What I have loved this week! Week 31. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a good week. Mine has flown by as usual. Can you believe it's August tomorrow? As always, on a Friday I am sharing all the little things that I have loved this week. Some are big, some are tiny but they're all things that have made me smile over the last week. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

Another job interview for my youngest!

Ellie, my youngest, had another job interview this week but she didn't get it and that's OK. I am still so proud of her, even getting an interview is a big achievement. There always seem to be so many people applying for every job, so just getting invited in means someone has looked at Ellie's application and thought she should be considered. She's not bothered in the slightest, it was a job but nothing special.

My eldest baking!

Becky had an afternoon of baking during the week. There was no stopping her. She started off by making a banana loaf, which tasted amazing and then went on to make brownies which were crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. Perfect! She has said she wants to do more baking and I am not going to argue if it means we get yummy cakes. I remember baking with the girls when they were little and we always had great fun but now they bake themselves. I don't have any of the stress or washing up to do but I still get to enjoy the cakes.

This flower!

It's one of the prettiest flowers in my garden at the moment. According to my plant identifier, it is an annual mallow. The bees and butterflies love it.

Verifying my age!

This was something I wasn't expecting to have to do this week. Stu and I both play online games from Blizzard Entertainment. He spends his time playing World of Warcraft while I play Hearthstone. They're our little ways of switching off and relaxing. We received emails saying we needed to verify our age because of the UK Online Safety Act. It sounded straightforward but it ended up being a pain in the behind. Well, for Stu it was. He had everything they wanted to but wouldn't verify him. After watching him struggle, I thought I had no chance but I didn't need to worry at all. I put my phone number in and that was enough to prove my age. Don't ask me how, maybe because I have had the same number registered with me for over 18 years but whatever it was, it worked and I am not questioning it. We only found out afterwards that the only reason we needed to verify it was so we could chat with other players, which is something we don't even bother with.

Dyed hair!

My hair desperately needed doing. The roots were showing and there were too many grey hairs for my liking, so out came the bleach followed by the colour and now it's back to a lovely pinky-red shade again. I would like it bright red but after using pink one too many times, my hair seems to hold on to that no matter what red dye I put on and I am too scared to bleach it too often. I even tried a new dye to me during the week and it made no difference. My hair is still pinky-red.

Not catching a summer cold!

One thing I have definitely loved this week is not catching the cold that Stu has had. He's not been seriously ill but he's felt really run down, achy, tired and he has been very, very snotty. It seems to be doing the rounds at his work but thankfully, he has kept it to himself. He seems to be over the worst of it now, so hopefully the danger has passed but I have stocked up on cold and flu tablets just in case.

What have you loved this week?

What I have loved this week! Week 30. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week. Mine has been a good one and I have been quite busy. I am here today sharing what I have loved this week and I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

My girls and appointments!

My girls have had a busy week. My eldest went to view another house with her partner. They liked this one a lot more than the previous one they viewed and didn't get. It ticks more boxes and isn't too expensive. Hopefully, this will be the one for them. My youngest has been here, there and everywhere. She has had a few appointments and managed to find her way to them with only a couple of phone calls to me asking for directions when she got lost. It was a new area to her and travelling there was way out of her comfort zone but she did it!

A bear hunt!

My youngest and I went on the We’re Going on a Bear Hunt sculpture trail in Scunthorpe, the town where we live. There are ten large bears hidden around the town as well as eight little bear cubs to find. We didn't quite manage to find all of them but we found more than half, so I'm calling that a success. We walked for miles, stopped off for lunch and even got a drink from Starbucks! It was a good day!

Elle!

When I heard there was going to be a series about Elle Woods before Legally Blonde, I was a little unsure but I loved the new series on Prime! It's all about Elle’s teenage years and shows us what she was like before Harvard. I watched it all in a couple of days and loved it! Nobody can replace Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods because she made the character iconic but Lexi Minetree does a fantastic job of making the role her own! One of my favourite things about the series was the 90s setting. The clothes and the music.

Cooler weather!

It's still warm here, warm enough to enjoy being outside but not as warm as it has been and I am loving it. It has been mostly 20C today, which is 68F and that is the perfect temperature for me. It is easier to sleep, housework doesn't feel as much of a chore and I have been able to get out into the garden. I've had a proper tidy up out there. The weeding has been done, well as much as I am willing to do. It's hard to tell what are weeds and what are flowers which haven't fully grown yet!

Sunflowers!

One of my favourite things about this time of year is watching the sunflowers bloom.

Little House on the Prairie!

Surely we have all heard of Little House on the Prairie? Netflix has a new version, telling the story of the Ingalls family as they leave their home and begin a new life on the American frontier. The scenery was stunning and the costumes too. I like the characters, especially the kids and I watched it all in a couple of days. I really enjoyed watching it. It’s one of those shows that doesn't need all the flashy drama. Sometimes the simplest stories can be the best ones.

Reading challenge!

At the start of the year, I set myself a challenge on Goodreads to listen to 35 audiobooks. I imagined I'd listen to a couple a month but I have just realised it's week 30 of the year and I have just started my 30th book which means I am averaging one a week! Go me! I never thought I would be someone to enjoy books but here we are.

What have you loved this week?

All the little things I love about my garden! #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a good one but quiet and I don't have many favourites to share from it, not because there hasn't been good things happening but because I haven't really done anything exciting, so I thought I would write about my garden. I am of course still linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

I never used to be someone who got excited about the garden but these days I find myself looking out of the window to see what's changed overnight or wandering outside just to have a little look around. Here are some of the little things I love most about my garden.

Everything is growing really well!

This year everything seems to have gone a little mad. Every time I go outside, something else has grown, another flower has opened or a plant has doubled in size. It is amazing to see and it feels like all my hard work planting and nurturing the little plants has paid off.

The bees and butterflies!

One of my favourite things has to be all the bees and butterflies that visit my garden. I could happily sit watching them buzzing around for ages. I love how the bees disappear into one flower and then make their way on to the next one and I love how the butterflies seem to float around without a care in the world. I like knowing that the flowers are doing their bit to attract them too.

Random flowers that appear from nowhere!

I'll be walking around the garden and suddenly notice flowers growing somewhere I wasn't expecting them. Half the time I've completely forgotten planting them and the other half I haven't got a clue how they got there.

The afternoon sunshine!

One of the best things about our garden is that it gets all the sunshine from about 11am right up until it sets. I should really sit out there more but I don't like the heat and just sitting bores me senseless. I do pop out there throughout the day for a few minutes at a time for a mooch around, to take photos of my plants and give myself five minutes.

It's nice and low maintenance!

I'm not someone who wants to spend every day gardening. I like a garden that mostly looks after itself with the odd bit of help from me. I'll water the plants, pull out a few weeds, cut back the odd plant and that's about it.

Stu cuts the grass!

I think this deserves a special mention because it's one gardening job I don't have to think about. Stu keeps on top of cutting the grass, which I'm very grateful for because pushing a lawnmower around isn't really my idea of fun.

The birds!

There are the blackbirds hopping around looking for worms and the pigeons wander around like they own the place. I was sat here in the week and saw birds flapping around the front of the house and I looked and there must have been about 50 birds just pecking for worms or whatever they were doing. It was very odd to see! I love hearing all the birds singing first thing in the morning too. It's a much nicer alarm clock than my phone.

Everything changes so quickly!

One thing I love is that the garden never stays the same. One week there are buds everywhere, then suddenly they're all flowering. The colours change all the time and every few days there's something different to notice.

What do you love about your garden?

What I have loved this week! Week 28. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a good one. We've had lots of family time, days out and plenty of time to relax. Over the weekend we went to a local country show which was a favourite but I have a whole post coming about that, these are just the little things which I have been loving and I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

The Sheep Detectives!

Every night a shepherd reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand. When he is found dead, the sheep realise at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it.

I love movies with talking animals and this was just brilliant! The Sheep Detectives on Amazon Prime was such a fun and easy watch, although there were some moments when I felt myself tearing up. The sheep all have their own funny personalities and I got way more invested in them than I expected. It's a mystery but it's not too serious, so you can enjoy it without having to think too hard and it has Hugh Jackman, which is a bonus!

Fudge!

Of course I got some fudge from the country show that we went to over the weekend and I have been eating it slowly, as I know I won't get any more until next year. I got Turkish Delight, Skittles, Baileys, Eton Mess and Malibu coconut rum flavour!

Project Hail Mary!

A science teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing Earth's sun, and realises that an unexpected friendship may be the key.

I finally watched Project Hail Mary on Amazon Prime. I'm not usually someone who gets excited about films set in space but this one, I enjoyed. It had me laughing, it had me worrying about what was going to happen next and I didn't want it to end. Ryan Gosling was great but Rocky stole the show for me. It wasn't all serious either, there were loads of funny moments mixed in with all the drama.

Horse Art!

Last year, at the show, I held off buying things until the end of the day and a lot of what I wanted was sold out. I ended up buying a little horse thing in a frame made of feathers but really wanted one made from shotgun cartridges. This year I got one to go with the feather one from last year.

England!

We're through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and I think if we can get past Norway tomorrow night we might get to the final. I didn't stay up and watch the England v Mexico match, the 1am start was too late for me and then it got put back until 2am because of the weather. I did catch up on it when I got up and it was one of the best matches of the tournament and I'm not just saying that because I am from England. I shouldn't laugh after Jordan Henderson was injured but he did something special, getting a yellow card and being stretchered off without even playing a second of football. lol I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Things growing in my garden!

Last week in my Word of the Week I mentioned my garden is doing well and this week it has got even better. The corn silk has started growing on my sweetcorn plants, which means there are ears of corn growing. I noticed my pepper plants have mini peppers on and my tomatoes are growing too! My flowers are blooming and the weeds are not actually taking over. I feel so pleased with my garden this year!

What have you loved over the past week?

What I have loved this week! Week 27. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a busy one with lots going on. I feel like I am definitely going to enjoy the weekend when I finally get some time to relax. I have plenty of little things which I have been loving and I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

Football!

Of course, it had to make my list again! We're into the knockout stages of the World Cup now and it has been good with lots of drama and tension! We went to the pub to watch the England match on Wednesday and it was stressful. They never go about it the easy way. They were losing for most of the match when DR Congo got a goal early on. It took them until the 76th minute to get a goal to equalise and then another 10 minutes later to win the match! We’re through to the next round and we’ve got Mexico next, then if we get through that game, it's Brazil or Norway. Eek!

Cooler weather!

It has cooled down a lot here and I am so glad. After the heatwave last week I was so over being sweaty, not sleeping properly and feeling like we were living in an oven. This week the temperature has been around 22C (71F) which is much easier to deal with. Yesterday it was really windy but warm and sunny, I did think that it would be great to get washing dried outside but it was too windy!

An Irish Bar!

A new Irish-themed bar opened in town a few weeks ago and it’s in an old church building which already makes it feel quite different from anywhere else locally. We popped in last Friday for just a couple of drinks and ended up staying longer than we had planned. There was live music on, people dancing and a really lively feel to the place.

Bike Night!

In Barton, a town near us, there is a big motorcycle meet that takes place every year! As well as hundreds of motorbikes, there were street food stalls, live music, charity stands, the shops stayed open later than usual and it was so busy! The bikes were amazing! There was everything from vintage motorbikes to brand new sports bikes and some customised ones that looked like they belonged in a film. I should have taken more photos than I did but there were just too many people about!

Having my girls home!

This has probably been my favourite part of the week. Ellie has left college so she is home more and Becky took a couple of days off work, which meant she has the whole week off and it has been fantastic having both my girls home more than they usually are. We haven’t done anything big or exciting, it’s mostly been the small everyday stuff which has made it special. The chats we've had, laughing about random things and just being together.

A fly in my laptop!

Over the weekend there were lots of those tiny black flies, thunder bugs outside. I am guessing some came into the house and one ended up inside the screen of my laptop! It shouldn't be a favourite from my week but now I can laugh about it. I watched it crawling around all day Saturday, read that if I switched it off and put a torch at the bottom of the screen it would find its way out. It didn't. On Sunday, it was slap bang in the middle of the screen and I accepted that it was there to stay but by Monday morning it had moved to the top of the screen and is now hidden in the text on one of the bookmarks. It hasn't moved since! Phew! I am so glad it stopped somewhere out of the way.

What have you loved over the past week?

What I have loved this week! Week 26. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been a busy one with lots going on. I feel like I am definitely going to enjoy the weekend when I finally get some time to relax. I have plenty of little things which I have been loving and I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share.

Toy Story 5!

This was such a fun one and probably my favourite thing of the week! My girls and I went to see the new Toy Story film during the week and it was so good. I was so glad they didn't make Woody and Buzz the main characters again. I love them but we've already had so many stories about them. This time it was more about Jessie and it felt new and different. She has always been one of my favourite characters. The plot itself was heart warming and I had a little cry. The writers really know how to hit the parents right in the heart. hehehe

The World Cup!

I've watched so many matches and ended up staying way later on a night than I should but I keep telling myself it's only a few weeks every 4 years! England’s match on Tuesday wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, ending in a draw against Ghana but it was enough to get them through to the next stage. We have our last match of the group stage tomorrow. We went to the pub to watch it and it was such a good night. Sitting outside, watching the big screen, perfect weather and with a crowd watching along makes everything seem more exciting!

Hot weather!

It really feels like summer now! We've had a bit of a heatwave and today is supposed to reach 32C (90F) which is very hot for England. I know some people would laugh at me complaining about that temperature but our houses just aren't built for it and neither am I. lol. When I haven't had to do things, I have tried to move as little as possible. lol I am enjoying it because I know it won't last. Next week is supposed to be colder and wet.

The hosepipe!

This is such a simple thing but it’s been an absolute lifesaver this week. The garden is properly growing and everything needs watering, especially with the warmer weather we’ve had. Usually I just use a watering can and refill it over and over, so the hosepipe has been a great help. It is nice to go out there when it has cooled a little, turn the hosepipe on and have a few minutes peace.

Fizzy pop!

I don't usually drink much fizzy pop but this week I have been enjoying it with lots of ice. I have been drinking it by the pint and I am not even sorry. Pop always tastes good when it is hot out! It’s been one of those small treats that makes sitting down for five minutes feel like a proper break.

Sandals!

It's sandal weather and I have finally found a pair that are comfy and go with everything that I wear in the warmer months!

Pyjama Bottoms!

On Wednesday I went to put some leggings on, which I usually wear around the house but it was that hot and sticky. I thought not today! I reached for some pyjama bottoms and spent the day in them. I wasn't going anywhere and had no visitors coming, so why not? I was so comfortable and actually felt cooler than I would have in leggings. It won't become a regular thing but I came in yesterday afternoon and did the same thing so maybe it will. lol

My youngest has left college!

It was Ellie's last day in college on Wednesday and her last official day today as a student. I don't know how I feel about it at the moment. My baby is all grown up but I am excited about the next stage in her life. There was no graduation ceremony or anything like that but we will be celebrating over the weekend. There were many times over the years when I thought my girl wouldn't complete her education but here we are and she smashed it!

What have you loved over the past week?

My favourite things about my dad! #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Usually my Friday Favourites include all the things that I have loved over the past week but this week is going to be a bit different. With Father's Day coming up I thought I would share the best things about my dad. I am of course still linking up with Erika and Andrea to share as I think it is still classed as a favourites post!

He has supported me all through my life!

My dad has always been there cheering me on. From the days when I was sat on the floor crying about not understanding my maths homework, he sat for hours explaining it to me until I did understand and only the other week to last week, when I needed a lift somewhere. After my mother left, he really stepped up and did the job of two parents.

He gives the best advice, even when I don't want to hear it!

My dad is the first person I speak to when I need advice about anything, as nine times out of ten he's lived it and knows what to say or do. Sometimes I don't agree with his advice, as he has a way of telling it like it is, which can seem quite harsh but he helps me see things from a different perspective and looking back, he's usually been right more often than I'd like to admit.

He worked hard for his family!

As a child, you don't really think about how much your parents do, you just assume the bills get paid and food appears in the cupboards. Looking back now, I can see just how hard my dad worked for my family. He wasn't somebody who worked one job and then came home to put his feet up. He was a milkman delivering milk early in the morning, then running his skip hire business during the day and then working on the farm in the evening. He's 78 years old now and he's still working. Every year he says he's going to retire soon. Every year we all nod and pretend to believe him. I think he's been planning to retire for at least 10 years.

He always helps when something needs fixing!

Every family seems to have that person who can sort things out and for us, that's my Dad. If something breaks, I phone my dad and chances are that he knows how to fix it. He is amazing when it comes to any DIY. He mostly built my childhood home, so there isn't much that he can't do. The only thing letting him down now is his knees. He blames the fact he used to be a jockey and all the pressure and stress went on his knees. He seems to think outside the box when it comes to fixing things. Like when we were saying if only Ellie could move her bed she would have more room. He came up with the idea of shortening her bed and moving it against the wall, which created more space.

He loves his grandchildren!

Seeing my dad as a grandad has made me appreciate him even more. The love and pride he has for his grandchildren is lovely to see, even if they do sometimes test his patience but even then, he has all the time in the world for them. When my brother and I were growing up, there wasn't money for regular McDonald's trips. We had rules and we definitely weren't getting cake before meals but now the grandkids get everything and can do no wrong! There have been occasions where my girls have done something and he's laughed it off, saying they're only kids while I'm standing there thinking, I'd have been grounded because of that. lol

He stays calm in a crisis!

When everyone else is panicking, my dad somehow stays calm. Over the years there have been plenty of family dramas, emergencies and stressful situations. While I'm usually stood there crying and imagining the worst, my dad is already working out what needs doing. He'll arrive, see what's going on, give everyone jobs and somehow get things under control. I don't know how he does it!

He has a great sense of humour!

My dad's sense of humour has created so many funny memories over the years. He is the worst at telling jokes but they always make us laugh. Some of his jokes are so bad but I think that's part of being a dad; The dad jokes. Even in the worst situations, he can calm me down by cracking a joke. Sometimes he's not always politically correct and would probably offend some people but that is just the way he is. I have seen myself cringing hard when he's said something and whispering that you can't say that. He mostly knows when to be on his best behaviour but knows when a joke is needed to lighten the mood.

I love how excited he gets about his cars!

My dad's weakness is battered, broken vintage cars and machinery. He will buy them and spend months doing them up and every time I go to his he is so proud to show off the progress he has made. It all started with one car and he said he would sell it when it was finished. It is still in his garage. He has got another 4 since and they are all in garages. In fact, he had to build more garages to store them. lol

He still treats me like his child!

Even though I'm a grown woman with adult children of my own, he'll still check in on me every day or try to help with something when I am quite capable of doing it myself. When I visit him, he always feeds me and I never leave his place empty handed. Fruit from his trees in the Autumn, random things that he has bought and has extra or things that he thinks I will find useful.

He always wants to help!

My dad is the type of person who will help anyone if he can, not just family. He doesn't do it for praise or for someone to say that he's a good guy. It's simply who he is. Growing up, I thought everyone's dad was like that. It wasn't until I got older that I realised just how lucky I was.

I could list 100 reasons why my dad is the best. He isn't perfect and he wouldn't claim to be but he's exactly the dad I needed growing up and now as an adult. I'm incredibly lucky to call him my dad and I wouldn't change that for the world.

What I have loved this week! Week 24. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine hasn’t been the worst but it hasn’t been the best either. It’s been one of those weeks when lots of little things have added up and made me feel a bit meh. The weather has been all over the place. We had hail here on Tuesday, which felt very silly for June and then five minutes later the sun was back out pretending like nothing had happened. Add in cramps, bloating, feeling tired and grumpy. It has not been the best but there have still been plenty of little things to enjoy and I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share them.

Sport!

This week has been brilliant for sport! I started the weekend watching the F1 qualifying and then the race on Sunday. The race itself was chaos in the best possible way. Max Verstappen didn’t even make it around the first lap, George Russell was collecting time penalties like Pokemon cards and every driver seemed to be speeding in the pit lane while treating the track like a Sunday drive. The race was stopped near the end because the track was breaking up. Eek! You expect better from Monaco! I've checked and from now on until the end of the season (apart from the Las Vegas one) they're all on an afternoon here! Yay! Then there’s football. I’ve really enjoyed watching the friendly matches in the build up to the World Cup over the last week. They’ve got me in the mood for the tournament and I have a whole post about it tomorrow.

Home made pizza!

We made homemade pizza on Saturday and it always tastes better than shop bought or even a takeaway pizza. The best thing about it is that everyone can have whatever they want without any arguments. I had BBQ sauce, mushrooms, onions, sweetcorn, smoked sausage, pineapple and cheese on mine.

Hot Honey!

I said I wasn’t going to get on board the hot honey food trend but it happened. On Monday we had hot honey, bacon and fried eggs with pancakes. It was a Gousto meal we’ve had before and we love. The sweet, salty, spicy taste just works. I didn’t think honey needed improving but adding chilli was the answer all along. I’ve also become obsessed with the Walkers Hot Honey crisps. I bought a big pack and managed to eat all five packets during the week. On Wednesday evening, I went to get another packet and then realised I’d already eaten them all. I could have cried.

My blanket!

I never thought I’d be sitting under a blanket in June but here we are. Ten minutes ago it was grey, cloudy and raining and now the sun is out again. It’s not freezing, it's just colder than I would like for this time of year! I just went with it, I had my heated cushion on my back, a nice cup of tea and pretended that this was all normal. lol

Flowers in the garden!

Father's Day gifts!

I am loving this stage in life where the girls are old enough to have their own money and online shopping accounts to buy their dad gifts for Father's Day! It has been funny hearing about their shopping adventures. Ellie went off with her friend last week to get something in town. She couldn't find what she wanted so she ordered something from Amazon and Becky did all her shopping online. She said she was only getting a couple of things but got slightly carried away and there were a few packages delivered this week. Oops.

Little things that have helped me through the week!

Even though I felt a bit run down, there were lots of tiny things that helped make the week better: laughing with my girls, fully sticking to the meal plan, not getting caught in the rain, good food, making plans, hot showers, drinks from a coffee shop and a fantastic audiobook, I have an hour of it left and I don't know how it's going to end! Eek!

What have you loved over the past week?

What I have loved this week! Week 23. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. I have had a really quiet one, compared to last week. Last week seemed to be full of things going on and this week has felt much calmer. I don't mind, I quite like having a mix of busy weeks and quieter ones. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over the last week.

A house viewing!

Not for me and my fella but for my eldest. I can't quite believe we've reached the stage where she is viewing houses. She had her first ever house viewing and I went along with her and her partner to keep them on track and level headed. They got carried away looking at all the fancy things, where I was more interested in the practical things, like where the boiler and fuse box were. They were obsessed with how pretty the lights were and I was pointing out that fancy bulbs usually cost a lot more than the standard ones. They were amazed by how lovely the light grey carpet was and I was thinking about muddy shoes, spillages and how difficult it would be to keep looking nice. I suppose that's the difference between people viewing their first home and someone who has spent years cleaning carpets and replacing light bulbs. lol They are planning on renting and have put in the application to go ahead. The house was nice but half an hour after viewing it another came up on a property website that was cheaper per month, bigger and in a better location. They have asked for a viewing for that one too. I told them to keep their options open and not to just go for the first one they have viewed. Eek! This is a huge step for them and I am proud of them for getting to this stage.

A night out!

Stu and I had a night out last Friday and it was just what we needed. First, I fixed the dress, which wasn't really a dress. I think I mentioned it in another post. I bought what I thought was a dress and then discovered it actually had shorts built into it. It sounds great but I planned on wearing leggings underneath and realised that every trip to the toilet was going to involve the sort of gymnastics, so I did the only sensible thing, got the scissors out and cut the section that went between my legs and it became more practical. I love it now!

We went into town, had a lovely meal and visited a couple of bars. We had a few drinks, chatted, people watched and even danced a little. We were home just after 1am which is late enough for me these days and Stu had work the next day. Thankfully, he didn't feel tired until later on Saturday evening.

Fewer lessons!

The end of the college year is almost here. My youngest only has a few weeks left and her timetable is starting to look very different because some of her classes are finishing up. She doesn't have to attend English lessons any more because she has her final exam for that today and now it's about finishing coursework and parts of her engineering course. The annoying thing is that the lessons which have ended aren't at the end of the day. If they had been, she would have enjoyed some earlier finishes. Instead, she has awkward gaps in the day but she doesn't seem bothered. On Wednesday her and her friend forgot they didn't have English any more. They arrived at college at 9am ready for lessons and then realised there was nothing for them to do, so they went into town, did a bit of shopping and picked up some Father's Day gifts.

Clarkson's Farm!

New episodes of Clarkson's Farm were released yesterday and I am very excited about them. I'm planning on sitting down and watching them today. I know Jeremy Clarkson isn't everyone's cup of tea but I absolutely love him and this show. If you don't know who Jeremy Clarkson is, he became famous through the car show Top Gear and is a bit sarcastic, outspoken and sometimes causes a bit of controversy. He reminds me a lot of my dad. Eek! A few years ago, he bought a farm, decided he wanted to run it himself but he didn't know much about farming and that is what makes the show so entertaining. We're onto season 5 now!

Rain!

As much as I loved the hot weather last week, it has been nice that it has cooled down and to get some rain this week. I don't think I'd ever survive in a country where it's hot all the time. The rain arrived at the right time, just after I had put some plants into the ground. The rain has really helped and everything looks greener already but the weeds have also taken this as a sign to grow at record speed. Ugh! The worst thing is that most of the weeds have appeared in my flowerbed where I planted flower seeds. Now I can tell what are weeds and what are flowers.

What have you loved over the past week?

What I have loved this week! Week 22. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. We've had a great one. It feels like I haven't stopped but in a good way, with lots of fun things happening. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share the things that I have loved over the last week.

The Canadian Grand Prix!

Oh my goodness, what a race!! I think that was one of the most exciting races I have watched in such a long time. It had everything. Drama, chaos, rain, confusion, stress, people sliding about everywhere and everyone panicking over tyres. The weather made everything so much more exciting because nobody really knew what tyres were the right choice. George Russell was throwing bits of his car on the track when it broke down and was given a fine. Formula 1 really does love adding extra drama when it’s not needed but the best thing about it was that it started at 9pm so I could watch it live as it was happening!

The Wonders of Moominvalley!

Earlier in the week, the girls and I had a little outing to Hull. We had a few bits to do there anyway and ended up going to an art gallery because they had just opened a Moomins exhibition. I don’t think I realised quite how nostalgic it would make me feel until we got there. Ellie had absolutely no idea who the Moomins even were, which made me feel about a hundred years old. Becky vaguely remembered them from when she was younger but I used to watch them all the time when I was a child. The exhibition was lovely. There was artwork, sketches and information about the stories and characters. Even the girls enjoyed it more than they expected.

Getting lots done in the garden!

On Monday, which was the first the hottest day of the year so far, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to do some gardening. I started pulling weeds and moving pots around. I dragged Stu and Ellie out and he cut the grass while Ellie was sweeping and tidying up. We'd work for 10 minutes, then we'd go into the shade to cool down a little, then get back to it. The grass in the back garden finally looks nice again instead of the jungle it was. We got rid of loads of weeds, tidied bits and pieces and made everything look much more presentable. I also moved some of my plants into bigger pots and now all the ones which were on the kitchen windowsill are in the little greenhouses.

Ranch sauce!

I know ranch dressing is a massive thing in America but here in England it’s never really been something even seen in the shops or even tried, until now! I finally bought a bottle to try and now I completely understand why people are obsessed with it. I have been putting it on everything! Chips, wraps, chicken, random snacks and have even been using it as a dip! To me, it tastes like garlic mayonnaise mixed with tartar sauce with a little something extra thrown in.

Hot weather!

When I say we’ve had hot weather this week, I mean proper hot weather, which is not normal for May! We had the hottest day ever in May and then the record was broken again the next day when it went just over 35C! (95f) We are not built for this kind of heat but I've enjoyed the excitement of it all. We’ve spent loads of time in the garden, eaten far too many ice lollies and ice cream. Even my eldest, who normally refuses to show her legs, wore shorts this week. I think everyone looks a bit healthier after some sunshine too, we’re all slightly less pale. It has cooled down now, which I am happy about as I can sleep properly again but it was nice while it lasted.

This photo of me and my girls.

It does make me chuckle though, we are the sunglasses squad. lol

Stu's afternoon off work.

I love hearing about my fellas' work, sometimes it sounds chaotic but a lot of fun! He works for a phone company and every few months, Samsung come in to show off their new phones and products and for him and most of the staff it's just an afternoon off work. This time they got free ice cream. Stu ended up with two as his friend didn't want theirs and a fancy Samsung-branded Stanley Cup. It had better be better than the fan he got last year which worked for about 10 minutes and then gave up. lol There was a photo booth and everyone got lots of photos with their work besties! It was nice to finally put some faces to the names I keep hearing.

What have you loved over the past week?