This has been a mad, chaotic, action-filled yet strangely relaxing break. It has been a summer of two halves.
July
The first two weeks were quietly spent pottering around home. Peter also took his holidays at the start of the month so it was lovely having everyone home, no timetables to fulfill and just enjoying down time.
In the middle of the month we headed off to my beloved Scotland. I spend the first six months of every year planning my trip and dreaming of lochs and mountains and I spend the second half of every year remininscing and dreaming of the same lochs and mountains!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.....midgies and all!!!
On route...cuddling up on the ferry
Sailing up Loch Ryan
There was much sunshine (unusually!! LOL!) which meant many hours outdoors. Normally we are running from here to there and going on lots of daytrips. This year, with a few exceptions, we spent most days pottering around the campsite and just sitting...
Amy and James with their friend, Alison
The zip slide
On our first day we had the enjoyment of watching the Red Arrows. They put on a display just before the Tall Ships left Greenock. It was a fantastic experience watching them twisting and turning in such close proximity. As I write this I feel quite emotional when I think of the tragedy that befell them this week. My heart goes out to the family of the young pilot.
It was lovely to see Peter relax so much during the holiday as he works so hard throughout the year. He doesn't usually have much time to read so it was great to see him literally plough through the books!
James also began reading in earnest this summer which is very exciting. I cannot keep him in Beast Quest books. He is eagerly anticipating his birthday when he has been promised the next set in the series.
We went out for lovely walks...
and got up close and personal with the local farm and wildlife...
Amy and I escaped occasionally for coffee and a girlie chat. She is growing up so quickly.
While we were away she celebrated her 11th birthday. We took her skiing in Glasgow again and took her out for dinner.
Most of the time though I simply drank in the views...
Unfortunately it all had to come to an end and we returned home at the end of July. On the 1st August the builders moved in...
August
For the past few years we have talked about extending our kitchen into our garage and for the past months we have been waiting on planning approval. Our kitchen is already quite big but it is narrow and there was no room for a table. I am a country girl and want a country kitchen. I also want a utility room instead of a space at the back of my garage.
I have never seen such an amount of dust. It is everywhere and I feel as though I have been wearing it and eating it!! The builders have worked really hard and the inside work is almost complete. The plumber has to finish plumbing the utility room and once the plaster is dry the walls can be painted.
They have now moved outside where they are building up some ground at the side of the house and then are laying new patio across the back of the house. There is a lot of digging and a lot of mud but they hope to be finished by the end of next week.
Although the mess is extreme it is well worth it. I will post some pictures soon.
During the middle of this work Amy went down for a holiday for 3 weeks to my parents. James and I joined her for the middle week and had a lovely time pottering around, relaxing, reading, knitting and catching up with all my mum's news.
The next week will be spent sorting uniforms, sewing on name labels and maybe even sneaking in a few day trips before the school run begins again. I am off now to enjoy my few remaining days of freedom....
It was lovely to see Peter relax so much during the holiday as he works so hard throughout the year. He doesn't usually have much time to read so it was great to see him literally plough through the books!
James also began reading in earnest this summer which is very exciting. I cannot keep him in Beast Quest books. He is eagerly anticipating his birthday when he has been promised the next set in the series.
We went out for lovely walks...
and got up close and personal with the local farm and wildlife...
Amy and I escaped occasionally for coffee and a girlie chat. She is growing up so quickly.
While we were away she celebrated her 11th birthday. We took her skiing in Glasgow again and took her out for dinner.
Most of the time though I simply drank in the views...
Unfortunately it all had to come to an end and we returned home at the end of July. On the 1st August the builders moved in...
August
For the past few years we have talked about extending our kitchen into our garage and for the past months we have been waiting on planning approval. Our kitchen is already quite big but it is narrow and there was no room for a table. I am a country girl and want a country kitchen. I also want a utility room instead of a space at the back of my garage.
I have never seen such an amount of dust. It is everywhere and I feel as though I have been wearing it and eating it!! The builders have worked really hard and the inside work is almost complete. The plumber has to finish plumbing the utility room and once the plaster is dry the walls can be painted.
They have now moved outside where they are building up some ground at the side of the house and then are laying new patio across the back of the house. There is a lot of digging and a lot of mud but they hope to be finished by the end of next week.
Although the mess is extreme it is well worth it. I will post some pictures soon.
During the middle of this work Amy went down for a holiday for 3 weeks to my parents. James and I joined her for the middle week and had a lovely time pottering around, relaxing, reading, knitting and catching up with all my mum's news.
The next week will be spent sorting uniforms, sewing on name labels and maybe even sneaking in a few day trips before the school run begins again. I am off now to enjoy my few remaining days of freedom....
5 comments:
You've had a lovely summer.
I love Scotland and my friends there, whatever the weather!
You can seal one part of a building to keep dust in/out.....but it still gets through!! Hope you see it done before we get Serious Weather.
Sounds like you have had a fantastic time , well apart from the dusty part of the school hols. It is amazing where you find dust when you have building work going on :-(
Oops, I missed this post. How relaxing July sounds, and how manic August! I hope you're soon builder free and able to start enjoying your new spaces :)
It sounds like you've had a wonderful holiday, and all those happy pictures confirm it. It is nice to see the menfolk relaxing on holiday after working hard all year. We had our house extended a few years ago, the kitchen and Eleanor's bedroom were extended, and a new room, porch and conservatory built. It's amazing how the dust gets literally everywhere, but it's so worth it in the end.
Oh, I DO love eleven-year-old children!
I've missed reading your news. I hope you have a sweet rest when the children return to school.
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