Wednesday 31 August 2022

A sentence a day in August

August really did make itself a record breaker - first a heatwave and then the deluge of rain.  Let's see how the month unfolded. 

Day 1 Caught up on some housework, did some crochet, and made the most of a free day

Day 2 Leo and Rosie here in the afternoon, went to the shops to look at samples for flooring in our conservatory

Day 3 Max here for the day, Paul was doing his volunteer work so it was just the two of us

Day 4 No Zumba - went into town to sort out birthday presents for Leo and Rachel

Day 5 Finished crocheting my blanket - now I 'just' have to weave in the ends


Day 6 Went into town in the morning to collect some things I had ordered from John Lewis, a nice relaxing day, reading in the garden and finishing off those dreaded ends of wool.

Day 7 Zumba summer party was so much fun!  We danced all afternoon!

Day 8 Went to Chelmsford to buy some birthday presents for Leo and Rosie plus a basket to store my collection of blankets in the lounge

Day 9 Leo and Rosie here today, we had a busy day making some birdhouses that I bought in a kit yesterday - messy?  yes?  Did they enjoy it?  Definitely!

Day 10 Max here for the day - we had a lovely day even though it was so hot in the garden we had to stay indoors for most of the day.

Day 11 Emergency childminding today as R's childminder had to take her husband to A&E, Paul manned the fort while I popped out for an hour or so in the afternoon for a hair cut.  The only crafty activity I could think of doing to keep them occupied at short notice today was decorating gingerbread men



Day 12 We are officially in drought conditions, can't even remember when it last rained!  Dinner with friends where they cooked us their signature dish - paella.

Day 13 The hot weather is really sapping my energy, I never thought I'd hear myself saying this but we really do need some rain!

Day 14 Another day of doing not much at all, apparently this heatwave is on its way out now - thank goodness!

Day 15 The temperature has definitely dropped today, went to Hobbycraft in search of craft projects to do with the grandchildren over the next 3 weeks.

Day 16 Leo & Rosie were here - made some monsters with them from the Hobbycraft kits



Day 17 We finally got our rain!  I've never been more happy to hear raindrops on the roof of the conservatory, Max was here and I don't think he could understand why we were just standing at the window watching the rain!

Day 18 Zumba was good, but today a piece of my tooth fell off (while eating some chocolate, that should be a message to me about healthy eating!)

Day 19 Had emergency dental appointment, the piece of tooth was very slim and at the top of the tooth so there is not enough base to put a filling onto apparently, all they can do is smooth down the rough edge.  Leo had an early birthday party at the local bowling alley - he had such a fun time!

Day 20 A mega babysitting day/evening - Max and Olive here in the daytime while J&S celebrated their anniversary and went to look after Leo and Rosie in the evening while R&J went out to celebrate R's birthday which is on Wednesday.

Day 21 A well deserved day at home with nothing to do except cook Sunday lunch for just the two of us, read my book and bake a cake

Day 22 A Monday to myself - went into town, wrapped birthday presents for Rachel, caught up with my ironing while watching the last episodes of Greys Anatomy

Day 23 Leo & Rosie here for the day, had a busy crafty morning making pop up dinosaurs and princesses and an afternoon spent repurposing an big old box into several imaginative games.

Day 24 Max here today, it was also R's 36th birthday

Day 25 Had the most horrendous thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning and although the rain stopped before I went to Zumba, it was SO humid, boy did I need a shower afterwards

Day 26 Lunch at Franco Manca Pizza with friends, was so nice sitting out in the courtyard in the sunshine with a lovely chilled glass of wine 

Day 27 Paul was out for most of the day with his art class which meant I had a lovely day to myself with the only chore being baking a dessert for tomorrow night

Day 28 Had friends over for dinner in the evening which meant a daytime of tidying and cleaning before they arrived!

Day 29 Leo's 6th birthday - popped round in the afternoon for cake - he was very excited with all his new presents

Day 30 Our last summer holiday day of having Leo and Rosie here all day

Day 31 Our last childminding day with Max, so many changes going on, time to put the older toys away and get the baby ones out again ready for Olive next week!

Another month over and done - here's the recap, 1 Second Everyday



Monday 29 August 2022

Me on a Bank Holiday Monday

 Today isn't just special because it's a bank holiday, it's also Leo's sixth birthday!  They have been spending the weekend in a Wigwam here.  I must admit that when they told me they were going to be staying in a wigwam, this is not what I was expecting.  Pretty sure that the wigwams I had in my imagination are not anywhere near as glamorous as these with their en suite showrooms and hot tubs! They are travelling back this morning and I have just been round to their house to set out all his birthday presents for him so he is surprised when he walks in.  We'll pop back later this afternoon and hopefully there will be cake 😋

There was cake yesterday too.  

I made an impromptu offer of dinner to some friends that we hadn't seen for a while.  Then of course had one of those 'whatever shall I make for dinner?' moments.  I had said it would just be a light meal so put together one of my favourite 'put it all in the middle of the table and share' dinners.  A big plate of salad with a delicious ball of burrata in the centre, Italian meats, a selection of cheeses, olives, white anchovies, ricotta stuffed peppers and halloumi skewers.  But what to do for dessert?  As the main had a bit of an Italian theme to it, I remembered a lovely dessert cake that Nigella Lawson made in her Nigellissima recipe book.  It's gluten free as it has ground almonds instead of flour and it is made with olive oil rather than butter or margarine so it is lovely and moist.  Served with fresh raspberries and a dollop of mascarpone - bellissimo!  I sometimes think it is better to make a quick 'come for dinner tomorrow' invitation rather than have a month to wonder/worry about what to cook.

Of course having people over meant that the house had a good clean before they came so we start the week with a sparkling house (downstairs at least!).  Even the garden had a tidy up.  The horrendous thunderstorms of early Thursday morning have made the garden green again which gave us a bit of enthusiasm for mowing the lawn and doing a bit of weeding.

Now, I am just realising that this Friday will be my first Friday of the month to invite you to join me for a chat over a cup of coffee and I need to let you know where to find me as I won't be here!  We are having a few days away so I will still be posting, it just won't be until later in the day as we can't get into our property until 6pm (hopefully we will have wifi!). 

Have a good week and be sure to pop back late on Friday or Saturday when hopefully I will be sharing a cup of coffee in the Cotswolds!
 

Tuesday 23 August 2022

What I've been reading in August

 Let's dive straight in and see what our book club chose for this month's book


Imagine waking one morning to find a box on your doorstep.  A small brown box, delivered to every adult over the age of 22.  Seemingly made of wood, each one identical, except for the name of the recipient.  Inscribed on every box is the message 'The measure of your life lies within'.

Inside every box is a single string, hiding under a silvery white piece of flimsy fabric.  The box is warning you to think twice before lifting the fabric, because once you have done that, you cannot go back.  The length of your string will allegedly tell you how much longer your life will last.

Imagine.  What would you do?  Would you want to know the answer?  Would seeing a short piece of string make you give up your job, withdraw all your savings and travel the world while you could?  Would a long piece of string make you reckless, knowing that whatever happened you still had a long life to lead?  How about if one of a partnership has a long string and the other a short one?  How would that affect the relationship. A long string does not necessarily mean a charmed life, you could still contract illnesses or have life changing accidents.  

So many questions - and whilst you know it is just a work of fiction, what do you think you would do?  Would you want to know?  How would it change your decisions?

I don't know what I would do, or how it would affect how I would make decisions based on what I discovered.  What I do know is that this book challenged me to think about things and I am pleased that I have read it.

Now onto book two, Still Life by Sarah Winman


Now, this book was recommended to me by a guy I used to go to school with.  We used to be in the same English Literature class and when we have our reunions the conversation often turns to what we are reading.  Last time we met he had heard this book being reviewed on Sara Cox's 'Between the Covers' programme on BBC and was throughly enjoying it. 

It is 1944 and two strangers sheltering from falling bombs in a wine cellar in Tuscany share an evening together.  Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier and Evelyn Skinner is an older art historian and possible spy who has come to Italy to salvage paintings and relive the time that she met E M Forster.  Their meeting has a profound effect on Ulysses and over the time period 1944 - 1979 their lives almost cross on several occasions.  Unbeknown to either of them, they end up having several mutual acquaintances and it is so clever how their two stories are intertwined.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book but once it had drawn me in, I had trouble putting it down.  The characters are just so interesting and love is quite a theme in this book, love for friends, love for family and romantic love.  It is set in London and Florence and I really feel like I would like to live in that little square where Ulysses makes his new life after a very unusual set of circumstances which mean he goes from penniless ex-soldier in the war ravaged East End of London to a man of property running a Pensione and making hand made globes in Italy.  

The time period covers some huge historical events and it is interesting to see how these things affect the motley crew of characters in the book.  Don't ask me to choose a favourite because I couldn't - for many reasons I became fond of them all.

Do I recommend this one?  Yes I do!

And finally - one that sounded like it was going to be similar in style to Richard Osman's Thursday Murder club.



The scene is set in a bed and breakfast hotel in the Loire valley in France which is run by Richard, a middle aged Englishman.  Richard is happy with the normal routine of everyday life, so is somewhat upset when one of his guests disappears, leaving just a bloody handprint on the wall and smashed spectacles in the bathroom. A fellow guest, Valerie, persuades Richard that they should investigate the disappearance and he reluctantly joins her in the hunt.  

This was an easy read, and I can imagine it being made into a light hearted tv programme.  Poor Richard is dragged into the investigation, often out of his depth and all the time trying to come to terms with the imminent break up of his marriage.  It seems that whenever his daughter chooses to FaceTime him, she finds him in what looks like a compromising position and he is convinced that this is not helping his cause in trying to get back with his wife. There is definitely a wide range of characters, from the naturist 'swingers' running a nearby establishment to the Italian couple who seem very suspicious and the aged judge who is the twin of the man who has disappeared.

It was a light hearted read to end the month, a little bit predictable and a little bit cliche at times but it certainly held my attention to the end.



Monday 22 August 2022

It's Monday!

Well, we really danced up a storm last week!  That request for people to join in a rain dance definitely had the desired effect.  We had torrential rain and a bit of a thunder storm on Wednesday which was such a relief.  Temperatures are now back to normal range and life is a lot more comfortable - at last!

 I am hoping for a more restful, less stressful week this week!  Not that I didn't enjoy last week but it had its ups and downs.

The biggest 'down' was having a sliver of tooth come off - while eating a square of chocolate, that's got to be teaching me a lesson hasn't it? So an emergency dental appointment was made only to be told that because it's a small slice at the tip of my tooth, there isn't enough base there to add anything to fill in the gap as there isn't enough for the material to adhere to.  So all they can do is smooth over the rough bit.  But while she was looking around my mouth she noticed that I did need a filling in a back tooth so guess what?  Another appointment in a week or so time to have both things tended to.  Did I mention that I really don't like going to the dentist?

There was a lot of childcare last week.  I really do mean a LOT.  Tuesday Leo and Rosie as normal, Wednesday Max as normal, an unexpected Leo and Rosie again on Thursday as our daughter and son in law were both working from home and the children were in one of those moods that ends up with everyone being very cross and two small people getting into trouble.  'Mum, I don't suppose you could have them for a couple of hours could you?'  Then on Saturday we excelled ourselves.  Jon and his wife asked if we could have Max and Olive for a few hours (ended up being six) while they went out during the day to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary.  We handed them back at 4pm, then at 7pm went over to Rachel's to look after Leo and Rosie while they went out to celebrate R's birthday.  Another 5 hours on the childminding clock!

In the short period of time I had to myself I managed to find a pattern for a little bit of appliqué to go on the infamous Postcards with Love blanket


I think I may now say this mammoth project is now finished!

At the time of typing this, I have a free day ahead of me - wish me luck that it stays that way!  I have to go into town first thing but after that I intend to read the last few pages of my book (although I don't really want to finish it, I'm going to miss reading about all the characters!) while having a slice of the marmalade cake I baked yesterday with a cup of coffee.  

It's birthday time around here, R's on Wednesday and then Leo will be six next Monday. He had an early birthday party at the local bowling alley with his friends on Friday - he had a wonderful time


He took part in his first Junior Park Run on Sunday, running 2k around the park in town.  His dad would have loved to have run it with him but he's in a surgical boot following an achilles tendon injury playing football.  I told you it has been an eventful week.  Our weekend away in a couple of weeks time has never felt more needed!


Monday 15 August 2022

It's Monday!

 The weather forecasters have been saying for a week that the heatwave will end today.  Much as I don't like it when the weather is cold, this hot weather has really worn me down and I am more than ready for cooler temperatures.  I feel like I have wished the days away over the weekend, I couldn't settle to anything and just moved from outdoors in the shade to indoors by a fan.  What will the week bring I wonder?

Last week we had more childminding than planned as R's childminder had to take her husband to hospital on Thursday.  In case you were wondering, temperatures in the mid 30s added to two energetic children three days in a row really saps your energy!  

By the end of that we had earned a relaxing night out!  We went to friends in the evening on Friday for our annual paella evening - it was delicious. 


It was such a gloriously warm evening.  The intense heat had gone and it was a perfect temperature for eating on the patio.  We were still sitting in their garden at 11.30pm when we realised what the time was and thought we should head for home.  

A much needed quiet weekend was on the cards and the most that I did was investigate places to have a meal when we go for our long weekend in the Cotswolds. There seemed to be quite a few dog friendly pub restaurants near where we will be staying so I have booked a couple of places. 

Today I need to go to the shops to find a craft project for the children to do when they are here this week.  Last week I found some wooden birdhouses to decorate and whilst they made quite a bit of mess, they really enjoyed it so I think a trip to Hobbycraft is in order for this week's activity.


Three weeks of the school holidays left so maybe I need to find triple the amount of craft projects!  

Before I go, please join me in a group rain dance - our garden is so dry and the plants are scorched, let's see if we can join together and make it happen.  {we have a good chance of being successful if the weather forecasts can be believed!}

Monday 8 August 2022

Me on Monday

 The start of a new week, but before we talk about that, let's have a chat about some things that made me happy in the last one!

On Friday I met up with some of my ex work colleagues.  Boy there was a lot of news to discuss.  Four children involved in house moves, two with new jobs, discussions on how exhausting looking after grandchildren can be, holidays we've taken and those yet to come, and celebrating the publication of a new book.  I am privileged to always read the first edit of my friend's books and this is the most recent.

Imagine how thrilled I was to see that I am mentioned in the dedication 'To Debbie, Who reads them first' 

and also the acknowledgments.
She was telling us the general theme of her next book and it sounds very intriguing.  I don't know how she keeps coming up with new ideas.

The other big event of the week was the final stitch being made in my blanket


I want to add a couple more appliqués on some of the oblong postcards but it is more or less finished now.  It's been quite the project and although I'm pleased to have it finished, what on earth am I going to do in the evenings now?

It was the Zumba group summer party yesterday so there won't be need for exercise much today!  I had the best afternoon, we danced nonstop for about three hours, it was so much fun.  There were about 60 of us, the food was good and the singer was amazing, I think everyone was up on the dance floor for most of the afternoon. The Christmas party has already been booked for December! 

So today I am thinking about a trip to Chelmsford to do some birthday shopping as our daughter and Leo both have August birthdays.  I also need to find some kind of storage for the blankets which seem to be piling up in our lounge!  I want to find a way to keep them tidy before Paul notices that the pile is growing and is starting to look untidy. I also need to find most things in the same shop so that no too much walking is involved.  Three hours dancing the day before has taken its toll on my poor weary feet and legs!

Happy Monday!





Friday 5 August 2022

Let's sit and have a cup of tea

 Well it's been a while since I invited you round for a cup of tea - or coffee if you would prefer - September 2014 to be exact.  We have a lot of catching up to do!  


Excuse me while I get Coco a dog biscuit while we wait for the kettle to boil, she seems to think that doing her ‘halt, who goes there?’ barking when someone comes to the front door deserves a treat every time.  I wonder if this resolves the mystery of why the numbers on the scales at the vets are going up a little bit every time we go?  

You've caught me on a tidy day.  If you were to come round on a Tuesday or Wednesday it would be a different thing altogether.  We have so many toys here that people would think I ran a creche.  I shall be packing some of them away soon.  Our routine is in for a major overhaul in September as they all move up a year in school and nursery. So my Tuesday duties will only be for a couple of hours after school ends and instead of Max on a Wednesday we will be having his little sister for the day as our daughter in law's year of maternity leave will be over.  Time to get out that box of baby toys again!  Oh, and how lovely to be looking after a little girl who still naps twice a day - quite different to an energetic three year old.

That wooly pile on the armchair?  


That's the blanket crochet-a-long I started.  Yes, it was a 6 week project and yes, it is now 10 weeks since it started it, that initial enthusiasm waned a little, then I had a holiday, then the weather turned hot ... does that sound like convincing excuses?  I've been working on it while binge watching the new season of Virgin River.  Do you watch that?  It's nice easy watching and I've come to really like all (or most of) the characters.  I have only one more row of edging to do and then 'all' I have to do is weave in the loose edges (the worst part of any wooly project!) then I will be sharing the completed project.  I have to get it finished as I shall be using it for prompt 20 of the Summertime Photo Hunt.  Nothing like a deadline to spur you on to finish!

I'm looking forward to an evening out tonight with ex-work colleagues; we used to all work in the same office. Now I am retired, one works at Cambridge university overseeing foreign students, one is a cover supervisor at the school and one is an author.  Quite a motley crew!  If past meals out are anything to go by I can predict that we will probably be the last ones to leave the restaurant as we haven't met up since March and there is lots of catching up to do.  I thought I knew what I was going to wear but then I came across a photo we took when we last met up and that's what I was wearing then - I shall have to go through my wardrobe again or they will think I only own one dress 😆

Did you notice how awful our front garden lawn is looking?  I've never seen it so scorched.  


In the interests of water conservation P has been adamant about not using hosepipes or sprinklers in the garden so our lawn has not looked good for a while.  Strangely though, the lawns of our neighbours who do use hosepipes don't look any better than ours!  I know it will grow green again but it's horrible to see it so brown.  We have two water butts in the back garden and he's been using the water from those to water the pots in order to keep a little bit of colour out there but it's looking very sorry for itself isn't it?  There is not much water left in them now and no rain forecast for the next few weeks so I don't think it will look better the next time you come round either!

Well, that last row of blanket isn't going to crochet itself is it?  I ought to do a few more stitches.  Thank you for joining me for a drink - please come back again next month!






Wednesday 3 August 2022

Looking back

 I was looking back on old blog posts yesterday - I can't remember what I was looking for before I found myself stepping back in time - but it made me quite nostalgic.  

Once upon a time there was a group of bloggers, initially brought together through a shared love of scrapbooking which then developed into a group of storytellers and experience sharers.  Over the years, one by one they dropped out of the group.  Hobbies changed, circumstances changed, families changed.  But when I looked back through some of the blog posts I realised that many of the ideas that we blogged about were prompted by a lovely lady named Sian.  Her imagination kick started our imaginations and her enthusiasm for new blog projects was very contagious.  She was also the one responsible for reviving my interest in knitting.  Without Sian, there would have been no home knitted socks in my wardrobe!  Then life moved on and Sian opened a wool shop and time for blogging was hard for her to find.  

When I look back and see the weekly/monthly memes I realise how much I miss the 'Storytelling Sunday', 'Memos, Mail and Me', 'Let's sit and have a cup of tea', 'Simply a Moment' ... there were so many tales to tell and people to share them with.  

What I realised most was that my blog posts are not of the same standard that they were then!  When I had less time (I was still working) I seemed to put more thought into what I was writing.  Or maybe as they were weekly or monthly prompts I just had more time to plan them?  But it has me wondering, maybe I should revive some of these ideas.  Shake up my blog a little by revisiting the past ideas.  

Maybe if I put my intentions out there in the blogosphere I will feel more inclined to actually do it, rather than just keep my intentions to myself!  So with that in mind, I am going to try and remember to make the first Friday in every month a 'Let's sit down and have a cup of tea' day.  A day where I'll put the kettle on and we'll have a chat about what is going on around here.  

I'll see you on Friday!  

Tuesday 2 August 2022

A sentence a day in July

 This is the month of holidays and record breaking temperatures - July was hot!  

Day 1 Made my first holiday list, time to start thinking about what clothes I'm going to take

Day 2 Spent far too much time looking at youtube videos on crocheting small beach themed shapes to appliqué on my blanket

Day 3 Coco's 11th birthday - went to Leo's school fete in the afternoon

Day 4 Last minute holiday shopping

Day 5 Had Rosie here for most of the day, Coco went to the groomers and also the vets because she seems to have an upset stomach

Day 6 Finally did the packing for our holiday, it always feels like I haven't packed enough and then when I get home I always have things that never got worn, dropped Coco at my sister's for her 'holiday'

Day 7 Taxi at 3.45am to allow us 3 hours to get through the airport for our flight to Portugal - early night tonight!

Day 8 Spent most of the day chilling on the terrace

Day 9 Invited to our neighbours for drinks and nibbles - was nice to get to know them, they have moved to Portugal from Portland, Oregon - that's quite a distance away!

Day 10 Got the local bus to Lagos, had lunch at a lovely cafe and managed to tick off a few photos for the Summertime Photo Hunt



Day 11 Was slightly overcast today and the waves were strong on the beach

Day 12 Getting into a nice relaxed routine - lunch at a cafe on the sea front with a lovely jug of sangria

Day 13 More relaxing, a couple more photos ticked off ...



Day 14 Our last full day, dinner at our favourite tapas restaurant

Day 15 Flew home in the afternoon

Day 16 My sister brought Coco back home, Rachel and family popped round too, discovered that Rosie has been very unwell while we were away and ended up at A&E a couple of times - also our son has had a nasty fall off his bike - why so much drama in the one week we go away?

Day 17 Went to friends for a barbecue - was lovely to eat out in the shade in their garden

Day 18 Temperatures are hotting up ...

Day 19 Hottest day ever in the UK, over 40 degrees registered, I am not coping well with the heat!

Day 20 It is so much cooler today - thankfully as we had Max here all day and I don't think any of us would have coped well if it were still 40+ degrees

Day 21 Zumba - no one minded being in the front row today as that was next to the big cooling fans!

Day 22 Met up for afternoon tea with a friend I haven't actually seen in person for about 10 years then a meal in the evening with a couple who used to live 3 doors away from us.

Day 23 An early birthday party for Max - he had a wonderful time!

Day 24 Rachel and family came for Sunday lunch - was just the right temperature for eating out in the garden, not too hot and not too cool.

Day 25 Max's 3rd birthday - where has the time gone?

Day 26 Had Leo and Rosie here for the day, went to the Park Active event where they had a great time - also had our monthly covid tests

Day 27 Max here for the day, who needs exercise classes when you can run around after a three year old?

Day 28 Zumba in the morning, finished the last component of my blanket in the afternoon, now I 'just' have to join it all together and put a border on it.

Day 29 Coco had to have a scan on her heart as she has a slight murmur - I felt nervous all morning but relieved to find out she doesn't need treatment at the moment

Day 30 Took flowers to the churchyard as it would have been my dad's birthday on Wednesday

Day 31 Jon and Sophie (and Max and Olive!) came over for lunch, Rachel and family came over later in the afternoon too and in the evening the England women's football team won the European Championship, all in all, a very good day!

Another month over!  This one went by so fast - and here's the video condensed to 1 Second Everyday







Monday 1 August 2022

Me on Monday

No prizes for guessing what all the newspaper headlines were about in England today!  Football has finally 'come home'!  


Watching our Lionesses play in this tournament has been wonderful and what role models they all are to young girls all over the country. Their attitude and behaviour has been inspirational and they deserve every celebration going.  What a way to start a week!

Let's just do a quick round up how last week looked around here.  Well there was less socialising than the previous week but I met up with my old school friends on Monday evening; it's so good to see everyone and I'm still amazed that we are still meeting up 46 years after we left school.

It was a normal week of childminding - Rosie and Leo on Tuesday and Max on Wednesday.  They certainly keep us on our toes and I bet I burn as many calories doing that as I do at my Thursday Zumba class.

Friday was stressful as Coco had to go for her heart scan.  She wasn't allowed breakfast and had to be at the vets for 8.30.  Rather than go home and worry about what news they may have for us we decided to go to Saffron Walden.  We go there fairly frequently, it's just a lovely old historical town.  Not many of the big named shops, but lots of independent retailers which I prefer to support.  We have walked past this building many times 

It's quite typical of the style of old buildings there, but we had never noticed this sign before

Apparently it was Oliver Cromwell's headquarters in 1647. 

On the way home we had a call to say Coco was ready to collect and whilst there is evidence of a heart murmur it is quite mild and she doesn't require treatment at the moment.  Back in 3 months to monitor it.  We were so relieved and she was spoilt for the rest of the day.  Didn't even get told off when she made herself comfortable on the 'work in progress' blanket


Friday was pretty eventful for my sister's side of the family.  My nephew's son (her grandson) has been participating in a ten week training course at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall and Friday was his passing out parade.  It's been a lot of hard work and strenuous activity and we are all so proud that he is now officially part of the Royal Navy.  I'm sure that there were more than one or two tears shed - happy tears though!

So what does this week hold?  At the moment the diary is pretty clear apart from childcare.  No Zumba this week but we do have our Summer Party on Sunday.  I can guarantee now that when a group of Zumba classes get together, there will be lots of action on the dance floor!  I just need to work out which are my most comfortable shoes to dance in ...