This fortnight has been one of preparation, planning and getting ahead. Next week sees a college residential, a special weekend away for our daughter’s 18th birthday and Father’s Day, so the ultimate level of planning is required. I’ve made sure I’m ahead in my work, as this is key report and assessment time, it’s actually really lovely not to be thinking about it as it’s all done and ticked off. Last weekend was wet and miserable and I didn’t mind focusing on my work admin to give me more time to organise the nice things.

So far for the birthday weekend I have confirmed our itinerary and with the exception of Mr S have organised new outfits for the special dinner. We are going to a Great Gatsby themed dinner with live Jazz music where dressing up is encouraged. I have found a couple of amazing 1920s flapper dresses on Vinted for my daughter and I and have managed to sources some accessories too. I didn’t want the outfits to look like fancy dress but stylish clothes. I hope I’ve succeeded on this project as I’m really pleased with the designs. I’ve been unable to persuade the boys to dress in 1920s fashion but did take my son shopping yesterday to get a smart shirt and trousers. Clothes shopping is not his thing unless it’s sports clothes in JD Sports but we managed to get some nice clothes which he is happy to wear.

I’ve also made a This is your Life photo book for my daughter, it took a number of nights trawling through all the photos and then theming them. I decided against just putting them in date order, except for the first double page spread which is photos from 0 – 18, and have pages as sister, daughter, granddaughter, animal lover, dancing queen etc.. There are some beautiful pictures and it was a work of love. I also chose 18 photos and had them printed as Polaroids to stick on the mirror in our hotel room to complement some other decorations I have too. It’s been hard work but I do take joy from making the sparkles.

Away from all the report writing and birthday prep I have been doing some other things. I did a special evening 5k trail run around a local beauty spot called Chase the Sun. A little bit of a misnomer as the weather has been so dull and wet over the past few weeks that there wasn’t much sun to be seen. However it was a stunning route and definitely a race to return to next year. There is a 7 miler too, so perhaps next year when I’m injury free it’ll be a treat! My son came to cheer me on and enjoyed exploring the area too. There is a really fun rope bridge so after the race we had a little play here and I got some great race photos. I did like the description the race director gave in his briefing, a summer barbecue and drinks with a little run. The race also coincided with World Running day so I got a badge on Garmin too, win, win.

On my commute I have listened to two brilliant books. Susie Chan’s running book and Libby Page’s ‘This Book Made Me Think Of You’ this is my new favourite book of the year with so many book recommendations contained within it. I managed to find the full list and have printed it off for future inspiration. I really like Libby Page’s work, other great reads have been the Lido and the Vintage Shop of Second Chances , she writes beautifully and her characters are so well written. She did an online book reading via our local library a few years ago which I watched and she came across as such a lovely, warm person. Susie Chan’s book was a recommendation after reading Sophie Raworth’s running book, the epilogue was an interview between the two women whom are friends and her enthusiasm and zest for life just made you want to read more of her running tales. She is an exceptional woman and the book was brilliant. However despite her enthusiasm, I will never do more than a half marathon. I prefer to live voraciously through others’ running adventures.

As I write I am also watching a World cup game. It’s actually been a slow start to the competition as timings mean that half of the matches have been played overnight due to time differences in the USA and Canada and England don’t make their debut til next Wednesday. I like a tournament where the games are crammed into the days and you can watch 3 or 4 matches a day quite easily. I’m hoping it’ll pick up as the tournament progresses. We have our WSC World Cup poster up in the snug. I reckon I’ve been buying the WSC magazine with the tournament’s free poster for about 35 years now! It’s always the best one, witty, cartoons and a clear scores and progression map. WSC remains a quality football magazine and the only one I read.

Finally, peony season has arrived and my first bunch from the supermarket have been perfect. The petals have bloomed and spark joy each time I sit down at the kitchen table and see them in the window sill. It’s always the little things which bring joy.