Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - July, 22-27

Hi there everyone 😀

Well ... what a week we’ve had! More sunshine and scorching temperatures, which we've tried to make the most of. Martin has been off for the second week in a row and we've certainly crammed a fair amount in.

We've both struggled a bit with sore throats and nasty coughs for the last half of the week and poor old Martin is back at work today, something I most definitely do not envy.

I seem to have blog posts I want to write stockpiling up, but have just been so busy enjoying the sunshine it hasn't felt right to be stuck inside at the computer, so hopefully I will be able to do a bit of catching up this week, but for now here are our best bits from last week ...

Day 21 - We had finally got the right weather, at the right time, for our good friends Lesley & Tom and their girls, Lauren & Jess, to come round for a BBQ. We had a busy day preparing a veritable feast and getting the garden ready. This was it before the fun began. We had a great night. Ate too much and definitely drank too much, sang and danced on the grass and laughed until we cried. 

Day 22 - The pergola corner. It was the morning after the night before. It's been a long time since I've had a hangover but today was not the best. After a late get up and a lazy afternoon watching a film I felt a little bit better and managed a few minutes in the sunshine in what has turned out to be a very pretty corner of the garden.

Day 23 - We really need to go shopping as we hadn't really got anything planned on the menu front for the rest of the week but we ended up making do with what we could find in the fridge. We had a go at a sausage frittata, which used up lots of leftover vegetables and a few new potatoes and came out better than we both hoped. Eaten in the garden with our own freshly picked green beans it went down a treat. 

Day 24 - We had both got a bit fed up with moping about at home moaning that we were too hot so we decided, on a bit of a whim, to head for the coast for the day, hoping for a bit of a breeze and a walk on the beach. We ended up in Weston-Super-Mare, where we spent the loveliest of days. It was a bit of a trek and took us just under 3 hours to get there but it was oh so worth it. You can expect to read more about our trip in a separate post.

Day 25 - After our long day at the seaside yesterday we had a bit of a lazy day today. I managed to get two cross stitch grandad motifs made for the memory cushions I am working on before heading out to the cinema for a girlie trip with Lesley, Lauren & Jess to see Mama Mia 2, which was just fab. I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema and we all had a great time.

Day 26 - We were both feeling a bit crummy today, nasty coughs and rotten sore throats, but there is just so much to smile about in and around this small bed ... the hibiscus is flowering, zinnias grown from seed are giving a real zing, the delphiniums, which we cut back to nothing, look like they are going to give another good showing and Martin is making progress with his home made 'tiki' lanterns, which has been a work in progress for a fair while.

Day 27 - Though we both still felt a bit under the weather we had a big day out planned with Jackie & Phil and we definitely didn't want to cancel. We were supposed to be going to Kedleston Hall, a National Trust property near Derby, followed by afternoon tea at The Little Shed. Well, due to a bit of a lack of planning we discovered at the last minute Kedleston wasn't open on a Friday, so we ended up back at Calke Abbey. This time there were no bikes and we had a lovely walk round the gardens, where we found respite from the heat by running our hands under the old water pump. We also had a good walk round the house, which was surprisingly cool. We did end up at The Little Shed, where Jackie & I had a traditional afternoon tea and the boys had the gentlemen's option. Both were very good, served on pretty mis-matched crockery and we both ended up having to take cake home, as we couldn't manage to finish it all, which doesn't happen very often I must say.

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