Not the whole summer, but snapshots.
It has been a LOVELY summer, a real summer this year.
Last year we had summer in May and April showers throughout August {maybe not quite like that but it certainly felt it}.
The days have lasted from early dawn to late dusk, oh it has for the most been almost perfect.
Our strawberry plants gave us a good couple of weeks of sweet and juicy berries...if only I we were as eagle eyed as our littlest one. He has spotted them from afar and very sneakily managed to nobble I would say around 90% of them all for himself!
We had the pool out almost continuously. It was a source of hours upon hours of entertainment. We had some days 9 children in there with us! The noise level that 9 kiddos in a pool can produce isn't to be sniffed at, it is to be admired and slightly feared.
Even without the numerous friends/neighbours my own little brood and I managed to create a splash.
We have baked many, many treats to feed the many, many little folk that pass through our door. There have been cookies and cupcakes a plenty. Money saving, energy/time using and a finished product that is enjoyed by many - win win.
The Great British Bake Off 2013 {GBBO13} has started and already Lolly and I are hooked.
It hasn't been all 'Famous Five' lemonade and fun, there have been trying times. We have new neighbours on the street and there have been too many clashes to mention. Some days to avoid the inevitable tears we have played in our garden for the most part of the day, putting bikes and scooters away.
Other times the bikes and scooters go out the door early and are put to bed when we finally round the kiddos up for bath time.
Crochet Camp!
!!Pah!!
Oh I had the best of intentions but a 'project' revealed itself and any hooky time has been spent on a blanket for Abbas new flat.
It is as always taking longer and becoming larger than I thought.
I still have my box of goodies and will have to crack on with the blanket before the colder weather sets in as I am to make my winter hand warmers for the school runs.
The good weather has seen an abundance of delicious fruit and we picked up an enormous water melon at one Saturday market...well treated in transit...
It lasted a couple of days and our chooks enjoyed it possibly more than us.
We went Pick Your Own this year, we caught the last of the strawberries and reaped in the abundant raspberries.
We also foraged blackberries, bought Plums cheaply from the boot sale and have had apples gifted or foraged.
It has been a BUMPER year for jams so far...
1 punnet of strawberries yielded 2 pots of jam
2 punnets of raspberries yielded 3 pots of jam
3lb of plums yielded 1 large and 1 small 'Le Parfait' jars of jam
and
a full to the brim 2ltr ice cream tub of blackberries yielded 3 pots of seedless blackberry jam and 3 pots of blackberry and apple jam
{as well as 2 apple /blackberry crumbles}
I am looking forward to starting on the chutnies and relishes, this year LOTS of Red Pepper Relish {we're using the last pot from last at the moment}
I wasn't keen on the plum chutney I made previously so I'll give that a miss this year but planning to give Mango Chutney and Red or Green Tomatoe Chutney a go.
We went camping as well...just for a night mind you! Our car broke down the morning we were set to leave so a hire car gobbled up all our 'camping' pennies
*sigh*
*sigh*
We borrowed the tent from friends
Alfred shared the night with me, he fidgeted all night and we were so un-prepared that it was funny
Bob found the most amazing campsite/farm
it was a perfect place to take the kiddos and me!
wait for it...
Alpacas!!
oh and cows!
They had a lovely little farm shop, local produce, some of it from their own animals
The campsite was just up the road from Monkey World and just over the road from where the Ministry of Defense have their Tank Training operations!!
We listened to the Tanks trundling up the road through the night and watched them pass the gate in the morning!
!!Perfect!!
We timed it right that we managed to go to Poole to see the bike night, had the most amazing ice creams and spent the day at Shell Bay, splashing in the surf.
Fish and chips on the way home just about finished the adventure.
Hello again
ReplyDeleteI have been catching up with your posts and life seems full and busy. I think that you must have been in the Bovington Tank museum area....am I right....is there a prize? We loved camping for years - apart from the time our tent nearly blew off an escarpment on the Isle of Wight oh and when we were drenched by flooding in Dorset too (you know you are heading for trouble when on the radio you hear:'...the worst weather for twenty years....'. Still all good fun and cheapish too....not as cheap as it used to be but must have saved us loads over the years. I hope that your car is all fixed - what a bugger braking down in that way!
Keep going and it will all come good
Best wishes
Jenny