The Garden in July

It was never my intention to be away for so long. I had anticipated these last few weeks would be busy, but what I hadn't realised was just how busy they would be. I've hardly stopped. Now, I know the term 'busy' often gets thrown around these days, almost like a badge of honour. As though the busier our lives are, the more successful we are. But this is most definitely not the case, and I am looking forward to enjoying less hurried days, when autumn term begins again in September. Since the start of the year, it feels like I have been clinging on day by day. It's been quite a challenge, but I've always known the end was in sight. And the end will be this Friday, the culmination of the school summer term, and Lily's final day at primary school. It will definitely feel bittersweet, it's been a wonderful journey, and one which I have been fortunate enough to be a part of for all these years. Most recently, there's been school performances, transition days, and the purchase of a whole new school uniform, including a blazer! My little girl is growing up.

Since my last post, summer has arrived, but unfortunately the weather didn't seem to get the memo. I've never known it to be so miserable in July. Whenever there has been a dry spell, I've spent whatever spare time I have had, getting some work done in the garden. It's only very small, but I do like to try and make the most of the available space. I had hoped to get a new gate and fence fitted this year, just to make it a little more private and secure, but I havent managed to get hold of anyone yet. Oh well, I guess I'll just keep on trying.

Anyway, to ease me back into regular posting, I thought I would start by sharing some photographs of the garden, that I've taken over the last few weeks. 

The beautiful Acer was a gift from a good friend. I've always loved Acers, but for some reason, I've never thought to have one in my garden. I'm really happy with it, but I should probably get it re-potted soon. 

The lockdown lemon trees are growing well. I needed to cut them back, as they had become a little top-heavy, but if you zoom in, you can probably see that there are some new shoots growing already. I'm hoping that I might see some fruit growing in the next couple of years. 

The blackcurrants have since been turned into delicious jam. There was a much smaller harvest this year, as this tree had also been a victim of my secateurs. 

I was thrilled to win this planter in a raffle. The sweet peas are flowering now, and I've picked some to put in a vase on my kitchen windowsill. 

Hydrangeas providing a lovely burst of colour. 

This year, the garden will hopefully be providing us with some potatoes and beetroot, both of which appear to be growing well. We are also attempting to  grow our own pumpkins. 

And, of course, keeping an eye on everything, I've always got my two little 'helpers'.

Back soon.

J. X

Small Potatoes

As is often the way, these last few weeks have been rather busy. Work has been hectic, turbulent and joyous in equal measure. So you can probably understand why it has taken me several days to switch off and unwind. My mind is still trying to think about what I 'should' be doing, but right now there isn't anything, and that is taking a bit of getting used to. But I'm here for it :) 

During July, our weather has been changeable, with heavy rain and low temperatures. The grass is lush and green once more and I can't remember when I last wore sunscreen. This has been very disappointing, but I've seized those brief moments of sunshine and warmth, including afternoon tea by the lake, and now I'm keeping my hopes high for August. Surely, summer can't be over just yet.

One such moment was the school sports day. Already, postponed from earlier in the month, we struck lucky with the one fine day we had that week. It was lovely to see the children (and grown ups!) having so much fun. Lily received two 2nds - sprint, egg and spoon, and a 1st - the skipping race, of course!

That same evening I enjoyed an end of term social event. It was pleasantly warm, so we sat out in the garden beneath the fairy lights and bunting, enjoying the most amazing home made pizzas and good conversation. It was a lovely way to celebrate, especially as we won't all be together this time next year.

Back in March, Lily and I entered a competition for growing potatoes. We were given one bucket and one seed potato each and the idea was to see who could grow the best crop of potatoes by July. Well, last weekend we took our buckets back to be emptied and weighed, and the results weren't great. In fact, they were quite terrible, although Lily was thrilled to received a price for the child's lightest crop - a packet of Smash! And mine weren't much better. The few that we did manage to grow did taste delicious, however. We've not yet eaten the Smash :)

Somewhere in the last few weeks, there was another skiing lesson. That's Lily at the top of the slope with her instructor. She's really enjoying her lessons, so I hope we can somehow fit another one in very soon. Then, once she is confident enough, she can use the main slope without instruction.  

We celebrated the last day of term with a chippy tea down by the lake. It was a lovely sunny and peaceful evening, although I imagine it will be getting a lot busier now that the school holidays have arrived. Then, the following evening, I went out with some colleagues. This time there were quite a lot of us, so we went to a new restaurant in town, where the food was absolutely delicious. 

Unfortunately, heavy rain kept us indoors over the weekend, but I kept myself busy making blackcurrant jam (which are far easier for me  to grow than potatoes!). Luckily, I have lots to look forward to over the next few weeks. 

Back soon.

J. X

Life Lately

The last few weeks haven't exactly been all sunshine and wild swimming. This point in the summer term is always chaotic. The end of the school year is fast approaching, and there's always a rush to try and squeeze everything in. This was not helped by us catching some sort of virus, which resulted in me having to stay home from work for three days last week. Luckily for me I soon bounced back, although not quite as quickly as Lily did. Disappointingly, the sickness meant that she'd missed out on her karate grading, so she was delighted when both herself and another student got the opportunity to grade during the weekly class instead. She is now the very proud owner of an orange stripe belt, and I am, of course, incredibly proud of her latest achievement. 

I would say it was even worth my sitting on an incredibly uncomfortable wooden bench in a draughty gymnasium week after week, but on Tuesday evening I left her to it, and instead I went out for a run while she trained. Recently, I had treated myself to some rather lovely new running shoes, and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try them out. Usually, I would buy my shoes online, but having experienced some foot pain in recent months, I decided I should really visit a specialist store. There, I was expertly measured and fitted by someone who really knew what they were talking about. The result being that I felt as though I was running on clouds. My new shoes feel amazing. They don't help me run any faster, however :)

Something else which has kept me busy recently, has been the decorating of the downstairs bathroom. I have long neglected my little house, but now that it is looking extremely likely as to which secondary school Lily will be attending from next year, it would seem I will be here to stay, for a few more years at least. And so it is time to give this house a little more of my attention, and what better way to start, than with the smallest room. I'm very happy with the result of my efforts. I just need to wait another couple of weeks to have the flooring fitted, having been let down by yet another tradesperson. Then it will be fingers crossed I can garner sufficient enthusiasm to move forward and complete the rest of the house.

At the weekend, I went with my friend for a walk around Derwentwater. I've previously walked around the lake shore, but on this occasion we took the higher route, taking in Walla Crag and Catbells. To say it was a bit breezy from time to time would be an understatement! And of course the rain arrived almost horizontally while we were right on the summit of Catbells. It felt like we experienced all of the seasons in one day, but still, it was a very enjoyable walk. After which I managed to eat one of the largest scones I've ever seen, while looking across the lake towards Skiddaw. And it was delicious!

Unsurprisingly, my diary is looking pretty full for the next two weeks, then I'm looking forward to enjoying an extended break over the summer. 

J. X

A Change in the Weather

Since our walk up the fell earlier in the week, the weather has turned cooler and we've been experiencing heavy rain showers intermittently throughout the day. It's great for the gardens, which are soaking up the water, but I'd much rather be enjoying some warm sunshine at this time of year. It is for this reason we've been spending more time at home this week. And I can't help but think we may have already seen the last of the really hot days.

On Tuesday, I spent some time in the kitchen attempting to use up several courgettes I'd been given. Although quite versatile, they are not a vegetable I cook with all that often. Usually a recipe will call for just one, and so I buy more than I need, only to discover the rest turning soft and bendy at the back of the fridge, several days later :) Anyway, these courgettes were huge, so I needed a recipe that would use at least more than one, so I had a look online and found this, Pasta-less lasagne. Initially, I was curious, until I looked more closely at the ingredients and realised it was basically a moussaka. Well, I like moussaka and this would use up possibly two of the courgettes, and so I set about slicing and frying, until what felt like hours later I ended up with a very time-consuming-to-prepare, but very delicious meal. 

While it was in the oven, I decided there was no way I would go to the trouble of making it again. But it was so very  tasty, and seeing as it would provide us with enough servings for more than one meal, then it would be worth all the of the faffing and dish washing that came with it.

Yesterday, I had some errands to run in town and while we managed to dodge the showers, we also visited the Library, where I signed Lily up to their summer reading challenge. This encourages children to borrow and read six or more books over the holidays. I'm not feeling all that optimistic, as although she is very good at reading, it is not an activity she really enjoys. In contrast,  however, she was more than happy to assist me with foraging for raspberries that afternoon. 

I thought we would take a short walk along the lane to see if there were any remaining where we would usually pick them. Typically, all the really good ones we're way out of our reach, or behind a large patch of nettles, but we still managed to collect enough for three jars of jam. These should last us a while, once the blackcurrant is finished.

Oh, and there was a knock at my door last night. I've been given another three huge courgettes! 

J. X

Evening Walk

I hadn't planned to do much on Monday. I had some forms to fill in for the insurance claim and then I needed to drive to the car repair centre in order to get an estimate. In all honesty, I also wanted to get some of the housework done - there is only so much I can overlook before it gets too much for me and I feel the need to give everything a thorough clean. The kitchen and bathrooms are now spotless and I also vacuumed the whole house from top to bottom. There is still some dusting to do, but I can live with that for now. 

The next job on my list was to wipe down the paddling pool and inflatables, and put them away for the time being. I always feel a little bit sad to do this, as I never quite know if the weather will be warm enough to get them out again over the summer. The pool has been cleaned and is drying out at the back of the house; I don't want to roll it up while it is still wet. The inflatables are already packed away in their bag. I like to look after them, especially as, aside from the doughnut, they were all bought for Lily's first holiday to France when she was only three months old. I should have realised back then that she'd be a water baby :)  Happy memories.

In between chores, I spent some time catching up reading blogs and I enjoyed a mostly relaxed afternoon. It was while I was eating dinner that I thought about a spontaneous walk up a local fell. With several small fells to choose from we settled on the one farthest from the house which we thought would be the most quiet.

It was a typically bright summer's evening and the air was still very warm. We walked steadily along the path, stopping regularly to take in the views, although we were briefly distracted by the sight of some large raspberry bushes. We might have helped ourselves to a few but I must remember to see if there are any left over where I usually pick mine. 

The fell wasn't only quiet, it was completely empty, aside from some sheep and cows. It is most unusual not to pass the occasional runner or dog walker up there.

It felt so good to be out, making the most of the evening sun. 

J. X