It’s been a bit of a whirlwind of a month, July is always fairly frantic but this year it seems especially so as we’ve been juggling a series of schedules all of which have been action-packed. Without any further waffle here are some of the things that I have #LikedandLoved throughout the month.
Lazing By The Lake
With a road closure quite literally trapping us in the village, J and I spent an afternoon enjoying milkshakes, ice creams, and snacks by the lake whilst we waited for the road to reopen so that we could drive home. I’ve got to say, feeding the ducks whilst sitting out in the sunshine certainly beat waiting in a classroom!
J’s Duke of Edinburgh
After months of planning and preparing, J finally completed his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. I’ve got to be honest, I wondered whether he might find it a bit too much of a struggle as there’s no way that I could walk twenty-odd miles whilst carrying an expedition rucksack. J however knocked it out of the park and breezed his expedition arriving first at the campsite and second back to school the following afternoon. To say I’m proud is an understatement – he was quite simply incredible though he’s assured me that ‘bronze will do’ and he’s not after his silver anytime soon.
School Reports
Both J and E brought home shining report cards from school this month. They really are blowing our socks off in terms of their academic achievements.
Our Brilliant Book Prize Award Winner
Having spent the past year reading each and every night, E was quite rightly rewarded with this year’s book prize for reading’. I only wish that I could have been there to watch her receive the prize but thankfully Paul was at the ready with his camera and I’ve watched both the video and photographic footage and it’s rather apparent that E was both dazzled and rather delighted by the occasion.
Awesome Art
E has spent the past month busily working on her various homework tasks for her summer project. She’s put huge amounts of effort into her artwork and has even attended a workshop with a local (semi-famous) artist where she combined poetry, art, and her knowledge of the local to contribute towards a piece based on Norman Nicholson.
To say her artwork is awesome would be an understatement – needless to say our fridge is currently covered in various drawings, paintings, and awards which E is proud to display.
Bedroom Beautiful
Back when we had our extension built and first decorated and furnished our bedroom we were running a little low on funds (though nothing much has changed there!) and thus opted for easy-to-assemble, cheap, and cheerful Argos furniture which sure enough fell apart fairly quickly. A few months back I acquired a beautiful Meridew (later known as Stag furniture) dressing table and have since been searching for matching bedside drawers which came up now and then but were always ‘one set only’.
Earlier this month I found not one but two matching Stag bedside drawer sets a couple of hours drive away and having ascertained a good price, Paul and I had a ‘tootle out’ to collect our retro bargain. Having added new knobs and cleaned the drawers from top to bottom we put them in place and what a difference it has made to our bedroom!
A Mini Miracle
A few weeks back my beloved Mini began making rather strange sounds when starting her engine. Having Googled the possible problems (and having wept following reading the possibility of engine failure or faulty drive chains that cost £2k and above) I took her to our local mechanic and hoped for the best. He gave her a full oil change and a day later I had my car back. Unfortunately, the noises continued and soon enough my dashboard lit up like the Blackpool illuminations though thankfully it was on E’s last day at school and I wasn’t too far from home when she gave up the ghost.
Once again my mechanic put his head under the bonnet and continued trying to fix our issues. Having spent two days sitting on the forecourt whilst acquiring new spark plugs, a new coil, and even more oil she now seems (fingers crossed) to run smoothly and hasn’t (as of yet) shown any further error messages. Here’s hoping we’ve encountered a ‘mini miracle’ as otherwise I may have to sell a kidney to have her repaired.
Birthday planning
E’s birthday is edging ever closer and given that we’ve got a huge amount planned as a family before then, I’ve spent the past couple of months purchasing and collecting cards, cake toppers, and of course gifts ready for the big day. I’ve yet to wrap said but gifts but otherwise I’m ‘birthday ready’ for our terrific ten-year-old-to-be.
Wardrobe Wonders
Given that we have a holiday in the pipeline I’ve finally cleared and cleaned out my wardrobe replacing the old (and slightly small) tops and shorts with brand-new items ready to rock the summer months. Here’s hoping the weather will get the memo…
Schools Out For The Summer
The alarm clocks have been switched off and our regular routine has been put to one side as ‘school is officially out for the summer‘. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t really feel like the end of July right now, yet here we are with six weeks of freedom and a lack of meal ideas ahead of us.
Thanks again for reading my blog – I hope that you enjoyed reading what I have #LikedandLoved throughout July.
If you fancy sharing some of your own #LikedAndLoved points from the month then why not join in either through your own blog post or by leaving a comment below, I would love to hear what you #LikedAndLoved this month!
