snapshot

on a day where the uk is getting battered by ex hurricane bertha, i am reminiscing with this snapshot from last month. sat warmed by a jumper and a cup of tea while tomatoes are roasting in the oven and slowly filling the house with their pungent aroma i could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't summer. but summer it is and free times beckons. jane and i are taking a rest from this space as we take time out from our daily routine in real life.  we'll be back in a couple of weeks time, hopefully by then normal summer weather service will have resumed. i hope summer is being kind to you friends; wherever you are and whatever the weather, enjoy.

Emma

thankful thursday

this week i am thankful for a peaceful spirit. a catch up with old friends who now live in africa and an upcoming holiday to look forward to. i'm also thankful for this passion fruit plant that has grown (overgrown?) into my front garden from my neighbours. everyday this week the flowers have greeted me on my front doorstep in various forms of openness, their beauty exposed and each time i stop, amazed at the intricacy.

Emma 

summer listening

today i am finally getting around to finding the songs that i have been reminded of all summer. listening to the radio at work has it's perks but not so much when you are busy and the radio is kind of quiet because you are all concentrating. that is when i have found myself humming along to refrains within current tunes that have reminded me of old tunes known and much loved - don't ask me what the current tunes are - but the old ones? well they are the best, aren't they?

Emma

best part of the week

for the first time since starting this series with jane, i have no picture. this week my best part of the week is something i hadn't done before. my sister's birthday is next week and while i waited for the answer to my question "is there anything you would like for your birthday"? i decided to buy something small for her to open while she is away on holiday. i found something larger that i thought she might like, only the difficulty was it was in the very end of season sale - the kind that if you buy it, you can't take it back. after discovering this i decided to call and explain, i then took a photo and text her. it didn't go through. i attached the image to an email. it didn't go through. as a final resort i phoned again, this time we spoke over facetime. stood in the middle of the large store waiting for the call to connect, i walk back to the area i found had a 3G connection and wait for the image to match the audio i am already hearing. there in front of me is my sister, her youngest daughter and son crowded around their ipad jostling for a view of the proposed birthday present that i am modelling akin to some tv game show hostess circa 1981. once viewed and approved my sister asks if i am getting any odd looks, i look up and reply in the negative, she tries to trick me by telling me i am getting them behind me, we both laugh. i try to take a screen shot but succeed only in nearly cutting us off; not having enough hands to enable me to hold everything and press two buttons at the same time. we disconnect and i walk towards the cash desk still laughing, the first time i have face timed in a public place. got to love technology.

thank goodness they fit.

Emma

Sometimes the beauty of nature just takes your breath away. This was one of those moments.


Jane

thankful thursday

this week i am thankful for rest, rest i didn't know was needed until my body laid me low. i am thankful for a good film and a warm blanket (even as the sun shone). i am thankful for laughter, the ability to choose to see the joyful in the mundane and the exuberance of youth, reminding me to live each moment to the fullest.

Emma

with thanks to andy for the pictures

best part of the week

an unexpected oasis in the routine of the week. an hour to myself, sat in the cooling early evening breeze on a humid day, lost in a magazine ahead of meeting a friend for dinner. i had no idea how overdue that time was until i was gifted it.

Emma

Friday off work -a trip to the V&A.  Simply stunning, Mum and daughter time, with nothing else to do but enjoy the beauty around us.

Jane

thankful thursday

this week i am thankful for good weather, when sunshine is not always guaranteed you never take it for granted (a life lesson perhaps?)  i am thankful for being able to eat not just dinner but breakfast on my deck. above all i am thankful to have small children in my life that remind me constantly to play. sometimes the simple things give the most pleasure.

Emma