Mid September and one week down!

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Wednesday Weekly

Our 'back to school' pic!!

This week has been all about work.

The summer holidays a distant memory!

I think I wrote last week, that I was in on Saturday for the artists to drop off their work. We spent the last hour on that Saturday, beginning to curate and place where we thought some of the work should go. This carried on into Monday, so that by Tuesday......

....we were in a position to hang!!

The biggest piece first!

This took a couple of days....

.....then there were the labels, painting the plinths, organising etc

Putting up the banner and dotting about the A-frames.

Ready for the Private View on Friday evening.

All to be revealed!

It was a fabulous evening...

...really well attended and ended up being a late night!

I was then in again all day Saturday and from now on for the next 5 weeks.

I've actually started another little job, a day a week manning the Art Office. Whilst I'm in the gallery hosting the exhibition, I do a Monday but when the exhibition closes, I will be doing a Friday every week. It does mean the next few weeks are going to be very busy. I will be doing my regular four days in the gallery, plus my new day in the art office, plus we are opening up for three Sundays whilst Somerset Art Weeks are on, so I will be doing a 6 day week!! 

I go from nothing to everything.

 A short, intense burst of busyness!!

So this Sunday has been a day of relaxation.

Jeff did a tiny bit out in the garden before it started raining.

We have a self-seeded 'something' growing in the front trug. Alongside the self-seeded sunflowers and rejuvenated geraniums. It's all looking alive again, after the hot, dry summer.

So week one of back to work done!

This is how my weeks for the foreseeable are going to pan out!

Full on work mode until half term, literally. The exhibition closes after 7pm on the Thursday, the work comes down on the Friday and we head off to Italy on the Saturday!! 

It's always good to have something to look forward too x

The 'ber' months begin

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Wednesday Weekly

This week I taught myself to sew......

.....well, to hem trousers!

I am so fed up of there being so may nice trousers in the shops but they are just way too long! So I bit the bullet and taught myself to use Sophie's sewing machine. I now have 4 new pairs of trousers that were hiding out in my wardrobe, that I can wear and it means I can now buy any I see, knowing I can take them up!

This week has been a mix of enjoying the last of the summer holidays and having to get back into work mode. Jeff has been in since Wednesday afternoon for INSET sessions and I have been in for a few IT bits and have had to do some training at home!!

We've made the most of the good weather and walked in the evenings

and I've got out when I've had a chunk of free time.

Jeff has gone back into school this afternoon for a couple of hours.

Note our fabulous self-seeded sunflowers and how well our geraniums have recovered from the heatwave.

I was in for a big chunk of yesterday to meet some of our fabulous artists, as they dropped off their work for our next exhibition. There is a great variety and a lot of pieces, so next week is going to be busy getting everything hung and labelled before we open on the Friday.

So, we have a 6 week term ahead of us and a 6 week countdown until we go away to Puglia. 

It's good to have something to look forward to.

We're also on a countdown to retirement!!

Three more school years for Jeff (currently) 

I say currently, it can always change!!

This is the first September start when Sophie and Sam are not starting something new! 

This time last year Sam was at home after Uni, starting up at school as a GA.

Both are now sorted, settled and financially independent for the first time!!

September and this school year has felt less of a big start, probably because of this. Both Jeff and I have loved this summer and really haven't wanted it to end. It will be fine once we settle back into the routine of work but the thought of the alarm having to be set tomorrow morning and long days, with just our evenings together, will be a big change. Let's hope the week goes quickly with no dramas!!

Cramming stuff in!

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Wednesday Weekly

The end of the summer holidays is upon us, too quickly for my liking!! I could happily do it all again. This summer has been wonderful. We are a bit bad once we're home. We tend not to do that much out and about but on Monday we did make an effort.

We headed over to Rockaway Park, an old junk yard, now creative hub and alternative community space over in Temple Cloud, about 10 miles south of Bristol. 

It's a fabulous space, with workshops, a garden and vegan cafe. 

We spent a good couple of hours there having a mooch around.

On Tuesday, I had a long overdue date with my walking friend. Life has been busy with both of us and it's been a while since we last managed to get out for a walk together. We headed over to Ham Wall for a couple of hours walking and talking!!

Tuesday was also the day Dolly Parton died. Such a wonderful human being, 

who will be missed for all her kindness and generosity.

We also saw the death of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, 

a huge inspiration to me but a very conflicted soul.

Jeff and I had to go into school on Wednesday to do the safeguarding training. It gets you a little more school focused and the start of term firmly back on the horizon. He's been busy doing jobs out in the garden, just to get on top of things before the madness of school begins.

Sam came home for the night on Friday for a party, so we saw him briefly before heading up to Cardiff on Saturday to see Sophie. We had lunch at her flat, then popped into town for a tiny mooch around the shops, then food out. She headed home on the train, whilst we headed to The New Theatre Cardiff to see..... 

Johns' Boys Welsh Male Voice Choir.

Ever since their Britain's Got Talent audition in 2023, I've wanted to see them sing live. They did not disappoint and when they sang (with audience participation) the Welsh National Anthem at the end....goosebumps on goosebumps!! If they are your cup of tea, they are touring next year.

We headed home after the show, as Sophie had plans. Then today (Sunday) we've been over to see Jeff's dad. His birthday falls on the first weekend of September, right when it's back to school busy time, so we popped in to wish him an early happy birthday. 

I've done a bit of a book tally this week, just to see how much progress I've made this year. 

 

15 books read! 

With the holidays coming to an end, my reading will slow down to mainly at bedtimes, the odd afternoon (maybe) My aim has just been to read and get my enjoyment back! I lost all love of reading due to my menopausal symptoms and poor concentration over the past few years, but I feel a little more hormonally balanced at the moment and the above reflects that. Long may it last!! 

I have loads still to read, both on my shelf, on my kindle, in a bag of more books from Sophie and a wish list that goes on forever of what I still need to add.

One book at a time x

 

So, next time I write, we will be in September!! I do love September. I love the start of a new school year and the beginning of new routines but this year, I really don't want the summer to end. 

Jeff has 3 more 'full' school years ahead of him before he retires. I will follow suit, just because it means we can holiday together in the shoulder seasons of the school holidays. I would have to give up my lovely gallery job as it requires me to work September, which would be a great shame. The exam invigilation, the job I like least, could continue as you give your availability rather than be contracted to set times. It's still a long way ahead but it's been a big topic of discussion this summer and the way time seems to be whizzing by, it will be here before we know it!!

Busy bees

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Wednesday Weekly

Mid August and we are picking large quantities of blackberries. Everything is so much earlier this year. Making the most of free fruit and stashing it in the freezer. 

Jeff has been a busy bee this week, trying to cut back some of the garden. It's all looking pretty dead at the moment, so we might as well make it look awful, it can then only get better x

I've been doing some sorting inside, having a little re-jig and 

making my corner of the kitchen a little neater....

.....I've brought down the dresser top from the box room, as I intend to re-organise the box room upstairs, add in some extra storage, so I need to clear up some space.

I've also been trying to get out and walk. First conker spot of the year.

I went to Bath on Monday, had the dentist on Tuesday, met a friend for coffee on Wednesday, then went to Wells on Friday.  

We've been walking every evening after tea...

....and whilst Jeff refereed on Saturday, 

I took myself off for a walk down along the river Brue....

.....stalking a heron!!!

Every time I got close, he flew a little further down river!!

The light was beautiful.

And then today, Jo and I headed just beyond the 'nearly there trees'....

...to meet up with mum and dad and U. Colin and his two daughters (old family friends) for lunch at Strawberry Fields in Lifton, Devon. U. Colin was Best Man at my mum and dads wedding and he chauffeured both my sister and I on our wedding days, which would have been the last time I saw him. They all turn 80 this year, so it was nice to get them all together.

And whilst I was sat enjoying a Sunday roast, Jeff was busy knocking down a wall and assembling a new fence side panel. Due to the recent hot summers, the wall has moved, which in turn has meant the gate has not been able to open and close easily, so he has come up with a good solution.

And finally, this week also marked 5 years since we said goodbye to Granny x

I'm not sure where the years are going x