Welcome to another week of #littleloves.  We had such a lovely weekend in Bristol that it has been one of those weeks in which the buzz of the weekend has filled your week. Its been a good week, quietly getting along with the daily routines and enjoying simple pleasures.

I finished the Cows by Dawn O’Porter this week, its a really good read and raises some very pertinent questions about social media and the online world.  The characters find support and kindness online but it also shows how the net can close in on you and skew your view of things to the point where one character uses it to troll and abuse others.  A tale of our times, with some very funny scenes and a twist I didn’t see happening (chapter 14, I really wasn’t ready for that!)

I’ve now started another Liane Morairty novel ( Big, Little Lies) What Alice Forgot and it was hard to pull myself away from the story to write this post.  It is a corker of a book, the main character Alice bumps her head in a gym class and cannot remember the last 10 years of her life or understand how the important relationships in her life have changed.  It employs similar devices to Big, Little Lies (check me out A level English Lit student speak) flashback, conversations with a therapist and is equally enthralling, I think it’ll be a late night to finish tonight.  Just a word of caution, if anyone has suffered miscarriage or infertility,  this is a significant theme in the book and whilst it is dealt with brilliantly, it may be upsetting.

On Saturday I watched the cross country competition at Badminton and even as a non horsie person I was totally captivated by the event. The skill of the riders and the strength and power of the horses is top quality and it is sheer sporting brilliance to ride the course well.  The best thing about the cross country is how close you are to the action, front row at each jump as people tend to walk the course and you feel such a part of it, you hear the hooves, the breathing, see the concentration on the faces as they approach the fences, the horses muscles clenching etc..  It really is a spectacle not be missed.   I wrote more about our Badminton experience here https://seasidesparkles.net/2017/05/06/badminton-horse-trials/  , it is a great day out and well worth a visit.

I am one of those people who buys little presents for Christmas throughout the year and this week I made a start on my present buying for Christmas 2017.  There were some stunning craft and artisan stall holders at Badminton and I saw the perfect gift for a friend, I’m really pleased with it and that I’ve been able to tick off a present from my list.

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I spoilt myself with a new Essie nail varnish this week using my Boots Advantage points, I never use rewards in any store for ordinary purchases only for treats. The colour is Excuse Me, Sur and its a lovely shade. a light coral perfect for summer.

On Sunday Radio 4 had some particularly good programmes, Ed Sheeran’s Desert Isalnd Discs was really good and then later I caught a Listening Project special on adoption which had some delightful interviews, the segment with the little boy talking about his adopted baby brother was beautiful.  I’ve also discovered a new Spotify playlist Britpop etc.. which has taken me back to my late teens and early twenties and been the soundtrack to my runs this week.

Its another weekend with lots of plans and unusually we’re splitting up as a family to fulfil all the obligations.  Little Man and I will be based at home so he can play his first league cricket match, whilst Little Miss is off to Bristol again with Mr S who is off out with his old friends on Saturday night to remember a friend whose anniversary falls this weekend.  Grandad is babysitting and Little Miss is taking lots of games and Beanos to keep him entertained.  I’m looking forward to the mummy and son date I have organised, its quite rare to have a day just the two of us and I intend to make it a special day.

Many thanks to Morgana for hosting and to all the lovely contributors who make this such an interesting linkie.