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

Saturday Fun

After the week it is so good just to go slow, switch off and relax. To-day I did not get up till 10.45....heaven.

This afternoon I've danced round the kitchen to this:

Fun, laughter, the week forgotten.

Perfect.

Jane

Gifts

By Thursday it was fair to say I was a bit fed up. The continual balancing act between work, home and keeping everything going was leaving me feeling rather stretched.
On Monday night there was the minor issue of realising I should have by now booked transport to get to the Olympics (everyone else seems to have done), Tuesday I'd forgotten to pay a bill, Thursday a mad panic to get a shoe box for science day for school, and I won't even start on work.

Arriving home at the end of the day was an unexpected card from a friend.......

It's a David Hockney- on the back it links to the exhibition 'A Bigger Picture'. It struck a chord, and made me think of what the bigger picture is compared to the stuff that wears me down.

Tonight, was a scout BBQ by the river. I didn't want to go. It was raining. But when we arrived I received another gift:

Hope, promise and a much bigger picture.

Jane

last week

i opened my back door to discover a squirrel eating my strawberries. i picked the ripe berries and took them to my nieces and nephews. dinner out. cooking in. a lot of. a garden party; reunion of friendships made last year, meeting of other halves and children this. rain. but not as much as forecast. merriment until the wee small hours. flying visit to jane. the wimbledon final on a big screen. dinner and drinks around the fire pit. home. tired but happy. turns out squirrels eat green berries too. must buy netting. and get an early night.

Emma

Reflections

A year ago I was on my way to Thailand.

It was a trip that defined 2011, both in time taken to plan, being there and fundraising afterwards. As I have written previously I did things completely outside of my comfort zone, saw and experienced living in places I had never thought I would see, and most of all was humbled by the beautiful people I met.

So a year on what next? I would do anything to go back and visit again, and maybe one day I will. At the time it taught me to live simpler, to think more carefully about money, to think how you spend your time, what you do with your days.
Already I can see how the western culture for wanting more has quickly impinged back in my life, and how easy it is to lose your focus.  I am still seeking answers on what to do with my days, of how to make a difference.

But to-day, I want to thank God for the time I had there, the people I met, and say you taught me so much. Days are for living and being different in, and of making the most of those moments.

Jane

A Trip to London

Well I've been a bit quiet the last week as lots of things have been quite difficult, and taken away any ounce of creativity.
To-day I was in meetings in London all day. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. At lunch time I wandered outside for 20 minutes, and was met with a buzz that you only get in London. A packed square, deck chairs, tennis and piano against a wall that anyone could play.

This afternoon we moved rooms. The view was amazing.

Working in London for the day has benefits. Inspiring skylines, energy that you just absorb. Creativity restored.

Jane

magic madge

back in march jane wrote a post about mothers day. in response i wrote a post not just in memory of jane's mum barbara but to acknowledge the prod jane had given me about taking your parents for granted. it took three months to find a weekend we were both free but finally this weekend we spent time. leaving the working week and the grey manchester skies behind i headed to wales to embrace the "micro climate" i am constantly told about. it rained but i'm sure not as much as it did in manchester.


i arrived on friday evening clutching peonies as a present. mum loves flowers but tells me that she has never bought peonies herself and was only this week looking at them. i explain that going to buy flowers i thought it was fitting that i bought peonies as it was jane and barbara that inspired this visit and peonies were one of barbara's favourite flowers. i have bought peonies for both jane and barbara before, i have obviously never bought flowers for mum when peonies are having their three week window at this time of the year.

over dinner our plans for saturday were concocted. we had an idea to board a stream train and take a journey. plans were changed when not only was i not old enough nor male enough to pose as graham for the rail card but they were out of date. by three days. plans were rearranged. 


mum and i opted for a spot of antique rummaging 

followed by lunch

followed by a drive through conwy to head down the conwy valley.

once we had had our fill of the welsh air we headed home to have a well earnt cup of tea and a slice of homemade carrot cake. sitting down with graham in front of the tv wimbledon was on. we were set for the evening with andy murray giving us a performance that kept us glued to our sets until the 11pm curfew. night matches from wimbledon, a whole new concept i could easily get used to for a fortnight a year.

a new day. sunday. today, time for graham. mum and graham have been married ten years this year. that has gone fast. with his dry sense of humour and love of music he was an easy fit for us. he loves boats. model boats. passed down through his family. sunday morning brought a trip to the boat club and an opportunity to talk to people from all walks of life, the housewife, the retired gent, the breast surgeon. 

after lunch thoughts turn to heading home. not without checking out the garden first. it is a cacophony of colour. i posted my photos of mothers day showing that i bought mum a pot containing bulbs, anemone bulbs, my mum's mums (my grandmas) favourite. she wanted to show me that flowers were beginning to come.

mum and graham love the garden. theirs is built into a hillside. graham had given himself a fright while we were out on saturday; he had been gardening and some of the rockface had given way while he was on it. concerned wife and step daughter told him to be more careful next time, his face said it all whilst telling the tale, i am sure next time he will be.

preparing to leave, talk turned to what a good weekend we had had. we had laughed and joked and chatted for a long time around dinner tables. we had tested each others musical knowledge and how up to date we were on current affairs. we had reminisced and shared current stories. we had enjoyed each others company. we spent time just being together and taking an interest in each other not just taking each other for granted. it was good. thank you jane.

Emma