home after a while, but I stayed for the clean up and arrived home about 7.30 pm, very tired. I slept so deeply and heavily on Friday night that on Saturday morning I don't think I was really with it.

We went into town, to the library and to Waitrose. The kids signed up for a six week summer reading challenge and, caught up in the excitement, I also decided to borrow six books. "I'm going to have my own six week summer reading challenge!" I declared to John, "It'll make me make time for myself over the holidays!" He just laughed at me.

I chose two crime fiction titles (The Dying Minutes and R is for Ricochet), two books that I can't believe I haven't ever read before (Love All and Love in a Cold Climate), and two purely because I liked the jackets (Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Sex and Stravinsky).  I'll probably only read one but who cares, my intentions are good. That's the great thing about libraries, isn't it, you can just pick up as many books as you like and on a whim too, and if they're no good then it's no loss. 

We had a coffee and bought some bits and bobs. Fruit, flowers, beer chosen for the label design. I have decided that nectarines are much nicer than peaches, and the yellow fleshed ones are best of all. These were almost syrupy and so good with pancakes.

I pottered with the flowers slowly, enjoying the snipping and arranging, glad not to be in a hurry.

Flowers in every room. I'm good at buying the cheap ones and stretching them into lots of vases in lots of places.

I spent most of the afternoon in the garden, reading the paper and crocheting. Every now and then I came indoors to do something or get something, but it was a pretty chilled out affair. I drank tea and listened to Woman's Hour on the iPlayer. My sister and brother in law were coming for dinner on Saturday night so we did some cooking. Really easy, no fuss stuff, like spiced nuts.

Smoked trout pate.

Spinach and ricotta stuffed cannelloni (John made that).

Lemon possets with lemon shortbread for pudding. Nice food lined up ready in the fridge, ready for a happy evening of eating and drinking.

Today we met up with my dear friend Abigail and her family in Guildford. We had a lovely long lunch together, made plans for the summer and looked around the castle, where we saw the most beautiful wild flower planting.

Isn't it stunning? Imagine having this in your garden.

And these marigolds and geraniums had been planted in huge swathes throughout the castle gardens. I'm not sure if I like them, they are maybe just a bit too bright and brassy for me, but very eye catching.

I'll take these poppies any day.

I wish every weekend could be this good but I know it can't, normal life and work gets in the way. But that just makes times like these all the more precious. I hope you had a great weekend too.

* I went on this one and it was excellent; informative, well delivered and very useful. I hope that I never have to use it, but that I don't forget what I learned either. 

Creating Corners in the Garden

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our garden and your comments were just wonderful, so helpful and inspiring, and I was thinking about what you said when I was toiling out there last weekend. (It has finally dawned on me that a bigger garden really does mean a lot more work, in the beginning at least.) But you gave me some fantastic ideas on how we could improve our space while continuing to garden on a tight budget, like planting some climbers against the back fence, taking cuttings from friends and family's gardens, sowing from seed, sourcing cheap pots on eBay, painting the shed and buying plants from car boot and roadside sales. That last one had never occurred to me so thanks for that great tip. 

A couple of your recommendations really stood out: Jo and Sam both suggested doubling the width of the border at the back of the garden to give depth and to let us vary the height and shape of the planting. This hadn't occurred to me, and it's such a good idea as we have a large lawn and can spare the space. So, last weekend we did just that, doubled the width of the border. My sister  - the one with that stunning garden - is making big changes to her own outside space and she offered us some unwanted plants. Big plants are expensive, and the opportunity to get my hands on some established, mature shrubs was too good to pass up. Our garden now boasts a small Ragged Robin tree, some sedum, a Rose of Sharon, a small rhododendron bush and monbretia. (My mum had to tell me the names of all those plants - I have enthusiasm, but not knowledge.)

They all need time to settle and grow, and there is still too much visible earth, but it's a start and I'm happy with it. This autumn I'll plant bulbs, and next year I'll add lupins and foxgloves for more height and colour.

Something Sarah said really made me stop and think. To paraphrase, it was along the lines of: think about how you create corners of interest in your home, and try to achieve the same effect in the garden. Of course! I love nothing more than faffing around indoors, so why not outdoors too? I'd never really thought of creating a garden in that way. A reading/gin and tonic corner with a bench is already in progress, and I'd like a cut flower or vegetable area at some point, and we already have an eating area. Our decking is gloriously sunny until about 3 pm, but there have been times recently when it's been a little too hot, especially over lunchtime. So when Homebase contacted me recently asking me if I'd like to review one of their parasols, I was very interested indeed. 

I've always fancied an overhanging parasol because you can angle the direction of the shade more easily than one which sits in the middle of the table. I chose this one and can report that it looks good, offers a huge area of shade and is very easy indeed to put up and take down. And yes, we still only have three chairs. I've been trying to find a similar one on eBay but I've given up and think I'll probably buy a couple of directors chairs - these ones have caught my eye. Do have a look at Homebase's Outdoor Living section, they've got some lovely things. 

I just love the shadows and shapes the furniture has made on the decking there. Here's hoping we have lots more sunny days this summer.

This post was written in collaboration with Homebase. 

Make Bake Sew Grow

It's still sunny! I can't quite believe it. I've been working in the garden all weekend which has been tiring but satisfying, and I hope you've all done something lovely in this perfect, sunny weather. We've had a nice weekend here; full, busy, fulfilling, and I have lots to share with you in my Bake, Bake, Sew, Grow post. 

{ Make }

Making a few small purchases for the house. Nothing to break the bank, just some small treats like these three vintage floral prints I found on ebay for about a pound. Maybe a little more, I can't remember, but so cheap and  - of course - so perfect for the green wall in the porch.

And this delightful carton shaped milk jug, so compact and well proportioned. I love the way it should be cardboard but it's not, it's glass. I don't know why but I find that really pleasing. And it pours well which you'd think would be a prerequisite for all jugs but so often isn't.

And finally this amazing book, Modern Crochet: Crochet Accessories and Projects for Your Home by Molla Mills. 

I think this might be one of the best crochet books I've bought in ages. As soon as I opened it I wanted to make absolutely everything in it, always a good sign, and I feel like my crochet mojo (a bit absent lately) woke up and went "Oh, hello!" It feels like my kind of crochet; clean, neat, not too girly, and in a simple, almost monochromatic palate. This summer I want to make that basket, that rug, that clutch bag, and those necklaces. I need to buy some hoopla yarn! Don't you just love that pre-crafting feeling of excitement? Shopping lists of yarn to buy, hook sizes to check, mentally clearing a crafting window of an evening to make a start on a new project...

Inspired by some of the very cool crocheted jewellery in the book, I had a go at some crochet-covered bangles.

I'm not sure. The yarn slips and slides around as I push them over my wrist. I think the bangles might benefit from being wrapped in double sided sticky tape first, so that the yarn doesn't move. The chunky yellow one works best I think, but it's too warm to wear wool against my skin. 

{ Bake }

Oreo brownies for our recent camping weekend, just like the ones I made this time last year for the same camping trip. I read somewhere recently that traditions only become tradition by the act of doing, rather than remembering or photographing or discussing. I guess these brownies are my camping tradition.

Cherries. We eat them as fast as I buy them. Like peonies, their season is short, sweet and much appreciated.

Also eaten in vast quantities but unphotographed: peaches and nectarines. I love these. Four in one day is my record so far. We need to buy these daily, everyone loves them so much.

{ Sew }

The Midsummer Sprigs sampler continues to work it's magic, although I did have to unpick a whole section as I'd miscounted and put it in the wrong place. That's what happens when you cross stitch when you're sleepy. But I'm still really enjoying it. It feels right to be stitching it at the moment, the right project for the right season, always a happy thing.

{ Grow }

I've really neglected the garden since the half term holiday. I mean, I've been out there almost every day, to hang out washing or eat at the table, but the plants? It's survival of the fittest out there. This is the area of our home which has suffered the most from my return to work, which is a shame but there we are. But, I spent most of yesterday and two hours today out there with lots of help from various lovely family members (John's been at work this weekend so got off lightly) digging, planting, weeding and catching the sun on my shoulders. 

And despite my all or nothing approach to gardening, I found I had something to pick. These yellow flowers cover a bush in our front garden and I believe they are Rose of Sharon or Hypericum, although as always I bow down to your superior gardening knowledge, you fabulous lot.

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{ Make } Something for my home.

 { Bake } Something from the kitchen.

{ Sew } Something crafty.

{ Grow } Something in my garden

Evening Swim

Hot day at work. 36°C on the car thermometer. Rush hour traffic. Fish and chips. Cricket. Warm air. No breeze. Paddling. Floating. Swimming. Sun setting. Perfection. 

*

We made it to the beach and it was beautiful. We could've stayed longer but it was a school night and we were sad to leave. We've resolved to go down as often as we can. Thank you, temperamental British weather, for cooperating and making me very happy.

Heatwave

If I was a more organised blogger, there'd be a photo of a paddling pool up there too, but we can't find the foot pump anywhere, so it remains uninflated and sad looking on the lawn. But never mind, because: the weather! It's been - briefly - warm, even what I'd call proper summer.

Before going to work, I've been soaking up every moment I have in the garden. I spend a while picking some roses to bring indoors, I peg out the washing much slower than necessary, relishing the warmth of the sun on my back, and I eat breakfast outside and make iced coffee. I know it's really warm when I start wanted iced coffee and tea, when I want my caffeinated beverages to cool me down rather than warm me up.

There is a part of me that wakes up when it's this warm. I am much more relaxed and just generally a happier, less uptight, more spontaneous person. Last night after school we ate dinner in the garden. John, who'd left work early so he could attend the school Sports Day, sat outside with a beer and a book. I abandoned both the ironing and my diet and joined him. Later, I opened the bedroom door to the balcony and let the air waft in, watching the voile curtains gently inhale and exhale in the tiny breeze. 

There was a bit of thunder last night, and the forecast looks less settled now, but this morning, when I hung out the washing at about 7 am, the air was so beautifully warm. It felt amazing on my skin. I am hoping against all hope that we can go down to the beach tonight after school and get fish and chips, and even swim. If it rains I will take it personally, and blame those who moan about the heat on the one and only actually really hot day we've had so far this summer. Although, to be fair, there is a good breeze today. Being by the sea helps. I suspect those inland - especially in the London area - will be feeling hot today. Drink lots of water, and go indoors to watch the tennis. There, my tip for how to survive a mini, very British heatwave. You're welcome.

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Speaking of tennis, are you a fan? Or are you, like me, someone who ignores it until Wimbledon rolls round and then watches it avidly? If it's your thing, then Carpetright are having a fun look at how different types of flooring could affect your indoor tennis performance (should it get too hot to play outside) to promote their new range of carpet, vinyl and laminate floorings. They're also hosting a fantastic competition to win a behind the scenes tour of Wimbledon. Follow this link to enter, and remember to share on social media, using the #AceYourHome hashtag.