Week 22
Herbs in everything; Saffy's sunsuit of shame; a proper riverside picnic
A honeysuckle that stopped me in my tracks in the park, before I saw it - the scent!
Hello! A beautiful summery week, how about that? (well ok, with a few cold bits…). It’s been half term here and the living has been fairly easy - I have still been working but at a lazier pace and without quite so much taxiing as usual, plus long dinners in the garden and one Big Trip Out - more below.
Before we kick off, a quick reminder that you can still buy both food only and food + accommodation tickets for my Midsummer Night’s Feast, with Beth Al-Rikabi. It’s filling up fast and going to be beautiful.
In this weekly post I tell you three things I have noticed this week that feel particularly seasonal, and you, delightfully, tell me yours. So let’s begin with the highlights from your Week 21 comments:
Roses and foxgloves just starting to bloom; sitting in the sun eating ice cream and listening to the bees; getting the paddling pool out; the sound of fledglings demanding food; sipping a mojito in the lavender-scented shade; the night smelling like summer; the best British strawberries; buying bedding plants - busy lizzies, verbena, lobelia and fuchsia; verges bursting with ox- eye daisy, poppy and buttercup; 50 shades of green; the first fireflies; elderflowers ready to pick for cordial; taps aff; alliums and pink roses; cutting and bringing in the first bunch of flowers from the garden; scented leaved pelargoniums planted up in pots for summer.
What a truly glorious tribute to such a special moment in the year that all makes. I love it. Is it the best moment in the year? Who can say? (Me. Yes).
But WAIT! Before we get too carried away with our northern-hemisphere summeriness, let us not forget our southern hemisphere friends, as we have a report this from autumnal New Zealand: Sweeping, sweeping, sweeping the walnut leaves and kowhai confetti into the dark.
Magic. The world turns. Here’s my Week 22:
Herbs in everything
All of the herbs in the garden are suddenly looking lush and appealing and making me want to pick them and put them in everything. This meal had a potato salad with loads of chives, this salad with basil and chive flowers mixed in, and a white beany, tomatoey saucey thing with loads of fresh oregano. Everything is suddenly herbal and tasting ten times better for it.
Saffy’s sunsuit of shame
Oh poor little Saffy… I love this pose. It says ‘Not only have you put me in this pink thing covered in baby rabbits but now you are all laughing at me too.’ And we were.
Saffy lies in the blazing sun, like the little Greek street dog that she is. She got burnt inside elbows (I realise this implies that she has arms, but you know what I mean). And then because her inside elbows were sore she started licking at them, and this made them worse. Now she has some cream from the vet and she wears this doggy babygrow until they get better. She is delighted about it.
A proper riverside picnic
There was once a time when packing up a home baked lunch and setting off with sunhats/sunscreen/wellies/water bottles/towels/swimming gear was second nature to me. When the kids are little you gird your loins and you endure the pain of the endless ‘getting out of the house’ to give them these little memories and use up their energy. Then as they reach mid-teenhood you all start to run out of momentum. They don’t want to be dragged out of bed and if they are would rather hang out with their friends, and you realise you’d rather read your book anyway. Everyone’s happy.
BUT this week I got a bit of summertime FOMO as I realised we had a week of beautiful weather ahead of us, no school/college, and no plans. And so I got up early and baked and frittata’d and hauled husband, both teenagers plus one teenager’s lovely girlfriend off for a riverside picnic. It was a really beautiful day. I had fun. I was very, very happy to sit and read my book the next day.
That’s my week. Don’t forget that we have our weekly chat on Sunday morning in the caht part of the app and it being the first Sunday of the month we want to see your ‘usual spot’ to see how it has changed, plus your ice creams, sweet peas and roses too of course…
Now over to you. What has been particularly ‘this week’ about your week?
Lovely to hear about your riverside picnic. I love picnics!
But none for me this week.
First, I ‘shopped til I dropped’ in Cambridge (UK). It was probably the only time I’ll splurge on a few new clothes this year. It was a special day out with my daughter and we were looking for outfits to celebrate a friend’s wedding.
Second, my potted herbs (parsley, mint, thyme, chives, and sage) are doing so well that I’m snipping every morning and adding them to at least two meals everyday. The spearmint! Oh joy!
Third, after a hiatus that has lasted decades I’ve picked up my sketchbook and joined some informal groups to resume playing with pencils, pens, and paper. It’s liberating to finally have some space in my life to start sketching again.
I also dragged the teenagers out of bed and we went off to Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire and had the best day walking and chatting and picnicking too. And finally I saw (and heard) some swifts!