Monday 23 August 2010

Sunshine and showers

Sunday was the day of the sunshine - what a lovely spell of weather we had yesterday! After church, we came home and just relaxed for a while, before I got the washing machine into gear. Wet weather had been forecast for this week so I knew that my best chance of getting the laundry dry was going to be yesterday, and I was right! The machine churned nearly all day and I washed and dried about 4 loads of washing - it was all line-dried and now I have to get it ironed but that will be tomorrow's work.

The YFG was a little fed up in the afternoon as all her friends were busy or out, so she put the paddling pool up, filled it with cold water and sat with her feet dangling into it, for about 2 - 3 hours in the afternoon. Truth be told, she was tired, and an afternoon of chilling out like that was just what she needed. By 6pm she had revived completely and was out on her bike on the estate with her friends, who had returned.

UJ came to tea and I was delighted to be able to serve green French beans from the garden, picked and prepared in the afternoon. The rhubarb cake was less successful as it overflowed from the tin I was trying to cook it in and flowed everywhere! We had to take it out of the oven and decant it into a bigger tray - the grill pan! - and then it was OK to be eaten as a hot pudding with ice cream rather than as a dainty cake. UJ brought greengages and Victoria plums - the greengages were stewed and then frozen whilst the Vics have gone straight into the freezer although I managed to keep a few back to eat fresh - they are gorgeous!

Then it started to rain last night, and it seems to have rained all night. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees today compared to yesterday, and it was much fresher this morning although the humidity built up again as the temperatures climbed through the day. I looked out at the pool that the YFG had covered up and left out hopefully and it was hard to believe that it was just yesterday that she had sat out there in her pink swimsuit, towel over her head for a sunshade, feet dangling in the water!!

Today, the EFG and I had dental appointments. The EFG had to have some root canal work on a molar finished off, but I was lucky and was just booked in for a clean. After that, the library and various stops around town kept us out and about until nearly 3pm. The EFG was unable to go to her band practice tonight as she still had some numbness in her mouth and lips, but the YFG and FH went to theirs in the village - and I went along for the second hour to listen. The teacher is very good and is making it a challenge for the YFG, but she is also very patient with the FH and his trombone.

The chicks in the lounge are all doing well, and given that there are 16 of them in one box, I shall have to sort out a second box for them tomorrow and split them into two groups. There is one that is definitely a Light Sussex, but the rest are GPO or Brown Sussex, I think.

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