weekend surprises

this week has been a full one. work filled but also time for friends, dinner dates and long phone conversations. friday evening was spent watching the olympic opening ceremony. a ceremony that swelled my chest with pride in my country. if you would like to relive it in full i urge you to go here and watch again. if you want just a taster go here. this weekend has been mainly about helping a friend visualize what she needs for the new home she has moved into. i've enjoyed the interiors journey. this afternoon brought a knock on my door. once opened in front of me was a friend who lives in berlin, germany. i didn't even know she was in the country. she came in with her husband and their girls and had lunch. in two weeks time the family move to addis ababa, ethiopia. i am uncertain when i will see them all again. it was a wonderful surprise.   


within all of that i have had time to notice changes. my neighbours passion fruit plant blossoming on her front fence, tomato fruits ripening finally now that sunshine has arrived; providing the kiss of life, calming colours in my favourite interiors shop, sunshine; peaking out behind stormy clouded skies or casting shadows in the early evenings. 

it's been a good week.

Emma

internal jukebox

no radio was on while i got ready for work this morning. this song was playing on my internal jukebox. one of my favourite videos, ever. so simple. so affective. ian brown f.e.a.r. enjoy.

Emma

amy winehouse

it's been a year since amy winehouse died aged twenty seven. last night i was flicking through the tv and stumbled upon an arena documentary. it was filmed in dingle, ireland and shows a twentytwo year old amy performing with just a guitar and base for company. she is outstanding. no stumbling, mumbling lyrics here. they also interview her. she waxes lyrical about the singers she learnt to sing from. she talks of mahalia jackson, sarah vaughan, carleen anderson, all these women i too grew up listening to. she speaks of listening to her brothers records through her bedroom wall, something my brother and i did as a teenagers, she brought back many happy memories. we too lost a family member when he was aged only twentyseven. there will always be a sense of taken too young. our family too exhibited symptoms that amy's dad mitch spoke of in the press yesterday. this documentary shows amy just before she hit the dizzying peaks she achieved in her young life, to me it is a fitting tribute. take a look at your leisure.

Emma

Lazy Afternoon

This afternoon I had my own company, it was what I needed. No requirements for conversation, just space to sit, look at the sky and live in the moment.

Jane

Summer sun.... walking tall

After what seems like months summer has finally arrived, clear blue sky, warmth, sunlight. Even more perfect to-day I had the day off ; how often does that happen sun and no work?  Perfect for walks by the river, taking things slow, and walking tall.

Jane

impromptu

turns out trips to wales are like buses. you wait months for one and then two come along within weeks. sunshine. the beach. sandcastles. collecting rocks and shells. fish and chips by the sea. time for family both in person and on the phone. what could be better? sunshine for the whole weekend. french doors flung open. chilled sparkling wine. time to read the papers. skin a little bit pink and finally thinking that i might have to water my veggies. happy. 

Emma

Camping

This weekend we went camping. It started off with a promise, and ended in sun.

Jane

friday night, saturday morning.

Emma

catching up

i would love to say summer has arrived. it hasn't. what did arrive was two days together without rain. i know this shouldn't be something that you ever class as being noteworthy. but. as this has been the wettest summer since records began it feels like something to be celebrated. the fact it has occurred at a weekend even more so. 


this weekend has been a weekend of catching up. every day last week before heading to work i had to iron something to wear. each evening the fridge has been bare. exhaustion has ruled the roost. a couple of early nights were had but each morning the snooze button was pressed. the plan for this weekend was to get a head start on the week but not at the expense of recharging my batteries.


the weekend started on friday with a spot of retail therapy. saturday brought a lie in before meeting a friend for lunch to belatedly celebrate a birthday.

sunday. today was the day to get ahead. i have been away for the last two weekends. no jobs have been done in the house during that time, obviously. the run of the mill jobs had been neglected. i eased myself in gently starting the day with tea and listening to a new musical purchase. 

next came the jobs in earnest. the washing machine had been running friday and all day saturday. the ironing was backed up and bedding needed to be washed. while the machine was running this morning i tackled a pile of papers that had been sat in my kitchen for months. my rule of thumb is when i can't hear the radio for the amount of papers in front of it, that is when they need to be cleared. i've not been able to hear the radio for weeks now. not anymore. papers cleared; recycled or filed. corner cleaned, workspace reclaimed.

washing finished, ironing was tackled. almost everything ironed and put away. 

bedding dry and bed remade. one of my favourite things is getting into a clean bed made with crisp clean sheets. i'll need no rocking tonight.

another major thing for me to tackle; my lawn. with all the rain there has been no opportunity to mow it, it has never been dry enough to attempt. after two days with very little rain i decided to try. i love the smell of freshly mowed grass that gets rained on, especially on a dry summer day. never before had i had that smell whilst mowing my lawn. i did today. 

after the hard work of the day my final point of call was my sisters. a dinner invite. jobs finished. shower had. dessert and wine purchased. time to play, chat, dance and sing. the final catch up. 

happy new week everyone.

Emma