July ...ing

I didn't mean to be away from this space for so long. I have re-adjusted to my Glasgow reality after a lovely holiday in Cornwall, reluctantly so. Work has been busy but in a good way. Since it is almost the end of July and I have not posted anything of note since June, I thought I'd just roll with my July ...ing post.

:: Spending two weeks in Cornwall. We stayed in a static caravan on our old favourite campsite just outside Portscatho. The teens went sailing every afternoon for a week, then an additional two days the following week. They loved it and are very competent apparently. Richard went cycling some days, I went for long walks every day. Jack loved the rabbits and all the fabulous dense hedges and of course the beach. 

:: Celebrating James' 17th birthday. Where did the time go?? 

:: Travelling to London for a day of meetings. It was intense but rewarding and fun. I even managed a quick stop at Liberty's to buy a small amount of fabric. I only had 20 minutes before closing, which was probably a good thing. I ate tacos at a small place in Soho and watched the world go by before taking the sleeper back to Glasgow.

:: Loving my new stick-on gel nail polish. I like having my nails done but gel manicures are damaging for the nails as the indestructible gel is difficult to remove and weakens the natural nail. Imagine sanding wooden floors but on a small scale. Also, the UV light for hardening the gel can't be all that good. I don’t think the stick-on ones are nearly as durable but it doesn't matter because I get fed up with a colour quickly. Removal is easy, I tried it because there are spares on each sheet of stick-ons. 

:: Listening to In A Place Of Darkness by Stuart MacBride. I chose the book because of the narrator, Angus King rather than the blurb. So far, so good. I am also listening to Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I am not enjoying that much despite the high praise this novel has received. I find it very predictable and it is far too long. I finished Last One At The Party by Bethany Clift (a postapocalyptic novel, loved it) and Love And Other Human Errors by the same author (ok, but not amazing)

:: Hopping mad because James's new dip died pale turquoise t-shirt ruined my whites. I managed to return the sheets to almost white but my favourite white t-shirt still is a sickly greenish shade of not quite white. Hard to describe.

:: Making a start with the mending pile. I mended a rip in my favourite green trousers and strengthened a weak seam on my second favourite orange trousers. For both, I had to find a perfect colour matched thread as the repairs are in visible places. Alistair's beloved body warmer is also mended but I didn't quite feel like mending school trousers yet. 

:: Trying to keep the garden somewhat tidy. It is almost impossible at this time of year, everything has gone wild. 

:: Fighting the fruit flies. Just as with the garden, it is almost impossible at this time of year. They multiply fast and fruit is sweet and attractive. I have several traps that fill up quickly with the creatures but they multiply very efficiently.

:: Eating barbecued food. I always think it is a bit of a faff to fire up the BBQ for not very much food but Richard likes it. We don't have one of those fancy contraptions you can see on the Instagram, that is ready at the push of a button. You know, those reels of the 24 year old single mother of half a dozen children cooking dinner on the blackstone. 

:: Looking forward to a week of daily ballet. I only managed one of the summer Monday classes because we were away and this was very busy and felt a bit claustrophobic with advanced and beginners mixed. The advanced dancers use a lot more space than us beginners, with leg lifts the leaps that are properly impressive. 

And that's that. Thanks for visiting 😊