Loving Lately....

Oh, how we needed a glorious summer in England!  The weather has turned slightly these last couple of days; it has still been muggy and sunshiny but with short thunderstorms and lashing rain every now and then.  But I'm loving every minute, I am.  

I am loving..... 

• Filling jugs with huge, blowsy, peonies of the very palest pink.

Frilly peonies.

• Taking lots of lovely, cool, showers and lathering up with zesty shower gels.

• Sleeping beneath just a single, cotton, sheet. 

• Having brown feet and living in sandals or flip flops.

• Pottering in the kitchen with the doors flung open.... 

The kitchen stable door wide open, vainly trying to generate a breeze! 

• ...whatever the weather... it's just so warm! 

Even the overcast days have been hot, hot, hot! 

• Eating outdoors at every opportunity.

• Letting my hair dry naturally.

• Slowly chop, chop, chopping to make colourful salads for dinner.

• Propping open doors and making the most of the evening breeze through the windows.

• Watching my little dog find an occasional wind tunnel by the door (especially now the weather is gustier) then standing to enjoy it, wind blowing through her fur.   Too cute.

• Listening to the radio outdoors on a little portable cat speaker given to me recently by http://www.three.co.uk/.  

Good little speaker; perfect for kids.  Cute and fun with surprisingly good sound for its size
(you can forgive the lack of bass).

• Evening walks through the fields with husband and dog (and occasionally stepson) as the sun sets.  Chatting about nothing much and enjoying each others' company.

• The blissful coolness of our stony (usually freezing) little living room downstairs.

• Laundry drying on the line within the hour.

• Fresh mint galore.  And lots of lemon.

It isn't all perfect, of course.  I'm not loving, for example: 

• Being sweaty.  Having an even sweatier husband.

• Noticing how dirty my windows are all of the time, because it's so sunny.

• Ants, flies, wasps, moths and crane flies in the house.

• Working in an air-conditioned office.  It's blinking freezing in there! 

• Leaping about for the 30 Day Shred in a conservatory the temperature of a sauna (it's the only place we have room for star jumps in this tiny cottage of ours!) 

• Melted chocolate bars.

• Searingly hot leather car seats on bare legs. 

• Having to wear 'sexy' flesh-coloured undies because light linen does not mix with white knicks.

Obviously, the pros of summer far outweigh the cons but you can bet your life I'll be excited for the autumn when it finally comes.  That's what I love about England: the change of the seasons. 

Have a great week! 

Nicki 

x