I’ve been feeling a bit ‘meh’ for the last few days and it seems I’m not alone. CJ’s post at Above the River this morning and various comments from readers hit the nail on the head. It’s that mid-school holiday dip when everything’s out of sync and it’s hard to keep a grip on what day it is, let alone any sort of order. I’m not good with household chaos, half-finished jobs and the detritus of family life scattered all over the house. I get irritable and snappy. I am, perhaps, a little ‘OCD’.
So, it’s time to shake it off and get my mojo back. I’ve just completed a work-related project that’s been hanging over me somewhat and got two loads of washing done and I feel much better. And, coming to think of it, we’ve actually had some lovely moments over the past week, so I’ll share some of those with you and stop moping!
We had a lovely afternoon at Broadstairs (after some school uniform shopping) – sunshine, sandy beach and ice creams. It’s a charming Victorian seaside town and well worth a visit.It was my dad’s birthday at the weekend and we had a very happy couple of days with my brother and his family and my parents. I do love seeing our children all together. My sister-in-law brought these beautiful flowers along.I made Jane Brocket’s Lemon Chiffon Cake (from her book Vintage Cakes) for dad’s birthday cake. It’s a bit like a souffle and you have to treat it very gently. It rose so much that it spilled out over the of the top of the tin and I had to saw the edge off to get it out. Happily, it was declared a success. He’s obviously older than 16 – I didn’t have enough candles or room for how old he really is 🙂We had a day out in London. There were gorgeous flower stalls everywhere and this one on Jermyn Street caught my eye.We were in London to see the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. I’d been looking forward to this hugely and it didn’t disappoint – so much inspiration. This is a detail from Grayson Perry’s magnificent, huge tapestry wall-hanging ‘Julie and Rob’.And we’ve been playing a lot of table tennis outside when the weather has been fine, sometimes into the evening for as long as the light holds. My middle son is pretty good and loves to win (I am very gracious in defeat). This is David and my daughter, who’s getting pretty handy with a bat too.
11 thoughts on “Cerulean blue skies, family days and ping-pong”
It’s amazing how much better you feel after accomplishing a few things isn’t it. I’ve been out and about today getting things done and I’m feeling a bit better now. It looks like you’ve had some wonderful days, the beach sounds particularly blissful. I’ve thought about getting a table tennis table as well, I’m sure it would be very popular here. I hope the rest of the week goes well too. CJ xx
I hit a mini slump yesterday, but managed to pull myself out of it. Doing something productive is hugely rewarding, even if it is just getting some chores done. Broadstairs looks fantastic in the sun. I’ve never been but I’d love to go, it looks like my kind of place. x
Sounds like a pretty great week, not withstanding the meh feeling. Taking care of some chore that’s been hanging over you does tend to be a mood booster – also the longer those things are on our minds, the bigger they seem.
I hope that you are soon over feeling meh. No fun is it. Hope that you can get back to blue skies again soon. That birthday cake looks fabulous and the flowers are so pretty too. Happy Birthday to your Dad! xx
We love a bit of ping pong in the gloaming too! We gave our son a table tennis table for his 13th birthday and I can’t tell you how much fun we’ve had over the years. My son and his housemates even constructed a make-shift table and net in the garden of their student house last year. Isn’t it great how everyone is feeling “unslumped” as a result of sharing these mid-summer-holiday Blues. I’m having a grey day here after a wonderful day in Oxford yesterday with my son and his girlfriend. Talk about “A la recherche du temps perdu”!
Hope you’re feeling better soon. It comes, it goes. In the meantime, am loving those vibrant colours in your photos.
Broadstairs holds good memories for me, of a family holiday when I was very very young, so that would have been in the late 50s. Would love to go back there sometime (and to Birchington, which I think was where we stayed).
I try to treat August as a month for hibernation – a time to recuperate after a busy summer term and build up strength for the winter. This normally involves much drinking of rose and eating a regrettable amount of cream teas. I don’t have tiny children at home now so there is no excuse for sitting with my feet in the paddling pool but on the plus side I can go and visit lovely gardens and pretend to be researching planting schemes.
Beautiful blue skies, and thank you for the close up of Hrayson Perry’s work, absolutely fabulous. I haven’t made Jane’s chiffon cake, but have made other chiffon cakes and they are quite tricky to manage, but taste so very delicious. X
Garden visiting, looking at what is through the garden gate, especially those open for National Garden Scheme, with just an occasional foray here and there.
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It’s amazing how much better you feel after accomplishing a few things isn’t it. I’ve been out and about today getting things done and I’m feeling a bit better now. It looks like you’ve had some wonderful days, the beach sounds particularly blissful. I’ve thought about getting a table tennis table as well, I’m sure it would be very popular here. I hope the rest of the week goes well too. CJ xx
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I hit a mini slump yesterday, but managed to pull myself out of it. Doing something productive is hugely rewarding, even if it is just getting some chores done. Broadstairs looks fantastic in the sun. I’ve never been but I’d love to go, it looks like my kind of place. x
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Sounds like a pretty great week, not withstanding the meh feeling. Taking care of some chore that’s been hanging over you does tend to be a mood booster – also the longer those things are on our minds, the bigger they seem.
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I hope that you are soon over feeling meh. No fun is it. Hope that you can get back to blue skies again soon. That birthday cake looks fabulous and the flowers are so pretty too. Happy Birthday to your Dad! xx
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We love a bit of ping pong in the gloaming too! We gave our son a table tennis table for his 13th birthday and I can’t tell you how much fun we’ve had over the years. My son and his housemates even constructed a make-shift table and net in the garden of their student house last year. Isn’t it great how everyone is feeling “unslumped” as a result of sharing these mid-summer-holiday Blues. I’m having a grey day here after a wonderful day in Oxford yesterday with my son and his girlfriend. Talk about “A la recherche du temps perdu”!
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Hope you’re feeling better soon. It comes, it goes. In the meantime, am loving those vibrant colours in your photos.
Broadstairs holds good memories for me, of a family holiday when I was very very young, so that would have been in the late 50s. Would love to go back there sometime (and to Birchington, which I think was where we stayed).
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Lovely to see and hear how you all are xJoyx
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chaos always makes me lose my mojo, cake helps a lot! I made Jane Brockets rock buns tonight, all is well now x
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I try to treat August as a month for hibernation – a time to recuperate after a busy summer term and build up strength for the winter. This normally involves much drinking of rose and eating a regrettable amount of cream teas. I don’t have tiny children at home now so there is no excuse for sitting with my feet in the paddling pool but on the plus side I can go and visit lovely gardens and pretend to be researching planting schemes.
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Beautiful blue skies, beautiful flowers – and a delicious looking cake!!
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Beautiful blue skies, and thank you for the close up of Hrayson Perry’s work, absolutely fabulous. I haven’t made Jane’s chiffon cake, but have made other chiffon cakes and they are quite tricky to manage, but taste so very delicious. X
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