Seven Signs of Summer

Toes are peeking out from sandals, ice is clinking in glasses, sun lotion stains are round the collars of clothes and my sunglasses are on. 

The best bit is I have travelled no further than the distance from my fridge to my garden to experience this lovely burst of summer. Just as well given my passport seems to have expired.

Signs of summer this week have been...

...bubbles in the garden.

... post tea-time fun and games.

... flowers in bloom (not from my garden though).

...skipping, summer dress and socks and sandals.

...sun, sun, sun with a splash of sun.

...summer cub camp.

...world cup fever. 

(That football shirt has no sooner been washed than its on his back again. The boy is obsessed.)

Long may the sun shine and my skin be warmed by its glow (in a non-burning kind of way). It's been far too long since I had brown legs and I rather fancy a change :-)

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How?

How fast did this week go?

How much rain was there exactly?

How much new information did my dusty brain have to take in at work?

How much coffee did I have to consume to coax my dusty brain into action?

How many pairs of new work shoes have I got my eye on?

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How high?

High enough to give him a thrill, and low enough so I wasn't worried.

How far?

Far far away so a passing dog had to retrieve the frisbee.

How much do I love Instagram's new editing tools?

Not quite dramatic enough so I may have tweaked the filter a bit.

How lovely?

Simple things can be the loveliest.

How grown up?

She may still use the step for the sink but she's becoming quite the little lady.

How drunk?

Drunk enough to be silly but not so drunk to be messy.

How many years?

Mum and Dad - 50 happy years married.

And how can I stop work cutting into my IG time?

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Dodging the rain

A half term spent dodging rain showers and avoiding sibling quarrels is a half term rather spent under a duvet. 

Fortunately there were a few opportunities where sou'westers were not quite necessary so we dared to peek out from under the 13 tog.

We dared each other to climb higher up the gate.

We braved it on 2 wheels and didn't cry.

We were duped into starting a World Cup sticker habit.

We sang and danced in the rain.

We got a bit fizzy.

We tried a stealth shot at the park. #fail

We tried our hand at bicycle maintenance.

We also had a training day at our new job. No photo because I thought it was a bit forward to snap on my first day ;-)

Hope you managed to dodge the showers too.

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Employment

A new week filled with sunlight breeds new optimism but with a huge knot in my stomach as I sign a contract of employment. 

Times are changing. Priorities change. Families grow up and I found a job that uses my skills and will hopefully work with family life. It isn't a return to big corporate corner office that I once thought was all I wanted. It is a very small company, but with big ambitions and opportunity for me to start my second career. 

I'm anxious about being employed again, about getting up to speed with my responsibilities and about juggling life, but I am also excited about being recognised as an employable person with skills. Knock backs dent your confidence and this has come at just the right time.

Clearer skies ahead.

Stepping out from the shadow of my family.

A blossoming new career.

The return to lunch hours.

Mid week confidence wobble.

Ascending a new career path to a bright and funky future.

Hoping that the new job only looks scary and will actually be as docile as Misty Moo.

My next post will be written as a part-time working Mum. Wish me luck!

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Decorating

Last week I was trying to choose a colour for my hall, stairs and landing. It was a mine field of magnolia, cream, off-white and shades of latte in Homebase. Isn't it incredible how many colours there are? A paint colour chart is just scratching at the surface. Think of the size of a Pantone book, incredible variety that are almost imperceptible to the human eye.

Princess wants a feature wall in her bedroom in a shade of pink. Fuscia? Bubblegum? No, the colour of this dress, mummy. Only a bit more pink.

In our old house we had wine red walls in our bedroom. I loved the colour and thought about it for this house. Too dark though for the much lower ceilings. Red curtains then? Tried it but looked like a theatre and not in a good way.

We are covering up the yellow that we've lived with for 7 years and hated for every single one of those 7 years. Buttercup yellow is very unforgiving.

We considered grey, as it seems to be very popular at the moment but it seemed too cold, too school playground for us.

World chess champions give less thought to their next tactical move than we gave to our next hall colour.

And some just gave up and walked away while we continued to pour over colour charts. 

In the end we went for soft latte, a subtle pale coffee colour (you'd never have guessed) and we are almost done.

My concession to colour... an Orla Kiely wallpaper for one small wall. I'll use a 'tadaa' photo for one of my 365 photos next week. 

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Smile

Things that have made me smile this week...

The big one being chosen to carry his cub pack's flag at the St George's Day parade.

The late afternoon sunlight through the Rowan tree blossom.

The simplicity and beauty of a dandelion clock. 

Blue. I am a big fan of blue flowers and bluebells are pretty high up there.

Bored and waiting for dinner to cook, I noticed my shoes almost exactly match our hall tiles. Little things.

Taking The Big One and the Princess shopping to spend their own pocket money. I'm smiling with pride at how they worked out the money, the fact that the contents of my purse were intact and the pattern of the block paving.

The Wee One bring cheeky in the trolley and how every single person asked which aisle I found him in.

I am resolving to keep looking for the things to smile about! They are there. They may be hiding or cunningly disguised but I will hunt them out of their lair and force them into the open. 

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Life's Lessons

Life can be a bastard. It can take people away and it can bring people together. Friends. Family. Sometimes it is because someone has gone that people are brought together, for the first time in a decade. 

My father-in-law passed away peacefully and his whole family came together at his funeral this week to support each other, and in some cases to meet each other for the first time. It would have made him happy to see hands being shaken and hugs being given. In fact he was probably disappointed to have missed it. 

Life shows you who your friends are too. The ones who go out of their way to help, expecting nothing in return. We value their friendship beyond words. 

Life brought friends together over a glass of wine and a rugby match.

Life showed The Big One that he has the confidence to recite a poem perfectly no matter how difficult the situation.

Life skills 1. Knife, butter, bread. He will never starve.

Life skills 2: fence climbing if being chased by a bull, or just for fun.

Life skills 3: pot washing can be fun (if you are 4) but may not be fun for ever.

Life skills 4. It is perfectly acceptable to drink beer on a school day lunchtime if it was bought for you.

Life has the knack of bringing you a perfect sunny day just when you need something to smile about.

We've all learnt a few of life's lessons this week and I'm sure life will bring us a few more lessons yet.

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