Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - June 11-20

Hi there everyone 😀

It's hard to believe that this time last year we were in the start of a long hot summer. This year's June has been wet ... to say the very least.

I'm not normally affected too much by the weather, as I tend to find that each has it's own charm. Yes, it's lovely sitting outside in warm sunshine enjoying lunch in the garden ... but I also like being cuddled up inside listening to the rain against the windows.  The rain of the last few weeks though ... has started to get me down a bit ... there is just so much that I want to do outside ... and I've found myself feeling a bit lethargic and not feeling like doing very much at all.

The garden has taken a bit of a battering, but seems to be trying to recover and the summer baskets are all starting to fill out nicely.

We are out for two days with the craft stall this coming weekend ... and we are outside. I am keeping everything crossed for good weather.

For now, here is what we've been up to whilst it's been raining ...

Day 11 - We couldn't be bothered to wait to watch Killing Eve so managed to watch the whole 2nd series 'On Demand' over a couple of days ... we loved it. It was hilarious ... in a macabre kind of way.

Day 12 - Aldi 'wonky' strawberries. A bargain at £1 a punnet, instead of £2.50. Berries yoghurt and granola for me for breakfast this week 😀

Day 13 - Today brought yet more rain, though it did ease off a little bit later on. I have to say this enforced relaxation, at this point, was still quite nice, though the outside jobs were starting to pile up. We did have a bit of a splurge on some of the kitchen cupboards this afternoon, but it comes to something when the grocery cupboard was the most joyful thing of my day.

Day 14 - Yes ... more rain. We went shopping and dropped in to see mum and dad, where David, Alison and Bobby turned up, which was a real treat. I just had to nip out, in between showers, once we got home to capture the deutzia though, before the rain washes its blossom away.

Day 15 - We dropped in at mum and dad's to drop off Dad's Fathers' Day gift early and mum just couldn't wait to show us her poppy - It was absolutely stunning.

Day 16 - It was craft fair day today and towards the end of the day we realised this robin's nest was right above us and we spent a good while watching him bob in and out ... feeding his little family.

Day 17 - Martin was back at work today, after being off for three weeks, so I was on a bit of a mission. It's been a while since I've cooked anything but today I cooked up sweet pepper and red onion mini-quiches, cauliflower and cumin soup and a big cottage pie for tea. The kitchen looked a bit like a bomb site, but I did feel quite pleased with my efforts.

Day 18 - There was NO rain today ... all day! I did a little bit of gardening, finally managing to plant out some of the annuals that I have grown from seed. These are cleome ... definitely not cannabis ... though there is a slight resemblance.

Day 19 - I decided to have a bit of a crafternoon today and had my first ever go at free motion machine embroidery. I've been meaning to have a go at making these house key rings for ages and am really pleased with how they've turned out.

Day 20 - This time last year I'd picked our first bowl of home grown strawberries. Today I was pleased to see our first one ready for picking.

****************************************************************************