Seaside Sparkles

Its been an odd week, full of anticipation and expectation for the end of the school year but the miserable weather dampened a few events.  The last days of term are supposed to be long playtimes, cartwheels on the playing field and making daisy chains not wet playtimes in a stuffy classroom.  However, the end of term is finally here, I have the bags of school work, prized paintings and debris from their drawers at home and we are looking forward to our holidays.  There’s not too many sparkles this week, its been a practical week, I’ve been busy but looking back I’m not sure doing what!

READ

I chose The Complete Poetry of Maya Angelou at the library last week and have been dipping in to read and reflect on her poems.  Her poetry has a definite style, there is a warmth, political conviction and humanity in her words.   One of my favourites is Phenomenal Woman, its a poem I discovered a few years ago and is brilliant.  Here it is being read by Maya Angelou, a truly phenomenal woman.

WATCHED

A rather sparse category again.  On Monday evening I watched Little Miss ‘fly’ to Brownies, it was a little ceremony which involved crossing the rainbow and being welcomed into Brownies.  Rainbows has been wonderful for Little Miss and I hope she enjoys Brownies as much as I used to.  There’s been lots of steps recently with Little Miss moving to a new chapter in her life, she’s finished Key Stage 1 and Rainbows now on to her junior life.

HEARD

I’m stumped here this week, the radio is always on but there has been nothing memorable, TMS is on again this week but the Aussies are doing rather well which makes it a bit hard to listen to.  I’ve heard raindrops against the window panes?  I need to work on this next week.

MADE

We still have some of the gooseberries from the PYO in the freezer so I made a lovely gooseberry and orange drizzle cake on a wet Sunday afternoon.  It was delicious but the gooseberries did seem to sink, I remember reading a tip to coat them in flour to prevent this so may have to try next time.

Whilst I didn’t make the gifts, I have to highlight the beautiful gifts the children were given by the teachers, Little Man had a pirate loot bag and Little Miss a gardening set, it was the wonderful gift tag which delighted me, reading We have loved watching you grow this year.  Its definitely given me inspiration.

WORE

I wore my running kit a lot this week and managed 4 runs, the best up to an hour , yippee.  I was also wearing head gear, hairbands and caps to disguise my bad hair, I’ve been to the hairdressers now so it looks fine again.  The dampness was not helping my frizz!

We are definitely on a countdown to the holidays now. The children are enjoying the final school weeks, but there is lots going on and they are exhausted, it’s time for a break to relax and play. This week has seen lots of trips and treats for the children, whilst I have been organising plans for the holidays and starting to prepare for September. Friends have been surprised by my preparation but it means I can relax in the holidays without a long to do list. I want my holiday to be fun and carefree not fretting about school uniforms and gymnastic clubs!

READ

I finished ‘When God was a Rabbit’ and remained unimpressed. It was so contrived and the clues so planted, the tarot card reading and Twin Towers episode was just crass and it felt like a countdown of all the major events in the past generation with a tenuous link to a story.  I feel quite sad when I read a book I don’t like; I want to appreciate an author’s work.

I bought a new magazine this week, The Simple Things. It’s a coffee table type of magazine and very aspirational but I do like its simplicity and ideas. Its inspired me to add a visit to a French flea market to my bucket list and I loved the articles on nature, lavender and beach houses. There’s a lovely visual piece on shells which I’m going to photocopy and use it to help us identify the shells on the beach.  I was surprised to some acquaintances in a feature, the seaside lifestyle is quite popular at the moment,  another friend also appeared in a recent edition of Prima.

WATCHED

It was the parent’s viewing class in ballet this week, so I got to watch Little Miss dance. She has got such natural rhythm and coordination and she dances so gracefully it’s beautiful.  I was able to record her perform a solo and sent it through to Grandma who was very proud and impressed.

I also watched a spectacular storm from my bed.  It was unexpected as at 7pm in the evening when we were at the school fayre the weather was hot and sunny, yet at 11pm we were experiencing a storm with so much lightning and rain, I have never seen anything like it.  It was a mix of exciting and a little scary, the sky was so lit up and I was genuinely concerned about a strike near us.    The pictures below are a map of the lightning strikes which illustrates how intense the storm was and the flooding in town, we had half a month’s rain in just one hour.

 

LISTENED

I have been eagerly awaiting the start of the Ashes this week and was tuned in to Test Match Special for the start. I have very happy memories of the Ashes series, both in Australia and at home, cricket reminds me of happy times, good friends and sunshine and TMS is the perfect accompaniment.  We do have Sky Sports and if Mr S is home the cricket, highlights and analysis will always be on in the background but to me TMS is the spirit of cricket, I love the commentary, talk and relaxed presentation, its perfect company and keeps me entertained and makes me smile throughout the day.    It also has the best theme tune to any programme!

MADE

I made a new running plan this week as I have managed to run on three occasions this week without pain or niggles, I am so happy and looking forward to some races and achieving new goals.

I also made lots of personalised cards this week on the Funky Pigeon website, July is a very busy month, so I took an hour out to make the teachers and TAs thank you cards, and family and friends’ anniversary and birthday cards.  I have sent the cards directly to the recipients so I can relax now knowing that everyone will get a card on time.  A couple which were sent to me have arrived and I’m really pleased with them.  I do think its good value doing the cards online, I love to send beautiful, thoughtful cards and was getting a bit fed up with cards made in China, this way my cards are produced in the UK.

WORE

I have worn two pairs of new shoes this week. First are my Birkenstocks, for years I’ve fancied a pair as I have friends who swear by their comfort and design. Last time I went shopping I was very nearly tempted and then felt a bit disappointed that I hadn’t tried them on. On this trip, I was delighted that the ones I liked were in the sale and when they fitted perfectly I bought them.   They feel a little odd to begin with but I think I’m a convert.

The second pair of shoes is a new pair of trainers. After two successful runs I just happened to be driving past the running shop and as there was a space outside I parked and just popped in to see what they had!   My trainers are always my most expensive shoes and the only ones which ever wear out. These trainers feel good and were comfortable and supportive when I went for a run.

It’s been a much more relaxed and family focused time this week and with our mini heatwave it’s meant lots of time outside and playing in the sun. We’ve enjoyed some nice family times in the sunshine, on Saturday we played on the beach and on Sunday we were at a local farm picking fruit. We were back on the beach after school on Monday and to cope with the heat, the sprinkler in the garden has been used to cool us all down!

READ

After seeing a number of recommendations for her new book, I have started to read Sarah Winman’s ‘When God was a Rabbit’   I am around 100 pages into it but have to admit to not really enjoying it, there seems to be too many themes, mental health, child sexual abuse, child neglect, a talking rabbit called God! It feels like it’s a contrived list of things which might shock the reader but which don’t interweave with a real plot yet. I may persevere for a few more pages as I don’t like to give up on a book but it’s not a great recommendation to read her new book.

I have also read one of Little Miss’ books, Judy Moody. It’s not a series I’m familiar with so I read it to see what Little Miss is reading and so I can talk to her about the book. The titled character is cleverly crafted, Judy Moody is a little moody but you see chinks of the person she really wants to be and how she uses her character as a defence.  Children’s books can be real works of genius and I think Judy Moody is a character we can work with!

LISTENED

I listened to an excellent edition of Woman’s Hour on Wednesday which revealed this year’s Top Ten Influential Women in the UK. It was a good mix of women from media, politics although I didn’t agree with the whole list. I felt it lacked contributions from science and technology and education. However it was still an interesting listen and key words seemed to resonate of the nominees, strength, dignity, responsibility. The number 1 in the countdown was Nicola Sturgeon and her interview was intelligent, reasoned and witty.  I’m definitely an admirer.

WATCHED

Nothing on television, not even Wimbledon! It’s too bright and sunny to have the television on, I prefer to sit outside and enjoy the cooler evenings reading a book or jotting down a few ideas and plans. This week it’s been the children’s school Sports Day so I have seen the children run, jump and throw in a nicely organised afternoon of sport. Sadly the weather was a bit bizarre, we had drizzle to begin with, then bright, hot sunshine which led to the grass steaming, then a sea mist and finally heavy rain which led to the cancellation of the parents’ race, no sticker for me this year L

MADE

After our fruit picking trip, I made a delicious gooseberry crumble, sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. Among the other random things I have made this week are lots of sandcastles and a pirate eye patch for Little Man who has become obsessed with pirates this week after Pirate Pete made a surprise visit to his class.

WORE

A dress and heels! It was our school prom on Friday night and I got in the full spirit of the occasion by dressing up. It was an amazing experience and the Prom team had done so much to make it an absolutely stunning occasion.

I also wore my comfy, well-worn Teva sandals when I went fruit picking.  They’re a very useful, Summer sandal and I was amused to read in the Times that apparently they’re the trend of this Summer.