Delayed

We've been back from holiday almost a week now and I haven't written about it. It was our second anniversary on Monday...and I haven't written about it. I read three books while we were away, have new projects on the go, and none of it has made it to here. And that's not going to change today.

Things are busy here, everyone has deadlines looming, countdowns going and a million things to do. I remember when the summer holidays seemed to stretch ahead long and calm. Today they seem hectic and bursting - and in some ways September will be the calm after the whirlwind. It's a good whirlwind though. Some of the changes are a struggle at the moment but will be good when they come to fruition. We just have to be patient.

In another week we'll be on holiday again - this time with T's family. I'm hoping I will have caught up with myself a bit by then. But if not, everything will be fine anyway.

Summer Means Books

For me, the start of summer is my birthday at the end of June. From there is it just a few more weeks until schools break up and holidays start. The weather is already warming, and one of my favourite things is to sit in the shade of a tree with a new book and a cool drink. My birthday also helps with this because I usually get a lovely stack of new books, which I delve into, and try to save for holidays. This year I was given a lovely stack...

{Top to bottom: FlashForward, The Legacy, Redeeming Love, Small Island, The Weight of Silence, Guide to Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, The Postmistress.}
As we're off on holiday this weekend, for a week in Cornwall, I'm looking forward to getting stuck into my next couple of books, but I fear the stack will be severely diminished by the end of August when we go away again. Any recommendations to add to my summer stack?

June in Pictures

{Dragonfly on a walk, seagull in Wales, cygnet at Beaumaris castle, feet in the woods, sausages on the beach, wine in the garden, sand sun, Beaumaris castle staircase, sewing project, sunset on Anglesey, birthday tulips from T, raspberry muffins, butterfly, rose, sunset at home, Welsh flag, seahorse, Wales sunset, white rose, shadows pagoda.}

Catching Up

The weekend by the sea was just wonderful. It wasn't even a whole weekend, we drove down to Eastbourne on Friday evening. The weather had been sizzling all day, and even the evening as we sat and drank wine, ate dinner and caught up on the last few months of life the heat was still hanging heavily in the air. We got to bed late, and slept til about nine in the morning.

We were visiting E and B. E didn't quite live with me at university but it was close. We always say that she was our almost housemate. She and B got married just before last Christmas. E took us out on the South Downs in the morning for a walk along the cliffs, and then we all met up for a lunch in a pub garden. Then we carried on for another walk along the seafront with ice creams. B had to go, so the three of us wandered along at a leisurely pace before heading back to the flat.

We had dinner and watched Hancock, which if you haven't seen it is really quite funny and a good film. It appeals to boys and girls, and in my book that's a winner. We went home late Saturday, sunburned, tired and happy. The icing on the day was that we drove off into the sunset which was gorgeous and not too blinding for driving. Just perfect.

You may have noticed the lack of photos. I charged the camera battery and then left it at home at the last minute. It's been a long time since I was in a new (oh so pretty place) without my camera. On the one hand it was lovely - I just enjoyed the weekend in the moment, spending time relaxing. On the other hand - I'm a little sad not to have photos of the weekend, and to have missed the chance to take them - no shells, no sand, no waves, no windswept hair, no happy faces. I'll just have to look back on those things in my memory. Until the next time we visit them of course.

This week is busy. After the relaxed weekend (we stayed home on Sunday and listened to the church service online - I have to admit that the sunburn was a little painful!) this week is just go go go. Busy days and evenings, until Friday when we are taking another trip to spend the long weekend with my family. Can't wait!

Sunny Days

We made the most of the summery sunshine this weekend, it was beautiful. England is at that gorgeous in betweeny stage at the moment, summer is fading but the Autumn chills and rains haven't quite arrived yet. We took a picnic up to the park and lay in the sun with our books. {I discovered the collage feature of Picasa this week too...}

On Sunday we ate lunch at the pub in the garden after church with friends, and then played games. It was lovely to spend the afternoon with them.

Day 19:


Day 20:


This one only happened because when I remembered at 11.30pm that I hadn't taken a photo yet, T got out of bed and got my camera for me. We then spent half an hour playing with the manual focus and long exposure settings on the camera. He's lovely, really he is.

September - here comes Autumn!

September is here! I love Autumn. Blustery winds, crunchy leaves, snuggling in warm jumpers with hot chocolate. Mmm yummy.

But before I move totally on to autumn, summer deserves a goodbye wave. It has been a great one. June, July, August - you were awesome. I had a birthday, an anniversary, three trips to London, days at Besom, read eight books and went on two holidays. I've already shared Anglesey photos - now it's Cornwall's turn.

DAY 1

We arrived to find a gorgeous house - Mum had chosen well. Beautiful gardens, flowers in the living room...and thick fog.


DAY 2

Oh well, thick fog again - we took a drive around the local area. The highlight for me was Charlestown, a Georgian port town. Windy, rainy but somehow that made it even more dramatically beautiful.


DAY 3

Sunshine! T, my Dad and littlest sister went to play golf. Mum, middling sister and I visited a castle, had lunch in a cafe, looked around the local gift and craft shops...and went back to the cafe for cream teas.


DAY 4

Possibly my favourite day. This photo will give you an idea of the weather.


We climbed a big hill near the cottage. The views were stunning...


We flew our kite. The wind was so strong, it was amazing. But then it broke. But not before we had fun and I took photos!



DAY 5

It rained most of the day again but was still lovely. We visited a local craft centre with all sorts of art, pottery, jewellery and ornaments for sale. Although I coveted many things, they were quite pricey and so we didn't end up buying anything.

We went out for dinner to a restaurant in the port town we visited on Day 1. It was amazing. I indulged my love of seafood with scallop starter, lobster (with prawn and crab) main course and followed up with a hot chocolate and stolen spoonfuls of T's dessert. We could see the ocean from our table. Perfection!

DAY 6

We visited an old slate mine and adjoining gardens. My favourite bit was this gorgeous subterranean lake. It was so hard to get the camera to focus properly, with the extreme darkness - this is the best I managed but I was pretty happy with it. The lake is actually this colour, and its because it has high levels of micah in the water. (See, it was educational too!)



DAY 7

We visited the village of Lerryn. We saw art and craft exhibitions, walked across the river on stepping stones, and then walked up a big hill to find a geocache.



Once again, gorgeous views. It was wonderful, so many happy times with my family.

I also did a good proportion of the driving to and from Cornwall. I am pretty proud of that achievement.

Tonight: Making dinner for home group and ironing.

Tomorrow: Day off, possibly a small shopping trip and lunch with my husband. Creating, baking and a set of September goals to blog about.

Beautiful Island

We made good use of the new camera on holiday so here are just a few highlights...


The cakes in the bottom left are called Welsh cakes. They're so easy to make and very tasty warm for afternoon tea. The recipe I found came from here.

We spent a lot of time on the beaches. We played boules...


We caught crabs...


We dug for treasure...



We celebrated our anniversary...


...with a cliff top walk...



...and a picnic...


...with a view.

Hi

I'm back. Today I have...

1. Spent two hours unpacking.

2. Read about 45 posts on my google reader. Only 157 to go.

3. Appreciated the comments you people left me.

More tidying, reading, cleaning to be done. We go on holiday again in four and a half days. The sun is shining. It's good to be home. Photos from Anglesey are on their way.

That's Our V&A Day

Some photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A is quite a girly museum, full of dresses, pretty silver and swirly curly iron work. Which is why we made it a girls' day out...

The Magic of Summer

Remember being a kid at the beginning of the summer holidays? The days stretch out ahead of you full of promise. There are hints of laughter and sunshine and holidays brushing your face. Six weeks. Long lazy days.

I have some holidays booked, two weeks away, my sister is coming to stay. I am going on a couple of trips to London - one to the V&A museum with Lulu and the other to the Globe theatre with my mum and sisters.

I've been working on a list of goals for my summer. There is always so much potential in the summer, yet every day slips by so quickly. It can be easy to let summer slide through your fingers.

My goals range from the very mundane (clearing cupboards, dry cleaning winter coats) to things I am more excited about (crafty projects, books to read, cooking new recipes). I will try to be a better blogger and document these things. I will try to savour the magic of summer.

What are your goals for this summer? What are you excited about? What memories will you have to savour from summer of 2009?

Laid Back Weekend

We made pizza for dinner last night. You put the ingredients for the dough in the breadmaker and 45 minutes later you get...


We usually spread it with tomato puree mixed with BBQ sauce. We added bacon, peppers, mushrooms, mozarella and cheddar.


Yum yum.



Today is a laid back Saturday in our house. T got up to do some work and I slept in until he brought me a cup of tea.


We got up late and had cooked breakfast while we listened to the cricket on the radio. He's a big cricket fan. I'm learning to like it.


We just walked up to the university to get some books T needs for his thesis corrections.

Picture Post

Sunday evening, one of those beautiful warm light summer evenings.

Picture Post

Iced drinks have been the first stop after getting home this week.

Birthday Weekend!

We spent this weekend with my family. We mostly played games and talked and ate yummy food so I don't have too many pictures to share. But there was birthday cake...


...and cupcakes!


Shiv came over and we played more games. I got lots of lovely presents - two beautiful bags...



...some crafty excitingness...


...some books, a CD, some jewellery and a DVD. It was all very lovely and relaxing - it felt like a mini holiday. Spending my birthday weekend with my parents, sisters and husband (and a little bit with Shiv) was the best part. It was perfect.

Today we are back home and at work. It is hot. Sizzlingly boilingly hot. As in small children sat wilting under trees this afternoon. I realise it isn't hot compared to Asia or Africa but still - we live in England! We are not used to this kind of heat. Think of the small children who were not coping well with it.

T is making fruit smoothies now, the perfect end to a hot day!

(Slightly Belated) Picture Post

Sunset from our guest room window this week.

Thoughts on Birthdays

In nine days it will be my birthday. My first married birthday.

Yesterday my husband came home with surprises and secrets. Some were shared, some are still secret. This was exciting.

It's also new. I tell him pretty much everything that happens. When it was coming up to his birthday it was so hard not to tell him all about the surprises I had planned. I never have trouble keeping surprises from anyone else but being used to sharing everything it takes some concentration not to just talk.

I've also never had a married birthday before. On my birthday I will wake up with my husband. That's never happened before.

This time last year I wasn't that bothered about my birthday. And I was turning 21. I was more excited about our wedding (just over a month later) and my hen night (which would be when I'd see all my girl-friends). Oh and graduation. It was a summer of momentous occasions really and turning 21 kind of paled next to the marriage/graduation combo.

But then my lovely husband and lovely housemate kept a secret plan from me. They planned a dinner party. The fact that they'd arranged the whole thing without me knowing or expecting anything threw me a little but was so special. That summer I thought I knew exactly when the important events were happening. I figured I was getting enough fuss that year...and the fact that they planned a little extra fuss made me feel very loved.

This summer will be calmer and quieter but no less special. It will be a summer filled with new experiences and memories to come. I'm pretty excited that there are still surprises though...

(Belated) Picture Post

A Village With Bunting

We went away this weekend to visit some friends from university. It always seems strange to me when we go away to see uni people because we still live in our university town. Anyway. It was lovely. Close your eyes and picture an english country village. It was just like that.

There was a picturesque church.


There was a bakery...


...with a farm shop.


There was even bunting around the cricket green.


We had a lovely Saturday with them. We wandered around the village, packed a picnic and then went off to the national arboretum. I didn't even know there was a national arboretum. (Or what arboretum meant. It means tree collection. Now we all know.)


It was very pretty.


We walked, chatted, ate our picnic and had ice cream. Then we went back to the pretty village, played a game and drank tea. The boys went to watch the cricket on the green, and we stayed at the house (drank more tea) and talked even more. We were cooked a lovely dinner. We were very well looked after.

Sunshine, food and friends are the perfect combination.