It's that time of year once again. There is excitement in the air as we look towards the last week of the school year, and as usual I am ready for a break from the routine. Much as I try to make time to relax and unwind at the weekends, there is still nothing quite like not having the need to 'encourage ' a small person to get up and out of the door early every weekday morning, and the idea of those empty days stretched out ahead of us full of opportunity makes me feel very happy indeed. Places to go, things to do and adventures to be had.
The last few weeks have been a gentle slowing down, without the hurried frenzy the end of term often brings with it, so I'm hoping next week will be reasonably calm. This last week was the school summer production with Lily playing the part of a snowflake, although it was so hot she decided she was melting! She looked very sweet in her white costume and played her part really well.
The days have been consistently hot and sunny, and although it has been lovely and we have been enjoying some shorter walks and days out, the garden is now looking a little worse for wear with much of the lawn being sun scorched. Thankfully the vegetables seem to be fairing a little better with regular evening watering and I have a feeling we are in for a good crop of tomatoes. They seem to be appearing on a daily basis, not bad for our first attempt using an inexpensive packet of seeds.
Our small raised bed contains beetroot, carrots, spring onions, courgettes and beans. What started as a bit of growing fun for Lily is once again providing us with some delicious home grown produce, and I cant wait for the sunflowers to bloom.
Mog has been showing her face more often and has discovered a new favourite place to relax by the back door. It is lovely watching Lily stroking and hugging her. Mog is so good with her and doesn't mind Lily's fascination with her soft fur. They appear to have a mutual understanding, as is often the way with animals and children.
Last Sunday we went for a walk in the woods, then on through the fields where Lily discovered her very first Geocache all by herself. Following an afternoon spent relaxing at home we then finished the day with fish and chips down by the sea, a perfect way to round off the weekend.
This evening I am off out! A rare treat for me. One of the lovely mums from school has arranged an end of the school year meal. I don't often get the opportunity to dress up, made clear by Lily who looked surprised and said 'Oh, you look pretty mummy!' I think it means I should really be making a bit more effort on a regular basis. 😄
J. X
I had to Google the school holiday dates as I have no clue anymore. I hope you have a thoroughly enjoyable time with lots more adventures. I'm so pleased your veggies and tomatoes are doing well, I find the tomatoes we buy in the supermarket are tasteless these days. You conjured up a lovely image of Lily stroking Mog and Mog not minding. Fish and chips by the sea are lovely, they're becoming a habit with us too :)
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to trying the tomatoes once they ripen. You are right about the supermarket ones, they're a bit watery and tasteless, so I usually only use them for cooking with, rather than in a salad.
DeleteLily and Mog have a great relationship and Mog is so gentle with her, but of course I would never let Lily take advantage, she just loves her soft fur. X
Blimey, your lucky to have a calm end of term, what with Leavers Service, the production, music evening, awards ceremonies, cub camp, swimming lessons, swimming gala and Forest School it is anything but calm here, another week and a half will see the end, I so feel for the poor teachers putting in 12 and 14 hour days now, but I expect it is appreciated by all the parents, don’t you.
ReplyDeleteWe have been fortunate to get the school production, sports day etc. out of the way early. I expect things will become busier as Lily gets further up the school. X
DeleteYour raised bed looks wonderful, nothing beats the taste of home grown. I am hoping that we will be in a position to 'be growing' again next year, progress is slow.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to enjoying more of our home grown produce throughout the Summer. I hope you are able to get set up growing again next year. X
DeleteThe moral here I think (I say this as a retired teacher!) is that Mum's are only allowed to dress up and look pretty at the end of term and in the school hols. Enjoy your outing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat. I had a lovely evening. X
DeleteThat first image of lily in white surrounded by green is lovely, here is to a (continued) lovely summer. Hope you had a lovely time out😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Kate. The dress is really a pale blue. Other than when she's being a snowflake the thought of Lily wearing all white is a little scary. The girl is always getting muddy! X
DeleteNothing beats the flavour and taste of home grown vegetables, and your raised bed looks great.
ReplyDeleteYes, the grass in most of the UK is looking very scorched isn't it. I really would like some steady rain …
Have a lovely weekend, and hope the last week of school goes well.
All the best Jan
Thank you Jan. I'm looking forward to trying more of the vegetables. Other than the grass it's looking very green in the garden at the moment. We have light rain today so I sure it will all benefit from a proper watering.
DeleteYour raised bed looks perfect. Doing a garden with your daughter is such a wonderful experience and a teachable effort. I did it with my four children and they are all great gardeners now and have passed it down to some of my grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know, thank you Arleen. We only have a very small area in which to grow, but it's surprising just how much it can produce. X
DeleteWhat a lovely post Jules - you have captured your recent days perfectly. How lovely that you and Lily are growing things together - that is the way children should learn. We have had a few of the senior management's teenagers in recenlty as 'juniors' (I know you cannot use that term anymore)for the summer - they are not even able to get the bits of shopping from Sainsbury's across from our office without help. One had never ever bought teabags and had no idea how much they would be and they never think to get a receipt for the petty cash tin!
ReplyDeleteOur grass is scorched too like everyone elses in the area - the greenest grass in West Yorkshire at the moment is the 10' by 12' patch of new turf I put down at my daughter's house. My SIL has been watering it religiously to keep it alive! It is a wonder it hasn't made headline news.
How lovely to have an end of term get together too and what better compliments to receive than from your own daughter. x
Lily loves to be outside and enjoys seeing things grow which makes me really happy. The bean plant and one of the sunflowers was actually started by her at school so they also encourage learning in this way.
DeleteOne time she did make me laugh however, was when she was a bit younger and I asked her where we get wool from, obviously expecting her answer to be 'sheep'. Her response? 'Boyes!'
I hope the turf is still doing OK and that maybe you have had some rain by now. It's a long time since the weather has been this dry. X
Hope you enjoyed your evening out.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures as usual, your raised bed looks great. We might grow a couple of things next year, even Dan commented last night that it might be good to have a couple of containers for beetroot, so you never know!
I had a lovely evening, thank you. The food was really good and the portions generous. I had the roasted Mediterranean vegetable tart.
DeleteOur beetroot has done really well and I will be using some of it this next week. X
Oh I used to love the summer holidays when my two were little. Sheer bliss to have them at home for six whole weeks.
ReplyDeleteNow I have Ruby and look forward to having her here for the week and doing things with her.
The only interest she shows in growing things is the mint in my herb table which she eats off the plant like it's going out of fashion...lol.
I hope you have a fabulous summer break.
Hugs-x-
I love the holidays too Sheila. I'm very fortunate to be able to spend all that time with Lily.
DeleteI don't blame Ruby for eating the mint, it's delicious. I often help myself to some too. X
Unlike many mums who complained about school holidays, I loved them. It's bliss not having to rush them out of the door and to be able to take things more leisurely. I hope you enjoyed your night out. Sometimes it's nice to dress up for no reason other than that you can.....treat yourself to "looking pretty" even if it's just for a supermarket shop!
ReplyDeleteI overheard a couple of mums moaning about the holidays just the other day. I don't understand it really, although it can't be easy if you're still having to work full time and juggle childcare.
DeleteThe night out was great, thank you. We enjoyed a delicious meal and it was nice to have a good chat rather than just a few words at the beginning and end of the school day. X
Here's to a good holiday for you all. Not trying to be a Grinch, but I wish it would flippin' rain - nothing here since beginning of May and it has stopped being funny.
ReplyDeleteIt's been much the same here Jayne, but today we have rain!!! X
DeleteI hope you had a lovely meal with the other Mums :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was a really enjoyable night. Delicious food and a good old natter. X
DeleteSchool holiday time already, wow this year is going so quick, enjoy your time with your precious little lady. Your crops are really looking lush and healthy. xxx
ReplyDeleteThe year is flying by isn't it. I'm really looking forward to the weeks ahead. X
DeleteIt’s been so hot where I live too, and I’m ready for some cool weather. I hope you enjoyed your night out. It’s so fun to get dressed up and go out from time to time.
ReplyDeleteMy night out was lovely, thank you. It's a rare occurrence these days so it was fun to make a bit of an effort and get dressed up. X
DeleteFish and chips by the sea sounds like the perfect end to a day to me! I love the freedoms of school holiday days, days you can wake up with no set plans whatsoever and just follow that bliss! Your homegrown produce looks wonderful! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThank you Meg. After this week we have all that time ahead of us to do just what we want. It's such a good feeling isn't it. X
DeleteI remember the end of school term being a frenzied affair so you're lucky to have a slower pace at this time of year, it should help you slip easily into holiday mode. There's nothing quite like home grown produce, though saying that, it's the first year for many years that I haven't grown a thing. I'm missing it all now though, especially the tomatoes as I don't think supermarket bought ones come anywhere near the taste of home grown. Hope you enjoyed your night out.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is a bit busier for the children further up the school and especially the ones in year 6. Maybe keeping things low key works better for the younger ones. I find it a shame their first school year isn't celebrated in some way though. I think I will try and do something special with Lily to mark the occasion. X
DeleteWe are on wind down here as well Jules and I'm also looking forward to not having to cajole Thomas out of bed, although he's pretty good really. Also very much looking forward to not having to make a packed lunch for a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteYour vegetable patch looks wonderful, you obviously have green fingers. I love homegrown tomatoes, they smell and taste wonderful.
Hope you enjoyed your evening out with the girls. It's nice to have a reason to dress up every now and then and if somebody else is doing the cooking it's even better :) xx
Haha! I feel your pain with the packed lunches, although I usually still end up making them if we are going out anywhere. The constant jollying along in a morning I won't miss, however.
DeleteI'm not sure about green fingers, the vegetables are down to good luck more than anything. Remember the strawberries, or rather the lack of them? I don't know what I've been doing wrong. I did manage to rescue on of the stronger looking plants and since I put it in a different container it has spread, so we'll see.
The evening out was great, thanks, and seeing as I bought in pizzas for everyone else I did manage to avoid cooking that night too. X
The home produce looks wonderful :) We've had some potatoes from the garden so far, just waiting for everything else.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Everything seems to have grown all at once here. I might try growing potatoes next year. X
DeleteEnjoyed looking at all your photos. Really liked the picture of your little girl and the one of the bed of vegetables. I'm glad you get to stay home during the summer with your daughter. I'm sure you are both going to have a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bless. We have managed quite a few vegetables in what is a very small area.
DeleteI'm really looking forward to our time off this Summer. We have no plans as yet so will be just take things day by day. X
We have been having the most amazing weather too...Always love a rear view photo...no falseness possible as in a fake smile or silly face x
ReplyDeleteThank you Jackie. The weather has been great but we are now facing a hosepipe ban! X
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