Ten things :: the summer edition

I love this time of year. I’ve written about it before (and still not made a start of the shawl in this post – I’m feeling brave maybe I’ll make a start). I always think of that line from You’ve Got Mail where Tom Hanks’ character (Joe) says “Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils”. That is exactly how I feel about this time of year. Although the last time I was in New York in the Autumn was 20 years ago!! I'm still excited for the start of a new term. The new academic year is nearly upon me...I've spent all summer prepping my new modules and getting ready for the next intake of students...

So this might be a good time to round up on summer happenings. I returned to work today. BigR goes back to school tomorrow (a cunningly placed INSET day today catching people off guard) and so it continues. It’s also her birthday on Thursday, which to me signifies the true end of the summer.

:: We made our annual (can you say annual on the second year?) trip to the pick your own farm for strawberries. It was much easier this year as LittleR is older and can follow instructions (apart from don't eat too many). I didn’t overdo it either (well not too much) and we got 6 jars of jam plus plenty for desserts and general snacking.

:: The garden has flourished…perhaps with a few more weeds than last summer (but I’ll take that over having time off with a poorly child) but all in all there’s been colour since the springtime. The cosmos grew and grew but no flowers apart from one. Well, I shouldn't have been so impatient...they're full of flowers now!!

:: Although our fruit crops were meagre this year. We did enjoy a few home grown strawberries, raspberries and (just ripening now) blueberries. We only managed 2 plums – biggest child was put off by finding a worm inside and that was that!

:: The roses were beautiful too and still flowering on their 2^nd or 3^rd flush. All the deadheading was worth it.

:: In the kitchen I made pesto which was stirred into pasta and put in a crust on top of cod, bread and various cakes. The biggest girl has requested a chocolate cake for later this week.

:: We had some fabulous days out. Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Castle Howard (where Brideshead Revisited was filmed) and of course our regular pre-paid with membership haunts Fountains Abbey and Harlow Carr.

:: I took the girls to McDonald’s one lunchtime and they thought all their birthdays and Christmases had come at once. Ketchup, balloons, plastic toy, ice cream. Their joy was unreserved!! Who knew McFlurries were so tasty though?

:: BigR has learnt to knit. She needs help on occasion wrapping the yarn round but overall does a good job. I'm there to pick up lost stitches and undo any mistakes (for example the row she forgot to slip the stitch off and ended up with 40 stitches not 20). She’s made a blanket for Barbie’s little sister, Chelsea (no I didn’t know she had a sister until it arrived as a present for her birthday last year but she does) as her patience in getting rows done didn’t last to make one for Barbie! Of course, her side of the story is that Barbie already has a blanket for her bed (this is true, my children have too many toys!!)

:: I was given a beautiful kit to knit a cowl by my very talented knitter friend. It’s coming along although I have had to unpick rows where I’ve missed part of the pattern whilst talking!

:: I’ve managed to complete two embroideries as well…the ones I bought in New York picturing NY scenes. The plan is to intersperse them with hoops of fabric along the wall behind our sofa. Now I’ve just got to hang them. I can't believe I don't have 'finished' photo....

In my head

There are lots of things in my head at the moment. Some of which are easily shared, some not so. It's still hard living with a background of worry. I'm working on papers and research plans in the evenings to make up time for not being in the office work. But...

:: The sun has been shining which has improved my mood (and the girls too) no end. We go outside to play at least twice a day. I attempt to stop the smallest girl picking every flower in the garden and mostly act as umpire (well football season is finished...) over who wants what toy...

:: The garden has taken shape nicely, quite by chance one bed is full of only purple, and blue and white flowers. Anyone would think I'd planned it that way - it's just a fluke. I'm usually of the mindset of shove it in and see if it grows!! I'm loving this allium - wonder what it'll look like when it's fully open?

:: I'm wondering why on earth a Nobel prize winner would be such a fool and say what he did and then pass his gaff off as a 'joke'. There's plenty of people not laughing. Sexism is alive and well and in a lab near you. It's nearly 20 years since I started my PhD - you'd have thought things might have changed but I know that the 'leaky pipeline' is alive and well and no thanks in 2015 to a man who  makes comments like that. I could go on but I may spontaneously combust.

:: I've been baking. Tonight there's a cherry cake in the oven. Earlier this week I made scones. I think I may have found a super scone recipe (better than Mary Berry's) here. I think it's the use of strong flour that makes the difference. Very yummy even though I didn't have any clotted cream.

:: I'm struggling to think that in a month it'll be the school holidays an BigR will have completed her first year at school! How did that happen? We're having to plan her birthday party now as she's 6 the week everyone returns to school and the invitations need to go out! Eek.

:: I went for a lovely day out with a friend, her new baby and LittleR to Harlow Carr. We had a delicious (birthday) cake in the Betty's cafe there and a super walk and put the world to rights. The alliums were beautiful...

I love the meconopsis - fancy this in my garden next year...

:: One of the clematis I've been growing has suddenly turned brown and crispy. I'm very sad. I've plants with the name of both my children in the garden and neither are up to much this year. Maybe I'll just buy a new one!!

:: I joined the bandwagon and got the Orla Kiely jars. Not used them yet but they're there...ready...

::  I'm planning the ABO's birthday. It's a significant one that ends in a zero. He did so well with mine a couple of years ago I've got to get it right. It doesn't help we'll (hopefully -small child depending) actually be on holiday for it so some of the gifts need to be light enough to tarvel with. Maybe I should make a list?!
 

More happies on a Friday

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments on my last post. I’m so pleased to be a part of the ‘precious things’ collaboration that Sarah devised.

It’s been a busy week. I’ve been struggling to fight off a cold which seems to have burnt itself out without too much paracetamol or sniffing. So, BigR’s first full week at school was tiring for me as well as her! Trying to remember what day library books get taken in, to tick off her dinner choice in the morning and also to get to grips with phonics. How anyone learns to read is beyond me. It’s really hard! It’s here I could go all education research-y and talk about unconscious incompetence but I won’t! Safe to say I think I’m more traumatised by the whole thing than BigR who is just keen to talk about obscure rhyming words (no more show and go, it’s flair and éclair!!). We’ve also had the first head lice letter through the magic portal. The ABO and I are now constantly itchy even with the lack of lice...for now. Any tips on dealing with it for an under 2 year old? Even the combs have age restrictions on them!!!

I picked some blueberries off the bush in the garden and made a cake. It’s my fail safe recipe from here.

The blueberries were really delicious. Very sweet and certainly benefitting from a few extra weeks to ripen after first turning that deep blue-purple. The cake was good too and gone in a flash.

Last Sunday the girls and I went to Harlow Carr to collect fallen leaves and have a walk. It was mild when we left home, although I took jumpers and coats for the girls, I forgot mine. It was cool in the shade and I was really pleased from a brisk walk when we were in the cover of trees. It was so good to see their Autumnal planting, there was so much colour and so many flowers. BigR loved hiding under the ‘umbrellas’ as she calls them – to me they seem to be leftover from prehistoric times.

We love to see the kitchen garden and there was a vast field of pumpkins and different gourds.

I loved the dahlias. BigR loved the gentian (Elsa flowers!). LittleR loved it all.

We’ve been decorating and finally the hallway is finished. The woodwork is painted and more importantly dry! It was a stress keeping our two girls away from the doors whilst they were drying! Now we’re trying life without a stair gate...although it might go back on upstairs just for peace of mind...

I love how light and fresh it feels, what a difference having colour on the walls makes. It really highlights the picture we bought in Cornwall (not shown in the photo, the picture at the top of the stairs is by an unknown (to us - there's no name!) Leeds artist). It's given it a new lease of life. After school this afternoon we went to get some photos of the girls printed to go along the stairs, we’ve had them portrait this time rather than landscape, and again, it looks really different.

It’s been a good week.