This Week: 29th July 2013

The weather ... has been very warm and humid. We had heavy rain on Saturday evening which has left it cooler and less sticky. We are lucky in that our house is a cool one - if we open the right doors and windows we get a nice cross draught. Nobody in the UK has air conditioning as really hot weather is so rare. This is the first heatwave for seven years. Personally I like the heat and feeling as though it is a proper summer, particularly after last year's which was miserably cold and wet.

I am wearing ... black linen trousers, black and white print t-shirt and sandals.

I am reading ... magazines! I have discovered I can download some free from our library through the Zinio app. I am still ploughing through my records management course which doesn't leave much time or brain space for reading, so I'm enjoying having magazines I can dip in and out of.

I am creating ... nothing. I am a cold weather knitter. I never seem to do much that is creative when it is hot.

I am listening ... just dipping in and out of a mix of classical and rock / pop as it takes my fancy. Nothing is particularly grabbing me at the moment.

I am watching ... a new series of Who Do You Think You Are.

I am enjoying ... summer!

From the learning rooms ... Marie and Rose have finally finished school for the summer.

On the menu ...
Monday: Spaghetti bolognese (Tevye cooking as I will be late home)
Tuesday: Chicken and chips
Wednesday: Burgers, mushrooms and sweetcorn
Thursday: Salmon with veggies
Friday: Vegetarian chilli?
Saturday: ??
Sunday: Roast chicken

On the calendar ...
Monday: Back to work for me (after taking Thursday and Friday off last week) with a ten hour day - I sometimes have to work until 7 on Mondays as it is our late opening night
Tuesday: Rose is starting a tennis course which runs for three consecutive mornings. She brought a leaflet home from school and rather to my surprise was enthusiastic about the idea.
Wednesday: More tennis for Rose. Another day off work for me, so will do something else with her in the afternoon.
Thursday: Final day of tennis for Rose. Back to work for me.
Friday: Small piece of records management coursework due.
Saturday: Hoping to get a draft of a records management essay done (one of two final assignments for the course)
Sunday: My neighbours' daughter and her friend are holding a pamper evening to raise funds for the girls' trip to Bulgaria. Rose and I have tickets. Rose tells me she wants a drink ("but not wine, mummy"!!) and a back massage, but does not want nail varnish, thank you!

A picture from last week ... The view from my bed!

Life in Pictures

Sometimes this seems to be the only way I can blog. Time is at a premium at the moment as I slog through this last module of my course. Records management doesn't interest me so it is a case of gritting my teeth and ploughing through it. Only six and a half weeks and the whole course will be finished. I am so ready to be done!

The weather for our guided walk was beautiful, as you can see from this picture of the lake in the country park we walked through. The heat, combined with the fact that much of the walk was uphill, made it very tiring. It took a week for my legs to recover. Slightly overdoing it with exercise the day before didn't help.

Our archive is right by the river and a pond which may be intended to be decorative (if so, fail!) or as an overflow outlet. in the summer algae covers it with an unattractive green scum. A moorhen has built its nest in an abandoned traffic cone in the scummiest part, carefully incorporated discarded litter in the structure. Full marks for creativity, zero for aesthetic sense.


The weather forecast for the last few days. Summer! It is upposed to last through this weekend too. Utter bliss.


Rose petting a shetland pony at her school fair last Saturday.


Later on Saturday we went for a picnic at a local country park where they have added some wood sculpture intended to sark kids' imagination. I tried our the giant's chair for size.