Glorious weather continues. I’m growing quite used to it. Enjoying the daily routine of watering and caring for the plants. Everything in the garden is growing like crazy. I can see this being a good year for the kitchen garden.

We’re already eating a fair bit from the garden. There really is nothing quite like fresh food and how much fresher can you get than the back garden? Youngest helped me plant out the last of the peas and beans, this week. He’s always loved to help and everything gets done at record breaking speed when he’s there.

I think in the ideal world, I’d potter around the garden most of the day. If only……

Right. Time for my weekly round up. This week. What have we done, other than garden? We took ourselves down to the Somerset Levels, over the weekend, for a picnic. It was beautiful. Just a random spot, but that’s the thing about the Levels, there are so many perfect spots to stop.

This spot was by a river, with a bridge over it. The water was clear and we could see shoals of good sized fish darting around. Lots of demoiselles and dragonflies sweeping methodically between the river banks. Even a kingfisher made a characteristic fleeting appearance. Heron flapped lazily overhead. If there was ever a day that I’d like to be seared into my children’s memories, and filed under “childhood”, this was one of those day.

We’ve had a birthday in the house, this week. I’m hit by the reality that we only have one more year before there are 3 teens in the household. Now that should be interesting.

I made the birthday boy a spinning globe card. The sort that spins around when the card is open. He loved his card. It was fun to make and I can see myself making variations on this design. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the video of it spinning.

Continuing with our search for a greener life, Middle teen and I had a crafting afternoon. We made  felted soaps on the ropes. It helps to prolong the life of the soap, reduces waste and is so darn colourful. She’s asking what our next craft activity will be. Happy dance! She still wants to craft with me.

What else?

Eldest teen went on a TV studio visit and saw behind the scenes, but that is all I can say about that.

Youngest had one game of cricket this week and another one cancelled.

We set up a reading challenge for July. Everyone has to read for at least half an hour.

Aga is turned off and I’ve moved into the summer kitchen. It is very basic, but I love it as it is lighter and feels like I’m cooking outside. (When we moved in it was the old coal bunker and outside privy. Oh the glamour! We have converted it and you’d never know.)

Finding crystal ammonite in a stone in the garden. The stone is one from the house, which means there are probably more fossils in the walls of the cottage. I’ve always thought there must be. I love the idea and have been teasing my husband about living in a crystal cave.

(Sigh. Some people have rock and roll lives. I have a rock.)

That is our week. Hero would like to add that he had a successful week. He has dug four new holes in the front garden. The garden we spent time tidying at the weekend. A good week for him then. (good job we think he’s cute.)

Hope you all have a good weekend. I’m joining in with Anne’s Word of the Week. I’m going with the word growing this week, as everything and everyone seem to be growing, one way or the other.

(Hyacinths, in the garden, blowing in the wind)

It’s about 6:30 am. Saturday. No need to wake anyone up. Nothing in the pipeline today. Not sure if my husband is going to his park run, as he’s been under the weather, so I leave him undisturbed. I head downstairs. Quietly. They can all have a lie-in. It will do them good, I hope.

I head to the downstairs loo and shut the door. It’s half light outside. I’ve not switched on lights or opened curtains on the way downstairs, in an effort to let the house sleep on. I open the curtain now. I need some light. It dazzles me slightly and I semi-consciously re-adjust my eyes to the change. I lift the toilet lid.

What the heck! I mean. Seriously!

How could someone have left it like that? On the seat.

Great. My job to clean up. Who’d be a parent? I’ll need gloves. I bend down slightly to see what I’m dealing with and, at that point, I notice a slight movement.

What?

Oh, good grief. It’s breathing. In fact, not only that. It’s looking at me. Straight at me. With two big, round eyes.

My own eyes are now adjusted. As is my mind. On the seat of the loo, previously snuggled up to the lip of the lid, before I lifted it, is a frog.

A frog.

On the loo seat.

I’ll admit. I did stand there for a minute, pondering my options. I half hoped someone else would come downstairs, just so they could act as my witness to the sight of a slumbering frog on our loo seat. No-one did. I decided to move it outside.

I think the frog sensed that I’d reached a decision, because at that very moment it turned round, jumped off the seat and into the pan. It knew where it was going. It shimmied down the sides and into the water and away. Away down the pipe. Never to be seen again.

I hope.

Well not by me. Not first thing. Not before my morning coffee.

(Just for the record, I like frogs and am very used to relocating them when they are found hopping around the house)

(Rhubarb in a pipe)

Sigh.

Pipelines have played quite a part this week. It’s felt a bit like we are living in a wind tunnel (or pipe) this week, with the force of the wind. It has been rattling and booming. It has never waivered.

I blamed the wind for giving me a cracking headache at the start of the week. Knocked me for six. Wobbly and feverish for 24 hours, which makes me think I was really probably fighting off a virus or something. Being a mother, I carried on, which was probably a bad move as, the rest of the family have had it, one by one, over the week. Most are back to normal now. The rest will live.

(primroses sheltering from the wind)

There is no stopping. Even for illness. There are times, when I wonder how I will adjust when they all leave home and I no longer manage the planning diaries for all the children. Noting down and planning ahead, so that they have everything and are in the right place. At the right time.

I think it will gradually creep up on me. I can already see our older two organising their time and planning, with the younger one biting at the bit to do more. Always something in the pipeline. Middle teen had a sleepover and cinema trip last weekend, where I just hovered and asked questions like parents do, but had nothing to organize.

Eldest teen had a UCAS event this week. She’s planning on taking a gap year before she heads off to university, so she’s just going through the motions this year. Doing her research, so she’s ready to pound on doors later, in earnest, once she knows her results.

She booked her ticket on line for the event. It was quite a form to fill in, for someone who’s not sure what she wants to study at the moment. All I had to do was pay for the transport.

She’s also been investigating and organising bank and saving accounts for herself. Planning in progress. I think she’ll have everything in place for her future adventures. No firm plans yet, but not a bad idea to lay the foundations now. I know the next two years will go so fast, but I’m glad she’s thinking ahead. She can plan and I’ll work on the slowing down of time.

Also in the pipeline is my quilt. I finished the sixteen blocks and am now deciding on the sashing and borders. I’m thinking of fuchsia pink in between. Toying with using a light green fabric as the border, I have in my stash, and a navy edging. I’ve pinned the blocks on an old throw and hung it up on the door of our shoe cupboard. Gives me the chance to move the blocks around and try different colours. I need to make up my mind soon, as shoes are beginning to pile up by the door. Afraid I might break the children’s habit of  putting shoes away, if I take too long. I spent time training them up, after all.

I’ve also almost finished knitting the front of my new jumper.

What else this week? We celebrated 30 years of the internet on Monday, by dredging up all the stories about life before and the early days. It entertained the children for approximately all the of the 0.03 seconds that they listened. We celebrated Pi day on Thursday with a shepherd’s pie. Any opportunity to celebrate.

So there is my week. Lots in the pipeline, and actually in the pipeline itself, in some cases. Not all my planning works out. Should have ordered more chocolate chips for cookies this week and ended up using chocolate beans instead. Not the worst mistake. Quite good really. Added colour.

Joining in with Anne’s word of the week. My word is pipeline. Pretty sure I’ve not used that one before.

How was your week? Anyone for a cookie?